"Lord Sesshoumaru, why have you been calling the human in your room, a hanyou? She does not resemble a half demon at all," Jaken said, looking up at his master that was sitting in his chair at the long dining table in his eating room. "Has my Lord lost his correct senses?" Jaken regretted the question as soon as it left his mouth & Sesshoumaru, not even looking at him, used his light whip to slice Jaken's arm off. "I am sorry my Lord!" Jaken yelped as he picked up his arm & reattached it to his body.
"You have full reason to be sorry Jaken," Sesshoumaru said as he looked at the servant. "Do not question the state of my senses when you do not have the same ones as me. I can clearly sense & smell that she is a hanyou. But for some reason, clearly unknown to me, she does not look the part."
Rin, who sat to the left of her master, looking at him. "You mean she is a hanyou like Lord Inu Yasha?" She asked.
"Yes Rin, that is correct. She is a hanyou, but as mentioned before, she does not look it."
Rin looked down & bit her lip softly before she looked back up at her master. "Lord Sesshoumaru, do you remember one year ago when we were patrolling the Western Lands & you allowed me to go to a festival in a village we were passing, so long as you were with me?" With a nod from her master, she continued. "Do you remember the old woman that did the magic tricks? She came out of the hut as a man, but when she made the cloud of smoke, she was a woman? Maybe the girl in your bed is doing magic like the old woman."
"You are a fool, child!" Jaken laughed. "Where do you get such stupid ideas?"
Sesshoumaru looked at the hurt look on his servant's face before he looked at Jaken. "Jaken, quiet yourself. It is best for your life if you do so. Rin, continue in what you were saying."
Rin looked up at her master, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Lord Sesshoumaru, you say you can smell & sense that she is a hanyou? Maybe she is, but she just has magic hiding her true self. If you figure out the magic, you might be able to see her as she is."
"And how is she doing this magic, Rin? I do not sense the strong magic that it would take..."
"You say she is from Lady Kagome's era. I remember Lady Kagome telling me once that in her era, hanyous & youkai would not be welcome because no one believes in them anymore then. Maybe the magic was done before she was born to make sure she would look human."
"Lord Sesshoumaru, you don't actually think the child is right, do you?" Jaken asked, shocked as he stared at the thoughtful expression on his master's face.
"And if I do Jaken...? Will there be something wrong with it?"
"My Lord, the child is human & knows nothing of magic secrets & what can & cannot be done."
"She may not, Jaken. But if the person I am thinking about still lives, then I know someone who does."
"Who do you speak of Lord Sesshoumaru?"
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Nashori listened to the steady heartbeat that was muffled slightly by the chest her head lay against. She was held against Sesshoumaru's chest with his one arm as they rode on the back of the pack animal, Ah & Un, in the sky. She didn't know where they were on their way to, but from what he said as Jaken & Rin were bundling her up, it was to look into something regarding her. She didn't understand any of it, but with how weak she was she was not up to a game of "One Million Questions." She looked up at the face of the youkai Lord that held her against him & his eyes greeted her as he looked down at her after feeling her slight movement. "Where are we now?" She asked.
"We are almost to our destination," Sesshoumaru answered. "When we get there, you will be meeting my half brother, who I spoke of a few days ago. I doubt he will take kindly to me visiting him without forewarning, but he can deal with it after we have left."
"What is his name?"
"His name is Inu Yasha. He's a hanyou since my father, the once great Lord Inutaishou, mated with a human, Inu Yasha's mother."
"If he is your brother, why doesn't he live with you in that castle?"
"Because he is an accident to the family name," Sesshoumaru answered with a slight sneer. "I try to forget about him, but it does no good when I always encounter him when I patrol my lands. The meetings have stopped since he has to work on raising the child Kagome left him with before she was killed. A quarter youkai son that he named Reikon Hakaisha."
"Nice name..."
Sesshoumaru chuckled softy, amused by what she had said. "Leave it to a female to criticize a name choice."
Nashori rolled her eyes & looked up at the stars in the sky, shivering slightly under the wraps she had been bundled up in. It was so cold out that she was surprised it hadn't started to snow yet. "How much longer until we get there?"
"Maybe another hour. Get some rest until we get there."
"Sesshoumaru, can I ask you something?"
"I suppose. I cannot promise that I'll answer you."
"You have a powerful, dominative aura, yet here you are, acting as if you care for me. Why? You could have let me die in the snow, but instead you take me in."
"I took you in because you brought yourself back from the dead several times. I told you this a few days ago Nashori, have you forgotten already?"
"No, I just don't know what to think with you. You're a very confusing youkai."
"Maybe one day you will have me figured out," he spoke, his tone slightly sarcastic.
-Maybe I will,- she thought to herself as she snuggled back into the wraps that surrounded her still. -And hopefully it'll be soon...-