Author's note:
Here is the last chapter of Futago no Tamashi (Twin Souls). I hoped you enjoyed it until the end.
Now on to the finale!
Nohiro was sitting in the meadow playing the Gyokuju flute while Kikyou was leaning against a tree listening to Nohiro's playing. It has been several years since Rikimaru's soul was split in half. Thanks to the Faerie Tribe they were both aging very slowly. The Faerie elder would come and visit from his home of Hyuray forest since Kikyou and Nohiro's only companions were Water Lights.
Nohiro had been growing beautifully. He grew into a kind and gentle preteenager that fell in love with the faeries. He got along with them pretty well and they enjoyed his company. Nohiro had grown night black hair and dark chocolate eyes like his mother and his spiritual power had grown increasingly. He was somehow able to use the power of rebirth and was able to heal wounds like no other.
News of the Inu Daiyokai Tatsuhiro, the Demon King of Arinas, was spread only through the mouths of yokai that Kikyou would purify. Kikyou assumed that the inuyokai Tatsuhiro was her son but he lived in the eastern lands of Arinas so it was too far away for her to go and see if it was true. For now she needed to focus her attention on keeping Nohiro safe.
Throughout these years I have been very cautious in teaching Nohiro everything I know about wielding reiki and using his powers of purification. I've had several discussions with the Faerie elder and according to him Nohiro has power like no one he has ever seen. He has a large amount of purification and healing powers. I find this reassuring. When it is time for me to reunite with my beloved, I know that everything will be well as Nohiro will be safe. Although he is quite oblivious and dimwitted, he is a very kind boy and I am truly happy to have him as my son.
Thankfully, Nadil has stopped his search for us and we were finally able to live in peace. I have tried to enter Nadil's castle to slay him while he is weak but he places yokai as guardians to distract me while he escapes. Hmph, the coward. I thought he might have more audacity than that. After all, he went through quite a bit of trouble to slay Sesshoumaru to take our son from us. I would have thought he might try to finish me off since I am a threat to him. But it shows how weak he is. If he can't even face me, then that means Sesshoumaru's Bakusaiga did great damage on him. I only wish that I could use my spiritual powers to finish him off but that will not be possible now.
Recently, the Faerie elder came to speak with me and informed me about my assumptions of the Demon King of the East. It is my son, apparently Inu no Kouhi has also given my son a different name. My heart was filled with joy when I heard the news. I don't know whether or not he has forgotten all about me but I wish for him to live a long life full of happiness. Nohiro's inuyokai brother is alive. If death were to come upon him then I will have to take action in order to protect my child.
Tatsuhiro was floating in the sky gazing down at the flourishing lands of Arinas with Jaken clinging to his pelt trailing behind him. The Daiyokai's clothing consisted of white hakamas decorated with bellflowers, armed boots, with a blue and gold sash tied around his waist were Ryū was kept. For the past couple of years he and the Eastern King have been fighting over the lands of Arinas. It was true that he was the Inu Daiyokai of the East but that didn't mean he had complete control of Arinas. Kharl informed and warned him of the Eastern King trying to kill them and take the land for himself. At first, Tatsuhiro dismissed the thought and assumed that it was just Kharl overthinking it. But lately his following yokai were being slaughtered by the Eastern King.
Tatsuhiro hoped that it was all a misunderstanding but it seemed that Kharl was correct. Especially when his grandmother went to confront the Eastern King and was killed by him. That action drew the line. Tatsuhiro was fuming with rage when he saw the bloodied corpse of his grandmother lying at the feet of the Eastern King. When the Eastern King saw Tatsuhiro he was too late to give an explanation. Tatsuhiro transformed into his daiyokai form and took Inu no Kouhi's body away. He placed her grave next to his grandfather and father's graves. He promised that he would avenge his grandmother who trained him to be a powerful Daiyokai.
Tatsuhiro landed gracefully on a balcony in his castle and was greeted by a kneeling Kharl.
"My lord, I was expecting you to be home sooner."
Tatsuhiro walked past him in silence with Jaken trailing behind him. Concerned, Kharl stood up and followed the inuyokai into the castle. "Tatsuhiro-sama, may I ask what's troubling you?"
Tatsuhiro sighed and continued his way to his chambers. "Nothing, just remembering bad memories. Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to rest for a little while."
As Tatsuhiro entered his room Kharl bowed. "Oh course."
Tatsuhiro closed the door behind him, collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was all alone and had no family left. His entire family was dead as far as he knew. His grandfather, the Inu no Taisho, died a very long time ago. His father, Sesshoumaru, died when he was born to protect him. Or at least that is what his grandmother told him. He would ask her about his mother but she would always shrug him away and reply I don't know.
