InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Want To Be Your Slave ❯ Of Play and Playmates ( Chapter 11 )

A/N: Big thank you to all reviewers, especially those who told me specifically what they liked and disliked. ^_^ I Hope you guys enjoy this chappie too!

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Jokerlove - That's very flattering, thank you! ^_^ I hope you and your fangirl enjoy this next chappie…

Chapter 11 - Of Play and Playmates

"Why are all the flowers of different colors, Sesshoumaru-sama?" little Inuyasha asked.

He and Sesshoumaru were in the castle's main garden. It was a beautiful day; the garden was in full bloom and the summer sun shone cheerfully on the castle. For the time being, Sesshoumaru had released his pet from the collar and leash; the weather was too beautiful to keep him confined and the puppy was not going anywhere. Inuyasha was happily exploring the place, counting the different kinds of flowers and attempting to climb all and sundry trees while Sesshoumaru was enjoying a rare moment of peace and solitude.

Well, except for a few questions from his pet but he was the one who had encouraged inquisitiveness in the child so he was quite satisfied. The red fire-rat robe, which had at first seemed ill-fitting and gaudy on the frail, dull-looking hanyou, now seemed to fit him better. Or, more accurately, Inuyasha seemed more comfortable in it. The red was beginning to color his life back. But Inuyasha, like all children, asked very odd and sometimes downright disconcerting questions. Sesshoumaru, however, had far too much practice talking his way out of sticky situations and answering answerable and unanswerable questions.

"Because," Sesshoumaru told him, "If they were all alike, they would not be able to recognize each other."

Inuyasha beamed and nodded. That made sense.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and allowed the light breeze to flow through him, gently taking all his troubles with it. Despite being a ruler in the making and a prince, Sesshoumaru had always been quite close to nature as a child, spending many hours relishing the calming beauty of nature. His father had encouraged this curious inclination as it kept the young heir out of trouble; otherwise, his son's amusement seemed to come from the plight of some or the other hapless soul who was unfortunate enough to become the victim of Sesshoumaru's pranks.

Inuyasha glanced at his master from time to time just to reassure himself of his presence. Even so, he made sure not to wander too far. He felt safe with the feel of his master powerful, comforting aura. The young Lord was now standing under his favorite tree; it was one of the ancient trees, hundreds of years old and staring up at something, Sesshoumaru's silken garments swayed gently in the breeze. He was so still, he could have been made of stone.

Until something jumped out, aiming one strong, tanned foot at the son of the Western Lord.

Inuyasha gasped in fear but Sesshoumaru had already disappeared by the time the kick landed harmlessly on the ground with a loud crash. The force of the kick threw up a cloud of dust, shielding the attacker from Inuyasha's gaze.

An arrogant voice called out, "Lord Sesshoumaru…prepare to meet your maker."

Inuyasha ran and hid behind some bushes. This demon seemed powerful. Where was Sesshoumaru-sama?

A white shape blurred into the cloud of dust and a quick match ensued. The only sounds were to be heard were the sounds of blows landing and occasional grunts and winces.

When the smoke cleared, Sesshoumaru was impeccable as ever, holding a grumpy looking demon boy of some kind by his toe…upside down. The demon had a long brown pony tail and a bushy brown tail, both of which were dangling to the ground because of his position. Thankfully, the fur loincloth which he was wearing remained in place.

Inuyasha stared in surprise at the captured demon. He did not seem very frightened. Didn't he know that Lord Sesshoumaru would not spare his life for daring to attack him in his own grounds like that? In fact, the boy looked quite annoyed. He had his arms crossed and was steadily mumbling a string of curses under his breath.

"What is going on here?" Inu no Taisho shouted, stomping into the garden, looking ready to breathe fire. A sudden burst of youki - he could guess exactly from whom - had pulled him out of some very important work.

"Chichiue," Sesshoumaru greeted graciously, entirely ignoring the upside down boy he was holding by his toe.

Inu no Taisho also seemed not to have noticed. "Sesshoumaru! What in god's name are you doing? Look at that! Look!"

He pointed accusingly at the shattered window of his study, some distance away where he had been working. He liked to have the view of the beautiful garden to look at when he was working. Did his son make it a point to trouble him?

Sesshoumaru glanced pointedly at the boy in his grasp. Inu no Taisho turned his glare irritably upon the other demon. Then his frown cleared and he grinned.

"Kouga! Nice to see you again!"

Kouga nodded his head upside down. "Taisho-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again too."

He turned to glare sideways at his captor. "Would you let go already, Jackass?"

