Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha.

Edited on: September 16, 2018. Another major edit today. I might not finish it, but god damn it, what's in here will be high quality. I'll try my hardest to make it so. I hope you enjoy this one :)


"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

- Abraham Lincoln


- Chapter 2 - Duty -

"I do not want to meet Akira!" Rin said vehemently, looking angrily at Sesshōmaru. "You are to meet him only, not wed him," replied Sesshōmaru, his tone final. Rin opened her mouth to speak, but his intense frozen look made her keep silent. "Get ready," Sesshōmaru added, looking down at her simple floral yukata. He turned around soundlessly, his hair trailing behind him, and closed the door as he left.

Rin paced the length of the room, thoughts running around in her head without much control. 'Why must I meet some idiot lord that I do not wish to mate?! I love Sesshōmaru-sama, and always will. No fancy lord will ever be able to replace him in my heart, it's ridiculous.' She sighed for the fifth time that hour. "You can come in now, Suzume," she called her maidservant, knowing that she was waiting just outside her door, ready to help her prepare. Sighing again, she braced herself for the evening to come. After all, Sesshōmaru-sama said she only had to meet them, so meet them she shall. She will meet as many as he wishes, but she will never choose. Surely, he won't make her choose one and mate him, surely.

Her dainty steps echoed across the empty hallway leading to the dining hall. The layers of kimono slowing her usual gait down and moderated her steps. She slowed even more as she approached her destination, breathing in deeply in a feeble attempt to calm down her nerves and let go of her anger at her beloved lord. When she finally walked into the dining hall, all eyes turned to her.

Rin's blue outer kimono displayed her house affiliation proudly, Sesshōmaru's crest sewn in neatly arranged stiches across both long sleeves. The bird-speckled obi was wide and tied tightly, forcing her to keep her back straight. Despite its several layers, Rin's figure could still be drawn if one was to look closely enough. Her long black hair was tied back in a high ponytail with a white ribbon, allowing everyone present to look at her long and fragile neck. Sesshōmaru knew that her maidservant did it on purpose, the shrew little mouse youkai. He noticed how all eyes were drawn to her neck, following the beating of her pulse at its base.

Rin blinked rapidly and wished the ground opened and swallowed her whole. Better yet, she wished for only Sesshōmaru-sama and her to disappear. Everyone else can remain here for all she cared. She ignored them all and immediately searched for her lord's eyes, hoping that he noticed the way the fabric swayed when she moved and the red tint she had on her lips.

He was looking at her; surprised by the changes her body had undertaken in such a short amount of time. 'Humans were truly fleeting,' he thought. Has it really been six summers since he took her to that human village? When had she turned into a woman, he wondered, trying to think of the time gone. Despite his general dislike of court proceedings, he was still the Lord of the West, and was required to deal with such frivolities as maintaining order in his court. There were rumors. Whispers carried on the wind by ungrateful servants, fragments of conversations as he passed by, disgruntled nobles whispering behind hands and open fans. At the age of 18 winters, Rin's position at court was no longer as clear cut as he would have liked. Her position was questioned, some even murmured about her being his new concubine.

None dared say it to his face of course, but some said so to Rin, upsetting her and making him uneasy. He killed the ones that dared, but the rumors have not stopped. In order to stop the rumors and whispers completely, he had to do one of two things.

Mate her himself, effectively stopping all the speculations about her status. But he could not do that. He was a full demon, a Daiyoukai no less. He needed a strong, full-blooded heir so that his hold on the lands will not be questioned when his death eventually comes.

Or mate her off. The later seemed to Sesshōmaru as the more reasonable choice. No one deserved her, no one was worthy enough to take care of her, but in order to preserve his lands and her honor, it needed to be done. She was growing, and humans died quickly, a mere note in a youkai's grand symphony. Mating an upper level youkai will prolong her lifespan, give her – him – more time. The fact that a mating ceremony involved actual mating did not escape him, and he breathed in deeply in an attempt to clear the red mist from his eyes.

He snapped out of his thoughts to look at the interaction between his Rin – He grew to like the title, especially when Rin's name was after it – and Akira. He was a wolf demon, the 8th son of the Northern Lord, a respected lord among the four Daiyouka. Akira was not the heir to the title by any means, being eight in the line of succession, but his position allowed him to comfortably claim a human as mate without incurring much shame, and claiming this particular human also allowed him to elevate his position by claiming the ward of the Western Lord. Sesshōmaru did not like him, but then again, he liked none of them to begin with.

Rin squirmed in her seat, trying in vain to cloak her disgust. Akira's attempt at humor included jokes at the expense of humans, jibs that were far from funny. "May I be excused?" she finally asked quietly, looking to her left at her lord. "No. You two are to dance now," Sesshōmaru answered stoically, his face a blank mask. Not daring to defy her lord in front of others, Rin nodded in defeat.

Akira rose and politely asked her to dance. She got up as well and followed him to the center of the hall. He was not much taller than her, making her attempts of avoiding his dark purple eyes much more difficult. He took her hand, lilac claws grazing the back of her hand as he grasped her. Akira led the dance, slow steps and long gazes, circling around and about. It was a torturously slow dance, meant to inspire familiarity and seduction. It inspired agony in Rin's heart.

Sesshōmaru sat in his chair, eyes locked on their moving figures. His eyes turned to frozen gold, tints of red in them, his hands curled into fists, clenching tighter and tighter with each step the dancing couple took. 'She is ours!' His inner youkai roared, surprising Sesshōmaru enough to unclench his fists in shock. It has been several decades since his more bestial half made its presence known quite so… Vocally. 'You are giving her away!' It continued, making Sesshōmaru's yōki rise in agitation. A fracture of Sesshōmaru's turmoil leaked past his tight control, killing intent starting to fill the air around him. Heads turned in his direction sharply, gazes fearful and questioning. Sesshōmaru straightened and the yōki disappeared at once without a trace. 'Enough!' He growled at his baser half, 'this is part of courting. We cannot mate her, and she will be no one's whore, not even mine'. He gave a mental sigh and blinked once to clear his eyes.

The dance ended and Rin stepped back immediately. "Thank you for the dance", she said politely, bowing to Akira. She bowed very low to Sesshōmaru and left the hall in a hurry, not even asking for permission this time.

"Thank you for coming, Akira. You will be notified should you be chosen. Expect a response within one full cycle of the moon." Akira sat back down, striking an amicable conversation with the youkai next to him. Sesshōmaru rose from his chair and left, following Rin's scent to his private gardens.

"Rin". She turned her head and gave him a small apologetic smile. "Why?" he asked and she turned her head back to look at the stars. "Because he was disgusting, and he scared me. Something in his eyes."

"You must choose one. You have a week," he said, looking at her for a reaction. His beast was already angry and growling in full force because of the fact that she was scared of someone, and there was also that tiny matter of her mating another.

There was no reaction, an alarming notion when it came to Rin. She was always so animated and full of life. She whispered a quiet "Okay" without looking at him, seemingly resigned to her fate. "Good night," he said, leaving her to her musings, remaining there will only damage his resolve. "Good night my love," she mouthed soundlessly to the wind.


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