The Other Side of the Coin

by Leloi

“We found her in your forbidden forest, my lord.”  The soldier kept Kagome’s face to the ground, not letting her look up.

“Let her get up…” a younger male voice ordered in a rather bored tone.

For the first time Kagome was allowed to look up.  Sitting on the dais before her was someone she had never expected to see.  “Inuyasha?”  The lord looked human, but there was no mistake in recognizing Inuyasha’s features.

The lord frowned and made a dismissive gesture to the soldiers.  “You are all too familiar in addressing me, girl.  No one is allowed to call me by that name.”  Hopping down from the dais, he moved to get a closer look of the strange girl.  “How oddly you are dressed.  Are you some sort of whore?” 

Kagome gasped and tried to cover her thighs with her hands.  “What are you saying?  I’m not!  All the other girls where I come from dress like this too.  You know that, Inuyasha.”

The young lord sat before her, glowering.  “I have not given you permission to use my name.  You will call me ‘my lord.’”  Standing, he returned to the dais.  “But you seem healthy enough.  Guard!  Clean her up and send her to my room.”

A guard appeared and bowed to the young warlord, dragging a protesting Kagome along behind him as he left.

“Where are you taking me?  What’s wrong with Inuyasha?” Kagome tried to pull away from the guard.

“Silence, girl.  You’ll find out soon enough.”  The guard answered, taking her through several hallways before stopping in front of a door.  “Another woman for the master.”  The guard opened the door and shoved Kagome in.

Immediately many female hands were on Kagome, tugging at her clothing.  “Come here, little sister, we must get you clean for your night with the master.”

Kagome looked around the room of female servants.  Some undressed her while others filled a tub with hot water.  “Why are you doing this?”  Her clothes were taken away and she was left shivering in the drafty room.

“The master searches for his bride.  It is written that she will come to him from the forest.  Many young women have been found in that forest, but so far none fit the rest of the prophecy.”  One young woman answered, helping Kagome into the tub.  “It is our job to prepare them for their night with the master.”

“Night with the master?  You mean he…?”  Kagome shivered despite the heat of the water.

“Oh no, little sister.  The master only examines her, trying to find if she’s the one for him.  We all know this… we were all found in the forest.”  The woman doused Kagome’s head with hot water and massaged her scalp.  “If you aren’t his bride, you will be one of us.” 

“But I can’t.  I have to go home.  This isn’t my place.”  Kagome protested, trying to get out of the tub.

“THIS is your home now.  If you leave… we will all die.”  The woman’s eyes were serious and she gently touched Kagome’s cheek.  “It’s not so bad here.  We are well taken care of by our master.  And no one tries to hurt us.  Out there the world is dangerous but he protects us with his power.”

Kagome shook her head but made no other protest.

The kimono they dressed her in was thin and drafty.  It was only one thin layer tied with an obi.  Beneath it she was naked and cold.  At sundown a guard appeared at the door to lead her to the lord’s chambers.  Pausing before the door, the guard bowed a bit.  “I will be waiting outside should you not be the one.” 

Kagome nodded and waited for the door to open.  Inside the room was draped with richly woven silks.  Standing just inside of the doorway, she looked around, not knowing where to go.

“Come here, girl.”  Inuyasha’s voice drifted across the room from a pile of pillows. 

Silently she obeyed, standing before his lounging form.

“How is it you know my name?”  Inuyasha demanded.  “No one here speaks my name.”

“I just do.  I know you… from some other place.  Except there you aren’t like now.  You don’t live in a palace with servants.”  Kagome answered, looking around the room.

“Then where do I live?”  The lord raised an eyebrow and patted the pillows near him.  “Sit down.  I won’t harm you.  The others should have told you that.”

Kagome obeyed and kept her legs demurely together.  “You don’t have a home.  You’re on the road all the time, searching for…”  Stopping suddenly she looked away.  “Please… They told me that I couldn’t leave.  But I have to.  I didn’t mean to come here.”

“No one means to come here.  This land is cursed.  It’s cursed until…”  Quickly Inuyasha shook his head.  “It’s hard to imagine myself on the road all the time.  I must be tired and lonely.” 

“You were at first, but then you made friends.  And before you met me you were even in love…”  Kagome stared down at her hands.

“Warlords don’t make friends… at least not lasting ones.  I found love?”  His eyes looked a bit hopeful.

Kagome nodded slowly.  “She was a miko.  She and you would have… married but… someone was jealous and caused you two to hate each other.  She was killed and you were put to sleep for a long time until I found you and woke you.  Then you found out about that someone and… forgave her.  She came back to life.”  Her eyes caught his.  “And you still love her.”  Her voice was soft and full of pain.

“And this saddens you?” 

The girl nodded, wiping away tears.

“Because… you loved him too?”

Kagome blinked hopelessly back at him. 

“I’m sorry the one you know hurt you.”  Sitting up, he reached out to gently touch her cheek.  “It must be hard to love someone that doesn’t love you back.”

Letting out a chocked sob, Kagome shook her head.  “That’s just it… Sometimes I think he loves me too.  He gets really jealous whenever another man even thinks of touching me.  But then she’ll show up and he’ll go back to her.”

