A Wish upon a Star
And as promised, here is the longer, more 'rising to the climax' chapter = chapter twenty six... and... just a heads up... sorry for the cliffie at the end of the...chapter.
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Chapter Twenty- Six
Agitation
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It didn't take too long for Inu-Yasha and Kagome to find their way home. It was just a matter of how restless Kagome was with her 'full bladder'. It didn't matter as much though, as halfway through the journey back, Kagome had fallen asleep.
As they reached home, or rather, Inu-Yasha's home, they were bombarded with questions asking where they had disappeared and whether or not something had happened in their disappearance.
A week passed, and nothing unusual had happened, nothing exciting happened either, everybody kept their distances, and neither Inu-Yasha nor Kagome talked to either one another.
It had seemed as if in three days, their lives would come to an end, and by each passing day, the situation only got worse and made Kagome even heavier headed.
Now, as Kagome sat in her room, fiddling with a piece of parchment, she didn't seem to be in contact with the world at all, apparently, more with her thoughts.
'Why must everything be so hard...? I don't know why, but I hadn't imagined it to be like this...not like this at all, it's as if I have to do something before I get married, more like tell someone something...'
Kagome sighed and closed her eyes to give her sore mind a rest.
'The engagements in three days... can you imagine it? Three days I'm going be married... and with someone I barely know, or... more likely, barely even like..."
Opening her eyes, she blinked as she remembered the events of the week before.
'It would be easier if I was getting married to Inu-Yasha, I could deal with him I guess, it wouldn't be so hard living your life with a friend, but with Sesshomaru, it would be trying to live your life with a stranger'
Looking around her room, she felt tears come into her eyes as she remembered her family, old friends, and now – the thought of not having that irritating, nagging, rude and egotistic voice of Inu-Yasha near by seemed saddening.
She hadn't imagined her nights before getting married to be like this... she imagined it to be fun... spending days with her fiancé, stealing kisses from him, and laughing along with him and her family was much more like it.
Sighing, she got out of her chair and headed towards the door, her dress swaying behind her, apparently, she wasn't allowed to leave the castle now, and spending hot summer days in her room was clearly depressing.
As she got out of her room, she closed her door behind her and stepped out in the humid corridors of the castle. The heat had been rising, even in the last month of summer...
Kagome cringed, her stomach wheezing at the thought of spending her winter with Sesshomaru... not with her family... not with her friends... not with her relatives... but with Sesshomaru.
Well, maybe they could get divorced and then Kagome could find a better suitable husband...?
She shook her head as she walked slowly down the corridors. Everyone would be disappointed in her, they would glare at her when she walked by or they would spit out filthy words in her direction, saying that she had the nerve to disengage herself.
Walking down the steps as she still wandered throughout her mind, she felt her heart quench with pain, sadness and worry.
She wasn't ready for this engagement, let alone the marriage, she couldn't bare her thoughts any longer...
She knew what she would do.
She would run away...
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Rin growled with frustration... it had been one entire week since she had found out about... that...and she knew that Sesshomaru was avoiding her, meaning he knew, that she knew... meaning... oh god, darn it! It was wall all too confusing for her.
Trying to sweep the floor in her new maid dress, she wondered what in the name of heaven the king was thinking when he appointed this new uniform.
Come on, did he want all the maids to look like whores so all the male servants could gawk their eyes out?
Putting the broom to the side, she tugged on her short thigh high blue skirt, trying to pull it down... but no... god... it was so darn tight it was practically glued onto her thighs. Growling with pent up frustration, she left her skirt and tried to pull down her shirt, "Oh kami..." she said as the shirt wouldn't budge from its place.
If anyone had to experience second skins... Rin was experiencing it right now... wasn't it against some law to put on such clamped up tight clothes? It certainly must be...
Leaving her cursed clothes as they be, she returned to her broom, picking it up and sweeping the floors again, trying not to bend at all... who knows who could come from behind and see her derrière?
"Ouch..." she heard someone say from behind her, knowing the voice all too well she turned around and growled immediately.
Sesshomaru widened his eyes immediately, only realizing his mistake... she looked ready to murder.
"Eh... I've got some chores to do..." he said, mumbling out an excuse as he took a step back.
