Disclaimer: I do not claim to be the owner of Inuyasha, or any of it's characters, what belongs to me is the plot line and the new characters. I do not own the writings written in bold, they are quoted from a different novel; i did this to increase my (and hopefully your) knowledge of quotations.
Chapter 1: Serendipity
"And, lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty, and beauty
stayed his hand. And from that day forward, he was as one dead."
In a diminutive room filled with ancient Shinto paintings and writings of the most famous scribes in Japan, a young woman with long ebony hair fidgeted in her seat. Even while seated, her posture was upright, yet delicate as a feather. The handkerchief in her thin hands was filled with salty tears. Gazing outside her window, her chocolate brown eyes squinted at the sunset, as she enjoyed the last moments of her freedom.
The sky, filled with many colors seemed to accentuate the last moments Kagome had with herself. The high-reaching blues of the sky turned darker as her gaze went lower, and drew attention to the beauty that lay beneath. The darkest shades of blue, slowly, and with natural perfection turned midnight violet, and yet the amazement lay in the lighter colors of the sky that followed. Kagome's heart warmed slightly at the sight of the tender violet shades turning into bright orange flames of warmth, which captivated her attention completely. The warm orange hue gave Kagome the feeling of tenderness and compassion, opposing the bloody red that followed. She loved it though, the shade of the midnight red, it descended her back into reality, reminding her how cruel life really is. No say in what follows her own life, the feelings of uselessness always stayed in her mind. Was she not her own individual? Could she not follow her own destiny? Truly, her destiny did not lie in what others chose for her, right?
Kagome let out a quiet chuckle, however it was dripping with sarcasm as the irony of the world settled within her. Even as humor was not in her heart, her eyes glistened with amusement, yet tears slowly slid down her cheeks. Was this how her life ended? With herself in a loveless, politically arranged marriage? She had always dreamed about choosing her own path, about absolute freedom and the ability to train herself to perfection. She imagined, she saw images of herself in her mind, her hair flowing in the wind, herself standing in the middle of nowhere, lost, without anybody to help her, yet nobody owned her but herself. Only herself.
Was it absolutely wild for a woman to wish for independence? Every year the same thoughts would haunt her, yet she found no answer. The cup filled with her hopes seemed to lessen and get weaker every year. Would she break now? Kagome narrowed her eyes in determination, as she fought the urge to scream.
'I will not give up. Never, not now, not ever."
Soon Kagome heard silent footsteps approaching from the end of the corridor. Gathering herself, she wiped away the last droplets of tears staining her delicate face as she rushed to the entrance to her room. All the while, her elegant white kimono decorated with young spring Sakura caused her average length legs to cleave together. As she neared the door, for her room was quite capacious, the foot steps quieted until the door was slowly unclosed.
There came in Kagome's adoptive mother, Asako, with glistening eyes filled with excitement and radiance.
