Life just went very crazy for me. For one, I'm taking the GRE next Friday – YIKES – so this upcoming week I will not be doing any creative writing. I've also been teaching English and martial arts, but I just found out today that the martial arts school I've attended for 12 years is closing at the end of the year. I've been doing my best to keep the sobbing to a minimum (I've instead been shouting angry social commentary at every inane advertisement I've seen on television… you know, maybe I should try to keep that to a minimum as well).
So here we go! The long awaited for Chapter 12 that will embark us towards a new direction of the story. I aim to update again over Thanksgiving – hope you enjoy what's to come.
Chapter 12
Kagome put her attention straight ahead at the House of Fire. All there was in the world was that black door. The sky was not overcast and the color of blood. The wind was not blowing apocalyptically. Nope. Just that door. Sango got to it first and opened it, stepping inside and then holding it open for her friend. Kagome nodded in thanks and stepped inside, holding Shippo a little closer in her arms.
It turned out that Polis, and much of the rest of the eastern coast of Asigo, had a monsoon season during the summer, though that wasn't quite the right explanation for it. Having seen the weather maps Sango was sure that what was really happening was that large hurricanes were forming every few days and slamming into various parts of the continent. Kagome had then reminded her American friend that the Japanese experienced Typhoons too, and thereafter realized why all the large cities of the Mericas were along inland rivers and lakes instead of on the coast.
They passed through the sandstone entry corridor adorned with red and white drapes and checked in at the front desk. After a wait of ten minutes, and far too many leers targeted at the already frightened kitsune, the three were led upstairs to the Prime Mother's alcove. Kaede herself opened the door. "Welcome children, enter kindly."
The room was just large enough to escape being cozy. The colors of the other houses; golds and oranges from the house of earth, sapphire and green from water, white and indigo from air, and the red and burgundy of fire; were all around in vases, pictures, books and sitting stools. A small table stood in the corner of the room near the large, tall windows, and that was where Kaede directed them.
"And thous' name is Shippo, verily?" The old woman asked. Shippo fidgeted until Kagome blew on his hair.
"Oh! Uh, y-y-yes ma'am!"
Kaede's smile drew out the kind lines in her face. "No need to be so formal, child. Besides, does an Emprist need to show deference to the Prime Mother?" They reached the table and Sango helped pull out a chair for the miko-clad woman.
"W-well… I guess not, b-but you nice and important, and I'm scared, so… I think I should at least be respectful."
Kaede nodded slowly in her chair. "A straightforward but diplomatic answer. If only politicians could be more like you."
Shippo laughed nervously. He looked up at Kagome as if asking if it was okay to smile. She chuckled silently and smiled in return, and he smiled back, settling into her arms a little deeper.
"Now, young Shippo," Kaede began. "How did you come to live in Polis?"
"Hunh? Me? Oh, um… my dad came here for work."
"So he brought ye here?" She replied.
"No… I'm from Dezeray. My dad's from Hakin, and I guess my mom was from Dezeray too."
Kaede nodded slowly in understanding, but perked her eyes up when she saw the lost gazes of the two women before her. "Ah. Dezeray is a small country on the southwest border of Iguto, in the Wuhan Mountains. Several hundred years ago the Vixen Queendom, ruled by fox demons, ruled most of the continent, including what we now know as Iguto and the wolf lands of Sokoku. Even most of Ko was under their rule. But the last Queen cut herself off from the Emprist religion in favor of the Musas, sparking a civil war that destroyed the country, killed off most of the fox clan, and allowed the wolf and dog clans to rise to power."
Kagome thought back for a moment and remembered that the Throne of the Wolf and Dog ('or is it kingdom of… and is dog first or is it wolf? The hell with it, I'll figure that out later') only started a few years ago. She nodded and checked to see Sango was following as well.
"Yeah, but we didn't die out like the lion clan or the apes!" Shippo butted in. "We're still here! Its just those filthy humans in- - - oh! I mean those people from Dezeray forced us to either convert to their religion or die. My dad said mom was one of the tricksters - - you know, the people who claimed to have converted to the Individualist religion but never really gave up her allegiance to the Silver Emperor…" He trailed off, looking up at Kagome. Their group had decided not to let anyone else know about their theory about who was the Silver Emperor of lore, not until they could mount more evidence. Kagome winked at him, reassuring him that he hadn't crossed the line of secrecy.
"But isn't there a lion demon in Inuyasha's—" Sango began.
"Prince Inuyasha," Shippo and Kaede said in unison. The two women looked at the older and younger duo.
"Well, he's a prince isn't he? Ordained by the spirit of the… uh, Silver Emperor?" Shippo stumbled at the end.
"Force of habit," Kaede shrugged.
