A/N: I give up. *throws hands into the air* No matter what I do or say or write, people always take it the wrong way. Explanation time! The 'honey, precious, etc etc' stuff at the end was sarcasm if people didn't catch it by the italics. The Sango/Miroku flashbacks weren't necessary or important to read, unless you want to understand some of their conversations later on. No, no one is suppose to know what happened between Kagome/Kikyou/Naraku…yet. No, Inuyasha doesn't love Kagome…yet. I don't want it to be the 'oh, I see you! Now I am in love with you!' romance like in my other stories years ago [god forbid my writing then]. And many reviewers are wrong about their guesses but thank you to those who like my story. ;)

P.S. I forgot to say, congratulations to DiaBLo2 who was the only person to correctly catch one of the two allusions in chapter 11. Indeed, the weed comment was spoken by Makino Tsukushi from Hana Yori Dango [Boys Over Flowers/Meteor Garden] ^_^ The other allusion [definition for those who asked: allusion = passing reference or an indirect mention] will remain a mystery…muaha.

Inuyasha and Kagome fluffy goodness…MmM…

Disclaimer: If I honestly owned Inuyasha, I would not be writing fanfiction. Damnit!

Behind the Masquerade

Notable Nuance [not 'nuisance']

Kagome put on a warm kimono as she rejoiced in the fact that it was raining, and not just a little, but in buckets. Her room felt dreary and rather gray, but that was what she loved about it. It captivated her, it thrilled her and it definitely enthralled her.

Remembering the irritated look on Inuyasha's face, Kagome had come to the conclusion that he wasn't exactly fond of rain. Why, she could never imagine, but she had a subtle idea that it was because he had seen it all his life. She absolutely loved it, but maybe it was only because she didn't live or grow up around it, since her home kingdom was situated in a desert after all.

Giggling and clapping her hands together in joy, she skipped over to the door joining the two rooms and knocked. A snarl was heard on the other side and Kagome took it as an indication to go in.

She instantly regretted it when she spotted Inuyasha trying to force on a white undershirt over his head. Immediately blushing when she caught sight of his chest, which she didn't deny was absolutely alluring, she heard him grumble out "Don't come in!"

'Too late…' she thought wryly and quickly closed the door quietly as she retreated fairly back into the safety of her room. The red was still framing her cheeks and she fanned herself, before hearing an aggravated "Okay, what?" behind the door.

She opened the door again and stared at Inuyasha with wide, innocent eyes, poking only her head in while she made sure he had his shirt on. It was securely on with a red haori to boot and covering his dangerous chest. She nodded mentally and allowed herself to stroll in casually, acting as if she hadn't stumbled into him about thirty seconds ago. The (nice) view still danced conspicuously in her head and she cursed her treacherous mind.

"Well? What do you want?" Inuyasha shot out in an exasperated tone, watching as the girl fumbled around maladroitly.

"Eh, just wanted someone to walk down to…um, breakfast," Kagome muttered, her voice more restricted and squeaky than she had intended it to be. She knew her pink cheeks were still obvious to his keen hanyou eyesight and she begged the lords he didn't ask why she was embarrassed.

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, an uncomprehending glaze in his eyes, before he simply shrugged. "Wouldn't kill," he muttered and walked to the door.

Opening it, he didn't even wait for her to go out first like proper etiquette, but strolled out nonchalantly. Kagome frowned at this but hurried to catch up. She hadn't expected Inuyasha to know a thing about manners and protocol anyway.

Catching up to the hanyou, she strolled awkwardly by his side, pondering whether she should start a conversation or if it was more harmless to walk in silence. It continued this way, but she soon got bored fast when they were walking down the stairs, and said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Who was that girl in the painting downstairs?" she asked, keeping her gaze on where she was walking instead of on her companion next to her. She couldn't help but feel him stiffen up next to her though, stopping in his strides.

"How did you know---" he began angrily, but Kagome cut him off.

"I talked to your mother…met her at the painting when I was looking at it. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong," she mumbled, not wanting to look up to meet what she expected to be a livid face of Inuyasha.

"Keh, she's nobody," he growled, and quickly rushed past her.

Kagome nearly stumbled down the last few steps as they turned into a corridor to find the other stairs that would take them to the dining room. Running to keep up with the hanyou, she made sure to keep a few steps behind him. He wasn't happy, after all.

"Really?" her traitorous mouth asked, and she mentally slapped herself.

He turned around to give her a long, icy glare that reminded her vaguely of Kikyou. "Really." He swirled around to keep walking.

