One Shot by Striking Falcon

One Shot Part I

Disclaimer: Yeah, I know. This doesn't belong to me. Inuyasha belongs solely to the genius who first came up with him.

SF: Yup, this is at the beginning instead of the end. That's because I thought I'd warn you guys early that this is a ONE-SHOT, with two chapters altogether. Smacked me upside the head and in spite of my beta telling me how bad of an idea this is, I decided to do it anyway for the hell of it. Anyway, that's it dude. Enjoy the show.

Part One: Understanding

It wasn't that he didn't understand.

No, of course not. Not he, who could look at a scout's heinously drawn map and decipher the information he needed to strike down his enemies. He was the one who figured out what, and who, would defeat the evil hanyou scum 70 years ago. He trained the little miko himself, not only instructing her in the art of war but also insuring that she had the best training possible in her power and ki.

He saw the reasoning behind his advisors' betrayal as well thought that wasn't to say that he agreed with them. They believed him to be weak, that he had followed in the footsteps of his father and disgraced his clan. Fools that they were in their dirty-handed scheme and it was something that plagued his mind on a nightly basis. Rest assured, he understood...

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

Sesshoumaru growled in frustration, his clawed hands hidden deep within the simple white outer haori supplied for him. He hated this with a passion best saved for disemboweling one's enemies but even he could sacrifice his pride and appreciate the opportunity his current position gave him. He mentally glanced back at the past five years, wondering to himself time after time how he managed not to see his advisors' plans. Jaken's disappearance should have been warning enough for him, but he had actually been foolish enough to believe that the little imp had deserted him. He now looked back and smirked at himself, his head shaking in disappointment as he watched himself search for the little vassal.

It was then the advisors put their plotting into action and it didn't take long for them to defeat, capture, and shackle the great youkai... with the help of a kuromiko of course. And he wasn't surprised when he was dumped, beaten, bloody and nearly feral, into the center of the eastern territory and given to a slave trader that knew of the special incantations on his restraints. The trader masked his aura and hid his royal markings, took his new slave and a few pieces of silver and went about his way. Sesshoumaru didn't fight to the trader's surprise, choosing instead to wait and watch for his escape and to the revenge that awaited him. For five years he remained with the trader, the trader either unwilling to sell him or the prospective buyers too frightened to purchase him, despite not knowing who he truly was.

Still, he never would have guessed that he would end up here, with her of all places.

Sesshoumaru breathed a soft sigh and resumed his planning, not once attempting to peer around the solid blue and gold screen that he sat behind. Midnight blue hakamas complimented his rather comely attire, along with a solid pair of socks and sandals. He rarely wore the sandals but decided that, for today, he would instead of walking on the frigid wooden floor. He shifted slightly on the pillow he sat on before shoving it behind him and using it as an elbow prop instead. His gaze flickered to the screen and the sunlight that shone merrily from the other side one last time before returning to his thoughts.

*

She glanced down at her desk, her slate gray eyes glancing from the pile of work that remained to be done to the tiny heap that had been accomplished before giving a small chuckle and leaning against the wall behind her. "I'm so tired," she whispered to herself as her eyes slid closed. She breathed in deeply, something that she still remembered her mama teaching her to do when she was frustrated.

'Mama, Souta, Grandpa....I miss you...'

She sniffed, then sat up and wiped clean a single tear before grasping her brush and continuing her work. Her mind continued to drift despite the urgency of the documents in front of her. Soon she found herself up and moving, the documents and brush left for another time as she exited her library and began to walk down the hallway. Despite 60 years of ruling, she still wasn't used to the quiet charm that eluded the castle walls. She felt warm here, nothing like the stranger she knew she was. She felt as if she belonged.

Naraku's defeat 70 years ago had been a hard but victorious fight that ended in the evil hanyou dead along with Kanna, Kagura and Kohaku. The three had turned against Naraku in the end, and he quickly repaid their attempts at freedom with their lives. She could still see the look in Sango's eyes when the shard was plucked free from her younger brother's back, her heart going out to her friend as she crumpled to the ground and sobbed his name to the roaring winds. Kagura and Kanna were next to go, leaving Kagome and the others to destroy their former master. The battle quickly became nasty and Naraku seemed almost unbeatable. Hope was nearly lost.

To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, or Kagome who struck the last blow. Of course the three had helped to weaken Naraku, but the victory belonged to Shippou of all people, who had forsaken his spot on Kagome's shoulder to retrieve the whole Shikon from Naraku's chest. The little kit took a blow for his efforts, but the damage was done. Naraku was dead moments afterward, his ashes scattering on the breeze like tainted snow. Kagome and the other's rejoiced then, happy that their fight was over and they could all live in peace. Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru, intending on thanking the taiyoukai who so unexpectedly appeared in the heat of battle, only to find him gone...

