InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Teaching Rin ❯ Chapter 34

Disclaimer - It’s not mine. Never was. I only own Kaida and her immediate family, friends. No money being made. You guys know this stuff by now..

A/N - Here is the second part of the other chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

***Very, very long author’s note at the end. Please read for answers to two questions that have been asked by a number of reviewers via my personal email account.***

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Teaching Rin

Chapter 34

Back in the Swing of Things

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Fighting her seemed to be the only consolation he could have anymore. Watching her with the others intensified the pangs he felt, something that was utterly foreign to him. Her time within his borders had changed his perception of her, whether it was to the better or not was yet to be seen.

He inconspicuously watched her as she fidgeted with her blades, waiting for the elites to finish their warm ups, and marveling at the ways she adjusted from teaching Rin how to successfully conclude a tea service to teaching a bunch of unruly soldiers how to toss each other across the dojo more efficiently. With Rin, she was soft spoken and open to requests or questions from the girl. But with his men, there was an abrasive nature that kept her bristled up all the time. There was no trace of the patient woman who had taught his ward. She was just as crass and abrupt as the men; even worse in some cases.

Sesshomaru knew she tried to make others realize she was no better than them, even if her rank would prove otherwise. It allowed her to relate to the soldiers she taught, to show them and make them realize that she was just as much a mortal being as they, that she could bleed when cut and fall when hit. But, he observed, she still held on invisible wall of coolness between herself and the rest of them. There were a few braver souls who would flirt and try to chat her up. But to his surprise, and internal amusement when she wound up kicking their ass under the pretense of demonstration, she deflected the attention away from herself.

And that was one of this reasons he agreed to go along with her plan to see the elites to see them sparring in the courtyard the next day.

Another was to see if she would remain to be as cold towards him as she had been being since their return from her homelands. Their training in the mornings and evenings had ceased all together, and Sesshomaru was curious as to why. She had changed since the encounter with the neko Kiyoshi those weeks ago. Kaida had become cold, distant from those around her. The only ones who seemed to be retaining their original place in her favor was Sakaki and Rin. And even then she sometimes became short with them.

Everyone else she avoided like they carried the plague.

Her routine had become set as well since returning to the West. She would get up, usually before dawn, and meander around her quarters until Rin woke. After breakfast, while Rin was doing some things with Keisha, Kaida would usually stare out the front door of the fortress, focused on whatever happened to catch her attention. When Rin would come out, they would work on the shielding techniques or archery, or sometimes even both at the same time. Lunch would follow, and then Rin would head off elsewhere while Kaida returned to the sanctity of her own quarters until it was time to train with the elites. She’d go down, train, eat dinner with Rin, and go back to her quarters without saying much to anyone else.

She had quit grinning, quit smiling, quit sulking, quit showing any kind of emotion at all; unless of course she was yelling at his elites, then she was as sarcastic and overly critical as ever. But the lighthearted banter that had been between them before the attack was gone.

Granted of course his definition of ‘banter’ usually meant them throwing insults at each other while sparring, or her pointing out obvious flaws in his character while he simply answered her in one syllable words…or ignored her completely, whichever the case may be. But still….it was some sort of communication between them.

Now she was the one answering in monosyllabic words and ignoring him. And not only was she avoiding him, but anytime he did manage to pin her down and get a few words out of her, she stayed at least arm’s length away from him. It was like she thought he would reach out and strike her at any given moment.

That was possibly the worst part of it all. He had seen her like that before, when she had first come to his lands. She had been uneasy, and quick to jump at any physical contact with him, or anyone else for that matter, even if it was a simple brush of shoulders when they passed each other. But it had slowly let up as the weeks progressed, thanks much in part to the sparring and training she’d done with him and the close contact that had resulted from it.

He had never intended to do it, but he had forced her to deal with the contact of another being….or get herself beat up if she didn’t.

The Western Lord had become used to her attention, her willingness to speak with him on whatever subject he pulled up. It was an insight into her intelligence, and a chance to pass the boring hours of the day away. He had become used to the way they would argue about a topic, and be the devil’s advocate despite the fact she may agree with his views as well. She had managed to weasel her way into his good graces simply because…..well, he wasn’t completely sure. Her companionship was refreshing, especially considering most people quivered in his wake.

But not Kaida.

She’d stood up to him more times than he could count. And he honestly believed that her droll personality was the very reason she had done so and still walked away from their meetings with her head still attached and her throat unslit.

Sesshomaru had even tried to purposely get a rise out of her on more than just one occasion by subtly insulting her during their rare meetings. It hadn’t worked. So he changed his tactics and openly insulted her a few times, hoping for some kind of reaction.

Nothing.

She just shook her head, gave him a wry smile, said she’d heard it all before, and walked away, ignoring him and whatever else he’d planned to say.

