The Birthday
"Ano...what is the Shikon?" Kagome asked.
But her question went ignored by the barrage of questions that Inuyasha threw out to
his father.
"You mean it still exists? How long have you known about this father? Will there be a
chance to recover the Shikon back to the kingdom?"
"Inuyasha, be quiet." said the queen.
To Kagome's surprise he listened right away and fell silent.
"The lost ring of Shikon was one of the kingdom's most precious and most treasured
artifacts. The ring itself was to have a mind of it's own and holds a great amount of raw
power. But there is a space in the ring to hold the sacred jewel Shikon", the king paused
to point at a empty hole in the middle of the ring. "The Shikon is said to grant the desire
of any who held it. But it's full potential can't be tapped unless it is set onto this ring. The
ring was stolen over a hundred years and never heard of again."
"But...how did it get into my time?"
"I'm not sure. You say you are from a different world? Is that the truth?"
"Yes, I am. Everything here is very unfamiliar to me. And nobody here looks or dresses
like me."
"I can taste the truth in your words. But how did a mortal come upon the ring?"
"Child, where did you find the ring?" asked the queen.
"In this very old building. I saw it glittering on the ground and I picked it up. Then...I
was here. And he", Kagome pointed at Inuyasha. "Knocked me out and took me here."
"Keh, you were in league with the fox brat."
Kagome's bracelet started to glow with anger, which immediately drew the king and
queen's attention to it.
"Is that some sort of weapon? Why is it glowing?"
"Erm...uh.." Kagome stammered, trying to think of an excuse. The bracelet shivered for
a moment then was followed by a POP. Shippo floated to the ground and gave a
respected bow to the monarchs. Inuyasha started to growled and punched his fist into
his palm in front of Shippo.
"Shippo....so glad you could make it." he said. Kagome pulled the kitsune into the
protection of her arms and glared at Inuyasha.
"Hey, knock it off! He's just a kid!"
"Yeah Inuyasha! Don't pick on poor little children!"
"P-poor little children?!" This time Inuyasha stammered. He was about to jump on the
kitsune when the king flicked a finger at Inuyasha, throwing him into the wall behind.
He then nonchalently put his hand back on his lap.
"Shippo, what did you do this time?" the king asked.
"Nothing." he said, wide-eyed.
The queen gave a stern look at the kitsune, making him feel guilty.
"Just....droppedastatueonhishead." he said in a blur.
"Not again, Shippo! We've had these talks before!" cried out the queen in an exasperated
tone.Kagome looked back and forth at the two, a sweatdrop on her forehead. *Mou?!
This kind of thing happens all the time? Wouldn't it kill him?*
"Inuyasha, this is not the time to sentence Shippo to everlasting time in the cells. Your
birthday is tomorrow and I want everything to go smoothly." berated the queen.
Inuyasha bowed his head.
"Yes, mother."
"You are dismissed..now, as for you mortal."
The queen laid a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"You don't have to refer to her as mortal all the time, she does have a name."
"Right, right. What's your name again?"
"Higurashi Kagome."
"Now, Kagome...Inuyasha, what are you doing standing there? You are dismissed."
Inuyasha stomped out of the room, clearly in a sour disposition.
"Kagome, I will have my scholars dig up what they can find on the Lost Ring and the
Shikon in our libraries. So for now, you may stay in the palace in one of our rooms.
Dear, can you handle the rest?"
"Of course, go on ahead and sleep. I'll take care of this."
The king nodded and stifled a yawn as he rose up and gracefully walked to the door. The
doors opened on their own accord and quietly shut behind him. The queen turned her
bright eyes onto Kagome.
"Earlier, the king said that there was only one mortal in this land. Do you know who that
is?" She remarked.
Kagome looked closely at the queen and could see almost invisible wrinkles by the
corner of her eyes. So far, all the youkai she had seen today were young and flawless.
"Y....you?! You are the only mortal??"
The queen smiled at Kagome's shock.
"There was a small colony of humans in the Eastern Forests bordering this kingdom, the
last I believe. My whole family and everybody in the colony died from starvation.
What food was left was given to me, the youngest one. I started walking through the
forests and almost died when the king saved me. He was out looking for the colony of
humans that supposedly lived in the forest. A few years later, we were married. And
that was five decades ago."
