Yay! I actually did it. Please give me reviews and encourage me to actually give a crap about finishing this. Tell me your thoughts, suggesions, mistakes you notices, or maybe even some things that don't make sense.
ENJOY!
Hikaru saw Kagome all the time. Many times he would find her helping some men in the field, or healing some sick person and a lot times she would join Mom for a cup of tea. But, at the end of the day she would always walk off in the forest to where ever it was that she lived while Inuyasha would escort her.
Hikaru saw Inuyasha all the time. Sometimes Inuyasha would help the men in the field, or accompany Kagome while she healed a sick person and a lot of times he would walk with Dad on a nice, sunny day. But, at the end of the day he would always bring Kagome home to where ever it was that they lived while Mom and Dad said goodbye. That's what Hikaru absolutely knew; it's something that he saw all the time. What he was really interested in was their daughter.
He never saw her going through the fields, or talking to people and he never saw her enjoy any company. That's because Hikaru never saw her at all. He only saw her at one point in time, but he never saw her after that. So that brings up how one question started an entire adventure that spun out of control.
He had always been the curious type, but he was also eleven at the time so he couldn't be blamed when he got curious.
"Where do you suppose Kagome and Inuyasha live?" Hikaru asked looking up to his two older twin sisters. His staff and their weaponry were dirty so they were cleaning out the nooks and kinks
The younger one, Hinata, looked up from her sword for a moment looking deep in thought even though the answer was obvious. "Probably in the middle of the Lost Woods like they say that do." She sarcastically replied then focused her attention to her sword. Sometimes Hikaru would ask stupid question, but he was a kid so what could she do?
"No really, where do you suppose they live?" He pushed.
The older one, Haruna, looked irritated and sat down next to her look a like. "Why?" She asked in her mind-your-own-damn-business voice. She pulled a strand of her nearly black hair back as Hinata handed her the sword. They were a good team, Hinata cleaned and Haruna sharpened.
"Well," Hikaru started as he stopped cleaning his staff. "Obviously, I want to know where they live."
It was obvious that they found him to be weird. It was a nuisance. It wasn't as bad as everyone in the village expecting him to be a pervert like his dad. That was never going to happen. Unlike his dad, Hikaru became a monk because he really liked the idea. The other option was a demon slayer, that didn't seem as great. But, he actually enjoyed the idea of being pure.
Whatever reason, his sister found him weird
"Yeah, we understand that," Hinata replied passively. "But why are you suddenly so interested in where they live? You've never cared before."
It was good that Hinata had cut off Haruna. If Haruna had the chance to put in her opinion then she would say something like, 'If they don't want to be found, then take a hint'. This wasn't very lady like, but Haruna was very lady like. She and Inuyasha got along swimmingly.
"I guess. But, why do they live so far away?"
The twins looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. "Go ask mom and dad." They said in unison.
"I have and they just said that it wasn't my business."
"Maybe it isn't." Haruna finally had a chance to state her opinion. Hinata nudged her sister in the stomach because of her rudeness. All it got was a dirty look and a sigh. Haruna swung her sword, testing it's sharpness.
Scolding's hardly worked on Haruna. Sometimes she would behave for a couple of days before going back to her old behavior. There were a few times Haruna was nice, but it was usually meeting new people, but Hikaru was practically raised by her; He'd see right through her. It'd be like convincing Sango that the two were the other twin. It only worked on Miroku.
"Maybe their hiding something." Hikaru thought out loud. This only irritated Haruna.
"Maybe that's just the way Inuyasha is and Kagome accepts it so they live farther away." She snapped. She pulled out a dagger to sharpen it. "Instead of being creepy and wondering where a married couple live, why don't you be useful and help us improve our weaponry?"
Other people found her directness to be rude, but for Hikaru it was useful. When they were fighting demon, they didn't exactly worry about her being rude. With her being the leader it only made it easier to fight.
Hikaru sighed, finally admitting defeat. "You're right, I'm sorry."
Haruna was more interested in her dagger than Hikaru's apology. She leaned over and plunged the dagger into the tree that they were underneath. "Works like a charm. And I would know, I've used them before." Sharpening weapons was her mastery, which she bragged about too much. Unfortunately, it was one of the many reasons why boys went running within two seconds of meeting her.
Hinata scooted over to Hikaru "She's so prideful." She whispered in his ear. He chuckled.
This didn't go unnoticed by Haruna. She ignored it. The gossip that floated around the village about her was something she painfully knew too much about. It was other people's opinions, so there was no point in worrying about it. Her sister was a different story.
Hinata pulled away from Hikaru "How about after we clean these and sharpen them, we'll go with Kagome and Mom to get some tea?"
"No thanks. I'm going to go follow Komori around. I heard he's going to ask Tashiko's father for her hand. I want to be there watch him embarrass himself." Hikaru was lying; something he knew he shouldn't be doing. But, he was an eleven year old boy, he'd be too bored sitting around and watching girls sip tea and gossip.
"He is?! I'm going with." Haruna shouted jumping to her feet. She dropped all her weapons. A sigh of frustration came out followed by Hinata laughing at her. Haruna growled out some curses as Hinata helped her pick them up.
"No."
The twins looked up though Haruna gave him an odd look.
Hikaru sighed while shaking his head. "I said that I heard, not that he was going to. You know how he is."
The poor boy was girl shy. Something Haruna couldn't fathom because of how his personality was; calm and in control. No one could get a reaction out of him, not even Shouta! Why did he start acting goofy just because a girl was around?
"Well, fuck. Just ruin all my hopes." Haruna mumbled out. Watching Komori embarrass himself would have been the funnest thing to do on that dragged out day.
Once Haruna was done organizing her weapons she plopped back on the ground looking half way bored to death. Since Haruna was faster, Hinata continued cleaning. Silence over took them.
