UM chapter seven! WOOOHOOOOO!

Okay, so in this chapter, we get to see a little more of how Keira acted with her friends before Kasho sealed her. Dick. I mean I know I made him to be that way, but still. How dare you FireHanyou. Besides, there's more secrets than one would guess at first glance. This shit will get deep, and maybe a little dark. Who the hell knows? Does it have something to do with the mysterious Dark Arts user that Tsukune bumped into? Who is she?

Well, I know. But I can't tell any of you until we get that far. Sowwy. Forgive any spelling errors.

Chapter Seven: Expensive Trinkets and Old Friends


Keira's POV

It was now a day or so after I visited Lady Kagura and Tsukune and I were seated in his 'living room' as he called it when the front door was flung open and My Lady strolled through, whistling. " Nice place, Tsukune." she said appreciatively. He blinked. " Uhm.." he said, uncertainly. " My Lady." I bowed to her in respect and she scoffed before forcing me to straighten. " None of that 'My Lady' crap anymore, I'm just Kagura now! Kagura Takahashi, that is. Speaking of which, Keira, you need to use your family's surname until you and Tsukune tie the knot. You'll be known as Keira Higurashi until you marry Tsukune, and then you'll be.." My Lady looked to my intended for help.

" Sato." he supplied. " Ah, thanks. You'll be Keira Sato when you marry...err...mate him." I nodded, somehow understanding most of what she said. While some of the words she used were utterly lost on me, I understood the basis of what she ways saying. " So, Mrs. Takahashi, can you explain why you're here so unexpectedly?" Tsukune asked and I resisted the urge to smack myself in the forehead.

Kagura grinned widely and handed me several pieces of whatever it was, claiming it to be the currency of this time. Tsukune has used this before, he used it when we got Junichi. " Sorry, Tsukune, that's classified information. But I will be borrowing Keira for a few hours." she said and dragged me out of Tsukune's spacious hut.

Lady Kagura led me to one of the metal demons that everyone moves great lengths with in this time. " Let's buy your main squeeze somethin' pretty." I had no idea what a 'main squeeze' was, but I have no choice but to obey her orders. She is My Lady. After we had ventured into a market shop with many precious gems and gold and silver, we bought some type of bracelet with a flat center that slowly moved on the inside. Lady Kagura explained that it was a 'watch' but she did not say much else on the subject. Instead, she had it wrapped and set into a carrier for me to tote around while I spent time with my old friends. " You'd better hurry, or you're gonna be late." Lady Kagura said, winking as she ushered me into the long metal demon. Soon, we arrived at our destination, though I know not what it is.

Chiharu, Tatsu and Sumomo were standing outside, waiting for me apparently. " Keira!" Tatsu shouted happily, waving her hand this way and that. I smiled and bid Lady Kagura farewell for now, walking up to my friends. " How are you?" Chiharu asked. " I am well, thank you." Tatsu sighed. " We have got to break this formal crap." Chiharu and Sumomo burst out laughing while I stood there, slightly confused. " What?" I asked. " Don't worry about it. C'mon, there's so much to do! Daylight's a wastin'!" I cocked my head to the side at the sound of their strange lingo.

" Time for a hairifying experience, right?" Sumomo asked, laughing merrily as she slid into the metal demon that Tatsu had bodily shoved me into. " Oh definitely." Chiharu answered, grinning deviously. I do not like where this is going. I have a bad feeling about this.

Normal POV

Sumomo, Tatsu and Chiharu had somehow managed to convince Keira to get a haircut. " Don't worry Keira, your hair will grow back in no time at all, it's just we think that you would be much happier with your hair being at a shorter, easier to manage length." Tatsu assured her best friend, but Keira wasn't so convinced. But, after using her ultimate weapon, Tatsu prevailed. Her weapon? The dreaded...Puppy Dog Eyes. (AN: It's super effective!...Sorry, had to put in a Pokémon reference, even though I was never apart of the community.)

