While one soul was quietly resounding herself to her fate, another was even less enthusiastic about the idea of the impending wedding. He looked out from the castle terrace as the servants and vassals ran around below, hanging up silks and banners to welcome the mortal princess who was to become their queen and their master's dutiful wife.

Scoffing, the Hanyo Lord turned and walked back over to the table where his brother had laid out the marriage contract, written out three years ago and signed by the Lord of the West and the mortal girl's grandfather. In all matters of legal standing, he had already been married to this princess he had never laid eyes on for 3 years.

The only thing missing was his signature.

Looking at the scroll, he read it over for the hundredth time:

On this day, the third quarter moon of the 3rd lunar cycle, 1496th mortal calendar year, it is hereby the decision of the Mortal People of Musashi and the Inu no Taisho Clan that Lady Kagome, Princess of the Higurashi Mortal Clan has proven herself in purifying the Shikon no Tama and will rise to the position of Shikon Princess.

As show of faith in her abilities and respect for her powers of purification, Lord Sesshomaru, Dai-Yokai of the West, declares that Princess Kagome is to be wed to his brother, Lord Inuyasha, Commander of Western Yokai Army and Second Prince of the Inu no Taisho Clan.

Such arrangement has been set forth to secure a treaty between the Mortal and Yokai, as well as establishing a legitimate rule of the Musashi Region under the heirs of both clans henceforth.

The completion of the above-mentioned union and coupling is to occur upon the completion of the 18th lunar cycle since the birth of Princess Kagome, herein the ruling couple will begin there rule formally over Musashi under the guidance and instruction of both clans.

As his hand ran the length of the scroll, he fought the urge to let his claws tear the paper to shreds and cast it from this world. The pointed animal ears atop his head twitched in annoyance and he slashed at the scroll, pulling back his hand as the sting of pain crawled up his arm, growling.

"How many times are you going to try that before you learn, Inuyasha?" A deep, monotone voice said simply behind him. The hanyo's golden eyes turned, glancing at annoyance at his elder brother. "It's been sealed. Your claws will never pierce it."

"Lord Sesshomaru," Inuyasha says in a mocking tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure. I thought you went with Rin to go fetch my wife."

"I wanted to ensure you weren't still pouting like a disobedient pup and actually got ready for her arrival," the elder dog demon replies. Narrowing his eyes, he looks his brother up and down, sighing. "At least you're dressed properly for once."

Inuyasha scratched uncomfortably at the itchy, impractical wedding clothes he had been put in, gritting his teeth. It was hot inside the layers of red, white and gold foolishness and he already had a headache from the tight knot and band the maid servant had forced his hair into that morning.

"I didn't have a choice now, did I?" He asks. "Not with this damn collar that damn monk used to make me into an obedient pet." He yanks at the Beads of Subjugation that were strung on his neck as a punctuation. "Thanks for that by the way."

"You acted the mutt," Sesshomaru looks at his claws, honestly quite bored with his brother's complaining. "I have simply treated you like one until your bride comes to tame you." At the mention of the mortal princess, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Feh," he scoffed. "I'd like to see that spoiled little jewel princess try." The elder brother groaned, scratching his forehead with a pair of his knuckles in frustration. Even for a Dai Yokai like himself, this whining was getting exhausting.

"As I have told countless times you for three years," he growls. "Lady Kagome is a more than acceptable match for someone of your station. She has spiritual powers to aid in securing your unstable rule that you have all but completely neglected for fifty years now. She is attractive, as far as mortal women go, and of a kind heart."

"If you like her so much, why don't you marry her and leave me the hell alone," Inuyasha asks and Sesshomaru shoots him a look.

"I have a wife already," he growls. "Our kind does not make ourselves so low as to take more than one, despite what our father did, and you know it. You're over 200 years and a prince on both our father's and your mother's bloodlines. It's time for you to grow up and take responsibility for something in this world. A wife and siring offspring is the least you could do."

"He's right, Inuyasha," the jingling of the monk's staff alerted him to Miroku's appearance in the doorway before his scent did. "And besides, having met her just this morning, I can say you will most certainly not be disappointed. Your bride is indeed, as Sesshomaru said, a beauty beyond compare."

"You think every woman is a beauty beyond compare, you pervert," He growls and the monk chuckles, playing with the beads of his rosary wrapped hand.

"Well, that is true, but this beauty that is currently travelling here with my beloved Sango," Inuyasha rolls his eyes at him as he starts lusting over the demon slayer soldier, pausing a moment in his thoughts. "Well my friend, I am well aware you have a type and that one is exactly your type. Blue eyes, black hair, soft hands, supple breas-" Sesshomaru noisily clears his throat and Miroku stops, glancing at him. "Oh, did you have something to add, My Lord?"

