The Dark Light

by vastare

Not all Darkness is evil and not all Light is good. It's up to you to decide what you will do with your power. Will you help restore the order, or will you destroy everything in your path? SessKag

13. The youkai council

The Dark-Light

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

By Anime-Goddess-Sakura

A/N Wow, I'm back! Hmm… once again thanks to all my reviewers! Thanks a lot you guys! You guys rock!

I'm sorry, but for some reason has a new rule that authors are not allowed to post the answers to the reviews in the chapters. It sucks! But oh well nothing to do. So basically I will probably mail those that are interested (so please leave your e-mail address if necessary ) or maybe I will post the review answers in my live-journal. Don't worry I will let you guys know.

Anyways for some reason, this chapter was a pain to write. I'm still not completely satisfied, but hopefully it will be to your liking.

Thanks again to the reviewers!

Mei Higurashi, inlovewithsesshoumaru, bluediamond-hime, Sapphire Birthstone, Me, Sessluva, The Squabbit, Sesshoumaru-Sama's Girl, Golden-Eyed-Girl, rusty1015, Brittany, kmkoolj2010, unknown, TomFeltonLover2005, bubbles54379, Writer/Reader, Demonic Devils, BeckyJoe3689, setsunakutteyume, Ahh sou des ka, kikyo AKA THE DEAD BITCH, Yanee, Kagome2691, Ally Inu, natasha, Kagome, Harmony8390, YoukaiTenshi, Flames of the Sun, Eien-Kisaki, animefreak404112, dragon85, hermonine, InnocentDarkSassycat, WhiteRose-Kurama, dog-demon-emiko, VampressKiss, Sesshoumaru's Miko, Princess of the Saiyans 16.

Hopefully I didn't forget anyone and if I did, please forgive. Anyways here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 13 The Youkai council

In a black dimension a figure was bound and wrapped with golden chains that glowed with holy and sacred magic. Many sacred seals glowed around him. The place was completely dark. The only source of light was that of the chains, thus illuminating the bound figure just a little bit. Long silky black hair hid his face from view. Two dark blue horns protruded from his forehead.

"It's such a shame to see someone as powerful as you, reduced to this." A velvety voice suddenly spoke, making the figure raised his face to look at the intruder.

Naraku stood smirking a few feet away from him. Crimson eyes, met blood red. The bound figure must have been shocked to see someone else with him there, but he hid his curiosity and shock behind a calm and cold façade.

"Who are you mortal and how did you manage to get here?" the bound figure asked, his voice slightly raspy from not being used for very long.

"I'm Naraku…" He was cut off as the figure once again spoke.

"Ah, the hanyou, who is after the shikon."

Naraku smirked. He should know that a being like him, would know everything that was going in the world, even if he was trapped in this dark dimension. He would be just perfect for his plan.

"I can free you…"Naraku added, satisfied when he saw the glimmer of curiosity in the other individual's eyes.

"And what will be the price?" the bound figure asked, knowing full well that everything came with a price; Naraku only smirked at this.

"You will take care of the White-Light for me."

"The White-Light?" the figure asked confused, making Naraku smirk even wider; apparently he didn't know everything.

"Yes, you can say she's the adopted daughter of the one that has imprisoned you here."

"The Goddess of Heavens." He spat, his blood red eyes, burning with hatred.

Naraku enjoyed the hatred that he felt now rolling of the prisoner. Kanna appeared next to him, holding her mirror. The mirror glowed bright, before showing the picture of Mitsuko. The spider hanyou was satisfied as the trapped figure looked intently at the mirror.

Blood red eyes studied the reflection of the White-Light intently. His eyes studied every little detail. He had always prided himself on detail; it often told you a lot about your opponent or in this case prey. In this case it told him that this White-Light had power and skills by the way she moved.

"Quite lovely isn't she?" Naraku asked noticing the interest that seemed to be shining in those blood red pools.

"Quite." The figure said looking a last time at the reflection, before returning his gaze towards Naraku.

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Mitsuko, a soothing name for such a creature like her." Naraku answered calmly as he gauged the other one's reaction.

"Mitsuko." The prisoner said, her name rolling over his tongue in an almost sensual way, Naraku noted with satisfaction.

"What do you want me to do with her?" he asked after testing her name a few more times.

Naraku smirked, his crimson eyes dancing with hidden malice.

"You can do whatever you want with her, just as long that you kill her in the end. I don't want interfering with my plans later on."

The figure must have liked his plan, for he smirked, his pearly white fangs shining.

"Do we have a deal?" Naraku asked.

"What makes you sure that I will not kill you once I'm free?" The figure asked looking almost amusedly at the spider hanyou.

"You're too interested in the White-Light to bother with me at the moment, you were always fond of beautiful and pure things and Mitsuko certainly fits that category." Naraku said calmly.

"I always liked to corrupt and taint those like her." The figure said grinning satisfied.

"And I also know that your thirst for revenge is too great at the moment and without my help you will not be able to open the portal to the Heavens."

The figure growled, not liking a bit that Naraku had already read him so easily. He had always liked to keep his motives hidden, therefore he had the advantage. However this hanyou was proving to be smarter than he had anticipated and it made him wary. He hated knowing that he needed his help. He was far more superior to him.

"Hanyou, you forget your place." He snarled angrily.

"As do you…for you see I'm the only one that can free you." Naraku said sternly, knowing very well that he had delivered a very painful blow to his pride.

The figure growled at him, anger evident in his blood red eyes as he gazed at Naraku. Naraku knew that the first chance he got, he would probably betray him, but this thought didn't even bother the hanyou. He knew very well with whom he was dealing, in a sense it was like making a pact with the devil. He was brought out of his musings when his 'companion' spoke.

"Very well, I will accept your deal, hanyou."

"Good." Naraku said satisfied.

With a flick of his wrist the golden chains that bound the figure snapped and all of the seals around him seemed to shatter. The figure landed gracefully on his feet. Stretching his wings, he was satisfied to see that they were still as strong as ever. His blood red gaze rested on the hanyou, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Akuma is free once again to wreak havoc on this world." An evil chuckle leaving his lips after he said this.

His hand shot out and caught whatever Naraku had thrown at him. Opening his fist he was surprised to see five shikon shards.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" Akuma asked brushing a strand of silky dark hair behind his ear.

"These will increase your power." Naraku said calmly.

"Hanyou, I do not need more power. You forget that I'm a God." Akuma hissed angrily, baring his fangs at the spider hanyou.

"Hn. That might be. However do not underestimate the White-Light or her friends. I despise to admit it, but they are quite powerful." Naraku said smirking.

"I always liked a challenge. Nevertheless I will keep these shards, they could come in handy some way or another." He said tucking the shards away.

"Let the hunt begin." He whispered, as he laughed maniacally.

If anyone would have heard such laughter, they would have probably run for their lives. The wound was full of malice and hidden motives. Naraku smirked knowing that he had just released one of the most powerful and evilest being in the world once again. The poor White-Light didn't know what awaited her.

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Kambala was more than beautiful than Kagome could imagine. Nature and city seemed to combine together to form a perfect harmony. As they slowly walked into the city, the first thing they noticed was all the little shops and stands. Kagome eagerly looked around, hoping to be able to buy some of those things later. Venders noticing Sesshoumaru quickly offered their products to the Demon Lord.

"Sango look at that." Kagome said excitedly as she pointed a few beautiful kimonos.

A blue one caught her attention. It was an azure blue and was decorated with some white feathers. She had never seen a more beautiful kimono. It was simple, but tasteful.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru's voice brought her out of her musings.

Looking behind her, she was embarrassed to see the others waiting for her a few feet away. Apparently she had stayed behind too long, admiring the kimono. With a blush, she quickly ran to catch up with the group. She never saw Sesshoumaru looking at the kimono as well.

"Sorry." She whispered, as she once again walked next to Sesshoumaru.

He didn't say anything as they kept on walking. They soon found themselves in what could be the center of the city. There weren't any markets here, but there were many shops, taverns, bathhouses and inns. Kagome's curious eyes took everything in. Sesshoumaru watched her out of the corner of his eyes, even though he couldn't see her face, he was sure it had the same look that Rin was sporting at the moment.

It was like stepping in another world, in Kagome's opinion. A small river ran along the path and they could see some fish youkai swimming in it. A piercing scream from above them made them look up and were met with various birds youkai flying above them. It was quite strange, but at the same time interesting to see so many various types of youkai in one place at the time. Kagome knew from experience that many different species of youkai couldn't stand one another. So it came like a shock to her, to see so many different species of youkai in the same place and from what she could see all of them got along quite well with one another.

"It's a neutral zone, no fighting, no bloodshed is allowed here." Sesshoumaru informed her, seeming to sense her question.

"Oh." Kagome said softly as she looked around.

She wasn't stupid though, she could see the looks that they were being given. Most of them were directed at Sango, Miroku and Rin and even Inuyasha. However the looks that they were given Kikyo were even worse. Pure hate was directed at the priestess, but she seemed not even one bit bothered by it. However Kagome knew better, she could sense Kikyo's power flaring slightly around her. She slowly stepped next to her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Kikyo." She whispered, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

Kikyo looked questioningly at her, before nodding her head a small smile on her lips. Kagome smiled brightly at her, even though the priestess couldn't see it.

