A/N: Heh, this is awesome. I have an awesome chapter with ensuing hilariousness coming up. I'll let you guys see for yourself! Love ya!
Stuff2Eat-Hell no. I wouldn't leave you high and dry lol. Two chapters in one week, and now this one? You better feel loved lol. Muah!
Ourfavoritefangirl-Thanks! I really appreciate your review! And I'm super glad you love it! And it's ok to be too lazy to sign in lol. Look forward to more craziness! Love ya!
Btw…if you see paragraphs with this (-) on either end, it's kinda like a memory within a memory. Basically, it's being retold but like in a, what is it, third person? Kind of view. I think. Either way, just a heads up.
Previously: "Tell me what?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. Sesshomaru didn't answer. He merely stood and offered her his hand. "Come, Lady Feara. Let us return to the village and I will explain all on the way." She eyed his hand warily, shivering as she recalled that same hand clenched around Taka's throat, hissing with poison. When she thought about it, she hadn't stuck around to find out what happened to him. "And what happened to Taka?" Sesshomaru's lip curled in a snarl, a brief flash entering his eyes at the thought of the bastard fox, but he quickly controlled it. "I will explain that too, if you would come with me?" he asked again, being surprisingly considerate for one who gave orders for most of his life and expected them to be followed or the person given the orders would suffer his wrath, which would most likely cause them to end up dead. Lynn looked at him for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. She finally decided that her father might need help with the drunken Kurama and took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. She waited until they were on the ground and her sanctuary safely hidden before asking about Taka again. "So what did you do with Taka?" Sesshomaru smirked.
Lynn found herself on the ground, clutching her sides as she slowly died from lack of air from laughing. The whole thing was just too funny. Even the whole situation with Kurama and Takai was hilarious. Sesshomaru stood waiting for her to recover, smiling as he watched Lynn laugh happily, laughing so much that tears were coming from her eyes.
"So what did you do with Taka?" Lynn had asked. He merely smirked in answer before telling her what happened after he threw Taka and hauled after him. "Well, My Lady, suffice it to say that he won't be walking for quite a while…or using his hands for anything…important." Lynn just looked at him in confusion until he elaborated. "After I tossed him through the trees, I caught up to him in my demon form. Your father wasn't far behind me, so the closest I was able to get in killing him was crushing him with my paw. Your father has a way with words, it seems. He was able to talk me out of my furious rage. While I was transforming back into this form, however, your father took over his…beating we'll say…and had grabbed him by the front of his shirt, plowing his fist into that foxes' face. I let him have his retribution as your father, but then when it seemed like he wouldn't stop, I pulled him off of the other fox."
Lynn blinked in surprise. She had never seen her father be violent, but she wasn't surprised that he had gotten violent. Given the past month, he probably had a lot of pent up frustration to work out, including the added fury of Taka hitting her. She looked over at him, her silver ears twitching as she listened to the rest of the story. "Needless to say, I continued where he left off, making sure that he would think twice about hitting any female, let alone you. I withheld as much of my poison as I could, but I'm relatively sure some of the gashes that I littered him with were poisoned. I think I threw him through a few more trees. I vividly recall smashing one of his legs with my foot. The other and both of his arms were from one of the flights through the trees, I believe. I think I broke his ribs and skull too. Let's see here," he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
-Sesshomaru kicked Taka in the ribs, sending him flying through some more trees. Moments later, he picked him up from where he fell and punched him in the jaw, sending him through a couple of boulders. The impact of Sesshomarus' punch fractured Taka's jaw but didn't break it. The collision with the boulders, however, cracked his skull open. Sesshomaru kicked him again and sent him spinning into a small stream. Stepping on one arm to keep him from moving, he stepped on his skull, keeping his face submerged in the water, breaking the arm in two.-
He stopped when he saw the look of horror on her face. "You did all that on your own?" she asked in shock. "Your father did some too…" he defended himself feebly. She shook her head rapidly. "No, I don't mean that you shouldn't have. I'm just surprised you'd kick him half way across the West just to defend me."
He smiled and turned facing her, walking backwards and bowed at the waist. "It is absolutely no problem, Lady Feara. Now where was I?" he said, though he knew exactly where he left off.
-Sesshomaru smashed Taka's face into the water and broke his right arm. Fury kept him from drowning by snatching the arm that wasn't under Sesshomarus' foot and ripping him out from under the Demon Lord and tossing the fox into a nearby cliff, causing quite a few lacerations. Sesshomaru pinned him to the cliff with by his claws as he started to fall to the ground, unthinkingly allowing poison to seep from his claws as they dug into his neck again.-
Sesshomaru smirked as if something he remembered was humorous. She found out why several moments later. "Apparently, however, he thought it was a good idea to try to attack this Sesshomaru, and found out rather quickly that he was no match for me as I broke his other arm for his efforts. And that's about as far as your father was willing to go with him and he managed to convince me to stop. Course there were some poison claws thrown in here and there throughout the fight, so he was really in no condition to walk. I was just going to leave him there and let nature do what she would with him, but your father didn't think it wise. 'A beating is one thing, but leaving him here to die would cause strife between the clans,' he said. So reluctantly I grabbed one arm while he grabbed the other and dragged him back to the village."