And if it was one thing Sesshomaru did not like, it was to be ignored.

The Western Lord was beginning to wonder what had caused her to become so withdrawn. Normally he would have tried to force something out of her, make her go back to normal by making her so mad that she couldn’t think straight, much like he had done that day in the Southern Lands when he had attacked and they had battled in the skies of her homelands. He remembered the hollowed look in her eyes when he had thrown the scimitars at her feet, demanding she defend herself or die again, this time at his hands.

That look had evoked something within him that he had felt only few times before.

Fear.

He was scared that she had been scarred beyond his reach, beyond any hope for recovery from her fears. Changed for the worst because of what had happened to her. Of course when she had eventually began to fight him back, seen the hollowness disappear from her eyes, he had thought all was well again.

Ryu had mentioned giving her something to focus on when she returned with him, hence his appointing her as supervisor of his elites. That way, not only was she doing something she was familiar with, but she had another focal point besides Rin.

Only it seemed…..he had been wrong.

She stood beside him now, waiting for his soldiers in the large courtyard to finish their warm ups. Then, if would be time for their impromptu spar. It would be the first time in weeks they had fought, which was one reason he had accepted her impersonal proposal the day before when she had searched him out in the dojo to request his assistance. Her explanation had been blunt and to the point, not colored with the normal sarcastic comment thrown in for good measure every now and then.

He had accepted the invitation, more out of surprise that she had sought him out than anything. He had no doubts that had he refused, she simply would have found another way to get her point across, probably recruiting one of his captains to be her partner. But he had accepted, and now here he was, standing at her side and waiting to go outside to fight her in front of his elites.

Not exactly a scenario he would have ever envisioned being in…but this was Kaida he was dealing with. Usually unthought scenarios of awkward positions and weird surroundings were a common thing when dealing with her.

“I believe they are ready.” he commented, looking out the small window and then to the demoness at his side. “Lady?” Kaida peered out as well, nodding only slightly.

“Let’s go.” she said curtly, pulling open the doors and walking out, leaving him to follow behind her.

As soon as they stepped foot into the courtyard, the assembled elites fell into rank and stood in attention, their thinly veiled surprised expression trained on their him and Kaida.

“Alright ingrates, listen up.” Kaida barked. “I have tried to figure out a way to make you train with me the right way, and so far have failed miserably. It was brought to my attention that some of you believe you will be reprimanded for doing exactly what you’ve been trained to do. Contrary to what you might believe, you’re not going to instigate a civil war if you hit me during training. And since telling you this has so far resulted in it entering one ear, bouncing around your empty skulls, and then exiting the other without the vaguest ability of it sinking into your thick heads, I’ve arranged for a spar with Lord Sesshomaru to show you exactly what I expect your training to be like.”

‘At least her ability to insult someone is still wholly intact.’ Sesshomaru thought, smirking internally. He watched as his elites fanned out along the courtyard, giving them ample room to begin the fight. He and Kaida stepped forward at the same time, taking their stances a respectable ways from the other. Sesshomaru tamped down a smile at her focus, the intent of proving herself to his men written all over her face…but he could not help from adding insult to injury.

“You are out of practice, Lady.” he said, loudly enough for her to hear.

“You’re outta your mind if you honestly believe that, my Lord.” she smirked, her eyes lowered into angry slits as she gripped her scimitars in both hands.

Sesshomaru smirked and began the fight immediately. They squared off for a few seconds, each noble trying to weaken the other’s will to fight. Kaida took the offensive first, coming at him quickly with blades slicing and feet kicking. Sesshomaru guarded against her easily enough, knowing the pattern her blades would follow from their other spars. She always started with that technique, although it had taken a couple spars for him to realize it…he didn’t think she had yet.

The clash of metal on metal was met with silence from the surrounding elites, and Sesshomaru chanced a split second look at his Captains, only to see them watching with rapt interest. His lack of attention however, cost him dearly. Kaida pushed him away, striking out with one of the blades while blocking with the other. One roundhouse kick later, and he was on the ground, her blades at his throat and a very familiar smirk on her face as she looked down at him from her dominant position.

“Out of practice, you said? Your attention should be on me. I’m more dangerous than they are right now.” she smirked, causing a few of the nearby soldiers to snicker. He saw a hint of her old self shine through, and groaned. “The first point is mine, my Lord.”

“The second, however, will not be.” he growled, rising up and heading straight at her. He pushed her back, using his brute strength to force her back into the middle of the courtyard and away from the watching elites. She was still weaker than him, despite her training, and he used it to his advantage when he could. With a final push he broke away from her, backing up a few steps to plan his next move. She would attack head on, he knew her that well. And he was not disappointed when she geared up to come after him.

