Lady of the West, Daughter of the East

By Angel Dust
It's a SesshomaruxOC, InuyashaxKagome, KougaxSango fic!

You have been warned!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of the other characters or the original story line. I DO own my characters, they're as obvious as the nose on your face.

A few months after the Compass Ball, Lord Nishi of the Western Lands has called in the other lords for help fixing his rebellion issues. This will pull Lord Higashi and all five of his sons from the palace, leaving Lady Mai in charge of both kingdom and their daughter. Nikki has yet to show interest in any males, to her mother's great displeasure at the ball, though is secretly writing Sesshomaru as he is fighting by his father's side. Mai is anxious and willing to do anything to get Nikki to mate, and now that her only barrier (Higashi) is out of the picture temporarily there is nothing to stop her from having her way. Can Nikki survive her father's absence, or will there be one less member of the family at the dinner table from now on?

Chapter 7

Nikki remained in the shadows as her brothers stood in the doorway of the palace, each in his armor, each looking as serious as if there were an attack occurring, and each greeting the creaking and groaning carriages of the other kingdoms as they royal members of the various families arrived for what was to be a great trial of one of their own; of a queen fallen by her own fault upon a sword that she did not have to bear.

Soon, within the great hall stood the four compass lords, as they were known to their subjects. Alphas of their pack Lord Kita and his Lady Naoko of the Northern Wolf tribes stood with their litter of pups, though children no more. Lord Nishi and Lady Izayoi were standing with Higashi as Inuyasha and his mate-to-be Kagome were talking with Sesshomaru to figure out what was going on. Lord Minami and his mate, Lady Kayura, were watching as the families gathered into what looked like a kingdom prepared to go to war.

"Higashi, we understand there is to be a trial," Minami said smoothly as he gained everyone's attention, "but why we are needed is beyond me." Many of the younger heirs were now curiously watching as they prepared to hear what great trial was to be on their shoulders.

"Please my friends," Higashi said heavily as he thought, "keep in mind that you are the judges of this trial. Lady Mai has performed a great travesty against our own daughter. Along with four of the guard, specifically Mai and Nikki's personal body guards, I returned from assisting Lord Nishi with his rebellion issue to find my daughter beaten, dirty, and broken in the dungeons of this very castle." Immediately the lords looked prepared to rip someone to shreds while the ladies looked stunned.

"Where is your daughter now, Higashi?" Izayoi asked softly.

"She is confined to wherever she may hide," Higashi replied as she nodded. "Upon learning of your arrivals she hid among the shadows, where her grief and humiliation lock her. Both Lord Sesshomaru and I have tried to coax her into greeting you, but she fears what your opinions of her shall be."

"Father, she's close," Seiji informed him from the doorway.

"How?" Higashi asked him wearily.

"Within the room, you wished for me to be here," Nikki replied as her father looked up to see her hidden among the rafters in her training gi.

"Kitten, this is not how I wished for you to greet our guests," her father said as he looked prepared to argue her down. The ladies looked at her almost mournfully as the males of the room saw what was proven guilt in their minds of the captives.

"Our guests have a grim duty," Nikki replied without a blink of her large green eyes. "I presumed they would not want a candid welcome, as it is not a candid task." Izayoi stepped out of the crowd and Nikki backed a little further into the shadows.

"It's alright," Izayoi said with a weak smile, "you have endured something no one should endure. The males are in charge of the dirty work, we are here for you, my lady." Nikki remained silent as her father watched curiously.

"How so?" Nikki swiftly asked as she moved from one rafter to another, as if to get a better look at the females below her. "There is no help that I can receive to assist in what I have endured."

"We are here to give you the very thing that will help you, dear," Kayura said walking up and standing next to Izayoi. "We're here to give you the love and support you need to get thru it all." Nikki looked at them calculatingly as Naoko moved forward with her oldest daughter, Chiaki. Nikki watched as the various princesses moved forward with their mothers.

"My Ladies," Nikki said softly, her voice a mere whisper on the wind, "I do not expect from you what my own mother could not give me. I was punished for being rebellious and independent as I was raised. How can anyone love or support a monster?"

"You are not a monster," Kagome said as she moved from within the crowd of ladies and princesses, "you and I are quite similar you know."

"Explain," Nikki said waiting to hear what the human female had to say.

