Inuyasha and Kagome arrived at the palace in the early afternoon. The visit to the spring had healed Kagome, and her legs carried her without complaint around the palace. The prince had accompanied her from the stables to a smaller, more intimate dining hall – not the one where the other young women dined when not dining with the Imperial family, but one more removed from the general bustle of palace life. The shoji screens enclosing the room were intricately painted with scenes of the mountains that lay to the east of the palace, and the small room felt personal and private and Kagome felt strange that the prince would want to dine with her alone. She sat quietly, fiddling with the sleeves of her yukata as Inuyasha summoned a servant to bring them their meal. The prince collapsed next to Kagome, his body relaxing into an uncommon position, one leg pulled into his chest and the other laying on the ground. One of his elbows rested on his knee, clawed hand hanging free, the other crossed his lap to rest on the hilt of his sword. Kagome quirked her head in his direction, and Inuyasha's ears flicked back.

"What?" he asked, his voice rising defensively.

Her cheeks flushed, and Kagome stammered, "Nothing! Nothing, I was just… I don't actually know." Her eyes fled to her hands, now folding themselves neatly in her lap. The shoji doors slid open, two servants bringing in trays of fresh rice and fish and placing them on the table. Their meal passed in an awkward silence; Kagome would look at Inuyasha while he ate, trying to understand his actions and why he was with her, and when the prince looked up from his dish her cheeks would flare red as she dodged his gaze. He would take his chance to analyze her, a strange girl from far in the east who had captured his regard with her untamed hair and pale blue eyes.

"Why're you here?" He breathed, words slipping out before he could think to stop himself.

"Wh- what?"

"I mean, why're you interested in marrying me?" He asked, voice growing stronger. "Or Sesshomaru," he added.

"I was summoned, so I came," she answered plainly, placing her empty dish back on the tray. He looked at it, one ear flicking backwards, then met her questioning stare head-on.

"That's it?" Surprised colored his words, and his ears fixated on her.

"What do you mean 'that's it'? Is it not enough to obey the Emperor?" One of her eyebrows raised as she brought a cup of tea to her mouth and took a slow sip.

"You're just odd." The corner of Kagome's mouth twitched in irritation. "Different! Like you don't even care about making a good impression on me," Inuyasha sputtered, leaning back from the table.

"Have you considered that maybe I don't care for your good opinion?" Kagome responded primly, folding her arms into her yukata sleeves and rolling her eyes up to his.

"Am I not good enough for you?" Inuyasha said, his own arms crossing in front of his chest, his dark brows furrowing.

I'm on dangerous ground, Kagome thought, and she smiled coyly at the prince, saying, "No, you misunderstand me, Inuyasha. I care for my family and was sent to honor them. I may not care, but my family would be honored by your approval, therefore I do seek your favor." There, that should confuse him!

"So, you don't care, but your family will, so you do care?" He questioned, scratching the back of his head as his eyes wandered, trying to figure out what she had meant.

"Hai, Inuyasha– you understand me perfectly!"


That afternoon, Kagome wandered in the gardens, following the sweet smell of blooms back to the lotus pond where she had accidentally passed the night. Sighing happily, she pulled out a thin volume from her yukata and settled in the grass to read the book of poetry she borrowed from the library. The soft sunlight settled on her face, and she soon dozed to the sounds of chirping warblers, sparrows, and finches. She lay there a while before something blocked her from the sun's warm rays. Holding a hand above her eyes, she squinted at the body blocking her from the daylight and quickly sat up when she recognized the person's choppy blue hair.

"Haruto-san! You're still here!"

"Ov course, Kagome-zan," his strange voice swallowed the sounds of the gardens as he returned her greeting. He rolled onto the grass beside her and plucked a single flower, holding it up to her. "I waz in Touga-zan's libraireez, waiting."

"Who's Touga?"

"Emprer," Haruto replied.

"And you waited for me?"

"Yez," his lips pulled back into an odd smile, like his humanoid body was unused to communicating with others. "Promized flouwers," he added, gesturing to the assorted blooms surrounding them, "I want."

"Oh, you want another flower chain?"

