Recap:
And then she saw it. The very faint, very pink glow of purifying energy that surrounded the opening. Inuyasha, oblivious to the pink barrier, walked right through it.
"Something wrong? Forget how to walk?" he chastised, but quickly grabbed her hand in order to pull her through.
Once she was on her feet he yanked the baffled woman to the entrance way. He walked through the pink wall without a thought or flinch but as soon as she tried Kagome was once again thrown a good foot backwards. This was beyond odd, how was it Inuyasha, the half demon, could walk through the purifying barrier and not feel it, yet she couldn't pass? And who would put something like that up in a demon castle? And why wasn't anyone else saying anything about it?
And then she realized how familiar this conversation sounded. In fact, she had had this same talk with herself not a week ago.
No…please god no.
Kagome quickly glanced around for the trickster spirit known to haunt her, and then she found him…waving…and on the other side of the barrier.
Apparently, she wasn't going anywhere.
This was so not happening. That stupid demon was not trapping her here, in Sesshomaru's castle filled with demon's who would love to rid the world of one more priestess, was he?
Kagome quickly reviewed the situation. Hole in the wall, pink barrier, him waving wickedly on the other side…oh god he was doing this to her wasn't he? Kagome tried her hardest not to very ungracefully plot on the floor and cry her eyes out, possibly throwing the biggest temper tantrum this era has ever seen.
It just wasn't fair; she shouldn't be facing dilemmas like this. She was in ancient Japan fighting evil for any type of god out there's sake; shouldn't that be doing something good for her karma? Hello, good karma, over here! She was a good person after all; shouldn't good things be happening to her? Shouldn't all these horrible things be happening to Naraku? Why didn't he have a ghost with an illogical demand and an ungodly sense of humor stalking him? Wait, what if he did? What if that was why he was so crazy? That meant…
She was turning into the next Naraku!
Quick, someone help her now; just kill her before anything happens!
"Your lack of sleep getting to you wench, move those puny human legs and let's get out of here," bellowed Inuyasha.
"Lack of sleep," she repeated absent mindedly. Right, lack of sleep…it was making her crazy wasn't it. Please, to anything holy out there, please say it was the lack of sleep.
She looked back up at the source for her lack of sleep…the stupid dog with the stupid barrier. Damn, that was her stupid barrier wasn't it?
With a sigh and a newfound hatred for all things canine, Kagome tried to look at Inuyasha with a straight face…you know, without breaking down into helpless sobs.
"I will be staying here Inuyasha," oh god, she had just said it out loud. It was inevitable now; the world was coming to an end. In a few minutes time this whole castle would crumble. She would still be in it of course, due to her own barrier which she had no control over, and it would be here that she would die.
Life was so unfair.
"…That's not even funny Kag's, come on, let's go," came the same gruff voice she was so used to, only this time it held a little more edge to it. The owner of said voice quickly grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her to the opening but as soon as her body made contact with the pink barrier she felt a blinding pain shoot through her arm.
Kagome immediately jumped back as she rubbed her wrist. Apparently Touga was getting annoyed at how long this was taking; he had upped the power level on the stupid thing.
"Inuyasha, please try to understand, the other Lord's have made us an offer that I don't feel right ignoring," she pleaded with her friends, seeing as Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kilala had made their way back into the castle to see what was the delay.
"What offer could they possibly give us? They are just a bunch of old guys who are fucking allies with Sesshomaru…they want our destruction as much as that bastard does!" yelled Inuyasha once he realized that his best friend wasn't kidding around.
"They offered us a truce; they need us as much as we need them. They need our first hand knowledge and we need their resources. I know you don't want to work with your brother but-" she found herself cut off before she could finish.
"That creature is not my brother!" yelled Inuyasha, "We are not working with him, and we don't need him!"
"Inuyasha, maybe not," she settled with not arguing the brother point, knowing it was futile, "perhaps we don't need him as you put it, but it would certainly take a few years off of our search and you know it. Everyone here has tried separate attacks and they have all failed. I think we should at least try this plan out," mentally, she added, only until I find a way out of this castle of course.
"I have a better idea; I leave you here until you come back to your senses! When you're ready to actually realize what you are suggesting I'll be more than happy to come and pick you back up!" he yelled, knowing there was no way Kagome would separate herself from the group willingly. She'd come when she realized no one would be sticking around with her.
"Inuyasha, I'm not leaving this castle," Kagome sent a glare towards Touga who was hovering over a fallen boulder, still smiling like an idiot.
He stomped up to her in a rage, "You are coming whether I have to carry you out on my back," he said angrily.
