InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The King and I ❯ Cue the circus music! ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter10

 

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It was near sunrise when she was finally able to move from her place on the hard earth. Leaned against a tree, she brushed her fingers through her loosed hair, coming up with handfuls of leaves and small twigs.

 

What had he done, rubbed her head in the forest debris?

 

Finally, when she was satisfied with her “clean” hair, she tied it back up and took a few deep breaths before taking a step forward.

 

Her knees promptly buckled beneath her, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.

 

Whatever that bastard had done to knock her out had done some considerable damage. Her legs and arms were tingling and weak, and as she took another step away from the tree, she felt more like a newborn foal than a woman.

 

It seemed to take an eternity for her strength to return, but the more she walked, the better her body began to feel. Suddenly, after traveling for ten minutes, she realized she had no idea where she was or where she was headed.

 

`I have to find Rin…he might have been bluffing…'

 

The more hopeful side of her sounded hollow and unconvincing in her mind, but still rang sweeter than her darker thoughts. Even if all she would find was Rin's small, lifeless body, she would search endlessly. She was her ward, her only companion.

 

She was her daughter, despite the fact they shared no blood…or species.

 

The thought of the small girl brought a smile to her lips and tears to her eyes. Years ago, she'd never let herself feel this vulnerable, and certainly not over some vagrant human child. Years ago, she'd never allow a weak little girl to follow her, or refer to her as `Momma'.

 

Years ago, she'd never believe she could feel such a love for a child who asked for nothing in return.

 

Lost in thought, she'd failed to notice that she was only barely limping now, as if her determination itself was what gave her strength. Ignoring the pain, she climbed over a fallen log, and continued forward.

If she just kept walking, she would eventually come upon something, someone.

 

Hours passed, and as the sun made its journey through the sky, she kept her thoughts trained on the one person who fueled her desire to move.

 

The tiny girl who wove flowers in crowns for her; who had created a crude replica of her fan out of twigs and fallen leaves, then begged her to teach her how to use it; the child who had never questioned her authority, never acted against her orders, and took every command with a bright, toothy smile.

 

The girl who had never asked for Kagura to adopt her-and rather adopted Kagura for herself.

 

`I'll find you. I don't care what it takes. And if he's telling the truth…Kami have mercy on him for what I'll do…'

 

Day started to carry into night, and she never saw a soul. Part of her began to doubt her direction, and she wondered if she should try a different path. But, instead of letting uncertainty cloud her mind, she continued on the path instinct had first selected.

And by the time the moon was high in the sky, her breaths were ragged, her body, near collapse. With each step, she wondered if it would be her last, but still pressed on.

 

`If I can just make it to that tree there…yes, now to that next one with the moss…and the rock…good, now to that stream up ahead.'

 

So consumed by her tiny goals, she failed to notice the way the trees thinned out before her. Sloshing through the cold water, she started to lose her balance, and stumbled forward before falling to the ground.

 

Her first thought was that she had landed on soft, plush grass. Next, she realized how the gloom of the forest had seemed to disappear, and soft rays on moonlight lit the skin of her hand.

 

Finally, after mentally screaming at her body to cooperate, she pushed up from where she'd fallen face first and surveyed her surroundings.

 

She lay in a field of thick grasses and wildflowers, and the line of the forest lay just behind her. The hills rolled before her with seemingly no end in sight, and a slight shiver of despair caused tears to well up in her eyes.

 

Now where did she go?

 

Before her body had the chance to refuse, she rose to her feet, eyes closed in concentration. When she felt that she had gained enough determination to press on, she opened them, and nearly tumbled back down in surprise.

 

Right over the hill was a raised watchtower, previously hidden from her view. Hope welled up inside at her at the prospect of contact, and she stumbled forward.

 

“Oi! Is anyone in there?!” She cried out, her voice hoarse.

 

In a flash, a face appeared in the small window and she waved her arms frantically, staggering down the somewhat steep hill.

 

It briefly disappeared, then she saw a figure climbing down the ladder, and advance toward her.

 

Near delirium, she almost laughed with pure joy, and begged her body for just one more step over and over.

It only complied for two more before she fell again, and began to tumble forward. She was so weak, she was unable to stop herself, and narrowly avoided a sizeable boulder.

