Robotic Beauty

Disclaimer: Psh! Of COURSE I own Inuyasha! I own the WORLD too! Bwahahahaha!! I HAVE THE POWER!! ::stuffs more sugar down her throat::

Ch. 4

Getting Properly Acquainted

"Miroku! Get up!" A voice barked at the sleeping lad.

"Unnhh…" Miroku groaned. "Jus' give me… five more… min… ZzzZzzZzz…"

"Miroku!"

"Wha?" He replied sleepily. Suddenly, his face met with the cold, hard floor. He groaned again. Why me? "What time is it?" He managed instead.

"Seven o'clock in the morning." Mushin replied.

"Seven o'clock in the - are you bloody crazy?!" He blearily raised himself from the ground and yelled to his father's retreating form. He gave one last groan and settled against the floor, hugging his coarse, wool blanket for warmth. Hello, Floor, meet my life.

"Miroku! What in the seven hells are you doing?! Talking to the bleedin' floor?! Get UP already!" Mushin yelled from whatever room he graced his presence with.

WHY me?!

Unwilling to face another bout of his father's wrath, he pushed himself off the ground and left his room to find the man in question.

"Whaddaya want, father?" Miroku slurred, still half-asleep.

"Go and rouse Kagome. The family of the Groom has graciously invited us to the palace so that Kagome can be better acquainted with them and the family of the Bride as well." Mushin took a side-glance at his son. "Oh, and for God's sake, Miroku! Fix your hair!" He snapped.

"Looks like someone's in a bad mood," Miroku grumbled.

"What did you say?!"

"Um… Looks like I gotta go, dude!" Miroku supplied lamely.

He quickly made his getaway before his father thought of some other reason to yell at him. Upon entering Kagome's room, he found her already awake and staring at an imaginary spot on the opposite wall. "Hey, Kagome. You awake too? And I thought only freaks like my dad were awake at this hour. And on a Saturday to boot!"

Kagome turned to face him and gave a small smile. "I don't need much sleep is why. After all… it's not like I'm real or anything…"

Miroku mentally smacked himself on the head. Machines didn't need to sleep. But it was so hard to believe she was nothing more than a machine when she had made such a significant difference in his life.

"If you don't like being up so early, then why are you?" She asked.

"My father wanted us to go to the palace of the Groom to meet his family and blah blah blah… I wasn't really listening." Miroku grinned.

Kagome smiled back. She lifted her arms to loosen the synthetic muscles in her arms that had stiffened during the night. "What's the Groom's name again?"

Miroku closed one eye in thought, "Um… Inuyasha, I think."

Kagome stopped in mid-stretch, an unreadable expression on her face. Somehow, it never registered in her mind that Inuyasha asking when the wedding with Kikyou was meant that he was her fiancée. She felt another part of her artificial heart shatter.

"Hey, you alright?" Miroku asked, slight worry showing in his voice.

Kagome slipped on her mask, the one she used whenever she tried to hide something, "I'm fine, Miroku."

"If you say so…"

"I'm alright, really."

Mushin popped his head into the room. "Are you two ready yet? The Inu Kingdom is quite far from here. We should leave as soon as possible."

Kagome stood up, "Okay then, let's go."

^_~

Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently against the ground. Almost the entire palace had grouped together before the entrance to greet their young lord's future wife.

"When's the bitch going to get here?" He asked no one in particular. His father glared at him.

"Inuyasha!" Sango hissed. "Just wait can't you? Geez! You're such an impatient bastard!"

Inuyasha frowned. "You know I could have you fired for that."

Sango ignored him. She knew he wasn't serious. At least, that's what she hoped…

But before she could complete the thought, the large, sturdy doors of the palace gates creaked open. A small, yet royally garbed child stumbled slightly into the hall. He straightened himself and his clothing before puffing out his chest proudly.

"I present to you… Her Majesty, Queen Hatsuyo Higurashi and her beautiful daughter, The Lady Kikyou Higurashi!" The boy squeaked to the crowd.

The Prince huffed. The Lady was probably some overweight, ugly wench spoiled rotten by her parents. But what he was not expecting was a near double of the girl that he had fallen in love with at the party. His mouth fell open as she glided gracefully down the hall.

It's her…

Lord Inutaisho and his wife had been watching their son carefully as the Princess entered the castle. And they were quite pleased with what they saw.

"Can you say, 'love at first sight'?" The queen whispered to her husband with an almost sly smile on her face.

The Lord smiled. "I sure can. Looks like you were right, dear. This arranged marriage might work out after all."

After several seconds, Inuyasha shook his head.

You fool! He berated himself. The girl at the ball wasn't Kikyou, remember! You stupid, stupid fool! With a dejected 'humph' he pushed his way through the crowd and made his way back to his room.

Kikyou turned her head at the sign of movement. Someone was walking away from the crowd. She narrowed her eyes. Who could that have been? Who would dare be stupid enough to walk out on her, the beautiful Princess of the Higurashi kingdom? She could see his profile and her eyes raked down his form, admiring his sturdy build and his handsome face, his thick, black eyebrows lowered in annoyance. His long silvery hair swung lightly from side to side as he walked. All in all, the man was quite sexy.

She gave a small smile. This man would be her next challenge. She just had to have him.

But before the man could get away, the King stopped him. She watched in amusement. What kind of man was this that needed the King to stop him?

