Young at Heart Revised

by Winterzforgotten

A young Sesshomaru & father story. Lots of fluff and father-son bonding. His first time away from home, a young Sesshomaru learns about life outside the castle. Dangers and lessons included. Rewritten. This story is a side story to Lords of the Night. Spoilers if you are reading this before that one.

24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Conquering the Fear and Secrets Revealed

Shuzo turned around and stared at the ghostly image of his brother as he entered Nii's pools silently. Lifting his brow at the unexpected visit, he remained silent when he saw the intense look on Taizo's face.

Taizo walked towards the water only stopping at the edge and peering down into the black depths, seemingly lost in thought.

Furrowing his brow, Shuzo walked through the water towards his brother who looked disturbed and somewhat lost. Something he was not familiar with from his much older ancient brother who resided in Seihomaru. 'You look lost.'

Taizo lifted his silver-blue eyes to his for a moment and then drifted back down to the glassy black surface of Nii's pools.

A sudden chill filled him, his mind recalling the conversation they had had earlier about Seihomaru losing his way and falling to anger. 'He hasn't-?' Shuzo breathed.

Taizo looked up again and he shook his head with a soft sigh. 'Something just as concerning.'

Shuzo heaved a frustrated sigh.

'We need somewhere, where our hosts can meet, without being overheard by anyone.' Taizo started. 'My first thought was the shadow realm.'

Shuzo put his hands up and shook his head. 'With my host almost going into a panic even in simple darkness, it isn't possible. Hells, he sleeps with a lit candle beside him.'

'Our hosts will not be allowed to travel to another's pools.' Taizo sighed.

Shuzo frowned and nodded. 'So where?'

'Where can we go where we will not be overheard?'

'Even if we could allow our hosts to travel between their own pools, there is that risk of someone listening.' Shuzo brought his hand to his chin as he pondered. 'What about our pools?' He lifted his lavender eyes to Taizo's silver-blue ones.

Taizo's forehead creased. 'Our pools?'

'In our pools, we can bring our hosts.' Shuzo shrugged.

'That will be an interesting situation.' Taizo snorted.

'It isn't unheard of. Males have taken lovers before.' Shuzo supplied.

'Lovers, not mates.' Taizo pointed out. 'But I wonder if it is at all possible.'

Shuzo shrugged. 'We have stretched the boundaries before, and broken the rules.'

Taizo grunted and then flashed his brother a grin. 'If it works, we place our hosts in a world of danger.'

Shuzo nodded. 'It will drop whatever barrier is left between them.'

'And us.'

Shuzo groaned. This was unknown territory to him, but hundreds of years ago their mother did say for them to continue to explore and stretch the boundaries, and this was the perfect opportunity.

'I will discuss it with Seiho if you talk to Nii.' Taizo snorted in sudden amusement. 'At least there is no darkness there, so Nii should be fine.'

'I really have to break him of this fear. He was almost discovered after overhearing a conversation. Your host is facing trouble.'

'We will discuss it in our pools if this works.' Taizo placed his finger to his lips. Without another word, Taizo vanished from his pools and Shuzo turned to stare at his host's tree of life for a moment before he too left to go talk to Nii.

---

Inutaishomaru lifted his head when Taizo popped out in the middle of his office. Snorting through his nose, he lowered his gaze once again to the whetstone and a blade Taizo had never seen before. He walked over and stared intently at the knife. 'I have never seen that blade before.'

Inutaishomaru nodded. 'It's a pugio.'

Taizo blinked at the foreign thing. 'Where in the world did you find that?'

'In a place called Rome.' Inutaishomaru smirked at the disbelief on his spirit's face. 'I saw it and picked it up thinking of Nii.' He shrugged.

'You went to another country while I was sleeping?' Taizo gasped horrified.

'It was over two-hundred years ago.' Inutaishomaru shrugged with indifference.

Taizo stared wide-eyed at his host in disbelief. 'But-' He felt tears well up in his eyes. In all his twelve-thousand years, he had never had a host travel off Japan to another country and he had missed that fantastic adventure. He sat down on the ground heavily and pouted.

