Cycle of Mating

Summary:On the first day of the mating season, every demon and half-demon must go out into the world and find their future mate. It's been a tradition passed through species for thousands of years. Now the humans are more openly involved in certain mating's. Including the almighty Sesshomaru, prince of the Western Lands. During the next few months of the mating season, both him and his human mate must go through the trials and the forces of the demon council. Consequences are dire to them both if neither go through with what was destined for them. The question is, will Sesshomaru give up everything to get out of having a human mate? Or will he accept it?

Disclaimer:I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters.

"..." as for talking

"..."as for thoughts

italic:flashbacks and letters

bold:Demon's instinct or demon talking

Bold/italic: Demon's language, humans do not understand. (Will explain further}

Chapter One: Demon Council Elders

Monday Morning: Demon Court

The sun started to come up as everyone who was still asleep turned off their alarms and hoped for more time to sleep. While others who didn't need sleep gathered in an old abandoned chateau on the outskirts of the city. Vines covered just about the entire building, broken windows on almost every window, and cracks ran along certain parts of the outside wall. This would be the sanctuary where all who were ready (or not) for the upcoming season to begun, had gathered. Some would call it their sanctuary. While the correct term would be the Demon's Court.

Inside the run-down building where a gather of all sorts of demons and half-demons awaiting their fate. Everyone gathers in a large room in the center of the chateau. This room featured seven large thrones filling along the empty walls and a large rectangular table that rested in the center, which seated about thirty people. Each chair filled, with either a guardian or the next generation of demons in line for mating season.

It was quite clear that most of the demons were not in a great mood to be up so early in the morning, nor were they happy about being a part of this important meeting they must discuss before their day officially started. But no one had a choice. Their time has come and they weren't able to hold it off any longer. Either their future mate has reached their appropriate age; meaning that they were human. Or their demon or even half-demon mate will be in heat this season. Whatever the reason was the council has gathered everyone to inform them of their status and that they must now go search for them.

A group of cloaked figures entered the room of arguing demons. Everyone's nerves were irritated, no one wanted to be where they sat. And what's worse most of them weren't interested in finding their mate. Some of them were just now starting to gather into society, host parties, drink, and sleep around as much as they could. Their world would surely change as soon as they find their future mate. But the council was hoping for that very reaction, knowing it'll change certain demons for the better.

One in particular would surely learn the lesson they were gladly to bestow on him. His name is Sesshomaru Sadamoto, the eldest son of the western lord. They knew all too well that the young prince hated humans just as much as he hated being told what to do and how to do it. It would take time to crack him, but they believe the girl they chose for him would do most of the work for them.

This girl will be the only person to ever make the son of the great dog demon, Inu Taisho, cower to his knees. And they made sure of it.

One of the ladies from the group grinned as she watched the young demons argue and growl at one another. She held out her palm and growled. A white orb balanced above her palm as her growls grew louder causing few of them to become silent while others challenged her. The infuriating disappointment in this group grew tiresome. "Be silent everyone!" Finally she released the orb that silenced everyone. Her eyes glowed a deep moss green as she watched everyone focus their attention onto her and the rest of the council.

The council was made up of seven members. All which had dedicated their lives to helping their fellow demons and to guide them through the right direction. Each member had done their part, and earned their spot on the council, and had resided apart of the ancient court for over a thousand years. But each of the members held a power that connected them together.

Inu Taisho, lord of the west, and the leader of the council was given the power to choose each demon's mate. But in order to be fair, he shared his responsibilities with the others. He wanted to make sure his decision wouldn't be one they would all regret. A few of the council members often would question his decision because of his decision (they felt would be a mistake) he made a long time ago, a few years after his first son was born. His mistake of leaving his mate and mating with a human princess during that time. But he had not regretted his decision, especially since his second son soon came from it.

The council even questioned and objected to the choice he gave his first son. His choice of a perfect mate.

Over the years it had been known that the tradition they valued came in handy. Before it became law, many demons ventured away from the ones they were destined to be with and found another to take the place of their soul mate. It became a nuisance and a problem for the court. If every demon found someone else it would surely disrupt the cycle fo which had already been planned for them. The court then decided that it would be best to choose for them, they would not be able to argue with their choice nor would they be able to go around it. If they wanted no one to be with, they couldn't go looking for someone else afterwards.

The only rule associated with their law was species could not nor will ever be to mix. The only exception were humans.