That irritated him. That woman would never talk about his mother. He wondered what kind of person his mother was. Every night his head would fill with questions concerning the mysterious woman who gave birth to him. Was she a powerful inuyokai like him? What did she look like? Was she tall? Pretty? Wise? Where was she? Why did she never come and try to see him? Did she die as well? Did she even love him?
He quickly removed those thoughts from his head. He had other things to be concerned about. Going back to business, if things were left unsettled then it would lead to the Eastern King ruling Arinas. That was not going to happen. Not while this Tatsuhiro was alive. He sat up on his bed and walked over to a closet where his armor was neatly hung. There was a spiked breast plate that went from his shoulders down to his torso. There were also long spiked gauntlets for his arms and legs. Underneath the armor was a golden silk sash that was decorated with two wings, one being black and the other being white. Tatsuhiro carefully lifted the sash and looked at the wings. On the base of the white wing was a little cross.
Now he remembered. Kharl gave this to him as a symbol of his loyalty towards him. Tatsuhiro quietly laughed as he put on the armor and the sash. As soon as he was dressed he headed outside where his late grandmother would sit in her chair and watch him train from afar. His gazed softened as he placed his hand on her chair. He inhaled the breeze and caught a whiff of her scent. So, he pondered. Her scent still lingers in this place. I can still smell her scent as if she is right here now.
Without a moments delay he quickly leaped into the sky and took off towards the scent of the unforgivable Eastern King.
Ruwalk walked up to the Dragon Lord and bowed. "Your Highness, I have a message from the Eastern King."
Lykouleon raised an eyebrow. "From the Eastern King? That's rare."
Alfeegi handed Lykouleon an envelope. "Here is the message your Highness."
"Thank you." Lykouleon took the letter from Alfeegi and opened it. After he read it, he folded the letter in silence and began to walk towards the storage room. Ruwalk and Alfeegi looked at one another in confusion and chased after him.
"Your Highness? Is everything alright? Your Highness!"
Lykouleon walked into the storage room and pulled out the Dragon sword. When he turned around Alfeegi stepped in front of him with a stern look on his face. "Your Highness, where do you think you are going with that?"
Lykouleon placed the sword in his belt. "Alfeegi, the Eastern King has just killed the Daiyokai King of the East. He is planning to give me the inuyokai's soul."
Alfeegi scoffed and crossed his arms. "Well then, that demon gets no sympathy with me. After all, he is a yokai."
Ruwalk interjected. "Alfeegi! You forget that the inuyokai could have been a relative to Sesshoumaru-sama! He was raised by the Inu no Kouhi herself."
Alfeegi twitched. "True. But why give us the soul?"
The Dragon Lord put on a cloak and headed outside. "To prevent him from being resurrected. As soon as I'm given that soul I will seal it in the casket hidden in the underground sanctuary of this castle."
"Kharl! I brought it!" yelled Jaken as he carried the Tenseiga wrapped in a cloth.
"Very good Jaken, now hand it to Garfakcy." Jaken carefully handed the sword to Garfakcy. When the human disappeared with it Jaken turned to Kharl.
"Um . . . Kharl-san, what are you planning to do with the Tenseiga?"
Kharl turned around and gave Jaken an evil smirk. "Why Jaken, I'm going to use the sword to create my master once again."
"How are you going to do that?" Jaken questioned.
Kharl smirked and opened the casket that contained Tatsuhiro's corpse. "Tenseiga is the sword of resurrection correct? I'm going to use that sword to place a portion my soul within my King and recreate him using this corpse. Unfortunately his body his damaged greatly so he will be shapeless but once I find a suitable corpse he will be reborn. But I also need his soul that the Dragon Lord has."
Jaken glared at Kharl. "That's disrespectful towards Tatsuhiro-sama!"
Kharl gave Jaken a cold stare. "Disrespectful? Why is that?"
"Tatsuhiro-sama was the Demon King of the East as an Inu Daiyokai. It would not be right for him to be reborn as a shapeless monster that has no form! Let him have his honor as an inuyokai and allow him to rest!"
Kharl's eyes grew cross. "Rest?! How can he rest when he didn't get to avenge his own grandmother?" He picked up a sword and sliced Jaken, killing him in an instant.
He put the sword down and glared at Jaken's corpse. "How pitiful. To think that the great Inu Daiyokai Tatsuhiro would have a lowly yokai like you as his servant."
"Garfakcy." He called.
"Yes, Lord Kharl?" answered Garfakcy when he returned.
"Did you place the sword into the tube like I asked?"
"Yes Lord Kharl. But it vanished into thin air as soon as I put it into the tube."
"Hmm." Kharl nodded in great disappointment. Oh well, he could make do without it. He nodded his head towards the dead kappa yokai. "Do something about this yokai. I'm going out."
