Chapter Seven: An Initial Mêlée
"Kagome, Inuyasha," Kaede greeted, surprise written on her wrinkled face. "I didn't expect ye to return so soon."
"I had to go home and get a few things," Kagome replied.
"Aye." The old woman looked out towards the mountains and took a deep breath. "Every day, Naraku's aura grows weaker. Something is happening."
"That's not why we came," Inuyasha said. "We've got something else we need to take care of first."
"And what might that be?"
Inuyasha looked back over his shoulder. "You can come out now."
Ouija stepped from behind the tree, her head down, gazing up from beneath her lashes. Kaede stepped back and gasped. "No. It can't be,"
Kagome and Inuyasha turned to her in alarm. Kaede though, paid them no mind. She was staring unblinking at Ouija, who tilted her head. She squeezed the case strap.
"What's wrong, Kaede?" Kagome inquired, unsure if she should go to Ouija or Kaede.
Kaede turned to Kagome, relaxing, realizing there was no immediate threat. She motioned for Inuyasha and this new woman to follow her. "Come. I have much to tell ye."
Ouija glared at the back of Kaede's head as she followed along. Inuyasha stared at her quizzically, his ears twitching.
"You got something to say? Otherwise, stop staring at me, 'cause it's really ticking me off."
Inuyasha growled and closed his eyes, balling his hand into a fist. Oh, how he wished to strike something at that moment.
Kaede pulled aside the curtain covering the doorway of her hut, watching as Kagome entered, followed by Inuyasha. Ouija laid her guitar case against the wall of the hut. A shiver shot down Kaede's spine as Ouija passed, who eyed her with a questioning expression.
Kaede let the bamboo curtain fall closed behind her as she came and sat before the fire pit in the center of the floor, Inuyasha to her left, Kagome to her right, and Ouija staring at her head-on. Kaede stared at the fire, too chilled by this woman's all-too-familiar face to look her in the eye.
"It all began three hundred years ago, even before ye time, Inuyasha." He blinked. "During the height of ye father's power, many adversaries tried to defeat him without success. All of them failed miserably. Often, many simply retreated, too terrified by ye father's true demon appearance to pursue any further battle. All but one."
Kagome was deep in thought. She knew very little about Inuyasha's father. She didn't even know his name. And, even sadder, she knew that Inuyasha knew just a smidgen more than she.
Inuyasha looked at Kaede. "No demon ever defeated my father," he said through clenched teeth.
Kaede looked back at him. "I didn't say she defeated ye father, Inuyasha, only very nearly. He was nearly killed."
There was a simultaneous response from all three listeners; "She!"
Kaede's eyes closed. "Aye. Irukandji was her name. She was the only opponent able to withstand ye father's attacks and fight him back with her own. Their battle was very long and very bloody. Irukandji was a vicious demon, indeed."
Ouija gasped deeply and suddenly grasped Kagome's arm with a vice grip. Kagome quickly lost the feeling in her hand. "Ouija! What's the matter?"
Ouija stared at her, her pupils the size of a pinpoint. "My vision!"
"Hmm?" Kaede murmured and looked up. "Visions, ye say?"
"Yes." Kagome answered, absorbing the impact of Ouija's words, gently prying her fingers away from her arm. "Back in my time, Ouija touched the Sacred Tree. When she did, it filled her mind with images she said were more like memories."
Kaede sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "It be true, then."
"You're not seriously suggesting–" Ouija began.
"Ah, but I am. And it's not a suggestion, but a fact." Her eyes opened now. "The woman that sits here with us now is Irukandji."
Inuyasha was on his feet in an instant, his hand inching for Tetsusaiga's hilt.
Kagome gasped and looked at her beloved cousin. "Could it really be true?"
Ouija was silent. And then, she laughed. She laughed with such vehemence that Inuyasha took a step back. She wiped at her eyes and looked at the old woman. "I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but I can't say this without doing just that. I think you've completely gone off the deep end."
"My child," Kaede said strongly. "Ye appearance is unmistakable. Ye are Mistress Irukandji. Ye eyes first gave ye away. The demon Irukandji bore eyes of the bluest of blue, and ye do as well."
Ouija shook her head, her shoulders trembling as she held back almost bitter laughter.
"It does make sense, Ouija," Kagome finally spoke.
Ouija turned to her, eyes wide with disbelief. "Oh, not you too, Kagome."
"Just think about it. The memories. Your ability to cross the dimensions of time. Me burning you."
"Heh," Inuyasha harrumphed. "If she is this so called 'Irukandji',' she's bound to have her old strengths and demonic powers." He gripped Tetsusaiga now. "Show me now."
