Beloved

Summary: Kagome Higurashi is a princess in feudal Japan. When she turns eight teen, her parents set out to find her a prince to marry. But no one knows that the beloved princess has her eye on a lonely peasant boy from outside of her kingdom.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi does. The only thing about this story that I own is the plot. If I owned Inuyasha, it would still be running in America and I would flip out and cry, but you don't see me doing that.

Note: For now, every character in the story is human. But there are still demons in feudal Japan.

***

"Yeah." Kagome had let it drop. Of course he got away with it, because no one ate more than one slice of cake. Not even Akira. then again, he wasn't much of a cake person. But how strange of a complete stranger to get away with simply passing through the party. There were guards everywhere. Kagome hadn't gotten a good look at his face, but she saw that he had very long black hair. And that stuck out, because Kagome and Sango were the only people in the whole village with hair going down their backs. But Sango's hair was always tied in a low ponytail.

A complete stranger had come through a party. He could've been dangerous, but he was only passing through, and didn't get caught. That was all Kagome could think about now. But there was something else the clouded her mind even more than anything else had.

She was the only person that noticed.

***

Kagome woke up earlier than she usually did. When she opened her eyes, it was purplish orange outside, meaning the sun was only just starting to rise. She sat up and her eyes squeezed shut as she slammed herself back on her futon. She only had one glass of wine, so why was her hangover so strong? Maybe it was just a first sip of alcohol thing. She stood up slowly and walked to the bathroom. It was surprisingly hot in her bed chamber, and she slept in a thin night gown.

I the bathroom she splashed her face with cold water and stared at herself in the body mirror they had in there. She washed more water on her body hoping to cool off more and looked back in the mirror, only to see thick black hair staring back at her.

"Ah!" Kagome jumped back, her heart bounding. She blinked and looked in the mirror again. It was her face, and her black hair was tied in a messy bun at the bottom of the back of her neck. She continued to breathe deeply for a moment and plashed more water on her arms and face before going back to her room. She snuggled back under her thick blanket and fell asleep.

When she woke again it was lighter. She felt something cold moving across her forehead and looked up to find Sango patting a wet cloth on her face. It felt good, since Kagome was still sweating like a pig.

"Did I wake you?" Sango's concered voice filled the silent room. Kagome shook her head and smiled.

"It's the light. And the water feels good." she sighed and sat up, relieved that she didn't have a headache anymore. "What time is it?"

"It's very early. About seven. Your family and Kohaku are still asleep. Would you like me to tell the chefs to prepare breakfast before they wake?"

"No, that's fine. I'm just gonna head out for a bit."

"To the garden?"

"Yeah. Please let me go alone. I just want to walk off a bad dream I had last night." she shuddered at the thought of the thick black mane in her mirror. The hair that belonged to no one she knew, but someone she saw the previous night.

"Okay."

Kagome put on a pair of slippers and tip-toed downstairs to the exit leading to her garden. In the garden, there was a very large tree in the far corner of the fence bordering it. Kagome was the only person who knew about a secret hole in the fence behind the tree. She was luckily skinny enough to fit through the hole thanks to her slender figure. She often went through the fence to a quiet forest on the outside of her village to relax and get away from her princess-duty bullshit drama.

Sango knew about the fence but was afraid to go through it, knowing she'd be beheaded if she left them village without permission. The only people allowed to leave the village were demon slayers, (which she wasn't done training with) men getting wood and the royals.

Kagome went to the small patch of forest that was her favorite. It was a small area with a waterfall, trees and the only bugs around were butterflies. And it was still pretty close to her village so there were no demons around. Besides the waterfall, it was a very quiet and peaceful place. A fantasy place. She wished she could give up royalty for at least a day just to sink into the peaceful place. She lay down under a tree and squinted through the branches to smile at the sun.

This was the only place where she could let out all her anger peacefully or not think about what makes her angry. She would think about everything the made her angry and would let out her anger slowly. The hair in her mirror, the man at her party, the Onigumos...

