Disclaimer; Inu-yasha is not mine! … That just about sums it up!

Prince of the Dancing Gypsies

This idea came to me when I went to an early Halloween party this year and borrowed my best friend's gypsy costume. I was mulling over DelKaidin's Broadway Universe stories and suddenly had the image of Inu-yasha dancing in gypsy clothing and his long black hair working rather well in the mental image.

Also, I had these pants on under the dress that, go figure, were red and looking like Inu-yasha's M. C. Hammer pants.

Anyway, the dancing idea came and how it could all work into a story.

"Until you find something worth dying for, you're not really living." -- Unknown

Rome Italy

March of 1820

Chapter 1

She still remembers the first day she heard the word that the gypsies were in town to celebrate Marti Gras. They were said to know how to breathe fire and tell you fortunes of your seven year future, ah but this…this was the tribe of gypsies run but the Prince of the Gypsies.

It was said that this tribe was run under the most wanted gypsy man in all Europe for engaging in witchcraft. Yet he could never be captured because of his ability to hide soon after his performance, not to mention it was said he had the power to make women swoon from his dancing. Thus it was also believed that his dancing could affect the senses and there by was also a part of his witchcraft.

Kagome, however, did not believe in any of this. She merely wanted to see the freedom she never had reflected in their eyes. The freedom to be wild, to see the world, to see…

"Kagome!" said a high pitched voice. "Child where are ye! There's work to be done in the kitchen."

Kagome looked out at Rome playing with the silver locket around her neck in her favorite tree in the gardens owned by her masters, The Lupo Family. She did not hear the old Varanese at first as she breathed silently and dreamed of the outer world; the world that existed beyond the walls of the Lupo lands.

"Kagome?" the fat old lady called again with a hiss in the back of her throat when she finished.

This time the black haired girl heard Varanese's calls and quickly jumped down the tree as quickly as she could before the old crone could find her. Though as usual, she was awaited at the bottom of the tree, seeing the same cold grey eyes and growling rotten teeth.

Kagome swallowed hard as she put her hands behind her back. "Varanese, ma'am?"

The woman's red cheeks looked like hot ambers with all the anger the old witch was holding in. They looked like red oranges since you could see the huge pores on her face. Her white hair was tied back with a wooden pin and an old straw hat. Her dress suited her well, a fine black silk dress that proved her widowhood since her husband died over the winter, though it clung to her fat body making her look like a black snowman with red oranges for cheeks.

"You foolish child! You've skipped out on your morning chores once again."

Kagome looked at her and shook her head. "No, Ma'am, I did them all like you said. I've cleaned the morning dishes from breakfast, I feed the horses in the stable, changed their hay, gathered the eggs, and I made the beds."

The old ladies eyes squinted as she held up one plump finger to Kagome's face. "Aye, but ye forgot to milk the second cow as you always do. That is your new chore, as I told you yesterday."

Kagome's jaw dropped as she tried to make an excuse, but Varanese stopped her before a word could leave her lips. "You know what I told you last night, Kagome! If the chores were not done ye would not be allowed to go into town. That is it!"

With that the old crown stomped off leaving Kagome steaming, but she didn't give up. "This is not fair! You know this is Fat Tuesday, the last day that the gypsies will be in Rome. I've done all my work all the other days and you refused."

The old lady turned, "Enough! Ye are not allowed to go! If ye argue with me again with this, I will order the head master to whip you're back until it scars."

With that Kagome closed her mouth as the old witch's eyes glared at her until she knew not a single word would come out of her mouth.

When the old crone left and returned to the mansion, Kagome stomped her feet and tried to keep herself from crying. Of course none of this went un-noticed by the gardener.

"You do indeed daydream far too much, Kagome," Alessandro said as he took a break form his work and sat down on the stone path to wipe away the sweat on his brow and smile at her.

Kagome looked at him as his chest rose and fell with his silent laughter. With a long sigh he picked up his bush clippers and continued his work. Kagome sat on a stone bench and pulled at the tares in her worn out brown skirt and played with her feet as she wiggled her big toe that popped out of the old black shoes showing the dirt under her toe nail that had gathered there from all the hard work she had done that morning.

