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Chapter Two
Taisho Departs

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2 Years Later.

"What?" Sesshoumaru yelled, looking at his father in disbelief and horror, "You can't be serious!" Sesshoumaru backed away from Taisho, his surprise edging over into anger, bright gold eyes glaring not only at his father, but the human woman behind him who held his hand tightly, seemingly frightened of him.

His father wasn't amused, and locked on to his son's glare with a far more superior and frightening gaze that made Sesshoumaru lower his head. Taisho had just informed his son that he had taken a new wife, and that she would be staying here now, with them. Sesshoumaru was outraged, amazed his father would do that to them, to his mother! It wasn't fair. It was too soon...

Angry tears welled up in his eyes as he whispered three words, "I hate you." And then ran out of the room, down the hall to his quarters, the rice door cracking shut. The human woman looked up at Taisho worriedly, but he just closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, looking down at his daughter instead.

Kisara wasn't nearly as upset. She was clutching her fathers leg, peering at the new woman, not fully understanding who she was, being only three years of age. Taisho seemed to be recovering from his son's reaction to the news, Sesshoumaru being eight, knew perfectly well that this woman would try to play the role of his mother, and the fact his father would replace her so quickly, and with a human no less, hurt him deeply.

"Kisara, " he said softly, "I'd like to meet Izayoi, She'll be living here with us now."

The little girl peered around, not only her father's leg, but also the two furry cloaks he wore to stare at the woman, who smiled softly at her. Kisara gave a small smile and ducked back behind Taisho's leg, shy. The lord gave her a little nudge, and she walked out in front of Izayoi.

"Hello…" Kisara said, still a bit timid.

Izayoi crouched down, her fine kimono drapping over the floor in silky layers. Even Sachiru didn't have garbs like these. "Hello, Kisara, It's nice to meet you."

Kisara smiled again, the woman had a soft voice, and Kisara liked her.

Taisho gave a light smile and left the room. He had business to attend to elsewhere. As he passed Sesshoumaru's room, he paused, but continued on his way without a word.

Inside the room, Sesshoumaru was sitting next to his bed, away from the door, staring at the letter his mother had left for him. His father had given it to him last year, just after Sesshoumaru finished training for the day, He had said that Sachiru wanted him to have it.

Sesshoumaru had read the letter, but it was so confusing, he didn't understand any of it, only that she'd said she'd loved him and asking him to protect Kisara. A ribbon had been tied around the letter, one of his mother's, and as of know the young prince was running the silk through his fingers, letting out his anger silently. He tried not to think, but slowly memories plauged his mind.

Sesshoumaru had held a strong bond with his mother, his father never compared to her. He had never showed him the love his mother had. His father (he thought) had only been thinking of him as an heir, someone to carry on his name, it wasn't love he showed, but discipline. His hand clenched the ribbon and he bit his lower lip at the thought. Discipline... , He thought, All you want to do is bend me to be the perfect heir. You don't care about me. You don't care...

Kisara was still too young to understand the rules of marriage and love. She knew she had loved her mother, and that she had been extremely sad when she left, but for some reason, was not too deeply affected by the parting of her. She loved her father dearly, as well as her brother. This woman was new, but as she spoke to her, Kisara also knew she was really nice, and liked her. The little girl didn't mind that she was living here, and acctually welcomed her presence. Then again, even if Izayoi had been nasty, her aura would not have collided with Kisara's.

You see, even though her father was an inu youkai, Kisara was not; not even part. Sesshoumaru was still full inu youkai. Due to his mother's genetics, he carried only his father's DNA. Sachiru had not been a demon. She wasn't human either, though. She was in fact, a deity. Inside her she had held an ancient dragon spirit, of which has been passed on to Kisara. It lies dormnat, deep inside her soul, waiting for the right time to come. In a way, it was as if all of Kisara's ancestors, her mother, her mother's mother, all of them, were living within her, and would always bee there to protect her, no matter what. It is this undying collection of souls that makes her aura compatible with all, save one.

2 years later

"I don't understand…" Izayoi said, her deep grey eyes welling up with tears. The Taiyoukai sighed, meeting the stormy depths of his mate with his own glowing amber gaze, "Izayoi, you know very well why this has to be done." She began to turn away from him, not wanting to hear, but a clawed hand on her shoulder kept her in place, "Listen to me, I know what I'm doing, and I know that it's in our best interest."

Her sad eyes met his again, doubtful, "It's a suicide mission! You know it is! You can't just leave me here alone!" A hand went to wrap around her swollen belly, her emotions apparently having a negative effect on her child as it squirmed within her. She was almost eight and a half months into her pregnancy, and she didn't know what was worse, the hell this kid was putting her though, or the fact it may never be able to see it's father. She bit her lip and stared at the floor, whispering, "I love you too much to let you do this, Taisho..."

