Well I have to say Uchiha Salad, that was the longest review I have ever gotten for one of my stories. And now I shall answer a couple of your queries. The main reason that she was dressed as a boy was because the people of the great demon kingdom were expecting a King, not a Queen. I included baseball because it becomes a popular sport for the demon tribe in the anime and it's something I'd like to keep; the sexism thing is involved because I felt that there should be more of a reason than what's in the anime. Hope you keep reading!
I don't own either Anime.
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Kagome sat in front of the fire wrapped in a blanket while her clothes and bag were being dried by the fire.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she listened to Gunter's sputtered apologies, his face an even darker shade of red than hers had been, "It's okay Gunter, you didn't know, besides I shouldn't have screamed. I guess the stress and confusion of the day just got to me."
Gunter's eyes sparkled as he clasped his hands together, "Oh your Majesty, such grace. But we are the ones who should apologize; none of us took into account how disorienting all of this would be for you. We were also under the impression that you would be a boy."
The ravenette's smile widened, "It's okay, forgive and forget." her smile then turned into a frown, "But really, how are you so sure that I'm the one you're looking for."
Gunter stepped forward, "Please your Majesty, allow me to explain everything to you in chronological order."
Kagome nodded, "Sure."
The silver haired man knelt beside her as he spoke, "Eighteen years ago… your noble spirit was supposed to be born here in this country; however because there was a war going on and a plot was uncovered where a suspected assassin planned to take your life, the great one decided to send your spirit to a different world and so it was whisked away to the world called Earth. Two years later your body was created there and born to your parents and you grew up living a normal, human life. But now, without warning a situation came up which made it necessary to bring you back, even though the original plan was for you to remain safely hidden."
'"normal, human life" looks like they have no idea about my time in the Feudal Era.', "That still doesn't explain how you're so sure that I'm the one you were waiting for."
Gunter's face was suddenly inches from her own, his cheeks dusted pink, "There's no mistake your Majesty, I recognized you immediately by your splendid black hair and your clear dark eyes and on top of that you were dressed in black clothes. All of this together makes you the one."
"Everything you just said isn't exactly rare back in Japan though." she pointed out.
"However it became even more obvious when you spoke, since you are so fluent in our language. I admit that what Adalbert did to you is most regrettable, but at least it worked. He reached through your mind and activated the sealed language from deep inside your most noble spirit."
"I guess you've got me there, but you can't expect me to just happily go along with being ripped from my home to a land that I know nothing about. What situation could you possibly need me for anyway?"
Gunter stood from his kneeled position, "We have to destroy the humans, those that we've determined to be enemies of our country-"
"No." her reply came in a hardened voice, her eyes shining in a cold fury that surprised the two men.
"Your Majesty please listen, we need your power to do that, that's why we've called home our Demon King, or rather Queen."
Though she was shocked at his last words, her expression didn't change, "I said no. I'm not going to lead an entire Kingdom into genocidal war against humanity, Queen or not."
xxXxxXxxXxx
A few hours later Kagome found herself standing outside in her now dry clothes minus her hat and with her blazer instead of her brother's hoodie, staring up at the star filled sky, 'After everything I did to save humanity back home it feels like a sick joke to be told that I exist to destroy it here. Add to that I was born to be the Queen of a kingdom of demons, did Midoriko know about this?'
"Your Majesty?"
She turned to see Conrad standing behind her, then turned back to the sky, "What?"
"Come on, let's go back inside. If I were to let our Queen catch a cold I'd never hear the end of it from Gunter."
"And listen to more 'death to the humans' speeches? No thanks."
They both continued to stand there in silence until Kagome's back straightened, "Its Conrad, right?"
"Conrad is more of a nickname, but you're welcome to use it your Majesty. What is it you wish to ask?"
"If I'm the Queen, then I say whether or not the Kingdom goes to war, right."
"That is correct."
"And everyone in the kingdom is expecting me to declare war on humanity as soon as I step foot in the castle."
"Not everyone, but a good majority are."
"Well then, I guess that majority will just have to be disappointed." she turned to him with a slight smile, "Since I don't know how long I'll be here for or even how to get back, I guess I'll just have to accept being the Demon Queen and show them that there are better ways than war to gain peace."
Conrad smiled gently and followed her as she went back inside the cottage and headed for bed.
