((Author's Note: I do not own any of the character's from InuYasha! I only own my own my OC's!
Rated M for language, violence, adult situations, etc. etc.
Also I want to give a huge thanks to Maria (LordOfTheWest), one of my greatest friends, for motivating me and giving me inspiration for this story! You are really one of the greatest friends anyone could hope for!))
Chapter 1: Blood Debt
Feudal era, Japan, a time where demons ruled and were a dominate power not only in Japan but in just about every part of the world as well. A brief time of peace had lulled over with the destruction of the Shikon no Tama, a powerful jewel that would grant the holder of the jewel their wish. It could be used for good or evil, though had only caused pain and sorrow during its existence. Kagome, the reincarnation of a powerful priestess who was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, had traveled from the modern era to the Feudal era 500 years in the past through the Bone-Eaters well. There she had come across Inuyasha, a half-demon whom had been sealed to a tree for fifty years by Kikyo, the priestess whom Kagome was the reincarnation of.
After a series of events, Kagome had released Inuyasha from being sealed to the sacred tree and accidently shattered the Shikon no Tama; thus started the journey for Inuyasha and Kagome to find all the shards of the jewel. Along the way they encountered Shippo, Miroku and Sango whom they became friends with and traveled with in the hunt for the jewel shards. Everyone in the group shared the same common goal, putting an end to Naraku who had caused them all grief to some degree. They had also found an unlikely ally in Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, the pure-blood dog demon whom was the elder half-brother to Inuyasha. With the combined efforts the group of friends and their allies they defeated Naraku and the Shikon no Tama. Kagome had briefly returned to her own time, before being able to return to the Feudal era where she was able to live with Inuyasha, the man she loved. But while the threat of the Shikon no Tama and Naraku were gone, there were other threats that brewed.
Back in modern times, demons were simply myths to many, if that. Most didn't even give it a single thought; though demons were indeed very real, and lived among the humans disguised and acting as humans. The demons of the modern era had learned to adapt to the world around them, in order to survive in this world they came up with a way to make their demon blood dormant until a time it could be put to good use. Lower class demons and most of the higher class ones are born in to the world and live their whole lives thinking they are humans without knowing their true heritage. Clans of pure blood demons played the part of rich noble families, and in their tight-knit society managed to keep their pure blood without the need of incest. The heiress and daughter to the head of one of the more powerful of the clans, was among these cunning and powerful demons. But unlike the rest she was not aware of the power that was in slumber in her very blood and of the raw potential she carried, that was the envy of most average and lower classed demons.
The young woman was twenty-one years old, only just starting out her adulthood. Her skin was a creamy porcelain color, smooth and free of pricings or tattoos; while her hair was a deep abyssal black which went a few inches passed her shoulders in the front and was cut at an angle getting shorter in the back, stopping just above her shoulders blades. Her eyes were stunning, to say the least; the right eye was a bright ocean blue, while her left was a rich jade green. The piercing colors seemed to be able to stare right to the core of someone's soul, while at the same time were doorways to her own soul. She was average height of a girl, standing in at five foot and five inches with a fairly slender frame that was comprised of lean muscle due to her running; though her body held just the right amount of curve in her body to balance everything out.
One would never pin-point her as anything unique, she was fairly average and there were a great deal of women who had many things she lacked. She didn't wear make-up or focus much on how to dress herself. Rika, Rika Tagachi, was the name of the girl whom was of a powerful heritage she knew nothing about; a heritage that dated back hundreds, maybe even thousands of years.
Rika walked the sidewalks of Tokyo, Japan, doing window shopping to entertain herself for the day. She was never close with her family, so found herself more often times than not being out and about and keeping herself busy. Her family was always very withdrawn and fairly emotionless, compared to her, considering she was always vocal and such about her feelings and thoughts. For some reason her mother frowned upon such a thing, calling it un-lady like among other reasons she could never understand. Her father was just as cryptic in how he acted, though unlike her strict mother, he was a bit more leaned back and calm.
A soft sigh passed her lips as she walked, today was a rather simple day. It was days like this she had wished there was more to life than just escaping to go window shopping. She no longer attended school and all of her friends attended university now. She herself could go if she wanted to, but she felt it was a waste of money and wanted to find her purpose before paying for a paper that said she was good at what she did. She stared at her reflection in one of the windows taking in what she was wearing; a maroon zip jacket, dark gray tank top, washed out jeans that rips in the knees, a simple black belt and black converse sneakers that the bottoms of her jeans fell over. No one would guess she was the daughter to some rich family. Rika turned and started walking again and brushed her fingers in her hair and headed towards one of the parks. It was one of the places where she could go and just unwind and not have to deal with the thought of family politics.
