I own nothing from Inuyasha or Young Justice. This is purely for entertainment.
Chapter 1 Forced Vacation with No Breaks
There was not one darn thing that could change that youki's mind. No matter what she said, it was the same ending to a very short conversation. She was going back.
On top of it all, it was disguised insultingly as a trip. One that apparently included mounds of never-ending paperwork on boring battle strategies, topography charts and background information on enemy youki whereabouts.
All of these were to be practically stapled onto her forehead, as she enjoys her vacation.
Releasing the sigh that was constricting her chest, she decided to put it out of her mind, at least for the moment, so she could indulge in the soft breeze for a while longer. It was happening whether she wanted it to or not, so why bother making a spectacle of her person, kicking and screaming all the way down?
A wonderfully sweet calmness seemed to envelop her, a feeling that she rarely felt anymore, as she stared at her surroundings consisting of a luscious meadow surrounded by high mountain ridges, which were copious with green trees. A thin coat of mist topped off the look.
The scene changed in what seemed a heartbeat.
Black and gray clouds loomed overhead and the rain pummel down on her shoulders, planning to drench her while she stood on the grassy mound she had self-proclaimed to be only for her use.
The weighted armor felt like air on her shoulders, a feeling that told her that she would have to send for a heavier set soon, once time became available. Of course, there was nothing wrong with enjoying the rainy seasons of Japan. But for now, her little army boot camp came first.
The sound of metal clanging and scraping against another echoed off damp walls of the foyers.
A shrill cry was heard not a second later. Most likely it was the new guy who had arrived and had been accepted into their forces earlier in the week.
It would be a long agonizing wait till spring would show its colors, but even so, she was not about to let her master's, and long time friend's, army go without training for the entire flooding season.
It was a strong downpour and the flash of lightning made its début before the roaring thunder.
The men had spared for almost three hours and were drenched with rain water rather than sweat, as they tripped, fumbled and slammed into mud. It was almost humorous for her when she saw a few brawny men plucking desperately at their eyes after they crashed on the ground, trying to get a hold of some grass blades.
She gave the command to rotate sparing partners. Before her eyes, the field was a network of busy bodies, turning and scrambling to regain their weapons and find another opponent. The sight warmed her a little. Despite the blasts of lightning and their fatigue, her men listened attentively, obeying every command and dutifully accepted criticism.
A palace courier appeared, almost suddenly, standing a few feet away, "Excuse the interruption…General. The lord of the castle…demands your presence in…his th-throne room." He bowed low, or as low as his already podgy body could without looking silly.
Beginning confident, the short stocky man stuttered out of nervousness towards the end, as the large group of warriors locked on his body.
The hundred or so men abruptly stilled in their sparring practice to glare at the messenger with unrestraint hatred. The air was thick with the smell of battle. The messenger judged if he didn't make for an escape soon, he would probably never see tomorrow.
No one ever spoke to their commander and general in such a disrespectful way. They began to stalk towards the frail man when a hand from their general stopped them.
One warrior, incredibly, had the confidence to come closer and stepped toward his general.
He had a vibrant orange mane that complimented beautifully with his light green orbs. His physique was also nothing to skim over, at least not for the crowd of young maidens swooning outside the training grounds.
"But this cur had the nerve to…!" It looked as though he was going to speak for the entire army's discontentment.
A small glance from their general stopped his speech cold. His eyes were downcast to the dirt ground, filled with shame for speaking out of turn. A soft hand lifted to rest on his cheek.
The warrior and the men standing at attention stared, with their eyes widening in slight surprise.
"It is my lord who calls for me. I may not be back for a while." their general explained.
Turning around, now with her back to her forces, she added, "In the time I am gone, you all will train from dawn to noon, take only a ten minute break to rehydrated, and continue till dusk."
They all looked ready to groan, when a look from their general changed their minds.
"I want you all to train as if your life were on the line, with your heart and soul together. Nothing is won through half-assed determination and skill," their general continued. A serious look came over the general's face.
"And remember that I will know if you had skipped out on training." They all nodded and bowed in respect to her instructions.
