Arranged Destiny
By Lady of the Ink
Rating: PG (might change)
Pairing(s): Inu/Kag, potential Mir/San
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but you knew that . . .I hope. But I do own this plot and all the twists that it takes.
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Chapter One
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Kagome Higurashi frowned as she paced the width of the waiting room with long, jerky strides. While there were several comfortable chairs lining the wall, she had given them little more than a glance when she had first entered the room. Her nerves were simply stretched too tightly to allow her to sit still. At that moment, her near frenzied movements were all that was keeping her from screaming.
She threw an irritated look at the clock and huffed with disgust. After all the emphasis that had been put on her to be on time, her host was closing in on being an hour late. It wasn't enough that she had been forced into this entire situation against her will; now she was being treated as though she didn't matter enough for even the simple respectfulness of punctuality.
Forcing herself to stop and take a deep breath, Kagome could feel her usual even-temperedness reasserting itself. She knew exactly where her irritation was coming from and not all of the blame could be laid at her host's feet. It was her mind's way of helping her cope; if she was angry, she couldn't be so scared.
She started walking again but at a much more sedate pace this time. She wished that the mysterious person she was supposed to meet would arrive soon. All this time by herself was giving her too many opportunities to dwell on things that would be best put aside at the moment. If she started thinking about all the things that she was going to have to give up, it was quite likely that she'd be in tears before too long. The last thing she needed was to be put at an even further disadvantage than she was already at by being overcome by emotion when whoever finally decided to show up.
With every bit of control that she could muster, Kagome sat in one of the chairs. Folding her hands in her lap, she locked her eyes on the door. She was determined to present a calm and collected front, even if it was the complete opposite of what she was truly feeling.
To keep herself occupied, she tried to dredge up all the information that her mother had passed on about the person who had "invited" her there. It had been mixed in with so much other troubling conversation that she hadn't really paid close attention to what was, at the time, one of the smaller problems facing her.
"Kagome, I know that I always told you that your father was killed by a mugger on his way home from work. That's the truth, but there's more to the story than just that."
"What are you talking about, Mama?"
"The Higurashi family has had a very important duty for many centuries. Each generation, one is chosen to be the protector of a very powerful item called the Shikon no Tama: The Jewel of Four Souls. From the time that that person is old and strong enough, their life is devoted to keeping it from the hands of those who would misuse it. The main threat has always come from demons."
"Demons? Like devils?"
"Not quite. Animal demons, I guess you could say. They're not all evil, like you would assume devils to be. These demons have traits of animals, like wolves or bears. They're strong, and some have more than one form. They're a lot like humans in that some are good and some are bad. They're much more powerful though, which is why the keeper of the jewel has always been the one with the greatest spiritual powers. You see, the jewel has the ability to make demons much stronger than they are naturally when they possess it. And not only that, but it can also be used to grant the bearer's wish."
"So, it's like . . .magic?"
"Something like that. The tradition has always been to keep the jewel from falling into the hands of evil in order to safeguard all life. If ever a danger rose that was too great to be defeated in any other way, the wish was to be used to take care of it. It had to be guarded very carefully because there can only ever be one wish made. Then the power of the jewel would be gone forever.
"Your father's uncle was the one to protect while he was growing up, and then the job fell to him. Even before we were married, he told me about it. He wanted to make sure that I knew the dangers I would face if I agreed to marry him, what dangers our children would face. I loved him so much that it didn't matter what it took; I just wanted to be by his side."
"So he died because of this jewel?"
"Yes. I don't know if he was caught off guard or there were too many of them, but he couldn't win like he had every other time. The only good thing that came out of it was that he didn't have the jewel with him at the time and so it remained safe."
"Is that the real reason why we moved back to the shrine? To keep protecting it?"
"Yes, but not only that. You see, when your father was killed, his 'job' was passed onto the next guardian. It had to be a blood relative with the greatest spiritual potential. That person . . .was you."
Kagome shifted slightly in her chair as she remembered the impact that that statement had had on her. It had been hard enough for her to believe that such a thing as the jewel even existed; to be told that she was supposed to be guarding it was completely unfathomable. She remembered staring at her mother, speechless in her shock. Mrs. Higurashi had seemed to understand how she felt and had sat silently, giving her time to let it all sink in. Once her thoughts were in order, Kagome had realized there was something off about her mother's story.
"Wait a minute, Mama. How can that be true? Papa died more than ten years ago and I've never seen or heard of this jewel before today. How could I possibly be in charge of protecting something that I didn't even know existed? And why ate you only just telling me this now?"
