Chapter 12

Jaken had served Lord Sesshomaru for many, many a year. It had been admiration at first sight when the toad demon first laid eyes on the daiyoukai who dared surpass the insurpasable Inu no Taisho. He was strong, calculative and inspirational to look upon. He was the kind of force of nature that only appeared once in a lifetime—and by lifetime, he meant the lifespan of a kami—and the minute Jaken's eyes had the holy privelage of basking in the sight of his aristocratic features and his confident stride Jaken knew that he would rather die ten thousand grisly deaths than let that beautiful fucking daiyoukai our of his sight.

And so he abandoned those he knew and groveled for even a minute of the kami-sent man's time, and he swore to himself that should he be granted it Jaken would spend the rest of his life making sure he was worthy of that fleeting moment. In a way, he had kept that promise and then some when Lord Sesshomaru decided not to be bothered with the lowly toad for a minute, but permanently as his retainer. And Jaken had made it his life's work to serve his Lord without fail, to achieve a level of perfection that no others—except Sesshomaru-sama, of course—could reach. It had been nothing but bliss to be permitted in the presence of such a mighty creature, even when his master liked to torture Jaken with occasional doses of pain. Jaken didn't mind: rather, he felt the opposite about it. Every time Sesshomaru spared his measly life he was reminded not only of how much power one vessel could hold, but also of how incredible his control and restraint truly were in order to avoid instantly killing such a pathetic toad as himself.

Lord Sesshomaru was, Jaken knew, absolute perfection.

He had learned in his first few visits to his Lord's shiro much about his past glories. The fact alone that within his first century of life Sesshomaru was able to develop enough mental acuity to channel and control his power so that he could maintain a humanoid form like his father and mother spoke volumes to how glorious the blood flowing within him was. As a retainer of the notoriously removed daiyoukai Jaken had needed to quickly learn how to fade in the background; some shiro goers would often take interest in the toad for being the first youkai to be permitted into many of the Western heir's personal spaces, and Jaken could not tolerate that attention. Learning to appear as if he wasn't there became an art form; if even a shred of interest was planted on him when people were in the same room as his benevolently magnificent savior, Jaken would be decidedly unperfect for the job he had been trusted with. And so, it was not long before the little warty retainer bled into the background and was pleasantly vanished from the thoughts of shiro gossipers.

Once the youkai he encountered stopped telling him tales of what Lord Sesshomaru had been like in centuries prior, though, Jaken found he was forced to develop his talent for invisibility in order to eavesdrop. He knew that such behavior was not as honorable, but Jaken weighed the price of information over the potential cost of being caught unawares. In this way, whenever his Lord had brought Jaken to the shiro, he was able to slink around and pick up all word of mouth from people unaware they were being listened to. He learned all manners of things, varying in usefulness from a servant's scandalous hookup and a potential spy leaking information. Jaken had worked behind the scenes on several occasions in outing not-so-secret traitors, and his Lord had been better for it.

And so as Jaken crouched listening to two voices as their conversation made its way over to him, he considered the merit in relaying this particular conversation to his mercifully ruthless master. He had yet to decipher who exactly was speaking to whom, but at the moment the little toad found that he wasn't particularly interested in the answer. Their conversation was predictable and boorishly so, and that's why Jaken had taken to reflecting over his Lord as the two people chatted. This was a normal occurrence; Jaken would often find himself learning more than he wanted to about people, and with all the useless things he had heard spoken over cups of tea in this place over the years he was almost positive that he had finally cracked the elusive case known as women. Jaken frequently fantasized over these useless eavesdropping sessions that should a nice toad youkai find her way here, she would likely be blown away instantly by how well he had come to know his way around the inner thoughts of a woman.

Course, that would imply Jaken being interested in anything that wasn't Lord Sesshomaru.

