InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Protector of Her Heart ❯ Princess Kagome ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Princess Kagome

 

Bright, morning light shone through the large windows and cascaded down to fall upon the sleeping woman. The rays shone off her raven black hair, woven into a long plait for sleeping, making small shades of deep blue appear amongst the black. Her face was peaceful, yet in her slumber, she held a small smile on her face, content, for the moment.

 

In sleep, with no formality, or expensive things around her, she never looked less like a princess.

 

With the light shining in her eyes, she stirred, opening deep chocolate brown eyes slightly dull from sleep, turning her head across the feather pillows to look upon the canopy above her. A small smile came upon her face as she remembered what she had dreamt about. All that time ago…when I was just a girl, and Mama kept leaving me…

 

She gave a small yawn, while stretching her arms over her head, the long sleeves of her elaborately embroidered white nightgown still touching the green comforter. Opening her eyes again, the woman smiled, before rolling over to stand up, the heavy fabric of her bed sheets rustling against the swish of her sleeping gown. She scanned the room for a moment, hardly taking notice of the beautiful portraits of her family, the marble fireplace, the couches and tables near the door, and all sorts of intricately carved, very expensive things.

 

Sometimes, she thought this room was too much for her, always having the hidden desire for simplicity. But the thought had always been brushed off with a quick rebuttal; she was Kagome Higurashi, princess and heir to the Human Lands, and it was only befitting.

 

Kagome sat down in the seat against the large window towards the city. She would have much rather opened the doors to the balcony and have looked outside, but it would be absolutely indecent to reveal herself to the world in her current state of undress. She leaned against the glass, her breath fogging the pane, as she glanced out towards the city, to see the prison nearby, along with the hundreds of wooden roofs of the lesser folk as far as she could see.

 

She began unraveling the plait in her hair as she remembered the dream she had that night. It had been of ten years ago, when she still lived at the castle of the west, her mother coming and going occasionally, leaving her and Souta behind. Prince Souta was now ten, and she was seventeen, feeling like her childhood had long passed her by.

 

Things had changed dramatically in those ten years since that day. When she was only eleven, her father, the king, had died unexpectedly in a demon attack upon the border. She could still feel the pain in her heart as it had been when she first heard the news. Her father had been the most respected man in her life, and it was known that he always preferred her company over her brother's. But then again, Souta had been only four when he had died, and Kagome doubted that he remembered their father; he had been so young.

 

After her father had died, the country had been thrown into chaos, humans killing demons and dwellers of the Midlands for no other reason but revenge. Her mother, the dowager queen had eventually put a stop to it, but not before humans had nearly started another war with the Demon Lands, and that was something no one wanted to see happen. Eventually, through her mother and the king of the Demon Lands, Sesshoumaru, peace had been achieved.

 

But after all was settled and the country had mourned, there had been another problem. It had been expected that her father would leave the crown to Prince Souta, while their mother acted in his stead until he came of age at sixteen. However, their father had written in his will the unexpected, he left the crown to Kagome instead.

 

Closing her eyes for a moment, Kagome could still remember the fights that had gone on amongst the King's Council, demanding that it be arranged otherwise. Many slanderous things had been said against her, though she had been but a child, in order to “set things right”. But none of it mattered. Bankotsu, the chief advisor, had found that the late king's will could not be reversed—the crown would have to be left to Kagome.

 

An arrangement of sorts had been made after that. Instead of crowning her queen right away, they decided that the dowager queen would continue to rule, since she had already proven she was capable for the job, while they would wait until Kagome turned eighteen to crown her the official queen. However, there was one string attached—she would have to have found a husband by then.

 

Kagome had learned from an early age what being a princess of the realm meant—it meant finding a husband and securing an alliance as quickly as possible. Her first betrothal had been made at the age of two, but it had been broken quickly afterwards. Other offers and proposals had been made, but after one disaster with a betrothal at the age of six to a man of forty years already, her father began to feel sorry for her, and decided to let her be a girl for a while, instead of having to be a woman when so young.

