Chapter 2:
Responsibility
"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."
― Lou Holtz
Prompt: Burn with Me by Amaranthe
Hopping quickly from one branch to the next, Ryura made his way up to the very top of the Sacred Tree while being careful not to jostle the sleeping woman in his arms. False dawn had come and gone, and now the true dawn was just over the horizon. Ryura had to hurry, and so he sped up his pace, leaping higher and higher into the tree with each branch he jumped from.
When he was at the top Ryura found a strong branch to perch on that gave him a good view of the sky, then lowered himself to sit with his back against the trunk of the tree. He shifted Kagome until her back was against his chest, looping his arms around her waist to keep the small Miko in place. The Dragon gave a soft, content smile and turned his gaze to the still dark sky, waiting.
He sat unmoving until just along the horizon the sun began to rise, casting brilliant hues of gold, orange, red, and pink that broke through the night's darkness. The stars began to blink out of existence, their light unable to be seen in the dazzling fire that was the sun.
Kagome woke when the first light hit her eyes. Her brow furrowed, not aware of what exactly what was going on, and she groaned softly before opening her eyes. The first thing her blue eyes saw was the sunrise that was painting the sky with its brilliance. Kagome's breath caught in her throat.
This was not where she fell asleep the night before.
Raising a hand to shield her eyes, Kagome couldn't tear her gaze away from what was lying in front of her. Shadows that were cast over the land were slowly disappearing and color was returned to the world.
"You see this, Kagome?" Ryura asked from behind her.
Kagome jumped slightly, startled at not having realized Ryura was this close to her – she had been that absorbed at watching the sun rise. The Miko craned her head back to look at Ryura, who smiled faintly when her eyes landed on him. He raised a hand and pointed with a clawed finger in the direction the sun was rising; the East.
"This, what you're looking at right now, is mine. All of it," he said softly. "This was how mine and Sesshoumaru's ancestors decided where our borders should be. They waited for the sun to rise. Whatever the light first touched roughly around this time in the morning belonged to the House of Storms. I know it sounds odd, but I guess our ancestors were poetic." Ryura chuckled then as his hand lowered to settle on Kagome's stomach once more.
"I think it's nice," Kagome admitted with a soft smile as she continued to look out over the land. "Why didn't they take the name House of the Sun instead of House of Storms? The sun seems to be a big deal to your lands."
"That's because we were blessed by Susanowo, just as Sesshoumaru's maternal family was blessed by Tsukiyomi," Ryura explained. "Youkai are not creatures foreign to the Kami. We were created by them – it's a reason why they have taken Touga for one of their own. We needed a proper Deity that would be the patron over all youkai, instead of having various patrons who hated each other."
Kagome blinked. "But our energies..."
Ryura interrupted her by quietly saying, "Are meant to oppose the other to keep the balance of the world. Humans are the Kami's children, just as youkai are. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, each have their own desires and needs – the Kami gave the power to rule over youkai to only a select line of humans to keep that balance, to make sure youkai would not rule solely over the world."
"Even though where I was born, youkai are considered myths?" Kagome asked.
"My future self is living proof that youkai are not gone," Ryura murmured into her hair. "Do you know what my future self did?"
Kagome nodded slowly. "You were an architect – someone who designs buildings ranging from homes to the large skyscrapers you saw. You were still also the Eastern Lord, too."
"There you go. We still serve our purpose, then."
"Your purpose?" Kagome asked as she looked to him. Ryura nodded, "Youkai were created by the Kami to keep an internal balance in nature. It's because of us the world doesn't destroy human settlements with natural disasters. We control those elements. I control lightning and wind. Tsuyoshi controls water. Sesshoumaru controls poison and the very base of everything; pure, raw energy. Each of those things can be deadly to humans, ne?"
"But natural disasters still happen," Kagome retorted.
