MMH: Welp, this is my first Inuyasha story. I promised myself that I'd write only one story at a time and what do I do? I write three at once. Well one has been on the back-burner since it started, but that's not the point. This story is heavily influenced by "The Princess Bride" (both the book and the movie), but you don't need to watch it/read it to understand what's going on. Don't forget to review once you're done reading!
When Kagome was five, the most beautiful woman in the world was a youkai princess named Kagura. She would dance and drink tea and pick flowers all within the confines of her palace walls in the kingdom of A-Un. She had never seen anything outside the kingdom she had grown so accustomed to. Princess Kagura did not mind at first, but she soon realized that if she were to rule her kingdom one day she must meet the people. After much protest from the King and Queen, she disguised herself and snuck out of the palace at night to go out into the city. Princess Kagura learned many things within the walls of the palace, but what she did not learn was that the city that she lived in was cruel and unforgiving. After taking an apple from a street merchant without paying (she was unaware that she had to pay for something as trivial as a tiny fruit), the man simply cut off her head.
When Kagome was twelve, the most beautiful woman in the world was a priestess named Kikyo. She was kind and stunning, so it seemed inevitable that someone would fall in love with her. This someone was a thief named Onigumo. She was loved him as well, but could not accept his wedding proposals. He attempted many times to woo her, but many times she turned him down due to her vow of chastity. After five years of rejection from his love, Onigumo decided to punish her for being so prudish towards him. When Kikyo was asleep one night, he poured oil on her and set her on fire. Though she survived, Kikyo's skin was left charred and scarred.
So the task of the most beautiful woman in the world was bestowed on Kagome. Of course she did not know of the fate that fell upon Kikyo or Kagura, but the task was unknowingly hers all the same. Kagome had been told of her beauty, but she never let it inflate her ego. There was no point in wasting time on focusing on her appearance when there was work to be done.
The young maiden known as Kagome Higurashi lived on a farm in the countryside. She was a girl of simple pleasures; she enjoyed reading, she enjoyed playing with her cat, she even enjoyed teaching her little brother Sota to paint, but above all else, she enjoyed bothering the poor servant boy. Inuyasha had worked on her family's farm since she was five and he was nine. His mother died of an illness and his brother and father abandoned him when he was born. Kagome's grandfather took pity on Inuyasha not because he was an orphan, but because he was a hanyou orphan. Inuyasha was not well-liked because of this tiny fact and it seems that the Higurashi's were the only people that weren't terrified of him or trying to rip him to pieces.
Night fell upon the Higurashi household and rain gently tapped at the window pane. A young Kagome rubbed her eyes and a tender yawn escaped her lips as she sat curled up in her grandfather's lap on the couch. Sota sat on her mother's lap as she read a story to him in a chair by the fire. Her brother was only a baby, but he was still quite intelligent. His bright eyes took everything in with awe-struck wonder. Kagome's grandfather rubbed her head lovingly and she felt her eyes slowly droop as he whispered a lullaby. Just as she was about to drift asleep, a soft but quick rapping of knuckles against wood beckoned her out of her dreams and made her look to the door.
"Grandpa? What was that?" she asked. Her grandfather placed her aside and got up to answer the door. His bones ached and popped as he shuffled slowly to his destination. The wooden door had grown heavier the older he became, but he refused to admit it.
"Hello sonny, what are you doing here at this time of night?" the old man questioned when he saw a tiny figure standing in the doorway engulfed in his shadow.
"I'm scared." The boy replied. Kagome watched her grandfather's back that was hiding the unknown figure with fascination. The Higurashi farm was quite secluded; the closest village was at least seventeen miles away. The elderly man looked around but didn't see any mode of transportation the young boy could have taken aside from his own two feet.
"Why?"
"Those village people are trying to kill me." Alarmed, Kagome's mother closed the book and gave Sota to Kagome. In a second she appeared beside her father at the door.
"Who's trying to kill you dear? You look absolutely freezing, come inside." She cooed gently and ushered the unknown figure out of the cold to the warmth of the fire. Kagome let out a quiet gasp at the young boy. Long silver hair cascaded down his back and two triangle ears were perched on top of his head. His honey-colored eyes were glued to the floor and fear was hidden within. Slowly Kagome got up, returning Sota to the loving arms of her mother, and cautiously walked up to the frightened boy. He looked over to her and gave her a fierce growl, but it instantly dissipated when her slender arms wrapped around his torso.
