Talk of Future Mates?

As Blade continued towards the villages, still quite upset, he heard the familiar voices of Kojiro and Kaminara approaching and decided to hide, curious about what they were talking about since he was sure he heard them mentioning their children. From the sounds of the conversation, Blade wasn't going to like it at all. They sounded much too happy and that couldn't be good for him. He already hated seeing how close Kaminara and Kojiro were, sometimes thinking that Kojiro favored the two kitsune siblings because of his closeness to their father. Not to mention the natural friendship they formed with Youko as the only kitsune in the village. Oh, how he hated Youko. He could seemingly do no wrong and he was so good at nearly everything! It made his blood boil just thinking about it. This conversation between Youko's and Ayare's father would only fuel that hatred.

"That was quite a sight to behold." Spoke Kojiro, walking at a fairly leisure pace back to the village.

"Indeed. I still can't believe Youko wielded that plant against Ayare. Had he no sense?" Kaminara backtracked to his daughter's endangerment during that spar.

"If I remember correctly, Ayare had a rose whip wrapped around Youko's neck. Both were determined to win. Both their moves would have been killing moves on the battlefield. It was more impressive than anything." Kojiro was calm, hoping to soothe Kaminara's anger. "Besides, Ayare was right. My son's control of the plant was impressive and both their knowledge of its power only shows how smart they are. We should be much more trusting in our children."

Kaminara shook his head, still in doubt, "And she even defended him! Her life in danger and she didn't seem to care!"

Despite his friend's distress, Kojiro chuckled, "In fact, her only care was that she didn't have access to the plant herself. She's quite special, your daughter. She has a handle on two weapons, wields her rose whip expertly and is eager to expand her knowledge in the various plants."

Blade almost physically threw up at the praise Ayare was getting. Though he had to admit, she really was something. There was something that drew him to her. His irritation was mostly her relation to Youko. The two were very similar and, though not as close as she and her brother or Youko and Kuronue, the two had this connection that they didn't have with anyone else. He mostly picked on her like a boy picking on his crush because he did have a bit of a crush on her. He just wished that she wasn't so friendly with Youko.

The praise for his daughter caused Kaminara to smile with pride before shaking his head, "High praise coming from someone whose son is probably going to surpass him. He already seems to be outshining you without even trying. He takes to everything seemingly easily. Your boy is practically a genius. The only difference between our children is that he has a level head on his shoulders. My Ayare is much too impulsive. Not to mention emotional."

Okay, Blade was definitely going to throw up with that. He practically dry heaved and maybe threw up a little in his mouth. He was about to just walk away from the two when Kojiro's reply threw him off.

"They would make perfect mates for each other in the future, don't you agree?"

This even caught Kaminara off guard, "Mates? They're much too young for such talk…" mostly thinking about his daughter. She was two years younger than the boys and they were barely in their preteens as it were. Though Kojiro wasn't wrong. Not to mention the chemistry already seemed to be there.

'Seriously?' he shook his head, not wanting that to happen. He had to put a stop to it if he could. Maybe he'd try his hand at being nicer? It wouldn't hurt to try… except maybe his pride and being a dragon demon, his pride was fairly important to him. He was definitely conflicted. His pride or his treasure? For Ayare was definitely a rare gem. Anyone could see it. She brightened a room with that smile of hers and could capture the heart of anyone with those kind eyes. And yet… he was reluctant to squash his pride.

Placing a hand on Kaminara's shoulder, Kojiro stopped him just as they were about to enter the village. "It was merely a thought. But it is something I do intend to discuss eventually. No rush, of course." He lightly slapped him on the back. "As you said, they are still but pups."

Kaminara sighed, "Why do I have a feeling eventually is sooner than you're implying?" he then walked off into the village, hearing the laugh of his friend and waving it off, ignoring him.

Blade watched Kojiro walk off in the opposite direction in the village, slowly entering it himself as the two figures were out of sight. "I've got to do something. But what? Even if they don't put the ideas in their heads, it's not hard to see that Youko and Ayare are headed in that direction." He found solace in the hilt of his katana, gripping it tightly. "If only there was a way to get in between the two…" he walked in an undetermined direction, merely wandering the village a bit in thought.

AW: Yeap, definitely liking this rework. Please review! Thank you! :3