Inuyasha stared at the now obvious Inu Daiyoukai that had once been Rose, and the conflicted expression on his brother's face.
"Sesshomaru. What is going on?" demanded Inuyasha. Rose's scent had been firmly human before, but now it smelled closer to the bones and his older brother.
His instincts told him this bitch was related to him somehow, though how and why was eluding him. As far as he knew, Sesshomaru was his only sibling.
Sesshomaru had a rather conflicted and rather tired expression on his face.
"I would prefer an explanation as well. I was told Rose was found in the Bone Eater's well a decade and a half ago...and yet her appearance could almost make me mistake her for a female version of you," said Kagome.
Oddly enough, it was Myoga who answered them.
"That is because Rose appears to be Lord Inuyasha's older half sister," said Myoga.
"Sister?" said Inuyasha incredulous.
"Your honored father had two children with his previous mate, before he met Lord Inuyasha's mother. However for some reason the only ones who seemed to be active were Lord Sesshomaru and Lord Inuyasha. I always assumed Lady Mashiro was being kept firmly guarded inside the estate of Lord Sesshomaru's mother," said Myoga.
Rose...or rather Mashiro, sat on her haunches. It was extremely weird, and yet felt perfectly natural. This did explain why she was having such trouble with her attempts to become an animagus.
She had been going about it the wrong way.
"Mother wished to have a break from raising Mashiro, so I took her with me when I went to retrieve Tensaiga," said Sesshomaru tightly. "I had left her with Ah-Un for a few moments at the most, only to return and find a foul odor covering her scent and incapacitating Ah-Un. I discovered demon hunters in the area, but they refused to tell me if any of them had taken her."
Inuyasha stared at him, as this was the most civil he had ever been around him.
"Wait... so you're saying that humans kidnapped your sister, and apparently realized their error so they threw her into the well as a test to see if she was human or not...only to end up at my family's shrine?" said Kagome incredulous. "But that makes no sense. Judging by the timeline alone, fifty years have passed since Inuyasha was sealed and I'm guessing Mashiro was born earlier since he wasn't that old when he met Kikyo. So why did she only an infant when my father found her?"
Mashiro tried to say something, but she had no idea how to talk in this form. She sulked.
Sesshomaru looked at her, then sighed.
"I can translate for you if you wish," he told her. She perked up, and made a series of yaps and barks that he understood perfectly.
"'From what I understand, the well's energies were mostly dormant for centuries after a seal was placed. However I was told that the seal had weakened a mere week before I was found...a week after you were born,'"translated Sesshomaru.
Kagome ran that through her head, before she stared at Mashiro.
"Wait... you're saying my birth caused the energy in the Bone Eater's well to awaken, which meant that when they tossed you inside you were transported to the first point in time for you to come out?"
Mashiro yiped again.
"'You have a better explanation?'" translated Sesshomaru.
Kagome considered this.
"So the Shikon no Tama being brought back caused the well to reactivate and as a consequence your sister grew up in my time instead of growing up to her actual age. This is giving me a headache."
"I'm completely lost," complained Inuyasha. "How old is she supposed to be anyway?"
"She's almost ten months older than you are," said Sesshomaru without hesitation.
Mashiro whined... as fun as it was to be a giant dog, she kinda wanted to be humanoid again. Besides, it looked like Sesshomaru was disinclined to fight them at the moment, so there really wasn't any point holding this form.
Sesshomaru focused on his younger sister, and calmly walked her through reversing the transformation. Inuyasha was confused as to why Sesshomaru was far gentler towards her than he ever was to him.
"Why are you being so nice to her?"
"She was lost on my watch. She is my responsibility," said Sesshomaru. Inuyasha felt incredibly hurt, though he couldn't explain why.
It would be Mashiro who put it into context in a way that he could accept, even if he didn't have to like it.
Sesshomaru was so upset about losing her while she was under his protection, and the fact that it had been due to Inuyasha's mother that his father had died, that he had been highly reluctant to get close to his half brother. Add in Inuyasha's bull headed nature, which was almost the polar opposite of Sesshomaru's calm and calculating nature, that the older demon simply didn't want to get involved.
It wasn't Inuyasha's fault life had simply dealt him (and his half sister) such a crappy hand. It was their job to make the best of it.
Sesshomaru still tested his brother, but now he would have to visit his...their mother to alert her to the fact Mashiro had been found.
Inuyasha was very displeased when Sesshomaru returned, and intended to take Mashiro with him.
"I don't get it! Why are you giving her so much attention when you barely cared about me growing up?" he demanded. Because this was seriously pissing him off.
Kagome wanted to use her powers on him, but she felt this needed to be said. However if he was any more disrespectful to his older brother she would step in.
Mashiro sighed.
"Inuyasha, you're not thinking straight," said Mashiro.
Inuyasha looked at her.
"One, your... our brother likely still feels great embarrassment and shame over the fact that I was lost under his watch. Two, I've lived my entire life thinking I was human...if not for Tessaiga I have doubts my true powers would have ever been unsealed, not without great risks involved. You have had over a hundred years to figure out control and how to use your powers correctly... I barely have a handle on the magic I inherited from my adopted family, and I wouldn't know where to begin with my natural powers," said Mashiro patiently.
Sesshomaru rather approved of her sensible attitude.
"Biologically speaking, you should still be considered a puppy by our standards. You're not even half-grown yet," said Sesshomaru. "Your age should be roughly the same as his, but because of the circumstances your physical development has been thrown into chaos."
Inuyasha and Kagome were both rather confused.
