InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Through The Eyes Of An Innocent ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Through The Eyes Of An Innocent: Chapter Four

"So why are we doing this again?" A disgruntled young man asked his female companion. They were both walking down a narrow path, packs slung over their shoulder, adorned in black cloaks, and one horse - which was being guided by the female. They had been traveling relatively long, through the green pastures, to the dry sand domes, and now - now they were both walking through a dreary forest, which was thick with vegetation dead and alive, where barely any sunbeams were visible.

Thick gnarled tree roots protruded from the path, forcing them to break their stride every once in a while, just so they could maneuver around them, which proved to be difficult with the stubborn horse that they had in tow, but they had managed nonetheless. They were completely stuck in the gloom of the forest, allowing the occasional sunbeam to direct them, and for a while it seemed as if there would be no single way out of the forest.

"We are doing this for your brother." She stated plainly, tugging on the horses reins rather roughly. She had been rather irritated for the passed few days, having to deal with the arrogant young man besides her, but she knew that she would have to make due. After all the only reason why she had decided to accompany him on this journey in the first place because she was like his younger sister - well that and he had begged her to.

The sight of him throwing that tiny tangent had been enough to bring her into hysterics, and she just had to say yes, otherwise there would be no absolute way to repay him for looking so - childish. It was simply priceless. Although after traveling with him for a fortnight, she had immediately regretted ever deciding to accompany him. For one, he did nothing but complain. Of course she was used to it, but after a while it was simply aggravating. It was almost as if complaining were a second nature to her male friend, and quite frankly, she would rather deal with his "arrogant I-don't-care-about-anyone" façade than deal with this.

But life just did not seem to want to go her way. And that was something she would simply have to deal with. A terse moment of silence passed between the two, as they stepped around another tree root, the male straightening his cloak, while the female petted the horse absently, before he responded.

"But he's a bastard. Why exactly did I agree to help him?" He asked once again, running a clawed hand through his silver locks. The brunette looked at him, her burgundy eyes showing with absolute annoyance. She was really getting tired of this conversation.

"Djinn. Nuptials. Djinn. New Emperor. Djinn. His Wife. And oh yes Djinn. You just happened to be the best person to go sneaking around and do his dirty work." She said, tilting her head to the side to study his features. He merely let out a snort of indifference before sidestepping some brush and walking under a thin beam of sunlight.

"Oh don't I just feel so honored?" He retorted sarcastically. He could literally feel her roll her eyes. He could not help but smirk inwardly.

"Well I'm glad. Now do you think its all possible if you could just stay silent?" She asked, her palm sweaty from grasping the reins so tightly. He merely responded by letting out a snort of indifference before continuing to walk in a companionable silence. Twigs and leaves snapped under their feet, as their cloaks billowed elegantly behind them, giving off little currents of winds, effectively cooling the chest of the horse.

It didn't help that the two of them had been walking nearly all day - without rest and food - but they had a deadline and they simply could not afford to lose any time. The marriage ceremony between the future Emperor and his newly found wife was only a single night away, and they had to at least be there for the presentation ceremony.

The woman-child sighed switching rein hands once again, wiping her sweaty palm off on the cool fabric of her robe. The silence that reached her ears was calming, soothing and extremely comforting, its only downfall was that it was transpiring within an extremely gloomy forest. What she'd give to be in a nice never-ending green field.

"Oi, Sango." The male asked suddenly, turning his amber eyes to her burgundy ones, questions racing through them almost at once. The said girl looked at him, noticing that same simple look in his eyes, knowing that without a doubt he was going to be asking the same exact question that he had asked her so many times before. So out of newfound habit, she yanked on the horses reins and urged it to go faster.

But once again, it remained stubborn. She sometimes wondered if the horse and her friend made some sort of telepathic connection or something while she had been unaware of it, because she could not help but notice that every time he asked her a question - and every time she tried to avoid it - that damned horse of hers always faltered in it's walking. So instead of trying to fight it, she just gave and decided to endure it.

Taking her slumped shoulders as a sign of her submission, he smirked smugly before patting the horse on it's back.

"How long do you think it would be before we get to the Northern Lands?" He asked yanking on the horses reins to get it to start walking. The horse did so obediently. Sango let out a small grunt of aggravation, before walking ahead of her companions. She took a look at her surroundings, taking in the deadened brush, the rotting trees, and then the very little sunlight that made it into the thick part of the forest they were located in.

