* * * * *
Susan
* * * * *
It had been two years since I'd married Koga, and I was still as every bit in love with him as the day that I met him. True, there was the bit about my aging rate upped to one apparent year for every ten, but still, it was all worth it.
And then came the day when I skipped my period.
At first I thought it was just a product of stress or excessive activity and to give it a few days. But those days turned into a week, and that week into two, before I would admit that I had totally skipped a period.
So, after much debating, I decided to track down Ellie.
Ellie had opted to the life style that Kagome was for, traveling through both times. Me, I was flat out staying in the Feudal Era like the rest of my family. So, due to this, I wasn't too sure if I would even find Ellie, but at least I could tell Sesshomaru that I was looking for her. Sesshomaru dating Ellie now, and when I heard the news, I was all "At last!!"
As it turned out, my woes were all in vain. Ellie was in the Feudal Era. I could smell her.
"Ellie!" I shouted to her. "Hey! Ells! I need you for a minute."
Ellie, who had been kissing Sesshomaru, looked up at me with an annoyed expression that soon turned to worry when she saw the tension on my face.
"Sure. What's up?" she asked.
"Um," I said, looking pointedly at Sesshomaru. "it's kinda' a girl thing."
Sesshomaru got up and walked over to Rin, who Ellie had adopted as a daughter.
Ellie had grown into a young woman of sixteen, while I retained my fourteen-year-old appearance.
"What's wrong?" Ellie demanded. "You look ready to pass out!"
"Ellie," I said, keeping my voice low. "I skipped my period. Two weeks ago. And it's like there's something inside of me. Ellie," my voice broke a bit. "I think that I might be pregnant!"
Ellie looked shell shocked for all of two seconds before she cried out:
"What?! Susan, are you positive?!" I gulped a bit and nodded my head.
"How long have you been on a regular cycle?" Ellie asked, snapping into doctor mode.
"About a year and a half. I haven't skipped a period since the year after I started up."
"And it's Koga's, right?"
"Ellie! What do you take me for, anyway?! Of course it's Koga's!"
"Sorry!" Ellie said, wincing. "I just meant. . . well, you know. Noting against you."
I nodded.
"Look, you just go back to Koga and don't tell him, alright? I'll go back home and get one of those testing things." she said soothingly.
I nodded again.
"Good. I'll see you soon."
* * * * *
Ellie
* * * * *
I couldn't believe it. Susan, of all people, was pregnant! But we weren't sure. I told Sesshomaru that I needed to go home for a while. I didn't tell him why. All I told him was that it was a girl-to-girl type of thing. He nodded and kissed me again.
I slipped through Kebi's old house and went to the drugstore. And, of course, I just had to run into Derik at the checkout line!
"Hey." he said. "Long time no see."
"Yeah. What's up?"
"Nothing much. What're you here for?"
"Just. . .stuff." I said, concealing the box.
He raised his eyebrows.
"Stuff? What kind of stuff?"
Reluctantly, hoping to God he wouldn't know what it was, I showed him the box. But, since I wasn't Kagome, I had no such luck.
As soon as he saw that tester, his eyes widened and he put his hands on my shoulders like he was going to shake me. But then he seemed to think better of it.
"What the hell did Sesshomaru do?!" he demanded.
"Um, Derik? It's not for me." I said, biting my lip. "It's for somebody else."
"Who?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes.
I bit my lip. If he was protective of me, it was nothing to how much he protected Susan.
"I can't say." I said, giving the box to the cashier. "It's a girl-to-girl promise."
"Fuck!" Derik hissed. "It's for Susan, isn't it?! I knew that her marrying that Koga bastard was a bad idea! And just look where it's landed her!"
"Derik," I said desperately. "It's not such a big deal in that time. Over here it would be, but since she's married, it's all cool."
Derik ignored me and bought his Tylenol and Tums.
"I'm coming back with you." he said flatly. "End of story, good-bye, no questions."
* * * * *
Koga
* * * * *
Ellie gave Susan something in a box. She walked into another room for a few minutes and then came back, a look of shock and horror on her face.
"Positive." she said and sank down. "It says it's positive. And based on what you said, Ellie, this is the newest model. Almost always accurate."
Ellie looked shocked and Derik, that kid who was Susan's friend who ended up yelling at a tree when he found out that Susan and I were engaged, just looked confused.
"Are you sure?" Ellie demanded.