Once she arrived at the park she stood near railing near the lake, looking out at the water. It was then that she started to feel a bit light headed and dizzy, gripping the railing for support Rika swayed a bit as she lost her grip and fell backwards as everything went black. If anyone had been around, they would have been in for a shock. Before Rika had hit the ground, she had seemingly vanished in to thin air as if she had never been there to begin with.
A light had flashed in the sky and from it something darted down landing in the lake, though didn't disturb the calm surface of the water. Floating a few inches below the surface of the water was a girl, Rika to be exact who had a light glow emitting from her body which eventually faded. Rika opened her eyes, blinking a few times and stared up seeing the water's surface and a clear blue sky. It took a few moments to register she was underwater and flailed about and managed to push herself up and broke the surface of the water gasping. 'How long was I like that?' She thought to herself and looked around before swimming to the edge of the lake and pulled herself out.
Sitting on the grass near the edge of the lake, Rika was a bit lost. Everything around her was just…forest. No people were around that she was aware of. She looked down at herself noting she was soaked to the core; a heavy sigh passed her lips as she moved brushing her fingers through her wet bangs, not being able to do much. "Well, sitting here isn't getting me anywhere." She said to herself and stood up slowly and started walking from the lake. The further away she walked, the more she started to think that she wasn't…home anymore. She wondered where all the traffic, people and buildings were; everything here was just animals, grass and forest. She continued to walk about until aimlessly until she found a group of three people standing ahead. 'People!' She exclaimed to herself mentally and ran towards them. "Hello! I'm so sorry to bother, but could you tell me where I am? It seems I've gotten a bit lost and-…" She stopped talking completely when she had finally gotten a good look at the people whom she was asking for help.
They were wearing ancient Japanese clothing and had what looked like special customized chest armor, with obi sashes tied around the waist of the armor and then upon their hips were swords. Upon closer inspection she noted that these people didn't look that human, if they were human at all. They all had strange colored hair, markings on their faces, slit pupils instead of the normal round human eyes that were also abnormal colors, pointed ears and claws for nails. The one standing on the left was a female that was about Rika's height and a curvaceous body frame, even with all the armor covering her up Rika was able to tell. The woman had long dark blue hair that had part of it designed in an elegant bun on top of her head with silver ornaments. Her cat-like eyes were a bright lime green color and the markings on her face were a deep fuchsia color. The man in the middle was a few inches taller than Rika and had short, choppy emerald green hair that stopped just above his shoulders. His eyes were a dark blood red, Rika almost couldn't make out the cat-like pupils and the markings on his face were a burgundy color. Finally the last of them, who stood on the right, was a tall man with a decent amount of muscles, clearly built with a lot of strength that wasn't just for show. His long black hair was pulled in to a ponytail and while he had no markings on his face he had a lot of scars. His eyes were a dark amber color and were narrowed towards Rika.
"Well here she is. We should just kill her." The female said as it took Rika for a surprise as she backed up. 'What the hell…kill me? They were looking for me? Why?' She thought to herself as she continued to back up and noted the female was missing, until she backed up in to a person behind who didn't even budge a bit.
The person was indeed the female who was glaring at her, "We can't. We have to take her back to the rest. We can't just kill her; we have to awaken her blood. It's clearly dormant currently, the blood moon is in a weeks' time." The male in the middle spoke as Rika's eyes widened, not sure how this woman suddenly was in front of her and now behind her. The larger male who had his arms crossed made a sound in his throat, "So let's just take her back and lock her up until then before more people show up to investigate what the flash was about." He spoke as the other two agreed and the large male walked over to pick Rika up. Rika backed away only find the female there to stop her again as the woman grabbed her.
"Don't try to run you little witch." The woman growled as Rika struggled against the hold that was surprisingly strong. The larger of the two males reached out forcefully grabbing her wrist and started to drag her along as she dug her feet in to the ground to try and stop from being pulled away.
