Finding Perfection
Disclaimer: Not mine...
Chapter One – Announcement
"You are a fool if you presume that I'll agree to this ludicrous statement!"
Flipping her dark hair over one shoulder, Princess Kagome Higurashi glared challengingly at her companion and confidant, Kikyo.
Kikyo sighed impatiently. "Princess, rules are rules. You cannot run this damn kingdom by yourself. You cannot give up the throne to your younger brother, either, seeing as there are very strict guidelines concerning age. There's no escape for you."
Kagome glared at the girl who looked so much like herself, and yet was completely different. "Look, Kikyo, I appreciate your help, but I refuse."
"You can't."
She whirled away in frustration. "How is it that I am the most powerful person within this country and yet I can't make any of my own decisions on choosing a mate?"
Again, Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Princess Kagome Higurashi, you have had ample time to choose the king for this place, but you just had to go gallivanting off to kami-knows-where instead of learning etiquette or conversing with the young princes available! You're well aware that you have enough suitors to keep you occupied for every day of the year!"
"It's only because I'm rich," Kagome grumbled, absently scratching the ears of one of the small cats roaming around the palace.
"You would be quite beautiful, too, if you let the hairdressers come within five meters of you."
The princess turned towards the main hall, her alarmingly short riding skirt swaying tantalizingly. She threw open the doors and charged vigorously towards the queen sitting upon the dais, her sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Hello, Kagome, dear," Queen Higurashi greeted her tempestuous daughter.
"I'm not marrying any mercenary egotistical hypocritical idiot!" Kagome yelped as soon as she was within hearing distance.
"Why, no one's asking you to," the queen replied, truly puzzled. "We're only suggesting that you find a suitable husband from one of your suitors."
"They're who I was referring to," she retorted. "Why can't Souta be king? I'm sure he's smart enough."
Queen Higurashi looked completely shocked. "Kagome, that's incest!"
"Not like that!" she shrieked, trying to ignore Kikyo's muffled laughter in the background. "Why can't Souta be king and I just be some random noble leading my boring, mundane life?"
"You're older," the queen responded mildly. "Now, dear, I'm sure that if you just think about it for a while, you'll see that it's really a good idea. I must go tend to Souta now; he's got a small headache right now." Gathering up the folds of her velvet gown, the queen swept grandly away.
Kagome fumed.
"It's not really all that bad," Kikyo explained. "All you have to do is close your eyes and pick a name out of a hat." She paused, considering the number of Kagome's suitors. "Actually, first you have to choose the hat, and then you pick the name."
"No."
"You don't want to pick a hat?"
The princess glared at her advisor. "Look, if I marry, I'll do it on my own terms. I think I'll go out into the normal world for a year and choose my husband among them."
"You can't! You'll break all ties with Inutaisho's family!" Kikyo protested violently.
"How do you know I'd choose one of Taisho's sons?" she replied.
Stammering, which was rather uncommon for the usually poised girl, Kikyo finally admitted, "Well, you'd choose from two hats. One would be filled with the name 'Inuyasha', and the other would be filled with the name 'Sesshoumaru'."
"Kikyo!" she exploded viciously.
"It really wasn't my idea," the flustered counselor hastily assured. "It was your mother, the great queen's, plan."
"I don't care, either way. I'm leaving," Kagome replied angrily, and stormed away, leaving a very confused and rather annoyed Kikyo in her wake.
"What the fuck? I completely refuse!" Inuyasha snarled, his golden eyes flaring.
"Don't be such an immature brat, younger brother," Sesshoumaru retorted. "I've already found a suitable mate. It's your turn."
"Does it count if I marry someone and kill her the same night?"
"It most certainly does not!" Sesshoumaru roared, losing his patience along with his usually stoic façade. "You've dawdled too long, Inuyasha! You need to get a wench for your own purposes, along with the political future of our country!"
Inuyasha lounged languidly on the couch. "I suppose that means the Higurashi bitch, doesn't it?"
"I suppose it does," his brother replied coolly.
"Look, Sesshoumaru, I refuse to mate with any girl I don't know."
Strapping his sword on, Sesshoumaru inspected his reflection. Perfect, as usual. "That's why it's been arranged for you to go to the Higurashi tower to meet the eligible princess, baka."
