Hey guys sorry for the long wait but here's chapter two!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA (BELONGS TO RUMIKO TAKAHASHI)
I ALSO LAY NO CLAIM TO BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (BELONGS TO THE DISNEY CORPORATION)
Enjoy the show!
Chapter Two
InuYasha eyed the girl suspiciously as she watched the old man being escorted from the dungeon. He wasn't sure what to make of her… She was clearly brave since she volunteered to take the old man's place. He would never do anything of the sort for his own father, but then again his father had taught him to never look out for anyone but himself.
"Master InuYasha."
His eyes snapped to Miroku, who was standing beside him. "What, monk?"
"I just wanted to suggest that, since the young woman shall be with us, you know, forever; you might want to consider giving her a more… comfortable room? Something other than a dungeon cell, perhaps? Maybe something with, oh, I don't know, a bed."
He watched as the girl slumped, allowing her long, dark hair to spill over the shoulders of her kimono. Her brown eyes were glistening with newly formed tears. A frown had settled over her pretty face.
InuYasha entered the cell where Kagome sat.
"I didn't even get to say good-bye." She stood up.
His eyebrow rose. "What did you say?"
She rounded on him, frown replaced with a face full of anger. "You just made me promise to spend the rest of my life in this castle with you and you didn't even let me say goodbye to my only living family!"
"Well I didn't make you promise anything! You did that of your own free will!" How dare she blame this on him?!
"You're so rude and thoughtless!" She marched straight up to him and stood mere inches away. "Do you really think there was a chance in hell that I was going to let my grandfather spend the rest of his days in some dark, cold dungeon? So while you may think you gave me a choice, there was no choice to make." He watched the girl deflate, her hands coming up to grasp her arms, hugging herself.
Miroku was suddenly beside him, nudging him in the side. "Her room, show her to her room."
InuYasha huffed. "Follow me."
"Where are we going?"
"To your room."
.:Kagome:.
Kagome followed the three people in front of her as they led her down several hallways and back up the main staircase. She was still in awe of the building, taking in every little detail as they walked.
She noticed the female lean in to whisper something to the master.
He turned his head to her. "I, um… I hope you like it here." He looked back to the female beside him, as if looking for approval.
Kagome was shocked by how cordial he had sounded compared to the way he acted when they were in the dungeons. Even looking at him now, he definitely carried himself as a prince would. "Oh, yes, I do. Your castle is astounding. I've never seen such architecture before in real life. It's western, correct?" She tried to match with his mood, hoping to not anger him again.
He turned his head. "Yes, it is." He looked surprised. "The castle was built 300 years ago by my father, InuTaisho."
Kagome gasped. "I didn't realize that there was such great influence that far in this past, at least not from what I've read."
"My father was a traveler: he traveled the entire earth before coming back to Japan with my mother and building this castle."
"I see."
"The castle is your home now: feel free to go anywhere, except the West Wing."
Her curiosity was piqued. "What's in the west wing?"
He stopped suddenly and turned to face her fully. "It's forbidden! God, you're so nosy!" He started walking again. His two servants stared at each other, and then looked back at Kagome apologetically.
She smiled at them and continued following the grumpy puppy prince.
They soon stopped at a door that looked like every other door in the castle and InuYasha threw it open. "If you need anything, ask my servants."
Kagome entered the room tentatively and took it in. The room itself was three times bigger than the house she'd shared with Grandfather at the shrine. The furniture was all western: a large four poster bed with deep red velvet drapes, a sitting area forming a semi-circle of sorts around the fireplace, a large double doored wardrobe stood on the wall where the door was located, and a large window was on the far wall with a pile of plush pillows in front of it.
She heard one of the servants whispering behind her.
"You will join me for dinner. That is not a request." With that said, he exited the room and slammed the door behind him.
"Well, he's just a ray of sunshine isn't he?" Kagome flung herself onto the mattress.
