Chapter Four

"My son was dead. I was screaming and crying and begging him to open his eyes but I knew he was gone. It was my worst nightmare come to life. Then he came. He said 'Stand aside woman if you want me to save him.' I was so shocked that I stopped crying just to stare at him. He had long flowing silver/white hair and it looked like he was wearing armor from feudal Japan carrying a katana. He was the most beautiful man I've ever seen. He put that sword away and drew another one, closed his eyes and said, 'Carry out my will Tenseiga,' and slashed the sword over my son's body and then a miracle happened. He woke up. My baby was breathing and all of his wounds were healed. Then I heard the sweetest voice I've ever heard saying, 'Hey let's take care of that shall we.' She placed her hand on my wounds and it glowed pink and I was better. I looked up and I only caught a glimpse of a kind smile and long black hair as she turned around to go help someone else. They were angels."

"We've got dozens of eyewitness accounts all with the same story," said Nick Fury as he stood at the head of the conference table at STARK tower. "People being rushed to the hospital in a whirlwind, blue flames putting people to sleep so they can be moved, blasts of lightning destroying rubble, resurrections and healing all throughout the area of the Chitauri attack."

"We need to find out who these people are, where they come from and what they want." The fact that Fury didn't know anything about them infuriated him.

"Couldn't they just be trying to help because there was an invasion," said Bruce in his borrowed clothes as he cleaned his glasses. He was not comfortable around SHIELD and did not trust them.

"People that powerful don't help without a damn good reason Dr Banner," said Fury as he placed his hands on the table and leaned down.

"Every single person resurrected had an extensive medical exam," said Hill as she looked through documents on her tablet. "The kid and all the others are perfectly healthy. Some are even healthier than they were before the attack."

"No one can bring back the dead," said Rogers. "It's unnatural." The Captain was having a very hard time accepting what had happened and had been repeating himself since the battle ended.

"Then maybe they were only 'mostly dead,'" said Tony as he rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"Never mind and cool your jets before you work yourself into a frenzy Dread Pirate Fury," said Tony as he leaned back in his chair with two of the legs off the floor. "You're being too paranoid – someone from the embassy will be here soon and you'll get the answers to your questions."

"Do you actually think they'll tell us the truth Stark," asked the Black Widow from across the table. The 'Avengers' were divided in two with the Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain on one side and Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk on the other.

"I think that it's better to be polite and listen to the nice lady from the embassy instead of starting an international incident in trying to arrest people with diplomatic immunity. Especially after they helped save the city from an alien invasion."

"You think that diplomatic immunity thing was real?" asked Clint as he sat with his seat backward with his head on his crossed arms on top of the backrest.

"I think that no one says that they have diplomatic immunity without actually having it," said Tony as he straightened up. "It's too easy to disprove."

"I do not understand the confusion," said Thor as he folded his arms and shook his head. "You wish to know about those that helped us in battle yet your actions will create enemies where there could be allies." The Crown Prince of Asgard did not like politics, it was too convoluted, and no one said what they actually meant. That did not mean that he couldn't play games with the best. He wouldn't have been allowed to leave Asgard if he wasn't able to know when someone was trying to use him. This is the reason why I used to let Loki deal with all this double speak. Why is it so hard for people to just say what they mean?

"Mr Stark," said JARVIS before anyone could respond to Thor's statement. "Ms Higurashi from the Japanese embassy has entered the building."

"Thank you, JARVIS," said Tony. Higurashi hmm? Why do I think that isn't a coincidence? "Please have her escorted straight to the conference room."

"Of course sir."

"Alright every get your game faces on, keep your crazy on the inside and please remember for the love of God this is supposed to be conversation not an interrogation so be polite and try not to insult the nice lady," said Tony as he straightened his jacket, double checked his hair and sunglasses and started to walk towards the door with a smile on his face. "Ms. Higurashi it's so nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Stark," she said with a smile. "I've heard so many stories. I can't wait to see which ones are true and please call me Aiko."

"Well Aiko if you get to know me, you'll find out that most of them are true and please call me Tony," he said with a wink. "Now since I can feel the glares being aimed at me why don't I introduce you to everyone else and you can get started."

"I would love to Tony but first here are the copies of the Lord Sesshomaru and the others' diplomatic immunity," Aiko said with a smirk. "I thought it would be best to get that out of the way."

"Probably why don't you place that on the table for our resident spies to go through," said Tony. He knew that JARVIS was recording everything and would make sure that there were scans of those documents as soon as the file was opened.

"The one-eyed pirate and his first mate are Nick Fury and Agent Maria Hill of SHIELD. The red head in the cat suit and the purple archer are Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. The man in the spangly red, white and blue suit glaring at me is Steve Rogers aka Captain America aka Captain Tight-pants. The man in the glasses who I need to take shopping later is the brilliant Bruce Banner aka the Hulk and last but not least is the Rock of Ages himself the one and only Thor god of thunder."

"Charmed I'm sure," said Aiko with a smirk. "Now I'm sure all of you are very busy so why don't I get through my presentation and you can ask me questions afterward. Is there anywhere I can plug in my flash drive?"

"Right this way my lady," said Tony with a charming smile as he led her to the podium. He could see out of the corner of his eyes Bruce blushing, Thor laughing and everyone else glaring and stopping themselves from commenting on his introduction. "JARVIS can you get the lights please."

"Anything for you sir," said JARVIS.

"So that's the famous JARVIS, I've heard rumors."

"Well I can guarantee that all the rumors of plans for Skynet are in fact vicious lies."

"I'm sure," she said with a laugh. "The first thing you have to understand and acknowledge is that all the legends are true. Every story you have ever heard has some truth behind and the answer isn't always aliens like the way it is with the Norse. Most of the time the beings from legends have been around as long as humanity itself – youkai are one of those beings."

