Hey everyone! ^^ Time for another chappy update for this fic! Thanks for all the reviews! Really appreciate it! A/N:
1) STILL I don't own Inuyasha…but just you wait…hehehe…
2) A lot of my reviewers have been saying that I need to update faster. Some say that I need to write longer chapters. What you MUST understand, dear readers, is that I cannot do both. I'm having trouble as it is! I can either update faster but with shorter chappies or update slower with longer chappies, but not both. Please remember, these things take a long time to write.
…Gaaahhh, enough of that. Story time! ^____^ Hope you enjoy!:
~~~***~~~
"But…but I didn't eat any lunch yet!"
Sesshoumaru and I, amongst about a dozen guards, walked down the hallways to the throne room to see about whatever problem needed our attention so badly. I knew for a fact that whatever it was, I definitely would have no answer for it. Here, I didn't know anything about anything! Would Sesshoumaru know better than me? I stole a glance at him. Yes, he could definitely pass off as a King. But I didn't know if I could do the same as a Queen of this place!
"Please hurry, Your Highnesses." One guard urged us. "We don't have any time to waste."
We were led into a room that seemed to be entirely sparkling out of some sort of precious metal or another. Above your heads was a beautiful chandelier that hung proudly. Under our feet was a luscious dark-green colored carpet. This carpet led up to the two thrones at the other end. Wonderful draperies were on either side. I tried to maintain my role and not gaze in wonder at all before me, like I was seeing it for the first time.
Sesshoumaru sat down on the throne like he owned the place (although I suppose he did). I, on the other hand, was a little reluctant to sit down with him, but finally did anyways, if only to stop the guards from practically throwing me up there in everyone's haste.
A woman quickly approached us and bowed. In each of her hands was a small velvet pillow with a crown of each of them. "My Highnesses," She muttered, "here are your crowns."
I looked at mine. Hmm…it wasn't too fancy or anything. It was the shape of a rose vine made of gold, and in the front it parted with two rosebuds. I guessed I could stand wearing it. We took them and put the crowns on. In less than 15 seconds after we did this, the door to the room burst open. Among some more guards there was some sort of man that had the characteristics of a samurai. He had a sad look on him. When they stopped walking, they bowed. The guards stepped aside. The man spoke.
"My Lord, my Lady." He began in a serious tone. "I'm afraid yesterday…there was a break-in inside this castle. We are certain the burglar was from Naraku's land. Thankfully, my men were able to stop anything from being stolen, but the thief managed to escape us." He bowed again. "I'm…sorry."
"What did the thief try to take?" Sesshoumaru inquired, ignoring the man's bow. I marveled at him—he really did fit the role of a King.
"Why, our half of the Shikon jewel, naturally. We are…still trying to figure out just how the burglar managed to arrive unnoticed in the most highly-guarded place in the whole castle."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I see."
I cleared my throat. "Please, I would like to see our half of the jewel right now." I couldn't believe the Shikon jewel was here as well! Maybe it was our key home! I had to see it for myself.
But the samurai shook his head. "I am sorry, my Lady, but the area that the Shikon jewel-half is being guarded may still be unsafe. As soon as my men are finished with their inspection, you may go and look at it if you wish."
I nodded sadly. "That may be…for the best."
"Emperor Naraku strongly denies any involvement with this recent theft, but as you know, Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Kagome, he is not to be trusted. He suspected we would not believe him, so…" He turned his gaze to the door. "…He has sent an ambassador over here to set things straight."
"That's right." A voice said suddenly. A figure appeared at the door.
I gasped. It was Kagura, Naraku's evil wind sorceress!
She took out her fan and started to swish it back and forth against her face lightly. Sesshoumaru recognized the fan as well and immediately rose. "Guards!" He shouted. "Quickly! Take the fan away from her!"
But it was too late. As the guards sprinted towards her, Kagura swept her fan at them, knocking the guards to their feet. She laughed. "That one was just a warning. The next one will be meant to kill!"
