fangsofdestruction

[fangsofdestruction]

Sesshomaru, what's so great about Kikyou ? [gumi verse]

[Unprompted ask]

Sesshomaru allowed Jaken to sort through the messages he receives from the mysterious entity that often plagues him, and sometimes things slip through the cracks as he’s a busy imp!

Today was not one such day. Jaken reads through the note and a ‘Keh! Preposterous to be so presumptuous to believe the Kumicho would answer such drivel!’

He was a correct imp to say such a thing. Why would Sesshomaru answer such a thing to some faceless entity about how he viewed others? It wasn’t within their purview to gain access into his mind, much less his heart.

It’d be a different story if someone had asked him point blank. There was a 10% chance he’d answer a personal question.

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Sesshomaru, why human ? Surely there were demons that were suitable to tie yourself to ?

Unprompted Ask

"There were, but is that reason enough to consider wedding them?" He looks upon the mysterious creature with bored eyes... which seemed to house a twinge of pity.

A shame that this mysterious creature believed that one should tie themselves to those that are 'suitable.' Many of such relationships do not last without the considerable effort of both parties.

"This Sesshomaru would only tie himself to one he deems fitting for the part." He wouldn't engage in a loveless relationship nor did he have the patience to play pretend. Neither of his parents could force him into a relationship, even if Toga still breathed on this Earth.

As such, there was no such thing as finding someone 'suitable'. The only option was to find the one he felt a tie to that pulled his heart.

It was just that simple, and yet, complex.

[fangsofdestruction]

Any dog could change should they be motivated enough, and what the motivator was- that determined how willing the dog would be to learn. Some were food motivated, and some were simply hungry for affection. There was the unfortunate few who had to learn through fear. Surely Inuyasha fell into the latter category where many of his life lessons and battle know-how were learned through fear and his sheer determination to live.

       ❝I will revise my statement, we will have a happy ending.❞

Yes, this Sesshomaru can learn to admit where he erred. The very first Jaken would roll in his grave if he knew of this- how favorable it was that his soul now lived on in the afterlife, probably recounting stories of his Lord to Inu no Taisho (not that Sesshomaru would believe he deserved that right).

Rather than returning the squeeze of his hand, he instead gently pulled his hand away to guide her by the small of her back towards himself. His fur had manifested itself into the open again (though normally hidden by illusions) to serve as a cushioning barrier between him and the ground. Kikyo was guided to sit in his lap, a posture that he was quickly finding it to be a habit that he was forming with her. Fingers soon interlocking with hers once again.

There was something so comforting in holding her in his arms, to have her nestled against him so his scent would rub off onto her (and hers onto him). She’d never be safer anywhere else than within his hold, and knowing she could relax in his presence was the highest praise a warrior (though retired) could bare.

       ❝This life will end with a smile where you alone occupy my soul and no one else.❞

He couldn’t promise his heart to her alone, as he was well aware that Kikyo would one day desire children. He had heart to give to them, but his soul was hers alone to claim. It was his vow that wherever her soul would go, he would follow her like a loyal hound.

Kikyou's hues were filled with warmth and softness as she listened to her beloved speak. Her smile shifting from bittersweet to genuine happiness and contentment. How could it not ? Not only was he showcasing his ability to tease, but his willingness to continue to learn, to teach and love, along with an subtle promise he will certainly keep. Kikyou never had a need to doubt his words back in the past and certainly not now.

Sesshomaru has certainly matured over the decades and it was fascinating to witness, reconciling the Sesshomaru of today with the Sesshomaru of the past.

"That saying is quite erroneous and really should be changed. I believe that any dog can change--provided they are motivated enough.", she responded, permitting mirth to intertwine with her words.

Kikyou's smile widened slightly as she lifted their interlocked hands to press a kiss to the back of his hand. "We both have some teaching and learning to do--but because it is us, I know we will be successful."

It was a simple fact more so than bragging. Both of them were stubborn, astute, determined and always striving to be better--in some shape or form. Neither shirked easily from challenges or will allow the other to resign without a proper 'fight'.

"No..WE will have a happy ending.", she corrected, squeezing his hand lightly. "There is no happy ending without you."