As Aiko was going through her speech there were corresponding pictures being projected. Pictures of angels and monsters, beings with sparkly magical fingers, fairies and dragons and everything in between.

"Now the English translation of youkai is demon but that isn't even remotely correct. A better term would be nature spirits because youkai have absolutely nothing to do with hell. Unfortunately, Christianity has a bad habit of referring to anything that is different or doesn't fit within its parameters as demonic or unholy. The majority of youkai that took part in the battle earlier were inu or dog youkai in the service of Lord Sesshomaru. Lord Shippou is a kitsune or fox youkai, Lady Souten is a thunder youkai and Lord Kouga and his followers are okami or wolf youkai," she said as the corresponding pictures popped up.

Man that must have been one hell of a photoshoot to get pictures like that. Tony knew better than anyone else in the room the time and effort it took to get perfectly effortless seeming pictures. I'd think it was all computer graphics if it wasn't for the fact that I saw them in action yesterday.

"Lady Kagome," said Aiko as she pulled up another glamour shot. "Is not a youkai but she is a miko, a priestess in the service of the kami – Shinto deities. They blessed her with powers and as long as she stays faithful in their service they will continue to bless her. And no before anyone wants to make a comment virginity is not a requirement to serve a god unless you choose to swear yourself to one of the virgin deities like Artemis or Athena." Maybe I should have kept that to myself – Afterall Kagome's father is in the room.

Oh God that is a direction I never wanted my mind to go in. If wasn't for the fact that I have so many questions I would be heading right to the bar to get mind numbingly drunk to forget that statement.

"Moving on," said Fury as he looked through the paperwork. The head of SHIELD was not happy something like magic was in fact real and he didn't know about it.

"They all have various titles like Lord Sesshomaru being Lord of the West and a lord of the House of the Moon. Lord Kouga is Lord of the Eastand a lord of the wild. Lord Shippou is Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Kagome's adopted son and is engaged to Lady Souten."

"Son?" asked Bruce while Tony was trying to wrap his mind around the idea that he was a grandfather and trying not to pass out from the shock, "But his parents don't look that much older."

"Youkai are functionally immortal – they can be killed but they generally don't die from old age unless they're several millennia old."

"Good to know," said Barton under his breath to Romanoff.

"Where do they come from?" asked the Black Widow.

"Japan originally Ms. Romanoff," said Aiko snarkily. "They're not aliens or beings from another dimension. They're native to Earth just like any human and they've moved all over the world just like any other Japanese citizen. But if you would like to learn their personal story and how that group became what it is now I'll have to start long before any of them were born thousands of years ago… with the creation of the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls."

Youkai and humans have always had a very complicated history. We can be each other's greatest allies or worst enemies. There are many different types of youkai, some can look like humans while others are more like animals. The most intelligent and powerful youkai are the ones that can take human form. Some are good and some are evil, but you should never judge someone based on their species, you'll be wrong every time. At the end of the day no matter how much damage youkai or another other species has done to humanity we have always been our own worst enemies. Thousands of years ago there was a beautiful and powerful miko named Midoriko who lived during the Heian Period of Japan over a thousand years ago. She would travel from village to village healing the sick and driving out youkai or dark magic users that were causing problems for the villagers. That made many people adore her but she had just as many enemies.

She could defeat any youkai or dark magic user but what led to her death was something else. A man who did not handle rejection well. No one remembers what his name was or his story anymore, all we do know was that supposedly he was in love with Midoriko and asked her to marry him. She refused. If she ever got married that would mean she would have to give up her life as a miko, as a warrior and healer, to settle down and become a wife. She would have to give up her independence to become nothing but her husband's helper since a woman having a career and a family was impossible to even imagine during that time period.

I don't think he truly loved her – I think he was obsessed with having the beautiful and famous Midoriko as his perfect wife and after her final rejection he lost it. He allowed himself to be possessed by many minor youkai and they merged into one being in order to kill her. The man's body and soul was used an adhesive to hold the creature together.

The creature attacked Midoriko and she fought for her life for 7 days and nights and with the last of her strength she grabbed hold of the creatures' mangled soul and merged it with her own to defeat it and out of her chest right where her heart was a jewel burst out. Within the jewel was the soul of the miko and the youkai constantly in battle – the jewel became known as the Shikon no Tama or the Jewel of Four Souls.

As time passed the jewel passed from person to person and it was discovered that it was a source of unimaginable power in the hands of its wielders – it could grant their wishes. But its power was similar to that of a monkey's paw – their wish would be granted but not in the way that it was imagined causing the fool to use the Shikon more and more, becoming more corrupted and obsessed. The Shikon caused a great deal of chaos and destruction – the only time of peace was when it was hidden away by those who knew and understood how dangerous it was and were not tempted by its promise of false power.

A little over five hundred and fifty years ago the Shikon was in the care of young miko named Kikyo who guarded the village of Edo which eventually became Tokyo. Kikyo was a very powerful miko in her own right and she was able to purify the Shikon allowing the spirit of Midoriko to rest causing it go dormant which meant it could no longer be sensed by those searching for it.

It was eventually discovered by a young hanyou -half youkai half human hybrid- named InuYasha who wanted to use it to wish away his human half and become a pure youkai. Lady Kikyo stopped InuYasha from stealing the jewel but did not kill him because she knew he was not malicious. He kept on trying to steal it and she kept on stopping him. Eventually they started talking and fell in love. InuYasha was the younger half brother of Lord Sesshomaru – born from his father the previous Lord of the West's affair with a human princess.