Susan nodded dumbly.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"I'm pregnant." Susan said quietly as if she couldn't believe it. "I'm freaking pregnant!"
Derik, of course, got up then and there and started raving at me, Susan, the little testing thing clutched in Susan's hand, me again, the blankets we slept on, and of course me again. He seemed pretty pissed that Susan was pregnant. Me, I was in shock. Susan was pregnant? Really?
"Wait a minute!" Derik said, stopping his rant for a minute and looked at Susan in astonishment. "You're not a virgin anymore?"
Susan rolled her eyes.
"No, Derik. I'm married to Koga and am also his mate, I'm pregnant, and I'm not a virgin. The magical fairies knocked me up without actually fucking me."
Ellie started to snicker.
"Yeah, Derik. You heard her. Go after the fairies."
"Of course I'm not a virgin, you r-tard! I haven't been a virgin for two years!" Susan shot at him.
I decided it was best not to torment the kid about how good it had been. He looked ready to rip somebody's head off if anybody so much as said the word love, so much at telling him that his best friend was good in bed.
Then Susan started talking again.
"Well, this is. . . different." she looked at Ellie desperately "How in God's name do I tell my family? Knowing my mom, she would think that you've been bringing me over condoms, my dad might flip out so much he'll kill somebody, and Jenny'll go on and on about her becoming an aunt."
Ellie shrugged.
"I think they actually will be shocked it took so long. And I think the major problem wouldn't be your parents. 'Cuz I'm sure as hell not breaking the news to Kebi."
Susan paled. I could just see her thinking that Kebi would murder her. Then her hands down to her stomach and slid to the insides of her hips.
"There's somebody inside of me. . ." she mused. "Growing. . ." she looked at me. "Will you help me tell my mom? Please?"
I smiled and pulled her into a hug.
"You know it." I said gently. "I love you."
I felt her shoulders shake as she began to cry.
* * * * *
"Pregnant?!" Taylor cried out joyfully. "Oh, honey!"
"About time, isn't it?" Julian asked, also grinning at Susan.
Susan's mouth dropped open.
"You guys aren't mad?"
"You're married, right? It was only a matter of time." Taylor said, hugging her. "Oh, I'm going to be a grandmother!"
Jenny was laughing and running circles around Susan.
"Yay! You're having a baby!"
"Not for another few few months." Susan said quickly. "It's about eight more months, sis."
Susan suddenly turned a little green.
"I don't feel so good. . ." she moaned, leaning over a bit.
Taylor chuckled and rested a hand on Susan's back.
"It's normal." she assured her. "It's going to happen for the next few months. Just relax and make sure you stay hydrated. Oh, and just eat until you're satisfied. It'll get better."
Susan nodded.
"When am I going to start showing?" she asked, covering her mouth and trying to hold down her lunch.
"A couple months, hon. It'll be little, but you'll be showing. Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Well, it does vary from woman to woman, and then from pregnancy to pregnancy. . ."
Susan brushed some hair from her face, sighed, and nodded.
"Okay." she said. "the sickness? Nerves?"
Taylor sighed.
"We have things to talk about." she said, taking her hand and leading her outside.
* * * * *
Eight Months Later
* * * * *
Jenny
* * * * *
Susan's screams ripped through the caves. With every sound, Koga grew more agitated, and he alternated from pacing the cave to sitting down and tapping his legs to asking me and Kebi if that baby shouldn't be out yet.
To be honest, I was getting nervous myself. Susan had been in labor for over thirteen hours.
"It's alright." Mom said, although her voice was strained. "I was in labor for her for twelve hours back in 'ninety three."
She was sitting down, a look of worry on her face. Dad was still shell shocked from when Susan's water broke and was wincing at every one of Susan's piercing screams.
I was pacing the room along with Koga, chewing my fingernails, hair, and then the apple my mom gave me. After the apple was gone I almost bit Derik, who was raving at nobody in particular, but I thought better of it, rationalizing that Suze would get mad later.
Inside, I heard old Kaeade, who Koga had asked to come, telling Susan in that monotonous voice of hers that she was doing fine and to just keep in there.
"Easy for you to say!" my sister gaped. "You're not the one pushing a baby out of her vagina!"
Ellie, who was talking to Kebi, smiled but gripped Kebi's wrist when let out her loudest, shrillest cry yet. There was a sudden assault of the scent of blood. Then she was silent, and a baby could be heard crying.