-Several hours later found Sesshomaru and Fury dragging Taka into the village, apparently having made sure to let him his every rock and bump, root and tree on the way back, and dumped him in front of the healers hut. Namine had already been sitting outside and hurried in to get help to bring him in the hut to be looked at. "I want him bandaged and escorted out of my village as soon as he is done, is that clear?" he asked, his tone brooking no argument. "Yes, My Lord," she said, bowing to Sesshomaru and Fury before rushing in with the other trainee healers to get him fixed.
Fury sighed before gesturing to his hut. "Would you like to come with me to check on Feara, My Lord?" Sesshomaru only nodded as he followed Fury into his hut, but stopped dead by the door as he saw what, or rather who, was laying in what he knew was Furys' bed. Takai and a rather drunk smelling Kurama wrapped around him. He arched a brow as Fury glanced at them but said nothing, by passing them and heading straight for the newly added room. Sesshomaru had just walked over and nudged Takai with his foot when Fury came out of Fearas' room, looking worried and confused. Takai hadn't woken so he nudged him again, not looking down at Takai as he finally awoke with a start as he directed his question to Fury. "Is she ok?"
"I haven't the slightest clue, My Lord. She isn't in there." Takai spoke up then, covering a yawn as he tried to sit up, forgetting the fox at his side, though he soon remembered when he wasn't able to get up and Kurama murmured something in his sleep and draping himself further over Takai, surprising all three males. Deciding to give up, Takai sighed, laying back down as he finished his answer. "She ran out of the village, I don't know how long ago, but Kurama insisted that she would be alright and that she went to her secret hide out or something."-
Lynn frowned at that. "So does everyone know I have a secret hideaway now?" she growled out softly. Sesshomaru arched a brow at that, thinking carefully over his answer before saying anything. "Forgive me, Lady Feara, but I believe that it was rather obvious when you disappear for lengthy amount of times and then suddenly return. This Sesshomaru is the only one who has located it, and it was quite by accident I assure you." She waved it off and bid him to continue with the story, slightly amused at Kurama's predicament. That was sure to be amusing.
-Fury sighed then, rubbing his eyes before inquiring about Kurama. "And what happened to him?" he asked tiredly. Apparently Takai was just as unamused by the situation as he had sighed and rubbed his eyes as well. "He drank too much. I tried to get him to stop but he wanted to drink. From the looks of things, he's not used to drinking, let alone the big swallows he was taking. So I brought him here, but you see where I am. He didn't want me to move. I assume he get's rather…clingy…at moments like this," he answered, stifling another yawn. Sesshomaru watched as Furys' lips twitched in amusement. He wondered how the infamous Kurama would react upon awakening and finding himself draped around the Dragon currently occupying the bed, unwilling though he was.
Sesshomaru frowned a bit at the look of worry and pain clouding Furys' face. He could only assume that it was due to Fearas' absence. "This Sesshomaru knows where she is," he said suddenly, noting that Takai had almost fallen asleep again. He apparently drew Fury from his thoughts, causing him to blink and look at him. "My Lord?" he asked in confusion. "I know where she is," he repeated, a frown beginning to mar his lips. He hated repeating himself but understood that it was merely out of confusion that Fury had questioned him and not out of a lack of respect. He watched as Fury thought about that for a minute, evidentially confused as to how he knew that but saw the moment he realized how.
"My Lord," he then asked, "if you wouldn't mind, would you please check on her? I'd go myself, but I imagine she doesn't like the fact that you know and anyone else knowing would probably upset her. I think she built that to get away from me when I was giving her the cold shoulder before." Sesshomaru merely nodded and turned to head out the door but stopped when he heard movement coming from the bed. But the movement wasn't what made him stop and look over his shoulder in shock. It was the sleepily murmured words that followed the movement that not only stunned him, but Fury and Takai as well. "'Kai, stop moving," Kurama had growled out. Sesshomaru nearly laughed at the look on Takais' face.-
Lynn started giggling at that. "'Kai?'" she asked, giggling again. "Boy, I'm gonna have to mess with Takai when we get back with that one. 'Kai," she sniggered out, smothering her laughter with her hands, not realizing that Sesshomaru was looking at her with a fond expression on his face, one she would question had she noticed.
-A small smirk graced Sesshomarus' features as he looked at Takai, seeing Fury trying to stifle his laughter out of the corner of his eye. "You won't be able to move, My Lord Takai. Even sober, when he's in those moods, he won't let go until he's ready." "What?" Takai squeaked out, a furious blush gracing his cheeks. "Like you said, he is in a clingy mood. When he gets that way, he doesn't let go until he is ready to." Sesshomaru genuinely smiled for the first time in his life, though the smile was a bit smug. "Takai," Sesshomaru murmured, giving him the smuggest smile he could while glancing over his shoulder. He felt his beast let out a purr of laughter as Takais' face paled, knowing how his smile must look. "Karma is a bitch," he finished before walking out the door, leaving a shocked silence behind from both males before a sudden gush of laughter followed him from Fury.-
Lynn laughed so hard that her stomach was beginning to hurt. "Oh my God! I wish I could have seen the look on Takais' face as you said that!" She laughed more, clutching her stomach. "Oh!" she finally gasped out, trying to control her laughter. "Don't make me laugh anymore! That hurts!" she giggled out. Sesshomaru merely offered her his hand to help the poor girl up, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Are you alright?" he asked after he hauled her to her feet and she began dusting herself off. "Yeah. I'm a lot better now, actually. Oh man, I'm so gonna get Kurama and Takai good when we get back," she sniggered out.
