InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Matchmaker ❯ Epilogue ( Chapter 39 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: First things first, I'm not dead! I'm jet lagged, sick, and broke, but Vegas did not kill me. I bet you guys were starting to wonder. Also, you read the chapter title correctly. This is it for Matchmaker. And it got nominated for Best Comedy in the IY Fanguild! I'm so proud! Does it stand a snowball's chance in hell? Not really, comedy is a tough category and I get angsty too often, but whatever. I'm still thrilled. Q&A at the end of this. 39 chapters and I still own nothing.

Edited 5/6/06: Here's the link to the next installment of the great beast:

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/121271/

It's called Fire and Ice, and hope somebody reads it. Thanks!

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“Mizuki! Katsuro! Where are you guys?”

The two pups held their breath as Kagome walked just underneath them. Safe in the branches of a tree, they watched as their mother continued to hunt for them. Once she was out of earshot, Katsuro took a great gasp of air.

“You know, as soon as father figures out she's looking for us . . . “

“It will be over before he finds out.” Mizuki watched until she was sure her mother had not caught them. “Go.”

The two inu hanyous dropped to the ground. Their prey was nearby, and despite their mother's attempts they would finish their hunt. Mizuki took to the lead as they snuck through the gardens, following their noses. The prey was sitting still, oblivious to the threat. Katsuro and Mizuki split up, circling around on opposite sides. At a nod from Mizuki, they both leapt.

“Ah!” Yuriko and Shippou tried to run, but ended up running into each other instead. When Katsuro slammed into them the whole tangled mess ended up at Mizuki's feet.

Shippou popped out of the tangle, grabbing the aloof female and dragging her into the fray. Shou took to the air, getting clear of the mess as his mistress was pulled down. It was a tangled mess of claws, feet, and elbows as the youngsters wrestled. Yuriko had Katsuro by the ears, making him yelp in pain.

“That was not nice, Katsuro!” Sitting on the pup's back, Yuriko twisted an ear. “Say you're sorry!”

“Sorry! Sorry! Let go!”

Mizuki dropped Shippou as she went to her brother's rescue. Katsuro let out a final yelp as Yuriko was knocked off of him. Rubbing his sore ears, he watched as his sister wrestled with the younger hanyou. Shippou had recovered, and was not going to pass up an opportunity like this. Tackling his best friend from behind, the two males fell into the two females, recreating the tangled heap.

“What are you doing?”

Everything froze when the miko's voice ripped through the gardens. All eyes looked up to find Kagome glaring at them. The guilty youngsters untangled themselves and stood in a neat line in front of the annoyed woman.

“Didn't I just finish saying that I don't want to see anymore of this?”

“Hai, Mama.” “Hai, Kagome-chan.”

“And didn't I say that the next time I saw fighting you would all be helping in the stables?”

“Hai, Mama.” “Hai, Kagome-chan.”

“Stables. Now.”

The guilty party marched to the stables, where they were delivered to a youkai with instructions to make them very tired. Kagome left them doing heavy lifting and cleaning.

“Where were they?” Rin looked up from the flower arrangement she was working on.

“Fighting with Shippou and Yuriko, of course.” Kagome dropped down to sit next to her friend.

“Ah, so they are on cleaning duty.”

“Not that it will do any good. Too much energy there. They even had Mizuki in it this time. She usually doesn't get involved in the actual fighting.”

“Great. Yurkio-chan would love to take a swing at her.”

“Oh, yes, they were having a grand time when I found them.”

Rin rearranged her flowers again, smiling at the images in her mind.

“What did the healer say?”

The exterminator's hands faltered slightly. “He says that it is probably from my long history of battle, possibly from being poisoned.”

“And what can he do?”

“Nothing, Kagome-chan. He cannot give me a new heart, so I will make do with the one I have. Most days I do not even notice, but Merkamou can hear it.”

“That must drive him insane.”

“Hai.” Rin pushed the vase of flowers away. “He did not take the news well. We have not spoken since I told him.”

“I'll talk to him.” Kagome gave Rin's shoulder a squeeze before taking off to find Merkamou.

The hawk was easy to find. He was in Rin's old room, glaring at nothing.

“Merkamou.”

“Kagome.” The gold eyes did not look her way.

“I just heard.”

“The healer says that if she slows down her heart will not bother her as much. Rest, he says. As if that were a possibility.”

“It's not as bad as all that. She may do it.”

“Slowing down will kill her just as surely as her faulty heart.”

Kagome sighed. “She is a ningen, Merkamou. Our bodies fail. She has lived the lives of ten people, and now her body is paying the price.”

