Govern Our Conditions
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.
A/n: I probably should have finished this sooner, but I was working on other stuff. Anyway, here is chapter 2 for you all. When you have finished reading it, please let me know of any blazing mistakes that I must edit. I admit that I often stare at a computer screen too much and the plentiful words begin to blur in my vision.
Chapter 2: At Just the Right Moment, I Light the Match
After the visitors hall had calmed down with the departure of the visitors, Kagome figured that her most difficult course of action was to actually convince Sesshoumaru to help the Yoro Clan. However, she was now discovering that her most trying task had already been completed. It had been convincing the leader of the wolf-youkai to leave without making more comments about her being "his woman", or demanding her hand in marriage. She may have thought Sesshoumaru would have protested and exhibited fury; she would not have been shocked if he had even smirked at her plight. But the golden-eyed youkai had revealed nothing. He was not even fazed by what Kagome knew had to have been a form of disrespect coming from Koga. All in all, it left her with strained facial muscles, gritty teeth, and cricks in her neck after getting the other demons to leave.
Right now, the spacious room was quiet and Kagome was turning to plead with the silver-haired formidable presence.
She realized he was getting up to exit.
But they had not even settled anything. It is not like this was a moment for "agree or disagree".
She was prepared to fight him a bit more on this.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, wait!" Okay, there is no way her brain could actually believe she was reaching her hand out to physically grab him as if it was acceptable. So she followed him out the door instead, a few feet behind. Her voice gushed out words that grew softer and softer as they disappeared down the hallway.
Finally, the black-haired girl was back in her own room.
She went over everything again in her head. Everything had first seemed so trying. But in private she had had no issues getting Sesshoumaru to aid the wolves after the pair's verbal argument in public.
He did not exactly agree or relent to her demanding plea. He just sort of became apathetic towards the entire ordeal. This apathy, it actually bothered her more than any of his anger or his hatred had before. These days her world never seemed to cease spinning and the young woman knew soon she would be crying out for it to stop.
Who was getting to whom?
Nevertheless, there was a wait of week in order to get the officials of this sudden expedition sorted formally. During this time, Kagome saw Shippo and some maids. She never got an unexpected, but certainly welcome visit from her sister and/or her best friend. Sesshoumaru never once demanded her presence; apparently he was stubborn enough to do any of the duties she was supposed to be doing, for and without her. And she never had to make an appearance before Lord Toga (Lady Izayoi and Lady Tsuki either) in order to explain her adamantly defiant behavior with respectful fear. It caused her to feel isolated, which caused her to worry, which may have driven her slightly crazy enough to almost wish for a visit from Koga of all things.
Today was the end of that wait. The young Higurashi female had left a slumbering kitsune kit in her bed, donned a comfortable outfit for both traveling and possibly exterminating some youkai, and headed toward the main entrance to meet up with the demons waiting for her. There was a large group at the door when she quietly arrived.
It was not just Sesshoumaru and Koga with his two followers standing there. She spotted her sister, her best friend, her partner's parents, and her partner's father's mate. They all stopped conversing among one another when she appeared. Well, anyone that had been talking stopped.
Kagome bowed at the group (inclining most of her respect to the Western Lord). "Are all of you coming?" the teen asked as she pulled her head up. Kagome heard the former Lady of the West chuckle.
"Kagome-chan," Toga commanded the attention of the gathered with his strong voice, "it has been decided that this will be your first official act as the Fuku Ryoji bound to Sesshoumaru and that it is a task you must complete between just the two of you. Aiding the Yoro Clan in re-claiming their home is a serious diplomatic mission; the success or failure of you two may determine the course of your relationship and whether or not it will be accepted as a powerful and positive thing. No one from the House of the West will help you.
"Do you understand, Kagome-chan?"
Remembering to keep her gaze pointed downward, the girl with the blue eyes replied, "Yes, Toga-sama."
"Do you, Sesshoumaru?"
It was the first words Kagome was going to hear from the scarce inu-youkai in a week.
"Of course, father." Short and direct. Kagome had not missed much.
"Then we will leave you now." The Great Dog Demon suddenly faced the demon leader of the wolf clan. "Koga-san, I hope that, with my son's aid, you will be able to avenge your fallen kin and get your clan's domain back." Then he gently took Izayoi's hand in his to pull away and leave the group. The female with the crescent moon above her eyes confidently followed behind. Before he passed Sesshoumaru, Toga placed a hand upon his son's shoulder. "Your Fuku Ryoji is your responsibility," he reminded. "Remember Kagome-chan, Sesshoumaru." All of this was said low enough that it was as if it might have been for Sesshoumaru's pointed ears only.
