Chapter 14: White Walkers and Crypts

Ai let out another choked sob as the tears endlessly flowed from her eyes. Her hands were balled into tight fists with her claws cutting into the expensive fabric she clutched in both hands. Heat radiated through the thin cloth to her face bringing her a comfort that could only come from the person it belonged to.

"I feel so bad," she cried out.

"Shh, Baby," Kagura cooed lovingly as she tenderly stroked the silken strands of her daughters hair as her head rested her head in her lap. They lay in the center of the plush futon in the center of Kagura's private chambers. Leaning against several pillows the Crown Princess looked down at her weeping daughter with tired but loving eyes.

She had been surprised when Ai had burst into her room sobbing. She had not seen her daughter cry since she was a very young child. Ai often tried to emulate her father in how she carried herself and behaved, but every once in a while her mother's heritage would show and she would cave to her emotions.

"You don't understand," Ai whimpered sitting up, giving her a tearful gaze. "I said h- horrible things about her. I said terrible things. Things that I can't take back."

Kagura tilted her head to the side, giving her daughter a sympathetic look. She knew Ai did not favor the human princess, and with fair reasons. Though she had never been outwardly rude to the girl, she had not been warm to her. None of them had really. Kagura herself could not help but feel guilty as well. She had not even known about Rin's first attack until Ai told her when she came in. Her health had kept her from doing much of anything. She never disliked the girl. Sure, at first she was concerned but Sesshomaru quickly subdued her doubts. She had hoped to develop at least a pleasant relationship between them, like the one the Queen and Lady Izayoi had. Now that would never happen. She had missed her opportunity.

"Ai, you cannot blame yourself for what happened. Yes, what you said was mean, and it was wrong, but you did not kill Princess Rin. Nor had she ever heard you speak these words. Do not punish yourself so harshly." Kagura rested her hand of Ai's cheek. She noted how cold and clammy they felt against the warm, almost velvet feel of her skin.

Ai covered her mother's hand with her own. Her tears had not slowed down any, but the sobs stopped. "I am worried… I fear… I fear something will happen to you next."

"Hush," Kagura said pulling Ai in for a firm but loving hug. "Do not say such things. I will always be here with you. Always."

"You're sick, and you're not getting better," Ai whispered almost inaudibly.

Kagura closed her eyes for a moment before responding. She hated that her daughter was worrying so much. All she wanted to do was ease her fears, but Kagura could barely keep a handle on her own. Every day she was waking up with less and less energy. After being seen by multiple physicians no one can really say what was wrong though Kagura was confident that it was just fever from child birth. Some women recovered quickly and others didn't. It had only been a week since her son was born, she could not panic just yet.

"I will," Kagura said brightly. "Your brother was not an easy pregnancy. This is just a side effect from a difficult child birth. That's all."

As if on cue, tiny cries broke out from the bassinet that Yuudai had been sleeping in. Ai shifted and stood up to go get him. As she did, Yura entered the room holding a tray with two cups on it that were steaming. Kagura grimaced openly. Yesterday, a doctor had prescribed her a medicine. They blended it with her tea and it tasted awful, like stale bread and dead leaves. She had to take it twice a day, when she woke and before she went to sleep.

Yura handed her the cup with a sympathetic smile. "Just shoot it straight back and then drink this. I made you some lavender tea to wash the bad flavor away."

Kagura smiled gratefully at her half-sister before taking the medicine cup. As instructed she drank it in one shot, avoiding most of the taste on her tongue. She set the cup down and retrieved the other one. She drank slowly, washing away the foul taste in her mouth for something more pleasant.

Ai sat back down beside her, holding Yuudai. Kagura took another gulp of her tea before taking him out of her arms. "Hush my little prince. It seems all of my children are grieving today." She looked at Ai who seemed to have calmed, but was still gently sniffling.

"Yura, you may retire for the evening."

