InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Matchmaker ❯ Crush ( Chapter 8 )

A/N: It's a posting frenzy! I'm getting some back log out the door. Inusbabe, silly question. And pass up on some gratuitous violence? Never! Of course she gets to take him on! We all know I love making Rin fight.

 

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“You what? How could you? And Sesshomaru, how could you let him? Have you lost your mind?”

 

Sesshomaru gave Merkamou a look so clear that words were not needed. `You deal with her.'

 

Glaring at both of the taiyoukai, Kagome had her hands on her hips. Her aura was up and snapping, a clear warning of her mood.

 

“Kagome-sama, there is no danger. Do you honestly think that the merlin would let Isamu go without punishment after last night? It is a foregone conclusion that she will fight him. This way it will not be to the death, just sparring.”

 

`Damn taiyoukai. The whole lot of them.' Her snapping energy prickled the skin of the lords watching her. “Fine, but if she is hurt I'm coming after the both of you.” She turned on her heel and marched down the hall to her study.

 

“Sesshomaru, I think we got off light.” Smoothing out clothing helped Merkamou forget that prickling sensation.

 

“Hai.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Katsuro, my precious, you'll never be as annoying as your daddy and his friends, will you? No, not my pup. You'll listen to me just like you should.”

 

Rin and Mizuki both rolled their eyes as Kagome fussed over her son. She had stormed into the study growling something about burning arrogant bastards. Her mood had improved the second she took Katsuro from his nurse, cuddling him and babbling. The sisters returned to Mizuki's reading lesson, ignoring Kagome's antics.

 

`Uh oh, I hear the Captain coming. He's going to be looking for me.' Looking up to the door she saw the familiar, toughened face of her weapons instructor. “Good morning, Captain.”

 

“Good morning. Where's Sango-sama?” Glancing around the Captain looked for his partner in crime.

 

“She went home to visit her family this morning. She'll be back in a couple of days. It's not fair to keep her away from her own litter for so long.” Kagome smiled at her weapons instructor.

 

“Well, Rin, Merkamou-sama is after me to have you come out and train. I think he wants you to show off for Hideaki-sama. Or he's bored. It could be both.”

 

Kagome let out a snort. “No, he wants Rin to fight Isamu.”

 

“I certainly wouldn't mind.” A distracted finger was running over one of her hilts. “I could use some work against a new opponent.”

 

“Knock it off, Rin-chan. That is Hideaki's heir, and it would not be a good idea to hurt him.” Kagome was glaring at both Rin and the Captain.

 

“Miko, he is still a taiyoukai. Rin won't do any damage to him that will last more than a day. Right, Rin?”

 

“Hai, Captain. I won't run away, Kagome-chan. Not after last night. He needs to pay for what he said to Mizuki. I can ignore what he said to me, since I am an adult and can deal with it, but he should not pick on pups. Might as well get this over with before I have any more reasons to hate him.”

 

“Then I'm coming with you. If either of you loses control you are both going to wish you were never born.” Scooping up a blanket for her son, Kagome stormed out the door. Befuddled, the Captain and sisters followed her out.

 

Out past the gardens she found Sesshomaru locked in battle with Hideaki. Both were moving so fast that she could barely see it as they parried and charged. Her heart in her throat, Kagome frantically tried to see if it was real or practice.

 

Merkamou and Isamu were sitting to the side, calmly watching. `It must be practice.' Setting out her blanket Kagome sat down to watch. Mizuki and Rin joined her, their eyes never leaving the spectacle before them. Even Katsuro was watching with wide eyes.

 

Kagome never knew the result of the match. The two separated, unharmed, and inclined their heads to each other. The spell broken, Mizuki and Rin started to chatter to each other, catching Merkamou and Isamu's attention.

 

“Good morning, Kagome-sama, Mizuki-sama, merlin.” Merkamou bowed before reaching down to Katsuro. “And good morning to you as well, pup.”

 

Katsuro obliged the lord with a giggle and a wave of his hands.

 

The rest of the taiyoukai were coming over and Kagome climbed to her feet. Sesshomaru motioned her closer while turning to Hideaki. “This is my son, Katsuro.”

 

The pup swiveled his ears at the familiar sound of his father's voice. Emerald eyes ranged over the faces till he found the familiar one. He let out a little yip, then giggled again.

 

Hideaki moved closer, amused at the wary expression on Kagome's face. “Peace, Kagome-sama. He is a feisty one, are you not, pup?”

