InuYasha propped his elbow on the armrest of his seat to the right of his brother's throne, his chin propped in a clawed hand as he stared boredly at a random space ahead of him. Day in and day out, the same thing. He imagined it was even worse for his brother, but that was small comfort, especially when he considered that he would likely inherit the position upon his brother's death. The elder youkai* had no children of his own, and his indifference towards his advisors' suggestions at finding a mate made it seem rather unlikely he'd ever have an heir, save for his little brother.

At times, InuYasha was surprised that he even held any right to become the next Demon Lord of their land, the Western Plains. He was only Sesshoumaru's half-brother, their father having been the previous Lord. Both brothers were the offspring of one of the Lord's two wives-Sesshoumaru by the demon princess, Lady Shirotsuki, and InuYasha by the human woman who had once been nothing more than a servant, Izayoi.

InuYasha's free fist clenched slightly at the though of his mother. His father had died eighteen years ago, during the final year of Retribution. In a way, it was like Izayoi had died with him. InuYasha had only been a year old at the time, and as he grew, he watched as his mother's mental state slowly deteriorated. By the time he was five, it was like she had entirely blocked out the world around her. She rarely left her bed, and even if she did, she wouldn't leave her cambers. She often talked nonsense, seeming to believed her husbands was alive, that everyone else was insane to believe otherwise. The only on who could ever get any sense out of her was InuYasha.

With a sigh, InuYasha pushed himself up from his seat. His brother cast him a sideways glance, but said nothing as the younger youkai left the throne room. No doubt he was going to attend to his mother again. They had servants for that, but he supposed that, in addition to simply being devoted to his mother, his otouto* really didn't have much else to do to occupy his time. He really didn't connect with anyone in the manor or in the surrounding town, the very center of the lands he controlled. The closest thing he had to a friend was Kouga, the Demon Lord of the Eastern Mountain region. The two refused to use the word 'friend', insisting instead that they were rivals, and most of their time together involved sparring, both determined to prove he was stronger than the other, but it was the only connection the hanyou* had outside his mother and brother. But as the ookami* was not only from another region, but was the ruling Lord of that region, the two did not meet very often.

"Jaken."Sessshoumaru said coolly, stripping his advisor's droning about what still needed to be taken care of for the bal that was occurring next month.

"Y-yes, milord?"

"I'm becoming concerned about my brother. It cannot be good for him to have so little interaction with anyone but Izayoi and myself. He needs some sort of companionship."

"Perhaps you could purchase him a pet, milord."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at that. "A pet?"

"Yes, milord. There is a pet trader in the city's low town, if you wish to look into it."

"Hm. Perhaps I shall."

XxXxXxX

Serenity awoke to the sound of her name being called softly. She allowed blue eyes to open groggily, falling on the equally tired chocolate-colored eyes of her friend, Kagome.

"Serenity, if you don't get up, you won't get breakfast."

The blond-haired angel sat up from her futon with a yawn. The other slaved had a point. Anyone who didn't get to the cafeteria before eight didn't get breakfast, and would have to wait until lunch. The slaves got such small portions, missing a meal could be a devastating feeling. Not for the first time, Serenity found herself wondering just how bad Kagome's and her elder sister Kikyo's lives must have been to willingly put themselves in this hell she was forced into.

After the war that had ended a year before her birth, angels like Serenity had become nothing but slaves, pets, for the demons who ruled Riviera. They had no other options, save for death. Serenity had been born a slave, raised a slave, and would die a slave. Humans, like Kagome and Kikyo, did have a choice, at least in the region of the Western Plains. The previous Demon Lord, who had ruled before the war, had seen to it that humans in his realm had equal rights to demons. The current Lord did not hold quite the same policies. Thankfully, while humans were no longer equal to demons, the difference was small compared to several other regions.

But the difference was there, and because of it, it often became the case that humans were too poor to support themselves. Many eventually willingly entered themselves into slavery. Unlike angels, they were signed into annual contracts, which could become life-long contracts if they found a master they were willing to stay with permanently. One should really be careful of who they contracted to serve, because if you did not desire to stay with them, you had not other options but to remain until your contract terminated. For those desperate enough, they could even enter as un-contracted slaves. This meant that you were in the same position as an angel:you had no contract, you were property of whatever trader you entered into, and whatever master could pay the trader's fee for you owned you, whether you wanted to go with them or not.

It saddened Serenity to think it, but Kikyo was actually an un-contracted slave. Kagome had intended to do the same, but her sister had forbidden it. She had failed to protect her little sister from having to become a slave, but she'd be dammed if she'd allow her to risk being sold to some sadistic bastard with no concern for her well-being.

"I heard someone very powerful is coming in to look at us today."Kagome chattered away as she and Serenity headed down to the cafeteria. "Maybe it'll be a Demon Lord! Oh, can you imagine how life would be to have a Demon Lord for a master? The most luxurious home imaginable!"

"That may be, but if the Lord doesn't treat us well..."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that..."

"It's exactly why I won't allow you to be un-contracted."the two looked up at the sound of Kikyo's voice. She stood outside the doorway to the cafeteria, waiting for her sister and their friend.

"I know nee-chan*, you don't have tot ell me again."Kagome sighed.

Kikyo shook her head. "Come on, let's eat. We need to be ready when the client arrives."

Serenity smiled softly at the two. They could nearly pass for twins, but Kikyo had this certain... mature air to her that Kagome just didn't have. Ever since her mother's death, Kagome and Kikyo had been the only companionship she'd had, and she was very grateful for their presence in her life. She dreaded the day when she would be separated from her two dear friends...

XxXxXxX

Sesshoumaru was beginning to get bored. None of these slaves looked particularly appealing. He knew he had to keep his brother's tastes in mind, not his own, but the hanyou had never shown any indication as to what his tastes even were. He was just preparing to leave and forget this whole stupid idea when his eyes landed on her. An angel conversing with two humans. She looked tired, but he could tell her spirit had not yet been broken by the burden she carried by being born into the life she had.

"What about her?"he questioned the trader accompanying him, gesturing in the angel's direction.

"Ah, she has an interesting background."the trader stated, shifting through the papers on his clipboard to find the one for that particular slave. "She's the daughter of Michael, one of the Heavenly Generals."

"Is that so?"Sesshoumaru grinned, taking and examining her papers.

Angel #541

Species:Angel

Age:17

Birth date:June 30

Hair:Blond

Eyes:Blue

Height:150 cm

Weight:50 kg

Measurements:84-61-83 cm

Temperament:Friendly, shy, subservient

Basic Skills:Cleaning, reading, writing

Individual/Special Talents:Botany, ikebana, music

Physical Status:Average

Sexual Status:Virgin
Family Status:Orphan, only child, childless

Hm, not really anything special. Pretty average. Sesshoumaru speculated to himself. But she is a virgin, and it would certainly be interesting to see how InuYasha handles the only child of the great Michael. Perhaps he may even finally break her spirit...

"I'll take her."

XxXxXxX

EDIT:By request of one of my reviewers, I have added translations of the Japanese words used in the story. These notes will be at the end of every chapter that has NEW words. In other words, if any of the words listed at the end of this chapter are also in later chapters, I will assume you know their meaning from my notes here and will not type them again in the other chapters.

youkai-demon

otouto-younger brother

hanyou-half-demon

ookami-wolf

nee-chan-older sister