Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Debut

"So, tell me, Asuka-chan, have you always lived at the court?" Kagome inquired while the girl was arranging her hair in an intricate braid. Shortly after lunch, she had fed Muteki and put him to sleep. Then Sesshomaru had arrived to help Inuyasha dress since he clearly didn't have a clue on how everything worked, and Kagome and Asuka had gone their way. She noticed the demoness was still a little bit shy with her thus, she was trying to get her to speak more.

Asuka nodded, looking at her through the oval-shaped mirror. "I was born here, Kagome. My family has been living at the palace since before my grandfather was admitted to the council."

"You must know very well how everything works, then," Kagome noted.

"My mother taught me everything a Lady should know," she explained. "It is how women are raised here at the palace before they reach an age deemed suitable for the introduction. By then, one should already know how to behave properly." She was always composed and controlled while speaking; at least she was trying. Was this the way women were taught to be here at the palace? Or it was just Asuka trying to hold such a facade because she was nervous?

"You will have to teach me too, then. I hope to get used soon. I'm afraid I'm not really fit for this kind of life; I mean, I don't have the slightest clue on how a lady should behave. The little I know, I encountered it in one of my readings," Kagome admitted. She had learnt something during history classes, but obviously, they didn't teach you how to act in a court at school.

"You have never been in a human court either?" Asuka asked her in disbelief.

Kagome shook her head, "No, I'm just a common-born, you could say. I grew up in a shrine, and when I married Inuyasha, we settled in the village. People there hold me in high regard because I'm a priestess, but I usually don't like too many formalities. I am afraid everyone will expect me to act like the perfect lady and judge my mate and me for every little mistake," she elaborated.

"Don't worry, I will try to help you as much as possible, and I am sure you'll learn fast. I cannot help you so much for this evening though, but you won't have to do much anyway. You will only need to acknowledge the several lords and ladies Sesshomaru-sama will introduce to you," Asuka reassured her. "Besides, you are the first human introduced to court; other demons will not know either how to react. You can take advantage of their uncertainty. But don't let them get to you; some of them have always been inflexible towards humans."

Kagome giggled, "I'm sure of that, Asuka. But don't worry, I'm used to prejudices, sadly. When Inuyasha and I were travelling, I saw a lot; people usually react badly to demons or half-demons travelling with humans. Not even the reassurances of holy men are enough to appease them sometimes. Furthermore, not many accept a married priestess either," she added, thinking about Akemi's episode. "Fortunately, Inuyasha and I are well known in the village, everyone knows what we have accomplished and they trust us. I like the life there, it can be taxing sometimes, but I wouldn't change a thing." She smiled, at last, thinking about her friends who were waiting for them there.

"You will find open minds here too; you just need to learn how to distinguish between two kinds of friendly faces," the demoness explained, confident that the young miko would attract some good souls with her affability.

"Did you learn that too? Can you already give me some insights or point out some ladies I should avoid?" Kagome pried.

Asuka suddenly became an interesting shade of red, "I don't know if it is proper to speak this away about other ladies." Of course, there were some of them she had immediately recognized as too pretentious and self-important. But her mother had always taught her to never speak ill of others.

Kagome giggled at her shyness, "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to badmouth them. I would just appreciate a friendly warning, and besides, light gossiping sometimes is really good to strengthen friendship bonds." She winked.

"Oh, well... then," she was still a bit embarrassed. "I usually avoid Lady Keiko's circle of friends. She belongs to another family that has always lived in the court, and because of that, she believes it is alright to be a little bit too, mmm, confident," she said at last. "I am not like that; I usually need time to acquaint myself with others and some encouragement, too. Grandfather thought it will be good for me to get to know you; he said you were very amiable." The red on her cheeks was now a permanent feature.

Kagome turned to her, took her hands in hers and looked straight in her eyes. "You can be at ease with me, I promise you, Asuka. If you are ever looking for someone to confide in, you can come to me. I know we just met, but I was serious earlier when I told you I am sure we will become fast friends. When it's just the two of us like right now, there won't barriers, formalities or whatever. Ok?"

