Kagome looked around the rustic space. The two demon males looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and disapproval. She recognized Sesshomaru he sat to his fathers left and frowned deeply at her arrival. The elder of the two though invited her closer.
" Inuyasha, who is this woman, by Sesshomaru's reaction I see she is no stranger to you. Why have I not come across her before." the king asked looking at his youngest son with more then curiosity, he had never seen his son look at the demon women around the keep and neither had he joined the others in the human villages during the raids. This was unexpected to say the least but then again his son was an expert in the unexpected.
Inuyasha nodded understanding what his father wanted from him. He stepped closer with her in tow and bowed showing his respect. " father, this woman is an old friend of mine, she has been living on the coastal lands with her family for the duration of the war. She has returned and I wish to make my intentions known." he said confidently.
His father snorted. " so you have. Tell me girl, what is your name... and do you wish to be mated to my youngest son." he looked at Kagome who was trembling. She jumped when he addressed her and struggled to find the words.
" i-uh my name is Kagome. I love your son" she stammered and Inuyasha smiled at her admission.
" do you know what a mating between a human and demon is child." Sesshomaru sighed annoyed he knew the girl had no idea and smirked. " its a sharing of power. What kind of power can you contribute as a puny human?" he looked on with disapproval clear in his gaze.
" watch it Sesshomaru." Inuyasha started growling. Kagome swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat.
" what are you, human that you dare to encroach on our bloodline." he snarled earning a calming gesture from his father and he settled back down, his point made.
Kagome was getting angry, she hadn't known that Inuyasha was the son of the demon king but she was not common herself. Standing with the confidence of some one of her upbringing she straightened her shoulders " I am the eldest daughter of the lord of the central territories, I do not come here to take from you, I do not need your wealth or your power." she glared daggers at Sesshomaru who was now regarding her with interest.
" son do you know whom you have brought into our home?" the king asked rubbing his brow. Inu no Taisho felt his blood pressure rise and he thought about the vacation time that he was due from his sons. He growled low and met his sons fiery eyes. He groaned inwardly and resigned himself for another war. Thinking about it he did a mental inventory of his soldiers and weaponry.
" I didn't know father, but I my mind is made up. I want this woman." he said sure. He almost heard the groan his father was trying to mask with a growl and smiled.
" you know what kind of headache your giving me Inuyasha. I am not pleased with your choice. It was enough that our population is diminished from the war and the humans are near extinct in these parts." inu no Taisho looked at both the woman and his son in front of him and shook his head. He saw the wheels turning in his sons expression and braced himself for whatever reason he though up this time to justify the trouble he was bringing to them. Wait for it-
" that is exactly why this will work. Father if we mate then for the first time since I was born there will be a human here, we can pave the way for a new alliance, just give us a chance." he said urging his father to agree. Amber eyes locked and it was a battle of wills.
There. The eldest inu thought carefully for what seemed like an eternity before he nodded. " you have my blessing-. Inuyasha. Where are you going?" he asked surprised. Inuyasha had abruptly turned around and was dragging Kagome away.
" we have to go see her father now. So I can either break her engagement, or break her intendeds legs." he called over his shoulder at the last moment.
" Inuyasha!" his father growled. "she has an intended! What are you trying to do restart the war?" his father growled getting angry all over again. Inuyasha waved and promised not to do anything rash as he threw her over his shoulder and ran out of the palace and far from his fathers wrath.
He wondered if his son even cared about getting his blessing. Probably not. Looking at his elder son, who smugly crossed his arms and politically hid the smirk that threatened to break his stoic mask. He growled and cursed the lax discipline of his youngest son.
" don't say it-" Taisho growled.
" I told you he'd be the one to start the next war." Sesshomaru got up and walked out of the throne room. There was an amused gate to his walk that made his father growl annoyed at his elder sons' caviler attitude. Both of his sons needed a good beating.
It was a long time before he stopped. Kagome was ill and when her feet touched the ground she stumbled and grabbed a hold of him nearly wretching.