Rin was a close second contender, but Jaken had decided long ago that she didn't really count because she was Sesshomaru-sama's ward. The charge of my master is my charge as well, Jaken had convinced himself, and if Sesshomaru's impending punishment should anything happen to the human girl on Jaken's watch was any incentive, Jaken would do his damnedest to keep her safe. She had long ago proved her charms to be effective, and the sour little toad would admit to himself that if Rin had never met his Lord it was likely that he never would have changed enough to be worthy of Tenseiga. Jaken almost snorted in indignation as he had the thought. If anything, Tenseiga was the one who had to worry about being worthy or not.

Jaken extracted himself from his thoughts as soon as one of the speakers mentioned Rin's name. His eager ears strained to hear what they were talking about now; since coming to terms with Rin's permanent status as someone who also shared the Western Lord's frequent company, he had also been careful about not missing what was occasionally said about her.

After all, his Lord would be swift to end the life of his ever-groveling retainer should Jaken miss even one word of importance.

"Yes; I heard she woke up. Chiharu really is something, isn't she?" The voice that hadn't brought up the human said.

The first voice laughed lightly, before lowering her voice like she was about to let something juicy slip. Jaken smiled eagerly. These were the things he eavesdropped for. "But that's the thing; it wasn't Chiharu, you didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. Then who? Gina's hardly good enough to even be let near Rin."

The first one chuckled pleasantly, like the insult to Gina personally pleased her. "You need to get out more, this gossip is depressingly old already. Everyone knows that the Lord brought back some broad about a week ago and she was the one to do it. I was there when they flew in, you know. Saw her myself."

There was a light slapping sound, and Jaken peered around the corner quickly to see that one of the women had lightly smacked the other's arm. Jaken retreated around the corner before he could study their profiles. "No way! And you're telling me this now? Come on, what did she look like?"

"Unfortunately she's a beauty. Definitely not youkai, though. Probably just some hotshot prostitute who thought she could take a stab at tapping some of that by pretending she's better at healing than his own people."

"But . . . I thought you said she actually got Rin to wake up?"

There was a huff of irritation, but the other woman stayed silent. Apparently she'd been caught in her own contradiction. "Anyways," the girl finally said, in a tone that was completely different. Apparently she was changing the subject; Jaken hoped she wouldn't start complaining about spilled powder during a tea ceremony again. From what the other had said in response, that incident had been centuries ago. Jaken hoped the vain woman would get over it already, for his ear's sake. "Sesshomaru-sama's hand was totally on her back when he walked her into the shiro!"

The other woman fumbled for a little. "Perhaps she's clumsy?"

"Idiot!" The other woman's voice had grown a little whiny, but she collected herself well enough to continue without the rather childish tone. "It's ridiculous for a human woman who's so obviously . . . feminine to be so familiar with our Lord."

The other woman sighed faintly. "I really think you should get yourself a mate," she said instead, and the other woman squeaked. "It's unhealthy to carry such affections for so long. You know that even if Kimi-sama could wrangle her son into finding a mate, he'd only ever concede to something with political value. Like some heir from another land, you know."

"You don't know that," the other one growled, but her lack of conviction told Jaken she clearly didn't fully believe her own words. On the other side of the hiding spot that separated him from the women, Jaken wanted to sigh. This was boring. There were plenty of naive women who had kept themselves hopefully available, counting on the impossible possibility that the gorgeous inu daiyoukai might set his sights on her and take her to bed or even - and only the entirely delusional ones figured they had a shot at this - take her to be his mate and the next Lady of the West. Jaken thought females were purely ridiculous. He was glad that at least one of the woman in this conversation realized that realistically, the healer Sesshomaru had Jaken prepare a room for had a higher chance of the Lord looking her way than those that had dwelled here for centuries and never come close to catching his eye, much less getting a chance for the Lord to touch her back and escort her around his home.

Of course, some of these waspishly jealous women hadn't yet heard from the grapevine that the healer was blind, and needed to be led around a place she was not yet familiar with.

Idiots.