"Let me go!" She yelled as the three stopped, seeming annoyed as the male who had her reached out to grab her other arm to stop her from struggling until Rika lashed out. Something triggered inside of her, causing the air to pulse with a ripple of vibrations, "I said let me go!" She said again, the voice coming out as if two people were talking at the same time, and when she lashed out there was a rip in the air like claw marks that cut down across the mans' face and dragged to his shoulder which caused him to let go. As soon as Rika was free she ran for it, not hesitating. The other two stood there in shock as the female was about to go after her before the smaller male stopped her.
"Don't. She can run all she likes. We'll find her again before the blood moon. She has nowhere to go. She herself seems like she doesn't know what is going on, but her inner demon certainly does but can't do anything about it." He spoke as the female scoffed and shrugged her male companion off. "Whatever. I say it's a mistake letting her go." She growled.
Rika ran, looking over her shoulder every now and then not seeing anyone behind her as she slowed to a walk, unwilling to stop moving. The more distance she put between herself and those…those, whatever they were, the better! She just wanted to go home already and if this was some kind of dream, it was one fucked up dream. Rika honestly had no idea where she was, or where she was going. Everything just looked so similar around her trees, more trees and maybe a few rocks. Rika jumped when she heard rustling coming from a nearby bush and yelped to find someone darting out at her, and while she was distracted by the person in front of her someone came up from behind and knocked her in the head to knock her out.
When Rika woke up again she sat up and placed her hand on her head and then looked at her hand seeing if there was blood on it. Whoever or whatever it was that knocked her out hit her hard. She groaned a bit and was tempted to lie back down, until she froze up and noted there was people talking around her. Looking around she noticed men and women dressed in more ancient Japanese clothing with old styled hair. All were standing around in a circle around her, whispering and gossiping about something.
"Whatever the hell it is it certainly smells like a demon!" An irritated voice blurted out as the crowd parted as a young man dressed in a red haori jacket and karusan-bakama pants walked over to her and knelt down. He had long white hair and dog ears on top of his head; bright amber eyes, claws for nails and a sword at his side. 'Oh god, another one!' She thought and scrambled backwards.
"Inuyasha, behave!" A woman called as she walked forward, dressed in typical priestess's clothing and the normal hairstyle a priestess would wear and she had a bow and quiver on her back with a basket of herbs in one hand. She put the basket down and instantly ran over to Rika upon getting a good look at her. "Inuyasha! She's from my time! She's wearing modern clothing!" She spoke as she knelt down pointing out the clothing. Inuyasha blinked a few times and leaned over sniffing the air around the girl and made a face.
"Yeah… certainly smells like your time." He spoke flatly as Rika was now even more confused than before. It took her a bit to kind of understand the directions the conversation was going before Kagome stood up and moved holding her hands out and offered a warm smile. "Come on. You must be really exhausted, confused and cold. Let's get you out of those wet clothes and I'll try to explain." Kagome tried as Rika just stared at her. Well at least they weren't threatening to kill her. Rika took Kagome's hands as the priestess helped her up and walked her to a small hut after telling Inuyasha to take care of breaking up the commotion about the villages new arrival.
"This must be really strange for you? Huh?" Kagome asked laughing a bit as she pulled out some clothes to give Rika, who clearly was still in a bit of shock. Rika only nodded a bit and nodded in thanks for the clothes and began changing out of her wet ones. "You could say that..." She said slowly. Kagome again laughed softly, "I know how you feel. I was in your position once, randomly thrown out of our time and in to this time." She said as that made Rika stop and look over at Kagome.
"You are from Tokyo, Japan right? Modern times that is. Right now, you are in Feudal era of Japan so Tokyo doesn't even exist at the moment. How you got here though…is something I'm confused about. Oh, I'm so sorry! My name is Kagome by the way." She said holding her hand out and smiling. For some reason that name seemed to ring a bell in her head for some reason. After she finished dressing in the simple kimono she was given, she took Kagome's hand and shook it.
"Kagome? Like… Kagome Higurashi, Kagome?" She asked slowly as the girl did look familiar. She remembered hearing about a Kagome who was always sick with different illnesses but managed to get better and came back to school and finished with flying colors. Kagome blinked a few times and tilted her head and made an 'Eh' sound. "You know my name?" Kagome asked as Rika only gave her a light nod. "Yeah we went to the same school; I was a year ahead of you. I've only seen you a few times but you were always out of school for being sick." She said slowly. Kagome laughed a bit nervously and waved her hand a bit and nodded.
