The Heir and the Spare

The Heir and the Spare

The Continent of Japan is in danger; humans and demons are engaged in a deadly war. To avoid calamity Princess Kagome, a human, finds herself betrothed to the heir of the demon-dominated Western Lands, Prince Sesshomaru. Too bad she finds herself falling for her future-husband's younger brother, Inuyasha.

.xx.

A bitter nip was in the air; the clouds heavy with rain. But that did not stop Her Royal Majesty Princess of the North from stepping onto her balcony, wrapped in a tight shawl to ward off the chill. Nighttime soothed her; it was when war seemed to be at rest, allowing lives to be lived one night more. Sighing loudly –wisps of her breath visible in the cold – Princess Kagome leaned on the railing of her balcony, watching over the vast land that was hers.

Earlier that day her father and mother had called her attendance; immediately, Kagome knew that the news she was going to receive may not be news she wanted to hear. Her younger brother, crown Prince of the North, was also present but he made an obvious attempt to stay at his sister's side the whole time.

"An alliance must be formed," the King had said to her. Kagome knew what was coming and the look of regret in her mother's eyes didn't help her. The news had been broken to her: she would be betrothed, wedded, and mated to the crown Prince of the West, Prince Sesshomaru. Her heart sank and tears sprang to her eyes but Kagome made the effort to remain strong.

Her people, the humans, were being killed mercilessly by full demons and half demons alike. This union was a godsend for them, if Kagome agreed to wed Prince Sesshomaru, then peace would be upon them. As duty called, Kagome helplessly agreed to the union—she would travel the following day, with her lady in waiting Sango, to the West.

Gently placing her chin on her the palm of her hand, Kagome looked at the sky. It was supposed to be the night of the new moon, but the clouds were hiding the endless skies behind them. In the distance, Kagome saw a bolt of lightning and ten seconds later, a soft rumble of thunder. Even the earth was feeling what she was feeling—solemnness, sadness, a sense of helplessness. Kagome closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten, she was going to cry any moment now and she didn't want to.

But, as much as she tried, she still felt a single tear roll down her left cheek. She opened her eyes in time to feel rain begin to beat around her, mixing her tears with the tears of the earth.

.xx.

Boarded in her horse-drawn buggy, Kagome held her brother's hand out the window. "Stay safe," Souta murmured. At the age of twenty, he was right at the curb of taking over his throne. To Souta's benefit, he had argued that Kagome take over the North, as she was three years older than him and more than fit. But, as their traditional monarch ruled, the firstborn son would be in line to take the throne, and the daughters married off.

Kagome always dreamed of changing that rule.

"I will," Kagome whispered back but knew how false her worse were. She was trudging into Demon Territory—her safety was the most unstable topic of discussion.

Sango clambered into the carriage just shortly after Kagome and Souta finished speaking and sat comfortably beside her Princess and best friend. With one final goodbye, the carriage was off and Kagome's childhood left behind. Shoulders sagging, Kagome finally decided to let her tears roll freely down her cheeks. Sango wrapped a comforting hand around her shoulders.

"Kagome," she said softly, "what's wrong sweetie?"

Sango and Kagome had known each other since they were children, the former being just a year older. Sango's parents were part of the castle Demon Slayers and allowed Sango to roam freely in the castle, with the permission of the King. Not too long ago, her parents were slain in the Battle of Mount Hakurei, leaving Sango and her younger brother Kohaku to fend for themselves.

Kagome's father wouldn't hear of their loneliness, so promptly he hired Sango as Kagome's lady in waiting and placed Kohaku in training to be part of the Castle Guard team.

"I—Prince Sesshomaru—" Kagome hiccupped and Sango held onto her tighter. She felt rage towards the King and Queen; she would be forever in their debt for taking her and her brother in after her parents tragic death but that didn't stop her from feeling a deep contempt. Placing Kagome in such a position was not a fair thing to do.

"Maybe he's a nice guy," Sango said, not believe her own words. At least her comment made Kagome look up incredulously.

"Nice guy?! He's the future King of the West," Kagome wailed, "he's probably very anal about everything and never smiles."

"Well pessimism will get you nowhere," Sango said lightly, "maybe he'll be a gorgeous piece of flesh and you'll be the envy of all the lady-demons and female humans alike."

"You do know that Prince Sesshomaru slit Prince Menomaru's head off without a second thought, right?" Kagome asked her friend. "You have to be lacking a conscience to be able to do something like that."