And though Jaken was not particularly interested in this woman joining the ranks of "people Sesshomaru maintained close contact with even for a brief while," he would admit to preferring her over any of the nasty conceited youkai that clung to his master's home.

So when he by chance caught wind of something potentially worth mentioning to his Lord, his decision had already been made for him. If it wasn't his personal feelings of her being the lesser evil, it was also for Lord Sesshomaru's ominous warning to his retainer that he had personally given Madarame-san his word that no harm would come to her while her agreement with That One stood and also the part that followed after, about what a shame it would be if someone was found conspiring against her under his very nose.

"But since we're talking about her, don't you agree that Furuya-san has been acting rather odd lately? Inquiring specifically about Sesshomaru-sama's guest, and talking about someone Furuya-san knew who would be pleased to hear about this development? Saying things about how curious it was that Kimi-sama seeks personal visits with the new woman and such?"

The unmated woman crushing on the Western Lord was silent for a moment as she pondered what the other woman had mentioned. "There's no way Furuya-san actually heard about something like that. The very idea is ridiculous: that some cheap whore of a human capable of charming both the Lord and the Lady of the West actually exists in that healer? It's impossible. You know, you can't trust everything that people say."

"Mhm," the other one agreed, and then sounds of glasses clinking rose to Jaken's ears. When the conversation picked up again, all mention of things worthwhile had disappeared completely, and Jaken concluded that his work here was done. As he scampered away in the night, he contemplated what he had heard. If this Furuya-san was showing an uncharacteristic interest in Madarame-san, then that might be worth looking into, even if the person turned out to be just another jealous admirer. It was the other part she mentioned, something about Furuya-san having someone specifically who would value this information that had Jaken's thoughts stirring to life as he contemplated what he could do with what news he had gained. He was intimately familiar with the way the grapevine worked, and if its frequenters didn't even trust the word of another, it made Jaken wonder about that person's motive for sharing it. Of course, his concern lied in the fact that the claim of the temporary healer's familiarity with Kimi-sama was true, meaning it had to be someone closer to the subjects of gossip who spread the tidbit to the lower leaves of the vine.

Jaken decided that for now, he would identify all the youkai at the shiro with the surname of Furuya. Then, he would take special care to do what he did best in these cases - listen to what people didn't want heard - and then he would evaluate the overall worth of reporting back this development to his Lord. Perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad if this person turned out to have plans for disposing of the woman . . . it wouldn't be his fault per say if they succeeded, since it wasn't like he'd been part of the plan. He could claim that he found some curious tidbit about Rin in the wake of her reawakening and investigated that, and had missed the other plot due to his attentions focused elsewhere. Sesshomaru-sama certainly couldn't blame him for prioritizing Rin over the stranger, at least. And if she was taken care of that would be one less human he would be doomed to like and lose when their pathetic lifespans caught up with them.

Though, Jaken wasn't all that sure she was human: she carried herself with something uncharacteristic of ningen, something that came from centuries of watching the world tumble and pick itself up, something he was only able to see in people because of his long proximity to Lord Sesshomaru.

Jaken shook himself from his thoughts and continued on his way. It would do no good to knowingly let this slide without an investigation. Besides, he was treating the situation like Sesshomaru would actually desire the woman's presence after all this was said and done. What was the likelihood of that? Jaken could tell anyone: it was zero; Sesshomaru-sama had no place for her in this shiro with such an irreplaceable ward as Rin. So, he resolved, he would do his part in protecting the woman while she served his Lord until she finished with Rin and took off.

She wouldn't take long here anyways.


"What does the moon look like?"

Sesshomaru squinted at Megumi. "You have been blind for less than a month, and you have already forgotten?"

She shot him a look that clearly said shut up. "I want to know its shape," she clarified, turning her head up as if to actually scan the sky for its giant occupant. But they both knew that the stars reflected in her eyes were seen by Sesshomaru alone. His eyes lingered on the sight of her for a second longer than they probably should have before turning to look where she did - or would have, if she wasn't blind.

