A/N: May I just say, I pray that Flying-Cesia never, ever, reads this. Ever.
From the diary of Higurashi Kagome
Oh, it's happening again!
I am currently at a garden party, the prelude to another grand gala tonight- yes, another one! Ugh, I wish they'd stop and let me get some sleep. I could use a good twelve hours. Maybe I'd stop hearing voices then. Well, A voice, not voices.
It is so utterly strange- I never seem to mind the voice until it's gone. It seems perfectly ordinary, almost like a dream.
It spoke to me a little after the garden party (which Sir Kajishi is hosting) had started. I was just walking away to avoid the ever-so-unpleasant Kaede-baba, when quite suddenly, I heard the voice again.
"You're rather malleable, aren't you?" it said. "Clearly you didn't want to have this party, so why didn't you put up more of an objection?"
"For your information," I replied, since the strangeness of it hadn't sunk in yet, and no one was nearby, "I used to put up more of a fight. But nobody listens anyway, it's what Sango-chan thinks that matters."
There was a pause, and then- "Well, perhaps it's just as well. You might find galas to be better than you expected, sometimes. You meet some curious and interesting people…"
It was after that that I realized I was going mad again, and the voice stopped talking.
That was only ten minutes ago! Can I truly be mad?
But…since this is my diary, and no one can read my handwriting anyway, I suppose I may confide some details, which might be considered…rather improper.
It is…a rather nice voice, to tell the truth. I mean, that it is not unpleasant to hear. Far from it. If the voice belonged to a person, and the person were a person of good character like Hojo-kun and Miroku-san, then I should very much enjoy talking to that person to hear the voice.
But what am I talking of! What kind of creature can talk to people in their minds, anyway? Kouga-kun mentioned that vampires were supposed to be capable of mind control- but it's hardly control, this. I mean, I'm not doing anything that-
oh, but! Wouldn't it be horrible if I discovered that while I thought I was hearing the voice I was really doing something dreadful? Oh, this is horrible superstitious of me, but I feel I simply must go and check with Sango-chan…
…Ten minutes later…
Oh thank heaven! She says that the only thing I was doing that was odd was apparently talking to myself in the corner a few minutes ago, and as for the other night I was simply in the garden.
I don't know what's come over me. I'm a wreck, I really am. And all this would be so much better if I could only get some sleep…
I'm sure I wouldn't be hearing voices then. Nobody hears voices (pleasing to the ear or not) after a good night's sleep!
…That evening…
The most bizarre thing has happened.
The gala started off in a fairly typical manner. Everyone in their very best, Sango-chan surrounded by young men vying for her affections, Miroku-san not too far away, as always.
My best, is, regretfully, merely this green kimono with the golden bamboo pattern. I feel that I've had this kimono for three years, and it can't possibly be fitting properly anymore. Yet I still end up wearing it to the best parties.
Kouga-kun was ill, thankfully (I feel like such a wretched person!), and Hojo-kun couldn't make it, again. A pity- I might have enjoyed his company.
It was just when I was thinking this, that they entered. Two very strange young men, the like of which I have never seen before.
I was not the only one to notice them. Kobayashi Rin seemed quite interested in the older of the two, but my eyes immediately flew to the younger of the duo.
There was something so…strangely familiar about him.
That aside, it was his looks that drew me completely, I must admit.
His hair- I have never seen hair like it. It fell past his waist in a shimmering unearthly cascade of silver. His skin was so pale, it made my own seem bright. There was something about his hands I couldn't quite grasp. They fascinated me, but not in the way young ladies are supposed to be fascinated.
They seemed delicate and meticulous, and yet also strong and deadly. How this was so, I could not possibly explain. His nails were longer than was typical, surely. Almost like….claws.
As soon as I pen the word, I know I am talking foolishness again. Claws, indeed! I am getting like Kouga-kun, seeing the violence in everyone when I should see the genteel ways.
But violence seems so very, very, attractive when coupled with this particular individual.
And oh! such beautiful eyes. Such beautiful, beautiful, eyes. They are the most beautiful eyes in the world, I am certain. Not some ordinary color, but this strange, exotic amber.
It was not just the color that drew me. Never, in all my waking hours have I seen eyes with such wondrous depth. I felt I could surely sink into those gorgeous eyes if I wasn't careful, and that I wouldn't mind terribly if I did.
And furthermore, when he turned towards me, I saw something else that young ladies aren't supposed to respect. There was a deep passion in him, a way of doing things with an eager fervor, and with such enjoyment that is truly rare in times such as these.
To hell with the rules of being a lady. If he is as interesting a person as I sense, I would marry this young man.
He is no common person, either. He and his companion must have a good deal of money to purchase such fine garments. After all, a fine silken yutaka with such intricately woven patterns in red thread as he is wearing must costs more than triple my ensemble.
I have ducked into the corridor to pen all this- I must back to the gala, for fear I should miss any chance of speaking with this glorious young man!
…Still later…
Right after I returned, and had seated myself in a chair, he came up to me, and bowed.
"Do I have the honor of addressing Kajishi-dono, or Higurashi-dono?" he asked.
I am sure my face was pink. "Higurashi Kagome." I mumbled. "Sango-chan is the one over there surrounded by young men, in the good kimono."
I still can hardly believe it, but he smirked at me! "Then it is good I did not make a mistake." he replied. "Kokoro Inuyasha. My half-brother and I came from Hokkaido."
"All the way to Kyoto?" I asked meekly. "Isn't that rather a long journey to make?"
"We had a particular argument with a certain young man from Kyoto." Inuyasha said calmly. "But it seems he is not here tonight."
He could have been referring to Kouga-kun, I suppose, but I'm sure there were plenty of other young men who hadn't been able to make it here tonight. Hojo-kun, for instance.
"Oh, so your business is vengeance?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "At a gala to celebrate the engagement of two young people?"
Inuyasha-san laughed. "The timing is rather inappropriate, so I decided in favor of attending to some…other matters."
There was something almost… seductive about the way that he looked at me then. I almost shivered in my kimono. Not a bad shiver, though. I didn't feel like someone had walked over my grave, to use one of Sango's favorite phrases. Just….a shiver. The kind of shiver they speak of in the kinds of novels young ladies aren't supposed to read.
Er….not that I read those sorts of novels. I Just sort of happened to accidentally flick through one of them, mistaking it for a book of etiquette.
I didn't hear the voice then, but I could almost swear I felt it whispering in my ears. Perhaps I have written before that the odd thing about the voice is that I never seem to perceive it as unnatural until it has left me. It almost feels as if the act of leaving is what is unnatural.
Inuyasha-san…I should not say this, but after talking to him I feel even more that I should marry him if he asked me.
Even if merely to defy Sir Kajishi!