Before There Were Fairy Tales...

by Faehime

Chapter Twelve:To Check the King

Kuenai felt her fingers twitching as she eyed the doors on the far right wall of the Western Lord's study. The children had been dismissed earlier, but she still had not had an opportunity to explain the exact reason for her visit to InuTaisho.

The shiro was busy with preparations for Sesshomaru's coming of age ceremony, marking his 250th year of life and an exponential surge of his youki. During the ceremony, different provinces, rulers, and other persons of standing would come together to formally acknowledge the boy as InuTaisho's heir, and of course gauge his potential strength as a future Lord of the largest domain in Nippon.

As such, the current Lord had been sidetracked answering several missives regarding the preparations and plans for housing the many dignitaries. While she waited, Kuenai had entertained herself with visions of the library that lay only a dozen or so feet away from her, behind the ornate carved marble doors on the fall wall. Many aspects of the Western Shiro's architectural design were a far cry from the traditional building practices of the time, but in this respect the Lady of Setsuna couldn't help but appreciate the extra security for the precious knowledge stored within the stone walls of the library.

'The vast array of scrolls that are hidden on the other side of that wall could hold the key to figuring out how to get Higurashi-chan home,' she thought to herself, oblivious to the golden eyes watching her intense concentration.

'It's just a bonus that the many sheafs of parchment and collection of bound books could be at my disposal in the next few days... no the next few hours!'

A low moan vibrated softly from her throat unconsciously, and Kuenai bit her lip as she continued to eye the solid, impenetrable doors with the same heat as a lover. Her late husband, Soutozu had been one of the few to truly understand her appetite for knowledge, and had often used that passion to his advantage in... less than honorable ways. Thoughts drifting away on the tangent of memories, the Lady didn't notice the way her breathing became labored, or her cheeks flushing with each tantalizing, naughty-

"I had no idea my study was so titillating, Kuenai-sama."

InuTaisho's teasing voice snapped her to attention, and the flushed woman felt her cheeks heat even further as she realized she'd been caught having less than pure thoughts.

'About his library, no less,' she grumbled to herself, meeting the demon's piercing gaze with an embarrassed smile.

"I-"

"It's fine, Kuenai-sama," he interrupted, laughter dancing in his eyes. "Soutozu had warned me about your tendency to, shall we say, forget yourself when in close proximity to a library."

Frowning at the thought of her husband trading stories with InuTaisho about her... affliction grated on her nerves. Narrowing her eyes at the demon across from her, she pursed her lips as she made herself a silent vow to teach her wayward Lord a lesson once she joined him in death.

'I don't care if he is already dead, I'm going to murder that indiscriminate lech!'
Unfortunately, that glorious moment would have to wait until she herself succumbed to the sweet embrace of time. For the moment, InuTaisho would have to bear her ire. Starting with wiping that superior masculine smirk off his too pretty face.

"Yes, my Lord was rather talkative when he was too far in his cups," she agreed, eyes grinning mischievously. "I remember he told me many an intriguing tale about yourself, InuTaisho-sama."

"Indeed?"

"Oh, yes! Like how you fell asleep during the middle of a meeting with the other Cardinal Lords! He said when they tried to wake you, that..." she paused, raising a dainty, ink stained hand to her mouth as she choked back laughter. "...that you actually grabbed Migawari-sama a-and... spooned him!"

InuTaisho's face was a rather unbecoming shade of pink as she began giggling uncontrollably. His mouth puckered like he'd tasted something sour, and his eyes were swimming with regret for his previous teasing comments. However Kuenai wasn't finished, determined to put the old dog in his place.

"It was an-"

"Oh, oh... you simply must tell me! Is it true that you once drank so much sake that you- you transformed and... and...," she snorted in an unladylike fashion, laughing through her nose in a way that her daughter had once said made her sound like a dying bird.

"...and spent the night trying to s-scent mark the shiro?" She gasped, eyes streaming with the evidence of her mirth. InuTaisho's face was slack with mortification, only adding to her good humor as she slumped to the side, a hand bracing against her aching ribcage.

"Because Tozu-chan spent days trying to capture how high you had your leg hiked, but-"

"Enough!"

The sharp command echoed through the room, and the Lady of Setsuna took deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. Appreciative golden eyes took in her smug expression, and he inclined his head with a respectful grin of his own. Kuenai eventually sat up again, waiting patiently while he studied her, proud to have taken him so off guard after so many years.

The last time she had visited, her husband had still been alive, and she had spent most of her time with the children or reading through her own research. While she was well acquainted with the Western Lord, this was the first time she'd ever matched wits with the man without her husband present, and a resonating pang of homesickness flickered in her heart.

'How I miss you at times like this, my love. Although you are still going to pay for your loose lips, dear.'

"You are a worthy adversary, Kuenai-sama. I'll remember to not underestimate you in the future. Now," his expression twisted to show his burgeoning interest, "why have you come to visit after so long?"