"Don't worry, you'll be safe now." She whispered.
She did not let the hanyou's poor treatment from others stop her from tormenting him when she could. However, it is unfair to call it torment; it was more of gentle teasing. For example, she would never call Inuyasha by his name; Kagome always called him "servant boy". After all, that's what he was. Every day she would order Inuyasha to do pointless chores and he would quietly comply with a nod. "Servant boy, milk the cows for me?" "Servant boy, I can't reach the cooking pan." "Servant boy, rub my feet? They hurt." No matter what she asked, he would do it for her without saying a word. The hanyou had not spoken since he was taken in and that bothered Kagome, though she was unsure why.
There came a time every now and then when the servant boy would run off in the middle of the night, but he always returned as the sun rose. When Kagome was younger she would always ask where he had gone, but Inuyasha would only reply with a shrug. When he didn't respond the young girl would rub his dog-like ears, but that quickly stopped when Kagome found out that he liked having his ears touched. At least by her, that is. She refused to see anything but mere coincidence when the hanyou would growl at anyone else who would try to touch his ears.
The seventeen year old Kagome drummed her fingers along the table as her grandfather was organizing his will no evening in particular. Sota was in bed after a long day and Inuyasha was in the barn feeding the horses. The servant boy never needed much sleep so he was almost always either working or eating.
"Let's see, thirty acres to Kagome, thirty to Sota, and five to Inuyasha."
"You're going to leave five whole acres to the servant boy? Grandpa you'll spoil him." Kagome said. She did not really care if her grandfather spoiled her, but why would her grandfather put Inuyasha in his will?
"Nonsense. The boy's been working here for twelve years and he deserves a little compensation." Kagome rolled her eyes as she got up and retired upstairs. She completely ignored that her grandfather gave her six times as much as the servant boy and instead decided to wallow and complain in the comfort of her bedroom. Her room was nothing much to look at, but then again her farm wasn't either. The only things that she had to call her own was her small bed, her frequently used candlestick, and one lone book that rested on the end table that her mother let her borrow. Kagome sat down on her bed and picked up her book and began to read. Well, she would have started reading if there hadn't been such a ruckus outside. It must be those village boys again, those stupid village boys. She rolled her eyes and fruitlessly attempted to focus. Becoming the most beautiful girl in the world at such a young age meant that Kagome had quite a lot of suitors. However, she saw no need to have a husband as of yet. They would ask her questions to get close to her, but she would always politely turn them down.
"Kagome, can I feed your cat Buyo for you?" "Oh I'm sorry; the servant boy has already fed Buyo." "You think you're too good for me, don't you?" "I don't think that. I just don't want my cat getting fat."
"Miss Kagome, I brought a cow for you and your family." "How kind, but we already have so many cows. I don't think we could stand to have another." "You think you're too good for me, don't you?" "I don't think that. We simply have too many cows."
Those were only two of the examples of the boys' many attempts to woo her. The boys, after years of being scorned, stood outside her window every now and then and would attempt to scorn her back. This specific night they laughed at and insulted her, but she simply ignored them. She did not care what they said because they just weren't worth her time. Just as the village boys had reached the peak of their loudness and Kagome was tempted to throw her only book at them, she suddenly heard thumping and yelling. She raced over to her window to see the village boys' figures running away into the distance and Inuyasha standing below her window with a proud grin on his face.
"Thank you, servant boy." Inuyasha looked up and simply nodded before turning around to head back to the barn. The young maiden watched him go and couldn't help but smile. The poor hanyou did take a lot of grief from Kagome, but he remained ever-loyal to her no matter what. That night she tried to sleep but found herself unable. Her mind kept wandering to the thoughts of Inuyasha.
"He works so hard. Perhaps he'd like it if he had a little down time every now and then." Kagome mumbled to herself. "Read a book, take a walk, maybe lie in bed…" her mind involuntarily flashed to her and Inuyasha thrashing about in her sheets, nude bodies rubbing against each other. She blushed a fierce red color and brought her hands to her cheeks. What on earth could have brought that idea about?
