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Ever Us -- The Blessing; Keiko	By : DaddysSpecialRequest Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 4018 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I make any money from it.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Chap 18
Day 28 part 1
The Festival

The day of the festival had arrived. It arrived very early that morning when the brothers were awoken by yet another shrill scream from Jaken.   Rather than hit the poor Kappa on the head both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha stuck their heads out the window to see what was going on first. At least that’s what they told each other. Truthfully the stack of rocks they had stashed by the window was empty. Inuyasha made a note to restock as soon as possible. The kits would have fun looking for rocks.
Most of the vendors’ stands had been set up in the last week. They lined the town streets and open common areas and lead up to the castle gates. The castle grounds had been set aside for the ice cream stand, the cheesy treats stand, the musical and magical demonstrations and the sumo competition.   All the castle guards were employed for the day and even Kenichi reluctantly consented to hiring some of the ronin to patrol the town, so long as it was outside of the castle wall.    They still hadn’t figured the cause of the bug infestation and Kenichi’s warrior sense was on edge.
At the advisor meeting that week Inuyasha had even asked Kenichi to officiate the sumo tournament but he had refused saying that his place was to guard his lords and he wouldn’t leave their sides.
One of the older castle guards, a demon samurai who had competed in sumo competitions, was selected for the honor of being gyoji or referee. The old warrior nearly wept with joy for being given this opportunity to serve his lords.
In the human competitions sumo had ties to Shintoism. Typically the gyoji was dressed as a Shinto priest to symbol the driving away of demons. In the demon sumo competitions that ritual was mirrored.   There the gyoji wore a Tengu red, phallic-nosed mask to symbolize the Shinto god and then performed actions to drive the humans away.   One advisor laughed and recommended they also have a Shinto priest. Then the Tengu and the Shinto priest could drive each other away so the athletes could just compete. The other court advisors snickered at the suggestion. Finally Jaken suggested a compromise.
“The gyoji has already been honored. But we need ring side referees.   A human dressed as a priest and a hanyou official should be selected then all three races will have fair and equal representation. After all isn’t this about raising money for our castle town and ALL its peoples.”
“Well said! Well said!” the old crackly voiced advisor called out.
Sesshomaru nodded and the rest of the sumo rules were outlined with some practical input from new gyoji.
1. There would be a confined ring as Oba Nobunaga had commanded several centuries previous called a dohyo.
2. There would be no bad sportsmanship. It will be a dignified and noble competition.
3. No killing allowed.
4. No kicking, striking with fists, hair pulling, eye-gouging, and choking.
5. A match ended when one of the wrestlers was either thrown out of the ring, or if any part of his body apart from the soles of his feet touched the ground.
The advisor meeting had continued discussing many other details of the festival.
--
Jaken had been screeching because the sumo competitors had started doing shiko all around the castle grounds. Shiko is the sumo exercise where each leg in succession is lifted as high and as straight as possible, and then brought down to stomp on the ground with considerable force. The noise from the stomping was growing in volume rapidly and no one could hear the musicians, specifically Jaken’s favorite, the flute.   The old advisor that had previously been pranked by Shippo recognized there was only one way around this. He humbled himself and politely asked Shippo to cast a quiet spell on the stomping so the festival goers could hear the music. Shippo nodded and stood at the top of the courtyard stairs. He spread his three fox tails wide, concentrated his magic and performed the spell. Tsuki stood beside him watching.
“Perhaps my best trick and no one even knows,” sighed the fox.
“I do, my love,” Tsuki batted her eyelashes as she looked up at him.
Smiling from ear to ear Shippo rushed Tsuki back to their room and shut the door.

The pre-ceremonies for the sumo competition included shiko to drive away the demons, the throwing of salt, staring matches, and the ritual of washing hands and drinking sacred water for humans and sake for demons. It culminated in all the mawashi-belted competitors encircling the ring. They raised their hands, shouted and rubbed their hands together to symbolize washing before battle, and clapped to attract the attention of their god.   As they walked away from the ring they gestured to the royal audience that they weren’t carrying any weapons.
Sesshomaru stood and announced to the crowd.
“We remind everyone we are here today to raise money to rebuild Castle town and make room for our newest inhabitants. Many of them were displaced during the bug infestation one month ago. We wish the competitors the best of luck. May the games commence.”
Then the competition began.
After some more throwing of salt, the participants entered the ring and stared at each other in an attempt to psyche each other out. The gyoji told them to get ready. Hands barely touched the ring and the match was on.   Many observers thought the largest wrestlers would be the winners. However the smaller agile fighters would not be overlooked as their speed and agility outmaneuvered the slow awkward fighters.
