Chapter 3:
Ice Princess Kagome
Red.
It was all she could see.
The putrid smell of burning flesh and the stench of blood; a mixture of rust and metallic.
It was all she could smell.
Pain-filled cries and agonizing screams filled her ears.
It was all she could hear.
Dead bodies littered the crimson snow.
Humans.
Demons.
Mages.
Elves.
And in the middle of it all stood a girl about the age of eighteen. Her long white dress was ripped and torn on several places, and instead of being the pure white it used to be, it was now the color of the substance that it was drenched in: blood. Her hair that had been neatly braided was now unraveled and was sticking to her sweat covered face. Her rosy cheeks were now pale and covered with dirt and droplets of blood. On her right was a crystallized sword, but instead of sparkling as it should have been, it was dripping with blood. Blood from the people she had killed. People whom she vowed to protect along with people who had threatened to destroy the people she cherished. Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at her surrounding, at the people whom she had ruthlessly killed without a thought. The tears ran down her cheeks as her body rocked with sobs. Her hold on her sword slackened until she dropped it all together, "what have I done?" she whispered brokenly, dropping to her knees and staring at her hands in disgust as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.
"A…Angel," called out a broken voice.
She turned to her right where the voice had come from, and what she saw tore her heart apart into a million pieces and ripped out her soul. The feeling she felt was worse than any physical pain. It was agonizing. "No…" she whispered brokenly while shaking her head in denial, "no," she repeated. The tears began to pour even more, her eyes becoming lifeless as she stared at the golden eyes of her beloved. Eyes that were filled with pain and understanding, she hesitantly reached out her hand to touch him like one who was uncertain on how to touch something so fragile. "I…you…no," she shook her head once more as though hoping that it would somehow rectify what she had done and the image before her would disappear.
He reached out towards her once more.
She hesitated only for a moment before she finally held on to his hand.
"D-don't…cry," he rasped out between pain-filled coughs. Somehow, she had ended up sitting beside his dying body. He reached up to her face and attempted to wipe away her tears, but it was in vain because she refused to stop crying in sadness and hurt. "Angel…please…don't…c-cry…any…anymore."
She shook her head and closed her eyes in desperation.
He caressed her cheeks gently and stared into her tear-filled blue gray eyes.
She covered the hand on her cheeks with her hand and intertwined their fingers, "no…"
"Smile," he requested. She shook her head, "for me?"
She hesitantly smiled a tearful smile, it was small, but it was still a smile, a smile that never touched her eyes.
"Thank you," he lightly smiled. "I…I…love…you…" His eyes closed as his hand went limp in her hand.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"she screamed out to the night sky in agony as snow started to fall.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!" Kagome bolted up into a sitting position on her bed. Her eyes were wide while her pupils were dilated as they darted around the room like she was looking for something. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Ojou-sama!"
"Kagome!"
"Nee-chan!" four distressed calls sounded as the door to her room slammed open as two worried bodyguards, one concerned grandfather and younger brother rushed towards the bed.
"What happened?!"
"Are you hurt?!"
"What's wrong?!"
"Why are you crying?!" The two bodyguards started to look around the huge room for an intruder and found none.
"GRANDFATHER!" exclaimed Kagome as she jumped into her grandfather's open arms. She clung to him desperately as she continued to cry. The others looked at one another, wondering what had happened and what they should do.
Higurashi-san enveloped the obviously upset girl in his soothing embrace. He sent the other three a look that told them to leave him and his granddaughter alone. The three nodded and left the room with one last worried glance at the sobbing girl within her grandfather's safety embrace.
He looked at his shaken granddaughter in hopelessness and ran his fingers through her silky hair soothingly while whispering soothing words to calm her down. "There, there, everything is going to be fine. Grandfather is here now."
She burrowed her face on his chest and tightened her hold on her grandfather.
"Won't you tell me what ailed you?"
She murmured something and her grandfather sighed tiredly. He was a man with great power, but at that moment he felt like the most powerless man on earth. He now knew what had happened. It was that dream again. This happened almost twice a week, but it had never been this bad. Kagome usually snapped out of them quite quickly and her crying had never been this bad. He wondered what had happened in her dream, but he doubted that she would ever tell him. She refused to share with him or anyone else the burdens that she held. It was a form of repentance, she had said.
When her sobbing turned into soft hiccups, he sighed in relief and kissed her forehead.
Kagome slowly let go of her grandfather and wiped her tears away. She blew her nose on the tissue that her grandfather gave her and looked at him gratefully, "Thank you," she whispered while looking down on the ground.
Her grandfather looked at her with soft eyes, understanding that the thank you was not for the tissue but for being there when she needed him. He sighed before slowly getting up from the bed, "there is no need to thank me, dear child." He patted her head fondly and walked towards the room, "I shall tell the cook to prepare your breakfast. Your driver and bodyguards should be ready by the time you have finish eating."
Kagome nodded her head to show that she understood. As the door closed to her bedroom, she got up and looked at the clock. It was five in the morning. She lightly smiled at how well her grandfather knew her. He had known that she would not go back to sleep after what had happened and that she would want to leave the house and drive around the city until it was time for school. It had always been her routine whenever she had one of those dreams or nightmares. It was a way of forgetting the pain and the past. History shall not repeat itself, with new determination, she walked towards her bathroom and got ready for the day beginning with taking a shower and brushing her teeth. I hope you are ready.
Yes, I am, a voice echoed at the back of her head causing her to smile. Thank you.
