Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine.
A/N: Again, I apologize for taking so damn long to post a new chapter. I beg your forgivenes! Please, enjoy the show! rsb
Chapter 9
"Hermes! Hermes! Wait for me!"
Hermes, on his way to the mouth of the Underworld on an errand for his father, stopped when he heard the little voice calling to him. Unable to keep the smile from his face, he turned to see a dark, slender girl run frantically towards him.
Athena's daughter was such a pretty little thing, he thought as his gaze rested on her. But with her curling black hair and dark eyes, she closely resembled her war-loving father, Ares.
With one hand, he deftly removed his heavy winged helmet from his head. As he always did when she ran to him, he dropped down to one knee and, after setting his helmet on the ground beside him, opened his arms. With a pleased giggle, Niobe ran into his ready embrace. Her small arms wrapped securely around his neck as his own powerful limbs closed around her tiny body.
"Have you come to say goodbye to me?" he asked as he pressed a tender kiss against one of her silky smooth cheeks. She smelled of apples and honey… and gardenias. Hermes quickly smothered a chuckle. His step-mother Hera would not be pleased that Niobe had been playing in her garden again and no doubt harassing the peacocks that strutted haughtily within.
She nodded and moved back to look at him. "Grandfather said you were going back there, to that dark place." The joy that had been in her eyes when she had looked at him a moment ago, died. Her sweet face grew solemn as she stared at him with her dark, somber eyes. "I don't like that place, Hermes. You will be careful, won't you?"
Touched by her concern, Hermes kissed her on the forehead. "I always am," he assured her. "I promise to be careful."
She nodded reluctantly and leaned forward to bury her face against his neck. Again, Hermes could not keep the smile from his face. He had grown much attached to this sweet little girl since the day of her birth, but he never imagined she would return his affection with such fierceness. He felt he had not done much to deserve it, although he had spent quite a bit of time with her while her own miserable excuse for a father was away waging wars between the mortals. That he had sired a son who had turned out as unpleasant and loathsome as himself was not surprising in the least, but a daughter who was his complete opposite? It was so strange, knowing that Ares had a sired a daughter as sweet and gentle as Niobe. Wonders would never cease.
At last he released her and she stepped back. To his consternation, he saw her large dark eyes were brimming with tears. "Why, my nymph, what's wrong?" he asked as his hand caressed her face.
"Must you go? I know that it's dangerous there, even for us," she said in a whisper. Her voice trembled slightly.
Now Hermes was very worried. She had never spoken like that to him. Never. Why was she suddenly upset about him leaving? He had already explained to her where he went and why. What had brought up this attack of caution on her part?
Movement past her dark head alerted Hermes to a presence not far behind Niobe. His eyes narrowed when he saw the lurking figure of Niobe's twin brother. A deep stab of anger could be felt in the very center of his chest. Normally, he liked children and the children of the other gods liked him greatly, as he was generally regarded as a jokester god and much fun to be around. But this kid, this little boy who glared hatefully back at him, was the one child he disliked. He would even go so far as to say that he hated Thanos.
Almost as if Thanos picked up on his thoughts, the boy smiled nastily at him. Oh yes, Hermes thought to himself, this boy was most definitely his father's offspring. It was fairly obvious that Thanos did not care for his opinions in the slightest. Just like Ares.
The evil look on the boy's face confirmed Hermes' suspicions. Instinct told him the reason Niobe had suddenly grown worried for his safety was because her brother had been telling her things. By the look of heartache and anxiety on her sweet little face, Hermes knew they had not been very pleasant things.
"Little beast," Hermes muttered unkindly but too softly for her to hear him clearly. With a sigh, he looked deep into her eyes. "Now you listen to me, Niobe. Nothing will happen to me in the Underworld. I swear that to you. Do you believe me?"
She nodded reluctantly but he could see fear and uncertainty in her eyes.
"Now you have to believe that I will come back, Niobe. Do you want me to come back?"
She nodded again, this time emphatically and he grinned.
"Because if you didn't want me to come back, I must obey you and not return."
Her big brown eyes widened and she clutched at the front of his tunic. "No! You have to come back, Hermes! I don't want you to go away forever!"
"Then I most definitely must come back," he murmured soothingly. "I obey your every whim, my lady."
This time, she smiled at him unrestrainedly. "Yes, I want you to come back. If you return in time, will you tell me a story tonight?"
"If that is what my lady desires."
Niobe nodded regally. "Yes, I desire that," she said and giggled.
"Good. Then I shall return and return in time to tuck you in and tell you a bedtime story."
She hugged him again and when she let him go, she picked up his helmet and handed the heavy object to him. He took it from her and placed it on his head. As he did so, he again glanced past her at her brother, whose scowl seemed to have grown darker. Indeed, his dark eyes looked like big black dots in his face.
While Niobe was busy handing Hermes his helmet, the look on Thanos' face was one of pure hatred. When he came back, Hermes vowed to have a talk with Niobe's furious twin. He knew that Thanos became jealous whenever Niobe's attention and adoration was turned from him. Thanos had never been able to stand being last in his twin's life.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Hermes promised. Leaning forward, he kissed Niobe's forehead. Dropping his voice to a whisper so only she could hear, he told her: "Do me a favor, my nymph. Do not listen to your brother. All he wants to do is scare you, and that is not right." He tugged gently on a lock of Niobe's long black hair and rose to his feet.
As he walked away, he could feel the intensity of Thanos' gaze burning into his back. He took the air and as he did so, he looked back. Thanos was at his sister's side, his small hand holding hers. To Hermes, it was a gesture that spoke volumes and it angered him. The insolent boy was staking a claim on her.
