Naturally, Koneko was nearby when Kagome went to her room to change. The neko youkai slipped in soundlessly, standing behind Kagome as she pulled kimonos from the closet.
"Holy crap!" Kagome said when she noticed the servant. "Koneko, where'd you come from?"
"Did you not smell me?" Koneko tilted her head in curiosity. "I did not mean to sneak upon you, Lady Kagome."
She put the kimonos back, sighing. "No, I just haven't gotten used to smelling everything yet. If I'm focused on something, I sort of forget to notice my sense of smell, if that makes any sense." Kagome eyed the closet. "Would you mind helping me pick something out for dinner? Sesshomaru says my outfit isn't good enough for the guest of honor."
Koneko looked at the closet. "Of course, my lady. For Lord Tatsuya, I suspect something of darker color would be pleasing." She reached in, picking out a dark orange kimono, mahogany maple leaves printed on it. "This will be fitting, for the season."
"Lord Tatsuya?" Kagome took the kimono and pressed it against herself, ineffectively judging how it might look on her. "Who is he?"
"Lord of the South," Koneko said, taking Kagome's clothes as she undressed. "He is more unpleasant than Lord Sesshomaru. Rather than being cold and indifferent, giving an impression of distant strength, Lord Tatsuya openly disregards those that it would be best to act respectful to. He believes that he is above others in a way that allows his manners to slide." Koneko sneered. "I do not think anyone likes or respects him."
"He sounds awful," Kagome lamented, tying her obi. "But it's important to be polite. How do I look?" Kagome did a small twirl, her hair spinning around her face.
Koneko smiled. "Good, but I think you should put your hair up."
After this was done by Koneko, Kagome looked at herself in the mirror above the vanity. She never used make-up, but Koneko insisted on applying the lightest touch to her lips and eyelids. Her hair was tied into a tight bun, with two decorative butterfly pins holding the side edges of her bangs back and revealing more of her face.
And she had to admit, she looked good. Kagome didn't like fussing over how she looked, but Koneko knew how to make a woman's features stand out. "This is wonderful," she said, smiling at the neko. "Thank you."
"It is no problem," she replied. "I am happy to help."
Finding her way back to the dining hall, sure that she would be the last one to join everyone at the table, Kagome thanked the servants who opened the door and walked into the room.
She hadn't met any of the nobles in the castle yet, only passing a few in the halls since she came here. Kagome wasn't sure, but she thought the rumor of her arrival had probably spread like wildfire, meaning the nobles would know who she was.
Everyone's heads turned when she came in. Sesshomaru was seated at the head of the table, Rin on one side of him, with Shippo and Hatori in the seats next to her. Jaken was further down, looking as grumpy as he always was. On Sesshomaru's other side, in the seat next to the one just beside him, was a youkai that Kagome did not recognize, but she assumed to be Lord Tatsuya.
He had dark blue hair, his bangs split in the middle, as Sesshomaru's were, to reveal a pair of red bat wings printed on the skin. His eyes were red as well, looking her up and down as she stepped to the table. His robes were colored dark red, nearly black, with a blue bat wing emblem on the shoulder.
Kagome bowed her head slightly to Lord Tatsuya, and turned to Sesshomaru. He nodded, indicating that she should take the chair on his left side. Kagome took it, now in between the two lords.
The other nobles at the table gawked for a moment, never having seen Kagome dressed as she was before. But it was shortly after Kagome's arrival that dinner began, plates set before them and servants distributing food to their plates. Some of the food was Japanese, but a lot of it was western. Kagome felt her stomach rumble.
Sesshomaru's first bite was a signal, and as soon as he took it, everyone else began eating.
"So this is your pretty little mate," Lord Tatsuya purred. "I didn't know a former human could make such a beautiful youkai, Lord Sesshomaru."
Kagome could see why people didn't like him.
"It was not my choice to take a former human mate," Sesshomaru retorted, after swallowing his bite of steak. "The Hana no Shukumei is to blame."
Kagome bristled at this, turning to Sesshomaru. "I think it's a wonderful thing," she said, mostly for spite. "The Hana no Shukumei has honored us by putting us together this way."
"I see your mate does not know her place." Lord Tatsuya chuckled. "Women who try to rise above social order are not women I take to."
Sesshomaru glanced at Kagome, as if it were her fault, and said, "Once again, I did not choose her." And he ate his food, indignant.
Kagome wanted to pull another comeback, but thought about how important it was to keep good relations with the other lords. Just because Sesshomaru treated him as an equal didn't mean she had a right to. She wasn't Lady of the West yet, and it would be better for her relationship with Sesshomaru if she acted the way others thought she should.
"I may not be used to youkai social order," she said, turning to Lord Tatsuya, "but I am willing to learn. I think the Hana no Shukumei had a good reason for placing Sesshomaru and I together, and I want to please Sesshomaru by living the way a lady should."
Sesshomaru stopped, his fork almost to his mouth, and raised an eyebrow at her. Kagome gave him a small smile before looking to Lord Tatsuya again. "And forgive my manners, I am not used to being around nobles. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Tatsuya."
The shift in attitude didn't faze him. "A pleasure to you as well," he said, his haughtiness still obvious in his voice. "Tell me, Lady Kagome, the word around the lands is that you are a miko. Is this true?"
"Yes," Kagome answered, taking a bite from her salad.
"Mikos purify youkai, do they not?" Lord Tatsuya smirked, as if he'd won an argument. "Lord Sesshomaru, what do you think about that?"
