I do not own Inuyasha

Ch. 21

After Rin had left Sesshomaru, he fell asleep rapidly. The poison was still lingering in his body causing him to tire quickly. He didn't know how long he was asleep but when he woke up, he woke up to see his mother watching him. He was kind of hoping Rin would be here when he woke.

"If you are wondering where Rin is, she is currently in the dojo, training some new recruits," Kasumi spoke noticing disappointment emanating from her son's aura. "Training new recruits?" "Hai. One of them actually had the gull to insult her, so she in turn taught him a lesson." Kasumi snickered when she remembered what happened. The said new recruit said something very lude, which is not worth repeating for sensitive eyes and minds. It made Rin very angry at this person, who did not even know her to even have a right to say such things, used her magic to throw him around the room. She didn't even give him a chance to get up to defend himself. Once she was done she went over to him and told him if he ever said such things to her again she would personally make sure he never produced again. He promptly apologized and she smiled like nothing had happened.

Sesshomaru listened as his mother recounted what happened. In Sesshomaru's mind at the moment, he was thinking that this recruit would be very sorry if he said something to his Rin like that again and he wouldn't castrate him like Rin said she would, he would personally see to it he never saw the light of day again. "No worries Sesshomaru, Rin can take care of herself well enough." That did little to sooth him. He then made a move to get out of bed. Every muscle in his body was stiff from not moving for three weeks. Kasumi just watched from a distance, knowing he wouldn't want help. Sesshomaru struggled, but he finally managed to stand up. "Oh and one more thing before I leave. You might want to watch out for your general, Akio, he's taken a liking to Rin." Kasumi then left, leaving Sesshomaru to his dark thoughts at the moment. Upon hearing that little news Sesshomaru was not happy. He went to his water closet (bathroom) on stiff legs and cleaned himself up so he could make his way to the dojo.

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In the dojo, Rin was standing right in the middle of the floor. There were a total of ten new recruits since the war ended, all standing around her, looking for an opening. Rin had not moved an inch, at least not visible to the human eye. If you looked down at floor you can see where her feet had moved. Rin was unfazed by their attempts to get her. Two of the ten decided to double team it and came at her from behind. She dodged their futile attempts, she was starting to earn growls of frustration, they had been at since morning. It was now the afternoon. Rin just smiled her smile and fake yawned, earning more growls. Five of them decided to attack her at the same time. Now things were starting to get interesting. This time she had to move from her spot on the floor, none of them could land a hand on her. She decided to now become physical. When one of them came at her roaring, she simply side stepped, took her leg and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. Then she attacked the next closest to her, sending him flying with a single punch. She was getting so into it that she didn't notice the person that walked into the dojo.

Gold eyes watched her closely as she fought. He stayed in the corner waiting for her to be finished with beating up his new recruits. So far she had knocked out eight out of ten. The last two were giving her more of a fight than the others. At this point they chose to use weapons instead of hands and feet. Still, even though they were armed now she didn't draw her own sword. She was fluid in her movements, dodging each move they attempted to get her. The one that was currently at her right lunged, she side stepped, grabbing the person's sword arm by the elbow, took it and twisted his arm behind his back, immobilizing him. The other participant then to attack her from behind seeing her occupied with restraining the person she had ahold of. Rin then turned her captive, using him as a shield and then shoved him at her new attacker. Her attacker easily dodged the person, but then the next he knew he was frozen in midair. Rin took a deep breath before moving out of the way and to her frozen opponent and waited till he unfroze. Once he unfroze he kept on running forward till he realized Rin wasn't in front of her anymore. Then he looked around for her and found her. Then she disappeared in a blink, the next he knew she was sweeping him off of his feet and while he was in midair, she kicked him in the stomach effectively sending him across the room knocking him out. Her last opponent then realized he was the only one left, then Rin looked at him with a calm look. He hesitated which gave Rin a moment to take advantage. She disappeared and now was standing right in front of him. He gasped and then he was rising into the air without Rin even touching him and promptly sent him across the room to join the unconscious.

