Undercover Wife

Chapter Four: Preparations

"I can't believe this crap!" Inuyasha hollered as Sesshoumaru walked on ahead, and he and Kagome with the Japanese agents followed behind home as they exited the airport. Several of Sesshoumaru's personal agents trailed behind them, their hands hovering at their side-pieces making sure Miroku and Sango didn't make a run for it. Inuyasha glanced back at them with a glare, and he knew that no one could get out of this, not even him, when he was the prince of this country. Nothing more would make him happy than grabbing Kagome and taking off to Tahiti to hide until the whole scandal blew over. He knew that neither his brother nor the Empress would allow him the chance.

Kagome continued to frown, but she had a thoughtful expression on her face. "I don't like it either, but if it prevents two countries from going to war... I suppose there's nothing left for us to do."

"You can't just assume Fang Commonwealth will go to war. We had nothing to do with her death," Inuyasha said with an angry harrumph.

Sesshoumaru turned around and met his brother face to face. "We can assume they will make war with us. The Fang Commonwealth has been rumored to favor war over a royal marriage for some time now. Several members of their parliament have even started funding the idea under the table. After all, war is a lot more profitable than marriage."

"So Lady Jiang's death from drug lords we can't even control in our own country would be just the fodder they need to go ahead with a war they already want," Kagome observed sadly. Sesshoumaru turned to her and met her eyes with a nod.

"I'm glad to see your woman has more sense than you do, brother," Sesshoumaru said, though still looking at Kagome and refusing to meet his brother's angry glare. "This is not enjoyable for me either, and I have my doubts, but if Mother can make this work." He cracked a small smile. "Our country will save many lives and a lot of capital."

Kagome nodded, finally seeing the bigger picture, even though the idea of pretending to be Sesshoumaru's fiancé still made her feel extremely awkward. "I would rather do this to potentially save lives than refuse and have people die because I could have changed things."

Inuyasha looked back and forth from his brother and girlfriend, noticing their mutual agreement. The look on his face only suggested he was the only one who wanted to rebel from this because he was scared of them working so closely together. If Kagome only knew that he was more than frightened than ever to lose her. He should be comforted knowing his brother was against cavorting with humans, but what if Sesshoumaru changed his mind? What if Kagome changed her mind as well?

Then, his relationship with Kagome would be ruined.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms and hovered around the spare bedroom in the palace that was to be Kagome's room while Sango and Miroku became her makeshift servants. He watched as the two Japanese spies began counseling and instructing Kagome on Lady Jiang's ways, and the more information they delved on the late princess, the more Sesshoumaru was starting to feel like this bonkers plan was actually going to work. He turned his head to watch Kagome's mortified face, and his hopes dashed slightly. She was pale, unsure, and more than anything, worried. Her worry was beginning to cause him doubts, and likewise his brother's nasty disposition did not help the woman's confidence. Sesshoumaru furrowed his brow as his brother paced about the room, snorting and making impatient, rude sounds as Sango tried to explain to Kagome on how she had to mimic Lady Jiang's atrocious personality exactly.

"The thing you have to remember the most when acting like the princess is that she is selfish and she has no care for others, especially humans," Sango told her. "She humors humans and passes her haughtiness off as shyness when around human diplomats, but when she is around other youkai royalty and high ranking officials, she is a terrible gossip, and she's rude and racist against humans. She's also very duplicitous. When wolf youkai are in the room, she slanders dog and bird youkai. When dog youkai are in the room, she slanders cat and fox youkai, and when fox youkai are around; she makes fun of raccoon and dog youkai. You get the picture. She only cares about wolf youkai, unless they are Eastern tribe, which are widely known to be the family's mortal enemies. She has no qualms about badmouthing them in front of anyone."

"Who is the leader of the Eastern tribe?" Kagome asked, memorizing all of Sango's points carefully.

"Oh, that would be Prince Kouga. Lady Jiang despises him, and sometimes I think she had reason to," Miroku said. Sango nodded.

"Ha, I know that bozo. He's a loud mouth ass. Lucky you haven't met him yet, Kagome; he's a womanizer and a complete menace," Inuyasha butted in. Kagome looked unsettled and nodded once.

"Don't worry," Sango said in a light tone. She met Kagome's eyes and her expression held that of sisterly affection. "I'll give you some files to study on all the royal officials Lady Jiang new about and had her dealings."

When the atmosphere was finally becoming lighter, and Sango, Miroku and Kagome were starting to relax into their inevitable duties, Inuyasha growled loudly and threw up his hands.

"This is just impossible! It's going to fail! Kagome can never act like that bitch Lady Jiang!" he hollered.

"Humph. Any woman can act like Lady Jiang, so it's more possible than you think, brother," Sesshoumaru said, and Sango and Kagome both narrowed their eyes at him. He smirked wider. Good, he wanted them to get mad - it should inspire them at any rate. "Now, little brother, just settle down and cooperate. The more you carry on, the more your woman loses her confidence." Sesshoumaru's steely eyes pierced into Kagome's again. "One slip up and one falter of confidence could endanger the whole country, and with the way you've been around her since we left the airport, I'd be more than happy to inform Mother that it was your influence which made her fail."

Kagome swallowed uncomfortably, and Inuyasha glared at his brother and seethed from his threat. Sesshoumaru knew there was nothing his brother could do, so he only smirked at him, challenging him to even try defy him. When his brother backed down, Kagome looked even more out of sorts from the exchange.

"Wow, no pressure or anything, right guys?" Kagome said with a nervous laugh, and Sesshoumaru watched her hug herself in anxiety. He cocked his head and strode forward, knowing more than anything humans needed reassurance. He didn't entirely understand the concept, but if it would bring her confidence up, he would try. He extended his hand and squeezed her shoulder. She looked up at him, shocked by his gesture. She froze under his stare.

"You will do fine," he said, his voice lighter than usual. Then, while his brother and the humans gaped at him, he turned heel and left the room. He could hear soft voices perk up as he left while Sango and Miroku continued their lessons.

While Sesshoumaru was alone in the hallway, he looked down at his hand, noticing the warmth there. He hadn't touched someone like that, human or not, in a long time, and it perplexed him. Had it really been that long? He closed his eyes and took a steady breath. Even worse, he thought. He never really realized it until now - he really would have to get close to Kagome, closer than comfort would allow.

He had to be vigilant. He could not let this let this ridiculous yet necessary charade become the salve to his loneliness. He chided himself; the idea was too preposterous to even imagine.

To be continued…