Kagome couldn't help but childishly stick her tongue out at him behind his back, before hastening to catch up with him once again. She really tried to stop the urge, she swore she really did, but the urge was just like an annoying itch. "Was there something between you two?" she asked in an airily light tone.

She really wished she could have scratched the itch quietly.

"You, girl," Inuyasha growled in a dark tone, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "…Are too annoying and nosy for your own prying good. Shut up."

Kagome flinched at the serious tone he used with her. "I do know when to shut you, you know!" she said indignantly but decided to give him a rest on the subject---he was such a prick sometimes. Toddling on after him, she wisely kept her mouth shut as she observed the unhappy mood the hanyou seemed to be in. Was he always so stubborn and upset? He needed a life.

They soon reached the dining room and she ambled over to her respected seat, looking around the table and seeing that mostly everyone else was absent. The only other person was Rin and Kagome was surprised the girl wasn't with Sesshoumaru since she was usually attached to him like glue.

"Good morning, Rin," she greeted and the girl looked up from her food and smiled slightly.

"Good morning, Kagome. Why are you and Inuyasha up so early?" the girl inquired, although it seemed like her customary cheerfulness was nowhere to be seen.

Kagome knew that smile Rin gave her was fake and didn't hold much happiness. The rancorous urge struck again. "Oh, you know, we're just up and at them. Are you alright?" she asked curiously and almost heard the mocking snort across the table. Okay, so she really didn't know when to shut up. Did it matter? She was a growing woman after all.

"Oh, I'm fine," the young woman replied, and stared down at her food.

Kagome sensed that Rin didn't want to talk, so she dismissed further conversation, stuffing a fork with food into her mouth. However, Rin didn't seem finished as she said quietly,

"My whole family died on a day like this."

Kagome forced the food she had put in her mouth rather vehemently down her throat. So maybe Inuyasha was right and she really did need to keep her mouth shut sometimes. She would be damned if she told him that though, especially after he had been so cold to her. Fluttering a gaze over to Rin, she saw that the girl was still staring at her food with a blank expression on her face.

"I'm sorry…" Kagome mumbled, as she offered a pitying smile.

Rin looked up at her, her eyes wide. "It's nothing! Don't be sorry, I'm fine. Sesshoumaru-sama makes me feel at home here anyway," the girl explained, and beamed at the guilty princess.

"Were your parents nobles?" Kagome asked out of plain [and in her case, evil] curiosity, but instantly knew she had just stuck her foot into her mouth [yet again] when she saw Rin flinch.

"They…" There was a pregnant pause. "---were more than that. But I really have to go, I'll be seeing you later?" Rin said in common courtesy, before getting off her seat and nodding her head lightly. There was something weighing her down, and the smile she sent Kagome still lacked cheer.

Kagome slapped herself mentally again as she watched Rin walk out of the room. Was it just her or was she asking questions that offended people a lot today? Watching as the girl disappeared into the gray corridors, she felt someone giving her a smug smirk from across the table.

"Be quiet," she muttered resentfully, as she shot Inuyasha a 'You win' face.

"I told you your nosiness would get you into trouble."

"Yea, thanks a lot, genius."

Inuyasha smirked a bit more, before saying in an even-leveled voice, "You do know Rin isn't a simple peasant nor is she a noble, right?"

Kagome was just wondering why Inuyasha called another girl by their name, except hers, but she quickly chased the thought away as she pondered what he said. "What do you mean?" she questioned when she had no idea what he was blabbering about.

Inuyasha took a sip of water, giving all the signs of a long explanation. Then he began. "I overheard Sesshoumaru and her talking the other day. It seems she's the last of her family. She was a princess from a faraway land, but it was ambushed by the wolf kingdom. They completely overtook her homeland and killed her mother, father and all her siblings. I heard she managed to escape and was wandering around before she met Sesshoumaru."

Kagome leaned closer, her always revengeful curiosity getting the better of her, and right after a bad experience too. "And…?" she egged on, her eyes wide in interest.

Inuyasha arched an eyebrow. "And then I was discovered by my brother and thrown down the stairs," Inuyasha ended matter-of-factly as he took another sip of water.

Kagome collapsed back into her seat and glowered over at the hanyou. "Just when it was getting good, you get yourself discovered," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well excuse me, I'm not as meddlesome as you, so I don't like getting myself into deeper waters than I already am."

Kagome snorted rather unladylike. She could already imagine the lectures she would get if that habit stuck when she got home. "Are you training yourself to be a man!?"

Kagome grimaced at the thought. Better lose the habit soon.

