Yay! I actually finished this chapter in less than a week. I'm so happy right now. I thought I was blocked. I guess it was just the other stuff I'm trying to get done right now. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: oops. Almost forgot this part. I could only own Inuyasha in my dreams. Since this is reality, i obviously own nothing.


Ch. 8: Strength is Weakness

Her mother stood between her and the red-headed demon lord. The little girl couldn't understand what was going on. The red-headed demon seemed mad about something and Momma was afraid. Momma shouted something about keeping it a secret, though the little girl didn't know what Momma was talking about. All she knew was that the demon didn't seem satisfied.

"You won't have to keep it a secret because you won't be around to tell anyone," he said in a calm, cold voice that she'd never forget.

"Just leave Naomi alone," Momma begged. "Please, leave her alone."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He raised a claw as he took a step towards them.

Momma spun around and shoved the little girl shouting, "Run, Naomi."

Naomi didn't even think of disobeying. She glanced over her shoulder as she hurried away from the man who scared her mother, then skidded to a stop. Her eyes widened in horror. Her mother was laying on the ground motionless. A red pool of blood was forming around her lifeless body. The demon stood next to the body, his claw dripping with blood. His orange eyes looked at her.

Naomi jerked out of sleep with a gasp. Her eyes darted around the room. She was still safe in her home, in her room. With a humorless chuckle, she placed a hand on her sweating forehead. Another nightmare. It was always the same one too. She was really getting tired of it.

Because she was hot now, she threw off the covers and got dressed. A dull throb was just behind her left eye now. What she wouldn't give to be able to heal herself. She'd just have to wait on her demon blood to kick in and get rid of the headache. With deliberate steps, she made her way to the willow. It's where she always went when she had a nightmare. The tree always had a soothing affect.

Once she sat on the bench, the goosebumps on her skin went away, and she was finally able to relax. The night air cooled her warm skin and slowly her shivering stopped. "I really get tired of having the same nightmare," she told the willow conversationally. "I know why I'm having it now too. In just a few weeks the lords will be arriving for the mating festival."

Over the last two months, she and many of the demons living in the area helped Sesshoumaru prepare the compound for the upcoming mating festival. Next week, demons from all over would begin to arrive in anticipation of the upcoming festivities.

They would set up camp all over her mountain, with the exception of the lords and their families. Those with rank would stay in guest room within her compound. The only rule for everyone was that they were not to cause problems for the human villages or hanyous in the area. On that point Naomi stood firm even against a lord. Her mountain was a sanctuary for anyone with no other place to go. She wanted to stay that way no matter what was going on or how many demons were around.

She leaned her head against the tree trunk. "I wish this were easier, but my life was never meant to be easy. Was it my old friend?" Her eyes began to sting. With a growl she rubbed at them. "Damn it, not now. I can't afford to be weak now."

"You never seem to take the time to be weak."

She jumped and looked to see Jirou standing just on the edge of the willow's little island. He probably smelled her fear from the nightmare. As long as she could remember, he'd always come on bad nights like this. She had a suspicion that Lord Inutashio had asked him to watch out for her when he wasn't there. Jirou was an old demon, though he had been a few decades younger than Lord Inutashio. He'd been very close to an older brother for her. He and Inutashio had been her only family for years. Then Inuyasha had come into her life, becoming another brother.

"I can never afford to be weak," she replied with an ironic smile. "There's always something I should be doing that involved being strong."

"But if you don't take the time to be weak, you'll fall to pieces one day, Naomi." Jirou sat next to her. "How long can you keep this up? Especially with him coming here."

She didn't need to know who Jirou was talking about. The Northern Lord was coming. Her hands clenched into fists. "I won't let him win, Jirou. He won't beat me. I will stay strong. I will not let myself crumble because of him. I will be everything he thought I couldn't be." Her eyes burned with determination. "He won't take my pride from me too."

"It's not your pride I'm worried about," Jirou snapped. "I'm worried about your safety."

"Oh, he doesn't even know who I am anymore," she replied with a wave of her hand. "I saw him the day he told Lord Sesshoumaru that he had to hold the upcoming mating festival. There was't even a flicker of recognition."

"I hope you're right."

She stood and stretched out sore muscles. "I think I'm going to workout until breakfast time."

Understanding that she was done discussing her past and the nightmares it brought her, Jirou nodded. He wanted to push her a little more to be careful, but didn't waste his breath. Only Lord Inutashio had ever been able to push Naomi when she decided she was done talking. In that way, she was just like Sesshoumaru. Jirou sighed. It was times like this he really missed the old Dog General. No one could control his children like Lord Inutashio.

Then there was Naomi. Stubborn, troubled, and softhearted Naomi. He wished someone could come along to help her through the hard parts of life. It would have to be someone who didn't take no for an option. Naomi didn't like leaning on others, so she'd need to be forced into it at times. Somewhere, someone was capable of taking care of her. All he could do was hope he came along before she exhausted herself taking care of everyone else.

