Chapter eleven - Witness

Demon Rokuro hadn't been in the western lands for more than a thousand years. He also happened to be the oldest living demon of their age and he remembered even the day Inu-no-Taisho was born.

He was a friend of that mighty demon but hadn't seen him since he could have still been considered young. But as he felt his life was coming to an end, he decided to visit the palace once again.

His messengers kept bringing him news from the lands, news about his older son - Sesshomaru. Rokuro knew Sesshomaru would inherit the title and the ruined palace but he didn't have a high opinion about that demon. As he could witness, he saw Sesshomaru as an arrogant and a very proud demon.

Not mentioning the obsessive hunt for the Tessaiga, a fang his father namely entrusted to Inuyasha, a simple fact the proud heart of his older son couldn't evidently grasp.

Rokuro wanted to see him with his own eyes till he still had a chance. He travelled the lands, entering Sesshomaru's domain on a snowing winter day. He approached the palace, getting out of his carriage and walking toward the gate. He saw with a hint of surprise Sesshomaru had rebuilt the gate in the same style it had always been.

"Who are you?" one of the guards asked.

"I'm lord Rokuro," he said. "I want to see your master."

The guard called some other servant to take him in and Rokuro followed him into the main hall.

"Wait here, please, lord Rokuro," he said, leaving. Rokuro looked around. The hall was beautiful, maybe even more beautiful than before.

"Yes?"

A tall demon walked inside and Rokuro glared at him. He thought for a moment it had been Inu-no-Taisho. Really, the likeness was striking. But this demon had a different type of look. His eyes seemed cold.

"Lord Sesshomaru... I'm Rokuro, your father's long time friend."

That fact didn't seem to interest him much, but he gestured to the chair near his throne.

"I recall your name," he said. "But I fail to see your reason for being here."

His voice was distant and Rokuro narrowed his eyes lightly. It was apparent this demon didn't inherit anything from his father's warmth and kindness. He agreed on taking him around the palace and they talked for some time, but Sesshomaru was cautious and impersonal the whole time. Rokuro left that evening, having his answer already and feeling a bit sad for realizing the great blood of Inu-no-Taisho was dead.

He wanted to take one last brief walk in the gardens surrounding the palace. As he slowly walked among the bushes, he caught a motion and unwittingly stopped, looking in front of him. He saw Sesshomaru quite clearly, he was wearing white robes and was walking along a small river passing through the garden.

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

What? A girl?

A small human girl was running after him. He stopped and turned. Rokuro waited for him to scold her, but he did not. In fact, he did something Rokuro would never have expected.

"Rin..." he addressed the young girl, raising an arm and placing it upon her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?"

"Lord Sesshomaru, it's your birthday today, I know!" she said loudly. "I couldn't let you be alone on your birthday! Look..."

She held a bouquet of wild red flowers in her hand.

"Thank you," he said, taking it from her.

"Do you want to let them flow with the river? We used to do that in my family. Each flower is a wish for you to make."

"Very well, then," he said, using the patient voice of a caring parent. There was a big stone on the river bank and he sat down, while the little girl climbed the stone, standing next to him and leaning against him, looking at the river. She started throwing the flowers into the stream, counting. When she finished, she sat down on his knee, saying: "Seventeen wishes. Did you have seventeen wishes?"

Sesshomaru nodded, caressing her cheek almost like his arm acted on its own. She moved forward, giving him a soft kiss.

"Happy birthday," she uttered, wrapping arms around his neck.

Rokuro had seen enough by that point, so he returned. But he couldn't get the image of the two of them out of his head. Maybe he was mistaken after all. There was something from Inu-no-Taisho in Sesshomaru's blood. Perhaps... even a lot...