A/N: Thank you to my eight reviewers and the ones who added this or its author to their lists since the last time I updated. Reviewers: xxdarienchibaloverxx, Silent Scribe, impulse960, GoldrenRose88, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, Puppylove7, Taraah36, and Esha Napoleon.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
Father of the Bride
Ch. 8
The silence stretched until she could no longer stand it. Sighing, Azami made to rise but stopped short when Sesshoumaru did not leave. "I have to dress," she said pointedly.
"Proceed."
"Hentai! Get out of here!"
"Hn, do not tarry." Sesshoumaru left the room, going no farther than the other side of the door. Kagome came up the stairs, a look of confusion on her face.
"Oh, it's you nii-san. Have you seen Miroku? I could have sworn I heard Sango call him a pervert."
"The monk has not yet returned."
"Lady Kagome, is that you?"
"Yes, I thought I heard Sango yell at Miroku."
"I'm sorry, that was me. Could you help me with my obi, please?"
"Sure," Kagome slipped into the room leaving Sesshoumaru to do as he wished. "Why did you yell 'pervert'?"
"I wished to dress and Sesshoumaru did not want to leave the room."
"Nii-san? But he's seems so proper."
"That is why he gets away with extremely improper acts when he has a mind to. I once had to ward the bathing room to keep him from looking when we were younger. It was not an easy thing when I had no spiritual powers. Did Lord Inuyasha not peek at you before you were married?"
"Accidents," the young mother said, blushing. "I would scream and he'd coming running to see what the matter was."
"And I bet he enjoyed every sight as soon as the danger was over. Don't be fooled, Kagome-sama. Sesshoumaru might be a lord but he's still a healthy young man; and a dog demon besides."
"Hn," was the comment from outside.
"Eavesdropping's a bad habit, Sesshoumaru," Azami scolded, pulling back the shoji.
"Nii-san," Kagome said, shaking her head in mock disapproval.
The look he gave both of them made them laugh. Resigned to being related, if only peripherally to humans he couldn't understand, the demon lord led the women back outside. Inuyasha sat on the roof of Sango and Miroku's house, watching the children. Catching sight of them, he jumped down to join the trio. The hanyou kept one ear cocked towards his friend's house.
"Sango not well?"
"Heat's getting to her and the pups." Azami and Kagome exchanged looks before leaving the brothers alone.
"The slayer's having twins—girls again."
"Yeah, it's a riot watching Miroku worry about lecherous boys already."
"Your pup is also a female and yet you are not acting as the monk did the first time."
"I haven't told Kagome yet. She wants to be surprised, that's why I've been doing all my ranting in private. Not much point in hiding it though. Eventually either the boys or I will let it slip but whatever makes her happy."
"Indeed." Sesshoumaru would be the first to admit that Inuyasha doted on his mate.
"Sesshoumaru, now that Rin's grown, will you seek out a mate for yourself? I know Kagura's death saddened you."
"It was pointless," the demon lord dismissed. "I will take a mate, when I must."
"You're going to wait until after Azami dies. I heard your conversation. And while I don't agree with whatever reason you have floating in that egotistical brain of yours for not marrying and mating her, I won't lecture or argue on her behalf."
"What do you know of my reasons?"
"The fact that she's human is the big one, right? But your reasons for not doing it are yours and hers for not leaving are hers. I'd just get yelled at for interfering. I will say this though, Azami's not happy. I saw her with the children earlier; that is a woman who was meant to be a mother."
"I will not beget a child on her."
"You don't want a half-demon child who would be subject to the youkai blood in its veins, I understand. But she's not all human, is she?"
"No, there is a trace of other in her blood that could make things worse but that is not the only reason I will never mate her. Leave well enough alone, Inuyasha."
"I will; you don't think I want to be yelled at by a pregnant miko and a pregnant demon slayer, do you? Surely you remember the way Kagome went after me for something the last time she was pupped." Both brothers cringed in remembrance. The miko had had a hair trigger temper when expecting Mitsuaki. "It's only slightly better this time around."
"It has been entertaining on occasion."
"Yeah, when Sango and Kagome aren't mad at you. But you don't have it any easier with Azami's temper, do you? She'd probably find a way to fry you alive if she were really pissed at you."
They watched as a troubled Azami came out of Sango's house. Sesshoumaru motioned for her to follow them back to their room while Inuyasha went to investigate whatever the children had gotten into. "What troubles you?"
"You did not tell me they were cursed, Sesshoumaru."
"There were too many around when I announced that the humans had joined the clan to go into specifics. They have dealt with the matter and are content to use this opportunity as a gift. As for Mother and I, it is a closed subject. We will not speak of it again."
"As you wish. I'm going to collect herbs and fruit. I'll be back in time to make dinner." Shadows still hovered in eyes the color of irises.
"As will I." He gave her a hooded look and they parted ways at the door. She watched him fly off towards the sea, and smiled. Perhaps they would have something special for dinner.