'Just wait until I get back, demon child. You shall not have her,' Hermes vowed silently. Firmly he ignored the voice in the back of his head that reproached him for playing this game with Thanos. Sure it was childish, but he hated knowing that that black-haired monster held such influence over his innocent sister. All he wanted was for Niobe to be happy. But somewhere in the darkness of his heart, Hermes wanted more than anything for Thanos to leave her alone… even if it meant sending the little brat to Hades. Maybe, just maybe, he would do that one of these days…
ooooo
Inuyasha woke with a start. He sat up and stared blindly into the dark of his bedroom.
He leaned over and groped for the lamp on his bedside table. The lamp came on and he blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the light. Heaving a sigh, he sat up and leaned back to prop himself up against the headboard of his bed.
What a weird dream he'd just had. He thought a moment as he slowly rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands. Not a dream, he decided at last. It was a memory.
His eyes closed for a moment. Niobe's worried little face swam to the surface of his mind and he could feel his hatred of Thanos rise to the fore. It was odd, how a mere child could evoke such a strong emotion as hate against him. But then again, it was also odd that so young a child could be emit so much evil and loathing. Thanos had not been a normal child.
With a shake of his head, Inuyasha flung the covers back and got out of his bed. After a quick stretch, he walked to the bathroom. Once his business was taken care of, he washed his hands and splashed some water on his face. As he dried his face with a towel pulled from a nearby towel rack, he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He was dismayed by what he saw there. His youthful face looked strained and haggard; his eyes were sad and exhausted, as evidenced by the dark circles under them. It didn't help that he had an atrocious case of bed-head either. Normally, he didn't care what he looked like, but it was different now. Now that he knew Kagome was reincarnated and living in Hawaii at that girls' school, he began to take notice of his appearance.
It had been a week since that meeting with Sango on the rooftop of the Pualani Academy for Girls dorm building. That night was the night he finally got to see Kagome again, even though it was for the briefest of moments. It had been all he could to do not to barge into the room she and Sango shared. All he wanted was to let her see him, to let her know that he was okay and that he missed her and had never found another woman to take her place. He wanted to tell her that he had remained faithful to her since the day they wed. Inuyasha glanced down at his hand. The gold wedding band she had slid on his finger the day of their wedding was still there. He had never even taken it off, not even for a minute. His hands came together and with the fingers of his unadorned hand he twirled the wedding ring slowly around his finger.
He had not barged in, and not because Sango had apparently found it necessary to ward their room with magic to keep youkai out. Meeting Kagome again was all he ever thought about since Yuri told him who Souta's infant daughter was. It was caution that had held him back, kept him from telling her who he was. She would have been terrified if this wild-eyed man simply barged into her bedroom and professed his eternal love and devotion.
He left the bathroom, turning the light off as he went out, and headed back to bed.
For a long time, Inuyasha lay on his back in the darkness of his lonely bedroom. And for the first time in a long time, he wept. He had always felt that losing Kagome was the worst thing to have ever happened to him. But this—knowing she was alive and well but had no idea who he was—this was agonizing. He supposed he should be thankful she had returned at all, and he was thankful… but still. The knowledge that he could walk right up to her on the street and she would only give him the blank stare of a stranger was too painful to contemplate.
Damn it. Would this gnawing ache in his soul ever go away?
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By the end of April, Kagome and Sango were beginning to enjoy life again. The nightmares no longer plagued Kagome's sleep so both girls were at last able to slumber in peace all night long.
Even Draco ceased his nighttime visits, which somewhat eased Sango's mind. It was disconcerting to wake in the dead of night to see a large shadow peering into their bedroom. She supposed he had finally gotten the message. But it was hard to tell with him some times. She also supposed it was a good thing he lived on another campus. Well, good and bad. On one hand, he was kept away from Kagome during the day. On the other hand, the distance that separated them was nothing to a youkai.
Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to keep the fudas on every wall of their bedroom. That had served to keep him out, but it had also made him frustrated and angry. Despite being able to enjoy those restful nights free from Kagome's screams of terror, Sango was kept on edge during the day when they were out of their shared room.
Once, Kagome had asked her the reason for her tenseness, Sango broke down and told Kagome about the midnight visits by her youkai suitor. This seemed to alarm Kagome but it turned out that she was more concerned for Sango's safety than her own.
"Do you want me to speak to him?" Kagome asked after Sango assured her that there was no need for her to worry. "I can ask him to stop."
Firmly, Sango shook her head. "At the moment there's no need. I don't think he'll be attempting to bother you just at present. "I think he finally got the message… for the time being, at least."
The look on Kagome's face prompted Sango to explain, which the latter did reluctantly.
"Youkai… Well, the thing is, youkai can be incredibly tenacious, especially young ones like Draco. They don't have the necessary self-control to keep their inner selves at bay, which is why I don't think you should ever be left alone with him. It's obvious his youkai desires you, even if he doesn't quite feel the same way. No offence."
"None taken," was Kagome's reply. For a moment, she looked disappointed and Sango felt a stab of regret. She wanted her friend to find a nice boy to have a nice, healthy relationship with, but Draco was just not an ideal boyfriend. He would not want just a light flirtation, a few kisses or a grope in the dark. Draco was youkai and that alone made him dangerous. When a youkai wanted, they wanted with a fierceness that her timid little friend could not match.
"You don't want a youkai," Sango said and reached out to stroke Kagome's head. "He will only hurt you. It could be physically or mentally, but he will hurt you. It would only be a matter of time."
For a long moment, Kagome appeared to ponder this. At last she said: "Don't worry, Sango. II don't think I'm in danger of him doing that. He's not really my type anyway. I prefer men with dark hair." She gave Sango a cheerful smile.
