Disclaimer: I can't think of anything witty to say right now, so I'll be blunt. I don't own Inuyasha. I also don't own the original story "The Lady or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton.

A/N: Sorry for the wait! The next chapter won't be coming out for another couple of weeks, 'cause I'm going on vacation tomorrow. Wasn't it so nice of me to update before I left?

The Lady or the Tiger?

Chapter II

As Inuyasha struggled to open the tall, heavy door, the crowd held its breath in anticipation. Some watched hungrily, awaiting the tiger that would quench their bloodlust, and others, queasy of such gore, prayed for the princess to make her appearance.

The latter was not disappointed.

When Inuyasha finally managed to open the door far enough for the slim princess to slip out, she did so and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek. The crowd roared in celebration (though some groaned in disappointment) and Inuyasha felt an inundation of shock and relief overwhelm his body. So great was this relief that, for a fraction of a moment, he even forgot about his wife sitting in the stands and returned the lady's embrace.

But that moment passed and he pulled away, feeling ashamed of betraying Kagome so freely.

"Come, husband-to-be, we must proceed to the wedding," the princess spoke softly, her perfect, luscious lips curved in an enchanting smile. She held out an inviting hand to him.

Inuyasha took this moment to properly look at the princess for the first time. She was very much a beauty. Her lustrous, black hair was twisted into an elegant bun. She wore an extravagant, white wedding gown that flowed along her body attractively. But she was, nevertheless, related to the semi-barbaric king and that wild barbarism sparked lightly in her gray eyes as she watched him with an otherwise calm face.

He ignored her outstretched hand and walked past her where a wedding was busily being prepared. "Isn't there some way that we could not go through with this marriage?"

"You do not wish to wed me?" The lady asked, a delicate eyebrow raised.

"No," he replied firmly, "I am already married." He relocated his wife in the crowd and attempted to lock eyes with her, but her eyes were downcast, hidden by the hood of her coat. He was hurt that she would not even look him in the eye.

"It matters not," she said softly. "It is the will of the king for us to marry. We will be husband and wife till the day we die. Surely your current wife cannot compete with one such as me?" She watched for his reaction out of the corner of her eye.

Inuyasha grew furious at her insult and his amethyst eyes flashed in anger. This princess was beautiful, but so was Kagome. Kagome was an innocent, loving sort of beauty, but a beauty nonetheless. "You have no idea what you're talking about. She'd outstrip you by a mile," he seethed through clenched teeth.

The lady seemed indifferent to his obvious fury.

"The wedding is ready, my betrothed. You'd best get over her because in a few moments, I will be your wife."

Inuyasha stalked past her coldly, approaching where an altar was being hastily erected. The king's subordinate that had served as the announcer just a half hour earlier had sighted him and was ambling towards him now.

"The ceremony will begin in just a moment, sir," the man told him, slightly hoarse, "If you would please approach the altar and bring with you your wife-to-be."

Inuyasha grunted and reached out an arm to drag the lady roughly behind him. Once he'd reached his destination, she snatched her arm away from him.

"That is no way to treat a lady!" She looked down her nose at him disdainfully. "I understand you may be reluctant to go through with this wedding, but really! You have no choice in the matter!"

Oh, Kagome! He thought despondently, What I wouldn't give to be here with you instead of this loathsome bitch! He looked up at the crowd to find his wife looking at him once again and he held her eyes with his, desperate to convey his feelings to her.

The old priest that was brought to hold the wedding cleared his throat noisily. The lady lightly pulled on Inuyasha's arm till he stood at her side. The priest cleared his throat again and spoke in a quavering voice, "We are gathered here today, to join Inuyasha Taisho and the princess Kikyou in holy matrimony to celebrate Taisho's innocence in his alleged crime. May the two of you live out the rest of your lives together in harmony and joy." Inuyasha noted wryly that he did not ask for objections to the union, as was customary during the wedding. "With the power vested in me, I now proclaim you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

All eyes were upon Inuyasha, watching him expectantly. For a long moment, he did nothing and the priest lifted his old, graying eyebrows slightly. Kagome half-hoped that he wouldn't go through with it. Surely they couldn't make him get married! Not if he already had a wife! She thought this anxiously as her hands clasped together. But then, her heart broke as she watched Inuyasha lean toward his new bride and deliver a chaste kiss to her lips. The crowd roared in celebration and in the midst of the joviality, no one heard the whimpering cry that escaped from Kagome's mouth.

I will love none other than you, Kagome, Inuyasha vowed viciously as his mouth touched Kikyou's.

It was night already when Inuyasha finally returned to his home, carrying a completely inebriated bride, limp in his arms. After the wedding, he'd hoped that he could ditch his new wife to find his old one and apologize on his hands and knees if need be, though none of this had been any fault of his. Then perhaps he could have kissed her long and hard to make her forget any of it had happened.

Unfortunately, he and Kikyou had been dragged off to the reception and then numerous parties in celebration of the marriage immediately afterwards, where Inuyasha had discovered the princess had quite a fondness for champagne. By the fourth or fifth party—he hadn't kept track—she could barely stand unaided and fell unconscious in his arms, giving him an excuse to take the much desired leave of the festivities.

No lights were on in the house and Inuyasha assumed Kagome had already gone to sleep. Unceremoniously, he dumped Kikyou onto the futon of the second bedroom he and Kagome had been planning to give to their future kids. The princess merely curled up on the bedding and gave a soft snore. Inuyasha gave a heavy sigh. He turned around and just as he was about to leave the room, he heard the frantic rustle of fabric behind him.