"Yeah, I wasn't actually sick. I was actually going back and forth between our time to here through a well at my families shrine." She explained. After a while, Kagome began to explain the whole story of what had happened and why she was traveling through time. It all seemed so surreal and yet, here Kagome was in front of her and she had met Inuyasha, a half-demon, earlier. Demons…all of a sudden she realized that those three people weren't humans but demons like Inuyasha. Rika suddenly stood up in a bit of a panic as she remembered the whole reason she had been running in the first place.
"They are going to kill me!" Rika said as she started to panic. Kagome stood up and gave Rika a worried look and reached out to try and calm the girl down, "What are you talking about Rika? Who is?" She asked as Inuyasha and Kaede walked in to see Rika in a bit of a fit. "Those… those demons! These demons, they were talking about killing me for something and there was something about a blood moon and all this other weird stuff. But they want to kill me!" She blurted out as Kaede sat down near the fire pit that was going and made a humming sound as she thought, trying to put together what this girl was saying.
"Oh what the hell…we should just get rid of her before we have to put up with whatever trouble she drags along with her." The disgruntled half-demon said as Kagome shot him a glare. "We can't just leave her to fend for herself against these demons! If they are trying to kill her, she's in danger!" She said as Kaede still hadn't said anything but got up and moved sitting down in front of Rika and stared at her closely, grabbing her chin forcefully, forcing the girl to look at her. "Mm… it makes sense." She said to herself and glanced at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, you said you smelt demon when you came in the village. Is the smell of demon just on her, or coming from her?" The older woman spoke. Inuyasha and Kagome blinked before the half-demon gave a bit of a shrug. "Both. The smell coming from her though is really faint." He said simply as Kagome sat down next to Rika and placed her hands on Rika's arm. "If you can, can you explain in detail everything that happened before you were brought here?" Kagome asked.
Rika took a deep breath and gave nod, not understand but figured it was her best shot. "I was in our time, modern time, standing in one of the parks when I started to feel really dizzy and then I just blacked out. When I woke up again I was in a lake and swam to land and started walking, that's when I came across these three demons that were talking about how I was here and how they should just kill me now. Then another one stated how they had to wait because my blood was dormant and they needed a blood moon and then they could kill me, but I had to be where the others were. And then I ran." She said simply as Inuyasha and Kaede looked at each other with a bit of concern before Inuyasha crouched down and narrowed his eyes, "What is your last name." He asked, and before she could really respond he grabbed the front of her top and shook her a bit. "What is your family name? Tell me now." Inuyasha growled as Rika leaned back a bit. "Tagachi. My family's name is Tagachi." She said slowly.
Inuyasha stood up and looked at Kaede crossing his arms as she seemed to share the same look he did. "That name hasn't been around for a while…wasn't the last of them killed in a mini-war like a hundred years ago?" Inuyasha said as the old woman nodded slowly. "That is what rumor said, but it is very likely they started that story themselves. They had a lot of enemies. And if these demons are after this girl and they want a blood moon; that means this girl herself is a demon. And they've survived to Kagome and Rika's era." Kaede spoke as Rika seemed a bit bewildered by what she was saying and laughed, mostly out of stress like this was some sort of crazy dream.
"Demon? Me? Do you know how crazy that sounds? I'm human!" Rika shouted as Kaede looked at Inuyasha who pulled his sword Tessaiga out, the blade growing to its full size and held it out in front of him while Kaede pulled out sutras and waited as Inuyasha made it seem like he'd attack Rika. Mostly out of impulse Rika stood to her feet to back up but as she did so the aura around her crackled as it caused a clash with Inuyasha's blade.
"It's there, dormant. But there." Inuyasha spoke and put Tessaiga away while Kagome looked at Inuyasha and Kaede and then to Rika who had saw what happened to his sword but didn't know what it had to do with her. "Child, you are a demon, a magic seal suppresses your inherited blood to keep you safe from the enemies your family has made." Kaede spoke finally before sitting back down seeing as the girl was of no threat to them. At least, she wasn't a threat yet.
Kagome and Inuyasha had stepped out to allow Kaede to speak with Rika alone and also to talk amongst themselves. It was a shock for Kagome because not only was this girl from her time, but was also a demon. There was a lingering silence as Kagome looked at Inuyasha whose ears were pinned back against his skull, clearly he was annoyed at what they both knew they had to do. "Come on Inuyasha, you know he is the only one who will have more information about her family. And he might even be able to tell us why they are after her." She said as she wrapped her arms around his elbow, though he never uncrossed his arms. "Yeah yeah…that bastard is just a pain in the ass." He spoke grumbling to himself as Kagome laughed.