"I would say about maybe - tomorrow. We should be there by tomorrow." Sango said as her companion swore colorfully. She looked back at him, and eyebrow arched in amusement before pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"What's wrong with-" suddenly Sango stopped talking as the sound of people talking reached their ears. She looked back at her companion, a worried expression on her face before they came to a complete halt. They stood in silence for a brief moment before she looked back at him; terror threatening to seep it's way into her body.

"Inuyasha?" She asked quietly as he reached around the horse and pulled off an extremely large weapon wrapped in black silk. He handed it to her effortlessly, ignoring her silent protests, before fingering the hilt of a katana that was resting needlessly by his side. He glanced at her momentarily, nodding his head for her to continue. She smiled almost gratefully before glancing ahead of her as the voices drew nearer.

"Do you think that they are-"

"I have no idea." He stated, waiting a little longer for them to reach them. He inwardly hoped that there wouldn't be any trouble. They honestly could not afford to run into any trouble; after all they had to make it to the Northern Lands by a certain time. As the voices drew nearer, Sango and Inuyasha could barely make out the outlines of their figures. The approaching men seemed oblivious to the two travelers, walking and talking as if nothing else in the world matter. A large wagon trailed behind them, filled with weapons clothes and probably stolen goods. The men pulling the small wagon around were adorned in what appeared to be chain mail and thick wooly pants.

There were weapons by their sides, swords, and axes, their covers dull and worn, probably from extensive travel. Inuyasha swore colorfully, and a little too loud at that. The men stopped, looking at the two people in front of them, both holding weapons, a horse in tow. They took in their extremely beautiful cloaks, the baggage that they carried, and the extremely regal horse that followed. Their gazes lingered on Sango for a bit too long (and she could most likely guess what was running through their heads) before exchanging knowing glances with each other.

A bald man, with an extremely thick mustache, and a bulky figure stepped forward, leering at Sango.

"Give us all your goods, including the girl and we'll consider letting you live." He said with a broken accent. Inuyasha let out a long sigh of frustration, while Sango merely muttered to herself.

"Just what we need - bandits."

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Kagome sat at her desk, her quill tapping noiselessly against her parchment, and a long lock of ebony hair twirling needlessly around her finger. She stared at the wall in front of her stonily, her blue eyes glossy as thoughts among thoughts ran through her mind. The main thing that she was thinking about however was the fact that her wedding was tomorrow. She allowed herself to sigh nervously as she thought about it.

She was to be married to Prince Naraku Yokoshima (she was now able to simply call him Naraku - although due to the recent developments in their "relationship" she was very much afraid to). He was the dark haired, dark eyed man that women lusted after, dreamed of marrying, and would kill someone just to get their hands on him. Kagome, however, was not one of them. Only a couple days back, they had gotten into a disagreement (as Kagome referred to call it), and she had been hit rather brutally at that.

Kagome could not just bring herself to believe that he had done it out of the cruelty of his heart, for she knew that he never used to be that way. He used to be so kind and comforting, and now - now if he were cruel then - she was going to be doing it for her father. He had hit her, and it stung her body and her pride, but she did not let it get the best of her. Whenever they were in each other's presence, she would make sure that she would not speak (for she would not want to be slapped again). She would speak if she were spoken to, however, she would do her best to make sure that it was at least 5 words or less.

She also had to make sure to keep her anger in check. There were so many times when she had felt ready to explode - to just give him a piece of her mind, but she made absolute certain that she kept her mouth shut. Sometimes she had to resort to biting her tongue until she drew blood, but as long as she kept quiet, the pain was definitely worth it.

Because of this newfound respect for the Prince that she had acquired, people started to believe that she was actually worthy of becoming his bride. She would get complimented in the corridors, spoken too more than once at drinking ceremonies, and people would even come to her while she was spending her afternoons in the gardens just to speak with her. Many women would still give her the dirtiest looks that they could muster due to the fact that she was still to marry Prince Yokoshima, but they had started to believe that she was also the perfect match for him.

