Disclaimer: Don't own it. Tired of saying this. On with the story.
~~~
~*~ There's No Possible Way ~*~
~ Chapter Two: Some Things Are Figured Out ~
Shippo sighed. 'Why does my master have to be such an idiot?' Shippo looked around him. He realized that he had no clue where he was, or where he was supposed to be going. "Kirara, do you know where we are?"
Kirara looked up at him with big eyes and meowed. He took that to mean that she didn't know either. "Oh." he sat on the floor and started to sulk. "Now we're lost in our new home."
Miroku was still looking for Sango, and nearly tripped over the kitsune. It was easy to do, since he was so short. "Whoa!" Miroku looked down, "Who are you?"
Shippo looked up, "I'm Shippo, and this is Kirara. We were sent by our lord master to find the queen and explain that he was here already."
"Your lord master? Who would that be?" Miroku was genuinely curious.
"Youkai-oujo Inu-Yasha. He upset Princess Kagome, and went to try and apologize.I think."
'So that's what Kagome was talking about.' Miroku thought. Out loud, he said, "Well, Shippo, let's go to the throne room. I'm guessing that you're lost."
The little demon nodded, "Yes. This castle is a maze!"
"Not when you're used to it. Come along. I'll leave you in the queen's presence. I need to find someone."
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"No problem." Miroku began walking towards the throne room. Everyone had thought that Inu-Yasha wouldn't be here until tomorrow. They guessed wrong, apparently.
**~~**
There was a timid knock at the door. Queen Ayame looked up, "Yes? You may enter."
A small fox demon entered the room, looking nervous, and had a small cat demon following him. "Um...Your majesty, I come on behalf of my lord master, Inu-Yasha of the Western Lands."
"Inu-Yasha? But he wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow!" she exclaimed, surprised.
"Yes, well, we arrived today. Lord Inu-Yasha went to...to...apologize to the princess."
Ayame rolled her eyes, "I'm sure that whatever he's apologizing for, it was my daughter's fault to begin with. She has a bad habit of using her sharp tongue." She smiled, "Actually, it's one of the reasons that this marriage between her and Inu-Yasha will work out. She keeps chasing suitors away..."
Shippo looked nervous, and looked away from the queen. "Well, they should be here soon, my lady." To himself, he thought, 'I hope Inu-Yasha didn't screw things up too badly...'
*~*
Kagome sighed and removed her hand from Inu-Yasha's elbow. This was getting tedious. Inu-Yasha sighed with relief and put his arm down. "Jeez...My arm was starting to get tired..."
"You're pathetic," was Kagome's harsh reply. "You're a demon, you have incredible strength, and you complain about holding your arm in mid-air?"
The hanyou cringed at her words, but said nothing. He glanced sideways at her, "Do you really want to get married to me?"
"What do you think?!" Kagome yelled. "The last thing I want is an arranged marriage! Even less to a DEMON!"
"What makes you think that I want to go through with this thing either?" Inu-Yasha's temper was starting to rise again. "I hate this! Being half human is bad enough, but being married to one is worse!"
"Hmph..." Kagome muttered, "It doesn't look like your father really minded..." She crossed her arms and stopped talking to him. She wasn't watching where she was going though, and before she knew it, she was tripping over Inu-Yasha's sword. He caught her arm, and stood her up again. She blushed slightly, embarrassed. Somewhat reluctantly, she said, "Thank you..."
Inu-Yasha picked up the Tetsusaiga, "No problem. It was my fault in the first place." He retied the sword to his waist. "The Shikon no Tama is kept in this palace, right?"
"Yes." There was no point in lying to the boy. Especially if he'd be here for two weeks. "It's in the prayer room at the center of the castle. No one but the royal family may enter without permission. If they try, they are repelled and my mother will know immediately."
"Oh..." Inu-Yasha was interested. He didn't know very much about the Higurashi Kingdom, and wanted to know more. But he wasn't about to ask Kagome. Kagome stopped. "Eh?"
She turned to him, "This is the throne room. My mother should be here."
"Oh," Inu-Yasha watched as she opened the door.
"Mother? The youkai-oujo is already here," Kagome announced. "Prince Inu- Yasha, this is Queen Ayame, mistress of the Higurashi Kingdom."
Inu-Yasha bowed, and the queen stood and curtsied. "Welcome, Inu-Yasha. I hear from your servant that you have already had to apologize to the princess."
