InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Peace Treaty ❯ Truth ( Chapter 51 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: piratequeen0405 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.31.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.8K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.31.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.8K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Work In Progress
Sesshoumaru rushed into the manor, holding Kagome with care so his quick movements would not further aggravate her wound. He ignored the looks of shock and horror on the faces of the Youkai nobles and servants within; they would find out about the events of the day soon enough. He made his way directly to the infirmary where half a dozen soldiers, the elite guards he had handpicked to protect his father, lay on the floor in varying states of injury and consciousness. He frowned at them. “Taken out by a lone Ningen woman?”
The most lucid guard, who had been helping another to rise to his feet, jumped up to attention. “My Lord,” he said, bowing low, “we—”
“Have you checked on my father?”
The guard straightened. His eyes grew wide at the sight of Kagome, unconscious and bloody in his lord’s arms, but he answered the question with the discipline that had been instilled in him. “General Inutaisho is unharmed.”
“Permit no one to enter his room, save Lady Gina, myself, and the Lady of the West. If Lord Okuri is spotted, he is to be arrested immediately.”
Sesshoumaru entered the infirmary and laid Kagome on the nearest bed. Her ashen skin tone and the amount of blood soaking her thick clothes were alarming, but he took some bitter comfort in the warmth and nearness of her body after their long separation. The shock he had received in the courtyard minutes before, that they had all been utterly, tragically mistaken, began to wear off. She was alive and with him again, and at that moment, it was the only thing he cared to focus on. He smoothed the damp hair from her face, wishing she would wake so he could tell her how much he had missed her, how sorry he was for fighting her. For the past weeks all his comforting dreams, the dreams that helped him survive the lonely nights, had been wrong. In his dreams, Kagome was innocent; in his dreams, he had known this and welcomed her home.
He leaned in close and inhaled her scent. There, beneath the layers of dirt and blood, he recognized a faint bit of her, calling to him like a song. But it was buried under this new smell. Deeper, earthier, wholly different and unknown. He understood, too late, that the change in her scent was not due to deceit. She had not been lying and had never lied. Pregnant. He wondered if that was what she had tried to tell him right before she lost consciousness, and was ashamed to remember how he deaf he had been to her pleas. All available evidence had clearly pointed to her guilt, and now the solid certainty with which he had been forced to act was a moving mass of confusion. Despite the myriad unanswered questions, one thing finally was made certain—Kagome was innocent. He closed his eyes and sighed with the rightness of it. No longer were his instincts to protect her in opposition to his duty as acting leader of the West. In his relief, he felt whole for the first time since the Longest Night.
Fast footsteps approached, and, after the sounds of a brief argument in the corridor, Gina and the miko burst into the room. Sesshoumaru didn’t look up; he was expecting they were right behind him.
“Get away from her, you bastard.” The words were angry and accusatory, but the voice was soaked with grief and fear.
Sesshoumaru turned to see the miko, her palms glowing with energy, was staring at him with unconcealed hatred.
Gina placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “Taka,” she said, “it’s alright now.”
She didn’t back down. “If you hurt her again, I’ll kill you.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t hurt my own mate.”
“Like you didn’t hurt her a few minutes ago?” she spat. “Did you not see she was only using defensive techniques? Too blinded by anger to realize that she didn’t even want to fight you?” She moved to the other side of Kagome and continued to glare at Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru growled a warning—a low ominous sound that left no room for interpretation.
“Oh for love of the gods,” Gina said, immediately interceding. The last thing she needed was a battle between Kagome’s fiercely loyal friend and a protective Inuyoukai male. She grabbed Sesshoumaru’s arm and pulled. “Sessh,” she said with gentle firmness, “it’s okay. Come with me.”
“No. I’m not leaving her.”
“You’ll just be in the way here. Kagome is badly injured. Leave us to deal with this. Go help in the search for Okuri.” Gina looked at Taka and gestured toward a row of cabinets. “Taka, you’ll find the supplies we need over there. I’ll be right back.”
Sesshoumaru reluctantly allowed himself to be led from the infirmary into the corridor. “Do you trust that miko?” he asked.
“That miko is the reason Kagome isn’t dead,” Gina said. “She is a trained healer. If I am to save your mate, I need her.”
“Gina…how bad is it? The truth.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t even gotten a chance to look, though the amount of blood loss alone has me very concerned. Taka said she was seriously injured a few days ago…an injury from kayaku.”
Sesshoumaru felt the truth of his ignorance like a shooting pain; there was so much critical information he didn’t know or understand. His relief over her innocence blinded him to the real danger she was facing. Kayaku. He would ask questions later; details right now were unimportant. “Save her.”
Gina nodded and managed a grim smile. “Go join the search for Okuri. You will be of greater use looking for him than here worrying.”
As much as he hated to leave, he knew she was right. Duty again called, a particularly insistent burden. He left the manor and found Kouga near the courtyard.
XXXXX
“My Lord,” Kouga said as Sesshoumaru walked toward him, “there is no sign of Lord Okuri in his quarters, and Lady Azami said she hasn’t seen him at all today. You may want to question his servants; they were unwilling to provide more than the simplest of answers.”
Commander Endo called to them and ran up. “Lord Sesshoumaru. The Youkai at the aviary said Lord Okuri received a message yesterday from the boar Youkai.”
“Boar Youkai,” Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully. They had been involved in a deadly skirmish with Ningen at a time when Kagome would have been traveling through the neutral territory. He doubted it was a coincidence. “Has he sent any messages out?” he asked.
“Not in the past few days according to the aviary attendant, but he had been corresponding regularly with the families seeking Lady Azami’s hand.”
“Send troops to those families and his few remaining sympathizers. Tell them that anyone who opens their doors to him will be considered an accessory to treason and will face execution.” He turned to Kouga. “Once word of his betrayal becomes known, no Inu family will shelter him. He’s headed to the boar Youkai, if not now then he will be. Go south, toward the winter camp of the Unaffiliated Clans. I’m going to ascertain what those servants know.”
Commander Endo nodded curtly and left in the direction of the barracks; Kouga lingered. “You think the evidence this miko has will support Kagome’s word against Okuri?”
“My mother and Gina seem to think so, and I have confidence in their judgment more than any.” Sesshomaru could only trust that the miko’s proof would stand up to scrutiny.
“I confess I’m not surprised at how relieved I am to learn that she’s innocent,” Kouga said, his voice pensive. “Odd that the innocence of a Ningen woman means more to me than the guilt of another Youkai. Granted,” he added with a slight, self-conscious laugh, “I’m talking about Kagome and Okuri…a dove and a serpent.” Kouga paused, then asked quietly, “Is she okay? I saw the fight. It didn’t appear that you landed a blow, but there was blood everywhere.”
“Apparently she had an earlier injury that was reopened. An injury from kayaku. Gina was vague but seemed…optimistic.” He hoped this was true and not merely his eagerness to believe everything would be, as in his dreams, life back to normal as soon as Kagome woke. His helplessness and frustration felt stifling, suffocating, and he pitied the servants he was about to question should they be less than completely forthcoming.
Kouga watched Sesshoumaru go back into the manor with a heavy heart. A Youkai, especially an Inuyoukai, assaulting his mate was disgraceful. Now that Kagome’s innocence was known and he was no longer defending against an outside threat, Sesshoumaru’s fight with her, even if done without realizing the truth, could be considered a violation of Youkai nature, a sacrilege of sorts. Kouga had heard the Gina say the word miscarrying. He recalled his brother’s suicide—Kintaro couldn’t live with the loss of his mate and their child. He himself still felt the visceral urge to protect Ayame that he first experienced upon learning she carried his pup. What if Kagome did not recover? His lord was strong, but how would that strength stand against a violation of the most primal of Youkai instincts? Kouga did not envy Sesshoumaru’s situation.
