InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodlust ❯ Accustomed Silence ( Chapter 22 )

Kinawai called for order, and the suddenness with which silence descended once more across the table of lords was startling. He looked slowly around the table, noting levels of tension, surprised by the reaction.

"Who would speak?"

One of the lords Kagome was not familiar with stood.

"The council recognizes the Lord of the Bear Clan."

"Beyond the present grievances of the Lord of the West, this council loses its effectiveness if it does not enforce its own laws. The dragon clans must be taught a lesson, or others like them will take advantage of our laxness. The council must take action, and quickly. Already we have been delayed two weeks by the necessities of convening the council. The issue of guilt is no issue, it is determined. All that this council must decide upon is the consequence."

He sat, and a murmur of agreement made its way around the table. Kagome caught Kouga looking at her, staring at her in violation of all protocol and custom. She avoided the flash of his brown eyes carefully, and was surprised to see him stand, bracing herself for trouble. She could feel the rise in tension around the table, and she held her breath.

"The council recognizes the Lord of the South."

"Death must be dealt in judgment. The dragon clans have fought without honor or purpose, using forbidden poison to destroy a lord. Death is the only just punishment, the only consequence which will be taken serious. I speak not of death of every dragon youkai, but the death of all their lords. Only this meets adequately the seriousness of their offense."

Sesshomaru looked across at Kouga, who sat quickly, and he nodded once to the wolf prince. Kagome looked incredulously from one to the other, and shrugged mentally.

*I should just be glad they aren't after each other…*

Sesshomaru caught the disbelief in her gaze when her eyes next fell on him, and he almost smiled. Kinawai called then for each of the lords who supported a sentence of death upon the dragon clan lords to stand, and Sesshomaru was violently surprised when Kagome stood instantly by his side, fire burning in her eyes. Kinawai dismissed the council until the dragon clan lords could be found, and Kagome was surprised at how fast the sun had flown toward the horizon. Sesshomaru caught her up in his arms, and sped with her to the edge of the forest that bounded the clearing. He kissed her hard and fiercely, and she gasped for breath against his lips, and when she pulled away his eyes were hot.

"Sess-chan?"

A low, pleased growl rumbled in his chest, and she smiled.

"You have done well, my mate. Tell me, why did you stand? You know it was not required that you do so, and I know you are not fond of killing."

He sat with his back against a tree, and she curled up beside him, letting the soft thump of his heart dip her into a smooth drowse.

"For the hours that I had lost you, I experienced greater grief than ever before in my life. The dragon clans selfish greed is responsible for that grief, and I will not let that responsibility pass them by. Their leaders deserve death, if only because they dared to mock the solemn promise of death I gave them in my eyes."

He nuzzled her cheek, drawing her out of her anger and closer in the embrace of his arms.

"Forgive me, my Kagome. I did not mean to draw old memories out of deep water."

A silence of minutes passed, and left them to sit alone and peaceful under their tree, before one of the lower youkai ran to a stop in front of them and bowed deeply.

"Lord and Lady of the West, the Lord of the North has recessed the council until the dragon clan lords are brought at dawn. He sends to you a message, that the evening meal will be served at the council table when the sun is an hour past setting."

Sesshomaru nodded and pressed Kagome's hand warningly when she opened her mouth to speak.

"You may inform the Lord of the North that the Lord and Lady of the West will attend."

After the youkai left them alone once more, Kagome looked curiously at Sesshomaru's face, brushing her fingers gently across the stripes on his cheek.

"Why could I not speak, Sess-chan?"

"He was male. The custom does not apply only to the lords, my mate, it applies to any male but your mate."

"Why? It is such an odd custom."

"It is a matter that was of much concern in the past, instituted to prevent battles during the council session. Before the ban was introduced, there were several battles and combat challenges over what was too much, concerning contact between mated youkai and other youkai who were of opposing gender but not their mate. Being enclosed in a relatively small space with thirty other lords was trying, and assaults were common. Eventually even the servants began fighting over mating rights, and the ban was institute restricting contact and conversation. Between youkai of opposing gender, neither direct eye contact or conversation is permitted, except under the most dire of circumstances - except with ones mate."

She shrugged slightly and burrowed deeper into the soft warmth of his haori, and he let her wrap herself unconsciously around his body.