Rin took a deep breath then heard clapping coming from the corner. Rin turned to see Sesshomaru staring at her. Rin blushed because one Sesshomaru watched her fight and two the look in his eyes was one she couldn't place. It made her feel things she had never felt before. Then he walked over to her, Rin was holding her breath as he came close. He looked at her for a moment before saying, "Rin we need to talk. Meet me in the northern gardens in an hour." Then he turned and left. Rin let out the breath she had been holding when he left the dojo. Rin looked around the room at the unconscious bodies now littering the room. I better get a physician in here to make sure none of them are seriously hurt. I have an hour before I have to meet up with Sesshomaru. She then was about to leave when Lady Kasumi walked in. She looked around at Rin's handy work. She sighed. "I'll take care of it, you better clean yourself up before you meet with my son." She probably overheard what he said. Rin then nodded and left the dojo in a hurry to get cleaned up. She felt filthy after all the training she had been doing. She made it to her room that she took residence in when they arrived at the palace so Sesshomaru could heal. She found an appropriate kimono to wear and her toiletries and made it to the hot springs. She took her time to soak the heat into her muscles relaxing them.

She then started to think of Sesshomaru and remembered the kiss they had shared, that was two days ago. His lips were so soft against hers and he tasted exquisite, she wanted to taste them again. She probably would since he wanted to see her in the northern gardens. They were more secluded and private than the other gardens. Feeling eager, Rin leapt out of the hot spring, dried and dressed quickly. She made it back to her room to brush out any tangles in her hair. She looked in the mirror in her room, approving how she looked, she made her way to the northern gardens.

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He was waiting patiently for her near a pond. He could smell her sweet scent coming nearer. He had to control himself or he would take her right there and then. Evidence of his eagerness was hidden behind his armor. He needed to ask her a couple of questions before asking an even more important one, asking her to be his mate and wife. He was so wrapped in his thoughts that he didn't hear her come up beside him until started to hold his hand. He turned to look at her and at once was captivated by her eyes. He was, for once in his long life, at a loss for words. His brain was so fuzzy at this point he couldn't think straight. "Was there something you needed to talk to me about my lord?" Breaking him out of his trance he began to put his thoughts in order.

"Why did you begin training the new recruits?" was the first question that came out of his mouth. It sounded lame in his own head, he mentally smacked himself. Rin looked surprised at first, but recovered quickly. "Well to be honest I needed something to do. Since you were on the mend and there really wasn't anything more I could do to help your condition, I needed something to pass by the time and ever since that recruit insulted me in front of everyone in the dojo my first day there I decided that they needed to be taught a lesson in manners and so every morning I took my frustration out on them. I am sorry if this offends you in any way, it is your home after all, but in my personal opinion they all deserved it." Rin then sighed, she suddenly felt really tired and in Sesshomaru's opinion she looked it too. "I am not offended by your actions. I actually appreciate what you have done. Most new recruits are rude and deserve what they get for their cockiness." Rin looked up surprised at his statement. Rin then gave him a small smile. "Thank you my lord." "My next question is now about my general, Akio," at this Rin stiffened a little bit. "When I woke up this afternoon my mother told me he has started to take a liking to you." Rin looked down at the ground, Sesshomaru a little agitated by her unresponsiveness. Rin then looked up at him. "Well you have heard correctly. During your bed rest, General Akio was courageous enough to ask if he could court me." Rin was looking at Sesshomaru's eyes seeing and feeling his slight anger. "And did you accept the offer?" he managed to say through clenched teeth. Rin softened her expession and took her hand and touched his cheek to calm him, which it did. He closed his eyes at her touch and leaned into her hand. "No I did not accept. Do you think I would have kissed you if I did? Though he was quite persistent and I denied him every time. I had to slap him to get him to come to his senses, then your mother decided to intervene. She said if he didn't stop with the advances he would be thrown into jail and she would make sure you dealt with him when you healed completely. He got the message quite clearly and left me alone." She continued to stroke his cheek. Soon he started to hum into her hand. Then he took her hand, ever so gently, from his cheek so he could think clearly again. "I have one more question for you." For some reason he became nervous. Rin looked at expectantly, but patiently. She knew he wasn't the talkative type so she waited. She gave him an encouraging smile, she tightened her hold on his hand for they still were holding hands. All these gave him a reassurance that he didn't know he needed.

