Chapter 33
The morning brought with it cowards, familiars, and more out to the castle of the great Lord of the West. By the time the females that had began at the start of the great Lord of West tests so that he may find a female that he could call his equal, it had been found that there were last minute females that had chosen to part take in the final battle for the title of the great Lord Sesshomaru's mate. After taking note of all the females that wished to take her daughters place and after allowing her mate to walk past her, Kagome looked over and let out a low growl to show her brother that she was not happy with him before moving to take her place at the front of the court.
"She really is not happy with you my friend." Miroku's calm and amused filled voice was heard say as he stood by the great Lord of the West side.
"It matters not to me monk; she will see that in time it was the emotions of being with a child that caused her anger. She will come around and apologize to this Sesshomaru."
"If you really believe that than you have no idea the kind of woman my sister is." Sango's angry filled voice was heard say as she walked past the two of them.
"Well, let's just hope that Oka doesn't kill anyone since she is so angry with Uncle." Shippo's slightly worried and amused filled voice was heard say as he also walked past them.
"That I would have to agree with, seeing as how it was promising that there was very small chance of death." Kohaku joined in as he followed after Shippo.
"I'll gather the new arrivals, we'll be able to set the new with the present and we'll be able to reduce the amount of females that much quicker." Ayame was heard as she waited for Kagome to give her approval to her idea.
"Just make sure that none of them over step their bounds." Koga growled out in an annoyed filled voice. Since he had never been told what the child had said or done to have angered all of the females that had come from his tribe he would not allow the bitch to have a second opportunity to do so again.
"I will, now if you all would excuse me." Ayame stated as she jumped down and into the center of the court yard that would be used for the battles.
While Koga, Kohaku, Miroku, and the rest of his brothers pack moved to take their proper seats so that those that were there to witness what was accruing knew that if they tried to over throw or even thought of doing anything foolish they would be facing the whole ruling pack of the west. Sesshomaru looked around him and took note of the different types of demons that had arrived. He realized that word must have spread and even females from families that had not been invited had arrived and would not be moved. Before he could try to get his sister to see that he would allow these females to stay, he was surprised when he heard her cold, power filled voice growl out, "Today will start the final battles for the right to be called my brothers mate. The females that have just arrived, that were not here to part take in the previous trails will be allowed to prove themselves today."
While there had been some that had been brave enough to voice their anger over the Lady of the West choice in allowing the late females to part take. All was silenced when one by one the few that had dared to challenge her decision began to fall down as if they had been struck down by lightning. Once she was certain that no one else would dare to have anything to say against her choice, Kagome turned to her brother and motioned for him to make his speech before they began with the battles and the trails. Once he was certain that he had the complete attention of every member in the coward, Sesshomaru made a show of looking over each female that was present and trying to win the title of the Lady of the West, he was disappointed when he had found no dragon demons within the line of females that awaited the trail.
He had hoped to have seen at least one dragon demon within the coward, even if it had been a face that he would have not recognized since his mother had explained to him that she would not look as the human child that had had grown so use to seeing. Realizing that she was not here it filled the great lord with anger and sorrow as he growled out, "Today I will find my equal, today I will chose a mate that will be trained by my sister so that she will become the new Lady of the West."
'Oh my foolish son, just what is it that you are doing?' Inukimi thought as she stood in the back of the cowards and watched from a distance as he began to speak to the females before him.
"The death of your opponents will not be required but those of you who do not realize that you may die here today I suggest you leave now for your doubt alone would make you unworthy to be called my equal, my mate." Sesshomaru growled out as he looked about to see if there were any he would have to ask to leave or retreat from such a task.
After watching the wolf demon that had been named beta by his sister tell a few of the females, mostly the younger ones whom he would have seen as nothing more than pups anyway, being asked to leave, Sesshomaru once again faced the coward and growled out, "Very well, my sister, the current Lady of the west will select the pairs and the order in which each batter is to be held. There will be no time limit to each battle just as your life is not promised to you."
Having said all that he had to say, Sesshomaru took his seat and angrily watched as his sister began to pair the first two pairs that were to fight. He was surprised that she had gone with the wolf demoness idea however he understood the method in which she would go about it would be a way to test the waters of the females that had arrived. And so the battle began and the small pack that ruled the west watched as battle after battle several females were defeated, some won while others died all to prove that they would have been the best, the most worthy of the title of the Lady of the West. 'And so it begins, the fight and the search will end and if she is unable to appear, I will kill the bitch that wins and go retrieve her myself.' Were the great Lord of West final thoughts as she took his seat and watched the final events began.