Keira closed her eyes and prayed to every deity up there that she wouldn't regret this as she sat in the chair. " I won't do anything you aren't comfortable with, My Lady." the hair stylist, a member from one of the Inu Clans, stated truthfully. " Your hair is incredibly long, so I would need to take off a sufficient amount before you were able to go about daily life easier. Would you be alright if I cut it to about...foot length?" Keira looked to her feet which were covered by boots that exposed her toes. " I suppose." was her quick answer. Chiharu and Tatsu sat in two other chairs, reading something, occasionally looking over at their friend. Sumomo was having someone wipe something over her nails.

" Please, just get it over with." she just wanted to be out of this place. Keira wanted to go somewhere that she felt safe, comfortable. There were far too many sharp objects in here, and while the silver haired Princess was normally fine with that, hell she loved sharp things, she felt much more comfortable if she were in possession of the sharp objects. Daggers and swords were best for her, she had jokingly named one of her old daggers 'Stabby-san' or 'Mr. Stabby'. Nevertheless, she endured it for her friends. If only to make them happy.

About an hour or so later, Keira was left with ankle length silver hair. When she put her concealment charm on, her black hair had also been cut to lay where it used to when she was seventeen. Keira felt extremely nostalgic seeing her old hair length but she was also quite saddened. Seeing it reminded her of the life she once had, before it was all taken from her. " Well?" Sumomo asked, wishing to hear Keira's opinion. " It does seem to be easier to move around..but...I am reminded of my old life. Before the sealing." Tatsu's golden orbs turned to liquid gold in sympathy for her friend, as did Chiharu's icy blue orbs that melted. " I can understand that." Tatsu assured her friend. It was silent before Chiharu opened her mouth, desperately trying to relieve the room of the awkward silence.

" Do you remember the day you rescued Orochi, Hideki and myself?" Chiharu asked her dear friend who managed to crack a smile. She remembered. " Like it were yesterday. I called a guard a-"

" A racist little shit sniffer." Chiharu finished for her and the two laughed. The two remembered that day well, all too well. Because it marked the beginning of their friendship. " It was that one particularly warm spring day.." Keira fondly recollected.

" Aha!" the triumphant shout came from a young female who was playing a game of Go. " It seems as though I've won, father." a warm chuckle sounded from an older fellow. " So it seems, Keira. Well done." he said and she beamed, only for both to pause at the sound of one of their guard's voices.

" Get out of the way, filthy vermin!" one of the demon guards shout and the two beings inside the carriage heard the sound of something (or someone) being kicked and then a groan of pain. " Brother!" a young voice called out worriedly as her brother was kicked side, sending him back to his sister and the red headed Youkai child beside her. " Trash like you should not be in the presence of The Lord and Lady of the Black Inu Clan!" he was about to strike them again when a voice made him freeze, his blood running as cold as ice. He was in trouble.

The younger occupant of the carriage had heard his speech and had heard far enough. She intervened before too many people got too hurt.

" Cut that out this instant, unless you wish to see bones in your shit for the next three hundred and sixty five years!" they all looked to see a woman, no, a half demon girl get out of the carriage and glare fiercely at the guard. " You'll be bringing up the rear, you racist little shit sniffer." she turned and extended her hand, letting the three get up. Once they were all up, she smiled warmly. The guard slunk to the back of the small procession, obviously put into his place. Now that the offending Youkai was correctly chastised for his transgressions, though he would be facing a harsher punishment later when they all returned to the castle, the Princess addressed the three newcomers.

