Okay, okay. I couldn't help myself. I was GOING to be a good girl, get some work done, and not write again until Tuesday. Especially since I have some 50-odd reviews that I can't access and want to read first… *sob*
I can only hope that the last couple of chapters have been well received. If not, I might make changes later. Before I forget, it looks like this is going to be a couple chapters longer than my original prediction. The whole "asking Kagome's mom for permission" thing was a spur-of-the-moment idea and took up a couple of chapters so now I'm estimating fourteen.
Ready for Kagome-angst? I think she's been a little too happy so far…
Chapter Eleven
"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome glanced around the dining hall, her breakfast forgotten for the moment.
Sango shook her head. "Not sure, but I believe he is with Sesshoumaru getting some last minute instructions." She pushed her empty bowl away and smiled at the young woman. "Ready for the ceremony?"
"Hai," she smiled back, feeling butterflies in her stomach. Even if her admirer wasn't the hanyou she hoped he was, it was Inuyasha's special day and that was enough to send her spirits soaring. She only wished she could spend more time with him. Despite his particularly mean behavior in the last week, she missed the private moments that had become entirely too rare lately.
The object of her musings was, indeed, speaking with Sesshoumaru.
"Can you get out of bed?" Inuyasha worried. Not that he cared about his evil brother's health in the least. Or so he told himself. No, he was more concerned about going through this particularly ostentatious ceremony and after-gala alone.
Sesshoumaru nodded curtly. "I've sent Jaken to fetch an herbal tea. I'll be resting until noon, and then we will go to the shrine and commence with the taikanshiki." As he finished his sentence, the toad demon vassal slipped into his master's room and deposited two cups of tea on his bedside table.
"Two?"
Jaken nodded. "Sesshoumaru-sama ordered a medicinal blend for you as well."
The hanyou regarded his brother with distrust. "I'm not poisoned."
"Not by miasma," he agreed. "Your blood is raging, Inuyasha. I can sense it. This recipe was handed down to me by my nursemaid from Father. It should calm your blood a great deal. However, as the heat intensifies even this potion will be of little use to you. It may buy you an additional week. No more."
Lifting the tea cautiously, Inuyasha sniffed its contents. He recognized some of the scents as chamomile, turmeric, and … aloe? His nose scrunched in distaste.
Sesshoumaru growled. "I have nothing to gain by poisoning you, Inuyasha. Turn your nose up at it if you wish but that human wench of yours will be raped by the end of the day if you do."
Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha sucked back the vile liquid and coughed when he'd finished. "How much do I need?"
Jaken answered for his master, tucking the blankets around Sesshoumaru tightly. "Two cups a day right now, up to one an hour in a few days."
Yummy.
A thought entered Inuyasha's mind and he turned to his brother. "Wait a minute. If I'm only hanyou and affected this strongly… you have no mate… what the hell is up with that?"
"Just because I have no mate does not mean I never did." He closed his eyes in memory. "She was one of the last inuyoukai females wandering the land, and she was glorious. I took her in my eighteenth summer, but she was barren."
"What happened to her?"
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes again and Inuyasha could swear he saw the glisten of unshed tears in them. That small, dusty part of his heart thrummed again at his elder brother's obvious pain. "She was destroyed in an attack by the prince of the nekoyoukai. He sought revenge for the death of his brother in the war against our country."
"You never took another mate."
"How could I? You know as well as I that those bonds are rarely broken, even in death."
Inuyasha's thoughts went to Kikyou. Yes, those bonds were hard to break; but not impossible. Especially when the female in question was unmarked.
"Father never marked your mother," Inuyasha commented more than questioned. "Why?"
Sesshoumaru growled. Such impertinence! The hanyou was still waiting for an answer. "He was in need, not in love. He waited as you did, but unlike you he hadn't met a female he considered worthy. My mother was also in heat. It was never meant to be more than a small tryst, but then I came along…"
Inuyasha nodded, understanding the situation fully. "It would have been wrong to leave her with a bastard son," he realized.
"Yes. So she became first wife, but not mate."
"And my mother…"
"You were always the favorite son, Inuyasha. Why do you insist on bringing up these things?"
Remorse was not a new sensation to Inuyasha. Yet feeling it towards Sesshoumaru… THAT was different. He hung his head. "Gomen ne, Sesshoumaru. I never knew."
"You were a spoiled brat," he growled. "How could you know?" He closed his eyes again and forced himself to calm. "Those years alone," he finally spoke, "changed you. Made you stronger. You aren't the same pampered puppy you were when you lived here with Father."