The three royals continued on.
But the Western Lord had more to say. He quickly whispered in the startled girl's ear as he walked by. "Impress me, Kagome." She could almost feel his smile in the air, though all she could see was his promptly receding back.
"Keh. The old man thinks he's so smooth. I bet if it were him and my mom,…" After the trio had departed, Inuyasha had jumped into it with his voice.
"You're just jealous, fleabag," cut in Koga. "You'll never be more than half the man the Great Demon Dog is…mutt."
This caused Inuyasha to extended his claws and glare at the wolf-youkai. Then he pounced. The two demons jumped around the foyer, exchanging attacks and curses. The others standing around mostly ignored the fight going on so near.
The young woman with the wavy black hair was drawn to the other woman approaching her. She was carrying something in pale hands. It caught Kagome's attention with a gasp.
"Be careful, Kagome," Kikyo said, handing her sister her bow and her quiver full of arrows. Kagome reverently took them. Even though she was hopeless at it, she could at least use the weapon to better protect herself, and the thought that she had it probably gave Kikyo a sense of security.
"Thank you, Kikyo. I will. And if not, I trust that you and Inuyasha will come to my rescue in the end. Or avenge me, if it comes to that. Please don't let it come to that."
The elder Higurashi girl could sense that her sibling was beginning to fret out her insecurities in her usual way. Kikyo smirked at Kagome.
"Inuyasha would probably have way too much fun with that…" continued Kagome. "And I know now that he'd have no trouble going after Koga-san for it too. He wouldn't go after Sesshoumaru-sama as well, would he?"
"I will take care of Inuyasha. You should leave, Kagome."
"Right..."
The battle grew louder all of a sudden.
"…lower breeds…" huffed the full-blooded inu-youkai.
Snapping their eyes in his direction after his words, the two humans could not decide if they should collect the two men with intent to rip each other's throats out.
Then Koga got in a really good punch that took Inuyasha off-guard and sent him sprawling down the opposite end of the hallway, away from the door.
The black-haired wolf demon landed gracefully next to the blue-eyed girl with a bow gripped tightly in her hands.
"Ha! Take that, dog-breath!" He reveled in his victory for a short while, then turned to the one beside him. "What do you think, Kagome? Your man's pretty strong, isn't he?"
She ignored him in favor of her concern for Inuyasha. But it was Kikyo who ran to him, she noticed. At least someone with a good head on her shoulders was always looking out for Kagome's best friend. The sisters shared a glance and Kagome knew he would be okay.
"Uh, shouldn't we be going, Koga-san? Sesshoumaru-sama?"
The eldest son of the Great Dog Demon, having had more than enough of the creatures that surrounded him, was instantly ready to make his way out of the compound in order to start their journey to the home of the Yoro Clan and the waiting Birds of Paradise. He brushed past everyone in a regal way that made it appear as if he had all the time in the world to ignore anyone but himself and his agendas. Kagome was quick to follow him.
In a state of suspended shock at the hasty brush off, the leader of the wolf-youkai was a little slower to make it out the door.
However, the two lower clan members, Ginta and Hakkaku were still left in the dust.
Coughing, they yelled, "Koga! Wait up!"
Kagome's heart began to slow down now that she was back on solid ground and the green world was no longer whizzing past her blue eyes. She had at first been in utter disbelief when she realized that Sesshoumaru was going to be carrying her on his back in order to get to the home of the wolves in ample time. If she had walked, her human pace would have cost them a day or two's time. It is not like he offered to carry her, Koga had; the silver-haired male had simply grabbed her, threw her on his back, and started running at top speed. He had not even made sure she was able to clutch to his robes tightly before he had started off. It probably meant that he did not even care if she fell off to her death. It would be one last inconvenience he would have to suffer.
At least she had managed to bottle up her scream before more than a second of it had made it past her lips.
The group was now making their way to a large cave cut in the mountainside. Ginta and Hakkaku, who actually could talk since they were no longer in the oppressive atmosphere of the House of the West and were now on their territory, had explained that it was the den that the clan lived in that they were headed to. They had also been generous in their treatment of the young woman and they now called her their sister since they believed their leader's claim that she was going to be his woman.
