InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed ❯ Exhausting ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter Twenty Seven - Exhausting

 

 

For a youkai that had almost unlimited reserves of energy, Sesshoumaru was amazed at just how exhausted he now was as he made his way down the dark halls toward his private quarters and to her. Even as he spoke with the multitude of lower lords and artfully dodged the obvious displays of the females, she was always on his mind. If he didn't have someone he trusted as much as Yuti, he doubted he would have been able to leave her alone. He knew it was ridiculous to have so much of himself invested in any one person, let alone a human, but it didn't stop him. He didn't even try to divorce his thoughts from her as the evening wore on. If it hadn't been so damned important to attend this function, he wouldn't have made an appearance this evening, especially after how poorly the performance had gone for Takana.

 

He sighed. He had wanted to leave hours ago but Tomo was a real slave driver. If Sesshoumaru hadn't known that the general pushed so hard for the betterment of the Western Lands, he might have punched the overzealous youkai square in the gut. As it was though, he knew this had to done. Luckily, the night had been fairly uneventful. Each lord he met with acted accordingly to traditional decorum, not presuming to ask questions about Sesshoumaru's extended absence, the absence of his birthright sword as well as Tokijin or of the unusual human guest at the performance only hours ago. They conversed amiably with the young lord and most took his silence on such matters as simply his prerogative. A few noted the choice of silence but did nothing to assuage thier own curiosity. After all, they were used to the exact same treatment from those that sat beneath them in the hierarchy of things. Everyone acted this way with the exception of one.

 

Loki.

 

The plump youkai had grown characteristically drunk by the time Sesshoumaru and Tomo made it his way. He was one of the less important district lords and therefore Tomo led them to the other more prestigious men before begrudgingly steering Sesshoumaru to Loki's position.

 

“My Lord Sesshoumaru, so good that you are *hick* back after so very, very long.” He was the first to hint at the long duration of Sesshoumaru's absence. He emphasized his already poor manners with a bow that fell just a little too far and lingered there for just a little too long. “We were starting to worry.” He finished as he finally rose back to a standing position, albiet a wobbly one.

 

Sesshoumaru practically had to hold his breath in order to keep himself from rolling his eyes or closing them in exasperation. `Why did this man have to be such an idiot?' His internal monologue supplied in exchange of the physical display of annoyance.

 

“We?” Sesshoumaru questioned with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Well...er, my self and my subjects my lord.”

 

“Ah, why should your subjects be worried about an absence of mine if they are already being provided for by their reigning lord?” He asked, keeping the cool, aloof tone he had used the rest of the night with everyone else though his mind screamed at him to be snide with this twit. “You are adequately providing for you own, aren't you?” He asked calmly instead.

 

“Oh, yes of course my lord, they just...”

 

“If they are being provided for then I'm sure everything is as it should be. After all, you were provided for during my journey, were you not? Was there something you were lacking?”

 

Loki looked rather annoyed at being manipulated so easily by this young fool. “No my Lord, I had all that I needed.”

 

“Excellent, then all is well in your district and with you. Now if you'll excuse me.” Sesshoumaru quickly and easily dismissed himself from Loki's detestable presence. Tomo was more than pleased but not surprised with how quickly and easily Sesshoumaru had handled that possibly bad situation before it became anything more than a social blunder on Loki's part. Undoubtedly the lower lord had planned on asking all kinds of inappropriate question and then blame it on the drink the next day. Or perhaps he was just stupid enough to think he had the right to ask such things. Either way, he'd lost in his little attempt.

 

Sesshoumaru now allowed himself the pleasure rolling his eyes at the impertinent nature of that fat youkai now that he was alone. He reached the doors to his rooms and quietly slipped inside. Once within, he was not surprised to find Takana fast asleep. She once again looked as peaceful in slumber as she once had in the waking world. He intensely hoped that these moments he was able to steel away with her when she was unaware of his presence would not be the only time that she looked so unencumbered with her tumultuous emotions. He yearned to crawl in next to her and share in her sleepy comforts but he dare not. There was still far too much to do still. He had no desire to hear Tomo's undoubtably logical reasons for pressing on as he should. He may feel distracted and not quite like the youkai lord he had been a year ago but he still knew well enough what was at stake and what needed to be done to ensure the survival of his reign. Instead, he pushed a lock of hair away from her face before moving to the attached study to go over various treaties and other correspondences with the other lands.

 

“S-sesshoumaru?” A groggy voice called out to him as he slid open the door. He turned to see a very tired looking Takana sitting up slightly. He immediately put the paperwork on hold and returned to her side. He knelt down so that he didn't tower over her.

 

“Yes?” He asked in a quiet whispered. He wasn't sure why he did that. She was already awake after all.

 

“Do...do you think I'm pretty?”

 

It was such a strange question to ask. He'd been by her side for over a year now and had been bedding her for a large portion of that time. Why would she even need to ask such a question? Before he could answer, she spoke up once again.

 

“They are all so beautiful. You knew who you were before you... chose to lay with me. Why are you not with one of them?” She yawned as she finished the question.