The following morning Rika was woken up by Kagome and told to prepare to leave as they were going to see someone who might help give insight on the situation. Rika was thankful she was able to have her own clothes instead of having to wear the old fashioned clothing, though Kagome suggested that Rika where a haori jacket just so not to draw too much attention. Kagome remembered coming to this time in her school uniform and it drew a lot of attention and this girl surly didn't want that much attention drawn on herself. Rika stood outside with Kagome as they waited for Inuyasha to arrive.
"So… Kagome, who exactly are we going to talk to?" Rika asked looking over to the priestess who just smiled. "Inuyasha's elder half-brother; he is the Lord of the West, a powerful pure-blood dog demon, he might seem a bit intimidating at first but he really is a bit of a softy I think." Kagome said laughing a bit. Once Inuyasha arrived he led Kagome and Rika off to meet up with Sesshomaru, where they could talk about the situation. Rika had somewhat come to accept the situation, the fact she was in a different time but some part of her still felt like this was some sort of weird dream. At least her thinking on her own situation had made time pass by faster than she had expected.
When Inuyasha, Kagome and Rika arrived at the area they were going to be meeting Inuyasha's elder brother, the man was already there waiting. Standing perfectly still as a statue, he made no movements despite their arrival. His hair was the same color as Inuyasha's though was much better maintained despite the length. The markings on his face consisted of a dark blue crescent moon on his forehead, two magenta stripes on each cheek and one over each eyelid, which gave him a slightly feminine appearance. He wore white clothing with the typical elegant chest armor most royal demons wore and along his shoulder was a long white fur boa that hung down behind him. He almost looked as if he wasn't real; wearing white and not a single speck of dirt or a hair out of place on him. When he finally did move he only slightly turned his head and gazed to his younger sibling with no emotion. His golden honey eyes only showed a bit of annoyance at being called out for a conversation that seemed pointless.
Inuyasha stood in front of his elder brother and crossed his arms, "We have something we need your insight on since we don't really know much about it." Inuyasha spoke bluntly and scoffed after. "Don't let it get to your head, just there is an interesting situation that has come up. What do you know about the Tagachi clan?" He said getting straight to the point.
Sesshomaru didn't respond right away and it almost seemed like he didn't have any intentions to, "They were a group of royal demons much like our family; they aided and supplied our father many times, as well as a few others. They often housed demons who would be considered criminals in some territories. The Tagachi clan was known for their diplomatic ways, but at the same time made for a deadly enemy. Because the head of the family shunned lordship, he simply was considered a war lord. They made life very hard for mercenary groups and bandits." He began and closed his eyes with a sigh and continued, "Needless to say they gained a great deal of enemies. Bandit groups formed together and started to target members of the family, it got to the point they would stoop low enough to attack pups. So what little members were left fled or went in to hiding, the others were killed. Rumors spread how they were tracked down and killed though." He explained and finally opened his eyes and stared at his brother. "What is your interest in them so suddenly." He stated, not as a question though, since he clearly expected to be answered.
"Well, are those bandits still around?" Kagome suddenly asked causing the Lord to shift his gaze to Kagome to where he had finally taken note of the third person they had with them, another half-demon like Inuyasha? No, to him her blood smelt far more diluted than that even. He sighed again and glanced up towards the sky as if trying to recall a memory.
"Yes, they just war with one another now…there aren't as many clans left now. Most are scattered, but they give each territory a fair amount of a headache." Sesshomaru spoke as he glanced back to Inuyasha again about to question him what this was all about before Kagome jumped the gun and started to spew out the situation which, needless to say he found amusing since it annoyed his younger sibling. Kagome had moved putting Rika in front of her, placing her hands on the girls shoulders as she started to explain the situation to Sesshomaru.
"This is Rika, she somehow came from my time to this time. Villagers had found her and brought her to us. We still don't know what exactly brought her here but we know it has something to do with those bandits you just told us about! They are the reason she is here, we know that much. She ran in to them not long after coming to this time and they talked about killing her and waiting until a blood moon to awaken her blood. Kaede and Inuyasha had come to the conclusion she is indeed a demon but her blood is dormant, but it doesn't explain why they need a blood moon so they can perform a ritual to awaken her blood and then kill her." Kagome said, speaking quickly before taking a breath. Sesshomaru just stared blankly at Inuyasha and Kagome before making something of an annoyed sound in his throat.
