Theories

Theories- chapter 7

Morning's first light shone through the windows of the quarters shared by Miroku and Sesshomaru. Today, however, unlike the past couple of weeks, Sesshomaru awoke alone in their bed. Miroku had told him of a human custom, where the bride and groom would have bad luck in their marriage if they saw each other the day of their wedding before meeting at the altar. Although this was not a human marriage ceremony, Sesshomaru understood the concept that his future mate was conveying and reluctantly agreed to allow him to spend the night in InuYasha's chambers on the floor below. Now, however, was the morning of the ceremony and it would take quite some time for everyone to get ready. Sesshomaru rose from the solitude of his bed and summoned his faithful minion. "Jaken!"

The door to the chambers opened and the diminutive toad demon entered and bowed. "Yes, Milord?"

"Jaken, see to it that everyone is awake and is getting ready for the ceremony, and let me know the moment the priestess arrives." He waved his hand nonchalantly, dismissing his servant. After Jaken left, he got up, went to his own private springs and bathed. He needed no assistance at this time; however, soon, he would require aid in getting dressed.

For now, he relished the solitude and thought on the upcoming ceremony. He had counseled Miroku on what the ceremony entailed: the initial exchange of commitment vows, the blessings of the priestess on behalf of the Gods, and then the marking. This was the most important part of the ceremony. Once Sesshomaru made his mark on Miroku, they would be bound for life. In preparation for his, he had tried to condition Miroku for the marking, making small bites on the right side of his neck. The left, closest to his heart, would be used for the actual mating ceremony. The initial bites were more like nips and left little bruises, what Miroku called hickeys, a term he got from the female miko. Each day, the bites became more intense, until, two nights ago, when Sesshomaru ground his fangs deep within the monk's neck, fangs placed perfectly next to, but not touching, the vital jugular. It took almost three hours for the bleeding to completely stop with that bite, and was excruciatingly painful. A healer had been called to see if there was anything that could alleviate the pain for the ceremony, and keep the bleeding and pain to a minimum. A potion was concocted of mugwort leaf, thistle and lotus was made into a tea, which Miroku would drink shortly before the ceremony. In addition, Sesshomaru's own saliva had natural healing elements, and it was discovered that licking the wound several times helped cauterize the punctures. Between these two treatments, the ceremony could be done with a minimum of discomfort and blood loss to Miroku.

His bathing done, Sesshomaru left the springs and returned to his bedchamber. There, already laid out was his kimono and hakama for the ceremony. These were gold silk, with a sash of royal blue and matching gold. Lying beside the clothes was Tensaiga, the sword his father bequeathed to him. Although swords were not normal attire for mating ceremonies, Sesshomaru was taking no chance that his marking of Miroku would be disastrous, causing too much blood loss and death. It was known to happen when the blood lust became too violent during mating ceremonies. In that case, Tensaiga would be used to revive the newly mated human. Sesshomaru ran a clawed finger along the sheath holding his birthright and spoke to the sword. "I hope you are not needed today, but if you are, I expect you to do my bidding."

A knock at the door broke Sesshomaru's train of thought. Without a word spoken, Jaken re-entered the room, bringing three inudemons with him to assist his Lord and Master in dressing for the ceremony. "Milord, the priestess has arrived and is waiting in the garden. She is in silent prayer until the ceremony."

"Very well. Is my mate ready to proceed?"

"I have seen him Milord, and Hiromi assures me that he will be ready at the given time. The half-demon is with him now." Jaken referred to InuYasha in a derogatory way, which for some reason did not sit well with Sesshomaru.

"Jaken, you will refrain from using that term towards my brother from now on. My mate does not approve and I will not have him disrespected. We will keep our thoughts about InuYasha to ourselves.” That said, he continued to ready himself for the upcoming ceremony.

