Sesshomaru stood before the mirror in his room, glancing over his clothing once more. His silk hamakas were dark blue, tucked into his usual black boots. The inner haori was also blue but had silver embroidery along the collar that could be seen under the white outer haori that had dark blue embroidery along the collar and the hems of the sleeves. His obi was black and both swords were secured into place. His hair had been pulled up into a neat high ponytail, exposing the two outlined crescent moons courting mark.

Leaving his room, he headed down to the great hall with two soldiers following close behind where most of the castle's guest had gathered. As he reached the main floor, everyone moved out of the way as he entered the great hall, Jaken announcing his arrival. At the end of the hall on the dais, there was one throne that sat above the four thrones on the lower dais, one having been added for the Indian Lord. Around each throne were seats for each guest that came with their respective lords.

He moved to sit on the highest throne and Satori soon joined him, sitting on the seat to his left. As the Lords arrived with their guests, Jaken announced each respectively. The two representatives of the north, Kouga and Ayame came forward and sat on the seats below the Northern throne on the right end. The Eastern Lord, Ryze, escorted his heavily pregnant mate, Nita, to her seat before taking the throne second from the right. The Southern Lord, Kishi, and Cayto quickly took their seats on the far left leaving the throne between Kouga and Ryze for Dimitri who soon arrived with Khendon at his side.

Conversations soon took over as the guests gathered together. Sesshomaru noticed Inuyasha wearing colors of the west instead of his fire rat robe and his hair had been tamed, pulled back into a similar style like his own as he entered with the rest of his pack, all dressed appropriately. Seeing several females enter, all wearing matching clothing of reds and whites that looked like the style Nova preferred, he frowned slightly. Each had their hair pulled into low buns with a wreath of white flowers around them as they split off and mixed into the crowd.

"Lord Dimitri, why is the pup with you?" Sesshomaru inquired as he watched the pup curl up with his head on Dimitri's foot.

"I believe she said she was going to take from the Lady Mother's example for her entrance," Dimitri mused and he heard Satori scoff in disapproval.

Sesshomaru watched as several male daemons entered, holding musical instruments, and sat along the wall. Their clothing similar to Dimitri's but solid colors instead. Soon the hall fell quiet as Jaken cleared his voice loudly.

"Presenting Princess Nova Draik of Northern India, future Lady of the West."

She came into view and her soldiers spread out as the crowd parted. She walked forward and he studied her outfit. The clothing she wore was similar to what she usually wore but there was more fabric of the skirt, making it flare out more as he noticed a silver chain wrap around her waist several times before connecting and the ends hung from her side. The fabric was a deep blue with silver floral embroidery across every piece, leaving no large space untouched and along every hem, the embroidery was thicker to give the edges more notice. The top had a v-plunge to show some of her cleavage, while the sleeves went to her wrists. An blue scarf with crimson edges was tucked into the hem of her skirt and wrapped around her once before going across her left shoulder where the end flowed freely. Her hair was pulled back into a twisted updo with gemmed chains threaded through her hair and the veil she wore seemed to be secured under the updo, flowing around her to where it ended a few inches above the hem of her skirt. The jewelry for her head that he had commissioned sat perfectly in place as she walked gracefully into the room.

Once the doors were closed behind her, the four women he had noticed earlier moved to into a half circle around her but not ahead of her as the crowd moved further away from the group. Her stormy eyes locked onto his, surrounded by black liner and red painted her lips, and she smirked at him as she stopped walking. Her eyes practically challenging him to react as she pulled the edges of her skirt up and tucked it into the belt at her waist, revealing bells wrapped around her ankles and the four women did as well as they tucked their skirts. The musicians started playing and he let out a quiet growl, now knowing why she had given him that look as she started dancing, the four around her in sync and she added her voice to the music.

Kouga and Ayame had come by to check in on him with Haku when he collapsed to one knee as he gripped the couch as a flashback took over of Nova dancing in sync with several other females as she sang. Her expression in a challenging smirk, knowing that it would wreck havoc on the control he had of his beast. Once the dance finished, reality came back and he saw both Kouga and Ayame on their knees in a similar position while Haku stood holding Ayame's shoulder in confusion.