"They do, because we allow them. We work with the cycle of nature, not against it. Nature is beautiful and gentle, but at the same time it can be cruel and a force to reckon with, just like youkai," Ryura admitted. "But we keep nature from getting out of hand, and at the same time, we keep humans from taking over too much at once – surely you've noticed how destructive humans can be by now. I will admit, the state of the world in your future is chaotic, showing how few Daiyoukai are left. Something will break, eventually."
"I wonder what?" Kagome asked thoughtfully. She didn't say anything about the jab against her race, that they were destructive, because it was true.
Kagome felt Ryura shrug. "We'll have to wait and see," he said.
"Either way, what you are looking at right now is mine. It will be yours one day too, if we become mates," Ryura said with a smirk.
Kagome began to stutter and mumble because of what he said, along with what the future version of Ryura told her before he pushed her into the well. It wasn't exactly something Kagome could tell Ryura, either. It was considered dangerous for someone to learn of their future, and Kagome didn't want to test that theory to see if it was right. Kagome assumed she was immune to it, because Kaguya had once told her she stood outside the effects of time. But, even then, the future Ryura hadn't given Kagome solid "proof" that she was his mate. He was kind of vague, after all.
"Ah..." Ryura said as his head turned to look down. "Someone is here to see you."
"Huh?" Kagome blurted out, only having caught the tail end of what he said.
Ryura chuckled and instead of answering her, he rose to his feet and jumped. Kagome squealed out of surprise and turned in his arms to wrap hers around Ryura's neck, her eyes shutting tightly as she felt her stomach bottom out because of how rapidly they were approaching the ground. The landing was softer than Kagome was expecting, and she exhaled a breath she had been holding.
"Kagome!" Shippou called out as Ryura landed. "You're still here!"
Kagome gathered her bearings just in time for Shippou to barrel into her, knocking her off-balance and taking them both down to the ground. The Miko laughed and hugged Shippou tightly.
"Where did you think I went, huh?" she asked while ruffling Shippou's hair.
Shippou looked up at her and gave a sheepish grin. "I didn't know if you guys had left already or not."
"We will be leaving shortly," Tsuyoshi informed as he strapped on his dark steel breastplate, then gave Shippou a smile in greeting when the Kitsune looked at him.
"Indeed," Ryura said in agreement. He grinned at the sight of Kagome on the ground with Shippou, knowing the kit was probably going to end up visiting sooner than later. After all, Shippou's "mother" had returned, and Ryura was pretty sure if it weren't for Shippou's exams, the kit would be coming with them to the East.
As the three spoke, Ryura moved around the wide trunk of the Sacred Tree and from under one of its large roots, he pulled out his armor and his swords. As he began to put the armor on his body, Ryura listened to the conversation happening on the other side of the tree.
"What're you gonna have to do as the Miko of his House, Kagome?" Shippou asked.
"I'm... I don't know," Kagome said with a confused frown as she looked over to Tsuyoshi.
The water Dragon looked up from the armor he was placing on his arm, feeling Kagome and Shippou staring at him. He blinked once, then twice, and his mouth worked as if he wanted to say something, but didn't know what. "I'm not entirely for sure, either. It is very rare for a Miko to join a noble youkai house," he eventually said.
"Miko-y stuff?" Shippou suggested, and Kagome and Tsuyoshi laughed.
"Possibly, yes," Tsuyoshi said with a grin on his face. "If we cannot figure it out, I am sure together Lord Ryura and I could make something up."
"That sounds promising," Kagome said blandly. She rolled Shippou off of her and then rose into a sitting position beside the young Kitsune. "Are you going to come with us, Shippou?" she asked.
"I would, but I can't," Shippou said with a pout. "I have tests to take today."
"Really? Did you study?" Kagome asked as she poked him lightly on the shoulder.
Shippou looked at Kagome from the corners of his eyes and his face split with a grin. He reached into his haori and pulled out a leaf, only to place it on his head. With a soft explosion of fog, Shippou's form changed. Sitting beside Kagome now was an identical copy of Ryura, swords and all. Even his grin had morphed into one that matched Ryura's perfectly.
