Disclaimer: I do not own any Inuyasha characters.
"Bleh." = talking
'Blah.' = thinking
Tears trailed down from sad sapphire eyes, causing a large smear as the massive amount of make-up protested at the salty liquid. A second later a growl was heard as well as a rip was heard and petite hands with a piece of beautiful white cloth in them began scrubbing hard at the face that was hidden behind the make-up. Why did it have to be this way? Why did it have the be her? Why did it have to be him? Why…Why…WHY? Sniffling rather un-lady-like, the woman removed the now discolored cloth from her face and tossed it aside, not caring if she was littering. A button nose, soft rose-petal lips, and naturally think black eyelashes were revealed, as well as perfect skin and high cheek bones. This woman was remarkably beautiful, one would wonder why she wore so much make-up. More tears trailed down her face, this time staying clear, only leaving treks of salt behind. Those sad but beautiful sapphire eyes looked up at the sky, gazing longingly up at the beautiful starry sky. 'It is so clear tonight,' the woman thought to herself. She sat down on a marble bench that was near here.
She was in the middle of a beautiful water garden, a bridge adjacent to where she now sat. The bench was placed on a higher man-made bank, it being made out of the same marble. The water covered her feet and wet the ends of her beautiful white dress, it's silent coolness reflecting her mood. She could see the sky reflected in the water, as well as the unfamiliar reflection of herself. This place…it was like a memory of a dream for her. Bittersweet, almost, as it was an actual part of her past. Now…She shook her head, banishing such thoughts. Somewhere, a bell tolled midnight, and she allowed a bittersweet smile to grace her beautiful face. "I wonder if I'll turn back into the pumpkin…instead of the servant that was easily looked over…" She murmured to herself, her voice a beautiful melody, deep and sensual, but still feminine and delicate.
"Who is this strange woman?" She asked herself rhetorically, staring at her refection, "For this beautiful woman cannot be me." In the reflection was a woman who looked to be about twenty, with the darkest of raven hair that was pulled up in an elegant bun, a beautiful face, a perfect body, and adorning that body was a gorgeous white halter dress that went to her ankles and had a slight train behind her. One would think she was a fallen angel. She smiled in that bittersweet way once more as she reached up and released her hair. She had changed so much for him, so much. So he would love her, or at the very least notice her…but he didn't even spare her a glance as she walked in. Instead, his focus was on her. I mean, she wasn't even his fiancé, yet he still seemed way more interested in her than he ever was with herself. "Well, Kagome, you have no one to blame but yourself, you were never the perfect woman that your sister is," the woman, now identified as Kagome, told herself bitterly. Who was her sister? Why, no other than Kikyo Higurashi. Her twin, no less. Shaking her head, Kagome stared at her high-heeled feet, watching as the water silently lapped at the expensive silver shoes. Not caring if they were ruined or not, she became immersed in thoughts and memories of the past.
High school. She was the book nerd, geek, and whatever else you would call the smartest person in school. She wore concealing clothes, and never spoke unless spoken to, and even then it was in the quietest voice she could manage. She wore thick glasses, and her hair was always put up in a tangled ponytail. Her only friends had left her long ago, abandoning her in favor of the more popular groups…betraying her by joining in with the name calling and fun they made of her. Long ago, she had learned to harden her heart to the people that she had once called friends. Then he came along. He being Inuyasha Tamaki. He was a popular one, a jock even, but somehow she had managed to draw his eye. He was the younger half-brother to the infamous Sesshomaru Tashio, who she had loved since she was little. They had been child hood friends, only breaking said friendship when he moved away. So naturally, she didn't know of his little brother until Inuyasha had told her about him. By then, it was too late. She had already fallen in love with Inuyasha. Well, what she thought was love, she admitted to herself quietly, because there was no mistaking the stir, the warmth, that came when she was around Sesshomaru. He was also popular and didn't even notice her…she thought. But as she spent more time with Inuyasha, he seemed to hang around casually wherever they were going or where they were at. She soon found herself in love with Sesshomaru once more, even more so than she had been with Inuyasha.
Years passed and she was asked to marry the younger brother. It was a business deal between her father and their father long ago, now her father was dead, and she was stuck with the arrangement. So, due to the demands of her future family, she changed everything. She got contacts, form-fitting clothes, beauty treatments, and was all but forbidden to read books. Of course, that doesn't mean she didn't sneak any. Books were her passion. Now, here she was. At the ball that was celebrating her and Inuyasha's engagement, and all she could think about was Sesshomaru. He was the real reason she came, the real reason she got dressed up, and now all he did was ignore her in favor as her younger twin sister. 'The fates are such cruel beings,' Kagome thought bitterly to herself.
Staring at the reflection of the sky for a few more minutes, she was minutely surprised when they rippled as something fell into the water. She was only slightly surprised to find it was a tear drop from her own eye that had caused the disturbance, but she couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the ripples. So immersed in her thoughts and the reflection, that she didn't even notice that someone was leaning against the railing of the bridge, watching her. The thing that pulled her out of her trance was the clearing of a throat, causing her to snap her eyes up and sapphire orbs to meet golden ones. "Kagome, I thought I would find you here," said a rough, boyish voice that belonged to no other than Inuyasha Tamaki, her fiancé. She shrugged, quickly wiping away her tears. "Inuyasha, why are you out here? You should be inside, having fun!" She said, quickly pulling on her happy façade, a smile being plastered onto her face. Inuyasha didn't say anything for a moment, so, giving up with the façade, she looked back down at the reflection. Several minutes passed in an awkward silence, before Inuyasha interrupted it. "You love him, don't you?" The question was actually more of a statement, as he stared at her with surprisingly wise eyes. Her head snapped up, threatening to give her whiplash, as she stared at him in shock. It took a moment for what he said to fully register, and she began shaking her head frantically, "No, no, no, I don't!" She waved her arms as if the emphasize her point.
