By Lady of the Ink

Rating: PG (might change)

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.

"Sango?" Kagome gasped, seeing her friend framed in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

Sango just smiled, stepping inside and pulling the door closed behind her. "How are you doing Kagome?"

"I'm fine, " Kagome answered numbly, too thrown off by Sango's unexpected presence to do anything else. She watched in silence as the older girl found her way to the row of chairs and took a seat. When she patted the one next to her, Kagome didn't even hesitate before obeying the unspoken request by dropping into it. There was silence for a few moments as both girls sank into their own thoughts.

Kagome had known Sango and her little brother Kohaku ever since they had shown up at the shrine just under a decade before. Their parents had been killed in an accident and they needed a place to live. As a last resort, they had turned to Mrs. Higurashi, their mother's best friend from when she was a teenager. Kagome hadn't been surprised when the siblings had moved into a storage building turned apartment; her mother was notorious for taking in strays.

It had been great to have another girl so close to her age at the shrine. Before too long, they had become good friends, spending almost all of their free time together. Sango had even gotten in the habit of tagging along with her all the way to her school after they had dropped Kohaku and Souta off at theirs. It had become their time to indulge in the conversations that were too embarrassing or private to have where there was the risk of it being overheard. Their relationship was so good that Kagome had come to think of her more as an older sister than just a friend.

Kagome had been dreading saying goodbye to Sango the most when she left for her six month "vacation". She wasn't sure how she would handle being without her greatest confidant for so long. That was why she had left home earlier than planned that morning, taking a cab rather than having Sango drop her off as they had decided on. She hadn't been sure she'd have been able to handle saying goodbye face to face.

The reminder of that closeness finally offered her an explanation for Sango's sudden and unexpected appearance. Turning to face the older girl, Kagome raised a questioning brow. "Did Mom tell you about what's going on? She shouldn't have bothered you with it." It would have been just like her mother to tell Sango everything, even though she had already decided not to. Kagome hadn't wanted to trouble her friend with a situation that couldn't be changed, but Mrs. Higurashi had pushed her to confide in Sango, thinking she could use the extra support.

Sango shook her head. "Not exactly. Kagome . . .there's something that I have to tell you." Sango paused, her eyes flitting to Kagome's face and then away again. She took an audible breath before she turned, revealing the pained expression in her face. Kagome's hands tightened into fists where they rested on her lap. A deep sense of foreboding filled her, sitting like a brick in the pit of her stomach. She had to fight to keep from giving into the childish urge to slam her hands over her ears to forestall what she was suddenly sure would be bad news.

"Sango, wait . . ."

"No! I have to explain now, before - " Whatever she had been about to say was cut off when the door to the room was flung open. Both girls jumped at the sound of it hitting the wall and their heads swiveled in unison to see who had caused the disturbance.

A man stood in the doorway, his hands braced on the frame as he leaned inside. Kagome jumped to her feet as his eyes swept the room. They stopped on Sango and a grin lit his face. Sango didn't seem nearly as pleased as she groaned and covered her face with her hands. The unknown man was undeterred, merely chuckling at her reaction.

Kagome was more than a little stunned. Sango's aborted comments had been strange enough; her behavior towards the new arrival gave rise to even more troubling questions. What had Sango been about to say? Why did it seem like she knew the dark-haired man? And if Mrs. Higurashi hadn't been the one to send her, what was she doing there?

"Lovely Sango, it's so good to see you again. It's been much too long." His voice was cultured and fairly oozing with charm. He stepped further into the room in an action the Kagome quickly realized was so that he could get a better look at her friend. As though she could feel the path of his eyes, Sango's hands dropped and she glared at him. Even Kagome, used to as she was of Sango's methods for sealing with unwanted advances, was a bit surprised at the level of ice in her expression.

"The only thing worse than your pickup lines is your sense of timing. I said to give me ten minutes. It's hardly been that, so what are you doing in here? Get out!" Sango's tone seemed to be more upset than it should have been given the circumstances. Kagome recognized misplaced emotion when she saw it and her stomach took another dive. Whatever Sango had been about to tell her was bad and her anger came from not being able to get it out and over with. Kagome wasn't sure if she should be relieved or frustrated by the man's appearance.

