Betrothal of the Warrior Hime

Taishou sat behind his large mahogany desk, while Shin took the seat in front of him, neither General or Second said a word as an odd yet not uncomfortable silence fell between them. They could hear the other’s calm heart beat, the wind dancing across the grounds and gardens. Taishou finally broke the silence, “Do you think we’ve done it wrong?” has asked as his eyes closed and he held the bridge of his nose while messaging. There had been a long pause before Shin answer.



“I do not think that you have done anything wrong, certainly not near as much as I have.” he answered with a tired sigh, while Taishou looked up.



“I don’t need your praise now old friend.” said the General.



“I was not giving it highness.” Shin bit out before looking out the window behind the Generals head. “ The night before Kagome ran, I came upon my remaining sons, and she looked in a heated battle. I can say now that it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my long life, where she got the blades or even the whole ensemble from I may never know, but to watch her, was…. Amazing. Her moves though not nearly as trained or precise as her brothers who of coarse had had formal training for many years longer then she, were nothing short of perfectly graceful. Her body though not nearly as agile as it seems now moved with the wind the blades made, and the light and fire in her eyes,” he sighed as he ran fingers through his hair. “I had not seen that desire for life since Souta lived. But then as much as I wanted to praise her, and take her under my arm and train her to be the best she could be, I was angry. I let my anger rule me then, stopping the battle my sons,“ he gave a light chuckle at the memory, “They nearly broke their knees falling to the ground so fast, not Kagome though. No my little Kagome stood her ground and glared at me.”



“Ha Ha, that does sound like the little spitfire.” interjected Taishou.



“Hn.” he paused. “I was so proud of her then, but I wanted her to be safe, and I knew, I just felt it in every bit of me, that if I let her be free enough to fight she would get herself hurt, she would die at the hands, claws and blades of the north. So I pulled her in, pressed her into almost hiding, to keep her safe, I think it had been almost fifteen years since she had even left the palace grounds.” he said with a heavy sigh as though this secret were lifting a huge weight from his shoulders.



“You never thought she would run?” asked his general.



“No. Not once. I couldn’t stand the idea that I could loose her, not for any reason. I love all my pups, but when Souta died, it just about broke my heart.” he said pulling his hard gaze away from Taishou as a single tear fell from his seconds eye, Taishou pretended not to notice. “I knew then that if anything happened to Kagome, I would just be an empty husk, and so I held on to her, hiding her, caging her away from the world. When she left…” Taishoul held up his hand. He remembered that mournful cry, it had been the saddest howl he’d heard in his life.



“I never thought the passing of one could bring about such change, my Sesshomaru hasn’t been the same since that day. What little life and joy he seemed to have in his eyes died with Souta, and when Kagome left he closed off even more. I think that then he thought her to be like a younger sister, something like a last attachment to Souta, you remember she was the only one that could tag along with those two.” Taishou said with a small sad smile.



“Yes. She has always been such a special one. And to think now she’s got an adoptive pup.” said Shin scowling a bit.



“Hn. About that, What happened to her eyes?” asked Taishou curiously.



“What are you talking about?” asked Shin suspiciously.



“Maybe you didn’t see considering your situation, when Kagome gets enraged, or something along those lines, her eyes have always glowed white. I myself have never seen anything like it. But tonight, they bleed crimson, and the iris’ were…” he thought on how to put it into words. “They were like smoke rising off of hot blood on a cold night or like thundering skys.” Shin thought for a moment, before scowling farther. “What?” asked Taishou.



“It couldn’t be.” said Shin to himself.



“What?” said Taishou with more curiosity.



“Have I ever told you the history of my clan?” asked Shin. When Taishoul shook his head ‘no’ Shin sighed again and began his story. Ending it with the current situation at hand Taishou only stared at him before laughing.



“You expect me to believe your clan is descended to the Thunder Kami, Radian? Surely you know that with our kinds lust for power you’d be ruling the world if that were true.” stated Taishou suddenly very serious.



Now it was Shin’s turn to laugh, “How very wrong you are Old Dog. Our clan has no problems allowing other’s to rule, its not that type of power we seek, my clan find love in art of battle. Its not passed from parent to every pup just those born with ‘the dark curse.’ those in the clan of the Kuroinu‘s, the black dogs. ” he finished.



“Dark Curse?” asked Taishou as an elegant brow rose into his bangs.