" I'm Keira. What's your names?" they all answered. The young Youkai girl with green hair shyly said her name was Chiharu, the green haired Youkai boy whom had been assaulted by one of the guards stated that his name was Hideki, in a tone slightly more brave than his sister. This prompted the last Youkai child, a red headed Elemental Youkai to bravely state that his name was Orochi. The half demon girl now known as Keira grinned and then whirled around to look at the man that had also exited the carriage. He had long silver hair tied in a high ponytail and warm but cautious amber eyes. " Please father?" she asked, her tone going from a wild, rebellious young woman to a little girl wishing for something. " As long as you promise to keep an eye on them for a minimum period of two hundred years." Keira nodded furiously and seemed to nearly jump up and down. " Well you heard him! Do you want to live at Court? You'd each be given a room, access to the hot springs, three meals a day, fresh clothing made by the best seamstress ever, and no one will treat you rudely. Under death threat of me of course." she grinned. " I know this is quite sudden, but I couldn't just leave you three sitting here. It'd be wrong and I'd feel horrible if I just continued on. Besides, Ichirou can sometimes be a dick." Chiharu lightly chuckled. Then she looked to the elder green haired child.

He seemed to mull it over before nodding. " Okay." he said and Keira's grin widened. " Great! You guys can sit in here with my father and I!" she said and gently led them into the carriage and once they were seated, the ride resumed.

" Oh yeah, that was a weird day! Inuyasha and Miroku dumped a pail of water on me to wake me up that morning. I ended up chasing them around the palace for a good few hours." Tatsu said and the group laughed loudly. " I can remember that as well. I saw you chasing them when I returned with father, Chiharu, Hideki and Orochi that day. Once you saw father, you went stock still." Keira giggled.

" Yeah, but you've been terrified of your father too!" Tatsu argued. " True enough, but at least I was better at hiding it rather than being so scared I turn into a statue. That's your specialty." Tatsu froze. As did Chiharu. " You...You just used a contraction.." Tatsu whispered, floored. The three were silent, looking at eachother when the silver haired Youkai and the green haired Youkai jumped up and started squealing.

" You're almost back to normal! She's almost back to normal!" they kept chanting while their friend stated at them as if they were on drugs. " A-Are you two alright?" Keira asked her, possibly insane, friends. Chiharu and Tatsu nodded. " Of course we're okay! We're just glad that you're almost back to normal. You've been acting so formal and polite and reserved ever since you were released! We were worried that being trapped for a thousand years had given you brain damage or something!" Sumomo sweatdropped.

Keira glared at her friends. " Oh, I've seen that glare before! That reminds me of the time you went to Europe!" Keira paused, and the other three could see the cogs in the hanyou Princess' head turning, trying to remember. " I remember." she said at last, cracking a tiny grin. " Wait, what happened?" Sumomo asked. She hadn't been there when Keira was that young, after all, Sumomo had been living in her cave until she was approached by the hanyou Princess and her father when the Princess was thirteen in human years.

Tatsu shared a conspiratorial grin with her old friends. After taking a breath to compose herself, the Inu Youkai launched into the tale. " Well, when Keira was younger, she and her father went to Europe and she tried to tell a tailor to make her an outfit suitable for horse riding, with pants. He blatantly refused because it was 'unheard of' for a woman to wear pants. Sexist son of a bitch...Anyway, Keira then told him to make the outfit for her if he liked his head where it was and to further emphasize her point, she had pulled out her trusty Reaper." Chiharu, Keira, Sumomo and Tatsu all broke down into various states of hilarity, Keira's almost the loudest because she remembered that day too. " When he saw Reaper, he looked as though he would soil his loins!" Keira declared before succumbing to her laughter again. " Of course he would, didn't you say that you had shifted the Reaper into its Zanbato form?!" Chiharu asked her friend who nodded. " That I did." Sumomo stared at the Princess incredulously.

" Are you serious?!" she asked and Keira nodded. " Of course. I do not kid around when I want something." Chiharu snorted while Tatsu's latte went flying out of her nose, burning her tender nasal passageway. " Hot damn!" she cried, clutching her injured nose. Chiharu sighed. Keira didn't understand what was going on anymore. All she knew was that Tatsu was gasping as if she were in pain, Chiharu looked exasperated and Sumomo was laughing lightly.

