InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Daimyo's Lover ❯ Daimyo's Lover 02 ( Chapter 2 )

Daimyo's Lover 02

 

oOo

 

“You want me to go where?” Naota squeaked.

 

His uncle gave him a stern look. “Is there some reason you didn't understand me? I just think that now that you are no longer a child, it might be good for you to explore another aspect of your heritage.”

 

Naota flushed and looked away. “I don't know anything about humans,” he said, embarrassed that he'd let his uncle see his apprehension. It was just so unexpected and not particularly welcome. He'd spent the better part of his life trying to fit in among demons, now his uncle wanted him to go and live among humans...as one of them?

 

The boy looked hurt, like he was being told to leave for good, and Inutaisho did his best suppress a smile. “I just want you to get to know them, see how they live. I've already made arrangements with a village. No one but the headman will know that you are my nephew, they'll just regard you his distant relative. That should take care of any awkwardness regarding your origins. You are under no circumstances to reveal your demon heritage to these people, nephew.”

 

“I don't understand,” Naota murmured. He felt comfortable here, safe. It was his home; it was all he'd ever known. He knew he didn't look like a demon, that didn't mean he wasn't useful. His uncle had been pleased to develop his intellect, watch as his young nephew grew into someone that even snobbish full blood youkai respected.

 

His skills weren't needed, that much Naota understood. There were more able fighters and he didn't take orders well. There were also more skilled hunters, for all Naota had inherited his father's love of the wilderness; he simply wasn't needed to provide for the fortress' tables.

 

Until recently, he'd made himself useful by being the Daimyo's assistant of sorts, carrying his messages and making sure his orders were understood. Naota was well liked by the household staff and everyone enjoyed the breezy and courteous hanyou's company.

 

Inutaisho felt a wavering sympathy for his nephew, knowing that even though his order was in no way a rejection, there probably wasn't any other way for the boy to see it. He simply couldn't find the words to tell Naota how much more he wanted for him. How to make the young man understand that he was meant to be more than what was available to him here in the world of youkai.

 

Instead, he wanted his nephew to learn about humans, about the people that were more and more beginning to fill demon territories. Maybe even be a catalyst to ease relations between their peoples. Most inuyoukai would regard him as quite mad for even thinking such things. Humans were chattel to be ordered around at best, a source of sick amusement as worst.

 

“I'm not sending you away because I don't care about you,” he said gently.

 

The boy looked up, his cheeks were flushed. “Why, Uncle? Why do you want to send me to go?”

 

He laid a hand on the boy's shoulder; his eyes were kind as he regarded his nephew. “I'm sending you away for your own good, Naota. You'll never have a life of your own if you stay here. You need to be with people who are more like you.”

 

“Humans?” the boy asked bitterly. “I'm not human, I'm hanyou.”

 

The Daimyo smiled. “I know that. You're my brother's only son, I owe it to him not to let you suffer the same kind of fate he did. You're not a child anymore, Naota. The demon blood you carry will sooner or later start to tear you apart. If I don't seal it, you'll lose your mind, your soul, and eventually you'll be destroyed by the youki inside you.”

 

Naota turned away, his face burning shamefully. “You're saying I can't control it. That I'm weak like a human so I should go live with them. That's what Sesshomaru has always said too.”

 

The last thing in the world he liked to think about was what had happened. He didn't remember hardly any of it, just being scared shitless and thinking he was about to die, Jano and Namichi were about to die and there wasn't anything he could do about it. His uncle had questioned him closely afterwards, probing for something. Naota had been too bewildered to even try to understand.

 

“This has nothing to do with Sessh,” the Daimyo said sternly. “I want a better life for you and the family you will someday have. You can't have this if you live among youkai. Humans will accept you, you don't look like a demon and you don't think like one. My decision is final.”

 

Naota bowed his head, sighing heavily. “Yes, my lord Daimyo.”

 

Affectionately, he ruffled his nephew's hair. “Just for a short time,” he promised. “I would definitely miss you if you weren't here.”

 

oOo

 

Sesshomaru kept a placid look on his face as they slowly made their way to the fortress. It was a lovely spring day, he decided, looking out over the wildflowers as they passed the lake. The blossoms were already a riot of color, waving in the gentle breeze like little flags of welcome. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the light fragrance that washed over him, the way the sunlight seemed to sparkle on the water and reflect the perfect blue of the sky.

