Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Warning: Um, Inuyasha gets a little mad this chapter and when Inu gets mad, Inu swears a lot.
A/N: This chapter is much longer than any chapter I've ever written. I measure my chapter lengths by kilobytes and all of chapters so far were less than 10 kb. This one is 26. ^_^ Enjoy!
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Destined Love
Chapter 6-To Eat (I'm hungry...)
by sunny1388
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Sure enough, Inuyasha was right and a short while later, the girls were back. If it was possible to march and stamp furiously in slippers and a dress, then Kagome was doing it. If not, well, it was a pretty good impression. Sango, trailing behind her, seemed a little lost.
Seeing the look on Kagome's face, Miroku began to feel nervous,
"Um, I'll just be going now," he stated and attempted to sneak away, but was stopped by Inuyasha's sudden grip on his shoulder. The sharpness of the hanyou's claws were suddenly made very clear to the houshi.
"They're just a couple of girls, bouzu. What? You scared?" Inuyasha's tone was mocking, but underneath the bravado, he too, was getting nervous. Suddenly, his little plan didn't seem like such a good idea. He glanced back to the girls heading their way. Gulp. Nope, very bad idea. Hang on a second! He wasn't scared of a couple of women! Leaning back against the carriage again, he forcefully kept Miroku at his side and waited, a smug expression plastered on his face.
Kagome reached the carriage and promptly began to glare into amber eyes. Furious glare met mocking smugness. She raised a finger and began to poke him in the chest,
"Was this supposed to be some sort of dumb joke? Just letting us get lost and probably die wandering around endlessly in your maze of hallways?"
Tone full of smugness and arrogancy that only Inuyasha could muster, he bent over a little so his gaze was completely even with Kagome's and said one word,
"Yeah."
Kagome was speechless. She had never met someone so full of himself, so rude, so...such a jerk, such a--
"Baka*!" she yelled, and whirled around, grabbing Sango's hand and dragging the girl with her,
"Um, Kagome?" Sango said meekly,
No reply.
"Kagome?"
"Kagome!" Sango half-yelled and finally got her friend's attention.
"Yes?" Kagome's voice was full of suppresed anger,
"Um..." now Sango was reluctant to say what she was going to say. She had a feeling that Kagome was still mad at Inuyasha and so she probably wouldn't want to hear this, but... "Kagome, we still don't know where we're going."
Kagome blinked.
"Crap."
~*~
After much more of Inuyasha's mocking and Kagome's yelling, Sango and Kagome had finally arrived at the door to Kagome's chambers.
Miroku bowed courteously, opening the door for Kagome and Sango,
" Ladies, enjoy your stay."
Kagome managed a smile, her anger at Inuyasha was fading as fast as it had came. Sango, on the other hand, scowled and inched past the priest as far away from his hands as possible. Inuyasha was being unusually quiet. After the girls were both in the room, Miroku closed the door with a cheerful wave and turned to his quiet friend, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Quite a catch, she's..." he whistled and grinned while staring off into space, thinking of something. A low growl brought him back to reality,
"Heh, I know, I know. She's yours. Possesive, aren't we?" Miroku said, still cheerful as ever and not missing a beat,
"Yes." Inuyasha replied simply. Miroku raised an eyebrow at the hanyou.
"What the hell's wrong with you? She's pretty and nice. You should learn to appreciate these things. And, she'll...warm up to you." he added, seeing Inuyasha's indecisive look.
"Just be nice to her. Girls like that stuff. You know, flowers, candy, music..." but the hanyou's attention was elsewhere and he began to tune out to Miroku's rambling,
"And give her some nice presents, but not too expensive or she'll think you're trying to bribe her. But no junk either that she'll think is crap...Inuyasha! You listening to me?" Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at Miroku. He didn't plan on taking any of the bouzu's advice on women. But maybe he could ask...
"Miroku, you know a little about girls?" the statement wasn't a question, more like a musing. The priest replied in an offended tone,
"A little? Well, yes, I know a little." but Inuyasha didn't seem to notice,
"What do girls think is...moving too fast?" Miroku snorted after this question and waited for Inuyasha to tell him it was a joke. No reply. He cleared his throat, Inuyasha was smart; one might not think it, but he often had a lot going on in that white-haired head of his. But when it came to girls, the guy was a clueless as...well, as his brother. Maybe it ran in the family.
So Miroku the infamous womanizer gave Inuyasha the best answer he could come up with, which was his basic all-purpose rule when dealing with the riddle that was the opposite gender,
"No idea. Just guess."
Inuyasha snorted again and replied sarcastically,
"Thanks." before turning away from the door completely and walking down the hall across from the door.
"Hey, where're you going?" Miroku called,
"Mom." Inuyasha replied. His mother a girl. She could tell him what girls thought like. Plus, she was the one who came up with this whole arrangement that she had informed Inuyasha about a few ago. She had known to give Inuyasha enough time to cool down after telling him about it. After two weeks of argument, Inuyasha had finally resigned and accepted it. Now, he was rethinking that decision...
~*~
Meanwhile, in the room Kagome had flopped down on the bed, taking a few deep breaths to relax and calm herself. Sango was walking around, looking out of the huge glass window. There was only one, facing west since they were in the side of a cliff, although it seemed too luxurious to call it a cave. Nearing the window, Sango suddenly looked anxious and quickly rushed to the window, drawing the curtains close quickly. Kagome sat up, wondering why Sango had closed the curtains.
"Sango?"
"Yes?"
"Why'd you just close the curtains?"
Thinking fast, Sango tried to come up with an excuse, "Um, it's almost sunset so I thought...that...that the light would be too blinding since you're trying to sleep!" Sango finished hurridly, secretly proud of herself for thinking up such a great excuse so fast, but it didn't work.
"Oh, it's okay. I like the sunset, you know that." and Kagome got up from the bed, walking to the window about to open the curtains herself when there was a knock on the door. Kagome turned abruptly and hurried to the door, opening it while Sango let out a small sigh of relief.