Yura bowed appropriately. "Yes, your highness. Goodnight."

Yura rose and exited the room, taking the tray with her. She had made it down the hall safely when she sensed someone following her. She stopped and turned only to be greeted with the unpleasant sight of Jaken. She sneered at the ugly toad demon as he stared at her with a cold look in his eye. She hated everything about the imp, but mostly his uncanny ability to constantly be sticking his nose in other's affairs.

"I see you have taken her highness her tea," he stated casually.

"What business of it is yours?" Yura snapped.

Jaken smirked, contorting his features into an uglier look.

"I was simply making an observation."

"Well why don't you go observe someone else? I am sick of you following me around. Keep it up and I will tell the Crown Princess. She'll see you duly punished for you harassment."

Jaken chuckled, an annoying squawking sound that only irritated her further. "As Lord Sesshomaru's chief advisor, it is my duty to be aware of bioth his affairs and those of his wife."

Yura raised a suspicious brow. "Really?" Slowly she turned back o face him with a narrowed glare. "Then tell me how the princess Rin managed to slip by your observing eyes?"

Jaken stood silent with a look of both panic and disappointment.

"I'll be going now." With that Yura walked away with a smug smile, holding the tray to her chest. Once she had finished with the last of her duties she retired to her small bedroom located in the servants quarters. She shared it with no one, a perk for being the illegitimate sister of a royal. As she downed the narrow hall her smile brightened when she sensed another yoki awaiting in her bedroom.

She slid the door open and crept in before sliding it shut. She turned with a wide smile into the dim candle lit room. There she found him leaning on his back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. His ears were flattened against his head and his gaze was far off and brooding.

Yura eased up to him and bowed respectfully as was custom. "Your highness."

Misho did not speak. He slid off the wall with more grace she was used to seeing him with. He approached her slowly, almost menacingly. Yura gulped anxiously not entirely sure what was going on. She could not tell if he was angry or not, but whatever was wrong it was making her very scared. While he was only a hanyo he was sired by a daiyokai, making him stronger than her, even as a half human.

Seldom did he ever go to her. She always went to him. It was always less conspicuous for servants to be in their masters quarters than vice versa. He would no doubt attract attention by coming there. Maybe that's what he wanted, Maybe he wanted to raise suspicion. But why?

Yura stood up straight keeping her face a calm smile as she spoke. "I am very happy to see you. I have been thinking pf you all day. I heard about what happened."

He still did not speak. After a long pause she stepped closer to him and held out a hand to place on his shoulder but he caught it in his own.

"Misho?"

"What can you tell me about this?" He held up his other hand. It took Yura a moment, even with her yokai eyes, to see the long strand of hair he held.

She frowned and took it from him. She felt it. It was thick and strong, and was a stark white. Also, a bit of yoki was left on it from the demon it belonged to. As Yura studied it she felt the hair pulse in her fingers, coming to life again as her powers began to manipulate it. She felt several different things coming off of it, a tremendous amount of power.

"It is definitely yokai. A very powerful one… Male." Her eyes came to his. "Whose is it?"

"Can you tell me what kind of yokai it is?"

A little annoyed by him ignoring her question she sighed before refocussing her energy and began to read the strand. It pulsed before a purple smoke began to cloud around it before it was absorbed into her fingertips and seeped into her skin.

Yura's eyes fluttered shut as images began to fill her head. The first was the corpse of a royal guard lying dead on a stone path. The next was of Princess Rin sitting on the fountain where she had been found dead. The next was her thrashing around under water with a bag over her head. Then nothing. Yura opened her eyes and swallowed.

"This hair belongs to the person who killed Princess Rin," she answered handing the strand of white hair back to him.

"Were you able to get anything else?"

She shook her head. "I am sorry. No."

He nodded and started for the door. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Wait! You are leaving so soon?"

"I have to tell my brothers."

"But, we have not seen each other all day," she whispered, trying to sound as sweet as possible.

