Chapter 5: The Bet
"I'm out of magic", Naraku replied, shaking his wand.
"Yippie. I feel like the luckiest person in the world", InuYasha said without an ounce of enthusiasm.
"Unless I don't relieve you of your depression, I can't get back to my world", Naraku said, sitting on the bed.
"Maybe we could crash the door down", InuYasha replied.
"That won't be easy. The wood this door is made out of is pretty strong", Naraku responded, studying the door.
"Can't you call another fairy over?" Time asked.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Naraku replied.
"You could do that?" InuYasha asked.
"Of course", Naraku said. "But I'm going to have to get a new wand."
"How come?" InuYasha asked.
"You see, a fairy only aids another fairy when he is in trouble, so if I snap my wand in half, they'll know that my wand is broken and that I'm in trouble", Naraku said and snapped his wand in half, sending splinters and strange blue lights around the room. Instantly a pink light entered the room and a figure appeared wearing a kimono and holding a fan in one hand and a wand in the other.
"What the heck happened?" the woman asked.
Naraku held up the wand with a piece in each hand. "This is what happened, Kagura."
"Naraku, this is the fifteenth wand this week that you broke", Kagura replied.
"So this is your girlfriend?" InuYasha asked.
Naraku nodded.
"I suppose you are the person assigned to Naraku. A fine young man you are", Kagura said, looking at InuYasha.
"Uh…thanks…I guess", InuYasha replied.
"Could you use some of your magic to unlock this door?" Naraku asked.
"Yeah", Kagura said. "Stand back." She fired what looked like a blue ball at the door.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the princess and her henchman, Jaken had arrived to the western castle.
"InuYasha told me that he was living here. Where is he?" Kagome asked.
"He came home the other night, looking very angry. He said that he hated you", Naomi lied.
"What?" Kagome said with disbelief. "And who are you?"
"I am his step-mother and these are my sons, Sesshomaru and Koga", Naomi replied, showing Kagome to her sons.
"I want to see InuYasha. Where is he?" Kagome asked.
"He went out of town. He's not coming back and he told you to marry one of us", Sesshomaru replied.
"Nonsense. Which town did he go to?" Kagome asked.
"We don't know", Koga answered.
Kagome sighed and started out the door when her heard a familiar voice.
"Princess Kagome", InuYasha called out.
"InuYasha? I thought you were out of town", Kagome answered.
InuYasha came up to her, ignoring the furious looks his stepmother and stepbrothers threw at him.
"Do you really hate me, InuYasha?" Kagome asked.
"Of course not. I love you", InuYasha replied.
Then Kagome noticed for the first time that InuYasha didn't have the stripes on his cheeks or the moon on his forehead or crimson eyes.
"InuYasha, y-you're a hanyou. Why didn't you tell me?" Kagome said, looking at InuYasha's face.
"I was about to, but I couldn't", InuYasha replied.
"Now that you know he's a hanyou, you should marry one of my sons. They're pure demon", Naomi said proudly.
"I don't think so. I am going to marry InuYasha no matter what my father says", Kagome replied making InuYasha smile.
"That idiotic hanyou", Sesshomaru muttered.
"InuYasha, come with me to the castle", Kagome said and took InuYasha outside. InuYasha looked behind him and smirked at his stepmother's and brother's faces and then gave a thumbs up sign to Naraku and Kagura who were watching the whole thing from upstairs. Naraku smiled back at him and Kagura gave a wink and they both disappeared.
InuYasha climbed on to the carriage and approached the castle. He took a deep breath and followed Kagome inside to one of the rooms that looked to be a study.
"Father, I found him", Kagome said, holding InuYasha's hand.
"But, Kagome, he's a hanyou. I told you that he was to be a demon", Miroku answered, looking up from his paperwork with Kikyo by his side.
"But, father. He is the only one that I'm going to marry", Kagome retorted.
"The hanyou gives off a good aura, my king", Kikyo said as she looked at InuYasha.
"But still, I think a demon would be best for her. He would be more powerful than a hanyou", Miroku responded.
Sango entered the room and looked at InuYasha.
"You found him", Sango said.
"Mother, father isn't agreeing to our marriage because InuYasha is a hanyou", Kagome replied.
"Why, Miroku? He looks like a good lad", Sango said.
Miroku gave a pause before InuYasha spoke up.
"Your highness, I will do whatever is necessary to prove that I am worthy of your daughter", InuYasha said.
"Well, if you put it that way, you will have to pass a test", Miroku said.
"What is that, your highness?" InuYasha asked.
"First I am going to ask you a few questions", Miroku said.
InuYasha gave a nod.
"Is this all really necessary, father?" Kagome asked.
Miroku ignored her and said, "Why is it that a woman wears white on her wedding day?"
"Well, it resembles her life as a clean sheet of paper, meaning that she is starting a whole new life and the paper will be filled with new memories and it also resembles a pure soul", InuYasha replied.
Kagome beamed at him and Sango looked very impressed.
"A good answer", Miroku replied. "What do you give each other on your twelfth anniversary?"
"Silk or linen", InuYasha replied.
"What do you do when the lands are under a surprise attack?"
"I would gather the soldiers at the front from where the attackers would come from because the east, west and south are surrounded by high mountains with a harsh climate that makes it impossible to travel through them. I would arrange the soldiers at the fort on the hill and around the castle and on either side of the towns. When the attackers come into the heart of our trap, I will give orders to the soldiers to ambush the attackers", InuYasha explained.
"That is a very good plan", Miroku replied. "You have passed the verbal test and now for the physical. I will give you a month to train and then return to fight me. I will be using my wind tunnel as well."
InuYasha pondered this for a moment. The king was mainly famous for his legendary wind tunnel known to suck anything. That's why they were under very few wars because no king dared to mess with him.
"I accept it", InuYasha replied.
"But Father, what if InuYasha gets sucked into your void?" Kagome asked fearfully.
"That is a point, Miroku", Sango said.
"InuYasha has accepted to battle me under the conditions that I put and there is nothing more I am going to do", Miroku said.
InuYasha bowed and left the room with Kagome following close behind him.
"InuYasha, train hard. My father is not a man that could be beaten easily", Kagome said.
InuYasha smiled and said, "I will beat your father and I will marry you."
He walked out of the castle and to his house.
A/N: so, is InuYasha going to win the bet? Or is the story going to end with a sadly ever after? Please Review!