"Hypocrite."
"Amazing, you actually know words that aren't either names or monosyllabic."
"Go to hell."
Casting a disapproving glance at the miscreant, Sesshoumaru swept out of the room with a parting sentence. "I wouldn't do that even for you, darling sibling."
"Bastard," Inuyasha muttered from his position, sprawled across the chair.
"I heard that!"
"Go away," he snapped absently, studying his claws. 'God, I hope that Higurashi isn't some old crone with only one eye.' He shivered at the prospect.
'You know what? I won't stand for this. I'll run away into the streets before I marry that wench.'
His aspirations formed, he slipped wraith-like out of the room.
Stuffing her clothes randomly into her horse's saddlebags, Kagome paused to look over her items. She tossed a few trinkets onto the ground, deciding they were of no practical use, before picking them back up.
It was hopeless. All she could do was pray for the best.
Her steed snorted impatiently as she leapt into the saddle and flicked the reins expertly. A low cloak concealed her distinctive blue eyes, and a dagger and sword were strapped around her waist. It wasn't as if she could actually use the weapons, but they looked impressive, nevertheless.
Riding out into the forest, Kagome let her horse ease into a slow canter, letting it stop every once in a while to drink from streams. She paused just before the wall surrounding the Higurashi territory. Pulling her stallion back a few dancing steps, she turned to face the obstruction, readied her hands, and dug her heels into the pony's sides, pulling up with the reins as she did so.
With a flying leap, the horse soared over the fence, landing rather winded but unharmed.
Satisfied that she was now safe, the wayward princess pulled back the cowl of her cloak and inspected her surroundings. She'd only been outside the castle walls once before, on a trip with her now long-dead father, and she didn't remember anything from the expedition.
Most of it looked the same, actually. She was vaguely disappointed.
She turned her pony towards the direction of the main city. Trotting briskly, the stallion snorted mildly as a few birds took flight at the disturbance; stealth wasn't one of Kagome's virtues. The princess merely flicked the reins lightly, setting the horse into a quicker step.
Her cloak was getting rather warm now, so she yanked the thick material off and tried to force that into the saddlebags as well. She grimaced at the obviously royal clothing she wore. Naturally, she'd chosen the least conspicuous garments, but normal peasants didn't exactly wear velvet riding habits.
Muttering curses to herself, she pulled her bow off her shoulder and strung an arrow, prepared for any creature that might venture her way.
Inuyasha bounded lightly from tree to tree, one hand always on the hilt of his sword, the Tetsusaiga. It wasn't really needed, of course; the blade was mostly there out of habit, since his claws could slay anything that came his way.
It was more a reminder of his now dead mother. Lord Inutaisho had created the sword as protection for her, and he treasured it now beyond all else.
Jumping further, Inuyasha peered below at the cities sprawled below him. In the distance, the Higurashi tower aspired for the heavens. It was really a beautiful piece of art, the intricate spirals always directing the viewer's gaze higher.
He had no time for beauty, however. He was bored, tired of arguing over some damn wife he'd probably see only at political banquets, and annoyed.
In truth, he had no idea where he wanted to go. Inuyasha momentarily considered wandering around the countryside and giving his brother a good chase, but he refuted that almost instantly. Sesshoumaru's wrath, while usually concealed, was still deadly.
On second thought, he decided that he might as well see what the Higurashi wench looked like.
Peering in the direction of the tower, the prince leapt away again.
Kagome slid off her mount and led it towards a crystalline river, sipping from the clear water herself. The sweet liquid was refreshing to her; riding all day wasn't exactly pleasant. Actually, it'd barely been an hour, but she was prone to exaggeration anyways.
A blur of silver caught her attention. She had her bow in an instant, scanning the treetops. It was only a bird, and she laughed at her paranoia.
That was before a hand clamped over her mouth, and another grabbed her wrists.
The voice hissing in her ear was soft, deadly. "Kikyo, darling, you haven't visited me for a while."
"Let go of me!" she tried to scream, but she could hardly breathe with the foul-smelling hand blocking her nose and mouth.
"Could it be that you've found someone else, eh, precious?"
The hand finally disappeared and she struggled to turn. "I do not know of any Kikyo who would associate with lower orders such as you."