"It is nearly full," he told her honestly, and for a moment he was lost in the vast expanse of the heavens that displayed itself before him like ink black water with glowing white fireflies skating over the liquid surface. He found himself thinking how different the moon looked now compared to the form it took above his brow.

"You're sure?" She questioned, and this time her head turned down and her expression turned thoughtful. She was thinking now, contemplating something. The movement exposed more of the back of her neck what with her hair arranged up traditionally in the fashion he'd grown used to seeing since he first escorted her over his grounds. Again, he found himself studying the skin he rarely saw, noting the way that scar he had noticed several days ago seemed to take on a silver hue in the moonlight. He observed it, and pondered absently about its origins. While he had originally presumed it to be something gained from a fight, he was noting now the way it seemed to be fainter the lower on her neck it was and more prominent the closer to her hairline, which had him wondering how it had been administered. Usually weapons cut deeper after making the initial entry, suggesting that this cut had actually been made from an upwards swing, not the more natural downward one. "It feels like you're staring at me," Megumi's pleasant voice said suddenly.

"You have a scar on your neck," Sesshomaru said instead.

He watched as one of her small hands fluttered back consciously to touch the spot, as if she could feel the sensation of being cut instead of the nothingness associated with a long-healed scar. "Ah, that." Her laugh slipped out almost effortlessly, but he took note of the way she sounded almost bitter.

"It is from a fight?"

She shook her head. "I did this one." He did not like the way she sounded when she implied this was not the only scar she bore.

If she could have looked at him, she would have noticed the way his eyebrows raised with surprise. Instead, her head had lifted up again to let the moonlight fall on her face, her hand still hanging on the back of her neck. Her kimono sleeve shifted on her arm since it was now set vertically, and the downshifting fabric exposed a few more inches of her pale, smooth skin. Sesshomaru redirected his eyes to study the garden stretching out before them.

"I had to do it to cut my hair," Megumi explained when the silence grew between them. Sesshomaru glanced at her once, slowly, observing the way her lips pursed at the memory. "I was rather young and it was my first time handling a knife. I was scared, and overly emotional, and accidentally took it out on my neck." She had sounded faintly embarrassed towards the end, but her lips returned to their pursed state when she finished.

Sesshomaru rolled her words over in his head as he studied her. He knew her hair's length was a precious thing to her; she had told him so herself that day they arrived here. He knew that to make a cut so high meant chopping her hair very, very short. He also knew hair to be something tedious to maintain, especially its length; it was not something to be achieved easily, and by the way her hair seemed perpetually silky and tapered off in fine, undamaged ends, she had evidently spent much of her life perfecting both its form and length.

He also knew now, thanks to his mother's parting comment almost a week ago, a potential reason for keeping her hair that length. "You were born a hime," he questioned softly, though his manner of asking was more closely like he was making a claim that was open to someone's confirmation or denial. "You keep your hair's length in respect to that, don't you?"

Megumi nodded once, softly.

"I was born to human parents, though I'm sure you've noticed I'm decidedly not." Her face shifted as that typical smile of hers found its way to be displayed on her features, a sign Sesshomaru had come to associate with whenever she shared a private joke with herself, basking in the idea that her current conversant did not know what she did. Sesshomaru intended eventually to find his was beyond the receiving end of that particular expression - perhaps even the one to give it, like Kimi could. "My otousan and okaasan both contracted an illness in my youth, and passed away shortly after. My powers had not awoken even during the emotional turmoil of watching them leave me, and many of my other relatives doubted they ever would. My otousan's brother, specifically, used the rudeness of the situation and the rising doubt that I was as special as the wet nurse proclaimed to his advantage, and he was quick to work the situation in his favor so that his blood may take hold as the new royal line of our shiro." Megumi let the hand slip away from her neck. "That, of course, meant that I could not be allowed to live long enough to produce a rightful heir. A sympathetic servant warned me the night of the assassination, and I was able to escapre before they arrived in my room. As I was running through the shiro, I realized that I would be too recognizable if I tried to escape as I was. So I stole into the kitchen and left with a knife. You know what I did with that."