For some strangely odd reason she even started paying attention during her lessons with her consultants. Of course she still had her lessons with Governess Toshikasa, but those had begun to get bleaker and bleaker every day. Because of the fact that she had been preparing for the wedding and due to tradition the entire last week of her life consisted of nothing but fasting. She still had to drink water - but not having proper nourishment made her more lazy and lethargic when it came to her assignments.

She continued to daydream (and through the course of these times her daydreams became more and more ludicrous) and once again she continued to get reprimanded. She had a perfectly good excuse (after all she was getting married) and that had allowed her to get off more than once. However Kagome knew that if she did not at least get started on her Literature assignment that she was supposed to working on in that very instant she would be slapped on the wrist as a mild form of punishment.

Her eyes came back into focus for a moment as that single thought crossed her mind and she looked around the room, only to find that Governess Kaede had resorted to reading over her last Literature piece. Kagome had come to the conclusion a fortnight ago that writing Literature papers were hard and very inappropriate (after all who needs Literature when they are to become a Empress?). She could tell that whenever she hit a rough spot she would wrinkle her nose in disinterest, and then allow a large extremely obvious frown to appear on her face. Afterwards, Governess Kaede would dip her quill into some ink, write a suggestion or a correction on the parchment and then continue to read it.

Kagome had secretly hoped that she would go easier on her papers, since she was of course going to be crowned Empress tomorrow, but that dream had been cut short when she had received a sums paper back. She had one of the lowest scores that she had ever thought she could possibly receive and it was only then that she realized that she was supposed to be doing better than she used to.

Due to the fact that she was going to be Empress in a day Kaede had actually started to expect better things from her. But Kagome could only reason that just because she was supposed to be Empress did not mean that she would suddenly grow smarter overnight. Kagome still marveled at what was actually expected of her from Governess Kaede, but it still didn't matter after all as soon as she was married, she didn't exactly have to continue to go to these lessons.

Kagome let out a long exasperated sigh and looked down at her parchment. Even though she was supposed to be future empress, that still did not get her out of not doing her Literature. So it was with little precision that she started to actually write on the parchment. However, all that she had actually managed to write down was one little line when the door suddenly burst open.

Kagome glanced at the door, looking a befuddled servant, before turning back towards her parchment. She at least had to do one last assignment before she was crowned Empress so she decided that she at least make the best of it. Kagome sighed as she heard her Governess stand up and walk over to the servant.

She slowly dipped her quill into her ink and stared at the parchment. Where had all of her inspiration gone? She was definitely certain that she had at least a couple of ideas in her head only a moment ago. She let out a huff of indignation as she closed her eyes to try to think. The voice of her Governess drifted to her ears for only a brief second before it drifted away.

"What is it that you have come to me for?" Kaede asked, her voice barely audible as it drifted to Kagome's ears. That was when it happened. A strange indescribable feeling slowly began to spread its talons throughout Kagome's body, shooting from her head to her toes, from the tips of her fingernails to the ends of her hair. Everywhere it went it left some strange, warm yet cold sensation in it's wake. It was almost as if her body were on fire, and yet buried in ice at the same time.

It wasn't painful - it actually felt somewhat nice, but then -then it felt as if her very life were being drained from her. And that was when she saw it. There was a man, with a long silvery white beard, and piercing green eyes, staring at her. At first, she merely believed it to be a picture in her head, but the more she saw him, the more she found that it were more like a memory. Only - it was a memory of a man she had never seen before. He was dressed in long white blue and white robes, the crest of the dragonfly, embroidered in beautiful gold thread across the chest.

It was then that she became vaguely aware of the fact that her hand was drifting cautiously across the parchment. Kagome wanted to open her eyes, to see what it was that she was writing, but something was urging her to keep her eyes closed, and so she did. Then the picture slowly faded from the elderly man, to a vision of her. She wondered why it was she was seeing herself, but then the vision of her, crowned as Empress faded from her mind, and a vision of her intended came into her mind.

She inwardly cringed. She could still feel her hand drifting across the paper, the quill in her hand sending a foreign warm fuzzy feeling into her hand, and then throughout the rest of her body. As the vision of Naraku faded into her mind, she caught a glimpse of silver and then - the visions started going by faster.

Blood, death, destruction, hate, love, hope, repair, and life. All of those things flashed through her mind as she felt her hand begin to speed across the paper, a strange feeling being left in it's wake. And then as soon as it had started - it stopped. Kagome's eyes fluttered open slowly, her blue eyes sparkling with an unknown intensity.

