Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Pride and Prejudice


A Meeting

Kaede Higurashi had always intended to visit Bingari-san, though she had assured Grandpa Higurashi that she would not go till the very last. She can perhaps be forgiven for such capricious behaviour, for it must be admitted that Grandpa Higurashi was, after all, a very annoying person.

The meeting itself was unordinary, and not attended by any of the preparation (espionage, for example) that her father-in-law would have thought necessary to ensure its success. She simply happened to run into him at one of the local estates, where he happened to be admiring the dolls on display there. She introduced herself, and invited him to come to her house sometime, and inspect her doll collection, which she assured him was quite superior to any other he would find in the neighbourhood. Bingari-san accepted the invitation with pleasure, having heard through reliable sources that all Higurashi-san's four daughters were very pretty, and the eldest surpassingly beautiful.

Kaede did not tell her family about her meeting with Miroku Bingari. She considered it to be her unstated duty to jeopardise as many of her father-in-law's schemes as possible, and she was sure that, if Bingari-san came to visit them in the morning, the sight of the girls (who had a habit of not getting dressed properly until after noon) would be quite enough to drive him away permanently. However, fortunately for Grandpa, this fiendish plan was foiled by none other than Miroku himself.

Being new in town, and possessing a very correct sense of etiquette, Miroku Bingari did not feel that it was appropriate to drop in unannounced on his neighbours, and so he sent a messenger to the Higurashi shrine on the morning of February the 15th, to inquire if he might visit them that afternoon.

Grandpa Higurashi and his granddaughters were delighted, and although Kaede was slightly disappointed, she made no objection. Her family swiftly wrenched from her the story of the meeting, and she admitted that she had invited him, although she refused to give them any other details of his appearance or demeanor, despite all their entreaties.

After the first moments of surprise and delight, the household was thrown into a flurry of activity. Grandpa wasted no time in banishing the girls to their rooms, with strict orders not to come down until they had made themselves presentable. He then spent what remained of the morning in chasing the housemaids around, trying to ensure that the house was sparkling clean, much to the annoyance of the housekeeper. Fortunately for the peace of the household, the most important task (that of checking and rearranging the dolls) Grandpa would not relegate to anyone, and so while he fussed over a few specks of dust he had discovered on one of the dolls' skirts, the housekeeper could focus on undoing all of his previous efforts at cleaning. Such as rescuing the cat from the larder, throwing away the nightshade berries Grandpa Higurashi had thought would make a good dessert and taking the cutlery out of the linen cupboard.

Thus when Miroku Bingari, accompanied by his friend, Sesshomaru Darashi, rode up to the Higurashi shrine he found everyone there awaiting him in a flattering degree of anticipation.

The grooms came to meet the two as they dismounted, and took the horses away to stable them. Miroku approached the shrine doors a little tentatively, but they were thrown open before he could lay a hand on them.

"Greetings! Greetings, young men!" cried Higurashi, "I am Higurashi, resident priest of Higurashi shrine. You may call me Grandpa." He winked at them, as if to assure them of the honour he was conveying by allowing them this form of address.

A little taken aback but willing to accept the man's approach in a friendly spirit, Miroku came forward and bowed respectfully.

"A pleasure to meet you, Higurashi-san - - Grandpa. I am Miroku Bingari, but please just call me Miroku. This is my good friend, Sesshomaru Darashi. I had the pleasure of meeting your... daughter? at the house of a Totousai-san a few days ago. I do hope you don't mind our dropping in like this."

"Not at all, not at all, young man! It is a pleasure!" Exclaimed Grandpa, "You met Kaede, yes, she is my daughter-in-law. A very well-meaning woman. And you are Darashi-san?" He turned to Sesshomaru, who responded with a curt bow.

Grandpa Higurashi began to beckon them into the house. "Come in, come in. You must meet my granddaughters! My son passed away several years back, you see, and I fear that they have suffered from the lack of a father." Miroku murmured words of sympathy. Grandpa Higurashi waved them away.

"It is my girls that deserve sympathy, not I, young man. I have tried my best, but I am sure that they have felt the lack of a younger man" (he winked at Miroku) "in their lives."

Miroku, a little embarrassed at such forward speaking, and aware of Sesshomaru behind him becoming more and more disgusted, sought hastily for a change of subject. Fortunately for him, Kaede, who had suspected that the two gentlemen might need rescuing from her father-in-law by now, chose this moment to enter the hallway.

"Bingari-san!" She greeted him pleasantly. "How do you do? Grandpa, would you find the housekeeper and ask her to bring us some tea? Thank you." Grandpa Higurashi was rather annoyed at being sent away, but he didn't dare to disobey her when she used 'that' tone of voice. Rather relieved, Miroku bowed to Kaede in greeting.

"Higurashi-san! It's a pleasure to meet you again. This is my friend, Sesshomaru Darashi-san."

"How do you do?" She greeted Sesshomaru politely, and turned to lead them down the hallway. "Do you come from Edo, Darasi-san?"

"No ma'am", he responded cooly. "I am master of my family's estate in Settsu, near Osaka."

"I see," she replied. "And do you also come from Settsu, Bingari-san?"

"Please," said he, "Just call me Miroku. My family comes from the island Shikoku, in the south, but I am looking to make a home for myself. I must say, I am very pleased with Musashi thus far. Kazaana house is very comfortable, and such charming neighbours." He smiled at Kaede.

