"He's what!?"
"Miasma?"
"Why isn't he dead!?"
"This is absurd!"
The clamoring and noise coming from the nobles made Kagome want to cover her ears. She twisted her fingers back and forth, and tried to sit calmly by Sesshomaru. The throne room was filled to the brim with youkai yelling back and forth about Naraku. Beside her, Sesshomaru stared patiently over the crowd. Kagome wanted the children to retire to bed, but Shippo insisted on knowing everything about the situation with Naraku. And as much as Sesshomaru thought Rin should stay out of their affairs, she felt old enough to be in the know.
Hatori sat with the two, on Kagome's left, his ears flicking back and forth. Kagome thought he looked more focused, and less nervous, than usual. That could happen when something as serious as this came up.
"Quiet, everyone." Lord Rei's voice swept over the room, silencing the group. He scanned them quickly, and said, "This youkai by the name of Naraku is indeed a threat. A threat, I am sorry to say, I was unaware of until recent months."
"Why did you not notice earlier!?"
"Silence," Lord Rei said, glaring at the offending noble who spoke out of turn. The change from his previous demeanor impressed Kagome, and proved that not everyone was as see through as one might think.
"Naraku kept his dealings mostly in the lands of the West," Sesshomaru said, addressing the question. "That is where my father lived, and where my bastard half brother spent a majority of his time. It is with this same half brother that Naraku concerned himself, and his attacks rarely left that area."
Kagome felt her heart pick up slightly. Mention of a hanyou, especially an illegitimate son such as Inuyasha, might fuel the proverbial fire that was picking up.
"You never called for assistance from the other great daiyoukai?" someone asked.
Sesshomaru turned to the man. "No," he said. "Naraku did not directly threaten my people, and when I sought to kill him, I did so for personal reasons. This Sesshomaru involves himself with Lord Rei now only because of the political consequences of Naraku's actions."
"And you would let us die if this youkai did not affect your politics?" the same man asked. Kagome furrowed her brow at his persistence.
"I would not let my people die in such great numbers at the hand of one youkai," Sesshomaru said, "and Lord Rei would not do so either."
"Lord Sesshomaru is correct," Lord Rei added, with a small smile. "We treasure our citizens, and the death of so many is not permissible. Which is why we must deal with him now, and not fumble with questions that are, at the moment, irrelevant."
The nobles quieted, mumbling and whispering among themselves. Kagome brushed her bangs from her eyes with a small sigh. She was by no means familiar with the court system or these types of meetings. As Lady of the West, this type of thing might become common.
"The first issue is that of the attacks," Lord Rei said, when he thought the room sufficiently quiet. "Naraku is sending waves of poisonous miasma to taint our farm lands and kill our livestock. The only crop that seems to survive the attacks is rice, as the poison does not appear to taint the water in which it grows. As such, many affected villages are living off rice, human and youkai alike."
"We have gone through times of famine in the past," Sesshomaru said. "The lands will be able to survive on a singular crop for the next few months, assuming some areas began storing their food for the winter before the miasma hit. Naraku strategically began the attacks during the harvest season to wilt any crops we had before they could be used."
"That is our biggest issue." Lord Rei's eyes swept over his audience once more. "Obtaining and efficiently using a food supply until spring. I sent some of my own stores to the areas with the worst supply. I will continue to help those who need it most."
"And what about the areas that don't receive help?" another noble asked.
Kagome sat straighter, and turned to Sesshomaru, a question in her eyes. He looked at her, and to Lord Rei. He saw them both, paused, and nodded. Sesshomaru faced Kagome again and gave a nod as well.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome said, "I can address that question."
All youkai in the room looked at her, and all speech stopped. The silence was eerie, and Kagome almost regretted speaking. She drew her courage from within her, straightened her back again, and continued. "I performed a service," she said, "for a village in Lord Sesshomaru's land. As a miko, I can purify Naraku's miasma, and subsequently make the land useful after it is poisoned."
The murmurs of before started again, the women shocked that Kagome could speak so openly, the males eying her with suspicion. It was all Kagome could do to keep from freezing up.
"Why have you not purified all the lands? What are you waiting for?"
"Will a miko not harm any youkai with powers such as that?"
"How can you speak so confidently for yourself?"
The questions began to spill rapidly, and Kagome leaned back, as if to separate herself from the voices accusing her. She frowned, and prepared herself to shoot replies back.
Before she could say anything, Sesshomaru interjected, saying, "Lady Kagome is of a culture different from ours." The command behind his voice silenced the room once more, and each noble turned to face him. "She comes from a land that trains women to be strong and confident in themselves," he continued. "In this way, Kagome is able to fight Naraku, because she does not doubt her abilities, and can speak for herself regarding her skills."