The alien feeling of having the life drained out of her, and strength entering her body disappeared, leaving Kagome feeling oddly empty and cold inside. For a moment, just a brief moment, she had hoped that it returned to her body, just so she could feel that wonderful feeling of being hot and cold at the same time, but there was still the matter of what she had written on the paper to attend to.

She glanced down at the quill in her hand, aware of the fact that the sizzling feeling had disappeared along with all of the other sensations that entered her body only moments ago. As Kagome glanced down at her paper, her eyes widened at the beautiful writing that had been left in its wake. She knew that without a doubt her writing had not been that beautiful, but now, she was staring at caricatures that were so beautifully written it was unbelievable.

And it was then, that the words came to her. As she read them, they made complete sense to her, but she knew that if anyone else attempted to read this that they would have been so completely confused that - well they would not know what to think of it. Her eyes had widened a slight fraction more as she continued to read the message - over and over again, word after word - until she was finally able to grasp the concept of what it meant.

And if she had written what she thought she had written then -

"Lady Higurashi!" Governess Kaede scolded as the Higurashi-child stared wide-eyed at the parchment in front of her. Kagome turned towards Kaede, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she looked at the elderly woman, her eyes wide in what appeared to be fear. Kaede however, merely dismissed it as the girl was startled at the sudden sound of her voice.

"Lady Higurashi," Kaede started once more grateful that she had her students undivided attention," a servant has just informed me of an important event."

Kagome merely nodded, urging her to go on, but not forgetting about the parchment that she clutched tightly in her hands.

"A servant has just told me that the Djinn - all twelve of them - had just written a prophecy, and apparently they are all the same. You as the future Empress, are supposed to go and meet Prince Yokoshima and examine the Prophecies to see if you are able to decipher them. Although we both know that it would be extremely difficult, it is believed that since both of you are holy that you will be able decipher them together." Kaede explained, motioning for Kagome to stand.

When the child did not stand however, Kaede took it upon herself to slap her lightly on the wrist, and then pull her up and usher her out the door.

Kagome allowed it to happen, but first she made sure to tuck the piece of parchment into a pocket of her dress before leaving the room.

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She was nervous. Her palms were sweating, her heart rate had accelerated immensely, more than 3 of her nails had been nibbled on, AND she was fidgeting. It didn't help that the pristine white wedding gown she wore was sticking to her body with the utmost annoyance. Her hair had been pulled into a bun, with two loose curls framing the side of her face. She wore an extremely lengthy veil, which trailed behind her, and on the front of her dress was the dragonfly crest, only instead of being gold, it was silver.

She had baby white roses pinned to the thin shoulder straps of her dress, which allowed her to show off the creamy skin of her long arms. A silver chained necklace was hanging daintily from around her, a crescent moon with a ruby encrusted in its middle hanging from a link. Her father had given it to her only moments before. He had stated that it belonged to her mother before she had died, and he had wanted her to have it when she was old enough. Obviously now she classified as being old enough to have something that belonged to her mother, and it made her feel exceptionally happy.

However, that happiness didn't overpower the fact that she was going to be married to the most powerful man in the entire Northern Lands. There was still the fact that he was arrogant and rude, not to mention that he had hit her once (which she still had not told anyone) and that he couldn't stand to be around her, but other than that she was just nervous of the fact that she was going to be married. And she was only going to be married once.

She assumed that even if she were to marry Miroku ('God forbid.' Kagome thought) she would still be unremarkably nervous, but she barely had time to continue to ponder that thought when the door opened, and an extremely familiar servant made herself present.

Kagome turned towards the door, smiling brightly as the young servant smiled at her master bowing low before scampering over to her.

"Lady Higurashi, Rin would like to know how you are feeling. Happy? Excited? Nervous? Upset? Which one, which one?" The girl asked the slightly elder one, her russet eyes shining brightly. Kagome let a small chuckle escape her throat before reaching out a hand to the child.

"I'm nervous Rin, but I am also excited, you know? A part of me doesn't want to marry him, but the other part of me has to. So honestly there really isn't anything I can do about it, but make the best of this situation." Rin sat down before Kagome, her eyes shining brightly before bowing her head appreciatively. Kagome spared her another smile before patting her brown hair gently.