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Sesshomaru nods his head in understanding. He only had his mother left…and perhaps his many very distantly related descendants from Inuyasha’s line, if they even counted with how diluted their blood was in this day and age. His mother normally kept herself in her castle and Sesshomaru kept to his own domain on land, but he did seldomly go to visit her. It wasn’t too odd for offspring and child to keep distance once the child had reached adulthood, but it didn’t sound as though that were the case with Mukuro. It sounded like she had been cast aside from even before she’d become an adult.

        ❝You’d managed quite the life for yourself, from what I’ve gathered thus far.❞

It was a compliment to her ability to her perseverance in surviving without her parents, even if it may not readily sound like one.

        ❝If you wouldn’t mind, would you recount some of the difficulties you’ve faced?❞

He was curious to know if any of her struggles may have aligned with the struggles his own half-brother faced. It was something he’d been curious about, but never had the right to ask Inuyasha about. The relationship between the brothers were very strained and there was never enough effort on either of their ends to mend the rift after enough time had passed and they’d found their own packs to live with.  

「Last I checked they were alive, yes。」 Mukuro gave a small nod, she knew that it probably did seem a bit odd that her parents didn't care too much for her seeing as one would assume that kitsune worked like normal foxes。 Truthfully she didn't know why they did such a thing, she could only really speculate, so her assumption was that they just changed their minds after having her。

「There was a bit of difficulty of course, I knew there were some things about me that were very different from humans。。。」 Like life expectancy of course, that made things rather difficult when it came to wanting relationships, 「but I like to pride myself on being rather quick to adapt, so I don't think it took me too long to adapt to living amongst humans。」

[fangsofdestruction]

Popo grins widely before it started to lick it’s paws again, “Hm… there was a motherly figure that passed,” as evidenced by the last journal entry, “but whose mother was it that passed, that’s for you to figure out. That’s as much of a hint I’m allowed to give you.” So, Popo wasn’t denying a mother figure had passed, but the key point was to figure out who’s mother passed, and that there in lies the biggest hint.

Mukuro had finally noticed the odd injuries on the body of the host that Mukuro was occupying, another big hint that should lead her in the right direction of the mystery she had to solve. “That’s a good idea, maybe there are records of an injury or a surgery.” Popo flies over to fetch the phone to hand it to Mukuro to look through. The original host had their passwords autofilled, so it wasn’t an issue to log into the banking app. Mukuro would be able to see the history for the past couple of months, and there wasn’t anything suspicious.

There was only transactions for buying cat food, treats, transportation fees, clothing, groceries, medication for the elderly cat the host kept, and delivery-services. There was no indication that the host had gone to any hospital. “Looks like the host hadn’t gone to a hospital. The stitches and the cuts on the hands are pretty suspicious because you should still be able to feel pain.” It was that added bit of realism to the game, to turn on the pain receptors to allow the players to feel a real sense of urgency. "Must be a reason why you can't feel those specific things."

Popo starts flying overhead, “I’m curious about your comment about brain implants. Maybe there is some truth to what you thought?” Popo’s stomach growled after that comment, “I’ll leave you to your thoughts while I get some food started.” Popo flies into the kitchen and prepares a bowl of cat food for itself. “Still wonder what happened to the cat the host was caring for. You’d think the host would note it in the diary if it had passed. The host kept all the belongings and the food as well.” Next was to get started on the food for Mukuro. Don’t underestimate a system! It can cook even with cute paws!

「Oh, you're welcome,」 while she was relieved that what she had thought of was ruled out, it was also quite nice to hear that it could be an idea that would be considered for another plot in a different game。 She nodded when Popo told her that it couldn't answer her right away and instead gave her a vague-ish answer, a bummer of course, but it was understandable。

「And is that death you mentioned this character's mother? Or is that a different death?」 Mukuro had assumed that was the case, but she figured it was better to confirm that assumption than to keep it as is。

Mukuro's brows would furrow when she saw the small cuts at her fingertips and nail bed, and a small gasp would leave her when she felt the long, stitched cut at the scalp line at her neck。

