Infinity Chapter 14: 14, an inuyasha fanfic

As always,

Enjoy!

~Kyvena

As the dawn of a new day began to surface, Kagome no longer knew how to feel about anything. Well, she supposed that she would figure it out sooner or later. Lying in bed with her arm covering her face, she then felt her son gently shaking her body before speaking, "Mother, it is time to get up so that you may prepare for the second day." Kirara was in her larger form beside the angelic lass so that she could actually gain sleep, which did work. Lifting her arm off of her face and smiling at her pup, Kagome sat up to realize that there were two extra pups in her room. Laughing gently, she was then lifted to stand as her son kept his eyes firmly glued shut so that he could not see his mother's naked body in the slightest.

For some reason, she couldn't remember much of the night prior. So, once she got into the water, Sen walked in and yanked his hakamas up before sitting beside her and placing his feet within the confinements of the warm water, "You're trying to remember what happened last night, aren't you?" Kagome then nodded, making the lord of lightning snicker, "Well, you and father played so rough that he smacked your head against a rock on accident. Afterwards, he carried you back to our room and got you undressed before..." - "Before leaving..." - "Er... no. He was worried, so you two cuddled for majority of the night. He had me wake him up a bit before you so that you were not startled," he snickered out in a rather playful tune.

"Sen-shine, be a dear and go wake your brothers for me," her slightly confused tone projected, making him nod, "Of course." Standing up and walking away as she finished washing her hair, body, wings, and tails; she then got out of the water and grabbed a towel to dry off when she heard, "IDIOTS, WAKE UP!" Walking out, Kagome chuckled and winked at her son before splitting her dripping locks and ringing them out over their faces, causing for them to shoot awake and groan, "Mother... that was mean..." Huffing and placing her hands on her hips, Kagome could only smile before getting on her knees to bring her twin boys' heads to her chest and kiss the top of their long manes of silver bedhead, "Time to get up pups."

Her twins sat there with a pondering face as she toweled her hair off and got changed into one of the outfits Shinto had made for her that was new. A white dress that held a slight sparkle and appeared like the plain white dress she'd worn the day prior, but held cutouts on her hips that were lined with diamonds, she then took off the detachable skirt from the first dress she had been wearing and clipped it right below the cutouts. Sliding two diamond studded white gold bangles on, one having angel wings, and the other, a halo; Kagome then placed her sparkly white rulers ring on and chuckled softly, "You know, I never knew why your father wore that golden ring on his middle finger everyday until I became the ruler of Elysian."

The mortal lord was right though... she wasn't in Elysian, but she placed that bell on her ankle anyway. Humming, Sen then unlaced that sparkly ribbon and took the bell off before lacing the ribbon back on her ankle, "I don't think you ever liked all of that noise. Besides... it's just a plain silver bell and no one in our domains actually MADE it, unlike the ribbon." Kagome chuckled softly at that and nodded, "Throw it away for all I care!" Sesshomaru and Ikari finally peered at their mother with a frown, "Mother, we appreciate the money you gave us... but... we'd rather be living in Elysian..." Sen then glanced over with a smile, "Well, you both are one of the eternal rulers." Kagome then frowned, "I wish it were that easy, pup."

That shocked the lord of lightning quite a bit, "But I thought all of the eternal rulers were supposed to live under the leading maiden of light's rule!" Kagome nodded her head at that comment, "Yes, but that doesn't exactly state as to where that living is supposed to actually be. How do you think the four pillars of demon lords were made...?" Sen then peered down as he answered, "Each eternal ruler is supposed to rule over those respective domains... huh...?" This made the mother angel sigh heavily, "The only ones that were truly meant to live in Elysian are light, lightning, and the last is one or the other... shadow or ice." Nodding his head at the valid explanation, Sen then asked, "Then who is supposed to go where?"

Folding her arms and blowing her bangs up as she got her twin pups in the bath, she then sighed, "Flames goes south, water goes north, wind goes east, and from legend... shadows goes west. Elysian is more or less just a gathering place for all eternal rulers to speak of their domains. I'm going to have to bring this up now that you are aware. I must ask, is Inuyasha aware?" The twins then nodded, "Yeah, he remembered shortly after we did." Ikari had to know why now, so he asked, "So, why is the placement as it is?" Kagome then hummed before answering, "Well, the south is always freezing cold. So the deity of flames is supposed to bring a neutral balance to how cold it always is there. Even summers are quite cold."

Tapping her bicep as she teleported new clothing in for her twins and set it on the table in the washroom before continuing, "The east is unnaturally windy and it causes many tornadoes and hurricanes, so, the wind deity regulates that wind so that the people aren't constantly living in fear. The north is dreadfully hot. I mean, if you thought that the west was hot, step foot in the north and you will find that the west is quite cool in comparison. The north's water supply is constantly low due to such blistering heat, making it almost impossible to grow any food. Therefore, the water deity gives the water needed and makes plenty of rain to cool the place down." Sen then tilted his head, "Uh... so why is shadows the west then...?"

Frowning at that question, Kagome sighed, "He has no real role due to his curse. The west was originally left to the deity of earth, considering the fact that the deity of shadows true domains was in Elysian. The deity of earth's job was to help all in the western domain balance out. The soil became very fertile, so when the plants grew, many animals would come to eat the vegetation that was not being offered in the north, east, or south. That made hunting very easy for the inhabitants living in the west to gain not only meat, but hides or pelts from the animals to make clothing. That's where the issue lies though. Since the maiden of earth became infatuated with the leading lord of shadows, he became bound to the west."

Looking up at the ceiling as her sons got dressed, she hummed softly with a deep frown, "When she became infatuated and the leading lord of shadows abandoned the leading maiden of light, they were in the western domains. All, except the leading maiden of light, left their respective domains of rule to wage a battle. Calamity befell the west and the center once the two were cursed. The first lord of lightning argued with the first lord of flames that cursing the maiden of earth was a terrible idea and it would only cause more heart break, but the first lord of flames did not heed the lord of lightnings words of wisdom." Sen had heard a different version, but somehow... his mother knew the full story and wondered how.

Sighing and gripping her arms tighter, she knew that her pups were confused at how she even knew so much... and at first, she was as well. She was a reincarnation of the first leading maiden of light... and it was no different for InuTaisho - a reincarnation of the leading lord of shadows... he could probably tell the same story just as well as she was now telling it. In other words - they were the chosen ones to actually BREAK the curse. Sucking in a deep breath as tears filled her eyes, she continued, "They had all agreed to strip the lord of shadows of his leadership position, which could only be accomplished by either the supremes of light or lightning." Okay, now this was getting tough for her for one reason alone.

Kagome had always wondered as to why she always felt more than ONE deity title sealed within her... and she could fully reinstate the maiden of earth if she chose to do so. Closing her eyes, she continued her original tale, "But as the maiden of earth laid on the ground dying from a mortal wound, she begged to be healed. The lord of water watched her twisted soul and watched the lord of shadows manipulated soul as the chains of hell held her. They had stripped the lord of shadows leading title far too soon, because she then cursed him while laughing hysterically that he would always be hers and she would always be his... and maybe it SHOULD be that way. Soon after, the gods created the leading lord of ice for balance."

Chuckling sadly and gripping her arms tighter, she then peered away, "Not once have I ever believed that there has actually been balance in this world, nor is it meant to be balanced in the slightest. The world went through a calm phase when all deities worked together, but inevitably, that calm always comes at a high price that is bound to break someone to the point of no return. Who am I to say that my love was any stronger than her own? Hell... she might have loved him far more than I ever possibly could have to begin with. We were happy... yes... but that happiness was ruined when she twisted his mind and fed him far too many lies to the point that he didn't know what was correct, nor incorrect at that point."

All of their eyes widened immensely, considering the fact that she was now speaking as if this had actually been her, but she pushed forward, "Out of sorrow, rage, and jealousy... I stripped her of her title and ever since then, I have been holding that title of 'maiden of earth' away from her. I have held the extra title for so long that I'm beginning to believe that none of it was truly worth the trouble. The lord of ice saved my sanity and my dignity... and maybe, just maybe, it should have been that way from the beginning. If I could have just let Toga go, it could have possibly saved me millenniums of bitterness against Izayoi. She had been my friend, but Toga had been my mate. A grudge lasting this long shouldn't be worth it."

Sen then blinked harshly before speaking, "M-Mother... you are acting as if this actually happened to you! That can't be possible! I mean, you are the reincarnated FIRST leading maiden of light!?" Peering into her pups' eyes, she then smiled, "Sweetheart, all of us... are the originals... including Shinto. The first eternal rulers, minus two, were all pups of the leading maiden of light and leading lord of shadows. This happened because Toga and myself were the first Celestial and Demon to look PAST something as silly as a title to separate us from falling in love and spending time together in a happy relationship that held no restrictions for a set of laws or a strict line of boundaries. THAT is what the actual "balance" is."

All were shocked beyond belief and didn't know what to think, say, nor do; however Kagome smiled softly and sadly, "Sometimes, when you love someone enough... you have to let them go to find their own form of happiness. Even should that mean he is forced to hold fabricated feelings of deep and unrequited love for another, or, believing many blind lies told straight to his face that he cannot decipher in the slightest so that he is given no choice BUT to believe what he has been told. I think... I've had enough. Too many years of sadness, sorrow, and rage can put you in such a dark place that holds nothing but misery." Without all four even noticing... InuTaisho was standing right outside of the door... completely frozen.

Blinking rapidly, InuTaisho's memories of his first life and what had actually transpired flooded into his mind, causing him to slam the door open, "WHY WOULD YOU LIE TO THEM!? YOU WENT BEHIND MY BACK AND BEGAN TO SEE A MORTAL MAN! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A VENOMOUS SNAKE THAT HOLDS A TITLE THAT SHOULD HAVE BELONGED TO ANOTHER!" Kagome slowly turned to look at him with dulled orbs before walking up and raising a hand to stroke his demonic markings tenderly before leaning up and pressing her lips to his own, only to lean away slightly to speak softly to him, "Toga, I am completely incapable of lying, you should already know that by now. Don't worry, I already plan to reinstate Izayoi."

His golden orbs narrowed at her dangerously, causing her eyes to sadden as she stroked his cheek tenderly, "I will always hold some form of love for you. I mean look, you gave me so many beautiful pups to love and treasure. Two just happen to be missing in action. You have given me so much... far more than you actually had to. All I needed to have in my life to be happy was you and my pups. One of those joys will be stripped from me, but that's fine; I suppose. You gave me my pups and they will always be around. So, thank you..." Just as her hand dropped from his cheek and she turned to leave, her wrist was grabbed so tightly that a sickening snap was heard as he pulled her back in and hurled her towards their sons.

All three of her pups caught her as he closed the door and locked it as Sen began healing her wrist before speaking, "Mother, are you alright...?" Her orbs were beyond the grave as of now, but she managed to whisper out, "I'll be fine..." Folding his arms, InuTaisho spoke out softly at first, "Yes... we were happy with one another for the longest of time. We had Sesshomaru, Ikari, Inuyasha, Hinami, Riki, and you... Sen. Yukio is nothing but an added fabrication that this world created to fit a story, because she truly didn't have anymore pups after losing me. We were the two leading eternal rulers of Elysian. I find it comical that you unknowingly picked the same name that we had made together so long ago for this day and age."

His voice was still soft as he continued, "Each day was a joy and there was never a time that we weren't smiling. When the twins were born, the glow she held was beautiful and she cried tears of joy as she held the two of you. Watching her play with you two was always something that I had loved to watch, but it was no different when the roles were swapped and she watched me train you two to wield a sword. She was and still is the most beautiful woman that I have ever witnessed. It was no different when she gave birth to Inuyasha, Hinami, Riki, and Sen. It was almost like a repeat of our first boys. She cried tears of joy, glowed, played, and watched when I would step in. Honestly, I became suspicious once Sen was born..."

Now, InuTaisho's voice became slightly irked as he continued, "I asked her WHY she would always repeat these same actions, but she would only claim "With tears of joy first to be shed, there is no doubt that we are bound to lead a happily lived life full of joyous memories that can never be forgotten." Then, she began getting called out into the domains asking for aid. We worked together, so at first... I saw nothing wrong with it. However, it began happening more and more frequently and she would come home with the scent of multiple different men on her clothing. When I would ask about it, she would answer that she had to tend to many different men. Tend... exactly HOW was she TENDING to these men?"

Agitation now engulfed his tone as he pressed on, "Those request became more and more damn frequent until one of those days, I asked to come along as well to help her. Her answer to me was, "What about our pups? What about the rest of Elysian? I can't ask you to come with me, no matter how much I want you to come along as well. It's the life of a ruler... I suppose." And so, I stayed behind time and time again with an even larger growing suspicion that she was mingling with other men, but wouldn't have intercourse with them because it would most definitely notify me as to what she was actually doing. Even when she appeared exhausted, I worried for her and asked for her to get rest while I went in her stead."

This is where a story took a turn for the worst, but InuTaisho had no true inclination as to what had actually transpired, "And then... one day... she came home to Elysian after a week of just vanishing and collapsed to the ground. Rushing to her, I came to a grinding halt when I noticed all of the bruises on her body. Worried for her, I went all the way to her and shouted "KAGOME! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!? WHY ARE YOU SO INJURED!?" She wasn't regaining consciousness, so I picked her up to take her to the castles healer and caught the scent of something that infuriated me... I caught the scent of semen all over her body AND inside of her body. Thankfully though, there was no full moon... so she was not pregnant."

Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen all glanced over sadly towards their mother with a deep frown as they witnessed her trembling and tears falling. Ikari then shot a glare towards his father before growling an angered question, "Well, did you ever get an answer from her!? I bet you didn't and I know why! Mother taught me that when women are taken by FORCE, they normally refuse to speak about it out of shame. They really don't speak about what has happened to them if they have the POWER to escape from such situations!" Sesshomaru then took his mother's hand tenderly and gave it a gentle squeeze before softly asking, "Mother...? Did you go behind fathers' back on purpose? Or, is what Ikari speaking the truth...?"

Sliding to the ground, Kagome began to sob out while placing the backs of her hands to her eyes, "T-They were apart of Elysian! I didn't have the barrier that I have placed up now! S-So I didn't speak a word about it! They chained me up, beat me horribly, and took me by force! I couldn't do a thing to stop such violent actions! The whole time that I was kept, all I could think about was not only my pups, but the fact that I was BETRAYING the ONE man that I loved the MOST in this ENTIRE world! How could I possibly look him in the eye!? How could I lie without being penalized and thrown into the pits of hell so that I never saw him EVER again!? I couldn't live with myself after that day and tried to take my life!"

Tilting his head down, InuTaisho gripped his hands tightly over hearing her crying as hard as she was, but spoke out solemnly, "When I asked her what had happened... she refused to utter a single damn word to me to help me understand what she had just endured all alone." Sen took an angered step forward and clenched a single fist, "HOW COULD SHE!? SHE WAS HUMILIATED WITH WHAT SHE HAD GONE THROUGH AND YOU, AS HER MATE, DIDN'T EVEN SEE THE WARNING SIGNS THAT SHE HAD BEEN TAKEN BY FORCE!? DID YOU EVEN STOP TO CHECK ON HER THROUGH YOUR SHARED LINK THAT YOU HOLD AS MATES!? SHE WAS PROBABLY DEPENDING ON HER MATE TO SAVE HER FROM SUCH ATROCITIES!"

"ENOUGH! IT'S MY TURN TO SHARE EVERYTHING!" InuTaisho yelled furiously before calming himself and continuing, "After that, I wished to have more pups with her, but she was terrified to get too close to me. I could smell her anxiety each time I tried to have intercourse... but that anxiety stopped me each and every single time. She would roll away from me the moment I collapsed to my back and shakily whimper out "I-I'm so sorry! P-Please forgive me!" How many ways could you take that little statement? At first, I could only believe that she just wasn't in the mood to have sex, but as time passed... she was being called out again and it would be weeks before she would get home, only to appear worse than the time prior."

Sighing heavily, he then folded his arms, "Then one day, the castle healer came to me and told me EVERYTHING. She was swollen in places that she SHOULDN'T be swollen and held many signs of being taken by force. By then, I felt far too guilty and rushed to her before taking her into my arms, only to tell her that I REFUSED to let her go out alone again. She sobbed against my chest and held me close as she nodded in agreement, which was very unlike her due to how worried she would always be about her pups being all alone. She knew Sesshomaru and Ikari fought like cats and dogs, Hinami would tease the life out of Inuyasha, and Riki and Sen cuddled up to their mother any chance they got to ease her pain."

Narrowing his orbs slightly, he then continued, "However... each time she was called out and I accompanied her, no one would even try to attempt a single damn thing..." Sesshomaru then gave a dry face as he spoke, "Who would? Her overprotective mate was with her. If she were taken, you'd be able to find her with ease before they could even try anything." Nodding his head in agreement, InuTaisho sighed, "That's what I thought as well... and slowly, she began opening up to me again with what little faith she held left for men. Seeing her smiling face again was a gift... no... it was a blessing that I was more than thankful for. When she became pupped again, she ended up losing it through natural causes."

His orbs then gained a dangerous gleam as he spoke, "When she lost the pup, the maiden of earth called upon me to hold counsel and I agreed. Telling her that my mate had just lost her pup and the meeting had to be quick, she then opened up to me... no... she opened up my exhausted orbs. With tears in her eyes, she then revealed that the current maiden of light had STOLEN her rightful title as the leading maiden of light and I was supposed to be her true mate. Figuring that this had to be a lie, I turned to leave, but was stopped the moment she had told me that the pup that my false mate had been carrying had been a mortal male's pup and not my own." The three eternal rulers then gave their father the dryest expression.

That golden gaze then became deadly as he continued, "She explained that she was confused over the fact that she continued to see the false leading maiden of light at specific times that lined up PERFECTLY with each time she had actually left Elysian. With her being my true mate through the rights and laws of the eternal rulers, she held her hand out to me and told me that she would never break my trust and would love me for the rest of all of eternity. She then explained to me as to how to get her rightful title back as the standing leader of light back... which at first made me hesitant. She told me that the only way to get her standing back was to swap the souls in their bodies and promised to never break my trust."

The looks he was now being given by his sons were that of pure agitation, considering that they could tell that this was nothing but BULLSHIT, but they grudgingly continued to listen, "After a long talk over everything, I felt as if I were seeing everything clearly for the very first time and I agreed to aid her, but first, I mated her... and by doing so... Kagome appeared with a horrified expression considering she had just lost her MORTAL'S pup and the fact that she had caught us having intercourse. As quickly as she had come, she began to cry and flew away as fast as she could. I couldn't help it... I became worried and began to look EVERYWHERE for her so that my true mate could have the title that she deserved back."

That gleam he now held was now out for blood as he growled out, "By that time, all of you were fully grown and had gained your titles as eternal rulers. I continued to look for your mother so that my TRUE mate could have her standing title back, but out of fear of having her false title taken, your mother had gone into hiding and I returned back to Izayoi. That's when you four showed up and began to threaten me and my true mate. You gave me an ultimatum that I could live happily with your mother for the rest of my life, or have my leading title stripped from me and become an outcast. When I refused either options, Izayoi and myself had to fight you four... and it pained me very much to do so in the first place."

Shooting his, now, crimson orbs down to Kagome as she cried and furiously wiped her tears away to force herself to stop crying, InuTaisho growled out, "The battle lasted many moons and it ended up taking its toll on the very lands you stand upon. Ultimately... you four finally defeated me by mortally wounding Izayoi and Sen stripped me of my leader title, but you did not wish to kill Izayoi in the slightest due to your more than loving nature. She begged to be healed and most of you agreed, but Sesshomaru had different plans. Your chains of hell grabbed her and right before Kagome stole her maiden of earth title, Izayoi placed a curse on me to never forget who the true leader of light actually was and bound me to the west."

The morning meal was long overdue, yet the five still stood in Kagome and Sen's room. Taking a shaky breath, Kagome winced as she rammed her hand through her chest and extracted the supreme of earth's title and standing... but gripped it tightly and lowered her head before whispering, "Toga... Do remember that I cannot lie to you like the rest. So, first and foremost... thank you for everything. My spirit will no doubt fade the moment I give her, her true standing back and she ceases my body due to my overly weakened state. After that, I am quite sure that ALL of those who stand as deities will no longer be one. However, the love... the warmth... the joy... I will never forget anything that you have given me..."

Smiling at him with tears sliding down her face, a quivering breath was then released, "I love you so much pups. Forget about me and live a happy life, okay? I know that's asking a lot, but do as I ask; for it is my dying wish." Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen stood there with mortified faces as tears fell from their faces. Looking at InuTaisho, she broke down into hysterical sobs. The moment her pups tried to comfort her, she yelled at them, "GET OUT! I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER ANY LONGER! I AM NO ONE, A LOST SOUL, A SOUL THAT HAS NEVER EXISTED! NOW GO!" Her pups instantly began to cry as they rushed out of the room, but clung tightly to her memory. For the next time they even witnessed her, it wouldn't even be her.

Opening her hand with a miserable smile, Kagome couldn't bring herself to even glance at the man she loved as she whispered so softly that not even he heard her, "I reinstate Izayoi as the maiden of earth..." A harsh pulse ran through her body as the deity orb darted off. Coughing up a good dose of blood, Kagome then fell back to slam against the ground. Slowly, her eyes began to droop as the door slammed open to hear dark laughter, "FINALLY! LOOK AT YOU, PITIFUL LITTLE KAGOME! InuTaisho, good work love... FINALLY, I WILL HAVE MY CHANCE TO SHINE!" Kagome gave a weak smile towards Izayoi and InuTaisho, but merely accepted her fate and closed her eyes as Izayoi's soul slammed into Kagome's body.

Midoriko's spirit then appeared looking horrified and tears slid down her face as she slowly looked at the great lord of stupid, "W-What have you done...? My daughter... she loved you with every fiber of her being... Was I a FAKE leading maiden of light as well!? You are SO blind! TAKE MY SWORD! NOW! KEEP IT AS A REMINDER OF WHAT YOU HAVE JUST BROKEN! You will never see me again, farewell." InuTaisho appeared shocked, but took Midoriko's blade and laced it beside Tessaiga and Tenseiga as her spirit slowly faded from existence. "Kagome's" eyes then opened slowly and the coloration of those orbs were now the same as Izayoi's, "Oh my, so THIS is what being the leading maiden of light and a Celestial feels like!"

InuTaisho's eyes widened at that statement as the angel stood up to look at her hands and hair, "It took you long enough to get me what I wanted." Huffing, she then scowled as she spoke, "Hm, how tedious... her spirit capacity is SO large that it will take all of today AND tomorrow for my spirit to overrule hers!? Now, let's see... my hair isn't as long as I want it to be, so I will need to grow it out. Wait, I can't LIE anymore!? Well, this is a damn inconvenience..." Looking at the attire she now wore, she then shrugged, "Okay, let's go." His hands were now shaking as he spoke, "Izayoi, you said that your spirits would trade bodies. Why has her spirit not entered your body!?" She then lifted a brow at this, "Oh, did I say that?"

Nodding his head and waiting for an answer as she turned towards the door, she then spoke, "Let us be going. I haven't been back in so long and I wish to walk around as my spirit consumes her own." His whole body was now trembling, but he nodded, "R-Right..." Exiting the room, the angel was then scooped up by the pretty little kitten, "Kagome! Where were you this morning!? Everyone was FREAKING out!" Looking at the white tiger, she then scoffed hatefully, "TCH! YOU, release me this INSTANT." Considering the leading ruler of ice didn't come into existence until after Izayoi and InuTaisho had initially been cursed, the body snatcher had no clue as to whom this was in the to begin with; but she did sense what he was.

InuTaisho KNEW that Shinto would catch onto that comment almost instantly, and he was right... considering he did. Blinking rapidly, Shinto then tilted his head in a rather puzzled manner, "Uh... you okay Kagome?" InuTaisho then NERVOUSLY chuckled, but hoped that the white tiger kitten wouldn't hear it in the slightest as he spoke out, "She merely overslept, but asked for me to escort her around for a while, Shinto." Hearing that nervous tone jingle out from the ruler of the west was puzzling as hell, making his kitten ears flick as he spoke, "If you say so... but uh... are YOU okay, InuTaisho?" Kagome tilted her head towards InuTaisho with frustration, making him nod and sigh, "We are going to go and enjoy the festival now."

Shinto then nodded slightly, "Yeah... okay... not a big deal... By the way, Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen are out in the festival and look super bummed. You know why?" InuTaisho then released that nervous chuckle again, "Couldn't say that I do. We will go and check on them now, right Kagome?" Gaining no reply due to not used to being called 'Kagome' as of yet, he then nudged her, "Kagome? Spacing out now, are we?" Snapping out of it, she then laughed as if not caring, "Right, let us go and check on them right this moment." Shinto instantly gained warning sirens at that comment, but what really got to him... was when he looked into her eyes to see brown and not sky blue, "W-Well... see you guys later... yeah...?"

As the two walked away and were now out of earshot, InuTaisho turned his head towards Kagome, "Izayoi, for now you need to behave as Kagome did, or a riot will be held due to what has happened to her. We are at a festival that holds many negotiations and meals. For now, it would be best if you told everyone that you changed your eye color for a change of pace." Nodding her head as if not caring, she then huffed, but then spoke in an extremely shocked tone, "So I will be called Kagome... great, just great. Wait one moment... WHY do I feel SO much darkness inside of me!? It's speaking in a language that I do not understand either! She is a Celestial! This sort of darkness is only something that you DEMONS hold!"

InuTaisho then lifted his brow at the new leading maiden of light, "I thought you knew that. When a Celestial mates a Demon, they gain some of their darkness. Should they mate a daiyokai, then they gain an inner beast of their own. I can teach you the language so that you can find common ground with Kagome's inner beast, but it is a hard language to master. Kagome called it the language of 'bark, bark; woof, woof'." Izayoi then scowled slightly, "I can see as to why she did. It sounds like a rabid dog barking nonstop in my head and it is quite infuriating." InuTaisho then sighed heavily, "Well, that's to be expected. Now that a foreign spirit has taken hold of her body, I can only imagine as to how infuriated it is."