But Sango had known instantly that Kagome was not being completely honest. True, she found boys like Jacob—who was dark-haired and dark-eyed—attractive, but Draco's appearance into her life had shaken her. Despite their first, rather abrupt, meeting in the mall last December, Kagome had grown to like him, even allowing him close enough to let him know her scent. That fact alone worried Sango plenty. One of the worst things a human could do would be to willingly allow a demon to know their scent. Should the creature take a liking to it, the human might never know a moment's peace. The demon slayer in her knew, absolutely, that Draco's youkai had taken a great liking to Kagome's scent.
It still worried Sango a couple of weeks later as she and Kagome were up in their room working on their schoolwork. On this day, it was raining; it had been raining steadily since early that morning and showed no sign of stopping. Days like these annoyed Sango. She hated the feeling of being cooped up like this, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that the rain would not last forever. She just wished it would hurry the hell up and stop already.
With a sigh, she leaned back so her head rested on the wall. She sat at the head of her bed, her notebook rested on her thighs; her legs were crossed tailor-style. Her history book lay open in front of her.
She shut her eyes. One more month, she told herself. Only one more month to go before school was out for the year.
Sango smiled. Hoo-fucking-ray for summer vacation.
At long last, her parents wanted her to spend her summer vacation with them. They lived in Tokyo now; her father had moved his dojo there and many of their clansmen had joined him. As they were all demon slayers, they had to train constantly to stay fit. Her father wanted her to come home, not just to see her because he and her mother missed her, but he wanted to see how well she had kept up her training.
Her mind went back to the night she had taken Draco down and her smile widened. Of course she really should not tell her father about that. Attacking the son of Sesshoumaru would not exactly score public relation points if that was ever found out. Draco would, she knew, never let that incident be known, so she would not either. But still, she was proud of that.
A loud crack of thunder jolted Sango out of her thoughts and her eyes flew open. She glanced sharply over at Kagome to gauge her reaction. But Kagome was lying on her stomach on her bed and reading her own history book, jotting down notes every so often in her own notebook. Apparently, the loudness of the thunder had not rattled her as it had Sango.
Light flashed outside and there was another clap of thunder. Sango jumped but Kagome merely sighed happily and shifted a little on her bed. She was completely unruffled.
That was one thing about Kagome that annoyed Sango. Thunder always made her jumpy, especially thunder that was loud enough to rattle the windows in their panes. During the entire time she had known Kagome, not once had Kagome ever shown the slightest bit of perturbation during a thunderstorm. It was rather shameful, that she, the demon slayer, should be so nervous during a storm.
"How do you do that?" Sango blurted out at last.
"Hmm?" Kagome turned to look at Sango. She blinked.
"I asked you how you do that," said Sango.
"Do what?" Kagome appeared to be puzzled.
"You know. How is it that you don't jump whenever there's a clap of thunder?"
"Oh." Kagome blinked again and shrugged. "I don't know. I've always been like that. It's almost as if I'm attuned to the storm when it hits." She chuckled. "Sounds crazy, I know. Don't know how else to explain it."
"That's weird," commented Sango.
"Yeah, I guess it is. But then again, I really love days like this. They make me happy." She smiled cheerfully at Sango.
Thunder clapped again and this time the lights flickered. Kagome sighed her happy little sigh again and went back to her history book. Sango, felt a little less thrilled at the closeness of the thunder, sent a nervous gaze up to the ceiling. The lights were still on—for now.
Sango returned her attention to the history book and spiral notebook lying beside her on her bed. She really didn't want to finish up the chapter now even though all she had left were to do the chapter review questions. When the thunder roared again, she knew she was too wound up to finish her work. But after all, their History class was the last period of the day. There was plenty of time to complete the review questions before then.
"Hey, have you finished picking your classes for next year?" Sango had gathered her book, notebook and pen and tossed them on the floor beside her bed. Then she lay down on her side facing Kagome and propped herself up on her left elbow. "I know you were wondering what electives to take."
"Hold on a sec." Kagome, who was putting the finishing touches on her paper, set down her pen with a satisfied sigh. "There, done." She sat up and gathered up her homework and placed it neatly on the floor beside her bed. "Okay, what were you saying?"
Sango repeated herself and Kagome nodded. "Yeah, after my regular classes, I only need two electives to fill out my schedule. Let's see, since I've already had my requisite two years of foreign language, so instead of taking a third year of Spanish I decided to take French for giggles. As for my second elective…" She stared off into space with a puzzled look on her face. "I chose archery."
"Archery?" Sango's eyebrows went up as she stared with some surprise at her friend and roommate. "French I can understand, but what on earth made you choose to take archery? That's just so… well, so unlike you. I hate to say it, but you are not the least bit athletic."
Laughing, Kagome shook her head. "I know, and you'll make fun of me."
Sango smirked. "I may or I may not; I haven't decided yet. I'm kidding! Don't be ridiculous. Just tell me."
Kagome lifted a skeptical eyebrow. Then she shrugged. "Okay. It was a dream I had the other night. You were in my dream, too."
With a smile, Sango leaned forward a little, giving the impression of a listener who was intent on a conversation. "Ooh, do tell," she said eagerly.
"Okay," said Kagome, her eyes brightening in excitement, "we were part of this group of people who went around and helped others, right? You and I were in it, of course, and two guys and two animals."
"Two guys? One for each of us, huh?" Sango laughed. "Were the guys hot? Please tell me they were hot!"
"Oh, yeah!" Kagome grinned. "You were in love with one and I was in love with the other."
Again Sango laughed. "Tell me about my guy."
