InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Teaching Rin ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

Disclaimer - It’s not mine. Never was. The only thing I own is Kaida, and her family/friends. No money is being made, so don’t sue me.

A/N - Thank you to all who review. I really do appreciate you taking time to leave your thoughts. Just one quick note before things get going:

College is going to start again for me soon. So you’re going to get one huge update of about five chapters at one time in a week or so.

So, without further ado, here is:

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Teaching Rin

Chapter 22

Prefabricated Assumptions

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“You wanted to see me, Lord Sesshomaru?” Kaida asked, pulling the screen shut after she entered into the Council room the next morning, only to find the Western Lord neck deep in scrolls and papers. He looked up, frowned slightly, and put away whatever he was reading.

“I did.” he confirmed curtly, motioning her to sit on the other side of the low table while he leveled her with his customary impassive face. “The kitsune Kentaro is becoming more focused on his attempts to garner Rin’s attention exclusively. This is not acceptable.”

“Why not?” Kaida asked. “She’s not tied to anyone else, is she? No formal agreements to other families?”

“No.”

“Then I fail to see a problem.” Kaida said.

“I do not like the kitsune.”

“You seem to get along well enough with Ronin and Hoshi.” Kaida said.

“Ronin and his son are grown, and not overly rambunctious, disrespectful ingrates of their breed.”

“Suggesting that Kentaro is?” she asked lightly.

“Correct.”

“I see.” Kaida said. “So what do you want to know from me?”

“What is this fox’s intentions towards Rin?” he asked. “He was by her side the entire time you two were in the Southern Lands.”

“It was innocent.” Kaida said.

“Leaving the beginnings of a mating mark on her neck is not innocent.” Sesshomaru growled.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have made such a rash judgment to send him away.” Kaida pointed out, referring to a couple months back when Kentaro had left the markings on Rin’s neck and Sesshomaru had seen it.

“What would you suggest then, seeing as how you refuse to see my point in addressing this matter of concern.”

“I suggest you let Rin make her own decisions.” Kaida said simply. She raised her hand in a placating matter when she saw Sesshomaru gearing up with some sort of retort. “You did ask for my opinion, didn’t you?”

“Indeed I did.” he agreed. “A decision I am beginning to regret.”

“Just hear me out before you jump down my throat, please?”

“Very well.”

“All jokes aside, Kentaro would be a decent match for Rin.” Kaida said, dead seriously. “He is from a stable family who is not so caught up in the pure-blood mania that they’re completely against interbreeding with a human. There are plenty of hanyou in Ronin’s court, many of them extended family of his.”

“So you believe I should hand her over to the Eastern family simply on the basis that they would not ostracize her because of her humanity?” he asked.

“No. I think you should give the two a chance to get to know each other a little more.” Kaida said calmly. “Rin is still young, even in human years. She should have the chance to pick for herself who she’s going to live with for the rest of her life, not have it forced upon her.”

“I still do not like the kitsune.” Sesshomaru said coolly. “He is cowardly.”

“Most people are when they’re dealing with you.” Kaida said flatly. “You’re not exactly the most approachable demon in Japan, if you know what I mean.”

“Ronin and his son will be beginning the preliminary requests to court Rin.” he said. “I expect them to arrive soon.”

“Before her court presentation?” Kaida asked, apparently surprised. “Well, you can’t accuse him of not taking the initiative when it’s something he wants.”

“I won’t allow it.”

“If you don’t give them the chance, and you keep forcing them apart like you’ve been doing lately, Kentaro’s going to do the same thing his father done to get Yoshe.” Kaida said.

“He wouldn’t dare.” Sesshomaru hissed. “Trying to kill me would prove as futile as trying to steal Rin away to the East without my consent.”

“You’re not getting my point.” Kaida said calmly. “Katrasuji was by Yoshe just like you are by Rin, and Ronin managed to kill the bastard kitsune when he was barely out of adolescence! What does that tell you?”

“Ronin caught him on a bad day?” he dead-panned.

