A/N: Have you guys been watching the Olympics? Last night was amazing speed skating action. Apollo got gold and then got 3rd for his relay team. Very exciting.

So here is the next chapter. Thank you everyone for reviewing and reading. Hope you will stick with me till the end. There's going to be a little… new information at the end. So read on to find out.

Chapter Seventeen

Rash Decisions

Sango stood, speechless. "How could it be…" she thought.

It took her a couple of moment to regain her composure. "What are you doing in my father's chair!" she said angrily at last.

"Now, now," his words slurred together, "There has to be a judge when you're dad is… away."

Sango shook with fury. "You… you're just…"

"Don't lose your cool, Sango," Miroku said warningly.

"I'll say that you should listen to your boyfriend there. I have the right to appoint any official to be the judge in the absence of one… and I appointed myself," he grinned in satisfaction. "Now, what was the injustice that you were yelling about?"

"Yang Matsuo, the judge of this city, has not been corrupt," Sango told Ximong, staring him straight in the eye.

"Well, I believe differently. We have all the evidence that he was. We caught him with the storage full of rice, did we not? He just wasn't telling his daughter about it."

"You're the one that set him up!" Sango couldn't believe that she was actually trying to convince Ximong, the man that had wrongly accused her father that her father is innocent and should be released.

"You shouldn't be pointed fingers. It wouldn't help your father's case."

"I believe," Miroku stepped forward to speak to Ximong, "that a trail is necessary for the imprisonment of Yang Matsuo. We need him to testify and also imprison the other person in question that was dealing money with Mr. Matsuo."

Ximong smile broadened. "Of course that is necessary. It surprised me to find Yang with a storage full of rice. He even had me fooled," he called one of the guards over, "Bring Yang out."

Sango turned around to face Miroku. "Thanks. I just don't know what got into me."

"It's okay. I'm here for you."

"And together we can prove your dad's innocence," Kagome added.

Sango smiled at her friends. She nodded in agreement and at the same moment, her father was dragged out by two guards.

&

"Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked. "But why…"

"Kikyo and you have been friends every since you were young. And her father has been a very loyal official to your father. The match couldn't be more perfect."

"It's true that Kikyo and I have been friends… but I don't see her as my wife."

"I don't think you can see anyone as your wife," the queen huffed at him. "Anyways, I have told her to come this evening and have dinner with us. So just be friendly."

"Do you do anything consulting me first?" His mother had agreed to have Sesshomaru "help" him out and now he was going to have dinner with Kikyo.

"What kind of tone is that? I'm still your mother and I know what is best for you. You might be emperor, but that doesn't mean you can do everything," his mother said angrily and walked away.

Inuyasha shook his head. He didn't know what to do. There were so many things that he had to do as an emperor and his officials weren't going to let him run things. Now his mother was treating him like a boy.

"Myoga, is there anything else I have to do today?" Inuyasha asked tiredly.

"Sesshomaru has requested to see you this afternoon."

"What would he want to talk to me about? He knows everything and thinks he can be emperor." The last thing that Inuyasha wanted to do that day was talk to Sesshomaru.

"I didn't ask."

"Well, from now on you better start asking."

Inuyasha walked out of the room in so much anger, he could've killed someone.

&

Yang looked like he had aged a decade in a single night. His hair was tangled and messy. He was dressed in an old white robe and his hands and legs were cuffed.

"Let go of me! I can walk by myself," He yelled at the guards, who kept on dragging him. The guards dragged him past Sango and let go of him.

"Sango!" he stood up and turned, about to walk over to her.

Yang was pushed down onto his knees before he was even allowed a moment to take a single step. "Bow to Ximong."

"Father!" Sango wanted to run to her father, but Miroku held her back.

"NEVER!" Yang struggled to stand up, but was held down.

Ximong looked at Yang amusedly. "Enough, let him stand if he wishes."

Yang was released from the grip and stood. "You can't keep me in there Ximong. I know that you are loving where you're sitting right now, but you don't deserve it. You're going to regret what you are doing."

"Oh, why would you say that? My son and I found you that morning, out in the backyard. You were checking your stock, weren't you?"

"Someone is trying to frame me. They had stocked up my storage that night," Yang defended. He still didn't know that it was Ximong.

"We have the proof. You can't deny your crime, Yang. Someone was going to find out sooner or later."

"My father didn't do it! I know who did."

"Sango!" Miroku yelled at her. He knew that putting the blame on Ximong wasn't going to help them. Actually, with Ximong the judge, nothing could help them.

Ignoring Miroku, Sango kept talking. "Ximong did it, father. He is the one that framed you." Tears slid down her face.

"Sango… What you're saying… are you sure of it?"

She nodded.

"Ximong, I can't believe you stoop that low. So you want my position that badly, eh?" Yang spat at Ximong.

Ximong knew that even if Yang knew it was him, he couldn't do anything about it. He was helpless. All the power rested with him.

"What if I did do it? You can't prove it. You're just guessing that I did it. This trial is over. Yang is guilty for corruption and shall remain in prison until further evidence proves otherwise. Take him away."

Yang was pulled away from the guards. "You can't do this Ximong!" He struggled to break away from the guards. "Don't worry about me, Sango. Find the evidence. He can't lock me up forever."

Sango merely nodded at her dad and watched him get dragged away again.

"Do you think any evidence is going to help you?" Ximong asked her when Yang was out of sight.

