Autor's note: Sesshoumaru only appears in the second chapter, but it is, indeed, a story more about him and Kagome, and not so much about her and Kouga as this chapter might make you think. It is based on Phantom of the Opera, so you could have an idea.
Kagome P.O.V.
The Western lands had been my home – my safe haven from all harmful means of the world outside – for some decades before hell broke loose throughout Japan. No one can quite point out how it all started – but we all recognize the consequences and losses left behind the Mighty War.
The Southern and Northern lords were no more, and the Eastern one had already eloped the country when the going got tough. The Western lord, Inu no Taisho, was the only original Mighty left, for he was even then considered the strongest of all taiyoukai.
The winds shifted, though.
The cruelty of war seemed to break through the once fair ruler, leaving in its wake somewhat of a shade of what he had been. Cold and smitten, distant and fearful, he mourned the losses of his heir in the only way he could. Tyranny.
Sesshoumaru-sama, the prince, had died in the last years of war. Another mystery unsolved, left behind by the confused threads of combat; his body was never found, nor his murderer. So his father punished the whole world, transforming his peaceful kingdom in a land filled with fear, rage and regret.
I was still a puppy then.
I had barely reached six in development when things become too unbearable for my kin. My family had not connections nor resources and soon there wasn't much but despair left for us in the Western lands.
Eloping had been difficult, or so I heard, and ma and pa passed away even before we could settle into someplace safe. I don't remember any of it now, two centuries later, and I have come to the conclusion that if my subconscious chose to forget it, I too should let it go. And I did. After all, it doesn't matter how we came to be who we are, only that we are.
And that's who I am now. Kagome, ward of the Southern lord, dragon taiyoukai Takki. Time healed the wounds of my parents' deaths, and toughened my body and mind to become the best me I could. It is hard being one of the few dog demons amongst a kingdom ruled by a dragon and by its race alone populated, but I can find solace in the soft heart of my benefactors.
The childless lord and lady raised me to the stature of a princess, and just like one I have always been treated in the grounds and beyond.
I cannot begin to understand the nature of their care, or why would they protect me even back then, when I came to their grounds, a small 60 years old puppy, alone and unprotected. But I feel deeply grateful for the care and love they bestowed upon me and the few of my kind that later on were granted access to the lands for my benefit.
We are few and scattered, but we survived. And we were happy, bathing in peace and prosperity whilst the kingdom we were sired in falls even now deeper into self-destruction. The Western lands became a bubble, and no one could ever get in or out of it again. Or so it was said.
It pains me to know so. I was still a pup but I can and often remember the happy memories of my late home. The tough love of my father and the prosperous care of my mother. We were normal back then. Just three youkais, living under the rule of a fair leader, building up our place in the world.
Now I'm somewhat of a princess, and though not by blood or race, some responsibilities still come with it.
Now 250, it is time to fulfill the destiny my parents have been building for so long, and I cannot pretend to take lightly what is expected of me. But how could I possibly refuse to take the place I must when all I've known in this new life is happiness and warmness?
So I must. I was trained, educated and cared for, and as the lady and lord were never able to conceive an heir of their own, it is now my duty to take over the role.
I dread it. What will become of my will and my soul once I'm committed not only to myself and the people I've grown to love, but to the whole kingdom and its protection?
I endear my freedom, and as I see the necessity of disposing of it in front of me, it's like looking in death's eyes.
Such a dramatic puppy, ain't I?
I'll fight for it. To keep my freedom and heart even as I bend to the necessity, to not let myself become what Inu no Taisho did when the weight of his role broke his shoulders, nor what his mate became when she entered such miserable union.
I'll be myself. Only… Not anymore.
I look in the mirror and my reflection smiles back at me, brightly, warmly, hiding her own secrets as I take my time pinning my hair in place, leaving the waves of chocolate strands fall over my bare back.
I feel weird, out of place in this new kimono, buried under so many layers, but I must admit it makes a whole different vision out of me. I look… royal.
It's silly to think that I've lived here for nearly two hundred years and am yet to accept the fact that I am, indeed, royal at some point.
But thus far my life has been as anyone else's. No diplomacy, no concerns.
The person looking at me through the mirror, though. She IS a princess, and she's ready to take my place behind her mask in my introduction to the Southern society in a few minutes.
Gulping – so unladylike – I let out my last breath as Kagome for a few moments, letting my lessons and education take over when Akira, my companion servant, enters my chambers.
"Are you ready, Kagome-sama?" she gently asks, and I turn her way to let our eyes meet with a brief smile.