While sleep dragged her into its embrace a thought from earlier drifted to the front of her sleep addled brain as her eyes drifted close, "Conrad, have we met before today, I didn't really think about it till now, but you seem really -yawn- familiar…" she trailed off as sleep fully claimed her.
Conrad looked at the now asleep girl sadly, "No, not really."
xxXxxXxxXxx
The next day Kagome found herself riding with Conrad as their convoy made its way through the countryside.
Their number was smaller than it would have been, but they needed to send messengers ahead to inform the kingdom of the mistake in their new ruler's gender to avoid confusion when they arrived.
The reason why is because without the hoodie Kagome's feminine attributes were quite obvious.
She took in the open land around them, awed at its beauty and with how different it looked from the feudal era.
A flash of brown and white out of the corned of her eye made Kagome look up to see one of the flying skeletons, 'Fly bone tribe.' she reminded herself.
She waved to it and watched it wave back with a bright smile on her face.
"Your Majesty!" a small voice called out.
She looked down to see a small girl with bright purple eyes and light lavender hair pulled back into two braids, wearing a pale yellow dress and carrying a bowl of water.
Before Conrad and Gunter could stop her Kagome slid off the horse and stepped up to the child who held out the bowl to her, "For you."
Kagome smiled gently at the girl and accepted the bowl of water from her, "Thank you." she then raised the bowl to her lips and drank every last drop.
Her eyes widened as what felt like a cool and gentle wave of power coursed through her body before fading and she looked down at the girl in wonder and handed the bowl back to her with a large smile, "Thank you for the blessing." she whispered.
A surprised expression crossed the girl's face before a bright grin replaced it as she took the bowl and ran off.
"Your Majesty, In the future don't eat or drink anything we haven't prepared. You never know who is to be trusted." Gunter admonished.
A mysterious smile crossed Kagome's face as she replied, "I'm not worried about being poisoned. Besides it tasted fine."
Conrad held his hand out and helped her back up onto his horse, "We only wish to protect you your Majesty, even so you don't have to worry about it so much Gunter."
Gunter turned to Conrad with a disapproving look, "Conrart, you're too much on the side of ordinary citizens."
"If I don't speak up for the citizens who do you suppose is going to look out for them?" Conrad then glanced back at Kagome, "But I look out for you first your Majesty. My heart and my life are devoted to you."
Kagome laughed nervously, "That really isn't necessary."
The convoy continued on until the walls of the castle town came into view and they stopped to let Kagome mount a horse that they had brought with them for her while they were out looking for her, "If you had this horse ready for me this whole time then why was I riding with Conrad?"
"I thought it would be safer for your Majesty to ride with Conrart with Adalbert still out there." Gunter responded.
The ravenette sighed inaudibly as she mounted the horse, "If you say so."
They continued on up to the drawbridge entrance and passed through the stone archway and into the cheering town.
Kagome looked around wide eyed at the crowded street, flags waved in the wind and confetti floated through the air as Gunter gestured around them grandly, "Welcome home your Majesty. Oh, never forget that all the world began with us, the demon tribe! We will prosper for eternity with the power, wisdom and bravery that defeated the originators! This is your country, the Kingdom of Glory! Praise be to the Great One, the first Demon King and his people! Welcome to your Kingdom and its Capital."
Kagome's eyebrow twitched lightly, 'That was extremely long winded.'
Conrad smiled wryly, "We just call it the Great Demon Kingdom."
Along the road Kagome accepted several bouquets from the people of the town.
After accepting a third bouquet she looked ahead to see a group of men blocking the way through, "Who's that?"
Conrad sighed internally as he caught sight of who Kagome was talking about, "That, your Majesty is Lord Stoffel Von Spitzweg. He's the older brother of the former Demon Queen. He abused his position while serving as defacto Monarch. He lost his power when she renounced the throne. Now, he'll probably try to ingratiate himself with you to win your favor."
"But don't worry your Majesty we're keeping an eye on him. We don't intend to let him do whatever he likes and I assume Wolfram and Gwendal feel the same way about it." Gunter reassured her.
"At least that is my sincere hope." Conrad stated a little grimly.
Kagome's brows furrowed in confusion and just as she was about ask them about the two new names they mentioned; a low buzzing sound caught her attention.
Looking forward, she could only watch helplessly as a bee stung her horse, startling it, making it rear back, forcing her to drop her bouquets and grab the reigns so that she wouldn't fall off.
