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: A rendezvous between Sesshōmaru and Sakki. Sesshōmaru confirmed Sakki did not remember anything about the legendary sword Kaimon, or her life as a yokai before she became one the Death God's Advocate. She admitted she brought Rin back to life because she saw herself in the little girl, and sympathized with Rin's pleas to live.

Rulers of Four Directions

Chapter 27: Mark of a Big Brother

After Sakki left, Sesshōmaru lingered on his perch high above the white dunes of the Eastern Palace a while longer. Just when he made a move to return to the palace, the wind carried to him a scent that was becoming more and more familiar. He lifted his head and took another sniff, noting the other scents mingling with hers.

He frowned — she was not alone.

Launching himself off the jagged rocks, he followed the direction of the winds.

Hand on his hip, Ryoshin eyed the slumbering female. He had caught her scent miles before he reached his camp, and so her presence there did not surprise him. Even so, the prior knowledge did not prepare him for the sight of the inu princess laid on a large fallen log, fast asleep.

"Please tell me you did not drug her so she'd stay," he said to Kishi as the elder male gently laid a fur blanket to shelter her from the elements.

"I served her some mulled wine," Kishi replied, frowning. "One moment we were conversing, and the next thing I saw… well, her eyes were closed and she fell flat onto the log." His frown deepened. "Perhaps the wine was too potent for her?"

Ryoshin wanted to laugh yet at the same time, he realized the conundrum he was in. It seemed improper somehow to let her stay in his camp, when he was an unmated male and she was unclaimed, and unchaperoned. He had grown up and spent his youth in the faraway lands with vastly different culture, where something like this would be considered trivial and not worthy to even mention. But the Nippon yokai seemed to operate under different, more stringent code of conduct, by which this circumstance might fall under a severe breach of etiquette.

Should he carry her all the way back to the palace? But what would her grandfather and brother thought of him showing up at their doorstep with her unconscious in his arms?

Should he wake her so she could go home? But she might feel ill from the wine and in that case, she should sleep it off. He studied her sleeping face. She looked so peaceful. Her cheekbones had attained a comely pink blush that was not there before. This was the first time he had encounter a yokai who could not take a bit of wine, and the thought nearly had him chuckling.

Just then, a thread of youki that was not his own, pierced the barrier he had erected around his camp. He looked up, sharpening his senses. The youki did not feel malevolent, nor did it feel friendly. It felt like a summon, though he also sensed the underlying threat of an ominous event that might follow should he not respond.

"My lord," Kishi whispered, obviously noticing the youki as well.

Ryoshin nodded. "I think I know who our visitor is. Go into the tent and stay with the pups."

He rose to his feet and tread the path that would lead him to the edge of his barrier. Even from far away he could see the familiar red and white-clad figure of the Lord of the Western Lands who stood waiting just outside of the barrier. Ryoshin noted the other male did not shove uninvitedly into the territory he had claimed temporarily as his own while he and his pack remained in the Eastern lands and instead, remained just on the outside of it.

When they stood face to face only a few paces away from each other, Ryoshin spoke first: "To what do I owe the honour, Lord Sesshōmaru?"

The lord did not respond at first, but merely stare at him with impenetrable golden eyes.

"Tell me, Foreigner," Sesshōmaru finally said, the hint of steel palpable in every syllable. "Where you came from, is it customary for a male to confine an unclaimed female to his camp all night?"

Well… Ryoshin supposed he should have seen this coming. The inu princess, with her lord grandfather and her lord brother and her possibly lord-to-be cousin, was not someone who lacked a protector. He should have anticipated that one of those males in her life would come for her.

"Your sister did not come here by my invitation," Ryoshin explained. "She visited my camp while I was away. If you recall, I was at the palace earlier. With you, and the others."

Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed, the golden faintly glowing in the shadows of the forest. "Then why is she here?"

"She came to visit my retainer, Kishi."

Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed even more. "And why would she visit a servant?"

"I believe she's curious about the lands where we came from and would like to hear more about them."

The scoff coming from Sesshōmaru was soft, but Ryoshin heard it nonetheless, and he did not care to think about what it meant – not right then and there anyway. For a moment, no words passed between them. Ryoshin had the oddest sense that Sesshōmaru was contemplating whether to cross the barrier uninvited or…

"Tell her to come to me and I will escort her back to the palace."

Uh-oh. "Well, I might not be able to do that."

