InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Taisho's Darling ❯ Domesticated ( Chapter 5 )

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Disclaimer: I don't own these marvelous characters; they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I merely torture them at will and put them in uncomfortable situations whenever possible.

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Chapter 5

Domesticated

......

"Who are you?" Sesshomaru asked in shock. Crowded in the tiny entryway of his father's apartment were five humans and a tiny kitsune. "I recognize this one," he indicated Shippo, "but as for the rest of you…"

"Miroku?" Inu-Yasha interrupted, pressing into the already packed entrance. "I thought you had the flu!" he said to the purple-eyed man. "What are you doing out here? And who are all these people?" he asked, aware of the nervous looks on the humans' faces.

"Miroku's here?" Sango asked, pushing Inu-Yasha aside in order to see the arrivals. "Oh no, don't tell me Nazuna blew up the mansion again! Nazuna, things are bad enough tonight as it is!" she scolded the young woman wearing a lab coat.

"I didn't blow it up!" Nazuna protested. "I just filled it full of green smoke! It'll be gone by tomorrow morning!"

"Yes, but you shouldn't be messing with those spells when Taisho-sama isn't around," said a tall male with stripes tattooed across his face. "What if you'd released some spell that required his correction? It could have been a lot worse than green smoke, Nazuna."

"Like the time you let loose that lightning spell and covered the mansion with scorch marks," piped up the sweet looking young woman holding Shippo. "We couldn't touch any of the door handles for a week without getting zapped," she confided to the astounded Sesshomaru.

"Shut up, Koharu!" Nazuna scowled. "You don't need to go blabbing about my mistakes to the world, you know!"

"Everyone ease up on her, especially you, Jakotsu," said his companion, a shorter man with a star tattooed on his forehead and a long black braid down his back. "You've been lecturing her since we left the mansion." He turned to Sesshomaru and bowed slightly. "I'm Bankotsu, Taisho-sama's servant and guard to the women. You must be Sesshomaru. Your resemblance to your father is distinctive."

"Can we come inside?" asked Koharu. "It's crowded here in the hall."

"Why not?" Sesshomaru sighed, leading them into the cramped front room. "Higurashi, I presume these are your…housemates?" he asked the tired woman curled into the chair.

"Yes," Kagome answered faintly. Her eyes fluttered in an effort to stay awake. At the sight of his mother, Shippo leaped from Koharu's arms and barreled into Kagome's lap.

"Okaa-san, are you all right?" he whimpered, cuddling his small body against hers. A frown crossed his face. "Everyone was worried when you didn't come back from the hospital before dinner."

Kagome wrapped her arms around the kit and snuggled him close. "I'm fine," she murmured softly as she ruffled his shock of orange hair. "I just came here to get some help from Taisho-sama. Everything's okay now," she assured him.

"Oh Kagome, was tonight - ?" Nazuna broke off at a warning look from Sango. Nazuna fell silent and sat down on the floor at Kagome's feet. "We really were worried about you," she added. "We thought maybe you and Sango had been caught up in one of the neighborhoods with the riots."

"Where's Kaede?" Sango asked suddenly. The rest of the group fell silent at her question and looked at one another uncomfortably. "What's going on? Jakotsu?" she narrowed a look at the guard.

"Kaede received a call from Taisho-sama earlier this evening," Jakotsu answered, refusing to look at Kagome. "She'll be absent for…an undetermined amount of time," he finished.

"Oh no," Kagome gasped, rising unsteadily to her feet. "Not again! Jakotsu, where are they? Why didn't you go with them?" Her shaking fingers clutched at the guard's sleeve.

"Taisho-sama forbade it, Little One," Jakotsu answered reluctantly. "He wasn't going to allow Kaede to accompany him either, but she insisted. Kaede can be quite demanding when she chooses to be," he noted.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is happening?" Inu-Yasha interjected. "Where's my father, and who is this Kaede person you keep talking about? And what do you mean, 'not again'?" He glared at Kagome.