Sango rolled her eyes. "I know that there is a lion in INUYASHA's security detail, so they haven't died out, but have, uh, clans of demons been dying out a lot? Aren't they super strong and live for ridiculously long periods of time?"
Kaede looked to the kit. "Would ye like to answer?"
Shippo nodded. "Okay, it goes like this. The sea swallowed the first, the apes broke their chests, and the bees ate up all the honey. The Lions were cursed, and the rabbits weren't best, and the Swans lost all their money. The foxes were more sunny, but they didn't find it funny when their queen's head went all runny. So the canines came in, and with much chagrin, the versed and the rest eat tunny."
Kagome and Sango slowly looked at each other. Neither had any idea of what just happened.
"I fear thou's companions know not the Fox's Lyre," Kaede said slowly to Shippo. "I shall explain:
"Most of demon history isn't known to humans, but some things, like the Foxe's Lyre, illuminate a bit for us. About 500 years after the end of the Dark Times a demonic state arose in Nafkia, the continent to the south where you find Napan. But it collapsed not long after, leaving many temples and palaces across the whole continent. About a thousand years ago bee demons lived in most of those palaces and temples and bared humans from entering, in fact usually collecting humans as fodder for their honey."
Even Shippo gulped.
"But during that time two kingdoms had risen and collapsed on the continent of Niraq, far to the east… or west if you go far enough. That was the home of the Lion Kingdom, and before them was the feared Elephant Empire. It was only after the Elephants collapsed that humans could even sail near the place. About the time that the lions died out the bees on Nafika died out too.
"Asigo has seen the same thing. The first domain on Asigo was under the Swan clan, but they fell apart after a few decades and then the cat clan arose, just to fall apart within a century. The Rabbits followed after that - - they were the first to willingly let humans come to Asigo - - aside from those that had been here since ancient times of course. But the rabbits collapsed too, and then the Foxes, and many people are wondering nowadays if we are about to witness the collapse of the Canine alliance between the wolves and dogs."
Kagome sat there speechless. In all of her investigations at the Great Library she hadn't read anything about this… but wait, what about those census records she had looked over? Now that she was thinking about it, there were massive jumps in human population during each of those periods, but she hadn't had any explanation for it before so she had just let the matter stay in the corner of historical mysteries.
Thunder ripped through the room making its inhabitants jump. Most started chuckling nervously after, but Kagome glanced outside, catching sight of a lightning strike turn a hill red and black. It didn't help that rain was starting to fall, and with the light of Meka shining through the scarlet clouds it seemed like the sky was bleeding.
With the history lesson done, Kaede continued her interview with Shippo. Kagome wasn't really sure what were good answers and what were not, but after a half hour Kaede closed her pen into the book she'd been scribbling in, removed her reading glasses, and smiled. "Well little one, ye seem like an admirable youth who we would be happy to have stay on the compound. I will have to settle some of the details with the High Mothers, but do not fret about it. Kagome, ye are entrusted to this boy's care for the next two days until we can be situated, and it is asked that none of ye speak of this matter to the press. If they discover we are housing a demon… I mean not to worry ye, Shippo, but the human's fear of demons often manifests in bigotry and hatred, especially against those with demon blood who are too young to defend themselves. For the time being, this arrangement will have to be secret."
Kagome nodded firmly. It hadn't crossed her mind that the upper echelons of the Mother's religion were going to need to be convinced to welcome a young demon boy into their midst: There was an orphanage and a homeless shelter attached to the compound on either side after all. But what Kaede mentioned about how fear manifested in some people plucked one of Kagome's heartstrings. She didn't know why, but something inside her told her to remember that idea for later.
Kaede stood and showed the three out to the main entrance way. After ten minutes of waiting for the rain to at least weaken to no avail, Kaede shuffled over to Kagome. "A word," she whispered.
Kagome nodded and asked Sango to entertain Shippo for a little bit. As she walked away following the old woman, Kagome heard Sango start a game called "Where are you from?" where she and Shippo exchanged stories about weird things from their homelands.
"Is there going to be a problem getting him a room here?" Kagome asked after the woman. Kaede flapped her hand to stop, turning around once they were standing in a corner where the crashing rain out yelled any normal speech volume.
"That is not a problem Kagome, it is fine - - I will house the boy in my chambers if I must. This is about something different," She rasped. Kagome waited for a few moments expectantly. "I received information from the detective working on the Lucknow case, and they found him the morning."
Kagome almost gulped, but pushed the urge down and steeled herself instead. "Okay. Does he need me to act as a witness or something to press charges?"
"No Kagome, the boy is dead," Kaede replied.
Kagome's jaw dropped, then hardened when Kagura's words rang through her ears. 'He won't be troubling you again…'
"…pulled out of a pond in a suburb of Aplorchard a few hours ago. Kagome… it was horrific. Someone slashed open his chest and emptied his body from the inside out. Ye mentioned that you found Shippo a few days ago after being attacked yourself by the Ambassador of the Yokai Republic. What did she want to meet about?"