"So you've reformed, my sweet? Last I heard, you were stealing jewels from the princess' own bedchambers! I thought being accepted into that bitch Kagome's suite would only heighten your desire for richness."
She spat at him, finally managing to turn and face him. "Look, you assaulter, I have no idea who you are, but either way, I don't care. This Kikyo of yours is none of my concern. Now get your filthy hands off me!"
His crimson eyes widened as they locked with her sapphire orbs. "You...you're not Kikyo."
"No kidding!" The princess smashed her knee in to an extremely painful place, but with inhuman speed, her assailant pinned her to the ground.
"You're not getting away that easily," he snarled. "I can't have you spewing my darling Kikyo's secrets all over the place."
From her rather uncomfortable position, Kagome still had the strength to make a comeback. "Rather bipolar, aren't you? First you threaten me when you think I'm Kikyo, and now you're threatening me so that I won't hurt Kikyo. Are you schizophrenic, by any chance?"
She stopped then, because cold metal was at her throat, and she glared up into his laughing eyes. "Well, I admit to being rather bipolar, but that's no concern of yours. Now do you have any last words?"
The silvery blade flashed.
And from behind, an answering flash came.
Kagome was still trying to figure out the meaning of the second shimmer when a blur of red obscured her vision. She closed her eyes instinctively, but opened them when the thud of a falling body reached her ears.
Staring at the decapitated body of her assailant, she slowly looked up until she was facing a white-haired but relatively young man, who was looking rather bored with the whole affair.
She stood gracefully. "Thank you for saving my life," she began, casting one of her prettiest smiles.
"Feh, I didn't do it for you, wench. Just wanted to swing my sword around a bit."
"That's nice of you," she snarled scornfully. "And just who might you be?"
"At least I'm not some random village bitch like you."
Confused, Kagome remembered just in time that she'd run away from the tower. However, she couldn't help replying, "That's all you know."
"What, do you think I really am some random village bitch?"
Glowering, she retorted, "I'd rather be that than an egotistical hypocritical ignoramus!"
"Big words. Know what they mean?"
"Small words. Can you only speak in monosyllables?"
"Obviously not," he snapped, "unless your memory's so horrid you can't remember more than one sentence." He turned and leapt up into the nearest tree.
"Wait!" she yelped.
He whirled, infuriated. "What do you want now?"
"Where are you going?"
"That's none of your business," he replied, but seeing the fire dart into her eyes, he admitted, "I'm trying to see what that Kagome person is like. I'm supposed to marry her or something."
Trying to suppress her laughter, Kagome answered haughtily, "Our princess would never marry a commoner like you."
The boy shrugged and dropped down beside her. "Can you describe her?"
"Sure," Kagome replied. "She's very beautiful, or so people say; I personally have no opinion. She's also intelligent; even I agree with that. She's kind, responsible, and caring. She also doesn't want to get married to anyone."
"Oh."
"She's fairly tall, black hair and blue eyes, really skinny, incredibly rich, has a younger brother who, in my opinion, is rather bratty, has a very fat cat, a sometimes stupid mother, no father, since he died in a battle, and a religiously freaky grandfather."
"You seem to know her fairly well," her companion remarked.
"Yes, I do. I've spoken to her before. She was very friendly."
"I see. So, do you think she'd ever want to marry someone?"
"Doubtful," Kagome replied, scrutinizing the boy carefully. "Certainly not you, as far as I can tell."
"Sweet!" Leaping to his feet, grinning maniacally, Inuyasha punched the air with his fist. "Now I can go home and tell everyone I don't have to marry the freak!"
Kagome glared at him. Deciding to make his life horrible, she asked calmly, "What's your name?"
"Um..." Inuyasha scanned through his head for a suitable name. "Er...Miroku. That's it, I'm called Miroku!"
"You don't have to stress it, I accept that your name is Miroku," she replied. "I'm...Sango. Anyways, Miroku, I think there might actually be a possibility that Princess Kagome would meet with you. So, before you go home and tell everyone she doesn't want to marry, perhaps you can try talking to her."
He growled. "Fine, I'll give it a shot. Now...Sango, did you say your name was? Show me the way to the tower. And quickly, before you ruin my life even more."
