Hey, Everyone! I would apologize for the late update, but you see, I had
no reviews for this chapter. No motivation to update. Sorry, but I can't
write with no motivation or ideas from my readers. Anyway, I hope you
enjoy my latest installment.
Chapter Three
The next morning there was panic in the camp, both Inuyasha and Kagome had disappeared. Sango and Miroku searched frantically, coming across the dog demon sulking under a tree.
"Inuyasha, where's Kagome? What happened to her?" yelled Sango. Inuyasha grunted.
"You mean the Great Demon of the Southern Lands, Lady Kagome?" he growled menacingly. Sango and Miroku stared.
"I think there is an explanation due to us, Inuyasha." said the monk. The hanyou sighed and related the events of the previous night.
Kagome wandered through the mansion-stronghold of the late Lady Asako, examining her new "home" critically. There was a small child running around her legs as she walked and a three-foot high newt-demon following her around, jotting down notes as she spoke.
"Oh, and all of the curtains and other window furnishings must go. I want every single window to be bare until I say otherwise. Did the creature have no furniture as well as no taste? Rin, dear child, please don't touch the dogs, they bite. Akira, I want some carpenters hired and some tasteful, elegant furnishings placed in these rooms." She gagged as she entered the Master Chambers. "What kind of a horror story is this? Everything is to be taken out of this room, Akira, everything! And get that awful paper off of the walls, it nauseates me."
Kagome stormed back to the dining room with the child in tow, grumbling about how the horrible previous Mistress had no taste in anything at all, and how she was going to have to organize a rescue party to save those who had to work in the Palace before. The girl giggled as Kagome continued ranting. In the Dining Hall she met up with Lady Tae, who was very kind and was becoming a close friend of Kagome's.
"Tae, I'm going to have to have everything completely done- over! How could she have lived in this dump?" Tae smiled at her newfound friend.
"Come on, let's decide on the color scheme for your chambers, never mind the other rooms for now. We'll get you settled in, and then you can return to your friends and your quest." Kagome smiled, and she and Tae went giggling together to re-decorate her bedroom, while the child, Rin, went to find her guardian, Sesshomaru.
Down in the servants' quarters there was a discussion about the new Lady. Akira, being the Lady's personal servant, was giving the little group his professional opinion.
"Well," he said frankly, "She's is about a trillion times better than Asako, that's for sure. She has taste, too. But she's not a demon, she's an Elf. I guess that doesn't matter, though, as long as she's a good politician. She'll have to be careful these first few weeks, I'm sure that there are many youkai who want her place as ruler of the South." The others agreed that Kagome was a definite improvement from their previous Mistress.
Miroku and Sango were still in shock over what Inuyasha had told them. How could their little Kagome have defeated the demon Asako all by herself? Inuyasha had deduced that Shippo knew something about it, and was holding the little kitsune by the tail.
"Shippo, if you want to keep your tail, you'll tell me what happened. I know that you were with her, what did she do? Did she get hurt? What happened?!?" Inuyasha growled fiercely.
"I won't tell you anything, I promised Kagome I wouldn't tell!" he shrieked. Sango spoke up for the fox-demon.
"Inuyasha, Kagome will be back, soon. Why don't you be patient and ask her?" The hanyou turned on Sango.
"I need answers now!"
"What will you do with them now that can't wait another three days?" To this Inuyasha had no reply, so he released Shippo and sulked.
"I'm telling my Mama!" the tiny youkai yelled. The rest of the group looked at him in surprise. They exchanged uncomfortable glances.
"Shippo, your mother is gone." Miroku told the kitsune gently.
"No she's not, Kagome is my Mama now. And I'm telling her how Inuyasha tried to make me break my promise, and she'll sit him really hard." Inuyasha blinked in surprise. 'Would Kagome really adopt him without talking to me about it first?' he thought, 'Wait, where did that thought come from? We're not mates, it doesn't matter to me'. But he was lying and he knew it. Sango spoke.
"Shippo, dear, are you sure that you didn't , uh, misunderstand Kagome? I know how close you two are, but-"
"I didn't misunderstand!" interrupted the upset Shippo, "She said: 'The little one here is my adopted son.'! So there! She is my Mama, and I'm telling her what Inuyasha did to me." Miroku looked like he was about to speak, but Sango silenced him with a glance.