Sango laughed. "In his defense, Prince Menomaru was a creepy moth demon. Maybe dogs have something against moths?"

"You marry him then," Kagome mumbled, rubbing her face. "They didn't even ask me for my opinion."

"They're doing it for the Continent, Kagome," Sango whispered, "you know their job; they have to secure the safety of Japan along with the rest of the monarchs." Sango leaned back in her seat and released her hold from Kagome's shoulder, placing it on her leg instead. "Besides, be glad you're betrothed to Prince Sesshomaru and not Lord Kouga of the East or… Prince Shuran of the South." Sango shuddered when she named panther prince.

Kagome smiled gently. "Your attempt in making me feel better is working."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Kagome, you know I'm trying to keep your sanity intact until we arrive to the West. Plus," she jerked her thumb to the back window of the carriage. "I brought my mother's hiraikotsu… just in case."

"Lady Sango has thought of everything," Kagome nudged her friend and Sango laughed.

"Lady Sango is a genius."

.xx.

Leaned against a large ivory column, Prince Inuyasha watched in sheer amusement as his brother pulled his armour on and prepared to leave the castle. "Sesshomaru," the ochre-eyed demon called, "you know that your bride is coming tonight, right?"

"And we have dogs dying on the battlefield," Sesshomaru barked. "I will be back in two days' time. Keep her company while I'm gone."

"Do mother and father know?"

Sesshomaru's eyes flickered to his brother before he turned to attach his sword, So'ounga, to his back. "No." And before Inuyasha could make a remark, Sesshomaru exited the vicinity of the castle. Wanting to burst into laughter, Inuyasha shook his head and began to saunter his way into the kitchens. Sesshomaru would be in so much trouble when their parents found out…

The chefs bowed as Inuyasha entered before resuming their task in create a rather delectable feast for their future Princess. Grabbing an apple, Inuyasha left the kitchens and continued his aimless walk into the courtyard. He should be practicing his sparring, but he would rather mull around and do nothing. Besides, he couldn't very well be sweaty when his future-sister-in-law arrived.

He had to play the great brother-in-law, since Sesshomaru decided to up and out.

"INUYASHA!"

Cringing, the young prince tried to find a place to hide from his irate father. Stupid Sesshomaru—Inuyasha didn't realize as his brother left that he would be the target of their father's rage.

"WHERE. IS. YOUR. BROTHER?"

Why couldn't his father be like the other Kings of the Lands? Why was his father so involved in their lives?!

I need a tree to climb! Why the hell aren't there any trees out here?! As Inuyasha decided to scale the side of one of their castle towers, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder and his heart stopped beating.

He was so dead.

"Boy, if you want your family jewels intact, I suggest you start talking." He heard the annoyance in his father's voice. "Now!"

"Sesshomaru decided that he was into men instead of women and couldn't bear to live his life next to a wonderful female specimen!" Inuyasha said the first thing that came to his mind and, successfully, caught his father off guard. Taking the moment of shock to his advantage, Inuyasha decided to high-tail it out of there—in approximately ten seconds; his father was hot on his tail.

"This is not funny, Inuyasha!" Inutaisho called as he turned sharp corners. He let his son believe that he was going to win—Inutaisho could outrun both of his boys any day of the year. "If you don't tell me where your brother is right now—"

Inuyasha grunted as he jumped off of a wall, grabbed a wall sconce, and projected himself onto a high windowsill. Inutaisho simply shook his head as he ran up the length of the wall at such a speed that it caught Inuyasha off guard. Before the young prince could respond, his father landed on the windowsill and caught him by the scruff of his shirt. "Speak. Now."

"Sesshomaru said that some of our men were injured on the battlefield so he just left," Inuyasha choked. "I think he's just afraid of meeting his future wife."

Inutaisho examined his son for a second longer before letting his shirt go. "If you wanted to play tag, boy, you could've asked." Inutaisho muttered. "And you better believe that your brother will be going through hell and back when he comes home." Inutaisho glanced over at Inuyasha. "When did he say he'll be back?"

"Two days," Inuyasha muttered. Before Inutaisho could respond, somebody shouted their names from the ground, just below where the Dog Generals perched.

"KING INUTAISHO!"