At school, Inuyasha and his group of friends along with his brother where sitting under the cherry blossom tree that they hang out at every morning, unless it was raining or extremely cold outside. They were waiting for Kagome to introduce her to Sesshomaru.
Inuyasha glanced at his brother and inwardly chuckled. His brother was not acting like himself. It was just a simple change in his normally stoic face, but since he was family and probably the only one besides his mother and father to see the other side of Sesshomaru, he was able to see the tiny sparkle in his brother's eyes as they waited for Kagome. He was obviously excited to see the girl who he viewed as his little sister once more.
Sesshomaru had to stop himself from grinning like a fool and to not fidget. He was nervous. It has been a long time since he had been able to communicate with Kagome and he hoped that she still remembered him and would still call him aniki or onii-chan like she had called him when she was little.
They all looked up excitedly when they saw the limo entered the gate and stopped near them. When they saw Kagome got out of the limo, Sango, Rin, and Ayame instantly rushed to their friend with huge smiles on their faces, only to end up standing five feet away from her as Kagome walked passed them dismissively towards the building without even glancing at them or giving them a smile like she usually did every morning before classes started.
They stood there, hurt at the obvious brush off from the person they thought was their good friend, their smiles disappearing and replaced by frowns. Their eyes filled with hurt and disappointment. All three of them were wondering if they had done something wrong. They slowly turned around and stared at the back of Kagome's head in confusion. She was just a few paces away from them when she turned around and looked at them, "Oh, by the way, I wish for you to return the book that I lent you during homeroom." She did not even wait for one of the girls to reply to her as she strode out of the courtyard and into the school building without another backward glance.
The three girls sent each other looks of astonishment, "what.a.bitch!" exclaimed Ayame in outrage. She could not believe how Kagome was just acting. She acted like they were not even friends, but dirt under her shoes.
Sango and Rin frowned at her vulgar language, which she completely ignored as she stomped back to where the guys were gaping at the scene they had just seen.
"What just happened?" asked Miroku, scratching the back of his neck as the other two girls sat down next to Ayame.
"Why don't you ask Higurashi?!" snapped Sango, her whole appearance said that she did not want to be bothered as she snatched her book bag from the ground and briskly walked to the school building with Rin and Ayame not too far behind.
"Uh…did I miss something?" Miroku looked at the other three guys, hoping that they had the answer.
They shrugged in reply as Inuyasha frowned and stared at the last place that he had seen Kagome. He was hurt that she had not even said hi to him or even made any eye contact. In fact, the moment she got out of the limo, she had not looked at anyone at all. Did something happen to her while we were away on Friday? He wondered. As far as he knew, Kagome was just fine last Thursday before their mission on Friday. Now, he wondered if something had happened on the day that they were not there.
"There's something bothering her," said Sesshomaru as he also picked up his bag from the floor and strode towards the building to his classroom. He will talk to Kagome next time when she was back to acting herself or the next time he see her.
"Here's your book!" snapped Sango as she threw the book on Kagome's desk when she arrived in the classroom. The girl did not even blink as she continued to read whatever she was reading that time nor did she acknowledged Inuyasha and Miroku's presence when they arrived and sat down on their seats.
I am sorry, she closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, but this is the wish of the princess, so this is what I must do.
All throughout the day, Kagome remained acting like the way she had acted that morning. She ignored Inuyasha and the rest of their friends and acted like she did not know them. In fact, she did not even interact with anyone at all. She did not even talk with anyone; the only time she spoke was when a teacher asked her a question.
At lunch, she just up and disappeared, only to show up during the start of their afternoon classes. Inuyasha had looked for her everywhere in hopes of finding out what was wrong with her. He had hoped that she would be on the rooftop like the first day of school, but she was not there nor was she anywhere in the school when he searched for her.
Later that afternoon, when they were at the Takahashi Mansion for a brief meeting, Sango informed them that she had returned the book to Kagome. They were disappointed when they found out that none of the girls managed to read the book because of the mission that they had found themselves assigned last Friday, and the panic that had spread when Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango had returned injured.
Rin slumped on the couch and sighed glumly, "I can't believe we're back to square one," she crossed her arms like a petulant child who did not get their way.
Ayame walked over to her and plopped down next to her. She wrapped her arm around Rin and put her head on her shoulder. She glanced at Sango and the others and smiled, "cheer up, Rin! I'm sure that if we look harder, we'll be able to find a good enough clue and find her in no time."
Sesshomaru snorted causing everyone in the room to look by the window, where he was standing. "How will you find someone who doesn't want to be found?"
"What do you mean?" everyone looked at him, confused, with the exception of Inuyasha, who had been there when their father and the rest of their commanders were contemplating why it was so hard to find the princess.
"It's just a theory that father and the rest of the elders were contemplating," said Sesshomaru as a way of an explanation.
"And how did you know this?" asked Miroku with a doubtful expression on his face.
"Inuyasha and I were there during their meeting."
"So, what else did they say?"
"Father was contemplating the idea that the princess may already know that she is the princess, but for some reason she doesn't want to reveal herself yet. Tsuki-san suspected that it might be the reason why we can't find anything at all. They said that there were some documents that just mysteriously disappeared from the ISN archives."
"And what do you think about this idea?" asked Sango.
"Who am I to go against their theories?" He looked each one of them in the eye and continued, "as far as I know it could very well be the truth."
"Inuyasha?" they turned to the youngest Takahashi for his opinion. All of them were wondering why he has not spoken yet since they got back from school. It actually looked like he was sulking about something and they had a pretty good idea on what he was sulking about. One would have to be blind not to seeing as he had been in a sour note since that incident with Kagome and it became even more sour when he could not find her and when she refused to talk with him or anyone else at school for that matter.
