Disclaimer; I do not own Inuyasha, nor the story of Esther.

Summary; There once was a peasant named Inuyasha, who was pulled into the competition for a new King unwillingly. As the competition continues, something happens that neither Inuyasha nor Her Majesty, Kagome expected. How will the two fair, as the rush and search for a new king becomes the only life they know?

The Story of a Peasant

Chapter Six;

(Inuyasha's POV)

I woke up to a loud banging shrill sounds that immediately had me jumping up and standing upright by my bed, dazed and confused as to where I was. A loud 'oomph' was heard next to me and and I turned to see Miroku up, holding his foot where I could imagine he had slammed it into the chest between the mats when getting up.

Spying Sango a few yards away, still shouting at us groggy men to "get our lazy hides up and at 'em". A young boy next to her was banging pots, explaining the racket that I had so rudely woken up to.

When we were all up, we congregated together at the front of the room, Sango casually looking over all of us.

"You may as well get used to it. This is how early you will be up every morning. Your routine will follow as to get up, to eat, to dress, then precede with the plans for the day. Simple enough?" She said, daring any of us to speak. "Then if that's all, follow me." And off she turned. Our mob of groggy men began to follow.

I smelled it before the humans did, and I felt my stomach growl. "Oooh maan." I sighed, inhaling the smell. Miroku looked over at me questioningly. "Just trust me." I said.

Sango led the way to a small dining hall that was mostly filled up with a large table that had a feast fit for a king (no pun intended) laid across it. There was an audible moan as the assorted smells washed over us. I heard more than a few men's stomach's actually growl when they spotted the food. Sango stood to the side and for once we were never happier to here her give us an order.

"Eat up."

We needed no more welcome than those two words. We swarmed forward, claiming seats, grabbing plates and food alike. Servants came and filled our cups as the men gorged on the fresh fruit and freshly made cinammon bread, and assorted breakfast meats.

"Is the food not satisfactory, m'lord?" I snapped out of my trance to notice a young female woman filling my cup. Her head was bowed, and at first I wasn't sure I had really heard anything. "M'lord?" She spoke again.

"No,.. the food's fine. I'm just- It's so much." I almost felt wrong by eating the food that should be meant for royalty.

"But m'lord, It was made specifically for this event. And you need your energy for the competition." She said finally raising her eyes to my face, although not quite looking at me.

"Feh, cut it out with the 'm'lord' stuff. I'm way lower on the social chain than you are, and I don't deserve nothin' from ya." I mumbled. A soft smile lit up her face. "But here, as long as you remain in these castle's walls, you are in competition for royalty. You are as much a king as the men who sit on either side of you. And you will be treated as such. Might you learn to get used to it." She said, still quiet. "After all, miracles do happen." She walked away, continuing with her job.

I snorted at her words, and continued to pick at my food.

It wasn't long before Sango stepped forward, quickly using the her assistant to clap the pots together for our attention yet again.

"Today is the first day of the competition, and possibly the easiest. You will each be held in front of the panel of council members, including Her Majesty and I. Simply put, you will be asked basic questions and given certain situations to confirm whether you will be in the runnings for the Kingship after today. Have I made myself clear?"

The men must've still been frightened, for no questions were made.

"Very well. My brother Kohaku will show you the way to the bathing rooms, where you will also be given a small parcel of clothing and necessary items for your stay here. If you have any needs that need to be attended to, the time to recieve them will be then." And with that, she walked out of the room leaving her brother the leader.

"All right men, follow me." And left without a second glance. We scrambled along quickly, not quite ready to get lost in the maze of this mansion.

Once in the bathing room, we were flooded by a variety of servants, men and women alike, that quickly pulled us aside and stripped us of clothing. Most of us stumbled through into a big pool like area, and were shouted at to move faster. Hands dunked us underneath the water and scrubbed at our heads. Assorted scents filled my nose as the servants would hand over soaps, watching diligently to make sure every square area of our bodies was cleaned.

The second I came up out of the water, a towel to dry off was thrown over me.

Still damp, I was forced back into another pair of generic robes that I noticed every man was being fit into. A woman came over with a brush to start combing out my hair, but I pulled on her arm to ask quickly "Where did my clothes go?"

She smiled and patted my hand.

"Don't worry, you'll have them back soon."

I mumbled something incoherent and let her go. She began to slide the brush through my hair commenting on how easy it was, despite it's length.

When she was through, she motioned me to where the rest of the men who were done were. When all were gathered, we were taken down a few more hallways and herded into a medium sized room with luxurious looking benches and chairs sitting about. Sango stood waiting, her arms cradling a notepad. Looking down, she called the first name without a speech. The man stood up, pale and scrawny, and followed Sango through the doorway.

For what felt like the first time since we arrived here, we were allowed to just sit and wait, taking in our other comrades. I looked around noting that I was the only hanyou around, not at all surprised. I had always been the only one I knew of.