Inutaishomaru chuckled. 'You are awake now, aren't you?'

Taizo sniffled.

'Oh, stop being so dramatic.' Inutaishomaru snorted. 'I was planning on going to the mainland in a few days after I visit this Kyoto.'

Taizo still felt upset over this news, but he sucked it up. 'We have thought of a place so we can talk.'

'Oh?'

'I am not certain you want the specific details.' Taizo mused with a grin.

'Hmph. Where?'

'The pools.'

Inutaishomaru frowned and stared at his spirit.

'More specifically, our pools. Not yours.' Taizo stated.

Inutaishomaru gave his spirit a deadpanned look. 'Are you suggesting we meet in the mating pools?'

Taizo nodded. 'It is the most logical place. Nii will not go to the shadow realm, and who knows what dangers are still lurking there. You saw what happened after only visiting there those few times. Now you and Nii are brother's bound by blood.'

'Is that possible with two males?' Inutaishomaru frowned deeper.

'It has never been done before, but we have been known to break certain rules and barriers that have never been explored before.' Taizo shrugged. 'It is worth a try, however.'

A knock came at his door and he lifted his gaze and sniffed the air. "Enter."

Nii poked his head around the corner of the door. "Have they informed you of this ridiculous plan of theirs?"

Inutaishomaru smirked. "I was being told about it when you arrived."

Nii shook his head and scooted closer to the lit candles sitting on the side table against the wall.

Inutaishomaru watched his friend for a few moments. "Is it really that bad?"

Nii shivered and glanced around with a chagrined look on his face.

'So when shall we try this?'

'Tonight when you both retire.' Shuzo stated, but Inutaishomaru found no signs of him in the open.

Nii rolled his eyes. 'He is staying in the pools until we find it safe for him to roam around.'

'Good luck with that.' Remembering the blade he was sharpening, he held it up. 'Here. I saw this years ago and immediately thought of you.'

Nii squinted at the weapon and walked forward to take it. 'What is it?' He lifted the oddly shaped blade to eye level and inspected the length.

'A pugio. Apparently, they use a different metal than we do. I have never tested the weapon, but I figured you might like it.'

Nii nodded his head and tested the weight and then flipped it a few times in his hand. 'Decent balance, not perfect, but it will do the job.'

Inutaishomaru stood up and stretched out his stiff muscles and then turned to the window looking out. 'I suppose we should go to my gardens for this. I will assign Traylaymaru to keep watch so we don't have unexpected guests.'

Nii crouched and pulled the scroll Seihomaru had been working on around to face him. There were little details on the script, mostly about the battle he had had with the cat youkai. 'There is much we need to discuss.'

Inutaishomaru nodded his head and turned to stare at Nii. 'How's the recuperation going?'

Nii shrugged. 'I can move around now, still a little unstable on my feet for long periods. Still, no strength either, which is annoying.'

'I heard from Nurie that you saved their lives.'

'I wasn't about to let them kill us.' Nii snorted.

'You have my thanks.' Inutaishomaru sighed. He lifted his eyes to the door of his office when he caught a slight shadow under his door. Placing his finger to his lips, he edged towards it and then flung it open. The youkai outside jumped a foot in the air.

"My Lord." He quickly bowed.

"What do you want?" Inutaishomaru growled. He recognized the youkai as one of Rendromaru's assistants.

"I bring news that the cats have all dispersed." The youkai's eyes drifted into the room and Nii stood up and stared at him.

"Is that all? You found it necessary to inform me of this when Traylaymaru is the commander of my army?" Inutaishomaru narrowed his eyes. "Do not bother me with useless information!" He snapped as he slammed the door in the youkai's face.

Inutaishomaru shook his head when Nii opened his mouth to say something and the silver-haired youkai lord tapped his head and then placed his finger to his mouth again indicating silence. Frowning, Nii nodded and pulled the candle closer before he sat back down at the desk.

