Chapter 26- Weren't You Afraid of Me?
The sudden attack caused Juromaru to stumble and trip; which, in turn, caused the sunglasses to go flying out of his hands and up in the air.
Kirara watched them go flying… right into the hands of a young child.
The little girl looked at the sunglasses curiously, before she looked around her, wondering where they came from. As she examined it for a few more minutes Kirara glanced over at the demons, who were getting their butts kicked by Sango, before she transformed back into a kitten form, and taking a few steps forward to the girl. It was time to put on her 'cute kitty' act.
She fipped her tail and gave a small 'mew' as she approached the little girl. The girl giggled as she came closer. "Hi kitty," the girl greeted as she began to stroke Kirara's head. Kirara just purred softly, but loud enough for Shippo to hear. He turned to see the little girl petting Kirara and the silver sunglasses in her hands.
Shippo raced over to them, "Excuse me?"
The little girl looked up and said, "Is this your kitty?"
"Ahhh," said Shippo thinking of a good answer. "She's a friend of mine."
"Oh," said the little girl. "Then are these sunglasses yours little raccoon?"
Shippo's tail drooped as an annoyed look came over his face, "Yes… and I'm a fox."
"Well, alright. Here you go," she said as she passed the sunglasses into Shippo's tiny hands, and patted Kirara on the head one more time before she went running of. Right as he took the sunglasses, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sango running after the crooks, Satsuki coming from one way and Kagome and Inuyasha coming from another.
"Yea! You did it Shippo!" Satsuki yelled happily. "You got them back!"
"What? Well I…" he began trying to explain what happened. But when he saw the happy look on Satsuki's face he couldn't help but say proudly, "Yeah! Yeah that's right! No one stands a chance against the Great Fox Demon Shippo!"
As Satsuki clapped her hands, Inuyasha said under his breath, "Listen to the big talker."
"Be nice Inuyasha," said Kagome grinning at the cute couple.
"Looks like we should go tell that man that we got the glasses back," Satsuki said as Shippo placed them in the palm of her hand.
"Where are the others?" Kagome asked when she noticed that Boton, Momiji, and Miroku were gone.
"Oh, they're making sure that Miroku's getting good treatment," Satsuki answered. She then noticed that Kagome was in Inuyasha's arms, "Why is he carrying you?"
"I fell and I hurt my ankle," she responded, not really wanting to get into the full details.
"GET BACK HERE!" Sango's voice suddenly yelled, startling them all. The turned to see Sango yelling after the crooks who were long gone down the alley.
Before another word could be spoken between them the man from before came running up, gasping for air. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! You got them back," he said as he took them from Satsuki. "As thanks… I'd like to personally invite the four of you to the palace so I can tell the prince himself of your good deed."
He turned to the footman and handed him back the sunglasses, "Guard these with your life! And find the one that these belong too!"
The footman just nodded as the carriage picked up and drove off.
*Rooftops*
'What?' The child thought as he peered from behind a corner watching them. 'They got the sunglasses back? Well, there goes that plan. I guess it's time I came up with a plan of my own.'
*The Palace*
"Wow!" both Satsuki and Kagome said in awe as they looked around the palace foyer. Hanging down from the ceiling was a waterfall of crystals flowing out into a ring candles, while off to both sides were carpeted stairs leading up to the unseen floors above them. In front of them were two large wooden oak doors that lead to the throne room. They had arrived at the palace only a few moments before, and were driven through a silver gate in a horse-drawn carriage.
As they looked around the man ordered a servant to show both Inuyasha and Kagome where the healer was so they could look at Kagome's ankle.
The healer had informed her that her ankle had just been sprained, and that she could walk on it with proper bandaging. So, with a bandaged foot they walked back down to greet everyone.
Before they walked into the throne room, Sango turned towards one of the servants and said, "Please… we have a companion who is staying at the hospital… and we're very worried about him…"
The servant waved his hand and said in a croaky voice, "Not to worry my dear girl! I'll have the driver go over and see what they can do for him."
As Sango began to thank him and tell him what had happened to Miroku, another servant came in from the throne room. "His highness will see you now."
No one said a word as they followed the servant into the throne room. As they approached the dais the prince turned to face them; as they did, did they all swept down into a bow, that is except for Inuyasha who refused to bow and just stood there looking grumpy.
"Your highness," they chorused.
"Please rise," the prince told them.
As they rose up from the bow, the prince looked each of them over and an awkward silence filled the throne room. "My servants told me that you were the ones that retrived the sunglasses when they were stolen this afternoon. I must thank you for that."
Kagome gave him a gentle smile before saying, "You're very welcome. But ah… if you don't mind me asking… what's so special about a pair of glasses?"
Before anything else could be said the door to the throne room opened and the footman entered followed by a young woman with brunette hair and swinging around a thin cane. Everyone's gaze moved from the footman onto the young woman standing behind him. "You highness-" The footman began.
"I know," the prince cut him off as he brushed by everyone else until he stood right in front of the young woman. The woman merely stared in front of her unblinking, and Kagome gasped, 'Is she blind?' she thought.
The prince reached out a hand, and gently touched the woman's face, "You're the one, don't ask me how… but I just know it. What's your name? "
"Suijin, you're highness," she answered calmly.
"Suijin," the prince repeated, enjoying the way her name rolled off his tongue. He placed his hand under the blind girl's chin and raised her head so they he could stare into her sightless eyes. "I know this is sudden, but I feel like I've known you forever. That's why I want to ask you this, will you marry me?"
Suijin gave him a wide smile, "Yes. Of course, your high-"
"Please, call me Takeda Kuranosuke… or even Lord runny-nose if you want to?"
