Look before you leap! by katdemon1895

Will you?

I do not own Inuyasha!

Leap Year Challenge

Due By: February 29th, 2012

Requirements:

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            Though the sun was bright, it was a chilly day in Tokyo at the end of February. Among the hundreds of people one air in particular was a little more unique than most of the others. The pair consisted of a young woman with raven hair and an aura of immense spiritual power. Her companion was a deceptively young looking man who, if one had the proper talents to see, had long silver hair and dog ears atop his head rather than normal ears. The reason for his unusual looks was that he was a hanyou, a half youkai and half human and this particular hanyou was over five hundred years old. The maiden in his company was considerably younger, she was but a day from twenty two years old, but thanks to unusual circumstances in her past, five hundred years ago she had once been his very best friend and now in the present day, they had picked up their friendship once again.

            On this particular day they were just walking together. It was the first day she had not been busy with class or homework and he’d happened to have a day off so he was semi reluctantly accompanying her as she window shopped.

            “Inuyasha, would you marry me?” Kagome asked in an easy going matter as she stopped to stare at a store window that displayed elegant wedding gown. Her hanyou friend looked at her incredulously.

            “Hell no wench!” he snapped, “Why the hell would you ask me that?”

            “Inuyasha,” Kagome said, her eyes sparkling mischievously, “Do you know what today is?”

            There was a beat of silence and the pair moved out of the way of the many busy people walking in the street.

            “Wednesday?” Inuyasha replied tentatively. Kagome’s smile widened.

            “Today, Inuyasha,” she said, “Is leap day, or in some places, it’s considered bachelor’s day. It’s a day where it’s considered appropriate for women to propose to men.”

            “Then why the hell would you ask me?” Inuyasha demanded, “The ice bastard would kill me.”

            “Because Inuyasha,” Kagome said, “There’s a second part to the issue of a women being allowed to propose to a man. Something happens if the man refuses her.”

            “What?” Inuyasha demanded with a growl.

            “If he refuses then the man is expected to pay a penalty,” Kagome said with a laugh, “Like however much money seems appropriate, or perhaps a gown.”

            Inuyasha glared at the miko.

            “That was the point, wasn’t it?” the hanyou accused, “You just want me to buy you something!”

            “Well, after buying you ramen for years on end and treating you to lunch today, plus of course my birthday is pretty soon. I just thought maybe you would like to get something for me,” Kagome said with a grin, “And of course, you did refuse me so you should.”

            “What do you want wench?” Inuyasha grumbled.

            “I don’t actually want anything physical,” Kagome answered, “Just a little information and for you to be quiet about it for a few days.”

            “What?” Inuyasha snapped, glaring accusingly at his friend. She whispered something and Inuyasha’s eyes widened.

            “Seriously?” he demanded, “You think I would know that?”

            “Well, don’t you?” Kagome asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

            “Feh,” Inuyasha sneered and he told her the information. She didn’t notice the gleam of mischief in his own golden eyes.

            The two continued their outing without any further incident and that night, rather than returning to her own home, Kagome traveled to the home of her best friend’s brother, the man who had been courting her for almost four years, ever since she had graduated from high school.

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            Sesshomaru arrived home later than he liked and in a less than pleasant mood. Rather than being able to spend any portion of the day with the woman he intended to make his mate, he had been stuck in meetings with incompetent underlings that made his brother look like an incomparable genius and himself humble.

            However, as soon as he entered his home, his mood began to lift as he caught the scent of his beloved Kagome. His nose twitched and he frowned. He could sense nervousness in her, and a hint of fear. What had dared make his Kagome feel fear?

            He crept into the dining room, prepared to strike whatever had dared to alarm his Kagome but saw only the miko, sitting at the table, his favorite dishes prepared and waiting.

            “Sesshomaru!” Kagome, jumped up from her chair and ran to hug him. He caught her in his arms and indulged slightly, nuzzling her hair, before releasing her.

            “This is a pleasant surprise,” Sesshomaru admitted as he sat down. He smiled slightly as his little future mate quickly served him.

            “Itadakimasu,” he said gravely and watched as she fidgeted in her chair, picking at her meal while he quickly ate.

            “Delicious,” Sesshomaru praised and was rewarded with a bright smile from the miko. But she still fidgeted and still seemed fearful.

            “Kagome,” Sesshomaru began, putting his meal aside, “What is wrong?”

            “Will you marry me?” Kagome managed to say and then turned bright red. Sesshomaru blinked. As he unwittingly hesitated, Kagome pulled out a small velvet bow and opened it to reveal a golden band.

            For a moment he thought of the delicate golden ring he had stashed in his room in preparation for the day his Kagome received her undergraduate degree. He had known how important school was to his little mate to be and had not wanted to distract her with anything beyond courting just yet. For a moment he wondered what had prodded his miko into such a direct action. After the debacle that had resulted in her heart being almost irreparably shattered by his own brother, she had been rather skittish when it came to matters of the heart, another reason why his courting had gone far more slowly than he especially cared for.

            Then the overwhelming scent of his Kagome’s fear and the sense of her aura growing him hit him like a sledgehammer.

            “Of course,” he said and reached out to take the ring from her. She smiled, a brilliant smile that had his heart pounding, and caught his hand before he could take the ring. Instead she slipped the gold band onto his finger herself. It fit perfectly.  

            “It’s immune to your poison too,” Kagome said brightly, “I commissioned it from Totosai.”

            He smiled, touched at her forethought. Then a thought occurred to him.

            “How did you get the correct size?” he asked. He didn’t own any rings and he couldn’t think of how his fiancée could have figured out the right size.

            Kagome’s eyes sparkled but there was an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

            “A girl has her ways,” she said evasively and she stood, taking his hands with hers and began to lead him away from the dining room.

            “And I think we can come up with a better way to celebrate our engagement than questioning my abilities,” she said huskily but there was a hint of warning in her tone.

            “I think you’re right,” Sesshomaru agreed and he captured her lips with his. He could always get the answer some other day.

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1,200 words not counting the disclaimer, as the challenge stipulated that the word count had to be divisible by 400, it works!