XXXXX
As Taka walked the labyrinthine corridors of the manor to the meeting hall of the Taiyoukai advisors, she prayed she would be able to hold her frustration in check—so much was dependent on her ability to stay calm and reasoned and convince them to honor Kagome’s wish for the peace treaty to continue. She was tired from travel and fighting, had exhausted her powers, and was disheartened by hints of a hot red streak creeping from Kagome’s wound. Gina said that her senior assistant would fetch them if there was any change in her condition, but to Taka, every step away from the infirmary felt wrong. She should never have let Kagome separate and go ahead alone, and for everything that had happened since that moment, Taka partially blamed herself.
She glanced at Gina, her escort through the manor. While they worked together to stop Kagome’s bleeding, Gina had been receptive and unquestioning to all Taka told her about the conspiracy. She did not strike Taka as a naïve, overly trusting type, and she began to regard Gina as her sole ally at the manor. She gave silent thanks that she had never wavered in her faith in Kagome...unlike the others.
“Please don’t judge my cousin too harshly,” Gina said, as if she could read Taka’s mind. “With the gravity of his father’s condition, he was charged with protecting the stronghold at all costs, giving him little choice in how to react. During these past weeks, he was tortured by needing to accept the evidence against her. He really does care deeply for her.”
Taka said nothing, her mind too preoccupied with the broken bones in Kagome’s hand and the fact that, had the Lady of the West not moved so decisively, Kagome would likely be dead.
“I’m glad you were able to find something that fit,” Gina said, a remark about the plain clothes she had been used to seeing on Kagome. After taking care of Kagome’s injuries, an experience that necessitated a quick trust in each other and a strange camaraderie, Gina insisted that Taka clean up and change before meeting with the advisors to give testimony. Gina had held on to Kagome’s trunk of clothes because she couldn’t bear the thought of her friend’s possessions being destroyed, and now it seemed a fortunate exercise in sentimentality. “They are a little short but at least they are clean. You, I believe, are taller than a typical Ningen woman.”
Growing up, Taka had been self-conscious of her stature, one more thing that set her apart from other girls. The comment however, coming from the tall, beautiful Youkai, was not said in the derisive tone that was usually employed when people brought up her height. “I’m…different from typical Ningen women,” she said somewhat cryptically.
Gina wondered what she meant for only a moment. “Ah, here we are, the Advisors Hall.”
They entered and took two of the unoccupied seats at the low table.
“Sesshoumaru, aunt.” Gina bowed to the highest-ranking Youkai present. “This is Taka Minami.”
Sesshoumaru recognized the clothes worn by the miko—they were Kagome’s and smelled faintly of her. He had thought her things were long gone and knew he had Gina to thank for skirting his orders to dispose of them. It chafed to see his mate’s clothing on another, then he recalled Gina’s words, That miko is the reason Kagome isn’t dead. “We are grateful,” Sesshoumaru said to Taka, “for your courage in accompanying Lady Kagome into Youkai territory. Please, consider yourself an honored guest. You may be a miko, our traditional enemy during a time of War, but you have my assurance, as the acting leader of the West, that you are in no danger here.”
A general shock registered on most of the faces of the Youkai in the room. They had not yet heard any details of the conspiracy, only allegations that Okuri was involved, and were surprised that Sesshoumaru was apparently so willing to accept this miko’s word. They were also used to hearing him speak with formality but rarely with such courteous words.
Taka tried to hide her surprise; his demeanor was entirely changed from their earlier confrontation in the infirmary. He was much more like the reserved, honorable Youkai lord Kagome had so wistfully described to her over the previous days. She bowed to acknowledge her thanks, not yet willing to forgive, then let her gaze quickly dart around the room. The other Taiyoukai were solemn and anxious, not angry or condescending. She would perhaps get a fair hearing after all.
“First,” Seiobo said to them, “tell us…how is Kagome?”
Gina took a deep breath. She had found and briefly updated Sesshoumaru before the meeting; the rest of the Youkai needed to know as well. “She lost a significant amount of blood and is fighting infection. Fortunately my supply of herbs is well stocked for this late in the winter. It is best right now to just let her sleep and heal. I expect her to wake soon.”
“Thank the gods,” Lady Inoue said. “We all wish for her full recovery.” Nods and murmurs of relief and agreement followed.
“Lady Gina,” Lord Sato said, “there are…rumors.”
“Yes,” Gina replied. She didn’t doubt the nature of those rumors. “She is pregnant. And there was no miscarriage.” Gina paused for the monumental news to sink in. The pregnancy of any Taiyoukai, because of decades of declining birth rates, had become a thing of collective joy; that this was to be Sesshoumaru’s heir would have meant an occasion for celebration, had the circumstances been different. “I feared she had when I saw the blood, but it was because of an injury she received a few days ago while journeying here. And perhaps now it would be best if Taka were allowed a chance to speak.”
Taka softened somewhat when she saw the looks of concern as Gina discussed Kagome. They seemed to genuinely care about her and be willing to accept her innocence. “I’m not sure where to start. I don’t know the evidence you have and what misperceptions I need to correct.”
“Lady Minami,” Lady Inoue began, “what we know…or rather what we understood until recently to be true, is that the Lord of the West was critically injured during a fight with a group of miko the day after our most sacred of celebrations. During this fight, nearly thirty Youkai of varying ages and ranks were killed, most of them unarmed. There was a survivor who told us that Lady Kagome was the instigator of the attack. Her maid showed us her letters, which detailed thoughts of revenge for her own father’s killing and her plans to assassinate the General. If I’m not mistaken, you were one of the correspondents.”
Taka’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Kagome and I wrote many letters back and forth, but they were about her experiences here and life at the Sisterhood. We certainly did not plot a murder.”
Lady Inoue waved a servant over and requested that he retrieve the letters from her study. “Please, tell us what you know.”
“A little over a month ago, I was at the Miko Sisterhood. We received a message that Kagome was being sought to answer for the crime of attempting to assassinate the Lord of the West. The Council of Great Families had put a price on her head, wanted alive or dead. The Sisterhood was searched and guarded. Two weeks later, we were told that Kagome had been killed. Several days after that, she showed up on the shrine grounds, half frozen.
“When she recovered, she told us that she was a member of a hunting party that had been attacked by a handful of renegade miko and General’s Kurono and Akagawa’s soldiers. They took her captive and brought her to her family’s ancestral estate. Kurono and Akagawa told her that they were working with a Youkai traitor, Lord Okrui, to arrange her kidnapping and the death of the Lord of the West. And he had an accomplice, someone at the manor. They hoped that by framing Kagome for murder, it would kill the peace treaty and provoke you into War.”
The servant quickly returned and placed a stack of papers next to Lady Inoue. “Here is the evidence we have. This series of letters clearly documents a revenge plot. Please, take a look at them.” She glanced at Sesshoumaru, knowing he would be watching for signs of deception.
Taka scanned through several of the letters. “These are fakes. This one,” she took one out of the pile and laid it on the table, “has my name, but this is not my writing. And I have known the rest of the supposed letter writers for years; none of these were written by the women whose signatures are at the bottom. The last one,” she held on to the letter Kagome wrote on the Longest Night, “looks like Kagome’s writing, but I think it is safe to surmise that, given that these letters are fakes, this one is a forgery.”
“My apologies, Lady Minami” said Commander Endo, “but I feel we must have something more solid than your word that the writing is not that of you or your fellow miko.”
“Why did you not check them against the real correspondence? We had been writing for weeks and there were many letters.”
“These were the only ones found.”
Taka gaped, uncomprehending. “I just saw them. They are at the bottom of the trunk of Kagome’s clothes.” She looked around the room at the bewildered faces with increased frustration. “Didn’t you even search her possessions? They were under a few items of clothing, hardly well hidden.”