A girl probably a little younger than Kagome and Sango stood there, smiling brightly at them and carrying a bundle in her arms. Bowing, she started said to them in a cheerful voice,
"Hello Lady. My name is Rin and I'm here to tell you that it's almost time for dinner and I'm to help you get ready." she finished with another smile. Kagome unknowingly relaxed. It seemed this wouldn't be as bad as she had thought it might. This girl looked friendly enough.
Sango seemed to think so too and stepped forward, meaning to help the girl with the bundle she was holding, but a man standing behind the young girl hurried foreward with a large grin on his face. Grabbing one of Sango's outstretched hands, he bowed over it and pressed a firm kiss to it. Perhaps more than was necessary.
"We meet again, Lady Sango." he said with a wink. Sango, eyebrow twitching wrenched her hand from his and shook it slightly as if to get off excess moisture. She only recieved another grin in return to her glare.
Luckily, before the scene could get ugly, Kagome interjected,
"We should probably get ready. Please excuse us, Lord..." she trailed off, realizing that she didn't know the name of this man yet.
"Miroku." he said simply,
"Lord Miroku." Kagome repeated, a polite smile on her face,
"Please, just call me Miroku." Kagome nodded, and stepped back to allow Rin into the room. Sango was about to close the door, but Miroku stood in the doorway.
"Lord Miroku, would you mind moving?" Sango said this not rudely, but with an irritated tone. Miroku looked as if he was about to leave but when Sango neared him, he leaned over so his mouth was near her ear and whispered,
"Just call me koibito*." before pulling away slightly so their noses were almost touching and grinned at her.
Sango's eyes were wide as though she didn't believe what he had done. For a moment the chocolate eyes seemed to melt, but then they turned hard and cold. She was shaking slightly with anger and embarrassment, but mostly anger.
Sango moved so fast that the priest didn't even know what hit him. Although when he would look into the mirror later, Sango's handprint would be bright red on his cheek.
After she slapped him, Sango slammed the door in Miroku's face. The priest stared at the door an inch away from his nose, where Sango's nose had been a moment ago. He decided he liked Sango better. Walking down the hall away from the girls' room, he rubbed his cheek tenderly, wincing a little but grinning nontheless. His Sango sure had a temper, but he liked that.
Shaking his head, the priest grinned some more as he thought of Sango. But even below her cool exterior, Miroku thought he had seen another part of Sango through her eyes when she had stared into his lavender hued eyes. Yep, Miroku decided, the girl was madly in love with her. Or, at least, she would be. Then he and Inuyasha could have their weddings together and just throw one big party, instead of separate ones.
Miroku was decided. In two week's time, which was when Inuyasha and Kagome's wedding, or mating, ceremony would be, he would get Sango.
~*~
Meanwhile the girl of Miroku's thoughts was sulking on Kagome's bed.
"Sango, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, concerned for her friend, but Sango simply shook her head. Kagome leaned back away from Sango and let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Well, I suppose we should get ready for dinner." she stated, not sounding happy about the fact at all. Kagome reached down to grab Sango's hands and tried to pull her friend up.
"Come on. We have to get ready!" but Sango shook her head again.
"Argh! Sango!" but the girl only shook her head.
"Well, um, actually, Lady Kagome?" Kagome turned back to rin, who had been temporarily forgotten since she was so quiet,
"Please, call me Kagome? We're around the same age anyway. Rin nodded and continued,
"Kagome, only you have to get ready. Sango is, um, not allowed to go." Kagome was crestfallen. She didn't want to face this alone!
"B-but, why isn't Sango...?" she asked, blue-gray eyes widening,
"Well, servants aren't allowed to eat with the royals. We've got our own dining hall." she said simply, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Sango nodded, not meeting Kagome's eyes which were glancing back and forth from Rin to Sango for any shred of humor that would suggest that it was a joke. But nope.
Kagome sighed, struggling to contain her emotions, then said in a flat tone,
"Might as well get ready, then." and Rin and Sango began to help the princess to get ready for dinner.
~*~
Meanwhile, Inuyasha knocked angrily on a tall oak door, the sounds echoing through the empty hall. The door creaked open and a young maid bowed out of his way as she held the door open for him.
Inuyasha stomped in with a scowl on his face and glanced around, his golden eyes searching until they finally rested on the billowing white curtain that lead to the balcony. With a roll of his eyes, he rushed to the balcony and brushed the curtains out of the way,
"Mother?" he asked, spotting a black-haired woman sitting in a comfortably padded chair in a corner of the balcony. The woman looked up from her knitting with a smile for her son,
"Inuyasha? You're back!" And carefully she put the needles and yarn down and stood up, embracing her son, who was a good few inches taller than her. Inuyasha awkwardly stood there and jerkily patted her back a few times before she let go of his with a small laugh,
"So," she asked with a twinkle in her eyes, "Do you like Kagome?" Inuyasha unknowingly took a step back at his mother's forwardness, although he should have been used to it. His mother had never been subtle, he probably inherited this from her.
"No." he stated with a hint of a growl in his voice. He refused to meet his mother's eyes and tried to change the subject, forgetting for the moment the reason why he wanted to talk to her,
"So why are you knitting? You haven't done that in a long time." he stared at the yarn that was back in her arms again, trying to figure out what it was. His mother beamed up at him and held the half-done knitting up to show him,
"Baby clothes!" she said happily, then went back to the knitting. A vein in Inuyasha's forehead started to twitch,
"Mom! I just said that I don't like her!" Inuyasha half-shouted at his mother who just shook her head with a knowing smile that only annyoed Inuyasha further.
"I don't!" he said again, this time even louder, but a small smile was creeping on his mother's face.
With a huff, he whipped around and stalked back into the room, practically running out the door and past the frightened maid with a snarl. He didn't like that human bitch. She was stupid and ugly and dumb and stubborn and...and...just a wench! His talk with his mother hadn't helped his temper any, either. Gods he hated the girl and he hated this damn arranged marriage! Still not satisfied with thinking up every curse he could to describe the arranged marriage, the hanyou stopped suddenly and punched the wall next to him leaving a nice sized crater.
