Toga slid into place silently and rested his hand on the back of Byakuya's neck, threading his fingers carefully and slowly into his pack-son's long black hair, mindful of its sensitivity, before twisting his mind out of his own head and pushing it into Byakuya's, through the connection his hand was making. Luckily there was already a deep bond of trust and a feeling of excited need here – that would make it all the easier. Byakuya was truly asleep, and he sent some yōki towards the male so that he would stay asleep. That was necessary so as not to damage him further during the unmaking of this body and transfer into the new body. Not everybody was Kohaku and Rin, on whom the loss of self that came with unmaking had no tangible negative effect. He could not rely on Byakuya's strength and expect it to keep him sane when he was already not fully sane.
He also gauged the two kinds of yōki that the boy held, and decided to give him the "older" yōki – firstly, because it matched the age of the body better; secondly, because it was more likely what he'd originally had; thirdly, because it was more stable and steady. The whole pack needed that, despite Byakuya's skill level. Even slight fluctuations would be an encumbrance, and although Byakuya was beyond being a master at controlling his yōki, he still shouldn't need to do so in such a way. Plus, it would be a hindrance to the naturally gifted yōkai, and Toga would have none of his pack performing at less than their best. Especially not a member who was so damn talented. He'd seen what the boy could do with severely damaged and constantly fluctuating yōki, and it was astounding – he desperately wanted to see what miracles he could manage with whole, steady, willing, working yōki.
Maybe in thanks he could finagle a performance from the moth yōkai; something somewhere secluded and alone where the boy wouldn't be worried about affecting others and would have a large area to work with. Yes, if the boy offered him a favour in thanks, that would be what he asked for.
Distractions – banish them. He cleared his mind, dove into it, and shifted. Instinct took over from here on out, wonderfully used, advanced, grown; not just from age but from constant and consistent use in such a way. Toga was now a dozen different things, actions, thoughts, all at once. (Grow, mould, bend, pour, strengthen, protect, dissolve, renew, brace, form, remove, replace.)
His mind unravelled into its component parts, and immediately sought out all the inherent weaknesses in the original "new" body that the pack-son had – barring the brain, which had to be done separately due to the delicacy of it.
There were (dozens, this is wholly unacceptable, yes we will change this).
Once they had all been found, discovered, and tagged with yōki, he set to making sure that the new body would not only not have them but defend against them. His pack-son would be stronger, faster, smarter, (stabler, stabler, stabler).
Because (yes, stability is the most important thing, all of us agree on this, stability is the forefront of the reasons for change. We will make sure that he is stable in every place).
Now it was onto the trickiest part – it was a good thing that instinct recognised where (our pack-daughter's reiki marked this place right here, this is what needs fixing most of all, most definitely).
It could have been done anyway but this made it faster. By far. So yōki and instinct wove in and out, guiding, shaping, forming the place where the worst problem was, seeking its own brain, measuring the differences (only where the problem is, because moth and inu are not the same, and we do not want to cause more problems) although (he will always be more inu now, because the mind he has wills it to be so) and (that is okay, the body we make will be able to withstand it if his own mind wills it, it is only if we make the change on our own that it will become an issue eventually).
Creating the new brain, and then the body, that would hold the life of his troublesome son.
(Yes, our troublesome son is oh so delightfully troublesome and we will have him continue to be so because he is loved that way by all of the pack, even that ridiculous imp that belongs to our eldest.)
Because pack was everything and (pack caused this) and even though the pack member that caused this was different – (Bokusenō is still pack and harmed our other pack). Yes, he would learn, but (not until Byakuya is finished, not until our son is fixed).
Image became fact, idea became form, tentative became solid, and (joy, completion, triumph, we have completed him)!
They became him (was that a whisper of something other? No, he must have imagined it, that wasn't possible without him noticing before now) and Toga was back, not just to himself but in himself as well, and he looked over his pack-son with a strong sense of approval and gratification. Despite his appearance being technically the same, there was a visible, tangible difference – Byakuya had been compensating for and working around so many inherent weaknesses and possible problems that his body had always seemed a little bit strained even when it was relaxed...
That feeling was completely gone, now. Byakuya looked, felt, was strong and whole now. He had a wonderfully yōkai body that would work perfectly and do exactly as asked with no hesitation or struggle. Toga was excited to see how his pack-sons (and his actual son, who would notice immediately because he was so fond of the illusionist) would react upon realising how much better Byakuya was now. As he looked at the sky, he saw that most of the night had passed, so he smiled and departed to his usual tree – soon his daughter would awaken, shortly followed by the rest of the pack; she'd made her mate sleep tonight with the promise that if he did, in the morning he would get an absolutely brilliant surprise. Because even if Sesshōmaru had to help with Byakuya, having this new ability and being able to use it to save one of his family members would be absolutely wonderful for him.