“Hn. Almost, if not all of us born with the onyx coloring have been hated, hunted, and or eventually slaughtered. Though usually we do tend to take out many on the way, we are war like in nature, there is a kindness and gentleness at some times, but there is always a hardness to that. It is the reason why when we met so long ago I was so very quiet, and held most demons in the sight of narrowed eyes. Before we met many had tried to kill me, I remember that day well, you actually stopped that older demon from coming after me, though if you hadn’t have I would have killed him brutally. It was the same with Souta, is the same with Miyako, though I thought I could shield Kagome from it, it appears her life has been hard as well.” Shin stretched a bit, it had gotten late, and though they had not spoken much there seemed to be a better understanding between the two.



“What will we do with them?” asked Taishou.



“I have learned now that Kagome is more then able to handle herself, for Kami sake I didn’t even see her move before she was already behind me, had she not been wearing that black top kimono I wouldn’t have seen her at all. I will see what happens, what’s the worse that could happen?” he asked trying to lighten the mood.



“They could kill each other.” answer Taishou with a sigh of his own.



“We cannot stop the inevitable. We only have two weeks between now and the closing ball, they will have to fight soon. We really can only wait and see what happens…. My lord?” said Shin as he finally locked eyes with his leader and lord. “Might I be excused to find my mate, she doesn’t seem to be fairing to well.” Taishou waved him off, and turned his chair to face out the large window in his office, getting himself lost in thought. Shin didn’t know what was going on but something wasn’t right with Sayuri, was she really that upset? He asked himself as she took off to find his mate.



Meanwhile…..



Hatsumomo, Sayuri, and Kikyo sat in a tea room not far from the kitchens but still close to the sleeping chambers, its walls elegantly decorated in soft soothing tones of nature, light greens and pale blues, along with muted mustard tones set the style. Sitting ever the lady with her kimono folded delicately beneath her, Hatsumomo held her dear friend as Sayuri cried her heart out onto her shoulder. Though she was the lady of the house, and of the land even Hatsumomo didn’t know how to deal with the situation, pups she could handle..even if they were grown, small to moderate household debacles, almost anything short of all out kitchen battles she could handle, but raw emotion like that of Sayuri, Hatsumomo was at a loss. The snow haired daughter, the almost copy of her mother, Kikyo, pet and patted her mothers back as her body racked softly with silent tears, neither female saying a word as uncomfortable silence fell over them all. Sayuri’s shuddered and a very meek whine were heard as she lifted her head to meet the brilliant golden eyes of her oldest and dearest friend.



Sayuri’s voice was weak hiding the strong female she was, words had tried to climb from her throat but none would flow to express what she was feeling, her lips parted only a bit before again they closed. It had always been her role to be submissive as all females should be in their great and honorable race, as she had been taught by her mother and her mother before her, as she had even taught her daughter Kikyo, and as she had tried to instill in Kagome.



But Kagome was more her daughter then even Kikyo, deep within there was a burning fire of defiance in Sayuri‘s soul, one that roared with ever fiber of her being that the daughter that looked nothing like her had grown from, taking a tiny spark and allowing it to become a blazing inferno. Though Kikyo might have her likeness in almost all ways, Kagome had developed her spirit, and so Sayuri could only weep. The heat and passion of her soul like all bitched of her kind had been bred out of her, and only when confronted with the startling truth of what she could really be, what she saw in both Myaiko and Kagome was it truly apparent to her just how caged and broken she was.



Her eyes were swollen, and those comforting her could only try to sooth her pain away as best they could, but how could they? Hatsumomo, though a beloved friend and almost a sister, was just as violated by submission and tradition as she was and worse because she didn’t seem to mind at all. And her young pup Kikyo had fallen into her foot steps as easily as she had led her there, she wanted more for her pup; she wanted Kikyo to know the life Kagome had, so be able to hold her head high and know that no one needed to protect her, that she herself had strong claws and poisons that ran deep within. That she too was angel of death, a deliverer of darkness just as her youngest pup was, such and honor to have such a life, to live and die by ones claws and what we as a youkai could make with ourselves.



Sniffling her sorrows away, Sayuri’s sighed, she didn’t know what she could do to make the world around her right, she would start tonight when her mate came to bed. She needed things to be different, she needed to be heard and saw as more then just the submissive bitch she had been raised to be. It broke her heart to see Kagome, to see the free wild pretty dangerous thing her daughter was, because she saw in her daughter what she wanted for herself, and what she wanted for Kikyo. Sayuri knew that it might be too late for Kikyo, that she too might be lost in the world where the male ruled but Sayuri had accomplished all that was required of her in life, she could ask for this without regret to what was to come. Besides that though, she knew if nothing else, Kagome the epitome of her spirit would protect her, and Miyako would house her helping her to break the molds and bonds that had been placed upon her at such a young age.



