InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Teaching Rin ❯ Chapter 30

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.

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Teaching Rin

Chapter 31

Aftermath

---

When Sesshomaru landed on the outskirts of the forest surrounding the Southern fortress two days later, he could sense the minute change in the atmosphere. The stench of death did not prevail as it had only a few days before when they had brought Kaida back to her homeland. Now, he could smell the light scent of wild jasmine that clung in the air as he walked towards the castle. When he arrived at the entrance, a small bird demon was waiting at the gate.

“Lord Sesshomaru.” he said respectfully, bowing low. “My Lord Ryu has been expecting your arrival. He wishes to speak with you. If you would please follow me.” The Western Lord nodded and followed the servant as he was lead through the front courtyard and towards the Council room. Once there, the servant knocked, and after receiving a gruff summons, opened the door for Sesshomaru, who entered.

Ryu was with his two oldest sons, Ryuiji and Ryuichi, apparently going over some sort of plans for something. The dragon lord quickly dismissed them. The two younger demons left without a word, but stopped long enough to bow to Sesshomaru respectfully before exiting the room. He nodded at them, and turned back to Ryu, only to catch the glimpse of a set of scimitars lying against the wall. He looked a little closely, placing them as Kaida’s own, but when Ryu turned to the Western Lord and motioned for him to sit down, his attention was drawn elsewhere.

“You have come to collect Lady Rin, I expect?” he asked.

“I have.” Sesshomaru answered, a slight nod in the other demon’s direction. “Where is she?”

“The back courtyard with Kaida and Kentaro. Last I heard, Kentaro was keeping them all entertained with his antics.”

“You do realize that Kaida has not finished Rin’s instruction.” Sesshomaru said. Ryu heaved a sigh of pure aggravation and nodded, and Sesshomaru sensed some distress coming from him.

“I am aware of that. And I am prepared to allow her to go back with you to finish the job. But we have a problem.”

“She’s alive. What is the problem?” he asked.

“She’s refusing to go back to the Western Lands.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t know why. All I know is that ever since she was coherent enough to speak after you brought her back, she refused to go back. She won’t even resume her responsibilities as one of my generals.” Ryu rubbed his temples slightly and settled back down. “She thinks that if she could not keep herself from being killed, then in her mind, she has no right leading other soldiers.”

“And this has something to do with Rin?” Sesshomaru asked.

“She feels guilty for causing so much trouble.” Ryu explained. “And for putting Rin’s life in danger. She does not want to do it again, and refuses to go back. She thinks of herself as more of a liability to you now, than an asset.”

“Her spirit is broken.” Sesshomaru said softly. Ryu nodded, then gave a short laugh of irony.

“Kiyoshi would be happy if he could see her like this.” the dragon lord said. “Her spirit, her will to fight, it’s gone. He tried for so long to break her down into a shell of what she was. If I’d have known she was going to do this, I would have never wanted her….” He stopped talking when he felt the Western Lord suddenly vanish from the room. “Sesshomaru? Where’d you go?”

He looked around carefully, noticing that the screen to the room was open. Something else was off as well, and as his gaze swept across the room, he realized what it was.

Kaida’s scimitars were gone.

‘He didn’t…” Ryu thought, looking out of the window to see Sesshomaru heading towards the courtyard, a determined look on his face. He frowned and headed out of the room, hoping to intercept the bloodbath before it escalated to far, and his daughter wound up dead again.

---

Down in the back courtyard, Kentaro was keeping his audience entertained with his manipulation of the surrounding foliage, right along with his usual witty remarks and crazy antics.

Kaida was sitting beneath a cherry tree, watching as Kentaro tormented her twin with the annoying vines while he was trying to talk to Rin about something. She was so caught up in watching the interaction between the three of them that she missed the very familiar, very angry, demonic energy of Sesshomaru when he entered into the courtyard, even though the other three occupants stopped what they were doing to watch as he walked over to her.