One male youkai raised his hand, the first polite gesture of awaiting his turn to speak. Sesshomaru gestured to Kagome to give her the floor, and she nodded at the nobleman. He paused, and said, "Where you are from may change how you approach a situation such as this, my lady, but it still begs the question of why you have not been working to purify all the lands."
At this, Kagome frowned, and resisted the urge to bite her lip. She knew the nobles would not care to hear the answer. She took a deep breath, and said, "I have always had the power to purify the miasma Naraku so readily uses. However, I did so using my weapon of choice, a bow and arrow. The purification of the lands requires a different skill, a power that I only recently discovered I could use."
A roar started again in the throne room, women frowning and whispering among themselves, men in a fit about Kagome's qualifications. Before Sesshomaru or Lord Rei could calm them, Kagome decided to take the matter into her own hands.
"Silence!" she said, holding a hand in stopping signal. The voice sounded unreal, not like her, and it surprised everyone in the room. Even the children raised eyebrows at it. Sesshomaru could see the rage boiling in Kagome's eyes, and reached out to take her hand.
Kagome stopped, her hand falling, as Sesshomaru touched the other. She hesitated, and smiled, realizing the inappropriateness of her action. Kagome faced the crowd once more, and said, "I apologize for my harsh reaction, everyone."
But the nobles were not looking at Kagome. Rather, they stared at her hand, held gingerly beneath Sesshomaru's. Tales of the cold demeanor of the western daiyoukai reached far enough to be known to every citizen, even those of the other lands. In some areas it was exaggerated, rumors flying of his evil power and controlling claws. Such an intimate gesture, even towards his supposed mate, caught everyone by surprise.
Lord Rei himself had an amused grin plastered on his face, distracting him from the matter at hand.
Kagome saw the stairs, and took advantage of the quiet. "As I was saying, this new ability works to purify the land." She scanned the room, as each noble slowly broke their gaze from the joined hands of the mates, to look at her. "It destroyed the miasma on the land of a village in the west," Kagome continued. "But it is a new power, and relatively unstable. Unfortunately . . ." She paused, unsure if she should reveal the weakness to citizens who were eager for anything to throw her to the wolves.
"Unfortunately," Kagome said, knowing honesty was the best route, "my power is of a miko nature, and harmed the villagers. Not to a point where they could not recover, but it harmed them all the same. I do not want to use this power again until I am sure I can avoid harming the citizens we are here to help."
More whispers among the nobles, some of them scrutinizing Kagome. A few looked hopeful, even happy, but their numbers were few.
"If such a way to purify the miasma exists," Lord Rei said, taking the floor back, "we should be grateful. No doubt with such a powerful being as Naraku, that holds many Shikon shards, the miasma would be difficult to destroy without a miko's ability."
A few nobles grunted their agreements. All were reluctant to praise such a strange creature as Kagome.
"If this is true," Lord Rei continued, "our priority is purifying the lands and finding this Naraku. If the general consensus agrees, I would like to propose sending a small group of warriors to track the path of the miasma and try to predict where Naraku will strike next."
"Naraku is often impossible to find unless he wants to be found," Kagome said, quietly, addressing Lord Rei himself.
He paused, and said, "All the same, I would like to try."
"Could I bring up another point?" Kagome asked, glancing at the nobles.
"Certainly." Lord Rei nodded, and gave a small smile. "Any knowledge is valuable."
Kagome took a deep breath, turning to the crowd once more. "Naraku is a powerful being," she said. "I have spent the last three years trying to kill him, and he is difficult to find when he does not wish to be found. He also has several youkai that work for him, that he creates from himself. Incarnations, as they are known."
"The incarnations!?"
Everyone turned to look at the noblewoman who burst out, and now covered her mouth in shame. The proper woman was seen and not heard unless necessary. Kagome furrowed her brow, and said, "Do you know of them?"
She paused, and nodded, taking her hand from her mouth. "Yes, my lady," the noblewoman said with a deep bow. "From family near the human village of Edo. They speak of tainted beings, rumored to be pieces of a dark soul. They are called the incarnations, but the name Naraku was never mentioned."
Kagome frowned. That was how bad Naraku became to these lands. Rumors flew of his actions, and his true name remained a mystery to most.
"These incarnations serve him well," Kagome said. "But there is one incarnation that we need to worry about, the source of his life. His heart."
Sesshomaru tightened his grip on Kagome's hand. He knew of the heart. The infant that Naraku kept hidden from all, the piece of him with which he could live, no matter how many times his body was destroyed by his adversaries.
As Kagome explained what Naraku's heart was, and Lord Rei listened intently, Sesshomaru considered their options in his mind.
