InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beauty and the Beast ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Wowie, look it you guys! Five pages! ::does a dance of joy:: I'm proud of myself. I'm so sorry I didn't get this out sooner, I'm sick as a dog right now. Honestly, I got up in the middle of night two nights ago to try and write this, put in one paragraph and fell asleep at the keyboard. Mom woke me up two hours later and I had keyboard prints on my face. >.< I hope you guys enjoy it, and I really hope I'm not moving this too fast. My point of view is that already loves InuYasha, and InuYasha is developing feelings towards her. Not love, not yet. But almost. Meanwhile, gear up for the lemon. Its going to be next chapter, and I'm going to make it as tasteful as I can. W00t.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Beauty and the Beast as much as I wish I did. So dun sue me, mmkay?

InuYasha watched Kagome across the breakfast table the next morning, a scowl on his face as usual. Though there were definite moments when that scowl was threatened by a small smile or grin that came from watching Kagome.

She had came into the kitchen at her usual time, slipping into her chair. InuYasha was already in his, at the end of the table across from her, and she peeked up at him from under her thick eyelashes, a flush blooming on her face.

Miroku had opened his mouth to make some kind of comment, most likely one that earn him lots of pain, but thankfully Sango had stopped him with a hard fist flying into his face.

"What did I do!?" Miroku had moaned from his spot on floor, hands covering his face, looking at Sango between his fingers.

"I thought I saw a fly on your nose." Kagome had stifled a small laugh, sharing a looking Shippou, and InuYasha promised himself that Miroku so much as even looked at Kagome again the monk would die.

Shippou, on the other hand, was oblivious to InuYasha's glares, which had been coming at him non-stop since his interruption the day before.

"You know what?" He piped up, little hands on the table as he stood in his chair. "I saw Kagome and InuYasha kissing!" Miroku, who had picked himself up off the floor and settled in his chair, made a choking sound and began to chew on his lip, twitching in an odd way.

InuYasha let out a low growl, one that could only faintly be heard by the human's of the group, but got Shippou's full attention. He tilted his head and looked at InuYasha, eyes wide, and InuYasha let out a small yip. For some reason this made Shippou blanch, and he was unusually subdued for the rest of the day.

Kagome, while not subdued, was happily oblivious in her privet little bubble of happiness and a blush that simply would not leave her. She wandered into the library after breakfast and settled herself in front of the large fireplace with a book.

InuYasha, on the other hand, had bounded off into the forest and was brooding in the upper most branches of a large tree, deep in thought.

How could have done that? He kissed her. And it wasn't just some chaste little peck on her cheek, no, it was the kiss a man gave a woman, full of passion and desire...It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, far from that, if truth be told.

In fact, he could barely think about anything but going back to her and scooping her in his arms, finishing what he had started and she had accepted.

But he didn't know if he could forgive himself for tainting her. He was a lowly hanyou, and she...she was beautiful, gentle, loving, kind...human. Everything he wasn't, as far as he was concerned. And she loved him. He would hurt her, he knew that.

How could he ever deserve to be able to have someone like her in his life when he was nothing but a beast?

He snarled, at war with himself. But that annoying little voice in the back of his mind kept screaming at him, telling him that she was the only one who could break his curse. If he gave her his love, his heart, whatever he had left of it, then...then he would turn into a human and live with her.

Because that was part of it, what Keade had done for him. That with her love he would become exactly what she wanted, and he would be able to live a happy life. That meant he would become human for her...

Was he really ready to loose everything he was?

Then he saw Kagome as he had seen her yesterday, eyes half-closed and looking up him, bleared with love and desire, her lips parted and bruised from his kisses, her hands knotted in his haori.

Yes. Yes, he was ready to loose everything if he could keep her.

With that he jumped out of his tree and raced back to the castle.

______________________________________________________ ______________________________

InuYasha found Miroku sprawled out on a couch in the back parlor, sleeping peacefully. This was simply too good an opportunity to pass up, as far as he was concerned. He had a valid reason for waking him up after all...