When she heard his tone Kagome knew she was treading on thin ice. He wasn't yelling anymore, that was never a good sign.
"I'll carry you out and tie you to a fucking tree if you ever try to return," he growled.
"He is right Kagome," cut in Miroku, finally seeing an opening to argue with his friend, "Sesshomaru isn't known for his hospitality. I doubt he would be willing to work with any of us."
Kagome groaned in her head. God, she knew all this, she had already argued all this points! Yes, she knew Sesshomaru was a bastard, and she knew this was never going to work and she knew this was a black vortex of doom just waiting to send her into oblivion, but it wasn't like she had a choice here! If only she could tell her friends that a silver haired dead guy of a demon was making her do this…God, that sounded bad in her own head, she could only imagine what her friends would think. Knowing Inuyasha and Miroku they would probably tie her up in a cabin somewhere waiting for the demon inhabiting her body to leave.
Kagome sighed quietly, how in the world was she supposed to convince her friends into something she didn't even believe in? "The other Lord's have assured me that Sesshomaru will be on a tight leash when it comes to our group. They will have him under control."
God, she didn't even believe what she was saying, she could only hope her friends did.
"Kagome, I don't like this. I mean, this is Sesshomaru, how many times has he tried to kill you?" was all Sango could say.
"Thirteen," said Touga quietly as he pretended to mock count on his fingers, "directly anyways. There have been a lot more attempts where he wasn't just focusing on you specifically."
She glared at him angrily, "You are so not helping."
"I'm not trying to help, I'm trying to understand where this is coming from," said a frustrated Sango.
Kagome turned to the infuriated woman…oopps, forgot about her.
"We don't fight the same way, we have different tactics and we can stand him about as much as he can stand us. Give me one good example about how this will work," stated the warrior dressed in pink.
Kagome glanced towards Touga conveying that she completely agreed with her friend, but he silenced her immediately with one look. That one look that only someone of extreme authority can give. The one that made all protest die in her throat.
"I'll make it work," Kagome stated fiercely as she reluctantly turned to her friends.
Sango and Miroku looked at each other in disbelief, not understanding how their friend could be this stubborn. Was there something they weren't catching?
Sango spoke first, "I'll stay then, but only to make sure you're okay Kagome, I don't like this at all though."
"What?" screeched Inuyasha.
"I will stay as well, if only to look after Kagome," he turned to his obviously hurt dog eared friend, "Kagome has never lead us astray before Inuyasha, and she obviously feels passionate about this. Give it a try Inuyasha."
"No, none of you are staying within 50 leagues of that bastard!" Kagome could hear the confusion and pain quivering in his voice and she could feel her heart ache at the pain she was causing him.
"Inuyasha, Naraku is afraid of how many people? Two, that's it. You and your brother. That's all, once he hears of this…truce, you know as well as I he will have to take immediate action. Possibly even come out himself to fight us, before we grow to powerful as a team," she saw that he was still extremely skeptical and decided to try a new tactic, however low it may be. "What about Kikyo? Do you want to spend the rest of our days chasing him across all of Japan or possibly kill Naraku and avenge her death? He will have to make a stand against us and this could be our chance. Miroku's wind tunnel grows every day, we have no idea what the state of Sango's brother is and we have no idea if the well will suddenly not work one day. I like this plan as much as you do but give it some thought. I agree, your brother is an emotionally constipated prick but he knows more about battle and war than any of us do. If this agreement doesn't work than fine, but at least we tried it and gave Naraku a run for his life at the same time."
She watched helplessly as Inuyasha considered her words. Kagome knew there was nothing else she could possibly say, it was all up to Inuyasha now. Either the words struck him or they didn't, but she had tried her hardest. With that in mind she turned her attention to her other…obstacle.
Sesshomaru…red eyed, fangs barring Sesshomaru. At the moment she was very thankful for the three Lord's currently pinning him down to the ground. It was odd though, to see the great Sesshomaru being restrained by three older men. One, who was sitting on the western demon lord's legs in an attempt to hold down the Western Lord's feet, another pinning down Sesshomaru's right arm and pressing down harshly on his lower back. Lastly there was Lord Shiho who was holding down Sesshomaru's left arm and drilling his elbow into the back of Sesshomaru's neck in order to keep it in place. Kagome paused, when did he get his arm back?
Kagome sent a quick warning glare over to Lord Shiho. If they couldn't keep Sesshomaru under control, stupid floating demon or not, she was taking all her friends and leaving this dreary looking castle.
"Let me…let me think about it," came Inuyasha's quiet response.
