Chapter 12: Night Dealings

"Bad idea," whispered Inuyasha. "Really, really bad idea."

"Oh, shush you," Kagome said, trying to peer through the shoji screen doors. It couldn't be that difficult to break into Sesshoumaru's quarters and mend his 'cracked' armour, right?

"Like, really bad idea," Inuyasha said. "My mother said never to disturb sleeping youkai," Inuyasha said.

"What nonsense, he's your brother!" exclaimed Kagome.

"Have you heard him around Jaken? I tell you, he doesn't need to kill people; he frightens them to death instead!"

"Shut up, you'll wake him up!"

"Whatever… no, don't creak the floorboards!"

"Well, stop pushing me!"

"Just be quiet!"

They waited in tenterhooks. "You think it's safe now?" whispered Kagome. "We've been out here ages."

"Alright then," sighed Inuyasha. "In we go."

Carefully, Kagome slid back the door silently. Maybe it was a blessing she had become a geisha after all, for where else would she have learnt such tricks. Slipping off her sandals she tiptoed inside quietly while Inuyasha followed after her.

Feeling for the nearest wall, Kagome felt around dumbly until she hit a hard, cool surface. She felt Inuyasha move behind her, doing the same. Slowly, she traced her hand along the wall.

Faint streaks of moonlight streamed through the windows, allowing Kagome to miss hitting most things. Her hand ran past a wall scroll, and a carved decoration.

She felt Inuyasha brush past her. Something clicked, before the room was bathed in a dim flickering light.

Without realizing it, Kagome held her breath slowly. Inuyasha nodded to her, and she followed him behind a long folding screen.

The maids had laid out a fresh futon already, but it was empty and crisp still.

"Oh, heck," swore Inuyasha softly.

Suddenly, something swished by the window soundlessly – the only clue they got was the sudden shadow passing by.

Something smashed into the window, ripping it open and cracking the wall.

"Who the hell…" Kagome began.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" demanded Sesshoumaru, glaring at them through the tear in his window. His poison whip glowed a deadly green for his hand while the paper in the windows sizzled slightly.

"Why the hell did you rip the window?" asked Inuyasha.

"An intruder," Sesshoumaru said. "But for all his cowardice he was quite adept at ducking."

Kagome's eyes were round. "One of Naraku's men? Or women?"

"I doubt it," snorted Inuyasha. "Would Naraku send a woman to do his dirty work?"

"As he has shown with Kagura and more recently, Tsubaki, Naraku obviously believes in using women," Sesshoumaru reasoned. "All the same, I think it was a man from the glimpse I got of him."

"Who's Tsubaki?" Kagome asked.

"A witch he uses to help him out for a price. She's extremely old but uses a demon in her to keep her youth and beauty."

"Wouldn't want to meet her," shuddered Inuyasha.

Naraku sighed, gazing into Kanna's mirror that showed the three. "But you already have, Inuyasha…"

So the attempt to mend Sesshoumaru's armour had failed. Kagome's training with Kaede wasn't going so well either.

"Straighter, Kagome!" rapped Kaede for the hundredth time

"I'm trying!" Kagome said, gritting her teeth.

"You absolutely must -"

"Have a perfect posture, yeah, I know," grumbled Kagome, her bow quivering under her grasp.

"If this is the best you can do…" sighed Kaede. "Alright, take a shot."

Kagome released her arrow and watched it sail by, only missing the target by a few centimetres.

"Not bad," Kaede said.

"It'll have to do," shrugged Kagura, watching. "Naraku's growing impatient."

"That'll do," said Sesshoumaru. "We cannot afford to lose anymore time. The emperor's funeral will be held tonight, and afterwards we will no longer be able to hold off the selection of a new king."

"Tonight?" gulped Kagome. "Do I have to attend?" There went another perfect armour-borrowing opportunity…

"Yes, tonight. I'm trying to see if there's a way to get you in as a girl. Inuyasha and Miroku won't be attending…"

"Why me?" moaned Kagome piteously.

"Stop complaining," Kaede rebuked gently. "It isn't ladylike."

