InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Minoue ❯ Invitation ( Chapter 42 )

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

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the manga/anime characters. They belong to the wonderful genius Rumiko Takahashi. Any original characters do belong to me.

AN: Thank you very much to inufan625 for acting as my beta once again. An additional thank you goes to Knittingknots for her help as well. I greatly appreciate the time they've taken to help make me a better writer and this a better story.

The Feudal Association results are in (or at least most of them -there have to be several tie-breaker polls where more than two tied for a placement). While we don't have the official results posted yet, from the closed polls it appears that Minoue was First Place in the Best AU/AR Fiction category, Second Place in the Best Romance (Alt Pairing) category, and Second Place in the Best Drama Fiction category, while View to a Chill was Second Place in the Best Oneshot Category Open Mouth, Insert Foot (Best Oneshot) and Where the Wind Blows (Best Humorous Fiction) are in run-offs in their respective categories and new polls have posted. In any case, thanks so much to everyone who nominated or voted for any of my fics! And if you're a member, go vote in the run-off polls. I believe there are five categories between the fanfiction and fanart that have tie-breaker voting going on right now.

Happy New Year! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. And thank you very much to those who take the time to leave a review. I read each and every one of them, and they inspire me to continue writing (or at least to write faster).

Minoue

Chapter 42:Invitation

Naraku's eyes widened at the article that had appeared in the paper Tuesday morning. He scanned over it, rereading the important bits again.

It has been learned that Nishimori Shuichi, the popular Director of the National Art Center, will be wed to a woman identified only as `Kagura' at the Higurashi Shrine in a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony. … The nuptials will be performed by the head of the shrine, Priest Higurashi, who will be assisted by his granddaughter Higurashi Kagome and family friend Satou Sango, who will act as the miko maidens for this joyous occasion…as reported previously, Higurashi Kagome will be married later this year to the Director's half-brother, Nishimori InuYasha.

…Director Nishimori has been overheard to say, `I couldn't believe it when I first saw her… it was if the heavens had sent me an angel from the sky above…

“No doubt you're human,” Naraku said out loud to himself as he continued to reread the article. “What a sap…”

`…I have never believed in love at first sight, but I now believe it is possible… I'm honored and grateful that Kagura has fallen into my life.'

Little is known about the woman he is marrying, other than it is rumored that she suffers from amnesia and cannot remember much of her life. When she was found unconscious and taken to a local hospital, her name was all that she could remember. It is reported that she was parasailing and crashed onto the property belonging to the hanyou half-brother of Director Nishimori. Uncertain what to do, he called the director to come to his aide. Once she was released from the hospital, the director took her home with him to try and help her find out her identity and if she had any family. According to friends close to the couple who do not wish to be named, love blossomed between the two while she has been recovering. On condition of anonymity, they told this reporter, `Kagura is certain she has been delivered to the love of her life. With his patience, understanding, and love, she hopes to eventually regain her memories and remember her past life. For now she feels safe and secure with the man that she has grown to love.'

“Safe and secure, huuuummm?” Naraku questioned. “We'll make sure to take care of that. You will return to me Kagura - I'll make certain of it. We'll see if seeing your little sister doesn't help jog a few memories. And no wonder the director was so protective of Sango - apparently she's friends with the half-breed's fiancée. That would explain why not one single person at the gallery would admit to knowing her. How convenient - we'll get to reunite two sets of siblings that day. Now I just have to find out the date since they neglected to include it.”

Naraku picked up the phone and dialed. He wasn't surprised to receive voicemail since Kikyou was supposed to be spending the morning with the couple from Singapore. “Kikyou, love, when you go to the shrine tomorrow, make certain to find out when the Nishimori wedding is to be held.” He returned the phone to its receiver and went to his computer. Maybe another source would have that one little important detail that had been left out.

~ ^~^ ~

Kikyou couldn't believe her luck. The couple from Singapore was not officially married yet, and when they saw the article in the paper that morning about the director of the National Art Center getting married at the Higurashi Shrine, they wanted to go and see it for themselves. They had been waffling between a Christian style wedding or a traditional Shinto wedding after their return, and getting married in Singapore in a civil ceremony before they completed the move back to Japan. So, at their insistence, she was currently on her way to the shrine with the couple so that they could see it for themselves. It was fortunate that she had checked her voicemail and knew that she was supposed to find out the date on which the director was getting married. With the couple as her cover, she had the perfect excuse and opportunity.