Asako was a beautiful snake youkai who in many ways looked as did Kagome, despite her being an adoptive parent. Her bright hazel eyes and long onyx hair which if let loose, would easily reach the floor, held a captivating glow which could have hypnotized any regular human or youkai. Asako was indeed a kind woman who showed respect to even the lowest of classes, despite herself being the higher. Her snake youkai husband, Takeo, being Kagome's adoptive father, was a man of few words and a very short temper. The only aspect he loved more than showing his strengths, was protecting Asako and Kagome. When Asako and Takeo were thrust into marriage by their parents, they were both people with little or no experience in life. With each year, they both grew stronger in mind and body. Despite them being absolute strangers at first, they fell in love as fast as they were forced into marriage. From sharing the most prosperous of memories, to the absolute terrible, they loved each other completely. For years, the duo tried to create an offspring, an heir for the lordship of both Takeo and Asako, yet their attempts were meaningless, for after many years Asako was finally decided to be infertile. The news were taken very harshly from both Asako and Takeo for many years, with Takeo's clan insisting on him to divorce and marry a fertile woman, yet he did no such action. Finally after many years, Asako found a beautiful human infant, whom she fell in love with at first sight. The infant did not seem to have any family or any ties to the world, as it was found lying near an old wood crafted well, wrapped in nothing but a thin blanket. Its eyes were red from crying, its fingers and nails weaker than any average youkai's, yet Asako knew she could not leave a poor infant alone with no care. So as she returned home to her official residence, Takeo was not pleased to see his youkai wife carrying home a human infant. This was a rarity, because humans and demons never truely 'appreciated' one another, and if Asako had not found the child when she did, chances were that Kagome would have been brutally murdered. The traditional youkai saying went 'The less half-breeds and ningen, the better'. The result was an uproar from all of the Eastern lands, as everyone protested against a human being their future leader. However, Asako was determined to care for the child as she held the youngster close to her heart, and after a while, Takeo grew to love the human girl more than his life, and the demons of the Eastern lands grew to respect the lass, and the humans admired her, for she was the only human who might have had a high position in the society of Eastern Japan. And after eighteen years of caring for the young girl, whom they named Kagome, it was decided that Kagome herself was ripe enough for marriage. However, the main purpose for the hurried process, was indeed not of desire and ambition, but for the sake of peace between the two powerful, disagreeing lands, which were at a brink of war, if a hurried marriage was not proceeded.
Asako smiled at her only daughter warmly, and went to sit on the stool beside her. Carefully taking Kagome's palm, Asako spoke nonchalantly,
"He is a respected lord, a youkai, as us, the Western division accepted our offer, you are to wed the lord in two weeks, we are hurried for the Shogun is growing restless."
Kagome's weak attempt to smile did not go unnoticed by Asako.
"Darling, I am conscious of your worries and your desire for freedom, but you have a duty to fulfill, your people are expecting a wise decision, a marriage is the simplest and non-problematic solution."
Kagome wanted to scream, to wail, wasn't she still just a child in her parents eyes? Oh, did she envy her acquaintances, they were still companion-less young women, with nothing but the wind flying through their minds. But what could she do? She had to take responsibility, as much as it pained her so...
"I understand."
Asako's smile only grew wider as she continued,
"There is more wonderful news. The nakado spoke with the Western arrangers, and made that if you are to be mistreated in any way, than a compensation would be given to our clan, you would be returned, however, Lord Sesshoumaru is a respected and honorable man, he dare not commit such an action, since both of our clans are of the same importance to the Emperor, and it will grant both our clans fortune if we stayed in peace."
Kagome sighed and shook her head slightly.
"There was a small misunderstanding when the Western nakado found out that you were of human descend, yet we reached a compromise when he was told of your rare miko powers. He seemed very interested... What can come out of a miko with spiritual powers, and a youkai with great strength? The whole point of this arrangement is a descendant from both the clans that can end our misunderstandings."
Kagome's eyes grew wider, as sweat tricked down her skin.
'A child? I knew one day we are to mate and create an heir, but so soon? He is the resolution to the problem, so a rushed mating is concluded. I can't believe this! A virgin my whole life, and I have to lose my innocence to someone I never met? What about love? What will Inuyasha think of this when he hears it?? My dear Inuyasha... I want to see you, one last time..."
" You will be accepted into the Inuyata family, and from than on, live in the presence of your new family members. Yet I want you to have a more positive view of the intermarriage. You are soon to marry one of the most respected and powerful men in Japan, who has proven his loyalty to the Emperor and the Shogun several times. He has saved the Emperor ones by bringing him back to life, using his famous Tenseiga."
"It’s a great honor mother."
Asako knew Kagome was lying, she saw the way Kagome's fists clenched and the way her jaw tightened, yet she continued on, only shaking her head slightly to show her disapproval.