"Yet another inconvenience..." the angel muttered as her inner beast barked in a hostile manner towards the invader. Ignoring the beyond pissed off inner beast, she then glared in front of her as she spoke, "So... those traitors Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen are here? Sen, I don't mind so much due to the fact that all he never wanted for a curse to be placed over me... but Sesshomaru and Ikari... I will never forgive. Inuyasha is lucky that he is not here, or I would have enjoyed ripping him to shreds." Now, she did not dare call herself the "RIGHTFUL" maiden of light due to the fact that she would be dragged back to hell all over again. That was not something she wanted, especially now that she had finally gained the title she wanted.

Darting outside, Shinto got to the bummed out pups first, "What in the HELL happened to your mother!? She didn't play with my kitten ears or call me by name!" Sesshomaru then glanced down, but the overly honest one, Sen, answered, "That's not mother any longer, it's Izayoi. Dad, I'm going to be blunt with you. You are now the leading lord of ice and as such, you will be moving to Elysian. I can strip her of her leading title, and as such, she will be forced to go west again. If she's not the leading maiden of light any longer, authority instantly goes to you and I become your bodyguard. Sesshomaru will go south, Ikari will go east, and I will send word to Inuyasha to head north." Shinto's heart broke right then and there.

Noticing their birth father and previous mother approaching them, Sen motioned his head for the leading lord of ice to leave. Waving in a chipper manner, Shinto walked away as InuTaisho and Kagome approached. All three glared at their father and Sen silently stripped the leading title from the maiden of light. Izayoi then came to a stop in front of the three and growled angrily, but softly, "Sesshomaru... Ikari... Sen. It is WONDERFUL to be seeing you once again." Pointing towards the twins angrily, she then glared spitefully, "I should strip you two, plus Inuyasha, of your eternal ruler titles!" The twins then chuckled darkly as they sat there before replying to her, "Go ahead and try it. This should be a good show."

Nodding her head as if it were such a simple task, she then spoke out, "I hereby strip the lord of flames, water, and wind of their rightful standings as eternal rulers!" Noticing nothing was happening in the slightest, they all blinked lazily at her and yawned heavily. Ikari then smirked as he spoke in a tone that was TOO dark for his gentle, kind, and loving nature, "Want to try again? Maybe you said it wrong." Holding her hand out, she then called, "I strip the supreme of flames, water, and wind of their rightful standings as eternal rulers!" Again, all yawned heavily and blinked rapidly over the matter at hand, obviously not affected in the slightest by this fake's words. Okay, now it was time to stop playing with their food.

All three then smirked as they stood up to lightly bow to the two other eternal rulers that stood before them before they spoke out in a venomous tone of voice, "Dumbass TOOL of shadows, MAIDEN of light." NO! SHE JUST HAD THE LEADING TITLE, WHERE DID IT GO!? Sen then growled out spitefully, "You looking for that leading title... you evil BITCH!? Yeah, I took it away in the same manner that you stripped us of our mother! You are no longer welcomed in Elysian, for the leading lord of ice shall not permit it. Now then, your new location will be somewhere you know QUITE well!" Kagome's eyes then widened, "NO! NOT THE WEST! I DESERVE TO HOLD THE LEADING TITLE AND BE THE RULER OF ALL ELYSIAN!"

This comment only proved to make Sesshomaru chuckle out painfully dark, "You deserve to hold the leading title... and be the ruler of all Elysian? Now that has to be the worst joke that I have had the privilege of hearing today. Just as Sen said... you robbed us of our mother, but don't fret... I won't attack our mother's body. I hold too much respect for her standing and for what she believes in as a whole, while you... as father called my mother... are nothing more than a venomous snake. You poisoned our father's mind and turned him against his own pups, but more importantly... you turned him against his own mate due to your greed for having not only him, but the title of the leading maiden of light as well. Now, begone."

Right as the second day came to a close on the constellation festival, all sat in the dining hall to have their evening meal. Sen now stood behind Shinto with his arms folded across his lower back until hearing his actual mother's spirit speak to him, "Sen, my pup... calm yourself. I raised you so much better. Now, stand with pride and show the respect that I expect to see from one of my pups. Your father will not tell you, so I will. By the end of tomorrow, my spirit will fade entirely. That is why you all still hold your status of being an eternal ruler. Be sure to treasure your family with all of your rays of Sen-shine and remember that I will always be with you, my pup, no matter where my spirit is to go. Remember... I love you..."

Hearing all of that had Sen's distress swiftly engulfing the entire room and was now shooting into orbit, causing EVERYONE to look his way. Sesshomaru and Ikari swiftly stood up and rushed to their younger brother before bowing to Shinto and mumbling in unison, "Please excuse us, leading lord of ice." Nodding his head towards the twin killing perfections, they then dragged their little brother somewhere secluded... but InuTaisho had followed as well. Ikari grasped his little brother's shoulders and began to gently shake him, "Sen, snap out of it!" Shaking his head abruptly, Sen looked at his two older brother's with tears in his eyes, making even Sesshomaru worried, "What's wrong? It's very unlike you to act this way."

The lord of lightning was now crying and Ikari pulled him to his own chest while rubbing his back soothingly in the same manner their mother had used to do, causing Sen to choke out, "M-Mother just spoke to me telepathically..." This had the twins' eyes widening immensely, "What did she say!?" Nodding his head, the youngest there then let the cat out of the bag, "She said... Father will not tell us, but by the end of tomorrow, her spirit will fade entirely. That's the only reason why we are still holding our statuses as eternal rulers." Sesshomaru's eyes then widened immensely, "H-Her spirit is being tortured!? Okay, so we still have time to bring her back. We have until tomorrow evening to figure out our plan of action."

After an uncomfortably quiet meal, everyone, except five individuals, went to bed. In Shinto's room sat Sesshomaru, Ikari, Sen, and Shinto as they began to brainstorm. Nothing solid was coming to mind until Shinto's pierced kitten ear twitched slightly, "I know that InuTaisho has a hold on Satsuriku now, and it is a given that he has hold of So'unga, but do you think it would be possible for their spirits to enter Kagome's?" Ikari hummed softly, "Well, technically it is still mother's body... so they might not even be able to tell the difference." Sesshomaru then shifted a frown from side to side, "Yes, but I do not believe Izayoi's spirit can contain theirs and if they aren't already aware, they will know the difference once held."

Sen then peered towards his eldest brother, "Well, of course they probably already know. They have most likely been sensing father's guilt all day long. Hell, even someone without sensory skills could probably feel that much guilt radiating off of his body. Now, from what I can remember from our first lives... Izayoi was the ONLY mortal eternal ruler, which gave her an unnaturally long lifespan to live as long as the rest of us. Hence why these lands are known for the three great races." Ikari then chuckled, "So, uh, why did you curse her to live as a MORTAL for all eternity then?" Sesshomaru then chuckled, "Technically I didn't. I merely gave her the curse of reincarnation to never find true peace. Mother stripped her title."

This made Shinto blink harshly and speak in a puzzled tone, "Wait, what? First lives?" The three pups then glanced towards the white tiger leading lord of ice and nodded as the lord of lightning sighed gently, "Yeah... all of us are the original first hand selected supreme deities... including you." That hit Shinto hard once all of his memories resurfaced, "I see... so Yukio... he's a fabrication..." Sen then slapped the back of Shinto's back, "Hey now! We all still love him regardless!" The twins then chuckled softly and nodded, "The sparkly white tiger kitten is rather adorable and quite loveable to everyone! Though, with how much he sparkles, he should have been a female; if you catch my drift," this only made Shinto chuckle softly.

"We really should have more than one plan, but I am unsure of what else we could possibly do to recall mother's spirit. Does anyone else have a plan? I mean, something is better than nothing," Ikari spoke in a slightly worried tone, making all agree before sighing as Sesshomaru spoke, "Honestly, I have a few other plans... but most would take a few days to accomplish. The only other plan I have includes father and dad working together. Us pups would have to hold her down while they FORCE their way inside of her soul. If the two demonic blades can gain access, then they should be able to tether those two with mother to gain assisted entrance to her soul and be granted passage with relative ease."

Humming softly, Sen then spoke out, "Yes, well, the only issue would be three things." That made everyone stop and gaze at the lord of lightning before asking, "What would that be?" Knowing as to where this was going, Shinto sighed, "Those three things would be the size of her soul, the other, it wouldn't be light and bright. It would most likely be a pitch black void once we gained entrance. The last would be time." Ikari then peered towards Sen and had to ask, "Sen, you are the lord of lightning and you have to deal with souls all of the time, couldn't you force mother's soul to resurface?" Sen then frowned deeply, "Well, I've been searching for her soul quite a bit, but with the eternal rulers now unraveling, it's been hard."

Ikari then peered towards the white tiger, "You said time was one of the issues, but in what sense?" Shinto then gained a thought filled face as he spoke in a slightly worried, "Well... with the eternal rulers unraveling at a rapid pace, we would have to rely on our demonic force and our celestial force... before it runs dry, that is. So, by not relying on our powers of eternal rulers, that will keep us in a tad longer, but the moment we use it, it will begin unraveling faster and I'm going to bet more than anything that it will be painful for not only our bodies, but our hearts and souls will take a massive hit as well if her soul vanishes completely. If you can't tell, our powers of eternal rulers are now leaking out of our bodies."

All three nodded and Sen spoke out, "Well, I've been trying to buy us time with that by fueling the void with my lightning to find mother. By doing so, you will probably feel it dramatically slow down, but then pick up once I need a break. Normally, I wouldn't need to take a break and it would just come naturally without any strains or tolls, but by slowing down all of your progression and keeping mother's spirit... wherever it might be... strong and not fading quicker, I have been voluntarily speeding up my own progression. So I might be the first to check out as an eternal ruler. I need a lot of rest just to build up a mere small fraction of my celestial force, but, if it gives us the chance to get mother back, then I will do it."

Shinto then frowned slightly at this comment and pointed to the second bed, "Sen, get rest now. The more you get, the better off you will be." Nodding his head and leaning against Ikari, Sen began to cry hysterically. Frowning at his younger brother, Ikari then picked his little brother up and carried him to bed as if he were some small child. Once he was laid in bed and covered, Ikari smiled warmly and spoke softly, "Come now Sen-shine, even the sun needs its rest before shining brightly the next day. I promise that we will get mother back somehow." Even Sen knew that, that was quite the large and hefty promise to be making to another individual, but, it also gave him a glimmer of hope that his brother was right.

With that, the lord of lightning fell asleep rather quickly and Ikari went back to his elder twin and Shinto so that they could conjure up a few more plans. Elsewhere, InuTaisho laid awake in bed with his arm wrapped around Kagome's body and his other arm was draped over his eyes as he cried. Satsuriku was not happy in the slightest as he swore out to the puppy acting as if he had just been kicked while already down, "WHAT AN INCOMPETENT DAMN FOOL YOU ARE, INUTAISHO! AS EVIL AS I AM, I FIND YOU REPULSIVE WITH YOUR HEINOUS CRIMES COMMITTED! HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND THAT YOU COULD NEVER TELL AS TO HOW MUCH KAGOME LOVED YOU!? THIS WOMAN DOES NOT LOVE YOU!"

Gritting his teeth angrily to the point that his gums began to bleed, he then felt Kagome shift and began stroking his demonic markings. Removing his arm from his face to see those beautiful sky blue orbs, she then sighed, "Toga... we all have paths we choose to take. Sometimes... it's not until it's too late that we figure out that we have taken the wrong path. By me forcing my fading spirit to surface to aid your hurting heart, I have sped up the process of being completely consumed. Sen has been slowing that process as much as he can, but it's not going to make much of a difference now. I only have one request... Please tell Inuyasha and Hinami as to how much I love them both and will always be by their sides in spirit."

Watching her wince, her eyes then shifted back to brown and Izayoi scowled, "Dumb bitch... stay hidden and get erased." Lying back on InuTaisho's chest and falling asleep, he placed his arm over his eyes again and silently began to cry all over again. For now, all Kagome could do was watch from the inside and frown deeply as she mumbled to herself, "The next stage... will be process of my spirit's elimination. I will go completely unconscious soon. Even if they did reach me, I highly doubt that it would be on time." She stayed watching the unraveling lord of shadows fall asleep after crying to the extent that he had. It was something she had never wished she could have seen in the first place, for it deeply wounded her heart.

The next day... the day of finding love... was now in full swing. "Kagome" and InuTaisho walked out into the dining hall for the morning meal and sat at their respective areas while all began to eat another uncomfortably silent meal. Sesshomaru and Ikari refused to sit with their father and stood behind him. Hell, they'd rather eat with the bodyguards than be subjected to eating with their false mother. As the mortal lord spoke of what was going to happen today, everyone silently nodded and the bodyguards were sent to have their meals in the second dining hall. Sitting down, Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen all held a glum expression until the lord of lightning spoke, "Mother sped up her own disappearance last night..."

Sesshomaru snapped his head towards his youngest brother, "W-WHAT!? HOW!?" Ikari then nodded slightly with a deep frown, "Do you mind explaining it to us, Sen...?" Shaking his head, he then spoke up with a drastic sigh, "Father has been a wreck. His actions speak louder than his words always do, you two should know that by now. I woke up last night when I felt a disturbance because... mother's spirit witnessed father crying and she forced her spirit to surface so that she could calm him down... but by doing so, it sped up her own spirit's process of elimination. I tried to follow as to where her spirit was when it was pushed back down by Izayoi, but it was so fast that I lost track of it in the process."

