Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto. The only thing I own is the plot.

Betas: Michelle T., AstaraelDarkrahBlack (They are both shy daisies. Oh my god! Look how they tiptoe around me and each other!)

Chapter 11: Mistake - Atonement


"I did not kill him."

"Your arrow struck Shukaku. It crumbled into dust before our very eyes." It seemed that it didn't take long for the elders of the Go-Ikenban to regain their footing. Even the terrible vision of the youkai infested Sengoku Jidai didn't startle them for more than a few minutes. Already the shock of the vision was fading from their faces. And as it was, they were back to questioning her, to figuring her out.

"He was… hurting… Gaara," she held the hand of the boy who was sitting in her seat, sleeping without a care in the world. Her reiryoku was busy at work, soothing and mending the tears in his soul. "I destroyed his body. I didn't destroy… his heart," she paused once, casting a glance at the redheaded boy. "He lives."

"You're not making any sense, Miko. You are the enemy of all demons. You said so yourself mere moments ago."

Theoretically that was true. The very essences that made the souls of a miko and a demon were directly opposing natural forces, light and dark, fire and water. It was the reason why miko and monks, whose bodies were as frail and mortal as any other normal human being, could hold their own and even triumph over mighty youkai. But reality was not so simple. Not all youkai were evil, just as not all humans were good. From Kagome's personal experience, the most evil of youkai typically were not born as youkai but started life as humans whose corrupted hearts became the birthplace of evil.

Humans such as Onigumo who became the heart of Naraku. Such as the man whose twisted desire for Midoriko became the heart of Magatsuhi, the evil spirit of the Shikon itself. Ironic… but telling all the same.

"Not all demons… are bad… Some just... are..." But her statement seemed to only deepen their confusion.

"What are you saying Miko?" It was Ikanago who spoke from within the Go-Ikenban this time. "Are you saying that some demons… can be good? And that you thought the Shukaku might be such a case… and that is why you spared him?" He wore a look of sheer incredulousness on his face, as if he was hearing some great stupidity proclaimed as truth. She could well imagine why he would think so. After all, she had seen the Shukaku maim and kill and destroy with indiscrimination with her own eyes. She had seen people, old and young, crushed beneath the waves of its sand, and died in terror and pain. The testimony of the orphans more than verified that this was not the first time it had done so. By all rights, she should have killed it. Inuyasha had killed more demons for lesser transgressions than this.

But… Gaara was connected to it, and she didn't know what would happen if she were to destroy the tanuki spirit outright. Besides, something in the anguished cry of the tanuki stayed her hands. It was stark raving mad and not just a little of that madness was caused by the pain of the forced soul bond between it and the child. She might not know a whole lot of the backstory between the Shukaku and Gaara but she was more than sure that the tanuki wanted to be bound to the boy even less than the child himself. Its violent madness was not of its own choice.

There was a momentary pause as Ikanago frowned at her. "What is the other end of the spectrum, then? That some humans can be evil? Will you do the same to the evil humans that you would a demon, Miko? Will you judge them and if you see that they are not as good as you want them to be, you would… what? You would not offer them the same protection as the humans you see as good? Would you shoot them with your arrows as you did the Shukaku? Is that… what you are saying?"

His words were motivated by fear and distrust, the dark shadow of which had not left even after her vision, only thickened around him, but they weren't entirely unfounded. Something that his peers in the Go-Ikenban had immediately picked up on because she could see the keen attention they were paying to her answer.

"No…" said Kagome quietly as she carefully considered her next words. Miko were the natural enemies of demons. Miko killed wicked demons to protect innocent humans. This was the basic principle taught to young miko in training. Even her grandpa, a priest for most of his life in their family shrine, spoke of it. This used to be the teaching she once believed in, before experience had taught her that some monsters were born in the skin of humans and vice versa. She had asked the same questions Ikanago was asking then. If some humans were bad and some youkai good, where then should a miko draw the line?

She hesitated and in the stretched silence could feel the weight of the Go-Ikenban's attention. If she could not adequately answer Ikanago's pointed questions, things would not turn out the way she hoped it would be, and this boy… She glanced at the sleeping Gaara. Who knew what they would do to him? These people who didn't even have a smidge of understanding of youkai and humans and the frailty of the human heart. Who knew what they would do to him after having seen how bad it could be through her memories? She must explain this, somehow, even though her Sand people language wasn't nearly up to the task, even though none of this were simple issues that could be be made clear with just a few words.