Just then, Miroku came around the corner, smiling.
"Hey, Inuyasha!" he called, but the dog demon just stormed past him angrily with a simple,
"Fuck off!" and disappeared around the corner the way that the priest had come, leaving Miroku shaking his head. Obviously the hanyou was pissed off about something again and was throwing a little temper tantrum.
Suddenly he remembered something. The hall that Inuyasha went down was a dead end and the only thing down there was...
Shit!
"Inuyasha! If you break anything, you're paying for it!" he yelled as he ran back down the dead end hall that ended in the door to his rooms.
Reaching the end of the hall, he shook his head sadly down at the splinters that were all that remained of his door. Stepping over them carefully in his sandles, he looked around, ready for the destruction zone that was sure to be his rooms, but surprisingly, everything, with the exception of the door, was intact.
"Inuyasha?" he called, looking for the hanyou,
A snort answered him. He followed the sound to the guest room to the left.
"Inuyasha?" he asked tentatively, pushing open the slightly ajar door slowly to see the hanyou sprawled out on his back, arms behind his head and eyes closed lying rather comfortably and calmly on the bed. Suddenly Miroku felt very angry at his friend for breaking down his door and the anger swept over him,
"Why the hell did you break down my door?!" he asked. The hanyou only opened one eye slightly and yawned, saying,
"It was locked."
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Miroku yelled, not feeling very patient for some reason,
"Crashing."
"Why?"
Now both of Inuyasha's eyes opened and Miroku saw anger in them,
"Because that wench is staying in my room!"
Miroku blinked.
And blinked again.
Finally he said in a very slow and confused and almost incredulous tone,
"And you're...angry...?"
Inuyasha nodded once.
To his credit, Miroku didn't even crack a smile, although he was dying to burst out laughing. Instead he just remarked in a wonderous tone,
"Your mom really wants grandkids, doesn't she?"
"Shut up."
~*~
"Okay, now spin around...oh, that's so pretty!" Rin exclaimed as she looked over Kagome's dress. The princess was finally ready for dinner after much primping and angry muttering. But now, dressed in a beautiful silvery blue dress, Kagome felt a bit better.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Sango said, adjusting a strand of Kagome's black hair. Kagome just rolled her eyes. She hated dressing up for these formal occasions as much as the occasions themselves.
The grandfather clock next to the door chimed 6 times.
"Alright," Rin stood up, straightening her own dress, "Time for dinner. Come on, I'll show you where it is!" she said cheerfully. Kagome shot puppy eyes at Sango, who just smiled and waved her on.
Letting out a sigh that ruffled her her bangs, Kagome went to the door where Rin was standing holding it open. She stepped through and Kagome followed, shooting a last look at Sango before the door swung closed.
~*~
Behind a statue of his great grandfather, Inuyasha peeked his white head out and looked around. The hall was deserted. Coming out from behind the statue, he silently walked to the corner of the hall and peeked around it to the direction that Kagome and that other girl had just left. He could hear their chatter, but they were out of sight already.
Good.
Straightening his shoulders and looking very regal, Inuyasha walked to his and Kagome's room and stopped, his clawed hand already on the doorknob. With a growl, he took it off and instead, knocked.
Sango came to the door and opened it for Inuyasha, bowing to him,
"Inuyasha-sama, Kagome's already gone to dinner."
"I know," he replied.
"Um, don't you have to go too?" Sango asked a little nervously, not exactly sure how to treat a demon prince.
"Yeah, but..." now it was Inuyasha's turn to be nervous, "I need my...clothes,"
Sango nodded slowly, completely confused now.
"And they're in here." Inuyasha finished slowly,
"Why?" Sango asked
Irritated, Inuyasha walked past Sango and pointed to the grandfather clock. His grandfather clock.
"It's 6:15. Dinner begins at 6:30. I need to be at dinner by then and to do that, I need my dinner clothes." He said, with a hint of a growl in his voice. But it was true. The ruling pair, otherwise known as his parents, especially his dad, did not tolerate lateness.
He stormed to the walk-in closet to the right and looked around, then gaped.
"Where are my clothes?!" he was surrounded by dresses and bows and frills and lace. Going to one of the dressers, he pulled it open, but suddenly blushed and slammed it close again. Nope.
Ignoring that dresser, he went to an armoire near the back of the closet and opened one of the doors and peeked inside. He breathed a sigh of relief. Here were all his clothes!
Grabbing whatever he could carry, which was a lot, he ran out of the closet, past a stunned Sango, and back to Miroku's rooms.
Finally there after enduring many stares from whoever he ran past, he threw the clothes on his bed and grabbed a few of them, taking them into the bathroom with him to change.
Miroku was already gone, probably already at dinner.
When he dashed out of the bathroom, he was struggling with a tie to hold back his hair and hopped along, the shoes he picked being ones that he grew out of a few years ago.
~*~
At the head of the table was, Kagome assumed, Inuyasha's father. The only word she could think to describe him was...strong. He gave off the feeling of strength and his many battle scars obviously indicated that he was a warrior. He had a piercing gold gaze like both of his sons and also shared the same long, white hair.
Kagome was seated across from an empty chair.
To the left of the empty chair was a beautiful Inu youkai. At first sight, she had thought he was Inuyasha, but he wasn't. For one, he had pointed ears, not puppy ears. But he seemed just as cold as the hanyou. Maybe it ran in the family.
Kagome had been staring at the puff of pinkish something coiled around Sesshomaru's right shoulder. What was it? As if sensing the stare, Sesshomaru turned his gaze to Kagome, who decided to look away. He scared her. As beautiful as he was, Sesshomaru seemed like a cold-blooded killer. Kagome shuddered.
At the end of the table and just to the right of Kagome was Miroku, who winked at Kagome when she looked his way. She smiled weakly back at him. He mouthed 'Don't worry' before going back to listen in on the fierce debate going on between Inuyasha's father and the man seated to his right.
