Acquire

The next morning, Sesshoumaru went about his normal morning routine and departed for the practice fields just outside the castle walls, where Rekkonji could be found. While he was still intensely curious about the halfbreed, he would not let it interfere with his own progress. He put the creature from his mind for a time, focusing instead on his weapon's practice with the Warmaster. Their rounds today ended as they always did, with Rekkonji bowing out in defeat, praising Sesshoumaru's technique and talent, while gracefully offering modest criticism.

Sesshoumaru allowed himself a proud smirk through the exchange of niceties and returned his practice weapon to its caretaker before making to return to the castle.

"Is there anything more your servant can do for your honorable self today, my lord?" Rekkonji

inquired, already motioning to a line of trainees to take formation on another field.

Sesshoumaru paused. A trail of servants shuffled by an open window on one of the higher

levels of the castle, reminding him of his secondary purpose for coming here today.

"Indeed, there is."

He turned back to Rekkonji.

"Tell me: what do you know of a servant, a halfbreed, one that tends the fires."

Rekkonji crossed his arms, cradling his spear in the crook of his elbow.

"Hm. A fire tender... Half‐breed, you say? Your vassal knows of only one of those among the servants. It was some sort of tribute offered to your honorable father for...something. When it came to us, it was just a whelp. It was examined about 4 decades back for any significant talent or ability. It was found unsurprisingly lacking."

He chuckled softly.

"Poor bitchling won't even be able to bring itself honor through battle. It was sent back to Fuyutoka to find somewhere for it and has been unheard of since."

"Did it possess any powers similar to those of its parents at the time?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Not that could be detected, sire. Some demons do develop their powers later in life, but with a low‐born halfbreed like that, doubtful it will ever come into any at all. It should be mentioned, however, that when its parents were encountered, they were all but groveling for their lives. Even if they did possess any amusing skills, they were probably disinclined to display them at that time, so there is nothing to compare any sort of fleeting ability it might possess against."

"Are there stories of youkai that spontaneously develop abilities outside of their bloodlines?" Sesshoumaru continued, taking care to seem merely curious.

Rekkonji shook his head.

"Only those stolen from another demon. Whatever powers a demon manifests, they're native to their blood somehow. Sometimes powers can skip generations, so a son may not develop the powers of his father, but instead the powers of his grandfather or another ancestor, such as those possessed by your honorable self. The only way to truly know is to test oneself, train constantly, push to the brink of death and return. Times of desperation are usually when the greatest powers manifest."

'Stranger and stranger, this halfbreed.'

"I see..." He said quietly, turning to the castle. "Fuyutoka has it, then..."

Rekkonji nodded.

"If his schedule has not changed, Fuyutoka should be in the kitchens about now, overseeing the afternoon meals."

Sesshoumaru nodded politely before departing.

It was the silence Sesshoumaru's presence incited that drew the overseer's attention to the entrance of the kitchens, where the lord stood, examining.

"L‐lord Sesshoumaru..." the elder demon nearly sputtered, quickly bowing and drawing his lord's attention from such an unsightly area. "How can his lordship's humble vassal be of use?"

"Fuyutoka." He said firmly. "The hanyou under your direction, the one that tends the fires; you recall it, I presume."

"Oh...that one... Ah, yes, my lord. It is given many duties to tend to and in its tenure of service to your honorable self and father, though it is hardly a creature of any note."

Fuyutoka waved his hand dismissively and chuckled, trying to shift the conversation from such a topic.

'Found you.'

Inwardly, he smirked.

"You will transfer the creature to act as my personal attendant." He stated in the same manner one would declare that it was raining. If he was to discover the secrets behind the halfbreed's power, he would need it in a place where he could manipulate it freely." I expect to see it stationed outside my quarters at dawn."

Fuyutoka looked for a moment as though he would argue, and for a moment, he actually did.

"M‐my lord, that one is... That is to say... Such a creature is hardly worthy..."

Something‐perhaps the passive-aggressive smile pulling at Sesshoumaru's delicate features‐silenced his mewling, and he bowed once more.

"As you command, my lord. It will be done as you say."

Yes, Sesshoumaru thought as he departed. It will be indeed.

Following his declaration to Fuyutoka, Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in his father's study, perusing the various scrolls either collected or scribed by the Taishou referring to different youkai families and their abilities. He had been through them many times already, for it would be advantageous to him and expected of him to be at least somewhat familiar with these creatures when he met them in his own travels. Somewhere among them, he was certain, was some hint about the halfbreed's ability.

One scroll seemed to hold promise, though, by the time he finished his current cup of tea, he found it to be a dead end. Irritated, he cast it aside. Another caught his attention, a family line of fire‐loving creatures. Once more, another dead end. Scroll after scroll, he sorted through, even perusing through some collected by his father during his travels around the continent that lay across the sea.

Alas, while some of the characters on the page were familiar to him, their organization and lack of the familiar lesser scripts native to his home meant it was but a page of nonsense to his eyes. As he tossed those aside, he decided then and there that he would learn their language so this would never be an issue for him again.

'Ridiculous,' he thought. 'How is there no record of such an ability anywhere here? It cannot be so

unique. Even the ancestor's skill, similar to this Sesshoumaru's toxic claws, is recorded. Surely

father's knowledge is not so limited.'

His eyes came to rest on another set of scrolls, and he quirked a brow, already knowing

the general subject they covered.

'Perhaps... I am looking in the wrong place.'

These, too, he took from their resting place and spread open on the small table before him to examine. These scrolls spoke of things similar to what Rekkonji had mentioned, creatures able to steal the powers and energies of demons and humans alike and make them their own. The victim usually died in the process, and there seemed to be a suspected limit to how many abilities the thief could take before the conflicting youki within them literally tore them apart.

Examining the bits of tea that had settled at the bottom of his cup, he pondered.

'Is this the type of creature the halfbreed is: a youki thief? Here, in my father's castle, in my home...'

Anger flared within him, along with a powerful desire to protect his home and purge such a creature from it. He took a moment to still himself. After all, he did not know for sure if that was indeed what the creature was. It could simply be something currently undocumented, or from the mainland in its strange characters that he could not decipher.

'Either way, even if it is such a creature, it will not have the powers of this Sesshoumaru.'