She felt the mattress move as the female servant sat beside her. "I promise he's not that bad once you get to know him. He's just been through a lot in his lifetime."
"Just because he's under some curse doesn't excuse his behavior." She buried her face into the blanket.
"Wait one moment, how did you know that, Miss-?" The male servant spoke this time.
Kagome sat up. "Kagome. My name is Kagome. And I could sense his abilities being suppressed. When I saw his ears I automatically assumed he was under some curse that turned him into a half demon."
Both servants had shocked looks on their faces.
"Miss Kagome." The male servant came up and kneeled before her. "You must have some immense spiritual powers if you could sense that about our Lord InuYasha. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Miroku and I am the castle monk and a childhood friend of the master." He grabbed her hands. "I know this is all so sudden and confusing, but would you consider bearing my children?"
Kagome snatched her hands from his as the female servants hand connected with the side of his face.
"Don't mind my husband, he's a handful." The woman smiled at her. "My name is Sango; I'm the resident demon slayer, also a childhood friend of the master."
"So has ever been a decent person?" Kagome asked the brunette woman who she now knew was called Sango.
"Miroku or the Master?" She smirked at her.
Kagome found herself laughing. "I'm not sure, perhaps both."
"Miroku has never been normal let alone decent."
Miroku pouted as he rubbed at the glowing red hand imprint on his cheek.
"Master InuYasha… has had it rough. His mother was a demon Lord InuTaisho met while in the west. She was the reason he built this castle, to make her more comfortable in this strange country. However, she was not his first wife and InuYasha is not his only child." Kagome listened patiently while Sango explained InuYasha's life story.
Miroku nodded his head, seeming to have finally recovered from his wife's beating. "Yes, He has an older brother, Lord Sesshomaru, who is technically the true lord of the castle, but he's often away now that their father has passed on. Lord Sesshomaru doesn't like the castle. He says it reminds him of how his own mother was cast from his father's side when he meet InuYasha's mother. Not that we know where he goes when he's away; we're all cursed to remain here until the master's curse is lifted."
"I'm assuming this lord of yours spurned the wrong sorceress and was cursed for being a huge idiot." Kagome crossed her arms.
The married couple smiled at each other awkwardly. 'Hit the nail on the head with that one.'
"But how long have you been under this curse? I'd say it can't have been long seeing as you two are both human and young but the castle is in such a state of disrepair…"
"It's been almost fifty years." Sango nodded as she did the math on her fingers.
"We have one more year left to reverse it or we'll be stuck like this for eternity." Miroku sighed.
"Fifty years?" Kagome was stunned to say the least. "That must have been one powerful sorceress. So was Sesshomaru not in the castle when this all occurred? Is that why he leaves so often?"
"Yes that is it exactly. He is honestly fed up with InuYasha's spoiled attitude and refuses to stay until the curse is broken. But InuYasha doesn't care for Sesshomaru anyway, so he's made little to no progress on breaking it."
"How exactly is he supposed to break it?" Kagome wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.
"I'm sorry." Sango frowned. "The curse prevents us from revealing that. I wish we could; this would be much easier."
Kagome nodded. She should have figured as much.
Miroku grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her to her feet. "We have to go now, but please, feel free to explore the castle at your leisure."
.:With Naraku:.
"So when will the wedding be, Naraku?"
Naraku turned to the villager sitting beside him in the tavern. "It should be in a weeks' time." He smiled at the man pleasantly.
"You'll be having children right away, right?" An older man, who was obviously drunk, asked.
"But of course. I don't know how we've been able to keep our hands off each other thus far."
The tavern erupted with laughter.
The door suddenly burst open and Kagome's grandfather stumbled inside.
"Kagome's going to get married!"
Naraku frowned at the sight of the old man. He should be dead by now. Why wasn't he dead? He quietly summoned Kagura.
"Yes, master."
"Why is the old man still alive?" He gestured to the very much alive old man who was going around asking each villager for help only to be ignored.