 

It was good to be home, he thought, wondering if he'd ever truly appreciated it before. It couldn't have been more the opposite of where they'd just come from.

 

He glanced over at Jano; his friend's expression was still dark and pensive, tension evident in the way he held his shoulders as they rode along. They'd had to leave Izitaki and Namichi behind in Barou's territory. He was genuinely grateful that his father's bodyguard had accompanied him. Without Izitaki's calm presence, things could have gotten much worse.

 

And Sesshomaru himself would have had to stay and sort things out instead. He didn't think he could quite forget everything he'd seen over the past few days but he wished he could. The young lord sighed, wondering just what the Daimyo was going to do when they got in and made their report. He would have to see his father as soon as they returned; there could be no hesitation this time.

 

Sesshomaru turned slightly so he could look at his cousin. Barou's face was blank, utterly expressionless, but it wasn't the face of an arrogant clanlord bent on displaying no emotion. It was the face of a young man still in shock, perhaps reliving the horrors he'd committed, perhaps hearing the screams over and over in his head.

 

When they'd reached Barou's territory, Sesshomaru had been expecting a formal welcome if nothing else. Instead he and his companions had been set up and attacked by paranoid members of Barou's household. Sesshomaru had seen the color of their eyes was insanity itself and knew the men couldn't possibly tell friend from foe at that point. They'd had to defend themselves and Barou's men had been slain.

 

Sesshomaru managed to get a few words out of one of them before the man died. He shook the wounded youkai. "Tell me why you attacked us," he demanded. "Tell me why you've betrayed your lord."

 

The dying man laughed as blood dripped from his lips. "Isn't it beautiful," he whispered, his eyes already going dim. "I've never been so happy."

 

"Well, that was useful," Izitaki snarled.

 

Sesshomaru glanced up; his father's bodyguard was pissed. Izitaki cleaned the edge of his blade on the dead man's clothing and glared at his lord's young heir. "When we find Barou, I'm going to demand an accounting for this."

 

When they had come to the sprawling complex that was Barou's home and the seat of his territory, even Izitaki had been stunned to silence. There were bodies everywhere. Adults and children, servants and soldiers. It didn't look like a battlefield though and that was the puzzling thing. Sesshomaru didn't see any evidence of fighting, just dead people sprawled randomly. Then it hit him and Sesshomaru was sickened when he realized how these people had died.

 

Each of them had killed themselves, committed suicide, and been left to rot in the sun.

 

Namichi had realized it too. She approached the body of a child and turned his body over to see how he had died, only to find a knife clutched in the boy's hands. She looked up at him, her eyes lost. "Sessh..."

 

He touched her shoulder and looked at Jano. His friend's face was white and he gripped the hilt of his sword like he was aching to fight whoever had done this. But there was nothing else, just quiet, the sun still shining brightly overhead and the sound of birds singing in the distant trees. It was macabre, it was horrifying.

 

Sesshomaru took a deep breath and willed himself to stay calm as he went to Izitaki's side. "We have to find Barou," he said quietly.

 

Izitaki nodded sharply, looking around. "We'll start searching in pairs, Jano with me, you and Namichi take those buildings over there. Whoever did this to these people will pay."

 

"It was Barou," a soft voice said. They all turned, seeing a figure standing in a darkened doorway. The young woman came out; her face was dirty and streaked with tears, her hair matted as if she hadn't been caring for herself. Still, Sesshomaru recognized her as Barou's young wife, Makato.

 

"It was Barou," she said again, her hands shaking as she inched closer, not taking her eyes from Sesshomaru. "Please, it's not his fault, he couldn't have done such a thing but...he's not himself."

 

"Not himself?" Jano exploded, making the woman flinch. "How did he do this and why did he massacre his own kin?"

 

The young woman didn't look up, just stood in front of them shaking. "He said they were going to betray him, he said he could hear what they were thinking about him. I...I sent most of the servants away when it started, but I couldn't warn the others. These are all members of his clan, family. Cousins and uncles and aunts. I...tried to stop him, I tried to stop them from killing themselves, but even the children..." She broke down then, falling to her knees in front of Sesshomaru, sobbing like her heart was being torn out of her.

 

"Damn," Izitaki muttered. "The Daimyo is going to shit steel when he finds out about this."

 

Namichi came forward and knelt in front of the sobbing Makato. "Where is your husband now?" she asked gently. "Is he still alive?"