 

Before Kagome could warn him away Katsuro had the lord's hair and was showing no signs of releasing it. Juggling the pup while trying to pry him loose, the horrified mother made apologies. “I am so sorry, Hideaki-sama. He seems to be fascinated with hair right now.”

 

Mizuki slipped in and tickled her brother. With a squeal of delight Katsuro released his new toy to focus on his sister. Backing away, Mizuki bowed before returning to her seat on the blanket.

 

His hair freed, Hideaki pulled it back to safety behind his shoulders. “Thank you for the rescue, Mizuki-sama.” Quietly, meant only for her mother, he continued. “She is a fine daughter, with excellent poise and manners. You must be very proud. I have five daughters, and they are a rebellious lot. I wish that some of them had her sense.”

 

“Ariagato, my lord.” Pride was shining in Kagome's eyes. “We did not mean to interrupt your practice.”

 

“Oh, no harm done. Sesshomaru-sama and I were just about to finish. Is that not so?”

 

“Hai.” Pausing to run a finger over his pup's cheek, Sesshomaru moved to join Merkamou. The hawk was whispering with Rin and those two were not to be left unsupervised. Rin ginned to her friend, then moved out into the field, stretching out her arms.

 

“Are you looking for some work, Rin-sama?” Hideaki was watching the girl as she stretched, trying to judge her abilities. He could see nothing spectacular.

 

“Perhaps, my lord. I am always eager to face a new opponent to improve my skills.” Rin's hand was trailing across her hilts again, giving away her eagerness.

 

“Oh, enough beating around the bush. Get out there, Isamu-sama.” Patience had never been a strength for Kagome.

 

There was a smile that was closer to a snarl as Isamu joined Rin in the field. “With pleasure.”

 

Smiling pleasantly, Rin bowed. It was not returned, of course, and she added one more insult to her list of deeds to punish him for. She drew one katana, but left the other at her side. “Whenever you are ready, my . . .”

 

He was on her before she could even finish the sentence. Blocking and falling back, Rin retreated while looking for a hole. There were many to choose from. The cub was just hacking at her in a show of frustration and pride, confident in his superior strength. She let him continue to pummel away, wanting to slip through and make a kill.

 

Isamu was making a grandiose wing, both hands coming up, when Rin charged instead of retreating, laying her blade against his body. “Kill, my lord.”

 

Snarling, Isamu knocked her away and down into the grass. “A lucky shot, ningen. It would not be enough to stop me it this were real.”

 

“Well, then, I will give you another try.” Leaping to her feet Rin charged, shocking the taiyoukai. They were locked in a close exchange for many minutes, steel ringing off of steel as each tried to bring the other down. Slipping behind her Isamu slammed his hilt into the side of her head, making her see stars and stagger. Dropping to one knee Rin found her head being pulled back by her hair and a sword at her throat. A low voice growled in her ear. “Kill.”

 

“I am going to slaughter your heir.” Merkamou glared at Hideaki.

 

“His death is my business.” Sesshomaru let a small growl escape from his chest. Before them Isamu had released Rin, who was shaking the haze away from her eyes. Smirking, the young lord was walking away.

 

There was a hiss as Rin drew her second katana. “Best out of three, my lord?”

 

Turning back, Isamu found his opponent on her feet and ready to go again. “Baka. If you wish for more pain, I will give it to you.”

 

“Only if you can catch me, you bastard.”

 

“Mother, is Rin going to kill Isamu-sama this time?” Mizuki's eyes followed her sister's every move.

 

“No killing, Rin-chan!” Kagome was not taking any chances.

 

Charging, Isamu swung in an attempt to batter her to the ground. But she was not there. She was behind him, shoving him forward and knocking him off balance. Spinning, he swung again as he staggered. He was blocked, although it took both of her blades to stop the force.

 

The two blades seemed to take on lives of their own. Isamu had the impression of fighting two opponents, not just one. While distracted between the two blades he received a sharp kick to a rather sensitive part of his anatomy. Dropping to a knee he was knocked flat by a kick from Rin to his head. Pinning him down, she set both blades to his throat. “Kill, my lord.”

 

Wincing, Merkamou glanced at Hideaki. “At least your daughters will provide a continuation of the bloodline.”

 

Climbing to her feet, Rin glared at Isamu, who glared back. She let out an exasperated sigh as she took pity on the young taiyoukai and slid both of her blades into their sheaths. “Truce?” She held out her hand to the downed lord.

 

Isamu had no interest in continuing the fight with this female now. She would fight dirty, and he wanted to know how she could wield those two blades as she did. He hesitated, then reached up with his own hand. “Truce.”

 

Rin pulled him to his feet, smiling. “Merkamou-sama should have warned you, I use some dirty tricks when necessary.”

