A/N: Hi minna! Back once again with another exciting (I think…) chapter to Inuyasha: A Victorian Love Story!! Cheer and be happy! Hopefully things are going well with the story, meaning that you like it and aren't confused at all! Oh! I just wanted to tell everyone that I have officially fallen in luv! (love and luv being two different things here..luv being something that you know you really cant have but you don't care anyway ^.^;) I have fallen madly in luv with Orlando Bloom..aka Legolas Greenleaf from The Lord of the Rings! He's the sexiest Elf guy I've ever seen! How many Elves have I seen you ask? Not many. I haven't really seen the movie yet (shame on me..) but I've read the book (it was a one-volume thingie) and I've seen pictures and clips and stuff so that's enough, right?? I'm gonna get the DVD! For those of you who don't know it comes out on August 6th! Yay! Now on with the story..
Disclaimer: Now…if I owned Inuyasha and Co. do you think I would be writing fics about them?
Chapter 4: Rin's first lesson
Kagome sighed as she walked to the door, her carriage was going to arrive soon. After having that small episode with her mother and then sitting at breakfast with her while she acted like nothing had happened made Kagome feel a little down. Souta was somewhat oblivious to the whole thing and acted like nothing was bothering anyone, though if he did know, there really wasn't anything he could do about it.
Children should be seen and not heard. Kagome heard her mother say time and time again. It had taken her awhile to get that rule through her stubborn mind, as well as all of the other things Ms. Kaede had to teach her. The old woman was patient and kind, but could turn into a real firecracker if the time came to it. Kagome didn't have any choice but to accept her fate and learn to be a lady. It had taken her a good couple of months to get the first rule down. She was a talkative girl! There was always something to say, and before they even moved here nobody minded her gabbing on and on at the table or anywhere for that matter. But as soon as her mother started being different Kagome would get yelled at and scolded more and more if she talked out of turn or practically anywhere in the house. Her life had become a living hell and she began to lose her spirit. She didn't play, well, she couldn't play, so she just sat around the house all day, moping. Her mother didn't seem to take notice of course, she was too busy in her "mourning". She became a different person all together rather quickly, and it scared Kagome to the depths of her soul. Who was this women standing in front of her now? It definitely wasn't her mother, but, more like a puppet, a doll. Something for the high-class society to play with and manipulate, to mold into one of their own kind. For the longest time Kagome hated her mother, and wouldn't go near her unless she absolutely had to.
The sound of a carriage approaching jolted Kagome from her thoughts and she quickly slipped her bonnet over her head and tied the silken thread and slipped on her white gloves. She slipped the sash around her and hooked it through her elbows and picked up her folder filled with papers she could review and use while she taught little Rin. She wondered if she was going to need to be as tough as Ms. Kaede had been. Shuddering slightly she hoped she would never have to.
"Goodbye Miss Kagome." Hikari, one of the butlers said quietly, opening the door for her.
"Goodbye Hikari." Kagome replied with a small incline of her head. She stepped out of their large mansion and walked down the steps to the curb and looked at the carriage that awaited her.
It was beautiful! Kagome's eyes widened a little at the sight of the beautiful white stallions that stood hitched to the front of the carriage, their manes flowing down their necks like silken thread. They stamped their hooves as if they were telling her to hurry and get in so she could experience the ride of her life. Her gaze turned to the door where she expected some handsome driver to be there awaiting her to step in, but when she looked, there was no driver in sight! She looked right and left quickly wondering what was going on. Surely the horses didn't come by themselves!
"Ahem." Came a throaty, almost groggy voice. Kagome looked toward the sound of the voice, which was down, and saw a hideous man standing near the door of the carriage. She twitched a little and sweatdropped.
"Are you the driver?" Kagome asked, pointing a gloved finger at the little man. He was positively grotesque! Beside the fact that he was shorter than any man, or boy, for that matter that Kagome had ever seen, but his skin looked leathery and it almost seemed as though there was a tint of green in it. His bulging eyes blinked at her and Kagome thought that they were going to pop out of his head! He had little to no hair from what she could see from under the hat, and his lips were almost beak-like, like that of a bird. They pursed out almost to a point.
"Well yes malady I am the driver, are you Miss Kagome?" He asked in his high-pitched voice.
"Y-Yes I am." Kagome replied, somewhat hesitantly. She was slightly hoping that this was someone else's carriage and that Mr. Sesshoumaru's carriage was running a little late.