The girl laughed as she then said, "Yes." He paused for a brief moment. "Yes, Kuranosuke, I will marry you."
"Aww," Sango, Kagome, and Satsuki cooed. Shippo made a gagging sound and Inuyasha let out a sigh of annoyance.
Kuranosuke turned and looked at the group. "Seeing as you're the ones who brought the sunglasses back to me… you had helped me to find my one true love. In gratitude, I invite you all to stay as long here for as you'd like."
Sango gave him a nod, "Thank you, my prince. That is most kind of you. We were hoping to stay here, at least until our friend in the hospital has recovered."
The dark haired prince nodded before motioning to a guard standing along the side. "I want you to find a servant that can escort them to their rooms."
"Yes sire," the servant said.
*That night*
Kagome was curled up on the bed in the room she was staying in, loving the fact that she was on the softest bed she ever had in her life. And thinking of a few questions…
'That was so sweet with the prince and the blind Cinderella. But what did he mean that it felt like he knew her forever when they only met a once before? What am I doing here? Kikyo said that I had my own fairytale to complete… but what did she mean? What am I supposed to do now?' She couldn't come up with an answer to any of her questions… expect for one; how did she feel about Inuyasha?
She let out a sigh as she rolled onto her back to look up at the ceiling. 'Well, I dislike the fact that can be so stubborn and thick-headed,' she thought it all over. 'But I can't help but get the feeling that he's keeping something from me… I guess he has his reasons. I mean I've kept something from him as well. I didn't tell him I had kissed him back when he was a dog.'
She sat up when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she called out, expecting maybe a servant coming to ask her if she needed anything.
The door opened and Inuyasha poked his head in the room. "It's me, can I talk to you?"
Kagome blinked several times in surprise before she said, "I guess."
Inuyasha took the invite and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kagome.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.
"Kagome, there's something that I've been wanting to ask you for a long time…"
"What?" Kagome asked curiously.
Inuyasha took in a breath and said, "I was born on earth. Born between a human and a demon parents… I'm not one or the other. Not really human, but not demon either. I'm not either… there was no place for something like me so I had to make one up for myself. And then one day I realized… I did have a place… the problem was that I was the only one in it. That's pretty much how my whole life has been."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, trying to understand why he was telling her this stuff now of all times.
"Humans hated me for being half demon. And demons looked down at me for being half human. I've been hated and despised all my life. By the time that I realized that… I was all alone. I wanted to ask you why you didn't hate me or were afraid of me back when we first met. Remember?"
Kagome nodded, thinking long and hard for an answer. I mean what do you say?
"I don't know why I wasn't afraid of you. I think I was more scared of being in a house where I had no idea where I was. When I heard something down the hall I had to go and see what it was. And then I found a little boy sitting in that playroom all alone… I couldn't help but feel…"
"Scared?" Inuyasha cut in. "I mean… weren't you afraid of me at all? I was a stranger in a house that you knew nothing about. But you weren't scared at all?"
Kagome shook her head. "I was sad. Seeing a little boy crying about being left alone in a dark room in a creepy old house."
"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped. "I was NOT crying! I was moaning."
Kagome smiled as she rolled her eyes, "Yeah sure. Keep telling yourself that. But my point is… I think that I was so relieved to see someone else in that house that I wasn't afraid anymore."
"But how did you know that I wouldn't hurt you?" Inuyasha pressed on.
Kagome shook her head violently. "I don't know why… but as soon as I saw you… I felt safe. Don't ask my why, but I just couldn't help but feel safe with you… and besides…"
She turned to him before reaching up to touch his adorable little dog ears. "You had the cutest ears!"
"HEY!" Inuyasha said pulling his head out of her reach.
Kagome laughed as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen, and she could almost swear that she felt him blush."I don't know Inuyasha. But I just knew that you were a good person. Who cares if you're half-demon? The way that I see it, you get the best of both worlds right?"
Inuyasha was quiet for a minute. "I-I guess."
Kagome waited for him to speak, but when he didn't she asked him a question of her own. "Inuyasha? I'd been meaning to ask you something too. I know that Naraku turned you into a dog, but did he tell you how'd you get turned back into your real form?"
"Yes, yes he did. He told me that I'd return to my real form if…" he stopped there, debating on whether or not to finish the sentence.
"If?" Kagome echoed softly. "If what?"
He changed his gaze from Kagome to stone floor. "It's nothing important. Just… are you sure that you didn't see anything strange that night?"
Kagome's breath caught in her throat. 'I…kissed him. But did that have anything to do with it? Or am I just fooling myself?' She bit her lower lip trying to think. What would he say if she told him? Maybe she was better off just keeping her mouth shut.
"No," she said at last. "I didn't see anything unusual that night." It wasn't a complete lie… she just wasn't telling everything that she knew. She really didn't see anything strange that night… it was what she did that was strange.
Inuyasha merely nodded as he glanced out the window to see the moon rising in the sky. "It's getting late," he muttered as he turned away from the window to face Kagome.
All fell silent once more as they looked at one another. Their eyes met and without them noticing it, they began to lean in towards each other. As they got closer Inuyasha's heartbeat quickened in excitement. He closed his eyes and waited for contact, but it never came. Instead he felt added weight leaning against him.
Confused he opened his eyes and looked down only to see Kagome peacefully sleeping against him. Despite the fact that he was feeling slightly disappointed, a small smile graced his lips as he watched her sleep for a few moments.
As carefully as he could, he gently laid Kagome's head against the pillows and brought a blanket up around her. He yawned as he rubbed his tired eyes, knowing he should go back to the room that he was given…
But he didn't. He fell asleep right at Kagome's bedside…
