Feudal Affair

I don't own Inuyasha

Chapter XVI

She kneeled with her hands folded in her lap. She tried to keep her eyes closed squeezing them tighter before she opened one and then the other, peaking to see if he was still watching her. She was relieved that he'd moved away from their resting spot. He'd asked her to stay put. In truth, she hated when he asked her to do this. Maybe her father was good at being still and watching the stars and the moon but she was sure that she was never meant to sit still and reflect on her inner thoughts. He'd said that it would do her good to be still. Kisata looked around and smelled the air to make sure that her father was far enough away. She smiled as she stood up brushing off her kimono. It was a beautiful blue with simple purple designs that reminded her of wisps of wind as they curled on their ends. She ran her fingers through her long silver hair finding ease in braiding it down her back before she took another moment to listen to her surroundings. She inclined her head one white ear twitched as she heard Jaken's voice calling out for her. Kisata wrinkled her nose at the thought that the imp might ruin her plans.

Kisata took off as she huffed at the annoyance. As long as Jaken couldn't see her he'd never catch her. She enjoyed letting the wind blow through her hair as she took off in a full sprint, bounding through the trees without much more of a care. This is what she was meant to be doing, not sitting like an old man waiting for the sun to rise and set. It wasn't long before she came to a village

Kisata smiled as a few of the villagers greeted her. An older woman stepped out of her home to wave her over. Kisata swallowed a breath as she made her way over to the woman. The woman did not seem frantic and yet she was not calm either. Kisata entered the woman's home where she knew immediately why the old woman had called on her.

Kisata was sure she'd overstayed her welcome in the village as the sun began to set and she finally bid the villagers farewell. She didn't know what it was that always seemed to draw her to these villages. Every chance that she had to be away, something led her to these situations. Kisata placed her hand on her forehead as she began to feel faint. She felt drained and she should have known better. She felt her body collapse underneath her. It didn't frighten her as it wasn't the first time it happened and she didn't worry as she felt her father catch her. She'd known he was close by. It would have been impossible for him not to know where she was with the number of times she'd let her aura rise and fall.

"Hi, daddy."

It was all she could say before she felt herself dip into a sleep.

Sesshoumaru listened to his daughter's breaths as she rested. Her small arms wrapped around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. Sesshoumaru tried to maintain his composure. It wasn't the first time Kisata had been too exhausted to finish a trip after an unsupervised detour. She had a habit of running off to explore everything that wasn't along their path. He couldn't deny that she had Rin's independent spirit and possessed a caring heart for everyone and everything. What was worse, word had spread about his little girl and he had little tolerance for those who sought her out. She was still only a child. Seven years of life was not enough to request so much, much less for Kisata to make crucial decisions of her own. Some of them called her a gift, a little goddess, while others saw her as something to be feared and then there was a myriad of those in between. He wouldn't deny that Kisata's power was certainly something rare.

Kisata opened her eyes looking over her father's shoulder she watched Jaken walking behind them. The little imp was melancholy again. She'd guessed her father hadn't been too happy with his losing track of her again but it really wasn't his fault. The little demon was simply too slow to keep up and she'd purposefully left him behind. The villages were too intriguing to ignore. Her father was never fond of them and she'd been told that her mother was mistreated by the people she'd lived in her first village with. Edo was where her uncle and aunt resided but they only visited occasionally or when she would pester her father to make the trip.

"Sorry, Jaken."

"Oh, you're awake! Don't you ever run off like that again young lady. Your father was worried!

"I'll try not too."

Sesshoumaru inclined his head at the response.

"Try?"

"I didn't want to lie."

"Kisata, you can't keep doing this."

"But they needed me."

"Then they can come to me first."

"But you would have said no."

"Not necessarily."

"You've never said yes."

"They're using you."

"Not if I want to do it, and I want to."

He set Kisata on her feet, looking the child in her eyes. She'd folded those white ears back against her head in obstinance. Her mouth turning into a pursed pout that wrinkled her nose. Sesshoumaru decided it was almost cute and she did have a point. Keeping Rin from the very thing that made her happy was what had caused her untimely end and he didn't want to do the same with Kisata.

"Alright. The next time you want to enter a village I come with you. Agreed?"

"Agreed! Can we go to one tomorrow?"

"..."

"You agreed!"

"I decide which one."

"Yay!" Kisata threw her hands into the air before taking off into a sprint.

Sesshoumaru watched Jaken run after her, already huffing and puffing to try to keep up. But, this time, he wasn't worried about what was just beyond those trees and Kisata knew exactly where she was going.

Kisata patted Aun on their noses greeting and disturbing them from their sleep. She crawled into the space formed by their curled tail.

"Mom, guess what?!"

Rin opened her eyes before kissing her daughter on the head. "What?"

"Daddy agreed to go to a village tomorrow!"

Rin tried to hide the surprise allowing a faint smile before responding and looking up at her mate as he joined them, "Did he?"

"Yes! I can't wait!"

Rin listened to Kisata describe her visit to one of the villages today, how an old woman had beckoned her over to save the life of her grandson who'd been badly injured by a wild boar. It made her proud to know her daughter had a caring heart but it disturbed her to hear how many other injuries she'd healed in the span of the day.

"You'd better get some rest. It sounds like there's a long day ahead of you."

Kisata nodded as she curled up against Aun. Rin sighed as Kisata fell off to sleep rather quickly.

"You didn't take her to that village. She ran off again didn't she?"

Sesshoumaru kissed her hoping to avoid the question. He could feel Rin take his face into her hands forcing him to look her in the eyes. Even years later he was still so grateful for their daughter. Without her, he would no longer be able to gaze into the gentleness of the brown eyes meeting his.

"She did."

"Maybe it's best to let her do what she was born to do. We both know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."

Maybe he would have questioned it if he hadn't witnessed it himself. He'd felt Kisata's demonic energy surround them as they mourned Rin's death. It had continued to grow even as Kisata cried out for her mother. In an instant, the energy vanished and Kisata became eerily still. He'd thought he'd lost her too until Rin's wound seemed to disappear and she'd opened her eyes. Their joyous reunion was short lived as it'd been apparent that Kisata had used too much of her demonic energy. It had taken a full day for her to recover to what seemed normal for the infant. As the years had passed and once Kisata had grown enough they'd had a difficult time keeping track of her. Her abilities led her to auras of the distressed and injured. Any village they traveled close to she familiarized herself and the villagers started to become aware of her ability to heal. Sesshoumaru could only compare her to the living form of Tensaiga but she had a weakness. Using her demonic aura to heal also left her vulnerable to losing herself to her demon side and the same child that could heal would kill without question. It was the very reason some villages were afraid of her. It had only been a year ago that she'd lost herself after a spree of healing that had led to a spree of deaths. If he hadn't found her in time she would have destroyed the entirety of the small village. Unlike Inuyasha, there was nothing to keep her demon side locked away but she'd responded to both his and Rin's touch without inflicting harm and both of them were able to calm her and bring her back to them.

"I don't know if I can teach her how to control it."

"So she has to teach herself. Besides, we at least owe Kagome and Inuyasha a visit and maybe that's better than taking chances in a village we don't know."

Rin looked back at their daughter and wondered if the events that led up to the very day of her birth and right after had somehow shaped her abilities. Being forced to hide an aura, sensing the danger around her, being sealed by Kagome's power and then breaking that seal, not to mention having to pull her own mother from death's grasp. Kisata's power seemed like both a blessing and a curse.

A/N: Happy Holidays Everyone!