She finally remembered that she was supposed to write her letters today, and all peace left her. She opened her eyes and sat up groaning. She rubbed her temples and breathed heavily. Why not just run away right now? Was it because she knew she'd get killed by something outside her village? Or that she didn't want to let all her people down that looked up to her. Or she valued her friendship with Sango too much. She tucked her knees up to her face and sighed, watching the water from the fall flowing.

She panicked when she saw something in the waterfall. Long, black hair. Exactly like the hair she saw in her mirror last night. Her fantasy play was already starting to turn into hell, when she made out more features. Skin under the hair, two legs, actually. They were half in the water and partially hidden by the thick black hair.

Kagome crawled to hid behind a tree in case the person was dangerous, but they didn't seem to notice her. Of course, they were facing the other way. She peaked at the stranger and was surprised to see the black her turning a dark grayish color. It got lighter and lighter and lighter until it was a whitish silver color. Then the stranger stepped out of the water on the other side of the small stream.

Now Kagome was sure it was a man. Another way of growing up for growing up as a girl was to catch your first glimpse of a male's penis. She'd seen her little brother's, but she was changing his diaper, and being her brother, it didn't count. This one was huge and she blushed, realizing she was staring at it and looked away. She hid behind the tree again and bit her knuckles.

When she peaked around the tree again, the man was pulling up a pair of pants and she sighed. Sex better be as good as she heard or she'd be really disappointed when she was married. The man was still facing away from her and now pulled on a white coat then a bigger red one and tied it swiftly.

She stood slowly. It didn't seem too wise to make a run for it, so maybe she could get away slowly. She quickly scurried behind the next tree. She knew which way was back to her castle, because looking at the waterfall straight on, all she had to do was turn around and the hole in her garden fence would be a quarter mile from there.

She peaked back at the waterfall, but the man was gone. She looked around, but she couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. She decided that he left, though it was pretty fast and looked around again before stalking off to the castle. However, she wasn't aware of to eyes staring daggers at her from the tree she hid behind.

She walked about ten meters when someone jumped in from of her, abruptly cutting her off. She was dumb struck as she fell back on her butt. She glanced up at the man who startled her. He was tall, and had silver hair. He looked human enough, but his hair color was so strange. And he had cat-like dog ears. Then she saw his expression and was stumped again. He looked so angry, his eyebrows pushed close together and his amber eyes were so hostile it was frightening. Plus, he had two sharp fangs that stood out more than the rest of his teeth. And his nose was scrunched up.

Kagome's eyes widened and she gasped as she started to crawl backward away from him, his eyes never left hers, even when she averted his gaze. When he realized that she was fearful, he backed away and let his face loosen up a bit. He was cautious though, he didn't know this woman and she could be dangerous. When she looked back up at him, her eyes started to tear up. He looked almost scared all of a sudden. He took a step back. Kagome stared up at him, as if waiting for him to say something.

"Sorry." she said so softly she barely heard herself. He raised his eyebrows.

"For what?" he asked incredulously. It wasn't exactly a smart thing to say, but he didn't understand her apology. He admitted to himself that he was the one who needed to apologize for startling her.

"Um. I don't know." Kagome said. And he thought he didn't give a first impression. He chuckled.

"I believe I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't mean to scare you. I just sensed that someone was watching me and you're the only person around so... Were you watching me?"

She was caught red handed.

"Yes, but I was just relaxing. I noticed you in the fall and tried to leave. By the way, you wouldn't happen to be the fellow cutting through my party last night, would you?"

His face turned red from embarrassment. "That was me. I was only passing through. I meant no one any harm. I only harm those who pose as a threat to me. I may be demon, but I'm not the type to go on a killing spree. Besides, I'm only half demon. My other half is human."

Half? Kagome questioned in her mind. She had no idea humans and demons could or would have kids. "That's weird. What's that called?"

"Hanyou."

"Oh."

"I'm Inuyasha. And you are...?" he held out his hand as a friendly gesture. It was hard to believe he was so angry only a moment ago.

"I'm P-" should she tell him she was a princess? No. She didn't know this man. He was an outsider. "Kagome." she smiled sweetly and grabbed his hand. He helped her up and shook her hand, smiling.

