Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The original characters and plot are the property of Chiaztolite, who is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary of Previous Chapter: After three days, Sesshōmaru woke up. He and Tōga had a lengthy chat about the past, in which both parties told their side of the story.

A/N: Thank you so much to my amazing beta reader: Shiroi Kiba no Kyohi-ka for making sure everything in this chapter is on point!

Without further ado... Enjoy!

The Way to Elysium

Chapter 16: The Dog General and the Princess

The night before

Yōhime's palace in the sky was usually a quiet and peaceful place. Tonight, however, it was in uproar. They had not received human guests in a couple of centuries and suddenly, now, they had two – plus a hanyō. Well, plus the dead miko, but they would not count her for the time being. She hardly needed refreshments at this point.

The biggest question her staff had, of course, was what to serve their guests. They were all highly trained royal servants, after all, and hospitality was of the utmost importance. Most of them had never had interactions with humans and were at a loss when it came to the preparations of human food. Fortunately, a few still retained some memories from a couple of centuries back when Izayoi often visited. Somehow, they were able to put together something decent to present to their unexpected guests.

And thus, crisis was averted.

Yōhime herself had left those guests early in favour of a solitary walk through her gardens. She would have made them uncomfortable anyway. As she strolled in silence with only the half-full moon as a companion, something pulled at her heart and made her halt her steps. A gentle thrum in her chest ensued, prompting her to look around.

The sensations were familiar. She went through her gardens in search of him until she reached one of the smaller courtyards on the east side of the palace. He was standing under an old cypress tree with his back facing her. Then, as she neared and he sensed her approach, he turned around.

At first, they were both standing still, staring at each other. The wind blew and made both their pelts sway gently. Almost simultaneously, he extended his hands as she ran towards him and threw herself into his open arms, sighing in contentment when she felt him enveloping her in a tight embrace.

"Beloved," he murmured against the top of her head. "It has been a while, my love."

"Anything more than a day is really too long," she murmured against his shoulder.

"A day?" He chuckled. "A day is but a blink of an eye for us. But—" He pulled away slightly so he could look at her in the eyes. "— my sentiments exactly, my mate."

When he lowered his head to kiss her, she raised herself onto the tip of her toes, meeting him halfway.

They had come so far from those days centuries ago, back when they had courted. If what they did could be called 'courting'.

Their pairing was not meant to be, but their paths crossed nevertheless. There had been a class difference between them. She was the daughter of the King. He was the King's General, a common born. By the laws of the court, he was not even permitted to look at her in the eyes, much less touch her in any way.

As one who was raised to be as formidable as any male on the battlefield, Yōhime occasionally joined the General's expeditions to conquer different parts of the territories. Inu no Taisho had been a beautiful beast to witness in battles. She did love watching him barrel through his enemies and slay them with only a few swings of his sword.

Soon, she wondered if she could engage him in a battle of a different kind.

At first, it was supposed to be just once. A morbid curiosity for a taste of the wild side. He had never lain with a Princess and she had never allowed a commoner touch even a strand of her hair, let alone her private parts. At first, it had only been about satisfying their curiosity about each other — and perhaps gratifying their mutual lust for one another. But, the moment they came together, they both realized they had something rare between them. It had been a life-altering revelation, and neither one could resist the second time, the third, the fourth, and so on.

Soon enough, they were sneaking out of base camp to make love anywhere and anytime they could. Soon enough, they were inseparable: a male and female yōkai meant to be together for eternity.

The western lands were not merely an opportunity for them to conquer and to chase glory. The conquering of the new territories was the bargaining power they intended to use against her father, the King, so they would be permitted to mate. Perhaps it had not been necessary, as King Kaien gave his blessing almost immediately, much to the court's — and especially her brother, Zetsubomaru's — shock and outrage.

They mated. Sesshōmaru was born. At the time, it seemed a sound decision to leave him behind in the Southern Isles under the King's care. He was returned to them two hundred and fifty years later, a child who resembled her so much in flesh, but mute. Distant. When she and her mate failed to get through to their child, they left him to his own devices. She did not realize what a big mistake this was until a couple of centuries later.

