Disclaimer: Guess what everybody! I'm the creator of InuYasha! Yaaay! I completely own InuYasha! And Sesshomaru is my manservent! And that's where my dream ends... all I own is my InuYasha plushi doll, and my Kagome plushi doll, and my Sesshoumaru plushi doll, and my Kilala plushi doll!
Author's Note: Hey everybody! The summary is in the title so I'm not going to hide the fact that I gave InuYasha a sister. (InuYasha: W-what? Ghostly Hand's Pen: That's right InuYasha! I am your mother! Bwhahahaha! And Sesshomaru is my sex slave -er, manservent! Bwhahaha!) Anyway, InuYasha's sister doesn't show up until chapter three, which is currently saved in my Word program half complete. So that brings us to reviewing... PPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSEEEE!! Please review! I don't care if you say brown hair makes me look fat (Ghostly Hand's Pen: How do you know what I look like? You: Because Ghostly Hand's Pen...I. Am. Your. Father! Ghostly Hand's Pen: NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!) or if you just want to tell me my writing sucks and bunnies are cute. I'll accept it all! Now without further to do...
InuYasha's Elder Sister
Part I. Poison
The whole world had turned into a miasma filled land. Air that was once was now choked with a black polluted haze that only the beasts could breathe. The trees had become gray skeletal tombstones that marked where the living had long ago decomposed into the black earth. Buildings had become the rotted remains of something no one could any longer remember. Inside the swirling black air was an evil figure. The figure laughed a retching sound that was inhuman yet scared even the beasts. This is what Miroku, the cursed monk, saw in his nightmares. The tall dark haired monk stood and stared with his dark eyes at the shadows of the miasma. He could feel his lungs close choke on the poisonous air. When the figure of the dead land turned on him it stared at him through the black winds with red eyes from the cold blood of demons. It was those eyes that pierced him as their owner was suddenly choking his neck with cold stone hands.
"Can you breathe, monk?" The demon, Naraku, taunted. Then suddenly bringing his face close to his own he whispered, "Is it the wind tunnel? I've let you keep your filthy life for sometime. Don't you think after twenty-eight years I should get what you owe me?"
Miroku felt cold claws pierce his throat ready to kill him whenever he felt the need.
"You will die here like all before you. Die in my land!" Naraku screeched again.
Miroku gasped desperately for air but nothing came. He tried to scream but only a choked cough formed in his throat. He desperately clawed Naraku's cold hands from his neck but he was no match. Dead skin tore away under his nails as he scratched but Naraku took no notice. He only laughed.
Then black dots began to form in Miroku's vision. Blotting out his world as he was nearing death. The terrible swirling haze around them turned into a storm and wind thundered in his ears. But over the torrent a familiar voice was suddenly at the back of his head.
The voice was muffled and distant but it felt familiar. He couldn't comprehend the words but they sounded worried. Worried for him? He heard a few words that were "waking up" and "move" but what did they mean again? Had he ever known? He couldn't remember. Who was speaking? I think I know this voice, he thought hazily. Or maybe he was delirious. Maybe there was no voice. Then everything went black and he thought it was for the last time.
Sango… His mind whispered suddenly.
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By sunrise a tall half demon with keen golden eyes and long silver hair was just getting up. He yawned groggily as he glanced at the two women who had already been up for some time. Fifteen year old Kagome and sixteen year old Sango. The two both had long dark hair and striking brown eyes. Shippo, the young fox demon, was hanging around somewhere with the two-tailed Kilala. All they were waiting on was that lazy monk Miroku. Then they could pack up camp and head off for the day.
The night before the group of travelers had found a small one-room cabin that had been abandoned for some time. In feudal Japan, abandoned cabins made the best shelters for weary travelers in the dead of night. So they spent the night.
InuYasha was just putting out the last of the early morning campfire when he glanced at the rundown cabin where Miroku still slept.
"Is he awake yet? We still have to get through the last of this forest," InuYasha said irritably.
Sango gave a concerned glance at the cabin, "He has been asleep for quite awhile."
"Yeah he even missed breakfast!" Pitched in Shippo as he dashed to the cabin doorway and peered inside. He shot everyone a scheming smile and crept in without a sound. A moment later in a screaming frenzy intent on waking Miroku, Shippo jumped into the air and landed square on Miroku's chest screaming, "HEY MIROKU GET UP! GET UP! IT'S TIME TO GET UUUUUUUUUUPPP!"