"Where to?" Garfakcy questioned.
Kharl put his cloak on and smirked. "To avenge my King of course."
The Faerie elder had sent me a message about the death of the Demon King of the East. His sword, Ryū, was taken by the Eastern King and was never seen again. My stomach churned when I heard the news. I had to remove myself from Nohiro's presence to cry. Of course Nohiro noticed I was full of sorrow but the faeries kept him distracted and I was truly grateful for that. So much as happened within the past couple of months that I didn't have any time to write it down in this scroll until recently.
Not only was Tatsuhiro killed by the Eastern King but his soul was sealed away by the Western King who is also called the Dragon Lord. According to what the Faerie elder told me, Kharl, the alchemist who was Tatsuhiro's advisor, killed the Eastern king in a most cruel way that he could possibly imagine. Apparently, the Demon King of the East was rumored to enjoy slaughtering everything for his pleasure. I find that difficult to believe. No matter if he was a yokai, human, or a hanyou, my son would never enjoy killing. Knowing Inu no Kouhi, she most likely would have taught him to treasure life. I suspect that Kharl had something to do with it. According to the Faerie elder, he views the world as his playground and changes it to suit his every whim. If that is true, then he would have no trouble deceiving Tatsuhiro.
Not too long after that, Nadil kidnapped the Dragon Lord's Queen, Lady Raseleanne. This angered me greatly. What could Nadil possibly want with the Dragon Lady? It didn't matter anyway. That action just showed me that Nadil had gotten strong again. Although I don't know how, but I knew that I must take whatever actions I must to protect Nohiro, my only family left.
When Queen Raseleanne was rescued, I sensed Tatsuhiro's soul escape the Dragon castle and enter into Nadil's castle. I thought that Nadil might have somehow summoned him but then I realized that Tatsuhiro possessed the corpse of Lord Lykouleon's dragon dog, Illuser. I knew it was my son when I found him slaughtering everything in his path. Of course, it made sense. Being an inuyokai, it was only natural for him to easily take over a dog's body. But the demonic urge to slaughter was too much for him to control. I blame Kharl for this. It was Kharl's enjoyment in toying with the lives of others that caused Tatsuhiro to massacre everyone. I was prepared to kill him with my own hands but then Nohiro stopped me and begged me to hide with him. I understood his worry. He didn't want to be left alone.
Luckily, the Dragon Lord was able to stop him and allow my child to reborn. I thought it was odd for him to do that but I was grateful for his action even though it cost the lives of many. Even the Faerie elder. But my son will be born into something greater than a killing machine, right? With the soul of an inu daiyokai protected by the Light Dragon that was infused with the blood of the Dragon Lord became Rath Illuser, Nohiro's twin and my child.
Nohiro gasped as he set the scroll down and pondered for a minute.
"Of course." Miyabi said. "That is why your head was hurting when that name was mentioned. He is your other half. He is your brother!"
Nohiro sat silently and stared at Miyabi. "But then, if that's true . . . what happened to my memories and my mother?"
Miyabi tugged at the scroll. "Keep reading, I think there's more to it."
Kharl was gasping for air after he had been running from the Blue Dragon Officer, Kaistern. He attempted to change the little boy, Rath, into a yokai. However, Rath killed Left Bird and Kharl fled with his mission unaccomplished. He stopped and placed his hand on a tree and knelt down for a minute's rest.
"So, you failed making Rath into a yokai." said a voice.
Kharl spun around and saw a woman wearing a white robe and red hakamas. She had long black hair tied into a loose ponytail with a white ribbon. Her brown eyes were dark and also had fury written all over them. "Who are you?" he scowled.
The woman narrowed her eyes. "I should ask you that. Why did you tell him you were his mother? As I recall, you didn't create him, you only placed a portion of your soul inside of him. Isn't that right Kharl? Or should I call you the One-Winged Angel?"
Kharl glared at the woman. Just who was she? Then it hit him. "That outfit . . . could you possibly be that miko wife of Sesshoumaru? Kikyou-sama?"
Kikyou stared at Kharl, not amused. "Yes, I am the mother of your late master, Tatsuhiro."
Kharl flinched. This is not how he expected this evening to turn out. "Are you here to kill me?"
Kikyou looked at him in silence before responding. "No. I came to check on my son. But now that I know that Rath is safe, I will leave." She turned around and began to walk away.
"Wait!" Kharl called out.
The miko stopped. "What?" Kikyou asked annoyed.
"If Rath is the yokai half of your hanyou son then where is the human half?" asked Kharl.
Kikyou turned her head and glanced over at him. "I assumed Jaken must have told you everything. Go ask him. I have no intention of telling you anything." She turned back and continued on her way.