Inuyasha was to sit on the platform on the royal chairs under the shade with Sesshomaru but once the matches were underway he was cheering and jumping up and down yelling for one fighter or another.   When Yori, the ronin who brought the injured and sick to the castle, competed Inuyasha cheered boisterously. Sesshomaru just sat quietly.   At one point he made a halfhearted attempt to rein in his brother and remind him of court decorum.
“Inuyasha, we want to support all our competitors. We don’t want to be anyone to think this is an unfair or biased contest.” Sesshomaru confided to his brother.
Inuyasha understood and nodded but within two more bouts he was hollering and hooping again.
Jaken waddled to his lord’s side.
“All is well, my Lord.   It is his way.   It is part of his charm, is it not?   Lady Rin would be laughing happily right now.   She would be pleased that you are in each other’s company.   Decorum is important my Lord but all is well.”   The kappa smiled a simple quick smile that reminded Sesshomaru of Rin.   He paused momentarily and inhaled a sweet smell of his mate, the dirt of the competition field, the sweat and excitement of the area and then turning to Jaken he nodded.
“Well said, “Uncle”.”
Jaken bowed and returned his attention to the match just as the large lizard demon pushed the agile wolf from the ring.
There were many more matches with wins from simple leg trips to being slapped out of the ring.   Many could grab their opponents’ belt and throw them to the ground while others focused on catching their opponent off balance and knocking them out of the ring. Only twice did the three referees have to convene to declare a verdict on a fight.   Both times they declared the match a tie and had them fight again.
The morning passed quickly and finally it was down to eight fighters.   Akio was a local human rice farmer well known and loved in Castle town. He sang as he trained with his oxen daily.   Yori, the ronin, had a small but boisterous fan group of the people he had escorted to the healer. A beaver named Ryota had won the crowd’s affection. He had a refreshing and straightforward manner. The crowd was amused by his shiko; one pound for each leg and an extra for his tail. Kouga from the wolf demon tribe had made it to the top eight through his agility and speed.   He had almost kicked once but quickly did a flip and by getting on the opposite side of his opponent pushed them out of the ring. Tsuneo, an elegant appearing human had managed to progress by side stepping many of the bigger fighters and dropping to a spider stance for other battles. His style intrigued Sesshomaru and he pondered if he had witnessed it before. Hiroshi, a talented tanuki shape shifter, had garnered many fans through his generous contributions to the castle town rebuilding fund.   The largest of the last eight fighters was the bear demon Haru. Haru did not stare at his opponents like all the others. He smiled at them.   The smile caught many off guard and creeped the others out. He meant no evil with his smile. He just was a happy bear.   The surprise of the group was Bunza the lynx demon.   When Inuyasha saw his friend he nearly jumped off the elevated platform to get to his side.   Sesshomaru held him back and asked who the fighter was.   Inuyasha took a moment to explain and Sesshomaru asked Jaken to make sure and invite the Lynx to join them later.   The last battle matches were announced and the intensity in the crowd mounted.
Akio met Yori in the first bout of the seed. The staring match was intense. The wrestlers stomped the ground and assumed their starting stance. Akio surged forward and grabbed Yori’s belt and pushed him out of the ring within one second. The match was over and Akio moved forward.
Yori blinked several times, caught off guard by the sped of his fellow human but gracefully assumed his place at the side of the ring to watch the remainder of the competition.   Kenichi kept an eye on him and asked one of his guards to tail him. Yori had potential to be a good castle guard and Kenichi didn’t want to lose a good man.
Haru, the bear, smiled happily at Bunza during the pre-match ritual, but Bunza wasn’t fazed at all. He smiled right back.   The two clapped their hands to the kami and then assumed their starting stance.   From Sesshomaru’s view the bear overshadowed Bunza with his great girth and he was sure that Bunza would be tossed out of the ring for certain. However, Inuyasha remembered the little lynx’s tenacity and offered his brother a bet that the lynx would win.
“What are you betting Inuyasha?” Sesshomaru hesitantly inquired.
“Sex and more sex, what else?”
“What specifically?” The demon leaned closer to his mate.
“If Bunza wins I get to try something new to us. Don’t worry. You won’t be breeched.” The inuhanyou started blushing as he looked into his brother’s eyes.
“Hnnn. Something new, you say?” The dog demon paused but felt the excitement buzz through his mark. “You’re on.”
