Lord Raiden and Lady Kimiko were presently in the living room as per their tradition to wake up before breakfast was being served.

Raiden was well rested from his nightly slumber however his wife was a different story.

Kimiko barely slept a wink last night since she personally felt that she was the cause of Isamu's change in behavior at dinner yesterday.

Her shaky fingers wraps around her tea cup when a messenger abruptly announces, "Good morning Lord Raiden and Lady Kimiko, Princess Kirara has arrived at the gate."

A surge of energy was coursing through her body after processing the message that her daughter was currently waiting at the gate.

"Shall we, my love?" Raiden directs once he stands to his feet and offers his hand towards his wife.

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Kirara and her group were instructed by the guardsmen to wait at the gate for the Lord and Lady of the land to arrive.

Obsidian eyes casually swept over the land that she was born in when she surmised that not much has changed since her departure.

A smile was manifesting on her face after spotting a familiar bob of blonde and raven haired leisurely approaching the gate.

The crowd naturally parted at the sight of the two nobles out in the village as the citizens dutifully bows and shuffles about on their way.

"Mom, dad," Their daughter was properly greeting them by bowing while the others were saying "Lord Raiden and Lady Kimiko,"

An expression of confusion surfaces to her mother's face when she curiously poses, "Where's my son-in-law? I do recall inviting him too."

'She invited Fluffy here?' The young woman was confusingly ruminating while conjuring up a believable fib, "Oh you know how busy running an entire kingdom is but he'll be here after finishing up his work."

The rest of the gang were instantly on guard at the mere mention of son-on-law from the Lady of the Land.

"Oi Makoto," Raiden directly addressed the purple haired male in order to say, "Thank you for looking after my baby girl."

A "daddy" along with a light blush of embarrassment dusting her cheeks at what her father was telling her subordinate before suggesting, "Let's head in to talk."

Makoto senses the tension from not just his leader but from the others and even from himself. 'This is going to be like walking on eggshells.'

The journey back to the castle was fairly brief since they received escorts midway to the royal family grounds.

Lord Raiden's castle…

Ismau was groggily trudging toward the dining room when his nose was unexpectedly picking up a familiar scent that was instantly perking him up.

The blonde was speedily sprinting through the hallways, abruptly skidding to a halt and actively searching for the source of the scent.

"Baby sis," "Big brother," The siblings affectionately greeted each other as they warmly embraced each other.

Isamu breaks away from the contact first in order to ruffle her neatly comb hair and says, "Glad you made it safely, twerp."

"I guess everyone else is still in bed?" Kirara assumed since he was the only sibling present in front of the family estate.

The blonde male was shrugging his shoulders while uttering, "I don't know."

"Sis," A familiar feminine voice suddenly speaks once their sights lands on a blonde woman in front of Isamu.

Kimiko was peeking over at her three children, specifically Kirara, when verbalizing, "Ayume…take your sister to her room so she can change."

A scowl briefly surfaced to the youngest sibling's face because she knew exactly what her mother meant by "change".

She opens her mouth to protest until she remembers that their argument often ends in a full out brawl where mother was always the victor.

The younger of the two simply concedes with, "Fine," as she unwillingly follows behind her older sister.

Their mother watched until they disappeared from within her line of vision when she added, "Isamu, you can go too."

He promptly excused himself from the group, jogged down the hall and veered around a corner.

"We will have your rooms ready soon. You can grab some food once it is done." Raiden was offering since they probably went without eating during their travels.

Makoto then instructed his comrades to where they can go before he overheard, "We will talk later."

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"Hold it." Ayume was suddenly preventing Isamu from entering inside of Kirara's room with her hands and body blocking the wooden shoji door.

"You know we can't go in." She adds in while her hands gently presses against his broads.

Isamu was merely narrowing his sights on his older sister when annoyingly gripping, "Why not?"

"Only her mate is allowed to see her bare or did you forget that too dummy?" The raven haired woman instantly reminded them of their family tradition.

He then rolls his eyes and lips "So why are you here?"

"To help with the obi. It's tied different now since she's married." His sister explained the reason why their mother sent her along with Kirara.

A "whatever" verbally escaped his lips as they patiently waited for their sister to finish with the kimono.

"Come in," Kirara finally confirmed that she was properly dressed and the older siblings slid the shoji door to the left and entered inside.

Isamu was visibly blushing at the sight of his sister currently standing in a simple green kimono with their family emblem at the nape.

"Don't fall in love with her. Her husband might kill you." Their older sister teasingly quips while she searches for a comb in the room.

The youngest concealed her hands at the word "husband", which meant that they did not notice her now bare ring finger.

"As if, I'll toss him a doggy treat." Isamu boldly declares with a smirk present on his face and a wave of his hand.

Kirara was giggling at the joke while her sister was beckoning for her to sit in front of her before starting to comb her hair.

Obsidian eyes quietly took in the friendly interactions between her older sister and brother as she privately considered, 'I've been missing this…my siblings.'

A gentle tug around her waist brought her out of her thoughts along with, "There…all finished."

