The Hime Tradition- Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve- The Trap

A giggle escaped her lips as she saw Inuyasha's grumpy face. Turning away from the mirror, Kagome stood before Inuyasha fully dressed for the evening ceremony.

"Emiko told me that the ceremonies will begin to die down after today, Inuyasha," Kagome informed trying to lighten Inuyasha's grumpy face.

Inuyasha's expression darkened a bit more before saying, "I have a feeling we shouldn't attend tonight, Kagome. Something feels off."

She too had felt the change to the Castle's atmosphere as well.

"We should attend then, Inuyasha," she replied sternly.

Releasing a sigh, Inuyasha mumbled under his breathe, "You and your curiosity always bringin trouble."

Inuyasha was once again dragged off to the ceremony hall for the evening. But once the two entered past the doors, Kagome noted Chika and Hisashi's absence. Walking towards the 'Tsu' rank, Kagome saw Kura's face express worry.

"What happened? Where are Chika and Hisashi?" Kagome asked.

"It's terrible, Lady Miko," Kagome heard Kura voice with worry, "Hisashi was severely wounded after trying to protect Chika from an attack by a demon. Chika has gone to attend his wounds!"

Kagome's eyes widened in shock after hearing the news and asked, "Did you find out who it was?"

Kura nodded her head and whispered, "The 'Gon' leader."

Narrowing her eyes, its ocean blue color darkened. Kagome was about to march towards the 'Gon' leader and teach him a lesson for harming her friends. But as she turned around, the 'Gon' leader stood behind her with a grin on his face.

"Looking for me?" the 'Gon' leader asked with a cocky voice.

"I warned you about harming my friends," Kagome said dangerously. Noting the 'Gon' leader's expression unchanging from a smirk, Kagome wondered what he had up his sleeve.

The 'Gon' leader folded his arms as he stated, "I just put Chika in her place. Kura is the only 'Tsu' rank leader I will allow."

"Please stop this!" Kura pleaded towards the 'Gon' leader.

Kagome froze in her position. She knew she had placed herself in a vulnerable spot to the demons who favoured Kura, but she had not expected them to harm Chika. Fearing for her friend's safety, Kagome confessed, "I was the one who placed Chika as the 'Tsu' leader."

Sesshomaru, who had been observing from afar, narrowed his eyes. Did the Miko not see that she had fallen for the 'Gon' leaders trap? Now, all the demons would know who had been the one behind replacing Kura's position.

"Oh ho? You were the one to replace Kura with Chika?" the 'Gon' leader taunted. Quickly switching faces from an amused expression to a snarl, the 'Gon' leader growled, "Who are you to do that? Your rank hasn't even accepted you as a 'Sho' yet. So why should anyone else?"

"What do you mean!? Kagome is officially a 'Sho' rank!" Kagome heard Inuyasha yell from behind her.

She steadied her eyes to observe the 'Gon' leader carefully as he spoke, "None of us has actually seen how powerful she is. She should be tested."

"Demons are never tested after being ranked! That law was rid of decades ago!" Inuyasha snarled back at the 'Gon' leader. He knew of the dirty trick the leader was planning and he wouldn't allow it to happen.

"You forget, half-breed! She is human!" The 'Gon' leader barked back angrily. Kagome quickly glanced at Inuyasha and laid a hand on his arm. She knew Inuyasha would defend her, even in the demon society where he would no argue back for himself.

"Are you saying that if I am approved as a 'Sho' rank you would allow Chika as the 'Tsu' leader?" Kagome asked. She did not care much for her rank. But if her position protected her decision for the 'Tsu' rank, then she would fight to keep her rank.

Sesshomaru decided to step in before the Miko fell for the 'Gon' leaders trap. A chilling voice brought the 'Gon' leader's smirk to disappear, "Learn your place, the Miko is a 'Sho' rank."

Fear visibly trembled through the 'Gon' leader as his attention was directed towards Sesshomaru. After gulping down some of his fear, the 'Gon' leader stuttered, "B-but L-lord Se-sesshomaru! N-No one w-will re-respect her for-for her rank i-if she de-denies to prove h-her strength!"

Golden eyes narrowed dangerously at the 'Gon' leader.

"Hn, and who are they?" Sesshomaru voiced dripping with acid as he cracked his hand. The thick scent of fear was now emitting from the pathetic 'Gon' leader. Noting that the pathetic creature would no longer challenge the Miko's rank, Sesshomaru turned to leave.

"If you want to test my powers, test me!" Sesshomaru heard the Miko yell. Golden eyes briefly flickered to crimson as Sesshomaru glared at the Miko.

