Chapter 9-The Treaty

Disclaimed!

Recap: Tension grows in the Keep as a new power structure takes form. Onjou and Watarimono are far from friends. Meanwhile, the Wolves and Inu finally meet. What happens now? Read on!

"This is not going to be fun," Kagome muttered from her spot beside Inuyasha as they neared the appointed place. Watarimono paced behind her in his full form, and barked agreement. Jaken and Myouga rode with Rin on Ah-uhn.

"No shit," Inuyasha agreed. The terms were simple. Only the pack leaders, lead females, and packseconds would be at the meeting proper, along with a set number of servants and Guards under Onjou's command-and an equal number of wolves. They held to the deal, confident that even if an ambush was set up...they could break out of it. Nothing was said about being unarmed. Inuyasha made a face at the clan armor he'd had to don. Kagome wanted to wriggle in her own, but Sesshomaru ignored them as they approached the appointed place for the negotiations.

A small meadow near the old lynx border between both people's lands. Neutral, open, and already set up with a large partitioned area for the leaders to sit in and hide tents, the rarely used wolf banner of red and black flapping in the breeze. This was a formal meeting between leaders-something not done in many years, not since the days of Inutaisho. The party drew up as they saw their counterparts already waiting. They'd arrived this morning, also part of the agreement. The wolves, not the inu, would see to the encampment. Sesshomaru had to agree, since the last time one of his people had told them where to camp hadn't been...good for them.

So it was that Sesshomaru and his kin entered the roofless tent already set up and they finally met the new rulers of the Wolf Tribes. Karyuudo waited inside on a seat, and rose to greet them. Yari and Bara flanked him, all three frankly studying them as they got their first looks at the rulers of the Clan Inu.

Lord Sesshomaru, tall, well favored, strong. Hanyou were with him...strong ones. Bara was a bit bemused. She rather expected Kagome to be a bit more impressive, somehow. All she saw was a small, dog eared female with a bow. Yari saw a certain charm there-but Karyuudo didn't. Kouga ruined himself for this? A little hanyou wench? Feh.

'He's a short little bastard,' Inuyasha reflected. Karyuudo was shorter than he was. Yari looked tough enough, and the wench was a tall, hard eyed thing. They all looked ragier, less well fed than Kouga and his pack had. Hard people, like wolves after a bad winter. Survivors. Bows were exchanged, and ritual greetings.

"Lord Sesshomaru. Lord Inuyasha. And...Lady Kagome," Karyuudo said quietly.

"Lord Karyuudo. Lord Yari, and the Lady Bara," Sesshomaru replied as he sat on the seat opposite, his own taking position to either side of him. Yotogi had filled him in on everything he'd learned of the new leadership.

"Shall we get to the point?" Karyuudo asked mildly. A nod.

"I would prefer it," Sesshomaru agreed.

"We are owed, Inu Lord. Your packsister led my people into ambush as Dokueki bait-acting as your regent." Meaning in Sesshomaru's name, and he had ratified her decisions by not punishing her.

"Your former leader offered gross insult to her honor and to my pack and Clan. Feel fortunate that you still have a Tribe," Sesshomaru replied.

"If she had confined herself to that one-well enough, he earned it. She did not. Two innocent packs were destroyed because of that battle, and many warriors lost. He has paid, and so you must." At that, Sesshomaru was quiet. He had not expected such a quick concession. No bluster, no posturing. Karyuudo was...not the normal sort of wolf. Not another such as Kouga, as Yotogi had warned.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kagome said softly.

"Are you?" Bara asked sharply, interested. But Kagome met her gaze levelly.

"I don't like seeing people hurt. Some wolves...were once friends of mine," she said quietly, and Bara gave a small sniff in answer.

"What do you propose?" Sesshomaru asked. Karyuudo wanted to settle the matter, he could tell. He wanted something in particular. Their elders would have primed him, Sesshomaru knew it. Yari spoke now, and what he said startled even Sesshomaru.

"An alliance, Inu Lord. We want to form a permanent alliance with your kind and get some help with the Dokueki."

"You...wish to ally with us?" Sesshomaru looked nonplussed, and Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other in surprise.

"You've got to be kidding. You want us to defend you?" Inuyasha managed.

"Hardly," Bara snorted.