Children playing, men working the fields or horses hustling couldn't reach them. It was always nice to hear the birds or wind or that buzzing in their ears when it was quiet enough. When it was like that, Haruna tended to get bored and then tended to get in trouble and then tended to get yelled at. But, this type of behavior seemed to be normal when children had many siblings. More children, more ideas, more trouble and more spankings.
"Anyway's." Haruna yawned breaking that lovely silence they rarely got to enjoy. "What should we do after we're done with this? Maybe go train some more?"
"No, today's the lazy day." Hinata said as she handed another weapon to Haruna.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
"Lazy day?" Hikaru asked.
"We work out all the time." Haruna irritably complained. "We need a break every so often or our bodies break down. It's also good for a mental break too. So today's our lazy day. Unfortunately that also means that we can't do anything that would be hard on our bodies."
"Unfortunately?" Hinata quietly mumbled confused. A look of disbelief crossed her face. Who would think badly of relaxation?
"Oh." Hikaru silently mouthed.
The silence came back.
They choose a nice day to rest; not too cloudy, too sunny or too hot. It was that nice day where anyone could lay down and be asleep within seconds. It was still the beginning of summer, so there were few good days left.
Haruna snapped her fingers in realization. "Maybe we could ride around on Kirara?"
"It was fun when we were children." Hinata sighed.
"Annoy Komori?"
"That's fun for you."
"Annoy Shou-
-If you suggest annoying anymore of our siblings I'm going to throttle you." Hinata smiled innocently. Hinata most definitely wasn't Haruna, but Hinata had her own side.
The threat completely by passed Haruna. "Ask Mom to do our hair?"
Hinata sighed a little depressed. "Neither of us have boyfriends so there's no point."
Boys came running to meet Hinata. Not because she was so pretty but because of her statues and reputation for being polite. Sometime they didn't know she was a twin, and sometimes mistakes would happen. After two seconds Haruna had them running never to look back again. Many times Haruna did it on purpose; if they wanted Hinata so badly then why didn't they learn the damn difference before getting her hopes up? Even if it did irritate Hinata.
Haruna looked guilty but forced it off. "Go find out where Inuyasha and Kagome live?"
Anything to change the subject. It didn't do any good for a girl's self esteem; though, there wasn't much to her.
"They live all the way in the lost woods, you know, where all the trees look exactly alike so it's, you know, easy to get lost, you know, in the woods." Hinata sarcastically replied.
Only Haruna could bring out Hinata's rudeness; they had a special relationship like that.
"All trees already look alike." Haruna rolled her eyes which got a huff from Hinata.
"My point is that the woods are really easy to get lost in and everyone knows it. That's why no one goes in there unless Inuyasha escorts them. How hard can it be to explain why the Lost Woods is called the Lost Woods?"
"We could always ask Inuyasha to show us." Haruna started to argue back.
Their arguments even had Hikaru running. It was something Hikaru never understood. Inuyasha and Kagome had arguments, not as bad as the twins', but it still hurt them. Not these two, they would fight, claw, scratch and bite, and then go do their hair.
"Can we just drop it?" Hikaru nearly begged, least he ran home in fear.
"I know what we should do!" Haruna shouted causing the birds to flap away from them. Her outburst made Hikaru flinch. He was scared of what she had in mind, but Hinata didn't seem worried, so it couldn't have been that bad, right?
Hinata sighed from Haruna's childish behavior. "What would it be this time?"
"Mud sliding!"
'That doesn't seem so bad.' Hikaru thought.
Hinata smiled. Because she approved the idea Hikaru would tag along, but that wasn't a good idea. Hinata knew where they were going to go and Hikaru would suffer a little, but that was fine. If she could spend childhood memories with her sister then his undergo was worth it. Oh, how mother would scream later.
"Of course we should." Hinata clapped her hands together in excitement and then looked at Hikaru. "Are you going to come with us?"
Hikaru thought for a moment. If Hinata didn't say anything against it then it would be fine. Sometimes, rarely, Hinata went along with Haruna's extreme behavior. But it was mud sliding, how bad could it be? But, it was Haruna's idea.
"Maybe later."
"Amazing how we act more like men than you do." Haruna taunted him.
Taunts did nothing to him; he was a passive person.
"Ah, well, when you put it like that I-
-Great, we'll go when we're done." Haruna interrupted.
He was going to that he still didn't want to go. No matter what he said Haruna would drag him along, like earlier that day. He didn't want to watch them fix their weapons, but she had her way of getting what she wanted.
He sighed in frustration. "Fine. You're going to coerce me no matter what I do."
Haruna squealed in happiness and threw herself on her little brother in a hug. Even Haruna had her moments. "Hinata," she sang out, "Hikaru is going to go with us."
"I heard." Hinata turned to get a better look at him. "Don't worry you're going to have fun."
"I doubt it." He mumbled through Haruna's man arms.
Maybe if he had never opened his mouth then they wouldn't have dragged him into their games.
"Sango, where are your children?" Kagome looked over the clothes they were hanging up. It was a nice day for laundry
"They're right here." Sango gestured to her two youngest children, Nanami and Aoi. The two girls looked up to their Aunt-like figure.
Kagome bent over and picked up Aoi, who was only four. She picked the short black hair from her face as the girl squirmed from the pampering.
"Not these little angels; the little trouble makers who always seem to beat up Hikaru."
"Ah, you mean Haruna and Shouta. Well, Haruna was with Hinata so I'm not concerned about her but I haven't seen Shouta all day." The woman stopped her work suddenly concerned for her fairly young boy. He had been considered an adult last year. Even though he was now thirteen she still looked at him like her little baby.