Inuyasha's eyes rose in surprise. Was Sesshoumaru praising him?
"Your wench and I had a little talk while you were away," he continued. "She reminded me that there are things more important than personal pride. Father would have wanted us to stand side-by-side, not as enemies." He turned again to regard the hanyou beside him. "I regret not having the opportunity to know you better, Brother."
This sounded eerily like a deathbed confession. Inuyasha was having none of it. "Quit talking like a dead man, Baka. Jaken, get some more medicine for your master." He hesitantly lifted a hand to rest it on Sesshoumaru's own. "Get some rest. I'll be waiting for you at high noon."
* * * * *
Grimacing, Sesshoumaru made his way up the steps to the shrine altar, putting all his strength into appearing perfectly healthy and normal. Inside, his muscles were already starting to atrophy and his less vital organs were failing. Inuyasha fought the temptation to steady him as Sesshoumaru came to stand beside him.
The ceremony was simple enough. The shrine priest read a passage from a parchment scroll, reciting the laws of the land that permitted this exchange of power and the specific duties to which Inuyasha was agreeing. He anointed the hanyou with blessed water before asking for Inuyasha to recite the oath of his office.
He recalled each word perfectly, then turned to face his brother. They exchanged the ritual scroll, signifying transfer of authority. As far as Inuyasha knew, the ceremony was over. He sighed, relieved it had passed without incident.
"One more thing." Sesshoumaru reached to his side and unbuckled the belt that held Tenseiga. Bowing before his new lord, he offered the katana to his brother, laying it across both hands.
"You-- you're giving me Tenseiga?" Inuyasha was stunned.
"I have no use for it," Sesshoumaru pointed out. "It should remain in our family, and I know you will protect it."
After a moment's hesitation, Inuyasha gripped the live-giving fang and felt it pulse beneath his claws. He lifted it from Sesshoumaru's hands and studied it intently. Tenseiga was reminiscent of Tetsusaiga, which was currently resting at the hanyou's side. This blade, commissioned by his father for his brother, would rest forever with it's partner. He tied the belt around his ceremonial white hakama and bowed to his brother. The taikanshiki was complete.
The three of them -- Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and the priest -- filed out of the shrine past the crowd of aristocrats and VIP onlookers. Inuyasha felt his heart leap a bit as he passed Kagome, but chose to avoid meeting her eyes, lest his blood fever rage beyond control in such a public and solemn place.
Kagome watched him pass, and dropped her eyes in disappointment. It was like he didn't even know she existed. Grow up, she admonished herself. This is hardly the time or place for flirting. He'll have plenty of time to talk to you later. Calmed by these thoughts, she put a smile back on her face and turned to Sango. "Time for the gala, ne Sango-chan?"
"Someone's excited," the older girl teased. The crowd began to break up and file out of the shrine, following their new lord to the site of the taikanshiki gala.
* * * * *
He'd been talking to strangers for hours, Kagome thought sadly. Maybe he really HAD forgotten her. Taking a small cup of sake from a tray being carried around by one of the servants, she swallowed it in one most unladylike gulp. And sputtered. Alcohol was bad, she decided.
She glanced around the room again, feeling horribly out of place. Wasn't she supposed to be his concubine in this little charade? Why was no one speaking to her? For that matter, what of her secret admirer?
With each passing hour Kagome had given up small shreds of hope that Inuyasha felt for her even half of what she felt for him. Still, someone had written those beautiful haiku, right? Someone who wanted a dance with her. She was starting to feel sour about all the time she'd wasted learning to dance only to stand like a wallflower at the edge of the ballroom all night.
Well, not completely wasted, she admitted. After all, for a few wonderful moments she'd been in his arms, gliding over the floor with him. This thought warmed her a little, until a loud cackle broke through her reverie. She stared in the direction of the ungodly noise and found a rather large and gaudily dressed woman standing before Inuyasha. He smiled back politely, responding to some asinine comment the woman had made. Kagome almost looked away when she caught his eyes.
Inuyasha stared at her, tuning out the prattling aristocrat before him and tried to send Kagome what he hoped was an apologetic look. He hadn't spoken a single word to her all day, and the night was quickly drawing to a close. If he didn't get away from the crowd of anxious well-wishers he'd lose his chance.
Sesshoumaru noticed his younger brother's discomfort and leaned in to him. "Inuyasha, you are ignoring Tanaka-sama," he whispered.
