(A/N) Time for yet another chapter! Also, thank you to all my loyal readers and everyone that has reviewed. It really means a lot as a writer to know so many people like the story so far! Now, on to the exciting chapter!

Ch.8 Royal Welcome

To say she was nervous was a complete understatement of her current emotional state. She bit down on her bottom lip as she looked at the castle before her. Or is it a fortress? She could never recall the correct names for the architecture. She took small steps towards their destination and wondered if he would be there to greet them at the gates. From what she could tell, the castle had a thick wall around it and sat atop a small plateau. The outer walls looked to be made from a very thick stone and had guards standing atop it every hundred feet or so. The gates were large and wooden, probably very heavy, not that a demon would have any problem opening them quickly enough.

Kagome took a deep breath and remembered when this had all started in the morning. A messenger had arrived at their small encampment that morning, worn out for they had been the last to get the message. They were to arrive by late afternoon at the latest as there was distressing news about how some Lord had passed away. With that, the Lady ordered one of the cats to hurry and dress Kagome in proper attire once again. As she put it 'there was no need for the present to look frumpy'. Kagome had inwardly seethed about that for almost an hour. The long walk at a quickened pace quickly took over the anger department some hours later.

So there she stood with all the other demons that were all looking prim and proper. The lady maids were all giggling about something, though she guessed it was about how good looking Sesshomaru was for a lowly dog. Kagome smirked as she wondered if they would ever dare say things like that while he was within earshot. Probably not. If they did they would have been dead a long time ago. She looked up as the doors creaked open and they were told to enter. She tried to look towards the front but what little glimpses she could catch only told her that the great demon lord was not there to greet them. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, which was quickly mistaken for something else by the girl traveling next to her.

Hanako placed her small, clawed hand on Kagome's shoulder and whispered lightly, "Do not worry, Lady Kagome. It is proper that we are allowed entrance and get ready for the proper greeting tonight at dinner. You will see your Lord then." She nodded encouragingly.

Kagome groaned inwardly. At least I will have a few hours of rest before I die.

Unfortunately for Kagome, those hours were full of losing yet more layers of skin and being placed in at least five different under layers of kimono. Her hair was being pulled and stretched, her scalp clawed as they 'arranged' her hair. Powder was thrown onto her face and though they did not put much on her, it was enough to make her sneeze. Gods I hate this!


Sesshomaru sat alone in his office with only a small stack of papers left. He had stayed all night to make sure everything that needed to be done was finished before his 'guests' started to arrive. As he was alone in the room, he pinched the bridge of his nose to help ease the headache that was starting to form. He could smell the arrival of all the other lords and ladies and over a hundred different demons that were there to wait on them hand and foot. It bothered his nose to no end and the resulting headache made the last bit of paperwork like a mountain. Almost letting out a sigh, he continued on with his work which took another thirty minutes of his time.

With that done, he looked at the setting of the sun and knew that he had to prepare for the dinner as being late was not an option he had. As such, he walked out the door and the guard on the other side shut it behind him as he walked further down the hallway. Once he reached his chambers he noticed a suitable replacement for his attire was found. Basically it was just a clean version of what he was already wearing. The only real difference was the fabric that was used. Since this was a formal occasion, a softer and less hardy fabric was used.

He walked past the outfit and went to his private hot springs and washed quickly and thoroughly. As he did so, servants came in and took the old clothes to be well taken care of and cleaned with the most meticulous care. He of course would have nothing less than the best. After a good soak and a bit of procrastination on his part he went to his rooms and dressed. A servant entered his room and spoke quickly and softly, "My Lord, it is almost time for the dinner to begin."

He nodded and watched the servant girl scurry out of his room quickly to get away from the coldness of his gaze. Well dressed and of course well groomed Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, walked out of his chambers and walked towards the dining halls. He wondered just how tedious all of this was going to be. He didn't have much time to think about it as the guests were already forming a line in which to be greeted. And so the charade begins.