Kagome immediately turned her attention back over to her friend, relief flooding off of her in waves. "That's all I'm asking Inuyasha. If you still don't agree…we'll leave."
And she meant it, if there was still doubt in his mind it didn't matter what Touga did, they were all getting out of this castle. Kagome gracefully walked up to him and placed her arms around his body. With a tight squeeze she hugged him, silently telling him to take his time, that she trusted him indefinably. With a nod, and silent regret, Inuyasha turned around and headed out the gaping hole in the wall, determined to think things through.
From the stern look on his face, as well the nature of the decision, she estimated it would be a couple of days before he came back, before she would see him again. Kagome knew it would be okay though, Inuyasha was perfectly capable of taking care of himself and deep down she knew she would be alright as well. Touga wasn't going to let anything happen to his last link to his sons.
As soon as the red dot could no longer be seen she turned towards the remainder of her companions, "Would one of you mind heading back to camp and gathering all of our things? Maybe you should take a guard with you or something, so you don't get attacked on the way back."
Kagome turned to face the cluster of guards who had dragged her into this predicament in the first place. And why were they just standing there? With a sigh she walked over to the nearest one and grabbed his sleeve, effectively pulling him along with her as she walked over to Miroku. "There you go, some male bonding time. If one of you dies…" she looked at the guards face, memorizing it, "I know who to come after."
The guard gulped and Miroku gave out a small laugh, absent of its usual mirth though. Together the two headed out and back towards the make shift camp. By make shift camp she meant the area that they had dropped all their belongings on in the fight.
Kagome turned towards Kilala, "Follow them; I don't trust anything having to do with Sesshomaru."
Without another thought the overgrown feline took towards the skies in order to follow her friend.
Kagome rubbed the spots on the outside of her eyes. She was just so tired, and this whole being trapped in Sesshomaru's castle thing was totally not helping her newly found headache. Now she had Sesshomaru to deal with…there was a topic she wished she could avoid. Did he have to be such a bastard?
Well according to his father he did.
Kagome now focused her attention on Sesshomaru and the three Lord's still pinning him to the ground, "Either he learns some self control or we walk. Everyone knows Sesshomaru doesn't play well with others so…good luck to you. I want to make this perfectly clear right away, do not mess with us. I will not tolerate him if he decides to act like a petulant child who has to share a toy. I will not stand for his comments or his holier than though attitude. If for any reason I think myself, or any other member of my pack are in danger…I'll bring this entire castle to its knees. Inuyasha is especially off limits, or I get involved. And if I get involved…you may survive, but you'll wish you hadn't."
Kagome was staring at the four Lords before her, knowing that she had thousands of years of prejudice to combat. No, it wasn't just Sesshomaru she was worried about. Yes, for her physical safety and the safety of her friends, Sesshomaru was the main priority. The other three Lords were just as high on that list though when it came to the mental well being of her friends. Inuyasha was a half demon, and Kagome had seen enough hatred towards his kind. Hatred like that stemmed from the top down, so it was without question that at least one of the Lords would hold some hatred towards her friend.
There was Sango as well, the girl had been through enough emotional turmoil with her brother, she didn't need the mounds of hatred that were sure to come. She was a demon slayer after all, she was born and bred to kill their kind.
Miroku wasn't much better. He may be cursed, and he may have the type of personality that everyone finds themselves loving but he was a monk, a rather powerful priest, none the less.
And poor Kilala and Shippo. Demon's traveling with a pack of demon slaying humans. She couldn't imagine the brutality they could be forced to endure.
No, no matter how civilized they may seem, she was still dealing with hardened war time demons. She needed to make her stance on this invisible field or they would walk all over her. Lord Shiho didn't seem to be a problem, he was desperate for their aid. His lands were taken over by Naraku after all, but the others...they were the ones to be cautious around.
Kagome steadily held her gaze with the Lords currently ruling over Japan. She knew this was not the time to back down, if they sensed any weakness in her at all then it was over before it had begun, she would have lost. Kagome refused to lose this battle. Kagome may not be the most hardened and battle worthy warrior around, but the mind games that came along with such battles, those she was good at. Those she knew how to win.
Then she saw it...recognition. The Lord pinning down Sesshomaru's back legs suddenly had a fire light up in his eyes. As he looked at her he smiled, "It seems we have finally found ourselves a worthy ally. Not many would face me or my fellow Lords in such a manor. I respect that more than I think you know. For that, I will tell you my name and offer my friendship. I am Lord Uza, ruler of the Eastern Lands."
He slowly gave a mock bow, going as low as Sesshomaru's struggling form could allow him. Kagome, in return bowed as well. She was grateful that at least this Lord Uza was willing to look past her humanity and see her for who she was.
