Chapter Two:

The Engagement

Okamio's head rested against the window as she dozed off on the train. The trip seemed to take entirely too long, but she knew it had been worth it. She was surprised by how much the world had changed; she must have been asleep for at least a decade, maybe more…

What if Gou, like her, had taken to sleep? What if he had awoken to a similar dilemma? She sighed and wondered if she would even find Gou.

She sniffed her coat again. Gou's smell, warm, musky, earthy, masculine, with a touch of the alpha male in him she had come to love, filled her nostrils. She sighed, looking out as the landscape of Japan rushed past her.

Suddenly, the same feeling that had awakened her, jolted through her. Could it be? Had she awoken because some idiot in the Rin Jyu Den had decided to revive her father? No, this feeling was…

She remembered it now. The black-clad body, the lion's roar, the rush of energy charging towards her, through her.

RIO…

Her fury returned in full force.

Rio, that son of a bitch, was ALIVE… and powered up with enough Rinki…no wait.

That's not just Rinki… A daughter of Maku would know full well what it was. That's DORINKI… my father's technique. But Father would never teach it to another, especially someone like Rio… I had a hard enough time just getting him to teach it to me. Which means… the brat learned it on his own.

Her rage exploded and her Rinki became charged, surrounding her in an aura of blue, the signal of her own Dorinki. "Damn him!" She cried, scaring some people nearby. "That Rio…bastard…I'll show him what happens when you mess with the daughter of the Earth Kenma, Maku!"

Meanwhile, in the Rin Jyu Den, the Earth Kenma, Maku, was less than happy. Although one could argue that he'd been unhappy since he'd lost his daughter, Okamio, to the blasted curse, he'd been quite displeased to come back and learn that the Rin Jyu Den was now being lead by Rio… a brat.

Much like Okamio had been a brat, but she'd been entitled. She was his damn daughter after all and death didn't destroy that bond. Which made the curse of her humanity all the more difficult for him to bear.

Rio on the other hand… he just thought he was going to get everything. Not even being forced to be Maku's lapdog seemed to break him down. It just seemed to make him stronger.

But the Rin Jyu Den was not supposed to be run by an arrogant brat who was possibly plotting against him (although he wouldn't admit it) and his personal servant/fellow student who seemed to have nothing on her vapid little mind but impressing him. No, it was supposed to be run by Maku himself.

He had to get rid of Mele and Rio, but he wasn't sure as to how.

Then, it came to him. He had the perfect plan to get rid of those two…

Suddenly, he thought he sensed the presence of his daughter.

Impossible… She's not only probably dead, but also exiled from this place. Why would I sense her Rinki? Unless… He was probably sensing her Dorinki, which could only be emitted if the little bitch was alive.

And she most certainly was alive… and quite pissed off about something.

He'd have to look into that.

But first, to occupy Mele and Rio…

Rio's bedroom was warm to Mele and she snuggled closer to Rio, trying to absorb as much of his warmth as she could. These were the moments she felt most alive.

The Black Lion was asleep beside her, peacefully dreaming about the day he would take over the world and Mele could relax against him, content.

There would always be more than one way to make Rio happy and she seemed to have found that second way.

She sighed as she rolled over, envious that Rio was fast asleep. She couldn't get Long, or his words off her mind, nor could ignore the creepy chills he gave her when he looked at her… the other day he'd even called her by a different name… Okamio.

Mele had only heard the name once before… the name of the only Rin Jyu Ken to master the wolf-fist and supposedly, the daughter of Maku. She was the stuff of legends… but hardly anyone knew anything about her… or if they did, they weren't talking.

But that wasn't the creepy part. The creepy part had come by the way he'd looked at her when he spoke the name. He looked as though he was undressing her with his eyes, a privilege reserved only for Rio.

There wasn't enough sugar scrub in the world to make her skin stop crawling after that.

"Mele, you seem restless." Rio's voice broke into her thoughts. "Is everything all right? Has Rageku being treating you well?"

"Rio-sama…" She made a point of doing this even when they were intimate. "…. have you ever heard of someone named Okamio?"

The name made Rio freeze.

"Did you say Okamio?"

"Yes… what's wrong Rio-sama? Do you know of her?"

Rio most certainly did. She was a Rin Jyu Den of Legend, the sole mistress of the Wolf-Fist, exiled for being cursed with humanity during the age of the Kenma... and she'd been betrothed to Fukami Gou.

"If you are referring to the Rin Jyu Wolf-Fist Mistress, than yes, I know of her. I've met her."

Mele sat up, forgetting to take the sheets with her. "You've met her?! Who is she?!"

"Okamio is the sole mistress of the Rin Jyu Wolf-Fist style… and one of the Rin Jyu Den's oldest members. She is the daughter of Maku, but I have met her. A long time ago, when I was still a Geki Jyu Ken student, I knew her. She was in love with GekiViolet and they were set to be married and then one day… she vanished and Gou blamed me."