More than ever, Kagome cursed her clumsy hold of the Sand people language. But she must try.

"It is… not my place to… to… judge." Kikyo, when confronted with a near dead Onigumo had not condemned him for his crimes. Righteous vengeance and judgement was not their way. Compassion was. Forgiveness was. Kikyo had seen in Onigumo not a wretched criminal but a man in despair who could no longer harm anyone else. She had pitied him, had taken him in then and cared for him. Even when she had been proven wrong later on when Onigumo became Naraku, Kikyo still had not regretted her decision. She had sought to destroy Naraku not out of hatred but because he was a great evil that must be cleansed.

That was the way of the Miko. They were… the guide and protector of souls, not simply killers of youkai. But how to explain that to people who had no such concepts?

She went quiet again, before finally speaking up slowly, hesitantly. "You and I… we do not see… demons… the same way. In your eyes, Shukaku is demon. But my people…" How did Miroku put it again? The principle on which one distinguished a youkai with a heart and a human who was a monster beneath his mortal skin. "... believe that all creatures… beings... that walk the earth has a spirit… and four souls."

They wore puzzled looks on their faces, some with expressions that suggested they wanted to hear none of this drivel, but even so she did not stop. "Aramitama for… courage. Nigimitama for… friendship. Kushimitama, wisdom. Sakimitama… love. If one has no courage, no wisdom, no friendship, no love… then... demon… evil, must be… cleansed."

Laying a hand on the sleeping boy's head, she continued. "Gaara and Shukaku are one. Gaara… has no courage, no wisdom, no friendship… but... he has love" She looked straight at the father whose face had gone pale and still and whose eyes had shuttered off. "Gaara is… loved. His mother… loves him." she repeated, stronger this time. Her voice echoed in the vast chamber, the sound washing over the men of the Go-Ikenban who before this had only looked at her with fear and confusion and doubt. "His heart is… human. And… and… as long as he... possess… a human heart, then I will protect him… with my life."

Looking directly at Ikanago now with a challenge in her eyes, she concluded. "That… is what I'm saying."


The questions went on and on afterwards, for hours, until she became so visibly tired that Rasa had to stop the proceeding. The Go-Ikenban had many questions and her promise of honesty had only succeeded in making them come forth with their inquiries without restraint.

How did you come to this world?

Via a tear through space

Is that tear still out there? In the desert? Can anything just come through to this side from your world?

No, it was open for mere seconds only. And it will never open again.

If it was open for only seconds, why then are you here? What happened to you?

I got… lost. I stumbled. I am here. Does it matter? The demons from my world will not find their way here.

Do you want to go back?

I can… never… go back.

Why? Because you cannot open up that tear again?

Yes and… no. I chose… here. I chose… to stay.

You just said you got lost and stumbled.

Both. I stumbled. I chose. The end is the same. I am here. I can never go back.

You are not making a whole lot of sense.

I am honest. Whether you believe… is your choice.

Who was that woman at the end of your memories?

Midoriko… the strongest of us.

The strongest?

The strongest. You have seen her… power.

What has become of her?

She's dead. Fell in battle against… many demons.

What is your relationship with her? Is she your mother? You look alike.

I… she…

..

.

You cannot answer that?

It's…. complicated.

It's a yes or no question.

It's complicated.

...

Can anybody become a miko?

Not everyone. Some are born with the… power. Some not.

Are there many miko in your world?

Not… many. Not ones with… true power.

True power? Meaning they cannot fight demons? They are… what? Stand-ins?

Not all miko are… the same. Some are born strong. Some… not. The strong ones fight demons. The other ones still do… many things. Protect the people, care for them. They are miko all the same. It is not… the… the power that makes the miko. It is her will... her choice.

How powerful are you compared to other miko?

Kagome laughed bitterly at this question. She had never before been asked such a thing but somehow, it made sense that warriors like them would first be concerned with how strong a subject was regardless of whether that strength actually mattered. She had half a mind to not answer, but she did promise to do so to the best of her abilities, so after a minute of consideration, she said.