"What about Komori?" Kagome bent over to also pick up Nanami. She was six, so it was harder to catch her. It didn't help that Aoi was trying to kick Nanami away. Aoi was such an attention grabber. Kagome finally gave up and just let them play.
"Komori is threatening to ask for Tashiko's hand." She sighed. "My little boy."
Sango was Komori's age when she married Miroku. Societally it was fine, but all her children seemed too young; maybe it was because she was a mother. If she didn't let him go then he would end up like Hinata and Haruna, nearly twenty without any suitors.
"Hey, come on, he was your age when you got married. It's about time he did." Kagome nudged Sango trying to cheer her up. Never in her life would she have thought that sixteen was an appropriate age to marry. That changed when she stayed in the feudal era.
"And," Kagome continued. "If he does marry her then soon you'll be a grandmother."
Sango froze at the thought. Kagome looked over to her friend in concern. She waved her hand in Sango's face hoping to get a reaction. Sango grabbed Kagome's hand and shook her head in disbelief.
"What?" Kagome asked taking her hand back.
"Well," Sango hesitated. "You know how Miroku is. I'll probably be pregnant. Again. Soon."
"Yeah?"
"Let's say I'm pregnant now."
"Okay?"
"And Komori gets married now and lets say in a month Tashiko is pregnant. I would have a baby who is only a year older than their nephew or niece."
"Uh, okay, I see your point. That would be a little awkward."
"Yeah, lets hope I don't get pregnant again."
"What do you mean hope?" Kagome slid up to Sango. It's not that she was a pervert, but as a woman in her thirties who had a little(*cough cough* a lot *cough*) experience she tended to find it funny to embarrass Sango. "Just tell him no once in a while." Kagome gave her a sly smile.
"You know," Sango said hiding her face in her hands. "I liked you more when I first met you."
"Really?" Kagome's smile widen. "I didn't like you very much when we first met."
Sango looked up in surprise. "Why?"
"You did try to kill my husband."
"Oh." Realization dawned on Sango. She became embarrassed again and held her head down in shame. "Did I ever apologize for that?"
Kagome put her hand on Sango's shoulder. "Plenty."
"He wasn't your husband at the time." Sango mumbled as she went back to work.
"He wasn't such a sweet heart at the time." Kagome took the clothes Sango handed her.
Sango nearly choked on her breath. "He still isn't a sweet heart." She shouted catching the children's attention. "Sorry, sweeties. Go back to playing." Her solicitous voice soothed their concerns and they went back to rolling around in the dirt.
"Ppff, not when you guys around." Kagome laughed. "He has his moments."
"Yeah, he's a real romantic."
"Oh, you mean like Miroku?" Kagome taunted as Sango rolled her eyes. They paused for a moment before going into a giggle fit at their not-really-romantic-but-they-try-anyway's husbands.
"Please, Miroku doesn't get this for free." Sango proudly said as she gestured at her body.
"Yeah, neither do you." Kagome replied tilting her head towards Sango's two children.
"It's worth it." Sango smiled looking at her friend who looked suddenly depressed. There were times when Kagome looked to Sango's children in envy and in longing.
Sango wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders trying to comfort her. "One day, Kagome-chan, one day."
"Yeah, maybe." she said quietly as the children looked up in concern.
The young girls look towards the women who were staring at them. They crawled over to latch onto their Aunt Kagome, who wasn't smiling like she always did. Kagome smiled at the two and gladly accept the hug. Their faces brightened as Kagome giggled. A hug always worked when she sad; They were proud of themselves.
"Why am I being down? The summer festival is soon. That's something to look forward." She got up as the girls went back to playing "You'll have to have your children exorcise some demons in other villages to help pay for it. They always have loved going to it."
"Mostly because Haruna and Hinata are stronger than any man in the village here."
Sango mumbled out in frustration. They had to get married soon or else the men wouldn't want them for being, well, not old but older. They'd be less fertile and have less years to have children. Those two were concerning.
"Just don't forget to bring it up, okay Sango?" Kagome smiled.
"Right, of course." Sango smiled back.
"Where the hell is he?" Inuyasha growled. His attitude has been getting worse through out the day. His shoulders were hunched in that way whenever he found something to be tedious. He started mumbling under his breath. Something about them being dead if they didn't come home, or at least that's what Miroku thought.
They came home to Sango asking them to find Hikaru. Of course she was asking Inuyasha more than Miroku since Inuyasha could find them faster. Miroku though it'd be best for him to come along just to make sure Inuyasha didn't kill his child for being gone. So far it was paying off. Inuyasha was irritated because he couldn't find his scent anywhere. Normally he'd be able to find him in a few minutes, but his scent was covered up by other people working on the summer festival decorations. Even though the festival would be at the end of summer, better to be safe than sorry.
"I heard Haruna and Hinata talking about their lazy day. Maybe Hikaru joined them." Miroku said grabbing Inuyasha's attention. The dog demon huffed in irritation.
"Right. That stupid day Haruna made up to get out of doing anything and Hinata gladly followed with it. None of your other brats go along with it."
Miroku sighed with irritation. Inuyasha mood wasn't doing anything good for him. He just wanted to find his children and go home to his wife. It had been a long day.
"I understand that you would rather be with Kagome-san than go looking for someone else's child but soon it will start to get dark, I'm concerned for him. You know how easily his siblings target him.
Miroku glared down to the ground as if it was the cause of his irritation. "If Hikaru is with his siblings, I'm still concerned because of how they are with him. If he's not I'm still concerned. You know demons are more active during the summer time. They would want to come after him because he's a monk."
The two men stopped. Inuyasha looked at his friend in concern, he shouldn't have been so assertive. Miroku was concerned for his child and he should have been more empathetic.
The villagers passed them not knew the tension between them. They were the protectors of the village. It was assumed that they has everything under control.
