((A/N: This story is non-profit. Only the original characters you probaby don't recognize are mine, and Inuyasha (anime/manga) are (C) Rumiko Takahashi.))
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The scent of incense burned his nostrils, clogging his head. He didn't want to go deeper, yet he needed answers, and only she could provide them for him. He didn't particularly like the witch, but her predictions had been accurate on more than one occasion. He sneezed.
“Is that the delicate sniffle of a western lord I hear approaching?” echoed a croaking voice from the bowels of the darkness. When he didn't reply, the being cackled, her brays reverberating off the stone walls of her cavern, bouncing around inside his head. “I thought so. Come closer, mi'lord, and ye shall learn what ye seek.”
“You will not play games with this Sesshomaru,” he said in his emotionless tone. Again, the old crone sniggered at him from somewhere away from him. The great daiyoukai headed deeper into the abyss, searching for the beacon of her fire. His head was beginning to pound because of her sage.
“Of course I wouldn't do that, mi'lord.” Suddenly she appeared at his elbow, and a great blaze erupted in front of him, stopping him cold. From the depths of her cowl two burning pinpricks that were her eyes burned hotter than the sun. She wisely made no move to touch him, as she knew she probably wouldn't get that appendage back. “Despite my age,” she continued, “I'm no fool. A little senile, perhaps, but not a fool.”
“Hn. We shall see.” The old woman hobbled forward towards something bubbling in a pot, before hunching down and stirring it. Delicately she sniffed at it, and then added a mysterious spice that caused it to boil a sickening green. He raised an elegant silver eyebrow, yet stayed silent. She's better try not to make him drink it like last time. Involuntarily he shuddered. The side effects were not worth it. She noticed his shudder, and giggled manically.
“Just a simple stew, mi'lord. No need to fret.” She patted her obscenely rotund belly. “Gots to keep me strength of for these little meetings of ours.”
“Get on with it, witch.” His patience was slowly slipping.
“Alright! Crabby old inu, anyways. Ye come to get answers about a mate, correct, mi'lord?” She didn't need a response. She never did. No matter how many other subjects he came to her with, this was one that was asked at least once a visit. Inside her hollow chest, a withered heart tried to beat, and failed. She sighed. “Ye ask always that one, yet ye never believe me when I tell ye that the rune-bones haven't found her.”
“You will consult your runes again, witch, or this Sesshomaru will have your head.” Adjusting his newly regenerated arm, the daiyoukai shot amber daggers at her back with his eyes. She had the nerve to laugh at him! A growl bubbled past his lips.
“Easy, mi'lord,” she replied in a soothing tone, a chortle threatening to break free. “Ye know I don't fear ye, so no need to get nasty with this one. Only a messenger I be, so, let's see what message they have for ye this time.” Seating herself at a rickety old table, from a worn cloth bag the old youkai woman dumped several small bones onto the surface. Each was small, each belonged to a different youkai of a different species, and each had a tiny rune carved into it. Separate they meant nothing, yet together their meaning could be powerful.
As soon as the bones were out, a change overcame the hag. Her hunched spine straightened, shaking hands became steady as the soil. Her very aura undulated and vibrated with deep magic, forged long ago in the days of old. Sesshomaru took his usual spot before her, crouching just out of reach.
“You honor us with your presence, Sesshomaru of the West.” The voice that echoed from the woman's body was deep and young, feminine and melodic. It sent shivers down his spine. He took no offense to the fact that his title of 'Lord' wasn't recognized.
“This Sesshomaru needs an heir,” he began softly. One didn't rush the runes. Her hand gathered up several bones, shook them, and sent them flying across the table. Silence reigned for several moments.
“Four is the number you shall have.” Relief welled in his chest. Four!
“The one who will bear this Sesshomaru's pups. Has she been born of this world?” He'd been asking this question for the past century, and at each meeting the answer had been no. The daiyoukai was far from being considered old, yet the desire to have pups of his own was beginning to weigh heavily on him.
Again went the runes. “Of the world, yes. Of the time, no. The she that will bear your offspring is flourishing.” Suddenly, the hand went still, the body took a deep hissing breath through rotten teeth. “Interesting!”
“This Sesshomaru will know what interests a being such as you.” Though his tone was cold and devoid of emotion, his insides were writhing. Finally she was within his grasp!
“You, Sesshomaru of the West, will mate a human.” Dead air hung between them for what seemed to be an eternity. He felt cold suddenly. It couldn't be Rin, could it? He loved the little human girl like a daughter, but mate her? The thought made him ill.
“Do not spout nonsense, witch. This Sesshomaru will not take a human mate. It is beneath him.” The crone cackled.
“Strong words, inu! The rune-bones do not lie, now or ever. Ai, a human you shall have, but a Dog of the Sun you shall breed. Strong pups, oh so strong! If guided properly, they could become even stronger than yourself.” Sesshomaru scoffed.
“Impossible. Since this ones' father's mistake, the Moon Court and Sun Court have been at odds. They would never allow this Sesshomaru to take one of their females for a breeding partner.” The old crone held up a gnarled finger, merely inches from his pale face. He refused to leap away, though he severely wanted to.
“The Moon doesn't listen to the Old! A human mate you take, a Dog of the Sun you shall breed. It is in the runes, boy. Their meaning may be lost on you, but the vessel knows. You life is about to become much more interesting, son.” The way she changed made him want to grit his teeth.
“When will this Sesshomaru take his she.” No more questions. Something inside was telling him that his time with the witch was running out. A sigh like the wind rushed past the youkai's lips. Indeed, his time was short.
“You knew her when you first laid eyes upon her form. You know it now in the ice heart you carry within you. When she melts it is when the Sun will shine through; she of the stormy eyes. She lingers in the forest of...a...hanyou...” The old body slumped over, barely breathing. Smoothing the scowl from his features, Sesshomaru rose and left the cavern, fury coursing hot through him. His instincts were screaming at him to sire pups, yet this hag dares give him riddles to solve!
As soon as his figure was lost to sight, the sorceress regained her true form, the one the Western Lord didn't know of. Wrinkled smoothed to tanned skin, rheumy eyes cleared to intelligent honeyed orbs. She laughed as she danced her magic. The daiyoukai was certainly in for a treat, for as she told him, the rune-bones never lie.
Never.
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I hope you all can forgive me the ratings. I haven't quite decided how this is going to go, so they might change often. =D