DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of the Inuyasha series nor do I own the original storyline.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thanks for waiting readers!! Please enjoy this latest chapter!!
Italic: thoughts or emphasized words
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap or change of perspective
*...* : noises
-by Kittymui-
The battle for the bride
Kagome stared out of her window as she shifted herself comfortable on top of a couple of pillows in her favorite corner. She let out a deep sigh, but it was not one of relief. Today was the big day...yes...the day that will decide the one she will spend the rest of her life with.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a rather cheerful Sango. "Hiya soon-to-be-bride!" she greeted with a wave of her hand.
Kagome rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Not you too...." she groaned.
"Just kidding," the maid responded, closing the door behind her. She walked closer to her mistress in the corner and knelt down. "I know you're not happy with it, but the Lord's__"
"I know Sango...I know..." Kagome cut her off and slowly got to her feet.
Sango frowned. "Still bothered about the imaginary promise?" she asked, trying to analyze the blanc expression on Kagome's face. But then her lips curled up into an evil grin. "Or are you maybe thinking about your hero in red?"
This time, her mistress looked up and shot her a startled look. "What the...of course not!!" she cried as she succeeded in suppressing the upcoming blush.
And then the room fell silent again.
"It's just..." she broke the silence. "...too sudden...I guess..."
Sango put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I understand," she smiled. "But Lord Takada is waiting...shall I begin with getting you prepared?"
Kagome nodded and started to undress herself.
~*~*~
Kagome was standing in front of her long mirror near the wardrobe. She had her
eyes closed as Sango dressed her and applied cosmetics on her face.
Although her face was still emotionless after she had opened her eyes, inside she almost gasped as she barely recognized her own reflection.
She was now wearing a burgundy yukata made of silk, with a graceful phoenix,
which was made of golden threads and colorful crystal beads, embroidered on
it. Its head could be seen near her shoulder, with its wings on each side of
her waist and its claws and its colorful tail curled near her legs.
Her raven-black hair was tied up into a small knot on the back of her head with
small pink flowers as decoration around it and curly tresses could be seen hanging
loosely below it. Her lips and cheeks were given almost the same color as the
flowers in her hair as two small thin red line graced her eyelids.
"There! All done!" Sango said with a content smile as she took several steps away from her mistress. "You're absolutely worth fighting for Kagome. If only I was a male myself," she joked.
Kagome blushed. "Thank you."
She had to admit that her friend was right. Yet the prettier she found herself to be, the more frightened she became for the fact that her future husband would be chosen amongst those who are willing to fight for her hand in marriage. With the beauty she possessed at the moment, she was really capable of attracting even male youkai to enter the battle.
Not that she held a grudge against them, since humans were capable of evil deeds as well (like Naraku). But as far as she knew, there wasn't a single nice youkai in Shiho...except for... A faint blush colored her already rosy cheek as the image of the silver-haired youkai appeared in her mind. Yes...except for him...
Then a polite knock on her door abruptly pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Come in."
"Kagome? It's time," a low male voice spoke as the speaker entered the bedroom.
It was a tall middle-aged man dressed in a rich fresh green haori and hakama. His long gray hair was tied into a low thin braid and his dark green eyes sparkled the moment he laid his eyes on his dear (adopted) daughter. "You're very beautiful," he smiled as he walked over to her.
"Thank you, father," she returned a small smile.
"Everybody is waiting. Shall we?" he asked, offering his daughter his arm.
Kagome nodded and accepted his arm. And with Sango right behind them, they made their way to the courtyard of the mansion; where the big event would take place.
~*~
"Wait here," her father ordered before opening the door to the courtyard.
She nodded and watched him exit the mansion and walk up a couple of wooden steps to the wooden platform that had been set for this day.
She listened how Lord Takada greeted the crowd and clearly announced how the contest was to be held. It was going to be a one-on-one battle with each winner being challenged until there are no more challengers left. Then that one champion would become his son-in-law.
Then she heard him call her name and she took a deep breath. Here I go... she thought nervously as she took out a thin red veil and put it over her head (covering her entire face). She became a bit relaxed when her maid took her hand in hers and squeezed it a little. "I'll be right behind you," she heard her whisper in her ear.
Without further thoughts, Kagome exited the mansion and mounted the platform.
No keen hearing was needed to know that everybody below the stage was surprised by her appearance since the sound of numerous gasps filled the air.
Although the veil seemed opaque through the eyes of the audience, Kagome could clearly see her surroundings through it. Her jaw almost dropped at the sight before her.
The height of the platform almost reached above the heads of the standing crowd, which allowed her to get a good view of the whole area. In front of the platform stood a large and tall construction made of wooden poles and several small flat areas. Left and right of the construction were filled with people from the audience and participants. At the center of the construction, a large pillar could be seen, sticking out above all the other parts and being the top. And to the top of the same pillar was a small bouquet of blue flowers attached.
