Shippo pouted at the base of the white path. Arms crossed, tail fluffed out, he sat on Kemuri's back and refused to acknowledge the Inu with him. No one could say he was rude if he simply never bothered to speak with the dark youkai behind him. But he failed to notice the narrowed eyed glare being cast his direction.
It was unacceptable. Mercury swirled eyes narrowed further and having enough of the kitsune's attitude, Kemuri sat and dumped the fox on the ground.
"Oi! What was that for?" Shippo growled, finding himself sprawled in the dirt. The snarling, growling, snapping reprimand that came from the hound had his face darkening. "Well who asked you?" Just because the shadow hound thought highly of the Inu, was happy to add such a strong male to the pack, did not mean that he was so impressed. He had seen too much, been through too much to trust so easily.
Surprised by the vehement way the hound had stood up for him, Senchineru placed his hand on the hound's head and stroked his pinned back ears. "Do not be too harsh, Kemuri. The young fox has every right to be suspicious." He did not know that Kagome had seen this occurrence, and likely would not be told of her abilities for some time yet. If his current lack of maturity was anything to go by, it could be quite some time before he was informed.
"I don't need you to stand up for me." Shippo growled, dusting off his tail.
The quirk of his eyebrow was minute when Senchineru's own ire began to rise. "The dark Inu was not. I simply offer an excuse for your poor manners."
Glaring at the male, Shippo turned his back and stared towards the forest where his actual pack had gone. "Whatever."
Sighing, knowing this would not make her happy, Senchineru crouched down. "I am not your enemy kitsune. The enemy is out there." He gestured towards the barracks at his back.
"Humph." Shippo glanced where the male had pointed. "You could just as easily be the enemy as any of them." Crossing his arms, he glared into the forest.
Rolling his eyes at the stubbornness of kitsune, Senchineru sighed and took a swift look around, stretching his aura to see where the closest guards were. They were a distance away and there was no one within visual range. Looking to Kemuri, he watched the hound's lip peel back to bare a lengthy fang in agreement and understanding. Sighing a second time, the dark Inu snatched the kit from the ground by the scruff and rose to his feet. "Shippo."
The growled sound of his name was a warning that he chose to ignore. "Hey! Let me go!" Balling up his fist, he swung it at the Inu.
Allowing his beta to surface enough to change the color of his eyes, Senchineru pulled the kit away so the flying fist could not connect and gave the suspicious little thing a small shake. "Enough of this!"
The hard bark and feel off the Inu had Shippo hesitating. The weight was nearly that of InuYasha when his alpha rose and widened the kit's eyes into round saucers. "What the hell…"
Fangs snapping together in annoyance, Senchineru stared the kit down until green eyes darted away. "I am not your enemy. I am second to InuYasha and will not tolerate your disrespect. The dark one understands that you do not trust me but I am beta," He hissed quietly aware that voices travelled easily to youkai ears. "I cannot, will not, betray my alpha! Do not question my honor again."
Dangling from the fist that held him by the back of his kimono, Shippo looked back at Senchineru but didn't meet his eyes. "You're… a real beta?" He hadn't quite believed Kagome, knowing she had a soft heart and a tendency to trust far quicker than she should, and had thought maybe she was just collecting another stray. "Really?"
Dropping the kit into the palm of his other hand, Senchineru let the soft rise of his power wash over the fox. Not enough to be noticed by InuYasha, or felt by anyone around them, just a brushing of his true strength and nature. "Hn."
Sitting cross-legged Shippo peered up at the dark male and watched copper eyes blaze orange before retreating. "Why do you do that? Tamp it down so hard?" It made little sense that one who was so strong, a proper beta, would hide what he was so completely.
"It is not yet time for me to reveal myself." Senchineru relaxed as Shippo did. The suspicion still showed in his eyes but was fading slowly, curiosity rising to take its place. It was the nature of Kitsune. They were pranksters and naturally suspicious but once those suspicions proved false they were quick with the questions.
"Why?"
"Because it is not." The smile twitched at his mouth. Himitsu, his kitsune protégé, had been just as inquisitive.
Frowning, Shippo looked him over. "Where's your pelt?" He couldn't be this strong, a beta, and not have a mokomoko.
"Coming." Copper eyes danced with amusement.
"Why'd you leave it? Isn't that… weird?" With the way InuYasha had changed, grown and matured after receiving his, it was hard for Shippo to fathom someone discarding theirs so easily.
"It was necessary."
"Why?"
"Because it was."
"Who's bringing it?"
"My mother."
"Why?"
"Because I left it with her for safe keeping."
"Oh." That made sense. Who better to protect something so precious than your mom? If he had something precious that needed protecting he'd leave it with Kagome. She was the closest thing he had to a mom. "Why now?"
Grinning, Senchineru ruffled the boy's red hair. "As our Lady has said, there are certain things that I cannot tell you Shippo."
Huffing out a breath, Shippo slouched and crossed his arms. "I hate being little."
The gripe made him chuckle. "It is an unfortunate side effect of youth."
Eyeing the Inu from the corner of his lashes, Shippo sighed softly. "She trusts too easily." It had gotten Kagome in trouble more often than he wished to remember.
"She is more powerful than you yet understand. Trust in her Shippo. Kagome knows what she is about." Senchineru offered quietly. He would not give away what was not yet earned but the kit had to know she was not to be doubted. "And trust InuYasha to know when and if he is being deceived. Our alpha is not a foolish Inu."
A snicker slipped from Shippo and had him covering his mouth. "You might not say that if you'd known him a few years ago."