"Five.....you're over 60 years old? How can you look so young?"
"Marriage in this land is binding when two souls are complete with each other. The two
lovers become one in mind and body. In my case, I gained the king's immortality while
he gained some of my mortal blood."
"Sugoi.... marriage in my land isn't binding at all, except on paper."
"What a strange land you live in.... we must discuss more of this later. For now, I will
assign you a room in my quarters. I'll lend you my cousin's room, which should be
suitable. And Inuyasha's birthday is tomorrow so I will have my maids lend you one of
my robes. I know this is all in short notice, but I promise that we will have more
information on the Shikon in a few days."
The queen clapped her hands and a maid appeared from what appeared to be a hidden
passage behind a curtain. She whispered a command in the maid's ear.
"Kagome, follow this maid to your room. I'll talk to you some more tomorrow. Good
night."
The maid her led her out of the room and down a long hallway till she stopped in front
of a pair of richly decorated rooms. Inside showed an even more ostentatiosly
decorated room. It held a long table with cranes and lilies bordering the dark, shiny
wood. Beautiful works of art hung in long banners down the cream colored walls. There
was a pot of hot tea in the middle of the table and thick cushions surrounding it. The
maid slid another pair of doors to show an elegant bedroom. It was light purple
everywhere except the wooden chests of clothes. The futon was covered with purple
blankets and pillows of every shade. And it was brightly lit by several lamps. While
Kagome was in awe of the room, the maid had quietly exited. When Kagome had turned
around there was a white sleeping robe hanging by a changing screen. *Everything is so
old fashioned* The silk of the robe gave Kagome shivers of delight when it touched her
skin. The richness of the robe made her really wonder how wealthy this family was. She
blew the candles out and snuggled into more silk. She stared up at the dark, hearing no
sounds of automobiles at all. Did she really get transported to another world?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sounds of birds chirping content songs woke her. Sunlight drifted in through a small
window that was placed high in a wall, not in the middle. Her mother hadn't woken her
up...she quickly sat up and remembered everything that had happened last night. The
ring, the Shikon, the king and queen, Inuyasha. For just a second, it had felt like a mere
dream but seeing the room made it reality. With a sigh she got up and open the shoji
door that led to the next room. A steaming breakfast had already been set on the table
by a diligent servant. Plain Japanese food for a simple breakfast. At least some
traditions hadn't changed. She was eating when there was a quiet knock at her door. The
person didn't wait and slid it open. A girl Kagome's age stepped in and gave a polite
bow.
"Her Royal Majesty has made me your maid. She insists that you dress for his Royal
Highness's birthday today."
"There's no need for formalities here, please?" Kagome insisted, motioning for the girl to
sit down. She gave a confused look but obeyed.
"I'm Higurashi Kagome and I am not a youkai, I'm a human. So what's your name?"
The girl gave a shocked look.
"H-human??? You're a human?!" The girl's jaw dropped and Kagome began to wonder if
this was how everybody was going to react whenever she told them. Perhaps it was
better not to say anything at all.
"I'm sorry, my lady. My name is Sango and I must begin dressing you or else there will
be no time. The ceremonies for the prince begins in three hours."
"Three hours?! That's plenty of time!" Kagome exclaimed as Sango began to usher her
back into her sleeping room. The maid began to open the many chests to reveal dozens
of different colored kimonos. Fingering through every cloth, she finally picked out a sea
blue kimono with red flowers dancing around the collar and sleeves. After three hours
of tying the obi properly Kagome was finally done. Sango had tried her hardest to
persude the girl to wear some jewelry or face make up, but Kagome was adamant on the
subject.
"Nope, no way. I'm not getting my face painted like a ghost with blood red lips. It's
creepy and I prefer the natural look anyway."
"But...my lady, there will be so many other women-"
"Don't worry Sango, I'm not afraid of being different. I'm human after all, right?"
Kagome gave a wink and left the room, carefully sliding the door shut behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was so incredibly boring. The ceremonies were long and monotonous. Basically, a
whole bunch of weird looking youkai came to the prince, expressing their
congratulations on becoming 18 years old. But the line of well wishers, oh the endless
line, seemed to go on and on. Two hours of "We congratulate his royal highness for
reaching the age of 18" only in many different ways and in lots of fancy and colorful
words that Kagome couldn't even comprehend. It was amazing how many ways you
could say one sentence. She lost count after 76 and drifted off into a daydream. She had
been given the supreme honor of sitting next to the prince. Meaning she couldn't laze
around in the back and fall asleep. It meant she had to struggle to keep closing eyes
open and at least look somewhat attentive. Finally, when the last person had
congratulated Inuyasha lunch was served. Of course, lunch was just as boring.