Sometime in between, she and Izayoi met. What had started as a peculiar friendship between a yōkai princess and a human noblewoman blossomed into something more. When she introduced Izayoi into the life she lived with her mate, Tōga had been apprehensive and guarded. No sane male yōkai would share his mate with anyone, ever, no matter the gender of the third party. But Izayoi had been such a sweet creature, so easy to love, and the General possessed a big heart from the start. As such, he made room for her there, and eventually loved her as well.

Others would not understand what the three of them shared, so they never bothered to explain. Besides, it was never anyone's concern other than their own. They let others draw a conclusions, and as expected, everyone assumed the simplest explanation there could be: the Great Dog General — compassionate and sympathetic towards humans to begin with — had decided to take a human consort.

Tōga had been disturbed by everyone's assumption that he had taken a concubine. It was dishonourable for a mated yōkai — especially a male yōkai — to take another lover. It was considered a weakness, an excess proclivity for the pleasures of the flesh. He repeatedly wondered aloud how her father — had the King still lived — would have reacted to him besmirching her name in such a way. Despite all these considerations, he agreed to it anyway — for her sake.

Of course, Yōhime became a laughingstock amongst the yōkai community. But, secure in her mate's everlasting love for her, and in the new love she discovered in Izayoi, she was never troubled by the rumours and gossips. If anything, it created a convenient cover-up for her relationship with Izayoi, which would have been even more difficult for the narrow-minded humans to accept.

Izayoi living amongst the humans had not been ideal, but they understood it was difficult for her to leave behind her people and everything she knew. Even when their treatment of her was less than exemplary. Neither Yōhime nor Tōga would force Izayoi into anything she was not comfortable with.

Life continued. And with it, death was inevitable. When Tōga died, even though Yōhime knew death was only the beginning of a different kind of life, and that they were tied together by a bond that outlasted death itself, she was devastated. Though she still had Izayoi for some years after, Tōga's death had altered her life irrevocably. His absence from her side had ripped a large hole in the fabric of her existence.

And now, as she stepped back for some air, she touched his cheek. Now, she lived for moments like these, when he was able to come visit her in the world of the living.

He smiled and embraced her once more.

… …

To Tōga, Yōhime had not just been any Princess. She was the Warrior Princess of the Southern Isles: proud, beautiful, graceful, and undefeated in battle.

She would not remember, but he had first seen her when they were only pups training together in the army. And from the moment he saw her, wielding a sword during a practice spar against another soldier trainee, he wanted her.

It had been impossible then. The nobles and the commoners were separated into different divisions. Though they were part of the same army, training for the same goals, he was never permitted to look at her, let alone speak to her, or interact with her in any way.

So, he watched her from afar. For years. Centuries.

Everyone told him it was impossible, that he was wasting his time. She was the daughter of the King; he was an orphaned nobody who had been lucky enough to be accepted into the army as one of the trainees. A lovesick puppy who did not know his place. His answer was always the same: if a crab crawling on the ground could look at the moon and dream, he too could set his sights on Princess Yōhime.

Tōga knew he could not swap out the blood running through his veins. The only way for him to rise to the top was through sweat and blood, through swords and battles. So, he made himself one of the best warriors the Southern Isles had ever seen.

Centuries passed. He became Inu no Taisho — The Great Dog General, and she the Warrior Princess. He led the King's army into battles, and sometimes she joined his expeditions. He was permitted to speak to her now, though he still was not allowed to look at her in the eyes, or touch her. Not the way he yearned to, anyway.

But his years of gruelling hard work paid off. His skills and prowess shone best in the battlefields. Before too long, she started watching him too.

When one day she approached him for a tumble, he was only too happy to oblige. He would be insane not to. Tōga knew Yōhime thought they would only be doing it once, and he nearly broke his back making sure she would come back for more. No soft-bellied toffs would be able to pleasure her as much as he did, or make her cry out the way he did. He had been prepared to let her use him any way she liked, as long as she would be his at the end of it.

