InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Understandings ❯ When you assume things ( Chapter 7 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: KennaS 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.15.2004 | Updated On: 09.04.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 544 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.15.2004 | Updated On: 09.04.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 544 | Status: Completed
Chapter 7
When You Assume Things...
InuYasha carried Kagome to Sesshomaru's room and carefully opened the door trying not to drop her. Her feather light body wasn't the problem; it was that damn dress of hers. The material was slick and the skirt got in his way every time he reached for the knob. Finally getting it open, he kicked it closed again with a frustrated sigh.
Laying her on the bed, he unfastened the cape from around her neck and slipped off her shoes. She rolled over in her sleep, tucking her hands up under her chin and shivered slightly. Frowning, InuYasha pulled the covers up over her. He wanted to protect this woman; he wanted to make sure that nothing ever harmed her again. Stark would pay for what he did to her and her family.
Sitting on the bed, he brushed a stray curl away from her face and as his finger tips grazed the side of her cheek, she sighed and snuggled deeper into the pillow. She was beautiful and he was infatuated with her.
Standing, he crossed the massive room to the window. She was different than the rest of the guides he had. The rest of the girls had been all about his title and their chances of latching on to that. Kagome was different from them. She didn't care about his title, hell she probably didn't even care about him. He was just another assignment for her, a thorn in her side. He sighed, slipping his hand in his pocket and leaning against the window. The courtyard sparkled below with the twinkling of the little lights in the trees.
He could still see her dancing in the snow, the flakes falling and gently gathering in her hair like a crown. She was his queen, his ice queen. He arched an eyebrow; would he ever be able to convince her that he was worth opening up to? Probably not, but he was going to try like hell to convince her. He sighed, settling deeper in his thoughts, trying fruitlessly to convince himself that she really wasn't worth the effort, worth the risk to his own heart.
She had Miroku doting after her and who knew what was going on between her and Sesshomaru; that relationship was definitely was more than met the eye. How could he compete with them and who knew how many other guys that would give up their left arms to be with her? `Am I even worthy of her?'
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the dark room room. The last thing she remembered was meeting the king; so, why was she back in Sesshomaru's bed? She rolled her head to the side; it felt like it was going to explode. Sitting up on her elbow, she reached up to touch the side of her head when she saw a movement by the window. His black tuxedo blended in so well with the dark curtains that if he hadn't shifted slightly, she would have missed him completely. He looked so sad, leaning against the glass with his hand in his pocket and the other tracing a pattern she couldn't quite make out on the glass. His hair shimmering with the lights from the courtyard cast an unnatural glow about him, framing him, his chiseled outline in a snowy backdrop. Her headache almost forgotten, she carefully got out of bed and crossed the room to the window.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, not even turning around, chuckling at the way she jumped.
His reflection in the window showed a grinning man; nothing like what she saw a few seconds before. Any trace of the deep sadness he had shown before was gone. “How did you know?” she questioned, dumbfounded.
He laughed, his voice deep and rich. “I saw you coming in the reflection of the glass.”
She took a few more steps toward him in an effort to see what he had been drawing on the window. Circles, simple interlocking circles. “What were you drawing circles on the window for Your Highness?”
H e turned to her, smiling. “Call me InuYasha, please, and your wrap,” he grazed a finger down her bare shoulder, “was left by accident in the court yard below. I was thinking of how it would be a shame if it got ruined and was wishing that I could be your hero and retrieve it for you.” Not bothering with the circle question.
She smiled and stepped to stand in front of him, his heart racing as she leaned forward to peer over his shoulder at the ground directly below. He closed his eyes, inhaling her sent. Pleasing as it was, it wasn't hers. She smelled currently of strong, expensive, musky perfumes that his servants had doused her in earlier. Her sent was natural and light, like a forest after a rainstorm, a lily growing by a water fall or spring and summer, fall and winter all rolled into one. She smelled of a tropical paradise, sweet and alive with a touch of vanilla...for flavor. He barely caught a whiff of that under the chemical smell and grasped on to it, burning it into his mind forever.
She leaned back and looked up at him “Its alright, it kept getting in my way anyway. I'll send one of the guards down to get it after a bit.”