 

Finally at the bottom, she stopped, lying on her back as she had when she first woke up. Suddenly, the figure was standing over her, though the bright moon behind it prevented her from seeing the face. Again, everything began to spin, and the world became a swirl of muted color.

 

The last thing she remembered hearing was the figure, a man's voice calling to her.

 

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“Okay, so I never asked the Lord how old she was. How was I to know, to even imagine she'd only be nine?”

 

I tuned out the monk's excuses as I stormed away from the home of yet another wealthy cloth merchant, the third one on the past two days. I mean, seriously, is that all this backwards country made? Cloth?

 

“My Lord, please, don't be angry. We have yet another home to visit in an hour, and you should appear in your best disposition.”

 

“You're pushing your luck, Monk,” I growled warningly. I heard him sigh, behind me, and he fell quiet.

 

I slowed my pace, allowing him to fall in step behind me, and we walked in tense silence until the inn was in sight.

 

“If you wish to rest for a while, I'll give you some time alone. I'll go and see what I can find out about the next family. We don't need a repeat.”

 

I grunted in approval, and barely noticed when he parted from my side. I walked straight past the inn, towards the boundary of the city, and into the forest. Once my feet passed the boundary, I ran.

 

The wind rushed past me, the sound pleasing to my ears. My pent up emotions and frustration fueled me, and I intended to burn every last ounce of that energy before going the next Lord's home for a refill.

 

After a bit, I leapt up into a tree, and from there bounded from branch to branch. I did my best not to go too far, knowing I did have some responsibility in only an hour, but found it harder to diffuse knowing I had limitations.

 

Part of me…most of me wanted to just keep on running…

 

`And if it happens to take me past a no name trade route hub with the bitchiest doctor in all of the country, then so be it.'

 

Suddenly, I came to a halt atop one of the higher trees.

I turned my eyes up to the moon above, noting that it was closer to waning than I liked to see. It wouldn't be long before I was as human as I looked.

 

`Or as weak as I feel…'

 

I let out a long sigh, and sat down on the branch. I glanced over the tops of the trees below, trying to figure out which way led back to her.

 

Unbidden images of her flashed behind my eyes, and I gripped the bark tightly.

Why did I think of her all the time?

Maybe she'd cast a spell over me? She was a miko after all. As far as Miroku had told me, they were capable of a lot of things, sorcery included.

 

But when I thought of how she'd smiled at me when she'd asked how I'd known where to find her, with that little girl…she was sly, but not malicious.

 

For a few moments, I was lost in the memory of her smiles, each one unique, and so telling, they practically screamed what she was feeling. For someone so secretive, Kagome's emotions made her an open scroll.

 

Except…she was so confusing, too. How quickly she'd changed that night, the anger I could see and sense in her. Something about it just hadn't sat right with me. Sure, I knew women went through their sudden moods swings and all, but that was just ridiculous!

 

“Keh…stupid wench…,”

 

Numbly, I stood and started back towards the capital, mostly using the trees. I was so consumed by Kagome, that I had a few near misses.

 

`That girl will be the death of me.' I thought with a smirk, then cast an eye down to my feet distastefully. `Her or these fucking sandals…'

 

Finally, the edge of the city was in sight, and I dropped to the ground. As I walked out of the forest and back towards the inn, I made sure to dust myself off and remove the various debris from my hair.

 

“Did you have a good run?”

 

I stopped in my tracks, the damn monk's voice catching me off guard.

 

“Shit, don't do that! And why the hell are you back already? Did you find out something bad about the next wench?”

 

He suddenly got a twitchy, nervous look, and glanced away. His voice however remained calm, as if he thought he could fool me.

 

“I simply finished my inquiry sooner than expected. I like to be efficient in my service to my Lord.”

 

I stood in front of him, arms crossed over my chest. I glared at him, and watched him swallow hard.

 

“How old is this one?”

 

He froze and suddenly found his staff to be far more interesting.

 

“MONK!”

 

“As old as the last was young,” he finally squeaked out. I rolled my eyes, and started towards the door of the inn.

 

“Wait! I do have some good news though. I came back here as soon as I heard it.”

 

“Tell me over a drink-Kami knows we both need one.”

 

Without a word he followed and a few minutes later, we were seated comfortably with a dish of sake before each of us.

 

“So what's this great news you've got?”