"I've waited a whole year to see the gypsies in town after I was refused last year and the year before that. Varanese keeps saying she will let me go, but then always finds a reason not to let me go."

"Eh," Alessandro moaned, "she fears that you will fall under their spell and run away with them. Then she would be one hand less of free labor."

Kagome removed the old bonnet from her head that made her feel like a nun. "I want my father to return and go back to my family. Surly he's found a job somewhere by now, wouldn't he?"

Alessandro looked at her and shook his head. "Child, you have never seen your father's face, and you go on a tale Old Man Lupo used to tell you to keep you working in his house, believing that your father would return here. I've told you what I believe."

Kagome laughed, "I know, I know…They want me to stay so they have a free hand for their labor."

The middle aged man nodded his head as his clippers cut the bushes into shape with bits of green plant flying into the air.

He then stopped and curled his finger toward Kagome, silently calling her to him. She knelt down beside him as he reached into his pocket and handed her a single gold coin. "There be a carriage that will be taking the grandson, Kouga into town today. Pay the coachman with this gold piece and I assure you that he will be able to sneak you into the back trunk and take you into town. Make sure, however, that the young master doesn't see you or he will surly tell his grandmother of your short visit into town."

Kagome waited until she could see sunlight again and was glad to see it once the coachman had opened the chest that rested on the back of the carriage.

He looked at her as Kagome pulled and old ragged cape over her shoulders. It was black, but it had turned a dirt brown from it's over exposure to the sun. It was torn as well at the bottom from the many times it had caught on something and Varanese had pulled it free in order to keep her moving and doing her chores outside.

Kagome looked to the coachman as he looked at the store Kouga had not too recently entered. "You have but an hour, Kagome. Kouga will be meeting up with us just down the street from where the gypsies will be. Be careful while you are there, and do not miss us or you will be in trouble."

She nodded and then pulled her hood over her face. "I'll make sure I meet you there."

Kagome picked up an old basket and immediately ran down the streets of Rome to find the gypsies. She listened for music, or anything that could catch her senses and tell her where they were.

She then found herself in the open Piazza of St. Peter's where a horse drawn coach was set up with no name on the wooden boards. The two huge Clydesdales with black coats and long braided manes stood like stone as their master came to calm them and water them with an old beat up bucket.

A crowd soon began to form around them and Kagome quickly rushed into the piazza as people talked and looked at each other. It was then as the horses were given two bags of feed tied to their muzzles, and the man dressed in a green cape then climbed up to the top of the cart too over look the gathering crowd.

"Come one, come all, Ladies and Gentlemen of all shapes and sizes. Come to a show that will amaze you, that will show you things you never dreamed possible for man to do, and also to discover what you may not know."

Kagome pushed through the crowd to get as close as she could as the man continued to talk to the crowd. Her brown eyes watching as the green fabric of his cape flowed with his body movements. It was like watching him dance with the wind.

"And now, my friends, I give you the most sought after Gypsy in all of Europe known for his dancing and his ability to answer and tell any fortune you wish to know. Dear friends of Rome, I give you…The Prince of the Gypsies, himself…"

Suddenly, he threw his fist into the air and with a bright flash of light there was smoke appearing from the ground as it surrounded the coach and everyone blinked in awe. As the carriage fell open as streamers of paper and gold dust flew into the air.

Then the smoke curled and disappeared as a figure stood rapped in a green sheet embroidered with gold. All that could be seen were a pair of deep red pants that bagged and were tied a few inches above the ankles. On the right foot could clearly be seen a gold bracelet. The sheet opened to reveal a pair of two deep purple eyes and a long mane of black hair that ran down the full length of his back in a long loose braid that only truly began at his broad shoulders. The shirt he wore exposed his chest and covered his arms in a black silky fabric that cuffed at his wrists.

There was the beat of a drum and the sound of bells toning as a flute played. His movements were flowing and graceful, and Kagome soon discovered why his dancing was considered sinful. He seamed to move like a crane and at other times he seemed to be almost flirtatious. His hips had a motion that hypnotized one woman in the front for too long before she fainted.