Miroku and InuYasha were just finishing breakfast, well InuYasha was. Miroku couldn’t eat, the excitement of the day was too much for him and his stomach was full of butterflies. Nothing was going to keep InuYasha from enjoying the delicious foods prepared, and ate not only his portion but Miroku’s. There was the long awaited knock on the door, and Hiromi entered, followed by three familiar inudemons. “Sires, it’s time to dress for the ceremony. Lord Miroku, the healer sent this up and said you are to drink it now. By the time the ceremony starts, the herbs will have taken effect. Also, Lord Sesshomaru wants you to know that he will be carrying Tensaiga to the ceremony, as a precaution.”

Miroku nodded and took the cup containing the herbal brew from Hiromi. It smelled bad and tasted worse than it smelled, but he knew that if he didn’t want complications from Sesshomaru’s marking, it was necessary to drink up. With a “cheers!” he gulped the foul-tasting herbal tea down.

InuYasha watched and listened. He didn’t like the fact that the sword of healing might be needed for the ceremonial marking, but understood Sesshomaru and Miroku’s concerns. Demons could withstand a lot of pain, and their natural healing abilities would heal a marking wound in a matter of minutes. But Miroku was not a demon, nor even a half-demon as he was. He silently agreed that this time, siding with precaution was necessary.

InuYasha was about to put on the same crimson kimono set he wore the previous night when Hiromi stopped him. “InuYasha, Lord Sesshomaru has sent another for you. It too belonged to your late father, and is gifted for this occasion.” The offered outfit consisted of white hakama, silver kimono (same embroidery on the back as the red one) with matching sash, and a special loop on the left side of the kimono. Looking at the extra material on the kimono, InuYasha inquired as to its purpose. “That is for Tetsuaiga. Lord Sesshomaru requests that since he will be wearing his father’s sword for the ceremony, that you also wear the sword bequeathed to you to honor your father.” Since InuYasha never liked leaving Tetsuaiga anywhere out of his sight, he gladly donned his clothes and placed his treasured possession in its proper location. After slipping his feet into the black sandals he kept from the previous evening, he was as set to get going.

Next, Miroku’s ceremonial ensemble was presented. This was a royal-blue silk kimono embroidered with a dog in white silk on the back. The familiar blue crescent moon perfectly placed in the middle of the dog’s forehead. InuYasha immediately recognized the dog as the second from the window in the room he now occupied. It was Sesshomaru, in his true demonic form. Miroku admired the kimono before putting it on, followed by white hakama and white sash. Also handed to Miroku was a white scarf which Hiromi wrapped around Miroku’s neckline and tucked discretely inside the kimono. This extra material would be necessary to catch the blood that would surely flow from the mating bite, and save the kimono from being permanently stained. Black boots completed the wardrobe, and Miroku was ready to meet his future mate.

Hiromi looked over Miroku from head to toe, adjusted the scarf slightly, made sure that all of Miroku’s black hair was neatly held in the black silk tie, and off his neck. Satisfied that all was perfect, he dismissed the other inudemons. “Now, my lords, if you will follow me, we will proceed to the garden where the priestess is waiting. I am certain that Lord Sesshomaru is already there.”

Miroku took a deep breath and looked at InuYasha. “Well, this is it. I guess we better get going.”

InuYasha gazed at his friend. He was a little nervous, but there was happiness in his eyes that made InuYasha know that Miroku was indeed glad to become Sesshomaru’s mate. Patting the monk on the back, he nodded and proceeded to walk first through the door, leading the way to the ceremonial garden.
The walk down the three flights of stairs and out to the garden took only a few minutes. Reaching the doorway that led to the garden, both men stopped to look at surrounds.

The sun had not quite reached its zenith on this first day of summer, but it provided quite a bit of heat. Were it not for the surrounding trees giving shade, it might have been too hot. There was not a cloud in the pale blue sky that had no birds flying in it. Closer to the ground, the garden itself was in full bloom. The cherry blossoms were long gone from the trees, but their absence was not missed. This garden was filled with all forms of Japanese chrysanthemums, colors running the spectrum of the rainbow. Multicolored butterflies floated in the air around the flowers, but not near the seated guests. The best part was there were no bees. It was as if Sesshomaru had banished the pesky insects from this land since they reminded him of Saimyoshou. Now there was just the beauty of flowers and butterflies enhancing the garden setting.