“No, Ronin was determined to have Yoshe, despite what her father said to the contrary. He was willing to die in an attempt to get to her.” Kaida said, shaking her head. “I think Kentaro will do the same thing, if you keep trying to force them apart.”

“He will die should he challenge me.”

“That was the same thing Katrasuji said about Ronin.” Kaida pointed out. “And look who came out alive from that fight.” Sesshomaru seemed uncomfortable with that statement, so Kaida decided to change her line of reasoning. “Look, I’ve known the Eastern family as long as I’ve been alive. I know how they think better than most, especially Kentaro and Hoshi. And Kentaro is enough like his father to do something stupid if he doesn’t have a fair chance at winning Rin’s favor.”

“I still do not like it.”

“Sesshomaru, you won’t like any being, human or demon, that comes around here looking for Rin as a mate.” she said, rolling her eyes. “With that being said, let her make the decision who to mate. At least that way, she’ll be satisfied.”

“Your line of reasoning is not helping.”

“You are absolutely impossible.” she stated. “What is so wrong with Kentaro anyways? Give me one good reason why you don’t like him, other than the fact you think he’s a coward. Just one legitimate reason, and I won’t say another word about this.”

“He is a kitsune.”

“And you are a dog.” Kaida pointed out sullenly. “The breeds aren’t that different, you know. You’re both canines.” He apparently didn’t like that comparison, and Kaida tried to think of a way to make him understand what she was saying. “All I’m saying is give them a chance to figure this out on their own.” she said calmly. “Quit pushing them apart. Let them learn about each other. Who knows, they might not be able to stand each other after a while. Then, they’ll drift apart, and someone else will come along for Rin to turn her attention to.”

“I severely doubt that.”

“Let her be courted. Let her see what it’s like to be wanted by another being.” Kaida said, as if he had not interrupted. “That’s what most girls dream about from the time they‘re old enough to realize what their station in life is. To have their pick of suitors. To fall in love.”

“Did you do that as well?” he asked carefully. “Wish to be swept away by someone, taken away from your home to live happily as the centuries pass?”

“What I did is irrelevant.” she said, although he caught the slight redness to her cheeks that showed she had done that same thing at some point in time.

“The majority of the males who seek these type of alliances do so based only on political ties and alliances.” Sesshomaru said. “I will not consent to a union where she will not be taken care of.”

“Then let her find someone who truly cares for her.” Kaida said. “A family’s stability is based on trust, and if she is put with someone who she doesn’t trust, they’re union is doomed from the start. He’ll stray, she’ll take a lover, and the next thing you know, they’ve got illegitimate children coming and going, and a chaotic mess all around them. I‘ve seen it happen before.”

“You seem to know a great deal about this.” he commented.

“I’m engaged to Kiyoshi.” she commented dryly. “You tend to pick up on a few things after being forced to speak with his demented family your entire life.”

“So it would seem.” he said. They grew quite for a few moments, each one regarding the other carefully. “I will take into consideration the things you have said, and make my decision when it is needed.”

“Very well.” Kaida said, rising to her feet. “Is there anything else you need from me.”

“Not at the moment.” he said gruffly. “You are excused.” Kaida simply nodded, bowed, and turned, leaving him to his paperwork. Sesshomaru sat back and contemplated what she’d said, the points she’d made.

To be truthful, he’d expected her to defend Kentaro’s and Rin’s relationship to the death. So it had surprised him a bit when she’d suggested allowing them to work through their relationship and figure out the kinks by themselves. Of course, should the two of them drift apart, there was no telling who would be the next to try and win Rin’s attention.

‘At least with the kitsune I know what I’m dealing with.’ he thought grumpily, going back to his paperwork, only to have a realization suddenly dawn on him. ‘We managed to discuss this without resorting to violence.’ he thought, going back to his paperwork after letting that thought sink in fully. ‘Miracles do happen.’

-

“I believe we’re running out of stores, Kaida.” Rin said the next day as they were taking inventory of the food left in the fortress.