Finished eating, they all then followed the lords that were not mated or married, only to witness that Izayoi had taken a piece of parchment to take part in the festivities. Walking up to her, Sen then growled out, "The maiden of light is not to play this foolish game, for she is only capable of either being with the lord of shadows, or the leading lord of ice." She then scoffed at him and wrote down everything she wanted to, "Says who? I am not in Elysian as of now and it is merely a game, nothing more." All watched as she happily took her turn, completely confusing everyone. Each year that Kagome had taken part in this game, she DREADED it and never actually wanted to take part in this group activity that had been made.

Of course, InuTaisho was in the same round and he got the first pick, only to blandly point at her door. When the door opened, he did not witness those sparkling blue orbs that matched the skies above, but he agreed to spend the day with her. Walking through the festival now with Izayoi happily clinging to his arm, his golden orbs dulled as she looked up to see his dangling earring that held a golden crystal, only for her face to scrunch up, "Ugh! Take that OUT of your ear! It looks quite horrendous on you!" With Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen following; they all witnessed their father's heart break over that comment coming from Kagome's mouth, but softly spoke out, "I happen to enjoy it... so why not let me have that joy?"

Izayoi rolled her eyes, but then snapped around to face the pups with a more than agitated facial expression, "Will you three STOP following us!? ESPECIALLY YOU, SESSHOMARU!" Sesshomaru and Ikari both tilted their heads in the same manner, making Sen internally chuckle at how, as their mother would put it, adorable these two dummies were appearing. The twins then glanced at one another before Sesshomaru began to play mind games just like their mother the moment he spoke, "I am quite unsure as to who she is speaking to. Is it you?" Ikari then peered his way and understood his line of thinking as his face gained the same look as his brother's, "Hm... no, I believe that she is speaking to you over these matters."

Sen then chuckled out darkly, "I bet you can't even tell the twins apart to even make it BELIEVABLE that you are our mother." Looking at the twins, she then pointed to Ikari, "That's Sesshomaru." Pointing towards Sesshomaru, she then spoke as if she were victorious, "THAT'S Ikari." Both of their eyes twitched angrily and InuTaisho then spoke softly, "The other way around..." Taking Midoriko's blade out of his sash, he then handed it to Sen and whispered miserably, "With your mother not here... your grandmother is gone... I wish for you to keep hold of it..." Taking Satsuriku, he then handed it to Sesshomaru, whom didn't DARE take the blade... but then the night prior's plans popped into Ikari's mind, "Hey, give it to her!"

Handing the hilt to Izayoi... in Kagome's body... she then grasped the hilt firmly and almost instantly, three sets of daiyokai hands were holding her hand to the blade as Sen yelled, "SATSURIKU, DRIVE HER SPIRIT OUT BEFORE MOTHER'S COMPLETELY FADES!" Seeing Satsuriku pulse angrily, his spirit invaded Kagome's body and began to search. The true angel's soul was so large it would take FOREVER to find her, so the blade's hilt now wouldn't let her release him and the three others released her hand as she growled out, "RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT, YOU MALIGNANT BLADE FROM HELL!" Yeah, no, that wasn't going to happen. With Sen giving the order, he was more than happy to oblige to his wishes.

"Father, she isn't looking so well. You should take her back to her room," Sesshomaru spoke blandly, yet InuTaisho nodded, "R-Right..." Sen then walked up and snickered in a snarky fashion, "I'll come too. She really isn't looking too good and I AM her bodyguard after all." Nodding his head, he then lifted the angel into his strong arms and both him and Sen made their way back to Kagome's room. Once inside, she was laid down and Sen sat beside her before speaking darkly, "Satsuriku, don't you dare let her release you. If my mother's spirit fades, I will dismember you and break the jewel made from mother's fang so that your spirit goes right back to the horrible place it was at before mother found you!"

Seeing the white jewel made from Kagome's fang pulse asking for aid, Sen then stood up and grabbed So'unga and placed it in his mother's other hand, "So'unga, DRIVE THIS BITCH OUT OF MY MOTHER!" Watching So'unga's tenticles shoot into his mother's arms painfully, his spirit then entered inside as well as the lord of lightning looked back at his father furiously, "You've done ENOUGH damage! Get out!" InuTaisho felt so horrible about this that he lowered his head as tears dripped down his face, "I CAN'T DO THAT!" Sen was so furious that he yelled back, "WHY IN THE HELL NOT!?" Shooting his head up with determination he sat beside Kagome and held his arms out, "SO'UNGA, SATSURIKU, GRANT MY SOUL PASSAGE!"

Both demonic souls instantly pulled InuTaisho's soul inside of where Kagome's normally bright light of a soul laid... only to witness pitch black all around him. Snapping his head around, the lord of the shadows sent his shadows out, "LOOK FOR KAGOME! THE LIGHT MIGHT BE DIM, SO ONCE YOU HAVE FOUND HER, DIRECT ME!" However... he had a massive indication as to where she was... his tails. Feeling the tugging of his tails, he nodded and began to rush through the pitch black soul, only for his tails to begin tugging to the right and making him follow their lead, "Help me get her back! I know of how much you two love her and I am well aware that this is all my fault, so let's get her back together!"

His naughty tail then slapped him across the face angrily as his good boy tail continued to spazz out as if saying "NOW ISN'T THE DAMN TIME" as it began to pull harder to direct its host. Feeling a tug to the left, InuTaisho followed as he rushed to find the lost soul of the angel. Soon enough, gentle crying could be heard and he pushed himself to the limits as he ran even faster. He didn't have much longer to be in here due to how large HIS spirit was, so he used EVERYTHING that he had. That gentle crying became slightly louder, but his vision began to become blurry before coming back to real time and yelled, "SEND ME BACK IN! I FOUND HER!" Sen could tell how much it was taking out of his father, so he placed a hand on him.

Looking at his son as he refueled his own energy, Sen then scowled, "DON'T JUST LOOK AT ME, DUMBASS! GO AND GET MOTHER! I COULD CARE LESS AT THIS POINT IF IT KILLS YOU!" Pulled back inside Kagome's soul that was becoming even darker, his tails instantly began to spazz out because... she was running out of time... Darting as fast as he could possibly go, his vision began to grow blurry until more of Sen's energy was pushed inside of him and he continued at top speed until hearing that fading crying. Sen was using A LOT of his celestial force and demonic force to keep his father going as fast as he possibly could go to retrieve the lost angel. Noticing a dimming light, he pushed much harder to reach her.

Squinting his eyes, he noticed Kagome wasn't even crying... she was completely unconscious. What he was hearing... were her memories. Reaching out as he sprinted, he then darted into that fading light that seemed as if it were a pulsing heart and wrapped his arms around her, "KAGOME! KAGOME!" His tails shakily wrapped around her body that was starting to fade, his eyes filled with tears as he brought her to his chest, "I'M SO SORRY! MATE, WAKE UP!" She wasn't responding in the slightest. The dimmer her spirit became, the more he felt his standing as a deity fading, so, he tilted his head down and pressed his lips to her own as his tears slid down her face miserably. Her time was almost up and he knew that.

Sen's power was now fading, considering he had taken so much to reach her as fast as he had. Deepening his kiss as more of his tears slid down her face, he then paused and whimpered, "I love you so much... don't you dare give up and leave me now..." With that, his lips slammed against hers and he felt his time almost up until a gentle hand brushed against his face. Opening his eyes, horror hit him when she whispered, "Don't cry..." Shaking his head, he held her tighter, "DAMMIT, YOU'RE SO HARD HEADED! LIVE! IF NOT FOR ME, THEN DO IT FOR OUR PUPS!" Her eyes appeared dry at that before he felt a harsh flick to his forehead, "TOGA! YOU'RE SO OBLIVIOUS! MY SPIRIT IS BACK, SO GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!"

This dummy would not get off of her, but she reached her hand out to her pup, "Sen-shine..." Sen's eyes flooded with tears at that moment as he took Satsuriku and placed it down before taking his mother's hand by threading his fingers through her own, "M-Mommy... don't do that... not EVER again!" Giving her leading title back, her weak hand held his as tightly as it possibly could, "I should have probably given you a heart attack after the festival... not during it. I will be so weak the rest of the day that I won't be able to stand... baby... bring Shinto..." Nodding his head, Sen released his mother's hand and left, only for her to scowl and give off a clear warning shot towards InuTaisho, "Get off of me... now..."

Izayoi then sat up in her own body before yelling, "WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU GO AND FIND HER SOUL INUTAISHO!? SHE DOESN'T LOVE YOU! ONLY I LOVE YOU!" Kagome then scoffed hatefully, "Even with how much I hate his guts right now, I STILL love him more than you. I guess you aren't quite aware of all of the leading maiden of light's abilities. I CAN TELL YOU ARE LYING, MAIDEN OF EARTH! MAIDEN OF EARTH, I HEREBY FORCE YOU BACK TO THE DOMAINS OF YOUR JURISDICTION! THE WEST!" That was peculiar, she had let her keep her standing. She was unable to break InuTaisho's curse due to not knowing what it was, and she highly doubted that Sesshomaru would break Izayoi's curse in the slightest.

Kagome then watched as Izayoi began to sob over having to return to the west, making her sigh softly, "Go to the one you REALLY love... Toga." Izayoi held her hand out to InuTaisho in a pleading sense. The only problem with this factor, was that there were still memories. Right as he turned towards Izayoi, Shinto darted in with a poofed up tail from how badly Sen had scared him while he had been spaced out. Seeing THAT had the angel chuckling weakly as he picked her up into his arms and pressed his cheek to her own while crying, "Don't you EVER do something THAT reckless EVER again! I was SO worried about you!" Frowning, she then glanced over at InuTaisho before peering into Shinto's orbs, "He has chosen... mate..."

On the day of Kagome's recovery, Sen was told by his mother to go to all of the lords to introduce all of the eternal rulers, which he agreed to before leaving to the dining hall. Once he had made it to the dining hall with Shinto, all bowed to him before he cleared his throat, "All that have gathered, I have news for all of you." Everyone directed their attention towards Sen and nodded silently before he continued with a gentle smile, "Here and now, all but one eternal ruler is gathered. Myself, lord of lightning. Sesshomaru, lord of flames. Ikari, lord of wind. Izayoi, maiden of earth. InuTaisho, the previous leading, but now merely the lord of shadows. Shinto, leading lord of ice. The one not present is Inuyasha, lord of water."

Everyone peered over to Izayoi, whom was now sitting beside InuTaisho before Shippo asked, "Sen, I thought that the maiden of earth had fallen from grace and was to never be a standing eternal ruler ever again, is that not true? You must be jesting that she is currently here!" Peering towards the fox ruler, he then shook his head, "I really wish that I were kidding. My mother, the leading maiden of light, graciously bestowed the maiden of earth's title back to her once again. There is something I must discuss with the four pillars of demon lords as of this moment." All four demon lords then peered straight at Sen with high respect before the lord of lightning took in a deep breath of air so that he could speak out calmly.

Nodding that he had all of the four pillars of demon lords' attention, Sen spoke evenly, "Now, what I am about to tell you four is non-negotiable for all of the four pillars of demon lords, and all must listen to what I am about to say without fail. Each eternal ruler has an area of jurisdiction. The south will be gaining the lord of shadows as its ruler to balance out as to how cold it always is. The east will gain the lord of wind as its ruler so that all may live without fear of the constant natural disasters. The north will gain the lord of water as its ruler so that he may keep the lands cool and water plentiful. The maiden of earth and the lord of shadows will keep their rule of the west, however..." Sen then paused and peered at the pair.

Releasing a deep and heavy breath, the lord of lightning then narrowed his orbs of the last two he had spoken of as he spoke, "ALL deities... EXCEPT the last two lords will be able to merge their kingdoms with Elysian. This is also non-negotiable. So, in other words... since the maiden of earth tried to cease the leading maiden of light's standing and true authority, the maiden of earth will not be welcomed to any meetings concerning the eternal rulers and must be given all information of what has been spoken of through the lord of shadows. The west will gain NO aid, nor assistance from Elysian... even should it be dire. Now that this has been clarified, I must ask any present deities as to whom would like to merge with Elysian?"

Sesshomaru and Ikari both raised their hands, making Sen nod slightly, "Duly noted. All documentation of merging kingdoms will be sent your way. The lord of water has already signed his contract and is now merged with Elysian and has gifted his lands with the title "Funsui", but connected, the name will be "Funsui no Elysian". Lords of flames and wind, do you have a title for your lands?" How in the hell did Inuyasha come up with a name that good for the lands that he held jurisdiction over? The twin rulers may never know. Ikari then peered up, "The lands of the east shall now be known as "Anzen", for the lands will now be kept safe from mother nature's wrath." Sen then nodded with a smile, "A very wise choice lord of wind."

Finally thinking of the perfect name Sesshomaru peered up, "The lands of the south will now be addressed as "Dochi", for the south must contain an equivalent balance of warm seasons and cold seasons." Sen then smiled at his eldest brother before nodding, "Wonderful! Now that you are both combining with Elysian, Anzen will now be known as Anzen no Elysian and Dochi shall be known as Dochi no Elysian. I will make both of you aware that you will have full capabilities of coming and going from Elysian anytime you see fit, or, to come and negotiate a trade of goods. By merging our lands, everyone, especially the children, must go through schooling for a small fee so that they know what trait they wish to carry."