"It does not concern me much, except to remember it. There is no one here but you that I would speak with - I do not know them, and they frighten me. Kinawai does not…he is not so intimidating as the others. He reminds me of someone, though I can not think of who; like a memory from childhood that I cannot catch. But don't mind me - I am assuming that the dinner is separated as the conversation is?"

He nodded.

"Oh yes. If you are looking to acquaint yourself with the other ladies, I would suggest that you do so now. From what I have observed at other sessions of council, the females tend to be more…talkative when they are separated from their mates."

Kagome took a deep breath, and her eyes turned toward the spreading mantle of stars across the sky, shying away from the last few startled rays of sunlight.

"Is there anything else I should know, Sess-chan?"

He let his claws caress the smooth expanse of silk over her abdomen.

"They are female, they will know you carry my pup. Be careful with words upon that subject, there are things they would call taboo that you do not know of and that there has not been time to tell you of. To speak of such things - the heat, the life-spark - could be dangerous."

He lifted her gently out of his lap and pulled her to her feet by his side, and she stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

"I am afraid to go like this alone…I don't like being separated from you."

He nipped gently at the point of her ear, and she giggled slightly, letting his arms come to rest around her waist.

"You will be perfectly fine, and will do me honor. It is only for the hour of dinner, and then I will take you to a place that is mine, close by. It has beauty which is almost comparable to yours."

Her cheeks rosed at his words, and she walked slowly by his side back in the direction of the council table, where a soft yellow light shimmered through the interwoven boughs of the tall, steady trees on the edge of the meadow. When she came to it, she saw that the council table had been split cleanly in two, and she tightened suddenly cold hands on the smooth warmth of his. He nuzzled her neck before her fear-scent could spike, comforting with touch and the gentle reminder of her place as his mate. A low and grateful growl purred low in her chest, and she stepped away from his arms and into the circle of female youkai. Several of them stepped deferentially out of her way, and she assumed they were the servants of the other ladies, and she shook her head with a half smile that they might be so dependent on others for simple things.

"Lady Kagome!"

She turned to the call of her name, as one of the youkai ladies made a gesture for her to approach.

"I am Lady Kasuka, mate to Lord Kinawai and Lady of the Northern Lands."

Kagome returned her short bow, and completed the formal introduction.

"I am Lady Kagome, mate to Lord Sesshomaru, and Lady of the Western Lands."

Kasuka shook her head slowly, looking Kagome up and down.

"Tell us, how did you do it? There are females who have been trying to seduce the Lord of the West for decades, from the highest royal lines. But we have heard neither of you or your family before."

Kagome laughed, and the clear rush of sound perked the ears of the ladies standing near her.

"Forgive me Lady Kasuka, I mean no disrespect. It is only that I did not seduce Sesshomaru - you might say it was the other way around."

Kasuka looked shocked.

"Lord Sesshomaru chasing after a female? That fits not at all with my image of him. He is too cold for such things."

The most tender and secret of smiles kidnapped Kagome's expression, and her hands moved instinctively to touch her abdomen. Kasuka caught both the smile and the touch, and the pheromone brush of Kagome's conception made itself known to her, and her eyes widened swiftly. A low call to the table reminded them of why they were there, and the slow, idle chatter pulled itself gradually out of the conversation. Kasuka searched gravely for words, and looked towards where Kagome seated herself, content in her silence.

"Lady Kagome, are you pupped?"

Kagome shot her gaze across the low table at the demon lady of the North, and Kasuka breathed quick and lightly in, as though scorched by her look. The look on Kasuka's face allayed Kagome's fears, and she nodded slowly.

"Yes, I am."

"How unusual, and how wonderful. I congratulate you, and you must pass my good wishes on to your mate."

Kagome nodded briefly, before she turned back to her meal.

"I thank you, I will do so."

Kasuka was surprised at Kagome's odd control, both of her words and her actions. The tremor of her scent betrayed no emotion, though her face was open, and the clear silver of her eyes hid neither deceit nor some secret purpose, and Kasuka watched Kagome out of the corner of her eye through the remainder of the meal, storing her observations for a later date. She was a collector of information, and this strange demoness who had captured the heart of a demon who didn't have one, who had the powers of a miko and the laughter of a goddess unrestrained…she was certain to add some interesting new pieces to her collection. Across from her, the Lady of the Easter n Lands spoke up hesitantly, drawing Kagome from her studied silence.

"Lady Kagome, were you not responsible for the destruction of the hanyou Naraku? There was some talk of it at the ceremony of your presentation."