"The answer to both of those questions is the same. You see, not long after your father's death, I got a letter from someone I'd never met before. His name was Suya Hian and he had a proposition for me. Apparently his family had been connected to the Higurashi's for as long as the Higurashi's have been connected to the jewel. That family has, for generations, been in charge of protecting the guardian of the jewel."
"Hah! Great job they've been doing, too!"
"Hush, Kagome. Remember that this agreement was made a long, long time ago. Back then, women were thought to be far weaker while men were thought of as the strongest. That's why this arrangement was made to cover only female guardians. The men were on their own. Since it's been five hundred years since the last woman was in charge of the jewel, everyone sort of forgot about the connection."
"That's so sexist! But then again, I guess everything was back then. So what did this guy want?"
"Well, due to your age at the time, he had an offer. He would see to it that you were protected until you were old enough to take of yourself. You would never even have to know about the jewel before you were ready. There was just one catch . . ."
"A catch? How surprising."
"The deal was that he would make sure you were safe until your eighteenth birthday and then, in order to keep protecting you and the jewel, you would have to . . .marry him."
"What?! No way! Never! Mama, please tell me that you didn't agree to it. I don't want to marry someone that I've never met before, and certainly not over some jewel."
"Kagome. Kagome, calm down! Of course I didn't agree to it. You're my only daughter; I would never force you into a situation like that."
"Thank goodness! I don't know what I would have done if you'd said yes. But hold on . . .if this jewel is as powerful as you say that it is, and the demons that you told me about want it as badly as you think that they do, then they'd have tried for it when it was at its most vulnerable. I've never seen anything to suggest that. So if this Suya Hian wasn't the one looking out for me, who was?"
"Well . . ."
"Mama . . ."
" . . ."
"Mama!"
"Now, Kagome, you were just a child! Even before I got that letter, there had been a few attacks. Your grandfather was able to take care of them, but just barely. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to keep it up for very long. I had to think of everyone's safety; yours, Souta's, and Grandpa's."
"But you just said that you didn't say yes . . ."
"And I didn't. Not to his first offer. We came to a compromise of sorts about it. When you turned eighteen, you would go and spend six months with him -"
"What?!"
"Now Kagome, let me finish before you fly off the handle, please. You would spend six months with him and several other girls with the same level of spiritual gifts as you. By the end of the six months, he'll choose the person that he thinks would be the best guardian for the jewel, and that's who he'll marry."
"But you said that the Higurashi family's tradition is to protect the jewel. Doesn't potentially handing it over to someone else kind of go against that?"
"I think that putting it into the hands of the person best suited to care for it is the best fulfillment of the tradition. With his bride's spiritual strength and his own physical and influential strength, it couldn't be in a better place. After all, who would be more fitting to guard against demons than a half demon himself?"
"Wait a minute! You're putting the future of this jewel that dad died for into the hands of a demon, the very type of person who it's most at risk from?"
"Half demon, dear; he's also half human. And I'm putting my trust in him because he's done exactly what he promised to do all these years. You're healthy and safe, something that wouldn't be true if it weren't for him. Besides, according to what I've looked up in the family history, his family is known for their integrity. His father was one of the most highly thought of demons ever."
"Are you sure we can trust him to keep his word?"
"I am."
"I guess this whole thing might be a good thing in the end. Instead of spending my whole life protecting this jewel while being married to a stranger, I'll be able to pass it off to someone else after six months."
"Kagome, I want you to take this seriously. I know you never liked the training that your grandpa tried to give you, but it's important that you work hard at it until the day that you leave. You don't want to give a bad impression of the family, now do you?"
Even weeks later and miles away, the memory of her mother's words made Kagome blush and cringe. It was as though the older woman had looked into her thoughts and read the briefly held intent there. While she doubted that she would have actually been able to go through with it, it had seemed - just for a moment! - that an easy way to end it all was to throw the little contest from the start. That last comment from her mother had sunk that idea, which had probably been her reason for saying it. If nothing else, her mother was a master of guilt.
Crossing her legs, Kagome began to bounce her foot in time to the ticking of the clock. She wished that Suya Hian or whatever his name was would just show up already. Once the ball got rolling, she knew she would be all right. It was the giant unknown staring her in the face that was driving her crazy.
As though her thoughts had made it happen, the doorknob began to turn at just that moment. Kagome stood, smoothing her hands down the sides of her skirt. The door swung inward fully and she gasped in shock at what she saw.