Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kurama, Sesshoumaru's General! ❯ Inquiries ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two: Inquiries

The crash of metal bars on stone snapped him from his half-daze, and he opened his eyes to discover the interruption. He was surprised when the general, Hikume, strode confidently toward him.

Stopping a mere meter from Kurama's feet, Hikume ordered coldly, "Lord Sesshoumaru demands you presence. You will come with me." Finishing with a dark smirk, the cocky fox demon grabbed Kurama by the cuff of his uniform and pulled him up, roughly. He forcefully pulled the redhead from the cell and left the guard to close the door behind him.

Kurama's eyes were wide with surprise and shock. `What would the Lord want with me?' he thought incredulously to himself.

Hikume released his hold on Kurama's cuff and continued to walk brusquely from the dungeons.

Kurama followed behind the general, walking quickly to keep up with the quick and rough strides. Looking around himself cautiously, he continued to follow the demon in front of him without a word.

Hikume glanced back at the slave that possessed blood red hair and eyes as green as emeralds. He was slightly surprised when he found himself looking at a boy who was paying more attention to his surroundings than to the demon before him that could kill him in a heartbeat. An expression of annoyance formed on his face as he turned to look forward again.

Kurama had felt the demon's eyes on him, but decided to appear unconcerned rather than fearful. Soon they reached large white doors that were covered in gold-lined carvings, and Hikume easily pushed the doors open to reveal a large hall. In the center, there was a long low table with many cushions around it, and sitting around the table were what Kurama would have guessed to be other lords. They all had a regal air about them, and two had women sitting beside them.

Hikume walked inside, heading in Sesshoumaru's direction. "Here he is, Lord Sesshoumaru," he said with a smirk.

Sesshoumaru didn't spare Kurama a glance, but the other Lords and two Ladies had their eyes trained on him.

Barely preventing himself from fidgeting under their scrutinizing gazes, Kurama kept his eyes shadowed, head lowered. His heart quickened slightly when he heard a body stand with his acute ears. The almost silent swish of fabric became louder as the figure grew nearer. He tried to look like he hadn't noticed, and did quite well since he was a thief as youko (therefore a good actor).

Atakeru, Lord of the Eastern Lands walked forward with dignity, approaching the slave that had piqued all of the Lords' interests. They had first heard of the beautiful creature from Hikume, Sesshoumaru's general, and had since been curious. Hikume was not a demon known for remembering one slave out of the millions he had seen by then, so Lord Atakeru knew that the human must have been something special to gain so much attention.

Standing in front of the redhead, he was curious to see what the boy's face looked like. Reaching a long-clawed hand forward, he tilted up the human's head to examine him. He was absolutely shocked when he saw how beautiful the boy was. As far as Atakeru was concerned, this boy was a demon, if only in beauty. Speaking calmly and indifferently, for he hid his emotions all of the time, he asked the slave, "What is your name, human?"

Kurama was shocked, to say the least, when his chin was tilted upward to meet rusty-red slitted eyes. Black hair shone darkly in the well-lit room, pulled back with a red-coloured band at the nape of his neck, hanging mid-thigh. The bangs escaped the band, the strands hanging unevenly on either side of the demon's face, reaching a foot past his chin. Along with the elegant face of cold perfection, a red diamond was situated in the middle of his forehead, and three black stripes ran along his cheeks. The man's beauty was far from human, as he was not, and the redhead could not help but stare at the masterpiece of a face and body before him.

Rusty-red eyes narrowed when he was met with no answer. Tightening his nails slightly on the boy's chin, he asked, growling slightly, "What is your name?"

Snapping out of his daze, he answered softly, "Kurama." He almost winced at how innocent and weak his voice sounded.

Lord Atakeru accepted this as an answer and went straight to the next question. "How old are you?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Kurama replied just as softly, "16 summers." He had a feeling that that would be a normal answer, seeing as it was the feudal age.

Lord Atakeru was slightly surprised when the human replied, because he hadn't thought the boy could count. Raising an eyebrow slightly, he asked, "How did you come to be a slave?"

Feeling slightly uneasy, Kurama quickly thought up an edited answer, allowing no emotion to escape his features to hint he was fixing his story. "I don't remember. All I can recall is someone standing over me discussing something about `slaves' and the like. Then I passed out. I don't know how I came to be in the forest… When I woke up, I was amongst many slaves in a metal cage. Afterwards I was brought to the bazaar where Lord Sesshoumaru purchased me amongst others…" He stopped when he was done his heavily edited version of the portal and all, and waited for a reaction.

Everyone was staring at Kurama, and he blinked innocently in confusion. Even Sesshoumaru looked slightly less indifferent, regarding the redhead calmly.

To put it simply, they were all shocked that a human could speak so well. From the looks of it, he was educated, though no humans were… it was an anima that they could not answer at the moment.