Finally Inuyasha broke the silence with a sigh. "You're right. I'm just irritated from the long day." Inuyasha picked up the pace again.
Everyday was a long day. There was food to be picked, demons to fight, women to take care of and children to be protected. Inuyasha just wanted to go have dinner and take Kagome home.
Miroku smiled at Inuyasha's understanding and followed him. Inuyasha wasn't that angry teenager he met all those years ago. He was now a grown man who had his tenancies to be immature, but care for people and was (somewhat) gentle. Still, Inuyasha would always be Inuyasha.
"I'm glad I met you before I met Sango." Miroku walked besides his friend.
"Yeah, why's that?" Inuyasha turned his head trying to find Hikaru's scent.
"If I didn't have the experience with your horrible attitude then it would have been hell to raise children." Miroku let out a grin as Inuyasha became red in the face.
"You're a fucking idiot." Inuyasha growled out after hitting Miroku upside the head. Miroku rubbed the back of his head while smiling. At least Inuyasha wasn't in his horrible attitude anymore.
"Not so," Miroku smiled as his friend turned away from him. "If anyone can deal with your horrible anger then they can deal with a fussy child."
"Do you want me to find your damn kid or not?" Inuyasha scoffed avoiding a few woman carrying food. They were in a part of the village where there was store venders. They would sell fruits, vegetables, many different kinds of clothes, jewelry, and many times pots and pans.
Ever since Inuyasha decided to live in the village it had flourished and became a homey place for humans. He could do ten times the work any man could do. When harvest fell behind he easily picked it up. When a house was destroyed he put it back together. If someone was missing he could find them. No one dared to take advantage of Inuyasha, but they knew that he would be reliable and shortly afterwards yell at them for being careless.
"Oi, Hoshi-sama!" A woman from one of the stands yelled. Her loudness had others repulsed by her rude behavior. It wasn't polite for anyone to be so loud. "Are you looking for your children?" She continued to shout.
Miroku walked over to her while Inuyasha followed. "Why yes I am. Have you seen them?"
Miroku didn't know the woman very well, as a matter of fact, he didn't even know her name. What he did know her for was her goofy attitude. Always happy, always joking. It was nice to have someone just to be happy, better than Inuyasha's attitude.
The woman chuckled. "Only for a price I have." She smiled from her dominance, she had him by the rope.
Miroku did his best not to roll his eyes at her. He had to remind himself that she didn't know he was actually worried. Instead her gave her a smile.
"Well, if it weren't for I and Inuyasha you'd be dead. Is that a good enough price?" Miroku tried his best to ignore the glowering demon behind him. Inuyasha couldn't stand the woman.
She boisterously laughed before giving in. "They were here a long time ago; for a snack. They said that they were going to go mud sliding. I'm not sure if they were joking or not but since it's your twins I wouldn't be surprised, but it was Hikaru that told me. He's such a sweet angel."
Inuyasha shuddered. He hated angels.
"Thank you for your time." Miroku quickly said and turned his back. Her mouth was left gapping but she quickly shut it.
"Bye!" Her voice rung out.
Miroku sighed in relief knowing that if she had the chance she would ramble on about how sweet Hikaru was. Everyone knew Hikaru would make an excellent monk.
"Mud sliding?" Inuyasha inquired as Miroku lead by towards the woods.
"I forbade them from mud sliding when they were little." Miroku explained with a scowl.
His twins probably forgotten the beating he gave them after they disobeyed him once. They were grown up now, so they had to make their own life decisions. But, if they dragged Hikaru into it, he was sure to beat them.
Inuyasha noticed the angry look on Miroku's face. Miroku wasn't one to just stop kids from having fun. "Why?" Inuyasha broke Miroku's thoughts. Miroku snapped his head towards Inuyasha giving him an irritated look.
"They always found the most horrible places to go."
"Like where?"
Miroku sighed. "I knew a few spots but they'll take a while to get there."
"Can we just go already? The sooner we find them, the sooner I don't have to deal with this crap."
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Hikaru suggested as he looked over the hill filled with toppled trees, thorns and who knows what else. This was a bad idea, but Hinata was supposed to be the responsible one. Wasn't she suppose to not put him in fatal danger?
In front of him there was a sled that was used during the winter time to carry goods across the snow. They weren't seriously planning on putting him on that, were they?
It had been a couple of hours since the two girls had finished cleaning and sharpening their weapons. In that time that had gone to the village, had a snack and walked to the great hill that they were standing on. It was more like a mountain top; it had this chill about it that made it seem like death was everywhere. Yet, they were going to fall to their deaths far from where anyone could find them. No one would look for them because it would get dark soon and because they were near the Lost Woods. How ironic.
"Scared?" Haruna taunted.
Terrified, not that he would ever tell her that.
Haruna could read him too easily. She leaned far too close to him and he took a shaky step back. Sometimes her grin was enough to send the boys running. It made him shiver.
"Can't we just head home? Mom and Kagome-san will be starting dinner soon, right? Maybe Dad will be home." Hikaru blabbed knowing Haruna wouldn't abate her stand. "Maybe he will be with Inuyasha-san and then we can bug him."
"Just do it." Haruna bluntly demanded.
Hinata grabbed Haruna's arm and pulled her to the side. "If he doesn't want to then he doesn't have to." She finally stood up for up. Hinata was always mysterious like that, sometimes she stood up for him, but why this time?
Haruna ignored Hinata. They had always gone mud sliding as children, what was the worse thing that could happen? And why was she stopping her now all of a sudden?
Haruna gazed down the sludgy hill that was covered in muck, mud and moss. Even if it was a little dangerous Hikaru's life thrived on danger. Hinata was being too protective. If he got hurt Haruna would care too, he was her brother too.