Several minutes went by when the shadow under the door finally moved away. Shaking his head frustrated, Inutaishomaru waved for Nii to follow him. They walked down the halls silently, until they came to a large set of doors that Inutaishomaru pushed open.

Nii smirked at the barracks room and immediately saw Traylaymaru at the back leaning over a large table pointing at different points and speaking with a few guards that were by the table. Traylaymaru's eyes lifted the minute Inutaishomaru entered and the barracks grew silent.

Lifting a curious brow, Tryalaymaru waved the guards away and walked over curiously. "This is an unexpected visit." He said quietly.

"A matter of great importance. I require your services." Inutaishomaru looked around the room and grunted softly.

Traylaymaru nodded and grabbed his sword that was leaning against the wall as they left the large barracks.

"I need you stationed outside my chambers. No interruptions, and no entrance to anyone." Inutaishomaru whispered.

Traylaymaru frowned but nodded his head. "I trust I will be informed later?"

Inutaishomaru inclined his head. The dark-haired youkai glanced down at Nii and he snickered. "You haven't gotten any taller."

"Shush you," Nii said with a soft snarl.

Smirking, Traylaymaru followed them towards the royal chambers situated at the opposite end of the sinking kotai. He knew that whenever Inutaishomaru was home he kept himself locked in either his office or his chambers, seeing no one, or speaking with anyone but his mate. So whatever reason he was taking Nii was going to be an important step in what was happening just outside their vision.

Inutaishomaru nodded to Traylaymaru once he positioned himself beside the door, and Nii and Seihomaru slipped through the large doors silently.

Nii glanced around at the brightly lit chambers and smiled in relief. His eyes fell onto the surprised glance from the princess and his mouth fell open.

"Nii!" Suki exclaimed, rushing towards him and slammed into him with a great big hug.

Nii grunted from the impact and then chuckled. "Hello, Princess."

"Oh, it is so good to see you." She whispered, pulling back and turning her eyes to Inutaishomaru's in question.

"Nothing to worry about," Seihomaru whispered. "I just need to have a conversation with Nii without being overheard."

Suki waved towards the garden gates and then sat back down at her little desk she was working at. "No interruptions from me." She nodded with a smile.

Inutaishomaru led Nii through the gate leading to his garden and then relaxed his stance with a huge sigh. "Good grief." He muttered, plopping onto the bench.

Nii glanced around the luscious garden. It was filled with so many herbs and trees and flowers he had no name for. "Wow. Hana would be lost in this place for hours."

Inutaishomaru chuckled. "It is safe to allow them their freedom."

Nii glanced over his shoulder to peer at Inutaishomaru. His eyes moved to the shimmering form of Taizo and Shuzo who appeared almost instantly when they were granted permission to come out of the pools. 'So how do we do this?'

Taizo shook his head and rolled his eyes. 'It will feel a bit disorientating, but we take you to the same place you met your mate's spirits.'

Nii blinked. 'This will be interesting.'

Inutaishomaru snorted. 'Let's get it over with.'

Nii twitched when Shuzo placed his hand on his shoulder and clenched his eyes shut when his world suddenly spun around in a dizzying circle. When he opened them again, he was seated inside the brilliant white pools he had visited only once before in his life when he had mated with Hana.

Shaking his head, he glanced over at Seihomaru who was sitting cross-legged and glaring at his spirit who started moving towards them from a light blue tree with dark blue leaves. The air felt different than when he had been here meeting Hana's spirit, over five-hundred and sixteen years ago. It didn't have the same intensity as that day.

Shuzo knelt beside him and smirked. 'You doing alright?'

Nii lifted his brow but nodded. 'Why here?'

'Where else could we go?' Shuzo asked. 'You are afraid of the shadow realm, and any place that holds any form of a shadow, so this was the best option.'

Taizo approached and peered down at them, quite relieved that this crazy plan worked. Nii and Shuzo glanced at the ancient spirit and speculated his humanoid form. 'You look different here than out there.'