"If you say so, Shippo."
The second day of Kagome's leave of absence was not much better than the first. Poor Lady Kagome had to sit and listen to at least a hundred different lords, human and youkai alike, pledge their undying allegiance to her. Then she had to meet with the other Lords and Lady to be briefed on how to run her kingdom. After that there were several trials that needed her judgment, and many peasants' pleas to listen to and rectify accordingly. She lay in bed that night, exhausted from the boredom of the day, not to mention the cute little games that Rin had been constantly asking her to play, not that she minded anyway. It had been a welcome respite from the troubles of the day. She let her thoughts slip to Inuyasha and her other friends. Especially darling little Shippo.
"Poor thing," she thought to herself, "With no parents it's no wonder he is so dependant on us all. Including me. 'Mama.' Hmm. I like the sound of that, coming from him. I hope I can be a good mother to him." And with that, she fell into a restless sleep.
Inuyasha and the others had gone back to Kaede's village and explained the situation to her.
"I'm sure that she'll be back," Kaede assured them, "If Kagome could beat Asako, then she should be fine. I wouldn't worry. She's never broken a promise yet."
"But, Kaede, with my brother there, who knows what could happen?" Kaede smiled at the obviously worried dog-demon.
"I hardly think that your half-brother will make any advances towards Kagome. He knows that she is your friend and companion. He won't want to have both of you as adversaries in the same fight. Don't worry. She'll be back."
Later that day, Inuyasha groaned as Sango ordered him to repeat the little speech she had made him write for the fifty-seventh time. He was getting very tired of these "manners lessons" that she insisted on giving him for hours at a time. But he made himself do what she said. After all, if these "manners" could make Kagome like him better, then why not? He wanted her to like him, and Sango assured him that being polite to her would be a big step in the right direction.
Miroku and Kaede watched from her hut as Sango did her best to be patient with Inuyasha. He was not making much progress in her lessons on manners, and she was beginning to be angry.
"Why is Inuyasha allowing Sango to boss him like that? He doesn't normally care about being polite, how did Sango convince him to allow her to teach him manners?" the monk questioned. Kaede smiled.
"He wants to know how to treat Kagome better, I think. He somehow realized that he treats her very poorly, and Sango is trying to teach him how to behave towards a lady." Miroku scoffed.
"I could have taught him that!" Kaede glanced at the monk.
"You couldn't teach him a thing about good behavior, Miroku." she stated frankly. Miroku glared at her, and sulked for a while, watching Sango continue to torture the poor hanyou.
Kagome awakened on the third day to a tiny lizard licking her face. She sat up rather startled, and examined the creature before her. It was a silvery blue, and greatly resembled a dragon. It looked up at her with adoration in its small, oval, aquamarine eyes. Kagome smiled and stroked the reptile fondly. Akira then bounded into the room, huffing and holding several tiny creatures in his arms.
"I am so sorry, My Lady! One of the servants accidentally released the late Asako's menagerie, and we are having a terrible time finding all of the smaller creatures. Please, please don't be angry with me!" Kagome smiled gently at the trembling newt-demon. She got out of bed and pulled on a dressing-gown, then began to brush and twist her silvery hair into a rope pinned around her head.
"Does this one have a name?" she queried.
"Uh, no, Milady, Asako never named her creatures."
"I think that I shall call him Shukishi. What do you think, Akira?" The servant gulped strangely in his throat.
"I- it is a fine name, My Lady." The demon was shocked, had she really just asked for his opinion? "Breakfast is ready for you in the dining room, Lady Kagome, will Shukishi be accompanying you?" Kagome nodded, and the servant rushed to give orders for dragon food to be prepared.
The tiny dragon scampered around after Kagome while she dressed and finished fixing her hair, making little huffing noises. She didn't care too much if she didn't look perfect, since, of her Great Demon guests only Tae was left. The Lords had made their excuses the night before and returned to their own homes. Kagome had been sorry to see little Rin leave, she seemed to fill the void in her heart that had formed when she left little Shippo behind. But, thankfully, Tae had kindly volunteered to stay and redecorate the Palace for Kagome. They shared the same tastes, so Kagome knew that she would be pleased with Tae's choices.
