CHAPTER FOUR

x.

A cold wind swept through the village, and seemed to take sound with it. All eyes slowly moved from the demon to Inuyasha, and quite a few village women gasped in shock. A murmur of "can't be so" ran through the farmers. The half-demon hadn't moved since the announcement. Then, he slowly stepped forward.

"Buh... buh..." he stammered.

"Betrothal" the demon supplied helpfully. His narrow eyes grew narrower as he looked Inuyasha over, at the plain red clothing and slightly wild silver hair. "While you are not quite as I imagined you would be, I am sure that you will meet the princess's expectations, when a sufficient amount of... polish has been bestowed."

"W-wh-what the hell" Inuyasha said, almost speechless. "Just who the hell are you, and what the hell do you want with me"

"Forgive me" the demon said, bowing slightly. "My name is Rukusin, and I am the loyal vassal of Princess"

"You keep prattlin' on about this princess" Inuyasha erupted. "Just who the hell is she"

The demon's smooth, unruffled demeanor did not change, even with Inuyasha bellowing in his face. He began to speak, almost like a recording, as if he had it memorized"A beautiful and exquisite daughter of the mighty Fire-Demon clan, an ancient and noble family who were once allies of your lamented late father. Princess Rakura is the youngest, and the most lovely." He smiled slightly. "But then again, you know all of this already, young lord."

"NO I DO NOT" Inuyasha roared.

He wheeled around to look at his friends. Shippo, Sango and Miroku were all staring at him with the same wide-eyed, stunned expression, like mice with a bright light in their eyes. Just a few steps away Kagome had turned white as a sheet, and was starting to look a little wobbly.

"K-Kagome" he said quickly. "You gotta believe me - it's all a lie, I swear! I've never even seen this princess..."

"Then how come this guy claims you're engaged to her" Shippo piped up, from behind Kagome's leg.

Inuyasha could feel his eye starting to twitch as he looked around at his friends. Everyone, including the villagers, was staring at him in disbelief. This is a nightmare, he thought. I can't believe this - who the hell is this guy, and what does he want?

Then he heard a soft laugh from behind him. Rukusin was chuckling under his breath. "I would be surprised if you had seen the princess recently. Your last meeting with her was when you were a child of but six months. As you were too young to wed at that time, and the princess was already grown, you were left to grow to manhood undisturbed."

"In other words" Miroku muttered to Sango"they left him without resources until they wanted him to marry."

A ripple ran through the villagers at this news. "What" Inuyasha said slowly. "Are you telling me that I got engaged to this girl when I was only a BABY"

Rukusin's outward calmness cracked slightly. For the first time, he looked uneasy, maybe even a little nervous. "Weren't you... aware of this, young Lord Inuyasha" he said slowly. "I would have thought that one of your father's loyal retainers would have informed you of this betrothal."

A very strange, slightly insane look came into Inuyasha's eyes. With almost unnatural calm, he sheathed Tetsusaiga and folded his hands into his sleeves. "Excuse me, everyone" he said in a low voice. "I have a lying, despicable little flea to murder. Don't wait up for me."

The villagers parted to let him pass, and his friends watched as he walked toward Kaede's house. Still feeling a little shellshocked, Kagome ran a hand over her head. "Do you think we should stop him" she asked in a small voice.

"No, I rather think not" Miroku said.

x.

Myoga the flea was perched on the priestess's window sill, happily picking shreds of fish from a tiny bowl, with a tiny pair of chopsticks. "Ah, this is the life" he said happily. "Regular food, peaceful village, no dangerous demons in the area..."

"Think again" an ominous voice said quietly.

A pair of clawed fingers snatched Myoga up before he had a chance to flee, and he found himself, his bowl and his chopsticks dangling helplessly in front of Inuyasha's gleaming golden eyes. "Tell me something, Myoga" he said in a low voice. "Does the name Rukusin mean anything to you"

"N-no" the flea stammered helplessly. "S-should it"

"How about Rakura"

Myoga seemed to shrivel slightly. "Oh."

"And why didn't I hear about this before" Inuyasha said ominously, through his teeth. "Because you pretty obviously knew all about it, didn't you"

"Well, um, you see, I, er, was going to tell you" Myoga babbled, waving his four arms wildly. "But you see, I, um, it was never exactly the ideal time, so I was waiting for the, for the right moment to tell you about"

"THE RIGHT MOMENT" Inuyasha said incredulously. "You never bothered to tell me I had a fiancee"

"Well, now that you do know" Myoga said in a false attempt at brightness, whipping out a pair of miniscule fans"On to the wedding! I hope you will have many happy years to"

He smashed into the wall before he could finish his sentence.

TO BE CONTINUED