Koharu chose to speak. "Kaede is one of us," she said gently, trying to calm the angry hanyou. "Your father has been forced into hiding because of a threat to his life. I'm certain Kaede insisted on going with him to help protect him. At least," Koharu amended, "that's what Kaede did the last time Taisho-sama was threatened."

"Last time? When was this?" Sesshomaru wanted to know. "I am unaware of Father disappearing at any time before this. And who is foolish enough to seek his life?"

Koharu wrinkled her brow in thought. "I don't know who's trying to kill him this time. Last time…was it three years ago? Maybe four; I can't remember exactly. You had just left Japan to run the East American division, and Inu-Yasha was on that business trip to China. Some weird dragon youkai was stalking Taisho-sama, so he hid himself for awhile until the psycho was arrested. We told everyone Taisho-sama was on vacation," she smiled "and Miroku was in charge of the company during Taisho-sama's absence."

"That explains the sudden drop in production that quarter," Sesshomaru said as he eyed Miroku. The purple-eyed man was slowly inching toward Nazuna. His hand was just a hair's breadth away from a part of the young woman's lower anatomy.

"Both hands where I can see them, Miroku," ordered Bankotsu suddenly. The man jumped back from Nazuna with an innocent air. "One more stunt like that and you're sleeping outside tonight," Bankotsu threatened.

"Speaking of sleeping, Kagome's fallen out," Nazuna observed the woman curled up in the chair. "Do you have a blanket I can cover her with? She gets cold and it makes her scars ache."

Scars? This was getting more complicated by the minute. "She can sleep in Father's room tonight," Sesshomaru said, conceding defeat as he gathered Higurashi Kagome in his arms for the second time that night. "There are extra blankets in the hall closet; help yourselves to a comfortable spot on the floor. It's going to be a long night for all of us."

......

The girl was standing in the alleyway, calling out suggestively to the passing males. Sesshomaru ignored her; she was just another scrap of humanity destined for an early grave. Besides, he was late for his next meeting.

His feet refused to move. Or rather, his feet would move but Sesshomaru didn't seem to be going anywhere. He could not pass the alley where the girl was standing.

She was painfully thin and obviously abused. In the dull light provided by the overhead streetlights, her face seemed ancient and out of place on such a young body. His curiosity aroused by her seeming familiarity, he turned to face her.

He couldn't see her face, no matter how hard he tried to focus. Instead, he saw the man standing in the shadows behind her. The man was another human, presumably her protector. Sesshomaru saw the man raise his hands and begin to strike the girl. Instead of crying out in pain, the girl fell to her knees and held her arm up to him, begging for something.

Sesshomaru understood the situation and felt his nausea rise. He yelled to the girl to move away from the human male, but his voice made no sound. The girl looked back towards him and he saw the horror within her eyes, those distinctive flashing eyes of hers. Kagome…

His eyes snapped open, recognizing the nightmare for what it was. Why were Higurashi's thoughts appearing in his dreams? Sesshomaru felt his blood rage suddenly, his response to the vision from his sleep becoming a sharp hunger and blood lust coursing through his veins. He wanted to rip the throat from the man who hurt the young Kagome, tear him slowly from limb to limb. He wanted the man to suffer.

Enough! Sesshomaru dampened his inexplicable feelings and wrenched himself from the hard floor, no longer wishing for sleep. A look at the clock on the wall showed the time to be early morning, too early for the others to awaken. Silently, so as not to rouse the others sleeping in various positions across the floor of his father's apartment, Sesshomaru entered his father's bedroom to confront the sleeping slave.

His intention had been to awaken the wench with a ringing slap for daring to project her nightmares into the dreams of her new master. The woman had magical powers; Sesshomaru had sensed them earlier. That this annoying Higurashi Kagome would use those powers to influence him, as she undoubtedly had used them to persuade his father, enraged him beyond belief. Sesshomaru would not tolerate such trickery.