" whoa easy there, I got you." he said and picked her up.
" what has just happened." she said looking at him. He stared at her trying to figure out if she was mad at him or not. " my father is a shogun, your father is a demon king, they hate each other. How are we going to be together when our families are at war." Kagome said. She had managed not to cry during this entire ordeal but alone with Inuyasha she couldn't help the worry that had begun to eat at her.
" don't worry about them, father gets angry with me but hes not going to let anything happen to endanger us, he likes you, he just doesn't know what to do about your father, or your intended." he shrugged and tried to lighten her mood. She sniffed.
" do you?" she asked
Inuyasha was quiet for a moment. " I wont let anything stand between us, consequences be damned." he said not making her happy but answering her question. He would kill them if he had to. She shifted not knowing how she felt about it, she had been in fear of her father since her mother passed away, he had been depressed and reclusive and not above hitting her when she disappointed him. His wife was a tyrant herself and they had raised their son to become his heir leaving her aside to marry off to the richest suitor.
Lord Hojo was a loudmouthed man with a deviancy for pain. She had been dreading their union since it was announced. Her father had agreed because of his families bordering lands and the wealth of the trade routs that ran through their property. He himself was too eager to join, she suspected that he wanted to hurt her they way the rumors say, and the disappearances reinforced all of the suspicions she held, she had even lost a hand maiden from her court that had turned up beaten to death in his palace after just a few weeks. She had mourned the loss of the sweet girl.
Inuyasha watched her with a sense of knowing, he felt her fear and her anxiety as though it were his own. " I'm not going to let anyone hurt you Kagome, with me you are truly safe from any one, demon or human." he vowed and took her hand in his own. Raising it to his lips he kissed it.
Her heart spiked and she felt the warmth in her fingers where he had kissed them. Nodding she did not want to reveal her fears to him, yet. She wanted to know him like she had when they had been children. She smiled and squeezed his hand before letting it go and smiling playfully at him. Jumping back she grinned " I bet I can still outrun you." she laughed and took off.
Inuyasha laughed out and pursued her. She ran laughing and felt his presence just behind her like when she was young, and knew he was faster then her but held back so they could play longer. He fought the instincts threatening to end their game early, He wanted to grab her to continue this game wrapped in each others arms in a passionate embrace. He could feel her heartbeat, She was within his reach, wanting to be caught but not understanding the feelings she was experiencing. He felt her curiosity, the longing for the easy days of their youth, and he wanted it too.
Kagome tripped and before she hit the ground Inuyasha tumbled over her and caught her too him shielding her from the impact. She laughed and wrestled with him remembering how much fun she had as a child. He looked up at her beautiful smile and her eyes looking at him with joy and turned over pinning her to the ground.
" what happened, you always used to let me wi-" she was silenced with a kiss, he was overwhelmed with his need to feel her close to him. It was almost too much. Inuyasha was fighting his predatory nature, she was unaware of his struggle to restrain himself and maintain his control until the treaties were worked out, but she had appealed to his beast by acting as prey and fleeing from him, and then fighting him when he caught her. His human heart held him back but the demon in him wanted to claim her then and there. "win." she finished when he pulled back. She licked her bottom lip and he nearly took her mouth again.
He needed to get himself under control, taking a breath he smiled. " I wanted to win this time." he panted and she smiled unaware of the danger she was in. his claws itched to grab her, he could feel the heavy breaths against his neck and chest and growled liking the closeness they shared. She smiled and felt her cheeks stain red seeing the desire in his eyes and feeling his growl rumble through her.
" fair enough." she laughed making a joke of their situation and waited for him. " Inuyasha, are you going to let me up?" she snorted and pecked him on the chin making it even harder. He smiled a lazy, confident, smile and breathed in her scent and nodded.
