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In the light of the new day...well sunset as she slept most of the day with Setsuna, both catching up on sleep.
She stretched her limbs and looked to the bowl of the strawberries and flowers. They were left untouched from when she went to sleep in the early morning. She also pulled from the inner layers of her kimono the folded note that Riku had left her.
Now she had more to dwell over on how she felt about Riku.
He was on the enemy's side and she was, well she didn't know which side she was on. Perhaps she was on team Setsuna, maybe team Sesshomaru.
Maybe even team Rin.
If she had memories of her mother and father perhaps she would have felt more toward them, a dull ache in her chest for the Mama and Papa she had in the modern era that loved her simply for being her. She worried that her biological Mama and Papa may not have loved her unconditionally as adoptive parents. After all, she was raised in a forest with her twin, no memories of her parents. Yet, the little youkai, Jaken, seemed to have known them.
Towa chewed on the strawberry as Setsuna remained asleep on the futon, curled up on her side.
At first Towa had been concerned after she brought Setsuna back with the power of the Tenseiga, broken as it was, that Setsuna was sleeping too much. Kaede and Kohaku both shrugged it off that after a decade of no sleep, Setsuna deserved all the extra hours of sleep she needed.
Setsuna also seemed glad to sleep in Kaede's house, often sharing Towa's futon. Kaede seemed glad to have both of them under her roof.
Kaede entered the house and toed off her sandals before quietly stepping up onto the platform floor, setting down her basket of herbs and vegetables. "Setsuna should wake up soon, don't spoil your appetite," Kaede chided as Towa tucked her note from Riku away, popping one last strawberry into her mouth. "Towa, you are naughty as Rin was."
Towa set down the bowl and watched as Kaede eased down to the cushion by the fire. The basket of herbs and vegetables beside her. "Kaede, did my parents love Setsuna and I?" She asked quietly.
She was lost in this world where she was only focused on saving Setsuna's dreams, yet everything was much more complicated now, including the fight against Zero.
Kaede paused in lifting up a potato from the basket. She turned her eye to Towa, hard and firm. "That is a ridiculous question. If you are like your mother and Setsuna is like your father, do you think you would not be loved? You two, unlikely in personalities to get along yet do, what does that mean?" Kaede asked.
Towa bit her lip and thought over Kaede's questions. She loved her sister, she had missed her for a decade, longed to be by her twin. They had shared a womb, they were two halves of a whole. Sisters.
Their parents must've loved each other dearly. She remembered staring into those amber eyes of her father as they stood by Setsuna's cooling body after the battle with Kirinmaru. There were emotions she could not decipher, but Sesshomaru, her Father, spoke her name.
She felt her tears well up in her eyes at the memory, they were both in pain.
"I'm going to kill Zero and set your mother free. You will take care of Setsuna in my absence. Will you not try using this, Towa?" Her father asked her.
Towa gasped as she processed his words again. "Father...he is going to kill Zero and that will kill Mama because he loves her and doesn't want her to suffer," Towa said quietly, drawing her knees up to her chest.
"You know your father well, but you should know that his presence has always been near the Goshinboku, even now. If you were in Sesshomaru's boots and Setsuna was suffering, would you end Setsuna's suffering?" Kaede asked her.
Towa made a small whine and reached back and felt her twin's back, long strands of dark hair against her fingers.
"You know your answer Towa, you could not. Your Father is probably there and you should speak to him. Tell him to save Rin. You should also figure out your feelings for the young man, Riku," Kaede huffed out as she started to peel the potatoes.
Towa stood up and nodded as she walked across the floor, still wearing her mother's pink kimono with leaves and branches. "I am going to speak to him! Speak my mind! Are my clothes darned and cleaned?" She asked Kaede as she slipped on her shoes.
"No, you will have to wear Rin's kimono," Kaede replied.
Towa sighed and left the home and marched toward the woods. She would speak to her father about her mother and will propose a plan to save her mother. They saved Setsuna already.
Towa marched through the woods, the winding paths drawing her to the Goshinboku. She sniffed the air and could scent three familiar scents on the wind. Riku had been in the woods recently. She could also scent her father and Jaken.
