Disclaimer: Inuyasha and none of the characters within the stories belong to me. They shall belong to Takahashi Rumiko, and shall continue to do so until I take over the world. So wait until then!
Sorry for the long wait! I'm so disorganised, and lazy, I haven't been able to bother to get off my butt in order to type this up… Don't kill me! cough Well, here is chapter 6 of 'The Half-Blood Princess'. I would also like to say thank you to all the people who reviewed last chapter, and also, please don't give up on me! I live and thrive off your reviews! Also sorry to any Kikyo lovers, because unfortunately, I do not like her, and she does have a rather bitchy character in this story. After all, she DOES steal - gasp! I nearly gave the plot away! Hehehe…
The Half-Blood PrincessChapter 6
Decisions Over Love"Because-" Sesshoumaru felt everyone's gaze piercing through his back. Even Minato had an eyebrow raised in question. "Because… Dammit. Because I love you, you dimwit!" And with that, he leant towards her surprised face, and kissed her. Sesshoumaru sighed, and collapsed onto his bed once again. What on earth had he been thinking of? It was bad enough that he had fallen in love with a half-demon, but to then confess that love, in front of all those highly distinguished demons! Something had to be wrong with him. Maybe he was ill. Maybe he was under some sort of curse! However, he swatted these thoughts away. It was impossible. Yet, there was no other explanation for it. He was going soft, and now, he was lovesick. Sesshoumaru hit his forehead softly again, and he fell back, allowing the bed to envelope him in warm softness.
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Inuyasha kicked a stray leaf out of his path. "Stupid demon. Stupid brother. You SAID you hated half-demons. I'm not letting you change your mind now… How dare you touch Minato. She's mine!" He grumbled all the way to the edge of the palace gardens. Just as he was about to turn away to return to the palace, a sharp gleam caught his eye. He turned to look at it. Inuyasha had reached to edge of the palace gates, and there, in the middle of the gate, was a gap. A large gap, taking the space of five bars, cut with very straight lines. They seemed like they had been cut with something long, and very sharp, like Minato's claws. He shuddered, memories of the last day flooding back. Those cold eyes, devoid of emotion, that unfeeling aura. He shivered, and all of a sudden, a strange emotion began to flow through him. "Minato," he whispered, "how did I fall in love with you again…?"
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Minato whipped around. The hall fell silent and no one was to be seen. Frowning slightly, she turned around again, and carried on walking. There it was again. That irritating murmur of talk that was following her everywhere. She turned again, and once more, the hall fell silent. Hands balled into fists, she carried on walking determinedly. It was all Sesshoumaru's fault for kissing her, when he was the one who had rejected her in the first place. But no, he had kissed her to stop her from killing Kouga, so it was all Kouga's fault. Yet, Kouga was there in the first place because her father had invited him, so it was all her father's fault. But when she thought about it even harder, it was her fault for leaving the guest list up to her father! That put Minato into an even worse mood. Was someone accusing her of causing all this mess? Well she hadn't! None of it was her fault. But at the same time, it had to be… "Aaaaaargh!" Minato screamed. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! None of this mess is my fault! Stop talking about me behind my back!" Instantly, a huge mob of the servant population scurried for safer cover, and the sheer number of them, put Minato into the worst mood she'd been in since her mother died. "Someone is going to have to pay for this!"
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It was with these feelings that the trio met when dinner came round, and it was with curiosity and interest over their reactions to each other that they were watched by the rest of the royal family. However, dinner passed in the utmost silence, and once each of them had finished, they excused themselves from the table, and silence descended on the remaining people. Inutaisho and King Celestin exchanged anxious glances throughout the meal, yet, they knew deep down in their hearts, that they could not do anything about it. And though things were already bad enough as they were, Minato, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Inutaisho and Celestin did not yet realise how much worse things were about to get.