Gina flushed hot and she felt sick. The exonerating evidence had been under her nose all this time? “There is a trunk in my room,” she croaked to the errand-running servant. “Find the letters Lady Minami spoke of and bring them here.”
Taka pushed forward. Her need to not let her emotions get away from her was equal to wanting to get Kagome’s story out into the open. “Kagome said that Kurono and Akagawa wanted her to join them so they would have access to her powers. They even showed her a demonstration of kayaku—”
“Kayaku?” Commander Endo interrupted. “She’s seen it?”
Taka nodded, assuaged for the time that they believed her. “They used it to try to sway her mind, show her their power and promising to kill her if she did not comply. She escaped and made her way to the Sisterhood, managing to fake her own death along the way to throw her pursuers off her trail. After she recovered from frostbite, we met with General Miyamoto to inform him of the conspiracies, both the assassination of the leader of the West and Kurono and Akagawa’s plot to take over the Council of Great Families using kayaku. Kagome insisted that Miyamoto wait to make a move on Kurono and Akagawa until she had a chance to talk to you. She felt if you discovered that the Council was actively pursuing kayaku that it would further damage the peace treaty. He agreed to give us ten days to convince you cease your escalation of War.” Taka took the papers Miyamoto had given Kagome and handed them to Sesshoumaru. “Here is a personal statement from General Miyamoto that Kagome has his support and he was planning to meet with Generals Furuki and Kitabashi and Lady Tokuhoshi to discuss their next step.”
“These aren’t official Council documents,” Sesshoumaru said after briefly reading. He removed a scroll from his shirt. “We received this from the Ningen Council several days ago. It warned us that Kagome was on her way to the Western lands to kill my father.”
Taka shook her head violently. “No, Kagome didn’t trust Miyamoto to go to the whole Council. Takeo Hino, Kurono’s second-in-command, has a seat on it.” She glanced at the scroll on the table. “And who is the source of this official Council document? Okashita? If I remember correctly, he was one of the three, including Kurono and Akagawa, who voted against the peace treaty from the outset. I would not consider him a trustworthy source at all.”
“Curse the gods,” Sesshoumaru muttered, slamming his palm on the table. They had known about Okashita’s ties to the Ningen generals, but they hadn’t even questioned the veracity of his letter. Sesshoumaru was furious with himself for believing what now, in the cold light of the truth, was a transparent and desperate lie to keep the threads of hatred intact. “Continue where you left off. Please.”
Taka took a moment to regain her train of thought, rattled by the flare in the intensity of Sesshoumaru’s Youki. She was grateful that they were, at least for the time being, on the same side. “Kagome and I set out the next day. Travel was easy enough until three days ago. Right after crossing from neutral territory into Youkai lands, we were attacked first by boar Youkai and immediately after by a group of Kurono and Akagawa’s men. They were armed with kayaku. The weapon shoots small balls of metal at great speed and over a considerable distance. Kagome was hit in three places. Two I was able to get out and stop the bleeding; the third was deep, too deep to reckon with on a battlefield. I did what I could with my miko powers and we resumed our progress, albeit after the second day, when infection began to set in, more slowly.”
The servant brought in the letters that Taka mentioned, and Lady Inoue began to read and compare. Taka kept speaking. “This morning,” Taka had to think a moment to convince herself that it was still the same day, “when the stronghold was in our sights, Kagome decided to go ahead alone, thinking that the two of us together would appear too threatening. She was sure that if she could talk to you,” she was now looking only at Sesshoumaru with an expression as much sad, as hostile, “you would know that she was telling the truth. The whole time we traveled, always on her mind was the peace treaty and preventing War. I told you that Kurono and Akagawa showed her kayaku and what it can do. She has first-hand knowledge of it. After we killed Kurono and Akagawa’s men, she had me collect the weapon and bring it with us. I stashed it in the cave she showed me, the one with the tunnel to that storeroom.”
“It’s here?” Sesshoumaru asked quietly.
“Buried under a pile of leaves and sticks. In addition to the weapon itself, there is a pouch of the metal balls and one of black powder. Kagome thought if she could get it to you, you could learn to defend against it.” She stared at the Taiyoukai, her ire reasserting itself. “That act alone should convince you of her innocence.” She looked over toward Lady Inoue and challenged, “Your verdict on the letters?”
Lady Inoue had seen enough. The letters contained details about the Miko Sisterhood that only miko would know and made references to things Kagome had written about life at the manor. There was no mention of killing or escape, no mention of her father or an obsession with revenge. “These are genuine, in my opinion. It seems Okuri did indeed have an accomplice, someone who was able to create these,” she gestured to the other stack of rumpled papers, “and plant them in Kagome’s room. We have been tragically, grievously misled.” She glanced back at her servant. “Go find the maid who served Lady Kagome and have her brought to my offices. I believe she was reassigned to the kitchens.”
“Apparently Okuri and his accomplice did fine work. You played their game just as they had planned.” Taka’s hands clenched in tight fists. A part of her was aware that the Youkai were Kurono, Akagawa, and Okuri’s victims as well, but she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering up to the infirmary where Kagome lay injured. “Whatever the survivor of the attack told you, he was lying. Get him in here and let’s see if he has the gall to repeat that slander now.”
“That Youkai died of his injuries,” Gina said, avoiding Lord Sato’s grieved, confused face.
“Lord Sesshoumaru!” a Youkai shouted, breathless as he barreled into the hall. “We just received a message from Kouga. They’ve picked up Lord Okuri’s trail and are hot on his heels.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes flashed red. He would have a difficult time not killing his traitorous cousin as soon as he saw him. “Go,” he said to Commander Endo as the room began to clear, “down to the cave and retrieve what the miko left there.” Lady Inoue and Seiobo left together to wait for Kagome’s maid to be brought to them. Sesshoumaru held back and addressed Gina and Taka. “I must leave. I’ll come straight to the infirmary when I’m able.”
“For what it’s worth,” Taka said to Sesshoumaur’s retreating form, “she wanted to return here before she realized she was pregnant.” She didn’t know if he would view that fact as a cruelty or a kindness.
XXXXX
When Sesshoumaru caught up to Kouga and his troops, they were already making their way back to the stronghold and the sun was rapidly sinking behind the trees. Lord Okuri sat astride a horse, tall and proud despite his bound hands and the half-dozen spears pointed at him.
Kouga rode up to Sesshoumaru and dismounted. “He left yesterday. Slipped out through the main gates with a group of merchants who had been peddling their goods. Roka is the one who found him…said he didn’t put up any fight. Unfortunately several of the soldiers still believe Kagome is guilty, never mind what Lady Seiobo says, and answered all his questions before I could tell them to shut their maws.” Kouga shook his head, a weak apology. “I’ll warn you…he seems strangely satisfied. I thought at first he was happy, once he realized I wasn’t going to kill him on the spot. Now though…I think he’s looking forward to causing more trouble. He is convinced his actions were justified.”
Sesshoumaru nodded his thanks as the rest of the party neared them. “I’ve heard the evidence for Kagome’s innocence. He was working with another Youkai, most likely Akeno Sato.”
Kouga swallowed his questions. For now, he was there only to serve Sesshoumaru, even if that meant hauling a corpse back to the stronghold. He pulled Okuri down from his horse and forced him to kneel in front of Sesshoumaru.
“I suppose I don’t need to ask you why,” Sesshoumaru said. “You’ve never hidden your desire for revenge against my father.”
