A/N: Hiya y'all! (No, I don't say that often...) Here's the next chapter! Yay! cheers herself on for a job well done I hope you like it, because I just gave up going orange-picking with my grandparents to update! cries Anyway, enjoy, and if you liked it or didn't like it, REVIEW ANYWAY!

By the way, one of my reviewers, Kurinju-sama, informed me that in the last chapter I made a reference to Inuyasha's father being the ruler of the Eastern Lands. This is incorrect. I'm sorry, but when I write, I just tell the story how it comes in my mind, and I hardly check it over... There's my error. Inuyasha is in fact the son of the ruler of the Western Lands. Thanks Kurinju-sama for telling me that! I'm so sorry if I do something like that again! >. ;; Please remember that I'm only human, and correct me if I misdo something. I will write a note in the next chapter to clear it up. Thanks again!

All's Fair In Love And War

Chapter 5

Inuyasha followed Sesshoumaru quickly back to the demon castle. It was quite far away, but it went by fast when traveling at the high speed.

"Inuyasha, why did you protect the general's daughter?" Sesshoumaru yelled over the wind's howling. Inuyasha stayed silent, pretending not to hear.

Why did I protect her? I don't know, it's like the minute Sesshoumaru got too close, something in me flared and I felt like I had to protect her or else. Inuyasha shook his head and dodged a tree, following Sesshoumaru closely. Inuyasha had a feeling the dog demon was going slower then he was capable of traveling, merely because he was able to catch up to him. Finally the castle approached them, breaking Inuyasha from his thoughts.

Sesshoumaru didn't bother to wait for the gates to be lowered; he just jumped over the high walls. Inuyasha sighed and followed, not near as graceful as his brother. "Go to the throne room, Inuyasha. I imagine the king wants to talk to you." He smirked and stalked off to his room. Inuyasha frowned and walked to the throne room, feeling as if he might never walk out of that room again. The king would be furious, but Inuyasha just had to take the consequences.

He opened the door with a sense of dread. The moment he looked up, he saw the king's angry face and the queen's worried one. "King Seiji, Queen Kimi." He bowed low.

"Inuyasha, darling!" Queen Kimi flew from her chair and enveloped Inuyasha in a hug. "I was so worried…" She let go of him and reluctantly returned to her chair. Inuyasha blushed a bit before regaining his composure.

"Inuyasha!" The king barked, "Why did you run off?"

"Well, you tried to keep me from battle, sire. I trained my troops, and I wanted to see them in action." Inuyasha blinked, putting on a face of innocence.

"That doesn't matter! You still should have stayed in your room!" King Seiji roared. Inuyasha winced at his loud tone, but didn't move.

"You were caught, causing a panic for us!" The king went on, "If something had happened to you, we would have had to find another heir!"

"Heir?" Inuyasha nearly fell over at that.

"Yes, dear." Queen Kimi said gently. "Since we have no children to speak of, and you've been like a son to us, we chose you to be our heir when something happens to us."

"Oh…" Inuyasha couldn't think of anything else to say. If they had told me that, would I have acted differently? More cautious? Inuyasha thought.

"Then you had to go and run off again! It makes me question your loyalty, Inuyasha." King Seiji finally calmed half-way down.

"Believe me, King Seiji, I am completely loyal." Inuyasha said, thinking back to when Kagome had questioned him and he had held strong.

"Hmm. Still, if you become king, you can't just run off on your country like that." King Seiji debated. Queen Kimi hit him on the shoulder.

"Seiji! Don't scare him away! He doesn't need a lecture."

"Yes, dear. I suppose that will come in due time…" He sighed before looking back at Inuyasha, who was truly baffled.

"So, what did they do to you at the mortal's 'palace'?" King Seiji asked, peering at the half-demon.

"They tried to get me to tell them our war secrets, but I wouldn't tell them." Inuyasha stated.

"Good job, my boy!" King Seiji leaned to his wife and whispered, "Do we have any war secrets?" She shrugged.

"And how did they interrogate you?"

"They sent a girl in…"

"A girl!" King Seiji exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes. The general's daughter, in fact." He instantly regretted saying that. King Seiji might get the idea to kidnap Kagome like Sesshoumaru had tried to do. He put up a fight against Sesshoumaru, but he wouldn't do it against his king.

"Really?" King Seiji looked impressed. "And you still didn't tell?"

"No."

"And you questioned his loyalty, Seiji!" Queen Kimi stated harshly to her mate before turning to Inuyasha. "Dear, why didn't you bring this girl with you when you escaped?"

"I couldn't." He hung his head.

"Why not?"

"She didn't deserve to be carted away. She . . . She was nice to me, she offered to help free me and she gave me food."