She raised a hand to her chest and felt both her heartbeat and the steady thrum of the Shikon as it flowed through her veins. She absorbed the jewel seconds after purifying it, her shock and utter surprise nothing compared to the sudden shriek from Kikyou. It would turn out that the Shikon wasn't the only thing her body would regain that day...

'And to think,' she thought to herself with a sigh. 'Everything I've ever wanted was taken from me since then. Funny, to have to go through so much, only to have it end so badly.' She would've gladly apologized to Inuyasha had he given her the time. She would have tried to bring Kikyou back and leave the way he demanded, but the well and the Shikon thought otherwise. No, she wouldn't return to her time like she originally feared. When the well sealed she was left on the other side, with no one but Shippou, Sango and Miroku to hold her as she cried.

But there was hope and it rested in the jewel that now lived within her. She felt the changes it made to her blood and body during it's first four months inside her and somehow knew that in the end she wouldn't be youkai or human but miko, Protector of the Shikon and therefor granted eternal youth and power. To be immortal had it's advantages....

But it had it's disadvantages too.

She stopped below a portrait of her friends, her eyes watering slightly as she lovingly stared into the smiling faces of her former battle companions. "I wish you two were here," Kagome whispered to the portrait. "You've no idea how little things have changed. Your children are still with me, and I try to guard them with my life. It's the least I could do for everything you've done for me."

She never had the chance to thank either of them the way she wanted to, but felt as if they knew how important they were to her all the same. Sango and Miroku had fought beside her during their battle with Naraku, had brushed her off and helped her to stand back up when Inuyasha deserted them, and had given her the courage to fight the Eastern lord when the ryuu youkai attempted to spread his madness all over Japan. For two more years they traveled, with Sango's pregnancy in the end leaving Kagome to strike out on her own instead of dragging them with her. They came anyway, though the way was difficult with Kirara still with their miko friend. Speaking of Kirara...

"Ohayo, little friend," Kagome cooed as the tiny youkai jumped on her shoulder. "You're out rather late today. What's the matter?"

"Meow..."

"I see," Kagome laughed. "Well I tell you what, go tell Cookie to give you a little fish to eat. I'm sure she'll gladly agree."

Kirara meowed in thanks and was off, her tails flickering behind her as she pranced down the hallway toward the kitchens on the other side of the palace grounds. Kagome smiled after the little furball and allowed herself to enjoy the little bit of peace and happiness Kirara always managed to leave behind.

She never intended to become queen, but the freed youkai of the East wouldn't have it any other way. They even appealed to the Youkai Council in spite of her trepidation toward the idea. Just as she thought, the council refused, calling the youkai that resided the East fools to want a human for a queen. It was Shujin, one of the deceased Eastern tai's soldiers, that offered that Kagome was no mere human, but an immortal that would make a fine addition to the council. Due to the guard's elegant speech (one in which Kagome was moved to be thought of so highly) the Youkai Council finally agreed to her ascension, deeming that she would be lucky to survive the first week of her reign.

Once again Kagome was surprised, this time by how loyal her new subjects were. Youkai, hanyou and human alike helped to fight off any opposing youkai attempting to de-throne her until she was finally accepted and respected. Shujin was one of her three trusted advisors, with Miroku and Sango at her sides as well. Two of their children, Akuma and Yukiko, were appointed their place when they died and the third, Yukiko's twin Yuko was one of Kagome's personal guard. It was Ra-Dawn that accompanied her when she ventured to the marketplace in a nearby town where she found Sesshoumaru. She walked by him at first, not recognizing him without his markings and royal symbol. It was his aura that stopped her in her tracks. It grabbed at her and forced her to turn and truly look at the taiyoukai turned slave. Kagome bought him without a second thought, her plans not to use him but to free him the moment she could. Her plans where quickly hindered when she realized that those that had stolen his place from him had decided against letting him live. Kagome sighed again, remembering the flickering of the once great youkai as she told him about the lies his old advisors had spoken to the Youkai Council. It didn't show on his face, but Kagome could tell that it shocked him to hear of how easily they were deceived.

She offered him asylum, which he grudgingly accepted, and hid him from the enemies that searched for his head. He stayed in the room next to hers, what the servants told her was her mate's room, and sat with her behind a screen made especially to contain his youki. Spells and sutras were cast on the entrances to their rooms, the sutras hiding his scent and youki from anyone who would detect it and the spells to keep anyone except herself out. She could tell that her assistance bruised his pride but it couldn't be helped. Even now she struggled to find some way for him to escape without coming to immediate harm and thought she had an idea as she turned back to her study.