"We'll have to see." With that, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome left.

&

Sesshomaru waited for Inuyasha in the emperor's library. Inuyasha had showed up late intentionally. He was sweating from fighting, trying to release all his anger.

Sesshomaru went down on one knee and bowed to Inuyasha. "What do you want?" Inuyasha asked impolitely.

"Don't use that kind of language anymore. You're an emperor now. A model to all the people of China."

"What is that you wanted to discuss with me here today?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

"I just wanted to go over the issues that were discussed earlier today."

"What I discussed or what you said?" Inuyasha spat.

Sesshomaru smiled. "What you said of course. Do you intend to do everything that you mentioned?" He paused, waiting for Inuyasha to answer. "You have high ambitions," he added.

"And I would have finished them, if you didn't cut in."

"Your highness… I did you a favor. Don't thank me that way."

Inuyasha couldn't believe that he was spoken to this way. Sesshomaru was a high ranking official, and he knew it. He held all the major armies. Just with his word, all those men could come and take down the palace. Inuyasha only commanded a meager thousand troops.

He remembered what his father had told him. "Inuyasha, the palace is a dangerous place. There are very strong men and very loyal men. They are very different and you should never get them confused," his father coughed, "Sesshomaru is a strong man. He is decisive and very strategic. He has always served me well, but I have no doubt that he will try to steal the power away from you."

"He wouldn't, father. I wouldn't let him." Inuyasha didn't want his father to worry about him. He didn't want his father to leave.

"I want to run my meetings from now on. I don't need you to run them for me," Inuyasha spoke.

Sesshomaru shook his head. "You don't know what you're talking about, emperor. You have only been in power for a few days. You don't know how to run things. Your father would not be happy in heaven looking down on his son standing on… his lost empire."

"Don't threaten me."

"I wasn't trying to."

"Then what point are you getting at?" Inuyasha didn't know what Sesshomaru wanted and he was getting more enraged by the second.

"Just let my help you, until you're ready. Then I'll leave everything to you, but before then I don't want this empire to fall into the hands we don't want."

"You want a bit of the power. You want to be a bit like the emperor."

"No, of course not. You're the emperor, not me. I want to help you."

"I don't need it."

Sesshomaru smiled at the young emperor. "Don't be coming to me for any help then."

He turned to leave. Inuyasha breathed out in relief when he was out the door.

Myoga, who had been standing quietly, spoke up. "That was unwise, your highness."

"What you do mean by that?" Inuyasha sat down behind his desk.

"You will need Sesshomaru's help."

"How would you know?"

"He's a strong man. All the officials trust, or at least obey, him. You must now work hard to get all the other officials to trust you and gain control of the armies."

Inuyasha thought about it. With Sesshomaru's help, he wouldn't be running the empire. But now, without it, he will be doing a lot of work.

"Set up a meeting with the highest ranking officials and nobles tomorrow. Tell them I would like to give a speech about my plans."

Myoga nodded his head.

Inuyasha looked out the window. The sun was setting over the horizon. It looked beautiful. "I am going to run this place," he promised to himself. And so he would live up to that statement.

&

Sango, Miroku, and Kagome sat around the dining table trying to figure out what to do next.

Suddenly, Sango exclaimed, "I know! We can go in tonight, break into the prison, and free my father." She was already getting up and walking toward her sword in the corner of the room.

Kagome grabbed Sango. "Wait, let's think it over before we do something we'll all regret."

"No, it's going to work. Me and Miroku will go in there, fight off all the guards. Then we'll just take the keys from one of the guards and open the cell and get my father about of there. As for you Kagome, you're going to try to steer the guards in the wrong direction."

Miroku and Kagome didn't know what to say to that. The plan was thought out and it could work…

"Please, you guys have to help me," Sango begged.

"What do we do when we do free your father? He's going to a criminal."

"We'll just go into the rural areas. If what Kagome says is true, then we only have a few days to do something until my father is sent away to the palace."

"I'm with you, Sango," Kagome stood up beside her friend.

"Miroku?" Sango asked.

"I don't have a choice do I? The things I do for my love…"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Thank you," she added quietly.

&

Kikyo walked slowly into the queen's bedroom. She was raised into well-mannered and obedient young women. Her head held high and her clothes elegant.

She looked nothing like her mother or her father. She was unique. Her hair gleamed in the sun and her eyes always glistened.

"Your highness," she said sincerely as she bowed to the queen.

"Stand up. I asked you to come a bit early today because I want you to try on something." The queen got out a beautifully designed light pink silk robe. The thread shimmered like gold and the artistic work was impressive.

Kikyo's eyes widen. "I can't accept this. It's just…"

"Beautiful isn't it? It took over a year to make this. Try it on now. It's going to look gorgeous on you."

Kikyo couldn't refuse such a generous gift from the queen. Ever since she was little the queen had treated her as if she was her own daughter.

She slipped off her robe that she wore. The queen unfolded the robe and threw it on Kikyo. She looked at Kikyo's right arm. A bit above her elbow on the upper part of her arm, there was a set of teeth marks.

The queen looked at it for a second before pulling the sleeve over her arm.

A/N: Why does Kikyo have a set of teeth marks on her arm? And why only a set, not two like Kagome? What does the queen know? Let me hear what you guys think. You'll all find out… probably not too soon… I still have a bit to go.