Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters, only the original ones and the plot.
A/N: There's a change of location at the beginning of this chapter.
In the established story, Sesshomaru is the heir of his father but he doesn't have any castle, council, guards etc. He's the heir of his title, meaning he should be the new Inu-no-Tashio but we see him wandering the lands for the most. However, that may change in this story. But again, it's fiction, isn't it?
Chapter Fourteen: Night encounter
A little after Muteki's five months anniversary, someone else, west of Kaede's village, was reading in the stillness of his office. It was deep in the night, and Sesshomaru found it more peaceful than any other time of the day. No servants going back and forth between the several wings of his keep, no screeching imp trying to ask him annoying questions or inform him of inane matters. No elders trying to convince him to take a mate or allies attempting to set him up with their daughters. Sometimes he really wished to start travelling the land again, at least then the only disturbance was Jaken, and he could always knock him off when he had had enough. He almost sighed, but then that would be unbecoming of his status.
He had just started reading another letter when he sensed a familiar aura coming towards his office. "Just what I needed now," he thought.
A beautiful inu-youkai entered the room; she wore an elegant purple kimono, a thick mokomoko draped over her arms and her silver hair in two high ponytails. She had pale skin, a moon mark on her forehead and two little thin magenta stripes under her golden eyes. In the end, she bore a clear resemblance to his son.
"And to what do I owe the pleasure, mother?" Sesshomaru asked in his usual demeanour, not even looking up from his papers.
"Ah, Sesshomaru, you're still the same," exclaimed his mother, taking a seat in front of his desk, "Is this the way to greet your lady mother? I thought I taught you better." Her smirk was almost identical to the one that sometimes graced Sesshomaru's lips.
He dismissed her sentence with a hand, "It's late in the night, and I have better to do. Care to inform your son why are you gracing him with your presence?" he asked again. They never met often; it was rare they found each other at the palace at the same time. Moreover, he could not stand his mother's talks.
"I knew you would likely have been still awake and that I would have found you alone, so I chose this moment to come and talk to you," she explained, her fingers aimlessly trailing over the beads of the necklace her late mate had left her. "I think congratulations are in order," she smirked again.
Sesshomaru raised one brow questioningly. His mother smirking had never been a good omen. He mentally sighed.
"Why, of course, for the birth of your first nephew," she replied, enjoying the death glare he sent her way.
Her son stiffened. He had known Inuyasha and the Miko had a son, a quarter-demon, something unheard of. He was all Rin could talk about those last months every time he went to visit her. She liked to spend lots of time helping the young priestess, and more than often, he had caught a whiff of a new scent on the child, a baby scent. Last time, the old miko had told him that the pup showed signs of spiritual awareness and that he would likely grow to be powerful like his mother. As if it was in his interest. Sesshomaru hadn't even acknowledged her. He had scoffed, internally, a being born between a priestess and a half-demon. Unbelievable! The half-demon could be the most reckless of all, and he had proved it more than once; his mating with the priestess only added a stain on his miserable existence.
"It's not of my concern what the half-breed chose to do with his life," he dismissed the matter. Less they talk about it, better for him and his peace of mind.
"Ah, Sesshomaru, I would have thought you sharper than this," his mother commented, almost rolling her eyes and stroking her mokomoko.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her mother's tone. "Why are you acknowledging the fact, mother? I would think that this was the last thing you would have been interested in. I seem to recall how appalled you were at the news that father had sired a son on a human."
She leaned back on her chair, not at all intimidated by his fierce glare. "My son, times change, so do people," she said.
"Are you telling me you don't find Inuyasha's existence a mere waste of flesh anymore?" he asked, using the words she had once spoken.
"I may find him and especially his mate highly interesting," she explained, her eyes twinkling.
"Hn, of course. Why would you be interested in the strange miko, mother?" he asked again, "and why are you telling me this?" She avoided giving him a straight answer, circling his question, and it was getting on his nerves. Oh, his mother knew everything too well. She was, after all, the woman he had taken after. He may have got the majority of his strength from his father, but everything else from the look to the cold facade was to be attributed to her.
"All in due time, Sesshomaru, all in due time," she answered his second question first. "I heard tales of her prowess, may them be true or not; she seems to be highly remarkable for her young age. Furthermore, was or was not her arrow that finally killed that nuisance? Naraku, was it?"
"May I remind you, mother, that without my help, neither Inuyasha nor his miko would have been able to defeat that creature," he corrected.
"Always so full of yourself, Sesshomaru. Yes, I know you played a role in his demise, but I know that they had been the ones playing the big part. After all, it was their revenge, not yours, as I seem to recall. Besides, I have heard of how much stronger the child has grown during their hunt. She was barely able to shoot an arrow at the beginning, and now people almost speak of her like she is Midoriko's reincarnate."