Naomi had lied. She didn't like to do that, but Jirou would worry if he knew where she was really going. As much as she appreciated having someone who cared enough to worry, it annoyed her sometimes. Today being one of those times. Knowing that Lord Akira would be coming was enough to handle right now.

She stepped onto a stone path that led to a corner of the compound that people rarely saw. Sitting in the corner was a large tombstone with the name Kimiko carved into it. A grave and memorial to the woman who died saving her life. Her mother's resting place. Naomi's hands clenched into angry and guilty fists. No matter what she did, she couldn't let it go. The memories or the pain of that day. It wasn't until later that she'd found out that the red-haired demon who'd taken her mother's life had been Lord Akito and that he was her father.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, as she always did when she visited this grave.

She'd dug it herself and refused all help, even Lord Inutashio's. He had stood aside and watched her dig, a ten year old girl who'd lost her entire world in an instant. It was just hours later that he planted the willow tree and told her her job was to take care of it, because if she didn't, the tree would die. The sly old dog demon had known if he hadn't given her that reason to keep going, she wouldn't have.

"I wonder how come all I needed was that small simple reason to live," she mused. It had been a small insignificant reason after all. One tree really wasn't that important, but that day the tree became the center of her life. "Maybe I didn't really want to die, but just thought I did. So I grab hold of the reason he gave me to keep going through the pain and guilt."

She fell silent, just staring at the stone. She wasn't sure how long she stood there before the sun began to rise. Time ceased to matter to her here. She might have stayed for longer it hadn't been for the small hand that took hers. Naomi glanced down in surprise. Rin was there, holding her hand and looking so sad and afraid.

"Why are you crying?" Rin demanded, concern in every syllable. Like everyone else, she had a vision of Naomi that never cried. To her, the wolf hanyou couldn't be hurt in any way. She viewed Lord Sesshoumaru the same way. Because of this, it terrified her to see one of them hurt or upset in any way.

Naomi reached up and touched her face. Sure enough, there were tears on her cheeks. "I..." With an annoyed sigh, she dashed the tears away. "I'm sorry, Little One. This is just a sad place for me."

"Then don't come here."

"I have to. This is my mother's grave." Naomi looked at the stone. "I buried her myself when I wasn't much older than you."

"Oh." Rin looked at the stone too. She was learning to read so she managed to make out the name. "Kimiko," she said slowly as if trying out each syllable.

"Yes. That was her name."

"How did she die?"

"A demon murdered her."

Rin squeezed Naomi's hand. "Bandits killed my parents."

"I know."

The little girl wrapped her arms around Naomi in a tight hug. "It's okay to be sad, Naomi. Everyone is sad sometimes."

That helped soothe more than the willow or Jirou ever had. Naomi knelt down to return the hug. Silent tears fell faster, but she wasn't as annoyed with them now. Maybe because Rin, despite being so young, understood what Naomi felt. They'd both lost their parents violently. The old saying was that like recognized and understood like.

"Thank you," Naomi said simply. There was nothing else to say.

In the shadows, Sesshoumaru watched. He had followed Rin, wanting to be sure she didn't get lost. The little girl had been determined to find Naomi first thing because the hanyou had promised to teach Rin to swim. He'd helped Rin trace Naomi's scent to this area, but chose to stay hidden himself because he'd smelt the tears. Hearing her story, he couldn't help the brief moment of sympathy. Which he cut off immediately. She was nothing to him. There was no reason to sympathize with her.

He heard Naomi stand up. The smell of sadness had faded into a dim memory. He wondered if she was really okay, or if she'd merely buried the feelings.

"Come on, Little One. Let's go get breakfast. Then I'll teach you to swim like I promised."

He heard Rin clap her hands with excitement. "I can't wait. Let's go."

The two disappeared down the path. He caught a look at Naomi's face and saw that her eyes still seemed sad despite her smile. So she was burying the pain. Was that what she always did? Did she spend each day fighting through whatever memory plagued her? And why in the hell did he care at all?

"Lord Sesshoumaru, what are you doing out here? That is if you don't mind my asking."

He glanced back at the demon called Jirou. "My ward was wondering around."

Understanding, Jirou smiled. "I can say from experience that keeping track of an active little girl can be tiresome. You do well, my lord."

"You raised Naomi?"

"No." He frowned a little. Jirou had known that Lord Inutashio hadn't informed his family about Naomi for her own safety, but he hadn't expected Naomi to keep it a secret. Then again, she was trying to avoid sharing confidences with Sesshoumaru. "The man who raised her died nearly two centuries ago."

"So both of her parents are dead?" Sesshoumaru wasn't sure why he was so curious, but he was tired of not having the answers to his questions.

"No, my lord," Jirou said with a shake of his head. "The man who raised her was not her father."

Jirou was careful not to say any names. Things would be bad for Naomi if anyone found out about her origins. Then he realized why she hadn't told anyone who'd raised her. Her father had seen Lord Inutashio take her away after all. If word got out that a hanyou had been raised by him, her father would know immediately who she was.