Disclaimer: Not mine...
Chapter One – Announcement
"You are a fool if you presume that I'll agree to this ludicrous statement!"
Flipping her dark hair over one shoulder, Princess Kagome Higurashi glared challengingly at her companion and confidant, Kikyo.
Kikyo sighed impatiently. "Princess, rules are rules. You cannot run this damn kingdom by yourself. You cannot give up the throne to your younger brother, either, seeing as there are very strict guidelines concerning age. There's no escape for you."
Kagome glared at the girl who looked so much like herself, and yet was completely different. "Look, Kikyo, I appreciate your help, but I refuse."
"You can't."
She whirled away in frustration. "How is it that I am the most powerful person within this country and yet I can't make any of my own decisions on choosing a mate?"
Again, Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Princess Kagome Higurashi, you have had ample time to choose the king for this place, but you just had to go gallivanting off to kami-knows-where instead of learning etiquette or conversing with the young princes available! You're well aware that you have enough suitors to keep you occupied for every day of the year!"
"It's only because I'm rich," Kagome grumbled, absently scratching the ears of one of the small cats roaming around the palace.
"You would be quite beautiful, too, if you let the hairdressers come within five meters of you."
The princess turned towards the main hall, her alarmingly short riding skirt swaying tantalizingly. She threw open the doors and charged vigorously towards the queen sitting upon the dais, her sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Hello, Kagome, dear," Queen Higurashi greeted her tempestuous daughter.
"I'm not marrying any mercenary egotistical hypocritical idiot!" Kagome yelped as soon as she was within hearing distance.
"Why, no one's asking you to," the queen replied, truly puzzled. "We're only suggesting that you find a suitable husband from one of your suitors."
"They're who I was referring to," she retorted. "Why can't Souta be king? I'm sure he's smart enough."
Queen Higurashi looked completely shocked. "Kagome, that's incest!"
"Not like that!" she shrieked, trying to ignore Kikyo's muffled laughter in the background. "Why can't Souta be king and I just be some random noble leading my boring, mundane life?"
"You're older," the queen responded mildly. "Now, dear, I'm sure that if you just think about it for a while, you'll see that it's really a good idea. I must go tend to Souta now; he's got a small headache right now." Gathering up the folds of her velvet gown, the queen swept grandly away.
Kagome fumed.
"It's not really all that bad," Kikyo explained. "All you have to do is close your eyes and pick a name out of a hat." She paused, considering the number of Kagome's suitors. "Actually, first you have to choose the hat, and then you pick the name."
"No."
"You don't want to pick a hat?"
The princess glared at her advisor. "Look, if I marry, I'll do it on my own terms. I think I'll go out into the normal world for a year and choose my husband among them."
"You can't! You'll break all ties with Inutaisho's family!" Kikyo protested violently.
"How do you know I'd choose one of Taisho's sons?" she replied.
Stammering, which was rather uncommon for the usually poised girl, Kikyo finally admitted, "Well, you'd choose from two hats. One would be filled with the name 'Inuyasha', and the other would be filled with the name 'Sesshoumaru'."
"Kikyo!" she exploded viciously.
"It really wasn't my idea," the flustered counselor hastily assured. "It was your mother, the great queen's, plan."
"I don't care, either way. I'm leaving," Kagome replied angrily, and stormed away, leaving a very confused and rather annoyed Kikyo in her wake.
"What the fuck? I completely refuse!" Inuyasha snarled, his golden eyes flaring.
"Don't be such an immature brat, younger brother," Sesshoumaru retorted. "I've already found a suitable mate. It's your turn."
"Does it count if I marry someone and kill her the same night?"
"It most certainly does not!" Sesshoumaru roared, losing his patience along with his usually stoic façade. "You've dawdled too long, Inuyasha! You need to get a wench for your own purposes, along with the political future of our country!"
Inuyasha lounged languidly on the couch. "I suppose that means the Higurashi bitch, doesn't it?"
"I suppose it does," his brother replied coolly.
"Look, Sesshoumaru, I refuse to mate with any girl I don't know."
Strapping his sword on, Sesshoumaru inspected his reflection. Perfect, as usual. "That's why it's been arranged for you to go to the Higurashi tower to meet the eligible princess, baka."