Everybody had moved into a long dining room that must have seated over three
hundred people. Kagome was sat between an old ambassador from some foreign
country and a little girl who didn't know how to eat properly, spilling food more often
than not on Kagome's lap. But she held on with her patience, however strained it was
and kept a cheery demeaner plastered over her bored to death face. *It has to be a
test, it must be. To see if I'll crack under extreme torture or not* After another two
hours passing by, Kagome was finally excused and she almost sprinted to her rooms.
Sango was waiting peacefully inside, sewing on some cloth. Kagome dropped her mask
and began to scowl as she changed out of her food stained clothes.
"I can't BELIEVE it. Did you know how long and stupid that ceremony was going to be?"
Kagome asked her maid with narrowed eyes. "It was torture!! I can't BELIEVE that they
do this for every single one of his birthdays!!"
Sango had already predicted how Kagome might react and had laid out less formal
clothes. Kagome told Sango the details of what had happened in the space of four
interminable hours while she slipped into the clothes. Sango gave a giggle as Kagome
stomped out, liking her mistress more by the minute.
"At least it only happens once a year." Sango pointed out.
"Once is enough." Kagome grumbled. "I'm going walking."
She looked right and left, wondering which direction to pick. She decided on the
opposite direction of where all the ceremonies had taken place. Without remembering
any specific halls, she wandered aimlessly till she came to a door that led outside. She
gave a groan, of course she ends up taking the door that led right into the middle of the
festivities. That is...if you call more nobles and such sucking up to the prince. She
spotted Inuyasha in a crowd full of girls. He looked extremely awkward from the giggles
and little touches that the females were giving and Kagome could feel pity for him. She
had only experienced the so called birthday ceremonies once, he had to go through it
for 18 years. She pushed her way through until she reached him. Grabbing his hand, she
took off in a run, taking the advantage of the other girls being constricted in their heavy
many layered kimonos. Kagome stopped when they were well within the coverage that
a small forest gave.
"Thanks." He said gruffly, looking away from her face as he caught his breath.
"Consider it my birthday present." Kagome said happily, pleased that an obnoxious
prince like him could actually give gratitude.
"What? THAT'S your idea of a birthday present?" Inuyasha said, clearly shocked.
Kagome's mouth dropped open at his blunt arrogance.
"Excuse ME, your ROYAL HIGHNESS for not being one of those snotty princesses in
there! You baka!" Kagome slapped the back of his head and began to walk away.
*Honestly! I go out of my way to get him out of that crowd of brainless dimwits, and all
I get is a 'that's all'? Reminder to self: never save a prince!!*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kagome gave a groan when she came back to her rooms, her maid bearing more bad
news. She flopped down on one of the thick cushions in her sitting room and gave a
deep sigh.
"It's eternal, isn't? Of course, what's a birthday without a long ceremony of
congratulations, sucking up, and a ball? Sango, do I have to go?" Kagome begged. Her
maid gave a sad smile and shook her head.
"Under orders of her Royal Majesty. Come, I picked out something for you already. I
know I know, there is no makeup or jewelry involved. Though, I must do something
with your hair..."
Sango brought out the kimono she had picked. It was another blue kimono, only in a
softer tone that reminded Kagome of the blue found in her own eyes.
"Kirei." She touched the material, silk, what else could it be? Upon seeing her approval,
Sango began to pull off the clothes that Kagome had on and dressed her in the kimono.
Regretably, the hair took the longest this time. Sango had teased, curled, pinned, and
pulled until she was finally pleased with her creation. The effect was a mass of her hair
put into a high tail but with many curly wisps of hair floating all around. As Sango had
promised, she had no jewelry or make up waiting. But she did put in a flower or two of
jasmine in her hair.
