All rights for Inuyasha reserved by Rumiko Takahashi

Kagome sat in her room oblivious to the battle that was raging at this very second. She had just gotten back from her last day of tests. She sat at her desk with her head down and simply looked outside.

It was not snowing in her time. No, it was far too late for that to be happeing in this season. In the feudal era the snow had come and stayed for much longer than it should have considering the time of year.

She was quite certain that she had failed her math final and by extension her life. Soon her grades would come in the mail and inform her and her family that she would be repeating her senior year.

Lately she had been getting images instead of visions, flashes of a child like Sesshomaru running and playing like any child would have at his age. Every hour that went by left her more and more convinced that she knew absolutly nothing at all about Sesshomaru.

He always looked happy in the images. Each time she saw him with a smile on his face her heart lifted just a little. It was certainly an improvement over the last time she saw him as a child.

Kagome's stomach lurched. She immediately sat up and went to her bed. She knew exactly what this meant.

Once she had lied down Kagome prepared herself for her next vision.

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It took Kagome only moments to realize that she was in a very familiar environment. Kagome spun around taking in the halls of the Western castle. Yet something felt wrong.



As if on cue an older Sesshomaru walked out of his room and into the hallway wearing clothing not too dissimilar from what Kagome had seen him wear so many times before. The only difference was that he wore no armor and that his tail was not on his shoulder. The sash that normally held his swords was replaced by a smaller blue one. And of course the most incredible sight was that he wore no visible weapons.

Kagome floated around Sesshomaru as if she were an incorporeal ghost. It wouldn't have taken a genius to realize that Sesshomaru was going somewhere he didn't want to be.

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Sesshomaru marched reluctantly through the halls of his father's castle stopping only once for his personal guard. He had protested to her presence a great deal in the beginning of his stay. He had never needed a body guard before and he shuddered to think he would need one now.

Sesshomaru looked upon the western guardian now bowing to him. Sesshomaru had been perplexed as to why she still bowed to him even though most of the castle residents ignored him. He had found this particularly ironic considering his past with this particular guardian. She was the exact reason he had hated the western guardians for so long.

Miki was not her real name. Like every other guardian she had forsaken her previous existence long ago. She was a dog demon just like Sesshomaru and was said to be the most beautiful guardian in the whole of Japan. Her beauty was not what Sesshomaru liked about her, it was her fighting skill. Sesshomaru had fought her once when he was a teenager and had been soundly beaten although he had managed to put up what she had called 'one hell of a fight.' She had been even more supprised that he had survived the confrontation.

Her power had increased very little since the last time he had seen her while his own had skyrocketed. Now she served the west by following him everywhere he went. To his father she was an expendable resource just like any other soldier. But to 

Sesshomaru she was invaluable. Miki was the only link he had to the strange world of lordship and western etiquette. Of course this had been much more imperative when he had been trying to impress his father.

Miki faced him with a smile on her face just like she always did. "You look particularly presentable today Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru nodded his head in acknowledgment and continued walking down the hall toward the counsel room. Miki fell into lock military step with Sesshomaru matching his stride. The sound of their boots echoed through the halls as they glided along marching heel to toe. "I don't see why the counsel picked me to adress the issue at hand."

"Perhaps it's because of your oratory skills. You can be very convincing when you need to be."

"As convincing as I may be at times my father will more than likely dismiss my advice out of hatred."

"You must trust in your father's judgment."

"I am not conditioned to do so. I am conditioned to know that given the choice between the right and the wrong most will choose the latter. My father is no exception to this rule."

"Perhaps you should ask for more time. You're obviously still upset about your father's last ceremony."

"My own emotions will not affect my speech. I can only pray that the same can be said for my father. Personally I do not see the point of these counsel meetings."

"It lets the lords feel like they have some semblance of power. If they think they can affect the outcome of your father's decisions they are less likely to try and take over."

The two demons arrived at an elaborately ornate wooden door. "He should just kill them all and be done with it."



Miki's smile no longer graced her face. "That is not the way things are done in the west. I would think that you would have learned that by now."

Sesshomaru paused. He had obviously offended her. Sometimes it was easy to forget how idealistic she was. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she just followed orders. "I apologize. I'm just not used to such a courtly forum."

Miki's smile returned albeit hesitantly. "It's all right." She took a step back and checked him for any flaws in his appearance. Unsatisfied she took two steps forward and began to smooth out some of the wrinkles in his clothes. Once she moved down to his right arm she paused. With one swift jerk she pulled the knife out from his sleve. "What's this?"