Kharl stared at Kikyou's disappearing figure. He had no idea that she was still alive. He thought Nadil finished her off a long time ago. No matter, she did not seek his life so he would let her live. He sensed great power radiating off her. It would be wise not to pick a fight with that woman.
Now that Nadil's head has been cut off everyone thinks that there will finally be peace. But I know better. This is just the beginning. I fear that something terrible will happen soon but I know that my Nohiro is destined to go on a quest. The Faerie race is dying and I was forced to erase all of Nohiro's memories concerning his past. If Kharl were to find him and his knowledge of faeries then he would be killed. I realized that if my son found out then he will probably hate me but he is destined for greatness and I cannot have him die yet. I know that his love for the Elvin Race will assist him in the end.
Nohiro, you probably will never hear my last will to you but I will write them and keep them in my heart. Your healing powers are meant for greatness and I know that you will follow your dreams and eventually go back to the faeries. Whether it be by regaining your memories or by your love for faeries resurfacing. No matter what happens I will always be watching over you from a distance. I'll love you always. As long as you're living my child you'll be.
Kikyou
"Nohiro-sama, please don't cry." Miyabi pleaded as she wiped his tears that were falling down his cheeks.
"I-its ok Miyabi." Nohiro choked. "Now I know that my Okaa-san loved me and I know who my family is." Message received Mother. Message received.
He wiped his tears and carefully rolled up the scroll. As he was placing the scroll in the box, a cloaked figure walked into the temple. Nohiro turned around as Miyabi flew in front of him with her arms spread out.
"I see that you discovered the temple dedicated to the last generation of the Inu Daiyokai clan."
"The Inu Daiyokai clan?" questioned Nohiro.
"Yes." The figure nodded. "You see, when Sesshoumaru-sama died. The Elvin race decided to build a temple dedicated to the Lord and Lady of the Western Dusis who ruled before the Dragon Lord did. The two rulers had brought the living creatures of Dusis peace. Whether they be human, faerie, yokai, or even a dragon."
Nohiro gazed at the carvings of the two figures. "So that man with the sword is the Inu Taiyokai Sesshoumaru-sama and the woman is the miko Kikyou-sama."
The figure walked in front of the carving of Sesshoumaru and gently placed their hand on it. "That is correct. They brought peace until Nadil had slain Sesshoumaru-sama. Now, no one knows where the miko or the hanyou child are. It is assumed that they died." The figure turned to face Nohiro with the hood covering their face. "I say, what brings you here to Hyuray forest and at the remains of this temple?"
Nohiro blushed and rubbed his head. "Well, you see . . . I've been saving money to go on voyages. It is my dream to meet faeries and eventually wed one. But since most of them died I'm doing what I can to save them." He picked up his backpack and set it on his back. "Now if you'll excuse me I must be going."
He walked past the cloaked figure and walked outside.
As he left and continued on his way the figure pulled back her hood and watched as her son disappear into the forest. Kikyou smiled. "It doesn't look like he needs my help anymore. I guess I have no more reason to be in this world anymore."
She looked up at the carving of Sesshoumaru and rubbed the stone wall. "Your Tenseiga disappeared and gave Rath the ability to be reborn over and over again, didn't it?"
She slowly laid down against the walls as her body began to dissolve in light.
Kikyou woke up on a beach with the waves of the ocean calmly splashing against her legs. She wore a white robe with her black hair draping over her shoulders. She slowly got up and saw a white figure walking towards her on the ocean's surface. She gasped as she saw Sesshoumaru standing over and reaching out his hand towards her. Tears spilled from her eyes as she reached out for his hand.
Rath looked up in the sky as he, Rune and Thatz were heading over to the resting place of the Dragons. After Nadil was defeated, the dragons had fallen asleep; taking a break from fighting a war.
"Rath?" called Rune. "What's wrong?"
Rath smiled. "Nothing."
Thatz crossed his arms. "What do you mean nothing? You look happy. Did something good happen?"
The new Dragon Lord laughed. "Not really."
He sensed it. He sensed two familiar auras rejoice and go their separate ways. He didn't know who they were or his connection with them but it didn't matter. All he knew is that they were happy and that was all that he needed to know.
Author's note:
I didn't feel like mentioned much of the series so I just wrote a little bit on how Rath and Nohiro were connected. To answer the question, "Did Nadil know that Rath was the son of Kikyou and Sesshoumaru?" The answer is no. Because Nadil needed the body of a king and Rath/Tatsuhiro's bloodline consists of nobility from his father's side.
I thought I ended it pretty well. I didn't go into detail about how Kikyou erased his memories so I decided to make that part a journal. To make sure, everything that had Kikyou's part of view or anything that was experienced was in the journal. I just decided to write it as if it were the present instead of having you read a long journal.
Hope you enjoyed it til the end!