Pre-Note: Well, I suppose apologies are in order, yes?
In all honesty, I've sort of strayed away from the Inuyasha fandom (Derek and Stiles and Sherlock and John and Merlin and Arthur and Harry and Draco have burst across my radar like sunspots) but I promise I'm not going to abandon this story. That being said, even though I am working on it, I'm also juggling a full-time semester at school, so I don't have as much time as I'd like to write. All I ask is that you all bear with me (and review to keep me motivated) and I promise that I'll do my best to get this story completed. Anyway, here's the next chapter, in which there's actual plot (le gasp)! Enjoy, and don't forget to let me know what you think!
Chapter Thirty-Nine—Turning Wheels
For the first time since she'd accompanied Chiyoko to the South, Kagome's nerves were jumbled in her chest, fear fighting with anxiety as though eager to rip each other apart. Tapping her fingers against the tabletop, the miko bit down on her bottom lip, trying and failing to give herself a positive boost. 'It isn't as though you haven't done something like this before, Kagome!' she scolded. 'This is hardly any different than the gathering at Asoka-sama's shiro.' Of course, the fact that it was different wasn't helping her feel any better about it, and she sighed heavily before leaning forward to press her forehead against the table. "I can't do this," she mumbled. "I'm going to make a fool of myself." "Perhaps," Chiyoko conceded, and Kagome turned her head to glare at her, to which the demoness lifted a perfect brow and continued, "or perhaps not." A claw tapped against a jewel studded comb, and her servant obediently reached to tuck it into the immaculate coif of her gleaming hair. "But you will not know if you do not try, correct?" "You just want to see me bumble through this, don't you?" The lady smiled a sharp smile that Kagome found mildly frightening despite Chiyoko's general lack of animosity. "Naturally." Kagome groaned, and thumped her head against the wood. "This isn't fair, you know. Why do I have to receive the guests?" "Because I have no desire to be simpered to, Higurashi—it gets quite tiring, after all." And of course that was the real reason for this new form of torture—because Chiyoko said so! Groaning again, Kagome forced herself to sit up, and propped her chin in her hands as she watched the regal inuyoukai get dressed for the welcoming of Lord Sesshomaru's guests. With the Festival a mere three days away, the Eastern and Southern Courts had decided that it would be much more relaxing if they were to arrive two days early, to rest and recoup before everyone left for the Festival Grounds. Chiyoko had told her that this wasn't a usual occurrence; in years previous, the courts had simply come to the West to gather the Western Court before leaving, but—at least in Chiyoko's opinion—"with stories of the twelfth being spread far and wide", it was "little wonder" that they wanted to "linger for a while". Kagome was simply certain that the gods enjoyed toying with her life. She sighed again, and Chiyoko turned to look at her, the third layer of her elaborate kimono, dyed a vivid red, making the markings on her cheeks stand out. "Higurashi, this will be what you make of it," she said, voice a mixture of annoyance and encouragement all at once, "and nothing more than that." When she turned away again, it felt like a dismissal, and Kagome bowed to the demoness' back before standing and leaving the room. 'This will be what I make of it...?' The words suddenly filled her with unexpected confidence, and she smiled as she pulled her coat tight around her neck and stepped out of the main building. 'Then I'll make something good of it, and show everyone that I can do this.'
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Receiving guests, as it turned out, was probably the most interesting thing she could have done. Depending on which province they came from, the youkai who arrived greeted her differently, and a few of the minor Southern lords even presented her with a small gift. Children, who weren't held to the exact standards of the adults, smiled and touched her hands and hair and kimono, and called her pretty, and when the Eastern lords began to arrive, their young ones climbed boldly into her lap in their enthusiasm to talk to her. Their parents only laughed and scolded them for being so familiar, but Kagome found that she hardly minded—she hadn't seen a child since Shippo had left with Inuyasha weeks earlier, and the children of the township would hardly look at her, much less talk to her. 'And they're so carefree,' she thought, watching as the Eastern children followed one of the servants to where they would be housed. "You are good with pups," someone commented, and Kagome looked up as Mei joined her in the receiving room of the guest building. She smiled. "I think they're just fascinated with me." Mei smiled. "Well, you are quite fascinating." Kagome chuckled and shook her head, offering the pregnant demoness a cup of water. "Only to youkai, it seems." Dipping her head in thanks, Mei teased, "Aren't we the only ones that matter?" Yun-Qi made an agreeing noise in his throat, and Jiao-Long shot Kagome a wide grin. "She's right, you know," he said, twisting from where he sat to peer at her with playful yellow eyes. "We are the only ones who matter." Kagome shook her head. "Oh, aren't you all so modest?" Giggling softly, Mei sipped at her water, and then blinked in surprise and pressed her palms to her belly. "Oh," she said quietly, and then smiled so brightly that Kagome wondered if the sun had