"Oi! No telling tales runt, or I'll tell a few of my own." InuYasha grumbled from beneath the red gate but it eased his mind to see the kit sitting so comfortably with his beta. The conflict within the pack would have set Kagome off in a heartbeat and none of them wanted to see that. "I'm not that bad InuYasha." He only glanced skeptically at her. "And that little display in the back yard this morning was….?"
"Humph!" She turned her nose up in mock affront but knew he really was right. Her Inu would have no infighting in the pack and when she had a cool nose press into her palm, Kagome gazed knowingly down on Kemuri. "Good job." She whispered to him. He licked her wrist when she pet his cheek. It had been her hope that Shippo's curious nature would assert itself and her kit would actually talk to the beta. Leaving Kemuri behind had pretty much guaranteed the shadow hound would keep Shippo in line.
"Kagome!" Shippo jumped down and ran to dance from foot to foot at her feet. "What's up there? Can I know? Is it a secret? Is there magic? Was it amazing?"
Laughing, she encouraged him up into her arms. "Yes, it was amazing! No, it's not a secret and it is sort of magic." Turning with him to look back the way they'd come, she smiled into the forest. "It's a shrine of sorts with monuments to Sesshomaru and InuYasha's ancestors. Tomorrow, I'm going to make time and clean the statues, make up some offerings, and celebrate obon with a few new traditions. You can help if you like?" When he only nodded vigorously, she giggled. "Good." She was going to get the twins in on the fun as well, and maybe Kato.
"Just, run it all past Sesshomaru first." It had been easy to see how special the place was to his brother and if any place in the west could be truly considered sacred, InuYasha believed that clearing was it. His mind still reeled to know that he'd had other family at one time or another. None that were still living when he was born but, still, he had seen the forms of his ancestors today. Every statue was of an Inu in their true-form, all done in white stone and with an attention to detail that was outstanding. Each had its own personality and it had been an experience, to say the least, to come face to face with their father's sire, and his sire, and his sire, back through the ages. Most actually stood in mated pairs except for one other lone figure like his father's monument. She had been tiny, the smallest of all the statues, and Sesshomaru had lifted his hand to trail his fingers over her ear. An action he had done often from the way the stone was smooth and shiny. She had been his aunt, his father's only sibling, and had died young, long before Sesshomaru was born. But, she had been beloved by their father and he had told Sesshomaru many tales of his sweet Imouto. This had caused his brother to send a sideways glance towards Kagome and a softness to enter the daiyoukai's eyes that had InuYasha working hard to contain his smug grin. Clearly the instinct to love one's little sister was a family trait.
"Of course!" She, too, could tell just how special that place was to her onii-san and would never do anything that he didn't approve of. "I guess we should get on with it." Smiling at Sesshomaru, Kagome paced past Senchineru. The commander smiled his own fond look at her and had her lifting her hand to trace her fingers down his arm, the same affectionate gesture she made with all of them, and an offer of thanks for what he'd done. She was not blind to the change in her kit.
"Lady." Senchineru managed to force out past the lump that had formed in his throat. Her approval meant the world to him and when the hard thump of a fist landed between his shoulder blades, he knew he had been doubly thanked.
"Did good." InuYasha smirked at the dark Inu and pounded him a second time. "Runt's suspicious but he's a good kit, most of the time." He shrugged. What could you do? Shippo was kitsune after all.
"Thank you, InuYasha." Senchineru murmured, watching the daiyoukai walk on with Kagome, allowing them to drift slightly farther away as they remained at the foot of the path. "Should we not…?" He motioned to follow.
"We'll catch up." Nodding towards the path instead, he made his way back beneath the gate with his beta and knelt to a knee. Digging his claws into the earth, InuYasha reached for the power in the land, a gentle trickled fed into his fingers and he spread it in a circle around them. It rose up, creating a barrier, unfelt and unseen by any who should wander by. "This can't be overheard." InuYasha murmured before rising back to his feet only to find the dark Inu staring at him with his mouth agape. "What?"
"How did… you… that's…" Senchineru found himself stuttering and shook himself to stop.
"Told ya. We're different. I am the Inu no Taisho and what father created is mine to wield as well. The wards, the power in the land, all answer to my call and my will, and, while I'm still learning what it all means, the wisps in the wards help me understand."
"What is a wisp?" It was the second time InuYasha had used such a word.
"They're… hard to explain." But he would try. "They are immortal beings of spirit and once were the caretakers of nature. This place was their last residence, the last place they called home, and they had been vanishing out of existence when father found them. With their assistance, he created the wards and the barrier that protects this valley."
"The wards… live?" How could that be?
"Technically." InuYasha waggle his fingers. "They're more spirit, a form of energy like living youki than flesh and blood."
"Huh… and these wisps, they were the last of their kind?" It was truly incredible what the previous daiyoukai had accomplished.
"Yes."
Senchineru shook his head in amazement. "Well, that explains why no one has been able to recreate what he has done here."
"And they never will." But the wards were not what they needed to speak on and he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "You're prophecy, how much of it do you actually understand?"
"It is a prophecy. Not much does makes sense until one who understands can explain it." The dark Inu shrugged.
InuYasha sighed softly with the truth of such words. "Recite it again."
"It is written that one will come, guarded by many but protected most strongly by a mate who is more than he should be. A mate that has grown to be stronger than any before him. He shall guard that which is most precious through time and space, through dangers untold, into hell and back. He will be her protector, become her friend and eventually, her beloved true-mate. He will be her heart as she is his soul. They will bond like no other before them and through them, revenge shall be had for all who have been tortured and lost. They shall be our salvation from the greatest evil. From those called the Shi no Keshin." Some had become clearer in the past days but much remained a mystery.
