Unknown Trouble
AN: This is my first ever Inuyasha fic. There will be a few Japanese phrases and I will put translation at the end; '…' thoughts, memories
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the characters in the show.
Claimer: I do own Rikku Watanabe.
xXx
The sun shone brightly as she stepped outside of school. It was springtime in Japan, something beautiful to a transfer student from the country. A few girls yelled "see you later" as they left for the train home. The raven-haired teenager replied with a warm smile and a wave. Her green skirt fluttered as she turned to the sound of a familiar voice.
"Watanabe-sempai, what's up?" Kagome chirped. Her recently "sick" friend had just returned after a two-week absence, only to come upon test in which she was completely unprepared for. Rikku barely knew anything about Kagome's except her like, dislikes, and name. And yet, Kagome knew the secret that Rikku refused to share even to her supposed brother. The two were very close whenever Kagome came back, all because of the secret.
Rikku smiled a toothy grin and became oblivious to what was going on around her. Kagome, even though she knew her secret, was still her friend. Most people would stop talking to or hanging out with her because of her "disability" or "fault". This one girl that stood before her was the one to bring Rikku out of the darkness of depression.
"Nothing much at the moment Kagome. Hey, are you free this weekend or is your ojii-san going to say you have another disease?" Rikku joked. A few passersby looked at the pair oddly, probably due to how different they both looked. For you see the tan, blue-eyed girl had sneakers on with high, baggy, white socks; a white hat; her school uniform's skirt; a white tank top; her school's sage track jacket; her sword; a tear-shaped miko pendant; a black choker and two large, hoop earrings. Her eyes were adorned with bronze and green eye shadow, black eyeliner and mascara while her lips were shining with Poco Pink Mac lacquer. Kagome on the other hand was wearing her regular school uniform and a worn-out, brown-stringed necklace that went into her shirt, not revealing the bottle attached.
"Gomen nasai demo (1) I have a lot of stuff to do. Plus I plan on taking a little trip to my aunt's house. So, maybe next weekend?" Kagome offered. Rikku chuckled lightly so as to not give away her true sadness. This school year, after Kagome had mysteriously become ill for long period of time, she felt like the girl she trusted most was hiding something. It was coincidentally around the time she happened upon Rikku's "defect" and much to Ms. Watanabe's surprise, accepted it.
"Yeah, sure. If you really can, how about we meet at the arcade?"
"Uh, sure. I'll have to check with my mom and the rest of my family to make sure I can. But, uh, it appears we should start walking home now. Our parents might get worried." Rikku lost her smile at that last sentence and sadly nodded her head in agreement.
Kagome seeing this instantly apologized saying, "I'm sorry. I forgot you had lost them. I shouldn't have said that." Rikku simply passed it off with a wave and pseudo cheerful smile.
They started down the sidewalk of their routine path taken on the way home. Rikku, normally, would be the first to leave of the pair. Today however, Kagome seemed to be in such a rush to get home and Rikku actually had to jog to keep up. When Rikku suddenly stopped and looked out at the ocean, Kagome kept going on, not noticing her starry-eyed friend. Rikku loved to see the ocean after school and the way bright sun glistened on its glass-like surface. It looked so pure and majestic. Kagome who was several blocks away, also hadn't notice as she dropped several shiny objects in a bottle on the ground.
Rikku's sensitive ears picked up the tiny clink noise and she came back to the real world. Her eyes traveled over to where the sidewalk went on and saw the shiny objects along with its owner's fleeting outline. The long, raven-haired girl smoothly glided over and picked the bottle up, curiosity getting the best of her this time. Popping the cork cap out, she dumped the objects out into the palm of her small hand. They appeared to be shards of a crystal or something. Rikku instantly assumed they were of value to Kagome and ran after her.
"Kagome! Kagome-chan! Matte kudasai(2)! Kagome!!" She yelled. The long-gone, brown-eyed girl heard not one of her shouts. Rikku was out breath by the time she reached the Higurashi residence. She rapped on the door twice patiently waiting for the door to be answered. Kagome's mother answered the door.
Her brow furrowed. "Konnichiwa Rikku-chan, what are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Kagome. Did you see where she went?" The mother nodded hesitantly and pointed over to the old shrine. Rikku had always been drawn to the shrine, yet strangely afraid of it too. She thanked Kagome's mother and strode over to the shrine in a couple of paces. Her hand became shaky when she went to reach for the door's handle. Once she stepped into the shrine, her eyes immediately adjusted to the dull darkness. Rikku clutched the shards and bottle in her left hand. The doors to the old well were open, a fact that was pushed to the back of the pursuer's mind. On top of that the place reeked of graveyard soil and must.
