Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or its characters, that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-sama. Now do I own Fairy Tail or its characters, that right belongs to Hiro Mashima-sama.
Authors Note: This chapter was a pain in the butt. Because I know I needed to continue from where the last ended, but my muse said now and gave me the route to how it should be going and flowing. So, please, I ask you all, to forgive it if it is choppy and well horrible.
They sat in silence, watching as the pink-haired maid attended to the unconscious girl. Waiting patiently for them to be ready to answer questions, but understanding that the spirits would need to take care of Lucy. All were wondering just what that power was that she had been released, though they were all familiar with the feeling of holy power and the Shikon no Tama. And that burst of power had been a mix of Holy power, the Shikon, and something none of them knew. But they were assuming that it was the magic that Lucy had explained to them yesterday.
Soon enough, there was that odd other-worldly poof, and the pink-haired maid was gone, leaving the goat-man and Orange haired man named Leo behind. Both sat next to Lucy, looking back at the group.
"I am now ready to answer your questions, Lord Sesshoumaru," Capricorn said.
A tilt of his chin and a soft Hn was all he gave as an indicator. Keeping his amber eyes on the girl lying behind the goat-man, Sesshoumaru spoke, "What exactly were you two doing this morning?"
There was a brief silence before Capricorn replied, "As was stated prior by myself. I was having her go through our normal morning routine of meditation to help her focus and control her magic. Though, I must admit that she had never produced that amount of magic. Nor the color pink to it."
He kept his face impassive as he listened to the explanation. He was making sure to break it down and analyze it thoroughly. The Magic concept was still an improbable thing to rationalize. Childish stuff, but yet he had seen it. And he understood the reasoning behind the meditation, as he did it as well. It helped provide a calm and gave more control and more natural adaptability to his youki.
"That pink is Holy Power, known to monks, priestess, and Miko's. It is normal, but dangerous to one such as this Sesshoumaru, the half-breed, Kitsune Kit, and two-tailed cat," He stated in a bored voice. "Explain to me why she has passed out."
He watched as the Goat-man, Capricorn, gave a brief look at the orange-haired male who smelled of the cat. Watching as he gave a small nod of his head, his hand never ceasing its stroking of the girl's hair. There was no mistaking the affection that was there. A fondness that spoke volumes of love in just the touch itself, which made another question come to mind. One he would be asking soon enough.
"It is called Magical Exhaustion. It happens from the overuse of one's magic, draining the containers for it that each mage holds inside," Capricorn replied concisely.
It was lifting an eyebrow at the explanation, as his eyes narrowed on the spirit before him. Sesshoumaru waited. Soon enough, there was a pink poof and that odd chime-like sound. The Pink hair spirit had returned, besides her was what looked to be a strange wooden box that had a mustache on what was a weird face.
"Capricorn, Hologram said he could explain better than you if you and big brother would allow it," she said.
Still examining the newest spirit, Sesshoumaru wondered what he was supposed to represent. And from the way it sat, it looked like it was sleeping, big snot bubble and all.
"Of course, I will not deny the one who keeps all knowledge for the Celestial Realm the right to educate who he wishes," Capricorn stated.
Not missing the slightly amused tone as he spoke, Sesshoumaru lifted a hand as his brother started to move. He knew his quirks and habits. When a soft grunt and whispered meh as the sound of his flopping back to the ground. Casting a quick side glance at the slayer and monk, he saw twin grins of amusement on their faces.
"Hologram if you would," Capricorn said.
There was a loud pop of the snot bubble before a yawn was given as the spirit blinked sleep crusted eyes.
"Oh... uh... yeah, okay," came an ancient and slightly wizened voice.
Then a loud gong sound, as the room filled with the smoke of another poof. Wrinkling his nose, and refusing to sneeze as his half-breed brother and the others were doing. Sesshoumaru waited for the gray cloud to thin and dissipate. Which it did quicker than he thought, revealing a wooden framed, black slate board.
"What the hell was that? It was foul, loud, and obnoxious. And what the hell is that contraption?" InuYasha bellowed.
If he were a lesser person, Sesshoumaru would be rolling his eyes and turning a baleful glare at his brother and smirking as InuYasha described himself to the letter, while the monk calmed him down.
"This is a blackboard. It is used for writing out things while lecturing. Do you not have such things in your world? It is common for schools and such when teaching," The pink-haired woman said.
Though as he looked at her, he could see her dark eyes alight with mocking laughter at his brother, who just huffed and mumbled about something similar in Kagome's futuristic world, though white and tacked to a wall. There was still much he did not know about the Miko, but he had been informed that she was from the future and had been on her way home for a visit before coming back to stay permanently. But instead hours later, they ended up with the feisty blond, wearing the Shikon No Tama.
The silence that hung in the air had him turning his gaze to the weird wooden box-like spirit, the goat, and orange-haired man. A small nod of his head had the goat reaching out and tapping the box spirit. Who started and coughed.
"Oh, yes, yes... of course," he said, floating to the board. "Okay, let's break this down to make it easier starting with humans and magic."
As the thing spoke, images began to appear on the board. The basic outline, nondescript humanoid, that had two small connected circles, like containers inside it. While next to it, words were appearing. Words that were in a language that Sesshomaru could understand.