Powerful… but sometimes… that is not enough.

. Let us rephrase that question. How strong are you compared to… say… Midoriko, your 'it's-complicated' mother?

She…. ahhhh…. If anything, they were persistent. The relationship between Midoriko and Kagome was far more complicated than can be summed up in a single word, but if the Go-Ikenban were set on believing what they wanted, then there was little she could do to dissuade them.

I am as... powerful. But, I lack… experience.

This Miko ki, this purification, is it hereditary?

. Yes….

When they finally let her out the door of the chamber, Kagome was dearly missing the fur filled bed in her room at the temple. She could feel the drag of her feet and the pull on her eyelids. The weight of Gaara in her arms, which had not been light even before the interrogation, was like lead. It had been a long day.

Rasa accompanied her out as he closed the door to the chamber. He didn't say a word, simply walked beside her in the long corridor. The silence between them felt oppressive, even more so than before she walked into that meeting with the Go-Ikenban. He had been angry then but her statement regarding his son back there in the meeting… something about it had set him off even further. But he was not a man who would let anger get the best of him and so he kept it to himself. This silence, as if cement was poured into the space between them and frozen there, was the result of it.

As they came into a chamber whose door she remembered would eventually lead to the outside, Rasa stopped.

"Leave the boy," he said. "And go home Miko." And when he saw her hesitation, reminded her firmly as he held out his hands. "I am his father."

Only then and with some reluctance did Kagome hand the boy over to the father who, now that she paid extra scrutiny to him, handled his own child with a stiff, slightly ginger way that made her question her decision right on the spot. Before she could say a word on that however, the door behind her back creaked and she heard the soft footsteps of people enterring. Turning, she saw the faces of her maidens in the glow of the electric light.

Oren stood at the head, her clothes rumpled and legs streaked with sand and dirt. The girls behind her looked no better, and Yuhi… Yuhi was not looking at Kagome. The moment their eyes met across the room for a split second, she immediately looked down at the floor, a stricken look flashing in her eyes.

"Kazekage-sama, Kagome-sama," Oren started, hands clasped together in a clear militaristic pose, her head bowed, eyes downcast. That was as far as she got before the Kazekage's fury crashed down upon her.

"Now you come?" There were razors in Rasa's voice, razors that weren't there moments before when he was talking to Kagome. His face, which had not softened one bit, had gained an unforgiving edge as he cast a scathing look at the warrior maidens before him. An incredible weight entered the chamber where they stood, invisible and crushing, as if boulders had found their way in and were pushing down upon their shoulders. The moment it registered, Oren and the girls dropped down on one knee, their heads bowed so low she couldn't even see their faces. "Hours after your charge went missing and turned up at the last place she was supposed to b—"

"Please… stop…" For the first second, she was not even aware that she had spoken up, but the moment the pressure turned and directed its full attention on her was unmistakable. Though she had been in this land for near a year, Kagome still found it shocking that the humans of this world, despite their wholly mortal bodies, could sometimes exude the immense presence of great youkai. Rasa looked her in the eye, his face stoney. It was quiet in the chamber, two in the morning and for but a moment she thought she would collapse under the pressure of his black rage. The moment passed and she found herself standing tall, facing him, weary and weathered, but undaunted.

"You are… not upset with them. You are… upset… with me," she said, stuttering her way through the sentence. His presence was vast and it bore down on her with the weight of mountains. Even so, she did not stop. "They have… have… nothing to do with this. I ran away. I made the choice. So… so.. whatever you have to say… you should… only look at me… when you say it."

He said not a word in reply, but even in his silence she could feel his intention, like steel blades grazing her skin. He reeked still of metal and sand and old blood, old wounds, old hurts. That scent had never stopped following him around. She had only just grown used to it the way she did Inuyasha and Kouga and Miroku whose body was filled with poison and miasma at the tail end of their journey.

Then, without warning, he took a step forward, into her space. She recoiled out of instinct. The suddenness of her movement seemed to please him somehow. When he spoke next, there was a dark promise in the tone of his voice.

"You are dear to me and my people, Miko. Never forget it. But you cannot keep flouting my will without expecting… repercussions."

