InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Daimyo's Son ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

CHAPTER SEVEN

The young demon lord sat on the edge of his bed and scowled. Sesshomaru reached up to pull at his hair, it was still damp but he didn't want to untie it again. It didn't really matter, he decided, rubbing his fingers around the inside of his collar. The stiff fabric itched and Sessh had a feeling he was going to be fighting with it for the rest of the evening. The formal clothes were new and he hated the feel of the embroidered texture against his skin.

He was still fuming at his father. Nothing I do is ever right, he probably would have been happy if Kuchinashi ate me except for the mess it would have caused. And if I let him eat Naota instead, that would have been all my fault too and he'd still be reaming me about it. Sesshomaru flushed, realizing that no less than the entire population of the fortress had to know about the incident. You just had to bawl me out in front of everybody, didn't you, the boy thought grimly. Still, when he'd seen the look on his father's face, he had a brief flash of inspiration that being eaten alive by an angry hell-stallion might not have been such a bad way to go.

At least this time there were witnesses, Sessh decided, fidgeting with the edge of his new clothing. He wondered what would have happened if the Juriko and the rest of the stable staff hadn't made of a point of making it known that Sesshomaru wasn't the one who released Kuchinashi. I'd probably still be scrubbing out the sewers or something like that. Inutaisho's idea of a good disciplinary action was manual labor. As a result, Sesshomaru was now intimately familiar with most of the fortress' plumbing. He had also spent more than one afternoon spreading dragon manure on the Daimyo's prized apple trees. He grinned, wondering what other young clan heirs would think about that. Most probably thought he had a life of privilege due to being the Daimyo's son and heir. Sesshomaru snorted and scratched at his collar again. If they thought that, they didn't know the kind of person the Daimyo really was.

There was a sharp knock on his door and before he could answer, Izitaki breezed in, already dressed in his formal best. The bodyguard grinned wickedly. "I can't decide if you were lucky or if you have a deathwish. What were you thinking, facing him down like that?"

"What was I supposed to do? Let Kuchinashi eat Naota?"

Izitaki snorted. "I wasn't talking about the horse. I was talking about your father." Izitaki ignored the boy's scowl and went to stand in front of Sesshomaru's mirror, brushing nonexistent lint from the black silk of his formal uniform. "If you'll take some advice, kid, you'll be on your best behavior this evening. Got a lot of non-residents in the fortress tonight, lot of people I don't trust and your father doesn't trust. You keep on your toes and for the love of the gods, Sessh, don't cross him tonight."

Sessh stared at Izitaki. "Is there something going on I should know about?"

Izitaki gave him a feral grin. "Lord Himishima and his so-called clan heir are in attendance. That's a good enough reason to be careful in my book."

"Lord Himishima? I don't know that name."

"No reason you should, he hasn't shown his face here since before you were born. I don't think you're personally in any danger from him. Himishima hates your father so much I'm surprised he's willing to be here in the first place. He's up to something, I can smell it in the air."

Sesshomaru was fascinated by Izitaki's words. "Really? Why does he hate the Daimyo? If he's dangerous, why is he allowed to be here?"

Izitaki smirked. "Politics, boy, pure devious machinations. Seems the old bastard is starting to feel his mortality a little and wants to prove he's got the balls to still be a player in the court's eyes. Stupid man, dangerously stupid. The Daimyo should have cleared him out years ago, but he likes to say that the enemy you know is easier to manipulate than the one you don't."

"Why does he hate my father?" Sessh propped his chin on his fist and stared at the bodyguard. Like he didn't know when he was being prepped. The evening might not be a total loss either if there was going to be some kind of drama going down. Izitaki turned to face him with a serious expression. "Plenty of reasons. For a start, he was quite close to your grandfather."

Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The old Daimyo?"

The bodyguard waved his hand dismissively. "No, the other one. Your mother's father, Kashikoto. Seems Himishima was in on that little rebellion attempt of Kashikoto's. He pulled out of their agreement at the last minute. Just because Himishima is stupid doesn't mean he can't sense a dangerous situation. That's the only reason he's lived this long, he knew when to run. Still, he took it pretty bad, he'd been looking forward to getting rid of Inutaisho and I think his disappointment was hard to live with."