They finally started walking again after a few moments. Lynn had finally gotten over her laughter enough to realize that Sesshomaru hadn't answered her question. "Well, that explains why Father and Kurama didn't come, but that doesn't explain why you're here," she said, turning her head to look at him. Sesshomaru winced. He really wished that Fury hadn't of told Lynn what he had said. Sesshomaru sighed, surprisingly audibly. "This Sesshomaru came because…well, because…" Sesshomaru growled when he couldn't think of the right words to say and was all but tripping over his own tongue with the words he wanted to say but couldn't find the will to.
Lynn waited patiently, which was a rarity for her, and watched his face as he fought himself to find the right words. "Damn it all to the seven layers of hell!" he finally growled out, frustrated with himself. "I came because I am a fool, Lady Feara. A fool that happens to be in love with a certain half-breed fox but can't express it properly because of my pride. With the help of Takai, I managed to overcome that pride and came to find you. The words I spoke to your father were out of stupid pride and I regret saying them. Regretted them the moment they left my mouth. When I arrived, we found that…thing…that called himself a man about to be mated to you. As to why I stayed after that…I suppose it was foolish hope that maybe I could win your hand. Of course, that low-life fox would be no match for me, but knowing you, winning a fight against the fox wouldn't have won me your heart."
Lynn watched as a blush suffused Sesshomarus' face. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that that was the most that Sesshomaru had ever spoken about anything, let alone his true feelings, in his entire life. Which was absolutely true. "No," she said softly after a moment. "No, it probably wouldn't have. I didn't want to be mated…at least not to him. Course I don't want to be forced to mate anyone, but definitely not someone I don't even like. Unfortunately, that is the way things are done here, and it's rather hard for me to accept it. I'm just glad that I no longer have to deal with that bastard." Lynn rubbed the back of her neck tiredly. "I imagine Father is rather disappointed. He really wanted me to mate. Apparently, unmated females, human and demon, are spinsters so to speak, if they are not married at a certain age in this time."
Sesshomaru frowned a bit. "While it is uncommon for females of this time to be unmated, I wouldn't call them…spinsters," he said, as if the word itself was disturbing. "I myself would think they are just being individuals instead of being what everyone else wants them to be," Lynn murmured out. Sesshomaru nodded, though Lynn didn't see it. "At any rate, it's over with. And I'm glad for it. And it seems as if something happened before the mating to return my Father to how he was before." Sesshomaru looked at her. "You don't…remember?" Sesshomaru asked hesitantly. Lynn looked at him. "Remember what?" she asked, confused.
"Last night," Sesshomaru replied, a tint of confusion to his voice. "I remember getting drunk off my ass, if that's what you're asking. And I remember leaving to get away from Taka and Father. I vaguely remember you finding me, and leaving shortly after that. There's a few flashes of me being angry for not being able to go home, but other than that, I don't remember anything until this morning when I woke up cuddled by Father and Kurama." Sesshomaru nodded, not entirely unsurprised. "Your father and Kurama had been looking for you, as was that bastard, when I returned. I informed them that I knew where you were. However I'm afraid that I alarmed them quite a bit when I told them that you were in the clothes that you wore when I first met you. Kurama was rather quick to realize what it would mean, your father not far behind. They went after you. Takai and I followed from the sky."
Lynn looked at him in surprise. "You went with them?" she asked, shocked. "Yes. Most especially because I felt it was partly my fault that there was animosity between you and your father. Takai wanted to come because he cares about you as a friend and didn't want to see you leave, especially not with the way things were between you and your father. We were a bit quicker than your father and Kurama, given that we were flying and they were running on the ground, and I caught your scent before they even had a chance to. Using my Youkai, I used my orb to get to you quicker. I'm glad I did. Apparently, a low level panther Youkai had thought that your sleep unconscious body would make a good meal. It didn't help that your form and scent were that of a human, so he thought that you'd be easy prey. I dispatched him quickly."
"What? A Youkai?" she asked in shock, paling at his nod. 'I really almost kicked the bucket because of my own stupidity?' she thought to herself, shocked that she hadn't sensed either the panther Youkai or Sesshomaru. 'I need to train more,' she realized, sensing her Youkai agreeing with her. "What happened then?" she asked aloud. "I carried you up until your father and Kurama caught up with us. He took you from there and we returned to the village. I believe at some point you woke up to find him carrying you. I believe his thinking that you were going to leave him forever caused him to be hurt, though I think he regretted his actions way before then. The fox caught up to us shortly after that, trying to take you from your father, but he merely disregarded him and continued on. Though it would seem that he started showing his true colors then. He was standing outside of the hut, wanting to get in to sleep with you, but Kurama and I shooed him off. Kurama felt that you would be safer with his vines surrounding the hut given how the fox was acting."
