As I said, I'll tell you where the characters are now so you don't get confused. ;)
Inuyasha: Searching for Sango and Shippou when he smells Kagome's scent.
Kagome: Is getting ready for dinner by five young girls at Kouga's palace.
Sango: Just escaped from Picura's clutches, is wondering in forest searching for her friends and Kaede's village.
Miroku: Asleep on the ground in the forest with Kimisa holding him after a fight with Kanna.
Shippou: Still within Naraku's clutches, waiting for someone to rescue him.
Finding You
By: Sanci J
Chapter 19: Uncomfortable Dinner
Last Chapter…
"Karina, get the others." Cheriha grinned at Hareema. "Lady Kagome is going to get the best outfit together if it kills me!"
"That was only a warning. Next time I will kill you." Kimisa threatened.
Kanna glared at Kimisa and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Breathing harshly, Kimisa fell to her knees next to Miroku. He stirred and she touched his forehead. Her demonic powers dissipated. "Miroku…" she murmured and gathered him into her arms.
End of Last Chapter.
Inuyasha stopped in disbelief. 'What the hell? Is something wrong with my nose? Why do I smell Kagome's scent?' He sniffed some more and his ears twitched. 'Kouga.' He scoffed in disgust. "I smell Kouga's blood and it was spilled recently. But why does Kagome's scent still hit me? Damnit, she isn't here!' "There's no way; I took the jewel."
Inuyasha fingered the jewel in his hand. He guessed Kagome was at that school of hers, pretty pissed off at him. 'She always cared so much more about those books than she did about me.'
He followed her faint scent and thought about when she had told him she had a strong desire to be with him like Kikyou.
"Kikyou…" he whispered, staring ahead at nothing in particular. 'No matter what, I will always have feelings for Kikyou. Even if she doesn't feel the same. But I have similar feelings towards Kagome. What do they mean?'
Inuyasha crept in the bushes, drawing closer to where Kouga's blood was. When he reached the spot, there wasn't anyone there. 'Why did Kouga put his blood over an old fire? What does this mean? Kouga wouldn't have any need to make a fire. It must have been a human. But what human? The only human that was with Kouga's pack long enough and hadn't gotten eaten was Kagome.'
He growled. This was leading him nowhere.. Kagome kept overriding his senses. "It isn't Kagome! She isn't here. She's back in her era for good!" he yelled to himself.
She couldn't come back. He had the jewel. 'I'll get her once everything is back to normal. Hopefully she'll understand.'
He moved away from the blood and ashes to smell for Miroku, Sango, or Shippou. When a swooping breeze struck him, he caught a whiff of Sango. It came from the darker part of the forest.
Sango, meanwhile, had been trying to walk as soon as possible to get to Kaede's, but an hour later she figured out she was lost. 'What's going on? Why haven't I left the forest yet?' She wasn't sure what to do. The sky was viciously darkening, probably anticipating another storm, and her leg was aching mercilessly. She kept walking on, hoping she would escape the clutches of the forest, but her leg was beginning to throb with pain.
She paused and wiped the perspiration off her forehead gasping. 'The pain is only worsening. I have to stop. If I keep going, I might injure myself again or even run into other demons.'
Leaning on her beat up boomerang, she limped in search of someplace she could spend the night.
"You are so beautiful Lady Kagome." Karina said, her voice filled with awe.
Hareema and Cheriha nodded enthusiastically.
Kagome looked at herself through her personal mirror and was surprised at what she saw. 'Is that me?' She looked so…different. In a good way.
Kagome wore a long tan dress with green beads threaded around the waist. Her arm had a light flowered bracelet on it and one also graced her neck. Her hair had white and purple flowers in it. She was barefoot after just cleaning them in the spring in the back of the palace.
Kagome thought of the woman she had seen earlier in the morning. 'Who was she?'
"You look just like the Mistress." Cheriha said and her mischievous blue eyes sparkled.
"Is she the wife of the Lord of the Eastern Lands?" Kagome asked.
"Yes."
Hareema and Cheriha shared a secret look.
Hareema smiled. "Now that your all ready, we should head to the table."
At that moment, Hakiro entered the room wearing clothes fit for wolf-demon royalty. His clothes were very similar to Kouga's. Apparently this was the first time he had ever dressed so nicely, because the girls all stared at him as if they were seeing a different person.
"Hakiro, you clean up nicely." Cheriha gulped, breaking the silence.
He tried to hide a blush.
"Hakiro, how come you were able to dress in those clothes?" Hareema teased and nudged him.
"Master Kouga knew Lady Kagome would be dressing like so, so I had to dress this way to match. I'm her escort."
"Oh, yes of course!" Hareema laughed.
Kagome fidgeted nervously. "I don't need to be made a big deal."
"Oh, Kagome, were not!" Hareema grabbed Kagome's hand and placed it on Hakiro's arm.
Kagome noticed Karina was staring at the wall. She glanced at Hakiro and saw him looking sadly at Karina. 'Oh, he loves her…' The girls soon left.
Kagome frowned, feeling very uncomfortable as they exited the room. She turned to Hakiro. "You have feelings for Karina."
He stiffened. "No. It's not like that." He looked at Kagome and lowered his voice to a pleading whisper. "Please Lady Kagome. Don't tell anyone. If Master Kouga found out or anyone else-"
"It's alright Hakiro." Kagome smiled and patted his arm reassuringly. "Actually, I think it's great that you feel that way. I think she likes you too."
"You really think so?"
Kagome grinned. "You mean you didn't see her staring at you a moment ago?"
