It was a fine spring morning, the birds were chirping and the woodland creatures were scampering around. The meadows were just beginning to bloom their spring flowers and the day itself was pleasant; warm but with a brisk feel about the air. It was early morning and though the animals were up and about in the forests the humans in the village nearby were only just awakening and beginning their morning regimen.
Inside one of the huts was a young woman. Her hair a black as night, eye blue as the sky and heart as pure as they came. She was the miko Kagome Higurashi. She wasn't originally from this village; in fact she wasn't even from this time era; because of a incident years ago when she was fifteen she'd called through time by way of an old well known as the Bone Eaters Well which was located outside of the village of Edo and because of the incident she'd come to the feudal era in Japan, found a young hanyou named Inuyasha stuck to a tree by a arrow and thus freed him. Once freed he'd demanded she hand over the Shikkon Jewel. If it hadn't been for the elder miko of the village, Kaede she may have been hurt by him. As it turned out the jewel had been stolen from her, then busted by her when she'd shot the yokai who had taken it. By shooting the creature she'd shattered the jewel and this began their journey to put it back together. Along the way she'd made friends with a monk named Miroku, who was cursed, a slayer named Sango, who became like a sister to Kagome and a kit named Shippo, whom she'd adopted and had become her son. The five of them for years had hunted down each jewel shard, made many friends and enemies along the way and when the evil hanyo Naraku had taken the shards they'd thought all would be lost, but as a team they'd brought him down. So now after four years of fighting evil and going between the past and present to school Kagome Higurashi finally had peace.
"KAGOME!"
The loud sound knocked Kagome out of her sleep and into the real world. She'd been sleeping and dreaming of peace between youkai and humans. Looking over at the entrance of the hut to the source of the loud noise she couldn't help but groan. There standing with one of his smirks in his face was Inuyasha. Her best friend and mate to be. "Inu..." she groaned as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "What do you want?"
Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head. He'd known that waking her with a yell had been rude but he wanted her awake. She'd slept enough and it was daylight. Plus he hadn't eaten anything yet. Growling slightly he looked down at his hands and crouched down to her level. His eyes were covered by his bangs. "I wanted you to get up." He said softly. "You sleep so heavily that nothing wakes you unless I yell your name."
Kagome looked the hanyo over and smiled. Inuyasha had been increasingly nice over the last few weeks. She knew this was because she'd finally agreed on a time when they'd get married and be mated. She also knew it was because he was hungry for food. Yawning and then stretching she nodded. "Okay. I'll get up and make breakfast." She smiled as he lifted his face to hers and gave her a large smile before he turned and left the room. Sighing Kagome stood up and began to pick up the bedding and put it away. She then turned and began cleaning her face and dried it on one of her towels from home. Finally she walked outside to find a fire going in the fire-pit in front of the hut and her stuff all set out waiting for her. Looking over to Inuyasha, who was trying to play innocent by playing with one of the Sango and Miroku's twins girls. Kagome smirked and turned towards the food that was laid out and began making breakfast.
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Across the land in the west the western palace was abuzz with the feeling of spring in the air. Servants ran through the palace performing their duties as they were told to do. A small green toad walked through the halls yelling at the servants, keeping them on their toes at all times. Jaken relished in making these lower youkai work. Lord Sesshomaru's faithful servant loved working for his lord and ensuring that his home was kept in perfect condition. Even when Lord Sesshomaru didn't take Jaken with him on his journey's across the western lands to monitor what was happening on his lands, Jaken always understood that sometimes he just wasn't needed by his lord, but that didn't mean that the palace had to be left unkept; which is where Jaken came into play. The lazy servants weren't allowed to rest until every inch of the palace was clean.
Growling slightly he spotted the slightly fat and stocky cook headed his way. The lizard youkai cook was very annoying in Jakens book, but Lord Sesshomaru loved the morsels that the lumbering cook could created and thus Jaken tried his hardest to stay clear of him lest he become the main dish. Deciding that he didn't wasn't to chance his fortune on the cook today and he turned and left the main hall and headed down one of the lesser used corridors. However as the fates would not have this, Jaken sudden found himself hanging upside down in front of the damned cook before suddenly being dropped on his head.
Hoshi loved teasing the green toad and even loved it more when the toad actually believed that he'd become a main meal if he wasn't nicer to him, the lords best cook. "Jaken," he snarled out at the toad that he'd caught with his long tongue and then promptly dropped the toad on his head in front of him. "what is it that has you yelling at my kitchen staff to clean ever nook and cranny. I don't come out here and tell you what to do. If I want my kitchen cleaned I will tell my staff to do so; not you!"
"I am only doing what I think my Lord wishes!" He snarled at the lizard man. "And how dare you touch me with your disgusting tongue!"
Hoshi began a rumbling laugh that traveled from his throat to his belly making the bulging belly of fat shake and tremble horribly. Jaken made a disgusted look at what he was witnessing. "It is my tongue that keeps our dear Lord Sesshomaru from being poisoned by food!" The cook confessed. "I taste everything I make to ensure that the highest quality of meats and spices are used for flavoring." He sneered at the toad. "Perhaps I'll stop taste testing the food and when I do perhaps something will sneak through and hurt our lord and if such a thing happens it will not be I that gets the blame but you, Jaken, because you seem so disgusted with how I do my cooking."
"Is that a threat?!" Jaken screeched his staff in hand ready to attack Hoshi.
"Now why would I threaten Lord Sesshomaru?" He asked. "It may be you that gets the harmful food." Jaken paled at the thought of eating something that was harmful to him without realizing it. Hoshi wouldn't. Would he? He wondered as he stared at the cook with disbelief.
"Hoshi are you picking on the green imp again?" came a calming male voice. Turning around Jaken's eyes narrowed at the male inuyoukai before him. The males hair was black as coal, though his eyes were a soft golden honey color. He looked a lot like Lord Sesshomaru only instead of megenta colored stripes he had blue and his moon symbol was upside down with a black dot in between the two crescent tips.
"Now why would I do that Lord Fa." Hoshi smirked as the inu lord winced at his name being used.
Fa knew the cook said his name only because Fa hated it because he was named after his traitorous father Fa Long who had ravished Inu Taisho's younger sister and then betrayed the Taisho's line by giving battle plans to the Taisho's enemies at the time. His father had been killed by Kazumi, Sesshomaru's mother when his father returned to the western palace after Taisho had died when he'd gone to protect Lady Izayoi after fighting and being fatally wounded by Ryukotsusei. To ensure he remembered his fathers betrayal he was named after the traitor by his mother, who even though she loved him; had left him with the woman who had killed his father after he had turned ten, even though he looked no older than two. He hadn't seen her since. Smirking Fa felt the left side of his lips tug upwards. "Because we all know you find pleasure in it." He paused as his eyes shifted towards the imp. "Do you not have other duties to do Master Jaken?"
The toad nodded. "Yes m'lord!" He hurriedly ran off towards the lesser used corridor that he had originally wanted to run down in the beginning.
Fa's attention now turned towards the cook. "Hoshi, Lady Kuzumi will be joining us here at the end of this week. Please ensure her favorite dishes are served." Fa then turned on his heal and left a stunned cook behind him.
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AN: Well I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter. If you guys liked it; please review. If you didn't, tell me why so I can improve it.