 

After the king had died, and she turned the marriageable age of twelve, offers came in quickly. Most were rejected before she knew about them, but some had turned into betrothals, which were broken sooner or later. Kagome had watched her friends she knew from girlhood, save Sango, who would not marry to take care of her paralyzed brother, get married to wealthy men, while she remained behind. Soon she found herself, princess of the Human Lands, seemingly unwanted by any man. When she was sixteen, the king's council was close to panicking, not knowing how to secure a husband for their future queen when the deadline for her future marriage was approaching fast.

 

But at last, it seemed that a solution had been found. Kagome smiled as she looked upon the sapphire engagement ring on her finger. It had been proposed that she be married to Lord Houjou, son of one of the highest dukes in the land. She couldn't believe it had turned out so lucky. She had been afraid she would have to marry some man she did not know, some man older than her and have to live with the consequence all her life. But she had known Houjou since she was young, and he was a good friend, and her age as well.

 

She knew she could not love him, life was not like in fairy tales, she realized a young age. No one was really in love in marriages, after all. She was a good friend with Houjou, and that was more than she had ever hoped for. Kagome knew that it would all work out well, and soon she would be married to him, queen of the Human Lands, just as her life had been planned since she was young.

 

It will all work out, she thought, watching the sparkles of light reflect across the sapphire ring. It will work out.

 

There was a small knock on her door. “My Lady? Are you awake yet?”

 

There was only one person in the world that addressed her by that title. “Yes, you may come in, Hannah.” Thinking of her maid, Kagome always found it odd that their names were so different in origin. While the nobility stuck to the old names used for thousands of years in this land, the lower classes had begun using names brought in lands far away, across the ocean to the east. It was just another way of telling the distinction between class in a country that paid an excruciating amount of attention to that particular detail.

 

Her maid came in, dressed in a simple cotton dress of white. Hannah was a country bred girl with wavy mouse brown hair, startling green eyes, and a light dusting of freckles across her face. She was the exact opposite of the elegant, stunning Kagome, a more playful look about her than the alabaster perfection that seemed to radiate around her mistress.

 

“My Lady, I don't think I've ever seen you up this early before,” Hannah smirked, before brushing up the comforter on Kagome's bed.

 

Kagome sat at the marble vanity, replying, “I had an interesting dream last night, and when I awoke, I saw no reason to sleep when I could sit and think about it.”

 

Hannah finished fussing with the sheets, deciding simple chambermaids could handle it, and instead picked up the ivory handled brush at the vanity and began brushing out Kagome's long, and slightly fluffy, black hair. “You know, My Lady, they sometimes say that dreams are sometimes give you a glimpse of your destiny. Maybe today something will happen that will change your life forever.”

 

Laughing, the princess responded, “If that is true, than my future is my past; the dream was a memory that I lived, long ago.”

 

“A memory? You have me intrigued now, My Lady. What memory was it?”

 

Sighing, Kagome began rotating the large ring around her finger, not knowing she was doing it. “It was a childhood memory of when I was very young, and my mother was leaving me once more…I think there was something about a story of a princess and a knight, but I can't remember that much of it.”

 

“Maybe that means you will have a sweet, dashingly handsome, kind, and always chivalrous knight walking into your future someday,” Hannah smirked. “Who knows? You may find yourself trapped in some desperate, aching love affair!”

 

“Don't be silly, Hannah!” chastised Kagome, though she said it with a lighthearted air. She held the sapphire ring up once more. “I am to be married within a few months, to a respectable husband, and then to reign as queen of the Human Lands, as my father wanted. If I met any such knight, then I would thank him for his service and walk on; I do not want anything to disrupt the future happiness of my marriage.”

 

Though Kagome tried to sound happy about this, Hannah, who had served her since they had both been naught but girls, knew the truth. Kagome, though she knew the importance of marriage in her position, had always held a belief in true love, and had hoped to find hers one day. But after betrothal after betrothal had been broken, and then with the pressure of having to marry soon being weighted down on her shoulders, she had given up that dream, knowing it would be impossible. For now, Kagome only wished to marry well, and live up to the demands placed upon her, feeling she could be content with that.