Holding out his hand, Shippou gathered a ball of lightning in his palm and bounced it up and down as it was truly a child's toy. "What do you think?" he asked with Ryura's voice.
Kagome laughed loudly, covering a hand with her mouth as she pointed at Shippou in Ryura's form. "That's amazing, but what human are you going to fool with that?"
Shippou was suddenly nose to nose with Kagome with a fangy smirk on his face. The lightning disappeared from his hand and he rose the clawed appendage to brush against Kagome's face. The Miko's heart thumped hard against her ribs and she swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in her throat.
A sound of a pop followed by the fluttering of paper was heard and Shippou's smirk widened. He looked up, holding out the same hand that had touched Kagome to snatch the thin piece of parchment out of the air. His "borrowed" red eyes glanced at it, and the Kitsune cackled.
"Awesome! I went up six ranks! Thanks, Kagome!"
Tsuyoshi lost it and began to laugh hysterically. His arms wrapped around his middle and he fell over, his eyes shut tightly. "D-do it a-again!" Tsuyoshi got out between bouts of laughter.
"No!" Kagome shrieked and covered up her face in embarrassment. "It's not funny, Tsuyoshi!"
"Yes it is!" the water Dragon retorted, then his laughter was renewed.
The real Ryura was foaming angry, his face twitching, and he was standing right behind his copy. He raised a fist and smacked Shippou over the head with his knuckles. "Do not make me regret helping you, Kitsune!" he rumbled.
Shippou's transformation disappeared with a cloud of fog and he wobbled backwards until he fell over, landing on his back with a dull thunk. "K-Kagome! He hit me!"
"I think you deserved it that time, Shippou!" Kagome exclaimed.
Across from them Tsuyoshi laughed harder and started to roll around. This was too much! He couldn't help it!
Shippou had been sent off to take his tests nursing a large bump on his head. He had promised pay back, and it had been directed at Tsuyoshi, since he had laughed at Shippou until the water Dragon had tears of mirth running down his face.
As they flew further into the heart of the Eastern Territory, now and then Tsuyoshi would veer off to the side because he started laughing again. It was such an undignified state for Tsuyoshi, but he, like before, couldn't help it. The entire event just struck a nerve in him and he would be possibly laughing over it for years now when he saw Shippou.
"I'm glad he's enjoying himself," Kagome grumbled as she watched Tsuyoshi veer off again, tumbling through the air with no control at all in where he was going.
Ryura's chest rumbled with a chuckle. "Don't worry, he'll sober up by the time we land," he said. Knowing Tsuyoshi as well as he did, Ryura figured he would be the vision of professionalism as soon as his feet touched the ground.
He wasn't too far off, either. Ryura and Tsuyoshi touched down right in front of the gate that lead to the ancestral house of Ryura's family, and almost instantly Tsuyoshi's face took on an appearance of stoicism. If one were to look in Tsuyoshi's eyes, however, they would have seen laughter dancing through the ice-blue orbs.
Ryura sat Kagome on her feet and watched as the Miko bounced up and down, trying to move after being stationary for so long. Tsuyoshi moved to stand close to Ryura and Kagome, and once Kagome stopped bouncing around like a hyperactive rabbit, both of the Dragon Daiyoukai settled a hand on either of Kagome's shoulders.
"...what are you guys doing?" Kagome, suspicious, asked as she looked from one Dragon to the other.
Tsuyoshi's eyes flicked down to Kagome for split second. "You will see. Trust us," he said.
Kagome half smiled with a soft giggle. "Always," she responded with a nod.
To Kagome's left Ryura grinned broadly, his hand tightening a fraction on her shoulder. Tsuyoshi on Kagome's right smiled faintly as well, and together, the trio looked ahead and waited for something, their eyes were resting on the tall black Torii Gate that loomed in the air. Kagome had to admit, the Torii Gate was impressive, standing almost as high as the Tree of Ages, or Sacred Tree, did. To either side of the gate rested dense forestry so thick Kagome couldn't see past it into the forest itself. The trees were packed together so close Kagome was sure not even Shippou could squeeze through them.