"And how would you know all of this?" her son inquired suspiciously. His claws were tapping rhythmically on the wooden desk.
"I have my sources," she shrugged, "Point is that I think it could positively impact you to reconnect with your brother and consequently the miko."
"Half-brother," he specified, "And I have no interest in them, thank you. I already have other matters at hand." He tried to dismiss her with a hand then, but before he could make a sign, his mother spoke up again.
"Like the council pressing you to take a mate? Produce an heir?" she pried, "I heard they want you to have a political match, much like the one between your father and me. They may also already have the perfect candidate. Goro-Sama seemed quite adamant that the dog demon you like so much become your mate."
"They will not have such luck with me," he replied, "Goro-sama can say what he wants, but I will decide who to take as a mate when I want to." His eyes hardened, and he looked out at the night sky, thoughtful.
"Yet, if you could appease them in any other way, you could have some quiet time before you finally choose the mate you want..." she went on with a strange glint in her eyes. He narrowed his more. She was planning something, that was sure.
"Are you suggesting I take a quarter demon as heir?" he asked appalled, his fingers stilled, applying some pressure on the edges of the desk, but not enough to leave some marks.
"Don't make me laugh, Sesshomaru. Do you think they would accept the son of a priestess as your heir? Of course not. A half-demon, on the other hand, one with your father blood and that had already proved his strength..."
"Mother, I do not find you amusing," he told her. Inuyasha as heir, as a Lord in his keep. He could see how satisfied the inhabitants would be.
"Think about it, Sesshomaru. Right now, alone, you still have problems, especially since you missed all the fun for more than a year while you were searching for your father sword first and then that Naraku. But if you convince your brother to back you up, someone would think twice before going against both Toga's sons..." she tried to say. Yes, it was true; she had been disgusted at the idea of a half-demon born of Toga; she had ignored him for most of his life. If he had his blood in him, if he was his father's son, he would show it even as a pup, living alone in the forest and running away from other demons; he would be able to defend himself. However, she had then started hearing tales on tales about his skills and how he had managed to strengthen his father's sword, making it truly his. Maybe, like everyone else, she had judged him too fast, biased by old beliefs.
"Still not amusing, mother. Inuyasha is uncouth and rude, the miko the strangest human I have ever seen. They wouldn't last in this court for one day."
"Ah, yes, the strangest you say," she pondered. "You would change your idea about this matter if I were to tell you the things I found out about her or the place she came from specifically."
"She comes from the same village where the other miko who had sealed the half-demon 50 years ago used to live. The same they reside in now. I find nothing interesting about that," he dismissed again.
"She may live there now and even have taken the place of resident miko, but that village is not the place where she comes from. Or I should say it's not that place yet."
"Again, mother, I do not have the time to resolve your little riddle. Explain yourself," Sesshomaru demanded.
His mother smirked again, "Both the mother and the pup would reveal themselves as valuable assets in time if only you gave them the chance, Sesshomaru. A being born from your father's demon blood and yet immune to the power's of youkai first foe, the spiritualists. And a girl who could give you insights into the future and what we are going to face. While your brother, well, he could pose as your legitimate heir until the day you have your own." If her plan worked, her son's place could be safe for centuries; she only needed people to accept the hanyou's family.
"Mikos are not able to see the future; they are no seer," Sesshomaru stated. That was why he did not like to speak with his mother, too many riddles, too slow; she enjoyed playing with the interlocutor as one was the mouse and the other the cat.
"You misunderstand me, Sesshomaru. I did not say she was a seer but that she has insights into the future, something the most powerful seer could never see. I have been... observing them. As I have already told you, I believe they could prove quite the allies, so I had to find more about them. Tell me, Sesshomaru, is there a time both your brother and his mate seemed to disappear into thin air? Maybe one of the times you went to see your little ward in their village?"
He looked at her sceptically. There was one time, indeed, on the outskirts of the village. He had noticed the sudden disappearance of their auras.
Her mother smiled, "Is there, isn't it?" He nodded almost imperceptibly, now certainly intrigued. He had never paid attention to the occurrence, but if his mother was so adamant about the subject, maybe it may deserve a little bit of his attention. "I noticed the same thing occurring the first time I went to see the famous village; I had masked my aura to avoid detection. I went back there in order to solve the mystery, and they were not there. I was about to leave when their aura suddenly appeared. Not like it would have if they were travelling back from far away, just appeared, materialized themselves. I localized them, and I saw them coming out from a strange dried well; she had some strange rucksack on her back which probably contained other peculiar things too."
