Bunmaru had not joked when she had given Maru the schedule she'd be following over the course of the three months the hanyou had been at the shrine. She rarely got out anything that the kitsune daiyokai assigned her. Maru had thought her wit would help her but Bunmaru always gave the perfect counter. Maru resigned to the strict schedule after a month. Every day was the same for the most part as she would be dressed by a miko before going to have breakfast with her aunt and attend any meetings that her aunt wished for her to attend. After that she would be whisked away to study until lunch, which she would take with Masanori until he had left with his team after they stayed one short week at the shrine, training with the miko and geki on combat. After Masanori left she would either eat with Bunmaru or her teacher, Bunmaru's eldest daughter, Kayo. Kayo was much older than Maru and also a kitsune daiyokai. Maru knew that her father had surely left many centuries before her own birth, however, Kayo had spent many centuries in court with not only Lord Arashimaru but also Lord Kyomaru. She was well versed in the etiquette and expectation of a lady. She was quick to punish Maru if she went against such behavior as well.

After two months, Maru quickly learned the only way out of the schedule was to master what she was being taught. So the hanyou spent more time studying and practicing and within a month she was passing every test Kayo gave with flying colors. She could not wait to be done with the rigorous coursework but she was then faced with the new weight of court clothing, junihitoe. It was a style of dress her aunt was quite fond of as the woman would often wear the multiple layers while doing paperwork in her study. Though it wasn't uncommon to see her wearing the typical miko dress with a chihaya kimono over her white kimono and red hakama.

Maru endured her training and soon it seemed that it was coming to an end as she spent less time studying and practicing. Her schedule was then replaced with days full of following her aunt around. Praying and frequently waiting outside the inner shrine for her aunt. By the end of the fourth month she was beginning to wonder if her training would ever come to an end as Bunmaru had been drawn away from the shrine to visit a neighboring shrine. Her days were spent cleaning, studying with Kayo, and lounging about when the rainy season brought frequent showers.

One night while Bunmaru was away, Maru decided to explore the lake behind the shrine. She had seen many geki and miko sneak away to the lake to chat as well as more scandalous affairs. Maru had taken to walking by the lake shore, which had caused many of the geki and miko to return to the shrine, fearing punishment if Bunmaru heard tale of their lazing about. Maru would never tell. She could understand why such a place existed. After all even geki and miko needed the occasional break from their duties, especially those that were still young. Maru could remember when she and Sesshomaru were children. The two frequently snuck away to play in the castle's many gardens. More times than not one of the two would end falling into the pond which frequently gave away their secret.

Maru smiled at the fond memories they had as children. It didn't last long as Sesshomaru frequently stayed with his mother. After which he started to form his opinion of humans and hanyou. It wasn't long before h began forming his personality of dislike and condescending demeanor toward hanyou and humans. With their sparse as adolescents, he frequently commented on Maru's inability to ever beat him due to her being a hanyou as well as a kitsune. After Lord Inu no Taisho met Lady Izayoi, his cold demeanor and loathe for humans and hanyou was complete. It eventually lead to his and Maru's rivalry and all around dislike of each other.

Maru brushed the foul memories away as she remembered more joyful one's, such as when Inuyasha was just a babe. He'd been so cute and always smiling. Maru's attention was pulled away from her thoughts as her eye was caught by a single miko standing on the surface of the lake. The miko had long black hair with fringe bangs. She resembled Bunmaru so much that the only identifying features were her short stature, younger face, and tiny horns that protruded from her head parting her bangs in three. She approached a gazebo that was placed on a lone island in the middle of the lake. Inside the structure stood another hanyou.

This hanyou Maru knew too well. She concealed her presence at the sight of her brother, Ginmaru. The hanyou was not concerned about others though. Maru watched as the two embraced each other. Maru knew that Ginmaru frequently left the Northern Lands with their father's permission though he had always been playfully secretive about where he always went, his face would always have the slightest tint pink when Daimaru teased him about running off to court an unknown girl. The teasing had not bothered the hanyou, as he would never reveal his secret, but instead would smile and make a gab at his older brother.