The general began to walk, her long snow-powdered mane flowing around her, towards her residence.
The only noises that the army could hear now were the heavy thumps of the general's sole covered boots and the soft patter of rain water.
"It has been decided." A cold emotionless voice bounced off the damp walls, the owner of whom sounded a bit more than peeved for he had already repeated the statement twice.
Sitting on a jewel encrusted chair certainly made the image of royalty jump alive to anyone that either knew this man or not.
The whole scene practically cried out 'I am royalty! Bend to my words'. Dark shadows cascaded, almost flowing over the man's form and face from his army general/strategist.
Said person was kneeling with one knee on the ground, the other in a bent position supporting an arm, and had a full crown of silver hair facing the semi-invisible man.
They were in a building which looked like a medieval castle, the ones that look as if actual gods had once dwelled within each private room and walked among its corridors.
Its walls were painted the darkest shades of blue and there were marvelous paintings, statues, and furniture strategically placed so to enhance the value of the room. Twin chandeliers hung from its stone ceiling, twinkling rainbows when the torch lights hit its crystal surface.
It would have been impossible for a normal person to distinguish the treasures with only the flicker of several candles and torches to aid in their sight, but then again, the two sole residents did not need such aid.
An almost inaudible sigh traveled through the stagnant atmosphere.
"I do not know if I will fit in back there. I have been away for a long time, but, if you say it is important for me, I will go."
The voice was reluctant and had given the impression of a child not wanting, but compelled to abide to a parents wish.
"I am not sending you away indefinitely, nor is this sentence a punishment. I want to make this clear to you. I decided this because it would not be beneficial to my new training forces to receive you as you are now. It would be an insult to your experience if your mind is not clear of your past mistakes."
Her head shot up. Silver strands whipping around her heart-shaped face.
"I have not been a hindrance, have I? I haven't been neglecting my duties as general or my time training, so what must I work on?" It was a desperate plea, though her face and voice betrayed no such emotion.
"You have lost something." It was a simple answer, but still vague as heck. "Something important that distances yourself from your men. It would be best for you to go back there to regain what you let slip away."
Silence dragged on for a moment. She released the air she hadn't realized she was holding. Her head fell again.
"I don't understand."
This wasn't fair at all. Plus, there was the issue of a certain demon thug trying to pass off as another 'even more bad than Naraku' kind of pansy. Some secretly acquired information about him via spies and some of her best human and demon warriors had confirmed he was all smoke and no flame, but that didn't undermine his ability to flap his useless gums. In a few months, there will be an army for her and her lord's forces to fight and defend against for the House of the Moon.
The figure straightened. "You do not have the option to negotiate or refuse my ruling. You will go and you will return when you have regained what it is you now lack."
The figure's words stung her heart. She didn't understand why he was sending her back there. She wanted to put everything that reminded her of that place, of the past, out of her sight. That was the entire reason she left with him in the first place and served under him, now she had to go back?
She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes. Blinking rapidly to rid the evidence of weakness, she hoped that her moment went unnoticed. It didn't.
The voice was softer than it had been in the beginning, like it was now consoling a frightened child than a war-hardened demon fighter.
"Do not despair, I will not be sending you back to Japan. I will however be sending you somewhere on your home planet, so you will have to adapt to their customs on your own."
Once he was sure she would not try to defy him, he nodded slightly, barely even visible to see, and continued.
"Now for your debriefing about the world you will be returning too. According to my spies there are now both aliens and humans that inhabit the planet. Of these humans and extraterrestrials, most will display advantages over ordinary vermin, and it seems that they exert special abilities, ranging from telepathy to excess strength. Others seem to have the same powers as some lower demons, such as a frog demon's control over water."
She grimaced at that. Even thought it had been a while since her first and last encounter with a frog demon, which was all it took to know why people always say not to touch them, and in her case, never let them touch you. They had coarse skin that felt like sandpaper and was also slimy.
"I am confident that these super-humans will not pose as a threat to you. These aliens, though, I want you to study and report back on their strengths and weaknesses. If our planet's protective barrier is ever breached, I want our forces to be ready."
