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“You’re welcome!”
Although not an objectionable phrase, it was strange as a greeting. Shippo radiated pride, but looking around the hut, Kagome could see all of her other friends were just as puzzled as she was. Poor Rin, standing in the genkan, was especially lost. Years on, she was still adjacent to the group rather than a core member – friendly with them, as Kaede’s protege ought to be, but still someone who knew an invitation came with a special occasion rather than a typical evening. If life were a manga, Kagome knew there would be an interrobang bursting from Rin’s head. Bold. Demanding. Confused.
!?
His chest puffed out, Shippo continued. “I bought that fancy new kimono you’re wearing. No need to thank me. I just wanted you to know that you’re welcome.”
Rin looked down, as though her clothing might have somehow exchanged itself without her knowledge. When she raised her head, there was a slight furrow between her eyebrows. “Sesshomaru-sama gave this to me.” Each word was enunciated with austere authority, a certain assuredness that she could not genuinely think necessary. They all knew Sesshomaru showered Rin with gifts. This particular kimono, lovely as it was, was not even his latest offering.
The star field on Tessaiga, little bottles of soy sauce in Kagome’s kitchen, and Rin’s extensive wardrobe were proof that Sesshomaru’s love language and his resentment language were not only similar, sometimes it was hard to tell which one he was even speaking. Was he kind to her or spiting her husband? Kagome could never tell.
Shippo wagged his finger in the air. “But where does Sesshomaru’s money come from?”
“Murder!” cried Kin’u.
“Gore!” added Gyokuto.
“Murder and gore!” surmised Hisui.
Rin toed off her sandals, nodding slightly as though to say, yes, that’s probably it.
When it came to questions about yokai, Miroku and Sango could usually be counted on for the answer. Neither offered anything, and Kagome had to admit their knowledge did usually consist of a species’ preferred method of killing humans and what to do about it.
Shippo was forced to answer his own question. “Taxes! And I pay ‘em! It’s my money that buys you all this fancy stuff!” He pursed his lips. “Hey, Inuyasha, do you pay taxes?”
“What the fuck?”
Kagome felt similarly. Still… “Sit. Inuyasha, Kin’u and Gyokuto are six. You have to stop talking like that around them!” She was growing increasingly concerned that her own eventual child was going to learn to say something rude before learning to say Mama.
“Hisui’s the one who repeats things,” Inuyasha muttered.
Like that was a reasonable defense!
Crossing his arms, Shippo said, “All working yokai have to pay taxes! You have to pay your local clan den – for me, that’s the fox tribe. Do you think they can hold exams if no one is paying for it? – and the regional leader. That’s Sesshomaru.”
“I don’t pay yokai taxes.” Inuyasha sat up. “Since when is that a thing?”
Shippo scoffed. “No wonder he hates you, Inuyasha. You’ve been stiffing him for years!”
Indignant, Inuyasha sputtered. “I wasn’t wondering! It’s the only topic in the world he actually wants to talk about!”
“No, there are two or three more,” Rin said.
Although the failings (many) and virtues (few-to-none) of Sesshomaru were subjects Inuyasha and Rin could, had, and surely would again debate for days, Miroku at least was more interested in engaging Shippo on yokai economics. “Shouldn’t Inuyasha be receiving payments?”
Shippo wrinkled his nose. “Why?”
“He is from the same lineage as Sesshomaru,” Sango added. “When Sesshomaru assumed being head of the family, that ought to make Inuyasha head of a high-ranked cadet branch at the very least.”
“But,” Miroku interjected, stroking his chin, “we are assuming that Sesshomaru inherited this position from their father. If he inherited it from his mother, then Inuyasha would not be owed anything.”
Rin clarified. “He inherited it from his father.”
Favored subject no. 2, no doubt.
Miroku clapped Inuyasha on the shoulder. “Look into it! You could be owed centuries of back payments!”
“So I can share with you?” Inuyasha asked dryly.
Miroku recoiled with exaggerated offense before slyly reminding Inuyasha how he himself had been sharing his ill-gotten gains nigh equally among the group for years.
A sudden, only quasi-related question found itself on Kagome’s tongue. “Shippo-chan, is Sesshomaru a popular leader?”
Rin shouted, “Of course!” and from her sample size of Jaken, that was obviously true. (Though, honestly, A-Un frequently seemed ambivalent towards Sesshomaru. Would that be an approval rating of 50% or 33%?) Regardless, Kagome was curious about the broader trends of greater yokai society.
Shippo mulled it over with far more consideration than Rin had. “Well… I remember my dad never liked him much but talked about it like most yokai did. I think Sesshomaru used to be popular with vicious yokai but us mischievous yokai didn’t like him very much. It’s different now. Everyone at the fox den likes him a lot, but vicious yokai want to overthrow him.”
“But they still pay taxes?” Kagome asked.
Shippo gaped at her. “Of course! Nobody but us takes Sesshomaru on on purpose! It’s basically a death wish.”
“If the vicious yokai pay their taxes, then their government should still be representing their interests.” Kagome frowned. “Can the local clans do anything about it?”
Shippo shrugged. “How? With yokai, might makes right, and nothing comes close to Bakusaiga.”
Kagome spread her palms. “With so many different tribes under one ruler, there should be a council. Where representatives of every tribe can meet and talk about how to make sure all their needs are being met. He can’t expect people to pay taxes to a government that refuses to listen to them. The people should have a say in how they are ruled!”
Squinting, Inuyasha said, “You do realize that the vicious yokai just want to eat humans? They’re mad because Sesshomaru says Rin is totally off-limits for eating? What’s the compromise here?”
“To be fair, I’ve already been eaten,” Rin piped up. Her entire face turned scarlet and she squealed, “And I don’t mean the way Miroku-sama is thinking!”
In deference to mixed company, the topic of conversation then immediately changed and did not touch on Sesshomaru again that evening.
(But, also in that way, too, right?)
(Thought so.)
When Tanabata came along, Rin wore a pale blue yukata. Tiny white dots sprinkled all over were reminiscent of the Milky Way itself. She joined the rest of the group about an hour into the festival celebration, and upon seeing her, Shippo’s takoyaki almost fell out of his mouth. “Where did you get that?”
Rin scowled. “Sesshomaru-sama gave it to me!”
“But he abdicated!” Shippo sputtered. “Where did he get the money for something like that?”
“He what?” Kagome asked.
Rin’s expression softened as she turned to Kagome. “Sesshomaru-sama abdicated. He didn’t want the hassle of dealing with a council of clan representatives, so he stepped down from being Beast King.”
Tucking his hands into his sleeves, Inuyasha said, “Surprised he didn’t just kill ‘em all.”
But Rin nodded. “Exactly. If he did that, the clans would just send a new representative. Sesshomaru-sama never liked being Beast King that much, so it just wasn’t worth the hassle of getting locked into killing new representatives every time they were elected.”
“Who is the new king?” Kagome asked.
Rin didn’t know. If the government had been on Sesshomaru’s Favored Topics list when he was king, it wasn’t any longer.
“I’m not sure there is one,” Shippo said. “From how my rep talks, it sounds like they all just run things as a group now.”
Miroku sighed. “Bad timing, Inuyasha! You’ll never get the money now that the old power structures are completely wiped out.”
“Sesshomaru still has money,” Kagome observed.
Rin sniffed. “He only abdicated. He didn’t give the money back.”