"Inuyasha!" She heard him say. "Don't you dare walk off this time. Go back and meet your fiancée!" King Inutaisho demanded.

Kikyou's thin eyebrows arched slightly at that. So this was the man that she had to marry? Now this, she didn't mind one bit.

The man grumbled and moved back into the crowd. Suddenly, both Queens were ushering all the people away. Her fiancée tried to move away with the crowd, but the King barked at him to stay. In no time at all, they were the only two people left in the large and now empty hall.

She walked up to him slowly. "What have we here?" She drawled out, elongating each syllable. She lifted a finger and slid it sensually down the side of his face. The man's eyebrows furrowed even more in anger. He knocked her hand away harshly.

"Don't touch me, you slut." He snarled.

Kikyou's mouth fell open. No one talked to her like that!

"Heh, nice fish impression, Princess," he sneered before sauntering slowly off.

Kikyou stood in shock before she began to fume. Why that… that… man! How dare he?! At that very moment, she vowed she would win him over, no matter what the cost. "Rin!" She screamed. "Get out here, NOW!"

The maid hurried out from the room next door. "Yes, Milady?" She replied.

"Fetch me some almond milk." Kikyou demanded snippily.

"B-but, Milady, almond milk can only be found in our kingdom!" She protested.

Kikyou smirked. "That's not my problem," before gliding off in the opposite direction her husband-to-be had left.

Once she was sure the Princess was out of earshot, Rin let out a long string of curses.

"Now, now, that's no way for a maiden to talk." A monotonous voice sounded from behind her.

Rin whipped her head around. Standing behind her was a tall man with long silver-blue hair. A crescent moon graced his forehead and twin stripes streaked each cheek. He wore fancy clothes of that of the royal family. He had an almost feminine air to him, but he was most definitely the most masculine man she had ever met. A furry something was draped over his left shoulder.

She dropped to her knees. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I did not know you were there." She trembled slightly. This man could get her fired!

The man gazed at the girl in front of him, as if judging whether or not to let her off. After several moments, he spoke. "Stand up."

Rin obeyed, but kept her eyes respectfully downcast.

"Look up," the man ordered.

She looked up and locked her eyes with his shimmering golden ones.

"What is your name?" He asked, with that same monotonous tone.

"Rin… Rin Hamasaki…" She replied.

The man gave a quick nod of acknowledgement before turning around and walking gracefully down the wall.

Rin hesitated, "W… wait!" She called out. "I don't even know your name!"

The man turned his head ever so slightly. "Sesshoumaru." He replied curtly, before he slowly vanished from sight.

"Sesshoumaru…" She murmured quietly.

^_~

Miroku knocked weakly on the doors of the palace, knowing it was no use. The wood was too thick and his knuckles were raw from knocking for the past half hour. Even his feet hurt from kicking.

Finally, the gatekeeper peeked his head over the parapet. "State your name and intent," He called out.

"Kazaana, Mushin. The royal family of Inu has invited me to introduce the robotic duplicate of the Lady Kikyou." Mushin called back.

The gatekeeper gave a nod of the head and he opened a small side gate to let them in.

Queen Myeko was on the other side, ready to greet them. Mushin and Miroku immediately dropped to their knees respectfully. Kagome, not knowing what to do, mimicked their position.

"Up, up, all of you," The Queen smiled warmly, "There is no need for that."

She stood closer to Kagome and examined her face. "My, my, she looks quite a bit like the Princess Kikyou. You did a wonderful job, Mushin-san."

Mushin opened his mouth to boast about his accomplishment, but Miroku interrupted him. "Actually, Your Majesty, Kagome looked exactly like that before she was turned into an Android. All my father did was take away her humanity."

Mushin gave his son a piercing glare.

The Queen put a hand to her heart, "Oh my, I hope the poor dear wasn't forced!"

This time, Mushin spoke up, "No, no, Your Majesty, Kagome here asked for me to turn her into an Android because of her numerous boy troubles," he chuckled here. Kagome's face remained blank. "I was in the process of doing so when Lord Inutaisho asked me to create a duplicate for his daughter."

"Well, then, that's alright." She smiled again. She motioned her hand to an elderly man behind her. He was extremely short and slightly plump. "Myouga here will direct you to your rooms."

The old man came up to the three. The servant seemed as if he couldn't walk. Instead, he hopped. "Now, hm… where were your rooms again? Ah yes, young sir, you and your father will be sleeping in the first rooms on the left of the first hall. And you, young miss, will be sleeping in the first room of the second hall." He smiled politely and hopped away.

Kagome picked up her bag of clothing, the only possessions she had brought, and left in the direction the old man had directed. She looked at the door. It was expertly furnished and carefully waxed. There were beautiful designs carved into the mahogany wood that, she noticed, other doors did not have. Surely, guest rooms weren't always this extravagant?

She shook her head and opened the door…

And found herself looking at a broad muscular chest.

She blushed darkly and looked up into the eyes of the man who owned the chest and gasped. She dropped her bag in shock.

"Inuyasha…" She whispered.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. The expression on his face mirrored hers. "I-It's… you…" He said hoarsely.

Then, Kagome did the only thing she could think of at the time.

She ran.

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Yes, yes, I know I'm evil! No need to comment! And I am SO so sorry about the extremely short chapter. I'll try to make them longer, but it depends on what's happening. Hope you all enjoyed it any way! Don't forget to review! I don't care if it's a 'good' or 'update' or '^_~' Just make sure you review!