She had cover a lot of ground, she had been surprised by her speed but by the time she had reached the outside villages that were closest to the main city where her Lord was and where the castle of the West was guarded, Rin had grown tired. She had never used her true from, had never known the strength and the stamina it would have required for her to travel in such a way. The moment she had walked into the city she could hear the cowards that were gathered by the courtyard, she could feel her mother's anger and her father's worry. Yet the two did not bother her as much as the scent of the bitch that clung to her Lord scent. As soon as she had caught the scent that clung to her Lords, no to her mates own scent her inner dragon roared in anger and rage as it screamed for blood and for the opportunity to attack the bitch that thought she was good enough or even strong enough to take the mate of a dragon.
Just as she had landed by the east side of the village, Rin took in a deep breath so that she would not give herself away. Once she was certain that she could control herself, Rin began to make her way to the coward where she was sure to find her pack and her lord. Just as she had reached the edge of the coward that had watched the battles as they had gone on through the day, Rin let out a low growl of anger and began to prepare herself when she heard her mother's voice say, "If there are no other challengers I will test the child…the young Lady, I, Lady Kagome of the West will test the female to see if she is worthy and has the strength needed to be my brothers equal."
'No one will challenge me…I will disarm the hanyou bitch and then, the great Lord of the West will be mine.'
"Looks like you'll have your mate either way brother." Inuyasha growled angrily at his brother.
"I suppose it is a good thing that we are reaching the end since the sun will soon set." Miroku was heard speak out.
"I'm going to go and get my sister and watch over the kids." Kohaku's voice was heard say as he stood to leave.
"Aren't you going to stay to watch this?" Shippo asked in a confused filled voice.
"No I don't think that I am up for it. Something tells me that it would be better if I got out of the way here and let my sister take her role as the beta." Kohaku explained as he began to walk away.
"I'll go with you, I'm sure you won't be able to handle the twins and the new pup all together." Shippo teased with a grin on his face.
"You boys make sure to be careful and to stay together." Kagome stated in a whispered voice.
"Of course Oka-san." Shippo promised before running up to catch up with his best friend.
'Forgive me Kohaku, I'm sorry but it would be best if I waited for you to have left.' Rin thought sadly as she quickly made her way to the front of the coward only to glare at the Inu demon pup that had clung to her mate. 'I wonder if it'll be allowable to kill her.'
"Mother, I thought you said you had spoken with her." The Lord of the West growled out in anger.
Just as she was about to remind her son that she had been pulled away from her side before she could truly speak with the young child that was destined to be his true mate, all eyes were drawn to a child's cold, emotionless, and power filled voice as they heard her say, "I'll challenge the pup for the right to be seen as the equal of our great Lord of the West."
"I did not think the dragons would allow their females to take part here." The confident Inu demoness was heard growl out as she looked over her possible new opponent.
"Who is she?"
"She's never been seen in the courts before."
"Is that child mad? Lady Akuma as already killed more than half of her opponents. Just what is that pup thinking?"
"Where are her parents?"
Annoyed by all of their whispering but knowing that there was nothing that she could do about it, the young dragoness slowly began to remove the cloak that had covered her formal, dragon warriors clothing as she looked up and locked eyes with Lady Inukimi and offered her the smallest of smiles. While she had been sure that they would not recognize her at first she was sure that at least InuKimi, her Lords great mother would be able to vouch for her after she had spoken her name. Of course even with the knowledge that she would be welcomed with open arms once she had proven herself, Rin knew that she would no longer back down from this fight. She would fight the Inu demon bitch.
After taking in a deep breath, Rin began to make her way to the center of the coward where she would find the bitch that wished to claim her lord and said, "My name is Lady Rin, second daughter of the Queen of the East and I've come to claim my mate."
While the ruling family of the west just stared at the young dragoness the rest of the members of the west watched and looked closely over the young child that claimed her name to be Rin. While most did not believe her to be who she had claimed to be, others began to see the small similarities between the human child that had been under the care of their Lord and the demoness that stood before them now. While she allowed them all to do as they pleased, Rin was forced to turn her attention to the young Inu demoness that had been growling at her as she heard her ask, "Just who do you think you are? There has been no reports of you, you haven't even been introduced to our lord and you believe yourself to be his mate?"