Now that, that was completed, Sen then finished up with his brothers, "Speak to the leading maiden of light for the amount that she initially charges for schooling. Adults with no money will first be given free schooling and once they find a trait and begin making money, the debt for schooling must be paid back slowly. Don't be so greedy to gain all of that money back in one sitting. We also encourage you to give money to the children that do exceptionally well with their school work. Begin teaching selflessness and the moment you return to your respective domains, erect the same barrier that the leading maiden of light holds immediately to purge all impure and negative thoughts, while also keeping actions noble."

Turning towards his father with a blank face, Sen sighed, "Considering the west is ruled by two rulers, the same as Elysian; you must come up with a name as well, even if you aren't ever allowed to merge with Elysian." Just as InuTaisho went to answer, Izayoi did, "Nishi." The name that InuTaisho had picked had been much cooler, but Sen gave a dry expression at the name that literally meant "west", "If you both are in agreeance over such an obvious name that holds no ties to what either of you are attempting to accomplish with your given powers, then Nishi it is. Now that I have memorized all names, I must take my leave to report to the leading maiden of light over your choice in names. Leading lord of ice, I shall return."

With Kagome back to normal the next day, the day of fun in the sun with swimming, the leading maiden of light and the leading lord of ice then entered the dining hall with Sen right behind the two. Everyone stood for the couple and bowed deeply before speaking, "Leading maiden of light, leading lord of ice, we bid the a good morning." Both nodded gently at everyone before making their way to their spots at the head of the dining table that the angel now sat beside the pretty white tiger kitten in such a dignified manner as their meals were served. Sesshomaru and Ikari both glanced towards the pretty kitty with an all too playful smirk, obviously about to tease him before both spoke in unison, "Plan on swimming lord Shinto?"

Shinto could only groan at the mention of his arch nemesis in the form of water as he began to eat his meal. Humming thoughtfully, he then chuckled out, "Well, I was planning on just watching your mother swim in the bathing suit I had specially designed for her!" Kagome immediately turned bright red over such a comment, considering the fact that this so called "bathing suit" was a separated two piece attire that showed little to nothing. In other words, it was a sparkling white bikini. Once the meal was over with, the trio walked back to their room before Kagome pinched the kitten's ear, "Oh, you WILL be swimming with me this year!" Becoming flustered, he then sighed heavily and gave up the fight right then and there.

If she was going to force him to do so anyway, then there was no DAMN point in arguing with her. Once the angel made up her mind, that was it. Kagome then teasingly walked behind Shinto and removed his kimono before stepping in front of him to yank him down and pierce his flesh to brand him as her mate. Looking shocked at this, Shinto's kitten tail thrashed about playfully as Sen quickly changed and exited the room in his white and single ultraviolet lilac striped swimming attire, he then chuckles as he waved, "Hurry up you two!" Both blinked rapidly and Shinto nodded, "Oh, don't you worry Sen... your mother will drag me to the water whether I want to go or not!" This comment merely made Sen snicker playfully.

Once the lightning deity left, Shinto began to undress the angel... but right before he could mark her, the door knocked. Ignoring the knock for now, the white tiger kitten hastily marked the angel and swiftly placed her rather revealing swimming attire on her and quickly changed into his own before answering the door while thinking, 'Why in the HELL didn't I see this coming...?' It was obvious to the leading lord of ice that the lord of shadows wanted to be able to have his cake AND also have the capability of eating it too. Lifting his brow and releasing a heavy breath, Shinto then took Kagome's hand; only to make her tilt her head slightly while questioning, "What might my mate and I be able to help you with, lord of shadows?"

InuTaisho witnessed their mating marks and almost became furious internally, but witnessing as to what the leading maiden of light was WEARING threw him off entirely, "Well... I... uh... know that... uh... you don't like to... uh... swim... so I came to... uh... take Kagome in... uh... your place..." Shinto watched as InuTaisho's eyes scanned his mate's body, only for him to wrap his arm around her bare hip before the two exited the room. Smirking as they brushed by, Shinto then chuckled as he gave his reply, "Ah, I thank you for such a kind gesture. However, there was no need to do so in the first place. Even should I dislike the water, I am more than capable of swimming with my mate to bring a smile to her face."

The two left the frozen puppy and Kagome ended up tugging the kitten along while giggling, "Common Shinto, let's go and SWIM!" Oh dear god, he was walking as SLOWLY as he possibly could; but as such, the pretty little angel just HAD to start dragging him along so that he was now FORCED to move at a much quicker pace than he initially had wanted. Reaching the lake, Kagome darted forward while dragging the poor UNWILLING TO SWIM kitten along for the ride. The moment she jumped in the water, her three boys saved the day by tackling the angelic mother into the ground. Jumping out of the water and shaking his feet off, the leading ruler of ice laid in the sun happily while watching the boys play with their mother.

Sesshomaru, Ikari, and Sen were now WAITING impatiently at this point as they continued stalling playtime so that their mother could arrive at the lake; but once they witnessed as to what in the HELL she was wearing, all three boys turned bright red before bolting and tackling their mother in the water. Coughing slightly, Kagome then groaned, "Ow pups... that really hurt!" All three of the boys could only manage to shout out, "MOTHER, WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING!?" The angelic mother then peered at her bikini before sighing and darting her eyes towards Shinto before she shouted back, "WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME!? YOU KNOW THAT YOUR DAD HAS ALL OF MY ATTIRE MADE FOR ME! SO DON'T YELL AT ME!"

Taking her true form effectively flung all of her pups off of her body before they did the same and tackled their mother. Nipping her eldest son off of her so that he ran into his younger twin brother, the two effectively became that fuzzy white puppy ball as they rolled around in the shallow end of the water while bickering. Hearing Shinto laugh hysterically at this, two sets of sky blue orbs INSTANTLY snapped towards the kitten; which made him fan his hands in front of his face, "MATE, PUP, NO!" Neither were willing to listen as they nipped his bathing suit before hurling him into the water before he transformed to get payback. However... he wanted to remember this... so he began to record their playtime in the water.

As of now, the massive fluffy puppies were happily barking their laughs out over the massive white tiger kitten, which only gave rise for him to hastily tackle his mate into the water so that the polar opposites could begin wrestling. With how much Shinto hated water, he was pretty easy to escape from so that she was the one wrestling him. As they wrestled... InuTaisho sat on the grass and stared at the picture presented to him in his humanoid form... not even attempting to get in the water at this point as his saddened golden orbs watched his twins, his youngest, Kagome, and Shinto playing all together in the water... wishing that this was him having a great deal of massive puppy playtime and not the white tiger daiyokai.

Izayoi then sat beside him and grumbled under her breath before smiling happily while asking him, "My love, what ails you? You do not like swimming like the rest of those mutts?" Not moving his eyes, he then released a shaky breath that HIS pups had just been called MUTTS, he merely shook his head and lowered his head to the point that his bangs covered his eyes as he spoke, "Oh... no... I just do not feel like swimming... that's all..." Kagome had heard THAT clear lie of a statement and nuzzled her mate before padding out and shaking her fluffy coat right over the great dog demon as her split tails wiggled playfully at him. Even when he was doused in water, he didn't look up in the slightest; which worried Kagome greatly.

Now that Sen and Shinto were wrestling, Kagome laid beside InuTaisho and placed her soaking wet head in his lap while whining softly at his "I'm not getting in the water" actions. Lifting his hands and beginning to stroke the soaking puppy's massive head, Izayoi then scoffed and gagged, "Ugh... disgusting. How nasty... the smell of a wet dog..." A low and feral growl was then emitted from the angelic puppy until InuTaisho hit her so hard that she cried out and even had him looking mortified that he had just placed a harming hand on her. Her split tails instantly tucked between her legs, but the moment that cry was released... three furious canines were in their father's face... plus the angel's royally pissed off mate.

Kagome then took her humanoid form and slid down to the ground as she cried, only for Shinto to lie on the grass in his soaked true form so that he could curl around her protectively while releasing gentle rumbling purrs to calm his distressed mate. Nuzzling his head to her chest as she cried, he continued his great attempts to calm her. He knew how stubborn she was and could be... even when it came to bawling her eyes out, she was stubborn as hell. If she wanted to cry, she damn well was going to cry. So all he could do was comfort her while telling the angel's pups to go back to playing. The twins grudgingly returned back to the water, but Sen wouldn't move until he heard his mother whimper out, "S-Sen-shine..."

Lying his massive body down and whining at her, Shinto released her as she stood and rushed to her youngest pup for the only kind of comfort that he could offer her. Lying against her son's belly, he then placed his cheek against her to release gentle rumbles to calm her down and put her to sleep. InuTaisho looked down at his hands in disbelief before he stood and bolted away while in tears. The moment the ruler of the stupid was out of sight, Shinto padded over to Izayoi and picked her up before hurling her into the deepest depths of the lake. She had no clue how to swim, so she began to panic until Ikari swam out and used his paw to push her under the surface of the water while thinking furiously, 'JUST DIE ALREADY!'

The moment he no longer felt her struggling, he swam away and Sesshomaru nipped his twin's cheek playfully while barking out something that Sen heard, "I didn't think that you'd have the actual GUTS to drown her!" Turning his head, Sen used his nose to push his mother to her mate before using his lightning to dart quickly into the water, lift Izayoi into his mouth, and return to the shore before taking his humanoid form, "I, SEN, THE DEITY OF LIGHTNING; RECALL THE DEITY OF EARTH BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING! LET THIS LIGHTNING ELECTRIFY THE LIFE BACK INTO YOUR BODY SO THAT YOU MAY BREATH ONCE AGAIN!" Izayoi shot awake and quickly felt Sen's fist connect with her face, "You heartless bitch..."

Shinto had NO problem with basking in the sun, which made him stretch his body out while he purred happily from the warmth of his mate against him. Kagome shot awake at hearing Sen's furious thoughts before standing and walking to him with puffy sky blue orbs, "Sen-shine... calm down my pup..." Snapping his head towards his mother with softened matching sky blue orbs, he then wrapped his arms around his mother tenderly, "Forgive me, mother... I was just angry that Ikari drowned Izayoi to the point that I had to return her lost soul to her body. SESSHOMARU, REMOVE YOUR DAMN CURSE ON HER!" Again, hearing Sen swear was just a treat that one rarely had the chance to hear. One thing did shock him though.

Kagome held her hand out to Izayoi and growled, "AS THE LEADING MAIDEN OF LIGHT, I GIVE YOU... MAIDEN OF EARTH... THE COMMAND TO RELEASE THE LORD OF SHADOWS FROM HIS CURSE! ONLY THEN WILL YOUR CURSE BE LIFTED!" Being the leading maiden of light came with its perks, considering that the order she had just given... could not be denied by any of the rulers no matter how hard one tried since the leader gave the order. With words spoken on her part, the curse was then lifted from the great dog demon, only for another command to be placed over her by Kagome, "Maiden of earth, never again may you curse any of the other deities for as long as you live!" Well that wasn't frustrating at all to hear.

No longer having the feeling to swim, Sen escorted his mother back to her room once Shinto woke up from losing her warmth. With the three now back in their room, Kagome smiled, "Sen, dear... go on and swim with your brothers. You love swimming just as much as your brothers and myself. I will be just fine with my mate here." Giving her a worried gaze, he then nodded, "If you feel so strongly about me going, then I shall. Please excuse me." Once he left the room, Shinto gave a saddened chuckle, "I'm going to assume that I will never gain any pups from you... just like the first time around." Kagome blinked rapidly at this comment before laughing, "Sure we can have pups of our own! Let's just wait until we are home!"

Gaining a puzzled face over her answer, she then chuckled out, "This isn't our first life Shinto... and this time I plan to live my life to the absolute fullest that I possibly can. With or without InuTaisho, it matters not due to the fact that I will forever have you by my side. Even should our mating discontinue, you will always remain by my side. You've always been there for me... no matter what. You have always been there to pick up the scattered pieces of my heart... I'm just wondering as to when you will become tired of doing so in the first place." Tugging the angel back so that her back was resting upon his chest, the kitten then nuzzled her neck playfully, "Um, never. I will always chase after you like a dog chasing its tail!"

Looking up with a smile, he then chuckled softly, "You know, I'm actually excited to finally be granted the access to see Elysian, but more than that... I'm excited for us to live there together. Say, I have a question!" Blinking softly and resting her head against the kitten's chest, the angel laughed gently, "What might that be?" Shinto then tapped his chin softly, "If our mating discontinues, then where would the lord of ice go?" Lightly pinching his cheek, Kagome then chuckled teasingly, but answered honestly, "Well, you'd still live in Elysian as another guard. However, it's something more than just that. Just in case the light and shadows can never rekindle their bond, you will always be there to help with the "balance" of the deities."

"I see... so I'm merely here for balance, not actual love..." his tone sadly projected until feeling his pierced kitten ear being gently tugged playfully as she softly and tiredly giggled, "Shinto, I will always love you for one reason or another. You always keep me smiling... unless your inner beast scratches me across the face again. Then, my heart just breaks that you are no longer the man that I initially first fell in love with." Watching his face pale the moment he remembered his inner beast had clawed her own so hard that it had actually affected its host, which had the ruler of Elysian burst into tired laughter. Realizing as to how tired she was, he then laid back and tugged her on his chest; only for her to instantly fall asleep.