 

He was glad that her question would be as simple to answer as it was. “They are not you.” He stated simply. Takana just gave him a quizzical look, her mouth pursing together. For a moment, Sesshoumaru thought he was going to have to elaborate on the simple point. He readied himself for another question when she drew breath to speak again. He was pleasantly surprised to the contrary.

 

“I like Yuti. She's a good one, isn't she?”

 

Sesshoumaru didn't suppress the light smile that came at her words. He nodded.

 

“You can trust her.”

 

Takana nodded and lay back down, apparently satisfied with his answer. She closed her eyes and signaled that the short, impromptu conversation was at an end. He lingered for a moment before resuming his original course to his study. Again, he made it to the door only to be stopped by her voice again. This time it didn't sound sleepy but clear and serious.

 

“And I can trust you?”

 

He turned and caught her eyes as she looked at him from her pillow.

 

“Yes.” Another simple answer.

 

She took a deep breath. “Ok, then we'll start there.” And then she smiled. It was a real one. He nodded, unwilling to speak for the multitude of emotions this small statement elicited. And then she closed her eyes. He waited until he knew she was asleep before moving into the next room, unwilling to possibly miss anything this woman might have to say.

 

 

Several weeks passed with little commotion. Takana spent most of her time in the safe confines of Sesshoumaru's rooms but rarely saw him. She had grown more bold in her conversations with Yuti who seemed to be with her nearly all of the time. The female youkai was kind and didn't press the human for any of the millions of questions that seemed to burn in her mind at all times. Sesshoumaru and Tomo were doing fairly well in their dealings with the internal politics of the Western Lands with only a few hiccups here and there.

 

It seemed that the absence itself hadn't caused much reason for concern within the district lords and any grumblings that Loki had begun within their ranks had been greatly diminished with Sesshoumaru's return. The timing had been quite good it seemed. Most people were at their happiest around the time of festivals and by the time the fall festival had ended, nearly all of the commoners forgot about his long absence and many of the lords passed it off as the triflings of the young lord. Even Loki himself had grown mysteriously quiet, even taking a sabbatical of his own after the first week or so. All in all, the current state of things were going so well, Sesshoumaru planned on spending more time Takana and their slowly healing relationship.

 

The few times he'd had the chance to speak with her, she'd been polite in her tone and almost friendly. No longer did she lament to him her desire to be apart from him though he knew they were far from the closeness they once shared. Physical contact beyond innocent touches were strictly forbidden. She'd made that more than clear when he had attempted to kiss her one night while she stood overlooking the Western Mountains from the vantage of his balcony. She'd tried to do it as subtly as possible to protect him from any embarrassment but unfortunately it was her fear that had stopped him first before her movement had. He hoped that it would only require time. He missed touching her in the dark, hearing her sounds and tasting her lips.

 

He'd acted as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred and mentally swore to wait as long as need be for her. Foregoing the pleasures of females had never been something he was particularly good at however. This was going to be and interesting and undoubtedly difficult trial. He could wait, he would wait...he hoped.

 

 

AN: So many helpful suggestions for the pup. Funny thing is today was actually an accident free day, therefore I decided to update. Lucky people. However, there's something new that's bothering me. Today I was unable to finish my run due to an accute pain in my hip. I'm going to be really upset if this impacts my milage for the week. So reviewers, until I feel placated in my most recent running problem, NO UPDATES!

 

emeraldoni - Your mom didn't review so no. :) The length of my chapters is purely determined by the idea I have for it. If it's summed up in a single page, that's all you get. Some ideas are just bigger than others. *shrugs*

solitary25 - I just can't seem to avoid using the `girl talk' in my stories to help out my main female characters. It's just too easy not to utilize. Ah royal intrigue...of course!

SnowFlakeAlchemist - That's got to be one of my favorite gifts too. It's always fun. Takana's a strong one, she may have it rough but she's got a lot of moxy. Ahhh the crate, yes, tried and failed miserably. Sad too because our older pup did so well with the crate. She's just arnry.

mrskegoodman - Oh, you are very kind. Keeping Sess from becoming some sobbering fool is actually a bit tough in this one now that I've turned him youkai again. I'm counting on you to let me know if I start to slip in that goal. *salutes*

Lamb - You should check out the author `carlet', she updates regularly and her stories are a riot as well as sexy. That way it's not just me keeping your ravenous desires for this drivel under control. I see Tomo becoming one of my favorite characters quickly. It's going to be fun having him pull out his hair. Someone emailed me on Loki. I was right on the mythology but it was Norse. I'll try and address the whole, `why didn't Sess know he was there?' dilema. A lot of people are questioning that along with `why can't Sess tell that Takana's preggers'. Oh, I'll threaten and there not idle, try me.

White Luna - Oh angst. I'm a very narrow writer as angst is the only story type I'm any good at. Pure humor eludes me. Someday maybe.

DragongirlCV - Sing away, I'll try to keep it up. Thanks for the kudos.

Nikkie23534 - She shoots, she scores! I'll probably go for three pointers since the idea of me getting a slam dunk is quite preposterous with my height impairment problem.