"Lady Kagome - um - do you think it would be at all possible for you to appoint Rin as your chamber maid? Rin means that she would really like to be able to get out of the regular servants quarters and you are really kind to me so-"

"I'll have to see what I can do Rin, but I would love to have you as my chambermaid. Now, can you go see if it's time-"

"LADY HIGURASHI!" Three voices yelled at once. Kagome and Rin both turned towards the door where Yuka, Ayumi, and Erri entered the chambers, looking somewhat disgruntled. They were all adorned in feathery blue dresses, their hair pulled up into French Twists, and they all had their make-up lightly applied to their faces. Yuka seemed to be the most frantic one of all, her hands twisting nervously in dress, as Ayumi and Erri knocked Rin out of the way none too gently and hauled Kagome up before putting the finishing touches on her, which consisted of two beautiful white and silver studded hand gloves which reached her elbows.

Kagome smiled apologetically as the three girls straightened Kagome out, before pulling her out of the room. Kagome was ushered quickly down the hall, while Erri and Yuka immediately told her of all of the procedures of what to go through such as to always smile, keep her hands folded neatly in front of her, and to make sure that she kept her eyes ahead of her at all times.

Kagome was merely able to nod as she was led to the marriage hall. She was stopped quickly outside of two extremely large oak doors and immediately the three girls did last minute touchups. While this occurred Kagome could feel her heart begin to beat twenty times faster. She had absolutely no idea that she was going to be this nervous. She could feel her hands begin to get sweaty again, and she had the undeniable urge to start chewing on her nails again.

Yuka, Erri, and Ayumi all started to whisper hurriedly to her, all of what they were saying only managed to reach her ears and turn to fuzz, but she could understand what they were meaning to say.

After taking a deep breath, Kagome folded her hands in front of her neatly and stood up straight. She could picture her father standing there happily, his brown eyes bright with happiness as he watched her walk towards her future. She allowed her self to gulp incredibly loudly, before composing herself, and waiting as Ayumi knocked lightly on the door.

Kagome had no idea of what was going on inside, but she knew that it had to be important. At that moment, her future husband was supposedly getting the laws read to him before she was to enter (although Kagome knew that they were almost finished). She kept her hands folded neatly in front of her, her pulse speeding up to new heights, and almost as soon as she left out another breath of air, the doors in front of her swung opened, and she gazed into the large, pristine white halls.

She took an anticipated step forward, allowing herself to enter the hall entirely before she allowed her eyes to land on Naraku. And almost at once, she felt her body freeze, and her eyes widen in terror. She could hear the voices of the many castle residence, whispering around her, wondering why she had suddenly stopped. They would probably ridicule her if she stood completely still the entire time; so she did the first thing that came to her mind.

She curtsied.

The people in the giant hall gasped, surprise eminent in their eyes as she stood once more, and locked eyes with her father. He was watching her, his eyes filled with tears, and his lips quirked up in the biggest smile that Kagome had ever seen him create. Tears began to well up in her own eyes as she watched the display, returning a smile of her own.

Everyone's breath caught in his or her throat. Never in their entire life had they seen anything as beautiful as her smile. They continued to watch in awe as Kagome walked down the aisle, her hands folded neatly in front of her and her dress trailing behind her elegantly.

As she finally made it up to the alter (where Naraku stood looking as proud as ever; but there was the underlying hint of disgust behind his eyes) she could feel the sense of relief flowing vibrantly from the people of the royal court. She then outstretched her arm, silently motioning for Naraku to interlock his arm with hers, which he did so obediently.

As soon as their arms were locked however, a strange empty feeling entered Kagome's body, as if wrenching the very happiness away from her. That same feeling of being burnt and frozen at the same time coursed its way through her veins trying to tell her - attempting to let her know that something was missing. She glanced around herself, refraining from chewing on her lips nervously as she and Naraku both turned towards the audience and bowed regally, both of them silently wishing that this entire ceremony would be over soon.

After they had finished bowing they stood up straight and looked towards the Emperor, who stood to the side of them watching them both with the utmost interest. Kagome noticed that the Emperor's eyes still held that arrogant sort of twinkle in them however, that same arrogance that he wore on his face the same day that Naraku -

Kagome willed herself not to remember that. It was her wedding day and she had to be happy. But - she wasn't. And for once it had nothing to do with the fact that she was being forced to marry the same man that had hit her. Instead it had to do with that strange feeling as though she were missing something important. Almost as though she had passed something up when she had first started off the day.