Rin dropped her broom and headed slowly towards him, putting on her most threatening glare. "I'll do them for you..." She said, venom dripping from every word.
"Then why don't I... just go and leave them for you?" He said and turned around, ready to run.
"Don't you dare take a step forward...!"
Sesshomaru stopped dead in his track, something in her voice told him 'Do it or else!'
"Turn around!" she ordered, pointing a threatening finger at his back.
Turning around slowly, he folded his arms across his chest and tried to look as daring as possible, but his expression slowly melted away as he saw her expression...
"What do you want with me eh? Mark me... go get married and leave me alone to stay single for the rest of my life?" she practically yelled out and stepped up to him, looking up to meet his glare.
Raising an innocent hand to his head, he looked up at the ceiling, trying to make up an excuse. "Um... well, we can always figure this out..."
Rin sighed out pent up anger, pointing an accusing finger at his chest, she poked him in the stomach. "Oh right! Lets give the horrid situation to the remarkable hands of the great lord Sesshomaru!" she said, sarcasm evident in her voice.
Sesshomaru blinked at her innocently. "Really?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, not really... can't you tell when I'm being sarcastic?"
"That was always one of my weaknesses-."
"Stop trying to change the topic, my great and almighty lord who thinks he can go claim any woman he wants! Now listen you son of a-." Rin started but was cut off as Sesshomaru slammed her into the wall behind her.
"Now watch what you're saying," he said and encircled her each arm with his hand, trapping her beneath him.
Rin rolled her eyes. "I was going to say son of a dog demon... jeez... men these days don't even listen..."
He sighed and groaned, she was going be the death of him one day...
"Now if you mind, you can let go of me and – and... ahhh!" She screamed out as the wall behind them suddenly slipped to the side, both of them falling into a small spaced closet seeming space.
The wall now behind them suddenly clicked shut, trapping them in the small space.
Rin screamed again.
"Now see you dummy! Look what you've done, if you were actually smart, you wouldn't have pushed me into the storage closet, this closet can only be opened from outside!" she jumped from one foot to another, screaming unimaginable things, making Sesshomaru cringe at his bad luck...
Well... it wouldn't be exactly bad luck if you were stuck in a closet with a woman... but if she would apparently be screaming her head off at you, it wouldn't exactly be pleasant.
"Oh Rin, please shut that mouth of yours!" he said as he decided his poor and sensitive ears couldn't take it anymore.
She screeched. "Oh, so you want me to shut up now do you? Well... I will definitely not shut up because you know why? Because you have been avoiding me all this time... you don't have the courage to stand up to me like a real man!" she said and raised a fist to show woman dominance.
He stared blankly at her. "Oh god, please save me..."
She narrowed her eyes at her. "Oh... I see what you're doing... you little meanie!"
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You think that I'm just a little girl who creates an annoying voice in your mind... that you can... ask god to get rid of, oh you bastard...." She said and narrowed her eyes at him. "See, look at what your father provided us maids with... just look!"
He gulped and looked down at what she was pointing to, still pondering about how the conversation had turned into her complaining about her... clothes.
"See, he wants us to look like whores, and if wasn't marked, by someone wretched around here, I may have attracted some men, but see – oh no... I'm just going to have to be watched from afar... and why? Because someone marked me!" she said, surprising Sesshomaru on how the topic had found a way to relate to the first problem.
He hesitated... still looking at her clothes...
"You can STOP looking you know!" she said and slapped him on the head.
He winced and directed his attention back at Rin's face, an apologetic look plastered onto his facial expression.
"Oh... don't give me that..." Rin started off again.
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"Kagome... oh dear, you're finally here... we were wondering when you would arrive, oh my... look at you – don't look so nervous honey... were only going to be fitting the wedding dresses on today!" Mrs. Taisho smiled warmly at Kagome and let her in the room, pushing her in to the middle of the sun lit room where dozens and dozens of clothes lay spattered about. A mirror was standing right in front of where Kagome was now standing and a chair right behind her.
"Now Kagome, remember my mother? You must have met when you all went to that... trip?" Mrs. Taisho said, trying to ignore the fatal accidents which had occurred there.
Kagome looked behind Mrs. Taisho where an old lady was appearing. Smiling brightly, she nodded. "Of course, I could never forget her!"