"A mate stronger than any before him, you get that part?" Senchineru quirked a brow but only nodded and InuYasha continued. "But through time and space, into hell and back, do you know what that is?"
"No, I am not aware." No one through the years had been able to figure that part out. Time and space? To hell and back? One did not simply walk into hell and return without consequence.
"Into hell and back was when I carved open a meido to the underworld in order to rescue Kagome from the fucking jewel. It forced Naraku to make its wish, one that would have Kagome locked inside it, fighting Naraku for all eternity, no different than Midoriko the Miko who created it. I refused to stop fighting, to stop searching for her, and she refused to make any wish trusting that I would come for her. In the end, once I found my way to her, she wished the jewel out of existence and that was the only way that we returned from that hell, but… in so doing we were… separated."
"Separated?" Senchineru frowned, both fascinated and confused.
InuYasha smirked at his beta, enjoying the build up to his little surprise. "Yeah… by five hundred years, give or take a few decades."
"What!?" The dark Inu bellowed.
"Through time and space…" He chuckled a little at how well that fit. "Kagome… she ain't from around here. She's from the future."
Stunned was too mild of word for how he felt. "No! That's not… it's not…"
"Possible? Sure it is!" Waving it off as nothing, InuYasha snickered. "You've seen enough to know that we ain't your regular mate pair, soul bonded or not. Tell me, Senchineru, how long do you think Kagome and I have been mated?"
Mind reeling with the improbability of all these things, Senchineru turned to face the forest and scrub his hands over his face. "The bonds, the changes, they all happen faster than normal bonds," Or so he'd been led to believe. "A year? Maybe another season longer."
Tilting his head, InuYasha brushed the spot in his mind that was his listening mate. "Try a little over one moon's cycle."
Whipping around he stared. "A month! You've… a month!"
"More a month and a half." InuYasha said and watched as dark skin paled. Wide eyed and sweating mildly, he wondered if his beta was going to make it through to the end of this conversation.
"I need to sit down." He did so, center of the circle and placed his head between his knees. "How can you even stand it? Being here with her carrying after only a month? She touches people! Other people touch her! You stand here with me and she's…" He waved a hand the direction Kagome had gone. "Out there with your brother!"
Sighing, InuYasha crouched down and tapped a claw to his temple. "Cause she's here, all the time, I need only reach to connect. She's here now. Her emotions are mine as mine are hers and she reads others intentions with only a brush of her eyes. I was without her for three years before she figured out a way back. That was difficult. This, this is a gift I never expected. One the Kami have apparently been working towards for a very long time."
"Kami?" Senchineru wheezed slightly with the word.
"Course! You think this kuso just happens? Please!" He scoffed. "My mother's Kami was so happy to see us together it was really… weird. And we've been in contact with the last soul bonded pair. Chiyoko and her mate Takeshi. They were dragons and Sesshomaru knew them when he was a pup. It's how he recognized what we are, what Kagome is. Through Chiyoko, Kagome saw our future. The white dragon pointed us to you."
"Mother's… Kami…" Lifting copper eyes to gold, and leaning heavily on his bent knees, Senchineru slowly shook his head before a small grin tugged at his mouth. "You do realize it is not normal for most to speak so casually of things like visits from Kami and deceased dragons." Only one soul bonded ever lived at a time so it was not hard to guess the previous pair were no more.
"Feh." InuYasha flicked a wrist in dismissal. "You don't know the half of it. I dream walk, Kagome's a descendant of Takeshi's brother Toru, and she comes from a time where the buildings are so tall they block out the stars."
Senchineru wondered if his eyes would simply bulge from his face with all these revelations. "Kagome… dragon?"
"Yeah, dual instincts. Where we have out demon and our Inu, she has an Inu and a sweet little red fire dragon." Her instincts were lovely and he sent his appreciation rippling through the bond.
"Fire…" He could only shake his head in wonder. "They are no more, the fire dragons."
InuYasha only shrugged. "They aren't totally gone. Toru, Kagome's ancestor, he could have had hanyou children. Enough generations pass between then and her time, and the blood was thinned out to…" He frowned, remembering how Takeshi had put it. "Only a drop but it was enough to awaken with our bonding and make her ryuu-mei to Takeshi."
With his head feeling like it would explode, Senchineru latched on to one last thing. "Dream… walk?"
Chuckling, InuYasha nodded and held out his hand, rising to his feet to help his beta up. "You said you're hanyou could allegedly shift the course of dreams through touch. Well, that was true only I don't have to touch you to do so. It helps, and is safer, but I can step into the dream realm and travel through another land that connects me to an individual's sleeping mind."
"No more." He groaned, pressing his palms to his temples, squeezing to offset the headache all this information was causing. "Maybe one more. How? How did she get here?"
"Fell down a magic well when she was fifteen." InuYasha snickered at his overwhelmed beta.
Again, Senchineru slapped his hands to his face and drew them slowly downwards. "You do realize this all sounds… impossible? Like a fanciful tale made up to please children."
"Meh." InuYasha shrugged. "Stick with us long enough and you'll learn that impossible is not a word Kagome likes very much. We do what is needed, what is required, and always have. She fell down a magic portal and woke me from my fifty year slumber pinned to a tree by a sealing arrow. I tried to kill her, she collard me, shattered the shikon jewel, fell back down the well when Yura tried to kill her, and I followed her home. Came back with her to fix the mess we'd made and the rest… history."