Finding Naraku was priority, but if Kagome could neutralize what Naraku did, it gave them more time to locate him. He needed to encourage Kagome to train and perfect her purification skills above all else. In addition, their only good chance of finding Naraku while the spider hid would be utilizing Kagome's ability to detect shards. If she could find the Shikon no Tama, they would find Naraku, and destroy him.
And there was the matter of the heart. Taking Naraku's physical body meant nothing if the heart could not be destroyed. They must locate the heart and destroy it, before anything else was done. If that were the case . . .
Sesshomaru tightened his grip on Kagome's hand as she finished her explanation. She turned to him, and raised an eyebrow.
"Finding this heart is the key to killing Naraku once and for all," Sesshomaru said. "As such, I believe the best course of action is to pursue the heart. We must locate it and destroy it." With a glance at Kagome, Sesshomaru added, "If my mate is to the task, she can attempt to purify what Naraku has poisoned while we search."
"Of course I'm up to it," Kagome said. Louder, facing the crowd, she said, "As future Lady of the West, I will do my best to perfect my power and help those affected by Naraku."
"That sounds like a practical and courageous plan," Lord Rei said. "I will follow through with a group of warriors to track the miasma's path, and report all I can back to you."
"You truly believe you can find this 'heart' and destroy it?" a nobleman snuffed.
"With the help of those we love, we can." Kagome answered calmly, and with a smile, as she leaned closer to Sesshomaru. "Anything is possible, and I know that none of us will give up until Naraku is found and killed."
Her confidence in what she said seemed to stop further questions. Kagome ran her eyes over the nobles before her, keeping her smile. As worried as she might be, and as much of a threat Naraku posed, she had her loved ones with her. Kagome could hardly be afraid of the doubt of these citizens.
"I think that is enough seriousness for the moment." Lord Rei stood with a smile. "We have a basic plan. Lord Sesshomaru and I will be going over the details together, and will make a public announcement when we see fit. You may go."
The youkai in the room hesitated, but when the guards opened the doors of the throne room, they shuffled out obediently, speaking amongst themselves their doubts and questions.
Lord Rei waited until they had gone, and the door closed. With a sigh, he faced Sesshomaru and Kagome. "If you will excuse me," he said, "my mate and son are in our private suite, and I have yet to see them since this morning."
"Did your mate not want to be here?" Kagome asked.
Lord Rei's smile fell. "Our son is not feeling well, and she insisted on caring for him personally. I will tell her of what happened here, though she will no doubt learn everything from her ladies in waiting with enough time.
"As for the plan, Lord Sesshomaru," Lord Rei said, "would you care to meet later this evening?"
"Very well," Sesshomaru said.
"Excellent. I will send a guard to escort you when I have finished with my family. Until then, I bid you farewell." He gave a short wave, and left the throne room quickly.
"I suppose we should get back," Kagome said.
Shippo stood, grabbing Kagome's hand. "It'll be fine, Mama. Don't worry."
She smiled, and ruffled his hair. "I know. It's a lot to concern myself with, that's all."
"Can we help?" Rin asked, tired of being silent. She hated Lord Sesshomaru's meetings for the same reason, she couldn't speak the entire time. "I know we're just kids, but there has to be something."
Kagome shook her head, pausing before the doors as the guards opened them for her. Sesshomaru walked behind, the kids in tow. "No, just occupy yourselves and don't worry," she said. "You're certainly old enough to know about Naraku, but I want you kids out of danger."
"You worry too much," Rin said, playfully batting Shippo's ponytail as they walked. He protested, and soon the two were bickering and laughing. Hatori watched the two and laughed with them.
"Speaking of those involved, where's Jaken?" Kagome asked. They were making their way back to their rooms, and the green imp hadn't been seen since their first council with Lord Rei.
"He is sending information of our location and task to the west," Sesshomaru said. "It is important that I update the servants, should something of importance present itself in my home."
When they arrived at their rooms, the children parted with them, and Kagome and Sesshomaru retired once more. Normally it would be time to sleep, or possibly play with the kids. But if Lord Rei wanted to talk with Sesshomaru about Naraku, Kagome was determined to be involved. She would leave with Sesshomaru when Lord Rei sent for him.
"It's been quite the day," she said, sitting on the bed and taking the decorations from her hair.
"Indeed." Sesshomaru sat beside her, watching her work silently until her hair fell, loose and free, down her back. "Kagome," he said, as she finished and looked at him.
"Yes?" she answered, leaning against the bed post.
Sesshomaru hesitated a moment, and said, "Do you love me?"
()
The meeting with Lord Rei took place an hour later. Sesshomaru and Kagome sat with him in his private office, both sitting on one side of his large wooden desk. Sesshomaru looked the slightest bit annoyed at sitting in a western style chair rather than a Japanese mat, but Kagome knew he had more important things on his mind.
