No one spoke as the family and guests ate their dinner. Soon after dinner was finished, Mrs. Hiragashi showed the Akio family where they could sleep.
"Inu Yasha, would you mind if Maitreya were to use your bed tonight?" She asked.
"I don't mind," he replied. With that, Sota dragged both teen boys off to his room, ready to show them his mad skills on Street fighter, his current obsession. While the adults talked about things that didn't really concern Kagome, she headed up to her room. Inu Yasha was thirsty and headed downstairs to get a glass of water. He stopped when he heard Kagome's name.
"-Kagome, she's a very sweet girl."
"Really?"
"Yes, and I believe she'd be a lovely match with your son." Inu Yasha growled softly.
"Umeko, let Kagome decide who she's going to marry." He silently cheered.
"Shinju, you know that if she's going to have a good life, it's important to marry a wealthy boy, right, Keiko?"
"Yes, although, you know what they say, arranged marriages work out better than ones that aren't." He growled softly again, his hand in a fist.
"But my daughter has a mind of her own." He nodded in agreement.
"Shinji, do you want your daughter to have a miserable life with that vagabond?" By now, Inu Yasha was really getting pissed off. Then it dawned on him, he'd only heard female voices. Where were Kagome's ojii-chan (1), her uncle, and the stranger? Hearing some voices outside, he looked out the window and found the men talking. By now the women had moved onto a different topic, though he found himself not thirsty anymore. He walked back upstairs, but taking a look in Sota's room, he found the two other boy busy on the play station. Being bored, he knocked on Kagome's door, he figured she ought to know what had happened downstairs.
"Who is it?" Her voice called.
"Me," he replied.
"Come in," she called, sitting up. "What's wrong?" She asked seeing his face.
"Nothing, my stomach's just a little unsettled," he answered somewhat truthfully. It was true that his stomach felt a little unsettled, but so did his heart. He knew the only thing keeping Kagome away form an arranged marriage with that boy was Mrs. Hiragashi, and he really hoped her will was strong enough to stand up to the other two women. Just then there was another knock on Kagome's door.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"Kagome, you know who I am," Umeko's voice replied.
"Come in," she called. Inu Yasha gave her a look, but left quickly. It wasn't until after he'd left the room that he remembered what he'd come to tell her. HE stood outside her door and eavesdropped again.
"What's up?" Kagome asked.
"Oh, nothing much," her aunt replied. "Say, Kagome, what are your plans for the future?"
"I don't know. I'm going to the Miyuki University (2) in Kyoto," Kagome told her aunt.
"A school dedicated to history? I thought your dream was to become a veterinarian," her aunt asked.
"It was, but I've changed. I find history fascinating, but stuff like biology and math are getting boring and I just don't like them anymore," Kagome informed her aunt. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason, I was just curious," Umeko quickly told her niece. After a few minutes, her aunt spoke up again. "Kagome, what do you think of Maitreya?"
"He's nice and we've got a lot in common," Kagome answered truthfully. Inu Yasha breathed, not realizing he'd held his breath when Umeko had asked her last question.
"His family has a house in Kyoto," Umeko told the girl.
"He told me that earlier," Kagome answered. He heard her give a give a sigh.
"You know, I think you'll be seeing more of Maitreya," and with that she left. Inu Yasha quickly ran into the bathroom, which was right across the hall from Kagome's room. He didn't like what Umeko had meant by her last sentence.
The next morning the Akio family left. Over the next few days, Kagome and Maitreya became friends, and unbeknownst to the two teens, Aunt Umeko was trying to play matchmaker and get the two to fall in love.
"Inu Yasha, are you alright?" Kagome asked. It was about a month later, and Inu Yasha still seemed unwell over something. They were in her room, with her laying on her bed, him sitting at her desk. What she didn't know was that Inu Yasha had heard what her aunt had said to her, and the other things she'd said before that, about arranging a marriage for Kagome with Maitreya. He was still bothered by all that he had heard.
"Hey, can you come over here for a moment?" She asked. He got up and walked over to her. As soon as he sat down beside her, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down next to her, kissing him on the lips.
"Ai shite'ru," she whispered in his ear. Later, after he'd stopped blushing, he left.
He found he couldn't sleep. He pulled out a ring he'd had with him for most of his life. It had been a present to his mother, from his father. His father had given it to her as a birthday present the year Inu Yasha was born. It was a simple, yet elegant band of silver with a small jade stone in the center. The stone was shaped as a lotus flower, which had been his mother's favorite, and oddly enough, Kagome's as well. Knowing who he'd give it to, he put it back, finally able to fall asleep.
It took him almost a week to get the courage to give her the ring. They had been walking to the store, getting something for Mrs. Hiragashi when Inu Yasha stopped walking.