Subduing her that first time had been his greatest feat; the feel of her body yielding and accepting his possession was the sweetest victory of all. After the first time, it became very clear she was meant to be forever his. And she knew it too.

When they became a mated pair, he gave her a piece of his soul he had carried since birth, and she gave him hers, as was the yōkaiway. Afterwards, she became his everything. His ears constantly attuned to her every word; her moods dictated the tides of his heart.

Soon after, Sesshōmaru was born, and after that, well, they made a long series of mistakes.

The arrival of Izayoi into their lives was most unexpected. To say he was wary of her in the beginning was an understatement. Yōhime had often spoken about her new human 'friend' she had met at a lake. At first, he had been supportive of Yōhime expanding her circle. When it was revealed to him that what he had thought was friendship had morphed into budding romance, he was uncertain. Izayoi's presence in Yōhime's life brought out the insecurities he never thought he had in him. Had he let his mate down in some way to make her feel she needed someone else in her life?

But, as it turned out, the heart was a malleable organ. It expanded with every person you took into it. Izayoi's circumstances did bring out the protective instinct inside him, and made it easier for him to take her under his wing; to love her as well.

No one knew about the true nature of the relationships the three of them shared, not even his closest confidantes. They kept their sons in the dark as well. They had thought it for the best, but Tōga's instinct was telling him it was time to reveal it to his firstborn. He wanted to tell Sesshōmaru the truth about that night when he left his son on the beach to rush to Izayoi's mansion.

It would not be anywhere enough for forgiveness. But, perhaps, it would help him to understand.

At least a little more.

… …

Under the moonlight, the Dog Generaland his Princess strolled hand in hand around the gardens in the floating palace he had built for her when she found the western lands too suffocating and claustrophobic.

"Tell me you found our son," she said as he linked his arm through hers and place her hand on top of his. "How is he? Is he well?"

"I found him, yes, in the nick of time. He was wounded and was unconscious for three days, but he is in good condition now." Toga's lashes lowered as his expression became clouded for a moment. "I suppose it should not come as a surprise that, upon arriving in the underworld, the first person he sought for aid was your father, not his own father."

"Having spent the first quarter of his life in the Southern Isles, Sesshōmaru is bound to have bonded with my father," she said patiently, squeezing his hand in comfort. "You know this."

"And having neglected him for so long, and pushed him away as he tried his best to get close to me, I cannot begrudge his regards for your father."

Yōhime did not respond, but she doubted he needed one.

Tōga heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Yōhime. I have learned so much about our son the past couple of days, my head is still reeling with shock and shame."

He relayed to his mate what he had learned, and when he arrived at the part where the King had given their son ten lashes, Yōhime's steady steps faltered. She braced herself and resisted the urge to put a hand to her temple, taking a deep breath.

There was so much they did not know about their son's past. Practically a lifetime. And now they were catching up. A question gnawed at her chest: were they too late?

Perhaps it was time to tell her mate what she herself had learned two hundred years ago. It would devastate him, but afterwards, she hoped they could put their heads together and work to aid their son in his life-long goal.

"Tōga," she said. He must have sensed something different in her demeanour, or her voice, for he turned and fixed his vigilant eyes on her. She took a deep breath.

"A few years after your death, I received a secret missive from the Southern Isles requesting aid for my sister-in-law, Zetsubōmaru's mate."

"Princess Hinamori?" Tōga frowned. "Of course, she would have been anointed Queen by then. What happened to her?"

"Well—" Yōhime hesitated. "At the same time, I learned that before she put Sesshōmaru on the ship bound for the western lands, she saved him from —" She paused. "— something truly horrifying. She was severely punished for it. Someone called in a favour for her to be taken out of Southern Isles and into safety."

"Something horrifying?" Tōga repeated. His formidable brows stitched together into a thunderous frown. "A favour? Yōhime, speak plainly, please. What on earth had happened?"

"Well…"

He stopped so he could move to stand in front of her. "What did Zetsubōmaru do to our son just before he embarked the ship?"

When still she did not respond, the General widened his stance and clasped his hands behind his back. Impatience showing in every little move he made, etched on the lines of his face.

