InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love and Deceit ❯ A Marriage Proposal; Interrupted ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Kate the InuYoukai01 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Drama / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.11.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 213 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Drama / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.11.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 213 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter Two: A Marriage Proposal; Interrupted/A Boy in Training
Kagome's plan was not working out as she had first hoped. She had asked that every demon sighted be recorded in detail and sent to the Moonlit Shrine. So many demons had been sighted in only the first month of the disappearance, and none of them had fit the description of the culprit given to her by Jin from the hunter who had witnessed the attack. Most were letters requesting assistance, claiming that the demon was killing their livestock or kidnapping their children. Each time this happened, Kagome would contact the demon slayers' village, a close friend living there would always do anything that was asked of her, and send them along for assistance. It kept the demon slayers paid, with food in their bellies, and it gave Kagome a chance to look at the demons up close before the slayers took them away to be made into armor and other forms of defensive and offensive protection and weaponry. Kagome was now sitting next to the fire pit located in the center of her home, looking over scrolls with a critical eye. Jin was worried about her... It had been three months of searching and nothing was turning up, yet Kagome's resolve did not waver, even after everyone else decided to give up. She continued searching long after even he had found this to be a lost cause and stopped looking through the scrolls with her.
"Kagome, please." Jin said softly as he took the scroll away from her, "There are far too many demons in this region. You cannot do this and fight them all."
"I can do this... it is my fault that Souta is gone," she stated bitterly as she took the scroll back. "Besides, I am not the one fighting them. The taijiya are the ones who are destroying these pesky beings and they are the ones that are benefiting the most, not I. I must redeem myself... it is my duty as an older sister," she spoke softly as she stared up at him. "Even if it costs me my life."Jin's eyes widened at this, "K-Kagome...""I've lost my whole family to demon attacks. It's only right that I give mine to avenge them."He sighed, running his hand through his thick obsidian hair. "Souta was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The villagers never found a body, so he might still be alive somewhere...""No, he would have come to see me..." she averted her gaze. "For some reason, I believe he is alive, but being held captive... I must save him."He gently pulled her to his chest, "Please. Wasting your life away searching for one demon isn't-"
He was cut off when she slapped him hard on his right cheek, leaving an irritated red mark and making blood well up in his mouth from the newly-made cut from his teeth. He had never known her to strike anyone other than those she considered dangerous to the village... He had never seen her with so much anger stirring in her cerulean gaze.
"Who are you to hold me in your arms and then tell me my cause is useless?!" She sent a growl at him that would have impressed any demon.
He stood abruptly, losing his patience with her for the first time in both of their lives, "Because I want you to move on and start a new family with me! This isn't healthy and you know just as well as I do that Souta would never want to see his sister bent over backwards for the sake of revenge! Avenging his death or not!"
Kagome gasped, her eyes widening and her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she looked up at him with shock; habitual when she heard or said something unexpected. A blush stained his cheeks when he realized that he had given himself away and he slowly sat back down.
"Y-you mean..."
Their eyes met and for a moment they felt time stand still as she knelt down in front of him.
"Kagome Higurashi, miko and caretaker of our humble village," he started as he took her hand. "Will you do the honor of becoming my wife?"
"You wish to marry me?" She touched his cheek, still red from her hand.
Jin smiled and leaned into the warmth, his fingertips running lightly over the back of her hand, "Will you?"
Kagome smiled and opened her mouth to answer when an armed soldier entered her hut unannounced, "Master Jin!"
Kagome moved away quickly, knowing that it was not becoming of a miko to make any intimate physical contact with a man outside of marriage, causing Jin to glare slightly, "What is it?"
"The Eastern Lord has declared war... the peace treaty we once held with them has been nullified."
Jin stood abruptly, "What?!" He narrowed his eyes in thought, "We have done nothing to nullify this contract. I wish to discuss this with the Eastern lord."
"He has already arrived, milord. They are calling us out." A scroll was handed to him and his eyes quickly moved over the parchment, "He delivered the battle contract personally, sir."
Jin looked over the parchment with a keen eye, and after a few moments he looked up. "There is nothing I can do," he said sullenly as he rolled up the thick paper. "Prepare the soldiers, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir!"