Lord Uza held her gaze for a little longer, he than seemed to come to a decision as he nodded his head in her direction. Lord Uza then unexpectedly stood up. Sesshomaru, taking advantage of his situation and the unanticipated freedom knocked the other two out of his way, casting them to the floor. Sesshomaru, in his usual graceful manor, rolled to the side and pushed himself up to his feet.
Lord Shiho turned towards Lord Uza, "What in all that is demonic gave you the idea to do that?"
"Lady Kagome is correct about what she said earlier. Lord Sesshomaru is not one to be forced into anything. This is something we will have to talk about as civilized demons, as Lords. We cannot exactly do that with him pinned to the floor," came his response.
"Well maybe you should have told us that before you know, you let go," came the last lord whose name Kagome had yet to hear.
"They are not staying," came Sesshomaru's brief sentence.
Kagome suppressed a growl, here she was, going out of her way to be around him and he was being a total ass about it, "Petulant child…what was I thinking? More like pompous jacka-" but she was cut off as a very familiar hand covered her mouth.
Kagome looked to her left as the hand held on tighter, "Wow, Kagome is really tired, she's even saying things she doesn't mean," came Sango's voice, "maybe we should get her in bed."
Lord Shiho nodded, "Perhaps that would be best, Lady Kagome has been rather overworked today hasn't she. I suggest the Southern Wing where I and Lord Uza are staying."
"They will sleep outside if they must, but not in my castle," argued Sesshomaru, obviously mad that his statement wasn't being taken into consideration.
Kagome silently growled. We'll, growled as much as Sango's hand would let her. Please, if she could get out of this god forsaken castle she would have already be waving goodbye.
"What about that lovely room next to the gardens?" asked Lord Shiho again.
"They are not staying!" yelled Sesshomaru.
Kagome was more than surprised when she heard his temper come to life. It was odd; Sesshomaru had always been the silent but deadly type, now he seemed more ferocious than ever. Perhaps she shouldn't have let Inuyasha leave like that. This might get bloody if they couldn't get Sesshomaru under control. No…that was wrong. She doubted anyone could control Sesshomaru, so maybe compromising with him would be the best answer.
Lord Uza turned to face Kagome, "My Lady, I am thinking that you would prefer the gardens as Lord Shiho suggested. Am I wrong in that assumption?"
"Umm…" was all she could get out. She so badly wanted to comment on that, but she knew exactly what was happening. Like she said earlier, mind games were something she knew how to play. And you could not be friends with Eri and Yumi and not recognize a trap. For some reason both Lord Shiho and Lord Uza wanted her to step into whatever they were playing at. They were trying to corner her into something but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what.
When she didn't answer, even with Sango's hand being removed, they turned their attention onto someone else. Someone more battle savvy, someone more war minded, someone who didn't see a trap like this coming.
"Slayer, I am guessing you would rather be able to see the clear blue skies, would you not?" said Lord Uza.
Kagome frantically looked towards Sango when she saw the wheels turning in her friends head. No Sango, don't say anything!
"Actually, that would be nice," came Sango's silent reply.
Sango no! Kagome screamed when she saw the last Lord, the one yet to introduce himself, smile up at the others. Kagome needed to fix this, she didn't know what the trap was but she knew that her pack was very close into falling into it.
"As nice as that would be, wherever Sesshomaru sees fit will do. We've traveled the country side for over two years. Luxury would be rather…foreign to us at this moment," said Kagome swiftly, "besides, we don't want to impose more than necessary."
Kagome watched as the Lord, whose name she didn't know, frowned.
"Then you will sleep outside human, I will not tolerate your stench on my premise any longer," came Sesshomaru's predictable reply.
Lord Shiho cut in, his smile seemed larger than normal, "Then you will place Lord Uza and I outside as well. We will only sleep under what roof our new allies do. And unless you want to send two of your most powerful allies out into the rain, which should be descending within the hour, then I suggest you rethink that."
Kagome had immediately noticed that the third Lord was not mentioned in that speech, and it was then that something dawned on her. If Lord Shiho was from the South and Lord Uza was from the East and they were both staying in the Southern wing…Kagome thought back to the conversation the guards had said earlier. The Northern Lord was staying in the Northern wing, why wasn't he staying in the same wing as the other Lords? Why was he on the opposite end of the castle?
Kagome looked over at the Northern Lord. His hair was the first thing she noticed with it being such a dark shade of green. His eyes were odd as well. They were a hazy light grey with a tint of blue in them. He seemed about forty years old if she was relating him to a human, and his aura spoke in powerful volumes. It was easy to tell from his stance alone that he was difficult to deal with, as well as stubborn, but weren't all upper level demons?