Kagome had been rudely ushered into the line of many demons waiting to be greeted to the Lord Sesshomaru. She sighed inwardly as her death became more imminent with each passing second that she stood there. Looking around, she noticed that there were quite a few people in the line ahead of her. First, the Lord and Lady of the Northern kingdoms went. From what she heard, they were allies in long standing with Sesshomaru's family and as such had the honor of being the first in line. She also noticed that they carried with them a goblet of silver which was imbedded with rubies and diamonds. Intricate metalwork looped its way intricately around each gem. They offered it to Sesshomaru who accepted it in words as a servant carried the gift away to some unknown location. So, giving a gift is customary. I wonder what they had intended on giving Sesshomaru in the first place.

The next in line was the newly appointed Lord of the Southern kingdoms. The demon Lord Ichiro looked haughtily at the Lord Sesshomaru as he gave a small bow that was required as a guest of the West. "Greetings, Lord Sesshomaru, I present this gift to you on behalf of the Southern kingdoms," he said charismatically as his servant lifted a pillow that had a single jewel shard. He smirked inwardly as his plans were slowly coming along. This is all too easy.

She watched as Sesshomaru stared down at the shard of the jewel that he felt was completely useless. It offered borrowed power that corrupted whatever used it. Is he trying to imply that I, Lord Sesshomaru, am weak and in need of a shard of the jewel? Hn. Out of politeness, he waved for a servant to take the shard of the jewel to where his other gifts were being placed. He knew it would be safe at least for now. No one was stupid enough to try and steal something from him especially while he was there.

Kagome started to shake nervously as she noticed it was the Eastern lady's turn to be greeted by the demon lord. She was pushed forward by the male demon that had gotten her garments earlier in the travels and got an encouraging smile from Hanako. With a rather large intake of breath to calm herself down, Kagome took what she thought were the last steps she'd ever take in her life.

"Greetings Lady Koneko," Sesshomaru said with a slight nod of his head. He was wary about the cat demon for she had a rather smug look upon her face. Something had already thrown him off when her group had moved forward for him to greet them. There was something in the air that just didn't sit right with him.

"Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Kingdoms," she nearly purred at him, "I present you with a gift." She motioned for Hanako to bring the demon child forward. Oh how she loved this moment. "I return one that belongs to you safely and in good health." With a small bow, she walked forward towards the dining hall, her inner thoughts congratulating herself on a ploy well played.

Sesshomaru stared at the girl before him and sighed mentally. This was quite the low blow to his reputation as they would now assume that he could not take care of one of his own. They actually believed her to be part of my court? That is the only assumption he could make as he now looked down at the very frightened girl before him. Sure, she didn't look scared. She gave him a stare that reminded him very much of Rin; however, the smell of her fear was getting very overwhelming. Still, he could not be outdone by a cat. "Jaken, have this girl removed and brought back with attire befitting one of Sesshomaru's court." He inwardly smirked as he heard a small hiss in the background.

Kagome was too stunned at first to say or do anything but just stand there. She was shocked that she was still alive, breathing and standing there. It wasn't until Jaken started to push at her legs that she finally realized that Sesshomaru, at least for now, was sparing her life. Kagome smiled a bit at one of the first times Sesshomaru had done something kind for her. So she did the only thing she could think of at the moment and bowed to Lord Sesshomaru. "Thank you Lord Sesshomaru." Her only response before walking away with Jaken was a slight nod of his head.

Jaken pushed the girl away until she was able to finally focus her attentions on where she was going. He ran in front of her and led the way to the new room she would be staying in. He waved a few of the servant girls that were awaiting orders. "Take this girl and get her proper attire for a Lady of Sesshomaru's court." With a small glance at the new girl, he made a small humph noise and said, "Have her ready in ten minutes. Lord Sesshomaru does not like to wait."

