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 Eighteen;

Three months later, and Naraku still hadn't done anything... well, evil per say. Nothing that could be considered out of line.

And it was driving me up the damn wall.

Sango had tried more than once to get more information from me, always coming at a terrible time that involved a certain black haired demon coming at just the precise time, forcing me to weave half-truths and suddenly exit in the midst of our conversations leaving the woman flustered and on edge. Eventually she stopped coming.

Leaving me to be the only one who was flustered and on edge. Miroku noticed immediately, simply stating that I should 'go and see healer for my sleeping problems' before trying to find a way to avoid my rather less-than-tolerable behavior.

Not apologetic in the least, I had continued sleeping the bare minimum hours needed for me to function, using any free time to try and figure out if Naraku had a further plan.

S'far all that I had gathered what that he wanted power.

'Why else would he be so interested the oh-so-powerful Tetsusaiga?' My sarcasm was tangible even in my thoughts.

Along with my tiredness came more stress from the next elimination round.

"Your sessions with the council, and your behavior during the ball will determine whether you make it to the next round." Sango had explained one afternoon before releasing us from classes. "All but 10 will be eliminated. Crunch time is now." She furthered. I felt myself blanch at the words, thinking of all the possible flub ups I had committed in those few hours the day of the festival.

"Relax." Miroku said, entering beside me in the mass bathing pools. "You're going to do fine in the elimination round... Is it just me, or is this water freezing?"

Ignoring the question, I focused on what he had said. "What makes you so sure?" I asked, sinking lower into the water till it was at my chin. I blew over the surface of it, watching the water ripple.

"Well... she danced with you twice at the ball." Miroku nudged me with his elbow. "That's gotta count for something. She didn't do that with anyone else."

I raised a brow. "She didn't?"

"Nope. Maybe it's just 'cause your that natural of a dancer, but I don't think that's what made her want to dance with ya again." Miroku waggled his eyebrows in a lewd manner towards me as a means of explanation.

"Doubtful." I commented before reaching an arm over and promptly dunking Miroku into the water. He came back up, gasping. His arms wrapped around himself, trying to stay warm.

"What was that for?" He cried out.

"You needed a cold shower." I replied, smirking. Miroku's glare was colder than the water, but was ineffective all the same.

I stood up and began walking out of the bath, accepting a towel from a male servant, and began drying myself off. Miroku followed suit, deciding to stay silent. We wrapped our towels around our waists, and walked off to the dressing chamber where we retrieved our clothes.

"Do you think I'll make it to the next round?" Miroku asked quietly, having already finished dressing.

I paused. "I thought you liked Sango?"

"Of course. Which is why I want to continue."

I was silent as I finished tying my fire rat kimono around my body.

"Kagome knows you want to be with Sango. It's in her hands how that pans out."

Miroku visibly deflated. "That's what I was afraid of."

His words caught me off guard. "Why would you have a problem with that?"

"Kagome's going to do what's right for her country. If she knows I'm playing along with this just for Sango, than she has no reason to keep me here." Miroku pouted, placing one elbow on his knee to hold his head up.

"Exactly. She's going to do what's right for her country. And your not a bad choice. So you should still be in." I felt my eyebrows knit together. "Unlike me, who has gotten into enough trouble as it is."

"You've done a lot of good too, though." Miroku said. He raised up a hand and began tacking them off on his fingers. "You work with Kaede without being asked- including taking her place when the ball was happening, you show compassion when you choose to only fight demons in the dojo, you hit it off with her grandfather, and you actually respect her. What more could they want in a king?"

I just rolled my eyes and started walking. Miroku fumbled to keep up and ran to my side as I crossed back out into the courtyard. "Hey! It's true!" He claimed.

I shook my head, my damp hair sticking to my cheeks. "While I think you're overly exaggerating, those aren't things for a kingship. You have to be fair at strategics, war tactics, and ruling actual people! You can't just have good character, of which I still believe I'm sorely lacking."

"What are you lacking?"

Miroku and I both jumped at the sound of the female voice behind us. Turning, we saw Sango who looked truly curious.

"Nothing." I mumbled. Miroku just laughed before saying, "Inuyasha's just a little put out about this whole competition. Doesn't think he'll make it far at all."

I glared at him, but said nothing.

"Well, if that's all then." Sango placed a hand on her hip. It was only just then that I noticed the huge katana that she was carrying and her sweaty forehead. "I wouldn't be worried if I were you. Not that I can give any specifics or anything, but there's definitely worse here than you."

I wasn't sure if I felt any better hearing that or not.

Miroku just smiled. "See there Inuyasha? No worries!" Turning his whole attention back to Sango, he to offer to carry her katana. She raised a brow at him and handed it over.

