Akiko was more than pleased to receive a proper bath inside the lord's fortress. The servants had been quick to greet them upon entering and Akiko was escorted to the same room she occupied before. Her dirtied clothing was whisked away to be cleaned, the wolves allowed to wander the household to find somewhere to rest and a river outside to bathe. She had been offered a leisure kimono in its place, tugging the garment closed after leaving the bath. The young woman wasn't exactly sure where Sesshomaru or Rin had wandered off to and at the moment didn't care seeing the comfortable bed in front of her. The young woman collapsed onto the soft sheets, arm hooking under a pillow and resting against the soft surface. She barely heard the door open and closed as four feet padded towards her resting form. "Why aren't you with the others?" she muttered lowly with closed eyes.

"My place is always by your side," Tobi answered. She could hear how tired he was as his form dropped beside her own and nestled into her.

"Even when off duty you're such a mother hen..."

"Always," he chuckled. The two fell into unconsciousness easily after, their low breathing the only noise in the room as the sun began to set outside. They didn't even realize they had another visitor as the door opened once more.

The demon lord watched the mortal and her protector sleep soundly without a care in the world from the doorway, not giving any hint to venturing inside. "You are lucky that Tobi is asleep." The voice came from down the hall as the source walked towards him on all fours. He didn't spare them a glance as the white wolf came to his side. "Otherwise he'd be growling at you to be on your way."

"I don't take orders from a half-breed," he answered

The statement made Aisu chuckle. "Of course you wouldn't, but it would be amusing all the same. Tell me, why have you come to her quarters when you know she is resting?"

"Why have you?"

The wolf raised a brow. "She is my protégé. It is only natural that I come and check on her to be sure all is well. We fought a long hard battle, and I'm not even entirely sure what happened in the castle when she faced Lord Takemaru. She could be injured." Even though that didn't seem to be the case with how the human carried herself afterwards.

"He did not touch her," Sesshomaru reassured with a hard tone. The small display of emotion in the response drew Aisu's attention, looking at him with mild curiosity. "Rin was not harmed because of her actions. And before he could strike them down I intervened." Which meant that only exhaustion plagued her as the young woman slept. Good.

"I see..."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" referring to their ventures North. After all, their return had been delayed considerably.

Her head shook. "The location of the castle has long since left my mind. And your father's curse did not help with that. When we were cast out of our domain we awoke in the south completely disoriented. It took us years to accept the fact that things could never go back to what they once were and we never had the desire to seek out our home. Not until signs of the prophecy began to come to light. In Tobi's absence to find Akiko we searched for decades without any luck."

"And what makes you think you'll find it now?"

"The North is our home as much as it is hers. Even if she's from another time, Akiko must be the one to discover our lost palace, not us. When she is ready it will reveal itself. The cloak separating them will vanish and that will be when Akiko will assume the throne." The two then left the room to allow them to sleep without any further disturbances and made their way down the hall. "I know when we first made an alliance all those months ago things were not going to be easy. Not with our history. Your family is very particular who they ally themselves with and the fact that Akiko isn't a demon I know weighed heavily on your decision to agree to any of this." Yes, it had. Any other lord would have seen it as a weak investment. Would've scoffed and laughed thinking it was a joke. She would be considered the weakest and all of his enemies would seek her out to destroy her. But the young woman had proven time and time again that she wasn't like any of the other humans in the villages. Akiko had come face to face with Naraku and beaten him back or managed to escape. That was unheard of for a mortal. She was tainted by the essence of an ice demon, like Aisu when she had ruled. Before she was turned into a full demon like those who served her and forced to live just as long as one forever in the form of a wolf.

"Do you still wonder why a band of powerful wolf demons always chose to follow a mortal with demonic abilities to reign over them in the North?"

Yes. Sesshomaru never understood why they decided to rule in such a way. To have someone weaker than them oversee over their land. It didn't make sense. Demons were feared beings and having a mortal as queen left a bad taste in many lords and ladies mouths. That was the whole reason behind their demise. There was only so long that peace could last between the territories before those that believed they were stronger became greedy. His grandfather had paid for that with his life, leaving the victory to his father. But then he met that accursed mortal woman, who spelled his untimely death, and the North was left without a leader. Those in the East attempted to rule the land, but nothing came from it. Meanwhile, the Western Demon Lord had no interest in ruling it. The land was left weak and nearly barren, and those that decided to stay, those still loyal to their queen and hoped for her return, struggled. Decades ago Sesshomaru had come across the wandering pack by chance in the southeast. He had heard the stories from the battle, observed the painted scrolls, read over the verdict of the trial. The demon lord knew exactly who they were the moment their eyes met and they snarled in his direction. Only Aisu did not bare her fangs. She regarded him with interest and intrigue from afar. Their conversation was short and straightforward. The wolves surrounding the former queen refused to back down, even though he wasn't interested in finishing them off. Their meeting only confirmed there was a way to turn mortals into demons. And that the Northern Wolf Clan had in fact placed their rule in the hands of a human.

