(A/N: I'm sorry it took so long. I wanted to focus on my other story before I started this one, but I'm at a loss for the next chapter of Only Time Will Tell, so I decided to write chapter 2 of this one. It's basically a filler, just for the knowledge of my readers, not very exciting but I'm trying to build up to the better parts like when they get to the castle. Thank you for reading, even though I didn't update in a while, and I'm really happy with all the feedback I got, THANK YOU ALL! I wasn't expecting that many reviews for the first chapter, but I'm grateful and I'm sorry for making you wait. Oh yea...if you're bored one day, I'm gonna advertise my website. w w w. inuhaven . piczo. com without spaces its a site I made, totally Inuyasha based. There's other websites on it, pics, movie guides, uhhhh I forget the rest but yea. Check it out if you want.

DISCLAIMER: I always forget these, but I don't own Inuyasha and I never will. They belong to the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. SHE'S A GENIUS I SAY! GENIUS!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kagome was still holding Inuyasha's hand as they neared her campsite. Inuyasha couldn't force the blush on his face to go away, but she seemed completely unfazed by it. 'Damn wench…How DARE she!' He was ready to say some VERY nasty things to her, when Kagome suddenly shouted, "Oh look! There's our campsite!"

"Keh. What were you doing out here anyway?"

Kagome looked up at him with a smiling face. "My mom said she wanted a change of scenery. It was a nice little vacation…" Kagome got a dreamy look on her face and Inuyasha suddenly found a turnip-shaped cloud quite interesting. Kagome got curious as to what he was looking at, so she asked him.

"Uh…that cloud…looks like a turnip…" He said, embarrassed.

Kagome looked at it thoughtfully. "It looks more like a radish."

"Radish? Are you blind, that's clearly a turnip!"

"Nooo…….it's a radish!"

"You've got to be kidding! I'm telling you, moron, that's a fucking….."

"Kagome! Kagome! Princess!"

The two stopped their bickering when Sango came running towards them, screaming like crazy.

"Princess! We were so worried about you!"

Inuyasha instantly blanched. 'Princess? Oh……oh, SHIT!'

Kagome noticed how pale Inuyasha had gotten and smiled reassuringly at him. "Inuyasha, you're not in trouble or anything. I liked arguing with you…it was a nice change of pace. Now come on, Mama's waiting!" She tugged on his arm and started dragging him towards a giant red satin tent with "H" engraved in gold silk on the tent flap.

Sango walked quickly to Kagome's side. "Kagome…what's with the guy?" she asked curiously. Kagome smiled and said "Oh. Him. He saved my life earlier…" Sango stopped dead in her tracks. 'How is she being so dismissive about something like THAT?'

Inuyasha was speechless as Kagome led him up to the throne of a VERY important looking woman, adorned with a dark purple robe and jewels of all kinds, glaring at Kagome with an annoyed look on her face. "Higurashi Kagome! You're LATE!" Once again, Inuyasha went white. 'These are the Higurashis of the Shikon Kingdom? And I called their princess a MORON!'

"I'm sorry, Mama. A bear demon started chasing me in the forest. But…" She looked at Inuyasha admiringly. "Inuyasha saved me." Her mother turned her gaze to Inuyasha, who looked quite uncomfortable. "Half demon," she began. "You have saved my daughter. What is it you wish in payment of your brave act?"

Inuyasha gulped. "I…I don't want a payment. I TOLD her that…" he looked at Kagome angrily. "I'm fine as it is. Sorry to waste your time." With that said, Inuyasha ripped his arm out of Kagome's grasp and started to walk out of the royal tent.

Kagome watched him go sadly. Queen Higurashi noticed this, and called out for him. "Wait, Hanyou!" Inuyasha flinched at the name, but walked back to their majesties anyway. "Tell me…where is it that you live?"

"Nowhere, ma'am." He answered, sounding quite annoyed.

"I see…do you have a job?"

"No…"

"Do you have any family?"

"None that'll take a half breed, Majesty."

Queen Higurashi smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Then it's settled. Half Demon Inuyasha, you will be my daughter's new protector!"

"HUH?" Both Kagome and Inuyasha said in unison.

"Yes. It's decided. He, who so willingly saved you, shall now protect you all the time! It's the perfect arrangement. Of course we'd pay you, give you food and housing…Unless, Inuyasha, you'd rather not…"

"Keh. Whatever……"

"Kagome?"

Kagome looked up at her mother and smiled. "It's fine with me, Mama."

The queen beamed and her daughter and her new protector before sending them out of her tent. 'I see something between those two…How could I possibly let him leave?' she thought to herself as some of her servants brought her bills and treaties to sign.

----------------------

"So…Your mom does most of the work, hmm?" Inuyasha asked quietly as he and Kagome walked away. Truthfully, he wasn't that interested. He just wanted to get a conversation going.

"Yeah. Ever since my father died, she's been in charge of all the political work." Kagome said sadly. Inuyasha froze. 'SHIIIIIT! Great job bringing up the bad memories, idiot!'

"I'm….sorry…."

