Inuyasha stood beside the throne with his arms crossed and a sour expression that he directed at the so-called noblemen standing before him.
"Inuyasha," called a voice softened so that only he would hear.
He glanced back, saw a young Queen on her velvet covered throne and looked at her carefully. Despite the straight-set of her shoulders and the elaborate clothing, complete with a delicate silver crown, he could still see apprehension in those blue eyes he knew so well.
"Don't worry," he whispered back. "I have all my men on high alert and everyone in the assembly was checked thoroughly. I even did a twice over of the place before I let you come in."
She nodded, but still, he sensed her uneasiness.
A small reassuring smile found him then. "Kagome," he intoned softer. "I'll be right here the whole time. Nobody's going to try anything today. And even if they do, you know I'll protect you with my life."
"That's what worries me," she whispered.
He snorted lightly. "Like I'd ever drop dead and leave you to handle this mess all by yourself," he scolded gently.
She stared into his eyes a bit longer as if trying to gauge how sincere he was being. After a moment she seemed to find what she was looking for and hesitantly released a soft breath before faintly smiling back. "Thank you Inuyasha, I'm glad."
He nodded curtly and looked back to the others. His mouth returning to a neutral line and his brows once more furrowed.
She also turned to the assembled nobles. "Well?" she called authoritatively, though he could still hear a faint tremble in her voice. "Did you find the ones responsible for the bandit attack yesterday?"
A plump older man hesitantly stepped forward. "Yes. well… It… It seems that…" The older man turned his eyes briefly to Inuyasha who stared back impassively. "W-Well It seems it wasn't a bandit attack after all but… Demons," the human reluctantly revealed.
Inuyasha inwardly winced. A demon attack. Just what Kagome fucking needed while they were in the middle of negotiations with his damn brother.
She flashed him a brief look of apology, though damned if he knew why. It wasn't HER fault who he was related to or that she'd been dragged onto the throne in the middle of all this. If anyone should have that look on their face it was HIM for making things harder for her than they had to be.
"Any intelligence on which clan they hailed from?" she asked the crowd's spokesman. The human shook his head meekly.
"We were hoping you could tell US!" snapped a younger voice in the crowd. At the tone of accusation and the resulting murmur, the young Queen stiffened slightly, her expression suddenly upset.
Inuyasha made a sound of fury beside her and squared his shoulders. "You trying to say somethin?!" he snapped angrily. "Well?!"
Every eye in the room fixed on him and widened like a field full of rabbit's noticing a hunting dog tense for the chase. And then somewhere in the back, he heard a man bitterly whisper the word "Witch." A flame of rage lit inside of him at that word.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR QUEEN?" Inuyasha boomed, stepping forward quickly. Kagome's hand shot out to grip the red sash at his waist to subtly stop him but he still glared out into the crowd of twenty before fixing his gaze knowingly on the one who had dared to speak. The young man quickly shrunk back with a look of terror and all the humans around him who had heard his utterance stepped away leaving their comrade exposed.
"STEP FORWARD!" Inuyasha barked sharply.
The man glanced at his retreating peers as they moved aside to form a path and turned back to the angry half-demon. Very reluctantly, the man walked forward until he stood before the Queen's General and all the other court nobles.
Kagome reluctantly released Inuyasha's sash and let him walk down toward the offending human. After all, She HAD given him a position of power over her subjects that he was fully expected to use. And she knew she could trust him not to take it too far. Still, he nodded ever so slightly at her as he stepped away.
"If you have somethin to say I'd DAMN well say it now," Inuyasha told the frightened human harshly as he reached the foot of the dais. "Just bear in fucking mind that If you didn't have HER in the big chair you bastards would still be stuck with the old king. An' he wasn't exactly a friend to ANY of you."
There was a quiet murmur from the others, however, the human in front of Inuyasha stayed still and silent. A cold sweat formed on his skin.
And then, In a heartbeat, Inuyasha bolted forward, grabbed the man up by the collar of his tunic and lifted him well off his feet. His victim made a strangled sound of fear but none of the others dared come to his rescue. Inuyasha made an intimidating sight in his ceremonial armor lifting a struggling man off his feet singlehandedly with no sign of strain.