"i am," he struggled and reluctantly moved off of her. " I don't want to but for your sake I will." he did stand and held out his hand to help her. She took his hand gratefully, looking at his broad shoulders and strong arms she admired him blushing. He felt her appraisal and only sightly wondered if her was up to her standards. He wasn't as tall or broad as Sesshomaru, though he had striven to overcome his brother during his growing years. He smiled when she did not take her eyes off of him blushing. " like what you see, Kagome?" he chuckled making her tear her eyes off of his chest. She stammered and huffed.
" I never said that I didn't" she said defensively. " I was just looking, you are a lot bigger then you used to be, its strange." she crossed her arms and eyed his arms once more. He flexed looking for the reaction, she gasped and swatted his arm. And he swept her up taking her in his arms and carrying her away " you are encouragable," she grumbled.
" I never said I wasn't." he smirked making her huff again and cross her arms. She did smile though and her laughter filled his spirit and drove his feet closer to her fathers castle. Inuyasha was glad to have her with him, in his arms trusting his strength to see them through to the end of the journey. Kagome drifted to sleep in his arms and he walked in near silence for a while thinking about the time he had spent waiting for this moment. The days spent in front of the statue of the great priestess had taught him to revere her malevolent gaze. The other statues didn't share that kind of resonance, like she truly had been frozen in time there. He doubted it, thought that there might be a spirit inhabiting the stone or vines that shrouded her. Her gentle snores brought his attention back to her face. He brushed back the bangs from her eyes and stared at her calm features.
She had grown too, she was not the round faced child he remembered, this woman in his arms was long and lean with the shape of a woman. Her face was etched in regal lines of her jaw and soft curves of her cheeks and brow making her look every much the princess she was. He had been bewildered when she had walked through the garden gate, she was not what he had expected, she was so beautiful, so grown up, that it had saddened him that he had missed so much time with her.
" Inuyasha," she whispered in her sleep, he stopped and his ears perked froward. She is dreaming about me. He thought smiling again to himself. " don't go... no father" she began to struggle. He stopped and held her thrashing body, trying to keep her from hurting herself. She cried and gasped coming awake and trying to bolt.
He watched angered at her terror, he felt the urge to shove her fathers head through a wall. Gently though he stroked her face trying to calm her down. " Kagome, I wont let any one hurt you." he promised taking the side of her face in his clawed hand. She nodded though her heart was still beating out of control. The dream had felt real, she was shaking feeling the weight and disappointment of her fathers stare. The impact of his fist and worst the endless nights locked away in her chamber waiting for her fathers anger to subside enough for him to let her out. Sometimes it was days. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried not to share her fears. Tucking them away she straightened up and took a breath.
Inuyasha could feel her whirlwind emotions, he had been able to tell her fear of her father, he wanted to press the matter and find out why, but she had closed herself off to him, he saw her mental barriers clearly intact and left it alone for a moment.
Kagome took a moment to herself and calmed down. She still didn't look Inuyasha in the eye. She was shamed that her dreams would reveal so much out of her control. Inuyasha had been hanging back and allowing her some space, she looked shaken. He guessed from years of abuse by her reactions, he had seen many cases like this through the villages, but not many had been nobles, the fear and anxiety were evident markers, he wished that he cold get her to talk to him, get her to share some of the burden she was carrying in her soul.
They walked in silence for the rest of the afternoon, she was shying away from him, his temper flared, but not at her. He wanted to hold her and caress away her fears, but in her current state that might cause her to bolt from him. He settled for touching her hand every once in a while to assure her that he was there for her.
" Kagome, there is a neutral village ahead. This is the territory of the human, though demons may pass through." he pointed to the light in the coming twilight. She looked at the light of the city and glanced at him.
" pass through? You mean your not coming?" she asked as though it were silly for him to stay.
" this is the shogun Sensuke's land, my father has a pact with them but he and I have never seen eye to eye." he shrugged. " there is no reason you shouldn't sleep in a bed tonight, just because of me." he said and pushed her toward the village. Kagome looked back at his smile she could not believe what was happening.