"Master, I promise you, I had that wolf demon send his pack after him. How he managed to survive is a mystery." She stopped talking when the old man approached them.
"Hello, Naraku, old chap! My grand-daughter is getting married!"
"Well of course she is: to me." Naraku smiled at the senile old man.
"What, you?" Grandfather shook his head. "No nononononono, she's going to marry a beautiful silver haired angel!" He grinned enthusiastically. "If it weren't for those wolves attacking me I would never have stumbled upon his castle and met the young man, and the wolves wouldn't have chased my horse back home, which means Kagome would never have come to find me! But she did and now they're gonna get hitched! Did I mention how pretty my grandson-in-law is?"
The tavern stilled as everyone stared at the old man and Naraku.
"Clearly the old man is delusional: everyone knows that Kagome will be marrying me. Come Grandfather, let's get you home to rest." Naraku made a show of escorting the old man home. When they reached the shrine he tapped the old man's forehead and placed him under a spell.
"Since you seem so hard to kill, how about a little spell instead." The old man wobbled a bit before standing up straight with clouded eyes. "Where is Kagome?"
.:Kagome:.
Kagome was sifting through the clothes in the wardrobe to occupy her time. Sure Miroku, Sango, and even InuYasha had said she was allowed to roam around freely, but she still felt unaccustomed to her surroundings and wanted to familiarize herself with her room first. She ran her hands over the dresses hanging in the wardrobe. They were all western dresses, of course, like everything else in the castle. She pulled one off the rack and laid it on the bed so she could look it over: the material was a soft blue color, embroidered with white flowers, and lace frills adorned each hem line.
There was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"My name is Kaede, child." The door opened a bit and an old woman appeared, pushing a cart with a tea set on it. "I thought ye might enjoy a cup of tea."
"Oh, how thoughtful!" Kagome smiled, gratefully. "I would love a cup of tea, thank you."
"Wow, she's pretty granny!" A small child appeared from behind the old woman's skirts.
"Oh, hello there!" She bent down to look the young boy in the eyes. "Well, aren't you a powerful looking fox demon!"
The child beamed and stepped out from behind Kaede's skirt. "That's right! I am very strong and very powerful!"
"I can tell." Kagome patted the child on the head, him leaning his head into her hand.
"All right, Shippo, that is quite enough, we have a job to do, remember?" Kaede smiled fondly at the red haired fox child.
He smiled back and grabbed the tray from her hands.
"Slowly, now, and try not to spill."
He walked with the overly cautious steps of a child and presented the tray to Kagome. She carefully took the cup and saucer from the tray. "You have my thanks, fine sir." She took a sip of the tea and felt her worries melt away. "This is lovely, thank you so much."
"What is this ye have here, child?" Kaede walked over to the end of the bed where Kagome had laid out the dress.
She placed the cup back on its saucer and balanced it on her lap. "I was just going through the wardrobe to find something to wear to dinner with him."
"Wow, that'll look amazing on you!" Shippo jumped up on the bed grabbed the dress.
"Yes, it should do nicely." The old woman smiled before scooping up Shippo and setting him on the floor. "We must go now child, we have to get dinner ready for you and the master."
"Oh, okay." Kagome was sad that they had to leave so quickly after they'd just arrived.
They waved good bye and left her room.
"Well." She sighed. "I may as well get changed." She started taking off her kimono and folded it neatly. She was still in her light under kimono when another knock came at the door.
"It's Sango, may I come in?"
"Oh, yes, come in, please."
The door opened and Sango quickly shut the door behind her once she noticed her state of undress. "Oh did you need some help?"
Kagome nodded, grateful she'd come when she did. "I've never worn western clothing before, I don't even know where to start."
Sango smiled and crossed the room to the wardrobe, pulling out several items. "First you need under clothes." She dumped the items on top of the dress on the bed and pulled out a thin white shirt and a pair of thin white breeches.