「Yes, there are small cuts at my fingertips and nail beds, they don't hurt, and you can't really see it unless you're looking for them。 There's also what feels to be a stitched cut on my neck that's close to the scalp line, and like the fingertip injuries, it doesn't hurt。。。」  There's a long hum that comes from Mukuro as she's asked about any other possible reasons for the changed handwriting。

「I don't think this is any type of brain implant? Or maybe there was some kind of head injury? Maybe I should look around to see if there's like。。。 any hospital bills lying around, or check the banking app and see if there's a payment。」

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“Hmmm interesting! May prove for an interesting plot point for a different game. I’ll note that for the servers, thank you.” Popo paws at the air, playing with a screen that only it could see in admin mode. As it was doing so, it was still listening to Mukuro speak, registering some of her thoughts for the change in handwriting in the diary. Ears flinched and twitched at one of her questions. “Hm… that’s a difficult one that I cannot answer right away,” Popo licked its paw to begin grooming itself.

“I suppose the safest way for me to answer you is that a death was involved before you were brought in, so you don’t have to worry about your presence here killing the original host.”

Once Mukuro made her way to the bathroom to look over her body, she may notice some tiny cut marks at the fingertips, around the nailbeds of her fingers. Oddly, none of it would hurt, even if she were to prod at the tiny injuries. It wouldn’t be easy to see, but she would be able to feel that there was a long cut that ran alongside her scalpline on her neck. It was so close to her bottom scalpline that it would’ve been difficult to notice.

Again, it didn’t hurt. Running fingers along the cut would also reveal something that felt like stitches. “Find anything interesting?” Popo asks, still in the other room, “Maybe there is another reason behind the changed handwriting in the diary?”

「It's a folklore thing, that like crossroads were areas that represented an area between worlds, which would allow for the paranormal and spirits to be contacted more easily。 I think it's a big thing in more Western cultures?」 Mukuro could be wrong, of course, it had been a while since she had read something about it。

「The only things I could think of are if someone was running out of time or in a rush and had to quickly scribble something down, or they were dying and maybe wanted to write that down before they passed?」 Mukuro thought about it for a moment, 「would you be able to tell me if when I came to exist in this body it was already alive? Is this some sort of transmigration type of scenarios? Or would that be something you aren't able to tell me?」 

Another hum would sound out from Mukuro when Popo reminded her that humans and non-humans existed in this world and when their second hint of maybe there was something on the host's body that Mukuro didn't notice。 

「I guess I haven't actually done a thorough look over of this body。」 Since, to her, she looked like herself, Mukuro didn't even realize that there could be marks on the body that were not hers。 「Well, time to go to the bathroom and look myself over。」 Making her way to the bathroom, Mukuro would strip away her clothing enough to the point where she could possibly get a good view of everything using a mirror。

[fangsofdestruction]

Sesshomaru listened to her sort explanation, and he wouldn’t help but be curious about the ostracization, and why her parents weren’t in the picture. One may think that fox demons had the same family dynamics as a regular fox, but that wasn’t the case. The female and male both stick together to raise the young in most cases. It was because they had to face more perils than the average animal, so having two parents raise a kit increased the odds of the offspring being fit for life.

         ❝It is peculiar to hear that your parents left you not long after you were born, but I don’t suppose you know the reasoning behind it. Are they still alive?❞

It could be the case of the parents leaving her side because of death, something that he could relate with. Of course, in human years, he was a teen when his father passed, so it didn’t seem quite right to compare that with Mukuro’s circumstances where she was just a baby.

Interestingly enough, it seemed that the mother had abandoned her child as well, which was uncharacteristic for the fox demons, as they were dutiful parents who raised their young carefully. Even with the inu-youkai like himself, he was raised by his mother until he was an adult who then sought out to explore the world for himself.

The idea of getting used to living among humans struck his interest. Though he was familiar with them, he never truly acclimated to living among them, merely tolerating their company for periods of time.

        ❝Did you not struggle to live among the humans being a Demon yourself?❞

He knew about the struggles Inuyasha faced in attempting to find a home for himself as he was accepted by neither human or demons. Perhaps, it was the same for her.

