Chapter Nine:

Mitsukai ran her tongue across her lips, gently brushing away the rain that clung to her mouth. The dying rain returned with a vengeance, pelting them with a torrent of icy needles. Needles that stung her flesh, the soaked cotton pajamas she wore granting little protection against their onslaught. Hurt flashed over her delicate features seconds before her golden eyes narrowed in barely contained anger. She blinked rapidly, fighting the encroaching darkness that danced in her peripheral vision. The words he spoke ringing dully in her mind. 'I'm your father.'

"That's not funny," she murmured, meaning to sound angry, but her words were nothing more than a pained whisper.

He was holding her tightly against his chest as if sheltering her from the frigid rain. Instinctually she wrapped her arms around his neck, entwining a single clawed hand into the soaked length of his silvery mane. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder, marveling how warm he was through his soaked clothing. Her own flesh was icy and her fingertips numb. It was if the rain had chased the warmth from her body and with it the last of her strength.

Sesshoumaru stood in silence and stared at her with concern filled eyes; eyes that were gold like her own. Peering into his youthful face, a visage belonging to one that could be no more than five years her senior, a thought rang clear in her mind. 'Her father?' she thought incredulously. It was an impossibility her mind refused to even consider.

"I..I think I want to go home now," she all but sneered as she squirmed in his hold, signaling that she wished to be put down.

Sesshoumaru responded by tightening his firm embrace and pulling her closer. He began speaking to her in hushed, soothing tones, but his words were lost within the dull, discordant rhythm throbbing in her head. She bucked weakly in his arms and swallowed back a wave of nausea. The darkness that lurked in her peripheral vision spread until her sight was spotty. "Put me down!" Mitsukai shrieked angrily, her voice laced with panic.

Sesshoumaru frowned worriedly, as he peered down at her struggling form. Mitsukai's struggles became more desperate and despite her weakened condition, it was becoming difficult for him to hold her. She had not believed him when he told her his identity. Truthfully he did not believe she would; at least at first. In all actuality he was uncertain why he told her. It had been his intention to ascertain that she was safe and to see her home. That was before he spoke with her, before he discovered she was ill. He never meant to frighten her.

She was crying now, her piteous sobs resounding in his sensitive ears. They were the cries of a frightened, sickly child. "Shh," he whispered as he lowered his head until it was inches from hers.

Mitsukai settled in his arms her sobs diminishing into small hiccups. Tears continued to run down the length of her flawless cheeks, blending with the bitter rain. He drew closer enough and she felt his warm breath on her face. She sniffed and drew a fearful breath. Sesshoumaru's glittering eyes slid shut and he pressed his forehead lightly to hers.

The crescent moon marking on her forehead grew warm, tingled and pulsed faintly with a dim blue light. Mitsukai stiffen in his grasp and wrenched her face from his. She glared into his flawless features demanding an explanation but stopped short when she noticed dramatic change in Sesshoumaru's features. Two dark magenta stripes slashed across the ivory of his cheeks and an indigo crescent moon graced his forehead. He appeared to be nothing more than, her masculine mirror image. Sesshoumaru could easily pass for her brother or her….

Her thought was broke off abruptly, when he pressed his forehead again more to hers, continuing what he had began, before she had jerked away. The moons on their foreheads met and energy coursed from him into her. The girl in his arms relaxed and went limp as he whispered a one-word command, "Sleep."

Sesshoumaru looked down at the sleeping young girl nestled in his embrace. She frowned, her beautiful features contorting into a grimace, as a stray rain droplet splattered on her cheek. Mitsukai shivered, and he was reminded that she was ill, cold and clad only in her soaked pajamas. Every second she spent out in the elements was a second that further weakened her. It was imperative that she be taken some place warm and dry. Without a second thought he transformed them into a pale mote of light and took to the sky.