"Perfect. And because of my timing, you will be fashionably late." Sango beamed as
Kagome rolled her eyes while leaving. After getting directions from a servant she finally
found the ballroom. It was spacious and fitted hundreds of people well with lots of
room to spare. Glass chandeliers imported from some other country decorated the
ceiling that was painted to show a cloud filled sky. There were tall windows with equally
tall curtains that were tied off to the side. Though she tried to sneak into the room as
stealthily as possible, many eyes turned to see the late girl. Cursing softly at herself, she
tried to go back but a man quickly came up to her. He was quite tall and dressed in a
fawn colored kimono in which he looked out of place in. He had a wolfish grin on his
face and Kagome glanced at a tail that was waving around. He gave a bow and lifted an
arm.
"If I may be so bold to ask for a dance?" He smiled again, showed a set of canines.
Wanting everybody to stop looking at her she quickly accepted. For all his roughish
appearance, he was a smooth dancer. They were enjoying a second one when someone
cut in.
"Oy, wolf boy, what are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, glaring at him. "And what are
you doing dancing around with my guest?" He looked at the rather intimate embrace
that Kouga had with Kagome.
"I was being polite Inuyasha, unlike some youkai I know. If you'll excuse us, you
interrupted a rather invigorating dance."
"Go dance with Ayume, she's been itching to have one with you all night."
At the sound of her name a young girl hopped forward with an overeager smile on
her face. Before he could object, Kouga was whirled away. Leaving Inuyasha and
Kagome standing before each other, just staring. With a snort of disgust, he held out his
arms and she took them. Though he was tense, he proved to be an even better dancer
than Kouga. *Must have been the lessons* Kagome assured herself, but she couldn't
help but admire how confidently he led her across the floor. When the dance was done
she was quickly twirled off by another pair of arms before she could thank Inuyasha for
the dance. The rest of the evening went on with a continuing exchange of different
partners till Kagome felt like she had danced with every single man in the ballroom. By
the time it was 1 in the morning, she felt like she was going to drop from where she was
standing any second. Saying she was tired she managed to escape more overly
courteous requests for dances. She was dragging her feet to her room when she realized
that she had no clue where she was. With a groan she slid against the wall and sat down,
her legs rejoicing the rest. Maybe she could just sleep here for the night. There was no
way her legs were going to be able to stand up again, they wanted to stay just the way
they were. She could hear the click of shoes in the hallway and she mentally scolded
herself for sitting down. Now she was going to look like a drunk idiot who had fallen
down in front of a complete stranger. The person stopped in front of her for a minute
then bent down and lifted her up in his arms.
"Hey! Aren't you being a bit too familiar?!" Kagome argued as the man began to walk
down the dark hallway. When they passed by a candle she gaped at the person holding
her in his arms.
"Inuyasha? What in the world are you doing?"
"You're obviously too weak to walk and you probably don't even know where your
room even is."
Kagome raised a finger. "I do know where my room is."
"Oh? So where is it?" Inuyasha asked.
"Um....somewhere in the palace?" Kagome answered innocently, a halo forming above
her head.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's right next to my room."
"Eh? It is? Since when?"
"Since you got here."
He stopped and knocked on the door to her rooms. Sango opened it and immediately
sprang to attention when she saw the prince. She slid the door open all the way and
moved to let the prince in. He sat her down on her futon.
"Can you take care of the rest?" He asked Kagome.
"Of course." She snapped at him. "I'm not some helpless-oh never mind."
"You know, you're pretty interesting for such a weak human."
Before Kagome could answer back he closed the door and left.
"Baka." She mumbled for the umpteenth time.
__________________________________________________________________
*It's done!!!! After such a long time without updating, it's FINALLY done. Whew, I wanted to really make up for all the lost time so I made this chapter extra long. Hope you enjoyed it a lot!!!! And Kagome is a bit OOC in this chapter, but I'll try not to make her overly OOC in the story. but hey, wouldn't you be irritated if you attended a really boring birthday that lasted for hours? And don't forget a long, meaningful review on what you think of the story so far, any flaws you see, spelling/grammer mistakes, and so forth. of course, I willingly accept praise on the story as well. *beams in happiness* and for those who are reading my other stories, I've updated all of them as well. unfortunately, I had to take off Trial of the Shikon Guardians because I lost my interest in that story. I thought the plot itself was unique, but I just couldn't think of anyway to get it starting again. Someone else could use the storyline if they want to, I don't mind. But I know I can't think of anything for the story.