 

Makato choked on her tears, looking up at Sesshomaru. "Please," she begged. "Don't execute him, my lord. It's not his fault, he can't be held accountable for this."

 

"Hell if he can't," Jano snapped, getting a sharp nod of agreement from Izitaki. Killing one's own clan was unforgivable; it went against everything in inuyoukai nature to do so. The Daimyo had once executed his own brother for a similar crime. Barou would not be spared from his wrath, not with such terrible evidence filling the area with decay and flies. Jano would be happy to carry out the order himself, spare the Daimyo from having to make such a judgment.

 

Sesshomaru held up a hand. "Peace, Jano. There's been enough death here. I need to find out why this happened before I can make any assessment. And even then, I will not execute Barou."

 

"What?" Jano demanded, looking angry. "Don't you have enough proof around you?"

 

Barou's wife looked up at him. "Thank you, my lord."

 

He sighed, feeling suddenly very tired. "Your husband's life is not mine to take," he said simply. "Only the Daimyo can make such a decision and he's not here. Please, Makato. Where is he?"

 

She pointed to a large structure. "He's in there," she murmured. Namichi nodded sharply and stood up, but Sessh waved her back. "Stay here with Makato," he ordered. "Izitaki, you stay here too, search for any other survivors. Jano, come with me."

 

Together, Jano and Sesshomaru went in, looking around them with some trepidation. The building looked much like the others, elegant and simple, a human styled dwelling made with smooth wood and sparse furnishing. Sesshomaru tried not to think about where he was; he wanted to forget that this was where Barou and his sister had grown up under the tyrannical rule of their father, Himishima.

 

This would likely have been the place where he would have died, if Himishima and Chinatsu's plans had come to pass. Barou, however, was loyal to Inutaisho and had succeeded his father after Himishima's plot to murder the Daimyo's son had failed.

 

They found more bodies as they moved further into the house. The smell was thicker too, Sesshomaru decided that these must have been among the first to die, the others had likely tried to escape outside. The question was why? And how? Again, these victims had killed themselves, some had slit open their wrists with kitchen blades, and others had run their bodies through with swords.

 

He saw a woman's body lying prone on the floor, her face in a shallow basin. He realized uncomfortably that she had drowned herself. This was beyond his ability to understand. A youkai in rage might lash out, attack even loved ones, but this was different. To make them kill themselves…he did not understand.

 

"I was wondering if you'd come," a soft voice said from the shadows.

 

Sesshomaru turned slowly to face the speaker, readying himself for defense if needed. "Barou."

 

The young clanlord let himself be seen, his placid gray eyes fixed on his cousin. "Have you come to kill me?"

 

"You seem to deserve it, don't you?" Sesshomaru answered in a tight voice. His hand kept a firm grip on his sword, but did not draw it from the sheath. "You care to tell me what's happened here?"

 

Barou turned his back on his cousin and walked the far end of the room. It was a bare room, no decorations or furnishings, Sesshomaru couldn't tell if that was how it had always been or if this was some new inclination of Barou's. He watched as his cousin drew as far from him as he could and sat down on the floor, his back against the wall.

 

"They were plotting against me," he said in a whispering voice. "They always hated me, they were just waiting for the right moment to kill me."

 

It was part of inuyoukai life. There was always someone plotting, you couldn't be rid of it and you could never expect absolute loyalty from anyone but your closest friends or kin. Sesshomaru was intimately aware of the fact that Barou might be justified. As a daiyoukai himself, he was generally above such machinations except for what existed at the very top level of hierarchy.

 

His father loved the game, the politics and the intrigue, but as Daimyo he was more interested in manipulating the plots of others, he was rarely the target himself. Sesshomaru privately thought that his father involved himself in the petty intrigues of the court solely for entertainment, always keeping one hand in the pot, the other raised and ready to squash the first lord or advisor who stepped out of bounds with his attempts.

 

"Very well," Sesshomaru answered, deliberately relaxing his stance. "They were plotting against you, you had no other choice but to defend yourself."

 

Barou's head came up and he stared at his cousin and lord. "You believe me?"

 

Sesshomaru nodded slowly. "I also believe that you may have been excessive in your judgments and perhaps moved beyond what was needed. Mass murder is hardly the way to finesse such a situation, cousin. Did you intend to kill the children also?"

 

"Children?" Barou murmured, looking at his cousin blankly. "I killed no children."

