Strange Tales

Lillia sighed quietly. Until a few minutes ago, the twins had been practising their swordsmanship, but now, they were busy arguing. They did that a lot, and the fact that Luna had inherited her mother's fiery temperament and Sole his father's cool mannerisms didn't help, either. Though Sole's icy fury could be just as terrible as his sister's. As it was, they were opposites, in both looks and character, much like the two celestial bodies they had been named after.

Lillia, who was sitting on the stairs leading up to the main entrance of the fortress, carefully inspected her claws, trying to tune out the twins' squabbling. It was just that, really. They were always fighting over nonsensical things – much like she and Sesshomaru had at the beginning of their acquaintance. However, that thought was hardly comforting.

And, since Sesshomaru had developed a habit of travelling, she was stuck with the twins and their antics, and had a country to rule on top of that. Sometimes, she cursed Sesshomaru, calling him a stupid jerk who had abandoned his responsibilities and was chasing his own tail. He had barely been home those past 50 years, and Lillia was getting immensely frustrated. Who did he think he was, leaving her alone like that? She had often considered to go looking for him – she could track him down, after all – but her own sense of duty had stopped her every time.

It was not like she couldn't understand his reasons – Sesshomaru had not been himself since that last war, and the day he had learned that InuYasha had been sealed to a tree. He was even colder than before, and, according to her spies, had developed a disturbing habit of killing whatever got in his way. He was, in a way, living up to his name. The Killing Perfection. People feared him, and he made sure everyone knew he would end their lives, if he felt like it. This was hardly a development Lillia welcomed, but, seeing as he was never home, she could do little about it. She had discussed her worries with Yuki, and asked her to try and talk some sense into him, should Sesshomaru ever visit her, but he stopped by her place even more rarely than by his own.

Sensing a familiar aura, Lillia lifted her head to sniff the air, and soon enough, she detected her mate's scent. So, he had decided to pay his family a visit – how nice.

His cloud came into view shortly after that, and by now, Luna and Sole had noticed his presence as well. Immediately, they stopped arguing and sheathed their swords as they eagerly anticipated their beloved father's arrival.

As soon as Sesshomaru's black boots touched the ground, the twins lunged themselves at him – it was their usual way of greeting him, even Sole forgot his good upbringing for a moment (Luna did that on a regular base). They were less exuberant when strangers were present, but right now, all they cared about was getting their hands on Sesshomaru.

Both jumped on him at the same moment and threw their arms around Sesshomaru's neck, burying their noses in his hair. Sesshomaru's eyes slid close as he let out a soft rumble while taking in their scent, his right arm closing around Sole's shoulders. When Luna noticed he was not embracing her as he normally would, she let out a protesting whine – and Lillia realised the same moment that something was wrong.

"Kids, back off", she demanded, while rising to her feet.

Somewhat confused, they let go of their father and stepped away. Lillia quickly advanced.

"Sesshomaru, what happened to your arm?"

Instead of replying, he pulled his sleeve back with his right hand. Lillia let out a startled gasp when she saw the reason why he hadn't embraced Luna – his left arm had been cut off above the elbow.

Still not quite able to believe her eyes, Lillia carefully ran her fingers over the scarred tissue.

"How did this happen?", she whispered, shocked. "Who did this?"

"InuYasha."

"What? Last thing I heard he was sealed to a tree, and the only person who could unseal him died. And you tell me he cut your arm off?"

"He had been unsealed."

"Figures. You know what, why don't you start at the beginning? Sounds like an interesting story."

Sesshomaru briefly nodded.

"Jaken was the one who told me he had heard rumours that InuYasha had been freed from the tree."

"Jaken? Oh, that annoying kappa with the serious hero-worship complex. When are you going to get rid of him?"

"He has his uses. As you know, I have searched in vain for the Tetsuaiga for the past 50 years, so I assumed InuYasha might know the location of this fang. I therefore sought him out. However, he turned out to be uncooperative."

"No wonder", she muttered. "You were basically asking him to hand over his inheritance, and, knowing you, not in the nicest manner. Anyhow, what happened next?"

"I managed to solve the riddle concerning Tetsuaiga's hiding place – even InuYasha had been utterly clueless about this – and I managed to open a portal leading there by using the nintojou. However, InuYasha and his companion followed me."

"He had a companion?"

"Hn. A human – the reincarnation of the miko who sealed him. It was she who freed him."

"I see... makes sense, I guess. However – why would she? I mean, her past life had a reason for sealing him in the first place..."

"I do not know. But this Sesshomaru does not understand why InuYasha would associate with humans in the first place – it is not like his past experiences with them were good ones."

"Strange... so you found the Tetsuaiga, then?"

"I did. However, it repelled me – it did not permit me to touch it. InuYasha had no interest in the sword, he was more interested in picking a fight with me, it seemed. However, the miko told him to pull out the sword, just to spite me. He tried, but failed as well – though it did not repel him. I do not know exactly how this could happen, but it was the miko who, in the end, pulled the Tetsuaiga out. I demanded that she hand it over to me, but she refused – instead, she had the audacity to threaten this Sesshomaru with his father's fang. In retaliation, I tried to melt her – but she survived. I can only assume that the Tetsuaiga must have somehow protected her, for I have never heard of anything that could withstand our poison."

Lillia didn't really like the idea that he had tried to kill InuYasha's companion, but, if she had threatened him, this was the only response she would get from Sesshomaru. He wasn't exactly known for his patience, or mercy.