"Ano...what is the Shikon?" Kagome asked.
But her question went ignored by the barrage of questions that Inuyasha threw out to
his father.
"You mean it still exists? How long have you known about this father? Will there be a
chance to recover the Shikon back to the kingdom?"
"Inuyasha, be quiet." said the queen.
To Kagome's surprise he listened right away and fell silent.
"The lost ring of Shikon was one of the kingdom's most precious and most treasured
artifacts. The ring itself was to have a mind of it's own and holds a great amount of raw
power. But there is a space in the ring to hold the sacred jewel Shikon", the king paused
to point at a empty hole in the middle of the ring. "The Shikon is said to grant the desire
of any who held it. But it's full potential can't be tapped unless it is set onto this ring. The
ring was stolen over a hundred years and never heard of again."
"But...how did it get into my time?"
"I'm not sure. You say you are from a different world? Is that the truth?"
"Yes, I am. Everything here is very unfamiliar to me. And nobody here looks or dresses
like me."
"I can taste the truth in your words. But how did a mortal come upon the ring?"
"Child, where did you find the ring?" asked the queen.
"In this very old building. I saw it glittering on the ground and I picked it up. Then...I
was here. And he", Kagome pointed at Inuyasha. "Knocked me out and took me here."
"Keh, you were in league with the fox brat."
Kagome's bracelet started to glow with anger, which immediately drew the king and
queen's attention to it.
"Is that some sort of weapon? Why is it glowing?"
"Erm...uh.." Kagome stammered, trying to think of an excuse. The bracelet shivered for
a moment then was followed by a POP. Shippo floated to the ground and gave a
respected bow to the monarchs. Inuyasha started to growled and punched his fist into
his palm in front of Shippo.
"Shippo....so glad you could make it." he said. Kagome pulled the kitsune into the
protection of her arms and glared at Inuyasha.
"Hey, knock it off! He's just a kid!"
"Yeah Inuyasha! Don't pick on poor little children!"
"P-poor little children?!" This time Inuyasha stammered. He was about to jump on the
kitsune when the king flicked a finger at Inuyasha, throwing him into the wall behind.
He then nonchalently put his hand back on his lap.
"Shippo, what did you do this time?" the king asked.
"Nothing." he said, wide-eyed.
The queen gave a stern look at the kitsune, making him feel guilty.
"Just....droppedastatueonhishead." he said in a blur.
"Not again, Shippo! We've had these talks before!" cried out the queen in an exasperated
tone.Kagome looked back and forth at the two, a sweatdrop on her forehead. *Mou?!
This kind of thing happens all the time? Wouldn't it kill him?*
"Inuyasha, this is not the time to sentence Shippo to everlasting time in the cells. Your
birthday is tomorrow and I want everything to go smoothly." berated the queen.
Inuyasha bowed his head.
"Yes, mother."
"You are dismissed..now, as for you mortal."
The queen laid a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"You don't have to refer to her as mortal all the time, she does have a name."
"Right, right. What's your name again?"
"Higurashi Kagome."
"Now, Kagome...Inuyasha, what are you doing standing there? You are dismissed."
Inuyasha stomped out of the room, clearly in a sour disposition.
"Kagome, I will have my scholars dig up what they can find on the Lost Ring and the
Shikon in our libraries. So for now, you may stay in the palace in one of our rooms.
Dear, can you handle the rest?"
"Of course, go on ahead and sleep. I'll take care of this."
The king nodded and stifled a yawn as he rose up and gracefully walked to the door. The
doors opened on their own accord and quietly shut behind him. The queen turned her
bright eyes onto Kagome.
"Earlier, the king said that there was only one mortal in this land. Do you know who that
is?" She remarked.
Kagome looked closely at the queen and could see almost invisible wrinkles by the
corner of her eyes. So far, all the youkai she had seen today were young and flawless.
"Y....you?! You are the only mortal??"
The queen smiled at Kagome's shock.
"There was a small colony of humans in the Eastern Forests bordering this kingdom, the
last I believe. My whole family and everybody in the colony died from starvation.
What food was left was given to me, the youngest one. I started walking through the
forests and almost died when the king saved me. He was out looking for the colony of
humans that supposedly lived in the forest. A few years later, we were married. And
that was five decades ago."