The little man bowed low, well, his nose touched the ground. "I am Jaken Min, personal servant of Sesshoumaru-sama." He said straightening. "Will you get in malady?"
His long fingers reached up and opened the carriage door, and Kagome fought the urge to kick him. How could something so disgusting be working for such a man that had so much class, so much…everything?! She stepped closer to the carriage and was about to step up when a gloved hand reached out from the darkness of the carriage and waited.
Kagome's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't realized someone was there to escort her there! She blushed slightly thinking that Sesshoumaru had come himself! Or maybe Miroku had come! Even though he was somewhat perverted, he could be a gentleman when the time was necessary. Kagome took the hand and used her free fingers from her other hand that was holding the folder to lift up her long skirts so she wouldn't trip on the step. When she had settled down next to the darkened stranger, Jaken closed the door and scuttled over to the drivers side, grabbing the reins and jostling the horses into a trot.
"Thank you." Kagome said, turning slightly to the man next to her. It was dark inside of the carriage and she couldn't see his face, and she had to squint as her eyes adjusted to at least get a shape of the man so she could guess.
He reached over and pulled one of the long black (how ironic) curtains back and tied it, letting the sunshine cut through the darkness like a knife over to their side of the carriage. "Keh, didn't want you to fall on your stupid face and make you uglier than you already are!" He said.
Kagome's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. This couldn't be! This just couldn't be! She looked around frantically as if what she was looking for was just hiding in the shadows.
Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms and propped one leg up on the other. She crawled over to him and began peering at him closely and then sighed, sitting back in her spot as if defeated.
"What in the hell was all of that for?" He said, eyeing her out of the corners of his eyes.
"Why did you have to come…why couldn't Sesshoumaru himself come and escort me…or Miroku…I believe I would rather be prodded at by him than sit here with the likes of you!" Kagome said, downcast.
Inuyasha's eyes widened momentarily as her words jabbed him in the side and in the chest. He quickly recovered and had a comeback already on his tongue. "Well its not like I WANTED to come! He MADE me come get you, just like he made me walk you home! Just like the spoiled princess you are.." He snorted and turned away from her, pouting. Kagome turned in the cushioned seat and also jerked her head toward the other window also covered in the black curtain ensemble and pouted.
They sat like that for quite some time.
Inuyasha snuck a peek at her from the corner of his eye, turning his head slightly and caught her doing the same. Immediately they resumed their pouting states and sat like that for a few more minutes. Apparently Jaken was taking the scenic route to the mansion or they would have been there some time ago.
He snorted at the thought and sat back in the seat with his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes. "I see you've met Jaken." He said, breaking the silence between them.
Kagome turned slowly and found him in his relaxed state. Hooligan. She thought with a slight distaste. But she was lonely for a conversation and he seemed to be making somewhat of a start. "Yes, what is that thing?" Kagome said, lowering her voice.
Inuyasha opened one of his eyes lazily. "Just my brother's little follower." He said nonchalantly.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Little is only half correct." She said airily.
Inuyasha raised one of his eyebrows at her and she blushed, knowing that she had been caught rolling her eyes. He hmphed and then sat up straighter, resting his arms on the knee of his crossed leg. "He's always scurrying around trying to find some way to please his dear Sesshoumaru-sama ." He said scornfully. "It's sick the way he does things without question when my brother tells him so, although if you were his size, arguing with someone like my brother wouldn't be a very smart idea."
Kagome nodded slightly. "What does he do?" She said, sitting back and folding her hands in her lap.
He looked at her and narrowed his eyes a little as if in thought as to who she was speaking of. "Sesshoumaru?" Kagome nodded. "Oh, well I don't know."
Kagome straightened a little and blinked. "What do you mean you don't know?" She said, looking at him.
He sat back and went back to his relaxed position, looking up at the ceiling. "Exactly that. I don't know. He's so damned secretive it's like living in the same place as a spy or a ninja."
Kagome put a gloved hand to her lips and giggled at the thought of Sesshoumaru being a ninja or a spy. Inuyasha looked at her from the corners of his eyes and chuckled a little.
Soon the carriage finally stopped and after a moment of the sound of small feet making their way to the door, it was opened and Inuyasha stepped out first. As Kagome stood and began to climb out she was surprised to see that he had actually turned and was waiting for her! Not only that, but he had his gloved hand outstretched and once again awaiting hers.