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It happened a week later, at lunch, three days before all the guests were due to leave. A knock came at the door, and the butler entered the room, bowing, a rather anxious look on his face. "Excuse me, Hime… You… You have a guest. I'm afraid she will not wait! We have tried everything possible to make her withdraw but-!" BAM! Minato had stood up suddenly, and all eyes were on her. "Hiten, you have been my butler for a VERY long time. You should know more than anyone else how much I don't like being disturbed in the middle of my meal. Hiten, I'm sorry but you are-"
"Hm. How hasty you are as always Minato." Minato recognised that voice. Instantly, her fangs and nails lengthened a bit. "Kikyo!" She spat, venom and hatred dripping from her words. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha turned to face the intruder. As he turned around, Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. A tall, slender female stood in front of the butler, Hiten. She had deathly white skin, and long ebony black hair, cascading down to her knees. She wore a traditional kimono, and her hazel eyes were filled with boredom. Her thin, knife like lips contained a faint, hidden smile, and she was just the picture of a traditional Japanese beauty. She was a comparison to Minato, who was more of a pretty face with her own character and mind.
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Kikyo turned to smile at Sesshoumaru, Inutaisho and Inuyasha, and returned her gaze to Minato asking her curtly, "Care to introduce me? It's only polite." Minato gritted her teeth for a moment, before opening her mouth again. "I guess I could. This is his honoured Ayakashi Inutaisho, Sesshoumaru is his oldest son, and heir to his Ayakashi clan. Inuyasha is his younger son, and is my fiancée." Kikyo raised an eyebrow a little at the word 'fiancée', but the look was soon replaced by a warm smile, and she bowed a little, hiding her face, as she replied with, "I am Hakutsu Kikyo, Minato's dear cousin on her father's side. My mother was King Celestin's younger sister, Satsuki. I am sure you are aware of her. My father is a merchant, more commonly known as Hakutsu Kaito. Please excuse my being late. I was… held up. Some important business back at home."
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Minato scoffed, and laughed out loud. "Important business? What business is more important than your 'dear' cousin's engagement celebration? And Satsuki can barely be called my father's sister. That witch isn't even related to him! She's lucky that the late King, my grandfather, decided to take her in after she tried to kill him! She should have died then! Don't you dare try to even think of placing your daughter of a whore mother on the same level as my father!" The rest of the guests were shocked at the princess' sudden outburst. Though she had always been famous for snapping at people, she had never been this bad. Kikyo glared at the princess. "Humph. As if you'd understand you bitch. You've always had that attitude. It really pisses me off! You've always been like that! You have no right to talk of my mother in that way! You're the witch! The only good quality you have is that of fighting! Barely a quality suitable for a Hime-sama! I should be the one wearing that crown, not you!"
Kikyo's words hung in the room. Though, she had every right to snap back, what she had just said was traitorous, and she could be killed or punished even worse than that for those ten words. Minato stared at her for a while, and slowly, the corners of her mouth began to creep up. "So, Kikyo, you really are stupid then. Whilst I never had proof before, you have just handed it to me on a plate. So, you think that you should be wearing the crown, not me?" Kikyo gasped in realisation, and began to shake slightly. "Of course not! I never said such a thing!" But it was hopeless. "Kikyo, everyone in this room is witness! I presume you know what's coming. Like mother like daughter. You shall share the same fate your vile 'mother' suffered!" Inuyasha stood up abruptly, and cried out to Minato, "Please Minato! She didn't mean it! It probably just came out on the spur of the moment! Why don't you spare her? I'm sure there's a way to bypass that specific law!"
