Those who were left behind by The peach fluff

The new ruler of the West

The new ruler of the West

The study was completely silent. Then the quietness was broken by a sigh and the rustle of paper. The new Lord of the West, Haru, was watching the incredible quantity of paperwork he had to do with annoyance. Really, you wouldn't believe that ruling a portion of a country included so much... paper. He wondered how his father coped with it when he was still in charge. But then again, his father had had a mate, and thus a wonderful distraction to forget this annoying duty. Haru didn't, nor did he intend to take one for now. So he was stuck with his paperwork with nothing to take his mind off of it.

He put his annoyance in a corner of his mind and took his pen, signing whatever he had to sign, correcting whatever he had to correct and so on. It had been barely a month since he had taken over the position of Lord of the West, and he often wished his father was still there to guide him and advise him. For now things were going smoothly, but Haru knew that the problems would begin very soon. It was always this way when the ruler changed. At first, peace, then storm. Fortunately, his father's counselors were efficient and loyal, and were a great help to him. Without them, he didn't know what he would have done the first days.

He was interrupted in his work by a knock on the door. Secretly relieved at the prospect of taking a break from his dull duty, he put down his pen.

"Come in." He said.

The door slid open, and a woman walked in. She had silver hair cut just below her cheeks with one lock falling before her left eye and deep blue eyes. She looked very much like Haru, and wore a serious expression on her face. She had one marking across each cheek, just like him. However, she didn't have the crescent moon he had on his forehead, which marked him as the heir.

"Yume." He said with a smile. "It's nice to see you dear sister. What brings you here?"

She didn't answer immediately, her eyes drifting from one corner of the room to the other, taking in every detail.

"I wanted to know how you were doing." She finally said. "I am conscious that taking over the West is not an easy task, especially since neither father nor mother are here to help you."

 Haru's gaze saddened.

"You couldn't be more right." He said softly. "But they wouldn't want us to grieve over their departure and neglect the West. This is all we can do to make them proud of us now. I will do my best and try to rule as well as father did."

Yume nodded silently. Haru got up and stretched a bit.

"Since you came all the way here, let's go somewhere else." He said. "I have seen enough of this paperwork for the day."

A small smile found its way on Yume's lips.

"Not the kind of work you enjoy to do I guess. I almost feel bad for distracting you from this important task."

"Don't be. Let's go to the garden instead."

They left the study in a comfortable silence. Yume was like her father and did not speak much, but when she did, it was always to say something wise. Sometimes Haru wished she had been the heir instead of him, after all they were born the same day. If only he hadn't been the oldest by a few minutes! Fate was really cruel sometimes. As if guessing what was on his mind, Yume looked at him.

"It wouldn't do for a female to rule, you know it." She said stoically. "It has always been the eldest son. Even if I had been born before you, you would still be the heir. It's the blood who decides that."

Haru groaned. Like he needed to be reminded of that.

"Well, grand-mother did rule before father." He said. "And she had the crescent moon to legitimate it."

"Grand-mother was an exception." Yume countered calmly. "She was an only child as her father died. There simply was no other to be the heir."

"Then maybe I should die, this way the crescent moon would pass on to Usui." Haru said jokingly. "And I would be free of paperwork forever."

Yume send him a severe glare.

"Don't say such foolish things!" She said curtly. "No one wants you to die, and certainly not for such a stupid reason!"

"Relax, I was just joking!" He sighed. "God, you're just like father, no sense of humor! Granted, he did gain one afterwards, though it was only a small one."

Haru was the one who looked like their father the most, aside from his blue eyes. So much that the young youkai kept his hair braided to make the distinction clear. Their personalities however where very different. Haru had his mother's temper and was far from the overly seriousness Yume always displayed.

They reached the garden, and went to their favorite spot, the rose garden. They sat on a bench, filling their noses with the wonderful flowery scent around them.

"Mother had a great idea to make this garden." Haru commented happily.

"She always had a thing for roses." Yume added softly.

They could easily remember when their mother would come here, alone or with her mate or children, and spend hours without doing anything, just closing her eyes and daydreaming. So much that more than once, Sesshoumaru had found her asleep on the bench at nightfall.

"So, how are you doing?" Haru asked.

"Fine." Yume shrugged.

"Remind me, what are you doing now?"

"I am the head healer at Masato-san's palace."

"Oh yeah, that old buddy of father's. I guess he hasn't changed much, huh?"

"Still the same. He was sad to learn of our parent's death."

"Hm. Have you seen one of our siblings since then?"

"Tsuki and Chie dropped by."

"Yeah, they came here too. Well, they're our twin sisters after all. Now that I think about it, haven't you ever found it amazing that mother was able to have this many children? I mean, forty is quite a big number for a human woman."