She didn’t even realize he was there until her scimitars dropped at her feet, and she could hear the low growl that she had learned to associate with a highly pissed Sesshomaru.

“Sesshomaru?” she blinked, standing up quickly. “What..”

“Pick up the blades.” he ordered calmly, staring her down.

“What?” she asked, shaking her head. “But, Rin..”

“I do not like to repeat myself.” he said. “But I will say it again since you seemed to have missed it the first time.” The Western Lord unsheathed Toukijin and took a step back. “Pick up your blades.” Kaida blinked in utter confusion. She had been somewhat conditioned to respond to his orders during her time at the Western Lands, but now she stood her ground.

She’d been thinking about the demon standing before her since she’d been lucent enough to realize what he had done. To her, there was no logical explanation for his actions to save her. Although it did make her feel a bit better knowing that he apparently cared enough for Rin’s state of mind to bring her back, if that was the case.

But it did not help her already confused mind to process the information she’d been given. To her, it was her own fault that Rin had been put in danger, and she deserved some sort of punishment for it.

“I’m not fighting you.” she said, turning her back to him. “Not anymore.”

“So you are broken.” he stated. “The cat finally managed to break you down into your rightful position, a weak groveling woman.”

“That’s enough.” Keiji said firmly, coming to his sister’s side. “Leave her alone, Sesshomaru.”

“I speak the truth.” he stated sharply, glaring at the demon. “Kiyoshi succeeded in his quest to subdue her. Should he be here now, I am sure he would take pride in what his handiwork has created…a woman who won’t…can’t defend herself anymore.”

“Please, my Lord.” Rin begged. “This is unnecessary.”

“Silence, Rin!” he ordered angrily. “This does not concern you in the least.” The Western tai-youkai turned his attention back to Kaida, who was pointedly ignoring him. Rin just stared at her guardian in anger. He'd never snapped at her like that. But one look at Kaida was giving her hope.

The first signs of the demoness’ anger were starting to emerge. Her fists were clenched, and her mouth was set in a thin, straight line. It was the first bit of feeling she’d shown since Rin had arrived in the Southern Lands after hearing Sesshomaru had resurrected her.

“Leave me alone, Sesshomaru.” Kaida growled, turning back to face him. “If you want a fight, go find Ryuiji. He’ll spar with you.”

“Your depression is sickening.” he stated calmly, putting Toukijin in the scabbard. “You are alive and have nothing to regret.”

“Rin was almost killed because of me!” Kaida yelled, her temper finally coming out after it’s sudden absence. “How can you be so damned uncaring about her safety? How can you even stand to look at me? Especially after the trouble I’ve caused!”

“This is pointless.” Sesshomaru said. “Rin is fine. And the threat to you and herself abolished.”

“I agree with you. For once. This is ridiculous” Kaida said. “You’ve already proven you’re a bastard who cares about no one.” Kaida looked up at the Western Lord in surprise when she felt his aura spike. “Hit a sore spot, have I?”

Sesshomaru’s only response was to charge at her, sword once again drawn and battle ready.

Kaida, not expecting such a blunt attack, was knocked back against he tree she had been leaning up against a few seconds before. She was still for a few seconds before opening her eyes and getting to her knees, taking some deep breaths to stead herself.

“Get up.” he said.

“I’m not fighting you, Sesshomaru.” Kaida said, looking up at him from her place on the ground. “Do what you must, but don’t expect me to fight back.” Her head dropped down, and she was still. Rin was horrified, and Keiji, who had heard his twins’ words, rushed to her rescue.

"Leave her alone.” he growled. “This is ridiculous! She doesn’t want to fight you!” Sesshomaru completely ignored the other demon and charged Kaida once again, this time from behind, knocking her forward into the ground hard enough to bust her lip.

“Lord Sesshomaru, please stop!” Rin begged. “You’re hurting her!”

“What in Kami’s name is going on out here?” Ryu bellowed from the entrance to the courtyard. Kaida looked up to see her father stalking over to Sesshomaru, a scowl on his face. Behind him, both her brothers were waiting to see what would happen.