"Little sister, I sent the letter off to father and mother this morning. I told them the wedding is at the end of your visit and you'll be staying here as planned," a cold voice broke into her thoughts and Kagome slanted her gaze over to Kikyou, who was standing at the door, arms crossed across her chest.

"Okay," she answered and looked away, but not before noticing the small smile her elder sister sent Inuyasha. And granted the smile he sent back was the epitome of weak, she was staggered that he had actually even smiled at Kikyou.

Gazing to look at her sister again, she noticed Kikyou was gone and Inuyasha was back to eating his breakfast. She sent him a hard glare, knowing he would notice it sooner or later. She smirked mentally when she saw the cringe of his body as he slowly glanced up at her.

"What!?" he shouted self-consciously, watching the almost evil look flitter across the girl's face.

"What was that about?"

She watched as he opted for the one thing he was exceptionally bad at: playing dumb. "What was what about?"

Kagome sent an exaggerated saccharine smile over to Inuyasha and watched as his eye twitched. "That," she stated simply.

"I don't know what you're talking about, wench." Ahh…now he was going for the lovely tactic of trying to shield himself by getting defensive and calling her names.

Kagome sent him a skeptical glare, before leaning back into her chair. She wasn't hungry anymore and watching Inuyasha eat was enough to make just about anyone lose their appetite. She winced when she saw the food accidentally splatter onto the table.

Watching him attack the grub, she realized she hardly knew anything about the man across from her. Yes, she knew he was a stubborn pig, got defensive a lot, and had no manners whatsoever, but that was it. Leaning her upper body forward and propping her chin on her fists, she studied him more. He fascinated her, yet aggravated her. Was that possible?

She blinked as he tilted his head to look at her with those strikingly golden eyes, almost seeming like they were going to pierce her soul. She felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it as he frowned at her.

"Stop staring."

"I'm not."

She moved her eyes to glance out the door and into the dark corridors. She could see a window and see the rain splatter outside, and she sighed wistfully. "If only I could look at it from outside…" she muttered and missed the twitch of ears from across the table.

There was a moment of silence before an incensed voice rose up from the silence. "I'll take you out if you want."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha in disbelief before seeing him gazing at her with a serious expression on his face. Her eyes were wide, but it gently lowered as a small smile lit up her face. "I would very much like that," she replied, realizing this was the first time in a week and few days that he had offered to take her out.

He snorted and got up from the table, holding his hands behind his head and moving to the door. Kagome quickly went after him, running into a tired looking Sango on the way and muttering something along the lines of 'Good morning. Goodbye' before rushing after the hanyou again.

She met him at the main doors, seeing him looking up at the sky in distaste, his ears twitching almost irresistibly. She was surprised he had really offered to take her out, but she smiled at his back anyway. Well, he was nicer than she originally thought.

"Get on my back," he ordered, pointing to his backside.

Kagome lifted an interested eyebrow. Okay, not as nice. Did he take lessons from Miroku or something? "Excuse me?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Get on my back, stupid," he instructed, beginning to scowl at her with his golden eyes.

Kagome chose to repeat herself too. "Excuse me?"

Inuyasha shot a finger up to the sky, then to her, then to his back. Kagome didn't get it.

"Fine! Walk then!" Inuyasha growled, sauntering out into the rain.

Kagome got it.

Without thinking, she started running and with a push, attached herself onto Inuyasha's back like a leech. He nearly keeled over from her weight, but darted two arms out to grab under the princess' knees beneath her kimono. How the hell she managed that stunt in a kimono was a mystery to him.

"I'm not walking!" she grumbled, snaking two arms around the hanyou's neck. "You could have just said 'oh princess, would you like a ride on my back so you don't get wet?'" She scowled a bit and adopted an Inuyasha voice. "Instead of 'Get on my back, stupid.'"

Inuyasha lifted her up into a comfortable position before shooting back, "Well you could have just said 'Wait, I'll like to get a ride' instead of pulling a feat like that on me. You could have broken bones, girl!"

Kagome giggled, tickling the ears on top of his head with her breath and he instantly laid them flat on his head. "You wouldn't have broken bones, silly. You're stronger than that."

Inuyasha grumbled something about 'you' 'weight' and 'back' and instantly got Kagome yelling at him again. They continued on this way, with Kagome shouting at him and Inuyasha barking sacrilege back and if any outsider looked at them, they would think it was just a normal couple fight.

*~*~*

Kagome laughed when she watched the little kids try to climb the tree Inuyasha was perched in. They were in town and under the protection of an enormous tree, which people had tried to explain to her was sacred, yet Inuyasha had denied its consecration and decided to use it to settle on. He was currently inhabiting a branch high up in the 'Goshinboku' and thus, drawn upon the curiosity of the peasant children.