Ignoring her and looking up to lock eyes with Sesshomaru himself, Rin growled out, "I was under the impression that any female that could prove herself to the West and the court of the west would be given a fair chance to prove her strength and honor here. Was I wrong? Were they all lies? Tell me Lord Sesshomaru did you lie to all those you invited here today?"
While he recognized her challenge Sesshomaru knew that he could not let it go. According to his mother Rin had been able to change her form and she would have the moment she had arrived to end any and all arguments about just who she really was to the pack of the West. It was with that fact that he knew that this was not his mate. Before he could say a word and before he could put her in her place, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru turned and stared in confusion when they both heard the Lady of the West cold, strong, and emotionless voice growl out, "Lady Akuma will fight you however I will set some rules. This will NOT be a battle that will involve death. If either if you kills the other I will take your life to replace the one you have taken. A life for a life."
"Kagome? Are you certain?" Ayame's worried filled voice as heard ask.
"I am, she may be young but she is still a dragon and I will have words with her when all of this is said and done with." Kagome answered as she turned to lock eyes with Inu demoness child that had been giving her so much trouble and growled out, "I hope that I have made myself clear…Koinu."
"Perfectly," Akuma growled back as she swung her sword and relaxed her hands while locking eyes with the dragoness in front of her and growling out, "Do you have any idea what you have done child? While I can't kill you, I can harm you."
"Are there any rules to what weapons, or if I have to use weapons for this battle as well Mistress?" Rin asked as she continued to ignore the Inu demoness in favor as getting her mother to speak so that she could once again be filled with the memories of her times with her mother and father at the sound of her voice. 'Oka-san you are with a child…I'm sure Inu-Otu-san already knows…but just what did my Lord do to have upset you so?'
"Weapons are optional child, you can either use your own weapon, if you brought one, or you can fight with your claws. It's of your choice." Ayame answered as she took note of the child's appearance.
"Are you ignoring me?" Akuma growled out in anger.
"I see…thank you Lady Ayame." Rin stated as she completely removed her coat and revealed her true appearance to those around her and her opponent.
Kagome took note of the young dragons look. The first thing she had noticed was the child's hair. While the roots looked to be as if they were black, they changed in color from black, to midnight blue, to a brilliant blue/silver color at the tips of her long waist long hair. Her claws were black as night and showed no sign that they had been turned that way. But it had been her face that had caused her to pause, to really look over the dragon child before her. Her face was the same build and shape as her daughter and her eyes were the same warm brown color that she had loved to look into when she spoke with Rin. If this was truly Rin and if she had really been born a dragon only to be sent away she would make sure that she had been treated right before she went to the East to make sure that she would claim her; had claimed her and that they would never have a right to her again. 'Not unless they wish to see what I can do with the training that I have gotten since becoming an Inu miko hanyou.'
"I am Lady Akuma, born of the loyal servants of the west and you dare to ignore me. You foolish child!"
"I don't dare," Rin finally growled out as she turned her full attention to the child that would not let matters be. "I was ignoring you."
"You will regret ever disrespecting me child." Akuma growled out as the sword she held began to glow with a greenish mist from her poison.
'Poison…well that will be a new one and a useful one to gain.' Rin thought as she glared at the female before her and growled out, "Call me child again and I will rip out your stomach and feed it to you. I will not say that I am not young but at least in mind I know the time and place for things and what should or should not be said during those times. I'm afraid that the same cannot be said about you. I wouldn't even be surprised if you have already got a talking to from the Lady of the West. Child I may look like but in mentality you are the child."
"Smart girl." Inukimi stated as she kept her eyes on the fight.
"Well looks like she fell for it." Sango stated in a calm voice.
"What are you talking about?" Miroku asked in a confused filled voice.
But before Sango could explain that the dragoness had been baiting her opponent and that she was waiting for the Inu demoness to make the first move, all eyes watched in surprise and shock as the dragoness not only avoided the attack and poison filled sword of the Inu demoness, but just as it had been about to hit the dragoness she had disappeared in a mist of shadows and darkness and appeared right behind the Inu demoness. Gasps and whispers soon filled the coward for they knew that the only other dragon of darkness had been appointment the Lord General of the East and had been spelled to never leave the East since he was the loyal servant of the royal family.