Kagome stood with a worried gaze, "Jin, I-"
"I'm sorry, Kagome," he muttered before following his soldier out. She stared after his retreating form, a look of fear and concern for her would-be fiancé settled in her eyes.
"My answer was yes..."
-------------------------------------------
Sessh omaru gauged the teenaged boy's expression as he blocked attack after attack. Souta's eyes were furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember the sequence of his movements. He could see the boy's lips counting noiselessly, switching the numbers that he had dubbed the attacks in an attempt to surprise him. A right hand jab was quickly dodged with demonic speed, followed by a back kick that hit nothing but air. A look of dismay covered the boy's features at this. The demon lord's eyes narrowed. This would not do. Quickly, but not as to hurt the boy, he grabbed his arm and flipped him over his head as if he weighed nothing. The boy quickly recovered from this, though his face was slightly stunned.
"You are concentrating too hard on your movements. Relax your body and try to think like your opponent." Sesshomaru stated as he dodged another jab.
"Hai!"
Sesshomaru noticed how quickly he became relaxed, though his eyes kept reverting back to his hands and feet as they moved at what the boy thought was a fast pace. An idea arose in the demon's head as he formulated an example to teach him that that was not what he wanted. He quickly knelt and swerved his body with his leg out, his hands holding him steady as the boy he was teaching tripped and fell back on his rump.
"Keep your eyes on your opponent. It is good to anticipate your opponent's speed and movement. Never attack on impulse and appear calm at all times."
"Hai," the boy jumped to his feet, seemingly unfazed. Sesshomaru nearly chuckled at this, but decided to keep his mind on the task at hand. He wanted to teach the boy to show no emotion in the heat of battle. It would be much easier to defeat one's opponent in that frame of mind.
"Remember your own strengths and weaknesses and never reveal them to your attacker. It leaves an opening in your defenses and you will most certainly be defeated."
A punch finally struck his right shoulder as he went to attack with his left, causing him to let a small smile pass his lips, "Well done."
Sesshomaru watched Souta as he began to fight with the grace and speed he himself used in battle. In a few more weeks he planned to begin training him to properly use a sword. He was not quite ready for that, though he wouldn't put it past the boy if they began fencing earlier than he'd expected.
He's a fast learner, he thought as he blocked a kick to his side, holding the teen's leg to himself. The boy didn't pause, and Sesshomaru was again caught slightly off guard by the punch that hit his face.Sesshomaru deemed the lesson complete at this, satisfaction showing dimly in his golden eyes, "Let us stop for today."
Souta nodded, out of breath. They had been training like this every day for a month, and Sesshomaru was becoming quite fond of the teen and his quick mind. He had never used his full strength on the boy because of this, but decided that soon enough he would be able to have a worthy opponent in the boy if he continued to increase his difficulty level with each lesson. He figured the boy would quickly adapt to his flash steps by sensing his aura and keeping it prominent in his mind the entire time as they fought. It was faint, but Sesshomaru could sense holy power emanating from the boy, and it was getting stronger with every lesson.
"Tomorrow we will look for word of the half breed. I am certain now that if you were to have a run in with him you will no doubt be able to defend yourself against him. Maybe not defeat him, but defend yourself until I am allowed to step in."
Souta accepted his smidgen of praise and went to clean his face off in a nearby stream, thinking about how much he missed the Moonlit Shrine and his sister. Sesshomaru wasn't cruel to him or anything, he just wasn't willing to let anyone close enough to spark up a friendship. It was difficult for Souta, because he looked at Sesshomaru like a father or brotherly figure in his mind. The closest thing he had to either in a long time, at least, in the few weeks that he had known him. Sometimes, though, he wondered if he could just ask to leave and visit the only family he had, but he shook his head at the thought.
I have a duty to fulfill. If it weren't for Lord Sesshomaru I'd be long gone... the least that I could do is give him some form of companionship. He sighed lightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Sesshomaru, Still... I wonder how she fares.
He was brought out of his reverie when he heard the demon lord's armor thud on the ground. He turned to see Sesshomaru sitting with his head leaning against a tree, his eyes closed and his tail wrapping around him for warmth.
