Ginta smirked as he leaned back against a tree, watching his family as they argued over the best position - mostly closer to the miko – and he tilted his head back slightly as he kept his eyes on the miko. She was smiling.

It was much better to see her smiling after he had seen her at her gardens and with Jinenji, and all that trouble happening because of their stupid little mistake. Poor Kagome had been heartbroken that all this was falling on top of her. She really didn't want any of their sacred places desecrated, and Ginta flinched at the remembrance of her gardens and Jinenji's graves.

He turned into his smaller wolf form, and padded softly up to the miko. His tongue hung out as his eyes went half lidded, basking in her smile and listening to the complaints stop as he picked the best seat ever possible, with his head in her lap. She always gave the best ear scratches.

He growled happily as he settled himself firmly, shifting slightly as her hands pulled his body into a more comfortable position draped across her legs. The Highers and the Lowers had been called, and Ginta snorted at the stupid names people had given them over the years.

He supposed Kagome had been building up their reputation for years, years and years and years. He looked up slightly, happily eyeing the hand as it approached for more ear scratching, and sent a happy smug look to Hakkaku as he came up in his own wolf form and 'huph'ed before settling down beside her legs.

Here was a woman who had lived longer than any demon ever could. And she would continue living even as they passed on- whenever that was possible. Ginta saddened and tilted his head so he found the delightfully comfortable little nook between her knees to rest his snout in. She had been lonely for many of the years she walked; he didn't want her to go through that again.

But he sighed through his nose and nudged it against her hand that had paused, and growled lightly in contentment as she continued with her attention. They were the Highers and the Court; they had survived this long and had only gotten stronger for their toil. They would be with her as long as they could.

"So, the detectives want to play with our tails and find out our past?"

Kouga growled out at the sentence, for a youkai's tail was sacred; it was a sign that he had survived without being beaten to the point of death. The higher breeds of demons were able to store extra ki in their appendages, and it had become a symbol of honor and power amongst the races. A loser in a death fight might be allowed to live- if they paid the price of their tail. Ginta shuddered at the very thought- all those nerve endings!

Some macabre trophies those make.

Totousai tilted his head in that odd way he did (like an Owl almost, he thought with some amusement). Inuyasha stepped up, "Like always we run the chance that they tell Reikai, we don't need them on our asses."

A wolf snorted from the shade of trees on the perimeter, and Ginta sent a look over there. The wolf spoke up. "Reikai is always on our asses." Amused tittering was sent up from almost every one of the gathered many, and Gina grinned as Kagome giggled and it shook her whole body.

"Ne, but so many will know about it, we also should be wary of this somehow leaking out because of that."

"But that means more people to help protect the history and Kagome's peace."

"And more chances of betrayal."

The argument continued, and like usual the high thirteen and Kagome kept their opinions to themselves.

"And they might be tempted themselves!"

"Yes! They'll want it for themselves!"

"Didn't we all want the jewel for ourselves at one point?"

"Not Kagome! …"

They walked right into that one. "Then we will leave that argument here and now, find another to prove your point."

There was a strange silence before a small Shiori stepped up from her seated position. "If they take our test and pass the initiation, confirm our vows and display their honor true, I see no reason they should not be enlightened."

Kohaku sighed out a rough note, standing and scratching at the back of his neck in lazy announcement of his proposal. "Aye, they will do our tests, but mark me, we still need to uncover how much we tell and whom we tell; if they do pass."

"And if only few pass, will it not cause conflicting loyalties?" A female voice from the edges of the woods spoke up, sending a worried tittering flowing through the gathered thirteen and more.

"All good points, but we miss the most important."

"And what will that be?"

"It is only one person's tale to tell."

There as a silence that echoed down his fur and into his bones, and Ginta sighed and rolled so he wouldn't have to look at all the uncomfortable glances of the gathered. Sesshoumaru spoke up from his regal position on a vine covered stump, one that seemed to flower from his very presence and compliment his royal coloring even as it had been there, unnoticed, for centuries perhaps. "This is true, as layers exist in our ranks so that confusion is to the traitor and his kin, maybe it has come time to end all this…"

Onigumo growled. "There has been many a debate on this, never has it been changed." His previous growl had colored his voice something rough and low like it had been in his older days, when he was younger and the world seemed to be on his shoulders. Then he sighed and regarded their miko, the Thirteen slowly looking her way as she continued scratching his ear and the Court followed their gazes.

Kagome smiled slightly, eyes crinkling at the corners as he shifted and rolled and yawned. Kagura stepped forth, fan snapping and smirk blatant; "I propose that anyone wishing to hear the story at the conclusion of the test remains, if one chooses they may continue with our original plans."