"You battle against demons almost everyday nearly getting killed each and every time." Haruna pointed out in that annoying, bossy tone that she always had when she thought she was right. She flipped her long, shining, brown hair back as in a gesture to show that it was no big deal. It was just a hill.
"No, you battle against demons almost everyday nearly getting killed each and every time." he argued back knowing that it wouldn't do any good. "I was smart enough to know to be a monk; that way I can stand on the side lines, help in the battle and be fine at the end of the day."
Hikaru wanted to run away but she was still too close and too strong even with Hinata pulling on her. If he ran, she'd catch him in the open field behind him. In the end, she won.
"You are such a coward." Haruna accused him. He didn't care if she belittle him because he wasn't going to do it.
"Haruna," Hinata hissed out. "That's not how you talk to your brother." Hinata warned her by tightening her grip which was ignored by Haruna.
Haruna smirked and turned to her sister. "It's not my fault he turned out like this. It's also not my fault it's the truth."
Hinata let go of her and sighed out, "Even Inuyasha-san is nicer than you and no one thinks he's nice."
"Just because I'm always right and he agrees with me doesn't mean that you have to bag on my intellect." Haruna huffed out and then crossed her arms in a defying manner. It's not that she was always right but sometimes her mouth went off because something interesting always happened. Usually, someone got offended and told her that she was a horrible person. It hurt but at least it was something.
"You're not that smart." Hinata replied.
"Then why am I the leader of the group?" Haruna flipped back her hair again.
"Because Mom and Dad are getting too old and you're too bossy for us to say no." Hikaru said.
Haruna snapped her head toward her brother and bared her teeth like a dog. Hikaru tensed up getting ready for the attack.
"That's it!" She grabbed him too fast for Hinata to react. "Down you go!"
Down he did go.
And there was a cliff ahead.
'So that's why Hinata stood up for me.' He thought before he panicked.
He screamed as loud as he could, hurting his throat. He tried to grab at the pounding branches but only scratched his hands. Desperately, he tried to claw at the ground, which only tore off his skin. He pulled back hissing at the pain. Finally, he pushed himself off of the sled hoping to crash into something. He huffed out as a tree slammed into his abdomen.
He stayed next to the tree debating whether he wanted to move or not. He settled with opening his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye the sled flinging off the cliff. He didn't see the cliff at the top of the hill. It didn't look all that deep, but it was dangerous. He decided he had enough and got up to have a look around.
His stomach wasn't too happy about him getting up. Sitting there wouldn't do any good so he forced himself up.
There was a bush that had grown over a sagging tree which had a hole in it big enough for him to fit. Go in there, or go back to his sisters. He pushed the bush out of the way and hid.
"Hikaru!" Hinata's concerned screams echoed across him.
He really didn't want anything to do with his sisters after they showed how much they loved him.
"Hikaru!" Haruna called out. "I'm sorry!" She sounded more distressed than Hinata. "I forgot about the cliff." Sure, she did.
The two girls stumbled into view desperately looking around them. Hikaru pressed his back against the root of the tree. The sun was starting to set so they wouldn't have saw him in his dark robes anyway's.
They ran off looking for him continuing to shout his name which became softer and farther away. It stopped. Hikaru turned his head around the tree to hear them better. They seemed to start a conversation which only sounded like soft muffles. After a few ex chances they grew quiet. He could only hear the ground crunch under their foot steps which eventually faded.
'Damn it.'
They were going to get Inuyasha.
Hikaru knew it was stupid, but he crawled out of the tree and went in the opposite direction. Let them worry, they would get in trouble, not him. Hinata would break down right away and apologize. Haruna was something else. Sometimes she apologized, sometimes it took a few days and sometimes she refused. Not like she really had anyone to loose.
Why was Haruna so stubborn? And why was she the one with so little consequences? If she got punished then she would brush it off. If something bad happened she could fix it. She had so little to worry about.
Forget about Haruna.
He went on.
The shade of pink over the forest held him in a trance. Dusk was always so beautiful. The shadows came out, the birds quieted down and there was that silence where he could hear the ringing in his ears. It felt so much like when he was with his sisters earlier that day, but this was much better.
He didn't walk for long when something caught his eye. There in the distance, through the forest, was a figure of a man. He was sitting on a toppled tree that hung loosely on top of another tree. He was high in the tree, far too high.
Hikaru hid behind a tree hoping to observe the man, actually boy. Hikaru realized that it was a boy. Maybe no older than him, maybe even younger.
The boy was inhumanly still. It made him shudder.
Hikaru let out a relieved sigh which made the boy snap his head towards him. How did the boy hear him from that far away? It didn't matter, even though Hikaru hadn't stepped away from the tree the boy still watched him like a hawk. He was looking for a threat and it really depended on if the boy was one too.
The oddness of the whole encounter was that even though the boy was looking for a threat, the boy looked bored. He just sat there looking irritated as if somehow Hikaru had intruded on him.
'Is he a noble?' Hikaru thought.
This boy was wearing a dark blue silk kimono. Something only nobles wore, but this boy couldn't have been. His hair was far too short, it barely went passed his shoulders and it was a little unkempt.
It seemed that too long had passed by and the two boys hadn't made any moves. Curiosity was getting to him.
"Who are you?" Hikaru asked.
"Who's asking?" He spat out.
Hikaru walk out from behind the tree and held himself a little higher. "I protect my village." He tried to sound intimidating and normally it would work. Men were always in awe at how he could have such confidence for being so young, but this boy was, well, a boy too. He wasn't going to be in amazement about a boy his age looking confident.
The boy scoffed. "I'm sure you do, kid." A smirk formed on the boy's face. That horrible smirk was worse than Haruna's. It held a knowledge that no matter what, you were always on the bottom and you would never be anywhere else. Hikaru may have been more experienced with life than other children, but even he didn't have that confidence that this boy had.
