Total Eclipse of the Heart

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fanfic except for certain characters such as Liana, Aya, Aki, etc. The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I make no profit from this fanfic.

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A/N: Because of computer problems, LC cannot be my beta at this time…instead, let us welcome Danyealle to the team!!! I just want to thank her so much for all her help with this fanfic! Dany, I really appreciate it!

FOR DOKUGA: I would also like to take the time to thank my “mate” Inc (Incomprehensible) who helped me greatly through this chapter. I really could not have gotten the council members done without her!
Thanks Incy!!!

I AM SORRY that it has been taking so long to update this story…I am getting back on track though so hopefully I will be able to update two or three new chapters within the next few days!

I would love to hear some reviews or comments about how this story is going for you guys!

OH! And if you haven’t seen it already…check out the cover of this fanfic that Lady Sianna was kind enough to draw for me! I absolutely love it and hope you guys like it as well!

Link can be found here: http://ladysianna2.deviantart.com/art/Eclipse-Cover-115254040

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Chapter Nine: The Summoning of the Shikon Miko, Kagome

Sango sighed as she once again found her dear hanyou friend lying on one of Goshinboku’s many branches, starring off the direction that Kagome had left days ago. He came back to the village every once in a while for a meal or to help out with some of the villagers who were building new huts, but little short of a fire or demon would bring him back otherwise. The small village outside of Inuyasha’s forest would not be small for very much longer - both Miroku and Sango knew this.

Sango heard the call of her husband behind her – the children were terrorizing him once again – but Sango just smiled. Inuyasha had obviously heard the call as well and turned to Sango.

“Aren’t you going to go take care of the brats?” Inuyasha asked before jumping down to join her at the base of Goshinboku.

“Maybe in a while,” Sango replied, laughing at her husband’s misfortune. “I need a break every once and a while, too. Besides, you and Miroku just got back from taking care of the lizard demon that was terrorizing one of the northern villages, so it’s time Miroku spent time with his children.”

Inuyasha smirked. “Yeah,” he simply replied then returned his gaze back to the path his mate-to-be traveled.

“She’ll be alright, Inuyasha,” Sango comforted, a smile on her face as she turned her gaze in the same direction as he had. “Our Kagome is very strong. We’ve seen her face countless demons, not to mention Naraku, Sesshomaru, and you when you transformed, and not once was she afraid. I’m even sure she’s standing in front of the courts right now, ordering them around and making them do things only the Kagome we know could make them do!”

Inuyasha chuckled at his friend’s heated statement. “Yeah, I can believe that,” he said firmly before looking directly at Sango’s face. “Let’s head back. If we don’t meet up with Miroku soon, he’ll be sending your brats to come tackle me again.” He narrowed his eyes in a joking fashion. “And that’s worse than Kagome’s ‘sits!’”

Sango laughed heartily and watched Inuyasha walk back into the trees towards the small village they called a home. Sighing once more, she took one last glance at the path the young miko had traveled and let out a small prayer before following behind Inuyasha.

Be safe, Kagome.

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“Ah, so Lord Sesshomaru finally makes his appearance.” A nekomata with blue-like hair and white eyes commented, a teasing lilt in her dulcet tone. She had somewhat of tan colored skin with two crescent – black – tribal like markings underneath each of her eyes. Like all of the other youkai in the room, she had pointed ears and sharp fangs. Her smile was cool and collected, but even Sesshomaru knew the fiery and passionate cat behind the mask this feline wore. Lady Setsuko was around Hisao’s age, perhaps only few decades younger, but the feline was a friend of his mother; the type of youkai you didn’t want to mess with unless you wanted the harsh punishments that came along with it.

“Setsuko, do not tease the poor boy,” spoke a very wise and intellectual voice. This had come from Lord Kazuhiro, a mujina, or, rather, a badger youkai, whom of which was considered the scholar amongst all the youkai lords. Though he had spoken to Lady Setsuko, Lord Kazuhiro’s dark brown eyes never left the old, yellowed page as he peered through countless words of the ancient scrolls of the youkai. He had dark black hair with silvery white streaks; it was rather short for his kin, but Lord Kazuhiro with his white skin, found it more comfortable to have his shoulder–length hair pulled up into a ponytail at all times.

He was roughly around Hisao’s age as well, but Sesshomaru knew that this old badger had grown with both his sire and Hisao. He was a rather kind youkai, but the Western Lord had witnessed him under pressure before, and when invoked, he exploded. Yet, the old youkai was known to have a good sense of humor as well, which Sesshomaru found quite refreshing sometimes. And much like Lady Kameyo, who sat to the left of Hisao, Kazuhiro bore no markings except for a scar that ran from one side of his face to the bottom opposite side. “It’s good to see you again, Sesshomaru.”

“Greetings as well, Lord Kazuhiro,” Sesshomaru acknowledged, nodding shortly before moving to his seat. Next to his chair sat Lord Masanori, a younger youkai – snake demon – with short platinum white hair and bright green eyes. The Western Lord merely glared at the youkai who was in similar age to himself. Masanori was a petulant child; an attention-seeker. This demon also bore a snake-like mark that started from the middle of his left cheek that swirled down to the base of his neck: a trademark of his family.

