Since I took so annoyingly long, I'm updating fast. I really wanted to get this chapter out, since it's a big part of the movie (the movie Beauty and the Beast) and my story. Therefore, it was easier to write than the stuff leading up to these big scenes.

I do not own Inuyasha, otherwise Kikyo would be dead, Naraku would wear pink frilly tutus of doom, and Sesshomaru wouldn't be a cold hearted bastard.

Thanks for reading, here's the chapter!


Chapter the Twelfth

Dancing With a Prince


It had happened ever so fast. Kagome had been walking into the main entrance hall with Shippo, quietly staring at the lily in her hand. Quickly she'd been assaulted by an array of colourful blurs and blindfolded, bound, and gagged. She could feel them pull her up the stairs, in the exact way to her room, and untie her quickly, lock her in her room, and run off.

Of course, she knew exactly who the blurs were, since there were only four overly hyperactive creatures in the castle, and she'd have gouged Inuyasha's eyes out with a teaspoon had he been there. He knew this, and would never participate in such an activity. Besides, he was still pissed off at her for running away and making him let her clean and bandage his injury.

Shippo was too small to carry Kagome, so he was ruled out immediately. That, evidently, left Sango, Miroku, Koga, and Ayame to be pinned as the culprits, and all four would receive horrible Kagome-style torture once she figured out how to pick the lock on her door.

From outside the girl's room, one could hear many colourful words that would even scar Inuyasha for life.

After an hour of trying, Kagome huffed in defeat and sat cross-legged on her bed, pulling out the book Taiyo-san had given her before she'd fled the town.

She examined the cover, touching the green velvet lovingly. Kagome let her hands trace over the white designs of a crown and rose, trying to picture how they could tie into the beautiful book.

Of all the people she'd have brought with her had she been given the choice, Taiyo-san would be the first. He always acted as the father she'd lost, caring for her like a father and a grandfather at the same time. He spoiled her, giving her books and the odd bits of money. Taiyo was quite well-off, and Kagome was not, so he always prided in giving her things.

"Taiyo-san…" Kagome whispered sadly, a few lonely tears sliding down her cheeks, "I-I'm so sorry…"

The door began to rumble, and it was burst open. Kagome was jerked out of her state and pushed into a new state, a state of shock.

"What the…?" Kagome trailed off, her eyes scared, shocked, and strangely suspicious as Sango and Ayame came in with a beautiful yellow dress.

It was the most beautiful thing Kagome had ever seen. It had a tight bodice with flowing straps that came off of her shoulders. It flowed outwards dreamily from a baby blue sash around the waist. Beautiful yellow flower patterns were running through the sash.

"What is that for?" Kagome asked, mystified.

Sango and Ayame exchanged glances, "You'll see!" They exclaimed in unison.

Kagome's eyebrow ticked in annoyance, "Okay then…"

"Just put it on for us will you?" Sango said with a slight huff, "You'll be late otherwise."

"Uh, I'll be late for what exactly?" Kagome asked.

Ayame put a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, "Get dressed!"

Kagome sighed and complied with their demands, forcing the two out of her room and stripping. In her underclothes, she took one last breathless stare at the dress before slipping it on.

When Kagome turned around and saw herself in the full length mirror, she was taken aback. She thought that she'd looked pretty in the red dress, but in this one…dare she say she looked like a goddess!

"Oh!" Sango squealed with delight, obviously signaling that she'd come back in, "You look amazing! You look positively brilliant!"

Kagome clapped her hands together happily, "I love it too!"

Ayame bounced in quick as a whip with Kagome's comment, "I told you! I told you Sango!"

Sango rolled her eyes, "Okay, okay." She handed over a few things to Ayame that looked suspiciously like shiny coins. The immediate conclusion: they'd been taking bets.

Kagome crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow, "How many bets?"

Sango looked away, unable to keep eye contact. Ayame began to whistle in that annoyingly obvious way that guilty people do.

"How many…?" Kagome asked, drawing the words out in dangerous fury.

Sango sighed and Ayame twiddled her thumbs. It was Ayame who finally relented and answered in a meek, scared voice, "Maybe six or seven…"

Kagome huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically as Sango had done earlier. She frowned at the two, "Do you have nothing better to do than take bets over me?"

"Nope…!" Sango and Ayame replied simultaneously, both grinning as if they'd done nothing wrong at all.

"Anyways…" Sango said after a tense silence that included Kagome practically radiating killer intent, "I think I should get your hair done."

"I think I need some answers!" Kagome yelled, getting into a stance meant to be both intimidating and protesting.

Sango mimicked the pose, but gave Kagome a glare that was so absolutely, unbelievably scary that Kagome would never recover. The scarred-for-life raven haired girl sat on the bed obediently, one eye frozen in mid-twitch.

"That's better!" Sango exclaimed giddily, clapping her hands together and starting.

Five minutes of arguing, four minutes of screaming, six minutes of stomping around, and eight minutes of perpetual evil glaring, Kagome's hair was done.

