The Matchmakers

I do not own Inuyasha in any part

Demon Rules

Kagome ate lunch then walked to Sesshoumaru's tent. She called out and was told to enter. She walked into the tent a found him sitting on a pillow around a low table. He motioned for her to sit down beside him. She sat down and waited for him to start.

Sesshoumaru wondered where to start. Youkai society was very complicated. "If at anytime you have any questions feel free to ask. What you must understand is that youkai society is very complicated. You must know who to bow too and who to ignore. Right now you are pretty much on the lower end since you have no lands and no ranking. The one thing that stand in your favor and moves you above many youkais are your miko abilities. The miko youkai are very few in our society. So be thankful for your abilities they raise your station somewhat." He waited for her to take in this new information. "Different sounds can mean different things. If you growl at other inu youkais like you did me this morning it means that you challenge their authority. If that happens you will find yourself in a fight that right now you would loose. Do not issue such a challenge unless you are free to back it up without dying."
Kagome nodded her head. How was she suppose to remember everything? "What else should I know?" Maybe I should take notes.

"When demons take mates they mark them where the neck meets the shoulder. If a lord was to take a mate then His symbol would appear on his lady's forehead. This shows the world that she is his and can no longer be touched. Some youkais mate without marking each other. This is not such a good idea because as long as the woman remains unmarked she may be claimed by anyone else. Most demons do not want their love to receive other gentlemen so that is why they mark them. The mark will not allow another man to get near enough to try and claim them. It also lets the man know that someone is to close to his mate. It doesn't matter how far apart they are they can still tell. Do you understand everything thus far?"

Kagome watched him as he talked. There was no way she was going to remember all this. "Yes I do. I just don't know how much of it I can remember." I wonder if he could tell me how to get a certain wolf youki off my case. "Uh Sesshoumaru can you answer a question for me?" She waited for his nod. "Say a friend of mine has this wolf youkai that claimed her as his mate but this friend of mine doesn't want the wolf as a mate. She has tried to tell the wolf many times that she was not his mate but he is too stupid to understand her. And every time they meet he calls her his women. This doesn't really mean they are mated right?"

Sesshoumaru wondered if he knew the wolf demon. He was sure that she was talking about herself. "I never understood why people would ask questions and refer to themselves as friends. Everybody always know that they are talking about themselves so that defeats the uses of such a title. No Kagome that does not mean that your his mate. As long as he did not leave a mating mark you are still free."

Kagome felt herself blush at his statement. She had to try even if he realised what she was doing. Inuyasha had told her that already she just wanted to verify it. She was sure that Sesshoumaru would know more about demon rights than Inuyasha. "Arigatou Sesshoumaru for clearing that up for me."

"Now to continue." Sesshoumaru "Female demons go into heat cycles twice a year. Now depending on the breed and age it may be more or less. The best thing to do if you go into heat is to stay away from any unmarked demons. Their youki can smell females in heat miles away. It is best to keep to ones self and use spells to cover such scents. If you have male protectors they will protect you from attacks by youkais who can't control themselves. Many male youkais die during a mating season. They can't control their blood lust. And to many it is worth the effort to try and mate with the female. If you are mated and come into heat no other but your mate can come near you. Your mate will stay with you the whole cycle and mate with you repeatedly to ensure that you get pregnant with pups. Female Inu youkai can carry anywhere from one to three pups at a time. The birth cycle last only three months. The pups grow at a fast pace for the first couple of years before they slow down. Any questions yet?" Sesshoumaru sighed he had never thought he would have to explain any of this to anyone let alone a female.

Kagome had heard everything he had said. Boy life is sure going to be different now. Not only did she have to worry about going into heat she had to worry about demons trying to constantly to attack her when she did. Just something else to worry about. "So how is a mate usually chosen for a female?"

"Sometimes its arranged for diplomatic reasons. To ensure treaties or to gain more land. Sometimes it is due to mating season. If the female desires a certain male for a mate she can ask a relative to act as a go-between and arrange a matting. It is not often that love figures into the richer sects marriages." He glanced out the door of the tent. It was a nice day. Maybe they should continue this outside. "Lets go outside for a while." He stood and offered her is hand to assist her in rising. He pulled her up and placed her hand on his arm and escorted her out of the tent. He found a tree that was close to the stream and helped her sit down then he sat beside her.