Lord Rei had cleared the desk of papers, and watched them carefully. Kagome continued to shift nervously, and he briefly wondered what had her so wound. But he dismissed the thought, and said, "Shall we begin?"
"Indeed." Sesshomaru looked him in the eye. "My former plan stands. We will seek out Naraku's heart, and Kagome will work toward purification of the land in the interim."
"And how do you plan to find it?"
"I can sense shards," Kagome said. "It's a skill that helped me find Naraku in the past, and I have since become skilled at detecting Naraku's aura. If any of his incarnations are in the area of have been there recently, I will be able to tell."
Lord Rei paused, and said, "Very well, Lady Kagome. I trust you have the skill. And how do you plan to destroy the heart?"
"With this."
Sesshomaru reached into his hilt and removed a sword. He placed it on the table, and said, "Bakusaiga. This sword was formed when I regained my left arm, as a creation from this Sesshomaru's regenerative abilities. It poisons the flesh it cuts and prevents regeneration."
"And that would be perfect for Naraku," Kagome said, facing Lord Rei. "His key ability is being able to revive himself with the power of the jewel. If we can kill his heart and prevent him from recreating it, or his own body, we'll be able to destroy him for good."
"I see." Lord Rei looked at the sword, and at Sesshomaru. "You plan to leave on this mission soon?"
"As soon as we can," Sesshomaru said. "I wish to be rid of Naraku and return to matters at my homestead. This land will be better for his absence."
"It's not good to have the kids involved in all this, either," Kagome added. "Shippo and Rin may be used to seeing this type of thing, traveling with us these past few years, but they need time to be kids. To relax and not listen to us worry about this evil. And Hatori never chose to live this kind of life, he needs to be taken to his grandfather and find a home."
Lord Rei gave a small smile. "You concern yourself with the children above all else."
Kagome nodded. "Of course I do."
"Is there any way I can be of service in this mission?" Lord Rei gestured to the papers around him. "I could move to send some of my generals with you. The other great lords would be pleased to help as well, I am sure."
"We need not concern more people with this," Sesshomaru assured him. "It is only more lives that will be sacrificed by those who know nothing of battling Naraku."
A thought occurred to Kagome. She hesitated, and said, "What if we brought my friends with us?"
Both daiyoukai looked at her curiously, Sesshomaru less so, but still questioning. Kagome brushed her hair back, as she was wont to do when nervous, and continued, "Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha already know what to expect in a fight with Naraku. And Inuyasha has admirable skill with Tetsusaiga, Sesshomaru. You can't deny that."
Sesshomaru frowned. "My bastard relation has a pup to deal with, does he not?"
Kagome sighed. Sesshomaru would take any excuse he could to stay away from Inuyasha. "True," she admitted, "but Hansha is staying with Kaede at the moment, for protection. Inuyasha could come with us, provided he continued to check on her periodically."
Lord Rei, ignoring the information he did not know of, said, "If your brother wields a fang of your father, Lord Sesshomaru, it may be in your best interest to include him in the battle."
Sesshomaru resisted the urge to growl. The other great lords knew of Inu no Taishou's fangs and the sons he gave them to. Sesshomaru spent years proving his power when he was looked down upon for being given the sword that could not cut. He no longer desired Tetsusaiga, but the assumption that his brother was skilled simply because he held the sword irked him.
"Inuyasha is powerful," Kagome said. "I know you don't like him, Sesshomaru. But it's important to have as much help as we can get. My friends know how to fight Naraku." She paused. "And, to be honest, I miss them. I want to work with them to beat Naraku, as we did before."
Sesshomaru looked at Kagome, peering into her eyes. The same honesty and kindness that she showed when helping others was there. He mentally cursed.
Lord Rei could not help but smile, as he watched the Lord of the West being wrapped around the finger of a woman three quarters his size. Certainly, they must be in love, for Lord Sesshomaru to allow himself to be pushed around in such a way.
Sesshomaru sighed inwardly, and said, "We shall see if we can contact them."
Kagome's eyes lit up, and without thinking, she launched herself up and wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru's neck with a loud, "Thank you!"
She realized her mistake soon afterward, yanking herself off him and blushing. "Sorry," she muttered, glancing at Lord Rei. "That was forward of me."
Lord Rei merely chuckled. He never thought he would live to see a faint tint of red on the cheeks of the inu daiyoukai.
()
Hi, everyone!
The chapter is late, and I'm actually super busy, so I'll be quick. I hope you all enjoyed this, I thought this chapter was pretty fun to write.
Thanks so much for reading, I love all you guys for sticking with the story. Word to the wise, I may be posting a new original story on my FictionPress account, if any of you care to read. I'll talk more about it and add a link next chapter.
Please review, and thanks again!
Ja ne~