"Is that when he used the Forbidden Waza?" Mele asked, her ears perking with curiosity.

"That would be it… and I defeated him… easily. But clearly, since he still lives… I didn't do my job properly."

"Don't worry, Rio-sama…"Mele encouraged, pressing herself as close to him as possible. "You'll defeat him… you'll defeat them all."

"Not if Okamio has awoken, I won't." Rio wasn't kidding himself on this one. It was one thing to be arrogant enough to believe one could defeat a Kenma; it was another thing entirely to take on a Kenma's child and expect to win. "Even if she IS exiled, she's still incredibly powerful, and she's fiercely loyal to Gou. If she finds out that I tried to kill him…" He shook his head. "Wolves are fiercely loyal to members of their pack and if you try to destroy that…"

"Then I'll take care of her." Mele said. "If she's so old, maybe she's out of practice. I can defeat her."

"Don't Mele." The words were said with a bit of authority. "Do not take her on. We'll figure out what to do about her later."

"But Rio-sama…"

"Mele, don't…" He sounded vulnerable then. "I… I don't want to lose you, like I've lost everyone else who ever meant something to me."

Everything in her and even time, seemed to stop. "Rio-sama…"

"I love you, Mele… please… for my sake… do not go and fight her."

Mele stared at him and for the first time, Rio seemed… vulnerable and he'd openly admitted his love. She felt warm then, almost alive. She couldn't refuse his wishes. "Yes, Rio-sama." She murmured.

He kissed her and she relaxed into his embrace.

But as she relaxed, she thought, just for a moment that she saw Long sanding in the corner of the bedroom, staring at them.

She gasped and pulled away.

Rio turned around to look and then looked back at her, confused. "Mele, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "It's nothing."

Meanwhile, Okamio decided that waiting until she got to Tokyo was too long and she got off and vanished into the abyss of the woods. But by now, she had lost Rio's smell. Drat. She'd have to wait to rip him apart.

Now, what's this smell? She thought as she made her way through the woods. She sniffled. Is that… incense?

Only one person she knew of smelled like that and she wasn't even sure if he was a person to begin with…but that was impossible. He'd vanished not too long after she'd been cursed.

I suppose I shouldn't call it that anymore. It's more like a blessing…

But it was still unlikely that he was around.

"My darling little Okamio." The voice, still silky smooth, whispered into her ear. His hands gripped her arms just tight enough to keep her in place. "How I've missed having you near."

"Long." Okamio's voice was tight, cold. "You little…."

"Oh, my Okamio, don't think for a moment that I ever stopped loving you. Even if you ARE cursed with humanity."

"I stopped considering it a curse and saw it as a chance at new life. I made a change… instead of embracing my father's ways or YOUR ways, I decided to do things MY way."

"And look where it's got you." Long was licking her ear again. " You're wandering in the woods, covered in dirt and out for blood. You belong to no school… because none will have you… a friend to none, enemy to all."

"What the fuck did I ever see in you?!" Okamio roared, breaking his embrace and shoving him away. "You slimy son of a bitch…. I should have let my father kill you and eat you. But, NO, I BEGGED him to spare you…"

"And BEGGED me not to stop. You remember that?" Long teased, his eyes glittering. "Oh, I remember it well, you writhing, screaming, thrusting against me…screaming for more…."

"Stop that." She snarled. "I may not be able to do harm to humans, but I can certainly tear YOU apart limb from limb."

"Even if I told you that some idiot revived your father?"

Okamio froze. "WHAT?!"

Long smiled. "I believe that the idiot who did so is the one you're looking for."

The exiled wolf-mistress practically exploded with anger. "HE DID WHAT?!"

Long yanked Okamio to him, one hand slipping between the folds of her silver silk dress. "My dear wolf-ken…" He purred. "Would I ever lie to you?" He kissed her cheek, her neck and her shoulders as his fingers moved to remove her silver-grey fur.

Okamio fought back, but Long, in more ways than one, was much stronger than she was. She soon found herself pressed against a large tree, no longer able to fight the most repressed of all her desires.

That burning urge deep within, the desire for Long, no matter how complicated he made her life… she still craved him… he was like… an addiction one could never truly kick.

"Is there something wrong, Gou-onii-san?" Retsu asked as his brother stared blankly into his coffee cup. "You've been staring off into space a lot. It's kind of worrisome."

Gou didn't answer. All he could think about was the smell of Okamio… she smelled of passion, jasmine and something that was purely female… it was almost intoxicating.

Hell, it WAS intoxicating; otherwise he wouldn't be sitting there, staring into a mug, thinking about it.