Kagome groaned as she watched the ladies swarm around her and busy themselves with undoing everything that had been done. Though she was relieved at the lightness that was offered once all the layers were removed it was a short lived victory. She glanced over and noticed there were not five layers to the next outfit that was going to wear. Instead, there were seven layers and that didn't include the outer layer. The inner most layer was a very, very dark red and each layer was a shade lighter than the rest until the last layer was a blood red. The other kimono reminded her of what Sesshomaru always wore. It was a very pristine white with a pattern of red along the sleeves and the neckline. Around her waist they tied a bright yellow obi with the same purple pattern that Sesshomaru's sash held. If she didn't know better, she'd say they gave her the female version of his outfit…minus the armor of course.

The next to be done was her hair which they took half and put it up in a partial bun and let the rest fall down her back. They then put a small comb of ruby and diamond flowers for the decoration. Kagome had time to look in the mirror and decided that she did indeed look better than before though she would rather not have the weight to go with it. She had hardly recovered before they decided to put her through this torture. With a sigh, she thanked the girls and was then escorted by Jaken back to the dining hall. Never had she been as nervous as when she entered and all eyes were on her, the gold ones made her especially nervous. Okay people, move on and stare at someone else.

Hanako made her way through the people and walked at her side. "You look lovely in your Lord's colors," she stated. She herself was dressed in light silver with black swirls.

"Thank you Hanako," she replied rather nervously. The chatter in the background had finally continued as if the cat demon walking beside her had broken a sort of spell. It was then that she realized that Hanako was slowly leading her to Lord Sesshomaru. "Hey look, maybe we should go get something to drink?" She was hoping beyond hope that the girl would just back down and let her go get a drink and that then she could hide in some corner until all of this was over.

"I suppose you should have a drink, though I will go get it for you. I am sure you wish to be reacquainted with your Lord," she gave a small, innocent wink and took off to the other side of the room before Kagome could even object. She stood there for a few moments not knowing what to do when she heard a small 'Hn' that made her heart stop…and not for good reasons. When she looked over he was right there beside her. His scent was the first thing that invaded her senses. It was very earthy and quite pleasant in a world where scents were now annoying the heck out of her. Next was his outfit which seemed quite the same as usual although the lack of weaponry and armor made it seem a bit off to her. Her eyes went up to his face and noticed that he too was studying her with those cold, calculating eyes. Up close like this she could see just how amber those eyes were. If she didn't know any better she would have thought they held some warmth in them just from the pure brightness of them.

Sesshomaru watched her study him though he was surprised it was in no way like the other females studied him. No, he could not smell any attraction in her scent right now, just worried and curious. Being the kind of demon he was, he could not help but to try and throw her off. She was indeed why he was being caused so much trouble at the moment. So the great demon Lord leaned in close so that his mouth was next to her ear. He heard the sharp intake of breath that his actions caused and inwardly smirked. Then he asked the question he knew would ruffle her feathers, "Do you like what you see?"

Kagome was so taken aback by his words that all she could do was stand there with her mouth partially hanging open. Sesshomaru could NOT have just said that to me. Could he? No, there's just no way. With everything that had happened to her she was at least glad for some kind of words other than 'are you ready to die'. So, snapping out of it, she lifted her chin and whispered back into his ear, "No, merely looking over all your flaws. There are so many that it took me a while of gaping to count them all." She smirked a little as he backed up and his cold eyes held a flash of anger.

Sesshomaru looked down at the new demoness before him. She had spunk that was for sure as no other lady would dare speak to him as such; however, he gladly accepted the change of pace due to the extreme amounts of boredom that plagued him during events such as these. He made a mental note to keep her near him during the dinner just to watch the reactions of all the other females in the area. Oh, he could feel the glares headed in her direction. "Hn, though you find this one's flaws attractive…the blush on your face tells me this."

Kagome turned a few shades of red at his words. Could someone really be this full of themselves? One glance at his eyes told her that he was being completely serious. She knew she couldn't win this fight as his words were pretty true. Sesshomaru was an attractive man even if he was a demon so there was no use arguing that he wasn't. The real question was why was he still there standing that close to her? "Lord Sesshomaru, what do you want?" she asked as she took a step back to put more space between them.