“Revenge, or justice? It was a brilliant plan, really.” Okuri refused to look up at Sesshoumaru, speaking instead to the uninterested snowy ground. “I remove my cousin and your mate, freeing you to take Azami as a bride, like you should have years ago had you done your duty. Too bad my Ningen allies couldn’t be relied upon to perform their part. Letting the miko bitch escape…stupid worthless Ningen.” Okuri didn’t wait for Sesshoumaru to reply. “I knew you’d come to get me yourself. The great Sesshoumaru, most powerful Youkai to ever be born.” He stood, slowly and carefully, looked into Sesshoumaru’s eyes, and smirked. “You should have been my son, not my weak-willed cousin’s. The West and Seiobo were promised to me, but Hisashi’s prejudices blinded him to my strengths. He thought my family was tainted because of my father’s rebellion, but in truth my father was only seeking to give the West a stronger, young ruler.”
“Is that what you grew up hearing?” Sesshoumaru scoffed. “Your father’s treasonous, pitiable attempt at usurpation inflated to something admirable? A traitor begets a traitor.”
He shook his head. “You all tell yourselves that. I see it as the true loyalty to the House of the West, and many agree with me. Everything I’ve ever done is for the good of the Inutaisho clan. Your father, for all his glory on the battlefield, is a weak, wavering fool. Willing to compromise. Lacking conviction. He should have killed me years ago, when he had the chance. Look, even now, he cannot decide if he wishes to live or die.”
“Your attempts to impugn my father are pointless,” Sesshoumaru said. Despite his efforts to remain unaffected by Okuri’s naked attempts at goading him, poison dripped unbidden from his claws. It made sibilant noises as it hit and ground and dissolved the snow at their feet. “He’s the most powerful Inuyoukai we’ve ever had as leader of the West and will be known throughout history as the Youkai who stopped the War With No End. You will be merely one more example of madness combined with a lust for power above all else. This alliance has guaranteed you a seat on the losing side of fate.” Sesshoumaru glanced at the soldiers on guard. “Have no doubts, he not only tried to kill his kin, one to whom he had sworn fealty, he plotted and conspired with the enemy to frame another.” He returned his glare back to Okuri. “You are a treasonous oath-breaker, worse than weak.”
“Then slay me now,” Okuri challenged. “I can see how much you crave it. You are, at heart, a killer, something you’ve proven in battle countless times.”
“You are wrong about me; you always have been. I am my father’s son. I will continue his legacy and end this War.”
Okuri laughed, a sound of amused malevolence. “You think that is how the future generations will remember you? The Youkai who brought peace? I’ll admit that your sacrifice in mating a loathsome Ningen bitch was noble, but don’t you think you will be better known as the Inuyoukai lord who hurt his innocent mate? You can try to deny it, but what I said was true—the desire to kill is part of you. And what was it that I heard…she was expecting your heir? I wonder how eagerly the West will embrace a murderer of a pregnant female as their hero. I may have arranged my cousin’s assassination for political motivations, but that it nothing compared to what you did. I broke an oath—you desecrated our most sacred one.”
Kouga had been listening with growing agitation and couldn’t hear another word. He roughly cuffed him in the back of the head. “Quit your lies, bastard. You are the reason he was put in that position at all. And Lady Kagome is not dead.”
“I don’t deny I devised the plan,” Okuri said, sneering at Kouga before training his gaze back on Sesshoumaru. “But Sesshoumaru, perhaps you should ask yourself if this love you have for the miko is real. How much hate did you feel when you saw her? How much did you hesitate before attacking her? I think you know as well as I that this experiment has run its course and it’s time you obeyed nature and not your father’s idealism.”
“Shut up!” Kouga yelled, again raising his hand to strike.
Sesshoumaru gestured for Kouga to stand down. “There’s something I want to know,” he said, refusing to acknowledge any of Okuri’s assertions. The testimony from the miko was convincing, but there were still blanks he needed filled. “How did you corrupt Akeno?” he asked.
Okuri sighed, a long-drawn attempt to appear bored. Even if he couldn’t get Sesshoumaru to react to his barbs, he knew he planted seeds to take root on the fertile ground of Inuyoukai guilt. Even if his plan ultimately failed, he did not intend for his plot to be a total loss. “A few well-placed lies and his own ambition. I promised him Azami, a false promise, I admit. He was most valuable. Pity I had to kill him…a necessary evil.”
Sesshoumaru shook his head in disgust. “I have nothing more to say to you.” He turned to Kouga. “Put him in a solitary cell. Consult with Endo; only those whose loyalty is unquestioned will guard him. I’m going on ahead,” he said, turning to leave. “I need to return to Kagome, and I won’t waste another moment on this filth.” Sesshoumaru sped toward the stronghold; foremost on his mind was his place at his mate’s side.
XXXXX
By the time Sesshoumaru had traveled the distance back to the stronghold, the night had grown dark and cold, deepening the shadow of the wall to envelope everything that lay within. While he raced through miles of forest and hills, he wondered if she had awoken yet and how much Gina had told her about the fake letters, the false account of the attack. He thought about making things right, taking her in his arms, holding her and whispering that he loved her and would do anything to earn her forgiveness. But despite his intent on his destination, too loud in his mind were Okuri’s words. His fantasies of repairing his relationship with Kagome, full of apologies and affection and thanks, were infected by a sense of shame that weighed on his chest like a stone. He did not doubt that his love for her was real—Okuri was wrong about that—but it didn’t change the fact that he hurt her. Telling her how sorry he was and making amends was paramount. After stopping at the barracks to briefly explain to Commander Endo that Okuri was in Kouga’s custody and that they should be returning in a few hours, he hurried toward the manor, finally able to rejoin Kagome.
“Sesshoumaru.” Gina appeared from behind the largest tree in the courtyard, her face unreadable in the dim light. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Have you come to say I told you so?” He approached her and slowed his pace when he saw the dark, swollen crescents beneath her eyes. He hadn’t seen her like that since the day, years ago, they all received word that his sister and her newborn had been killed.
“I’m not that cruel.”
Gina rarely passed on an opportunity to get under his skin. He was expecting sarcasm, a brow raised in amusement at his discomfort, anything but the soft, haunting tone of empathy in her voice. It was the second sign that something was wrong. He stopped. “What happened?”
“Come with me.” Gina gently took his arm and led him into the shadows of the great tree, hoping to shield him from prying eyes. Gossip had been running through the manor like a wild fire, and she knew curiosity would keep many Youkai from respecting their privacy. “I thought we had the infection under control, but then her fever spiked…the redness of her wound spread…she has blood poisoning.”
The words echoed. Blood poisoning. They had once been as familiar as amputation—tragedies discussed as happening near the battlefield, not at his home, not to the ones he loved. “What?”
“She’s dying, cousin.”
“No.” Sesshoumaru’s denial was automatic and resolute but immediately waned. “Are you certain? Can’t the miko use her powers? Kagome stopped Haruto from dying.”
“Taka said it doesn’t work that way. She can close wounds and mend bones; she can’t fix this. Sesshoumaru,” Gina said, trying to keep her voice steady, “I’ve never seen anyone as sick as she is recover.”
He stumbled a half-step backward, then straightened, tall and hard. “This is my fault.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Gina said adamantly. “She received this wound before she arrived.”
“Can you honestly tell me that this would have been the result if I hadn’t fought her? If she hadn’t used so much of her own energy defending herself? She was strong when she walked through the gates. If I had listened and you were able to help her—”
“Stop it,” Gina interrupted, on the edge of breaking. She told herself she would wait, that she would not cry until he was back and with Kagome, until she and Taka could hide away and share in their grief. “You’re wasting time. We moved her into a private room so you can be with her and say goodbye.”
Sesshoumaru retreated further into the shadows. He made the plaintive sound of a wounded dog, a sound Gina thought she would hear forever. “How long?” he asked.
She wanted to tell him there was a chance that she may be fine if she could survive until morning, that she only needed more time, but lying to him was pointless. “I don’t think she’ll last through the night.”