Well, at least it looked like a man. But he had pointed ears and when he opened his mouth to talk, Kagome saw fangs. Plus, his dress alerted Kagome right away. It looked like skins and furs of animals.
To that man's right, in other words, next to Kagome and across from Sesshomaru was a man who seemed just a few years older that Kagome. Kagome suspected that he was the other man's son, since they had the same blue eyes and the same black hair, although the son's was much longer than his father's. But he also wore the same clothes made out of furs and skins.
To Lord Inu's* left was a very beautiful woman. She had long black hair and violet eyes. Maybe she was Inuyasha's mother.
For the first time, Kagome felt a little happiness at this marriage. Her own mother had died while giving birth to her brother. It was a long time ago. The only thing about her mother that Kagome could remember was that she was beautiful and kind. Inuyasha's mother seemed kind. Kagome looked forward to getting to know her.
Suddenly the door burst open and Inuyasha ran through, taking his place at the empty chair across from Kagome. Suddenly, Inuyasha's Dad's voice boomed out to them all,
"Now that we're all here," he directed a meaningful glance to Inuyasha, who winced, "We can begin dinner."
Doors from behind Lord Inu opened and servants streamed out, carrying silver platters of steaming food. Kagome's stomach grumbled as the delicious smells reached her and she realized how hungry she was.
The man to the left of her chuckled,
"Hungry?" he asked,
"Starving." Kagome replied, before manners came into effect, "Oh, um, hello, I'm Kagome."
"Kouga." he replied, "Wolf-demon. And you're...?" he asked, even though he already knew what she was from her scent,
"Uh, human." she replied. One of Kouga's eyebrows went up,
"And why does the Inu royal family have a beautiful, but human girl at dinner with them?" he asked, smiling at her,
Kagome blushed and stammered,
"Um, well, I'm...ah"
"Mine." A voice growled out to them. Kagome looked up. It seemed that Inuyasha was pausing from his dinner long enough to join their conversation.
Kouga sniffed and Kagome was confused until she remembered that he was a wolf demon.
"But you haven't marked her." he said,
Inuyasha simply growled, before he remembered that he hated the girl anyway. So he went back to his dinner.
"Whatever, I don't care." he said
Kouga grinned,
"It seems like that hanyou doesn't understand beauty. But I do." and Kouga took Kagome's hands in his,
"Kagome, why don't you leave that dog-turd and be my mate?" Kouga asked, trying to stare into Kagome's eyes, but the girl was trying as hard as she could to avoid his gaze.
"Um, well, Kouga, uh, doesn't this dinner look great? I'm hungry, you?" she asked, pulling her hands away from his and picking up her fork and sampling some of the wild rice.
Kouga nodded and turned to his dinner also. Obviously the dog-turd made her nervous. But he would just try to persuade her again some other time. For now, there was food to be eaten.
~*~
In the middle of the meal, Kagome was already pretty stuffed, so she leaned over to Miroku,
"Who is Kouga?" she asked,
"He's a wolf demon." Miroku replied, putting down his utensils and wiping his mouth with his napkin, "His father and him are here to talk about land. The wolf-demon clan wants more land, but Lord Inu doesn't want to give up any." Miroku took a sip of his wine, "If they can work somethine out here, they won't have to do it on the battle field."
The priest sighed, "But it's not going too well. Looks like war."
~*~
"So that's the girl?"
Inuyasha stopped, his fork halfway to his mouth.
"Yeah, that's her."
Sesshomaru nodded, "Not bad, for a human."
Inuyasha replied in a voice dripping in sarcasm, "Thanks big brother, I value your opinion so much."
~*~
By the end of dinner, everyone was stuffed. Lord Inu stood.
"Now that we're all full, introductions."
Apparently, he was a man of few words.
Pointing to the wolf-demon on his right, he said,
"Wolf. Lord of the Wolf-demon clans."
Going around in a circle, he stated,
"Kouga, son of Wolf and Prince of the Wolf-demons."
"Kagome, princess of the human kingdom of Shikon and soon-to-be mate of Inuyasha."
"Miroku, priest of Buddha and friend of Inuyasha."
"Inuyasha, my second son."
"Sesshomaru, my first son."
"Shinju*, my wife."
"Good night." He finshed and the doors leading out of the dining room opened. Kagome got up and yawned while walking to Rin who was waiting for her,
"Have a good time?" she asked cheerfully,
"I guess." Kagome replied, before yawning again.
Rin laughed, then began to lead Kagome back to her rooms before anyone else had come out of the dining room, therefore sparing them of any conversation, since Kagome was already so tired.
It had been a big day for Kagome.
~~~~~~~~~~
*baka-idiot
*koibito-lover
*Lord Inu-Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father and the lord of the western lands
*Shinju-I've read many fics that use this as Inuyasha's mother's name and I like it, so I decided to use it. I think it means 'pearl' or something like that, but I'm not sure. ^_^;
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Review!! Tell me if you like longer chapters better? It was hard writing so much, but if you, my readers, like it, then I'll keep doing it. So review!!
~~~~~Reviewer Replies~~~~~
LunaMoon~ Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it.
Nataku~ Yay! Finally someone else who knows Houshin Engi!! Heehee, Nataku rules...yep, anyway, sorry it takes so long for me to update, but, um, I think I like reading fics more than writing my own. Heh heh, I'm lazy.
Vixen~ Shippo? Okay, people seem to like the little kitsune. And of course Kagome will get revenge. Muahahahaha! But that's next chapter. Heh heh. ^_^;
Zhare~ 1) She needs revenge! Revenge is fun. 2)Yup, it's Naraku. But shhhh! Don't tell anyone. 3)Whoa, guess I'd better put Shippo in my story then! 4) Sorry, guess it wasn't really soon...but this chapter was extra long. Does that make up for it a little?
CTRNikkiM~ Well, Kouga's in this chapter, and he'll be in plenty more, if only to make Inu-chan jealous. Heeheehee. Yes, that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? lol
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Thank you wonderful reviewers!! I worship your reviewing greatness! Please review again!! Just click that little button that's next to the box that says 'submit review'. Please?