"That's quite easy to do in fact." Yume said seriously. "Remember? She never had a single child at once. Look at us, we were her first children and quadruplets with Tsuki and Chie. She had a bunch of twins, triplets and so one. I'm rather amazed that she didn't have more than forty."

"Yeah, but I still wonder how her body survived to all those births."

"Easy once again. She was mated to a powerful taiyoukai. Didn't you know that youkai semen can actually strengthen the human body? I guess you didn't, seeing the face you're making."

"Wait, you mean that because she was...err... sleeping with father so often, it made her body stronger?"

"Something like that. And for god's sake, stop blushing! You are not a teenager anymore!"

"Well sorry. It just sounds king of... weird. By the way, how come she never had a single child at once as you put it?"

"It's just a theory." Yume said with a nonchalant movement of her hand. "You know that father was a dog demon. I suppose that because of his animalistic side, it made mother have litters rather than single babies."

"That's even weirder you know. And why are we all full blooded youkais and not hanyous?"

Yume glared at him severely.

"You didn't listen to what mother said about that, did you? She explained countless times that it was thanks to her blood. She was a powerful miko, the guardian of the Shikon no tama. Her holy powers destroyed the weaker human blood in our veins and allowed the youkai blood to take over completely. Well, it only worked because father was more powerful than her though. Had it been a weaker youkai, we could have been born completely humans with great holy powers. And we grew as fast as humans do until maturity for the same reasons."

Haru nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right, I remember now. She did say something like that. Funny how I can't recall some things."

His sister rolled her eyes.

"You're making me worry you know? I wonder how the West will survive with you as its ruler."

"Well, if you want my place, take it! I'll be glad to give it to you!"

"No thanks. You know how I hate politics."

"That's because you're too honest." Haru snickered.  "You can't help but say exactly what you think without giving a damn about the consequences."

"I must admit that your ability to lie with a straight face never cease to amaze me." She said drily.

"Aw, come on! Did you come just to point out every single one of my flaws?" He pouted.  

"I am tempted to say yes. But as a matter of fact I just wanted to check on you. And while I'm at it, have you found a potential mate yet?"

Haru grimaced, his shoulders sagging.

"Please, don't talk about such hideous things! Why is everyone asking me the same question? First my counselors, then Tsuki and Chie, and now you! No, I don't have a potential mate and I don't give a damn about it! Happy?"

"As a matter of fact no." Yume dead-panned. "You are the Lord, it is only natural that the people around you would ask you to get a mate. And you will have to make an heir too."

"Come on, I've been ruling for barely a month! Those things can wait!"

"I don't think so. Which brings me to the second reason I have come here."

He looked at her warily, but her blank face didn't give anything away.

"The Lord of the North, Hayato-sama, is holding a gathering in one month's time." She said. "You will have to attend. And just so you know, this is a gathering for young and single nobles, boys and girls."

"Great, so now Hayato-dono is playing matchmaker with the youth?" Haru grimaced.

"Something like that. You will see some of our siblings there. You are the eldest you know? You should find a mate before anyone else does."

"Yeah yeah, and what about you? You're still single as far as I know. And I'm not bothering you with it."    

"You seem to forget that I am not ruling the West. And just so you know, I may not remain single for very long."

He gave her a funny look.

"Excuse me?" He said.

"I am being courted. And it started more than a year ago. Frankly speaking, I am considering saying yes."

"But but... wait a sec! Who would court a girl like you? I mean, you're blunt, you never show your emotions and you're too serious and severe!"

She glared at him and he thought that if looks could kill, he would be dead.

"Excuse me for not being the ideal woman." She said coldly, spitting image of her father. "And for your information, I am being courted by Masato-san's nephew."

"But but... how did this happen?"

"Very easily. He was injured and I was healing him. Another question?"

Haru still couldn't believe that it had been going on for a year and that he had known nothing of it. He scowled. Next time he would question Tsuki and Chie about their love lives too. He didn't like being left in the dark like this.

Yume closed her eyes and got up, stretching her arms.

"I am hungry." She said. "Let's eat something and I'll lend you a hand for your paperwork. But only for today."

Haru suddenly brightened and followed her happily, all his dark thoughts about his sisters quickly locked in a corner of his mind.

The end

................................................................

Well, there's not much to say I think, it's just a follow-up to my "never-ending bond" fic. So now you know more about Sesshoumaru and Kagome's children, why they are so numerous and why they aren't hanyous.

I think I'll turn this into a series of one-shot to talk about various children. I'd like to write something about the gathering Haru must attend, and also about how Yume met her suitor.

Remember that English is not my first language and forgive me my eventual mistakes. Thanks for reading this story.