Within minutes he landed on the patio of his home, his precious bundle still sleeping soundly in his arms. While he fumbled for his house keys, he failed to notice the little hanyou girl perched happily on the patio swing. The hanyou's soft brown eyes widened in delight and she leapt from the swing and ran towards him with her arms outstretched.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she cried happily as she collided with his legs with enough force to down a lesser youkai. "Yuck! Sesshoumaru-sama is all wet," the small girl chided as she hugged his legs. "But it's okay, Tsuki still missed Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru managed a slight smile at the little hanyou as she released his legs. Her antics reminded him much of her ancestor and his former ward, Rin. Tsuki stood on tiptoe and peered curiously up at Mitsukai. Her large eyes fixed on Mitsukai's face, memorizing every detail of the elder girl's features. Tsuki did not ask any of the questions that were undoubtedly racing through her mind. Instead she patted Mitsukai's cheek affectionately and retrieved the house keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

The child grunted as she pushed the heavy oak door open and then, not waiting for an invitation skipped merrily into his home. He said nothing, and his silence was consent enough for the small girl. Tsuki trailed at his heels, chattering about her day at school as he walked through his home and into the master bathroom. He half listened to her prattle, most of which was directed at herself rather than him. Worry from clammy temperature of his daughter's skin through the thin material of her pajamas kept him preoccupied. He knelt and lay his child gently on the thick, shag rug that lie on the bathroom floor. Tsuki handed him a thick towel and kneeled obediently beside him.

He laid the towel over Mitsukai's chest as he carefully unbuttoned her soaked pajamas. Careful not to wake her, he lifted Mitsukai to a half sitting position, making sure the towel protected her modesty should she wake. Understanding his unspoken request, Tsuki gently removed Mitsukai's soaked nightshirt and tossed it towards the hamper.

"Tsuki," he intoned flatly as he draped another towel over Mitsukai's stomach and hips and, slid her pajama bottoms down over her narrow hips. He hissed at the sight that greeted him.

Mitsukai's shins and striped calves were covered with a mosaic of deep, ugly bruises. There were fresh ones on top of old, decorating her long legs in a myriad of purple, green and sickly yellow blotches. The contusions were days or perhaps only hours old. It was difficult to be certain, considering a youkai's fast rate of healing.

His stomach twisted, as he lightly ran the tips of his claws over one battered leg. Mitsukai's injuries angered and bewildered him. Thoughts as to who could have inflicted the injuries raced through his mind and he dismissed them all. There was no one who had contact with her, was capable of inflicting this amount of damage on a youkai. 'Except,' a voice in the back of his mind reminded him as his eyes fell on Mitsukai's angelic face.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Tsuki whispered tearfully, her doe eyes wide as she peered at Mitsukai's bruised legs and back up at the taiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru blinked twice and tore himself from his daughter's visage. "Tsuki," he repeated softly and sat back on his heels.

The little hanyou was nervously twisting a towel in her tiny hands and chewing her bottom lip, instinctually reacting to the taiyoukai's agitation. "Hai? Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered.

"Go fetch your mother," he commanded and rose gracefully from the floor to retrieve something in which to clothe his daughter.

Tsuki hoped to her feet without complaint and did as she was bid. Moments later he returned to the large bathroom, a pair of red pajamas in hand. They would be too large for Mitsukai's willowy frame, but they were dry and that was all that mattered.

He dressed her quickly and when he was done gathered the girl once more into his arms and carried her to a guest room. He composed her limbs comfortably and combed a single clawed hand through her still damp hair. Mitsukai stirred and mumbled something incoherent but did not wake. He ran his thumb over the girl's slightly blue tinged lips, before kneeling at her bedside. Without the raining masking her scent, the taiyoukai could easily smell the sickness wafting off the young youkai.

Sesshoumaru's face was blank betraying none of the concern that filled his being. Youkai seldom fell ill and when they did it was often, life threatening. Her obvious illness and the bruising on her legs, injuries, he was near certain were self-inflicted, caused him to curse his own folly. He knew now that he should have taken, her with him, the first night they met.

Instead he proceeded with caution and observed from the distance, as was his typical practice. During that week his child withered from the healthy, if frightened young woman, to the sickly child that lie before him. A clear question wove through his mind as he withdrew his hand, 'Why didn't Kagome tell me?' He was pulled from his thoughts by a soft lilting voice originating behind him, "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

The taiyoukai rose from his place and turned to face the dainty deer youkai behind him. "Juri-san," he said with a respectful incline of his head.