"Excuse me, Lady Tanaka," Inuyasha interrupted her comments about the travesty of ill-maintained grassland along the northern border of his kingdom to turn to his brother. "I've been speaking to these people for hours, Sesshoumaru. You want me to take Kagome as my mate, right? How can I do that if I can't even talk to her?" His eyes, which had been fixed on Kagome the entire time, adjusted their focus to rest on his brother.
Sesshoumaru straightened, and held up a hand to get the attention of the murmuring guests. "Lord Inuyasha must be excused for a time. He has some pressing personal business to attend to." At their groans, he cleared his throat and shook his head, bridging no further dissent. "He will return again before the evening ends, but I ask that you respect his privacy for the time being." He motioned to Jaken with a secret signal and then turned back to the crowd. "I believe the dining room is serving some delicacies from the Northern Lands, if you will please follow my vassal…"
"Arigato, Brother," Inuyasha thanked Sesshoumaru before dashing off in the direction he'd last seen Kagome. Only, she was gone.
* * * * *
He was whispering about me! Kagome felt hot tears streaming down her face as she blindly made her way to the abandoned courtyard outside the ballroom.
She'd seen Inuyasha's apologetic look, but gravely misinterpreted it to be one of pity. He was a great lord of a powerful kingdom now. What did he need with a silly fifteen-year-old from the future? He would undoubtedly find a lovely young woman of high breeding and take her as his wife.
"And so much for my secret admirer," she spat bitterly to no one in particular. "Someone's idea of a cruel joke!"
* * * * *
"Sango!" Inuyasha rushed up to the taijiya who was standing a safe distance away from Miroku, glaring at the monk.
"Inuyasha!" She smiled at him, ignoring the lecher before her. "Having a good time? I can't believe Sesshoumaru just handed over Tenseiga like that --"
"Where's Kagome?" he cut her off in a rush, eyes darting around the room in a futile attempt to locate her.
"Kagome-chan?" Her smile faded at the distressed look in the hanyou's eyes. "I don't know. Last I saw she was standing over by the orchestra. Probably waiting for her 'secret admirer'," she chuckled.
Inuyasha wasn't laughing. He sniffed the air, cursing the crowds and food that covered her scent. "I think she's upset with me," he sniffed again, and closed his eyes when he caught a faint whiff of her mixed with the unmistakable saltwater of tears. "No -- I KNOW she's upset." Without saying another word, he followed his nose out to the courtyard at top speed.
* * * * *
Wiping the back of her hand across her cheeks, Kagome forced herself to stop crying. The night was almost over and then she could go to bed and sleep it off. In the morning, she'd ask Sango to lend her Kirara and she'd go home.
"Kagome, I found you."
Inuyasha saw the miko jump a little at his voice, but she continued to face away from him. He stepped closer to her, coming up a mere five feet behind her, and noticed for the first time the kimono she was wearing. His mother's kimono. She looked absolutely stunning in it.
"Kagome?"
He wasn't going to leave her alone, Kagome realized. Wiping a few more tears, she attempted to plaster a smile on her face and failed. She'd have to settle for neutrality. Kagome turned to face him. "Yes?"
His heart wanted to break at the sign of her tears. Tears he'd no doubt been the cause of.
"I came to collect."
"Collect?"
"The dance I asked for."
Her eyes widened, and Inuyasha began to smile. "I would have asked earlier, but I was kinda stuck with those annoying baka in there and--"
"YOU were my secret admirer?" Even as she spoke the words Kagome couldn't believe them. She'd considered the possibility. Hoped for it. Still, she'd never succeeded in convincing herself it could be true.
"Of course, who else?" He stepped closer and was relieved she didn't back away.
"But… since when do you write love poetry?"
"Since I had someone to love."
His words were lost on Kagome as a million questions lined up in her head to come racing out of her mouth. "You were so mean to me!"
"I had to be."
"Why?"
"To prepare you."
"For what?" She wore a look of incredulity.
Inuyasha blushed. "To be my mate."
Kagome was speechless.
Now, or never.
Inuyasha took a deep breath and grabbed her left arm gently, lifting her sleeve to reveal the short scar of his intent claim. He rubbed his thumb over it lightly, smiling inside. "I don't suppose you know why I did this?"
Kagome, still speechless, shook her head.
"I didn't really know why myself when I did it. I didn't mean to, but we were fighting, and you were so close to me I couldn't help myself…" He sighed, and dropped her arm, his eyes coming to gaze into her own. "That scratch is what is known among youkai as an 'intent claim'. It signifies that you have been chosen as a youkai male's mate, though he has not taken you yet."