“Well, it’s a good thing the harvests will be in soon.” Kaida said, moving some containers of tubers around the shelves to make more room. “The tithes will replenish what’s been used up. No worry.”

“I wanted to ask you about that.” Rin said. “I asked Lord Sesshomaru, and he said I could go to the village festival if you went along with me. Will you, please?”

“We’ll see.” she said. “Depends on what day it is on, and what else we have planned to do. Sound fair enough?”

“Yes.”

“Lady Kaida?” Keisha said, coming into the room in a hurry.

“Yes.”

“A letter has arrived for you, my lady.” Keisha said, handing it to her with a small smirk. “The messenger gave me explicit instructions to get it directly to you, seeing as how he was forbidden by Lord Sesshomaru to enter the fortress.”

“Forbidden?” Rin asked. “Since when are your family’s messenger’s not allowed here?” Kaida shrugged, and flipped open the letter, scanning the contents rather quickly, a smile coming to her face. She shook her head and pocketed the paper.

“Was this messenger traveling in a trading caravan?” Kaida asked.

“Yes, my Lady.”

“What did he look like?”

“He was a dog demon from what I could tell.” Keisha said. “Reddish-brown hair. And the most strikingly violet eyes I have ever seen.”

“Kaze?” Rin asked, looking to Kaida. “What’s he doing here?”

“Pushing his luck and chancing his life.” Kaida said ruefully.

“Well, why has he been forbidden from entering the fortress?”

“I would assume Lord Sesshomaru’s initial impression of him was one that was not so favorable.” Keisha said.

“You can say that again.” Kaida groused.

“Something happened you haven’t told me about?” Rin asked, setting down one of the baskets she was moving.

“Sesshomaru doesn’t like Kaze.” Kaida said. “They got off to a rough start considering the first time Sesshomaru seen him, Kaze was feeling me up on stage at the festival.”

“No!” Keisha said, absolutely appalled.

“He saw the play?” Rin asked. “I thought he didn’t arrive until afterwards.”

“No, he saw it.” Kaida reassured her.

“Well, no wonder the young man has been expelled from the fortress.” Keisha said sternly. “You are under our Lord’s protection until your duty to Lady Rin is completed. He most probably saw this Kaze as an intruder onto someone who he is watching over.”

“If we had been here, and not in the Southern Lands, I would have believed that.” Kaida said. “But I was in my own homelands. He has no jurisdiction there, and even less right to get angry concerning what I do with a long time friend of mine.”

“Kentaro said he was jealous.” Rin piped up with a smirk. “And I’m beginning to believe him.”

“Kaze said the same thing, and I smacked him for it.” Kaida pointed out grimly. “Sesshomaru was mad because he didn’t know who Kaze was. I am quite sure jealously was nowhere in the picture.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Lady Kaida.” Keisha pointed out. “I’ve worked for the Western family since I was nothing but a child, and Sesshomaru’s father was the same way by both Lady Asacia and Lady Izayoi.”

“Yeah, but he was mated to them.” Kaida pointed out. “He had a right to be concerned who they were with.”

“That was before they were mated.” Keisha pointed out. “Once they were, he calmed down a bit. But the territorialism before his unions to both of them was horrid. Any male that came near them with ambiguous intentions he considered a threat; and they were quickly dispatched of.”

“You sound like Kaze.” Kaida grumbled. “That crazy half-breed said the same thing.”

“Half breed?” Rin asked. “Kaze is a hanyou?”

“He did not have the looks of a half demon.” Keisha said. “Of course, it could not have been your friend I spoke with.”

“Kaze is a full blooded demon.” Kaida said. “He has no human blood in his veins.”

“Then why do you call him a half-blood?”

“He’s not a full dog demon.” Kaida explained. “His mother was a dragon demoness of my father’s court.”

“Impossible.” Keisha exclaimed.

“It’s the truth.”

“But, he shows no traits of the dragon family.” Rin said.