"If he's a traitor, he should have been punished," Sesshomaru said coldly. Izitaki shot him a sour look. "Don't you listen? Your father knows what he's doing so don't go plotting anyone's judgment unless you're willing to take the assignment yourself."

Sessh bit his lip, he didn't think Izitaki was being fair by bringing up the incident in the woods. It still made him a little queasy, all that blood. Izitaki's face softened somewhat, Sessh was young and he was still learning. "There's another reason Himishima hates your father. His wife was Azaryu, Kashikoto's own sister so the rumor goes. She picked a bad time to be visiting her family. Barou, her son, is Himishima's clan-heir. You'll meet him tonight too."

Sesshomaru stared at him. "That would make him my cousin."

"Try to remember that when you see him. Your father is responsible for his mother's death after all. I wouldn't expect an overly friendly reception on his part."

*****

The great stone fortress was alive with activity. Sesshomaru stood on his father's balcony and watched the throngs of people going in and out, laughing and dancing around in the courtyard. He wished he could be down in the middle of it, anonymous with Namichi and Jano, stealing festival beer and getting silly with it. He sighed heavily, feeling much abused. It was a beautiful night, the wind was warm and mild and the full moon was rising in the sky. The young demon sniffed the air hopefully, he could smell the delicious festival feast that was being prepared. His stomach was rumbling, he'd missed lunch due to Naota's little escapade and he wondered if there was any way he could sneak down to the kitchen and be back before the Daimyo noticed his absence.

"Sessh!" No such luck, he thought grumpily. Sesshomaru sighed again and went back inside. His father was standing in the study, resplendent in dark green and gold. Inutaisho pointed a finger at his son, grinning. "Rules."

Sessh grimaced. "Number one. Don't speak unless spoken to."

His father's smile widened. "Go on. I want to hear them all before I let you out of this room."

"Number two. Bow politely. Smile when introduced to someone." Sessh scratched his head, now that his hair had dried completely, his topknot felt much too tight. "Number three. Don't answer any questions about anything that doesn't involve you, I mean me, directly." What was that other one? Oh yeah. "Number four. Don't take anything from anyone I don't know or go off with anyone I don't know without checking with Ari first."

"And the last and most important?"

Sessh looked at the ceiling. "Do what I'm told and don't argue or I'm going to find myself mucking out the stables with a pair of chopsticks and teacup."

Inutaisho clapped the boy on the back, nearly knocking him over. "You better believe it, boy. This is your first public, official appearance as my heir and I'd take it as a personal favor if we didn't embarrass ourselves tonight."

His son looked at him suspiciously. "What about Naota? Did you give him the don't-embarrass-the-family speech too?"

The Daimyo snorted disgustedly. "Naota has been restricted to his room for the evening. I should actually thank him for giving me a good excuse to do so."

Sesshomaru was skeptical. "You told him he had to stay in his room and not go down to the festival? What did you do, nail the door shut?"

Inutaisho grinned evilly at his son. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did exactly that. And I posted two guards in front of his door in case the little criminal decides to make a break for it."

Impressed, Sesshomaru instantly felt better about accompanying his father. He only wished he'd been there to drive the nails into the wood himself. Naota had to be furious and he was betting the boy's bedroom was going to take the brunt of his displeasure. The hanyou might not look anything like a youkai, but he had certainly inherited the Daimyo's demonic temper when he was thwarted. A vindictive smile crossed his face, pleased that the brat hadn't gotten off without punishment this time.

*****

"Lord Himishima, may I introduce you to my son and clan-heir, Sesshomaru?" Inutaisho's voice was utterly devoid of emotion, he might have been addressing a stone wall for all the expression on his face.

The old lord wheezed heavily as he peered at his Daimyo's heir. "A pleasure," he growled lightly. "You have the look of your mother, young man."

