Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to InuYasha. Only, in this chapter, to my beautiful Captain and lovely Naiera.

Author's Note: I know my updates are quite far apart, these weeks pass by quicker then I think. Funny how time works, before I graduated it felt like I had an eternity to live, now my life is going and now I am struggling to catch up. I wanted to say to the people who are just coming in, thank you very much for the support, every new follower brightens my day beyond measure. So... here is another chapter for you.

Note 2: Yes I republished the same chapter, I kinda had too after I had some time to think about it. Naiera had come out in a way that I never intended for her, and Takemaru has an artistic nature, show it when I can. So I really had to fix it.

Friends

This day had passed in what, I could not describe. It began from the moment that my eyes left Takemaru's, as a result sleep became an impossible dream and when I did squeeze in an hour my dreams were of him. That, of course was only after the irrational thoughts became to much for even me and I tried to rationalize them. Feelings of fire and thoughts of fireworks, were replaced with perfectly sound thoughts that beat me up the moment I uttered them to myself in the confines of my room. It was cold, any contact would have increased my body temperature. Fireworks… I loved fireworks when I was a kid, I thought of them when I was happy, anything could be compared to the joy of my fireworks. I continued like that for what I knew to be hours, to say that I had slept this night would have been a blatant lie. Even still I thought I was making progress in the passing hours. That was until I turned to see the sun rising, my eyes wandered to a tree near my window, a yellow leaf stood alone on a thin branch. I would have thought nothing of it were it not for a ray of light that hit the leaf and illuminated it casting off a golden hue. The image had not registered before I thought of his eyes, the same warming color and I stopped dead in my tracks. I felt it again, that feeling of flying, my head lightened and the air tightened, standing too became a challenge and as a result my knees buckled and sent me to the floor, my hand clutching my heart. I hit my head a couple times hoping to pull the image from my mind, completely ignoring that it was seared elsewhere. My head collapsed in my hands as I groaned continuously.

"That's it." I snapped moments later.

I shot up quickly and dressed for a new day under the resolve to see him again.

"If it was nothing, it was nothing." A lie. "Shutup."

I laughed to myself.

"I am talking to myself again. What a nut I have become."

I pulled on my coat and moved through to my window. I could be seen by any of them. My family… I turned back to the door opening it enough to make it seem as though I had left from here. I looked down both ends of the hallway before making my way back towards and through the window. I snuck quietly around corners hoping not to catch the attention of any of the staff, not that I was necessarily in the wrong. In fact, it probably looked more suspicious this way, I straightened my back after a quick glance around disguised as a cough, just to remain oblivious of course. I continued my path towards the gardens, my mind wandering here and there in the silence that soon became occupied with pounding thoughts and questions. Most of them were about my father… and Takemaru. The closest change of thought I had come to was how different they were, and I thought more of both when I realized how similar they could be.

If they had met certainly they could be friends. It was an honor that not even I minded, while some part of me wished to get close to him I would not try my luck. Everything about him was so inviting that I was lucky just to have encountered him. A demon like him was very hard to find. There was compassion in his eyes, despite undoubtedly knowing who and what I was. His eyes never faltered, either that or as a military man he was skilled at deception. I slapped myself internally for that one. To imply that he could be anyone but who I had seen, anything less, I should have faced imprisonment. Still, a Captain would certainly be married, he would be honor bound to produce and heir knowing that his life, even as a demon, could be immediately brought to an end. Was he married? I had not felt a ring let alone seen one, then again it was dark. No. He would not have looked at me that way were he married.

On the other hand he could have heard all about the half breeds so obviously the children of the Great Lord Sesshomaru and just could not believe that they proved to be true about his Lord. When it came down to it, to the outside world it did not matter how I saw myself or who I called father, the truth would always be apparent. That was the truly indisputable fact.

I had finally reached the main entrance tot he garden, now thankful that it was not as cold as last night had been. Even the weather was proving to be beautiful and I could not have asked for more with the joy I felt. I looked around to the gardens that encircled me as I delved further in and admired them more in the daylight. This place never ceased to amaze me, even in the cold the thoughts of these plants thriving and proving to be as beautiful as ever was something that I would truly miss about this place when all was said and done. Our flowers at home were at their most beautiful in the warmer weather, in the fall and winter they would be nothing but shadows of their former and future beauty. Our gardens would probably need tending to when this was was over. I was up to the task until I acknowledged that that meant leaving. The thought that brought me joy once brought guilt this time around. I would be far from these was… And if Takemaru was a Captain of the West, it would be his solemn duty to remain here.

How would that feel? If what I was feeling was true, even worse shared... which I was somewhat certain it was...what would I do? If we had to part ways how would this end? How could we even be? A demon of his caliber with… me. While half-demon I may be I was below him, but as daughter of a Lord I was above him.

I stopped.

To high in rank to be his wife, to low in blood to ever be his equal.