Taizo smiled. 'So does Shuzo.'

Seihomaru did notice a few differences, but they weren't substantial. 'So what happens now?'

'For this to work, we need to break the barriers between you.' Taizo said, kneeling beside his host. 'Pretty much the same way you did with Suki.'

Seihomaru felt his face stiffen in shock. 'You can't be serious.'

'Nothing like that, stupid.' Taizo growled. 'I do need contact with Nii, and Shuzo with you.'

Seihomaru breathed a sigh of relief and watched as his youki got up and walked over to his brother in all but blood. Taizo knelt in front of Nii and the shadow youkai leaned back slightly, not sure what was about to happen.

Shuzo watched in mild amusement as Taizo reached out and stroked Nii's face with his fingers, and then lowered his hand to the spot right below Hana's mating mark. His mouth fell open when Taizo leaned in and planted his lips against Nii's and his host hissed at the contact wincing at the usual stinging burn that came with the touch of another spirit.

Taizo pulled back and smiled at Nii who stared at him with wide eyes.

Shuzo snickered and moved to Seihomaru who had his eyes locked on what had just happened with his spirit. Seihomaru's body tingled from Taizo's contact with Nii, and he wondered if that was how it was for everyone. His eyes dropped to the lavender ones that appeared in front of his gaze and he gasped when Shuzo leaned in and placed his lips against his in an almost searing kiss.

He gasped when he felt Shuzo grab his arm and that burn drifted down it to his hand. It was as though he had suddenly woken from a deep slumber after sleeping on his arm in such a way that had cut off blood flow. His fingers tingled and they were numb. When Shuzo drew back, he could feel every emotion from his friend and he breathed in amazement.

This was a completely different experience than it had been with Suki. It wasn't as intense a feeling or arousing. It was calm and free like he had just been given the ability to float above the clouds. Shaking his head, he could feel Nii's fear and worry, and his friend's pain and longing.

'Wow.' He whispered.

Nii flushed. 'You really need to think about Suki at a time like this?'

Seihomaru chuckled. 'Sorry.'

Taizo and Shuzo glanced at one another with knowing smiles. 'If you two are quite finished.'

Nii and Seihomaru glanced at their youki and they shook their heads. 'So, now what?'

'We discuss what has been going on and get filled in on what was missed.' Taizo growled, lowering to a crouch, staring pointedly at Seihomaru. 'Why all the secrecy?'

Seihomaru sighed. 'While you were asleep, I had many dreams filled with premonition. Some from so far in the future that they are of no importance. However, some are not premonitions, more warnings of what needs to be accomplished before a specified time, otherwise what has to happen will not occur.'

Nii frowned. 'Such as?'

'Best example I can give, the creation of the Yata no Kagami. It has yet to be made, so if I am not there at the correct time to witness it and I miss the signifying light that will tell me it's the correct one, it could cause all our clansman's deaths.' Seihmaru pinched the bridge of his nose.

'So how will you know to be at the right spot when it's created?' Nii questioned.

'The weather, filtering through the dreams carefully to find specific details or indicators on what is happening.' Seihomaru shook his head. 'I am on the verge of losing the clan because Rendromaru has sunk his claws in so deep, I am finding it difficult to be here and elsewhere to correct certain things, or locate certain objects I need or must do before their allotted time. There are other things I must do also.'

'Such as?'

'I have to face Shishinki and take back that ability he stole from you years ago. If I don't he will continue to cause havoc in Japan.' Seihomaru clenched his fist. 'I also have limited time. I am five-hundred years away from the promised deadline with Ryukotsusei, I have to father a pup from another female, a specific female to ensure that certain events take place. If I miss that opportunity, then I will not be able to gather the Khakkhara that is needed for the breaking of the curse.'

Nii whistled. 'What are you not saying?'

Seihomaru gave Nii a pained grin. 'I will not be alive to witness our clans reawakening.'

Taizo gave his host a sharp look.

'I have buried all this deep so to not have my clan exposed. But I have time still.'