"Kagome-chan? Kagome-chan, doko ni iru ka (3)? This isn't a game. I found something of yours and I think you might want it," the 17-year old called. She slowly descended the creaky wooden steps into the center of the room, looking around into the darker spots for a possibly hidden Kagome. Moving toward a corner, Rikku nearly jumped out of her skin as Buyo came running out and up the stairs. Sighing from the near heart attack, she continued her search by walking along the dirt floor. To her dismay, the teenager was not able to spot anything. "Come on out Kagome-chan! This isn't funny anymore. This place creeps me out, especially the well."
As if triggered, Rikku snapped her attention on the well. 'The creepy old well? Kagome wouldn't have gone down, it would she? No. But then again she isn't up here.' A worst-case scenario of Kagome lying down at the bottom of the well, hurt and unconscious or unable to respond in anyway, snuck its way into Rikku's mind. Her heart skipped a beat imagining all the possibilities. She stared at the well, fearing it. She knew she had to overcome her fear to possibly save Kagome's life. Rikku swallowed hard and moved sideways toward the well, her left hand extended in caution. A huge amount of energy was emanating from the well, causing her hair to begin prickling on her neck. She hoisted her leg up on the side, stowed the jewel inside her right sock, took a reassuring breath, and jumped into the well.
xXx
It was like a dream. Falling through some mystic space and then poof, landing in the well, which was now filled with light. Her hat had fallen off as she landed and lay beside her on the ground. Rikku stood up, instinctively put her hat back on, and dusted herself off. She glanced around and noticed the vines around her. Confused, she wondered if she had gone into a different region somewhere. After deciding to climb the vines and reaching the top, the 17-year old was astonished at the beauty of the surrounding landscape. The lush, green forest and its smell of dew created a relaxing ambience with the birds chirping and the silence of the land. However, that's also what scared her. She had just been in the creepy, old shrine at the Higurashi house and now she was in some forest?
Her mind had just begun processing this information when a gorgeous man came walking lightly into the clearing. He had long silver hair with a white fluffy boa-type object draping over his shoulder and white clothes accompanied by armor. His eyes were an amber color and different markings on the side of his face and middle forehead were apparent. The man sensed her presence and simply stopped, scowling at the stranger. A toad looking monster with a cane came jogging out of the forest after the other stranger.
"Lord Sesshoumaru! Lord Sesshoumaru! Oh I found you my lord..." the toad said, his voice fading as his round eyes fell upon the girl before them.
'So he's a lord? Maybe he might know…' Rikku cocked an eyebrow at the strange man as they silently appraise one another.
"Quiet Jaken," Lord Sesshoumaru commanded. His voice was chilling to the bone, never faltering along with his gaze. Sesshoumaru had never once stopped for a mortal, but his instinct screamed to him that there was something different about her.
Thankfully, Rikku had been trained to meet someone's eyes with no emotion as she faced this strange man. A staring contest pursued even as Rikku decided to move out of the well and stand facing this person. Her eyes never left the deadlock in they were engaged in. Sesshoumaru's eyes scanned the girl and finally landed on the right sock. He smirked at the sock's owner. 'That light… so that's what my instinct felt.'
"Oi Sesshoumaru-kun(4), since you're a lord could you tell me where Kagome-chan is? She wears a skirt like mine and has black-hair and brown-eyes." She asked emotionless, unaware of the smirk and wishing to break the tension. Sesshoumaru's eyes darted up at the name of his brother's love. He didn't know how this girl knew Kagome or how she came into possession of the jewel shard, but never would he allow someone to speak to him in such an informal matter. His claws extended a bit and his hands began to move, loosening the joints within.
Rikku noticed the movement and prepared, reaching for her sword. 'Great. First, I lose Kagome. Then I had to jump down a creepy well. Now, I am in the middle of nowhere and have to battle this stranger on an empty stomach.' She thought sarcastically. The man in front her seemed to have much experience in fighting which meant the upcoming battle would be a long one. Frowning, Rikku realized that if that were the case, she would lose Kagome's trail. Either way, he could probably beat her. Rikku had to rely on wit and strategy if she wanted to live. Even if it meant losing her pride and running. Drawing her sword, Rikku slid into a defensive stance and readied herself for battle.
