Please read and review the chapter, thank you!
Sesshomaru was grateful for these few moments of quiet contemplations before the start of the council gatherings. The scent of incense burning to clear away the moldy smell of the council room which held meetings twice per year, this being the first of the two, the quiet footsteps of the servants scampering about to make everything suitable until the members arrived seemed to have intensified, and the silence wasn't absolute.
Outside he could hear the rush of footsteps, an occasional raised voice, calm, confident and ego driven as the elders arrived for the meeting. The sounds seemed very far off and yet distinct, and he had the sensation of a secret sinister busyness, like the slithering of snakes readying themselves to strike you in the back.
He never did like all the politics surrounding him, the stuffiness, the larger than life egos, and most of all the hypocrisy that blanketed it like a deceitful lovers embrace, but it could not be helped. He was the current lord of the west, and his mother its lady by default; because he was unmarried.
Unhurriedly he took a seat at the other end of the long table; the other for his mother, she being the head of the council and supervisor of these meetings. The expected amount of guest to arrive not including him and his mother was ten. Two members from each of the five provinces; one elder and the reigning lord of each.
One by one they entered through the wide oak door with its bronze handles and polished wood. Each taking their assigned seats, when all was settled and the refreshments poured, his mother was about to call the meeting to order.
She stood, regal and serene; looked around the room on each council member, one could easily be fooled by her calm and composed countenance, he had likened them to snakes earlier, but she would be the viper that kills without warning, and in some cases even without cause. She was vicious and calculating, and her mood could change from cool to murderous in an instant; taking her at face value would be foolhardy because she was not someone to be taken lightly.
She spoke with refinement and poise, traits that could only be garnered from wealth, education, and grooming.
"I lady Harumi former mate of the late Inu No Taishio call this meeting to order, and I welcome all our members, and special greetings to my son our esteemed ruler," she looked directly on him as she greeted him and he inclined his head slightly and acknowledged her.
"At this time I have nothing of value or importance to share with you, so I will sit and preside over the meetings as I normally do," she smiled having given the introductory speech with her usual uncanny humor.
The rest of the members got up after she was finished and introduced themselves, their region of reign and title, and swore there oath of loyalty to their ruler and lord, Sesshomaru, which was customary for these sittings. He acknowledged each one with a nod, equally assessing them; never fully liking any of them, maybe two, lord Aburame from the easterly province, and lord Hitoshi from the south.
The introductions were made and completed, and it was time for them to present documentiary evidence of growth and development, surpluses of wealth and areas that they thought needed improvement.
The documents were passed around and discussed, and in some instances recommendations were made and approved by him. The council room was buzzing with activity and from time to time disagreements would cause shouting and disharmony, and his mother would intercede to stop the squabbles, because it seemed as if it were to continue a moment longer they would kill each other.
He looked on feeling a sense of pity for them, so caught up in their pettiness, while he had news that would shake the very foundations of their existence.
The meeting took a break for the afternoon tea and lunch. The guests were served with the teas of their choice, sake and an assortment of meats by the servants. Sesshomaru did not eat with them, he had a lot on his mind, and the wet blue eyes of the priestess constantly ran rampant through his thoughts, and he could not seem to clear the image from his mind no matter how much he tried. He wondered what was going to happen to all of them from now on.
The remainder of his lunch break was spent on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, watching the hustle and bustle of its inhabitants going about their daily business, and he felt a deep sense of remorse.
It was Tuesday afternoon and Sesshomaru had promised to come see her. As she corrected little Akemi's class work and he stood waiting patiently for her to finish so that he could know his scores, her mind stopped working, causing slim fingers to seize their movements along the parchment.
She was in a daze seized by an unexplainable feeling of dread, and her heart skipped a beat or two, the sensation was so overwhelming and at the same time vacant, empty and devoid of any kind of warmth, it left her feeling cold, and her skin bumpy from the chill.
"Teacher are you all right, are you finished, my mother is waiting?" The small pleading voice of her student inquired, his voice erased the horrible feelings of doom from her mind.
She smiled apologetically and ruffled his spiky hair, then spoke softly to him.
"I am almost done."
But her thoughts were still on the weird feeling that took her moments ago. She finished and gave the boy his grade and he was pleased.
"Thank you mam," he said and bowed, and then skipped happily to his mother who waited for him by the school door.
As she packed up her belongings she glanced up at a bleary sky and saw that it would rain. She started to hurry at the prospect of rain, and besides she needed to bathe and rest before Sesshomaru comes. Listlessness overtook her and she sighed.
The last tray was cleared from the table when Sesshomaru took his seat. The meeting was called to order again by his mother, she stood and addressed the council.
"All our bellies are full now that we have eaten, and some have gorged themselves on the very potent wine." She looked in the direction of the two that had nearly come to blows earlier. "I am sure that we should all be in a better mood."