And a decidedly, evil grin spread over his face, and he jumped at the couch, letting out a hair rising battle roar. Miroku screamed like a girl and fell off the couch, groping for his staff. Most of his hair had come loose from his ponytail and was sticking up in a way that seemed to defy all natural laws of the world, his eyes were wide, he was fairly whimpering, and the look on his face was priceless.

It made InuYasha do something he very rarely did: laugh.

Great bursts of laughter rolled out of him, and he wrapped one arm around his stomach, the other pointing at Miroku. Tears of laughter pooled in his eyes and he bent over, still howling.

"I hate you." Miroku said, his voice raspy from sleep, glaring intently at InuYasha who laughed harder, barely able to stand upright. His laughter finely rolled down into deep chuckles, and he wiped at his eyes, shaking his head.

"You should have seen your face." Miroku mumbled something that all together un-monkly, and InuYasha grinned at him.

"Did you have a reason for that or were just trying to make my heart stop?" Miroku said dryly, pushing himself to his feet.

"Yeah, actually, I did." This gave Miroku pause and he looked at InuYasha with curiosity in his eyes. All laughter vanished from InuYasha and he felt like fidgeting in a fit of nerves, but instead he sat down, eyeing the monk.

"I need your...help." The words were spoken begrudgingly, the word help being something InuYasha very rarely uttered. Miroku, grasping the seriousness of this settled himself down on a chair, eyeing InuYasha. "I want to make Kagome...like me."

All Miroku could come up with for a moment was many blinks.

"Uh, InuYasha, in case you missed it, but she screamed at you that she loved you. Moment of pause to look back on that...she loves you." InuYasha growled low in his throat and raked a hand through his hair.

"I know that, bozo." Miroku grinned, smoothing his robes and standing up straighter.

"Oh, I get it. You want me to teach how to be charming, elegant, and poetic. Like me." InuYasha rolled his eyes, huffing.

"I said I wanted her to like me, not for her run screaming from the castle." Miroku scowled.

"That's no way to get my help, InuYasha." One threatening growl and pulverized monk later they had formed a plan.

Kagome wandered into the courtyard of the castle, watching Sango as she practiced fighting with some weapons Kagome had never even seen before. One of them was a large, bone boomerang that seemed to be quite deadly in the hands of Sango.

After nearly a quarter of an hour of practicing, Sango stopped, and caught sight of Kagome, who had been watching her intently with a look of awe on her face. Sango flushed slightly and slid her katana into its scabbard, which was at her hip, and slung her boomerang on her back. She walked to Kagome, who's mouth was very nearly at her feet.

"Where did you learn how to do that!?" Kagome asked, eyes wide. Sango, though still flushing slightly, grinned, a proud look on her face.

"I'm a taijiya. I've trained since I was little. My whole village is...was." A shadow crossed over Sango's face, and Kagome reached out, placing her hand on her friends shoulder.

"Was?" She asked softly, and Sango looked down, chewing on her lip.

"Was. My whole village was destroyed by a demon named Naraku..." Kagome began mentally slapping herself for having brought up such a painful subject, and she pulled Sango into a hug, patting her arm.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Its okay, Kagome. Like you said, you didn't know." Sango shook her head, as if trying to banish the hurtful memories from her mind. Though her eyes still held a darkened look, she sent a wry grin at Kagome.

"Better watch yourself. Miroku and InuYasha are up to something." Kagome tilted her head, eyeing Sango.

"What do you mean, `planning something'"? Sango's grin widened, and she shook her head, starting to walk towards the open archways that led into the courtyard to put her things up in her room.

"I heard them talking, and it involved you. Whatever it is, be afraid. InuYasha isn't the most proficient in dealing with people, and we all know what Miroku is like." Kagome laughed, wrapping her hands in the edge's of her cloak to keep them warm.

"He's not so bad, really. He just doesn't know how to keep his hand to his self." Sango rolled her eyes, hosting her boomerang up higher on her back.

"Please, he's a total hentai. He doesn't have sense God gave a goose."

"Maybe we should knock it into him, ne?"

