As Promised. You reviewed so here it is.

Review, Fav, and Follow for updates to this story. 3- 5 Reviews will get you an update.

Check out my profile page for more information regarding updated information, disclaimers, warnings, goodies, etc.

Chapter 11

Sesshomaru watched as his specter lay sleeping in the corner. The strokes of his brush had lured her into her dreams. Her hair had fallen in her face under the candlelight of this study. Her form nestled against the far wall underneath the moonlight filtering in through the window. Her locs chimed occasionally and moved when she did. Spilling over her shoulder and around her face. The bangles wrapped around her ankle brought his attention with each title of her feet against the floor. Her teacup had sat on the ground empty as she pondered for hours while he burned the midnight oil. Her face was pinched together in frustration. Her dreams possibly navigate a story of her own perhaps.

Did ghosts have dreams?

This one certainly did. She was odd and very different from her looks to her demeanor. He knew she was no ordinary spirit. She was different. Changing things yet not touching them. How her presence randomly gave comfort to his ward when she was around. She rambled of himself in the future requiring assistance, which he loathed. But she was not deceptive. Her scent and the nuances of her expressions gave nothing away to deceit. He had sought her out. His gaze flickered back to the papers on his desk. The papers that spoke of trade agreements, false treaties, and war were on the horizon. There was truth in her words.

But from under what circumstances did he seek her out?

And where in his future had they crossed?

And why seek him out in the past?

Sesshomaru was not one to dwell on the past. Memories, like fleeting shadows, came and went without consequence. They were echoes of another time; remnants of a life long-lived but rarely revisited. Yet recently, something had changed—something strange and unsettling. Something tied to the ghost in the corner of his office.

It began as a subtle intrusion, a whisper of awareness that grew stronger with each passing day. How can the questionable existence of a spirit shift thoughts and ideas in the living? She was nothing like the corpse that condemned his brother in years past. The dead priestess at the time was skin and bones. Yes, this woman was whole yet ethereal. Her power buzzed like a soft hum in the room. He could scent and hear her from meters away when she was near. Sesshomaru, always in control, found his mind touched by this presence that was not his own. A feeling of being observed, of being gently yet persistently drawn into moments he had long since buried but had not lived.

One night, as he stood beneath the crescent moon, Sesshomaru felt the presence more acutely than ever before. It was as if a delicate thread connected him to someone else, pulling him toward memories he had no intention of reliving. Or dreaming of a future he didn't want to see. He closed his eyes, allowing the sensation to guide him. In the stillness of the night, he felt himself slipping into a memory, one that had been locked away deep within the recesses of his mind. It was a memory of a battlefield, of blood and steel, but it was not the clash of swords that held his focus.

No, it was the figure standing at the edge of the battlefield—the memory of an older Rin. She dressed in a warrior's uniform and fought like a demoness amongst his foes and comrades. The heat from the fires blazed through the battlefield. Her sword was drenched in the blood of her enemies. Her face was set in concentration and anguish as she cut through the night to rush to his side. Yet something rushed towards her the echo of his being moved to intersect, crushing the attack in its pursuit of his ward's life. The roar that released from his vocals was one he hadn't released in years to come. The relief in her eyes caught him off guard. His eyes caught sight of the injuries she'd sustained. Sesshomaru's heart tightened at the sight, the pain of that moment as sharp as ever. Someone belonging to him…belonging in his pack had been struck. It caught him off guard. The feeling brought something forth with uncomfortable clarity.

His ward was…his pup.

It shook him. This realization. But even more so, that she was in danger and suffered because of him. He did not want her out there on the field. The urge to hide her away bubbled in his chest. And the pause he had taken as he looked her over, left him gasping. Every moment he stalled, left them open to an attack. Yet here he was…checking on her well-being and sniffing her scent of information between the burnt cedar and tart copper scents invading his senses. His mind took in the moment trying to discern if this was indeed a dream or a vision of his future. And why was he seeing this now? Why this moment? The knowledge he held pointed with his gut toward the specter that invaded his life. And there, at the edge of the memory, he sensed her—Oshun. She was not of his world, not of his time or memory, yet here she was, a silent observer in his most private dreams or reality…. Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, his golden gaze narrowing as he sought her out in the corner of his study.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice low and cold, reverberating through the void of the memory that ghosted over his past.