He straightened up and offered her an arm. Sesshomaru may not like the girl in the slightest; but, for now, the people thought she was part of his court and he had no choice but to treat her as such. Unfortunately for her, dog demons had a tendency for being more intimate than the other races. When she took his arm he led her over towards the long dining table where some of the other demon Lords and Ladies had already begun to gather around. As they walked, he said in a low rumble that only she, a dog demon, would be able to understand. 'I am bored and you are here to amuse me.'

Kagome felt the goose bumps raise the flesh on her arms. Never had she been spoken to like that, like a dog would talk. It was rather strange and…primal. She did however understand the full meaning of what he was trying to convey to her. Kagome was merely the tool he would more than likely use to make the situation interesting. She leaned in to him as they walked by an empty gap at the table, "So you're going to throw me to the wolves are you?"

He could see the anger in her eyes and knew she did not like the idea of being used. His response was quick, "Among other things, yes." She was about to say something else, probably yell at him in front of everyone, but he opened his mouth first as they had reached their destination. Sesshomaru wanted to spice things up and he knew exactly how to do it…the females were going to be in an uproar later as their egos were torn asunder. "Lady Kagome, you will sit here," and he had a servant pull out the chair that was to his left.

Kagome heard a few intakes of breath as the small demon, Jaken, pulled the chair out for her to sit down in. She didn't understand why there were so many curious looks from the people around her and quite a few heated glares from the females farther down the table. Still, she did not want the attention to stay on her too much longer so she sat down in the hopes that she would soon be forgotten. As soon as the chair was scooted in she could hear the buzz of conversation continuing around her and the content itself was mostly about her. Who was the demoness Kagome? Why had Lord Sesshomaru kept her hidden until now? Why was she a better choice than whatever female that happened to ask the question? It wasn't until a demon Lord spoke up that she could finally ignore the buzzing around her. "My Lady, I have not had the pleasure of meeting you before. I am Lord Shoichi," he said with a slight nod of his head.

Kagome studied him for a few moments. He had long, light blue hair that went past the table so she couldn't tell how long it actually was and his eyes were the same light blue as his hair. She could tell he was fairly tall, maybe even more so than Sesshomaru. That's quite a feat. He had soft features like Sesshomaru except his weren't marred by coldness and contempt. No, he actually seemed to be genuinely friendly and she couldn't help but open up to him immediately. "Lady Kagome, a pleasure to meet you Lord Shoichi." She bowed as much as she could at the table and watched his smile brighten.

"This is the Lady Natsumi," he said pleasantly, indicating the woman sitting at his side. She too had long hair though it was a dull yellow in color. Her eyes were a light blue and seemed to be shining with happiness as well. Kagome wondered how people such as they could ever get along with the Lord of the Western lands long enough to have formed any kind of alliance. She was smaller than Shoichi by at least a foot and she just seemed dainty all around. She noticed their outfits were white and yellow, a very hypnotizing mix.

"A pleasant surprise you are, Lady Kagome," Natsumi said as she watched the girls around her seethe in anger. Oh how it must burn them to hear she has the favor of the Northern Lord and Lady as well. "Though, why have you been such a secret until now?" She couldn't help the curiosity since it happened to involve, well…any female and Lord Sesshomaru. The man was so cold and distant that he never had anyone around at all.

"Oh, well," she looked over at Sesshomaru and noticed he was conversing with the Southern Lord and would not be able to help her. "You see, Lord Sesshomaru thought it would be best if I spent some time travelling and getting to know the lands a little better. Unfortunately, I was attacked along the way and left all alone…until the Lady of the East came and with…compassion…decided to have me healed and returned." There, that sounded like a suitable enough half-truth.

Natsumi patted her hand lightly, "That must have been most troublesome for you to be away from your Lord for that long. After all, my understanding is that most of those that are canine in nature are very protective of those within their pack."

Kagome wished the woman would talk about other things than Sesshomaru. Lieing this much to people was surely causing her good karma to drop drastically. "It was rough, admittedly," she whispered as her face turned a shade red at such a lie.