"Ha-ha," they all laughed aloud filled with mirth, and not a real care in the world.
How pathetic, Sesshomaru snorted to himself as they all continued to laugh and his temper rose with it as well. The hammering of his fists on the table caused the laughter to cease immediately, and all eyes were now focused squarely on him.
He got up slowly and looked around on all of them, then spoke with disgust. "Pathetic fools all of you, living high off the fat of the land not having a care, never changing as the world changes around you."
His speech was baffling and insulting, but they kept quiet not too sure where he was going with all of this, and why the need for insults?
He was not someone who believed in idle conversation, at least not with these seemingly dull imbeciles and would not give them the satisfaction of furter clarification.
"Son is there a point to all of this, and it is impolite to insult your elders," lady Harumi said condescendingly, reprimanding him like a spoiled child.
He looked at his dam pointedly and then replied. "Mother, I am not in the mood for your games, what I have to say is no laughing matter," he stopped speaking then daring anyone else to challenge him for the insult, he waited but none said a word. When he spoke again it was in a somber tone.
"I have reason to believe that our existence will be erased in less than two centuries," he said and waited for any reaction, and you could hear a pin drop, the silence was that profound.
Then his mother chuckled. "Mmwwmm, why Sesshomaru what foolishness spills from your lips today?"
The laughter that followed was slow at first and laced with unease, and then it erupted filling the room and echoing off the walls making it even more louder and booming. He watched their arrogance silently and saw that it was only the two members that he had favored who did not react in such a fashion.
He continued to watch them as they all laughed, and laughed at him for that matter. The old adage is right he thought to himself. You can't teach old dog's new tricks, he smirked inwardly and continued to wait.
It was the booming voice of lord Aburame saying. "Silence! we should give the young lord a chance to explain himself and stop acting like buffoons," that ended the laughter, and quiet reigned supreme.
He turned to Sesshomaru and gestured with a nod for him to carry on. He complied although he felt incensed so much so that he had to quietly calm himself down by breathing deeply before he attacked and possibly kill them, even though he knew that would not help their cause any at all. They were already the minority, and by killing each other so frequently helped to decrease their numbers even more.
Now that he had their attention and had more control over his anger he proceeded. "I learned quite by accident that our race will go extinct in a short time, and I have proof of such. Today we are here to discuss our survival."
He explained without letting on how he had come across such information, he did not want to put Kagome in a precarious position if he didn't have to, but his mother and a few others were not buying into his accounts of the events.
"Sesshomaru," his mother asked, "Where is this proof you mentioned; if you want our help provide us with it?"
The others cheered her on with words of approval while Sesshomaru considered his options which were limited.
What choice did he really have? He had to let them know, he was very powerful but even he knew that this situation was bigger than all of them combined, after all, they were not gods. He had to comply and give them his source of information, the lives of all his people were at stake, and now was not the time for games.
He had promised Kagome that he would find an agreeable solution, but the situation was combustible, and the smallest spark could set it ablaze. And he also saw the point his mother was making, the situation was too incredible, that without proof none would believe him, and their existence was already numbered. He really did not have the time to dawdle. And so with his mind made up he spoke.
"The priestess who helped in defeating Naraku is a time traveler, and I found a document among her things which revealed the information."
They looked at each other puzzled, not quite sure if they had heard him correctly, and then the incessant chattering increased as they argued the case amongst themselves. Then lord Hitoshi let his feelings be known about the matter and responded. "The defeat of Naraku happened over fifty years ago, so when did you get such information, and why are you just now telling us this grave news?"
His tone was one of suspicion and by the expressions on the other member's faces; they too felt the same sentiments.
Sesshomaru knew that the possibility existed that the question of Kagome's immortality would come up into these proceedings once he told them his source, and he wasn't prepared, for he did not know how that situation came to be so. For already they were thinking that he knew about the crucial circumstances of their survival for a long time now and did not say a word, because the priestess should be dead; for she was mortal and a human, or that he was trying to decieve them.
All eyes were on him suspiciously as if he had information about their demise and withheld it from them, but he refused to answer, letting them believe what they wanted.
After sometime had passed and he still did not respond to lord Hitoshi's queries, his mother got up and made a declaration.
"This meeting is adjourned," and then she looked fixedly at her son and spoke, "bring the priestess and the document here in two days time, we will reside in your home until then."
She left the meeting and the room, quickly followed by the others, not totally satisfied or trusting Sesshomaru's judgments or motives.
He was left standing alone feeling displeased, things were definitely getting out of hand, and when he told the priestess that her presence was requested. How would she react, would she willingly put herself on the line because he asked her to, or would she reject his supplication?
He didn't know the answers to those questions, but he knew one thing was certain, all hell would break loose and none of them would ever be the same again the day after tomorrow, if the priestess should accompany him to the meeting.