I broke away from the embrace of the Wolf-Lord of the North thanking him for the dance and left the dance floor. The golden-furred hem of my bright red-orange dress swished around my calves as I searched for my mate. Even more gold fur rimmed the scooped collar and I had curled my tail around my waist as the finishing touch. My dress and the golden chains woven through my hair were the design of my father-in-law Lord Kaemon.
Although many men asked me to dance, I disregarded them all. For the past three hours I had paid attention to my guests and I was done with it. For the rest of the day and night I planned to turn away any well-wishers at our chamber door. If I could find Sesshomaru that is.
The snack bar, the gardens and the windows were sorely lacking of a certain silver-haired demon. I was about to leave for the study when a flash of silver caught my eye. I rushed towards it, until the owner of the silver hair came into view. Small dog ears poked out of the hair on top of his head. As though he felt my gaze on him he looked up from the petite dark-haired girl he was with and our eyes met. Surprise transformed his face and he stalked over to me, towing the poor girl along with him.
"So you're my brother's mate."
His voice was a harsh tenor, not as pleasing as my Love's smooth rich baritone or their father's pleasant bass.
"Assuming that you are Inu-Yasha, yes."
"I am and this is my mate Kagome."
The girl, Kagome, bowed deeply.
"It is nice to meet you Milady…"
She paused waiting for my name.
"I am Yuri, born of the East, now of the Lands."
"How is that Lady Yuri?"
Kagome was polite, but Inu-Yasha butted in just as I opened my mouth to respond.
"That Bastard! He's taking over the world, probably mated you just for your title."
Kagome stared at him, shocked. Conversations around us screeched to a halt in mid-sentence. People turned, watching warily for my reaction. I was outraged. Blood pounded in my ears and deep inside of me walls that separated the pure demon from the rest of me buckled as though struck. The mindless Youkai flared in power, straining against its weakened bonds.
An inexplicable wind whipped through my hair and chased my skirt around my legs. Some of my Youkai slipped out of the widening cracks in my defense and its pure power coursed through my blood, intoxicating in its potency.
I watched Inu-Yasha through blurry eyes, as though I was in a dream. Kagome and the demons around us took a step back, fear sparking in their eyes. Inu-Yasha's eyes watching me were as hard and flat as tarnished brass and his hand was on his sword.
"You will find you regret your words if you do not retract your insult to my mate immediately."
Barely above a whisper, my words nonetheless carried through the hall. Complete silence reigned as I battled with myself for the control of my body. Inu-Yasha snarled contemptuously.
"You're not gonna get me to apologize to my damn brother!"
"Inu-Yasha, please, just take your words back. Please, don't you see her eyes? They're red! If you don't take it back she's going to lose it!"
"No Kagome. She's not gonna calm down just like that. 'N' besides that, I'm not sorry."
The beast in me roared in outrage and ripped away from its bonds. It surged through me, filling me with power. More power than I could deal with. I screamed, but it came out as an anguished high-pitched howl. I fought against the wave of power until my instincts forced me lax.
A dark-bright light blinded me for all of a second before releasing me into my true form. I hadn't taken that form since I was a pup, just developing my coordination. I didn't mull over my past long.
I lunged at him, jaws open and fangs bared. They snapped shut a second too late as he leapt away and out of my immediate reach. I snarled angrily, scanning the ring of partygoers edging the room.
I spotted him at the center of the dance floor. His sword was drawn, and I roared at his insolence.
"Come on demon, bring it on! You can't defeat me!"
He swung his sword wildly. I snorted at his ineptitude and charged, ready to cut him down.
Two roars reverberated through the hall. Roaring angrily in return I screeched to a halt, wheeling around to face the Youkai who dared interrupt my battle.
"Father…"
Inu-Yasha's tenor was higher than normal and I would have laughed had I not just recognized the smaller of the two Youkai. Sesshomaru was bounding towards me with a worried look in his blood red eyes. He stopped by my side and took in my scent to reassure himself that I was unharmed. I whimpered that my side hurt, and licked his muzzle comfortingly. Sensing that atonement was soon to be made my Youkai tamely retreated. Lacking the power to maintain my true form, I shrank and soon had reassumed my normal form. My mate and Lord Kaemon followed suit so that they could settle the dispute.
"What is the meaning of this? Fighting at a wedding feast!"
Lord Kaemon was seething, looking first from Inu-Yasha to me and back to Inu-Yasha again. Inu-Yasha had sheathed his sword, but still watched me warily, as if I was going to attack him when I had no more reason to. The Dog General continued.
"Lady Yuri, Inu-Yasha, how did such a disgraceful thing such as this occur?"
"Lord Kaemon, perhaps I may be of assistance."
Inu-Yasha spluttered, but our father just nodded to Kagome who had joined her husband.
"Inu-Yasha I am sad to say is the one at fault in this scuffle. He insulted Yuri and-"
Sesshomaru snarled and took a step toward Inu-Yasha. I put a hand out to stop him and cut in to Kagome's narration.
"That hanyou insulted my mate, not me and he would not retract his words, even at the good advice of Kagome. Not only that but he also drew his sword on me, no matter that I had already taken Youkai form. There is nothing I could have done other than fight."
Sesshomaru's growl threatened to escalate into a roar. I put an arm around his waist and purred into his ear, enjoying the change of emotions on his face. Anger faded and when he hooked his arm around me pulling me in close, the look he gave me was sultry and intense.
Inu Taisho Kaemon wasn't pleased either, his frown was angry and his voice when he spoke was almost a full octave lower than it had been.
"Inu-Yasha, is this so? If it is then you may count yourself lucky that Sesshomaru is not yet Lord. You will come with me."
He turned on his heel and left the great hall, Inu-Yasha trailing behind. My mate led me to the orchestra platform and stepped up onto it. After a moment speaking to the musicians he turned to address our guests.
"I fear we have interrupted your enjoyment of these joyful festivities. We shall not keep you from happiness any longer. Feel free to relish the rest of your time here."
With that he was off of the platform and the band was striking up another dance. He swept me up and joined the dancing creatures.
"Yuri, love, you were quite the impressive Youkai. Fur the color of the sun and a star the color of moonlight on your forehead. I think there was one on your chest as well. Should we see if it's still there now?"
My eyes widened substantially.
"Now? Here?"
Sesshomaru shrugged.
"Why not? I'm sure most of our guests wouldn't mind and they would probably follow suit with their own partners anyway. Besides it might not be visible for long."
"How about in the garden instead? I might lose control of my Youkai."
"Speaking of which, why have I never seen you like that before? Besides the fact that I haven't known you for all that long."
I smiled mischievously.
"It's been sealed away since I was young because I couldn't control it. And it's not sealed any more. It's just sitting in there."
"Really?"
When I nodded the passion-spark in his eyes blossomed into a flame.
"Then we do need to get to the garden and soon."
I giggled and gave him a quick kiss, fingering his delicately pointed ears. Sesshomaru grinned in response, exposing his sharp fangs.
"If you want to, let's go. Now."
He ran his hand down my front and captured my lips in his, nibbling them gently. I whimpered, wanting a more private setting. Sesshomaru growled but carried me out of the nearest doors into the fragrant night.
Cherry blossom petals drifted down on us as the strains of the band floated on the breeze and the crescent moon watched over its land.
A/N: Thank you so~ much for reading this through to the end! What should I do next? I have a Skip Beat! fanfiction in the works, and I'm almost done, so I want to make a list of what you think I should do next. Especially SweetAnew, you've been totally awesome!