Kami, but his daughter was clever.
Roku watched Toga depart with a look of complete awe and admiration – he shouldn't have been able to actually experience what he just did, but he couldn't resist gaining a new knowledge of how yōkai and instinct worked, so he'd tagged the older daiyōkai with his hōriki and reiki (it wasn't his fault that Toga let his guard down around Roku, believing himself to know all of the monk's secrets, that was all on the older daiyōkai himself... Well, okay, be honest; maybe it was a little bit Roku's fault, since he preferred being underestimated, but still) – and had unexpectedly been dragged in when the yōkai began doing his job. Roku was incredibly impressed. Not just with the yōkai himself, or his talent, but the sheer belief and faith that was involved in trusting ones instincts so strongly that one was able to become those instincts.
Not to mention the finesse and sheer, striking intelligence of those instincts – Roku knew damn well that most yōkai instincts were nowhere near that sophisticated – that had to be due to age and experience, there was no other explanation. Using them and having them for so long had shaped his instincts into fine, complex, delicate tools, rather than the blunt instruments most yōkai had. Roku understood a bit more now, why Sesshōmaru had been able to accept him into the pack despite knowing that Roku was in love with his mate, because he used his instincts as a fine weapon already; having this ability must make it more possible to do such a thing even if one wasn't aware of this ability.
The experience he had just undergone was absolutely incredible. And both being inside and feeling the body being made, while the other half of him was outside and watching it be made… (Which was all he'd intended on being able to see, when he pulled his trick.)
Roku had a much deeper respect for the Kami than he'd had before, and he'd already had an incredibly deep respect for the Creators Of All. That they could gift this ability to a being... and knowing that the original version is always stronger and more powerful and impressive than the copy... (Although, inherited traits became stronger through strong bloodlines – that still didn't change the fact that the original ability must be staggering. Possibly creating and forming a whole person from nothing but air. Toga had used his yōki to create Byakuya's new body. The Kami didn't have yōki, simply energy itself.)
It was a pleasure to know that their newest pack-mate was now fixed, whole, and better than ever – and that his beloved sister's worries and fears would finally be eased. For a sennight now she had been utterly frantic – and her mate hadn't been able to calm her, mostly because, as Roku and the entire rest of the pack had witnessed, she had ordered her alpha, whom she almost always submitted to, that he was not to interfere or ask questions.
He had seen the utterly desperate look on her face, and so knew why her mate had simply held her close and growled comfortingly to her, allowing her to have her way in this. Everyone else, barring Shippō, had been confused, because Sesshōmaru was not one to allow his pack-mates to be overcome with negative emotion – it was immediately taken care of and wiped out as soon as it was noticed, which meant nearly always almost instantly upon it coming into existence. But Kagome was special – when she was desperate to save somebody, she pulled out miracles from thin air: sometimes not even thin air, sometimes they came out of literally nothing. Sesshōmaru was well aware of this, and teased her about it when times were light and easy.
There hadn't been teasing of that nature for quite some time, because even the little ones had been able to see that not only was something very wrong with Byakuya, but that whatever was wrong was getting so much worse, so very fast. Toga's instincts during this rebirth of his younger brother had murmured frequently in the background of the main grouping a confirmation that the yōkai had had less than two moons to live – and that Byakuya had been incredibly aware of that fact. As well, the main instincts had leaked that Bokusenō, whom Roku had been very impressed with, in spite of his little trap (because he was a tree, his morality couldn't possibly be the same as theirs, and he probably didn't understand slavery very well), was aware of the problem and hadn't let them know.
There were also other various impressions of the old yōkai being misguided and his thought processes not working the same as mortals did (of course, that was blatantly obvious, as well as Roku's earlier impressions of skewed morality due to the nature of his yōkai breed), so Roku was willing to forgive the old tree; but only because Toga had been able to permanently fix his mischievous and devoted younger brother without him having to die naturally, instead giving him a brand-new, perfect body built straight from scratch. Even if it would have been able to fix his little brother, no forgiveness could ever be earned had Byakuya died because of his ailment. Not in the least because Kohaku needed Byakuya desperately and severely, due to Mamoru's cleverness in immediately recognising that their problems would be wonderful counterpoints to one another and balance each other out when together.
Kohaku had been Roku's little brother far before they met Byakuya again, back when Roku was Miroku, and while Roku did not let himself play favourites, he also wouldn't lie to himself; half the reason he was so fond of the moth yōkai was because he was so utterly in love with and devoted to Kohaku. Kohaku wasn't in love with him, possibly might never be as far as most of the pack was concerned, but still loved him; they were absolute best friends and other halves of each other – or in Kohaku's position, Byakuya was his other third because of Mamoru's presence, although Roku had a sneaking suspicion that by the time they changed their relationship (which would very likely be happening despite his thought that Kohaku might never fall in love – Roku was not blind to how Kohaku recently begun reacting when Byakuya showed him his love; their relationship would highly likely change, just not for another decade or two if it did) it would be thirds all the way around.