Miroku set up - shocked out of his sleep - began yelling at Shippo. And poor little Shippo began to run for his life. He would take shelter behind Kagome. And no one wants to be in Kagome's way when she gets angry. Then a short time later the team would leave for the nearest village.
…Or this is probably what would have happened had things been normal.
Miroku cried out a raspy yell and pushed Shippo off his chest along with the thin blanket he was using. Shippo cautiously watched him cough for a moment in innocent bewilderment not quite sure what was going on. Miroku's coughing spell continued until he hawked up a little blood into the palm of his hand and rolled back over on his back. His breath was short and uneasy. Beads of sweat settled his forehead and lined his black hair in fine drops.
"Miroku…?" Little Shippo whimpered as the shock settled. Then all at once Shippo quickly jumped to his feet, grabbed Miroku's blanket, and slung it back over him. Then he dashed outside to tell what he had witnessed.
"Something is wrong with Miroku! He's not waking up! Something's wrong!" He said all at once.
"What are you saying, Shippo?" Asked Kagome as Shippo climbed in his usual spot on her shoulder. Sango wasted little time; she was up and inside the shack before Shippo could spill out his story.
A moment later Kagome, InuYasha, and Shippo had all entered. What they saw was Sango sitting over a limp Miroku. Next to them was a little splattered blood and the monk's long golden staff.
Sango turned on them sharply but with tears in the corners of her eyes and shouted, "He's not waking up! He won't move!"
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A small fire crackled in the quite night. InuYasha stared at the blaze intently. The group had put off their travels when they found out Miroku was ill. His black eyebrows had slipped into a dark frown. All this time…and Miroku never said a word. He thought back to the night before. Was Miroku sick last night? Why hadn't he told them? He had never said a word to anyone about a sickness. And now…Miroku could be fatally ill.
Kagome stepped out of the cabin and suppressed a yawn. Miroku was in no shape to go anywhere and because they were camping in the middle of a demon-infested forest Kagome and Sango's combined medical knowledge was the closest thing to doctors for miles. InuYasha looked up at her expectantly for about a split second then went back to scowling at the fire.
"It'd be best if you got some rest," InuYasha muttered in his harsh tone.
Kagome didn't say anything. She stood stone still for nearly a minute before she moved. She walked over and sat by InuYasha. She laid her head on his shoulder. He didn't move. He only watched the fire as it burned and ate away at the brushwood and sticks they had hastily gathered. Neither of them said a word, they both were going over today's events in their heads. InuYasha glanced up at the night sky and said in a hushed tone, "It's nearly morning again…"
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"He's not waking up! He won't move!"
The next hour seemed to have been jumbled together as one long second. Everything happened so fast. Miroku coughing up blood. Dark terrifying blood that splattered everywhere in thick puddles. There was so much blood…
And what had happened to Miroku? What made him so sick? Why didn't Miroku say something? They could have helped. They could have helped!
Miroku's chest heaved up and down in an awkward motion and his breath was short and heavy gasps. He lay on his back under all the blankets they could find but it still didn't keep him from shaking uncontrollably. Sango was wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. He had a dangerous fever way above normal and yet he shook uncontrollably like he was ice.
Miroku slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Sango. His chest still heaved and shuddered restlessly.
"S-s-s-an…oh." Miroku managed to drag the words out between gasps.
"Shhh…" Sango said soothingly, "Don't try to speak."
"S-s-an-'' Miroku tried again but had another coughing episode. He sat up throwing off the cover and puked. A lot of it was blood. His own blood in heavy thick drops that stained the sheets. Miroku sat back he gave a weary look at Sango. His face was pale as a ghost and his eyes were rimmed red. Then those big black eyes weakly closed and he fell back in a faint.
…Miroku!
Sometime later InuYasha and Kagome ran the last few miles to the nearest town as quickly as possible. They had no medical supplies that came anywhere near what they needed to help Miroku and even if they did they would need a doctor. But Miroku was in no condition to travel so the doctor would have to come to them. They searched the village but not one doctor could make it into the forest. Not one would enter the deadly land ruled by demons. They had found an old woman who was a herbalist and Kagome brought back as many herbs as she could carry. They could only hope they would work. This was the best either of them could do.
Sango was the only one who never left Miroku's side. She watched over him when he was asleep and continued to wet the damp cloth on his head. She sat with him when he was in pain and when he screamed with agony. Twice more he got sick and puked. And twice he fainted back into a heavy sleep.
