The Princess and the Hanyou
By: Byrde13
Author's Note: All I own of Inuyasha is the first season and the movies. Nothing more. Also, rated 'M' for a reason, people. Can't be held responsible for minors not doing what they're told. I realize Inuyasha and Company are a bit OCC. Honestly, you can't really expect them to have the exact same personalities if they've lived such different lives. Of course I'm trying to keep them as much in character as possible, but don't come bitching at me if you think this person couldn't have said this, or that person couldn't have possibly felt that way. It's my story, if you have a problem with the characters go write your own story and leave me be. Another thing, I enjoy constructive criticism. Don't just beat my story down if you don't like it, tell me why. That's it, and hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1: An Ultimatum
"Promise me." Okay. Whatever you want. Anything. "Promise me." The deep timbre of his voice echoes around me, and I shiver. From fear? No, never. From somewhere I can't even explain. Somewhere I don't understand. His hand is grasping mine, but I don't know where he is. His nails bite into my palm, but it only reassures me that he isn't going anywhere. I feel his breath ghost by my ear, and I shiver again, feeling the heat from that unknown place again. He chuckles darkly, and I can practically feel his smirk. "Promise me." He snarls.
"Promise what?" I would do anything for him, but I still want to know what I'm giving him.
"You." This time, when I shiver, it is from fear. But not from him. "I want you to promise me you." Myself? My heart? Soul? Body and Mind? My life? I don't even know if it's mine to promise someone else. And the words I know I want to say stick in my throat. I keep pushing at them. I know he's waiting for me to say something. He knows I won't give him what he wants me to. I can't. But he's still smirking that stupid smirk I can always feel. And I feel them rushing up. Bubbling over before I can catch them.
"I promise." This time, when I feel his smirk, it's on my throat. I tilt my head back and wait. And then I scream.
*/*
"Kagome?" I'm startled awake when I hear my name. My mother is sitting on the edge of my bed, her hand on my hip with my back to her. Already my dream is escaping my consciousness. "It's time to get up." Uhg. Hell no.
"Why?" I mumble into my pillow, but I know she can still understand me.
"You have to get ready for lunch today. We're meeting Prince Naraku from Osaka today." Hell no. No way. Won't happen. Nah Uh.
"Oh, well, in that case, close the door on your way out."
"Want me to send a maid in?" Good, she fell right into my devious little trap.
"What for?" I can hear the confusion in her voice when she answers.
"To help you get dressed, of course."
"I'm already dressed for bed. No need to undress and then put it back on." She sighs and pops my hip lightly.
"You have to go this time, Kagome." I think we've had this conversation before. In fact, I'm sure we had it just last night.
"Nope. Not gonna." I've already been through Prince Koga, Prince Sesshomaru, and that simpering Prince Hojo. They were all torturous. Koga was grabby and wouldn't give me any space. Sesshomaru was cold and barely looked at me. And Hojo? Well, let's just say that he probably won't be coming around after the first five minutes of our meeting was spent with him screaming like the pansy he is. I almost chuckle out loud at the reminder. After him, I told my parents no more. Apparently, they didn't take me seriously.
"Kagome, please, let's not do this today. You're our Princess, our first child." And just like that, I'm getting exasperated with where this one-sided conversation is going. "When your father and I move on, we want you to take over, and you can't do that until you are properly married." I roll my eyes and don't say anything. There's no need. She won't listen. Father won't listen. Nobody ever listens. "We want you to be happy." And there it is. She doesn't want me to be happy. She wants me to have a ruling husband that will take care of me. And when she says take care of, they all mean to boss me around and expect me to be the doting, quiet, child-bearing wife. And there's no way in hell I will ever be like that.
"Go away. I'm not meeting him, or any other Prince of some-place-or-other, ever again." She rises after a sigh and crosses my room. Before closing my door, she has one final say in the matter.
"You're so selfish, Kagome." Am not. It's them who are being selfish. I just want my own life. I roll over onto my back and look up at my ceiling. Why did I have to be born a Princess? Or even be born first. Sota hasn't been paraded around a bunch of Princesses like a prized horse to be won. It's ridiculous, and I can't stand much more of it. I have to get out and do something. Anything, really, just as long as I am the one deciding it.
