About a month later, a very unexpected visitor appeared at the gate. A huge two-headed beast came out of the sky, and on its back rode Sesshomaru, the Lord of the Western Lands and half-brother to InuYasha. The Princess had not seen him since that time 25 years ago when she refused to bind him to her, and bound InuYasha instead. Wondering why he was here at her gate, she went out to greet him. InuYasha followed behind her, not trusting his full Demon brother. There was no love lost between these two. InuYasha had spent the first six years of his life with his mother and then when she died, he lived alone. InuYasha barely knew his brother. Sesshomaru thought the half-breed inferior and wanted nothing to do with him. Their only interaction had been their bitter fight over Tetsusaiga, the sword that their father had left for InuYasha.
Sesshomaru dismounted and walked toward the Princess. At his side was the little green Demon, Jaken, who had been his servant for decades. And in his arms was a child of about six. A human child!
"She is ill," he said, his voice cold and formal as she remembered it, but his eyes were different. They were troubled -- he was worried about this child! "I cannot heal her, and I heard that Kaiba, your healer mage, is the best there is. Could he look at her?"
The Princess sent for Kaiba. The child had dark hair and a small sweet face. Kaiba immediately came from his tower. He took the child from Sesshomaru and carried her to a guest bedroom.
"Let him work," the Princess said, her hand stopping Sesshomaru from following the mage, "He will take care of her." He looked tired, but she knew he would not rest until the child was healed. She took him into her study, and shooed InuYasha away as she closed the door. "Please tell me her story."
Sesshomaru was surprised at her request. Then he remembered how forward she was, always saying whatever was on her mind. He never confided in anyone, but somehow he wanted to tell her everything. She must be using her power on him. After a slight hesitation he began his story, his voice never above a whisper, meant only for her ears.
Demon World, Six Months Ago
For a week the child brought him water and food. She was in rags and the food was not always very nutritious, and he came to realize that it was all she had. She was giving him her own food. He stopped eating it, thinking that she might eat it instead, but she never did. So he resumed eating the food. The food and water along with the sleep was helping him heal.
One night she came later than usual and her face was badly bruised. This time she had another fish. She had stolen it and had gotten caught. He looked at her face and spoke to her for the first time, asking what had happened. She said nothing, but she burst into a radiant smile. He had could not understand why she had smiled like that.
The next day, Janken found his master and by that time Sesshomaru was almost fully healed. He walked slowly in the direction that the girl always took and found her small body on the road. She had been killed by some insignificant Demon.
She had been with him ever since, following him along with Jaken. He rarely spoke to her, but she didn't seem to mind. She was happy for the first time. He had Jaken go to a village and buy her new clothes to replace her rags. She began to talk a few weeks after and he learned that her family had been killed by bandits and there was no one to look after her in the village. It was a very poor village and no one could afford an extra mouth to feed. So she barely scraped by until she met him. He became her new family and although he was distant, he was also kind to her, she had food and clothing, and she was never afraid when he was with her.
Otherworld, Present Time
She was lost in thought and did not even realize that he had stopped talking. Her sisters had not been happy when she had bound InuYasha instead of Sesshomaru. The latter was the ruler of a fourth of Demon World and his lands spread across half of the Otherworld-Demon World borders; the former a Hanyou, a half-breed, with nothing to his name. Arina, whose task it was to protect those borders, had desperately wanted the binding. Arina wanted no more males -- twelve was already far too many -- but she not only had to protect Otherworld's borders with Demon World but the borders between Demon World and the Human World. It took all the power of her twelve males to keep those vulnerable borders strong. So Arina had relied on Aara to bind the Demon lord and she had bound a useless Hanyou instead.
The Princess suddenly noticed the silence and looked up straight into Sesshomaru's eyes. He did not look happy! He must have guessed what was running through her mind. And it was obvious from his look that he was no longer interested in a binding. And then there was InuYasha to consider. Could she bind those two in friendship and brotherhood? It would not be easy. She stood up, thanking him for telling her the story, and suggested that they check on the child.
Sesshomaru walked behind her, now more worried than ever. Could he prevent a binding if she decided to take him? Youko Kurama had been taken against his will but he had been in heat. Sesshomaru's times of heat were few and far between and he was very careful to stay by himself until they passed. There would never be stories about him like there were about Youko Kurama, the Fox Demon who was known for rutting with anyone unfortunate enough to be near him when he went into heat. He suddenly realized that if she bound him, he would have to be brothers with that very Fox Demon! And the Fire Demon who everyone feared now that he had could call up the Dragon of Darkness Flame. And still another half-breed called Tasuki! And a Thunder Demon! Sixth! He would be her sixth male! Never!!!!! He was so lost in these unnerving thoughts that he didn't realize she had stopped at the door and he walked right into her, knocking her down. He flushed with embarrassment. He wasn't even bound to her and he was already acting like a fool! Why was it so hard to act dignified around this woman?
