Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters (except Katsurou).
Foolish
Bokuseno gazed upon Sesshoumaru's sleeping party, and marveled at how much Inu no Taisho's son had changed. His father must be laughing from the afterlife. Sesshoumaru sat at the base of his trunk.
"You took the child as your heir." Bokuseno ventured.
"Hn."
"Your father would be immensely proud. You have restored honor to your family."
Sesshoumaru grimaced. He would rather not discuss his father, the half-breed, or all the obscene amount of trouble his family had caused him. He closed his eyes, in hopes of ignoring the bothersome tree.
"Will you mate your heir's mother?" Bokuseno wondered.
Sesshoumaru gave a low, rumbling, growl as a warning.
"That is usually what is done when one is unmarried, and has claimed the son of his brother's widow as his heir."
"This Sesshoumaru has no interest in the miko."
"Hmm, even if you know that any offspring between you two will be quite...powerful?"
Sesshoumaru ignored his question and instead trained his eyes on the sleeping miko. She was laid out on her pallet, with her body curled around her son. He could still see the dark circles under her eyes. Her dark hair fanned out, limply around her. The angles of her face were much sharper than he remembered. She was obviously ill, but he couldn't quite figure out why. She did not smell like normal ailing humans. She did not stink of decay either.
"Bokuseno, what is wrong with her? She appears to be ill. She sleeps poorly, and hardly eats. Yet, I do not smell sickness on her. Why can I not smell decay on her?"
The old tree youkai rumbled, and shook his branches in thought.
"You are correct. She is ill, but not dying." Bokuseno eyed the miko. "Perhaps, even...not aging or at least...very slowly."
Sesshoumaru turned around sharply to look at him.
"Is she human?"
"Hmm, I believe so. She has many secrets, Sesshoumaru. I would advise you to find them out quickly. It is important to know what you are bringing into your household."
"Hn."
"Also," Bokuseno said gently. "She may be ill because she is still mourning her husband's death."
"It has been three years."
"Hmm, but do you not remember when your mother mourned the loss of your father?"
"Yes, unfortunately, she wailed most dramatically for quite a while."
"Oh Sesshoumaru, have some compassion. You know loss keenly too, do you not? Were you not upset when the girl died in the underworld? Did you not feel the loss of your father? Surely, you can think of at least a few warriors, who fell on their swords after finding out their mates had fallen in battle? Some cannot live without the other."
Sesshoumaru scoffed. "Such foolishness."