It was tied up into a bun much like the one Kagome had worn the other time. This time though, there was a braid running around the bun like a hair tie made of…well…hair.

"Finished!" Sango said happily, standing Kagome up and taking her out of her room. Kagome wobbled slightly in the heels.

"Okay, you're getting to go somewhere special. Once we reach the upper hall, you're going to be blindfolded. It's okay; we're not killing you or anything. We just want the destination to be a…pleasant surprise." Sango explained. Ayame bobbed her head along with Sango's speech.

"Can't we just say it's a surprise and you tell me now instead of possibly risking a heart attack? I mean, too much surprise can kill someone you know." Kagome rambled, attempting – and feebly failing – to trick Sango and/or Ayame into revealing where they were headed off to.

Ayame waggled a finger at her curious friend, "Nu-uh-uh! You're not getting to hear about this one. You have to just be patient!"

"Aw…" Kagome whined, sighing as they approached the stairwell to the upper hallway. For her, the walk up it seemed to take forever. It just dragged on, and on, and on, and on, and on…well, you get it.

Finally when they reached the top, Kagome was blindfolded and carefully walked down the hallway. Once she felt the familiar flooring change into a tile that seemed to make her shoes go tap-tap-tap as opposed to the nice carpet that ran down most of the other hallways, she knew that she was in unfamiliar territory.

She must've been in the West Wing, since that was the only part of the castle she'd positively forbidden herself from exploring after last time.

"Okay! We're here!" Sango's voice declared, and Kagome was brought to a halt. She'd just heard the sound of creaking doors and was lead into a room with yet another strange, alien floor.

She could hear the sounds of retreating steps and for a second panic rose in Kagome as she assumed that she was alone.

"Guys, you have to take my blindfold off! I can't get it off!" Kagome cried, whirling around. The knot was too tight for her dainty little hands.

She spun around again, tripping over her heels and losing her footing. She let out a cry as she fell to the ground…

And was caught.

Two strong hands pulled her upright and turned her around. "Do I always have to keep you from killing yourself?"

She knew that voice. That arrogant, cocky, jerky voice…

It was Inuyasha!

The blindfold was removed, as easily as if it weren't tied on at all. Kagome's eyes widened and she gasped at her surroundings.

She was in a gigantic, breathtaking, grand library. Tears pricked at her eyes. She was in heaven.

Maybe when she'd fallen she'd actually died. Maybe it was an angel who'd caught her and brought her to her own personal heaven.

Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha, and she might as well have stayed with the angel theory. He was so…handsome. He looked practically ethereal. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath. A few buttons were undone to reveal a perfectly toned chest. His white hair was neat, and it framed his face, making his handsome cheekbones stand out. His chin jutted out perfectly, making him look more prince-like than he ever had before. A soft red cape hung on his shoulders, completely perfecting the image.

"Like what you see?" He asked, spreading his arms out wide.

Kagome's face turned red and she looked away stubbornly, "No! The library just has me at a loss for words."

"Su-ure it does." Inuyasha replied with a smirk, offering her his hand.

Kagome stared at it.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to take it?"

Kagome blinked, "What?"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head with the hand that wasn't extended towards her. He then pointed with the back-of-head-rubbing hand towards Miroku, who was sitting behind a piano bench. Kagome finally realized that Sango had a flute in her hand. Ayame and Koga were dressed to join Kagome and Inuyasha.

Kagome's eyes widened in realization. They'd set her up for a ball.

A ball for goodness sake!

"Look, it wasn't my idea okay? So if you don't want to, I'd gladly go back to my room where I want to be." Inuyasha huffed, but his hand was still extended to hers.

Kagome turned pink, but she didn't reply. She simply placed her tiny hand in his, allowing him to maneuver her into a dancing position.

"Let me warn you here, I can't dance." Kagome told him, giving him a pointed look.

He let out a low chuckle, "Well it's just as well that I can dance, now isn't it?"

On queue, Sango and Miroku began to play the music, and Inuyasha guided Kagome in slow twirls and movements.

Kagome couldn't comprehend it actually. She didn't know how Inuyasha had been convinced to do this, or how he'd been bribed for that matter, since Kagome couldn't imagine any other way that Miroku or the others had gotten him to come.

The fact that he wasn't insulting her also was a shock. He'd made no real shots at her. Besides making fun of her dancing skills, but he did a good job of making it pretty subtle.

Koga and Ayame moved, dancing with practiced skill. It was obvious that the two were great dancers, and they looked like beautiful swans with their elegant and delicate movements that carried them as if they were floating.

"You know, you dance just as well as they do." A voice said in her ear.

Kagome blinked at Inuyasha, who was smirking at her slightly. A pink blush dusted her cheeks at the compliment, "Thank you. But it's all you."

He shrugged slightly, "That's true, but you're light on your feet. Just like you should be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome asked, not sure whether to resent his comment or be flattered.

"It was a compliment." Inuyasha told her with an amused look.