Lynn growled to herself. 'That stupid jerk. I'm so glad Father and Sesshomaru whipped his ass into shape.' "Thank you, Sesshomaru," she said softly, fiddling with the end of her long silver hair. Before Sesshomaru could respond, her eyes widened and turned to him so quickly she almost fell. Sesshomarus' quick reflexes saved her from a rough tumble to the dirt. "Sesshomaru, did Taka see?" she asked, shock lacing her voice. For a moment he was confused. "See what, Lady Feara?" Exasperated, she grabbed the top of his armor and used it to shake him a bit. "My human form. Did he see?" Carefully plying her hands from his armor before she hurt herself on the spikes, he nodded. "Yes, Lady Feara. But only for a moment. I believe that is what gave him the impression that he could manhandle you."
"Damn it. He better keep his mouth shut if he doesn't want his ass kicked all over the West again," she growled out. "I do believe your father made certain of that while you were getting ready. Our beating probably pounded that into his skull all the more." Lynn nodded, turning to move again, before stopping and looking at him again. "You said Takai was with you when you found me?" At his nod, she continued. "He saw?" she asked quietly. Sesshomaru again nodded. "You have nothing to fear from him, Lady Feara." He smirked then. "I do believe he was rather entranced with your human form just as much as your Youkai." Lynn blushed and turned away, walking off, causing Sesshomaru to chuckle softly at her sudden shyness.
They walked in silence for a while, Lynn lost in her own thoughts and Sesshomaru contemplating whether or not to give her the gift that he had made for her. Given her like of weaponry, he thought she would greatly appreciate it. He looked up as he sensed the barrier not far from them. It was now or never. "Lady Feara," he said softly, causing her to look at him. Seeing he had stopped, she stopped as well. "I know that you aren't amused with me at the moment. However, in hopes that your father would accept my wish to mate with you, I took the liberty of having a courting gift made for you. I'm not expecting your affection from this, but I wish to give this to you, as it was made for you," he said quietly, reaching into his haori, where he had placed the gift for safe keeping and handed it to her.
She looked from it to him several times, confusion written on her face. "A courting gift? But shouldn't you only give that to me if the courting is accepted?" Sesshomaru nodded, but continued to hold it out. "This Sesshomaru still wishes to court you. However, given recent events, I believe that you should choose for yourself. It is not appropriate to give this to you when it was meant to be a courting gift, but this Sesshomaru wishes for you to have it." She looked at the small gift wrapped in pink silk cloth and bound with a light purple silk ribbon again, debating. Hesitantly, she reached out and took the gift, surprised at its weight. Looking at him again, making sure it was what he really wanted, she reached for the ribbon, tugging it and watching as it unraveled.
Carefully opening the silk, she gasped at what she found inside. "A collapsible shuriken? You had this made for me?" she asked in shock, looking up at him. Sesshomaru nodded, giving her a small smile. "I believed you would find it acceptable, both because I destroyed yours when we first met and because I know you love weapons." She looked at him, feeling her heart pound in her chest. He had noticed that? She looked down at the shuriken in her hands, tears forming in her eyes. The blades were a shiny silver, markings etched into each blade. Looking closer, she found that it was like the designs on her sword, vines and small flowers, only with crescent moons thrown in randomly. The same design was on the middle part that was made from what looked to be a pearl casing given its luminescent shine, with green vines and pink flowers, with blue crescent moons scattered randomly. It matched her sword perfectly.
"This is…" she started, blushing as she looked up to him. "It is acceptable?" he asked softly. "It's beautiful, Sesshomaru, but I don't know that-" "Please, Lady Feara. I beg of you to take it. It was made for you. I have no need of it." She looked back down at it, before bringing it to her chest gently, almost reverently. "Thank you," she said softly, not looking up at him. Sesshomaru smiled, glad she liked it. "You are very welcome, dear Lady Feara," he murmured with a bow. "Shall we return to the village?" Sesshomaru asked gently, gesturing towards the barrier, after a few moments of silence and her fidgeting. She nodded, blush still on her cheeks, hugging the gift to her chest as she turned and walked through the barrier, Sesshomaru not far behind her.
She made her way towards her fathers' hut, giving small smiles and waves to the villagers who were welcoming her back and wondering if she planned on mating someone else. She didn't answer the latter but did thank those who had welcomed her back. She brushed aside the wooden curtain framing her fathers' door and stepped inside, stopping a few steps in at the scene before her. She quickly covered her mouth with one hand to stifle the giggles that wanted to pour from her lips. It was just too cute, seeing Kurama and Takai all snuggled together like that. Her devious mind went to work immediately, not noticing her father by the fire pit or Sesshomaru who had walked in behind her not moments after she stopped. "Don't even think about it," Fury said quietly, startling Lynn out of her musings.
"Oh, but Father-" she started only to be cut off. "No, Feara. Let them rest. You need to rest too. It's been a long, tiring day." Fury rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, nodding to Sesshomaru who inclined his head in return. Fury then noticed the parcel clutched to his daughters' breast. "Feara, what have you there?" "Hmm?" she asked, looking to her father, her mind still working on the perfect prank to play on her cousin. "Oh this?" she asked when she saw where his gaze was, walking over to her father and holding out to him. "Sesshomaru gave it to me…" she said softly, watching her fathers' eyes flit over the gift before flicking his gaze to Sesshomaru. "It was to be a courting gift, should I have been accepted as a potential mate. I'm not expecting her hand unless she wants to give it, but I wanted to give it to her, none the less," Sesshomaru murmured.
