Kagome woke to the sound of an alarm blaring in her ear. Grumbling, she rolled over, and attempted to drown out the sound with her blankets.
"Wake up." Sesshomaru's stern voice cut through the haze of sleep that was filling her mind.
She moaned something incoherent and rolled over again.
"You have thirty minutes to be dressed, proper and ready to go to the meeting. Even if you aren't ready, we're still going."
And thirty minutes later, Sesshomaru was dragging a half-ready Kagome out the door of their hotel room.
"I gave you sufficient time." He stated as the elevator doors closed behind them.
"I only had to finish my make up! You could've given me two minutes!" She crossed her arms and turned away from him, her anger simmering and then subsiding.
He didn't respond, but she hadn't expected him to. They arrived at the conference room after a twenty minute ride in silence.
Sesshomaru opened the door for her as she entered. Followed behind her, he parted her hair and leaned close to her ear. "Before the meeting starts, you have time to introduce yourself to the other youkai. It would do you well to make a few allies in a political world like this."
Kagome bit her lip but nodded as he walked away. In a vague and tiny part in her heart, she hoped he'd meant other allies, because she already had one.
Straightening her back and attempting to feel more powerful, Kagome looked around for someone to talk to. She wouldn't necessarily look for an ally, but at least someone to talk with. She was the shikon miko after all, and if that ever was revealed, she doubted she'd have made a strong enough bond with a youkai for them to still remain an ally. Sure, everyone had secretes and she knew the political world wasn't exactly forthcoming with those, but they weren't holding vital information like she was.
No one met her eye as she walked to her seat. She tried to greet several youkai that she'd met before, but none responded back. Defeated, Kagome sat down and decided to mentally plan her schedule for the day, to make a productive use of her time. I've got other friends; so what these youkai think they're too good to talk to a miko?
Resting her head on her hand she mused over the fact that though the others didn't know it, she had enough power to purify them with a touch, if she so chose. She could do it even without dipping into the shikon powers she'd been granted (which she couldn't use anyway).
Someone tapped on Kagome's shoulder and she turned quickly, startled. Inuyasha took the seat next to her on her right side.
"Hello, Kagome." Inuyasha smiled faintly, and she noticed how sickly he looked. His skin looked like it was stretched across his face, and his eyes were sunken in. She rubbed her lips together but smiled.
"Hi, how are you?"
"Fine, thank you." His expression remained weary. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Oh, yeah, well here I am." She laughed a little. "I'm accompanying Sesshomaru."
"I figured…" He looked around the room and it seemed to Kagome that he wanted to say something else.
A man at the end of the table asked everyone to sit before Inuyasha had worked up the confidence to talk to her. Sesshomaru sat down to her left as the meeting began.
The first speaker droned on for an hour that Kagome sadly determined was a wasted hour of her life that she'd never get back. When the second speaker stepped forward to talk about the methods of finding the shikon miko, she tuned in.
"Now, seated with us today we have two men who will be the leaders of the team that will find the shikon miko. Lord Sesshgomaru-sama, who has gained extensive knowledge of mikos over the years, will travel to the secluded miko village of Midoriko and search there."
The man was about to talk about the second man when he spotted Kagome. Throwing in an extra line for her, he added, "He will be accompanied by his miko companion." Kagome stifled her laugh.
"Inuyasha the hanyou will be the second leader, due to his history with the shikon miko." Kagome's curiosity was piqued when the idea that the only thing that was more taboo than having a miko in the room with the Taiyoukais, might be having a hanyou there. She didn't bother to hide her frown.
"Inuyasha was the only begin close enough to the shikon miko to analyze her complex power signature properly, and is the only one who could correctly identify the shikon power. Therefore, all final suspects will be brought before Inuyasha, and he will determine if we have truly found her."
Kikyo's soul fluttered against Kagome's in a heartbroken song, beating out a rhythm of despair. Inuyasha's eyes flickered to Kagome's as the lines on his face hardened. Neither said anything.
Kagome sighed when Inuyasha cast his eyes downward, and looked away. He loved her… And now, he's forced to acknowledge the fact that she could be living in the world happily, without him. If only he knew how truly she loved him back.
Kagome couldn't bring herself to return mentally to the meeting, so she instead glanced around at all the demons present. They were all so cold, with a harsh exterior and a suppressed interior. Built to act like robots, they'd live out their days alone and cold, never forming strong relationships with anyone. It wasn't any way to live.
They entered their hotel room and as Kagome rested, Sesshomaru began packing a small backpack. Eventually, Kagome ripped her eyes away from the T.V. to find Sesshomaru packing her bag.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" She rolled off the bed and took her backpack from him.
He raised an eyebrow at her and reached for one of her sport t-shirts. "Were you not listening earlier? Tomorrow we are setting off to visit Midoriko village."
She paused for a moment, and then asked hesitanly, "Just how far away is this miko place?"
"Three days hike," his golden eyes glimmered, "so I suggest you prepare."
Hey, sorry for the week's wait! Hope you enjoy this chapter. The action's going to start picking up, but my schedule isn't. At the very least, I'll be posting once a week. Thanks so much if you've continued to read my story! I really appreciate the reviews and faves. See you soon! ~Gracie
All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.