“Gina,” he said with forced calm, “thank you. I’ll be along in a few minutes.” He turned and left the shadows to cross the courtyard, snow stained dark with blood, and headed in the direction of the armory and his only chance to change the crushing unfairness of fate.
The most lucid guard, who had been helping another to rise to his feet, jumped up to attention. “My Lord,” he said, bowing low, “we—”
“Have you checked on my father?”
The guard straightened. His eyes grew wide at the sight of Kagome, unconscious and bloody in his lord’s arms, but he answered the question with the discipline that had been instilled in him. “General Inutaisho is unharmed.”
“Permit no one to enter his room, save Lady Gina, myself, and the Lady of the West. If Lord Okuri is spotted, he is to be arrested immediately.”
Sesshoumaru entered the infirmary and laid Kagome on the nearest bed. Her ashen skin tone and the amount of blood soaking her thick clothes were alarming, but he took some bitter comfort in the warmth and nearness of her body after their long separation. The shock he had received in the courtyard minutes before, that they had all been utterly, tragically mistaken, began to wear off. She was alive and with him again, and at that moment, it was the only thing he cared to focus on. He smoothed the damp hair from her face, wishing she would wake so he could tell her how much he had missed her, how sorry he was for fighting her. For the past weeks all his comforting dreams, the dreams that helped him survive the lonely nights, had been wrong. In his dreams, Kagome was innocent; in his dreams, he had known this and welcomed her home.
He leaned in close and inhaled her scent. There, beneath the layers of dirt and blood, he recognized a faint bit of her, calling to him like a song. But it was buried under this new smell. Deeper, earthier, wholly different and unknown. He understood, too late, that the change in her scent was not due to deceit. She had not been lying and had never lied. Pregnant. He wondered if that was what she had tried to tell him right before she lost consciousness, and was ashamed to remember how he deaf he had been to her pleas. All available evidence had clearly pointed to her guilt, and now the solid certainty with which he had been forced to act was a moving mass of confusion. Despite the myriad unanswered questions, one thing finally was made certain—Kagome was innocent. He closed his eyes and sighed with the rightness of it. No longer were his instincts to protect her in opposition to his duty as acting leader of the West. In his relief, he felt whole for the first time since the Longest Night.
Fast footsteps approached, and, after the sounds of a brief argument in the corridor, Gina and the miko burst into the room. Sesshoumaru didn’t look up; he was expecting they were right behind him.
“Get away from her, you bastard.” The words were angry and accusatory, but the voice was soaked with grief and fear.
Sesshoumaru turned to see the miko, her palms glowing with energy, was staring at him with unconcealed hatred.
Gina placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “Taka,” she said, “it’s alright now.”
She didn’t back down. “If you hurt her again, I’ll kill you.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t hurt my own mate.”
“Like you didn’t hurt her a few minutes ago?” she spat. “Did you not see she was only using defensive techniques? Too blinded by anger to realize that she didn’t even want to fight you?” She moved to the other side of Kagome and continued to glare at Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru growled a warning—a low ominous sound that left no room for interpretation.
“Oh for love of the gods,” Gina said, immediately interceding. The last thing she needed was a battle between Kagome’s fiercely loyal friend and a protective Inuyoukai male. She grabbed Sesshoumaru’s arm and pulled. “Sessh,” she said with gentle firmness, “it’s okay. Come with me.”
“No. I’m not leaving her.”
“You’ll just be in the way here. Kagome is badly injured. Leave us to deal with this. Go help in the search for Okuri.” Gina looked at Taka and gestured toward a row of cabinets. “Taka, you’ll find the supplies we need over there. I’ll be right back.”
Sesshoumaru reluctantly allowed himself to be led from the infirmary into the corridor. “Do you trust that miko?” he asked.
“That miko is the reason Kagome isn’t dead,” Gina said. “She is a trained healer. If I am to save your mate, I need her.”
“Gina…how bad is it? The truth.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t even gotten a chance to look, though the amount of blood loss alone has me very concerned. Taka said she was seriously injured a few days ago…an injury from kayaku.”
Sesshoumaru felt the truth of his ignorance like a shooting pain; there was so much critical information he didn’t know or understand. His relief over her innocence blinded him to the real danger she was facing. Kayaku. He would ask questions later; details right now were unimportant. “Save her.”
Gina nodded and managed a grim smile. “Go join the search for Okuri. You will be of greater use looking for him than here worrying.”
As much as he hated to leave, he knew she was right. Duty again called, a particularly insistent burden. He left the manor and found Kouga near the courtyard.
XXXXX
“My Lord,” Kouga said as Sesshoumaru walked toward him, “there is no sign of Lord Okuri in his quarters, and Lady Azami said she hasn’t seen him at all today. You may want to question his servants; they were unwilling to provide more than the simplest of answers.”
Commander Endo called to them and ran up. “Lord Sesshoumaru. The Youkai at the aviary said Lord Okuri received a message yesterday from the boar Youkai.”
“Boar Youkai,” Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully. They had been involved in a deadly skirmish with Ningen at a time when Kagome would have been traveling through the neutral territory. He doubted it was a coincidence. “Has he sent any messages out?” he asked.
“Not in the past few days according to the aviary attendant, but he had been corresponding regularly with the families seeking Lady Azami’s hand.”
“Send troops to those families and his few remaining sympathizers. Tell them that anyone who opens their doors to him will be considered an accessory to treason and will face execution.” He turned to Kouga. “Once word of his betrayal becomes known, no Inu family will shelter him. He’s headed to the boar Youkai, if not now then he will be. Go south, toward the winter camp of the Unaffiliated Clans. I’m going to ascertain what those servants know.”
Commander Endo nodded curtly and left in the direction of the barracks; Kouga lingered. “You think the evidence this miko has will support Kagome’s word against Okuri?”
“My mother and Gina seem to think so, and I have confidence in their judgment more than any.” Sesshomaru could only trust that the miko’s proof would stand up to scrutiny.
“I confess I’m not surprised at how relieved I am to learn that she’s innocent,” Kouga said, his voice pensive. “Odd that the innocence of a Ningen woman means more to me than the guilt of another Youkai. Granted,” he added with a slight, self-conscious laugh, “I’m talking about Kagome and Okuri…a dove and a serpent.” Kouga paused, then asked quietly, “Is she okay? I saw the fight. It didn’t appear that you landed a blow, but there was blood everywhere.”
“Apparently she had an earlier injury that was reopened. An injury from kayaku. Gina was vague but seemed…optimistic.” He hoped this was true and not merely his eagerness to believe everything would be, as in his dreams, life back to normal as soon as Kagome woke. His helplessness and frustration felt stifling, suffocating, and he pitied the servants he was about to question should they be less than completely forthcoming.
Kouga watched Sesshoumaru go back into the manor with a heavy heart. A Youkai, especially an Inuyoukai, assaulting his mate was disgraceful. Now that Kagome’s innocence was known and he was no longer defending against an outside threat, Sesshoumaru’s fight with her, even if done without realizing the truth, could be considered a violation of Youkai nature, a sacrilege of sorts. Kouga had heard the Gina say the word miscarrying. He recalled his brother’s suicide—Kintaro couldn’t live with the loss of his mate and their child. He himself still felt the visceral urge to protect Ayame that he first experienced upon learning she carried his pup. What if Kagome did not recover? His lord was strong, but how would that strength stand against a violation of the most primal of Youkai instincts? Kouga did not envy Sesshoumaru’s situation.