My hand went to my heart that began to hurt as the rapid beating began to cease to leave a faint echo of life. What if we fell in… We wouldn't… I had always in some part envied what my mother and father had and despite my nine years of life I had begun to see some of what love should be. I hoped for it desperately. To be able to hold the heart of the one who loves you. To have that grow from a feeling, the knowledge that you could be together forever because you could not bear to be apart. A love that was so strong that it brought you to life, that could make you smile despite being oceans apart. To simply touch them and feel complete. That was silly. I had read that in classic fables or the stories that Kagome had told me as a small child. Happily ever afters she called them.

I restarted my walk, not thinking of my path as I became absorbed in my world.

I could not think them impossible, especially after seeing my parents and her and InuYasha. Then I thought of my mother and Sesshomaru, she had loved him the same once and as a result she was cast out, his heart if ever he had one closing immediately on her. From those stories that was not love. It could not be. His heart may have been hers, but his feelings were not shared, in the end it lead to happiness but only after so much pain. How many tears did my mother shed for a love that could never have been hers? How could she go on with him knowing that her place should and could never have been beside him? Was that the true nature of love, the risk? To put your heart on the line for… for what? What was gained by handing your life practically to someone?

Feeling as I did at the thought of even his eyes I was afraid to answer of the questions I had posed to myself. I had already branded myself a fool by admitting that I felt connected to him, to push further would only humiliate me. In the end we would be my mother and Sesshomaru, to far apart to even see each other.

"Naiera?"

Takemaru.

I looked around to find the source only find him enveloped in an arch of bushes that created a small alcove with streaks of light peering through. He leant against the wall, his arm resting on the knee brought to his chest while a book lay in the hand that lay atop his stretched out leg. His pose was so relaxed, becoming more so in the seconds I stood looking at him. I stared longer at the smile he greeted me with, his lips remained together but it sent a shiver down my spine. It was beautiful and in response I smiled before the thought had even occurred to me. A quick shake of my head, earning a snicker from him, I turned to see that I had wondered into the maze. The walls just high enough that even if I jumped, were tall enough to hinder my escape. How had I gotten here? Where was here? I did not even know there was a maze here.

"We are still within the walls of the Western Palace." He assured.

I looked back at him. His eyes. I was burning like oil over a cooking fire, toss some carrots in I was a homemade stew.

"You cannot hear my thoughts can you?" I teased.

His whole head turned to me as his eyes shimmered and sent a pooling in my stomach. His voice came out gently as if requesting a wish, "If only." I felt a sense of longing the more I looked at him. Him, a demon.

I could not step past this. I needed to ask, it was better that I got rejected as a foolish girl then as a half breed torn between two worlds with no place in either.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I finished my watch and sought out my refuge."

"What may I ask are you reading?" I stepped to the side to glance at the book forgotten on the bench.

"I was not reading."

"And the book?" My eyes dropped down and caught his hand, small smudges of grey winding around his right hand.

"You draw!" I was surprised and delighted, I had not known many in my lifetime to possess such a talent, aside from those who did our portraits. I suddenly became eager to see what he had done that captivated him so.

"A little."

"Modesty."

"Honesty. As a Captain my main responsibilities lie elsewhere."

"No time for yourself."

"I have a moment now."

I felt no change in tone, it was as warm and inviting as I had come to expect from him, but I knew that his responsibilities were great. Time for him to enjoy life, truly enjoy it, regardless of how endless time seemed was scarce. I was intruding on that time which to him must seem so special. He had the ability to be himself and I would not let myself stand in the way and exploit the kindness he showed in not requesting that I go. Something that he was certainly within his rights to do.

I bowed my head quietly and excused myself the intrusion. As I stepped back, his hand caught my wrist.

"My time could be better enjoyed my Lady, if you would do me the honor of staying."

"I had hoped we were past the formality."

"We only just met. Is it not expected?"

"Not among friends."

"Friends."

"Is that not your wish?"

He paused to express shock, something I am certain was merely a hoax, a look overcame him and it seemed as if I had offended him. I began to recant before I watched his lips turn.

"It would be my greatest joy… Naiera." Still I loved the way he called my name.

"Alright. You may let go of me now."

He looked embarrassed as he looked down to our hands now joined. Quickly he pulled his hand away as a shade of pink stained his cheeks. I laughed in my hands before returning my attention to the forgotten book.

"May I see your sketches then?"

"Try not to judge me too harshly."

"I doubt I ever could." Those words were true, what shocked me was how they came. From somewhere deep within, softly and slowly as if to reinforce the meaning which remained a mystery to me.

I took the seat beside him as he moved the book and handed it to me after I was comfortably settled. Thankfully he had been sitting here a while now because the wood of the bench would have been quite cold. I felt the soft brown leather against my fingers and realized that it was not a book, a piece of cloth that contained hundreds of loose pages, all in varying size. What greeted me was what he must have been working on, a sketch of what appeared to be a lake, surrounded by cherry blossom trees full of petals and a few that danced in the wind across the page. The image stirred something in me as it reminded me of home. This looked like the lake we had at the palace, my brother's favorite retreat. It had been so long since I had even seen it that it had faded from my mind.

A warm hand cupped my cheek as Satoru's thumb brushed the falling tears from my eyes. I did not even realize they were there.

"It's been so long since I have been home."