Inuyasha growled. "If you can't take the pressure leave, we will not judge you for it."

Some people shifted, and Ginta knew that more would leave when the time came even with the unintentional taunt of their silver hanyou. The story was renowned for its weight, demons could actually sense who knew and who didn't by the way they carried themselves and a certain light in their eyes. Ginta had never quite figured out if this was just so, or if their miko had something to do with it.

Nonetheless, people respected the original decisions of the Highers, the Court would probably leave in the rank they had received originally. Such was their respect for the Highers and The Miko.

It was settled.

Jaken stepped forth in front of the crowd, brandishing his staff of heads in the direction of the open field in front of them and everyone settled into relaxed defensive positions. Ginta took pride in the training of the Court, as he still fondly recalled the mock battles they pursued as sport to train their initiated.

Kagome still could kick all their asses.

He shook his head, eyes traveling over the trees and paths and shadows and smirking. Demons and hanyou and bound spirits gazed stonily out to the field, watching their messenger leave a trail of dust to issue the challenge. Covered by shadows and as large a group as they were the Court was menacing and judging to appearance.

Ginta loved it.

This was the Highers and Court, set to protect what they had been protecting decreed by fate and powers that be. This was who they were meant to be and what they were meant to do. And they did one hell of a good job.

He turned his head as soft footfalls whispered on the grass, and felt more than heard his brothers shift their positions to better regard the arriving contestants.

The Reikai tantei gathered in front of the Gathered Court, and Koenma stood smugly off to the side. Certain that something would give, he was sure. A gathering like this meant that something was going to happen-someone would have to give. Reikai might be able to get the information they had so desired for years. Ginta smirked with a scrunched up nose, something he had learned from Kouga over their years of companionship, and spit to the ground with a snicker.

Jaken stepped forth, acting as the mouthpiece for the group until they accepted the challenge, because if they didn't accept and prevail none would ever speak to them again. "We the Gathered of the Highers, the High Thirteen and esteemed Court, offer up game with whoever chooses take us up on it. The access granted to ours will be reward, and loss will lead to estrangement from our courts." Jaken tapped his staff thrice down on the soil, watching everyone with the solemnity of someone who had been speaking of such matters for centuries, and he nodded his head decisively once. "With thought do you take up our challenge?"

Ginta heard Inuyasha crack his knuckles into the silence, and smiled faintly at the impatient hanyou. He, for one, rather liked Jaken's heavy words; he had a flare for it after all- dramatic little kappa. Koenma smirked even more upon the news, and Ginta shared a look with Hakkaku

With that cocky prince leader at their backs, and their own curiosity driving their will, they would certainly take up the challenge. Yet they didn't even know the game.

x…

I am that which is seen only in darkness,

Some say as old as Beginning of Time

Day's distant sister and fires gentle comrade

I light with no shadow, can you solve this rhyme?

The heavy words hung in the air from Kikyou, her joint challenge with Kanna just beginning. There would be two riddles to solve, issued from both females; and Ginta had to wonder if they would dare to answer their own riddles- so fickle were the answers.

But the Reikai slaves only had to answer one correctly to pass this test. And the calm redhead who stood up to the bet with their little firecracker looked like he spent his days in tricks and riddles and knowledge. Ginta knew Hiei was no idiot- once having caught him and Onigumo locked in a battle of clashing verbal wills. The wolf shivered…scary.

The fox shifted, arms crossing in the stereotypical thinking pose and hand coming up to cup his chin as he tilted his head in thought. His red bangs covered his eyes and Ginta shifted as he saw the flashing gold and emerald…a glance at Shippou revealed their pure kitsune's smirk of curiosity.

"You are speaking of Kagome in this context, though any other day you might have intended for it to be the stars." Ginta looked back at their miko to catch her blush at the insinuation, and the white wolf wondered if Kurama even knew the real truth of that statement.

He hadn't known that the group had seen her eyes, but he guessed that is what had led the avatar to this answer- if they passed, he would come to know the absolute facts of their comparisons and love for their Kagome.

Their miko wasn't a reflection of the sun like the moon; their miko wasn't a blaring light that blinded you like the sun at the center of everything. Their miko was soft and gentle and guiding, not a reflection of anything or forceful with anyone. She was their starlight.

Ginta barked out a laugh at her blushing face before turning to face Kanna for the second riddle.

…

It was fast paced and bloody, seeming to be a scene from the streets the two ningens hailed from in their younger days. It was over before it even seemed to start, and Ginta smirked in some pride as he watched his leader and Inuyasha down the two humans who had risen to their challenge.

