A young girl of five clung to her father, pitch black short hair clung to her chubby cheeks as sobbed uncontrollably. Her nails clinging to his haori as he peeled her off of him and raised her high into the air.
"Don't send me away daddy! I promise I will be good!" the young girl cried as she looked down at her father with wide eyes. Her father nuzzled her cheek with his nose, his own tears falling freely.
"Your mom will protect you my koi, one day you will come home, and this danger will be long past. Then you will rule the East as the rightful heir." her father walked over to a young woman who stood by the bone eater's well, her long hair bellowing in the wing, her chocolate eyes shining with unshed tears. She was going to be strong for her baby, and for her mate.
"My koi, my little Kagome. You will know when it is time to return home, to the House of the Sun." her father kissed her on the head were her birthmark was a blazing deep red sun with yellow rays shooting out from every side of the circumfrance of the cirlce. Placing her into her mother's arms, Kagome watched her father kiss her mother one last time before taking off into the sky. Her melted chocolate eyes staring longingly after her father.
Gathering up her daughter in her arms, Aoioshi jumped down the well, her tears looking like frozen diamonds falling behind her deceanding body. She knew that her mate was not going to live past this day, but her heart was with him, and their daughter was going to be safe in the future with her grandfather to protect her.
Kagome shot straight out of bed, nearly face planting on the ground as her feet tangled around her nighttime yukata and the blankets. It had nearly been a week since she had woken up the last time, and ever since then she had been plauged with dreams of her father and mother. Her mother had been to the feudal era before? Why hadn't she ever told her before? Reaching a tender finger to her forehead, she went to the bathing area in her room. There on her forehead, was an blazing red orb with yellow rays just like in her dream. Her father had called it the Palace of the Sun, she would have to ask Sesshomaru about it today when she went to write another message for her friends and adopted son.
She missed them all dearly, and she had requested if it was ok if Sesshomaru would allow them to build a small home on the outskirts of the palace walls so they would be able to see her daily before and after her training with the guards of Sesshomaru's palace. They were called the Dogs of the Moon, even though their demonic heritage spreaded to every kind of demon. She trained with a new breed every day, today her friends were going to show up on the training grounds to over see her. Sadly enough, Miroku told her that InuYasha was going to accompany them over to the west and that she should be ready for him to try to drag her back with him.
Going to her wardrobe, Kagome pulled out her training outfit, its make looked just like Sango's battle outfit, but unlike her's Kagome's was a bloody red with silver plating supportining the House of the West's emblem on the back left shoulder blade to show her allegance to the House.
Leaving her room, Kagome didn't feel the taiyoukai's presence before she nearly slammed headlong into his chest.
"I'm sorry Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome stumbled backwards and rubbed the back of her head sheppishly.
"Hn. It would seem your friends were spotted on the boarder line of the northern lands and the west. They will arrive shortly before your afternoon training session." Sesshomaru turned on his heel and walked down the grand stair case that seemed to never end when you were falling down them. Which Kagome did trying to rush to her morning training without being late. Showing up supporting new bruises to add to old ones, the snake demon snickered at her as she limped into the dojo.
"And what are you doing this morning m'Lord." Kagome placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, looking to the untrained eye like one of Sesshomaru's guards. Sesshomaru wanted to smile at the miko's every morning question when she knew perfectly well what he did every morning.
"I have many documents that I must see too, along with room arrangements for the other onnas that seem to want to intrude on my personal space. And I have to do my rounds with general to see how the recruits are coming." he found that he could speak freely to the young woman next to him, her scent calmed him, and her aura was almost as overwhelming as his own.
"I shall accompany you today, I have a few hours to spend before training, and Rin is too busy getting toys ready for her new play friend coming today. Though she wishes for me to take her to the moonflower valley tonight, if that is okay with you m'lord." Kagome smiled up at Sesshomaru as they walked to his study.
Pausing at the door, she waited for him to enter before her and then sat acrossed from him. Watching him leaf through all the scrolls to see which ones needed his attention now and which ones he could put off till the end of the night. Kagome read most of them upside down and then looked over at the piles of scrolls that were tossed around him, frowning to herself, she got up and started sorting through the scrolls. Sesshomaru stopped what he was doing and stared at her as she moved quickly through the selves, placing each scroll neatly into its cubby and then when she was done ten minutes later she sat back down.
Noticing his staring, she lifted her eye brow at him. "What?" she wondered outloud. "It was bothering me. Takes less time putting them up when your done then throwing them onto the floor." she muttered under her breath. Sesshomaru didn't utter a word as he turned back to his work. It seems this miko-youkai was more useful then he thought at first.