How… how could she respond? Kagome pressed her hand over her forehead and then her eyes, trying to keep her imagination from picturing what was just described. She looked over her shoulder to Shippo and Sango: they started giggling over the word 'gator'.
"She…she told me that Erris Lucknow wouldn't be bothering me anymore," Kagome replied.
"Yes, I gathered that, but what else did she say?" Kaede asked.
Kagome blinked, then stared. "…You mean you knew Kagura went after that guy!? Why didn't you say anything to the investigators!?"
Kaede held her hands up. "I knew nothing, but I suspected. Now what information was shared?"
Kagome covered her mouth and bent over slightly. Kaede had suspected that the man who tried to rape her had been brutally murdered!? And by the representative of a foreign country!? What the hell?! What the HELL!? She sidestepped so she could lean against the wall, steadying her swirling mind that now had to try to keep memories from that car from taking over.
"I was… she… she sent Shippo after me, trying to get me so she could talk to me alone," She said, and looked up to see Kaede's eye harden on the kit. "No! Wait, wait, he had no idea what was happening - - he was the messenger of the messenger of the messenger. Her boss told her to do this, and she told her men to get me, and they found a local kid to find me. He was promised money, and considering his father hasn't been heard of in five months I'm not surprised he took it. Honestly he's pretty lucky to have survived."
Kaede's gaze softened but it stayed locked on the fox. "And what did she want to talk to you about?"
"She… she told me to stop looking into the origins of demons… or else… well, she already had started messing with my brother's brain, I still don't know what's wrong with him…"
"Mm… the Prince informed me of that last part," Kaede murmured.
"…Did he tell you all of the rest of what I've said as well?" Kagome bit back. This drew Kaede's attention.
"He mentioned much of what you have said," She admitted.
Kagome's shoulder's slunk. "So you're comparing our stories to see if they corroborate?"
"Yes. My behavior does not look trusting or considerate, of that I am aware," Kaede said. "But there are things in motion right now that are not trusting or considerate either, so I must match the fire they produce with the same variety if I am to stay ahead of whatever they plan."
Another strike of lightning and thunder, and suddenly Kagome was back on the streets. She was running with bleeding feet, wondering if the car was coming back for her. Another moment and she was in the car, getting hit by the mountain of muscle that was now dead. Her mind imagined the bloody carcass of a body being pulled from a foggy, algae laden pond, missing an eye from a fight he didn't die from. If he had had both eyes would he have been able to see Kagura coming? Or was it Kagura's henchmen? Her mind raced to a sobbing mother and father over a picture of their flawed son, and when Kaede's voice reached through to her Kagome found herself crying as well.
"There we go…," The voice of a familiar daughter of water rang above her. Kagome's eyes opened and there was her wet therapist sitting above her, with Kaede, Sango, and several other daughters nearby. How much time had just passed? "List off where you are, Kagome," Her therapist said.
"I… I am…"—the flashes of the corpse, her father smacking her, turned into Erris's strike, the two flipping between each other like flicking television channels, a crying fox in a storm- -"I… I- I…"
For a second all of the faces above her turned gray and empty like those of her dream. Their hands reached down to her – death! She screamed, but a second later her eyes opened. She saw one of her arms slam into the floor, but it didn't sting. Such loud voices, noises. Her heart was pounding in her eyes, her throat grasping at her tongue—
"Three plus three, Kagome," She heard. A few moments she saw it in her head: a three, a plus sign, and a three. Her brain popped out a six, which she said.
"Good. What is six multiplied by three?" She heard quickly. Her mind tried to jump back to the minotaur trying to kill her friends, but the numbers popped through again.
"Three times six is eighteen," She choked out.
"Good. What is eighteen times five?" She heard again. This time she could pick out the voice: it was Sango.
Eighteen times five? That was a new one. Kagome broke it down to ten times five plus eight times five, which was fifty plus forty, so, "Ninety."
"Great, and what is ninety divided by four?" Her friend asked, again before another memory could take over. Kagome started to feel the sting in her hand where it had slapped the ground. " Uh… eighty divided by four is twenty, so that plus eight… ninety divided by four is twenty-two with a remainder of two."
"Awesome, and the circumference of a circle if it has a radius of ten?"
Circle circumference was just pi times the diameter, and a diameter was just two radii. "Twenty pi, or - - no, wait… 3.14 times twenty is sixty plus 14% of twenty, and 10% of twenty is 2, so the circumference is about sixty-two and... I dunno, one half?"
"I like this method," she heard her daughter of water therapist say. A few people above her chuckled.
"What happened?" Shippo asked, jumping into her face. Kaede snatched the boy up and out of Kagome's reach, though she noted the unwelcome stares most of the other daughters sent towards the kit.
