Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Pairing: Jirou x Kagome
Albatross 2
Higurashi Ikui sat before the aging tengu quietly. His familiar purred contently at his side. Cream-colored fur gently waved as an evening's wind pushed through the cracks of the conference room. Blue eyes turned upwards. The silence that surrounded them was overpowering. Tension thickened the room with each passing second that ticked by.
"Will you accept my request Master Soujoubou?" The land god had to admit to himself that he was nervous. He fiddled with the outer-layer of his sleeve. There was a lot riding upon this meeting. His daughter's very life would depend this decision. His fidgeting did not go unnoticed by the other occupant.
The old crow hummed softly to himself. There was still much to consider. His withered hands stroked his white, cascading beard that fell to his chest. This was indeed a rare request. However he had the security and interests of his fellow children to consider as well.
"You are quite aware that women of any kind are strictly forbidden from setting foot here, are you not?" Ikui sighed at the question. This would definitely be a tricky obstacle to overcome. The tatami mat beneath his legs began to itch with all of his shifting about.
"I'm fully aware of your morals Master Soujoubou." He lifted his glass of tea to his lips, delicately sipping at the steaming liquid inside. "I am not asking you disregard those values, but to simply make an exception this once. She is still pure in soul and body. She can even abide by your rules and rituals. The only difference would be her gender." Setting his glass down upon the table, Ikui turned his cobalt gaze onto the elderly tengu. Despite his age-weathered appearance, the old man was still quite powerful. Kagome would need that strength if she were to survive coming months. "I will personally guarantee you that she will not become a disturbance among your children."
The Soujoubou thought over the Higurashi land god's words. It wasn't everyday that the man would prostrate himself before another, let alone one of youkai heritage. It seemed that what the spirit had seen in his past was extreme enough to warrant such an arrangement. He felt the urge to sigh at the prospect. His children would not be happy with this situation, Jirou in particular. The mere thought of breaking the news to that man nearly made him rescind his next decision.
"I'll allow the girl to stay on a few conditions," He began slowly. Ikui's shoulders relaxed somewhat from relief. "She must obey all of our rituals, including partaking in martial arts. If she is stay with us for an extended period, then she must abide by our rules." The Soujoubou took a few seconds to think over the next part carefully. "For her safety, she will be placed in the inner sanctum of our compound. One of our men will be appointed to stand guard over her quarters at all times. A power such as hers will draw attention from unwanted demons. Our barriers can only protect against so many power-hungry youkai." The old man gave the land god a pointed glare. "She will also be responsible for her own training while she is here. It is my understanding that she is still quite new to her abilities as a miko. We cannot risk one of our own being hurt by a misunderstanding."
Ikui nodded in agreement. Those terms were very fair considering the situation. He very much doubted that Kagome would fuss too much. At least for the first half of her stay here, after that all bets were off. The Higurashi head sweat dropped at the thought. He sincerely hoped that things would go well. Otherwise, they'd be royally screwed.
"Lastly, should the girl choose to disregard any of the of the following rules she will be exiled from Mount Kurama. Have I made myself clear?" The crow's voice, though gravelly with age, came out strong and demanding. The dark haired male nodded.
"I accept those terms Master Soujoubou." His familiar purred again at his side as he brushed his fingers through her soft fur. Her crimson eyes brightened contentedly.
"Then it's settled. Three months time from now, your daughter will be brought here. If something should come up in the meantime, please inform us immediately." Ikui bowed respectively before the tengu.
"Thank you Master Soujoubou. I assure you that you will not regret your decision." With that the Higurashi head was dismissed from the compound. He watched as the other tengu stared at him suspiciously. It wasn't often that they had visitors and when they did, they often brought trouble. The land god of the Higurashi Shrine fought the urge to smirk. Oh the trouble Kagome would bring them indeed. His cobalt eyes fixated on the gate, he was politely waved off by a silver haired tengu by the name of Suirou. As the gates swung shut behind him, he turned his gaze towards his familiar.
"Ready to head home Kirara?" She mewled before a burst of flames engulfed her tiny body. When the fires receded, the nekomata had changed into her monstrous battle form. Ikui swiftly mounted the lion-cat. She took off with a quick burst of speed and snaked through the tree-line fluidly. It had been quite some time since the firecat had really been able to stretch her muscles. With a small tug of her fur, he encouraged her to go faster. This would be a good time for them to put her old skills back to use.