"What happened to her father then?" Sesshoumaru asked feeling frustrated with the lack of information.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I can't talk too much about that. For Naomi's safety, we don't ever speak of her father out loud or who raised her."

Well that answered something. She was a hanyou so her demon father hadn't been happy with her birth for whatever reason. In an attempt to erase his mistake, he'd killed Naomi's mother and now wanted to kill the girl. Why did that make him angry?

"My lord, you should know that Naomi doesn't like anyone to come over here. It's even more sacred to her than the willow tree because of the grave." Jirou gestured back towards the rest of the compound. "If you don't mind, may we talk away from here."

Feeling obliging because he still wanted more answers, Sesshoumaru began walking away from the grave.

Jirou was silent for a moment then took a gamble that the son would have some of his father in him. "My lord, I know that you don't care for hanyous, but I think you should understand Naomi."

"Why?"

"Because for the moment, you are pack."

Jirou's simple reply summed it up in way Sesshoumaru couldn't argue with. He was right. Naomi was a part of his pack...for now. With obvious reluctance, he said, "Fine. Tell me about Naomi."

"She's strong, but that is also her greatest weakness."

"Excuse me?"

"With a background like her, full of tragedy and death, one can't be strong all the time. Never in my life have I seen her release the pain I know she's carrying. After her mother's death, she was angry and sad, but she didn't cry. She didn't cry when she discovered her father hated her enough to kill her. Naomi didn't even cry when the man who raised her died." Jirou stopped to face his lord. "Every once in a while, she shed a few tears, but it's not nearly enough. If she doesn't learn to let go and lean on someone, Naomi will shatter like glass one day."

Sesshoumaru had never though of strength as a weakness, but he could understand what Jirou was trying to say. "That's her choice isn't it."

"Yes, but..." Jirou racked clawed fingers through his hair. "That girl has problems of her own, but she's always taking on other people's troubles. Like your brother's and the miko. Even your young ward Rin, who wanted a mother figure."

Even himself, Sesshoumaru realized. Hadn't she allowed him to use her compound for the mating ceremony and then saved him from injury when Hiroto had attacked?

"Naomi is a lot of things, Lord Sesshoumaru. Strong, smart, wise, kind, and loving. But all things should be in moderation, even strength." Jirou grinned a little. "Her temper tends to get her into trouble too."

Sesshoumaru nearly smirked at that, remembering how Naomi had yelled at him once for not using her name. "And what is it you want me to do, Jirou?"

"I don't know, my lord, but I think that if anyone can force Naomi into anything, it will be you."

"Why do you say that?"

"She has respect for you that she doesn't give to many, and..." He hesitated, unsure of giving away too much. "...and she had brought you into her pack as well."

"Aren't you in her pack?"

"Yes, but she is the pack leader. It would take someone who is either equal or stronger than she is to order her around." Jirou gave a half hearted chuckle. "That girl has been stronger than me since she was a hundred years old."

Sessoumaru raised an eyebrow in surprise. That was young for a demon or hanyou, half Inuyasha's age now. To be able to best a demon of Jirou's strength so young was a feat indeed. His already grudging respect for Naomi grew a little. He hated that every time he turned around he was giving her more and more. What was next? Actually enjoying her company? He shuddered at the very idea.

"I think you should look for help in someone else. You're right in that I don't care for hanyous. Even ones that I have a margin of respect for."

Sesshoumaru turned and walked away. He found himself standing at the base of the willow. Naomi was there with the miko and both children. They were all standing in the creek teaching Rin how to swim. Pride swelled as he saw how quickly his ward learned. Rin saw him and waved cheerfully.

"My lord, did you see? I can swim now."

He nodded, his face impassive. His eyes caught Naomi's and held. She was giving him a knowing smile, as if aware of how much pride he had in Rin's quick mind.

"Naomi, did I do good?" Rin asked, her voice full of happiness.

"Of course you did, Little One."

Sesshoumaru had a brief memory flash of his father kneeling in front of a child from a village near the castle. The little boy had tripped and scuffed his knee. Inutashio had a soft spot for children, a thing he'd passed to his oldest son. The great dog demon and knelt down and shushed the boys crying with gentle words meant to soothe.

"It's alright, Little One. You'll be alright. Let's get you to your mother so she can clean it up for you, okay?" Inutashio had said with a soft smile.

Sesshoumaru stared at Naomi in disbelief. No way. She couldn't have been the girl Akira had told him about. But...It would explain so much. The way she moved was so familiar because his father had taught her how to fight, meaning her movements were similar to his own. She'd been the one to raise Inuyasha after Izayoi's death because his father had asked her to watch out for the dog hanyou. Then there was why Jirou was so sure he could do something for Naomi. The same man had raised them both after all.

Naomi saw the realization in his eyes and knew things were about to get very complicated.


That's it for this chapter. I'll get the next one up asap. In the mean time feel free to tell me what you thought of this one.