Chapter 4: The Dinner
That night Sango helped Kagome get ready for the dinner date.
"Can you believe I won!" She giggled. Sango was happy for her. Yes they were both trying to win the heart of Inuyasha but Sango had eyes for someone else. He had made an inappropriate gesture toward her, but apologized and gave her a bouquet of flowers. She couldn't stay mad at him. But she was happy for Kagome, because whether she knew it or not Inuyasha was a perfect match for her.
"I know! If only he knew how many tournaments you won." Sango smiled and chuckled at the thought of Inuyasha knowing she was way more skilled that she looked.
"Hahahaha let's promise to never let that fact be told to him." Sango nodded her head in agreement.
"Alright looks like you are ready to go!"
Kagome didn't want to wear a fancy dress. She hated dresses anyway. They made it hard to run and move when needing to protect herself. She had a bodice made to drape down like a dress but the front was completely cut out from the waist down. She wore a pair of black pants with high heels. The draped fabric was the color red with white flowers trailing up the back and across her stomach. The bodice was off the shoulder sleeve. She looked stunning. She slightly curled her hair but let it fall in waves down her back.
Kagome walked across the room to check herself in the mirror.
"Damn I look hot!" They both giggled. But that's when they heard something from the garden out the balcony doors. Kagome walked over to the balcony door. Out in the court yard was a woman.
"Wow she looks a lot like you." Sango was not lying. The woman had the same hair and body type. But there was something about her that Kagome didn't trust or like.
That's when they saw Izayoi come out of the palace.
"YOU! You need to leave now! You are not welcome here!" She was shouting. Kagome was amazed that such a woman like Queen Izayoi would shout at that level. That's when King Inutaisho came out of the palace hearing the ruckus.
His eye began to glow red.
"You have no right to show your face here. Your lucky my mate is here or I would shred you where you stand."
Kagome couldn't hear much anymore because the conversation moved farther away from the balcony. Her and Sango went downstairs, they were both curious at who this woman was. They ran into Miroku before they could make the courtyard doors.
"Hey there. Wow, Kagome you look great!" Kagome thanked him quickly then moved by him.
"Hey where's the fire?" Sango looked at him and motioned for him to follow them to the courtyard window. Miroku was puzzled with the girls behavior. He moved to look at the window from over Sango's shoulder.
"Who is that Miroku?" Kagome asked. Miroku took a sharp inhale.
"Shit! How did she get in the courtyard?" Miroku moved away from the window.
"Who is it?" Sango tried the question again. Miroku looked panicked. The girls were even more curious.
"That's Kikyo. The princess that Inuyasha once courted. He was pretty much in love with her. He caught her one day talking to a friend that she….." He stopped when he saw Inuyasha's reflection in the window. Miroku whipped around with a sharp heal.
"Inuyasha...NO!" He got between Inuyasha and the courtyard door. He was pushing him back which took a lot of force.
"How dare she be here!" Inuyasha began to growl. The girls could see he was pissed off at the woman.
"Man she isn't worth it. Look your parents are out there taking care of it. You don't need to worry about it." Miroku just wanted to get him away from the door.
When she noticed that nothing Miroku said meant anything to him, Kagome stepped up. "Inuyasha? Would you like to leave for dinner?" Inuyasha turned around furious but the moment he saw her he became calm. He didn't say a word but answered with a nodd of his head. She grabbed his hand and waved at her friends. Miroku took in a breathe he didn't know he was holding.
"Do you think he will be ok with her?" Sango asked Miroku as they walked away.
"If I know that silence from Inuyasha, he won't wont be able to think about anything but Kagome." He then put his hand on the small of her back. "How about we get a bite to eat?" Sango nodded and walked in the direction he guided her to.
The couple walked for a long time around the palace, not talking but just enjoying eachothers company. Kagome was the first to break the silence when they came upon a valley filled with orchid trees. They were all in bloom. To Kagome it was spectacular. She giggled and began to run. She got a little ways from Inuyasha when she twirled around back to him. She made the fallen petals swirl around her as she moved.