Sesshoumaru smiled inwardly at this mortal's pathetic attempt to get ready for a battle with him. The lord raised his hand and did one clean swipe. To his surprise the girl dodged it without a scratch while the land became encompassed in poison. 'This might actually get interesting.' Sesshoumaru bemused to himself. The more strikes emerged from the poisonous claws without so much as a warning. Again she dodged, but instead of backing away, closed in on her target. Sesshoumaru, wishing to teach the girl a lesson as soon as possible, decided he would close in and catch her in his whip to let her suffer painfully. As Sesshoumaru approached quickly, his attacks came faster with more aggression.
Rikku narrowly dodged all the assaults, cursing to herself. Finally they were so close they could hear each other whisper. 'The range of a sword.' Rikku smiled knowing her no-datchi had more than enough length to finish this job. In the blink of an eye her stance switched from that of defense to offense, the same time that her opponent's arm began to rise for another attack.
His arm came down swift and fast, unfortunately striking her left sock. But that small amount of poison quickly began to dissolve the sock. Rikku knew she was left with two options. The first being to stop, rip off the sock, and get rid of it quick. She frowned knowing that if she took that option, it would leave her completely open to any attack. The second and more sensible option was to simply cut off the poisonous part. While more sensible, if she missed Rikku would more than likely cut her ankle and/or miss her opportunity altogether. In the process of deciding, she was enveloped by Sesshoumaru's acidic whip.
"Now you die pesky mortal," he coldly said, his whip tightening and the acidity already burning into her track jacket.
'Think on your feet Rikku!' The strange girl took the only option she could think of. She reared her leg back and swung it forward with all her might. Sesshoumaru's eyes popped open a bit larger than usual and his body became rigid. Rikku took that chance to get out the demon's grip. Once the whip was gone, she swung her sword through the temporarily paralyzed Sesshoumaru's stomach then retracted. He keeled forward and was glaring at the greenery.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!" The green demon gasped, screaming and running toward his lord. His master however glared at his concern, making the imp stop his rescue attempt.
Rikku saw her chance and darted east, hoping she would find some civilization nearby. She paused, turning back to look at the man who she had just injured, her eyes widening at the damage. The part of land they had been battling on was now decayed and poisonous, all from this demon's attacks. Wiping her blade clean, she sheathed her sword, as not to frighten anyone she may happen upon.
The raven-haired girl ran until she knew she was way out of range from the field. Slowing down, she could smell mistiness and hear the rushing of water. Rikku also smelt something oddly familiar. 'A perfume maybe? No Kagome's scent!' Hoping and praying she sprinted toward what she assumed was a river.
"Kagome! Kagome!! Answer me!!" Rikku screamed as she ran forward.
xXx
Inuyasha looked up at the sound of someone yelling nearby. He immediately tensed up. Whatever it was, it smelt of his half-brother, Sesshoumaru. He got up and went to go check it out, leaving Kagome and the others at their resting spot. Inuyasha stopped when he heard the being calling out Kagome's name.
"Huh? Did someone say my name?" Kagome asked looking around at the three. The others exchanged looks and shrugged. Confused, Kagome looked back the freshly caught fish. She had just began to ignore the odd feeling when she sensed a jewel shard coming near.
"Inuyasha! There's a jewel shard coming closer!" Gritting his teeth he assumed the approaching person was no friend and took his stance. A figure began to emerge from the forest, a figure of a woman. 'Why would this girl have a jewel shard?' Once the figure came nearer he could easily tell it was a girl around Kagome's age, who was wearing clothing from the other era. His hand however stayed on the hilt of his tetsuaiga as he stood there shocked.
"Kagome!!" the girl yelled, eyes almost filling up with tears. Kagome stood up and almost choked on her fish at the sight of her friend, Rikku. Rikku didn't slow down as she invaded the camp and she dove to Kagome, enveloping her in a huge bear hug.
"I'm so glad I found you Kagome!! When I went through that creppy well and arrived here, I met this man who started to attack me after I POLITELY asked where to find you. It was... It was…" Rikku rambled on.
"Heheheh, it's alright now. You're here alive and well... okay alive and a bit shaken. Besides, your idea of polite can be quite rude, even in our time." Kagome joked.
"But where is here?!" Rikku asked bewildered, her moist blue orbs filled with curiosity as she let go of her friend.
"We're in the um..," she looked at the others hesitantly for support, "we're in the feudal era of Japan."