As the sun's dull rays began to set, Ikui smiled to himself. He had done it. He had secured the Soujoubou's word to protect his daughter. His gaze darkened at the thought that would bring her to such desperate lengths. There were only three months left before everything would go to hell. He would have to do more if he wanted Kagome to survive. Putting more pressure on the battle cat's side, he pressed her to go faster. There was one more stop that would need to be made. He only hoped that he would get there in time…
"You must be joking." Jirou glared darkly at the older tengu. There was no way that such a thing could be true! It was absolutely ludacris! A woman? Here? Absolutely not! Not if he had anything to say about it!
"I do not jest you child," The Soujoubou announced, "She will arrive within a few months. I suggest you get used to the idea as you will see to her protection personally." There was a quiet rage that stormed within Jirou.
"I do not mean any disrespect but what are you thinking?" His wings flapped at the indignity of it all. "How do you expect us to welcome a… a woman," The tengu struggled with the very word, "into our compound? The inner sanctum at that!"
"Calm yourself Jirou," Silver hair billowed peacefully in the night's wind, "I wouldn't have accepted if I believed that this wasn't necessary."
"But then why?"
"Because we need her to survive as well." Jirou was shocked at the proclamation.
"I don't quite follow you." The younger of the tengu started. Where was their master getting at with this? What would they need with some girl?
The Soujoubou looked deep into the depths of his tea. The liquid was dark and murky, much like the future ahead of them. "The burden she carries is quite heavy you know." He stated cryptically, "It is a weight that only she can bare." The old man lifted his gaze to the crimson monochrome that danced across the sky, "Yet what she decides to do with that weight will ultimately affect us all." Jirou began to feel the pin prick of a headache form behind his eyes. What was this all about? Why all the secrecy? If at all possible, the would-be successor was even more peeved now than he had been before.
"What are you getting at Master?"
"It is because of her destiny that I accepted," Silver brows furrowed together, "If she were to die, then so would this future." He took a small sip at his tea, enjoying the way the flavor tasted, "Her fate is now intertwined with us all." Grey eyes darkened considerably, "I cannot say much as of now, but you will understand when she arrives. Of that I can guarantee."
Jirou didn't have much to say against the old crow. He knew that their leader's word was law and his wisdom was far beyond his own, but something was still bothering him. Why now? Of all the generations why would they accept this one girl into their ranks? Even if it were only temporary and she followed their rituals to the tee, which he highly doubted she could, she still did not belong on Mount Kurama. Gender alone dictated that much.
"Oh and Jirou," The Soujoubou began as the tengu made his way out of the conference room, "Try not to scare the child. You must use a much gentler hand when dealing with her." A rare flush of embarrassment spread across said crow's face.
"That will depend on her willingness to abide by our rules." He muttered darkly. He slid the door closed behind him as he turned down the corridor. Darkness fell through the cracks of the wall; the only illumination coming from the small candles sporadically placed throughout the compound. Jirou's mind wandered as he traveled back to his quarters. Of all the things, he would now be playing the part of babysitter and bodyguard to some teenaged human girl who had no handle over her powers. What else would go wrong with this arrangement? His dark brows furrowed at the thought. The only saving grace was the fact that he had so much time to prepare for her 'visit'. The idea filled him with anger. He didn't like this, not one single bit. As he turned the final corner, the wall opened up to a tiny courtyard. The moon's silvery light filtered through the silent hallways, lighting the tengu's path. The image brought him some measure of peace before he entered his room. The next three months would be the most torturous.
Jirou laid upon his futon, his emotions still flickering between confusion and anger. Why? He turned over to his side, one oversized wing folding over the other. He would get his answers one way or another, even if it meant interrogating the girl. With that, he fell into a fitful slumber. The next three months, Jirou worried, would be filled with as many sleepless nights like this.
Kagome stared as Inuyasha slurped down the last bit of ramen she had packed. Several weeks had passed since her first time through the well. So far they had only managed to collect a meager amount of jewel shards. She briefly glanced down at the glimmering crystals lying dormant in the palm of her hand. Shippou rested easily on her shoulder, commenting on the hanyou's lack of dining grace. The teen ignored the two males as they began to argue back and forth about how to properly consume ramen.
"At least use some class and not fling the broth at us!" The fox growled, his emerald eyes flashing in annoyance.