Both demons looked down to see Inutaisho's vassal and blacksmith, Totosai, looking hysterical. "What is it, Totosai?" Inutaisho bellowed and the words that came next stopped both the demons' hearts immediately.

"Princess Kagome's carriage was attacked by a band of panthers!"

Inutaisho's eyes widened and Inuyasha grunted, leaping off of the windowsill. Inutaisho followed right after and, before the King could say anything, Inuyasha spoke: "Get my sword from the Weapons Chamber," he instructed Totosai. "I'm going to get her."

.xx.

What possessed Inuyasha to offer to save his future-sister-in-law, he didn't know. All he knew was that as soon as he heard that her carriage was attacked, he had to go find her. Perhaps it was the knowledge that she was soon to be family? Or maybe it was the fact that her own fiancé wasn't around to help her when she really needed him.

Regardless, Inuyasha found himself running amongst five dogs, using their noses to scout out where the fallen Princess was. He kept his senses on alert mode; any lead he would follow it. If it were the smell of blood or the sound of an in-pain woman or—

"I see the carriage!"

Or if it was the carriage itself.

The five demons plus Inuyasha stopped short upon witnessing a surprising sight. By the broken carriage was an ethereally beautiful woman, dressed in a fancy kimono, wielding a sword and attempting to get past a feral panther demon, and another woman dressed in less fancy wear, throwing around a giant boomerang.

"Get AWAY!" The nicely dressed beautiful woman roared as she threw a punch and managed to land it on the panther's jaw. Before the demon could retaliate, Inuyasha surged forward and grabbed him by the neck, throwing him aside.

"Didn't King Panther ever tell you to fight demons your size and not defenseless human women?"

A dangerous spark lit in the woman's eyes but she chose to say nothing. Inuyasha, by the short glance he had of her face, knew she was a beautiful woman. Her stark blue eyes were contrasted by her long raven tresses, all exemplified by her caramel complexion. Inuyasha's eyes bore into the panther's and, knowing that he was in trouble, the panther ran. His comrades followed.

"I'm not a defenseless human woman," the girl finally spoke, her voice a little loud. Her companion's eyes were stricken and she clung onto her boomerang.

"Kagome…" She murmured and Inuyasha's grin grew. He finally turned to Kagome and allowed himself to drink in her beauty… if all human women looked like her and fought like her, he would make sure to get himself one soon. His brother was a lucky, lucky dog.

"Ahh," Inuyasha bowed low, "Princess Kagome," his fellow dogs followed. "Allow me to introduce myself, some call me His Royal Majesty, you may call me Inuyasha."

Kagome's heart slowed to a halt. She just told off her future-brother-in-law.

Crap…

"Oh my," she squeaked, "pleasure to make your acquaintance… I didn't know you… well, you see…"

"Understandable, Highness," his smirk was sinfully sweet and Kagome's heart fluttered. If Inuyasha was so damned good looking, she could imagine how her future husband may look. And here she thought most demons were grotesquely ugly, Inuyasha proved her wrong. "Your fiery spirit is refreshing despite the warring circumstance we live in."

Kagome wanted to blush but fought hard not to succumb to the blood rushing to her face. His voice was just as attractive as he was…

"So THIS is where you're cowering?!" Sango's shriek cut through the air and the dog demons plus Kagome turned to look at her grabbing their driver by the scruff of his neck. "You're hiding and while Princess Kagome and I are protecting ourselves from demons?! I oughta tell King Akira, you coward."

With two long strides, Inuyasha approached Sango and the cowardly driver. Sango immediately took a step back and Inuyasha took over. "Leave," he whispered lethally, "and don't ever come back."

That was all the man needed to hear as he turned and ran off. Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to his dogs: "Gather their things. Yabai, take the Princess's lady in waiting. Highness, you come with me."

Kagome gawked. "But the carriage! How are we supposed to—"

"Simple," Inuyasha cut her off, his ears twitched as a light gale breezed by. "You ride on my back."

.xx.

A fire gnawed in the pit of Inuyasha's stomach. He could feel Kagome's chest pressed against his back and it felt wrong to feel so good about it. The woman on his back belonged to his brother; an alliance to bring two races together. He shouldn't be having ravenous thoughts about his future-sister-in-law, despite the fact she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met in his life. She outdid any demoness he'd seen and gave any human a run for their money.

But she was his brother's bride.