"Are you mocking my intelligence?" He said as he narrowed his eyes as he pointed a finger towards Rika. "The girl is clearly a lower status of a half-demon, her blood is simply diluted down to a weak state. How would demons have survived to your time, she clearly just has weak heritage." He said coldly as he honestly thought they just came here to insult him or something with this absurd story; or play a joke on him.
"No it's for sure there. See for yourself." Inuyasha said and moved grabbing Rika and moved pushing her forward a bit. "If her blood is that diluted, ask you say, she shouldn't be able to do anything." Inuyasha spoke flatly as Rika turned and glared at Inuyasha.
"Are you trying to get me killed?! What is your problem!" Rika demanded as she jumped when she felt a chill run up her spin and turned looking back at Sesshomaru who simply narrowed his eyes and turned his back to them and walked away.
"I do not have time for these childish-" Sesshomaru started and was interrupted by the cocky laugh of Inuyasha. The Lord of the West turned and looked at Inuyasha who had his arms crossed, with a smirking. "You're scared of a human, running away from a challenge are you? Figures, I mean I did take your arm off and everything. You must be scared to be wrong and that she might actually be a threat to you." Inuyasha spoke, clearly taunting Sesshomaru in to doing something.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded as it was too late. Sesshomaru would not be mocked by his half-sibling so he would prove to Inuyasha that this girl was indeed nothing but dirty blood. Pulling his sword he swiftly charged towards the human and swung his weapon to take her head off, but instead his sword bounced and was knocked from his hand. That was when he realized what Kagome and Inuyasha had been speaking of. There was a crackle of demon energy, a physical aura that spawned from the girl who had her arms up, as if it would have stopped him from cutting her head off. He could hear something of a growl emitting passed the aura, the girls true self was hidden away and locked by some sort of magic.
This was…interesting to say the least. Sesshomaru had heard of demons being able to hide as humans but this, this was beyond normal hiding. She was born like this, magic already sealing her power away. Though it clearly was reactive to danger, doing the only thing it could do. Sesshomaru simply stood back a bit staring at the girl and then to Inuyasha who was giving him an 'I told you so' look.
"Let us assume, she is as you say and she is demon and of the Tagachi clan. What do you intend on doing? The bandits will rip your pathetic village apart if they find out she is there, which I would not be very fond of considering Rin is staying there." Sesshomaru said flatly as he retrieved his sword and placed it back on his hip while waiting for a response.
"We kind of hoped, that is where you would come in…" Kagome spoke looking towards the demon Lord with her head tilted to the side a bit. "Don't you know anything that can, like help her or break the magic? The way she is now she can't do much to defend herself." She said as Inuyasha nodded along with his mate and closed his eyes.
"And then I can teach her how to defend herself. It's the best chance we have now." Inuyasha spoke as Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha and seemed rather confused at that statement.
"You? You of all people intend to teach her how to fight? You are reckless and savage, at best. While it serves you well it does not mean it will serve others well. These bandits are trained and skilled at the art of fighting." Sesshomaru said as he stood there, still as a statue once more with the emotionless face and voice.
"Then you take her and train her! You dumped Rin on to us to adjust to human life! Trade for a trade! It gets Rika out of the village; which means it and Rin won't be in danger and then she'll have 'proper' fighting skills." Inuyasha scoffed as it was more of him being sarcastic but Kagome clasped her hands together as her eyes brightened up.
"Inuyasha! That is a wonderful idea! None of the bandits would suspect to sniff around Sesshomaru's home and like you said, it keeps Rin and the village safe. Rika can learn more about her family and how to fight while we figure out what the bandits want!" Kagome said in a rather cheery tone which caught both brothers off guard, while Rika herself was a bit horrified at the idea of being stuck with Sesshomaru.
After a long moment of silence, Sesshomaru finally spoke. "No." He said flatly and moved turning and started slowly walking off. He refused to get himself involved in this and he most certainly refused to be a baby sitter to this odd human, let alone train her. He tolerated his brother and the priestess, he tolerated the humans in their village but he would not do them any favors. He stopped in his tracks, though didn't look behind him, "If something happens to Rin, the bandits will be the least of your worries. I promise you that." He said in a threatening tone and resumed walking until he was out of sight.
