InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Life is Like a Rose ❯ A chance meeting ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Never have, never will.

(((O)))

Life is like a rose

(((O)))

They had worked to survive, and survive they had.

(((O)))

Ch 3: A chance meeting…

(((O)))

)iO )i( Oi(

When Kanna and Kagura finished their breakfast, Kagome quickly began clearing the table. But before she had a chance to finish, a loud, sharp rap sounded on the front door. She quickly set down a dish and made her way to answer it. The open door revealed a man carrying a message bearing the royal seal; he was soon admitted.

Standing in front of Kanna, he cleared his throat and began. “An invitation from the palace of Lord Takahashi, lord of the western lands. You are formally invited to attend a ball in honor of Prince Sesshomaru's twenty-first birthday. All eligible young ladies are strongly suggested to make an appearance, as Prince Sesshomaru shall be searching for a suitable mate. The date is the 20th of this month, seven days from now. All guests are required to wear proper ball attire. The ball shall begin at eight p.m. and come to an end at one in the morning. Dinner shall be served. The ball shall be held in the west wing ball room of the castle. Signed, the lord and lady of the western lands.” Carefully folding the document, he slipped it inside his garments and left with a stiff bow.

The three women sat in stunned silence for a minute. Then Kagura said, “Oh, a ball, how divine! And a ball at the palace, too! I haven't been to a ball in ages, we simply must go! And Prince Sesshomaru is looking for a mate - he could choose me!”

Kanna apparently didn't hear Kagura, or she was just ignoring her. She stared into nowhere awhile before quietly stating, “How odd. Prince Sesshomaru was never fond of balls, nor did he ever plan to mate. Why the sudden change?”

“Who cares? He is the most handsome man in all the lands, and he is looking for a mate!” Kagura exclaimed. “As I said, we simply must go. We will definitely need to get new dresses. We have to look our best!”

Kanna snapped out of her dazed state and gave a small smile. “But of course. We shall go shopping right now. Kagome!” she said turning towards the girl. “Go ready the carriage. You will be coming with us.”

With a nod, Kagome made her way to the stables. As she began her task, she failed to notice the young figure hiding in one of the stalls.

“Pssst! Kagome!” Kagome jumped and whirled around to see…

“Kohaku? What are you doing here? And did you have to almost give me a heart attack?” The 13 year-old shrugged and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry Kags. Being quiet is in a demon hunter's blood. Anyways, Sango sent me here to tell you to meet her in the field early tomorrow morning. She didn't specify, but she said you'll probably get there before she does.” Kohaku made a face. “She is going shopping today and most likely won't get home until late. How can you onna shop for so long?” Kagome laughed. “Thank you for the message Kohaku. Actually, Kanna and Kagura are going shopping, too, and I'm going with them. Maybe I will see your sister there.” Kohaku watched Kagome turn back to her task and couldn't help but sigh. He felt sorry for her. He and Sango had lost both of their parents years ago, but they had at least kept their dignity. They had worked to survive, and survive they had. And they had each other to cling to. Not only had Kagome been stripped of everything, including her dignity, but she had no one to help her through it all.

Kohaku helped Kagome finish her task and silently slipped into the forest. Not long after, he watched the carriage head for town. Sighing again, he turned and started home.

/AMA\

Sesshomaru carefully stepped into the hall, making sure no one was there. He silently made his way through the numerous hallways, past guards, and finally into the courtyard. There were definite advantages to being a youkai strong enough to mask his sent and conceal his aura. Once in the courtyard, he slipped the hood of the dark brown cloak over his head, effectively covering most of his head. The shadow concealed most of his face, leaving only his mouth and chin exposed. He slowly took in his surroundings to make sure that no one noticed him. Seeing that everyone was blissfully unaware, he quickly and silently made his way towards the side gate. He had just reached to open it when a voice stopped him.

“That's a really bad idea. The gate opening would attract attention. If you can't go through the orchard, then the best way is around the side of the castle. The stones in the wall are uneven, and extremely easy to climb.”

Sesshomaru turned towards the source of the voice, which belonged to Inuyasha. He was sitting on a high branch of one of the many Sakura Trees that decorated the numerous gardens. For a moment, Sesshomaru just stared at him. Then he turned towards the gate. With a nod, he looked at his half-brother again before turning to head towards the side of the castle. Inuyasha's voice came to him again - “You had better hurry. Someone might come.”

Sesshomaru gave no other response than to quicken his pace. He turned the corner and soon passed through another garden. A short time later he came upon a stretch of wall with very uneven stones, just like Inuyasha said. Within a few seconds, he was up, over the wall, and on his way to the town of Edo.