It then charged forwards in panic, making Stoffel and his men dodge out of the way, while Conrad and Gunter chased after Kagome and the horse.
Despite pulling on the reigns the horse refused to slow down as it raced up the curved path to the palace.
Once they were in the gates Kagome was finally able to stop the horse, who reared once more and almost threw her off again.
Once it had settled she breathed a sigh of relief and dismounted.
Making her way to the front of the horse she gently place her hand on its face and pet it soothingly, "There, there. Your all right now, the big scary bee is gone."
The horse nudged her stomach gently causing her to giggle.
"Your Majesty!"
She turned to see Gunter and Conrad riding up to her, "Oh, hey you guys."
"You're kidding me." an unfamiliar voice spoke.
Kagome turned to the newcomer to see a man who rivaled Sesshomaru in height, with long dark grey hair tied back in a low pony tail; his eyes were a deep blue and had what appeared to be a permanent frown on his face (if the frown lines on his face were any indication) and wore a forest green trench coat with white and blue accents and a belt at his waist.
Gunter dismounted and rushed over to Kagome to make sure that she wasn't hurt.
Conrad was right behind him, "Are you hurt my lady."
"No, I'm good."
"Don't tell me she's the new Demon King."
Kagome looked over to yet another new face; this one was a young blonde haired boy who looked to be around her age with bright green eyes.
He wore a blue uniform with yellow accents on the jacket and a belt at his waist; tucked in at his neck was a white cravat and he had a sword strapped to his waist.
'It seems that I don't make a very good first impression for these two.' Kagome thought with a sweat drop.
xxXxxXxxXxx
Kagome closed her eyes and sighed as she relaxed in the hot steamy bath.
After the tense encounter with the two men outside the palace, Gunter whisked Kagome off to the bath so that she could 'freshen up'.
The ravenette could feel her slight accumulation of stress melt away as she sunk down to her chin and was soothed by the hot water, 'Mmm, this is definitely something I could get used to. The flowery smell wafting around the bath is heavenly to.'
"Oh my." Kagome's eyes shot open to see a naked woman with very familiar blonde hair and green eyes holding a towel to her chest as she stood at the edge of the bath, "Tell me sweetie are you the new Demon King?"
"More like Demon Queen."
The woman blinked in surprise, "Oh really? And here I thought there'd be another man in the palace."
The ravenette laughed nervously, "Sorry to disappoint you."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
Kagome smiled, "Sure, it'd be nice to talk to another girl after a couple of days being surrounded by guys. My name is Kagome."
The woman made her way into the water and sat near Kagome, "It's a pleasure to meet my successor. I am Lady Cecilie Von Spitzweg your Majesty, but please call me Celi, Ce-li."
Kagome blinked in surprise, "You're my predecessor?"
"I know, it's hard to believe, but it's the truth."
"Wow, by the way Celi, you wouldn't happen to have a son would you?"
"Why yes! In fact I have three."
"One of them wouldn't happen to be a blonde boy with green eyes, you both look very alike."
Celi seemed to get even peppier, "Oh, you've met my dear little Wolfie have you. He's my youngest, then there's Conrart who looks more and more like his hunk of a father every day and finally my brooding eldest, Gwendal."
Kagome blinked in surprise, "I never would have guessed that Conrad's your son. You don't look old enough to be his mom, let alone to have a another one older than him."
Kagome let out a startled squeak as she was yanked forwards and crushed into Celi's chest, "Well aren't you just the dearest thing!"
xxXxxXxxXxx
After they had finished their bath, Celi dragged Kagome down the halls of the castle to her room to find a dress for Kagome to wear to dinner, "Really Celi, it's okay. I can just wear my school uniform."
"Now that just won't do for your welcome dinner. You're the Demon Queen now sweetie, so we need to dress you like one."
"Yeah, but did we really have to rush out of the bath with only towels on. Gunter's hands flew to his face when we passed him in the hall earlier, he was probably mortified."
Celi continued pulling her along with a smile, "Now don't worry about him, Gunter's a big boy. Besides, he was probably trying to hide the blood dripping from his nose from your Majesty."
"Blood? I hope he didn't hurt himself."
Celi turned to see the concerned frown on Kagome's face and squealed, once again crushing the poor ravenette's face into her bosom, "You're just too adorable."
The slowly suffocating girl flailed her arms around a little, unable to escape the surprisingly strong blond woman's grip.
