Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.
The group limped along the forest, more then half leaning on a demon. Yuzuki blinked curiously at the interactions between InuYasha and Kagome while they bickered about how to explain her sudden arrival.
"Why did you come?" It was more a statement then a question and the way Sesshomaru's voice turned cold showed his anger at not understanding his future selfs decision.
"As I before said, you can't know why I came, it could throw off the whole time stream." She explained, shifting an exhausted but alive Sango on her back. Yuzuki was constantly asking her if she was ok and to tell her if she grew uncomfortable.
"You are nothing like your dad." InuYasha laughed and that earned him a smack from a limping Kagome. He shrugged his should to explain himself and she just sighed.
"You would be surprised how alike we are when it comes to the nobles." She commented and Sesshomaru stumbled for a millisecond before righting himself and continuing. His blunder was only seen by Yuzuki and InuYasha, the only two with eyes sharp enough to catch it. "When I was a child, my father would show me how to hold a sword. You should have seen how red the Lords faces got when I sliced a fruit before their eyes."
She laughed and the rest of the group joined in, her charisma enchanting. They all, even the ones half asleep from blood loss, were confused by her demeanor. She was cold and calculating as seen in her swordplay, but she seemed kind and sweet when her blades were sheathed.
"I just have to ask, who is your mother?" Sango asked, her voice tight and her words pushed out of her sore throat. Yuzuki just shook her head and smiled, which threw them off guard.
"I have pushed my luck since I was a child, I don't think I want to mess with time and relative dimensions. All I can say is that she is a wonderful woman who taught me to stand for what I believe in." She smiled to herself in memory and something occurred to Kagome when she saw the rueful smile.
"Can you get home? Back to your time I mean?" She watched the girl smile and nod but didn't bother to share her details with the rest of the group. In that way, she was very similar to Sesshomaru.
"In a moon cycles time, I will go home." She explained but dropped the subject right after, giving them only that tidbit. "We are nearing the Palace."
"How can you tell?" Miroku asked, his staff helping him hold his weight and to not lean on InuYasha like Kagome was doing.
"My fathers back straitened. He always gets nervous when entering from this side entrance." She told and the others eyes wandered over the Western Lords shoulders. Kagome let her eyes drop a bit lower then glanced around to make sure no one had seen and embarrassingly blushed when she caught his daughters eye. Yuzuki laughed and the others looked at her in confusion. "I require my sleep in a bed not made of sticks and stones; let's move a bit quicker."
Her suggestion was taken to heart and the group moved a bit faster until the trees parted and a large separated guard station rose into the sky, its bricks spiraling upward. In the small window at the top, three shadows could be seen moving and the smell of food wafted down to them.
"Continue. We will reach the Palace soon."
TUH
The mouths of the servants seemed to drop and the girl took it all in stride. Sesshomaru was pleasantly surprised to watch her transformation. She was a girl, clever and intelligent, but foolish and ignorant to ways in the court, but as they walked onto the grounds, her smile faded and she moved forward to flank him, the proper place for the heir. Her face was firm and and arms remained stiff at her side. Her forehead was bare to display the markings.
He motioned for all his servants to follow behind and they all fell into step, often peaking around one and another to catch a glimpse of the unknown heir. Yuzuki could tell they were thinking up scandals relating to her birth.
When they reached the large gathering room, Sesshomaru raised he hands and the buzz of talking silenced. All eyes rested on the dais where the bloody and battered group sat. Before Sesshomaru could explain, Yuzuki sat up, her tone quiet but strong she asked her father to speak.
Sesshomaru studied the girl carefully. For the first time since her arrival, he saw what the others saw. Unlike the other Inu's, her face was sharper, defined like his. Her eyes were a lighter shade then his own, but they held the same passion he had seen very few times in his extended life time. He nodded lightly and she smiled quietly.
"My name is Yuzuki. For all you wondering, I am no scandal, nor am I a bastard, a child born between an unmated couple. I will be born in years yet to happen. I was sent back to do something that only I can do, and as such, I would like you treat me with all the respect you think I deserve." She looked out among the crowd and saw the confusion rippling about them. "I see your wondering faces. You have to understand, I am the Unborn Heir."
She sat down again, gracefully and delicately, the exact opposite of the girl talking to them in the woods a while back. InuYasha's group wondered if all royals hid their true personalities like she did.
Sesshomaru waved them away and they scattered like mice, each pushing and racing to reach the exit first. Once the room was cleared, Yuzuki stretched and padded out of the room and down the hall.
The others followed behind her and her father brought up the rear, watching as she navigated the winding halls with a practiced ease. Her hands trailed the woodwork and she started reading the carvings, all done in ancient and dead languages. All were impressed with her vast knowledge and when she caught her fathers eye, blood pooled in her cheeks and her head snapped forward.
"This is my room." She stated, opening the door and stepping inside to hide her crimson face. He just nodded to the rooms spaced evenly down the rest of the hall, and when most of the group limped to empty rooms, he reached out to knock.
"We both know your room would be-"
"The door to the left of yours. Yes but it seems I'm slightly flushed and would like to calm my emotions." She whispered honestly and he rested a hand on the wood, listening to her frantic heartbeat and knowing that, despite every fiber of his being rioting, she was his child, his first born. With his keen ears he caught her sigh and a slight sniffle, like she was crying. "Ask your question. I know you have one."
He was silent for a few seconds before grabbing the handle and opening the door. When he glanced around the corner, the Heir was gone and in her place was a child. He didn't know how to respond to her bloodshot eyes of her wringing hands.
"Are you happy? In you time?" He specified and watched a few tears leak from her eyes and she tightened her lip in an attempt to stop them. After she thought about the question for a bit, a smile shone through her dark haze and she nodded.
"Yes. I'm very happy in my time and I will be looking forward to seeing them when the portal opens in one moon cycle." She rubbed at her cheeks and stood. Her face is once again perfectly composed. She sets her jaw and walks quickly past him and down the hall. Her shoulders were thrown back and her chin was tilted high.
He noted that she held herself like a noble and when he entered his room and prepared his body for bed, he completely forgot he had offered his dreaded half-brother a night stay. He could feel the dread pooling in his stomach. Tomorrow would be a long day.
FillerFillerFiller. Sorry for all mistakes, I'm only human.