The frown on that crescent moon forehead deepened. "Why not?"

"Kishi had served her some wine during their conversation. It seems your sister is a little bit of a lightweight." When Sesshōmaru did not respond, Ryoshin added: "She's asleep."

The silence that ensued was uncomfortable to say the least. Damn, Ryoshin cursed inwardly. He had been alive for over half a millennia and had encountered many damning situations before, but none was as awkward as this. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than for the Lord of the Western Lands to believe he was not confining Lady Shouri to his camp, or anything equally perverse. But Lord Sesshōmaru looked like he was seriously contemplating a duel. His lethal, spear-like gaze had not left Ryoshin for even a second, and the fingers of his right hand had flexed several times during his silence.

"I would like to confirm her well-being," Lord Sesshōmaru finally said, in a tone that brook no compromise. He did not have to spell it out that if he found his sister harmed in any way, he would destroy the camp and everyone in it.

But Ryoshin knew he had nothing to hide. "Of course," he said. "Dōzo. Please." He gestured towards the camp and moved aside so the other lord could pass. "See for yourself."

As soon as Sesshōmaru entered the barrier, his tension eased. He sensed Shouri's youki more clearly here, and it was calm. Her scent remained the same as it had been: unsullied. It seemed the foreigner spoke the truth: she was merely sleeping. He followed the narrow path that led to a small clearing where the Northern lords had set his camp. There were two small tents and one larger tent off to the side; all three were made from thick, white cloth that looked like canvas. He sensed occupants in one of the small tents: the retainer Kishi and two pups. Young. Younger than Rin, if he guessed correctly, though not in the number of years but more so the level of maturity.

Sesshōmaru stepped away from the tents and from the sleeping pups, circling the large blazing hearth in the heart of the camp until he reached the log on which his sister lay asleep, her body covered from chin to toe with a thick fur blanket. Looking at her innocent face and relaxed posture, her youki in a tranquil state, he concluded she did not realize the troubles and implications she could have caused. Most likely she had ended up in this circumstance quite unintentionally.

Sesshōmaru shifted his golden gaze from his sister to Lord Ryoshin who was standing nearby, but not so near that his presence would be misinterpreted. A proper, respectful distance. The Northern lord might be a foreigner with strange, unpalatable speech and peculiar ways, but he did not seem to be utterly useless and without sense. Like Sesshōmaru himself, Lord Ryoshin traveled with a pack. He had with him not just one but two young pups, which hinted at his protective instinct. And yesterday, when he had fought Zoichi in front of audience, he had proven himself to possess some battle skills.

Sufficient to protect Shouri for a few hours, surely.

Satisfied, at least for the time being, he relaxed his hand and began to walk back towards the path that would lead him out of the barrier.

"Escort her home at dawn," he said. "If any questions of impropriety arise, this Sesshōmaru will vouch for her innocence."

Shouri felt content to just lie there on that log. The warmth of the fire settled upon her like a blanket, lulling her in and out of sleep. The camp was quiet, with only the cracking of burning wood fire occasionally breaking the silence. Beyond the effects of lethargic and too much comfort and faint lightheadedness, she could sense the presence of another near her: the Lord of the Northern Lands, no doubt. Forcing her eyes to open, she saw him sitting near the blazing hearth. From where she was situated, she could only see his partial profile. One of his legs were stretched out towards the fire, the other one was bent with the knee pressed against his chest. He was not sleeping but staring at the dancing flame. He seemed lost in a deep thought. Had it been some time since he returned to his camp?

The realization jolted her fully awake, and fully seated. How long exactly had she been there? Her entire household would be in uproar searching for her. Her grandfather would be livid that she had stayed out the entire night without leaving words with anyone.

"Calm yourself, Princess." His masculine, baritone voice stilled her. "Take it easy."

When Ryoshin turned to look at Shouri, he almost smiled when he saw her state of disarray. Her long, silky hair was mussed from slumber. There were red lines imprinted on her face she got from pressing her cheeks on her sleeve as she slept. Her eyes were heavy-lidded as she gently rubbed her face. Her looks were much less pristine yet no less intriguing, or mesmerizing.

"Forgive me," she said, her voice still slightly hoarse from sleep. "I did not intend to stay the night. I don't even know what happened…"

"You're not accustomed to our wine, it seems," he said. "Kishi should have warned you."

Shouri's cheeks reddened at the realization that a few sips of wine was enough to fell her. Taking a deep breath, she inevitably caught the scent that caused her eyes to widen. She sniffed the air again. Yes, it was unmistakably his scent.