Fury seemed pleased with his answer and nodded. "My Lord, forgive me. But I fear I must retire for the night. You may stay here if you like, if you can find a place to sleep, or I can escort you back to the Council Hall and to your guest room." Sesshomaru shook his head. "I'll stay and keep an eye on Takai for a while. If I get tired, I'll either sleep by the fire or return to my room on my own." Fury nodded and stood, stretching his tired muscles. "If you should need something to lay on, My Lord, or to cover up with, there are several extra furs within my wardrobe over here that you may use." Sesshomaru nodded and watched quietly as Feara and Fury disappeared into the extra room, the makeshift door flapping down behind them. Sighing, Sesshomaru sat by the fire, stretching out and watching over Takai. It wasn't long before the day took its toll on him and he fell into slumber, head comfortably pillowed by his fluffy tail.
Morning found a blurry eyed Feara stumbling her way over to her vanity, covering her wide yawn with a hand as the other reached for the brush on her vanity top and running it through her silver tresses. She stared sleepily at her own reflection as she brushed her hair, her nose twitching at the smell of breakfast assaulting her nose. She stood once she was finished with her hair and stretched to work out all the kinks in her body before deciding she wanted to wear different clothes today. Using her Youkai, she morphed the sleeping yukata that she had worn to bed, having been too exhausted to put any effort into anything else, into a white spaghetti strap tank top that stopped just above her belly button, a long white skort (shorts built into a skirt if you didn't know) with slits going up each side, stopping mid-thigh, and white almost knee-high boots with a low heel.
Rubbing her eyes, she made her way into the other room, not paying any attention to the rooms' occupants. At least not initially. It took her a moment to realize that her Father and Sesshomaru had turned to her upon her entering the room. It took her a few more sleepy moments later to see that Takai and Kurama were still cuddled together, fast asleep. Then her sleepy brain kicked into gear and she remembered her previous thoughts from the night before. She looked to her father and Sesshomaru, who stared at her, her father with a knowing smirk on his lips and Sesshomaru with a brow quirked in curiosity, to Takai and Kurama and back again. Slowly, a devious smirk formed on her lips and she giggled under her breath. "Oh, this is gonna be good," she muttered out, causing Fury to smirk more but Sesshomaru to tilt his head to the side in confusion.
Lynn leaped over the fire carefully, and plopped herself in Sesshomarus' lap, much to both males surprise, but Sesshomaru was even more surprised when she grasped his face gently before closing her eyes and leaning forward, pressing her forehead to his gently, her Youkai coming to the surface a bit. "Feara, dear. What on Earth are you doing to Lord Sesshomaru?" Fury questioned quietly, trying not to disturb the still sleeping occupants of the room. He and Sesshomaru had been talking quietly for a while now while the rest still slumbered, discussing who should be the one to see to Takas' removal if he wasn't already dispatched back to his tribe when Feara walked in. Fury smiled when he noted his sleepy daughters change of style but said nothing, sure that she was just in the mood for something different. Sesshomaru on the other hand, felt his blood rush from his face to a more…southern area.
Fury smirked though, when she noticed Takai and Kurama and knew the exact moment when she remembered that she had been planning to prank him last night, as the same devious look crossed her face now as it did then. Sesshomaru had been merely confused by the look, having not noticed it last night, but was even more startled by the devious and coy smile that slowly lifted her lips upwards. Fury seemed to have some kind of idea of what his daughter was thinking. Sesshomaru could only guess, but he knew it was something to do with Takai and Kurama. He jumped, when Feara leapt over the fire pit and plopped into his lap, his eyes widening and his breath catching as she leaned forward, eyes closed, and pressed her forehead to his. If he thought his nether regions where tight before, they were definitely tighter now.
"You'll see," she murmured in response to her fathers' question. Moments later, she pulled back and opened her eyes, a smirk playing about her lips at the shocked look on Sesshomarus' face. She stood up with a mischievous grin and turned her gaze onto Kurama and Takai. Sesshomaru barely caught the color that now graced her forehead and was surprised to see his crescent moon now on her own forehead. He looked on in confusion, wondering what on Earth she was planning that she needed his mark for. Fury figured it out rather quickly and chuckled. Lynn tiptoed silently towards Kurama and Takai, snickering to herself the whole way there. She froze when Kurama murmured something in sleep and snuggled closer to Takai, who had tightened his arm unknowingly in sleep. Once she was sure neither male was going to wake, she continued tiptoeing closer until she stood over them both.
Grin in place, she leapt over the two males, startling them both awake. "Oh, Kurama!" she exclaimed loudly, with a touch of excitement to her voice. "I'm so glad that you finally found someone to be with!" Kurama merely looked at her in confusion while Takai nearly choked on his own spit. "What?" Takai murmured out. "You two have to get mated right away! Especially since you two got together without first being properly mated." She squealed happily, bouncing in Kuramas' lap. "Oh! We have to plan! It's gonna be huge!" she said, her arms gesturing wildly about. "Mated?!" Kurama and Takai said together. "Yes, mated! You can't very well sleep together without being mated, now can you? This is gonna be so much fun! We gotta plan the party, the after party, the flowers, the guests, oh! And Kurama! We have to get you fitted for a wedding kimono!"