I stood up. "Kagura!" I shouted angrily at her
"No." Sesshoumaru said next to me. "Stay back, Kagome. I will fight her." He walked down the steps and faced her. Inside, I smiled. He really did care about me. Deep down, Sesshoumaru wasn't so bad. He even remembered my name! "Finally," he continued, "I get to have a little fun around here."
Kagura smiled. "An assassination of Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Kagome with surely please Emperor Naraku. I don't know how you two know my name or that my fan is actually a weapon, but I don't care. Now…die!" She pulled back her fan and rained wind upon Sesshoumaru. He dodged this attack and leapt up to her, his claws raised. She ducked and fired a gust of wind so strong that it knocked Sesshoumaru to his feet. I was about to enter the fray, even with no weapon, but suddenly she turned to me. "Hmm…" Kagura looked up. "That's a lovely chandelier you have. Such a pity if it were to fall down, wouldn't you say?" With one movement, she sent wind up to it so sharp that the metal holding everything up actually cut. It hovered in midair for a second, and then she moved her arm straight at me. The chandelier flew over.
Sesshoumaru looked up. "Get DOWN!" He shouted at me. Like lightning he leapt up and slammed into me. We both narrowly escaped the chandelier as he flew past and crashed into the end wall. Sesshoumaru was about to run at Kagura again but the guards arose and cornered her.
"Hear this!" Kagura shouted. "Your day will come soon enough! Emperor Naraku's reign will pass through this land!" She took out one of her leaves and escaped.
The rest of the guards came to. Sesshoumaru got back onto his feet once more and walked to the throne. The samurai entered the room a few moments later. "I'm sorry, my Highnesses. We weren't able to catch her. Shall we send an ultimatum to Emperor Naraku?"
"No." I said. "We don't need a war yet, right? Besides, among all the fighting of a war, Naraku would probably find a way to escape. There HAS to be another way—I'm sure once Naraku has been taken out of power things will become better."
The man nodded. "Very well." He looked around. "I suppose that is all that required your attention. You may descend your thrones if you wish."
We nodded and rose. All guards bowed. As we walked down the samurai gave us a confused look. "My Highnesses, have you forgotten the tradition set inside this castle? A King and Queen leaving their thrones must grasp each other's hand to show the bond. The ceremony goes back for years. Surely you know this?" Sesshoumaru and I looked at each other sharply and blushed. I was expected to hold his hand? In order to save face and pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary, we slowly crept our hands closer to each other's and took it reluctantly. I supposed it wasn't SO bad—his nails were definitely something to avoid, though. I wonder what Inuyasha would think about this. We finished walking down the carpet, so we parted. After Sesshoumaru and I handed off our crowns, a bumbly man came through the guards and announced that dinner would be ready shortly. I sighed. It felt like it was just lunchtime!
The two of us waited in the dining room. I stood, looking outside the window. Sesshoumaru approached me and looked outside as well. Finally, he said quietly "You were very successful playing the role of a Queen this afternoon." He continued to watch outside. "You handled things…well."
I stared at him. Wasn't that a compliment? From…Sesshoumaru!? I had no idea he was capable of giving them, and didn't exactly know how to respond, either. "Th-thanks. You were great too." I mumbled stupidly. But could you blame me? It was SO unexpected!
"And," he continued, "you have a very soft hand. I had no idea human skin could be like that." He looked at me then, with no facial expression as always. "…But don't take that the wrong way." Sesshoumaru added.
I smiled faintly. Were my hands that soft? I didn't think so, but compared to a warrior such as he with all those calluses, they might have been. I didn't get a chance to think about it more though, because our food was brought out and it was time to eat.
~~~***~~~
After dinner, I went to the castle's library. My original intention was to find some reading material to pass the time. But as I worked my way though the countless aisles, I figured this was a good of a time as any to read about the history of the castle and any clues that might lead the way home. I paged through such books as "The Twenty Year War" and "Tragedy: The Assassination of our 15th King" and I even found an atlas for the land. I sighed and finally pulled out a book that was about my apparent family history here. After leafing through a few pages, I must've fallen asleep. I started to remember about things that happened before this all started…
~~~***~~~
The phone rang.