"Five.....you're over 60 years old? How can you look so young?"
"Marriage in this land is binding when two souls are complete with each other. The two
lovers become one in mind and body. In my case, I gained the king's immortality while
he gained some of my mortal blood."
"Sugoi.... marriage in my land isn't binding at all, except on paper."
"What a strange land you live in.... we must discuss more of this later. For now, I will
assign you a room in my quarters. I'll lend you my cousin's room, which should be
suitable. And Inuyasha's birthday is tomorrow so I will have my maids lend you one of
my robes. I know this is all in short notice, but I promise that we will have more
information on the Shikon in a few days."
The queen clapped her hands and a maid appeared from what appeared to be a hidden
passage behind a curtain. She whispered a command in the maid's ear.
"Kagome, follow this maid to your room. I'll talk to you some more tomorrow. Good
night."
The maid her led her out of the room and down a long hallway till she stopped in front
of a pair of richly decorated rooms. Inside showed an even more ostentatiosly
decorated room. It held a long table with cranes and lilies bordering the dark, shiny
wood. Beautiful works of art hung in long banners down the cream colored walls. There
was a pot of hot tea in the middle of the table and thick cushions surrounding it. The
maid slid another pair of doors to show an elegant bedroom. It was light purple
everywhere except the wooden chests of clothes. The futon was covered with purple
blankets and pillows of every shade. And it was brightly lit by several lamps. While
Kagome was in awe of the room, the maid had quietly exited. When Kagome had turned
around there was a white sleeping robe hanging by a changing screen. *Everything is so
old fashioned* The silk of the robe gave Kagome shivers of delight when it touched her
skin. The richness of the robe made her really wonder how wealthy this family was. She
blew the candles out and snuggled into more silk. She stared up at the dark, hearing no
sounds of automobiles at all. Did she really get transported to another world?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sounds of birds chirping content songs woke her. Sunlight drifted in through a small
window that was placed high in a wall, not in the middle. Her mother hadn't woken her
up...she quickly sat up and remembered everything that had happened last night. The
ring, the Shikon, the king and queen, Inuyasha. For just a second, it had felt like a mere
dream but seeing the room made it reality. With a sigh she got up and open the shoji
door that led to the next room. A steaming breakfast had already been set on the table
by a diligent servant. Plain Japanese food for a simple breakfast. At least some
traditions hadn't changed. She was eating when there was a quiet knock at her door. The
person didn't wait and slid it open. A girl Kagome's age stepped in and gave a polite
bow.
"Her Royal Majesty has made me your maid. She insists that you dress for his Royal
Highness's birthday today."
"There's no need for formalities here, please?" Kagome insisted, motioning for the girl to
sit down. She gave a confused look but obeyed.
"I'm Higurashi Kagome and I am not a youkai, I'm a human. So what's your name?"
The girl gave a shocked look.
"H-human??? You're a human?!" The girl's jaw dropped and Kagome began to wonder if
this was how everybody was going to react whenever she told them. Perhaps it was
better not to say anything at all.
"I'm sorry, my lady. My name is Sango and I must begin dressing you or else there will
be no time. The ceremonies for the prince begins in three hours."
"Three hours?! That's plenty of time!" Kagome exclaimed as Sango began to usher her
back into her sleeping room. The maid began to open the many chests to reveal dozens
of different colored kimonos. Fingering through every cloth, she finally picked out a sea
blue kimono with red flowers dancing around the collar and sleeves. After three hours
of tying the obi properly Kagome was finally done. Sango had tried her hardest to
persude the girl to wear some jewelry or face make up, but Kagome was adamant on the
subject.
"Nope, no way. I'm not getting my face painted like a ghost with blood red lips. It's
creepy and I prefer the natural look anyway."
"But...my lady, there will be so many other women-"
"Don't worry Sango, I'm not afraid of being different. I'm human after all, right?"
Kagome gave a wink and left the room, carefully sliding the door shut behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was so incredibly boring. The ceremonies were long and monotonous. Basically, a
whole bunch of weird looking youkai came to the prince, expressing their
congratulations on becoming 18 years old. But the line of well wishers, oh the endless
line, seemed to go on and on. Two hours of "We congratulate his royal highness for
reaching the age of 18" only in many different ways and in lots of fancy and colorful
words that Kagome couldn't even comprehend. It was amazing how many ways you
could say one sentence. She lost count after 76 and drifted off into a daydream. She had
been given the supreme honor of sitting next to the prince. Meaning she couldn't laze
around in the back and fall asleep. It meant she had to struggle to keep closing eyes
open and at least look somewhat attentive. Finally, when the last person had
congratulated Inuyasha lunch was served. Of course, lunch was just as boring.
