Chapter 5 – To Pledge
A soft knock on the door interrupted Sesshoumaru's train of thought and he looked up from the reports he was reading. The situation with the Southern Lord was getting annoying, the ryu youkai kept invading his territory and even though their Lord said this would stop soon and he would keep everyone in control, Sesshoumaru doubted he would keep his word.
They weren't attacking anyone or causing any type of destruction per se, but he had the nagging feeling that they were investigating and searching for something and it was enough to catch the attention of his soldiers. Sesshoumaru wouldn't do anything that involved violence while they didn't attack first but that didn't mean he was pleased with the situation, the peace treaty they had was standing on a thin line and he didn't want to be the one to break it.
Another knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts and he inwardly sighed. He could tell by the smell of rain and the slightly nervous aura that the person behind the door was the miko, though he didn't understand why she was there.
They barely saw each other and Sesshoumaru had the feeling that she was avoiding him ever since Rin and the kit permanently damaged his clothes, probably because she knew he heard her laughter in the halls and didn't want to face his wrath. He had to ask for another set of clothes, identical to the last one, because the paint simply refused to come off and he didn't want to have to search for yet another maid after he sent the last one crying home for being useless and not washing the offending purple color away.
''Enter.'' He calmly said after he suppressed the urge to grimace as he remembered how long it took to clean his hand and claws because of Rin's prank. He never really worried about what she did with the others, some of her ideas were actually amusing, but he discovered that being her target wasn't nearly as pleasing as simply watching someone else get hurt.
''Please excuse my intrusion, my Lord.'' Kagome said as she bowed deeply and then straightened her posture. He nodded in acknowledgment and she took a deep breath before speaking again.
''Rin is progressing very fast for a child of her age, she already knows how to read a few simple sentences and how to do basic calculations. She asked about my Lord's family while I was teaching her about the main family branches that ruled our lands,'' Kagome paused for a moment before she proceeded. ''I do not know much about the House of the Moon, only the main details, so I went to Sakura-sama to see if she could let me borrow a few books, she searched in the library but found nothing. She told me they were probably here, in your private office, and was about to come to you when a maid called her and she had to leave.''
Sesshoumaru quietly watched the woman in front of him as she spoke, already knowing what she would ask. ''I told Rin that we could read about my Lord's family later but she pouted and threatened to cry,'' Kagome huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and making Sesshoumaru raise an eyebrow at her. ''I did not want her to be sad so I came here to ask you permission to have the books I need, I hope I am not interrupting anything important, Sesshoumaru-sama.''
''Hn, they are on the third bookshelf on your left,'' The daiyoukai said after a few moments of silence, it seemed that not even the miko was immune to Rin's charm. ''You may pick up the ones you want and bring them later when you are done.''
Beaming for having achieved her goal and not having to deal with a crying young girl, Kagome bowed again. ''Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
The Lord of the West merely nodded his head and went back to read the next report. This one stated that one of his soldiers saw an ryu walking next to the borders of his lands but not really trespassing, and his general expressed concern because it wasn't the first time this happened. Sesshoumaru was about to write his reply when he heard another knock and told the person to come in too.
''My Lord,'' One of the oldest youkai serving him entered the room, bowing briefly before he started to speak again. ''Akio-sama sent me here to ask you about the situation with the-'' The black haired inu suddenly stopped talking, making Sesshoumaru wonder what caught his attention.
''What is this whore doing here?'' The inu harshly spoke and Sesshoumaru turned to face the miko, who had reappeared from behind the bookshelves and tried to balance three books in her hands while she reached for another one on the top of a shelf. ''The ones of her kind shouldn't even step in the shiro, much less in my Lord's private office.''
Sesshoumaru could feel the sudden tension in the air as well as the rise of the inu's youki, and mentally sighed, if he was human he would surely have a headache by now. While the dark haired inuyoukai was a great warrior and had served him and his father well, he tended to jump to conclusions and freely speak his mind, not caring if he was offending anyone or not. It was one of the few things that kept Sesshoumaru from promoting him to one of his generals, Hitoshi was simply too loud and impulsive, Sesshoumaru needed someone who could rationally think even in the hardest situations and not just jump into a fight without thinking twice.
It was quite ironic that his name meant even-tempered and he was everything but that, life's quirks provided a small amount of amusement to the daiyoukai in moments like this one.
Meanwhile, Hitoshi's aura overwhelmed the room and Kagome's sense with his hatred for the human. Bringing a kid to the shiro was one thing, bringing a miko was another. The small human, though annoying in his opinion, didn't cause any problems and was rather inoffensive if you ignored the occasional mud flying through the place. Hitoshi was sure that she would leave when she grew up and everything would come back to normal, but the miko was just too much for him to keep quiet, she was a grown woman and he feared that his Lord would follow the steps of his father and bring destruction upon the West yet again.
''I don't think that keeping her here is a good idea, she's just collecting information and will probably leave once she finds what she wants,'' Hitoshi hissed, glaring at a now frozen Kagome. ''I have no doubts that after she leaves, she will return with an army of holy men and bring chaos upon these lands. You should kill her before it's too late!''
The room suddenly went silent and before Sesshoumaru could say anything, he felt the miko's reiki spark dangerously, giving off a silent warning.
''You are truly a fool if you believe I would betray Sesshoumaru-sama.'' Kagome calmly spoke, a small smile on her face. She recognized the black haired man and his aura full of hatred, he was one of the youkai who felt threatened by her and did nothing to hide their prejudice against humans.
