Author's Note: Well here I am, sitting at the kitchen table at my shore house. I can't believe it's been a year since I started this story. It's sort of funny because I'm guessing this is one of the last chapters I'll write for this story and I wrote some of the first chapters here too.


I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I knew I was opening my eyes up to see the ceiling in the room I shared with Mikoto. Sighing, I got up and started shuffling towards the closet. I had no doubt that my maids would be hurrying into help me soon so the only thing I had to worry about was choosing a kimono.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?"
Turning around I saw Mikoto walking over to me. He gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the top of my head.
"Not bad." I replied, smiling at his touch, "What's up?" I had learned from the past few months that when I woke up Mikoto would not be there and I would not see him until lunch unless I visited him in his office.
"The ball is scheduled for today." He told me.
"Oh!" I had forgotten all about it during all the events of yesterday.
"I came to ask you if you wanted to put it off for a day or two." Mikoto continued, "You know, just to recover from yesterday. You're probably still a little shaken. All the guests are here. We're prepared to give them lodgings. They shouldn't mind holding it off for a bit as long as we give them food and entertainment. They'll understand… Or perhaps you just want to cancel the ball completely."
"Cancel the ball?" I repeated, "After all that work I did for it? Absolutely not! We won't be putting it off either. I feel perfectly fine Mikoto! We're going to continue like yesterday never happened!"
My mate laughed. "I thought you'd say that." He said nodding. "Your maids will be in shortly. You've got a whole lot more work ahead of you before the ball."
I was confused. "But the ball's all planned!" I insisted, "What else do I have to do!"
Mikoto patted me on the head and headed towards the door. "You'll see Kitten. You'll see. I'll see you at the ball tonight."
"Do you have things to do too?" I asked.
"No." he replied grinning, "You'll just be too busy to see me until then."
As soon as he closed the door, it was opened again. This time it was my maids. San and Jina (remember them from chapter 14?) were draped with cloth in all different colors and sizes. They also carried jars full of unknown substances.
"What's all that for?" I asked curiously.
"The ball." Jina said grinning.

Mikoto was right when he had said I would have time to see him until that night. Hours went by as San and Jina got me ready for the night. They added layer after layer of kimonos onto me. I lost count at layer five. After than they carefully put the most intricate obi I had ever seen around my waist.
From there they did my hair. This probably took the longest time. Parts were put into buns while others were braided into tiny robes. Finally Jina held up a mirror so I could see the final product. I gasped.
"Is it to your approval milady?" San asked.
"Yes." I said in amazement, "Yes it is."
My hair had been turned into a masterpiece! The buns they had put my hair up in was the main part of the style. The little braids were then woven around them. To top it all off there were what looked like jewels in my hair. Saphires, rubies, emeralds, they were all there.
"Am I finished?" I asked the two, "You've done a wonderful job!"
"Thank you." San said bowing.
"But we're not finished yet!" Jina announced happily.
"What's left to do?" I asked frowning.
"Your make up." She replied, holding up one of the jars I had seen when they entered.

I had been wrong when I said that doing my hair had taken the longest time. The make up was a much longer process. The two had seriously painted me. I'm not kidding. I looked like a porcelain doll. Not only was my face white, but any other bit of my skin that wasn't covered by clothes or my hair was too. Above my white face make San and Jina had added some blush, eyeliner, eye shadow, and lipstick. I looked like a totally different person.
"Now are we done?" I asked, looking at myself in the mirror Jina offered.
"Now we're done." San said smiling and bowing once again, "Do you like it?"
"Yes." I told them. "Thank you very much for helping me. How much longer until the ball?"
"Fifteen minutes." San replied. Where had the day gone! "And milord wants to see you."
"Because he forgot to tell you about what you have to do tonight at the ball." Jina continued.
"But he can't see you until the ball begins." San explained. What was this? A wedding? Why couldn't I see my mate if he had something to tell me? I supposed it was because of old traditions that were unthinkable to break.
"So he wrote you a note." Jina finished. She handed me a piece of paper that was folded up twice. I wondered when she had gotten in while I took it and opened it.
Dear Kitten,
I'm sorry I forgot to mention a lot about tonight. I was stupid.
First, which is the reason you're not hearing this from me in
person, no one's allowed to see you until the ball once you've
been dressed up. Except for your maids of course. No, don't
ask me why. I don't know. It's some sort of old tradition.
So I had been right.
I'll see you right before we enter the ballroom tonight. The
guests will already be there. They'll be waiting for us. We will
walk to the center of the room. The first dance is reserved for us.
Then the others will join in. Don't worry about the dancing.
You'll do fine. The whole night's really about dancing, but if you
get tired and want to sit down, there'll be chairssavedfor just us.
I'll point them out to you tonight when we walk in. If you're
nervous just concentrate on having fun. It's going to be lots of fun.
I promise.
Much love,
Mikoto
I smiled, putting down the note. "Ready to go milady?" San asked.
"Yeah." I replied nodding.
Jina opened the door. I got to my feet, I had been sitting all day, and took a step. It was hard! San smiled, trying not to laugh, and offered me an arm. "It's hard to walk with so much fabric on, especially when you're with child." She told me, "But it'll get easier as you get used to it. I'll help you down to the ballroom."
I nodded and the three of us stared walking down towards the ballroom.

