I do not own Inuyasha or the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.
A Face without our Memories - Part 5
During the show, Iesada moved across the stage with controlled accuracy. He carried out his sword movements and flashy tricks like he did them in his sleep. He lacked Inuyasha's lightness of foot, but captured the half demon's determination and boldness in battle quite well. But she still felt like something was missing. The two ladies sitting behind her had a difference of opinion though. Throughout the show they whispered back and forth about how handsome Iesada was, along with their persistent assumptions that he'd be good in bed. She found their remarks both distracting and embarrassing and wondered if all college girls acted that way.
The audience erupted with a round of applause again and Iesada bowed cheerfully. Once the clapping ceased, he addressed the audience himself instead of the designated narrator.
"For the final act, we will be re-enacting a scene exactly how it happened long long again in the feudal era. We'll need a volunteer from the audience," Iesada announced, his eyes immediately fixed upon Kagome. The two young ladies sitting behind her, were practically squealing with excitement, but Kagome already knew that they were about to be majorly disappointed. "How about this young lady right here? Would you care to join me on stage?" He extended a hand out to her, with a smile that made it hard to refuse.
Kagome looked around bashfully, but nodded in compliance. "He didn't say anything about this before," she mumbled inaudibly, getting annoyed with him again. Nevertheless Kagome smiled as she stood up and accepted his hand once again. He pulled her up on the small raised stage, as the audience clapped their approval, with the exception of the two lust filled college students.
"What is your name miss?" he asked formally.
"K-Kagome," she smiled, a little nervous in front of the crowd.
"Kagome, that's a lovely name. Thank you for joining us today. This story is about how the red warrior rescued a beautiful princess from a terrible, demon-possessed prince," he began.
A possessed prince? Hey, I know this story. It was our first battle after Inuyasha got the tetsusaiga. Nobunaga must have retold the story. Wait, does that mean I'm in this story for real? I wonder how close it will be. Oh my gosh I used hairspray! I hope that's not in there.
"Kagome," Iesada's voice brought her back to the present, "would you be my captured princess?" he asked her, bowing for effect. Kagome nodded. "Thank you, please give Kagome a round of applause!" he said before placing a kiss on the back of her hand. She wasn't sure if it was the encouragement from the crowd or the kiss on her hand, but she felt a strong tug in the pit of her stomach.
Iesada guided Kagome to a chair in the center of the stage. She sat down, crossing one ankle behind the other while keeping her knees tight together. The red warrior knelt down in front of her and lowered his voice. "Don't worry you won't be in any harm's way, but you will have to be tied up," he whispered with a growing smirk on his face.
"Tied up?" she asked warily, but this time he wasn't kidding.
Iesada began wrapping thick twisted rope around her arms, confining her to the chair. "But don't worry, it won't be for long...I'll save you," he winked and secured the rope with a knot, before facing the audience again.
That sly bastard, thought Kagome. Although, she preferred to be tied up rather than trapped within one of the toad demon's egg sacs. She shivered at the thought.
An actor dressed like someone from the feudal era came out on stage claiming to be Nobunaga and started to retell the story, "Now, the demon toad prince was a hideous and evil one. He stole the souls of young women throughout the land." On cue a guy in a toad costume stepped out from the right side of the stage, only to be booed by the audience. "And his next target was the beautiful Princess Tsuyu. The toad demon took possession of her husband and placed everyone in the castle under a sleeping spell, leaving Princess Tsuyu alone and scared. When I, Nobunaga, heard of this news I traveled to the castle, vowing to save Princess Tsuyu and bring her back to Kai. On my way there, I ran into the red warrior."
Oh here it comes, this is where I come in, thought Kagome.
"I was wary of him at first: he was dressed from head to toe in all red, a scowl permanently set on his face and he was quick to lose his temper. But unexpectedly he offered to help me take down the demon."
What the hell? They just cut me right out of the story. I see how it is, if you aren't a princess, then you don't deserve to be in the story.
Iesada glanced over at Kagome, but shifted his eyes back to the audience immediately. Her knitted eyebrows and smug expression was enough to make him burst out laughing. She could at least pretend to be a scared princess, he thought, while choking down his chuckles.
Meanwhile, Nobunaga continued on with the tale, while Iesada acted out his part of being a highly annoyed half demon.
Wait a second, that's it. Iesada's depiction of Inuyasha is a human, not a half demon. I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out!
The Nobunaga actor went on and Kagome wondered if she should be paying attention instead of preoccupying her thoughts with Inuyasha and his reincarnation.
"When we arrived at the castle, every guard and servant was asleep. An eerie feeling crept over my skin, but I quickly found Princess Tsuyu in the deserted castle."
That liar! He thought she was an old servant woman at first. How dare they cut me out of the story and then change the facts.
"I'd recognize her beauty anywhere," the Nobunaga actor ran to Kagome. "Oh Princess Tsuyu, don't be scared I'm here to save you from this wretched monster," he declared. "Red Warrior won't you cut through these ropes that hold the princess captive?"