Jii-chan was busy performing his usual chores, which at the moment consisted of sweeping the shrine grounds, a task he did by rote since he was deep in thought. He had not expected to receive so much attention from allowing the wedding between Sesshomaru and Kagura to take place at his shrine. He had been reluctant at first, since he knew that they both were youkai which would be considered impure, but Kagome had reminded him that he had already agreed to perform the ceremony between InuYasha and her, and then Sesshomaru had offered a very generous donation of five million yen. His mind had started spinning with the repairs and improvements he could make with that kind of money - if the kami didn't set some evil upon them for allowing youkai to marry at the shrine. Instead, he'd already had a dozen phone calls inquiring about using the shrine for weddings, and others just dropping in to take a look around. Contributions were already up, and he had not even received the director's check yet. In fact, the news had been published only the night before on the internet and then in the morning edition of the paper. Considering the amount of publicity already generated, perhaps he should consider having a website developed for the shrine like Kagome and Souta had been pushing for.

It appeared that another such group of curious visitors was cresting the top of the shrine stairs. Though somewhat out of breath when they reached the top, the young lady that was with them suddenly starting waving excitedly, grabbed the gentleman by the hand and started dragging him with her. The other woman that was with them shook her head slightly before approaching him.

Kikyou bowed when she reached him. “My name is Nagatomi Kikyou. The couple you saw with me is considering a Shinto ceremony for their wedding. Would you tell me what would be involved? I am trying to help them make a decision.”

Jii-chan leaned his broom against a building and bowed in return. “I am the priest that runs this shrine and would be honored. Come this way, and I will show you around.”

He had explained about the ceremony, including the ritual and the number of people normally involved, when Kikyou decided to broach the subject she needed information on. “What about dates? How are they set? I must assume that preparations must be made in advance.”

“Well, it depends,” the old priest explained, “There are some days that are very popular for weddings, and on those days we perform the ritual on a first come, first served basis. I've married as many as forty couples in a single day. However, the rest of the time reservations are made in advance. Of course the families need to know so they can make their plans, and I need to as well to have proper assistance. My granddaughter usually helps me and since she is in college, I have to make certain she is available or get another young lady to assist.”

Kikyou nodded in understanding. “Can you tell me what days over the next few months are not available? I'd say from how excited those two are that they will want to make use of your shrine for their wedding. However, I'm not certain if they are in a big rush or not, but if they are, I'd like to know what dates coming up are not available so they won't be disappointed.”

“Spring and early fall are the most popular, so I only have two on the calendar for certain right now,” Jii-chan answered. “There is one scheduled a week from next Monday and the other on Christmas Eve. Also, anytime that Taian falls on a Sunday, we're usually pretty busy. It's a very popular day for weddings.”

“If they were in a hurry, since you've already got one scheduled a week from Monday,” Kikyou mused, “maybe it wouldn't be difficult to add another.”

Jii-chan shook his head. “I apologize, but that is a very special wedding. The shrine will probably be off limits all day even though the ceremony is set for two in the afternoon.”

“Well, hopefully they won't want to get married that quickly,” Kikyou commented, “and isn't Christmas Eve a little unusual?”

“That was my granddaughter's idea, and I could not tell her `no'. And actually, with all of the romantic notions surrounding Christmas Eve, I'm surprised it isn't a more popular day for weddings. So I will have at least one wedding to perform that day, and it will be hers. And because she is my only granddaughter, I doubt I will add any others to the schedule that day.” Jii-chan noticed that the couple was returning to them. “I see your friends have finished looking around. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.”

“Thank you so much for the tour and information,” Kikyou responded. “We will contact you after they have discussed it and made a decision.” She left him to return to the couple.

Jii-chan wiped his brow and hoped he'd gotten everything right. Then again, he had been given a good description of Kikyou - he didn't expect her to show up with another couple and give him her real name. That made it easier to make certain that she had the date and time for the Nishimori wedding. He retrieved his broom and decided to go to the house. It was about lunch time, and he needed to call Sesshomaru to let him know they'd taken the bait.