"You're a kid too." Hikaru growled out gripping his staff harder. The boy took notice and his smirk grew larger. This boy acted like he was arguing with a toddler. Tedious and for entertainment. The boy reminded him of Sesshomaru.
Realized dawned on him. What if this boy was a demon? It would explain the boy's arrogance and dismissive ness. But, he didn't have a demonic aura.
It didn't sway Hikaru. Many times demon would use spells to hide their auras to which Hikaru could easily see through. It felt strange and uncomfortable. Like it did with the boy. Hikaru may have been young but he was well trained. This boy must have been a demon.
Hikaru wasn't subtle reaching in his robe to grab a purification scroll. The boy didn't even bat an eye. Hikaru threw the scroll only for the boy to catch it and lazily drop it to the ground. Hikaru disbelievingly stared at it for a moment before looking at the boy in awe. It should have stopped whatever spell there was. But, there was the boy looking bored as ever.
He got frustrated. "Are you a demon?" He shouted at the boy.
If only Haruna were there to scare the boy into submission.
The boy laughed clutching his stomach as his voice echoed throughout the woods. Why was he laughing? This started to rouse Hikaru's anger. Nothing was more humiliating that someone laughing at his attempts at anything.
"What makes you think I'm a demon?" The boy calmed down but still had that horrible smirk on his face. Hikaru wanted to strangle him.
"Normally humans don't sit in trees."
The boy bared his teeth in a demeaning smile. "Sure they do."
"Not at sunset." Hikaru argued still suspicious. "Normally, humans go to their village because it's dangerous at night."
"Then why aren't you heading toward your village? Are you human?" He had a good point.
"I'm a monk." Hikaru said in his pride.
"Hardly." The boy laid his hands on the back of his head as if to show more dominance than before.
"I have experience in fighting." Hikaru argued back feeling very immature for the way he sounded, but he didn't care, this boy was irritating him. "Like I said, I protect this village so it's not uncommon for me to walk in the forest, even at night."
He was lying. There was no way in hell his parents would ever let him wonder around at night. Maybe in a few years with more experience, but the boy didn't know that.
"Is that so?" The boy taunted.
Hikaru calmed himself. Getting angry wouldn't get anywhere and to top it off he was getting off topic.
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Are you a demon?"
The boy took his hands off his head and scrunched up his face in thought. For a while it seemed that the boy wasn't even going to answer him "I consider myself human."
That took Hikaru by surprise. A demon would never conform to saying that they were human, even if it meant protecting themselves from dying. But, only powerful demons could appear in a humanoid form. Was he really human?
Hikaru relaxed his body that he didn't even know had tensed up, though he kept his grip on his staff.
"Consider?" Hikaru confusingly repeated.
"Yes." He was blunt, so impassive as if it was the truth. It couldn't have been. If he was human, what was this boy doing here? Was he a monk like himself? Then how did that explain his odd aura? Maybe a ninja or something? He must have been some type of fighter otherwise he wouldn't have been out there by himself.
"Where are your parents?" Hikaru snapped.
"Where are your parents?" The boy snapped back.
"They wouldn't be concerned for me." He continued his lie. "I said that it's not uncommon for me to be out here."
"Well, my parents aren't concerned either." The boy jump off of the tree. A jump far too high for any normal human to just jump off of like it was nothing. "Why don't you just leave me alone?" The boy started to walked toward Hikaru.
Fear gripped over Hikaru's body.
Now he really wished Haruna was there.
"If I was a threat I would have already made that clear, don't you think?" The boy raised his voice. "If I was a demon I would have tried to eaten you." The boy became more assertive. "If I was a bandit I would have tried to rob you." The boy closed in. "And if I was a murderer then I would have tried to kill you." The boy was in his face. "Leave me alone." The boy snarled.
So badly, Hikaru wanted to push the pale boy away from him and run, but this boy had him stuck in those violet orbs. Inches from his face, so close to his body and so intriguing, Hikaru couldn't run.
Finally, the boy slowly backed away from him.
Hikaru let out his breath that he didn't know he was holding. Maybe he really should have just minded his own business.
"Hikaru!" A voice rung throughout the woods. Hikaru and the boy jerked their heads in the direction of the sound. It was Inuyasha. So the twins finally sent him.
Hikaru turned towards the boy to find him a few trees away. It was like the boy hovered like a ghost instead of walked, so quick to maneuver around the forest. Unlike a human.
"Tell me your name." Hikaru called after him.
The boy glanced in at his direction with an annoyed look on his face. At least what Hikaru could tell from the darkness; too dark. He had been with the boy longer than he thought.
"We'll never see each other again." The boy quietly growled almost to keep from being heard. Inuyasha wasn't one to be messed with, Hikaru knew that well, but the boy didn't. So why was he trying to be quiet?
"In case we do." Hikaru called back out.
"Hikaru!"
The boy glanced in the direction of Inuyasha. A worried expression plastered on his face. Maybe he did know that Inuyasha shouldn't find him. Finally, the boy sighed out in annoyance. "Taro," he growled and then turned. "My name is Taro." Quickly, he went through the twisted paths. Too far away now.
"My nam-
"I know what your name is." Hikaru could barely hear his voice.
And then the boy, or, Taro was gone.
A scowled laid on Hikaru's face. Just what was Taro?
"Hikaru!"
The sound thundered in his ear as he frighteningly turned towards Inuyasha. "There you are." Inuyasha appeared out of nowhere yanking on Hikaru's arm as he held him close. "You know how damn worried your parents are? Huh?" Inuyasha growled vehemently glaring at him. A look of shock laid on Hikaru's face. Inuyasha took a moment to look him over. "The hell's wrong with you?"