He stepped into the darkness away from the scent of her. It was intoxicating and he wasn't sure how much of fit he could handle and still remain in control. “You still haven't answered my question.” he scolded as he sat in the deepest shadow he could find. He wasn't sure he could keep the desire off of his face as he watched her. The lights through the window silhouetted her, framing her in a sparkling backdrop. Her hair shimmered and the jewels holding it in place created a halo effect. She was an angel. He wouldn't have been surprised had she sprouted wings just then.
“What question would that have been?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Oh, fine. Still tired, but with some rest tonight and a workout in the morning, I should be myself again. I always feel better after a good wor...Sesshomaru is concerned about me. Perhaps we should get back.”
“He's worried about you?”
“H-his aura is w-wrapped around my...my wrist,” She stammered as he gave her a questioning look when it took a little too long for her to answer. “He said it was so he would know if I was in danger. That's how he got to me so quickly when the golem...when it attacked me.” She explained, turning back to the window.
A stab of jealousy hit him. Sesshomaru had a connection with her that he did not? “We had better get you back then,” he said a bit too harshly, standing to guide her to the bed for her shoes. “We wouldn't want the great Sesshomaru to worry about your safety while in my care, now would we?”
“I'm sure that not what he meant by that, Your Highness. I'm sure he was simply concerned about if I was feeling well, not if I was fairing well in your company.” He arched his eyebrow as he firmly pushed her to sit on the bed. “Does he have reason to think that you wouldn't fair well in my company?” he asked as he slipped on her first shoe.
“Well. He had...we heard rumors...that you weren't very nice to your other guides and that most were in tears before the end of first day.”
“That's the problem with rumors, my dear. They are full of half truths and lies.” He gently took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. “What you didn't hear is that those other guides...were more concerned on becoming my queen than doing their jobs. Every time I went to a new place, I had to defend myself from the girls who insisted on throwing themselves at me. The last girl wouldn't take no for an answer and even went so far as to show up naked in my room on the second night.” He informed her, pulling her to her feet and draping her cloak back around her shoulders as he pushed her toward the door.
She was silent as he guided her out the door and down the hall. It had never crossed her mind that he hadn't actually been cruel to them for no reason, that they actually deserved the treatment they received... Sure, he had been a bit harsh in the beginning, but he had been nothing but respectful and polite since, if a bit short with her. `I'd probably be a bit salty with people too if I had to beat men off of me where ever I went.'
She glanced up at him, his hurt visible in the clenched jaw and tense muscles under her hand. She was ashamed of herself. He was sacrificing his time, is energy to keep her safe and all she could do to repay him was to believe the rumors about the Prince she had never met.
Sesshomaru looked up as she entered the room with InuYasha and shook his head. She looked so ashamed of herself. His heart broke for her, but she would have to learn to open herself up to people. Had she done so, she would have seen what she needed to before her horrible mistake.
“Sesshomaru, are you sure you're ok with your decision?” the king questioned his friend gently. “She was promised to you first, if you don't want this, I can put a stop to it.”
He was quiet for a time as he pondered. “I love Kagome with all my heart, Your Majesty,” he began slowly. “Never in a million centuries would I have thought I would ever be saying these words, but Kagome needs more than I am able to give her. Prince InuYasha can heal the hurt and pain that still lives in her heart better than I ever could. I wont ever stop loving her, please don't ask me to, but I am willing to let her go for the sake of her happiness. Besides,” he chuckled a bit too dryly, “she was never officially mine. Her father died before the final arrangements for her hand could be made. Know this Your Majesty,” he said turning to face the king, “if he ever does anything to hurt her, I will kill him.”
“If my son ever does anything to hurt her, I will kill him myself, you have my word on that.” he replied, placing his hand on Sesshomaru's shoulder. “If you change your mind about her, Sesshomaru, I won't hold it against you.” Sesshomaru could only nod weakly, his amber eyes shining with emotions that could only be named as deep regret and loss.
The two friends watched as InuYasha guided the beauty on the dance floor in time to the song that just started.
“Your Highness,” she began. “I'm so sorry.”