"Stand back," Iesada said. Without allowing her time to panic, he unsheathed his sword and deftly cut through the ropes without marking her. She was pleasantly surprised and grateful for his accuracy, but wondered if other volunteers for this part had freaked out.
"No! Get your hands off of her!" the toad prince shouted. He ran to Kagome, grabbed her by the arm and pushed her behind him.
"No, take me instead. Let the fair princess go," Nobunaga demanded.
"Never!" The toad prince laughed and stabbed Nobunaga in the shoulder.
"Wrong answer," Iesada growled, stepping in front of the wounded Nobunaga. His belittling undertone reminded her of Inuyasha's confidence in battle. He attacked the toad prince fiercely, but the toad blocked every blow. Then the red warrior knocked him to the ground and the toad prince lost his weapon.
The toad prince began to cry, "Oh, no, what have I done? Please kill me, I am not myself."
"With pleasure," Iesada grinned, taking another step toward him.
"Wait!" Nobunaga ran in front of the toad prince, spreading his arms wide. "You can't kill him. Did you just hear that? That was the prince's voice, we can still save him." he declared.
"That's not enough to stop him from taking the souls of women. Move aside," Iesada argued.
"No. I can not allow you to kill him. The prince's heart still beats within the toad prince," Nobunaga stood his ground.
"Fine, then I won't help," Iesada scowled, putting his sword back in its sleeve. Just then the toad prince stabbed Nobunaga in the back and his body collapsed to the ground in a loud thud.
Without thinking, Kagome ran past the toad prince to Nobunaga's side, "Nobunaga, are you okay?"
"What is she doing?" whispered the toad prince actor to Iesada.
"Just go with it," he whispered back, a grin threatening the corners of his mouth.
Oops, I reacted without realizing it. Dammit it's just a play Kagome, he's not really hurt.
"What do you think you're doing? You belong to me," bellowed the toad prince, grabbing Kagome's arm and yanking her away from Nobunaga.
"No!" she yelled jerking her arm out of his grip. "I..I only want my sweet prince back. I'll never go with you," she improvised. She threw her face into her hands and pretended to cry. But she stole a quick peek out the side of her hands at Iesada and jerked her head towards the toad prince suggestively. Iesada took her cue and set his fighting stance, pulling out tetsusaiga's smaller cousin and pointing it at the toad prince.
"Enough with your tricks. It's over for you, you ugly toad." And with that, Ieasada kicked him to the floor. The toad prince actor slipped his own head out of the toad costume right as Iesada did a front somersault and delivered the final blow. All eyes were on the toad head that slid across the stage. The crowd applauded their approval.
Nobunaga sat up slowly, "Oh, red warrior, you've done it. You drove out the toad demon and saved the prince."
"Princess Tsuyu," a raspy voice called.
"Thank you Nobunaga for saving my prince," Kagome said, now going to the prince's side.
"I would do anything for you," Nobunaga pledged, his voice hinting at the disappointment of saving his love rival. "Now I must go, for I have other quests to complete. Farewell, Princess Tsuyu. I will come again if you're in need of my aid. And with that the curtain fell and the audience sprung up off their feet enthusiastically and clapped for the final time.
"Wow, that was great Kagome, you should come on tour with us," Iesada praised her, once they got off stage.
"Oh it was nothing, I just made it up as I went," she said.
"Hey, she'd be perfect for that new story you're working on," suggested the Nobunaga actor.
"What story?" Kagome asked.
"Well… it's a story that I came across while researching the red warrior," Iesada said. He suddenly grabbed Kagome's shoulder and pulled her into his chest for dramatic flair. Offensively, he pointed his sword at the other actor, "There are whispers of a fair maiden that fought side by side with the red warrior. A priestess who he saved from a terrible fate. It's rumored that they might even have become lovers," he said, squeezing her tight, his chin resting on the top of her head affectionately.
One moment he was spouting honor and the next he was pressing his toned body up against hers, sending a warm sensation throughout her body. But even though she blushed from Iesada's physical closeness, she missed that heroic and undeniable feeling of security that only Inuyasha could give her. He alone had been the one to always save her from danger, looked after her when she fell ill and continued to possess her heart. Now more than ever, she wanted to see him again.
Kagome unwrapped herself out of his arms and Iesada continued to joke around with Nobunaga, pretending not to notice her mood change.
"I'm going to go get changed and stuff. I'll meet you at the entrance where you came in, okay?" he said carefully, afraid that she'd just leave and walk out of his life forever.
"Okay, sure."
Kagome walked down the hallway towards the main entrance, but she felt Iesada's eyes following her until she turned the corner. A small piece of her wished that she had never come. There was only one Inuyasha she could love and no matter what his faults were, she wouldn't change him for the world. Meeting a cheap copy of him only made that clearer. She hoped she wouldn't need to wait long because the tugs on her heart urged her to find Inuyasha.