"You should rest, boy," he said in a monotone voice, his eyes closed. "We will begin our trek at dawn."
Kagome's plan was not working out as she had first hoped. She had asked that every demon sighted be recorded in detail and sent to the Moonlit Shrine. So many demons had been sighted in only the first month of the disappearance, and none of them had fit the description of the culprit given to her by Jin from the hunter who had witnessed the attack. Most were letters requesting assistance, claiming that the demon was killing their livestock or kidnapping their children. Each time this happened, Kagome would contact the demon slayers' village, a close friend living there would always do anything that was asked of her, and send them along for assistance. It kept the demon slayers paid, with food in their bellies, and it gave Kagome a chance to look at the demons up close before the slayers took them away to be made into armor and other forms of defensive and offensive protection and weaponry. Kagome was now sitting next to the fire pit located in the center of her home, looking over scrolls with a critical eye. Jin was worried about her... It had been three months of searching and nothing was turning up, yet Kagome's resolve did not waver, even after everyone else decided to give up. She continued searching long after even he had found this to be a lost cause and stopped looking through the scrolls with her.
"Kagome, please." Jin said softly as he took the scroll away from her, "There are far too many demons in this region. You cannot do this and fight them all."
"I can do this... it is my fault that Souta is gone," she stated bitterly as she took the scroll back. "Besides, I am not the one fighting them. The taijiya are the ones who are destroying these pesky beings and they are the ones that are benefiting the most, not I. I must redeem myself... it is my duty as an older sister," she spoke softly as she stared up at him. "Even if it costs me my life."Jin's eyes widened at this, "K-Kagome...""I've lost my whole family to demon attacks. It's only right that I give mine to avenge them."He sighed, running his hand through his thick obsidian hair. "Souta was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The villagers never found a body, so he might still be alive somewhere...""No, he would have come to see me..." she averted her gaze. "For some reason, I believe he is alive, but being held captive... I must save him."He gently pulled her to his chest, "Please. Wasting your life away searching for one demon isn't-"
He was cut off when she slapped him hard on his right cheek, leaving an irritated red mark and making blood well up in his mouth from the newly-made cut from his teeth. He had never known her to strike anyone other than those she considered dangerous to the village... He had never seen her with so much anger stirring in her cerulean gaze.
"Who are you to hold me in your arms and then tell me my cause is useless?!" She sent a growl at him that would have impressed any demon.
He stood abruptly, losing his patience with her for the first time in both of their lives, "Because I want you to move on and start a new family with me! This isn't healthy and you know just as well as I do that Souta would never want to see his sister bent over backwards for the sake of revenge! Avenging his death or not!"
Kagome gasped, her eyes widening and her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she looked up at him with shock; habitual when she heard or said something unexpected. A blush stained his cheeks when he realized that he had given himself away and he slowly sat back down.
"Y-you mean..."
Their eyes met and for a moment they felt time stand still as she knelt down in front of him.
"Kagome Higurashi, miko and caretaker of our humble village," he started as he took her hand. "Will you do the honor of becoming my wife?"
"You wish to marry me?" She touched his cheek, still red from her hand.
Jin smiled and leaned into the warmth, his fingertips running lightly over the back of her hand, "Will you?"
Kagome smiled and opened her mouth to answer when an armed soldier entered her hut unannounced, "Master Jin!"
Kagome moved away quickly, knowing that it was not becoming of a miko to make any intimate physical contact with a man outside of marriage, causing Jin to glare slightly, "What is it?"
"The Eastern Lord has declared war... the peace treaty we once held with them has been nullified."
Jin stood abruptly, "What?!" He narrowed his eyes in thought, "We have done nothing to nullify this contract. I wish to discuss this with the Eastern lord."
"He has already arrived, milord. They are calling us out." A scroll was handed to him and his eyes quickly moved over the parchment, "He delivered the battle contract personally, sir."
Jin looked over the parchment with a keen eye, and after a few moments he looked up. "There is nothing I can do," he said sullenly as he rolled up the thick paper. "Prepare the soldiers, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir!"