The deer youkai was a close friend of his late wife and a gifted healer. In these modern times she adapted her substantial talents to the field of modern medicine. Juri eyed him from head to toe and her gentle features twisted into a stern frown. "You should get out of those wet clothes," she stated in a firm tone that brooked no argument.

Sesshoumaru sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. Truthfully he was so preoccupied with Mitsukai he had forgotten his own sodden state. Juri walked around him and sat on the edge of the bed closest to Mitsukai. She lifted one of the girls pale striped wrists and pressed her long fingers against its pulse point, while looking at her watch. "I thought I told you to change," she reminded, her eyes flicking to his briefly, as she bent down to retrieve something from her bag.

His expression was dark as he gazed at the top of Juri's dark head. The hind ignored his predatory stare and continued to examine her patient. Though not before mumbling something about, horrible taiyoukai patients. He exhaled and finally relented, deciding that his hovering would serve no purpose other than to agitate Juri. Although he knew his own reasoning to be faulty, Juri was as focused and collected while treating the ailing, as he was in combat. He gave Mitsukai once last worried glance before turning on his heel and striding out the guest room.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Juri called after him, causing him to pause in the hall.

He said nothing and waited for her to continue. "Her name?" the deer youkai inquired.

"Mitsukai," he answered softly and continued his long stride to his bedroom.

Nearly fifteen minutes he emerged once more and made his way to the kitchen. He should call Kagome, at the very least to inform her of their child's condition as well as her whereabouts. Part of him told him that perhaps Kagome was at least partial responsible for Mitsukai's condition, but then so was he. One thing was certain; Mitsukai would not leave his watchful gaze until she was healed. If that meant separating her, from her mother, then so be it.

He hung up the phone twice before dialing. The phone on the other end rang a dozen times before he hung up. Kagome apparently, had yet to make it home. Sesshoumaru frowned, worried for Kagome, despite his resolve that he would not. She was no longer of any concern to him, save that she mothered his child. The more he told himself that, the less he believed. It had been over an hour since he ordered her from his home. The soft click of high heels on the linoleum kitchen floor drew his attention.

"How is she?" he asked as he turned around, his face was blank and unreadable.

Juri frowned lightly as she rolled up the sleeves of her white cotton dress shirt. Then she schooled her face into pleasant, reassuring lines. It was the façade she wore while treating her patients, both human and youkai. She knew the taiyoukai well enough to know he would not be reassured by such simplicities.

"As far as I can tell she's suffering from severe dehydration as well as exhaustion," she paused and looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "I'll need to run home for a few moments to retrieve my other bag. Tsuki said your friend was hurt so I grabbed my trauma bag."

Juri was no fool; she knew full well that the adolescent youkai sleeping fitfully in the back bedroom was not just a friend. She was just as certain that Sesshoumaru realized her comprehension as well. The taiyoukai of the west had a daughter; an ailing heir that no one knew of, it was an extremely interesting bit of information.

"There are bruises on her legs," Sesshoumaru said softly and hopped up on the counter.

Juri simply nodded in acknowledgement. Tsuki had worked herself into a panic over those bruises. Her little daughter was more empathic than she at times. Sesshoumaru looked away, peering out the back door and asked so softly she barely heard him, "Why would she hurt herself?"

"Are you certain the wounds are self-inflicted," she inquired as her dark brows knit together.

Sesshoumaru tensed his jaw and said nothing. Juri frowned and tucked her ebon hair behind one dainty ear. She loathed when he withdrew behind his façade of cold, stoicism. Knowing she that if she wished to gain any further information she would have to prod carefully, Juri stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her friend's arm.

Sesshoumaru face betrayed no emotion but his eyes demanded she explain. She removed her hand and turned to lean against the counter, then in a calm tone Juri began her explanation, "I'm no psychiatrist, but I've seen enough to know that teenagers are a strange species, whether they be youkai or human. Sometimes when a child thinks all is hopelessly. They'll inflict injuries on themselves, they sometimes feel they should be punished and other times it is to cope with events that are out of their control…."

"How do I stop it?" Sesshoumaru snapped abruptly as he slid down from his perch. He felt more helpless than he had in a very long time. It was not a pleasant sensation. Kagome was partly correct. He was not prepared to deal with Mitsukai's rampant emotions. Regardless, he would learn.