"You did not perhaps, try to partake in this great beauty that is my brother's wife, did you, monk?" he asks, and the young mortal turns a little red.

"Oh of course he didn't," Inuyasha growls. "If he had, he'd be more busted up than a swollen cheek. Sango was with them and she doesn't let him get away with that garbage."

"Not to mention your claws, once you see how right I am," Miroku says quietly

Inuyasha turns his head and looks out at the setting sun, sighing. The sky was becoming stained with the colors swirling in the sky as the light left. He gritted his teeth and turned back to his brother.

"When is she supposed to get here?" He asks. "This princess you bought me with your diplomacy?" Sesshomaru steps over to him and sniffs. On the wind already blew the faint scent of the approaching wolf pack that had been sent to protect the procession.

"Soon," He replies. "I imagine the wind geisha will be here any moment to announce she can see the escort from her perch in the sky." As though she heard, a yokai woman in magenta and white flew over the terrace on a feather. The feather shrunk and fluttered into her outstretched fingers, which she elegantly stuck into the braid of her pinned up hair. She opened her fan, fluttering it as her red eyes glimpsed the two dog demons.

"My Lords," She says, her voice deep and smooth like silk. "Koga's whirlwind can be spotted on the horizon. The wolf pack that leads the procession will start its arrival within the hour."

"Very well," Sesshomaru says, glancing at his brother, "Know your station and act as such. I have business to attend to." The wind sorceress fluttered her fan, hiding most of her face behind the white and red fabric.

"What more do you require, My Master?" she asks and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. His brother's wind servant had no qualms about flirting with the man she served, even though he had been married to that orphan from a human village for years. Sesshomaru walks past her, towards the edge of the terrace balcony, his body already starting to glow with energy.

"Go ensure the banquet entertainment is rightfully prepared," he says curtly, "Kagura, you know what to do if it is not. And Inuyasha," His angry gaze looks over at his brother, "that contract had better be signed by the time I return." He morphed into a red ball of energy and flew off the terrace. She closed her fan with a sigh and rolled her eyes, throwing her feather and following him off the balcony. Inuyasha sighed and crossed his arms into his sleeves. Miroku sighs and sits down on the floor.

"I really would have thought you a little more excited to be getting yourself a woman," the monk says, "Especially one as lovely as Princess Kagome." The hanyo crinkled his nose, smelling the stench of wolves as they approached, and he realized he already could see their small brown and white shapes approaching at a lope in front of a decorated carriage.

"I don't know her, and I want nothing to do with her," He growls, stepping away from the open doorway and back to the stupid scroll. "What kind of name is that anyway? Birdcage?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure most mortal's names are not as literal as yours, Inuyasha," Miroku says, crossing his arms around his staff. "Besides, I think it refers to her radiance and inner light within the cage of a mortal visage. Kagome is also the name for a basket weaving pattern that is also sometimes called the Star Flower. And if you ask me, that definition quite fits your bride, my friend."

The white-haired prince squatted down, sitting like a dog as he looked at the the three simple characters that were written next to his own name. He slowly reached a claw out, running it down the length of her name, sighing to himself.

"Another flower, huh?" He thought to himself. "Another woman to be withered and wilted by the fact that she has to rely on me, more like it."

As the monk sat and watched his friend contemplate the life he was entering, the sun slowly set over the Musashi castle. While the monk meditated in his friend's silence, the scents of the wolves became denser and denser in the hanyo's nose as the procession approached.

There were the loud sounds of the rolling wagons and the bridle carriage approaching the castle entrance as their wheels rolled and rumbled across the ground and the clipping sound of the horses' hooves against the stones. Howling wolves signified the arrival as they were triumphant in protecting the princess on her long journey from her home to the south.

Inuyasha's ears twitched in annoyance. So, the girl had arrived, had she?

"Are you going to go greet her?" the monk asks, seeing the way his friend's animal ears were twitching towards the open double doors.

"Sesshomaru will bring her," He says, not even looking up and Miroku sighs.

"Oh stop your pouting and at least go take a peek over the balcony," he replies. "I know you're curious after everything I've told you the way you've sat there staring at her name on the scroll." Inuyasha's eyes flicked over at the monk before training back on the scroll.

He didn't want to see her. What part of that did no one understand? This was Sesshomaru's game that he was simply forced to play along in as his brother's pawn. And for that, the stubborn hanyo would do everything he could to make this as difficult to execute as possible for the Lord of the West.