'I think it would work, but I'm not entirely sure,' Kagome said to herself as she passed a couple of servants. They bowed respectfully and Kagome bowed in greeting, something that she knew would surprise them no matter how many times she did it. She smiled as they stuttered their greeting to her and scurried along their way. To Kagome, it didn't matter if they were youkai or not, they were her subjects and she would protect them with her last breath. 'And I'm sure Sesshoumaru-sama feels the same way...somewhere in that heart of his. That's why I have to help him. He doesn't know it, but his people are suffering under the new tai. Refugees cross the Western /Eastern border every day and the farmland's refusing the new tai's youki. I don't want to turn those people away but-'

"Miko-sama?"

Kagome turned, brownish gray eyes clouded before softening at the small bear cub nervously staring up at her. "Yes?" she said as she kneeled down to his level. "What is it?"

"Um..." Kagome smiled as the little one fidgeted, the rounded chocolate ears nestled deep within his hair twitching every so often as the boy struggled to remember what to say.

"Take your time," Kagome told him when his aura began to flicker violently. "I'll wait until you remember."

"No, Mother said that Miko-sama mustn't wait," the boy shook his head. "But I don't remember what she said."

"Then take me to your mother then," Kagome suggested as she rose and held out her hand. "That way you won't have to remember. How does that sound?"

The pup reluctantly grasped her hand, his nervousness fading to awe when her hand gently encircled his paw. They walked down the hall, the pup's nervousness nothing but a memory as they approached the throne room. "Mother's here Miko-sama," the little boy grinned happily as a female bear youkai rounded the corner.

"I see her," Kagome smiled as the female bowed and gestured for the pup to come to her side. "Thank you for guiding me to her Tetsuyaro. You'll have to visit me again sometime."

"Alright Miko-sama!" Tetsuyaro chirped before scampering off, leaving the miko and his mother to their own devices. Tetsuyaro's mother stared at Kagome in awe, her violet eyes round in surprise at Kagome's request. Their queen's love of children was well known throughout the castle and the nearby villages. It was considered an honor for their children to be invited to the little gatherings Kagome arranged for them. Kagome always made sure that the mothers were tended to, not only playing with the children but making light conversation with the mothers as well.

"Nina?" Kagome called, bringing the youkai before her out of her stupor. "Tetsuyaro said you needed me but he couldn't remember why."

"Oh, please forgive him your majesty," Nina said with a quick bow. "He's just a child and-"

"I know Nina, I know," Kagome assured her before reaching out to pat her shoulder. "That's why I asked to be brought to you."

"He shouldn't have done that!" Nina gasped. "I should have been brought to you and-"

"Nina," Kagome interrupted with a mental sigh. No matter how many times she insisted otherwise, the servants of the castle still insisted on treating her like they treated the old taiyoukai. "You needed me for something. What was it?"

"Oh, yes my lady." Nina gestured to the throne room and shivered. "You have guests."

"Guests? What kind of guests?" Kagome wondered aloud as she searched behind the throne room door for her visitors' auras. There were two inu youkai both with unfamiliar auras and strong youki. Nina shivered again, this time in what Kagome noticed to be fright. "Nina-san, what's wrong? Who are they?"

"It's the new Western Taiyoukai and one of his advisors."

"I see..." Kagome inhaled deeply, held it and released it, allowing the tension that suddenly gripped her body to flow out of her scent and aura. "Don't worry Nina," Kagome assured her. "Nothing's going to happen. Did they tell you what they wanted?"

"No Kagome-sama," Nina shook her head. "I didn't think to ask. Please forgive me."

"No harm done Nina," Kagome told her with warm smile. "Would you please summon Shujin-san and Ra-Dawn-chan please? Tell them to come straight in, don't bother to knock."

"Alright my lady," Nina replied. She bowed and disappeared, the slight breeze over Kagome's right shoulder giving tell to her direction. Kagome glanced at the door and mentally tried to picture what lay behind it. 'They might know about Sesshoumaru. They must be here to take him. Why else would they be here?,' her conscious whispered as she schooled herself and her face to a serene calm.

'That doesn't matter,' Kagome said as she knocked on the heavy stone doors. She heard the groans and creaks of the doors opening, the four cougar youkai standing on the other side shoving the doors open at her request. 'I won't give him to them.' She walked into the room gracefully, her silvery blue kimono shimmering in the sunlight streaming into the room from the enormous vaulted windows in the massive room. "Good day gentlemen," Kagome greeted with a polite bow. "What brings you to my kingdom?"

(End Chapter)

SF: Yes, I know, it's kinda weak. Well, it's kinda hard to stuff an entire story into one chapter. Everything you need to know to understand the next chapter is in this chapter. I know, it's a load to take in but trust me. It'll be better the next chapter. Remember, this is a one shot. Any cracks about how much this sucks will be sent to me. Don't blame my beta. Like I said, she's not aware of this so (shhhhh). Lol. Thanks for reading you guys. Another chapter's coming soon.