There was one child living on the premises that Mukuro hadn’t met yet, and that was because she was too young (by Demon standards), so her parents very rarely let her out. Disregarding that, she was a part of the nocturnal species, so unless you were a nightowl, you might miss her.

        ❝There is a young Demon who is still staying with her parents. She should still be asleep at this hour.❞

Golden eyes glance at one of the children, Tama, and pats the top of her head. There would’ve been another child for Mukuro to meet if they hadn’t met their untimely death at the hands of humans decades ago. That wasn't his story to tell, however.

        ❝I’m curious as to how you found yourself in the company of humans rather than your own kind. Was it a case of ostracization, or do you find them fascinating?❞

That was often the case with Demons that integrated themselves into human society. They were either ousted out of Demon society, or they found humans fascinating enough to want to immerse themselves among their ranks. They were considered odd, but what does that matter to a Demon who largely acts out of self-interest anyways?

He really was curious about whether she found it more comfortable living among humans or Demons. Maybe her insight may help him understand his half-brother who couldn’t make the choice between one or the other.

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The feline ears flicked in an upright position, “what’s that? A crossroads deal? What does that mean?” It wasn’t a saying that was native to their dimension, nor was it something that was said in the game world, so Popo didn’t know what it meant. Finding new knowledge to add into the information database would only make the games more inclusive and immersive for a variety of players in the future as more updates get added.

“Hm… maybe she made a deal… or maybe it’s something else entirely.” Popo flew around the room. “Could you think of another reason why someone’s writing and behavior may change suddenly?” It suddenly stops flying when a thought comes to it. “Oh- unless you’re not aware of it in your world? The games do take information from your world to adjust the gameplay to make playing more comfortable for the player, though, so it should exist in your world.” After all, the game would get too difficult to acclimate to if the world building was entirely different from what the player was used to.

Not to say that such games didn’t exist, but they were exclusive to seasoned players who were at the SS-rank level, they could adjust to entirely new worlds with technologies unfamiliar to them. Mukuro wasn’t thrown into such a game, luckily. There was some level of familiarity that would help her play through the game. “Remember that humans and non-humans exist in this world. That will give you a hint on why the original host differs from how people remember her.”

“Maybe the body of the host holds some clues that you’ve overlooked.” There was something Popo did advise her to try before that she may have glossed over.

Mukuro had always been the type to refuse food or drink from someone if she wasn't there to watch it be prepared, this of course didn't apply to eating at restaurants, but in a game where there were nonhumans amongst humans and Mukuro had no prior knowledge on this game or the characters in it, she felt it was better to be safe rather than sorry。 So she'd accept the cup with a small polite smile, but wouldn't drink from it。 

At the end of the overtime shift, Mukuro didn't feel like she wasted time, after all she got more names to add to her ever-growing list of characters。 She was also a bit thankful that not only was the overtime shift uneventful but the commute home, so much had already been introduced to her that any more information or event that would happen would be a bit overwhelming to her。

「Oh thank god,」 she says when Popo informs her that the journal didn't have a lock on it and immediately opened it to read through the entries and when Popo added that the last entry was particularly interesting, Mukuro flipped to the last written page of the journal。 A hum left her throat as she read over the short passage。

「That is interesting。。。 the handwriting between this entry and the others are quite different。 It's possible that she was in a rush when she wrote it or perhaps she had a made a deal of some kind? Like one of those crossroads deals?」 But from what she read, nothing in the past entries made her think that some kind of deal was to be made。

[fangsofdestruction]

There was one child living on the premises that Mukuro hadn’t met yet, and that was because she was too young (by Demon standards), so her parents very rarely let her out. Disregarding that, she was a part of the nocturnal species, so unless you were a nightowl, you might miss her.

        ❝There is a young Demon who is still staying with her parents. She should still be asleep at this hour.❞

Golden eyes glance at one of the children, Tama, and pats the top of her head. There would’ve been another child for Mukuro to meet if they hadn’t met their untimely death at the hands of humans decades ago. That wasn't his story to tell, however.

        ❝I’m curious as to how you found yourself in the company of humans rather than your own kind. Was it a case of ostracization, or do you find them fascinating?❞

That was often the case with Demons that integrated themselves into human society. They were either ousted out of Demon society, or they found humans fascinating enough to want to immerse themselves among their ranks. They were considered odd, but what does that matter to a Demon who largely acts out of self-interest anyways?

