They had arrived at the Northern citadel around noon the next day. Kagome was still recovering from the fight while Sesshomaru met with the Northern Lord. Lord Diachi was actually Sesshomaru's great uncle; brother to his grandfather. He was a great lord that ruled his lands with much wisdom and mercy; much the same way Sesshomaru learned from his father…
They sat in the delegations room waiting on for the Eastern Lord to arrive. The Eastern Lord was Haru; he was said to be a descendent of Amaterasu, but no one wanted to actually find out. The lord was a ruler that thought betrayal was the upmost dishonor and fought for everything just. His people loved him for it too. If someone caused trouble on his lands, he was the one to deal with it; personally. Luckily the eastern lands were a peaceful land; therefore the easy schedule the lord had.
Sesshomaru sighed as he placed his tea cup back on the low table. Diachi noticed this and smiled. "What troubles you Sesshomaru? It is not like you to sigh…"
Sesshomaru looked to his elder and back down to his hands around the tea cup; comforted by the warmth of the cup. "Other than the trouble the South has giving me?"
Diachi frowned. "It is a shame that Lord Ryu has taken a grudge against you. The dragon clan is a strong one… To go to war with him is not a wise one…"
"Going to war with the Silver Inu's isn't a wise option either Diachi…" They heard from the door way. The Inu's stood from their chairs and bowed. "But if we can get Ryu in a lie about attacking one of the other Lord's, the others would not have a choice but to strip him of his title and lands."
Diachi sat back down, along with the other two. "And for attacking one of the other lords would result in the death of said lord. Can we prove it though?"
Sesshomaru smiled. "Almost two moons ago, a band of mercenaries attacked a southern village of mine; mercilessly slaying all who they came in contact with."
The other two lords were saddened by this; for they knew Sesshomaru loved all his people whether it be demon, human or hanyou. That was how he was raised; as far as they knew, he did not hate or despise anyone or anything…
"The entire village was slain; except for one being. The village miko…"
He saw the other lords coware somewhat. It was a well known fact that miko were not to be trifled with.
"When I found her she was almost dead and nearly depleted in her energy. I was honor bound to make sure she recovered from her ordeal…"
The other lord's listened intently. Sesshomaru? Harbouring a miko? This was unheard of. Did the younger lord have a death wish? Lord Haru looked on with concern. "Lord Sesshomaru, I know you were honor bound, but if I am to be so bold, are you absolutely out of your mind?! Mikos destroy our kind! For no reason what so ever! I have never come across a miko that was nice to anyone other than humans…"
Sesshomaru glared at the Eastern Lord. Diachi shared Haru's sentiments but would have never spoken aloud to Sesshomaru like that… His nephew didn't name him the Killing Perfection for nothing… "I think what Lord Haru is asking, what was your thinking behind keeping a miko in your possession while she recovered? Isn't that right Haru?"
Haru knew he was going to die the second he went against Sesshomaru's actions; while he was the youngest, he was most certainly the most powerful of the lords. He nodded his head in agreeance with Diachi.
Sesshomaru could feel his blood boiling; how dare these demons question his actions?! But then again, he was questioning his own actions not twenty-four hours ago. The miko was the cause of all of this inquiring. He suppressed a sigh. "I am well aware of the bureaucracy of the lands as well as how miko fit in. I have been educated in that matter personally. Kagome…the miko is not like that; she only killed the ones that killed her village. While staying in my care at my own citadel, she had never raised her hand to anyone not of her own stature. Although the demons of my palace were rather harsh in her recuperation; which was the reason for my leaving my citadel just days ago…"
The other lords thought on this. Now knowing that he had the situation under control they relaxed. "Where is the miko now?" Diachi asked. For some reason, Sesshomaru was protecting the miko; from what or whom?
Sesshomaru got up and looked out the window. He knew what the next answer would bring and he really didn't want to bring it up. "She is in my room resting uncle…"
Diachi stood from his seat and his voice rose as he spoke. "You brought a human miko into my home Sesshomaru?! How was I not able to detect her aura when you arrived this morning?!"
Sesshomaru turned from the window with red tinted eyes. His voice was raspier and deeper showing that his demon was closer to surface than usual. Sesshomaru mused that his demon had been closer to the surface for a while now… What was wrong with him?!
"I would have thought you would be different uncle! Her aura was depleted after healing herself of Komodo dragon poison; from two different sources I might add! She is not like every other miko you have encountered. And I'll be damned if I let you dishonor her!"
