Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Dissident Hope	By : inufan625 Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 7761 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and will make no money from this work of fiction. This will apply to all chapters contained within.

Chapter List
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A/N: For anyone curious I am going to be posting chapter 33 on ED most likely tonight so there are quite a few more to go here.

The youkai left quickly and as soon as they were gone Kagome began issuing instructions. Preparations had to be made. She wanted everyone to hear the terms of the treaty from her own lips so that there could be no claims of misunderstanding, and there was a very specific time limit. All miko and houshi would have to be called into one of the main headquarters by specific times that would coincide with her arrival. If her geography wasn't too rusty she calculated that it was going to be a very close thing to get everyone informed of the decree by dawn.
"Miroku, I want everyone, and I mean everyone. No excuses," she said as they climbed into the waiting car. "If someone doesn't report in they had better be dead or dying. This is too important to risk any sort of miscommunication."
Miroku nodded his understanding and returned to making the necessary calls on his cell phone. Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting herself have a moment to revel in her accomplishment. She knew that she wouldn't have much of a chance to do so once word got out. She would instead have to be prepared to face criticism from all sides for what she had done. That wasn't to say that no one would be happy, but those few that would support her would be in the minority.
"I don't understand," Sango said quietly. "I have never seen a youkai behave with such respect towards a human before. He addressed you as Miko-sama. Is it the responsibility his station that has made him civilized?"
Kagome sighed. She understood why her friend would hate youkai so much, she really did. After all, her own father had met his death at the hands of a youkai when she was only eight years old. Of course, she had long since accepted that and moved on, whereas Sango had only had a short time to adjust to the death of her father, but that was neither here nor there. The fact remained that she was going to need all of the friends she could get very soon and could ill afford to lose one as true as Sango.
"Just because we don't understand them, doesn't mean that they are less than us in any way," Kagome said. "I'm no expert on youkai, but I think that it is simply more difficult to earn the respect of a youkai than it is of a human, and so to us it seems like they are rude, when that is really not the case."
Sango looked at her skeptically. "But all of the youkai I have faced-"
"Have been fighting for their lives," Kagome cut in. "How often do most youkai and humans have dealings with one another? Many humans go their entire lives without ever seeing a youkai, let alone having words with one."
"I suppose you could be right," Sango admitted. "But if that's the case, then how do you explain what happened to me..."
Kagome took her friend's hands between her own and looked her in the eyes. "The youkai that forced Kohaku to do those horrible things was evil, and I swear to you that he will pay for his crimes if I have to search for him for the rest of my life, but that was just one single youkai.
"There are evil humans just as surely as there are evil youkai, and I know you wouldn't want to be judged alongside a person like Onigumo."
Sango shuddered at the name. If there had even been a human who was purely evil, it was that man. There wasn't even an accurate count of how many people had fallen victim to him. He had robbed, raped, and murdered over fifty people that they knew of before he was killed fifteen years ago in an explosion at the warehouse he had been holding up in when the police cornered him.
"My head tells me that you're right, but my heart... my heart doesn't want to hear," Sango said.
Kagome nodded her understanding. "I know you're angry and you have every right to feel that way. I just want to know that this doesn't change things between us, that you're still my best friend."
"Of course I am," Sango replied. "I may not understand or even agree with you, but I do trust you and if you think this is for the best, then I'll support you in any way that I can."
Kagome embraced her briefly. "Thank you."
~ * ~
By the time they arrived back at the Central Branch Kagome had a little more than an hour to figure out exactly what she was going to say. She closed herself in her office with orders that she not be disturbed until it was time for her to make her speech.
Kagome knew that she was no great orator. In truth, she really hated speaking before large groups of people. She had gotten used to it by now, certainly, but that didn't mean she had come to like it or that she didn't get a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when it became necessary for her to give a formal address.
The only exception was when she was conducting some sort of ritual or blessing. There could be a million people watching her do those things, and it wouldn't faze her in the slightest. In fact she actually felt more relaxed, since those were times when she was most in tune with herself and with the Kami-sama who had blessed her with her powers.
She tapped her pen against the blank parchment in front of her and sighed. Just as she would never win any honors for her speaking, she would also never garner them for her writing abilities. Under ordinary circumstances this fact wouldn't matter so much, but unfortunately this situation was anything but normal. She would need to be at her absolute best to impress upon her people what this truce could really mean for them and for everyone else as well.
She said a quick prayer for guidance from those who had come before her and who had born the responsibility of the mantle she now wore, and then she began to write.
~ * ~
Kagome had only just finished reading through her speech when someone knocked at the door. She set the paper down on her desk. "Come in."
Miroku entered the room and offered her a small respectful bow. "It is time."
Kagome nodded and rose from her seat. He waited for her by the door and together they walked through the corridors that led to the auditorium. Her stomach was in knots the entire time, and it only got worse as they reached the door that would admit her onto the stage. She tried to swallow as Miroku opened the door to let her inside, but her mouth was dry.
She walked across the stage, stopping only to smooth her hair and clothing, before stepping out from behind the curtain. She placed her hands on the podium and began to speak, "The pages of history have been marked by the words of great men and woman. I stand before you today making no claim to deserve a place among them neither in deed nor in eloquence, but I offer you my solemn vow that in sincerity I am equal to any who has come before me.
"It is with great joy and abounding hope that I am able to bring to you all the message that we are at the dawn of a new era - one of peace, where we need not live with fear or anger in our hearts. Mere hours ago I met with the Inu no Taisho in the village of Midoriko."