Koga had been pacing with me, and as soon as that baby's cry hit our ears, his eyes went wide and his hand tightly gripped my shoulder.
Then, Kaeade, her face glistening with sweat, came out and told us that we could see Susan. Koga bolted into the room after forgetting that he was grabbing my shoulder. So I went in with him, flying through the air by my shoulder.
"Susan!" he cried, holding her by the shoulders, being careful of the baby in her arms. "Are you alright?"
Susan laughed very weakly.
"I'm alright. Just wiped out." she whispered. "Look." she added, pumping the baby's head up a bit with her arm. "It's a little girl. We've got a daughter."
Koga smiled and bent down, stroking her little face gently.
"She's beautiful." he breathed. "And she looks just like you."
"She's got your eyes and hair."
"But the rest of her is you. She's even got your curl."
I pushed myself up by the edge of the straw mattress.
"I've got a niece!" I squealed, reaching out and taking her hand.
"Oh, be careful!" Susan pleaded. "She's so little and fragile. . ."
"It's alright." I assured her. "I'm being super-careful!"
"Let me through; I want to see my grandchild!" mom said, grandly moving Kaeade, Ellie, and Kebi out of her path. "Oh." she said upon seeing the little baby girl. "Oh, she's. . . she's. . ."
Susan smiled.
"What're you naming her?" Julian asked, staring at the baby.
Susan smiled at Koga.
"Tessa?" she asked timidly. "Do you like Tessa?"
"Tessa?" he repeated. "Tes-sa? Yeah, I like that. What about a middle name?"
Susan thought for a minute, then she said:
"You pick one out."
"um. . . ah. . . uhm. . . Sara?"
"Sara? Tessa Sara? Yeah, that's good. Tessa Sara. That's really good."
Koga smiled and gently kissed Susan on her forehead.
"Get some sleep." he said. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Susan said, closing her eyes. "Watch over Tessa, alright?"
"Forever." my brother-in-law promised, taking the baby from my sister's arms and watching Susan drift off.
"What do I do now?!" he demanded in a hushed whisper, looking desperately from me to mom to Kebi to Ellie and to me again.
"You give me my granddaughter." mom said firmly, striding foreword to take Tessa from her father. "And then you ask Julian how to take care of Susan. And then you let Susan wake up and take care of her daughter."
Dad looked just as puzzled as Koga.
* * * * *
Susan
* * * * *
Ninety Years Later
* * * * *
Tessa was the human equivalent to nine now. She was a wild little girl with her black curls and blue eyes. Thank God she'd gotten the same one-per-ten rate as her father. That girl exhausted me like nothing else, let me tell you. Probably didn't help that I was the equivalent of twenty-three and Koga of twenty-five. Jenny, who'd taken on the rate I'd gotten from Koga, looked and acted like an eighteen-year-old.
Anyway, Tessa was a funny little kid who thought about things too much and revered her Aunt Jenny. Jenny, for her part, adored Tessa and couldn't understand why it was sometimes hard for me to cope with her.
"You try putting up with this twenty-four-seven and see how far you make it." I told her once, crossing my arms and glaring at her.
"But she's so sweet!" Jenny cried. "Look, do you need her to stay with me sometimes?"
I'd nodded and sighed, rubbing my temples.
"Mommy?" Tessa said to me one day. "Where's my grandmother?"
My breath caught in my throat. My mother had died before Tessa could remember, about thirty years ago. She should have lived longer, but she'd been bitten by a snake, and since she was close to sixty, she couldn't take the venom and died.
"Why do you ask?" I said, trying to keep from sobbing. I still missed my mother deeply.
"'Cause I heard Aunt Jenny talking to Grandpa about her, and I was wondering."
"Tessa," I said gently. "Your grandmother is dead. She died a long time ago."
"How?"
"She was bitten by a Cotton-Mouth. The venom got to her before we could get her help. She died."
"But she shouldn't have! She would still have been young!"
"She was sixty." I said quietly. "My mother was a human."
Tessa's mouth dropped open.
"Really?" she said. "You're a half-Demon, Mommy?"
"Yeah. I'll tell you the story when you're older." I said, smiling. "Go play outside, honey."
Tessa gave me a sulky look and walked out of the cave.
"God." I sighed. "I thought she'd be older when she asked about Mom."
I heard a chuckle behind me.
"Koga!" I gasped, whirling around. Then a gave him my evil eye. "You could have helped me out there, you know." I grumbled.