According to the stories the two of them have always had a complicated relationship. They were family but at the same time they were enemies because of InuYasha's birth and the choices their father made. Lord Touga died the night InuYasha was born saving him and his mother. Her soldiers set the mansion on fire hoping that the flames would kill all three as she was giving birth and attacked Lord Touga to keep him from putting out the flames. The attacks would never have succeeded if he hadn't already been critically wounded fighting a dragon youkai earlier in the day. He did not stop to take a moment to heal his wounds and they eventually killed him, but he did manage to save InuYasha and Izayoi.

Afterwards Lord Sesshomaru took his father's place as Lord of the Western lands and spent most of InuYasha's childhood consolidating his power and fighting off those who saw his young age as an opportunity to usurp his place as Lord. InuYasha saw his older brother as someone who had a perfect life and Sesshomaru saw his brother as the reason for their father's death and InuYasha's birth as proof of Lord Touga's betrayal towards Sesshomaru and his mother. Like I said a complicated relationship.

It did not help when Sesshomaru found out that InuYasha had been bequeathed Tetsusaiga the sword of Earth by their father while Sesshomaru was given Tenseiga the sword of Heaven. Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga are swords forged from one of Lord Touga's fangs. With one swing Tetsusaiga can kill one hundred enemies while Tenseiga can resurrect one hundred people who recently died. InuYasha was given Tetsusaiga because he needed both its protection and sealing abilities as a hanyou. When children are born between a powerful youkai and a human with no powers of their own like Princess Izayoi they can be unstable if their youkai blood surges and takes over when their lives are in danger. They have a tendency to attack anything that moves so Lord Touga gave InuYasha Tetsusaiga to prevent that from happening. Hanyou born from a youaki and human or other supernatural beings of comparable power do not have that instability. We don't have that problem now – hanyou have spells cast at birth to prevent that from happening.

Sesshomaru was given Tenseiga because he did not need help protecting himself he needed to learn to care for others. Back then one of his nicknames was the Ice Prince and he certainly lived up to that title. Eventually Sesshomaru understood the lesson his father was trying to teach him and found his own way to power. He created a sword of his own called Bakusaiga which was forged from his own body as a manifestation of his own power.

Now back to the story - Kikyo and InuYasha started talking and sharing their secrets. She asked why he wanted the jewel – he told her that by getting rid of his human half he would finally belong. Like most hybrids InuYasha was part of both worlds and yet neither – the outsider looking in. Kikyo told him about her dreams of being an ordinary woman just like everyone else instead constantly having to sacrifice to do her duty as a miko. She would watch all the other women in the village and wanted to be a wife and a mother instead of holy being that everyone would put on a pedestal. Kikyo believed that a pure wish made on the jewel would cause it to disappear forever.

She wanted to use the jewel to wish away InuYasha's youkai half then her duty would be fulfilled and the two of them could live a normal life together and InuYasha agreed. It was a wish that never would have worked the way they thought it would and it would not have gotten rid of the jewel because it was a selfish wish. Eventually InuYasha would have hated the limits of a human body. He would never have adapted to losing so much of himself and would have ended up hating Kikyo but they were superpowered teenagers in love. Critical thinking was not one of their skills.

Then on the day they agreed to make the wish Kikyo took the jewel from its resting place to bring to InuYasha. She was attacked by someone who looked like InuYasha saying how she was a fool to trust someone with youkai blood. Not long after InuYasha was attacked by someone who looked like Kikyo saying that he was a fool to ever believe that she could never love someone with youkai blood. The jewel that was taken from Kikyo was placed back in the temple so that when InuYasha attacked he could take it. Kikyo was wounded but she went after InuYasha and placed a sleeping spell on him. As long as the arrow she used was never removed from his body he would remain in an enchanted sleep.

Neither of them knew that they were tricked by a spider hanyou named Naraku. Naraku was originally a bandit named Onigumo. He was badly burned and paralyzed and Kikyo found him dying. She took pity on him and treated his wounds. As time passed he became more and more obsessed with her. She didn't see him as a threat because of his paralysis so she ignored his obsession. History tends to repeat itself - Onigumo offered his body to be devoured by the lesser youkai and his soul became the glue holding them together creating Naraku. Naraku was just as obsessed with Kikyo as Onigumo was but more than wanting her as a possession he wanted to taint her – make a miko fall from grace and be consumed by hate. Naraku was a shapeshifter so he took Kikyo and InuYasha's forms to trick them. He planned on Kikyo killing InuYasha and becoming consumed by hate causing the Shikon to be tainted.

Kikyo eventually died from blood loss since she went to fight InuYasha without getting treatment. She had her younger sister Kaede burn her body along with the Shikon in the hoping of taking it with her to the afterlife. So for the next fifty years the seal held until a young girl named Kagome was found running from youkai. Legend has it that she was Kikyo's reincarnation and from the future who was brought to the past by the kami so that the Shikon and Naraku could finally be destroyed. She was attacked by a centipede youkai who bit her side and from within her body the Shikon fell out. When she was chased through the forest she found InuYasha's prison. Her presence alone was enough to awaken him from his slumber but he could not move until the arrow was removed. Since she was being attacked and he said he could kill the centipede youkai she agreed to release him.

After InuYasha killed Mistress Centipede he tried to attack Kagome to take the Shikon. Luckily, the villagers heard the ruckus and came to investigate and Kaede came with them. She used a binding spell on InuYasha to keep him from attacking Kagome. They brought her back to the village and explained everything. Unfortunately the time period she came from miko's were no longer trained so she didn't know anything about her powers. The Shikon was eventually stolen by a crow youkai – InuYasha and Lady Kagome chased after and she tried to stop it by firing an arrow. Lady Kagome had a great deal of power and no training so she accidentally hit the Shikon causing it to shatter. The shards ended up traveling all over Japan and the two were charged with completing the jewel and destroying it.

They traveled around all of Japan locating the shards making many friends and enemies. I won't go into any details because then we'll be here all week. I can tell you that both Lord Sesshomaru and Lord Kouga were enemies that eventually became allies. Mostly because of their fondness for Lady Kagome – InuYasha was very crass for lack of a better term and impetuous- he had a way of making people quite irritated with him.