The other demons sat back down and were silent. Sesshomaru saw that they had backed down and his demon receded; slightly. "I brought her along because I am honor bound to protect her since she has no one left in the world; and she is the key to proving that Lord Ryu is the person behind these attacks on myself and my lands. If you will excuse me…"
Sesshomaru left with the door hanging off the hinges. Lord Diachi and Lord Haru looked at each other in shame. They should've trusted Sesshomaru's judgment instead of their own fears. "Let us meet the miko and make our judgment then; we were wrong to not listen to him…" Haru agreed; they left the delegations room and went to set things right.
Sesshomaru was fuming. He walked around the courtyards of the Northern citadel trying to reign in his demon. After walking he decided that this was definitely not working. Running to the outskirts of the kingdom, he demolished a few hundred trees. But all the while he thought of how the miko was slowly chipping all of the things that was taught to him. He was taught that yes, all beings were equal, but mikos were always to be feared; never get on a miko's bad side or it was the last thing you would every do. Now he was harboring a very dangerous miko in his uncle's kingdom and he didn't have any trouble admitting that he had no problem with it; dare he say, trusted her? She had given him no reason to not trust her.
Then there was the problem with his demon. Up until Kagome came into his life, his demon had never given him trouble. He was waiting for the right demoness to walk in front of him and his demon to finally stir; but it was not a demoness. It was a human miko; his known enemy! And he didn't mind it! He killed another tree as he roared. He did not know where all of the feelings were coming from but it was really starting to scare him; and he did not know what to do. Only trouble can happen when you deal with a miko… Roaring he continued to desecrate the forest.
Kagome had finally woken up in a bed she didn't recognize. Looking around she saw an armoire with some kimonos in it. Deciding to let her presence be known she found one that was close to her size and walked out the door. Instantly she knew she was not at the Western citadel. Then her memory came back to her; Sesshomaru had said something about traveling to the Northern kingdom. Walking around for a few minutes she found her way outside. It was a courtyard of sorts with a few trees and a bench; nothing compared to the expansive garden at the Western citadel. Walking forward she sat herself under a weeping willow. She rested her head back and closed her eyes; she was really that tired? Then again, she did expel a lot of poison from her system. Sighing again she found herself being bombarded by two powerful auras; not as powerful as Sesshomaru mind you, but powerful none the less. 'These must be the Northern and Eastern lords…' She stood from the tree, wavering slightly and approached the demons.
Diachi and Haru were walking to the study when they felt a very calming aura coming from the garden. Curious they ventured into the garden, finding nothing but a human woman they walked closer; the aura was coming from her. They saw her get up and waver slightly. The two lords looked at each other and back at the woman. The woman approached them and bowed. "I am humbled to be in the presence of the Northern and Eastern Lords."
The two lords smiled. "You may rise young maiden. I am afraid that I do not know who you are though. You would not happen to be the miko that our Lord Sesshomaru brought with him are you?"
Kagome smiled and rose to full height. The two lords were astonished by the beauty before them; but the most striking was her ocean blue eyes. They had never seen anything like it before. Diachi looked at her in confusion; he remembered those eyes, but from where?
"I am; but I do not like to be called that any longer. I was once a village miko to a village that no longer exists. Therefore I have no purpose. I do not know Lord Sesshomaru's actions in bringing me here…"
Lord Diachi and Lord Haru looked at the broken woman in front of them. Her aura, though depleted, was strong and very caring; also very sad. "I would assume his reasoning for bringing you is because someone is trying to assassinate him; and you are the sole survivor of an attack. Would you not help your lord in his time of need?"
Kagome looked up at the other lords and smiled but her demeanor turned sincere. "Lord Sesshomaru has saved my life more than a couple of times in the last month, and I would gladly give mine to save his…"
Diachi smiled. He was about to say something when they all heard a mighty roar coming closer to them. They turned just in time to see a huge dog had broken through the outer wall. It was snowy white with magenta stripes across it's face and a very similar royal blue crescent moon on it's forehead.
"Sesshomaru?" Kagome questioned.
The dog turned its head to look at her but the two lords ran in front of her to protect her. The dog growled, releasing a huge miasma of poison.
Diachi grabbed the young woman and jumped out of the way, following closely behind them was Haru. The dog demon roared in anger and started to approach the citadel. Haru pulled his sword from the sheath that was tucked in his belt; jumping into battle. Diachi set the young maiden down and looked at her with earnest. "Now you stay here out the way. Something has upset my nephew greatly and we must subdue him." Kagome gasped. "Worry not little one, we will not hurt him…" Turning from the onna, he unsheathed his sword and jumped into battle.
