Big plot development in this one – hope you all like – REVIEW!
Chapter 29 – It has been decided
The party was fast approaching; people would be arriving any minute. Kagome sat to the right of Sesshoumaru as his ward, or pup as he called her, Inuyasha sat to his left as his beta. Akito had been required to be present for the meeting too and he sat to Kagome's side. His presence was required partly because he had had a large part to play in organizing the whole blasted thing, and partly because he was Sesshoumaru's good friend. The main reason though was because the girl refused to leave his side, still slightly apprehensive of the man she was required to call 'father', she had not left his side for a second since the incident.
Right now as they sat in the great hall awaiting their guests, she held onto the spider's thin hand and did not show any signs of even intending to let go. The usually cold and closed off dancer showed objection to this and when her hand tightened over his at the arrival of the first guests, he gave the small appendage a slight reassuring squeeze. Akito wondered whether their relationship would have developed into what it was now even if she had not gained his respect in that way as quickly as she had. He thought yes, after all, she was a good dancer despite being human and a child, and she was so pure and innocent and warm, he allowed himself to smile inwardly, it was impossible to not love the little child at his side.
The introductions were dull, but on the bright side they were easy. All she had to do was nod her head respectfully when they had been introduced. Because she was a human she did not usually get a reply, but the cardinal Lords and ladies, the ones of the highest status would nod back and smile at her. The more minor Lords that came saw her beneath them, which was strange, seeming as the meeting had been postponed it had been combined with the meeting with the lower Lords as well, which meant the whole visit would last longer – weeks.
The feast was trying to say the least, it was not that the food was not nice; Packo and his team were excellent cooks. She had something unique from the others seeming as she could not hold raw meat in her stomach like the others could. The main problem was that there was just so much food; she could not possibly eat it all like everyone else was able to. It was polite to eat all you were offered, but watching the youkai around her eat meat which was actually still bleeding depleted her appetite majorly and even made her feel a little queasy.
The dancing after the dinner was a different matter entirely. Far from being apprehensive or nervous about the ball, she was excited, and wanted to show off her hard training with Akito on the dance floor. Her excitement slowly faded as she sat down at the side of the hall, waiting for someone to dance with her. Sesshoumaru was required to entertain the ladies of the Lands, those who were and were not mated being the host. Akito as a dance partner despite his cold demeanour was also a popular choice because of his skill; she did not know anyone else. She was just a human, who would want to be seen entertaining her?
So she sat there watching the dance, afraid she was going to be a wallflower, waiting for Sesshoumaru to ask her to dance, or even for Inuyasha who had to be entertaining the female guests to ask her. The suddenly she saw a demon make his way over to her, it was a young what looked to be a snake demon judging by the colourful scales on his body and those silvery eyes. he was handsome, and young, only, physically a few years older than her though in actuality he was probably her senior by several decades. She could barely believe her luck, a handsome young demon was making his way over to her!
A small smile settled around his lips and she felt herself return it without consciously putting the expression on her face. This was so exciting, she was going to be able to dance with everyone else, and it would not be with those who were her friends, but with a guest! She straightened the beautiful white kimono she was wearing and prayed to the Kamis that she would not make a fool out of herself and dishonour Sesshoumaru and the Western house. She was not beautiful like the other youkai here, or as smart or as simply wonderful, not eye catching at all, and still this boy wanted to dance with her, she felt honoured.
"Good evening," he said with a bow while Kagome started to hyperventilate and forced herself not to feel flustered. He was meant to bow, this was customary, and she was meant to curtsey, so forcing herself to get to her feet she places one foot behind the other and spread the skirts of her kimono so it swept the ground when she curtseyed. "I am Riko, third son of Lord Haru of the Southern Lands, and I dare say that it is an upmost pleasure to meet you. Does the lovely celestial maiden before me have a name?"
His flattery caught her off guard and once again she had to remind herself that such small talk was also customary. She fought down the blush to answer, "my name is Kagome Higurashi, adopted ward of Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands," she replied mimicking his speech, not entirely sure why. "I would be honoured to dance with you, Riko sama, and I think that not only do you look spectacular, you are quite charming too." And she told no lie, from his sparkling eyes and posh suit; down to every last syllable in the words he spoke he was charming.