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Meanwhile Mitsuko was quietly walking next to Sesshoumaru, her silver eyes taking everything in. The place was well-guarded to say the least. Guards were posted near every inch of the walls. It gave a sense of security, but also a sense of imprisonment.

"I don't like this place." She muttered, making Sesshoumaru smirk.

"You're not the only one." He confessed.

"So are we there yet?" Kagome asked running to catch up with the Demon Lord so that she was now walking next to him.

Ever since that kiss, she had been in a really good mood. She smiled even more and she felt for once in her life carefree.

"Patience." Sesshoumaru said quietly amusement dancing in his eyes, making Kagome pout.

Kagome suddenly came to a stop at what she saw next. There in front of her were humans, all of them in chains. Sesshoumaru had warned them that the youkai of Kambala did keep human slaves, but seeing it was a full other thing. She felt anger swell in her as one of the youkai, who ironically was a nasty looking hog youkai slapped a human woman.

"What is that?" Kagome pointed to the humans.

"Those are slaves, we here in Kambala are known for our slave-market." The cat youkai in front of them answered proudly and Kagome had the sudden urge to knock him on the head.

No person, human or not had the right to enslave another being. Glaring heatedly at the cat youkai she turned her gaze to where the slaves were. Just at the moment, the same nasty looking hog youkai grabbed a young girl by her arm and yanked her forwards, earning a painful cry from the little girl. Kagome couldn't take it anymore and stepped towards the hog youkai.

Sesshoumaru knew that she would be doing something like that, but he secretly hoped that she would behave. He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention at the moment. However he knew that Kagome wasn't one to stand and let a being abused. He watched with interest as Kagome stalked towards the youkai, he was secretly sorry of the hog youkai, who soon would be at the mercy of the raven-haired vixen.

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"Hey, stop that!" Kagome yelled, grabbing hold of the hog youkai's wrist.

The youkai was surprised that someone grabbed hold of his hand. Looking up he was met with a cloaked figure. He couldn't see this person's face; he could only see a pair of glowing blue eyes, but by the voice, he knew that it was a female.

"Let go wench, this disgusting human has to learn her lesson." The hog yelled angrily, trying to push Kagome away, but she only tightened her hold on his wrist.

"I said let her go!" Kagome growled her grip tightening and painfully crushing the youkai's wrist.

As her temper flared so did her power, making her cloak swirl around her. If you watched closely you could see small sparks flying around her. The cloak was made with strong magic and it would hide her scent, aura and powers, but it was clear that if she kept that up, the magic of the cloak would not work for much longer.

Kagome paid no attention to the cloak as she concentrated on the youkai in front of her. She could feel the youkai's fear escalate as he turned to gaze at her. The hog squealed painfully as he felt his wrist crack on the pressure. The youkai felt fear take over him as he looked at the cloak figure and watched only a pair of bright blue eyes looking at him with hints of red in it. He hissed as he felt his wrist being burned. Nevertheless youkai were very stubborn by nature.

"Bitch!" He growled as he tried to jerk his hand away.

And that did it, before the youkai could say anything more degrading to her; he was punched very hard by the angry Dark-Light, knocking him in a small stand that was behind him. Kagome huffed as she tried to regain her composure.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled, as she tried to go to her friend, but she was stopped by Miroku's hand on her shoulder, he silently motioned to the White-Light that had already stepped towards her sister.

A crowd had already gathered and was strangely looking at Kagome. Kagome ignored the stares as she walked towards the humans. She stopped in her tracks as the little girl flinched away from her.

"Hey, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." Kagome said softly as she slowly approached the girl; she pulled her cloak back so that only her face was visible.

She smiled warmly at her and that seemed to do trick as the girl finally stopped backing away from her and stayed still as Kagome looked her over. She had a nasty bruise on her wrist, where the youkai had grabbed her. Kagome's lips thinned in anger. Her fingers glowed green and she gently ran her fingers along the bruise, healing it instantly.

"There you go, as good as new." Kagome said releasing the little girl's wrist.

Mitsuko who had just reached Kagome's side, watched interested as Kagome healed the child. She couldn't help, but feel proud of her sister. However any thoughts that she had at the moment were pushed aside as she looked at the guards coming towards them. By the looks of it, Kagome had just broken the no fighting pact and apparently the guards weren't that happy.

Sighing she turned to look at Kagome that in the mean time had released all of the slaves and healed all of their wounds. Mitsuko's eyes followed some guards that were now heading for them.

"I suggest, you teleport these humans to a safer place, we have company." The White-Light said as her trusty bo staff appeared in her hand.

Kagome whirled around and saw the guards heading for them. She mentally cursed at herself, but knew that there was nothing she could do. She took a quick glance and noticed as Inuyasha and Sango tried to make their way towards them, but were unable seeing the large crowd that had gathered.

She whirled at the humans and felt bad as she watched their fearful expression, if they stayed here, the youkai would surely punish them and accuse them of rebelling. She would not allow any harm to come to them. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her powers. She pictured Kaede's village in her mind. The crowd backed away as a pillar of pure bright light seemed to shoot from the sky and engulf the human slaves.

The humans began screaming in panic, but as Kagome opened her eyes and smiled at them and they calmed down.

"Transport!" She yelled.

The pillar grew bright and everybody had to cover their eyes. When they opened their eyes, the humans were gone. Kagome looked almost longingly at where the humans were for a moment longer, before slipping back her cloak on and covering her face.

"They will be safe with Kaede." Kagome said happily as she turned around and walked to Mitsuko's side.

She sweat-dropped as she noticed all of the guards making their way towards them. A look at Sesshoumaru told her that she was on her own, besides she could clearly see the amusement in his eyes. Growling Kagome turned to regard her sister that was standing next to her. Guards were now surrounding them.

"Guess we're on our own." Mitsuko said her back pressed to Kagome's.

"It seems like it…just try not to hurt them too badly." Kagome said in a very amused voice.

"I will try." Mitsuko answered in a very amused voice.

It seemed that their kitsune nature had surfaced and they wanted to play. The guards charged full force at the two girls, who only seemed to vanish, only to appear and punch out one of the guards. Mitsuko moved with ease, between the youkai, almost as if she was dancing. She moved as fluid as water. She roundhouse kicked one of the guards and then did a hand-stand and twirled around hitting three guards at the same time. Using her bo staff she blocked the punch that were thrown at her.

"Wind." She whispered as she lifted her hand to her lips and blew.

A large dust of wind picked up and blew the guards away. Quickly whirling around, she blocked a sword with her staff. The staff glowed as it morphed into two separate pieces, which she used to easily take care of her opponent.

Kagome was livelier as she ducked and twirled. The hog youkai who was just getting up was knocked away as her feet connected with his jaw, effectively sending the little piggy flying into one of the guards. She moved side to side as she dodged some punches. Her hand glowed brightly as a beautiful large blue fan appeared in her hand. Using the fan she blocked the sword that was heading for her. Twisting her hand, she knocked the sword out of the guard's hands and caught it in her left hand. She grinned and she melted the sword in her hand.

The guards quickly took a step back, afraid of what she might do. The girls looked like blurs as they easily took down the guards. They were that fast. Kagome watched out of the corner of her eye as some of the guards were thrown back by the wind that Mitsuko had summoned.

"And I was hoping for a challenge." Kagome said tauntingly as she found herself with her back pressed against Mitsuko's back.

"As was I." Mitsuko said softly.

"Enough!" a strong voice was heard and the guards quickly stepped back, allowing one figure to emerge. Both girls looked questioningly at the newly arrived figure.

"What is the meaning of this?" the youkai asked growling as he turned to look at Mitsuko and Kagome.

"Sir, that female over there, freed the human slaves and allowed them to escape." One of the guards said as he pointed to Kagome.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. The youkai turned burning golden eyes on them. Neither of the girls was intimidated as they looked calmly at the youkai. The youkai in front of them had a very powerful aura. And Kagome had to admit that he looked quite yummy, except for the fact that he was looking at them like he was about to severely punish them.

He had long blood red hair that he held in a high ponytail on top of his head. His long hair cascaded in silky strands along his back. His skin was tanned very nicely to a golden color, while his eyes were a distinct color of gold and amber with specks of orange and red, resembling a burning flame. His red bangs were unruly and fell carelessly in his eyes. Kagome was shocked at how much he looked like Sesshoumaru. He had that same feminine beauty that Sesshoumaru possessed. He had high cheekbones, a strong and elegant jaw.

He had slightly narrowed eyes with long dark curly lashes, a small straight, but oh so manly nose and a pair of full pink kissable lips. He had a black sun-like symbol on his forehead and two navy blue stripes kissed both of his cheeks. He wore a black haori. The right shoulder had red flowers on it and his pants were dark red. The obi was yellow. Kagome wasn't sure what kind of youkai, he was.

"You will explain yourself right now or suffer the consequences of breaking Kambala's law." The youkia barked at them.

"Ciro, there's no need for that." Sesshoumaru said as he finally stepped towards the youkai.