"Thank you, Kagome-chan. It's really difficult to make trustworthy friends here. Sometimes I think that everyone just forms relationships to gain something..." she trailed off.

"And that, of course, results in the lack of genuine bonds," Kagome continued nodding.

"Yes. Of course, I always have my sisters, but since they have mated it's been a little difficult. They have other duties now, and I don't want to be a bother," Asuka replied truthfully.

Kagome waved her concern off, "Don't worry about that with me. I'm still very young, too, and I like to relax and speak about frivolous things sometimes, especially when it seems that life is becoming too much, you know?" Asuka nodded in response. "Well, then, it seems to me we are ready now; what do you think? Maybe we could go and see how the boys are doing."

When they reached the men's room, Kagome knocked lightly and then entered. She saw Inuyasha looking at himself in the mirror and testing his new boots. He was looking at them defiantly and it made her chuckle. He turned to her and scoffed, "Keh!"

Inuyasha was dressed in red and black, sporting a set of kimono and hakama that resembled Sesshomaru's usual style of clothing; the only difference was in the colours. He also wore a breastplate and spiked pauldron on each shoulder.

Well, it was definitely a sight. Even if Kagome found herself missing the familiarity of the fire-rat especially because she figured she couldn't snuggle up against him in that armour. Not that she would have done it in that frangent anyway since they were getting ready for the introduction.

Overall he had a very regal look as if he was born for this kind of life and considered that both his father and mother were of noble origins, maybe he really was. She then looked for Muteki and found him in Sesshomaru's lap, wiggling and trying to get a hold of his uncle's locks with poor results. The dai-youkai, still too composed, was promptly reclaiming any strand that ended up in the pup's hand.

His clothes were several shades of blue with a hint of silver in them; he looked all royal, too. He lacked the armour, obviously, but the clothing style made him look like a mini Inuyasha. His hair, which kept growing up excessively no matter how many times Kagome and her mother cut them, was now tied up in a high ponytail that left only a couple of forelocks free next to his human-like ears.

Seeing her son dressed up moved her deeply, and suddenly, her eyes welled up of their own will. Inuyasha noticed her and swiftly reached her, trying to do some damage control. "Oi! No, don't cry! Why are you crying? Nothing happened; he's fine!" the half-demon was really at loss with her sometimes. He could understand her crying fit while she was pregnant – no, he really couldn't, but at least both Ayame and Kaede had explained to him there was a reason behind it – but even now, she started crying without a precise reason, and he loathed when she did it.

"Look at him!" Kagome kept crying, Inuyasha was trying to soothe her, trailing his fingers along her back, Asuka looked dumbfounded, and Sesshomaru, as usual, was unfazed. "He's so beautiful, all dressed up. Soon he'll grow up, everyone will fawn over him, and then he'll leave us," she declared.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at that, now that at least he had assured himself nothing had happened. "Kagome, don't you think you're overreacting? He's not even one year old! You're worrying about something that won't happen before a hundred years."

"Or more like two or three," Sesshomaru corrected.

"I know, I know, but seeing him like this made me realize how beautiful he'll become and, and..." more tears. "He will be all grown up soon, and he won't need me anymore!"

Sesshomaru, now highly annoyed, finally stood up and reached them, passing the pup to his mother, who immediately clung to him; Muteki protested at the sudden lack of space.

"Control yourself, Miko," he said coldly. "We will have to reach the great hall soon. Be ready." He looked at them sternly and then left without another word.

Asuka took the opportunity to speak, "I will take my leave too, I will see you soon." She bowed and then left; she would take part in the event with her family.

Inuyasha shifted his gaze to the guards and was about to speak when he felt an itch. Kichiro and Osamu looked in fascination as the half-demon slapped his neck.

"Oi! old flea! Long time no see," he said to what seemed his empty hand. His mate was unfazed, so they presumed that was a common recurrence. When they leant in, they noticed a small flea demon with two pairs of arms and a little beak.