"What?" She asked, turning around. He told her to meet him under the Goshinboku after dinner. Later, after dinner, Kagome told her mom that she and Inu Yasha were going out to take a walk. Her mother's reply was for them to take as long as they needed, but to be back before dark. She said this with a wink at Inu Yasha, not letting Kagome see. He had a feeling that Mrs. Hiragashi knew.
"So, what'd you want Inu Yasha?" She asked.
"This is where we met," he said softly.
"Yeah," Kagome agreed. "It seems like just yesterday, even though it was only a few years ago. Or wait, would it be over 500 years ago? Time travel is confusing," she went on.
"You know, for a while, I really did want to kill you. The only thing stopping me were those beads," he continued.
"Which I still have," Kagome put in.
"Yeah, you do," he gave a nervous chuckle. "But, I don't know when it was, but suddenly, I didn't want to kill you anymore, just protect you," he went on.
"Okay," she said hesitantly.
"And now, I just want to hold you forever," he told her.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"Willyoubemymate?" He rushed out.
"Huh? What was th-" she stopped, her brain processing his words. She looked at him, his face beet red, but the look in his eyes dead serious.
"Inu.. Yasha," she began, her voice full of awe. She knew how much this had to embarrass him.. He wasn't the type to do stuff like this. They sat in silence for a few moments. Then she said a word, a fatal word. He almost hadn't heard her, she'd said it so softly, and he thought his ears weren't working properly. But as soon as he saw her face, she found that ring on her finger faster than she ever could have yelled sit in the old days.
Entwining hands, the two walked back up to the house. She asked him about the ring. He told her and she let his words sink in. The ring had belonged to his mother, which meant it was really important to him.
"Ai shite'ru, my aisuru (3)," he told her. They walked inside and as soon as Mrs. Hiragashi saw her daughter's finger, she let out a squeal of enjoyment. Jii-chan and Sota had to have it spelled out to them, but as soon as they realized what had happened, they were both glad for Kagome. Sota was ecstatic to find that Inu Yasha was going to be his new big brother. Her mother arranged the wedding, not letting her daughter do a thing at all. In just three weeks time it was ready. They were going to get married under the Goshinboku, and very few people would know. Just Kagome's friends' Yuka, Ayumi, Eri, and Hojo, along with her mother, brother, and grandfather were there for Kagome. Sesshoumaru, and Myouga, though hidden in the youkai's hair, along with Kagome's friends' families were there. When Yuka had seen her Kyushu, she rushed over to greet him, much to everyone's surprise. That was when she came clean about who she'd been with when she had disappeared. So, all in all, there were about 20 guests.
It was agreed that the two would live in one of Sesshoumaru's houses that he had in Kyoto. It seemed that he had a real estate business, of which he made his younger brother a partner.
"A gift to my little brother and his bride," he'd told them. "If you don't take it for free, I'll just rent it out to someone," he'd went on to say. Luckily, it was in Kyoto, near the Miyuki University, so Kagome could easily walk to and from her school. After nearly a year, Kagome got a call from her mother.
"Kagome, can you come back to Tokyo for a while?" Her mother asked.
"Why?" Kagome asked, her mother's tone of voice scaring her.
"It's Jii-chan. Kagome, he's dying."
A/N: And that's were we end today's chapter. It was only two chapters long today, but they were important, and actually long ones. I did add Inu Yasha's eavesdropping in. But, the first conversation was made up on the spot, while the second was part of the original story. His eavesdropping wasn't but I added that in. Heck, he wasn't even near her room at the time in the original story. I think that this is the fluffiest chapter in the story. It's about to get bad for Kagome and Inu. Like most of the chapter is from chapter 14. From the part where it says, "It took him almost a week to get the courage to give her the ring." is chapter 15, so, that's how long 14 is. I am still working on chapter 19, but I've got some inspiration recently.
Oh, and to my main reviewer, you know who you are!, I have an update schedule. Check out my profile sometime and you'll see it. It shows when I'll update every story I've got.
(1) ojii-chan; It means grandfather. Jii-chan doesn't mean grandfather, but it means grandpa or gramps. It's used by girls adn young boys, but if used by anyone else, it's disrespectful.
(2) Miyuki University, I made it up, but it could be real. If it is, then I do not own it, and if it is, I don't know where it is.
(3) Ai shite'ru, my aisuru. It's a phrase, and since I don't know that romaji word fro my, I used the Eigo, English, word for it. It means, I love you, my sweetheart. Aisuru means sweetheart, and Eigo is pronounced Eggo, you know, like the waffles.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha, nor it's peoples/places/ and/or things. The only things I own are the Akio family, Aunt Umeko, Uncle Shiro, and Kagome's ring. If i find any of these have been used without MY EXPRESS PERMISSION, I WILL report you. It's not fair to an authoress/author to use their characters without their permission. That is one of the few things I will report a person on.
Speaking of that, I've got a copy of a petion about one of ff.net's policies. If you want to sign it, leave a signed review, or your email address. I will contact you.