Telonomaru smiled to himself as he walked to the study. Dinner had gone very well, and he had been surprised by how kind his cousin acted towards the girl. The younger taiyoukai had been most attentive to Kagome's needs... helping her carry the food, making sure she didn't trip and fall, assisting her in clean up.
'What a funny thought... Sesshoumaru doing dishes.' He mentally laughed, glancing out a small window as he went down a long hallway. The moon was out and high in the sky, casting the courtyard in a silvery glow. It looked romantic and magical in his opinion, a place for two people to fall in love.
When he arrived outside the room he wanted, he knocked on the door. A voice told him to go away, but he ignored it, going in anyway.
Telonomaru was greeted by the sight of his cousin at a large desk, papers strewn all over it. He frowned. "I thought you claimed to be on vacation," he stated, going to stand in front of the desk. "It seems to me like you're doing work."
Sesshoumaru looked up from the folder he was studying. "I'm going over some of the paperwork on this castle. I have been sorely neglecting it."
The kimono-clad male chuckled. "That you have, but you need to take a break."
Glaring at his cousin, Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I have some serious work to do. Many parts of the castle need to be looked over and repaired."
"You need to take a break, and I'll even give you some reasons. First off, I've taken care of most of those problem areas," Telonomaru stated. "Second, I have a feeling that you've been at this since after supper, and that's not healthy. Third-"
"There's a third reason?" He smirked, amused. "I hope it's better than the other two."
The older dog demon nodded his head. "It is. Kagome wanted me to tell you that she's outside in the courtyard, waiting for you. She wants to talk to you about something."
Sesshoumaru's curiosity was instantly peaked. "What about?"
"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me." He shrugged. "I guess that you'll just have to go out there to find out from her."
The taiyoukai of the western lands stood up, setting the folder on the top of his desk. "I'll go see what Kagome wants, and then I'll come back here and finish my work."
"Okay," Telonomaru replied, watching his cousin walk out of the room. 'We'll see just how quickly you return. Although, I highly doubt that it will be any time soon.'
~*~
Sesshoumaru strode out into the courtyard, looking around for the girl. He saw her almost immediately, sitting on the edge of a fountain in a beautiful white kimono with red sakura patterns and a red obi. She was tracing the top of the water with her fingertips, obviously absorbed in whatever she was thinking about. Moonlight highlighted her dark hair and pale skin, almost making her glow. She looked like a moon goddess, especially since she was wearing the white kimono.
He walked up and took a seat next to her, drawing her attention away from the fountain.
"Oh, hello, Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome said cheerfully, standing up. "Look at the pretty kimono Telonomaru gave me to wear." She spun around so he could see it from all sides. "Do you like it?"
"It does look very nice on you," he responded, making a mental note to have a little chat with his cousin. Telonomaru had given Kagome the kimono reserved for the Lady of the Western Lands. 'He's dropping hints,' Sesshoumaru thought unhappily. 'He's trying to play matchmaker again, damn him.'
"I was hoping you'd say that, Sesshoumaru-sama." She sat back down. "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"What?" The dog demon frowned. "Telonomaru said that you wished to speak with me about something."
Kagome shook her head. "I didn't tell him to do that. Telonomaru-sama told me that you wanted to talk to me."
Sesshoumaru growled softly, feeling rather annoyed with his cousin. "We've been set up."
"Huh?" She stared into his golden eyes, not understanding what he had meant. "What are you talking about?"
"It seems that Telonomaru is trying to play matchmaker with us. He conned both of us into coming out here," he answered.
"Is that such a bad thing?" Kagome wanted to know, voice soft. "I mean, this place is beautiful, and I can't think of anyone else I would rather share this with." She paused. "But if you wish to get him back, then I'll be more than happy to help."
The inu youkai considered the offer for a few minutes. "I have an idea."
~*~
An hour later...
Sesshoumaru carried out a chessboard and set it down near the fountain as Kagome followed him with a box full of chess pieces. He sat down next to the board, gesturing for the black-haired girl to do the same. She did as he suggested, making sure not to step on the hem of the kimono as she did so.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, are you sure you don't mind teaching me?" she asked as she looked down at the game, handing him the box at the same time.
"Of course I don't mind," the inu youkai responded, beginning to put the pieces on the board in their appropriate places. "I've been looking for someone new to play against."
"I'm not going to be very good," she protested, although she wasn't sure why. "I've never played before." 'Why am I putting up a fight? I want to learn, and he's offering to show me how; so, what's my problem?' She thought about that for a brief moment. 'I'm still thinking like a slave who doesn't want to bother her master; I need to stop that.'
The dog demon sighed. "I promised that I would teach you, and it's certainly better than playing against myself."
Kagome smiled at him. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama."
He blinked, surprised that she would give in so easily; however, he wasn't about to complain. "You're welcome." He pointed down at the chess board. "Now, the whole point of the game is to trap this piece," -he picked up the king, showing it to her- "so that it can't move without you taking it. This is the king, and it can only move one space at a time. It's the most important piece in the game."
"Okay... the king," she repeated, picking up the piece on her side of the board that corresponded with the piece in his hand. "It can move one place, and the purpose of the game is to trap it."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Exactly." He put down the king and then proceeded to explain how the rest of the pieces moved. Once he was done telling her everything, Kagome repeated the basic information of what he had just said. "Good, Kagome," he told her, a half-smile on his face. "And now, since you are white, you get to move first."
