InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nothing Left to Lose ❯ Challenges ( Chapter 21 )

A/N: Sorry about the long break, school's been after me again. Don't worry, some of the annoying flunkies will be getting turned into ash. Be patient. *grin* The good news is that this chapter is actually two chapters long, so it will help make up for my little vacation. I hope. Do I need to grovel again? *getting into groveling position*. Anyways, still don't own them. Just yank the strings.

 

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“Okay, Rin, what are we going to remember?'

 

“No running, no swearing, no hitting, no yelling.”

 

“Yes, and no fingers. Use the chopsticks. Are you ready?”

 

“Kagome-chan? Rin can't move.”

 

The miko sighed. “I know, Rin, but you look very pretty. Sesshomaru will be very proud of you. Merkamou-sama will be impressed with what a nice girl you are.”

 

Ring stopped pulling at her obi, trying to look cam and grown up. “Okay, Kagome-chan, Rin is ready.”

 

“Jo-chan, you should leave the sword. Really, it will be okay, its just for dinner.”

 

“No, Kagome-chan. Rin does not trust Merkamou-sama.”

 

“You haven't even met him yet!”

 

The little girl looked very serious. “Didn't he try to touch you, Kagome-chan?”

 

“Hai, but he didn't mean any harm, I don't think.”

 

“Kagome-chan has her dagger, Rin will bring her sword.”

 

Kagome groaned. They were going to be late if they did not leave. “Fine, jo-chan. It's pretty enough, no one will notice.”

 

As the two ningen moved into the hall four guards fell into step around them. Kagome's hands clenched with annoyance, but she forced herself to relax. She had agreed to the extra guards, now she had to live with it. Instead she focused on not messing with her clothes or hair. Kumo had worked on her for almost an hour, and she did not want to ruin her handiwork.

 

`I'm a lady. I'm calm and serene. I am in control. These damn sleeves are driving me up the wall.'

 

The miko stopped outside of the door. “Are you ready, Rin?”

 

Looking like she was going into battle, Rin nodded. “Hai.”

 

“Lets go.”

 

One of the guards smiled and slid the door open. “Good luck,” he whispered.

 

Inside she found Sesshomaru and Merkamou sipping at tea. Kagome led the way, pausing to bow before carefully moving to her place. Rin gave the guest a cold stare, then bowed politely and sat next to Kagome.

 

Merkamou was delighted. “Where do you find them? That little fledgling looks ready to fight me right now, and she's even armed! I haven't seen a single ningen female like this, and you've collected two. What's your name, fledgling?”

 

“Rin.”

 

Kagome tapped Rin's arm, making her take her hand off of the hilt of her sword.

 

“You're a brave one, Rin. Not many fledglings that would challenge me like that. Worried that I'm going to hurt the miko? You've had one eye on her since you walked in. Perhaps you are in training as one of her guards?”

 

Rin flushed slightly, but refused to look away. “You touched Kagome-chan.”

 

He smiled tightly, showing some teeth. “Hai, and the miko burned me. I would consider that even, unless you would like to argue the point.”

 

A sharp tap from Kagome made Rin look away. “No, Merkamou-sama. Kagome-chan says that it is even.”

 

Relief rushed over Kagome as Merkamou laughed again.

 

“Sesshomaru-sama, it is a wonder you get any peace in this house.”

 

“Hai.” Sesshomaru looked decidedly bored. `You have no idea.'

 

“Merkamou-sama, perhaps you could tell us about your lands. I have only been there briefly, and I don't know if Rin has been there at all.” Kagome flashed a winning smile. `Distract him before Sesshomaru finally loses it and kills him during dinner.

 

“Ah, miko, you should come and visit. My palace is on the ocean and the sunrise is stunning. The water glows like flames as the sun touches it. There are seabirds overhead, calling to each other. For those few moments there is perfection on Earth. And then there are the mountains, wonderful in summer. It is only two days walk to a lovely hot springs, where . . .”

 

`Wow, he is passionate. I thought all of the youkai lords were like Sesshmaru. It seems not. I bet he'll keep talking all night if I just nod and smile. Yup, sounds like he's just getting started.'