No one complained or questioned the council on why they would allow humans of all species to be able to mate with demons and produce half-breed babies. But rarely have there been cases where humans were chosen to be a full-fledged demons mate, the council considered their feelings and mainly arranged few with the half-demons. Full-fledged demons seemed to become much more aggressive and dominant, they forget their strength is outstanding compared to a humans.

All the council members agreed upon one thing. Mix breeding between demon species shouldn't be done. It's not natural. And it creates more unknown species to the world, it would just disrupt the flow of their system.

With each given mate, the female is given a permanent mark that rests just a few inches under their thumb on their left hand. Each mark represents their future mate, whether it's a mark their mate bares on part of their bodies or if it represents their family crest. The mark is burned into their skin when their born. It signifies their place in the world, tells everyone that they are not to be toyed with.

Not many humans were blessed with the mark, their pride clouded their minds. The only other way for them to know who their future mate is the pull they feel during their first encounter. It's every demons obligation to either go with the pull or ignore it. But it tends to hurt both of the pair, not just the one.

The council has never set a half-breed with a full-fledged demon, they deemed it too dangerous. Full-fledged demons like to show they are more dominant, which causes countless fights. Half-breeds have always been destined and set up with a human. Unless the half-breed is a female, then the only other exception would to set them up with a full-fledged demon with less pride.

They consulted with one another on who would best be fit to one another. Whether a certain demon would get along with another demon or if their match better for a human. Over the years the council got to know all the males, learn more about them before making their final decision.

The woman who stopped the easier commotion from continuing any longer stared out into the crowd. She feared most of them weren't ready to commit to their duties, but they needed this experience to honor their family, or to even take part of the royal court in their homelands. So many new faces appeared to her, some of them dodged her when it came to her cross examination, while others were examined by one of the other elders.

One face out of the crowd caught her attention the most. The silver haired beauty sitting towards the middle of the table with his eyes glued to a stack of papers and his claws tapping fiercely upon the table. That would be Sesshomaru, the oldest son of Inu Taisho, and by far the worse suitor a woman could ever be blessed (more so cursed) with. His examination was fast and swift. He had absolutely no intention of looking for his future mate. But she gave him a choice everyone knew he wouldn't turn down.

Another woman walked into the room with the hood of her cloak already down. She stood in front of the seven cloaked elders and looked out to everyone. Once the room emptied from their disruption she would start the introduction of the elders and the meeting will start soon after.

"I present to all of you..." She turned to look at the council members whom all nodded their heads. "...the seven elders of the demon council." Her arms stretched out to introduce the first council member.

A tall male demon with strange marking across the right side of his face. They were a vibrant purple swirls that started at the base of his ear and circled down the entire right side of his face and down his neck. His eyes flushed a dull golden color. This man looked much like one of the other elders, his features were slightly different from his. His short, shoulder length hair circled the tops of his broad shoulders as his back stood straight as the woman announced his name. "Master Ryuu, commander and guardian of the western highlands." He held back the growl that begged to be summoned. His announcement was by far the worst.

Ryuu took his seat and the woman turned to the other end of elders where another male stood awaiting his introduction. Unlike the last elder, this one's features had no similarities to anyone in the room or on the earth for all they knew. Half of his right side of his face had been burned in a terrible fire while the other side healed, but deformed soon after. His entire left arm was scorched from the flames and never healed. Each of the burns could not be healed nor fixed. His arm had torn flesh and scars. On the other side of his face was a deep, yet healed scar that sat vertically on his face and across his eye. He no longer had the same eye color, the wound inflicted on him became a permanent damage and turned into a black hue. His other eye glossed with a white mist. The woman took a look at him and swallowed a rather large lump in her throat. "Lord Bonseiga, lord of the southern providence, and elder of the dragon clan."

Her introduction didn't seem to upset him, he made no response towards it unlike Ryuu.

Up next she introduced the woman who stood beside Bonseiga. From under the cloak the woman could see the gentle, dark curls flowing down her shoulders with the silver streaks highlighting her hair from underneath. Her anxious sapphire eyes staring vigorously at the crowd. All of her features were rather simple, she held no scars or burns on neither of her face nor hands. Just a few distinct demon markings she held. A vertical crimson red strip beneath both her eyes and another vertical line in the center of her forehead that ended right above her nose. Along her hands were horizontal lines similar to the ones on her face wrapped around her wrists. "Lady Sienna, Lady of the Northern providence, and guardian of the sacred northern waters."