Nii frowned. 'When?' He was not expecting to hear that news.

'Just after the birth of my second pup.' Inutaishomaru said.

'How long?'

'Long enough.' Seihomaru snarled.

'That is not an answer.' Nii pushed, feeling anger fill him. 'I need to know what kind of deadline we are working with.'

'Maybe two-hundred and fifty years.'

Nii gasped and Taizo crouched beside his host. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

'It is too dangerous to say anything with Rendromaru's minions lurking around every corner.' Seihomaru shook his head.

Nii was shaking his head. 'I don't accept that.'

Seihomaru gave his friend a sad look. 'Unfortunately, I do not have any say in this. I do not have the power to take out Ryukotsusei and I will suffer an injury I cannot come back from.'

'That's in five-hundred years, not two-hundred and fifty.' Nii growled.

'I must face him before then. On the night of a new moon, my second pup will be born and if I leave Ryukotsusei alive when he is birthed he will die which means that the Khakkhara will not be available to be acquired and our clan remains locked in their curse.' Seihomaru shook his head firmly. 'I must face Ryukotsusei before my second pup comes into this world. If I leave the dragon to roam this world, he will destroy everything we hold dear. He knows about the Shinden-zukuri.'

'After all this? After what we did here?' Nii snarled. 'I don't accept that. There has to be something you missed.'

'I wish there were.' Seihomaru gave Nii an apologetic smile. 'That is not the only pressing matter. I have less than three weeks to get to the mainland to witness the crafting of a Yata no Kagami which will be presented to a daimyo of Japan. I also have to go to Kyoto for answers on how I am going to use these objects I acquire to wake the clan. Find a youkai stone maker to have a seiki made to give to Suki and find a black pearl. Then I have to have Toutousai craft me a sword out of this red gem I found, and find the location of Shishinki and take that meido he has been molding your former ability into, and contain it in the sword Toutousai makes me but if I do that, I am worried it will erase the power of the gem from being used to awaken our clan.

'Not only those, but I have to deal with things happening here at the sankin kotai and try and rid myself of Rendromaru who has sunk his claws into my son and hold off his plot to take over my clan and territories.' Seihomaru was ticking off everything on his fingers and then stopped to give Nii a faint grin.

Nii shook his head. 'And find those who are still loyal to you?'

'Exactly.'

Nii rolled his eyes. 'That's all? Gods, no wonder you are on edge.'

'I do it to throw off Rendromaru. He fears me because he knows I can defeat him one on one. If he thinks I am not paying attention or too engrossed in ensuring my outer territories are safe, he lowers his guard. He knows nothing of our clan still residing at the Shinden-zukuri, nor does he even know about it. All anyone knows is the clan was wiped out hundreds of years ago. I wish to keep as much of this away from Sesshomaru as possible, but I fear that he will have certain things to deal with upon my death.'

'That's why you hold everyone at a distance because you know he will use Suki and Sesshomaru against you as a weakness.' Nii breathed.

'He is under the assumption I have discarded them.'

Nii nodded and sat back on his heels. 'That is why you need my help.'

'I need to hear about what is happening when I am not here. I trust Traylaymaru with my life but Rendromaru has so much power when I am not here, the dog can't take matters into his own hands.'

'So what do you plan to do right now?' Nii asked, trying to get a bearing on what was most important.

'Hide the Soun'ga and go to Wa.'

'Hells, you still have that sword?'

Inutaishomaru nodded with a smirk. 'I must bring it to Toutousai and have him fix the scabbard. The whispers are getting irritating.'

Nii shook his head. 'If I can assume right, you don't spend as much time here because of all the ears.'

'Precisely.'

'So what do I need to keep my eyes on?' Nii asked.

'Rendromaru and his closest assistants. He has a few mind readers, so make sure that once we leave this place you lock this information in the back of your mind.'

Shuzo grunted. 'I can twist and fragment the information so it comes out as nothing but gibberish.'

Taizo snorted. 'That is why you have all those fragmented memories.'

