Revelations
Nine pairs of eyes fixed on the nervous Hanyou in the centre of the chamber, as she quivered slightly from the curious looks. Kagome took a deep breath and raised her head, meeting the DaiYoukais' gazes with a facade of confidence, keeping a tight rein on her Youki's urgings to flee from the almost palpable mass of auras weighting the air. Her alpha's hand on her shoulder steadied her as she reached out, unconsciously seeking the familiar sensation of her protector at her back and Tougaou-sama on her other side. She forced herself to remain still as the two alphas explained her situation to the council, stifling a whimper as twelve auras flared with rage... and relaxing as she met the gaze of the ancient Youkai in the central seat, who smiled at her gently, almost lazily beating his suede-soft wings once to send his scent towards her as his aura met hers, a polite, calming greeting. She blinked once in amazement, then allowed a tiny smile to cross her face and a hint of gratitude to flare through her Youki. Her ears rose slightly, ready to twitch back to her head at the slightest threat, and she glanced round in confusion as she was suddenly enveloped by every Youki in the room. She whined slightly, backing up before realising that every aura held that strangely warm solidity that she had learned meant protectiveness. She turned to her Alpha in complete confusion, a question in her eyes as he started to chuckle softly. A quick, nervous glance around the room told her that with two exceptions, every face held a hint of amusement at some shared joke. A nervous, confused embarrassment rose, flattening her ears as the pressure from the foreign Youki lightened and she was suddenly pulled back into a familiar chest.
"Keh, no need for panic 'Gome. Otou-san and Mafuyu-sama were right 'bout the effect you would have on the council is all." The soft whisper broke through the haze of instinctive fear in her mind and calmed her enough to ask him almost inaudibly,
"Right about what Inu? I didn't do anything wrong did I?" His amused rumble warmed her as he shook his head minutely.
"Nah. It's just the effect you have on us 'Gome... so damn innocent. It gets our Youki all protective, even the ones who usually would havta fight to be civil to Hanyou like us. Trust me, we ain't gonna havta convince the council at all. They're all gonna be just as good to you as pops is now... none of 'em could harm you if they wanted to." Kagome turned incredulous eyes up to his laughing golden gaze, but before she could respond, the elderly Youki spoke, his voice deep, gravelly yet oddly soft, containing the conviction of a truly powerful being, secure in his own position.
"I believe we may take the council's decision as read, I must admit that I have only once seen such a unanimous reaction. Still, for formalities' sake... This Hekireki proposes that the Inu-Hanyou Kagome be accepted into Youkai society, with all the rights and protections entailed in such citizenship, and that every effort be made to bring to account this "Gekidoku" for his actions. Does any councillor object to this, or propose amendment to the wording as shall appear on the council declarations?" A profound silence met his statement, and he nodded, his Youki rising, flaring the strange design of his signet ring which he pressed to a blank scroll, the council's decision coalescing into being.
By unanimous vote of the grand council of Youki, the Inu-Hanyou and Miko, Higurashi Kagome of the Star-clan is accepted as a citizen of Youki society. The Exiled Inu-DaiYoukai Gekidoku is to be brought to account for his actions to the aforementioned, the penalty being death. Any action that contradicts this scroll is in defiance of the laws of this council, and subject to the appropriate reprisals. By order of Hekireki, head councillor.