Senchineru watched his alpha speak, shifting his hands back and forth with every piece of his story, conversing as if it was nothing. Not as if it was the most outlandish, startling, unbelievable piece of fiction he had ever heard, only… it was all true! "I just… I…" Breathing out a huff of breath, Senchineru straightened his shoulders. "Alright. Why are you telling me all this now?"
"You need to know. Kagome occasionally does, or says things that, while our pack is used to them, can arouse suspicion in others. If you, also, do not react when she slips up most will assume it is simply a quirk of her upbringing. She's rather… unique, after all."
Chuckling softly, Senchineru nodded. "I understand. May I ask questions once I have them to ask?" Right now he was simply too stunned to think clearly.
InuYasha nodded. "Of myself or Kagome at the house. If others were to discover her past is our future, the entire course of our destiny could be altered."
Stroking a hand back through his braids, Senchineru looked to where the others had gone. "Did you know? Before she was taken from you, did you know she was your mate?"
A swift shaft of painful regret stabbed him and was swiftly gone. "Yes."
"To go that long… three years…" Senchineru had no mate. No entanglements at all at this point in his life but to have someone torn so harshly away… there was not even a way to fight such a separation.
Looking towards where he could feel her, his beloved mate, InuYasha murmured, "I would have gone the long way around if I had to. Waited five hundred years to get back to her. Three was nothing compared to that, and what I went through here is nothing compared to how she suffered going back." Shaking his head, InuYasha felt the soft swell of her love wash through him. "She went home alone, to a place that knew nothing about what happened here. Her mother, brother and grandfather did, but she… suffered. Life for her was not easy and those who think she is a pampered priestess, or that she will be easy to walk over, are in for a rude awakening." Reaching out to the barrier around them, InuYasha ran his claws through the youki and shattered it, allowing the power to sink back into the land. "Let's go."
"InuYasha." Senchineru murmured and bowed when the alpha looked to him. "Thank you for this."
Tilting his head in acknowledgement, InuYasha studied the beta that was feeling more like pack every day. "She trusts you and after what you did with the kit today… you've earned mine."
"I live to serve." Senchineru chuckled when InuYasha snarled at him.
"Shut up!" He grumbled. "Let's go. You can serve me best by explaining what the hell I'm getting myself into today."
Continuing to snicker, Senchineru fell in beside InuYasha, outlining what their morning would consist of and closed the distance between themselves and the rest of the pack.
Kagome did her best to ignore what was occurring with her mate and his beta, listening instead to Shippo's excited chatter as she and Sesshomaru made slow, quiet progress through the gardens. Higuma was waiting for them at the castle entrance they had used the previous day along with a quivering kappa and Kagome slid her narrowed gaze towards Sesshomaru. "You so owe me." She muttered before smiling for both youkai. "Good morning, Higuma."
"Lady Kagome. Lord Sesshomaru." Bowing to them both he admired the elegant figure of the new lady. She was quite breathtaking that morning but by no means overdone, simply graceful and refined. He highly approved of her sleek appearance.
"Jaken, you will accompany Kagome this morning. See to her comfort." Sesshomaru glared down that the green toad and watched him nod vigorously.
"I will! I most certainly will, milord!" He agreed easily but eyed the kitsune sitting on the back of Kemuri. "Shippo? When did you get here?"
"This one retrieved him from the horse hanyou last eve." Sesshomaru refused to elaborate and offered only a narrowed stare when Jaken opened his mouth a second time. "Higuma. The kit is Shippo and is omega."
Higuma bowed in understanding but kept his face very neutral, listening and seeing all the little nuances that were layered within this conversation. The fact that Sesshomaru had gone himself was unusual, perhaps not overly so what with the commotion that had gone on down in the village yesterday. Yes, the castle had been a twitter with the continued replaying of what had happened between the Inu and Kyota, and how hurt their Lady had been with the accusations, but also how kind she had been at the same time. 'Such compassion…' He was looking forwards to seeing how she faired this morning.
For his part, Shippo sat quite still with not even a twitch of his tail to betray his thoughts. After the morning he'd had he'd decided it was best to perhaps keep his mouth shut for the foreseeable future and use his brain for once. He would observe, take it all in, and figure things out for himself. But he did offer a small, "Higuma, nice to meet you. Master Jaken, Rin sends her regard."
"Rin! Trouble making chi–" Was a far as the kappa got before a foot stomped him to the ground.
"Watch it toad." InuYasha growled, coming up behind Jaken. "Higuma." He nodded to the ussuri that was doing his utmost not to smile at seeing the kappa in such a position. Scrapping off his boot, InuYasha stalked around his brother to sidle up beside Kagome. Ruffling Shippo's unruly hair, he peered seriously down at the kit. "I got a big job for you runt."
"Really!? What?" Excited, Shippo perked up and grinned at InuYasha. He had been glaring at the kappa that was about to be mean about Rin. It made no sense to him why the girl put up with the toad's nonsense anymore.
Chuckling softly, InuYasha curved around Kagome and kissed her cheek. "You get to watch her. She gets too busy or preoccupied with something, you make her rest and make sure she eats at regular intervals. Think you can do that for me?" When Shippo nodded with all the seriousness of his youth and turned stern eyes up to peer at Kagome, InuYasha shot a look at the ussuri. Higuma offered his own nod of understanding and he shot the same look at Jaken. The toad, climbing back to his feet, glared but gave his consent as well and InuYasha turned his attention back to Shippo before the kit noticed. A bump to his fingers had him glancing down at Kemuri and seeing the same determination their as well. "Good. Don't neglect yourself or my pups, mate." He nipped her gently beneath the ear in warning. "Have fun today." He purred softly for her and nuzzled the spot he'd nipped. "I am only a call away if something feels off."