Mikoto was waiting when we arrived. San handed me over to him. "You look beautiful." He told me in hushed tones, "We've got to be quiet. The doors are about to open and the ball's about to start."
He was right. As soon as he finished telling me this, the doors opened. I gasped. There were so many guests in the room! Mikoto started walking and so did I. "There's the chairs for us." Mikoto told me, pointing to two large chairs on one of the sides of the room. There were other chairs around but these were much more luxurious than the others.
We got to the center of the room and a band I hadn't noticed started playing. The step that Mikoto started was easy and even with my layer after layer of clothing, I was able to keep up with him. He had been right. This was fun!
Soon the other demons joined in I started to see some that I knew. Koga was dancing with a woman I had never met, but I noticed that his glance kept on going back to Kagome, who was next to the wall trying her hardest to get Inuyasha to dance. Somehow Miroku had convinced Sango to dance, but Sango looked rather stiff in the monk's grasp. Sesshoumaru was around glaring at Inuyasha from the other side of the room. Rin and Shippo had found each other and were sitting in a corner. I wondered if they would try dancing that night.
"Milord?" We stopped dancing to see another demon standing next to Mikoto. "Could I borrow your lady for a dance?"
Mikoto looked towards me and I shrugged. "Yes." He replied. My mate let go of me and the other demon took me. He danced a different step, but I was able to catch onto it quickly.

As the night went by I danced with demon after demon. They all had nice things to say about Mikoto or me. Once again my partners changed. Lately they hadn't asked, just pulled me over. I didn't really mind. They weren't being rude about it.
I looked up at my new dance partner to see Inuyasha. "Hi." He said grinning.
"Hello yourself." I replied. I noticed that we were now dancing a more difficult step I had learned that night. "Where'd you learn to dance?" I asked.
Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't really know." He admitted, "Maybe when I was living with my mother. It was a long time ago."
"Have you danced with Kagome yet?" I questioned.
"No."
I let go of him.
"What?" the hanyou asked.
Rolling my eyes, I pushed him over to where Kagome was standing. Alone. "He's ready to dance with you now." I told her, "You'd be amazed to know he actually knows how to dance! And well too!"
"Really?" Kagome asked grinning, "Come on Inuyasha, let's go." He glared at me as Kagome dragged him off. I grinned back. He'd thank me for this later.
Noticing how tired I was becoming, I decided to use the reserved seats Mikoto had pointed out to me earlier. Turning around I bumped into someone. "Sorry!"
"Oh no, Lady Kyo, I'm sorry. I'm young and still very clumsy." A young demoness said bowing to me, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hanako. I'm a swan demon."
And her looks matched what she said. Her hair was white, almost appearing to have a 'feathery' look to it. Her skin was almost as white as my own at the moment and I could tell she was not wearing any make up. To top it all off the black makeup she wore around her blue eyes gave her a true 'swanish' look. "Nice to meet you Hanako." I said smiling. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen." She replied sighing, "I had to beg my father to let me come. Please don't bother with me. My young age does not deserve your attention."
I laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm only sixteen."
Hanako's eyes widened in shock. "You're really only a year older than me!" she asked.
"Yes." I replied nodding, "I don't find many demons my age maybe we'll see each other a lot. But for right now I'm awfully tired. I need to sit down."
"Of course." The swan demoness said nodding, "It was nice talking to you Lady Kyo."
I walked over to the chairs, noticing that they were positioned on a bit of a platform. From my seat I got a higher view of what was going on. Inuyasha and Koga had found each other. Kagome was trying her hardest to keep a fight from erupting. Miroku was surrounding himself with a group of demoneses. Nearby Sango fumed quietly. Sesshoumaru was still in the spot he had been before, but now he was talking with another demon. Shippo and Rin had found an apple at one of the refreshment tables and was playing catch with it. Kurozena was glaring at them from a distance.
"Hi." Mikoto said sitting down next to me, "What's up?"
"Nothing much." I replied, "I just sat down to rest a bit."
He nodded. "Up for one more dance?" my mate asked.
"Sure." I replied standing up.
As soon as I did this a shooting pain went through my midsection and I leaned over in pain, gasping.
"Kyo!" Mikoto exclaimed, "What's wrong!"
That's when I figured out why I hurt so much. I looked up at Mikoto and gave him a weak smile. "The baby's coming."