It seemed like the heiress had a sudden personality change. It was truly very confusing because they had always thought of her as someone who was very nice and not the stuck-up snob they had figured her to be, but now she acted like she was another person, a very stuck-up person who thought and acted like she is better than anyone.
"I'm going to my room," he responded while walking out of the room. The rest of the group stared after him sadly, thinking of how he must be feeling about what had happened that day. After all, he was the closest to Kagome compared to any of them on the month that they had known her. It was the fastest that they had seen Inuyasha trusted someone. They might even dare to think that he felt something towards the heiress.
"I think we should all go back to our houses and forget about what had happened today," suggested Kouga causing everyone to look at him in surprise. "What?" he barked, "I'm not that stupid!" He crossed his arms and huffed out of the room.
"Hmm, he actually said something smart for a change," said Ayame with a giggle. "Come on, we should do what the idiot suggested." She pulled Rin and Sango to their feet.
"We'll see you tomorrow Sesshomaru," the girls and Miroku left the house.
Why are you acting this way, imouto? he thought before heading back to his room and finishing his homework for the day.
Princess? A girl with long raven hair and brown eyes called out through the telepathic bond between them. The girl was looking out into the distance from her balcony.
Yes? A girl with long raven hair that almost reached the ground and blue gray eyes with hints of silver replied. She walked out of her balcony and stared at the glistening moon.
Are you sure of what you are doing? There was a pause as silence answered her from the other end. It's just that, this is causing you to be unhappy…perhaps this is not the best solution to avoid certain events from happening once more.
The other girl closed her eyes and sighed, her hands closed into fists as a single tear roll down her cheeks, Perhaps, but for now I must do this until I am able to find another way or if I cannot handle it any longer. Heiress, what would you have done?
The same, the heiress laughed without humor as she thought of the irony of it all. They may not be related or born to the same family, the girl let out a laugh of irony, because in a way they were born to the same family, but they are just one and the same. Most people would mistake them as twins when the princess was not in her true form, and that was how they were able to do the things they had been able to do without anyone ever figuring it out. It was also how they were able to hide one of them while the other is out in the open.
The princess joined in her sardonic laughter and thought of the same. Perhaps we should have used your name instead.
Hmm, I believe so, but then there would have been a lot more confusion, and many more memories to be modified.
That is true, well… she looked at the position of the moon and sighed, it is time for you to get to bed and prepare for tomorrow.
You are right. High school students are a rowdy bunch. They both laughed, and this time it was laughs that were filled with mirth.
"Kagome?" called out the voice of her grandfather.
"In here, grandfather," she left the balcony and entered her room.
"Ah, there you are." Kagome raised a brow. "I have been looking for you to make sure that you rest tonight. I just left Kikyo's room to make sure that she would rest as well." The old man let out a sigh and rubbed his temples in distress. "The two of you had been in and out and doing things that should be left for the protectors, and it has been causing this old man much worry."
Kagome smiled and walked over to her grandfather and hugged him. "There is no need for your worry. Everything shall be fine," she reassured, kissing her grandfather on the cheek and walking over to her bed. With one last smile to her grandfather, she bid him good night and lied down on her bed.
Higurashi-san just shook his head helplessly and walked out of the room, what am going to do with you two, he thought while a smile replaced the frown on his face. "Good night," he whispered while softly closing the door.
The next day was not any different than the day before. In fact, the air around Kagome was colder than the day before. No one dared to approach the heiress, not even the teachers, at least, not after she had glowered at one of the teacher and stalked out of the room and skipping her classes for the day.
Everyone was in utter shock about Kagome's sudden attitude change. According to some students, the change in Kagome's attitude only happened the day before, and Inuyasha and his group of friends did not find out anything that might have happened when they were not there. To everyone at the school, it seemed like a button had been pressed and had given them the ice princess that was now Kagome.
The ice princess attitude continued on, and as the days passed by, Inuyasha became more withdrawn from his friends and family. They would sometimes see him either gazing at Kagome longingly or gazing pensively into space.
It had been a week since Kagome became withdrawn to everyone and Inuyasha finally snapped. He could not take it anymore! All week, he had been thinking of different reasons of why Kagome was ignoring everyone and acting like the complete snob towards everyone, but he could not come up with anything that might have caused the change in her, and he was seriously very much sick of it. He would never admit it to anyone, but he had missed the calming presence of the girl and her soothing laugh and smile. So when the dismissal bell rang that afternoon, Inuyasha rushed out of the classroom and stood outside the building waiting for Kagome to come out.
Kagome was walking out of the building when she was suddenly grabbed by someone and surrounded by full masculinity. She looked up, only to see that it was Inuyasha. She lightly frowned when she found out that she could not leave his presence because he had his hands on either side of her head. His closeness was causing her to be uncomfortable, ah…okay, move weird boy, she thought pleadingly, her eyes darting around everywhere, but at Inuyasha's eyes, which were intensely glaring at her. Her eyes landed on a silhouette of a girl standing on top of a nearby clock tower and her eyes narrowed in annoyance when she heard an amused giggle at the back of her head. Sure, she's enjoying this…if you wouldn't mind, can you make your lover boy move away from my person? She growled out telepathically. Her eyes remained focus on the figure in the distance, whose long raven hair danced with the wind. She could just imagine the amusement dancing in her eyes as she watched what was happening to her at that moment. She was barely aware that Inuyasha was saying something.