She wondered whether one day she would mate someone in the demon court other than Kohaku or Hojo, it was definite possibility if they were all as charming as Riko, not to mention Sesshoumaru would probably prefer for her to be with a demon rather than a human. Not that she cared about his opinion all that much or anything, but just saying, she was probably right. He held his hands to his lips and with a smirk on his face placed a kiss on the back of it. Her face immediately started to burn, however upper class this gathering was, that was not mandatory.
The dance passed too quickly and although her feet were sore and her legs ached, in her mind it seemed like only seconds had passed since she was sitting on the chair at the side of the hall being a wallflower. Three songs had worn her out and he took her hand and led her to the kitchens at the front of the hall to get a drink. Not much happened then, they talked and laughed, shared stories, Kagome was selective about what she chose to talk about; her partner did not seem too much care. After a little while he was called away by his father to entertain some female demons and she was left alone again, but she was happy. "I hope to see you again soon Kagome," he said before leaving with a smile which she returned full heartedly.
She had done well on the dance floor, though she had had a good partner and she had proven she could dance. Exhilarated and wanting more she only had to wait a few minutes before another young noble came striding towards her. He looked a lot like a spider youkai, like Akito was, only slightly younger and stronger, there was more to him. He had a small smile on his face as he approached and Kagome could only begin to imagine how good a dancer he was if Akito's skills were anything to go by. She wanted to jump and run into his arms and drag him to the dance floor, it was so exciting, but she forced herself to remain calm and in her seat, looking somewhat serene. She did not want to embarrass Sesshoumaru by acting like a child.
He was about two steps away from her when someone grabbed her arm and twirled her up from her seat and away from him. "Let me have this dance," a voice rasped, he spoke quietly and quickly, she did not quite catch who it was that spoke. She was dragged to the dance floor and spun around a few times before she managed to see who it was that was holding her. "Akito," she said surprised, she was not exactly disappointed, she wanted to dance with him, but she had been dancing with him for months, although this was different from a lesson. "That spider boy was about to ask me to dance with him I think, he looks rather put out."
She glanced at her would be partner who tried not to look annoyed as he watched her bye spun around by him. "He can have the next dance," he assured her, "but I could not leave this evening without seeing how well you do when not in a lesson. "That boy is a distant relation of mine; he is the only son of a minor Lord in the Western Lands. He is known to be not all that fond of humans for reasons I doubt even he knows." The dance became more complicated but the moves came as naturally to her as they did to the professional dance instructor.
"I am impressed by your footwork," Akito commended, enjoying the stares they were receiving as much as Kagome was. As they danced, Kagome spotted Sesshoumaru dancing with a water elemental youkai, a beautiful woman with blue eyes, turquoise hair and a teardrop symbol on her forehead. They looked good as the danced together, Sesshoumaru smiled at his ward, the water youkai did not seem to like the attention deviate and pulled his face back to her, to her surprise, Sesshoumaru did not reprimand her for such an act. Kagome's face fell, she knew she had no authority over who Sesshoumaru wanted to mate, but she wished that he did not eventually choose someone obnoxious like that.
"Do you remember what happened on the day you won my respect?" Akito asked her, distracting her from the rather upsetting scene. She merely nodded, a small smile coming to her face at the memory, how could she forget? The song was coming to a close and the other spider youkai was already walking towards them for his turn, not wanting to be put out again. "I suggest you keep what you did in your mind," he told her. "The next song is not as complicated, so if he chooses to humiliate you, it should be easier to turn around. I am not saying it will definitely happen but you have to watch out for him, just in case."
He let go of her and she was literally spun into the waiting spider's arms. Once he steadied her he smiled and bowed, customary, and she curtseyed in response. The song was slow, but he made the dance they had as complicated as he possibly could without making it look out of place. He was a good male lead and Kagome got to thinking that he was the perfect gentleman. He did not talk to her, but maybe he simply did not have anything to say, as he dipped her and spun in circles. His hands were secure on her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck, maybe all youkai had dancing lessons – they were certainly all good.