"Ah, don't sweat it, Sweetie." Koga said, hugging me. "I was just teasing you a bit."
"Sure you were." I said, but smiled.
"Hey, do you smell that?" Koga asked, his brow wrinkling up.
"Huh?" I asked, not really paying attention. "Smell what?"
"That smoke." he said, frowning. "Where's it coming from?"
I felt my lips part and my jaw drop. I knew that smell.
"It's-" I managed to choke out. "It's-not-smoke! It's-a-miasma!"
"Gods!" Koga shouted, falling to his knees. "but who?!"
"Mommy? Daddy?" Tessa asked. "Mommy, Daddy, what's wrong?"
No, Tessa, don't come in!" I shouted, feeling my eyes droop. "There's a miasma! Kebi and Ellie! It's aimed for Wolf-Demons!" Jenny had gone missing weeks ago.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Tessa shrieked, torn between coming to us and obeying me.
"Tessa, do as your mother says!" Koga roared, his hand rising to his chest. "Just go! We'll be fine!"
I heard Tessa's sobbing, but her footsteps faded into the distance.
So, I thought, my mind slowly fading. It's come to this again. Just me and Koga struggling to survive. God, I hope Tessa's alright. Thank God she was out. . . of. . . the. . .
But then my mind went blank and I passed out.
* * * * *
Tessa
* * * * *
Despite what my parents told me, I wanted to turn around and tear up to them. I wanted to haul them out of the cave that was so filled with the gas that made them sick. But Mommy had told me to run and to find Kebi, Ellie, and Aunt Jenny. I had to obey her. But it was so hard.
That's why I ended up sprinting down the mountain, my legs screaming in protest, to find the one person I knew would protect me. Ellie.
According to mommy, Ellie should have been dead. But once she turned eighteen, Lord Sesshomaru sought out a witch to halt her aging process to the same as his. So they could be together.
I knew Ellie. She and Mommy were like sisters. They were closer than her and Kebi. Ellie was more of a sister to Mommy than she and Jenny were, and Mommy and Jenny were pretty tight. Ellie and Mommy. They had come from the other country together. They had even been best friends over there. Once I had asked Mommy about where she'd come from, and her eyes got all misty and she smiled at a memory.
"Well, it's a different place." she'd said. "There are buildings that reach the clouds, and carriages driven by motors instead of horses. Girls are a lot more care free, and everybody pretty much dresses the same. Most people don't really believe in things like real Demons and Vampires and Werewolves. Over there they're just a thing of legend designed to keep little kids inside at night. People get more body art, and there's lots of doctors. Good ones, too. The doctors can cure cancer and keep you from getting sick. Last time I checked, most girls who got married did it around their twenties or up. You could live to be a hundred and ten over there, and almost everybody can read and at least do basic math. Well, in America they can. Education's mandated until you're sixteen."
My eyes were wide.
"Did you and Ellie really live in such a place, Mommy?"
"Yeah. And not just me and Ellie, sweetie. We had friends. Human friends. There was Derik, Heidi, Tyler, and Taylor. Derik and Heidi were twins, and Ty and Tay were twins." she laughed at something. "We were all goth-punk-emo except for Ellie. She was all prep."
"Um..."
"That means we all dressed in dark colors and wore trip-pants. Taylor had her ears pierced six times, and she, Heidi, and me all wore really heavy make-up."
"And you didn't get into trouble or anything?"
She shrugged.
"I got beat up once by a cheerleader." she said. "She ended up pounding my face into a locker. But then she and her minion ran off when Heidi and Derik decided to help out. Too many people for her, I guess. I'm still not sure if we won or not."
"Why'd you come here?" I asked.
Mommy started to look really dreamy.
"At first it was an accident. But then I met this guy named Naraku who had kidnapped my mom and Jenny, so I decided to save them. And then I met your father. . ."
Mommy loved Daddy. I always knew that. They were deeply in love. And now they were gone, probably dead, and here I was searching for an immortal human girl who helped my Mommy's friend beat up a cheerleader, whatever that was.
"Ellie!" I shouted. "Ellie! Ellie, Sesshomaru! Are you guys there? It's Tessa! I can't believe I'm saying this, but, JAKEN! ELLIE! LORD SESSHOMARU! SOMEBODY!!!"
"How about Ayame?" the Wolf-Demoness asked, emerging from the woods.