Sienna smiled, she approved of her introduction.

The woman turned her attention to the other side of council members to the man next to Ryuu. His crimson eyes burned which gained her attention. He was one of the elders aside from Bonseiga that caused her to fear for her life. He had long hair that reached past his backside that gleamed a soft ever green. His face remained pale with two diagonal markings across painted on his forehead. The entire time of staring at him he bared his teeth. "Master Utaru, commander and guardian of a sacred forest in the eastern providence."

He remained silent. His introduction didn't bother him too much to make a scene.

Three of the elders were left to be introduced. She started with a woman standing to the right of Utaru. From the looks of it she seemed to be second in command of the council. She held her head high, and remained in a straight poster as she awaited her introduction. Her hair hidden behind the cloak, only a glimpse of the light teal color of her hair could be distinguished. But her vibrant moss green eyes could be seen from even across the room.

"Lady Nayru, our lady of nature, guardian of all living animals and demons."

Next to her was Inu Taisho. Leader of the elders and lord of the western lands. His and Nayru's decision was the final choice before the ceremony begins. "Lord Inu Taisho, lord of the western lands and leader of the seven elders."

He nodded his head to her as she introduced the last member of the council. The next member was Inu Taisho's right hand, always followed if commanded. It dates back a thousand years when he saved her life. The curls of her dark maroon hair slipped past her cloak and down in front of her. Her crimson red eyes greeted the crowd as she looked down at her left hand which remained underneath her cloak in hiding. She held a horrifying scar from when Inu Taisho saved her life, but to this day she has yet to show it to anyone other than her fellow elders.

This specific scar grew past her wrist and a quarter away from her elbow. It was a dark turquoise color mixed with black veiny lines and purple bruises. She considered it a reminder of her past.

With her right hand she pulled away a lingering strand of hair from her face. The woman begun to introduce her as she stared back up to the crowd. "Lastly, Lady Auzume, lady of the eastern providence and sole protector of the wolves' clan."

After the introductions the elders all sat down to begin their very early meeting with this group of young demons. Nayru took her place as to start the meeting, "As you all are aware, a new mating season has begun. We have prepared all of you for this and now we must discuss the last details of this tradition. Your futures will all be changed by this season and it is up to you solely to find your chosen mate we have given you." She stopped and stared at the crowd. She feared some of these men weren't ready, but they cannot push back the season. The men may not be ready, but the woman were, they couldn't stop their heat cycle nor stop their arousal from starting. "The woman are all in heat, their blood will attract those who don't see the ways of our tradition and will try and claim what is not theirs. You must protect them and connect with them before the mating ceremony begins."

One of the demons stopped her and spoke out of turn. "If I may speak Milady?"

She growled, but allowed his questions. "You may."

The demon rose to his feet. "I know it's our tradition, but what is the whole purpose of you guys choosing our mates? We're perfectly able to do so ourselves."

"My boy, for you to have to ask this questions shows you cannot choose for yourself." Nayru announced.

"This tradition has been in all of our lineage for a thousand years. It dates back before any of us became elders." Inu Taisho explained to the boy. Not that Nayru was doing a terrible job, maybe some of these young demons would understand more if they knew they didn't make the law nor tradition, they only enforced it.

Inu Taisho only hoped his sons would one day understand that the court wasn't doing this to punish them, it's just been something passed through for hundreds of generations. His worry wasn't for just his oldest son, but his youngest one as well. Inuyasha, a child born with a human mother, acted childish about certain situations, and this situation was one of them. Inuyasha felt that he should be focused on other things instead of finding their mate destined to them.

Sesshomaru on the other hand disregarded the season. He could care less to be a part of it, whether he had a destined mate out there or not. There was no ounce in his body that cared to look for her. His pride clouded his judgement about others, especially humans. For that reason gave the council a hard, but necessary decision on whom they decided to pair him with. Humans were the only beings on earth that he felt were below everything, he could deal with demons who does nothing for themselves, but humans made his skin crawl. He has hated them since his father abandoned his mother for a human princess and produced a half-breed child with her as well.

With both sons acting a certain way made it hard to find an appropriate and suitable mate for them, but it was done.

His eldest son needed someone to rid him of his feelings towards others, including humans, and soften his heart, show him that loving someone isn't a weakness, but a gain. And his youngest son needed a girl who could rid him of his childish actions.