"Azami-sama!" Rin hailed her, Kohaku by her side. "Where'd Otou-sama go?"
"To catch dinner, if I'm not mistaken. I'm off to gather herbs and fruits. Perhaps you would like to help me? The two of you are more familiar with this area than I am."
"Certainly, Lady Azami," Kohaku readily agreed. He was afraid if he did something to anger her she would use her influence to get Sesshoumaru to revoke his permission. He still hadn't proposed to Rin yet.
"I'm grateful. Sesshoumaru and Ah-Un would be the first ones to tell you I don't have a good sense of direction."
"I know a great area, Azami-sama." Rin led the other two into the woods beyond Goshinboku.
Azami pretended ignorance when Kohaku would touch Rin in an intimate manner reserved for betrothed couples. The demon slayer had fallen in love with Rin over the years and needed all the help he could get to convince her to marry him.
Kohaku had stored up his courage long enough to ask Rin to marry him. He grasped her hand lightly and pulled the young woman to a stop. She looked at him in question before turning to see if Lady Azami would scold them for the contact. "Rin, I wanted to ask you something."
"Kohaku-kun? Maybe we should continue to walk. Azami-sama is getting rather far ahead of us. I don't want her to get lost."
"Of course." They started forward again. "Are you happy here, Rin?"
"Sure, I'm happy anywhere my friends and family are. I'm glad you come to visit, Kohaku-kun. I would be sad if you stayed away."
"I like you, Rin," the young man blurted out. Why had he not asked his brother-in-law for advice first?
"I like you too, Kohaku-kun."
"I mean, I really, really like you." A blush began to stain his cheeks.
"Oh," Rin let out in a whispered breath as she too turned red. "Are you like all the villagers, Kohaku?"
"No! I don't care about your dowry. I have my own land, my own home. I'm rebuilding the demon slayers' village with Sesshoumaru-sama and Kirara's help. I've trained long and hard and I can protect you from humans or demons that want to hurt you or use you against your adoptive father."
Rin screwed up her face in disgust. "I don't care whether or not you can protect me. Demons always wanted to hurt me to get at Otou-sama. Do you love me, Kohaku? That's what's important."
"Of course!" he was quick to reassure her. "Will you marry me?" he asked in a rush, afraid that all his hard won courage was about to fail him.
Rin pretended to think the matter over. Kohaku had always been the only one she could see herself with. He had been through something equally terrible, if not worse, and he had been one of the ones to fight Naraku. She knew he could protect her; he had done that when they were children. Lessons from her aunts however had taught her not to give in so easily to a man's demand and that she shouldn't marry him if he didn't love her. The view was not at all like that of societal norms but she wasn't a "normal" young woman either.
"Rin?" She blinked up at him.
"I'm thinking."
"You're thinking," he parroted dumbly. What was there to think about? She either would or she wouldn't.
"Marriage is a serious thing, Kohaku. A woman must think about the one she's going to spend the rest of her life with. And I'm not even sure I want to get married right now. There's also joining the clan to think about. I really think that's what I want to do so the man I marry will also have to do so. That means Otou-sama must approve of him."
"I have your father's approval."
"Yes, but do you want to live for hundreds of years?"
"If that is what you truly want, Rin."
"But do you love me?"
"I just said I did, didn't I?"
"No, you said, 'of course.' That's not the same thing. You're supposed to say it before you propose, Kohaku." Rin's sigh clearly indicated he should have known something so obvious.
"All right, fine. I love you, are you happy now? Will you, or won't you marry me?"
Rin cocked her head to the side before finally relenting. He'd been tortured enough. "Yes, I would like to become your wife, Kohaku."
"Finally."
Rin's delighted laughter and soft sighs reassured Azami that she was doing the right thing and not being negligent in her duties as a chaperone. The older woman barely remembered what it was like to have a chaperone. The elders at the castle had deemed it no longer necessary.
Picking the herbs and nashi, she filled her basket before reluctantly breaking up the private moment. "Children, I am ready to return now." A muffled squeak was enough to let her know that she'd interrupted just in time. The teens were flushed and swollen lipped but Azami didn't have the heart to scold them. "Is there something you would like to share?"
"Kohaku-kun asked me to marry him." Shy in the face of the one who she was pretty sure her adoptive father loved, Rin ducked her head.
"And?" Azami's tone made it clear there had better be an "and."
"She said yes."
A smile sprang to her lips and Azami embraced them in excitement. "Congratulations."
"Azami-sama?"
"Yes, Rin-chan?"
"You knew, didn't you? That I'd change my mind."
"Yes, I did. There will be things to discuss in the future but for now, we celebrate. In the meantime, I'd cool that blood of yours down. Your papa and uncle have sharp noses and we don't want them jumping to conclusions, ne?"
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused. Their grins stayed in place despite their humble agreement.
A/N: Wikipedia comes to the rescue again. The