Confusion spread on Inuyasha's face. He lightened his grip on Hikaru's arm and looked across the blended shades of the trees. He took a couple of steps away from Hikaru scanning the area with caution. The birds had their chirps, the frogs croaked, the incest crawled and the stars were starting to appear. Nothing unusual. Inuyasha was looking for something that wasn't there.
Inuyasha turned towards Hikaru with an annoyed look. "You were with someone?" It was more of a statement than a question, but felt like an accusation.
Hikaru shrugged his shoulder like it was no big deal, because it shouldn't have been, right?
"Yeah." he replied.
Inuyasha looked back towards the woods for a moment. "You know who?" His voice was covered with concern.
"No." He lied. He had been lying too much. At least Inuyasha wasn't a mind-reader, he would punish him for anything, but Hikaru was known for being innocent, so if he wanted to he could get away with a lot of things.
Inuyasha scratched the back of his head and look at the ground in deep thought. Eventually he sighed and said, "Let's just go. It's time for dinner and your parents are worried."
"Why the hell would you two ever do that?!" Sango voice screeched against the walls and made everyone want to cover their ears. The wrath of a mother was God's anger. "Haruna?" She growled staring at the older twin.
Haruna couldn't say anything. It was one of those question where the answer was always wrong. If she did answer, she might get strangled for it, so she could only hold her head down in shame.
"I found him all the way by the river side." Inuyasha smugly said leaning against the wall. Inuyasha was always a good person, but it was too entertaining watching someone get punished,
"After dark?! Look how bruised up he is!"
A few bruises here and there with a couple of scratches and mud all over to top it off. It's not like Hikaru hadn't had worse, but his sister was at fault. Note, sister and not sisters, their parents wouldn't believe Hinata would have anything to do with it. She had a far better reputation than Haruna and Haruna was willing to take a beating for it. She wasn't that bad of a sister.
The only thing Haruna had was two bruises on both sides of cheeks. One from Miroku and on from Inuyasha.
"Look, Sango, let her be, okay? Me and Miroku already gave her a piece of our minds."
It's wasn't like the beating would actually do anything to Haruna. It didn't matter. She would hold her head down and eventually everyone would let her go. In a few days the only evidence would be a bruise or two and it would be forgotten. In a way, like Hinata, she always got away.
Sango bit her lip while giving the girl a horrible glare. Her lips tightened before she gave in. "Fine," She growled. Even Nanami and Aoi were hiding behind Hinata in terror. "Only because I know Inuyasha gave you a beating."
Haruna gave that dominating smirk beneath her bowed head. Hinata looked away from her sister in shame. While her sister was hit for her mistake she was in the corner holding her sisters. No one would look her way.
Haruna lifted herself and sat next to Hinata. She landed with a thud as she held that bored look from earlier that day that brought about this mess. Hinata placed a comforting hand on Haruna which was ignored. No harm, no foul.
"Alright, alright," Kagome announced getting everyone away from the horrible mood. "Let just eat our dinner, okay?" She smiled her infamous smile that made everyone's heart melt. Everyone nodded and grumbled in agreement as the mood went from solemn to enjoyable.
The children sat on the wooden floor around the fire as the women handed out the bowls. Hikaru sat in a corner waiting patiently for his food. Just then Shouta suddenly appeared by his side and grabbed onto his arm in a death lock grip. Hikaru froze knowing what was going to come next.
"H-hey, Shouta. Where have you been all day?" Hikaru turned his head towards his a bit too creepy older brother.
Shouta gave his sly, terrifying grin. Despite Shouta being the most back-stabbing, devious, and sneaky know-it-all, every girl practically threw themselves at him. He had the most flawless pall skin ever, perfect black, soulless eyes and night black hair pulled back in a pony tail. Not too tall, not too short, not too big and not to small. Even with all his good looks and perverted nature, everyone knew to stay away from him. He was that person who held the knowledge that no one wanted getting out.
It was so ironic that Shouta was also a monk. The purple robe just fit him, but it really shouldn't have been placed on him.
Shouta grabbed Hikaru's face and inspected him like a dead body. "My poor baby brother. What did those that devil do to you this time?" Shouta faked concern. Shouta has his moments of solicitousness, like Haruna, but far in between.
Hikaru could only stare at him.
Shouta sighed and let go of Hikaru. He wasn't an idiot. Something happened to Hikaru otherwise he would have been more talkative, or playing with the toddlers, instead he was just sitting there. Hikaru took more time to get the truth out of, he would actually have to put some time into him.
Sango passed them bowls as Komori sat next to Hikaru. Komori wasn't really one to care about anyone. He just wanted to eat and then go to sleep.
Like the twins he was a demon slayer. He was far more tolerable than Shouta, and would make a far better priest, he just wasn't one to think ahead. He liked the here and now. He was here in the hut and now eating his dinner.
Shouta looked at him wondering about his lover's hand. He almost didn't want to ask just because Komori never reacted to him. He was so impassive that none of his siblings could irritate him. Shouta decided to go at it anyway's.
"Oi, Komori."
Komori turned his head towards Shouta who was on the other side of Hikaru.
"Did you ask Tashiko for her hand?"
The whole room froze and looked at Komori. They had been wondering how long he would procrastinate it. Everyone knew he was nice and would be able to take care of Tashiko. Her father highly approved of him. It was a matter of if he would do it or not.
"No." Komori quietly said and then continued eating his food. Shouta sagged his shoulders in irritation. Why did he have to have a brother like Komori? They were total opposites; Shouta was active, lively, un-empathetic, and talkative, but Komori was quiet, impassive, emotional and a loner. Unfortunately they were forced to get along just like all the siblings out there.
