1The Sister
I randomly came up with idea yesterday, and as it often happens when I have many other things to work on, I finish this chapter in almost one sitting. I'm sorry, please don't eat me; I have so much to do and I'm not doing any of it...I'm so bad. Partially I don't feel guilty because I was talking to my beloved girlfriend...But that doesn't change the fact that I was just screwing around (not like that) a lot of the time I could be getting work done. I hope something turns out well and gets finished eventually. I don't own, although I wish I did. MY CHARIES, MY MADE UP NAMES, MY PLOTS, MY IDEAS! DON'T STEAL!
Part One: An Unexpected Request For Help
Inuyasha was laying down with his back to the fire, head propped up on one hand, as Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo engaged themselves in one of Kagome's silly card games from her time. Kirara was asleep in Sango's lap, and every once in a while a smack could be heard, since Miroku was sitting next to the woman; the reaction was as natural and reflexive as it was violent. Yet the monk kept coming back for more, which amused Inuyasha to no end.
"Hey, Miroku, you gonna learn to stop that before your face falls off?" Inuyasha called over his shoulder, the sides of his mouth turned up in a sneer. The right side of Miroku's face was bright red and throbbing; his eyes were closed and his face serenely focused even as he held his cards in one hand, the other one slithering out to stroke Sango, earning yet another slap.
Upon being ignored Inuyasha turned over with a grunt. "Well, Sango, you must be in a good mood."
Her eyes were closed as well, concentrating in much the same way as Miroku, one hand free to smack while the other held her hand. She looked very calm and blank, but when she opened her eyes they were so bright it was as if she glowed with happiness. "No more than usual, Inuyasha."
He snorted. "To hell you aren't. Usually you fly off the handle everytime the monk does it and move away all pissy—now you're sitting still and dishing out punishment, basically telling him he has to work for his reward."
Another smack reached his ears even as the demon slayer's gaze turned to the hanyou. Her eyes were burning, passion easily diverted from one form to another. She lifted a medium-sized stone in her hand and threw it, hitting Inuyasha on the cheek. "Be quiet, you."
"Tsk, tsk, Inuyasha. Allowing a woman—a human woman—to treat you so..." a cold, chilling voice said from within the forest that surrounded them on three sides. Immediately they were all tense and ready, looking up to search for the source; they all recognized that voice all to well. The monotonic, powerful, deadly voice of Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older half-brother. Night had not yet fallen, but the sun was setting, so shadows were deepening and nothing could be clearly seen past the first few feet of forest. "Pathetic." His voice was a hiss, a disdainful, scornful noise that belittled Inuyasha and all which he was; a hanyou, neither one thing nor the other.
Immediately the half-demon was on high alert, jumping up, bent somewhat low, eyes blazing as they searched for his brother, mouth open in a toothful scowl, hand on Tetsusaiga, ready to finish drawing. "Show yourself, you bastard!"
Calmly, as if the clearing did not hold exceedingly famous and capable warriors out to attack him, Sesshomaru emerged from the forest, alone. The first action made was for the others—Kagome, Miroku, Sango—to leapt to their feet, bow and arrow, staff, and Hiraikotsu out and ready, gripped in hands, prepared to attack, faces firm, resolute, and serious. Sesshomaru gave a small noise that expressed exactly how much he feared the humans. Kirara he made no comment on, and Shippo he completely ignored; the neko was in her full-battle form, eyes blazing and flames flaring, while Shippo was a shivering mass of young fear and nerves clinging onto Kagome's shoulders for dear life.
The taiyoukai kept his gaze on Inuyasha, unsettling in his lack of emotion. Inuyasha detected something odd, however, something no other could tell. Usually Sesshomaru emanates a slight aura of boredom, or if engaged, a slight aura of determination, purpose, or need. Now, however, none of the usual came from him in the forms of smell and sense; he felt displeased, almost worried, about what Inuyasha could not tell. He was so shocked and curious that he righted himself, eyes a bit wide, mouth hanging open slightly. Dumbly he stared for long moments, until he noticed Sesshomaru's sneer, at which time he hastily spoke up, his voice as rude and hateful as always. "What in the hell are you doing here, Sesshomaru?"
The inu blinked slowly at his brother for several long moments before saying in his monotonic drawl, "I am in need of your assistance."