Her heart began to soften from his actions and Kagome felt like they could actually be friends. He shocked her once more as he offered her his arm, and she took it gingerly. She began to think differently of this Inuyasha. He wasn't being the jerk that she had become acquainted with just the other day, he was being the perfect gentleman! Slowly she inclined her head a little as if she were looking up at the sky and looked at him. He looked pretty much the same as the other day, long white hair rolling down his back and only restrained by a small tie between his shoulder blades, hat sitting atop his head and slightly pushed to the front, amber eyes shining with a fire of rebellion set to their destination, no, fixed upon her own and then narrowing slightly.
"What the hell are you staring at?!" He said leaning away from her a little.
"Oh! Oh dear, nothing!" Kagome cried, looking away and fixing her gaze upon the ground, blushing.
He growled a little with his bottom lip stuck out slightly. Suddenly he jolted, like he just remembered something. "Oh, and don't think I'm doing this to be all nice to you and shit," He said as he leaned to the side near her ear so she could hear him loud and clear. "Sesshoumaru is being was being a bitch and threatened to yadda yadda me if I didn't act all civilized toward you from now on."
The moment shattered like a rock thrown against a window. It shattered to a million pieces and Kagome's heart once again hardened to stone and the fire of hate was rekindled. The blush immediately faded and she glared up at him. She opened her mouth to say something when the front door opened and a butler stood, Sesshoumaru next to him.
"Ah, Miss Higurashi." Sesshoumaru said, his voice silken and smooth. Kagome had to lean against Inuyasha to keep herself from swooning as she stumbled. Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at her as he braced her, but brushed it off when she quickly recovered.
"I see you've made it here quite, soundly." Sesshoumaru said, eyeing Inuyasha as he finished. Inuyasha snorted.
"Y-Yes I have." Kagome said as they stepped inside. The butler closed the door and they were making their way down the exquisite hallway.
"Rin is being bathed at the moment," Sesshoumaru said, putting his hands behind his back and closing one around the other. "She had a…run in with a puddle of mud."
"More like she dove right into it." Inuyasha scoffed and snickered. Sesshoumaru glared at him without turning his head. Then they came to a stop as they entered the living room and Sesshoumaru looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he smirked at Inuyasha. Inuyasha gulped.
"Inuyasha," He said calmly, straightening and closing his eyes for effect. "When Miss Higurashi has concluded her first hour or so of teaching, you will take her for a tour around the mansion."
Inuyasha looked shocked for a split second before his temper boiled over. "I will not! I've had enough of her for today! You take her around here! She seems to like your company more than mine anyway!"
Kagome stiffened at his remark. "You have no choice Inuyasha. You have plenty of time to go and frolic wherever you want. But when I send Jaken for you, you will come right away. And just for your outburst, you will be escorting Miss Higurashi here and home every day until Rin's lessons are complete. You brought this on yourself, I was actually thinking of doing it, but now I see that you will enjoy it more than I will."
Inuyasha's fist clenched and he growled, he was about to scream when the door opened and a maid escorted Rin into the living room. Inuyasha knew better than to lose his temper around Rin, it made her cry, and when he did that, Sesshoumaru made him pay. Sighing in defeat, he wrenched his arm free from Kagome's and turned on his heel, exiting the living room heatedly.
Kagome looked a bit frazzled after such a situation but her mind was set straight when Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and Rin tugged on her dress.
"Kagome has come to teach Rin now yes?" Rin said grinning widely.
Kagome smiled down at the little girl. "Yes." She said.
"Good! Because Rin was getting tired of waiting for so long! Rin wanted Kagome to come over sooner! But Sesshoumaru-sama said to wait and be patient, and Rin really tried to, but Rin is very happy that Kagome is here! We can do many things-
"Rin." Sesshoumaru said with a little edge.
Rin's mouth closed immediately and she let go of Kagome's dress and set her hands in front of her, clasped together. Kagome looked up from Rin to Sesshoumaru.
"I will show you to the room you will be teaching Rin in. After that you may start immediately." He said, taking his hand from his pocket and walking out of the living room and to the staircase.
"Oh dear." Kagome said breathlessly as she looked upon the staircase. There must be a hundred stairs! She thought warily. My feet shall be tingling once we get up all of those.
They climbed the stairs, Sesshoumaru carrying Rin the entire way. Kagome leaned against the marble banister breathing a little heavily. Apparently she had gotten a tad bit out of shape. Yes but when's the last time you've walked up a billion stairs Kagome?
