Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim any right or responsibilities for the characters used in this story. All rights are reserved for the respective creator of Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi.

Royal Treatment
By Rikayu

Chapter Ten: Progressions

"It was indeed an honor to have you stay with us."

Kagome watched as her grandfather, her mother, and her younger brother bowed deeply. Sesshoumaru stood next to her in a grey suit, his silvery hair neatly pulled into a low horsetail. "I apologize for the trouble you went through of having us. We'll visit as much as we are able to."

Kagome was about to say goodbye until an arm went around her shoulders and she was turned around. She looked up to see Sesshoumaru as he was pulling her away and into the car that was waiting for them. The door closed behind her and as the prince sat down on the other side of the backseat, she glared at him.

"Are we ready, sir?" the driver asked.

"No wait!" she called, then she turned to Sesshoumaru. "I want to at least give my family a proper goodbye!"

He didn't looked at her and nodded to the driver. "Let's go," he said pressing a button on the door to pull up the dark, soundproof window between them and the driver.

The car moved forward and Kagome pressed her hands against the window as her family waved goodbye. Tears started to fall down her face as she watched their figures get smaller and smaller.

"Stop acting like a child."

She spun her head to glare the silver-haired prince behind her. His elbow was propped on the door and he was staring at the window as he leaned on his hand.

"You should know that most married women do not live with their parents. You are not alone," he simply said, not turning to look at her.

"Yeah, but most people don't get married when they're only 17!"

His golden eyes focused on her. "The second highest-ranking female in Japan should not be clinging to her family like a three-year-old, crying her eyes out at every little thing that goes wrong. Do you need a bottle? Did they have to sing you to sleep last night?"

Kagome pressed her lips together and let her eyes drop to her hands. "Don't say that", she said quietly then lifted her gaze to him again, "Don't you ever miss your dad? Or your mom?"

Something glazed over Sesshoumaru's eyes before he swiftly turned his head away to look out the window again. "No," he replied firmly.

Kagome sighed inwardly and looked out the window, staring at him from the corner of her eye. The little over a month they had spent stuck to each other certainly didn't break through any barriers. She'd tried her best to at least be friendly with him, but Sesshoumaru had remained frigid and distant, even in arguments. The prince irritated her to no end.

It took only a few more long moments before their car pulled into the Imperial Palace's courtyard. The door opened for Kagome and she stepped out, her eyes immediately turning to the figure emerging out on the other side of the car. The breeze shuffled around Sesshoumaru's hair lightly as he straightened and started to walk away. Kagome vaguely wondered how his hair always seemed so perfect and watched as the prince tugged his suit jacket through his arms.

Kagome found herself staring at his back and a blush slowly crept onto her face. She forced her eyes down and grabbed her handbag from inside the car before letting the guard close the door for her.

"Hurry up. We will be late," Sesshoumaru said, turning his head back slightly before walking forward.

Kagome blinked and ran after the prince, following behind his rather quick strides.

He grinned inwardly as he brought his tea cup to his lips. His son was always quite cunning, and the boy's mind was always thinking and calculating even as a child. But, of course, no matter how intelligent the prince was, he could never fool his father.

"I am please that you two have finally returned. Your stay there was a pleasant one, I expect?" The emperor turned his eyes to his son, "How did you fare, Sesshoumaru?"

The prince shrugged nonchalantly. "It was different. But it was an experience where I learned many new things."

The older Mikazuki raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" Then he turned his gaze to the girl sitting nervously next to his son. "How about you Kagome, how did you like your visit?"

The girl raised her eyes to look at the emperor across the table. "I'm very grateful that Tenno Heika let me visit my family," then she gave a polite bow and flashed him a small smile, "I really can't express how thankful I am."

The man let out a chuckle. "Perhaps I shall make more arrangements so that you can visit your family more often. I'm sure you wouldn't mind?"

Kagome blinked and leaned forward. "R-really?"

But before her father-in-law could reply, Sesshoumaru's voice immediately cut in. "You forget one thing, Tenno-sama. I am now married."

The prince placed down his empty tea cup. "I may be young, but I am the head of my own household. I will be the one to make decisions on where the crown princess will or will not go."