Pitiful.

That's what he thought of them with that knowledge. A once great race nearly wiped out and reduced so low.

"It is because we are human that we are chosen." Sesshomaru blinked, not expecting that answer. "When a priestess or monk are chosen to serve the forces of light to protect the innocent from evil it is because of their aura. Every village in the north had a priestess, one trained not only to fight and protect, but to find the successor for the throne should they be born under her guardianship. Humans can make mistakes. They understand what fear is. They know what it's like to fail and to triumph. How fragile mortality is. When to be cautious or brave. The ruler of the North allowed those under them to feel human. A demon is more prone to acting before thinking. Their ego can be their undoing. Which is why their line lasted as long as it did. Without me or my predecessors the wolves were just as strong as your father and grandfather. Which is why the West needed an alliance with the East." Her head turned as they paused to look fondly into the great hall where a few of the wolves slept. "I was indeed their greatest weakness because of their loyalty to me. They should have just let me die. Maybe then the North would have endured and we wouldn't have to worry about Naraku trying to take control of it now."

Then Akiko would have never passed over into the Feudal Era. Aisu's reincarnation wouldn't have ended up in another time period, but stayed in this present moment. And Sesshomaru quickly dashed the thoughts that suddenly plague him regarding the young woman in such a manner. Why would he care if she were here or not?

"Why were you never called a lady? Or empress for that matter?"

"You're very talkative," the wolf pointed out. He did not respond to that comment, allowing her to continue, "That would mean that I was someone from nobility. A pureblood. And I am not. Queen is just as formal, but it makes those around me aware that I am not one of the high nobles. I'm impure. But that does not mean I am any less than the demons. I can have just as much power and strength as any of them."

"And your life?"

"Prolonged like a half-demon's would when I was mortal." That was still not a lot of time in the eyes of a demon. "Why do you ask?" No reason that she should concern herself with. "You do realize your silence says it all." Shooting a look at the wolf Sesshomaru left her side to return to his quarters. "Did you know that most half-breeds used to come from the North?" He paused, looking back to the former queen. No, he did not, but didn't voice it. "It is not a terrible thing to love a human or a demon, no matter your race. For the two can become better halves to a whole. During the Ice Queen's reign in the territory it was not frowned upon to mix the races. It's what helped lines survive. Too much pureblood can eventually become tainted and thinned over time. And eventually die out. Whether you like it or not, Lord Sesshomaru, to preserve the demon race there need to be half-demons that walk this land. Only then with the hope of two half-demons mating there can be offspring of three races."

He didn't care about half-demons. Demons were the strongest creatures in the land and would survive for the next hundred years. They wouldn't be reduced to a lowly race, their strong lines would endure, and two half-demons producing a demon child would never be strong enough like a full-fledged offspring.

There are no demons in the future era.

That thought hit him like a ton of bricks. He remembered Akiko telling Rin months ago when they were in the gardens, when she was still blind, that there were no such things as demons in the present. Only humans, while spirits, demons, half-demons, they were all believed to be myths of the past. Simply fairytales to tell their children at night. Impossible. Demons had to still exist and only hiding in plain sight because mortals became ignorant to the terrors that could haunt them.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" he questioned.

"You did not just go after Akiko all those times she was kidnapped by Naraku in the beginning to just destroy him. You brought her back. And you saved her from being sucked into Hell when Sounga was defeated. You could've left her to fend for herself because in your defense humans mean nothing to you. Besides Rin, you don't care for anyone else. At least, that's what you try to prove to others so not to appear weak." His brows slightly narrowed, still not understanding where the wolf was going with this. "If you haven't yet figured it out for yourself why you have become so curious about the future Queen of the North, I will leave that to you to discover." And without another word the wolf slipped inside the great hall.

It took a moment for Sesshomaru to leave his spot and continue towards his initial destination. What was Aisu playing at? Everything that she had said to him this evening gave him a lot to think about. But it just left him confused to it all. At least he was left with more understanding of the North and how they once ruled. There were limited scrolls regarding the Ice Queen. Many had been lost in the war when the castle was lost in the mountains, and what circulated the lands was scarce. Still, the wolf's words continued to bother him, coming to pause for a moment and looking down the hall that led towards Akiko's room. "You did not just go after Akiko all those times she was kidnapped by Naraku to just destroy him... And you saved her from being sucked into Hell when Sounga was defeated. You could've left her to fend for herself because in your defense humans mean nothing to you." She was right about that. Sesshomaru would never concern himself with a mortal, unless it was Rin, and he had stated that fact on the battlefield before sending Sounga into the pits of Hell. Humans were weak, a distraction, and their life was so fragile.

Akiko isn't just a human though. She holds demonic power.

Growling lowly at the voice in his head, the demon stalked off towards his chambers once more. He was merely tired and needed a proper rest. By the morning these thoughts would not be plaguing him anymore.