"Why don't you want to tell Miroku who you are?" Kagura wanted to know.

"I don't know…" Kagome said.

"Kagura, you're coming," Sesshoumaru decided. "Naraku isn't about to sit still, and I think it would be safer if you were around a large group of people. Kagome, as female or not, you're coming in case Naraku pulls any tricks with the blood bond."

Kagura nodded. Funeral or not, it was only natural that geisha would attend for the banquet after, to entertain.

"No problem. Leave it to me. I'll astound you…" Kagura said, dragging Kagome away.

Yes, Kei Higurashi would be appearing as a geisha tonight.

The transformation was not pretty.

As in, loud protests of, "No!"

Followed by, "Hold still, Kagome…"

"NO!"

"Hold still, or I'll mess it up!"

"Kagome, it's just one evening," Kaede reasoned.

"Sango, help me!" wailed Kagome as Kaede and Kagura held her down to paint her face.

"Go blame Sesshoumaru," Kagura said. "No, go blame Naraku for even, casting the blood bond in the first place... There. All nice and perfect," Kagura said cooingly, releasing Kagome.

Kagome glared at her reflection in the mirror.

"Now, now, it's just wax," soothed Kagura like she was taking to a small child.

"Yeah, wax… on my face," snapped Kagome.

"It will protect your skin." Carefully, Kagura ground up a bit of red paint. "Now, you need to keep still so I don't mess this part up."

"Kagome, you look gorgeous," giggled Sango. "You should've done this more back at the okiya."

"Gorgeous?" asked Kagome incredibly. Kagura was busy painting her face stark white!

"In a moment, you will be," breathed Kagura, wetting a brush. Carefully, she filled in Kagome's eyes, before moving off to paint her neck and shoulders.

"Oh, I forgot to buy a stencil," Kaede said, carefully applying a pout of red safflower rouge on Kagome's lips.

"Nonsense. Who needs those silly things?" scoffed Kagura. "I can do without them."

"Umm… stencil for what?" Kagome asked warily. She hated the triangular points geisha left unpainted on their necks.

"Quiet. They're completely sexy and erotic," Kagura yawned.

"What?"

Someone knocked on the door.

"Oh, excellent, that must be the hairdresser," Kagura said while Sango went to open the door.

Kagome froze. "The who?"

"You see, in the end I thought we could disguise her as what she's supposed to be. A geisha. No one would suspect anything," explained Kagura, beaming at Sesshoumaru.

"Can you stop talking like I'm not here?" asked Kagome, appearing before them in a foul mood. She halted, staring at Sesshoumaru. "Your… armour…" He wasn't wearing it.

He looked impatient. "We're late. We can leave when you're done gawking."

"You could have told me you wouldn't wear it," complained Kagome. She could've then told Inuyasha to fix that damned armour while they were gone… No, that idiot Sesshoumaru had to just change into some nice black silk kimono, armour excluded. Undoubtedly, he looked nice, but… Couldn't he have told her?

"I thought it would've been obvious, being a formal occasion."

"Well, it wasn't obvious!"

"Alright, alright, let's go," Kagura said, starting to walk. "There's a crinkle on your clothes, Sesshoumaru-sama."

He brushed her off. "No there isn't."

"Oh, there so is," Kagome nodded.

Sesshoumaru looked disdainful while Kagura tugged his clothes straight. Kagome stared; she hadn't ever seen anyone treating the great lord this way.

"Now we're all set," Kagura smiled.

"Naraku said you have to attend the Emperor's funeral," said Lady Higurashi, dragging kimono after kimono out of drawers.

"What? I'm not going to fool anybody!" Kikyou said.

"Well, you have to give it a shot," sighed Lady Higurashi. "How bad would it look if an important lord's daughter did not attend the Emperor's funeral?"

"Not very bad," argued Kikyou. That slut Kagome grew up so inappropriately around the younger lords. Surely they would know immediately if someone pretended to be her.

Lady Higurashi shrugged. "You could always say you've grown up and changed in looks."

Kikyou took insult. "I don't even look like her! I'm way prettier."