Kagome smiled up at him. "It's okay. It's nice to remember my father once in awhile. How do you feel about going home with us? I mean, it seems like my mother sort of…pushed you…"

"Keh. I'm fine. It's not like I have anything better to do. Listen…" Inuyasha got nose to nose with the princess. "I'm not gonna be your little lap dog or anything, understand?" Kagome looked surprised. "Inuyasha…I didn't expect anything less of you. I would never……" But Inuyasha had already turned and started walking away.

'Jeez…What's his problem?' Annoyed by his behavior, Kagome shouted, "Well you'd better not go anywhere! We leave in at SUNSET!" Seeing him wave dismissively at her without even turning, Kagome figured he'd heard and walked back to her friend Sango who was waiting patiently by the entrance of her mother's tent.

-------------------------------------------------------

'Stupid pushy bitch. Why in the hell is she making me baby-sit her fucking brat? Just 'cause I was the only one willing to do it?' Inuyasha kicked a stone out of his path, as he continued to rant in his head.

'Damn mortals…Can't they just leave me alone? I serve no one…I'm my own fucking master and if anyone has a problem with that I'll just rip their throats out. My freedom is all I have…' He followed the small dirt road he was on absently, before remembering Kagome mentioning something about leaving before sunset.

'It's getting late. Kagome said everyone was going to leave and…….Kagome….Guess I can't call her that anymore. Now it's gonna be Princess Kagome, Her Majesty. Can I get you anything, Your Highness? Perhaps you'd like to use me as your footstool, Mi'Lady? This is complete and utter BULLSHIT! Why in the hells did I agree?'

Blushing, Inuyasha remembered how warm she'd been, how kind she was. He'd…He'd wanted to be around her more. That's why he said yes. Inuyasha smacked himself in the forehead as he turned to walk back to camp. 'Baka! Stupid, stupid baka! Don't think that…Kagome's my employer now. She's a princess for fuck's sake! And I…I am a halfbreed. A peasant even. Why would things be any different?'

Inuyasha sighed and combed his fingers through his long silver hair. He looked remorsefully at the satin tent of their Majesties billowing in the breeze. Today, the freedom he had prized so much would leave him. It would be nothing more than a memory. Once again, the hanyou sighed and slowly walked towards the campsite, forever sealing his fate.

-----------------------------------------------

"That's the last of the luggage, Princess!"

Kagome smiled fondly up at one of her servants, who had just packed her final suitcase into their carriage. "Thank you, Tomichi!" she said with a smile, seeing him flash her a grin of his own before leaving to get her mother's bags.

The young princess looked expectantly into the distance. They were almost ready to go, and her new hanyou friend hadn't arrived yet. 'He's late…I hope he didn't forget. Maybe…maybe he left because he doesn't want to go…' Kagome suddenly felt sad, and she wondered briefly if something was wrong with her. 'He probably just doesn't like me.' She decided, before scanning the horizon one last time.

She was overjoyed to see Inuyasha treading slowly up the hill, his red hakamas blowing lightly in the wind. The hanyou's silver hair traveled in wisps across his face as the wind blew, his amber eyes gleaming in the red and orange hue of sunset. He looked so untamed, so wild….Kagome didn't even notice she was staring until she was face to face with him.

"Uh…" She stammered intelligently and found herself blushing at his closeness.

Inuyasha stared at her incredulously, until realization seemed to dawn on him. She saw his ears twitch as the coach driver yelled at them to board. "After you, Majesty." He said gruffly, helping her get into the carriage. Kagome eyed him strangely, but took held his hand firmly as he lifted her up the steps into her seat.

"Thank you." She said softly, still disbelieving of his politeness. Kagome saw him shrug before begin to walk away.

"In…Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha spun slowly to face the princess. "Is there something you need?" He asked in a hostile voice, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

Kagome gulped before continuing. "I…I wanted to know if you'd like to ride with me, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's eyes quivered slightly as he seemed to ponder her question. He nodded before climbing in the carriage to sit beside her.

"Is this suitable for you, Your Highness?" he said, still seeming to be humoring her with the title.

Sighing, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's chin with her small hand, and turned his head to face her.

"No more titles. My name is Kagome. Just Kagome. I wasn't named Princess or Her Majesty. That's merely a title. Nothing more. I'd really like to be your friend, Inuyasha. So please, call me by name."

Inuyasha looked into her eyes questioningly. Out of all the royals he'd met, all of them had demanded he address them formally, lest the hanyou face a horrible punishment they'd threaten him with. It was almost as if they needed to be reminded how superior they were to him. But Kagome, she was an odd one. She didn't want to place herself above him, or above anyone for that matter.

Once he'd nodded, Kagome smiled and released his chin from her grip. She leaned on him as the carriage started to move, simply staring out the window.

'Yes, Kagome's certainly different…' Inuyasha thought as he slightly blushed from the contact as she unconsciously scooted further into him. Feeling brave, Inuyasha placed his hand on her waist, nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt Kagome put her own hand on top of his.

'But…' he thought smiling as they watched the moving scenery fly past the window. 'That's not necessarily a bad thing…'

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Thanks for reading, please review. I'll update sooner next time. Thanks for all your support once again and I hope to hear from you's! Lauren