Sesshoumaru calmly dropped him. Kouga fell in a heap, grumbling under his breath. He got up, brushing himself off and bowed to Inu no Taisho. The Lord of the West glanced exasperatedly at his son.

"Kouga is a guest, Sesshoumaru. Is this the way you greet your guests?"

Sesshoumaru's face was blank. "He attacked me, father."

"I most certainly did not! Sesshoumaru picked a fight with me!"

Sesshoumaru's lip curled. "Father-" he began.

Inu no Taisho shook his head. "You both are still the same after all these years; can't go a minute without picking a fight. Sometimes I wonder how this castle stayed up with the likes of you two growing up together."

Kouga grinned cheekily. "You know you missed me, Taisho-sama. Who else is gonna keep this arrogant ass in line?"

Sesshoumaru raised an aristocratic eyebrow. "You will keep me in line? Indeed, that is why you look like something the cat dragged in." He gave the wolf a contemplative look. "Although," he conceded. "This is how you naturally look so one cannot hold that against you."

"You little-" Kouga began but Inu no Taisho held up a hand to both of them.

"Well, I know it's hopeless, so I'll let you two boys sort it out by yourself but do come in, Kouga. You'll want to freshen up after that…fall."

Kouga nodded, subsiding for the moment. He turned away from Sesshoumaru, sticking his nose in the air and followed the Western Lord.

"It matters not. The wolf will reek just as bad," Sesshoumaru muttered, also falling into step.

Behind the Lord's back, Kouga gave him the finger. Inu no Taisho sighed without turning around.

"I'm not going to say anything," he stated, "Because you deserved that, son."

Sesshoumaru glared at Kouga. Kouga stuck his tongue out at him.

"Come, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru called, turning slightly to glance at the hanyou who peeped put from behind the dark green bush where he had been hiding.

Cautiously, Inuyasha came out and followed his master, keeping a safe distance from the strange wolf demon. Kouga looked curiously at Inuyasha but did not comment.

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"So," Kouga said once they were comfortable in Sesshoumaru's room, "This is the hanyou."

Sesshoumaru nodded, gently scratching Inuyasha's head with his claws. Inuyasha smiled, happily basking in the attention.

"Hey, he's pretty cute," Kouga said, giving Inuyasha a very deliberating look. "Can I-?"

"Touch him and die, wolf," Sesshoumaru stated blandly.

Kouga sighed. "Yeah, yeah I know…you're a possessive bastard. Never learned how to share."

Inuyasha was very glad he had not. He was still a bit frightened of him. Who was this strange demon, speaking so familiarly with his master? He stared curiously at the wolf demon, glancing at his master questioningly. He had almost broken the habit of not looking at his master, unless he was submitting.

"This is the wolf prince Kouga, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru introduced. "We, unfortunately, grew up at the castle together till his father, The King of the Wolf Demon tribe had to move up north." Then he turned to his friend. "Kouga, this is my puppy."

Kouga looked amusedly at Inuyasha. "Hell yeah…he does look like an adorable puppy."

Inuyasha's ears perked up at the praise. No other demon had ever said anything nice about him before. He glanced looked searchingly at Kouga. The wolf demon's eyes were a deep blue - calm like a deep lake. There was mischief in them and amusement, but no malice. Inuyasha relaxed a bit.

Kouga leaned back in his chair and waved his arm derisively at Sesshoumaru, closing his eyes. "Heh, he's wasted on you, you cold bastard."

Then he leaned down to whisper conspiratorially to Inuyasha, although he knew Sesshoumaru would hear every word. "You ever get tired of him, come to me, ok puppy? I'll take much better care of you."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "As if you could ever take care of anything, much less a puppy. Remember the hamster you had?"

Kouga glared. "That was years ago! And how was I supposed to know hamsters can't eat raw meat?"

Sesshoumaru smirked and mocked the wolf prince with his eyes.

"See?" Kouga complained to Inuyasha. "He's such an ass. Bet he's a jerk to you too, eh pup?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he shook his head vehemently. "Oh no! Sesshoumaru-sama is the best master ever!"

Kouga glanced knowingly at the almost faded, light bruises on the hanyou's body. "Yeah, right…"

"But he is," pressed Inuyasha. "I was bad so Master had to punish me. But he is a very kind master. He punished the mean demons who were troubling me and he made everyone be nice to me." Inuyasha grinned toothily. "And he promised to keep me forever."

Kouga stared in shock at Inuyasha and then looked at Sesshoumaru in exasperation. "It's not fair," he complained. "You always get all the best ones."

Sesshoumaru smirked insufferably.

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A red ball rolled to a stop near the place where Inuyasha, Kouga and Sesshoumaru were relaxing.