"Well Sesshomaru? Will you forsake your allies? Your friends?" asked Lord Uza.
It was then that Kagome realized that Sesshomaru had yet to answer. She immediately turned her head in his direction but had to take a couple steps back when she saw the menacing glow in his eyes. Perhaps it was better for Inuyasha not to be here, there was no way Inuyasha would come out alive with Sesshomaru this riled up. In all her years Kagome had never felt him so angry. Then again, she doubted it was every day that Sesshomaru was forced into something of this magnitude, let alone forced into something in general.
"The same roof," said Sesshomaru. It wasn't phrased as a question, or a statement, it was more like a casual observation than anything else. "Jaken," the little green toad came running up from behind a half torn down banister.
"Yes my Lord?" asked the green demon.
"Show them to their quarters," he said casually while gracefully bringing up his arm in order to inspect his nails.
Suddenly Touga was right beside her, "See, I told you Sesshomaru wasn't that bad. You just watch, my boy won't be as difficult as you think."
"Their rooms my Lord?" asked Jaken in a confused manner. For the life of him the toad couldn't figure out why Lord Sesshomaru wasn't throwing these humans out. So he lost the Southern and Easter Lords as allies…okay, so maybe that was sort of a big deal.
"Yes, they will be staying the old servant's quarters," said Sesshomaru arrogantly.
"Sesshomaru, that is outrageous. Those rooms are horrible, practically the dungeons themselves," said Lord Shiho.
"Preposterous, the dungeons are underground, hence a different roof. That option is not possible, as much as I would like that as an alternative," came Sesshomaru's haughty reply.
Kagome was livid, fine, if he wanted to be an arrogant ass then she would just have to show him up, she did after all say that her pack would take whatever Sesshomaru gave them. "No, it is fine, we will take it."
Sesshomaru glared at her and she found herself glaring right back. I mean, it wasn't like she could leave this place anyways. That reminded her…didn't Touga say Sesshomaru wasn't that bad? As much as she wanted to turn around and yell at the stupid ghost she knew she couldn't, she was after all in a staring match with said ghost's stupid and unruly son after all.
"You and your friends will work as well, I will not have free loaders," he said calmly.
"I didn't realize that the destruction of a fiend like Naraku was considered leisurely. It is a wonder you haven't killed him yet with how easy and effortless his death apparently is. But don't worry, my friends and I will work, we know how to carry more than out own weight," she answered back just as calmly.
Wow, how many jabs could you get in in only a couple sentences? Man she was on a roll wasn't she?
"The monk will have to travel; I have many villages that need an ambassador to visit them. They tend to be human dwellings and do not take kindly to my demons. He will of course have the protection of my men," said the Lord of the West.
Kagome wanted to hit him. He was flat out threatening Miroku's life. Miroku, out in the wilderness with Sesshomaru's demon guards? Demon guards whom Sesshomaru could easily order to kill her friend and no one would be the wiser. Stupid mutt being stupidly tricky, "I will of course have to talk it over with him first but as far as I know it shouldn't be a problem. I would of course, like to meet the guards he would be traveling with as well."
Ha, if it was the last thing she did she was going to stick it to him. She watched as his eyes flashed a light red before they calmed down once again.
"The slayer, she will work in the weaponry division with my other forgers," spoke Sesshomaru.
Kagome knew she couldn't look away to see Sango's expression, no matter how much she wanted to. "Again, this will all have to be discussed but we will think it over. You'll have your answer in the morning."
"I demand an answer now," came his reply.
"And you'll have one in the morning, glad that was settled," Kagome glared back.
"Damn," she heard Lord Uza say, "I don't think anyone has ever lasted this long one on one with Sesshomaru before."
"Well," spoke Sango softly, "I love the girl but she doesn't always think about what is best for her health."
"So the girl has a death wish?" asked the Northern Lord.
"No," Sango shook her head, "just the inability to take orders."
Kagome's attention was drawn back towards Sesshomaru in an instant when he began to talk again, "That mutt will work with the footmen and the new recruits. I am sure he will fail but I have no one else to watch them through the day."
"I'm sure Inuyasha will be ecstatic."
"…And you will work under someone else, since you so appreciate taking orders," Sesshomaru glanced over towards Sango with a nod while smirking. Kagome visibly gulped when she saw this, great Sesshomaru was smirking, never a good thing. "Though, it is hard to say what you should do since you are relatively worthless to your group. You have no battle training, and cannot control your miko powers. I would have you mopping floors but you would probably slow everyone else down. Not to mention your stench would get everywhere."