)iO )i( Oi(

Kagome sighed in frustration as she attempted to see where she was going around the several boxes piled in her arms. This was ridiculous! They had barely been in town an hour and Kanna and Kagura had already bought a lot of things - none of which had anything to do with the ball they were supposedly shopping for! And of course that meant that Kagome had to take everything back to the carriage.

Kagome groaned as she peered around the edge of the boxes, realizing she had no idea where she was. As she spun around to see if she could find something familiar, she saw the fountain out of the corner of her eye. But before she came to a complete stop, she slammed into someone - hard.

Boxes went flying. Kagome fell backwards, and the other person took a step back. As she fell, Kagome looked up and caught a glimpse of someone tall in a brown cloak, with a hood over his head. Then she closed her eyes and braced herself for a hard landing - a hard landing that never came. Kagome looked up in surprise.

The brown-cloaked man stood right above her, her arm held tightly in his grasp. Kagome gasped in shock. The man's hood had slipped back on head a little, just enough to un-shadow the man's eyes, which were a shocking gold, and widened slightly in what Kagome assumed was shock. But before she could say anything, the man jerked her up with a growl. Kagome gasped again. `A demon!' she thought. `I am in so much trouble…' Kagome opened her mouth and words came in a jumble. “Oh…I am so sorry…thanks for catching me…I am in so much trouble…I am so, so, soooooo sorry…oh…” but before she could pull the words together to form a complete sentence, the man was gone.

Kagome quickly picked up the boxes and managed to make it to the carriage without further mishap. As she made her way back to her stepmother, she took a moment to wonder about the brown hooded man with beautiful golden eyes. He was obviously a demon - he actually growled, for heaven's sake - but they often came to this town, so that wasn't really surprising. After all, the lord was a demon, and this town was the closest to the castle. But Kagome had no more time to wonder about the man. Kanna and Kagura stood outside of a shop, waiting for her with obvious impatience. Kagome sighed.

(O) 2 hrs. later (noon) (O)

/AMA\

A lone figure in a dark cloak stood overlooking the small town of Edo. His golden eyes were narrowed, and his hands were clenched into fists at his side, the deadly claws drawing blood. In his mind a single thought played over and over… `What did I do?'

)iO )i( Oi(

Kagome wandered the streets, happy to have some time to herself, and possibly look for Sango. Or that demon in the brown cloak, whose yes and some-what kindness would not leave her mind. She had some time to think about it and came to a few different conclusions. The first was that he was masking his aura. She hadn't been able to sense him, which was very rare for her, a miko. Her secret training with the old healer had paid off, and she was very good at sensing auras. Second was that he was either inu-youkai or ookami-youkai. Dog and wolf were the only youkai around that actually growled. At least, she thought so.

As Kagome search for her friend (she doubted she would see the youkai again) her eyes happened to catch sight of something red Looking harder, she saw that it was red hair, and it happened to be attached to the head of a small boy. No, it <i>wasn't<i> a boy. It was a kitsune pup, and the poor thing was being tormented by two bigger kids, all of which were human but too big for the little fox to handle on his own. He began to cry.

Kagome marched up to them and took a hold of the two kids by the ear. “You two boys will be in a lot of trouble if I ever see you hurting a small child again.” She boys trembled as she glared at them, and looked about ready to bolt. “Do you understand?” Kagome asked, still glaring. When the boys frantically nodded, she turned them loose and they ran away as fast as they could in a crowded marketplace. Kagome then turned to the little boy, who was still crying. “There, there. They're gone now see? They're gone,” She said, picking him up and cuddling him. The child's sobs subsided into faint hiccups, and she smiled. “There we go. What's your name? And why are you alone?”

The boy sniffed. “I'm Shippo and I'm all alone because my parents were attacked and I'm scared!” the boy said in a rush, starting to sob again. Kagome felt tears welling up in her own eyes as she cuddled Shippo. “Oh, Shippo, I'm so sorry. My parents died too. We're both alone.” A tear slid down her cheek, and the little boy reached up and wiped it away. “I didn't wanna make you cry!” he said frantically. Kagome smiled. “I'm okay. Hey! You could live with me!” She said happily. But her face clouded. “Then again, that wouldn't be such a good idea…” she quietly told Shippo about her life, and his little eyes widened. When she finished, he said, “I can hide! I'm really good at it. I can mask my scent too! Please, can I come? I'll protect you!” He puffed out his little chest and Kagome laughed. “All right, but only if you promise to stay out of trouble!” He eagerly agreed.

Later, when it was time to leave, Shippo hid among the various boxes and things in the carriage. No one suspected a thing.

(((O)))

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. But this time, I want at least 15-20 before I post again. If there's more, I might even do two! Ja ne!

Thank you MizudaTsurugi, for pointing out my error. And thank you everyone for reviewing!

Inu - dog

Ookami - wolf

Kitsune - fox

Youkai - demon

Onna - woman/ women