Omiai by Plastic Perfect

Surprise

Chapter 1: Surprise

Arranged marriages aren't as common as they used to be, but they're not that unusual either. They've evolved from the whole mysticism thing. Most aren't even really arranged marriages anymore; you actually get to put in your two cents. They're more like speed dating these days. It's simple really; you or a meddling family member contacts a nakodo. Using a series of techniques you want to know nothing about, she finds a match. You get to meet as a family first, then you get your own meeting with the candidate husband, decide if you're suited for one another, and voilà: you're set for life or so it's supposed to go. Not so primitive...

Or so I thought when my mother and grandfather announced that they had taken the matter of finding me a husband in their own hands because I, apparently, wasn't looking hard enough. Even thought the prospect of being married at age twenty did not exactly appeal to me, they managed to harass me long enough that I finally gave into their scheming. After all I could always meet the guy and say no. Right?

Oh! The vain hope. Things didn't exactly go as I had planned.

To tell the truth I completely forgot about my family's crazy plan the very next day, after all I had a busy schedule to keep with. As a full-time art student and a part-time waitress/caterer and store helper, I didn't have any time or brainpower to spare for trivial things like marriage. Meaning, I forgot all about the family meeting and didn't go. Which, I realized, turned out to be a minor mistake on my part when I went to see my family at the shrine the day after.

Okay, more like a colossal one seeing as how I ended up engaged to a man I'd never laid eyes on, to be married in a few hours.

When the shit hits the fan, it hits hard.

When the news was first delivered, I viewed it with calm skepticism; I mean you have to admit that it is hard to give much credence to something like that. Who would have agreed to marry me before seeing me? Not that I'm not attractive or anything, I'm just not the type to catch a man's eye. Let me explain: I come from a long line of extraordinarily beautiful women and well I guess it was bound to happen, but I failed the line, I am completely ordinary looking. If anyone was going to be noticed or hitched without much ado, it was my twin sister Kikyo. She's beautiful and better yet, she's sexy. That tends to score high with the testosterone-laden crowd, which of course, makes me pale in comparison. A fact I've learned to live with.

Besides, wasn't my agreement required for something like that to happen?

I was still mulling over the idea that it was probably time to check in my relatives to a nearby hospital for a mental evaluation to make sure they were still sane when the doorbell rang and my mother got up to get it.

"Grandpa, come on let's be serious here. I'm only twenty..." I pleaded with him to be reasonable.

"Soon to be twenty-one with no prospects in sight," he interrupted.

"Yes," I agreed, it was the truth after all, "soon to be twenty-one and no boyfriend. But grandpa, this is the twenty first century, no one gets married this young anymore. Besides it's not like I need a man to provide for me or anything. And I am certainly not ready for kids."

My grandfather looked at me like I was the one who needed the psychiatrist. "What do they teach you at school these days? Young adults get to provide a family with heirs. I'm not getting any younger Kagome; I want to see some of my great-grandchildren before I die. I tried to get Souta to have kids, but he gave me some nonsense about being sixteen. I even tried Kikyo, but you know how she is...frolicking around...doesn't want to settle down..."

He was muttering by this time, never a good sign. Although I hated to let him rant, there usually wasn't much anyone could do once it started. I was sipping my second cup of tea, half listening to my grandfather drifted to what was wrong with the world today when my mother came back in.

"Kagome your dress has arrived!" she exclaimed excited.

My gut reaction was to spit out the tea I'd just drunk, but I somehow managed to stop myself in time and swallowed it instead, which left me choking as I looked over my shoulder at my mother who had come to rub my back. "What?"

"Your dress honey, or rather your dress makers are here to take measurements. You can't have a wedding without a dress," she explained calmly as if this were the most natural situation in the world.

"That's funny mother," I replied, still unable to believe that such a situation could ever arise.

She continued to ramble on as if she hadn't heard. "This way," she called out to whoever was in the entrance.

I rolled my eyes, they were too much. I turned back to my grandfather, hoping he was done with his vocal exercises so that I could once more try to reason with him.

"...terrible how young kids don't keep with traditions anymore. What they don't understand..."

Nope.

"Ah here's the blushing young bride."

I snapped to attention when I heard the unfamiliar voice. What? I turned in my seat and looked over my shoulder to find that the room had acquired a few more members. All of them looked strangely like seamstresses.

Naw it couldn't be, reason decided. "He...he, mom you're too much. Who are those people?"

She looked from me to the women who wore the same confused expression. "Honey, they are the dressmakers, here to take your measurements for your wedding dress. I could have sworn I told you that."

"Excuse me?" One of the "dressmakers" asked hesitantly. "Should we come back a little later?"

My mother shook her head. "I don't think there's time, the wedding's tomorrow."

My mouth was open and my nose was clean, but the air wasn't reaching my lungs, or my brain as a matter of fact. I started hyperventilating and started looking around helplessly for someone, anyone, to say that this was not happening.

It didn't happen, which left me with one option: faint, which I promptly did a few second later.

I woke up in my old room with the rising sun shining on my eyes. I felt like I was in high school again and buried myself more deeply in the covers. And it hit me; I was back at the shrine because I'd missed the meeting with the nakodo and the possible in-laws. I quickly sat up and ran down to the living room.

It was empty.

Had I dreamt the whole episode? Maybe I was the one who needed see a shrink. Maybe I was working too hard, an extended vacation was what I really needed. I turned around to go search for my mom when I collided with a wall and fell down. I clutched my nose, tears gathering behind my eyes, it had taken most of the impact and hurt like hell. Walls didn't move...or wear shoes, I though as I took in the Gucci shoes before me.

My head snapped up, only to let have my jaw drop back down and not because of gravity.

Hello mister tall and gorgeous.

I stared and he stared right back. What was this unnaturally beautiful (and by beautiful I meant gorgeous, sexy, and every other possible adjective there existed to described perfection) guy doing in my home pretending to be a wall?

Although I was pretty happy just staring at him, it didn't sit right with Reason. I finally managed to get out a little "hi" as I started to get up, before my mother appeared from behind the stranger.

"Kagome, you're finally awake. We were starting to wonder if you'd miss your own wedding. Have you been working late again? The dress has been taken care of. They used that dress you wore to Sango's recital..."

Miss your own wedding...

I'm sure my mother was still speaking, but nothing was registering. My brain went numb as the words kept echoing in my mind. It was really happening. How could they have done such a thing? I mean really, I was pretty sure I needed to be consulted before something like say wedding could happen. The world started spinning...again and I reached a hand out hoping to catch onto something before I went down.

A warm hand gripped mine and helped steady me. I looked at the hand, then at the arm that was attached to it, and finally at the face. Life is such a bitch, I thought, mourning the fact that I was standing in the presence of Adonis and was engaged, even if unwillingly so, to another. He was probably one of Kikyo's boyfriends...she always did go for perfection.

My mother's happy chatter abruptly stopped as she noticed that I wasn't feeling too well. "Mr. Taisho I don't know if it's such a good idea to proceed with the wedding today. My daughter seems to be unwell..."

I closed my eyes. Mr. Taisho, was he my fiancé? Was he behind the silver-haired man?

"I understand," a deep voice sounded. "I agree that it would be wiser if we waited until tomorrow," that same voice said from somewhere close to me. I cracked an eyelid open to look upon the man who would marry me without my asking my opinion first, but I could only see my mother and the man who had helped to steady me.

Mom must have seen the confusion on my face because she smiled broadly at me before introducing the silver-haired stranger: "Kagome, this is Taisho Sesshoumaru. He's your fiancé."

A/N: I finally decided to restart this fic and my other one. Updates should be coming within a week or so.