The other girl giggled, why, it is quite enjoyable to watch you struggle for a change and I cannot control a human's actions and will.
Sure you can't.
And besides, Hirois also finding this quite amusing.A figure of a boy suddenly appeared next to the girl. The boy had long black hair that was braided at the nape of his neck and brown eyes that was laughing at the scene before them as he floated next to the princess, who was currently in her guise, so her hair had shorten a bit and her eyes had turned brown.
Sometimes, I wish that the two of you are more jealous. This time she heard two laughter at the back of her head causing her to glower at the figures.
If one lived as long as we have, one learns many important things such as to control certain emotions. One of which is jealousy, besides if there is trust then there is no need for such a petty emotion.
Yeah, yeah, you and your lectures that are filled with wisdom are quite tiresome.
"Are you even listening to me?!" demanded Inuyasha, slamming his fist to the wall next to Kagome's head.
Kagome glanced at him and then went back to staring at whatever she was looking at behind him causing Inuyasha to frown, "and what are you looking at, anyway?!" He quickly turned around and followed Kagome's gaze causing him to miss the flash of panic in Kagome's eyes, which disappeared instantly when she saw the two figures materialized into nothing.
We are not as incompetent as to be caught so easily, the princess admonished. She could just picture the look of disapproval on her face.
Inuyasha frowned when he did not see anything.
"Unhand me, Takahashi-san," her voice was stone cold along with her eyes.
The two stood by the wall and glowered at one another, and it was when they were glaring at each other that Inuyasha realized something. There's something different about her, and I don't mean her attitude. The murmured words of his demon half caused Inuyasha to move away from Kagome and to let her walk away from him. "You're not her," he whispered causing Kagome to stiffen and to abruptly turn around to face Inuyasha, who was already walking away from her.
Her forehead creased with worry as she stared at Inuyasha's back. Could he have possibly figured it out? She turned around and walked to the waiting limousine parked near the gate, all the while thinking about what Inuyasha had said. But how? She nodded at her bodyguards in greeting and proceeded to enter the limousine. Veronica shut the door of the limousine once she had entered the vehicle. She told the chauffer to head to the Higurashi Manor. He can't have known, Kagome reassured herself. She thought for awhile before finally deciding that she would tell the princess about what had happened at once, that is, if she did not already know, after all, she has a way of knowing everything. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes in relaxation and listened to the murmured conversation of her bodyguards.
"That's unsettling," The boy from earlier crossed his arms and stared at the two girls in front of him. His eyes moved from one girl to the next, waiting for one of them to come up with a plan. Hmm, the likeness of their appearances is still unsettling too. The princess should remain in her true form when they are in the same room.
The two girls looked at each other and had to hold back their giggles at the look of confusion that was settling on the boy's face in front of them. They had a very good idea on what he was thinking, and they would bet that the confusion on his face was not the cause of what the Higurashi heiress had just said. Maybe we should stop playing with his head, the heiress looked at the princess.
Hmm, perhaps you are right, but it is far too amusing not to, the princess giggled inwardly. You would think that after all this time, he would be able to tell us apart when I am in this form.
You have too much faith in a boy's ability to think.
The princess shrugged. "Bankotsu, I am the princess and that is your lover," she motioned at the other girl next to her.
Bankotsu sighed in relief and rubbed his forehead. "Thank you."
The two girls giggled.
"Back to business," Kagome straightened herself and looked at Bankotsu and the other girl. "It is as I have feared. Inuyasha's demon half has awakened, and his premature awakening is causing Inuyasha to know certain things that he must not. Kikyo, you saw the way he had been acting all week."
The other girl, now known as Kikyo, nodded in agreement. "What do you think we should do?"
"A visit from the princess is what he needs," Kagome smirked and looked at Kikyo and Bankotsu meaningfully. The other two returned her smirk.
"His demon half is about to get a rude awakening," Kikyo got up from her seat along with the other two.
"Good luck," called out Bankotsu as the three of them disappeared from the spot they were standing on, replaced by a feather, a diamond, and a scale.
Two people stood in the middle of a meadow that was surrounded by cherry blossom trees. All the trees were in complete bloom, which was weird because it was not the season for cherry blossom trees to be blooming. Some of the Sakura petals that had fallen were dancing with the wind around the two figures.
Instead of being winter and the ground being covered by snow, it was the complete opposite, as though it was the middle of spring and every flower that were in the meadow were in complete bloom. There were bunnies jumping around while some were hiding under some bush. Butterflies, bees, and birds were flying around and doing their own thing. The air was very fresh, no hint of the pollution that had been present in the present time since the emergence of many technologies and machineries. In fact, the freshness of the air and the surrounding area felt like it was from a different era, an era when there was no huge buildings, cars, planes, buses, or anything that may cause such pollution or noises. In fact, there was no artificial sound at all, every sound that the two figures could hear was the sound of nature: birds chirping, a running water somewhere in the distance, and some animals doing what they do.
One of the figures was a young man with long silver hair that fluttered behind him, instead of his sclera being white, it was red and his irises were blue. He had blue stripes on his cheeks and fangs were protruding from his mouth. He did not have normal ears; he had dog ears atop his head that twitched every time he heard a noise, and instead of having normal nails, he had claws. He was obviously a dog demon.
The other was a young woman with long raven hair that almost reached the ground that was swaying with the wind and blue gray eyes with hints of silver. She was dressed in a long white gown that fitted her perfectly. Her eyes were gently staring at the demon before her, "Inuyasha." It was softly uttered and would not cause anyone to be startled, but when the dog demon heard it, his body stiffened and caused him to look up abruptly. His heart began to beat rapidly and his breathing picked up.