"Oh, he was really good-looking. Tall, long hair pulled back in a ponytail and he wore robes."
Hearing this, Sango wrinkled her nose with some distaste. "Robes? What kind of robes? I hope you didn't have my guy running around in a bathrobe!"
Kagome shook her head. "No, he wasn't wearing a bathrobe. I think he was a monk of some kind. Buddhist, probably. He had beads wrapped around his right hand. Rosary beads, I think, but I can't be sure."
"Oh. Okay." Sango blinked then smiled. "So… tell me about your guy. What did he look like?"
Kagome's eyes turned up to the ceiling and her brow furrowed, as if in thought. "Well, he was definitely different. He was a little shorter than the monk, and he was dressed in this weird red outfit and had this long white hair and carried a rusty old sword. But the funny thing was he had these cute little white ears on the top of his head." She giggled. "I wanted to touch those ears so bad!"
Sango froze. A guy who had white hair whose ears were on the top of his head? Hadn't she seen someone like that recently? Yeah, she had. But what was his name?
Aloud she said, "You said there were animals with us."
"Oh my gosh, they were so adorable! One looked like a child but it wasn't a human child. He had red hair with a greenish-bluish bow in it and this poofy little tail. He had such tiny feet and hands and he was super sweet, but seemed to be attached to me. You had a pet cat, but when we were fighting demons, it grew really large, about the size of a tiger."
Something stirred deep in Sango's memory. Kagome's dream was very like a story she had been told when she was a child about her namesake ancestress. She too, had a pet cat although according to legend, the cat had been a fire demon cat named Kirara, who could grow large when in battle and who also could fly.
Keeping her tone neutral, Sango asked, "What about you? What did you do? I'm guessing you were an archer?"
Kagome nodded. "My weapon was bow and arrow, but the arrows were not normal arrows. Every time I shot one, it glowed with a pink light. I thought it was kind of cool," she said with a half-smile and a tilt of her head. "I felt like I should learn how to shoot with a bow and arrow. They felt right in my hands." As nervous laugh escaped her lips Kagome lifted her arms so that her fingers slid into her hair and she shook her head. "I know this sounds crazy since it was just a dream, but for a moment I felt like that learning archery was my destiny. Or at least part of my destiny."
"You never know. Perhaps it was," Sango remarked calmly. Her mind was racing. There was more to the legend of her ancestress, she just knew it. Damn it, why couldn't she remember it all?
At last, Sango's memory hit pay dirt. She was now very interested in this dream. It seemed that this dream of Kagome's was a rather important one after all.
"Do you remember what was I wearing?" Sango made an attempt at lightness. If Kagome told her what she wanted to know then Sango would need to get in touch with her father as soon as possible.
Kagome turned her attention to Sango's face with a smile. "Sure, I remember. You were wearing this weird outfit but it looked really good on you. It was black, skintight, and you wore a mask that covered the bottom half of your face. To protect you from poisons, I think. That's what you told me in the dream anyway."
"Wow, how interesting," Sango felt light-headed. She was pretty certain that Kagome had never glimpsed her while she was in her gear in the light of day. There was that night where she had been on the roof with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha when Kagome had had that nightmare, but she had been so rattled that Sango was certain her change of clothing had not registered in Kagome's eyes. But if Kagome had never full laid eyes on her slayer's outfit, then how did she what it looked like, even down to the face mask? Also, how on earth did she know that her face mask was for protection against poisons? This was just too surreal. There was simply no way Kagome could have known that.
Kagome seemed oblivious to the look of consternation that had set in Sango's face. She rambled on. "But the most amazing thing was your weapon. I've never seen anything like it!"
"What did it look like?" Sango stopped breathing.
"Oh, it was huge! It was made out of demon bone and shaped like a boomerang!"
The blood drained from Sango's face. Now she knew for certain what Kagome had dreamt of had been no dream. The only people who knew of the existence of Hiraikotsu were her own clan, with the exception Lord Sesshoumaru and…
The name finally clicked on inside Sango's head. Inuyasha. That was his name.
Dear gods above, Kagome had actually dreamed about Inuyasha, someone she had most likely never seen before. Ever since they first met, Sango had known that Kagome was special, but who was she really? Was she a reincarnation of someone who had known her ancestress, as well as that infamous hanyou, Inuyasha?
This was most definitely not a dream. What this had been was a memory but Kagome had no idea that it was a memory. Perhaps that was a good thing, for the time being.
"That is amazing," Sango managed to say in her calmest voice. "Listen, I forgot I needed to send an email to my brother. I'll be back later so don't wait up." While she had been talking, Sango had gotten to her feet and went to grab her laptop, which was tucked up under the foot of her bed. She left the room without another word.
ooooooooooo
The next evening, Sango went to the rooftop to await her father's phone call. She had not talked to either one of her parents in a long time; it had taken her a long time for her to forgive them for sending her away to Pualani. But this was important and the only person who could really give her any answers was her father. After waiting nearly twenty minutes, her phone rang.
"Dad?" She sat down on one of the parapets.
"Yes, Sango." His voice was deep and warm on the other end. "Your brother told me to call you. What is wrong, my child?"
Taking a deep breath, Sango began to tell her father of Kagome's dream. Her father made a few non-committal noises and she could almost see him nodding, a sleepy expression on his face. Sango scowled into the dark. Was she boring him?
"She dreamed of Hiraikotsu," she said calmly into the phone.
There was a tense silence on her father's end.
"I did not catch that. What did you just say?"
Heh. That got his attention. She knew it would. "My friend dreamed of Hiraikotsu," Sango repeated, this time with a reverent tone to her voice.