The old lady looked up at Kagome and smiled. "As beautiful as ever, haven't changed a bit have you?"
Kagome blushed and looked back at the mirror as if examining herself to see if the lady said the truth. "Well, thank you" She said and offered a small smile.
The lady walked up to her and cupped her cheek in her hand, "Simply gorgeous, now I guess your still a little nervous about the wedding now aren't you?"
Kagome nodded, pushing the fact that she would run away the night before the wedding to the back of her mind... she needn't think of such things right now...
"Well, don't worry; now let's try on the wedding dress I made for you..." The grandmother turned around and walked to the other side of the room to pick up a gorgeous dress, though that wasn't was Kagome was currently thinking about.
"You made the dress all by yourself?" She asked in a timid voice.
"Why of course, I did the same thing with my daughters wedding... now here – wear this."
It took Kagome five minutes to change into her wedding dress, and as Kagome stood in front of the mirror, in her wedding dress – she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as she thought about the fact that she wouldn't be able to wear this to the wedding... why, such a lovely piece of dress like this shouldn't be wasted... but she had no choice, she had to go along with the plan... she had to run away.
Turning a full turn she smiled as she admired herself in the mirror.
She had never been able to wear something as lovely as this.
It was a white gown, slim from the top and flowing down gently to the bottom. The top of the dress was embedded with diamonds and a beautiful flower made by diamonds was drawn on the stomach.
The waist line had a beautiful silver lining and white silk flowed beneath it, the rim of the dress had diamond flowers embedded onto it. Her sleeves were made of net and a silver arm bracelet was on her left arm, showing clearly beneath the net.
The other arm had a dozen silver bracelets on it, all showing diamond embroidery on it.
Her hair had been curled quickly with an ancient remedy, having to warm up a certain rock and to use it on your hair had worked perfectly.
She was wearing three heavy diamond necklaces and a diamond tiara was placed on her head.
"There... you look perfect..."
Kagome stared at herself, so this is how she would look on the day of the marriage, of course – not exactly like this, she would have more makeup on... but, more likely – this is how she would look at the marriage... if she went that is.
"Oh – wait, I want you to see the earrings you'll be wearing, honey – could you go grab them?" The grandmother said to her daughter, Queen Youkai. She nodded quickly and left the room, leaving the grandmother and Kagome alone in the room.
"Oh, I'll be back, I'm a little thirsty – I need to get some water..." the old lady said before exiting the room, leaving Kagome alone in the room.
She sighed... what a waste... if only they knew she wouldn't be here for the wedding...
"Hey ma – could you fix these buttons for me -." Inu-Yasha's voice was heard throughout the room and Kagome swiveled around to come to face him, apparently, he just noticed that his mother was not here. "Oh... hi." He said as he noticed Kagome's arrival.
Kagome smiled weakly, "Hello."
He scoffed and entered the room. "You've never spoken so politely to me before..."
She shrugged. "I guess I'm just a little overtaken by everything... I mean, I never thought that I would be wearing this dress..."
He nodded. "Oh, I see..."
Kagome nodded as well and then just noticed he was as well, in his marriage outfit. He was wearing simple though rather elegant black pants, and...eh... a button up shirt opened revealing his chest?
Inu-Yasha noticed as she stared at his shirt. "Oh... I'm not so good closing up buttons; my claws always get in the way..."
Kagome laughed. "I see, here – I'll do them."
He nodded and stepped up to her, letting her hands travel up to his collar button and close them slowly.
Somehow, it felt forbidden for him to have her so close at a time like this... actually, that was the main reason he had been avoiding her...
Everyday, she was the only thing on his mind. At night, she haunted his dreams, at day, she invaded his thoughts, and it became more difficult to remain calm as she remained around him, mostly because he had no reason why he was feeling so... weirdly about her.
He had surely never felt like this with any other female, it was somehow only her who could evoke such feelings throughout him.
"...all done!" Kagome's cheery voice broke his thoughts... which had once again, been only about her.
He jerked a little at the surprised and looked down at her who was smiling up at him. He hesitated, that smile always warmed his heart... wait... where had that come from? Shaking his head from all thoughts he raised an eyebrow at the comical face Kagome had plastered onto her face.