Or perhaps it had something to do with the incident that had happened to her the other day. That strange message that she had written yet so fully understood - and it annoyed her because she found that she couldn't speak a word of it to anyone even though she really wished that she could have. She had tried speaking to Miroku about it, but as soon as the first word left her mouth, she found herself unable to do anything anymore. Her mind simply went blank and she felt so incredibly weak.

Kagome sighed softly, inadvertently leaning into Naraku. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized the notion she made, or the fact that everyone was watching her with wide eyes. This type of affection was not to be displayed so openly - especially at a wedding. Everything was simply supposed to go smoothly. The groom would be briefed on the laws of the Lands, and then the bride would enter, link arms with the groom and then be crowned by the Emperor. Afterwards they would be presented to the people of the Lands and be officially dubbed Emperor and Empress.

But no - instead just as the Emperor was to give up his title, Kagome involuntarily fell against Naraku's arm, gripping it tightly. Naraku merely glanced down at her, his eyes filled with annoyance. What was this simple girl doing? He withdrew his arms from hers and placed it on her shoulder, shaking her gently as he tried to get her to snap back into reality.

She however did not cooperate.

She did not know when it had started, those same pictures flashing across her thoughts as the thought of that cryptic message played across her mind, but she felt the urge to give again - to give whatever it was that she felt stirring in her body. It was stronger than before, burning inside of her and yet sending that same frigid feeling through her veins once again.

It wasn't the only thing that seemed to be bothering her however. She kept seeing those haunting images. The ones of Naraku killing her, and of the same man in the white, wearing the crest of her Lands. Then there were the visions of hate, death, love and life. They all intermingled with each other, becoming one solid thread woven into a single giant tapestry that was the map of human life.

But each time those visions danced around in her head, she feared them. They kept swarming into her mind, drowning her in sadness, happiness, anxiety, hate, love - all of the emotions that one single person would be able to experience in a single lifetime. However, the only emotions that Kagome had ever experienced in her life were happiness and sadness. Was she truly that naïve? And she wondered, what would happen if she knew what hate was? The simple thought of thought set her mind on fire.

Tears flooded her eyes as she clutched Naraku's arm tighter and she sniffled, looking up at him. They used to be good friends - and now he couldn't stand her. And here she was marrying him, all because she did not want her father to get thrown out into the streets for allowing his "holy" child to marry someone of lesser status.

The tears came full force as she pulled away from Naraku, allowing her tears to fall. She knew that to any other person, she would simply be crying out of happiness, but inside - she was in misery. All of these visions - these feelings - they were simply too much for Kagome.

She didn't know when the Emperor had started talking, or when Naraku had bent down to be crowned but he had. It wasn't exactly a crown that was placed upon his head however. Instead he was given a beautiful silver katana, with a ruby incrusted hilt and a strange inscription engraved into it. Kagome watched him for a minute, ignoring the words that his father spoke before chancing a glance towards her own father.

He was watching her with an extremely worried expression on her face, and she already knew what would be coming to her. The tears came to her eyes once more as she thought of the sacrifice that she was going to be making if she accepted the tiara that was to be given to her in a short moment - and then after that she was to be presented to the people of the Northern Lands. She wondered if she would even be able to make it through the rest of the wedding.

The Emperor glanced at Kagome momentarily before one of the Nobles walked over to him, carrying a plush red pillow with a silver diamond incrusted tiara on it. If Kagome were anyone else her eyes would have glazed over - but instead the tears only came faster as she curtsied, waiting for the Emperor to place the tiara on her head in place of her veil.

At first she almost was unable to hear the words that permeated from his mouth - for they were so quiet and calm, but when she did she realized that full force of responsibility that was being bestowed upon her. She realized that with a heavy heart she truly was going to be deemed Empress and there was truly nothing that she would be able to do about it.