As they traveled through Japan they encountered other people who joined their quest to defeat Naraku and destroy the Shikon. Mirokou a cursed houshi – monk, Sango a youkai slayer with a nekotama companion and Shippou the orphaned kitsune kit. You met the adult version earlier. Shippou was adopted by Lady Kagome as her son. Throughout their travels they rescued many people whose lives were ruined by the Shikon and Naraku. They changed the way people thought about humans and youkai. Before it was unthinkable that a miko, houshi, youkai slayer, hanyou and youkai could possibly travel together as friends.

In the beginning Lady Kagome had a crush on InuYasha. Luckily she realized it was just puppy love and moved on. Which was for the best since InuYasha was still in love with Kikyo and though Kagome looked just like her and was her reincarnation they were very different women. Towards the end of the journey, when there were only a handful of jewel shards not in either the possession of Lady Kagome or Naraku Lord Sesshomaru joined the group. Lady Kagome still had no formal training on how to use her powers, just whatever she'd been able to pick up along the way so Lord Sesshomaru decided to train her himself. She was the only human he respected and was aware of how powerful she could be with the right teacher.

The training was long and hard but worth it. That's when the two started to get close and fall in love. But they never acted on their feelings since they knew that when her duty was fulfilled she would return to her own time. The final battle occurred and after she made her wish a portal opened up. Lady Kagome said her goodbyes to all those she loved in the past and was never seen again.

Before she left Lady Kagome gave Lord Sesshomaru two tomes with knowledge of the future so that youkai would be protected. He used the knowledge to make sure that his people were safe and that their territory was secure – hidden away so that they can live in peace away from humanity. Lord Sesshomaru raised Shippou along with his own adopted daughter Rin and never married. He focused on the children and devoted himself to making sure that his people were prosperous.

Lord Sesshomaru was the one to make a treaty with the Emperor of Japan. There are several different parts put the basic idea is a 'we leave you alone and you leave us alone'. Youkai do not interfere in human affairs and vice versa. If any problems are caused by either youkai or humans those people will be brought before the other people's authority. Their punishment will be meted out as per the treaty and the laws. Supernatural beings all over the world followed in Sesshomaru's footsteps and made treaties of their own with the local royal family's and there's been relative peace ever since.

"So any questions?" said Aiko as she ended her presentation.

"Several," said Tony as his mind went over all the information he'd been given. As soon as this is done I'm finding Sparks and we're going to have a very long conversation.

"If supernaturals don't interfere with human problems why did they help against the army?" asked Fury as he sat next to Hill.

"Because that wasn't a human affair – that was an alien invasion," said Aiko as she turned to stare at the leader of SHIELD. "Because what if they hadn't and Loki succeeded? Then they would have to fight off an even greater threat from the rest of the army that was coming through the portal."

"How do you know that they've been keeping the treaty?" asked Rogers. He was not happy that the press and everyone else was more impressed by the youkai instead of him. Rogers couldn't go anywhere without being reminded that most people didn't see him as the big hero of the battle.

"Because the treaty is magically binding on both sides," said Aiko with a smirk. "You see the supernatural races learned the hard way that just because you make a treaty with someone who's good and honorable doesn't mean that in a few decades when they die and their kids or grandkids take over they'll be like those that came before. Several supernaturals were brunt pretty badly because they trusted the descendants of their friends to help them and instead got rewarded with betrayal and death. Now any treaty that's made is magically binding not just with that person but with whoever takes over their position and it doesn't matter if the person who takes over isn't part of the family or the title or political party changes. If they're in charge then they're bound to the treaty and when they take power they have to sign the treaty as well or they will not be allowed into office. If the power of the head of the country is shared between the royal family and the prime minister then both have to sign the treaty when they're sworn in. The treaty is bound to the rulers and the land."

"How in the world would that work?" asked Tony as he tried to figure out the answer to his question.

"It's magic," said Aiko with a shrug. "I don't question it, I just know that it works."

"And what happens if the treaty is broken," asked Maria Hill. There was a reason she was second in command of SHIELD and she knew her boss well enough to guess his plans.

"It happens every very generations. Some idiot thinks that they know better than everyone who came before them and decides to either try and destroy supernaturals, turn them into slaves or something equally stupid," said Aiko as she rolled her eyes. "Everyone works overtime to cover it up, there's lots of yelling, posturing and snide comments from both sides and then they're eventually captured and turned over to those who have been hurt by their actions the most or whichever group has the harshest punishment for their actions to be made an example of."

"What if the ones breaking the treaty are supernaturals?" asked Bruce as he was looking over the documents just to play devil's advocate.

"The same thing – usually they're handed over to supernatural authorities because their laws and punishments are much harsher than human ones," said Aiko. "Most of the time it's humans breaking the treaty because supernaturals live long enough that they remember the last time the treaty was broken and do not want live or not live through the punishment. With humans they only get the written record of the punishment – it's not the same as having seen it be inflicted."

"OK so let me get this straight," said Tony. "The original treaties were made between the ruling class and even though most of the world is a democracy now it's still as binding as it was then correct?"

"Yes."

"OK but what about the US – we don't have nobility."

"No you don't officially but you're still bound by the treaty because the majority of the people living in the US are immigrants or descended from immigrants. Usually the local supernatural population takes care of making sure everyone follows the law but no one's seen any of the them in centuries," said Aiko as she started packing up to leave. "Rumor has it that they were so disgusted by the genocide of the indigenous people of this land that they decided to live in a parallel dimension with as many of the tribes that they could save rather than interact with the invaders. Since there was no actual law here everyone else had to take care of things. The US is split into different territories. Each royal or noble that moves here rules their territory and is responsible for making sure everyone behaves and there's no overt magic being revealed to the world."

