il Mondo e Nostro (The World is Ours)
Full Summary:
Relations between Humans, more commonly referred to as Ningen, and Youkai have never been on the best of terms; it's just a fact of life that has gone unchallenged since the distinctions between the two races were first recognized. Separate societies and kingdoms were established throughout the island country, and boundaries were fiercely protected in the name of maintaining their stark separation from one another. Small skirmishes and battles over territory and resources occurred sporadically, but it was clear that tensions were building up to an all-out war as populations grew and space became limited. Kagome's father was one of the few humans willing to risk his life in the name of peace between the two races, garnering respect and resentment from both sides of the fight. Granted the rare opportunity to live amongst them, he and his wife raised Kagome within the walls of the Western Palace. Inu-Taisho Touga Tsuyo presided as Lord of the Western Territory, and as the highest regarded Youkai throughout the entire nation, showed to be just as interested in peace between Youkai and Ningen. This desire was spurred by the birth of his second son, the Hanyou Inuyasha. Though many in the Youkai royal court were abjectly offended by the disgraceful act, the level of fear and respect that Inu-Taisho commanded forced others to accept his mixed-breed offspring as the second-in-line after Sesshoumaru, his full-blood Youkai firstborn son.
For twelve years, Kagome was raised alongside the two young princes; all three were sheltered from the prejudices that both Humans and Youkai felt about the other. Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru proved that long-standing hatred could be dismantled by new life and understanding. With her hand promised to one of the princes as a means of cementing the good faith between their fathers, Kagome finds herself growing closer with the older brother, Sesshoumaru, when the two discover mutual feelings for one another. Sadly, all this is dismantled when the nefarious Youkai lord, Naraku Itou, incites deeper hatred between the two races. The dangers become imminent and undeniable when a direct attack on Kagome's life occurs during a night of celebration. Familial obligations force Kagome and her father to return to the Ningen Kingdom, despite their every desire to remain at the Western Palace. Their blissful cocoon of ignorance and peace is torn apart, forcing Tora and Touga to align their loyalties with their own kind.
Weeks after Kagome and Tora's departure, Touga and Izayoi are murdered and an all-consuming war is waged. At too young an age, Sesshoumaru is forced to prematurely assume the mantle of Inu-Taisho. His previous convictions about humans clash with those of the other Youkai Lords, and Sesshoumaru's heart quickly becomes darkened as a thirst for vengeance takes hold in him, though he continues to be torn by his lingering feelings for Kagome. When Inuyasha refuses to join the fight and incites a dangerous altercation with his brother, he flees the Western Kingdom in fear for his life. Alone and without a place to call home, Inuyasha becomes known as the rogue Hanyou in the Neutral Territories. All Inuyasha has to his name is the Fire-Rat Haori and Tessaiga, and a deep desire to be reunited with Kagome.
Rather than taking refuge with her father in the Palace at the heart of the Ningen Kingdom, Kagome is sent to live at the Kanpeki Temple – a finishing school for the daughters of affluent families. She joins her older cousin Kikyou, the Princess of their Kingdom, and is quickly set apart due to her uncommon affinity for Youkai. However, because of her magnetic personality, intriguing childhood, and royal status, Kagome is still considered a favorite among her peers at the Kanpeki Temple. The defiant and spirited young girl instantly made enemies with the headmistress, Aiko Kisawa, though she was protected from any punishment for her misconduct due to her status and fortune. She is quick to befriend the young Hanyou servant, Shiori, and a young warrior named Asano who resides at the Taijiya village not far from the Temple.
Years later, when the entire Royal Court perishes during a surprise ambush at the Palace, Kagome and Kikyou's lives are forever altered. Kikyou becomes the sole ruler of what remains of the Ningen Kingdom, though she must remain at the Kanpeki Temple until the war's end. Being the daughter of a disgraced and denounced heretic, Kagome's title and luxuries are stripped away, reducing her to the life of a servant to work off her debt to the cruel headmistress. She struggles to survive the abuse and work all while the Shikon No Tama grows inside her, keeping Kagome somewhat protected through its unknown influence. Kagome suffered years of pain and turmoil, with rare moments of wondrous joy to preserve what remained of her bright spirit. But through a dramatic and tragic chain of events, Kagome chose to avoid her destiny in lieu of acting on it, leaving the world waiting for five-hundred years for the salvation she was meant to deliver. When a minor earthquake causes Kagome to wake in the year 2017, she is forced to answer for her choices that caused the oppression of the human race in Japan.
With the responsibility of preventing another war from breaking out, Kagome must rely on past allies and new friends as she navigates a modern world that confuses, frightens, and excites her beyond imagination. Along the way, one figure picks up his work from five centuries ago to secure power for himself. Naraku is determined to either have Kagome at his side, and use her limitless abilities for his own gain, or see her destroyed by the very people she vows to serve. Can she forgive the one being who can most greatly help her, or will that grudge prove insurmountable? Kagome must learn to recognize right from wrong if she intends to repent for her past transgression and save an entire country from the darkest force it has ever known.