She was getting sick and tired of doing what Naraku wanted all the time. If Naraku was so wonderful, why didn't he just get the throne already? Obviously the shogun was not powerful enough to do so. Kikyou was fast losing faith in Naraku.

"If we don't help Naraku, the Western Lands side will surely attack us for selling that stupid Kagome in the first place!" Lady Higurashi said.

Kikyou frowned. Why the hell would Lord Sesshoumaru attack the Higurashis for no reason other than them selling their daughter. By right it was the clan's business.

She thought hard. "You wanted to take control of the Higurashi's affluence and assets, did you not?" smiled Kikyou deviously. Lady Higurashi fidgeted and Kikyou smiled even wider, amazed at her own cleverness. "I don't know how you corrupted or threatened Lord Higurashi until he married you, but once the marriage was complete you planned to take over, slowly. No wonder… his baby son mysteriously disappeared. And Kagome was no threat to you, until the Lord died without giving you a child."

Now, to twist that knowledge to her benefit…

Naraku spied the willowy geisha leaving the funeral banquet, and he licked his lips, calling her name.

"Kagura."

She froze, sake jar in hand.

"Where are you going?" asked Naraku oilily.

She fought to keep her voice from trembling. "To the kitchens, to fetch more sake."

Naraku waved a hand. "I'm sure a maid can do that. Why don't you step upstairs with me for awhile."

"No, I have to get the sake, thank you."

"I meant now, Kagura." She could feel his eyes burning holes through her skin. "You never used to shy from me," Naraku growled.

Kagura couldn't find anything to rebut him with.

Kagome scanned the room anxiously. The ceremony and rites had gone, and when the dinner started Kagura had volunteered to get more sake for their table.

"Shouldn't Kagura be back?" she whispered.

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, his eyes darting to Naraku's table. The man was missing.

"Kikyou's missing too," Kagome said in a low voice.

"I'll get the woman; you go find Kagura and Naraku. If he's trying anything smart, remember to try and break the blood bond. Even if it doesn't work, he'll get held off, understand?"

"Alright…" Kagome searched the room with her eyes once more, before getting up and leaving the room quietly.

She made her way to the kitchens slowly. Hopefully she could work out where Kagura was from there.

A maid passed her in the corridor, carrying a basin of cold water.

"I'll take that," Kagome said, taking the basin. Anything to get that layer of… stuff off her face.

Sighing, she splashed the water on her face, turning it a milky white. When her cheeks felt scrubbed raw and she was confident her skin was free of that paint, she dried her face with a kerchief from her obi sash.

"Thank you," Kagome sighed in contentment, handing the basin back to the maid. She could actually feel the air touch her skin.

"I knew it was you," the maid said.

"Who?" Kagome asked, before studying the girl closer, feeling sick to her stomach. She recognized Kikyou in an instant, and knew the girl recognized her back.

"Why haven't you brought me that girl?" demanded Naraku, his hands threatening to close themselves around her throat.

"She's too protected… she spends every waking hour with a miko, Lord Sesshoumaru or another of her friends…"

"Sleeping hours, then?"

"Well, she does sleep with her friend sometime -"

"Kagura, I don't like to be kept waiting."

"I know, but -"

"I know your secrets."

"Wha… what do you -"

"I want the girl. It's not hard, Kagura."

She shivered, though beads of sweat ran down her forehead.

Naraku smiled coldly. "You're feeling warm, it seems. Here… maybe you've got too much clothing on…"

"Let go of me!" Kagura snapped, reaching for the thing closest to her – a vase.

"What, trying to kill the shogun now, are you?" Naraku asked. Keeping one hand on her neck, he used his free hand to knock the vase from her grasp.

"You'll never, ever -"

"Get away with this? Kagura, do I need to prove it to you?" He knew what he wanted, and he wasn't above threatening her physically.

Her eyes widened.

"The girl, Kagura," Naraku said softly. "I give you three days."

The door slid open effortlessly, revealing Naraku was his hands around Kagura's throat.

"I'm interrupting something, it seems," Sesshoumaru said, looking icily at Naraku.