'Which you were placing neatly into their proper places much to my annoyance.' Seihomaru rolled his eyes at his spirit.

'Well if you hadn't left me in the dark about all this, I could have been better informed instead of jumping to the assumption that you had lost your way and had fallen.' Taizo wagged his finger at Seihomaru.

'I didn't plan to wake you so soon.' Seihomaru growled. 'My emotions got the better of me.'

'What steps do you want me taking if I hear something that goes against what you are doing?' Nii asked.

'If you weren't so afraid of the shadow realm, I would have ordered you to assassinate Rendromaru.' Seihomaru shook his head and held his hand up at the protest. 'For now, watch and stay out of his focus. If you can move around without him knowing you are there, all the better. I don't need him to figure out what you are or what you are capable of, and have to fear for your life on top of everything I must deal with.'

'You need to promise me something.' Nii said pointedly.

Seihomaru lifted his brow.

'You will not do anything foolish to hasten these events. I want your word that you will allow me to go over everything you have documented and see if there is something you missed. I can't accept you die before our clan wakes, which leaves them vulnerable should you die. If we can prevent your death, I want you to allow me to do it.' Nii narrowed his eyes at his friend. 'You dying before that also leaves Sesshomaru vulnerable to attacks from your enemies. You know how that all works.'

'Fair enough. Most of my documents are at the Shinden-zukuri. I make copies for when Suki can slip out and read them, but she is watched closely.' Seihomaru sighed.

'So who did not manage to fall under that curse?'

'Only a handful. Kazuhisa, Ahuri, and Heisuke. They were expelled by Rendromaru a year before I returned from Rome and I have not found them since. When I questioned him about it, he said they tried to kill Sesshomaru and I was not here to witness it. Had I brought them back, it would have created a mess in the clan that I have no control over. Traylaymaru and Akina are here.' Seihomaru shook his head.

'What else?'

'Rendromaru has a group who do his bidding when he is being watched. I do not know who they are, other than they follow him without question. They have been able to kill a few of those who are loyal to me, making it appear an accident. They can also hide their scent.'

'So because of the mind readers, they are one step ahead of you.'

Seihomaru nodded his head. 'If they were to discover the whereabouts of the Shinden-zukuri and found the clan, they would kill them.'

'By the gods, Seiho. What kind of world did I wake up to?' Nii whistled.

'One that has grown wild with war, filled with malice and suspicion. The humans are far more devious than when you were awake and are fighting for territories of their own, assigning shogun as their clan leaders, who have powerful daimyo lords. Welcome to the Sengoku Jidai.'

'The warring states.'

'Youkai have gone into hiding or moving aside to allow humans control. So far my territories are safe, but for how long, I can't say. For now, all I need you to do is stay out of sight, listen, observe and report back to me when I return.' Seihomaru gave his brother in all but blood a smile.

'Rendromaru is searching for any records of me and my heritage.' Nii muttered.

'He won't find anything. It was all destroyed to keep the last surviving eclipse inuyoukai safe.' Seihomaru grunted.

'Fantastic.' Nii rolled his eyes.

Seihomaru lifted his hand. 'There are rumors of another.'

Nii lifted a brow. 'Oh?'

'Just whispers I have heard, if there is, he or she is keeping well hidden, that even I can't locate them.' He gave a lopsided smile.

'Well we both know it isn't Io, his skills follow Hana's. Kiya is not an eclipse inuyoukai, and Kai died when his youki tried to take over.' Nii furrowed his brow thinking back.

'From the whispers I have heard the youkai is from the island. Someone whose line was tied to someone close to my father.' Seihomaru shrugged. 'Not like it matters now, however.'

'So you are going to take care of Soun'ga first?' Nii lifted a brow curiously.

'I must. It isn't safe to leave here, and I highly doubt I can handle the whispers while I travel to Wa.' Seihomaru snorted.

'Not to mention all the youkai there who would flock to you to try and take it.' Nii rolled his eyes. He hadn't forgotten how it was always a battle when that sword was out in the open.

