Four days. Four days had gone by and in that time Annika, Rin, and Jaken had managed to push Eri and Akio to be alone a handful of times but it felt as if no progress had been made. Annika did her best to discreetly probe her to friends when they were separated but neither would crack. Frustration ran though Annika as time passed, she could not force them to be together, and dropping too many hints would become much to suspicious. They needed to come to conclusion on their own, they needed something to give them an epiphany. Annika just did not know ow to trigger it.

"Stop thinking so loud." A deep voice spoke, startling her. Sesshomaru watched Annika rub her eyes and lean forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her thighs. The evening sunlight that cascaded through the window she was sitting in front of gave her a sort of glow. It was something he had been noticing more about her lately. Her glow. He quietly walked over to sit in the chair across from her and Annika sighed.

"Who knew getting two people to realize their feelings would be so difficult? I mean come on! Love is right their looking at you! Just...grab it..grab." She said making grabbing motions at the air. Sesshomaru stared blankly at her. "Are you done?"

Annika slumped back in her seat in a rather ungraceful manner. "Probably not, but clearly you have something to tell me."

"Your mothers here."

"That's hilarious, great start on a practical joke, honestly. Now is not really the time though."

Sesshomaru once again only stared at her.

"Great, on the list of things I wanted to deal with my mother was on the top of the list."

"There is more." Sesshomaru stated, his calm demeanor shifting slightly.

"How could their possibly be more? Is it a least good news? Were you giving me the bad news first and are now going to make me feel better with the said good news?"

"Inuyasha is also here as well as his band of misfits."

It took Annika a moment to register the name in her mind. Inuyasha...Her eyes widened.

"Inuyasha...Your brother Inuyasha?"

"Half-brother." Sesshomaru corrected.

"You half-demon half-brother Inuyasha...is here...right now? Why? I thought you two hated each other."

Annika was no longer slouching in her seat but leaning forward as if she might not hear him correctly if she was not close enough.

"Our relationship is...complicated." That was indeed the best way to categorize Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Complicated. Though over time Sesshomaru did not necessarily hate Inuyasha these days, and even in some aspect grew a very...very small amount of respect for the half-demon, Sesshomaru had no desire to spend extended amount of time with him.

"You know, I was planning on just hiding out and avoiding family time but I think I have changed my mind. " Annika got up from her chair and made her way across the room the the door. She looked behind her to find Sesshomaru unmoved from his position.

"You coming?" She asked with an arched eyebrow. He looked conflicted. As if he was truly contemplating the idea of hiding away somewhere. In the end it seemed that his pride had won as he rose from his own seat and followed behind her.

When Annika and Sesshomaru entered the hall all eyes were on them. Annika watched as her mother tilted her head to the side examining them both her her piercing red eyes. Next to her sat Sesshomaru's mother whose look was much less intense. Akio, Eri, as well as both of their parents were in the room as well. That was when Annika noticed the person she was looking for. His ear stood out among the other people in the room. Inuyasha was indeed very different from Sesshomaru. Annika could tell as much just by looking at him. His aura gave away just how uncomfortable he was and his body language did nothing to help hide it. He sat cross legged with his arms in his sleeves, hunched over as if he was trying to make himself smaller. A girl next to him placed a gentle hand on his back, giving him a reassuring smile. Sesshomaru walked over to his own place to sit and it was then Annika began to really take in just how many people were here. Being a sitting room in a castle there were plenty of places to sit, but Annika always felt the room seemed so empty. Now it almost felt cramped.

"Well, come on. Come sit next to your mother." Annika watched her mother pat the seat nearest her own, and slowly made her way towards it. There was an awkward silence. As if everyone had things on their mind they wanted to say but no one was brave enough to start. InuKimi cleared her throat. "Ah, yes. Lets bring in the tea hum?" She then clapped her hand and a number of servants waltzed into the room with trays in hand.