"Yez," he said once more, his breath washing over Kagome, hotter than any summer's day. The heat soaked into her skin and Kagome nodded, eyes wide and lips hanging open. She set to making flowers, mind blank and eyes wandering to the mesmerizing dragon who lay in the grass watching her, his blue eyes trailing over her form as she twisted and braided the stems and blooms into a tight chain.

Time passed, Kagome selecting her flowers with care and precision while Haruto dozed in the light, twiddling a bloom in his clawed hands, eyes closed to the sun. Haruto occupied her thoughts, wondering why the dragon would want to spend time around her. She wished she could fly with him again, but now that she knew who she would ride upon, the idea seemed strange to her. Her fingers plaited and twined the stems, and soon the chain stretched the length of her arm. The ends of the chain melded together in her gentle hands, and Kagome looked up from her task and nearly dropped the chain as she met Haruto's eyes, so close to her own she could see the flicks of flame they contained.

Leaning back, Kagome said, "Haruto-san!" A nervous giggle escaped her and her eyes looked back down at the braided chain. She jutted her hands out, flowers dangling from her grip. "I'm done!"

"I seee," he rumbled, taking the strand between his fingertips. He lifted the chain up, inspecting it before he slid it on over his head, blue hair tousled from the task; the flowers sat brightly against Haruto's dark yukata, and he turned his face to Kagome's. He rose from the ground, offering a hand to Kagome, who accepted it graciously.

"Arigato, Haruto-san," Kagome said, wiping her hands on her yukata.

"My pleazure Kagome-zan," he said, snagged one of her hands in his, tucking it into his elbow as he steered her back to the palace through the winding gardens.

"How long will you be here, Haruto-san?"

"Az long az needed. I am Touga-zan's advizor, but not forgit rresponzibiltees of home," He said, turning his head to the mountain, eyes drinking in the open skies. Her gaze followed his, taking in the thriving mountains and the glints from the sky that could only be dragons flying high above the ground.

"Do you come often?"

"Wen needed, I be heer. Heer for you, heer for Empyre."

"For me?" Her eyes slid back to his, surprised at his admission.

"Of courze," he answered, fixing his cobalt flames on her own paler eyes.


Kagome entered the library later that afternoon, after Haruto had left from the palace. His responsibilities as the Emperor's advisor remained unclear to her, as he seemed to float around the palace, not interacting with anyone save herself. Though I guess last night he did speak with the Emperor. And Inuyasha seems familiar enough with him, he must come around here often enough. She glided through the shelves of scrolls and books, her hands fiddling with the cosmos flower. She had found it back in her room, laying innocent and forgotten on her table, and had absentmindedly brought it with her, its sweet scent filling her nose. Her eyes searched through the books, looking for a new book to read. She caught sight of an old volume and pulled it from the shelf, skimming over the first page. It was a tale of centuries past, detailing an epic struggle for control over Japan between two families, led by two strong young men. Intrigued, Kagome tucked the book to her chest, moving towards the alcove she had occupied before. A few other books and scrolls sat on the short table near the pillows, but whoever had been reading them was nowhere to be seen. Settling into the corner, Kagome let the words wash over her, sucking her into the action and life of people long-dead.

Her reading was interrupted after only a few pages as two black boots appeared in front of her.

"You are in my seat," came the elder prince's cool voice.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, confusion coloring her words as she stared up at the Sesshomaru's golden orbs.

"If you were sorry, you would remove yourself from this Sesshomaru's pillow."

"Oh?"

"Hn," he said, lip curling to reveal the tip of his fang.

"Could I convince you to take the pillow over there?" Kagome asked, pointing to the one on the other side of the small table. Her odd pale eyes glinted playfully, and Sesshomaru's eyebrow rose at her audacity.

"And what would prevent me from removing you forcibly from what is mine?" Sesshomaru said, his challenge waiting for her crumble and submit to him. She didn't.

"Because you seem to me a man of honor, a man who would not disgrace his Emperor by mistreating an invited guest."

"I am no man, and you will move," he said flatly.

Kagome huffed under her breath, the action not missed by Sesshomaru. His nostrils flared, and Kagome rose gracefully before the prince and bowed her head. Then she grabbed the pillow, moving it to another corner of the alcove and set it down, settling into her new spot. Pointedly not looking at the prince's face, she opened her book once more and delved back into the world of centuries past.