Warning: Um, Inuyasha gets a little mad this chapter and when Inu gets mad, Inu swears a lot.
A/N: This chapter is much longer than any chapter I've ever written. I measure my chapter lengths by kilobytes and all of chapters so far were less than 10 kb. This one is 26. ^_^ Enjoy!
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Destined Love
Chapter 6-To Eat (I'm hungry...)
by sunny1388
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Sure enough, Inuyasha was right and a short while later, the girls were back. If it was possible to march and stamp furiously in slippers and a dress, then Kagome was doing it. If not, well, it was a pretty good impression. Sango, trailing behind her, seemed a little lost.
Seeing the look on Kagome's face, Miroku began to feel nervous,
"Um, I'll just be going now," he stated and attempted to sneak away, but was stopped by Inuyasha's sudden grip on his shoulder. The sharpness of the hanyou's claws were suddenly made very clear to the houshi.
"They're just a couple of girls, bouzu. What? You scared?" Inuyasha's tone was mocking, but underneath the bravado, he too, was getting nervous. Suddenly, his little plan didn't seem like such a good idea. He glanced back to the girls heading their way. Gulp. Nope, very bad idea. Hang on a second! He wasn't scared of a couple of women! Leaning back against the carriage again, he forcefully kept Miroku at his side and waited, a smug expression plastered on his face.
Kagome reached the carriage and promptly began to glare into amber eyes. Furious glare met mocking smugness. She raised a finger and began to poke him in the chest,
"Was this supposed to be some sort of dumb joke? Just letting us get lost and probably die wandering around endlessly in your maze of hallways?"
Tone full of smugness and arrogancy that only Inuyasha could muster, he bent over a little so his gaze was completely even with Kagome's and said one word,
"Yeah."
Kagome was speechless. She had never met someone so full of himself, so rude, so...such a jerk, such a--
"Baka*!" she yelled, and whirled around, grabbing Sango's hand and dragging the girl with her,
"Um, Kagome?" Sango said meekly,
No reply.
"Kagome?"
"Kagome!" Sango half-yelled and finally got her friend's attention.
"Yes?" Kagome's voice was full of suppresed anger,
"Um..." now Sango was reluctant to say what she was going to say. She had a feeling that Kagome was still mad at Inuyasha and so she probably wouldn't want to hear this, but... "Kagome, we still don't know where we're going."
Kagome blinked.
"Crap."
~*~
After much more of Inuyasha's mocking and Kagome's yelling, Sango and Kagome had finally arrived at the door to Kagome's chambers.
Miroku bowed courteously, opening the door for Kagome and Sango,
" Ladies, enjoy your stay."
Kagome managed a smile, her anger at Inuyasha was fading as fast as it had came. Sango, on the other hand, scowled and inched past the priest as far away from his hands as possible. Inuyasha was being unusually quiet. After the girls were both in the room, Miroku closed the door with a cheerful wave and turned to his quiet friend, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Quite a catch, she's..." he whistled and grinned while staring off into space, thinking of something. A low growl brought him back to reality,
"Heh, I know, I know. She's yours. Possesive, aren't we?" Miroku said, still cheerful as ever and not missing a beat,
"Yes." Inuyasha replied simply. Miroku raised an eyebrow at the hanyou.
"What the hell's wrong with you? She's pretty and nice. You should learn to appreciate these things. And, she'll...warm up to you." he added, seeing Inuyasha's indecisive look.
"Just be nice to her. Girls like that stuff. You know, flowers, candy, music..." but the hanyou's attention was elsewhere and he began to tune out to Miroku's rambling,
"And give her some nice presents, but not too expensive or she'll think you're trying to bribe her. But no junk either that she'll think is crap...Inuyasha! You listening to me?" Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at Miroku. He didn't plan on taking any of the bouzu's advice on women. But maybe he could ask...
"Miroku, you know a little about girls?" the statement wasn't a question, more like a musing. The priest replied in an offended tone,
"A little? Well, yes, I know a little." but Inuyasha didn't seem to notice,
"What do girls think is...moving too fast?" Miroku snorted after this question and waited for Inuyasha to tell him it was a joke. No reply. He cleared his throat, Inuyasha was smart; one might not think it, but he often had a lot going on in that white-haired head of his. But when it came to girls, the guy was a clueless as...well, as his brother. Maybe it ran in the family.
So Miroku the infamous womanizer gave Inuyasha the best answer he could come up with, which was his basic all-purpose rule when dealing with the riddle that was the opposite gender,
"No idea. Just guess."
Inuyasha snorted again and replied sarcastically,
"Thanks." before turning away from the door completely and walking down the hall across from the door.
"Hey, where're you going?" Miroku called,
"Mom." Inuyasha replied. His mother a girl. She could tell him what girls thought like. Plus, she was the one who came up with this whole arrangement that she had informed Inuyasha about a few ago. She had known to give Inuyasha enough time to cool down after telling him about it. After two weeks of argument, Inuyasha had finally resigned and accepted it. Now, he was rethinking that decision...
~*~
Meanwhile, in the room Kagome had flopped down on the bed, taking a few deep breaths to relax and calm herself. Sango was walking around, looking out of the huge glass window. There was only one, facing west since they were in the side of a cliff, although it seemed too luxurious to call it a cave. Nearing the window, Sango suddenly looked anxious and quickly rushed to the window, drawing the curtains close quickly. Kagome sat up, wondering why Sango had closed the curtains.
"Sango?"
"Yes?"
"Why'd you just close the curtains?"
Thinking fast, Sango tried to come up with an excuse, "Um, it's almost sunset so I thought...that...that the light would be too blinding since you're trying to sleep!" Sango finished hurridly, secretly proud of herself for thinking up such a great excuse so fast, but it didn't work.
"Oh, it's okay. I like the sunset, you know that." and Kagome got up from the bed, walking to the window about to open the curtains herself when there was a knock on the door. Kagome turned abruptly and hurried to the door, opening it while Sango let out a small sigh of relief.