“In his own way… he must love you.  If he feels jealousy, there must be something there that he’s protecting.”  The lord gave a soft sigh and stared down at her fingers a moment.  “I’m sorry, I must do this.  Please take off your kimono.”

Kagome stared at him in shock.  “What do you…?”

“You still cannot leave.  And I still must check for signs of the prophecy.”

“What is this prophecy?”  Kagome demanded, keeping her arms around her mid section.

“A long time ago my mother was desired by two very powerful rival demons.  They both asked that my mother be given to them as a bride, but my grandfather was very prideful and refused.  In punishment, one of the demons cursed this palace, saying if he couldn’t have her, then no one could… so no one could leave and if they did, everyone would die.  But what he didn’t know is that my mother had fallen in love with the other demon and they had already consummated their love.  Not long after that my mother bore a son… me.  My father could not end the other demon’s curse… but he changed part of it.  When I was old enough, I would find a special woman to be my bride and the curse would be lifted.”  The lord shook his head.  “There are specific clues in how to recognize this special woman.  One is that she be found in the forest.  Another is a mark on her body.”

“I don’t have a mark…”  Kagome whispered, staring down at her lap.

“And yet another is that she knows the name my father gave me.”  The lord took a deep breath and stared at her.  “So far you fit two of the clues.  Please take off your kimono.”

Slowly Kagome untied the obi, pulled it off and allowed the kimono to hang open. 

The lord reached out to slide the thin garment off of her shoulders and down onto the floor so she sat naked before him.  “Lift your arm.”  Reluctantly Kagome obeyed, lifting an arm and watching him gently prod her side from armpit down to hip.  Crawling around to her back, he repeated the process down her spine.  Then he crawled to her other side.  “This arm.”  Again, she obeyed and waited.  His fingers brushed over skin and stopped there.  “How long have you had this?”

Kagome looked down to where he was looking.  “What?” 

“It’s faint… but…” 

It was the same spot the centipede monster had bit her, drawing out the Shikon no Tama.  “A little over a year.  There was something there, under the skin and it was taken out.  That’s the scar.” 

“Something was taken out?”  The lord stared up at her in shock.  “What?”

“I don’t have it now.  It was broken and scattered.  I’ve been trying to get all the pieces back, but it’s tough.”  Kagome stared nervously back at him.

“A… jewel?”  The lord breathed.

“Yes.”

With a gasp, Inuyasha pulled away and stood to cross the room.  “You can put back on your kimono.”

Pulling back on the thin robe, she stared at him.  “How do you know about the Shikon no Tama?”

Inuyasha stared back at her with a bit of fear in his eyes.  “I don’t know.  I only know the name of the jewel… and where it would have been.” 

“What does it mean?”  Kagome asked, tying the obi.

“It means… you’re the one that will break the curse.”

“How?”

Inuyasha shook his head.  “You are to be my bride.”  Turning back to her, he regarded her thoughtfully.  “You may go now and stay with the other women tonight if you wish.  They’ll take care of you.”

“But Inuyasha… I…”

“Tomorrow will be the ceremony.”

“But Inuyasha…”

Slowly he crossed the floor and sat before her.  “You love your Inuyasha… can’t you learn to love me too?”

“I… don’t know.”

“At least… help me break the curse so my people can be free.  Please?”  His eyes held hope and anticipation.  “Then you can go… I promise.”

“What must I do?”  Kagome breathed, staring back at him.

“Marry me… spend the night with me.  After that it will be done… and you can go.”

^.~

Kagome stood, watching the other women move around her.  Every piece of silk cloth was carefully arranged to give her the best look.  The wedding was within the hour and they had very little time left to prepare.

It all seemed unreal, her standing there getting married to… an Inuyasha from another reality.  Who was this Inuyasha?  This Inuyasha was a lot less jaded than the one she spent most of her time with.  It was almost as if this was the one that would have existed had he been born without the characteristics that marked him as a hanyou.  This Inuyasha had the respect of his people.  Aside from a curse, his life wasn’t as hard as his counterpart.  Underneath it all, were they still the same?

Kagome was helped to the door and led into the throne room with all the women in attendance.  Inuyasha stood before his dais.  In perfect silence he was handed a bowl of sake from which he drank.  Passing it on to her, he smiled softly with hopeful eyes.  Kagome took the bowl in her trembling hands and drank.  The liquid burned all the way down to her stomach and she winced, handing the bowl back.  Inuyasha took another sip and passed it back.  They continued until it was done.  Turning to his people, Inuyasha addressed the room.  “It is done.  This is my lady, Kagome.”

The room congratulated them rather excitedly as they beheld their lord and the key to the curse.  Soon they would all be free to come and go as they pleased.  Anxiously the court shuffled them off to the lord’s chambers, hoping to hurry along their freedom.

Inuyasha chuckled, pulling off his ceremonial hat as he stood by the door.  “I can’t really blame them.  They’ve waited a very long time for this…”  The hat was casually dropped on a table as he crossed the room to where Kagome stood.  “Kagome…”  His hand took hers as he smiled for her.  “You look nervous.”

“I am.”  Kagome answered, staring down at her feet.  “I never imagined it would be… like this.”

“It’s alright with me if you close your eyes… and think of him.”  Inuyasha whispered, touching her cheek.  “Especially when we’re…”  His voice faltered and he bit his lip. 

Ending One
Ending Two