Oshun's eyes snapped open in sadness and turned her head to look at him. Her human form seemed ethereal and insubstantial, like a ghost haunting the corners of his mind. The gloss of her eyes met his, filled with calm wisdom that contrasted sharply with the storm brewing within him. A sense of sadness and fear touched the lines of her brow and left her lips in a gentle pout. Her violet eyes stared back at him as her mouth moved.

"I am Oshun," she said softly, her voice carrying a soothing cadence that only served to irritate Sesshomaru further. Her form shifted as she shook her hair and looked at her hands with concern. "What…" she licked her lips clearly seeing something within him that he disliked. As if she could read him despite the centennials spent molding him into the Killing Perfection.

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed with anger. "You invade my mind, unbidden and unwelcome. Why?"

Oshun held his gaze, unflinching despite the icy fury she faced. "I did not come to cause harm, Sesshomaru. My magic works like the ones before me. I'm guided by the need and by your ancestors. The spirits led me here because the medicine to your healing lies in your past. They knew you had something to teach, and perhaps, something to learn." Her eyes shifted sideways as she shifted her locs around her head. Her feet came down onto the wood floor gently to ground herself. "Our lives intersect here and…possibly around Rin."

Sesshomaru's jaw tightened. He did not need lessons from a stranger, no matter who sent her and why. His memories…his dreams…his future was his own, and he did not appreciate them being laid bare for another to see.

"You speak of learning," he said, his voice like steel. "But what could you, a spirit, possibly understand of this one?" The remnants of the dream ghosted in his memories. The inability to ascertain between dream and memory left him agitated. His eyes saw her sharp contrast of colors as they narrowed onto her form.

"When I am here…I think…unlike my father, I don't see or visit memories. I go to the points in your history that speak to your situation. Or is this mine…" Oshun moved to sit up more to peer at him with concerned eyes. "I understand that even the strongest of beings carry burdens they do not show. You, Lord Sesshomaru, carry the weight of duty, of responsibility, and something else…I cannot give a name to just yet." She murmured to herself. "Nearly a minute ago, I thought you were a monster. And then a big irritant. Now… I think I must look at you to see myself."

Sesshomaru's anger flared, though it was tempered by the truth in her words. He had always kept his emotions tightly controlled, believing them to be a weakness. But this woman, this Oshun, had seen through his defenses as easily as if they were made of paper. She spoke of riddles though that hit on the fringes of his temper. He had no time for such things. His reality was in front of him, and he did not need her consulting.

"I do not need your pity, nor your insight," Sesshomaru growled, his hand instinctively flexing in response slightly as he slowly began to rise.

Oshun did not retreat. Instead, she offered him a small, understanding smile. "It is not pity that brings me here, Sesshomaru. It is my father. It is your spirits. It is respect. You are a warrior, but you are also more than that." Her eyes shifted to the doors where Rin had left a few hours ago. Her wooden sword sat alongside his weapon on the dai. Her eyes saw something that he couldn't. "Let me help you, please." She asked. The memory of her tenacity and arguably loud aggressive demeanor sat stark against the display of her in this moment. Just a few months ago he wanted to run through her with his sword and destroy her out of existence. But now…

Sesshomaru's claws relaxed, though his eyes remained hard. "Leave my mind, Oshun. I will not warn you again."

Oshun opened her mouth to speak but she closed it. There was no promise she could make as she didn't even understand what brought her there to share in his memories with her in the first place. She watched as he turned back in his seat and began to work again. Her form being effortlessly dismissed in this conversation. How she had made progress and then backtracked was beyond her. But at least this didn't end in her being skewered or them arguing again. So, some progress was made.

Oshun stood up and made her way to walk out of the room. She looked back at the Inu demon working at his desk under the candlelight. The memories of him ushering his ward through her katas and providing for her in her moment of need shadowed over this version of him. She saw from her interpretation, a father sheltering his daughter. He didn't see it like that, she was sure. But there it was. Now why would the spirits show her this? Show her these different times. Interact with his past and paint his memories?

She slipped from the doorway and out into the empty halls. Her feet took her forward until she was out of the building. It wasn't long before Oshun found herself beneath the vast indigo sky, where the full moon bathed the landscape in a soft, ethereal glow. The warmth of the night wrapped around her like a comforting embrace, the air rich with the fragrance of jasmine and the sweet scent of the earth, still holding the day's lingering heat. Her dark skin, kissed by the tropical sun of her homeland, contrasted beautifully with the pale light that caressed her features, highlighting the quiet strength in her violet gaze.