“For?” he prodded, gazing down at the woman he guided across the floor, amazed at how graceful she was. It seemed her feet still remembered the moves of a royal court member even if her mind didn't.
“For...for assuming that you were responsible for the tears of those women; I should have never assumed that you were at fault for that. I truly am sorry.” He said nothing as he glanced around the room to look anywhere but at her.
She sighed as another song started and he still had not released her.
“Those women were idiots and were treated as such. What makes women think I want someone that throws themselves willingly at power?” he asked after a few moments of silence.
“Not every woman wants power, Your Highness.” She whispered. “Some women just want to be loved.”
He glanced down at her, the sadness he heard in her voice was visible on her face. “You miss your family. You have a family here to replace them though. It's not the same, but some times one type of love has to be traded in for another.”
She nodded; this was going to take some consideration. She had never thought of the people she lived at the palace with, her family. Just people she cared for and people who annoyed her on a regular basis. Speaking of which...
“May I cut in?” InuYasha looked up to see a mischievous Miroku grinning from ear to ear. With a curt nod and a bow to Kagome, InuYasha backed away as Miroku spun her out on the floor earning a yelp and laugh from the demoness.
“Looked like you needed some rescuing, so I came to be your knight in shiny shoes.” he teased as he dipped her.
“Miroku, I'm falling out of my dress!” she yelled reaching for her top that was dangerously close to becoming a belt.
“Seriously, I don't see the problem in that.” he said, bringing her back upright.
Blushing and readjusting herself as she realized half of the room was watching them. “Must you always insist on showing off at these functions? Everyone is staring at us, expecting one of your shows.”
“Then lets not disappoint them!” he spun her in circles across the floor as it emptied to let the much anticipated dance team take control.
“What's going on; why is everyone leaving the dance floor?” InuYasha questioned Sesshomaru and his father as he approached the platform their table was sitting on.
“Sesshomaru was just informing me that Kagome and Miroku are the best dancers the palace has. Apparently, there are people who attend these poof and fluff fests just to see the two dance together. Come sit with us InuYasha and watch. They really are quite amazing together.”
InuYasha bristled at the words `together' but stepped up to the platform to get a better view. His father was right, she was breath taking. The two looked like they were the same person, bonded together by the music. Anticipating each others moves, they were flawless. It was like watching a ballet choreographed by the gods.
He swirled her around the floor, every muscle in control. She glided under his guide as if the two were petals floating on a stream. Miroku sent Kagome twirling across the floor, pausing to wink the ladies standing near by, sending blushes across every female face there before joining her again in the center.
The song ended much too quickly and the couple came to stop in front of the king's platform.
“Miroku, I call the next dance!” a voice called from the crowd.
“Actually, if you don't mind, I believe Sesshomaru and I would like the next two dances.” The king interrupted.
“Of course Your Majesty.” Miroku gracefully bowed out with just the hint of jealousy on his face.
“I had no idea you could dance like that Kagome, it was...beautiful.” InuYasha mumbled, still in awe at the beauty before him. What else lay hidden for him to discover about her?
“You should see her fight then.” Miroku chuckled.
“Oh, I have seen her fight, that night in the garden....”
“Your Highness,” Sesshomaru interrupted. “for Kagome, that was idle child's play. We have been meaning to get her into the dojo to see exactly what she is capable of; it has been a highly anticipated event around the castle.”
“I should like to see this as well.” The king said, surprising everyone. “Kagome, if you're willing and when you have your strength back, will you humor me with a demonstration?”
Kagome's beautiful porcelain face turned scarlet as she bowed her agreement. `Oh gods, now it's a royal event?!' If she could have, she would have melted into the floor.
Sesshomaru grasped her arm. “No dying of mortification until you have danced with me. After that, do as you wish.” He murmured in her ear, his amber eyes sparkled with the gentle teasing, but there was sadness underneath.
“Sesshomaru, is everything ok?”
He gave her a heart stopping smile. He rarely ever smiled and if he did, it was just for her. “Yes, Kagome, everything is as it should be.” She nodded, but continued to star into his eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that this isn't the end of this conversation?” he sighed to her.