"Hypocrite."
"Amazing, you actually know words that aren't either names or monosyllabic."
"Go to hell."
Casting a disapproving glance at the miscreant, Sesshoumaru swept out of the room with a parting sentence. "I wouldn't do that even for you, darling sibling."
"Bastard," Inuyasha muttered from his position, sprawled across the chair.
"I heard that!"
"Go away," he snapped absently, studying his claws. 'God, I hope that Higurashi isn't some old crone with only one eye.' He shivered at the prospect.
'You know what? I won't stand for this. I'll run away into the streets before I marry that wench.'
His aspirations formed, he slipped wraith-like out of the room.
Stuffing her clothes randomly into her horse's saddlebags, Kagome paused to look over her items. She tossed a few trinkets onto the ground, deciding they were of no practical use, before picking them back up.
It was hopeless. All she could do was pray for the best.
Her steed snorted impatiently as she leapt into the saddle and flicked the reins expertly. A low cloak concealed her distinctive blue eyes, and a dagger and sword were strapped around her waist. It wasn't as if she could actually use the weapons, but they looked impressive, nevertheless.
Riding out into the forest, Kagome let her horse ease into a slow canter, letting it stop every once in a while to drink from streams. She paused just before the wall surrounding the Higurashi territory. Pulling her stallion back a few dancing steps, she turned to face the obstruction, readied her hands, and dug her heels into the pony's sides, pulling up with the reins as she did so.
With a flying leap, the horse soared over the fence, landing rather winded but unharmed.
Satisfied that she was now safe, the wayward princess pulled back the cowl of her cloak and inspected her surroundings. She'd only been outside the castle walls once before, on a trip with her now long-dead father, and she didn't remember anything from the expedition.
Most of it looked the same, actually. She was vaguely disappointed.
She turned her pony towards the direction of the main city. Trotting briskly, the stallion snorted mildly as a few birds took flight at the disturbance; stealth wasn't one of Kagome's virtues. The princess merely flicked the reins lightly, setting the horse into a quicker step.
Her cloak was getting rather warm now, so she yanked the thick material off and tried to force that into the saddlebags as well. She grimaced at the obviously royal clothing she wore. Naturally, she'd chosen the least conspicuous garments, but normal peasants didn't exactly wear velvet riding habits.
Muttering curses to herself, she pulled her bow off her shoulder and strung an arrow, prepared for any creature that might venture her way.
Inuyasha bounded lightly from tree to tree, one hand always on the hilt of his sword, the Tetsusaiga. It wasn't really needed, of course; the blade was mostly there out of habit, since his claws could slay anything that came his way.
It was more a reminder of his now dead mother. Lord Inutaisho had created the sword as protection for her, and he treasured it now beyond all else.
Jumping further, Inuyasha peered below at the cities sprawled below him. In the distance, the Higurashi tower aspired for the heavens. It was really a beautiful piece of art, the intricate spirals always directing the viewer's gaze higher.
He had no time for beauty, however. He was bored, tired of arguing over some damn wife he'd probably see only at political banquets, and annoyed.
In truth, he had no idea where he wanted to go. Inuyasha momentarily considered wandering around the countryside and giving his brother a good chase, but he refuted that almost instantly. Sesshoumaru's wrath, while usually concealed, was still deadly.
On second thought, he decided that he might as well see what the Higurashi wench looked like.
Peering in the direction of the tower, the prince leapt away again.
Kagome slid off her mount and led it towards a crystalline river, sipping from the clear water herself. The sweet liquid was refreshing to her; riding all day wasn't exactly pleasant. Actually, it'd barely been an hour, but she was prone to exaggeration anyways.
A blur of silver caught her attention. She had her bow in an instant, scanning the treetops. It was only a bird, and she laughed at her paranoia.
That was before a hand clamped over her mouth, and another grabbed her wrists.
The voice hissing in her ear was soft, deadly. "Kikyo, darling, you haven't visited me for a while."
"Let go of me!" she tried to scream, but she could hardly breathe with the foul-smelling hand blocking her nose and mouth.
"Could it be that you've found someone else, eh, precious?"
The hand finally disappeared and she struggled to turn. "I do not know of any Kikyo who would associate with lower orders such as you."