With a monarchs stride, said person left the gaudy throne chair and approached his general, a strange look plastered on his otherwise stoic face.
This made her stand erect rather quickly and have an untrusting gaze directed at her superior, and with good reason.
One could never know what her Lord and master would do at a given moment.
This was one such moment. He threw a rather large and familiar yellow traveling bag into her arms, causing her to grunt as she adjusted to the extra weight. The thing was a bit bulky and had been constantly re-stitched along its edges. A dark purple katana stuck out of its largest compartment.
"In the bag is everything you need essentially. I expect you to be able to find your own meals, so I didn't bother telling the servants to pack food or water." He almost looked like he was going to smirk at the glare she was giving him.
"Also, one more thing." Silently making his way toward a small table towards the wall, there was an emerald encrusted box that glistened in the light. Its anterior had a painting of twin silver dogs; or rather they were demon dogs facing upward, as if they were howling, in alignment to the crescent moon at its apex.
Gliding a pale striped hand over its surface, the box glowed in recognition before snapping open for the Western Lord. He opened its lid fully and lifted out a medium-sized round stone, held aloft by a silver chain. It was, in her opinion, a beautiful necklace.
Walking back towards her, he placed the sliver chain over and around her neck, letting the stone side down to rest on her armor where her bosom would be. It shone brilliantly until it hit her skin, and then darkened to an unrecognizable dark purple.
Ember-colored eyes collided with one another. From what she saw he looked displeased with the way the stone's color changed.
Knowing better than to ask outright, she waited for his explanation that surprisingly came a moment later. A smug feeling came and left her quickly as she thought of how good she had gotten with reading his moods.
"This." he said, with his index finger barely touching the stones mirror surface, "When this has reverted to its clear crystal shine, is when you will return."
Peering down at the stone, she grimaced at the dark violet storm clouds that raged within the glassy confines. A few years ago she would grade this to be next to impossible, but things have changed. Her head bent a bit more, not to look at the orb, but in recollection of the past.
Yes. Many things have changed.
"You will leave momentarily, so if there is anything you wish to say, speak. If not, remove your battle armor." Her head snapped up meeting her lord's similar ember eyes. Having nothing to say, her head lowered again and shook.
She hooked her fingers around and through the strings that held her armor around her torso. Feeling them loosen, she placed her hands underneath and lifted the hundred or so pound breast-plate from her person. Having nowhere to place it, she settled it gently onto the floor, next to her feet.
She felt exposed, almost naked without it.
A moment passed before she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her lean toward its warmth.
"You will return." Small tear droplets curled against the surface her face, but seemed to disappear before reaching her clothes. She nodded in reply.
"I will miss you, My Lord."
Giving her shoulder a quick squeeze, the warm hand left and she was left feeling as cold as when she had entered the throne room.
"You will not neglect your training or your duties as general while you are there. While I may not be able to leave my lands unattended to straighten you out, I will promise that if there is a decline in your work when you return there will be severe consequences."
This made her chuckle a bit, in both humor and fear. Her master's lips curved a little as she laughed. A thought hit her then about what he had said earlier.
"You said that I would be leaving soon" his superior's smug grin widened slightly, making the air turn cold and rather uncomfortable. "When am I to go?"
The man stopped in front of her, towering over with his immense broad structure.
"Goodbye, General Higurashi."
There was no time to react as a pool of crystalline blue light shot up and out from the stone around her neck, engulfing the room and all that seemed to be in it.
Her eyes were closed as the sun warmed her body. Prickling green blades caressed parts of her exposed arms, which were placed behind her head in a cushioning position.
She had been dreaming of her friends, her adventures and her former love. Her dream was growing more vivid as she drifted deeper and deeper into unconsciousness.
She heard friends that were long gone laugh, bicker, and talk inside her head, as if they were right next to her. Their walks across a vast country terrain and their fierce battles with demons played like a recorder.
Her dream was turning into one of her frequent nightmares. She needed to wake up.