"What's with you?" He asked.
"Did you just get lost in space or something?" She asked and he rolled his eyes at his stupidity. Rubbing the back of his neck he just shrugged.
Kagome smiled. "Well, oh boy – you look handsome."
He ignored the blush that came to his face and looked down at himself then looked at her. "You don't look too bad yourself!"
Kagome frowned. "What do you mean by 'too' bad?"
He laughed. "I'm just kidding, you look beautiful."
Kagome smiled broadly and looked in the mirror again. "I do, don't I?"
"Well... talk about self confidence." Inu-Yasha replied and laughed, both of them simply enjoying the company of each other in the stressful time.
"Oh – Inu-Yasha, great timing... oh – before I start, Kagome – slip these on." Her mother said and gave Kagome the large circular silver earrings to put on. Kagome nodded and was just about done when Inu-Yasha's grandmother stepped in the room as well.
"Oh – Inu-Yasha, great time to arrive, we were going to call Sesshomaru in, seeing that Kagome is his fiancé, but you'll do just as great!" His grandmother said, both confused at what they were talking about.
"Great timing for exactly what?" Inu-Yasha decided to pop the question which was also on Kagome's mind.
"To practice for the dance after the marriage, why of course... we wouldn't want you to be all clumsy in your wedding gowns that you can't dance... so we're getting you prepared." Inu-Yasha's step mother said and gave him a warm smile.
"...oh..." Kagome said before blushing at the mere thought which made butterflies rise throughout her stomach, oh god – this couldn't be happening, she wasn't going to dance with – him... or was she?
"Well – get to your positions..." The grandmother said before advising several musicians into the room.
Inu-Yasha hesitated as he stepped forward clumsily, and he didn't miss the raging blush on her cheeks – which didn't make him feel more confident at doing this...
Why was dancing with her a big deal? He had danced with her before, and he didn't feel nervous – or slightly hesitant at all, but now it seemed like a different story...
Kagome was racing along the same thoughts when she was snapped back to reality as she felt his one hand around her waist and his other reaching forward for her other hand.
Realizing she had to participate to, she quickly raised her other hand to his shoulder and occupied his free hand with her vacant hand.
And the music started right on time...
Tale as old as time...
True as it can be...
Kagome glanced down at her feet, just noticing how hard it actually was to dance in this dress... move to the right... move to left... move forward... then backwards...
Barely even friends...
Then somebody bends,
Unexpectedly...
Inu-Yasha looked down at Kagome, moving to the rhythm, making her follow his lead – somehow... he knew that she was avoiding his gaze, and for some apparent reason, he didn't mind at all... knowing that if he glanced at her, he would get lost in those pools of mystery forever.
Just a little change...
Small to say the least...
Kagome surprised herself by just noticing that someone was singing a song to the music... a song that was making her heartbeat speed faster... making her guts scream out something that she was currently unaware of...
Both a little scared...
Neither one prepared...
Inu-Yasha sighed as he smelt the scent of the woman if front of her... somehow it seeming strange of thinking the thought that in a matter of days, she would escape his life forever.
Beauty and the beast...
Kagome gave a quick glance to the people behind her... yep... she was correct – it was Inu-Yasha's mother singing the song... half of her wishing for her to continue, the other half hoping it to stop.
Ever just the same...
Ever a surprise...
Ever as before...
Ever just as sure... As the sun will rise...
Inu-Yasha gulped... somehow the lyrics of his mothers song were contrary to how everything actually was.
Tale as old as time...
Tune as old as song...
Kagome glanced up, and if she could reverse time, she would have wished she would have never glanced at him... because as she did, she was trapped as she stared deeply into his golden orbs...
Bittersweet and strange...
Finding you can change...
Learning you were wrong...
Inu-Yasha stared down at her... when had she decided to look up? No...no... this wasn't the way it was supposed to happen... they were supposed to keep looking somewhere else and try to avoid each others gaze, or so he thought.
Certain as the sun...
Rising in the east...
Tale as old as time...
Song as old as rhyme...
Beauty and the Beast...
Kagome didn't know when, but she knew for one thing that he had pulled her in closer...
Tale as old as time...
Song as old as rhyme...
