Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
Beta by: Tokahlia
A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire
Chapter 1
Kagome was enjoying a very rare moment. It was a luxury that she had come to appreciate. There was no InuYasha to demand her of one thing or another, nor was there the constant worry of duty to collect the Shikon shards before her enemy did. This time was hers. She leisurely walked down a busy, paved road in one of Tokyo's more crowded shopping districts. It was truly an ironic moment; she felt so serene when her surroundings were anything but.
It had been three days since she returned from the Feudal Era. Her excuse this time was that she had to prepare for her midterm and take her exam soon after. She managed to convince InuYasha to let her return for a week after many 'words' were exchanged. She did try a different tactic this time; instead of continuing to build up her debate, she simply stopped talking and stared at him with a stoic expression. He too stopped talking and she turned and left for the well. It was kind of funny now that she thought back on it. Perhaps she should thank Sesshoumaru the next time she saw him, just maybe.
Kagome chuckled lightly at the thought. Something in her peripherals caught her attention. She whipped around, expecting to find someone from 500 years ago. Instead, all she saw was an achingly familiar item in a dress shop. Just behind the glass display window was a beautiful dress, no, dress was too drab, it was a gown. The color scheme caught her attention the most, for it reminded her so much of Sesshoumaru.
It was a hybrid; a perfect mixture of classic and modern. It was made up of a white, silk-like material and fell to a long but manageable length. The top was an open shoulder of a kimono. It was made of two layers; the inner layer was made of a white lace with a hint of silver thread. She concluded that the sleeves were…interesting. They started like a kimono but split into ribbons halfway between the shoulder and elbow. Half of the ribbons then doubled back and were tied intricately so that they ended at the elbow. The area where this occurred had the inner layer lace material become progressively redder from the original white. This was left to fall to the wrists with the bottom half of the remaining sleeves. At the wrist the other half of the ribbons began to crisscross till they reached the knuckles. With growing admiration Kagome noticed that this woven area could be folded back, increasing or decreasing the length of the dress' sleeves for the wearer's preference. The midsection of the dress was held together by a simple yellow and blue silk sash. The rest of the dress wasn't as complicated in comparison; it fell freely down in a grown-like manner with a small train in the back.
To the mannequin's left was a pedestal, on which sat a glass vase containing snow-white roses with blood-red tips. A satin white banner hung over the vase, Kagome found herself pushing past the crowd to get close enough to read the embroidered red words. It was a poem, the English name told her it had been translated into Japanese:
A White Rose
By John Boyle O'Reilly
The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O' the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.
The moment Kagome finished her whisper of the poem, she hadn't even realised she had been speaking, an image of Sesshoumaru flashed in her mind and she blushed. 'Passion'.
She vigorously shook her head. 'I can't believe I just thought that' her hands cupped her face, trying to cool the warm heat of the blush that had formed. Unbidden, she watched the many scenes play over in her head of the countless times she had secretly observed the stoic Lord of the West as he engaged in battle with his half-brother. The passionate glint in his eyes when he danced his deadly but intoxicating beautiful dance of blades that made her shiver in both fear and in excitement. The words he spoke were so cold but the actions he did were so…hot. There, she said it…uh, thought it. Kagome gave the display one last look before she almost smiled and entered the store.
Straight away a shop assistant zoomed in on her. "Welcome, young miss. How may this one help you?"
Kagome could not help but smile at the use of third person. She looked up to find a young man of early twenty dressed in a very stylish casual chic with a touch of rebellion accessories. Kagome would have blush at the charming smile he graced her if it weren't for another pop of image of Sesshoumaru smirk that flashed in her mind. 'Stupid brain, Sesshoumaru makes everybody looks bad'
She gave the young man a, unknowingly, charming smile of her own before she quickly gave the store a glance-missing the small blush on the man's cheeks before he willed it away. She turned her gaze back to the store attendant.
"I'm thinking Feudal meet modern, mr…" She zoomed in on his name tag- Yuuki, Satoshi- "Satoshi-san"
"Ah, inspired by our display did you?" he said, a hint of amusement in his tone.
She smiled. "Something likes that"
A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire
Kagome's grandfather looked up from his newspaper at the sliding sound of the shoji door as it opened reached his ears. He waited in silence as the young woman kneeled before him. She bowed so her head touched the floor and her hands placed neatly in front of her. The she righted herself and settled into a seiza position.
Her grey eyes timidly reached his and she said; "Grandfather, I would like to learn to be a protector. Please teach me."
He was silent for a while, carefully studying her face. A moment later he nodded; "You are my granddaughter; within your veins flow my blood. I have helped raise you and have protected you as it is both my duty and because you are one of my precious people." It was the most serious tone she had ever heard him use with her. She felt her eyes soften at his heartfelt words.
"I am this family protector. I have lived through a world war as a child and another as a man. Before I begin your training, you must carve these words into your heart: a protector is not a sacrifice."
A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire
My many thanks to my reviewers. This is the edited version with the help from my awesome Beta, Tokahlia.