XXXXX
As Taka walked the labyrinthine corridors of the manor to the meeting hall of the Taiyoukai advisors, she prayed she would be able to hold her frustration in check—so much was dependent on her ability to stay calm and reasoned and convince them to honor Kagome’s wish for the peace treaty to continue. She was tired from travel and fighting, had exhausted her powers, and was disheartened by hints of a hot red streak creeping from Kagome’s wound. Gina said that her senior assistant would fetch them if there was any change in her condition, but to Taka, every step away from the infirmary felt wrong. She should never have let Kagome separate and go ahead alone, and for everything that had happened since that moment, Taka partially blamed herself.
She glanced at Gina, her escort through the manor. While they worked together to stop Kagome’s bleeding, Gina had been receptive and unquestioning to all Taka told her about the conspiracy. She did not strike Taka as a naïve, overly trusting type, and she began to regard Gina as her sole ally at the manor. She gave silent thanks that she had never wavered in her faith in Kagome...unlike the others.
“Please don’t judge my cousin too harshly,” Gina said, as if she could read Taka’s mind. “With the gravity of his father’s condition, he was charged with protecting the stronghold at all costs, giving him little choice in how to react. During these past weeks, he was tortured by needing to accept the evidence against her. He really does care deeply for her.”
Taka said nothing, her mind too preoccupied with the broken bones in Kagome’s hand and the fact that, had the Lady of the West not moved so decisively, Kagome would likely be dead.
“I’m glad you were able to find something that fit,” Gina said, a remark about the plain clothes she had been used to seeing on Kagome. After taking care of Kagome’s injuries, an experience that necessitated a quick trust in each other and a strange camaraderie, Gina insisted that Taka clean up and change before meeting with the advisors to give testimony. Gina had held on to Kagome’s trunk of clothes because she couldn’t bear the thought of her friend’s possessions being destroyed, and now it seemed a fortunate exercise in sentimentality. “They are a little short but at least they are clean. You, I believe, are taller than a typical Ningen woman.”
Growing up, Taka had been self-conscious of her stature, one more thing that set her apart from other girls. The comment however, coming from the tall, beautiful Youkai, was not said in the derisive tone that was usually employed when people brought up her height. “I’m…different from typical Ningen women,” she said somewhat cryptically.
Gina wondered what she meant for only a moment. “Ah, here we are, the Advisors Hall.”
They entered and took two of the unoccupied seats at the low table.
“Sesshoumaru, aunt.” Gina bowed to the highest-ranking Youkai present. “This is Taka Minami.”
Sesshoumaru recognized the clothes worn by the miko—they were Kagome’s and smelled faintly of her. He had thought her things were long gone and knew he had Gina to thank for skirting his orders to dispose of them. It chafed to see his mate’s clothing on another, then he recalled Gina’s words, That miko is the reason Kagome isn’t dead. “We are grateful,” Sesshoumaru said to Taka, “for your courage in accompanying Lady Kagome into Youkai territory. Please, consider yourself an honored guest. You may be a miko, our traditional enemy during a time of War, but you have my assurance, as the acting leader of the West, that you are in no danger here.”
A general shock registered on most of the faces of the Youkai in the room. They had not yet heard any details of the conspiracy, only allegations that Okuri was involved, and were surprised that Sesshoumaru was apparently so willing to accept this miko’s word. They were also used to hearing him speak with formality but rarely with such courteous words.
Taka tried to hide her surprise; his demeanor was entirely changed from their earlier confrontation in the infirmary. He was much more like the reserved, honorable Youkai lord Kagome had so wistfully described to her over the previous days. She bowed to acknowledge her thanks, not yet willing to forgive, then let her gaze quickly dart around the room. The other Taiyoukai were solemn and anxious, not angry or condescending. She would perhaps get a fair hearing after all.
“First,” Seiobo said to them, “tell us…how is Kagome?”
Gina took a deep breath. She had found and briefly updated Sesshoumaru before the meeting; the rest of the Youkai needed to know as well. “She lost a significant amount of blood and is fighting infection. Fortunately my supply of herbs is well stocked for this late in the winter. It is best right now to just let her sleep and heal. I expect her to wake soon.”
“Thank the gods,” Lady Inoue said. “We all wish for her full recovery.” Nods and murmurs of relief and agreement followed.
“Lady Gina,” Lord Sato said, “there are…rumors.”
“Yes,” Gina replied. She didn’t doubt the nature of those rumors. “She is pregnant. And there was no miscarriage.” Gina paused for the monumental news to sink in. The pregnancy of any Taiyoukai, because of decades of declining birth rates, had become a thing of collective joy; that this was to be Sesshoumaru’s heir would have meant an occasion for celebration, had the circumstances been different. “I feared she had when I saw the blood, but it was because of an injury she received a few days ago while journeying here. And perhaps now it would be best if Taka were allowed a chance to speak.”
Taka softened somewhat when she saw the looks of concern as Gina discussed Kagome. They seemed to genuinely care about her and be willing to accept her innocence. “I’m not sure where to start. I don’t know the evidence you have and what misperceptions I need to correct.”
“Lady Minami,” Lady Inoue began, “what we know…or rather what we understood until recently to be true, is that the Lord of the West was critically injured during a fight with a group of miko the day after our most sacred of celebrations. During this fight, nearly thirty Youkai of varying ages and ranks were killed, most of them unarmed. There was a survivor who told us that Lady Kagome was the instigator of the attack. Her maid showed us her letters, which detailed thoughts of revenge for her own father’s killing and her plans to assassinate the General. If I’m not mistaken, you were one of the correspondents.”
Taka’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Kagome and I wrote many letters back and forth, but they were about her experiences here and life at the Sisterhood. We certainly did not plot a murder.”
Lady Inoue waved a servant over and requested that he retrieve the letters from her study. “Please, tell us what you know.”
“A little over a month ago, I was at the Miko Sisterhood. We received a message that Kagome was being sought to answer for the crime of attempting to assassinate the Lord of the West. The Council of Great Families had put a price on her head, wanted alive or dead. The Sisterhood was searched and guarded. Two weeks later, we were told that Kagome had been killed. Several days after that, she showed up on the shrine grounds, half frozen.
“When she recovered, she told us that she was a member of a hunting party that had been attacked by a handful of renegade miko and General’s Kurono and Akagawa’s soldiers. They took her captive and brought her to her family’s ancestral estate. Kurono and Akagawa told her that they were working with a Youkai traitor, Lord Okrui, to arrange her kidnapping and the death of the Lord of the West. And he had an accomplice, someone at the manor. They hoped that by framing Kagome for murder, it would kill the peace treaty and provoke you into War.”
The servant quickly returned and placed a stack of papers next to Lady Inoue. “Here is the evidence we have. This series of letters clearly documents a revenge plot. Please, take a look at them.” She glanced at Sesshoumaru, knowing he would be watching for signs of deception.
Taka scanned through several of the letters. “These are fakes. This one,” she took one out of the pile and laid it on the table, “has my name, but this is not my writing. And I have known the rest of the supposed letter writers for years; none of these were written by the women whose signatures are at the bottom. The last one,” she held on to the letter Kagome wrote on the Longest Night, “looks like Kagome’s writing, but I think it is safe to surmise that, given that these letters are fakes, this one is a forgery.”
“My apologies, Lady Minami” said Commander Endo, “but I feel we must have something more solid than your word that the writing is not that of you or your fellow miko.”
“Why did you not check them against the real correspondence? We had been writing for weeks and there were many letters.”
“These were the only ones found.”
Taka gaped, uncomprehending. “I just saw them. They are at the bottom of the trunk of Kagome’s clothes.” She looked around the room at the bewildered faces with increased frustration. “Didn’t you even search her possessions? They were under a few items of clothing, hardly well hidden.”
Gina flushed hot and she felt sick. The exonerating evidence had been under her nose all this time? “There is a trunk in my room,” she croaked to the errand-running servant. “Find the letters Lady Minami spoke of and bring them here.”