Inu-Yasha glared at Shippo. The little fox demon flinched at the look, but kept steady. "Yes, your majesty. I apologize to you, as well, for upsetting your daughter," he paused. Then he continued with an audible amount of malice in his voice, "However, had she not been so rude to me to begin with, I might not have lost my temper."
Just then, Sango and Miroku were passing the open door, and stopped, seeing the princess and this white-haired stranger talking to the queen. Sango coughed slightly, and Kagome turned her head. She motioned for the monk and exterminator to enter. "Inu-Yasha," Kagome got their attention, "I have been told that after your two weeks here, I will be traveling to your kingdom for two weeks. I wish to bring these two people with me, Lady Sango and Lord Miroku. Both may prove useful, and I will feel safer with them around."
Inu-Yasha folded his arms into his shirt and half closed his eyes, "No harm will come to you in my kingdom, princess. Your worries are pointless." Kagome scowled at him, and he sighed, "However, you may bring them along. I suppose I should get to know your friends."
The queen shook her head and looked down to hide her amusement. This would be an interesting marriage. "Kagome, you may show the prince to his rooms, and then give him a tour of the castle. Be sure to show him the practice grounds. And the Shikon Jewel."
Kagome looked up, "But Mother, I don't know where he's staying."
Ayame looked at her daughter, exasperated, "Kagome, don't you remember last week, when the servants were cleaning out the rooms next to yours?"
The princess thought for a moment. Suddenly she remembered. Some of the servants had been cleaning those rooms, even though no one used them. When she had asked about it, they all avoided her gaze. 'How long has this been set up for?' she thought. "Oh, yes..." Kagome sighed, "Come on, Inu- Yasha..."
The hanyou followed her reluctantly. 'Why did Mother and Father betroth me to such an arrogant wench of a princess?' Shippo, Kirara, Sango, and Miroku followed them. Shippo and Kirara because they had no other place to go, and Sango and Miroku because Kagome still supposedly wanted to talk to them.
*~*
Kagome opened the door to the chambers. "Ta-da. Here you go, Inu-Yasha."
Inu-Yasha looked around. They were nice rooms, and they were right next to Kagome's room, like the queen had said. In a some-what strained voice, he said, "Thank you." He glanced at Miroku and Sango. "Excuse me, but I need to speak to Kagome for a moment."
"Of course," Sango bowed and dragged Miroku out of the room. Shippo started to follow, but Inu-Yasha caught him by the tail.
"You stay. I only meant the monk and the girl," Inu-Yasha dropped the kitsune. Then he went and shut the door. Kagome was kneeling on the floor next to Shippo, glaring at Inu-Yasha. "What?"
"For god's sake! You just dropped him on the floor!" Kagome scooped the fox-pup into her arms. "Are you all right?"
Shippo rubbed his head and looked at her, surprised, "Yes. But you don't need to worry about me..."
Inu-Yasha sat on the floor next to her. He sighed, "Kagome -- "
"I never gave you permission to call me 'Kagome,'" the princess looked at him severely.
"What a bother this girl is," he mumbled. "Fine. Princess, I only need to talk to you about Shippo. He was a servant of my family's at home. He is a gift to you."
"A...a gift?" she stared at the fox in her arms. Then she looked up at the demon prince, "Your people make gifts out of servants?"
He shrugged, "He was a new servant. He was orphaned recently, and didn't mind when my parents made the decision."
"Is this true?" Kagome asked Shippo.
"Yes," Shippo looked down sadly. "My parents were killed about a month ago. When Queen Saiaino and King Inutaiko summoned me to court, I was more than happy to leave. I'd be honored to be your servant."
"Hmm...Well, if you say so!" Kagome set him down, and Shippo was smiling happily.
Inu-Yasha looked at her, "Princess, may I call you Kagome?"
"Yes. Just promise not to call me Kikyou," Kagome scowled slightly.
Inu-Yasha's ears perked at this mention of the legendary priestess. "Why?" he asked. When Kagome glared at him, he quickly tried to explain, "I meant, why would I call you Kikyou?"
"Oh," Kagome still looked a little annoyed. "Well, it's a long story that's tied to the legend of Kisho and Kikyou. It comes down to me looking like Kikyou. Many people accidentally call me Kikyou, particularly the demons of the realm, because they remember Kikyou. Three hundred years isn't very long for a demon."
It was Inu-Yasha's turn to look annoyed, "I know that three hundred years isn't long for a demon. I'm half demon remember? My father is at least twice my mother's age, and it doesn't show a bit. And my half brother is 50 years older than me. I know that little tidbit of information."