"Kagome you smell like sweat and dirt. Take a bath." her grandfather said the next morning as everyone was at the table eating breakfast. Kagome was used to her grandfather's lack of subtlety because it showed he cared. He had always been that way, but he did try to be nicer to Inuyasha. Kagome was convinced he did that so he wouldn't "scare him off".
"I did take a bath. I took one this morning." The girl protested. She stabbed at her sausage and took a big bite as if it settled the matter. It did not.
"Then why do you smell like dirt? The boys do not like it when their girl smells of dirt, you know." Kagome rolled her eyes at her grandfather's comment and she noticed that Inuyasha did as well. A small smile appeared on her lips before continuing.
"I do not care if 'the boys' love me. Buyo loves me and that's all I need."
"Crazy cat lady." Sota teased beside his sister as he ate his eggs and bacon. Kagome glared and smacked the back of his head with her hand. Sota had always been a thorn in her side, but in the most loving way possible. There were times that she would want to throttle the boy, but she would kill anyone who tried to hurt him.
"Kagome do not hit your brother." Her mother scolded. After breakfast the family continued their day as normal, but Kagome felt something change within as she went to tend to the sheep. It was peculiar, there was no drastic event to cause this change, but it was still there. For some reason she could not bring herself to pull the servant boy away from his work to order him to do menial tasks anymore. She could only watch him from afar with a goofy grin plastered on her face.
Meanwhile in the royal palace Prince Naraku was hunched over his maps that were thrown about his room, head in his hands. He had been searching for the godforsaken Shikon jewel ever since he knew of its existence, but it had continued to elude him. The jewel was rumored to give ultimate power the person that possessed it and Naraku was determined that that someone would be him. The search for it consumed him so much that his father, the king, decided that his birthright of being the eldest had become mute and the next person that would rise to the throne would be his brother, Hojo. The man's desire to find the jewel that gave power ironically made him lose power. I must fix that. I refuse to have something taken from me that is and always will be my birthright.
"Sir." A frightened young man with dark brown hair stood in front of his desk completely unnoticed. "Sir." He repeated.
"What is it Muso? I am dreadfully busy and cannot be bothered." His assistant had always been the unfortunate person to bear bad news to Naraku and he was quite tempted to kill this one. It's not like Muso was his first assistant to suffer this torture anyways.
"Ahem, your father is terribly ill…" The prince looked at his assistant with a bored look. "…b-b-but you already knew that. His mind is half-way gone and your mother has decided that your brother should rise to the throne." Naraku sneered and a quick thought flashed across his mind that involved Muso's head on a silver platter at the mention of his brother. "The queen believes it would be best that you choose your brother's bride while your brother learns the tasks that becoming king requires." There was a slight pause until a malicious grin spread across the prince's face and a dreadfully evil plan formed in his mind.
Naraku's brother getting married meant that his father would no longer become king. However, if his brother and new bride were to get in a little accident that left them permanently incapacitated then he himself would rise to the throne. The death of his brother all depended on the man's future wife and the task of choosing was left to him.
"A bride, eh?" he mumbled to himself. "Let's see I need someone everyone adores, but someone easily disposable... Muso!" Naraku pulled himself out of his thoughts to shout at his assistant. Muso shook as he awaited his master's word. "Who's loveable but easy to get rid of?"
"Uh… I-I'm not sure, but I'm can get you someone by tonight."
"Good." With a simple wave of his hand, Muso was dismissed and Naraku sat overjoyed relishing in his own brilliant plan.
A week had passed when a royal carriage appeared on the Higurashi farm. The lavishly decorated coach approached the house and every member of the family stopped what they were doing to watch. The carriage almost slammed to a stop and once the dust settled, a slender woman floated out of the carriage doors and over to Kagome's mother. The mysterious lady's pink irises scrutinized every wrinkle that was embedded on the middle-aged woman's face. The older woman observed the woman and was surprised at the short length of her jet black hair; it was normal for the poor to have short hair (due to the fact that it was easier to manage), but it was almost unheard of for the women of the upper class. Though it was a rather cool morning, she was wearing a thin, red silk dress.