A girl probably a little younger than Kagome and Sango stood there, smiling brightly at them and carrying a bundle in her arms. Bowing, she started said to them in a cheerful voice,
"Hello Lady. My name is Rin and I'm here to tell you that it's almost time for dinner and I'm to help you get ready." she finished with another smile. Kagome unknowingly relaxed. It seemed this wouldn't be as bad as she had thought it might. This girl looked friendly enough.
Sango seemed to think so too and stepped forward, meaning to help the girl with the bundle she was holding, but a man standing behind the young girl hurried foreward with a large grin on his face. Grabbing one of Sango's outstretched hands, he bowed over it and pressed a firm kiss to it. Perhaps more than was necessary.
"We meet again, Lady Sango." he said with a wink. Sango, eyebrow twitching wrenched her hand from his and shook it slightly as if to get off excess moisture. She only recieved another grin in return to her glare.
Luckily, before the scene could get ugly, Kagome interjected,
"We should probably get ready. Please excuse us, Lord..." she trailed off, realizing that she didn't know the name of this man yet.
"Miroku." he said simply,
"Lord Miroku." Kagome repeated, a polite smile on her face,
"Please, just call me Miroku." Kagome nodded, and stepped back to allow Rin into the room. Sango was about to close the door, but Miroku stood in the doorway.
"Lord Miroku, would you mind moving?" Sango said this not rudely, but with an irritated tone. Miroku looked as if he was about to leave but when Sango neared him, he leaned over so his mouth was near her ear and whispered,
"Just call me koibito*." before pulling away slightly so their noses were almost touching and grinned at her.
Sango's eyes were wide as though she didn't believe what he had done. For a moment the chocolate eyes seemed to melt, but then they turned hard and cold. She was shaking slightly with anger and embarrassment, but mostly anger.
Sango moved so fast that the priest didn't even know what hit him. Although when he would look into the mirror later, Sango's handprint would be bright red on his cheek.
After she slapped him, Sango slammed the door in Miroku's face. The priest stared at the door an inch away from his nose, where Sango's nose had been a moment ago. He decided he liked Sango better. Walking down the hall away from the girls' room, he rubbed his cheek tenderly, wincing a little but grinning nontheless. His Sango sure had a temper, but he liked that.
Shaking his head, the priest grinned some more as he thought of Sango. But even below her cool exterior, Miroku thought he had seen another part of Sango through her eyes when she had stared into his lavender hued eyes. Yep, Miroku decided, the girl was madly in love with her. Or, at least, she would be. Then he and Inuyasha could have their weddings together and just throw one big party, instead of separate ones.
Miroku was decided. In two week's time, which was when Inuyasha and Kagome's wedding, or mating, ceremony would be, he would get Sango.
~*~
Meanwhile the girl of Miroku's thoughts was sulking on Kagome's bed.
"Sango, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, concerned for her friend, but Sango simply shook her head. Kagome leaned back away from Sango and let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Well, I suppose we should get ready for dinner." she stated, not sounding happy about the fact at all. Kagome reached down to grab Sango's hands and tried to pull her friend up.
"Come on. We have to get ready!" but Sango shook her head again.
"Argh! Sango!" but the girl only shook her head.
"Well, um, actually, Lady Kagome?" Kagome turned back to rin, who had been temporarily forgotten since she was so quiet,
"Please, call me Kagome? We're around the same age anyway. Rin nodded and continued,
"Kagome, only you have to get ready. Sango is, um, not allowed to go." Kagome was crestfallen. She didn't want to face this alone!
"B-but, why isn't Sango...?" she asked, blue-gray eyes widening,
"Well, servants aren't allowed to eat with the royals. We've got our own dining hall." she said simply, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Sango nodded, not meeting Kagome's eyes which were glancing back and forth from Rin to Sango for any shred of humor that would suggest that it was a joke. But nope.
Kagome sighed, struggling to contain her emotions, then said in a flat tone,
"Might as well get ready, then." and Rin and Sango began to help the princess to get ready for dinner.
~*~
Meanwhile, Inuyasha knocked angrily on a tall oak door, the sounds echoing through the empty hall. The door creaked open and a young maid bowed out of his way as she held the door open for him.
Inuyasha stomped in with a scowl on his face and glanced around, his golden eyes searching until they finally rested on the billowing white curtain that lead to the balcony. With a roll of his eyes, he rushed to the balcony and brushed the curtains out of the way,
"Mother?" he asked, spotting a black-haired woman sitting in a comfortably padded chair in a corner of the balcony. The woman looked up from her knitting with a smile for her son,
"Inuyasha? You're back!" And carefully she put the needles and yarn down and stood up, embracing her son, who was a good few inches taller than her. Inuyasha awkwardly stood there and jerkily patted her back a few times before she let go of his with a small laugh,
"So," she asked with a twinkle in her eyes, "Do you like Kagome?" Inuyasha unknowingly took a step back at his mother's forwardness, although he should have been used to it. His mother had never been subtle, he probably inherited this from her.
"No." he stated with a hint of a growl in his voice. He refused to meet his mother's eyes and tried to change the subject, forgetting for the moment the reason why he wanted to talk to her,
"So why are you knitting? You haven't done that in a long time." he stared at the yarn that was back in her arms again, trying to figure out what it was. His mother beamed up at him and held the half-done knitting up to show him,
"Baby clothes!" she said happily, then went back to the knitting. A vein in Inuyasha's forehead started to twitch,
"Mom! I just said that I don't like her!" Inuyasha half-shouted at his mother who just shook her head with a knowing smile that only annyoed Inuyasha further.
"I don't!" he said again, this time even louder, but a small smile was creeping on his mother's face.
With a huff, he whipped around and stalked back into the room, practically running out the door and past the frightened maid with a snarl. He didn't like that human bitch. She was stupid and ugly and dumb and stubborn and...and...just a wench! His talk with his mother hadn't helped his temper any, either. Gods he hated the girl and he hated this damn arranged marriage! Still not satisfied with thinking up every curse he could to describe the arranged marriage, the hanyou stopped suddenly and punched the wall next to him leaving a nice sized crater.