Kohaku and Byakuya desperately needed each other, and while the nature of it was slightly unhealthy at the moment, the older adults in the pack were all well aware that as they grew up (rather amusing considering Byakuya's apparent physical age) the need would settle into something less insistent and more subtle. Healthier and stabler. Although Byakuya had confessed to Roku that his moth instincts were already changing his interactions, and the adults in the pack were aware that if (when, but probably only Roku himself and Kagome were aware of that fact right now) Kohaku and Byakuya entered into a romantic relationship it would definitely not be normal or conventional.
Hell, Byakuya's new body would help that need they had to be with each other intensely, it had been very clear that Kohaku was having a harder and harder time being away from his best friend the worse he got. It had only been Toga's confirmation earlier that had ever had an immediately severe effect on Kohaku; because not even his alphas were able to promise him that Byakuya would not be harmed worse before he got better – they would never lie to him.
Not for the first time, and certainly not the last time either, Roku was inordinately glad that Toga had earned his little sister's trust and acceptance by finally accepting his son as he was.
Roku felt a stare on him and looked to where Toga was suddenly looking at him from, his eyes confused, intrigued, and rather flummoxed; because Roku was well aware he should not be able to even be looking in the direction he was considering Kagome's little reiki tricks. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, whispering quietly so as not to wake anyone up, but clearly enough the daiyōkai would be able to hear, "We all have our secrets, honoured father – not even you know everything, and by the by, thank you kindly for such an amazing show. This Roku is highly impressed with your ability, your competence, and your faith."
Toga was clearly about to burst into laughter, but he held it back resolutely, and grinned at Roku, definitely pleased and amused with the fact that he'd been able to get around his little sister's abilities. Probably because it made her seem a little less unearthly when some plan of hers didn't go exactly right, as they were wont to do. The universe seemed intent on ordering itself however his little sister wished (even if the way in which it happened was... not very pleasant. The Shikon's influence was becoming more apparent as time went on – they needed Byakuya, especially Sesshōmaru and Kohaku, and it was clear that this experience was their payment for receiving him), and whilst he was very pleased with that, it was slightly frightening and disturbing – things going wrong were actually somewhat of a relief to Roku; it meant that despite her Kami-given immortality his sister was still not divine and infallible.
His brother's father clearly felt the same way, and Roku could not find it in himself to be the slightest bit upset with that. It was rather hilarious how much Kagome terrified her father-in-law, after all. Roku was excited to see what she did to her mother-in-law the next time they met up. She was quite displeased with the woman's deception, after all, as she had confessed to him a fortnight ago. This was the first time that any of her dreams had made her upset with a non-antagonistic participant in them; even though the dream had been the memory of a servant at the shiro, it had heavily featured Satori – and the fact that upon realising she was developing feelings for her mate, she promptly shoved him away, ordered him to go find someone else, and refused to speak to him again.
Even though she had known that he was developing the same feelings for her. Neither of them were aware of what was behind such a decision if she knew that her feelings would be returned, but it was horrible of her to allow Sesshōmaru to believe Toga to be at fault in such a wrong manner, instead of admitting that he had her permission – her orders – to be with Izayoi. Kagome said that her mate knew there was more to the situation, just not what, and she was so torn about whether she should tell him or not. Roku advised her to wait and see if Satori confessed after a few visits, and if not, then she should tell him.
It was no surprise that Toga had picked someone as opposite to his cold, proud, and powerful mate as he could get.
Toga had sensed that Kagome knew now – it actually wasn't much of a surprise, as her actions towards him had considerably softened in apology for some of her anger: not all of it, he definitely had needed the waking up she gave him. But some of it was unfounded, and so she was apologising for it in the best way she could – by loving him like a daughter did. Even despite the tension simmering due to their brother's illness, the whole camp had been freer and easier because of the change in the relationship with their father and their sister (or, in Shippō and Rin's case, their mama and their grandfather).
Ah, she was stirring now. When she blinked up at him, he smiled, and pointed over to Byakuya's direction. She sent him an unimpressed Look that said she was aware of his interference and not amused, but also that she forgave him of it because even Kagome got "weirded" out with how often everything went exactly to plan for her. Still, she looked, and Sesshōmaru woke up at her incredibly pleased gasp.
Kagome grabbed him and made him look at Byakuya, dispelling the barrier around the boy and her father, and his golden eyes widened and darkened with completely visible, wholly unrestrained delight and happiness – he'd been told he would get a surprise but Roku thought this counted as rather more than just a surprise to the daiyōkai. He was incredibly fond of Byakuya; especially because Roku and Sesshōmaru were brothers much closer to the same age, but Byakuya and Kohaku were definitely far younger than them despite their experience and maturity; as well, Byakuya was innately similar to Sesshōmaru, with his mask that was so carefully controlled.