All of a sudden, the cave mouth opened before them so that they could see the demons that Sesshoumaru and Kagome had come to help.
"Ginta, Hakkaku, is this really all that's left of your clan?" Kagome's words fell from her lips in a pained whisper.
Hakkaku answered. "Yes, Nee-san."
"But don't worry," Ginta broke into the morose atmosphere, "we still have Koga. And there are other wolf clans that we often get along with. We still have a home, Nee-san."
"Have those demon birds really done all this?" she heartbreakingly wondered, referring to the dwindled numbers of wolf-youkai and wolves.
It was the top of the mountain that contained the nests of the Bird of Paradise demons, including the nest of the leader.
The group, Sesshoumaru in the front, Koga just behind him, Kagome, Ginta, Hakkaku and the rest of the Yoro Clan, gathered upon a large outcropping about a hundred feet from the peak.
Demon birds patrolled the skies.
Koga took a look back at the girl standing sort of behind him. She had her sister's quiver on her back and the bow in her hands.
"I think you should stay with me, Kagome. I'll protect you."
Boy this wolf was forward.
"Actually, Koga-san. I believe I should stay with Sesshoumaru-sama. We are partners after all." The golden-eyed dog demon slit his gaze to her. Yet he made no objections. There was that apathy again. She put it to the back of her mind, to deal with later, and made her way over to him because there were bigger issues to take down. "Sesshoumaru-sama, I'll try my best in this fight. I promise, I will not disappoint you."
"Just don't get in my way," was his only reaction.
Just before the earth started to shake beneath them, Kagome's pulse locked onto a great throbbing about fifty feet up. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but it felt tainted to her. An unbidden thought occurred to the Higurashi girl. Was she actually sensing the youkai of the horrendous bird?
Kagome became afraid that she was about to come into some powerful abilities that were going to make her already troubled life more difficult.
Fifty feet above them, the mountain exploded and the battle began when a hundred of deadly Birds of Paradise descended from the heavens.
"You lot deal with the small fry! I'm going after their leader!" Koga rapidly barked out orders to the wolves and wolf-like men with metal weapons; then he charged up the rock with swift legs.
"Attack!" "Get 'em!" "For our brothers and sisters!" Cries rang out all around the anxious human female.
Amidst the chaos, the inu-youkai was calm and collected. He did not bother to leave the ground, though Kagome suspected he could easily reach the creatures in the air; instead, he used the force of his poisoned claws to strike out and rip his foes to pieces. And because he did not have to maneuver around much to take them out, his presence forced the birds away from the one standing near him.
Kagome could not take her eyes off of Sesshoumaru and the cool fierceness he utilized to kill. The beat of her heart quickened.
But then she involuntary looked to Koga to check his progress with the biggest threat. He was skirting along the side of the mountain, his back to the rocks, and he was bitterly facing off with the Bird of Paradise leader.
The wolf-youkai went in for a punch to the face.
"Argh!" He screamed when razor sharp teeth came down on his arm and threatened to tear the limb off.
"Koga!" Kagome screamed.
Fumbling with frightened fingers, the teary-eyed woman was having difficulties nocking an arrow to her borrowed bow. When she finally got control of the weapon, she pulled the string taught by bringing it all the way back to a spot parallel to her ear. She released it in haste because she wanted to quickly help Koga.
The arrow that flew forward did not have a lot of force behind it so it wobbled in the air and only managed to pathetically tap against one of the giant bird's two blue bodies. It did however cause the brothers with one shared body to growl and release the wolf demon without taking his arm off.
Ginta and Hakkaku ran to their fallen leader.
"Koga!"
"Are you alright?"
He gritted his teeth from his spot on the ground. "Ah, my arm…"
Kagome had no time to properly react to the wolf's fall because now the bird was coming for her.
She took a deep breath in order to control her weapon better this time.
Kagome pulled the string taught, straight, and steady.
Her features framed themselves in determination.
"Hit the mark!"
She let go.
A white blur leaped as soon as her fingers released the string. His speed was matching her arrow instantly. The shaft of it glowed a bright pink, imbued with the sacred energy of her powerful mirror image. And all at once, the murderous beast felt the point of a deadly arrow and the poisonous, sharpened claws in lethal synchrony. That combined force obliterated the leader of the Birds of Paradise.
Sesshoumaru appeared back at Kagome's side without a drop of blood staining his pristine white garments.
