It was the great Lord Sesshomaru’s home that resided there, and was where he was currently headed. He was interested to see if his advisor had found out any information regarding a certain item of his. There had been a rumor spreading about that his sword, the Tenseiga, had yet another, albeit unknown, power and Sesshomaru, once he had heard about it, intended to investigate the tale to the fullest extent.
The small group was cresting the hill now that led directly to the Western Palace gates and already Rin was starting to get excited."Mi'lord! We're almost home! May Rin go ahead so that she may greet the guards?" The small human child looked up towards her Lord with pleading eyes. Her face instantly brightened once she saw he Lord's curt nod.
"Thank you, Mi'lord!" Rin shouted back as she ran towards the gates of the extravagant castle.Sesshomaru looked on as Rin went and greeted the two guards, and as her chambermaid came to lead her to the bath-house. Why he had ever let her stay with him and follow him, he would never know. He was after all the feared Western Lord who despised humans, so what made him care about this one? Perhaps a bit more of his father rubbed off on him than what he thought.
"Why must you keep such a retched human child around Lord Sesshomaru? Isn't this lowly Jaken enough company for you on your travels?"
Jaken instantly regretted saying such a thing, for he was immediately stepped on by his Lord. Just like every other time.
"Why must you treat me so my Lord? This servant has been with you longer than your ward, and yet you never discipline that human!"As Sesshomaru entered the gates, he was bowed to by all in the courtyard, as always. One thing did catch his eye though, his most trusted advisor, Toki, was standing in the window of the study signaling for his Lord.
"Hn, he must have found something out while I was away. Perhaps this time it is something useful."Toki stood awaiting his Lord in the study. To a normal person, or demon as the case may be, Toki seemed to be in his early to late thirties. But in actuality, he was almost four thousand years old. Toki had served his current Lord's grandfather just before he had died, and he served throughout the Great Dog General's reign before he died as well.Toki's face was not as chiseled as his Lord's, but it came close, this gave him a softer, more caring look. His cheeks were each adorned with a single deep blue stripe and his forehead held a golden star. His hair was cut to just below his shoulders and was black, but that was not due to his breeding, no, it was due to his age.
You see, an Inu-youkai is born with hair as silver as the moon, whereas humans with hair as black as night. When a human lives their life, their hair begins to gray, but with an Inu, as they grow old their hair begins to blacken.
Truth be told, that doesn’t exactly mean the end of their life is near, after all, all Inu-youkai age differently, but it does show that they are becoming older. The first thing to go is their silvery hair, then maybe an attack or two, while all the while they still appear young after living for hundreds upon thousands of years. One thing is for certain though, once an Inu loses one thing, it will probably take another thousand years to lose something else of themselves, and Toki was no different. But now isn’t the time to discuss youkai bloodlines….
Toki's face held a look of uncertainty, for in his hands was an old scroll sealed with an unidentifiable mark, caused by so many years of being packed away.
"It is finally time to give him the scroll as I promised so long ago. I only hope that I have chosen the right time to share such information, and that it is not too early."
You see, Toki had a special mission he had to fulfill, to whom he couldn't say. The only thing that he had ever divulged was that only good would come when his mission was completed.The doors to the study suddenly burst open to reveal the Taiyoukai of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru. He ignored the bow that Toki had given him and immediately went and sat on one of the pillows surrounding the low table that served as his "desk" of sorts. He then glanced at his advisor,
"Have you finally found something out this time that is worth my looking into? Or is it another rumor that has turned out to be rubbish that you wish to tell me of?""Nay Lord Sesshomaru, I have found something worth you taking a look at." At that instant he gave Sesshomaru the scroll he had been holding.
"This is an old scroll that should depict all you wish to know. It is the best I can do my Lord." He calmly watched are Sesshomaru broke the seal with his claw and began to read.
Toki watched his Lord’s face to see if maybe, just maybe, he would be surprised or astonished by what was in the scroll. He highly doubted it though. The day Lord Sesshomaru showed any bit of emotion was the day said Lord would lose his mind.
The old advisor decided to silently leave the room and leave the Taiyoukai to his thoughts. Toki was confident that he would be able to figure out the meaning behind the scroll on his own merit."This scroll, it can't possibly be true. Or could it?" Sesshomaru wondered. He was about to turn and ask his advisor where he found such a scroll, but when he looked across the table, he was gone."Hn, I wonder if it truly does do these things listed in this scroll. If it does, there is no telling what I could do, how it would increase my power."His thoughts were interrupted as a small child barreled into the room.
"Look Lord Sesshomaru! Aiko made a new kimono for Rin, do you like it Mi'lord?"
Rin twirled around in her new kimono to give Sesshomaru a full view. Her kimono was certainly a site to see, it was covered in purple crescent moons, just like the one on Sesshomaru's forehead. They stood out beautifully against the deep blue background. When she looked into his eyes, she could tell that her Lord approved of the clothing.
"Rin will go play out in the gardens now. I won't disturb you again!" And with that, she left the room.
Sesshomaru watched the doors close behind her and then looked back down at the scroll in his hands.
"If these things are possible, it will also give Rin another chance if she is ever injured again. I must test this theory. But on whom?" Lord Sesshomaru sat in thought for many minutes until a flicker of an idea ran across his mind.
"Yes, that is perfect. I shall leave tomorrow to test my theory." Sesshomaru was truly curious about this upcoming "test" of sorts.