"Dearest Sango, you know I live to bend to your whims!" He was across the room and kneeling in front of her in the time it took Kagome to blink. Clasping Sango's hand between his own, he gazed up at her adoringly. "When it comes to your requests, there is no position that I wouldn't try to hold, no maneuver that I wouldn't attempt to complete, no . . .oomph!" The remainder of his sentence was cut off by the flat of Sango's hand connecting with his chest with a considerable amount of force. Kagome couldn't help but wince in sympathy when he hit the floor with a clear thud.

"Well, I can see that the two of you picked up right where you left off. Miroku, get over here."

Kagome's head turned toward the source of the new voice. A man leaned again the wall just inside of the room. While his slouching posture seemed negligent, Kagome could see the alertness in his oddly golden eyes. His hair, an impossible shade of silvery white, was cut into a shaggy style that ended at his shoulders and fell over his forehead and into his eyes. He wore loose fitting slacks and a baggy red sweatshirt but even through the concealing clothes, Kagome could tell that he was no lightweight. From head to sneaker-covered toe, he was coiled energy and barely suppressed motion. She knew at once that this was Suya Hian, the half demon she'd been waiting for.

He was so unlike what she had been expecting that everything she had meant to say slipped right out of her head. All her complaints about the unfairness of the situation and his more recent lateness died before they were spoken. Kagome found herself frozen by her first look at the person who might yet wind up as her husband.

The others in the room seemed to have no such problem. Miroku got to his feet only to be knocked back down immediately due to his choice of handhold. Sango had risen to her feet and stood with both hands fisted on her hips while she glared down at him. Suya Hian seemed unsurprised by their actions, merely rolling his eyes and huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. It was almost as thought the three of them had often participating in similar scenes and so were used to them.

Kagome's eyes drifted to Sango, for the first time more suspicious than uneasy. It was too much of a coincidence that Sango seemed to know both men: Sango, who had showed up at the address only Kagome and her mother were supposed to know: Sango, who hadn't seemed very surprised when Kagome had announced her departure to the family: Sango, who had come to the shrine around the same time that her mother had been making the deal with the very hanyou who now stood in front of her.

Miroku finally made it back across the room, now sporting an angry red handprint on his cheek for his efforts. As soon as he reached the doorway, her host suddenly decided to speak again. "Now that your little reunion is out of the way, maybe we can get down to business." He turned towards Kagome for the first time, his eyes sweeping over her from head to toe. She couldn't even feel offended by the action, so emotionlessly and quick was it carried out. "Sango'll show you to your room. Use the rest of the night to settle in and we'll get to the other stuff in the morning." He pointed to Sango. "First thing tomorrow, get you things together to move in here. From now on, you'll be looking after both of the candidates, not just her. And you," he said, glaring at Miroku, "are coming with me." His orders delivered, he left the room as silently as he had entered it, apparently assured that his demands would be carried out. Miroku followed after throwing another lecherous smirk over his shoulder.

Kagome was left alone with Sango, a situation she no longer found comfort in. She had heard what Suya Hian had said about Sango now looking after both candidates and the meaning of it didn't escape her notice. It did answer one of the questions she'd had since her mother had related the story, though. She had thought that it would be almost impossible to have had someone protecting her for so long and never be seen. Apparently they had thought the same thing and decided that the best place to hide her guardian was in plain sight.

She fought back a wince as hurt streaked through her. The person that she had thought was her friend, her best friend, had been lying to her from the day that they'd met. It was even possible that their entire friendship had been, on Sango's part at least, merely an act to make her job more convenient. No wonder the older girl had always walked with her to school; it hadn't been so that they could talk privately but so she could accomplish her true goal of being a bodyguard.

Kagome knew that she should be angry or upset. She had basically just lost her closest friend. On top of that, the person that she had waited for more than an hour to see had spared her all of two sentences while he continued to dictate her life to suit himself. And all of this had gone on while she was as far from her family as she had ever been. She was alone, isolated from everyone and everything that she was used to, including her emotions. There was nothing but emptiness inside her.

As though she were watching it from a long distance, Kagome saw Sango approach her. Although her lips moved, Kagome didn't hear a sound. It was like she was wrapped in cotton, separated from everything that was happening around her. She remained in that state even after Sango gave up trying to talk to her and led her to her room instead.

It was the sight of her luggage, so carefully packed with her mother's help that finally broke through the all-encompassing fog. Kagome threw herself onto the bed and cried.