"Oh! Ayame! It's you!" I gasped. "Something's wrong! There's some kind of gas in our cave, and Mommy and Daddy are trapped in there!"
Ayame's eyes darkened at the mention of my Daddy.
"Koga and Susan are in trouble?" she asked as if she couldn't believe it. "But they're so strong! I can't believe that a miasma was able to take them out just like that!"
"Well, it did!" I said, tears falling down my cheeks. "And I can't find Ellie or Sesshomaru or my Aunt Jenny, and Kebi scares me, plus she's probably in Egypt!"
Ayame just looked at me. Then she sighed.
"Look, kid. I'm not too fond of either of your parents." she told me. "I'm pretty close to hating your father, and your mom I could definitely do without.
"Why?" I asked. "What happened?"
The woman sighed.
"This all goes back about two hundred years." she said. "Way before your grandparents met. Your great grandparents were probably still kids. Anyway, do you know what the Birds of Paradise are?"
"Sure." I shrugged. "But some guy named InuYasha wiped them out almost a century ago."
"Right. That's them. Well, I was around your age and had been out getting a special flower for my training in the mountains when the Birds came after me."
My eyes widened.
"I managed to get to a hollow tree to hide in, but that didn't help much. Two of them were after me, and more than a match for a kid. They were flying in circles like vultures do above the tree, and I was about to be devoured. Then your father came along. He killed the Birds and carried me back to the caves.
"He also made a promise. He said that he was going to marry me someday.
"A hundred years later, when I tracked him down, he said that he didn't remember it, and that he was going to marry some human girl named Kagome."
Kagome? I knew that name. InuYasha's mate. Rumor had it that he'd been turned to human by the same witch who'd made Ellie immortal.
"Well, I left for a while, but I didn't give up. And then," she sighed. "There was that deal with the Band of Seven. Naraku had resurrected them, and this one, Kyokotsu, was attacking my tribe like crazy, eating us up. Koga killed him, but he was the weakest.
"It was around that time that your mother came around. She'd appeared out of some well near the mountains, and Koga found her. As it turned out, Koga ended up falling in love with her. And then he married her, mainly because of some treaty that their fathers had done around thirteen years back. Oh, how I wanted to wring her pretty little neck. And Koga thought she was so great, with her pretty little face and those black clothes and that sense of humor. Oh, and that sad little past of hers. Oh, boo-hoo, cry me a river! And she even had a guy after her, too."
"What? Who?" I demanded.
"Bankotsu." Ayame said, her voice loaded with malice. "The leader of the Band of Seven. He was crazy about your mother, you know. Kidnapped her once or twice, and he definitely kissed her more than once. Not too bad-looking, either. She definitely flirted with the idea of going to him."
"What happened?" I whispered.
Ayame let out a slightly harsh laugh.
"He scared her to death, is what happened. Too forceful, I think she said."
"What? My mommy told you that?!" I gasped.
"Not willingly." Ayame sneered. "She got pretty tipsy at the wedding and answered anything I cared to ask her." then she sighed. "I guess her life did pretty much suck. Her dad left for here when she was still little, and her mom lost it for a while. She was on the mend when Jenny was kidnapped by Naraku. So then she really lost it and Susan was looking after almost everything. And then that crazy cat lady. . ."
"What's a crazy cat lady?"
"Some old lady who hates everything but cats. She really hated your mother's family. Tried to set her cats on them but Susan ended up setting her wolf Ruby on them."
I laughed. I could just picture a wolf chasing around a very panicked cat.
"Anyway, I don't owe your parents anything. Your mother stole Koga when I actually might have stood a chance and your father's a womanizer."
I remembered something my mommy told me ages ago about her old country. Something called dating, when you would basically court somebody and if it didn't go too well you would 'break up' with them and then see somebody else after a while. She said that my daddy did it. And I finally believed her.
"Ayame." I said quietly as she started to walk away, tears running down my cheeks. "Please. I know you don't like my mommy and daddy, but. . . Ayame, I love them. And if not my parents, then my Aunt Jenny. Please, Ayame." my voice, punctuated by sobs, was close to a whisper. Ayame stopped in her tracks.
"Your. . . your aunt's missing too?" she asked. "Gods, I like Jenny. She's so nice. Alright, kid. We'll look for your aunt, but then I'm going. I like your aunt enough to look for her, but not your parents. Got that, kid? Just Jenny."
I nodded.
"Thank you, Ayame." I whispered.