An hour later, all the scrolls were done, sent out via messanger or Kagome, and placed back into the cubby holes in the towering shelves that took up every inch of the walls. As soon as Kagome went to get up from her seat on the cushion, a servant knocked gently on the door before entering with a tray of tea and sweets. Kagome scrunched up her face as the smells assulted her, feeling it was rude to pinch her nose, she breathed through her teeth till she was use to the scents.
"Sesshomaru-sama, if I may be so bold to ask something of you?" Kagome watched the servant move to pour the tea, but Kagome waved her away and did it herself. Sesshomaru didn't think of the movement until his beast rumbled within his cage. Stirring slightly, the beast brushed his cage with a jolt of youkai.
'Knows her place, knows to serve her alpha. Possible mate.' his beast rumbled deeply in the old inu-tongue. Sesshomaru scowlded mentally at his beast before pushing it further into his mind.
"Proceed." he said as she placed his cup and a small plate of the assorted treats in front of him.
"Do you know of the House of the Sun?" she sat back with her own cup of tea. Sesshomaru quirked an eye brow at her question. Not many people know the true names of the lands that they preside in. The West is the Moon, East is the Sun, the North the Star, and the South is the Earth. All of which the earth in four corners, like the days of the birth of the world that they resisded on.
"I do miko, the East too was ruled by an Inu-Daiyoukai like my father was. He and the late lord of the East were close friends. Almost litter brothers." Sesshomaru told her.
"Do you have any scrolls on the late lord and the Eastern lands?" she asked him. He nodded and stood up, she followed him and the walked silently to the library down the hall from his study. Leading her towards the very back of the masive library, He pulled several scrolls from their cubbies and handed them to her.
"This Sesshomaru must go to the training grounds now, you may stay here until your training starts, you will be put up against a rather large bear demon today. This Sesshomaru will be overlooking it along with your onna friends and the kit." he turned to leave but Kagome followed him with the scrolls placed in a pouch on her right hip were she usually kept kunai's or shurikens.
"I told you I was going to accompany you Sesshomaru-sama. And that is what I'm going to do." Kagome said lightly as she followed him through the mazes of his hallways and stair cases, instead of going out the front doors, they walked through the southern doors of the palace and walked past the guard house.
Coming to a stop on the training grounds, Kagome walked a few steps behind Sesshomaru and a little to his right. Guards and recruits stood in three straight lines, one behind the other. His captins and his general stood infront of the recruits.
"Lord Sesshomaru, we were just about to begin with some light sparring, and it would seem like we are graced with Lady Kagome today too, do you not have training of your own today young one?" the general smiled broadly at Kagome. She nodded with a large smile of her own. General Hirotoshi was an nice inu-youkai, she had spent many nights with him in the dojo, honning her youkai and her miko powers. She soon found out that they worked very similar to each other, a little bit of concentration here and there and she was able to summon both at the same time or either one of them seperatly.
"This Sesshomaru came to inspect the recruits, and would like to see how they deal with combat." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes lightly into slits at the elder dog demon. He had taken to Kagome too much for his liking. She was, after all, under his protection.
Hirotoshi smiled again, a fang showing slightly at the corner of his mouth. Turning to the captin's of each group they were paired up, with one short, Kagome said she would spare with the young demon.
"If Lord Sesshomaru says its alright, then I suppose a warm up wont hurt you." Hirotoshi nodded approvingly at the young woman. Sesshomaru tilted his head in his acceptance. He has yet seen the miko in training, so this would be good to assess how the guards have been teaching her.
Kagome went over to her partner and allowed her youkai to take over, and laid her miko powers dormant inside of her mind. Now was gone the human looking miko and the woman that stood in her place looked almost unearthy. Her skin seemed to glow underneath her skin, like the sun itself was stuck under its fleshy prison. Her raven hair now shimmered with thick gold streaks braiding into it. Startling summer blue eyes replaced her melted chocolate ones, and silver designs etched themselves along her arms, legs, neck, and cheeks, and they too seemed to dance along her skin like the heat waves off of the sun. And donning her forehead was a red orb with blazing yellow rays.
The demon before her nearly stumbled back from the force of her youkai but he stood tall and readied himself in his stance. Kagome did the same, right leg behind her left, upper body slightly turned, and her arms relaxed at her sides. Waiting on the order to start, the recruits stood ready.
"Begin." Sesshomaru barked out over the yard. His eyes scanned the others quickly, noting things here and there. He was pleased with the recruits his military had found. Eyes stopping at the miko and the demon that was her partner, he found that she moved almost as quickly as he did, blows being blocked with easy grace, and each blow delivered with smooth efficancy that he was actually surprised. Yet, the think that surprised him the most, was her marking of heritage on her forehead. The marking of the House of the East. It would seem that Daiyoukai Rakuski had an heir after all...