Within 5 seconds, Miroku was sprawled on the ground, the weapon obviously heavier than he had anticipated. Sango and I both bust out laughing at the sight before us.

"This is why chivalry is dead." I heard Miroku mutter from beneath the weapon.

When I wasn't pacing across the floor, my foot would be tapping madly. The 'thump thump thump' matched the racing rhythm of my heart, something I somehow couldn't control.

"You're going to wear a hole straight through the floor. And while I don't know those that live below us, I doubt they would appreciate the sudden skylight." Miroku commented where he sat cross-legged on his bed. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be meditating.

I growled, frustrated, and laid down on my bed. The blankets were bunched up and caused me to lie awkwardly across the covers. Of course, on any other day this would be nothing. But today, any little thing seemed to have an immense annoyance factor. Growling again, I sat back up and attempted to straighten them out, roughly smoothing my hands over the blankets. Angrily, I flopped back down and stared at the ceiling.

"Inuyasha?" I heard Miroku quietly say. I looked over and saw one of Miroku's eyes was open, staring down hard at me. "Calm down." He commanded. "Flitting about like this won't help our situation any."

I stared back at his one eye for a moment, before huffing and facing back towards the ceiling. Taking his words into consideration, I uncrossed my arms anyways.

"Better." He commented before closing his eyes completely.

I sighed and forced the muscles in my body to relax more. Why was I so damned nervous?

My thoughts immediately jumped to Kagome. The rumors about her beauty had never done her justice. I thought of her pale complexion that had just enough color that she didn't appear washed out. Her hair stood in stark contrast against her skin, the raven locks having just the right amoung of wave. And her eyes! Most brown eyes were boring in my own humble opinion, but not hers. She always seemed to be laughing through her eyes, and they made me feel happier just seeing them.

When had I gotten like this? My mind began to race as I tried to figure out my own feelings.

'I haven't felt like this since Kikyo...' The name running through my mind nearly knocked the wind out of me. How long had it been since I had thought of Kikyo? Months nearly? How could I?

'Kikyo, how could I nearly forget you?' Sweat started to bead on my forehead. I closed my eyes, and pressed my fingers to my temple. 'Kikyo..' I couldn't say the name enough. Fresh pain ripped through my chest, one that had been so close to being forgotten.

I wouldn't let myself forget again.

"Inuyasha? Are you okay?" I heard Miroku lean forward on his bed, his robes swishing with the movement.

I wrenched my eyes open, and I realized that my breathing had turned heavy. Miroku was leaning over my face, his expression teeming with worry. I pushed him aside and sat up, sliding my sleeve over my face.

"Don't worry about it." I growled out, my voice rough and thick.

Miroku looked taken aback.

"You look pale, Inuyasha. Maybe you should lie down." He spoke quietly. I shook my head.

"I'll be fine." I said, trying to ease my voice back into normality. Miroku was still looking at me with an expression of disbelief. "Seriously." Hadn't I been through this anyways?

He just pursed his lips before shaking his head. Not a second later Sango waltzed into the room.

"C'mon boys, gather 'round!" She called out, using her hands for emphasis, trying to make us hurry. I stood, stretching my hands up above my head. The tension eased slightly in my back, though my somewhat decent mood had dissipated. I slowly trudged over to where Sango was, listening halfheartedly.

"Alright boys," Sango started, talking quieter than she ever had to us as a whole. "Tonight's a big night for us all. Only ten of you will continue, and as always, Kagome has the ultimate choice. Those present tonight will be the council along with..."

'Kagome..' I thought. I had noticed the similarities between her and Kikyo once before. Life seemed to love finding new levels of torture for me. I felt myself dwelling on my past yet again, something I usually was adamant to refrain from doing. But memories with a woman from so many years passed, memories of laughter and actual happiness. Back when I wasn't taking care of a runt, back when I wasn't a poor peasant of a village. Back when I had felt unwanted by all.

'Why did it have to be her?' It was a question I had asked myself many times since the day she died.

Sango finished up her encouragement speech and ushered us through the dormitory door before taking lead of us. Silently we walked down the hallways. Instead of looking at the gray marble-like stones that built up the castle, or the plush furnishings, or the other ornate decorations like I typically did in matters like these, I found myself distant and unobservant, no matter how much I tried to mentally remind myself that this was the time to pay attention to all around me.

It wasn't till I was standing in the middle of a platform, her majesty in front of us with the council behind her that I seemed to register that this was indeed happening now. My eyes were drawn to Kagome, and my mind immediately transformed her into another woman, one from years past.

'Kikyo, you haunt me everywhere.' But I shook my head, trying to erase the thoughts. Kikyo was not Kagome.