"Master Inuyasha!" the flea cried, fat tears falling through his tiny face. "You look so handsome, just like your esteemed father." He suddenly started bowing and then said, "I've always known that one day you will have taken your place in the West. It's like your father always wished; he would have been so proud," he continued to cry.

What was up with all these people crying today?

"Oi, Jiji, get over it!"

"Myoga-Jii-chan, it's good to see you again. Did you come to attend Inuyasha's accession?" Kagome asked the flea, finally stopping the crying herself and wiping out the dried tears.

"Oh my, Kagome-sama, you're so beautiful, and Master Muteki too, just like his father." He couldn't get a hold of himself, apparently.

"Myoga! Get a grip and speak!" Inuyasha shook him. That seemed to work. The flea was used to this rough handling.

"Master Inuyasha! I rushed to come here as soon as I got the news. I couldn't waste this opportunity," he said, still sniffling a bit.

"It seems you're just in time, Myoga-jii-chan," Kagome told him. "If you promise not to bite them, you can have a seat on Kichiro or Osamu," she offered, "they are the personal guards Sesshomaru assigned to us. You will have a place of honour." She then turned to said guards and explained, "This is Myoga, an old retainer of Inuyasha. He can be very educational but tend to fly away every time he sees danger."

"Is this the way you think of me, Kagome-sama?" Myoga asked, starting to cry again. "After all we've been through together."

"Just because of that, Myoga-jii-chan, I can claim you always fly away. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten the times you saved our lives," Kagome reassured him.

When Myoga was finally perched on Osamu's shoulder – he claimed to prefer dog demons – Inuyasha told them "Well, this is it then. Let's enter the lion's den!"

Kichiro and Osamu escorted the family of three towards a little threshold and at the end of the hallways, two impressive wooden doors were visible. At each side, two tall demons, from their appearance and their slender beaks, Kagome presumed they were Tengu, stood silently waiting for their approach.

"Is everyone already there?" Inuyasha asked them.

"Yes, my Lord, they are just waiting for you," the Tengu on the right said after a bow.

"Proceed then."

As soon the door opened, the murmurs ceased and everyone looked at them. Some seemed interested, others curious, and some eyed them with clear sneering faces.

The intensity with which they scrutinized them made Kagome almost feel naked; nothing seemed to pass unnoticed from the way they held their chin up to the arm put tightly around her waist. Muteki was securely in her arms, and she didn't miss some of the disapproving glances they gave him, probably because he was another half-breed. Even if for a slight moment she feared for her son, she never wavered in her steps and she kept looking straight ahead of her towards the dais where Sesshomaru was currently sitting on a silk cushion, two more next to him.

Inuyasha was walking slowly but proudly as if he owned the place and showed everyone in the room that this was where he was meant to be, that this was his place. Behind them, Osamu and Kichiro were following his example; their gaze wasn't on the dais but rather on the several faces that crowded the room. Sesshomaru's gaze never left them, and Kagome could almost swear she recognized a hint of pride in his eyes.

Maybe they weren't being bad in their entrance, after all.

When they finally reached the dais, Kagome took a seat between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha; from that position, she could better observe the crowd and even recognize some of the faces. The elders were seated in the front line on the left; she presumed that the disposition of the courtiers and their respective families followed their rank in society. She could see Asuka with her family next to her in the first lines; not very far, she recognized the dog demon who had approached them this morning, along with three roughly looking men that Kagome could only guess were her father and uncles, the ones Sesshomaru had warned them against. Others behind these families were wearing the uniform she had learnt to recognize as the one guards were requested to wear and some another slightly different uniform, probably the one designed for people who joined the army.

Maybe not even a minute had passed since they had seated on the cushions when Sesshomaru made a sign to Jaken, who was standing proudly at the base of the dais with his trusty Nintojo, to proceed with the introduction.

"Lord and Ladies, the West is proud to announce the arrival at the court of Inuyasha-sama, second son of the late Inu-no-Taisho, his mate Kagome-sama, miko of unfathomable power, and their son Muteki-Sama," Jaken proclaimed.