“And what of you, miko?” Merkamou's glare swung to the little female.

“Nani?”

“You have lived quite the life, but you look very similar to when we met. Why have you not aged as she has? Why is your body not failing? You helped to raise her, so why is she dying while you are unchanged?”

“It's because I'm a miko bound to a youkai. Believe me, I've been looking for a way to do something like this for Rin-chan, but I haven't found one. If she was a miko it would be a start, but hawks don't bond like inu do.”

“So you will give up on her because she is just a ningen. You are no better then the youkai.” He regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth.

Kagome's eyes flashed as she closed the distance and punched Merkamou. “What the hell do you think I've been doing, bastard? Do you think I want her to die? I have tried and tried, but time is up and I still don't have an answer!”

Merkamou rubbed his jaw, retreating from the furious woman. The miko had a mean right hook, but he had deserved it. “I know, Kagome. I did not mean it. I am just so frustrated!” He slammed a fist through a table, sending pieces across the floor.

Careful to not upset the taiyoukai further, Kagome caught his sleeve before the destruction could continue.

“What do I do, Kagome?”

“I don't know, Merkamou. You knew this would happen.”

“Hai. It is just different now, since it is no longer a distant future. How long does she have now?”

“There's no way to tell. A day, a moon, a year, five years . . . “

“A year.”

To Kagome's shock the rebellious taiyoukai dropped to his knees. Catching his shoulders, she hugged him tightly as he dug his talons into the floor. She whispered to him, “Don't regret anything.”

“I do not.”

“Make sure she knows that.”

----

“This is all your fault!” Katsuro glared at his sister as the group of youngsters dragged themselves to the palace.

“And why is that?” Mizuki did not even glance at her brother, but instead concentrated on getting back up to the palace without falling flat on her face.

“You're the one who said that we couldn't just ignore them.”

“Katsuro, one of these days you are going to figure out how to say no to Mizuki.” Shippou rubbed his own aching arms.

“And what did we do?” Yuriko kept Shippou between herself and Mizuki, not liking the look on the older female's face.

“Mizuki didn't like the comments about the South being better then the West.” Closing his eyes, Katsuro gave up the battle and just dropped in the grass. “I'm just going to have a quick nap.”

“We will be late.” Annoyance flashed across Mizuki's eyes before she reined the reaction back in.

“It's not like I could lift my chopsticks right now anyways.” Katsuro opened one eye to look at his sister, smiling. “Come on, Ki-chan. I know you want to take a break as badly as I do.”

`It is not Katsuro that needs to learn how to say no.' Trying not to grind her teeth, Mizuki dropped into the grass next to her brother. Shou moved from her arm to curl up on her stomach and soak up the sun. `But I must admit that this feels very nice.'

There was a loud thump as Shippou dropped down on the other side of Katsuro, and was quickly joined by Yuriko. The peaceful sounds of the wind through the nearby magnolia trees were the only noise, and Mizuki felt exhaustion pulling at her. `I will just close my eyes for a moment.'

Katsuro heard the instant his sister's breathing changed to sleep. Past Shippou, Yuriko was snoring softly. Perfect. “Shippou.”

“Hai.”

The two friends snuck away, heading back up to the stables.

“I am so sick of those two fighting.” Katsuro rubbed a shoulder. “I never get in trouble for wrestling with you, but those two can be just nasty!”

“Exactly.” Shippou handed a bucket to his friend. “The water from the stream would be colder, you know.”

“Am I annoyed enough to go all the way down there, when the koi pond is right near by . . . Yeah, let's go.”

The two females were still lying in the sun when Shippou and Katsuro returned. Two pairs of green eyes glinted with mischief as they tip toed closer. Katsuro whispered to his friend, “On the count of three: one, two, three!”

Yuriko screeched as the ice cold water hit her, leaping into the air. Katsuro echoed her as his sister hit the bottom of the bucket and threw the water backwards and onto him. Giving him an evil smile, she walked back up to the palace completely dry.

Shippou was rolling. “That was so great!” Hugging his sides, the kitsune tried to breathe while laughing hysterically at his soaked friends.

Wringing out her hair, Yuriko stomped back up to the palace. “The least she could have done was tell me that you two were coming, instead of letting me get soaked. That brat!”

“How could she be mad at Mizuki when we're the ones who soaked her?” Katsuro was wringing out his own hair.

“She's talented. Everything is Mizuki's fault, even when we're at home. Come on, if you get changed quick enough Kagome-chan may not even notice that you got soaked.”