Sesshomaru raised one elegant eyebrow. "It is a knife…people use it for stabbing."

"I mean why are you taking it into the counsel chamber? You know there are no weapons allowed."

Sesshomaru snatched the knife from her hands and with a flick of his wrist the knife disappeared back under his sleeve. "One can never be too careful."

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Sesshomaru sat in a finely crafted western chair just like the twenty other lords in the room. The entire counsel room looked like a pathetic and uninspired recreation of the Roman Senate. It was quite obvious that the person who designed the room's structure had never been farther than China. Sesshomaru yearned to sit on the stone benches in the great city once more.

His father had quite the taste for western culture as could be seen throughout the castle. If Sesshomaru had been around when his father had remodeled his predecessor's castle he would have informed the great lord that his architect was a charlatan and had obviously never even seen a real western city before.



He tried to ignore the fact that one of the other lords in the room was speaking about some unimportant issue and wiped the sweat from his forhead. Sesshomaru had spent his entire life on the battlefield as thus was very confident in his physical prowess but this was definitely out of his comfort zone. He was a man of action not of words.

Noticing the silence around him Sesshomaru cut off his line of thought and motioned to his opponent. His argument would sound much better if he went second.

Lord Ryou stood and bowed to Sesshomaru's father. "Lord Inutaisho and my fellow lords I have come to you speaking of the most urgent matters. My opponent, Lord Sesshomaru, would have you think that at the fringe of our lands there is some great war happening that somehow concerns us. Forgive me for saying this but Lord Sesshomaru lacks the experience needed to judge if we should or should not act against these supposed raiders. The fact of the matter is that these lords are loyal to the western lands as a whole and once asked to defend it will regain their peaceable nature. As for these raids that have been mentioned, everyone here knows that there is no cause for alarm. These fringe lords are simply men of action, much like my opponent. It is a known cycle that when the western lands are in a state of peace these lords simply need to excite themselves. These raids have cycled on and off since the western lands were formed.

Ryou paused and turned to the other lords. "As for fighting them each of you must realize that creating some kind of civil war could splinter the fragile peace that we have worked so hard to achieve in the last years. Other lands are poised to strike at us without a second's notice. If the southern lands sense distention in our territory they will align themselves with the fringe lords we would persecute. We all know the state of our army. To fight a united front now would be like fighting our great lord with paper swords." Ryou paused once more and waited for the other lords chuckling to die down. "In these times we must be flexible. These raids have never hurt the western lands as a whole and we have always been lenient towards them. To change that stance now would be to tempt a predator ready to strike." Ryou bowed to Lord Inutaisho and took his seat.


Sesshomaru listened to the quiet whispering behind him. Lord Inutaisho motioned towards Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru you may give your argument."

Sesshomaru stood and bowed to his father. "Thank you my lord." Not bothering to speak directly to his father he turned towards the rest of the counsel members. "I give my complements to Lord Ryou although my argument will give no testament to it." Sesshomaru put his arms behind his back and moved from his seat. Confused faces watched as Sesshomaru began to pace the room like a caged tiger. "When I was a teenager I despised the western lands." Sesshomaru let the counsel members shift uncomfortably in their seats. "To give insight to this I must mention that in my childhood I respected these lands and the institutions it upheld. I saw that you protected the weak and did what was right no matter the cost."

"But as I grew older I realized that the western lands were just like any other. You hid under the veil of righteousness while ignoring the needs of the people."

"As I stand before you today I realize that I was only half right. There are still some among you who would act in a manner befitting of a saint. It is to you whom I speak now. Early this morning I walked out of the castle to view the courtyard. Obstructing my path was a sea of tents. These tents are filled with refugees. They are not from a far away relm but from our own lands. Their houses have been burned and their villages sacked. Now taking residence in the center of the western lands they plead for respite. Yet none is given."

"Lord Ryou states that these raiders do not harm the western lands but I say otherwise. I pose a question to you Lord Ryou. What are the western lands?"

Ryou's mouth worked for a moment and then stated with the utmost confidence his view. "The western lands are an alliance lords that come together for mutual benefit."

"I see, well by your logic the western lands at this moment 

encompasses this room. Yet we would all claim that the lands that we reside over should be added in this equation lest the western lands account for no more than a few grumpy old men." Sesshomaru paused as his audience laughed at their own expense. "On these lands are people who can not voice their opinion because they have never been given a chance. They ask for justice. If the western lands were truly what it claims to be justice would be delivered."

"It is with the voice your subjects that I speak now. Why have our lords forsaken us? Why, when our farms are set fire do they fall back? Why, when our homes are destroyed do they fall back? Why, when our families are torn asunder do they fall back?"