"Lord Sesshōmaru was here?"

"Yes, your brother dropped by a few hours ago." She caught the slight humour that seeped into his voice but could not find the strength to reciprocate. Her shoulders sagged. Lord Sesshōmaru was already not keen on being saddled with a sister out of the blue, what would he think of her now? Out of everyone who could have found her in this camp, it just had to be the one with the most severe judgement.

"Why do you look so sad all of a sudden, my lady?" Lord Ryoshin's voice brought her back to the present. "Have I said anything that trouble you?"

"My brother," she repeated. "You are aware that Lord Sesshōmaru and I are siblings?"

His eyebrows arched as though he was surprised she would even question it. "It's as evident as the markings on your face, my lady," he said. "You resemble him more than anyone else I have met here. And besides—" He paused and flashed a quick grin. "Earlier, he was behaving in a manner that I find… quite brotherly."

"Brotherly?" She felt the word like an arrow shaft to the heart. "You must be mistaken, my lord. I may be his sister by blood, but he does not care for me in that way." She looked down at her folded hands on her lap. "Or any way, for that matter."

"Why would you say so, my lady?"

Pursing her lips, her fingers twisted around a handful of kimono fabric. Thinking about it, about the last time they exchanged words, still put a deep ache in her chest. "He learned of my existence only recently," she explained. "And he had said some things—" She paused again as the ache in her chest intensified.

Blood. Obligations. Irrelevant.

She sighed. "I am no sister to him, my lord, merely another duty and burden."

For long moments, Lord Ryoshin was quiet, Shouri thought he was not going to say anything on the subject at all. Just as well. She was not eager to discuss something which gave her so much pain in the chest anyway. She was already content to drop the subject when he finally spoke.

"When my mother was killed, she was with child."

This admission prompted her to look up at him. A swirl of emotions rose up in her chest, but she saw he was not looking at her. He was staring at the flame, just as she had seen him when she awakened. Lost in thought, or perhaps, memory.

"I learned from Lord Shogo last night that child was a female." Now he shifted his gaze onto her. "So you see, had the child lived, I would have had a sister." The amber orbs of his eyes burned bright for a few seconds before they calmed. The hearth crackled as a large piece of firewood fell into the flame. He took a long piece of iron poker and adjusted the stack of firewood.

"I don't know what happened between you and your brother, my lady, and I've only met both of you yesterday. I cannot know his reasonings and motivations, but this I do know: the way he acted…" He closed his eyes briefly and smiled. "I would have done the same for my own sister."

Shouri's heart skipped a beat. It was strange to speak about such private and intimate subject with someone who was practically a stranger. But she could not deny the weight she felt in her chest whenever she thought of Sesshōmaru-sama lessened a little. Perhaps it was not all as hopeless as she had thought. There were many things she had yet to resolve with her brother, but she had learned some things this morning she never thought she would.

Alas, he had also learned some things about her last night, had he not?

The realization set her cheeks ablaze. "Gods," she moaned as she touched her hand to her temple. "I could only imagine what went through his mind when he found me here. He must've thought my behaviour wholly indecorous."

Ryoshin observed her with his head cocked to the side. "You know, he said he would vouch for your innocence."

He had stunned her with all the other things he had said to her, but this new piece of information almost had her jumping from her seat.

"What?!"

"I believe his exact words were: 'If any questions of impropriety arise, this Sesshōmaru will vouch for her innocence.'"

Shouri had to remind herself to close her gaping mouth. Lord Sesshōmaru said so? That Lord Sesshōmaru?

"Like I said, I've only met him yesterday, but I have an inkling he's not the type to vouch for just anybody," Ryoshin said, smiling a little.

Slowly, she returned his smile. "You are right," she concurred softy. "He wouldn't do that for just anyone."

To be Continued

A/N:

This chapter came out of the blue, as what was written here did not exist in my original draft. I have been thinking of ways to grow Sesshōmaru and Shouri's relationship and thought perhaps a fresh perspective from a stranger would help her understand her big brother a bit more.

Thank you for reading. As always, reviews are welcomed and very much appreciated, as they give me insights as to what your thoughts are about the story and how I can continuously improve the plots, the characterization, and the whole work in general. If you do not have the opportunity to do so, I completely understand. I hope you enjoyed the chapter nevertheless. See you in the next one.