Hey! Just one more chapter to go, until Book One ends! Here's where it starts getting depressing. You've been warned!

Thanks for reading!! If you have the time, I love reviews!

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"Could it be you, or do I lose my way,

I'm here but colourblind,

Could it be you, or do I break away,

Just to leave the past behind,

I only want to feel the sunlight, start the fight, and see it in your eyes,

Wish I just knew what I should do, could it be you,

Somebody tell if it's true, I don't have a clue,

Could it be you…?" - "Could It Be You," Cascada

~ Competition ~

Just another day, another day in the life of Rubi Tamasho, Rubi thought, though not exactly bitterly and not exactly fondly. She woke up lazily, stretched, and prepared to cook a beautiful breakfast of… mushrooms. Rin is a growing child, she needs more to eat than that!

"Rubi-chan, when is the food going to be ready?" Rin asked politely, rubbing her stomach with one hand. Rubi's ears had just picked up a growling sound coming from Rin's general direction.

"Soon, but I think I'll have to catch something myself," the youkai replied while flicking her index finger at a spot on the ground devoid of snow. A healthy blaze of fire sprung up at her touch.

She then fashioned a spit with three branches, scraping the bark off with her pointed fingernails.

Just as she placed the mushroom-adorned spit over the fire, she heard Sesshomaru enter the clearing.

"You are leaving to hunt?"

Rubi looked away from her fire. She stood up and nodded.

"Hn. I will be gone the morning, and will return when the sun is directly overhead."

Rubi watched the retreating form of his back as it disappeared into the shady, snow-covered trees once again.

This is so weird. We usually move from place to place, but he's insisted in staying near this one city for close to two weeks now. And he's gone more than usual as well. Rubi looked up at the clear blue sky. That's the first time he has talked to me in close to four days.

"Okay Rin-chan, I'm leaving. Make sure the mushrooms don't burn, and take care of Jaken!" They both glanced over to where the imp was sleeping soundly on a pile of leaves, obviously not going anywhere anytime soon.

The demoness stared at the place where Lord Sesshomaru had disappeared once again. It's so hard, because secretly you are the only thing that lifts me up and makes me smile.

She had just located and killed a fox when the demon found her. Rubi was humming as she skinned it with a short knife, performing that chore here in the wild rather than back at camp, since she was aware that it made Rin nauseous. She felt the youkai's demonic aura, and immediately determined that it was weak, about the same level of power as hers. She drove a stick into the ground to mark where the fox lay and turned around just in time to witness the demon stomping out of the shadows towards her. The demon was born of many humans dying painful deaths in a massive forest of vines, and their hateful thoughts that followed. Rubi readied herself, slipping into a guard stance with her legs apart and staff held braced in front of her body.

It roared and lashed out at her, a vine wrapping around her waist tightly before she had time to react.

"I will eat you alive, half demon!" it yelled in a warped voice, opening its huge mouth even wider, displaying several rows of teeth.

"No, sorry, but I think I have some different plans," Rubi replied, struggling for breath as the vine squeezed tighter.

She called upon her full strength and shut her eyes tightly, willing what she was about to do to work.

A pain-filled yell from the demon assured her it had.

Rubi's body was on fire. From her head to her legs, she was a living, burning pillar. The demon dropped her instantly, recoiling to nurse its burnt vine. The fire had caught onto the vine itself, and had almost travelled all the way along it's length to the demon's body.

Rubi fell to the ground, gasping for breath. She was still slightly ablaze, and looked down, expecting to see her clothing burning off. But there was no visible damage to her black and red travelling suit. Amazing, she thought, it must be made of fire-proof fabric that only the kansai youkais know to make!

"Hmm…" she murmured, analyzing the demon and deciding on what move to make next.

But the demon was quicker. It swung out more vines in an attempt to grab her throat and strangle her before she had time to set herself on fire again. Rubi just managed to get her flame sphere around herself.

When it had withdrawn, Rubi knew what she was going to do. She ran straight at it, pushing off the ground and flying through the air, so she was right above it. Rubi brought her fire-staff down upon its head and, with a burst of red light, cleaved the demon perfectly in half. Her feet came in contact with the ground once again, and she stood up, pleased with her victory.

The walk back to camp was uneventful. When she arrived, the fire demoness cooked the fox on the spit as well. Rin had convinced Jaken to play a game of tag with her, but when the food was ready they stopped instantly. As they ate in silence, Rubi noticed Jaken looked more thoughtful than usual, occasionally shaking his head and furrowing his brow, as if trying to get a particularly weird image out of his head.

When it started getting annoying, she had to ask.

"What's your problem?"

Jaken looked at her, eyes wide, then averted his eyes and played with a handful of snow on the ground. "Nothing, fire youkai."