"So you're telling me that we're relying on some demons to protect humanity?" asked Barton.

"That's trouble just waiting to happen," said Rogers as he glared. He was not happy with the idea that beings the church classified as demons walked among humanity.

"Ok first of all demons are creatures of Christianity that are from hell. Youkai and other supernatural beings generally have nothing to do with hell. Secondly it's not just supernaturals," said Aiko as she rolled her eyes again. As soon as this meeting is over I'm making an appointment for a massage. It's like every word I say is in one ear and out the other. "When I said the people who claimed the territories in the US are nobles and royals I didn't limit it to just supernatural royals and nobles. Human ones also have territory as well."

"What?" was the consensus from the Americans in protest while Thor was confused by their reaction. I don't understand – who else would the various rulers of this world leave in charge but other royals or at least nobles?

"Why in the world are you all so surprised?" said Aiko as she shook her head. "It doesn't matter that most of the world is democratic. The people in power will always be the people in power. You can't tell me that you don't believe that royals and nobles who've been in power for centuries aren't still in power now. The world has changed a lot in the last few centuries but not that much."

"How are a bunch of spoiled nobles supposed to handle the supernatural population?" asked Rogers. The rich never do anything for themselves – they probably have their guards enforce the rules and those guards are probably supernaturals they've hired.

"Those 'spoiled nobles' as you call them have always known about the supernatural and would not have stayed in power if they couldn't hold their own in various ways. That's how it works."

"Question?" said Barton as he raised his hand. "How is that even legal in the US – I get how it could work in the rest of the world, but it doesn't make sense here."

"It works Mr Barton because the founding fathers and the first president signed the treaty when this land was granted independence from Britain. It was part of the deal so that order could be maintained throughout the world," said Aiko as she took a seat. Aiko had been working overtime since the invasion to help with the clean up and was dead tired. "Everyone knew that eventually supernatural residents would move to the new world to fill in the void left by the native spirits of this land when they left. They were just planning ahead."

"Why don't we know about this?" asked Maria Hill. She had gone through everything but couldn't find any evidence of the treaty.

"You would have to ask your superiors," said Aiko with a smirk. "But if I take a guess I think the people who actually run the country didn't trust SHIELD not to stick their nose into places that don't concern them and ending up starting a war they can't win."

"How are you so sure we can't win," asked Rogers with a glare. "We did pretty well against the Chitauri and every other war."

"Well someone needs to read an actually history book instead of just propaganda reels," said Tony snarkily.

"Mr Rogers the war your dreaming of wouldn't be the supernatural against the US it would the world against SHIELD," said Aiko. "You and all who join you will be disavowed and charged with terrorism and high treason and treated as such. No one wants to start a war for no reason other than your prejudice and little man syndrome."

"It's Captain," said Rogers with a glare.

"Actually it isn't according to the dossier I received. You didn't even finish boot camp little alone officer training. And before you go into how you led the Howling Commandos – you can't become a captain without actual training. There's no such thing as being field promoted further than sergeant in the US. Lt. Col. Phillips was the man who was actually in charge not you. You just looked better on posters."

"Oh snap," said Tony with his eyebrows raised. I can't believe I had to have that spelled out for me. Stupid childhood propaganda.

"Excuse me …" started Rogers until Fury intervened.

"Enough!" said Fury. "Moving on, I want to know what information you have on that sword."

"I'm assuming you mean the Tensiaga?" asked Aiko. "Like I said it's the Sword of Heaven and it can resurrect up to one hundred people at once in a single swing."

"How in the world does that work," asked Bruce as he cleaned his glasses. "Is it a true resurrection or something else entirely."

"It is a resurrection and you do get healed of all the wound that killed you but," said Aiko as she turned to look at Banner. "As powerful as Tenseiga is it does have several limitations."

"Like what?" asked Romanov.

"First it only works on the recent dead – once your soul has left your body to move on to the afterlife any hope of resurrection is lost and that is a very short time period. Second it can only be used by a member of Lord Sesshomaru's family because it was forged from one of his father's fangs and he is the last of that bloodline. Third for the sword to work the wielder must feel compassion for the person being resurrected- there's a reason why everyone who came back was young. Lord Sesshomaru has a soft spot for children but he really doesn't care for adults – too much stupidity," said Aiko as she raised a finger for each corresponding point. "The most important fact is that Tensiega can only be used once per person – you get one second chance – no more and no less."

"How in the world could a fang be big enough to forge a sword?" said Barton asking the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Let me put it this way," said Aiko. "Youkai who look human also have another form corresponding to whatever type of youkai they are. For example Lord Sesshomaru's other form is that of a very large white dog that's bigger than most buildings- think Godzilla size. As youkai get older, they get stronger and when Lord Touga died he was not young. One of his fangs would likely be bigger than you are so it could quite easily be forged into a sword in the hands of a master blacksmith."

"How in the world could someone forge a sword out of a fang?" asked Tony as he tried to figure out the mechanics.

"They can if they're a youkai blacksmith who uses magic."

"Magic…right," said Tony as he tried to rub away the headache that was starting to form. My list of things I need to talk to my daughter about is going reach a mile long at this point.

"What about the time travel?" asked Romanov as she payed very close attention to everyone's reactions. It looks like everyone forgot about the time travel until I said something.

"It's not something that can be duplicated," said Aiko. "It was the kami sending Lady Kagome back in time but the only reason they did so was because they already knew she would travel back in time to destroy the jewel and Naraku. Until quite recently – most likely with in the last decade or two we were stuck in a time loop that didn't end until Lady Kagome returned to her own time for the last time."