"You are the mother of Miss Kagome Higurashi I presume?" Kagome's mother nodded her head gently. "I am Duchess Yura Kami and I currently rule over this countryside. The king and queen have a proposition for your daughter and request that I bring back the answer as soon as possible."
"Of course, would you like to come inside, Miss?" the duchess nodded and drifted into the house followed closely by the older woman. Kagome's mother grabbed a cracked and faded blue tea pot from the cabinet and proceeded to pour her guest a cup of tea. "Kagome! You have a visitor!" By this time the men of the household, Buyo included, decided that moment was an excellent time to "take a break" and filed into the house to watch what was going on.
"Yes Mama? What do you need?" Kagome skipped into the house and the servant boy desperately attempted to ignore the bounce of her breasts. It was still morning but her skin was dewy with little beads of sweat. Inuyasha inhaled deeply and her scent warmed his nose. She smelt of honey and vanilla. Even the duchess's scent, which was covered by a terrible perfume that made his eyes water, could not distract him from Kagome's wonderful smell.
"This is Duchess Yura Kami and she came all the way from the city to ask you a question. Isn't that nice?" Kagome nodded and took a seat next to the duchess. The woman stared at the young girl, as if inspecting every inch of her. Kagome shifted uncomfortably in her seat and waited until the duchess decided to speak.
"Prince Hojo would be overjoyed to have you become his bride." The blunt statement threw Kagome off-guard. She had had many suitors before, but never a royal suitor. She looked to her family for their reactions, but they all had the same gawk on their faces that she did. Even Buyo had wide eyes and stared the duchess as if she had made a mistake. After what felt like an hour of silence, Kagome finally found her voice to respond.
"Though marrying Prince Hojo would be a wonderful opportunity, I'm afraid I have to reject the offer. I can barely handle the stress from this farm; there is no way I could deal with helping rule an entire country." Inuyasha suddenly let out a rather loud sigh of relief and everyone turned to him. His eyes grew wide with embarrassment and he ducked behind Sota's small frame. A flash of disgust appeared on the duchess's face as she turned back to Kagome, but it was instantly replaced with a wide, obviously fake smile.
"I must ask you to deeply consider this offer. It would be such a waste for me to come all this way for nothing." She replied as gently as possible, but a hint of hostility was still hidden in her voice. Thankfully it was at that moment that Kagome's mother stepped in and saved her daughter from the duchess' icy gaze.
"Well, you must be tired from your long travel then. Why don't you stay at least until after lunch? That way you'll be leaving with a definite answer and a full belly." Kagome's mother always had a way of diffusing any tension, a talent that Kagome was immensely grateful for, especially at that moment. The duchess took her eyes of the daughter and nodded curtly as she took a seat on the chair by the fireplace to finish her tea.
The rest of the morning the duchess loomed over the Higurashi family like a vulture about to attack its prey. Despite the unwelcome visitor, Kagome didn't seem to mind too much. She milked the cows as Inuyasha baled hale for them to eat. When their eyes connected, a smirk appeared on Kagome's face and gently waved at the man. Inuyasha's cheeks dusted themselves with pink and replied with a small wave of his own. This little display did not go unnoticed by the duchess and a cruel idea popped into her head. As Inuyasha finished baling the hay, he grabbed a bag of feed and started feeding the chickens. Kagome tried to concentrate on milking the cows, but she couldn't help but notice that a slender figure had slithered its way over to the servant boy.
"You are quite the help around here, aren't you servant boy?" the duchess asked, rubbing her hand down Inuyasha's muscular arm. Inuyasha looked down uncomfortably and nodded. He found it was exceedingly difficult to focus on the chickens and not the duchess's plunging neckline. "You're strong, and efficient, and quite attractive too. I could use your kind of… help back at my manor. After all you'll be well-fed and taken care of in every way." The not-so-subtle hint was caught by the servant boy, though he pretended to ignore it as he rolled up the bag of feed and tossed it against the barn. "What do you say? Would you like to come home with me? I've been lonely for so long. I think I'll need a strong man to hold me in the long, cold nights." His head shot up at the duchess's comment and a lovely shade of scarlet crept up his neck to his face. Unbeknownst to the servant boy and duchess, a pair of bright blue eyes was glaring at them.
