The miko had written her letter and handed it to Sesshoumaru in person.

Curious as Sesshoumaru was as to the letter's contents, he respected her trust and went in search of a messenger himself instead of leaving the task to a servant.

When Sesshoumaru handed the folded letter to his chosen messenger, he warned him that it was highly confidential. He also bid him to make haste.

The messenger acknowledged his instructions with a deep bow.

Sesshoumaru scowled to himself as he watched the messenger leave.

The road to Musashi was long. Even if the messenger hurried, it would likely take him two weeks at the least before returning with the shrine's answer.

Then again, Sesshoumaru assumed, that was all to the miko's plan.

After their talk, Sesshoumaru felt he had a little more of her measure.

He knew she was genuinely fond of Rin. He had seen them together and they both seemed taken with one another.

But despite the miko's growing friendship with his daughter, she had never seemed eager to stay with the Nishikawa.

Until now.

Sesshoumaru had sensed her starting to come around when they'd talked earlier. Why else would she have confided in him about her shrine's mandate?

Of course, the mandate had served another purpose, too: it was a clever way out of a very tricky situation.

By leaving the decision about accepting the position as Rin's teacher to her shrine, the miko had neatly taken the matter out of her and Sesshoumaru's hands. Thus, even if the shrine would decline, both the Nishikawa and the miko would save face.

Moreover, waiting for the shrine's reply would give the miko time to consider the offer and adjust to the clan.

Frankly, Sesshoumaru was impressed by the manoeuvre.

Vexing as the miko was, when she had not agreed to become Rin's teacher right away, Sesshoumaru had been displeased.

Thus, he'd had to concede that the thought of the miko her leaving was… disconcerting.

But just because Sesshoumaru wished her to stay did not mean he would meekly follow along with his mother's schemes. He was not so easy to manipulate.

And the miko had just proved that she wasn't, either.

That at least gave Sesshoumaru some cause for hope.

Sesshoumaru shook himself out of his thoughts and headed back towards the Nishikawa palace.

He'd barely made it through the door when a servant intercepted him.

"Young lord, Lord Nishikawa wishes to see you."

"Very well," Sesshoumaru said and strode towards his father's rooms.

He should've expected the summons. Had his mind not been so busy pondering the puzzle of the troublesome miko, he undoubtedly would have.

Sesshoumaru found his lord father in his room, a bottle of sake by his elbow.

"Come, Sesshoumaru," his father greeted him. "Join me for a drink."

Sesshoumaru crossed the room and took a seat across from his father.

He accepted the sake dish with a curt nod and waited while his father poured him a drink.

They talked about clan matters, politics, and everyday things until at last his father finally brought up the topic Sesshoumaru had been expecting.

"Your mother tells me she has plans for this stray miko you picked up on your recent trip," Lord Nishikawa commented.

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru murmured dryly and sipped his sake.

"I understand Otsuki was hoping she would consent to teach Rin."

"Yes, I surmised as much from her hints and made the miko the offer earlier today," Sesshoumaru said, keeping his voice and face neutral.

"How did she reply?" his father asked.

"She neither accepted nor declined the position. She argued that it was not her decision to make and bid to contact her shrine in Musashi to seek for their permission to stay on."

Lord Nishikawa raised his eyebrows. "So she does have a shrine she belongs to? That is something at the least. She is far from Musashi, however."

"That she is, and my lady mother's plans for her go beyond a teaching position," Sesshoumaru said, staring down at his sake.

"Do they indeed? She did not mention any further designs," Lord Nishikawa remarked.

"She did not need to," Sesshoumaru huffed. "It is plain to see that she believes close proximity with a fair young woman will make me turn to her."

"That does not seem like an unfair assumption to me," his father said, amusement flashing in his eyes. "By your own admission, you find her attractive."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. His father was too astute by half.

"That need not mean I would act on any attraction I may be feeling. She is a shrine maiden."

His father shrugged dismissively. "She was a wandering miko. It is no secret how many of them choose to make their coin."

The muscle in Sesshoumaru's jaw jumped. His hand clenched around the sake dish.

"She belongs to a shrine and only took to the roads because she was told to do so," Sesshoumaru retorted, barely able to contain his icy anger. "I have no cause to believe she was selling her body."

"Otsuki is only worried about the clan's future." Lord Nishikawa levelled Sesshoumaru a steady look. "You could put her at ease if you took a wife."

Sesshoumaru slammed down his sake dish and stood up. He jerked his head in a terse bow.

"Good night, father," he bid Lord Nishikawa, before exiting the room.

It was extremely rude of him to march out like that, without his father's leave. And his lord father had, unfortunately, made a valid point.

But Sesshoumaru was beyond caring because no matter how valid, it was also a sore point.

The discussion with his father had also forced him to realise that though the miko had seemed to confide in him earlier, she must have offered only part of the truth.

This mandate of hers left Sesshoumaru with more questions than it answered.

He wasn't very familiar with the duties of shrine maidens, but this was the first time he'd ever heard of such a thing. Perhaps it was something only her shrine practised.

Even so… While dedicating oneself to their duty was admirable, sending a lone unprotected woman to wander the land for two years was decidedly not.

The miko had walked hundreds of ri, alone, in these troubled times.

The longer Sesshoumaru dwelled on it the more it felt like madness.

The mystery of the miko only seemed deeper and the territory ahead, while they waited for her shrine's reply, remained uncharted.