The Miko found this odd, but any questions she had would have to wait until later. Kagome's attention went to three figures walking down the long shadowed path that started at the very edges of the Torii Gate. She squinted, trying to make out features while wondering just who they were, but she was jolted by the Dragons standing at her sides suddenly releasing their youki simultaneously.
Kagome sucked in a sharp breath of air feeling the powerful youki wash over her in gentle waves that wrapped around her like warm blankets. Ahead of them, the three figures walking came to a halt, their movements jerky out of their own surprise.
Ryura leaned down and with his mouth next to Kagome's ear he muttered, "Release it."
She immediately knew what Ryura had meant and with one powerful wave, Kagome's reiki flooded from her. It rose into the air to twist around the youki of the Dragons standing on either sides of her, combining all three energies together until the owners of the energy were bathed in an almost neon blue light. The colors of their energies had harmonized and bled together perfectly; not a single color was out-of-place. Ryura's white youki added a soft tone while Tsuyoshi's navy blue youki gave it a deep, pulsing edge that surrounded the brilliant display. Kagome's blue as Ryura's hair youki gave the white and navy blue life, resulting in the neon blue that could easily been seen from hundreds of feet away.
Kagome didn't know what was going on, but Tsuyoshi told her to trust them, and that's exactly what she was doing. She didn't flinch, either, when Tsuyoshi and Ryura leaned down and ran their noses along her cheeks, starting at the corners of her eyes and moving down to dip where her neck began under her chin.
All the while, Kagome stared ahead at the three figures that were beginning to move again. When they stepped into a lighter area of the shadows, Kagome could finally make out their features.
Two men and one woman, all three incredibly beautiful in their own ways were standing side by side, each dressed extravagantly. They were youkai, but Kagome couldn't tell what type, except for one.
One man stood tall, roughly the same height at Tsuyoshi. His hair was as black as Kagome's and fell in shaggy locks around his face with a tail wrapped in a braided red cloth hanging over his left shoulder. His eyes were amber, bordering orange. Large black feathers fell from various points, attached to the vest resting over his shoulders that matched the color of his eyes. He wore a dark red kimono tucked away into black hakama and a white sash was wrapped around his waist.
The second man was only a tad shorter than the first, but the long fox ears setting atop his head easily made up the difference. His long white hair was unbound, flowing freely around his form, until it ghosted along the ground as he moved. Kagome could easily tell this man was a Kitsune, and not only by the ears on his head. Nine sleek and long tails rested behind him, their fur just as white as his hair. His eyes were the most dazzling shade of lavender that Kagome had ever seen. The Kitsune seemed to favorite gold and white, the gold obviously matching the twin stripes on either side of his face that began at his chin and curved their way up towards his cheekbones, while the white was reflected in not only his hair and the fur of his ears and tail, but also in his kimono. Like the man before him, he wore the kimono tucked into hakama which were white, but he wore no vest. Instead he wore armor that was apparently a customary style among youkai of Japan. It resembled Sesshoumaru's in various ways.
The last person was the woman. Was tiny. She was so cute that Kagome wanted to immediately run over and hug her, but with two Daiyoukai holding her shoulders with their noses still against her neck, Kagome couldn't really move, so she admired the woman from afar. Her hair was a light color of sage green and was cut short to frame her face, and her eyes were a bright emerald-green that matched the colors of the foliage of the trees around her. She was dressed in a kimono befitting of a princess with layers upon layers of various shades of pink blending together as kimono after kimono rested atop one another.
The trio came to a stop three feet in front of Kagome, and each of them looked over her with either shock, disgust, or with an ice that would have made Sesshoumaru proud. They then looked to the Dragons holding Kagome and bowed deeply, showing they respected the two Dragons as superiors.