Terrific, I thought. Especially when I was JUST getting to sleep, too. I felt for the phone by my bed and picked it up.
"…Hello?" I mumbled into the receiver.
"Hi Kagome!" A cheery voice said on the other end. "Are you feeling better? I saw you at school today!"
"Wha…what?" I rubbed my eyes. What time was it anyways? I looked at the clock. 9:07 PM!? I sighed heavily.
"It's me, Hojo!" I groaned slightly. He just wouldn't give UP. "Listen, are you doing anything tomorrow…? Maybe you and I could do something, like get some lunch or watch a movie at the theater! After all, it's Saturday tomorrow, right? Well…what do you say, Kagome?"
My mind raced. Tomorrow, of course, was the day I planned to go to the feudal era like always. I needed to come up with an excuse fast! I mean, it's not like I wanted to hurt this guy's feeling or anything. "Well, um…" I started, "I can't, because…well, my family and I are going on a vacation then." That was the worst excuse yet!
"Hmm, really? Where to?"
"Er—oh, well…you know…it's a, tropical place for…my diseases. Heh heh."
"Oh."
"It's um…nothing personal of course. Er, believe me, I'd like to! You're a great guy, Hojo, really." Uh oh. Did I just say something I shouldn't have? Did I just give him false hope!?
The voice brightened again. "Well thanks, Kagome. I guess I'll see you when you get back, right?"
"Oh, um…I'll see you at school, okay? Bye!" I hung up quickly and sighed. The boy was practically a stalker! Couldn't he EVER take the hint that I wasn't interested!?
Well, I certainly wasn't going back to sleep, so I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs. I noticed some books I had left from studying, so after getting a drink I sat down and leafed through the pages. My brother was playing some sort of video game as usual. Very distracting on my part.
"Whatcha doin' sis?"
I groaned at his annoying presence. "I'm trying to study for school. You should try it sometime if you want better grades instead of playing these stupid games." Could you tell I was cranky? TWO bothersome males I had to talk to in ONE evening!
"HEY! This isn't just some 'stupid game!' This just happens to be one of the highest best-selling fighting games ever! The characters have lots of cool moves, the dialogue is excellent, the blood is detailed, the graphics-"
"-Whatever. Go outside or something, okay?"
I could tell at this point he wasn't listening. As he continued to ramble on and on about all the outstanding qualities the game had, I crept back to my room with the books. I looked at the clock. It was now 10:15. Knowing that I could never pull an all-nighter, I went into bed again and fell asleep.
~~~***~~~
My dreams burst and scattered away when I heard a woman noisily enter the royal library. "Lady Kagome!" She cried. "We have found him! We have found the thief who nearly took our half of the Shikon jewel!" I looked up and recognized her as the maid I had talked to on my first day here. She reached me and tugged on my arm. "My Lady, please wake up! Come and see him so we might decide what course of action to take and what a fitting punishment might be for the thief!" The maid exclaimed to me.
Despite the groggy mood I was in, I sat up and let her lead the way to whoever it was. Deep down inside, I had a strong suspicion that I knew this thief in the other world. So far mostly everyone seemed to be here playing one role or another, why would this be a different case? The only question left—was the thief going to be a friend or foe towards me? And to Sesshoumaru? It appeared we had an equal amount of say here. What if he approved of whoever it might be and I didn't? Which one of us would win?
A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Maid," I asked, "is the thief a demon?"
She nodded. "Although…he doesn't look particularly strong." She said. "I don't understand why Emperor Naraku would want to send HIM, of all the demons."
I thought to myself for a minute. Surely she wasn't talking about Inuyasha? Of course, he wasn't as strong as a full-demon, but he held his ground—at least, in the world I knew. Besides, Inuyasha wouldn't break into palaces and steal stuff…right? Right?