The princess giggled again when she saw a little boy slip off the trunk of the tree and land on his bottom. It seemed the crowd of kids were slowly scattering as many decided it was fruitless to attempt to reach the 'man up in the tree.'

Inuyasha cast a lazy eye down and watched as another kid grumbled and walked away. Finally, they were slowly disappearing. Children were so annoying, especially the curious ones. One Shippo was enough, but when they came in packs…

He shuddered.

Soon enough, all the kids moved off, deciding they could find their entertainment elsewhere instead of hopelessly trying to reach an inaccessible man. Kagome arched an interested eyebrow when she watched Inuyasha open one golden eye to stare at her.

"You really do stare too much," Inuyasha muttered, and closed his eyes again as he relaxed.

Kagome, deciding she didn't want to try and climb the tree, sat at its trunk as she watched the rain subside to a sprinkle. She strangely felt happy this way, with her sitting under the shield of a supposedly sacred tree while Inuyasha loafed around on a few branches above her. She took in a deep breath and hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the gray town.

It was all rather beautiful, really. The not-so-small town was encircled by stone walls fifteen feet high while the castle sat perched on a small hill with extra fortification of walls twenty five feet or so high. She would be surprised if anybody could penetrate this kingdom, with the superb military and defenses and all.

She watched the towering castle with a sense of amazement and awe, its stone structure seeming majestic in the light sprinkle. At home, if she wanted to admire her castle, all she could see were heat waves and that just didn't compare to the sight now.

"Hey Inuyasha…" Kagome began, trying to make a proper conversation.

"Mm." was the sluggish response.

"Were you hurt in the past?"

There was no reply and Kagome tilted her head up to stare at the hanyou through the foliage, seeing him holding his posture stiffly. She knew, she just knew he had, and the silence proved it. After all, it took one to know one.

"No," came the sulky late answer.

Kagome smiled, more to herself than the boy above her. "Sometimes, Inuyasha, it's better to allow someone to understand mutual pain, no matter how long ago the hurt had been." She stopped to tuck a stray piece of hair from her face. "Sometimes, you can't let go of your past and you only run away from it. But you can never run away from fate…Once you're assigned a fate, it'll only carry through."

There was a snort of disgust.

"You are what you want to be, not someone who was born to be something." Inuyasha dropped heavily from his branch, but landed gracefully next to Kagome. He kept his distance, but she could see the space wasn't too far apart. "And stupid girl, I was never hurt in the past! So…there's no mutual pa---mutual?"

Kagome suddenly looked away, realizing she had just given Inuyasha the biggest clue to her past. Her past was catching up to her, and she knew, her past was forcing her to betray this boy next to her in the end. She almost shyly moved to lock gazes with his intense amber orbs, and a thought surfaced from her mind, 'Could I really betray him…?'

"It's nothing. Just you know, thinking about how I'm always second to Kikyou," Kagome lied, looking back up at the dark skies. She really didn't want to talk about this subject, but she only became conscious of the fact that she had moved from one of her problems to another.

"Well, you know, I'm the same." Inuyasha leaned back against the trunk about two feet away from Kagome, staring up at the skies as well. "With Sesshoumaru and everything…kind of."

Kagome smiled lightly. She knew Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had sibling rivalry, but she didn't think he'll understand Kikyou's and her circumstances. Kikyou and Kagome had hurt each other much too deep to consider it standard sibling rivalry.

"I guess," she whispered.

A sudden soft music drifted to the two peoples' ears, a tune that had a 'one, two, three' beat to it. It was melancholy music, yet had the perfect amount of bitter sweetness. Inuyasha was wondering who was creating such dramatic music and he was almost stunned when the rain suddenly stopped---at least for a while.

There was a loud sigh from the girl and he saw her get up, brushing dirt off of her kimono. Twirling to look at him, he saw her azure eyes glimpse at him in something almost similar to benevolence, before extending a hand out. He glared at it instantly, gazing up at her in uncertainty.

"I need aid with my waltz…can you help me?" she asked lightly, and he almost missed the blush that fluttered across her cheeks.

He was going to turn her down, after all, he didn't like dancing.


But when he locked eyes with hers, he just couldn't turn down the simple genuineness he saw.

She sent him a small smile. "Dance with me?"

Dance with me…

She wanted to dance with…him…?

It felt weird though, with him, the boy, taking the girl's hand. But he instantly forgot about the awkwardness as the soft music flowed to their ears and she put a hesitant hand on his shoulders. He could feel her cold hands through his haori and he unknowingly pulled her closer, just a bit.