Sesshomaru let his eyes find their way back to her, looking at her with this new information in mind. Frankly he was surprised she had shared this much with him - she had seemed so determined to remain an undisclosed mystery, but then again he supposed the recent turn of events could change the outlook of someone even like her. Though, he conceded, what she said didn't really have much he could use against her - she had left that life and birthright long ago, and all he could use the information to do would be to cut her hair, which would be a petty and frankly low way of trying to take someone's weakness and use it against them.

Still, progress was progress. He would perhaps prod into her sudden change in behavior after she finished her story.

"I find it intriguing that the humans of your shiro were so willing to neglect the true heir," Sesshomaru commented aloud. He had not bothered to pay too much attention to the tendencies of human rulers, and he had ignored them altogether after one of their ranks managed to turn the head of his father. Megumi responded well before he was able to think about that woman.

"It sure was convenient that all my sympathizers died of curious circumstances in the two weeks following my parent's deaths and my escape," Megumi shrugged, that knowing smile on her face again. Sesshomaru was surprised to see her finding humor in the memory of an upheaval of her life that had happened so early on, but her next words helped him in part to understand her behavior. "I suppose what happened was for the best, though, because sooner or later people would have noticed that I was growing at an incredibly slow rate. Keen people would have started to keep a record of me long before I grew adept enough to protect myself from people who would undoubtedly want to exploit me." Megumi rubbed her thumbs over the sleeves of her kimono - this one was blue and purple - and proceeded to startle him with a single sentence, in the fashion eerily similar to the one his mother enjoyed employing. "Course, it helped that any trace of me vanished from the shiro when Izayoi's ancestors burned all the archives down, the royals too, and took over."

Sesshomaru thought perhaps if coincidence was a thing, how curious this all would have been. How odd indeed, that two of the himes born to that shiro - different bloodlines, admittedly, but of the same lands nonetheless - would find their way into the lives of two of the most powerful male daiyoukai to ever grace the grounds of Japan.

"What was Toga's second wife like?" Megumi blurted out, her voice so incredibly soft he wondered if he had heard her at all. When he risked a glance in her direction, he found a faint flush of embarrassment dusting her cheeks and her hands fidgeting lightly with the fabric of her kimono. Sesshomaru hm-ed thoughtfully to buy himself time to contemplate. What had she been like, honestly?

He couldn't remember.

And he knew why.

"I was disgusted with my father for succumbing to desires for a mere human," he told her bluntly, honestly. But his tone was flat and resigned, void of the spite it had once carried when he spoke of this particular topic. He doubted Megumi knew that though, from the way she winced lightly as if it was her fault. He wondered about that. "And as a result, made myself scarce of interactions with him. My mother did the same. It was not long after the woman sired his pup that Toga met his demise, for her."

Megumi's eyes held a far away sadness as she turned her head away from him. Suddenly Sesshomaru felt the inexplicable urge to end this conversation on a happier note. "It has taken me many years, but I have learned to understand and accept my father's last choices to the best of my abilities." She nodded, but the motion seemed slightly numb and forced.

Sesshomaru extended a hand, catching her jaw with one of his fingers and guiding it his way so that she was looking in his direction again. His eyes locked onto hers, even as hers were slightly wide with surprise and fixated somewhere to the left of his cheek. He found himself letting out a small puff of air that was uncharacteristically closer to a laugh for someone like him. Well, her attempts at setting her sightless eyes on his sharply attentive ones were getting better. Perhaps next time she'll find his nose.