Annika continued to watch Inuyasha until he eventually snapped.

"What the hell are you lookin' at?"

Annika simply smiled. "You have your fathers eyes."

The glare that Inuyasha had been wearing softened slightly. Not really expecting that to be her answer. He had probably assumed she had been judging his half demon blood, silently criticizing his existence and trying to figure out what he was doing here, in a place in which he does not belong. But in fact Annika was instead taking in every detail about Inuyasha that linked him to Sesshomaru. Being a half demon means that there is a fifty fifty chance you will either have your more human traits present or your demon traits present. Inuyasha happen to get the latter. Sesshomaru's own eye color was set being that both parents shared golden orbs but when it came to demon markings, Sesshomaru got his from his mother. A crescent moon that matched hers as well as two cheek marks that colors came closer to to InuKimi's rather than his fathers.

"What is this all about anyway?" Inuyasha asked looking down.

"Sesshomaru is taking Eri here as a mate." InuKimi explained as she gestured toward Eri.

"And? The hell does that have to do with me?"

"Absolutely nothing." Sesshomaru answered as he sipped his tea.

InuKimi rolled her eyes. "You are family."

"I'm family? Since when? As far as I can remember I ain't anything but the son of the man who left you for a human."

Kamiko placed a hand on InuKimi's knee. InuKimi sighed.

"Inuyasha, regardless of how or why you were conceived, you were in fact born into this family. It has taken me many, many years to come to terms with it but you are my late mates blood. My sons blood. Being that this is a time where our family is expanding I decided to take it upon myself to extend that to you as well. You can be a part of it or not. In the end it is up to you, no one can say I did not make it an option."

Inuyasha's eyes scanned everyone in the room and then looked the the girl beside him. She gave him a nervous shrug.

"What would I have to do?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well that's the beauty of it. Nothing. Its an extended hand not a business deal. You can stay for the remaining festivities leading to Sesshomaru's mating. Get to know people, make connections. Should other family functions arise, which as tedious as it sounds don't actually happen too often, you would be cordially invited. Should you and...I'm sorry what was your name again darling?"

"Eh...Kagome." The girl answered awkwardly.

"Ah yes, should you and Kagome choose to have children of your own, they would have extended family. Typical things that come with being a part of not just any family but one of nobility."

"Or you could decline." Sesshomaru interjected. "And leave."

Inuyasha smirked. "You'd like that wouldn't ya. Hell, alright. I accept. This is going to be great, don't ya think big brother."

Annika smiled as she glanced at Sesshomaru who looked ready to throw himself out the nearest window, or perhaps throw Inuyasha out the nearest window.

"Great!" InuKimi said clapping her hands together. She did so enjoy when things went her way. Who really knows what kind of reaction it would have triggered if Inuyasha had actually declined her offer. It would have been offensive to the highest degree and embarrassing to have her offer rejected by what some would call a lowly half-demon. "Let's introduce you to everyone here. The people in this room will be an extremely big part in your adjustment to life as a true young lord."

OoOoOoOoO

"Annika right?"

Annika turned her head to see Inuyasha join her on the balcony she had been hiding on.

"That would be me. It is nice to finally make your acquaintance."

"Is it now?" He asked. With his arms still hidden in his sleeves, Inuyasha sat next to Annika on wood railing.

"It is. I can finally put a face to the name."

"So you have heard of me before?"

Annika smirked. "Of course I have. Something you might want to know if you are not already aware is that word travels fast. Everyone's a gossip."

"So, how to you know my bastard of a brother? I mean, besides the obvious."

"We are old friends. Grew up together. Eri, Akio, Katsu, Sesshomaru and I all did actually."

"Eri is the girl he is mating, the red head right? Damn. never thought I would see the day he would actually trap someone into mating his cold hearted ass."

Annika laughed. "Actually, in a way it kind of was the other way around. Eri has had a crush on Sesshomaru for years. Her father wanted her to have a mate so he threatened war if Sesshomaru did not agree."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "And Sesshomaru just..backed down? Just like that?"

