Kagome's mind wasn't in any kind of disarray. Quite the contrary, really. She smiled at her room. Its coloring was different this time; light purples and greens, along with maroon and cobalt. She'd asked for the picture hadn't been in her bathroom before, and after some disgruntled argument from InuYasha, he had it done for her. It was installed in the new bathroom, and another was being drawn up somewhere in the under works of the palace. She walked along the room, her hand feeling each of the walls, showing her nothing she didn't already know.

She sat down at her desk, daring herself to write. What would she write? Another Journal entry? After what happened last time? Not likely. She picked up the pencil, and wrote. It wasn't brilliant, but she wanted to tell a story. She started it with the female lead named Kikyo in love. It was generally a silly way to start a story, but she didn't really care.

"Kikyo walked silently through the halls of the Harem, wistfully thinking about her life. She was nothing special, just a Harem girl, like any other. There was one difference, though slight; she was in love. She was sixteen now, but she'd fallen in love. With who, you ask? A demon! Truly someone revered, even though only a mere scribe. It was sad, though, that she was not going to be able to marry for any reason short of a prophesy demanding she marry him."

Kagome looked up from her paper, roused by the sound of a knock at the large doors.

"Hello?" She quavered. There was no answer. She stood up and walked to the door, yanking it open. Sango was there, this time without Shippo. They started right in on their lesson. However all throughout Sango looked a little tense, and as if she felt like more things should be burnt.

It hadn't been a long wait before Miroku walked into the room. He inquired politely after her studies, but she replied saying that she hadn't actually done anything since the last two journal entries, which happened to be the first two. He looked slightly disappointed, but asked if she'd done any other practice.

"Well," she said, glancing at her desk. "I actually did do something a little while ago. Just before Sango arrive, actually…" She admitted. Miroku brightened up, and bounded over to the desk to inspect it. He looked at it thoughtfully for a few moments before looking back up.

"Well, I can see absolutely no misspellings, or grammatical errors of note. I think you're cheating," he said with a smile. Kagome chuckled.

"I assure you, I am doing no such thing."

"Something Sango taught you to say?"

"More or less, though modesty for her sake permit me to say nothing more on the subject," she said, teasingly. Miroku smiled again, looking over the paper.

"Well," he said, scanning it up and down a few more times. "I'd like you to write more of this, as your assignment. It seems you have a message you want to convey, and I'd be more than pleased to read it. It's a passion of mine, as you well know." With that, Miroku continued the rest of the lesson, ignoring the page from that point forward. It wasn't long at all before she was done with her lessons for the day, and was no longer entertained. She sighed, and sat back down to her desk.

The door creaked open and InuYasha entered. He was, of course, under orders to do so, but something about him made her think he seemed uneasy. He was a little jumpier, for example. When she dropped her pencil he'd nearly attacked it. This, she assumed, was as good a reason as any to get entertainment.

"So," she began, unsure how to finish with the result she wanted. "Why are you acting so… easily startled?" she asked. Blunt, she thought, blunt, but effective.

"None of your business," He mumbled half-heartedly. She was at the very least expecting to argue with him, but instead he set his eyes to the study of her ceiling, which personally she didn't find that interesting. He, however, wouldn't be dissuaded from it. She sighed once again, and decided to make her bed. Again. She tore of the covers, one by one, then the sheets, and then the pillowcases. And then she started to put them back on, when,

"Are you really that bored?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes. There's no padding it, there's no further explanation. I'm so fed up I could burst if I thought that would save me even a moment of monotony!" She screeched. It had started out vaguely calm, but by the end she could hold no more of her boredom from becoming rage. She slumped back in her chair, slightly surprised that she'd gotten out of it at any point. "I don't know what to do! I thought anything would be better than being a Harem girl, but you know, I think I was so wrong. Harem girls have it easy," she whimpered. InuYasha sighed.

"Look," he said, biting back an insult. "You're going through the purification, not all royal life will be this dull."

"I may not last that long, though!" cried Kagome, drooping backwards. InuYasha shook his head, but remained silent.

Kagome stood up with a snap after a while of waiting, then went back to her desk to write more. She'd gotten through several dull, plot-setting scenes thinking hard about them, then she wrote part of it that she really liked.

"Kikyo smiled up at Sesshoumaru. He looked back at her, coldly. Kikyo watched his expression melt as he saw her smile, and she ran to him, embracing him tightly.

"Sesshoumaru," she said, tears in her eyes. "Is it true? You've truly reached a higher rank? How? You're a duke! How ever did you manage? Will you be able to take me away?" she asked, getting more and more exited as she went. Shesshoumaru's expression froze over again.

"Kikyo, I married into my title," he informed her sadly. Kikyo's expression didn't change, so he continued. "Only the Emperor may marry more than once, my dearest."

Kikyo's heart fell. "But…" she began hopelessly. "I love you…" she said. Sesshoumaru shook his head.

"I express my gravest apologies, but rank must come before love, I fear…"

Kagome put the pencil down. She couldn't believe what she'd just written. It didn't seem right at all! Love was supposed to conquer all! That's what she'd been told all her life! That's what she knew! Yet these words… These words were true, and she knew it. She turned to InuYasha, who seemed to be counting the bumps on the wall.

"InuYasha," She said suddenly. He jumped.

"What!" he said gruffly. Then, after a moment, added, "M'lady?"

"I'm new to this whole 'out of the Harem' thing, but I need to ask you something."

InuYasha sighed, and motioned for her to get on with it.

"Well, does love really come after rank?" she asked.

"Yes, in nearly every case. Is that all?" he answered simply, as if she was stupid for even asking. Her jaw would have hung open had she not carefully propped herself up on her hands just in case she was wrong. She was amazed at what she was hearing. It was absolutely true. Those who gave up everything for love were fools, and would die out in the desert, dehydrated, and with no money to buy food for them, or their love. It was astonishing, but made sense. Kagome choked back the sad tone in her voice, and shook her head in reply to InuYasha. She sighed, and went back to her desk.

End Chapter Four

Wow! Hi all those who read all my stuff. I haven't written in a while, but I'd like to think I got better since then… Anyway, I hope you like Chapter four, and I hope you like the new story I'm going to come out with soon. Anyway, yeah. Bye all.

Miko-Chan.