She scooped up the little dragon, which was about the size of a small cat, and headed off to find her breakfast. She met up with Tae on the way to the dining room. Tae gasped at the dragon in her arms.
"A companion dragon!" she gasped, "Where did you get that?"
"He woke me with a kiss this morning, apparently he was part of Asako's collection. Sweet, isn't he? I named him Shukishi." Tae and Kagome laughed over Shukishi's antics at the table, and discussed many things, including Inuyasha.
"He sounds like an interesting person. I should like to meet him." Tae said. Kagome laughed.
"Yeah, you can meet him, if he doesn't attack you first! I should start heading back to my friends now, Tae. What can I do to thank you for helping me redecorate?"
"Well," Tae laughed, "A companion dragon would be nice." Kagome knew that Tae was kidding around, but she summoned Akira, anyway.
"Akira, bring in the other little dragons you were holding, please, and allow Lady Tae to choose one." The demon scurried off to find the creatures while Tae gasped in delight.
"Kagome, really, I was joking." she said.
"I know, but if that's what you really want, then I'll be happy to let you have one, Akira had at least two dozen in his arms this morning. I almost thought that he was carrying a rainbow!" The two girls giggled and joked until Akira returned with a basket of the mischievous little reptiles. Tae eventually chose a bright red one that fell in love with her immediately.
"Why are these so special, anyway?" Kagome asked.
"Well, they are so sweet and loveable for one thing, and they turn into full-sized dragons at will, for another. It is said that they will protect their masters or mistresses until death. They're very devoted pets." Kagome smiled and rubbed Shukishi behind his teeny-tiny ears, while he made a faint purring noise. Kagome giggled; it reminded her of Inuyasha, but the hanyou would never admit that he liked having his ears rubbed.
"I'd better go, now Tae. I'll see you in about a month, okay?"
"Okay. Hey, before you go, do you like rainforests?"
"Love 'em, why?"
"Oh, just curious." said Tae mysteriously, "Have fun!"
"See you, girl."
Well, there it is. The next chapter. The review button is singing it's siren song, answer it's call, review, review! Ja ne!
Chapter Three
The next morning there was panic in the camp, both Inuyasha and Kagome had disappeared. Sango and Miroku searched frantically, coming across the dog demon sulking under a tree.
"Inuyasha, where's Kagome? What happened to her?" yelled Sango. Inuyasha grunted.
"You mean the Great Demon of the Southern Lands, Lady Kagome?" he growled menacingly. Sango and Miroku stared.
"I think there is an explanation due to us, Inuyasha." said the monk. The hanyou sighed and related the events of the previous night.
Kagome wandered through the mansion-stronghold of the late Lady Asako, examining her new "home" critically. There was a small child running around her legs as she walked and a three-foot high newt-demon following her around, jotting down notes as she spoke.
"Oh, and all of the curtains and other window furnishings must go. I want every single window to be bare until I say otherwise. Did the creature have no furniture as well as no taste? Rin, dear child, please don't touch the dogs, they bite. Akira, I want some carpenters hired and some tasteful, elegant furnishings placed in these rooms." She gagged as she entered the Master Chambers. "What kind of a horror story is this? Everything is to be taken out of this room, Akira, everything! And get that awful paper off of the walls, it nauseates me."
Kagome stormed back to the dining room with the child in tow, grumbling about how the horrible previous Mistress had no taste in anything at all, and how she was going to have to organize a rescue party to save those who had to work in the Palace before. The girl giggled as Kagome continued ranting. In the Dining Hall she met up with Lady Tae, who was very kind and was becoming a close friend of Kagome's.
"Tae, I'm going to have to have everything completely done- over! How could she have lived in this dump?" Tae smiled at her newfound friend.
"Come on, let's decide on the color scheme for your chambers, never mind the other rooms for now. We'll get you settled in, and then you can return to your friends and your quest." Kagome smiled, and she and Tae went giggling together to re-decorate her bedroom, while the child, Rin, went to find her guardian, Sesshomaru.
Down in the servants' quarters there was a discussion about the new Lady. Akira, being the Lady's personal servant, was giving the little group his professional opinion.