The two had ended up sleeping the entire night through, and once the dawn of day five... the day of rest and negotiations... was upon them, the two leading rulers awoke and were absolutely STARVING due to missing the night prior's evening meal. After bathing and getting dressed, the two exited the room with Sen quick on their heels as he quickly spoke out, "Mother, Sesshomaru released Izayoi's curse of reincarnation. Also, don't be surprised if father is now acting completely different than he had been the day prior. I woke up a bit earlier and heard him frantically crashing around in the attempts to find you. So far, he obviously hasn't had such luck in that area of expertise. To be honest, he doesn't remember much."

Nodding her head, Kagome then shrugged before speaking in a tone that basically screamed that she was sick of everything, "Tell me Sen, why should I care? I freed his curse on a whim... nothing more, nothing less. I am mated to the leading lord of ice now and I am happy with him." Nodding his head with a smile, her youngest pup then gave a bow, "Pardon me for speaking out of line mother, for it was unintended." Nodding her head, Kagome then turned her head, "Shinto, for today and tomorrow, you should continue representing Dochi no Elysian. Sesshomaru has not witnessed what stock they have, what they are in need of, and what they are needing to sell. The same goes for you on the matters of Elysian."

That was completely understandable, so he nodded, "You make a valid point mate. I should have been more diligent and stayed up to hold conference with Sesshomaru to tell him everything that he would need to know for the negotiations concerning Dochi no Elysian. I will let Nekokami be made aware that he will need to still take control of the conference for Ikari so that he may take control the negotiations of Anzen no Elysian for these conferences." Kagome merely released a soft chuckle and fanned her hand that was not holding her mate's arm, "Ah, fret not. I am no different and should have made you aware of everything in Elysian. The fact is, we aren't in need of anything. So all I can do is sell the goods."

Entering the dining hall, everyone stood and bowed towards the rulers of Elysian before sitting down. As they began eating, Kagome felt her blade pulsing and she turned her head towards Sen before handing her the blade, "Sen-shine, please go somewhere that cannot be heard and then report back." Taking the blade and smiling, he then took the blade and walked away to a secluded part of the small castle before Midoriko popped out and spoke, "Sen, my grandpup, I must inform you of the last myth that I had thought to have vanished into thin air has just now surfaced. The maiden of love has surfaced. Goodness, with all of you being the originals, I should have thought to know better by now."

Nodding his head, he then asked his grandmother, "The maiden of love? That doesn't quite entail as to what she actually does due to it not being an element." Nodding her head, Midoriko then chuckled, "Well until found, the leading maiden of light does everything that the maiden of love is supposed to do. The maiden of love was originally the leading maiden of light's successor or heiress. Her ability is quite a unique one, for she has the potential to heal and transform the situation around others through her loving nature, while also bringing an honorable and loving meaning or purpose to those lives that she is simply touched by." Nodding his head, he then asked, "Where was she during the downfall of the maiden of earth?"

Midoriko then chuckled softly and smiled tenderly as she spoke, "Well, besides the leading maiden of light, the maiden of love is neutral when it comes to conflict and doesn't particularly enjoy such negativity thrown in her direction or coming from others. So essentially, she is a replica of the leading maiden of light. This was made due to the maiden of earth's threats when she made her initial downfall. If the maiden of earth had fully consumed your mother's spirit, authority would have immediately been transferred to the maiden of love to become the leading maiden of love. You all would have lost your standings as eternal rulers for a short while, but it would have been given back once that leading title transferred to Hinami."

Taking a deep breath, Sen then had to ask... but figured he knew the answer to such a question, "So where is the maiden of love supposed to be located?" Laughing softly at her grandpup, Midoriko then stroked her grandpup's long silver locks, "Well, naturally, she is to live in Elysian. However, she will be able to sense when and where people need hope, love, or a purpose and will travel to them to restore all that is desperately needed. I have already awakened her abilities and she is already in Elysian. Currently, she is standing in for your mother's roll as she is supposed to do once your mother is in need to leave Elysian for business. The maiden of love's color is ironically your sister's favorite color, pink!"

Bowing towards his grandmother, she then went back to her blade after speaking one last thing, "Hinami has already written a letter to your mother, so she should now have the capability of transporting her own letters. I have been helping her in any possible way that I can as of now so that she can adjust to her abilities. Please take care, my grandpup." Bowing towards his grandmother again with a smile, Sen then spoke tenderly, "You as well grandmother." With that, Midoriko vanished and Sen made his way back into the room to see that he had spoken with his grandmother for so long, that negotiations were now underway. Tapping his mother's shoulder, he then handed the blade back to her with a gentle and loving smile.

Taking her blade and placing it back in its holster, Kagome gave her son's cheek a gentle stroke as he spoke telepathically, 'A letter from Hinami should be arriving soon.' Nodding her head, the letter then appeared in front of her with hearts floating around it, "Oh, my goodness. The maiden of love has been selected!" Everyone's head snapped towards the leading maiden of light, fully knowing of the maiden of love's stories. Reading the letter over, she then peered towards the fox lord, "Lord Shippo, my daughter, Hinami, whom is the maiden of love; is currently on her way to your lands to restore hope and love to your people, while also giving each person a purpose in life. So your kingdom will be flourishing in no time."

Standing up, Shippo then bowed deeply, "Thank you, leading maiden of light!" Kagome began to blink rapidly before speaking out, "There's no need to thank me. In fact, I had nothing to do with such actions. The maiden of love is capable of sensing those in need of love, hope, or a purpose in their lives. So, I deserve no such praise considering she is drawn like a moth to the flame towards those holding a great deal of sadness, loss of hope, or a lack of a purpose. Once you return back to your home in the east with all of that crazy wind, you should have MANY other kits that will be happy and ready to use their newfound purpose once the lord of wind deals with those constant natural disasters caused by mother nature."

Humming softly as she continued to read the leader, Kagome then read over a dreaded section of the letter before internally laughing her ass off. Holding the letter up to Sen with her finger pointed to the section she was now laughing internally at, he then began to skim over the writing before softly snickering and speaking, considering his mother was about to die from laughter, "Lord of shadows, maiden of earth, it also appears that your domains are quite unhappy as well. Therefore, the maiden of love will be heading to all of the domains held within the respective rule of Nishi to give everyone some money, hope, love, and a purpose. So, hopefully, your people will prosper somewhat better once you return home."

The leading maiden of light's face then became annoyed as she read over a certain section due to Izayoi's impulsive spending, "Lord of shadows, maiden of earth; from what I am reading, you both are taxing your people a high amount of money that they do not have in the first place. You are also PUNISHING those who cannot meet their deadline for taxing on time. I care not if you are taxing your people unlike myself, but PUNISHING them through torture or death that they have not met their deadlines is simply UNACCEPTABLE. Sen, please write a note and make duplications for every citizen in the domains of Nishi that they are welcome to join Elysian. We should prepare ourselves to be welcoming many new citizens."

Bowing towards his mother, Sen then smiled tenderly, "Right away, mother." Once written, he made many copies with his lightning and sent the large stack to Hinami. Shinto then folded his arms as he spoke, "Maiden of earth, if you cannot stop your impulsive spending, then I urge you to relinquish your title as one of the eternal rulers. Making your people suffer is completely unacceptable for the standing as one of the eternal rulers, such as yourself. You are there to make your domains happily thrive, not suffer due to how much you are spending. Lord of shadows, if you cannot get a grip on your wealth and how much you or your mate are spending, then you should relinquish your title as well to someone more suitable."

In all honesty, Kagome was impressed with how Shinto was handling being an eternal ruler. She was going to say the exact same thing to the two, but Shinto had said it first. With his knowledge of a ruler with prospering domains and even if he hadn't been one of the eternal rulers, he would have said the same thing to any standing normal ruler as well. What was making her laugh was the fact at the end of Hinami's letter, she had joyously claimed that Inuyasha had FINALLY learned how to handle his money for the sake of the people that he now ruled over. With being a ruler, a new mindset came into play for her third born son and he began to act as if he now ruled over prospering lands; which technically, he now did.

The funds in Funsui no Elysian had easily and rapidly grown almost overnight and didn't take anything from his people that he didn't already have or need. Nothing, nor anyone, was taken for granted and all held a purpose in life now that they weren't dying of an overdose of heat. The lands were kept nice and cool, which also softened up the ground for farming. New housing had been made, considering the fact that he didn't want any rain to ruin anyone's home; and the same as his mother, people began to get schooling and when roudy pups broke their homes... they were simply allowed to live in the castle for free until their own personal home could be fixed by one who specialized in the building of homes.

Turning her head towards Shinto, Kagome leaned in to his kitten ear to whisper, "Oh, I forgot to mention... since you are the ruler of ice, you will need to head north once winter rolls in to bring in a bit of snow to balance out the seasons. I have been north when it is supposed to be winter and found it DREADFULLY hot. You wouldn't be there for long, you'd just be there to use your ice at the same time Inuyasha uses his rain to create snow. It should last until spring, so don't worry about having to stay there. You will merely have to use it once and nature should catch your drift to continue snowing." This made Shinto chuckle and nod before whispering in return, "Sounds like a fun little challenge! Also... look in my lap..."

Shifting her sky blue orbs down, she witnessed one of Shinto's ice crystals hovering over the hand that laid in his lap to project the meeting silently, making her chuckle softly once she shifted her eyes to the corner to witness a separate crystal recording and projected the entire conference that was now being held, "Ah... what a clever kitten you are..." Reaching up and gently tugging at his pierced kitten ear playfully, Shinto merely snickered and turned his head towards her to kiss the angel's cheek lovingly. Feeling his opposing ear pinched, Sen then cleared his throat abruptly, "Dad, please keep your focus on the meeting. You will have PLENTY of time for that at a later date and time. As the leading lord of ice, you must focus."

The next day of full blown negotiations that held breaks here and there, here they were speaking to the leading maiden of light over things that had been needed. The only difference, Shinto and Nekokami had drilled Sesshomaru and Ikari as to what their kingdom was lacking, so now the two previous rulers merely sat there and listened to the two daiyokai canine eternal rulers as they drove hard bargains with the angelic mother that they held. The twins could drive a hard bargain... but their mother could drive an even harder bargain and was stubborn as hell when it came to the matters of her people. However, on this day... the twin killing perfections were just as stubborn as their mother, which made her snicker.

Agreeing to their terms once the two put their foot down, she had Sen document everything and list the goods of the people that she would give half of the payment back to. They were gaining everything, such as medication, herbs, food, materials, tools, and more. Due to this being their mother, she DID cut the price down for her darling twin pups. Not even halfway through, the mother angel tapped her youngest present son, "Pup, show me everything that you have learned through me and prove to me that you can be capable of ruling and protecting your people should something happen to either your sister or myself." Nodding his head and helping his mother stand, Sen then sat down with a composed face.

Kagome watched her pup thoroughly as she played with his hair. She had left out all of the goods that they needed on purpose so that she could watch as to how he handled himself and if he even remembered as to what they needed in the first place. Well, he did not disappoint. Due to the fact that he was his mother's personal guard, he went wherever she did and always took a mental note on what Elysian actually needed just in case his mother had forgotten from ruling, being a school teacher, and being a mother to the three pups she had been raising by herself for one hundred and seventy years. Due to being raised by only his mother for much longer than one hundred and seventy years, he was JUST as stubborn as her.

With it now being Sen sitting in for his mother, lord Fukai believed that he could swindle the two for making him look bad on the first day... and what a poor decision that was. Clearing his throat he tried to make a bargain over medicinal herbs for an EXTREMELY low price, making Sen's sky blue orbs narrow before calming and clearing his throat, "You are asking the kingdom of Elysian to basically give away medicinal herbs for such a low price? Lord Fukai, you must be jesting. With the abundance of herbs you are actually asking for, that price will not pass in my books... nor my mother's. Think of it this way, how would you feel if I asked for herbs from YOU for such a MOCKING price that would barely place food on the table?"

Sen then took in a calming breath, considering his mother was lovingly stroking his hair to keep him calm and rational, "The people in Elysian that grow medicinal herbs work hard everyday to grow those specific herbs to give to those separate individuals that actually specialize in making medications for those in need of that specific medication." Taking a small piece of parchment, he then wrote down a total before handing it to his mother with a smile, "Mother, if you would be so kind." Nodding her head and glancing at the total, the mother angel was HIGHLY impressed that he had calculated so fast to come to a more favorable, yet reasonable, price that would give the ones they were taking from a decent amount of money.

Walking the parchment to the mortal lord, she then handed it over with a bright smile. Once he looked at the amount, lord Fukai scowled and slammed the parchment down, "Do you HONESTLY believe that the west has such funds any longer!?" Sen blinked rapidly at this, yet sighed softly as he answered, "That is not an issue for you to take up with me, lord Fukai. The funds of Nishi are completely under the lord of shadows and maiden of earth's complete jurisdiction, not the leading maiden of light's jurisdiction. If they were ever granted to merge with Elysian, then the lands of Nishi would be giving a handsome amount of funding so that their lands may prosper in the same manner that the other three lands now are."