" I'm not going to that village!" she said making him cringe with the stubbornness he heard in her voice. She raised her chin defiantly and dug her heels into the dirt. " I am going where you are going. Don't try to be rid of me!" she said accusing him. He growled.
" I'm not trying to ditch you. I don't want you to sleep out here. " he grimaced when she huffed and crossed her arms. Sighing he saw no way around her will except to throttle her, he didn't think that would get them any where. " fine Kagome," he slumped.
Inuyasha made a small resting place along the dirt road that lead to the village. He made sure they were far enough from it that travelers would not disturb them. Turning to her he saw the anxiety in her, wondered if she didn't want to be alone in the village, which was why she didn't want to leave him. He frowned. There was something going on that she hadn't mentioned, and it was keeping her awake.
He watched her try to sleep for hours. She rolled and tossed looking for comfort but only getting frustrated and sitting up grumbling and exhausted. He folded his arms and smelled the helpless tears that streamed down her face. " Kagome." he said and approached her. She looked up at him after hurriedly wiping her eyes and clearing her throat to hide her tears. He frowned.
" you haven't slept at all, Kagome." he said and came to sit next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and held on to his arm. Sniffling she sought comfort he was willing to give her. He held her against him cradling her as she held on to him like a lifeline. " what has happened that you are so afraid?" he asked hoping she wouldn't fight him. He felt helpless, fighting an unknown enemy, something that scared her awake and made her tremble even with his strength beside her.
" I am worried about the way my father will react to our joining. If he is displeased there will be nothing that I can do to stop his wrath." she shuddered and grasped his sleeve in her clenched fist.
" so what if hes mad, its your life Kagome," he said making her gasp shocked.
" how can you say that, you are a prince yourself and are bound by loyalty and blood." she looked up at him wondering if he was serious.
" so what if I'm a prince, my father does not control my life, I live as I wish. What would be so bad about not fulfilling your obligations to them and just being happy?" he asked, she shook her head.
" I have disobeyed my father-" she said and the color drained out of her face and she shut down. Inuyasha got angry and made her look at him.
" what did he do?" he pressed and Kagome shied away. He growled and as she tried to struggle free and avoid this. Instinct took him. He felt her defiance and grabbed her as she stood out of his arms and pulled her back and held her to him. He growled, a predator in that moment. She shook like the prey she was in that moment and he made his demand known, again.
" it isn't that big of a deal, and its not every day, but the beatings are... harsh and I hate to be locked in my chamber, its normal punishment though so I shouldn't be so..." she bit back the tears and recited the she had told herself to get by with the crushing depression. Inuyasha stilled. He felt rage in his stomach, was beginning to see red when he heard the soft cries from the woman in his arms. She was ashamed of what she had become. She was afraid, she knew and Inuyasha did not deserve to deal with her instability.
" I'm sorry," she sniffed
" why are you apologizing." he growled.
Is he mad? She thought and swallowed the lump in her throat. " I did not mean to burden you with my troubles." she tried and was met with an enraged growl.
" he hurts you Kagome! You don't have to apologize for being hurt." he insisted and turned to her, he brushed her hair out of her face and feathered his thumb down the side of her neck raising goose bumps in its wake. She took a few steadying breaths. " I will not give you back to that bastard. He will not stand between us, nothing will." he made his statement a truth in his heart and braced himself for the emotional waves that were sure to come on this journey. They were still two days out of the coastal plateau and three days from her fathers palace. With this time he wanted to repair some of the damage that her father had inflicted on her soul.
" I want to believe you, Inuyasha, but the treaty was signed, I am engaged to lord Hojo, and he will be coming after us." she sighed. " forgive me for dragging you through all this." she apologized again out of habit.
" not one more time, Kagome. Don't you apologize one more time. I am a demon, and I am also a man, I don't do what I do not want to do and I decided years ago that no matter what you were mine." he was about to call war down on her fathers head and he would not hide behind his walls and palace guard again. This time it was personal. He watched the mixed emotions flicker across her face and she swallowed back the fear that threatened to consume her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly. " you are my mate, Kagome. I will not loose you." he grumbled against her lips.