"How does one usually address other youki? Are they called miss, ms or Mrs. what ever or mister, lord or lady or what? Kagome reached over and plucked a blade of grass and ran it through her fingers.

"If they are the rulers of the four corners they are called Lords and their mates are called ladies. If they have children they are also called lords and ladies. You will have to learn the different levels of bowing and how to serve them tea if they ever visit your home." Sesshoumaru leaned back against tree it was getting harder and harder to explain all this to the girl.

"So Inuyasha really is a Lord? I had thought Myoga just called him that because he was bigger than he was. Who would have thought it?" Kagome laughed as an image of Inuyasha attending a formal gathering flashed into her mind.

"What are you laughing about?" He liked the way she laughed. It had such a nice melody to it.

"I was thinking of what Inuyasha would look like attending a formal function. It struck me as funny that's all." Kagome shook her head trying to get the image out of her head.

"That would indeed be a site to behold. He is a lord despite the fact he has had no formal training." He closed his eyes. He really didn't want to talk about his brother.

Kagome kept an eye on Sesshoumaru. She didn't want to make him mad asking about his brother. Inuyasha always got mad when Sesshoumaru's name was brought up. Maybe he can tell me what happened between him and his brother. "Uh Sesshoumaru can you tell me what happened between you and Inuyasha to cause so much hate between you both?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. He hadn't expected that. "I don't really hate him. Every time we fight he becomes stronger. I have even stopped trying to get Tetsusaiga because it keeps his demon blood in check. A lot happened in my youth. My mother died when I was about 10 then father mated with Inuyasha's mom shortly after. I liked Inuyasha's mom she was a nice lady but at the time I was still upset because of my mothers death and couldn't fully accept her because of this. I tried my best to make her feel welcome but I just couldn't fully accept her yet.
Then it was time to start my training. Father was a strict teacher. He would start before dawn and I would finish past dark. I would be so tired that I barely managed to eat and fall into bed. There were times that I was wounded and father would continue my training. He said that there may be times that I had to fight battles wounded and that I could allow nothing to stop me. I soon learned not to complain. If I did he would make my training that much worse."

"Then Inuyasha's mother got with pup. Since she was human she had a difficult time carrying him. She was kidnapped and father went to rescue her. He arrived when she was giving birth and managed to save her with Tensaiga. But he was severely wounded. He brought her back to the castle with Inuyasha. He didn't last long after he returned. The other lords would not let her rule and I was not yet old enough. They sent a Chancelor to over see my lands until I became old enough. The Chancelor would not let a mere human stay. It didn't matter to him that she was the lady of the land. She didn't argue and took her son and fled before he could kill her. When I was old enough I killed the Chancelor and searched for Inuyasha and his mother. I couldn't find them. I eventually learned of her demise but no one seemed to know the where about of her son. From what I gathered the towns people didn't want a hanyou living in their town and after his mother died they cast him out. I was surprised that he actually survived on his own. Now I do what I can for him. I am happy that he has people he considers friends and who he can trust. I blame myself for everything that happened to him. I should have been stronger and stood up to the Chancelor. I hope someday we may meet as friends and I work towards that with each meeting." Sesshoumaru could smell the girls tears. He hadn't meant to make her cry. "Why are you crying?"

"That was such a sad story. I am crying for you and Inuyasha because you two will not. I had tried to get information about it from Inuyasha but he wouldn't say a word. Thank you for telling me." Kagome let the tears fall she didn't try to stop them.

He was still somewhat in shock. She was crying for him and his brother. She was indeed a special person. He didn't think anyone ever cried for him before. "We had better get back to training." He rose and helped her up. For the rest of the day he taught her how to run, and hunt. She wasn't to thrilled about the hunting part so he too pity on her and told her she was good enough with a bow to do it that way. He taught her how to fly using a cloud and how to use her poison claws. She didn't like that either. The smell from the poison upset her stomach. But she had to get use to it. So he made her practice a little more with it. She discovered that she could call for arrows then arrows made of her purification magic would appear. If she had a bow he was sure they would shoot true. It was almost night so he called the training quits for the day. They headed to their separate tents. Another day down. He didn't know how many they had left. He was sure that he would miss the time they had spent together. But he was ready to return to his castle and his life.