"Leave him be, Retsu." Miki said, softy. "He will be like that for a little while. Let him get used to things again."

She knew what was going on… it had to be that Okamio woman he'd been involved with. He must be missing her. She also knew that Okamio was no threat, but she had an inkling that no one would believe her… that was probably why Gou was staying so silent, too.

Gou sighed, softly. As much as he wanted to confess what was bothering him, he knew Master Sha-fu would tell him to put it out of his mind. Okamio was not to be trusted.

But he would never see it that way. She could be trusted. He'd known her… intimately and could trust her with the deepest of secrets. Alphas never betrayed one another and she had a tendency to stay true to the behaviors of wolves.

Nothing would change his love for her or make him betray his feelings for her.

He missed his mate.

But just then, for a faint second, he could have sworn he heard her voice...

"Gou-kun…"

He turned, but he saw no one there, just the usual window that showed the busting city of Tokyo. His heart sank more.

"If he's thinking about that Okamio again…" Master Sha-Fu muttered to himself.

"Telling him that didn't do you any good before." Miki murmured. "He still fell in love with her and it's very clear that he will love her no matter what you tell him."

"Gou-san… you shouldn't be so distracted all the time." Ran, forever practical, said. "It will affect your training. You don't want to slip and get hurt in a fight or lose, do you?"

" I have… a lot to think about." Gou confessed. "But I won't let it affect my training." He knew that he had to put his feelings aside and focus on the fight with Rio and the Kenma. Okamio was dead and he had to accept that.

He sighed. "I wish I could have gotten to say good bye…"Okamio's eyes slowly opened as she took in the pair of entwined Chinese dragons above Long's bed. She yawned.

"Fuck." She grumbled as she stumbled out of bed. "Damn you, Long. Why do I always wind up in your fucking bed?"

"Because you want to be here." Long was awake, dressed in his usual opulent silk robes and he allowed his eyes to drink her In, his tongue slowly snaking out and licking his lips. "I never force you… you know that."

"Why not force me?" She asked. "You have no respect for my father. You're not even a Rin Jyu Den! You're a Gen Jyu Ken!"

"I never force a lady into bed with me." Long purred, sauntering closer to the beautiful mistress of the Wolf-Fist.

Okamio attempted to cover herself as he came ever closer. "You slimy bastard. How dare you…"

"How dare I what?" Long was in front of her now, his eyes roving over with an almost animalistic lust glittering in them. "I lay claim to you first. My smell is all over you. You belong to me, Okamio, not Fukami Gou." His embraced around her tightened. "I want you all to myself."

"I will NEVER be yours." Okamio hissed. "I love Fukami Gou, not you. I will never love you."

"You used to."

"Well, clearly that's changed." She said. "I am not the woman I was when we were in love. Not anymore." With those words she stormed out of the room, taking her clothing with her.

"Well, well…" Long chuckled as he watched her leave. "We'll see about that."

"The young lion seems to have become quite close to that little girl." Kata observed as he watched Rio and Mele kiss in the courtyard. "I don't like it."

"Nonsense, Kata." Rageku chided. " I think it's wonderful. Their union has unlocked their true potential and they've become much stronger. Obviously, they've uncovered a power much stronger than anything we could teach them."

"I don't like that little girl." Kata said, his voice frosty. "She's distracting the young lion."

"No… she has made him stronger." Rageku insisted. "I can almost feel their Rinki growing stronger, surrounding them in an aura of power. A union may be in order."

"A wedding?!" Kata was horrified. "Are you MAD?!"

"I think it is a wonderful idea." A gruff voice spoke up.

"Maku-sama!" Kata and Rageku cried.

Maku chuckled. "A wedding may definitely be in order for the brat and the little chameleon." He regarded the Kenmas of the Sea and Sky with a cold stare. "Call them in here and tell them… they are to be wed."

A wedding between Rio and Mele, hmmm? Long thought as he watched the three Kenma. This may be of interest to my little wolf mistress. He chuckled and pulled his hood over her head and vanished into thin air.

Rio and Mele knelt before Maku as he regarded them coolly. Even if they weren't too fond of him, they still had to show him respect.

"In the span of five days, brat…you and this Rin Rinshi are going to be married and your union is going to bind your Rinki together." Maku said, his voice hiding the glee he felt. This wedding would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of them.

Mele's eyes widened. "Married?"

"Yes, Mele-chan." Rageku couldn't hide her joy. "You and Rio-chan are going to be married."

Rio let his gaze side to Mele and he allowed himself a smile at the idea. He'd been planning on proposing to her anyway….

"Do you want to go through with this Young Lion?" Kata asked. He was pointedly avoiding Rio's gaze.

"I do." Rio said. "I would like for this wedding to happen."

"Very well." Maku said. "Then in five days… it will happen."

And in five days, I'll be rid of the two of you.