He tentatively placed his hand on her waist, before they slowly intertwined their other hands together. He even watched their fingers mingling, his larger hand nearly engulfing her smaller one. It seemed so small…so frail…so familiar.

"Ready?" he heard her say almost breathlessly, her sapphire eyes transfixed on his amber orbs.

He nodded. "Follow my lead."

Then they started, both moving effortlessly to the music, even if the beats did not match exactly. They moved almost perfectly, in synchronization with each other. They danced slowly under the gray skies, to an unknown music and he wasn't sure if this was appropriate. He was teaching his fiancée's younger sister how to waltz, and it wouldn't have been that bad if it wasn't for the fact that they were alone together and she was less than a foot away from him.

"The shoulders should move smoothly, parallel to the ground and not up and down," he instructed, and watched as she nodded faintly, her eyebrow scrunched together in concentration.

He blinked as a droplet of water hit him on the forehead from the leaves above and he shook his head lightly to eliminate the dewdrop. He knew secretly that this was meant to be innocent, but somehow, he felt it was out of place. But she had asked him to teach her how to waltz, right? That was above suspicion…right?

"Can you help me with the promenade?" her gentle voice drifted to his ears and he looked down, once again catching the gaze of that intense cobalt.

"Yea, sure," he muttered, a trademark scowl instantly in place on his face.

She only beamed lightly before focusing on the waltz moves again. She didn't seem as bothered with the proximity as he, so why did it bother him? Was it because she was the sister of his fiancée…?

Or was it something else?

He just couldn't quite put his finger on it…

*~*~*

She just couldn't quite put her finger on it…

They had been dancing for a while, with him leading her surprisingly tenderly. Something was bothering her though and the answer seemed to be only just within her reach. She knew she recognized what was distracting her, but it only fluttered by her knowledge before retreating back into the dark recesses of her mind.

Something about dancing with Inuyasha...

She frowned slightly, a sweat drop making its way down her temples.

Had she danced with him before?

No! That was preposterous! She had only met him a week or so ago. She could never have met him before in her life...

"Okay, I'm going to teach you the whisk, alright?"

She could only nod mutely, succumbing to his leading. He wasn't too bad of a teacher really, and the music that continued to carry on was almost too perfect for the occasion. They were dancing slowly to music in a gray atmosphere, and the only thing that really stood out to her in the dreary ambiance was Inuyasha's red clothing and his golden eyes.

Could this be counted as almost romantic?

She winced at the thought. Romantic? Inuyasha? One word: Disgusting.

"Alright, first off, you put your right foot back, then your left foot to the side, turning to promenade position---" Inuyasha instructed, when they stopped to take a breather and he was explaining how to perform a whisk. "When I cross my left foot behind my right, you cross your right foot behind your left foot in promenade position, okay?"

Kagome could feel her brain hurting at all the instructions, but she nodded nonetheless. If she failed the first time, Inuyasha could always continue to teach her a second time anyway.

"Remember, when my left foot crosses behind my right, you cross your right foot behind your left," Inuyasha reminded, before they got into position again.

Her previously cold hands and body had been rapidly heated up due to the close immediacy of Inuyasha's body, but she only perceived the closeness as a matter of part of the teaching.

Wait…she didn't want this to mean anything more…

Did she…?

But she didn't have much more time to think before he led her in the dance, her trying to remember his instructions in her oppressive mind. She fared rather well until she got to the end where she was suppose to cross her right foot behind her left. Everything just seemed to blank suddenly and she didn't even notice the music had abruptly stopped as she rapidly tried to follow Inuyasha's footsteps.

But in her haste, when she finally forced herself to cross her right foot behind her left, she slipped on a wet leaf, causing herself to fall back. This furthered the momentum as Inuyasha lowered her into a dip due to force, his arm around her waist by now and both their other hands still intertwined.

He leaned over her, his golden orbs staring into hers in surprise. She wasn't sure if he noticed that the rain had started again, its droplets falling down onto her face and eyelashes, causing her to want to blink, but she herself not allowing it. It seemed almost like a dream, what with her dipped backwards with Inuyasha towering over her while rain fell from the colorless heavens above.

She could only stare into his eyes, the amber color almost entrancing her. Had she…did she…was there a time when she…

Her eyes grew wide.

"Oh…my…god…"

A/N: ^_^ Can you see the smug look on my face? ^_^ I love the cliffhanger. This chapter was beyond romantic and fluffy for all you diehard Inu/Kag fans almost threatening to kill me if they didn't see some fluff, so if I get one complaint…I'll impale you with a stick. ^_^ HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!! Until the next chapter, ja ne!