To keep her mind off of the tedious climb, she looked at the portraits hanging along the wall on the way up. There were many and they were all very large. Most of them were of Rin and she seemed to be in the same pose every time, with only her expression, hair and clothing different. Two of them were of Sesshoumaru, looking quite high and proud leaning against a statue and just standing in the middle of nowhere. There was also a portrait of a woman with a child, and the child looked so familiar that Kagome stopped climbing the stairs and stared awhile. Surely this couldn't be…Inuyasha and his mother!
"Don't stop now Kagome!" Rin cried, as Sesshoumaru stopped to look back down at the girl. She was fixated on the picture of Inuyasha and his mother. "We are almost there!"
Kagome looked up and remembered what she was here to do, and it wasn't to stare at a picture. She looked up and saw Sesshoumaru's piercing gaze staring down at her and she blushed furiously, luckily he had turned away and began on the stairs again and didn't see.
When they finally reached the top Kagome was huffing and puffing and she was trying her best to keep it quiet. They walked along a hall with many doors that led to bedrooms and maybe a bathroom or two and Kagome took in the scenery like a tourist in a new country. The marble floors were polished like new and a blood red crushed velvet carpet rolled its way along the hall like a train that never ended.
"We are finally here!" Rin exclaimed as Sesshoumaru set her down. She took off into a room and Sesshoumaru moved aside to let Kagome pass.
"Inuyasha will be here to escort you on a tour when the first half of the lessons is complete. Rin, you have the choice of taking a nap or reviewing your lesson while Miss Higurashi is away." He said smoothly and bowed slightly. Kagome inclined her head in thanks and watched as he closed the door.
"Rin is ready for her lessons now!" Rin said as she sat down on a small stool and set her hands in her lap. She watched Kagome with eager and shining eyes as she sat in a carefully placed chair in front of the stool. The room looked pretty ordinary with the exception of a small desk with a quill and a small jug of ink, there was also a small table with a tea set. Apparently she was also going to have to teach Rin to write too.
Kagome took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "Alright. Lets begin."
"Yes! Lets begin!" Rin cried happily.
Kagome couldn't help but smile at the little girl's enthusiasm and was pained a great deal to have to smash it. "Lesson 1. Children should be seen and not heard." She shuddered a little as the words escaped her lips. She sounded like her mother.
"But…Rin does not understand."
"It means that children are not allowed to speak unless they are spoken to, that also goes for women too." Kagome said pointedly.
"But why?" Rin said, her eyebrows furrowing.
This was going to be harder than Kagome thought. "Because…it's just rude for children to romp around and yell and scream and talk out of turn when adults are present."
Rin looked as though she was thinking this over. "Rin does not like this rule. But Rin will follow it if it will make Kagome and Sesshoumaru-sama happy." She said.
Kagome smiled. "That's good to hear. Now let us practice." She stood up and walked to the door. "I am going to act as though I am walking in to come and visit Mr. Sesshoumaru, and you are sitting at the table with him, ok?"
Rin sat quietly for a second, then remembered she was being spoken to. "Ok."
Kagome opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind her. She counted to ten and then opened the door and walked back inside. Sitting down, she acted as though Sesshoumaru had greeted her and watched Rin out of the corner of her eye. Rin sat as still as a statue and didn't utter a word.
"Why, hello Rin!" Kagome exclaimed looking at her. "How are you today?"
Rin's eyes lit up. "I am fine Kago-
Kagome shook her index finger at the younger girl. "No, Miss Kagome."
"I am fine Miss Kagome! Today I got to-
"No no. I only asked you how you were, I didn't ask what you've done today." Kagome said.
Rin looked a little confused at this, but she nodded in defeat.
"Well, that was pretty much all of Lesson One. Next we'll move on to things that are acceptable and what is not acceptable for young ladies to do in public or even in the household." Kagome said, shifting in her seat a little.
Rin nodded.
"Young ladies never sigh, nod, talk loudly, interrupt others when they are speaking, talk out of turn, speak when she is not spoken to…"
This went on for the remainder of the hour and Rin was a good student. She listened attentively to Kagome as she spoke and Kagome believed that most of it even sunk in, but the little girl's eyelids looked as though they were becoming heavy and a look of relief crossed her face as a loud knocking came at the door.