Kagome sent out a glare in his direction but kept her mouth shut, knowing he already knew where he wanted her.
"The kitchens should be fine. Any smells in there should wash out and over power your own," his sadistic smirk came right along with his little statement.
Kagome heard Jaken stutter behind her, "The kitchens? But the woman who runs it is a beast, she is awful!"
It seemed even Jaken didn't wish that fate on anyone…this was so not good.
"Now for the fox and the cat-" but Kagome cut him off.
"No, Shippo is too young; he will stay with me or one of the others. Kilala is not a pack horse either, she will stay with me or Sango at all times. Those two are off limits or I swear I will leak false information about Naraku to you and your…friends," countered Kagome.
"That would be rather counterproductive," answered Sesshomaru.
"So is isolating your allies…which you are currently in the middle of doing," Kagome snipped back, "You can only push people so far, Shippo and Kilala are where I draw my line."
"…Jaken, show them their quarters. The other Lords and I have much to discuss," he answered angrily.
"Yes my Lord…this way humans," he said in a high pitched voice.
Kagome, Sango and Shippo followed the green toad out of the now completely destroyed room and out into the hall. As soon as the doors were shut Kagome let out a deep breath of air, one that she felt that she had been holding in since she first found out about her inability to leave.
"Why is my life such a mess?" she whispered to herself.
"Well you do cause many of your own problems little one," came a smooth and sultry voice to her left.
Kagome's eyes snapped over into that particular direction. He did not just say this was all her fault did he? And where was he when Sesshomaru and her were having their little stare down? He better not be thinking that she didn't notice how he disappeared on her like that.
"Congratulations," she whispered so Jaken and Shippo couldn't pick up on what she was saying.
"For what?" asked the smiling projection.
"Your son is your spitting image. He's a demanding, arrogant, know-it-all ass," she growled.
"Why thank you," he laughed as he took in her comment, "but I know you are only saying that to be nice."
Kagome watched as Jaken took her and her friends deeper into the castle, great. Thanks to Touga's innate ability to distract her she had no idea where they were.
"I must say, my Sesshomaru is being rather difficult though isn't he?" asked Touga.
Kagome snorted but covered it up with a wave when the others looked back at her skeptically. When she was sure no one was paying attention she let her comment flow freely, "Family trait, I assure you."
"Now that…is probably true. I am glad you got rid of Inuyasha when you did though. That would not have gone over well with him there. Though perhaps you should have sent the slayer to the campsite instead of the monk. He seems better at dealing with the mind games of the courts than she does."
Kagome followed the others around another corner before she asked her question, "What was all of that about anyways?"
"Intent. One way to determine the intent and personality of an ally is to offer them riches. It helps weed out the money grubbers and power seekers versus the ones that you actually want to work with," he answered while keeping in pace with her.
"So if one of their allies would have accepted that offer they would be deemed not trust worthy?" asked Kagome.
"No, they already know their allies. All of the Lords have grown up around those they consider friends and enemies, and because of that they know the general intent of the others. You are completely new, and therefore fair game for whatever tricks they deem necessary," spoke Touga calmly.
"So…my friends and I are prey?" asked Kagome.
"No…just you."
Kagome looked around the cold and damp room that she sat in. Honestly…she had expected worse. True, it was no five star hotel, and it didn't have any windows, and barely a bed at all but it was better than being shackled to the wall. It was actually more like a closet than anything. Just enough to lay down flat, move your arms a bit and maybe have one full role while sleeping.
The room was made of wood, which was better than the stone walls she was expecting. Though, it hardly left any room for well, anything, not that she was planning on spending much time here anyways. Then there was the bed, or cot. It was more like a mattress made of blankets than anything else but Kagome could deal with that. Really the only thing that truly irked her about the room was the lack of windows. The room was practically boarded shut, and for someone who had spent the last two years naming the different constellations as she went to sleep…well this was rather hard.
It almost made her wish that some of the others were willing to share a room with an untrained miko. That was actually why she was allowed to stay in her own room, even if it was the length of her arms. No one was willing to share with her on such a short moment's notice with her being able to purify them in their sleep and all. Not that she wouldn't mind purifying Sesshomaru though. It was like he was born with that stupid glare of his, and could he be any more arrogant? She just hoped that he could be handled the same way as she handled Inuyasha.
