InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destined Love ❯ prologue ( Prologue )

Prologue

Kagome stepped off the airplane and looked around for her name on a sign. She spotted it. There was girl with her hair tied up high holding a sign with "Kagome" on it. The raven-haired girl walked over to her.

"Hello. You must be Sango?" she asked politely.

"Yes," the girl replied, giving her a quick once-over. "And you must be my new boss, Princess Kagome."

Kagome frowned, confused. "Boss?"

"Yes…I'll be your maid for the duration of your stay here in Nagasaki," Sango said matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Well, then," Kagome replied. This throws a new twist on things. "There's something you need to know. You are not to call me `Princess.' Princes Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru think I am merely a high-ranking commoner, here in the service of the Royal Family; they do not know that I am Princess Kagome, and I intend to keep it that way. Do you understand?"

"Well, yes, Prin - I mean, Miss Kagome," Sango replied uneasily, "but I don't understand…"

"You're not supposed to," was Kagome's curt answer. She turned and took a few steps away, but conscience got the better of her and she paused, speaking over her shoulder. "It's because I want to see how my realm really is, without it being gilded for the eyes of royalty. So I need to play the commoner for a few weeks, to see things as they really are. Which reminds me…how exactly did you know I was a princess?"

"I didn't. I just had this feeling," Sango half-lied. How could I not know you? You were the one who saved me, protected me when I was being attacked by more demons than I could handle. I owe you my life…and I will repay you, I promise. And if keeping your wishes brings me a step closer to that…

"Oh, and one more thing," Kagome added, almost as an afterthought. "No one else is to know that I'm the princess. Clear?"

"Perfectly, Miss Kagome."

"No `princess,' no `miss.' Just Kagome. Got it?"

Sango blushed slightly at the mild reproof. "Yes, Pri - Kagome."

* * *

"What's keeping Sango?" Miroku whined as he plopped himself cross-legged on the floor. "She's been gone for hours!"

"She's picking up that `Gome girl at the airport, remember?"

"I think it's Kagome, Inuyasha," the darker-haired young man replied.

Inuyasha sighed irritably. "I know her name, Miroku. How could I forget Princess Kagome, my childhood friend?" His tone was sarcastic. But she really was my friend, he told himself privately. I met her years ago, when I was still just a little hanyou… But she won't remember me. It's been ten years, three days, nine hours, and twenty-six minutes since we parted…hm. Maybe I am a little obsessed.

"Hey, Inuyasha, you in there?" Miroku asked, waving his hand in front of the half-demon's face. "You listening?"

"Huh?"

It was Miroku's turn to heave an exasperated sigh. "Really, my friend, you'd think you'd listen to me once in a while. I must have asked you seven times, is this Kagome woman pretty?"

"It shouldn't matter to you," Inuyasha snapped. He crossed his arms and looked away. Miroku just shook his head in silence.

They sat like that for several minutes before a young servant came to say that "the ambassador and her maid" would arrive shortly. Inuyasha acknowledged the news with a slight nod, and the boy ran off.

"Good, then they'll be here in time for dinner. That should give you just enough time to go freshen yourself up a bit," Miroku said with a pointed glance at his friend's carelessly swept-back hair.

"Like I need to freshen up for some girl?"

"Now Inuyasha, really," Miroku said in a teasing tone, "just what would your mother say if she heard you say that?"

"That I'm right and you're wrong, as always."

Miroku face-vaulted, and Inuyasha swept off with his usual foul mood.

* * *

The driver opened the door, and Kagome climbed out into the Nagasaki air. Sango followed her.

"This is the castle where you'll be staying," the latter said. She needn't have wasted the breath; not many things look like castles, and this one was so grand as to leave no doubt in Kagome's mind. The architecture and surrounding vistas were breathtaking.

Even so, it didn't phase her much. "Will you be staying in my bedchambers, or do you have another room?" she asked flatly.

"Er, wherever you prefer, I suppose," Sango stuttered. She'd served other royal persons before, but Kagome's unexpectedly curt manner kept catching her off-guard. Speaking of catching people off-guard… She cast a trained eye over the courtyard, but Miroku was nowhere in sight. She felt her shoulders relax.

"Somewhere nearby, then," Kagome said, missing her quick glances. "I want my own room."

Sango stooped and caught up Kagome's bags in both hands; they were quite large, but then again she was stronger than she looked. "Then if you'll just follow me…" The doors swung open to admit them, and the duo started the long journey down the dark halls.

"How big is this place?" Kagome murmured under her breath. Her own palace wasn't nearly this extensive. They'd already been walking for three minutes.

"I'm sorry?"

"Never mind. It wasn't import - owwww!"

"Miss Kagome! What's wrong?"