"Yōhime. I beg you. Speak. Surely it cannot be worse than my imaginings at this moment."

Could he not see how difficult it was for her to relay what she knew? Merely thinking about it set her blood to boiling point. But, now, the time had come for her mate to learn about it too, so she forced herself to say the words.

"Zetsubōmaru tried to… forcefully mount him."

He merely stared at her with an expression that appeared blank at a first glance. Then, his eyes narrowed as realization sank in, and his formidable brows joined together in a ferocious glower. Wordlessly, he stepped up to the railing that bordered the terrace, separating it from the open air above and below.

As his facial features began to elongate, Yōhime realized: he was beginning to change into his beast form. Quickly, she stepped up to him and grabbed onto his arm.

"What are you doing, exactly?"

"I will fly to the Southern Isles and crush Zetsubōmaru's head between my jaws," he growled. "I will have his blood soaking that fucking precious throne of his." His voice had deepened into a demonic growl as his physique continued to transform.

She tried to pull him away from the railing, but he did not budge. He was a large male. In terms of brute strength, she was no match for him.

"Tōga, have you forgotten that you have died?" Yōhime retorted. "In the living realm, you are unable to go anywhere without me."

"Then — let us go together and kill that fuck—"

"And steal the satisfaction of killing Zetsubōmaru away from our son? Take everything he had worked so hard for and reduce it to nothing? How will he forgive us after that?"

That got to him, thankfully. His eyes reverted to golden, and his facial features gradually returned to his humanoid form. Once she saw he was fully under control, she released him. He moved away from the railing and started to pace back and forth, as if to expend the pent-up energy and anger.

Suddenly, he stopped and trained a pair of sharp eyes on her. "Yōhime. You said you discovered this shortly after my death. You mean to say… I could have learned about this two-hundred years ago?"

She bit the inside of her cheek, knowing the time had come to face the consequences of the decision she made two centuries ago. To hide this important discovery from her one true mate.

Slowly, she nodded.

He did not speak again for a while. When finally he spoke, his voice was deceptively calm: "Did Izayoi know?"

Yōhime lowered her head. "She was here when I received the missive, so… yes, she knew. Only the gist of it, not the details."

This made the General bristled and visibly upset.

"Is Izayoi the father of Sesshōmaru, or am I?"

Oh, he was very upset. The General was usually not a jealous sort, though from time to time, this streak appeared. But… What kind of question was that? She considered telling him he was being petulant and really silly, but she knew that was not the way to soothe the ruffled furs of her General.

"Izayoi had nothing to do with it," she explained. "It was my decision, and my decision alone to not share my discovery with you."

"Why, Yōhime?! Something as big as this, something involving our son, I should be the first person you tell!"

"Because, I know how you would get when you learn the extent of our failures as his parents. You would throw yourself into despair, and knowing you were unable to do much because you were already dead… it would torture you even more. So, I took it upon myself, for both of us, to try to make amends."

Though Yōhime loved Tōga with all her heart, she knew his weaknesses well. The mighty Great Dog General was such a perfectionist, he did not tolerate defeat or mistakes easily. When the faults were his own, he would be unable to look past them. He would only mourn and blame himself for the things he could not change. This would perhaps continue for… years, perhaps? Only a couple, if they were lucky.

However, Yōhime herself was not one to wallow in the past and lament her failures. Which were many, in this case. Countless. Not unlike Tōga, the urge to beat herself up for past mistakes did not escape her completely. After learning a smidgeon of what happened to Sesshōmaru, she had often berated herself: What had I done? What had I done to my son? But of course, it was not about what she had done, and more about what she had not done. But soon afterwards, she always remembered to pick herself back up again, and continue working towards bettering the future.

"Hnn. It seems that I have been underestimated on all front," Tōga said, bringing her attention back to the present. He shook his head, lips pursed into a grim line. "But, Yōhime, I could have spoken to Sesshōmaru about it, at the very least. I would not have let two hundred years passed by without acknowledging the pain he had gone through."

