Disclaimer: I don't own anything…none of the characters, nothing (but the plot). I don't own Inuyasha.

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Chapter five: Kagome meets Inuyasha

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The door of a carriage opened at the Palace where the Ball was being held. A few seconds later, a beautiful woman stepped out of it.

She was the Lady Kikyou, the next Queen, Lady Kagome's sister, and the most sought after woman in the entire kingdom. She stepped into the castle with a slow, regal step, every movement more graceful than the last.

Kikyou had long, silken black hair, usually in a low ponytail, but at the moment it was lose and it cascaded down her back, like a black waterfall. If you were to put Kagome and Kikyou both side by side at the moment, you'd think they were a strange sort of identical twin sisters (even though Kikyou was one or two years older than Kagome). They looked almost exactly alike, but if Kikyou, where walked gracefully, Kagome would stumble, and where Kikyou's beauty was cold and distant, Kagome's was warm and caring.

They were as different as night and day.

As Kikyou walked inside, and all the Ball guests looked at her with both admiring and jealous glances (coming from the female guests), Inuyasha, like most of the male guests, was instantly hypnotized by her beauty, even though he shrugged the entranced feeling away. After all, he told himself, he hadn't come here to try and capture Kikyou's heart…he had come here just to disobey Naraku and have fun, even though he didn't know what one did at these Balls…

With that thought in mind, he and the rest of the guests were admitted into the castle.

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Kagome had been expecting a lot of people to come to the Royal Ball, but she hadn't expected this many people! It seemed that everywhere you turned there was people—whether it was at the dance floor, the dining room, or even the kitchens, the large mobs of people were everywhere!

It also seemed that everywhere she turned she was asked to dance. Being a princess, she had to be polite and accept—even though she was certain her feet would fall off any moment now from all the dancing she was doing. Then she realized that she shouldn't be complaining, because ever since Kikyou arrived, Kikyou herself hadn't even had a chance to sit down.

And Kikyou had arrived several hours ago!

Finally, after dancing with some nice Lord for about several minutes, she managed to, somehow, slip away unnoticed into the gardens outside, feeling instant relief as she stepped away from the castle. The interior of the Palace, it had seemed, had been suffocating—she hadn't realized it until she was able to freely inhale the brisk, uncluttered night air that had rushed over to greet her.

But even then, the garden was crowded, or so it seemed, and she walked away from the few couples who were leisurely strolling around, admiring the roses, flowers, and trees aloud. Then, by herself, she enjoyed the peaceful silence….

…that was suddenly shattered by someone running past her so fast, she had not enough time to get away.

"Move it!" that someone shouted at her, as he pushed past, his long, black hair streaming out behind him as he ran. He leapt into some bushes up ahead, and was immediately hidden from view.

Kagome blinked in confusion. What was going on..?

A few seconds later, her question was answered.

"Where did he go?"

An enormous crowd of girls and women burst from the garden entrance.

"He's got to be around here somewhere!"

"Keep looking for him!"

"Gods, he was so cute! He has to dance with me!"

"Nuh-uh! With me!"

"You're wrong! He saw me first!"

"Well, I saw him first!"

"SO? I bet he thought I looked beautiful!"

"My grandma looks prettier than you!"

"Shut up, everyone! I saw him first so I get him!"

"No you didn't. I did!"

"He has to be a Prince, I know it! And even if he isn't, he'll be mine!"

The women began to fight amongst themselves, screaming at each other, arguing, and a few were even about to start to get into cat-fights with each other.

"What's going on here?" Kagome asked, as she walked over to the almost hysterical women.

"We're looking for a man," one of them explained helpfully, "Wearing a red haori…"

"Hey, I saw him," Kagome exclaimed, excited, and instantly regretted her words.

"WHAT!"

"Really!"

"WHERE!" They all cried in unison.

"I—uh—didn't you just see him? He ran, thataway, right back inside while you all weren't looking!" Kagome lied, pointing back into the Palace.

Everyone scrambled back inside.

Relieved, Kagome strolled back to the bushes were the guy was hiding.

"They're gone," she informed him, leaning against a tree.

The man stood up. "Uh…thanks," he looked mildly surprised, "Why did you help me out?"

"Well, I know I wouldn't want a horde of screaming guys after me…I mean, those girls seemed a little crazy, you know?" She giggled, looking at the man in the eyes, and realizing that he wasn't as old as she had thought he was. He seemed to be about her age.

The boy chuckled darkly. "You have no idea." He shook his head, annoyed. "I've been running from those girls all night."

"So, are you really a Prince?" Kagome asked, remembering one of the girls screaming words.

"Hell, no. More like the opposite," he answered, "I shouldn't have come here. This Ball was a waste of time. It wasn't fun or anything. Stupid Myoga," he added under his breath.

"Have you danced with Lady Kikyou yet?" Kagome asked him, curiously.

For a second, the boy was startled. "No…why?" He looked at Kagome, noticing that she looked similar to the Princess Kikyou. "You're not her, are you?"

Kagome laughed, amused. "If I were her, I wouldn't have a chance to get away! No, I'm not her, but maybe if you danced with Kikyou, you might not regret coming. In fact, all the men who have danced with her acted like they thought it wasn't a waste of time."

"Keh. I still would, I bet," he said under his breath.

"But…don't you think she's beautiful? Everyone thinks she is." Kagome tried hard not to sigh.

"I can't dance," the guy admitted, "I'd make a fool of myself in front of everyone if I tried….but who cares? I don't want to dance with a spoiled Princess anyways."

Kagome shrugged, about to inform him that she was a spoiled Princess, but she didn't. "You sure you don't want to? I'll give you a quick lesson, if you want."

He hesitated. "Fine. I got nothing better to do anyways."

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So for the next few hours, Kagome and the boy (who introduced himself as Inuyasha) danced around the garden, their movements slow, jerky, and awkward at first, but they improved after that while.

Kagome proclaimed that Inuyasha was a success after several hours had passed that he had last stepped on her toes.

"Thanks," Inuyasha said, as they stepped away from each other, "You know, I think I'll try to dance with her now, you know, Kikyou."

"You're ready enough." Kagome said helpfully, She felt strange now, that she had stopped dancing. She missed his light touch around her waist and hand. While they had danced, he had been clumsy, but always tried to make sure he hadn't been too rough with her. He had tried to be considerate.

"I guess I'll see you later." Kagome smiled.

"I guess," he replied, and turned and strolled back into the dance hall.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I am sorry if I made either Kagome or Inuyasha sound OCC. I tend to make people sound different when I write fics…Thanks to QT102 and fluffylover foryour support! Thanks so much for reading! Ja ne!