It was wonderful to see Sesshōmaru stare in awe at his mate, grab her close, bury his face into her shoulder, and choke out, "How?"
She was probably crying right now, as she was clinging to him just as tightly, sennights worth of fear and worry and frustration completely melted and gone from her body. "Father. I can't say how exactly, but it is inborn, and my instincts told me to confide in him when he demanded an explanation. I'm so glad I listened to them because Bokusenō wouldn't have been able to help. We're still going, because I need to talk to him, and we're taking Byakuya with us so he can get used to his new body and his stable yōki in relative peace, but he is not going anywhere near Bokusenō, and I expect you to keep him out of trouble."
Sesshōmaru might not have been told the situation entire, but he was especially smart and clever and able to figure things out based on even just a minute amount of information. His head lifted and he looked at Roku with a tentative, painful anger in his eyes – silently asking if Bokusenō knew and if his mate was going to be punishing the old tree with his father. Roku confirmed his deduction with a solemn nod, and he buried his face again, no doubt trying to calm down his anger and sense of betrayal, because right now should be a joyful time.
Luckily, Kohaku woke up just then, and as he turned over hopefully, his dark brown eyes widened in a happiness deeper than Roku – or Kagome and Sesshōmaru, who were eagerly watching their darker brother – had ever seen on his face. Toga was immediately next to his "darker son," and he buried his face in the older daiyōkai's kimono, thanking him repeatedly even as Toga growled a comforting acceptance. Kagome and Sesshōmaru, still highly entwined, were looking on with a very serious happiness, before Kagome interrupted the two, "Toga, it would very much please this Kagome if you would join our pack at nights when you are available to."
Their father was finally officially and wholly pack. No doubt later today Sesshōmaru would be marking him to prove the complete acceptance he had just been granted.
Byakuya had woken up now, and was staring at his hands in awe, closing and opening them even as he whispered, "I feel so much better! Otō-san, thank you so much! This Byakuya owes you deeply and will not accept refusal of a gift. This Byakuya knows that his honoured father is intrigued by his abilities; would a demonstration of how complete and all-encompassing they can be, joined with a few summons so that this Byakuya can aid his father when it is necessary, be sufficient thanks for his new health?"
Neither Kagome nor Sesshōmaru were interfering in this, despite the fact that he knew they didn't really like the idea of Byakuya leaving their presence without Kohaku for long periods of time, and this would be hours, possibly an entire day. That was wise of them; they knew that there was a debt incurred and it needed repayment. Toga himself was also incredibly wise, however, and he grinned, "Only if your other half comes along on those summons; I won't have you going it alone, even if it's just to help me with my recalcitrant son. The demonstration, however, should be alone, I want to see you at full power without you having to cover for someone else."
Toga seemed unaware that once Byakuya built his illusion and directed a few items, he didn't have to pay attention to it; his mind still controlled it but his mind also separated the part of him controlling the illusion from the rest of his consciousness – the old daiyōkai would be incredibly impressed when Byakuya revealed how his origami summons worked and that he'd been creating them at the same time as Toga was embroiled in whatever illusion the young moth yōkai would show him. Meanwhile, his alphas were relieved with the condition Toga had set, and as Byakuya agreed to Toga's request, Kohaku was back over at his side, tugging on the sleeve of his plum coloured sleeping yukata, whispering furiously, "Flame, do something, something you couldn't before but you tried to do anyway because you should have been able to do it! Show me how much better you are, please!"
Byakuya hugged the taijiya before asking, "Okay, Creek, physical or yōki?"
Kohaku rolled his eyes and huffed, apparently not giving a damn that everyone, even Rin and Shippō, were now staring at the pair. Those nicknames must be incredibly private, since nobody (well, Kagome was wholly unsurprised, so almost nobody) had ever heard them before; they were shockingly fitting, however. It really suited the pair. It was more as if the names described their opposites, what they were drawn to, rather than themselves, but it really strangely suited them both strongly. "Puh-lease, you know better than that, Flame. Your illusions aren't to be trusted at all because you have too good of control over your yōki, even when it's acting up, or you'd have been having a dozen accidents a day or more for well over a fortnight now."
That...
That was disturbing and enlightening. Not much could make Roku feel that way, any more.
Byakuya chuckled and stood up with a stretch, grinning as he said, "Remember how many times I tried to do this, Creek? Watch!"
Suddenly he twisted, jumping into the air, backflipping, and, upon landing, promptly went backwards onto his hands in a show of flexibility, before lifting his legs into the air and pushing up with his hands, landing in a catlike crouch. The look on Kohaku's face – a mixture of hope and fear that was painful to see – proved that he had seen an attempted demonstration like this before, only it had failed; multiple times. It was probably something that the moth yōkai had been able to do in his previous life, but lost the ability for with all of the weaknesses inherent in his body. Then he straightened up with a very endearing smile. "Do you believe that I am all better now, Kohaku?"