Inuyasha she could deal with, hell, she had spent years learning how to deal with him. He liked to fight, play fights were the best. Everyone always thought that they were being mean or arguing with each other but really, she was just getting him in his comfort zone. After so long of defending his life, unless he was charging recklessly into something he had a hard time feeling like he knew what he was talking about. So he would revert back to what he knew, verbal and physical warfare. After so many years of traveling with him she now knew that when he was fighting with her he was trying to tell her something that he couldn't say any other way.
She giggled, it always made for an interesting day, at least once she figured out not to take anything mean he says to heart. Luckily, he had learned to do the same with her. After her fit of giggles, she sighed. She just prayed to anyone who was listening that Sesshomaru's way of communicating was through bickering, because god knows it wasn't through normal verbal language. And if this didn't work, she didn't know what to do. It took her years to learn Inuyasha's style, she did not have years to learn Sesshomaru's. She was going off of possible family traits here.
Not that she was going to have any problem arguing with him, since he really was an ass.
"Momma? Can I share with you?" asked a small little voice from her doorway.
Kagome looked up to see none other than Shippo's still house breaking through the light. Kagome knew he would show up eventually.
"Sure honey, jump under the blankets with me okay?" Kagome stated more than asked, but she remembered her psychology classes well enough to know that it was always better to have the child think that they made the decision, and weren't ordered to do anything.
Shippo immediately took his cue and ran over to her makeshift bed. Without a moment's hesitation he had dove under the covers and snuggled up to her pillow. Yes, Kagome had brought her pillow from her own time, because it wasn't exactly like they made many where she was.
"Your bed is better than mine," came Shippo's voice, "then again, I was sharing it with four others."
Kagome smiled as she slipped under the grimy covers, "I placed my sleeping bag underneath all the blankets…I had a feeling you would be here so I set it up early."
Shippo smiled as he snuggled closer, "Thank you momma. Can you tell me a story?"
Suddenly a quiet meow was vibrating from the small room and both occupants looked towards the doorway. Kagome smirked as she looked at her son once again, "Make some room for Kilala Shippo; it seems we have another guest."
Instead of moving away and making room for the fire cat Shippo scrunched up closer to his mother, "There, she has room now."
Kagome rolled her eyes as the pint sized demon clawed at Shippo's hair in an attempt to get him to move but the fox stayed firm in his grip. Eventually the cat demon became fed up and made herself comfortable at the head of the bed…and in Kagome's hair. It was alright though, Kagome was more than used to it.
"So why aren't you with Sango Kilala?" asked Kagome like she would honestly get a response.
A small sleepy meow once again reverberated through the room and Kagome once again laughed. "Oh, I forgot that Sango and Miroku are sharing a room until Inuyasha shows up again. I probably wouldn't want to be there either, with how many things Miroku is probably getting thrown at him. Though I heard the room there is bigger, and three other servants are sharing with them."
"Momma, tell me a story now," whined the already half asleep kitsune.
Kagome flicked his nose as a reprimand, "Don't be rude, I was having a conversation with Kilala."
"Make it about a demon!" yelled Shippo happily now that he finally had his mother's attention once again.
Kagome sighed as she looked out the side of the wall where she thought a window would look lovely. "Alright, there once was a demon who didn't believe in stars…" she began, fully intending to have the demon be remarkably like Sesshomaru and mysteriously wind up either dead or blind or at least maimed in one way or another.
Touga watched silently in the corner of the room as Kagome told the story to the half awake kitsune. He didn't know how or why but he had the strangest feeling that this demon was going to end up dead, mauled or tortured. What was worse was that he wasn't sure who the story was about, him or Sesshomaru.
Kagome silently tucked Shippo in further as the small demon slept. She had only made it through half of the story before she realized that the little boy was asleep. Damn, she didn't even get to the maiming part. Even so, Kagome had half a mind to finish the story just to make herself feel better.
Very quietly Kagome slipped out from the covers and patted Kilala's head, reassuring the half asleep demon that she would be right back.
With a grace that Kagome was in no way used to, she slipped over to the door and slid open the shoji screen.
"Where are you going little one?" asked Touga as he materialized right beside her.
"Out," was her only reply.
The spirit sighed, "You are a priestess running around at night in a castle full of demons…you aren't as smart as I took you for are you?"
Kagome scoffed, "Like you are really going to let anything happen to me, I'm your last link remember?"
"And what if I hadn't noticed you slipping out?" asked Touga joyfully.
"What would you be doing? Sleeping?" laughed Kagome.
"…Maybe," was his only reply but Kagome noticed that he was unwilling to look at her in the eyes when he said it.
"Right," she said sarcastically as she reached another sliding door. Once there she opened it slightly as she peaked inside, "You guys awake?"