A soft sigh halted his hand mid-air. Sesshomaru recognized the tiny sound as coming from Rin, the only sound the little girl seemed capable of making. His eyes dilated in the darkened room. There she was, curled against Kagome. His newest (and irritating) acquisition had thrown a protective arm over the young Rin, and the kitsune was draped across their feet at the end of the bed. The sight caused his anger to evaporate immediately. Since he had met her, Rin had never allowed anyone but Sesshomaru to hold her. Yet tonight, the little girl had willingly sought out a human woman who was a complete stranger. She must find her scent as comforting as I do…what am I thinking?

A muffled whimper escaped Kagome. Sesshomaru found his senses reeling as a powerful wave of Kagome's scent enveloped him, drawing him closer to the bed. The woman was still asleep and obviously having nightmares.

A growl escaped his throat before he could prevent it. He could feel Kagome's fear and discomfort as if it were his own. Unable to stop himself, Sesshomaru sat down on the bed next to the slave and drew her into his arms. Bringing her soft arm to his mouth, he pressed his fangs gently against the crook of her elbow and licked at her mark. A wave of satisfaction washed over him and Kagome became quiet. Her breathing slowed to a regular pace and Sesshomaru knew her nightmare had dissipated.

"You are a slave, not a mate," Sesshomaru whispered in the dark to the sleeping woman. "What powers are you using to ensnare me? This Sesshomaru can never desire you."

As he pondered this mystery, the events of the night slammed into his body with full force and caused his shoulders to droop with fatigue. Conceding defeat against his strange reaction to the slave mark, Sesshomaru lay back against the pillows and cradled the petite figure against him. A yawn escaped him and he felt his eyes becoming heavy. "Tomorrow," he promised Kagome. "First thing tomorrow, Father is taking you off my hands. This situation is not to be endured."

He ignored the stab of disappointment he felt at the thought.

......

Inu-Yasha rolled over and smacked into something hard. Pulling an eye open, he determined the offending object was the legs of his father's couch. Just as he closed his eyes to grab a few more minutes of sleep, an arm fell from the couch above him and bopped him in the nose.

"Oi wench, what was that for?" he complained softly, sitting up to face a just-awakened Sango. The woman with the soft brown eyes blinked at him in confusion. "You hit me in the nose," Inu-Yasha explained.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "This couch is kind of narrow."

"Guess I should be grateful you didn't roll off it and squash me flat," Inu-Yasha groused. "Not much room for both you and the pup on that couch, is there? You should have taken the bed and made Higurashi sleep out here."

Sango was standing up and stretching. "Oh, stop your whining," she said with some amusement. "And I'm only four months pregnant; I wouldn't have squished you that hard if I'd fallen. If I'd jumped up and down on your neck, now…"

"Sounds like you've been getting ideas from Higurashi," Inu-Yasha grimaced. He stood and began to pop the joints in his neck and arms. "After two nights on Father's floor, my back is never going to recover. What are you doing?" he asked, following Sango into the kitchen.

"Looking for something to cook for breakfast," Sango replied in a low voice as she rummaged through the refrigerator. "And keep it down, Inu-Yasha, unless you want to wake up the others. I'll warn you, Jakotsu is impossible to live with until he's had his breakfast."

"Why do you women need a guard?" Inu-Yasha asked sleepily. "You have Miroku living with you already, don't you?"

"We need a guard because Miroku lives with us," Sango explained with a sigh. "It's hard to believe that man used to be the village priest. He hasn't changed his lecherous ways as long as I've known him."

"And how long have you known him?"

Sango looked sideways at him. She knew Sesshomaru didn't want her to say anything about their status as slaves, but Inu-Yasha had already met all of the others. There was no way they could keep this a secret from him under these circumstances. "Inu-Yasha," she said slowly as she began preparing the food, "how old do you think I am?"

He backed away. "Oh no, you're not getting me that easily. That's one of those questions women ask that a male has no hope of answering correctly," Inu-Yasha said. "It's right up there with 'Does this make me look fat?' and 'Which dress looks better on me?'."