 

"Bastard," Jano snapped, unable to hold his tongue any longer. He ignored a warning glare from Sesshomaru and strode forward to stand right in front of the clanlord.

 

"Look outside your door much, Barou-sama?" he sneered angrily. "Your courtyard is a charnel! There are stinking bodies everywhere! Little children, women and old men are rotting. You left their bodies for carrion feeders and you sit there and tell Sessh you killed no children? Your own wife is outside crying her heart out over what you've done!"

 

Sessh felt the pulse of power that suddenly radiated off Barou, it was unlike any youki he'd ever felt before. It was strong and dark, and it tasted of pain. Humiliation and terror, years of it, locked up first in the body of an abused boy, left to seethe in the mind of a clanlord. His father had made offhand remarks in Sesshomaru's hearing about Barou's childhood, but he suspected that was just Inutaisho's way of disseminating information.

 

Himishima had been cruel, openly favoring Barou's twin sister who was like her father in malice and wanton brutality. And stupidity, Sesshomaru thought. He did not enjoy the memory of Chinatsu. For some reason, the son had been the scapegoat of his father's wrath, his sister's contempt, and repeated assassination attempts.

 

Was it possible that the years of abuse had cracked Barou's mind? This power washed over him in waves of hate and grief, but somehow Sesshomaru was immune, feeling the emotions of what Barou had endured but not letting them touch him. He was only an observer, unaffected by the youki, but it suddenly occurred to him that he was alone in his invulnerability.

 

He glanced over at Jano and his eyes widened. Jano's face had lost its anger, standing in the brunt of Barou's unconscious youki. His eyes had gone blank and staring. Sesshomaru watched as his best friend pulled his katana, holding up the shining blade before turning the weapon so that its sharp tip was just over his heart. For a long couple of seconds, Sesshomaru didn't believe what he was seeing, but yes, Jano was about to kill himself right here.

 

With a quick snarl, he jumped forward and sent the sword flying across the room. Jano turned to him, still dazed, and made no movement, no recognition of what he'd been about to do. Sessh flushed angrily and hit his friend as hard as he could across the face.

 

"Jano, damn it!"

 

Jano shook his head and blinked at Sesshomaru, looking like a man coming out of a dream. Then he cried out, clutching his head in evident agony and dropped to his knees. The youki was still coming at them in pulsing waves; Sesshomaru could feel it pulling at his aura, his own youki energy. Jano screamed again, his fists clenched at his temples.

 

"Make him stop it, Sessh! He's killing me!"

 

Sesshomaru didn't hesitate; he crossed the distance to Barou in a heartbeat and kicked the young clanlord right in the face. Barou dropped to the side, seemingly unconscious and a small trickle of blood on his lip. His expression was peaceful, as if Sessh had given him a beautiful gift. The youki that was pulsing in the room cut off suddenly and Jano drew in a deep, shaking breath of relief. Then he surged to his feet, claws outstretched and ready to rend Barou's skin from his bones.

 

"You bastard, I'll kill you for that!"

 

"Jano!" Sesshomaru glared at his friend. "Leave him alone, it is not your place to take his life."

 

Jano glared at him. "Do you have any idea what he just did to me?" the bodyguard snarled, his face red with anger. "He was trying to make me kill myself, when I didn't, he would have tortured me until I was insane. That's what happened to everyone here, even the damn little kids. If they didn't kill themselves, they went insane!"

 

"I know," Sesshomaru murmured, looking down at his cousin's unconscious body with genuine regret. When Barou's mind had been open, broadcasting that hideous aura of grief and pain, he'd gotten a glimpse inside the young man's tortured psyche. He didn't know how many he'd killed, he honestly would regret their deaths and the pain they'd endured.

 

Seemingly, he'd protected Makato from his horrible act of revenge, his love for the young woman was pure, and completely untouched by the pain and hatred he'd endured in his lifetime. Personally, Sesshomaru thought the woman deserved a commendation for staying by her husband's side during such a time, even if she'd sent everyone else away.

 

"Sessh?" Jano asked, confused by the pensive expression his cousin was wearing. "What are you going to do with him now?"

 

It would be merciful to kill Barou while he was still unconscious, he wasn't sure at all the clanlord deserved such mercy. That kind of power was an abomination. No one should be able to invade another's mind, fill that person with a blind desire for their own death, make them endure grief and despair until it burned out their own sense of self.

 

It was sick, it was wrong and Jano itched to put Barou down like a defective and uncontrollable beast.