He really was curious about whether she found it more comfortable living among humans or Demons. Maybe her insight may help him understand his half-brother who couldn’t make the choice between one or the other.

When said that Mukuro was free to ask questions, be it of the Gumi or of Sesshomaru himself, as well as having the floor open for her to talk about herself if she wishes, Mukuro gave a small nod。 There were some questions that came to mind that she didn't recall asking him yet。

「Are these all the children within the Gumi?」 These were the only children she had seen so far, so she was led to believe that was the case, but there was a possibility that there were younger ones that weren't old enough to leave their parents sides。 But it was something that she was curious about。

As for questions about himself, Mukuro couldn't of any that she hadn't asked already and as for talking about herself Mukuro never knew really where to start。

「I'm fine with answering any questions you have about me。」

[fangsofdestruction]

Hiatus Notice (April 15-20)

Sup? Going on a trip, so I'll be gone. Will reply to stuff when I return.

HMU on discord if ya have it. Bye for now.

[fangsofdestruction]

Even if Mukuro had put off some work for the next day, no one would’ve blamed her- considering what emotional demons she must be battling. Outwardly, she seemed fine, but her demeanor was different from before, and that’s what lead others to worry about her, thinking that maybe she’s pushing herself too hard to try to seem okay. A couple of people who were also working overtime would briefly stop by to check in on her and make sure she was okay before they’d walk back to their own desks to work diligently.

Popo was helping with jotting some of the names down of the people who dropped by while she was hard at work: Sakura Kikuchi, Natsume Onizuka, Hei, Mei Mohri, and finally, Shinichi. The last one was someone who set a cup of tea on Mukuro’s desk before walking away. He said something about how he brewed himself some tea, and had prepared too much.

Rather uneventful, but she had more names to add to her list to investigate further into, so it wasn’t a total loss. After finishing her work, she was free to go home. The commute was just the reverse of that morning. After today, she’d be able to quick travel to and from work if she didn’t want to waste time. Once back home, a journal was waiting for her on the bed.

“There isn’t a lock on the journal,” so she can get right to investigating (the game could be nice sometimes) “she used it as a log of anything interesting happening in her life, mostly about what cats she’s successfully taken off the streets by getting them adopted.” Popo gives a brief summary. “The last entry, is interesting.”

All that was written were the words: [I was too late. Sorry Mom]

If Mukuro took a gander at the previous entries, it would be easy to notice that the handwriting between the last entry and the rest of the journal were very different. The original host had a clean and neat handwriting style. It was polished, and she wrote small, but the last entry had bigger handwriting, and the spacing between the words were uneven.

“Interesting, isn’t it? Thoughts?”

Taking in Popo's advice, Mukuro would jot down some small notes besides the names in the categories she had placed them stating why she had put them there。 She gave a small nod when Popo said that he would be back later and if she needed him here sooner all Mukuro had to do was call for him, and he'll be summoned。

After making her notes, Mukuro would take the time to look around, watching everyone buzz around her as 'idle mode' would continue on until she heard someone speaking to her, Mukuro's attention would turn towards them and then onto the light that shone on Shinichi's desk。

Her gaze would then turn to the choices that popped in front of her。 There was still a little bit of work to complete and Mukuro wasn't one to leave work unfinished。 Before she could make her decision, Popo had reappeared and pointed out about the time that was specifically denoted。 She took a moment trying to decide on what to do, she could go home now and look through stuff to try and piece together at least some of the news about the host character's mother's murder, or maybe there was something that could happen on the commute back home, but if she denied overtime she could miss something that could happen after office hours here。

「I'll stay the extra hour。」 Sure it was just one hour, but a lot could happen in that hour and Mukuro felt like she should see if something would happen here after hours。

[fangsofdestruction]

It was what many of this era call ‘gap moe’ to have someone who could strike fear into the hearts of many be so calm and affectionate to a select few- like he was with the children. They were the young wards of his Gumi, and he saw fit to ensure that their childhood was a happy and safe one. He never met them, but one of the children was already gone by the time the family joined the Gumi.