"As you all know aside from this being the beginning of the mating season, you must now venture out and find your destined mate. At this time most of the young ladies are either on their last year of high school or the end of their first year of college. We have information on where you can find your mate, we will not tell you who she is, you must find that out yourself, but if you do the work right you'll know immediately when you see her." Inu Taisho stated as some of the guys started sighing at his information which caused Sienna to begin to speak.

She cleared her throat as she begin to speak, "We have decided to enroll some of you into classes at the high school where some of your mates attend. For those that have mates in college, you can either chose to attend school to learn more of your mate, or work along with the staff, either way you will have something to do with the school." She stopped, she watched as Sesshomaru lifted his head from the stack of papers in front of him and growl that caught his attention immediately, which was something she wanted. "The professors and teachers have already been informed of the season's status, your mates and you, if you're attending, will be exempted from doing anything serious that may affect their grade any in way."

Auzume pitched in next about what they need to do. "We shall provide you with any information about your destined mate, her address, her school, etc. It's up to each and every one of you to find them, protect them, and connect with them at all times. In three months' time you must report back her to inform us of your progress. By the end of this school year, you must be ready to mark them. Over the time we will touch basis with your mate, understand her more and make sure everything is being done to make her comfortable. We want everything to be perfect for you both. Removing mating marks are something we do not agree upon, that's why these steps are so necessary."

"If they're so necessary, wouldn't it be easy to let us chose for ourselves?" The same demon spoke out of turn. Sienna's eyes started to burn like fire as she went to speak and stand from her seat to discipline him, but Inu Taisho stopped her.

"We will not discuss this any further. You know this is tradition and has been for years, it is demon law to follow it. Do not provoke us anymore than you have about this subject." Inu Taisho growled. He then stared at everyone else, "This meeting is now adjourned, our secretaries will give you further instructions and the information you need for today. Class start in approximately two hours, today will be your first day."

Everyone rose from their seats and exited the room, all except the two sons of Inu Taisho. Sesshomaru buried his head in papers once more while Inuyasha was too busy on his phone to recall the last forty minutes of their meeting. Once everyone else the room, all of the elders rose from their throne and left the room too all except Inu Taisho and Sienna. Sienna stayed behind to back Inu Taisho up with his two stubborn sons.

Inu Taisho handed a packet filled with countless information about their classes, schedule, their mates' whereabouts, etc. Inuyasha snatched it off the table while Sesshomaru ignored it. "This is all the information you need to know. Their address is located on the last pages. We strongly encourage you to find her first, instead of just showing up at her doorstep." Inuyasha looked at the packet than went back to his phone, "Your both also enrolled with four other students at a Private Academy for high schooler's. Inuyasha, your friend Miroku is also attending this school and will be monitoring your progress with this girl. Luckily for the both of you, these girls are really good friends and have been for many years now. Sesshomaru, your friend Mizu Ashimora has also been enrolled along with you and your brother and will keep me informed with your process as well as his own."

"Father I care exactly why? I have no interest in this charade you're presenting to us." Sesshomaru answered, he looked up and glanced at his father. Sienna who stood beside him growled.

"We've discuss this matter already young lord. If you do not present yourself at the end of this year with the girl we have paired you with, nor participate in our tradition, the title of the western lands will no longer be yours. It will be presented to Inuyasha, and you will inherit nothing, not even a tree from the west. Will you really allow your pride to win and lose everything?"

Sesshomaru growled, he had already told her that he would not give up his title, not even for this season. But that meant he had to do what was expected from him.

"From the looks of this, you're not ready to take the throne just yet. Just know if you do not find her, we will take the throne from you."

Sesshomaru reluctantly snatched the papers his father gave him and rushed out of the room. Sienna smirked as she knew just mentioning of his title being taken away would convince him to at least look for her.

End of Chapter

Author's Note:This is just the beginning of what I have planned. I feel more relaxed and accepting to my choice of restarting my story. I reread the story and saw countless errors and certain discussion was confusing. This just the start of what my imagination has in store for you.

I decided to describe the elders (council member) in this chapters to get sort of an insight on what their about. Even if it was just their appearance I described.

On another note, please don't be alarmed that the chapters are missing parts that were in the original story, I have decide to not so much cut the chapters short, but to describe them and give more details. This chapter originally had the first day of school in it, I will continue it in the next chapter.

Thank you for reading Cycle of Mating.

Lady Siyana