 

“You never know, My Lady,” Hannah suggested, leaving it at that with a smile.

 

Kagome gave a small smile in return, but turned back to glance at the cold, heavy, oversized ring upon her finger, and began fidgeting with it again, watching the sapphire jewel capture the light.

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

 

Her elegant green and white gown of damask swished around her as Kagome descended the grand staircase to the great hall of the palace. Her long sleeves swept down to her waist, while white lace and satin accented the green body of the gown. Kagome's hair was left hanging down, the trademark symbol of virginity, while a pear strand rested around her forehead. Dewdrop pearls hung from her ears, and small round ones were around her neck. A valuable commodity indeed to be flaunted in such a way.

 

She looked every inch a noble princess, her expensive gown and even more expensive pearls not her only trait in showing her rank. Ever since Kagome was young, she had been taught how to act in a polished society; walking, sitting, dancing, and even talking were among many of the skills a princess needed to show her status as such. As Kagome descended, her hand resting upon the mahogany banister, her long sleeve being pulled slightly to expose her wrist, she made sure to discreetly adjust her sleeve to hide any bit of skin that would be scandalous if shown. Her head was held up high, her face set in the mask she had learned to wear over the years.

 

Men and women turned to see her as she walked to the last level, men bowing and women curtsying, muttering, “Your Highness,” as they did when they first saw her in the morning. She bowed her head back, to show she acknowledged them, before looking around to see if any of her friends were in the hallway.

 

She did not spot anyone she would have liked to talk to, so Kagome walked amongst the nobles for a moment, lost in the sea of colorful fabrics and many perfumes before finding the way out towards the grounds. Passing a large door, where two guards also bowed to her, and she found herself on the palace lawn. The grounds were always her favorite place in the palace—with so many people living in one place, it felt crowded, smelly, and quite frankly, shallow.

 

The talk of nobles was always some gossip or another, scandalous words aiming to hurt another family in order to rise in the world. Kagome could never quite understand it; she was never able to talk badly about another person in her life. For this trait, many called her a “sweet tempered princess”. Those were mostly women. She knew for a fact that many of the men at court called her a “naive and simple minded woman”. Some even believed she was pretending for attention.

 

Walking on the grass, squinting slightly against the morning sun, Kagome smirked. The court was indeed fickle. They would bow and smile to her because she was their princess, and would someday be their queen, but behind her back they would say disreputable things about her. It didn't bother her as it had in the beginning; she was used to it. And being a princess, most of the courtiers to shut their mouths lest they be arrested for treason and malicious slander against the royal family.

 

Her gown was swept about her indecently in the wind, the breeze playing with her hair and long sleeves, flapping them both out behind her. Kagome didn't mind when outside; no one was there to see her. The castle lay on top of a hill, the sprawling city far below, stretching for miles. And just beyond the city which surrounded the castle, she could see the green and yellow of fields far behind. She had traveled the country many times, and knew her homeland well.

 

“Just think…in less than a year, I will be queen of all of this,” she muttered to herself, turning away to walk towards the gardens. While most appreciated their flawless beauty, various trees and flowers arranged in a perfectly symmetrical pattern, Kagome always thought that the gardens, while pretty, were a farce on nature. Nature was never exactly perfect, scattered in a random order that had its own beauty, in a different way. The gardens had been rearranged in her lifetime to give the appearance of a “magic” forest, with some long sweeping willows, marble statues and benches arranged along a path. But it was all too flawless, too sugary-sweet to ever be passed off as an enchanted wood, in her mind.

 

As Kagome walked along the cobbled path, amongst the trees, she passed many courtiers she was slightly familiar with. Some bowed and curtsied, or others gave a nod of their head, as expected. Technically, everyone in the human lands was supposed to bow down to her, their future queen, except for her family and friends, and the few who did not; glaring behind false smiles because they felt in the back of their minds that a naive girl should not be running a country.

