I don't own InuYasha! Only the OCs! Reviews, criticsms, questions, or anything is welcome!
Japanese
English
Demon
...I don't have a beta! But I have tried to revise any and all the mistakes I found!
...If you found more that I missed, hit me up and I'll try and fix it!
"Did you hear? Last night a couple of Mr. Larc's pigs got slaughtered! The pigs were all cut up like some animal got to them." Akari heard someone tell their friends as she walked past, heading to her locker. She frowned and trained her ears to listen for more but nothing else was said on the topic, making her want to growl in frustration.
"Masaru," Akari said in a low tone, earning a nod from her brother as he lazily swung his duffle bag of sports gear over his shoulder.
"Already got it covered." He said with a lazy smirk before wondering off, leaving Akari to gather up her AP Language supplies before heading to the class with Dakota's stained bag in her free hand.
"Hmm, I see you decided to show up, Miss Higurashi." Ms. Shay said in a snotty voice as Akari walked into the empty class. "I knew this one would be a hooligan! Just like that Cohen girl." Akari heard the teacher mutter under her breath as Akari made her way to her desk.
"My...apologies for not showing up yesterday for detention. I had no desire to waste my time." Akari said with a cold look she had learned from Sesshoumaru before sitting down at her desk to wait for Dakota to show up.
"I see then." Ms. Shay said after a minute, her face puckered as if she had just eaten something sour. "Detention after school today. In the library." Ms. Shay said in a proud tone that made the hair on Akari's neck bristle up. It was going to be a long day.
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"Oi! Onee-chan!" Akari heard Masaru call out from across the cafeteria, making Akari frown slightly as her younger brother jogged over to her table in the back, away from everyone and slightly more quiet.
"Did you bring your bento?" Akari asked as the younger boy sat down with a grin and pulled out a medium sized box of food that could easily feed two people in answer to her question. Giving a quick thank you, Masaru popped open the lid and began inhaling his food, ignoring the disgusted look on Akari's face as she ate her own food.
"So, I found out a little about those pigs." Masaru said between bites of rice and sushi, his head bowed over his food as he used his chopsticks to help him inhale food.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth." Akari said as she lightly cuffed the boy's invisible ears making him frown but none the less do as he was told. "Anyway, have you seen Dakota?She wasn't here this morning." Akari asked, her bento currently forgotten as she scanned the cafeteria once more for the tiny girl.
"She's the girl you took home yesterday, right? I haven't caught her scent anywhere." Masaru told Akari while reaching for a bite of her food when she wasn't looking. "AYE!" Masaru cried as his hand was bent backwards, away from the open bento by Akari. "I was only closing the lid! I swear!" Masaru whimpered as Akari gave him a deadpanned look before letting go and allowing the boy to rub his sore hand.
"How does Hohen deal with you?" Masaru whined at his sister as she pinned him with a cold look. "Never mind! Forget I spoke!" He yelped, waving his hands in front of him as he began to sweat nervously.
"I thought so," Akari said with a to sweet smile before taking a bit of her bento. "Now, what did you find?" Akari asked and watched as a change came over her brother, gone was the miniature of Miroku and in his place was a serious young man that was good at gathering information and putting plans into action. Without responding he pulled out a small sketch pad from inside his ever present hoodie and opened it to a drawing of what Akari could vaguely recognize as a pig.
"Some kind of creature attacked a man's pigs. And the attack lines up with the other ones that have been happening. Supposedly the owner heard something attacking his pigs late last night and when he went outside to see. He found two of them sliced while the other's had all rampaged into the barn. There are pictures of the pigs circulating through the school, hence how I was able to sketch one of them. From what I could see the pigs are whole." Masaru said with a frown before stopping to take a bite of food out of Akari's bento, Akari was to focused on the picture to care.
"So whatever attacked the pigs did it for the kill. Not to eat." Akari said in summary and Masaru nodded.
"Right, an animal wouldn't have done that." Masaru added after a minute and waited before saying more. "The cuts aren't precise like a blade either, they're more like claws."
"You're saying it was a demon." Akari said in a low tone.
"Yeah, and from what I can tell it happened while you guys were on patrol last night." Masaru told her with a grave nod. Akari frowned down at her food, trying to figure out what kind of demon it could be.
"Figure out the general attack area, see if there's a pattern. We'll talk to InuYasha and the other's about monitoring it." Akari commanded just as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. Masaru nodded, quickly packing away his empty bento before darting off to find his class.
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The rest of the day passed in a mix of background noise and blurs, and by the time the final bell rang Akari was ready to just run the rest of the way home. Unfortunately, she still had to serve detention in the library till four, and the only reason she was doing it was because Kagome had texted her during class with a warning if she missed it.