Repercussions? At this, Kagome suddenly felt a sense of irrational irritation washing over her. Repercussions? For what? For saving his child and the people of his village? For not going along with his unreasonably paranoid and ultimately unhelpful orders? She had not felt this way in a long time, her near death experience having put most things into a more distant perspective.

"If you… if you had… heard my request the first time, I wouldn't have had to… to run away and make a big… thing. I just… wanted to see Gaara. If you had heard me out… I wouldn't have had to… this! I wouldn't have had to do… this… this thing!" She gesticulated, at first slow and stilted, then the movements of her hands grew wild as her irritation stepped into the territory of anger.

Kagome, very much to her own surprise, was feeling furious for the first time in a very long while. She was exhausted, and short on both sleep and food. It was two in the morning and she had had a long day. And these people, these distrustful old men of swords and knives would not stop pushing no matter how considerate she had been. She had even refrained from asking them how this boy and the tanuki came to be joined because she thought such sensitive matters would prove too much to people who had only just discovered youkai and miko and everything else in between. But did they understand it? No! And even now, as she humored their questions and requests every which way she could, this child, who was hanging from the shoulder of his father like a sack of potatoes, still had a fractured soul and she still hadn't been able to do a single thing about that… and… and... who the hell carried their own child like that?!

"You did what you had to because of what I did? You wouldn't if I had heard you out? Complete nonsense," said Rasa, unheeding of Kagome's mounting temper, or perhaps he simply did not care. "I am the Kazekage. These are my soldiers, and they have failed my order. And you… you are a little girl who understands nothing of this village."

This time, it was Kagome who stepped into his personal space, her face flushed and hands trembling as they clenched tight. "I…" she half yelled, half hissed. "I am the only one who can help this child! I am the only one who can help you! And you just won't … listen!"

His response was immediate this time. The hand that curled itself around the column of her neck moved faster than she could see. Distantly, Kagome heard the yell of Oren and the sound of scuffles at her back.

"Kazekage-sama!"

She could hear the naked panic in Oren's voice, her honest concern for Kagome fully exposed. But Oren's worry was for naught. Rasa's hand around her neck might be a mirror image of what happened between them months ago when they first met, but there was no pressure behind it and even as Kagome glared him down, she could see the anger bleeding from his face, to be replaced with an inquisitive curiosity.

"Do you remember this, Miko?" In the silence thereafter, he spoke, his voice blank, the overwhelming force behind it tightly reined in. "Even when I was trying to kill you back then, you would not even raise your voice for your own life. You are raising your voice now. For this boy? Why?"

He could not have known it, but his question cut Kagome and her budding anger to the core. She made to turn her head from his gaze but he stopped her. Beneath the tight hold of his hand, her breath pulsed and fell into staccato.

"You have only just met. You could not have spoken more than a handful of sentences to him. But you would get angry for his sake? You would go against me for him? What meaning could Gaara hold to you, Miko?"

Yes, back then, she was not concerned that she was about to be killed, that the Kazekage's chokehold on her throat was pushing her slowly but surely into death by asphyxiation. She did not necessarily want to die in such manners but death, her own physical death, at the time and even now did not scare her like it used to. A good death would have solved so many things she had done, but she kept on because of that promise. But… this boy… this was different. This she cared about.

"Because…" she started, stopped, then started again. "Because I made… a mistake. I made a mistake. And everyone I knew is dead." Her voice was hoarse and weak, not because of Rasa's hand around her throat but because of the memories welling up behind her eyes. She had gone such a long time too without thinking back on it once again. "I'm the only one… left. I'm the only one… who survived. I can't... " Her gaze went from the face of the father to the face of the son in his other arm. Kagome felt the eyes of all in the room upon her as she focused her attention on the red-haired boy.

"I can't… make the same mistake… again."

The hand around her neck loosened, went up to her cheeks where it gently wiped away the tears she hadn't even realized were there before withdrawing completely. When Rasa spoke next, he appeared to be caught in deep thoughts as he studied her face.

"Go home, Miko." He made a gesture to the warrior maidens behind her. "The Go-Ikenban will decide what shall be done with Gaara."


