Forever By Your Side

Chapter One

The world of the youkais and world of the humans differed greatly when it comes to tradition and cultures. Although demons didn't stick too much on rituals and preferred doing things on their own ways, except of course if it was a ritual that could give them power, however, there were things that they couldn't just set aside.

For the wolf clan there was this tradition called 'mating' where the males had to take a mate within one cycle of the moon or also known as 'month of fertility'. For one month, they would have to seek the female they wanted and if there was a rival for her hand, then a brutal fight had to be ensued. That's how they woo their females, by proving to them that they're the most powerful youkai. Of course, the females had to fight the man of their choice in order to test his skills and this fight might be a tad sexual in some parts because the male would try to mount her as a show of dominance.

"Looks like you are not participating." Senri, one of the females in the wolf clan walked out of the shadows of the forest and watched the demon lord with a seductive smile on her lips. Of all the fighters in the land of the west, Lord Sesshomaru was the most sought after. Because of his noble blood and unrivaled combat skills, females flocked to him. They usually stayed a safe distance away because of his merciless personality. But this was the first time someone dared to actually approach him.

Sesshomaru stood and stared at her with an almost bored expression on his face. His silver hair swayed with the wind and the stark masculinity of his attire made her longing increase. He was always beyond her grasp, too arrogant and too powerful, Sesshomaru-sama always raised his chin at everyone. Even fighting him was an honor in itself because he rarely drew his sword unless he's very serious. And no female could ever catch his eye.

Senri ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip and leapt in the air.

"Hmp." Sesshomaru raised his clawed hand and swung at her direction but she gracefully disappeared. One of her skills was shadow manipulation, and she chose the time well. It was full moon and the shadows of the trees was a great advantage indeed. Not only could she change her appearance to a shadow but she could also mask her scent.

"Shall we play a game?" She whispered, her voice echoing throught the forest in an eerie tone. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in irritation.

"I can see that you're not interested, aye?" Laughing softly, she moved her shadowed form until she reached his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned down to inhale his scent. "But you can't escape me that easily." Senri smiled in triumph.

"Foolish game." Sesshomaru said before she was pushed away from him with great force. She landed against a tree which almost splintered. Shock and dismay showed in her face as Senri righted her self and grabbed her injured shoulder. "You, how can you possibly move!"

The demon lord took a step towards her, his golden eyes glinting but what made Senri nervous was the look on his face, such beautiful eyes yet devoid of warmth or even emotion. He didn't even enjoy seeing her shiver in fear.

Senri watched him warily as he approached. Then he stopped and looked at his left, his eyes narrowing. Seeing the opportunity, she moved. "Don't lower your guard on me!"

"Who said I'm doing such thing?"

Her eyes widened and before she could defend herself, something cold wrapped around her neck. His poisoned whip tightened in a choking grip. Senri kicked and struggled against his hold.

"Move and you'll die."

She winched, feeling the cut on her skin as the poison started to seep through her flesh. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she spat, "Why don't you just kill me?"

He was looking away from her again, his eyes hooded with concentration before he threw her across the woods. She crashed against the ground, the soil leaving a mark where she had brutally rolled. Senri struggled on her knees and looked at his direction but he was no longer standing there.

She forced herself to stand, her limbs hurt and her neck was burning. Slowly, she raised her head and laughed. "How pathethic.." She drew her fingers through her hair and glared at the spot where she last saw him.

The demon actually spared her life.

She snorted. She should be grateful for whatever distracted him. But it left a sour taste in her mouth. Pitiful, she wasn't even worthy to die by his hands. That arrogant bastard..

...

Not far away from the woods, Rin swam frantically to the edge of the lake. "Jaken-sama!" Crying out, her hair was roughly pulled back. A low chuckle reached her ears as the demon bent low against her neck. "You smell so good." The demon whispered against her skin and followed it with a nip.

Rin struggled against his hold, disgusted to feel his tongue. Ack. The bastard dared to lick her neck. "I don't know what to do to you. Should I eat you? Or— He nuzzled her.

"Why don't you let go of me, then?" She snapped and twisted away from him only to have the demon pull her back more tightly against him. If only she had some weapon, but her dagger fell in the water because the demon took him by surprise.

There was a sound of rustling a few yards away from them and then a shadow leapt in mid air. "Ah-un!" She exclaimed but it wasn't the two-headed dragon. Silver hair and golden eyes glinted against the moonlight. The sinister presence of the demon lord made her captor gasp in fright. He instantly let go of her.

"I told you eating me was a bad idea." She said before she jumped away from him. She stepped on the large stones until she reached the ground. Sesshomaru stood beside her with his sword drawn in one hand.

From her hidden spot behind a tree, Senri watched in astonishment as the human placed a hand against Sesshomaru's arm and smiled at him. The demon lord drew his sword back to its sheath before he sent a warning glance at the demon. Then, he raised his hand and whipped his hand in the air, sending a strong gust of wind that blew the demon a few kilometers away.

"He drew his sword for that human." Senri whispered, not believing what she saw. Not only that, he held back instead of killing the demon who clearly displeased him. Her eyes trailed after the two as they walked side by side. The human was looking up at him with a smile while he listened silently.

Her curiosity increased seeing that the human wasn't at all frightened by him. Lord Sesshomaru glanced at her from time to time but didn't speak nor did he pay much attention to what she was talking about until he stopped and turned towards her.

Senri didn't even blink an eye when the demon lord pushed the woman's hair away from her neck and touched the curve with his hand. The human pouted at him and then shrugged. Now, Senri was really curious. She walked closer to them and hid behind a bush.

"But it's just a nip, my lord. He didn't even break the skin." Rin said. Senri's eyes widened. The demon intended to mark her? A human?

"Even so." Sesshomaru said, letting his hand fall from her. "Where's Jaken?"

"He's.. asleep, my lord." Rin bent her head. "It's my fault. I didn't wake him up."

"And Ah-Un?"

"He disappeared all of the sudden. So, I went in search for him." Rin frowned, her worry for the two-headed dragon was evident on her face.

"He'll come back later." The demon lord said. It was the closest to soothing, but as always, Lord Sesshomaru refrained from showing any concern towards her. Rin nodded and they started to walk once again.

Senri's frown deepened. She'd never saw anything like this before. Human and demon interacting with each other. And it was the first time she'd ever seen a demon wanting to mark a human. When Sesshomaru looked at the woman's neck, his eyes flared but it disappeared just as quickly. If she wasn't looking at them very closely, then she wouldn't have seen it.

"Sesshomaru." She whispered with a troubled expression on her face.

To be continued

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm not a Sesshomaru x Rin fan. I really like their father/daughter relationship but one of my close friends asked me to write a story for them. But I do agree that Rin's the best person he ever had.