The battlefield was littered with corpses, but the demon birds were defeated.
A unanimous cry rang out from the Yoro Clan.
Sesshoumaru took that as his cue to leave.
He spoke to his human companion, but his words were meant for everyone, especially the wolves. "We shall take the biggest carcass as our prize. It will also be a gift from this flea-bitten clan to honor this Sesshoumaru."
"Eww! I am so not, carrying nor going anywhere near such a thing!" Kagome protested, vehemently.
It turns out, they did not immediately leave the mountain that they had fought to re-claim.
Though Kagome did not want to touch any of the dead birds, she did help Koga and the others collect the bodies of fallen clan members so that they could bury them. It was dirty, disgusting work that pulled at her heartstrings, but it had to be done. They completed it in silence.
Wrapped up in the goings on of the wolf-youkai, the black-haired Higurashi woman had ignored the one she was bonded to. Which was apparently okay with him because he ignored everything around him right back.
She was not going to ignore him now.
After all of the bodies had been buried and Koga had said a few words to the remaining clansmen he had left, the wolf demons had surprised their human guest with another ritual that they wanted to complete in order to honor the dead. In a special cave, at the back of the main cave, fragile paper things were stacked high in a corner. They were lanterns and the clan was going to light them tonight.
Her flame had caught so Kagome gently released her lantern. She watched it climb into the sky for a few brief moments. Then she snatched another from the pile at her feet and headed over to the silent and stoic dog demon nearby but out of the way. She was not going to let him get away without participating in this. It was bigger than their petty fights, their situation. Something like this was bigger than even him and everyone should realize that in their lifetimes.
When the silky young woman got to him, she did not take the chance to utter a word. Rather, Kagome lit the lantern herself, only to gently force it into the lap of her partner.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his gaze at her, her boldness, her closeness. He flicked the paper lantern away from himself.
Still quiet, she watched it float away in a sea of others like it. It caught up to hers and they flew higher and higher until it was revealed that there were at least three dozen more stars in the sky that night.
Kagome started to stare at the blue ring on her right hand. The perfectly smooth stone circle felt abnormally significant on her middle finger.
The girl glanced at the man she was tied to. His eyes were shut. She peered at the crescent above his brow. Its color matched her ring.
The rainy weather began about a week and a half after Kagome and Sesshoumaru returned to the House of the West, successful in their first mission as inu lord and Fuku Ryoji. Their departure from the wolf clan's mountain had only been dragged out and not abrupt because of Koga's continued pursuance of his "claimed" mate. But he had been forced to drop it when Sesshoumaru had forced the wolf-youkai to submit to the inu-youkai. The last thing Kagome heard as she was whisked away on Sesshoumaru's back once more was Koga yelling that he would one day come and get her to make her his forever. The exhausted female could not be happier to be home, even if it was raining.
Kagome had her room open to the elements anyway. Besides, the slopped roof and slight porch kept the water from getting in to soak her stuff. The young woman perched herself just before the open doors that led outside; she had Shippo by her side.
Movement suddenly caught her eye and she rushed into the rain. The fox kit followed her.
"A cat!" she announced her astonished discovery.
"You think it's a demon?" Shippo asked.
"I think it's a cat."
"I still don't think we should bring it inside."
"But it's pouring. And who cares if those dogs get a little snifflely."
"Kagome…"
But she was not going to be deterred. "Oh come on, Shippo. What's the worst that could happen?" She headed inside with the black and soaking wet bundle cradled in her arms. "You coming, Shippo?" The little kitsune dashed after his friend.
Sesshoumaru was the first to uncover her treachery an hour later.
He entered her room without preamble and stormed over to her side. Suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air around Kagome. His golden gaze zeroed in on her pillow, lying on the bed just behind her. It caused him to bypass her. Then he started down at it.
The inu-youkai did not say anything, but Kagome guessed it was because he was assessing for a potential threat. When the moment dragged on and she could not take the silence anymore, Kagome spoke softly.
"My father died when I was eight, Kaede was barely more than a month old. I don't really remember the man who started this whole mess between us. But I know I loved him, and no matter what you do to me, Sesshoumaru, that won't change." She had no idea what she was saying, or why she was saying it. Maybe she was trying to justify her actions in taking an unwanted creature in. Maybe she was trying to take another step toward getting past her and Sesshoumaru's differences. "I love my family and I will do anything for them. I think, in the right circumstances, I could do a lot for you too." Why would she not just stop talking?