Rubi raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "So you mean you're always acting this insane?"

Jaken looked flustered. "No, no, it's not that, its nothing-"

Rin glanced up from her breakfast and rubbed her burgundy chopsticks together. "Yeah, Master Jaken, you have been acting weird, now that Rubi-chan mentions it!"

"Well…" the toad demon's face took on a slightly pink colour, which looked quite peculiar on his green cheeks. "There is something…"

"Then tell us!" Rin popped up on Rubi's shoulder. She hated when people kept secrets from her, unless they had a good reason. Rubi's face took on a sly look as well, her eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, tadpole, tell us! You have no right to keep secrets from your superiors!"

His eyes narrowed. "You are not my superior, Rubi, I'll have you know that I've been alive much longer than-"

"I'm bigger, and could beat you into a pulp. But never mind! Seriously, tell us. If it's secret, we won't tell, right Rin-chan?" Rubi winked at her. Rin was very good at keeping secrets.

The toad youkai glanced around a few times before sighing and replying,

"Fine, but you absolutely can not tell that I told you this!" He looked worried.

Rubi and Rin leaned in closer as he started to whisper.

"Lord Sesshomaru is seeing a demoness, a feline youkai named Monira. That's why he left today."

Lord Sesshomaru walked swiftly through the bustling city. The main street was busy, but the crowd parted for him, creating an easy path to walk down. He spared no side glances for anyone, not even the merchants seeking advice or the love struck demonesses wanting attention. Because that was exactly what he about to give to someone. Why was I doing this? I do not love her. I have not loved anyone in centuries. He looked up to the sky, seeing how much time he had. He knew quite well that he did not feel anything towards the feline youkai Monira. But the time had come. He needed an heir to the title of Lord of the Western Lands. And he needed a strong heir. Love did not enter the matter.

Sesshomaru knew that Monira would bear him a powerful child, even if it was not fully inuyoukai. She was one of the most powerful demonesses he knew, and most definitely the most beautiful. And mating season was taking place in less then a month and a half.

He turned onto a side street and had finally come to her house. To him, it more resembled a temple. The Demon Lord raised one hand and knocked on the door.

It was slid aside by a bird demoness dressed in servant's clothes.

"Oh, milord!" She curtsied low. "Please come in, the Lady of the house is waiting for you."

The servant lead him through the main room, then out onto a wooden patio shining with ice in the late morning sun, then finally back into the building and to a rice curtain. She knocked, and called, "Monira-sama, Sesshomaru-sama is here to see you!"

And answering call of "Come in!" came, and the servant bowed once again and left. Sesshomaru pushed the curtain aside with the back of his hand and walked in.

Monira was seated on a rich velvet cushion, her legs folded like a lady. She wore a deep purple many-layered kimono with a pink pattern of snowflakes adorning it. Her golden hair was up in a complicated bun held by chopsticks, and a glass of sake was held in her right hand.

She stood up slowly and walked over to him.

"I'm so glad to see you, Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed, beaming. He noted the lack of title disapprovingly, but did not comment.

"I trust you have been well?"

He nodded. She moved closer to him.

"Remember that there is going to eventually be a purpose to our meetings, Monira." He closed his amber eyes, trying to get his message of displeasure across to the female youkai.

She smiled teasingly. "Yes, I know, but for now…" Monira placed her cherry coloured lips on his and her arms around his back.

If he wanted everything to go smoothly, he had no choice but to return the kiss.

I just can't believe it.

Rubi now paced around the camp angrily, Rin watching with worried eyes. Jaken, after divulging his secret, had decided to go to the market, probably to make himself scarce. Rubi continued pacing.

So what she said was true, that horrible feline youkai wench. But… I was so certain that he might have felt something for me! He asked me to the Ball of Powers… she thought back some more. He even saved my life by giving me his demonic energy! It might've even killed him in the process, he didn't know. Isn't it that you sacrifice your life for the ones you love? How could he love her… doesn't he know what she was really like?

"Rubi-chan, are you okay?" Rin's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine… but I'm not fine! Do you know what this means?"

Rin thought. "Uh… he loves her?" She grimaced. This was hurting Rubi so much.

"No Rin, not just that! If he's seeing her this close to mating season, that means he's expecting her to bear his child, the heir of the Western Lands, and become his mate! And that consequently means that I have no chance of ever being with him, ever!"

Rubi was aware through the haze of her thoughts that she sounded childish, but she didn't care. Not when her world was so close to falling apart at the seams.

Rin's worried face was back with vengence. "Then… what are you going to do?"

Rubi sat down on a log and started running through possible scenarios she could say, would say. "There's only one thing to do. Wait, and confront him."

That was exactly what she planned to do.

- End