Knowing that her opportunity had arrived, the Lady of Setsuna's eye twinkled with mischief as she considered the entertainment to be had by involving the great dog demon in the deepening puzzle that was Higurashi. All she had to do at this point was hope he'd be able to help her find some of the answers to the ever growing list of questions. With that thought in mind, she leaned forward, her voice dropped conspiratorially.

"Tell me, InuTaisho-sama... have you ever met someone who has defied the bounds of time?"

A single, bushy eyebrow quirked at her query, and with barely a thought he answered, "I must say, I have not had the pleasure to meet such a powerful individual."

Sitting back, she shook her head with a knowing grin. "Then this is the part where I must inform you of how wrong you are, my Lord."

"Oh? And who is this being that supposedly has the strength to overcome the laws of time, my Lady?" His voice was mocking, but there was sincere curiosity in his bright eyes.

Smiling, Kuenai slowly rose to her feet before moving to stand at one of the windows behind his desk. Staring down into the gardens below, she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her as she noticed three familiar figures running around haphazardly.

Looking back over her shoulder, goose-gray eyes clashed with polish-bright ones that were steadily awaiting her response. Having drawn out the suspense long enough, her answer was as challenging as it was informative.

"The ten-year old girl currently teaching your son how to play fetch."

~O~

Kagome and Izayoi were still in stitches over how easy it had been to trick the "Runt of the Litter" as the princess had named him. It had been a rather simple prank, but the results had been beyond worth it. For nearly a half-hour the two girls had managed to convince the young prince to play fetch with a stick. It had taken the young girl a handful of moments to convince the prideful brat that if he was going to be Lord one day, then he should be able to do everything a regular dog could.

His face had contorted with irritation, and the lordling had taken the bait without another thought, declaring that anything a pet mongrel could do, he could do far better. The best part had been that they hadn't even needed to throw the stick after the first try- he'd become so offended by their inability to pose a challenge, he'd started winging the stick as hard as possible before chasing after it with single-minded determination. When he'd returned the first time with the stick clutched triumphantly in his hand, she and the princess had glanced at each other before looking at the boy in disappointment.

"Well, I guess that works," Kagome hedged, letting her tone show how let down she was by his performance. Looking offended when she took the stick from him unenthusiastically, his eyes had tinted red with anger. Honestly, the young girl had been fascinated by the strange sight, but decided she'd ask Izayoi about it later.

"Explain what you think this Sesshomaru did incorrectly," he bit out, voice thrumming with anger.

Sighing theatrically, Izayoi answered, "You have to catch it with your mouth."

Eyes narrowed with distrust, he countered, "You expect me to put a filthy piece of wood in my-"

"Well, even I can catch a stick in my hand," Kagome pointed out, knowing he'd be unable to argue the point. She was afraid that she might have laid it on too thick when he failed to respond, but then he clenched his fists before snatching the stick from her once more. Streaking after the flying object, he leaped gracefully into the air and caught it effortlessly in his mouth.

When he returned the second time with the stick laying innocently between his canines, Kagome had nearly ruined the prank by falling out then and there. Somehow though, the young girl had managed to control herself long enough to look unimpressed, before pointing out something else he had done wrong. This only served to encourage him to try again. And again. And again.

'Silly brat!' she giggled to herself at the memory of his efforts. Over and over he had thrown the stick further and further, and each time she had merely shrugged and feigned a look of disinterest before coming up with another nonsense reason for him to have another go at it. This went on for close to an hour without the young lordling suspecting them of deceit. Until the last time of course, when Izayoi had finally cracked and fallen to the ground, laughter hissing out from between her clenched teeth as her shoulders twitched violently in mirth.

To say that Sesshomaru hadn't been pleased was an understatement. Face twisted in rage, the shrimp of a demon had stalked off into the shiro, leaving the two of them to roll around the garden as they giggled madly. It had been several hours since then, and they had still not seen any sign of the silver-haired boy. Fortunately, dinner was going to be served soon and there was simply no way he'd be able to avoid them then.

Arriving in the dining room, the two girls were informed that neither the Lord of the West nor Kuenai would be joining them for the evening meal. Kagome couldn't keep the grin from her face, and she practically skipped to her seat. Izayoi followed her, a dark smile stretching her lips as well.

"You know what this means, right?" the princess asked her, demurely unfolding a napkin across her lap.

"Yup," she paused, watching as Sesshomaru walked into the dining room and stared at them, a sour expression on his face. Lowering her voice to barely a whisper, the young girl leaned in and ordered, "Follow my lead, and giggle like I just said something funny."

On cue, the princess covered a smile as she snickered quietly, while Kagome focused a knowing grin directly on the vertically-challenged demon walking towards them. He was dressed completely in a pale yellow yukata with the sleeves tied back and out of the way, and it allowed her to see thin, magenta slashes on both wrists that matched the markings on his face.

'I wonder why his markings are that color,' Kagome thought, recalling how brighter colors on animals usually meant they were poisonous while the boy seated himself across from them. Still watching him, the young girl frowned to herself when she realized there was something different about his appearance. It wasn't until Sesshomaru tucked loose, silver strands behind a pointed ear that she realized what it was, and her eyes widened with shock.