Kagome turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed. The emperor, on the other hand, wore a smirk on his face as the prince hardened his gaze. The older man flicked his eyes to Kagome and then back to Sesshoumaru, and his smirk deepened. He chuckled inwardly. His son was definitely a very interesting individual.

"What was that about?"

Kagome crossed her arms as she looked at the tall prince in front of her. He was casually leaning back against a table and looking out the window.

"I was not joking," he said plainly, "It will depend from now on how well you perform your imperial duties."

Kagome's lips formed a frown and her eyes dropped their gaze to the ground. "You're not going to let me see my family, are you?"

"You misunderstood."

She looked up and tilted her head slightly. "I am not stopping you," he simply said.

Kagome blinked and just stared at her husband. 'W-what?' She walked forward to stand in front of him, her eyebrows furrowed with question, but he didn't look at her. His eyes were trained out and seemed ignorant as the breeze tossed his hair and a lock fell forward.

Without thinking, Kagome's hands reached out and ran through the silver lock of hair. The prince turned his gaze down at the girl. "Have you ever thought of cutting it?" he heard her ask.

"Long hair is a tradition in my family."

"Hmm, well… I think if it was short, it would look good too," Kagome stared at the strands in wonder, playing with them, "But then again, I think I prefer your long hair."

Then Kagome tensed as she realized what she was doing. Immediately, she let go of his hair and quickly staggered to sit next to him on the table. "I, uhh, am just going to sit here, if you don't mind…"

After an awkward moment of silence, Kagome spoke. "You know, I think we should at least be civil with each other. I want to try and get along with you and not fight." She paused and let out a sigh. "And in any case, we may get divorced later anyway, but…"

Kagome's voice trailed off as she caught sight of Sesshoumaru, the orange-gold glow of the sunset washing over his features. He seemed deep in thought as he stared out at the clouds, and Kagome couldn't help but stare. The prince almost looked lonely against the fading colors of the sky. 'I wonder what he's thinking about...'

The cool breeze blew softly through the open window. Kagome could feel some strands from Sesshoumaru's hair brushing against her face and her fingers itched to run her hands through his silvery white hair again. Her eyes swayed to look at his shoulder and she wondered what it would be like to be able to lean against it like in those romantic movies she and Sango would always go out to watch on the weekends.

Slowly, her eyes closed and the picture of a couple sitting on the grass and watching the sunset floated down into her mind. 'How romantic… I wonder how that would feel like…' As her mind continued to wander, Kagome weight shifted and her head began to lean down towards the silver-haired prince's shoulder.

As her head was about to rest on his shoulder, however, Sesshoumaru moved forward and stood from his place. "I am going. I have a few things to attend to," he said.

THUMP.

Immediately, the prince turned and looked with an eyebrow raised as Kagome lay sprawled on top of the table.

"Ahahaha! Isn't the sunset so beautiful? This angle makes the colors pop out so much better, don't you think so? Ahaha!" the girl quickly pointed up and out of the window, a rather nervous grin plastered onto her face.

"I don't care!"

"But the preparations are already underway."

"Look, I don't even want one, so stop bugging me already!"

Myouga huffed and wagged his finger at the defiant youth standing in front of him. "Inuyasha-sama, you are going whether or not you want to."

"Feh!"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and glared at the old man. Myouga just sighed and walked away, leaving the prince alone in the courtyard. There was no arguing with the emperor's decision anyway.

The prince's lips creased into a deep frown as he leaned back against a tree that was along the edge of the courtyard. In just a few days would be his 17th birthday. Inuyasha didn't particularly care, but his old man wanted to throw some fancy party for him; as if he needed a bunch of cranky old men and vassals walking around and giving him fake smiles and greetings. He'd be happier to spend the day of his birth alone. Well, maybe not alone... It would be nice to spend it with someone.

Then he shook his head furiously as the image of a smiling Kagome flashed in his head. A frown appeared on his face. He shouldn't be thinking of his brother's wife in that way... He really shouldn't be.

End Note: Now, I know that Sesshoumaru should have let her say goodbye. But the the Goong manga, Shin actually did drag Chae Gyoung to the car and just leave like that. Err this was a short chapter, I know. But I just felt that it had to end.

TERMS:

Ouji-sama - prince
Tenno Heika – His Majesty the Emperor
Tenno – emperor

TBC…

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