 

Merkamou was in his element. He had an enraptured audience and good food. He regaled them with stories from his land, everything from court gossip to great battles. Once he discovered that Kagome was not embarrassed by an off color story he added some stories involving large amounts of sake. The tension leaked out of the room as Kagome giggled into her sleeves.

 

“Rin does not understand. Why would your friend dare you to go to the bath house?” It seemed a silly thing to do.

 

“Fledgling, you will understand when you are older.”

 

“My lord, I do think it is time for Rin to call it a night. May we be excused, Sesshomaru-sama?”

 

“Hai.”

 

“Sesshomaru-sama, I thought you had died! You have not said a word all night. Come, the females are retiring and I have brought some wonderful sake. Our advisors are still fighting, but we can watch over them and drink at the same time.”

 

“Merkamou-sama. . . “

 

Kagome pulled a very curious Rin out of the dining hall. “Come on, jo-chan. Sesshomaru has to work tonight. We can draw up in my room.”

 

“Yea!” All rules about running were forgotten as Rin darted down the hall.

 

“Rin! Get back here!” Kagome gave chase with her guards running behind her.

 

Kumo was not amused when her charges arrived out of breath and hair falling down. “Kagome-sama! Rin-sama! What are you doing?”

 

“Rin is going to draw while Sesshomaru-sama works!” Rin was spinning in circles, trying to untie her kimono. “How does Rin get out of this?”

 

Kagome caught Rin and held her still while Kumo helped her out of her formal clothes. “Don't worry, Kumo, we were very good for dinner. Just one little sprint back.”

 

“And the whole palace could hear that, I'm sure. Your guards are not light on their feet.” Kumo bundled Rin into a robe.

 

“Oh, I suppose they could hear us. Oops.”

 

“Yes, my lady. Think of all of the times Rin-sama has quietly walked out of the room, then sprinted down the hall.”

 

`Damn. Merkamou - two. Kagome - zip.' The two ningen were now in comfortable robes, ready to have a quiet evening far away from the youkai lords. “Sorry, Kumo. We did try, though.”

 

“Kagome-sama, you should not apologize to me. You can do as you wish, I am simply trying to be of service.”

 

“And I appreciate it, Kumo. There is so much riding on Merkamou deciding to not kill me. I think today went well. At least I'll live until his retinue shows up tomorrow. And the stupid, stupid celebration the day after that.” Kagome flopped onto her bed next to Rin. The little one already had the crayons and some paper out, setting to work on another of her masterpieces. “If we can convince Merkamou to accept me, getting the other two youkai lords to go along with it will be much easier. If the four lords can agree, then the rest of the youkai will fall into line. If Merkamou decides no, then not only is he going to try and kill me, the other lords will go for it as well. And tomorrow I have to practice with him watching. Oh, Kami, this stinks!”

 

“Don't worry, Kagome-chan, you will be wonderful.” Rin gave her a bright smile, completely confident in her friend.

 

“And you, no more challenging Merkamou-sama! Especially not at meals! Bad manners. That means no more grabbing for the sword, no more nasty glares. He is a youkai lord, like Sesshomaru-sama. You don't want him mad at you, you are not ready to handle something like that.” Kagome did not want to upset Rin, but the little girl could easily get in over her head trying to protect Kagome.

 

“Rin did not mean to challenge Merkamou-sama. Rin's hand just . . . moved!”

 

“You must be more careful, that's a challenge for a youkai. You have spent so much time learning to fight, but you have never been in a real one. Let's keep it that way for now. Lets add no challenges to our list of things that we remember, okay?”

 

“Hai, Kagome-chan, Rin will not try to fight with Merkamou-sama.”

 

`Yow, her view of the world is certainly skewed. Growing up with Sesshomaru has taken away a lot of the fear that a youngster would have of the youkai lords. She should have been scared out of her mind to eat with those two, not looking for a fight because one of them tried to touch me. Might want to mention this to the Captain, see if he can bump her view back to where it belongs.' Kagome pulled out her journal and started to write. Her journal entries had certainly been interesting as of late.