Kurama and Takai looked at each other in confusion, both pale beyond belief. What the hell had happened while they were asleep? "Sesshomaru!" Lynn shouted suddenly, startling the males beneath her. "I don't know any of Takais' friends, so you can call whoever you think should come! Oh wait, they don't have phones here. I forgot. You can send messengers instead! Oh, oh! And have someone send for Rin, but don't let them tell her yet! I wanna surprise her with her part in the Mating," she said, grinning as Kurama and Takai stumbled over their words trying to gain her attention. "Feara, love, I don't know what you're going on about but we're not getting mated! Hell, I don't even know what's going on!" Kurama protested. "Lady Feara, please see some sense! There's no reason to plan anything! There is no mating!" "And what is that on your forehead?" they asked in unison.
"Huh? Oh this?" she pointed to her forehead before grinning. "Sesshomaru asked for my hand last night and brought me a gorgeous gift so I said yes! We were mated last night but you two were dead to the world." At this, she pouted. "Can you just imagine? My only cousin too drunk off his ass to come to my Mating, yet he can consummate his own." "What?" Kurama said on a thready voice, his face deathly pale. 'I slept with Takai? And Feara's mated?!' Takai paled as well and looked to Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru! Stop this madness! You know damn well that I didn't mate with Lord Kurama!"
Sesshomaru, who had figured out what his devious fox had been planning the minute the first words left her mouth, merely smirked. "Stop my Mate from doing something to make her happy? I think not. And besides, Takai, I know of no such thing. For all I know, you could have been with Lord Kurama before I returned from kicking that disgusting male across the West or after I returned with my Mate." If Takai could pale any further, he was sure at that moment he would have. "You can't be serious, Sesshomaru! I mean, if we had sex, you of all people could smell it!" "Are you calling me a liar?" Lynn sniffled out, big alligator tears forming in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks dramatically. Kurama flinched, looking to his uncle for help, but saw that Fury was turned away, dealing with breakfast, though his shoulders were shaking. If Kurama didn't know any better, he'd say Fury was laughing at them.
"Feara, dear, we aren't calling you a liar. You are just mist-" "Sesshomaru!" Lynn wailed out. "Kurama and Takai are calling me a liar! It's not true is it? They slept in the same bed so they must have had sex!" She looked to Sesshomaru, tears he knew to be fake falling down her cheeks. "Of course not, love. All the excitement from the night before had just caused them to forget their little tryst," Sesshomaru murmured, humor glittering in his eyes. "Sesshomaru, please! Do you-" "No, I do not smell it," Sesshomaru cut Takai off, leveling his best glare on the pale dragon, "but that doesn't mean you didn't have the forethought to change the scent so no one would know. And call my Mate a liar again, and your head will be rolling."
Kurama and Takai gulped at that. That wasn't a bluff, they realized. Lynns' tears had suddenly dried up as she continued on rambling about the Mating. "I had better get started!" she said suddenly, hopping up from their laps and running over to Sesshomaru, tugging him to his feet and out the door. "I've gotta let the elders know of Takai and Kuramas' mating, then plan the party, send out messengers for Takai…" she rambled on with the list of things to do, Fury choking on his own breath in an attempt to not laugh at Kurama and Takai falling over each other and the furs that they were wrapped in, in their attempts to get to Feara and stop her from causing chaos with her attempted mating of the two.
It had been hours since the early morning chaos of everyone pitching together to try to get a mating ceremony going for Kurama and Takai. Within one hour of her waking, Lynn had everyone in the village believing that Kurama and Takai were getting mated, much to their dismay. Sesshomaru had dealt with Taka, making sure that he was escorted back to his village, having that same escort return to his Palace with haste to retrieve his ward. Lynn flitted around from place to place, setting up arrangements, ignoring Takai and Kurama's attempts to get her to stop. It wasn't until about lunch time, when Kurama and Takai finally gave up for the moment and let her do what she wanted that she went back to everyone and told them secretly that it was a prank but that they should still pretend for a while. She even made sure to tell them to pretend she was mated to Sesshomaru.
The elders didn't too much approve of it, but given the events of the night before, they let it slide, glad to see their princess in such high spirits again. Shortly after lunch, Rin arrived on Ah-Un with the messenger. Lynn eagerly ran over to Rin and helped her off of Ah-Un, setting her gently on the ground. "Lady Feara!" Rin cried out, hugging her around the knees happily. "Hello to you too, dear Rin." Lynn hugged her tightly before pushing her back gently. "Rin, I need your help with something, ok? And you have to promise to keep it a secret ok?" Rin nodded enthusiastically. "Rin crosses her heart," she said, taking her small hand and making a mark over her chest where her heart was as if she were really crossing her heart.