Sango's hand immediately came out from under the cover of the dark room and reached for her friend, "Can we go to your room to talk?"
Miroku was right behind her.
"My room won't fit all of us," she said honestly.
"The hall then," reasoned Miroku as they shut the door. He quickly put a seal on the door to make sure that no servant was secretly spying on them. He immediately turned to Kagome, "Mind explaining what this was all about?"
Kagome sighed, "No, not really."
Sango stomped her foot, "Kagome, don't avoid the question."
"Well then don't ask a closed ended question to something that you want an open ended answer for!" she all but yelled in frustration.
"Kagome, tell us," said Miroku quietly, obviously worried about someone coming around that hallway and catching them.
Kagome ran her finders through her hair, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Touga perked up when she said that, "Don't do it little one."
Kagome glared at the projection as she ignored her friend's skeptical stares.
"Perhaps you should lie down," argued Sango, "it seems you are not better yet from last week."
Kagome turned to her friends, "Last week, that is a great place to sta-" but her voice suddenly cracked and no more words came out.
What? Kagome quickly tried to speak again but nothing but air made its self known. Did she just, lose her voice? But that was impossible, she wasn't feeling sick, just incredibly tired. Kagome once again tried to voice her thoughts, looking at Sango and Miroku desperately. When she saw their baffled looks Kagome grabbed her throat in wonder.
"I told you not to do that," came a smug voice.
No, not again! Please not again! Was there nothing that he couldn't do to her?
"Yes, I took away your voice; this is going to be our little secret for now Kagome. No one else is to know," he said calmly while looking at his perfectly sharp nails.
She wanted to scream, she wanted to hit something, she wanted to cry. This was so not fair.
"Kagome, are you alright? You just suddenly stopped talking," asked Sango.
No she was not alright, she had freaking lost her voice because, get this, some over controlling ghost took it from her!
"Wasn't there something you were going to tell us Kagome?" asked the voice of reason, Miroku, once again.
Kagome discretely glanced back at Touga who was shaking his head no, and then with a heavy heart she looked at her friends who were watching her intently.
In defeat, Kagome shook her head no.
"Then why are we here?" asked Sango once again, man she was persistent.
"Because-" Kagome stopped herself after she realized that yes, that was defiantly her that had spoken. It seems as if Touga was feeling generous. "Um…because we all know it is the best option. Naraku isn't becoming less of a threat, someone needed to do something. I saw an opportunity and I took it."
"A heads up would have been nice," said Sango.
Kagome glared at no one in particular since she couldn't exactly start yelling at a certain someone at the moment, "Yes, it would have been."
"So there is nothing else," asked Miroku, sensing this wasn't the end of the story.
Yes! She wanted to yell, but somehow Kagome had a feeling Touga knew what she was thinking. It might have partly been because his claws were glowing threateningly. You know, just a little tip off. "Nothing else…are you guys up to those ridiculous requests of his?"
Sango sighed, "We don't exactly have a choice, and he knows that."
Kagome nodded her head, "Alright…but how about you let me handle the Lords, maybe Miroku too. But you and Inuyasha should try to stay as far away from them as possible. I have…" she paused, "…diplomatic training from my time, and Miroku has as well. He's good at undermining people to get what he wants."
They watched Miroku as he contemplated what she had just said. Then he looked at her and smiled, like he was proud of his conning ways.
As for herself, she guessed her friends could be considered diplomatic training. She had to learn all the rules after all, what to say, what not to say, how to say things, how to tell when someone is planning on socially ripping you to shreds. Yeah, that seemed like the same thing…this time just had swords.
"Are you sure that you can handle them Kagome?" asked Sango.
Well apparently I have to since I am their new chew toy, she growled to herself, "I'll manage."
Great, demon versions of her modern day friends, just what she needed to make her stay feel more homely.
Miroku nodded in agreement, "Agreed, you are battle worthy Sango, but Kagome and I will handle the mind games."
"Then we should all get to bed, I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to hard," frowned Sango.
"Alright then, but I think we should all meet up tomorrow night somewhere to discuss everything. We are still going to have to convince Inuyasha to agree to his own terms," defended Miroku.
Kagome scoffed, "Convince Inuyasha that he is allowed to beat up his brother's soldiers? Shouldn't be a problem."
Firevixen73- Thank you so much to all my readers! But just so you know, I want to establish all of the character's roles before anything super intense happens. I just don't see Sesshomaru interacting with Kagome unless he has to, which means she has to have an established role in his life before anything happens. Don't say I didn't warn you. I hope you liked this chapter! And please review!