Mashiro looked highly embarrassed by this, but if it would clear up the confusion she would say something.
"Kagome, I lived in a dorm with three other girls my own 'age', and yet unlike them I have yet to experience the 'fun' of cramps or any of the other usual headaches associated with the monthly visitor."
Kagome blinked, before blushing hard.
"Wait, are you telling me despite looking fifteen you haven't ever had a..." said Kagome.
Mashiro shook her head.
"I've had to fake it and everyone seemed to be of the belief I was in dire need of a much overdue growth spurt considering I looked about thirteen rather than fifteen. Finding out my true nature cleared up a lot of why that was," said Mashiro.
"What's she talking about?" demanded Inuyasha.
"She looks the same age as you, but hasn't gone through any physical maturity," clarified Kagome tactfully. "In short though she looks old enough to mate with, she's not capable of having pups at all just yet because her body was messed up."
Inuyasha ran that through his head before blushing bright red.
"Hence why I need to take her to Mother. She needs training, and we need to find out exactly what would be needed to undo the damage," said Sesshomaru flatly. It didn't help that his mother insisted he bring his sister back to her directly.
Even Inuyasha could understand the need to train a pup who recently awakened their abilities. Especially a female one.
Mashiro was not opposed to going with Sesshomaru. And honestly, Kagome wasn't opposed to it either. As blunt as it was to say this, she had no connection to Mashiro and while she appreciated the girl talk, the girl was painfully awkward to be around.
Inwardly, she could admit she didn't like the way Inuyasha treated her with more respect than he ever did Kagome. It wasn't her fault, but it was something Kagome would like to put off for as long as possible.
Traveling with her elder brother was...awkward...to say the least. She had gotten used to the warm reception of the Weasleys, and while the smothering affection Molly doled out was grating, it was still more than Petunia had ever given her.
Sesshomaru... he was cold, calculating, and not inclined to words. Which was probably for the best, because she didn't know what she was suppose to say. What could she say? She had been raised human, with human customs, traditions and behaviors. Sesshomaru had been raised the heir of a noble house and the first born son of two powerful youkai.
She had been raised as little more than a house elf, and still held a slight submissive behavior around others. While she had been slowly gaining confidence in herself and begun to throw aside that particular habit, it was a work in progress.
It didn't help that she was still reeling from the fact Sirius was gone and it was her actions that caused it.
She slept fitfully, though it was tough to sleep when she was hyper aware of her surroundings and had nothing to ground herself.
Jaken watched Lady Mashiro trying, and failing, to sleep properly. He frowned, as she looked very much like her elder but their behavior couldn't be more different.
Sesshomaru frowned as he noticed his sister unable to sleep peacefully. While she was able to nap for short periods, true sleep eluded her due to some trauma she had suffered.
Sesshomaru sat down next to her. He noticed Mashiro leaned instinctively towards him. On a hunch, he allowed his mokomoko to drape over her...after a few moments, Mashiro's expression evened out, just a bit. Whatever she was facing in her dreams seemed to be warded off for the moment.
With that in mind, whenever his sister drifted off to sleep on their journey to their mother's castle, he would insure his mokomoko was wrapped around her. It seemed the presence of the pelt was enough to give her some peace.
The closer they got to the castle, the more agitated Mashiro became. At some point, her youki began to rise.
It took Sesshomaru mere moments to realize that they were in the rough vicinity of where she had been taken. While her mind was unlikely to remember the event, her subconscious at least recognized that they were within range of the den of their mother.
As she was still technically a pup, she retained a strong internal radar whenever she was in the area of the pack's den.
Sesshomaru eyed his sister for a moment. Then he considered how much she had likely gone through. It was likely she would shy away from their mother if they arrived as he had planned...however, if he encouraged her to run at her own pace and arrive in her demon form, she was unlikely to shy away from their mother.
With that in mind, Sesshomaru turned to Jaken. The imp was sitting on Ah-Un for the moment.
"Jaken, stay with Ah-Un until mother's servants lead you to the main chamber."
"Of course, Lord Sesshomaru!" said Jaken without hesitation. Clearly his master wished for the reunion to remain a family matter. As a servant, his presence was unnecessary.
Mashiro watched as her older brother shifted into his true form. With a bark, she let her instincts kick in and joined suit.
It took her mere moments to get the hang of flying, which made her bark in glee. This was way more fun than riding a broomstick!
Sesshomaru let her run around...she was still a pup and this was the most animated he had seen of her. Some leeway was permissible. Besides, she was instinctively honing in on the castle anyway, and as long as she stayed within sight he would allow her to run.
A larger form ran from outside the castle. Sesshomaru identified it immediately as his...their mother.
Mashiro took a few moments to register the presence of the older, female inu dai youkai. But once she did, her internal instincts prevented her from reacted badly.
Sesshomaru stayed back as his mother calmly ran up to Mashiro. For a moment, the two stared at each other with tense silence. Then Mashiro gave a submissive, but not subservient bow of her head. She was acknowledging her mother's natural dominance.
Their mother went up to her and sniffed around her daughter. Sesshomaru had already informed her of the circumstances. The slight change in scent was to be expected.
Watching his sister cautiously bond with their mother would have been heartwarming...if he were inclined to such emotions. When he arrived at the castle, it was to the scene of his sister curled up against their mother. Her form was far smaller than the larger one of their mother. His mother was nuzzling her youngest, pleased at her return.
Sesshomaru prowled the estate, before settling close to his sister and parent, but not so much that he would interrupt them. He was positioned in such a way to provide defense, not that they needed it.