She simply arched her eyebrow in the annoying manner he had and earned an even rarer, chuckle from him. He would tell her in due time, she was sure of it. After all, she was now sleeping in his room; she had all night to annoy it out of him.
InuYasha carried Kagome to Sesshomaru's room and carefully opened the door trying not to drop her. Her feather light body wasn't the problem; it was that damn dress of hers. The material was slick and the skirt got in his way every time he reached for the knob. Finally getting it open, he kicked it closed again with a frustrated sigh.
Laying her on the bed, he unfastened the cape from around her neck and slipped off her shoes. She rolled over in her sleep, tucking her hands up under her chin and shivered slightly. Frowning, InuYasha pulled the covers up over her. He wanted to protect this woman; he wanted to make sure that nothing ever harmed her again. Stark would pay for what he did to her and her family.
Sitting on the bed, he brushed a stray curl away from her face and as his finger tips grazed the side of her cheek, she sighed and snuggled deeper into the pillow. She was beautiful and he was infatuated with her.
Standing, he crossed the massive room to the window. She was different than the rest of the guides he had. The rest of the girls had been all about his title and their chances of latching on to that. Kagome was different from them. She didn't care about his title, hell she probably didn't even care about him. He was just another assignment for her, a thorn in her side. He sighed, slipping his hand in his pocket and leaning against the window. The courtyard sparkled below with the twinkling of the little lights in the trees.
He could still see her dancing in the snow, the flakes falling and gently gathering in her hair like a crown. She was his queen, his ice queen. He arched an eyebrow; would he ever be able to convince her that he was worth opening up to? Probably not, but he was going to try like hell to convince her. He sighed, settling deeper in his thoughts, trying fruitlessly to convince himself that she really wasn't worth the effort, worth the risk to his own heart.
She had Miroku doting after her and who knew what was going on between her and Sesshomaru; that relationship was definitely was more than met the eye. How could he compete with them and who knew how many other guys that would give up their left arms to be with her? `Am I even worthy of her?'
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the dark room room. The last thing she remembered was meeting the king; so, why was she back in Sesshomaru's bed? She rolled her head to the side; it felt like it was going to explode. Sitting up on her elbow, she reached up to touch the side of her head when she saw a movement by the window. His black tuxedo blended in so well with the dark curtains that if he hadn't shifted slightly, she would have missed him completely. He looked so sad, leaning against the glass with his hand in his pocket and the other tracing a pattern she couldn't quite make out on the glass. His hair shimmering with the lights from the courtyard cast an unnatural glow about him, framing him, his chiseled outline in a snowy backdrop. Her headache almost forgotten, she carefully got out of bed and crossed the room to the window.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, not even turning around, chuckling at the way she jumped.
His reflection in the window showed a grinning man; nothing like what she saw a few seconds before. Any trace of the deep sadness he had shown before was gone. “How did you know?” she questioned, dumbfounded.
He laughed, his voice deep and rich. “I saw you coming in the reflection of the glass.”
She took a few more steps toward him in an effort to see what he had been drawing on the window. Circles, simple interlocking circles. “What were you drawing circles on the window for Your Highness?”
H e turned to her, smiling. “Call me InuYasha, please, and your wrap,” he grazed a finger down her bare shoulder, “was left by accident in the court yard below. I was thinking of how it would be a shame if it got ruined and was wishing that I could be your hero and retrieve it for you.” Not bothering with the circle question.
She smiled and stepped to stand in front of him, his heart racing as she leaned forward to peer over his shoulder at the ground directly below. He closed his eyes, inhaling her sent. Pleasing as it was, it wasn't hers. She smelled currently of strong, expensive, musky perfumes that his servants had doused her in earlier. Her sent was natural and light, like a forest after a rainstorm, a lily growing by a water fall or spring and summer, fall and winter all rolled into one. She smelled of a tropical paradise, sweet and alive with a touch of vanilla...for flavor. He barely caught a whiff of that under the chemical smell and grasped on to it, burning it into his mind forever.
She leaned back and looked up at him “Its alright, it kept getting in my way anyway. I'll send one of the guards down to get it after a bit.”