Ouija laughed again, amused. "Inuyasha, are you suggesting a fight?"
"No, Inuyasha! Ye mustn't!" Kaede pleaded. "Clearly her aura is dormant now. Bringing her back to her time surely stirred it to life. But if ye ensue battle, I fear ye shall awaken the spirit of Irukandji. Without ye father, she will destroy everything and achieve supreme conquest!"
"I don't care! She fought my old man, she can fight me."
Kagome felt like she was being torn two ways. She jumped to her feet. "No, stop this! It could be dangerous for both of you! One of you could be killed!"
Ouija looked up at Kagome from the corner of her eye. "Oh, please. Like we'd let it go that far. He wants to prove to himself I'm this evil demon, and I want to prove I'm not. I've got nothing to lose."
"How about an arm?" Inuyasha interjected, growling. "Or I could just hack off your head and keep this Irukandji from ever returning again!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, covering her ears. "Please, both of you, stop!"
Ouija rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I love you like my sister, and you know it, but now I've got my pride to protect." She was inches from Inuyasha now, staring at him with smoldering cobalt eyes. "Outside. Now."
Inuyasha turned on his heel and headed out the door, Ouija following close behind. From there, they turned their backs to one another and walked several yards away in opposite directions.
Ouija smiled arrogantly. "Bring it on, Inuyasha."
"Count on it!" He grasped Tetsusaiga and ripped it from the sheath, smirking as it transformed.
Ouija's lips parted momentarily and she wavered at the mere sight of the ridiculously huge sword he now bared, but quickly recovered. She swallowed gently. Then, she raised her hand, palm lifted towards the sky, and waggled her fingers twice. "Give it your best shot."
What happened next couldn't have been predicted, nor did Ouija have any control over her actions. It happened so quickly…
Inuyasha charged, crying out as he swung at her with all his might. Simultaneously, Ouija's knees bent, and suddenly she was airborne. She was hovering above Inuyasha midair. He jerked his head around, searching for her, almost sure that she had vanished. Ouija's rapid descent caught him completely off guard. Inuyasha was smashed to the ground so quickly that Ouija was sure she had almost broken his neck. The painful yowl that escaped his lips made her blood sing. She kicked off his back as quickly as she had grounded him.
But he rose to his feet and wiped his lip with the back of his hand. He glared at her openly and growled. "Sheer luck."
Ouija smirked. Her voice was slightly distorted, a deep guttural growl underlying her own voice. "Only in your nightmares."
Inuyasha came at her once more. He swung at her again and again. Ouija dodged each and every strike, flashing from one place to another as though she teleported there. "Damn!" Inuyasha cried.
Ouija was carefully observing his swings, her trained eyes measuring every precise movement. Finally, once his arms swung to one side, she rushed forward with her hand raised high above her head. She jumped up and came down upon him with not a fist, but her fingernails. She felt cloth and flesh rip as though her nails were razors. She landed in a crouch just as Inuyasha cried out in pain, the arm wielding Tetsusaiga falling limp, the heavy fang crashing to the ground with a clang. He covered the wound with his other hand and trembled slightly. "Inuyasha!" Kagome cried and rushed to him, flying passed Ouija, now on her feet but somehow seemed frozen. "Your arm!"
Ouija panted. What had she just done? Something had just completely overrun her mind. In that instant, with no other weapons in tow, her psyche had told her one thing over and over again: use your claws, your claws! She raised her palm and her eyes were wide. Her lower lip trembled and her stomach churned at the sight. Crimson blood dripped down her wrist and covered her entire hand. She slowly turned her hand over and nearly cried out. Her fingernails! They were so long and pointed rather than the rounded-square tips she usually sported. As she gaped down at them, she could've sworn that they measured three inches long or more. She glanced at her other hand and found that they were her normal, human fingernails. What in the hell was happening to her? She had witnessed the battle from someone else's eyes it seemed, her body moving upon its own accord and pure instinct. It had been terrifying and horrible, not able to control or cease her body's movements. But, it had been so invigorating. She had felt so alive, so free. Ouija was terrified of herself in that instant. She watched in horror and fascination as her 'claws' shrank back down to size.
Kaede approached her. "Do ye now see the truth?"
Ouija shuttered.
Inuyasha groaned and the Tetsusaiga transformed into its old form, just a beaten, worn katana unfit for even cutting paper. Kagome held back the tears that were trying to fall. Inuyasha opened one pained eye and stared at her. Kagome made a soft sound in her throat. "Come on, let's get you inside," she said shakily, "We've got to get this wound patched up." For once, he didn't protest. Kagome led him into the hut where she proceeded in removing the gauze and medical supplies from her bag.