Inuyasha dropped into his chair and propped his feet on the desk with a sigh of relief. Miroku followed him into the room, pulling the door closed before taking the seat on the opposite side of the desk. A long moment passed in silence as Inuyasha relaxed and Miroku studied him. He seemed much too calm for someone who had just effectively begun a course of action that would irrevocably change his life. It was too much for him to let it pass without comment.

"You don't seem too concerned about all of this."

"That's because I'm not." As if to further prove that point, Inuyasha closed his eyes and crossed his arms behind his head. "You seem to be forgetting that I'm making all of this happen."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. Why exactly are you doing this? I would have thought you'd be the last one jumping at the bit to get married. What's going on?"

"It's not like I really want to get married; it's just easier this way. The board's been riding my back about it for years and I was getting tired of hearing about it."

Miroku nodded before he realized Inuyasha couldn't see the action. Then his brow furrowed slightly. "But why'd you pick this girl? Surely you could have had your pick?"

Inuyasha exhaled loudly, opening his eyes and letting his feet thump back onto the floor. "Let me spell this out for you so you'll stop asking stupid questions. My family has always had two duties - to carry on the family line and to keep the promise of protecting the women who protect the jewel. Since Sesshomaru seems to have no immediate intentions concerning the first and couldn't be trusted with the second even if ha had wanted to do it, they both fell to me. The board started pushing the need for an heir on me right after my father died. It just got worse when the newest guardian of the jewel turned out to be a woman. They convinced themselves that I was going to get myself killed trying to keep her from getting killed. They wanted me to get married right then to endure an heir and so they insisted that I at least name a bride."

Miroku shifted, a look of mirth lightening his features. He knew as well as anyone that an Inuyasha pushed into something was an Inuyasha sure to rebel. He was beginning to get an idea of what the result of the board's prodding had been and what it had to do with the girl they had just left in Sango's care. He gained even more confidence in his theory as he notice Inuyasha with an evil smirk on his face.

"So you picked Kagome, knowing they could hardly find fault with her since you had to look after her anyway. But since she was so young, it gave you a few years to have some fun before they could start in on you about the wedding." He waggled his eyebrows and added extra infliction to the word "fun" that left no doubt as to his meaning.

Inuyasha's smirk turned into a grimace of disgust as he shook his head at the man across from him. "Not everyone goes through their lives with only that on their minds like you. For your information, I did it to have time to find a way out of it. I figured there had to be some loophole in the agreement or some other relative that would work as an heir."

Miroku rested the first two fingers of his right hand against his chin. "I see. So if you found an heir, you wouldn't have to marry to produce one. And if you found a way out of the agreement, then you'd be out of danger and there'd be no rush for you to marry." He nodded his head slowly in appreciation for the thought his friend had obviously put into his plan. Then he raised one eyebrow. "So what went wrong?"

Inuyasha growled in irritation. "Nothing 'went wrong', okay? I just thought about it and decided that it wouldn't be so bad to get married and get it done and over with. And at least this way I don't have to worry about looking after two women for two reasons. I marry the keeper of the jewel and cut my workload in half. Besides, miko or not, she'll be human. I'm a half demon. It's not like it'll be a lifelong commitment on my part, anyway."

Miroku hummed quietly in apparent agreement. His thoughts were different. He had a feeling that Inuyasha had only accepted the reasons he had just listed off after his original plan had failed. He decided not to press the issue, however, knowing that Inuyasha would never admit to having failed in any endeavor. Instead he switched subjects slightly.

"You told Sango there are only two candidates? I would have thought there'd be more."

"The deal was that the contenders had to have an equal or greater spiritual energy than that girl does. Hard as it is to believe from lookin' at her, she's pretty strong. There was only one other miko that anyone could find who can be considered her equal."

"What's the other one like?"

"I don't know. She's some woman from the north. Apparently she'd been raised all her life to make the most of her gifts. She's been a shrine maiden since she was born."

Miroku gapped at him. "You might have to marry the woman and that's all that you know about her?"

Inuyasha glowered right back at him. "Unlike you, I don't find out the life story of every woman I've ever met. I also don't try to seduce them all."

Unaffected by his rude response, Miroku merely shook his head pleadingly. "At least tell me that you know her name."

"Of course I know her name! It's Kikyo."