"Kagome purifies those youkai that would harm others," Sesshomaru said simply. "That is her job as a miko. She would not kill those that do not deserve it."
Kagome almost choked on the salad.
Did he just defend me? She eyed Sesshomaru with suspicion. That isn't like him at all.
Lord Tatsuya shrugged. "I would not associate with those that kill my own kind."
"So, Lord Tatsuya, what kind of work do you do? I haven't had the chance to see how Sesshomaru works, and I would like to know more about what the duties of a lord are." She tried her best to smile. Make a good impression, she thought. It didn't matter that Lord Tatsuya was being a blatant jerk. If she gave him attitude, Sesshomaru would yell at her for being insubordinate toward another youkai lord, and everyone spreading rumors that his mate was a bad choice.
I won't take Tatsuya's crap, she thought, but I won't give him the satisfaction of getting ruffled just because he's making some comments.
Lord Tatsuya picked up a glass of wine, swirling it in his hands. "It's mostly bureaucratic. Nothing that you would like to hear about. I'd much rather hear about you, and how exactly you came upon the Hana no Shukumei." He leaned closer, grinning.
Kagome was forced to recall the story, telling how how she first found the rose and how Sesshomaru was found to be her match. She glanced at Sesshomaru, but he didn't show any signs of irritation, or any other kind of emotion.
Lord Tatsuya nodded at the appropriate moments, occasionally taking a bite of his meat. When Kagome had finished the story, having left our the parts Sesshomaru might not like, he laughed.
She blinked, wondering what was so funny.
"Oh, my, Sesshomaru." Lord Tatsuya chuckled. "Forced into a mating with a miko turned youkai. The hilarity of this had not hit me until now! You had better hope your mother does not blow a gasket because of this." He snickered. "Good luck getting the other lords to approve of such a ridiculous mating, especially when your father couldn't pull it off."
That did it.
Sesshomaru dropped his fork and stood.
"You will hold your tongue," he snarled. To others, he may have seemed emotionless, but Kagome read the subtle signs and realized how furious he was. "My father was a coward and a fool," Sesshomaru said, "but you do not hold the right to insult him for it. And I will not have you defacing my choice of a mate in front of my guests. Remove yourself from my home."
Silence and the clinking as people put their utensils to rest on their plates were the only sounds. Lord Tatsuya glared, and stood as well.
"Fine, then. I will be informing the Lords of the East and North of this, however. I will be seeing you another day, Sesshomaru."
And he left, as simple as that.
Kagome watched him storm through the door, listening to his footsteps fade. She had been worried about insulting Lord Tatsuya, and it was Sesshomaru that forced him out. I guess Sesshomaru isn't as worried about keeping good relations with the other lords as I thought.
Lunch continued awkwardly, not even the children daring to chat with each other. Kagome continued to replay the scene in her head, stuck on Sesshomaru's last sentence.
He said Tatsuya couldn't deface his choice for a mate. That was the first time Sesshomaru had referred to Kagome being there as a choice. And even if he hadn't meant it, only saying it to get rid of Tatsuya, it was nice to hear. Kagome wanted to think that maybe they were a bit closer to not hating each other. It'd go faster if you would make a move!
Kagome held the temptation to roll her eyes at her inner youkai. Sesshomaru would be insulted if I did. You never know if you don't try.
I'll think about it, she thought, picking up her fork.
After everyone finished eating, the servant cleared the table, and Kagome decided it would be interesting to explore the rest of the castle. She stood and was about to leave, when Sesshomaru's hand stopped her, as it had before lunch.
"What is it?" Kagome looked up at him.
"I would like a word with you."
She was taken to Sesshomaru's office, closing the door behind her as he sat at the table. "Sit," he ordered, and she did.
Sesshomaru peered at her solemnly. "I suppose you heard my words to Lord Tatsuya?"
"Yes." Kagome brushed her bangs back. "I know it doesn't mean anything."
Sesshomaru gave a quiet sigh. He hadn't meant to say that comment about Kagome, it had slipped out when he was about to stop speaking.
He was impressed with Kagome's potential as a fighter, and the way she was able to act mostly civil to someone like Tatsuya. And, he had to admit, he did not despise her as much as he used to.
"It did not," he confirmed. "But I have been considering your words, about the Mating Dance being something unique for the both of us."
Kagome snapped to attention. Was he saying what she thought he was?
"It was romantic spit," he said, frowning. "But you have a point. Lord Tatsuya was foolish for laughing at my father and his situation with the Mating Dance. And I despise him almost as much as Naraku."
"I'm not sure where you're going with this." Kagome raised an eyebrow.
"I am saying," Sesshomaru continued, "that this is indeed a unique situation. My father may have been a fool for mating with a human when he already had a youkai mate and a powerful son, but I am not in such a position."
"And?"
Sesshomaru was going to kick himself for saying this. His inner youkai would dance with glee. He wasn't sure why, but seeing Kagome act the opposite of her usual self to please Tatsuya had given him an odd feeling.
"I will . . ." He seethed in his mind at the words. "I will try."
()
Chapter nineteen! Yay! Sorry it's been a while. Like I said, I've been busy with school, and updates will have to move to every other week rather than every week.
I've been waiting forever for an opportunity to have Sesshomaru show a little humility toward Kagome. A common hatred for Lord Tatsuya seemed fitting enough. Kagome might not see fit to be polite to him next time he shows.
I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thanks so much for reading! And remember, please review!
See you next time! Ja ne! :)