"Mama...?" Haku called, shaking her back to reality.

"Oh god..." Kouga gasped as he fell back to sit on the floor. "They really do hit without warning..."

"Dada...?"

"We're okay, pup," Kouga smiled, rubbing Haku on the head. "Ayame...?"

"I'm pretty sure that if I was male, I would have the problem that both of you have currently," Ayame spoke quietly, everyone able to smell the arousal of each other as she sat on the floor and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't even blame your reaction... I didn't know she could dance like that and her expression... it was like she daring you to loose control Sesshomaru..."

"How did this happen?" Kouga frowned.

"Speaking her thoughts to make both her and my past self realize why the beast acted as it did," Sesshomaru spoke as he mirrored Kouga, sitting on the ground with a knee brought up while he waited for his erection to fade. "Because until that moment, none knew why it it acted the way it did. It was unable to control itself because it was trying to show how it felt but being the primal side, did not know how. She is our one and only true mate."

"True soulmates? But the books haven't mentioned something like that for over a millennium."

"And yet the moment those words left her lips, the beast stopped fighting."

"Her rambling changed her future and our past... do we tell her?" Ayame frowned.

"No," Kouga frowned. "We don't know what that could do."

"But she wasn't there during that final fight. Why was she vital for his destruction?" Ayame frowned.

"I believe that she had been. There had been a foreign attack from outside that none of us recognized."

"But the elder miko had seen her before, wouldn't she have said something? She had been missing for weeks by the time that battle took place..." Kouga asked.

"It had not come from the village but in the forest. It can be the only explanation why we have not seen her return. The events haven't taken place for them."

"These timelines are so confusing."

"Indeed."

Nova sat to the right of Sesshomaru's throne with a glass of wine in her hand now that the gathering was in full swing with music in the background. Khendon was sound asleep beside her while the Southern brothers had wandered off into the crowd with Satori. She noticed Kouga and Ayame with Inuyasha and Kagome while the eastern lord remained where he was with his pregnant mate as well as her father and Sesshomaru.

"You dance beautifully, Lady Nova," the eastern lady, Nita, spoke gently and Nova looked over at her.

"Thank you," Nova smiled before she felt Sesshomaru's claws hand grabbed her and pulled her up and into his lap, her legs draped over the arm of the throne as she leaned against his Mokomoko.

"You did that purposely," he growled quietly into her ear.

"I was only making a grand entrance," she smirked as she looked up into his molten orbs and saw the red at the edges of his eyes.

"You test our control."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she mused, knowing full well that he could smell the lie as his arm pressed her against the hardness of his erection.

"I have a gift for you," he murmured after a moment as Mikasuki appeared from behind the throne with a silk wrapped package as she knelt beside the throne. Nova took it from her before she scooted back and disappeared again.

"I'm going to have to learn where all these servant entrances are so they stop startling me," Nova frowned and heard him snort quietly in amusement as he pressed his nose to her neck.

"Open it," he growled quietly before she felt him nip at her shoulder.

She placed the package in her lap and pulled the ribbon holding the silk closed. Pushing back the silk folded back from his gift, she gasped. Two sheathed blades sat in her lap, the hilt wrapped in blue, silver, and red cord. She picked up one of the blades and pulled it from the sheath, revealing a sai that had a black water ripple Damascus design that contrasted with the silver.

"What are these made of?" She whispered, not knowing that these designs could have been made in this era.

"This one's fangs."

"But you have your fangs..."

"They grew back," he mused against her neck.

"Wow... thank you."

"Hn."

"If you wanted a mating for alliances, you shouldn't have looked so far as the mainland," Kishi sneered as Nova watched him stagger back to his throne with Cayto close behind and frowned, seeing his face crimson from alcohol.

"You're drunk," Nova spoke cooly.

"This one did not choose her for an alliance," Sesshomaru spoke, his tone harsh but his grip around her waist gentle.