"Go figure! That damn bastard would do something like that!" Inuyasha growled in irritation. Kagome simply patted him on the back and suggested they return to the village and form a plan of action. Rika was thankful she wouldn't be left with Sesshomaru, but at the same time it left the issue of there being demons that were after her and wanted her dead. That and she still hadn't any clue what this was all about with her being a demon and what all the stuff was with her family. She knew her family was odd, in the sense that they were a bit more secluded than everyone else she knew but she never would have considered it to be because they were all secretly not even human.
Upon returning to the village, they were greeted by Miroku, Sango and their family and of course Shippo. Of course Miroku had to make a flirtatious greeting to Rika upon meeting her, while he would never offer anything suggestive, saying bearing his children, now that he was married he was still a charmer at heart.
"My! What a beautiful young woman. Inuyasha, I had no idea who you were secretly gathering up women." Miroku joked to his best friend, who promptly blew up and raged. Rika had managed to pull her hands from the monk and went to sit near Kagome who was playing with Sango's children as the two chatted and caught up with one another.
"So I hear that you are from Kagome's time and are stuck here, also that you are actually a demon. I don't know much about your family honestly, in the past our demon slaying village tended to avoid confrontations with them. The only information I can offer you though, is their last known location." She offered as Rika looked up and for the first time since she had been here, seemed to have a bit of hope. If anything these people were saying rang true about who and what she was than it was worth a shot; as she didn't really have that many options to pick from to begin with.
Rika nodded slowly at the retired demon slayer and glanced towards Kagome who clasped her hands together and smiled. "That's wonderful news! Now we have a lead and figure out what exactly brought you here and why. I hope your family will be able to help." She said as Rika nodded again and glanced back to Sango.
"So where exactly was their last known location?" She asked as she was anxious to get help and answers. The girls sat talking amongst themselves while the boys caught up with one another. Sango explained to Rika all she knew about the last known locations of where her family was; even if they weren't living there anymore there was a chance that clues might be around to pinpoint where they went in to hiding. Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo had finally joined up with the girls and Kagome explained to Inuyasha where the last known locations of Rika's family was and how there might be a chance they can find someone who can help. Although Inuyasha wasn't very fond of tracking down these demons, he supposed he had no other choice. It was this or deal with the wrath of Sesshomaru; and dealing with his brother wasn't ideal.
Out in the forests in the North, hiding on the edge of dragon demon territory were the three bandits that were the reason for Rika's being here. The woman sat relaxed and casually leaned in to a tree sharpening her claws while the larger of the two males sat in almost as if he were meditating, the smaller male who seemed to be the leader of the group stood near their camp fire with his arms crossed.
"So what exactly do you intend on doing Genji? What if that idiot girl actually manages to unlock her demon blood before we do?" The female asked the smaller of the two males, their leader. Genji was the son of the bandit war lord that was killed by the Tagachi family. Once his father passed, he assumed control of the bandits, though there wasn't very many left. Small territory wars broke out after the death of this father and most of the people in their group switched and opted to join with other groups. The female was Sonomi, she was one of the few that stayed dedicated to Genji; and though she was rather attracted to Genji there was never any romance between them. And finally there was Shiro, the larger male whom served as Genji's right-hand and advisor. Shiro had been serving Genji's father originally but they had been friends since their teenage years, naturally when Genji's father died, Shiro took oath to Genji and swore his loyalty to him.
Genji sighed heavily and moved brushing his fingers through his bangs and peered over to Sonomi, "If she does, it will be less work for us in the end. I'm not really concerned about what she does. So long as we have her for the blood moon then that is all we need. The ritual we used to summon someone of their bloodline worked, so the ritual of sacrifice to bring back my father will work as well, so long as the blood debt is paid." He said slowly and waved his hand off to the woman to make her stop fussing over the concerns of the girl. "Come time, we will retrieve here again. It's not like she can manage much in a week's time out on her own." He said in order to soothe whatever outburst that Sonomi might follow up with.
"Genji is right. She knows nothing of herself, what can she possibly do?" Shiro said slowly as he sat there peacefully before opening his eyes to poke at the fire. "Once her blood awakens if not before the blood moon, it'll be on the blood moon. Then we sacrifice her and it shall bring back our beloved War Lord." Shiro said as Sonomi only scoffed and told them both they were making a big mistake before leaping up in to one of the trees to take first watch of their area.
Inuyasha had planned out the trip for himself, Kagome and Rika while leaving the care of the village in the hands of Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Once the three set off for their three day journey off to the coast, it was the last known area of Rika's family and at the very least if they didn't find her family they might find clues.