"I will. No crazy if I can avoid it. You have fun too and don't thrash anyone too badly." Stretching up, she licked his jaw before kissing his lips. "I won't forget to feed the pups. Promise."
"Good. Higuma. Jaken. See to my mate." InuYasha pierced them both with a golden eyed stare before nodding to his brother and rejoining Senchineru to head off towards the barracks.
Swallowing hard, Higuma bowed to the hanyou's retreating back and was relieved when the pressure lifted. Being on the receiving end of what had been only a warning by the young alpha was intense. He had no desire to be on that end if InuYasha was truly displeased. "If you're ready milady?"
"I am. Have a good morning, onii-san. I will see you for court hours later." Smiling, she placed her hand on his shoulder and stretched up to press her cheek to his, offering him an affection filled kiss before grinning and following Higuma inside.
"Jaken." Sesshomaru waved the kappa back when he made to follow, float, after Kagome. "If anything untoward occurs while Kagome is under your care, this one will nick you with Bakusaiga and watch as the youki slowly eats you away."
Gulping, Jaken nodded. "I will not fail in her protection."
"See that you do not. Once she is finished with the staff, make her rest." His stubborn Imouto would run herself ragged, of this he was assured, and was something he would not allow her to do. "Once she is properly situated with food, you are to attend this one in his office. Also, the wolf arrives today. Make sure he is brought to this Sesshomaru before he sees either Kagome or InuYasha."
"Yes milord." Jaken bowed low.
"Hn." Flicking his wrist, the daiyoukai dismissed the toad and turned away to deal with what he hoped was his last morning meeting with his commanders; at least while InuYasha was here.
Kagome continued to cradle Shippo in the protective curve of her arms, taking as much comfort from his presence as she was giving letting him stay there, and again noticed the incredibly stiff posture that was Higuma. Finding it amusing, but not wanting to offend him, she kept her comments to herself and tried to memorize the corridors and hallways of the castle. "I'm going to be so lost for a while." She sighed softly.
"Ah, it can be rather confusing to those who are new, milady. Just remember every corridor eventually leads to an exterior exit or back to the throne room. Simply pick one and walk it and you will either find your way outside or into familiar territory." He smiled gently at the woman and continued towards the sounds and smells that heralded their arrival at the kitchens. "I would introduce you to the cook and housekeeper in a more comfortable setting but as mornings are busy times, it must be here. If this offends you Lady, I can ask them to join us in the corridor rather than subject you to the chaos of the kitchens?"
Her brow rose and Kagome snickered softly into Shippo's hair. "Higuma, I am no fainting maiden and no stranger to the running of a kitchen. Lead on." She waved him forwards and pressed her finger to her mouth when Shippo giggled, shushing the kit.
Something about her brown eyes had twinkled, almost as if she was amused, but he only pressed open the door and bowed her inside. "May I present the Lady Kagome." Silence swiftly descended on the room.
Stepping through the door, Kagome noticed the heat first off. It was intensely warm from the large fires and the bodies that crowed together. Here, again, she found more youkai that she had never come across. The room itself was enormous with high ceilings of crisscrossed beams, dark with soot from thousands of fires all venting through chimneys above them. Meat roasted on spits above those fires or pots bubbled cheerily, and the smell was wonderful. Shelves lined the walls, loaded with either cooking implements or food stuffs, some blackened with use or shining with the polish of someone's elbow grease. Long, narrow windows spanned the length of the wall above and lit the interior without the use of the overhead lanterns. Table after table filled the center of the room and hands that had once been busy all stopped with her intrusion. Smiling reassuringly she waved for them to continue. "Please, don't let me interrupt." A large male in all white garb, slammed a spoon down into a pot and made Shippo jump in her hold stirring her Inu into mild irritation.
"Higuma! We do not have time for this today!" Kukki bellowed, storming towards the door only to be halted by a feral growl of warning from the shadow hound at the Lady's side. "No offense intended Lady," He gave a short bow, "But we are short on staff, stores are running low, and I am already behind." He did not have the time to placate the newest Lady of the house, especially a ningen one that would likely only cause him more headaches with her tedious and unnecessary involvement.
"Kukki!" Jaken snapped, stamping in behind Kemuri and slamming his staff down. "You're rudeness will not go unreported to his lordship!"
"No." Kagome pointed a finger at Jaken. "You will say nothing. Kukki is it? You are the cook I take it?" She couldn't for the life of her figure out just what kind of youkai this massive demon was. He had the size of a bull, but no horns. He was heavily muscled, bald, with skin like heavy cream, ice blue eyes, and a ruddy flush that came from working over the fires and pots, and a voice that could cause avalanches if he wished with its deep timber and heavy gravel.
"I am." Kukki nodded sharply eyeing the small woman.
"What needs doing?" Kagome asked, setting Shippo on Kemuri's back.
"Pardon?"
"You said you were shorthanded. I assume you need to get the morning meal together for the rest of the castle?" Thankful that she'd had the foresight to tie back her hair, Kagome pushed her sleeves up.
"Well, yes but…" What was she getting at? She wasn't honestly implying that she would assist, was she?