" I love you, Inuyasha." she closed her eyes as he descended on her again taking her to the ground and laying her across the cloth of his haori she had been using as protection from the ground. Settling above her he rested his weight on his elbows and nuzzled her neck and jawline earning small gasps and sighs. He wanted her, not just sexually. The sadness in her soul cried out to him to soothe her worries, to help her to obtain the compassion that she had yearned for growing from child to adulthood. Her spirit was subdued, yearning to be freed from the fear she had lived in for so long. He caressed her hair and kissed her soft lips loving the way she wanted him. Her small hands gingerly sought him. Touched his arms and ran up his shoulders. He groaned feeling the anticipation for pleasure and tried to reign in his excitement without much luck.
Kagome breathed shallowly trying to keep the want she had for this closeness at bay. Her treacherous hands betrayed her, drawn to his body like magnets, she felt her breath catch when his fang scraped her throat. Groaning she felt his need of her pressed firmly against her low stomach. Need and self preservation battled within her making her gut clench in guilt and shame. She wanted him, she tried to deny it, and yet wanted so badly to be able to run away from the fear and dread that held her heart.
" let go of your fear, I will never leave you, I will not hurt you." he promised kissing her at each pause. She gasped feeling overwhelmed with emotion. He was fanning the embers that threatened to become a raging inferno within her. He sucked in a hard breath and paused feeling her press into him wanting the closeness as he did. Inuyasha felt her heat and shifted his knee between her legs not being able to stop himself from reacting to her need. Pressing his knee into her center he felt her gasp and shift against him trying to relieve the slow ache that started from her center. Feeling the warmth of her body through her cloths he held a deep breath while she tentatively explored his back and thighs. She moved against his knee pressing her sensitive spot on the firmness of his thigh and trying to stop herself from shaming herself further with these wanton feelings. She didn't understand why this had overwhelmed her, his closeness, his need. She was an adult, she knew about the things between a man and a woman from lessons and stories that spoke of love and passion, but feeling firsthand his aggressive want of her was nothing like what she had read about, and treaty be damned she wanted him too.
" I cant-" she protest turned to a moan as he jerked his knee into her jolting her body like an electric shock. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Above them a screech owl sounded an eerie call, and soared through the night. There was a horse and buggy traveling down the road. Mens' voices could be heard. They were hushed but arguing over the welfare of a woman.
" she has to be here, she's just one idiotic woman, where could she hide in this forest, she cant even find her way through the forest. Her father assured me that she was simple and thus incapable of escaping our arrangement."
" but sir, the lady Kagome has expressed... displeasure in hr engagement to you. Don't you think maybe there is some one else who might also want the lords daughter?" the unidentified man said in a hushed voice. Inuyasha froze, listening to the hushed voiced he guessed were the lord Hojo and his man servant. Kagome was trembling below him, she heard them too. Slowly they passed.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome and she let go of the breath she had been holding. Bringing her hand up to rub the weariness out of her eye she took slow gulping breaths to calm the hysteria before it could escape. "that was the lord Hojo voice. He is coming after me as I warned." she whispered.
Inuyasha grinned a wide cocky grin and rested on his elbows above her. " I dare him to interrupt us now." he said and kissed her passionately. Kagome was swept away in the feel of his hard body against her soft one. he held her against him, moving against her, trying so very hard to become her lover through the worry and fears of people who'd hurt her in the past. She grasped his shoulders welcoming the warmth of his embrace. He had caught the scent of that lord and stored it in his archive, he would deal with this intended who thought Kagome was a pretty ornament for his bed. The man had blood on him, the blood of women surrounded him and he'd be damned before he allowed him any where near Kagome. Her breath caught when he dragged his knee away from her and sank into her, pressed intimately against her.