The youkai quickly whirled towards Sesshoumaru, a small smile appearing on his face as he watched the Demon Lord of the West walk towards him.

"Sesshoumaru." He said warmly.

"I expect you to treat the Dark-Light and her sister with a little more respect." Sesshoumaru said sternly as he looked at the youkai.

The youkai's eyes widened as he turned to regard the two girls, before quickly whirling to look questioningly at Sesshoumaru.

"Are you certain…they look rather small and that youkai said that she was a female." He said pointing to Kagome.

Kagome had the sudden urge to hit the youkai. Was there a law against being small and what was wrong with her being a female? Didn't he know that females were just as strong as male. Mitsuko must have felt insulted as well, for Kagome caught the distinct sound of growling.

"Yes, I am certain and I would advise you not to insult them any further." Sesshoumaru answered in a monotone voice as he looked at the two girls.

"If you say so." Ciro said throwing a look at the two cloaked girls.

It was clear that he wasn't impressed and Kagome dared to say that he was even disappointed that they were females. They watched as the youkai made a dismissing movement with his hands, making the guards leave. Some of the guards shot them nasty glares, while others were glad to leave. He even dismissed the cat youkai, assuring him that he would lead them to the castle himself.

"We should be heading to the castle, the other Lords are anxious to meet them." Ciro said when everyone had left.

Sesshoumaru nodded his head and stepped next to the youkai as they slowly began walking again. Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha were behind Sesshoumaru and Ciro, while Mitsuko and Kagome were in the back with Shippou Rin and Jaken on Ah-UN.

"I don't like him." Mitsuko whispered to Kagome, making the older girl smile.

"You're not the only one." Kagome said as she followed Sesshoumaru with her gaze.

If the welcome in the castle will be similar to the one that this Ciro gave them, she was sure that this trip would turn out in a disaster. For one she wasn't sure if she would keep her mouth shut and secondly well let's just say she still had a bone to pick with these youkai for enslaving humans.

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They soon left the Center of the city and found themselves in a more quiet part of the city. It looked a lot like a park in Kagome's opinion, there was a beautiful stone path which they were walking on. And all around them were Sakura trees, which were in full bloom. Their delicious scent seemed to wrap around her, calming her. She had to admit that she rather enjoyed this place and wasn't in a hurry to get to the castle, which she could see in the distance.

Too soon in her opinion at least they found themselves in front of the large castle. It was tall and imposing and reminded Kagome of the castles that she had seen in fairy tale books. It was made of beautiful ivory and onyx colored stones. They came to stop in front of two large golden doors. Two guards stood guarding the door. Both of them were wolf youkai, Kagome noticed.

As soon as the two guards noticed Sesshoumaru and Ciro, they bowed respectfully to them.

"My Lords." Both of them said in unison as the pushed open the doors.

Without even acknowledging them, Sesshoumaru and Ciro walked in followed by the rest of the gang. The two guards looked disgustingly at the others as they followed Sesshoumaru and Ciro.

So much for friendly hospitality, Kagome thought wryly. She disliked this place more and more by the second. As soon as they stepped through the doors, they were greeted by a beautiful female youkai. She was absolutely stunning to say the least.

Her hair was the color of fresh grown grass and was slicked back and cascaded in straight sleek strands along her back. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of amethyst that seemed to draw you in. She had high cheekbones, a pair of full heart-shaped lips. Her skin was the color of porcelain and seemed to glow lightly.

Unlike Sesshoumaru and Ciro, she didn't have any stripes on her face. In the middle of her forehead she bore a simple mark that looked like a butterfly. The wings were violet, while the rest was blue. Her fingers just like any youkai sported claws, hers were purple.

Her clothes certainly caught Kagome's attention. There wasn't much there to say the least. She wore what looked like a bronze colored metal bikini top, while her shoulders were protected by pointy shoulder plates that were made of the same bronze metal. The shoulder plates were attached to the bikini-like top. A thick bronze choker covered her whole neck. The elegant armor like top was decorated with black intricate designs.

She complimented her top with a long black skirt that had slits on both sides that gave an ample view of her legs. Black Greek-like sandals that tied around her legs adorned her feet. Both of her arms sported an arm-bracelet that was made of the material as her top. Kagome was sure that if she were to walk like that around, showing of her stomach like that she would be considered a whore, but seeing that this female was a youkai, she could of course get away with dressing like that.

As she neared them Kagome spotted the pair of butterfly wings that sprouted out of her back. And the two blue butterfly antenna on her head. Her wings were black with hints of azure blue and dark purple. Looking her once again over, Kagome suddenly found herself quite plain compared to this female.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru." She drawled in a very seductive voice as her amethyst eyes looked appreciatively at Sesshoumaru.

Kagome felt an unfamiliar emotion take hold of her. She really didn't like the way the female was looking at Sesshoumaru.

"Lady Natsuko." Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice.

"No need for such formalities." Lady Natsuko said smiling warmly at Sesshoumaru.

Kagome felt her right eye twitch as the butterfly youkai wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's arm and began leading him along. Mitsuko must have picked up on Kagome's feelings, for she turned to look questioningly at her older sister. Kagome ignored her and watched the interaction between Sesshoumaru and Natsuko very closely.

"Natsuko, where are the other Lords?" Sesshoumaru asked untangling himself from the females grasp.

"Not all of the Lords have arrived yet…we could get you and you're companions settled in." she said looking behind her at Kagome and the others.

"Although I must say I'm not sure if humans are allowed in the castle." She said looking disdainfully at Miroku, Rin, Kikyo and Sango.

"I must be honest, Sesshoumaru, I would never have believed you would be traveling with humans, much less a hanyou." She said arrogantly.

"The hanyou that you're looking at is my half-brother and the humans are the ones that are fighting Naraku and therefore all of them deserve your respect." Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice as he glared at the butterfly youkai, surprising Inuyasha and the others for he actually seemed to have defended them.

"I see." She answered quietly, but everyone could see the distaste in her eyes.

"Aki, will show you to your rooms, a servant will come and retrieve you and your companions when the other Lords are here." She said coldly, before turning and walking away, clearly not happy with what Sesshoumaru had told her.

"You seemed to have angered her, Sesshoumaru." Ciro commented grinning.

"Hn."

"I will see you later." With that the red-headed youkai whirled around and walked away.

"Ciro, when will the other Lords arrive?" Sesshoumaru asked stopping him in his tracks.

"They should be arriving shortly." The fire-like youkai answered, before disappearing in the hallway.

"This way, please." An old human woman, told them as they followed her to their rooms.

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"So, Sango is there any way for you to share a room with me?" Miroku asked grinning mischievously as his hand slowly rubbed Sango's bottom, making the demon exterminator turn as red a cherry.

His only answer was a hard hit on the head with Hiroukaitsu. Sango muttered some very colorful things under her breath as she quietly followed the servant, leaving Miroku on the ground with a large lump on his head.

"Tell, me monk, will you ever truly learn?" Sesshoumaru asked in a bored tone, even though he found it rather amusing.

"Ah…I just love the female body too much and my sweet Sango has one of the most beautiful bodies that I have ever seen. It's just too hard to keep my hands off her." Miroku said rubbing his bump as he slowly stood up.

"She will castrate you one of these days, you stupid monk." Inuyasha muttered.

"Ah, Inu-chan…don't worry I will always love you." Miroku said in a sing-song voice as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the hanyou.

"Oh fucking no! Get away you fucking perverted monk!" Inuyasha yelled angrily, but still blushing as Miroku tried to hug him.

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything as Miroku and Inuyasha began arguing, but he had to admit that he understood what the monk meant. As he watched Kagome walk in front of him, he had the distinct urge to pull her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Her scent alone drove him crazy. He was brought out of his reverie as the human servant cleared her throat and motioned to the rooms.

"Kagome, do you think we could share a room together?" Kikyo asked shocking everyone as they came to stop in front of the rooms.

Kagome was taken back as well. First off all, she wasn't angry at Kikyo or anything, but she didn't want to share a room with her. She just didn't feel relaxed enough around her. Yet she decided not be rude, especially when she noticed the look in Kikyo's eyes. It seemed that the priestess had something to speak her about. Sighing mentally she placed a fake smile on her face and nodded her head. She cast Inuyasha a curious look, who looked helplessly at her. She quickly brushed it away.

"So, Sango did you change your mind?" Miroku asked as Kikyo entered the room.

"Houshi!" Sango growled.

"Come on pervert!" Inuyasha growled, grabbing Miroku by the scruff of his shirt and dragging him in the room, before Sango could really hurt him.

"My love, I will see you again. Promise me that you will wait for me!" Miroku exclaimed before Inuyasha shot the door with a resounding noise.

Sango was by now, clenching her hands at her sides, while her face was flushed. Kagome was laughing, while Kikyo smiled a small smile. Mitsuko sighed as she excused herself and stepped in her room, followed by Sango, who decided that the monk would live another day. Kikyo politely bowed her head, before stepping in the room, ushering Shippou and Rin inside, leaving Sesshoumaru and Kagome alone in the hallway.

To say it was awkward would have been an understatement. She bit her lips nervously as she tried to come up with something to say. However as much as she tried it seemed that her brain couldn't come up with something to say.