"Keh! As if!" The silver haired hanyou turned his back towards them, "Ain't like there's anyone of importance here."
"You take that back!" Shippou growled from his perch on Kagome's shoulder, "You like Kagome! Just admit it already!"
Said girl still hadn't taken notice of their argument. Instead her mind was filled with guilt. This was all her fault. Shippou's father, the jewel shattering, and everything else that they were likely to run into afterwards.
"I do not!" Inuyasha growled out, but the flush spreading across his cheeks gave him away.
She continued to ignore them. Why had she even been pulled through the well in the first place? It was obvious that she didn't belong here. She had no skills with the bow, she couldn't fight and she definitely didn't know what she was doing when it came to collecting the pieces of the Shikon. The teen was halfway tempted to return home. Her father had acted... strangely when Inuyasha first appeared in their home. He had been aggressive and nearly physical with the inu hanyou. As soon as Inuyasha yanked her up by her arm, her father had nearly knocked him over with his shoulder. It was clear that her father did not like the boy one bit, but why she wasn't exactly sure. Perhaps it was because of how things ended up the first time she was taken through the well? The mere memory caused her to shiver. That Mistress Centipede still haunted her nightmares. The skin over Kagome's arms raised at the mere thought of the youkai that pulled her into this mess. Now that she was here, what was she supposed to do? Keep traveling with Inuyasha until all the shards were gathered up? Her cobalt eyes turned up to look at her companion.
His face was pulled into an expression of stubborn pride. There was bits of kindness every now and then, but his harsh attitude was already starting to wear down on her. To be quite frank, Kagome was starting to get tired of his callous comments. A snipe here and a comment there about how Kikyou was much more beautiful and powerful than her were bearing down on her self-esteem. Even worse were the constant comments of what she liked to call the 'blame game'. It was her fault this happened or if she had just been a little more attentive than that wouldn't have happened. It was... troublesome...
Their little conversation was quickly cut short by Kagome's piercing stare.
"Say Inuyasha," She began slowly, drawing the glass bottle up and depositing the newly acquired shards into the container. "What do you think we should do about the rumors of that witch?" Seeing Inuyasha flustered brought to the surface an emotion Kagome couldn't quite place. It wasn't the butterflies that one spoke of when crushing on someone-instead it was almost a light feeling of discomfort. Determined to keep the conversation away from her, she decided that it was best to change the topic.
There was a moment of silence. Then the silver-haired dog shrugged, "Nothing. Ain't like she has a jewel shard or anything. Might as well leave her be." Unbeknownst to Kagome, golden eyes watched her hunched form carefully. He wouldn't admit it to her but he was concerned about how she had been acting lately. Something seemed off about the whole situation.
"I thought you might say that," The miko-in-training sighed. Well it was worth a try. Though the rumors were bothersome. Whispers of a witch wanting to revive the dead priestess Kikyou began to surface a few days ago. In all likelihood the witch only wanted her to find jewel shards for herself, however the thought that a demon could actually bring the dead back to life was troublesome indeed.
"I think we need to head back to Kaede's." Kagome stated slowly. In the few weeks that they had been together, the official heirarchy of who was in charge had yet to be fully set in stone. She knew that Inuyasha wasn't likely to go charging to the rescue for the sake of a woman who tried to kill him. All the same, she wanted to make sure that the witch didn't get her way. It would be a travesty against Kikyou's legacy to allow such a demon to mar her reputation.
"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed but didn't fuss. His silver ears twitched wildly back and forth in nervousness. There were only a few more days left before the new moon. They wouldn't be able to travel much in that time period. He would need to get them to safer territory before they could make their way back. In total, the detour could take up to a few extra weeks longer. Amber eyes locked on Kagome's and Shippou's forms. Their time together was short, but thought of either of them getting hurt made him physically ill. The young man nearly grumbled at the realization. He was starting to go soft.
"Fine, but we'll do things my way this time!" He growled out, hoping that this would deter her from arguing with him in the future. Unlike Kikyou, Kagome had the habit of trying to challenge him for alpha status. She questioned everything he did and on occasion made him feel a bit stupid. He was never one to stand back so he'd fling insults at her to cover for his bruised ego. It wasn't exactly his most shining moments but the words had the effect that he desired. Inuyasha's molten gaze met Kagome's cobalt ones. The wry smile across the girl's face made his stomach drop.
"As if you'd have it any other way."