 

Between his aching head and other body parts, Isamu had limited interest in having this female mad at him again. She had been toying with him for the first two rounds. He knew that now that he had seen her second blade in action. `No, I would rather not have this one plotting against me.'

 

“Come on.” Rin let Isamu lean against her shoulder as she walked back to the spectators, holding her own head.

 

“I certainly hope you have learned a lesson from this, Isamu.” Hideaki did not look pleased with his son, but Rin's punishment had been enough to keep the other two taiyoukai at bay for the time being.

 

“Hai. Do not cross this ningen.”

 

That earned Isamu a smack on the back of his head and a growl from Rin. Normally she would not behave in such a familiar way with a youkai lord, but he deserved it!

 

“Ow! Hey, not the head! You can probably see an imprint of your boot still!”

 

“And I have an imprint of your hilt on mine, so no complaining!”

 

“Both of you, knock it off!”

 

“Gomen, Kagome-chan.” Rin gave Isamu a sharp nudge.

 

“Gomen, Kagome-sama.”

 

“I think your son has met his match.” Hideaki fought down a smile at Merkamou's whispered comment.

 

“Hai. A pity she is a ningen.”

 

Merkamou raised an eyebrow at the comment. It was a natural conclusion, of course, with Rin propping Isamu up and the new respect in the leopard's eyes. If Rin were Sesshomaru's true daughter the match would be perfect. But she was just a ningen. She was not the miko that had defeated Naraku, she was an orphan with no family and nothing to offer a family except her skills with her swords. Not an acceptable mate for a taiyoukai. Kagome had been able to survive the many attempts on her life, but Rin would not be able to stand alone against the groups trying to kill her. The thoughts were depressing to Merkamou, well out of proportion to the conversation.

 

“A pity.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Isamu watched from a branch high in a tree as that ningen and her hanyou sister groomed a two headed dragon. He could hear them chattering, some of it girlish nonsense, but more of it was about the care and training of dragons such as the one they were working on. Rather interesting. Both were dressed in clothing more appropriate for males. The hanyou's clothing was of excellent materials and in perfect repair, while the ningen looked closer to a peasant then a ward of Sesshomaru. Rubbing his aching throat, Isamu remembered his run in with the inu-youkai earlier that day. Sesshomaru had slammed him into a wall, growling. He was very annoyed by Isamu's behavior so far, and wanted to make a point.

 

`Point taken. Between the miko, the ningen, and the taiyoukai I have had enough. This family is insane. The safest one is that hanyou.'

 

The sisters were whispering. The pup turned and looked directly at him, her face blank. “My lord Isamu, if you would like to examine Ah-Un you may. We would not mind your company.”

 

`So much for being unobserved. The pup probably caught scent of me. Damn dogs and their noses.' Dropping from the tree with careless grace, he wandered over to the dragon. “I have never seen a dragon quite like this one. Where did he come from?”

 

“I'm not sure. Sesshomaru-sama got him as a present from his father. You would have to ask him.” Rin was running a brush through the creature's mane. The hanyou was on the other side of the dragon, hiding from sight.

 

“And what is he like? He seems very docile.”

 

“Oh, yes, very docile, until he gets into a fight.” Running a loving hand down one of her mount's necks Rin smiled. “He can be quite vicious when necessary.”

 

“And fast.” A quiet voice piped up from the other side of the dragon.

 

“How fast?”

 

“This fast.” Rin jumped on bareback, using Ah-Un's twin halters to steer. Launching into the air, Ah-Un soared away with his rider clinging to his mane.

 

“Not fair.”

 

The hanyou was staring at the sky, watching the dragon with longing.

 

“Nani?”

 

Starting, Mizuki glanced at Isamu. “I am not allowed to ride Ah-Un for two more days, my lord.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Looking at the ground, Mizuki hid her face behind her hair. “I was caught riding him alone without permission.”

 

“Is that all?”

 

“No. I dived at some of the servants and frightened them. Mother was very unhappy.”

 

“I would have never guessed that about you, pup.” Isamu turned his attention back to the dragon.

 

“My lord, you should not try to predict me. You do not know anything about me.”

 

Both eyebrows disappeared into Isamu's hair as he stared at Mizuki. She gave him a small smile, then darted away. Mystified, he watched her, never noticing the oncoming dragon.

 

A brush of a tail sent him down into the grass, sputtering as Ah-Un circled around. Slowly the duo sank to the ground. Isamu could swear that the dragon was laughing at him. A giggle was also coming from the hanyou, watching from the safety of a tree.