"Am I the only one here that would say no! That a line must be drawn here! HERE, NO FURTHER!"

Sesshomaru faced his father. "These raiders are no more than traitorous pigs spitting in the face of the Lord who presides over them! I bid you my lord to stand your ground and fight! Strike at the very heart of them and watch as the cowards crumble!"

"If these lands are ever to be truly united in peace then I implore you to show how treason is delt with." Sesshomaru walked back towards his seat and awaited his father's decision.

Lord Inutaisho closed his eyes and stood. "The western lands will not engage the raiders." He said nothing more. Well over half of the counsel sat in stunned silence. Sesshomaru was not one of them.

"My lord surely you can see reason in my words?"

Inutaisho's eyes narrowed. "Unless you have something further to add to your argument my decision has been made."

Sesshomaru sighed and lowered his head. "No, I do not my lord."

"Then this counsel is adjourned."

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Miki was waiting outside the counsel room for Sesshomaru. As nineteen quarreling lords passed her she tried to find her target. Sesshomaru came out last.

A bright sheen of sweat covered his forehead. Miki pulled out a small cloth and wiped his face. "Your sweat smells like blood."

Sesshomaru raised his left hand and uncurled his fist showing where his claws had dug into his own flesh.

"Well that explains it."

Sesshomaru shut the door behind him and leaned against it. "He will never let me have any form of power. Not in his life or death."

Miki sighed. "Maybe you should just accept your father's will."

Sesshomaru knew the conversation had nothing to do with the counsel's discussion. This was much more personal. "No."

"Did you ever think that if he said you're unfit to rule that maybe you just might not be fit to rule?"

"No." Sesshomaru repeated louder than before.

Miki then made one of the few mistakes she had ever made around Sesshomaru. "Maybe you should just let this Inuyasha kid rule once he's born. I mean who knows it might just turn out for the best-"

Sesshomaru's demonic aura flared like a blue sun. The reaction had been so sudden that she hadn't had time to prepare for the force that Sesshomaru was now exuding. His eyes which had been a calming amber only a second ago now glowed an unearthly yellow that was outlined with a fiery red.

Miki found herself being pushed back into the wall behind her by Sesshomaru's aura. When he spoke his voice was amplified tenfold 

in the now empty hall way. "NO!! I WILL NOT BOW DOWN TO ANY MAN WHILE I STRUGGLE TO FREE MYSELF FROM ANOTHER!! "

Sesshomaru's aura dissapeared as quickly as it had come. Released from its hold, Miki slumped back against the wall. Sesshomaru viewed her wide eyed form with mild disinterest as she quickly regained her composure.

Miki found that she was already walking alongside Sesshomaru heading in the direction of the western lord's study as if pulled by an invisible force. When he spoke his voice had once again returned to normal. "Let me ask you something Miki. What is a kingdom without its army?"

Mind still foggy from Sesshomaru's sudden changes, Miki took her time answering. "I don't know." She had forgotten why his father said that Sesshomaru would never rule. Now it was once again painfully obvious, just as it had been when he had first arrived at the castle. He was psychotic.

"It is nothing more than an ideal. In short it does not exist."

Miki's mind instantly cleared. "What are you going to do?"

"I am simply going to offer my father a wager."

"I thought you said that you hated gambling."

Miki's skin crawled when she noticed the fact that Sesshomaru could look so much like a predator when he smiled. "I only gamble if I win even when I lose."

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Authors notes:

For one reason or another spell check on my Microsoft word has decided not to work anymore. I spent most of yesterday trying to fix it, gave up, and decided to just wing it. So I apologize if something is spelled incorrectly.

Also I might add that fanfiction. net has been dealing with my story very strangely so I'm not quite sure what's going on.

I was having a little bit of writers block with the battle so I decided to explain Sesshomaru's relationship with his father. The next chapter should be similar.

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Please send me reviews! I got nothing from the last chapter. Please I need to know what you think about these chapters.

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Answer:

Bruce Lee is the founder of Jeet Kune Do. It is best known for its rejection of the aesthetic considerations of traditional styles. Lee felt that traditional styles were too restrictive; by following set patterns, they were easily countered. His teachings emphasized flexibility and unpredictability. Spontaneity was the only rule.

Jeet Kune Do is designed solely for fighting. It combines streamlined elements from Wing Chun, other varieties of Kung Fu, and several non-Chinese styles such as Escrima and Boxing. Over the years, teachers have adopted other techniques from other styles, keeping alive the goal of flexibility.