Lord Fukai then growled out in a hostile fashion towards the lord of lightning, "OH, SO YOU ANGELS ARE MERELY CONDEMNING US MORTALS TO DEATH NOW, ARE YOU!?" Internally groaning, Sen folded his arms as his sky blue orbs pierced the mortal lords charcoal orbs, "Condemning you mortals? Not at all. For one, I care not as to what race you are... for I cannot judge as to how you were brought into this world in the slightest. Considering the fact that I am well aware of how Nishi is suffering, that is why I gave such a reasonable price in the first place. The price will not change, for I will not take from my people and barely give anything back in return to them for all of their hard work as citizens of the kingdom of Elysian."

With everything he had learned from the angel thus far, Shippo peered his emerald orbs towards the parchment and actually found the price to be one hell of a good deal, "Lord Fukai, I find that to be an extremely reasonable price for how much you are actually asking for. Most demon lords would ask triple... or even quadruple that amount JUST to run your funds completely dry. However, with the amount of medicinal herbs you were asking for, along with the initial pricing that you gave to the lord of lightning; even I find the spoken amount towards one of the eternal rulers was simply outrageous. It is almost as if you are trying to mock Elysian's good nature for some unknown reason that is not my business to begin with."

Hiten then leaned his chin on his propped up palm to see what had been written and basically gawked when he did, only to give a heavy scoff towards the mortal lord, "Man, do you know how many of us would KILL for Kagome or Sen to drop their hard bargains THAT low!? I mean, they never ask for an unreasonable amount, but that is a price that any of us would jump at almost instantly. The medicine that Elysian makes is even better, so I have no DAMN clue why you are complaining over such a graciously low price that they are even asking for. As Sen said though, your money problems would be InuTaisho's and... what was her name...? Whatever, the point is, is that you are pointing your damn finger in the wrong direction."

All of the other lords... demon or mortal... were agreeing with the statement made before they peered at the two culprits. InuTaisho now remembered everything and was functioning properly again, considering the fact that this was his fault for letting Izayoi and Hime have free reign of the funds of the land. However, Izayoi scoffed once the spotlight was on her, "Don't look at me." Sesshomaru then gave a rather dry stare towards the maiden of earth as he spoke out, "Then who should we blame for the horribly named Nishi's problems? It was not I, Ikari, nor Inuyasha that spent all of the money. No, it was your tacky ass daughter and you that spent all of my father's hard earned money on the most POINTLESS things."

Having enough of his lands being called "Nishi", InuTaisho cleared his throat, "It will no longer be known as Nishi. The west shall be known as "Kageka" from this day forth." Oh, Kagome actually found that to be a perfect name... a shadow flower. Nodding her head, the angelic leader of Elysian didn't smile as she normally would, but found it acceptable, "Very well, the west shall now be known as Kageka. Hold this name with pride, for these are your banished lands and it shall never hold the title of Kageka no Elysian. You must figure out how to properly rule your lands before all of the inhabitants of such cursed lands move to become part of Elysian. However, the same rules still apply concerning to the entrance of Elysian."

Without anyone even noticing, Kagome had written a letter and sent it to her twin before a good sum of money returned, along with the total how much of their ridiculous funds they still held. Walking to the mortal lord and kneeling down, Kagome smiled softly as she handed the mortal lord the large sum of money while speaking tenderly, "I can tell that you are frustrated by the lord and lady's incapability of managing their funds in the slightest. So, as a token of friendship and good will, I am giving this to you. Now, this is not a one sided deal, I assure you." Whistling for lord Fukai's assistant, he then approached and bowed before she handed the money to him, "Only a small portion of that money is to be accessible. Understood?"

Bowing, he nodded, "As you instruct, leading maiden of light." Once she gave the password to the assistant, he then carried the large sum off to the personal vault. Once he returned, Kagome handed him twenty gold coins that she had snagged from the bag and handed it to him, "Thank you for your hard work, you are most appreciated." This assistant had been thinking of leaving to Elysian for the longest time... but the moment he even heard those words from such a bright and loving individual, he began to cry, "T-THANK YOU, MY LADY!" Dabbing his eyes dry and lifting his head, Kagome smiled softly, "Be proud of who you are and how you were brought into this world. For there is no one else like you that is to be found."

Returning to lord Fukai, Kagome knelt down with a smile, "Lord Fukai, I have fully replenished the lost funds of your people... for once upon a time, this was also the place that I called home. Now, only your assistant knows the password to access all of those funds. So, learn from me. Each time you make a trade give half of that money back and then place over half of what you have left back into your vault so that your wealth only continues to grow with the added bonus that your people will be happy. Stop taxing your people unreasonable amounts of money that they do not have in the first place. Let their smiles be your taxes. That joy will spread all throughout your lands if you pay the full taxes needed in their stead."

Lord Fukai felt entirely dumbfounded as of now. He had just tried to mock and swindle THIS particular angel, yet she had just graciously restored hope into not only his heart... but the hearts of the people he held rule over. Bowing his head to her, he took in a shaky breath before speaking out tearfully, "T-Thank you, leading maiden of light..." To be honest, he found the way she ruled to be ridiculous... but apparently, ridiculous is what actually worked to keep everyone smiling and happy. She was someone who initially had nothing at first, but she grew to the point where she held everything within the palms of her hands. Even as a child, she found coins and stashed them away so that her money would continue to grow.

Once the angelic being began to speak to the mortal ruler of Kageka, InuTaisho peered at her sadly. The moment this look was given and Izayoi noticed, she roughly pinched his tails, causing him to yelp in a startled manner. His inner beast continuously attempted to sneak into Kagome's inner beast's lair, but each time... his inner beast was bitten out of anger. Even so, his inner beast continued to try until her own inner beast had, had enough and nipped the scruff of Shinto's inner beast to yank the massive kitten inside of her domain. Oh, that inner beast became instantly pissed off and clawed him so hard that its host was affected by such brutality and force. Holding his hand over his eye, all he could do was cringe.

A two hour break was then given and everyone released an exhausted breath before standing and bowing towards the two leading eternal rulers, only for them to bow to everyone in return while holding gentle smiles. Kagome walked towards InuTaisho and began healing the damage over his eye while chuckling softly, "You have seemed to accomplish at completely infuriating my inner beast, lord of shadows. She is now keeping Shinto's inner beast as protection... so I would reason with your inner beast to stop. You no longer have a right to call me your own, so give up on playing angelic fetch." As she spoke, she brought his tails into her hold and snickered as love was given, "BUT! I will ALWAYS love my two fluffy babies!"

Releasing his tails, Kagome then smiled softly before holding up her hand as a means of saying farewell, "See you at the next conference for negotiations in two hours!" Rushing back to Shinto, he then held his arm out for her and she gladly took it hostage. Walking outside, the white tiger took his massive true form before sprawling out on the grass happily as the angel laid on her belly to begin playing with a flower tiredly. Even when you were the one doing the negotiations, it didn't make it any less draining than when she had been a bodyguard. Speaking in the language of 'meow, meow; pur, pur', Shinto questioned as he stretched, "You okay?" The angel merely snickered and nodded while answering, "Yup!"

Tired as hell, all she could now think about was taking a nap on top of the massive kitten; only for the angel's wings to open and fly up before lowering her body down to rest on the kitten with her small cheek pressed against his massive silky cheek. Stroking his silky fur with much love and tenderness, Kagome slowly closed her eyes sleepily the moment she began to hear those LOUD ASS PURRS, making her chuckle softly as her eyes began to droop faster and faster until the angel inevitably fell asleep on her white tiger bed. Sen watched all of this with a smile as he leaned his back against the trunk of a tree while muttering out a chuckle to not wake the two, "Geez... you two honestly can't get any cuter than that..."

With two hours up, Kagome and Shinto were back at that table and curiously being questioned by her twin pups. Sesshomaru hummed softly before asking innocently, "Mother, whom is the mortal ruler of Elysian?" This made Kagome blink rapidly before chuckling brightly, "Pup, do you not remember the first constellation festival we ever went to? After we were "rescued", your father complained that he now had to pick a new mortal ruler of the west. Do either you or Ikari remember what I had said in return?" Ikari then snickered out playfully as he gave his answer, "After hearing father whine that much over the matter at hand, you told him that he did have the option to rule it all!" That made Kagome nod slightly as if answering.

Koyame then gained a shocked face over such a statement before blurting out, "Leading maiden of light, you cannot tell me that you rule ALL of your domains with no help!" Kagome then chuckled softly as she replied, "I never made such claims, now did I? My twin sister helps divide my workload, but now that Hinami has realized as to what she is, she will now be taking over a bit of the rule as well. The leading maiden of light never truly does anything alone... it's not how the system was ever supposed to work. There are multiple eternal rulers for a reason, you know. We all help one another when help is needed. However, that now leaves out two of the eternal rulers out of the circle... so they are unfortunately on their own."

Izayoi then released a heavy scoff, "Some leading maiden of light you are. If I had been the leading maiden of light, I would have helped everyone without fail." Kagome glanced over and chuckled under her breath before speaking dryly over the matters at hand, "You believe that, do you? Well then give it a go. Yeah right, you would destroy the lands that I have worked so hard to maintain peace within due to your greedy ambitions. You probably wouldn't even make InuTaisho the standing leading lord of shadows again. You, Izayoi, would just move onto the next suitable option that would support those greedy ambitions... and he happens to already be crowned with that leading title to not inconvenience you... Shinto."

Red in the face with anger, Izayoi then yelled out, "THAT'S A FILTHY LIE, YOU BITCH!" That comment even made HITEN laugh hysterically before he slapped his knee out of sheer enjoyment over this, making Izayoi point to him, "You see?! I'm not the only one who believes-" Hiten only began to laugh harder at that point as he finally blurted out, "Y-YOU DUMBASS, KAGOME IS PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF TELLING A LIE! SO LET ME SPELL THIS OUT FOR YOU... SHE ACTUALLY CAN'T TELL A LIE!" Kagome blinked softly at this fully painted picture before snickering playfully, "Hiten, you really should watch that mouth of yours. It's unbecoming of a ruler to behave in such a man- ugh... if you are the ruler, then it's bound to happen."

Hiten then pointed to the angel that had just spoken, only for him to speak lazily, "And that cut off statement right there... proves my point entirely. When she knows that she's about to tell a lie, she cuts herself OFF before the chains of hell drag her down. That would be such a shame for someone as beautiful as her to be in the fiery pits of hell. Also, with that given statement, I have to wonder as to how much you truly love lord InuTaisho. In all honesty, I think that you just wanted everything that was initially hers to begin with. When you couldn't get her leading title, you became pissed off and instantly went after the next person who actually HELD that leading title to begin with... the leading lord of shadows."

Thinking that this man was done was futile at best, considering the fact that he then continued, "I have heard all of your tales. You were SO furious that the leading title didn't go to you, that whenever people merely called you "maiden of earth", you began correcting them by telling them that you were the LEADING maiden of earth and they needed to address such power and nobility as such. No one would DARE call you the title though, considering that the leading maiden of light was a beacon of hope for all that lived not only in Elysian, but also in the four pillars of demon lords' lands as well. So, it's to my belief that you don't even love lord InuTaisho." Scoffing, Izayoi then spoke out, "That is NOT true! I love him deeply!"

Everyone noticed the leading maiden of light's body immediately stiffen up before she shook her head violently. By this point, everyone knew as to what this meant, making Sesshomaru give a dreaded sigh, "Father... how much of an idiot can you possibly be...?" Ikari was no different as he internally groaned, "Father, you know what that means... correct!? She's been USING you to gain that majestic "leading" title because she's a sour BITCH!" Just like Sen, you really had to piss Ikari off for him to swear in the slightest. Kagome released a soft chuckle before smiling, "What he chooses to do is all up to him. Even should that love be fake or fabricated, he will learn the harsh reality on his own volition... not anyone else's."

With the subject dropped, Izayoi began BUYING things that they didn't even need; which made lord Fukai's mouth drop in disbelief, "MAIDEN OF EARTH, YOU MUST BE JESTING! THE LANDS ARE SUFFERING ENOUGH AS IT IS!" Izayoi then turned her head towards Fukai before flipping her long hair behind her to CONFIRM a portion of Hiten's story, "Someone with my power and nobility does not listen to mortal scum such as yourself when, clearly, you are far beneath me." Shinto then cleared his throat abruptly, "Maiden of earth, do not forget that YOU are a mortal as well. The only reason you were granted to live as long as us was because you held one of the supreme deity titles. Nothing more, nothing less."

Kagome then peered at InuTaisho's hurting face as Izayoi happily signed her name on something else that the castle did not need, making the angelic lass sigh softly before speaking out, "Lord of shadows, you are fully capable of stopping all of her ridiculous purchases. She just signed off for a highly expensive painter to have not only her portrait done, not only your portrait done, but a portrait of the BOTH of you as well." Shippo then leaned forward while blinking rapidly, "Lady Kagome, are you saying that you do not even have a portrait of your family in your own glamourous palace?" Kagome snickered at this and shook her head, "I don't need one! Why would I need a painting of them when I can see all of my pups?"