"Ah, teenage love!" Queen Kimi clapped her hands.

"What? No!" Inuyasha blushed fiercely.

"Just look at that face, Kimi!" King Seiji slapped his knee and laughed. "He's burning up!"

Inuyasha frowned. "If that's all…" He turned and began to walk away.

"Wait, dear!" Queen Kimi called to Inuyasha's retreating form. He turned back around, ear twitching.

"Seiji didn't mean it, dear." She said, encouraging him back to them. She shot Seiji a murderous look before continuing. "Why don't you think she deserved to be taken back here?"

"I figured if I brought her back here, she would be killed."

"Well, that's true." King Seiji said without thinking.

Inuyasha winced. "Yeah."

"Dear, if you bring her back here, we'll give her the best treatment we can. It's obvious you care for her, and I think it's splendid. Love can't hurt, especially in time of war."

"Enough of this lovey-dovey stuff! Did you get a look at their defenses while you were there?" King Seiji asked.

"Yes, sire." Inuyasha looked the king in the eye. "Their defenses were weak after that last battle."

"Ha ha!" The king laughed happily, "I knew it! Good, good. We'll infiltrate their forces in seven days time, and kill every last one!"

Inuyasha thought back to Kagome and frowned. "Is that necessary, sire?"

"Of course it is, Inuyasha! We can end this war before it starts, and this is the best way!" King Seiji chuckled at his plan. Inuyasha lowered his gaze, golden eyes hid behind a layer of silver.

"But . . ."

"No talking, Inuyasha! We must set this plan to action. Much to do, so much to do!" King Seiji shooed Inuyasha away. Inuyasha nodded angrily and walked out of the room, scowling.

Kill them all? Even Kagome… Inuyasha wandered down the hallway, deep in thought. He scowled at a servant who accidentally bumped into him, but was too preoccupied to do anything about it. He suddenly broke into a run and threw the door open to his room.

Me… King… Inuyasha frowned. I can't be king, I'm a half-demon! No one would listen to me. He sighed. And kings usually need to marry a princess. Where am I going to find one of them? He shook his head in frustration and walked over to the window, looking down at the soldiers patrolling the grounds. His thoughts wandered back to the human palace.

"Kagome can't die. She accepted me for who I was extremely quick, and she gave me food and entertainment while I was trapped. She didn't force the interrogation on me, and I could tell she had a nice heart…" He sighed, ears drooping.

"That girl made you get that impression of her for the few hours you knew each other?" A gruff voice behind him asked. Inuyasha whirled around to see his elder brother standing there, hands on his hips.

"Yes. And if you didn't try to kill her, you might have seen it too." Inuyasha sneered. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow.

"I did not try to kill her. If I had tried, she would be dead."

"Well, she might be dead soon anyway." He mumbled.

"Why?"

"The king decided that they would invade the human palace in a week's time. He ordered that every mortal would die." Inuyasha turned back to the window and glared at the ground.

"Hmm. Indeed." Sesshoumaru thought for a moment. "Why don't you take her prisoner, then?" (A/N: Sesshoumaru isn't so mean in this one. )

"I can't do that; she'd be killed any—" He stopped when he remembered what the queen had said. Dear, if you bring her back here, we'll give her the best treatment we can. It's obvious you care for her, and I think it's splendid. Love can't hurt, especially in time of war. "I could bring her back!" He smiled at that thought, then frowned.

"What's wrong?" Sesshoumaru sat gracefully in a chair. How anyone could do that was beyond Inuyasha, but Sesshoumaru accomplished it.

"King Seiji will murder me if I leave the house again." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Ah yes. He seemed quite angry about it last time."

"Quite angry is an understatement." Inuyasha frowned and thought about how to get out of the castle. Luckily, Sesshoumaru was already one step ahead.

"Suppose you had a . . . chaperone." He said thoughtfully, smirking at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha caught on quick. "Right, a chaperone! I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I had someone responsible look out for me…" He grinned at Sesshoumaru, who stood up.

"I'll get my sword." He nodded to the hanyou. "We leave tonight."

"Why not now?"

"It's almost dawn. The mortals will be waking up, and we don't want them to see us waltz in and take the general's daughter in broad daylight. Use your brain, Inuyasha." He explained before walking out of the room. Inuyasha shrugged and walked to his bed, laying in it. With the thought of the kidnapping that was about to take place, he had a hard time sleeping, but he slowly drifted off into an uneasy rest.

A/N: Sorry if that one seemed a bit short... I ran out of ideas to put in it. Heh... Either way, that's the chapter! Sorry it took so long to update, but Christmas made things very hectic. New Years wasn't much better. Anyway, enjoy 2006, everyone! REVIEW PLEASE!