"Princess?" the word was uttered by someone who did not quite know if what they were seeing was real or a hallucination that their mind has made up in order to appease one's conscious.
She lightly nodded her head and smiled.
He slowly walked towards her, his usually confident strides were gone and replaced by small strides filled with uncertainty. He found it quite unbelievable that his mate was standing before him after all the time that he had not seen or felt her. They were just a few inches away from each other when he halted in his steps. The feeling of uncertainty strengthened within him as he stood there in front of the princess. It might have shown on his face because the next thing he knew, the princess was caressing his cheek, "what is the matter?" She cocked her head to the side and looked at his eyes.
He closed his eyes, basking in the feel of her soothing touch. It had been a few thousand years since he had last felt her touch. A plethora of feelings swept over him, threatening to fill him to the brim and make him explode. He enveloped the small hand that was caressing his cheek with his much larger hand. He intertwined their fingers together and pulled her towards him as his other hand circled around her waist. "Please tell me that this is not just a dream," he murmured. His voice cracking from the overwhelming feeling of exhilaration and the sob that he refused to let out. He nuzzled his head at the crook of her neck and inhaled her sweet scent that had always managed to sooth him.
Her other hand clung to his shirt as though it were her lifetime. She had almost forgotten how it felt to be held in his arms and how she had missed the feeling of security she felt whenever she was in his arms. A tear rolled down her cheeks as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck. "It is not a dream," she reassured. Her voice muffled. She felt wetness on her neck, "are you crying?"
"No."
In spite of it all, she smiled before letting out a giggle. "You have not changed." She lightly pulled away and looked up at him, his hold on her had slackened to allow her to look up at his much taller frame, but he did not let go of her altogether, afraid that if he did, she would disappear from him once again.
"Is it a problem?" he finally smiled, reassured that she would not disappear from him again. He sat down on the grassy meadow and pulled her to sit on his lap. His arms circled around her waist while hers circled around his neck.
She giggled, "no."
"Thought so," he smirked and kissed her on her forehead.
Silence enveloped them as they basked at the glow of the sun and relished the feeling of being together once more.
"Inuyasha."
"Hmm?"
"I wish to speak with you about something." The seriousness in her voice caused him to look at her and his hold to slacken.
"What is it?" he prompted when she did not continue.
"I…" she looked down. She was nervous about what she was going to ask him to do next.
Seeing her hesitating, he frowned in concern. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head to look at him. When he saw that her eyes were refusing to meet with his, he murmured, "princess, look at me." She did. "Whatever it is that you are going to ask me, I promise not to overreact."
"Promise?" her eyes were doubtful.
"Promise."
She sighed, "I wish for you to stop prodding your half-demon self to remember the past." When she saw his frown, she hurriedly added, "not that I do not wish for you to remember everything and to be with you as soon as possible. It's just that there are certain things that I am afraid of happening again." Her eyes showed her fears and worries. Tears were brimming in her eyes, as she stared at him pleadingly.
He instantly understood what it was that she was afraid of, and he could not find any words that would reassure her that history shall not repeat itself. He sighed, he could never refuse her anything, especially seeing her so worried about it, "very well," he voiced out begrudgingly.
She smiled and hugged him, "thank you," she whispered, "I promise to sort out everything as quickly as I can and then I shall allow you to tell him everything, but for now please be rest assured that I am safe and well."
He hugged her back, "promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"You shall be her tomorrow."
"But—"
"—if you do, I will promise to uphold my promise and to not tell him about what has been transpiring this past week."
"Fine," she grudgingly promised, "if I did not love you as much as I do…"
He chuckled and pressed his lips to her temple.
"I must go now."
"So soon?" His arms tightened around her.
"Yes, my guardians wish for me to rest, and due to the promise you made me do, I shall need to have an early rest."
"They are still as annoying as ever." There was laughter in his eyes as he thought of her guardians.
She giggled, "yes, she is quite like her mother."
They both stood up and with promises to see each other again, Inuyasha's demon half watched as the girl he loved disappeared from his view, leaving him in that meadow of total perfection.
"I assume it went well?" asked Bankotsu.
Kikyo looked at him and rolled her eyes, "what do you think?"
Kagome giggled as she looked at them.
Bankotsu looked at them and when he saw the smile that refused to leave Kikyo's face as she looked at Kagome, who was staring happily into space, he could not help but think that everything was finally okay.
Are you ready for tomorrow?
No, but I shall be by afternoon, so if you will.
Understood, but he won't be happy with this.
He shall live.
"You know, Inuyasha, if there's something you want to ask me, you know you can." Sesshomaru flipped a page from the book he was currently reading as he sat in his study. When he heard no answer, he looked up to Inuyasha, who was leaning on the doorframe of his study with his arms crossed. He stared at him for a minute before motioning him to sit on the leather couch not too far away from his table.
Inuyasha sighed and flopped down on the couch. "Sess, you knew Higurashi since she was little, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, you would say that you know her personality."
"Yes, I would."
"Was she nice and friendly or stuck up and bratty when she was little?" he flipped over onto his stomach and stared at Sesshomaru.
There was silence as Sesshomaru thought about his days with Kagome.
"Well?" Inuyasha prodded, his impatience getting the better of him.