Yusuke looked up from under Kouga's foot, face beaten up and eyes squinting with swelling on his brow. Kuwabara panted his exertion under the watchful eye of Inuyasha, who had let him sit up and brace his chest for breath.

There was a silence amongst the other challengers, and Koenma gaped with a horrified expression at the rather quick loss of the challenge.

…

Toutousai stood with his face stoic as he regarded the somewhat bedraggled Tantei. Kuwabara hung his head slightly, still not recovered from a kick to the ribs despite Kurama's efficient healing. He kept his gaze on that young man, and Ginta looked at the young psychic and then his face smiled.

Ginta had always rather liked this man's smiles, because they stretched his skin into happy lines and pushed his eyes into something that reminded him of Kagome before the Catalyst. He shook his head and sent a questing look at the old fire demon, it going unanswered as he stepped forth to issue his challenge. "I believe they have already passed my challenge."

Koenma sputtered out his surprise, faint hope and some covetous greed appearing to gleam in those eyes as he realized they only needed to win one more challenge to get out of this mess and get their information. Ginta snarled at him, along with a few others of the Court, knocking off the look to replace it with slight fear and offense.

He smirked, as well as he could in this form, and Kagome chuckled lightly under her breath- enough that he could hear. Koenma would be in for a surprise, if he knew anything about his people and their ways he would understand that he would never know anything they didn't want him to know.

…

Shippou stepped forth, hands drawing down and the disconcerting sensation of reality adjusting washed over all those present.

Koenma almost stumbled in his gaping confusion, the eyebrows of his teenage form practically disappearing to his hairline.

"The battlefield isn't always blatant. You lose this challenge." The older fur ball Shippou stated, fangs appearing over his lips as he smirked and went to Kagome. His hand briefly settled on her shoulder as he passed on his way to Souten, and Kagome smiled as his steps continued.

…

The Tantei stood brave in front of the Court, bedraggled now in appearance and eyes glittering with the pride of the few challenges they had won. It had been an interesting game, and true competitors would understand that this was the exhilarating rush of adrenaline and exertion meeting.

Even with their loss…it had been fun.

Sesshoumaru stepped forth, Jaken faithfully at his side as Ginta gently grasped Kagome's hand in his maw to get her up. She stayed seated, smiling innocently and sweetly up at him before the pause in Sesshoumaru caught her eye. The silver lord was watching her, torso facing their opponents but a soft ungrudging look on his face, directed at their miko. She smiled, the beam crinkling her eyes at the corners and making Gitna roll his wolf eyes before he plopped to the ground.

How come they always did that silent 'I can hear you' thingy when everyone else was around?

Sesshoumaru turned to the tantei, hands flicking at Jaken to still him. "The Court and Highers follow one rule, and by this rule you all pass our challenges."

There was a pause, deep and pregnant enough for the orgasmic joy to alight in the spirit prince's eyes and the stunned wonderment of victory to caress the faces of his tantei. Though, if all went well, they might not be his any longer.

They stared moving slightly, little twitches of their fingers and confused glances amongst each other that belied their nervous confusion.

"Why did we win?" Yusuke's annoyed surprise reflected in his voice, and Ginta did a little coughing laugh in his wolf form before he transformed back into his avatar. He stretched out the kinks in his back, shaking his tail and briefly mourning the loss of Kagome-nee-sans' body heat.

She stood and dusted off her haori, nose crinkling slightly as she paid particular attention to a place that was covered in wolf fur. "You're shedding again Ginta, you should get a brushing." He blushed and scratched his neck sheepishly.

The annoyed growl of Yusuke brought him out of his crouching guilt, and he smiled in genuine amusement. "If you don't know…"

Hakkaku piped up from the group of wolves; "Why should we tell you?"

Inuyasha and Kouga sighed before bopping whichever wolf was closest on the head. Onigumo growled out, Ginta could never tell if it was in amusement or annoyance, and stepped forward from the shadows under a tall sycamore. Kagome smiled brilliantly in his general direction, and the tall hanyou strode up to her side. "If we tried full out to fell you, you would be dead and on your way to reikai. We weren't testing your powers individually but rather how you worked as a team."

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly as he approached Kagome, his hand coming up to rest on her shoulder as Ginta watched the red head riddle solver tense- and he smirked. I wonder how much it bugged him to find I was a male wolf that had been lying across the miko-lady's lap.

Aristocracy spoke; "We don't care that you are powerful as you'll receive training under us anyway. What we do need to know is that you have honor enough to support your comrades and refrain from blaming them in your loss."

Kagome smiled and clapped her hands. Face settling into that gentle happy look she got whenever she was allowed to make new friends. Ginta shook his head in fond exasperation. "Hold still sis, we still need them to vow."

She pouted.