"Then show me what needs doing." She waved him out of the way and moved towards a tall table, one higher than any of the others, that was covered in an assortment of ingredients. Catching sight of a crate, she jerked it out from under the table and stepped up on it, peered at everything that was laid out and down across the others tables, and nodded. "Hm. I see." If he was making what she thought he was, then he was correct that what he was short on would make it nearly impossible to feed everyone. "How many will be dinning this morning?"
"There are over three hundred lady." Kukki murmured, watching this little human that had invaded his domain.
She had cooked for more during the cultural festivals at school. This she could definitely handle. "Right." Clapping her hands together, Kagome looked up at him and smiled. "Let's get started shall we? I have something else in mind that will work to fill everyone's bellies and you don't need more than what you have."
Frowning, he shook his head in disbelief. "Begging you're pardon lady, but what does a ningen know about feeding youkai?"
"Just who do you think cooked every damn day of the shard hunt?" Shippo scoffed at the ice youkai and watched him through narrowed eyes. How did he stand all this heat?
"Milady, please!" Higuma was ready to have kittens he was so concerned with how the Lords would take her insisting on assisting but when dark, glittering eyes narrowed and turned on him, he bowed to her will and stepped closer. "At least let me remove you're outer kimono?" It would be a shame if she soiled it.
He held out his hands and Kagome shrugged it off her shoulders, allowing it to catch on her elbows and avoid falling to the floor when the ussuri took it from her. "Thank you Higuma. Now, master cook, here's what we are going to do."
"Lady…" Kukki didn't know what to do but, when gleaming alpha eyes turned on him, he found himself lost in a swirling midnight sky. It was impossible to look away and he wondered just what kind of miko she was that she could enthrall a full grown youkai with only her eyes. She was... like a blizzard to him. Beautiful but deadly under the right circumstance. A storm that blew up out of nothing and left you gasping for air when the wind ripped yours away.
"Trust me…" Kagome murmured. "If it turns out badly, and I promise you it won't, you can banish me from your domain and I will concede defeat."
Jaken watched as Kagome worked her magic on yet another youkai. He was still unsure what it was she did, this tiny slip of a women who had Kukki so muddled up it was comical. How she managed to simply look at people and have them changing their tune, he would likely never comprehend what magic lay within her tiny frame but what she did… it truly was magnificent. "I was fortunate enough to be fed by the lady once or twice. If she says she can save this disaster of a meal, than let her."
Soft inhalations of shock rippled around her but Kagome only waited, calm, self-assured. "What are you up to wench? I left you all of ten minutes ago and you're already riling up the kitchen staff?" InuYasha's chuckle was deep, heavy with amusement, and she snickered for him. "Not my fault I cook better than they do. I've had more experience with a greater number of foods. A little adaptation and this meal will be one for the record books!" If she didn't say so herself. He chuckled a second time before fading away.
The words trust me seemed to resonate inside him and finally Kukki gave in. "If that is your wish lady."
"Excellent. Shippo, find a perch. Kemuri, here if you please." She pointed to the space under the table that was empty and would fit him just fine. He wanted to be close but if he sat at her hip like he was he was going to get stepped on and Shippo would want to watch but would become a bit of nuisance if he returned to her shoulder. It would be a constant barrage of what's that and why are you doing that, that she did not have the time to indulge him in today. Pulling a ribbon from her sleeve, she tied them back and got to work. Looking to the cook, she gave instructions, asked for a knife and pulled the basket of root vegetables towards her. "Higuma?"
"Hai, Lady?" Folding her kimono, he placed it over his arm and stayed out of the way with Jaken against the wall, watching as she commanded and the others scurried to obey.
"Continue your introductions." She could work and meet people at the same time.
"Ikojina?" He could feel her there but hadn't been able to find the female in the chaos of the kitchen.
"Here."
Kagome paused in her prep work, her fingers clenching around the handle of the knife she was using when the disapproving tone poured through the room. Looking towards that voice, she slowly straightened. "Housekeeper?" She murmured over her shoulder when Higuma appeared at her side.
"Hai, Lady." Concerned, he watched the Lady carefully. Something about the way her posture had changed from relaxed, calm even, to stiff and alert had him thinking of a pack catching wind of a hunt. She had the same look of cautious wariness about her that she'd had upon meeting him before she'd helped shift his perceptions.
Gliding slowly from a shadowed corner, Ikojina appeared and set Kagome's hackles on edge. Her own Inu gave a snarl that had her clenching her teeth to keep the growl contained. "A pleasure, Ikojina." Soft brown eyes flashed with a mixture of contempt and dislike and had her instincts shifting in to focused awareness. This Inu was a challenging bitch and stirred Kagome's alpha with her attitude.
"As you say." She nodded sharply and turned her nose up.
Tall, thin, and dressed in dark yukata nearly a match for Higuma, Kagome looked to the ussuri who was clearly upset by the Inu's lack of respect. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight bun causing her cheekbones and angular features to become even harsher in her unlined face. A quick search assured her that no red tainted this youkai's soul, only her own dislike of ningen and resentment at Kagome stealing what she believed to be Lady Kaika's rightful place. It was unbecoming of a Lady to assist in kitchen duties, to stand before servants as an equal, to sully her hands with work of any kind. Affronted, the knife in Kagome's hand ended up embedded in the wooden table. "Is there a problem, Ikojina?" Stepping off the box Kagome stalked towards the taller Inu.
"No." Stiffening, she stood very straight while the filthy ningen looked her over as if she had the right.
"I do have the right…" Kagome snarled softly watching the Inu's eyes widen, and stopped directly in front of the female with the nasty soul. "You do not and I take exception to your disrespect, as will my mate, and my brother."