Celi then pushed her back a little and smiled brightly, "Now let's get you dressed up!"
xxXxxXxxXxx
Kagome fiddled with the dress she was wearing as she followed behind Celi to the dining room.
Out of all the dresses in the blond woman's extensive closet it was definitely the most tame.
It was a black halter top style dress that clung from her chest to her stomach, showing off her d-cup sized bust, curves and flared out at the waist, the length of it coming to rest just above the floor thanks to the high heels Celi let her borrow.
Her hands drifted from her dress to her hair and she started to twist it lightly between her fingers, it had been left alone for the most part, but the top half was pulled back and tied into a bun while her bangs continued to frame her face, 'It's a good thing my skin got pretty tanned from all the time I spent in the Feudal Era or all this black would make me look like the corpse bride.'
"Your Majesty, are you listening?"
The ravenette's head snapped up in surprise to see Celi looking at her expectantly, "Sorry Celi, my mind was wandering."
Celi smiled in understanding, "It's fine, the last two days have been pretty eventful for you haven't they."
Kagome sighed, "I guess they have, but I have to say that it hasn't been the worst experience in my life." she finished with a smile.
Celi hooked her arm through the younger woman's and pulled her along, "That's good to hear. Now let's hurry, we don't want to keep those boys waiting for too long."
With that the duo made their way to the large doors that lead to the dining room.
At seeing them approach the guards opened the doors for them and let them into the room where they could hear the murmurings of conversation.
"Your Majesty!"
At Gunter's exclamation the conversation going on between the males in the room ceased as they stared at the two women in surprise.
Their staring was beginning to make Kagome uneasy, "I told you I should have just worn my school uniform." she whispered to the blond.
Not for the first time this evening did Celi notice Kagome's dismissal of her own looks, "Nonsense, you look gorgeous." she whispered back before she turned back to the stunned men, "Now really boys, stop gawking, this isn't the first time you've seen a pretty girl."
That seemed to snap them out of their daze.
"Oh your Majesty, you look enchanting!" Gunter exclaimed as Gwendal turned away silently.
Conrad smiled at her warmly, "He's right, you look beautiful your Majesty."
Wolfram huffed under his breath as she blushed lightly, 'Look at her blushing like an airhead over a couple of compliments, it's disgusting.'
Gunter quickly ushered Kagome to her seat and she watched with a sweat drop as Celi greeted her sons and indirectly introduced them to her, 'It's hard to imagine that she's their mom when she talks to them like that. I don't even want to try imagining my mom talking to Shori like that.'
Once everyone was settled in their seats the maids set out the meal and utensils before standing off to the side quietly with Gunter as those seated at the table ate.
Celi started up a conversation with Kagome when she noticed her successor inspect the silverware, "You came from a very distant country didn't you. I'm just so thrilled that you've assumed the title of Queen. You see, I want to go on a journey in search of free love, you might call it a hobby of mine."
Kagome smiled, "It sounds like an exciting reason to travel."
"I assume you have some concerns because you became our new Queen rather suddenly, but your Highness, please don't worry your pretty little head. I'm sure my older brother and lovely sons will be happy to assist you with any problems."
Her statement didn't sit well with Wolfram as he was quick to argue against it, "Oh mother please, I will not serve some stranger from another World! Beside's we have no way of knowing whether she's remotely worthy of becoming our new Queen." he finished as he pointed at Kagome who had turned back to her food.
"Very well, then are you willing to be become the King?" his mother retorted.
Kagome looked up from her meal as she chewed silently and watched the interaction.
"Absolutely not. The fact is I'm not suitable for the position. My big brother is the far better choice, isn't that right Gwendal." he directed to the dark grey haired man that Kagome first saw in front of the palace.
Gwendal silently agreed with his younger brother though he made no move to acknowledge the question, after all there was no point; they couldn't go against the word of the Great One.
His mother had a similar thought, "But Wolfy baby, think about it. It's not like you're entirely unaware of what happened to the King who refused to obey the Great One."
Kagome tilted her head to the side in confusion when Wolfram clammed up and turned to the middle brother, "Hey Conrad, I keep hearing this Great One's name tossed around but no one's really said anything about him. Would something bad actually happen to you if you didn't follow his commands?"
Conrad smiled pleasantly, "Of course. It would happen to you to your Majesty."
Kagome just sighed and smiled wryly, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. It takes all choice out of the situation."
"Just as I thought."