The pack's dark teen nodded fiercely, "Thank you so much, Father, Kagome-ne, Sesshōmaru-ni. Thank you too, Byakuya, for showing me that your body is as better as it appears to be. I really look forward to scouting with you when you return from your trip."
Of course he'd thank Sesshōmaru – Kohaku was well aware that this miracle only happened as it did because of Sesshōmaru allowing Kagome her bout of desperation. Toga very well might have already gone to see Inuyasha, and Bokusenō was likely completely unaware of their pack-father's special ability. He wouldn't have been able to help, Byakuya would have died, and then been resurrected, only to fall to the exact same problem again. And because they wouldn't have known about Toga's ability, they wouldn't have been able to cure him.
The Kami really loved Kagome and wanted her to have a strong family.
Roku tried not to wonder too hard at why that was the case; maybe it was a reward for her duty and her pain, or maybe they were giving her a source of comfort for if she realised exactly how the Shikon was affecting her, or maybe they were preparing her for something big; in any case, Kagome would have her mate, little brothers, and big brother with her wherever she went from now on until forever. Well, for the most part, anyhow. Undoubtedly there would be short periods of separation, but impermanent ones.
He smiled as he looked on at his family, his beloved sister and her mate so happy, their younger brother safe and healed, physically. The children dashing around Byakuya and Toga asking curious questions that were cleverly misdirected by both parties. Sesshōmaru really was the best thing that could ever have happened to his precious Kagome.
"I have an idea, Toga, and I have the tools to implement it, for the most part, but I need your participation in this. We are going to force Bokusenō to face the consequences of his actions towards Byakuya and the pain he caused by not saying anything, even when it was almost too late."
Toga immediately knew what Kagome was asking and planning, and approved fiercely; it would fix, at least for a short while, the problem Bokusenō had of being unable to think like a normal creature of this planet instead of something half part of the planet. For all he was impossibly wise and millennia old, his old friend was not infallible, and needed to be shown that. Toga knelt down and Kagome placed her hands on his head. The touch of her reiki was indescribably smooth as it slid between his memories, picking and choosing the ones that were emotionally strongest, and ones that had the most visual impact. She was clearly familiar with how the mind in general worked, and how to gather things from it without leaving an impact other than a soft, sweet, healing feeling that was incredibly calming and soothing. Not surprising, considering how long she'd been working with Kohaku before she mated Sesshōmaru.
When she pulled away, she smiled at him, "Thank you very much, Father. I even got memories from Jaken and Ah-Un, but I think the ones that will affect Bokusenō the most are Sesshōmaru's. Not necessarily because of the strength and severity of his worry and pain, although that is indeed intense, but because Sess had suspected, and felt so incredibly betrayed by the mere idea that his friend would do that to any living being that he furiously denied the thought."
His eyes widened and he flinched, knowing exactly how that kind of emotion felt, and how it affected the person involved. His youngest son by blood (despite his immaturity, both Byakuya and Kohaku were physically younger) had made Kagome feel that way more than once. "Bokusenō will learn. He is no more stubborn than I, and far less experienced with pain."
Kagome looked at him seriously, "Toga, is Bokusenō a part of your residual pack?"
He nodded, wondering where she was going with this. Suddenly those cerulean blue eyes firmed and hardened and he knew that his old friend would not like what Kagome was about to decide, but also that he needed it to happen so he would wake up to the fact that his actions could harm instead of help if he was not careful. "Toga, once I feed Bokusenō those memories we are going to punish him with a severity that matches his transgression of causing the death of your son and my little brother. Nobody else may have realised it, excepting Roku and Byakuya himself, and I will not inform them of it, especially not my wonderful Sess, he feels betrayed and upset enough as it is. But I fully realised before falling asleep last night that in order for Byakuya's yōki and mind to be transferred over to his new body, he had to die; he was simply already asleep whilst it happened so there was no mental effect."
His daughter's knowledge was not surprising; there were only a few ways "rebuilt" and "remade" could be translated, and if you actually thought about it, the ability was blatantly obvious: it killed the original body and, going with the very basic template, stripped of imperfections and ailments, used solidified yōki (which was a rare thing indeed, or more yōkai would be able to do what he could) to give the being it was bestowed upon a new body, when he wielded it in this manner. It was more surprising that Byakuya had not been so overwhelmed with his new health that he had asked about Seimei working on him. That could be the only reason he would so blatantly inform Kagome that he had indeed died during his experience, regardless of if he knew that she was aware of it or not. He would not bring up some such thing – Byakuya's manners were generally far too polite at the moment to allow for such an action, despite his mental age and occasional impulsiveness.