She helped Kagome out her under kimono and into the breeches and shirt. "Next is the petticoat." Sango pulled out a huge fluffy skirt and slid it over her head, fastening the hook and eye at her waist.
"Now the dress?"
Sango wagged her finger at her. "Next is every woman's most hated enemy." She picked up a corset and Kagome raised a brow.
"What does that do?"
"I'll show you." Kagome was skeptical as the older woman went behind her and slipped the stiff thing about her waist. "Take in a deep breath and hold it up in your chest while sucking in your stomach. You may also want to hold onto the bed post."
Kagome did as she was told and waited for something to happen. Suddenly she felt a sharp tug surrounding her bosom all the way around to her back, followed by several more tugs traveling down her torso. Her grip on the bed post tightened with each tug. There was one final tug just above where her hip bones started.
"You can breathe now."
"Oh my goodness, why do women wear these torture devices?" Kagome ran her hands over the boned material. Sango grabbed one of her hands and dragged her in front of the mirror.
"This is why."
Kagome looked at herself in the mirror. "What on earth? Look at my waist! It's so tiny."
"Exactly. Now it's time for the dress." Sango smiled at her in the mirror.
.:InuYasha:.
InuYasha paced around the dining room.
"What is taking so dang long? I told her to come for dinner; why isn't she here yet?" He snapped at Miroku who was standing in the entryway wringing his hands.
Kaede, who was setting the food out on the table, interjected. "InuYasha, give the child some time, she lost her life and family all in one day. She'll come down, in her own time."
InuYasha growled, put off by the thought of being beholden to the woman's wishes.
Something tapped his shoulder. He turned to see Miroku smiling at him.
"Master, have you perhaps considered that Miss Kagome could be the one to break the spell?"
"Of course I have, I'm not an imbecile." He huffed as he resumed his pacing.
"Perfect! Now all you have to do is woo her with your manly wiles, make her fall in love with you, probably kiss her, because what is a curse without true loves kiss, and you're done!"
Kaede stopped InuYasha to straighten his cravat, and to impart words of wisdom. "These things do not magically happen: they take time and effort on both persons' behalf. You may find it difficult to express your intentions due to the curse ye are under."
"But the jewel is but a sliver of its original form, we don't have time for all of this." Miroku stroked his chin in contemplation.
InuYasha sighed batting the old woman's hands away. "I know all of this already. I don't want to be stuck as some measly half demon for eternity. But how is she ever supposed to love me?"
Kaede smiled at him kindly. "Ye simply have to help her see past all of this and into your true heart. Honestly, the child is a human: I highly doubt she cares whether ye are full or half demon."
"But what if she does?" InuYasha was starting to feel more lost than ever.
"Ye can start by acting like a gentleman. So straighten your back and guard your tongue." Kaede tapped his slouched back, causing him to straighten up.
"And when she comes in, flash a dashing smile." Miroku added. "Let me see that smile."
InuYasha smiled.
Kaede and Miroku flinched. "Perhaps not."
InuYasha frowned at them.
"Maybe tell her a joke." He turned to Miroku.
"But don't be crass." He turned to Kaede.
"Flirt with her relentlessly." He turned back to Miroku.
"But be ye sincere." He turned back to Kaede.
"Ye must control your temper."
"Agreed." Miroku nodded.
"Fine!" InuYasha puffed out is chest, determined to do all these things. "What should I do first?"
Miroku jumped at the question. "You should march up to her room and offer to escort her to dinner."
.:Kagome:.
Kagome turned to look into the mirror now that Sango had slipped the dress over her head and laced up the back. She smiled. Kaede was right: the dress did look wonderful on her. The powder blue fabric accented her pale skin and contrasted beautifully with her dark hair. But she was unaccustomed to showing so much skin: both her forearms and a fair portion of her chest were exposed.