"Sesshoumaru-sama's nakado offered to collect his soldiers from Makuyama, even though the land is of human occupation, there is still much use we can put it to. Your father wants to establish a military base in the center of Makuyama, to protect the Eastern lands from outsiders."
Kagome's head began to spin,
'Makuyama? That is Inuyasha's home land... It has been under the control of the Western military for years. As much as I love my father, he is a man of rash decisions, even if they turn out successful most of the time, yet still, he is less than sympathetic towards humans, even if he has a daughter from human descant... What will happen to Inuyasha's village? My father will keep the humans in absolute control, there will be no more freedom. The warriors will be swarming all over Makuyama, taking advantage of the humans for their inferior strength... Atleast the Western lord set up the military on the Eastern part of the village to protect his new territory, and therefore protecting the humans. My father will set up the military all over the village, there's a dark age for the humans... "
"Kagome? Kagome?"
Kagome's gaze turned upwards, she realized now that she had been blocking out her mother's words for the past moments.
"I apologize mother, continue."
Clearing her throat Asako spoke,
"As I was saying, he will be informed about the arrangements and will soon be on his way, yet two weeks is the fastest he can make it in. Your clothes and some private items which belong to you will be taken by Lord Sesshoumaru's servants to his domain."
Standing up, Asako gently pulled on Kagome's light kimono,
"Get up, your father and I have other matters to discuss with you"
And quietly, without a word, Kagome walked behind her mother, even as her mind recited what once she only read, and yet she saw the irony behind her thoughts...
' " Give me a modern man who knows how it has to be, Not some old miser who's guarding my chastity, Treating his woman as though she were some kind of chattel, Unnatural, Give me a born true fighter who'll willingly tilt for me, Not some poor flower who'll suddenly wilt when he's hard, Pressed, right in the thick of the battle..." '
Sighing, Kagome whispered,
“If not the freedom or the man whom I desire…”
Jaken awaited the Youkai Lord impatiently as he strode back and forth in the minuscule private room, which was only used by himself and the Lord, to avoid third guest company. He was slightly unsettled about the agreements made with the Eastern Lord about the intermarriage. The demon Lord never planned on marrying a human, as it is considered despicable in the Youkai traditions, yet the marriage was the only solution for almost impossible seeming peace. And the human wasn't a regular ningen, she was of spiritual miko descent... Surely it eased most of the trouble with the topic?
Fidgeting while his pace fastened, Jaken murmurred,
"Perhaps not."
Lord Sesshoumaru didn't particularly 'favor' humans, or tolerate them for that matter. Yet Jaken knew, that deep inside Lord Sesshoumaru never truly disliked humans, until a certain mishap.
Sweat trickling down his green, toad-like face, the demon saw a tall white figure of an inhumanly large inuyoukai entering the room. Jaken gulped down his fear, as his vision blurred at the sight of the Lord's silver hair.
Lord Sesshoumaru's appearance showed great superiority and magnificence, as his almost royal aura was absolutely captivating. He was always composed and tranquil, some youkai who have met Sesshoumaru might have also called him 'dispassionate', yet Sesshoumaru's past showed more passion than those of extrovert youkai.
With more grace than a royal king, Sesshoumaru walked straight towards the center of the room, where an unpleasant conversation was awaiting to be unwrapped.
"Proceed." Sesshoumaru stated in a detached voice, showing Jaken less concentration on the matter than necessary.
Barely stopping himself from whimpering, Jaken started with unease,
"S-Sesshoumaru-sama, I traveled to the Eastern lands and made an arrangement with the Yoshida clan which insures you a fine mate of high caliber. The marriage ceremony should be in two weeks at the household of the Eastern lord Takeo Yoshida, and I have discussed many matters with him concerning the predicament about the border issues along the Kanto Plain, he has agreed to collect his servants from our territory on peaceful terms. In return, I agreed to collect our warriors from the village of Makuyama which as you know has been owned by the Yoshida household for many years, it matters not, the territory is flooded with worthless humans, all they do is put shame on Japan… And the Yoshida are to pay two hundred fuhonsen by the end of the spring, and of course, you are needed to sign the treaty of Makuyama, which contains all the parts of the territory, and marriage deals in greater detail. ”
Jaken's hands shook wildly as he handed Sesshoumaru a scroll knitted with golden threads. Using his thick claws, seemingly made of steel, Sesshoumaru unwrapped the scroll, and his golden, sun-like eyes ran over the contract made with the Eastern lord concerning matters of territory, fuhonsen and of course his yet to be mate.