Kagome was brought to a bathroom by Sango, and the later helped the other lean against the wall and drink water out of a small Clarence vessel.
"I thought the PTSD was under control…," Sango said carefully, neutrally. Kagome kept her eyes closed, going through multiplication and division tables.
"I did too…" She admitted. She took another drink as thunder rumbled outside. Her mind raced back to the roar of the Lucknow car- - 'No, what is twelve times sixty five? …Whoa, how do I even begin on that? Okay, ten times sixty plus ten times five, then two times sixty plus two times five.'
"I'm guessing you don't want me to mention this to your mom?" Sango asked.
"780," Kagome replied.
Sango stood at the faucet for a second. "What did I ask?"
"What? Oh, yeah, my mother shouldn't know…," Kagome sighed.
Sango came back to her friend's side and exhaled deeply as well. "Everything's so crazy right now… this entire planet is weird in its own right, but we got caught up in a sex ritual that left you wit ha concussion and almost getting raped or worse, then we're all almost killed when the ambassador, who, oh yeah, lost her shit a few months ago, comes back here just to threaten you to stop looking into the origins of demons. That's the part I really don't get…"
"Don't forget about Sota…" Kagome said, wrapping her arms around her sides.
"I didn't forget, its just… well, its one of the many things that's happened. I'm sorry to say this Kagome, but when you're in a war you can't stop and worry about… that kind of damage. You need to stay focused on what you are doing and what you need to achieve. What happened to your brother is terrible, don't misunderstand me, but… I think we've stumbled on something big."
"No kidding…," Kagome replied. "And Kaede know more about it than we do. I was just talking to her… Erris Lucknow is dead, and she suspected Kagura killed him long before she told me he wasn't going to be a problem."
"What?" Sango hissed. She put a hand to her forehead. "That's what triggered the panic attack wasn't it?"
Kagome shrugged. "I don't really keep track of what sets the memories off and what doesn't."
Sango brought the hand on her head down to her mouth. Her other arm crossed over her chest and she started pacing. Another boom of thunder rattled the building.
"That's what triggered…" Sango muttered to herself. A few paces later she said, "Kagura would never have known what you guys were looking into if Erris hadn't made a move on you, but why kill him? That makes no sense. And it makes no sense that she should try to kill all of us while in the process of giving you that warning…"
Kagome nodded once. Her eyes flicked up to the small, square window that was open. Rain was sloshing in every now and then, and there were black streaks where years of rain had slipped into the bathroom in a similar fashion. The passage of time…
"Wait… when we first got there, when we first came to Kagura, didn't she say something about us being late?" Kagome asked.
"Honestly I don't remember," Sango replied.
"I think she did, I really do, and - - whoa, okay, I'm going to stay leaning against the wall, not gonna try walking again - - she hinted to me that it was just her official duty to tell me to stop looking into the origins of demons, not her personal wish.
"Sango, what if we're looking at this entire situation wrong?"
"What do you mean?" Sango replied, facing her friend, now both arms crossed over her chest.
"I mean we've been getting riled up by the smaller things happening around us in our individual lives that we're not looking at the big picture," Kagome replied.
"I'm still not following."
"Okay… okay… okay let me think…," Kagome said, closing her eyes. She tried to stand up and pace too but she wobbled before falling back on the wall. "Ugh. I need Inuyasha here, and Miroku, and Kaede, and maybe even Shippo and Mama. I feel like we've all got pieces of the puzzle that will make sense if we just put them together and look at them as a union instead of as puzzle pieces…"
Kagome opened her eyes. Sango was looking at her worriedly.
"I swear I didn't hit my head again."
"You sure? 'Cause one more concussion in this short amount of time would-"
"Yeah yeah, leave me with the mental capacity of a starfish," Kagome said.
Hazel had set Sota up with a puzzle in one of the empty rooms in Sango's apartment. Kagome stared at the small wooden clock on the wall, wondering just how late a Prince and Prime mother could be.
A little before eleven there was a sharp knock on Sango's front door. Miwa Higurashi jumped and threw a hand onto Hazel's arm, who was sitting next to her now. Sango dodged around Miroku, who was exiting the bathroom, to answer her door. She looked through the peephole and then removed the dead bolts.
"Was it really necessary to bring everyone way out here?" Hazel asked when the door had shut again.
"A demonic ambassador recently attacked us and kidnapped Kagome's younger brother," Miroku said softly. "If we all met in a public place like the Igutoni embassy or the Mother's Compound, or at a soft target like the Higurashi residence, the Y.R. ambassador would be sure to know. This is a convenient, unknown location."
Hazel rolled his eyes but seemed soothed. Kagome looked over the American man, taking in the whole: creased bags under his eyes and gray hair peppered in with his natural dark blonde were characteristics she didn't recall from their first encounter on the space ship all that time ago.