"She is human, weak, and disrespectful, Cayto snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did a cat's feelings get hurt?" Nova asked sarcastically.

"A bitch does not get to speak out of place," Kishi snapped.

"My place is beside Sesshomaru, not behind him. I have been taught everything he knows and we rule equally..."

"Women do not belong anywhere near the politics of men..."

"Well not everyone thinks like you do. I'd hate to be the one to have to remind you, Lord Kishi, but the summons that came to your land had been for an elder, but instead of notifying the elder of your tribe, you send your brother to attempt to sate your own curiosity. As it is that he came into the western lands without invitation or notification of his arrival, he was trespassing," Nova spoke simply.

"He is lucky that he was not sent to the dungeons below for such indiscretions," Sesshomaru finished.

"Were you trying to start a war, Lord Kishi?" Ryze frowned. "Or get your brother killed? You've been the Southern Lord for several centuries and you still pull something as stupid as this?"

"When a dog requests the presence of a feline elder about seals, I was doing my duty to my tribe to ensure the protection of our secrets."

"You could have denied the summons."

"Why would a human loving dog wish to inquire about feline seals? Thinking that it would work to give you the longevity of a daemon?"

"Nope, guess again," Nova grinned and saw a hint of a smirk on Lord Ryze's face. "But since neither of you are elders, you'd never know or understand. C'est la vie."

"How does a human know of the European languages," Cayto growled and she stopped smiling and stared at him.

"I know many things," she spoke, using English this time and was met with confusion from all of the Lords before returning to the language they spoke. "I may be human, but my knowledge is extensive then add all the knowledge of the west lands and its politics? There's a reason I have earned Sesshomaru's respect for him to trust me enough with his lands."

"Pardon me, Lord Sesshomaru," a timid voice interrupted them and Nova looked down the steps to see Kagome as she bowed. "I hoped to steal Nova for a moment."

"Hn," Sesshomaru nodded.

Nova climbed out of his lap, keeping a hold of the sheathed sais still half wrapped in the silk and walked down the stairs with Khendon at her side. Gently grabbing Kagome by the arm, she pushed her away from the thrones and towards where her group sat in a corner, but did not see Inuyasha. She frowned, wondering where he could have gone to as they reached the monk and daemon slayer and let go of Kagome.

"You have impeccable timing," Nova whispered with a sigh. "Where is Inuyasha?"

"Keh, I'm right here," she heard and saw Miroku and Sango move slightly revealing a black hair Inuyasha sitting on the floor half hidden.

"Do you have some kind of concealment charm on? Why do you...?"

"I can explain later, but we need to find a way to get him out of here without drawing attention, please," Kagome whispered.

"Khendon, go to Sesshomaru and have him summon Mikasuki for me," she spoke to Khendon and he growled. "Do as you're told."

"He really must hate him," Sango frowned as Khendon disappeared into the crowd and she saw Sesshomaru's molten orbs flash to her from across the room as she saw Khendon reach him. Soon Khendon disappeared once more.

"Lady Nova, you asked for me?" Mikasuki spoke as a false wall behind a tapestry opened as she looked around at the group, before her eyes stopped on Inuyasha. "Oh... Come, I shall lead you back to your rooms."

"Thank you," Nova smiled as Khendon reached her and pressed his nose to her hand as Inuyasha stayed low and disappeared behind the tapestry. "I will let Sesshomaru know that you four retired early."

"Perks of your title, Princess," Miroku grinned before he followed Sango through the servant door.

"Has he always been such a perv?" Nova asked Kagome who nodded with a sigh.

"I am glad you found a way to be happy. I just wish you'd be able to go home. Your boss has actually started stopping by the shrine. He's restless and has become annoying."

"Along with the wolf, I assume considering how familiar you seemed to be with the northern representatives."

"Yeah..."

"You coming, Kagome?" They head Sango call quietly.

"Sorry, yeah. See you later?" Kagome asked.

"Of course. Go, your friends need you," Nova smirked, pushing her towards the servant door before making her way through the crowd back to the thrones.