There wasn't much chatter during the trip, spare Kagome trying to coax out conversation from Rika. Rika didn't really know what to say or how to respond, she was mostly lost in her own thoughts of what might happen once they arrived at their destination. She wondered to herself what would happen if they weren't there and what that would mean for her, or what if there weren't any clues to begin with which made the trip kind of pointless. At the same time, she was worried about what might happen if they did find her family; what would they say? How would they act? Would they even help her?
Inuyasha could pick up on the uneasy nerves from Rika and scoffed as he sat up in the tree watching Kagome cook them lunch. "If you are that scared of going, then why make this trip? You've involved other people in your matters, so if you unsure of what you want to do maybe you should have considered their outcomes in this." He said to Rika who looked up at him. She opened her mouth to speak and then stopped herself and thought a moment.
Narrowing her eyes she stood to her feet and looked up at him, "I know what I want. It's just hard to wrap my mind around it, have you ever considered that suddenly being told you are a demon and that demons are actually still alive in a time where they considered myths? It's a lot to swallow down on top of the fact someone wants me dead. I want answers and I am grateful for your helping me because otherwise I would be dead." She said as Inuyasha growled towards her.
"Welcome to the Feudal era. Things aren't comfortable and safe; things will try to kill you even without a motive. And if you can't come to terms with that, then you'll end up being something or someone's next meal." He said in warning as Kagome waved her hand off at Inuyasha who left from his tree to go get more firewood.
Upon arrive near the coast they came across a human village, the villagers were a bit skeptical of the three newly arrived guests; more so Rika who was dressed in strange clothing. Inuyasha walked around to start asking questions while Rika and Kagome stuck together and did the same. While Kagome sat and talked to someone about any information they could offer about demon activities, Rika walked over to a small group of people to ask them for information.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but do you mind if I ask you for assistance? Me and my friends are looking for a group of demons that may be around or were around at one point, do you know anything that could help us?" She asked as the group looked amongst themselves before a man finally spoke.
"And to what business do you have with these demons you are looking for?" He asked as Rika looked at him and gave a soft sigh. "Well, you see there is a situation going on that I was dragged in to and don't know much about. They are the only ones that can give me answers though, because I believe I might be related to them." She said slowly as the group looked to each other again, the looks on their faces changing dramatically as a few stood to their feet. The man only raised his hand for the others to sit as he nodded to them slowly.
"I see… that is indeed an issue. Might I ask what kind of situation you are in?" The man asked as Rika looked at him and to the others and then back at Kagome and Inuyasha. She remembered before coming in to the village Inuyasha strictly warned her of who she told her situation to. Not knowing any other way of wording it she went the simplest route she knew.
"Well, they might be able to save me from a horrible fate." She said simply as the man only looked on to her and sat down seeming to think over her answer. The rest of the small group seemed rather troubled over the information they were hearing but didn't say anything, only stared at Rika.
"Very well, there is an abandoned estate not far from here, and hours walk. A group of demons used to use is as their home that is all I know and can offer you. Though rumor is they have moved or vanished. My deepest apologies I cannot be of more help." He spoke as Rika only bowed deeply towards the man and thanked him before running off to Kagome and Inuyasha to tell them the information she found.
"Do you believe it was wise to tell that girl such a thing, Master?" A woman asked as she moved her fan from her fast as the man closed his eyes and nodded a bit. "She is of the blood; the danger she speaks of is not beyond being real. How she was discovered is a mystery, either way we will be there to greet her." He replied as the group stood up and walked off.
Inuyasha, Kagome and Rika traveled out to where this estate was supposed to be and just like Rika was told, it was a bit of walk. Upon finding the estate, it seemed to still be in somewhat good shape considering no one living there for a while. Inuyasha jumped up on the wall surrounding it and went ahead while Kagome and Rika found the front and pushed the large wooden doors open. Inside the estate were gardens, ponds, walking paths that led to bridges that went over some of the ponds and of course the buildings were split up in to different living areas.
"No one is around, but it sure looks like someone is doing a little bit of up keeping." Inuyasha said as he darted over to the girls after scouting out the area. Kagome nodded slowly and nudged at Inuyasha who looked down at her and noticed her pointing to Rika who seemed to be in shock. "What's your deal?" Inuyasha asked as he and Kagome walked over.
Rika just stood there with wide eyes staring at the buildings and everything else with her mouth slightly open, she looked more like she had seen a ghost. "This… this is the estate my grandparents own in my time…" Rika said slowly.