"Okay," Sango chuckled. Her laughter had a light, tinkling sound to it, reminding Inu-Yasha of wind chimes on a spring day. "I'm over four hundred years old, Inu-Yasha. I've known Miroku since I was twelve."

Inu-Yasha cocked a dark eyebrow. "Funny," he joked as he pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat down, "you don't look a day over three hundred. Sango, are you serious? You're really that old?" He sniffed. "You're human, aren't you?"

"You should be able to tell I'm human from my smell," Sango said. She transferred the cooked food to a plate and placed it in front of Inu-Yasha. "Eat," she ordered. "I get very offended when my cooking goes to waste."

"You're wearing a masking spell," Inu-Yasha informed her. "It would have to be pretty powerful to disguise the scent of demon, though, so you must be human. I don't think even Father can wield the kind of magic needed to disguise youkai blood." He took a bite of the food and closed his eyes in pleasure. "This…this is really good! I can't believe your food ever gets turned away," he mumbled through a full mouth. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I find it's better if I don't eat first thing in the morning," Sango sighed, reaching for the ginger ale and soda crackers. "I don't suffer too badly from morning sickness, but the thought of food disgusts me." She sat down across from him and began to munch on the crackers. "Where was I?"

"You were telling me your age," Inu-Yasha answered. "How are you able to live so long? Is your mate a youkai?" he asked, looking at her slightly rounded stomach.

"You're partially correct. I don't have a mate," Sango answered after swallowing some ginger ale. "But my baby's father was a demon. I've lived this long because I'm a slave."

Inu-Yasha dropped his fork onto his empty plate. "A slave?" he choked. "Sango, that's…that's illegal! Who would dare to keep a slave in this political climate, anyway?" His eyes widened. "Oh no…you don't mean…Father?"

"Taisho-sama is only our master because we begged him to take us," Sango hurriedly assured the astonished hanyou. "All of us except Kagome belonged to your father's cousin. When the Human Emancipation Proclamation was announced, our old master kept us because we didn't want to die. We're too old to live as free humans! And when our old master died, Taisho-sama took us in. Inu-Yasha," Sango begged, "you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Your father would be in so much trouble!"

"You're using phrases like 'we' and 'all of us'," Inu-Yasha groaned, placing his face in his hands. "Are you telling me that everyone living in that mansion is a slave as well? Including Higurashi?"

"Everyone except Jakotsu and Bankotsu is a slave. Taisho-sama hired those two as personal guards when we came to live at the mansion. I think he was more concerned about Kagome's safety around Miroku. Kagome's his favorite, you know." Sango reached across the table to take his empty plate and refill it. "Inu-Yasha, I know it doesn't sound very good," she said as she set the plate before him once more. "But you have to understand our position. None of us are prepared to die right now. And Taisho-sama is so good to us! He supports us financially and allows us to do whatever we want within reason. He treats us like his children, not his slaves!"

"He treats you better than his children," Inu-Yasha muttered. "Father threw Sess and me out into the world as soon as we came of age. He certainly hasn't supported us financially since then." He attacked his second helping of breakfast.

Sango looked pleased with his appetite. "It's so nice to cook for someone who enjoys his food," she said with delight. "The girls are picky eaters, Miroku's always taking some woman out to a restaurant for dinner and Kagome hardly eats enough to keep a bird alive."

Inu-Yasha stopped eating at the mention of Kagome. "Higurashi's not pregnant," he stated, realizing his mistake. "The pregnancy book was for you, wasn't it?"

"The pregnancy book?" Sango asked in confusion.

"Higurashi had a book about pregnancy in her desk," Inu-Yasha explained, rolling his eyes. "She was throwing up all morning as well, so - "

"So you jumped to the wrong conclusion," interrupted Sango. "That's stupid. Who would be the father? It's not like she's seeing anyone. Kagome doesn't trust any man enough to let him get that close to her, and she's not foolish enough to have a drunken one night stand like I did." Her eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you thought that she and Taisho-sama - you did! Ew! He's like her father!"