Sometimes, human hunger knew no limits and a young pup had to suffer for it and one of the children had a permanent scar, both physical and emotional.

        ❝If you’ve any questions about the Gumi, or you’ve any vested interest in learning more about myself, you’re free to ask.❞

Though he wasn’t one to talk about himself, he ironically wasn’t too undisposed to speaking about himself if prompted. One had to simply catch him in a pleasant mood, then he may be willing to speak about himself. The power of cute children who have a way of washing away the stresses of life. Seeing them reminded him of his first ward: Rin.

A delightful child she was. A sunflower-like child who braved approaching an injured demon all because she had a big heart. It was her very influence that helped him become open to the idea of forming a larger ‘pack’. It was what she wished of him. It was partially the reason why many of the rooms were themed after flowers- because she liked them.

        ❝Or you can speak of yourself if you'd rather.❞

Sitting in silence was also an option.

Mukuro wasn't sure just when she'd finally be able to not be relived to hear that she would still be accepted into the Gumi despite having put an attempt on Sesshomaru's life。  

When the brushing of Sesshomaru's fur ended, Mukuro sat the brush in her lap as she watched him back into his humanoid form and the kids moved to climb on top of him or sit in his lap。 Mukuro couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at the sight, she had seen something like this with some yakuza patriarchs who had younger children or even grandchildren that hung around the compounds when she visited, and even though Sesshomaru was a powerful demon, it was quite a fun sight to see something so similar to what she's seen when it came to her everyday life。

「I'm very relieved to hear that, thank you。」 Mukuro says with a kind smile, and it was nice to hear that contact with humans wasn't outright forbidden, so Mukuro could continue her jobs should she like to, and it was also nice to hear him agree that it would be good for Mukuro to learn more about demon kind。That was something that really interested Mukuro, since before all this had happened, Mukuro wasn't even aware that other demons existed, and she didn't want to ruin the opportunity to get to learn more。

[fangsofdestruction]

Noting the table Mukuro made, Popo gives it a look and hums. It was a good idea to have a category for the suspicious ones that were somewhere in the middle. “May be a good idea to have notes for why you think that.” It would serve as good reference point for later if she wanted to deliberate on who the suspicious people were- and it may help her later pick out who the love interest targets were as all of them were non-human.

“Alright, I’ll be back later. In case of an emergency, I can be summoned to your side if you call for me.”

With that, Popo flies off to head back home to find anything like a journal or a diary for Mukuro to look through later. If there was anything else that Popo could do in the meanwhile, it would before returning to her side.

‘Idle mode’ continued on without a hitch up until the end of the work day. People started to funnel out of the office, everyone saying their farewells, but there were a few people still remaining- hard at work. "Oh, you've finished a lot today. That paper there goes to Shinichi when you're done with it." A light shines to reveal where the desk of Shinichi resides.

ℂ𝕙𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖

It’s the end of the day, but there is still some work left over to complete. You can leave the rest of the work for tomorrow, or you may continue working until the work is complete.

Estimated extra work time: 1 hour.

Go home

Overtime 1 hour

At the time of this question arriving, Popo returned to Mukuro’s side. “Take note that they tell you how long the overtime would last. It means that for some scenarios, that time is important, and for others, it’s not.”

The real question was, did Mukuro think she could gain more if she went home now, or did she think anything of relevance would happen in an hour?

「That's true,」 Mukuro hums softly as she thinks over the point that Popo made。 Ken, of course, could be a bit of a red herring, he could have the personalities and makings of someone who would seem like they're not human only to just be revealed that they're just very charismatic。 With the fact that she's currently in a game, the chances of Ken being either a very charismatic human or some non-human thing were both very likely。 

So for now, Mukuro would have a little three-column table with the labels; human, non-human, and ???。 For now, Ken's name would be under the '???' category。 Mukuro would also put down the names of some of the coworkers she already met down in this little table, the names of her female coworkers were put under the 'human' category since to Mukuro, they didn't strike her as either 'non-human' or questionable yet。 Meanwhile; Ken, Mitsuki, and Masaharu were under '???' since she hasn't interacted with them a lot or from what she's heard of them they could possibly non-human。