Just then, Miroku came around the corner, smiling.
"Hey, Inuyasha!" he called, but the dog demon just stormed past him angrily with a simple,
"Fuck off!" and disappeared around the corner the way that the priest had come, leaving Miroku shaking his head. Obviously the hanyou was pissed off about something again and was throwing a little temper tantrum.
Suddenly he remembered something. The hall that Inuyasha went down was a dead end and the only thing down there was...
Shit!
"Inuyasha! If you break anything, you're paying for it!" he yelled as he ran back down the dead end hall that ended in the door to his rooms.
Reaching the end of the hall, he shook his head sadly down at the splinters that were all that remained of his door. Stepping over them carefully in his sandles, he looked around, ready for the destruction zone that was sure to be his rooms, but surprisingly, everything, with the exception of the door, was intact.
"Inuyasha?" he called, looking for the hanyou,
A snort answered him. He followed the sound to the guest room to the left.
"Inuyasha?" he asked tentatively, pushing open the slightly ajar door slowly to see the hanyou sprawled out on his back, arms behind his head and eyes closed lying rather comfortably and calmly on the bed. Suddenly Miroku felt very angry at his friend for breaking down his door and the anger swept over him,
"Why the hell did you break down my door?!" he asked. The hanyou only opened one eye slightly and yawned, saying,
"It was locked."
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Miroku yelled, not feeling very patient for some reason,
"Crashing."
"Why?"
Now both of Inuyasha's eyes opened and Miroku saw anger in them,
"Because that wench is staying in my room!"
Miroku blinked.
And blinked again.
Finally he said in a very slow and confused and almost incredulous tone,
"And you're...angry...?"
Inuyasha nodded once.
To his credit, Miroku didn't even crack a smile, although he was dying to burst out laughing. Instead he just remarked in a wonderous tone,
"Your mom really wants grandkids, doesn't she?"
"Shut up."
~*~
"Okay, now spin around...oh, that's so pretty!" Rin exclaimed as she looked over Kagome's dress. The princess was finally ready for dinner after much primping and angry muttering. But now, dressed in a beautiful silvery blue dress, Kagome felt a bit better.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Sango said, adjusting a strand of Kagome's black hair. Kagome just rolled her eyes. She hated dressing up for these formal occasions as much as the occasions themselves.
The grandfather clock next to the door chimed 6 times.
"Alright," Rin stood up, straightening her own dress, "Time for dinner. Come on, I'll show you where it is!" she said cheerfully. Kagome shot puppy eyes at Sango, who just smiled and waved her on.
Letting out a sigh that ruffled her her bangs, Kagome went to the door where Rin was standing holding it open. She stepped through and Kagome followed, shooting a last look at Sango before the door swung closed.
~*~
Behind a statue of his great grandfather, Inuyasha peeked his white head out and looked around. The hall was deserted. Coming out from behind the statue, he silently walked to the corner of the hall and peeked around it to the direction that Kagome and that other girl had just left. He could hear their chatter, but they were out of sight already.
Good.
Straightening his shoulders and looking very regal, Inuyasha walked to his and Kagome's room and stopped, his clawed hand already on the doorknob. With a growl, he took it off and instead, knocked.
Sango came to the door and opened it for Inuyasha, bowing to him,
"Inuyasha-sama, Kagome's already gone to dinner."
"I know," he replied.
"Um, don't you have to go too?" Sango asked a little nervously, not exactly sure how to treat a demon prince.
"Yeah, but..." now it was Inuyasha's turn to be nervous, "I need my...clothes,"
Sango nodded slowly, completely confused now.
"And they're in here." Inuyasha finished slowly,
"Why?" Sango asked
Irritated, Inuyasha walked past Sango and pointed to the grandfather clock. His grandfather clock.
"It's 6:15. Dinner begins at 6:30. I need to be at dinner by then and to do that, I need my dinner clothes." He said, with a hint of a growl in his voice. But it was true. The ruling pair, otherwise known as his parents, especially his dad, did not tolerate lateness.
He stormed to the walk-in closet to the right and looked around, then gaped.
"Where are my clothes?!" he was surrounded by dresses and bows and frills and lace. Going to one of the dressers, he pulled it open, but suddenly blushed and slammed it close again. Nope.
Ignoring that dresser, he went to an armoire near the back of the closet and opened one of the doors and peeked inside. He breathed a sigh of relief. Here were all his clothes!
Grabbing whatever he could carry, which was a lot, he ran out of the closet, past a stunned Sango, and back to Miroku's rooms.
Finally there after enduring many stares from whoever he ran past, he threw the clothes on his bed and grabbed a few of them, taking them into the bathroom with him to change.
Miroku was already gone, probably already at dinner.
When he dashed out of the bathroom, he was struggling with a tie to hold back his hair and hopped along, the shoes he picked being ones that he grew out of a few years ago.
~*~
At the head of the table was, Kagome assumed, Inuyasha's father. The only word she could think to describe him was...strong. He gave off the feeling of strength and his many battle scars obviously indicated that he was a warrior. He had a piercing gold gaze like both of his sons and also shared the same long, white hair.
Kagome was seated across from an empty chair.
To the left of the empty chair was a beautiful Inu youkai. At first sight, she had thought he was Inuyasha, but he wasn't. For one, he had pointed ears, not puppy ears. But he seemed just as cold as the hanyou. Maybe it ran in the family.
Kagome had been staring at the puff of pinkish something coiled around Sesshomaru's right shoulder. What was it? As if sensing the stare, Sesshomaru turned his gaze to Kagome, who decided to look away. He scared her. As beautiful as he was, Sesshomaru seemed like a cold-blooded killer. Kagome shuddered.
At the end of the table and just to the right of Kagome was Miroku, who winked at Kagome when she looked his way. She smiled weakly back at him. He mouthed 'Don't worry' before going back to listen in on the fierce debate going on between Inuyasha's father and the man seated to his right.