"Nani?! Honto ni(5)!!" Rikku screamed. She glanced around once at everyone with shock filling every part of her face. Laughing nervously the tan girl fainted only to be caught by Miroku.
xXx
Orange light flooded into her eyes as they fluttered open. Rikku slowly sat up, pitting her hand on her forehead, believing all that she had witnessed was a weird nightmare. When her eyes focused, her nightmare became reality. There was a monk holding on to her, a warrior girl who was watching the monk warily, Kagome, a small, orange-haired boy with a bushy tail, and a silver-haired man all relaxing around a campfire.
"Rikku-sempai daijobu ka(6)?" Kagome asked immediately filled with concerned.
"Tell me this ain't true." She moaned. Her head was throbbing and to top it off, she didn't have any aspirin.
"Gomen ne, demo (1) it is. Here let me help you." The warrior woman said. She offered her hand to Rikku, who grasped it reluctantly. It took a bit to steady herself and when she did she was at a loss of words. Thankfully, Kagome stepped in and saved her.
"Rikku-chan, these are my friends Sango, the demonslayer; Miroku, the perverted monk; Shippou, the fox demon; and Inuyasha, our resident half-demon," Kagome said, her smile widening more at the last statement.
"I am Watanabe Rikku. Pleased to meet you." Rikku stated, looking everyone up and down cautiously.
"Pleased to meet you," they all replied. The swordswoman shifted under their gaze, knowing something was bothering them.
Inuyasha quickly turned on the new girl, still not trusting her. "So why do you have a fragment of the Shikon no Tama?"
"The what?" Rikku's face was contorted in confusion, wondering what the hell a Shikon no Tama was. However, the group looked at her expectantly as though she was playing.
"You know the jewel shard," Kagome pushed, also wishing to know how her good friend came upon such things.
"Oh! You're talking about those crystals shards. That's why I'm here. You dropped them and I came to give them back to you," Rikku replied finally realizing what they were talking about. She bent down and reached into her sock to pulled out the bottle. Once more though, her face showed confusion. "This is weird. When I grabbed these they were four pieces. But now…" She held up the one large as she gazed at with wonder. Shrugging she put the jewel back in its bottle, then continuing by saying, "Anyways, here you go Kagome. I figured they were important to you if you had them on you when you actually went to school." Rikku joked as she handed over the necklace with the bottle containing the shard.
"Arigatou(7)," Kagome replied as usual thanks. Looking at the one shard in her hand, the reincarnated miko was still grasping the fact that her unique friend was actually here.
"Dou-itashi-mashi-te(8)," Rikku said in her sing song voice.
"Hai, hai(9). Now go home, we don't need you," Inuyasha chided. Rikky spun on her heels and looked at him offended, while Kagome's eyes filled with anger.
"Sit boy!! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!!" At each sounding command, Inuyasha crashed into the ground making another record crater. Rikku, Shippou, Sango, and Miroku chuckled lightly at the display of affection. A triumphant grin spread across Kagome's as she turned and walked back to her spot.
"Serves you right, Inuyasha. You shouldn't make fun of people, especially Kagome's friends," Shippou lectured, holding a solitary finger up and munching on a potato chip. The new girl watching mouth agape, mostly out of amazement at this new Kagome.
"Nn uht uh (Ah shut up)." The muffled sound from the dog caused even more laughter the ambience around the camp adjusting to one of trust.
"Please don't make fun of me again or I will hurt you, not Kagome." Rikku warned as Inuyasha got back up. His mouth turned into a snarl as he dusted himself off.
"Yeah right. I'm way stronger than you are. So don't even think about it," Inuyasha retaliated. He 'humphed' a bit and crossed his arm, hoping to get a reaction. To his shock, every one had already given their attention to the new comer.
"Well that's what the last guy thought, but I escaped him," boasted Rikku, her mouth turning into a weird smirk. Inuyasha scanned the girl, his eyes growing wide with who he he believed she had been with. After all... that smell was one he knew well.
"Hey! Who was the person you fought with?" Inuyasha barked at her. Rikku was taken aback by the suddenness of the question, not figuring anyone would actually ask.
"His name was uh... uh... Maru... Maru... Maru... Oh! Sesshoumaru! Yeah, that's what it was," Rikku piped. Everyone's head snapped toward Rikku at the mention of Inuyasha's older brother. Inuyasha figured as much but he was still surprised that this girl had fought with his brother and lived.