"Well things have certainly gotten interesting." Inuyasha growled out as he turned to look at his brother.
"In a way," Inukimi's whispered voice was heard say.
"I cannot tell if she is my mate…mother did you not say that the dragoness that was my mate had been addressed as Princess Aya of the East." Sesshomaru growled out in an annoyed filled voice as he watched the battle.
"You can't…and I thought Inuyasha was stupid." Koga mumbled under his breath as he looked away and focused on the fight.
Before the Lord of the West could even ask the young wolf what he had meant by his words, he was forced to turn his attention to the fight on hand when he heard the painful cry come from the young dragoness that had just appeared. While his inner demon roared to come to her aid he knew that he could not intervene else he caused his people to see him as a fake. It was in that moment that he knew, he knew that the dragoness down in battle was his mate, was his Rin.
Rin growled in pain as she slowly stood up. While she had made sure that she had not been cut by the Inu demons poison filled sword, the hit against the hit against the wall had not been kind to her already sore back. Once she was fully standing, Rin locked eyes with the Inu demoness as she heard her growl out, "Get up child, I am not finished with you yet."
"If I remember correctly," Rin growled out as her eyes began to change in color and glow with the same electric blue color of her power as she surrounded her body with the electrical currents, "I did already ask you kindly to refrain from calling me child bitch."
"I am a proud Inu demon bitch and you will bow before the next Lady of the West." Akuma growled out in pure rage as she began to transform into her demon form.
With a grin on her face, Rin stood tall and proud while keeping her human form and stated, "You are and forever will be the child here and I am through with this. I have a matter to talk with the Lady of the West as I have already stated that I would not fight her for her title."
The Inu demon, before the coward that watched, roared from the sky and growled down at the dragoness that seemed to making no move to try to change to her own demonic form. While Kagome was sure that she had trained her daughter, if that really was her daughter, well she still couldn't help but worry and wonder why it was the dragoness was not making her move. Sesshomaru however was both surprised by the child Inu demoness and her true power while on the other hand worried about his mate and her reason for not wishing for since she had yet to transform. Just as he had concluded that she could not yet transform and that she would need his aid after all, they watched as the dragoness not only disappeared from sight but had already brought down the giant dog to its knees with nothing but power.
"Where is she?"
"Akuma find her!"
"Akuma stay on your guard."
"What kind of dragon is she? She can't have more than one power...can she?"
They watched as the Inu demoness fell to the floor, they watched as the power of the dragoness forced her to change form once again and watched as the dragoness not only appeared in a ball of shadow and electricity but had claimed and was currently wielding the Inu demons sword. Ignoring the stares, the whispers and the aura's that surrounded her, Rin allowed her anger to shine through and lifted the wounded and weakened Akuma up into the air by the throat as she growled out, "Will you take back what you said? Will you yield and admit that you were never worthy of the great Lord of the west?"
"I will not yield." Akuma growled out as she struggled to break free of the dragoness hold. "I am his true mate and when I end you I will enjoy the feel of your blood as it fills me. I will watch as you bleed out and I will ensure that you live long enough to answer all of the Lady of the West answers before I end you."
With a grin so cold, so evil and so angry that it had cause most of the coward to step back and further away from the court yard that was being used for the battle, Rin leaned in and gently kissed her opponent on the lips as she whispered, "I was so hoping say that."
Before anyone could say a word, mothers covered their children's eyes while even the strongest off demons looked away as they watched the child complete her promise. Rin dug her claws into the demons stomach after pinning her to the ground with her own sword and pulled a bit of her stomach from her and forced it down her throat. Knowing that she would have no choice but to fight her mother if she killed the foolish Inu demoness, Rin let out a long sigh as she pulled back her anger and some of her power and called on the shadows as the last light of the day began to fade away so that she could lessen the seriousness of her wounds.
Once she was certain that the pup would not die, Rin turned and bowed before the pack of the west as she was heard say in a strong and confident filled voice, "While I understand that I must fight in order to prove that I have what it takes to be the next Lady of the West I did not come to gain such a title for I have much to learn. I came here today to prove to you all of my loyalty and sincerity. I wish to be seen as a member of these lands and like the opportunity to join the army of the West."