Author's Note: Nearly a month after my last update, I have finally found the time to continue writing. In case you missed the little note at the end of Chapter 12, the reason for the long delay was that I moved from one side of the country to the other. Packing, moving, unpacking, finding an university, deciding on a degree, learning the road system of the new town... it all takes time and effort. Not to mention, this chapter has given me quite a lot of trouble. I cannot even remember how many times I have rewritten this, but I do believe I am finally moderately satisfied. So, without farther ado, here is Chapter 13! Enjoy.

Chapter 13: A Hanyō Most Perplexing

"Draw your weapon."

The daiyōkai's voice was calm yet Tora felt a shiver of excitement rush through her. They had not sparred since before the incident, and now he was going to test her new strength.

For a long moment, they faced one other. The daiyōkai's face showed no emotion nor did his hand move towards his own weapon. The lady samurai closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath, and struck. Fast yet controlled, she moved in without hesitation. Her move was blocked by his blade and the vibrations of the collision ran up her arms.

She broke away quickly and struck again. He raised his own weapon. The two blades crashed together and pulled apart. As she moved, she continued to heighten her senses until they were at their fullest potential. Using what she heard, smelled, and felt, she could see the entire area even more clearly then one could with the open eye. More importantly, she could see him.

The fight was more intense then any they had fought before. The lady samurai controlled her breathing as she ducked beneath the arc of his blade. She felt the displaced air on her face and heard the gentle rustle of his kimono. He was pressing her hard, but she would not give in. Not yet. He was without a doubt much stronger than she was, so Tora never lingered in one place. Instead, she used her speed and agility to narrowly avoid his blows. She danced around him.

Her blade sliced through the air to be blocked by his. With a flick of the wrist and a skillful dodge, she attacked from his other side. Then her blade came up to stop a counterattack. Despite the speed at which she struck and defended, her moves were controlled and accurate. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest and her arms began to burn, but she did not falter. Not yet. She managed to avoid another blow.

He struck again, faster and with more power behind it. He could tell she was tiring and he began to bombard her with blows from every side. With all of her remaining strength, she shifted tactics to build her defensive shield. From behind the protection of her flashing blade, she followed his every move carefully.

Finally, something dawned on her. With her heightened senses, she could see his well-calculated moves in the mere seconds between the time he initiated a movement and the blade connected with her shield. If only she had the strength to use his own moves against him, but she was already exhausted. Her own movements had begun to slow, and one wrong move would be quite dangerous. Still she might be able to rein in the last ounce of energy she had to attempt an attack.

Taking a deep breath, she knew that the time to act was now, before she grew too tired to continue. Steeling herself, she heard the rustle of his kimono sleeve and felt him draw back his sword. With her own katana swinging quickly over her head, she allowed her body to drop to the ground in a crouch. The air whistled as his blade slice a mere hand's-breadth from her. Without loosing momentum, Tora swung her leg out and twisted her body. With both hands now gripping the hilt of her katana, she stood up with as much force as she could muster, drawing the blade across his unprotected right side.

Only he was too quick and easily side-stepped, avoiding what would have been a fatal blow to a mortal. Tora stood frozen, leaning forward over her bent leg and her sword poised in the air at her side. It was only then that she realized that it was raining and she was completely drenched.

"Enough. Sheath your blade," Sesshomaru ordered from beside her.

The hanyō, breathing hard from the exercise, obediently lowered her katana, stood, and returned it to the sheath. He had deliberately pushed her passed her limits, but despite her physical exhaustion—evident by her shaking limbs—she still managed to face him and bow respectfully.

Undoubtedly, her speed had increased a great deal from their last spar and her blows had more power behind them. He could even smell the yōki in her blood slowly seeping into her, giving her more strength, but she still had not tapped into its full strength.

Perhaps he had expected too much, and she was incapable of ever fully mastering that hidden power. She was, after all, merely a hanyō, tainted by her human-half.

Perhaps she just needed a greater incentive, a reason to reach down inside and take hold of her youkai-half.

The situation was most perplexing.