"They're all so beautiful!" She was so excited. Inuyasha could help but smirk at her joy. It was cute. But his mind wouldn't stop wondering back to why Kikyo was at the castle. She made it quite clear that she did not want him. He looked at Kagome and thought that she had to want to know who that woman was. 'Why wasn't she prying to find out?' He thought.
"They really are. My dad had these planted along time ago for my mother. She loves it when the valley is in complete bloom." Kagome smiled at this fact.
"That is romantic! How long have they been together?" Kagome was curious because his mother was human and his father was demon. Has she lived as long as him?
"About 40 years." Kagome had moved back to him.
"Wow! That's amazing! I have to ask though. Is your mom going to live like a...normal human? Or does she get some demonic aging qualities from being with your father?" She just was thinking that it would be a sad day when she gets old and her mate looks the same and has barely aged a day. Or heaven forbid the day she passes.
"When my parents mated my mother adapted a bit of the longer life span." Kagome exhaled softly the breathe she didn't realize she was holding.
"Good! They are too good for each other not to have a good long life together." She had a genuine smile on her face. Inuyasha had never met a person that had their heart on their sleeve like she did.
There was a long silence as the began to walk up hill filled with cherry blossom trees. Inuyasha had to ask.
"Are you going to ask me?" Kagome's soft smile subsided into a more serious look.
"Only if you are ready. It seemed to be a painful thing. I know painful things take time to retell." She gave him an understanding smile grace her face. It made his mind have peace. But to be honest he wasn't really ready to tell her. So he nodded his head and the walked a bit more.
"Well how about I honor my agreement." Kagome was glad for a conversation changer.
"Oh yes! One embarrassment!" Kagome giggled as she walked closer to him. Her scent was intoxicating.
Inuyasha started his story and Kagome listened to every detail. He never had a woman want to hear what he was saying with so much enthusiasm. As he finished his story he couldn't stop feeling in comfortable with this woman. He had never felt comfortable with Kikyo, not like he did with Kagome.
"That's when I ran out of the palace completely naked and my brother's wife saw everything. To this day I can't make eye contact with her." She laughed an infectious laugh that made him laugh at himself.
"Oh my kami! I can't wait to meet this woman to ask her questions!" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.
"And what pretell are you going to ask." She placed a hand over her mouth to silence a laugh.
"Oh nothing." She gave him a cheap big smile. He then poked her, "Hey now that's not fair!"
She poked him back, "Well a lot of things aren't fair." She giggled as he poked her again. He found a tickle spot which made her yelp in a giggle.
"OH no, no more." She started to back away. "Oh I think so." He walked to her as she backed away. Then she turned and ran through the orchids. He followed and caught up to her pretty quick. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up. She yelped again and then laughed that infectious laugh. He caught himself off balance and brought her down on top of him as they went to the ground. As they hit the ground Kagome was quick to get her weight off him. "I'm so sorry! Are you ok?"
"Feh, I'm half demon, a human like you couldn't hurt me."She smacked his chest.
"No need to be mean." She laid her head down on his chest, his hand automatically went to playing with her waterfall hair. It was so natural for him. He had never had that with anyone.
They were there for a few moments just in silence looking up at the clouds, it was close to sunset so the clouds were staring to turn colors. Inuyasha thought how easy it was to be with Kagome. Yes this was the first time they had been alone with each other. But she was the first person he had an instant connect from with just her voice. It was easy to talk to her. So he decided he wanted to know what she think of the story of him and Kikyo.
"She broke my trust in the worst way." Kagome was taken aback for a moment before having a moment of understanding that she was finding out about the mysterious woman.
She didn't say anything but she did prop herself up so she was able to see his face.
"She told a friend when she thought they were alone that she never wanted me. That she would have married me just to get my families money. And that if we were to marry… she would never have my kids because... because I'm a hanyou." He took a deep breathe. Kagome hated to see him like this. "She didn't like the fact that I was half demon."
Kagome gave a sickening look. Here this made her stomach drop. In her kingdom all life matters. There are plenty of orphan hanyous that were in their situation because people like that woman saw that they were a disgrace. She once saw an entire village stone a 4 year old little girl just because she was a hanyou. Now that little girl works in her palace under her protection.