Sessh bowed, correct and polite, manners had been drilled into him from an early age. "Thank you, lord Himishima." What else could he say? He'd been told that Seshiko was a great beauty, his father said she'd been a royal pain in the ass. Still, all he had to do was respond politely and let his father enjoy the game of verbal sparring.

Himishima made a rough gesture to a young man standing not far behind him. Sesshomaru let his face relax, looking at his cousin with an air of disinterest. "This is my son Barou, my lord Daimyo." Inutaisho nodded lightly to the younger demon, who responded with a respectful bow. Sesshomaru watched his face for any hint of anger or hatred. The young man was only a few years older than himself he'd guess and had long hair held back in a dark braid and a very polite demeanor. Barou's gaze never lifted to meet his or to Inutaisho's. "My lord Daimyo, my lord Sesshomaru."

"And this is my daughter, Chinatsu," the old lord continued, his face breaking into a fond smile. A beautiful young demoness approached and smiled winningly. "My lords, it is indeed my privilege to meet you both at last." Her dark eyes flicked negligently over Sesshomaru to fasten on his father with an openly admiring expression. "My father has told me much about you, lord Inutaisho."

"Has he?" the Daimyo said softly. Sesshomaru glanced up at the dark tone in his father's voice, somewhat confused. "You and your brother are twins, are you not, lady Chinatsu?"

She smiled, toying with a strand of dark hair. "Yes, my lord. I'm flattered that you know such details about such unworthy vassals as ourselves."

His eyebrow quirked mockingly. "You'd be surprised what details I know, lady Chinatsu." He leveled a slightly intimidating stare at Himishima. "It's been a very long time since you were last here. I had to say I was surprised when you sent word you'd be attending this festival. Might I ask, lord Himishima, why you have graced us with your presence tonight?"

Himishima had an oily smirk that Sesshomaru decided he could very well learn to hate. "My lord Daimyo, it has been far too long. I thought it time to renew old friendships. Perhaps sow seeds for new ones. My son and daughter are both fast approaching maturity, it is only right that I make sure to introduce them to others of their rank within your court."

"An excellent notion, Himishima." Inutaisho's voice was soft, disinterested. "If you will excuse us, my son and I have pressing duties this festival night." His hand clamped on to Sessh's arm and he led the boy away, not looking back at Himishima or his heir.

"Wretched old monster, if he thinks I don't know what he's up to," Inutaisho muttered. Sesshomaru winced, his father's grip on his shoulder was like an iron vise. The Daimyo glanced at his son's expression and loosened his hold. "Sorry. Just the smell of that bastard puts me off."

Sessh rubbed his shoulder. "Are we almost done?" He'd been paraded around long enough, his stomach was going to turn inside out if he didn't get some food in it soon. Inutaisho sighed and looked at his son with an unreadable yellow gaze. "I suppose I can let you off the hook. Did you learn anything tonight?"

Learn anything? Sessh looked away so his father couldn't read his consternation. "I guess I learned that you hate public appearances as much as I do." Inutaisho laughed at that, one hand reached up to absently flip his hair away from his face. The lord of the West hated everything about formal occasions, he was much more comfortable in battle armor and preferred the company of enemies and bloodshed to the quiet, deadly manipulations of his court. "Okay, I'll give you that one. What else did you learn from watching the court interact? Did you notice anything about the way they presented themselves?"

Sesshomaru snorted. "Yeah, they're all scared to death of you. What else is new?"

His father sighed. "That wasn't exactly what I meant. How about Himishima? What's your impression of him and his clan-heir?"

"He thinks he can manipulate things, he's used to being feared, but he's not as stupid as Izitaki said. As for Barou, I don't know. I didn't get much of an impression, he barely said anything."

"True," Inutaisho said, glancing around him with a look of practiced boredom. "How about the young lady? Did you think she was pleasant? Attractive?"

"I…I guess so. She was pretty anyway." Inutaisho gave him a wicked smile. "I'm glad you thought so. I'm thinking of arranging a marriage between you two. I know you're still a bit young, but better to get it out of the way I think. And it would help me with some political considerations. You don't mind, do you, Sesshomaru?"