"Well," he said frankly, "She's is about a trillion times better than Asako, that's for sure. She has taste, too. But she's not a demon, she's an Elf. I guess that doesn't matter, though, as long as she's a good politician. She'll have to be careful these first few weeks, I'm sure that there are many youkai who want her place as ruler of the South." The others agreed that Kagome was a definite improvement from their previous Mistress.
Miroku and Sango were still in shock over what Inuyasha had told them. How could their little Kagome have defeated the demon Asako all by herself? Inuyasha had deduced that Shippo knew something about it, and was holding the little kitsune by the tail.
"Shippo, if you want to keep your tail, you'll tell me what happened. I know that you were with her, what did she do? Did she get hurt? What happened?!?" Inuyasha growled fiercely.
"I won't tell you anything, I promised Kagome I wouldn't tell!" he shrieked. Sango spoke up for the fox-demon.
"Inuyasha, Kagome will be back, soon. Why don't you be patient and ask her?" The hanyou turned on Sango.
"I need answers now!"
"What will you do with them now that can't wait another three days?" To this Inuyasha had no reply, so he released Shippo and sulked.
"I'm telling my Mama!" the tiny youkai yelled. The rest of the group looked at him in surprise. They exchanged uncomfortable glances.
"Shippo, your mother is gone." Miroku told the kitsune gently.
"No she's not, Kagome is my Mama now. And I'm telling her how Inuyasha tried to make me break my promise, and she'll sit him really hard." Inuyasha blinked in surprise. 'Would Kagome really adopt him without talking to me about it first?' he thought, 'Wait, where did that thought come from? We're not mates, it doesn't matter to me'. But he was lying and he knew it. Sango spoke.
"Shippo, dear, are you sure that you didn't , uh, misunderstand Kagome? I know how close you two are, but-"
"I didn't misunderstand!" interrupted the upset Shippo, "She said: 'The little one here is my adopted son.'! So there! She is my Mama, and I'm telling her what Inuyasha did to me." Miroku looked like he was about to speak, but Sango silenced him with a glance.
"If you say so, Shippo."
The second day of Kagome's leave of absence was not much better than the first. Poor Lady Kagome had to sit and listen to at least a hundred different lords, human and youkai alike, pledge their undying allegiance to her. Then she had to meet with the other Lords and Lady to be briefed on how to run her kingdom. After that there were several trials that needed her judgment, and many peasants' pleas to listen to and rectify accordingly. She lay in bed that night, exhausted from the boredom of the day, not to mention the cute little games that Rin had been constantly asking her to play, not that she minded anyway. It had been a welcome respite from the troubles of the day. She let her thoughts slip to Inuyasha and her other friends. Especially darling little Shippo.
"Poor thing," she thought to herself, "With no parents it's no wonder he is so dependant on us all. Including me. 'Mama.' Hmm. I like the sound of that, coming from him. I hope I can be a good mother to him." And with that, she fell into a restless sleep.
Inuyasha and the others had gone back to Kaede's village and explained the situation to her.
"I'm sure that she'll be back," Kaede assured them, "If Kagome could beat Asako, then she should be fine. I wouldn't worry. She's never broken a promise yet."
"But, Kaede, with my brother there, who knows what could happen?" Kaede smiled at the obviously worried dog-demon.
"I hardly think that your half-brother will make any advances towards Kagome. He knows that she is your friend and companion. He won't want to have both of you as adversaries in the same fight. Don't worry. She'll be back."
Later that day, Inuyasha groaned as Sango ordered him to repeat the little speech she had made him write for the fifty-seventh time. He was getting very tired of these "manners lessons" that she insisted on giving him for hours at a time. But he made himself do what she said. After all, if these "manners" could make Kagome like him better, then why not? He wanted her to like him, and Sango assured him that being polite to her would be a big step in the right direction.
Miroku and Kaede watched from her hut as Sango did her best to be patient with Inuyasha. He was not making much progress in her lessons on manners, and she was beginning to be angry.
"Why is Inuyasha allowing Sango to boss him like that? He doesn't normally care about being polite, how did Sango convince him to allow her to teach him manners?" the monk questioned. Kaede smiled.