‘Great.’ she thought. ‘I’m getting my butt kicked in front of my family. This couldn’t get any worse.’

“Father?” came a decidedly female voice from the opposite side of the courtyard. “What is all the noise? Lord Sesshomaru? When did you get here?”

‘Correction. It just got worse.’ Kaida thought, looking over to see her two sisters standing not far away.

“Get up.” Sesshomaru said quietly, garnering her attention once again. “I know you are stopping yourself. Quit suppressing your instincts.”

“I can’t.” Kaida said quietly, looking up at him. “I deserve some sort of punishment for putting Rin in danger.”

“You’ll defend yourself, or you’ll die.” Sesshomaru said coldly, causing Kaida to swallow a lump in her throat. “And this time, you will not be brought back.” He pulled Toukijin up to her throat, pushing the blade into her flesh until she winced.

He backed up and rushed her once again, but this time she dodged out of the way, making him miss her as he brought the glimmering blade of Toukijin right where she had been kneeling only two seconds before. Sesshomaru tamped down a grin, watching as her now shortened hair fanned out behind her when she turned in a midair flip.

‘That’s it, my little warrior. Get angry with me. Fight me like you want to.’ he thought, dodging a sudden barrage of attacks from the newly awakened demoness.

---

The two battling nobles moved so fast that even Ryu had to blink a few times as he watched them dart around.

“Father, should we intervene?” Ryuichi asked. “He’ll kill her if she does not fight back.”

“He’s trying to kill her, isn’t he?” Kei asked, watching as Sesshomaru regarded a rapidly angering Kaida. “Good riddance.”

“No.” Rin said, shaking her head as realization dawned on her. “He’s trying to snap her out of the depression. He’s trying to make her normal.”

“What?” Kentaro asked. “What are you talking about, Rin?”

“He’s done this before.” she pointed out. “The last time Kiyoshi came to the Western Lands, he and Kaida fought. After he left, Kaida was like this, upset and depressed. But Lord Sesshomaru forced her into a spar by insulting her.”

“He’s trying to help her…” Keiji said.

“…by hurting her?” Ryu asked.

“No.” Rin said. “By making her fight to defend herself. By forcing her to do something she's good at in order to make her see reason.”

“This is crazy!” Leiko said. “She doesn’t stand a chance against him.”

“Yes, she does.” Rin said. “I’ve seen this before. Watch.” Everyone in the courtyard turned back to the fighting pair, who had stopped and were standing only a few inches from each other, talking low enough. But the pained expression on Kaida’s face plainly showed the conversation was not cheerful.

---

“Why are you doing his?” Kaida asked, glaring at him. “Are you trying to humiliate me? Is that what you brought me back for? To make a fool of me?”

“You are acting like your sisters, subservient and weak.” he said. “You will get no pity from me.”

“I don’t want your pity!” she barked.

“What do you want then?”

“Your anger, your hatred.” she fumed. “Anything but this façade of indifference about what happened!” Sesshomaru frowned and lashed out at her again, but Kaida jumped back in time, landing in a roll and coming up behind the scimitars Sesshomaru had thrown at her earlier. She could tell he was readying for another attack, and it seemed like her body kicked into overdrive when her hands snaked their way to the ivory hilts of her weapons. She immediately turned, bringing the gleaming blades up to cover her face as Sesshomaru once again swung Toukijin down into a wide arc meant to sever her head from her shoulders.

---

The clang of the metals reverberated through the surrounding area, stirring the eerie silence that had settled over the audience.

“It’s working.” Kentaro muttered. “Well, I’ll be.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Rin said, a small grin on her face as she crossed her arms in utter satisfaction. “Just wait.”

----

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru and Kaida were locked in a verbal battle, unheard by the others. Kaida was on her knees, covering herself with the crossed blades once again as Sesshomaru held her in glace with the pressure of his own blade. She groaned as he put more weight behind his sword.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, quickly slipping from underneath Toukijin’s deadly blades and taking up a defensive position in front of him.