Kagome turned to see Gwendal glaring at her, "You've never had any intention of becoming our new Queen and carrying out your duty to this country, you're just a foreigner, a guest."
All traces of humor left Kagome's face as she locked eyes with the dark haired lord, "In all fairness Lord Von Voltaire, I wasn't even aware that this country, let alone this world existed until little over a day ago. So answer this question if you can, how would you expect me to be able to commit myself to a place that I had no previous knowledge of and where I am essentially trapped?"
Gwendal, while mildly impressed, grit his teeth as everyone looked at Kagome in various degrees of surprise, she left him in a rare situation where if he were to argue against her point he would sound like a petulant child and Gwendal Von Voltaire was no child.
Her expression melted back into a cheerful smile, "Besides, as I already told Conrad last night, before the threat of some horrible punishment from this Great One, I might as well. After all…" her smile turned sad, "It's not like I know how to get home."
Celi's eyes widened in surprise, 'That's right, we never even considered about how she would feel when she was finally brought to this world. We forgot that we would be taking her from her family…'
Conrad looked down slightly in guilt, Gwendal's frown deepened and the maids and Gunter teared up a little as they came to the same realization as their retired Queen/mother.
Wolfram however refused to feel sorry for her and stood, slamming his hands down on the table, "This is ridiculous, what evidence do you even have that she is the heir to the throne? I won't be deceived by her language, by the color of her eyes and hair or even by her words. It's obvious she's nothing more than a lowly little punk born to filthy unworthy humans!"
Conrad frowned at his younger brother, "Wolfram, keep in mind that it's the spirit that matters, not to whom she was born. But if you're so particular about lineage, Queen Kagome's father was a proper subordinate chosen by the Demon King of the Earth."
Surprise showed on Wolfram's face though Kagome merely blinked, 'I know I should be more surprised to find out that I'm half demon, but after the couple of days I've had it may be awhile before anything surprises me again.'
But even with this new information Wolfram still wouldn't back down, "That's hard to believe, but even if it is the case her mother is still a human. I'll bet she's just a cheap hussy; some street trollop from dubious pedigree."
And just like that something inside Kagome snapped.
In her rage she stood from her seat, drew her right hand back and slapped Wolfram across the face sending him staggering.
After getting over his initial shock, Wolfram stared at her in outrage as Gunter rushed over to them, "Your Majesty!" when he reached her side he whispered, " Your Majesty."
Conrad stood from his seat, "You must listen to reason, you must take it back my lady, immediately."
However Kagome wouldn't hear it, she was angrier than she had ever felt before, and she didn't care, "I'm sorry Conrad, but I won't sit quietly while he insults my mom." She then turned her attention back to Wolfram, "I don't care what you say about me, I'll take any insult you can throw at me, but don't you ever insult my family, especially my mother!"
"My lady-" Gunter tried to interrupt.
"I won't take it back ever!"
Though she felt concerned for her successor and a little disappointed in her youngest son, Celi saw her opportunity and shamelessly went for it, "So you're telling us what's done is done and that's final?"
The ravenette turned to her, "Right."
"Wonderful." Celi stated cheerfully which snapped Kagome out of her anger and had her staring at the blond like she had grown another head as said blond clasped her hands together, "Then the pact is sealed and love is in bloom."
"Wait, what?" the ravenette turned to the white haired man behind her, "Gunter, can you explain what's going on?"
He bowed to her with a pleasant smile, "I would be more than happy to. You see in accordance with our kingdom's ancient ritual you just asked for his hand."
Kagome's mind went blank, "Wait… you don't mean… marriage do you?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"And how exactly did that happen?"
"Slapping one's opponent's left cheek with the palm of your hand is the act of proposing marriage among aristocrats."
"You know, this would have been a good topic to bring up before we arrived at the palace."
Suddenly Wolfram swept his arm out, knocking what was in reach onto the floor with an angry cry.
The ravenette turned to see him glaring at her with so much anger that he was panting, "I don't believe this, I've never been so humiliated in my entire life!"
Kagome sighed in her head and with years of being a good daughter pounded into her head, she bent over and picked up the knife at her feet, "Oh, your Highness don't pick that up!" but Gunter's warning came too late as she stood up with the knife in her hand and blinked up at the silver haired man.
"Hm?"
"So you picked it up." she turned back to see that Wolfram was now smirking in victory, "You picked it up."