He blushed and his dark bangs shadowed his eyes. He reminded her so much of Miroku. He silently led her into the dining hall.
Kagome's eyes widened while he guided her through. Her first impression of the room was astonishment. The large glass windows were beautifully draped with olive green sheets resembling curtains. On the walls were paintings of men and a few women, of whom she suspected were part of the royal family. The long table was in the center, where many people she didn't recognize sat. Women and a few men chatted. Candles decorated the table, giving off a mysterious luminescent glow. 'I didn't expect it to look so fancy and civilized.' Kagome had figured it would be more barbaric since this was a clan of wolf-demons.
"Kagome!"
She looked for the person who called her name and smiled when she saw Hareema. "Hareema!" Kagome waved.
Hareema hugged Kagome, and Kagome got a good look at what she was wearing. It was similar to what Kagome was wearing except that Hareema's hair was pinned up with a dark pink rose. "Lets sit down so we can eat. I'm starving." Hareema sighed.
They sat down, and Kagome liked that the seat was cushioned. She looked up happily to find that almost all of the wolf-demons were staring at her. 'Is it because I'm human?' She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What's going on?" she asked quietly to Hareema.
"Nothing Kagome, you'll see. Its just dinner." Hareema smiled secretively.
Kagome sighed and looked to her right, where Hakiro sat. He was staring at his plate. 'Hakiro's really quiet and he's off somewhere in space. What could he be thinking?' She glanced at a grinning Hareema. 'And what is she thinking? That look of hers doesn't look good.'
Kagome thought of Inuyasha and felt like her heart would crack into a million pieces if she didn't see him soon. 'How is it that I miss him so much so soon? He probably hasn't had a second thought about leaving me behind.' She pressed her lips together. 'Well, I'll show him!'
The scraping sound of a chair made Kagome focus. A large woman stood up and started speaking in a weird language.
Hareema saw Kagome's confusion. "She's talking about the last attempt of ours to overrun the Western Lands and take it over." She rolled her eyes and yawned. "That hag is so boring…"
"What? The wolf-demon tribe tried to take over the Western Lands? As in, Sesshoumaru's Kingdom?" Kagome shrieked.
The room heard Kagome's loud mouth and quieted. The woman who had been speaking now glared at Kagome. "Do not interrupt me," she threatened in her language, but Kagome couldn't understand.
She looked at Hareema for clarification.
"She said not to interrupt her." Hareema said and then responded back to the woman in the other language.
"Hareema, what did you just tell her?" Kagome asked and saw the woman's face turn bright red.
"I told her you were sorry, but don't worry Kagome. She always turns red." She whispered.
Hakiro said something in the other language.
"What did he say?" Kagome said to Hareema.
"He's defending you." Hareema responded.
Once everyone calmed down, young servants came in carrying trays of food.
Kagome could smell something good coming from under the silver, because her stomach growled. 'I hope its edible, considering I'm not a wolf-demon.'
The servants set the trays neatly before those at the table.
Kagome waited anxiously for hers. She turned when she saw the shadow of a servant behind her. She reached out for the tray with a smile, but the servant wouldn't let go. She pulled hard. "I can take it, thank you though."
"I will do it Mistress." The servant whispered.
She gave up and watched as her plate was set down before her. She lifted the tray cautiously. 'I hope its good because I'm hungry.'
"Aren't you hungry, Lady Kagome?" Hakiro asked and shoved some raw meat in his mouth.
Kagome blanched. "Uh…"
Hakiro stopped eating. "Lady Kagome; the food. I forgot that you are human and don't eat the same foods as we do."
She took her lid off and cried out at what she saw on the plate.
Overobsessy: Lol. The problem is that mine were supposed to be very evil, but really, they aren't. Maybe I just can't do evil characters well. It puts up more conflicts though, so that's a-ok with me!
Inu: I don't like these conflicts! They're keepin' me away from Kagome! That wimpy wolf better not touch her! Me: Oooh-sparkles mischievously- That's a great idea! Inu-looks at me with disgust- Me: Why should you care? Your gonna end up with Kags anyway. Inu-grumbles- Me: You should worry about Sango though. Inu: Why? Me: Cause Picura is looking pretty good right now. I wonder if Sango can escape him for long… Inu: What! Miroku-pops in- Where is my Dearest Sango? She will not fall under his spell-runs off into the forest- Inu: Greeeeaaaat. Me: Sh! Hope you had fun in D.C.! I've never been there, but I heard about some awesome anime stuff. See ya!
SurfinDiva: Thanks! The episode with Ayame in it was a while ago. I've never read Guardian Angel Getten. I'm glad you liked A Christmas With You. I'll try to read your stories!
chibiNeko192: Yeah, I made sure to write down where the characters were again. I should have thought of it, so thanks for asking me. Thanks, keep reading!
luvanime4life: Sorry about all the cliff-hangers; the ending, I think, will be a pretty shocking one. ;) Thanks! (huggles back)
Courtnie: Lol. That will be fun, won't it? We already know how that will end…
Entei Artist: Don't think about it too much! I know the chapters rotate characters, but soon enough, they'll be together again.
Thanks for reading!
Right now I'm interested in looking for some people to make drawings that apply to my stories. Just pictures of scenes and cool stuff like that. I would love to see some, but I kind of...can't draw? I've seen other people do that themselves, and if you would like to, please e-mail me or tell me in a review. I'll hook it up in here to be available to readers. I promise your name will be attached to the picture, painting, or drawing. Arigatou!
Check ya later-Sanci