He dropped the boy off with Baki before heading back to the chamber where the Go-Ikenban still waited. As he came in, he could see that the men and women of the Suna R&D lab had finished with their examination of the Miko ki collected from the barraged Sunyard and was now handing out copies of the preliminary research report. Sitting down in his chair, he picked up his copies and made a quick pass through it. The facts they found were both expected and surprising. When he lifted his head, the attention of the entire Go-Ikenban was on him. Some members wore the face of consideration, others concern or outright uneasiness. He couldn't blame them. This Miko ki, whose powers they had just glimpsed, was a force whose potentials could hold unimaginable consequences for the people of Suna. That it could completely suppress the dark chakra of a biju, beyond even their most powerful seal, was simply the beginning.

He looked to the clock by the wall. It read 2:45AM. This night would prove to be much longer than he thought.

"Before we discuss what shall be done in regards to Gaara, the Miko, and her request concerning him, we must all agree on one thing," he started the second row of their discussion, this time without the presence of the girl who started it all. "That it was Miko Kagome Higurashi who subdued Shukaku, that she possesses a power beyond chakra, that this power is hereditary by blood. None of these facts will escape the walls of this room."

What he requested was a feat far more difficult to pull off than the usual sweep and hide missions, but they were ninja and misinformation was their everyday bread and butter. That it was the safety of this village on the line simply made it even more important that they kept the information to themselves until a time where they knew they could favorably control the outcome of the eventual revelation arrived.

"Agreed," replied the majority of the council men.

"That would be difficult," commented Yura, the new Go-Ikenban member in charge of security and border patrol. "She did just waste the Shukaku in front of the entire village… in three shots…"

"In the middle of a virtual sandstorm," Rasa responded. "... and clearly seen by no more than the two thousand civilians still stuck within the market square. The ninja will have their orders. As to the civilians, they are citizens of a hidden village. They know their place."

It would be difficult, but not impossible, not to ninja well versed in the art of genjutsu and misdirection. If they had a clan within their village with abilities similar to the Konohan Yamanaka, it would be even easier to erase the event of today afternoon from the minds of a couple thousand civilians, but they could make do without it.

"The other hidden villages will know something happened eventually."

"I expect so," he said easily, leaning back in his chair to ease the tension. "They wouldn't be named among the great five hidden villages if they could not detect something so singularly important taking place in our village."

But knowing that something had happened was entirely different from knowing exactly what had happened—the who, the how, the why, the when, and where. It was this information he sought to keep out of the opposition's hands. The Biju were the greatest weapons in the arsenal of the ninja world. Anything that could affect them was, therefore, sensitive information of the highest caliber. To keep it under wraps and within the confines of his village, Rasa was prepared to pay in lives.

"Whatever rumors or cults arise from the Miko's action today, we can circumvent with misinformation and misdirection. The location of the Miko's home is not known to the village or even to most ninja of lower ranks," he continued. "The ultimate purpose of the Miko's protection squad is to hide her identity in the first place. And when it comes to it…" Which it probably would if Rasa's experience had anything to say. "... any one of those girls would suffice as body doubles for the Miko. As long as the honored members of this council do not… overreach," he cast a look at the Go-Ikenban before him, going from face to face. "I expect us to be able to keep the truly important part of today's event from reaching unwanted ears before we are ready."

That got the few who had refrained the first time to nod their heads in assent. It was a simple enough decision made clearly for the good of the village. Now came the complicated part.

"Is it true that the Shukaku still exists within the jinchuuriki? Have we confirmed that it is so?" asked Joseki.

"We have," reported Goza to which Rasa nodded. The moment that the Miko had left the premises, sand clouds began gathering around Gaara. A clear sign of Shukaku's lingering power. The Go-Ikenban took this with varying degrees of relief and concern on their faces. On one hand, the potential loss of such a tactically valuable weapon; on the other, it would have been the end of the greatest compromise to their village security. If only it was not his blood and flesh in question…

"Then, shall we discuss that which must be on everyone's mind right now?" Joseki continued. "She has requested that she be kept in close contact with the jinchuriki. Considering all that we know of her… as well as all that we don't, the dilemma which faces us and our village is then this: do we grant her request? How shall we handle the Miko and the Jinchuuriki moving into the future? And now that we know for sure the Miko's power is carried in her bloodline… what do we do with it?"

Yes, that would be the crux of this second point of contention between the members of the Go-Ikenban, the most difficult part of all this. Rasa nodded, and braced himself.