"Are you here for detention?" An older man that reminded Akari of Grampa Higurashi with how old he was asked when she poked her head into the large dim room. The old man was mostly bald, with a small ring of white hair circling his head, and wrinkles with age spots covered his face. He held himself with confidence though Akari could see the small tremors in his hands as he pulled cards and stacked returned books.
"Yes sir," Akari said slowly and walked into the room, giving the man a small bow that made him smile before she moved over to a nearby table and set her bag on it.
"Ah, you must one of the Higurashi students. Rumor has it you're from Japan?" The man asked and Akari nodded, not sure where the conversation was going. "I'm Kichiro Mashima, from Okinawa myself, moved here in the fifties." He told her and Akari's eyes widened in surprise before a small smile settled on her face.
"My apologies then, Mashima-san, if I have caused any offense to you or your family." Akari said with a slightly deeper bow, this one with more respect.
"Maa, maa no harm Higurashi-san. I believe I owe you some thanks of my own." The old man said with a kind smile as he walked out from behind the book counter with the help of a cane.
"What?" Akari asked in confusion, looking at the elderly man as he patted her shoulder and motioned for her to follow him.
"It's been many years since I was able to speak my native tongue with someone." Mashima said kindly as he walked over to a bookshelf where a cart of books sat. "Unfortunately, since you have detention with me for the week, you'll be stuck helping me here. Though, whenever you finish you may leave." Mashima told her and bowing his head walked back to his desk with his slow shuffle of a walk.
A week passed like that, with Akari and Masaru trying to learn more about the pig slaughter while InuYasha and the other's worked around town, learning bits and pieces of useless information. The only highlight was another attack in the nearby town that involved a man's cow running into the man's house with half of it's back missing and it's gut nearly torn out before dying a few minutes later.
It was a week after that anything else happened. Akari was spending her last day of detention playing Masaru's old handheld Nintendo while waiting on four o'clock when the old librarian tapped her on the shoulder.
"No one will notice our absence. Now come, I believe you and I have much to discuss." Mashima told her and lead her behind a few shelves to an office door.
"Mashima-san?" Akari asked as she was led into a small but neat office.
"Just call me Kichiro-san, you are far older than I. Isn't that right, Higurashi-san?" Kichiro asked with a knowing look at Akari's confused face. "I may be old but I still have my wits, few that they are." Kichiro laughed as he led Akari to the back office hidden in the library.
"Mashima-san," Akari started again, trying to figure everything out and at the same time possibly get out of a dangerous situation.
"Bah! You are more of a threat to me than I to you, Demon-san. Young that you are but powerful, and part of two old and powerful Clans." Kichiro interrupted while pointing at the Concealment Charm hanging around her neck, showing the two clans she was part of. Akari dropped her 'confused teen' act and scowled at the man.
"How do you know about me?" Akari asked as Kichiro as he moved around the desk and sat down heavily with a sigh.
"My father was from a line of small priests. I wasn't blessed with his skill but I did learn to look for demons and the like. He taught me about a few of the older clans and told me how to protect myself from any demons in any form." Kichiro explained as he motioned for her to sit down while looking through a few papers on his desk. "When I saw your necklace I thought I recognized the markings but wasn't sure until a few days ago when I found information on Concealment Charms in one of my father's journals. After that I was more certain." He added to the explanation.
"That still doesn't explain why you wanted me." Akari told him and the old man nodded, not surprised at the underlying suspicion in Akari's tone, as well as the warning in it.
"You know the attacks that have been plaguing the area?" Kichiro asked her and Akari stiffened slightly but gave no other indication she was surprised at the subject. "I believe they're the results of a Kitsune from my youth. I do not know why he has returned, only that before he started his attacks the same way." Kichiro told her as he pulled out a few sheets of paper and focused his dark eyes on her.
"What do you mean?" Akari asked, making the old man sigh in memory of something before he closed his eyes.
"First it was simply cattle; killed but never eaten. Then a human victim would be found in the same state. At first just an undesirable that no one would miss, then back to cattle. Eventually a family...He stopped after that but we all knew that wasn't the end of it." He told Akari, the old man's eyes glazed over with old memories. "I am the last of the elderly with my mind sane enough to remember those days." He said softly and straightened his shoulders with a huff before opening his eyes and putting the papers down.
"I do not assume that you came to this area for the sole purpose of this demon, but I am thankful you have appeared at such a time. If you wish for more information, this is a book of everything I know and could recover. Please, help this foolish town." Kichiro begged as he pulled out a average sized book from his desk and passed it to her. Akari opened it and flipped through it, her eyes scanning over newspaper clippings, notes, and stories before she closed it and tucked it under her arm.