"I am glad we decided to see what was taking so long, Lord Ryura," the Kitsune said as he rose to stand his full height. "Had I known you would be bringing a Miko with you I would have brought a few more guards along."
"Akira, please do not be mean," the female youkai said softly. "You can see as well as I that she carries their favor. Are you trying to anger them?"
"Favor or not, she's still a Miko," the amber eyed man muttered. "What the hell, Lord Ryura? Are you trying to kill us?"
"Enough," Ryura rumbled against Kagome's neck. "This Miko is the Miko of the House of Storms, meaning she is my Miko, and you will treat her with respect."
"What!?"
"Yuichi, enough," Tsuyoshi stated. The amber eyed man named Yuichi wisely closed his mouth with a snap, but a frown remained. "We are merely completing the ritual, and once it is finished, I will happily explain."
Akira, the Kitsune, shared a look with Yuichi over the green haired female's head. Yuichi shrugged and waved a hand at Ryura, Kagome, and Tsuyoshi.
The neon blue energy continued to swirl around the three until it abruptly disappeared. Even though it was gone, Kagome could still feel lingering traces of Ryura and Tsuyoshi's youki on her skin. She could even feel it coursing through her veins to a small point. What kind of ritual was that?
Tsuyoshi leaned back, but kept his hand on Kagome's shoulder. Ryura kept his place for a short moment and took the chance to run a fang along the pulse in Kagome's neck.
Yuichi coughed and sputtered, his face flaring red with a deep blush. "Don't tell me..."
He didn't get the chance to finish what was saying. The green haired female suddenly squealed loudly and launched herself at Kagome, much to Akira and Yuichi's shock.
"Hikaru, what are you doing!?" Yuichi yelled as he began to move forward. He was stopped by Akira stretching out an arm in front of him, and Yuichi looked at the Kitsune with a frown.
"Just watch," Akira murmured softly.
Ryura and Tsuyoshi didn't seem too concerned with Hikaru flying at Kagome, but Kagome however was. The Miko's concern was replaced by joyous surprise when the green haired female wrapped her up in a hug, bubbling happily about how excited she was.
"I am so pleased to finally meet you, Lady Kagome!" Hikaru squealed.
Ryura grinned like a fool while Tsuyoshi chortled. They could both feel how shocked, happy, and confused Kagome was. Behind the now hugging women Yuichi's face had drained of all its color and he was a deathly white.
"Lady Kagome!? But...she's not suppose to show up for another five hundred years!" Yuichi exclaimed loudly while shooting looks between everyone, his amber eyes wide with confusion.
Akira ignored the question and moved forward until he was standing directly behind Hikaru, who had now backed off and was chattering with Kagome.
"Yes, my name is Hikaru! I'm a Kodama mononoke," she said. "I have heard so much about you!"
Kagome laughed and gave Hikaru another brief hug, having instantly taken to the woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you too – you're so cute!" Kagome gushed.
"Lady Kagome," Akira said before Hikaru could open her mouth to respond to Kagome calling her cute. "Allow me to formally thank you for looking after Shippou. He speaks very highly of you."
Over Hikaru's shoulder, Kagome looked up at Akira, then smiled brightly. "You know Shippou?"
"I do," Akira said as his icy personality melted away and he smiled warmly at Kagome. "He is a distant cousin of mine. I feared he had been lost with his parents at the hands of the Thunder Brothers until three years ago."
Ryura, as he listened to Akira, moved to stand behind Kagome and wrapped an arm around her that now hung loosely around her neck with his hand splayed over her left shoulder. He looked expectantly over to Yuichi, who had remained behind until Ryura gave him the "come over here or I'll rip your throat out" look. Yuichi would have paled further if it was possible, but he did as his Lord silently bid him to, walking until he came to stand beside Akira.
"I-I'm sorry!" he blurted out, causing any conversation to start and eyes to turn and look at him. "For offending you!"