Sesshomaru stared at her, unmoving from where he stood. This is a strange girl, he thought. He stood for a while, analyzing the woman in the other corner of the room. She purposefully did not look up to meet his gaze, her eyes hidden behind the book she held with white-knuckled hands. Finally stepping forward, he sank into the cushion the woman had pointed at before abandoning the corner of the alcove with her own pillow. He set the scroll he had retrieved on the table, the reason he had not occupied his claimed cushion when the woman had arrived in the small room. Her scent hung in the air, crisp and strong like a rushing stream, warmed by spice and sun.

Sesshomaru banished all thoughts of her from his mind and continued his search through the historical tomes and records for information about the strange demon they had encountered during patrol- the reason for his early return. All he could discern about the youkai was his vibrant red eyes, illuminated from within, filled with vile hostility towards the Western prince. Sesshomaru had only caught a glimpse, but the youki in the air spoke of great power even as he vanished into the thick purple mist. In this youkai's wake, he had left destruction and desolation, fields and homes burning and adding to the dense smog. He had not known of any demon under his father's rule who generated that sort of poison, nor one whose eyes burned with such intense hatred.

The scrolls he was reading over held information from the beginnings of his great-grandsire's rule, when the palace was first built and the lands had been heavily disputed. More demons roamed the lands at that time, stealing and destroying and running across the countryside without any leader to direct or control them. Inukouji had subdued the demons, bringing them under his rule with an iron claw and established the realm for his family to maintain. There had been many challengers in those days, other Daiyoukai and lower demons eager to take control from Inukouji, and each fell before the great dog demon. None of the records mentioned a demon with this type of poison nor those awful red eyes.

Sesshomaru paused his investigation into his family's enemies at the light sigh from the woman- Higurashi, wasn't it?- and he looked to see her slumped form occupying his cushion. She dozed, swallowed up by the pillow, her book hanging forgotten from her loose fingers. Dark hair spilled around her, a corona of darkness that served only to emphasize her girlish features. I wonder how young she is. Knowing Father, she's probably barely reached womanhood, Sesshomaru thought darkly, turning back to his research. The scrolls and tomes lay taunting him in his failure, tossed aside as one after one they proved no more useful than the last. Leaning back against, his eyes fixed on the entry to the small study room while his mind tried to piece together the facts presented before him. There was a demon who harbored such intense hatred of his family, he had smiled with cruel glee when Sesshomaru came upon him destroying a village of the West. The dragons had visited recently, twice within the past year, and if he was not mistaken a dragon had recently been around the Higurashi woman, the silver beast's scent clinging to her. His eyes slid to her form, and his mind continued to analyze the information before him. The dragon had spoken to his father just last night, before Sesshomaru returned, and his father meant to speak to him that evening after the meal. None of their allies had been acting strangely, the women gathered in the palace seemed harmless- and senseless -, and yet there was an itching sensation Sesshomaru couldn't explain.

"It's rude to stare, you know." His eyes focused on her, his mind pulled out of its stupor by Higurashi's annoying voice. One of her eyebrows rose.

"This Sesshomaru was not staring, wench."

"I'm not a wench, and I know you know my name," she said, lifting herself from the cushion, tucking her book into the crook of her arm.

"Hn." He looked away from her, instead glaring at the volumes and manuscripts laid beside him on the table. His failure to find what he needed.

"What are you looking for?" The question surprised him; he thought Higurashi had left the library. He turned his head, face blank, as he took in the curious woman standing in the doorway to the alcove, eyes bright and focused on the piles of scrolls and books before they flicked back to his face.

"It does not concern you." The moment the words left his mouth, Sesshomaru saw the young woman wilt like a cut flower, blue eyes sinking to the ground and shoulders dropping.

"Of course, Sesshomaru-sama. I did not mean to disturb you," she said, slipping out of the room without a whisper.

I fear I have done something I ought not have done.


Time fell into a distinct rhythm for Kagome. She would wake early to visit the bath house before the other young women had stirred from their sleep. Atsuko would play with different hairstyles and try to convince her to wear more formal attire, and Kagome would defer to the simple hakama and yukata they had procured from the palace seamstresses. The other women would still be sleeping, so Kagome would take advantage of the peace and quiet of their absence.