The bushy-tailed kit snored softly next to the completely dry cat she had brought in from the rain. Kagome resisted the urge to stroke both of them, not wanting them to stir. As if sensing her internal dialogue, her dominant companion watched the fox now.
"You are not his mother, just a keeper of strays." Sesshoumaru was not watching her, but his voice was firm.
"I'm his family," replied Kagome. She refused to say another word more.
She never did find out why he had come to her room so suddenly that night, but at least she was keeping the cat.
Shippo really likes sweets. He was currently devouring some that the two of them had pilfered from the kitchen as he and the girl whose shoulder he rode upon headed toward the voices down the hall. They entered another room and were startled to lay eyes upon an unknown figure at the center. Sesshoumaru was there too.
"I am Thaiscit," said the figure, as they entered.
The inu-youkai narrowed his eyes; Kagome managed to recognize the nonverbal cue.
So he was not expecting this encounter either. Surprise guests struck Kagome as something of an unusual occurrence in the House of the Western Lord. She figured that the royalty here had to make a point of knowing each and every soul that entered such a domain. Her blue eyes wanted to gather more information. Thaiscit had long, black hair that dropped down his back in a low ponytail, and he had pale, golden eyes that faded into the white of his sclera. He turned to appraise her and she noticed that he seemed overly graceful for a man. But it was the energy coming from him that intrigued Kagome. Trying her hardest to sense it like she knew her sister could, what she hesitantly felt was neither human nor youkai, and maybe a little bit like something else. She took the time to wonder if she should she be afraid of it?
"You must be Kagome-san."
He smiled, showing a lot of teeth.
She inclined her head to Sesshoumaru first, but also nodded to his visitor. "Yes. And who are you?"
"My name is Thaiscit," he replied, still smiling. "I was just asking Sesshoumaru-sama if he knew where his father was. I have to talk to Toga-sama about a potential business offer I have for the Lord of the West."
Kagome looked over at Sesshoumaru. He bit out an answer. "Father will meet you in the visitors hall, where he meets all guests for official requests. Have her show you the way." Kagome instantly thought he was referring to her, but then she noticed that he was directing a clawed finger at a servant youkai who had unfortunately just passed the room as Sesshoumaru was speaking. The girl in question bowed to her lord and indicated that the mysterious man follow her.
"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama," the black-haired male spoke in respectful tones as he made his exit from the chamber. "Kagome-san, I hope to see the Fuku Ryoji again. I would like to know more about what it is you do here, for Sesshoumaru-sama." With those parting words, he was suddenly gone just as precipitously as he had appeared.
Shippo decided to unexpectedly comment from Kagome's shoulder. "You think he's staying around?"
"You and the kit should keep your gossiping to a limited occurrence. It is an unbecoming habit of someone who I am forced to associate with."
When the lord had turned and was walking away, his striking image gone, the black-haired girl turned to her little orange-haired companion. "Shippo!" She admonished the fox with his tongue stuck out.
"Kikyo!" The younger sister dashed to her almost-twin's injured side.
It was wounds from the mere swipe of a cat's paw, but still…
"It's nothing, Kagome. I'm fine." One black-haired beauty grumbled to the other fretting black-haired beauty. But Kagome's worries did not let up. "I'm fine!" Kikyo barked out, then gave a weighty shove to her sibling.
Blue eyes stared into cold, brown.
"Fine. We'll leave you alone, then."
Did Kagome imagine it, or did Kikyo flinch at the wavy-haired girl's clipped tone? Well, it obviously appeared that Kikyo was not going to apologize.
"I only wanted to show you the new friend I made, but I can see that it is time for you to be alone." Her older sibling did not argue. "Oh, and to return your bow. It really helped Sesshoumaru-sama and I, thanks." She placed it on the ground without bothering to get closer.
A brown gaze watched the retreating figures of her little sister and the even smaller black cat.
"A cat, in a house of dogs," Kikyo uttered. "Must you always look for trouble, Kagome?"
A/n: Title for this chapter comes from the quote: "I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match."-Mia Hamm. How this came to be finished at the very end of this month, I'll never fully forgive myself for, but hey, it's Halloween. Here's a treat for everyone. And I really like Halloween anyway. So yeah, you can have this on the very last day of October. I hope you like. Please let me know your thoughts, hopes, dreams, nightmares…umm…Happy Halloween?!
Be seeing you on the other side of the rain,
-ROMS