Taka pushed forward. Her need to not let her emotions get away from her was equal to wanting to get Kagome’s story out into the open. “Kagome said that Kurono and Akagawa wanted her to join them so they would have access to her powers. They even showed her a demonstration of kayaku—”
“Kayaku?” Commander Endo interrupted. “She’s seen it?”
Taka nodded, assuaged for the time that they believed her. “They used it to try to sway her mind, show her their power and promising to kill her if she did not comply. She escaped and made her way to the Sisterhood, managing to fake her own death along the way to throw her pursuers off her trail. After she recovered from frostbite, we met with General Miyamoto to inform him of the conspiracies, both the assassination of the leader of the West and Kurono and Akagawa’s plot to take over the Council of Great Families using kayaku. Kagome insisted that Miyamoto wait to make a move on Kurono and Akagawa until she had a chance to talk to you. She felt if you discovered that the Council was actively pursuing kayaku that it would further damage the peace treaty. He agreed to give us ten days to convince you cease your escalation of War.” Taka took the papers Miyamoto had given Kagome and handed them to Sesshoumaru. “Here is a personal statement from General Miyamoto that Kagome has his support and he was planning to meet with Generals Furuki and Kitabashi and Lady Tokuhoshi to discuss their next step.”
“These aren’t official Council documents,” Sesshoumaru said after briefly reading. He removed a scroll from his shirt. “We received this from the Ningen Council several days ago. It warned us that Kagome was on her way to the Western lands to kill my father.”
Taka shook her head violently. “No, Kagome didn’t trust Miyamoto to go to the whole Council. Takeo Hino, Kurono’s second-in-command, has a seat on it.” She glanced at the scroll on the table. “And who is the source of this official Council document? Okashita? If I remember correctly, he was one of the three, including Kurono and Akagawa, who voted against the peace treaty from the outset. I would not consider him a trustworthy source at all.”
“Curse the gods,” Sesshoumaru muttered, slamming his palm on the table. They had known about Okashita’s ties to the Ningen generals, but they hadn’t even questioned the veracity of his letter. Sesshoumaru was furious with himself for believing what now, in the cold light of the truth, was a transparent and desperate lie to keep the threads of hatred intact. “Continue where you left off. Please.”
Taka took a moment to regain her train of thought, rattled by the flare in the intensity of Sesshoumaru’s Youki. She was grateful that they were, at least for the time being, on the same side. “Kagome and I set out the next day. Travel was easy enough until three days ago. Right after crossing from neutral territory into Youkai lands, we were attacked first by boar Youkai and immediately after by a group of Kurono and Akagawa’s men. They were armed with kayaku. The weapon shoots small balls of metal at great speed and over a considerable distance. Kagome was hit in three places. Two I was able to get out and stop the bleeding; the third was deep, too deep to reckon with on a battlefield. I did what I could with my miko powers and we resumed our progress, albeit after the second day, when infection began to set in, more slowly.”
The servant brought in the letters that Taka mentioned, and Lady Inoue began to read and compare. Taka kept speaking. “This morning,” Taka had to think a moment to convince herself that it was still the same day, “when the stronghold was in our sights, Kagome decided to go ahead alone, thinking that the two of us together would appear too threatening. She was sure that if she could talk to you,” she was now looking only at Sesshoumaru with an expression as much sad, as hostile, “you would know that she was telling the truth. The whole time we traveled, always on her mind was the peace treaty and preventing War. I told you that Kurono and Akagawa showed her kayaku and what it can do. She has first-hand knowledge of it. After we killed Kurono and Akagawa’s men, she had me collect the weapon and bring it with us. I stashed it in the cave she showed me, the one with the tunnel to that storeroom.”
“It’s here?” Sesshoumaru asked quietly.
“Buried under a pile of leaves and sticks. In addition to the weapon itself, there is a pouch of the metal balls and one of black powder. Kagome thought if she could get it to you, you could learn to defend against it.” She stared at the Taiyoukai, her ire reasserting itself. “That act alone should convince you of her innocence.” She looked over toward Lady Inoue and challenged, “Your verdict on the letters?”
Lady Inoue had seen enough. The letters contained details about the Miko Sisterhood that only miko would know and made references to things Kagome had written about life at the manor. There was no mention of killing or escape, no mention of her father or an obsession with revenge. “These are genuine, in my opinion. It seems Okuri did indeed have an accomplice, someone who was able to create these,” she gestured to the other stack of rumpled papers, “and plant them in Kagome’s room. We have been tragically, grievously misled.” She glanced back at her servant. “Go find the maid who served Lady Kagome and have her brought to my offices. I believe she was reassigned to the kitchens.”
“Apparently Okuri and his accomplice did fine work. You played their game just as they had planned.” Taka’s hands clenched in tight fists. A part of her was aware that the Youkai were Kurono, Akagawa, and Okuri’s victims as well, but she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering up to the infirmary where Kagome lay injured. “Whatever the survivor of the attack told you, he was lying. Get him in here and let’s see if he has the gall to repeat that slander now.”
“That Youkai died of his injuries,” Gina said, avoiding Lord Sato’s grieved, confused face.
“Lord Sesshoumaru!” a Youkai shouted, breathless as he barreled into the hall. “We just received a message from Kouga. They’ve picked up Lord Okuri’s trail and are hot on his heels.”
Sesshoumaru’s eyes flashed red. He would have a difficult time not killing his traitorous cousin as soon as he saw him. “Go,” he said to Commander Endo as the room began to clear, “down to the cave and retrieve what the miko left there.” Lady Inoue and Seiobo left together to wait for Kagome’s maid to be brought to them. Sesshoumaru held back and addressed Gina and Taka. “I must leave. I’ll come straight to the infirmary when I’m able.”
“For what it’s worth,” Taka said to Sesshoumaur’s retreating form, “she wanted to return here before she realized she was pregnant.” She didn’t know if he would view that fact as a cruelty or a kindness.
XXXXX
When Sesshoumaru caught up to Kouga and his troops, they were already making their way back to the stronghold and the sun was rapidly sinking behind the trees. Lord Okuri sat astride a horse, tall and proud despite his bound hands and the half-dozen spears pointed at him.
Kouga rode up to Sesshoumaru and dismounted. “He left yesterday. Slipped out through the main gates with a group of merchants who had been peddling their goods. Roka is the one who found him…said he didn’t put up any fight. Unfortunately several of the soldiers still believe Kagome is guilty, never mind what Lady Seiobo says, and answered all his questions before I could tell them to shut their maws.” Kouga shook his head, a weak apology. “I’ll warn you…he seems strangely satisfied. I thought at first he was happy, once he realized I wasn’t going to kill him on the spot. Now though…I think he’s looking forward to causing more trouble. He is convinced his actions were justified.”
Sesshoumaru nodded his thanks as the rest of the party neared them. “I’ve heard the evidence for Kagome’s innocence. He was working with another Youkai, most likely Akeno Sato.”
Kouga swallowed his questions. For now, he was there only to serve Sesshoumaru, even if that meant hauling a corpse back to the stronghold. He pulled Okuri down from his horse and forced him to kneel in front of Sesshoumaru.
“I suppose I don’t need to ask you why,” Sesshoumaru said. “You’ve never hidden your desire for revenge against my father.”
“Revenge, or justice? It was a brilliant plan, really.” Okuri refused to look up at Sesshoumaru, speaking instead to the uninterested snowy ground. “I remove my cousin and your mate, freeing you to take Azami as a bride, like you should have years ago had you done your duty. Too bad my Ningen allies couldn’t be relied upon to perform their part. Letting the miko bitch escape…stupid worthless Ningen.” Okuri didn’t wait for Sesshoumaru to reply. “I knew you’d come to get me yourself. The great Sesshoumaru, most powerful Youkai to ever be born.” He stood, slowly and carefully, looked into Sesshoumaru’s eyes, and smirked. “You should have been my son, not my weak-willed cousin’s. The West and Seiobo were promised to me, but Hisashi’s prejudices blinded him to my strengths. He thought my family was tainted because of my father’s rebellion, but in truth my father was only seeking to give the West a stronger, young ruler.”