Kagome stood with a worried gaze, "Jin, I-"
"I'm sorry, Kagome," he muttered before following his soldier out. She stared after his retreating form, a look of fear and concern for her would-be fiancé settled in her eyes.
"My answer was yes..."
-------------------------------------------
Sessh omaru gauged the teenaged boy's expression as he blocked attack after attack. Souta's eyes were furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember the sequence of his movements. He could see the boy's lips counting noiselessly, switching the numbers that he had dubbed the attacks in an attempt to surprise him. A right hand jab was quickly dodged with demonic speed, followed by a back kick that hit nothing but air. A look of dismay covered the boy's features at this. The demon lord's eyes narrowed. This would not do. Quickly, but not as to hurt the boy, he grabbed his arm and flipped him over his head as if he weighed nothing. The boy quickly recovered from this, though his face was slightly stunned.
"You are concentrating too hard on your movements. Relax your body and try to think like your opponent." Sesshomaru stated as he dodged another jab.
"Hai!"
Sesshomaru noticed how quickly he became relaxed, though his eyes kept reverting back to his hands and feet as they moved at what the boy thought was a fast pace. An idea arose in the demon's head as he formulated an example to teach him that that was not what he wanted. He quickly knelt and swerved his body with his leg out, his hands holding him steady as the boy he was teaching tripped and fell back on his rump.
"Keep your eyes on your opponent. It is good to anticipate your opponent's speed and movement. Never attack on impulse and appear calm at all times."
"Hai," the boy jumped to his feet, seemingly unfazed. Sesshomaru nearly chuckled at this, but decided to keep his mind on the task at hand. He wanted to teach the boy to show no emotion in the heat of battle. It would be much easier to defeat one's opponent in that frame of mind.
"Remember your own strengths and weaknesses and never reveal them to your attacker. It leaves an opening in your defenses and you will most certainly be defeated."
A punch finally struck his right shoulder as he went to attack with his left, causing him to let a small smile pass his lips, "Well done."
Sesshomaru watched Souta as he began to fight with the grace and speed he himself used in battle. In a few more weeks he planned to begin training him to properly use a sword. He was not quite ready for that, though he wouldn't put it past the boy if they began fencing earlier than he'd expected.
He's a fast learner, he thought as he blocked a kick to his side, holding the teen's leg to himself. The boy didn't pause, and Sesshomaru was again caught slightly off guard by the punch that hit his face.Sesshomaru deemed the lesson complete at this, satisfaction showing dimly in his golden eyes, "Let us stop for today."
Souta nodded, out of breath. They had been training like this every day for a month, and Sesshomaru was becoming quite fond of the teen and his quick mind. He had never used his full strength on the boy because of this, but decided that soon enough he would be able to have a worthy opponent in the boy if he continued to increase his difficulty level with each lesson. He figured the boy would quickly adapt to his flash steps by sensing his aura and keeping it prominent in his mind the entire time as they fought. It was faint, but Sesshomaru could sense holy power emanating from the boy, and it was getting stronger with every lesson.
"Tomorrow we will look for word of the half breed. I am certain now that if you were to have a run in with him you will no doubt be able to defend yourself against him. Maybe not defeat him, but defend yourself until I am allowed to step in."
Souta accepted his smidgen of praise and went to clean his face off in a nearby stream, thinking about how much he missed the Moonlit Shrine and his sister. Sesshomaru wasn't cruel to him or anything, he just wasn't willing to let anyone close enough to spark up a friendship. It was difficult for Souta, because he looked at Sesshomaru like a father or brotherly figure in his mind. The closest thing he had to either in a long time, at least, in the few weeks that he had known him. Sometimes, though, he wondered if he could just ask to leave and visit the only family he had, but he shook his head at the thought.
I have a duty to fulfill. If it weren't for Lord Sesshomaru I'd be long gone... the least that I could do is give him some form of companionship. He sighed lightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Sesshomaru, Still... I wonder how she fares.
He was brought out of his reverie when he heard the demon lord's armor thud on the ground. He turned to see Sesshomaru sitting with his head leaning against a tree, his eyes closed and his tail wrapping around him for warmth.
"You should rest, boy," he said in a monotone voice, his eyes closed. "We will begin our trek at dawn."