"Now. I believe that concludes our business for the morning my lords, council adjourned." So saying, he rose gracefully, a single beat of his wings taking him over the long table towards the four Inu. He landed silently before them, walking the last few steps before greeting them warmly, without a hint of the judicial tone he had used. "Tougaou, Mafuyu. It is good to see you both again, although I would that it were under more agreeable circumstances." He shook hands firmly with both of the Alphas, then ruffled InuYasha's hair, much to his embarrassment. "And it is a pleasure to see you too pup, you're becoming a credit to your clan by all accounts." Kagome giggled softly at the faintly pleased expression that crossed Inu's face, cutting through the embarrassed flush of being treated like a puppy, the respect he had for this Youkai immediately obvious as he accepted the treatment with good grace, muttering something almost inaudible, but which sounded vaguely like "Keh. I try." Her giggles turned to a nervous squeak as the old Youkai turned his gaze towards her. "Well, child, it is a joy to meet with you. My name is Hekireki, I am the last of the Dragon-Youkai. I must compliment you my dear, it is very rarely we see such beauty in this old chamber – we were all quite charmed." Mafuyu chuckled, responding as Kagome stammered and flushed deeply,
"Careful, my friend. Our Kagome-chan is still quite convinced of her own inferiority, so she does not know quite how to receive flattery of the kind you specialise in bestowing." The old dragon blinked his understanding and smiled at the still-flustered girl gently.
"The only cure to that, old friend, is to accustom her to them, and it would be a crime were I not to take every opportunity to do so. However... I fear I must leave you for the moment, those Neko-Daiyoukai have appealed the last council decision over that Balinese mess, and I must attend, if only to prevent it degenerating into bloodshed. If you would excuse me..." He nodded to the group regally and almost lazily disappeared in a swirl of molten-gold Youki, leaving Kagome dazedly staring at thin air, before slumping back into her protector's chest in exhausted relief.
Several days later, InuYasha sat distractedly under his favourite tree in the garden of his Otou-san's house. Izayoi and Sango had finally convinced Kagome to go with them into the city, albeit under protest, however he had begged off, pleading some much needed time to think. He had never let his Youki control him as much as it had in the past few months, and it was well past time they had it out. Slipping easily into a half-dozing state, he allowed himself to fall into the dreamscape that served as a metaphor for his soul.
A lazy smile crossed his face as he dropped down from his perch in the Goshinboku, looking appreciatively around at the pristine wilderness of his forest. A dark haired, violet eyed human wandered into the clearing from the direction of the village, settling at the base of the tree, whilst a large white dog padded softly out of the forest. The hanyou smiled – it had been far too long since he had cleared his mind this way. The world suddenly blurred as he dropped out of his branch, settling with his back to the bark.
"Hey." the simple greeting was met with a non-commital shrug and a low bark. "Look, I know I've not exactly bin lookin' after you properly the last few weeks..." he was cut off by a barking laugh and an annoyed noise from the human.
"You ain't kiddin' hanyou... that damn dog has been runnin' rings around me for months. You gotta put a leash on the thing." InuYasha snorted at his human self.
"Oi, you don't want that and you know it."
"Keh." He grinned.
"But yeah, I'll be taming him in a bit... before I do that though... I gotta know somethin'." Two pairs of eyes met him quizzically. It wasn't often that the Hanyou asked himself any profound question, but something obviously was bothering him. "Why the hell can't I figure out what you guys want all a sudden?" At that, the human burst out laughing, leaning on the dog, which looked at InuYasha with utter incredulity.
"Y...you don't know what we want cos you haven't figured out what we're telling you yet. You've bin trusting the damn dog too much... and he's the one who can't talk 'cept here.". InuYasha growled, irritated beyond belief that the knowledge of what he needed to ask had suddenly been dropped into his head.
Ask about Rosemary girl. The prompt came with a tinge of amusement, but he could tell his Youki was being deadly serious."Whaddya want me to ask? I..." his eyes widened. He looked at the dog suspiciously. "Nevermind that, I figured it out. You'd better not be toyin' with me on this, dog. No game. Want her. Rosemary girl is ours. Mate. Inuyasha smiled suddenly, brilliantly. "I thought you were droppin' hints about that... but we gotta all agree." The dog suddenly growled at the human.
"Oi, mutt... don't do that. You know damn well I ent gonna fight ya on this. Inu... she's kind, beautiful, intelligent... She'd make a great wife. The rest... well you gotta figure it out yourself." With that, the two stood, leaving InuYasha staring poleaxed at the middle distance. Slowly a smile spread across his face as he let go of his dreamscape.