Maru observed for a while as they spoke. Their eyes were filled with emotion and love for the other as they hugged and kissed. Maru soon decided it would be best to take her leave. Using her fox magic, she changed her appearance to one of the miko she saw most frequently out by the lake before walking back to the shrine. Maru couldn't help but smile as she knew her younger brother had found the one he loved. She silently prayed for his happiness as she went to her room to read a book before going to sleep for the night.

The next morning Maru was awoken earlier than usual as Bunmaru was returning. She was dressed quickly before going to meet her aunt at the entrance to the shrine. Bunmaru smiled as she approached her niece and eldest daughter. "Welcome back, Bunmaru-dono" the two greeted the priestess as she arrived at the last tori gate.

"It is lovely to finally be back and see you all. Kayo, please come by my office later today once you have finished your duties. You may go, my child" Bunmaru told the demoness.

Kayo bowed, "Yes, mother" she stated before bowing once more and leaving to attend to her daily tasks.

Bunmaru watched her go with a smile before turning to Maru, "I hope you weren't too bored while I was gone. Tonight after dinner, I have something to show you. You may go and help with the chores for today. I think your training is almost complete" Bunmaru stated as she winked at her niece.

Maru stared in awe of the demoness, "Y-yes! Thank you" Maru exclaimed before bowing and scurrying off to help with the chores. Though she would more or less spend the day goofing off with the geki and miko that spared after they finished the cleaning for the day.

Bunmaru laughed as she watched the hanyou run off to find those she wished to "help do chores" with. Bunmaru's travel companion and eldest son, Makoto, took notice of her unusually chipper demeanor, "Mother?"

"Oh, yes, let's get going there is still much to do. That girl she reminds me so much of Eri, what do you think?" Bunmaru asked as they started walking toward her study.

Makoto watched as the small hanyou disappeared behind the shrine before nodding, "She is very much like Eri, when she was that age" he stated as remembered his time with the hanyou as she had trained him when he was a child, "She's more like her than she'll ever know."

Maru spent the day sparring to her heart's content for the first time in four months. She only wished Masanori was still there so she could test herself against a seasoned warrior than the geki and miko that had only ever sparred at the shrine. By the time dinner rolled around they were all nice and filthy from the occasional playful spout of wrestling. Maru had taken a bath before and used her fox magic to dry her hair to prevent her aunt from noticing. She could only imagine the punishment she would get if she was found out. On her walk to dinner she pondered how much longer she had left at the shrine, her aunt had made it seem like it would not be much longer now that she had returned from the neighboring shrine.

Maru entered the room that everyone was dinning in and quickly found her seat next to her aunt. She was a few minutes late and she greeted her aunt and cousins as she took her seat to begin eating. The conversation was mostly the usual chatter about the happenings around the shrine and Bunmaru's trip.

Kayo nudged Maru from underneath the table, a knowing look in her eyes. Maru simply smiled at her knowing she had been caught. Kayo rarely missed anything, but Kayo was the least of Maru's concerns. As long as Bunmaru did not know she was safe from the worst punishment. Kayo usually gave her own punishment instead of bothering her mother with situations she could handle herself. "So, Maru, how was sparring today?" Makoto asked the question Kayo so wanted to ask. Maru looked at him shocked as the man didn't even glance her way.

Maru laughed nervously, "What are you talking about, Makoto-nii? I spent the day helping clean the shamusho and dojo" Maru stated with a smile that could have tricked Inu no Taisho himself.

"I visited the shamusho several times and never saw you. However, I did see you among the group behind the dojo wrestling" he stated as his sharp black eyes turned my way, a smirk ghosting his face.

Maru laughed nervously as she turned her gaze to Bunmaru, who acted as if she had heard nothing, "Oh, yes, that was. It was good fun" Maru stated before turning back to her rice. She knew she was being made an example for the miko and geki. If not, then the whole hierarchy would be threatened.

