OMG! Like, an update! :O
Yeah, I know, this was supposed to be a one-shot. And it was, for about... nine months. And now... it has extra chapters. -.-; So sue me.
OK, well, lessee, the last chapter was set at Sesshoumaru's 13th birthday. This one is set... about two years later, when he's a little over fifteen. And... these next chapters will be a little more serious. Yah. Um... that's about it... If anything else needs explaining let me know... -smiles happily-
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The crowd erupted in a roar as the goat-horned youkai skidded backwards across the arena from the cat-woman's powerful blast. The entire west side of the stadium jumped to their feet, screaming their appreciation as she advanced on the goat-man, the fur on her black tail raised in aggravation and adrenaline. She slid her claws out of the tips of her fingers and bent over the struggling demon, trailing her forefinger across his neck, black blood oozing from the thin line left in its wake. The goat-man kicked pitifully, but he was powerless against the cat youkai as she grinned mockingly and bent all the way over him and sank her fangs ferociously into the side of his throat, ending the match and securing her victory over him.
One boy stood in the top box of the stands, watching from his high place with fascination as the cat-woman stood and wiped the blood from her lips, raising her arms victoriously. He narrowed his golden eyes and leaned in closer to see, a lock of silver hair slipping out of its tie to slide over his shoulder. He folded his arms over the stone side of the box and sighed as the bloody cat youkai left the arena, limping a bit, but her tail was raised triumphantly.
"Interested, Sesshoumaru?"
The boy turned around inquisitively, cocking a half-smile as he came face-to-face with his father. "Quite," he answered, tucking the loose strand of hair behind his pointed ear. "Kanaka-sama won the match."
"I see," his father mused, stepping up to the edge next to his son. "Who have you got your money on?"
"Kanaka-sama." Sesshoumaru grinned mischievously, giving his father the thumbs-up sign.
The dog lord chuckled. "You spend too much time with your mother." He leaned on the wall of the box and scanned the stadium with his own golden eyes, then sighed and turned back to Sesshoumaru.
"Do you enjoy the tournaments, Sesshoumaru?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a bit, and he shrugged. "Of course, Father. It's tradition."
"No, not do you enjoy having them at the castle; do you enjoy the matches themselves?"
Sesshoumaru cocked his head. "Well... surely, I don't take pleasure in the pain, but... I suppose it grows on you."
His father nodded, looking down at the arena, where the bloody mass that had been the goat man was being cleared away for the next round.
"How would you like to enter the tournament, Sesshoumaru?"
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"No! I absolutely forbid it!"
"You have no say in this matter, Tsuki."
The black haired woman nearly set on fire in rage. "I do have a say in the matter. I have a say in every matter that has to do with my son!"
"He is not just your son, he is my son as well." The dog lord's long silver hair slipped over his shoulders as he seated himself in his study chair.
"You never do anything with him. You never even speak to him. The only thing you've ever done was to teach him how to fight, for gods' sake!" Tsuki exclaimed, wringing her hands. "And yet you want him to march out and die just so you can have your pathetic HONOR!"
"Sometimes it is noble to give one's life for the honor of one's house."
"I don't give a damn about what's noble. You are sending a fifteen-year-old boy out to fight with people three times as old as he is and twice as strong!!" She dropped her face into her hands, her anger slowly ebbing into misery. "He's going to die out there..."
Her husband sighed. "Have some faith in him, Tsuki. He knows what he's doing. And he knows his limits. If it's too much for him, he will tell us."
Sesshoumaru stood outside his father's study, out of sight behind the shoji door but close enough to hear. He bit his lip at his mother's anger—she was lighthearted and hardly ever lost her temper, especially over something Sesshoumaru had done. I guess agreeing to the tournament didn't settle well with her.
Tsuki's shadow approached the shoji screen and she slid it open quickly, rubbing the spot between her eyes. She glanced briefly over to her son, who stood there, watching her with a concerned look on his face, and sighed heavily, tears filling her eyes. She wrapped her arms around him meekly and buried her face in his shoulder, as he laid his hands on her back cautiously.
"You got so tall," she mumbled into his shirt. "Where did my son go...?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer. He let his mother cry on his shoulder.
-to be continued-