More silence. "Impossible," said her father at last. "No, that's impossible. You must have been mistaken, Sango. No one save those in our clan knows of its existence."
"Except for Lord Sesshoumaru and his brother," added Sango with a smug smile. She reached back and pulled a lock of hair forward over her shoulder. Out of habit, she twirled it around her finger.
"Of course."
"I mean, who else would know that such a weapon existed?" Sango asked and released her hair. The wind blew gently around her. She tilted her head back to sniff the cool breeze which caressed her body. The lock of hair on her shoulder was lifted gently and settled down her back. The heavy scent of rain was on the wind, she thought with some irritation. 'We're getting more?' she thought. 'Sheesh.'
"Only those that we have mentioned just now," her father answered darkly. "What are you saying, Sango? That this friend of yours has somehow been able to glimpse into the past and see our ancestress?"
"Not just our ancestress I think," Sango replied quietly. There had been a monk in Kagome's dream. Her namesake had been involved with and bore the children of a powerful monk. Of course she had not said a word of this to Kagome, as she had wanted to keep the knowledge of what she was from her friend. "Do you know of any other companions the Lady Sango had?"
"There was also our ancestress' youkai neko and a young kitsune called Shippo. Inuyasha was there as well as another human girl, a miko." Her father sighed. "Have you been away so long that you have forgotten your past, my daughter?"
Sango's eyes slid shut. It had to be true, right? Kagome had not simply dreamed a part of the long-ago past. What her friend had described fit too closely to what was known of her demon slaying clan. Was it possible her mind had conjured up a memory of when she had lived another life so long ago? Each character in Kagome's little dream was being ticked off on the mental list inside Sango's head. Her ancestress Sango, the Buddhist monk Miroku, the pet cat Kirara, the little fox child Shippo, the hanyou Inuyasha and now there was the shrine maiden.
"What was the name of the miko?" she asked her father.
The sound of rustling paper on the other end told Sango that her father was looking through a book. So, she thought rather smugly, it seems she was not the only one who had had a lapse in memory.
"Her name was Higurashi," he said. "Yes. Higurashi Kagome."
If Sango had not been sitting already, she would have dropped to the floor. "Oh, my word," she breathed. "Oh, my word."
"What's the matter?" His voice was maddeningly calm.
"Higurashi Kagome… That is the name of my roommate, the girl who had the dream I just told you about."
"Are you sure?"
This time she was the one who snorted. "Of course I'm sure! We've been friends for the past three years." Sango looked up at the sky. Lightning flashed silently overhead but she could not leave the privacy of the rooftop just yet. "Dad?" She just had a flash of an idea. This was where her love of the demon slaying world would help her.
"Yes, my daughter?" There was a smile in his deep voice.
"Wasn't there a demon slayer, oh, about, twenty odd years ago with that same name?"
There was a brief silence. "Why, yes, I believe there was. She was a very good one; one of the best at the time, as I recall. Well, as good as any that came through the Slayer Corp." His tone indicated that he did not think very much of that organization. "So I suppose she was alright. Why do you ask?"
"Do you think she could have been the one who traveled with our ancestress and Inuyasha and the monk? I mean, do you think we could find out?"
"I'm pretty sure you could, but I don't think it would be common knowledge. Do you think the two are related? They might hail from the same family."
Sango shook her head even though she knew her father could not see the movement. "I doubt she would know. Kagome has no family. She does have a guardian, though."
"I suppose I could get in touch with them. Who is this guardian?"
"Yamadera Yuki."
"Yuki? Of the elves?" Her father sounded incredulous.
"Yes." Sango was skeptical. "You know of him?"
"Well, if we are speaking of the same Yamadera Yuki, then yes, I know of him. He is the Crown Prince of the elves and elder brother of the Emperor Hiro. Do you plan on speaking with him? If so, you must tread carefully, my child. He is the second most powerful elf in the world. We would not wish to anger the elves."
With a sigh of exasperation, Sango rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad. But really, is he all that scary? I mean, the Yuki I have seen with Kagome is very loving. All the same," she went on blithely and picked at her teeth with a fingernail, "I wish he wasn't such a stuffy old man. He's very over-protective of her and it makes her unhappy. Do you know he sent her here to this school eleven years ago? Poor girl has been stuck on this island for ages. It's almost like he's kept her imprisoned here."
"Hm. Poor girl, indeed. Well, listen, I have to go. Shall I find out what you want to know? I suppose I can poke around and see what turns up. You have studying to do, I'm sure."
She groaned, remembering the unfinished chapter review questions for History class that she needed to do. "Yeah, sure. Thanks Dad. Talk to you later."
"Goodbye, Sango."
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The month of May went by quickly and before they knew it, another school year was over. At the beginning of the month, Sango was worried about being separated from Kagome. The teacher who was to hold dancing classes over summer had to go home to help her mother take care of her father who had just had a heart attack. As a result, the dance classes were canceled. Kagome had been very disappointed, for she had been looking forward to learning something new. But Sango felt that Kagome was mostly dismayed because this meant that the dance costumes she had asked Yuki-sama to order had come in already and now would not be used.
As for Sango, she still knew nothing more of Kagome's background but she tried her best not to think to hard about it. After all, did she not have other, more important things to think about? As soon as she arrived at her family home, her father would be insistent upon testing her skills to see if they were still sound. If she were honest with herself, Sango would admit that she had allowed herself to grow soft for the first two years she had been at school. After being sent away across the Pacific to a land where the language and customs were drastically different, she had wanted revenge against her father. In the end, she knew that was foolish and she had resumed her training. It was so ingrained in her that she just could not fight it anymore and pushed herself even harder than before.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"
Sango was standing in the doorway to the bedroom she shared with Kagome. She held the handle of her rolling suitcase in her right hand and a large duffel bag in her left. Her laptop was in her backpack, which she wore.