As they looked up they witnessed the bear being toppled and Bunza rising from a low-to-the-ground stance.
“We missed it! Holy Kami! That happened fast!” Inuyasha bounced in his seat.
Captain Kenichi offered a verbal replay. “Bunza played off his low center of gravity. After the gyoji had them assume their starting positions Bunza dropped to a spider stance and lunged at Haru.   Knocked him straight back and he tripped and fell.”
Inuyasha smirked. “I won.” Then he blushed bright red and leaned forward so that his hair covered his face.
Sesshomaru wasn’t sure how he felt about this bet but a bet is a bet so he would honor his word. His mood dampened.
The brothers sat quietly through the next match.
In the next match Hiroshi beat Ryota with a flip. The match lasted two seconds.
Inuyasha looked bashfully at Sesshomaru. “I don’t want to make you upset, big brother.   I’ll tell you about it. If you don’t want to try, it’s ok.   I’d rather have you happy than somber like you are now.”
Sesshomaru reached over and squeezed his mate’s hand, relaying his gratitude and love.
With good mood restored they turned back to the matches just in time to see Kouga and Tsuneo step up to the ring.   The staring complete, the wrestlers face off. As soon as Kouga charged Tsuneo, Tsuneo attempted to grab Kouga’s belt with an underarm grab. Unfortunate for him Kouga anticipated that and slapped Tsuneo in rapid succession. The blows were harsh and the human tried to get away but ended up walking backwards out of the ring. He had lost his perception of his place in the ring.   Kouga was announced the winner. Inuyasha cheered for his old friend as Sesshomaru pulled Kenichi over and whispered in his ear.   The captain nodded once and stepped to the side.
Captain Kenichi did not have a good feeling about Tsuneo either and was relieved to hear Sesshomaru’s concerns. Kenichi set another guard to tail Tsuneo with the instructions of not getting too close, just getting information. The falcon transformed to his bird form and disappeared into the sky. His raptor vision would serve him just as well at a safe distance.
The final four competitors were Akio, Bunza, Kouga, and Hiroshi.   The roars from the crowd were becoming feverish.   The local folk all knew Akio. Bunza’s last bout with Haru had made him a phenomenon. Kouga’s wolf demon tribe had come to support him and they were cheering madly with wolf whistles and howls. Hiroshi was also becoming a crowd favorite with his transformations and charismatic style.     Hiroshi quickly shifted through his fellow fighters.   The crowd roared with laughter as the doppelganger faced each of the others. Bunza just blinked and smiled at himself. Akio scratched his head and the mimic followed suit. Kouga brought the crowd to loud hee haws when Hiroshi imitated the wolf prince.   Kouga kissed himself.   Hiroshi quickly broke the lip lock and ran to the other side of the referees.   It took several moments for the rowdy crowd to calm down enough to hear the final instructions.
The gyoji went through the rules again for good measure and to calm the crowd.
Kouga and Hiroshi were up first.   The crowd resumed its roaring, and howling.   During the prefight Kouga bounced around playing to his audience. The tanuki bowed gracefully to the royals and smiled to the crowd.   Then the staring contest commenced. Kouga could not contain himself and started laughing as he internally replayed kissing himself.   The tanuki kept the eye contact and only broke when the gyoji had them assume their starting positions.
Kouga was so excited he jumped the gun. The referee called for new start and Kouga bowed and apologized to the Lords first and then his opponent. Then they tried starting again.   Unfortunately, however, the false start got the better of Kouga and he over compensated by being late the second time.   Hiroshi took advantage of that and expanded his body instantly pushing Kouga right out of the ring and flying in to the arms of his wolf demon comrades. Hiroshi’s body shrank back to its compact size just as quickly as it had inflated leaving him standing alone in the ring with the gyoji.
The next battle was Akio versa Bunza.   Akio had witnessed Bunza’s spider stance and recognized the lynx demon was a worthy warrior. Instead of staring at him Akio offered his praise and gratitude for a worthy competitor. Bunza smiled and returned the compliment. Both warriors bowed to the royals. That was the point when Bunza saw Inuyasha. He hadn’t noticed who the royals were before because the royal brothers were hidden by the shadows from the platform’s sun shade.
Even though he heard the gyoji say “Spirit” and he had assumed the position to fight, Bunza was now completely distracted by the knowledge that Inuyasha was still alive and obviously well at the right hand of Lord Sesshomaru.   He didn’t see Akio lean over and pick him up by the belt in an overarm grab. He didn’t even realize he had been pushed out of the ring.