In the end, they never quite agreed on any specific answers to the multiple dilemmas set out by Joseki. The Miko's power and its yet unknown nature had split the Go-Ikenban into three factions: the conservatives who called for further sequestration of the Miko and immediate cut off of any contacts between her and Suna Jinchuuriki; the experimentalists who argued that the Miko had been cooperative thus far and a cooperative Miko would prove far more beneficial to Sunagakure as a whole. They knew that they had much to learn about her and her power, said these Go-Ikenban members, and she in turn had much more to give to Sunagakure. Lastly were those in-betweens who advocated a wait-and-see approach as a way to provoke the Miko, still just a young girl alone in a strange land despite her power, into revealing more about herself.

"We certainly have suffered losses today, but in the long term, these losses are insignificant. On the other hand, had today's events not transpired, we likely would not have learned of her powers other than her ability to grow crops in a dead land until it was too late. She only revealed this side of herself when she needed something other than what was given to her. I say leave her in peace for now, but monitor her carefully. She may yet reveal other aspects of her power that we don't know about," argued Goza who was squarely in the wait-and-see camp.

Before that, they had debated whether the Miko's vision was entirely true. There were a few who had questioned its authenticity and suggested that at least some of what they had seen was a product of a young girl's imagination and not an experience from real life. That might be true, Rasa concurred, but on the other hand, how would they explain what had happened in the middle of the village no more than half a day before? That she possessed a power completely unrelated to chakra was an irrefutable fact. The horrific world she showed them might be straining their abilities to believe but conversely, it made perfect sense for such a demon-infested world to give birth to a power that was the natural opposition of demons.

This was all before they even got into the topic of what to do with such an odd power inheritable by blood, and that—out of all the topics on the table—was the ugliest one of the lot. They called an end to the meeting after hours of intense and back and forth discussion that lead to voices being raised more than once. Whatever their disagreements, it would take more than just a single meeting of the Go-Ikenban to conclude them all.

When Rasa finally walked out the door of the meeting hall, it was a quarter past five in the morning. Baki waited for him by the door as he came out, and without saying a word, accompanied him through the corridors.

"How is Gaara?"

"Asleep. Still." Said Baki.

"The seal?"

"Stable. We can detect the presence of the Shukaku but it's weak. Very weak," he paused once. "The... Miko's power hasn't left. It has faded but even now, some still lingers."

Rasa merely nodded to acknowledge his concern.

"Pardon me for the question, Lord Kazekage, but… you don't seem surprised by this new development."

If it had been anybody else who asked him this question, he might have simply shut them off, but Baki was a trusted comrade, the man who Rasa had entrusted the tutelage and safety of his children to. "Miko Higurashi's power, when we first learned of it, was compared to the power of the Shodaime Hokage Hashirama Senju. As the man in question held influence over the Biju, I suspected the Miko may hold similar powers. It was not a great leap of logic."

Baki had no reply but Rasa could see him regarding his Kazekage from the corner of his eyes. What Baki did not ask was 'If you had suspected it, why then did you not tell the members of the Go-Ikenban?'. Whatever the answer might be, Baki was sure that he was not prepared to even consider approaching such a sensitive subject with his Kazekage.

"Keep an eye on her, Baki," Rasa said simply. "Likely you and your team will see more of the Miko… soon."

"You intend to push the issues in her favor in future meetings with the Go-Ikenban then?" There was the slightest hint of surprise in the jounin's voice.

"I do." She might not look like it, but the Miko was stubborn and would only do what she wanted because she wanted it. If the Go-Ikenban decided to forbid her access to Gaara, Kami knew what she would do to circumvent their will. On the other hand, if he directed the Go-Ikenban into granting at least part of her request, he could keep her happy and in place. That her contact with Gaara could only come while under the supervision of Baki would simply put her deeper into the sphere of his influence and not that of any other members of the Go-Ikenban.

It was not something spoken of in polite conversation, nor a usual topic of discussion even among the jounin of the village, but the relationship between the reigning Kazekage and the concurrent Go-Ikenban was more often than not, complicated. In theory, the Go-Ikenban was a council of seasoned jounin and village members who helped the Kazekage in the administration of Sunagakure. In terms of power, both the Go-Ikenban and the office of Kazekage held equal power with neither truly outranking the other. The council itself existed as a check of the current Kazekage's power. If the Kazekage's rule proved the reign of a destructive tyrant, or if the Kazekage had been compromised by foreign forces, that would be when the Go-Ikenban were allowed the power to choose a new replacement for the Kazekage seat.