Kagome laughed at the sight but returned her gaze to the man on the small stage. He now almost seemed to play with his sheet of green and gold cloth trying to hide his face from being seen completely. The mysteriousness in his movements and the music added to her enchantment.

The cloth now fell to his side as his grace continued, but now the movements and steps were faster. Many women were still watching his lower half as it moved, Kagome was taken by the look of an almost cocky smile on his face, yet the look in his eyes seemed to be watching for any sudden movement in the crowd.

Suddenly, there was a blast of fire from behind him and a man with patterns painted on his skin appeared in similar pants like the man who was dancing before them, only he was bald with no hair on his face that could be seen. His white pants seemed to accent the black pant of his body.

Men and women parted to make way for two woman contortionists as they amazed the crowd, and show had truly began. There were jugglers and a woman who was showing off her dancing bear. Tents were hosted into the air for fortunes to be told and other such things.

It had only been a moment before Kagome had gotten caught up with the fire breather and the dancing bear that she had realized she had lost track of the dancing man. The rest of the crowd had seemed to all but forgotten him, but she.

Kagome went to the tents too look around as old gypsy women pulled out their crystal balls and rocks that told fortunes yet to come to the people that had gathered to them.

Kagome then found one lone tent in the back that was undisturbed and slowly Kagome crept toward it, and opened it. "Hello?"

She then stepped into the white tent and found on a wooden chair the green and gold sheet of cloth that the young man had been dancing with not too long ago. She picked it up and looked over the detail of the cloth.

"Hey!" a low voice called out, and Kagome jumped when her eyes met a huge muscular man that could have well passed for a giant. "You are not permitted to be here."

Just as she began to back away in fear a white dog popped his head out of a bag of horse feed and shook his head as he looked at Kagome and smelled something wonderful coming from her basket.

The dog yipped and ran over to her and quickly began to drool and try to steal her basket. The large man looked at the dog as he begged on his hind legs and pulled at the hem of her skirt.

Soon, another head came from the back of the tent and found the dog pulling and whining at the girl's skirt. "Ranger, down!"

The dog looked at his master and then laid down on the grown with a short whimper and a lick of his large black nose. He flicked his large fluffy white ears and then waited.

It was then that Kagome realized she had found the man who was dancing as he walked over to the dog and gave him a piece of dried meat to gnaw at. His eyes then turned to look at the girl who was still frightened of the angry large man before her.

"I tried to get rid of this intruder, Inu-yasha, but Ranger seemed to be acting so strange I didn't know what to do. You know that stupid half wolf-dog of yours hates me, in fact come to think of it…" the man's words trailed off as his confused gaze turned to look at the girl before them.

"Andrei, don't worry about it," Inu-yasha said as he turned and looked at the girl. Ranger sat not too far from her side and whimpered as he sniffed her hand and began to lick it.

The large man walked through the tent as Inu-yasha watched the girl relax and open her hand to Ranger's rough tongue. She laughed silently and placed her basket down as Ranger panted and whimpered as his nose once again tried to sneak into the basket she had carelessly put down beside her.

Inu-yasha watched her for a moment, not exactly sure why the girl was there in the first place.

Of course Kagome was still asking herself that question as to why she had refused the many fortunetellers to ask the one that danced before the crowd. She then looked up at him as he examined the curious behavior Ranger had never show before.

"I've never seen Ranger take to anyone so quickly. In fact I've never seen him take to anyone at all."

The young man got up and removed the black shirt he was wearing. "What brings you crawling into this tent? You've obviously here for something other than Ranger's appetite."

Kagome found herself staring for a moment at the muscular back that was suddenly exposed to her. She widened her eyes and then looked away as Inu-yasha slipped behind a sheer curtain to pull a change of clothing. She turned her back to the curtain as Ranger poked his nose around in her basket.

"Umm rumor has it that you can tell fortunes better than anyone in Europe."

"Nope!" he said all of the sudden. Kagome jumped and looked over her shoulder for a moment before remembering he was changing and jumping back. A second later he walked out with a pair of purple bagged pants similar to the ones he had worn before. Yet now he had a sash wrapped and tied just above his hips, along with a peasant top with a large rip in the top of his right sleeve that showed his shoulder and the top of his bicep.