 

“Gomen, Isamu-sama. We could not resist when you were so distracted.” Rin slipped from Ah-Un's back, unsuccessful in hiding her smile.

 

“I will remember this, Rin-sama.” Brushing off his clothes, he gave her a smile. A real one.

 

Almost forgetting how to talk, Rin focused on the dragon. `Wow, he is actually very handsome when he is not snarling and looking down his nose at me.' Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the leopard. “Perhaps you would like to ride Ah-Un later, when he has tack.”

 

“That sounds like an enjoyable afternoon, Rin-sama.” Isamu approached the dragon, holding out his hand. Ah-Un sniffed him over carefully, then decided he was uninteresting and returned to tearing up grass. Sliding his hands down the neck, Isamu gave the dragon a closer inspection. “He is certainly faster then he looks.”

 

Edging away from his closer position, Rin kept her eyes on the dragon. “He surprises a lot of people. I have known him and ridden him since I was littler than Mizuki, and he still surprises me. I am supposed to have his muzzles on, since he is out of his stall, but I like for him to get a chance to graze while I work on him.”

 

“Muzzles? Why could he possibly need muzzles?”

 

“He can blow things up.” Mizuki was back, petting one of the heads while it rubbed against her. “I saw him do it once while Rin was training.”

 

“Impressive.” Isamu had noticed Rin edging away from him. He took a step closer to her, to watch her shift away. He repeated the process, pursuing Rin in slow motion around the dragon. Mizuki watched them both from the corner of her eye, pretending to ignore them.

 

“I believe it is time to take Ah-Un back to his stall. It will be time for dinner soon. Mizuki-chan, we need to return to the palace.”

 

“Hai.” Taking Ah-Un's leads Mizuki lead him back to the stables.

 

“I will see you at dinner, my lord.” Bowing, Rin made a hasty retreat. Catching up with her sister, she ran a hand over her hair and was appalled that it was practically standing on end after her ride on Ah-Un.

 

“Don't worry, Rin-neechan. I don't think he noticed your hair.” Tucking Ah-Un into his stall, Mizuki slipped both of his halters off.

 

“Nani?”

 

“I think he is more interested because you can beat him up then because of your hair.”

 

“What, exactly, are you saying, pup?”

 

Mizuki was silent as they walked through the gardens.

 

“Mizuki, you tell me right now.” Rin had her best big sister face on.

 

The sapphire eyes looked so innocent as she gazed up at her big sister and spoke in a sing-song voice. “Isamu has a crush on you.”

 

“You are dead, pup!”

 

Squealing, Mizuki bolted for the palace, easily outpacing her ningen sister but knowing that she had better make it to her room before Rin got there. Glancing behind her, she did not see Rin chasing her, so she slowed as she passed through the courtyard. Trotting quickly through the palace she weaved through the halls to her room. Standing at the door was Rin.

 

“Impossible!” Mizuki started to back up, not liking the look in her sister's eyes.

 

“You forgot the back way in.” Rin lunged at her sister, just barely missing as Mizuki swerved around her and made a break for her room. “Get back here, Mizuki! You are just making this harder on yourself!”

 

Throwing herself into her room, the pup tried to get her door shut but Rin had her foot in it. Options running out, Mizuki did something desperate. “Mama! Rin-neechan is going to kill me!”

 

Grabbing her sister, Rin slapped a hand over Mizuki's mouth. “You are going to get us into so much trouble!”

 

Footsteps were coming down the hall. Hissing at her sister, Rin let her go. “This is all your fault.”

 

“What are you two doing? Half of the palace can hear you two yelling in here!” Kagome was glaring at the two while Katsuro stared at them.

 

“Rin was going to kill me.”

 

“You started it, you were teasing me.”

 

“Was not, it was just the truth.”

 

“Not true! He does not!”

 

“Yes he does.”

 

“No he does not.”

 

Yes he does!”

 

“No he does not!”

“Knock it off!” Kagome's glare was getting worse, making the sisters cower.

 

“Gomen, Kagome-chan.” “Gomen, Mama.”

 

“I don't know what you two are arguing over, but stop it. I will not have you two embarrassing us while we have guests. Just sort it out quietly. Rin, don't kill your sister. Mizuki, don't tease your sister. Now go get cleaned up for dinner. I would like to have a nice, quiet meal with no fighting, no challenges, and no injuries! Understood?”

 

“Hai, Kagome-chan.” “Hai, Mama.”

 

With a final glare, Kagome disappeared back down the hallway.

 

“So, do you like him?”

 

“You are so dead, pup.”