"You will return." It sounded like a promise, but his home was here. He could not know what it meant to be so far from everything that you had ever known. Not only was it cold here, this palace seemed unforgiving, the walls echoed the laughter that once filled them, perhaps when my mother was here. This place was beautiful to be sure, a shallow beauty that allowed no room for light. That was what I had to remind myself when the days ended and I felt as though this place was not the worst place to be. I had to tell myself that this was not home despite our present situation, this was not permanent.

I nodded, assuring him that I was alright. His eyes doubted me as his heart knew all I needed was a moment, then a distraction.

"You are quite the artist."

I browsed through sketches of landscapes from forests to villages, to trees and even a couple of the sea. Each drawn with remarkable detail and precision, his military training shining through.

"You have seen all these places?"

"Before I was promoted to the rank of Captain."

"Now you are stationed here?"

"Yes."

"Good."

I met his smile with my own. This place was not home but that would not stop me from enjoying what time I had here. This place could not be so shallow if someone like Takemaru could live here. For someone like him there had to be a light that inspired him that kept him going. It was a discovery that I hoped I would have the time to make while waiting for my father to return. Takemaru was a mystery, not like many of the people I have met in this position. He was younger than some which alone told me that his position must have come at a cost that I certainly would not want to know. Through that he carried on and found art, art which showed me that he still had an eye for beauty that went unseen. There were undoubtedly horrors in his past, horrors that could not affect him as they could others. He had found a balance. I hope that someday he might entrust this obvious secret he held to me and that we would be able to move forward. Where? Even I could not say, even if it was only yesterday that I met him, I felt as if something could happen. What? I did not know but it gave me hope for the future.

Sesshomaru's POV

Within the walls of the green maze Sesshomaru observed the Captain and Naiera. Cloaked, he observed the friendly nature of their conversation begun after futile attempts made by Ishida to read to her. It seemed that Naiera was a smart girl, but her insecurities were the result of her mother and would prove to be her greatest threat. It was a battle that would only be decided by time. Satoru and Rin's efforts to raise them compassionate had not been in vein, to shield them from the hard nature of what they were however, was another matter entirely. The views their parents had of them would become inconsequential, blocked out entirely by the very truth they sought to deny. That Satoru would claim to love these children, this child as his very own, and allow her to grow in such ignorance… Did he not know that it would catch up with her, she could never escape that which was a part of her? He would prove to be her greatest threat when all he sought to do was protect her.

They were outside the walls of their palace. Their human mother was alone. Their father had chosen to start a war before allowing their fate to be decided at the hands of another. There was nothing to keep the truth from them now. They would encounter not only humans, but demons, who shared like minds on only one subject. Their life would not become any easier and the trials they were to be put through in the coming years would be the judge of their fates. They continued completely unaware of this as if the hardest burden they had to bear were those of their father. Perhaps that was his gift to them. They could continue as children simply missing their father, they did not need to take a stand yet. Satoru would stand for them until the very last moment when even his strength would falter.

What a woman she had become. To think as a child, that she could bring me to my knees. As a woman, she tested her powers and prepared to bring a nation to its knees. She would draw from him all his strength and Satoru had neither the desire nor the power to stop her. He would fall just as my father had and gain nothing in the process. I heard the emptiness of those thoughts. I knew well that it was untrue. In this process he had gained months to watch her mature, years to enjoy her as a friend, a mother, a lover and a wife. I felt it, the tension in my fist. He loved her truly, as true as she had deserved and in turn she had found peace with him. She knew her feelings towards him were pale in comparison to those she felt for me but still she pleaded for his life. I watched her fall to her knees begging for his love. Was that all she wanted? How could that ever be enough?

Question after question. I found my mind filled with them more and more, over a human woman. A woman who had also defied me and chose to leave for the sake of… She could have had a future here. What kind? While it may have been a lingering desire to believe that true, I would not acknowledge such now. She had made her decision as I had made mine. It was a decision I had come to question since I learned of its consequences, nine years. My path had remained the same, I would fulfill my duties as Lord of the West. The majority of my time was occupied with those obligations, that I had noticed were beginning to change. I would resume my work in the moonlit hours while the day would be foolishly spent listening to the sounds of Rin and her children playing somewhere along the grounds. If they enjoyed it here through winter, the spring would truly prove to captivate them. Especially Naiera.

She found a certain peace in these increasingly frequent strolls. She was not meant to carry the strains which came so naturally to her. She like Itachirou, carried the weight of their family with them. Unlike him, she was not of strong enough heart to accept that there were circumstances beyond her control. She was strong but to what extent? Would she prove to be strong enough to handle her own fate? Hers along with the many fates that would be faced by her siblings as the time came for them to marry and lead lives of their own. The time for each of them to decide whether or not the world would push them out as what they were, or for them to stand as who they were. There, perhaps Satoru had done his best work. He had taught them that their feelings were all that they needed, for that they would certainly pay the price.

She laughs.

There is a look in her eyes, a mirror image of the look in his. This girl had captured the heart of a demon. A demon she was not yet aware had been sent to her by the man she called father. For what reason would he choose this man above all others? What had he hoped to achieve?