Aspire

In the months that followed, Kuroihi began to piece together the terrifying being that was Lord Sesshoumaru, son of the Dog General. She trailed along behind him nearly every day as he continued to test her abilities, looking for...something. Whatever it was, he had yet to find it, and so day after day, sometimes into the night, she was on that damned practice field, which had become almost a sea of ashes, toiling under his mercilessly scrutinizing vigil.

Being witness to many of the interactions between the young lord and his few other personal attendants, including Kazawa, Kuroihi concluded without a doubt that the creature she served, that Sesshoumaru, was indeed a cruel and evil being. Strangely, though, despite the score of marks he had left on his other attendants, he had yet to lay a hand on Kuroihi...

Even stranger still to her was the gradual realization that in stark contrast to his son, while still severe and terribly effective, the Inu no Taishou was, in every manner she could see, a respectful and kind sort of creature despite his station. She supposed it was due to his eons of experience, for while he was certainly more pleasant to encounter, she could not miss the similarities between the two greater demons that reconfirmed for her that they were, indeed, related. She had hope that one day, perhaps centuries down the line, Sesshoumaru would grow to be more like his father.

'Fat chance.'

One thing that pleased her, and she was curious to find the exact cause for, was Fuyutoka's sudden increase in groveling to the young lord, flinching at the mere sound of his approach.

Sesshoumaru for his part was satisfied enough thus far in his discoveries with the halfbreed that he found it worth his time to continue. He felt he was more than magnanimous in that he did not run the thing into the ground each day with his demands, allowing it to recover and return stronger than it had been in its previous round of practice; as a matter of practicality, of course.

He had thought that such creatures were static in power. They had what they were born with and they would remain that way until the world overtook them or they fell to their own human‐like frailties. This time, he was comfortable with being proven incorrect. A part of him was disappointed, he admitted, that the hanyou had not turned out to be one of the youki thieves he had read about. Pity, for he was certain he would have enjoyed purging it from his home.

He began to wonder in what other manners this creature was less limited than he initially believed. True, it had improved in its etiquette and grace and control of its youki, but these were all basic things expected of any being of servitude that possessed a talent. He wondered if it was capable of reasoning beyond what it had been taught, and it was a comfortable afternoon in the middle of a game of Go with his father that he found himself stuck by the most absurd idea.

As he placed his stone on the board to secure a section of territory for himself, he paused for the briefest moment before withdrawing his hand, a movement his father noted with ease. Whatever the Inu no Taishou made of this, he did not say, and he did not comment on it.

For a moment, Sesshoumaru's gaze flicked to the form of the halfbreed knelt in its usual serene state of attentiveness. It reacted to his gaze and flicked its own eyes down to examine his cup, still full of tea, as though expecting to find it empty. In an instant, Sesshoumaru tracked its former line of sight and found that it seemed to have been watching the board...

'Interesting...'

He considered the implications of this for a time and decided he would experiment with the halfbreed in a different way.

Kuroihi counted out the small white stones she'd collected from the board and found herself short of her opponent. Again. Kazawa merely smirked to himself as they both prepared the board and stones for the next pair of players, bowed to each other, and scooted away.

Sesshoumaru watched from his spot at the head of the room as his four attendants shuffled to changes places, analyzing the progress of this little game of his. His expectations were met as he watched the other three attendants play, and he was almost satisfied with the outcome of the hanyou's efforts. The creature did think and consider beyond what it had been taught and was capable of improving in the same manner.

He was certain now that he had not wasted his time with the thing. It seemed to have learned the basic rules and functions of the game simply by watching Sesshoumaru and his father play, having picked up on some of the more advanced concepts perhaps from remembering them being explained during those times. There was certainly something more to this halfbreed than it displayed day to day.

It occurred to him one day while the hanyou was absent from himself for its day of rest, as all servants were given, that perhaps, like clay, it could be crafted into something more useful to himself than merely an attendant. Had it not been born the way it was, he was certain the creature would have been trained as a warrior, considering its particular talent, which he was finding had several applications.

The black fire with the greenish hue it produced burned like any other flame, but seemed to consume its fuel far quicker and more thoroughly. He'd watched as it decimated in several seconds the corpse of a lesser demon that had wandered too near the castle‐base and had been slain by the guards. This fire was the same as the sort it had used both in the fire pit when he'd first discovered the creature and again on the practice field on the dummies.

He'd witnessed it produce a flame of a different color as well, in the times he had the creature maintain its flame for sustained periods. This fire had more of a purple hue and seemed somehow more substantial, consuming far less energy. From what he could tell, it did not burn what it touched. While the greenish flame was happy to snake and seep around and into whatever it could, the purple flame seemed more content with remaining where it was, even acting as something of a buffer against other energies and weapons.

Either new or one the creature had been withholding, was its ability to create mundane sparks with the friction of its claws. These usually produced a normal, red/yellow flame with the same properties as regular fire, but he had watched as the halfbreed created a spark that shone like a drop of sunlight for several counts, fueled by its youki, meaning it, like the purple‐hued flame, could be sustained for a period. Whether the hanyou had been aware of these various traits or not, Sesshoumaru was uncertain, but it mattered little now. He already had several applications for them in mind.

First, however, he would have Rekkonji reassess the creature's combat abilities. At this point, he was certain there was something either Rekkonji had missed or the halfbreed had hidden, and he was determined to find out what.

The plan set, Sesshoumaru turned inward.

This was usually where he lost himself. On one hand, he respected and admired his honorable father and his immense power. He knew his father was cunning, experienced, and honed to a fine edge. All he did and said had a motive behind it, and most of the time Sesshoumaru could suss out what that was. More often than not, he found his father was correct.

On the other hand, though, there were several things that Sesshoumaru simply did not understand his father's fascination with. Certainly, he understood the management of underlings and one's image to his equals and superiors ‐of which this Sesshoumaru had few‐, but he did not understand his father's insistence on being, what Sesshoumaru considered, soft with them.

Lords gave orders, vassals and servants obeyed. If they disobeyed or failed, they were punished; if they succeeded, they were allowed to continue. It was that simple. One was not praised or rewarded for doing what was expected of them.

He did note, however, that his father's attendants did not flinch at his father's presence and seemed more relaxed than Sesshoumaru's were around himself. His father had said it was because he was not cruel to them, as Sesshoumaru was to his, and lectured Sesshoumaru on the appropriate treatment of his lessers.

Was he cruel? Sesshoumaru allowed himself a slight smirk. Perhaps... No, there was no denying it; this Sesshoumaru certainly an unkind sort. Did it garner for him the results he desired in a timely fashion? Clearly. So why change something that worked as it was meant to?

Another thing that puzzled him was his father's manner of referring to the halfbreed as 'she', almost as though it were something more than it was. Certainly, this Sesshoumaru suffered from no such sentimentality. Perhaps his father was becoming weak.

...That thought both bothered and excited him...