Kaida rushed him at once, her left scimitar ready to swing at his head. Sesshomaru waited until the very possible last minute to move, using his speed to move out of the way and reappear behind her. He quickly grabbed her, mindful of the two razor sharp blades she held in her hands, and bodily tossed her towards the out of the courtyard with one of the grappling techniques she had taught him months ago. She went flying and crashed into some crates that had been sitting along the walls, taking Sakaki and a few of the other elites with her for the ride.

She came up muttering obscenities about him, and violently pushing the elites out of the way so she could get out of the tangle of limbs. She wasn’t quite fast enough though, and Sesshomaru brought Toukijin’s blade down to hover at her throat.

“My point, Lady General.” he said simply, causing her eyes to spark jade flames. She growled, muttered something about him being an ‘opportunistic pain in the ass’, and roughly pulled a still struggling Sakaki off of her.

“That’s you last, Sesshomaru.” she hissed angrily. The Western Lord simply turned and walked back towards the center of the courtyard. He could feel her pulsing aura behind him, and hear the murmurs of his soldiers as they were questioning her sanity. He was about to turn around to face her again when something went whizzing by his face, cutting a slice along his cheek no thicker than the width of a single hair. He whipped around, seeing a satisfied smirk on her face, and another dagger in her hands.

“I won’t miss next time.” she promised, a deadly glint in her eyes.

“You shouldn’t have missed that time.” he countered, his voice barely above a growl as his energy began to pool in the fingertips of his left hand.

So she wanted to play with some long range weapons, did she? He could do that.

The energy whip crackled in the air as he lashed out at Kaida with it. She would try to get closer, to get a clear shot to him, and he would aim the acidic weapon at her, forcing her to dance out of the way and to safety. It continued like that for a few long minutes, Kaida circling right outside the reach of his weapon of choice. He didn’t know what she was doing, had no idea what her plan was.

But he was tired of waiting. The next time he popped the whip at her feet, and she jumped out of the way, he rushed towards her, lashing the tormenting instrument around her entire body while she was in the middle of a simple flip. Once he found it securely wrapped around her, he yanked on it forcefully. Kaida crashed down onto the cobblestones right beside the outer wall. The first thing that hit was her back, and he could tell the impact had knocked the wind out of her from the way she was gasping for air and coughing.

The whip was wrapped around her from shoulder to waist, with her hands secured at her side. She couldn’t move, and he knew she realized it. Her blades were on either side, useless since she couldn’t get her hands to them.

He stood over her, this time in the dominant position, looking down at her sweaty, red face. The whip was eating away at her training clothes, and would soon be searing her skin if he didn’t let her go.

“That is my second point, Lady General.” he said solemnly. “Do you concede?” It was as if his words had been the last straw, and Kaida was on the verge of losing her sanity. Her heaving stopped, and a split second later, Sesshomaru found himself being pushed back into the stone wall. The surprise caused his concentration to waiver, and the energy whip loosened enough to allow Kaida freedom. She bound up to her feet, and Sesshomaru growled, finding it had been a ruse. She had wanted him to capture her, simply to get him in position to attempt to pin him to the wall with the daggers that had been hidden inside her sleeve, along with the modified holster that had thrown them with a simple flick of her wrists. A sharp pain in his midsection proved she had made use of his helplessness, kicking him square in the stomach before Kaida reclaimed her blades of choice and crossed them at his throat.

He’d forgotten about her affinity for hiding the blades in her sleeve. It was a mistake he would never again make. Had the sleeves of his shirt not been pinned into the mortar between the bricks, he could have easily disarmed her. But the daggers had done their job, allowing her to get free and strike a killing blow had she needed to.

“And that is my second point, Lord Sesshomaru.” she said, the first grin on her face he had seen since their return to the Western Lands. “Do you concede?”

He couldn’t help the smirk that came to his face. She was bruised and bleeding from her shoulder where the whip had bit into her skin. Her clothing was torn, which was common when they were sparring. But the look of absolute focus in her eyes is what prompted him to go on.

“We are now even, Lady General.” he said, allowing her to reach past him and pull the small daggers out of the brick mortar. “One last attempt to see who the victor shall be.” She smirked and nodded.

“One last attempt it shall be.” she agreed. He pulled Toukijin forward, inviting her for a sword fight. She readily agreed, tossing one of her scimitars to a stunned looking Sentoka who barely caught it in time to not be sliced up.

“No point in an unfair advantage, right?” she asked innocently. He only shook his head at her tactics. She was playing, nothing more, and he knew it. After weeks of trying to get his elites to battle her, she was in heaven to have someone to fight her on an equal field. And Sesshomaru could only oblige her.

They clashed at the same time in the center of the courtyard, their fighting more fierce than previously.