My mind made, I throw the heavy down comforter off my body, pad over to my wardrobe and grab one of my lighter dresses. It's buried in the back so no one can see it, and I have to pull some of those more atrocious gowns out in order to get to it. It's a mess when I finally wriggle my lithe body into the green fabric, but I'm fast about it. As I'm slipping my feet into more adequate shoes I brush my hair into a ponytail then dart out my room to the heavy garden door, sliding past anyone who would stop me, and run for the woods that encompass my fortress of bars and orders. I'm free. That is, until around dinner time when I'll have to go back or have guards running after me while I'm in my tranquil little paradise. Fingering my necklace, a nervous habit, I stroll through the hidden path until I come across the most beautiful sight.
I don't think anyone noticed the huge tree that sits almost in the middle of the clearing. And, really, I hope nobody ever does. It's my tree. So big around, and so tall that even the roots that protrude from the ground could hide several people. And, at night, little lightning bugs and white flowers come out to play, and it almost makes you want to cry when you witness it all. I've named it Goshinboku. My God Tree. Immediately I find the groove in the roots that perfectly holds my body and begin playing with my necklace.
"What'cha got there, wench?" I can't help the scream that comes out of me. Or the very graceful-sarcasm-way I leap away and tumble onto the grassy floor. I groan at the pain that shoots up from the back of my thighs to the crick in my neck. "Not very graceful, are ya?" And there's that voice again. I shoot up and put my fists in front of me, like my guards once taught me when I was very small. Before my father insisted that Princesses shouldn't learn how to fight.
I must look horrendous-hair in a frayed mess from my ponytail, dirt smudged all over me, dress rumpled and a scared but determined look in my eyes- because the man that stands before me gives a chuckle. Well, not exactly. He does chuckle, right from a very annoying smirk, but he's not exactly a man. A hanyou. A hanyou. Oh, my God, a beautiful hanyou jerk. And then he's right in front of my face, and I can't move. Oh, I can't move. His golden eyes have paralyzed me, I'm sure. Silver hair blowing around us, brushing against my exposed skin, so silky. And, at the very top, are two twitching dog ears. Dog ears! A dog hanyou. My fists are lowered-movement!-my breath coming in short pants, a burning in my lower stomach. He must be controlling me. I have no idea what's going on. How could I? He's so close all I can see are his eyes now. But, now, they're a burning pit of deep gold, and red starts to bleed into the outer edges. And then a fuzzy blackness. But, I can't tell if that's his eyes, or mine. It must be mine, because the next thing I know, everything is black, and I crumble.
*/*
"Promise me, Princess." I've already promised you everything I can. "No, not everything." Then what? Whatever you want from me, I will give it to you. "Then promise me." I promise. I promise a thousand times over. "Not good enough." Fine. An eternity tenfold. "That's better." A snarling mouth. Dripping fangs. A scream.
*/*
"Hey, wake up." Something nudges my aching shoulder, and I let out a complaint. "Bitch, I said wake up." Well, that gets me up.
"Don't call me that." I put a hand on my forehead and sit up. Boy, that ground is really lumpy. Smells good though. Forest-y and with a nice musk. Uh, that's not the forest floor. I peak up, then hide my face in my hands with a squeak. Nope. Not the forest floor. A chuckle shakes me slightly, and I glance up into the face of the hanyou. He's smirking again. Something about it nags at the back of my mind, but I don't worry about it. Actually, a lot of things about him nag at me. Still, not important. "My mom is gonna be really happy." The smirk drops from his face-good-and a confused expression twists his features. Still beautiful, nonetheless.
"Why? You're in the lap of a hanyou." Oh, right. Hanyous aren't what most people would call 'good company'. Like they would even know what real good company is.
"Well, I'm sure she could look past that since I'm at least allowing a guy in my general vicinity." I didn't think his face could get any more confused. Well, I was wrong.
"What?" I ignore his question and look around to notice we're higher up than the roots. Ok, we'll definitely be getting to that. Or, maybe we'll get to it now.
"Why are we sitting up in the tree?" I twist to get a better look at my surroundings. Something seems a little off.