The slight red and puffiness of her eyes, the swell of sorrowful tears that had been misinterpreted as tears of pain for the possible loss of her mate, were cried out and quelled. Her golden brown eyes lit with a new found determination, as she silently thanks both her friend and sister, as well as her pup for ‘being there’ for her in her time of need. She knew that come morning she would ask Miyako to train her as her daughter before her had been trained, she no longer wanted to be seen and not heard, she wanted to be free for the roles cast upon her by fates she had no control over. As she stood, Sayuri’s elegant kimono’s swayed on wide proud hips, her posture and stand prouder then it had been in years, her shoulders were squared as she let her aura flare for the first time in over four hundred years. Her mate would feel the sting in their shared mating bond, he would feel the change in her person, and if there was one, a changing her scent, she didn’t know what the rest of the night held for her, but she would be damned if she spent the rest of her life as a pretty bird with clipped wings in a gilled cage.



Elsewhere…



Miyako smiled to herself as she felt Sayuri’s aura flare to its ungodly proportions, for a female who was a traditional inu bitch she hid a wonderful secret in that powerful aura. Miyako had always loved Sayuri, for more reasons then the fact that she had birthed the only two Kuroinus of the next generation, no, Miyako like her son could feel the unbridled, raw power that had always lay just beneath the pale skin of the snow haired, golden brown eyed demoness. She knew that it took more power to know you had power and allow it to be molded as such then it did to just exert said power over those less fortunate. “Tomorrow will be an interesting day indeed.” she said to herself as she settled into bed for the night, knowing she would be awake soon for all the chaos that would ensue, as sleep claimed the eldest Kuroinu, a delighted smile curled upon her lips.



Throughout the palace the amazing aura was felt, those weaker then that aura trembled in its wake, while those at same or moderate levels wonder who it was, for even in its familiarity, it was still a mystery, and those more powerful knew out right whom it belonged to. From her perch in front of little Rin’s door where both her pup and the young ward of Sesshomaru were asleep Kagome smiled with childish glee, she had known the moment that aura flared to life whom it belonged to, secretly she had always wondered just when her mother would snap, when she would finally push back, it seemed change was in the air tonight. The small creek of the door opening caught Kagome’s attention, there stood her grown pup rubbing sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on?” Sango murmured through her yawn.



“If the enemy were attacking you’d be dead by now.” Kagome stated matter-o-factly, causing a frown to appear on her pups face.



“If the enemy were to attack this palace with You, Miyako-sama, Sesshomaru-sama, Lord Inu no Taishou, and your sire here, they would be fools, besides that, this aura has flared and you have yet to move or stir, Mother.” answered her more then annoyed pup while still yawning wide at her mother.



“Go to bed.” she sighed as she closed her eyes once more while leaning back again, “I’ll wake you soon enough, and you will need your rest, we’re going to be doing hand to hand sparring.” answered Kagome, ignoring her pups rather smart reply, while earning a groan from her. Sango made to walk passed her mother, but was stopped before she made it out of the door frame. “Stay here, the young one’s waking without you, I will wake you in due time.” Sango sighed audibly before going back into Rin’s room to sleep until Kagome came to wake her in the morning. Sango just knew she was probably going to die in the morning. Hand to hand combat was not her best fighting style, and her mother was more then likely still in a bad mood, she didn’t even feel like being the thousand year old Sakura tree that her mother destroyed on a whim in the morning. Sighing to herself as she pulled Rin’s form to her body again for warmth, Sango fell into a light fitful sleep.













AN: Kuroinu - black dog; This chapter is about half as long as the last, but i feel its powerful by itself, and i didn't want to mar it by putting too much into this one chapter, I'm willing to break the action a bit to set the proper feel for this story. as always you know i don't own IY or the Characters from, i have horrible spelling, grammar, and i love run-on sentences, i try to spell but often mix the right words up, i can only hope that my unchecked imagination is enough to make up for it. please let me know what you all think b/c reviews are like the wood to the flame of my passion. aka, review, good bad ugly, loved, i want it. - r0o