"We both are independent, powerful, intelligent females," Kagome said to the surprise of her future mate, "and as such we are always suspected by everyone around us. They wonder what we do, how we think, why we do what we do, and yet when they need our assistance they come and beg for it. It is not in our natures to refuse help to those who need it, but it's determining who needs it that is the trouble." Nikki remained silent as Kagome watched her. "From here it looks like, at least for a little bit, you need help." They all watched as Nikki rolled off the rafter and landed deftly, as if she had been doing something like that her entire life, despite the looks of surprise on her brothers' and father's faces.

"I got help from my mother when it came to my lack of a mate," Nikki replied softly. "Because I chose not to find just any old male and mate him at her request." Kagome looked at her worriedly as Nikki untied the haori and let it drop before turning her back to the girl. Kagome gasped surprised at the scars that were visible. "So, you think love and support can fix them as well?"

"What exactly happened here?" Kayura asked quite surprised by all this and looking to Higashi.

"You're all the judges against my mother and four guardsmen for attempting to sell me as a slave," Nikki answered softly over her shoulder, "and when I refused to cooperate with them I was imprisoned, raped, beaten, and tortured until my father happened to come home and find me. You're all only here to determine if they should spend their lives in the dungeon cell they locked me in or if they should die." Several looked to Higashi surprised as he nodded mutely, never having heard his daughter explain what had truly happened before in these words. Nikki put her haori back on and tied it shut before facing them. "And all you have is their words against mine." She turned to walk out of the room as they all looked at her stunned.

"And by your back, by the hollowness in your eyes," Inuyasha said before she left, "we can tell you're the one telling the truth." Nikki stopped as several others nodded in agreement.

"You can't expect us to find them innocent," Kouga asked surprised as Nikki turned her head a little as if listening. "You're obviously the one they took whatever anger they had for whoever out on. You were left in a palace unprotected."

"I was trained to be as powerful as my brothers," Nikki replied softly, "I am never unprotected."

"Yes, and you're also vulnerable at times, like the rest of us," Shinta said as Nikki seemed to shake at the thought. "We are not invulnerable like our father, we are strong, but we are not immortal." Nikki looked at her brother sadly. "Even we can be attacked at certain times and beaten."

"And if anything, mother betrayed you," Jiro added as Nikki looked at him surprised. "After all, beyond the rest of us, mother knew when the perfect moment to strike is. She ordered the attack, she knew the weakest members of the guardsmen, and she was the one angry you were not conventional though she and father raised you that way."

"What they're both saying, Nikki, is it's not your fault." Sesshomaru said clearly. Nikki looked at him and they watched the mask once more break into a thousand pieces onto the floor as she crumpled before them all. They watched as three figures rushed towards her, but only one made it first as she curled up around the sobbing princess and held her tightly in an embrace only a mother could provide and shower her in love she had never truly known.

"Do not cry, little kitten," she whispered softly as she gathered her into her arms. "You will get beyond this tragedy, you will grow as intended, and you are still as beautiful as you were when you arrived at my castle to celebrate the birth of my own daughter." Nikki whimpered as she forced herself to calm down, attempting to glue together the mask that has been broken so many times since she had come home from that fateful ball. "I pray that one day my daughter will be as strong and beautiful as you." Higashi moved slowly forward and released Nikki from Izayoi's hold before pulling her into a tighter embrace.

"No more crying, Kitten," he said hoarsely as she calmed down. "The ladies are going to take you to get ready for dinner as we discuss what's going to happen from here. You're safe now, no more hiding from everyone." He let her go and allowed Izayoi to lead her out, though relying on her to show her to her chambers. Quickly the other ladies and princesses followed to help dress Nikki for dinner as Higashi turned to the males in the room.

"She was ripped to pieces," Kita said shaking his head as they all headed towards the dining hall.

"She was destroyed physically and mentally, she still has not regained all the weight she lost while down there, her clothes hang on her." Seiji said as his brothers nodded. "She hides from everyone, she jumps if you surprise her, and she will use her darts first and ask questions second if you aren't careful."

"She's got a long way to go," Minami said sagely. "She needs time more than anything, and understanding."

"It may be best to take her away from here, to heal away from where the violence against her was committed." Nishi said as he thought about it. "Have you thought of sending her to another kingdom to get thru this rough time?"

"I feared she'd think I was sending her away in shame," Higashi said as Nishi nodded in thought, he could see Nikki believing that at this time. "She blames herself as being weak for this attack upon her, I've been blaming myself for not doing more to protect her. In the end the only person that should receive the blame is Mai for how she's hurt our daughter. I don't know how she did it and not feel guilty for it."