Snapping her eyes open she was rewarded with blinding sunlight that hurt her eyes. She blinked repeatedly until she got used to the light.
Seeing that the sun was not about to move any time soon she sat up.
Moving her body in a circular motion she heard the cracking of several bones along her spinal column and felt her muscles stretch. This was unusual, for it had been years since she last felt her body tangled up in knots.
"I have been out of battle for too long," she realized, adding a long drawn out sigh for effect.
She tried to remember why she was in a field that was neither littered with busy bodies of demon servants or the cries and roars of her men. An open field at that. Why wasn't she at her lord's castle? Why was there an absence of clanging metal?
Once her mind had cleared from her nap she was able to recall her orders.
She had been placed on 'temporary partial-vacation', as she called it, against her will. The memory had her seething.
What was the point in sending her on vacation in the human world, on earth specifically, when she still had to do all of her master's paperwork as well?
Then again, should she really be complaining when she had originally asked for time off? She decided to stop whining and accept her orders before a headache formed.
"I wonder if I can find something to eat." It had been a long time since she had been here and it occurred to her that she was not sure how things were done today.
Then again, the last time I was here was when they…
She shook her head, as if to shake away the memories of them, of her families, and instead focused on her surroundings.
The clearing where she had slept in had trees adjoining the perimeter and small flower patches scattered here and there. A large marble plaque stood alone in the middle of the clearing.
She stood from her spot and strode over to the large stone. It read:
NATURE RESERVE PARK
ENDORSED BY WANE ENTERPRISES.
Her ears perked up at the roaring of tires on asphalt and the smell of melting rubber. Taking this information, she deduced she was near the edge of the park nearest to a thriving active city.
She was ready to jump out of the clearing when she remembered her appearance.
Subtly, she ran her tongue under the front of her teeth, where there was the familiar sharpness of her fangs. Her hands still had deadly claws under her black leather gloves. No doubt she still had her facial markings as well, which indicated her royal status as her lords general.
Looking down she wore white clothing contrasting with her ancient-looking battle yukata. Her best formal attire for war.
She felt the top of her head and outlined two fluffy triangle-shaped ears. Lastly, but totally unnecessary, she grabbed a large section of her hair, pulling it into her line of vision. It was still the color of powdered-snow.
Damn it.
Mentally slapping her hand against her head, she cursed her lord's failure to realize that her appearance would be seen as a problem. Then again, he might have just thought she would be able to take care of hiding her appearance by herself.
"Oh well. I'll just have to keep my face covered for now." She felt her person for something to use as a mask.
Nothing.
"Looks like I'll have to improvise." Walking back to where she slept, she ripped open the horribly stitched yellow bag to find her master's white cape and her specially made katana the first on top.
Opening it more, she saw that it was half filled with reference books and a small amount of human currency. Although it looked a bit different from what she had remembered.
The other half of the bag was jam-packed with those dull and dreary paperwork, topography charts and fine-printed negotiation papers. If not for the overwhelming amount of documents this vacation would have been worth while to relax.
A mischievous smile danced across her face as she eyed the flawless design of the bleached cloak.
Wasting no time, she used her claws to tear a long piece of cloth from the bottom half. Her master was much taller than her anyway, and she would definitly look idiotic walking around with the excess material in her hands when she wished to wear it.
Digging around in some of its smaller pockets, she found her hair pins. Saying thanks to whichever servant remembered to pack them; she picked one out and placed it between her teeth.
Gathering her hair up behind her, she twisted it until it formed a large bun to lie against her neck. Holding her fine hair with one hand, she plucked the pin from her mouth and wedged it into the silver strands.
Once she was satisfied with her hair, she turned back to the severed cloak.
The long strip of cloth was large enough to wrap around the bottom half of her face. She then draped the massive cape, which was still long enough to flow down to her ankles, around her shoulders and pulled up the hood to cover her silver locks.
The cloak surprised her by also being large enough to hide her rather endowed bust.
With her form covered underneath the cloak and her face concealed, she closed the flap to her bag. Throwing it on her back; she walked through the adjoining cluster of trees.