Shuzo stepped forward which got all their attention. The fact he had been silent the entire time in deep thought had been somewhat strange. 'There is another matter.'

Taizo lifted his brow.

'That shade that stole Nii from the physical plane is still around.' Shuzo said.

Seihomaru gasped. 'You're kidding?'

Shuzo shook his head. 'I don't feel it when I visit the shadow realm, but I also don't feel it in the physical realm, but it was not dealt with.'

'So it can be anywhere.' Seihomaru frowned deeply.

'I lost it somehow while in the shadow realm.' Nii muttered absently, his mind still reeling whenever his thoughts went to the place he had been lost for five-hundred years. Giving an impulsive shiver, he shook his head.

'It will try and attach itself to anything it deems worthy. I believe it gave up on Nii and is now in search of something stronger.' Shuzo glanced down at his host and placed his hand on his shoulder. 'Either that, or it wandered back into the spirit realm, but I have no way of checking.'

'So half of it resides in the Soun'ga, the smaller portion in the red gem that I have after I killed the twins, and the other part is now wandering somewhere, but we have no idea where?' Seihomaru growled at this news. 'I can't deal with that right now, I have to focus. With less than two weeks to get to Wa and watch the crafting of the Yata no Kagami, I can't afford to lose time by searching for this shade.' With a glance at his youki, he lifted a brow. 'How long have we been in here?'

'A few hours.' Taizo said.

'I think we need to wrap this up.' Seihomaru pushed to his feet and his eyes landed on Shuzo's tree of life. It was just as breathtaking as Taizo's and vibrant. The trunk was a lighter shade of lavender and the leaves a deep color, but throughout the trunk, there were silver and grey marks that were very reminiscent of Shuzo's facial markings. Taizo's tree was free of any and all markings.

Nii saw Seihomaru's gaze and he turned to look and smiled. Taizo chuckled and walked over to stand beside Shuzo who rolled his eyes at their host's focus. 'You'd think they would be used to seeing a tree of life.'

Taizo snorted. 'They see their own, rarely are ours seen.' He looked intently at his brother's tree and allowed a smile to cross his lips. 'It is a very nice tree.'

Shuzo narrowed his eyes. 'My tree.' He grumbled possessively. Just as he said that a small dark form jumped out of the branches of Shuzo's tree and sprinted over to them. Immediately, Shuzo bent down and caught the frantically running figure and Taizo watched in amusement. Sitting in Shuzo's arms was the small black feline that had attached itself to Nii when they had first arrived on the mainland, purring furiously in delight.

Taizo chuckled softly. He turned to look at Shuzo and then glanced at his host who was watching in silence. With a heavy sigh, he nodded his head and approached Seihomaru, holding out his hands. 'How long are you going to use the name Inutaishomaru?'

'Until the threat is gone. The name Seihomaru is a memory, one of misery and torment.'

Nii snorted and took Shuzo's hands when his youki approached. It felt like only a few moments went by when he sat up from his position in the bushes and he brushed the leaves from his hair. Inutaishomaru sat up and peered at Nii with a faint smile on his face. "I will be leaving in the morning."

Nii sighed, but nodded his head.

"First I must go see Sesshomaru and then I will depart."

"If I am going to remain hidden, is there perhaps a better room for me to use? The one in the common halls might keep me in their focus." Nii asked pushing to his feet slowly.

"I will get one set up for you and place one of my seals on it." Inutaishomaru got up and stretched. "Traylaymaru can take you there after I have it arranged. I will also make sure it has lots of light. But, Nii?"

The shadow youkai looked at his new brother.

"You need to work through this fear. I need you."

Nii took a long deep breath. "I will do what I can."

"Stay here for a few minutes. I will go set up new chambers for you."

Nii watched Inutaishomaru walk out of the gardens and sighed heavily. Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, he stared at the shimmering blue that seemed to dance over the surface. He supposed that was the seal Seihomaru was talking about as it seemed to flicker and move as though it was water.