 

“Well,” he said, a dangerous glint in his eye, “I happened to overhear a conversation in the inn down the way. It seems a certain man there was actually a throne room guard, and he had something very interesting to tell the innkeeper.”

 

“Spit it out already!”

 

He sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly.

 

“You have no sense of drama, my Lord.”

 

He took a sip of his sake, and then cleared his throat.

 

“Well, it seems that the very man we are trying to make peace with is in a predicament similar to your own.”

 

“But the fucker's already married, you idiot! Why would he need another wife?”

 

Shaking his head, Miroku shrugged.

 

“No one ever said you had to be a genius to be king. What I meant was that he also needs a marriage to stabilize his government, but not himself. It seems he has a daughter, and she's at the perfect age.”

 

I let out a short bark of laughter, sounding more amused than bitter like I'd intended.

 

“You're fucking kidding me?! All this time, we're here sneaking around his kingdom, and he's ready to serve his only daughter up like some kind of sacrificial lamb? We wasted an entire fucking week!”

 

Miroku eyed me carefully, looking a bit confused.

 

“I don't understand what you mean by us wasting time? You were the one who demanded that you choose your own bride. That's why we're here.”

 

“Well…,” I said shrugging, “She's a princess. If I convince him to let me marry her, then I'll never have to worry about the North again. One more katana-wielding monkey off my back.”

 

I took a long swig of my drink, trying to swallow it before I smelled it. When I looked up, Miroku was regarding me strangely.

 

“What am I glowing now or something?”

 

He gave a sad smile, and shook his head before finishing his own drink.

 

“Nothing, Inuyasha. Come on, let's get some rest. I can see we have much planning to do tomorrow.”

 

He rose from the table, but I stayed, confused by his defeated tone. He knew as well as I did that Naraku's daughter was the best I'd get. I was past the point of caring if she was compatible with me, let alone wondering if she'd ever love me. It was already clear to me that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to have what I truly wanted.

 

I'd started to accept it. And having an alliance with the North instead of a rivalry was sounding sweeter by the minute.

 

Besides…he was the one who'd brought it up.

 

“What's wrong with you, Miroku? I thought you'd be enthusiastic that I'm agreeing to this. It's your duty, right?” I said, hinting at his speech to me a few nights before.

 

Again, he gave me that same smile.

 

“I am glad you agree it's a good option. And yes it is my job, and you taking the Northern princess as a bride will complete my task. But,” he said with a sigh, starting to walk away slowly, “As a friend, I have to say I'm saddened. This…this is the first time I've ever seen you just stop trying.”

 

He ambled towards our room, and I sat there in a daze.

I knew he was right. He'd called me on it.

 

I understood his mixed emotions. He already knew that given the odds, I would never feel for the princess the way I felt for Kagome. He knew that I knew that, yet was still ready to just take the option best for my kingdom. And he hated the fact that I was just sitting there and accepting it; because my doing so went against my very nature. I never backed down from a fight.

 

But this time, responsibility demanded it.

Duty demanded that he support me in this new mission. Friendship demanded that he support my feelings for Kagome.

 

Miroku was feeling torn between wanting the best for his friend and wanting the best for his homeland.

 

I gazed down at the clear liquid in the dish in my hand. I briefly caught my reflection and gave it a bitter smile. I gulped down the rest of my drink and set the dish down lightly.

 

“Now you understand…what it's like to be the king…,”

 

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“My Lord?”

 

Sesshomaru lifted his head from the various maps and scrolls on the table before him. Seeing no one else in the hallway behind the child, he smiled and made the gesture for him to close the door. The command was carried out quickly, and a moment later, Kohaku was by his side.

 

“Sesshomaru! Shippo was up on the roof again and he said he could see the carriage coming in the distance! She's gonna be here soon!”

 

He felt his body tense, but tried not to show any other outward signs of his distress. He'd been mentally preparing for this for the past two days, but now that the princess was almost there, he wanted to barricade himself in the damn throne room.

 

“Are you gonna be okay? Cuz, I would be really scared if I were you-and you're you, so you must be extra scared!”

 

Although innocent, the comment hit Sesshomaru harder than Kohaku could have understood. Was he so cowardly, that even a young boy could see it? Was that how they all saw him?

His nervousness temporarily forgotten in exchange for indignation, he rose to his feet, squaring his shoulders proudly.