"Lady Higurashi, daughter of Lord Higurashi - you have been chosen by me Onigumo Yokoshima, the current Emperor of the Northern Lands to be bound to my son Naraku Yokoshima through that of marriage. Within this time you must learn to love honor and obey him - provide an heir for him - and be willing to give yourself up completely for him. For many this is not a sacrifice that one would wish to make - for with this marriage comes the possibility of death and pain - but because you have the holy attributes of that of the Djinn you are considered strong beyond belief and worthy of marrying my son. Do you accept the duties of becoming Empress - to assist my son in running these Lands with an iron fist and a sturdy heart? Although you may not know the paths that lie ahead of you - whether it be death and hate - love and life - will you accept this heavy burden and responsibility?" The Emperor asked, lifting the tiara delicately from the plush pillow.

Kagome remained silent for a moment, many thoughts running through her head. If she were to marry him, that would mean that she would be the Empress and she would be forced to make decisions for or with her husband. It would also mean that her life was completely his - if his life were in danger she would be forced to die with him.

'You - you have to die with me.'

"No." Kagome whispered, completely unaware of the whispers that surrounded her. The entire population of the castle had been so deadly quiet, that even though she had spoken the words so quietly they were still able to hear her. She could hear her father go into a slight coughing fit, but her eyes remained focused on the ground. What exactly had she said that had sent these people into frenzy?

"Pardon?" The Emperor asked, clutching the tiara so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Kagome glanced up looking at the Emperor with a confused expression before what she had uttered came back at her full force. Her eyes widened in mild surprise before she bowed her head in respect and muttered incoherent apologies over and over.

And she felt like a complete idiot. If she were to refuse this marriage then her father would lose absolutely everything - and she could be tried and executed for treason. And she knew that her father already suffered one completely unbearable loss - and quite frankly she didn't want to be the cause of another one. Besides she was all he had and if she gave that up -

"Forgive me my Lord. I was not thinking properly. Yes, I would be honored to accept this responsibility. I will accept the responsibility of being bound to your son through marriage, I am willing to provide and heir for him - love and care for him - and if necessary I will," Kagome found herself trailing off for a minute as a brief memory of her dream passed through her mind once more," I will be willing to die for him."

At first she didn't feel it, but then it felt as if an entire weight had been lifted from her body - only to be replaced when the Emperor placed the tiara on her head once more. She had just accepted the responsibility of being the Empress, but that wasn't what had bothered her. She was now wed. And there would be nothing to change that.

Would she ever be truly happy like this? Would she continue to be able to live a life with someone that she knew disliked her beyond all belief? She didn't know, but as she stood up and turned to place her lips firmly against Naraku's to seal the marital agreement between the two families she knew that there would be no way to escape this other than death. And quite frankly she wasn't ready to die.

So she would simply have to deal with what the future brought her. But before she was able to delve into what the future brought her - she had to deal with the people.

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Inuyasha and Sango darted through the crowd, making sure to check their horse into the stables. The rest of the journey to the Northern Lands had been hectic - they had run into bandits (which had been disposed of non too gracefully) and then they had run into merchants who thought it would be best to try to drink them dry of what little money they had left.

Unfortunately for the merchants, Sango and Inuyasha had not given into that simplistic temptation of buying unworthy and unsatisfactory goods and had threatened to actually kill the merchants if they did not leave them be. After they had gotten through that simple time however it had started to rain - and they were stuck traveling through mud and rain - their clothes heavy in weight due to the fact that they were soaked in water.

They had made it to the village however, just as the presentation of the newly weds were about to start. They both still had their weapons on them, afraid of the fact that if they left them at the stables with their horse that they would be stolen - and their weapons were definitely needed in case something awry had occurred.

And so now they were both running through the crowds, Sango's boomerang knocking people out of the way accidentally, and Inuyasha trailing not to far behind her, both of them wisps of silver and black. The entire population of the Northern Lands were all migrating towards the desired spot - the center of the large city - which was infested with slaves whom had to work in order to make this possible: setting up barricades so that the more fortunate people of the municipal would not attempt to get into the castle.

In truth they both did not know how long the ceremony would take, but they would have to sit through it. After all they both had to know what the Emperor and his newfound Empress looked like. It was part of their jobs after all.

They both had to figure out as much about these Lands and it's ruler as possible - for the Lord of the Southern Land planned to overthrow them. It was rumored that the Northern Lands were more beautiful than ever imagined - and since Inuyasha and Sango had both entered the Lands they had found that too be true.