* * * * *
Ayame
* * * * *
I hated guilt. It made you feel like nothing. And that was just what this kid could do to you. Make you feel like you just had to help her.
But it was my friend Jenny, after all. She was nice to me after the wedding, telling me that it was alright. She held me while I cried, despite her being half my size.
"Just don't think about it." she'd told me. "I know I'm not." she always made me laugh.
So I agreed to look for Jenny with Susan and Koga's daughter. I didn't even know her name. And I said so.
"Hey, kid." I said. "what's your name?"
"Huh? It's Tessa." she said. "Tessa Sara Wolfe. My Grandpa made my mommy and daddy give me a middle and last name, even though it's really weird."
I nodded. It was a weird name.
"What're we looking for?" She asked as we trekked back up to the cave we lived in. It was pretty separated from the rest of the tribe's caves.
"Seeing if I can smell anything familiar." I muttered, sniffing the air. "whoa." I said, trying again. "No way. No freaking way." It was that smell. The one I never thought I'd catch again.
"What's wrong?" Tessa asked anxiously. "What'd you get, Ayame?"
"It's them again." I hissed. "I thought they were done for."
"Thought who were done for?" the girl asked, looking scared now.
"The Band of Seven." I said. "They're back."
* * * * *
"The Band of Who?" Tessa asked, jumping on her heels. "What's up with this Band of Seven?"
"It must have been Mukotsu's poison that took Koga and Susan out." I muttered, more to myself then Tessa. "I bet it was on Bankotsu's orders. Revenge, most likely. Wanted to get back at Susan for rejecting him. Just like a boy!"
Tessa bit her lip. I looked down at her, and realized with a sudden start that she was wearing Taylor's necklace. The same one one that Susan had worn so many years ago.
* * * * *
Susan
* * * * *
"Uhhhn." I moaned and sat up. "Oh, what? Huh?" I took a breath and a minute to organize my thoughts. "Oh! Oh, God! Koga? Koga, you there? Tessa! Tessa, sweetie?"
"They're not here." a horridly familiar voice said to me.
"Oh!" I gasped, whirling around to face Bankotsu. "You! Why aren't you dead?!"
Bankotsu shrugged.
"You remember that miko Kikyo?"
"Sure." I said, narrowing my eyes.
"And that witch what's-her-face? Urusuae?"
"I guess?"
"Well, some guy found out how to copy her method. He decided to do an experiment on me and my brothers. It worked. So now we're back from the dead. Again." he looked at me. "You've changed." he noted. "You look like you're in your early twenties. What happened to you?"
"It's something that me and my sister can do." I said carefully. "We take on the aging rate of the one we love the most. I love Koga, and Jenny loves me. So we're all one-per-ten. And I am older, but I guess the equivalent would be something like twenty-three."
Bankotsu's eyes widened.
"You're still younger than me then. Technically, anyway."
I felt my mouth drop open. He was still interested in me?!
"Bankotsu, I'm married!" I said fiercely, showing him my hand. "I have a kid, for God's sake!"
"Oh, that brat? Kid looks like she's ten or something. What, did that Koga bastard knock you up right after I died?" He sounded jealous.
"A couple years." I muttered, looking away. Despite everything, I still liked the guy. I hated him, but I also liked him. Not liked him, just as I had liked Derik and Tyler. So I didn't really want to lie to him. Besides, what could it hurt to talk for a while?
"Bet you threw a party when you found out, huh?" he asked, glaring at the ground. "You don't have to worry about upsetting me." he added upon seeing the look on my face. "I won't get mad. I am a jerk, I know that."
"I cried, actually." I said quietly. "It's insane, but in a crazy, twisted, messed-up way, I missed you. You're like a friend. Sorta'. But you're right. You are a jerk."
Bankotsu looked at me for a full ten seconds, but then he started laughing.
"What? What's so funny?" I asked, baffled.
"You're still you!" he howled. "I thought that being with Koga for so long and having a kid and loosing your old friends would change you, but you're the same crazy chick I met ninety-odd years ago!"
I looked away.
"It was hard." I admitted. "My mom died a few decades ago, and it was rough with the aging thing. Believe me, immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be. It can suck eggs at times."
"You're wearing colors." he noted. "It looks good on you."
"Thanks. And I didn't loose all of my friends. Ellie's still around."
Ellie is, but Ruby's not. I thought with a pang. I never thought she would go so quickly. I'm glad that she has descendants. Sapphire looks a lot like Ruby except for the eyes.