Ouija's hand dropped to her side. Inuyasha's blood dripped from her fingertips to the hard ground below. A soft grunt escaped her lips as she dropped heavily onto her knees, staring into space, eyes blank. Kaede observed her, unspeaking. She knew that the young woman was coming to terms with the fact that she was indeed a once terrible demon that everyone had believed to be dead, almost as old as the amount of time she had transcended to return to her world.
It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. Was she truly the reincarnation of this Irukandji from three hundred years ago, eight hundred years from her own time? Ouija exhaled and felt lightheaded. She dropped heavily to her side on the ground and trembled, closing her eyes tightly. No. She wasn't Irukandji. She wasn't. She couldn't be.
"Rise, child," Kaede said. "And face ye-self. Ye know my words to be true. Ye cannot deny it."
Ouija's eyes sprang open. She growled deeply. "Shut up." She slowly rose to her feet. "Just stop it!" she whirled on Kaede, who gasped and was nearly knocked to the ground. "I know I can't deny it. I just don't believe it." She turned and slowly approached the hut and pushed aside the bamboo drape, her eyebrow twitching as Inuyasha's cold amber eyes locked with hers.
"Come to finish the job and just take off my whole arm?"
Kagome huffed and continued tying the bandage around his shredded bicep. "You were asking for it, Inuyasha. If you hadn't been so macho and Mr. Tough Guy, this wouldn't have happened."
Inuyasha sulked and turned his head away from her, hissing as she tied the knot.
"No, I came to apologize," she spat icily. "But obviously, you don't deserve it."
Kagome looked up at her with tired eyes. "Please, Ouija."
Ouija sighed and came closer. She knelt beside Inuyasha, who glared daggers at her. "Look, I really am sorry, okay? I don't know what happened to me. It was like there was something else controlling my body. I couldn't stop it."
Kagome watched her, grateful that she didn't have all of Inuyasha's "qualities."
Inuyasha didn't speak. His arm was burning.
Ouija stared at the floorboards beneath her. "I didn't even realize what I had done until after I'd already done it. Truly, I am sorry." Then, she stood and made for the door. Just as she reached for the door, Kaede stepped in, her face somber.
"There is much we need to discuss."
Ouija nodded, lowering her head and stepping aside. She took a seat beside Kagome, who still knelt by Inuyasha's side, wrapping another layer of gauze around his upper arm. Kaede slowly lowered to her knees before the fire, her only eye closed.
"As I said before, the woman bef–"
"Ouija."
Kaede's lip twitched. "As I said before," she continued. "Ouija is indeed Mistress Irukandji."
"So you're the reincarnation of one of the most powerful demons that ever lived." Kagome said, her voice dripping with admiration and respect. She eyed her beloved cousin with almost weary eyes.
Kaede cleared her throat. "No, Kagome. Unlike ye being Kikyo remade, Ouija is Irukandji, simply reborn into another body. Her psyche remains, though her body perished long ago. She was said to have died from injuries from her battle with the Great Dog Demon three hundred years ago. Knowing Irukandji, I'd say she transferred her soul into a human's body, moving from one generation to the next until she found a suitable body, as she has now."
Ouija blinked. "So, I have multiple personalities?"
Kaede smiled. "Not quite. Ye appear to be the same age as Irukandji when she died. And, ye have returned to this time. So, ye have reawakened Irukandji's spirit that lives within ye. As ye seen just a few moments ago, Irukandji's spirit will capture the host she resides within. This will continue until she has merged with Ouija's own soul. Eventually, ye will become an entirely different person."
Kagome gasped. "So Ouija won't be Ouija anymore? She'll be Irukandji?"
"Not quite."
"So I'm gonna be both Irukandji and myself. Just…at the same time. So I'll have characteristics of Irukandji and myself."
Kaede nodded. "Ye even possess the sharp mind as Irukandji."
Ouija nodded. "As long as I won't end up some mindless, killing demon, it won't bother me, I don't suppose."
Kagome ogled at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious, Ouija! A three hundred year old, evil demon is going to merge her soul with yours! That's going to make you all demon, and you'll have her mind, not yours!"
Ouija closed her eyes. "I know, Kagome. But I won't be all Irukandji. I'll still be part of her, so I won't be completely sadistic."