Sesshomaru let silence fall for a few minutes before he said, "The West rejoice for their presence, and I, Sesshomaru, welcome my brother and his family home and invite them to take their rightful place among us."

Everyone looked stunned at Sesshomaru's choice of words. He had practically said that he was the one who had invited them to the West, but he had also implied they were to take a permanent place in the court. They were only waiting for him to define "rightful place", but when he didn't speak again, they realized that was something they would have to wait for.

Hayato let the crowd stare for some minutes, and when they seemed to realize the implications - or some of it - of Sesshomaru's statement, he spoke with clear joy in his voice. "Inuyasha-sama, Kagome-sama," he bowed lowly and several gasps were heard; Hayato was, after all, part of the council of elders and he was showing great respect to them. "This is certainly a day Toga-sama would have gladly experienced. Two brothers finally together, and a new member of this incredible and strong bloodline. My family and I welcome you home."

"Hayato-sama, my mate and I thank you for this warm welcome." Inuyasha bowed in response, his eyes showing how much he appreciated the words the hawk demon had spoken for them.

Behind Hayato, another demon seemed to follow his example and approached them. He was tall, with broad shoulders and strong arms; his long hair was tied back in a neat braid and was the same colour as a black onyx stone. The outlines of his face were slightly sharpened, a twin set of blue stripes on both his chin and temple matched his big eyes, which seemed to hold much more experience than one might think of a clearly still young demon like him. He also wore the same uniform Kagome had assumed belonged to the West's army, but his was decorated with a single royal crest on his left breast.

As soon as Hayato left him space, Jaken hastily introduced him to the couple on the dais. "First Commander Katsuro, he has been serving as head of the army for centuries."

"My Lords, My Lady," he bowed as it was expected and continued, "I am looking forward to seeing what fresh start you will bring to the West. We all have heard what great feats you have achieved while pursuing the demon Naraku, and I think I can speak for many of us here when I say that I will gladly see both of you in action soon. After all, it is not every day we see such strong demon blood joining forces with spiritual powers. While holy men are usually thought of as the natural enemy of us demons, you have clearly shown the greatness that can be reached this way. Was not also a man of holy powers in your ranks, Inuyasha-sama?" he finally inquired.

"So this is the commander Sesshomaru was speaking of. He is certainly intriguing; we'll have to see which side you're on," Inuyasha thought before acknowledging him, "First Commander, it pleases me to meet you. My mate is, indeed, not the only member of our pack provided with holy powers. A Buddhist monk had travelled with us and helped us achieve our final goal. It's outstanding what one can achieve combining both demonic and holy powers; you should have seen the strength of those attacks." "Crap, it's really difficult to keep talking like this way and appear composed; how in the seven hells Sesshomaru can do that every day of his life?"

"Did you actually combine your powers?" Katsuro asked, stunned. He knew they had been fighting together, and this was already unheard of; no demon had ever really trusted someone of holy origins. But to combine both powers? "How is this possible? Should not the holy power nullify the source of the demonic attack?"

Inuyasha smirked, and Katsuro expected an answer from him, but it was the priestess that provided it. "First Commander, you could say it depends on what kind of powers you combine. People usually gather demonic powers under one big definition, and they do the same for holy power. However, if you were to look better, you could see that not all demonic powers are the same; you would be really surprised by what you could discover. There are plenty of different facets, but some are deeply touched by foul sentiments; these are the kind of powers that could never combine with mine; these are the kind of demons that would be probably repelled by the simple touch of a holy man. On the other side, there are also demonic powers that reveal themselves at their strongest when fighting for noble reasons; these are the demons that obtain their true strength when fighting for the ones they love, for their country, for a common good, and they will never be opposed by holy power that held no ill towards them. The key is in these last words, unfortunately. We could say the same for holy men; not everyone is truly pure. Blackhearts can be found in both demon and human society. Furthermore, you could also say that since my mate and I have been fighting together for a long time, our powers have probably gotten acquainted at some point. The same could be said of our friend monk. By then, there was no risk," she concluded.