Inu-Yasha blushed. "Well, you've got to admit that relationship looks bad from the outside," he said defensively. "She's a pretty woman who was given a high-ranking position in the company and Father bought her a mansion. What was I supposed to think?"

"I suppose you're right," said Sango thoughtfully. "It's certainly what everyone else assumes. I just presumed Taisho-sama's own sons would know better. Do you want some more?" she asked, pointing to Inu-Yasha's empty plate.

"That would be my third helping," Inu-Yasha said.

"So you're especially hungry this morning. It's no big deal," Sango said. "Do you normally eat this much? If so, you must expend a lot of energy to stay so fit," she said as she eyed his muscled form.

"I'm not usually such a pig," Inu-Yasha confessed. "But I ate dinner at Sakura's last night."

"Yeesh," Sango said, throwing her hands up in mock horror. "You poor thing! Let me get you another four helpings. From what I hear, Sakura's cooking ought to be classified as a weapon of mass destruction."

......

"I wish we still possessed our old magic," Taisho growled, digging his claws into the armrests of the seat in his privately chartered airplane. "It is unnatural to be flying above the earth in a metal canister. Kaede, how much longer do we travel until we reach our destination?"

"Five minutes less than the last time thou asked me that question," Kaede answered calmly. She removed his hand from the armrest and laced her fingers through his. "Thou art too tense, Taisho-sama. This worry and stress is not good for thy health." She gave the hand she was holding a gentle squeeze. "Do not allow things not under thy control to concern thee overmuch."

The sensation of her warm palm lying against his own sent waves of comfort through Taisho. Had any female, human or demon, ever understood him as well as Kaede? Even Inu-Yasha's mother, whom he had loved deeply, had not possessed Kaede's uncanny ability to read his emotions and thoughts. Her wisdom was ageless.

Come to think of it, so was Kaede. Taisho looked at the woman's profile with satisfaction. While he had grown accustomed to Kaede's 'old lady' disguise over the years, he would be the first to admit he preferred her as she was now, in her natural form. Who wouldn't? Gone were the eye patch, wrinkles and heavy figure bowed with age, replaced by the smooth skin and soft body of a woman approaching her fortieth year. A few strands of silver graced the dark hair at her temples, and traces of lines were beginning to etch themselves at the corner of her eyes and mouth. In Taisho's opinion, the evidence of maturity only added to her beauty.

Unlike the others, Kaede had been enslaved as a fully mature woman. Living in a village not far from what was once Taisho's domain, she was the intended mate of Sango and Kohaku's father. When the demon exterminator was slaughtered trying to protect her, Kaede had taken the exterminator's orphaned children in as her own. Less than four years later she and the children, along with the village priest Miroku, had become the slaves of a particularly nasty snake youkai.

Sango and Kohaku had changed physically since that time, since children who received the enslavement blood bond continued to grow to maturity before ceasing to age. Adults remained at the age in which they were enslaved. As Kaede liked to joke, she was permanently 'pushing forty'. Not that Taisho minded. Her maturity made her the perfect companion to his Darlings, and Kaede fell into the role of a loving aunt and chaperone with ease.

Taisho understood her need for hiding her true appearance. Disguised as an elderly woman, she could command respect from those who would inquire too closely into the status of the mansion's occupants. Her true reason for hiding behind such a mask, though, was to discourage possible suitors. Kaede had loved with a passion and intensity given only to a fortunate few. By refusing to accept love into her heart again, she was paying tribute to the man who had once been at the center of her universe.

Having experienced such a love himself, Taisho understood this as well. It had taken Taisho centuries to overcome his loss of Izayoi, Inu-Yasha's human mother. He would have given all he possessed to keep her alive, surrendered his lands, his wealth and his vast holdings. It had been the most painful lesson of his long life to discover that a timeless age span could not protect the one you loved from the ravages of war. Immortality and invincibility meant two entirely different things, and Izayoi had been slaughtered mercilessly by her own race at a time when Taisho was far away and could not come to her aid.