Lynn nodded and grinned, looking around to make sure Kurama and Takai weren't around before leaning close and whispering conspiratorially, "I'm playing a big prank on Kurama and Takai, and I need your help to do it. Do you think you want to help?" Rins' eyes widened before she grinned, showing off a missing tooth in the front. "Rin will help! What does the Lady Feara want Rin to do?" she asked. Lynn smiled. "I need you to go with the village children and go to the nearby field and pick lots of pretty flowers. Can you do that for me?" "Yes, Lady Feara!" Rin said, mock saluting her.
"Good girl! Let's go get the others, ok?" Lynn took Rins' hand and they both headed off towards the group of playing children, grinning as they all cheered and ran off towards the nearby field. She sent a couple of the stronger males of the clan after the children to watch them. "If anything happens to any of the little ones, be prepared to suffer my wrath," she warned. The males nodded, knowing that she was deathly serious and would allow no harm to come to the children, for fear of suffering a painful death by their princess. They were well aware of her fondness for children and didn't wish to get on her bad side. Giggling to herself, she skipped over to the fire area to check and see how things were, ignoring Kurama and Takai who had started trying to get her to see reason again.
It was hours later, just before sunset when Lynn finally decided to put Kurama and Takai out of their misery. She giggled as she skipped over to them, ignoring the glares sent her way by both males. "Hey, Kurama, Takai. I have two things to say to you," she snickered out. "Forgive me Feara dear, if I am in no mood to hear what you have to say," Kurama growled out. He didn't remember what happened last night after he started drinking, he just knew that he had started drinking. He didn't know what he did or said after that, and he damn sure didn't remember going back to Uncle's hut with or without Takai and he damn sure didn't remember having sex with him. Either way, the entire village believed it, and he was beginning to fear that it was true, though he knew better, and Takai swore a blood oath that nothing untoward had happened between them.
"Well, you may want to hear this," she said in a sing song voice. "Pray, Lady Feara, tell us so that we might get on with this night before our lives are permanently ruined," Takai grumbled out. Takai himself found Kurama fascinating, and he was rather attractive, however, he wasn't totally sure that he liked Kurama like that, but was deadly sure that he didn't want to mate with him…at least not until he decided on his own whether or not he liked him. Kurama, unbeknownst to Takai, felt the same way as well. "Ok. Firstly, you just got pranked by an entire village and then some!" she said, large grin in place as she watched their faces. Shock was the most dominate feature on both their faces, though embarrassment wasn't far behind, and maybe a little bit of anger. "And second," she said before they could say anything, "I'm not really mated to Sesshomaru, but he did a marvelous job of playing along."
She yelped when Kurama leapt for her, intending to bend her over his knee and spank her, but she danced out of the way and laughed. "Love you, Kurama," she said, but Kurama didn't hear her. She laughed as he chased her through the village, him spouting incoherent words the whole way through. 'The nerve of that woman!' he growled to himself. "But wait..." Takai murmured out, still in shock. "If the whole village knows then why are they still getting ready for a party?" A low chuckle behind him caused him to whip around. "That would be because it is just a party in general," Sesshomaru said, smirk in place. "I do believe, Takai, that the Lady Karma has really come around to bite you in the posterior."
"I can't believe you!" Takai shouted, anger finally taking over his shock. "What possessed you to go along with that crazy girl?!" he screeched out. Sesshomaru grinned toothily, surprising quite a few people, but mostly freaking Takai out. "You would have gone along with it as well, Takai, if you had been in my place and our positions reversed. Can you honestly say that you would deny her what she wants if you were in love with her as much as I am?" he asked. Takai growled and looked away, gnashing his teeth together in anger and betrayal. "No," he growled out. "I wouldn't deny her. But at the same time, I would have found some way to tell my best friend that it was all a joke and that it wasn't going to happen." Sesshomaru laughed again, shaking his head. "As I said before, karma is a bitch, Takai. And you needed some humility in your life for once," he said, dodging a furious Takais' talons as the arced through the air towards him.
Under normal circumstances, he'd be pissed that his so called friend was attacking him, but given that he had just teased him mercilessly the entire day, he figured Takai was entitled to a little anger. Though he never let Takai hit him. He merely dodged until Takai tired himself out. Takai glared at Sesshomaru, his chest rising and falling in loud, heavy pants. "One day, Sesshomaru. I'll get you back for this one day," he growled lowly. "Dear Takai, this was merely payback for the blackmail you used against me with Rin," Sesshomaru replied before turning on his heel to walk away, heading back towards Furys' hut. Takai sat with a huff on one of the logs placed around the fire as a seat and glared at Sesshomaru's back. Moments later, another warm body sat close to his, though he paid it no mind as he tried to mentally make Sesshomaru burst into flames.
"If I get my hands on my cousin, boy is she going to get it," a voice growled out next to him, the voice belonging to a very irate half-fox, half-human. "Same goes for Sesshomaru," Takai growled out, strangely upset that Kurama was rather upset about the prank, not that he wasn't. He was more upset that it seemed as if they were trying to force the two of them together rather than it just being a prank. "I can't believe her! And she lied about mating with Sesshomaru? Insane! I mean, we're pranksters by nature, but that was a bit extreme." Takai nodded. Takai took his glare from the now gone Sesshomaru and peeked out of the corner of his eyes to the fuming Kurama. He had reverted back to his red headed human form at some point, but Takai realized that he was just as handsome in his human form as he was in his Youko form.