Mukuro would be brought out of her thoughts when Popo said that he could go and find a diary and set it aside for her to look through later if she wanted。 Hearing that, Mukuro gave Popo a small smile and a slight nod。

「That would be amazing, thank you Popo。」 Then when Popo began talking about how at the end of her work day, Mukuro could have some type of choice to make。 Having played games with a similar mechanic, Mukuro gave a small nod and listened on and assumed maybe that a choice would pop up soon, given how games often would give tutorials like that either right before introducing the mechanic。

「Okay, I'll be sure to keep that in mind then for when choices pop up。」

[fangsofdestruction]

Sesshomaru waited for her answer, and when it came, his head made a movement of nodding before he yawned and rested his head on his forepaws. It wasn’t a big issue at all to him, it seemed. Even if she had made an attempt, nothing came of it, and she was stopped before she could even begin.

Additionally, you could consider her a victim if you framed it a different way. She didn’t know what mess she was getting herself into, and if the barrier wasn’t down for maintenance, she wouldn’t have been able to execute her mission to begin with. Her clients didn’t tell her everything (and it was highly likely they didn’t even know they were sending her into a den of Demons), so she was effectively set up for failure.

She could even bond with others who have also tried killing Sesshomaru in their past. Sai being one of them, as he tried to fight against Sesshomaru as a bout for dominance. He lost, and was then forced to be subordinate to the Inu-youkai. Look at him now, being the de-facto leader should Sesshomaru ever leave his post for any reason.

The children were diligently brushing through all the fur, singing jingles as they did. The sound of their singing and their laughter was almost ironic when you remembered this was a den of Demons. When they finished, Sesshomaru changed back to his humanoid form which prompted the children to climb onto his back or sit in his lap. The very image of a tolerant ‘grandpa’ as they called him.

       ❝From the reports I’ve received, I see no reason to deny your entry if you’d like to join. It would be good for you to learn more about Demonkind. Our Gumi doesn’t outright forbid contact with humans, so it wouldn’t completely uproot your current lifestyle.❞

The most important thing for Demons was to be true to yourself and to life to your own desires.

There was a soft smile on Mukuro's lips as she brushed through Sesshomaru's fur。 It was such a calming action, that Mukuro had truly began to zone out and so when one of the children had brought up that Mukuro had mentioned that she would like to stay if given the chance, but worded it in such a way that sounded like she was going to stay without really asking, that snapped Mukuro out of her thoughts really quick。 Pausing her brushing, Mukuro froze in spot for a moment before her gaze would lock with Sesshomaru's, it was clear to her that his look at her was meant more as a question, for her to confirm if what she said was worded like that or not。

「I didn't quite say it like that,」 Mukuro said with a soft laugh,  「I said that, if allowed to I would like to stay。」 That was all that she would say on that for now, if he wanted to ask clarifying questions, Mukuro would be more than happy to answer them。 After adding a bit more clarity to Kazehime's statement, Mukuro went back to brushing。

She was relived to see that Sesshomaru wasn't angry in any way ( or if he was, he was really good at masking it ) when hearing that Mukuro would like to stay here if she could。

Mukuro had no real reason to doubt Hebisuke's words when he said that if Mukuro wanted to join, it would be likely she'd be allowed to, even if her first action onto the gumi was threatening the life of their patriarch。

[fangsofdestruction]

Other than strength and strategy, is there anything else you respect your father for ?

[Unprompted ask]

"His bloodline."

"What answer were you expecting?"

[fangsofdestruction]

Have you ever encountered a demon of praise worthy strength that challenged you enough to earn your respect ?

[Unprompted ask]

"It is only common sense that this Sesshomaru has." Did this one think that Sesshomaru possessed awe-inspiring strength as a whelp?

(Naraku, you say? He doesn't deserve respect in any capacity.)

[fangsofdestruction]

Then tell us a little secret of Sesshomaru's

[Unprompted ask]

Mn. Bold.

Kept Jaken around despite his impudence partly because he found it amusing. Imp dares think insolently towards his master. Funny.