'It was easier when he was kissing me, no need for words.'

She blushed at her own thoughts. Sesshoumaru stood quietly observing her and almost smiled as he noticed her blush.

'What is she thinking?'

He smirked as he noticed her mumbling something under her breath. He could distinctly hear something like 'bad Kagome and kiss'. He smirked at this. She was always so amusing.

"I'll see you later, Kagome." Sesshoumaru whispered, turning around and walking to his room.

That seemed to knock her out of her reverie as she raised her face to look at Kagome. She stood there for a while, looking almost longingly at his figure, before walking into her room. Both Rin and Shippou decided to room with Kagome and Kikyo.

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Sango sat quietly on her bed as Mitsuko quietly took her cloak off. Sango wasn't sure how to begin a conversation with the enigmatic White-Light. Sango wasn't the most talkative of persons, but she just couldn't stand the silence that reigned between them. Sighing she lowered her weapon next to her. However she almost jumped when Mitsuko was the one to break the silence.

"Can I see your weapon?" she asked softly.

Sango was surprised that she actually spoke to her and quickly regained her bearing and handed her the large boomerang. Mitsuko's raised an eyebrow as she noticed how heavy it was.

"It's quite heavy. I'm impressed that you're able to handle something as heavy as this. You must have trained a lot." Mitsuko commented absentmindedly.

"Well, I'm a youkai exterminator." Sango blurted out, still blushing from the compliment.

"I've heard that term before, but I'm afraid I don't quite know the exact meaning. Would you care to explain it to me?" Mitsuko asked politely as she took a seat on the bed.

"Sure!" Sango said energetically.

Being the last of her village, she felt it was her duty to see that her traditions didn't just fae away and she truthfully loved to talk about her village and her people. Within seconds she was talking excitedly about her village and her people, describing everyone and everything, while Mitsuko listened quietly and once in a while asking questions. Sango of course gladly answered the questions and was happy that Mitsuko paid attention to her.

Sango loved her friends, but none of them really showed interest in her profession before. However Mitsuko was a whole other story, she seemed really interested as she listened intently with an almost child-like curiosity. Sango found herself without realizing it discussing different fighting styles and weapon. And was surprised how much Mitsuko knew about fighting and such.

Sango smiled as Mitsuko explained to her a very difficult technique. The White-Light seemed so passionate about her teachings and Sango couldn't help but compare her to Kagome who had the same passion when it came to teaching them something. Who knew maybe Mitsuko wasn't as cold as she looked. All things aside Sango felt that Mitsuko would become a great friend, hell she liked the girl already. Shaking out of her thoughts she listened intently as Mitsuko told her about her trainings.

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"Inuyasha, sit down, you'll end up making a hole in the floor if you keep pacing around like that." Miroku muttered irratedly as he tried to meditate.

"You don't get it, do you? Kagome and Kikyo are in one room together!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Lady Kagome will not harm lady Kikyo, just like Lady Kikyo will not harm Lady Kagome." Miroku stated simply as he opened one eye to look at Inuyasha.

"That's not what bothers me." Inuyasha said sighing as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Then what is the problem my little hanyou friend?" Miroku asked, curiously.

"I just don't know what Kikyo might tell Kagome. You see I'm planning to mate Kikyo very soon."

"You're afraid that Lady Kikyo might tell Lady Kagome this." Miroku stated calmly.

"Yes." Inuyasha whispered.

"Inuyasha, my friend, you might have not noticed this, but our futuristic miko seems to be moving on." Miroku said calmly, watching Inuyasha's reaction.

He almost smiled as he watched Inuyasha tense. Apparently the hanyou had also noticed this.

"What the fuck are you talking about monk!" Inuyasha yelled pushing himself off the wall and glaring down on Miroku, who was unaffected by his glare.

"You know very well, what I mean. I think that's also the reason, you don't like her spending so much time with your brother." Miroku challenged.

Inuyasha slammed his fist in the wall, beside Miroku's head. He growled angrily at the monk. The monk didn't even flinch as he looked seriously at Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, with all due respect my friend, you can't be selfish. Kagome deserves to move on. You chose Kikyo." Miroku said seriously, his usually cheerful violet eyes, narrowed and cold.

He had about enough about this. Kagome was like a sister to him and he was sick and tired of Inuyasha hurting Kagome. The girl, no woman deserved to move on. Inuyasha was just too selfish to notice this.

"She chose for me! She was the one that brought Kikyo back!" Inuyasha yelled, shocking Miroku a bit.

Inuyasha turned around, his back facing the monk. Miroku slowly stood up.

"That might be, but can you truly tell me that you would be able to love Kagome completely without the shadow of Kikyo haunting the both of you?" Miroku asked softly, feeling sorry for his friend.

"I…I don't know." Inuyasha chocked out as he turned to look at the monk.

"Let her go, Inuyasha. She loves you, but both you and I know that you will only bring her more pain with your indecision and your selfishness."

"It's not that easy Miroku. You don't know how much Kagome and I went through before you met us. How much she really means to me. She was the first one to cry for me." He answered softly, remembering the time that he was human and he was attacked by the spider youkai and he had almost died. (A/N Don't remember the name of that episode.)

"Then answer me this Inuyasha? Do you love Kikyo?" Miroku asked seriously as he looked into Inuyasha's amber eyes.

Inuyasha was taken back by the question, but he knew the answer. No matter what happened in the past, things between him and Kikyo would never change.

"Yes." He said softly, a small smile on his face.

"Then I tell you once again, let Kagome go. It's not fair for her and it's not fair for Kikyo." Miroku said placing a comforting hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"I know." Inuyasha whispered turning around and walking to the window and looking outside.

"Miroku, do you think that Sesshoumaru cares about Kagome?" Inuyasha asked without turning to look at the monk.

"I don't know, but I can see the difference in your half-brother. He's not as cold as he was before." Miroku answered truthfully.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He doesn't have the stick stuck in his ass anymore. He even defended us." Inuyasha said chuckling.

"Kagome will be a good influence on the Lord." Miroku said chuckling.

"Feh. That is if he can handle her. The wench has a too big of a mouth and not to mention she has a temper from hell." Inuyasha said scowling.

"You're right about that, my friend."

"Who knows maybe she can place a necklace on him too." Inuyasha said snickering, making Miroku chuckle.

Both of them imagined Sesshoumaru eating dirt and it was just plain hilarious to say the least. Inuyasha laughed, even though inside his heart was aching. He was going to let Kagome go, even if it hurt him.

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Shippou and Rin had dozed off after running around the room too long, leaving Kikyo and Kagome the only ones awake. Kagome bit her lips as she tried to push away the uncomfortable silence in the room. Kikyo sat quietly on a chair and seemed to be looking outside through the window, while Kagome was lying on the bed with Shippou and Rin on each side of her. She gently brushed a strand of hair out of Shippou's face. She couldn't help, but smile at her pup.

"Kagome." She looked up as Kikyo called her name.

Blue eyes met brown. She looked calmly over at Kikyo, even though inside she was quite nervous. She still didn't know why Kikyo wanted to talk to her and it innerved her.

"Do you still love Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked all of the sudden.

Kagome would have fallen off the bed, if she wasn't in the middle. She looked owlishly at Kikyo.

Talk about straight to the point, she thought sardonically.

'Let's see Kikyo, has Inuyasha fucked you already? Let's see how she would like that. Come on, she could at least try to dissimulate. Not be so damn forward.'

She shook her head. What the hell was wrong with her? She never used to think like that, before. Kikyo's soft voice brought her out of her reverie.

'Oh, yeah I still have to answer her.'

"What do you want me to tell you, Kikyo?" Kagome said sighing, but winced as her voice came sharper than she had expected.

She slowly sat up, while making sure not to disturb the kids. Kikyo seemed unfazed by her voice.

"The truth." She answered simply.

"Yes and no." Kagome answered truthfully, casting her gaze to the sheet.

"I don't want to say that it doesn't hurt to see you and him together. Keep in mind that he is and will always be my first love. And he's the first to break my heart. You could never comprehend how much it hurt to offer him my love over and over again, only for him to throw it back at me. It hurt immensely, especially when he compared me to you. Telling me that I would never be like you that I was useless."

She didn't know why she was telling Kikyo this, but it felt good to get it off her chest.

"I willed myself to be more like you to satisfy him, but I soon realized that I wasn't like you and that I would never be like you." She said seriously and looked to Kikyo in the eyes.

The priestess just nodded her head, motioning for Kagome to continue.

"It went so far that I did believe his words. I did believe that I was useless. I can't even count how many nights I went to bed crying and knowing very well that Inuyasha left to meet you. And even through all of this, I still loved him." She said raising her face to look at the ceiling her eyes, covered by her bangs.

"I'm sure other women would hate him and hate you for what he was doing, but I just couldn't. I was unable to hate the two of you and I guess that made it even more difficult. For hate would have made it easier." She whispered lowering her face and looking at Kikyo with a sad smile on her face.

Kikyo was taken back by the sincerity in her eyes. She could almost taste the pain that she had gone through.