He stepped into the darkness away from the scent of her. It was intoxicating and he wasn't sure how much of fit he could handle and still remain in control. “You still haven't answered my question.” he scolded as he sat in the deepest shadow he could find. He wasn't sure he could keep the desire off of his face as he watched her. The lights through the window silhouetted her, framing her in a sparkling backdrop. Her hair shimmered and the jewels holding it in place created a halo effect. She was an angel. He wouldn't have been surprised had she sprouted wings just then.
“What question would that have been?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Oh, fine. Still tired, but with some rest tonight and a workout in the morning, I should be myself again. I always feel better after a good wor...Sesshomaru is concerned about me. Perhaps we should get back.”
“He's worried about you?”
“H-his aura is w-wrapped around my...my wrist,” She stammered as he gave her a questioning look when it took a little too long for her to answer. “He said it was so he would know if I was in danger. That's how he got to me so quickly when the golem...when it attacked me.” She explained, turning back to the window.
A stab of jealousy hit him. Sesshomaru had a connection with her that he did not? “We had better get you back then,” he said a bit too harshly, standing to guide her to the bed for her shoes. “We wouldn't want the great Sesshomaru to worry about your safety while in my care, now would we?”
“I'm sure that not what he meant by that, Your Highness. I'm sure he was simply concerned about if I was feeling well, not if I was fairing well in your company.” He arched his eyebrow as he firmly pushed her to sit on the bed. “Does he have reason to think that you wouldn't fair well in my company?” he asked as he slipped on her first shoe.
“Well. He had...we heard rumors...that you weren't very nice to your other guides and that most were in tears before the end of first day.”
“That's the problem with rumors, my dear. They are full of half truths and lies.” He gently took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. “What you didn't hear is that those other guides...were more concerned on becoming my queen than doing their jobs. Every time I went to a new place, I had to defend myself from the girls who insisted on throwing themselves at me. The last girl wouldn't take no for an answer and even went so far as to show up naked in my room on the second night.” He informed her, pulling her to her feet and draping her cloak back around her shoulders as he pushed her toward the door.
She was silent as he guided her out the door and down the hall. It had never crossed her mind that he hadn't actually been cruel to them for no reason, that they actually deserved the treatment they received... Sure, he had been a bit harsh in the beginning, but he had been nothing but respectful and polite since, if a bit short with her. `I'd probably be a bit salty with people too if I had to beat men off of me where ever I went.'
She glanced up at him, his hurt visible in the clenched jaw and tense muscles under her hand. She was ashamed of herself. He was sacrificing his time, is energy to keep her safe and all she could do to repay him was to believe the rumors about the Prince she had never met.
Sesshomaru looked up as she entered the room with InuYasha and shook his head. She looked so ashamed of herself. His heart broke for her, but she would have to learn to open herself up to people. Had she done so, she would have seen what she needed to before her horrible mistake.
“Sesshomaru, are you sure you're ok with your decision?” the king questioned his friend gently. “She was promised to you first, if you don't want this, I can put a stop to it.”
He was quiet for a time as he pondered. “I love Kagome with all my heart, Your Majesty,” he began slowly. “Never in a million centuries would I have thought I would ever be saying these words, but Kagome needs more than I am able to give her. Prince InuYasha can heal the hurt and pain that still lives in her heart better than I ever could. I wont ever stop loving her, please don't ask me to, but I am willing to let her go for the sake of her happiness. Besides,” he chuckled a bit too dryly, “she was never officially mine. Her father died before the final arrangements for her hand could be made. Know this Your Majesty,” he said turning to face the king, “if he ever does anything to hurt her, I will kill him.”
“If my son ever does anything to hurt her, I will kill him myself, you have my word on that.” he replied, placing his hand on Sesshomaru's shoulder. “If you change your mind about her, Sesshomaru, I won't hold it against you.” Sesshomaru could only nod weakly, his amber eyes shining with emotions that could only be named as deep regret and loss.
The two friends watched as InuYasha guided the beauty on the dance floor in time to the song that just started.
“Your Highness,” she began. “I'm so sorry.”
“For?” he prodded, gazing down at the woman he guided across the floor, amazed at how graceful she was. It seemed her feet still remembered the moves of a royal court member even if her mind didn't.