"Ha! No...lord no. He went to war. Asking for my help was actually how we got back in touch..." She said, as her thoughts trailed off. Inuyasha watched her closely. Blinking she she shook her head to regain focus.

"Anyway, he changed his mind, to put it simply. Trying to rise up and 'do the right thing'. I'm actually plotting against the whole thing. Shh don't tell anyone." She said smiling while bringing a finger to her lips.

"Ah, so you can snag him up for yourself." Inuaysha said smirking. Annika's own smile dropped as she blushed lightly from the accusation.

"What? No! I just want Eri and Sesshomaru to be happy and I know they won't be together."

"Yeah sure," Inuyasha said with an eye roll. "that maybe true but lets face it kid, you have a hidden agenda."

Annika blinked at him. "Alright, first of all, I am much older than you, so lets not with the kid thing, and second of all you don't know anything about me so how about you keep your assumptions of hidden agendas to yourself."

Inuyasha grabbed Annika's wrist to pull her back before she could walk away from him. She was taken back by the serious look in his eyes that she was now seeing were much to close to her.

"Take some advise from someone whose made the mistake of ignoring their feelings to remember a ghost, look at what is in front of you and decide if you always want it to be."

"How do you...?"

"I've heard of you too Lady Annika of the north. Your right about one thing. Word does travel fast."

"Don't you have a human female to get back to, Inuyasha." A cold voice spoke.

Inuyasha smirked, letting go of Annika's wrist.

"As a matter of fact I do."

Inuyasha then walked right past Sesshomaru, whose own intense stare never left Annika. The witch was taken back when she finally noticed Sesshomaru's demonic aura pulsating around her.

"What were you doing out here with him?" Sesshomaru asked as he approached her.

Raising both her eyebrows, Annika took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. "Talking...about you...and me..and how Eri is actually the one who trapped you, not the other way around like he had assumed and...can you stop that! Inuyasha is not here to try and intimidate anymore, not that it seemed to be working even when he was."

Annika watched as Sesshomaru's eyes went out of focus, as if he had not realized he had been sending out his aura so intensely. She breathed out as the thickness of the air cleared.

Sesshomaru held the wrist Inuyasha had griped onto, examining it.

"He wasn't trying to hurt me Sesshomaru, he was trying to give me...some weird advice, I really rather not get into it."

As his eyes lifted from her wrist to meet her own Inuyasha's words replayed in her mind. Look at what is in front of you and decide if you always want it to be. Annika found herself unsettled. Taking her wrist out of his grasp, she took a step back.

"I'm...just going to to go...I told Rin we could do something today so...yeah."

She then quickly walked away as an unwanted blush arose to her cheeks.

Sesshomaru watched Annika leave with an equally unsettling feeling forming in his gut. It was something he knew he had felt before but could not place where it had stemmed from or why. Finding Inuyasha in such close proximity to Annika did not fair well with him, and without warning his demonic aura had shot out without him even noticing. Sesshomaru growled as the image resurfaced in his mind. He could remember now, the most recent time this feeling arose was when Sesshomaru had realized he could not properly wield Tessaiga but Inuyasha could. It made sense then. The burning feeling. But Sesshomaru was not sure it did now. As it may, you can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.

Alright friends! A bit of a shorter chapter. not terribly so but it has been way to long since I last updated. Still squatting on a couch but things are looking up. Inuaysha made an appearance! Hopefully I can incorporate him properly without it feeling too forced but I really did want it to be a thing. Remember to leave a comment as I love to know how you guys are feeling about the story so far and hopefully I can get around to doing another chapter sooner than it took to get to this one! The photo for the sites I post this on that allow photos, is supposed to be Annika's mother. I had planned for her to be more involved in this chapter but it didn't really work out that way. No worries though that will change. Ta-Ta for now!