"He wants to know how to treat Kagome better, I think. He somehow realized that he treats her very poorly, and Sango is trying to teach him how to behave towards a lady." Miroku scoffed.
"I could have taught him that!" Kaede glanced at the monk.
"You couldn't teach him a thing about good behavior, Miroku." she stated frankly. Miroku glared at her, and sulked for a while, watching Sango continue to torture the poor hanyou.
Kagome awakened on the third day to a tiny lizard licking her face. She sat up rather startled, and examined the creature before her. It was a silvery blue, and greatly resembled a dragon. It looked up at her with adoration in its small, oval, aquamarine eyes. Kagome smiled and stroked the reptile fondly. Akira then bounded into the room, huffing and holding several tiny creatures in his arms.
"I am so sorry, My Lady! One of the servants accidentally released the late Asako's menagerie, and we are having a terrible time finding all of the smaller creatures. Please, please don't be angry with me!" Kagome smiled gently at the trembling newt-demon. She got out of bed and pulled on a dressing-gown, then began to brush and twist her silvery hair into a rope pinned around her head.
"Does this one have a name?" she queried.
"Uh, no, Milady, Asako never named her creatures."
"I think that I shall call him Shukishi. What do you think, Akira?" The servant gulped strangely in his throat.
"I- it is a fine name, My Lady." The demon was shocked, had she really just asked for his opinion? "Breakfast is ready for you in the dining room, Lady Kagome, will Shukishi be accompanying you?" Kagome nodded, and the servant rushed to give orders for dragon food to be prepared.
The tiny dragon scampered around after Kagome while she dressed and finished fixing her hair, making little huffing noises. She didn't care too much if she didn't look perfect, since, of her Great Demon guests only Tae was left. The Lords had made their excuses the night before and returned to their own homes. Kagome had been sorry to see little Rin leave, she seemed to fill the void in her heart that had formed when she left little Shippo behind. But, thankfully, Tae had kindly volunteered to stay and redecorate the Palace for Kagome. They shared the same tastes, so Kagome knew that she would be pleased with Tae's choices.
She scooped up the little dragon, which was about the size of a small cat, and headed off to find her breakfast. She met up with Tae on the way to the dining room. Tae gasped at the dragon in her arms.
"A companion dragon!" she gasped, "Where did you get that?"
"He woke me with a kiss this morning, apparently he was part of Asako's collection. Sweet, isn't he? I named him Shukishi." Tae and Kagome laughed over Shukishi's antics at the table, and discussed many things, including Inuyasha.
"He sounds like an interesting person. I should like to meet him." Tae said. Kagome laughed.
"Yeah, you can meet him, if he doesn't attack you first! I should start heading back to my friends now, Tae. What can I do to thank you for helping me redecorate?"
"Well," Tae laughed, "A companion dragon would be nice." Kagome knew that Tae was kidding around, but she summoned Akira, anyway.
"Akira, bring in the other little dragons you were holding, please, and allow Lady Tae to choose one." The demon scurried off to find the creatures while Tae gasped in delight.
"Kagome, really, I was joking." she said.
"I know, but if that's what you really want, then I'll be happy to let you have one, Akira had at least two dozen in his arms this morning. I almost thought that he was carrying a rainbow!" The two girls giggled and joked until Akira returned with a basket of the mischievous little reptiles. Tae eventually chose a bright red one that fell in love with her immediately.
"Why are these so special, anyway?" Kagome asked.
"Well, they are so sweet and loveable for one thing, and they turn into full-sized dragons at will, for another. It is said that they will protect their masters or mistresses until death. They're very devoted pets." Kagome smiled and rubbed Shukishi behind his teeny-tiny ears, while he made a faint purring noise. Kagome giggled; it reminded her of Inuyasha, but the hanyou would never admit that he liked having his ears rubbed.
"I'd better go, now Tae. I'll see you in about a month, okay?"
"Okay. Hey, before you go, do you like rainforests?"
"Love 'em, why?"
"Oh, just curious." said Tae mysteriously, "Have fun!"
"See you, girl."
Well, there it is. The next chapter. The review button is singing it's siren song, answer it's call, review, review! Ja ne!