"How did you even stall him to get out of there?" the monk asked calmly, slowly becoming suspicious of the girl. It took a minute for Rikku to answer, for she had to think about how she really had done it.
Her smirk turned to a warm smile as she began. "Well let's see... it was a dirty trick but truthfully… I kicked him between his legs." A pained face was reflected on both Inuyasha and Miroku as they winced, hands moving to the area. "But that's only how I paused him for a second. I had to stab him right through the gut to get him off my back. Those poisonous attacks of his are hard to dodge." Her hands moved to where her track jacket was melted, her azure eyes becoming that of a daze. "That whip was truly scary." They were all deep in thought, most contemplating whether she was actually telling the truth. After a minute of silence, Rikku walked over to the edge of the stream, sat down, and looked out. 'The sun will set in about three and a half hours. I wonder what the sunset looks like here in this time.'
xXx
Sesshoumaru lay against a tree, annoyed at what that puny girl had done. No mortal had ever hurt him before. Plus the only know to hurt a demon of his caliber was Tetsuaiga. 'That was definitely not Tetsuaiga. So what was it?'
Sesshoumaru soon became frustrated over these issues, which was completely out of character for him. Suddenly he smiled deliciously and called to Jaken to arrange for Rin to be away for a while.
xXx
"Haha! Chichi! Aniki(10)! Where?! Where are you?!" the young girl screamed. Her mother and father had been missing for hours now, very unusual. Her brother went out to look for them. He had not come back either. She ran through the young forest to trying find them. Tears brimming at her eyes. 'Okaa-san, where will I go? Otou-san, who should I look to? Onii-san, who will protect me?' After running for a half an hour, the tired young girl slumped next to a tree and cried herself to sleep.
When she woke up, this little girl was in a home, foreign to her in every way. Her ears twitched, sensing for sound. She was scared, scared of what had happened to her family, where she was, who she was with. Then a kind older woman came in and greeted her. 'Who is this strange old lady? Does she know where my family was?'
"You must be the new child, I suspect. You look awfully frightened, and I'm sorry if you're not used to this. But no one else would take care of you. They were turned away by your looks alone. I know the people who live in this house would do the same. So you might not want to reveal this - this "gift" to anyone here. Most people here won't treat you nicely or with respect if they see your "gift". I will be back up to give you some food later." She explained, then turned to leave.
"Chotto matte kudasai(2)!" The little girl screamed. The old lady stopped and turned to the crying girl. "Where are my parents? What about my brother? Are they alright? Onegai(11), tell me!!"
The old woman features showed pain all over. It was hard to tell a child things such as this. And the girl's azure orbs were so hard to tell the truth to. "Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai. They are dead."
Rikku woke up in a cold sweat, panting hard, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Her face changed immediately as she started to silently sob her feelings away. 'No one knew this feeling. No one!!' Even though to humans, a silent sob is silent, to a hanyou you hear the quick intakes of breath. Inuyasha got up and went to where the girl Rikku had made out to sleep. He saw her hunched over sobbing. Finally, she stopped and decided to talk to herself.
"Okaa-san, was it this hard for you? You who could easily pass as human? Or how about you otou-san? How about when everyone else found out about a heavenly being getting a youkai pregnant? What about Ikaika? How was he treated?" Tears were streaming from her eyes now, her voice choking on nearly every word. "No - No one kn-knows how-w-w it fe-ee-els to b-be like m-me, no one." Rikku lay back down, making her hat fall off, revealing her "gift".
xXx
AN: What is this "gift"? And what is Sesshoumaru planning? Find out in chapter 2! If you do wish to grill me keep in mind this is my first Inuyasha fic. Matta ne!
(1)gomen nasai demo: I'm sorry but
(2)Matte kudasai: Wait
(3)Kagome, doko ni iru ka: Kagome, where are you? (literally: Kagome, where do you exist?)
(4)Oi Sesshoumaru-kun: Hey, Sesshoumaru
(5)Nani?! Honto ni: What?! Really?!
(6)Rikku-san daijobu ka: (Miss) Rikku, are you okay?
(7)Arigatou gozaimasu: Thank you.
(8)Douitashimashite: Your welcome or no problem
(9)Hai, hai: it literally means yes, yes, but to put it in American,
which in this case I am using, is whatever.
(10)Haha! ChiChi! Aniki!: Mother!
Father! Older Brother!(I know okaa-san,
otou-san, and onii-san all mean the same as mom, dad, and older brother
so please do not point that out.)
(11)Onegai: Please(like asking a favor.)