“I have my reasons.” he answered. Kaida’s anger flared up with the noncommittal answer, and something flared inside of her, causing her to tear out at the Western Lord.

“You arrogant dog!” she fumed, swing the scimitars at him. “Answer me!” She was so caught up in her anger hat she allowed her side to be opened, and Sesshomaru took the advantage to knock her up against a tall statue that was not far away. He pinned her there, securing her wrists behind her so that she would not slice him to pieces.

She struggled against him, biting out insult after insult while he held her there, facing the marble statue.

“This is not what I brought you back for.” he said quietly, causing her to still when the words sank in, and a chill to run down her spine from the warm breath near her ear. “Don’t make me regret my decision.” He let go of her, and she swung around to face him, a look of utter confusion on her face as her heart actually missed a beat.

“Why?” she asked, more to herself than anyone else. “Why?” Sesshomaru said nothing, but Kaida would have sworn she saw a smug grin on his face when he took the initiative, attacking her with a barrage of punches, kicks, and swings of his sword.

Kaida, now utterly confused beyond belief, grew even more angry with him. She counterattacked the stoic lord, dodging the attacks and blocking the biting swings of his weapon. Before long, her entire focus was centered on the white-haired lord in front of her. Their audience of her family had disappeared in her mind. It was like they were back in the Western Lord’s dojo, sparring.

Their fight had been only brief, but she bore the markings enough already. Her haoiri was torn, her hair falling out of its ponytail. There was blood on her hakamas where Toukijin had sliced her outer thigh open, and her lip was busted. Of course, Sesshomaru was not unharmed.

His armor was crumbled, his left sleeve torn, and blood stained his clothing and hair where Kaida had sliced a cut along his back. They were pretty much even, but Sesshomaru was still coming on strong with everything he had while Kaida was slowly beginning to weaken.

“What do you want from me?” Kaida gasped the next time they parted, clutching her arm where he had just gotten in another slice. She was down to one blade, the other being buried practically to the hilt in the trunk of a tree when she had tried to turn Sesshomaru into a shish-kabob. “You’ve made your point. What else do you want?”

“You are holding back.” he muttered. “Fight me at your maximum. Then I will be satisfied.” Kaida stiffened and growled.

“You want me to change?”

“Yes.” he answered. She shook her head, but gave a gruff laugh and raised her eyes to meet his own.

“If that’s what it takes to get you to leave me the hell alone, then you should have told me earlier.” she snarled. Her eyes sparked jade flames as she let her anger and frustration fuel the change in her body.

Sesshomaru smirked in satisfaction as the transformation began to work it’s way over his opponent. He heard the rip of cloth as her wings sprouted from her back, and her tail snaking it’s way out of her hakamas. The stripes along her face become more prominent, and he could see her fingernails elongate and sharpen. When she opened her eyes again, he could see that her pupils had become slit, almost like a cat’s eyes.

He readied himself for a battle, and felt a morbid sense of satisfaction knowing that he was about to have the fight of his life on his hands from the angry demoness in front of him.

“Are you happy now, Sesshomaru?” she asked, her voice a bit deeper than it had been earlier. “Time to play.”

“No more playing.” he said calmly, his acidic whip forming in one had while Toukijin resided in the other.

“It’s your funeral.” she answered, walking over to pull her blade out of the trunk of the tree, then taking to the air with a few powerful strokes of her wings. He picked up the unspoken invitation for an aerial battle, and dropped his weapons. Since he could not fly like he was, he quickly let his own energy envelop him and change him into his demonic form before taking to the air behind her.

---

Down on the ground, Kaida’s family along with Kentaro and Rin, had been joined by a number or servants and soldiers.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” Leiko screeched. “This is deplorable! She’s making a fool out of us!”

“If you want to break them up, go ahead.” Rin smirked at the demoness. “We’ll pick up what’s left of you.”