"Already putting the –sama thing on, Akari-chan? We don't have to work that stuff just yet." I laugh and she joins me for a moment before dressing her scowl on.
"You are a princess, at least for now. It would be improper, Kagome-sama."
"Hunf. As you wish. But I forbid you to call me that once this torment is done." I reply and this time we both laugh because of my childlike frown. But deep inside, we know it won't be done. We might have our friendly talks and our sisterly silence alone, but nothing will be the same from now on.
The first meeting was brief, and I'm both surprised and relieved. We sat in court, papa and I, whilst representatives of each and every family in the kingdom approached with their loyalty words and a gift.
The gift part was by far the most fun ot it! Who doesn't love presents, huh? And some of them were quite entertaining, to say the least.
At this very moment Tsutaki, one of my waiting guards, is carrying a wild chicken in his arms, trying not to look offended by his new burden. I, on the other hand, make no effort at all to stop the soft giggles at the sight before me.
And it's like that, laughing gracefully at one my most beloved friends and protectors, that I first see him.
Our eyes meet by coincidence. I was trying to avoid Tsutaki's burning gaze and he seemed to be looking for someone in the crowded room, but when his brow orbs lock in mine, silence becomes us.
It's not his dark, long and shiny hair, nor his gorgeous features that capture my attention. In fact, I have no idea what it is, after all, but it's there. In the air. In his eyes. In my breath. He's the only person in the whole room wearing informal clothes, and I bite back a smile, wishing I could be that care-free. His pelts are typical wolf clothing, and his posture is regal, while also feral in someway.
His lips slowly move, and I wish I could know what he said to himself, but my oversensitive ears cannot bare to focus on his voice between so many around us.
Kouga P.O.V.
This has to be the most boring thing in the whole world. Why must we pay respect to an heir who is not even a real dragon? The main meeting in the throne room is fast and I manage to skip it, but now we, the closest to the family – mainly the other taiyoukai and their families -, are all reunited in the counter-room, bowing and chatting and trading fake smiles.
Where's father? I should not be put through this purgatory, specially now that formality is done and I've showed up as honor demands.
I look around desperate to find my sire, but what I find instead is a slender figure over-dressed In what seems little a suffering of pounds and pounds of silk.
There's something there. Her eyes lock in mind and I breathe heavily. She's gorgeous. More than gorgeous, she smells… like something else. Different from this abominable dragons and definitely different from her race – for she is clearly a dog demon.
"Little puppy", I whisper when reality crashes. I recognize the deep blue eyes drawing me in, and though it takes sometime for realization to sink in, I cannot be more certain of who its owner is.
She was a little pup back then, when our paths crossed in the most unusual way.
I was passing by the Western lands in the middle of the war – not a wise move, but a necessary one – to deliver a message to an infiltrated ally in the name of my father, the current Eastern lord and, back then, the crown prince. I was too young, some might say, but there is no such thing as too young in a war. And my chances of sneaking in and out were greater than anyone else's, being as fast as I have always been. I was proud to be sent, and I would've been even prouder even when I returned if my grandfather were still alive to bestow my honor upon me.
Her scent reached me before her scream. I was driven to complete my mission and just leave, return to the glory of the Eastern lands, but something, her scared voice or the alluring smell of strawberries coming from where she must have been – or both - , had me running toward the clearing where I found the strangest thing.
There, in the middle of the blossoming flowers, stood a well. Not the most interesting sights, no, but the little creature half way inside it, was. Her small legs were in mid-air, and her torso painfully stuck inside the well.
I was fast to disentangle her wild hair from the bucket in which it had tangled and pull her out of the offending construction, and I couldn't keep myself from laughing out loud.
The little dog child was defeated by a damn bucket!
The sound of a muffled growl woke me out of my fun, though, and as I looked down to the child, the brightest eyes found mine.
She was cute, in a strange way, and I felt almost compelled to protect her from her own anger as she pouted, completely unaware of the danger I might be to her in the middle of a war, putting her hands in her waist in a way only a grown woman would do, but at the same time sticking out her tongue very childlikely.
"Stop laughing!" her tiny voice was trembling, and soon anger became something else and the bipolar child started whimpering.
Shit. What the hell? I quickly kneeled and cleared my voice before trying to calm her down. If the child was of some importance, someone might show up and ruin everything.
"Shhh, shhh, pup." I tried again and again to silence her, to no avail. I wasn't about to hurt a child. Suddenly, though, she stopped and turned her whole body toward something in the middle of the tall grass.
A warm smile reached her eyes and the ignored me still kneeled right beside her, reaching out for the rabbit that had caught her attention.