"Firstly, I want to congratulate you all for making it this far. Each one of you men are enormously talented, and I am honored to have you all work as hard as you do." Kagome smiled, and stepped forward. Her hands went behind her back, and the pose reminded me vaguely of Sango when she got in her dictator moods.

"But of course, we must choose those of you who are strongest." Kagome paced towards her right, taking a deep breath. I kept my eyes downcast, my mind still not completely focused.

"I supposed we should get down to business then." She walked across the small space till she stood in front of a small brown hair man. She leaned forward and quickly placed a small kiss on his cheek.

"Muso, you have made it."

The man reddened, and shyly thanked Kagome. She nodded before walking across the entire line, passing myself, till she was in front of Kouga. He gave her a catty grin, and she smiled back before leaning forward and giving him a kiss on the cheek as well.

"Kouga." She said lightly.

And so she went. Seven names passed and I had long ago abandoned listening for them all. My eyes trailed downwards as fewer spots were left, only reacting when Naraku was called. I felt the grimace mark my face, though it was fleeting.

I almost didn't noticed when the pale hand reached out for mine. I looked up and felt almost surprised to see Kagome in front of me. She smiled and peered up right into my eyes. They were still laughing, but the happiness didn't come to me like it used to.

Looking slightly confused, Kagome leaned forward and kissed my cheek longer than I had anticipated. I squeezed her hand in surprise, even though I knew the gesture was coming. She pulled back and looked at my eyes again. They still shined, but appeared worried this time. "Inuyasha." She stated, her voice not giving away what her eyes did. She began to walk away and it was a minute before I registered that she had squeezed my hand back.

I walked away from the ceremony in a daze. Truly, I was relieved to have made it another round, but my thoughts were too muddled from the day's realizations.

I shuffled to a random balcony, peering around me quickly to see if anyone noticed, before slipping through the doors.

Outside it was chilly where the fall's winds had begun to pick up. I mentally thanked myself for deciding to wear my fire-rat clothing, rather than the usual robes of the castle. I walked towards the railing, and slipped my elbows on it, and glanced up at the stars.

I wasn't so far gone that I didn't hear the door swing open and the timid footsteps coming towards me. The smell began to swirl around me, and I recognized immediately who it was.

"Good evening your majesty." I spoke before she said a word. She came up beside me, laying her own elbows on the railing. "How did you know it was me?" She asked, smiling up at me. I tried to keep her face in the corner of my eyes, rather than look straight at her.

"Lucky guess?" I remarked. She made a sound akin to 'pffth' before turning forward.

We sat in silence longer than I had originally anticipated. I allowed my mind to wander again, peering at her out of my peripherals.

'How can two women look so much alike, and be so different?' And different they were.

While they both cared for others, Kikyo was much more subdued. Kagome literally radiated with compassion.

And while Kikyo was one of the most patient women I had known, Kagome tended to act more like a child. Of course, Kikyo had also merely tolerated my demon side. Kagome seemed almost oblivious to it.

Kagome didn't care if I was hanyou or not.
This sudden revelation took me by surprise.

"What are you thinking about?"

I jumped at the sound of Kagome's voice, not realizing how long I had been standing there, probably gawking at her. She was smiling, but I could tell she was being hesitant at the same time. The wind wipped her hair all around her face, quickly disrupting all that had been done to it to look presentable for the courts.

"I'm thinking about..." How did I say this kind of thing? "a girl. From my past." I tilted my head in the other direction, placing Kagome behind me.

"Aah." Kagome said. She had placed her hands behind her back and pranced around to my other side to look me in the face. "Is this the girl you were once in love with, perhaps?"

I gave her a blank stare. She just stared back for a minute. "C'mon, you told me in the first round of questioning. Remember?"

Truth be told, I hadn't. Not till she had said anything anyways.

"Yeah well... whatever." I felt vulnerable having Kagome trying to pry.

"So it is." She said triumphantly.

"Maybe." I whispered.

Kagome seemed to deflate some. I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably.

"Can I ask what happened?" She said, leaning down next to me again. Her shoulder just barely touched mine. I stared down towards the ground below us for a few minutes, not answering.

"Perhaps not." She answered herself.

"Nothing against you. I just don't like getting into it." I whispered. Kagome didn't say anything in response, but I felt as if she understood. Again, silence enraptured us, but this time it felt more companionable.

"You know," Kagome said, breaking the silence, "I truly miss Hojo. Even if we weren't in love, we still cared for each other deeply."

I twisted my head to look up at her. My hair fell in my eyes, but I didn't bother to brush it out of the way. She wasn't looking at me though, instead staring out straight ahead, towards the forests and beyond that, the stars.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Yes. We grew up along side each other. We took lessons together, played together, even sparred together a few times. He was the only one besides Sango I could entrust my secrets in." Kagome sighed and looked down, catching my eyes only briefly. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably.