"She was very nice and friendly when she was little. I've never seen her act the way she is acting now when she was little, but there were times that I thought she was acting like a different person. It was just a few moments, but there were times when she acted more introverted and composed compared to her usually bubbly personality." He paused. "Why are you asking?"
"Nothing, there was just something different about her today." His brow furrowed as he looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what had happened that afternoon. Why did I say 'you're not her?' it was like a part of him knew something that he did not.
"You might be right. I felt that feeling too," Sesshomaru gazed thoughtfully at his desk, "I always thought that some part of her changes when there is something bothering her."
The Takahashi brothers spent the rest of the night contemplating about the mystery that was surrounding the heiress of the Higurashi family. Both of them concluded that there was something different about Higurashi Kagome, and it was not just her attitude change, but her whole presence and actions. They shared their theories about what may be bothering the heiress, as they pondered ways to confront her, or for Inuyasha to confront her since she has not formally met Sesshomaru yet since she got back. As they continued to talk about Kagome, they did not notice the presence of someone standing right outside the window of Sesshomaru's study listening to everything they said and smiling amusedly at what he or she was hearing.
The person was very confident that the brothers would not be able to figure out anything until they were ready to know about everything. The mystery surrounding the heiress must remain a mystery as long as everything was to remain in the shadows. There would come a time when all should be revealed, and until that time, the brothers and their friends would continue to remain in the dark about everything that was taking place behind their back.
The person smiled, they did not even know that there had been a fight earlier that week involving a group of demons, all of whom were beaten by the Phoenix, who happened to have been fighting demons that were appearing all over the place before the ISN leaders knew about them. It was mostly the reason why the Takahashi brothers and his friends had not been given a new mission. They had everything under control at the moment, so there was no need to let the ISN spies worry about something that they are not ready to face yet. In fact, the Phoenix should be dropping in really soon to command them to train more. The person was sure that they would be appalled by that request, but the brothers and their friends need to be ready before they would be able to meet the princess and know the true identity of the Phoenix and the heiress.
At the Matsuda house, Sango was sitting awake in front of her computer as she looked up things that might lead to any clue to the princess, even though she had been searching every database she could think of for any information and she had not found anything. When her thoughts turned back to the book that she had in her position for two days, she growled out in frustration, and could not help but think herself incompetent for not reading the book before her, Inuyasha, and Miroku had done the mission. She should have read the book while Inuyasha and Miroku were sleeping instead of walking around town. If she had, they would not be back to where they had started. At least they might have found out something if she had read the book. Her expression turned sour when her thoughts lead her to the confrontation that had happened between her, her friends, and Kagome, I still don't understand why she's acting like she is now. She messed up her hair in frustration and looked up at the ceiling. Images of Kagome's blank stare and her brush off of them running in her mind over and over again like a broken record, "why did you pick now…" The book flashed in her mind again. "Ugh, I hate this." She dropped her head on her desk with a loud thud, and ended up repeatedly smacking her head on the table in frustration.
Ayame and Rin were talking on the phone about everything that had been happening to them. They were currently more focus on the identity of the Phoenix since her appearance was the only thing exciting that had happened to them for that month. The search for the princess had been put on hold by the commanders due to their theory that the princess might not want to be found. Tsuki-san and the other three commanders had taken over the research for that moment. "I still can't believe that the Phoenix is a girl," commented Rin as she lied on her back on her comfortable queen size bed.
"Yeah, I know." Ayame was sitting in the living room. "I bet that the guys didn't take that too well."
The two girls giggled while picturing the four conceited guys on their team taking orders from a girl who apparently had a higher rank than any of them.
"I wonder who she is though…Even the commanders and the tech people couldn't find any trace of anything from that note that she sent us."
Ayame shrugged, forgetting that Rin could not see her. "Whoever she is, she's good."
"Yeah."
The two girls continued to talk about other mundane things except for what they really wanted to talk about, and that was Kagome. They did not want to ruin their night by talking about Kagome and how much she has changed. If they did not know any better, they would have said that the girl who had been at their school was not Kagome, but a different person. They still found it hard to believe that such a sweet person could change so much and turn into such an ice princess.
Miroku was already fast asleep on his bed dreaming about being surrounded by girls in a hot tub.
Kouga was snoring away on his bed without a care in the world.
Standing atop Tokyo tower was the Phoenix, she was on her nightly patrol since she had came to Japan. It was part of the reason why the ISN spies had not been in too much mission, because she had been taking care of everything along with two of her new companions. One of which had been awoken from his slumber, the other had been with her since their birth. But at the moment, after much convincing and pleading with them to not patrol that night, the two of them had finally obeyed her request that they rest that night. Besides, she did not feel any disturbances and Kikyo did not feel anything either, so her patrol that night was just a precaution.
Maybe we should not have hidden the fact that there had been many demons that had been willing to take over the human realm, she thought. Her eyes landed on a far away mansion that was almost as big as the Higurashi Manor. She let out a sigh of regret, thinking about how the ISN spies might be slacking. I will just have to do something about that. She smirked as she thought of something that would surely make sure that Inuyasha and his friends would be ready by the time that he attacks. A small visit to the ISN headquarters is due.
The next day when Inuyasha saw Kagome, he did not quite know why he was growling, but he was. The moment he sat down on his seat, he growled at Kagome and the feeling of anger washed over him. However, the girl seemed to know what was wrong with him because she had smirked and had given him a look that held understanding, and there was something there too. A hint of amusement perhaps? It was very confusing since she had not shown any emotion towards him or any of his friends, but that day, it looked like she was paying attention to him and was actually reacting back. When his growling did not cease, Kagome turned around on her seat with that annoying smirk on her face that seemed to be taunting him. Once Kagome met his glare, the smirk on her face grew and her eyes sparkled with mirth, she raised a brow and said, "Down boy, you'll get what you are expecting after lunch." She turned back around and faced the board.