If Inuyasha had her skill with a blade – instead of mindlessly swinging their father's precious sword like one would a common stick – battling his little brother would be a great deal more pleasurable.

The daiyōkai curled the claws of his hand slowly and pushed the irritating thought of that filth from his mind. His eyes casually looked over the lady samurai before him, and then he turned to walk back to the camp. His sharp ears caught her soft footfalls as she followed him.

When he had discovered her, her talent had been amazing for a mere human, but now... That last move had been quite sudden and unforeseen. It would have startled even a moderately-strong yōkai, wounding it—if not killing it. Of course, she was still so far below his own level that such a move, no matter how unexpected, was easily avoidable.

The daiyōkai had hoped that by studying this hanyō, he would have a greater understanding of that... of half-breeds. Instead of discovering answers to his questions, however, this woman left him with only more questions.

She remained an enigma. She would listen intently to whatever instructions he gave her, obediently follow his commands, and always spoke with respect in her voice. Even without a lord, she was still a samurai and the ways of the samurai permeated her very being. Her calm expression always hiding her mysterious thoughts from him, though he could always smell her emotions. Her anxiety, her frustration, her confusion, her determination, her sorrow, her joy; each had a distinct scent even when disguised beneath that placid, samurai exterior.

And yet, at times, she acted as capricious as a child.

Such as the day she built Rin that ridiculous kite; the girl had refused to part with the contraption for nearly two weeks. And when she dumped a handful of flowers on Rin's face one morning to wake the child up. Another time, when they had stopped at a river, she had allowed Rin to drag her into the water and the two began to splash one another like children, laughing hysterically though he had seen nothing amusing about the situation.

Then there had been that time when they had stopped in the middle of the night and Rin collapsed in the grass to look up at the stars. Tora had lain down beside the girl, taken her in her arms, and told her foolish stories about how the rabbit came to reside in the moon and other such nonsense.

He did not understand her.

And he, Sesshomaru, was not one to be easily baffled, especially not by a mere hanyō. It was infuriating... and almost amusing.

Almost.

"My lord!" Jaken's voice penetrated his thoughts. "My lord, you have returned!"

The daiyōkai ignored his groveling retainer as he looked about the forest clearing. His eyes fell on Rin, who was curled up at the foot of a tree sleeping. The girl was protected from the rain by the tree's branches as well as Ah-Un's bulk. A very tired Tora immediately walked over. She slowly removed her sheathed blade from her obi and set it against the tree within arms reach. Then she laid down next Rin, her shoulders rose and fell as she sighed, and within a few seconds, she succombed to her exhaustion and fell asleep.

Hm, there was one way to test the hanyō and possibly force her to tap into her yōki.

"Jaken."

The little yōkai leaped up and hurried over to his side. His large eyes seemed, if possible, even wider at the summons.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Go find me Kasumi."

"M-my lord?" Jaken stammered in surprise.

"I want to know where to find her," Sesshomaru murmured.

"Kasumi? What does my lord want with her?"

"That, Jaken, is none of your concern."

"Yes, my lord," the little yōkai quickly said with a hasty bow.

Sesshomaru could smell his fear; he was afraid that his master would hit or kick him. However, the daiyōkai's attention was elsewhere and he had no desire to waste his time or energy punishing his servant. So Jaken, relieved to have escaped a beating and with the staff of the two heads clasped in one hand, hurried into the darkening forest, intent on fulfiling his master's command.

Sesshomaru settled himself against the trunk of a nearby tree. For a long time, he watched the two sleep – the human child and the hanyō – as he listened to the soft drone of the rain. For a brief moment, he wondered if the hanyō would even survive what he had planned for her and he felt... something.

Narrowing his eyes, he dismissed that strange, uncomfortable sensation from his mind. He was Sesshomaru, and he did whatever he wished. If she survived, then she would undoubtedly be of farther use to him. If she did not, then there would be one less despicable hanyō tainting the world.

– The Rabbath in the Moon is a Japanese fairy tale and one of my (many) favorites.
– Kasumi was previously mentioned, if you did not catch it or needed a tiny reminder.