Author's note:

Finally got a chapter out :)

Have been busy with moving and school, so thx for your patience :)

Please review!

Love

CayaC

Chapter 14 –

Night of the party –

Kagome –

Kagome looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a masterpiece. No hair was out of place. Her makeup was flawless. Her kimono was a dark purple color, with pink flower paddles. She had to admit that her maids had done an excellent job. She kept fidgeting with her sleeves. Sesshoumaru had still not been announced downstairs, meaning… he was running late. She had made plans to delay and perhaps counterattack whatever Naraku was up to, just in case… But… She would still need help to save her father… if she could…

A knock sounded on the door, signaling her presence was needed. She could not continue hiding in her room to buy Sesshoumaru time…and most of all… herself. Kagome straightened her back and walked out with the dignity of a princess, which she was.

Ballroom –

"May I present, The Lady Aya of the North" sounded the announcement. She looked around, hoping to see some familiar faces, but she only recognized her family, whom was waiting for her to join them, and so she did. She bowed before her parents as decorum demanded. Her mother smiled brightly at her, Shippou too. Her father nodded in acceptance and nothing more. To his right stood a purple haired, green-eyed youkai, who smiled venomously at her. He bowed, though it seemed more like a flick of the neck, and her father presented them to each other

"This is my heir Yuri. Show him proper respect" "Or there will be hell to pay" he added with his eyes. Kagome forced a smile on her lips and bowed deep

"A pleasure to finally meet you Lord Yuri" she stated as melodic as possible. He was still a gross-face arrogant prick, you could see that in his attitude alone, but she fought hard not to let her opinion show on her face. Yuri returned the false smile

"And a pleasure to finally meet my 'sister'" his smile did not reach his eyes, but who could blame him? The original heir had returned and he felt threatened. When it came down to it, it was the elders of the family that chose the new ruler when their Lord and alpha died, and if the elders ended up preferring her over Yuri, then neither Yuri or her father would have a say in it.

Lily locked arms with Kagome, going from one group of noble youkais to another to introduce her.

An hour later –

She was being introduced to two female youkais. A kitsune and a fire-lizard youkai. Kagome kept having the feeling that she somehow knew them, and before she knew what was going on, she was being embraced by the two females

"Aya! It is so good to see you again!" Kagome got herself wriggled out from the bone crushing hug and looked at the kitsune's dark brown hair, green eyes, and a yellow sun mark on her forehead

"Kira?" she then looked at the fire-lizard youkai. Her red hair, yellow-ish eyes and a red flame as her family mark

"Chi?" both females nodded happily. Realization struck Kagome. Kira was the youngest princess in the East and Chi was the oldest princess of the South. They had been her best friends during her childhood

"Oh my god! It has been so long! It's so good to see you guys again!" Kagome said, now hugging them back, and then she led them go and smiled big

"Remind me later that I have to introduce you to my friends and companions… Of course… Only if you wish to…" she added a bit cautiously. She was not sure what they would think of a monk and demon-slayer being her friends, but her youkai friends nodded eagerly, not knowing what they were actually agreeing to…

Before they got the chance to talk further about their lives before they got out of touch, the steward opened the doors, announcing the arriving guests

"The Lady Sakura of the West and the West's ward Lady Rin" Kagome smiled, though she had to wonder where in the world Sesshoumaru was, since he had not arrived with them, but just behind Lady Sakura she saw a glimpse of Miroku and Sango, trying to convince the steward not to announce them. The steward seemed pale a moment later, so they seemed to have succeeded. Then they immediately turned and saw Kagome and hurried towards her, thought she did not like the look on their faces… it seemed they had failed on some, if not all of their tasks… To distract herself from negative thoughts she turned towards Kira and Chi

"And here they are…" she gestured to her two companions who had just arrived behind her. She turned and gave them both a big hug

"We will talk later" she whispered. She felt Sango nod

"Lady Kago…." Miroku stopped and corrected himself, remembering to bow

"Lady Aya, you look breathtakingly beautiful tonight" Sango bowed too, or tried too. Kagome stopped her halfway through

"Please stop with the formalities please, it's hard enough to get used to again, but I will always be Kagome to you guys" she stated in all seriousness, but with a tender smile on her lips

"To an event such as this, it is necessary Lady Aya" Miroku counted. Kagome sighed and waved her hand back and forth in defeat, then she turned and introduced them to her youkai friends

"Well, okay then… But! You have to meet some friends of mine. Sango, Miroku, this is Lady Kira of the East" she started, gesturing towards Kira

"And this is Lady Chi of the South" and then gestured towards Chi. Kira and Chi nodded as a greeting, and at the same time looking at Miroku and Sango with curiosity

"Kira, Chi, this is my dearest of friends, the demon-slayer Sango and Monk Miroku" and as expected her two youkai friends looked at them surprised, and a bit terrified

"A demon-slayer and a monk?" they both asked in disbelief. Kagome giggled

"Now, come on and try to be friendly. They are not like average humans, and they have youkai friends to… me included. Sango's best friend is a neko youkai called Kirara and Miroku has a dear friend who is a raccoon youkai" again they just looked at her human friends in surprise and disbelief.