" Can someone explain what is going on?" Keira asked her friends and Sumomo laughed again. " Don't worry about it, sweetie." she said fondly and Keira raised an eyebrow. Once Sumomo's nails had dried completely, the four women exited the salon and got back into the strange (to Keira anyway) metal demon and went on their way, when Tatsu ordered the carriage driver to stop for lunch. They all entered a strange but elegant looking establishment and Tatsu chose something for Keira because she didn't know what any of the dishes were.

The group all spoke amongst themselves, including the driver and when they left, Tatsu ordered him to go to 'the home away from home' to which Keira was, again, severely confused. She had absolutely no idea just what the hell her friend was planning.


Still Normal POV, one limo drive and no explanation whatsoever later

" Tatsu, why did you take me here? It is just another large hut. The owner must be very influential though, considering its size." Tatsu giggled. " Glad you think so, but this place isn't how it appears." she grinned, and winked. Suddenly, the extensively large house in front of them melted and morphed into something else. Keira was utterly surprised when the house, well mansion actually, turned into the one thing she would know anywhere.

It was her old home, after all. " So, pretty ingenious idea right? Disguising the castle so no one from the twenty first century will get suspicious as to why there's suddenly a palace on rural, private grounds!" Tatsu gushed, ushering her best friend into the castle. The tapestries were the same, the pillars, everything was exactly as she remembered it. Including the spot where she had punched the wall one day after both Inuyasha and Kasho had pissed her off severely. " I...I.." she didn't know what to say.

Tatsu smiled softly. " You're home, Keira." the elder woman's gold eyes began to fill up with tears that slipped down her cheeks to hit the floor, but a smile was present on her face. " Home." she muttered fondly. Tatsu, Chiharu and Sumomo walked with her all around the palace, and they saw many people wave, including the Three Musketeers, Ayano, Sora and Koneko. " My Lady! You're back!" Koneko shouted in glee and hugged Keira who hugged her back. " It is nice to see you again as well, Koneko. You look well. And how are you, Ayano, Sora?"

" We're great! We're so glad you're okay, and don't worry, we never doubted you were innocent for a second!" Keira's eyes softened. " Kasho always seemed a bit...insane to me, but in the few months prior to your sealing, he began to act even more peculiarly. He also met with this priestess, who had this strange power." Keira froze.

" Was it...the Dark Arts?" Koneko gasped. " How'd you know?" Keira scoffed, " My mate bumped into her one day when he was out in the market. She disappeared before he could say anything, but he did make a painting of her. I could see the traces of Black Magic in her eyes." Koneko's eyes narrowed. " Black Magic is a very serious thing, in itself. If Kasho's been involved with her, then it's possible that he wasn't completely himself. It's completely understandable that no one noticed, because you and him had a...a very complicated relationship, but he acted worse and worse to you before he sealed you. I think...I think he could've been controlled." Tatsu's eyes narrowed, as did Chiharu's. They didn't like the insinuation. Koneko's words made it sound like Kasho was the victim in this whole conundrum, not Keira.

" Can we please not speak of this for now? I would much rather not go on a murderous rampage, looking for Kasho. I've already made a vow to make him pay for what he's done." Sumomo nodded. " Yeah, it kinda makes me want to hunt him down too." this caused Keira to laugh. The statement, however normal for any old demon, was coming from a demon who was just slightly taller than a ten year old. The woman was barely five feet at all, not a centimeter above. " You know, I always think you're more childlike, until things like that come flying from your mouth." Chiharu admitted and Sumomo giggled. " Yeah, I look younger than I am, which leads a lot of people to think I'm really innocent." Keira sweatdropped.