"So you've reformed, my sweet? Last I heard, you were stealing jewels from the princess' own bedchambers! I thought being accepted into that bitch Kagome's suite would only heighten your desire for richness."
She spat at him, finally managing to turn and face him. "Look, you assaulter, I have no idea who you are, but either way, I don't care. This Kikyo of yours is none of my concern. Now get your filthy hands off me!"
His crimson eyes widened as they locked with her sapphire orbs. "You...you're not Kikyo."
"No kidding!" The princess smashed her knee in to an extremely painful place, but with inhuman speed, her assailant pinned her to the ground.
"You're not getting away that easily," he snarled. "I can't have you spewing my darling Kikyo's secrets all over the place."
From her rather uncomfortable position, Kagome still had the strength to make a comeback. "Rather bipolar, aren't you? First you threaten me when you think I'm Kikyo, and now you're threatening me so that I won't hurt Kikyo. Are you schizophrenic, by any chance?"
She stopped then, because cold metal was at her throat, and she glared up into his laughing eyes. "Well, I admit to being rather bipolar, but that's no concern of yours. Now do you have any last words?"
The silvery blade flashed.
And from behind, an answering flash came.
Kagome was still trying to figure out the meaning of the second shimmer when a blur of red obscured her vision. She closed her eyes instinctively, but opened them when the thud of a falling body reached her ears.
Staring at the decapitated body of her assailant, she slowly looked up until she was facing a white-haired but relatively young man, who was looking rather bored with the whole affair.
She stood gracefully. "Thank you for saving my life," she began, casting one of her prettiest smiles.
"Feh, I didn't do it for you, wench. Just wanted to swing my sword around a bit."
"That's nice of you," she snarled scornfully. "And just who might you be?"
"At least I'm not some random village bitch like you."
Confused, Kagome remembered just in time that she'd run away from the tower. However, she couldn't help replying, "That's all you know."
"What, do you think I really am some random village bitch?"
Glowering, she retorted, "I'd rather be that than an egotistical hypocritical ignoramus!"
"Big words. Know what they mean?"
"Small words. Can you only speak in monosyllables?"
"Obviously not," he snapped, "unless your memory's so horrid you can't remember more than one sentence." He turned and leapt up into the nearest tree.
"Wait!" she yelped.
He whirled, infuriated. "What do you want now?"
"Where are you going?"
"That's none of your business," he replied, but seeing the fire dart into her eyes, he admitted, "I'm trying to see what that Kagome person is like. I'm supposed to marry her or something."
Trying to suppress her laughter, Kagome answered haughtily, "Our princess would never marry a commoner like you."
The boy shrugged and dropped down beside her. "Can you describe her?"
"Sure," Kagome replied. "She's very beautiful, or so people say; I personally have no opinion. She's also intelligent; even I agree with that. She's kind, responsible, and caring. She also doesn't want to get married to anyone."
"Oh."
"She's fairly tall, black hair and blue eyes, really skinny, incredibly rich, has a younger brother who, in my opinion, is rather bratty, has a very fat cat, a sometimes stupid mother, no father, since he died in a battle, and a religiously freaky grandfather."
"You seem to know her fairly well," her companion remarked.
"Yes, I do. I've spoken to her before. She was very friendly."
"I see. So, do you think she'd ever want to marry someone?"
"Doubtful," Kagome replied, scrutinizing the boy carefully. "Certainly not you, as far as I can tell."
"Sweet!" Leaping to his feet, grinning maniacally, Inuyasha punched the air with his fist. "Now I can go home and tell everyone I don't have to marry the freak!"
Kagome glared at him. Deciding to make his life horrible, she asked calmly, "What's your name?"
"Um..." Inuyasha scanned through his head for a suitable name. "Er...Miroku. That's it, I'm called Miroku!"
"You don't have to stress it, I accept that your name is Miroku," she replied. "I'm...Sango. Anyways, Miroku, I think there might actually be a possibility that Princess Kagome would meet with you. So, before you go home and tell everyone she doesn't want to marry, perhaps you can try talking to her."
He growled. "Fine, I'll give it a shot. Now...Sango, did you say your name was? Show me the way to the tower. And quickly, before you ruin my life even more."