The answer shocked Katsuro deeply; he would have never thought about something like this. It was unheard of, and he had always assumed that whatever reason lay behind it, demons would have always been repelled by holy powers due to their very nature. Could what the priestess claimed be true?

He was about to offer his own thoughts on the matter when someone else interrupted him rather loudly.

"Foolishness! There is no such thing! Demonic powers will be always repelled by holy powers; they cannot coexist. I can believe you actually fought together, and if I were to voice my opinion, I would say that it shows great cowardice to rely upon our natural enemy's strength. But it is also true that not everyone is provided with great strength and not everyone is pure. I will never believe that your kind's power can blend with ours." Another dog demon had suddenly stepped forward and voiced very loudly his opinions about spiritualist and half-demon. Kagome recognized him as one of three sitting next to Lady Keiko; she would bet this one was her father.

She was outraged; she had thought they would have at least maintained their official amiable facade, but this... He had publicly belittled Sesshomaru's family – they had been introduced like that, after all – did he think they would have a lucky escape? But if they really thought their rightful place was next to Sesshomaru, then maybe he was foolish enough to think so. The dai-youkai had warned them.

Next to him, the First Commander seemed appalled by the outburst. Kagome couldn't tell if it was genuine, but until now, Katsuro hadn't shown contempt or disgust. They would have to wait to know for sure.

Sesshomaru's gaze had become colder than ever, and he seemed ready to kill him, but almost no one would have recognized the change in him. If someone didn't know him very well, it was impossible to notice the murderous rage within his eyes; he was too used to hiding it behind indifference. He wordlessly made a sign to Jaken to introduce the demon and to Katsuro to remain there for now.

"Commander Shou, his family had been supervising vast amounts of land for centuries and his father had been one of the strongest warriors that had fought under Toga-sama's reign. He is now the head of the family," Jaken offered.

Sesshomaru tilted his head and then proceeded to speak, "Commander! I do not appreciate what your family has been doing; this is the second time today you approached my brother and his mate without proper manners. Not satisfied, you make a fool of yourself by publicly offending my family? Explain yourself!" he demanded. He would have to teach them respect; if Inuyasha was to be his heir, even if for short time, he would not tolerate such disrespect.

Shou's face revealed his shock at hearing such words, and other gasps and cries were heard from the crowd. Sesshomaru seemed committed to defending the brother, who he had previously rejected and tried to kill more than once. What had happened? He was ready to discredit his family by speaking to him in front of a half-breed and a priestess in that way? What was the meaning of this?

"My Lord," Shou bowed lowly, "I was simply remarking how the priestess was clearly selling the First Commander plenty of lies. No one believes such a thing could happen. I took it upon me to voice the beliefs of the crowd. After all, who was there to prove it?" he asked.

"Do you think I could ever lie to my court, Commander?" Sesshomaru inquired sternly.

"Of course not, my Lord!" Shou exclaimed, outraged.

"Then you will believe me when I say that what Kagome-sama was telling the First Commander is true. I, myself, have witnessed such a thing. The two kinds of power can coexist in one's attack and even in one person," he stated with finality. He did not want to speak of the pup for now. He was too young, and his brother would have killed him in earnest if he was to put a larger target on his back. "Next time you think you are doing a favour to everyone by pointing out the flaws of someone, be sure of the certainty of your claims. I will not excuse you for such ill-mannered behaviour today; I expected better from someone like you. After all, you come from an esteemed family, and you are a Commander. This is not how one shows fealty to the West," he proclaimed and was about to dismiss him when Inuyasha interrupted him.

"Brother, if I may?" he nodded his consent and let Inuyasha have his fun.

By this point, Shou had turned ashen. Sesshomaru-sama was doubting his family's loyalty! His family's! He was so enraptured in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone addressing him at first. He turned to right to the voice and found himself looking at the grinning face of the half-breed. How hideous that someone like him could be allowed inside the Western Lands. He had thought that the problem had been solved with Toga's death, but that was not the case. To go as far as to put them in a higher position than every other demon was unbelievable! His family had been denied for too long; he would have to speak with Goro-sama again, apparently.