When Kagome and InuYasha returned Kagome used the herbs and made a concoction in little time. They poured it down Miroku's throat and he weakly swallowed and fell back into his deep sleep. Now all they could do was watch over him and wait.
Hours later Miroku opened his eyes.
"S-Sango…" he said hoarsely.
"Miroku…?" Sango whispered quietly as she cautiously moved closer to his side. Miroku's deep dark eyes slid shut and then opened quickly like he was fighting to stay awake. He gazed at her a moment as if unsure what was going on.
"Are you feeling any better?" Sango asked softly.
Miroku ignored the question, "I have to… tell you," he wheezed between gasps. Kagome's medicines seem to have helped him. Sango thought happily. But Miroku was still very weak.
"I have… to tell you," Miroku tried again, "That…I'm going to die…"
"No," Sango hissed, "You'll make it through this. You're just a little ill. You'll be better soon."
Sango felt for his hand and when she found it she squeezed it reassuringly. Miroku flinched and his deep black eyes looked up at her pleadingly.
"No Sango…this isn't a…cold… It's the…wind tunnel."
A cold shiver ran up Sango's spine. She needed no more explanation. It was the moment they all dreaded. The time they had all pushed from their minds hoping it would never come. Except Miroku. Miroku who used the wind tunnel as a weapon and who always smiled as if it was no big deal. Maybe Miroku never forgot about the terrible curse in his left hand. The curse that would kill him like it did his father and his grandfather. Sango let his hand fall back to the bed.
"No…Miroku NO! What about Mushin! The monk! We can bring him here and he can–"
"S-Sango…" Miroku rasped. He shook his head weakly, "I visited Mushin recently…told no one… he said…I…was getting worse…It is beyond his help…now," Miroku sighed.
Sango shook her head stubbornly. She was faintly aware of her eyesight blurring - was she crying? - she wasn't aware of her hands were shaking as she said, "There has to be someone - we'll find you help!"
"Sango," Miroku's raspy voice whispered, "We don't…know where Naraku is…and I give myself…about a week." He coughed and wheezed a bit more. "Please don't spend my last weak worrying," He raised a hand to her wet cheek and brushed it soothingly, "Or crying… I have made peace…with death."
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"It's nearly morning again…" InuYasha's voice trailed off.
Sango stepped outside in a daze. Kagome saw her and sat up rigid, suddenly alert. It was the first time she had seen Sango away from Miroku since morning. Already she had a sinking feeling in her gut. Had the potions worked? Had the potion done anything at all? She noticed Sango's wet cheeks and realized she had been crying and grimly Kagome thought her deepest fear. Did Miroku die?
Shippo and Kilala snored peacefully next to the fire, blissfully unaware of the worries that surrounded them.
Even InuYasha could feel the tension. He tore his eyes away from the fire and for a second his and Sango's eyes met.
Sango looked at them. InuYasha and Kagome. Together. Shippo and Kilala sleeping soundly by the fire. She took it all in. It seemed she was in her own world. Cut off from everyone. She saw Kagome's mouth moving but couldn't hear her words. Was she still crying? Everything seemed so muffled. Even the night sounds around her. It felt that she was a stranger watching a scene play out before her. She felt a lump form in her chest. A heavy lump that seemed to be born of all her emotions she wished she didn't have. There was sadness with the feeling of hopelessness and rising quickly was…fear. Suddenly she saw herself bursting. Bursting with the story of what had happened. She could see herself screaming it out and falling to her knees so terrified of the unshielded truth that lay before her. Sango swallowed no longer able to keep everything in. She burst and the scene played before her eyes and the next thing she knew she was crying in Kagome's arms. That numbing feeling of the lump in her chest was the last thing she remembered.
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InuYasha was lying lazily on his back keeping watch from the roof of the tiny cabin. The dark sky was beginning to retreat making way for the sun to begin to rise over the eastern horizon. Miroku's words still ringed in his ears.
"I've accepted my death. It is apparent I was not destined to go on. I only want to spend my last hours here with my friends."