“For...for assuming that you were responsible for the tears of those women; I should have never assumed that you were at fault for that. I truly am sorry.” He said nothing as he glanced around the room to look anywhere but at her.
She sighed as another song started and he still had not released her.
“Those women were idiots and were treated as such. What makes women think I want someone that throws themselves willingly at power?” he asked after a few moments of silence.
“Not every woman wants power, Your Highness.” She whispered. “Some women just want to be loved.”
He glanced down at her, the sadness he heard in her voice was visible on her face. “You miss your family. You have a family here to replace them though. It's not the same, but some times one type of love has to be traded in for another.”
She nodded; this was going to take some consideration. She had never thought of the people she lived at the palace with, her family. Just people she cared for and people who annoyed her on a regular basis. Speaking of which...
“May I cut in?” InuYasha looked up to see a mischievous Miroku grinning from ear to ear. With a curt nod and a bow to Kagome, InuYasha backed away as Miroku spun her out on the floor earning a yelp and laugh from the demoness.
“Looked like you needed some rescuing, so I came to be your knight in shiny shoes.” he teased as he dipped her.
“Miroku, I'm falling out of my dress!” she yelled reaching for her top that was dangerously close to becoming a belt.
“Seriously, I don't see the problem in that.” he said, bringing her back upright.
Blushing and readjusting herself as she realized half of the room was watching them. “Must you always insist on showing off at these functions? Everyone is staring at us, expecting one of your shows.”
“Then lets not disappoint them!” he spun her in circles across the floor as it emptied to let the much anticipated dance team take control.
“What's going on; why is everyone leaving the dance floor?” InuYasha questioned Sesshomaru and his father as he approached the platform their table was sitting on.
“Sesshomaru was just informing me that Kagome and Miroku are the best dancers the palace has. Apparently, there are people who attend these poof and fluff fests just to see the two dance together. Come sit with us InuYasha and watch. They really are quite amazing together.”
InuYasha bristled at the words `together' but stepped up to the platform to get a better view. His father was right, she was breath taking. The two looked like they were the same person, bonded together by the music. Anticipating each others moves, they were flawless. It was like watching a ballet choreographed by the gods.
He swirled her around the floor, every muscle in control. She glided under his guide as if the two were petals floating on a stream. Miroku sent Kagome twirling across the floor, pausing to wink the ladies standing near by, sending blushes across every female face there before joining her again in the center.
The song ended much too quickly and the couple came to stop in front of the king's platform.
“Miroku, I call the next dance!” a voice called from the crowd.
“Actually, if you don't mind, I believe Sesshomaru and I would like the next two dances.” The king interrupted.
“Of course Your Majesty.” Miroku gracefully bowed out with just the hint of jealousy on his face.
“I had no idea you could dance like that Kagome, it was...beautiful.” InuYasha mumbled, still in awe at the beauty before him. What else lay hidden for him to discover about her?
“You should see her fight then.” Miroku chuckled.
“Oh, I have seen her fight, that night in the garden....”
“Your Highness,” Sesshomaru interrupted. “for Kagome, that was idle child's play. We have been meaning to get her into the dojo to see exactly what she is capable of; it has been a highly anticipated event around the castle.”
“I should like to see this as well.” The king said, surprising everyone. “Kagome, if you're willing and when you have your strength back, will you humor me with a demonstration?”
Kagome's beautiful porcelain face turned scarlet as she bowed her agreement. `Oh gods, now it's a royal event?!' If she could have, she would have melted into the floor.
Sesshomaru grasped her arm. “No dying of mortification until you have danced with me. After that, do as you wish.” He murmured in her ear, his amber eyes sparkled with the gentle teasing, but there was sadness underneath.
“Sesshomaru, is everything ok?”
He gave her a heart stopping smile. He rarely ever smiled and if he did, it was just for her. “Yes, Kagome, everything is as it should be.” She nodded, but continued to star into his eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that this isn't the end of this conversation?” he sighed to her.
She simply arched her eyebrow in the annoying manner he had and earned an even rarer, chuckle from him. He would tell her in due time, she was sure of it. After all, she was now sleeping in his room; she had all night to annoy it out of him.