That a ningen thought they could speak so to her was outrageous! "No proper Lady would lower herself as you have."
Incised, Kagome waved her hand to encompass the room and the youkai within, all having gone still as stone with this confrontation. "So, I am expected to allow this kitchen to fail? To walk away as if it is not my concern? Or better yet reprimand the cook and his staff for falling behind when even I know it is your responsibility to oversee the larders and pantry?"
Gasping, Ikojina clenched her fists. "How dare you!? I have served this castle and the lord here faithfully and to the best of my ability for decades! You know nothing of what that entails or how difficult it is to deal with all these lesser youkai and their issues!"
"No, but I am about to." Lifting her chin Kagome pierced the Inu with a harsh glare. It was impossible not to look deeper, to see how this female had been treating those she was meant to oversee and had her reeling but refusing to show it. "Jaken!" The kappa's name was a low growl between clenched teeth.
"Yes, Lady Kagome?" The kappa bound immediately to her side. Lord Sesshomaru was going to be very angry, very, very angry when he found out about this!
Turning gleaming, anger filled eyes to the little green toad she snarled, "Ikojina is no longer the housekeeper of this keep. She is dismissed."
Horrified, Ikojina gasped, "What? You can't do that? I have done nothing wrong!"
That did it! Her Inu howled such a song of rage Kagome felt it all the way to her toes and slashed her hand through the air. "Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong?!Turning a blind eye to the suffering of the youkai under your care as they were forced, molested, by youkai stronger than them, how is that not wrong?" An audible gasp rippled through the kitchen staff.
Stepping back, retreating in fear and shock, she whispered, "How… how could…?" How could she know that? No one knew that she had been aware, having walked in on one of the Lord's rutting away with a crying maid. It made no difference to her if the male wanted to use the girl. It was not as if she was important after all. "They were nothing! Of no standing. If a Lord takes a fancy, who am I to tell him no?"
"They are all important! Regardless of their standing! Turning a blind eye is no different than whoring them out yourself." The contempt she felt for this female, it was like nothing she'd experienced before. To find out one woman had sold out another, even if they didn't profit from it financially, was despicable!
Jaken stiffened and turned a narrowed glare on Ikojina. "You knew? You knew what was happening and did nothing?" Leaping forwards, he swept her legs out from under her and pressed the staff of two heads to her throat. "You have one hour to remove yourself from Lord Sesshomaru's home and from the lands belonging to the west. Run, Ikojina. Run hard and fast for if you are found within the west's boundaries after that your life is forfeit!" Sneering at her, seeing the fear rising to warp her features, Jaken pressed a little harder. "The hunt begins in one hour."
Stepping back, Kagome sank her fingers into Kemuri's ruff, calmed the growl that kept rippling from him, before washing in the bowl brought to her by the little tanuki from yesterday. "Arigato Kari." Returning to her work as if this incident had never happened she reached for InuYasha whose presence had appeared the moment she'd grown angry. "The hunt?"
"Inu justice." He'd been listening, aware of her rising rage. "Those who have been wronged by her silence… shall have the opportunity to seek their revenge."
"Oh…" It surprised her, though it shouldn't. They were youkai after all and more inclined towards violence than humans. Seeking her own instincts she found them both in agreement with Jaken and only sighed a little. She was in youkai territory and these were youkai ways. It would do her no good to show a human's compassion when she would be the only one feeling it and the Inu in question felt no remorse in what she'd been part of.
Returning with the nearest guard, having dashed swiftly away when Kagome had made her statement and Jaken had reacted, Higuma knew the information would spread like wildfire. Pointing at the Inu beneath the kappa's staff he said, "See her to her room and then escort her from the valley." Even then, he knew it was only a slim chance. When the word had come out that some of the upper youkai were mistreating the servants, many had chosen to go home or seek other employment rather than stay in the palace where their attackers still resided. Once it was known Ikojina had had a hand in hiding the depravity, it was unlikely she would make the border before an angry father found her. She, as she had claimed of those under her care, was now of no standing and had no position of authority to protect her any longer. "One hour." He murmured to the guard and got a nod in return though the face and eyes remained hard.
"Yes, Suchuwādo." Striding forwards, the young guard, eagle in nature, yanked the ex-housekeeper to her feet. "My sister…" He hissed but was unable to finish, the hate he felt for the once respected housekeeper cutting off his voice. "We honor the hour, so run… swiftly."
"I want an audience with Sesshomaru!" Ikojina barked, pulling against the guard as her fate was suddenly blindingly clear before her.
Lifting her head, Kagome turned only enough to peer over her shoulder. "No, you do not." It would do her little good to stand before the western throne.
Shippo shivered. Perched in a chandelier, he had never heard Kagome speak so coldly. It froze his blood and it wasn't even him she was mad at. Here, in that instant, he could see the regal alpha she had become and had pride swell in belonging to such a pack. She was magnificent! And acting more like Sesshomaru than he had ever seen her. It was good, youkai in nature, and gave credence to her strength within this potentially dangerous court. She showed no weakness and did not waiver in her decree.
"It is my right-"
Slamming her hand down on the table, Kagome felt InuYasha's presence solidify, his call working to calm some of her rage. "Do not be a fool! We offer you Inu justice!" Stepping down from her crate a second time she stalked the stupid female across the room. "One hour! It is more time to escape than any of those girls had. Take it! Run! And maybe, just maybe, you can cross our borders before you run out of time. But know this, Ikojina. Stand before Sesshomaru and lose your head for certain!" Her brother would not be nearly so lenient and when she got through with her onii-san, he was going to wish he'd been the one to discover Ikojina's deception. How could he not tell them about this? About the youkai forced into… Swallowing hard, Kagome refused to think too deeply about just what had been done to those females. She was about ready to rip off a few manly bits herself she was so angry! "Your brother is in so much trouble!" To be blindsided with this… She had a few choice words for Sesshomaru.