It was also more surprising that she was not reacting in a much more vicious manner to punish the old tree, and as if sensing his thoughts (she probably was, he knew she had mental powers to sense emotions, though she rarely used them in any obvious manner) she gave him a quietly cruel grin. "Sometimes kindness hurts worse than cruelty does, Father. That is a lesson that many yōkai never learn, but ningen learn early on. Being gentle or helpful towards someone who has incredibly severely harmed you often causes them far more pain than if you punished them severely, because they realise that in spite of the pain they caused you, they matter little enough to you – or you care enough about them, depending – that you decided to help them instead of hurting them.
"In this case, I do not give any fucks about Bokusenō except that he might harm others – like Inuyasha, he burned my ability to care away with his cruel actions, inadvertent though they may have been. The reason I am punishing him in such a way is, in fact, a kindness towards him – it is far easier to come to terms with guilt and regret when alone than it is when one has an audience. Especially when it may take days – sennights, even – to come to terms with the magnitude of such a feeling when the someone experiencing it has never felt such in a manner directly regarding themselves before."
Ah... Kagome was correct in that – yōkai did not really do such things. But he could immediately see the effectiveness that such a tactic would have – not just on a person who had received little enough kindness and aid in their lives, but even more so on a naturally kind and giving person such as Bokusenō was at heart, when he wasn't allowing his age and lack of normal morality to colour his actions. Realising that he hurt someone as kind and giving as Kagome enough that she could care less about him personally would strike Bokusenō deep – especially as Toga knew he was hoping to foster a friendship with the miko. He felt that the old yōkai would eventually be able to earn her attention back again; if he began taking part in the world again, helping people, and especially, sending people to her for her to help, it was inevitable that that friendship he wanted would be able to bloom. Not for a long time, decades, but eventually.
Hopefully her veritable flood of memories would cause him to wake up from the deep half-sleep he had slid into since Toga's death. He had been getting bad enough as it was with Toga's distance from him due to the situation between Satori, himself, and Izayoi. Most people would not realise this, but Bokusenō needed contact with other beings if he was to keep his morality on the proper scale to be able to help them without harming them.
Too many thought of him as so wise that he was infallible, so Kagome's tangible ire would be very good for the old yōkai. Toga himself, acting for Bokusenō in his separate pack, rather than as a part of his son and daughter's pack (which he was now as of Kagome asking him to sleep with them, wholly and properly – it had only taken a fortnight over a moon, a fact which pleased Toga quite well, proving his likeability), would begin giving the old tree reports on his youngest son's growth and learning every sennight or so, once the old yōkai had adjusted to his realisations. "This Toga will obey his daughter; but once Bokusenō has woken up to the consequences he will be spending more time with his old friend, in order to remind the magnolia that other beings have a different sort of moral code and existence than he does."
She nodded shortly, apparently having expected this, and spoke, "We will leave after you all have breakfast – I've already fetched breakfast for Sess and I – we need to be alone for a while so he can come to grips with his emotions before being confronted with his friend, despite that I will not be allowing his presence in there. He'll be staying out with Byakuya, and he's willing to obey me in this."
Toga grinned and shook his head, "You are far too wise, my daughter, and far too clever by half as well. You rarely use your power as aite to fight with him, so that the moments you do, you are guaranteed to win the argument."
Kagome smirked and winked at him, flouncing off towards wherever her mate was. "See you in a while, Father, we might be a bit late, but with Byakuya at full health we will be able to travel much faster now. We'll still be gone the third day, though that will be a day for Sess and I to be alone and Byakuya to do his first half of his repayment."
When his daughter had plans, nobody interfered. Not even the Kami. Kagome was far too frightening when things went wrong – and sometimes even when things went right, only the latter due to the sheer power involved, rather than the strength of her irritation or anger, since there was none of that when things went her way. So, people might slip and slide through, like her older brother Roku frequently did (Toga had to find out how the monk had done that – he'd not even noticed that he had a tag-along until he exited Byakuya, and then he'd believed himself to be imagining things until he noticed that Roku was awake and watching. Kagome was not the only pack-mate with disturbing levels of ability. The sheer competence of everyone in her pack was awe-inspiring. It definitely made life entertaining and delightful.) but they never interfered with the actual plans so that they didn't work.
Toga frequently wondered exactly why that was, wondered if the Shikon that was almost complete (they had collected six shards this past moon, meaning there were only six left, and Kagome could sense every last one of them; it would be completed very soon) had anything to do with it, and worried for his daughter and her pack – but it didn't make him any less terrified of her because of the fact that she not only had the power to change the world, but the ambition and drive to do so. She cared about people and was determined to make things better, come hell or high water. And damned if Toga didn't believe that she'd manage it, too. If Kagome willed it, it was bound to happen eventually, even if she wouldn't approve of the way in which it happened.