Yuichi bowed as far as he could without falling over, his eyes shut tightly in fear of what Kagome might do to him. He was surprised, however, when he felt a small hand land on his shoulder. Yuichi's head jerked up and he stared with wide eyes into Kagome's blue orbs. The Miko was smiling softly at him, bent over slightly.
"You don't need to bow that low! Your name is Yuichi, right?" Kagome asked, and Yuichi, not able to find his voice, could only nod. "It's nice to meet you then, Yuichi! I'm Kagome, like you've heard. Please, don't worry about offending me. I'm more than well enough aware that the relationships between our kind haven't always been great."
"Oh Lord Ryura, you could not have described Lady Kagome better!" Hikaru gushed as she watched Kagome and Yuichi's interaction. Her voice was low so only the youkai could hear it, as she didn't wish to embarrass Kagome. "She's absolutely breath-taking! Her soul is so large, and so pure! She's perfect for you."
Ryura grinned faintly down at Hikaru and only gave her a nod. Hikaru beamed a smile at Ryura, then ran off to stand beside Kagome. Akira followed after her and soon Kagome was surrounded by the three new youkai she just met.
"It is going better than I first thought it would," Tsuyoshi murmured to Ryura.
Ryura glanced at Tsuyoshi and nodded faintly. "It is. I believe we chose well. Those three will be Kagome's best friends while she's here while everyone adjusts to having a Miko living under the same roof as they."
"Agreed," Tsuyoshi said.
"What kind of youkai are you, Yuichi?" Kagome asked the amber eyed man.
"I'm Tengu," Yuichi replied with a proud grin.
Kagome's eyes widened and she looked over Yuichi carefully. "A Tengu? I've never met a Tengu! Do you have wings?"
"I do!" Yuichi exclaimed and as he spoke two large black wings suddenly appeared behind him, spreading out as far as they could. The Tengu held a wingspan of at least eight feet long.
"Can I touch them?" Kagome asked excitedly, earning a laugh from Hikaru.
Yuichi didn't answer her directly, instead he turned around and gave Kagome free access to his large wings. Kagome giggled like a child and reached out, running her hands over the silky black feathers.
"Hikaru," Ryura said from behind them.
Hikaru spun around, her kimono twirling around her, as she faced Ryura. "Yes, my Lord?"
"Would you send a messenger to fetch Inuyasha? Just say it's important and involves Kagome," Ryura said with a slow smirk appearing on his lips.
Tsuyoshi's eyes rolled. "Here we go," he said.
"What?" Kagome asked, confused.
"I am going to make him rebuild the portion of my home he destroyed," Ryura said a nod. "If I had the messenger tell him so, he would not show up, would he?"
"I will do as you ask, Lord Ryura, but I have to wonder, how are you going to get him to rebuild it once he is here?" Hikaru asked with a slight tilt of her head.
Ryura looked over to Kagome then and grinned mischievously. "I will leave that to Kagome," he said.
"What!? Why me!?" Kagome asked.
"I would attempt to familiarize yourself with having others do things for you, if you wish to survive as Lord Ryura's mate," Akira said, making Kagome jump. She opened her mouth to protest, but Yuichi beat her to it.
"He's right!" Yuichi said. "The Lady of the East is the one who oversees all the household servants and takes care of things if her Lord is away. Just consider this practice, Lady Kagome."
"B-but how did you guys know I was courting Ryura?" Kagome squeaked out.
Ryura was the one who answered. "They knew because of my attention towards you," he said while giving Kagome a fanged smile.
"Oh when you... you... that," Kagome stuttered, her eyes on Ryura's fangs.
"I will go fetch a messenger!" Hikaru suddenly announced and before anyone could blink, she was gone. She simply disappeared with no grandeur into thin air.
"You are familiar with Kodama, Lady Kagome?" Tsuyoshi asked at Kagome's confused expression.
"Sort of. They're tree spirits, right?" she asked, and Tsuyoshi nodded. "Correct. Hikaru's tree rests within the garden of Lord Ryura's home. Nature obeys her every command while she stands close to that tree, even the air itself."