"My father was a proud man, and was not inclined to admit when he felt he had done wrong." his voice had taken up a slightly reassurative note, and his studied the way it sounded to his own ears as he talked. "However, he was quick to announce with confidence when he was completely sure in his decisions. And he told me once, when he had first started to fall for Izayoi, that he had absolute faith in his decision to love her. He told me it was not so much a decision to love her, but one to allow himself to express it openly despite her being of the ranks of ningen." Sesshomaru let the finger he had placed against her skin return to his person. "If you must remember anything, then let it be this: if my father had complete faith in his choice, then so now do I. It has given me more perspective as a man. It has taken the life from him, yes; but it has given me another in the form of his progeny. I loathe him not for having the strength to see the world as undivided as he did."

It took a few moments longer than he would have liked, but then the gentlest of smiles settled on her delicate lips.

"Thank you," she whispered, and that pleasant smile of hers was for him and him alone as they stood among the foliage under the starry expanse of the night.

"You have confessed to me the significance of something that happened to you," he told her with complete conviction, "it is only fair that I do the same."

"Oh?" Megumi remarked, and her smile shifted more into a smirk. "I could have sworn you saw me as decidedly beneath you, Sesshomaru-sama." The teasing was evident in the way she pronounced the honorific, but Sesshomaru did not indulge in her invitation to banter.

"I have since re-evaluated you. Your position extends beyond that of a temporary acquaintance," he told her simply. He was curious as to why she left it at that, turning away to allow her whole body to be parallel to his.

"I believe I have figured a way to regain more power quickly," she said instead, using her head to point at the sky. "I can perform a restorative ritual at my pool when the full moon reaches its zenith. It may work around the seal, or it may not," she shrugged, "but I figure if it retains some degree of success I might be able to dismantle the crest on Rin's forehead completely."

Sesshomaru considered her suggestion. He estimated that the moon would turn full in the next few days, and so depending on how far away this pool of hers was, they would either have the option of walking there or flying hard for a few days. He asked her where it was.

"A ways beyond the village you found me in," she told him with an air of eagerness. Perhaps she was excited at the prospect of her plan returning more of her reserves to her. "I've only really grown familiar with the forest surrounding it in the few years I've been back in Japan, but I think between my directions and descriptions and your - well, you - we can find it relatively easy." The inu made a thoughtful noise. "I never got the chance to put up the mirage since I was attacked during the process of it and hauled away shortly after, so you'll have that extra advantage."

Sesshomaru thought once more of their options, and his mind was made up. "I shall escort you there. We will leave tomorrow, so that we may walk the way there and arrive at the time you require."

"No flying?" The humor was back in her voice.

"My energy shall be focused on your protection and providing adequate sustenance for you on this journey," he told her, and from his periphery he saw surprise quickly flit across her face. Why, he could not guess. "I have given you my word, have I not?"

She chuckled. "Fair, fair."

A comfortable silence drifted their way much like the night breeze that suddenly stirred his bangs. He found himself pleased to have decided to pay her a visit after hearing Rin mention to him she had decided to visit the garden after checking up on her patient. It was he who first broke it, when he spotted a inky black bird gliding in the darkness above them.

"Have you given thought to my suggestion of employing the help of Inuyasha's friend?" Her face turned into a curious mix of things before returning to its earlier calm.

"More or less," she replied non-committedly. "I'm more desperate to see again than I am to avoid making certain acquaintances, so perhaps you'd like to make his village a secondary stop while we're on this little vacation of ours?"

He squinted at her. "You're reluctant to meet my half-brother?"

She shook her head and from what he detected her nonverbal answer seemed to be the truth. "Just a minor prejudice of mine from things I have heard and seen." Sesshomaru raised a brow but said no more. He wasn't planning to go there to get Megumi and Inuyasha to bond, after all. So he said the other thing that was occupying his thoughts.

"You have been curiously open with me since your talk with Kimi yesterday."