Kaede huffed down into one of the cheap lounge-chairs of Sango's apartment, and Inuyasha found a standing place in one of the corners. All eyes then turned towards the Floridian.
"Before anyone start bombarding me with questions, I'm not the one who concocted this get together," She said, repeating herself in Japanese a moment later for Ms. Higurashi. "This was Kagome's idea."
"Hey, stop using demon tongue!" Shippo cried from his spot on top of the kitchen counter. "It's reserved for the… the, uh…"
A room full of the annoyed glares of adults were enough to shut up any child, demon or not.
"Okay, fine then, what is this all about Kagome?" Inuyasha directed at her. Kagome looked at him and then around the room: crossed arms seemed to be a fad.
"Actually, I'm going to direct that question back to you and the Prime Mother," Kagome responded, a little sharper then she was expecting. Raised eyebrows suddenly became a fad as well, though Miwa was a little slower to pick it up since she had to wait for a translation. "Over the last few months we all have been putting in an effort to learn about the origins of demons. For me that started because, for one, I wanted to understand what this weird new life form could be, but also because I thought it might hold some explanation about why the demon countries were so eager to get my family to come to their country.
"Over this time we've found out a lot. Hazel found out about the Musas, who were called Muslims on Earth, and how they named your home star Meka after the Mecca of their ancient traditions. Moreover, we found out that the Clarence ritual is named after a person named Clarence from hundreds of years ago, who was also called the second prophet or the new prophet or something like that. However, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, myself and my mother also realized that that isn't accurate. Mom, can you show them…?"
After Sango finished translating Miwa nodded. She pulled out a plastic binder packed to the brim with papers. As she flipped trough it Kagome saw Sango's eyes widen, but then return to normal size. She couldn't figure out why.
"Here," Miwa said. She opened up the binder and showed it to the people in the room. 'Project Clear Water,' was written in bold letters on top of the page. "There was no new prophet. I made Clarence. Professor of me… I think he stole my project. That was common thing in University back home. The Professor, Tachiagaku Ishihara, was first mans that went to Ibeji."
"She means he was one of the first people who accompanied my father, Takoku Higurashi, to Beji about 2,500 years ago. He was the first colonial governor of New Noto, and considering that is the oldest country on the planet and the famed home of the Silver Emperor, we've deduced that my father was the Silver Emperor and somehow had a hand in creating the Demons and the Kwis," Kagome said.
Hazel and Kaede were the only ones who hadn't been in on the loop. The first looked somewhat incredulous, but then Miwa pushed a paper Kagome and she had put together an hour before. He looked it over and his incredulity turned into a deeply furrowed brow.
Kaede looked somewhat bemused. "Kagome, my child, I do not mean to be coarse against you, but this is a very farfetched claim."
"No it isn't gas-bag," Inuyasha shot in. "The values inscribed in the Tome match the crap her father said and the way he acted. You've talked to that daughter of water - - you know what her childhood was like."
'Hunh. So much for doctor-patient confidentiality,' Kagome thought.
"Are you thinking of her past or of yours Prince Inuyasha?" Kaede replied. She turned back to Kagome. "I am sorry my child, but I cannot believe this."
Kagome sighed and wrung her hands together. "We didn't want to tell you this theory until we could amount more evidence to support it, but I don't know that we will ever find it. But let me go on, okay?"
Kaede smiled like one would to a poor, mistaken child who simply didn't know any better. Kagome thought she heard Inuyasha scoff, but she got back to her point.
"Okay, well, that aside, we've also found out that the Kwis and the Demons have a related origin and it had something to do with an illness the first people on Beji had to face on a regular basis. And after the ambassador of the Yokai Republic… after she attacked us and Sota… ahem, after that, it became obvious that something big is going on in the demon world, and that somehow knowing the origin of demons is very threatening to the leaders of the Y.R. So threatening that they are willing to go through sloppy murder to prevent it. And whatever they are up to is so big that there are demons who are willing to risk their lives to hint at dissent, like Kagura did to me. When there was no one around to hear she told me that her official, impersonal orders were to prevent me from looking any closer into the origins of demons, but her personal opinion was deliberately stated as not being in the same camp."
"So, the question of 'What this is all about' really comes back to you, Inuyasha, and to you Kaede. Inuyasha, as the attaché from Iguto, a member of the royal family, and a half demon you know things about the Tome of the Emprist religion, and about the political dynamics of the demon world in general. Considering there is a history of large demon states collapsing for weak or unknown reasons, I think you have a vested interest in making sure the millions of people in Iguto don't die."
"They're demons and half-breeds, not people," He chided her.