She raised a brow at him and then turned to Gunter again while Celi and Gwendal were talking, "I did it again didn't I."
"I'm afraid so your Majesty, only this time instead of a proposal you just accepted a challenge to a duel."
Kagome could feel her eye twitch as her stress re-accumulated, 'This day just keep's getting better and better.'
xxXxxXxxXxx
About half an hour later Kagome stood outside, back in her school uniform giving the sword that Conrad had found for her a couple of good swings to get used to the balance and weight as said man stood behind her, "If you think it's too heavy please let me know. I did my best to find you a sword that's as light as possible."
"It's fine, though the shape of the hilt, pommel, guard and the length of it remind me of a bat." she smiled as she swung it like a bat, "I sure do miss it, the last time I touched a bat and glove was a couple of years ago."
"If you enjoyed it so much why did you quit playing baseball?"
The ravenette blinked in surprise at the brunette, "You know about baseball?"
He held up two mitts and a ball, "Mhm. How would you like to play a few rounds of catch?"
Kagome placed the sword down with a smile and took the offered mitt and ball before backing up a fair distance and pitched it to Conrad.
She couched down into a familiar position and waited for Conrad to pitch it back; however he took her by surprise with his terrible pitching.
"I'm glad you wield a sword better than you throw a ball." she teased as she threw it back.
As the ball flew through the air a memory from Kagome's baseball days surfaced, the day she caught a pitch from a professional baseball player, it caused her to smile sadly.
"What's the matter?"
Kagome came back to herself at his question, "Oh, nothing."
"Why?"
The ravenette tilted her head at the question, "Hm?"
"Why did you quit playing baseball? You obviously love it."
Her smile came back with a somber twist, "Coach found out I was a girl when he thought I was a boy, kicked me off the team and just like today I lost my temper and slugged him in the face."
"That's why you're not playing with a team anymore, but what I want to know is why you quit playing baseball altogether."
'He sounds like a concerned parent.' she sighed at the thought, "Some things happened and I didn't have the time for it anymore."
"Then maybe you haven't quit yet."
They continued pitching the ball back and forth as they talked about baseball.
"You're a Red sox fan? Wait does that mean you've been to Earth? Is that how you know about baseball?"
"That's right, seventeen years ago I was entrusted with the noble task of protecting your Majesty's pure spirit. In order to do so I went on a journey to the place where you were born. I returned after I made certain that the Demon Queen had safely arrived. Your mother greatly impressed me. She was an exceptionally brave woman. Even though she was about to give birth, she was yelling at the cabbie, telling him which streets to take."
And that's when realization struck, "Wait a minute, then you're the guy my mom considers my godfather who was sharing a ride."
Conrad blinked in surprise, "Godfather?"
"Yeah, after all you did help name me. Kagome Yuuri Shibuya." she explained.
"I never dreamed she'd name you after the word I mentioned that day."
Kagome smiled as she caught the ball and threw it back, "Well, my mom is easily inspired."
"I've been looking forward to this day for the past fifteen years, the day I would finally meet you face-to-face your Majesty."
Kagome grinned brightly, "Oh no, you have to stop calling me 'your Majesty', your my Godfather which makes you family."
xxXxxXxxXxx
As Kagome lay in bed that night, she looked around her room; it was huge.
Her gaze then turned to the canopy of her four poster bed, 'It's like out of a western fairytale, just like this Kingdom.'
Her hand reached up to her chest and grasped the necklace that now lay there; Conrad had given it to her even though she insisted that she couldn't take it since it was so precious to him; however that man showed he could be stubborn when he wanted to be.
Deciding that it would be best to get some sleep so that she'd be refreshed for what she suspected would be a long day tomorrow, Kagome turned and curled up on her side, drifting off into the land of dreams.
xxXxxXxxXxx
It was morning; the sun was shining, the birds were singing and everyone was standing in the courtyard to watch the duel that was about to begin.
Gunter stepped forward with a serious expression on his face, "We have gathered here this morning because the appointed time has come and we're now ready to commence a duel between Lord Wolfram Von Bielefeld and Queen Kagome. The type of weapon will be chosen by the Queen since she's the one who accepted the duel."
"Your Majesty, Wolfy! Give it everything you've got!" Celi called cheerfully as she waved from her seat.