Everybody had moved into a long dining room that must have seated over three
hundred people. Kagome was sat between an old ambassador from some foreign
country and a little girl who didn't know how to eat properly, spilling food more often
than not on Kagome's lap. But she held on with her patience, however strained it was
and kept a cheery demeaner plastered over her bored to death face. *It has to be a
test, it must be. To see if I'll crack under extreme torture or not* After another two
hours passing by, Kagome was finally excused and she almost sprinted to her rooms.
Sango was waiting peacefully inside, sewing on some cloth. Kagome dropped her mask
and began to scowl as she changed out of her food stained clothes.
"I can't BELIEVE it. Did you know how long and stupid that ceremony was going to be?"
Kagome asked her maid with narrowed eyes. "It was torture!! I can't BELIEVE that they
do this for every single one of his birthdays!!"
Sango had already predicted how Kagome might react and had laid out less formal
clothes. Kagome told Sango the details of what had happened in the space of four
interminable hours while she slipped into the clothes. Sango gave a giggle as Kagome
stomped out, liking her mistress more by the minute.
"At least it only happens once a year." Sango pointed out.
"Once is enough." Kagome grumbled. "I'm going walking."
She looked right and left, wondering which direction to pick. She decided on the
opposite direction of where all the ceremonies had taken place. Without remembering
any specific halls, she wandered aimlessly till she came to a door that led outside. She
gave a groan, of course she ends up taking the door that led right into the middle of the
festivities. That is...if you call more nobles and such sucking up to the prince. She
spotted Inuyasha in a crowd full of girls. He looked extremely awkward from the giggles
and little touches that the females were giving and Kagome could feel pity for him. She
had only experienced the so called birthday ceremonies once, he had to go through it
for 18 years. She pushed her way through until she reached him. Grabbing his hand, she
took off in a run, taking the advantage of the other girls being constricted in their heavy
many layered kimonos. Kagome stopped when they were well within the coverage that
a small forest gave.
"Thanks." He said gruffly, looking away from her face as he caught his breath.
"Consider it my birthday present." Kagome said happily, pleased that an obnoxious
prince like him could actually give gratitude.
"What? THAT'S your idea of a birthday present?" Inuyasha said, clearly shocked.
Kagome's mouth dropped open at his blunt arrogance.
"Excuse ME, your ROYAL HIGHNESS for not being one of those snotty princesses in
there! You baka!" Kagome slapped the back of his head and began to walk away.
*Honestly! I go out of my way to get him out of that crowd of brainless dimwits, and all
I get is a 'that's all'? Reminder to self: never save a prince!!*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kagome gave a groan when she came back to her rooms, her maid bearing more bad
news. She flopped down on one of the thick cushions in her sitting room and gave a
deep sigh.
"It's eternal, isn't? Of course, what's a birthday without a long ceremony of
congratulations, sucking up, and a ball? Sango, do I have to go?" Kagome begged. Her
maid gave a sad smile and shook her head.
"Under orders of her Royal Majesty. Come, I picked out something for you already. I
know I know, there is no makeup or jewelry involved. Though, I must do something
with your hair..."
Sango brought out the kimono she had picked. It was another blue kimono, only in a
softer tone that reminded Kagome of the blue found in her own eyes.
"Kirei." She touched the material, silk, what else could it be? Upon seeing her approval,
Sango began to pull off the clothes that Kagome had on and dressed her in the kimono.
Regretably, the hair took the longest this time. Sango had teased, curled, pinned, and
pulled until she was finally pleased with her creation. The effect was a mass of her hair
put into a high tail but with many curly wisps of hair floating all around. As Sango had
promised, she had no jewelry or make up waiting. But she did put in a flower or two of
jasmine in her hair.