Forgetting herself in her curiosity, she exclaimed, "Are you wearing a wig?"

Izayoi looked up at her outburst, glancing between Kagome and the demon-child glaring at her as the servants brought in their evening meal. Even the staff were stunned momentarily, pausing for a breath of a second to look at the strange girl waiting impatiently for an answer to her question. Being the center of so much attention had her blushing, but Kagome did her best to ignore the looks being sent her way.

After a pregnant silence, Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her before asking, "Are you an idiot?"

Temper flaring, she narrowed her eyes at the brat across from her in fury as she snapped, "No! Do you have to be such a jerk? I was just wondering how your hair got so long so quick!"

Multiple gasps reverberated throughout the room at her waspish response, servants glancing nervously between her and the heir to the West, wondering how he would react to the rude girl. A dark look from the corner of his eye sent them scurrying from the room, their duties complete until the meal was over and clean-up was needed. Kagome was busy angrily spearing food onto her plate, muttering under her breath about getting attitude from brats, while Izayoi looked to be moments from choking on her tea in her amusement.

The next hour passed in a tense silence, the only sounds coming from Kagome herself as she violently stabbed at her food, chopsticks clattering against her plate and grumbling to herself between bites. Se missed the subtle looks Izayoi kept shooting her, irritated by the fact that not only had she been called stupid, but also that she felt stupid. Everyone seemed to know the reason behind the young prince's hair being longer but her, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

'I'm not an idiot. It's not my fault I don't know. Would it have killed him to tell me?'

Her mind kept circling around this train of thought, and as a result she completely forgot about her plan to prank the golden-eyed boy who seemed as irritated with her as she was with him. The princess eventually stopped trying to get her attention, and as the meal drew to a close, she spoke up herself, startling both Kagome and Sesshomaru.

"Hey Kagome-chan, think you could beat this squirt at the tea-cup challenge?"

~O~

Izayoi picked at her food, annoyed both at the stuffy prince sitting across from them and her new friend, who was currently eating like a heathen commoner. With every clatter of her chopsticks and grumbled complaint with a mouth full of food, the princess stiffened more, until her body was rigid with tension. When Kagome slurped at her tea in an attempt to maintain her glare over the rim of the cup, she had to stop herself from throwing her napkin down and leaving the table. Bad manners were a pet peeve of hers, and Kagome's behavior was driving her up the wall.

'She didn't get this mad when I called her stupid,' Izayoi groused internally, a bit put out by the fact that, while they were friends now, when she had attempted to insult the girl from the future it had never had this kind of result. Jealousy rearing its ugly head, she frowned at the annoying boy who was too focused on returning Kagome's glare to notice her eying him with disgust.

'What is so great about him that makes his insult worse?'

She shot another glance at her friend, nudging her under the table with a chopstick in an attempt to get her attention back on the matter at hand. Face puckering when the other girl didn't respond at all, the princess felt her eye twitch with rage.

'She has completely forgotten that we are supposed to be making that runt of the litter beg for mercy!'

Spearing a pickled plum from her plate, she chewed it thoughtfully as she tried to ignore Kagome slurping noisily at her tea again. When her friend slammed her cup back down, Izayoi felt an idea flicker to life inside her mind. Remembering the trick that Kagome had pulled on her, the princess felt a plan forming that not only took care of Sesshomaru, but also got her a bit of revenge on the girl currently ignoring her.

Not stopping to consider the outcome of what she was about to do, the princess silently congratulated her own cleverness as she waited for her companions to finish their meals. Seeing the heir to the West take his last bite, she laid her own napkin on her plate, a determined light in her eyes.

Turning to her friend, who was still lost in her own angry world, she asked, "Hey Kagome-chan, think you could beat this squirt at the tea-cup challenge?"

While her friend looked at her in surprised confusion, Izayoi watched Sesshomaru from the corner of her eye turn a bright red.

Turning on her, he snarled, "Who are you calling a sniveling, little shrimp, you kimono-wearing cow?"

Smirking at his outburst, she ignored his insult for now, knowing she was about to get back at him for it if she could get him to take the bait. Folding her arms into her sleeves, she looked down her nose at the lordlings shaking shoulders and with a sneer exclaimed, "I mean, you beat me easily enough, so I don't think he would be much of a challenge for you, but-"

"This Sesshomaru would never loose to some idiotic girl!"

A bang echoed through the room as Kagome slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward with an evil gleam to her eye. Glaring at the shorter boy who wasn't backing down, her voice was sugary sweet as she asked him, "You want to bet on that, runt?"

When Sesshomaru started ranting about the insult to his height, Izayoi allowed a devilish grin to split her lips. She had often played chess with her father before he'd died, normally during the winter months when the snow piled up too deep for her to go outside in the gardens. While she hadn't played a game since, despite her uncle's many offers to be her opponent, she still remembered the satisfaction of setting her pawns up for the killing blow. Watching her new best friend having a shouting match with her arch enemy, the princess couldn't help but feel that same satisfaction flow though her now.

'Checkmate.'