“They wouldn’t strike me!” Leiko snapped. “I’m a Southern Noble!”

“Those two are in the middle of a blood fight.” Ryu said worriedly. “They’ll kill anyone who got between them right now, even me. Then they’d continue to fight until one of them passes out from blood loss, or pain.”

“Lady Rin, has this happened before?” Ryuichi asked, looking at the girl who had her head tilted skyward to watch the battling demons.

“Their sparring usually got heated.” she said. “And Kaida’s changed before. But the only other time they’ve both went full demon, they destroyed the dojo.”

Ryu looked a little green, but said nothing as he watched his youngest daughter battle one of the most cut-throat demons he knew.

---

Up in the air, Sesshomaru and Kaida were facing off once again, glaring and snarling at each other. The huge white dog circled around her, eyeing her like a piece of meat he was going to tear apart. Kaida, however, just hovered in one place, her wings beating to keep her aloft.

“Come on, puppy.” she taunted. “Ready to finish this?” The dog only growled and charged her, it’s mighty jaws snapping at her. Kaida smirked and pulled her blades into position in front of her. She knew her energy was draining quickly, but figured if she was going to fight him to the death, then she was going to go out swinging.

Sesshomaru swiped at her, his claws dripping with the green acid that would melt the hardest material it cam into contact with. Kaida used the blunt side of her swords to redirect the attack away from her body, but the acid burned the metal into two pieces as soon as it came into contact. She seemed somewhat surprised, but managed to get away from him by tucking her wing and diving towards the ground. Sesshomaru followed her, turning on a dime to chase after her.

The aerial battle was short lived however. Sesshomaru knew Kaida was running out of energy. She had not even completely recovered from her ‘death’ three days before, so it had surprised him greatly to see her even attempt the transformation. But the usual boost of power she received from the change had waned too quickly, and he could tell she was forcing herself to continue on with the fight.

He finally took some pity on her, and batted her hard enough with his paw to knock her into a spring that was below them. He knew the force that she hit the water would more than likely knock her out, and he was correct. When she did not come up from the water, he knew she had passed out from utter exhaustion.

---

By the time Ryu and the rest of the castle had gotten to the spring where Kaida had fallen, Sesshomaru was coming towards them, carrying her body in his arms. She had reverted back to her more humane form after passing out.

Ryu walked up to where the Western Lord was coming and took Kaida from him. Keiji glanced at his sister and frowned, taking in the damage done by the white-haired demon lord.

“Kaida?” he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking slightly. “Wake up, little sister. It’s over.” The young woman groaned slightly and shook her head.

“What happened?” she groaned, opening her eyes. “Where’d that bastard mutt go?” Ryu chuckled and Sesshomaru simply raised an eyebrow at her common reference to him.

“Don’t worry about Sesshomaru.” Ryu said, a grin on his face. “You gave him a run for his money.”

“Good.” she mumbled. “I hope he’s hurting as much as I am right now. Asshole deserves it.”

“Wonderful to hear your so concerned about my state of distress.” Sesshomaru said simply, causing Kaida to frown and look around for him.

“You’re not dead yet?”

“I’m afraid your attempt to remove me from this plane of existence proved futile.” he said, walking into her line of sight.

“Don’t you ever go away?” she grumbled. “You’re too damned good for your own good!” Sesshomaru said nothing, which only made her more angry. “You…you…cocky, self centered, egotistical jerk!”

“Kaida!” Keiji admonished sharply, figuring Sesshomaru was going to try and kill her for insulting him to his face.

“She is fine.” Sesshomaru said dryly. “Her ability to insult me is returning.”

“Just wait…one day…prove…how…strong…I am..” she muttered, finally giving into the darkness that threatened to surround her as she dropped into the land of unconsciousness. Ryu only shook his head, and handed Kaida to her twin, who glared at Sesshomaru.

“Take her back to the castle.” he ordered. “Get her cleaned up and back into a bed to rest.”

“Yes, father.” Keiji said, turning to go back towards the castle.