Misho sighed and pulled her in for a quick hug that she did not save as much as she acted like she did. "I will make time for you later, but now I have to get this information to my brothers"

He released her and headed for the door. "You are going after him?" She asked.

"Someone has to," he answered simply before leaving her alone.

With an annoyed sigh, Yura waited a few moments. Whoever killed the princess was obviously hired by her father. Though she was sure they would not figure anything out from a single strand of hair she did not want to take any chances. Then again if she approached her father with the information she had now he would curse her for bringing him useless information. She needed to be able to tell him what she knew. The more she knew the better mood he would be in. Very seldom had Naraku ever held Yura in his favor. No, his favorite was always Kagura. He had actually loved her mother. She had not been born in some serving whore's bed. No she was born in fine silk sheets and wore pretty clothes. Only to grow up to marry a Crown Prince, something Yura had not even dreamed of.

She loved her sister, but she hated her more. It was not fair that she always got what she wanted. Yura had hoped she'd be mated by Inuyasha, but he made it clear he only wanted her for the occasional rutting. Then there was Misho, who she only meant to have a casual flirtation with to get information out of him for her father. He was so sweet and attentive to her. She actually believed he loved her. Too bad she didn't love him, and it was too bad she had already decided to be rid of them all – the Inuyokai the ruled, their bastard offspring, and her spoiled dimwitted sister.

She quickly changed her clothes into something more comfortable before sitting on her bed. On the end was a shiny locked black box. She used the key she wore around her wrist to unlock it. She breathed a sigh of happiness when she spied her red comb inside. She gently rubbed her fingers along it before picking it up. She closed the box and set it aside. She took a deep breath before closing her eyes.

"Now… where my favorite little imp?"

XOXOXOXOXO

Sesshomaru stood in the darkness of his private quarters. For a while he had been staring at the moonless sky, thinking. He could not get the image of Rin's lifeless body out of his mind. She had been so small and pale. The poor girl had no way of defending herself against her attacker. He cursed himself for his stubbornness. Had he been a little more thoughtful he would had made sure she had sufficient protection for tonight.

He should have been there for her. That's all he could say to himself when he pictured her frail, lifeless body, laying on top of the fine bedding in her chambers. When Jaken had approached him about funeral arrangements it took everything in him to keep from slicing the toads tongue out. Instead he sent him away with another set of instructions. He should be returning soon.

He heard the door open and shut loudly. He did not turn as the repugnant scent of human male and wet forest ground filled his nostrils. Sesshomaru continued to stare out at the sky as Inuyasha approached him from behind and stood beside him.

Sesshomaru could sense the anger and frustration coming from his younger sibling. "You came." Not really a question or an observation, just a statement.

"Like I had a choice," Inuyasha sneered.

"There's always a choice."

Silence followed after and neither saw fit to disturb it for a moment, until Inuyasha finally spoke. "Well? What the hell did you want to see me for?"

The door opened again and Inuyasha turned around, as did Sesshomaru. Jaken waddled inside closing the door behind him. "Hello, your highness, my lord," Jaken greeted properly.

In his tiny hands he held a long cased scroll. He bowed briefly before presenting it to Sesshomaru. "Right where you said it would be, sire," Jaken appraised.

"What is that?" Inuyasha demanded.

Sesshomaru silently took the case from Jaken. Without a word he opened the lid and tilted it so the scroll would fall out in his other hand. Inuyasha watched with curiosity and annoyance. He decided it would be better not to irritate Sesshomaru when he was trying to gain information from him. Instead he watched patiently as his older brother handed Jaken the casing before unrolling the long scroll.

Sesshomaru inspected it before nodding in Inuyasha's direction. He laid it down on his desk and sat, Inuyasha kneeled beside him. It was a map, clearly, but it was not one of their kingdom, or any of the continents that Inuyasha knew.

"What is this?"

"A map."