“This Sesshomaru is not afraid.”

 

His voice had taken on a coolness Kohaku was quite sure he'd never heard from the youkai before; he also noted that Sesshomaru looked a lot taller than he remembered him being…

 

“Oh Shit!” He exclaimed suddenly, before clamping a hand over his mouth reflexively. His eyes were wide in shock as he looked over the stand-in King. Indignation forgotten, Sesshomaru looked over himself to see what on Earth he could be looking at.

 

“What did I not tie this thing right again?” He asked, fiddling with the bow to Inuyasha's borrowed hakama. “I mean, I can do it with my obi, but you give me this short little thin-,”

 

He stopped mid word, his body still, eyes frozen on his hand that was retying the sash on Inuyasha's clothing.

His hand.

 

“Sesshomaru, I can see you! I think the spell wore off!”

 

He briefly rolled his eyes at the obviousness of Kohaku's “theory”, but all at once was panicked as the seriousness of the situation set in.

 

The princess was mere miles away, and here he was in his own form! What the hell was he going to do?

 

“What the hell am I going to do?!”

 

Kohaku shook his head exaggeratedly, looking just as if not more terrified as he was. Anxiously, he glanced around the room, looking without direction, as if an answer were going to suddenly just pop out of thin air.

The answer chose to use the door instead.

 

“Hey, whatcha guys doin-Oh NO! The spell!”

 

“Shippo! Help me! I'm ME!”

 

In a flash, the little fox had pulled a leaf from his vest and tossed it at Sesshomaru. With a small poof of smoke, he stood once again in Inuyasha's form, and everyone let out a deep sigh of relief…

 

...which was followed by yet another poof a minute later when the fox magic wore off.

 

“Shit!”

 

“Kohaku!”

 

“Aneue!”

 

“Sango!”

 

“Sesshomaru!”

 

“My Lord!”

 

“Myouga!”

 

“Miro-oh wait he's gone…Shippo?”

 

As if on cue, everyone who knew of his masquerade as King was suddenly present, and were very shocked accordingly. The panic level of the room was suffocating, and Sesshomaru looked at each person pleadingly, hoping at least one of them could give him a solution, a miracle.

 

“Oh, Sesshomaru, what are you going to do?”

 

And just like it had with Kohaku, Sango's question affected him in a way he hadn't quite expected. He got…calm.

 

Well, calmer.

 

He straightened up again, and cleared his throat nervously. A plan was starting to form in his mind, but he knew it would require help from each person in the room. It was a long shot, but it had to work. He had no backup plan, and by the looks of things, he would have to make his own solutions.

 

He glanced at the throne, a place he'd found himself spending more and more time recently, and felt something inside him strengthen. Something he hadn't felt for a long time…

When he was young, and his younger brother was still only up to his waist, they had been attacked by a feral youkai while out in the forest. Inuyasha had been knocked off his feet by a blow from the giant snake, and landed barely a foot behind him. As he looked back over his shoulder to see if he was alright, he'd caught the brief look of wild terror in the hanyou's eyes as he stared at the huge demon threatening them. In that instant, seeing the strongest person he knew besides his father to be afraid…

He'd felt it then too.

 

The only word he could think of for it was courage.

 

Back then, he'd taken that feeling inside of him, and struck out with his sword at the youkai who dared to harm his kin. An aggression and anger that he'd never known came out, and he battled like he'd never battled before…and he hadn't. He had the upper hand in his first fight, without any help from Inuyasha.

But a single wrong move had cost him dearly, and he found himself embedded in the trunk of a tree before he could even register that he'd been hit. That feeling, that courage died then, and as the youkai advanced on his vulnerable form, he found himself so scared, he couldn't do anything but watch it come.

A moment later it was dead, by his younger brother's sword.

 

Now, as he stood before several of his closest friends, people who were family to him, that feeling doubled, and he understood he had a job to do.

 

He'd said it to Myouga a few days ago. Inuyasha was gone-he was the real King right then, no matter what form he appeared in. And as such…he had to fix this.

 

“I have a plan…”

 

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Can anyone else see this getting complicated and/or hilarious?

 

I can ^_^

 

I realize not many people read this story, and that's cool with me. I love writing it because I make myself laugh. But thanks to all those who do read and/or enjoy this fic-I love you guys!

 

~Sabichan~