InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale Twice Told ❯ A Man of Constant Worries ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of  their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own and I make no money from this.

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It was touted as the fairy tale wedding of the decade – the union between a former political bastion and the largest business empire of the country. The media was going into overdrive trying to capture every aspect of it – from the dresses to the venue and the décor. The Higurashis had wanted a western style wedding, so it was going to take place in the cathedral. The Taishous were overjoyed as this was the first happy major occasion in the family after a long line of tragedies. Everybody waited with bated breath to see how the Taishou-Higurashi merger would go.

Everybody except the bride and the groom, that is.

Inuyasha had many grandiose plans about his own wedding. He was brought up with traditional beliefs – a marriage happened only once in a lifetime and was a serious commitment, not to be taken lightly. He always imagined marrying someone he loved – at one time the face belonged to Kikyou – after they broke up, it was a blur to him.

But never in his wildest imagination had that face belonged to Kagome Higurashi.

Everything about the wedding was making him nervous. He was uncomfortable wearing the tuxedo – it was too stiff and formal for him. He was uncomfortable being inside the cathedral – he had always wanted an al fresco ceremony keeping in line with their family tradition. He was uncomfortable standing next to his brother, who was his ‘best man’, and who was posing for the cameras with the biggest fake smile he had ever seen. He was decidedly uncomfortable when he saw Kagome walking down the aisle looking utterly miserable. And he was mortified at the prospect of standing in front of the priest and God and lying through his teeth. This was definitely not the kind of marriage he had in mind, neither was Kagome the kind of bride he wished to wed. 'The whole thing is nothing but a fucking nightmare', he thought mirthlessly, 'one from which there will be no waking up. Ever.'

“Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, to love, honour and cherish her, through sickness and in health, through times of happiness and travail, until death do you part?”

'Like I have a choice…'

“Yes.”

“Place this ring upon her finger and repeat after me – with this ring, I thee wed, and forever pledge my devotion.”

Forever…did he have the courage to face forever with her? Honour her he will, but would he be able to love and cherish her? Support her through thick and thin? Was she the woman he would like to be buried beside? He did not know the answer to any of these questions. But it was not in his nature to deliberately make a false promise. If he had promised her forever, well then he’d just have to find a way to deliver it.

He had hardly noticed when Kagome had mumbled her way through her vows and had placed the ring upon his finger.

“Please join your hands.”

As Inuyasha wrapped his fingers around Kagome’s hand he felt, for the first time, truly bound to the woman standing beside him – the sensation of gold touching gold – of vow touching vow, the perfect circle, the beginning without an end. They were two souls joined together in holy matrimony.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

He stooped to obey. She flinched once.

Just like that, the feeling, the connection, was gone.

He barely brushed his cold lips against hers before he stood back, scowling. All of the guests applauded. Higurashi-sama, no, it was Jii-chan now, came forward to congratulate the couple.

'The old goat seems awfully pleased to ruin his own granddaughter’s life,' Inuyasha thought darkly. 'I guess my ass of a brother should’ve been born as his grandson rather than the ice princess.'

He opened his mouth to give vent to some of the thoughts that were swirling in his head. But out of the corner of his eye he caught Lady Taishou indicating him to be quiet.

“Thank you, Jii-chan, and rest assured that I’ll always try to keep her happy,” was what he said instead.

“I know you will, grandson-in-law,” the old man said blithely.

'What an idiot…'

The gates of the cathedral opened and the party emerged. Sesshoumaru went ahead with a smile.

“Introducing for the first time, Mrs. and Mr. Inuyasha Taishou!”

The crowd cheered; the cameras flashed; the media gushed about how happy the newly-weds looked; the whole farce was irritating Inuyasha beyond words.

More meaningless revelry continued at the venue of the buffet. They continued to rile him to no end. Things came to a head when Kagome refused to dance with her new husband, and an upset Inuyasha squatted on a chair staring moodily into his glass of wine. Lady Taishou joined him.

“I can understand you being upset, dear,” she said, “none of us had originally envisaged things to take such a turn. But now the situation has become irreversible. What is done is done so can you not try to make it a little easier on everyone?”

“Keh! Ask the ice princess, not me. She’s the one who has a problem with everything. I fail to understand why she agreed to the wedding in the first place if her whole being is repulsed by the idea.”

“Women are more emotional. They take longer to adjust. But take one thing from me, Inuyasha, the day she decides to switch her devotion from your brother to you, and that day will come, you will find not just the perfect wife but also a friend for life.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “You are wrong if you think I need her love or her friendship. She can stay devoted to Sesshoumaru all her life for all I care. I just want her to behave…especially in public. That’s all I expect from this marriage.”

“You are thinking that way now, but soon you will find that you have started to care more than you will care to admit.”

“Don’t depend on it,” Inuyasha grumbled.

Lady Taishou sighed. “Please, give the girl a chance. She is having as difficult a time as you in this situation, if not more so. Try to be considerate of her feelings as you start your new life together. Perhaps you can take the time you will have alone to get to know her.”

Inuyasha inwardly scoffed at the idea that Kagome was also having a difficult time. If that was the case, then why had she agreed to the wedding in the first place? He frowned when his step-mother mentioned time alone. But before he could ask what she meant he saw that Sesshoumaru was coming their way, his arm around Kagome in an ostensibly brotherly fashion.

“I hear that you have left your bride alone to sit with Mother?” he flashed his pearly white. “That won’t do, little brother. Not when you haven’t even had your first dance with her.”

Cursing, Inuyasha rose from the table and took Kagome’s unwilling hands in his. Sesshoumaru waved a bunch of papers below his nose.

“The arrangements have been made for your week-long honeymoon in the mountains. You have just enough time for one dance and then off you go.”

As Inuyasha almost dragged a seemingly lifeless Kagome towards the dance floor, he cursed the day he agreed to his brother’s hair-brained plan, cursed Jii-chan's mindless ambition that played havoc with the lives of other people, cursed Kagome’s stubbornness and wanton refusal to keep appearances in public…

Most of all he cursed the way this campaign, and things in general, were gradually slipping beyond his control.