“Is that what you grew up hearing?” Sesshoumaru scoffed. “Your father’s treasonous, pitiable attempt at usurpation inflated to something admirable? A traitor begets a traitor.”
He shook his head. “You all tell yourselves that. I see it as the true loyalty to the House of the West, and many agree with me. Everything I’ve ever done is for the good of the Inutaisho clan. Your father, for all his glory on the battlefield, is a weak, wavering fool. Willing to compromise. Lacking conviction. He should have killed me years ago, when he had the chance. Look, even now, he cannot decide if he wishes to live or die.”
“Your attempts to impugn my father are pointless,” Sesshoumaru said. Despite his efforts to remain unaffected by Okuri’s naked attempts at goading him, poison dripped unbidden from his claws. It made sibilant noises as it hit and ground and dissolved the snow at their feet. “He’s the most powerful Inuyoukai we’ve ever had as leader of the West and will be known throughout history as the Youkai who stopped the War With No End. You will be merely one more example of madness combined with a lust for power above all else. This alliance has guaranteed you a seat on the losing side of fate.” Sesshoumaru glanced at the soldiers on guard. “Have no doubts, he not only tried to kill his kin, one to whom he had sworn fealty, he plotted and conspired with the enemy to frame another.” He returned his glare back to Okuri. “You are a treasonous oath-breaker, worse than weak.”
“Then slay me now,” Okuri challenged. “I can see how much you crave it. You are, at heart, a killer, something you’ve proven in battle countless times.”
“You are wrong about me; you always have been. I am my father’s son. I will continue his legacy and end this War.”
Okuri laughed, a sound of amused malevolence. “You think that is how the future generations will remember you? The Youkai who brought peace? I’ll admit that your sacrifice in mating a loathsome Ningen bitch was noble, but don’t you think you will be better known as the Inuyoukai lord who hurt his innocent mate? You can try to deny it, but what I said was true—the desire to kill is part of you. And what was it that I heard…she was expecting your heir? I wonder how eagerly the West will embrace a murderer of a pregnant female as their hero. I may have arranged my cousin’s assassination for political motivations, but that it nothing compared to what you did. I broke an oath—you desecrated our most sacred one.”
Kouga had been listening with growing agitation and couldn’t hear another word. He roughly cuffed him in the back of the head. “Quit your lies, bastard. You are the reason he was put in that position at all. And Lady Kagome is not dead.”
“I don’t deny I devised the plan,” Okuri said, sneering at Kouga before training his gaze back on Sesshoumaru. “But Sesshoumaru, perhaps you should ask yourself if this love you have for the miko is real. How much hate did you feel when you saw her? How much did you hesitate before attacking her? I think you know as well as I that this experiment has run its course and it’s time you obeyed nature and not your father’s idealism.”
“Shut up!” Kouga yelled, again raising his hand to strike.
Sesshoumaru gestured for Kouga to stand down. “There’s something I want to know,” he said, refusing to acknowledge any of Okuri’s assertions. The testimony from the miko was convincing, but there were still blanks he needed filled. “How did you corrupt Akeno?” he asked.
Okuri sighed, a long-drawn attempt to appear bored. Even if he couldn’t get Sesshoumaru to react to his barbs, he knew he planted seeds to take root on the fertile ground of Inuyoukai guilt. Even if his plan ultimately failed, he did not intend for his plot to be a total loss. “A few well-placed lies and his own ambition. I promised him Azami, a false promise, I admit. He was most valuable. Pity I had to kill him…a necessary evil.”
Sesshoumaru shook his head in disgust. “I have nothing more to say to you.” He turned to Kouga. “Put him in a solitary cell. Consult with Endo; only those whose loyalty is unquestioned will guard him. I’m going on ahead,” he said, turning to leave. “I need to return to Kagome, and I won’t waste another moment on this filth.” Sesshoumaru sped toward the stronghold; foremost on his mind was his place at his mate’s side.
XXXXX
By the time Sesshoumaru had traveled the distance back to the stronghold, the night had grown dark and cold, deepening the shadow of the wall to envelope everything that lay within. While he raced through miles of forest and hills, he wondered if she had awoken yet and how much Gina had told her about the fake letters, the false account of the attack. He thought about making things right, taking her in his arms, holding her and whispering that he loved her and would do anything to earn her forgiveness. But despite his intent on his destination, too loud in his mind were Okuri’s words. His fantasies of repairing his relationship with Kagome, full of apologies and affection and thanks, were infected by a sense of shame that weighed on his chest like a stone. He did not doubt that his love for her was real—Okuri was wrong about that—but it didn’t change the fact that he hurt her. Telling her how sorry he was and making amends was paramount. After stopping at the barracks to briefly explain to Commander Endo that Okuri was in Kouga’s custody and that they should be returning in a few hours, he hurried toward the manor, finally able to rejoin Kagome.
“Sesshoumaru.” Gina appeared from behind the largest tree in the courtyard, her face unreadable in the dim light. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Have you come to say I told you so?” He approached her and slowed his pace when he saw the dark, swollen crescents beneath her eyes. He hadn’t seen her like that since the day, years ago, they all received word that his sister and her newborn had been killed.
“I’m not that cruel.”
Gina rarely passed on an opportunity to get under his skin. He was expecting sarcasm, a brow raised in amusement at his discomfort, anything but the soft, haunting tone of empathy in her voice. It was the second sign that something was wrong. He stopped. “What happened?”
“Come with me.” Gina gently took his arm and led him into the shadows of the great tree, hoping to shield him from prying eyes. Gossip had been running through the manor like a wild fire, and she knew curiosity would keep many Youkai from respecting their privacy. “I thought we had the infection under control, but then her fever spiked…the redness of her wound spread…she has blood poisoning.”
The words echoed. Blood poisoning. They had once been as familiar as amputation—tragedies discussed as happening near the battlefield, not at his home, not to the ones he loved. “What?”
“She’s dying, cousin.”
“No.” Sesshoumaru’s denial was automatic and resolute but immediately waned. “Are you certain? Can’t the miko use her powers? Kagome stopped Haruto from dying.”
“Taka said it doesn’t work that way. She can close wounds and mend bones; she can’t fix this. Sesshoumaru,” Gina said, trying to keep her voice steady, “I’ve never seen anyone as sick as she is recover.”
He stumbled a half-step backward, then straightened, tall and hard. “This is my fault.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Gina said adamantly. “She received this wound before she arrived.”
“Can you honestly tell me that this would have been the result if I hadn’t fought her? If she hadn’t used so much of her own energy defending herself? She was strong when she walked through the gates. If I had listened and you were able to help her—”
“Stop it,” Gina interrupted, on the edge of breaking. She told herself she would wait, that she would not cry until he was back and with Kagome, until she and Taka could hide away and share in their grief. “You’re wasting time. We moved her into a private room so you can be with her and say goodbye.”
Sesshoumaru retreated further into the shadows. He made the plaintive sound of a wounded dog, a sound Gina thought she would hear forever. “How long?” he asked.
She wanted to tell him there was a chance that she may be fine if she could survive until morning, that she only needed more time, but lying to him was pointless. “I don’t think she’ll last through the night.”
“Gina,” he said with forced calm, “thank you. I’ll be along in a few minutes.” He turned and left the shadows to cross the courtyard, snow stained dark with blood, and headed in the direction of the armory and his only chance to change the crushing unfairness of fate.