Slowly Sesshoumaru signed the contract without a doubt left in his determined mind, yet still his thoughts pondered on his soon to be mate. Yet it wasn't because he was in any way interested in her, quite the opposite, even as he had not laid an eye on her, she brought him a feeling of disgust. He could already imagine a female demon with glistening eyes, awaiting him to be chimerical towards her, and a hiss of repulsion escaped through his sharp fangs.
Jaken averted his eyes from Sesshoumaru, as he spoke with a voice full of caution,
"There's just one more matter, my lord."
Sesshoumaru squinted his radiant eyes in distrust as he spoke quietly,
"Hn, and what might it be?"
The green toad turned even greener as he noticed the careful voice of Sesshoumaru-sama.
"Uhm... This K-Kagome is a quite bit... different."
Eyes closing fully, as if trying to reach a level of tranquility, Sesshoumaru's detached façade returned as he brought his fingers onto his chin carefully, obviously uninterested in the matter. He cared not if she differed or was completely similar to every female youkai in the world. What he did care about however, was that she atleast needed to be an acceptable youkai.
"This Kago-Lady Kagome, is a human, my lord."
Sesshoumaru's eyes shot up fast at the toad demon, his usually emotion-drained face showing a hint of confusion. He paused all his movements and thoughts, while awaiting for Jaken to explain that he made a horrible mistake, that it was a ridiculous misuse of words... However, what he heard was absolutely not what he had imagined.
Jaken recollected himself quickly as he began chattering uncontrollably.
"B-But my lord, please don't be alarmed, she is of miko descent, and she is fairer than most of the youkai females in the Western lands, and--..."
Sesshoumaru took a huge step towards the toad demon as he spoke in an uncharacteristic, intense voice,
"So you do not deceive me, yet I find it hard to believe that you might consider me pathetic enough to care for her 'fairness'."
Jaken spoke in an accelerated voice,
"Pardon my foolishness my lord, she is a blossoming woman and--..."
"High caliber? You join me to a woman who comes of a pathetic breeding and expect to stay blind to the matter?"
"N-no she is the adopted daughter of the head Yoshida family, she is well respected among her lands..."
A deep growl escaping Sesshoumaru's lips, he sprung forwards to Jaken in less than a blink of an eye, and soon had his fierce claws wrapped around the tiny throat of a toad demon.
Trying, with all his strength, not to behead Jaken with his fierce hold, Sesshoumaru's hold struggled between his desire and his obligation. Hints of redness appeared in the gaze of Sesshoumaru's eyes, as his fangs made their way out of his lips. Jaken's face took on a violet shade as his vision faded slowly and he made out his last words to his respected lord.
"The Western lands depend on her, my lo--."
And right than, in the blink of an eye, Sesshoumaru dropped Jaken's small body unto the ground, and yes indeed he thought, the peace and blood of many youkai depended on a woman of poor caliber. How pathetic the values of youkai have come to be.
A hiss of digust escaped Sesshoumaru's lips as he exited the cabinet, leaving behind the small body of an innocent demon.
Hours later--Jaken awoke with the greatest hemicrania, as his memories slowly came back to him, and he remembered the harshness of his lord.
A small smile coming to his lips, he spoke quietly:
"Well, he took that better than i thought."
A/N Please REVIEW , and give me constructive criticism, please and thank you, it's very appreciated!