With a smile, Kagome nodded as she folded a set of pink and white sleep pants. "Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Yuki-sama said he would get me later today." She shook her head as she placed the sleep pants carefully into her suitcase, which was practically new. They had only been used once before, when she moved from Yuki-sama's house to Hawaii. "I'm so excited, Sango! He's actually coming to take me away for summer vacation!"
Seeing her friend so excited, Sango smiled also. "That's so wonderful, baby girl! I'm very happy for you." 'It's about fucking time,' she added silently.
After she finished pressing down her clothing into the suitcase to make room for more, Kagome went over to Sango and hugged her. Sango released the luggage handle and embraced Kagome back with her right arm.
"I'll miss you," Kagome whispered.
"And I'll miss you," Sango replied, her voice equally hushed.
"Take care."
Sango grinned. "You bet. You too," she said and touched Kagome's cheek before turning and walking away down the hall.
Kagome watched her friend go down the hall and round the corner. A moment later the ding of the elevator sounded in the still air of the empty floor.
Sango was gone.
Kagome's smile vanished. She missed Sango already but there was the vacation that Yuki-sama was going to take her on. Wasn't that call for celebration?
With a sigh, Kagome turned to resume her packing. When she was done, she looked at the clock on the wall. It was a round purple clock with sparkly purple rhinestones that framed the clock face. Sango had gotten it from the mall during last year's summer break.
It was nearly three in the afternoon. Kagome nodded. Yuki-sama was due between five and six that afternoon, he had said. Well, he hadn't actually told her to her face; it had been a letter delivered to her only yesterday just before lunchtime. His normally beautiful handwriting had been sloppily written, so she guessed he must have been in a hurry when he wrote it. Two weeks ago he was supposed to have come to have dinner with her, but he had to cancel at the last minute. It was just before lunchtime when he called. He had begged her forgiveness but that he was incredibly busy at the moment. When he was free again, he would come to see her.
Since there was nothing else to do, Kagome zipped up her suitcase and set it on the floor at the foot of her bed. Then she lay down for a nap. Before she drifted off, she wondered if she should set her alarm clock. But, she thought drowsily, he would come find her and wake her up then.
In the meantime, she would be waiting right here for him…
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It was the heavy silence that finally woke Kagome from her slumber. She sat up slowly, her bleary eyes going to the digital alarm clock on her bedside table. The red numbers were clearly visible in the growing darkness of her bedroom.
It was just a few minutes past seven o'clock. Kagome was concerned. Where was Yuki-sama?
With a yawn, she got to her feet and reached for the ceiling in a spine-cracking stretch.
From where she was, she could see the lights of the hotels on the beach turning brighter the darker it got. She unlatched the window and pushed them outwards while taking a deep breath. The night air was soft and fragrant and it felt warm and lovely on her skin. As she rested her forearms on the windowsill and gazed absently out onto the little piece of Hawaii spread out before, her eyes fell upon a pale figure clothed in black standing on the ground a little ways out below her window. For a startled moment she saw that it was Yuki-sama looking up at her and pleasure filled her unhesitatingly. Through the pleasure she felt a small twinge of concern. She knew that he was adept at wordlessly charming people. After all, had she not seen him do it many times? Her teachers, the headmistress, even Simone and Leslie, the only two openly lesbian girls at the school had all been enchanted by him. All looked on him with a longing that was both painful and rapturous. All he had to do was glance their way…
She had felt it before, the pull of his influence. That day in the teachers' garden when he had caught her there with Jacob was perhaps the strongest she had ever felt it. His piercing green eyes pinned her down, held her in thrall and all the while she felt something she could only describe as an invisible rope pull her consciousness to him with all the passion of a man pulling his beloved into his arms with the gentlest of embraces. He had cast a spell on her, she was sure.
No one could escape that, not even she.
Kagome's attention returned to the figure below and her mind went immediately to how tall and slender he was, with his long fair hair that flowed down his back. Long strands of that pale hair were picked up and swirled about in that same breeze she had just been enjoying.
Wait. Long hair? Kagome frowned. That was odd. Yuki-sama did not have long hair.
Almost as if she had been burnt, she jerked her body away from the window, her heart pounding. She waited a moment and leaned forward to look down again. The figure was gone. A wave of relief washed over her but her eyes scanned the area below.
Her frown deepened. Had she imagined it? Had she imagined seeing that shadowy figure down there?
This time she moved away from the window and turned her head to glance at the clock again. It was only seven thirty. Damn, where was Yuki-sama?
She reached out to close the window, reconsidered it when a wonderful breeze blew into the room, left the window open and returned to her bed where she sat down. Her eyes went to the digital clock with its red-lighted numbers. She wondered how long she would have to wait.
ooo
That thought was the first one to enter her mind when she woke the next morning and there was still no sign of her elf guardian.
For the millionth time Kagome wished Yuki-sama would have let her have a cell phone. All the other girls had them, it seemed. Every time she was at lunch or between classes or while the girls were spending leisure time in the courtyard, she saw many of them on their phones, talking away to their families or friends, or even their boyfriends from Okalani Academy. Since the school relaxed its policy on cell phones— which had previously only been reserved for the senior class but since the underclassmen had found ways to get cell phones— the passing of notes had gone the way of the dinosaur.
With a sad little sigh, Kagome lay down on her back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Even if she had a cell phone, whom would she call? The only people on this island she knew were the people she went to school with and—from the lack of noise in the hallway outside her bedroom—they had long since departed for their summer holidays. There was no phone in this, the dormitory building, but there were several in the school offices.