The day was still beautiful and after a short while, it had seemed like a good idea to move the reunion into the garden to enjoy the warm sun and the beauty of summer.

So, Sesshoumaru and Kouga were lying on comfortable long-chairs- the kind that curled smoothly on one side. Both were propped up with cushions and pillows. Inuyasha sat on the soft, sweet smelling grass near Sesshoumaru, playing with flowers and plants and listening to Sesshoumaru and Kouga's repartee. He was beginning to realize that the insults and scuffles between the two were a strange, rough sort of affection. Kouga seemed to be a nice enough guy.

Inuyasha's ears flickered curiously and he stared at the ball longingly, trying to pay attention to what Kouga was saying.

"Don't believe a single thing that this guy tells you about me, Inuyasha," Kouga was saying but Inuyasha was only half listening, itching to reach out and touch the curious red toy. It looked like so much fun!

"Inuyasha?" Kouga inquired, looking down to see what the kid was staring at. When he spotted the ball, he and Sesshoumaru exchanged a discreet, amused glance.

"You may go," Sesshoumaru said abruptly.

"Go?" Inuyasha asked, turning away from the ball to look at his master.

"Go play with the other children, puppy."

Inuyasha gasped. "Oh no, my Lord! Kouga-sama wanted me to-"

Kouga tsked impatiently. "Nonsense! We'll have more than enough time to catch up. Go have fun!"

The hanyou looked uncertainly at his master. Sesshoumaru nodded once and Inuyasha jumped to his feet, beaming.

"Thank you very much!" He bowed to both demons, picked the ball up and ran off.

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After he was gone, Kouga turned sideways facing Sesshoumaru and propped his head on his elbow. "So…a hanyou pet?"

Sesshoumaru did not turn to look at him. "Shut it."

Kouga grinned. "Oh come now…"

"No."

"But I thought you hated hanyou…weren't you always going on about how filthy, useless they were? Why don't you just admit that the little puppy melted your pointy frozen heart?"

Sesshoumaru gave him a flat look at the description. Pointy? "He is merely a slave."

"Sure he is," Kouga scoffed. "That's why you threaten to kill anyone who touches him."

"He's mine." Sesshoumaru stated.

"Yeah, yeah I know but would it kill you to admit that you have a soft spot for him?"

Sesshoumaru almost sniffed. "Well you are one to talk, wolf-boy. Tell me, how is Ayame?"

Kouga immediately turned red and scowled. "Shut up! She was just a kid, alright? She didn't know what she was saying."

Sesshoumaru smiled deviously. The tables had turned. "It seemed to me as if she knew exactly what she was saying. Indeed, if you two got around to doing half the things she wanted to-"

"We didn't do anything!"

"Of course not," Sesshoumaru replied smoothly. "I'm sure you would not want to sully the name of your future mate however talented she is at-"

"Would you stop?" Kouga shouted, embarrassed. "She is not my mate, alright?"

"Oh?" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Friends with benefits, then?"

"WE WERE NOT FRIENDS!" Kouga felt like his head was going to blow up. Sesshoumaru was truly the most annoying, irritating, useless prick he had ever met!

"I have not seen Ayame in years, alright? Now she's-"

But Sesshoumaru was not listening to him. The dog demon frowned when he saw Inuyasha's slumped figure coming morosely back towards them. Both sets of demon eyes followed him as he quietly came to a stop near Sesshoumaru's feet and sat down on the ground.

"What is the matter, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked. "You are back already?"

Inuyasha tried to smile but it was obviously forced. Kouga sat up to look at him. He was so bubbly a moment ago; now he looked as if someone had died.

"Th-they…left…"

"Left?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Inuyasha looked down at his toes, trying very hard not to cry. He knew it was stupid but it had happened one too many times now. Somehow, he had thought this time would be different. But why should it be?

"So why d'you look like your favorite cat just died?" Kouga asked bluntly.

"Umm…" Inuyasha didn't know what to say. It was so stupid; what was there to say?

Sesshoumaru gestured for him to come closer. Inuyasha reluctantly obeyed and stood in front of his master. Sesshoumaru stared intently into his eyes. Inuyasha looked down.

"Wh-why don't they want to play with me?" he mumbled in a small voice.

Comprehension dawned on both Kouga and Sesshoumaru.

"They did not allow you to play with them?" Sesshoumaru repeated.

Inuyasha shook his head. "It's always like that - whenever they see me, they always…go away…I don't know what I did wrong..."

Kouga frowned at the hanyou's distress. "You didn't do anything wrong, kid."