She arrived at the clearing, standing behind a bush as she saw Riku kneeling toward her father and Jaken standing on the large knobbled root of the tree.
"You wish to pursue Towa? You are Zero's associate and helped bring about this mess!" Jaken shouted at Riku.
"I warned Kagome-sama on the night of your daughters' birth, Sesshomaru-sama. I warned her of Kirinmaru wanting her child and husband, and your daughters. How they would be killed by him for being part youkai. I never meant for Towa to be caught up in everything or to grow to care for her. I am a doll...I was never supposed to feel emotions, but Kirinmaru allowed me to grow and I know that the real enemy is Zero. She has grown despicable in her desire to shame your family, cause you pain. I want to fix things," Riku explained quietly and hurriedly as if his mind raced.
"You did stab Kirinmaru in the back, what would make me trust you?" Towa heard her father speak coldly to Riku.
Riku shifted his shoulders and sighed heavily. "I regret hurting Kirinmaru, I hope to tell him one day. I have seen Zero's darker side and I understand now I have been misguided and manipulated," Riku paused for a second. "I want to make amends to Towa, I have helped to ruin your time with her and...Setsuna. I have ruined Moroha's life too by abetting Zero. I have torn you from your beloved wife."
"What has changed your mind?" Jaken asked.
Towa knew the answer before Riku answered, bowing his head.
"Towa. Towa has changed my mind. I want to be her...I want to make things right for her and make her happy," Riku explained.
Towa internally sighed, it was sweet and endearing that he spoke from his heart. She wanted to run out of the bushes but the flick of her father's gaze met hers and she remained still in her spot. With a single glance she knew to stay where she was.
"I may be Towa's Father, but she is a free young woman. She will make her own decisions when the time is right. How do you intend to make things right for her family?" Sesshomaru asked Riku.
Riku stood up and nodded, short wine red hair darker in the growing darkness of the sky. "I will hunt down Akuru and bring you the pinwheel," Riku offered.
"It is Kirinmaru who desires the pinwheel, not I. I have no interest in the pinwheel," Sesshomaru stated.
She saw Riku's shoulder slump in defeat. "Please...I can't go against her," Riku pleaded.
Towa's eyes widened.
"You helped create this mess, if you had warned myself and not Kagome perhaps things would have been different," Sesshomaru replied.
"I-I will try and bring Zero to you. I am sure you desire...desire some form of vengeance?" Riku asked.
"That is amendable," Sesshomaru answered with a dip of his chin.
Towa sighed softly and watched as Riku bowed before leaving. Towa gathered her thoughts before she watched her father turn to her direction. She walked out from behind the tree and bush. She noticed Jaken's eyes turn to her and seemed to widen further than they already were, large yellow orbs watching her in surprise.
"Sess….Father," Towa said as she folded her hands in front of her.
"Towa," Sesshomaru said with a dip of his chin. "Have you been well?"
Towa nodded quietly as she thought of her response. "I have been well enough. Setsuna is doing well. She has been sleeping again."
Sesshomaru walked to her and Towa watched with wide eyes as his hand stretched out and touched her neck. "Someone hurt you, the marks are fading," Sesshomaru stated.
"Some pirates. It's okay. Kaede's face is still healing but Riku saved me. I think I-I think I like him and want to be with him," she said with a blush. Her father's eyes widened for a moment.
"He is responsible for the situation that we are in," he responded.
"I understand but you understand...you love my mother, you can't choose who you love," Towa explained.
Sesshomaru remained quiet and it unsettled Towa.
"Don't kill Zero...what I mean is, we have to wait until we rescue Mama. I know she's in the Goshinboku. We need a plan. What you said about finding and ending Zero, I won't allow it! Setsuna won't allow it!. You are being selfish in denying us to know our mother and her to know us! Who are you to decide that?!" Towa rushed out, feeling tears prick her eyes. "We are family! Be our father and we'll help you!"
"Were you going to kill Rin?" A quiet voice spoke up.