"What if you forget yourself? What if this amalgamation alters you to the point of no return? What if you forget about the people that you love and the ones that love you?" She turned to Kaede, her eyes pleading. "Surely something can be done, Kaede!"
"I won't forget you, Kagome." Ouija said. Inuyasha looked up at her now, confused. Kagome turned to her. "I know that's what you're worried about, you've made that clear. You, Sota, Gramps, Nora. But I won't forget any of you. You're my family, and you're buried too deep for me to just forget." She turned to Kagome; her eyes opened now, a gentle smile on her face. "You're my sister, Kags. I'm not ever going to forget you."
Kagome nodded once, biting her lower lip. "I can only hope, Ouija."
"You shattered it!" Ouija half-shouted, amazed at her cousin's blondness.
Inuyasha snorted. "Of course she did. She's a horrible shot!"
Uh-oh, Ouija thought, grinning wickedly. She knew what kind of remark that would get him. "Oh, is that so?" she shouted at him, her face flushing slightly.
"Yeah!" he shouted back. "It's your fault it's broken!"
"Oh, how very kind of you! You know you can't do a thing without me!"
"Yeah, right! You want to help? Then learn to actually hit what you're shooting at!"
Ouija started laughing, but the two continued bickering as though she weren't there. This was just too amusing! This was going to be a great trip.
So far, Kagome – and an occasional comment from Inuyasha – had told her the story of the Sacred Jewel, how it had been stolen and swallowed by a crow, and how Kagome's arrow had hit it and shattered it. Now, Kagome and Inuyasha were well on their way to finishing it – slowly, but surely. They also had the help of their friends Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara. They had left Kaede's village in a somber silence, contemplating what they had just heard. Desperate for a change of atmosphere, Kagome suggested they find Sango and Miroku to finish the job they had begun. Besides, Ouija hadn't wanted to return home yet. So, off they set to find the rest of the gang.
Abruptly, the argument silenced.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, stopping in her tracks as Inuyasha did. Ouija too, stopped and turned, wondering what was about to happen.
"I picked up their scent. They're in the woods. Come on."
Kagome nodded and followed after Inuyasha, Ouija trailing behind them. They weaved between countless trees and shrubs, following Inuyasha's super-sensitive nose. Soon enough, the trees gave way to a clearing where a large hot spring waited, ringed with a rock wall. Steam rose up from it and the waters bubbled softly. And then, Ouija saw them. There was another beautiful young woman with brown hair and brown eyes. There was a cute boy there as well with a staff. A monk? And then, Ouija squealed. What adorable creatures! There was a small boy with a fox tail and fox feet, and a two-tailed cat.
At her squeal, they looked up. "Kagome, Inuyasha!" the woman greeted in a surprised, her eyebrows raising and hiding behind her bangs. "You've come back." Then, a smile lit up her light pink lips and she stood, approaching. The monk followed her, as well as the cat and fox boy.
The boy spoke next. He beamed charmingly at Ouija, who narrowed her eyes slightly as he approached. He passed Inuyasha and Kagome without a glance and took Ouija's hand into both of his. "And who might this gorgeous woman be?"
The group groaned. "I wouldn't mess with this one, Miroku," Inuyasha called over his shoulder.
Miroku ignored him. "If I might ask a favor, miss?"
Ouija glared at him icily, almost at his eye level. "What do you want?" she growled, having a sudden urge to bare her teeth.
"Will you do me the honor of baring my children?"
Ouija's fist met his eye with a strong right hook.
The rest of them stared in silent astonishment as Miroku grunted and fell flat onto the ground, his eyebrow twitching. Their eyes rose to Ouija, who snorted like a bull. "Wanna try again?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "Warned him."
Kagome cleared his throat as Miroku rose to his feet and kept his distance, hiding behind Sango. "Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, this is my cousin Ouija."
Sango smiled gently and bowed. "Pleased to meet you."
Ouija smiled and bowed in return. "Thank you."
Miroku laughed nervously.
Shippo approached her and tugged on her gauchos. "Where'd she come from? She's dressed funny like you, Kagome."
Kagome groaned. "Thanks, Shippo."
Ouija smiled widely and bent down, picking the fox kit up into her arms. "Oh, look at you! You're just adorable!" She nuzzled his cheek with her nose and he giggled, his cheeks turning pink.
"I'm Shippo," he said. "Where are you from? You're not like any human I've ever seen."
Kagome sighed softly. "We've got quite a story for you guys. Come on, you'll need to sit down for this one."
Author's Note: And so, the plot thickens. Dun dun dun! Tell me what you think! What are your theories as to what will come out of this? BuhBye!