"No. Full Inu aid against the Dokueki and the loose youkai bands in a full pacting, and we in turn will assist should the Panthers or another danger tries to move into either of our territories. Fair, I think," Karyuudo answered softly, expression mild.

"Interesting," Sesshomaru allowed.

It actually wasn't all that much-even as Sesshomaru scowled inwardly. The notion itself had merit. It would give both sides a quiet border and help with the Panthers. They had reneged on the ending of the feud-and no word had come of what was going on there. It was also true that Kagome had managed to nearly destroy the wolves with the Dokueki. Lynx territory was becoming a wasteland as the snakes were running loose...but that could change. Would change eventually, and there was no telling what would take that land in turn.

"We also require recompense for the packs. That can be negotiated separately...and your assistance to hunt the Gorashi wherever it is." That was a sop to the elders, Karyuudo would admit it privately-as was what they demanded to seal the bargain, not trusting the dogs. Neither did he, really. Karyuudo didn't know these Inu.

"Kouga's blades...are a Tribe treasure of yours. He told me that. So, he still has them," Kagome said slowly. A nod from Yari.

"You would trust us?" Sesshomaru inquired.

"Not really. But I see little option," Karyuudo told them.

"I see," Sesshomaru glanced at Kagome and Inuyasha-so, it wasn't a bad idea the wolf offered. They agreed, he could tell.

"How would you want to bind this? You've said you don't trust us," Inuyasha asked suspiciously, and Karyuudo didn't look happy. No. He did not.

"In the traditional manner, of course." A pause as Bara went still. Inuyasha knew what that meant, as did his brother. Kagome, though...was still in the dark.

"How?" she asked, and Bara frowned, unsure if she was joking.

"My daughter, Princess Hisui. Her mating to you will bind the agreement, Lord Sesshomaru. She is over a century old, and suitable as a Clan Lord's spouse and Lady," Karyuudo said grimly.

Kagome's Jaw dropped and her eyes went to Sesshomaru.

He looked impassive as ever. Granted, a Princess was a suitable mate, particularly one who would bring an alliance as her dowry. Wolves, though! Uncouth, barbaric scavengers. Beneath them. Not Tohan...beautiful and powerful, but a mere maiden of only a few decades. A wolf. None of this showed, though-nor did the trickle of fear that slid down his spine. Rin. What about his daughter?

"I will consider," he answered calmly, but Kagome had objections boiling to the surface. Sesshomaru shouldn't have to pay for her actions! No!

"Very well. We will meet here again at noon. I will have you answer then," Karyuudo answered. The meeting ended then, and both sides withdrew.

"No! You can't do it! It's wrong. There has to be another way!" Kagome said fiercely. They had retired to the tents, and Sesshomaru sat with a frown as Inuyasha listened to her go off. She was pretty much doing all the arguing needed, really.

"You know the packs will all view it as a mistake! They'll never accept her as Lead Female! You rejected Kouga when he asked for me! Besides, you don't even know her. What about Toha-"

"Enough!" he snapped at last, and Kagome looked mutinous. "The baka is mated, packsister. Nor, I suspect, would a hanyou be suitable," he said flatly.

At that, there was an involuntary growl, and she looked embarrassed as she covered her mouth. Inuyasha had to grin. Jealous wench. Sesshomaru would privately agree she was correct, such a choice could cost him much support and scandalize the packs...and yes, it would be painful on a personal level. But something stirred in his mind when she raged. He let it slowly come to the surface, not forcing it.

"Go, Kagome. Rest. I have heard you, now leave us," Sesshomaru ordered, and she looked at Inuyasha, sitting on the mats and listening.

"You talk some sense into him, then!" she groused to Inuyasha, and left in a huff. The hanyou wasn't sure who was making more sense here, actually.

"Eh-you'll marry her?" Inuyasha asked finally.

"If I must. The panthers are still in play, and someone will claim the former lynx lands. We...may require a quiet border to deal with them," Sesshomaru looked unhappy, and his younger brother couldn't blame him. He'd chosen his bride for love. It was a luxury few nobles got. He said as much.

"Hmp. Your match was also political. Do not think otherwise," he replied gravely.

"Some politics," Inuyasha shot back, and Sesshomaru looked almost amused.

"Was it not?" he asked, and watched Inuyasha squirm. It was true.

"Sneaky bastard," he muttered. There was a smirk.

