InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seeking the Hime's Heart ❯ Window's to the Soul ( Chapter 4 )

Seeking the Hime's heart

By: EvilNekoEatsYourSoul

Author's note: Yay! Today's my birthday, I'm 18! So send me reviews. . . Yes, that was shameless. . . Well, here's the update. This chapter's kinda slow but just hang on because I'm trying not to rush the story so that the changes Kagome goes through seems more natural. Ja ne!

Last time: Life had been much more cruel then she had expected. She was fifteen years old, a mother and a widow. But she would carry on; it was all she could do. To follow the path life lay before her.

Chapter 4: Windows to the Soul

~*~

It was strange and a bit sad to see Hojou's cousin. They had the same caring brown eyes and boyish looks and so for a moment, Kagome thought she was reunited to the only person who had been her family. But after that one moment she began to notice the differences, his face was slimmer than Hojou's, his shoulder's broader and his hair longer.

His name was Nobunaga Takeda, the son of Hojou's aunt on his father's side. Upon handing him the letter from Hojou's former lord, he had smiled at her. But quickly, his features grew glum as he read through the note. When he was done he looked at her sheepishly. Kagome did nothing but cradle Rin in her arms and avert her eyes from his gaze.

There were children there and a woman who was a few years older then Kagome. She did not speak and so Kagome also remained silent. Obviously, he was married and had children to support so there was not much he would be able to do to help the widow of his cousin. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head in a manner that made him seem a lot like Hojou.

"Anou. . . I didn't even know my cousin had married. . . We weren't very close. . ."

Kagome nodded, having already figured that out. Hojou had never spoken of any family and so she concluded that he must not have had much contact with them.

"Gomen, but I'm not quite sure what to do with you. Perhaps you will accompany to my lord's home so that I might ask him for a suggestion?"

In truth, Kagome didn't have any choice in the matter and so she stood and set her child more firmly against her.

"I will take her for you," Takeda's wife offered, holding her arms out to receive the child. "It will be easier for you to walk without the weight. . . and you must be tired already as it is."

Reluctantly, she placed Rin into the older woman's arms.

"A-arigato. . . ummm. . . ." The woman smiled as Kagome stumbled over her words.

"Koharu, my name is Hokaru. It's nice to meet you."

"Arigato, Koharu-san. It was nice meeting you as well."

As she was lead away from the small house she would look back occasionally to the woman who stood in the doorway. In her arms Koharu held the only person that truly mattered to Kagome.

~*~

"Kouga-sama, please forgive me for interrupting but Nobunaga-san has requested an audience with you when your business with Tokuyama-sama is finished."

The two men in the room stood, the black-haired one nodded, dismissing the servant who had intruded upon their conversation.

"Well, are we through?" The other man said, his golden eyes harsh and piercing.

"Hai, hai I know you're eager to get back home."

"Feh! I'm eager to be anywhere that isn't this dump."

"Oi! Inu-koro, don't insult my household!"

"What are you gonna do about it, yaze ookami?"

There was much glaring and growling until a knock once again interrupted them. Through the shouji they could see the outline of two people, one taller than the other.

"What do you want?" Kouga said testily, still glaring at his silver-haired guest.

"Anou. . . Forgive me Kouga-sama, it's Nobunaga Takeda. I was told you would see me."

"Hai, come in."

The shouji door slid open and Takeda entered first, turning to beckon his companion in. A woman, or girl rather, from the looks of her she was still in her teens, followed him in. She was pretty in a simple, homely kind of way. Nothing extraordinary about her, she kept her head bowed in respect and said nothing. At least she did not seem exceptional in anyway until she looked up at the two men who had finally ended their glaring contest.

Her eyes were blue, something neither of them had seen in a ningen female before. But that is not what immediately caught their interest. It was the deepness of her gaze, a sadness that existed within her though she showed no outward signs of melancholy. It engulfed whomever she looked upon and drew them in and made them feel consumed by whatever gray past lay behind her, though they could never know by first glance what exactly it was she had gone through to make her eyes so sad.

The fact of the matter was, Kagome's eyes always held that look and at the moment she was not feeling grief. Curiosity at the two men watching her as she stood behind Takeda-san was what she was feeling. Unbeknownst to her, the sadness was there but it was something she had always lived with and was therefore unaware of it.

"Youkai?" she said, tilting her head to the side to look at the dark-haired man and the silver-haired one standing beside him. Immediately, she covered her mouth. It was improper for a woman of her station to speak so freely in the presence of a daimyo, much less two of them. For upon her first sight of them, she had taken in the fine quality of their clothing and known them to both be men of high rank.

"Gomen nasai!" she went to her knees and bowed before them, "I did not mean to be so rude."

Seeing that nothing of importance or interest was happening, the silver-haired hanyou walked past the girl whose head was still bowed.

"Feh, I'm leaving. See you in a few months Kouga."

"You'd better train, Inuyasha because I'm not giving you any chances next time we fight!" Kouga called out as he left.

Inuyasha ignored the comment, walking out of the room and not looking back though something in his mind, or perhaps his heart was nagging at him to. Later, years after that day had passed, he would regret not staying.

~*~

It was a strange position they were in. Kouga sat looking thoughtfully at the young woman and thinking of her predicament.

"Absolutely no male relatives other than your father who cannot be found?"

She nodded.

"You cannot take her in?"

The dark haired samurai nodded.

"What with my wife and the children. . . we just don't have enough room to let her stay. Gomen," he added, turning to look at the widow of his deceased cousin.

She just smiled a bit sadly and nodded. In truth, she had no desire to stay with him and his family anyways. They were too happy, and it made Kagome sad just to watch them; a simple loving family.

Kouga was silent, watching the girl from the corner of his eyes. She was pretty enough, but what really captivated him were her eyes. He had a big home, surely they could find a room for her somewhere and it had been a while. . . His mind was made up.