Inu-Yasha gasped inwardly to himself as he realized what he had done... not knowing what was going on and just letting his instincts take over he was leaning down when -.
Beauty and the Beast...
Kagome and Inu-Yasha jerked away from each other as if their touch was made of electricity as soon as the last word of the song was sung and then just had they done so, they realized as reality came honking back in front of their eyes, just what they were about to do... or what they luckily hadn't.
Turning around so she could avoid his penetrating gaze, she smiled weakly at his grandmother and mother... did they notice?
Apparently not, because they both gave her a big warm smile and clapped both yelling out stuff like: that was great, I'm so happy for you - Etc.
"Eh... m-mom, I have to run..." Inu-Yasha said and rushed out of the room, leaving Kagome alone with her in laws.
"I think I should change..." Kagome said weakly and then headed out the door as well – meaning to head to her bedroom, leaving the grandmother and mother alone.
"Mom..." Queen Youkai said as she collapsed onto the floor and buried her face into her hands.
"What happened honey?" her mother said and crouched down beside her.
"...this wasn't how it was supposed to happen..." Queen Youkai said and her mother sighed in pent up frustration.
"We tried our best dear – we can only hope for the best now." She smiled and put an arm around her daughters shoulder.
"...they weren't supposed to fall in-."
"Shh! We needn't think about such things – it'll all work out for the best, believe me"
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Kagome walked back and forth in her bedroom, having changed out of her wedding dress and was now once again, deep in her thoughts. What had just happened back there? That wasn't supposed to happen... oh ... no... this surely couldn't be happening...
Growling in confused frustration she flopped down on the floor of her bedroom and stared idly at the glass doors which led outside to her balcony.
...wait a minute... wasn't that Kagura's feather she just saw fly past her window outside?
She shook her head... nah – she was imagining things...
"Okay... so going back to my situation... I almost kissed Inu-Yasha... my fiancés brother... and apparently, neither him nor I were pleased with the fact we had gotten to such close proximity," she sighed out and was about to speak again when she heard a loud, loud bang not so far away.
Dropping her thoughts immediately and panic rising to her throat at the thought it might have actually been Kagura she saw out there, she ran out of her room, and into the balcony where it had started to rain tremendously.
Ignoring the fact that the rain was hammering against her head and soaking her to the bone, she ran up to the railing and looked hard to see if she could spot anything in Inu-Yasha's balcony despite the rushing and stormy rain.
Kagome felt her blood go cold as she saw Kanna in the balcony, holding her mirror as if ignorant to the pounding rain and surely she was holding Kagura's feather in the other hand... meaning, Kagura was inside Inu-Yasha's room.
Kagome panicked immediately and rushed back inside the room, not caring that she was soaking wet and would grab the attention of passing strangers if they spotted her. Rushing to the door she grabbed the knob and turned...
And she turned... again and again... and to shocking realization, she figured someone had locked her inside.
She banged on the door, knowing that Kagura could well be in fact killing Inu-Yasha right now, and if she didn't find a way to get out – Inu-Yasha might as well be horrendously murdered.
Slamming the door with all her force, she felt her knees go weak and she dropped to the ground, her hand still grasping the knob... "Oh god, please help me..." She wept and tried the knob again.
They could be killing him... torturing him... beating him up for all she knew and she had no do in it, she couldn't help one single bit... and for what? Because she was locked in this wretched room!
Then it hit her, as if an arrow, sharp as the pointiest needle would feel like if it stabbed you in the heart and twisted itself around a hundred times. The mere thought just making her want to faint and murder herself in her dreams for the irony of it.
She cared for him... and definitely not in the simplest of ways...not at all.
She had fallen in love with him...
She had fallen in love with Inu-Yasha.
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Okay... so Kagome realizes that she loves Inu-Yasha and right now she's hopelessly locked inside her room while Inu-Yasha's is possibly being tortured in the other by Kagura and Kanna.
Rin and Sesshomaru are still stuck in that closet...
What did happen to the task Inu-Yasha set Rin on eh?
And the Tensaiga still hasn't been revealed!
Well, you won't find out when, what, or 'what did' happen until the next chapter... meaning you'll just have to wait...
And I wont update if you wont review meaning you'll just have to wait longer...
[Smirks evilly]
So until the next chapter!
Byez!