----

“Mizuki.”

“Hai, father?” Mizuki looked up from her reading.

“Why were you fighting.”

Gulp. “She said something objectionable.”

Sesshomaru stared at his daughter. “She is much younger then you.”

“Hai.” Mizuki looked at the floor. “And her family is our ally.”

“Hai.”

“I will stop.” Pushing her reading away, the pup tried to keep her temper under control.

“What.”

“She is aggravating.” There was a faint chuckle, surprising Mizuki. She swung her eyes up to her father, and a new thought hit her. “Like Merkamou-sama can be.”

“Hai.”

“And you have only seriously tried to kill him once.”

“But have been tempted many times.”

“Exactly.” Mizuki sighed. “Perhaps I can convince her to be less annoying.”

“I have had some small success with Merkamou. Find a common goal. Or threat.”

“Hai. Arigato, father.”

----

Two figures moved in unison across the grass. Yuriko was side by side with her mother, mimicking her movements as they went through a basic drill. Both had the same grace and controlled strength. They were dressed in similarly cut clothing, with Rin in dark green and Yuriko in the fiery reds and golds she preferred.

`I consider myself fortunate to know one fighter with the merlin's skill, and now it looks like I will know two.' Merkamou stood under a tree and watched as his mate and daughter worked. It was not a fast workout, but a slow one that targeted perfection in every move. Each motion was carefully controlled and in perfect balance. It was more like watching dancing then fighting.

Rin's eyes caught his, a small smile appearing as she continued to work while holding his gaze. The wind played with her hair, trying to pull it free of the jade sticks that kept it out of the way. Merkamou felt his own heart constrict as he watched her with the sun shining on her face.

When she walked over to him, leaving Yuriko to work on her own, it took him a moment to pull his thoughts together. Her pulse was steady now, giving no hint of the times when it would flutter instead of beat.

“Did you talk to Kagome-chan?”

“Hai. I believe it went well, aside from her trying to break my jaw while beating some sense into me.”

“I am glad to see that it worked.” Rin slipped her katana into its sheath and turned to lean her back against his chest, watching Yuriko. “So, what do you think?”

“About what?”

“Yuriko-chan, of course!”

“Feh, females have no business learning to fight. Let her arrange flowers and play music like she is supposed to and leave the fighting to the males.” Merkamou caught Rin's arms before she could clobber him. “She is amazing and you know it. Will you teach her to use two katanas as you do?”

“She does not like it.” Giving up the struggle, Rin relaxed against his chest again. “She will probably learn to, since it is useful, but I see her with one very large blade. Like a certain hawk I know.”

“She has excellent taste.”

“Not only did she inherit your wicked sense of humor, but your taste in clothing and weapons as well. Absolutely gaudy.”

“Nonsense. They are all very flattering on her.”

Ignoring his last sally, Rin concentrated on her daughter who was working through a faster series of movements. “She will be amazing.”

“Hai, that she will, merlin. But what would you expect with breeding like hers?”

“And what a life she will have. With a family like hers she will never need to worry about being alone.”

The hawk lord gave the orphan a squeeze. “Never. Even Akane is bewitched by her.”

“She will need a happy ending of her own.”

“Of course. Kagome is not the only one who can arrange that sort of a thing. I will have my hands full when she comes of age.”

Hearing the protective tone in Merkamou's voice, Rin bumped her head against his chest. “You will be worse then Sesshomaru-sama! I think I will need to ask for Kagome-chan's assistance when Yuriko-chan comes of age, or she will never even see a male!”

“I was that age once, and I know what they are thinking. They will not try such things with my daughter.”

“And you will be every bit as much of a hypocrite! Have you forgotten some of your behavior with me, o' great and honorable one?”

“That was different.”

Rin mumbled under her breath. “Of course it was.”

“Are you saying that the advances were not welcome?”

“No, but we cannot just lock Yuriko-chan away to keep her safe.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Damn.”

The subject of their discussion stopped and put her hands on her hips. “You know, I can hear you!”

“Oops.” Rin blushed. “Just ignore us, Yuriko-chan.”

“Honestly, you act like I am deaf or something.” Yuriko went back to work.

“Merkamou?”

“Hai, merlin?”

Rin's voice dropped to little more then a shaky whisper. “She will get her happy ending, right? You will make sure?”

Merkamou pulled his mate tight against him, setting his forehead against her hair. “I promise.”

----

“What do you want?” Yuriko glared down from the tree where she had been trying to hide from the annoying inu hanyou.

Gritting her teeth, Mizuki forced herself to breathe normally. “I wish for a truce.”