Kagome ignored Sesshomaru's glare. She knew he was furious at her for undoing his action of protecting her. But she did not wish to keep her rank because other's feared Sesshomaru to question her powers. It was not fair to others who worked hard to reach the 'Sho' rank on their own strength. She would only keep her rank if other's found her worthy of the title. If there were demons who doubted her, she would prove to them.

"Your….your powers can be tested by fighting against the 'Sho' leader. Then he will decide whether you are deserving of the rank!" the 'Gon' leader managed to blurt out, even though he stunk of fear.

Whispers spread like fire through the crowd of demons.

Inuyasha laid a hand on Kagome's shoulders to warn her. He knew the rumors about how powerful the 'Sho' leader was; the leader who had supposedly turned down the rank of Daiyoukai because he did not wish to take on the responsibilities that came along with the rank. But as soon as Inuyasha's eyes saw the determination that shined through her eyes, the hold on her shoulder faltered. She would not change her mind no matter what he said; he knew this for a fact.

"Deal," Kagome answered. The whispers grew louder amongst the crowd. Noticing that Sesshomaru had walked off into the direction of the gardens, Kagome followed after him.

"Kagome, you shouldn't follow after him," she heard Inuyasha advise her.

"I'll be fine, Inuyasha," she tried to reassure him. She had to thank him for trying to rescue her and apologize to him for undoing his rescue attempt. Making her way towards the huge ancient tree, Kagome assumed she would find Sesshomaru there. And like she thought, she found Sesshomaru standing with his back faced towards her. Kagome innocently walked closer to him until she was a feet away. Just as she was about to call out his name, a clawed hand gripped her shoulder painfully and pushed her against the tree. She winced at the pain on her shoulder and back at the impact.

"Miko," his voice snarled deeply. Kagome flinched at the feeling of his claws dig into her shoulder.

"You should have stayed silent!" he roared furiously. Her eyes widened in shock from his raised voice.

Even through her shock, she managed to mumble out, "But Sessho-"

Only to be cut off by his growl, "Do you know who you are up against? Did you think you could be more powerful than the 'Sho' leader? Think again, Miko. You will lose your rank and regret what you have done."

Kagome ignored the sweat that trailed down her forehead from the pain in her shoulder. Her pained expression softened towards the angry inuyoukai before her. Slowly placing her hand on top of his that dug into her shoulder, she felt Sesshomaru tense from the touch.

"I don't plan on winning, Sesshomaru. I plan to just fight the best I can," she explained hoping to calm him down if he could understand her reason.

Squeezing his tense hand lightly, Kagome said, "Thank you for trying to save me from the 'Gon' leader's trap, but I will not allow anyone to replace Chika as leader. Also, I really didn't want people to accept my rank just because you threatened to punish those who did question my powers."

She saw confusion behind his hardened gold eyes. Kagome knew that he was confused as to why she was working so hard to protect Chika's position. To her, protecting Chika's position was the start of ridding the darkness within the demon society. To her, it meant unveiling the hidden beauties. To her, it was meant to melt the cold, hardened, eyes.

A sad smile tugged on her lips as she told him, "You know, I was so devastated when I figured out what Kura had been doing to the other 'Tsu' girls. But what made me cry was the cold look in your eye as if you were now used to the corruption found in the demon society."

Sesshomaru felt his eyes widen. Recalling the time the Miko had cried in front of him, he realized those tears had been for him.

"Do you understand now, why I want to bring change, no matter how small of a change it may be? I don't want to see anymore cold or hardened eyes, Sesshomaru. It pains me to see you like that," Kagome said with a tremble, also thinking that the same reason applied to Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru stared into her blue eyes that darken with sorrow and soon swelled with tears. Her eyes alone displayed the storm that raged within her and seemed to transfer the swirl of emotions to him.

Warm blue eyes melted the icy glaze behind his golden eyes.

Her fiery passion sent a burning sensation spread through his chest.

For a brief second, Sesshomaru wished to see what was so beautiful about the demon society through her eyes.

He wanted to see the beauty she fought for with all her might.

She was the first...

To capture his interest for so long,

To cry for him,

To talk back at him,

To make him worry,

And to make him protective of her.

There was truly none like her.

"You are a strange creature," Sesshomaru muttered in a low voice. Thinking he was insulting her, Kagome sent him a glare only to find his eyes looking at her softly. A light gasp escaped her lips from the tender look she did not think Sesshomaru was capable of expressing. But soon, a bright smile appeared on her face from the joy to see that he understood her.

"Kagome, you should call me Kagome, Sesshomaru," she teased him. Feeling the grip on her shoulder lift, she felt him guide her back towards the Castle.

Crack.

The seed buried deep down in the inuyoukai's heart cracked open and began to plant roots. It was only a matter of time now, before the inuyoukai can no longer ignore the seed taking root within his heart; the seed that represented the Miko's importance.

Author's Note: Another update...for being amazing readers!
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