Inuyasha made a face before asking, "A map to what?"

"Father's crypt, where he houses his most precious items, this will tell us how to get there and once there how to unlock it."

Inuyasha's ear's twitched and turned in Sesshomaru's direction. He doubted he misheard him but just in case he asked, "We?"

Sesshomaru continued to stare down at the map, eyes taking in every line that marked a trail, river, road and village. "Naturally you will be coming with me. Misho would only get himself killed and Ai needs to be here to watch Kagura."

"You have men who are loyal and would gladly go with you."

"I need to more than three. This journey must be swift and astute. Father cannot know that I have stolen his map or plan to enter his crypt. The consequences will be fierce."

Inuyasha's mouth twitched and he bit the inside of his mouth to stifle his laughter. Sesshomaru's eyes slid toward him and he snarled. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied and Sesshomaru slid his gaze away. That's when Inuyasha murmured, "Afraid of daddy's claws are we?" He let out a snicker.

He soon regretted letting out that bit of air as Sesshomaru's clawed hand gripped his throat in a vise crushing his windpipe. Inuyasha quickly flushed due to lack of oxygen. He thrashed wildly, hoping to fight against Sesshomaru, but in his human form he may as well had been an ant facing a giant. There was no way. Still he reached with desperate hands to punch… slap… pinch – anything that would get Sesshomaru to release him. Unfortunately his arm span was shorter and the tips of his fingers barely grazed Sesshomaru's chin.

Inuyasha could hear the blood rushing as it gathered in his face, his pulse was an aching bass that crashed through his senses, his eyes burned as they leaked with salty tears. His face had turned from red, to purple, to blue now. His lungs burned and ached… ready to explode…

"Sesshomaru, you're killing him!"

Inuyasha was released and fell on his back, sucking in copious amounts of air into his burning yet relieved lungs. Blood began to flow through the rest of his body, making him tingle all over. He blinked a few several tears out of his eyes before sitting up and glaring at his brother.

"Are you fucking insane?!" Inuyasha rasped in a bellowed howl when he had the breath.

"First, do not speak like that in front of my wife. Second, I fear nothing."

Inuyasha began to sit up and was surprised when he felt Kagura's warm hands at his back. He turned to the tired face of his sister-in-law… who looked so much like another he once loved. Inuyasha quickly blinked and sat fully up on his own. "I'm fine."

"Sesshomaru, you could have really hurt him," Kagura scolded, but her voice was gentle it could hardly be heard as such. She moved away from Inuyasha and sat at Sesshomaru's side.

"Why are you not in bed?"

"I have been in bed all day. I wanted to see you. Ai told me about what happened. What are you going to do?"

Sesshomaru looked between his mate's concerned gaze and Inuyasha's angry stare. He returned it to the map in front of them. "In my father's crypt he keeps some very exceptional items. One of these items is the sword Tensiega."

"Tensiega?" Kagura asked.

"It's said that whoever wields this blade can heal the wounded and bring the dead back to life."

Kagura nodded in understanding. "You're going to use the sword on Rin?"

"No." His answer made Kagura, Inuyasha, and Jaken all balk at him as if he had grown another head. Before Kagura could muster an argument, Sesshomaru went on. "I will however ask my father to use it, because it is his sword. If I bring it to him, he would have no reason to to say no… Not that I intend to let him." He turned his gaze back to Inuyasha. "That is why Father cannot know. He will try to stop us."

Inuyasha nodded in understanding. "Still, I have to ask. Why me? You could easily just go by yourself."

Sesshomaru was silent for a long time. Kagura kissed him sweetly on the chin before rising to her feet. "I will be waiting for you. Come, Jaken. Escort me to my chambers."

"Yes, your highness." Jaken bowed before following the Crown Princess out.

As soon as the door shut Sesshomaru's golden eyes met Inuyasha's violet. "I don't trust anyone else." He admitted on a dark whisper. "Other than my mate and child, there is no one in this castle I trust. These walls have more than ears, they've eyes and big mouths that will open for the right amount of coin."