Takai wondered on his true feelings towards the fox, because he hadn't really been put off by his drunken advances last night, merely the manner in which they were given. He was so distracted that he didn't see an excited Lynn come barreling out of nowhere and pouncing on him, causing him to jerk to the side with a shocked gasp and into Kurama, knocking them all off the log into a tangled mess of limbs on the ground. He felt an arm wrap around his neck and felt the other wrap around the trapped foxes. "I was only playing with you guys. There's no need to be so angry. I wasn't going to go through with it." Kurama merely growled and struggled to get up. "It was going too far, Feara," Kurama rasped out, his breath having been knocked out of him on impact with the ground.
Lynn pouted. "Are you really mad with me, Kurama? It was just so cute and funny that I couldn't resist. I'm sorry," she murmured, nuzzling Kurama under the chin, nipping the skin there softly in apology. Kurama felt the anger leave him and heaved a sigh. 'She nuzzles me and I give in. Boy am I whipped by my baby cousin,' he thought to himself. Wrapping an arm around Lynn, he kissed her forehead. "No more extreme jokes like that, Feara. You nearly gave me heart failure. And I'm sure Lord Takai was just as embarrassed." Takai frowned but didn't object. He'd have to give more thought to this situation later, when he had time and privacy to think. "More shocked than anything. At any rate, I'm not a Kurama/Feara sandwich, so could you please remove yourself, dear Lady?" he asked gently, briefly hugging her back.
Lynn carefully extracted herself and grabbed a hand from each male before helping them to their feet. "I really am sorry," she said, examining the dirt beneath the toe of her boot as she nudged it up a little. "It is alright, little one," Kurama said, pulling her into his arms. "Yes, no harm done. It's actually quite funny now that it's calmed down some," Takai said, smiling a bit in reassurance to the pouting female. "You guys aren't mad anymore?" she asked, looking between the two. At their heads shaking "no" she grinned and danced around them. "Good! Then it's time to party! Whoo!" she yelled out, laughing as she spun off. And so the party began.
Lynn had been having so much fun she didn't know what to do with herself. She had been stealing sips from everyone's drinks all night long, including Takais' and Kuramas' much to their bemusement, happy that they were no longer upset about her prank. She danced around the village for a while, playing with the children, eating, dancing around the fire, stealing sips of alcohol. By the time she finally decided to get some of her own via her own sake bottle, Sesshomaru had grabbed it from her in concern, startling her. "Lady Feara, I believe you've had enough for now. We wouldn't want you to end up like Kurama and Takai this morning would we?" he asked, a smirk gracing his lips. At first, she was about to rip him a new one, until the teasing tone of his voice reached her and the words themselves. She smirked deviously.
Sesshomarus' eyes widened at the devious look in her eyes, wondering what she was thinking. Lynn sauntered up close to Sesshomaru, casually draping herself around him and leaning up to his face so that she was level with his elfin ear before whispering words that shocked the poor Demon Lord into absolute stillness. "Shame, shame Sesshomaru. Letting me drink might have landed you in my bed tonight. Just think of all the naughty things I could do with these lips of mine." At those words, all coherent thought left Sesshomaru as well as the blood in his head as it rushed to his groin, gathering there until he was certain that she could feel the hardness she had caused. She smirked and nipped his ear, causing a soft gasp to fall from his lips, unaware that it was merely a distraction to get the sake back from him.
He stood there shell shocked for long moments as Lynn danced away from him, laughing softly at the shocked look on his face, before tilting the bottle up and drinking from the bottle. Sesshomaru blinked, his eyes focusing on the pale neck presented to him. His arousal hit ten-fold, and he felt his beast trying to claw its way to the surface, and he gulped quietly when she smirked, apparently aware of the turmoil that she was causing within his body. His eyes tinted red before he darted after, smirking when she squealed a bit and hauled ass, dancing out of his reach whenever he got close and laughing as she ran off again, keeping him on his toes. Kurama, Takai, Fury and the others smiled at the look of happiness on her face. Rin, thinking it was a game that her Lord was playing with the Lady Feara, insisted on joining in and laughed as she pounced on her Lord trying to "save Lady Feara from the big bad Lord Sesshomaru", causing them both to laugh. 'It would seem,' Fury thought to himself, 'that my daughter honestly loves Sesshomaru. I have never seen her be so open with anyone, not even Taka. I may just have to let Sesshomaru have her hand, if she truly wants him.'
A/N: EEKKK! Omg! Chapter 12! WOOHOO! Lol. Lynn, you better love me, and that goes for all you lovely readers as well. Thank you too all my reviewers, regular and new, but an extra special thank you to reviewer NatalyaEnkou, who left me an awesome comment! I know that everyone likes/loves my story, but I don't think I've ever been told that my story enthralled someone. I think I literally squealed when I read that review and it is greatly appreciated. It makes me feel uber happy to have so many people like the story enough to even read this far. I'm glad you all like it. So, with that said, tell me what you thought! Just so you know, there's only one, maybe two, chapters left. And maybe, a very BIG maybe, an epilogue. But all in good time. Reviews fuel the plot bunnies, my lovelies! MUAH!