 

She heard her title being called, “Your Highness!” Kagome turned, and saw a familiar, light brown haired man bowing to her. She couldn't help but smile as she walked toward him and he rose up.

 

“Lord Houjou,” she spoke to her betrothed. “Isn't this a pleasant surprise!”

 

“Yes, indeed it is,” Houjou gave her a half smile. “I was just looking for you, Princess Kagome.”

 

She gave a small, teasing grin while walking towards him, “Houjou, I've told you before, if we are to be married, then you must call me by my first name. What sort of impression do you think we'll make if you keep calling me that after we are married?”

 

His dark eyes looked away, as he crossed his hands behind his back. “But we are not, Your Highness, and I thought…” He trailed off, making Kagome shake her head with a small sigh.

 

He never will learn, will he? “Well, shall we take a walk in the gardens?” she asked, holding her arm out to him, and he took it, escorting her along. They didn't talk for what seemed to the longest time, and it didn't take Kagome long to realize that there was something on her betrothed's mind. “Is there something wrong?” she asked, wondering what could have made the cheerful, albeit naive boy quiet and distracted.

 

Houjou sighed and looked away, “Maybe it would be best if you sat down.” He indicated to one of the marble benches next to the path. Wondering what this was about, Kagome sat down carefully, sweeping her skirts slightly out of practiced habit before she sat.

 

“Houjou…what is it?” she urged as he sat next to her, giving a subtle look at her engagement ring. That slight glance set her on alert. “Have I done something wrong?”

 

He shook his head, the short bangs falling over his eyes. “No, Your Highness…it is not something about you…this is about me.”

 

“What do you mean?”

Lord Houjou took once last glance at the engagement ring that he had given her, months ago when their betrothal was sealed, and then turned away, looking much worse. “I'm sorry…but I'll have to break off our betrothal.”

 

Those words hit Kagome like knives, stabbing her directly in the chest. “Wh-what?” she gasped. “No, you…you can't! Houjou, we've already been betrothed for months…the wedding date is set, you can't just…”

 

“I'm sorry,” Houjou repeated, feeling his heart break. “It's not my decision…it's my family's…” He kept his eyes on the ground, not wanting to look at the woman beside him. “I know you heard of that demon attack on Lord Onigumo that occurred two weeks ago, and it seemed that demons are set to attack the nobility, trying to take over our land...I only received word yesterday that our estate and fief was attacked, and many of our crops have been burned.”

 

“Lord Houjou, I'm sorry for you and your family's loss…But I don't understand how this will affect our betrothal,” she pleaded with him, begging him to stay with her.

 

Sighing, he replied, “My family has ordered me to break it off and return home, to where I am needed. They feel it will not be in their best interests to have me marry you, and you know I cannot go against them.” Houjou was always loyal to his family…after all, it had been his uncle pressing for their marriage when they had first become engaged.

 

Kagome felt like she was on the verge of tears. She had tried so hard…had waited so long, and now, a man she thought would finally become her husband and end her spinsterhood, was now saying he would leave her. “No, Lord Houjou, please…”

 

Houjou looked back at her, with the same sadness in his eyes. “Your Highness…you were a good friend in those years we knew each other…and you know I never wanted this…I…I've always…” He couldn't say the words out loud, but he reached his hand for her, stopping half way to comforting her, before turning away and standing up.

 

“Goodbye, Your Highness,” he said somberly, before walking away slowly, leaving her sitting on the bench, in tears.

 

Seeing the ring still on her finger, a flaunting reminder of what had just occurred, Kagome pulled it off and threw it across the courtyard, giving a small growl of frustration as a tear rolled down her cheek. That morning, she had woken up with the absolute certainty she would be married within months. And now, hardly past breakfast, she was once again a single woman.

 

She hugged herself, knowing the whispers would start up again, hearing herself being called a “spinster princess” and others gossiping in the shadows how she would grow up an old virgin maid. Before she had been betrothed to Houjou, Kagome had been the oldest single woman in the palace, and once again, she would hold that record.