Well, at least it looked like a man. But he had pointed ears and when he opened his mouth to talk, Kagome saw fangs. Plus, his dress alerted Kagome right away. It looked like skins and furs of animals.
To that man's right, in other words, next to Kagome and across from Sesshomaru was a man who seemed just a few years older that Kagome. Kagome suspected that he was the other man's son, since they had the same blue eyes and the same black hair, although the son's was much longer than his father's. But he also wore the same clothes made out of furs and skins.
To Lord Inu's* left was a very beautiful woman. She had long black hair and violet eyes. Maybe she was Inuyasha's mother.
For the first time, Kagome felt a little happiness at this marriage. Her own mother had died while giving birth to her brother. It was a long time ago. The only thing about her mother that Kagome could remember was that she was beautiful and kind. Inuyasha's mother seemed kind. Kagome looked forward to getting to know her.
Suddenly the door burst open and Inuyasha ran through, taking his place at the empty chair across from Kagome. Suddenly, Inuyasha's Dad's voice boomed out to them all,
"Now that we're all here," he directed a meaningful glance to Inuyasha, who winced, "We can begin dinner."
Doors from behind Lord Inu opened and servants streamed out, carrying silver platters of steaming food. Kagome's stomach grumbled as the delicious smells reached her and she realized how hungry she was.
The man to the left of her chuckled,
"Hungry?" he asked,
"Starving." Kagome replied, before manners came into effect, "Oh, um, hello, I'm Kagome."
"Kouga." he replied, "Wolf-demon. And you're...?" he asked, even though he already knew what she was from her scent,
"Uh, human." she replied. One of Kouga's eyebrows went up,
"And why does the Inu royal family have a beautiful, but human girl at dinner with them?" he asked, smiling at her,
Kagome blushed and stammered,
"Um, well, I'm...ah"
"Mine." A voice growled out to them. Kagome looked up. It seemed that Inuyasha was pausing from his dinner long enough to join their conversation.
Kouga sniffed and Kagome was confused until she remembered that he was a wolf demon.
"But you haven't marked her." he said,
Inuyasha simply growled, before he remembered that he hated the girl anyway. So he went back to his dinner.
"Whatever, I don't care." he said
Kouga grinned,
"It seems like that hanyou doesn't understand beauty. But I do." and Kouga took Kagome's hands in his,
"Kagome, why don't you leave that dog-turd and be my mate?" Kouga asked, trying to stare into Kagome's eyes, but the girl was trying as hard as she could to avoid his gaze.
"Um, well, Kouga, uh, doesn't this dinner look great? I'm hungry, you?" she asked, pulling her hands away from his and picking up her fork and sampling some of the wild rice.
Kouga nodded and turned to his dinner also. Obviously the dog-turd made her nervous. But he would just try to persuade her again some other time. For now, there was food to be eaten.
~*~
In the middle of the meal, Kagome was already pretty stuffed, so she leaned over to Miroku,
"Who is Kouga?" she asked,
"He's a wolf demon." Miroku replied, putting down his utensils and wiping his mouth with his napkin, "His father and him are here to talk about land. The wolf-demon clan wants more land, but Lord Inu doesn't want to give up any." Miroku took a sip of his wine, "If they can work somethine out here, they won't have to do it on the battle field."
The priest sighed, "But it's not going too well. Looks like war."
~*~
"So that's the girl?"
Inuyasha stopped, his fork halfway to his mouth.
"Yeah, that's her."
Sesshomaru nodded, "Not bad, for a human."
Inuyasha replied in a voice dripping in sarcasm, "Thanks big brother, I value your opinion so much."
~*~
By the end of dinner, everyone was stuffed. Lord Inu stood.
"Now that we're all full, introductions."
Apparently, he was a man of few words.
Pointing to the wolf-demon on his right, he said,
"Wolf. Lord of the Wolf-demon clans."
Going around in a circle, he stated,
"Kouga, son of Wolf and Prince of the Wolf-demons."
"Kagome, princess of the human kingdom of Shikon and soon-to-be mate of Inuyasha."
"Miroku, priest of Buddha and friend of Inuyasha."
"Inuyasha, my second son."
"Sesshomaru, my first son."
"Shinju*, my wife."
"Good night." He finshed and the doors leading out of the dining room opened. Kagome got up and yawned while walking to Rin who was waiting for her,
"Have a good time?" she asked cheerfully,
"I guess." Kagome replied, before yawning again.
Rin laughed, then began to lead Kagome back to her rooms before anyone else had come out of the dining room, therefore sparing them of any conversation, since Kagome was already so tired.
It had been a big day for Kagome.
~~~~~~~~~~
*baka-idiot
*koibito-lover
*Lord Inu-Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father and the lord of the western lands
*Shinju-I've read many fics that use this as Inuyasha's mother's name and I like it, so I decided to use it. I think it means 'pearl' or something like that, but I'm not sure. ^_^;
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Review!! Tell me if you like longer chapters better? It was hard writing so much, but if you, my readers, like it, then I'll keep doing it. So review!!
~~~~~Reviewer Replies~~~~~
LunaMoon~ Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it.
Nataku~ Yay! Finally someone else who knows Houshin Engi!! Heehee, Nataku rules...yep, anyway, sorry it takes so long for me to update, but, um, I think I like reading fics more than writing my own. Heh heh, I'm lazy.
Vixen~ Shippo? Okay, people seem to like the little kitsune. And of course Kagome will get revenge. Muahahahaha! But that's next chapter. Heh heh. ^_^;
Zhare~ 1) She needs revenge! Revenge is fun. 2)Yup, it's Naraku. But shhhh! Don't tell anyone. 3)Whoa, guess I'd better put Shippo in my story then! 4) Sorry, guess it wasn't really soon...but this chapter was extra long. Does that make up for it a little?
CTRNikkiM~ Well, Kouga's in this chapter, and he'll be in plenty more, if only to make Inu-chan jealous. Heeheehee. Yes, that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? lol
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Thank you wonderful reviewers!! I worship your reviewing greatness! Please review again!! Just click that little button that's next to the box that says 'submit review'. Please?