"Humans, demons, half-demons - - I don't care, they're all people on equal footing with me," Kagome rebutted. Then she turned to Kaede. "And you, Kaede, found out about the death of Erris Lucknow this morning while police investigators only officially released that information on TV a few hours ago. You also claimed to have suspected the representative of the Yokai Republic was involved even before the same woman came after Miroku and the rest of us. Given that, your place as the head of an organized religion, a former confidant of the Queen of Iguto, and the fact that you were chosen by the Athena-president person thing of Ko to convince us aliens to come and live in Ko, I suspect that you have a much deeper and broader understanding of what is going on in the world than any of the rest of us could know.
"So, you two, spill it," Kagome ordered. "Inuyasha, what reasons were you given to collect us from Prialata, and why haven't you gone back to your homeland? After you answer that I want you to explain whatever you can from the Emprist religion that can explain any of these phenomena, and if there is a creation tale I want to hear it. If you feel this is a breach of whatever privacy there is supposed to be between humans and demons… well, too bad. There are more important things to pay attention to right now than antiquated rules of secrecy."
Kagome saw Sango make a fist and mouth, "Yeah!"
"Once you do that," Kagome continued. "Kaede, I want you to tell us what the demon countries are up to and how you know about these things. I want to know what the bigger picture is here, and in order to figure that out I… no, not me, we all need to know what is going on."
Kaede seemed about to huff a protest but Inuyasha cut her off. "Kagome, you don't want to hear what we have to say. And its none of your business, so—"
"I'm living on this planet now so you'd better bet your ASS its my business! Its all of our business! Not to mention the fact that whatever is going on almost got me killed, my mother killed, all of us killed, and…," She pointed to Sota. He was holding onto a red square block and trying to put it through the circle hole of the puzzle Hazel brought for him. He had been knocking the block against the hole for several minutes now and still hadn't figured out that a square can't go into a circular hole. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head.
"No more bull-shit or patronizing or protecting out of either of you," Kagome ordered.
The room was silent for a few moments after Sango finished translating for Ms. Higurashi. Finally Miroku said, "Inuyasha, come on, whatever it is you've been told to hide just let it be. Your brother's a prick anyway."
"…He… He didn't tell me anything," Inuyasha muttered.
"What?" Miroku asked. "I didn't hear that—"
"I said he didn't tell me anything!" Inuyasha yelled back. "He ordered me to go to Prialata to convince you guys to come back to Iguto and I asked him why and he refused to answer, all right!? I've been as in the dark about all of this as you guys - - and the reason I can't go back to Iguto is because I didn't convince you to come back of your own free will. The King… Sesshomaru decreed that I'm to be killed if I return without you guys…" Inuyasha seethed. A few moments later he let out a long stream of air. "Kaede figured this out before me. Sesshomaru is trying to secure his place on the throne by eliminating me as a threat. I was just a kid when the war broke out, and… my dad killed himself to guarantee my mom's and my safety. We hid in the Kaybek Mountains between the borders of Iguto, Sokoku, the Yokai Republic and Upper Merica - - they call it North Merica now. But… ah… the hot mama over here believes that Sesshomaru is preparing to purge the country of all the half-demons and the demons who are supporters of the old throne system."
Miroku and Shippo did a double take. "What…?" The professor breathed.
"Purge?" Shippo asked. "You mean… kill them all-"
"Yeah, kill 'em all, that's what he plans to do to prevent a popular uprising. Though the whole thing's stupid considering I'm half-demon - - - there'd be no popular movement to have a half-breed on the throne of the Dog and Wolf - - Sesshy's got nothing to worry about. My father was a fucking idiot for knocking up my—"
"Inuyasha! Have some respect!" Kaede admonished.
"Heh, respect for what? For a father who didn't think about the repercussions of what would happen when he shunned his first wife? Respect for a mother just sat there and let me get treated like shit by the wolves, or the—"
"You know perfectly well that she couldn't stand up against demons!" Kaede tried to jump in.
"Whoa, WHOA, okay, lets stay focused!" Kagome yelled. It was an ironic call on her part considering for a moment she felt as if she was watching her father yelling again. "Thank you for being so open and honest, Inuyasha… And… the Emprist stuff?"
Inuyasha pressed his lips together.
"*Don't do it, don't break the sacred vow!*" Shippo called out. Hazel shushed him.
"I…," Inuyasha began to say, but then his ears twitched and a small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. He unfolded his arms and said. "*The Tome says that the Silver Emperor descended from heaven and touched the world, giving rise to life. He led humans into being, but he soon saw their flaws, and sought to create a perfect being. He saw that animals cared little about the gossip and pettiness of humans, so he mixed the spirits of the purest humans with the most noble of animals, and from that was the beginning of the demon family.* There are caves in Sokoku, called the Wolves' Dens, that have shrines detailing the entire story."