 

Her face fell into her hands as another tear was shed, propriety the only thing keeping her from bursting into tears at the thought of living that life once again.

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

 

“And so another betrothal for Kagome has been broken,” the dowager queen sighed, taking her seat amongst the late king's advisors. Her gowns were plainer than her daughter's, and she now wore less of the jewels she wore long ago. Even though she was the current ruler of the country, as dowager queen, it was ritualistic that her finery be less than that of the heir.

 

“Good Lord, can that girl not keep a betrothed long enough for them to be wed?” Renkotsu, the chief advisor of the treasury, laughed. He was bald, and unusual sight amongst his fellows, and when he moved, a shiny spot upon his barren crown moving as well drew much attention. “What is it, now, seven betrothals broken from birth? You'd think men would be lining up to marry her! Does she scare them away or is there another pretty woman out there capturing their fancy?”

 

“Renkotsu,” Bankotsu, a man laden in fine clothes, with a long dark braid running down his back, glared at him before turning back to the queen. “It seems that the Houjou family has recently been struck by another demon attack. And it would seem that they're worried this may be connected to the marriage to Kagome.”

 

The queen sighed, “With the strange death of Lord Onigumo, I can see why. But this is a most inconvenient time to break the betrothal with only months left until her eighteenth birthday. We shall have to find another man suitable for a husband, and quickly.”

 

“I agree with your decision, Your Grace, but there is one other thing to consider,” Bankotsu began. “With the strange death of Lord Onigumo, there is no guarantee that whoever did this won't come after the royal family as well. And if they did, I should think that their focus would be mainly on the heir—Princess Kagome.”

 

“And what do you propose we do, Lord Bankotsu?”

 

Smirking confidently, the chief advisor on the King's Council explained, “The princess will need protection, and I am afraid that our guardsmen may not be enough. She should have a knight protector commissioned, to serve her until her marriage, in which she will be safely on the throne, and no longer an heir, with a husband as king. She would no longer be a target once she is safely wedded and bedded, and thus, the knight would be dismissed. It would be a solution to keep her safe while all energy is focused on finding her a husband as quickly as possible.”

 

The queen's head perked up with interest. “You have a good idea, Lord Bankotsu, but we have hundreds of knights within crown service; which one of these shall we choose?”

 

The advisor's smile widened at his own cleverness. “Why the fastest, the strongest, and the one most capable in destroying any danger, of course!”

 

“And where or how shall we find such a knight among our ranks?”

 

Holding his arms wide at the grandeur of his idea, Bankotsu explained, “We shall have a tournament of knights, Your Grace. That way, we shall know that the victor is indeed the strongest, fastest and the most capable in all the land for this post.”

 

The queen thought about it for a moment, before nodding. “I suppose you are right, that would be the best course of action in determining who shall take this position.”

 

“It is settled, then,” Bankotsu proclaimed. “We shall call together all the knights in the realm to this palace two weeks from today, and hold the greatest tournament of knights the land has ever beheld.”

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

 

“So, mutt, what do you think?” Kouga asked, smiling with glee. They sat in the room that they (unwillingly) shared in the depths of the castle of the west. “Shall we head out? If we start tonight, we are sure to make it there in time.”

 

Inuyasha lay on top of his rather lumpy bed, staring up at the cracks in the stone ceiling. After duty hours, he wasn't in much mood to talk with Kouga…or in much of a mood to listen, as it seemed. “What are you talking about again, wolf?”

 

The wolf prince gave a sigh of exasperation. “The tournament, remember? A messenger came this morning and announced we have one week to make it to the tournament at the palace of the east! Apparently, the victor of this tournament is presented and put into the personal service as a knight protector to Princess Kagome herself!”

 

“Keh, you seem rather excited about this,” Inuyasha rolled her eyes.

 

Getting up from his own bed, he marched over next to the hanyou glaring at him. “The Princess Kagome is now seventeen, and a beauty beyond compare. Even more so, her betrothal to the son of Duke Houjou was only just broken...Think about it, a beautiful woman adored by all men, who now has no obligations; who wouldn't want this chance? The chance to be close to, perhaps even minutely intimate with, a princess!”