"Sorry," Kagome said, and began playing with Shippo's hair.
"Well, you realize there's always the case of reincarnation," Inu-Yasha continued. "You could just be the reincarnation of Kikyou."
"I thought there had to be special conditions around that," Miroku's voice cut into the conversation, and Kagome and Inu-Yasha both snapped their heads to the door. It was open slightly, and Sango and Miroku were both kneeling on the floor. Sango looked embarrassed at being caught, and was glaring at Miroku.
Kagome sighed exasperatedly, "Well, come in then. We're not talking about anything special anymore, as you well know."
As Miroku and Sango sat, Shippo looked up at Miroku, "What do you mean, 'special conditions?'"
The monk continued what he was saying earlier, "Well, in order for a soul to be reincarnated, several things must occur. First of all, the new soul bearer must have some relation to the old one. Second, um...second...Do you remember Kagome?"
"Yes...sort of. The second thing is that a soul is only reincarnated if it left this world with unfinished business. The next bearer can continue that task. Almost like your right hand, Miroku."
Miroku glanced at the hand, wrapped in prayer beads, "Except this is father to son..."
"Well, yeah. But anyway, the third rule of reincarnation is that the soul had to be pure. Which is why it's so common for a miko's soul to be reincarnated, but for a demon reincarnation to be so rare. I think that's all. But you could be right, Inu-Yasha. Maybe I am just Kikyou reborn. I wonder if Mother knows..."
"Probably. Most of the time, the parents of the child see the soul enter the child, whether just as a flash of light, or an actual vision of the previous incarnation. Your mother, at least, should have been able to see Kikyou enter you as you were born. Or even before," Sango reasoned.
"'Another reason for your marriage...'" Kagome muttered, quoting her mother. She gasped. "Mama set me up! I'm only marrying you so Kikyou's soul can rest in piece!" she screeched.
They all blanched, and Inu-Yasha flinched at the scream. Sango reached out to her friend, "Kagome, why don't you calm down. Let's just show Inu-Yasha the jewel."
After a deep breath, Kagome stood, and waited impatiently as the others followed suit. "Come along then," she said sullenly, and took Inu-Yasha and Shippo to see the Shikon no Tama.
~~~
~*~ There's No Possible Way ~*~
~ Chapter Two: Some Things Are Figured Out ~
Shippo sighed. 'Why does my master have to be such an idiot?' Shippo looked around him. He realized that he had no clue where he was, or where he was supposed to be going. "Kirara, do you know where we are?"
Kirara looked up at him with big eyes and meowed. He took that to mean that she didn't know either. "Oh." he sat on the floor and started to sulk. "Now we're lost in our new home."
Miroku was still looking for Sango, and nearly tripped over the kitsune. It was easy to do, since he was so short. "Whoa!" Miroku looked down, "Who are you?"
Shippo looked up, "I'm Shippo, and this is Kirara. We were sent by our lord master to find the queen and explain that he was here already."
"Your lord master? Who would that be?" Miroku was genuinely curious.
"Youkai-oujo Inu-Yasha. He upset Princess Kagome, and went to try and apologize.I think."
'So that's what Kagome was talking about.' Miroku thought. Out loud, he said, "Well, Shippo, let's go to the throne room. I'm guessing that you're lost."
The little demon nodded, "Yes. This castle is a maze!"
"Not when you're used to it. Come along. I'll leave you in the queen's presence. I need to find someone."
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"No problem." Miroku began walking towards the throne room. Everyone had thought that Inu-Yasha wouldn't be here until tomorrow. They guessed wrong, apparently.
**~~**
There was a timid knock at the door. Queen Ayame looked up, "Yes? You may enter."
A small fox demon entered the room, looking nervous, and had a small cat demon following him. "Um...Your majesty, I come on behalf of my lord master, Inu-Yasha of the Western Lands."
"Inu-Yasha? But he wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow!" she exclaimed, surprised.
"Yes, well, we arrived today. Lord Inu-Yasha went to...to...apologize to the princess."
Ayame rolled her eyes, "I'm sure that whatever he's apologizing for, it was my daughter's fault to begin with. She has a bad habit of using her sharp tongue." She smiled, "Actually, it's one of the reasons that this marriage between her and Inu-Yasha will work out. She keeps chasing suitors away..."
Shippo looked nervous, and looked away from the queen. "Well, they should be here soon, my lady." To himself, he thought, 'I hope Inu-Yasha didn't screw things up too badly...'
