Chapter 5: Onsen

Rin escorted Kagome to her room, as Sango followed behind, always the watchful bodyguard. The room was well furnished, with teak furniture and a simple futon in a box frame that raised it off the floor. It was as large as Kikyou's room, and twice as big as the room she'd grown up sleeping in at the family shrine. There were two doors that let off from the room, and Rin explained that one led to the bath, and the other led to Sesshoumaru-sama's room.

'At least I'll have some privacy,' she thought.

Rin stepped over to a large chest and carefully opened it, and started pulling out the pieces of a ceremonial kimono. It was white with blue, gold and red embroidery, and from what she could see, depicted a great white dog, just like the murals in the hall.

"Beautiful …." Kagome couldn't believe the intricacy of the weave and decoration. She ran her fingers over the fabric gently, amazed at just how soft it was. She knew she had worn outfits that were nearly as expensive while pretending to be the Princess, but she couldn't help but feel that she'd never worn something as fine as this.

"Once you bathe, I'll help you dress. Will you need help with your kimono, Sango-san?" Rin asked.

"I can tie it myself, thank you," Sango snapped. Rin didn't flinch, but Kagome frowned.

"There's no need to be rude to Rin-chan, Sango-san."

"I'm sorry, Oujo-sama. This place just makes me... nervous. All the demonic energy." Sango glanced around, as if convinced that a demon was going to leap from the shadows at any moment. She'd fought demons her entire life; it had to be difficult to live among them.

"It's all right, Oujo-sama," Rin said. "Time to get cleaned up!"

The bath turned out to be a room almost as large as Kagome's bedchamber. A huge marble basin held enough water for half a dozen people to bathe at once. Two marble statues, again of great dogs, poured water from their mouths into the tub.

"Totosai-san built pipes to allow water to run from a hot spring nearby right to this tub!" Rin informed them with a big smile as she saw the other two girls stare in amazement. Then Rin went over to a couple of knobs and turned them until the water ceased pouring from the mouths of the statues.

Kagome wasn't sure who Totosai-san was, but she and Sango both appreciated his skills as they bathed and soaked, although Sango was just as shy as always about the scar across her back. Then Rin combed Kagome's hair until it was dry and she donned the Kimono she'd been given.

Before Rin had even finished putting the last few strands of hair in place, there was a knock on the door. Kagome tensed, knowing that it was probably whoever had been sent to retrieve the princess for the ceremony.

Sango opened it, revealing an old woman with a third eye on her forehead. "It's almost time," she said, the words ringing ominously in Kagome's ears.

"Nakoudo-san!" Rin squealed as she heard the voice. She dropped the hairbrush and bounced over to the woman, throwing her arms around the ancient demoness.

"Hello, child," Nakoudo said, and smiled at the girl.

"You've been gone forever," Rin pouted. The old woman laughed.

"I had much to prepare for." The demoness turned to Kagome and inspected her, then nodded. "Yes...I suppose this will have to do."

Kagome felt a little hurt at the demoness' words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry child. I meant no disrespect. I simply am lamenting that the two of you don't have time to court properly, rather than this rushed ceremony."

"Yes, why is he in such a hurry?" Sango asked. "Even Jaken was talking about flying the princess here without entourage."

"Oh my, how impatient." Nakoudo laughed and shook her head. "Likely his Beast is getting impatient."

"His beast?" both girls asked.

"It is … difficult to explain. The Beast is a manifestation of the raw strength we draw on as demons, but it is also the most reckless and destructive part of us as well. Our basest instincts are guided by our Beast, driving us to hunt when we are hungry, or, in this case, to claim our mate."

Kagome blushed. "His mate? He said that when he presented me to his mother. What do you mean?"

"You will understand, and there is no more time to explain. Are you ready, Oujo-sama?" she asked, and all three of her eyes seemed to look straight through Kagome to her own soul.

"Yes. At least as much as I'll ever be."

Author's Notes: First, sorry about the delay – weekends are always super busy for me. And Nakoudo is kind of a pun - Nakoudo means 'Matchmaker' and refers to the person who arranges 'Miai' or meetings between singles in Japan for the purpose of deciding if they'd like to marry. Oh, and Onsens are Japanese hot spring baths. ^.^