He cocked his head to the side in confusion on what she had just said. He had absolutely no clue on what she was talking about, but somehow that stopped his growling and the feeling of anger was replaced by relief, relief for what? He did not know, but his subconscious seemed to know what she was talking about.
When he looked to his side, he caught Miroku's eyes, who was watching the interaction between him and Kagome. Miroku glanced at him and then at Kagome and then back at him, before raising a brow in question. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and stared at the back of the most confusing girl he had ever known.
"So, you are here."
Inuyasha was sitting on the rooftop during lunch, thinking about nothing in particular when he was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice. He turned around and his jaw dropped at what met his eyes; there, standing before him was Kagome, and instead of looking at him with a blank look, she was actually smiling at him.
He stared at her for what seemed like forever, not believing that she was actually there and smiling at him. While he was glad that she seemed to be finally back to her old self, he did not show any emotion on his face, which caused Kagome to be uncomfortable as she stood there in front of him while he scrutinized her.
It seemed like an eternity to Kagome when he spoke, "so you finally decided to talk to me again." His words were more of a statement than a question. He turned away from her.
Kagome winced at his harsh words, but did not say anything since it was partly true, but she had a very good reason for doing what she did. She only wished that he would forgive her in time.
Inuyasha silently waited for a reply from her; an explanation for her behavior for the past two weeks. When he did not get any, he sighed silently in disappointment, thinking that the girl had already left.
He was utterly surprised when he felt someone sit next to him, "I apologize," the murmured words was very pathetic. It was very soft and so innocent that he had to soften his heart and his decision to ignore her like she had ignored him died instantly especially when he looked at her, and saw her apologetic face.
The two of them stared at each, each trying to read the expression on the other. For some reason, something inside Inuyasha was very pleased, she's back, he did not know exactly what that thought meant, but it pleased him causing a small smile to appear on his face.
When Kagome saw the smile on his face, everything inside her seemed to melt and her whole being felt at ease. At least now she knew that he had forgiven her, if only just a little.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" his eyes were searching as he stares at her.
She closed her eyes and looked away from him, "I…" she sent him an apologetic look before looking away again, "I…I cannot."
He sighed, disappointed.
"You shall know in time," she mumbled, not knowing that he had heard her. The enigmatic words left him wondering what she was talking about. "I cannot tell you at the moment. The only thing that I am allowed to divulge at the moment is that it was something that had happened in my past," she stared at him with beseeching eyes, eyes that he could not refuse anything to, "and my behavior was to protect people who are precious to me," she added under her breath.
Princess, are you okay?
No, but I shall be in time.
Should we?
It is not necessary anymore. I feel more at ease when I am able to see them closely.
Very well.
Classes shall be starting soon for you.
Yes.
I shall talk to you soon.
When Kagome came back to reality, she found herself looking at Inuyasha, who was looking at her like she was a very interesting science specimen. "Yes?"
His eyes narrowed in scrutiny, "Nothing, I've been calling your name many times and you didn't reply. You just zoned out completely."
"Forgive me."
"Don't worry about it, anyways, classes are about to start." He stood up and walked over to the door. He stopped before he was able to leave completely and gave her an impatient look.
Kagome smiled a little at his impatience before doing what he wanted. The two of them headed to class together with Inuyasha slightly ahead of Kagome with his longer strides.
Sango, Rin, Ayame, and Miroku were conversing among themselves when they suddenly stopped talking all at once and sat there gaping as Inuyasha, followed by Kagome, walked through their classroom door. They could instantly tell that something had taken place between those two because of the change in Inuyasha's mood. The change in him may not be noticeable for their other classmates, but for someone who had known him for almost all his life, they could easily see that Inuyasha was no longer moping. In fact, his eyes seemed brighter, and the shadow of sadness was no longer there. There might not be a smile on his face, but his eyes told it all and the lost of his tensed shoulder. His walk seemed lighter, freer.
"Hello," murmured Kagome as she passed by them, her voice was very soft and filled with uneasiness.
She should feel uneasy, thought the girls in contempt, still remembering how Kagome had acted towards them for the past couple of days. They all raised a brow, daring her to tell them why they should talk to her. When they saw that she was not going to say anything else, they turned to one another and proceeded to talk.
Kagome sighed and turned away, I guess I deserved that.
Miroku smiled at the girl in sympathy. Those three girls can really hold a grudge. Kagome returned the smile before looking away. She was broken away from her thoughts by a crumpled paper landing on her desk.
She stared at it for second while tilting her head to the side in curiosity, before finally deciding to open it. Inside was a note saying:
Just give them time. They'll forgive you in time.
She glanced around the room, wondering who had sent her the note. Since there were only two people in the room that knew what was going on and had gone on, she glanced behind her at the two boys sitting there. Miroku was not looking at her, so it obviously was not him. Of course, she inwardly smiled to herself, he might not remember, but…her eyes seemed to glitter when they landed on the boy sitting right behind her, Inuyasha, the boy who was currently looking at her with soft eyes, he shall always be the same. 'Thank you,' she mouthed in gratitude, smiling, she turned back around and faced the front as the teacher came in and started class. But I really should not.
I'm sorry, princess.
I am fine.
Everything shall work out in the end.
I know.
Class is starting, I should go.