Dinner was fairly silent for the rest of the evening, Maru was quick to help clean up afterward so as to stall the scolding she knew was coming. She was soon retrieved by Bunmaru. The kitsune lead her out of the shamusho while the others cleaned and toward the haiden and honden. The walk was silent and once at the entrance of the honden, Maru took her place. She usually waited next to the door to the honden while her aunt went inside to pray.

Bunmaru stopped in the doorway and beckoned for her niece to follow, "Today you will find the truth you seek" Bunmaru told the hanyou as her niece approached. Inside the large room was a large cabinet that held a jewel atop a silk pillow. Besides that the room resembled all the others in the shrine with tatami floors and wooden walls embellished with painted and carved landscapes depicting tales of old about the gods.

Bunmaru closed the door and approached the jewel, she smiled at her niece as she kneeled in front of the jewel. "How will a jewel reveal the truth I seek?" Maru asked as she approached.

"Come and sit. All your questions will be answered in time, my child" Bunmaru stated as Maru followed her directions. "Remember, you are within the most sacred area of the shrine, in the presence of a powerful" Bunmaru said as she closed her eyes and bowed. Maru brushed off her statement. The hanyou believed in the gods, but she did not think that they actually bothered visiting the shrines.

"There is still much left for you to learn, child" Maru jumped at the sound of a male voice she had never heard before. She looked around searching for the owner. She had not sensed another being's presence. She turned back to the cabinet to see a man with dark hair tied back into a loose ponytail. His facial features reminded her of a fox's grin. He was clothed in a jōe and had a pipe in his other hand.

"It is good to see you again, my lord" Bunmaru stated. She did not move from her bowing position.

His golden gaze turned to the demoness and he smiled, "I am glad you returned safely. I see you have finally brought Maru, she looks just like her mother" he stated as he sat on the tatami in front of Bunmaru.

"Yes, I felt she was finally ready to return to the outside world, but I knew she had answers she was seeking that only you can give" Bunmaru stated as she sat up straight.

Maru stared in disbelief as he turned his gaze back to the hanyou. She gasped and wanted nothing more than to run. Yokai did not scare her but she knew she could not defeat a kami. "Well then, tell me what you seek, Maru" he said with a smile. His eyes were almost closed as he gave his smile that looked more like a grin than anything.

Bunmaru turned her gaze to the hanyou and nodded for her to ask. Maru looked at her hesitantly before facing the kami, "I wish to know how to change the future. I met one of my descendants from the future not long ago and she was human. I later learned her grandfather was my current mate, the son of the Lord of the Western Lands. I want to change it. My master's pure bloodline left to Sesshomaru should stay true. I don't wish to cloud it with my own even if I do come from a great line of yokai" she stated before bowing in respect. Hoping the answer, she would receive would be to her hopes.

"Unfortunately, the future cannot be changed. No matter what you do, you are bound to your destiny. You eventually will bear children fathered by the Lord of the Western Lord. Who your children mate with is their own choice. Is there anything else you wish to know?" he asked. Maru sat quietly processing the information. She had thought that there was a way to change it. Defeat washed over her, the whole journey had come down to this moment and there was nothing she could change.

"Maru, I don't understand why you sell yourself short. The past is the past and the future is the future. You can control neither. Time is alive and it does as it pleases, it waits and listens to no one, not even the gods. You see your mate as the son of your master, it holds you back from seeing what is in front of you. Your mating with Sesshomaru was no mere coincidence, it was fate and there are things in your relationship with the inu that you have not yet realized. He is neither your brother or friend, but you are afraid of the truth that is there. There is an attraction there that you so desperately don't want to realize, and as long as you deny that. Well, it will be very difficult for you" the kami stated as he watched the hanyou intently.

Maru looked up at him with surprise. What was he talking about? She could not understand. She was working against herself this whole time? Her mind start to be put to ease as she thought it over. There were things between her and Sesshomaru she needed to reexamine. She also needed to rethink her worry. She had seen countless times that Lord Inu no Taisho had no care for a pure bloodline and Sesshomaru was showing this trait as well. It wasn't her decision to make.