"Why did you wish me back?" Kikyo asked.

"I would do anything to see Inuyasha happy and you Kikyo are his happiness." Kagome confessed.

"So you still love him?" Kikyo asked unsure.

"As a friend, yes…as a mate or lover no." Kagome said quietly, surprising the priestess.

"I…I seem to be falling for someone else and he's slowly healing my wounds. I don't understand it either, but when I'm with him everything seems to be for once okay and he makes me feel things that not even Inuyasha could invoke in me." Kagome said without thinking, a smile on her face.

"The Demon Lord." Kikyo said smiling knowingly, making Kagome's head snap up and look shocked at her.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I can see the way, he looks at you and I can see that he's slowly healing your wounds." She said calmly.

She smiled as she noticed the blush on Kagome's cheek. She wiped the smile off her face as she turned to look at Kagome seriously, but with great remorse in her eyes.

"I'm sorry for causing you so much pain and suffering, Kagome. I just hope that you can forgive me." Kikyo whispered guiltily as she lowered her face.

However she was shocked when she felt arms wrap around her. She tensed, but relaxed as Kagome's soft voice floated in her ear.

"I forgave you a long time ago, Kikyo. There's no need for apologies anymore. Just promise me that you will make Inuyasha very happy, that is all I asked." Kagome whispered in her ear.

"I promise and thank you for the second chance." Kikyo answered hugging Kagome back.

Whatever was wrong between the two women had finally been corrected in order for both of them to move on.

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Kagome was well in a really good mood. She had finally talked things over with Kikyo. However talking to Kikyo made her think about Sesshoumaru and her relationship. That's why she was now standing nervously in front of Sesshoumaru's bedroom doors. She hadn't seen him since they've gotten to the castle and it bothered her. For some reason or another, doubts began plaguing her mind. She was afraid that Sesshoumaru might be regretting ever kissing her. She knew very well that it was very stupid of her, but Inuyasha's betrayal if you could call it that, had taken a big toll on her self-esteem. She still felt rather plain to Sesshoumaru and therefore for him to kiss her was just too shocking for her.

Biting her lower-lip she raised her hand to knock on the door, but fear made her stop. What if he didn't want to see her or worse what if he told her that he did regret kissing her? She knew very well that if he did utter those words to her, her heart would not be able to handle it and the purity of the shikon around her neck would be put in great peril. It would be better to just let it go; maybe it would be better to stop things now that they were still not so serious. She mentally slapped herself. Not so serious? Yeah right, she couldn't lie to herself; she was falling for the Demon Lord.

Just as she was about to walk away, she heard his soft voice call her in. Yeah, of course he would have sensed her standing outside his doors.

'Demon senses, DUH! Great going, moron'

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the doors. Letting curious eyes wander over the place, she was slightly miffed to see that he had an even better room than her. She wasn't really complaining about her room, it was homey, but Sesshoumaru's was fit for a king. Once her curiosity was satisfied she turned to regard him. He was sitting calmly at a desk, reading a very strange looking book. Thoughts of her disturbing him, entered her mind and she unconsciously took a step backwards towards the door.

"Where are you going Kagome?" he asked, startling her.

At first he didn't even acknowledge her as he seemed very engrossed in the book, but now he was staring at her with piercing golden eyes. His face was set in his usual blank mask, but she could see the slight changes in his eyes.

"Oh, I didn't want to bother you, so I will return later." She managed to choke out while smiling weakly.

She quickly turned around with the intention to walk towards the door, but was stopped again by his voice calling out to her.

"You do not bother me, Kagome." He said softly, emphasizing her name.

She shivered. How could he have such an effect on her, by just calling her by her name? Other images entered her mind of him calling out her name and let's just say that those images made her turn as red a fresh plucked tomato.

"What are you thinking about little Dark-Light that has you blushing so much?" he asked appearing in front of her.

She let out a startled cry and backed away, in her haste to get away; she tripped and ended up falling on her butt in a very undignified position. Sesshoumaru actually chuckled at her as he looked down on her, making her look at him like he had just announced that he loved Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru did after not chuckle. She quickly brushed the thought aside.

"Not funny. And don't do that again, you startled me! And stop chuckling at me, it's not amusing!" Kagome snapped.

"As this Sesshoumaru had said before you do not bother me, you amuse me." He said smirking as he extended his hand to her.

Kagome scowled, but accepted his hand any way. Her anger vanished as she found herself with her face only inches away from Sesshoumaru's as he leaned his face towards her to look into her eyes. She felt her cheeks heat up and the picture of a certain kiss came to mind.

"What are you thinking about Kagome?" he whispered tauntingly, knowing very well what she was thinking about.

He had seen her looking rather hungrily at his lips and he couldn't stop the pride that he felt. Apparently he was affecting her just as much as she affected him.

"Kagome, it's not polite to stare." He taunted.

Her head quickly snapped up, before looking away sheepishly.

"Sesshoumaru, I…" she looked away, afraid to ask him whatever, was bothering her.

"What's bothering you, Kagome?" He asked raising her face to look at him.

"Do you regret kissing me?" she blurted out, before she lost her courage.

The look on his face was priceless, for once he looked completely shocked and taken back, but he quickly schooled his emotions. He stood there just looking at her, without any kind of emotions on his face. Kagome instantly felt her heart break, she could take anger, resentment, but she could not take this. The silence was killing her and she couldn't bear it. Without a word she spun around and moved quickly to the door. Just as her hand was about to close around the handle, she felt a presence behind her.

She tensed as Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her and brought her against his chest. She bit her lips as she tried to hold the tears at bay. Why was he doing this to her? Why was he playing with her?

"Do you regret kissing me?" he whispered softly in her ear, bringing her out of her musings.

"No." she blurted out without thinking; she mentally smacked herself.

She felt him tense at her answer, before relaxing and inhaling her scent. She unconsciously relaxed in his arms. No matter what she told herself, she always felt safe and wanted in his arms. Not even Inuyasha could give her that feeling.

"Good, because I don't regret kissing you either." He whispered in her ear, his hot breath caressing her skin and sending shivers down her spine.

Before she could react she was spun around and kissed fervently by the Demon Lord of the West. Her blue eyes widened like saucers at his unexpected assault, but she quickly relaxed as he expertly maneuvered his lips across hers. One thing could be said about Sesshoumaru, the demon sure knew how to kiss. A moan left her lips, giving him the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Her arms quickly came up and wrapped around his neck. She mentally laughed at their height difference. She was standing on her tiptoes, while he had to lean down.

Her thoughts left her mind as he playfully bit her lower-lip. She blushed as she heard herself mewl. She could feel his lips quirk up in a satisfied smirk and she was sure that he would never let her live this down. He wrapped one arm around her back, pulling her flushed against his, while his other hand slid sensually along her spine, occasionally gently massaging a tense muscle. It was amazing how he could so easily wreak havoc on her senses with just a mere kiss and touch.

The kiss was momentarily broken as he pushed her against the door behind them, trapping her there. He leisurely kissed her neck and delighted in her small moans as he nipped the skin where her pulse beat. Her pulse seemed to jump with every nip. The scent of her arousal seemed to spike as well, wrapping around him, drawing him in. He growled satisfied as she gently ran her hands through his hair, before slowly rubbing his ears.

Mine, mine, he kept chanting in his mind.

This shocked him and he reluctantly broke the kiss. Kagome looked questioningly at him. He just ran a hand along her cheek, delighting in the way, she closed her eyes, parting her lips and reveled in his touch. However he needed to think this through for the moment. It was a thing to kiss her, but for him to call her his? Could it be that he really wanted her as a mate. Reluctantly he let go of her, but not before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"You should get ready, the meeting will start shortly. I will meet you there." He said in a monotone voice.

She quickly nodded her head, her cheeks still flushed and her mouth swollen and a bit bruised from their kiss. Giving him one last look, she disappeared out of the door. He turned and walked towards the desk and closed the book.

He was satisfied with the way his scent clung to her. The youkai council would not hesitate to recognize who she belonged too. He mentally kicked himself, he was being possessive again. He didn't even know what Kagome felt for him, maybe she was just using him to get over Inuyasha. That thought sent a painful jolt through his heart. That's when he came to the conclusion.

Kami, help him, he was falling for the little vixen.

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"My lady, Akuma has escaped and he seemed to have released some of the condemned beasts as well!" an angel said barging into the throne room, where the Goddess of Heavens was sitting.

"What?" the Goddess asked for once panicked.

"Celestial feathers!" she yelled.

Four angels appeared in front of her. All of them kneeled and with their head lowered. All four of them wore golden armor to protect their upper-body, with black pants. Their faces were covered by golden helmets, leaving only their eyes visible. Black boots covered their feet and black fingerless gloves covered their hands. Their white wings were folded behind them.

"What is your wish, my lady?" one of them asked.

"Akuma has escaped, I need you to find him and bring him back here to imprison him immediately."

"My lady, Akuma you say?" The same angel asked.

"Yes, Akuma, he has to be caught." The Goddess of Heavens answered seriously. Her violet eyes showed her worry.

"Yukito, you and Tomeo will head out, while Hiroshi and I stay here to guard our lady." The same angel that spoke earlier said standing up.