Megumi's brows furrowed lightly. "I cherish the few precious things that I get. I realize I was fortunate to reunite with Kimi in this place from my memories, and regardless of whether or not I remember your presence I spent those cherished years here with you. Kimi told me a few things," Megumi said, sounding out her next sentence rather doggedly, "about what our relationship seemed like to her when we were children. And I have come to see you as someone who would not," - the middle of her bottom lip was pulled in quickly by her teeth and released as she considered her next words - "betray my confidence, and I've decided to honor whatever past with you I've forgotten by allowing myself to trust you now. That's all."

The Lord of the West tilted his head down to get a better look at the woman he was currently sharing this moment with. He had a sudden, unanticipated thought as he watched her: that now, as she closed her lids and tilted her head up ever-so-slightly to better feel the gentle breeze on her skin, she was intriguingly beautiful. Her dark locks shined with the glow of the moon above them, and her pale skin contrasted it in a way that had her looking for the first time since he had found her touching that painting, a little less human. He reasoned if she bore a moon above her brows and gentle slashes on her fine cheeks, she would have been striking even among the ranks of daiyoukai. The lilac and lapis shades of her current kimono weren't the ones he would have picked to compliment her best, but nevertheless she bore them well on the frame of someone decidedly female, all gentle curves and grace. Unconsciously, Sesshomaru breathed in a little deeper, and the intoxicating mix of her ginger and grapefruit scent had him thinking even for a moment, that it would not be such a bad thing to have her stay with him until he knew all that she thought, and knew all that he had once remembered about her.

It would not be such a bad thing at all.

And if she stayed a little longer afterwards . . . well, perhaps that wouldn't be so bad either.


Far enough away that not even her son could sense her, the Lady of the West watched with blatant amusement as Sesshomaru openly watched the woman that he stood next to. Kimi fought the urge to laugh; though her sight was superior to her son's and it allowed her the advantage of being able to keep her eyes on him even out of his range of awareness, her son undoubtedly had the edge in hearing and would be able to detect such an obvious sound like her laugh. So instead she opted for silence as she thought of the irony of their current situation. Had it really been just over five and a half hundred years since she had last seen those two together, standing side by side? Kami, time really did fly when you watched your pup grow up.

She had a sudden image of Toga then, and wondered if he was also watching Sesshomaru from wherever he was. Was he proud of how drastically Sesshomaru had changed in the wake of Inuyasha's possession of Tessaiga? Certainly he had to be; he was the one to chide their only pup on his general lack of regard for people outside of his parents. Course, there had been that time a certain sparkling snowy-eyed girl had waltzed in with her hand stuck in his father's, all innocence and smiles. He had certainly tolerated her at least, once he saw she aged just as slowly as he did in those blissful fifty years, but he had forgotten about her along with the rest of the shiro. She still wondered about that; Sesshomaru had had his memories of little Megumi intact when she left the shiro on that fateful trip with Toga. She could only wonder what must have happened; because unfortunately, she couldn't remember any sort of incident happening just after those two left.

Far in front of her, Megumi had turned around and was apparently going to head to her room and call it a night. Her son, though, watched the woman that looked so convincingly human go before looking back to the sky for a little while. Kimi smiled, and the expression wasn't full of as much pain as she expected it to be.

Toga, she thought as she watched her son, it appears that Sesshomaru might even turn out a little like you.


Author's Note:

So, I realized that something was feeling a little off about my narrative and then it finally hit me as I was composing this chapter: I completely forgot about Jaken. lol. So I figured I might as well let the little toad make an appearance in this chapter, right?

I was listening to Japanese 80's pop while writing this chapter and it put me in such a good mood, I ended up writing some really cute stuff towards the end of Sesshomaru's perspective. So there you guys go; romantic progress! Don't we just love to see it.

Also, I won't mention it in the story but Megumi's hair is specifically kept in the hime cut, which just looks so adorable. Izayoi's hair is like that too, no big shock.

Finally, I want to send a quick thank you to primapula for the first review to make me laugh; it was so entertaining to read the demand for More! Anyways, I'll do my best. I don't intend to drop the story until I finish it!

Thank you for your lovely reviews; I hope you'll continue to follow where the story goes! 3