Nodding his head at that explanation, Ikari then gave a curious and question filled gaze towards his mother, "So... then how IS the palace in Elysian decorated?" Sen then chuckled softly as he sat beside his mother, "Oh, it's beautiful alright, but mother never buys extra things that she deems as unnecessary to have. To be honest, most of the decorations are from the original palace before all of the Celestials went into hiding. Well, that's what grandmother told me! There are diamond lanterns, a diamond chandelier, a diamond dining table, diamond bed posts, there are so many diamonds in the castle that I lost count! I think my favorite would be the diamonds studded into the wall behind mother's throne, which is diamond."

Kagome then snickered, "And fricken uncomfortable! I think the only real addition I made to the rooms were new mattresses, pillows, and blankets. For the rest of the castle, I got a white pillow for my back, bottom, and arms for the throne and dining chairs that are ALSO made out of diamonds! Oh, Sen, forgive me for interrupting your chat with your brother!" Laughing gently at his mother, he then nuzzled his cheek to her own before Ikari tilted his head, "So, what is your favorite part Sen?" Sen smiled softly and spoke with a great level of tenderness, "On the wall behind mother's throne, the wall is studded with diamonds in the shape of large angel wings and halo. All around it, there are various different shades of diamonds."

Enchanted over even PICTURING such glamour, Sesshomaru and Ikari then both asked at the same time, "Various different shades of diamonds surrounding the angel wings and halo? In what sense?" Sen snickered softly at his older twin brothers before answering, "At the very top, there is a sparkling white diamond that mother says keeps her title as the leading maiden of light. On either sides of mother's diamond, there is a sparkling black diamond and a sparkling icy blue diamond. Below those, there is a crimson diamond and a light green diamond. Below THAT there is an ultraviolet diamond and a light pink diamond. However, all by itself, there is a light brown diamond. When deities are found, those diamonds glow."

Chuckling at his brothers' sparkling orbs, the lord of lightning smiled softly, "When all of those crystals light up, they reflect off of the angel wings so that it shines brightly as if there is a mirror reflecting the sun's rays off of them. Oh... it is SO beautiful! Mother's bedroom holds a smaller version of it, but since she has such a hard time sleeping alone due to her past... she comes to my bedroom to snuggle every night!" Everyone was now picturing the glamour of this castle as Ikari snickered, "Don't tell me the entire CASTLE is made of diamond as well!" This has Sen swishing and swaying a single hand back and forth, "Oh no, it's made out of really sparkly white marble! You know, the colors of Elysian... white?"

Negotiations had been over for quite some time now, but Sen was still painting a visual picture of what everything looked like as Sesshomaru questioned, "What of the town of Elysian? What does that look like?" Blinking rapidly, Sen snickered playfully, "Well, everyone in the kingdom that mother presides over has the same housing. They hold large sparkly white marble homes that hold multiple bedrooms and a kitchen." Clearing her throat, Kagome then snickered, "Um, pup? The inside of the walls are reinforced with diamond to keep it from collapsing." That was news to even SEN, making his mouth drop wide open, "M-Mother, you've GOT to be kidding me!" The angel then smiled and snickered, "Why would I kid?"

It was now the final day of the constellation festival and Kagome laughed softly as she placed a collared sleeveless white dress that held cutouts on her hips to show the bare skin, along with the detachable shimmering white lace ankle long skirting and her sparkling white ribbon. Leaving her hair free flowing as she walked down the the arena barefooted, the angelic mother then chuckled, "I'm so used to being in the fights that it's quite odd that I am not! Sen, dear... try not to tease people. You are an eternal ruler... so try to go easy." Sen snickered at that comment, but nodded, "I can try, but there is NO guarantee that I can hold back for too long! Father didn't even bring a bodyguard... which is odd."

That made Kagome laugh... and boy she laughed hard, "What in the name of Elysian are you talking about!? YOUR BROTHERS WERE HIS GUARDS! Okay, against them... you don't have to go so easy... oh dear. Just... just try not hurting their pride TOO badly. Especially Sesshomaru. He will continue to fight you even if one of his arms gets chopped off." Once they entered the arena, bets were already being made due to who was up first. Lord Fukai then called out in a chipper tone, "Up first, we have Sen versus Sesshomaru!" Kagome instantly sweat dropped at this and handed him Satsuriku, who now let the lord of lightning fully hold onto him without any restrictions. Kissing Sen's cheek, she then snickered out, "Go on..."

Jumping into the ring after his brother had, Sen smirked as he pulled his hair up into a high ponytail so that people could DEFINITELY tell the two brothers apart. Other than their marking colors and eye colors, the two were basically identical. Kagome then snickered, "Awe, look at my pretty pup-er-pups!" Both boys snickered at the comment as Sen then gave a highly devious smirk once the match was told to begin, "Try and keep up with me, big brother." Noticing her eldest son's expression, Kagome sweat dropped to the max once Sen's body began to spark up before straight up vanishing. Shinto then snickered as he stood beside the angelic mother, "Sen is almost as fast as you with his lightning! Impressive!"

The angel knew he had only said that to throw her pup off a bit so that her eldest pup stood a damn chance. Skidding to a stop and snapping around with widened eyes, Sen's mouth gaped open, "DAD, YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" Hearing his panting older brother coming straight for him, Sen sighed sadly, "What a let down..." Holding his hand out, Kagome just HAD to screw with her pup as she barely whispered, "Lightning imprisonment... vanish..." Feeling his lightning vanish, Sen gave his mother a dry expression before speaking, "Really mother...?" Clenching his fist, he snapped around and ultraviolet lilac lightning bolts could be witnessed in Sen's eyes as he swiftly slammed his fist into his brother's gut rather harshly.

As Sesshomaru coughed harshly, he knew that his DAMN MOTHER had made her pup poison resistant, so flames it was... or so he thought. "NOW GO! LIGHTNING IMPRISONMENT!" Sen shouted, only for that lightning to completely immobilize his eldest brother, only to make Sen snicker as it gave his brother playful little zaps here and there. Sesshomaru was dumbfounded... his full blooded youngest brother... was so fast that his eyes, ears, nor his nose could keep up. Midoriko then appeared next to her daughter, but only deities could actually witness her at this moment as she spoke, "My... as fearsome as always. Kagome..." She then paused and made it so that only Kagome could hear her, "Beware of his buildup..."

Puzzled at this, the angel questioned, "Why would you say that?" Midoriko had heard and witnessed everything, so she spoke the truth, "The lightning deity, kind and loving... yes. However, you should know far better than I, that the lightning deity craves a challenge. Once he unlocked that lightning speed for your protection, he began to crave to have a battle that was worthy of the speed that the gods had granted him. You heard what he just claimed moments prior... he said "What a let down..." as if fighting his brother... the deity of flames... wasn't good enough to satisfy his hunger and desire for a battle that lived up to his standards." Sighing heavily, Kagome then nodded, "Yeah... I know what to do..."

Looking up once her mother retreated to her blade, the angel noticed that Sen was taunting and mocking his eldest brother as the match was called, but wasn't releasing Sesshomaru from his lightning imprisonment. Right then Kagome jumped inside of the ring furiously, "LIGHTNING IMPRISONMENT, GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" Grabbing her son's shoulder, her fist came at his face so quickly that it hurled him to the ground as she heaved angrily, "IS THAT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT!? YOU WANT SOMEONE FAST ENOUGH TO KICK YOUR ASS!? WELL, GOOD LUCK PUP!" Pulling her blade out and taking in a deep breath to settle her shaking hands over the fact that she had just hit one of her babies, her clouded orbs snapped open.

"AS THE LEADING MAIDEN OF LIGHT, I GIVE THE DEITY OF LIGHTNING FULL USE OF HIS ABILITIES AGAINST ME IN THIS SPAR! NOW, COME AT ME, PUP!" Kagome yelled furiously as she unsnapped her detachable shimmering white lace ankle long skirting before tossing it to Shinto. Standing up and wiping the blood from his chin, his lightning engulfed his body and he used a tone that baffled the FUCK out of InuTaisho, "MAYBE YOU CAN MEASURE UP TO ME, BUT WHO AM I TRYING TO KID!? YOU NEED ME FOR PROTECTION!" By the end of his sentence he vanished, yet Kagome knew exactly where he was as she backflipped over his head and slammed her bare foot into the back of his skull so harsh that it harmed both parties.

Landing on the ground, her shattered foot was quickly mended by her healing as she darted towards him with impeccable agility. Slamming their blades together harshly, Kagome hastily slid into the splits and slammed her fist straight into his groin so that he fell to his knees. Standing up and grabbing his high ponytail, she kicked Satsuriku straight towards the pup's father before slamming her leg to the side of his head so harsh that she let go and he flew to crash into the side of the castle heaving immensely as she mocked him, "Awe, done already?" The next thing Sen yelled had Kagome in tears, but InuTaisho appeared and took hold of her while pointing Satsuriku at his pup, "DON'T MOCK ME, BITCH!" - "SENSHI!"

Snapping out of his fury induced form, he noticed his sobbing mother and shakily reached out to her slowly, "M-Mother...?" The moment his pup attempted reaching for his angelic mother, InuTaisho pulled her closer to his form while keeping the angered Satsuriku pointed at their pup, "DO NOT TOUCH HER! YOU ARE SO INFATUATED WITH FINDING SOMEONE AS FAST AS YOU ARE TO BATTLE, THAT YOU ACTUALLY FOUGHT THE ONE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING! HOWEVER, SENSHI, YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH AND HAVE LOST TO YOUR MOTHER! SO STOP SEARCHING BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR DAMN MIND AND FOCUS ON THE TASK THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOU! WHAT IF YOU HAD KILLED YOUR MOTHER!?"

Sen was still a rather sensitive pup and tears began to stream down his face as he gulped heavily, "F-Forgive me, mother!" Releasing a heavy breath, InuTaisho placed Satsuriku into Kagome's belt while letting his arm drop from around the angel that he had no rights to be holding, yet she clung to him tighter as she sobbed out, "ALL OF THIS... IS YOUR FAULT FROM START TO FINISH! WHEN WILL YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!? WHEN!?" Frowning deeply, he then wrapped his arms around her lovingly, "I'm so sorry..." Shinto then chuckled from his spot as the next battle began, "Yup... I'll never be a match for he who betrays so often. I don't understand her one single bit." Midoriko slipped out and stood beside him, "It isn't you..."

Peering his icy blue orbs towards the angel's mother, Shinto then chuckled, "Then who should I blame? Her, him... hell... the gods?" Midoriko kept silent for a moment to collect her thoughts before finally coming clean to him only, "That's correct... the day that InuTaisho betrayed your mother and she went into hiding until you were created... the gods placed one hell of a nasty curse on the both of them. Forever drawn to one another... forever in love with one another... and forever to long for forgiveness for transgressions. As you know, Kagome has made a transgression by mating others that were not him, which angered the gods. They had FINALLY found the first Celestial and Demon that didn't care about one another's race."

Blinking rapidly at the answer, Shinto merely asked, "So my deity was made as a test of sorts?" Humming softly at that question, she then sighed softly, "Yes and no. Once they realized how broken Kagome had become the first go around due to losing him in her life, they made your deity to pick up all of her broken pieces. However, they had hoped that once you put her back together... she would return to him, but she never did and her transgression was mating you. InuTaisho's list of transgressions far exceeded their fury though. He was deceived, took another as his mate, attempted to erase her soul from her body, and was banished by the gods to also never find rest until the two are mated once more as it should be."

Chuckling sadly at this as his kitten ears flattened, he softly spoke out, "So... I was their tool..." Midoriko knew how much this man loved her daughter, but the gods do as they wish. Frowning, the previous leading maiden of light softly spoke, "I do have to apologize for not telling you this the first time I spoke of the deity of ice. In all honesty, the deity of love isn't even supposed to exist either. Originally, it was merely supposed to be light, shadows, flames, water, wind, lightning, and earth. That's all. Think about it Shinto, ice is just solidified water and love isn't an element in the slightest. It HOLDS elements, but those elements are based on one's feelings alone. However, it seems that you two are now permanent deities."

Looking at the saddened deity of ice, Midoriko then chuckled softly, "And since the two of you are now permanent deities, that holds one more fantastic detail that you might find quite joyous." Shinto's saddened tone could barely laugh at this point as he clasped his hands together tightly, "What might that be...?" Oblivious kitten. Midoriko chuckled brightly at him as she spoke, "My, my... my daughter sure does seem to love the completely oblivious ones in her life! What it means, dearest Shinto... your son, Yukio... is no longer a fabrication for a said "story" being played out. Rejoice at the fact that your son probably feels more alive than he has in his entire life! You two made a miracle and the gods could not ignore that."

"Er... a... miracle...?" The oblivious kitten questioned, which only made Midoriko laugh hysterically, "Yes! For some unknown reason... the two of you were able to create a demon and celestial HYBRID. Yukio is a HALF-BREED! You both agreed on a demon, that I am sure of due to her love for "adorable attributes". However... he came out sparkling and held the sign of a high ranking Celestial. They didn't sense it until much time had passed. Shinto, you and Kagome were the first Celestial and Demon pair... to actually create a hybrid of both." Lifting his brow, the kitten then chuckled softly, "I have to know how you know all of this." Midoriko then snickered playfully, "Well, I will say this. Being dead most definitely has its perks!"