"So you have no idea what the kami did to send someone back in time," asked Tony. Oh there is a lot I need to talk to Sparks about. Time Travel, being a grandparent, youkai feudal lord boyfriends! I don't even know where to begin. "Or if they really sent her back in time and it wasn't just a miko who lived back then."

"As far as we're aware it was actual time travel Mr Stark. We don't have many details because it was so long ago and the people who do know more refuse to talk about it."

"Well that's typical," snarked Barton as he exchanged a glance with Romanov. I just know Fury's going to send us hunting for a time machine.

"That isn't information that should be in mortal hands Mr Barton. Humans have some very bad habits – one the worst is that they can't stop themselves from pressing the red button just to see what'll happen."

"You're not wrong," said Tony as he looked around to see everyone else's expression. Well Cap looks intrigued at the idea of a way to travel back in time – I'd bet my entire fortune that he'd want to use it to go back to the 40's. Even though that would probably create a paradox because he's already in the 40's - just not awake. Fury and Hill look like they're planning on kidnapping someone to interrogate for information. Barton and Romanov look like their planning the details of that kidnapping. Bruce looks interested and skeptical while Thor just looks confused by the reactions of the weird humans.

"Unfortunately I have another meeting I have to prepare for so I'll have to leave now," said Aiko as she stood up and grabbed her bag. "If you have any questions my email is in the folder or you can call the embassy and someone will try to answer your questions but I would suggest that you ask your own supernatural liaison."

"Wait a minute you can't just… ouch," said Rogers as he grabbed his shin.

"Thank you for your time Aiko," said Tony with a smile after having stepped on Steve's foot went to Aiko for a handshake.

"It was my pleasure to meet you and your colleagues," said Aiko as she smiled at Tony, Bruce and Thor.

"It was a pleasure my lady," said Thor as he smiled and bowed like the prince he is. "Your presentation was most informative."

"It was quite illuminating even though I have more questions," said Bruce as he shook her hand goodbye.

"I would be happy to answer what I can Dr Banner," said Aiko. "Though I would recommend that any questions about the American supernatural community be directed to the supernatural liaison. I can forward you the information if you give me a contact number or email."

"Sounds like a plan," said Tony. "JARVIS send Aiko here one of my emails. I have questions that need answering."

"As you wish sir," said JARVIS.

"Director Fury," said Aiko as she politely nodded her head towards the man. And as she was walking out the door she said, "Agents. Have a nice day."

As Aiko started to walk out the door she couldn't help but turn around and say, "I really was hoping that this meeting would end differently but unfortunately most of you reacted the way I expected. Suspicious towards those different than you just because they're not like you and wanting to exploit their powers for your personal benefit. It's because of that reaction most supernaturals want nothing to do with humanity anymore. They used to be the greatest teachers and guardians of mankind. Everyone from Merlin who taught and protected King Arthur to Chiron the trainer of Greek heroes. Now none of them will help us because humanity had proven to be honor less and prejudice towards anyone who's different."

Aiko had the last word as she walked out and left the quarrelling Avengers behind. I really hope Tony gets away from them soon. There's a lot about SHIELD he needs to know. I hope I was able to give him enough information that he knows not to trust them.

"Why did you stop me Stark," asked Rogers as he glared at Tony.

"Well excuse me for trying to stop a diplomatic incident before it occurs," said Tony as he rolled his eyes. "Don't you know anything about negotiations Captain? The first rule is that you don't insult or anger the person you're trying to make a deal with unless that's the actual plan."

"But she was saying all those lies about how I'm not actually a captain." And I wanted to learn more about how time travel could be possible.

"But nothing Rogers keeping her as a tentative ally is more important than your ego," said Tony. "Besides it didn't sound like she lied at all. If I recall my history you didn't complete boot camp and you have no officer training. The only training you have is whatever they were able to teach you in the field and that was mostly how to use your shield, firearms, basic tactics and if all else fails to punch the situation away."

"What did you just say," said Rogers as he started to get up from his chair.

"You heard me Capsicle," said Tony.

"All right that's enough," said Fury. "We have more important things to deal with so reschedule your pissing match for later gentlemen. I went everyone to reach out to their contacts and get me more information on youkai or any other supernaturals. They need to be monitored and controlled."

"Hard stop right there Nick-at Night," said Tony. "I don't work for you and I have no intention of breaking laws and treaties just because you're pissed that you don't know anything about the supernatural."

"Oh come on Stark you can't actually believe that there's a treaty with the supernatural and we don't know about it," said Barton.

"It sounds like a bunch of nonsense to make sure that we don't look further," said the Black Widow as she looked through the documents and glanced at Tony from underneath her eyelashes. "If it was real then SHIELD would know, and we'd already be monitoring them to make sure that the treaty is broken."

"This is just my opinion," said Bruce as he cleaned his glasses. "It could be that your higher ups deliberately made sure that you didn't know because they were afraid that you'd break the treaty that's been in existence longer than this country in your zeal to know and control everything about everyone. Added to that fact it's been my experience that vaguely menacing government agencies or divisions have only two approaches to people with powers they want to control and/or use. Either an offer to let those people join in a vaguely threatening manner or imprisonment/death."

"That is most dishonorable," said Thor as he glared at Fury and the other agents. I do not like this at all. I had hoped that they were good and honorable people who wished to protect their land but now they seem like curs who wish to control all.

"Among other things," said Tony. "So here's my advice – if you guys want to create a problem where there isn't one then don't let the door hit you on the way out. If I were you Fury I'd actually check and see the laws and treaty before deciding that there isn't one just because you don't know about it. Ignorance of the law doesn't excuse you from punishment if you break it."

"Those youkai are dangerous Stark, they need to be controlled," said Hill.

"Well considering the fact that I've never heard of any problems I think that their leaders are doing a pretty good job of policing their own people and don't need outside help to do their jobs."

"What if they attack us?" asked Rogers. "We need to know their weaknesses to defend ourselves."