"My Youki wants her as Mate, My Human wants her as wife, and I...I...Love her."
Kagome sat stiffly in Izayoi's study, anxiously tugging at the hem of her skirt. Well... she guessed that the rags she'd worn before revealed more, but she'd got used to Inu's baggy old jeans and shirts... these new clothes smelt strange and left no way to hide how ugly her body was... If... no, when Inu saw her in these... she shuddered softly. If he rejected her now, she didn't know how she would react. She had never let anyone get this close to her...noone had wanted to... but it was frightening just how dependant on his good opinion she was becoming. True he hadn't shown any sign that he was repelled by her... but it was so hard to imagine him as anything she could even aspire to be good enough for. She shuddered, the horror of what Izayoi-sama had said still making her flesh crawl... she had to let go of these feelings of inferiority... her opinion of herself, she knew, would never be high, but the guilt and horror that filled her whenever she called herself a monster – called Inu a monster – was intolerable. Rich laughter echoed down the corridor towards her, her muscles instinctively tensing to flee, before she caught Izayoi-hime's eye and settled reluctantly to wait. It felt like hours, but must only have been a few seconds before the door opened, and a shocked silence fell. Kagome shut her eyes tightly, aware of a large aura flaring, wrapping almost aggressively around hers... before she was swept up into a strong grip and placed in her protector's lap as he growled at the purple-robed monk.
"Ok, InuYasha, no need to lose control, she's yours... I will submit in a Youkai manner if it will appease you." So saying, Miroku gracefully knelt, then winked at Izayoi and rather theatrically sprawled on his back, making Kagome giggle in surprise. Almost instantly she felt Inu's Youki calm, the claws pricking her belly retracting as he began to growl soothingly, his nose nudging her hair aside to send shivers of pleasure from her mark through her entire body. It was several minutes before his Youki had relinquished control enough that he stopped, by which time any worries Kagome had had about him being revolted by her were well and truly squashed... as were any thoughts, as she hung limply in his lap, almost bonelessly draped over him.
"It's ok 'Roku, you can get up now. Thanks though, I really wouldn'ta bin able to keep control if you hadn't done that" Kagome blinked fuzzily, looking up at him in confusion as Izayoi stifled a laugh.
"Why Inu? What did he do to make you so angry? There was something strange in your aura too... it almost scared me the way you latched onto me like that." She looked on, amazed, as InuYasha's cheeks turned faintly pink and he began to splutter, her confusion only increasing as she managed to make out
"Youki...rival...challenge...mine..." At that, Miroku grinned broadly, and chipped in
"I think what my friend means to say, Kagome-san, is that his Youki considers you as his, and was not pleased when I noticed how wonderful you are looking today. I believe he percieved it as a challenge by a lower male, and instinctively reacted as if I were a rival for your affections." Kagome looked up at Izayoi in stunned amazement, confirmation of the unbelieveable idea coming in a single amused nod. Instantly, she turned a peculiar beetroot colour and sank into InuYasha's lap, covering her face in embarrassment and pleasure.
"Oh..."
---o0o---
A/N: Ooh fluffy... don't worry, the angst will come soon enough. Again, I'm not terribly happy with this chapter, however... There was meant to be one extra paragraph, but given how much longer it turned out, and the fact that I am aiming for roughly equal chapter lengths... it will be in the next one.
A note on timings: I realise that this has been pretty unclear, however between each chapter there may be anywhere between a few days and a few weeks – only where timings are specified are they rigid, for example the month between the sending of the challenge letters and Kagome meeting the council. I will admit to not being particularly good at timelines – I have enough trouble with planning even the bones of a story. I had got to chapter six before writing my story arc down :S
A/N (#2): Writer's block is a terrible thing. Nuff said.