“That’s the tricky thing about our breed.” Kaida said simply. “A dragon demoness’ blood will give way to her mate’s when a child is conceived, making the child utterly favor its father. But when a dragon demon mates, his blood often time’s overpowers his mate’s if she is a different breed, making the child have a more reptilian look.”

“And when mixed with human blood?”

“If the mother was human, then the draconic features are still there, just not as apparent.”

“Like you?”

“Exactly.” she said. “But if the father was human, and the child a hanyou, they would look completely human.”

“That’s odd.” Keisha said. “I’ve never known of that happening before.”

“I think the draconic breeds are the only ones who have that specific trait.” she said with a shrug.

“So any child you have will take your mate’s traits?” Rin asked.

“Unless he was another dragon demon, then yes.” she said with a shrug. “My ancestor watched the family lineage for generations, and finally figured out the patterns. Needless to say, not all of them were thrilled when it was proven true over the years.”

“So, if you and Lord Sesshomaru were to have children, then they would look like him?” Rin asked.

“Sesshomaru and I couldn’t get passed the courting process without killing each other.” Kaida said dryly. “I doubt we’d ever get around to having children. Not that I want him for a mate anyways.”

“Speaking hypothetically, is what I mean.” Rin said.

“Hypothetically? Yes, they would more than likely take after him entirely, poor things.” Kaida said. “I’d hate to subject any being to that though.”

“You really have no reason to hate our Lord so much, Lady Kaida.” Keisha admonished.

“I don’t hate him. I just don’t like him.”

Rin burst out laughing at that comment, and Keisha looked utterly appalled.

“Lady Kaida!” the head woman scolded. “How dare you say such things?”

“What? I bet if you asked him, he’d say he hates me!” Kaida said defensively. “It’s pretty well known that we can’t stand in the same room without something being thrown; whether it’s a vase or an insult depends on what‘s nearby at the time.”

“Impossible. You two are just as bad as InuTaisho and Asacia, always jumping…...” Keisha muttered, walking away as she shook her head.

“Wonder what that was supposed to mean?” Rin questioned, watching the head woman disappear into the sublevels of the cavernous store rooms.

“No telling.” Kaida said. “Come on, let’s get this inventory over with. I want to head into the forest today to work with you on some things.”

“Are we starting the archery lessons soon?” Rin asked.

“It will be a few more days before we start that.” Kaida said. “Our trip south took a few days practice away from your training with the shielding techniques, and you need to catch up before we start anything else.”

“I want to get started soon.” Rin said wistfully. “Kentaro said I should be good at shooting.”

“And how does he know this?”

“He let me shoot his sister’s bow while we were in the South.” Rin said with a fierce blush. “I didn’t do too bad, and actually hit the target on my third try…after he told me what I was doing wrong.”

“That’s better than I ever did.” Kaida muttered.

“You can’t shoot a bow?” Rin asked.

“I can. I was just never very good at it. It‘s been years since I‘ve even had my hands on a bow, so there‘s no telling how bad I am now.” she said. “My main focus was on sword fighting when I was training.”

“But you can teach me, right?” Rin asked.

“I’ll see what I can do.” she said. “How is Kentaro, by the way? Heard from him since we left the South?” Rin blushed prettily and fidgeted with a container she was holding.

“He sent me a gift this morning.” she admitted. “It came while you and Lord Sesshomaru were out sparring in the forest.”

“Really?” Kaida asked. “What was it?”

“Some things I had seen at the festival.” she said. “He told me he was picking out gifts for his other sister Hoshiki, and needed some help. So I told him some things that I thought were pretty, and that she might like.”

“And he sent them to you?” Kaida asked, smiling at the kit’s resourcefulness.

“Yeah, he did.” Rin said. “All of it! There’s two bolts of silk, a stationary set, three different fans, and Kami only knows what else in my quarters now! How am I going to explain that to Lord Sesshomaru if he sees it?”

“I’ll help you find places to put it.” she said. “And if Sesshomaru asks any questions, I’ll just tell him I bought them for you.”