Koneko walked up to Keira and whispered into her doggy ears, " Your old room is still in perfect condition, in case you want to visit it." she nodded, lip trembling just a bit. Her friends escorted her to her room, and they gave her some privacy and told her they'd be back to get her in a little while. Keira laid down on her bed cautiously, before her emotions seemed to get the better of her.

She buried her face into her pillow and began to cry, her sobs and wails echoing in the large room. She had missed this. Her old life. Her friends, her family. It was all taken from her, and one person and one spell was to blame. She had held onto this resentment, and confusion, and pain for ten centuries. She believed that the term now was 'millennium'. She had been sealed and held onto all these emotions for an entire millennium. It was about time she was able to let some of it out. She was entitled to this.

The silver haired Princess didn't know how long she laid on her bed and cried out all the pain, but she was drawn from her thoughts by a tentative knock at the door, causing Keira to look up. " Keira? It's Tatsu, may I come in?" she asked. " C-Come in." Keira said hoarsely, her throat a bit raw from all of the crying. Tatsu had a small box with her with something white sticking out. " Tissues." she said, " To wipe your nose and eyes." she explained and Keira slowly took one, running it over her eyes, catching the stray tears, before taking another and wiping at her nose. Tatsu got a bin and instructed Keira to throw the tissues in, which she did.

" Are you okay now?" Tatsu asked. " I...I think I am, for now at least. And do you know something?" Tatsu cocked her head. " I think I am ready to get rid of the formality. Do you mind teaching me the words of this time? I still remember our words, and how I spoke centuries passed, but it may be slightly outdated." Tatsu laughed. " I'd be honored to teach you. Personally, I think you'll pick it up in no time at all." the two friends shared a grin and a laugh. " I seem to remember when you and Chiharu suggested that we have a contest to see who had the most evil laugh." Tatsu laughed outright, clearly remembering what her friend was talking about.

" Oh son of a bitch! That was one hell of a day!" Tatsu recollected. Keira cocked her head as she too faded into the memory.

" We should have a contest to see who can laugh the most evilly!" Tatsu suggested excitedly, springing up off of the bench. Keira looked over at her friend, wondering why her friends were so weird. " You go first, Keira!" she gestured to the teen who raised an eyebrow. " Why would I need to? I can be as evil as I want, given the right situation." Chiharu sighed. " We know, this is just for fun." Keira exhaled heavily. " Fine. But I will lynch you three from the tallest tower in the castle." the threat was entirely credible. Hideki shuddered, clearly imagining the fate they would face should Keira actually decide to go through with her threat.

Keira cleared her throat and then let out one of the most evil sounding laughs, one so evil that it made her father freeze. " Keira?" the teen looked to her father. " Do not ever create such a sound again if you wish to live to your next birthday." Keira sighed. " Yes, father." then, the teen turned and gave her friends a deadly look that screamed 'I will murder you'. Hideki felt as though he needed to change his loins and hakama after that look. Chiharu and Tatsu however, were merely frozen in fear.

" My Lord, if I may be so bold, but why have you told Lady Keira not to laugh like that?" Tatsu asked, after having finally recovered from her terror of her Lord. " Because that is a sound that will forever remind me of how I was...nevermind." Keira rolled her eyes and winked, meaning she would tell them later. " I saw that." Keira froze, shoulders rising, knowing she was caught.

" You were in so much trouble that day, it was almost scary!" Tatsu continued to laugh and Keira glared. " Yes, but I almost lynched you three from the highest tower because of it! Be lucky I didn't!" Tatsu nodded. " Of course." then Keira closed her eyes. " There was another time I remember also. It must've happened some time after the laugh contest."

" Let's have a singing contest!" Chiharu shouted. " No." Keira outright refused and Chiharu pouted. " The last time we had a contest, I had a confrontation with my angry father." everyone shivered. Tatsu laughed. " Yeah, maybe the laughing contest wasn't the greatest idea I've had..." she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

The two were eventually joined by Chiharu and Hideki, and then several others came along. Keira spent the rest of the day cheerfully talking with her old peers and telling many stories, listening to them as well. Tears and laughter was shed, like what had happened during Keira and Tsukune's first visit to Kagura's penthouse, but it was perfectly okay with the silver haired woman.