"That's ridiculous."Kagome shook her head and placed it down on his chest. "I can understand and sympathize with you over your anger over her."
"What do you think?" Inuyasha truly wanted her opinion on him being half demon.
"On what?" He adjusted himself making her to lean up. He propped himself on his elbows and looked at her.
"What do you think about me being hanyou?" He watched her face closely. It never changed.
"I don't." She simply stated. She didn't think about it. He was a person regardless. He was had feeling and a heart like the rest of us. He couldn't control being born the way he was.
Inuyasha was shocked with her answer. She was everything he asked for so far. She wasn't intimidated by him, she could hold her own when arguing with him, and she didn't care he was a hanyou.
Now Kagome wanted the light hearted conversation back. This was her time with him and she didn't want it over run by a woman like that.
"Ok so tonight you told me something embarrassing about you. Want to hear something about me?"
"Sure…" Kagome began to slightly blush. He moved a stray hair away from her face.
"I desperately want to touch your ears. Can...can I?" She blushed and looked down. Inuyasha chuckled and looked down at her.
"You have 5 seconds." She looked at him with big eyes.
"REALLY?!" She had her thousand-watt smile.
"Feh, better do it before I change my mind." He humphed with a smirk and looked away.
Kagome reached up and twitched them a couple of times.
"Oh they are so soft!" Inuyasha had a smile on his face. He had a real genuine smile.
"Wow, you get cuter when you smile!" Kagome said aloud. She dropped her hands from his ears and covered her mouth.
But it was too late, he had heard. Snapping his head to face her, their eyes connected. It was a matter of seconds, but it felt like hours. Inuyasha pulled away and got up off the ground. He wanted to kiss her, but he wanted it to be perfect. He held out his hand for her and helped her up.
"How bout we go to the picnic now." Inuyasha suggested. Kagome was too embarrassed to say a word, she just nodded in agreement. Holding out his hand to help her up, Kagome silently took it.
Inuyasha never let go of her hand. She was thankful that she didn't ruin the night with her comment.
As they got closer to the top of the hill he let go over her hand and slipped his arm around the middle of her back guiding her up the path. They got to the top and the view was beyond words. It was sunset and the purples, reds, yellows, and blues mixed together in a swirl of mosaic paints. There were two tall trees that framed the sight, nature's own touch. There was a blanket laid under the two trees with candles and food. The couple sat and ate in a comfortable silence.
Sometime passed and it got darker.
"Ready to head back?" Inuyasha asked.
"No not really." She put on a pouting face. He chuckled but stood up from the blanket. He held out his and she gladly took it. He helped her up, which brought her very close to him. That's when he got a good sniff of her scent. A wonderful blend of vanilla and mint. It was just missing something. He wondered the thought as they walked back.
As they made it back the cherry blossom trees he found the missing smell. He stopped which caused Kagome to stop and look at him. Inuyasha went and plucked a flower off the tree. Kagome was confused.
"What's this for?" Kagome asked looking into his eyes. He pushed her hair on one side of her head behind her ear. He tucked the flower behind her ear as well. 'That's what her scent was missing.' Inuyasha was proud of himself.
"To remember tonight." She smiled at him and he smiled back.
He recaptured her hand and they began to walk.
As they arrived at the palace Inuyasha dropped her hand. He guided her into the palace but before she walked away he grabbed her hand once again. What the couple didn't see was Queen Izayoi and King Inutaisho peeking at the couple.
Inuyasha brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
Kagome curtseyed in response.
That's when they heard Inuyasha say. "I'll take you on in any bet." He smirked and she giggled.
"Anytime you want to lose." She winked and walked away, leaving him with a goofy grin on his face.
"Deal." He whispered. Inuyasha walked off in the direction of his room. King Inutaisho and Queen Izayoi chuckled a little to themselves.
"I think it went well." Inutaisho said with a smirk.
"Inutaisho! He smiled! He kissed her hand! He was polite! This one's a keeper!" He giggled and kissed his mate on the cheek.
"Honey calm down." She continued to gabb away down the hall and into their room.