"So what do you think they'll do to us in there?" Miroku said, prodding me with his elbow.

I shrugged. Whoever had decided to have us held here was smart enough to keep it far enough away for demon ears to hear.

"Not sure. Generic stuff I guess." Miroku nodded.

"Indeed. Background checks I imagine." I didn't make a move to reply.

"Miroku." We both flinched at his name.

He got up and gave me a a sign that was almost like a salute. "Farewell Inuyasha!"

Turning, he walked right up close to Sango, who had apparently not been ready for his sudden closeness. "My dear Sango, have you ever noticed how beautiful you are the way the light hits you?" and together they began walking through the doorway.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

It wasn't ten minutes later that my name was called.

Stiffly, I got up and walked over to Sango. She led me through a hallway, guards closing the door behind us. Quietly we walked for a few minutes until she asked "Are you nervous?"

I shrugged, then realized she wouldn't see me since I was behind her slightly.

"I dunno. I'm just sort've here, is what I feel like."

"Hn." was her reply before we came through another set of double doors, ornately carved with a jewel or two on each door.

Sango let me in before her, shutting them behind me. Nervously, I was gestured to stand in front of the council members. Sango took her spot next to the Queen, who I noticed in a chair further back, her own pad held in her hands. A small comforting smile was on her face. I gulped and turned my attention back to the council members.

"State your name." No speech, just dove in.

"Inuyasha Takahashi."

"Parent's names?"

Insert a blanch here. "P-parents? Is that necessary? I've been an orphan for the majority of my life..."

"If you know their names, it would be most beneficial for you." A woman answered me, lifting her head to keep her eyes straight with mine.

Sighing, I finally gave up. "Inutaisho and Izayoi of the Western Lands."

Silence so loud that it had the ears curling in on themselves was all that was around. Jaws stood agape. I brought a hand up and rubbed my arm, a nervous twitch.

"You mean the former Lord?" a man gasped out.

I nodded.

"Well well, it seems we even have royalty in this competition." I looked up, surprised. Lady Kagome looked the least surprised at all, if not a little pleased.

"Please, I'm not royalty. Like I said earlier.. I've been orphaned the majority of my life. Living on my own, in the streets of my former town and this one. Being half demon..." I ducked my head down here. "Being half demon has left me more trouble than its worth. No one would accept me."

"Your brother did not take care of you?" I didn't catch who this was from.

"We're only halfbrothers. (A/N; Thank you for pointing this out ^^;) And at that, we're no where near close." A jumbled reply was heard.

Sango cleared her throat, alleviating a little bit of the tension in the room.

"Since you are the only half demon in this competition, could you please explain to us what generic human and demon qualities you have?"

And thus the questions continued.

"What education do you have?"

"Do you take care of any others in your household?"

"What brought you to this city?"

"How old are you in human and demon standards?"

"Have you ever lain with a woman?"

"How far are your skills in combat?"

And so on. The question came rapidly to the point that I answered them mechanically, spitting out what came onto my mind immediately.

"Have you ever been in love?" Stopped short, my attention shyly turned to her Majesty.

"Ma'am?"I choked out.

"Have you ever been in love?"

I obviously wasn't the only one who was surprised by this question, as a couple members turned their heads ever so slightly, their faces clearly giving away their surprise. Even Sango turned quizically to her Queen.

I stood stock silent for a minute before I finally manged to cough up an answer.

"I thought so at one point in time."

She considered this and wrote something down. "And what made you change your mind?"

I shook my head. "She died." I was surprised she even heard, I spoke it so quietly.

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry to bring it up and cause you pain."

I shook my head. "Your majesty, it was just a question as to which I answered. No need for apologies."

Her eyes bore into mine, and I couldn't help but feel... something, staring into her face. A face so familiar, and yet so different from the one I knew of.

A cough was uttered breaking our stare down.

"One more question. Do you have any interest in continuing in this competition?" Said the woman from earlier.

I pondered on this a minute or two before answering.

"Strangely enough... Yes, Yes I do. But I don't believe it would be for the actual reasons you might think." I waited a second gathering my thoughts.
"I'd rather go through it to... to prove something to myself, and to the world. No one has ever expected anything from me, except maybe my mother and father, before they perished."

"And it's time I show them I'm not as lowly as I might appear."

It was quiet for a long time as the council wrote down their notes. Finally Sango lifted her head and spoke.

"I believe we've had enough. Please if you would leave through that doorway there," Sango said gesturing to a door opposite the one I came in, before leaving through to grab another man.

"Thank you for your time." Kagome said, already turning her eyes back down to her notepad. I bowed once before leaving, than exited, hurrying through the hallway before emotion could catch up with me. So many secrets had been let out to a room full of people I didn't even know, and I wasn't sure I had been ready for it. I busted through the doors at the end of the hallway to see another sitting area, Miroku saving me a seat. Sitting I leaned my head against the wall and took a deep breath, closing my eyes.