"The arrangement was fair. As this one is." His marital status had been used before by Father. In truth, Sesshomaru was a prime catch. Father...indeed. The fleeting thought of before came to mind, and with it-yes.

"She's right. You did say no to Kouga. That old bitch Atae agreed-they won't like it."

"This Hisui will never rule them. Kagome shall remain such, and was already pledged in any case. He was unsuitable. I will mate to this wolf...but she will not be Lady of the Clan, save in name only. That alone will constrain the packs," a small frown crossed Sesshomaru's face as he spoke.

"How the hell are you pulling that off?" Inuyasha asked.

"Send in Jaken as you go," his brother said, lying back to regard the ceiling. He didn't like this. But...he saw little option.

"Feh. You pissed her off, you know. She'll never go for this-and doesn't she have the right to reject this girl? I think it's something like that," his younger brother warned, rising.

"She does. We shall see-the beads, after all...are on her neck." Inuyasha froze, wide-eyed at the strange expression on Sesshomaru's face...and decided he didn't want to know why he looked like that. Kagome had been much angrier than he'd have expected as well. Besides, why the hell had she mentioned the panther bitch?

When Jaken arrived, he had a lump on his head. Again. Since coming back from the well-Inuyasha had taken to smacking him regularly and had pummeled him. Oddly...neither of them said why. Sesshomaru hadn't decided to find out. He would know eventually.

"Jaken. You will do this," he said calmly, and explained. When he was done, the imp looked even more admiring than usual.

"Truly, Lord, you are most cunning and skilled!" he all but sang the words.

"Hmp." Was all Sesshomaru said.

"If he rejects our little one, Bara, or in any way mistreats her-I will kill him. I have said as much," Karyuudo reminded his beloved as he waited in their own tent. She paced restlessly, scowling. Hisui was home still for her safety, so if they agreed the betrothal ceremony would take place by proxy. Should they agree to the larger issues, the smaller would be simple enough to negotiate.

It was the lynchpin of the alliance that angered her now.

"A dog! A mere one armed hound for my little girl! Married into the family of that Kagome woman! Kin to hanyou! Hanyou!! Running with those-those...creatures! I cannot believe you permitted the elders to demand it! Idiot!! You are an idiot!! You ignored me when I complained of your becoming Lord, when we had to leave our home-and now she pays for it as well! See again what you've done, Karyuudo!" she snapped, and he sighed. It was far from the first time she'd said it.

"Hisui will do as she is asked. They do not trust them, and the other packs agreed this was the wisest method to seal the bargain. We knew she would mate one day, my love. Now...she will bring the Tribe a strong alliance when she does. There is no shame in union to the son and heir of Inutaisho."

"Even one armed, he's powerful, Bara. Hanyou or not, those two he runs with are strong. The little cub'll be well seen to as well-Inu live soft," Yari commented.

"I hate this," she said bitterly, sinking to the mat.

"I don't like it. But it is best," Karyuudo said calmly.

"So you say!" Bara snarled.

"I do. We have more than our pack to see to now."

"Oh? Seems to me that-"

"Bara. I cannot do more. I will do all I can to safeguard her. In any case..." Karyuudo frowned, "the Kagome woman would have become our Lord's mate if Kouga had succeeded, and you made no complaint when you heard of it," he commented.

"She hadn't left our people to the Dokueki then!"

"No. She was a mortal when he first broached it though, wasn't she?" Yari commented.

"Apparently," Karyuudo answered. The Jewel. It was said that was what had caused her change. He wondered if that were true, and how it had happened.

"I agree to your terms. We shall ally, and I will accept the Princess Hisui as my honored mate to bind our peoples," Sesshomaru said gravely when the groups met again. This time, though-Jaken had come in as well. It was noted and frowned at.

"Very well," Karyuudo nodded, and Bara sighed. She was too temperamental to keep herself calm and serene as a great Lady should. He let them absorb that...and dropped the bombshell with exquisite timing.

"But not as ruing female of my pack, or formal consort. That is impossible."

There was stunned silence. Karyuudo went very, very calm. Bara reddened with fury. Marriage, without any of the customary prerequisites. Titles, but empty ones. Position, but no power alongside it. A toy, to their eyes.

"You...what...?" her father asked very calmly, radiating enough anger to make Inuyasha's hand drift for his sword as Kagome tensed.