Perhaps. Yōhime had considered talking to her son too. Many times. But, Sesshōmaru from two hundred years ago had been vastly different from Sesshōmaru now. Back then, he had been unflinchingly hard. Would he have consented to speaking with her about the traumatizing events in his life, when she had not done a single thing to protect him and had no power to alter the past?

She supposed they would never know now.

"It makes everything so much clearer. I had often wondered why he was unable to speak upon his arrival on our shores. Why he had been so silent. And now… to know such a thing had happened—" He clamped his hand over his eyes as they bled crimson again. It took him a while before he managed to calm himself and lower his hand.

"So. Chikatani was killed because he tried to stop Zetsubōmaru from abusing our son." It was not a question.

Yōhime nodded. Upon learning this, she had tracked down Chikatani's two sisters who were still serving at the palace in the Southern Isles and smuggled them to her own domain so they could live their lives free from abuse and fear. It was the least she could do to repay the young inu who had practically raised her son, and even died for him too.

"Even in death, fates seem to have no difficulties finding ways to beat humility into me," Tōga lamented. "To learn that I have failed him so miserably…"

Yōhime stared at her mate, resisting an urge to smack him out of his self-pity, but she reminded herself to temper her reaction. She had two centuries to come to terms with the discovery, while Tōga had only two minutes. She could not rush him. He needed some time to fully accept it.

"The truth is, Tōga, we did fail to protect him," Yōhime told him gently. "Even Zetsubōmaru's mate protected him more than we did. Imagine that. But we will not be helping our son by mourning the past. This is the time for action. What we need to do now is help him reach his goal."

Finally, the tempest in the General's golden eyes abated and, gradually, new resolve took its place. He straightened and clasped his hands behind his back.

"His supreme conquest," he said.

Yōhime nodded.

"Alright." He drew a deep breath. "Tell me. What have you been working on?"

"During the past few centuries, I have been forging alliances and amassing an army for him, if — or when — the time comes that he wishes to wage war against Zetsubōmaru." She turned and looked at the moon that was still visible beyond the top of the cypress trees in her garden. "If my son desires an army, he will have the best, the mightiest there ever is."

"An army?" Tōga arched his brow. "For a coup?"

Yōhime scoffed and arched a brow at her mate. "A coup? Don't make me laugh. A yōkai kingdom does not necessarily have to be passed down through the descendants of the first sons. Had my father lived longer, he would have named Sesshōmaru as his successor. Zetsubōmaru most likely had predicted this, and so he murdered the king, his own father, before any formal announcement was made. So — who is the usurper here?"

"As much as this question sends a chill down my spine, I simply must voice it aloud," Tōga said. "If indeed Zetsubōmaru predicted it, why did he keep Sesshōmaru alive all those years? It would have been sensible to eliminate the threat immediately. Even after Sesshōmaru arrived in western lands, Zetsubōmaru had never pursued our son, not to my knowledge. Do you not find it odd?"

Yōhime had wondered the same as well. Throughout the centuries as she watched Sesshōmaru matured from afar, she was constantly on the lookout for any signs of invasion from the south, or Zetsubōmaru's arrival, but there were none. Though her brother had mobilized to take over the north and the east, he left the western lands alone. She could only conclude it was because Zetsubōmaru had not yet considered Sesshōmaru as a real threat.

"The way Sesshōmaru is now," she sighed. "With only one tail, he is no match against Zetsubōmaru who had – recently, I heard – obtained his third."

"Zetsubōmaru has three tails now?" The two-tailed Dog General repeated, eyes narrowing before he bristled and puffed his chest. "Hnn. I suppose that means we all need to get stronger."

"Not just Zetsubōmaru," she said. "Both his sons too: his heir apparent and his second born, have also gained their second tail."

Tōga narrowed his eyes. "Then, it is more important than ever that Sesshōmaru continues his training with your father."

She wholeheartedly agreed. How fortunate it had been that Sesshōmaru was able to find her father all the way deep in the underworld. She had not thought it possible, but he had done it all the same.

"Speaking of your father, he has a message for you." Tōga said. At her arched brow, he continued. "When I went to see him, he gave me such a tongue lashing, which I fully deserved, of course. He also asked me to tell you he has quite a few things to say to you as well."