~ ^~^ ~

Miroku sighed as he leaned his shakujou against the wall and then set the test papers his arms had been laden with on the desk. He pulled out the chair and sat down. When it came to grading papers, he was not a procrastinator. He preferred to get them scored and the grades turned in for his students as quickly as possible. He looked at the ancient staff. “Well, old friend, I hope you were able to help at least some of them gain a few extra points.”

The test he had given was two-fold. The first section of the exam, and the easier part for him to grade, was multiple-choice. He would go through each paper and score that portion first. Then he would go back and read the essay question that was worth twenty-five percent of the total exam grade. Anyone who correctly identified the staff would receive an additional ten points. Theoretically, a student could make a total score of one hundred and ten points on the final. The final exam counted as twenty-five percent of their grade for the semester.

Miroku was deep in thought. He had finished grading the multiple-choice questions and was in the middle of the essays when he heard a knock at his door. Somewhat annoyed at the disruption of his concentration, he said “Enter,” as he looked up to see who was interrupting him. Two of the girls from his class that were on the fringe passing grade-wise had entered his office and closed the door behind them. “Kobayashi, Tanaka, what can I do for you? You know that I haven't had time to finish scoring your final, so I do not know your grade as of yet.”

The two girls giggled. “Actually, Sensei, we came to ask you about your staff. We want to know more about it. Would you show us how you use it? We're willing to do anything for a few more extra points. You see, we can't afford to fail your class. We have to have it to graduate.”

Miroku furrowed his brow. “My staff is a shakujou. I selected it for the extra points question because so many of the students are manga fans, and there are Buddhists in several manga stories that use one. Even if you missed the discussion in class there was still a chance you would be familiar with it. I'm afraid I really do not have time to show you combat techniques. If you actually wanted to pass the course, perhaps you should have studied for the exam a little harder. Maybe you also ought to have attended class last week when I was reviewing what would be on the final.”

The two girls had worked their way around the desk so that one was on either side of him. Each girl was unbuttoning her blouse as they moved closer. “Well, we heard there were other ways to improve our grade,” the first girl said.

The second one added as she freed her breasts from her front clasp bra, “And like we said, we're willing to do anything for a few more points. It's your other staff that we want to see you use.”

Miroku was gripping the arms of his chair like a vice when the girl to his right dropped to the floor and started to rub him through his pants. The one to his left was leaning over with her hands braced against his thigh, forcing her breasts into his face. He was panting so hard as he tried to back-pedal away from them that none of them heard the knock at the door before it swung open.

He looked up to see a wide-eyed Sango framed by the doorway, her hand over her mouth as she stared in shock at the scene before her.

Sango was excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time after her brief conversation with Kagura. The wind sorceress had called while she and Kagome were eating lunch. In fact, Kagome's cell rang at almost the same time, though it was InuYasha calling her. While Kagome was talking to her fiancé, Kagura explained to Sango that Jii-chan had called from the shrine to let them know that Kikyou had been there. He'd made certain to give her the date and time of the wedding under the guise of her helping another couple decide if they wanted a Shinto ceremony or not. Sango had thanked her and put her cell away. When Kagome completed her call, the miko said that InuYasha had just given her the same news. Miroku's phone in his office was apparently going straight to voice mail, so the two girls had offered to go and let him know what had happened. They each needed to go to their class first, but they decided to meet afterwards to go and see Miroku. They knew he planned to spend the rest of the day in his office grading exams, and they both considered it necessary to attend the review for their finals they would take on Friday.

Kagome's class had been released early, and she was waiting for Sango at the building where they often had lunch. Kagome was sipping on a soft drink and studying her textbook when her friend finally joined her at the table.

“Hey,” Kagome said as she looked up. “How'd it go?”

Sango shook her head. “Kaede-san wasn't kidding when she said these philosophy classes weren't anything like any other class I've had in the past. I'm glad I didn't skip the review. The test will be only two essay questions, but we can bring in an outline to help with our answers. What about you?”