"They kept you in there for a long time." Miroku commented.

A rough sigh escaped from me. "They had alot of questions."

"Apparently." He remarked, then quieted.

Man after man came through the door, looking tired and relieved, none taking near as long as I had in that room. I didn't even bother to try and think why.

Finally, after the last man had entered and another hour of waiting, Sango came in.

"Congratulations Men. You have completed your first day of competing. You will be led to lunch, and then will have an oppurtunity for a recess in which you will be allowed to walk around the palace. Learn to navigate these halls, for some, you will be here for awhile. We will reconvene at dusk, in this room. If you get lost, ask a guard to help you out."

Once released, Kohaku led us to lunch, another feast of roasted beef and chicken, fresh fruit and vegetables also provided.

"Would you like your cup refilled m'lord?" I snapped out of my reverie to see the same servant woman from earlier.

Smirking I handed my cup to her, "Didn't I tell you to cut it out with the 'm'lord' stuff?"

She just laughed, winked, and continued with her work. Shaking my head I turned back to Miroku who was gazing longingly at Sango across the room.

"Oh please." I said waving my hand in front of him.

He sighed with a smile. "Ah how my hearts reaches out to such a ravishing woman! If only if only." He brought his hand over his heart, continuing to speak adorations to Sango who appeared to be ignoring him.

"Your going to get kicked out of this if you do that to her, ya know?" I said, nibbling at my food. He just shrugged, not seeming to hear me.

I rolled my eyes then yanked him up.

"Hey, what're you doing Inuyasha?"

"C'mon, let's explore this place."

"But Inuyashaaaa." He cried out, his view of Sango disappearing as the door which Inuyasha had dragged him through shut. I just laughed, letting him go.

He followed sullenly, but picked back up quickly. We spent the time finding the sparring dojo's, exploring the gardens, and inside as well where the servant quarters were along with a library stuffed with books of varying sizes and styles.

"Inuyasha, I do believe it is almost time to be heading back, no?" Miroku said looking up at the sky. I followed his gaze and sighed. It was nice to just have a break with no real worries.

"Yeah, I guess."

Automatically arriving at the waiting room, we were ushered into the conference room where we had been asked questions. Kagome in the center of the table, right up front, Sango at her right.

When the last of the men had made it, the doors were shut.

"I would first like to thank each and every one of you for complying with us in these hard times." Kagome said kindly brushing her eyes over the group.

"By your answers today, we have dwindled the number down from 33 men to 20. You men who have not been chosen will be allowed release back to your homes, along with pay for any work you might've missed during your day here." She glanced over at Sango, who smiled reassuringly and gently motioned her hands to precede.

Her Majesty brought her face back up to us.

"Congratulations to those I call upon. You will be moving up." She shuffled the items in her hands.

"The first person is......."

And the names were called. Slowly and agonizingly, each name that was called, that man took a step forward, earning his place to move on.

"Inuyasha."

My head snapped back to the side. I couldn't have heard my name could I?

"Inuyasha? Please, step forward." She repeated, though not seeming annoyed.

I felt my face warm a bit, but I took a shaky step forward. She nodded towards me, then continued the list.

Miroku was called up after me, and I gave him a look.

He shrugged, but smiled politely as the list was finished.

"Alright, for those of you who's names weren't called, you can follow Kohaku here to pack what things you may have and head to the departure gates." Sango said, taking charge clapping her hands for emphasis.

Once they were out of the room, our attention was called back to Sango.

"All right men. Congrats. But it's not over, not by a long shot. Tomorrow you start on the first of the varying lessons you will have over the next month. Report to your quarters, and have a good night." She said, sounding tired herself. She turned to Kagome and walked with her out a different set of doors to I presumed their own living quarters.

Back in my bed, I was left thinking over the questions they had asked me in the conference.

'What as it they saw that kept me in?'

I hadn't been the only demon. In fact, there were two others that I could see, which may not be a large amount compared to the humans, but I still found it fascinating that demons were even being considered equals, much less moving forward.

Rolling over, I pondered other thoughts. 'Why did she ask me if I'd ever been in love...?'

That thought caused my heart to hurt a bit, and I forcefully shut the thoughts out of my head, not wanting to think about the past.

Eventually sleep overcame me.

A/N; Fhew! It's been a loooong time since I got this updated. Stupid laptop internet wifi systems. We had to wipe my computer and all the document I had on it, erasing everything I had written for this story. ;.;

I'm surprised how much I like this story plot though. Maybe it's not the most exciting thing, but I am led to believe it's at least different.
It's a bit of a challenge for me to write, but I'm looking forward to writing more.

I'm glad to be back in business. =]

R&R,
Souzousei