“Are you turning suicidal, you stupid woman?” Keiji mumbled as he walked away, shaking his head, and not realizing that the others could still hear him. “Picking fights with someone twice your size! I thought you’d have learned by now to leave Sesshomaru the fuck alone! Are you trying to get yourself killed again? I sweat to Kami you are the most stubborn….” His voice drifted off as he walked away, but Sesshomaru had no doubt that he would be berating Kaida all the way to the fortress, despite the fact that she was unconscious.

Sesshomaru turned back to the Southern Lord, who only shook his head in complete surprise. Rin had a smug grin on her face, and gave him a huge smile. Well, at least he seemed to be back in her good graces.

“You are injured, Lord Sesshomaru.” Leiko stated, walking towards him. “Please allow us to dress your wounds.”

“That will not be necessary.” Sesshomaru said coldly, looking at the woman coldly. Rin just chuckled in triumph as when the demoness shirked back from the venom in her guardian’s voice.

“Sesshomaru.” Ryu said, bowing to him slowly. “I believe you have managed to bring her around I thank you for that.”

“She was useless like she was.” he stated. “She could teach Rin nothing in that state. And as such, was no use to me.”

“You mean…” Kei asked. “You’re taking her back to the West? Even after what she is responsible for?”

“What happened between Kiyoshi and your sister was not her fault.” Ryu said, cutting his eyes to his daughter. “Kaida will go back to complete Lady Rin’s training, as agreed upon.” Sesshomaru watched as the two females seemed to fume silently, but said nothing more.

“Our sister is not ready to travel yet.” Ryuiji pointed out. “At least give her a few hours to recover, please.”

“I need to speak with Ryu concerning some matters that need to be addressed.” Sesshomaru said. “She will have the time she requires.”

“Kaida is a quick recovery.” Ryu said, motioning for Sesshomaru to follow him. “She will be up and about by this evening at the latest. Now, what was it that you needed to talk to me about?”

---

Kaida knocked the screen and heard her father call her in. She had awoken only a few minutes ago, and received word that he wanted to speak with her.

‘Probably to get me for fighting with Sesshomaru this morning.’ she thought grimly. But when she sensed the familiar presence of the Western Lord beyond the screen doors, she came to a halt. ‘He should be gone by now.’ she thought frantically, running a hand through her severely shortened hair. ‘Why’s he still here? What does he want now?’

She stilled herself and knocked lightly on the screen door, entering in when her father’s voice beckoned her to do such. He was standing next to a window, and the object of her ire was standing off to the side, his passive face showing nothing. Kaida met his cool gaze, only to feel her cheeks flush red before forcibly calming herself down to face her father.

“You’re up and going again, I see.” Ryu said, a small smile on his face as she stood in front of the two Lords, stone faced and waiting to hear what they had to say.

“I am fine, father.” she said. “Was there something you wanted to discuss with me?”

“I will come straight to the point, my child. You will be returning to the west with Rin this evening.” her father said simply. “Sesshomaru insists you continue your instruction of his ward in order to finalize what she has learned.”

“I have nothing left to teach her.” Kaida said, not understanding this at all. She figured Sesshomaru would not want her anywhere near Rin after the fiasco she had caused. In fact, she wasn‘t even sure she could face the Western Lord now. “She has learned what she needs to know.”

“You have not finished her instruction.” Sesshomaru said, pinning her with a look that almost dared her to argue. Kaida found herself getting distracted by the angry flashes in those amber eyes, and had to eventually break her gaze away from the dog demon standing next to her father. “Not to my satisfaction.”

“Find another teacher.” Kaida said simply. “I’ve nothing left for her.”

“You were teaching her shielding techniques, were you not? As well as archery?” Ryu asked. Kaida nodded. “Are they completed?”

“Not entirely.” she admitted. “She could still use some work, but anyone can teach her those. She’s doesn’t need me.”