Inuyasha laughed, coming up and ruffling her hair and then being swatted away with a smile and a little jab to his arm. Ginta grinned with his blood brother, slapping his back as he mirrored their foolish beam of early days. The miko came up and smacked them both in response.

Inuyasha and Kouga burst out laughing, and Ginta rubbed the back of his head sheepishly- it had hurt…a little bit.

The redheaded fox stood up straighter, his eyes narrowing in thought and heavy confusion as the remaining Highers gathered, and the Court slowly started trickling away from the clearing. If the team passed they would definitely be found around here tomorrow. If they didn't…well, bad news spread fast. Especially when it was possible it would somehow harm their miko.

Koenma stood stolidly, his aura still radiating smugly off of him and causing the white wolf to roll his eyes. He guessed he could understand Kagome's easy ability to pull the wool over these guys, Reikai brats deserved being fooled- it was too easy to do so.

He had never really heard anything good about them, bumbling idiots and power hungry fools that ruled the reikai realm and extended their reign to the other dimensions. Of course this was all done in the conscientious excuse of maintaining the ignorant peace between the races.

Buggers.

Ginta sighed and rubbed his head as Sesshoumaru stepped forth, Jaken coming along his side proudly with the staff of heads ominously thudding against the ground. The heavy silence that settled almost caused him to chuckle, but he held it in. Rather well he might add.

Kagome elbowed him in the gut, his air coming out in a startled and slightly pained 'oof' before he pouted at the silent laughter of Hakkaku (who had thankfully been the only one to catch the happenings) and the blatantly amused woman at his side. Sesshoumaru sent them an angry but exasperated glare- it softened his usually hard face into something brotherly and almost laughable compared to his usual stoicism.

Ginta blushed sheepishly and pulled the miko under his arm. Hakkaku snickering beside them in their three-way-hug as they both whispered scolds into her ear for disrupting something so important.

She ignored it expertly.

Sesshoumaru turned back to the rather oblivious tantei and studious Jaken, nodding to his first retainer and his expression closing off once more as he faced who would hopefully become one of them.

"Thou have passed, now the vows will be taken and the paths chosen. You have two choices at worst, should we see it fit. The third will only be possible if you answer one more question correctly." He nodded his head solemnly and stepped forward from his place by the western lord's side.

Kurama and the tantei stepped forward to meet him, Koenma curiously tilting his neck and craning his head to view them all.

"Only the challengers and contestants can stay for this, Prince Enma, you never took up our game and you never participated as we tested the honor of the challengers."

Koenma got a petulant expression on his face, but the remaining higher Court seemed to collectively snarl and bare their fangs at him. He gracefully retreated, a smug calculating gaze sent to his detectives that Ginta almost laughed darkly at.

Koenma would be getting none of his gains if anything went as well as they hoped. He disappeared down a path, some youkai coming out of shadows and bushes where they had previously been invisible. The remaining tantei started at the unexpected presence.

One of the wolf pups yipped and bounded its way over to them, weaving happily through legs and seated Highers before he ended up at Kagome. He plunked down on his rump like only a pup could, unconcerned with his surroundings and tongue hanging out as he panted, happily waving his tail because he had found the miko.

Kagome laughed, bending down to pick up the child as Kouga walked up with a curious and scolding expression on his face. He picked up the wolf by the scruff of his neck, the cute dejected puppy pout on his face having no affect on the wolf leader as he tapped his foot in impatience.

"Ka-ichi, what are you doing here?"

The pup whimpered, Kagome hiding her chuckles and smile behind her hands as she turned to face the tantei. Ginta watched Kouga walk out of the way with the pup, scolding it for interrupting important business just because he wanted to say 'hi' to Kagome-nee-sama.

The tantei only shifted uncomfortably on their feet.

"With your honor and your truth you will vow to keep our tales safe, your knowledge will be a privilege, and you will treat it as such. Do you wish to take the vows? You have proven honor true, and you have some who vouch for your strength and values; we only need your word that you will honor our pact as you prove honor to yourselves."

There was a collective agreement from the tantei, an affirmation so precise it almost seemed rehearsed. Ginta smiled at them and then the Highers, and then his gaze came to rest on their miko. The spirit detectives were curious and strong, they wanted to know the mysteries of the Highers and the Court; with their vows they would find them.

It was time to tell the tale.

.x.x.xXx.x.x.

The ever present AN; …

Is not here.

Oh wait…do you guys want me to get Kagome to tell her tale? Or should Koenma throw a personal fit in his pov when he can't get what he wants and that will help explain some things? I find it very hard to write Kags pov, so I am hoping for some suggestions or requests.

Aside form that, ENJOY THE CHAPPIE! Lol.