"We shall find out when the court convenes. Obvious reasons, you, the boys, and Sesshomaru cannot participate as part of the court." Kita said as Higashi nodded in agreement.

"We anticipated that," Higashi said as Sesshomaru nodded in agreement. "We've been discussing quite a bit while we figured out what we had to do. I had too many imprisoned and released them when Nikki identified who the culprits were. We're inviting the top taiji-ya to assist if you find the death penalty for the guards involved. I'm not sure how we will do it for Mai."

"Let Nikki have her, I'm sure she'd pump enough poison into her to melt her on the spot," one of the younger wolves, Yoshiki, said with a shrug.

"No, boy," Kita said darkly, "she's traumatized enough. We don't need her facing her mother if she's not ready."

"So, how do we want to do this?" Inuyasha asked as they sat down. "All five at once or one at a time?"

"That is a good question, we can hear each one's defense without argument if we do this one at a time," Yoshiki said as he thought about it. "But all five at once and we can be said and done."

"We have to determine if all five deserve death and how they shall die," Kita said as he looked at his son, "some may deserve to suffer in prison the way Nikki did. It may be a fifty-fifty draw, some die and some suffer." Yoshiki nodded as he listened to his father. It was a big task asking some of them to determine who should live and who should die, some were still juveniles by default.

"Who do we want in this judgment," Minami asked as he looked at some of the males. "Some should not be making these decisions just yet, they are still too young."

"I agree," Nishi said nodding as Kita looked at his sons. "I think it should be the lords and their heirs, everyone else shall just watch."

"Agreed," Kita said as Yoshiki looked to protest, "and Inuyasha is more than competent to replace Sesshomaru."

"Yes, Sesshomaru is too biased at this point," Nishi said with a chuckle. "Not that this is an overly appropriate time, but have you asked her?"

"It has been decided that the boys and Higashi are going to discuss it before seeing what she thinks before being asked." Sesshomaru said as Higashi nodded in agreement. Nishi nodded as he thought about it.

"I think she'd say yes," Inuyasha said as Nishi nodded. "And I think it'd help her get thru this if she were asked. Show her that her fears are not valid." Higashi thought about it.

"I know before all of this she would have been honored and said yes," Higashi said as he thought, "but we are concerned of her doubts in herself now being a reason to refuse." Sesshomaru listened as he thought about it. "I was going to sit down with her and discuss it after the trial was over, that way if she said yes you could take her away before the executions that may or may not happen."

"You don't want her here?" Minami asked him curiously. "What if she wants to be here?"

"My daughter has seen horrors that she shouldn't have in her own home," Higashi said with an absoluteness that none of them knew he had right then and there, "I don't need her seeing the horror of death as well."

"But if she wishes to be here, if she feels it'll help her with closure?" Minami continued to ask. "You may not be able to stop her from being here."

"That is my biggest concern, or her walking into the trial and being further traumatized despite her own ideas that it might help," Higashi said nodding as he sat back and looked deep in thought. As the men relaxed some and started to discuss how things were in the other kingdoms the females joined them with Nikki in the center of their cluster looking as beautiful as she did before the horrors her mother had devised for her. Sesshomaru stared as she moved silently and sat beside him, which seemed to become her place without anyone's saying.

"You look beautiful," he said as she blushed and looked down a little.

"No more work talk," Izayoi said as she joined her mate, "it's time to enjoy each other's company, we really should get together more often."

"Well, in the spring we will for Inuyasha and Kagome's mating ceremony," Nishi replied as the servants brought in the food.

"Yes, that's going to be such an exciting event," Kayura said nodding in agreement. "Hopefully it'll inspire others to pair off."

"Yes, I much prefer gathering together to celebrate rather than mourn," Naoko agreed delicately. "And mating ceremonies are such fun, so much dancing."

"Mother is trying to hint at us," Kouga warned his siblings as Naoko just eyed him. "She wants us to get mated off, though I think it's so she can have more cubs."

"I think it's more mother wants grand-cubs," Junpei, Kouga's youngest brother and Naoko's youngest cub. "So she can spoil them and then return them to us."

"Well, for you it's going to be a long time," Yoshiki teased his younger brother. "So naturally she's looking to those who are older, like Kouga and Chiaki."

"I think you lot should calm down about teasing about mating and eat your dinner," Kita warned his group. Higashi looked at his own group of kittens and wanted to sigh, he remembered when they'd tease each other like that. Now the boys were treating their sister as if she were made of porcelain.