By now Miroku had almost made a full recovery and, if he wanted, could even manage to walk. The only thing Kagome's medicine couldn't cure was the poison gushing in that hand of his…
InuYasha's sharp ears picked up Sango's voice from below. Her voice was always softer when she was worried about something and she was using that strange accent that sometimes slipped out when she was tense. His demon like ears were catching every word of the conversation being carried out in the warm hut below him. Miroku was talking in his hoarse voice. Everyone was down in the hut but the conversation seemed to be between only Miroku and Sango. InuYasha forced himself to focus on what they were saying. Sango was stubborn; she refused to accept the fact that there was no one left who could do anything for Miroku. No matter what Miroku said. That's Sango, tougher than any demon. Then he thought back to earlier when Sango was crying helpless in Kagome's arms trying to sob out her story.
"Miroku. Do you know what you're asking of us? You're saying we should just stand by and watch you die like it's nothing. Like you aren't…a part of us."
"Sango-"
"We are all that any of us have! Don't you see? We can't just watch you die from the sidelines, we have to stick together to keep each other going."
Sango's words seemed to hang in the still air. InuYasha looked up at the stars intently. His mind was racing. Sango was right. How could he just be sitting up here? How could any of them just sit back and watch Miroku die? A memory came to InuYasha then. An old one he had forgotten but now he could remember every detail clear as the cool night air. The night his mother died…
It was a long time ago, back when he was only a few years old, he had found a tall tree and sat on the tallest branch he could reach that could take his small weight and stared up at the midnight sky. It was way past his bedtime – back when he still had a bedtime – but no one could say 'no' on tonight. His young but expert ears heard an unnatural rustling in the trees and he looked down. A young girl – older than himself - was making her way expertly up to him. She leaped the distance that took his small limbs forever in just a few seconds. Then she sat beside him. Not on the same branch, he looked at her jealously as he saw she was one tree limb higher than he was. At first she said nothing, only looking up at the sky. After a minute she brought her eyes down and looked at him. She had golden eyes just like his own, just like Sesshomaru, just like their father. Her perfect swirling braided hair had come undone and it hung down in white strands by her elfishly pointed ears.
Then she smiled the biggest flakiest grin he'd ever seen. But he looked at her puffy eyes and red cheeks and smiled back just for her sake. That night was the last time he'd ever see her cry. She laid her slender hand across his frail shoulders and pointed up at the sky.
"Do you see those stars there?" she asked cheerfully. He nodded as he tried to figure out what she meant.
"And those?" she pointed just to the left of the first cluster of stars. Instead of waiting for an answer she scooped his small body up from his spot and pulled him up on her lap. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug as he gazed up at the night sky.
"They are called Canis Major and Canis Minor." She pronounced the words with an educated skill she had practiced hard for.
"It means Big Dog and Little Dog, InuYasha-chan," she looked away from the stars for a second and smiled down at InuYasha, "They are constellations, do you know what those are?" She asked sweetly. She watched the small half demon nod his head slightly.
"Because they were so great," she continued in fake enthusiasm, " the gods from the old mythology stories placed the images of Canis Major and Canis Minor up in the sky forever," the female half-demon tightened her hold on InuYasha. He felt a wet drop hit his hand and looked up at her. He noticed she was crying but at the same time she was looking blissfully up at the stars and ignoring the tears that ran down her cheeks.
"Even today Canis Major and Canis Minor are still up there. Like great dog demons they're looking after each other and are protecting anyone who is lost and needs a way." A cold wind blew through the trees and together the two of them shivered. It was a long time before she spoke again. When she did her voice was strong like she was no longer talking about the mythology of stars.
"InuYasha, I want you to understand this." He felt her nervously try to smooth out his long wind blown hair that would probably forever be a matted mess.
"It's just the two of us now, InuYasha. That means we have to stick together. Like Canis Major and Canis Minor, we have to stick together"- The girl pulled back her hand and covered her eyes but through the midnight darkness InuYasha was still able to see tears run down her cheeks-" to help each out and to keep the other living on... Because after tonight we are all each other has. It's just going to be the two of us… Do you understand what has happened, InuYasha? Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?"
He remembered looking up at her eyes. Her gold eyes seemed full of so much sorrow. She was crying.
Maybe he hadn't understood… when he said he did. After that night the world changed to a cruel and dark place. Maybe all he wanted was to see things go back to the way they were. He hadn't understood then.
"Don't cry anymore, sister, I understand, Setsuna." He said in his childish voice.
Maybe now was the first time he really understood the meaning of that night.
Setsuna looked down into his eyes and smiled to him full of relief.
He hadn't understood then, but he did now.
Then what was he still sitting for? What in the hell was he doing?