Kagome had placed a bookmark in her book and closed it. “It's going to be similar to the one we had in Buddhism - part multiple choice and part essay. He didn't tell us what the essay would be on, but gave some pretty good hints. At least I have the rest of the week to study.” She stuffed her book into her backpack. “So, are we ready to go and see Miroku and tell him what's going on?”

“I hope he doesn't mind us interrupting him grading papers, but I really want to let him know what's happened,” Sango responded.

“I'm sure he won't mind. He wants this to be over with almost as much as we do,” Kagome commented as she stood and gathered her things.

Kagome had walked alongside Sango until they reached the door to Miroku's office. She stepped back while Sango reached up to knock on the door. Sango thought she heard him call her, and so she pushed the door open. Her hand flew to her mouth as she gaped wide-eyed at the scene before her. There was the love of her life in the chair behind his desk. One girl was leaning into him and pushing her boobs into his face, and the other was on her knees with her hand on his crotch. She made a cry like a strangled cat before she turned and fled.

“Sango!” Kagome called before she stepped into the open doorway to see what had sent Sango running. “Miroku! I can't believe you!” She couldn't help but to glare at him and his companions.

Miroku was stunned and just stared at Kagome while the girls on either side of him giggled. “Enough!” he roared as he stood and pushed them away. “I didn't… I wouldn't… If you two wanted a better grade, you should have studied or done one of the extra credit projects I assigned! Get out of my office!”

The girls pouted and began to slowly redress when they realized their attempted seduction had gone awry. Miroku grabbed them by each by the elbow and shoved them towards the door and then through it. “Kagome… I swear… I didn't… they just… I was so surprised…” his voice trailed away and he looked at the floor in shame.

Kagome's expression softened a bit as she looked him over. In his defence, he was fully clothed - not even his fly had been unzipped. “So what happened, exactly,” she asked quietly though he could hear the anger in her voice.

Miroku waved her inside, though they left the door open. He sighed heavily before he answered, “I was grading papers when those two showed up. They're both failing and said they'd do anything for extra credit. I told them they should have attended class last week for the review, but the next thing I knew they were half undressed and on top of me. I tried to get away from them without hurting either of the two, but as you can see, I managed to push myself back to the wall with nowhere else to go.” He waved his hand at the chair that was shoved against the wall behind his desk. “I was about to do something more drastic when Sango showed up at the door. Dear Buddha… she thinks… we have to find her… I don't want her to think…” He stood and started gathering papers and shoving them into his briefcase. “I have to find her. Do you know where she might have gone?”

“She was finished for the day, so most likely she headed home. Miroku, you know if you hurt her InuYasha is going to string you up by your toes,” Kagome told him.

“It wasn't supposed to happen - I didn't want that to happen. I have to find her and explain,” he answered while thinking it wasn't his toes that the hanyou would string up - it was more likely he'd cut off something he deemed important.

He picked up his briefcase and his staff from its place against the wall. “I'm going to her apartment. I'll call you if she's not there.”

Kagome nodded. “I'll check a couple of places on campus she might be, just in case. Afterwards, I'm supposed to go to the dojo. I have to help with the children this afternoon and then I have the ookami girls in the morning. Sango already knows my schedule, so I'll be there just in case she needs me and comes looking. I want to make sure I'm where she can find me.”

Miroku nodded in agreement. “Promise me you'll call if you find her first?”

“If you promise to do the same,” she responded.

They agreed as Miroku locked his office before they split and headed in opposite directions.

To be continued…

Taian: On the Rokuyo Calendar, 'The day of great peace', the most lucky day. Good day for weddings and events like shop openings.

5,000,000 Japanese Yen equals approximately 55,300 US Dollars

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InuYasha Fanfiction Guild News

Nominations for the InuYasha Fanfiction Guild have begun for the Fourth Quarter of 2008 (October - December). Thank you very much to landofthekwt and Caitriona for the nominations received so far:

Minoue for Best In Character (InuYasha) and Best AU/AR

Red is the Color… for Best Oneshot

Nominations will continue through Tuesday, January 13th, and membership will close on Wednesday, January 21st. If you are not a member of the IYFG and would like to participate in the process, you can join at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iyfanguild/ . For more information, please visit http://inuyashafanguild.com/ . Just be sure to read the rules before you jump into the fray.

Good luck to everyone this quarter!