"I suppose I can find something for her to do here. Nobunaga-san you can go on home, I'd like to speak with her about what kind of position she could have here, I'll have someone escort her to pick up her things at your home."

The young samurai, who greatly resembled Hojou in both appearance and personality, thanked his lord profusely before turning to leave. When he had, the room was silent for a minute or so. Kagome was the first to speak.

"Arigato Kouga-sama, for giving me the chance to work in your household."

She bowed her head, and when her eyes again met his, she fidgeted nervously. There was something she did not like about his gaze. It made her worry, not that she thought he would harm her, but still. . .

"What exactly do you have in mind, Kouga-sama?"

He seemed to be shaken from his thoughts as she spoke. A wolfish grin formed on his lips and he waved a hand.

"Just call me Kouga, I don't like all this formality between us. It won't be necessary in your new position."

Kagome frowned in confusion; she was she that other people had called him `Kouga-sama' so why should she be privileged to call him in such a familiar manner?

"My new position?" she questioned.

Kouga nodded, his fangs protruding a bit with his wide grin. This wasn't looking good.

"You're going to be one of my women."

For a second, Kagome was sure her heart had stopped beating. Just to be sure, she put a hand to her chest to feel for the rhythmic beating. It was there so then her face turned red, whether it was from embarrassment or anger she was unsure. But she decided it was anger when she saw the smug look on his face.

Using his youkai speed, he was upon her in a second. His arms were around her waist, holding her firmly against his chest; his warm breath was against her ear.

"Well?" he questioned, obviously expecting some kind of answer from her.

There were a lot of thoughts going through Kagome's head. It was a good offer, as a concubine she would not have to do any manual work, her days would be free to spend with her daughter and most likely only her nights would be occupied. By the sounds of it he had other concubines so she doubted that she would be with him every night. Indeed, many women would have fought for such a position. His proposition was starting to look very good.

Who was she kidding? Such a position could never satisfy her, Hojou had taught her to want affection. For him, she had been the center of the world and even if she had not loved him she had cared for him, she had enjoyed his sweet ways. There was no way she would play second to any other woman. Perhaps if she truly had no one to live for she might consider such a thing. But there was Rin. At the thought of her daughter there was no question as to what her answer was. Rin deserved to have a good mother, not the whore of some rich lord.

"No." she said firmly, gently pushing him away. After all, he did offer her help, just not the kind that she wanted and it was never intelligent to be rude to a lord.

"No?" he dumbly echoed, his face no longer held that smug look and Kagome inwardly smiled. Kouga backed away from her, looking very confused. As the daimyo of a rather large amount of land, very few people had ever denied him things.

"Thank you for the offer, but if you will excuse me I must be going."

As she opened the door to leave, she bowed politely before hurrying away. It had been a few hours and although she had left Rin in the capable hands of Nobunaga Takeda's wife she was still eager to get back to her daughter. The house wasn't far away and it was already in sight by the time she heard a voice behind her.

"Why won't you accept my offer?"

She hadn't noticed that Kouga was following her. Sighing, Kagome stopped in her footsteps and turned to wait for him to reach her. They walked side-by-side in silence for a few more minutes.

"I'm a widow." She said finally, although he already knew because Nobunaga had explained the situation to him.

"I know, Takeda-san's cousin's widow. So?"

They were already at the front door, Koharu, Nobunaga's wife, was standing there holding Rin. The woman seemed a bit surprised to see Kagome walking up to the house with Kouga at her side. Kagome jogged the few yards that were separating her and her daughter, but Kouga continued walking behind her. Holding out her arms, she took Rin and held her daughter against her chest, resting her cheek upon the child's soft, thin hair.

Kouga was standing behind her and she turned to face him.

What he saw at that moment was completely different then the first time he looked into her eyes. This time her blue depths were not deep pools of sorrow, they were shining now as if her inner light was beaming through her eyes. If he had thought her eyes were stunning before, he forgot that memory as he felt himself becoming warm in that intensely loving stare in her eyes. Even if that love was for the child in her arms and not for him. It made him want to earn that kind of look from her, to bask in that glow of purity.

"This is Rin," she whispered, kissing the child on the forehead. "She's my daughter and that's why I cannot be one of `your women.' I would not disgrace her in anyway. . . She is all that I have left and I will do whatever it takes to keep her happy. Even if that means I have to work hard on some farm rather then live the comfortable life style you offer."

Once again, she had managed to leave him a bit speechless. For a second he stood there fidgeting nervously, like a child who has been caught doing something naughty. But then he nodded in understanding before turning away. He hadn't taken five steps before he stopped in his tracks and spoke again.

"We could use help in the kitchens, I believe. You would get a small room in my household, one of the servant's rooms. . . but that is what you would be, a servant. Not exactly a place for a samurai's widow, but if you are not willing to be one of my women then it's what I'm offering."

"Arigato, I can accept that offer, I am not above working for my keep."

"Then gather your things and I'll help you carry them back."

In truth, there were not many things she took with her. A few kimonos and the small useless trinkets Hojou had given her, in her hair she wore the jade comb he had gifted her with. It was silent as they walked back towards what was to become her home. In her arms she carried Rin and a sack that held her clothing. Kouga carried a box with all her other things. Most of the possessions she and Hojou had were left with her late husband's cousin and Kagome didn't really mind. Her mourning had ended and now she was about to start a new life.

Kouga was thoughtful and he continued to watch her from the corner of his eyes. All the while he thought himself foolish, never in his life had he been jealous of anyone. But suddenly, he found he envied the infant Kagome held tenderly to her chest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry for not having the personal responses but I wanted to post this chapter before my little birthday outing so I'll have them up next time. Ja ne!