The two angels nodded their heads as they made to walk away, but we're stopped by the Goddess of Heavens.

"Be careful, I don't know what Akuma is planning." She whispered looking at her trusty guard.

"Don't worry my lady, we will be back and will bring Akuma with us." With that the two angels spread their white wings and flew off.

"I have a bad feeling about this." The Goddess whispered, making one of the celestial feathers look questioningly at him.

"Is there something wrong my lady?" the angel asked concernedly.

"I'm concerned about Mitsuko, I don't think she fully understands the burden of her powers yet."

"She's the White-Light is she not?" the angel asked curiously.

"Yes and I'm afraid that Akuma will be drawn to her, because of that power." She murmured running a hand through her long golden hair.

"Tomeo and Yukito will stop him, before he can lay a hand on her." The angel answered confidently.

"I just hope you're right." The Goddess murmured; her concern not diminishing not even with the angel's assuring words.

'Mitsuko, please be safe.'

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"I have to admit, I'm quite nervous." Kagome confessed as they quietly made their way to the council room.

It's been about four hours at least since they've arrived at the castle, finally they have been summoned. It seemed that the other lords had finally arrived. They were currently following a servant. As they walked Kagome took the time to study her surroundings; everything was beautiful. Breathtaking paintings adorned the walls, most of them depicting beautiful landscapes, while others depicted a great battle.

Who knew that youkai could have such great taste, she thought amusedly. Her room was everything that she would have expected from such a place. Her walls were a pale blue color. Instead of a futon, she had a large western bed with pale green sheets and white pillows, just like Kikyo. The room was beyond large. There were various dark wood furniture in her room. All of them exquisitely carved. What caught her attention was the large mirror in her room. The oval-mirror was framed by a gold frame that was decorated with white pearls.

Her mind going back to Sango, Kagome was sad to know that Sango, Miroku, Kikyo and Inuyasha were not allowed to accompany them to see the council of youkai. Probably because of their human blood, she thought sourly. Speaking of human blood she would make sure to have a word with these youkai about having human slaves. She was brought out of her musings by her little sister's voice.

"You shouldn't; show them that you're nervous and they'll use that to their advantage." Mitsuko said softly.

"It's easier said than done." Kagome mumbled crossing her arms over her chest.

She had to admit it felt good to be out of those cloaks. They were a little too stuffy for her taste. Both of them decided to hide their wings for the time being, so basically they looked like normal youkai at the moment. The servant that was now leading them towards the youkai council had openly gaped at her and Mitsuko, making both of them slightly uncomfortable. And as they slowly made their way to their destination, she could feel eyes on them.

Mitsuko didn't let anyone see how much this bothered her, but thanks to that link that they shared, Kagome could pick up her uneasiness and slight annoyance.

"Kagome you're not intimidated or afraid of Sesshoumaru, so why would you be afraid of these other youkai?" Mitsuko turned to look at her older sister.

"I guess, you're right." Kagome said smiling after she thought about it for a moment.

She was being silly. Sesshoumaru was in a way the most intimidating youkai that she had ever encountered and honestly she wasn't afraid of him, so why would she be intimidated by these other youkai. Well, she couldn't be afraid of him, not after the kiss or better said kisses that they shared. She felt her cheeks heat up as she thought about their latest kiss. She would have never believed that the Demon Lord of the Western Lands would be such a good kisser.

'Damn, I wouldn't mind a repeat performance.'

She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts. Definitely Miroku was rubbing off on her.

'Stupid monk and his perverted ways, he's slowly corrupting my innocent mind.'

She mentally snorted at this. Her mind innocent? Yeah right! Okay, she wasn't a pervert like the monk who could probably help the writers of the Kama Sutra with some pointers, but she wasn't naïve either. She mentally smacked herself; this wasn't the time to think such thoughts.

'Bad Kagome.'

Mitsuko suddenly stopped in her tracks as a shiver went down her spine. She didn't know why, but she suddenly had a very bad feeling. Kagome must have noticed her uneasiness, for she stopped in her tracks and looked questioningly at her.

"Mitsuko, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…I'm okay." Mitsuko answered quickly, not wishing to upset her older sister.

Yet the feeling just wouldn't leave her. Her muscles tensed and she felt as if any moment something could happen. She took a deep breath as she tried to regain her composure.

'Heavens protect us, I have a really bad feeling.'

Kagome seemed satisfied with Mitsuko's answer as she turned to look in front of her. She noticed two large oak doors. By the looks of it, it was there where they were heading. As she predicted the servant stopped in front of the doors. After informing them that they were supposed to go in, she left.

"This is it." Kagome said smiling weakly as she threw a hopeful gaze at Mitsuko.

Taking one final breath, she threw open the doors. No time like the present, she thought amusedly.

She would have frozen in place if Mitsuko hadn't gently pushed her forward. There in front of her sat eight very powerful looking youkai. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt the youki in the room rise. These were no weak youkai, all of them possessed just as much power as Sesshoumaru possessed. And all eight pair of eyes was now on them as they stepped into the room.

The room itself was big and she was sure that it could hold Sesshoumaru in his true form. The room was completely white and the floor was made out of black stone. The walls held different paintings that caught Kagome's attention. One depicted a large white dog that Kagome had a hunch that was Sesshoumaru's father, another one showed a large cat youkai, while another one showed two dragon youkai in their full glory. All of the paintings were of youkai, but in their real form. The room reminded Kagome of those Western cathedrals or churches. It was that big.

And in the back of the room, there were eight thrones, all of them next to one another, showing equality of power. The thrones were at the moment occupied by eight youkai. As they slowly walked towards them Kagome, took the time to look over the youkai.

Scanning the crowd she was surprised to see that the only other female in the room was the butterfly youkai that they had met earlier. She was relieved when she saw Sesshoumaru sitting there; he was looking straight at her. Mitsuko must have sensed the enormous youki in the room as well, for she had tensed.

They slowly came to stop in front of the youkai council. To say that every youkai in the room was different was an understatement, while one was dark the other youkai was bright and colorful, it was hard to describe, each and every one of them.

Kagome's eyes almost flew out of their socket when she saw none other than Kouga sitting in one of the thrones. She mentally cursed. As Kouga's eyes met hers, she could see recognition in his eyes, but instead of throwing himself at her, like she would have expected, he just tipped his head in silent acknowledgement. It surprised her a lot, but she understood that the council must have some rules and they would probably not approve of Kouga jumping the Dark-Light.

"Good evening my ladies." The eldest youkai said as he gazed at them.

He looked older than most of the youkai in the room. In human years he had to be in his early thirties. On close inspection Kagome noticed that he was an eagle youkai. Both girls bowed their heads respectfully. Yet they could also feel the eyes on them.

"So these are the new powers that we've sensed, I must say I don't seem to sense anything special about them." Natsuko said in a bored tone as she looked lazily at the two girls.

Mitsuko must have found it an insult for she quickly raised her face and glared at the butterfly youkai. Her silver eyes glowed eerily and Kagome could sense her power flaring. The youkai in the room must have sensed it as well for they looked questioningly and curiously at the White-Light.

"With all due respect my lady, but you shouldn't underestimate anyone, in battle and in life it could prove to be a fatal mistake." Mitsuko said in a very soft voice, but that was commanding at the same time.

Sesshoumaru couldn't help, but smirk. The little White-Light had guts, by the way she was standing there, she didn't feel not even one bit intimidated by the youkai in the room. And for that he respected her.

"How dare you!" Natsuko growled, glaring at Mitsuko.

"I should throw you in the dungeons for disrespecting me." She snapped at Mitsuko, causing Kagome to growl warningly at her.

"Do not threaten my sister and besides she spoke only the truth." Kagome snapped, a growl leaving her lips, making all the youkai in the room turn to look at her.

She didn't like this youkai one bit already and now she dared to threaten her sister. Kagome knew that if things kept up this way, she would probably end up in a major fight with this butterfly. Even though she wouldn't mind to clip this butterfly's wings, she thought smirking. Sesshoumaru who observed closely had seen the dangerous glint in her eyes. He couldn't help, but smirk. The little vixen was up to something.

"No need for such harsh words my lady." The eldest looking youkai said as he tried to calm Kagome and Natsuko.

"If the ladies, want to fight, let them…I could use some entertainment." Ciro said casually as he yawned tiredly, he smirked as Kagome looked shocked at him.

So, they were females, but beautiful females nonetheless. And he had always liked beautiful females. And females juts seemed to love him and his good looks.

"I'm sure Natsuko is a bit jealous for Sesshoumaru traveling with such lovely females." A blue haired youkai said smiling mischievously.

As Kagome turned to look at him, she felt her breath catch in her throat. He was absolutely stunning. His eyes were mixed of dark blue with a golden rim and silver specks. Long navy blue hair with silver streaks was held in a long braid, while his bangs fell carelessly in his eyes. While Ciro reminded Kagome of fire, this youkai reminded her of a thunderstorm. Both of his cheeks were adorned by a black stripe that stood against his pale skin. A silver thunder-like symbol adorned his forehead. He was very beautiful.

He wore a black haori and a dark blue pair of pants, while his sash was silver and black boots covered his feet.