"Thank you," He heard her murmured and his lip twitched. "I know they were toying with us… I didn't know how long Sango and I…"

"Relax, Highness," his voice drawled, "you're alive, you're coming home, and my parents will pamper you like no tomorrow."

Kagome nodded, sorrow clenching her heart. Inuyasha was so sweet that she almost felt bad for not wanting to marry his brother. Evidently their upbringing was proper if he showed her as much care and respect as he did. But that didn't change the fact that she was supposed to partake in a loveless marriage with a demon. She knew her lifespan would be extended to match that of her husband's and canines mate for life.

There was no turning back.

She felt like a pawn.

"I can smell your distress," Inuyasha mumbled. "You're not happy with the alliance?"

Kagome decided to keep her mouth shut. He was prying and she wasn't going to reveal to him that she did not want to marry his brother at all. Inuyasha took her silence as his answer and decided not to say anything else to her for the remainder of their run back to the castle. The beautiful woman had much sorrow in her heart and would probably be even more disappointed to find that Sesshomaru wasn't even at the castle.

Inuyasha's heart clenched for her.

His brother was stupid for running off when he did. They had armies for a reason, for what plausible explanation Sesshomaru thought he had to run off on his own was simply stupid. They arrived at the castle and were immediately swarmed by nurse demons, butlers, servants, and the whole hoard. Kagome and Sango were whisked off and Inuyasha instructed his dogs to put their belongings in her appointed room.

Not long after, as Inuyasha headed towards his room, he was intercepted by his father.

"Thank you, son."

Inuyasha shrugged. "We can't form an alliance if the Princess was killed, now could we?"

"Your heart is in the right place. Your mother is ecstatic." Inutaisho gave his son a lopsided grin. "If she weren't tending to Princess Kagome, she'd be here showering you with affection. Alas, your idiot brother isn't around for such a monumental occasion."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Sesshomaru's never around for anything."

Inutaisho chuckled softly. "I concur. Dinner will be served at the regular time. Do you mind escorting Princess Kagome to the formal dining hall? Her lady in waiting will be tended to and brought down by some of our ladies."

Inuyasha found himself nodding—he felt the familiar fire again in the pit of his stomach. He could not shake the feeling of her on his back. Or her face out of his mind.

"See you then," Inutaisho nodded and walked off. Inuyasha exhaled loudly… if he was to live with her for the rest of his life and regard her as nothing more than his sister, he was in serious trouble.

No sister of his should have the right to look that good.

.xx.

Kagome, against her will, was pulled away from Sango and tended to by at least half a dozen demonesses. Her kimono was changed, her hair was done, and her makeup was applied. When she finally managed to squeeze the question out of where Sango was, one of the demoness replied by saying she was in the servants quarters, bathing and getting tended to herself.

Kagome exhaled loudly. At least she was safe.

After what felt like eternity of being tended to, the six demonesses exited not before informing her that Prince Inuyasha would escort her to the formal dining chamber. Waiting on the bed, Kagome twisted her hands on her lap and tried to keep her mind away from the sorrow thoughts that constantly plagued her.

She had to be courteous. Inuyasha hadn't done anything to her, and her role in the map of fate was to end the violence between demons and humans. Her happiness was not on fate's list so she should embrace the opportunity given to her. She would ensure the continent of Japan would remain safe. But Kagome's sadness still loomed over her, no matter how hard she tried to shake it off.

"You know your beauty would be exemplified if you decided to smile."

Eyes wide, her head shot up to find Inuyasha leaning against the door, smirking. Her stomach did a somersault; he looked even better in his prince attire than he did in his armour. "I didn't see you there," she squeezed out.

Inuyasha entered the room and bowed deeply in front of her, showing her that he held high respect for her. "I apologize for startling you, Highness."

Kagome forcefully smiled. "You may call me Kagome."

Inuyasha looked up and grinned. "A beautiful name to match an even more beautiful lady." Inuyasha stood up straight and extended his arm out to her. "I've been given the gracious opportunity to escort you to dinner tonight."

Reluctantly, Kagome placed her hand in the palm of Inuyasha's clawed one. A sizzle shot up her arm and she withdrew immediately. Inuyasha looked at her curiously. "Highness—I mean, Kagome?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she placed her hand in his palm once more and he closed his fingers. He helped her stand up before gently holding his elbow out and placing her hand on the grove of his arm.

Though Inuyasha didn't want to admit it, but he felt the shot of electricity as well.

.xx.