InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Of Moonlight & Honor ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Of Moonlight and Honor
Part 2

     

      A cursory hunt for the bitch proved fruitless. Sesshoumaru grudgingly gave her credit for her intelligence; the Shikon shard had disguised her scent as well as her appearance and she had dropped the disguise in the middle of one of the largest towns in his domain. Any trace of the human scent had been quickly submerged among the wealth of others, leaving no hint of the direction she had then taken. Questioning of the townspeople had provided a small release of the anger he had built up, but youkai often used these places as safe zones of a kind (safe from each other) during their travels and no one had seen anything unusual.

      Sesshoumaru returned to the castle, working all the while to calm himself with reason. Any further measures to find the woman would be more trouble than they were worth. To find a single human among the masses of their kind, even with the clues he possessed, would be like trying to pick a single minnow from the entire populations of the sea! (Not that he could not, you understand, if he wished to do so.) It was simply too tiresome to deal with. Only if the bitch was stupid enough to publicize her dealings with the Western Lord would it be truly necessary to find her. And then her own foolishness would make it a simple task to hunt her down and kill her. Slowly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Months passed and little changed. Sesshoumaru patrolled his territory to the furthest boundaries; all predators, human and youkai alike, were most active at this time of year--after the harvest but before true winter set in. At least it was something to do.

      After a fortnight of hunting, Sesshoumaru wanted nothing more than a prolonged session in the baths. He stalked through the corridors, impatiently pulling at the tie of his sash as he did so.

      "Master!" Jaken's high-pitched voice pierced the air. "Sesshoumaru-sama!"

      "Yes, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru turned, face and voice dangerously calm.

      "I most humbly apologize, my lord," Jaken continued, oblivious to the warnings he was receiving, "but there is a messenger waiting for you. He has been here three days!"

      "Then he can wait a few hours more," replied the Taiyoukai.

      "But my lord--"

      "Yes, Jaken?" His voice was absolutely poisonous.

      "My lord, this messenger is human!"

      "Human?" A delicate eyebrow rose. "There is a human messenger here? And he stayed?" It was a rare thing for any human to withstand the youkai aura of the Western Lord's castle for more than a few hours.

      "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken eyed the youkai lord with some trepidation. He also felt a slight stirring of excitement. If the messenger irritated Sesshoumaru-sama enough. . .

      "I will see him, then," Sesshoumaru declared. "Have him brought to the receiving room. Well, what are you waiting for?" he added when he saw that Jaken was doing no more than staring at him. "Go." The toad youkai scurried out of the way. Sesshoumaru then looked at the partially untied sash. "Damn," he muttered and went about the business of trying to fix the accursed thing with only one hand. He cursed his brother again for slicing off the arm that would take another decade to fully grow back. It wasn't a problem most of the time, but there were occasions when it was a damned nuisance.

      "My lord." The human knelt at Sesshoumaru's feet and bowed, then bowed again while offering the youkai lord a small scroll. Sesshoumaru gestured slightly for Jaken to take the scroll. "If it please you, my lord," the messenger said in a small, but surprisingly steady voice, "my mistress bade me say the message was for your eyes alone." Not a muscle moved in the youkai's face as he held out his hand for the scroll. The seal, he noticed, bore the same insignia as the kamon on the human's robe, a curious device of two crossed feathers overlaying an open fan -- not one he was familiar with. With a mental shrug, he broke it and began to read the formal, scribe's hand.

 

"Sesshoumaru-sama --

      "I most sincerely beg your pardon for disturbing you, my lord, especially in light of the promise I have previously made. However, circumstances are such that contacting you has become imperative. My lord Sesshoumaru, it is my duty to inform you that as a result of our previous association, I now find myself with child. There can be no mistake about either my condition or the father. This was never my intention, my lord; I know too well your disposition towards both humans and hanyou. I send my most humble apologies and ask that you do not trouble yourself further. If you wish it so, I will consider the matter closed.

      "Once again, I tender my apologies.

"Lady Akita Tsukiyo."

 

      The world began to fade into greys as Sesshoumaru read the note. Crushing the scroll with one hand, he forced some small semblance of control upon himself. "Tell Lady Tsukiyo," he rasped, "to do nothing until I come. Is that clear?"

      The messenger looked up at Sesshoumaru uncertainly, fear rolling off him in waves as he saw the red of the youkai's eyes and the odd pulsing of the clenched fist. "But, my lord. . ." his voice trailed off uncertainly.

      "Go!" screamed the youkai lord. "Go before I decide you have no use!"

      Both the messenger and Jaken decided to heed the lord's words.

     

--tsuzuku. . .

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cultural Notes (skip 'em if you like)

 
Kamon
is the family crest, used by the feudal lords to indicate status and, like European heraldry, identify allies on the battlefield. For Tsukiyo, I chose that of the Akita clan. The hawk feather symbolizes "the hawk's own elegance, dignity and faith in the hawk God." I'm not sure what the fan is supposed to mean. Also, I don't know anything about the role of the Akita during this time period, so I apologize now for any liberties I take with the family.