She turned away, cheeks heated with shame and anger at herself. Undoubtedly, her father was disappointed with them, with the way they had raised – had not raised, more appropriately – Sesshōmaru.

"I can only imagine how incensed, and how dismayed he is," Yōhime said, surreptitiously swiping a finger underneath her eye to wipe the gathering moisture there. "If I ever saw my father again, I hope I would have earned the right to look at him in the eyes without shame. I would tell him everything we are able to do for our son, despite such a disastrous start."

She could feel her mate's smile on her back as she took some time to compose herself.

"What else have you been working on, Yōhime?"

She continued to stroll, and he strolled along beside her. "The biggest accomplishment so far was extracting the Queen from the Southern Isles and transported her to safety," she told him.

"You've extracted her? You've extracted the Queen of all inuyōkai from her palace in the Southern Isles? How did you even—" He paused to shake his head in amazement.

"Hnn. By the time I found her, she was Queen in name only. She had been imprisoned and tortured. For saving our son. When someone asked me to rescue her, of course I did."

Both her and Tōga had owed the Queen a life debt for sending Sesshōmaru to safety. Perhaps his life had not been that much better in the western lands in the end, but at least he was far and away from Zetsubōmaru's clutches.

And the debt must be paid. A life for a life.

"Someone?" Tōga repeated.

Yōhime nodded. "Let's just say, I have been working with an… informant on the inside."

"An informant? Can you really trust this person?" Tōga's eyes narrowed in concern. "The court of the Southern Isles is riddled with vipers who would not hesitate to turn on you in a heartbeat. You know this as much as I do."

"I have complete faith in this person," she insisted. "There is no possibility of betrayal, I assure you."

"Where is the Queen now?" Before Yōhime had the chance to answer, Tōga put a hand up. "No, don't tell me. In this case, the less who knows, the better."

Yōhime nodded in agreement. The whereabouts of the Queen was one of the biggest secrets she harboured for the time being. There were several lives that depended on the safety of this secret, and she could not afford to lose them. She sighed inwardly. There were so many moving pieces which required delicate and discreet handling. Many times she had given herself a pounding headache thinking about them, going through different strategies, trying to find the one that would deliver them victory.

But it would all be for naught if Sesshōmaru himself did not return.

"Is Sesshōmaru close to finding a way to bring the miko's soul back to this realm?" Yōhime asked.

Tōga sighed. "He has not asked me to help. But even if he did, I have no such power anyway. If bringing the miko back to life is his goal, I am afraid they would have to go straight to the top to plead their case."

"The Death God, you mean?" Yōhime looked up at her mate. "Would he allow it?"

Toga sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Who knows the mind of a God? He can be a little temperamental at times. We can only hope he will grant them their wish."

They walked together in silence for some time, hand in hand.

"I told him to not go," Yōhime muttered. "But he insisted. I wonder why."

"Sesshōmaru and the human miko seem to have become—" Tōga paused in search of a suitable phrase. "— somewhat of an item."

Yōhime whipped her head around to look at her mate. "Truly?"

This surprised Yōhime, though not that much. The two of them, traipsing the underworld together, were bound to face an array of struggles and dangerous situations that would foster a strong bond.

"I like her," the General said. "Though I dare say she is not fond of me, because of my failures with Sesshōmaru. She gave me quite an earful about the whole debacle with Tenseiga and Meidō Zangetsuha." He paused to chuckle. "As embarrassing as it was to be yelled at by a small human woman, whose age was only a fraction of mine, I have to admit… she has a lot of gumption."

"How do you think your other son will take this… unexpected development?" She peered at him. "He is on the main terrace right now, you know, guarding the corpse of his beloved miko."

Tōga nodded. "I know. I felt his energy when I arrived. I've seen him before I came to see you, and watched him for a bit. He looked— distraught." He shook his head. "Inuyasha will be heartbroken, for sure. But — I do harbour high hopes that his heart will mend, and that he will love again."

"What did Izayoi say?"

"She said that if the miko's heart really belongs to Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha could hardly expect to keep it. And he should not want to."