Another step closer and Inuyasha was well within Kagome's personal space. He felt her shiver. "I knew I was attracted to you, Kagome. I knew that my time was coming and that eventually I would have to take you as mine or send you away, but I was too selfish to make that decision. So that day, my instincts took over and made the decision for me."
Finally finding her voice, Kagome spoke. "What does that mean?"
"It means, in your terms, that I want to make you my wife, Higurashi Kagome."
The words Kagome had been dreaming of hearing since she was a little girl playing house. From the lips of the first man she'd ever loved, no less. Kagome didn't know what to say -- she was in shock. All the anger she'd been swallowing over the last week came bubbling to the surface and she found herself shouting.
"What about Kikyou?!"
"What about her?"
"You tell me!"
He sighed. "She's a hollow clay representation of the woman I loved. She's not a living breathing person like you, Kagome. She could never have pups."
Those were the wrong words to say, and Inuyasha realized it as soon as they left his lips.
"Oh, and I can so that makes this true love, right?"
"NO!"
She ignored him and continued ranting. "Thanks, but no thanks Inuyasha. I'm not here to be your baby machine!"
"Baby machine?" He tried to figure that one out until he noticed Kagome was stalking away from him. He grabbed her arm a little more roughly than he'd intended, whipping her around to face him again. "That's not what I meant!"
"What about my family?" Kagome shot at him, deciding to drop the Kikyou angle for the moment. "Do you honestly expect me to just marry you without so much as a word to my mother and stay here like some obedient little… little… little CONCUBINE?"
He flinched, but shook his head. "Of course not! I already asked your mother and she gave me her blessing."
That stopped her cold. "You asked my mother?"
He nodded, relieved that she'd stopped screaming at him. Deciding Kagome wasn't going to run off again, he let go of her and reached into his haori, pulling out the envelope Higurashi-san had given him. "When I left three days ago, it was to ask your mother for your hand." He thrust the note toward her. "She gave me this letter to give to you."
Kagome took the letter, but didn't open it. She searched his face for … something. He was looking back at her with an impossible mixture of hope and dread in his eyes. "I don't know what to say," she finally admitted. "I need to think about all this."
Inuyasha sighed. At least she hadn't rejected him completely. "Hai." She watched him for a few more seconds before turning away and fleeing the courtyard.
* * * * *
Kagome was moments away from her room when she heard footsteps racing behind her.
"Kagome-chan! Kagome-chan!" Sango panted as she ran to catch up with her friend. Blessedly, Kagome stopped and waited for her. Seeing the emptiness in the girl's eyes, Sango stepped back. "Kagome? What's wrong?"
She was angry. "You knew about this."
"Knew about what?"
"THIS." Kagome yanked up her sleeve and pointed to the intent claim. "You knew about that, and you knew that Inuyasha wanted me to become his mate. You probably even knew that he was the one sending me the haiku!"
Sango bowed her head.
"That's what I thought. You knew, and you kept it from me. Let me worry and wonder like an idiot while you and Inuyasha and Miroku got to laugh at me behind my back."
"No! It wasn't like that!" Feeling remorse, Sango blinked and took a step closer to her friend. "Inuyasha was afraid," she said.
"Afraid of what?"
"That you'd reject him! He may be strong on the outside but inside, he's not much more than a scared little boy. You of all people should know that."
Kagome snorted and looked away.
"He wanted to do everything right for you, he just didn't know how," Sango continued. "Sesshoumaru kept putting on the pressure for him to complete his claim, but Inuyasha knew you wouldn't appreciate being pounced on like an animal." She chucked a little, recalling the events of the last few days. "Poor guy even tried to get advice from Miroku!"
Not wanting to let her friend off the hook too easily, Kagome hid the small giggle that tried to escape her.
"He loves you, Kagome. He's just a little dense about how to show it."
"Why now?"
Sango was dreading this question. Still, she knew she could probably answer it better than the hanyou. "Biology, instinct, and the situation with Sesshoumaru. Mostly, I think those were excuses to do what he's been wanting to do for a while now."
"If that's true, then why didn't he ever say anything to me before? Why has he been such an ass these last few days?"
"That's something for Inuyasha to explain," she answered the girl. "Please, don't judge him too harshly; he's been through so much…"
"So have I," Kagome ground out. She let out a deep breath and turned to regard Sango again. "I'm still not happy with you -- and I'm definitely upset with Inuyasha -- but I forgive you. Just… let me go to my room. I need time to think."
Nodding, Sango stepped back and watched as Kagome walked toward her room. When the girl was finally out of sight, she turned back to the ballroom to rejoin the lecherous houshi she knew was waiting on her.