“He’ll believe that?”

“I doubt it, but it’s worth a shot.” she said, shrugging. “Of course, we could always tell him that Kaze sent them to me as gifts. That way you and Kentaro are off the hook.”

“But…then Lord Sesshomaru will be angry with you again.” Rin pointed out.

“When is he not angry with me?” Kaida asked, rolling her eyes as she put the last of the food back in it’s rightful place.

“You two seem to be getting along a little better since we’ve gotten back.” Rin said helpfully.

“That’s because he’s still mad about Kaze, and avoiding me when he can during the day. We haven’t seen each other long enough to fight about anything.”

“But you still spar in the morning and evenings.” Rin pointed out. “And you’re not trying to kill each other like you were before.”

‘Oh, if you only knew the truth.’ Kaida thought ruefully. “Don’t worry yourself about it.” she said nonchalantly. “Now, tell me what’s going on between you and Kentaro. Looks like he’s becoming quite a little friend of yours.”

“I like him.” Rin said quietly, biting her lip in sudden nervousness. “I know Lord Sesshomaru hates him through and through. But….he….I….”

“What’s he told you so far?” Kaida asked gently.

“He said he’s going to get his father’s permission to start the requests asking permission to court me.” Rin said.

“He’s starting now? Before you’re ever presented at court?”

“Kentaro said he wanted to get a head start on everything, so that he was the first one in line.” she said.

“He’s taking initiative.” Kaida noted with a nod. “That’s good. It shows he can plan ahead.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be enough, though.” Rin said. “Kaida, Sesshomaru hates him. All because he’s a kitsune, and says they have a bad reputation for playing with people’s emotions! Kentaro’s not like that! I know he’s not!”

“Okay, calm down. Calm down, Rin.” Kaida said, trying to sooth the teenager’s frayed nerves. “We can handle this.”

“I like Kentaro. I don’t want to be forced away from him because Sesshomaru doesn’t like him.” Rin said. “Can you talk to him for me, please. Tell him that Kentaro’s not just playing around with me? Please, Kaida. He’ll listen to you, I know he will.”

“I’ve already talked to Sesshomaru about Kentaro.” Kaida admitted, patting the girl on the arm.

“What did he say?”

“He said he’d think about the points I made, and make his decision when the time comes.” she answered. Rin looked completely crestfallen, the frown on her face deepening. “Well, at least it wasn’t a definite ‘no’.”

“I guess you’re right.” Rin said sadly. “I just….I don’t want to be forced to choose between the two of them. Lord Sesshomaru, he’s like my own father…I just don’t want to disappoint him.”

“You can’t disappoint him, Rin.” Kaida said, hugging the teenager tightly. “It’s not possible.” There was a few moments of silence as Kaida let the words slip into her pupil’s mind and settle down into solid realization before she looked down at her and grinned. “We’re all done here, so let’s head outside and see if Sakaki will come with us into the forest for some work. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good.” Rin said, smiling once again as they walked out. Kaida followed her out at a short distance, asking Keisha to relay the message to Sesshomaru that she and Rin were taking Sakaki into the forest to work on some recognition of medicinal herbs.

If it was at all possible, her conversation with Rin just then, coupled with the conversation with Sesshomaru the day before, had made her initial ideas of letting Rin and Kentaro get together seem a bit more realistic. It seemed like the two young nobles had taken a devout interest in one another, and were willing to try and work things out around Sesshomaru.

‘I still say if push comes to shove, Kentaro will take her right out from underneath Sesshomaru if he has to.’ she thought. Of course the grim realization of what would happen to the kit at Sesshomaru’s hands should he be caught did not make the prospect any more enjoyable that it was. ‘Facing Sesshomaru’s wrath is not something Kentaro wants to do, but something he will do if necessary. I pray to Kami that it will never get to that point, for his sake, and for Rin’s.’

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A/N - Hey, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Please remember to review, and tell me what you think.

Later,

A.A.