"Are you really friends with Kirara? I have met her a couple of times…" and then Chi and Sango started talking about their mutual friend, and Kira were in the middle of a spiritual conversation with Miroku

"Perfect" Kagome thought with joy

"Kagome-chan!" she heard a small femine voice call behind her. She turned to see Rin, Jaken and Lady Sakura. Again, her thoughts went towards Sesshoumaru and his whereabouts. She smiled to Rin

"Rin-chan!" Kagome knelted to hug the sweet little girl

"I am so happy that you could make it" then she rose and nodded smiling as a greeting to Lady Sakura who did the same in return

"I am even happy to see you here tonight Jaken" Jaken looked at her surprised, eyes as big as plates, obviously taken back by the sincerity of her words, but it was soon replaced by a scowl

"I am babysitting for tonight Lady Aya" he stated, clearly sulking over that fact

"Still, I hope you get to enjoy your evening as well" Jaken smiled a small smile in gratitude. Kagome looked at Rin

"Why don't you and Jaken try and find Shippou while I have a little talk with Lady Sakura?" Rin nodded with a big smile on her face and then left the two women so they could talk. Kagome stood next to Lady Sakura with her head held high, gazing around the room, smiling to those she got eye-contact with

"Where is he?" she asked low. She was getting nervous.

"He had some things to take care of. He left a while ago, but he promised to attend tonight" Lady Sakura answered, clearly unaware of their plans. Kagome sighed, but plastered on a smile when she was a male youkai walking towards her with determined steps. When he stood in front of her, she had to look up. He was tall, but not as tall as Sesshoumaru. He had long black hair with two white streaks in it. His eyes was dark green, and he had a yellow sun mark on his forehead. Kagome recognized him as Kira's eldest brother

"Lady Aya, Lady Sakura" he said bowing for each of them

"Would you allow me this dance?" he asked charmingly. Kagome did not want to, she actually hated to dance, but thanks to those ludicrous rules and decorum it would be very rude to decline, and Sesshoumaru were not present to scare him away

"Of course Lord Akiko" she turned and bowed for Lady Sakura and then placed her hand in Lord Akiko's, and then she was dragged out to dance.

Sesshoumaru –

Damn! He was late! His grandmother and Rin, and the two humans had already left, but he had encountered problems with his task and two of his villages had been under attack, so he had been forced to take care of that as well. The two witches had stayed back in his palace, though the wind witch had tried to come with, she had understood after a punch that it was out of the question. Now, he was at the Northern palace's gates, and he noticed his grandmother standing there, probably waiting for him

"Why are you waiting out here?" he asked, stopping his run next to her

"Waiting for you of course. Kagome is a nervous wreck, even though she conceals it well. She probably needs rescuing" she answered with a big grin on her face. Sesshoumaru looked towards the palace. There was nothing more than happy guests chatting and laughing, music playing and dancing couples. Nothing seemed out of place

"What could she possibly need rescue from?" The Aya…No… Kagome that he had gotten to know and love could take care of herself. Sakura giggled lightly, clearly amused about something

"Let's just say, she haven't had a moments rest since the entered the ball room" now she giggled even more. Sesshoumaru's eyebrow went up

"What is she hinting?" he thought confused. Sakura snorted and gestured for him to follow her

"Is it really that hard to believe that other male youkais will be swarming around her when no one has made a claim on her yet?" Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks, his beast screaming inside of him in anger. Realizing what Sakura was saying he hurried, if not ran into the palace, leaving his grandmother behind who was having a fun time laughing big time.

When he finally got his breathing under control, he entered the ballroom. He looked around and then froze to the spot. He had not been prepared for the sight before him. She was standing across the room with her friends, but she looked so…

"Breathtakingly beautiful?" his beast helped

"Yes" he gulped. He had not felt like that before… In addition, it made him uneasy.

Kagome –

Kagome looked down, trying hard to keep herself from crying. She felt Sango's hand on her shoulder. It had been, as she had feared… They had not been able to find a solution to her father's dilemma. She only had one card left, one she had tried but failed at… but at least this time she would have help from her friends. Then Kagome looked up. She felt him. His aura. She turned around and looked straight into Sesshoumaru's eyes, she visibly relaxed and smiled big, her smile only grew when she saw him nod as confirmation that he had achieved his task. Maybe that could help her father, at least long enough for her, to do her part

"You are finally here" she took his hands and just kept smiling and looked into his eyes. It had been so long since they had last seen each other. Sesshoumaru smirked and looked at her teasingly

"Have this Sesshoumaru been missed? I got the impression that you have been busy all night with other males, perhaps you have even found someone to your liking?" Kagome shot him a deadly glare before smiling mischievously

"Oh you mean Lord Akiko? Indeed a charmer… I might even get a few proposals before the party's end… How to choose… and whom to choose…I wonder, I wonder…" and then Sesshoumaru's smirk was gone… Kagome giggled, but then she became serious.

"We have a problem… but I need all of you guys' help… so this is what we should be for now…" Miroku, Sango and Sesshoumaru got in close while Kagome explained her plan. They all nodded in confirmation

"I will go prepare, and when my performance starts, you will get into position… And remember… Keep an eye out for Inu-Raku… He will be here tonight… Of that I am certain" once again they all nodded, and Kagome walked towards her mother to start the first step of her plan.