Behind him, Sesshomaru snorted softly. "You said the same thing about the last three places you tried, Miroku. I will be very much surprised if you end up settling down here."

Miroku smiled ruefully. "It is just that I can never be bothered going through all the trouble involved in buying a house. It is so much easier just to rent one. But I have a good feeling about this place."

Sitting in the drawing room with her sisters, Kagome looked up as the door opened and her mother entered, followed by two men. The first was dark-haired and dressed in a blue and black monk's hakama. He wore sandals and his hair was drawn and tied at the back of his head. The perfect image of a gentleman, he was handsome and his eyes held a kind look. It was the man behind him that caught Kagome's eye.

She had never before seen anyone with hair of such a pure white before. It was long and silky and fell over his shoulders in long waves to his waist. Observing the man himself, she saw that there was a mark of a half-moon on his forehead, tattooed stripes on his cheeks and his white hakama was accentuated in places with red. He was a demon, she realised. But what was a demon doing here, in their village? There were so few of them left, most wiped out in the demon hunts of a few hundred years ago. This one must be very powerful. The hunts were long over now, but still there were the occasional idiots who thought it was their duty to wipe out every demon that ever existed. Speaking of such idiots, where was her grandfather?

Kagome was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of her name, and she realised that her mother was performing the introductions.

"...Yura, and my youngest, Kikyo." Kaede was saying. "Girls, this is Miroku Bingari, and his friend Sesshomaru Darashi.

They all bowed politely, murmuring a 'pleased to meet you.'

It seemed that Sesshomaru had noticed Kagome staring at him, as upon lifting his head he gave her a cold, arrogant look, his eyebrows raised disdainfully. She blushed but raised her chin defiantly, returning his gaze. He sneered and looked away from her.

At that moment Grandpa Higurashi bustled through the door, followed by the housekeeper bearing refreshments. She set the tray on a small table and was promptly shooed out again by Grandpa. He then invited the guests to help themselves, and asked if they had been introduced to the young ladies. Upon Miroku responding positively, he began to praise Sango on her sutra work, and spoke very highly of the progress she was making in her lessons (taught, of course, by himself). Sango, who knew herself to be mediocre at best in the art of a miko, was embarrassed and gently but firmly refuted the praise, confessing that she preferred the study of tessenjutsu. This had the desired effect however, as Miroku at once began to inquire further into this pastime.

Pleased with the success of objective no. 1, Grandpa was then free to turn his attention to his other guest, who was currently attempting to make stilted conversation with Kaede, while Kikyo interjected every now and then. Observing that Kagome had picked up a book and begun to read, he took it upon himself to rescue her from what he was sure must be extreme boredom.

"Kagome, my dear, why don't you show Darashi-san our doll display?" He turned to Sesshomaru, effectively and rudely interrupting his conversation with Kaede. "I assure you, I have the most superior collection in the entire village!" He fairly beamed with pride, obviously expecting to impress. Kaede glared at him but refrained from censuring him in front of the guests. Kagome looked up and made to put away her book, but Sesshomaru, who was by now sick and tired of the entire family, interrupted her.

"I wouldn't dream of disturbing Kagome-san. Truth be told, I am in no humour to inspect a country doll display with a country girl. Kagome-san will excuse me, and had much better go back to her book. Higurashi-san, I must take my leave." He bowed curtly to Kaede. "Miroku. Do you intend to remain here a while?"

Kagome, who had not been expecting such an attack, sat speechless for a moment. Her grandfather, quite taken aback, started to regather himself. But before he could utter any of the angry words growing on his tongue, Miroku, who had up till then been conversing quietly but animatedly with Sango, leapt up in alarm. Apologising profusely to Grandpa Higurashi, he explained that, when Sesshomaru was not at his family home in Settsu, he preferred to live in Edo. "Sesshomaru has never enjoyed living in the country. Not that there is anything wrong with the country," he added hastily, "but each to his own. I myself find this area quite charming. I do hope you will honour me for dinner one evening. Can I persuade you? My cook is quite a genius, if I do say so myself."

"Well..." Grandpa Higurashi was not so sure that he could forgive Sesshomaru's slighting remark, but a glance at Sango reminded him of his priorities. "I suppose we could."

"Perfect!" Exclaimed Miroku, "Shall we say the 17th then?"

Grandpa admitted that they had no prior engagements.

"Then we shall meet again in two days." Miroku bowed deeply to them all, with an extra smile for Sango, who blushed. The young man went to join Sesshomaru, who had already ordered their horses to be brought round and was waiting impatiently by the door. They were ushered out by Grandpa Higurashi.

Sango was immediately crowded by her sisters, each demanding to know what she and Bingari-san had been talking about. She blushed again but said that they had only been speaking of her tessenjutsu, and of the Buddhist temples. "He is very knowledgeable," she confided to her mother, "And so charming and gentlemanlike."

"Do you like him?" asked her sister.

"Yura!" Kaede was indignant. "Such language is inappropriate for a young lady!"

"Although how could you not," gushed Kikyo, "So handsome! And such perfect manners!"

"A pity his friend had not such manners," Sango turned ruefully to her favourite sister, "Poor Kagome! To be just a country girl!"

Kagome laughed. "Ah, what care we for his opinion? Pride will be its own downfall."