Shippo screamed and wailed. "NOOO! HOW COULD YOU TELL THEM! YOU'VE BROKEN THE SACRED VOW, NOW THE WRATH OF THE EMPEROR HIMSELF WILL COME DOWN…uh… will come down… wait, if the emperor was your dad Kagome, wouldn't the only thing that would come down on us would be a bunch of bones?"
"Mayb—" Kagome began, but at the exact moment a rancorous cud-dunk-lunk-lunk smashed against the roof, skittered down the side of the apartment and flew past the front window. Everyone save Kaede and Sota rushed to the window to see several long, white objects shrink and then shatter on the pavement down below.
Shippo slowly turned to look at the others around him, face white and mouth open in horror. "W-w-w-ere those b-bones!?"
Sango's quick investigation revealed them to be the support beams of an illegal Cable TV device.
"I guess that explains THAT outrageously expensive bill," Sango muttered, re-entering her apartment. Shippo was still clinging to Hazel with clenched teeth and bugged eyes. Hazel was swinging his arm to try to get the pipsqueak off him.
"…Besides, I said it in Demon Tongue, a language humans aren't supposed to know," Sango heard Inuyasha finish. "I didn't break the vow. I kept things in the realm of the silver emperor… though that might be a pretty useless thing to even consider anymore…"
"Anyhow, Kaede, what can you tell us about the movements of the demon countries?" Kagome asked.
Kaede sighed in a raspy way. "The Prince is correct, I believe his brother, and specifically his brother's mother, feels very insecure in the royal palace and is going to try to remove Inuyasha as a possibility for taking the throne. However, doing so would also provoke a response from Sokoku and the Yokai Republic…"
"Kaede, if there is more you can say then why are you holding back?" Kagome pressed.
Kaede put her fingers together. "Many of the things I know are inferred from the messages I receive from Daughters' outposts or from the devout in high positions of intelligence agencies who feel the need to inform me of the greater movements of the world. I do not feel very comfortable compromising my promises of silence."
"So be clever about it," Inuyasha said.
"I am originally a daughter of Fire, Inuyasha. Fire cannot pretend to be anything other than it is - - one must always be truthful and direct when revealing it or one mustn't reveal it at all."
"But we are already aware of the information you know," Sango replied. "We can see the smoke, so to speak. We're running up to the fire now. You can tell us how big the conflagration is or you can wait for us to barrel into it and accidently catch ourselves on fire."
Kaede made her raspy sigh again. "Fine then… Inuyasha… you say there is no one in Iguto that would support you, but the western provinces in the Wuhan Mountains, where you're father took up embattlements against your step-mother… they are in open revolt already. King Sesshomaru has tried to battle them using normal methods but it is proving to be an impossible feat. He and his mother are becoming desperate as they fear the rebels will soon make their way across the Hakin Desert and into the Royal Province. From what I've heard, they believe Sango and Kagome are sisters and want to use the Higurashi family as leverage against Ms. Taijiya in order for her to replicate and mass produce a weapon she used against a wolf demon you encountered upon first arriving on Beji."
This time all eyes turned to Sango. Her jaw had dropped but her eyes flew to the open door of her bedroom, specifically to the nightstand next to her bed and the weathered case of bullets sitting on top of it.
"Sokoku is collapsing as we speak," Kaede pressed on. "They have done a good job hiding the evidence, but there is a civil war going on between the Snow Wolves and the Forest wolves, though the latter is much more fragmented and likely to soon loose. The forest wolves are also the group that has classically held the throne during their allotted time in the United Kingdom, and their Clan Leader Koga is looking for a way to take out Sesshomaru in order make a territorial move into Iguto, obtain the resources he needs to wipe out the Snow Wolf clan, and then thoroughly do so. As to for how he plans on doing this I do not know – my contacts in the far north are few.
"My contacts in the Yokai Republic are even fewer," Kaede pressed on, refusing to give in to the gasps or gaping mouths of horror around her. "But I do have some extra information. The recently elected Prime Minister, Hitomi, is an extremist and a reformer, claiming that half demons are the harmonious and natural leading form of life and advocates complete equality between humans and demons. It sounds benign enough, but I don't trust him, especially with what I've been hearing about Y.R. incursions into Kwis territory. Two universities in the Y.R. capital, Sano Omi, have set up research camps up there, and I haven't been able to come up with a reason to explain the move.
"And if that wasn't enough, the countries Ala and Viv are militarizing in direct violation of peace accords brokered fifty years ago. But from what I've heard their troop mobilizations aren't being targeted towards each other, as in the past, but rather towards the other countries around them. With the Demons on track for a three way war in the future and the countries in the south, especially Napan, unwilling to even think about getting involved in another string of wars up here in the north, the future of the northern hemisphere of Beji does not look fair."