She sighed again. Since there were no students going to be staying behind this summer, the headmistress had told them at assembly last week, none of the teachers would be there either. The school would be completely deserted. "As a result," the headmistress went on, "the office will be closed and locked, as well as the kitchens."
This time Kagome emitted a groan. If Yuki-sama did not show up, she would be locked away from the phones as well as any food. That would be a very bad thing, for she did not have access to her allowance, which was locked up in the headmistress' office.
The silence of her room was broken by the sound of her stomach, which growled noisily. Lunch had been many hours ago and it seemed that her next meal would not be anytime soon.
That was when the first pangs of panic began. Here she was, for all intents and purposes, alone in a city she did not really know – despite having lived there for over half of her life—with no access to food or money and not even a phone with which to call for help.
It took all she had to keep from going into full-on panic mode. After several deep breaths, Kagome stiffened her spine. "Do not be so silly," she told herself reproachfully. Yuki-sama will come. Besides," she continued on to herself, "I can always go to the police. Surely they would help me. I just need to find a payphone. Or better yet, flag down a police car. That would save me the trouble of having to use a payphone."
The moment the last word left her lips, Kagome broke down into tears. Who was she kidding? She was stuck here with no way off this bloody island and with hardly any means to survive. Her stomach growled again and she burst into a fresh outpouring of tears. How could he leave her here like this? Had he forgotten all about her?
With a sigh, Kagome got up from her bed and went through her normal morning routine. There was nothing else for it. When she was ready, she picked up her purse. As she thought, there was no money in her wallet. All her allowance money was locked up in the headmistress' office per her guardian's request. 'Damn Yuki,' she thought bitterly. 'He has taken so much from me and denied me so much and yet I still respect him? What kind of relationship is that?'
Her smile faltered as her stomach again betrayed her hunger. What would she do for food? As it was she was not a very strong person; at least, she was nowhere near as healthy or strong as Sango, who had a very good appetite and always seemed to be snacking—
Kagome's spine straightened suddenly as she recalled watching her friend studying for her history final only a few days ago. Sango was on her bed, her hand reaching into a clear plastic bag at her side. Of course! Sango was always snacking!
Putting her things down on her bed, Kagome went over to Sango's closet and opened it. Her eyes closed. Thank heaven for Sango! There, on the top shelf, were unopened bags of trail mix and dried fruit. She grabbed both bags and carried them off to her bed, where she opened them and ate some of the contents. The bag of dried fruit consisted of banana chips, pineapple and what looked to be apricot—all of which were not too bad considering that Kagome did not much care for dried fruit. By comparison, the trail mix was magnificent and Kagome sighed with bliss as she crunched away on a handful of sliced almonds and sunflower seeds. The raisins she could have done without, but as it was included in the handful she had shoved in her mouth, she did not care. It was food. That was all that mattered.
After her meal, Kagome closed the bags and returned them to Sango's closet. Alright, she thought as she closed the closet door, it was time to go have a look around. Despite her circumstances, it was rather exciting to be able to get off of school property and go exploring on her own.
The ride down to the bottom floor was rather eerie, knowing that no one other than herself occupied the building. The elevator set down gently, the door swished open and Kagome found herself in the lobby. The glass double doors that led outside were just ahead of her and Kagome had a vague feeling of uneasiness. She stepped up to the doors and pushed them open but did not step through the doorway.
It was a good thing she heeded her feeling of caution, for when the doors closed she could hear the sound of a lock catching and she knew for certain that during the school year, these doors were never locked.
At that sound, Kagome took a step back. That would have been bad, she thought with a wave of relief. To have to worry about money and food for three months would be awful enough; but to be homeless as well would have added to her predicament. She would need to be careful with the doors from now on.
Eyeing the double doors, Kagome reached up and managed to flip down the lock on the door on her left. She pushed on it, to ensure that it did not budge. Then, from her purse, Kagome pulled out a small notebook. She pulled three sheets of paper from it and after she folded them a few times, she put the folded paper in such a way so that the lock could not catch. She even pulled on the door a few times to see if it would lock. It did not.
With a sigh, Kagome went outside and slipped the paper over the lock. As before, it did not catch and the door opened easily when she tugged on the door handle. Stepping back, Kagome admired her handiwork. Now, for the real task—how to get off of school property.
Turning away from the double doors, Kagome began to think of ways to get out that would allow her to also return the same way. The main door to the school was actually a heavy metal gate and she doubted that any amount of paper she had on her would keep it from shutting. Besides, it could only be opened by a code and failing that, a special key that only the headmistress had in her possession. So that way was ruled out. Bummer.
As though she could not help herself, Kagome made her way to kitchen and to the office. Both were locked, as she knew they would be but she felt that she had to make sure. She would have hated finding out later that she went without food for the entire summer vacation and that the kitchen doors had been unlocked the whole time.
With a sigh, Kagome moved away from the school office and towards the courtyard. It was large and open and depressingly empty. On the other side of the courtyard was teachers' garden.
Her eyes widened. Of course! The teachers' garden had that grey stone wall that Draco had helped her over. Jacob had been able to make his escape over it. Maybe she could climb it too…
She ran across the courtyard to the garden and after she entered it, she headed for the wall. As she stood before it, her heart sank. It was too tall for her to climb on her own.
"Ass!" she hissed crossly at the blasted wall. "Do you have to be so tall, you… you stupid wall?!" With a sharp little kick at the grey stone, Kagome turned away and glanced around the garden. Surely there was some way out of this damned school!