"Thou art thinking sad thoughts, Taisho-sama," Kaede sighed as she shifted in her seat. "Art thou truly grieved by Sakura's treachery? I had not thought thee to be so affected."

"Actually, I was thinking of her," Taisho admitted. He had no need to clarify his statement, for Kaede knew instantly to whom he referred. "Sakura had not even crossed my mind, which just goes to prove how shallow my affections for the wench actually were," he grunted.

"Still, 'tis a hard thing to learn that thine intended mate is planning thy death," Kaede mused. "What could possibly have led the traitorous bitch to hope for success in such a plot? She hath intelligence enough to know thy spies wouldst sniff out the plans."

"Greed will encourage all kinds of risky behavior," Taisho grimaced. "Sakura is after my wealth, and if it weren't for the diligence of those who serve me, she would have it. I have no doubt they'd find my dead body the morning after the mating, the apparent victim of some mysterious disease. Sakura's quite adept with the poisons, I hear."

Kaede arched an eyebrow at her master. "And who is to say she desires to wait until the morning to slay thee?" she asked, her lips twitching. "Perhaps she will take care of the matter under cover of the night."

"Kaede, I'm shocked," Taisho gave a bark of laughter. "Surely you're not suggesting she would deny herself the pleasures of the mating? Or were you perhaps insinuating that I would not survive the experience? I'm old Kaede, but I'm not that old."

"Thou art having fun at my expense," Kaede scolded, a bright red flush creeping up her face. "I have insinuated no such thing, and thou knowest this well. It might be that the wench desires to place a knife to thy throat at the ceremonial dinner, rather than put up with thy arrogance for another minute." She tossed her head in mock anger.

"Forgive me, dear Kaede." Taisho patted her arm but continued to chuckle. "You have such an air of innocence about you; I cannot help but tease you at times. Are you certain you are not some eighteen year old slip of a girl who has never been kissed?"

"That would be none of thy business," Kaede informed him firmly. "A lady does not relate her past experiences," she said primly. Her face broke into a wicked smile. "But if I were so inclined, I could tell thee some tales that would burn thy ears!"

"Please, spare my innocent ears," Taisho laughed.

"Thy ears are the only part of thee that is innocent," Kaede retorted. The two fell into a companionable silence until Taisho spoke once again.

"Kaede?"

"Yes, Taisho-sama?"

"Are we there yet?"

"Don't make me stop this plane, Taisho-sama."

......

"I need your help, son." His father sounded distant, like he was calling from another continent. "The situation has gotten a little too hot for my liking."

"The only thing you need is to get back here," Sesshomaru told his father. He gripped the phone tightly. "Where are you? You ditched Inu-Yasha and I at Sakura's last night, and then you take off without a word to anyone! Were you aware that last night, Higurashi was - "

"Is she all right?" Taisho asked. "You took care of it, didn't you? There was no way I could get back to the apartment without tipping them off."

"Tipping who off? What's going on?" Sesshomaru demanded to know. "And yes, I took care of the 'problem' with Higurashi, as you call it! Did I neglect to thank you for making me a party to your criminal activities, Father?"

"I knew you'd come through for me, Sesshomaru," his father said gratefully.

"I didn't come through for you," Sesshomaru denied the statement. "I just knew that if I let Higurashi die, there's no one else trained to do her job at the office." He snapped a pencil he was playing with into tiny pieces. "I arrived at the office a bit early this morning. Do you want to know why, Father? Because Higurashi and her 'housemates' were all camped out on the floor of your apartment, along with Inu-Yasha, Rin and me!"

"I presume you and your brother were stranded by the rioting," said Taisho. "And I can only assume Nazuna wrecked the mansion with one of her spells again. How bad is the damage?"

"The mansion is still standing," Sesshomaru said, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off his headache. "It's a good thing it is, because Inu-Yasha and I are now homeless. Our apartment building was torched last night by the rioters. We're moving into the mansion."

"Good!" Taisho sounded suspiciously cheerful. "That will make it easier to for you to help me."