These thoughts were broken as slowly, like the rising smoke of a fire, a soft, soothing scent washed over the dog-eared man and he sat up a little. He turned his head, glancing at the darkening sky. It was familiar, even though it was a scent that he had never smelled before. The longer he rested on it, he realized why.

It reminded him of...her

Inuyasha quickly stood up, his eyes trained on the sky. Who was this girl? Why did she smell like the priestess from fifty years ago?

"What's wrong with you?" Miroku says and the hanyo walked over to the edge of the balcony, looking down at the carriage as Sango exited and held out her hand to help first Rin and then the carrier of the sweet scent.

She was tall, at least for a woman. Her head was turned down, shaded by the purple veil she wore as she approached a stool and carefully kneeled down in front of where his brother stood. A small yellow shape, a creamy furred nekomata, crawled out from under her veil, sitting down beside the young woman. As the veil had been moved, it wafted the scent up to him again.

Yes, it was definitely coming from her.

Rin rushed forward and hugged her husband while Sango slowly kneeled down just behind the human girl as she slowly turned her head toward Inuyasha's elder brother. Her eyes glistened behind the purple veil that had been laid over her and her hands came to rest on her lap, clutching on the red and white silk of her kimono.

Inuyasha could tell she was scared, but she did not tremble, and her scent carried no fear. She was intimidated, as anyone would be, but she was not submissive, her eyes looking up at the yokai that towered over her from the castle steps.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin said excitedly, "Doesn't our new sister look so lovely in the Inu no Taisho colors? Isn't she such a pretty bride?"

"Yes," He says, "You fared well, Rin?"

"Yes, My Lord!" She says, looking around before glancing at her husband once more. "Where's Inuyasha?"

As he watched, the unfamiliar girl slowly tipped her head up and Inuyasha realized that she saw him. She stood up and reaching beneath her veil and pulling it away from her face and lifting part of it up, as though she was trying to see him clearly despite her hidden face. Her long fingers gripped around the shining jewel on her neck, and he could see a deep breath rise and fall on her chest. She looked, surprisingly calm and he felt a breath he hadn't realized he held fall from his nostrils.

He didn't fear him, didn't show a sudden repulsion at the sight of him. That at the very least was a relief.

"He's, preparing upstairs," Sesshomaru says, choosing his words carefully. He glimpsed the young woman rise out of the corner of his eye and sighed. "Lady Kagome, you haven't been addressed yet." The bride quickly looked away from the man on the terrace, her veil falling back down as she turned looking back to face the Inu-Yokai once again.

Inuyasha's ear flicked as the young woman kneeled back down, mumbling softly. He could smell a spike in her scent, laced with fear, and she bowed down. "I'm so sorry, Lord Sesshomaru. I guess I was just-" Sesshomaru looked where she had been staring, meeting his brother's eyes.

"Never mind," He growls. "I will allow your indiscretion slide on account of your long journey." Inuyasha curled up his nose and turned away, seeing Miroku standing there.

"Intriguing, isn't she?" the lecherous monk says with a smirk and Inuyasha pushes past him, scoffing. He looks at the marriage contract and grabs up the writing brush, messily signing his name. "Suddenly a little more eager, huh? I told you she was really something to behold, didn't I?"

"Shut up," He growls. "It isn't like I was allowed to not sign the damn thing. Now it's done." He glanced back at the balcony and saw Miroku looking down. He smirked as his head turned, following the path as the young princess followed Sesshomaru and Rin up the castle steps.

"So, what will you do now?" He asks. "Since I have just witnessed you sign the contract and claim your bride, I would imagine this means you intend to meet her halfway and not give cause to be dragged by the ear like a disobedient child."

"I guess I need to go do my duty and meet this enemy face to face," Inuyasha growls turning and walking towards the room's exit.

"It won't be so bad," Miroku says, gathering up the scroll to be handed over to Sesshomaru. "To try to love such a lovely woman. I know you do not believe it, but you deserve happiness, my friend. What happened in my grandfather's time was undoubtedly a tragedy, but it was not your fault." Inuyasha stops in his tracks, his claws digging into the doorway. "You need to stop torturing yourself for her death, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha slowly let go of the door and tuned back to look at the monk. He wanted to be angry, to scream at him for bringing her of all people up when he was already in a bad mood, but he sighed, shaking his head.