His voice portrayed nothing out of the ordinary, nor did his posture; the air about him was just as arrogant as always, his eyes no softer, the line of his mouth no more relaxed. Even Inuyasha, who had sensed the faint worry, couldn't believe the words that he has just spoken. As a result they all immediately began to doubt what he had just said.
"Uh...what was that?" Kagome squeaked, when the silence dragged out for too long, her arms growing tired holding her arrow taunt in her bow.
Sesshomaru's gaze never left his beloved sibling. "There is a problem I need your to help me solve. All of you."
Inuyasha squinted at Sesshomaru with a slight growl. "Bullshit. You never need help. And even if you did, you would never request the aide of a bunch of humans. Not to mention your hanyou half-brother."
The movement of his eyes vaguely came off as if he was rolling them. "I cannot handle this problem myself. It had nothing to do with strength, intelligence, or superior power. If it did you would be correct, I would never need help. But this problem is of a different nature. This problem involves luck, deception, and the ability to pass unseen. As a youkai I cannot hid myself so easily, nor blend in to the satisfaction this problem needs. Humans—weaker and less important—can go where youkai cannot. My aura cannot be masked to fool this opponent."
"That's a surprise. Even Naraku isn't as powerful as that," Sango muttered, and immediately all began to dread such a power.
"Who is this mystery opponent of which you speak?" Miroku asked, his staff resting before him in a seemingly peaceful position that was actually chosen to allow for quick and flawless strikes to be made at short notice, ready for action of any sort.
Sesshomaru turned and met the eyes of the monk, sending an unpleasant shiver up his spine that caused him to step back, nearly into Sango. "My twin sister, Shuurayuno."
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A group gasp met his surprising words. "Twin sister!" Kagome, Sango, and Miroku echoed in disbelief. Shippo peaked his head out, silent for his shock. Kirara was already back to her kitten form, leisurely bathing her back. Inuyasha's reaction was, by far, the most satisfying one of them all; he fell back with a curse and exclaimed, "YOU MEAN THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!"
Sesshomaru blinked, his lip lifting up in disgust, as well as slight insult. "It seems that you are as imbecilic as you seem. Of course there is. All the firstborns of taiyoukai are twins. A boy and a girl; the one born first takes over the responsibilities of the dominant parent."
"So you were born first," Sango half-asked, half-stated, still a bit shocked by the news just like everyone else—her and Miroku were professionals; they take everything in stride and know how to move on quickly.
Sesshomaru ignored her. "Shuurayuno was always the wilder of us two, as the second-born tends to be. She enjoys slaughter—generally demons, but if humans displease her they mean even less to her than to me. Forever restless she has not been in this area for many years. However, somewhat recently, she returned. I did not find out about this until Tadasarunako—my youngest sister and only other sibling—came to me to say that Shuurayuno had stolen her inheritance."
"And that's why you need our help," Sango inferred, ever the one to catch on quick.
Sesshomaru nodded the most insignificant of nods.
"I don't get it," Inuyasha said, still a bit overwhelmed about finding out about him having more family members. "Why would Shuurayuno steal—what's her name?—Tada-something's inheritance?"
"Tadasarunako. Because her inheritance were the Wolf Blades, as they are known," Sesshomaru said, voice void of the usual aloof cockiness he generally uses when speaking to his younger brother. That was just another odd thing piled atop the head of Inuyasha on a very odd day.
"What are the Wolf Blades?" Miroku inquired, business-like and very zen. No one had yet relaxed, still on edge and ready for Sesshomaru to attack, although he didn't seem to. This taiyoukai has been known to weave worse deceptions.
"They are the four blades that were forged from the four claws from our late father's right hand. The fangs that Inuyasha and I possess are but two of the many artifacts created upon his death. The left side represents peace and healing; the right side represents chaos and destruction. Tenseiga was forged from the left fang, which is why is possesses the ability to resurrect, while the Tetsusaiga was forged from the right fang, which is why it possesses the ability to slaughter. Shuurayuno's own inheritance is known as the Moon Mirrors, which were forged from the four claws on our father's left hand. She must have gotten sick of the passivity of their powers just as I have concerning Tenseiga. Only difference is the Wolf Blades are a weaker breed of super-weapon; the do not protect and fight for their master. Shuurayuno, being the stronger of the two, was easily able to steal them from Tadasarunako, being the younger and less powerful." It was amazing his ability to over-explain everything, insulting their intelligence, just as his slow words did the same, even as underlying insults worked their way into his level speech.