"I cannot. Our customs forbid it," Sesshomaru explained.

"What custom? Inu, you dare-" Bara snarled.

"Regrettably, I must follow Clan precedent," he answered, and he had the pleasure of seeing the expression on everyone's faces curdle at once.

"What precedent? A hanyou stands as such now," Bara sneered, and Kagome's eyes narrowed at the slam.

"An Inu hanyou, thank you," she shot back, ears twitching.

"Jaken. Explain," Sesshomaru ordered. The Imp scuttled forward.

"Yes, Lord! It is so. Only an Inu-or Inu hanyou," he glanced at Kagome, "female may be such. Any other is only the wife of the Clan Lord, and the most fortunate of females, to be sure! My Lord's father, the great Lord Inutaisho, decreed it long ago. It was done in his union with his second Lady, the mere mortal Princess Izayoi. Any acknowledged children may inherit as well. As you can see," he gestured, "my Lord's young half-brother is his current heir by right of just such a blood claim. It is Clan custom, and cannot be changed," Jaken all but radiated truthfulness.

"Mere...mortal?" it came out softly between Inuyasha's fangs, and Jaken gulped, putting Sesshomaru between them carefully and peering over in fear.

"I see," Karyuudo said slowly, and regained his calm. A sensible custom, he supposed...Inu. Domestics. Who had a known taste for mortal women as Kouga had. Such a safeguard would ensure only a strong, suitable female would rise to such preeminence. It did make sense-but he didn't like it.

"Mated-but not in charge," Bara scowled.

"Yes," Sesshomaru answered.

Hm. What choice did they have? So, it was agreed, and over the course of the day, details were seen to. Kagome scowled a lot-but Inuyasha looked meaningfully at her beads. He'd say it, she knew it. He understood, a son of both mortal and youkai nobles, he'd been a child, yes, but he dimly remembered seeing such things with them, and afterwards on his wanderings. It happened. Alliances were often forged with such matches. This wasn't the time to let Kagome indulge herself in her problems with it.

She did however produce a jeweled bracelet to be given to the girl as a token of her pack leader's intent. The ceremony of betrothal was done, Sesshomaru swearing to take Hisui as his honored bride and to ally to them. Karyuudo didn't look thrilled as he and Bara, as her parents, swore in her stead that she would be his mate and to keep the agreement in turn. The wedding would happen in two weeks-barely long enough to allow for arranging the ceremony. It had been centuries since a Lord of the Western Inu formally took a mate and proper precedent had to be seen to, the Keep readied. Two centuries, actually.

Sesshomaru considered the fact that he had not been present at the last such occasion. When his father had dared take a wife in a mortal ceremony. Izayoi. He'd absented himself in protest, offered insult-and steadfastly refused to consider her his stepmother. But Father would have seen the sense in this union and approved of Kagome's handling of things. It would be in the best interests of the Clan. He contented himself with that.

Afterwards, a meal was eaten and the mood was cautiously polite. Inu and Wolf...there was a lot of blood between them, but they managed by keeping to business. So the girl's travel details were worked out. Jaken was going with the wolves as Sesshomaru's emissary. He would see to overseeing the girl's personal dowry and transport and instruct her on Inu custom. Normally it would be Kagome's task-but for obvious reasons, that was a bad idea. Instead he detailed her to ready the Keep. Hisui's father would escort the girl there with suitable guards and a train. They would be met at the border by Inuyasha, as closest male kin, to bring her safely to her intended.

Headed home afterwards...everyone wondered how this would go.

Author's notes-Yep. Sesshomaru is marrying Hisui. The open partition thing they met in is seen frequently in period Japanese movies, I just could not find the correct term. This chapter is based in part on the fact that marriage alliances are a common feature throughout history, including Feudal Japan. The Wolves certainly have no reason to trust the Inu's word, after all. The custom of only an Inu or Inu-hanyou being Lead Female seems logical to have as most youkai in the world of 'Inuyasha' would not accept a mortal over them. That only acknowledged children can inherit is a reference all the way back to 'WADC', remember, Sesshomaru claimed that their father never formally stated Inuyasha was his son before he died in this story. He used that to disinherit him and avoid having any obligation to him until the events surrounding Souunga in my alternate timeline. It does come up again later! In any case-Thanks for Reading!-Namiyo