Kagome asked for honesty and the truth, and she got it. If only the truth weren't what it was. Inuyasha was pacing back and forth and looked like he was only barely preventing himself from punching a hole in the wall. Miroku had his hand over his eyes while Sango had slipped down to the floor, hugging her knees and hiding her chin. Hazel was the only one who seemed undaunted.
"So what are we going to do about it?" The American man said.
"Do about what?" Inuyasha replied.
Hazel stuck his hands out in the air like he was shaking a globe. "THIS. The planet seems about ready to tear itself apart and we're just going to sit here and do nothing?"
"There is nothing to do. It can't be helped," Miroku replied.
"It CAN if you guys wouldn't sit there sulking!" He shot back.
"What can a senior citizen, a bunch of kids in their twenties, a kid and a couple of middle aged people do about this?" Inuyasha shot back.
"Hey, am I one of the kids in their twenties or am I one of the middle aged guys, 'cause I'm not that old," Miroku asked.
"You're fucking middle aged," Inuyasha shot back.
"But I'm only one year older than you!"
"…like I said, you're fucking middle aged."
"That's what you'll argue about?" Sango said. Her mouth appeared from behind her knees and she used the wall to pick herself up. "You two will fight about whether you're young and sprung but you'll just sit there placidly when you hear your homeland is going to be soaked in blood? What do you think will happen to Ko, Miroku? If another demonic war comes about, do really think this country won't get caught in the cross-fire?"
"Look, you two military heads can go talk to your representative about getting a platoon or something," Inuyasha jumped in.
"WE'RE PILOTS YOU MORON!" Sango roared back.
"All of you stop! This is pointless!" Kaede pleaded. "War is one of the unfortunate aspects of life. It cannot be avoided or abated – it must be weathered and endured."
"What?! You too!?" Sango yelled.
Kagome stood there and listened. Hazel against Inuyasha, Sango against Miroku. Kaede sat and shook her head sadly as Kagome's mother held herself, completely lost in the loud English storming around her. Kagome looked at Shippo, and-
A fox. A fox crying in a storm.
- Kagome held her head. She knew that image. She'd seen it earlier today, at the compound… the fox was Paak. He hadn't contacted her in ages. What was going on in the divine level of Beji?
Her eyes focused on the storm in front of her. They disagreed with each other, but Kagome could see the validity and the meagerness of both sides. They were part of this world, and as such could always do something. After all, Margaret Mead once said that a small group of devoted people is the only thing that has ever reshaped a world. But at the same time, one had to be realistic in knowing one's abilities are limited. Like a pilot caught in a storm there are things you can do to get yourself and others to safety and survive the weather until it evens out on its own, but you can't force the storm to just not exist.
"A storm…" Kagome muttered. Positively and negatively charged particles amassed and aligned during a storm, and when their charges became to great they transferred energy to each other in the form of lightning. When cold, dry air hits warm, wet air they create low-pressure systems and storms to redistribute warmth and water.
"This storm needs lightning…," She whispered to herself. "This storm…"
And it hit her. The Americans were fighting the cultural attitudes of those with Japanese cultural origins. It was an individualist society against a communalist. And it was the same with the demons. The demons hated the kwis, and it seemed like the only people who had ever had long contact with the kwis were demons. They shared an origin, so of course—
"THAT'S IT!" Kagome screamed. No one heard her, aside from Sota. She looked over and saw that he had shoved the square block into the circular hole by putting it in corner first instead of by the side. Drool slipped out of his smile.
"LISTEN TO ME NOW ALL OF YOU!" Kagome yelled again. The humans shut up, but the half-demon was still going. Then Miwa threw a frying pan at his head and he shut the fuck up.
"Thanks mama."
"Ie, zen zen."
"Okay. One: We live in this world and we are part of it, so we CAN do something to change its course, and that includes the direction of this war. But we also have to understand that, on our own, our abilities are limited. We also don't have a lot of time. The best way to change things is to keep doing what we have been doing, which is threatening one of the major players. We scared the crap out of the Yokai Republic by researching into the origins of demons, to such an extent that they've done horrific things to us to stop us.
"But we have the answer to what we can do right in our research. We need to study the origins of the Kwis. Kaede, I'm going to need your help in smuggling me up north to one of those research camps in Kwis territory. Anyone else who wants to come with me is welcome."
So where do you think they're going now? :P
I also included a throw back to my very VERY early (and bad) fan fictions on this website with the frying pan. I doubt anyone knows the connection, but if anyone does, you = awesome.
Chapter Preview!
What awaits the group far to the north in the Kwis lands? Who will go, who will stay, and what clues to the "bigger picture" will come into light. Additionally, which duo will get closer together, and which will start to drift?
Aaaaaaaand spoilers :
An undead priestess this way comes.
Also, it seems like people are interested in the idea of me doing a sex scene in the future, so I shall! ^_^