Later that evening, the limo (metal demon/horseless carriage as Keira called it) dropped her off at her house, she presented a gift to her mate. " Here." she said, handing him the bag. " It's a gift, from me to you." she said. " Thank you, Keira." Tsukune smiled, taking a medium sized box out of the bag.

Tsukune looked at the solid gold watch. " Where did you get this? How did you get this?" he asked his mate who looked at him. " Demons, both male and female, enjoy acquiring pretty things like gold and jewels to give to their mate. Usually it's to show off that the demon can provide for their mate, but occasionally they merely wish to give their mate something pretty to show their affection. Also, the currency of this time is rather confusing. In my day, we used coins that you could string up and carry with you." she explained, eyeing the odd bracelet for a moment before she gave up.

" I don't know how to put this on you. What kind of odd contraption is this?" she asked, observing it closely. " It's a watch, it helps you tell time." she scoffed. " I can do that myself, I could teach you if you wished so." he appeared surprised by this revelation. " Whoa, you can?" she nodded. " Yes, I can." she said.

" That's so cool." Keira almost reached for the throw blanket on the back of the couch but remembered Tsukune explaining that 'cool' didn't mean someone was chilly, but that it was a good thing. " Come on, I'm making dinner right now." Tsukune gently led her to sit down at the table while he finished up the meal. While he made his way over to the table, he made sure that Junichi was given some meat as well before setting the food onto the table and seating himself. " Bon appetite." he said, grinning.

Keira didn't know what he meant, but took it as a cue to eat, so she did. The three ate in silence, but it wasn't awkward, just comfortable. " I had fun today." Tsukune laughed and responded with 'I'm glad you did.' before he noticed a difference with her hair. It was shorter. Instead of trailing behind her like a wedding veil train, it now stopped at her ankles. " You got your hair cut." he said, surprised. " Yes I did. My friends convinced me to do so, they told me it would be easier to move around without as much hair." she said, taking a sip of her water.

" It looks good on you." he said. " Thank you, Tsukune. I thought I wouldn't like it, but surprisingly this was actually the length of my hair in my human form when I was seventeen." she said, smiling slightly. Tsukune watched her. " You miss your old life." he said, not unkindly, but with understanding. She was quiet for a moment.

" Yes, I do. But, I am willing to try and look to the future, instead of grieving the past as I've done. I've realized that holding onto all the hate and confusion, it isn't healthy, it actually just holds me back. So, I'm going to try and get through this, but I won't forget what was done." Tsukune nodded. " I can understand that. You're very strong." he said.

" You were sealed when you were seventeen years old. When I was seventeen, I was playing X-Box and trying not to be creeped out by my girlfriend. You had to fight for your life in a dangerous time where even a cold could kill. I was just trying to pass my classes back then. I've had it much easier than you have, so I admire you for your ability to overcome what's been thrown at you." Keira smiled. " I think that is one of the kindest things someone has ever said to me."

" Well you deserve it. Anyone who can't see that you're a brilliant, strong and incredibly...vibrant person, is a moron. You are and always will be number one in my eyes. I may not understand everything that goes on in this world of yours, but I'll do my best." Tsukune said and Keira gave a heartwarmingly bright smile.

" As will I." she promised.


And that is it for chapter seven of Unsheathing the Mystery! Holy hot damn on a stick! I love this story more than any of you can guess! Seriously.

Also, I will have more InuKag stuff in the next chapter, I just needed more backstory for Keira. Sorry, it had to be done. That woman that Kasho hung around? She's important so don't forget her. Don't forget the woman that ran into Tsukune either. She's important too. Mwuahahaha. So many ideas..

Tata for now!

-Always,

FireHanyou16-