 

Sesshomaru raised his golden gaze to meet Jano's dark eyes. "He had no idea what he was doing, Jano. He was as much a victim of his own youki as the people outside. He thought he was defending himself, destroying the traitors who would have him killed. I've never seen youki used in such a way, I doubt if my father has either."

 

oOo

 

I was six years old the first time I saw a human. My father had gone off on one of his terrible rampages, slaughtering anyone or anything that crossed his path. Human or demon, beast or monster, when the bloodlust took control of him, it was best to just stand aside. There was no cause for it, not really. Only an angry demon's desire to destroy.

 

Luckily for those of us who had to live with him, he usually took himself out of the fortress when he could no longer hold back the darkness. Otherwise I doubt if even these ancient stones could have held up under the strain of his fury.

 

One particular afternoon, I remember that the sun was bright and warm. I was outside playing, alone. My father didn't like me having any friends; he wanted kept isolated from the other youkai children who resided with us. I think it was part possessiveness, part shrewd calculation. Whatever else he thought of me, useless whining pup, he understood that his purposes would not be served by me developing any sentimental feelings.

 

Not for anyone. I was trying by then to get any approval I could from the man I hated, because he was still my father. He was still all I had to compare myself to. I wanted to learn from him so that one day I might be strong enough to crush him absolutely.

 

Yes, I was only six, but I was already a demon right down to my bones.

 

I was playing outside, noticing the way the other people who lived in the fortress seemed to relax when my father was gone. People smiled easier, laughed louder and went about their business with lighter steps. They were even more relaxed around me, son of the monster, and occasionally I'd see a maid or stablehand start to smile my way before they caught themselves.

 

It hurt at the time, but over the years I learned to hold no grudges against them for keeping their distance. It couldn't have been too easy for them, rejecting an innocent and precocious child. My father was a danger, the viper in the grass.

 

See someone growing attached to me; see their children seeking me out for friendship? His wrath would have been instant and vile. They had to protect themselves from him. We all did in some way or another.

 

So when the great gates opened and my father came thundering in, surrounded by laughing henchmen, almost everyone but myself vanished from the courtyard. They were in very high spirits; obviously there'd been some kind of horror to amuse them that much. That's when I noticed that my father had something trapped with him on his mount. Something small and helpless looking, almost unconscious by the look of...her.

 

My father swung off his mount with a rich, evil laugh, dragging the woman off the horse with a careless disregard for her comfort. He dropped her on the ground where she huddled, either too damaged or too afraid to move. I stared, not understanding, and crept from the shadows to get a better look.

 

He saw me then and that bloodthirsty grin of his chilled me. “Brat,” he said genially, waving me over. “I want you to see this.”

 

I was careful not to show timidity by then, walking over to him I kept my steps steady and deliberate, letting my face betray nothing. If he wanted to hit me or kick me, that was fine. I was already strong enough to survive as long as it didn't last very long. As I got closer, my nose told me that the female wasn't a demon like I'd assumed. Instead, I couldn't place the smell, it wasn't unpleasant or anything like that. Just unfamiliar and I raised my eyes to give the beast a questioning look.

 

“That's a human,” he said, grinning. I recognized the smell of the blood; I'd scented it on him before. Although I'd never seen a human up close, I knew of their existence. And although I didn't know her, or know anything about the breed of her, I already pitied anything so unfortunate as to be caught by my father's cruelty.

 

“Isn't she pretty?” he asked in an affectionate tone I'd known from birth not to trust. He grabbed the woman, a girl really, by her hair and wrenched her face up to meet mine. I could tell then that she wasn't unconscious, not by a long shot. She'd just learned like the rest of us that he'd only hurt her worse if she cried or fought.

 

She was pretty, I thought, looking at her pained and bruised features, the dark wealth of long hair held in my father's callous grasp. Her eyes bored into mine, dark and endless, injured beyond reaching. Or so I believed.

 

“Brat of a worthless son,” my father said, letting the woman's head drop again. “One of these days I'm going to teach you about the pleasures of playing with these creatures. Most of them aren't good for more than a minute or two, unable to even give a good scrap of a fight to defend themselves. This one is a different breed, one I hadn't run across. She's a demon exterminator.”

 

“A what?” I asked, startled enough to speak to him. Normally I kept my mouth shut unless he asked for a simple yes or no answer. It was just safer, you never knew when he might take offense or just be spiteful and give you a good smack for breathing. Luckily for me, he wasn't in that kind of mood; he was already too entertained by his new toy.