The one who is able to send all his opponents to the ground and reach the bouquet before he gets challenged again will be the winner.
[AN: You can compare it with those wooden constructions that you often see
on playgrounds for kids, but this one's much bigger and built for a lot of jumping
and battling.]
"Dear?"
Kagome snapped out of it and turned to her father, only to realize that he had already taken his seat at the center of the platform.
"Come sit here," he said, pointing at the smaller chair next to his large one.
She nodded and walked over to her appointed seat.
Lord Takada cleared his throat after his daughter had settled down with her maid standing right next to her. "Will the first two participants, claiming to be worthy of my daughter's hand in marriage, stand on the battle stage please?"
Two individuals immediately jumped out of the crowd left and right and landed softly next to each other on a flat area of the construction. After they announced their identity, they jumped away from each other to create a standard pre-battle distance between them.
"Let the battle begin!" Lord Takada announced with a clear voice.
And the battle begun, with the two charging towards each other and trying to sent each other flying to the floor.
Kagome's expression remained emotionless as she watched the participants come
and go after they got kicked off of the stage or admitted defeat. Her eyes drifted
to the audience on the left and then on the right of the stage. I wonder
if he is here... she thought to herself as she nervously scanned the crowds
and searched for a pair of golden eyes and silvery white hair.
Her face dropped, being unable to find what she was looking for. Who am I kidding...he's probably already forgotten about me... she smacked herself mentally. ...But then again...how could he forget about me if he doesn't even know me? she reasoned as she propped her head on her palm. And I'm pretty sure someone like him wouldn't even bother to watch some stupid contest such as this one...let alone participate.
Her train of thoughts crashed when she heard an awfully familiar voice.
"I am Naraku and I'm definitely going to win this battle, so why don't we just stop this stupid contest since it will only be a waste of time?" the black-haired man smirked confidently after he landed softly on the flat area of the battle construction. He was wearing a white haori and hakama, which had a similar embellishment as Kagome's yukata, but his was a black dragon instead of a golden phoenix. He instantly received numerous 'whoo's' from the left and right after he said that.
Lord Takada frowned. "Rules are rules Naraku, and you know that," he responded sternly.
Naraku grinned. "Very well then. Just don't say that I didn't warn you."
Kagome clenched her fists and her body tensed when his eyes drifted to gaze at her. Although it was impossible for him to see her face because of the veil, but his eyes looked as though they could look right through it since he was staring right into her eyes. Although she seemed composed on the outside; on the inside she desperately prayed for someone to arrive who could defeat him. And she did not care who it was, for she could not imagine anyone worse than Naraku himself.
~*~
Inuyasha sat lazily on his comfortable chair in front of his desk in his bedroom
and stared out of his window. God, I'm soooo bored... he sighed inwardly.
His eyes drifted reluctantly to the pile of papers on his desk and he immediately
jerked his gaze away and tried to think of something less boring.
Suddenly he remembered the female archer he had saved three days ago and couldn't help but wonder about her name and where she came from. I wonder if she's Kagome... he pondered.
Don't be fooling yourself. the little voice in his head spoke. You haven't been able to find her or get information regarding her for the past 12 years and now she suddenly appears right beneath your nose?
Inuyasha frowned. Great...just when I thought there was a tiny bit of hope, you just had to come out and spoil it don't you?!
I'm just being realistic. his conscience defended.
Well can you for once NOT be?? he growled mentally. I mean...she really reminds me of her and for the past 12 years, I haven't seen anyone with the exact same combination of hair and eye-color like her.
If it's really her, then why didn't she recognize you when you saved her that day?
I don't know...12 years is pretty long so__
Yeah right! I don't think you can find another inu-hanyou with silver hair and golden eyes like yourself. the voice cut him off.
Then maybe she bumped her head and lost her memory or something... Inuyasha hypothesized.
Really... it responded sarcastically.
Inuyasha groaned. Fine! Then don't believe it! But I won't rest until I've found out her identity, now shut up and leave me be!
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"What!?" he snarled at the door, instantly regretting his tone since
he shouldn't be directing his inner frustrations at anyone else. "Come
in," he corrected, a lot calmer than before.
The door opened and revealed Miroku, who was now wearing a normal gray haori and hakama instead of a monk's robe.
"Oh it's you," Inuyasha said, turning to the window again.
Miroku frowned. "What? Not happy to see me?" he asked with a slightly disappointed tone.
He scowled. "If it wasn't for your BIG help, I would have been able to find out what her name is by now."
"Ohhh, so that's what you're sulking about," his friend sighed as he closed the door and walked over to him. "Pardon me, but I can clearly remember that YOU were the one telling me to get some help," he reasoned. "You didn't really specify WHAT kind of help."
"Keh!" Inuyasha spat, refusing to admit that he was actually right.