Then he looked at Sesshoumaru. "You gonna go kick their ass, or should I?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "You will do nothing of the kind."

Inuyasha looked slightly disappointed and Kouga scowled. "Why not?" he demanded.

"Because," Sesshoumaru told him, "They did nothing wrong."

Kouga frowned. He had grown quite possessive of the cute little hanyou and was not averse to kicking his old friend's ass if he decided to take his sadistic side out on the puppy.

"Sesshoumaru-" he began threateningly but the demon Lord took hold of Inuyasha's haori and plopped him in his lap. Inuyasha blinked at the sudden change of location then relaxed and snuggled happily into his Master. Sesshoumaru slowly stroked his head.

"You have no idea how cruel kids can be," Kouga told him shortly. Sesshoumaru shrugged.

"Cruel, yes. But not wrong."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"That they are well within their rights to reject him, wolf. Whether because he is hanyou or for any other reason, children always reject those who are different and adore those who are stronger than them. The hanyou cannot escape the lesson, Kouga. It is how life goes."

"Well, it shouldn't," Kouga argued stubbornly. "The poor kid felt so bad. And it's not his fault." Inuyasha agreed completely.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Of course it is not his fault. It isn't anybody's fault. He will merely have to learn that life is cruel sometimes. The adulation of the crowd will always go to the powerful, never to those who are weak or different."

"You would definitely know," Kouga muttered broodingly, still not happy with his friend.

Inuyasha stared at him in surprise. "You and Sesshoumaru-sama played together?"

Kouga looked up and grinned at him. "You bet."

"Tell me more, please!" Inuyasha implored, his own misery forgotten in favor of the chance to learn something about his master's childhood.

"There's not much to tell," Kouga shrugged.

"Please!" Inuyasha begged. "What was he like as a small boy? Were the other kids mean to him?"

Kouga burst out laughing. "Mean to him?" He asked incredulously. "Oh no…on the contrary, they worshipped his holy ass."

"What?" Inuyasha asked, eyes shining. "Did Master Sesshoumaru have many friends when he was my age?"

Kouga glanced at his old friend in amusement. "Well…I don't know if you can call them friends…"

"What do you mean, Kouga-sama?" Inuyasha asked eagerly, leaning towards the wolf demon, balancing precariously in Sesshoumaru's lap. Sesshoumaru returned Kouga's amused glance and absently placed a hand in front of the hanyou to make sure he would not fall off.

"You can say that he was very popular…"

Sesshoumaru smirked at the careful wording.

"So he had many friends!"

"No, I had followers," Sesshoumaru replied. He remembered all the children who would follow him around, clamoring for his attention. He was the son of the Lord of the Land, after all and the strongest among them by far.

"Did you play many games?"

Kouga again began to laugh. Games…yes, Sesshoumaru had always loved playing games with others though not the ones children usually played.

"Not these games, no," Sesshoumaru replied, playing idly with Inuyasha's ears. It was coming to be his favorite pastime. The ears never failed to flicker curiously at his touch obviously pleased at the attention.

"Why not?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

"Because," Kouga replied, "He was always too freakin' fast so he always won everything. It was damn pissing off."

Inuyasha giggled and Sesshoumaru smirked. "It's not my fault that you're slow as an ill sloth, wolf."

Kouga scowled playfully and threw a pillow at him. He threw up his hands exasperatedly as Sesshoumaru caught it elegantly before it hit him and placed it at his back, making himself more comfortable.

"You ass! You know damn well I was faster than almost all those other brats."

Sesshoumaru smiled as Inuyasha crossed his legs and made himself comfortable in his master's lap.

"Yes but that's not saying much, is it?"

"Fine," Kouga agreed grudgingly.

"It must have been great to be better than everyone and have everyone follow you around, ne?" Inuyasha asked Sesshoumaru longingly, turning his body so he was now sitting facing him.

"Not really," Sesshoumaru shrugged, folding a forearm behind his head and leaning back. He gestured to a nearby servant. The servant bowed and disappeared then almost immediately reappeared with chilled drinks. Kouga took one and Sesshoumaru took two, handing one to Inuyasha. Inuyasha took it eagerly and was delighted at the cool, sweet taste.

"It was mostly boring," Sesshoumaru continued. "Their games mainly involved bickering among themselves over trifles or running around like monkeys."

Kouga took a sip of his drink and rolled his eyes. "That's because you were already as fast as the wind and twice as strong when they were still learning to crawl."

Inuyasha gazed at the youkai in awe. He was so lucky to have such a great master!

"So the point is, they're not being cruel. They're just being children."

"But that means I'll never get to play with anyone my age?" Inuyasha asked in a small voice.