"Watch your mouth rainchild." Sesshoumaru growled, making the Lord chuckle.

"Your bark is worse than your bite, dog." The Lord shot back.

"Do you want to confirm that?" Sesshoumaru growled.

"Enough, both of you, I swear you two act like pups." The eagle youkai said sternly sending both youkai a stern glare.

"You always have to ruin the fun, old bird." Ciro said grinning, but stopped when the eagle youkai turned burning yellow eyes on him.

"Better shut up, firefly." Sesshoumaru muttered, darkly.

Ciro crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. From all the youkai he was the youngest and of course he was also the most mischievous of them all. Mitsuko resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This was the youkai council? They acted like pups.

"Before we continue, I think we should probably introduce ourselves." The youkai eagle said standing up.

Kagome already liked him. He seemed nice. Yet she also knew that appearances could be deceiving. He had long gray hair that he held in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He wore clothes similar to Sesshoumaru, in fact all of the males in the room did, even Kouga. All of them different colors of course, for example this youkai's top was white, while his pants were brown and his sash was dark green. What caught Kagome's attention were the yellow slitted eyes that looked at her. He had an orange feather-like symbol on his forehead, while a yellow stripe adorned both cheeks.

"I'm Sora, Lord of the Middle Lands." The eagle youkai said bowing his head respectfully.

"Arashi, Lord of the Northern Mountains." The blue haired youkai said bowing his head.

"Natsuko, Lady of the Southern Lands." The butterfly youkai said almost arrogantly.

"Kouga, Lord of the wolf-tribe." The wolf youkai said while throwing a cocky grin at the girls.

"Ciro Lord of the Eastern Lands, cousin to the Lord of the Western Lands." He said motioning Sesshoumaru.

"Tsukyoumaru, Lord of the Northern Lands." The bat youkai with pale lilac hair and violet eyes said as he looked at the two girls.

"It's an honor to meet all you." Kagome said.

"I'm Kagome, The Dark-Light." She said calmly as she bowed her head lightly.

"Mitsuko, the White-Light." Mitsuko slowly bowed her head.

Ciro let his gaze wander appreciatively over the two girls. He had to admit that both were beautiful, but he liked the dark-haired one. There seemed to be something about her. The first thing that caught his attention, were her eyes. They shined liked the most beautiful of sapphire and seemed to hold a light which beckoned him. However as he took a sniff of her scent, he was disappointed and to find Sesshoumaru's scent on her. He knew very well it was the Inu youkai's warning to others to stay away from the girl, but of course he didn't listen to warnings. He almost smirked as he noticed how uneasy his gaze was making the Dark-Light.

"Now with all due respect why were we summoned?" Kagome said straightening up; her face mirroring a blank mask, even though it was unnerving the way Ciro was looking at her.

"Does the name Naraku ring a bell? After all you and your 'friends' have been fighting him for a very long time." Natsuko said her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at Kagome.

"We do know of whom you speak of." Mitsuko said calmly, her silver eyes boring through Natsuko's.

She could sense the distaste that the female youkai held of Kagome and she was didn't put it past the youkai to do something to Kagome.

"I guess we have a lot to discuss." Kagome said sighing.

With that the discussion began.

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Mitsuko had always prided herself on patience, but one way or another the youkai council managed to test her limit. It's been about three hours since the meeting had begun and things weren't going that good. While Kagome did most of the talking, she took the time to observe each and everyone of the youkai in the room. From a very young age, she had been taught to read someone.

The youkai council was very powerful; she had first felt the power when they entered the room. And if it came down to it, every one of them could give them a hard time in battle, especially seeing that each one of them was so unique.

First there was Sora, Lord of the Middle Lands. The eagle youkai seemed to be one way or another, the head of the council. He was quiet and collected, but demanded authority. But from she had seen he had quite a temper when provoked. He looked nice, but she didn't trust him. He just like her studied them. She could see the way his eyes moved over them or when he just listened intently to what they had to say. Sora wasn't impulsive, no he thought everything true and that made him very dangerous in her opinion. And his eyes showed with knowledge that could very well be used against them.

On his left sat, Arashi, Lord of the Northern Mountains, the elemental youkai. He seemed to put her nerves on edge. His name meant 'storm' after all. And she had a feeling that he could be just like a storm if provoked. Judging by the way he spoke and acted, he was very confident of himself. Just like Sora, Arashi kept most of his power hidden, but by quickly analyzing and feeling his aura, she came to the conclusion that he possessed a lot of power. For some unknown reason, he kept looking straight at her; she of course didn't break his gaze. Looking away meant submission and she submitted to no one. He only smirked at her, puzzling her even more.

Next to Yuki sat, Natsuko, the butterfly youkai, Lady of the Southern Lands. Natsuko looked harmless with her ethereal beauty, but she wasn't fooled by it. The butterfly youkai might be even more dangerous than the Lords for she used her beauty to her advantage. Lady Natsuko seemed to especially not like Kagome and she had a hunch that it had something to do Sesshoumaru. Natsuko was very powerful as well. She was unable to detect what kind of power she possessed exactly, but knew that whatever it was it had to be very deadly, but also innocent looking. Judging by the way she spoke and acted, she always got what she wanted and in her opinion it seemed that the butterfly youkai wanted Sesshoumaru. The more she thought about it, the more she could understand the distaste for Kagome. Natsuko was jealous. She feared that Sesshoumaru might fancy Kagome, a notion that for some reason was more believable now that she seen how Sesshoumaru had acted towards Kagome and there was also the matter that Sesshoumaru's scent seemed to linger on Kagome. There was something definitely going on there. They had to be extra careful with this Lady.

Next to Natsuko, sat Kouga, wolf youkai and Lord of the wolf-tribe. Kouga was tall, as tall as Inuyasha, she calculated. He was tanned, with long dark brown hair that seemed almost black with arctic colored eyes. He held that boyish, yet oh so cocky look on his face. All in all he was quite handsome. She had to sigh as she recalled how much this youkai complained and argued with the others. He could be just categorized as Trouble. He was arrogant, cocky, stubborn, possessive, and childish, yet he had honor and was very courageous. He also had a good heart; he wanted to protect his people at any cost, something that amazed her. Quite a paradox he was. From what she sensed from Kouga, she could say that she would be able to trust him if the time came. He was someone that when you earned his trust and protection, he would die for you. He was powerful that much she could say, but he hadn't realized the full extent of his powers yet. He still had a lot to learn, but with a good guidance he could become a very good leader and a powerful one at that. There was also the fact that he kept shooting Kagome some glances.

On Sora's right side, sat Sesshoumaru. She had studied the Demon Lord for quite a time and she had to say that she still couldn't figure him out. He looked cold and heartless, but he cared for a human child and he protected her sister; that had to mean something. He was very powerful; she knew form experience fighting him. Just like Kouga, Sesshoumaru had honor. He had promised Kagome to protect her and she was sure that he would die, before failing. It was funny, but she trusted Sesshoumaru. Again she thought the way that Kagome had relaxed in Sesshoumaru's arms, her sister trusted the demon Lord, but there was also something else going there.

Her eyes widened suddenly as a thought stuck her. Could it be that Kagome cared for the Demon Lord and vice versa? Okay, so she wasn't an expert when it came to love or such emotions. Okay, so she knew absolutely nothing, but the concept wasn't that absurd. He had seen those lingering gazes that the two of them gave one another. It was the same as the looks Miroku gave Sango. She had heard Shippou say something about love. And she recalled Miroku's cryptic answer as she had observed Kagome and Sesshoumaru spar. The monk knew something that seemed to be escaping her. She mentally made a note to ask her sister and maybe even Miroku later. She hated to be kept in the dark and she was certain she was missing something.

Next to Sesshoumaru, sat Ciro, who was the Lord of the Eastern Lands. She scowled. She didn't like this arrogant youkai one bit. He felt that he was better than every one else and he thought that females were lower than males. Amazingly enough he was Sesshoumaru's cousin, from what she gathered he was a fire inu youkai. They were very rare to say the least, just like Sesshoumaru was a white inu youkai, which was rare as well. As she had closely studied this hothead, she came to the conclusion that he was a mix between Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru and Miroku, something that was extremely bad.

He was just as brash as the hanyou, by the way he spoke and acted. Yet he was just as powerful as Sesshoumaru and he was just as cunning as the Demon Lord of the West as well. No this firefly was quite smart. And there was that perverted glint that he had in his eyes that reminded Mitsuko of Miroku, however instead of calling him a pervert, she would call him seductive. He was the kind of male that could get any female that he wanted. A trait that she felt he shared with Arashi for some reason. And she was sure that any female who wasn't careful enough could be easily devoured by the fire of this firefly.

"Arrogant hothead." She growled.