Breakfasts were quiet; Sesshomaru always arrived in the dining hall before she arrived, and he seemed content to pass time in silence. Occasionally one of his vassals would come into the room, a sickly green kappa demon carrying a staff that was easily as tall as Kagome, and Sesshomaru would allow the kappa to lead him to whatever task called for his attention. Other mornings, Kagome could even coax a brief conversation out of Sesshomaru and took great pride in her achievement. Sango would come, sometimes for breakfast but mostly to accompany her to the dojos.

Sango helped Kagome whenever she could escape from her duties. Kagome practiced with her small tanto, learning maneuvers and footwork as quickly as Sango could teach her. They rode frequently, Kagome eager to prove Inuyasha wrong and that she could eventually be a great rider. The hanyou accompanied them as well, criticizing Kagome frequently under the guise of giving helpful correction. Her legs still grew sore and ached, though never as bad as the first few days after she had ridden, and she felt herself growing stronger. Whenever Sango was unavailable, she visited the

Kagome convinced Inuyasha to take her back to the spring as often as possible so that she could soak in the magical healing of its waters. She grew familiar with the path, recognizing the trees that stood as sentinels over the pool. They never stayed long- it seemed that mere minutes in the steaming water would remove any ails Kagome face, and Inuyasha complained constantly about needing to keep watch and how long she took. His complaints lacked true bite, though; he always helped her mount her horse again, and she caught his faint smile more than once as she quipped back in response to his taunts and jibes.

Whenever Sango was occupied with her duties and responsibilities Kagome made her way to the archery fields, Inuyasha accompanying her. Koga frequented the ranges as well, leading to interesting and entertaining arguments between him and the prince. Kagome found each of them endearing on their own, but together they frustrated her to no end. She escaped to the library whenever the two youkai began bickering, abandoning any hopes of practicing with her bows and arrows.

The library provided no refuge for her as Sesshomaru continued to occupy the small alcove she liked to read in. The cushion she had moved was placed once more by the table, and Kagome avoided the stiff prince's scrutiny by claiming the other cushion. She would curl up with her book, reading leisurely, while he would scan through tome after tome, tossing each aside in frustration when he did not find what he sought. She didn't ask him anymore about what he pursued in all the books and scrolls, only looked on in modest interest as he rose, collected more documents from the library and returned only to be frustrated once more.

Dinners with the Imperial family accented her days, the simpering girls in the halls straining for attention from either prince. Atsuko would lead her to the far end of the table, seating her next to Inuyasha. These meals dragged on, course after course served with glares of disgust and disdain from the women who sat further down the table, though her conversations with Inuyasha were nothing to be jealous over. When she wasn't eating with the family, she sat as close to the door as possible, hoping to escape any unfriendly encounters with the ambitious girls. Days slipped by. Haruto found her once more, when she roamed the gardens aimlessly one afternoon, and gave her a single flower from the dragon lands, one she had never seen before. The dark bloom was unfamiliar and remained closed, but he promised one day it would open. She set it on the table in her room in a small vase, waiting for the day it would open.

Kagome felt restless. Her legs were stronger, and they shook with pent up energy. The days blended into each other, and she lost count of the time she had been gone from home. Almost ten days after she had arrived, Touma and Yuuto and her other guards arrived at the palace, bearing her possessions from home. That day, she felt the furthest from home and refused to leave her room, longing for the warmth of her mother's embrace and the strength of her father's smile. She longed for her cat, for her friends, for her brother, for the priestess who taught her the art of archery, and the mountains that were her home. Tears poured from her, worrying Atsuko endlessly until she had emerged from her room the next morning, a large smile plastered on her face, the bags and puffiness under her eyes hidden by a dusting of white powder, proudly wearing the kimono her parents had sent her in, golden stitched birds flying over the fabric. Atsuko had even succeeded in taming her hair into a respectable knot atop her head, the small golden comb from her father peeking out in between her dark locks.

When she entered the breakfast dining hall, she felt Sesshomaru's surprise even when his face remained blank, gilded eyes intense as he examined her. Kagome sat and began eating, quietly thanking the servant who had placed the tray of food before her.

"Higurashi, what are you wearing?"


Thanks for reading! Please review- I love reading the reviews, and let me know what I can do better!

-hometyler