Chapter Twenty-Five: The Divinities and the Disasters

"What?" Yuki questioned, "But how could it be possible that just being with me might cause your death?"

"Fate," Sesshomaru answered as his golden eyes stared deeply into the water of the pool, "The Miyamotas have the curse of fate and karma tied to their name more heavily than anyone else the world has ever known."

"How so?" Yuki questioned as she went to go sit beside Sesshomaru.

"Reincarnation," Yoita answered for him as he folded his arms in front of his chest and stared at the couple, "There can only be two living clan members with the same element at one time. The first being an old, near-death teacher who lives in the temple of their ability while the next one is usually a younger person who roams the world freely until they are called to take the older one's place in the temple. But you see, reincarnation comes in when one Miyamota dies, the next to be born inherits their ability so that the entire family can be in check. You see, I say 'in check' because the Miyamota Clan works in pairs of opposites, very similar to Yin-Yang."

"Does everyone know this much about the Miyamotas?" Yuki questioned as she threw a glance over to Sesshomaru.

He shook his head in reply, almost as surprised and confused as Yuki was about Yoita's knowledge of the family. "But instead of Yin-Yang, the Miyamotas have their own system, commonly known as the Laws of Divinity and Disaster," the expert went on, not even phased by the listener's comments, "It is based upon what element a family member possesses. Those under the listing of Divinity are elements such as Wind, Light, Earth, Health, and Ice while those under the category of Disaster are listed as controllers of Poison, Darkness, Water, Death, and of course Fire."

"So I'm a Disaster?" Yuki cried as she slouched a bit in her seat as she felt suddenly depressed by the fact.

"The Disasters were never married to demons because they were considered ill fit for anyone to marry because usually, a Miyamota's element reflected their disposition," Yoita continued, "So, if a person's element meant disaster, it could only be assumed that the person themselves was a disaster. For example, someone of Poison could have no manners towards others by speaking 'words of poison'. Darkness could be very secretive while at the same time knowing more than they should. And the power of Death basically speaks for the person's personality."

"So that's why the nobles don't want me to be with Sesshomaru," Yuki concluded, "Because I am Fire and therefore Disaster."

Yoita gave a slight nod in confirmation to the assumption, and even broadened on it, "Fire is believed to be selfish, temperamental, and destructive…. And the fact that the Fire wielder before you assassinated any woman who pestered him with claims of love doesn't exactly help your case. But are there any more questions beside that?"

"Yes, actually," Yuki replied to him, "How can there be a reincarnation cycle of elements when there are two of the same element living at the same time? In order for reincarnation to work, the spirit must be inherited… so how can a newborn do such a thing when the Miyamota before him is still alive?"

This question completely stumped Yoita, his cluelessness obvious by the way that he scratched at the sacred jewel shard that was embedded on his forehead. "I don't know that," he finally answered, "I didn't think to ask that of the scholar that I learned all of this from."

"A scholar, huh?" Yuki repeated as the reason that Yoita had acquired so much knowledge became clear: he had listened to a quick tutorial of the information that somebody else had gathered.

"Any other questions?" he requested again.

"Yes, I have one," Sesshomaru replied, "Tell me again… why are you here?"

"Oh!" Yoita said as his eyes lit up with the recollection of why he had traveled there in the first place, "I have good reason to believe that your life has yet another reason to be in danger, Lord Sesshomaru… but I think that it would be best if Yuki wasn't here to hear this."

They were going to exclude her… again? How much more would she have to endure before she would be just as informed as everyone else in the castle? But even with these hassles, Yuki forced herself to nod and to not object. Then slowly she rose from her spot on the fountain and left the two alone to talk.

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"Lady Yuki!" Rin called as she spotted her nanny coming out of the maze, "It seems like forever since I saw you last! I missed you so much!"

Upon reaching Yuki, the small girl threw her arms around her in a welcoming hug. "I missed you too, Rin," Yuki chuckled at Rin's childish behavior, "How have you been?"

"Okay," Rin replied as she let go of the older girl, "It wasn't quite the same without you, but I can understand the reason why you were gone. You were just worried enough about Lord Sesshomaru to be by his side at all times, weren't you?"