Slowly, he turned and walked down the stairs, his mind racing on the fact that he just didn't believe his friend's words. How could he, when this was just how he had always had to live. How all hanyos were forced to live as their parents passed. Alone and in his own world. He certainly didn't need anybody and he didn't want to think about anyone like he had the first Shikon Priestess. He would take care of this poor girl, give her shelter, but loving her was not an option.

"Hey Mutt-Face!" He heard off to the side as he walked towards the banquet hall. He let out a low growl as he turned to see the wolf tribe leader standing against the wall. "Ain't you gonna thank me for making sure your woman got to the palace? It isn't as though we were completely unhindered with that stone around her neck."

"Whatever Wolf-Pup," he says. "They in here?"

"What, can a half demon not determine scents anymore?" Koga asks, getting a look thrown at him and he just put up his hands. "Yeah, that's where he took her. Enjoy." He cracks his neck and steps away from the wall. "I'm gonna go check on my pack. Ayame's wolves will take the night watch for ya." At the mention of the Northern tribe's heiress, Inuyasha nodded, walking forward as two guards carefully opened the doors.

Sesshomaru stood at the end of the room with Rin at his side, the human bride kneeling between them, the nekomata she had with her sitting on her lap. As he entered, the yellow cat jumped up off her lap and walked towards him, blinking with her wide red eyes. It was then he realized that this wasn't just some random demon slayer nekomata mount. It was Kirara, the jewel protector. He just kind of looked down and the girl got up, walking forward, and grabbing her from the ground, her eyes turned down.

"Kirara! You can't be so naughty," She chides, he eyes flitting up to meet his a moment before looking away again. "I'm sorry, My Lord. I guess she isn't quite used to listening to me." Before he could respond to her, out of the corner of his eye he saw Miroku walk past, holding the marriage scroll.

"It is done then?" Sesshomaru asks and Miroku bows his head.

"Signed before my very eyes, Lord Sesshomaru," he replies. "The contract is binding as it was blessed by all the neighboring priests and priestesses of the region." Sesshomaru looks up at his brother and nods.

"She is yours then," The elder brother says. "I will allow you some time to speak alone. Dinner will be served in the garden once the sun has fully set." Rin bows to the two before following Sesshomaru out of the chamber. Miroku however is sure to slip something into the young woman's hand.

"You might find this handy," he whispers and Inuyasha shoots him a look, only getting a wink in return. He leans forward and whispers in her ear, making her eyes dart to him in confusion before she nods.

"Thank you, Monk MIroku," she says. "I'll, keep that in mind." She clutches whatever he had passed her and slips it into her robes.

The monk gently pats his friend's arm. "Don't have too much fun. I doubt with those claws you'd be able to tie her back into that kimono properly." The young woman's eyes grew wide behind her purple veil and Inuyasha felt a red start to stain his cheeks. Miroku chuckles and walks out of the room, leaving them alone.

Neither the bride nor the groom spoke to each other, just stood there in the awkward air. She was nervously running her hand down the small cat she held, looking down. He was just breathing in that familiar scent. He knew now, up close, that it most certainly wasn't exactly the same as the woman from the years of a defiled Shikon Jewel, though it was similar. She was taller, as she had appeared from above, coming to the center of his chest and he could see her black hair curling down her narrow shoulders.

"Can you even see in that thing?" he asks, realizing his voice sounded a little tart. She looked up at him and shook her head a small laugh escaping her lips.

"No not really," She admits. "I almost fell down on my way up the castle steps. I think Lady Rin overestimated how sturdy I was on my feet, getting me such long skirts on this kimono." She quickly looked down. "Which of course you were so kind to pay for, My Lord."

"Don't," He says stepping away from her, making her look up again. "Don't call me that."

"Is there something else you would rather I-" She starts, and he reaches forward, grabbing onto the edge of the purple fabric that covered her head. Her eyes blinked up at him, her words caught in her throat.

"Just my name," He says. "You're my equal through this marriage or treaty or whatever you choose to call it. There's no need for you to call me anything but my name." She quickly nodded her head as he quickly pulled the veil away, showing the face of the young woman for the first time.

He blinked at her, feeling the rage boiling in his blood. How dare Sesshomaru do this, trick him like this. And to go to this extent, it was low, even for that bastard. Growling, he turned his back to her, dropping the veil to the ground. His fists clenched in rage and he gritted his teeth.

"Inu-yasha?" She asked, her voice different, but he didn't want to see the lips moving on that face so similar to another's.

"I'll," He tried to save the growl in his voice, and he took a deep breath. "I'll see you at dinner. I have something I need to do."

With that, he walked out on her, slamming the doors behind him.