"I've tried that, he has the lump's to prove it." The two laughed together, going into Sango's room's to talk some more, both laughing happily. Sango had never been much of a girl in her home, always working and studying with the boys, and she simply had no tolerance for the women and their giggling and catty words. Kagome herself was much the same, held to a higher standard because she was a miko, the women feeling that she was untouchable, someone they could not befriend.

It felt good to both of them to have someone to talk too, to be close with.

They were sprawled across Sango's bed, laughing giddily about InuYasha and Miroku, when there came a knock on the door. They stifled their laughter somewhat and Sango called out for whoever it was too enter.

Miroku opened the door and poked his head in.

"My Lady Sango, I was wondering if you had seen Kagome-sama." Kagome sent a look at Sango and sat up, lifting up her hand in a half wave.

"I'm right here, Miroku." Miroku grinned, stepping fully inside the room.

"Lovely! I need you too come with me, Lady Kagome." Sango and Kagome looked at each other, each arching an eyebrow.

"Are you sure, Miroku? You know you'll never be able to have children if you touch Kagome, InuYasha will maim you. Slowly." Kagome flushed and kicked Sango in the shin, making her laugh and wink at her.

"Honestly, dear Sango, I have no motive's towards our Lady Kagome. I have eyes for you, my darling." It was Sango's turn to flush, and Kagome grinned, poking Sango in the ribs.

"Me and every other female in the world." Miroku made a hurt expression, holding a hand over his chest.

"How can you say that, Lady Sango? I am truly devoted to you! I would follow you to the ends of the earth! Without you, my heart could not beat, I would not breath, and I would have no reason to live!" Sango flushed brighter and tossed a pillow at his head, standing, while Kagome was doubled over on the bed in laughter.

Miroku, after being smacked in the face with the pillow, took Sango's standing position as an opportunity he could not let go by him, and reached out, grabbing a hand full of her bottom. Sango let out a shill scream of anger and grabbed her boomerang, which was propped up against the bed, and brought it down over the monk's head.

He let out a strange squeaking sound and fell over, his eyes swirling. Sango huffed and sat her weapon back down, glaring at Kagome who was unable to move from her fit of laughter.

When Miroku had regained movement he dragged Sango out of the room, ordering Kagome to stay there and wait. When the two came back in, Miroku with his normal calm countenance and Sango grinned madly, Kagome was confused and more then a little worried.

Sango took Kagome to her room and made her change clothing, into fine a outfit fit for Court that was laid out on her bed, then helped her fix her hair up in bejeweled combs, most of it falling down her back in soft waves.

Miroku then escorted Kagome to the formal dinning room, a room that was never used in the castle. When he opened the doors, Kagome gasped in shock. It had glowing candle's placed around it, and the large window's on two of the walls showed the setting sun. The large oak table that normally sat there had been replaced with a smaller, more intimate table with two settings on it.

The biggest shock was to see InuYasha standing there, looking uncomfortable and nervous in a Court kimono that matched her own. She gasped softly, her eyes wide, taking everything in as her brain tried to make sense of it.

Her heart swelled, beating rapidly. This was what InuYasha and Miroku had been planning. InuYasha did this for her. She smiled then, her face flushed with excitement and shock, and she turned large, twinkling eyes to InuYasha who's nervousness seemed to skyrocket.

InuYasha's pulse seemed to double when she walked through the door, and he felt like screaming when she stood there, looking around. But then she had looked at him and gave him such a bright, glittering smile, her eyes shinning like jewels, and he felt pride welling up in him.

She knew he had done this for her, he could see it in her eyes. And she wasn't running from him, or laughing at him. No, she was smiling beautifully at him while Sango and Miroku shared a look of triumph.

InuYasha moved forward, though he didn't tell himself too. He didn't know he was, really, until he had Kagome's hand in his and was moving her towards the table. He helped her too sit, then settled himself down, the food steaming in silver serving bowls.

He gave mental thanks to the castle, knowing this couldn't have been done if he and Miroku had been forced to cook it.

Sango and Miroku slipped out quietly, Miroku sending InuYasha and wink, and Sango sniffing to herself at the beautiful sight, happy this was happening to her friend.

Then the meal began, and InuYasha felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Hope.