“You have done what was requested, I take it, Lord Sesshomaru?” Ah, now Lady Tomoko was a mystery to even the council. A tanuki – raccoon youkai – with long, brown hair and tanned skin, yet, what astounded the council the most were her hazel eyes. Tomoko, who was also around the same age as Sesshomaru, was blind, but, at the same time, she wasn’t. Though Tomoko was quite literally blind, she could sense other demon’s “youki” and could tell things like position and emotional stability – she could even see things realistically.

Though she, too, was an attention-seeker, she was more mature than Masanori. You see, Tomoko was forced into a mating – her mate died several decades ago – and it was heavily believed she had abandonment issues; a caring creature by nature, but a hard ruler, and very difficult to persuade.

Sesshomaru nodded his head to her as he took his seat. He looked to Lady Kameyo who smiled and nodded her head at him. He simply replied with his usual “Hn” and kept looking at the familiar faces around the room.

The council sat in a crescent like state, with Sesshomaru sitting at the far left and Hisao sitting to the far right. Next to Sesshomaru was Lord Masanori, who, in turn, sat next to Lord Kouga, who simply sat in seat, quiet and looking around the room in fairly the same manner that Sesshomaru was. Beside Kouga was Lady Tomoko and next to her was Lady Setsuko. Lord Kazuhiro sat somewhat in the “center” of the crescent shape and continuing next to him Lady Naoki.

Lady Naoki, a kitsune with short-ish red hair, blue eyes and tan skin. No markings, but then again, she was the oldest council member and it is said that long before Inu no Taisho was even ruler of the Western Lands; youkai simply lived amongst the humans; almost to the point of blending in. During those times, or as Lady Naoki would tell you, it was rather hard to tell the difference between humans and youkai. The only true difference was their auras which sometimes influenced the leaders of those villages at that time. However, that all changed centuries ago when youkai took it upon themselves to rule certain parts of the land.

Level-headed, though not opinionated, Lady Naoki is best described as a child at heart. She lived in the “old” way of youkai life, where the alphas used to be only the females of the packs and the males were loners. Though that way of life has changed over the centuries, Naoki and her mate still lived with the mindset of those times. While her mate was away on the other continent seeking out one of their kits, Lady Naoki stayed behind, dealing with the courts and the way of the land.

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed as he continued down the line.

Next to Lady Naoki was Lord Masahiro: a silent lord who barely ever said a word to anyone other than his mate, but from what the Western Lord did know of him, he was calculating and always chose what was best for him in certain situations. This demon lord simply sat back in his chair, looking about the room and meeting eyes with Masanori every once in a while, narrowing his gaze before turning his head and sighing.

Between him and Lady Kameyo was Lady Miyoko. Though she too was a Hebi youkai with bright strawberry–blonde hair, dark green eyes, and yellow-like skin, Miyoko was younger than Sesshomaru and very much different from Masanori, who was somehow related to her (Sesshoumaru had never asked, and they never spoke of it). She was the youngest of the council members, having to only just come to power because of the sudden passing of her father; a sweet personality, caring and liked to help anyone as much as she could, though, as a ruler, Miyoko was quite a contradictory kind of youkai. She stuck to schedules closely and didn’t forgive easily; a neutralist. Often times, Sesshomaru got the impression that Miyoko didn’t care about race or species, though he had observed how she feared anything to do with change and had a habit of hesitating.

Quickly passing his gaze past Kameyo, a little annoyed by her fluttering eyes, Sesshomaru met his uncle’s gaze. Both were still very concerned about this gathering, wondering what was going on and why on earth Lady Naoki as well as Lord Kazuhiro had allowed this to come to past.

“Now that we are all here,” Lady Naoki began, “I believe it is time to summon the Shikon Miko.”

“Here, here!” They agreed.

“Lady Kagome, Shikon Miko, the Youkai Court has summoned you,” Lord Kazuhiro announced.

The room went deathly silent as the doors slid open. Sesshomaru looked to the other lords and ladies, studying their reactions as he heard the shuffling feet of the miko enter the room. The younger of the council members gasped at the outright beauty of this small human, while the older members were calmer, holding the masks over their faces with a such control that not even Sesshomaru could tell what exactly they were thinking.

He turned his gaze back to Kagome to find her in a proper bow - no doubt of the ladies of this palace had taught her how to do so shortly after she had bathed. All the lords of the ladies bowed their heads in replied and so the miko stood tall, lifting her chin high to them. Sesshomaru could not help but smirk at this.

“Let me be the first to state for my fellow council members that we are much honored to be in your presence, Shikon Miko,” Lady Setsuko said as she leaned comfortably into her seat.

“I would like to request that I be referred to as Kagome, dear lords and ladies,” she replied in a cool tone, keeping it firm and strong.

“And what would be your reasons for that?” Lord Kazuhiro questioned, his eyes still attached on one of the pages of the ancient scroll.