 

His face gentled for a minute, smiling almost fondly. It sent a chill down my back. “Me and the boys found ourselves a village to play with,” he said softly, his dark eyes fixing on her again. “They called in these exterminators to help, like we were just vermin or something they could fight off. I guess they'd never seen inuyoukai before, I was almost sorry we had to kill them. You don't find humans willing to give up that good of a fight very often.”

 

“Bastard,” she whispered then, staring at the ground. “Murdering demon monsters.”

 

He laughed coldly and kicked her hard enough to knock her face down on the ground. “Shut up, wench. You were the best fighter of all, that's why I decided to be kind and spare you. Although I suppose there were a few times last night when you thought you were going to die, or at least prayed for it.”

 

I had a quizzical look on my face; I suppose that's why he thought he might explain. He stepped over her prone form with an easy nonchalance so he could kneel down in front of me. I held perfectly still, no hint of hatred could touch my face, I was frozen, I was ice, and I wasn't even alive when he looked at me like that. But my father wasn't even interested in punishing me at the moment, instead he reached out to touch my white hair almost thoughtfully.

 

“I've always regretted it,” he murmured, his eyes going darker with memory. “I wish that bitch mother of yours would have lived a little longer so I could sire another child on her. If only for that hair and those eyes alone.”

 

I didn't dare breathe, but I'm sure he could hear my heart thudding in my chest. Don't talk about her, I thought to myself. You can't ever hurt her again.

 

He smiled wickedly as if he could read my thoughts. “Don't you wish you had a little brother or sister, brat? Someone you could push around, someone you could hurt?”

 

Sick, wasn't he? Even by youkai standards, my father was completely insane. It didn't keep him from being powerful or from holding the territory by nothing but the pure grip of his terror. I learned at an early age to play along with it. I was six and he was a monster and I really didn't feel like spending the next few weeks trying to recover from a beating.

 

“Maybe,” I whispered, hating myself for giving in to him.

 

“Good,” he said in a happy tone, standing up to go back over to the helpless woman again. “Because I'm giving you one, this bitch is now pregnant.” Her face suddenly lifted to his, horrified.

 

“Yeah, cunt,” he hissed. “How's it feel to have a demon's seed growing inside you? Don't you think it's amusing, that you're a demon exterminator and now you're going to have a half-demon child for me? Doesn't that make your skin crawl?”

 

She started shaking, her control lost. I don't know what she'd been using for strength up until that point, but his words seemed to have an effect that rape and abuse hadn't, they'd broken her.

 

“You heartless creature,” she rasped. “What did I do to deserve this?”

 

That just made him laugh, nearly bend over double in pleasure. “Good question,” he told her in an almost joyful tone. “You should think about it and ask your gods why you're so unlucky.”

 

He walked off then, calling to his men to join him for drink as he disappeared into the fortress. I just stood there staring at her, unable to look away as she cried, pathetic and despairing on the cold stone. All I could remember at that moment was my mother. The way she'd looked after he'd hurt her, sobbing and lost.

 

Slowly, I drew closer, hesitant but still unable to help myself. I knelt beside her, my hands balling into fists on my knees. “Don't cry,” I whispered sadly. “He likes it when you cry, so I never do.”

 

The exterminator woman pulled herself up, wiping at her eyes. “I will kill myself before this cursed child is born,” she muttered, her eyes red and her face dirty. “I will not bear such a shameful offspring.”

 

I realized that she was probably right. My mother had found escape that way. Still, I couldn't help but pity this woman; it was no fault of hers that she was here. And I had sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. Not for the same reasons my father had prescribed, but just to cut the loneliness a little. Since my mother had died, I hadn't had anyone else.

 

“You are his son,” she said, not a question, just a statement of the fact. Her eyes flicked over me, a small frown appearing between her eyebrows. “I've never seen a demon child before.”

 

Without really meaning to, she reached out and touched my hair. “You're nothing like him, are you, little youkai?”

 

At that moment, I would have died for her. I felt like I'd lived every minute of my life since my mother's death just to hear those words. She must have seen that in my face, because her eyes filled with tears again.

 

“Will you help me?”

 

Help her to end her life, before the humiliation of what was growing inside her could be born. Help her to escape from torment and horror. Help her to defy my father. I could not refuse and slowly nodded my agreement.