“You began her training. It is only right for you to finish it.” Sesshomaru said firmly, a bit more gently. Kaida caught the change in his voice, and watched as he walked over, holding out a closed fist. She reached out with an open palm, and he deposited the energy stone he’d given her months ago. She’d missed the heavy weight since being brought back, but figured it had been lost in the forest during the attack. She looked up at the dog demon with a million questions running through her mind, but wasn’t sure how to vocalize them. The look on Sesshomaru’s face showed that he was not going to take her refusal to return without a fight, and for some odd reason, she was flattered. Her stomach suddenly started turning in knots the longer she looked at him, and she eventually had to look away before she made herself sick.

“I can see I’m going to get no where with this argument.” Kaida mumbled, her hand closing around the stone.

“Excellent.” Ryu stated, a smile on his face. “You are dismissed, Kaida. Sesshomaru and I have a few things to finish discussing before you leave.”

“Gather what you need and find Rin.” Sesshomaru said. “I will join you in the courtyard shortly.” Kaida said nothing, only nodded curtly and walked out of the room, heading straight for her quarters.

-

Once she got to her room, Kaida’s emotions were in such a mess that when she let herself go, she punched the wall to try and make some since of it. She then placed her hands on the wall, leaning up against it for some sort of support.

Damn it.

This wasn’t supposed to happen!

What the hell was she supposed to do?

She was getting attached to Sesshomaru, that’s what she was doing. Her attraction for him had been forcibly pushed aside for some time now. She had barely accepted it as fact that he wasn’t as bad as she’d originally thought, and that she liked the arrogant bastard. It had crept up on her so silently, so stealthily, so innocently that she’d never realized it until it was too late, the final stray being when he had resurrected her only the few days before.

She remembered seeing a vision raising up from her resting place, a vision of white and red, and amber colored eyes that were boring into her soul. Her first thought had been of an angel sent from the gods above, but that had quickly dissipated before she passed out. Her last thought had been of absolute gratitude and reverence for the dog demon who had stood his ground against her so many times.

By no means was it love, she wouldn’t even begin to even consider that word to describe what she was feeling. But she wasn’t exactly sure what to call it.

Gratitude? Definitely

Attachment? Possibly

Love? Hell no!

She owed him so much now. Owed him her entire life, in fact. And there was no way she could ever repay him for bringing her back. And she couldn’t see going back to the Western Lands and living with the dog demon with the illusions that everything was going to go back to the way they were before the attack. It just wasn’t going to happen.

Keiji had warned her about this. He’d said many times that one day, someone would crawl underneath that impenetrable shell she held around herself and make her realize that she was a woman underneath all that brassiness, make her flush hot when he came by, and cause her to go speechless with one scalding look.

But she never thought it would be Sesshomaru! Never in a million years!

The Western Lord, eldest son of InuTaisho, half brother of Inuyasha, and an all around thorn in her side had managed to inconspicuously wiggle his way past her defenses without her even realizing it until now. This was not good, and most definitely not something she had anticipated happening.

Kaida let out a frustrated whine and slammed her fist into the wall again, causing some small shards to crumble around her fist. She’d never had these feelings before, and it was scaring the living shit out of her.

‘I will not turn into my sisters, or any of the other women wanting that bastard.’ she vowed silently to herself, glaring at the wall as though it had caused her some grievous insult. ‘I will not turn to some spineless, weak creature of a demon who thinks he’s better than the gods above! I won’t do it! I won’t let my guard down, and I’ll be damned if this is going to go any further! I am going to get a hold of myself and face this with pose and dignity.’

“Sis?” Keiji asked, sticking his head into the doorway, frowning tightly at the sight of his now resurrected sister punching a solid wall. “You alright?”

“No, I’m not Keiji.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” she muttered, tossing her blades onto her futon. “Every damn thing.”

---

A/N - Okay, this is the last of this huge update. I hope you all enjoyed, and I will be back with more in the coming weeks. Until then,

Later,

A.A.

Oh, and remember to review, I want to know what you think.