The match was over and he stood staring at Inuyasha.
A friendly wave from Inuyasha was all he needed and he dashed to his friend’s side.   Captain Kenichi dashed in front of him to protect his lords but a hand on his shoulder eased his tension and the little lynx was reunited with his friend.   The two friends hugged as the gyoji announced the final match---Akio versa Hiroshi!
“Hey Bunza! Great to see you!” Inuyasha glowed as he pulled away from the hug.   A possessive growl had been building behind him and he knew all too well he needed to break the hug as soon as possible.
“INUYASHA!!!! I can’t believe it’s you!” Quickly noting the armed warriors around them and the growling king in front of him Bunza dropped to his knees.    “Forgive me Lord Sesshomaru.   I didn’t realize that Inuyasha was your brother.”
“He is also My Mate!” the dog demon growled, “And I want you to remove your hands from My Mate!”
“Yes sir! Immediately, sir!” The lynx demon dropped to the ground and bared his belly and neck to the Lord as a show of complete submission.   He remained in that position until the growling ceased.
“Really?” Inuyasha whispered.
“Not Now,” was all Sesshomaru said.
The growling had stopped and the armed guards had returned to their positions on the elevated platform. Inuyasha helped Bunza to his feet and had him sit next to him for the final bout.    “We’ll catch up soon, I promise.”
“Ok,” came the timid reply. The lynx demon was definitely a scaredy-cat under the sumo wrestler facade.

The final competitors were in their positions in the ring. Akio was a farmer and grounded to the soil.   His feet knew the sand and salt from his daily travails. He performed one shiko stomp on his right side to feel the ground. He performed one shiko stomp on his left and assumed his place in this final bout.
Hiroshi contemplated which technique to use to beat the human. He had just expanded and bounced Kouga out of the ring. He could use that again. Of course, he could transform into a heavier wrestler and use his bulk to win. His mind was still running strategies when he assumed the position. He leaned forward ready to charge Akio.
The gyoji called out “Spirit” and the men attacked.   Akio anticipated his challenger would transform and quickly used one arm in an underarm grab on the belt. He pushed upwards with that arm keeping Hiroshi’s arm away from his belt.   Akio used his other arm and established an over arm grab and picked up the tanuki off the ground. He walked to the closest side of the ring holding the struggling tanuki in his grip. When he arrived at the edge of the ring he released his grip.   The tanuki fell on the outside of the ring.
Hiroshi conceded his loss. Akio had bested him.   Even if he had transformed he would have been outside the ring.   It was a brilliant move on Akio’s part.
The crowd had gone wild!   The local man had won! Akio stood calmly in front of the lords and bowed. He then turned to the crowd and bowed to them.   The volume increased dramatically.
Soon the gyoji brought out an unstrung bow and Akio took it in his hands. He won so he had the privilege of doing the bow dance. His heart swelled with joy as he twirled the bow like a baton to drive away evil flying spirits. Then he performed the digging gesture to drive away evil ground spirits. Then he completed the performance with a powerful shiko. He squatted one final time and left the ring.
The crowd went wild. Many of his friends and male relatives bestowed their congratulations. The family was allowed some time with Aiko and then he was escorted to Lord Sesshomaru.
The sumo winner dropped to his knees to the Lord of the castle town.   All around him followed suit.   If the winner of the contest thought he needed to be on his knees they definitely needed to be on theirs. The affect was like a ripple in a pond with Aiko being the center. As soon as the people in back saw Aiko on his knees they dropped to theirs, the circle behind them until the entire crowd was silent and kneeling.
Sesshomaru looked to Inuyasha and took his hand. The two demons stepped forward on the platform until they were isolated from their guards and Bunza.
“Rise Aiko, Winner of the Castle town sumo tournament! You have brought great honor to our kingdom and Castle town!” As he said that both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru raised their free hands motioning for the crowd to stand.   The crowd did rise and so did the volume to deafening levels.   The royal couple and Bunza were lead away by their castle guard staff.
“Brother? You didn’t award him anything yet.”
“That’s correct Inuyasha.”
Then turning to Captain Kenichi he said, “Have the gyoji bring Aiko to the camp curtain area later this day and we will award him then. Have him bring his family so they can share in his triumph.”
Turning back to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru continued, “The festival is in full swing, my love.   The leash is probably biting and nipping at everything in sight waiting for Grandpa Inu.”    And then in a whisper, “And I’d like a bowl of ice cream.”
- 17
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- 19
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Ever Us -- The Blessing; Keiko