"What can the Moon Mirrors do?" Kagome wanted to know.
"Why do you care what your sister does with them?" Miroku asked.
"What are we supposed to do about all this?" Sango inquired.
"Why should we help you?" Inuyasha rudely demanded.
"The Moon Mirrors capture light from the moon and store them. The first can heal, the second can reflect, the third is a source of wisdom, and the fourth is known for its ability to reveal what has been concealed. That is all I know. The Wolf Blades are each savage pieces of flesh-destroying weaponry that can burn like fire, melt like acid, shock like lightning, and undo the very fabric of a persons being." Implying that they should have asked that question as well. "Shuurayuno is, first of all, after something; I want to know what. Second of all, it is the people and demons of my land she is destroying, and she continues to passively get in my way. Third of all, the Wolf Blades do not belong to Shuurayuno; they belong to Tadasarunako." As simple as that. It was as if they were idiots for not knowing the obvious. "In order to find my younger sister and discover the secrets of the blades we must first find my youngest sister and the one who forged them to begin with. Tadasarunako cannot be sniffed out by me for we smell too similar, and she is not tainted with blood as Shuurayuno is. And the one we must go to does not like youkai, and more than that, she does not like me." That much should have been obvious. "And you should help me because Shuurayuno is a destructive force for all you fight in me and Naraku...and because if you don't I will have no reason to be here or to allow you to live. Your guard is down, and I am in."
To demonstrate his point Sesshomaru drew Tokijin as quick as lightning and turned abruptly. Immediately weapons were grabbed, but he did not aim for Inuyasha as they had assumed he would; he had gone the opposite way and landed by Kagome. The very point of Tokijin, sharp and black with a demonic aura, was right up to Kagome's throat, almost touching. All breath was caught, silence fell, and everyone froze.
Sesshomaru's eyes, which had, for a moment, flashed red, his lips lifted up in a snarl, were calm and cool, his posture straight, mouth a single line on his handsome face. He watched his brother vaguely as Inuyasha's mind raced, trying to think of a way to save Kagome. "No need to think of a way to save her, Inuyasha. Simply agree to do as I ask."
"How can we be assured that you won't kill us when you're through using us?" Sango called out, stalling for time, worried about Kagome and the look of horror on her face as she fought to remain perfectly still.
"And how can we even be sure that this is all true?" Miroku asked, his voice at his normal volume to feign calm, although the slightly higher pitch to his voice and the sheer sheen of sweat on his brow portrayed worry—not for his own life, but for the life of his good friend, Kagome.
Sesshomaru's voice was extremely authoritative; no louder than usual, but a force in and of itself that urged all present to move a step back and Kirara to transform, just in case. "You have my word, as a youkai. I will not kill you if this mission turns out successful with your help. And I assure you, it is real. You can see that for yourselves. I just returned from one of her many destruction sights."
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The village, if you could call it that, was no more than a few scattered blackened half-intact houses amidst piles of splintered wood, black ash, desecrated bodies, and pools of blood. Everything had either been smashed, caught on fire (hence the ash), melted (as if by some sort of acid), or undone, going by the Wolf Blades abilities. The people—or, rather, what was left of them—were all either burned up remains, blackened corpses with hardly any meat on them, just bones and rags, chunks of flesh scattered all about, or puddles of half-absorbed half-dried blood. Some of the bodies looked as if they had been burned from the inside out, while others grotesquely seemed to have exploded, charred around the edges but still raw.
Immediately upon seeing this Inuyasha swore, Miroku covered his mouth in horror and started a little prayer, Sango remained rigid and professional with her lips tight and eyes unblinking, Kagome cried out and turned away refusing the urge to vomit in order to remain strong, Shippo spun around and darted off to vomit in some bushes; Kirara mewed and sat at her mistress's feet while Sesshomaru impassively watched the others.
"Oh God," Inuyasha murmured, examining the carnage. Miroku did the same, although sparingly, and Sango tried, but gave up after a while; there was nothing new to see.
"Shuurayuno is unstable," Sesshomaru stated, as if neither condoning or excusing her behavior, but rather explaining it sadly like a regretful family member.
Inuyasha turned to him, the set of his jaw resolute, his eyes burning even as his lips moved over clenched teeth; "We'll help you, Sesshomaru."
He spoke for them all, and no one disagreed.