"You used some big fancy words, Commander," Inuyasha cooly remarked. "You talk about cowardice, real strength and pureness, but I never had a chance to see you outside this keep. I didn't see you fighting an evil who wanted to destroy the world. If even your ruler could leave the sanctity of his lands to come and fight, why couldn't you? I thought this was the army's job. Or just because Naraku didn't directly attack these lands you thought yourself safe? Tell me," he encouraged him, "I am curious about the reason why someone who denounces cowardice and praises real strength didn't think it was necessary to fight a great evil." Oh, he was having real fun. This fucker thought he could belittle him and treat his mate with such poor manners and go back from where he had come from. He mentally snorted. As if! He would make sure that by the end of this day he had a challenge planned; he would see who was the last one to laugh.

Shou gritted his teeth. A half-demon was implying he was a coward, he! Who cared about this Naraku? It was of little importance for him, and they had even allowed Sesshomaru to leave the lands, having his fun with him. "This great devil you speak of was of little concern for us, and we certainly had more important issues to deal with here," he stated.

Inuyasha wasn't able to contain a snort at that, "little concern, more important issues"; he wanted to make him swallow such words, but Kagome didn't give him the opportunity.

"Do you actually think someone who could have enslaved every other demon and destroyed the world as we know it was of little concern for you? Do you think that, once he had gotten what he wanted, he would have stopped himself there? He would never approach these lands? He would have slaughtered all of you by then because you were a little too preoccupied with other petty issues here to acknowledge the fact that outside the comfort of your house, a devil was already lurking in the shadows, killing millions of your kind!" she exclaimed.

At this point, the rest of the crowd was stunned by the show the new Lord and Lady were offering them. Some were sneering at the way someone inferior to them was speaking to a high-ranked demon. But to Katsuro's surprise, most of them were amazed at the tenacity they were showing. He turned to Hayato-sama who had openly announced his joy at the new additions, even if it wasn't unforeseen in his case, and he was chuckling merrily without restrains. Apparently, he was enjoying the confrontation. When his gaze shifted to the previously Lady of the court, Sesshomaru's mother, he found her unfazed and, he had to be dreaming by now, slightly proud. He shook his head and returned to the altercation. Commander Shou was now speaking again.

"How dare you little nin-" he tried to say but was halted by a hand tightly gripping his neck and forcing him down. Inuyasha had moved quick as lightning, and no one could have predicted his moves until it was too late. His grip on the Commander was strong, and Inuyasha didn't care about leaving him some scratch or even making him bleed. This fucker wasn't a human being; he didn't have to show restrains.

More shocked gasps were heard, and no one dared to move.

"Inuyasha, release him!" came the Sesshomaru's cold voice. Was the fool trying to start a war within his court? Things were already difficult. How could his mother have thought this would have been a good idea?

Inuyasha ignored him. "You think you can talk to my mate like this because she is a little weak human surrounded by demons? News flash, bastard, she could fry your ass, and you wouldn't even notice," he whispered to him, his voice not reaching anyone other than Katsuro, who was still next to Shou, and Sesshomaru, who had approached them. "Do. Not. Ever think you can talk to us this way and not face the consequences. As my father's son, I am your Lord here; learn to show some respect, fucker. I don't care what family you came from; if you only think to do something like this again, I will show you what I can do with my real strength. In the meantime..." he released him and stood up, raising his voice to assure everyone could hear him. His posture was impeccable, his voice mimicking Sesshomaru's, his gaze hardened. "Lords and Ladies, since Commander Shou had so graciously informed us that only some chosen have pure strength, I formally and publicly invite him to show me this strength. We will confront ourselves in a friendly spar two days from now. Be sure to participate!" he announced before returning to the dais and witnessing with his own eyes the reactions his behaviour had provoked on the court.

A/N: *sigh in relief*

This chapter was more difficult than I initially thought.

It came also longer than I thought. I envisioned that by the end of this chapter I would have already written the part in which Inuyasha is introduced as heir, but then I had decided to cut the chapter. This means for now you get this. The other part will come soon!