“I am simply not accustomed to being called by my title, my lord,” Kagome stated. “Though I too am honored to be here with you great lords and ladies, I find it quite uncomfortable to be called with a title when the Shikon no Tama is no longer in existence. I am simply the miko Kagome. I have seen and done many things, I have fought countless youkai - hanyou and humans alike. It is very important to me for my name to be recognized; not my title.”

The tension in the room was somewhat lifted for the time being, some of the ladies smiled at Kagome and were growing to like this human in a very short period of time.

“I believe, we shall accept you request, then, Lady Kagome,” Lady Miyoko sweetly said with one of her kind smiles. Kagome smiled in return and bowed her head in thanks.

“And so it shall be written that the Shikon Miko’s request has been granted,” Lord Kazuhiro announced, his voice echoing around the council room as he raised a quill and wrote it down on the scroll he had been reading from.

Kagome clasped her hands together in front of her, waiting to hear what these demons wanted from her. All was silent for a few minutes as both the youkai and the miko watched Lord Kazuhiro for any signs of continuing. When he was finished writing in the scroll, he placed the quill down and for the first time in a long time, he took his eyes off the scroll to Kagome.

“Kagome, although as Lady Setsuko has said that we are honored for you to be here, I’m afraid to say that this summons is not on pleasant terms,” he began slowly.

Sesshomaru raised his left eyebrow to this statement, and leaned forward in his seat slightly. He took a quick glance towards the miko and saw that she seemed confused.

“Would you care to clarify, Kazuhiro?” Lord Masanori questioned. His legs were propped up in front of him and he seemed to be reclining quite comfortably in his chair.

“That’s Lord Kazuhiro to you, hebi,” Lady Naoki sneered and Masanori simply snorted but refused to comment back. “Continue, please, Lord Kazuhiro.”

“Yes, as I was stating: Kagome, with the destruction of the Shikon no Tama as well as the death of the evil hanyou known as Naraku, the youkai have come together to recognize you a powerful miko.”

“You see, Kagome, the only other powerful miko that has ever caught the attention of the youkai is Midoriko,” Lady Miyoko interrupted, her smile fading somewhat.

“Lady Midoriko befriended both the Western and Northern Lord,” Lady Setsuko added.

“My sire?” Sesshomaru questioned, shocked by this news.

“Hai, Sesshomaru, your sire and my grand-sire,” Lady Miyoko replied with a smile. “However, this was long before both you and I were born. My grand-sire had taken a mate at this point and shortly after the birth of my sire, there were rumors of a possible mating between my grand-sire and Lady Midoriko.” She then stood, head bowed slightly. “But you see, because of this rumor, Lady Midoriko and my grand-sire got into a fight; an epic battle that ultimately ‘ended’ both of their lives.”

“Miyoko, are you stating that it is the Northern Lord that had been trapped in the Shikon no Tama with the miko Midoriko?” Sesshomaru asked and he heard Kagome gasp.

“Yes, it was he,” Miyoko replied, sitting and bowing her head lower.

“Then what’s to stop this miko from doing the same?” Masanori questioned, pointed his clawed fingertips towards Kagome. “We all know that she favors youkai, is even friends with the hanyou half-brother of Sesshomaru.” Kagome looked over to Sesshomaru and saw him growl, glaring at Masanori. “You’ve brought us together; have you not Lord Kazuhiro, to take away the powers of this young miko?”

“What?” Kagome exclaimed, causing the youkai to look at her. “Don’t take away my powers! Please! I beg you!”

“You can’t be serious Masanori!” Kouga was the first to jump to his feet at Kagome’s defense. “My soon-to-be-mate would never do anything to hurt any of us!”

The room erupted in gasps. “Mate?” This question echoed throughout the room.

“You see? She is no different than that same miko who took our dear Lord Daichi, using his power against us and being consumed inside of a small jewel, forever to be lost to not only his pack, but to this council,” Masanori exclaimed.

“I have to concur with Lord Masanori on this subject,” Lady Tomoko agreed. “This miko Kagome has proven that she has magnificent powers, dangerous to all youkai. It is unwise to keep this human around with her amount of powers.”

“Well I disagree,” Lady Kameyo stated. “Although I have only known this human for a short amount of time, she has made no moves to be rude to me, nor harm me in any fashion.”

“Lady Midoriko was the same way, Lady Kameyo,” Lady Naoki stated. “You were not there, but I certainly was. Lady Midoriko posed no threat to us at the time, nor did we heed the warnings we had received about her powers. It was too late to save Lord Daichi, and Lady Miyoko, you have my apology. I am forced to agree with Lord Masanori at this time.”

Hisao simply snorted and everyone turned their gazes to him. He looked back at all of them, but then caught a strong hold on a particular gaze. “What is your intake on this matter, Sesshomaru?”

Everyone turned their gaze to the Western Lord who seemed to be narrowing his eyes at his uncle. Sesshomaru stood from his seat, moving over to the miko who was trembling under not only the council’s gaze, but especially under the half-brother of her true mate-to-be.

Please, Sesshomaru, Kagome begged in her thoughts. I know you hate humans, probably me most of all for being friends with your half-brother. But please seek mercy for me. If you do that, I promise, I’ll never call you “nii-chan” ever again!

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