"She used the air to teleport," Akira explained further. "There is a downside to her abilities, however. She cannot leave the vicinity of her tree and is only able to go as far as her tree's roots travel."
"Indeed. It is a reason why Naraku was not able to infest my ancestral home. Hikaru protected it," Ryura said with a smile. "Come, we can continue after we are inside."
"Yes, my Lord," three men said simultaneously as they slightly bowed out of respect in Ryura's direction.
Ryura began to walk and when he reached Kagome, he gently took hold of her arm and wrapped it around his, resting her hand in the crook of his left elbow. Kagome smiled up at him, a smile Ryura was only happy to return, and together the five walked under the Torii Gate and down the shadowed path.
"Lady Kagome is receiving more than a few nasty looks, isn't she, Akira?" Yuichi asked as he walked beside the Kitsune.
"She is, and it worries me," Akira murmured with a small frown. "We will have to keep a close eye on her."
Yuichi nodded slowly. "I think so, too but with what we saw earlier, I think Lady Kagome is able to fend for herself."
Akira gave Yuichi a sidelong glance. "She carries a formidable power, that is true. It cannot hurt to be careful, however."
"Yeah. We should talk to Hikaru about it considering she's going to be Lady Kagome's assistant," Yuichi responded.
Akira only nodded and fell silent. The nine-tailed Kitsune was running over the list of people in Ryura's service in his head, trying to pick out ones that were avid Miko and human haters. Those were the ones he would need to speak with Ryura about when the Dragon Daiyoukai was alone. There were a few Akira could think of off the top of his head, too.
Yuichi and Akira rounded a corner and came at a stop in front of a shoji screen door. Akira reached out and rapped his knuckles quickly along the wood of the screen, which was followed by Ryura's muffled voice telling the two to enter. Akira slid the door open and entered the room with Yuichi closing the door once he too was standing in the room.
"Hello you two!" Kagome chirped from her place among dozens of pillows that were tucked away in a corner close to Ryura.
Ryura himself sat at a low desk and in either hand he held scrolls with his ruby-red eyes scanning over the contents of said scrolls. He briefly looked up at Akira and Yuichi, giving them a small nod, then went back to finish up what he was reading.
"If you two want, explain what you do for me to Kagome," Ryura said. "She's going to need to know, after all."
Kagome bounced up from the pillows and sat straight with a large smile on her face, looking excitedly at Akira and Yuichi. It wasn't every day she got to meet new people, especially when those people had been extremely close to Ryura for the past three years while she was gone.
"Lay it on me!" Kagome said with a cheery laugh.
Yuichi laughed as well and moved forward to sit on one of the cushions in front of Ryura's desk. Akira joined him, sitting on the cushion opposite of Yuichi's.
"I am the second General of Lord Ryura's army," Akira said. "I fall right underneath Lord Tsuyoshi. My duties include seeing to the training of what soldiers Lord Ryura has, supplying them with gear they may need, and overseeing a large part of that army should war come to us."
When Akira was finished, Yuichi didn't hesitate. "I'm Lord Tsuyoshi's assistant, since he's still the Steward of the House of Storms, along with being the first General. I do what he doesn't have time to."
"Tell her what else you do, Yuichi," Ryura said without looking up. "No one's around to hear."
"Oh..." Yuichi said then nodded. "I uh... I kinda oversee the special tasks unit."
"Special tasks...?" Kagome asked curiously with a tilt of her head. "Spies and things?"
"Sort of. Spies, assassins, interrogation, delicate missions, reconnaissance – those sort of things," Yuichi said with a sheepish smile.
"Ah, while you two are here, I need to speak with you," Ryura said. He set down the scrolls and looked up. Akira and Yuichi immediately came to attention and waited for Ryura.
"Sesshoumaru will be visiting soon, along with Kouga and Kazuhiro." Ryura cracked his neck as he spoke. "I want you two there for most of the meetings."