If looks could kill, Kagome was sure that she would have been arrested for murder. How dare a random duchess appear on her property and flirt with her servant boy. Kagome's entire face burned with anger and she stormed back up to the house. She slammed the door shut, leaving the poor, confused cow completely abandoned. Once inside Kagome threw chairs across the room, she smashed plates onto the floor, and she was even tempted to kick Buyo. She quickly decided against that since her cat had claws to defend itself while the chairs and plates did not. Kagome continued her tirade until her grandfather and mother ran inside to see what all the fuss was about.
"Kagome what on Earth are you doing? Do you know how expensive that china was?" Her mother seethed. The young girl stopped when she noticed that Inuyasha had also appeared in the doorway with a confused look on his face. The two stared at each other; Inuyasha's eyes full of concern while Kagome's were full of hurt. She felt tears sting her eyes and sprinted out of the house before anyone could see them spill. She ran past the barn up the hill and into the woods that stood behind her house. She must have gone on for at least a mile and only stopped beneath a tree when her lungs started to burn to point that it was unbearable. Her legs gave out and she leaned against an old oak tree for support. All of the leaves were a dark, healthy green and the bark was sturdy and almost unbreakable. The shadows from the tree branches danced across the forest floor as the wind blew. Kagome lifted her legs to her torso and hugged them as if they would bring her love and warmth that she so desperately wanted from a certain servant boy.
"Kagome." The young girl looked up to see Inuyasha running towards her. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth was agape as his figure drew closer. The Higurashi family was convinced that he was mute. That was the first word he had spoken in years and he was speaking to her.
"I-Inuyasha? You spoke." Kagome's depression was almost forgotten as her soft, pink lips spread into a giant grin. Inuyasha kneeled next to her and looked into her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Her sadness returned with a vengeance as her eyes started to water up again at the memory of the woman that was still on her land.
"It's that duchess." She spat. "She can't have you. You're mine." the boy flushed and a slight shiver ran down his spine, which went unnoticed by the girl in front of him. "I…I was afraid…" she whispered, not realizing she had said it aloud.
"Why're you afraid?"
"When I saw you with her, I got this terrible pain in my chest. It felt like my heart was cut up into a million pieces. The duchess is so pretty and rich and you would be so much happier with her. When she offered you a place at her home, I figured there is no way you'd stay here." Kagome hid her face in her hands to avoid the judgmental glance she was sure Inuyasha would be giving her.
"Why would I leave the farm? I have everything I'll ever want or need. Besides I would never be happy with her. I could never love her because I love someone else." A few tears spilled from Kagome's eyes at that thought. Who could he be in love with? There is no way I don't know her. It's that Eri girl from the bakery isn't it? She can't have him. He's my servant boy. Inuyasha waited politely for any sort of response, but he didn't get one. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. "Kagome, look at me." The boy commanded. When she refused, rough but gentle hands removed her hands and cupped her face. Kagome felt her eyesight lift to match his. "If love was a grain of wheat, I would give you a field that would go on forever. My love for you is as deep as the sea." This was the most that the servant boy had ever spoken and Kagome liked it very much. She loved the way his smooth, low voice warmed her heart. It made her feel safe.
"What? Inuyasha, I'm terribly confused." Though Kagome was the prettiest girl in the world, she certainly wasn't the brightest. It couldn't possibly be that he was talking about being in love with her, right? He smirked and as he brought their lips together, Kagome finally realized what he meant. All those years of him obeying her every command with just a nod, it was really him saying "I love you". It also fortunately occurred to her that she felt the same.
The walk back to the house was filled with a comfortable silence as they held hands. They noticed that the duchess was still there standing in the doorway and Kagome decided to repair the problem herself. "I am terribly sorry Miss, but I am going to have to stand by my initial answer. As for your proposition for Inuyasha, he has decided to stay here as well. With me. However, you may still stay for lunch if you'd like." She said with a smile. Needless to say, the duchess did not stay for lunch.
*Sigh* I'll be real with you. I like where this story is going, but I probably won't update as much as my other story. It's just fair warning. I will most likely continue it, barring the unexpected. I know that Inuyasha's kind of not in character, but that will change as the story progresses I promise. Now, go review :)