"You two, you're more trouble than you're worth," Inuyasha said gruffly, in amusement. Kagome stared at him curiously. "What?" Instead of answering her query, he sauntered over to her and plopped down next to her on the bench. Ripples scattered crazily everywhere, once more disturbing the peaceful reflection of the stars. Gruffly throwing an arm over her shoulder, Inuyasha wrapped her in his warmth. "Kags…we've been best friends for who knows how long, you know that I'm smarter than I seem…well, sometimes," he admitted somewhat ashamedly. She stayed quiet, taking in his warmth and comfort, but not allowing herself to get lost in it. "You should tell him how you feel, seriously, I mean, it doesn't matter which one of us marries you, as long as our two companies are brought together through marriage," he murmured casually. He stayed there for a few more moments, before standing and heading over to the bridge, letting what he said sink in. He glanced at her over his shoulder, slightly sad that he was loosing his best friend to his hated older half-brother. "That teme better treat her right…" He muttered gruffly, his eyes getting a darker gold with sadness. He bumped into someone, after a moment, only to notice it was the girl he had fallen in love with: Kikyo. "So, how did it go?" She asked quietly, sliding her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent for a moment. "I don't know, it's up to them now, let us only hope that they choose the right path," he answered wisely, although still gruffly.
Kagome stared once more at the reflection, only to give up in favor of staring at the real thing. "What did he mean…?" She trailed off, lost in thought. She shrugged, who knew what he meant? She was just going to get her heart broken in the end, so she really didn't want to think about what he was talking about…although a small part of her longed for it. Shaking such thoughts from her head, she turned her head towards the bridge, only to freeze in place as the sight of the man of her dreams filled her line of vision. She gasped and her heartbeat sped up at the sight of him, causing her to blush slightly. "Sesshomaru-sama," she muttered automatically, standing to bow in respect. Her answer was a raised eyebrow and a muttered, "Kagome…" She looked at his eyes, marveling at how the golden in them seemed to sparkle like the stars above them. "So, have you come to tell me you have to turn me back into a pumpkin?" She asked somewhat playfully, somewhat bitterly. The other brow rose and Kagome had to wonder what kind of accomplishment that was.
Without saying anything, Sesshomaru walked closer to her, his eyes raking up and down her tiny form. Though she was small, she was curvy in just the right places to make him wonder…He shook his own head of such thoughts, noticing the wary look she was giving him. It wouldn't do to scare her away. After all, she was going to stay with him for a very long time, if he had any say in it. "Why aren't you with Kikyo?" Her voice held a faint trace of jealousy, causing him to smirk slightly. "Why, Kagome, jealous?" She shook her head sharply, heat rising in her face as she denied what she already knew. She just didn't want to admit that. Knowing that was the case, Sesshomaru continued walking closer and closer to her, until he was standing only a foot away from her. He noticed her shiver as she felt his immense body heat, even though he wasn't standing that close to her.
Gracefully sitting down on the bench, he patted the seat next to him gently, beckoning her to sit next to him. She obeyed, but sat at the opposite end from him, as far from him as she could manage. 'This won't do,' he thought as he reached out a long arm and pulled her closer to him. She shivered once more, and blushed deeply, partly from the closeness, and partly from anger at his nerve to do such a thing. Deciding to do her best to ignore him, she stared down at her torn dress. "You know, Kagome, I have…I have always loved you," Sesshomaru finally said, breaking the silence, and proving to be himself as he went straight to the main point, and not beating around the bush. Knowing he wasn't done, Kagome continued to stare at her dress, although her eyes were widened in shock. "I never cared what way you looked, any way you did, you were still you, and that was all that mattered." She could hear the lingering 'but' in his words. "But…when I saw you today, you looked so…unlike yourself. That dress truly does flatter your figure and is quite beautiful on you…but the makeup and bun were so unlike you, I found my heart…aching. I thought that you were dressing up in such a way to please my idiot brother, but when I talked to Kikyo earlier…" He raked his hand through his perfect, silver hair in what she knew to be a nervous gesture. "I found out it was for me. To impress me, to get me to notice you…" He trailed off once more and turned to her. By now she had looked up at him, and at that moment, their eyes met and nothing else mattered to either of them.
They stayed that way for a while, and before they knew it, they were leaning closer and closer…Their trance was broken by a clock tolling one in the morning. Kagome blinked and blushed, looking away. She took a deep breath and turned back, still flushed, as she confessed, "I've always loved you as well, Sesshomaru. I didn't care that you didn't notice me, or that you were popular…I just loved you…I wanted you to notice me…to love me, and so I dressed that way. I guess I've turned back into the pumpkin, anyway…" She murmured, but this time in amusement as she stared up at Sesshomaru in amusement. But he seemed to not be sharing the amusement. "Never," he declared after a moment of staring at her. "Never have or will be a pumpkin, my princess," he said smoothly as he ran his hand through her silky tresses, pausing to gently rest his hand on the back of her neck. Tilting her head back, they marveled at the stars that each other's eyes were and soon, their moment was perfect as they shared their first kiss. When they broke away, Kagome was teary-eyed. "Well, only if you will be my prince…" And she smiled once more and leaned in for another kiss. Really, she needed to thank Inuyasha and Kikyo.
Sorry, people, for not updating my other story, but had this one-shot popped up in my head and I just had to do it! I hope for lots of reviews, and hope it wasn't too bad! Promise to review on my other story soon! Lotsa love, TBK87!