Her locs, adorned with beads that softly clinked together as she moved, caught the occasional breeze that whispered through the tall grasses. The subtle rustling of bamboo leaves and the rhythmic chorus of cicadas created a peaceful symphony around her, a song of the night that resonated with the ancient land she found herself in. The soft white fabric wrapped around her body swayed gently around her knees as she walked. Her mind turning over pieces in her head one at a time.

Soon she had come to a stop at the edge of the pathway leading to the main building. Fireflies danced in the darkness, their delicate light reflecting in Oshun's eyes as she gazed across the quiet courtyard. She felt the energy of the place, the spirits of the land speaking to her in whispers carried on the breeze. There was a deep connection here, something ancient and powerful that resonated with the mystical abilities she carried within her. There was also the strength of the Inu that lay claim to this land. These ancestors silently protected and poured life into the earth underneath her feet. The libations of their power echoed the powerful quiet strength of the Inu ruler tucked into the far reaches of his study.

As she stood there, the moonlight casting long shadows across the ground, Oshun felt a sense of peace and belonging. The warm night held her in a moment of stillness, a brief pause in time where the past and present seemed to converge. Here, in this distant land, far from her home, she found herself a part of something greater, something timeless and enduring.

The gentle hum of the cicadas, the flicker of fireflies, the distant murmur of a bamboo flute—all these sounds blended into the night, a reminder of the harmony that existed in this place. Oshun breathed in deeply, letting the warmth of the night and the serenity of the moment fill her. It grounded her in the here and now, even as the mysteries of time and space continued to swirl around her.

Suddenly the call of men from the far distance near the gates and the main house were heard. Demons riding in on animals with their Western Flag calling behind them. More men rushed out carrying lanterns and swords as they exchanged words hastily. Oshun's brows drew inward as she listened to them speaking of attacks and double crossings of shoguns. Their hushed whispers of battle and war brought a sick feeling into her gut. The dragons they road like horses huffed and stomped as their riders brought them further into the Shiro.

The presence of the Inu was behind her. His movement was silent and patient as he came to stand at her side. She looked at his hardened expression. A knowing one painted across his features. His armor was placed back upon his body. The sharp ridges of the sharp metal stood stark against the colors and patterns of his hirori and hakamas. His weapons were at his hip. The regal markings along his face seemed like war paint. His eyes were focused as the figures approached them. The stoic firm leader was standing in front of her now. The softness that she had seen was erased.

Oshun spun to the tall figure standing regally at her side. "This is the start of war." She looked to him seeing her past and present failures echoed before her.

Sesshomaru's eyes cut to her briefly before looking ahead awaiting his men for answers. The knowing of what was to come had already steeled him. He was silent while also noting her form fading slowly as they stood outside. Had she come to give him perspective on what he had to lose? What did he have to fight for? His pack relations amongst the war? Was she here to warn him of something far more sinister from the outcomes of this war?

Oshun looked at her hands and saw the signs of her departure nearing. The color of her skin faded by the second upon the approach of the men to their side. Her form began to fade as the memory dissolved around them. She turned to him quickly. A quick sentence was all she could give before her presence was no more. "Be safe, please. Both of you!"

As she disappeared, Sesshomaru found himself standing alone in the courtyard once more. The moment…the memory…the ghost slipping away. The presence was gone, but the echo of her words remained, lingering in the corners of his mind as his men came closer before him.

He stood resolute in silence. He was a lord, a warrior, and he had faced countless battles. But this—this quiet confrontation within his mind—his memories and dreams of the future had left him unsettled in a way he had not expected. Oshun was gone, yet he could not shake the feeling that she had seen something within him that he had long denied. A part of him that he had buried beneath layers of duty and pride.

His men approached and spoke of decisions made. Tales of betrayals, booming weapons, and foreigners coming in on large vessels took up the night. He gave his orders and finalized his plans. With a quiet resolve, Sesshomaru turned and walked away from the courtyard, the night closing in around him. He would not forget Oshun's intrusions, the dream, the memories, or her words. But he would carry on, as he always did, his emotions locked away once more.

And yet, in the deepest recesses of his mind, a small part of him wondered if perhaps—just perhaps—he needed to change something along his path. And if so…what was it? And was it too late?

Review, Fav, and Follow for Updates.