"I am going to assume the topic will be about Lord Masaru?" Akira asked.
"Indeed," Ryura said as he nodded, then he looked over his shoulder to Kagome. "Kazuhiro is the Lord of the Southern Isle while Masaru is the Lord of the Northern Isles. Also, I want you there too, Kagome."
"Me? Why me?" Kagome blinked quickly.
Ryura grinned at her, "You are not a greenhorn when it comes to battles, nor are you new to youkai. You, dear one, could just possibly be the key to this war if one breaks out."
"Since you're a Miko," Yuichi said with a quick nod. "And with the amount of power you have, Lady Kagome, many lives will be saved thanks to you. Hell, with you around Lord Masaru might not even go to war with us."
"Perhaps, but I don't think one Miko is going to be enough to stop him from wanting to war against us if he truly wishes for it," Ryura murmured. "No matter how powerful Kagome is."
Kagome looked between them as they spoke, her eyes wide. She didn't know what to truly think of what was happening, not having truly adjusted to being thrown into the politics Ryura now sat at the center of. After all, Kagome had only been there for about two hours!
Keeping a close ear on the conversation the men were having, Kagome began to tick off things she was going to need to do. One of those things was to somehow get her hands on a decent spear that could stand the power of her reiki. She was going to have to find Tsuyoshi at some point and sit down with him and Ryura to talk about her training. If war did break out, Kagome didn't want to go into it half trained.
The Miko was ripped from her thoughts by a loud voice calling her name.
"Kagome!" It was Inuyasha. "What's wrong!?"
The hanyou came blowing into Ryura's study right afterwards, causing the men to sigh at the same time as one another. Inuyasha looked frantically around until he spotted Kagome sitting comfortably among her pile of pillows and cushions, and then he began to twitch with anger.
"Okay, what's going on? She's fine, ya bastard!" Inuyasha yelled at Ryura.
Yuichi and Akira slowly looked at Inuyasha over their shoulders, still not used to his crass behavior. Their eyes narrowed at the way Inuyasha addressed their Lord. Ryura, however, smirked broadly at Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, how good it is to see you again," Ryura said with a voice that sent dread running down Inuyasha's spine. "You, hanyou, are going to rebuild the part of my home you destroyed."
"Like hell I am!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "It ain't my house!"
"Inuyasha..." Kagome warned, and the hanyou flinched at her tone. That had Akira and Yuichi confused. They'd never seen Inuyasha back down that quickly to anyone.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha whined. "Come on!"
"Sit!" the Miko yelled.
The beads around Inuyasha's neck shone purple and he crashed face first on the floor. Yuichi snorted loudly, trying to hold in a laugh. His body quivered with the effort but he couldn't stop it. He began to laugh maniacally as Inuyasha cursed up a storm from his spot on the floor. Akira slapped a hand over his mouth and began to shake, his wide lavender eyes staring at Inuyasha. So that's why Inuyasha had acted like he had. The beads around his neck weren't for decoration, they were subjugation beads!
"There's a saying where I come from, Inuyasha. You break it, you buy it," Kagome said as she pushed herself to feet and moved to stand over the stationary hanyou. "You destroyed it, you fix it!"
"Kaggommeeeee..." Inuyasha whined again. He popped up once the subjugation wore off and was standing in front of her, trying to pull a puppy-eyed look on her. "That'll take all summer!"
"Then you should've thought about that before releasing a Backlash Wave after you upset Sesshoumaru!" Kagome snapped.
"It's your responsibility now, Inuyasha," Ryura said. The Dragon was still grinning from ear to ear and he was leaning back to rest on his hands.
"Shut up, pissant! You know I'm only going to do this for Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he looked at Ryura over Kagome's head. "If she wasn't living here, I'd fuckin' refuse!"
"Or you just know she'll sit you until you do it," Yuichi snickered.
Inuyasha twitched, raging mad now. "You shut up too, brat!" Inwardly Inuyasha was bitching and moaning. It was going to be a long summer.