Juri watched the emotions fly across the taiyoukai's achingly beautiful face. His distress was evident to her practiced eyes. She picked her words carefully, weighing them each, before speaking.

"Mitsukai must learn to deal with the stresses of life in a more healthy manner. It would help her greatly if she were also well physically," she stated calmly and pushed away from the counter. She walked forward her high heels clicking on the shiny linoleum. "I gave her something to help her sleep, but if she should wake, keep her in bed. I will return within the hour," Juri replied and then without a further word she left.

Sesshoumaru stared at her retreating form for a moment before glancing at the telephone. It was petty or perhaps a tad cruel, but he did not wish to deal with Kagome at this moment. Still the responsible side of him, as well the portion of him that would always love Kagome bade him to call. He had been in love with the miko for five hundred years it would be impossible for him to simply stop. His own feelings aside, Mitsukai still needed the comfort and familiarity of her mother. Once more he dialed her phone number by memory and again received no answer.

His worry grew and he pondered sending someone to search for her. He reasoned that, Kagome could well be searching for their daughter. There was no one he could send that he could contact quickly. Kouga was on his own search, and Kagura was no doubt aiding the wolf by taunting him. Eventually one of them would report their lack of progress. That only left himself and he was unwilling to leave his daughter's bedside. Kagome was a grown woman and could protect herself he reminded himself harshly. It had been now been less than two hours and due to the rain it was possible that Kagome was still making her way home.

Sesshoumaru left the kitchen and reentered the room, in which Mitsukai slumbered. It could be hours before the girl actually awoke again and he would wait. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned against a carved bedpost. Sesshoumaru sat on the edge of the bed staring out the window, thinking on what he should do. The rain had stopped finally and late afternoon sun peaked out over the treetops. His eyes flicked to his daughter, lying pale and fragile beneath the downy comforter. The crimson of the nightshirt she wore seemed to glow against her pale skin. A lock of her silvery hair found its way into her mouth and she suckled upon its silken length. Sesshoumaru smiled slightly as pulled the wayward lock from her mouth.

She whimpered cutely and her mouth contorted into a tiny frown. He combed her hair with his fingers laying it against the pillows like a long thick pelt. Her hair was slippery and silken, like his own. He had inherited that silken texture from his mother, just as Mitsukai had inherited it from him. His father had always claimed that he, Sesshoumaru favored his mother. Oddly he never saw it, until he gazed upon the achingly beautiful face of his daughter.

He watched her as she slept, her breathing even and her lips parted slightly. The scene would have been peaceful if not for the putrid smell of illness emanating from her. Sesshoumaru sat at her bedside, his clawed fingertips tracing tiny half circles over the stitching of the blanket. Mitsukai's slender brows twitched and she rolled to her side. Impulsively he reached out and took one of her limp, slender hands, holding it loosely in his. In her sleep, she curled her clawed fingers around his palm and she nuzzled his hand before tucking it under her chin.

**

A/N *weeps* Goodness I can believe how many reviews this story is getting! A huge Thank you to all of you. I'm so happy. Sorry for slow updates but….Finals. Gah. *Brain implodes* My other stories should be updated this week as well. *crosses fingers*

Blades of the Sun: *Waggles a skillet menacingly* Kagome is 100% human. The reason why Mitsukai is full demon has been hinted at in a pervious chapter.

The Dark Muse: lol. I didn't realize how Star Wars-like that line sounded until you mentioned it. I think I may have Mitsukai jump off a tower or something.

Random Questions:

How old is Kagome?

Answer: She's 31-32

What's Kagome's deal?

Answer: She's not mentally well. It's rather difficult to explain. Kagome is in love with Inuyasha, but sexually attracted to Sesshoumaru. When she has intercourse with Sesshoumaru it's purely for self-comfort. When the act is over she feels guilty, for betraying Inuyasha's memory and for using Sesshoumaru.

How about a lemon?

Answer: I'm more of a kumquat kind of girl myself. Seriously I'm not sure if my dubious skills are up to lemon writing.

Are you out of your mind?

Answer: *smiles and nods happily*