Even with the door closed, her voice filtered in the cabin, half drowned by the noise of the motors. Sesshōmaru's knuckles tensed on the glass of yōkai liquor – the third one. Were he not daiyōkai, he would have shaken his head at the woman's worrying. But he was Sesshōmaru, the killing perfection; beings of his standing didn't show emotions, let alone their frustration. Even when warranted…
Hypocrite.
It was her voice, once more, that cracked like a whip in his head.
Rin.
His own wife had fussed over him the very same, even though he was one of the most indestructible yōkai of the planet at the time. She'd been so short, the consequences of early years of malnourishment and ningen genetics. But her heart… her heart had engulfed him whole. Her ministrations had never exasperated him; she cared for his well-being, choosing to overlook the power he wielded in his claws. When he closed his eyes, every so often, to take a few minutes' rest, it was her brown eyes he saw, her small fingers he felt, her warmth that seeped through his bones.
I miss you.
And that woman just had to poke at the festering wound, didn't she ? Seething, Sesshōmaru reflected on this stroke of fate. It was just his chance that instead of choosing a demure Hime, his reborn father had to stumble upon a seer.
Did he not mind that a mere ningen could be privy to his thoughts ? His emotions ? Did he trust her that much that he would allow such invasion of his privacy ? Or perhaps he'd just gone soft, corrupted by the amount of human blood that now flowed through his veins…
Tch.
Who was he kidding ? Neither Kagome nor Rin had been weak. He'd known irrepressible cowards in the yōkai community, and courageous men and women that stood up to death. Including his wife. Still, what right did she have to unearth his pain ?
Tōga's voice distracted him from his murderous thoughts, bringing another set of questions to mind.
"It's alright, Gwen."
Sesshōmaru closed his eyes; his voice was just the same as he remembered. In his youth, that deep rumble had been the epitome of safety. Centuries had passed since then, but the vibration still called forth peace and contentment in his mind. No matter what occurred afterwards, no matter how much hate and disdain Tōga's betrayal had seared in his heart, his father's voice still lulled his senses like those of a pup.
The purpose and gentleness had not changed an inch. Reincarnated or not, the soul of his father had returned with all his strengths and flaws. Idly, Sesshomaru wondered if he'd be able to find peace in this renewed acquaintance; the past centuries had whipped him, forced him to grow, to gain wisdom… and to understand his father's choices.
He still clung to resentment; it gave him the spine of steel needed to navigate this world and protect his own. Yet, a part of him wanted to convey many regrets. The greatest ones, about the last words he'd traded with his father when he flew to his death. Because Tōga had been so great, in his mind, that he couldn't die. Harsh words could be explained, anger drained through a challenge, misunderstandings worked out.
They should have… if chaos had not unleashed in the land, and Tōga died crushed under that building, trying to save his other wife, his other son. He'd been left behind, unrooted, a leaf torn by the wind.
"Tōga…"
Chichi-ue.
Even through the door, he could feel how breathless she was.
"Shh, you need to stop worrying. Haru gave me pain killers."
"Pain killers are useless on you…", Gwen retorted, seemingly nonplussed.
"Yōkai made. It's much more effective."
Silence met this statement, and Sesshōmaru surmised that the woman was considering the implications of what this meant. Setting the glass down without breaking it was a victory, in itself, but he couldn't possibly avoid that woman and call himself the head of the Taishō clan. So he carefully set his mask in place, and secured his emotions under a tight lid before he shoved the door aside.
The little woman started at his less than subtle entrance, and Tōga watched him, eyebrows dipping in a frown. Even incapacitated, even without his markings and oppressive yōki, he still cut an impressive figure. Perhaps because he had been his hero for hundreds of years before falling from grace, perhaps because he just was the soul that had created him.
But Sesshōmaru would bow to no authority other than his own; he'd lead the yōkai community for centuries. If his makeshift father intended to berate him on the lack of tact he'd shown this very morning, he had another thing coming. When none of them spoke, he allowed his spine to relax.
"Your blood is still strong Chichi-ue. Even diluted. Ningen medicine is too weak."
He expected the little woman to protest, to claim that their progresses in science were unprecedented. She didn't, choosing to allow the insult to slide rather than confront him.
"Do you have any idea who my father might be ? My mother said his hair was white, and that I bear his name."
Sesshōmaru couldn't prevent from snorting; the case was too obvious. The trail, hot and dirty, pointed directly to the culprit who had abandoned his offspring without an ounce of honour.
"You are aware that this was your name back then ?", he told his father.
Tōga nodded, his features pensive. By his side, Gwen remained silent, and entirely focused on him. Good. It would not do for her to run interference, or catch whichever unresolved emotions swam under his three-piece suit.
"One of my descendants is named after you. A quirk of Setsuna."
"I bet he's going to get an earful", Gwen snickered.
If he's not been so tightly wound, Sesshōmaru might have shared in her amusement. But Tōga's shaking voice took him aback.
"Who is Setsuna ?"
Reality came crashing with such strength that the daiyōkai nearly staggered. Of course, he wouldn't know… His twin daughters were their own legends in the yōkai world. But his father… his father had been dead for two hundred years when they were born. He wondered how Tōga would react when he would meet a sixty-year-old looking Setsuna.
Towa had chosen to mate a yōkai, increasing her lifespan by centuries. But Setsuna… she had a few decades left, at best. A century, mayhap. Like InuYasha.
"Setsuna is my daughter. As is Towa."
"I have granddaughters ?"
And the awe painted on his features was so raw, so beautiful that he couldn't keep a smile from quirking his lips. Poor man was about to be thrown in the company of his two granddaughters and his brother at the same time. Would he survive the endless energy of those three hanyou reunited ? Moroha and her mother, Kagome, had passed centuries ago. This was news he wasn't too impatient to share.
How would Setsuna react, in particular, to meeting her hero ?
"Yes. Setsuna was so infatuated with your legend. She told countless stories of you to her grandchildren. A lot. Still does. One of them must have picked the mantle."
A bushy eyebrow climbed on his father's forehead.
"You found it ridiculous", he stated with an infuriating grin.
So alike InuYasha. He smirked.
"Hai."
"But by doing so, she restored your father's name", the little woman mused.
Both yōkai's attention turned to her, and she blushed. Who else than a seer was better suited to spot the twists of fate? Like strings, they coiled and uncoiled at will, bringing people together, running full circle to enforce karma.
"Sesshōmaru ?"
He turned his golden orbs to his reborn father, an interrogation clear in his eyes.
"You aged well. You look … wiser."
The compliment would have once made his day… his year, his century. To hear praise from the larger-than-life dog general. But even though it still struck the puppy heart that laid buried underneath layers of protection, bitterness overwhelmed the simple bouts of joy.
His throat constricted, and the words that came out of his mouth were the understatement of the millennium.
"I grew up."
I was taught compassion.
He turned tail before the seer could pick up on the lingering sadness that always ate away at his heart whenever he remembered the feudal era. How long before he gave up altogether ? Before his curiosity about new technology wasn't enough to sustain his will to live ? How long before Sestuna was gone, and the only reminder of her big doe eyes were Towa's ?
Not long enough.