Kagome stood up and opened it slowly, and was met with a pair of amber eyes narrowed and the sound of grumbling greeted her.
"Are you done with the brat yet." Inuyasha demanded.
"Yes…we have just finished the first part of the lesson." Kagome said while looking back at the sleepy girl.
"Well come on so we can get this fucking tour over with, I have better things to do than escort you around more than I need to." He mumbled.
Kagome turned back to Rin. "Rin will you be able to find your-
"Look the girl has been living here longer than you have even sat in here, you would think she would know her way to her own damn room!" Inuyasha growled, getting even more impatient by the second.
"Oh. Well Rin you are dismissed to go to your room now, I'll…come and get you when the lessons will begin again ok?"
"Alright." Rin said sleepily, and curtsied slowly. She walked out of the room and went down the hall, stumbling in her fatigue.
Inuyasha slammed the door shut and grabbed Kagome's arm. "Lets go before I die of old age." He said and started off at a fast pace, practically dragging Kagome the entire way.
"Let me go! I can walk by myself thank you!" Kagome cried, escaping his death grip and pushing him away.
"Well I couldn't tell, seeing as though you were about to fall over and die while going up that set of stairs there!" He snapped.
Kagome blushed a little. "Well at least I'm not a peeping tom, going around spying on people!" She shot back a little lamely.
"You weren't even naked!" Inuyasha cried, throwing his arms into the air.
They paused at this thought, and they both blushed furiously.
"Not that I'd WANT to see you naked anyway!" He added quickly and stomped off down the hall, extending his hand out and mumbling something about a portrait or a room that they passed.
Kagome had a certain picture in mind that she wanted to see, but now they were so far from the flight of stairs that Kagome thought that if she mentioned wanting to go back to see a picture, he'd turn around and strangle her to death, so she kept quiet.
And so the tour continued.
A/N: Ok so I think this was a tad bit shorter than the other chapters but you guys don't know the predic. I'm in! I wont be able to get on my cpu for about a week or so cus its having some problems and I needed to get this chapter out to you guys asap just like you wanted! Um, I don't have any links today to dish out because most of the stuff I thought of came out of my slightly empty head. I couldn't believe how many reviews I've gotten so far over this story! I luv you guys!! And now before my computer dies, I'm gonna go drool over some Orlando Bloom/Legolas Greenleaf pictures okies? Sorry for the short chapter!
Responses to reviews:
Rosy: Thanks! I'm glad you can picture it in your head! I try to sometimes but then my mind wanders…^.^
Ashley411: Don't worry I will! I'm glad you like it so much! ^.^
Velvet Twilight: I'm actually looking forward to the next chapter too; cus I think if I play my cards right there will be a twist in the plot! Mwahahahahaaa! ^.^
Scorpiogal: Of course she's gotta get revenge! Well, what do you use to type up your fics with? I use Microsoft Word, and the italics button is right up der next to bold and underline. ^.^
Riku-chan: Is it fun to erad things? Tell me how to do it, it sounds like fun! Thanks for reading ^.^'
Demon Wolf: Whoo! Go tomboys! What would we ever do without them! I'm half a tomboy, I only dress up when its absolutely necessary. ^.^
Vicious-wolf: (the wolves are comin peoples, get the steaks out!) Well…Kagome's mom changed because of how influential (ooo big word) this time period was. If you didn't go with the flow, you were an outcast, and who would want to be that way when you've got a family to…half-raise? Practically everyone hates this time period because of the dresses. But don't worry, hopefully history wont repeat itself. ^.^
Dark Flame: Yay! I will definitely continue to write don't worry about that! I couldn't just ditch this story! ^.^
Jessicalu: Glad to see you came back! Well, it's a pretty big part of Kagome's life you know, the way her mother is acting is mostly what's influencing Kagome to act the way she is. The romance will come soon enough, just be paaaaatttiieeeeennnnnnnnnnt. ^.^
Maeve: Don't worry, the reason why it took me so long was because I was having problems with my cpu, and once again its having problems again, go figure. You know, you keep reading my mind! Sooner or later you're going to give away the secrets I must keep! SHhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! ^.^
Aylee the Dragon: ::eats the brownie happily:: I loooooove brownies!! Most of us wouldn't last 2 seconds so you're already ahead of the ball there! Hope to see you reviewing soon! ^.^
DemonAni: Hey the more you review, the more I get inspired even if it is short! You don't have to write a novel so don't worry! ^.^