Miroku grinned, knowing that he had won the argument, but decided not to add any more water to the boiling oil, since he had come with another purpose. "So...why aren't you outside with this beautiful weather? I can clearly see that you're bored to death here."
Inuyasha pointed to his desk. "Can't you see this pile of homework? My father said I can't go out before I finished all of it," he wailed.
"That's a pity," his friend said. "Because there's something really interesting happening out there right now and I thought you might want to see it."
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"A contest."
"Keh! What's so interesting about a contest?!"
"Well..." Miroku began. "It's not just any regular contest...it's a battle for a bride."
Inuyasha gave him a puzzled look.
"Never heard of it?" he asked. He cleared his throat when the hanyou shook his head. "Basically, it's a contest where unmarried men compete with each other for a certain girl's hand in marriage."
"That's the stupidest kind of contest I have ever heard of!" the hanyou spat. "There is no way you can convince ME to watch that."
"I heard the bride is quite beautiful."
"Don't care," he stuck up his nose.
Miroku smirked at his friend's indifferent response. "What if I told you that the man you mentioned, who tried to harass that childhood girlfriend-look-alike of yours, has participated and is winning the contest at the moment?"
Inuyasha's ears twitched and let out a growl before he knew it. That bastard?? he thought and gave Miroku his full attention.
"Wouldn't it be a perfect chance to humiliate and punish that guy for what he tried to do?" Miroku suggested, hoping to convince his hanyou friend enough for him to go. He was shocked when Inuyasha suddenly shot up of his chair and headed to the window. "Inuyasha? What are you doing?"
Inuyasha opened the window and turned to Miroku. "I'm going to kick some bastard's ass...are you coming or not?" he growled before jumping out of the window on a nearby roof.
Miroku chuckled. "Now that's more like it!" And he followed Inuyasha, mentally smirking at the thought that he will be seeing his little angel very soon.
~*~
The longer Kagome watched the contest, the more terrified she became for the
high possibility that Naraku would win and become her husband for life. She
was glad she had a veil covering her face, so no one would notice the nervousness
and terror written all over her face. She couldn't stand it anymore, the pressure,
the fear and most of all...the arrogance and confidence written on Naraku's
face. As much as she wanted to stand up and run away from the horrible reality,
she couldn't find the strength to do it and dishonour her father in front of
all those people of the audience.
Then suddenly, as if the Lady of Misery pitied the girl's lack of strength, a piece of memory flashed before her very mind, causing her to widen her eyes.
In the past 12 years, it had always been blurry fragments and broken conversations, but now she could clearly see herself dressed in a creamy yellow yukata.
[AN: Here, italics are spoken words that Kagome remembered.]
She was sitting on a large cold rock, but she wasn't alone. There was another person...a boy. And he was holding her in his arms. And she was sobbing in his chest. "What's wrong??? Are you hurt??" she heard him ask.
She shook her head and continued to sob.
She felt him stroke her hair. "Then what is it? Please tell me," he pleaded as he pulled away to look at her face. Kagome tried really hard to remember how he looked like but failed and the face of the boy ended up being in the shadows with indistinguishable features.
"I-I...don't want to l-leave...I don't want to..." she said, broken in sobs.
"Leave...? What are you talking about Kagome?"
"F-father...h-he entered my room after you left...and he saw the wound on my cheek. He became angry and scared...a-and he said...he said..." Before she could even finish her sentence, she burst into tears again and started to tremble.
"What did you father say?? Kagome?"
But she was unable to answer, as she was busy with sobbing and hiccuping. To her surprise, the boy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest once again. "Shhh..." she heard him whisper to her to calm her down. And eventually...she did.
And then he pulled away again. "Tell me Kagome...what did you father say when he saw that wound on your cheek?"
"H-he said...that it was too dangerous to stay here...in the forest...that we should never have come here...and that it would be a lot safer in the city..." she sobbed as tears started to fill her eyes once again. "...and he just decided it like that...by tomorrow morning...without even listening to me..."
"So...you...are...moving away..." she heard him say with a tone of disbelief.
Suddenly, as if someone had shut off the electricity for a moment, her mind went totally black for several seconds and as soon as the scenery disappeared, it reappeared again. This time, she suddenly found herself staring at the boy.
"Do you remember what I told you this morning? That I would fall in love with you eventually?" she heard him ask as he cupped her cheeks and dried her tears with his thumbs.
She nodded and leaned into his warm hands.
Although the features on his face were blurry, she could tell that he was actually smiling at her as he leaned closer. "I think I just did." And before she could process the information, she already felt his lips on hers.
And then Kagome's mind went black again. When it reappeared, she found herself
in the middle of a forest near a creek. She had turned slightly to the boy who
was sitting behind her against a tree.