He was met with silence. Sesshoumaru kept his stoic face, Kikyo stared in wonder at Inuyasha, and Inuyasha could not help but notice the hurt look on his love's face. "Minato?" He moved towards her, but as he reached out to touch her, she flinched, and turned away. "Fine. Kikyo, be thankful to Inuyasha. He just saved your life." And so saying, Minato fled from the room. "Minato!" Inuyasha cried, beginning to run after her, but he was stopped by someone holding his arm back. "Please wait Ayakashi-san!" Kikyo pleaded. "I… I can't thank you enough! You saved my life. How could I ever repay you?" Inuyasha stared down at the beautiful girl hanging desperately to his arm, and muttered, "You don't have to. I did it because I wanted to." Kikyo beamed up at him. 'Huh? This scenario seems familiar. A girl… holding onto my arm, and smiling up at me…' Inuyasha paused for a moment, and Kikyo slowly let go of his arm. And with a sick feeling in his stomach, Inuyasha realised that he wished she hadn't let go of his arm.
Sesshoumaru, noting the look in Inuyasha's eyes, swept from the room, disgust for his foolish brother's affections spreading through his body. Standing outside Minato's room, he calmed himself, before knocking on her door. He heard someone hurrying to the door, and Minato flung open the door with a smile saying, "Inuyasha?". However, even Minato could not manage to completely hide her disappointment at seeing Sesshoumaru. "W-what?" she asked with her back turned to him. Sesshoumaru sighed, and said, "This Sesshoumaru apologises for any inconvenience any of your serving staff has caused you. I hope you understand that I only acted in that manner to prevent your unnecessary harm later on." He was surprised to hear her calmly reply, "I know. I appreciate it. Anything more?" Sesshoumaru sighed, not for the first time that day, and decided to get to the heart of the matter. "Inuyasha is a fool, and does not understand anything. That is why he may have hurt you. It is however a misunderstanding, and fear not, it will soon all be cleared. There is no reason for a human who has sinned to remain alive." Slowly, Minato turned to face Sesshoumaru, and quietly whispered, "Thank you."
The demons in the hall raised their eyebrows questioningly towards the king. They tolerated the King's presence, for he was after all, the King. However, none of them could bear to stay in the same room as any other human, and Kikyo was definitely not an exception. Kikyo, pretending not to notice their cold glares, hugged onto Inuyasha fondly. "Come! I have something I want to show you Inuyasha!" And so saying, she dragged him from the room. Inutaisho glanced at Celestin, and received a nod in return. Standing, Celestin addressed the congregation, "Please excuse me for a second. I must discuss something with his lord Inutaisho, and I must prepare for our… unexpected guest."
Sesshoumaru gently guided to almost crying princess into her bedroom. Something was obviously bothering her, and he had to find out what it was. Shutting the door behind him, he whispered softly to her, "Something must have happened between you and the human. What?" It took a while, but eventually, Minato calmed down enough to speak. "When we were little, we were the best of friends. I knew all about her mother, who had attempted to kill my grandfather for money, but I still loved my little cousin. She was like the sibling I never had. I didn't have any real friends either, as I was always caught up in the house with other members of my family, meaning that my only choice of friends were Kouga and Kikyo. We grew up together, did everything together, but I never realised…. When I turned eight, my royal tasters began to die. All of my food was being poisoned, but no one ever knew who did it, until one day, when we were baking biscuits, Kikyo asked me to try one of hers because she had a cold, and couldn't taste properly. I took it, and ate it. I very nearly died from the concentrated amount of poison in it. But when the rest of her biscuits were tasted, none of them had poison, so everyone including me thought that I must have consumed the poison in a different way. After I got better, she came to see me. We went out into the garden, and she said, 'You should have died when you ate that biscuit you idiot. Don't you understand, with you gone, with you dead, I will become princess and eventually queen! You don't know how it feels to have everybody hate you, everybody shun me, simply because of my background! You should have died and made me queen so that I will never have to suffer again you selfish bitch!' and with that she left. She tried numerous other times to kill me, but there was never any evidence, never any proof to show that she was the one behind all the attacks. Only I knew. But who would believe an eight-year-old girl, who hates the suspect in question? No one."