"I'm not helping you with anything until you tell me what's going on! Why have you disappeared? Who's after you?"

"Sakura was planning to get her claws into my wealth and then send me to hell. This is no longer a problem. Now that I know what she's up to she can't succeed," Taisho explained. "What concerns me is that she can't possibly be in this plot alone. If I take any action against her, I'll never know who my enemies are."

"If you want the names of your enemies, just open the telephone directory," Sesshomaru retorted. "You've stepped on so many toes over your lifetime it would be quicker to count your friends. How long do you intend to hide?"

"I'm not really hiding, son, I'm just lying low until I've received the information I need. But this isn't what I need your help with, Sesshomaru; I require your assistance with an entirely different matter. I was going to ask you about it last night before things blew up in my face. Now listen closely, here's what I need you to do for me…"

Sesshomaru listened. After five minutes, he interrupted Taisho. "You can't be serious, Father."

"I am very serious, Sesshomaru. I need you to find mates for my Darlings."

"Let me make sure I understand this. You want me to find youkai life-mates for a pregnant former demon slayer, a lecherous houshi, an elderly lady with a missing eye, a walking accident waiting to happen and…and…" he stopped.

"Can't think of a label for Koharu, can you?" Taisho laughed.

"She's too sweet," Sesshomaru said after a moment of thought. "And she's old-fashioned as well. Most modern males would be bored with her."

"I notice you haven't placed Kagome in any category."

"Don't even get me started on the subject of Higurashi. By the way, what is wrong with her blood bond? Her slave bite is pulling at me like a mating mark!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, son. Kagome has never had any influence on me other than being the daughter I always wanted. What sorts of things are happening to make you say this?" Taisho asked.

"I can feel her emotions and dreams as if they were my own," Sesshomaru told him. "But since her mark doesn't affect you in any manner, you can rid me of this problem by taking back her slave bond. Tell me your location and she'll be on the first plane out of here."

"No."

"What?" Sesshomaru snarled. "Father, our connection must be bad. It sounded like you just refused to take your slave back."

"She's your slave now," Taisho said happily. "Of course, I know you'll treat her well, seeing how I feel about her. Also, since the slave bond seems to be acting like a mating bond, you'll have to be nice to her or you will suffer as well."

"What do you mean, you won't take her back?" Sesshomaru rose to his feet, yelling into the telephone. "You have to take her back! I can't have a slave! I only did this to keep her alive, dammit!"

"Sorry, son, but I think it's best if we keep it this way. And I'm warning you, the only way I will permit you to dispose of her is if you find her a youkai life mate." Taisho paused to speak with someone in the background, presumably Kaede. "So you'll take care of this problem for me, then?" he asked when he returned to the phone.

"Give me one good reason I should help you find mates for these slaves," Sesshomaru ground out.

"I don't have a good reason. You will either do this because you wish to help your father, or you will refuse. There's nothing I can say to justify even asking for your assistance. Think about it, will you?" With these words, Taisho hung up the phone.

Sesshomaru listened to the dial tone for a moment before replacing the phone in its cradle. Always-cool, ever-composed, he now found he had lost any semblance of control of this situation. Scowling, Sesshomaru slammed his desk drawer open and shut a few times, venting his frustration on the hapless piece of furniture.

It was no good. He needed to yell; needed to hurt something. A few hundred years ago, he'd have laid waste to some neighboring countryside. These days he had to content himself with laying waste to the paperwork stacked in his inbox.

We're domesticated, he realized. Wild youkai no longer exist; we've been tamed and caged in boxes just like the humans. There's so little magic left in the world that we can no longer fly without airplanes. We can't communicate with each other unless we're holding some annoying piece of cellular equipment to our ears.

He growled low in his chest. I need to kill something. Let's see…I can't kill Higurashi, I can't kill any of the other slaves, I can't kill Inu-Yasha…I can't even kill Jaken because I need him to keep my appointments straight. His glare fell upon the plants resting on the windowsill of his office. These…today, these will die…Extending his claws, he advanced upon the helpless greenery.

......