You and Me After All
Chapter 24: Siblings
Inuyama Castle, the Seat of the Lord of the Western Lands
He found her at the edge of the field at the far eastern border of the estate. It was filled with swaying grass against the backdrop of cloudless blue sky. Buds of ripening grains decorated their tips, in the midst of changing their colour from green to golden.
He sidled up to stand beside her, and he studied her sideways, even though she spared him no attention.
"You seem concerned," he remarked.
Finally, she slid her golden eyes away from the field of grains to glance at him. She sighed as she fetched the scrap of paper hidden under the folds of her obi.
"'Prepare for my return in two days. I will bring my bride home'," she recited the message before she fastened her golden eyes on him. "What kind of a bride? He did not specify. A human, hanyō, or yōkai?"
"When have you ever known Sesshōmaru to be generous with details?" He asked her. "Considering he picked her up on the other side, she will most likely be human. There are not many female yōkai nobility residing in the human realm."
Her golden eyes flickered with uneasiness. She turned around in a swirl of homespun cotton and began to walk back towards the main house, her long silver hair floating around her in loose silken locks.
He fell into step beside her and together they strolled passed the rows of garden beds filled with plants — all of them healthy and flourishing. White canvas tents billowed in the breeze, stalwartly sheltering a series of long wooden tables filled with more plants from the beating sun. Some of their plants, especially the important ones, require more shade than others to thrive.
"One does hear stories," the female inuyōkai spoke again. "My maid said—" She licked her lower lip in hesitation before she lowered her voice, as they passed a few workers working on cultivating the land. "My maid said she overheard some kitchen staff discussing a letter that Jaken sent a while back. In it, he talked about how Sesshōmaru had picked up a stray human — a young girl — who followed him around, day and night."
She paused again, and the scent of her uneasiness thickened. "I also heard that… he had brought this young girl to meet with his mother. Which is a big step… for marriage?"
He shook his head. "You listen to servant's gossip too much, Seirin."
"Not just gossip, Brother. There was a letter he addressed to my attention not long ago, requesting me to procure a few sets of yukata for a girl of about thirteen years old." She frowned. "What are those supposed to be? Bride gifts? What if… he is bringing that young girl here as his child bride? A girl of thirteen years old. Imagine that." She touched a hand to her temple, looking faint for a moment.
The confidence in his eyes wavered.
"We will cross the bridge when it comes to it," he decided. "Until then, there is no use in us making assumptions."
She sighed heavily and came up with another concern. "Also, what are we going to feed her?"
"We will find a way," he replied. When she looked unconvinced, he clasped her shoulder and added: "We will manage."
His younger sister still looked skeptical, but she said no more.