All the guests were already seated, no particular order given since all were of the upper levels of demonic society. The only exceptions were Miroku’s ‘family’: Sango, Kagome, Rin, Shippo and Kirara. They were sitting in the front row on the left side, traditionally the bride’s side of the aisle, according to Kagome. At the altar stood Sesshomaru, regal as ever, patiently waiting for the arrival of his mate.
Beside his was Jaken, who had earned the honor of Best Man for his Lord and Master.

Miroku took a deep breath and patted InuYasha’s shoulder, signaling him to lead the way. As the assembled guests rose to greet the incoming men, the best friends calmly walked from the castle doorway to the altar. InuYasha bowed deeply to the priestess then stood to the left. Miroku bowed to the priestess, then turned to face Sesshomaru and smiled. Sesshomaru kept his usual stoic look as he took Miroku’s right hand in his own right hand, and the pair turned to face the priestess.

The priestess looked ethereal standing well behind the altar in a snowy-white gossamer gown that flowed from the high collar to the ground. Her sleeves billowed out and the slight breeze blew them gently giving her arms the effect of being wings. Her hair was the palest blonde and cascaded in waves from the crown of her head to waist. The way the sun reflected off her hair caused an aura to form around her. Her golden eyes sparkled like canary diamonds. She put her hands out to the sides and everyone sat, except the perspective mates and those designated as Best Men that stood by them.

Once everyone was seated, the priestess glided forward, as if on air, and took position directly behind the altar. The altar itself stretched out before her, like a narrow, low-lying table covered in white linen with chrysanthemum petals scattered on the top. Atop the altar was a pair of white pillar candles which were unlit, a gold goblet, a loaf of bread, stiletto dagger and gold rope. Sesshomaru and Miroku presented their right hands to the priestess, who took the gold rope and looped it over and under their clasped hands, loosely binding them together.

“ Sesshomaru, son of the Great Inu No Taisho and InuKimi, do you come here freely to take Miroku as your life’s mate?

Without hesitation, and bowing his head, he answered. “Yes, Priestess.”

“Miroku, son of Mushin*, do you come here freely to take Sesshomaru as your life’s mate?”

Again, there was no hesitation as he bowed and answered, “Yes, Priestess.”

She smiled. “Since you both come here freely with honest intentions of becoming mates, the Gods bless you and grant permission for this union.”

She looked to Sesshomaru, then Miroku and spoke with a voice that was light and angelic. Speaking to all who were gathered, “I come here today, witnessing for the Gods the mating of these two. Let there be silence, lest you be struck down by the holiest of Heaven.” When she was certain that there would be no talking or other interruptions she continued with the traditional blessings.

She held one hand over each of the candles and said a silent prayer. At the end of the prayer, the candles appeared to light themselves. “The Gods show favor with this mating, providing the eternal light that sustains the day, and brightens the night. May its flames never die within your hearts.”

Taking the cup from the altar, she held it up above her head, presenting it to the heavenly beings that had just given Sesshomaru and Miroku divine right to mate. Lowering the cup, she sipped from it then held it to Sesshomaru’s lips. “Drink this Ambrosia, elixir from the Gods. May it forever keep the thirst you have for one another quenched.” Sesshomaru bent his head slightly as she turned the goblet up to allow a small amount of liquid to pass his lips. It was sweet and very potent. That small sip made Sesshomaru feel euphoric. She then presented the goblet to Miroku who also took in barely a drop of the liquid. He had been forewarned the effects even a small amount of the nectar could have. He too, with so tiny a taste felt heady. Once both had partaken of the Ambrosia, she took another sip, and placed the goblet back on the altar.

Next she took the bread, again presenting it to the Gods for blessing. “This bread is manna from The Gods. Partake of it, and have your souls nourished.” She tore off a small piece and ate it. Then she took another slightly bigger piece from which Sesshomaru took a bite, the rest was given to Miroku.