*~*
Kagome sighed and removed her hand from Inu-Yasha's elbow. This was getting tedious. Inu-Yasha sighed with relief and put his arm down. "Jeez...My arm was starting to get tired..."
"You're pathetic," was Kagome's harsh reply. "You're a demon, you have incredible strength, and you complain about holding your arm in mid-air?"
The hanyou cringed at her words, but said nothing. He glanced sideways at her, "Do you really want to get married to me?"
"What do you think?!" Kagome yelled. "The last thing I want is an arranged marriage! Even less to a DEMON!"
"What makes you think that I want to go through with this thing either?" Inu-Yasha's temper was starting to rise again. "I hate this! Being half human is bad enough, but being married to one is worse!"
"Hmph..." Kagome muttered, "It doesn't look like your father really minded..." She crossed her arms and stopped talking to him. She wasn't watching where she was going though, and before she knew it, she was tripping over Inu-Yasha's sword. He caught her arm, and stood her up again. She blushed slightly, embarrassed. Somewhat reluctantly, she said, "Thank you..."
Inu-Yasha picked up the Tetsusaiga, "No problem. It was my fault in the first place." He retied the sword to his waist. "The Shikon no Tama is kept in this palace, right?"
"Yes." There was no point in lying to the boy. Especially if he'd be here for two weeks. "It's in the prayer room at the center of the castle. No one but the royal family may enter without permission. If they try, they are repelled and my mother will know immediately."
"Oh..." Inu-Yasha was interested. He didn't know very much about the Higurashi Kingdom, and wanted to know more. But he wasn't about to ask Kagome. Kagome stopped. "Eh?"
She turned to him, "This is the throne room. My mother should be here."
"Oh," Inu-Yasha watched as she opened the door.
"Mother? The youkai-oujo is already here," Kagome announced. "Prince Inu- Yasha, this is Queen Ayame, mistress of the Higurashi Kingdom."
Inu-Yasha bowed, and the queen stood and curtsied. "Welcome, Inu-Yasha. I hear from your servant that you have already had to apologize to the princess."
Inu-Yasha glared at Shippo. The little fox demon flinched at the look, but kept steady. "Yes, your majesty. I apologize to you, as well, for upsetting your daughter," he paused. Then he continued with an audible amount of malice in his voice, "However, had she not been so rude to me to begin with, I might not have lost my temper."
Just then, Sango and Miroku were passing the open door, and stopped, seeing the princess and this white-haired stranger talking to the queen. Sango coughed slightly, and Kagome turned her head. She motioned for the monk and exterminator to enter. "Inu-Yasha," Kagome got their attention, "I have been told that after your two weeks here, I will be traveling to your kingdom for two weeks. I wish to bring these two people with me, Lady Sango and Lord Miroku. Both may prove useful, and I will feel safer with them around."
Inu-Yasha folded his arms into his shirt and half closed his eyes, "No harm will come to you in my kingdom, princess. Your worries are pointless." Kagome scowled at him, and he sighed, "However, you may bring them along. I suppose I should get to know your friends."
The queen shook her head and looked down to hide her amusement. This would be an interesting marriage. "Kagome, you may show the prince to his rooms, and then give him a tour of the castle. Be sure to show him the practice grounds. And the Shikon Jewel."
Kagome looked up, "But Mother, I don't know where he's staying."
Ayame looked at her daughter, exasperated, "Kagome, don't you remember last week, when the servants were cleaning out the rooms next to yours?"
The princess thought for a moment. Suddenly she remembered. Some of the servants had been cleaning those rooms, even though no one used them. When she had asked about it, they all avoided her gaze. 'How long has this been set up for?' she thought. "Oh, yes..." Kagome sighed, "Come on, Inu- Yasha..."
The hanyou followed her reluctantly. 'Why did Mother and Father betroth me to such an arrogant wench of a princess?' Shippo, Kirara, Sango, and Miroku followed them. Shippo and Kirara because they had no other place to go, and Sango and Miroku because Kagome still supposedly wanted to talk to them.
*~*
Kagome opened the door to the chambers. "Ta-da. Here you go, Inu-Yasha."
Inu-Yasha looked around. They were nice rooms, and they were right next to Kagome's room, like the queen had said. In a some-what strained voice, he said, "Thank you." He glanced at Miroku and Sango. "Excuse me, but I need to speak to Kagome for a moment."