"The well..." interrupted Sesshomaru. It wasn't the first time he had heard about that well; the strangest stories were said about it.
"Yes?" his mother encouraged him.
"According to what Rin once told me, the villagers used to put in there the remains of slaughtered demons. After one day or two, the bones would disappear as if they had never been placed there. It is an old costume the old miko told her about. They call it 'the bone-eater's well', " he explained, "What connection could have an old strange dried well with them?"
"Do you think the story that ward of yours told you to be true? How could bones disappear like that?"
"I do not know, mother, I am asking you," he replied, annoyed by her behaviour and the way she was stalling.
"I do believe that well to be some kind of portal." Sesshomaru raised both of his brows in response. "In the beginning, I wasn't so sure, but then I noticed the humans of their group speaking about 'the other side of the well' or 'the modern era'. Added to the fact that sometimes she wears some strange kimono and that I saw them going through the well when they talked about visiting her family. If you were to look into that well after they jumped in, you would find it empty. I do not know how much in the future they can travel to, but I dare to say a lot if her strange contraptions can be a clue," she stated with an air of finality.
For the first time from the beginning of their conversation, Sesshomaru seemed genuinely stunned. If he were in his right mind, he would have never shown some kind of emotion, not even to his mother, but this was something he would never have dreamt of. Sure he had noticed the smells disappearing into the well, but he had never given it much importance. Time travellers? Impossible. But then, every little thing he had never been able to place about the priestess suddenly clicked and found himself at a loss.
"The girl now lives in the village with your brother, but if she was really born in the future, Sesshomaru, you could find in her the strongest ally of all. Think about, son, that alone should convince you to finally reconsider your relationship with your brother." For just a moment, she seemed to be lost in thought, then said, "A priestess that came from the future... he really is his father's son," she chuckled before leaving into the darkness of the night.
The morning after, Jaken found his master still in his office, the same letter he had started reading when his mother had interrupted him in his hands. He had never left for his bed chambers, too captured in his thoughts on the matter.
A couple of hours late, east of the keep, a little quarter-demon was waking up, screaming at the top of his voice, demanding his milk, until his father picked him up and brought him to his mother, who was preparing their backpacks before leaving for her family's shrine.
"Someone is particularly greedy this morning, uh?" she teased him while readjusting his grip on her breast and then tenderly kissing his little fingers.
"He was screaming a little louder, in fact," agreed Inuyasha, who was now finishing her tasks while she was feeding their pup.
"Are you leaving him with Mom after I left for school today?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, Miroku and I prefer to go and see this village as soon as possible. It's more likely we come back before night this way," he explained. "I'd prefer if you stay at the shrine until I come for you both, anyway. This way, if we have to stay in the village for the night, you don't have to stay here alone. Miroku is asking Shippo to stay with Sango, and you'll be safer on the other side with your family." She nodded; it made sense.
Kagome then looked at her watch that she still had to keep track of time on the other side and exclaimed, "Heck! We're late! I'm never gonna be at school in time if we don't leave now."
"Relax, worst case, I can always take you there," he soothed her, pecking her lips tenderly. Neither Inuyasha nor Kagome noticed the demon following them with his eyes while they were jumping in the well some minutes later.
When the vivid light that signalled the passage of time disappeared along with the family of three, Sesshomaru dared to approach and ascertained himself what his mother had claimed the night before. No one was there anymore. The well was empty, and their scents still resided there.
His half-brother and the miko were really able to use the old well as a portal, and if his mother was right, they travelled across time.
A/N: You will have noticed that I claimed Sesshomaru's mother and father's relationship to be a political match. In this story, demons can mate with whoever they want, and even have one night stands if they want - but I'm sure they didn't use to call them that 500 years ago - but they can only form the mate-bond with one person. This means that Toga didn't have to be bonded with Sesshomaru's mother to have a son with her. That's why he would still be able to bond with Inuyasha's mother later on. This detail will play a great role in future events.
Regarding Sesshomaru's mother, I noticed that with the second to last episode of Yashahime a lot of people ( at least in my country ) thought that her name was "Gobodo" while instead "Gobodo-sama" is the polite way Jaken use in both the original series and the sequel to address the dog demoness. If I am correct in the English Dub they translated it in "Lady Mother" (correct me if I am wrong, I saw the series in my mother tongue). A lot of Spanish people are using the name "Urasue" or another that is similar to the witch that resurrected Kikyo - that's what my Instagram is showing me - but I don't know its origin. I do know, instead, that a known fan name is "Inu no Kimi" and I think I'll stick to that because I like Kimi, but nothing else.
I'm also excited because Sesshomaru finally becomes a regular in the fiction and you'll start seeing more interaction between the brothers.