"Perfect. And because of my timing, you will be fashionably late." Sango beamed as
Kagome rolled her eyes while leaving. After getting directions from a servant she finally
found the ballroom. It was spacious and fitted hundreds of people well with lots of
room to spare. Glass chandeliers imported from some other country decorated the
ceiling that was painted to show a cloud filled sky. There were tall windows with equally
tall curtains that were tied off to the side. Though she tried to sneak into the room as
stealthily as possible, many eyes turned to see the late girl. Cursing softly at herself, she
tried to go back but a man quickly came up to her. He was quite tall and dressed in a
fawn colored kimono in which he looked out of place in. He had a wolfish grin on his
face and Kagome glanced at a tail that was waving around. He gave a bow and lifted an
arm.
"If I may be so bold to ask for a dance?" He smiled again, showed a set of canines.
Wanting everybody to stop looking at her she quickly accepted. For all his roughish
appearance, he was a smooth dancer. They were enjoying a second one when someone
cut in.
"Oy, wolf boy, what are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, glaring at him. "And what are
you doing dancing around with my guest?" He looked at the rather intimate embrace
that Kouga had with Kagome.
"I was being polite Inuyasha, unlike some youkai I know. If you'll excuse us, you
interrupted a rather invigorating dance."
"Go dance with Ayume, she's been itching to have one with you all night."
At the sound of her name a young girl hopped forward with an overeager smile on
her face. Before he could object, Kouga was whirled away. Leaving Inuyasha and
Kagome standing before each other, just staring. With a snort of disgust, he held out his
arms and she took them. Though he was tense, he proved to be an even better dancer
than Kouga. *Must have been the lessons* Kagome assured herself, but she couldn't
help but admire how confidently he led her across the floor. When the dance was done
she was quickly twirled off by another pair of arms before she could thank Inuyasha for
the dance. The rest of the evening went on with a continuing exchange of different
partners till Kagome felt like she had danced with every single man in the ballroom. By
the time it was 1 in the morning, she felt like she was going to drop from where she was
standing any second. Saying she was tired she managed to escape more overly
courteous requests for dances. She was dragging her feet to her room when she realized
that she had no clue where she was. With a groan she slid against the wall and sat down,
her legs rejoicing the rest. Maybe she could just sleep here for the night. There was no
way her legs were going to be able to stand up again, they wanted to stay just the way
they were. She could hear the click of shoes in the hallway and she mentally scolded
herself for sitting down. Now she was going to look like a drunk idiot who had fallen
down in front of a complete stranger. The person stopped in front of her for a minute
then bent down and lifted her up in his arms.
"Hey! Aren't you being a bit too familiar?!" Kagome argued as the man began to walk
down the dark hallway. When they passed by a candle she gaped at the person holding
her in his arms.
"Inuyasha? What in the world are you doing?"
"You're obviously too weak to walk and you probably don't even know where your
room even is."
Kagome raised a finger. "I do know where my room is."
"Oh? So where is it?" Inuyasha asked.
"Um....somewhere in the palace?" Kagome answered innocently, a halo forming above
her head.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's right next to my room."
"Eh? It is? Since when?"
"Since you got here."
He stopped and knocked on the door to her rooms. Sango opened it and immediately
sprang to attention when she saw the prince. She slid the door open all the way and
moved to let the prince in. He sat her down on her futon.
"Can you take care of the rest?" He asked Kagome.
"Of course." She snapped at him. "I'm not some helpless-oh never mind."
"You know, you're pretty interesting for such a weak human."
Before Kagome could answer back he closed the door and left.
"Baka." She mumbled for the umpteenth time.
__________________________________________________________________
*It's done!!!! After such a long time without updating, it's FINALLY done. Whew, I wanted to really make up for all the lost time so I made this chapter extra long. Hope you enjoyed it a lot!!!! And Kagome is a bit OOC in this chapter, but I'll try not to make her overly OOC in the story. but hey, wouldn't you be irritated if you attended a really boring birthday that lasted for hours? And don't forget a long, meaningful review on what you think of the story so far, any flaws you see, spelling/grammer mistakes, and so forth. of course, I willingly accept praise on the story as well. *beams in happiness* and for those who are reading my other stories, I've updated all of them as well. unfortunately, I had to take off Trial of the Shikon Guardians because I lost my interest in that story. I thought the plot itself was unique, but I just couldn't think of anyway to get it starting again. Someone else could use the storyline if they want to, I don't mind. But I know I can't think of anything for the story.