“A truce? What do you mean?”

“I mean that your family is allied with mine, and that we should not be fighting.”

“And why should I believe you?”

The sapphire eyes went dark at the comment. “I do not lie.”

“Okay, okay, take it easy.” The hawk dropped to the ground, landing gracefully next to the silver haired female. “Should we have a treaty or something?”

“We will simply stop attacking each other.”

“But not the boys?”

“Of course not. How else would they be kept in line?”

A bright smile appeared on Yuriko's face. “Want to give them a real shock?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, if we work together they will never see it coming. And Kagome-chan never said anything about you and me fighting with Shippou and Katsuro.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Why carry water to the boys when we can carry the boys to the water. Can we use Shou?”

“I think I may enjoy this alliance.” Prodding Shou awake, Mizuki whispered to him. “Wake up, little one. We have a mission, and I think you will like it.”

Shou gave her a disgruntled look while he yawned.

“If you help I will arrange for an extra treat for tonight.”

The silver eyes lit up as Shou dropped to the ground and changed sizes. Grabbing Yuriko's hand, Mizuki easily jumped onto his back and pulled the hawk up behind her. “Hold on, Yuriko.”

The dragon launched into the air, already tracking the two youngsters that were hiding in the gardens. The sooner he found his prey, the sooner Mizuki would be sneaking treats out of the kitchen for him.

“Sugoi!” Yuriko stretched her arms out to the side, her hair tossing in the breeze. “Arigato, Mizuki!”

`Father was right.' Mizuki tracked the ground, looking for her prey. `They will think twice before trying to soak us again.'

---

At the palace, Kagome watched as Shou took flight. “I blame you.”

“Nani?” Sesshomaru looked over at her.

“They're your pups, and they are at it again.”

“So now they are my pups.”

“Yes, right now they are your pups. It's not my blood that has them fighting all over the gardens.”

“Are you certain? Things were peaceful before your arrival. It would appear to be your influence.”

“You need me to keep your life interesting.” Kagome made a face before turning back to the gardens. “I better go break this up.”

“Leave it.”

“Nani? No way! Mizuki got Shou out this time!”

“Which means that they will be distracted for some time yet.”

Kagome knew that look. “You've got to be kidding! The next generation is out there trying to obliterate each other and you want to go do that?”

Sesshomaru threw Kagome over his shoulder and set off through the palace.

“Put me down this instant, youkai! What do you think you're doing?”

“Enjoying a moment of calm.”

“I'm warning you, if you don't put me down this instant I'm going to knock you through - oh!” Kagome's rant broke off as a hand slid up the inside of her thigh. “Well, they'll be okay for a few minutes.”

“Hn.”

----

-Fin

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Q&A with darkjewel (just answering questions since I won't have my author's notes for awhile)

Is that it? Are you done with Matchmaker? That was short!

Yes, it's done. Just tying up some loose threads.

Wench!

Yes, I am.

Is there going to be another one?

Yes, I am working on Fire and Ice right now. Don't know when it's going to start being posted, a couple of weeks at least. I need to get a good head start to make sure I like where it's going. You guys know I post like a loon once I get started.

Are you just going to let Rin die?

Rin is a ningen. I consider that to be the most important part of her character. She is a ningen in a youkai world, and holding her own just fine. I will not change what she is just to get the sugar sweet ending. Sorry. Her character is more powerful this way. She got her happy ending. Even Cinderella died of old age.

You didn't answer my question.

We are back to the whole wench thing.

What's Fire and Ice about?

This is still a Kag and Sess story primarily, so we will be sticking to the Western Lands. Mizuki and Katsuro will also be center stage, but I will be bringing in a lot of characters. I have had a request for Koga to return, and I am taking that under serious consideration. Hideaki, Mayu, Isamu, Akira, Merkamou, Yuriko, Shippou, Kumo, Jaken, and Kenshin (the Captain) are all guaranteed at least small spots. Still a romantic comedy.

Violence?

Come now, blackXheart, did you even need to ask? Yes, violence. I do try to keep the gag factor down as much as possible.

Pups! We want more pups!

We'll see.

You suck!

Yes, I do.

Promise to write another story?

Yes, I promise. I'm writing on the plane this weekend, and I'm really starting to get into this one. I will post once I'm sure it's really rolling. I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks. Thanks so much for everyone following, for nominating my story, for all of the amazing reviews, and for the recommend on Single Spark, Arryelle (I hope I spelled that right). You guys have done your part, feeding me until I nearly popped, so I will continue to write like a good little author.

---darkjewel