"Tomorrow, the guard will welcome anyone who wants to join them to train," Higashi said as the males nodded. Many of them planned on working out, but Sesshomaru watched as Nikki silently ate wondering if she were going to go out.

Dinner for the most part was silent, and no one seemed too utterly upset at that. Many were thinking of the tasks at hand, they had tasks that weren't easy on a normal basis and this was not a normal basis. The servants showed everyone to their quarters for the night after everyone finished eating, many of the guests revealing with muffled yawns that it had been a long day of travel and revelations for them and they needed rest.

Nikki slipped from her room when she was certain everyone was in bed and walked into her garden. The night wasn't overly cool or warm, but very nice in her thin kimono as she sat down at her pond. She stared into the water as she seemed to fall into her own world again. Thoughts of confusion and self doubt floated in her head as she tried to figure out her next move. She knew what was coming, her father hadn't had a chance to talk to her, and neither had Sesshomaru, but she knew the proposal was on it's way. She didn't know what she'd say when he asked, if he asked. She wasn't so certain he would anymore.

"You shouldn't be out here," Kagome said coming out of the shadows of the palace. Nikki shrugged as she turned to face her. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No, I haven't slept in a while actually," Nikki said softly as Kagome nodded in understanding. Though Kagome never would know the pain that was forced upon the other female, she would be as understanding as she could be.

"I'm sure memories keep you awake," Kagome said as Nikki nodded in agreement. "So, what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Nikki lied.

"You grow a look of complete concentration when you get lost in your thoughts, like you've gone somewhere not around us," Kagome said as Nikki looked at her surprised. "Since we've arrived, you've gone off on your own despite everyone around you. It's hard not to notice it."

"So, you can tell when I'm thinking about things," Nikki said with a shrug.

"I'm more curious about what you think about," Kagome said as Nikki grew a confused look. "Do you plan what you're going to do moment to moment? Are you contemplating what you're going to do tomorrow? Or are you overstressing the past as you analyze everything that's happened over and over again?" Nikki nodded, she now understood what Kagome was asking her.

"It depends," Nikki answered to Kagome's surprise. "Just now I was thinking about what I would do if Sesshomaru wished to discuss mating."

"Do you want him to?" Kagome asked as she sat down by Nikki. Nikki shrugged as she thought about it.

"Before all of this, I figured after the war in the West, he would," Nikki said as she thought about it. "But this changes things, I don't even think he will." Kagome looked at her uncertainly.

"Why not? He dotes on you, takes care of you, and has refused to come home just to be with you," Kagome said as Nikki stared at the ground. "I'm fairly certain, you're the one he chooses and that's the end of that. He's not letting everything separate you two, you shouldn't either." Nikki looked at her as she thought.

"He searches for absolute power," Nikki said as Kagome looked at her surprised, "and a male looking for absolute power does not want or need a female, let alone one as damaged as I." Kagome watched as she sighed and looked down to think. "No male wants a dishonored female for a mate, it does not bring them honor. In life honor and family as so important, nothing tops them." Kagome sighed as she watched Nikki nod to herself and then stand up. "I think I'm going to lay down, good night Kagome." Kagome watched as she walked off before getting up and heading inside as well. As she entered the threshold of the palace she noticed Sesshomaru not that far away.

"You heard everything said, didn't you?" Kagome asked him softly. He just looked at her and she noticed a glint of something in his eyes for a short moment.

"You shouldn't push her, Kagome," Sesshomaru said softly.

"I wasn't, I wasn't expecting her to answer me," Kagome said as he nodded. "I figured she'd find a way out of answering, she has been all day." She sighed as she thought. "I think you should ask her to be your mate. She'd say yes, she didn't say she'd refuse you. She feels you'd refuse her."

"This Sesshomaru has to finish the quest chosen, she is correct on that," Sesshomaru said as Kagome shook her head. "You think this is an unwise decision."

"I think it's a very stupid decision," Kagome answered. "Your happiness shouldn't be based off of a quest that has no end. She has once told you how stupid she thinks this quest is and it infuriated you..."

"She is not the same Nikki that was at that ball," Sesshomaru warned her.

"She is the same Nikki," Kagome challenged, "she is lost. How can she find her way back if no one will light the way in the darkness forced upon her?" Kagome walked away as Sesshomaru watched her and fell into deep thought. He returned to his own room, listening to make sure Nikki was alright before starting to rest himself.

This chapter may go under revision, it just seems too scattered to me but at the same time it makes plenty of sense.

Lol it's courtesy of Mother Nature and all this snow we're receiving that I have time to write and post.