"Considering the fact that there wasn't a problem a week ago I think the chances of supernaturals attacking humans are slim to none as long as no one does anything stupid like attack first because they're afraid," said Tony snarkily. I really don't like the way this conversation is going and I want them all out of my tower. Memo to self – look deeper into SHIELD - there is something rotten to the core about all of this dominion over others thing they've got going on.

"Enough!" shouted Thor. "I grow weary of this nonsense. They were honorable enough to help during the battle when they could have stayed hidden and just protected themselves. They even took the time to help after the enemy had been defeated yet you act as if they were as mad and vicious as a dark elf even though they have only acted as allies. I do not believe you will enjoy the consequences of your actions if you continue on this path."

As he stood up Thor continued, "Now Loki and I must return to Asgard. My brother needs to be examined to determine if the youkai were correct and he was under another's control. I will return as soon as the Bifrost has been fixed for the staff. You may examine it until then as agreed though I do advice caution. Any magical object that gives its wielder the ability to control another is more than it appears to be."

"We'll take that under advisement," said Fury as he and the Avengers stood up.

"Well lets get this show on the road Fury-cakes," said Tony as he headed for the door. "We'll meet you guys at the entrance while we go get Loki."

"Very well Stark," said Fury.

"You guys sure you don't need more back up?" asked Barton.

"I think we're good Legolas. I don't think Loki is in any shape to fight one person let alone all three of us. But thanks for the offer," said Tony as he, Thor and Bruce walked towards Loki's room. "JARVIS make sure they don't make any detours and search every square inch they touch for bugs."

"You really think they're crazy enough to do that even though they know JARVIS monitors everything?"

"I'm betting they are Brucie-bear. This isn't my first run in with SHIELD and their favorite thing to do is spy and learn the secrets of everyone they interact with for leverage."

"It is sad that an organization that claims to work in the best interest of the people seems to believe that controlling everyone is the best way to do so," said Thor.

"True enough Point Break," said Tony. "I really wish you were taking the staff with you now. I do not trust SHIELD not to do something stupid."

"Agreed."

"As do I friend Stark but unfortunately magic is not my strong suite and as such I do not want to risk of two magical objects interacting with my teleportation spell." I will have to ask Heimdall to keep an eye on the staff. I do not trust SHIELD with it. This is one of the times I wish that I had paid more attention to my magic tutors instead of just my weapons tutors.

"Thank you for letting us watch this meeting JARVIS," said Kagome as she watched her father and SHIELD meet her cousin with Sesshomaru in his office. "It's been most …informative."

"Of course miss," responded JARVIS. "Now is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Not right now but please do keep an eye on my father and SHIELD," said Kagome as she turned to look at Sesshomaru. "I don't trust them."

"Very well miss. If that will be all."

"Yes JARVIS thank you. When were you going to tell me that my cousin knows about all of this."

"Soon," said Sesshomaru. "Your family has always been connected to the youkai. The only reason you and your brother weren't told was because we wanted to keep the timeline intact."

"So instead of growing up learning about youkai as real people we just thought grandpa was just being old fashioned when he told us the stories."

"Yes," said Sesshomaru. "Shippou informed me that you believed that youkai were just stories and magic wasn't real growing up, so we made sure you didn't see any."

"But knowing you there was always a guard nearby to make sure nothing happened," said Kagome with a smile. Especially considering how overprotective he is I rather doubt there wasn't someone following my every footstep until the well opened – then he probably ordered everyone away.

"Of course," said Sesshomaru. "How else would I be able to make sure that the timeline is protected."

"Just the timeline?" asked Kagome with a smile to which Sesshomaru only responded with a small smirk.

"We will have to speak to your father about SHIELD miko," said Sesshomaru as he stopped smiling and began to take the conversation seriously. "There is a great deal that he needs to know."

"Why don't I have a good feeling about that?" asked Kagome as she covered her eyes, she could already feel the headache starting to form.

"Because I trained you to trust your instincts," said Sesshomaru bluntly.

"Oh… yeah," said Kagome as she uncovered her face to look at Sesshomaru. "OK give me the lowdown on SHIELD. I've had a very bad feeling about them ever since we met. They did not make a good first impression. Who are they anyway – I've never heard of them before."

"SHIELD is a covert organization that was created by Lt. Col. Phillips, Peggy Carter and your grandfather with Carter in charge since neither Phillips nor Stark knew anything about running a spy agency. Because of that she was able to take advantage of their ignorance," said Sesshomaru as he got serious. The small smile wiped off his face. He'd wanted to interfere with SHIELD's actions for years but couldn't because of the treaty. Now that Stark is aware all that needs to be done is to pass the information onto him and point him in the right direction.

"There's no one monitoring SHIELD to make sure they don't cross lines, so they've been able to do whatever they want with no oversight. Most people look the other way mostly because they use your family's money to bribe the people they can't intimidate or get rid of to cover up their actions. They answer to the World Security Council which is made up of primarily Americans whose first response to anything they don't understand or are afraid of is destruction or imprisonment. Also they have no actual authority on paper – they just tell SHIELD that they do."

"They're the idiots who ordered the nuclear strike," stated Kagome. "How the hell do they have access to my family's money? Dad never heard of them before he became Iron Man so I rather doubt he'd ever let them use his money without his authorization."

"After your grandparents were murdered SHIELD broke in and gained access to several accounts and experiments that your grandfather was working on."

"What do you mean after my grandparents were murdered?" asked Kagome. "I thought they died in a car accident." Though I'm not really surprised they broke in and stole stuff – I got that vibe from them.

"A cover up by SHIELD. Howard was working on recreating the super soldier serum and succeeded. It was in the car with them when the assassin attacked and stolen – it's most likely been used already to make more 'super soldiers'."