Taisho's gaze liquefied at seeing his mate in distress, and he moved over to embrace her from behind, his chin tucked into the nook between her neck and shoulder, his arms wrapped around just below her breasts, not able to reach around any other part of her expanded middle.

Izayoi calmed under his embrace, and brought up yet another, less crucial topic they'd been bantering over for awhile, "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Her voice was soft, hardly above a whisper.

The demon lord sighed softly, having already stated his opinion thousands of times before. He gave her cheek a soft kiss before saying yet again, "We'll just have to see now, wont we?" On the outside Taisho was very calm, but inside he was in a painful turmoil. He knew very well this may be the last time he held his mate, the last time he stood in this room, the last time…

In the morning he was going to do battle against a bothersome dragon in his lands, a battle that would prove not only physically tiring, but emotionally painful as well. Thoughts of dragons always tugged his heart back towards Sachiru, and that was something he never wished to speak of again. He knew from the moment he'd married her, that she would never live long after the brith of a daughter, but he'd loved her so...

Slowly releasing his present mate, he told her he was going to make sure Sesshoumaru and Kisara were asleep before turning in for the night, though he urged Izayoi to get into bed after he left, wanting her to get as much rest as she could. After a kiss she happily complied, climbing into bed with ease after having dealt with the extra weight for months already. Her steady heartbeat told the taiyoukai she was asleep before he left the room.

Kisara froze as she heard footsteps coming closer to her room, instantly shoving her book under her pillow, forgetting, of course, the candle by which she was reading was still lit anf flickered angrily with her movement. Taisho had known Kisara was awake before opening the door, her heartbeat loud enough to play the drum in a band. He wasn't angry however, how could he be? This may very well be the last time he ever saw his daughter.

Shoving the depressing thoughts away, he smiled as he entered the room, moving across the floor to sit at the edge of her bed. "You can stop pretending now, Kisara." He said jokingly, watching as she pretended to shuffle in her sleep, trying fruitlessly to prove to him that she was in fact, asleep. Rolling his golden eyes, Taisho pointed out smartly, "You forgot the candle." Knowing she was beat, Kisara sat up, guilt written clearly across her porceline face, her bright blue eyes dancing with the light from the candle. It amazed him how much she already resembled her mother.

Taisho extended his hand to receive the book he knew she was hiding. Kisara was only five, and therefore didn't know how to read well, especially the old text in the book, though she loved pretending, and often snuck large books from the library into her room to read to the dolls Izayoi had made for her. Sighing, she grumpily grabbed the large leather-bound book and gave it to him, the weight not affecting him at all, though Kisara had nearly dropped it handing it over to him. It was a book on the History of the Taisho household, one of the largest, oldest books he owned.

"Kisara, you should know better then to stay up this late." He chided, setting the book beside him.

Her large blue eyes moved to stare at the warm blanket she was currently twisting between her fingers. "I know, daddy, I'm sorry. I wont do it again. Promise." She apologized. Taisho, noticing how the words were nearly identical to the last time he'd caught her, simply ruffled her silver hair about, earning a giggle from Kisara. "Just try and get some sleep, ok?" He asked her in a mock begging, once more getting a giggle as she snuggled back under the blanket. "Yes, Daddy." She said, smiling.

He returned the expression before giving her a light kiss on the forehead and blowing out the candle. Kisara wasn't afraid of the dark, she knew nothing bad would ever happen to her as long as he was there to protect her. With a sigh Kisara let sleep overtake her, and Taisho left the room, closing the door as quietly as possible before moving over to Sesshoumaru's room, brushing what may have been a stray tear out of his eye.

All was dark as he opened the door, and the steady breathing and even heartbeat of the young prince let Taisho know that his son was fast asleep. Quietly, he practically glided across the polished surface of the wood to stand next to the bed. His ten year old son didn't sense his presence, still too young, as most demons would, thus waking immediately whilst Sesshoumaru slept on. Taisho let a hand rest on his son's shoulder, knowing that if he did indeed die during this battle, Sesshoumaru would become the official heir, having many more lessons bestowed upon him, harsher training, stricter rules. He had no doubt in his mind Sesshoumaru would make a perfect lord with some time, and was happy to know he would always be able to protect his younger siblings.

No words would have been sufficient for that goodbye, so instead the Lord simply left the room, giving one last glance to his son before closing the door softly and retreating to his own quarters.

By the time both children woke in the morning, Taisho was gone, never to return alive.

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Chapter Two End

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AN – Yeah I kind of clichéd this chapter, but it was a chapter I had to post. Sorry as well if I rushed through the end. Next chapter will be a bit more exciting, seeing as how we skip ahead to 13 years later.