Natsumi watched the blush form on the young lady's face and instantly an idea formed in her head. Of course with Sesshomaru being the kind of demon he was, of course the girl would be more than nervous to admit any kind of feelings for him. She felt sorry for the girl and instantly wanted to help her out. That and Lord Sesshomaru and his cold demeanor were, quite frankly, bothersome to deal with and grated on her chi. "Lord Sesshomaru," she inquired as some quiet had come to his end of the table, "I do believe that the time has come for you to begin the first dance? Perhaps you and your Lady can show everyone how it is done?"

Sesshomaru semi-glared at the Lord Ichiro as he sat down to his right at the table. Of course, many wondered why a newly appointed lord would get such attention as to be sitting in such a position of honor but Sesshomaru knew most of them would figure it out rather quickly, for demons knew the motto of keeping your enemies closer more than most. "Lord Ichiro, I trust your timely secession has gone smoothly?"

Oh, Ichiro knew well enough the barb that Sesshomaru had sent his way. He also knew that Sesshomaru was a very smart opponent and had probably figured out that somehow he and Naraku were connected. "Indeed, quite smoothly as a matter of fact," he said with a rather bland tone for he would not give Sesshomaru the satisfaction of ruffling his scales. "As I see your Lady in court has made a rather…shocking appearance. Tell me, why the secret?"

Sesshomaru stared at him with a bored look. "She had other duties to see to that are none of your concern." His tone said to all 'question my answer and I shall see your most painful death'. He knew Ichiro had some connection to Naraku. The evidence was far too telling though he wondered why he would not have at least tried to hide it more so than he had. He would have to be very careful for if the two were plotting together there was no telling where the deception started. "Curious, is it not, that your father was attacked so closely to her brush with death?"

Ichiro scoffed at that. Surely Naraku would have told him if his plans had involved attacking someone that close to Sesshomaru. "You think the two incidents are related then?" He had to be very careful with is words right now or he might anger the higher ranking lord.

"Hn," was all could say as the two stared each other down for a good couple of minutes. It was only the Lady Natsumi's voice that broke his attention as he heard her bring up the traditional first dance. Of course he had never been one to actually dance as he had always used the excuse that he had no one he would even consider dancing with. I pray the girl knows how to dance or she will embarrass us all. With one last glance at Ichiro he merely said, "This conversation will continue later."

With great reluctance, Sesshomaru stood up and glanced to the woman at his left that was currently giving him the look of a scared doe. He offered her his hand and he noticed the slight hesitance she had before putting her hand in his. Admittedly, her touch was not as offending as he thought it would be though it was probably due to the fact that she was now a demon instead of a human.

Kagome had watched as he offered his hand to her so that he could take her to the dance floor. She drew in a small breath before taking his hand and prayed that the dance was one covered in the dance class she once had in school. If not, the two were going to be screwed. As he got them into a dancing position in the middle of the floor, Kagome sighed with relief. She knew this dance well enough to be able to at least not mess it up completely. He didn't even speak to her as they danced, as if he was too focused on leading her and making sure she did not make many mistakes. As her confidence grew she was lighter to handle and she noticed that their movements were more fluid now than in the beginning.

He chanced a glance in her direction and noticed that she had let herself finally get into the dance. So, the girl at least has some sort of formal education. He wondered what he would do with the coming situation as far as she was concerned. There would be many more questions during the night and he had hoped to avoid them, but the look in Natsumi's eyes told him he had every right to worry about what her plans may be. She could not possibly be trying to play matchmaker? The last girl she had sent his way left in tears. As the dance ended, he whispered to Kagome, "Come."

As he walked away from her, Kagome instantly followed. She did not want to be alone with all the demons that surrounded her. She may now be one but that didn't mean she felt like she belonged here, especially with all the formalness of the situation. She also noticed that the Southern Lord Ichiro was staring at her and she wasn't sure she liked what she saw. With a sigh, she could only hope this night would end far more quickly than it had so far.