Large sand domes, which could kill a man, surrounded the Lands themselves but due to the special attributes that Inuyasha had possessed; he had been the only thing that had led them to humanity. The Lands were thick with vegetation and civilization, but it seemed as though the people treasured that despite that fact that people outnumbered land.

Somehow they had managed to keep that under control. Now Inuyasha and Sango were in the capital city - where the Imperial Palace was located - which supposedly housed not only the Emperor and his Empress, but the entire royal court, the entire Imperial Army and the Djinn.

It was simply a gold mine. The only thing that would be a problem would be the fact that they would have to get jobs there - and quite frankly Inuyasha and Sango were not exactly up to working beneath someone.

They both slowed to a stop, catching their breath as they stood towards the back of the large crowd, which was stationed in front of a large balcony where the new Empress and Emperor were to be presented. The balcony was draped in beautiful white tapestries; promoting the fact the Empress and the Emperor were pure of heart.

Inuyasha and Sango exchanged incredulous looks as a group of 4 females and one guy stationed themselves next to them. Inuyasha and Sango spared them a glance before looking back towards the balcony - their complete attention on the ceremony that was about to ensue. However they were not oblivious to the strange looks that the small group had given them before turning their attention back towards the balcony themselves.

A horn blared, alerting everyone of the fact that the Emperor and Empress were to make their appearance. The curtains that blocked the doorway to the castle opened, revealing a man with short black hair adorned in red robes with a golden crest of a dragonfly on them smiling brightly at his nation. Cheers erupted from the crowd, however Inuyasha and Sango remained silent, along with the tiny group stationed near them.

The man whom they both assumed to be the former Emperor waited until the crowd quieted down before addressing the people of his Lands.

"It is to be said that the union between my son and the choice of bride has been successful."

"Successful?" Inuyasha whispered to Sango - ignoring a large part of the speech that the former Emperor continued to give. Sango merely looked at him, shrugging her shoulders gracefully before motioning for him to turn his gaze back towards the Emperor who was motioning towards the curtains behind him.

"And without further ado, I would like to present my son Naraku Yokoshima and his bride Lady Kagome Higurashi as your future Emperor and Empress." The said people walked out, both bowing regally before the people before standing up straight and looking out towards the people.

But all Inuyasha was able to see was the Empress herself. She was absolutely beautiful. And her eyes - even from the distance that he was at he was still able to see the beautiful cerulean gray hues shining out at them. The only thing was - they were underplayed with sadness. Inuyasha titled his head to the side, ignoring the incredulous look that Sango was giving him.

And that was when he noticed that the crowd was deathly silent. He glanced up, looking towards Sango before looking back towards the crowd, whom all were standing from previously bowing extremely low.

And then that was when it happened. Someone threw something up to the balcony and it hit the Empress in the cheek. But all she managed to do was place her fingers gingerly to her cheek and smile out at the crowd, an apologetic look spreading across her face. Then suddenly the entire crowd erupted in jeers.

Whether the Empress was hurt or not she did not show, she simply smiled at the crowd, the pain not entirely evident in her features.

"So that's the one?" a quiet voice asked. Both Inuyasha and Sango wisped their heads around to look at the group that were huddled together, speaking quietly yet loud enough for those around them to hear. Intrigued Sango walked towards the group, grasping the strap of her giant weapon, a pensive smile on her face.

"Excuse me - but why does everyone seem to hate her?" Sango asked, ignoring the baffled looks from the group. Inuyasha joined her at her side only a moment later, keeping one ear trained on the crowd and one on what was transpiring between Sango and the simple group.

"You aren't from around here are you?" A cold voice asked. The voice drew in Inuyasha immediately, as he turned giving the woman his full attention. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, and then back at the balcony - his mouth dropping open in astonishment. What in the world was going on here? Why did these two women look so alike?

"No we're not." Sango answered, elbowing Inuyasha in the ribs before smiling almost kindly at the woman. The woman simply trained her emotionless brown eyes on Inuyasha before looking back towards the balcony, on which the Emperor was whispering fiercely to some guards on the balcony.

"I figured that much. My name is Kikyou - perhaps you should come with me. I will be able to explain everything." She stated. Sango nodded eagerly, motioning for Inuyasha to follow.

And Inuyasha did - but not after casting one last meditative glance towards the Empress.