Wolfram's smirk was firmly in place, "Oh I will. I'm picturing you begging like a dog for forgiveness after I trounce you in this duel. The mere thought of it has made the wait absolutely delicious. "
The ravenette's eyes narrowed on the arrogant boy after his insults, 'That's it, I was going to take it easy on him, but now there's no mercy. I don't care if he doesn't realize how deep this particular insult runs, he's about to learn that this bitch has fangs.'
Gunter couldn't hide his concern as he observed the two, worried about their new Queen, 'My Lady, I contemplated all night, but I couldn't come up with any good ideas. I'm sorry.'
As if sensing his thoughts, Kagome turned and gave the worried Gunter a reassuring and bright smile, as if she was telling him that he had nothing to worry about.
She then proceeded to draw a large circle in the ground, confusing her opponent and their audience.
"Why have you drawn this circle on the ground?" Wolfram demanded.
Without answering Kagome removed her blazer, tossed it to the side and undid a couple of the buttons of her shirt causing a light blush to form on Wolfram and a few other's cheeks (as well as exclamation's of surprise, interest and exasperation), "And why are you taking off your clothes?!"
Kagome fixed him with a bored look as she rolled up her sleeves, "Oh please, it's not like I'm taking them all off. I just don't want to get my jacket torn, that's all. You should probably take your's off too, just in case."
The blonde's blush darkened slightly, "Why should I have to do that? Aren't we having a proper duel?"
The ravenette's lips lifted into a small smirk, "Of course we are, just not the type of duel you were expecting. Since I get to choose the weapon for the duel, I choose our bodies. This duel will be fought with hand-to-hand combat and the first person to even step a foot outside of the ring will be declared the loser."
Gunter felt lost, "Bodies as weapons? Ring?"
Kagome's face turned serious, "In Japan, hand-to-hand combat or martial arts as it's called, is an ancient, honorable and traditional style of combat with many variations that are still taught and used today, so prepare yourself."
"Don't be ridiculous, it's just too much! How do you expect me to focus on battle if I'm embarrassed to death?!"
Kagome stared at him dryly, "Fine. If you're going to be such a wuss about it then you can leave your clothes on, but don't blame me if something happens to them."
The two stepped into the ring, their eyes still locked, "Now we bow to each other as a sign of respect and humility to our opponent."
Wolfram gritted his teeth, but stubbornly complied, his eyes never leaving hers.
The ravenette then cut her eyes to Conrad who nodded in understanding and stepped closer to the ring.
He brought his hand down, "Begin."
Before he was able to process what happened, Wolfram found himself flying through the air and landing harshly on his back.
He pulled himself up into a sitting position with a startled look on his face when what had happened finally caught up with him.
His jaw started to throb causing him to lift his hands to cup it and raised his head up to see Kagome turned to the side with one leg extended up almost parallel with her body.
She lowered her leg as Gunter came to her side and praised her, "My Lady, bravo! What a most commendable fight. This immensely clever and compassionate duel in which no blood was shed on either side will long be remembered as a truly heartwarming story."
"I'm not so sure about that Gunter, that felt less like a fight and more like a joke. But that's beside the point." she cut a cool gaze over to Wolfram, "I win." she then turned and began to walk off.
"Wait!"
She turned to see the blond pick himself up off of the floor.
"My Lady, take this."
Reaching her arm out to the side Kagome caught the sword that Conrad tossed her while keeping her eyes on Wolfram who unsheathed his own blade, "I don't care for your jokes, you're going to be Queen of this country aren't you? Then stop acting like a clown and fight our way to settle this matter."
Kagome's eyes narrowed, 'He's like a child throwing a fit when things don't go his way. It seems that I'm going to have to show him that I won't be pushed around.'
The blond then charged at her with a furious battle cry, his sword at the ready and swung it at Kagome who used the still sheathed sword in her hand to block his attacks.
They then locked swords and Wolfram pushed his face closer, his smirk back in place, "What's wrong, suddenly you seem almost paralyzed with fear."
The ravenette raised a brow as she pushed him back and took a stance, "If I were you I'd be more focused on my sword play. Your moves and rhythm are too predictable."
"Oh really? Try this on for size!" he swung his blade down in an arc towards her.
Kagome's grip on the sheathed sword tightened, 'Like I said, predictable.' and she swung the sword like a bat, knocking Wolframs sword from his hand and sent it flying much to the blonde's surprise.
"You lose, again."
The blond turned back to the ravenette and felt his fury burning even more as he raised his hand up and a ball of flame appeared above his hand causing her eyes to widen slightly in surprise, "I haven't lost this battle yet."