"I understand. Thank you" she stated as she bowed. The kami found reassurance in her eyes. Bunmaru looked on, a smile on her face. "I want to know about my mother, what kind of life did she live up until her death?" Maru asked the determination returning to her eyes once more.

"Your mother was bound by destiny as well. You will learn more about her journey as you continue your own…" he stated but was cut off by the hanyou.

"Can you show me what she really looked like?" Maru asked in a quivering and desperate tone.

"Maru" Bunmaru called to the girl as she reached for the teary-eyed hanyou, but she pulled away.

"I have to know that at least" she exclaimed.

The kami looked to Bunmaru, who only nodded. He turned back to the hanyou before transforming into a female the same height as Maru. The woman wore a red junihitoe covered in multiple flower embellishments. Her hair was up with the exception of two long ponytails on both sides of her head. Her hair was full of kanzashi and several flowers her fringed bangs covered her eyebrows and framed her face beautifully. Her skin was fair and her hair a soft white. Her large, soft pale blue eyes were brimmed with long, pale lashes. The woman was elegant and ethereal. Maru could not see herself in such a woman. She had never seen someone so beautiful and evoked the kindest of emotions. She pondered how her father had managed to lure in such a woman. The overwhelming emotions that filled the hanyou overflowed as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Maru soon bends over her arms wrapped around herself as she tried to deal with the emotions. The kami approached still in the form of Eri, embracing the girl, who clung to her silk covered lap. Bunmaru couldn't help the tears that brimmed her eyes as well. She watched as her niece dealt with the pain she knew all too well as many of her own children had dealt with such emotions.

The poor hanyou soon cried herself to sleep, exhausted from all the sparring from the day. The kami soon returned to his original form, "Isao, call for Makoto" the kami stated as Bunmaru sat next to him. "She has much more difficult obstacles ahead of her, you shouldn't worry so much" he told the demoness as he stroked the hanyou's head.

"You are worried for her too. You've said it before that you see her as your own child" Bunmaru stated as she watched her nieces face as she fell into the dream world.

"Of course, I worry but there is nothing that we can do" he stated as Isao entered the room. The man picked up the hanyou and carried her to Makoto, who was waiting outside the haiden.

Bunmaru stood and bowed, "I will come again tomorrow" she stated as he also rose.

"Yes, have a good night's rest. Be sure to send her back to the western lands quickly. You don't want her to get too attached to this place" he stated as he returned to the jewel.

Bunmaru bowed one final time before leaving the honden and returning to her room for the night.

Maru spent the next two days spending time with her aunt's family as she prepared to leave the shrine. Bunmaru had informed her of Sesshomaru's return to the western lands months prior. With the wrath of the warlord not an eminent danger, Maru had decided to leave after her transformation.

She was in her room packing the few things she had brought with her that morning after the last night she expected to sleep soundly as a human. Bunmaru had stated she would send her the kimono she had worn while at the shrine after she had properly returned. Her hakama, kimono, and haori were returned that morning and were as good as new after the seamstress had repaired them.

Bunmaru knocked before entering the room as the hanyou finished packing her things, "Have you got everything ready?" she asked as she leaned against the shoji.

"Yes" Maru replied as she stood with her scroll and pack on her back. Maru smiled at her aunt and hugged the woman who seemed saddened by her leaving.

"Be careful on your way back. Inari and his men are still looking for you" she stated as they parted.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" Maru assured her as they began to walk down the engawa toward the courtyard leading out the shrines only entrance and exit. At the gate waiting were several miko and geki as well as Kayo and Makoto, she said her goodbyes and gave her thanks quickly before she began her descent. She stopped halfway down the first set of stairs before running back up to hug her aunt one last time.

"I'll see you soon, Oba-chan" Maru stated with a grin.

Her aunt smiled as she caressed her face, "I wish you the best of luck on your journey, Maru"

Maru smiled and nodded before waving to everyone, "Goodbye!" she exclaimed as she descended down the path to the forest below. She was confindent in her path now as she headed for the western lands to face the man she had been avoiding for nearly a year now. She would see Sesshomaru soon.