The word hanyou almost made her wince, and a quick flash of memory stole her attention, silver hair and puppy ears and a smug satisfaction, but she shook it off.

"Yes, my companions and I destroyed Naraku. They desired revenge for evils they had suffered at his hands, and I was honor bound to retrieve the shards of the shikon jewel, which I shattered."

Ears around the table focused on the conversation, and the Eastern Lady wrinkled her nose slightly.

"You are mated to Lord Sesshomaru, who could easily have defeated Naraku and returned the jewel shards. In fact, if you excuse me saying so, from what I have seen of your power you yourself should have had no problem. Yet instead you chose to travel with Lord Sesshomaru's hanyou brother and a pair of humans. Why?"

The mention of InuYasha threatened to break her control, and Sesshomaru looked across at her immediately, feeling for the first time the full strength of her emotions pressing against their mated bond. He pushed towards her his calm, his strength, and Kagome felt the presence of him as almost physical, holding onto it like a lifeline. Slowly, she answered the question asked of her, but she could not completely stop her youkai from touching the corners of her eyes.

"It…was not that simple. At that time Sesshomaru was not my mate, he was my enemy. My miko was yet mostly untrained, and my youkai power and senses were hidden by spells. Four years I traveled that way collecting the shards of the jewel, and it was not until several months after I purified Naraku that I came upon Sesshomaru, and he was able to…remove the spells."

She flushed slightly and fell silent, and Kasuka flashed her fangs in an odd sort of grin.

"Spells of blood and fire?"

Kagome looked startled and met the suddenly piercing gaze of the Lady of the North, and an odd silence fell across the table, as though blown in by the wind.

"Yes, they were. How did you know?"

"There lived on my lands for some time a clan of miko youkai. Though often called upon by youkai who suffered the malevolence of their fellows, humans refused to accept the miko in them for what it was. For some reason this bothered them, and they made a decision which affected the whole clan. The heads of the clan cast the spells, and it has been passed through the generations. There was even rumor for a while that some of the clan had escaped the spells, but there has been no confirmation of that."

Kagome's stomach tightened in heavy anticipation, and she felt as though she breathed through hot water.

"Lady Kasuka…was it a clan of inu-youkai?"

The youkai lady shrugged slightly and sipped delicately at her drink.

"It could have been, I really didn't pay much attention to it at the time. It was sometime ago, and the original heads of the clan are most certainly dead by this time. Unless the spells are removed, the ones they are cast upon lives and dies like a human. You are certainly lucky you found your blood match."

Kagome nodded slowly, and let the dizzy knot of tension unravel itself inside her belly.

"Of course, somewhere in my mate's castle there is probably full documentation of the whole thing, but I haven't bothered looking for it."

Kagome could sense Kasuka holding something back, but she let the tug of her curiosity die down, and noticed with slight relief the males stand at their table and turn towards them. Kagome stood quickly and nearly ran to Sesshomaru's side, unsurprised when he did not wrap his arms around her. The cold mask over his features revealed only to her a plea for understanding, and she smiled up at him reassuringly, grazing the tips of her fingers across his. The speed with which he gripped her hand surprised her, and she stepped closer to his body.

"Where do we go now, Sess-chan?"

"To my place, my sanctuary here. My father stayed in the same place when he attended council. It has a quiet beauty - you will see."

The slight pressure of his hand and the near soundless motion of the trees in the wind dripped stars into her eyes that glimmered at him through the venom-gray of the night. He walked with her in silence, letting the minutes slip past, and when he stopped she stumbled to a halt beside him as though out of a dream. A series of steps carved out of the native rock were worn smooth with the passage of time and the slow motion of shallow falling water in front of them. The trees wound over each other, letting a twist of vines hang low and heavy with flowers in pale violet bloom. Kagome watched a single blossom fall and echo ripples through the clear water, and the pale half-moon light gathered in the air. She lay by the small waterfall, letting it run over her fingers as she relaxed her body against the soft turf. Sesshomaru undid the ties that bound her ahir, and nuzzled the curve of her neck.

"You were right, Sess-chan…it is very beautiful."

He let his tongue trace its way from her neck to her lips, and she shivered pleasantly, whispering against his lips.

"Insatiable…"

Later, she did not remember if his smile or his hands had been more wicked.

YAY! I felt bad for not updating for so long, so here are three at once! Don't worry, we wont' have anymore week long breaks…vacation made me sooo lazy. Reviewing! Please!