They moved in silence, the music guiding their steps. She felt like a fairy princess, dressed up for a ball to dance with her beautiful suitor in a breathtaking castle that she'd been invited to since she was the fairest in the land. Of course, Kagome was none of those things, and she felt puzzled as to why she'd associated Inuyasha with the likes of a 'beautiful suitor'.

She stared around at the massive library and let out a contented sigh. The statues on the walls, practically carved into the glossy wooden planks that curved up into the handsome painting on the ceiling. From the centre of the mural was a golden chandelier. The whole room seemed to give of an effervescent glow, making Kagome's spirits soar with excitement.

The many colours of books dotting the beautiful wooden shelves. There wasn't an empty shelf that Kagome could see.

So much reading material…

"Can you make a promise?" Kagome asked out of the blue.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, but acknowledged for her to continue.

"Can you let me come here once in a while?" Kagome asked, "Books are my life, and I can't believe you hid such a heavenly room from me. This place could be a palace in of itself! Why didn't you ever tell me about it?"

"Do you want to know why I never told you about this place?" Inuyasha's eyes were glazed with a sort of nostalgic sadness that made Kagome curious.

"Why?" She asked, since it was the most logical – however cliché and dumb – question to ask.

He smiled slightly. Really smiled. Like he was reliving a beautiful memory that seemed to radiate from him to her, making her feel warm inside, "Because I live in here most days. This is my haven, where I come to think, to be, to just be quiet in a place that holds so many good…and bad memories for me."

"Oh…" Kagome replied lamely, unable to say much more. What could you say to a cursed prince on such a thing? It was a wonder he could bask in memories at all.

His face changed, and he seemed to regain his composure, "But yes. I'll take you here sometimes." He said gruffly.

What a man! Kagome thought in amusement. He's got to bottle up his emotions every time the mask slips.

Kagome quickly realized that Koga and Ayame had disappeared, and Miroku and Sango were so enveloped in their music playing that Kagome and Inuyasha were practically invisible to them.

"You know, you really are an enigma to me."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha with a strange expression, "Me? How?"

"There's something about you that I can't decipher. Not all the logic in the world could figure it out. You're just…so weird." Inuyasha said. His eyes bore into hers as he spoke, "You just…do something to me. I don't even spend that much time around you and yet you just…"

I can't get you out of my head.

Kagome cocked her head, "I just what?"

I want to understand you.

"You…make me feel something. A feeling I don't know or understand, and it frustrates me." His eyebrow creased in slight irritation, as if he'd been caught in a puzzle he had no idea how to solve.

Something I've never felt before.

Kagome looked at her feet, her face red and a smile on her face. She understood what he meant. He did this to her too. Every time she was around him, her heart seemed to speed up and her stomach got butterflies. She always felt light as a bird, yet confused and grounded at the same time.

You confuse me. You're a puzzle.

"Hey, that day, at dinner…you asked in the room in the East Wing was a library…" Inuyasha trailed off, then cleared his throat, "It's not. It's a study. My father's study."

"Oh, okay. Well…then I guess that's one less thing to puzzle over." Kagome said, grinning sheepishly, still unable to make eye contact.

You make me nervous, a feeling I never used to feel.

"Hn." He grunted, looking over her head.

Kagome dared to look up at him, noticing that his face was slightly pink. She stared at him, unable to shake that urge to pounce on him and kiss him.

It's just uncontrollable…

He looked down, seeing her staring, and blinked, "What?"

Kagome shook her head, "Nothing." She smiled at him, biting her lip.

"That's a bad habit you know." Inuyasha commented.

"Huh?"

"Biting your lip. You're not supposed to do it."

"Really? And who is?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha said nothing. He changed their dancing position so that his face was close to hers. She could feel his breath on her face, drawing her in.

She bit her lip again out of nervousness.

These feelings…

"If you keep doing that," He whispered, "Then some demon might come and do something to you."

"Do something?" Kagome asked, her words daring but her heart fluttering, "Like what?"

A small smirk graced his face as he bent down, "Like this." His lips caught hers, and before Kagome knew it he'd kissed her.

It was a feeling she'd never experienced before. She felt on fire. It was the best feeling she'd ever had. It excited her and shocked her at the same time. She returned it. She wanted him to whisk her away.

It felt like she was in her own storybook, being kissed by the handsome, chivalrous prince who would carry her off into the sunset.

It was over just as it had begun. He pulled away, dropping his arms.

Kagome was confused and dazed. She looked at him, wondering why he ended the kiss.

He stared at her with a sad, guilty expression, "I'm sorry."

Then he turned and disappeared.

The music had stopped. Sango and Miroku were staring in question.

And I don't know why, but I think I'm in love with you.


End of Chapter


Hooray! The long-awaited dance has come. Now, I know that the ball in the real Beauty and the Beast does not go like this, but I wanted to bend it to how I figured it would go with the Inuyasha characters. I hope you guys are satisfied with the kiss finally, since you all were probably wondering when something romantic was going to happen.

Well, there you have it!

Review, review, review!