After he helped her up, apologizing profusely, they went in to see Kaiba. Rin was sleeping peacefully. Kaiba told them that she had pneumonia. He had healed the worst of it and now she just needed rest to recover.
Sesshomaru escaped to his rooms while the Princess called her males to her study. There she proposed adding Sesshomaru as her sixth male. InuYasha was furious. Never would he accept his half brother! Hiei also didn't want him either and reminded her that she had only recently taken her fifth male. Neither Kurama and Bankotsu encouraged the binding. Tasuki felt that he was too new to offer an opinion and stayed silent.
He took her breath away! He was so perfect! His beauty was incredible -- there was not one flaw on his entire body. The twin purple Demon markings that were on his face and wrists were also on his hips. She moved closer to him and, unable to stop herself, she reached out and gently touched the Demon markings on his hip. His skin was cool satin.
As she touched him, she instantly knew that he was completely a virgin. How was that possible? He was hundreds of years old! Then she felt them, his two mantras: control and purity. And like Youko Kurama who loved the thrill of the chase, she loved the thrill of conquest. More than anything she wanted to break his icy control. She wanted him! And then the unthinkable happened -- she lost control of her own powers. Waves of pure desire poured from her as she touched his perfect body.
Sesshomaru had heard about the Princesses' power, but to hear about it was very different to experiencing it. He felt like he was drowning in a deep sea of passion, with nothing to hold on to. He bit his lip to keep from moaning, and twin trickles of blood flowed down his chin from his sharp fangs. Her touch was like fire! She led him to the bed and he followed, unable to stop himself, wanting her touch more than anything. And she was touching him where no one ever had before.
Downstairs, all the males felt it. She was taking Sesshomaru! InuYasha howled in fury and started up the stairs. He would stop it now! But Kurama tackled him before he got to the first stair and, with Bankotsu's help, dragged him bodily into the library. He fought them, using claws and teeth, growling and spitting with anger. Kurama had to change to his Youko Kurama form to prevent InuYasha from overpowering them. He was so strong! Then suddenly, InuYasha went limp, curled up in a tight ball, whimpering piteously. They all knew why -- they had all felt it -- Sesshomaru was taken!
The Princess looked at the beautiful Demon in her arms and suddenly realized what she had done. She had completely lost control. Her desire had consumed her! She then felt InuYasha's pain and Hiei's anger. What had she done! Since there was no going back, she went forward. She carefully began to bind Sesshomaru to her, binding after binding until it was unbreakable. Then she began with her males, Hiei first. Gently she bound them together as brothers, then the others the same. Finally, InuYasha. She bound them with love and brotherhood, strengthening the binding over and over. When it was done, she sighed. She could only hope that she did it right. She had come to reject him once again, and instead Sesshomaru was now part of her.
She looked into his golden eyes. His eyelids were purplish-red and the contrast set off his eyes. He was so beautiful! She didn't remember him being this perfect 25 years ago. She stroked his pure white hair, then traced the contours of his pointed ears with her finger. She couldn't keep her hands off of him.
Sesshomaru had long since given up trying to keep silent and her touches were now punctuated by soft moans. She spent the entire afternoon exploring his perfection.
It was evening when she finally left him, sound asleep. She went quickly to her own rooms and ran a very hot bath and put scented salts into the water. She needed to see InuYasha and she didn't want to the scent of his half brother on her. After her bath, she asked where he was. InuYasha was still in the library, curled in a tight ball. She went to him and sat on the floor beside him. She pulled him into her arms. "Why?" he asked, his eyes filled with sadness.
"I didn't mean to take him. I went to his room to tell him what we had decided and I lost control." she stroked the top of his head, and then kissed his forehead. Lost in thought, she absently fondled one of his ears. She was trying to figure why she had lost control so badly. Had her desire for a child transferred itself into taking another male? Perhaps. She noticed InuYasha watching her, his eyes just beginning to glaze. She realized that she had been stroking his sensitive ears and stopped. She stood up and offered him her hand. Together they walked to his bedroom, where she would try to make it up to him. Then she would go to Hiei and do the same. She was going to have a very busy night!
The next morning she gathered them in the library, all six of her males. Sesshomaru was very self conscious. InuYasha sat right next to the Princess, as if claiming her. She admitted to them all that she had lost control and apologized to them. There was nothing any of them could do -- Sesshomaru was now one of them.