"Hmm. Well, one cannot steal a heart that does not wish to be stolen in the first place."

When Tōga spoke next, his voice sounded as though he was struggling to hold back a chuckle. "Sesshōmaru seems to have taken after his mother in the strangest ways."

Yōhime gasped in mock outrage. "That's what I said about Sesshōmaru when he was here last time, that he had taken after you."

"I am sympathetic towards humans, yes, because their struggles remind me of my own as I crawled my way from the bottom to the top." He patted her hand and smiled at her fondly. "But I was not the one who initiated us taking a human lover. So perhaps you also have soft spots for them."

"Hnn." She scoffed dismissively. "I am not even certain I have soft spots for my own kind, let alone others. I fell in love with one human and one human only, that hardly warrants such statement." She stared at him. "How is my Moonflower?"

"She is well," he replied. "She sent a message: she misses you and waits for you. Always."

Yōhime's features gentled. "How lucky can one be — " she spoke softly. "To be loved not once, but twice in a lifetime, and for eternity?"

She caught sight of the small smile on her mate's face and stepped closer to him.

"And you, my mate?" She asked, smiling as she reached up to caress his cheek. "Do you wait for me as well?"

Now it was his turn to smile at her; that cheeky, quirked smile that would look quite odd on anyone else. The lingering kiss he placed on the centre of her palm and the gentle nip that hinted at his hunger were the only answer she needed.

Tōga had to leave soon after. The dead could not visit the living for an extended period of time, but she was grateful for every single minute he was able to spend with her. Alone again, she went to the railing that bordered the perimeter of her terrace. Due to the elevated location of her palace, the moon appeared so much larger when viewed from her domain.

'Sesshōmaru,' she thought as she gazed at the radiant moon. 'Learn as much as you can from your grandfather. Focus on getting stronger and let your mother take care of the rest. Everything she did not do before, she will do now.'

She thought about her brother, an elitist bigot down to the marrow of his bones. Though the same blood ran through their veins, they had never been close, and their relationships had deteriorated even further when she mated the Dog General. There was no love lost between them.

'How dare you, Zetsubōmaru,' she hissed inwardly.

She would take up the sword again if she had to. It had been a while, but she had not forgotten how — and would never. Her skills as a fighter were steeped in her blood, bred in her bones. Her hands itched now. She flexed her fingers, the tips of her claws glowed green as though in preparation for the battle she knew was to come. She would don her armour, strap her sword to her waist, and step right into the battlefield to fight for her son.

Her lips curled into a smile. She could not wait to do just that.

A/N: There is no Sesshōmaru and Kagome in this chapter, and I am sorry. I need to set up the stage for after the underworld arc ends, and it is coming to an end soon.

There are lots of information about his parents though. I wanted to give his mother and father a bit of a backstory, also explain a bit more about their whole dynamics.
In most Inuyasha fanfics (the ones I've read, at least, though I am by no means an expert), Sesshōmaru's mother is usually written as the first wife in a political marriage, Tōga's mate but he falls out of love with her, or she is simply dead. Izayoi is usually anointed as his one and only love. I wanted to explore their relationships in a different way. It is still a three-way but very much placing Sesshōmaru's mother in the centre of it.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. There will be Sesshōmaru and Kagome in the next chapter, I promise. Next chapter is already written, but it does need to go through a very thorough editing by my beta reader. I will post as soon as it is ready.

Thank you also for all the support. I greatly appreciate it. As always, reviews and comments are more than welcomed. They are what fuels me ^-^ If you have an opportunity, please drop me a line.

Until next time!

Response to guest reviews:

Jaz: Food will be addressed in the next chapter, don't worry ;) I can say though that their sustenance requirement is somewhat different in the realm of the dead, meaning Kagome does not need to eat 3 times a day like she might need to when she was alive. But… yes, they will have to leave this realm sooner or later.

Guest: Thank you! I started this fic also as an exercise to finish something that I have started, so I definitely aim to finish it :)

Raymoon: Thank you so much! I'm happy you could feel the tension!

Quynh: As always, thank you so much for the amazing comment!