Wrenching her arm from the eagle, she shook in anger and sneered at the human before her. "You, ningen, know nothing of Inu justice! You speak of things you cannot possibly underst-" The crack echoed in the confined space and had everyone gasping.
Panting, her hand stinging from the slap and the force she'd put behind it, Kagome let her alpha rise fully to wash out over the room. "Kagome?!" InuYasha's concern rippled forcefully but she assured him she was alright. "I've got this. Stay with Senchineru." She did not need him, not this time, this was for her to finish as a Lady of the West. "Foolish, insolent, baka! You speak of things you do not understand! I am alpha!" The slap had driven the Inu to her knees and Kagome leaned down to peer in her eyes. "Your depravity caused those girls to be…" She shook her head, unable to choke out the words she was so disgusted. "You will run. No one will stop it. No one will assist you. Not even Kaika. She is not now, nor will she ever be lady here. Now… get out!" The snarl escalated to almost a roar, one echoed by the shadow hound at her side, bared her fangs and sent the former housekeeper scrambling for the exit and the eagle rushing to follow.
Slowly, Kagome rose from the bent posture she was in, shook herself gently and returned to the table. Washing again, she could feel the uncertainty, the fear, and the trepidation that permeated everything. Softening her alpha from the extreme disapproval she was radiating, she let it recede, caress those showing the most fear with her calm warmth instead and lessen the rapid beating of so many hearts wishing to run but not provoke her to chase as they now knew she could. "My apologies for my outburst. Please, let's continue as if it hasn't happened but, know this," She waited a heartbeat, connecting with as many faces as she could before continuing. "If anyone feels coerced into doing something that they do not wish to do, or is forced into an act they want no part of, you are to come to me. I will not stand for anyone under the protection of the west being treated so, simply because they work here. No one, no one, has the right to take your choices from you no matter who they are!" Finished, she tucked her head down and went back to chopping and pealing.
The kitchen was silent for a moment, frozen with the display of her impressive alpha, before Kukki turned back to his pots and roasting meat, and made enough noise to get the others moving again. He hadn't known and it shocked him to find out. 'Ikojina…' He shook his head in sadness and shame. Was he really so blind? To have missed the abuse right under his nose had been… he did not have the words to express how badly he'd felt for those maiden females that had been so poorly treated. But Ikojina, she had been part of the workings of this castle for as long as he could remember. And, while he may not have liked her much, stuck up bitch that she was, he had respected her for her positon and they had got on fine. To find out she had been allowing this to continue when she could have stopped it with one word! How could he have been so blind to her true nature?
"Sometimes, it is easy to miss that which is right in front of us because those who fool us, they know us best. Even those we would not claim as friend." Kagome murmured softly, dumping another bowl full of vegetables into Kukki's pot. "It is not your fault for not knowing." When the cook only glanced at her, saying nothing but nodding, Kagome turned away to find a young boy, or what she would consider a young boy, standing a few feet away and looking at her with glistening eyes and a quivering lip.
"Lady…" Stumbling forwards, he sank to his knees at her feet and pressed his forehead to her toes. "Thank you!"
Holding out a hand to stop Kemuri when the hound made to intercept him, Kagome crouched down to touch the other to the boy's back. "For what little one?"
"She knew… Manami… my sister… she saw!" The shame he felt for not seeing, for not knowing about what was happening until it was almost too late… it ate at him.
The young squirrel, his soul scared and bruised, called out to her but she couldn't, not here in front of all these people. "I am sorry…" She didn't know his name.
"Masaki." He whispered. "I wanted to tell… but… no one would believe…" As Ikojina had said, he was only a servant and of little standing.
"Masaki," Kagome sighed, catching his shoulders and forcing the squirrel to sit back, she cupped his fuzzy cheek, damp with his tears. "Will you tell me about Manami? After I help with breakfast I will need to rest and eat. You can join me and we will speak more about your sister."
"I would be honored." Masaki whispered, gazing into dark eyes that seemed to hold the answers to all life's mysteries.
"Come find me later." She urged him to his feet and sent him away to compose himself. Hopefully there would be no more interruptions but she could feel Kukki watching her and peered up at him. "What?'
He eyed her a moment longer. "You are… strange… even for a human."
Laughing softly, she nodded. "Yes, so I've been told." Grinning, Kagome looked down at Jaken, the kappa still hovering closer than before. "Will you please go inform Sesshomaru about what has happened here? Thank you Jaken."
"Lady Kagome, I…" He hesitated to leave. Sesshomaru had charged him with her safety, as had the hanyou.
"Just go." She wasn't going to argue with the kappa and waved him towards the door. "Higuma is here, I'm perfectly safe with Kemuri and Shippo, and they will see that I rest and eat once I'm done. Go."
"Hai." Bowing, he dashed out the door.
"Alright. No more distractions!" Returning to the table, she moved into her second gear and bent to her task, calling out instructions and whipping the kitchen into a well-oiled machine. She would deal with appointing a new housekeeper and seeing about this shortage of foodstuffs later. Her own table that morning had been full, so why were the stores for the castle apparently empty?
A/N: Thanks for all the love this last week! R&R as always!