Haru was thrown back when Diachi arrived. He turned back to his nephew and spoke in Inu. 'Sesshomaru! What has upset you so greatly?!'
The dog looked at him strangely before attacking with a mighty paw. Diachi moved out the way and landed gracefully; Haru had regained his footing and rejoined the elder Inu. "He's too far gone isn't he?"
Diachi nodded but refused to give up. "I have to find out what made him like this. I will continue to try and talk to him in Inu…" They just dodged another swipe of the dog demon's claws.
Kagome was looking at the fight trying to find a way to stop all of this. Then she saw the dog make eye contact with her, make a step toward her, then the two other lords got in his way; only this time the dog made contact with the other lords; sending them flying the other direction. Kagome knew now that the fight had gone on long enough. Running down the stairs to the courtyard she confronted the demon head on.
Diachi and Haru turned back to the fight only to see that the miko had stepped up to the demon. Haru was about to go back but Diachi stopped him. "What's wrong with you?! We have to go save her!"
"No look!" Turning back to the dog, they noticed that it was not snarling anymore but looking at the miko in confusion.
Kagome looked up at the dog in front of her knowing it was her lord. Even though his eyes were red and blue she could still see his expression behind them. She held no fear; he would never hurt her. "Sesshomaru! Stop this nonsense!" He growled at her but his miasma wasn't released. "Yeah growl all you want but I will not back down until you are back to normal you hear me!"
He swiped his paws at her and she barely got out the way in time. She turned to look back at him with astonishment. "You swat your paw at me!" Looking up into his face it almost was like he was smirking at her; he was playing with her! She had had enough! "Alright Fluffy! That's enough!" Walking back up to him, she released her aura and instead of purification was the sense of calm.
The two lords were struck with awe. They were frozen to their spot just a few hundred feet away. They wanted to help their friend but they were too scared of the miko in front of them; definitely not one to get on your bad side. They were actually sorry for the demon facing off against the miko.
Sesshomaru growled at the slip of a woman that dare challenge him. He released more of his aura to get the miko to back down.
Kagome gasped at the immense, overwhelming power that began to envelope her. Gasping for breath she expelled the rest of her aura that was store in the back of her mind. "Please Sesshomaru, come back to me. I am not trying to challenge you. I'm trying to help you…" Sesshomaru whined finally registered who this miko was. She was the reason for all of this. He wasn't necessarily mad at her, but madder at himself and had lost control of his demon.
The demon laid down on the ground and closed his eyes. Kagome continued to emit the aura, stepping up to the large dog and scratched it's ear. His eyes opened again looking at the miko and humped. Turning his head to the side, his tongue licked the woman and started reverting back to his humanoid form. Kagome smiled as the familiar amber was looking down at her; bringing her hand up to caress his cheek, rubbing her thumb across his stripes, "Sesshomaru-sama? What will we do with you?"
He smirked. Bringing his hand to rest on hers ontop his cheek he smirked. "I can think of a few things miko…"
Kagome blushed but brought what was left of her aura back into herself. Feeling lightheaded she wavered. Sesshomaru seeing her distress, lifted her up bridal style and sighed. "I think I should pose the same question to you as well miko… We must train you to control those powers of yours; I cannot be there to catch you when you fall all the time…"
He big blue eyes looked up into his and he saw the tiredness there. "Why not?"
Sesshomaru was shocked at her question; he searched his mind for an answer but could not find any. He looked down at her again to give her some sort of answer but only saw eye-lids; the miko and used up all of her energy, again. He sighed and shook his head at her foolishness. Feeling two aura's he hadn't noticed till then, he saw his uncle and Haru off to the side staring, slack-jawwed at the scene. Stealing his gaze and putting his mask back on he strode over to the lords to address them.
"Close your mouth's you fools. You don't want to catch flies..." Smirking at the other two lords as the closed their mouth's with a click; sheathing their swords the looked at the Western lord in awe.
Diachi looked at his nephew then at the miko in his arms. "Haru, why don't you go see if we got any reports on the south while we were occupied…" Haru looked at the elder and nodded, knowing this was a family matter; he would join the lords after dinner to discuss the dragon lord.
Turning back to his nephew he caught him looking at his precious cargo again. "Go put her down to rest and meet me back in my study; we have much to discuss…"
Sesshomaru made it back into his room, laying the miko down onto the futon. He chuckled when her hand was held tightly between the silk of his haori. "Miko. Let go; I will be back shortly."
Mumbling in her sleep, she let go, though reluctantly. Pulling the covers over her prone form he turned to make his way to his uncle's study. He was not looking forward to this conversation; at all.