"My, you're a beauty. So you live in that village around here?" he asked. Kagome nodded. "Nice place. And that castle is enormous. I was hoping I could live there, since I'm not really going anywhere."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." she said and frowned at the same time he did. "You seem nice, but the royal family does not know you and you won't be accepted with your demon blood by others in the village. Also, if word gets out that your were at the royal party last night, you'll be killed."

He was silent for a moment before he smiled. "Well, I noticed how before when you asked if I was at the royal party last night, you asked if I was at your party. When you told me your name, you hesitated with a P. How would you know the royal family did not know me? And lastly, your clothes tell me that you are of higher class so," he bowed. "I am honored to meet you, Princess Kagome." he smiled. Kagome gasped and looked away, embarrassed. Inuyasha smiled again.

"You mustn't tell anyone I met you." she whispered.

"Same to you." he replied coolly. Kagome blushed. "I really am honored to be in the presence of a beautiful princess like yourself." And if you're still a princess, then you must not be married. he thought, keeping his cool. "Maybe since you are of royalty, you can get me a home in the village? When you saw me last night, I had black hair because I can't go through there with a demon appearance. I can simply dye my hair again."

"Don't worry about it. I can get you a home without my father knowing. He'd kill both of us if he found out I let you in the village." she said and started walking again. "The village is this way. But you have to stay with me so everyone who sees us knows it's okay. First, dye your hair again."

He sighed and dug something out of his bag. He pulled out a container of temporary black hair dye and got started.

***

Kagome led the way to the village and Inuyasha simply followed, his hair black once again. Kagome was certain that it was his hair she saw in the mirror the previous night. She snuck him around to the other side of the village, afraid to try to sneak him through royal grounds. There was a small house that belonged to an elderly man who passed away several months ago. No one else claimed it, so Kagome decided it was perfect for Inuyasha. The old man's stuff was still in there: a futon, a bucket for water, some old dishes and a whole in the center of the hut for fires.

"There's an out house over there," Kagome pointed out the door and Inuyasha nodded. "There's a river nearby some where so you can catch fish and water for food, and there's berries all over the plants here, so you can eat pretty much anything you want. I'll even bring you some portions of my dinner later tonight, okay?"

"Sounds nice. Thank you." he smiled. "You're a very generous princess."

"It's nothing. And a lot of people saw me with you, so if they ask who you are, just tell them you were sick and I hired my people to help you get well. And if they say they never saw you around before, tell them I let you stay at the castle so you wouldn't have to worry about demon attacks in your condition." she smiled.

"I guess it's fool proof." he simply replied. "What if there was a demon attack, should I use my powers?"

Kagome paused. He has powers? "Um. Well, I'm a miko in training, and my servants are demon slayers in training. We already have plenty of demon slayers in the village, so you could try to become one, I guess. If you use your powers my father might set out to kill you or you'll become a hero. I'm honestly not sure."

"How do I become a demon slayer?" he demanded.

"There are plenty of slayers around the village. You'll know them when you see them, because they wear a special outfit with guards. They always carry around weapons, because attacks can happen at any time. They mainly have swords and throwing weapons. Approach one, tell them who you are and that you want to become a demon slayer. They'll test you on your abilities by giving you dangerous and difficult tasks. If you pass them, they give you weapons and train you."

"And with my demon power, I bet I'll be able to pass every test." he smiled proudly.

"What kind of powers do you have, anyway?"

"I can run very fast, jump very high. I have super strength. I can hear, smell and see very well. Plus, my red coat is fire-proof and bullet-proof. I know how to use a sword, and my claws and fangs are certainly an advantage."

"...Wow." she paused. "In that case, I'm sure you'll make it in too. I have to go now and write my stupid letter."

He looked confused. "Letter?"

"Yeah. When I turn eight teen, I have to write to other princes to get married. I think it's stupid."

"I do too. Will you come back later?"

"Yeah. I said I was going to bring you food, didn't I?" she smiled. He smiled back. But inside, he was disappointed. Was she only coming back to bring him food? He really wanted her to stay longer and hang out with her. And the worst part: She had to get married.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the plot of the story so far. This story is going to have a lot of unexpected events (and sadly, a lot of cliffys), so be prepared for anything! Please review! ^-^

My next update will be All Boy School.

-Lexy4KagInu