Lord Atakeru was surprised that the slave was so intelligent, and almost took a step back in shock. He, however, managed to keep his mask upon his beautiful face as he stared at the innocently blinking boy.

"I never thought that a human of all species could be so educated," Lord Atakeru stated tonelessly.

Kurama felt uneasy on the inside, though on the outside he portrayed slight innocence and ignorance (the `uninformed' ignorance, not the other one).

"Quite the human if you ask me…" a voice said sexily from the table.

All eyes turned to the daughter, Himino, of the Southern Lord Kunei. She was quite the beauty, curly emerald green hair that reached the floor when down. Her eyes were a blood red, contrasting greatly with her hair, and a green leaf sat on her forehead. One blue jagged stripe on each cheek also showed her demon nature.

Kurama eyed the demon warily, not knowing what to expect from the sly creature. He watched as she stood gracefully from her cushion, her kimono hanging around her shoulders, showing much cleavage. She strode to where he stood and eyed him with an experienced eye.

Himino smirked when the human was far more than just delicious… he was a delicacy. She raised her hand to run a clawed finger slowly down his jaw line. She cupped his chin with her claws and pulled him forward, mesmerized by his eyes…

Kurama's back tensed tauter than a bowstring when the demon kissed him full on the mouth. His eyes widened slightly as her claws began to dig into his chin throughout the kiss. He would have retched if his mouth hadn't been momentarily occupied. His eyes widened more in shock when she pushed her way into his mouth, tasting the farthest corners of him.

Sesshoumaru watched as the redhead became more uncomfortable by the moment, and noticed him leaning away from Himino slightly, trying to get away. Finally becoming disgusted with the show (and jealous unbeknownst to him), he said sharply, "Remove your hands from the slave, I did not call him here for you to eat his mouth out."

The other lords looked at Sesshoumaru in hidden shock, but the Western Lord's demeanor remained indifferent and slightly cold. They all turned back to Himino and raised an eyebrow when she ignored Sesshoumaru completely.

Kurama had finally had enough, he was at the moment being crushed against the ground, with a VERY hormonal demon above him. His eyes narrowed when Himino continued to kiss him, ignoring Sesshoumaru. Trying to get away without showing his inhuman strength, he began to struggle. Lucky for him, she pulled back when he pushed at her shoulders. The whites of her eyes were glazed over with a deep red hue, and her jagged demon marks had become wilder.

Himino got off of Kurama and stared down at him with an unsatisfied lust in her eyes. She said, still looking down at him, "Sesshoumaru. What can I give you to keep this one?"

Almost unnoticeably Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, and he said coolly and coldly, "No."

The simple answer irked Himino, though the answer itself really pissed her off. She bit out angrily, "Why not?!"

Sesshoumaru turned back to the table they sat around and picked up his cup of tea. Sipping regally with his eyes closed, he paused to annoy Himino. Placing the cup down and opening his sharp golden eyes he said coldly, "Do not question my authority. In my palace, you do not have the right to ask such a question. This slave is my property, for I purchased him myself. You will not have what is mine, and never again question me." The last sentence was so coldly spoken that the other lords felt shivers run up their spines.

Himino scowled, still looking at Kurama, before storming angrily and coldly from the room.

Once she was gone, the Southern Lord sighed almost silently. "Forgive my daughter, Lord Sesshoumaru. She has always been this way after her mother died, wanting things that she can't have, but finding a way to get her hands on them." Lord Kunei had green hair and green eyes, and a leaf on his forehead. Four very thin demon markings covered each cheek. He spoke again, a great weariness in his eyes, "I do love my daughter, Sesshoumaru, but I warn you not to let this one out of your sight if you wish to keep him. Himino is far more intelligent than it may seem…" Lord Kunei was an older demon, wise, but tired of living a life full of death and battles. His wife had died in a battle, and since then he no longer had a lust for them.

Sesshoumaru eyed Lord Kunei's sincere gaze, and almost scowled at how weak he had become. Strangely enough, though, the elemental was very loyal to him, and supported him whenever he asked for armies. Inclining his head slightly, forgiving, he ordered, "Hikume, take the slave to my library, and stay with him. I will be there shortly."

Hikume smirked before bowing to Sesshoumaru and taking Kurama not so gently by the arm to lead him from the room, in the opposite direction they had come and Himino had stormed off.

Kurama followed behind Hikume, looking around himself curiously. After a while, the general finally let him go and continued to walk brusquely down the halls. Kurama lengthened his strides to keep up with the fiery demon, and waited for them to arrive at the Library. At first, he had been surprised that a demon lord would have a library, though now that he thought about it, it was rather wise. Knowledge was powerful, after all.