After giving a small nod of confirmation, Yuki couldn't help but glance backwards towards the entrance of the maze that she had just come out of, wondering what Yoita could be discussing with Sesshomaru. After all, earlier that day he had told her that he was coming to settle unfinished business and that sort of reason was never good. "Come play with me, Lady Yuki!" Rin urged as she pulled on Yuki's sleeve.

And so, being the submissive, caring nanny that she was, Yuki obeyed and went to go play with Rin. But as she shared in a fun game with Rin, Gaistuko and a man passed by, discussing something in hushed tones. However, it was the comment that Gaistuko whispered behind her fan that Yuki was able to make out, "You see? The human is covered in another demon's scent! Already the betrayal of her element is peeking through!"

Hearing this, Yuki had to freeze and turn to look at the two demons as they passed on by. How dare she assume such horrid things? The lightning demon had absolutely no right! No right at all! But she couldn't say anything to confront her. For if Yuki did go after Gaistuko to argue her innocence, not only would the superiors know that she had been eavesdropping, but she also would be proving the fury of her element to be true, which was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.

Thankfully it was at that moment that Yuki's trusty friend, Mimi, came to see her. "I'm so sorry!" was the first thing that she said to Yuki upon reaching her as she dipped into many respectful bows, "It's all my fault! It's all my fault!"

"Calm down Mimi," Yuki comforted her friend as she placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her apologetic bows, "It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done to prevent my capture."

"I know," Mimi replied, her voice still regretful and frantic, "It's what I did after that… or rather what I didn't do. I didn't report to Sesshomaru telling him why you were gone. I was sort of scared that he would get angry and take it out on me. He's been known to do that to some of the servants. Anyway, once Sesshomaru learned that you were gone, he assumed that you had run away and gone home because of the stunt that he unintentionally pulled. So the reason that he didn't come and rescue you was completely my fault!"

At first, Yuki could only blink a couple of times as she stared at Mimi, who was only now catching her breath after having tried to get that entire explanation in one rushed jumble. What Yuki wanted to calmly tell her was that she had made a horrible mistake in not telling Sesshomaru. Her silence had almost cost Yuki one of her prized possessions! The only motivation that she had for not scolding Mimi was the pleading in her eyes. Mimi knew that she had done wrong. She would not do it again. "I forgive you," Yuki told her at last.

It was just then Sesshomaru and Yoita came into the garden and began to approach the two. It was Yuki's immediate attention towards them that made Mimi turn to look who was coming, but her reaction was far from expected. "Yoita!" she gasped his name as she saw him.

"Mimi!" he returned in a state of awe.

But the two almost instantly left the moments of shock behind them as they hurried to one another and wrapped their arms around each other before connecting their lips in a kiss. Honestly, Yuki didn't know what to say. But what else was there to say to a girl who was newly reunited with someone than, "You know him?"

"Know him?" Mimi repeated after pulling away from him to face Yuki, "He was… IS my fiancé!"

"Fiancé?" both Yuki and Sesshomaru repeated in unison.

"What?" Yoita questioned as he wrapped an arm around Mimi's waist, "You find that hard to believe?"

"It's just unexpected," Yuki replied as Sesshomaru simultaneously answered, "Yes, it is."

"Well, we are," Mimi beamed as she turned to him, but then suddenly dropped her grin as she gave a light yet rash hit to his arm. "Where have you been all these years?" she interrogated him, "You let me believe that you were dead!"

"I'm sorry, honey!" he defended, "Some things came up."

But just as the couple's argument was becoming heated, Sesshomaru wrapped an arm around Yuki's shoulder and began to lead her away from them so that they could be alone. For a few minutes, they strolled the gardens in silence, trying to recover from that unexpected surprise. "I have news," Sesshomaru finally came out, "We will be leaving to travel to Lord Raikou's palace come tomorrow. It's time that I rejoined the Council there. Hopefully we will also be able to solve even our dilemma while we are there."

"Lord Raikou…" Yuki mimicked, as she processed the name, "Isn't he Gaistuko's father?"

"Yes, he is," Sesshomaru replied, "And Gaistuko will be returning along with us and a few others."

'Great,' Yuki thought, 'Crossing over into Gaistuko's territory is going to be just great. I guess it's time for Round 2.'