"That's good, I guess." he said. Then, as if he didn't really want to know but wanted to be polite, he said: "And how's Koga?"
"Last time I checked, he's good. I don't know now, though, since I don't even know where he is."
"Yeah. . . Hey, that's a different necklace. It's not that rope thing with the blue stones, anymore."
I fingered my new necklace, the silver chain with the small heart within a larger, hollow heart and a couple diamonds. Mom had given her wedding necklace to Tessa when she was dying. Tessa had still been too young to remember, but both me and Jenny had agreed that it should go to Tessa.
"Yeah. It was from Koga on my birthday a while back." I said. "Hey, speaking of birthdays, where the hell is my sword?! My dad gave to to me!"
"Oh, I wondered what that was about. Sorry, I had to take it."
I glared at him. That sword was precious to me. The sword smith Totosai, the same who had forged the Tetsusaiga and Tensaiga for Inutasho, InuYasha and Sesshomaru's father, had made that out of my father's fang, and then one of mine had been mixed in for good luck. I hadn't even known why Dad had pulled one of my fangs until I opened to box. I loved it like I kid loves his Nintendo Wii or Xbox360.
"Well, I want it back. That sword is to me what Banryu is to you, Ban."
"Ban?" he asked. "I remember that nickname. Hey, what's up with the nice act?!"
"I could say the same to you!"
"What do you mean?!"
"How come you're being all nice to me all of a sudden if I married your rival?"
Bankotsu grinned evilly.
"I need that necklace." he said. "Figured the best way was to be nice. So where is it?"
I gritted my teeth.
"Why do you need it?"
"It's magical, and your parents knew it."
"Bull." I said. "It was a wedding present to my mom. Magic didn't have anything to do with it. It was just pretty."
"Oh, no. It's magical, alright. And you're telling me where it is."
"Never." I hissed.
"Then I guess you're just going to stay here and never see your precious daughter again. . . Oh, that's where it is, right? The kid?"
My breath caught in my throat. He was going after Tessa?!
"Where'd you get that idea?" I choked out.
He sneered at me.
"It's obvious. Your sister doesn't have it, so that kid of your has to."
And with that, he turned around and started to walk out of the room.
"Oh," he added over his shoulder. "And you might want to start praying for the kid, since she's not going to make it through this any more that you will."
* * * * *
"Wake up." a voice said, shaking my shoulder. "C'mon! Ban just went to sleep! Wake up, Susan!"
"Huh?" I moaned, shaking my head and sitting up. I didn't remember falling asleep, but I guess that I did, because a certain femmy boy was currently shaking me awake. A femmy boy who I knew decently.
"Oh! Ja-" I started before he clamped his hand over my mouth.
"Sh! Don't make too much noise or you'll wake the others up!" he hissed urgently.
I nodded and he let go of my mouth.
"What's going on?" I asked in a whisper since I got the feeling that Jakotsu didn't want the rest of the Band of Seven knowing what he was doing.
"Bankotsu's going after your kid first thing tomorrow morning." he said hurridly. "I know I probably shouldn't, but I'm giving you a head start. You deserve to save her. He's going to kill her. I don't want to see you hurt like that."
"Why?" I asked. "I thought you were a bad guy?"
Jakotsu looked nervous.
"You're one of the few girls I can stand." he mumbled. "It's like you're my friend. I don't know anything about your daughter-"
"Tessa." I said. "Her name is Tessa."
"I don't know anything about Tessa." he continued. "But I do know that you love her, and it would hurt you to see her killed. Here's your sword. I'll walk you to the door, but then you're on your own."
I took my sword dumbly.
"Thanks." I whispered as he nodded and I got up. Rushing as silently as we could, he led the way to the fresh air.
"Koga's being kept a little south from here." he said once we were outside. "I think that's where your sister is, too. Be careful, alright? I'll cover for you as long as I can, but that won't last for more than a day. So get some distance."
I nodded, too shocked for words. But then I reached up and hugged him.
"Thank you." I whispered. "Thank you so much, Jakotsu. You be careful too, alright?"
"Sure. Whatever. Now GO!" he said, breaking the hug and pushing me.
I nodded and ran. I wasn't going to stop for quite some time. I had to get to Koga and Jenny, and then we had to find Tessa. We just had to!
* * * * *
Koga
* * * * *
"He's this way!" I heard a voice shout.