"Wolfram, stop!" Gunter commanded, "Her Majesty hasn't learned magic skills yet, you can't use your specialty on her. It's entirely unfair!"
Gwendal cut him off from saying anything further; however Kagome couldn't hear what they were saying as she was now completely focused on the threat before her as he began his attack.
"The flames to which all the particles belong, obey the Demon Tribe that destroyed the Originators!"
Kagome rolled to the side as balls of flame came at her.
"Nice evasive move, but let's see you dodge this!" as he spoke the flames gathered in the air behind him and formed into a huge flaming lion that actually roared.
She dodged once more as it flew at her, but turned when someone behind her screamed.
Her eyes widened in horror as she saw that one of the castle's maids was frozen in fear in the path of the raging beast.
"What in the-" Wolfram shouted as he saw his attack heading for the defenseless girl.
Kagome felt helpless as the attack hit the outside of the walkway, scorching it and she watched as the girl fell.
Rage and something Kagome wasn't able to identify welled up within her as she stood, "Is this how you fight a duel in this country?" she turned her fury filled ebony orbs on to the blond, "By involving innocent bystanders with your reckless and destructive actions?"
Storm clouds began to gather above them from out of nowhere as thunder crashed and lightning flashed as rain began to fall.
Wolfram looked down from the spectacle and saw that Kagome's bangs now shadowed her eyes.
By this point everyone else was now staring at her in surprise or in Celi's case anticipation.
"Your Majesty." Conrad's voice was barely a whisper.
"Not only did you refuse to accept your defeat when the terms of the match were clearly explained to you and thusly dragged this country's own traditions through the mud," her hair gained a more wild look to it as her pupils became slits, "an innocent has paid the price for your childish actions. And yet you still desire victory; what petty, selfish greed. You coward, you dare call this a proper duel?! " Wolfram could only stand in stunned silence as she continued to speak, "You're a pigheaded fool who would trample a pretty flower as though it were nothing but a lowly worm."
The blond managed to find his voice, "Uh, wait a minute-"
But she cut him off, "You don't have to worry though, death is too light a punishment, but you will pay for what you have done!"
The water from the ground sprang upwards and gathered at Kagome's out stretched palms before trailing up into the sky and forming twin water dragons that then descended from the sky and ensnared Wolfram who cried out in fear as they constricted him, "Let go of me, please!"
When the ravenette ignored him he tried again, "Let go of me!"
"Wolfram Von Bielefeld, I hereby command you to change your ways, know that I will be merciful as long as you repent." and with that she fainted, causing the water dragons to disperse and Wolfram to fall painfully on his rear.
xxXxxXxxXxx
Kagome groaned as her eye's fluttered open, 'Where am I?' she looked around a bit until her eyes full on a relieved looking Gunter by her side, 'That's right, I'm in the Great Demon Kingdom.'
She then began to sit up when Gunter's hands rested on her shoulder and back, "Easy your Majesty, allow me to assist you."
She smiled at the silver haired man, "I'm fine Gunter. How long was I out for?"
"Three days."
The ravenette's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow, no wonder I feel so refreshed."
"I was terribly worried about you."
She smiled warmly at him, then remembered the maid and what happened after the poor girl fell, "That's right, what happened to the girl from before?"
Gunter's heart warmed at their Queen's worry and compassion, "Ah yes, she's one of our maids, Doria. Fortunately there's no threat to her life. She should be able to get back to work within a few days."
Kagome sighed in relief, "That's good to hear."
"Gwendal had the foresight to cover her with a magic barrier." Gunter explained.
The raven haired Queen blinked in surprise, "He did?"
It was then that a flash of blond caught her attention and she looked over to see Wolfram staring at her from his place next to one of the windows.
When her eyes met his he turned away with a huff and his nose in the air.
'Seems like someone is still sore about what happened. I have a feeling that things are only going to get more hectic from here on out.'
xxXxxXxxXxx
I'm sorry to those of you who asked for a Kagome/Conrad pairing, but I love the original pairing for the anime and since we have Queen Kagome instead of King Yuuri, I wanted to keep the romance. Also to the reader who asked to keep the slap out of the story, again I'm sorry, but it's also an integral part of the story, having the duel without it doesn't make much sense to me. T-T
I hope that no one is too disappointed and that you continue to read my stories.