Kagome paused as those gathered began to murmur to one another. This quiet talking lasted several minutes, but eventually everyone fell silent, wanting to hear about what had happened at the meeting. Once it was quiet, Kagome continued, "Today I The Great Miko stood with the Inu no Taishou at the stone table and presented him with a scroll uncovered at the Sunset Shrine that has been proven beyond a doubt to have been written in the blood of the hanyou and preserved in the power of my family."
Again the crowd began to make themselves heard, but Kagome ignored them and instead raised her voice to carry over the din.
"The scroll was given as a token of respect and as symbol of my intentions - my intentions to call for a truce between our two peoples while the other scrolls are analyzed in hopes of finding out the truth behind the beginning of the war.
"I stand before you now in my capacity as the daughter of Midoriko, the daughter of Kikyou, the daughter of Asami, as your Great Miko, and declare that we are at a truce with the youkai. I have signed an oath in my blood, and it has been bound with my power to the stone, that no man or woman of spiritual power shall harm any with youkai blood from the coming dawn until both myself and the Inu no Taisho return to the stone and with our blood and power render it broken - On my honor, and upon penalty of death it is done."
Just as she had expected, her announcement cause quite an uproar. Many people were crying out in outrage, and others were stunned into silence, but she didn't have time to worry about that now. She still had to travel across all of Japan and give her speech again at each of the main branches.
Miroku joined her on the stage and called for quiet. Once the crowd was settled enough that he could be heard over them he said, "I understand you all have questions and concerns, and I assure you that they will be addressed, but now is not the time. Kagome-sama, must spread this joyous news to all of our fellow miko and houshi before the dawn. Please, go home and consider what it is that you really want to speak with her about and then make an appointment. Thank you."
With that he ushered Kagome off the stage and out the door. They hurried down the hallway and out a back exit to where a car was already waiting for them. Kagome sighed as she slipped into the seat. It was going to be a long night.
~ * ~
By the time Kagome arrived home, she was ready to fall into bed and sleep for days.
At every stop she had made, things had gone exactly as she had expected, and that combined with spending more than half of the night traveling had left her with a weary feeling that went bone deep. She knew that she wouldn't be able to rest for too long since there would no doubt be many people clamoring to speak with her, and since she also had to get started working on the scrolls, but those things could wait for a few hours at least.
As she stepped inside she revised her earlier plan to go straight to bed to include a nice hot bath first. Yes, that was exactly what she needed, a bath and then some sleep.
She removed her sandals and into her slippers and then headed for her room. The quiet of the house was soothing as she removed her clothing and then the tie from hair. She made her way across the room to the bathroom. Her robe was hanging on the door. She slipped it on and then proceeded into the bathroom to fill the tub.
As she sat on the edge waiting for it to fill the phone rang. With a heavy sigh she went to answer it, hoping desperately that it was nothing so serious that couldn't wait at least a few hours.
Taking a deep breath to relax herself she answered, "Hello."
"Yeah, so when do you want to start working?"
For a second Kagome was confused, but then she realized that she recognized the voice on the other end of the line. "InuYasha-sama?"
"Keh, it's just InuYasha," he replied. "So is today good for you or what? Sesshou wants us to get going on this thing as soon as possible."
"Us? Are you going to be the one working with me?" she asked.
"Only because no one else would," he snorted. "You got a problem with that?"
"What? No! Of course not," Kagome stammered. "I just didn't expect that it would be someone so important, all things considered."
"Like I said, no one else would do it," he replied. "Also, it had to be someone we could trust. So when and where are we going to do this thing?"
"Well, I was going to try and get a few hours sleep, since I was up all night making the announcement, but that can wait," she began.
It was then that InuYasha noticed how tired she sounded, and he remembered that it wasn't as if she was a youkai like his brother who could visit every part of the country in a couple of hours if he wanted. "That's okay," he cut in. "Go ahead and get some sleep. We don't want you making any mistakes. We can start tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Kagome asked. "I don't want you or your brother to think that I'm not completely committed to getting this done."
"Keh, I don't think you have to worry about that - at least not as far as I'm concerned," he told her. "And I can handle my brother. Just give me a time and a place for tomorrow, and I'll see you then."
"Um, I hope it's all right with you, but I was planning on doing all the research here at my home. I already have all of the equipment we'll need, and I don't like to move the scrolls around any more than I have to," she said.
InuYasha was incredulous. "You want me, a hanyou, to come to the Shrine of the Great Miko? I thought you wanted us to work together, not to get me killed."
At this Kagome laughed. "Get killed? Oh, you don't honestly believe all those rumors do you? In truth this shrine is probably the safest place for you or for anyone for that matter. The wards here aren't triggered by youki, but by intent. As long as you don't come here with ill intent nothing will happen to you. The wards here won't even allow me to do harm to youkai here. It is a place of peace. It is a sanctuary in every sense of the word."
"No shit?" InuYasha questioned.
Kagome coughed a little at his choice of words, but answered, "On my honor as a Miko. I can lock it down and prevent people from entering if I have need, but I can hold no one against their will."
"All right, then," he agreed. "What time should I be there?"
"Is eight going to be too early for you?" she asked.
"I'll be there," he said.
Kagome looked at the phone as the line clicked off. She waited a second to be certain that he had hung up and then returned the handset to the cradle.
A flutter of excitement raced through her and pushed away some of her exhaustion. Tomorrow. It was almost unbelievable. After all this time, they were just one single day away from the beginning of a whole new world. Was it any wonder that she couldn't seem to stop smiling?
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Dissident Hope