We walked down several hallways, and several steps. We went deeper and deeper inside the castle. "We're going into the jail cells, My Highness." The maid explained. "Even though the demon looked weak enough we decided to take no chances. Don't worry though—he's quite harmless in the cell we put him in." I nodded. After we walked down some more steps it began to dawn onto me just how gloomy this place really was. There were no windows that shone light through—only measly torchlights every few feet. Everything around us was stone cut just like in traditional castles, and the air was damp. All in all, this was NOT a pleasant place to stay in, and I could only imagine what kind of spiders and insects made a home of this place.
Finally we came to the end of the steps. "We're underground." She whispered. "This portion of the castle is the new addition as you requested, my Lady." She took a key and unlocked a magnificent wooden door. Upon opening it, I saw rows and rows of jail cells, full and empty alike. Throughout the room were guards, heavily armed with weapons, patrolling the place. They saw me walking down and nodded politely to us. Up ahead I saw a group of men. Among them was Sesshoumaru.
The guards saw me approaching and mumbled to themselves. My pace quickened and I cried out "What? Who is it? Who's in there!?" Did I STILL believe it was Inuyasha in there!? I hurried forward.
Sesshoumaru turned and saw me coming. He had an astonished look upon his face. I heard him bend down to face the guards and say to the men, "I thought I told you not to summon her down here. This is a matter that she shouldn't be concerned with."
I walked up to him angrily. "HEY, I'm the leader of this castle TOO, you know. I have just as much of a right to be here as you do, Sesshoumaru!" I shut up suddenly, and my ears perked up as the mumbles began among the men, questioning how strong our 'marriage' really was. Tediously I ignored them, blushing. What did I care what they thought about us, anyways!? There never WAS a relationship between us to begin with! I smiled triumphantly and turned to the jail cell in question. I peered inside.
It was dark. At first, I saw nothing. After I checked every inch of it I finally spotted a small figure on the floor. He was huddled up. I quickly concluded it definitely was NOT Inuyasha. Suddenly he stirred. I jumped back slightly, and by a stroke of bad luck, fell against Sesshoumaru's chest.
"Please!" A voice squeaked within. "Please let me out of here! I was…I was tricked! Emperor Naraku deceived me! Please believe my word. I speak the truth!" Wait a minute…I recognized that voice from somewhere! The small figure stepped into the dim light.
…Jaken!?
"…I told you," Sesshoumaru said quietly from behind, "I know Jaken better than you do. I can handle this alone—you need not be here."
I fumed inside myself, but said nothing. "Do whatever you want with him." I mumbled. Anyone who was anyone could hear the disappointment in my voice. It wasn't Inuyasha after all—it was just Sesshoumaru's stupid friend, Jaken. Sesshoumaru shook his head at me. I turned from the jail cell with sadness and anger.
Review Responses:
Satu-Chan: Ahh, don't worry…all that good stuff will come soon enough. In fact a little already happened in this chappy…
Moon-n-Universe Goddess: Thanks, hope you can read this update!
RED DAY: Hahaha, yes I know…well he'll get better, I promise you that.
kitsune-chan3: *sniffle* I wasn't shooting for humor…erm, but hey, whatever works, right? ^__^
Teru04: Thanks! Glad you think so!
Sango: Um…o_O no, not really…but another person is. =D Hehehe…
dark angel-justice: Arigato! I was hoping for that, lol!
DogDemonKinoke: okay okay okay okay okay okay! (etc) ^_^
Fiorella-sama: Aww…thanks! I hope I can keep up with everyone's standards…lol…
The Fallen Angel of Death: Heh heh, if he ever DID think that, his ego would never allow him to admit that…although in this case, I think Kagome was just overly-guessing his thoughts. *shrug*
Robin5791: Oh dear…if you're confused, please tell me on what! Although, I promise, the next chappy will clear some things up (Kaede will explain stuff). Tell me what you don't understand and I can help!
Whoo, I'm tired…thanks for all the reviews! Please read and tell me what you think! He's softening a bit up, ne? ^___^ Bye for now!