He leaned toward his captive with a glare, his voice dark. "But if you prefer the old king's way just say so and the executions can damn well continue, I sure as fuck wouldn't have a problem cutting off the heads of treasonous bastards like you."
The man stilled with a look of wide-eyed panic. "N-No! Plea-"
The half-demon's grip around his neck momentarily tightened and cut the human off.
"Give me ONE good reason to spare you after you insulted her majesty in MY presence," he snarled. The human's eyes grew impossibly large, and although the grip around his throat was no longer crushing he could barely bring himself to breath let alone speak.
"Enough Inuyasha," Kagome interrupted at last. He glanced back at her expression of pleading. "I'm sure you've made your point."
"Not yet," he growled, turning back to the human with a sour expression. Inuyasha dropped the noble who landed with a soft yelp in an undignified sprawl before the entire court.
"You've been offered mercy you ingrate," Inuyasha snapped, glaring angrily down at the foolish man. "So fucking BOW to her highness before I MAKE you bow!"
The man gulped at the ferocity in Inuyasha's voice and quickly turned to the young Queen, scrambling to his hands and knees and pressing his forehead to the floor.
"I-I'm sorry highness! It will never happen again! Please spare me!"
"…Lord Kasati," she called in a sympathetic voice. "I know you only speak out of concern for your people. Of course you're forgiven."
The man sagged a little with relief and Inuyasha snorted as if to say 'not forgiven by ME," but obediently returned to the Queen.
Kagome watched Inuyasha fall back into position at her side, then looked back down at the prostrated man before her. "Please rise lord Kasati. I trust you won't be angering the general again."
The man rose and quickly retreated. She waited for him to fade safely back into the crowd before addressing the others. "As for the demons, we will send for the slayers and have this sorted as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please continue looking after the survivors and I will have supplies and soldiers sent to fortify you. Is there anything else?"
"N-No your highness," gingerly answered the spokesman.
"Then you are all dismissed."
(—)
As soon as the others were gone and the throne room was empty, Kagome finally allowed herself to relax and turned to Inuyasha, raising an eyebrow at him speculatively. "Don't you think you overdid it a little Inuyasha?"
"Overdoing it would'a looked a lot bloodier," he grumbled.
"You can't just beat up everyone who has a problem with me," she pointed out.
"Yes, I can."
Instantly a small smile lit her face and she released a soft giggle. "Okay so maybe you could, but you still shouldn't try. For one thing, you'd have at least half the country to deal with."
He flashed her a dark smirk revealing a fang. "Makes it a challenge." Then he surprised her by holding out his arm.
She blinked at the gesture and then glanced up to see him looking pointedly away. She was almost sure she saw him blushing. "Now cmon," he ordered softly. "We've got lunch to eat and then it looks like we're gonna be busy."
Kagome smiled and nodded, taking his arm in hers and rising from the throne he'd once helped her win.
Authors note
This was a little scene Mustard Yellow Sunshine (Robin) and I headcanoned ages ago. Here's the heart of that conversation:
R- plus the one true queen has a pretty zealous guard dog, like, he'll make you bow
G- oh damn XD that would be so cool to see
R- Inuyasha be like "WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY QUEEN? WANNA REPEAT THAT?" "I DIDN'T FUCKING THINK SO"
G- Kagome dressed as a queen on her throne with Inuyasha dressed as a bodyguard making people bow. I bet Kagome would be jumping up from her seat nearly constantly to stop him from putting the hurt on rude subjects
R- "Inuyasha, you can't beat up everyone who has a problem with me." "YES I CAN."
G- I can totally see the look of stubborn anger already
R- maybe she's a new queen and they just came through like a civil war or dangerous court politics and she's just establishing her power and he's super protective of her (look at me I'm FLESHING THIS OUT FUCK)
Personally, I think It's super interesting looking back at the original conversation where so many of the lines came from and then at the finished product. Maybe you think so too! XD