somehow snuck into the building. "He moved," she explained after a moment, and then grasped Kagome's wrist. "See? Can you feel him?" Frowning, Kagome channeled her attention into the slight protrusion of Mei's belly. She could feel the pup's youki signature—she'd been able to feel it for a few days now—and as the minute tendrils of power reacted to her reiki, something else shifted, and Kagome gasped. "He moved!" Mei hummed, and when Kagome pulled away, the youkai's gray eyes were the softest Kagome had ever seen them, her pink lips pulled back in a serene smile. "That's my pup," she murmured fondly, and Kagome couldn't help but share her smile. "If you're quite finished," a familiar voice drawled, and Kagome felt the blood drain from her face as she turned to regard Lady Chiyoko, who stood in the doorway of the receiving room like a goddess reborn. "Forgive me, Chiyoko-sama," she mumbled sheepishly, cheeks heating as the initial surprise passed. "I was only—" "Yes, I'm quite aware of what you were doing, Higurashi." She cast a glance around the room, her eyes lingering momentarily on Jiao-Long and Yun-Qi before landing heavily on Kagome once more. "Now come. The rest of the guests shall be placed elsewhere." Knowing better to ignore that tone, Kagome nodded and stood, smiling her farewell to Mei. She didn't realize until the wind was brushing her cheeks that Jiao-Long and Yun-Qi had remained behind, but just as she was turning to ask Chiyoko about it, the demoness cut her a quelling glance. Kagome swallowed her questions and ducked her head. The walk to the second guest building, this one much closer to the main building and therefore reserved only for the most trusted of Lord Sesshomaru's guests, was fairly silent, with only the whistling of the wind and the click-clack of their footsteps to keep them company. In the semi-quiet, Kagome's mind wandered, and, inevitably, it wandered to Daisuke, who had gone from answering all of her letters to answering none of them, no matter how many she sent or what she wrote in them. She had always known that there was a possibility that her friendship with the young man would fade away under the pressure of distance and differing opinions, but she had hoped that it would never come to pass. 'Was I only being naïve?' she wondered, stepping out of her geta and following Chiyoko into the building. 'Had I really thought that he would continue to care for me, even knowing that I gave myself to a demon?' The thought hurt a little more than she was prepared for, and she turned her face away from Chiyoko's sharp gaze as they settled in the receiving room. Staring at the wall, Kagome blinked the tears out of her eyes. Now was not the time to mourn her lost friendship, nor cry over the other relationships she had given up in her quest to be accepted for who she was. 'It's like Mei said, even though she was only joking,' she told herself firmly, 'these youkai are the only ones who matter. Everyone here—they are my family now.' She let the thought comfort her, and settled to welcome the last of Lord Sesshomaru's guests, unknowing that, just miles away, her fate was being sealed.
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Naraku was not a fool, and despite his position as heir, he knew full well when to back down from one of his mother's opinions; graciously, he inclined his head. "As you wish, haha-ue." When he turned away from her—leaving her with the human woman they had encountered on their way to the Western shiro—his sister caught his eye, and he trod carefully through the snow to where she sat, warm in her palanquin. Her lips, as red as her eyes, were twisted. "I do not like her," she said quietly, flicking her fan open to rest against her mouth. "She is no threat to us," Naraku responded mildly, knowing what role he had to play in this and forcing himself to keep his voice neutral. Kagura, never so easily fooled by his tones as others had been, narrowed her eyes. "If not to us," she asked, "then to whom?" "You worry for naught, dear sister," he answered, watching her face for signs of understanding. "No harm she presents will be permanent." At his back, wind snapped, and he reached instantly for his half-sister's emotions, calming and smoothing the ragged edges of her youki until it settled once again. "Be calm, Kagura," he reprimanded, not releasing the hold he had on her until her eyes had ceased spitting fire over his shoulder. "All will be well." He could tell that her teeth were bared, even with the fan covering her mouth, and despite his effort in calming her, she was livid. "I do not like this game that you and the dragoness play," she gritted out after a moment, and her fingers tightened on the handle of her fan until the pearl inlay creaked under the strain. "Nor do I," Naraku admitted, trying with all his might to hold on to the need to rebel against Kotono's instructions. "But the gods themselves have set this into motion—I cannot interfere." He reached to flick the feather earring she had donned, affectionate in a way that their bickering didn't usually warrant. "We cannot interfere." And Kagura suddenly deflated, and sighed, and nodded as though the weight of the world had dropped onto her shoulders. Later that afternoon, as he contemplated the turning wheels of fate and gods-directed paths, Naraku watched the back of his mother's newest charge, and fantasized about just how many ways he could kill Kawasaki Sango.
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Author's Note: And there you are! Thanks for reading, and please take a moment to review! Until next time, m'dears! ~Aubrey
