Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, or any of the other fine inhabitants of that certain Feudal Fairy Tale we all love so much. Not sure how many chapters this might be, but it might prove to be amusing! This is definitely an AU of some sort. I also don't own Vincent Kennedy McMahon or any of his crew, no matter how amusing they can be.
Lyrics credited to AC/DC.
Summerslam, where the Road to Wrestlemania really began and the last match where Sesshoumaru would be on his side would be tonight.
Tonight he was facing a new opponent, one that he hadn't heard much about in the locker room other than one almost damning word. "Arrogant." While this could be an advantage on air, something that could drive a crowd wild either for or against you, back in the locker room it was expected that the new talent show a bit of respect for the veterans, the ones that had done their time with the near crushing travel schedule that the UGW Federation imposed on their talent. Yasha wanted to find out more about him, but the time just hadn't been there, though he knew from the five minutes spent going over their match that he just plain didn't like the guy. He'd left him wanting to growl, and put the running refrain into his head. 'Just one bite. Just one. No one will notice, right?'
The final strains of Yasha's theme music faded after the lovely announcer finished off his intro with …
"This match is scheduled for one fall, introducing our first wrestler, from Japan weighing in at 185 pounds, former Tag-team Champion from Team Akita … YASHA!"
He'd gone all four corners holding up his hands in the air to the crowd and the screaming ladies in the front row when the house lights dimmed to signal the beginning of the intro for his opponent tonight. Sesshoumaru stalked his spot at ringside while Yasha cleared it so the man could do his own intro. Arms folded in hostile fashion, his golden eyes focused on the entrance, occasionally flickering to watch his brother at his side. He refused to think about after tonight. No more traveling together openly, no more late night talks which he secretly enjoyed more than he'd ever tell his older brother. They'd come so far since they were children and he'd finally gotten Sesshoumaru to accept him for who he was and put aside some of the more cryptic issues raised by their shared father's death. He refused to think that any of that hard won ground would be lost because of a storyline push.
Then there came the first sounds of the skillful fretwork of Angus Young, and the theme song of his opponent wailed out over the intercom speaker system with unholy urgency. The low bass tones rumbled through the arena like the pulse of the heavens themselves, and Yasha had to give grudging props to whoever had chosen this particular song for this pair coming down the ramp now. It was as if the song were written with them in mind, fitting their image like a hand in a silk lined kid glove.
"THUNDER!"
They appeared in the archway then, the elder brother a few steps ahead with his chin up in a superior fashion, his long dark braid snaking down his back and moving in counterpoint to his steps as he stopped at the top of the ramp to lift a fist in the air with the next line, moving down with purpose towards the ring with a razor grin on his face.
"THUNDER!"
He was lithe, handsome and a definite hit with the ladies despite his arrogance or maybe even because of it, choosing a lady at ringside to half pull over the rail to kiss senseless, then mugging for the camera with … "You've been … thunderstruck!"
His brother had come down behind him, the younger brother a bit taller but much thicker and not nearly so handsome. Where the older was lithe and quick the younger was heavily muscled, the definite powerhouse of the pair of wrestlers and the cause of more than one victory in the ring. The pair owned the ring as they entered, and the lovely announcer's voice came once more. Yasha actually turned to look at her this time, he had never heard her voice before so he knew she had to be new. For a moment his golden eyes narrowed. Kikyou! What was she doing announcing, she wasn't scheduled to come into the story just yet … but then those narrowed golden eyes opened a bit wider and he relaxed. Not Kikyou after all, though her dark hair, pale skin, and huge dark eyes had fooled him at first glance. She smiled as she drew in a breath to continue.
"Entering the ring is his opponent, weighing in at 220 pounds, one half of the UGW's newest tag team in solo competition tonight, HITEN of The Thunder Brothers!"
Yasha's heart sped up a bit. The ring announcer just looked so joyous, he half regretted that he hadn't been watching her when she'd said his own name. He shook himself, what was he doing, he had a match to do and no time to be half mooning over some girl whose name he didn't even know! He didn't see Sesshoumaru's strange glance in his direction or how his brother's gaze had followed his own former line of sight. Now none of that mattered, he was in the ring bouncing just a bit on the balls of his feet and waiting for the bell. It was show time, and Yasha never failed to deliver the most exciting match that he could pull out. Then there was the bell and everything became a blur. They opened up with a pair of circling attacks, both seemingly evenly matched and those clashes continued for the first few moments. Pulse hammering through his veins he broke away from Hiten's forearm smash to leap feet first towards the ropes. Heels striking the rebound were more than enough to send him into a flip, a lionsault off the top rope hurtling into Hiten's chest and knocking him down.
His grin feral, he snarled as Hiten kipped up fast from the attack, showboating for the crowd. Despite the momentary spike of irritation Yasha felt about this, he knew that the match was going well. The crowd was into it, and they were lucky, often the first match of any pay per view was talked through or heckled as something to be gotten past to get to the 'good' matches. Yasha was happy about this, and it made him work even harder to give them the match of their lives. He felt his skin heat and sweat make it glow, the muscles of his lean form moving with innate perfection as he fought with Hiten. Back and forth they went, slamming into the ropes and into each other, fists and open handed slaps landing on target, and Yasha's hard knife-edged chops echoing out into the air and reddening the flesh of Hiten's chest. Move after move came fast until Yasha finally had Hiten rolled up in a small package … only to suddenly see stars as Hiten's brother Manten hit him in the back of the head with a steel chair. He'd known that something would happen, but that really hurt! He could hear the urgent ringing of the ring bell, the voice of one of the color commentary announcers commenting on Manten's cowardly attack, and the voice of the ring announcer naming him as the winner due to interference. He hated that. He wanted his wins and losses clean, but this was how it had to be, and really this was less ego bruising than a direct loss.
The Thunder Brothers did not withdraw without sending more of a message however. Hiten and Manten were striking him while he was down, and for a moment he thought he heard that vibrant voice again, the voice of the ring announcer calling to him. 'Yasha!'
Pained golden gaze tried to seek her out, as the white blur that was Sesshoumaru entered the ring, looming over the pair of brothers beating on his own. For a moment Yasha felt time slow down, a vivid memory from his childhood surfacing for a split second, but this time was different. This time the graceful older brother beat off the bullies, throwing Hiten and Manten out on the floor with a howl, his customary icy demeanor still in place in expression despite that sound. Then his hand reached down to help him up and he heard his theme music swell again, as did the pride in his heart when his brother put his arm around his shoulders. Could he give this up, even for Wrestlemania?
Golden eyes gazed around at the crowd, one beginning to swell almost shut from the assault he'd suffered at the hands of the Thunder Brothers, and somehow out of the entire crowd, his eyes only sought out that girl, the ring announcer that had held such joy in her voice. Later, he promised himself, he'd find out just who she was. For now was the time to bask in his last golden moment for a few months, and he intended to enjoy every last second of it.
A/N: Hope the action in this wasn't too muddy, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!