And not just because the Kami liked her – despite not believing that it gave her any actual power, the Shikon was changing her body and soul to be a more fitting chamber of residence; and that meant giving her the power to change things, as that was the nature of the jewel. Wishes were just drastic changes to the order of the world, after all. With anyone else, Toga would say that the Kami were being foolish, over-hopeful, and about to destroy the world because they placed too much power in one single person, because even contained in such a way, the Shikon was vile and twisted and would make things happen in ways that caused pain to others if not constrained by someone who was immeasurably kind, so kind they could dampen the jewel's twisted desire to cause pain...
But as Toga had come to learn, Kagome was anything but one single person. Kagome's heart was totally wrapped up in those she cared about to the point that she never did anything without considering how her actions would reflect back onto and affect the people she loved – which was why she was so infuriated with Bokusenō. Nobody normal was that wholly considerate and loving, and her kindness was immeasurably and even harshly, brutally kind, that fact was a part of her entire being – unless the person genuinely deserved pain and punishment, she would not bear for others to be hurt, full stop, even if it meant taking measures she would be against in other situations. The Kami had probably picked the only person in the world—universe, even—that it was safe to give this kind of power, to give possession of the vile Shikon to – and then promptly brought her here where she was needed.
He would truly not be surprised at all if this was actually a different world than the time she came from – split because she changed it so drastically, or possibly having been totally different from the beginning. Certainly, she was not doing anything by halves, despite her subtlety and light touches on things – everything she did affected the world deeply, even if it was a seemingly tiny action. Kagome made waves. He'd talked this over with Roku before, and the monk had confessed that he'd always believed that Kagome was either the reason her era was how it was, open and accepting, or that she came from a different world altogether where yōkai had always just been myths and didn't realise it. More like didn't want to – Kagome was frighteningly intelligent, so if she was unaware of this possibility it was likely due to a purposeful ignorance.
Honestly, Toga would not correct her of it; she deserved some simplicity in her complex life. Neither would Roku, and they both knew that Sesshōmaru (who had thought from the moment that he'd heard about there being no yōkai in her era that she did not come from the future, but another world entire) wouldn't either, although when she finally let herself realise it, they would all help her through the inevitable breakdown. The younger adults in her group (and Rin) really had no true idea of how different things were – especially since, barring an emergency, Kagome only visited her original home four times a year, and ever since some incident they'd had with Byakuya early on, she refused to talk about the place anywhere where he might hear, excepting how things she brought back worked – their purpose and things like that. And that in itself was only a safety measure. If he didn't know how something worked, he might try to replicate it in a manner that made something explode, and none of them wanted any more explosions.
Not potentially dangerous ones, anyhow. Kagome had described fireworks to Byakuya and he had sworn to be careful – beyond careful – if she please let him work on trying to replicate it for her, going so far as to turn to "Sesshōmaru-ni, you know I can be careful when I try and I really want to give Kagome-ne a gift because she deserves it."
Which meant Kagome had, of course, been thoroughly screwed. Nobody missed the triumph in his eyes and even Sesshōmaru knew the boy was manipulating his fondness – but that was one of the reasons Sesshōmaru liked him so much to begin with, so they all knew it would happen again – probably forever. Especially because the fondness was not one-sided, and the boy went out of his way to please his alpha in return for getting his way pretty much constantly.
Most of the strangers who saw them interacting were completely flabbergasted – why would someone as stoic and cold as the Western Lord of Nihon be so drawn to and fond of somebody who was so blatantly different than he was?
What even yōkai missed was that despite his mask, Sesshōmaru was still completely and thoroughly yōkai, all the way down to his core. Heat, violence, passion, blood lust, never-ending hunger, thirst for power (although, luckily for everyone, only power rightly earned or obtained, unlike many yōkai); Sesshōmaru had it all. His instincts were severely controlled, but so were all nobles in the Western Lands nowadays – something his little daughter intended to change. Toga wished her total luck, things needed to be changed and shaken up around there – they certainly hadn't been that way when he was in power.
Byakuya was every bit as yōkai as Sesshōmaru was – and he was perfect. He could don the mask at any time he wanted, and whilst his mask was different to Sesshōmaru's, it was far more fitting to a normal overpowered yōkai – unruffled, calm, eternal borderline amusement – I am so powerful that your actions barely amuse me; be glad they do, at that. He was just as powerful as his mask suggested, but even when he had been suffering from an ailment that he would normally never have had to deal with, his power was controlled and used; it never used him. Similarly with his instinctual reactions to things – he engineered, used, and manipulated them to give him an advantage in any situation. That was a trait few breeds of beast yōkai had; moths, some snakes, crows and ravens, kitsune, and of course because of their bloodline talent, inu of his bloodline – and some female inu had that trait as well, but mostly foreign ones, rather than native inu. Akari for example, one of the nobles.