"You look lovely, Kagome." Sango smiled at her reflection. Kagome returned the smile hesitantly. "Now we must do something with your hair-"
A knock came at the door.
Kagome ran to get the door, anxious to escape the care of the female servant. She pulled it open to reveal InuYasha dressed a bit nicer than he had been before.
"Oh, hello there InuYasha." She smiled at him cordially.
His face changed from shock to anger. "Who told you that you could wear these clothes?"
Kagome was taken aback by his sudden coldness. But she soon felt Sango's hand on her shoulder. "Master InuYasha, I was the one who dressed her."
"And who told you that it was okay to dress her in these clothes?" His anger was rising.
Sango quickly stepped in front of Kagome. "Master, I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
Miroku chimed in. "To be fair master, you did put her in this room and the wardrobe happened to be full of clothes."
InuYasha snapped his angry gaze onto Miroku. "I didn't ask for your opinion, monk."
"I was the one who picked out the dress, so why don't you yell at me?" Kagome crossed her arms over her chest, challenging him. She was done hearing him yell at his servants for no good reason.
"You need to remove those clothes immediately, before I take you out of them." His eyes glowed dangerously, but Kagome refused to back down.
"Why don't you provide me with an acceptable reason why I can't wear these clothes?" She felt Sango tugging on her arm, trying to get her to back down.
"Because I said so!" InuYasha was practically roaring now.
"That's not good enough! Good bye." Kagome slammed the door in his face and bolted the lock.
She could hear InuYasha pounding on the door.
"Just change and come down to dinner." He called through the door.
"No! Not until you calm down and speak reasonably."
"Fine, then stay in there and starve for all I care!" The pounding on the door finally ceased. "If she doesn't eat with me she doesn't eat at all!"
She heard him stomp away. She rested her forehead against the cool wood of the door. "What is wrong with him? Why can't he just tell me what's bothering him?"
"They belong to his mother."
Kagome's eyes shot open. "His dead mother?" She turned to Sango.
Sango sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I should have realized it sooner."
"You couldn't have known he would react that way." Kagome sat beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sango shook her head. "InuYasha had such a deep bond with is mother. It was her death that made him the way he is now."
Kagome fell back onto the bed. "But why can't he just say that to me?"
"He finds it very hard to trust new people. The only reason he likes us is because we've known him since he was a child. And even still, he pushed us away when his mother died and even further away when his father died shortly after." She heard Sango sigh deeply. "It's really no excuse but I can truly see where he is coming from."
"It doesn't excuse his behavior at all!" Kagome shot up. "He shouldn't be taking is grief out on his friends. My parents were murdered right in front of my eyes when I was six. I know a thing or two about family loss."
Sango's face turned pained. "I'm so sorry, that must have been very traumatic for you at such a young age."
"It was difficult but I had my grandfather to help me through it." Kagome felt a pang of sadness at remembering her grandfather and the fact that she would most likely never see him again. She shook it off. "He had you and Miroku, why didn't he come to you?"
"At that point, Miroku and I were both away from the castle. We were scouring the countryside attempting to find some cure for the illness InuYasha's mother had succumbed to. We left for the castle as soon as we received word of his mother's death, but by the time we arrived, his father had passed away and InuYasha was no longer the same person."
"You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over." Kagome found herself patting the woman on the shoulder again.
"I know, but I can't help but think that if at least one of us had been here for him…" She wiped at her eyes. "Maybe he wouldn't have turned out this way."
"You'll never know, so there's no point in being hung up on it. If you stay stuck in the past, you can never move forward."
Sango's eyes widened. "You speak rather wisely for a girl of your age."
"I'm well read." Kagome shrugged before enveloping the older woman in a hug.
"Let's get you changed into something else and go down to dinner."
Sango left the room for a few minutes and returned with a dress in a pale pink color and quickly changed her into it. They then headed down to the dining room where InuYasha was absent and ate to their hearts content, gossiping about various things, including Sango's husband and how they'd fallen in love.