As they danced she started to laugh with the enjoyment and that was when she caught Akito giving her a hard stare whilst in the arms of another female. She gave a sigh, she loved her teacher, she really did and could not help but obey all of his wishes, whatever they may be. She blinked in response which softened his glare plenty; she would not let her guard down for him. Akito, like always was right of course, he knew his own kin well and knew everything there was about dancing, including formal balls such as this one. As preposterous as it seemed to her, she still tightened her grip on the young spider demon holding her, and watched his eyes, the eyes never lied, if there was intent, she would see it in his eyes.
It came not a moment later when he tripped her up, catching his legs in the process. Quickly she let go of him and jumped away and he ended up on staring at the ceiling flat on his back. He was dazed for a moment trying to work out what went wrong until he heard the girl pleasantly enquiring whether he was alright. She offered him a hand up but he got to his feet unaided and just stood there staring at her in approval. He liked her, she was able to outsmart him, that was good, for a human that it, no, for a demon too.
He took her hand in his the smile he gave her was genuine, and then all of a sudden he gave a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back," he promised and made his way through crowding demons, presumably looking for something, or getting refreshments. In actuality, though Kagome did not know this, he was trying to find Sesshoumaru. He had to wait several minutes to catch him before another lady forced him to dance with her or some pushy male forced him to dance with his daughter. "Lord Sesshoumaru," he said in a loud voice, stepping forward, successfully getting his attention. The demon Lord was glad for the break and willingly gave him his full focus, not wanting to be drawn into another dance.
The spider bowed low, "it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance," he said, receiving as a respectful nod in return. "I have just had the pleasure of dancing with your ward Kagome, and may I say she makes the most wonderful dance partner. You must be proud of her skills, to be so knowledgeable already and she cannot have been training for more than a couple of years, you have not known her all that long as I hear after all." He had a risky request coming next and with a demon with a temper like Sesshoumaru's he knew that going in with flattery around a crowd of spectators was a sure way not to get his head cut off.
"I wish to ask for your permission to court Lady Kagome," he said eventually cutting to the chase. He stared into the demon Lord's eyes as he said it, and made sure his voice did not waver no matter how threatening the Western Lord was. Sesshoumaru did not react immediately and stared down at him with that impassive mask on his face. He did not make reply, but the arachnid knew better than to say something stupid like 'did you hear me', or repeat himself. The Lord had been known to punish such acts of idiocy before, and he wanted to make a good impression so all he did was continue to stare up at him and wait for him to speak.
Sesshoumaru was in turmoil, he knew that he really did not have the right to turn down the spider's request; after all he had said 'court' and not 'mate'. He wanted the choice to be Kagome's which showed he respected her and had honour, which alone made him a worthy candidate. By the way he held his eyes and voice showed he really liked her as well and was not in it for the money or social status he would gain out of it. Moreover he wanted Kagome to marry someone she liked and if she grew close to him in courting then so be it. He could pretend his status was not high enough but then neither had Kohaku or Hojo's social status and he had been forced to consider them. That was really not the problem here and he knew it.
"I'm afraid I am going to have to decline your wish," he said carefully, slowly, coming to an inside agreement. He saw him about to open his mouth to protest and ask why and Sesshoumaru lifted his hand up to halt him. "It has already been decided by this one that she will become the Lady of the Western Lands in time," he announced regally. He left him staring after him in shock and engulfed himself back into the party going on around him. He knew better than to repeat this information but... wow – that was so unexpected.
The way he said it made it clear Kagome was yet to know; maybe he was going to wait a few years before posing the question, after all she was only 12 years old at the moment. What if she did not feel the same way and could only ever view him as a father figure? What then? Will he relinquish her? It was obvious young Kagome had changed the previous Lord Icicle, he was more approachable if just as terrifying but he still felt a little sorry for her. Inus were incredibly possessive and intent on getting what they wants, if she declined then she was in for a chase as he pursued her, and once he had her he was not letting her go, not out of his sight for a second.
Good luck girl.