I shall see you later.
Kagome sighed, thinking about how hard it was to be a Higurashi heiress and a constant companion to the princess, but Bankutso and Kikyo would disagree. If they managed to hear her thoughts at that moment, they would instantly tell her that being the princess was much more tiring and that being the Higurashi heiress and constant companion to the princess was something to be honored. Though, that is only because they were both biased, she supposed.
"Higurashi-san, would you kindly get up from your seat and solve this problem on the board?" Their math teacher demanded while looking so smug, thinking that the young heiress had not been paying attention at all to the lecture.
Kagome inwardly laughed to herself, a spy can rarely be caught off guard and especially those who were considered as an elite. Besides, even if she was not paying attention to the teacher, which she was (what's good in knowing how to multi-task or being a spy if you would not use it in all instances?), she had already learnt this subject along with all of the classes she was taking in Cromwell Academy. Being a spy did have its perks, one of them was being advance in studies, so when you were asked to do a mission that involves being in high school, then there was really no need to worry about a simple test and homework.
The rest of the day was the same as any other. Kagome talked to Inuyasha and Miroku about random things as the three girls continued to ignore her in between classes.
When the bell rang for class, Inuyasha was about to talk to Kagome when he was suddenly pulled by three girls out of the classroom, which just happened to be his friends who were currently being stubborn, "Let's go," snapped Sango as she, Rin, and Ayame continued to drag him out of the classroom. He could only watch helplessly at Kagome while he was being dragged away.
"Sorry about that," said Miroku, scratching his head sheepishly before waving his goodbye to the girl. "We'll see you around."
"I understand." Kagome smiled at him as she watched him ran to catch up with his friends. This is harder than I thought, but it seems as though the plan has been successful. With that last thought in mind, Kagome grabbed her belongings and left the classroom.
"Why'd you do that?" growled out Inuyasha, glaring at his three girl friends.
"We did not want to stand there waiting for you while you talk to that girl. Besides, how are you so sure that she's not just playing you or us again?" Sango replied, while walking briskly out of the school.
Inuyasha was about to say something else when he was rudely interrupted, "hey, what's going on over there?" questioned Rin, always the curious one.
"The Higurashi limo," answered Sesshomaru as he and Kouga joined their friends.
"So?"
"Rin, if you would let me finish, you'll know the answer more quickly."
"Hmph!"
"As I said, the Higurashi limo arrived and this guy came out."
"You mean a really hot guy came out," interrupted Ayame, her voice sounding dreamy, "Mmm, yummy."
"Huh?" her friends chorused. They all looked back at Ayame, only to see that she had stopped walking and was staring at where the crowd was, which they noticed were all girls. The girls were being pushed back slightly by the bodyguards, who had all suddenly lined up, allowing Inuyasha and his friends to see who Sesshomaru was talking about.
When their eyes landed on whatever it was that had caught Ayame's attention, the other two girls instantly turned dreamy while the rest of the guys just stared at the guy in the middle of the ruckus in confusion. "He is fine," said Sango while the other two girls murmured in agreement.
"And that is why there is a huge crowd over there," pointed out Sesshomaru while Miroku and Kouga felt contempt towards the guy, the reason behind their reaction to the guy was baffling to them and it certainly did not have anything to do with the fact that Ayame and Sango were both drooling over him.
All of them were snapped out of their thoughts and daydreams from the girls when the guy yelled, "KAGOME, OVER HERE!" as he brandished his arms quite excitedly.
They turned to where he was looking at only to see Higurashi Kagome walking out of the school building. They watched as her whole face seemed to light up when she saw the guy. To their surprise, the usually reserved girl, who always acted with such poise, "BANKUTSO!" yelled and ran towards the guy's open arms like a very excited child who finally got what he or she wanted and jumped into his arms. The guy twirled her around as the two of them laughed joyously. When the guy finally set down Kagome, they proceeded to hug each other with the smiles not disappearing on their faces. Based on what they had just seen, it was very obvious that the two of them were very close and deeply cared for each other.
As they watched the scene before them, Sesshomaru and his friends watched as Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in contempt and a growl of protectiveness aroused from deep within him. Sesshomaru put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder to stop him from going over to where Kagome and the guy were talking. "Inuyasha," he intoned in warning.
Inuyasha instantly stopped growling as he blinked a couple of times, "w-what?" He shook his head and focused on his friends, who were all staring at him with interest. "What happened?"
"Dude, you just started growling for no reason!" exclaimed Kouga, clapping Inuyasha on his back.
Inuyasha sent him a glare while the rest of the group stared at Kouga.
"What?!"
"Oh my gush! How thick can you get?!" Ayame rolled her eyes and walked off while the rest of them shook their head and followed her lead.
"Stupid."
"Idiot."
"Moron."
"Fool."
"Retard."
Kouga stood there for a moment, soaking in everything that his friends had just said, before his eyes narrowed and shouted, "HEY! I am not!" He ran after them while growling as his friends laughed at him.
Bankutso and Kagome watched as Inuyasha and the rest of their group left the school building. "I think someone was jealous," murmured Bankutso to the girl within his embrace.
Kagome's eyes softened as they settled on Inuyasha's retreating back. "That is not funny," she replied.
He smirked and let go of the girl as he followed her gaze to the back of the half-demon. He needs to be prepared for what is coming to him, he thought. "I shall hope that he would be ready for the test for the princess's sake and his."
"He shall be," whispered Kagome. They turned back around and headed for the limousine as the bodyguards surrounded them in their protective box.