 

Met the Lord of the Southern Lands today. What a jerk! If I can make it through this visit without purifying any of his bits off, I'll be surprised. Or Sesshomaru is going to yank some of his bits off. That idiot was trying to touch me right in front of Sesshomaru. While I am not his official mate, Sesshomaru is certainly acting like I am. Either Merkamou is looking for a fight, or he has all of the sense of a brick. And I'm not sure which it is. Nice enough guy at dinner, good story teller. Rin was picking a fight with him, thank Kami he let it go. Sesshomaru would have struck him dead if he ever threatened his Rin. I'm surprised he let the little threat go. He barely moved the entire meal. He barely even moved when Merkamou was circling me this afternoon. It's like he has to stand back and let Merkamou scope us out. His hands were bleeding, he didn't like what was going on. He was so tense this afternoon I got a massive headache. At dinner he was more annoyed than anything, and bored. Bored is better than rage, though. Rage leads to a much bigger headache for me.

 

This picking up his feelings thing sucks sometimes.

 

Oh yeah, that's because we're mates. Not married, not boyfriend and girlfriend, not lovers. Mates. Sure, he takes care of me, protects me, desires me. And I'm going to stay, I mean, this is pretty darn good. And he thinks that he will fall in love with me. But, and don't tell anyone, I think I'm already falling in love with him. Damn him. When we are with people, he barely says two words, but when we're alone. Then he talks to me. Not a lot, still doesn't like to use up a lot of words, but he does talk. And now I know he has feelings. Pretty strong ones, sometimes. He just keeps them so well hidden that no one can tell. I don't know if even he can tell his own feelings anymore. He's been squashing them down for so long. This is just too weird. And now I have to convince his allies to accept me, the ningen. Tomorrow is going to be a very, very long day.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Kagome.”

 

“Rin, the sun isn't even up. I'll get up with the sun, okay jo-chan?”

 

“Jo-chan?”

 

Kagome blinked in the dark. `Okay, that wasn't Rin's voice.' Her eyes focused on the tall figure in front of her. Silver hair, gold eyes. `Should have known, I can feel him right there.'

She let out a quiet giggle. “Yeah, thought you could use a nickname. So, what's up jo-chan?”

 

“You are not in the correct room.” Sesshomaru ignored his new pet name.

 

“Huh? You are just getting done now? What on Earth were you two doing?” Kagome sat up, staring at him in the dark.

 

“The advisors wanted to argue out some of the wording on an old treaty. It has taken this long for the fools to come to an agreement. And that was for only one, tomorrow they will attempt to work out several more. And you are still in the wrong room.”

 

“I just dozed off, Kumo must have put out the lamps.” He was staring at her still. “All right, all right, I'm up, I'm up. Come on, your bed is going to be cold now, I should make you go and warm up the blankets for me or sleep in my room.”

 

“I do not believe Kumo would be amused to come in and find us in the morning.”

 

`Ack, had not thought of that.' Kagome blushed as she moved into Sesshomaru's room. “Good point. Your room it is. You have the better bed, anyways.”

 

There was nothing graceful about the way Kagome stumbled to the bed and belly flopped on it. “It's been a long day, and I have no business being awake right now.”

 

“If this is too much for you tonight, you can return to your room.” Sesshomaru stayed on the far side of the room, looking at her.

 

`Oh, damn, think he's a little put out now. Who'd have thought that the great and mighty lord would be so sensitive?' “No, I sleep better in here with you. Just grousing after a long day. Come on, you've had a long day, too. You need to rest before the torture continues tomorrow.”

 

Kagome could hear the hiss of silk as Sesshomaru undressed. She let out a sigh of relief. He was going to come to bed and get some rest.

 

“This visit is accurately described as torture.” A warm body slipped into bed next to Kagome, pulling her to his chest and holding her there. “Damn idiot.”