''Did you just insult me, you human bitch?'' Hitoshi growled, narrowing his eyes and letting more of his youki out, wanting to overwhelm the miko's senses. ''Your kind knows nothing about loyalty, I have no doubt you would betray him if someone offered you a few golden coins.''
''You insulted me first, I only chose to repay your kindness,'' Kagome said, then her smile suddenly turned into a challenging smirk. ''You are truly idiotic if you believe Sesshoumaru-sama, the great Killing Perfection, would let someone he didn't trust walk freely on his lands. Had he considered me a threat, I would be six feet deep in the ground right now, not talking with a senseless youkai.''
It took Hitoshi a moment to understand her words, but when he did, he unleashed his youki and dashed forward, sword in his hand and eyes completely red. Kagome had expected this though, so before he could get too close, she let a part of her reiki out and pushed him back, careful to avoid purifying her Lord in the heat of the moment.
''Foolish youkai,'' She tsked when she saw him struggling to break free but failing because if he got too close to her reiki, that circled him in a blinding rose light, he would be purified. ''Cease your attacks and I will let you go, I have no intentions of causing trouble to Sesshoumaru-sama and Rin-chan waits for me.''
Snarling at the human in front of him, the black haired youkai thought that if he couldn't move to kill her, he would make his sword do the job. In a move that was almost too quick for Kagome to see, he threw his sword at her like it weighed nothing, aiming to her heart, and her eyes widened. Biting back a scream when she threw herself on the floor seconds before the sword flashed past where she stood, Kagome glared at the youkai and gritted her teeth.
Looking at the wall behind her that now had a weapon stuck on it, Kagome raised herself to her feet and narrowed her eyes. ''Do not think, not even for just a second, that you can take me down. I may not believe that all youkai are evil but that does not mean that I will let you try to kill me and do nothing about it.''
Her reiki moved forward, backing the inuyoukai until his back hit the wall and there was less than a centimeter keeping him from touching the holy energy. He hissed at the closeness, it was enough to make his blood burn, his beast wanting to be set free but not being able to because of the holy aura.
''I have no business with you so don't stay in my way, if you try anything like this again I will not hesitate to purify your sorry soul,'' Kagome said, picking up the books she dropped when she threw herself on the floor. ''My loyalty lies with Sesshoumaru-sama, not with you or anyone else.''
''Humans know nothing about loyalty, you're just waiting for the best opportunity to betray my Lord and I will not let you get away with it!" Hitoshi growled, making Kagome's eyes twitch in annoyance, she was this close to accidentally purifying him and the only thing that held her back was the fact that the daiyoukai in the room wouldn't appreciate seeing one of his soldiers being turned into ashes right in front of his eyes.
Asking him to turn around was really tempting though.
''Hitoshi, cease your foolishness,'' Sesshoumaru barked, having heard enough, as he got up and stood in front of his desk. ''The miko stays and she is to be respected, or do you question my ability to judge those who are loyal to me?''
''She must have put a spell on you, my Lord, she is human and they are greedy by nature! She will put a knife through your back the second you turn around!" Hitoshi argued, glaring at Kagome.
''Is all this really about me not being loyal?'' Kagome asked through gritted teeth, she had seen her fair share of stupid humans and youkai alike but this was just too much. The glare she received in answer was enough and she huffed before putting the books on the desk, moving to kneel in front of the Western Lord, who frowned slightly at her.
Turning back to glare at Hitoshi one more time and pressing her reiki just a little bit closer to him, making him hiss in pain, Kagome turned to face the silver haired inu and smiled slightly at him. ''I pledge allegiance to the Lord of the West, Sesshoumaru-sama, son of the House of the Moon. I swear by the old and new Gods to serve the House of the Moon with the best of my potential, my life is his to take in whatever way he deems fit in case I betray or do anything that may harm my Lord's reputation or anyone that he considers important.''
If she hadn't bared her neck to Sesshoumaru in an act of submission, she would have noticed the way his eyes widened in surprise and that he took a second too long to recompose himself before scraping his claws on the exposed side of her neck, his hand wrapping around it and squeezing her softly to show who was in control.
''Rise,'' The daiyoukai said after he let her go and Kagome turned to face him, a small smile on her face.
''Your life is mine and only mine to take in case you betray the House of the Moon,'' He spoke, the threat clear in the air as he spared a glance at Hitoshi. ''Until then, your safety is my concern and you are to be left alone, anyone who dares to go against my orders shall deal with the consequences.'' He finished, casually looking at his claws and Kagome smiled.
''Yes, my Lord. May I go now?'' She asked and he nodded.
Bowing, Kagome left the room after gathering the books and only let her reiki fade when she was at the end of the hall, leaving an angry soldier and a confused daiyoukai behind. The last thing she heard, however, made her freeze in place for a second.
"The Council will hear about this.''
It had sounded almost like a threat, but who would be foolish enough to do such thing? She must have misunderstood, one simply did not threaten the Lord of the West and live another day. She didn't know what the Council was, and though she had no wish to find out, perhaps she was mistaken in her fear. She heard no further discussion about the subject, no sounds of physical struggle or broken bones coming from the room, so everything was most likely fine. Perhaps the Council, whatever it might be, simply had to be informed of all those that would pledge allegiance to the West and the proper procedure after what happened was to go and speak to them. The name itself was not threatening and though it imposed respect, now that she thought better about it just sounded like some sort of organization that helped the Lord deal with the more technical aspects of ruling.
Deciding that this was most likely why such thing had been said, Kagome reassured herself that all was well and started to walk again back to Rin. In the end, there was not much she could do. All she could hope was that her actions would not put the Western Lord at risk, for she would not be able to forgive herself.