He would swing and she would duck.

She would block and he fought her backwards.

He would punch her, she would knock his feet out from under him.

She would take the offensive and he would play defensively.

He would take the offensive, and she would dance out of his reach.

And so they danced, in a rhythm that both shocked their audience, and allowed them to reconnect on some primitive level after being apart for so many weeks. It was an intimacy that they had unknowingly created during her months within the Western Lands. And it was equally shared between them, both knowing what the next was going to do without even thinking about it.

It was almost…..instinctual now, a struggle between the stubborn fools.

Who would win?

Which one would claim victory?

But it was also proof that Kaida was not as far into her depression as he had originally thought. The longer she fought, the more he saw of her old personality come out. She began calling out to him during the battle they were immersed in.

It was nothing more than little quips that Sesshomaru was sure the elites could not hear. But they were there none the less.

They separated finally, both breathing hard and more worse for wear. Punches had been landed, kicks had been hard, but their blades still gleamed in their hands, both demanding that the other be forced to yield.

They met again, this time with just as much passion as before. But this time, Sesshomaru knew what he wanted, knew what had to be done. He knocked her backwards, expecting the scimitar to go flying off once again.

But it did not, not this time.

Kaida was on her knees when he got to her, and she met his gaze head on with a smirk of her own. She managed to get up, and the sword fighting continued. Two seconds later, after some smooth technique variations on his part, and some last minute blocking on hers, they were facing each other once again.

He almost laughed out loud at the face she made when she found they were stuck in a stalemate. Her sword was at his throat, and his at hers. Neither of them could honestly move without the other having an opening for a fatal strike. She held the his icy gaze for a few moments before lowering the blade, bowing to him respectfully. Sesshomaru nodded and lowered his own, taking a step back to show that the match was over.

There had been no true winner.

Their spar had ended in a standoff.

“It seems our audience is at a loss for words.” he commented, looking out at the various stunned and or smirking faces of his elites. Captain Bano was shaking his head.

Sakaki was grinning like a mad man.

Raonon was gaping like a fish out of water.

And Yukio looked like he would never regain color in his face again.

“So it seems.” she said, nodding as she sheathed the scimitars at her sides before turning to the assembled crowd. “Have I made my point clear now?”

“Crystal.” Netoku croaked, echoing the majority of the thoughts shared by the few who had still been reluctant to fight her all out in their spars.

“Now, this is what I want to see when I fight you.” Kaida said, catching her breath. “As you can well see, I won’t break.”

That actually caused the elites to laugh. Kaida grinned and turned to Sesshomaru, gesturing for him to come forward. “Did you want to say something, Lord Sesshomaru?”

“Listen to what she has to say.” he barked coldly. “She’s perfectly capable of handling herself.”

“Thank you, my Lord.” Kaida said, apparently getting ready to dismiss them for the day. He seriously doubted she had the energy to supervise anything except the back of her eyelids right then.

“Besides, you can not do anything to her I have not already done.” he added, turning his back and walking towards the fortress without another word to anyone. Although he grinned when he felt Kaida’s aura spike once the comment sunk in.

“Nothing he hasn’t already done, General?” he heard Yukio asked, the teasing high in his deep voice. “When did you go from a Southern General to a Western Lady?”

“Get to work before I act on an urge to find out exactly how much pain one demon can take before he loses his sanity.” she growled. He knew she was glaring daggers at him. He could honestly feel the fires of hatred radiating from her from that comment.

‘That is right, Kaida. Let me see the anger you’ve hidden for so long.’ he thought, looking back down into the courtyard and seeing Kaida demonstrating a grappling move on a very unenthusiastic partner. The soldier attacked her, and she caught hold of his collar and pants, easily tossing him towards the other end of the courtyard.

Sakaki was going to be very sore the next day, of that he was sure.

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A/N - Hey, how’s everyone doing? I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. The next one should be out soon, probably a few more days, hopefully by the end of the week if you’re lucky.

There have been two questions posed to me a few times within the last few months via some personal emails, and I would like to take time to address them now.

Question: How long will this story be?

Answer: There are at least fifteen more chapters I previously had outlined. Since my folders went under twenty-three feet of water during the hurricane, I can’t tell you exactly how many, but it is somewhere between fifteen and twenty. So I’ve still got a ways to go.

Question: Will Kaida and Sesshomaru become mates? And if they are, do you plan on writing a lemon?

Answer: If you haven’t figured it out by now, you need to reread chapters 27-30, with particular emphasis on chapter 28. ;)

As for the lemon….

I will be the first to say that writing mushy scenes is hard enough for me to do…almost impossible actually…let alone a full blown lemon. Sorry.

With that said, I bid you wonderful readers goodbye.

Until next time,

A.A.