 

Inuyasha rolled over, folding his arms in his trademark annoyed gesture. “You know they say she can't keep a betrothal even with all her wealth and power…There must be something wrong with her.”

 

This time, Kouga folded his arms as well, turning away from him as she shot back, “Perhaps those ungrateful rouges didn't recognize what a woman she was.”

 

“Keh!” the hanyou shot up from the bed, glaring at his rival with fierce amber eyes. “That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard! `Perhaps they didn't recognize what a woman she was!' You're more of an idiot than I thought you were! Listen, wolf, who would give up the chance to marry a princess? The only reason they would break it off is if they realized they couldn't stand to live with such a woman, even if marrying her would make them a king.”

 

Kouga began growling, in which Inuyasha supposed was in defense of “The Princess Kagome”. “I know what you're trying to do, wolf, but let's get one thing straight—You can't convince me to go to some damn tournament, you got that? Even if demons were allowed, we'd never get a leave for that thing, and I sure as Hell don't want to be thrown in the dungeon for a couple of days for insubordination. Besides, I wouldn't want to enter and risk the chance of being servant to that wench any day.”

 

“To speak of her in that way is treason, Dog Crap,” Kouga growled dangerously.

 

As he was leaving the room, the hanyou shrugged, “So go report me for all I care, it'd keep me from having to come with you to this stupid thing.” With that, he stormed out of the room, heading for the outdoors once more.

 

The palace was frightfully dark in some places at night; the torches having gone out and the narrow slits in the walls giving only a little moonlight. But due to his hanyou blood, he was able to see where he was going, and soon found the small wooden door that led out onto the grounds.

 

The night air was calming, with the breeze ruffling his long silver hair as Inuyasha stepped out. Crickets chirped, while he closed his eyes and sniffed the scents on the incoming breeze, recognizing one peaceful scent. Home…he thought absentmindedly, before his sensitive nose caught something else as well.

 

Amber eyes snapped open as he whirled around heading towards an old tree, unsheathing a rusty old sword from the scabbard at his waist, and pointing it up at the tree in front of him. “Who are you?” he growled.

 

There was a laugh heard, and by the sound of the voice, Inuyasha could tell it was female. He saw a figure step into the light, one he had never seen before. This woman wore a long dark magenta gown, an older style which flowed straight to the ground rather than having many petticoats propping it up. It was accented with white in places, making her look like some kind of sorceress from long ago. In her hands was a plain, silk fan, much like the ones women used here. Her face was the most prominent of features; dark red eyes with a slightly made up face, a smirk upon the lips. Her hair had unusual feathers placed against the bun and underneath, her ears were slightly pointed, the signature mark of a demon.

 

While he stared at the strange woman, she gave a chuckle. “Were you planning to slice me with that rusty blade, knight?” Inuyasha didn't understand for a moment, until he looked down at the old sword in his hands, and cursed slightly before sheathing it once again. He hadn't meant to reveal it, but it had been an act out of habit…

 

“Who are you?” he repeated, firmer this time. Only three weeks after Lord Onigumo was killed, and already demons were showing up on the scene.

 

“If you want a name, I will give it to you, Sir Knight; you may call me Kagura.” The name meant nothing to him, and Inuyasha wondered how she knew he was a knight, until he remembered he was still wearing the tunic with the royal crest stitched on.

 

“Okay, `Kagura' what are you doing here?” he asked, cracking his knuckles in a warning. Though he may be a hanyou, he was fairly strong, and if he had to prove it here and now, so be it.

 

The demon Kagura stepped off the tree lightly, and floated down beside him, cocky smirk still on her face. Inuyasha didn't like that smirk; she knew exactly why she was here and what she wanted. “Do you know about the Shikon no Tama, knight?”

 

He had never heard of such a thing. “What?”