His abilities were strong and instead of only having a single aspect, he found ways to break them up, use parts of them cleverly, and give himself an essentially unlimited fount of power to use; because the nature of his abilities and the ways in which he used them were geared towards the aspect of change. He was thoughtful and resourceful, quick on his feet, and was too clever by half. He might be younger than he appeared, but all yōkai were more mature than ningen their approximate mental ages, despite how they might act at times.
Toga suspected that not even Roku (although after that little trick last night, he was not going to assume such things any more) fully realised how extremely, perfectly, ideally yōkai Byakuya was. Sesshōmaru did, though – and encouraged it. The boy had been very specific when he was talking to Toga about Kohaku, and whilst he'd been subtle, he also hadn't been hiding. He couldn't make his affections towards the other boy so blatant that they got noticed as to their nature... But the moth yōkai was, from their display this morning, already integrating borderline-romantic affectionate gestures into their relationship and disguising them under a veneer of platonic pack-affection. Byakuya would never try to force or manipulate Kohaku into having him – the mere idea of ever doing anything like that sickened him deeply; but if he was going to have to possibly deal with never being able to be with the boy how he wanted, he would at least get the affection from him that his instincts needed.
It wouldn't come to that, though. Not with Mamoru encouraging them and shifting things to Byakuya's advantage like the nekomata would do. He wanted his bonded to have a full life and that meant romance included, even if it took decades. Everybody (except Roku, and maybe Kagome... She had a feeling lately of knowing more than anyone else yet did, even Roku, although to a far more limited extent than Roku and because of differing reasons) was underestimating the taijiya boy though – yes, he was damaged, but he was resilient and had his pack to help him; plus he was nearly constantly in the presence of Kagome, whose energy simply naturally reached out to damaged people and helped heal them. It would take less than two decades for the taijiya to be able to notice the moth yōkai's feelings and trust in himself enough that he would allow himself to be with Byakuya in that manner.
In addition to that, Byakuya's actions would be getting him used to the fact that it was okay for them to be affectionate – at least amongst yōkai, which mattered more to the taijiya, considering the nature of their pack, than ningen culture did. If Kohaku was already used to hugging, holding hands (so far mostly when running together, but Toga'd noticed it happening a few other times), leaning against each other, and whatever other various affectionate gestures the yōkai would introduce to their friendship, the change in the nature of their relationship would not be so intimidating or worrying. The moth yōkai was beyond intelligent, and both Sesshōmaru and Toga highly approved of his actions. The others would when they realised, too.
Toga's thoughts had gotten off track; the point was that Sesshōmaru had grown up around yōkai, despite them mostly being servants, guards, and tutors, and no matter how abnormal the ningen in his pack were, they were not yōkai. They would not understand things the same way at the deepest level, react to things the same way, or look at things the same way. Differently to normal ningen, more suitably, but not ideally. Byakuya, however...
Honestly, the smartest and best thing that Kagome had done for Sesshōmaru – besides just being his – was give him Byakuya. She'd known that not only did Sesshōmaru need a yōkai, one that was old enough that he couldn't parent them but young enough he could mentor them, he needed one that was so thoroughly yōkai that it would make up for the diversity of the pack. Diversity was great, but being surrounded by people who obeyed a wholly different set of instincts was, frankly, tiring for yōkai – and Kagome had known, noticed, and fixed that in one fell swoop.
The wind witch and void child would have set things back because of the nature of their relationship and the changes they had undergone; also because whilst they were yōkai, they were not beast yōkai – and despite what most people thought, many insectoid yōkai fit into that category. Moths were far closer to mammals in their actions than most would think – and Byakuya was even more so due to his constant exposure to canine actions and being in a canine pack. His unconscious (and granted) wishes for his body to be able to accept inu instincts better just solidified that.
It was probably only like this because he had been created, and whilst Sesshōmaru had taught the boy his proper general culture and mannerisms, he had manipulated things so that Byakuya still felt slightly more comfortable reacting in a manner more similar to how inu would react; so that while in certain company Byakuya could act properly, but privately he would react as Sesshōmaru preferred. Both parties were firmly aware of this and pleased with the situation.
The thing was; whilst introducing Byakuya to the pack and introducing Sesshōmaru to more of her yōkai adopted family had been planned out, deciding that it would be Byakuya had been completely and utterly instinctual in nature for the woman – and that made things far more impressive. Her mind and heart had reached out for, located, and grabbed someone who was exactly what her mate needed in his life, bringing the yōkai to them in a situation that was far too convenient to be coincidence.
Especially considering the way he had connected with Kohaku.
Kagome was already changing the world to suit her needs (Toga was positive that the other two only came along to make bringing back who she needed seem less engineered), and despite the utterly terrifying nature of his daughter and her powers and abilities, he was so looking forward to seeing those changes.