"I'm more comfortable. Besides, I wasn't going to let you fall." Well, I figured that out on my own. Jeesh, why does the place look so weird? I think he notices where my thoughts are, because he answers my unspoken question for me. "You slept for a while. Figured I should wake you before it got any darker." Oh, no. No, not good. I'm gonna die. I stiffen completely, then start trying to get down. Unfortunately, what he thinks is comfortable just means really high off the ground for me. So, probably knowing I won't stop, he grabs me around the waist and drops us both onto the ground. Very gracefully, I might add. No sarcasm.
"Thanks." I say, distractingly. In my nervous state, as I start to walk away, I reach up for my necklace, the one I was playing with when mystery guy startled me. But it's not there. It's not there. I immediately stop and start feeling for a bulge in my dress in the shape of the small sphere. It's not there. I'm in a panicked mode, now. Any minute now and Mother and Father are going to send the guards after me. But my necklace.
"What's wrong?" He's leaning up against the tree, still with that stupid smirk. But, I can't let that get to me.
"My necklace. I can't find it." Was that a twitch in his smirk? Why did he twitch?
"Oh? Is that all?" Is that all? A spark of anger shoots up my body. How dare he?
"That necklace has been in my family for generations. It's very important. I'm sorry you don't think anything of the one piece of jewelry I ever wear, but I have to find it." My hands are balled into fists, but he's still smirking. "So, if you wouldn't mind, either help me look, or go away and don't bother me while I look." His smirk only gets bigger.
"What's it worth?" Seriously? Is this guy for real? I think my jaw hits the ground.
"More than this land." What kind of reward is he wanting? Probably gold.
"No. Not what its monetary value is." What does that even mean? What other type of value would it have? "What's it worth to you?" He's closer now. Only a couple of feet away. A shiver runs up my spine.
"Anything." Something sparks in his eyes.
"Anything? Are you sure?" I gulp, but don't hesitate.
"Yes." Only a foot between us, now. I can feel his breath ghost across my face. I'm weak in the knees, and that look is back in his eyes. The same one that caused me to faint.
"Then promise me." Oh, God. A heat pools inside me. I should not be this affected by him.
"Promise what?" Jewels? Safe living? My first born?
"Anything I want." Oh. Is that all?
"For how long?"
"For eternity." So, my most prized possession, or anything this hanyou could ever want. It's almost laughable how quickly my mind is made up for me.
"Okay." He moves so fast. He grabs my left wrist in one of his clawed ones and brings me flush against his body with his other on the small of my back. A subsonic growl passes from his chest to mine, and my breast tingle from it.
"Say it, Kagome." How does he know my name? Why is he so close? Oh, why does any of this matter?
"I promise." My face tilts the smallest degree so our noses don't brush. In the distance I can hear the thunder of hooves.
"No, promise me." Promise him? How would I promise him? Something tugs at the back of my brain. His name. He wants me to promise him with his name. But he never told me his name. All the same, it's there. I can feel it. A part of me. Something I've always known.
"I promise," here it is, "Inuyasha." And with that, he swoops down and places his lips on mine. Firm, unrelenting. Hungry. Sealing the deal, and searing me with passion. Oh, wow. His tongue swipes at my bottom lip, and before I even think about if I want to grant him access or not, he makes the decision himself. He dominates me; with only a kiss he has stolen me. I can't breathe. I can't move. I can't think. And, then, it's over, and I miss it. Oh, how I miss it. My eyes open, and, there, in front of me, is the pink of my Shikon jewel. But how? And it hits me so suddenly.
"You had it all along." I push away from him, and I still miss his lips, but now it's accompanied by the feeling of loss of his body.
"Had to find a way to make you promise." He smirks. And then he's gone. And I'm stumbling through the forest. He had it all along. What have I gotten myself into?
I don't even notice when the guards find me. Or when they take me back to the castle with my mother's scrutinizing features, my father's scowling mouth, or my brother's amused eyes. I immediately go to my room, close the door with a twist of the lock, crawl into bed with my wrinkled dress, shivering, and fall into a dark dream of golden eyes and horrible promises. What have I gotten myself into?