Towa saw Sesshomaru's eyes shut for a moment before turning to Jaken. "Rin was in pain. It was cruel to make her endure anymore," Sesshomaru answered.
Towa saw Jaken shake on the root, tears flowing down his cheeks. He hopped off the root and marched toward them. "No! No! Milord, Rin is stronger than you know. She bore you two daughters, healthy daughters. There are no twin hanyous! Rin endured being Naraku's hostage as a child! She loves her daughters! She wants her daughters...forgive me milord, I just want her happiness, yours, and your children," Jaken explained.
"Jaken that is enough," Sesshomaru said coolly. "Towa you will come with me," Sesshomaru said as he walked toward the Goshinboku.
Towa followed after her father. If she was like her mother, how did her mother fall in love with her father? A woman as optimistic as mother and a youkai as aloof of emotions as her father seemed completely incompatible and yet it worked.
Towa wondered how she was falling in love with Riku. She wanted to speak to him, but the time was never right.
Her father walked into the tree as if it swallowed him whole. Towa blinked her eyes and looked back to Jaken who was walking toward her and rubbing his eyes.
"Go on Towa, she's inside," Jaken huffed out and sat down on the grass.
Towa turned back to the tree and entered it. She felt coldness envelope her before, closing her eyes before she opened them and saw a white glowing tree in the distance. Her father stood waiting for her. He looked down at her.
"Your mother had saved her kimonos for you and Setsuna. It suits you well," Sesshomaru said with a nod.
Towa smiled up at him and then turned to the tree, she could see her mother floating inside. Her breath hitched in her chest and she felt a hand on the middle of her shoulders. She nodded and walked with her father to the spiritual tree. Once they stopped at the base of it, she reached out toward the tree and pressed her palm to it.
"Why is she still asleep? Kirinmaru's dream butterfly is destroyed?" Towa asked before turning to her father.
"Your mother's life is tied to Zero's. I have kept her unconscious until it is over...but I suppose you can tell her that you have a new plan to save her life," Sesshomaru said and nodded to Rin's sleeping form.
Towa smiled and turned back to her mother. Soft dark hair, Setuna's hair, floating in the tree. She looked beautiful and at peace. A soft smile flittered to her mother's lips and Towa smiled back. "Mama, it's me Towa. Setsuna is okay now. We are going to save you with Father. We'll save you from Zero...also, I'm going to save Riku. I wish you were here because Setsuna hates Riku and I think Father does too. I don't know why, he works for Zero but he seems miserable doing that and now Father has him going after Zero to bring her to him. We are going to save you!"
Sesshomaru squeezed her shoulder. "I do not hate Riku per se, I suppose I wasn't expecting a young woman of your age to like him. Though Rin was your age when I told her I considered something more. She was my first friend and we became more over time," he spoke to her and it was the most words that she had heard him speak. It was also heartfelt and Towa understood a little more on who her parents were, how they came together, and why she and Setsuna, despite their opposite natures, were still so compatible.
"Am I like Mama?" Towa asked Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru looked from her to Rin. "Rin, Towa wonders if she is like you. Is she stubborn like you? Yes. Does she misbehave and get herself into danger regularly? Yes. Is she a sweet natured girl? Yes. She is your daughter, Rin," Sesshomaru said as he addressed Rin in the tree's spirit.
Towa smiled softly. She knew whatever her future was with Riku, the soft smile on her mother's lips told her it would be okay.
From enemies to lovers, Towa wondered if she and Riku would have a romance like her mother and Sesshomaru's. She was learning more about herself while learning more about her parents. Her heart thumped in her chest at being in the same place as her parents. Her biological parents who clearly wanted her but circumstances pulled them all apart.
Her smile fell. "Setsuna should be here," Towa said softly.
"Setsuna and Rin have always been connected, they still are, and we will bring them together, Towa." Sesshomaru said.
Towa nodded and pressed her hand to the tree again. Her mother looked more at peace. The future was not definite, but seeing her mother and speaking with her father gave her hope. Even Riku's confession to her father gave her hope.
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