The blonde woman cordially thanks her sister when a messenger arrives with news, "Princess Kirara, your presence at the main gate is required."

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Rin's eyes were expanding at the sights and sounds of a new kingdom and the citizens living and working. It was an exciting and curious experience that was coursing through her.

"Make sure you stay close Rin." Jaken orders the young girl since they were in a new and unfamiliar setting.

Golden eyes were tediously studying the lay of the land in order to familiarize himself with the area.

A few scents caught his attention, more specifically one stood out to him until his eyes finally locked with obsidian ones.

Rin was the first to move as she runs toward the young woman with blonde hair and black eyes, wraps her arms around her legs and cries, "Onee-chan,"

Kirara gently scooped up the child within her arms and pressed her wet face against her left shoulder blade.

She was gingerly patting her back while nuzzling her cheek against her head, which was earning giggling noise from the toddler.

Golden eyes simply observes the exchange between the two until he senses something odd but keeps it to himself until he hears, "Welcome to the East Kingdom, Lord of the West Sesshomaru and company."

The voice belonged to the messenger that delivered the invitation to his castle, her brother.

Kirara was deliberately avoiding his penetrating gaze while toting a now quiet Rin within her arms.

"If you so kindly will…follow us to our home." Ayume includes before they serve as guides for the small group to their home.

During the walk back, Rin and Kirara animatedly chatted with each other to make up for lost time between the two.

As they grew closer to their home, the siblings sensed their parents' who stood ready to properly greet them upon their arrival.

"I'm more than confident that my children did well to welcome you to our kingdom." Raiden was obviously assuming before watching them nodding their heads, except for Kirara, who was shying away from his intense gaze.

"Well it seems as if we will need to prepare more rooms then," The Lord of the land spoke more to himself than the crowd.

"We hope you all will join us for breakfast." Kimiko then directs to the group after she signals for her youngest to approach her.

Kirara then placed Rin back on to her feet before she drew closer to her mother only to hear "Make sure you show my son-in-law around the grounds."

The blonde woman reluctantly nods her head to show she understands what her mother requests of her.

"Isamu," "Yeah, I'll look after the little one. After all…she's my little sister too." The child's face brightly lit up at the sincere comment from the male and squealed from excitement.

"Jaken…" Sesshomaru finally breaks his silence to address his servant only to hear, "Yes, my lord,"

"Tend to Rin's needs." The daiyoukai simply ordered prior to his wife's arrival in front of the group.

"I was ordered to show you around the grounds. Follow me." She dully explained before she started to lead him down the hallway toward the bedrooms.

"This is where my siblings and I reside…this is my room." The blonde woman made known once she stepped in and her mate followed suit.

Kirara unexpectedly feels his presence looms directly behind her only to hear, "Why is his scent on you?"

Her body unknowingly tensed at the question while she nervously thought, 'Shit! I thought I washed it out.'

"It seems like he tried to mask my scent with his." The white haired male was presuming while she was maintaining her rigid stance during his inspection of her body.

"Did he touch you anywhere else?" His question received no immediate answer whether it was verbal or physical.

"Kirara…strip." that dreaded bell rung loudly in her ears as her body willingly obeyed the given order.

While undressing the only idea repeatedly circulating through her mind was 'Damn it,' as her husband was now kneeling in front of her.

His hand lightly grazes over her hip when she physically recoils from the sudden contact with her open wound.

"Did he do this?" Sesshomaru was inquisitively needling while he pressed the palm of his thumb against the long dried bloody mark, which had yet to heal.

The sudden contact causes her hands to grasp the nearest object to offset the pain, which happens to be Sesshomaru's head.

"It was…a white haired brat with a demonic weapon." His wife clarified after she glanced down at the expression on his face.

His finger gingerly touches around the open gash when he audibly murmurs, "So that's why it isn't healing?"

'Is he concerned?' The woman was confusingly asking herself before flinching again after feeling pressure then warmth surging through her hip.

"Who gave you stitches?" The daiyoukai curiously probes as he watches the skin slowly encloses until it forms a scar.

Yet there was a scent that still lingered in which she innately sensed that there was something else that kept him rooted to the ground.

"He tried to touch my scar because he saw the fight. I told him that he was growing too friendly with the debt that I owe him." The demon slayer was explaining why Bankostu's scent was by her scent while noting his facial expression.

Golden eyes were hidden behind eyelids when he finally asks, "When did you see him?"

"He was on my balcony last night. He said he understood why you kept me locked away in the castle."

Sesshomaru unknowingly tightened his grip on his wife, which caused her to careen forward with an audible "ouch" and tighten hold on his head.

"I can barely walk on this hip and now you're making it worse." The blonde painfully hisses while she tries to catch her breath from the pain.

His thumb was then gently caressing the scab and offering an apology.

"Let's just finish the tour." The neko-youkai effortlessly redirects their focus on to something more important while she gathers her kimono and redresses herself.

Obsidian eyes focused in on the obi that laid on the floor when she pointedly assumed, "I hope you know how to tie a hitobe obi to show I'm a married woman."