"...I will speak to my pack, but I make no promises." Akari said and bowed before slipping out of the room and leaving the deserted school, taking to the trees as she made her way home. Her mind was dancing over the information while her inner demon went over it and gave it new perspective, leaving Akari to focus on the trip home.
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"Akari, are you okay?" Celt asked from his perch on Akari's back. They were on their way to school, choosing to run today instead of taking Shippo's truck. The twins were a few meters behind Akari, with Masaru to Akari's right with Ami on his back since she still wasn't strong or fast enough to run on her own.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine Celt." Akari told the boy, turning her head to look back at the blond boy while jumping to the next branch.
"I don't believe you. You, Tou-san, Shippo-kun, and Kaa-san have all been acting funny." Celt said and Akari frowned at the younger boy's observation before turning her head to look back at the twins, who were watching her with big eyes full of questions.
"Since you four will find out anyway, I don't see why we can't tell you." Akari said as she jumped to the ground to talk to everyone. "We think there's a demon going around the area killing things for fun. We're trying to catch it and protect everyone. Understand?" Akari asked after everyone had settled to the ground around her. Immediately the twins started to whisper to one another, Celt tightened his arms around Akari, and Masaru scowled but said nothing since he already knew about the situation.
"So you're being super heroes like from Shippo's stories? Does this mean we get to fight the bad guys?" Ami asked, her face stretched out into a smile as she talked about her favorite 'big brother' and the stories he told her.
"Sort of," Masaru said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "But if we're the heroes, I want to be the leader." He said with a grin of his own. Akari groaned, before Celt poked her cheek and drew her attention back to the twins and himself.
"Does this mean we have to be extra careful and keep an eye out for any demons?" Celt asked and Akari nodded her head.
"For now though, keep your e-" She started only to have Izayoi interrupt in a sarcastic tone and smile.
"'Keep your ears and eyes open.' We know! Tou-san says it way to often!" Izayoi said with a laugh as Keade shook her head at her twin.
"Right, come on." Akari said with a half smile before adjusting Celt on her back and running again.
A few minutes later they had dropped the younger kids off at elementary and were heading over to the high school when Akari caught whiff of a familiar scent.
"I'll see you later," she told Masaru before jogging away to find the source of the scent.
"Dakota!" Akari greeted, making the tiny girl spin around with a wide eyed look before it shifted into a glare. "Where have you been?" Akari asked as she looked over the girl with a frown. Dakota had her left hand bandaged and she was covered in bruises, far more than the last time Akari had seen her, leading Akari to wonder what had happened to her.
"None of your business." Dakota told her without any of her usual snap. "Here's the dress I borrowed." She added while shoving a plastic bag into Akari's hands. For a minute she looked like she wanted to say more but instead just turned around and started towards the school building.
"Dakota, are you okay? What happened?" Akari asked, easily catching up with the girl in just a few steps.
"I'm fine. Just tired. Did I leave my bag at your house?" Dakota asked, changing the subject to keep Akari from digging into her for more information.
"Don't change the subject. Tell me what happened. Was it those boys again? I'll kill them!" Akari growled as she looked around, her instincts telling her to go after anyone that was a threat.
"Forget it!" Dakota snapped and tried to shove Akari away only to have Akari grab her by her bad hand. "Ow! Dammit! Let go!" Dakota yelled, tears immediately rushing down her face as Akari held her left hand.
"Tell me what happened!" Akari demanded, ignoring Dakota's tears even though her instincts were telling her otherwise.
"Nothing happened!" Dakota said, stopping her struggles in an attempt to lessen the pain.
"Dakota!" Akari snapped at the girl, trying to figure out why she was doing this to herself. "Who hurt you?" She asked, trying to soften her tone, but she was to angry and she could smell someone on Dakota and her demon didn't like it.
"He didn't mean it, okay! It was an accident!" Dakota said, her eyes widening at what she let slip and Akari's yokia flared dangerously.
"Who. Was. It." Akari demanded, part of her trying to fight back the demon that was to close to the surface. If 'she' got out, Akari's Concealment Charm would be about as useful as a water bottle in hell. "No one should hurt you. Whoever did it is a foul bastard. Now tell me who it was!" She said through gritted teeth.
"No one! I did it to myself!" Dakota rushed to say, pulling on her arm again and biting her lip.
"Don't lie to me!" Akari growled and Dakota looked up at her, actually looked at her for once and Akari was so surprised by the look of raw emotions in the girl's eyes she let go. Taking the chance, Dakota hobbled away as fast as she could, leaving Akari to snarl at herself before heading back to her own home. She needed Kagome's help for this one.