"Don't worry...we will..." she heard him say. Apparently it was a question that she had asked during the black period of her mind.
Her lips curled into a small smile, but she dropped it again. "What if we won't?" she asked as she averted her gaze.
Then she felt his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her to his chest again. "Then I'll search for you until I've found you." she heard him whisper to her ear and then...all went black again.
But this time, it remained black and so Kagome finally came back into reality
again with a small inaudible gasp. Her nervous and terrified expressions were
soon replaced by one filled with hope. It's true that she still wasn't able
to find out whom she had made that promise with, but after the flash of vivid
fragments, she was sure that the boy and the promise weren't just her imagination,
nor were they just a dream. It was part of her lost childhood.
Without hesitation, Kagome stood up and turned to her father. "Father, may I please be excused? I need to go to the bathroom."
"Well of course my dear," her father replied with a smile. "You may even have your maid accompany you, since I'll be enjoying myself with the battle."
"Thank you," she bowed slightly before turning to leave.
With her personal maid following behind her, she walked back into the mansion again.
~*~
"I'll be fine by myself Sango, you can wait here for me," Kagome ordered before opening the door to the bathroom.
"Okay!" the maid replied casually and she turned her back to the door after her mistress closed and locked it.
~*~
Kagome took a deep breath as she walked deeper into the bathroom. She turned to look at the door. I'm sorry Sango...but you will be able to make up a good excuse for this...right? she apologized mentally before looking up at the small window above the sink. It's my own future...and I will never let anyone decide it for me.
She approached the sink and was ready to climb on it, but stopped when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes scanned her own body and realized she couldn't leave without getting rid of the eye-catching garments first. Fortunately, she had always kept a simple white yukata in one of the wardrobes in case she planned to sneak out of the household and she made her way to it.
Kagome quickly undressed herself of the delicate red yukata and put on the white one before walking over to the sink again. And now for the makeup... she thought as she put down the neat pile of red clothing on a chair next to the sink. She sighed as she admired her pretty yet unrecognizable face for the last time and began to wipe off the red lipstick, blush and eyeshadow. And finally, her hand traveled up to the knot on the back of her head. Pity...but there's no stopping now... she nodded to herself and swiftly pulled out the flowers and the pin that held her hair together, causing her long raven-black hair to cascade on her shoulders and her back.
A smile appeared as she recognized herself in the mirror again: simple, natural and self-determined. All done! she said inwardly before her eyes drifted up to the small window again. Her smile dropped and was replaced by a serious and determined expression as she climbed on top of the sink and reached out to open the window.
"Kagome? Are you done yet?" Sango's voice suddenly sounded from the other side of the door.
Kagome almost slipped of shock but luckily managed to steady herself against the wall. "Ah...well euhm..." she stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse to send her maid away. "I-I think I need some more blush...could you go to my bedroom and bring me my powder box?" Oh good one! she mentally praised herself, for once appreciating the typical woman trait called 'vanity'.
"Okay! I'll be right back," her maid replied, followed by the sound of leaving footsteps.
She sighed in relief. Sorry... she apologized again before turning back to the window.
After several attempts, Kagome finally managed to open the window and she climbed out of the bathroom. In her mind she prayed for Lord Takada to understand her motives and to forgive her for such rash and disgraceful action.
Hope you liked it ^-^. It took me quite some time to write it though. Anyway, the next update won't be coming very soon, I apologize for that. It's because of those stupid tests and deadlines again, which I told you of before. Please look forward to the next chapter ne?
Next chapter: Engaged
~*~
\\"Milady...is missing...milord..."//
\\"I want you to change into Kagome's garments and come back with the veil over your head."//
\\"I understand, milord."//
\\"Come on! Let's hurry or that guy will definitely win the contest!"//
\\"I know!"//
~*~
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
whitemiko: Thanks, I'm glad you also agree with me that Kagome and Inuyasha shouldn't be able to reunite just like that ^-^!
Kyia Star: I write chapter with an average of 3000-5000 words, I hope that's not too short ^-^.
Akai Kiniro: Yup this is an Inuyasha/Kagome pairing. I'm glad you like the story so far. As far as I'm concerned, it will take quite some time for those two to recognize each other ^-^.
Ks-Starshine: Thank you very much! Glad you like my kind of cruelty hehehe.
Inukamisashi: Thanks!
Rhexi: Hahaha they won't, that I can tell you. Not that soon ^-^ but they will eventually recognize each other.
Shrimple13: Thanks for reviewing!
Chibi-Call: Thanks!
sky77: Thanks!! Hahaha you've gathered quite well, because they aren't going to get together any time soon hehehe :p.
Kireina-no-Megami: What a coincidence! Thanks for reading my story and
a happy (belated) birthday!
~*~
Lots of greets
~Kittymui~
Posted: 25 February 2004
Last Edited: 25 February 2004
Spelling check: YES