He choked. "Mind? I'm not…" Marriage? No way he was ready for that, what the hell was his father thinking? "Please say you're not serious!"

Inutaisho snickered. "Okay, I'm not serious. You should see the look on your face, you look like you just ate a mouthful of dragon dung." Sessh glared at his father, unamused at his father's jest. Inutaisho waved his hand airily and continued to smirk.

"Lighten up, kid. Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you. Especially not that girl, she's got a reputation as a manipulative viper and has openly said that she'd like to kill off that twin brother of hers so that her father would make her heir. She not much older than you, but she's ambitious and will use anyone and anything to get what she wants."

Sesshomaru scowled. "I kind of figured that out on my own." He was so relieved his father wasn't thinking of bonding him to someone like that. He'd gotten that impression when she'd barely acknowledged his presence and turned that fawning expression on the Daimyo. Chinatsu was probably very dangerous, just like her father.

Inutaisho slapped him lightly on the back of his head. "Go on, get out of here. I'm as tired of you as you are of me. I'm sure Namichi and Jano are waiting for you to show up." Whistling lightly, the Daimyo turned on his heel and strolled out of the room. Politics. Annoying, necessary, definitely not his favorite subject, but he still got a charge out of playing the game. The tension in his neck was starting to ease and Inutaisho decided he was long overdue for a drink.

Sesshomaru wasted no time in bolting out of the audience hall and down to the main courtyard. The great tables were still set up with the remains of the festival feast and Sessh fell on them with an air of desperation. He grabbed the nearest platter of sliced meats and started shoving food in his face with a complete lack of care for his dignity. He managed to wave at a passing server who shook her head in amusement and plunked a mug of foamy beer next to the Daimyo's heir. He used the beverage to wash down a big mouthful and tried not to cough.

"You're going to choke if you don't slow down," Jano's lazy voice drawled from behind him. Sessh swallowed what was still in his mouth and glared at his cousins. "I haven't had a bite since this morning. I'll die of starvation before I choke to death."

Namichi sighed and started nibbling a bite of fruit. "Don't be so dramatic, Sho-kun. We've been waiting all night for you, why did the Daimyo keep you so long?"

He snorted as he took another drink and foam went up his nose. Sputtering, he wiped his face and decided that slowing down might not be such a bad idea. "I don't know, he had me running all over the place. I've never been poked and prodded by so many people in my life. It was embarrassing as hell."

"More embarrassing that this afternoon?" Jano said with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Sessh shot him a look of pure death. "First of all, that was all Naota's fault. Maybe I wasn't thinking straight either. Next time I'm going to not be so quick to save his ass. He does something stupid and I get the blame, it happens every time. At least the little punk is locked up is his room tonight and can't bother me."

"Really? What makes you think I want to bother you?" Sessh about dropped his mug when the hanyou crawled out from under the table, dusty and covered with food stains from different kinds of sweets. Sessh glared at him and shot a look around the courtyard. "You ass. You're supposed to be locked in your room. The Daimyo told me he nailed the door shut."

Naota was unconcerned. "He did. Very rude that was too, but they didn't nail the window shutter down. Took me a while to pry to the casement out so I could fit, but it was worth it. You gonna eat that, Sho-kun?"

Sesshomaru put a protective hand over his food. "You're out of your mind, you little freak. First you almost get me killed, then you get me screamed at in front of half the fortress, now you don't even have the common sense to stay in your room and take your punishment like a decent demon. I think they dropped you on your head too many times when you were a baby."

The hanyou boy smirked and snatched a piece of meat from under his cousin's fingers. "You know, I'm starting to think you're mad at me or something."

Namichi cleared her throat and nudged Jano. "Maybe they should continue this conversation somewhere less public." Jano nodded. "I would have to agree. Let's go, you two, before one of the staff sees you together and tells the Daimyo that Sessh broke you out of your room so he could clobber you personally."

"I like that idea," Sessh said, his eyes narrowed at his cousin. Naota yawned and stretched. "You gotta catch me first," he smirked and bolted away.

END CHAPTER SEVEN