"So you need me to journey with you to father's crypt? Is that all?" Inuyasha asked.

"No one can know we are leaving until we have gone, so tell no one, not even Misho."

Inuyasha nodded. "What about Rin's body? We cannot leave it here."

"We aren't. I have made arrangements for Koga to transport her casket and the old woman back to the South. It will be safe until we return."

Inuyasha rose to his feet. "We should leave as soon as possible. I change back at dawn."

"That is when we will leave. Meet me at the east gate."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Misho had been waiting in Ai's chamber that he had begun to think she would not come at all. I let out and exasperated sigh as he rose off the bench by her window as she slid inside and shut the door. Her head snapped around as he approached her.

"What are you doing here?" She did not sound upset, just curious.

He held up the hair in his hand. "I found this caught in one of Rin's fingernails. I asked Yura and she told me it belongs to Rin's killer."

Ai eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"That's what she said. Smell it," he held the strand out to it.

Though it was just a strand of hair, and had been in several other people's hands, the yoki that had been coming from it was still clinging to it, and Ai was able to pick up the scent. Along with the smell of Misho's hands, she was also able to pick up on a much more rotten smell. It was not foul, just sour and unpleasant.

Ai crinkled her nose. "It smells like… mushrooms or… some type of fungus."

"It smells like decaying flesh." Misho said pulling the hair away. "There is only one type of yokai that smell that kind of way."

"White Walkers," Ai breathed eyes full of understanding and hope. She met Misho's cold yes. "There's a chance that we could find him. White Walkers stick out like a sore thumb."

Misho almost could not contain his smile. As he stared into Ai's face he saw determination and excitement. She had felt the spark too when he had first realized what had happened. They had figured it out, and they could bring Rin's killer to justice.

"They will not believe us," Misho began. "You heard my father. He wants to rule it as a suicide. He only cares about the stupid treaty, not Rin. If we want to catch this asshole we are going to have to do it ourselves."

"Then let's do it." Ai quickly unknotted her obi and began undressing. "I will meet you in the garden by the fountain. He can begin our tracking there. It hasn't been too long since he left. We may be able to catch him."

Misho moved toward the door. "Fine. I need to go retrieve some items from my room. I'll see you there."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Very interesting," Yura commented as she used the hairs to guide Jaken form Kagura's bedchamber. When he was down a flight of stairs she released control over him. Her eyes went out of focus for a moment, and instead of the dimly lit corridor she was the plain brown wood of her bedroom floor.

She gathered her hairs and neatly put then in the box, setting her red comb on top. "Sesshomaru and Inuyasha will be gone tomorrow, leaving the palace nearly defenseless. I know father had planned on attacking soon, but if he attacked tomorrow…"

Yura's eyes lit up with excitement. Surely he would praise her now. She had to get the message to him and not raise too much suspicion. She thought long and hard. "Kanna," she thought aloud. No one would dare think it strange if she went to see the girl. Her other sister, whose mother was a servant in their home as well, would give the information to Naraku. No one would find it suspicious if she went to visit her. Not even Kagura or Byakuya would see anything strange about it.

Yura dressed again this time to leave. Luckily Kanna lived away from Naraku though she still served in his house. Yura could slip in, tell her the information and be back before anyone would notice her disappearance, and when they did she would have a solid excuse.

Tomorrow would bring the first step to a new way of life. One she deeply hoped would be better.

A/N: Yeah, I know this has been a long time coming but I have been doing this off-again on-again battle with writer's block and I am losing like a loser. So I decided to chop a bunch of stuff out and just give you guys the good parts because I know you guys are like "Okay so… what is going on?"

FYI This chapter is what follows that night from the last chapter, so its technically the same day. Takemaru has not arrived in the West and ha not even set out yet as you will see in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!