 

“The idiot is still a loyal ally, and I think he may be convinced to accept me. We can play his games for a few days in return for keeping a peaceful neighbor to the south.” Kagome tipped her head back so it rested against his shoulder. “I will be safer, your lands will be safer. It's worth a couple of days of dealing with some impulsive behavior.”

 

“I will be sorely pressed to not kill him if he tries to touch you again.”

 

“You were perfect today. As long as you let me handle it, I will look stronger and you will look confident in me. Even though he has all of the common sense of a billy goat. Is he really considering sparring with me tomorrow?”

 

A deep sigh pushed Sesshomaru's chest against his mate. “He says so. I wonder if the fool has dealt with a newly mated youkai in the past. If he is truly that ignorant his advisors would do well to let him in on some of the protocol. If they wish for his limbs to remain attached.”

 

“I have full faith in your ability to control yourself if it's just a minor slip. You let him go today, when he tried to touch me and when he threatened Rin.”

 

“I did not have enough time to react when he was with you, you had already taken care of it. With Rin it was nothing more than a lesson to the pup on manners. He was correct, it was foolish for her to challenge him like that. The pup should be punished.”

 

“I already talked to her. She won't do it again.”

 

Sesshomaru pulled her tighter. “Good. I do not need anything else that will make me want to kill him. His mere presence is enough.”

 

“You need to rest. If you are tired it will be just that much harder to deal with him tomorrow.”

 

“Hai, as do you.”

 

“I'm already most of the way there.”

 

Gentle fingers were running through Kagome's hair as she dozed off. “It will all be” yawn “fine, Sesshomaru.”

 

“Hai.”

 

“Goodnight, Sesshomaru.”

 

Her breathing had already shifted to that of sleep. Sesshomaru buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. “Good night, koishii.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Kagome-chan?”

 

`Oh, what? She usually won't bother me when I'm in here, she knows she's not supposed to come in. What's the big idea?'

 

“Kagome-chan, it is Rin, and it is getting late. Rin does not want you to miss breakfast.”

 

A quick inspection showed that Rin was outside of the door, calling in. Sesshomaru's eyes were open, but it was evident that he had just woken up as well. A quick glance out the window showed the sun up well above the horizon. Kagome looked horrified. “We over slept! Up!” She vaulted out of bed and dashed to her own room. Kumo was there with clothes and hairbrush at the ready.

 

“Good morning, Kagome-sama.”

 

“Ack, not so far. I'm going to be late for breakfast, then for practice. And I was going to let you fancy up my hair, now it looks like I'll barely have time to brush it.”

 

Rin darted into the room. “Kagome-chan, we will be late!”

 

“I know, I know, I'm sorry, jo-chan. I just slept too late. Sesshomaru usually gets up as early as you, but he must have been tired.” Kagome worked on her ties as Kumo brushed through her hair. “I will be ready any minute now. I hope Sesshomaru is up. Sesshomaru!”

 

“That amount of noise is not necessary this early in the morning.” Sesshomaru was dressed and looked as immaculate as ever. He came into Kagome's room, looking just a bit superior as Kumo tied her lady's hair back as best she could. Kagome gave him a nasty look before grabbing Rin and heading into the hall. Kumo bowed to her lord, backing out of the way so he could follow the lady out to the dining hall.

 

Fortunately the dining hall was empty when they arrived. The small group had settled in and were sipping tea when Merkamou came wandering in. He smiled at Sesshomaru, looking perfectly rested. “You are such an early riser, Sesshomaru-sama. And you have the females getting up at the same insane hours. I believe in savoring the mornings, not vaulting out of bed at the first light.”

 

`It is obvious you do not have a mate or pups.' Sesshomaru ignored the comment, sipping on his tea.

 

“Miko, I look forward to seeing your practice today. I am also looking forward to seeing you, little fledgling. Your Captain seems to be quite proud of you.”

 

Rin blushed and looked at her breakfast. “Rin tries hard for the Captain.”

 

“I think it will be a most enjoyable morning.” Merkamou leaned back a bit, studying the two females over his cup. “It will prove to be most entertaining.”

 

*~*~*~*