When they arrived at the twin white doors, Kurama was surprised. They were intricately carved to perfection, millions and millions of tiny lines carved into the wood, then painted over carefully. He was in for a larger shock once Hikume opened the doors…

Hikume did so, and the splendor that met their eyes was incredible! Shelves that reached the ceiling, as tall as Enma himself back in Spirit World (have u ever seen him?? HE'S HUGE!!). There were so many books that some were stacked on tables because of the lack of room on the shelves. That didn't include all the scrolls that were littered about.

Regaining his composure hotly, Hikume strode into the Library as if he had not been shocked in the first place (if u haven't guessed by now, he'd never stepped foot in a library in his whole life).

Kurama followed soon after, not sure what to make of the splendid pile of knowledge. His eyes glowed brightly as he eyed the books that BEGGED to be picked up and read. Using his demonic eyesight, he spied the titles and was disappointed to find that the majority were of war strategies, and past wars themselves. In another section of the Library, a whole history of Feudal Era Japan had been recorded from many centuries past.

Sitting down comfortably on one of the chairs by the magnificent hearth, Hikume eyed Kurama with a dark look in his eyes… a look that Kurama didn't like directed at him…

Choosing to ignore the staring demon, Kurama went to examine the rest of the library, where mythology and the like were recorded on both scrolls and in books. He found a particularly interesting title and pulled it from the shelf. Feeling Hikume's eyes still on him, he opened the book and scanned through the Kanji written. He was surprised to find that the book he had chosen recorded the legend of the Shikon no Tama. Reading further into the story, he discovered that the Shikon no Tama was a pink jewel that increased the power of a demon a hundred fold. It also granted the user one wish, and one wish only. His eyes lit up when he realized that this jewel could get him back to his own world. Before he could make plans to find the jewel, a voice broke the silence…

"Who gave you permission to read through my library, human?" Sesshoumaru asked coldly. He mentally smirked when the redhead froze shock still.

Turning his eyes to meet Sesshoumaru's, he was surprised to see a tinge of interest in that molten gold gaze. Deciding to be brave, be replied evenly, "No one, Lord Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and turned his cool gaze to Hikume, who had snapped out of his staring fiasco to look at his lord. Looking coldly at his general, he asked stoically, "And why did you not stop him? I do recall telling even you to not touch a book in my family's library."

Hikume's eyes widened slightly, and his mouth hung open like a fish out of water. He stuttered, not so hotly, "I am sorry, milord." Standing, he bowed deeply to Sesshoumaru, expecting punishment.

Sesshoumaru glared coldly at Hikume and turned to Kurama, who still had the book in his hand. Eyeing the title curiously, he frowned almost imperceptibly. `This human can read? I was not aware that the disgusting species taught their children how to read and write… He must have been a lord's son, else he would not have such skills… How did he become a slave, then? It is unusual for a lord, human or not, to give their HEIR to a slave driver…'

"Hikume," he began monotonously, "Meet me in my office, where you will be given punishment for you foolishness. Dismissed."

Hikume bowed, and left the library immediately, leaving Sesshoumaru and Kurama alone.

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to the redhead, who was still staring at him, as if he was expecting something… "How is it you can read, human?" he asked coldly.

Kurama blinked and answered the question calmly, "I was taught."

Sesshoumaru raised a slightly amused eyebrow at Kurama, not expecting such daring answer. "By whom?" he asked monotonously.

Using his thieving skills to quickly think up an answer, he said, "My father taught me."

Sesshoumaru smelt the lie in the air, and his eyes narrowed. "You dare to lie to this Sesshoumaru?" he asked coldly.

Shocked that he had been detected, though he didn't show it, Kurama merely stood there staring at the Western Lord. He answered cunningly, "I suppose I do, if I already have…"

Before Kurama could react, for he wasn't prepared, Sesshoumaru had him hanging from his neck. "You dare to mock this Sesshoumaru?" he asked darkly.

Kurama smirked and answered honestly, "It seems I do."

Frowning slightly, Sesshoumaru squeezed the redhead's neck. Instead of feeling pleasure in causing the human pain, he felt a strange twist in his chest that hurt strangely. Releasing his hold on the human's neck, he was surprised to find the feeling had gone. He was annoyed, though, that Kurama appeared unruffled.

Stepping up to Kurama, so he towered over the human, he asked coldly, "What is your name?"

Kurama, surprised that he was going to be referred with his name, answered, "Kurama."

Sesshoumaru eyed Kurama coolly and asked, "Where are you from?"

Kurama merely answered, "I cannot tell you that." He smiled bemusedly at Sesshoumaru as the dog demon's eyes narrowed slightly. Before he knew what was happening, Sesshoumaru had him pinned to a wall. Eyes widened slightly, he looked in Sesshoumaru's eyes, searching for the demon lord's intentions…