" we must stop, its too much." she gasped feeling her entire body turn crimson with embarrassment and shame.
" stop what?" he said pressing into her.
Kagome cut her eyes at him feeling the pressure and not liking the way her body stood at the edge of an inferno. " we cannot be together yet, my father will put me to death." she struggled against unmovable limbs that did not let go of her.
" Kagome, you have something all wrong. I'm not going to your fathers palace to ask him for his permission." he said stilling her struggling, she looked up at him curiously but remained silent. " I am going to show him that he has no power to destroy people. That you, deserve some one who will protect you and love you. I will not allow this man the right to say yes or no to our being together."
" what? Can you do that, he has an entire army at his disposal." she gasped.
" I wont allow him to separate us. My father also has armies, but I don't think it will come to that, especially if I kill that Hojo man before we ever arrive." he shrugged and it peeked his interest when she did not react as he expected with sadness or grief for a dead human. She just looked at him and nodded. Her eyes gave him a chill that ran down his spine, this man must be a beast to not warrant the sympathy from Kagome's loving heart. He would find out, and then he would assure that he never hurts another woman.
Inuyasha did not allow her to roll away from him when he removed himself from over her, grabbing her waste he laid behind her and pulled her to his chest, spooned against his body. Using his arm as a pillow Kagome rested against him, done fighting the stubbornness of this inu male. She was worried still, listened for the hoof beats and buggy that would bring lord Hojo right to them. She shifted trying to fight the pull of sleep and warmth, thought about the day after tomorrow when she would have to face her father.
" stop." Inuyasha grumbled and she looked back at his closed eyes and regretted waking him. Instead of apologizing she sighed and settled down and was silent. Within moments Kagome closed her eyes and succumbed to the pull of sleep. For the first time since she had left her coastal palace she slept, but not with the anxious foreboding slumber that was interrupted by the sound of her locking door. It was safe, silent and when she opened her eyes, she could not remember when she had fallen asleep.
Inside the village on a narrow street the sounds of a woman's cries could be heard softly praying for the pain to stop. She was bound, hands and wrists tied together, with the glittering eyes of what she thought had been a handsome young lord upon her. He walked around her and she trembled. It had turned so quickly, one moment he was convincing her of his dazzling palace and her place with him, and then he had her away from everyone, and she had willingly gone. He withdrew a knife and drew a line down her chest, clicking his tongue he shook his head.
"hmm from a distance you reminded me of some one, but as I get a better look you are not the one that I want." he sighed and waved the knife in an exasperated gesture, she winced and held her breath not daring to breath with the blade so close.
" please let me go, I do not know the woman, I am only a farmers daughter-" she was cut short by the blade that buried in her neck. She gurgled and the fear overwhelmed her as what started as a smirk widened into a full grin and he laughed aloud as the life force drained from her eye sand she lay still.
Lord Hojo let her fall to the dirty street and he stepped over the blood that ran as a river from her body. His man servant was there waiting at the edge of the ally way with a towel for his hands and a new buggy ready to return to their inn.
" my lord there is an onsen here in the city I've heard is renowned in the area." the servant bowed to his master and watched as his black boots walked away from him towards the buggy. Hurrying to catch him he opened the door and followed him in. sitting across from him he watched the cold stare that glazed over him, he always had it when he killed the young women. It was a sickness, and addiction and he supported his masters instability. It was a lifestyle that he was accustomed to, his family had always served his family, they had grown up together. They had seen everything together as master and servant. Now he watched as his master sought one woman whom had peeked his interest and had eluded him as so few had been able to do. He knew it vexed the confidant man in front of him. They had made a game of getting his way, it was either that or the dark spiraling nights of drinking would drive him to fight and destroy himself in drunken brawls and self mutilation. No he could not go back to that brand of darkness. This one, killing the whores and easily swayed women was nothing to weep about. They made their bed with the lives they led. He was in the business of keeping his master happy. He would do anything for him.