"Fabulous," said Kagome sarcastically. "And SHIELD just covered up a double homicide. Dad's not going to like that. I better make sure Pepper and some whiskey will be there when I tell him. Why in the world would Carter cover up a double homicide."

"Control," said Sesshomaru as he poured himself and Kagome a glass of tea. "If your father knew his parents had been murdered he would never have stopped searching for the killer which would mean he would discover everything else Howard Stark was involved in. Possibly discovering the accounts Carter was draining to support SHIELD and the weapons projects she stole."

"So because they wanted to keep Dad out of it and didn't want to lose their cash flow they lied to my father and the world and let a grieving child believe that his parents died because his father was drunk driving. They probably knew even then if Dad had even an idea of what had really happened, he would have never stopped looking for answers."

"Correct and because teenagers are notorious for doing the exact opposite of what they're told to do so they weren't sure if they'd be able to control him."

"Wait is this the same Peggy Carter that's Dad's godmother?"

"Yes."

"Wasn't my grandfather her friend?"

"He thought they were friends but she only ever saw him as a useful tool and scapegoat. Anything that went wrong was his fault, anything that went right was of course because of her. That's why he spent so much time in the Arctic – it was the only place so far away that she couldn't call him for money or to create something for her."

"A lot of things about my father's childhood are starting to make sense."

"That was also the reason why it was so easy to cover it up. Your grandfather didn't have any real friends. Carter and that piece of excrement Obadiah Stane made sure to drive them all away so all he had left was them."

"Who was also my father's godfather and set him up to die," said Kagome. "This just keeps getting better and better. Why didn't they try and go after Dad before Grandfather died?"

"Howard blackmailed them to stay away from your father. After your grandparents death and your father spiraling in response they decided to stay away because he was too much in the public eye."

"Well I guess all the drugs, sex, alcohol and insanity of his twenties had one good benefit."

"Unfortunately, miko there's more."

"Oh, what now?"

"SHIELD has a list of people with abilities they want under their control called the Index. If SHIELD catches them, they have a choice – work for SHIELD or death/life imprisonment, no trial no chance of escape - so that they can't fight against SHIELD. They have a prison fortress known as the raft that's floating in the middle of the ocean somewhere where they keep the unlucky people they catch."

"I'm pretty sure everything you just said is illegal."

"It is but they do it anyway. They used the Stark fortune to create that prison and everything else. It's why your grandfather was only a millionaire in his lifetime."

"If you know about all of this why haven't you intervened?"

"Because everyone they've caught has been human. If we attack we break the treaty."

"You said that some of these people have powers."

"Yes, they're what's known as mutants – as in they have a mutation of their 24th chromosome that gives them powers. Other than that, they are still very much human. The raft is filled to the brim with people whom they've kidnapped and imprisoned because they rejected SHIELD's job offer."

"You must be joking – how have they been able to get away with this."

"Blackmail, bribes and assassinations. They've done this since the beginning when Carter was in charge and Fury is just as bad."

"Oh great," said Kagome as she buried her face in the couch pillow.

"Talk to your father – find the accounts they're using – sue them. If they're cut off from the Stark fortune the world will be much more difficult for them."

"That list you were talking about …" asked Kagome as she looked up.

"Your father is on it as so was your grandfather," said Sesshomaru as he drank his tea. "From what my hackers have been able to discover he was one the first on the index to be coerced into working for Carter even though he never realized he was being manipulated."

"Why in the world is this organization devoted to controlling people with any kind of ability they can use?"

"Carter – when she was still in the SSR – encountered a black widow who'd been enhanced. Ever since then she decided that anyone with abilities needed to be controlled for the greater good and SHIELD has been following in her footsteps ever since."

"Explaining to Dad my past and his is going to be a nightmare," said Kagome as she drank her tea wishing it were sake instead.

"Would you like me to be there?" asked Sesshomaru as he gazed out the window – watching people rebuild the skyscrapers and the roads.

"Mind being available for a video call just in case," said Kagome as she gazed at the daiyoukai. "I think it should at least start off with me until I can get an idea of how he's going to handle all of this."

"As you wish miko."

"How are we handling this?"

"Hnn?" asked Sesshomaru as he looked back at the miko.

"Sesshomaru," drawled the miko. "We had a moment. Now normally I'd just ignore it until later but knowing my luck if I don't say something now something will happen because of things left unsaid. Now are we going to decide to acknowledge it or ignore it? I'd rather know right now instead of agonizing over it."

"You're as blunt as ever miko."

"Hey nothing good ever comes from not saying what you mean. Then people get confused and it turns into a ginormous mess that could have been avoided if someone had taken five minutes to clarify."

"I think we should take each day as it comes," said Sesshomaru as he turned around to look into Kagome's eyes. "If something more is meant to occur between us then it will."

"Take things slow?" asked Kagome as she got up off the couch and started to walk towards Sesshomaru. "How slow are we talking?"

"We shall see," said Sesshomaru with a smirk.

"You haven't changed," said Kagome as she shook her head. "No one would ever believe me if I ever said that the Ice Prince could be coy."

"It only happens around you miko."

"You're lucky you're cute."

"I don't think anyone has ever referred to me as cute."

"They haven't seen you in your true form," said Kagome with a smile. "Anyone who looks and sees those big floppy ears would definitely call you cute."

"Most people are too busy noticing my fangs, claws and acid. They don't look at my ears."

"I'm not most people Sesshomaru," said Kagome as she came to stand right in front of him.

"You are irreverent," said Sesshomaru as he reached out to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Took you long enough to figure that out," she responded with a smirk as they looked deep into each other's eyes as the sun set behind them.

Notes: I am so sorry it took forever to finish this chapter. Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed or commented on the story. I read and enjoyed every single comment. I couldn't have finished this chapter without your support and kind words.