"Dammit, if he's hurt..." another voice, this one very, very, very familiar said in a threatening voice.
"I don't think so." Jenny said to Susan. "Dazed, is more like it."
I struggled out of my half-awake state to a scent as sweet as candy. Susan! I forced himself to sit up just as Susan hi-ya'ed and kicked the door to my prison down.
"Koga!" she cried, running up and hugging me.
"Omph!" I gasped as she rammed into my gut.
"Damn, Koga, take a shower!" she said through her tears. "You smell like shit!"
"You smell like undead people." I accused. "Bankotsu nabbed you, didn't he?"
"Yeah. Koga, he's going after Tessa/"
"What?!"
"Bankotsu. He-is-fucking-going-after-our-daughter! He's trying to kill my baby!"
Susan loved Tessa more than anything else in the world, I knew that. She was her daughter. Her baby. Tessa was to Susan what food was to a war child. She couldn't survive without her.
"Don't worry." I said gently, holding her tight. "We're going to get her back. I swear by it."
* * * * *
Tessa
* * * * *
"The Samurai!" I cried in dismay upon seeing the overly-muscled menaces. "Ayame, what do we do?!"
"Run away and don't look back!" Ayame cried, grabbing my hand and running. But she was slow. The last group had weakened her, and the men were quickly gaining on us.
We'd been looking for my aunt when we'd stumbled upon a camp of Samurai. They took one look at us, decided they didn't like the look of two female demons roaming around, split into ten-man squads, and gone at us one by one.
Ayame stumbled, and then she fell flat on her face. Her legs! Some Samurai who we thought was dead had used his last ounce of energy to hack at Ayame's calves. Though the wounds weren't serious, they were enough to make her fall. And that would be enough to kill us.
"Ayame!" I shrieked, trying to haul her to her feet. "Oh, please get up, Ayame! You can't die here! It would be some human who took you out! You can't do that, please, Ayame, don't let that happen!"
I Samurai swaggered over. Why hurry? We were two defenseless girls, and he didn't have a scratch on him. So why not rub it in our faces that we were done for?
"Hey, there, pretty little missy." he said to me. "what're you doing out here? You could get hurt!" and with that, he swung his sword over me. I screamed, tears running down my cheeks. But then something happened. He stopped. Shock filled his face. His mouth was open in a silent oh. He fell foreword, and behind him, her claws covered with blood, stood my mother, her face contorted with unspoken rage. Right next to her stood my daddy, wearing an identical expression. Aunt Jenny was behind the both of them, baring her fangs at anybody who dared to come closer to them. Mommy reached down to take my hand, and then swung me up onto her hip. Daddy took Ayame's arm and draped it around his shoulders, supporting her weight until Jenny wordlessly moved over to take her from him.
"Alright." Mommy said in a dangerous voice laden with malice and hatred. "I want to know whose utterly revolting idea it was to kill my daughter and friend."
Nobody seemed brave enough to come foreword and say that they were in charge.
"Tell me!" she ordered. "Or we will kill every one of you pathetic mortals here! I am not in a good mood, so take your pick. One or one hundred?"
Again, nobody was brave (or foolish, depending on how you looked at it) to admit the killings were their idea. But then one man with two swords and chain mail, swung off of his horse and walked two feet away from my mother, who drew her sword as he did.
"You ask who is in charge, Demon?" he demanded, looking calmly at the five of us. "That would be I. I command these Samurai, and I ordered the attack on those two. My name is Metaru. I take it you are the child's mother?"
"Damn right." Mommy hissed, handing me off to Daddy. "My name is Susan, and from this moment on, your worst nightmare!"
I covered my eyes, but that still didn't block out the clashing of metal as the swords collided, or the cries of pain from the two fighters.
After the shouts stopped, and the other Samurai retreated, my mother stood there, her face flushed splashed with Metaru's blood. Her eyes were filled with hatred, but then they softened and she collapsed, wiping tears and blood off of her face.
"What have I become?" she whispered, looking at her hands. "What in God's name have I become? Some mindless killer? What has happened to me?"
"Major maternal instincts." Aunt Jenny whispered, looking at my mother in pity. "Her maternal instincts helped her to protect her baby girl."
I didn't bother to tell them that I wasn't a baby anymore.
* * * * *
End Chapter
* * * * *
So... I couldn't just leave off where I did with the last story, so I decided to make a sequel. I know, if you hate it it's my own problem, but please don't tell me.