"Rin, will you do me the honor of becoming my mate and wife, the mother of our children and to spend the rest of your life with me?" Rin was holding her breath through that entire line. Then without hesitation she started kissing him. Sesshomaru was surprised at first and then returned the kiss with as much fervor as Rin. They both didn't know how long they were kissing, but when they stopped they were both out of breath. "To be honest Sesshomaru, I thought you'd never ask," Rin said looking into Sesshomaru's honey gold eyes. "My answer is yes," Rin kissed him gently to confirm her answer. At this point Sesshomaru was so light headed he thought he would float away. For the first time in a long time he felt happy. Then disrupting the moment and again the first time in a long time his stomach growled. Rin giggled. "Come on let us get you something to eat." Rin turned, holding his hand, and lead him inside.

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They soon arrived at the dining room, Sesshomaru's mother was already seated. She noted that they were holding hands when they walked in, but she didn't say anything. She waited for them to spread the good news on their own time. So he finally popped the question. About time too. Lady Kasumi nearly giggled at the thought. Sesshomaru and Rin finally took their seats, Rin sitting to his right, still holding hands, they almost seemed unconscious of the fact. Only when the food came in did they let go. Dinner was a quiet affair. Sesshomaru was basically stuffing his face, but in a dignified manner. Rin was entranced by him eating, seeing as it was the first time she had ever seen him eat anything in all the years of knowing him.

Once they were finished, mainly Sesshomaru since he ate the most, the dishes were taken away and tea was served. "Your honey my lady," said a servant, giving Rin jar of honey. Rin love honey in her tea. "Thank you Mia." Dipping a spoon into the jar, twisting it so it didn't drizzle anywhere and placed it into her tea. Sesshomaru looked at her questioningly with a raised eyebrow. "What?" Rin questioned. "Why honey?" "Because it is not too sweet, like sugar is, and whenever you have a sore throat it helps to sooth it. Would you like to try?" gesturing to the jar. Sesshomaru thought about it for little bit then handed Rin his cup. She abliged by putting some honey into his cup, giving it a stir, then handed it back. Sesshomaru took a small sip. Rin is right. It does sooth the throat.

Kasumi quietly watched the scene, sipping on her own tea. They are already acting like a married couple. Then their silence on their engagement announcement was starting to get to her. She already knew he asked and she accepted, but still they need to say something. So Kasumi initiated with a question of her own. "So have you set a date yet?" Rin nearly choked on her tea. Sesshomaru only stared at his mother. So impatient. Kasumi looked expectantly between the two waiting for an answer. Rin finally spoke up. "Well we haven't discussed-" "How does three days sound," Kasumi interrupted. Rin was at a loss for words. She looked at Sesshomaru wondering about his reaction. He looked unfazed at his mother's suggestion. "Why three days?" he asked. "Because the sooner the better and besides I want some grandchildren before I die," she replied being nonchalant. Rin was blushing at this point. So impatient. Sesshomaru then looked at Rin and she returned his look. It was Rin who answered. "Three days would be perfect." Rin still stared at Sesshomaru when she said it. "Okay next question. Big or small?" "Small, only friends and family," Rin replied, looking at Kasumi when she said it. "Okay that's doable, make sure to give a list of names and I'll make sure they get here on time." "Thank you Lady Kasumi." "Oh please, call me mother now." Rin giggled. With that she left the room to make the arrangements for their nuptials.

"So who were you planning on inviting?" Sesshomaru asked breaking the silence. "Oh your brother and his family, Miroku and Sango and their horde of children, and Kohaku and his wife. That's all I was planning on asking." Sesshomaru groaned at the mention of his brother, but in all honesty he had grown proud to have Inuyasha as a brother. He never showed it of course. Rin gave him a stern look when he groaned. Sesshomaru silently took her hand and her expression softened. Then standing up, he walked Rin back to the northern gardens. They both enjoyed the silence on the way there. In the middle of the garden was a magnolia tree and Sesshomaru went to sit underneath it taking Rin with him. They sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the rest of the evening together knowing that the next three days was going to be busy for the both of them.

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A/N Here's the next chapter. Like the fluffiness? Good there is more to come in the form of lemony goodness. So I will be upping my rating to M for mature. You have been warned. R/R