"Of course," Sango bowed and dragged Miroku out of the room. Shippo started to follow, but Inu-Yasha caught him by the tail.
"You stay. I only meant the monk and the girl," Inu-Yasha dropped the kitsune. Then he went and shut the door. Kagome was kneeling on the floor next to Shippo, glaring at Inu-Yasha. "What?"
"For god's sake! You just dropped him on the floor!" Kagome scooped the fox-pup into her arms. "Are you all right?"
Shippo rubbed his head and looked at her, surprised, "Yes. But you don't need to worry about me..."
Inu-Yasha sat on the floor next to her. He sighed, "Kagome -- "
"I never gave you permission to call me 'Kagome,'" the princess looked at him severely.
"What a bother this girl is," he mumbled. "Fine. Princess, I only need to talk to you about Shippo. He was a servant of my family's at home. He is a gift to you."
"A...a gift?" she stared at the fox in her arms. Then she looked up at the demon prince, "Your people make gifts out of servants?"
He shrugged, "He was a new servant. He was orphaned recently, and didn't mind when my parents made the decision."
"Is this true?" Kagome asked Shippo.
"Yes," Shippo looked down sadly. "My parents were killed about a month ago. When Queen Saiaino and King Inutaiko summoned me to court, I was more than happy to leave. I'd be honored to be your servant."
"Hmm...Well, if you say so!" Kagome set him down, and Shippo was smiling happily.
Inu-Yasha looked at her, "Princess, may I call you Kagome?"
"Yes. Just promise not to call me Kikyou," Kagome scowled slightly.
Inu-Yasha's ears perked at this mention of the legendary priestess. "Why?" he asked. When Kagome glared at him, he quickly tried to explain, "I meant, why would I call you Kikyou?"
"Oh," Kagome still looked a little annoyed. "Well, it's a long story that's tied to the legend of Kisho and Kikyou. It comes down to me looking like Kikyou. Many people accidentally call me Kikyou, particularly the demons of the realm, because they remember Kikyou. Three hundred years isn't very long for a demon."
It was Inu-Yasha's turn to look annoyed, "I know that three hundred years isn't long for a demon. I'm half demon remember? My father is at least twice my mother's age, and it doesn't show a bit. And my half brother is 50 years older than me. I know that little tidbit of information."
"Sorry," Kagome said, and began playing with Shippo's hair.
"Well, you realize there's always the case of reincarnation," Inu-Yasha continued. "You could just be the reincarnation of Kikyou."
"I thought there had to be special conditions around that," Miroku's voice cut into the conversation, and Kagome and Inu-Yasha both snapped their heads to the door. It was open slightly, and Sango and Miroku were both kneeling on the floor. Sango looked embarrassed at being caught, and was glaring at Miroku.
Kagome sighed exasperatedly, "Well, come in then. We're not talking about anything special anymore, as you well know."
As Miroku and Sango sat, Shippo looked up at Miroku, "What do you mean, 'special conditions?'"
The monk continued what he was saying earlier, "Well, in order for a soul to be reincarnated, several things must occur. First of all, the new soul bearer must have some relation to the old one. Second, um...second...Do you remember Kagome?"
"Yes...sort of. The second thing is that a soul is only reincarnated if it left this world with unfinished business. The next bearer can continue that task. Almost like your right hand, Miroku."
Miroku glanced at the hand, wrapped in prayer beads, "Except this is father to son..."
"Well, yeah. But anyway, the third rule of reincarnation is that the soul had to be pure. Which is why it's so common for a miko's soul to be reincarnated, but for a demon reincarnation to be so rare. I think that's all. But you could be right, Inu-Yasha. Maybe I am just Kikyou reborn. I wonder if Mother knows..."
"Probably. Most of the time, the parents of the child see the soul enter the child, whether just as a flash of light, or an actual vision of the previous incarnation. Your mother, at least, should have been able to see Kikyou enter you as you were born. Or even before," Sango reasoned.
"'Another reason for your marriage...'" Kagome muttered, quoting her mother. She gasped. "Mama set me up! I'm only marrying you so Kikyou's soul can rest in piece!" she screeched.
They all blanched, and Inu-Yasha flinched at the scream. Sango reached out to her friend, "Kagome, why don't you calm down. Let's just show Inu-Yasha the jewel."
After a deep breath, Kagome stood, and waited impatiently as the others followed suit. "Come along then," she said sullenly, and took Inu-Yasha and Shippo to see the Shikon no Tama.