"So you've always been in love with Miroku." Kagome shot the older woman a sly look.
Sango blushed, looking at her food as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Well, when you put it that way. Yes, ever since we were children."
"Was he a lecher even as a boy?"
"Yes."
"I was joking."
"I'm not."
Kagome laughed at the ridiculous thought of a child sized Miroku asking a child sized Sango to bear his children.
"I was a tomboy growing up and no one really noticed me that way." Sango shrugged. "I think we were about eight about when Miroku… expressed his interest in me. I already had a crush on him at this point: there was just something so attractive about how open and honest he was with his feelings. So when he asked me to marry him, I said yes."
"At eight years old, you agreed to marry him?"
Sango nodded. "He didn't officially propose to me until we were fifteen. Then we spent six years apart while we trained. We were married shortly after we returned to the castle. It was four years after our wedding when Lady Izayoi fell ill."
"Why haven't you two had any children?" Kagome asked.
Sango's face looked conflicted. "We were careful before the curse, taking all necessary precautions: we were too wrapped up in our duties to add on the additional responsibility of a child. Plus Miroku says he wants ten children." Sango rolled her eyes at that. "But after the curse, I've been unable to carry any pregnancies to term. We've come to assume that it has to do with the whole 'never aging' thing."
"That's terrible. What if the curse is never broken?"
"We try to hold onto the hope that InuYasha will finally man up if not for his own sake than for the rest of us."
Miroku walked into the dining room. "What are you lovely ladies doing down here? Talking about me, I hope."
Kagome's eyes met Sango's and they started laughing.
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing, love, absolutely nothing." Sango rose from the table and placed a kiss on her husbands' lips.
Kagome smiled as she watched the simple show of affection. Then something in her brain clicked: maybe InuYasha needed to fall in love. But then the question was: Could Kagome really fall in love with someone who seemed so resistant to change? Her heart definitely went out to him, but she wasn't sure his was open for her.
"Sango, Miroku; I think I'm going to go explore the castle."
"Of course, feel free to roam wherever you like." Miroku smiled at her before wrapping an arm around his wife's waist.
Kagome left the room rather quickly and started down the hall. She scoured the castle floor to floor, room to room, finding closets full of cleaning supplies, rooms so covered in dust and cobwebs that she couldn't even make out the furniture underneath it all. She'd been wandering for so long that she eventually got lost. "Well, this is fantastic. Why does this castle have to be so big?"
She came upon a large set of double doors. There was no possible way she could have made it to the front door. Kagome hesitated before testing the knob. It was unlocked. She pushed the door open.
"Hello, is anyone in here?" She moved into the room slowly, trying to give her eyes time to adjust to the darkness.
When her eyes finally did adjust she was shocked at what she saw: the room looked as if a great storm had blown through it. Chairs were toppled over, wallpaper was torn, there were deep gouges in the dark wood flooring, and feathers littered the floor from shredded pillows and a massacred mattress. She made her way towards a painting on the wall that she couldn't quite see in the dim light of the room. She nearly knocked over a small end table on her way and quickly righted it.
She reached the painting and realized it, like the other things in the room, was shredded. She extended a hand to smooth out the canvas, revealing it to be a painting of InuYasha, most likely painted before the curse since the painting was missing the dog ears. She caught a faint purple glow in the corner of her eye and turned to investigate. The glow was coming from a small table near the balcony. She approached it and saw that the glow was emanating from a necklace hanging on a display stand, specifically from a jewel on the chain. Investigating it further, she noticed there were several other shards of the same color laying on the tables' surface, no longer giving off the same glow.
Before she could even stop herself her hand inched towards the purple glow.
The sound of footsteps came in from the open balcony doors and the curtain over the balcony doors flew open, flooding the room with light.
"What do you think you're doing in here?"
Kagome suddenly realized where she was: the west wing.