She followed her nose to where there was a large population of humans, but there was something else…something that intertwined with everything around her. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but…
Her hand slammed against her mask where her nose would be. Oh, that's what it was.
"What a stench. This city must be huge, becasue there was no way there would be this much pollution in any small town of Japan."
Forcing her hand down, she continued her stroll. Soon enough a tall building came into view, followed by another and then another.
Concrete replaced the soft grass below her bare feet. She frowned at the sight of many people came into view, not being one for crowded areas.
She ignored the strange looks she received and focused on the sights and sounds. It seemed like a blooming business city. There were shops and large company buildings along every street causing her to feel a bit small.
She was walking along the sidewalk taking in the rush of the metropolis. It hit her that she really didn't know where she was, or for that fact, where she was going.
She caught a group of girls giggling and talking brightly as they walked past her. They spoke English. She sighed in relief that it was one of the languages she had been forced to study back in high school. It was comforting to know that she would be able to communicate with the locals and not be seen as a lost tourist.
About to turn a corner, a whimpering sound stopped her.
A little girl carrying a black and white panda doll, walking the opposite way of her, was whimpering quietly like a helpless pup. Hoards of business men and women, parents and children, even well dressed elders brushed past her, ignoring her sobs, not having the time to waste with helping the child.
Purposely bumping into some of these people, she made her way towards the weeping girl.
"Excuse me." The girl looked up. A small blush spread across the girl's cheeks as she looked at her.
"Y…yes? Can I help you?" The girl stuttered. A smile broke through behind her mask. It would seem the kid was one of those who enjoyed helping others, and had suddenly forgotten that she was in trouble herself.
Not wanting the girl to cry again, she decided to indulge the child, knowing that she was too innocent to look into anything she asked anyway.
"Could you please tell me where I am? It seems that I am lost."
The girl smiled and answered the she was in Washington, softly giggling at her, probably wondering how a grownup could get lost.
The girl began jumping excitedly and asked her earnestly, "Are you headed over to the Justice League Celebration?" The little girl looked eager to lead her toward whatever the celebration was, and by pure intuition, she seemed either lost or separated from her guardians.
Well, it was her time to spend. Might as well learn what has changed since she was last here. Answering her question with a nod the girl offered to walk together to the celebration. Later she found out that the little girl wanted an autograph from one of the members of the Justice League.
"Do you have a favorite person?" The little girl blushed and murmured the name of her crush. A type of bird, or something.
The girl's shoe played with a stick on the cement. "I like all of them. They protect us with their lives. One of them saved my mommy once. I remember he was wearing a black bat suit, though the one that saved me was wearing a very colorful costume."
Her eyes softened as she listened to the little girl. Her innocence was refreshing and oddly enough, it soothed her soul to witness a child's unblemished purity.
"Where are your mother and father? Aren't your parents supposed to be with you?" Her voice had that soothing parental touch to it.
The girl looked up as if she had just remembered something. Her face drained of color and tears rolled down her face once more. "I lost my momma!" screeching into the air, the little girl held her hands to her face as she wailed.
Picking up the girl, she balanced the small child's frame on her hip, while she tried to soothe her with a soft purr, patting and rubbing her hand up and down her back in a comforting motion.
The girl looked at her with round hazel eyes. "Will you help me please? I don't think I'll be able to find them on my own and I'm sure they just thought I was with them when we were walking to the Hall. Please, please can you find them?"
With a slight nod and the girls arms flew around her neck. "Thank you, Thank you!" she cried, her nose already turning red from the tears she shed. Without saying a word she began moving down the sidewalk again, the little girl still on her hip, clinging to her shoulders like a new-born pup.
"Um…what is your name? My name is Lonnie McCain." She sniffled a bit, before attempting to smile.
"Kagome. Higurashi Kagome. It is a pleasure to meet you Lonnie. Don't worry; I'll make sure you return to your parents safely. Mean while, you can tell me all about the League Celebration on the way." She said softly, before asking directions to this Hall of Justice.
^^^^Chapter 1 End^^^^