This power had been used only once in the entire history of the village. When Sandaime Kazekage disappeared, it had thrown the entire village into disarray, ultimately dragging them into the Third Ninja World War itself. Rasa had been the chosen replacement of the Go-Ikenban of that time.

In real practice however, powerful and ambitious men the likes of them probably couldn't inhabit the same space for too long without testing their fangs against each other. There had always existed a current of competition and power play between the Go-Ikenban and the Kazekage as well as among individual council members themselves.

This was ultimately what Rasa wanted to keep the Miko out of. The worst thing that could happen to the little Miko would be for her to become a piece in the political jockeying that went on in the highest stratum of Sunagakure leadership. He knew, the moment it became clear that her power was more than an endless food source in the desert, that the hyenas would come as if summoned by the scent of fresh blood. There were those in the ninja world who would not think twice about ripping a valuable bloodline from a young bearer. The gentle, polite way to go about it would be through forced breeding, with the definition of forced depending on the individuals. But there were other faster, and more efficient ways. After all, in the eyes of these men, the start of a bloodline ultimately boiled down to only a functioning and mature reproductive organ. The body attached to it was a nice addition but not always necessary.

It was gruesome and despicable to even men like Rasa, who had gone through horrific wars and lived to tell the tale as a bearer of a rare bloodline himself. But it was also one of the realities of the world they lived in. None within the Go-Ikenban had even mentioned it as a solution of course, but he knew that it hovered in the back of their minds the moment their discussion entered the territory of bloodlines and ensuring this Miko ki stayed within Sunagakure. This was what he wanted to keep the Miko away from. She was a child, stubborn and sure of her way, who knew nothing of the demons that inhabited this world. This was the reason why she must be protected, even when it was against her own wishes.


End Chapter 11


1. From the Garden of Gods Kumo AU is getting out of hand. You probably won't see it anytime soon. I blame it on whoever sent me that ask on how I would characterize Jashin as seen by Kagome.

2. Next chapter: the answer from the Go-Ikenban, the Maharra festival, and a Miko appears before the Sungakure public for the first time. Also, an emissary from the newborn Otogakure. The Red Dawn lurks at the border of the desert.

3. Kagome gets angry for the first time in From the Garden of Gods. As Rasa pointed out, this is unusual considering her past behavior. We will learn what exactly happened to Kagome in the Inuyasha world in about… probably 2 or 3 chapters. The person who provokes her into touching that part of her memories again is +drumrolls+ Gaara! (As said in previous chapter and in the summary of From the Garden of Gods Kumo AU, Gaara is the catalyst and reason that Kagome slowly becomes truly concerned and involved in the affairs of Naruto ninja world)

4. This chapter, Yura the leak appears (check your Naruto Shippuden knowledge for who he is).

5. I read Gaara Hiden. It was very interesting and the new information it provided was used for further building a clear image and role of the Go-Ikenban in Sunagakure. I'm pretty sure that some of that is not exactly canon though because nowhere in canon Shippuden was it stated that Ebizo (Chiyo's brother) was the leader of the Go-Ikenban. He wasn't even there when the Go-Ikenban held that meeting to discuss the kidnapping of Gaara in Shippuden! He was too busy fishing from a well with no fish!

6. What do you think about Kagome's explanation on what constitutes an 'evil demon' and the reason why she protects Gaara? How do you think the Go-Ikenban will take it? And, this is the suggestion of a reviewer, but if the name Go-Ikenban is too difficult for you (FYI I didn't invent that name), just call them the GI not Joe.

7. Last question of the day. Where are you (yes you, who are reading this sentence at the end of the chapter) from? Lately I have been receiving reviews and PMs in languages I could not make heads or tails of without the aid of google translate. That got me looking into the nationality section of my readers and it's a delight to see so many countries in there, some I have never even heard of (Hello Aruba, Bahrain, and Tajikistan whose single reader has read the last chapter of From the Garden of Gods a total of 40 times!)