Curious, he turned his head to investigate and promptly froze when his saw Kikyou kneeling on the bed, devoid of all clothing—her dress, chest binding, and underpants on the floor. She was giving him a sultry look and with a hand, beckoned him to her side.

When he didn't move, she approached him, swaying her hips seductively. She neared until they were but a hair's breadth away from each other. Inuyasha was disgusted by the smell of alcohol on her breath. She placed a cool hand on his cheek and looked deep into his violet eyes.

"This is our wedding night, lover. This is the time for us to explore our desires."

"I have no desire for you." Inuyasha told her hoarsely, unwilling to admit that he was slightly aroused by the look of lust in her glazed eyes. "The only person I will ever 'explore desires' with is Kagome." He removed her hand from his cheek.

"Liar," she whispered. Kikyou took one of his hands and brought it to cradle her naked breast. "You want me."

"No," Inuyasha denied fiercely, snatching his hand away.

Something snapped in her that moment and he could see it in her barbaric eyes. She grabbed him and pushed him onto the futon with a strength he thought no princess could possess. She crawled onto him, straddling his stomach. "You are my husband!" She said angrily. "This is our wedding night! You have been denying me since the moment I met you and now you deny me of something precious, something all other married couples have! I want you to make love to me!"

Suddenly, the princess burst into tears and slumped onto his chest, overcome with her emotions.

Inuyasha stared at the top of her head shocked. Just earlier that morning, when he'd opened the door to "salvation", he believed this woman was incapable of emotion the way she completely disregarded his relationship with Kagome. But now, she was full of emotion, though it could have been, to some extent, due to the effects of the champagne.

He awkwardly patted at her back to sooth her, but she only cried harder and encased her slender arms around his neck.

Eventually, she stilled and drifted off to sleep, exhausted by her emotional outburst. Carefully, Inuyasha tried to pull her arms from his neck but to no avail. She had a ferocious grip on him, unwilling to let go. He gave up and instead slowly succumbed to a troubled sleep, just as tired by the day's events. His last thought was that Kagome would have to do without a bedmate for one last night.

After the Trial and wedding, Kagome had shuffled out of the stands just as the rest of the audience. It seemed symbolic in the idea that she was slowly flowing away from Inuyasha's life, now that he had a new wife. She felt unnervingly unimportant to him, just like those around him. What would become of her without Inuyasha by her side?

Once she'd returned home, she waited for him to return as well, doing the daily chores distractedly.

Soon, the sun had set and her dear husband had still not returned. She began to worry. She sat patiently by the door and it wasn't until well past midnight when she decided to turn in for the night.

Not a few minutes after she laid her head on the pillow, Kagome heard someone enter the house. She knew by instinct it was Inuyasha. There were heavy footfalls, movements of one, and they turned into the bedroom next to hers. A brief silence. Then, she heard the low voices of two people through the cardboard thin walls. There was the rustling of movement that faded into another silence that remained unbroken.

Kagome turned on her side, facing away from the wall and tried to rest her weary eyes; all hopes of her husband returning to her bed were gone. And though she struggled valiantly to hold it back, a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye.

TBC…

A/N: What'd you think of this chapter? Let me know and leave a review! There will probably be another one or two chapters left. This will be a very short story. I could probably make this into a one-shot if I tried, but where would be the fun in that?

Review Responses

Mitsuki sama: Haha, no you didn't offend me. In fact, I was very flattered! And you were absolutely right about the door. What you think I would just let him get killed off? Well, in case you were still doubting me, I hope this chapter cleared everything up! crazyFORvampires: Yes, I read the original in school and I liked it so much I was inspired to write a fic based on it! Of course… that was last, last year and I haven't gotten off my lazy ass to write it until now. As for your question, it should be fairly obvious after you've read it that the fanfiction is only loosely based on the concept of the original. I just felt that I had to include some more romance and a happy ending! V.X.O.:gets pelted by rotten vegetables: Sorry! But it would be so less dramatic if I didn't leave a bit of suspense! But at least it wasn't too much of a cliffhanger this time! Not as angsty as I would have liked, but then again, I'm not really good at pulling off angst. Dragon Man 180: Hi Dragon Man! Thanks SO much for always sticking with my fics! It makes me feel TOTALLY warm and fuzzy inside! Your review really made me laugh. You were right! It is Kikyou even though I didn't mention her name until they were married. But don't worry, she won't be too much of a bitch in this fic… at least not at the end. Whoops, I've said too much already! doingz-aishinu: Thanks! It's good you're enjoying this so far. Hopefully you'll like my version of the story as much as the original (highly doubtful, but one can hope…)! AnimeBrat: Hi! I'm really glad you also stuck with me, even with my yearlong lapse. I'm really sorry about that. Hopefully I can get up an update on Dr. Do-Youkai, cuz I know you like that one. Hope this chapter has met your expectations. Of course I wouldn't kill him! If I did I would have to go through a whole reviving thing to get Inuyasha living again and that would be just too complicated and tedious. Trinity elise: Oh, it won't be too depressing. I'll have a happy ending, don't you fret. Sad endings just aren't my thing! cutterforthecause: Thanks! It seems a lot of people had already read the original short story! Well that's good, 'cause it's a really good story, and personally, I enjoyed it a lot. Good guess about the princess! You were right!