"Did you even see her today?" Shouta tried again.
Once again Komori gave a quiet, "No," and went back to eating.
Hikaru hunched his shoulders trying to make himself smaller. The tension between the two boys was always thick. Shouta tried to antagonize Komori and Komori couldn't be antagonized. Shouta always fought a battle in his head.
The rest went back to eating and talking about their days. Sango and Kagome as usual nothing too interesting, just gossip. While Inuyasha and Miroku talked about some exorcism that they did or maybe how the other men in the village were doing. Haruna playing with Nanami and Aoi despite her being bruised, but she was a tough girl. Hinata on the other hand laid back on the wooden walls, relaxing.
Shouta pulled Hikaru close to him draping his arm around his younger brother. The warmth spread on his body as he pulled him in just a little too tight. "The summer festival is coming up next month."
"Yes, I know." Hikaru nodded as his brother put his food down.
"We'll need to work extra hard to help raise enough money for it to be spectacular this year. You hear that Komori?"
"Perfectly." Komori rolled his eyes. He hated it when people told him the obvious. Komori pulled his hair out of his face in irritation. He looked so much like his mother, which irritated him more.
"We need it to be so great because Uncle Kohaku and Aunt Rin are coming." Shouta told Hikaru.
Hikaru lowered his brows in confusion. "They come every year."
"Exactly, that's why it's need to be so great." Shouta said as if everything he said was so obvious even their little sisters could understand. To Komori it was.
"Oh damn, that's right the summer festival." Haruna grumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear. They all turned their heads in her directions.
Hinata pinched the bridge of her nose in embarrassment. "Yes, the summer festival. The one we've been talking about for days and have every year. You act like you had no clue."
Haruna sighed in irritation, grabbed her sisters shoulder and pulled her close. "The reason why I say it is because every time it comes around Sesshomaru comes around. Every time Sesshomaru comes around he and Inuyasha get into a fight."
Nanami pulled on Haruna trying to get her to play with her again. She had no idea that everyone was not looking forward to another fight between demon brothers. Every year something would be said or done to get Inuyasha to nearly destroy half a forest.
Kagome rolled her eyes at her overly angry husband. "It's not like they've ever destroyed something. Besides, he usually just comes to visit Rin. You're not going to go looking for a fight because of that, are you?"
Inuyasha scoffed at her and held his head high. "Why the hell would I do that?"
"Because you two hate each other." Shouta smirked from across the room.
"Keep it up kid. You're asking for it." Inuyasha growled out. Shouta put his hands up in defeat and backed down. The only one Shouta didn't mess with was Inuyasha, least he undergo his wrath. Only Haruna could put up with that.
"Right, I was going to ask you kids to do some more exorcisms to raise up money for it." Sango interrupted the two immature boys. Sango was mostly looking at Haruna who was going to speak for them whether anyone liked it or not.
"Of course." Haruna said. "We always love helping out at the festival."
"Mostly because you're stronger than most of the men here." Shouta mumbled so only Hikaru could hear who was still underneath him. Something Hikaru didn't know that Shouta did was that Haruna was insecure about her feminism. Her confidence made everyone think otherwise. Maybe Hinata knew. But she was mysterious like that.
Sango smiled in approval. For a while it went back to the way it always was. Girls gossiping and boys picking on each other. The fire stayed warm and the hut continued to smell like herbs and vegetables while Nanami and Aoi went at it about as bad as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Of course no one would stop the toddlers from having their fun. They had to build up muscle to one day kill demons. Haruna cooed over them as their high pitched voices carried on laughable threats.
"Kagome." Inuyasha said.
Kagome turned her head toward him. "Yes?"
"Let's head home." Inuyasha stood up then held his hand out to Kagome. She took it and he pulled her off of the ground. Hikaru looked up to the couple as his earlier question formed in his mind. Haruna noticed him and smirked at him. He ignored her as he watched Inuyasha and Kagome give their good-byes and finally leave the hut.
He was tempted to peek through the door and watch them as they left but Shouta would have jumped on him afterwards and demanded to know what it was about. Looking over, Shouta was watching him. Of course Shouta would know something was up, why wouldn't he?
The girls put the dishes away and got water for the next morning. Clanging and clinking could be heard while the boys laid out the cots for the younger girls who were nearly passed out. Miroku grabbed another log and threw it in the fire pit to keep it running for a good potion of the night. Getting ready for the night passed as the children went into one room and Miroku and Sango into another.
A glow on the other side of the wall was the only light and heat besides the blankets that covered them. Nanami and Aoi passed out in their cot holding each other not knowing the rules of sibal rivalry yet. Even though Hinata and Haruna slept under the same blanket, they weren't like the two toddlers.
Hinata grabbed Haruna and pulled her under the covers. She whispered in Haruna's ear, "I'm tired so if you bother Hikaru I'm going to decapitate you in your sleep." Haruna silently laughed at her sister threat and complied. Hinata cuddled next to her older sister in that closeness that they had. If anyone else tried it then they'd be dead within two seconds.
The boys resided in their own cots away from each other. Komori went into his own corner away from everyone else like he always did. Shouta dropped on his cot somehow making it look demeaning like he always did. And, Hikaru was left tucking himself in like he always did. It left him with his own thoughts, like where Kagome and Inuyasha were.
Maybe Haruna was right; he didn't like being near people. Maybe she was right about him being creepy too. Hikaru rolled over and held the blankets tighter. He just really wanted to know where they lived. If he knew then maybe, just maybe he could go in. And if he could go in then she just might have been there. She, who he only remembered meeting once.
Their daughter.
I totally got lazy at the end with Miroku and Inuyasha's conversation. And I totally forgot that Miroku was even in the room at the end. I really did. Oh well, I'm too lazy to fix it. REVIEW!