"InuYasha attacked, but he was no match for me – he barely managed to touch this Sesshomaru at all. The miko finally gave him the Tetsuaiga, and told him to use it against me. Something unexpected happened then – the fang transformed. It had been nothing but a rusty, nicked blade before, but it changed its shape into a huge sword... InuYasha attacked, and I transformed – in hindsight, this might have been a mistake, I clearly underestimated the fang's power. InuYasha was determined to keep the miko safe – that desire clearly made him stronger. He attacked me again, and managed to cut off my foreleg. I managed to continue fighting for a while, but had to retreat in the end."

"That's – awful", Lillia said, without specifying which part exactly she thought to be "awful". "Can you regrow your arm?"

"I do not know – nothing has changed so far. Regrowing teeth is one thing, but bones... I do not know."

"Does it hinder you in battle?"

"Not much. It did take some time for me to get used to it, but I am no less powerful for the lack of one arm."

"Well, that's good to know. Wait, what is that? Why do I smell a human on you?"

"That is Rin. She decided to follow this Sesshomaru."

"Rin? She must still be very young..."

"Hn. She is but a pup."

"Really, Sesshomaru, what were you thinking? You can't just go adopting human girls without my permission, you know. Next time you come here, you'd better bring her."

"Yes, cici-ue", Luna chimed in. "I would like to play with my little sister."

Sesshomaru huffed, but wisely decided not to argue.

"There was a specific reason I came here", he said. "There is a new threat out there – a creature called Naraku. He would be best classified as hanyou, though he was not born – he is a patchwork of youkai who possessed a human body. Apparently, it was he who pitted InuYasha and that miko against one another 50 years ago – InuYasha fervently hates him, and is currently hunting him, along with his companions."

"So he has a pack now?"

"Hn. Besides the miko there are a youkai taijiya, a houshi and a kitsune."

"Well, that is a strange pack if ever I've seen one... but why exactly are you telling me this?"

"Naraku is extremely dangerous – and he loves exploiting his enemies' weak-points – he is still unaware of you and the pups, and this must remain so. He has already attempted to use Rin against me – I do not know what I would do if he were to lay his disgusting hands on you or the pups. You will not leave the West until I have dealt with this vile thing. Increase the number of soldiers on patrol – his agents had better not set foot on my lands. I will stay away from here, so he will have no reason to assume there would be anything of interest here."

"So, you are hunting Naraku as well? Why?"

Somehow, she doubted it was for InuYasha's sake. That didn't really fit the picture – the brothers didn't seem to be on good terms at the moment.

"He attempted to use and manipulate this Sesshomaru – and this cannot be tolerated. Naraku will die, this one will make sure of this. But you must stay out of this. I will notify you once it is over."

"I see. Well then, I wish you the best of luck on your hunt – but you will stay the night."

"Hn."

"Yuki, I need your help", Lillia said, as soon as the two of them were alone.

She had never in her life been so glad to see the demoness, she had promptly reacted to her summons and arrived at the western palace as soon as possible.

"What is the matter, Little Flower?"

"I need you to watch over the West – and Taro – for me, I have to leave... there is something I must do."

"And what would that be?"

"There is a hanyou out there – Naraku. According to what Sesshomaru told me, he's a really vile beast – and both InuYasha and Sesshomaru are fighting against him – separately. And on occasion, they try to kill each other, too. Sesshomaru still appears to be obsessed with the Tetsuaiga, and apparently, InuYasha jumps at every opportunity to pick a fight with his brother. Their behaviour is just stupid – instead of acting like idiots, they should team up – they would be much stronger together, besides, they are family! They shouldn't be fighting each other in the first place."

"I agree, that would be the wisest course of action. However, I have no idea as to how my son is able to ignore his instincts to such a degree..."

"I believe I know", Lillia said darkly. "But that doesn't matter right now. I don't think they'll ever make up unless someone makes them – I will go look for InuYasha and see what I can do. I would like to appoint you regent, until either Sesshomaru or myself return."

"But what about Taro? Can you just leave him behind?"

"I've told him I need to go and help his uncle and father. He is a clever boy, he knows I wouldn't leave until I felt that I had to. I will return as soon as possible."

"I see. Well, I know better than try and stop you. Very well, I will aid you in this endeavour. I wish you the very best of luck."

"Thanks. I have the feeling I'll need it..."

"Listen up, this is important", Lillia said to the twins. "We will be travelling incognito, which means that your father and Lord Sesshomaru are two different people. We will not travel as royalty, instead, I will be posing as an adviser to Sesshomaru – I used to be your grandfather's adviser before I mated with your father, so that's not even too far-fetched. Do be mindful of how much you reveal to strangers – give too much information away, and our cover might be blown."

"We are doing this to fool this Naraku character, right?", Sole asked, tilting his head to the left.

"Yes – but we should not reveal our true identities to InuYasha, either. He might not react too kindly to his brother's family showing up – he might even attack us. I have a feeling Sesshomaru kept a few things from us – I know him well enough, after all. For now, we will concentrate on locating InuYasha's pack – seeing as how they are constantly on the move, this might be difficult enough. We will figure out what to do next after that."

The twins nodded. Both of them were excited to go on an adventure, they had never left the western fortress to go on such a mission before, after all. Lillia was looking forward to it, too – she didn't like being stuck indoors for too long. Besides, now that she knew that InuYasha was still alive – and no longer sealed, she might just have the chance to make amends for her past failures...