"Humans, in our world, didn't always have magic. They evolved due to being able to harness it. Thus the containers. Not all humans, even in the current age, can wield magic. In fact, it is still a small percentage, no more than fifteen at max, I believe. And each person that developed magic had an affinity for basic elements at first," the spirit said. "As time went by, it evolved into various types of magic. There are too many to explain at this point. But due to the process, magic originally was harmful to the body, so again they adapted and evolved, thus having little containers, or storage places in their bodies where magic is collected and kept."
There was a pause as the spirit seemed to nod off. But something told him that the thing was not asleep, but waiting for acknowledgment that they understood. He was giving a small lift of his chin and Hn, as a low hum came from both the monk and slayer. The explanation was simplistic, but he was not surprised to know that his brother was radiating confusion. The kit by Rin, who was next to him, seemed even to understand. His brother was hopeless.
"Good. Now to the next part," the spirit said, his head nodding as if he was fighting off sleep. "As they kept evolving, the various types of magic diverged. And those rare humans that had a lot of magic potential were eventually able to have more than one type of magic. At first, two was the max, but now, some individuals have up to from what I know, at least ten types of magic. But those are people who have lived a long time, have taken the time to master their first magic. Knowing it inside and out."
Again the spirit paused; images on the blackboard changed and showed that non-descript humanoid with two containers doing various actions before it vanished, leaving it blank. Again Sesshoumaru repeated his actions, same with the others; his brother being sullenly quiet was a blessing.
"Now, onto Magic Exhaustion now that I have given you the basics," the spirit said. "That occurs when you are using your magic to the point that one or both containers are near emptied. If they are emptied, it can kill the mage. This state leaves the mage extremely tired, and often they can pass out. It takes time to refill the containers, as the particles in the air are absorbed through breathing or even regular continued meditation. As for now, I do not feel any of the needed particles, except the very rudimentary ones, in the air. So, it might take Lucy-Hime a while to even wake up."
Sesshoumaru listened as he watched the board again fill with the images that depicted a mage doing various things, battling included, and their containers progressively emptying. Showing the mage tiring out and falling down and even sleeping. But like the spirit said as long as there was even a little bit of magic in the container, they could live, just severely weakened. But if it was emptied, it showed a rather humorous picture of the soul departing their body, indicating death.
"Now, a mage can increase the size of their container through various means. One is meditation, which also allows them to connect and control their magic better. But also physical training and application. Lucy-Hime has two large containers. The second is called a second origin, meaning it has to be gained or earned through increasing the first to its max capacity and overflowing. It can be painful," the spirit continued. "And, of course, there are cheating methods of which to gain it quicker, but that means that it will be painful, you have less control over the magic until you train it. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, this is how Lucy-Hime had to acquire hers. But being the smart, tactician that she is, she mastered control of it easily."
Once quiet fell over the room, it was clear that the spirit would say no more as soft snores echoed in the small hut, the board vanished. And Sesshoumaru could tell that he was asleep again. The smiles on the faces of the pink-haired and orange-haired spirits told him this as well, because of the fond smiles.
"Are there any more questions you wish to ask, your lordship?" Capricorn asked of him.
Giving a small curl to one side of his lips at the respect being shown, Sesshoumaru nodded.
"Does she have more than one type of magic?" he asked.
It was quiet for a bit, but eventually, Capricorn answered, "No, not that we know of. She does have the capability to use heaven based magic, Fairy magic, or light-based magic. But she is content with the celestial magic she has. Each of us spirit is very diversified as is. It is making her ability to use a wider range of skills. Though she does like to fight alongside us, instead of staying back and directing. Often putting herself in harm's way, it is part of her way of saying we are more than a tool to her."
At that, Sesshoumaru felt his eyebrows itching upon his face. Though he quickly got himself under control. Face a blank mask; he noted that none of the spirits had missed his reaction, though they remained politely silent.
"That is impressive. But that was holy power leaking from Lucy, activating the Shikon no Tama, which should be in a mostly dormant state of being. And the feeling of power from the Jewel around Lucy's neck is unmistakable. That is like a homing beacon for Demons, and other humans who are corrupt and want to satisfy their own needs will now come for her," Miroku said, in a very sage-like voice.
This had the attention of the spirits. The box-like one jerked his body up straight, his odd face staring harshly at the young monk, who blinked wide-eyed.
"That would be most unfortunate. I am assuming that Lucy's magical abilities, which are not easily masked here, will make her a bigger target. I must return to the Celestial realm immediately. Leo, I will inform the king and research my library to see if anything new has appeared," Hologram said.
With that, the room was filled with another loud chime and the smoke. But it was gone in seconds. Sesshomaru was leaving the hut quiet once more. Each reflective in their manner. Eventually, Sesshoumaru stood up and made to leave. Only to pause at the door and look back at the spirits, letting a rare smile show on his face.
"The information you provided will give me much thought," he said. "This Sesshoumaru has one last question, for the orange-haired male. You are tender with her, are you her potential lover?"
The shock that crossed everyone's face was instantaneous. But watching as many things flickered across the man's face, in his eyes, now that they were not hidden. It told him much. He did love the girl, more than she probably knew. Though the sadness and repressed anger in his glare had Sesshoumaru inwardly smirking.
"No, I am not. It is forbidden for a spirit and human to couple at all. It is one of the biggest taboos that can be committed next to letting your mage die," came the terse reply.
Not missing the faint golden glow around the male, he just stared him down, only to have his eyes jerked towards the girl.
"At the base of the place where holy men rest. You shall find the key to the gate of a Lord who was a second too late," she mumbled softly, still asleep. Her face relaxed, a small smile curving pink lips.
TBC!