Kagome removed her old cloak from her head and let it rest around her shoulders. "Then, who are you?"

He looked at her as Ranger raided into her basket, finding the piece of stale bread she had stashed away in the basket.

Inu-yasha watched Ranger eat it happily and then walked into his mock of a dressing room. "I like to believe I'm the best there is."

He sat down on a pillow and crossed his legs as he took out a wrapped package. The cloth was red and lightly shiny with white and gold lines that seemed to interweave with each other. When the knot that held the cloth around the object inside was undone, Inu-yasha pulled out a deck of old tarot cards that had browned at the side and smelled of sage and incense.

He then handed the deck to her. "Focus on your question and keep your head clear of all thought as you shuffle the cards."

Kagome took the cards into her hands, feeling strange that she was holding a real deck of cards that would tell her the future. Slowly she mixed the cards around thinking of the one question she wanted answered.

Slowly she put the deck down, taking a moment to admire the back of the cards and the decorated white and red designs. He then took them into his hands and separated the cards into three piles. "Now put the piles back together in a different order."

Kagome nodded and went to reach for the middle pile and then placed them together with the middle pile still on top, the first second and the third on the bottom.

"Wait!" she said, and turned to her basket, "The dog, he ate my only way of paying you. I have no way of payment for this."

Inu-yasha picked up his cards and looked at her, "Ranger never takes to strangers the way he takes to you, and besides that I would have given that bread to him anyway. I usually prefer a different mode of payment."

Kagome ran to her basket and picked it up to find anything of value. "I don't have any money with me. Please, I must have an answer of some sort to this question. My whole life depends on this."

Inu-yasha made no motion to place the cards into their order, and Kagome sighed heavily. Ranger looked at her and licked her hand with a whimper.

She pulled her cloak over her head. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

When she had turned around, Inu-yasha merely said, "May you find an answer then, to whatever it is you seek."

Kagome parted the opening of the tent. "I just want to know if I will ever escape the hell my father left me in when I was young."

She turned and looked at him. "I wanted to know, if there was any hope for me? Will I ever find hope or happiness again?"

In a moment, Inu-yasha saw the sadness in her eyes and all the pain. Then she forced a laugh and pet Ranger on the head one last time. "I'm sorry; you don't need to hear me talk about this."

With that Kagome stroked the top of Ranger's head and walked out of the tent.

Ranger whimpered and then slinked over to Inu-yasha and lay down in front of him in the same place Kagome had been not a moment before. "What? She couldn't pay; you know I don't do anything for free."

Ranger groaned and picked up his head as he looked at him with his head cocked to the side.

Inu-yasha shook his head and then for the heck of it, placed the cards into a simple readable spread. Yet, as he placed each card down, he saw things he never saw in his spreads.

"The Hanged Man…Four of Cups…what in hells name is going on here?"

As each card was placed down the more things began to look hopeless for the girl.

"Five of Disks…Eight of Swords…Oppression and a feeling of being trapped? She can get out of it but something is holding her back."

Ranger began to whimper when suddenly the church bells began to ring at the hour. It was then that Inu-yasha turned over the final card in the spread.

Ranger whimpered and ran into the bag of feed to hide, and Inu-yasha shook at what he saw. "The Tower…She's practically got every bad card in my deck."

Ranger's head poked out of the bag. Inu-yasha then gathered his cards together and shuffled them as quickly as possible as the bells rang. "How can she get away from this?"

Slowly, he placed four cards down; around one central card was a chance at happiness. Death that meant transformation, the Empress that meant a new life, The Fool that meant there was another path to take, and The Magician that meant spiritual growth, and the last card in the middle which baffled him the most.

The Lovers…

Well, there's the first chapter! I hope everyone will get a kick out of this and tell me what they think. I'm sure there are things that need work on. But believe me many things will uncover themselves in later chapters.

This is a story inspired by Broadway Baby and Broadway Bound, so I will be posting this on the Broadway Series Club user page.