It was all forgotten. She didn't seem to even remember the accident and just stayed there, petting the smelly animal. How she could stand so close to it and not be averted by its dirty scent I could not muse, but she seemed genuinely entranced in her antics, so I decided to take my leave.
The little pup did not need me anymore, and maybe never did. It was completely imprudent to help her. It might have been a trap!
But then, she turned back to me and offered the horrible animal in her tiny fingers, smiling beautifully.
"Wolfie, wolfie do you wanna pet it? I think it likes you. You have shiny hair, like him! But you hair is longer. Why is your hair so long? Doesn't your ma cut it? Mama never lets papa hair gets so long, she says it gets harder to di-ti-tangle."
Once she started talking, she didn't stop. And I didn't mind, for something inside me had shifted. I was smitten.
She's no longer a child, and I'm no longer a boy. But it's her, nonetheless. Throughout my journeys I never met such eyes again. It's as if the Kami painted them themselves, knowing that it would make it impossible for anyone on this earth to ever forget such fire, such innocence and warmth behind those two orbs.
Though the innocent part was still there, her new posture and body changed my view over it. It was not a child unexperienced innocence, it was a gentle, grown up and well aware of the evils of the world innocence. As if she could see through all the crap most of these people are thinking or even talking about.
I moved closer, encouraged by the connection between our looks. Maybe she remembered me too, though I doubt it. She was only a child back then, almost two centuries have passed and I have no trace as remarkable as her eyes to perhaps press into her memory.
A step closer.
What is she doing here? The Western lands are all locked up.
Two steps closer.
What is she thinking?
Three steps closer.
Her clothes. They match the Southern Lady's. Who, is by the way, approaching us.
Four steps closer and the lady has reached her before me. I bow, finally close enough to be noticed, and the older woman smiles politely at me before putting her hand on the youngster's shoulders.
"Kagome, darling, you might wanna change your clothes now. We are all heading to the gardens for a spar. Your father cannot contain himself around so many men. "
What the hell? WHAT THE HELL. She's the girl father came to gift? She is the freaking heir? How can that… Makes no sense. Perhaps I'm wrong. I must be wrong.
But then, she laughs at the older woman's word. And there it is. That voice, though graver now, holding the same promise of happiness and sweetness.
Her mother finally takes notice of my presence, and moves her hand slightly in my direction, pushing her daughter and herself the last few steps between us.
"Oh, what a pleasure to see you, prince Kouga. I didn't see you at the ceremony, thought you might have gone to take care of something, or so your father said. Kagome, this is Kouga, the Eastern prince." When the woman finished, Kagome, the girl whose eyes I couldn't forget, bowed lightly, letting her eyelids shut as a deep blush spread throughout her round cheeks.
"It is a pleasure. Happy that at least one of us could avoid that suffering of a ceremony." Her honesty surprised me, but she soon seemed to realize what she had suggested and her eyes bulged adorably, her hand reaching for her mouth.
"Oh, I didn't mean that… It's just that… Oh, ma, I'm sorry." She whispered, looking at her mother's eyes as if she expected for reprieve in there. There was none. Her mother laughed quietly, kissing the girl's head.
"Don't fret, child. Just don't let your father hear any of it. I suppose we could trust lord Kouga here to keep your little secret, can't we?" the Lady of the East commented, and I could hear in her tone something her daughter apparently couldn't, some hidden promise, like she knows something we don't.
"I won't breathe a word of it, my ladies. Though it is still as true as if it was said out loud." I reply to put the girl at ease, and she immediately relaxes.
"Finally someone who gets is. I don't know how they can stand sitting for so long! It's insufferable! It's not like any of them really cares for me being the heir whatsoever." she says, giving me a sincere smile and bowing for her retiring mother, who leaves us alone in the dissipating crowd.
"You are the real deal now, milady. It comes with certain… inconveniences." I comment, taking her hand with mine and kissing her knuckles. "Though I'd be happy to oblige to any of those inconveniences to bath in your beauty." Where the hell did that come from?
She turns a bright pink and I chuckle.
"I… Must change, now. Cannot possibly go to the gardens with double my weight in clothes. But… It was… Truly a pleasure, lord Kouga. I hope you stay during the rest of the festivities. It would be nice to have someone who is willing to oblige, for a change." Her voice carries a bit of sarcasm and… something else? Is she teasing me, the little thing? Oh, my princess, two can play that game.
My hand is still holding hers and I once again bring it to my lips, but this time I kiss her pulse, feeling the heat beneath her pale skin. She shivers and her heart beat increases under my mouth.
She leaves, and I let her go. For now, because I don't think I can ever take that silent vow to oblige to her back.