"To lose someone so close is a hard thing. When it first occurred, I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. I had felt like my whole world had crashed around me."

I nodded. "I can relate." The phrase slipped out before I had realized it. Kagome didn't ask, but smiled at my confession.

"There were some days that I couldn't handle it. I would bust out sobbing randomly during a meal. Other days I would run into things all the time, being so distracted. My guards were beginning to escort me everywhere, afraid I would do something to truly damage myself. Nighttime was always the worst though." The silence lasted for a shorter amount of time this round.

"But..finally one day, I woke up from a dream. In it I relived a memory from a few years past. It was late and Hojo and I had only been recently married. Somehow we had gotten on the conversation of our deaths. What the dream made me remember was what Hojo had said, that he had wished for my continuing happiness. To find someone else to share my life with, and rule alongside." Kagome smiled, and I smelled the beginnings of tears. "So that's where I am now. Trying to live out his wishes for myself." Her voice turned to a whisper. "I still miss him."

Her head dropped, and she interlaced her fingers together in front of her. Her hair fell over her shoulder, hiding her face from my view. Never knowing how to deal with a crying woman, I hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder. Before I knew what I was doing, I slowly pulled her over closer.

"I understand." I murmured quietly near her ear. "Kikyo died suddenly as well."

Kagome shnuffled, her tears still flowing silently. "Kikyo?"

"The woman that I-.. That I cared for." I took a breath. "The one that I loved."

Kagome lifted her head, and I felt it gently bump my chin. Had I pulled her this close? I didn't dare push away.

"What happened to her?" She asked more hesitantly than before, still leaving it up to me to tell my story.

I sighed. "She died during a training session. A rogue demon of her archery group let an arrow go randomly. She never even saw it coming." I closed my eyes. "She died instantly." I felt my heart twist painfully in my chest. "I never got to say goodbye."

Kagome's hand gently touched the tops of my arms, not quite reaching my shoulders.

"It's worse when they get wrenched away so young. And so suddenly." She took a step back, but held onto my arms. She gripped her hands tighter around me and tugged to turn me towards her. One finger came up to tilt my head up so she could look at my face.

"I am very sorry for the loss you faced. When I saw you earlier today, I knew you weren't looking so well. Is today the anniversary?"

I shook my head. How did I tell her that it was 'cause I forgot entirely? That Kagome herself is the reason I had even remembered Kikyo today? Shifting my feet, I pulled my face away again.

"Don't please." Kagome pleaded. I tried to tug my hands away, but she clung on.

"No, I just... I just..." Kikyo's face in my mind was suddenly replaced with Kagome's, now fully in front of my face. "I just forgot about her. Something earlier today made me remember!" My voice was louder than I meant for it to be. "I felt so guilty, I had almost forgotten about her..."

Kagome didn't say anything at first. Then she quietly stepped forward and suddenly her arms were around me, her face pressed softly against my chest.

"Oh Inuyasha, you shouldn't feel guilty. I don't think Kikyo would've been mad at you, honest!" She stepped back again to look up at my face. "I don't think she would've wanted you to dwell on her death." She gripped my shirt sleeves in her fingers.

"You think?" My voice sounded dead even to me.

"I really do. If Kikyo cared for you the way you did for her, then she would want you to be able to move on in life." She looked up at me, her eyes shining brightly in the stars. "Even if it meant she wasn't foremost on your mind anymore."

We both quieted then, just staring at the other. I wasn't sure how many minutes passed, but her hands fell from my arms to my hands where they gently squeezed mine.

"I guess... you might be right." I managed to say. I squeezed back on her hands. She smiled and let her hands slide out of mine. "Thank you, Kagome."

She beamed. "It's nothing. I truly hope you feel better and are able to move on in life."

I felt my lips twitch upwards. "The same for you."

She held her hand out suddenly, as if she were to shake my hand.

"Promise that Kikyo's death won't rule your life?"

I grinned in truth now, bringing my own hand to shake with hers. Why did I feel so light about a subject so heavy?

"Only if you promise the same with Hojo, your majesty."

We pumped our fists once before letting go, sealing the deal.

"In that case, I'd better get going. You to, if you ever want to get some sleep. The competition is gonna start getting harder, and you're going to need all the energy you can muster."

"Aye aye, Captain." I said teasingly. She turned and walked off, turning only once to give a wave before walking back through the door inside. I watched her flounce down the hallway before disappearing from view.

'Maybe I could move on...'

A/N;; I've been reading some of the older chapters for this, and I think I might be making some serious revisements once I'm done actually writing this story.

For the end is near indeed!

Review, please, because it makes me feel better. I always want to write more when I get reviews, negative or positive.

-Souzousei