"Ummm..." She bit down lightly on her bottom lip, thinking hard about how she wanted to move. After a few moments, she set one of her pawns two spaces forward. Sesshoumaru almost instantly countered her move, and then Kagome moved one of her pieces again. The game continued like that, with Sesshoumaru taking most of Kagome's pieces while she took very few of his. Right when the taiyoukai was about to proclaim checkmate to the girl, he heard a distant shout of shock.
He chuckled. "I believe that Telonomaru finally found the surprise we left in his room for him."
"How do you know?" Kagome inquired, feeling curious.
"I can hear his shouts," Sesshoumaru replied in an amused tone. "He'll probably leave his room to come find us soon."
"Do you think that he's really angry?" There was a hint of worry in her voice.
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "No. More likely than not, Telonomaru will just be a little annoyed. It takes quite a lot to anger him." He paused. "Oh, and Kagome? Checkmate."
~*~
Inuyasha sank a little lower in his chair, mumbling under his breath. Varice, his date, was in the bathroom; Miroku and Sango were on the floor dancing and obviously having fun. The two had started out about two feet away from each other, but somehow they had been drawn together so that they finally ended up dancing with the full front of both of their bodies touching.
He was bored and most definitely NOT happy. The blond had tried to talk to him, but he just hadn't felt like talking. Yes, she was pretty, but she wasn't the person he wanted to be with at the moment.
'I want to be here with Kagome,' the hanyou thought wistfully as he took a sip of his drink. 'I bet that she would be a great dancer.'
As soon as he thought that, a little voice in his head began to argue with him.
*Kagome isn't here,* the voice told him. *Varice is.*
'And?' Inuyasha retorted. 'Big deal.'
*The girl isn't yours, and she'll never be yours. You need to give up on her.* The voice was silent for a brief moment. *Besides, you don't need a replacement for Kikyou; you need a whole different girl.*
For the first time, the silver-haired male actually considered those words. 'Okay... so maybe I do. I still want Kagome.'
*C'mon... just give up on Kagome. Just take a look at Varice when she comes back. She's pretty, and I bet that she's nice too.*
Inuyasha mentally sighed. 'Alright. I guess that it can't hurt.'
The voice was silent after that.
The hanyou almost laughed out loud, but Varice had suddenly reappeared, giving him someone else to deal with.
"Hey, Inuyasha," she greeted him, voice anything but nervous.
'Geez, I've been rude to her for the past hour, and she still seems to be unaffected.' Needless to say, he was very impressed. "Hey," he responded.
Varice looked over at the dance floor and then looked back at him. "You wanna dance?" she asked. "I think that it might be fun to upstage Sango and Miroku. What do ya think?"
He shrugged. "Sure. I guess so."
"Great!" She smiled brightly, grabbing his hands and lightly dragging him over to the dance floor.
Inuyasha mentally wondered what he had done to deserve such "torture."
~*~
Telonomaru walked up to the two chess players, dripping water all over the ground as he did so. He wanted to have a little chat with his cousin about all the little booby traps that had been placed in the guest room he had been using. For some reason, he thought that Sesshoumaru had put everything up. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that there were only three people in the castle: him, Sesshoumaru, and Kagome. Since Telonomaru highly doubted that the miko would set traps in his room on her own, he suspected his cousin.
When the dog demon was a foot away, Kagome looked up at him, freezing in mid-move. "Oh, hello, Telonomaru-sama," she said politely. "How are you?"
"How am I doing?" he repeated, amusement in his voice. "Take a good look at me and tell me what you think."
The miko looked him up and down, a smile threatening to break across her neutral face. 'He looks funny,' she thought, silently laughing.
Telonomaru was standing there, soaking wet and covered in silly string, shaving cream, and pudding. His silver hair was a mess, and his clothes were most likely ruined.
"You look like the kitchen attacked you," Kagome commented, giggling.
Sesshoumaru mentally chuckled and shook his head sadly. "I believe more than just the kitchen attacked him," he said to the miko, successfully fighting back a smile.
"It seems that someone set up a few booby-traps in my room," Telonomaru stated. "Would either of you two know anything about that?"
"Nope," the black-haired girl answered, shaking her head.
"We both have been playing chess for the past hour or so; thus, neither of us could have set up the traps," the taiyoukai of the Western Lands added calmly.
The older dog demon raised an eyebrow at that statement. "Riiight." His tone was doubtful. 'Well, at least they're working together. That's a good thing... even though they're ganging up against me.'
"You don't believe us?" Kagome asked innocently, her beautiful blue eyes on the standing inu youkai.
"As you put it, nope," Telonomaru responded.
Sesshoumaru shrugged. "That's fine," he said. "But Kagome and I want to finish this game, so..." He let the rest hang.
"Alright, alright. I can take a hint. I'm gone." Secretively smiling, he left, pleased that his cousin and the miko were becoming closer. 'I'm one step closer to my goal. A few more days is all I need to finish what I've set out to do. Hopefully, by next year, I'll have some more relatives.'
With that pleasant thought on his mind, Telonomaru went back into the castle, leaving the other two alone in the courtyard.