The ritual blessings were given and now the actual mating ceremony was to take place. This was the trickiest part of the ceremony. The priestess walked around to the front of the altar and motioned for InuYasha to step forward. Once he was standing close, Miroku turned slightly, allowing InuYasha to loosen the sash to his kimono, and slide it back, just off his shoulders, keeping the scarf just at the edge of the fabric. After this was done, Miroku turned towards Sesshomaru, neck and shoulder exposed.

The priestess nodded to Sesshomaru who bared his fangs and pulled Miroku close. As Miroku turned his head, he exposed the left side of his neck and shoulder to his intended mate. Sesshomaru leaned in and in one swift move, dug his fangs deep into Miroku’s flesh. Were it not for the herbal preparation he had, and the small amount of Ambrosia he had taken, the pain would have been unbearable. As it was, he merely cried out a muted gasp. Sesshomaru kept his fangs embedded in the soft tissue of Miroku’s neck for a few seconds, and sucked at the free-flowing blood that poured from the twin puncture marks. Retracting the fangs, he then quickly used his tongue, applying pressure to cauterize the wound and prevent much blood loss. When he was certain Miroku was not going to bleed to death, he lifted his head and licked at blood off his lips.

Miroku felt faint and swayed slightly. InuYasha lent his hands to steady his friend at the waist. It didn’t take long for Miroku to recover his balance, and he whispered to his friend, “I’m alright now, you can let go.” InuYasha slowly removed his steadying hands from his friend, but kept them ready in case Miroku wavered again. Once he was standing on his own, he smiled at Sesshomaru, their prearranged signal that he was indeed alright and could proceed. Miroku then turned to the priestess and nodded.

Sesshomaru turned to Jaken, who waddled over, reached up and loosened the knot on his master’s sash. The shoulders slid gracefully down just enough to expose his neck.

The priestess took the dagger from the altar and handed it to Miroku. Since he was not a demon, he didn’t have proper fangs with which to mark Sesshomaru. Taking the stiletto in his unsteady left hand, he held it to Sesshomaru’s neck and hesitated. Still being slightly woozy from Sesshomaru’s marking, he was unsure he could pierce the correct location without actually striking the jugular. Noticing the hesitation, the priestess placed her hand atop Miroku’s and guided it to the proper spot. He took a deep breath, and with the priestess steadying him, he stabbed the assigned location, going just deep enough to let the blood start to flow, then pulled the dagger out. He quickly leaned in and started sucking on the wounded area, taking in several sips of Sesshomaru’s blood.

Sesshomaru’s natural demonic healing abilities quickly closed the wound, stopping the blood flow. When no more red seeped from the puncture wound, Miroku lifted his head and licked the sweet taste of Sesshomaru from his lips. He then handed the stiletto back to the priestess, who placed it upon the altar.

Once each had done the necessary marking of the other and consumed some of the other’s life-giving fluid, they turned back to face the priestess. She smiled at the pair, assuring them the mating marks were indeed correctly done.

Raising her hands above her heads, she stretched out her arms wide and stared at the Heavens. She loudly, and with some glee in her voice proclaimed, “The Gods ordain that with the taking and giving blood, these two are now mated. Their lives are forever entwined, their souls are shared and they are one. Let none try and tear that apart which the Gods have blessed with their favor.”

She then reached down, and pulled the end of the golden rope, untying the bound hands. As the rope fell to the ground, two golden bands appeared on the right index finger of Sesshomaru and Miroku. They were mated, the Gods presenting them with a symbol of their bond, circles of gold, with no beginning and no end.

In a very uncharacteristic move on the Demon Lord’s part, he leaned in and kissed Miroku hard on the lips in front of the assemblage. It was his gift to Miroku, something he knew his mate would have wanted and expected, had he actually been married in a human ceremony.

And for the second time in his life, Sesshomaru smiled.




*A/N:Mushin was not Miroku’s real father, but after the cursed wind-tunnel consumed Miroku’s father, Mushin raised the young monk and was considered a father figure in his life.