Kikyo brought Inuyasha to the guest bedroom where she was staying. She shut and locked the door behind her. "Ayakashi-san, excuse my being forward, but may I call you Inuyasha? It would really please me." Inuyasha smiled, and replied, "I guess that means you will allow me to call you Kikyo as well then." Kikyo gasped and cried, "Oh yes please! Come!" And she dragged him towards her baggage. Pulling out a photograph from her bag, she showed it to him. There were three people in the picture: Kikyo, her mother and her father. "That's my mother. It's the only picture I have left of her." Inuyasha glanced up at Kikyo. "What happened to her?" Kikyo looked away, and whispered, "She was killed. My mother was killed by her only brother! King Celestin! My mother was a lovely and kind woman! She helped the sick by giving them medicine, and whilst they were unusual and rather abnormal, they still helped the people! She wasn't a witch like that bratty princess claims! She was a normal human, just like her murderous brother! She did have her problems, like the time she was paid to kill her grandfather when she was younger, but she had no money and was an orphan! She had no other choice! Yet, she changed, and the past should have been left in the past! Only 'her majesty' and 'his royal highness' continue to drag her name in the dirt! Oh Inuyasha! You must believe me! You can't marry that demon! I know you've seen her temper, her inner beast! Surely you don't want to be tied down to a monster like that? I could never bear the thought of you marrying her, unaware of who she really is! Please Inuyasha! Only you can save yourself. You could never love her enough to want to stay with the devil forever. Inuyasha…"
"Celestin! What's the meaning of this? Why was I never informed of the coming of that human? Had I known, I would have taken the necessary precautions to shield my sons from her. I too have heard of her witchcraft to ensnare and entrap the hearts of innocent men, use them for whatever evil purposes she has planned, and then abandon them, leaving them to their fate of eternal longing and solitude! What have you to say, Celestin!" The king sighed, and brought his palms to his forehead. "Because, Inutaisho, not even I knew of her coming. It was completely unexpected, and trust me, Inutaisho, had I known, I would have made sure she did not place one foot within the walls of this palace! Her arrival was completely unexpected, and unwanted. As I'm sure you are aware, we have had a lot of problems with her mother, Satsuki, and Kikyo herself is a danger to the throne. And I hold my faith in Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru that they shall not fall into her traps, so please do not worry yourself any more Ayakashi. We have only to hold our teeth for another three days."
Kikyo was then confined to her room for the rest of the day. She was not allowed to leave the boundaries of the room, and spells were placed around the outside to ensure that no human would be able to leave the chamber. Meals were sent in on trays, but never collected, meaning that a small pile of dirty cutlery was beginning to pile next to her door. "Hm…" Kikyo smirked through the darkness of her prison. "So, I guess the game has started again. This will be fun. Don't worry Minato, though I'll steal your throne and your life, I'll only play with the rest of your possessions… And I mustn't forget about the Shikon Jewel… Not that you understand anything about it!"
Author's note:
Once again, sorry for the long wait! I hope this'll be enough for the moment, because I've been typing for god knows how long, and I honestly can't keep this up much longer… I don't think I'll do the thing of 'I won't update until I get at least this many reviews' thing, because the last time I did that, it took ages, (I was only waiting for 7 reviews…) and by the time I got them, I couldn't bring myself to write this chapter, and so on so forth. It shouldn't take me as long to update because I've got the first bit written up and all. And this is completely irrelevant to anything about fanfiction, but I must admit 'Folder 5' (J-pop) are reeeeeally good! Especially their 'Hyper Groove Party' album. Just wanted to say that! I might use one of their songs in a fanfic one day…
Coming up next chapter…:
Sesshoumaru begins to put all the pieces together, something is happening to Inuyasha, Minato is slowly beginning to close up, Kouga begins to get suspicious, and King Celestin and Inutaisho have to deal with all of this mess! With two of the trio having complex emotional problems, it is up to Sesshoumaru to sort everything out!