To his great surprise, it was Kurama who was the nicest to him. Sesshomaru began to rethink his presumptions about the Fox Demon. Maybe Kurama wasn't so bad after all. Bankotsu was also very friendly to him. Hiei was distant but he soon found out that the Fire Demon was like that with everyone, except Kurama who had become his friend during the long years when they were the Princess' only males.
InuYasha stayed away from Sesshomaru. Because of the binding, he no longer felt anger or jealousy, but that didn't mean he liked his older brother. Perhaps in time they would become true brothers, but until then, they prudently kept their distance from each other.
Tasuki seemed to be sleeping. He had spent the whole meeting with his head on the table, using his arms as a pillow. The Princess noticed him but had said nothing. Now that the meeting was over, she went to him and gently touched his shoulder. "Tasuki, dearest, are you alright?"
"I don't feel good." he moaned, lifting his head. She felt his forehead. It was hot.
"I think you are getting sick."
Kurama also went over to him and touched Tasuki's forehead. He shook his head. "Sense him deeper, Princess."
She put her hand on his shoulder and used her power to sense him on a different level. Oh dear!!! She hugged him tightly, "Oh, my poor baby! You are in heat! I had hoped you would be spared like InuYasha is. Oh well, we will take care of it. Come with me." she gave him her hand, and he meekly got up, blushing red in embarrassment. "Don't worry about them!" she said with a wave of her hand, "They all have problems of their own! They will not tease you."
Sesshomaru no longer felt like he was the center of attention. Tasuki had taken care of that! But he did find himself in the middle of a large noisy family. Distant memories edged into his mind, but he pushed them firmly aside. He had walked alone for nearly all of his long life, but that was now ended. He was part of the Castle and part of the Princess.
Later that day, Sesshomaru found himself in the garden lounging on the myriad of pillows spread under a large cherry tree. He soon found out that this was a favorite pastime of the Princess and her males. It was a far cry from his usual routine which consisted of walking slowly throughout his lands. Laying nearby were Kurama and Bankotsu. Hiei had disappeared early in the morning on some personal errand and InuYasha had gone back to Kaede's Village.
Kurama looked up her, "Is Tasuki alright?"
She brushed his red hair out of his face, "He is sleeping peacefully. Why are you worried? Don't I always take care of you when you are in heat?"
"Yes," he replied, "You do. It is just that this was his first time."
"Isn't the first like all the rest?"
"It depends on the circumstances." he said vaguely.
"Now I am curious! Tell me about your first time." she commanded with a laugh. Kurama rarely talked about his youth and she finally had a chance to find out something.
He looked at her, his eyes distant and his voice heavy with emotion as he began his tale.
"Fox Demons spend only the first three years of their life with their mothers. Then they are put into a separate den for the young kits. We are taught how to hunt and other necessary skills. Also our power over plants are just beginning to manifest and we learn about that. It is also a time to bond with your pack mates."
"Only a month after I turned 13, I went into my first heat. It happened much earlier than it should have. My first time should have been around the age of 16 and then it would be my fellow kits with me. But the other kits were not ready, so I was taken to the adult den. One of the teachers picked me up bodily and took me there. He put me on a mat in the center of the den, took off all my clothes and left me there. I felt like I was burning up. I lay there on my mat moaning. All I could feel was a deep need inside myself, a fire that wouldn't stop."
"First the females came. They nipped at me, then licked and teased me, just playing with me. It was torture! I pleaded and begged, but I was too young to be allowed to enter a female so I was just tormented instead. I later found out that when the males reached adulthood, they had complete control over the females, using them whenever they felt like it, so the females took great delight in tormenting any male they could. After several hours of their torment, the males came. For three days and nights, I was used by the entire pack. It was supposed to be a bonding time but since I was so young, it was only torture to me."
"Every time I went into heat it was the same, not the whole the pack, but enough of them. And the females! I don't think there is anything crueler than a female kitsune Demon! When I turned 15, I left the pack forever. I swore that I would never be used like that again. That I would be the one in control."
Kurama's voice trailed off. He had not meant to say that much but it had been bottled up for so long, the words just spilled out.
"Oh, no!!!! That's almost what they did to you when you were brought to me!" the Princess cried, tears in her eyes after hearing his terrible story, "Arina's males tricked you and you were brought to me in terrible heat! I am so sorry!"
"That was not your fault. And you have always been there for me since then. At least in this human body, my heats are only one day instead of three." he smiled, but his eyes were still sad.