She quickly shook her head and thought about the last member of the council. He was a mystery to her. His name Tsukyoumaru, Lord of the Northern Lands. The bat youkai was very calm and collected, even his voice was soft. Violet eyes had regarded her calmly as she had studied him. He looked very young, but at the same time she could see his held the wisdom of someone that had lived along time. He was as tall as Sesshoumaru with darkly tanned skin, violet eyes and lilac hair. Juts like Kouga he bore no markings. He was very powerful, she could tell. She had slowly probed his aura with hers and was surprised at how much power he possessed. He was quiet and calm, but she was sure that he wouldn't hesitate to kill if necessary. He had been the voice of reason, during the whole meeting, until said meeting went down the drain with Kagome and Natsuko fighting. He was smart and she knew that he was a great fighter by the build of his body. However she could also see such loneliness in his eyes that seemed to draw her in. She didn't know what it was, but she had been unable to look away as he had looked at her. There just was something about him, no being was supposed to have such sorrow and loneliness in his eyes, she thought sadly. He was quite a puzzle, one that even though of her better judgment she wanted to solve.

These were the seven youkai, that composed the youkai council, all seven of them very different in power, personality and appearance. And therefore she wouldn't let her guard down. As she had just mention the meeting had gone down the drain as Natsuko and Kagome began fighting. The thing was that some Natsuko saw them as weapons, that she ould and would use, something that irked the White-Light, but seemed to have infuriated Kagome. And that's how she found herself looking at Kagome and Natsuko glaring heatedly at one another.

Mitsuko sighed as another round of insults was exchanged. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. And to top it off none of the Lords made an attempt to stop the two bickering females, well Lord Sora had tried, but was silenced by the murderous glares that he received.

"It's your fault in the first place, if you hadn't shattered the jewel than none of us would have been in this mess! No wonder the hanyou would prefer the miko over you any day!" Natsuko hissed.

Kagome seemed to tense as she lowered her head so that her bangs were covering her eyes. Everybody looked up as an angry growl left Sesshoumaru lips. Mitsuko looked up, just in time to see Kagome lower her eyes and she suddenly had the urge to purify the youkai. She could sense the distress coming of her sister in waves.

"Watch your tongue, insect!" Sesshoumaru bit out coldly, but Natsuko paid no notice of Sesshoumaru's warning as she continued with her taunts.

"Yes, face it you're pathetic…all those lives lost are because of your fault; you who broke the jewel and unleashed all of this evil on the world."

"Shut up." Kagome whispered.

"What are you going to do now, cry?" Natsuko taunted a smirk on her lips.

"Enough, Natsuko!" Kouga barked standing up, he had just about enough.

"Enough!" Kagome yelled, raising her face and looking straight at Natsuko.

Her eyes had bled red, her blue orbs burning like the hottest flames. Her black wings sprouted out of her back. She suddenly raised her hand, with her palm facing the butterfly youkai and before anyone could react Natsuko was slammed into the wall, behind her. The lady had no time to get up as she found herself dangling by her throat with Kagome standing in front of her.

"You don't know what you speak of." She said in a very calm and deadly voice.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel guilty about breaking the jewel. However no amount of lamenting will change that fact. Nevertheless just because I broke the jewel it doesn't give you or any other youkai in here the right to judge, insult or order me around, little butterfly." She hissed the last part.

"Now a fair warning, you nor any of these youkai own me or my sister, therefore you do not control us. Try my patience one more time like this and I will not hesitate to purify you and sent you to the seven pits of hell." She growled, her hands glowing blue and burning Natsuko's neck.

Everyone froze in place as they felt the waves of power rolling off Kagome. Mitsuko tensed as her own power seemed to react to her sister's. Clutching her hands she tried to control the sparks around her hands. Kouga made to go towards Kagome, but stopped the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He had never been this intimidated, not even in Naraku's presence. The power that was rolling off Kagome was strong and intimidating.

Natsuko bit back a scream as she felt the purifying energy touch her skin. The other youkai wanted to stop whatever was happening, but were afraid as they watched the deadly purifying energy surrounding the Dark-Light. Natsuko let out a scream as her neck burned.

Even though Sesshoumaru felt that Natsuko did deserve what was happening to her, he knew it wouldn't be any good if Kagome purified one of the members of the council. Not afraid of the deadly energy he walked steadily towards Kagome. Once he reached her, he laid one of his hands on Kagome's shoulder. He was surprised as she instantly relaxed under his touch, but she still didn't let the youkai go.

"Kagome, let her go, she's not worth it." He bent down and whispered in her ear.

She closed her eyes as his hot breath danced along her skin. Without opening her eyes, she released Natsuko. The butterfly youkai felt in a heap on the floor, clutching her injured neck as she looked fearfully at Kagome. Kagome didn't even acknowledge her as she turned around to face Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshou, I want to rest." Kagome whispered slowly opening her eyes.

Innocent blue eyes looked at him, he was glad to see the red completely gone from her eyes, but something else caught his attention. He could the slight pain and guilt in her eyes and he mentally cursed Natsuko for her harsh words. Without caring what the other youkai thought he brought her in his arms in a comforting hug. She let out a relieved sigh and laid his head on his chest. To say that everyone in the room was shocked would have been an understatement.

Kouga stumbled back, while Ciro almost fell out of his chair. Sora stared knowingly at him, while Arashi looked bored at him. Tsukyoumaru offered him a small smile. The one that was the most shocked was Natsuko, who seemed unable to believe what she was seeing. Sesshoumaru sent her the most dangerous glare that he could muster. She was lucky to be the lady of the Southern Lands for if she was anyone else he would have killed her on the spot for hurting his Kagome.

He was shocked to say the least when he unconsciously referred to Kagome as his once again, but one look at the precious female in his arms and he knew that in a way she was his. Inuyasha had had his chance and he had thrown it away, something that he wouldn't do. She was his, the moment that she decided to challenge him. She was his when she kissed him. And he would be damned before anyone hurt someone that belonged to him.

"This meeting is over." He announced his eyes narrowed dangerously and daring anyone to object.

As expected no one did object, especially not after they noticed the specks of red in his eyes. It was one matter to defy Sesshoumaru, but it was a whole other matter defying the youkai when he was infuriated, not unless if you were planning an early grave. Without a word, he picked Kagome bridal style and turned around and walked out of the room.

Mitsuko looked one last time at the youkai council who were trying to compose themselves, before quickly following Sesshoumaru out of the room.

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Sesshoumaru was livid to say the least. How dared Natsuko say such things? He could kill the youkai at the spot. However he had to refrain himself. Natsuko had always been after him, but he had always denied her. He cursed himself for that one time weakness, were had had bedded the female, but that was because he had some urges that needed to taken care of. He had been young and drunk at the moment, it was supposed to mean nothing and he had made it clear. However she still didn't get it and she kept pursuing him. She would not stop, he was afraid. However he swore that he wouldn't allow her to hurt Kagome either. She would most likely kill her first.

"Where are you taking her?" Mitsuko asked softly as she fell into step with him.

"She needs to rest." He said calmly.

"I know, but where are you taking her?" she asked again.

She seemed to get her answer as he came to a stop in front of his room. He almost laughed as he noticed the expression on her face.

"She can't share a room with you." She snapped, for once losing her cold mask and a blush staining her cheeks.

"Why not?" He asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"It's not proper. What would the other Lords say?" she demanded.

"This Sesshoumaru doesn't care what the other Lords think." He almost growled at her.

"But…" she was caught off by Kagome's tired voice.

"Mitsuko, I will be okay, just get some rest." Kagome said tiredly.

Mitsuko sighed defeated, before turning around and walking away. Sesshoumaru smirked triumphantly as he walked inside his room. Once inside he slowly lowered her down on the bed. He wasn't sure about sharing a bed with her, so his option would be the chair at the desk, even though that wouldn't be so comfortable. A hand on his arm stopped him from walking away. Looking down he noticed her staring at him.

"Please don't leave me." She whispered.

He just couldn't deny her that request. Slowly he lay down on the bed next to her. True they had share a bed before, but she wasn't awake at the moment. He was taken back as she snuggled close to him. His arm instinctively shot out and wrapped around her, bringing her closer to him. He inhaled her sweet scent. He almost dozed off, when she spoke.

"Sesshoumaru, what she said is true. I'm responsible for all those deaths. If I hadn't shattered the jewel, nothing of this would be happening." She whispered quietly.

"You cannot blame yourself Kagome." He said quietly as he ran a hand through her hair.

"How cannot I not blame myself!" she asked almost angrily as she turned to look at him; he could see those unshed tears.

"No one controls fate, not even you. What was supposed to happen happened. The only thing you can do, is not give up and go on. And you're not responsible for those deaths, Naraku is. " He said grabbing her chin and pulling her face towards him.

Kagome made to argue, but he stopped her from saying anything else by giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Now go to sleep, Kagome." He said as he carefully tugged her head under his chin.

Seeming to give up, she yawned before closing her eyes. Within a few minutes, she was asleep, curled up against him. He let out a tired sigh. Today was just day one and so much has happened. He already dreaded what tomorrow would bring. One thing was certain; things wouldn't be that boring, not as long as the little vixen was around.

"Good night, Kagome." He whispered kissing her gently on the forehead, those were his last words, before he fell into a deep slumber, dreaming of a certain female in his arms.

TBC…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

That was a long chapter. I know a little boring, but don't worry the next will have a lot more action. So stay tuned.

P.S. review and let me know what you guys think.

Anime-Goddess-Sakura