 

“The Shikon no Tama,” she explained. “It is a treasure guarded by the royal family, passed down from blood descendants of the king who long ago, received it as a way of peace from the king of the Demon Lands. It may be just a tiny jewel, but it holds greater power ever known…the power to destroy famine, to slaughter armies in its wake…and even the power to change things we could have never imagined.”

 

Kagura fought the power to grin once more; the hanyou was already lowering his fingers, totally caught up in her speech. So predictable… “Of course, it is only safe for a man to use the Shikon no Tama without the risk of failure. But only a pure blooded, first born descendant may use it. If the aforementioned is female, than she must be of the age eighteen, and married by the time she ascends to the throne, and becomes queen.”

 

Inuyasha was totally enwrapped in her speech. “The Princess…”

 

The demon nodded, “They believe that for a female, any age younger is too young to use `pure' wishes to change the kingdom…” Kagura paused for a moment, before adding, “Though it is the tradition to use pure wishes, the Shikon no Tama can do anything. The holder of the jewel must decide what they want, and it is granted to them automatically. An unending source of ultimate power.”

 

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, thinking this over, before Kagura smiled again, “I know what you're thinking, hanyou. You're wondering if you could use this jewel to turn you into a full demon, aren't you? After all, having gone through what you have, and being trapped here, in the service of humans, what a disgrace! You already match the wolf, a full demon, in power, so think of what you could be if you used the jewel…Free! Free of all that pain, all that anger…Free of all that binds you, with no man as your master.”

 

He didn't respond right away to what she told him, but he asked her point blank,
“And what do you want from me?”

 

Kagura gave another chuckle, “You're sharp, aren't you? All I want is the Shikon no Tama, from you. I'll compensate you of course,” she drew a small bag from her waist and tossed it at him. It was very heavy, filled with many gold coins. “And consider this, you may wish yourself a full demon and then give it to me. It doesn't matter how long it takes you.”

 

Inuyasha glanced at the bag full of gold in his hands, and then back at Kagura. She continued to smile eerily at him as he thought over this. Finally, he muttered, “Keh, fine,” and walked off, back towards the palace, pocketing the gold as he did. Idiot woman, does she think I'll actually steal this for her? If I entered that tournament and won, then I could find some way to steal it from that girl…and all they'd ever find of me was this empty bag! I could be a full demon, and finally—He stopped to sniff the peaceful scent on the breeze, but just muttered, “Keh,” and headed back inside.

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

 

Kagura, who had watched him go, floated up on a giant feather she had conjured to view him as he went back into the palace, out of her sight. Once he was gone, she floated away, into the night, until she reached the cliff overlooking the castle. A man in dark, black robes was already there, waiting for her.

 

She leapt off her feather, landing and catching a smaller form of it in midair, placing it back in her bun. “I gave him the money, and told him of the job asked, but I think you are fool. I doubt he'll just hand it over to us. Your plan is built on wishful thinking and idiocy.”

 

The man behind the robes gave a chilling laugh. “Think all you want Kagura, but it is not so. After all,” he glanced back at the castle in the distance, “It does not matter if Inuyasha keeps it for himself, just as long as he decides to take it.”

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

 

Making sure the demon woman's “compensation” was well hidden when he walked back into the room, Inuyasha found Kouga lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Swallowing his pride, the hanyou said, “All right, wolf, I suppose we can go to this damn tournament, if you still think you could win.”

 

Kouga raised himself slightly off his bed, his eyebrows rising. “And what could have warranted your sudden change in thought, mutt?”

 

“None of your business,” Inuyasha growled, sitting back on his own bed, discreetly shoving the bag of gold underneath. When Kouga realized Inuyasha was not going to tell him, he rolled back over and grinned, imagining what it would be like to be declared the victor and led up to Princess Kagome to take the oath of fealty.

 

“I will win that tournament,” Kouga declared, making Inuyasha give a snort of disbelief.

 

Keh, cocky wolf. I won't let him…this is between me and my goal now…Nothing matters anymore, not this servitude, not Kikyou, not even Sesshoumaru…only that I win that tournament and become a full demon!