"It means they will not get to play with you," Sesshoumaru told him with a smirk. Kouga grudgingly agreed. Sesshoumaru was, after all, the best authority on self-confidence -and arrogance - and right now, Inuyasha needed a bit of both.

"But-but all the other kids have friends and I have no one…"

"You will," Sesshoumaru assured him.

Inuyasha looked up at him in surprise. Sesshoumari smiled. The puppy looked really adorable with his eyes wide. "Really? When?"

"Once you've grown up."

"But…why should then be any different from now?" Inuyasha asked miserably. He just knew he was never going to have any friends and he would always watch the others having fun, belonging. Always on the outside.

"Because," Sesshoumaru told him. "Adults are very different from children. When you are strong, they will respect you."

"Strong?" Inuyasha asked in wonder. Him, strong? He had never even thought about that before.

"Yeah," Kouga put in, "But also, there's something else."

"What else?" Inuyasha asked.

"You have to not care about them."

"Not care? But-but people like to be cared about!" he protested. "And if I take care of what they like, then they'll like me, right?" Inuyasha asked.

Kouga smiled at the innocence in his voice. "That's what you'd think," he told him. "But that's not how it works. You see, people will respect you if you don't care about them, if you don't care about what they think."

"Really?" Inuyasha asked a bit uncertainly.

"Oh yes. Look at Sesshoumaru. You ever seen him give a damn about what people think?"

Inuyasha had to admit he hadn't.

"But-"

"Don't be distressed that you're missing anything, puppy," Sesshoumaru told him. "Believe me, when they finally accept you, you will realize that it's nothing so great at all. It is merely boring."

"I will be strong?" Inuyasha asked hesitantly, hopefully.

"You bet," Kouga told him. "And maybe someday you can even kick Sesshoumaru's ass."

"Oh I will never be anywhere near as strong as Master," Inuyasha replied softly, blushing. He didn't add that he would never want to be stronger than the demon Lord. It felt very nice to belong to someone so much more powerful. And the best part was that he knew no matter how hard he tried, he never would be. He would not hold back. His Master's power over him was genuine and not because he, Inuyasha, allowed it. Otherwise, it would just be a facade.

Kouga smiled. It was true, unfortunately. His friend, although an ass, was far too strong.

"But you'll be far stronger than all of them, kid," Kouga said, gesturing towards where Inuyasha had just returned from. "And that's all that matters."

Inuyasha nodded eagerly.

The afternoon was spent cheerfully. Kouga told Inuyasha about their childhood, the various mischiefs that the dog demon had been up to and how Kouga had always been the one who pulled him out of it. Sesshoumaru told him how much of a lie that was. Inuyasha enjoyed listening to them both; they were, after all, very interesting stories. Kouga and Sesshoumaru had had a rather…eventful…childhood and he loved sitting in his master's lap.

"By the way," Kouga turned to Sesshoumaru at one point. "Guess who's coming here as part of the southern embassy."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Southern embassy? Those rats…they're coming here?"

The Southern Lands were notoriously barbaric. There was no stable ruler and there was constant factional fighting among various tribes. Generally, they stayed away from the Western Lands because they were in no position to incur Inu no Taisho's wrath so it was surprising that they had even formed an embassy, and even more surprising that they were being sent here.

"Who are the members?"

"Guess," Kouga told him wryly and from his tone and expression, Sesshoumaru deduced that it was no one good.

"I don't know many from those parts," Sesshoumaru told him.

"Oh you know these two," Kouga assured him. "In fact, that is one of the reasons why I'm here. I have to discuss this with Lord Inu no Taisho and gauge their sincerity so the Wolf tribe can make a decision as to whether or no to invite them over."

Sesshoumaru's curiosity was aroused.

"Who?" he asked.

Kouga gave him a flat look. "The Thunder Brothers."

Sesshoumaru's hold on Inuyasha tightened and the hanyou looked at his master in surprise. Sesshoumaru did not look happy.

"Hiten and Manten? They are a part of the southern embassy? There is not an ounce of diplomacy in them, especially Manten."

Kouga shrugged. "I know. But the main thing is, they're coming here."

Inuyasha drew closer to his master in alarm as Sesshoumaru's aura darkened. Hiten and Manten were both quite the lechers, especially Manten. No doubt, Inuyasha would catch their eye. Sesshoumaru pulled his pet flush against his body, crushing the little hanyou to him. Inu no Taisho would no doubt order him to be civil to them, but if either of them eyed his puppy the wrong way, then…well, there were other ways of destroying one's enemy except by outright violence.

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A/N: Feedback appreciated!