In the corner of the garden, Kagome spied something that made her heart sing with relief. As she made her way towards it, Kagome gave a shout of triumph. Some lovely human being had left a ladder behind!
The gods must be on her side, she thought as she reached the ladder, which was lying on its side on the soft, dark earth. It was not too heavy she noted as she hefted it up and carried it carefully to the section of wall she had gone over before.
She climbed the wall and upon reaching the top, she sat astride the wall as she had that night with Draco. With some difficulty, she pulled the ladder over and set it down on the other side so that she could climb down.
Upon reaching the other side of the wall, Kagome felt exhilarated. At last, she was free.
Fifteen minutes later, Kagome found herself strolling down a busy street and whistling a happy tune. She had not felt this happy in a long time.
As she neared Waikiki Beach, she came to souvenir shop. Two young men were standing in front of it, both of them peering into the window that displayed an assortment of swimsuits and sandals. Another glance at the boys, Kagome realized that she knew them. At least, she knew one of them personally; his name was William Taylor and he had played football with Draco. The other boy was only vaguely familiar to her but she knew that both boys were pupils of Okalani Academy. She meant to walk past without saying a word to either when William turned at that moment and saw her.
"Hey, Kagome," William hailed her in a hearty manner. "How's it going?" He smiled warmly at her.
She knew it would be rude to ignore him so she stopped to greet him. "Hi William, I'm doing fine, thanks. How are you?" Kagome's gaze rested on the other boy whose name for the moment escaped her. Thankfully, he did not turn around. Instead, he went inside the shop which left her and William alone on the sidewalk.
"Can't complain," William said with a grin. "My parents are coming to get me this afternoon. Matt—" he jerked his head to the door through which his companion had just entered— "is leaving tonight at some point, so we thought we'd just hang out for awhile. What are you doing here? I thought everyone from Pualani was gone for the summer."
Kagome shrugged. She did not want to say that she had been left behind. That would be embarrassing. Instead she said: "I'm just waiting for my guardian to come get me. He'll be here later."
"Oh." William studied her for a moment. When her glance slid away from his, he shrugged. "Okay, that's cool. Well, I hope you enjoy your summer." He turned to look in the shop to see if his friend was coming. Through the glass door, he could see Matt at the cash register paying for his purchase. "Oh hey, sorry to hear about Darren leaving. I guess you'll be missing him too, huh?"
Startled, Kagome jerked her head around so she could stare up at William. "What? What are you talking about?"
For a second, William looked confused. "Darren…" He chuckled. "You know. Tall guy, white hair? Anyway, I congratulated him on graduating. He's so lucky that he's out of here now."
Kagome was stunned. Out of here? Graduating? Draco had not told her anything like that! Aloud she said: "Y-yeah. He's a lucky one, alright. I can't wait until next year when Sango and I graduate." It was all she could do to keep the confusion out of her face.
"I hear ya!" laughed William. His buddy had just exited the store with a plastic bag in his hand. "Listen, Kagome, have a great summer! See you next year!" He gave her a salute before he and his friend continued down the street in the direction Kagome had come.
For a long time, Kagome could only watch as the two boys strolled casually away down the street. Her mind was reeling from the news. Draco had graduated from school? But how could that be? He was not a senior classmen. Apparently she had been wrong, either that… or he had lied to her.
A heavy feeling of unease settled in Kagome's belly. But why would Draco do such a thing? Why would he feel the need to lie—not only to her but to Sango as well? What was the point? Had he done it just to be mean?
Feeling suddenly sad, Kagome realized sickly that she was far too trusting of people. Being sheltered as she was, she had little knowledge of the ways of the world. The only life she knew was encased in the walls of a school and the only people she came in contact with were her fellow students, teachers and occasionally Yuki-sama. Then Draco comes along and he adds color to her dreary little world. He passed himself off as someone she could rely on, to put her trust in while pretending to put himself in the role of protector.
She snorted derisively and turned to walk on the direction she had been heading in. Protector? Against what? Or whom? Oh, right. He was "protecting" her from Jacob, or so he said.
As she strolled leisurely along sidewalk of the tourist-packed thoroughfare, she recalled what Sango had said Draco's youkai. Though Draco himself may not see her in a romantic light, his youkai seemed to have staked a claim on her, from what she and Sango realized during the incident during History class a couple of months ago.
A giggle roused Kagome from her thoughts and she started, nearly tripping over her own feet. Coming out of one of the many tourist shops that lined the street, a couple in their twenties exited, hand-in-hand, with big smiles on their faces. The woman was about Kagome's height, with dark hair and sunglasses. The man was very tall and very handsome. His hair was a pale blond.
"Almost like Draco," she thought with a heavy heart as she watched them walk past her; they were oblivious to anyone around them. To her, they looked very happy and very much in love.
Suddenly, and even though she was surrounded by people, Kagome felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life. The beauty of the day had vanished in an instant and all at once she wished to go back home. With a heavy urge to cry, Kagome began to walk back the way she came.
'Home,' she thought dully as she walked swiftly down the street. Home is where you go to be with your family, to surround yourself with the warmth and affection of the people who love you best.
But she had no home, no family; no one to go to in times of trouble. She had Sango, yes, but Sango had her own family, her own home; all those things that Kagome had always wished for. Had she a family, she would not have been left behind like an unwanted pet, to fend for herself.
By now she had broken into a run and made it to the school grounds just as she burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"It's awfully quiet in here."
Hiro, who was looking over some maps of the Realm, glanced up to see the youkai lord standing in front of his desk. Sesshoumaru lifted a pale eyebrow which signified that the Taiyoukai expected an answer.
"Yes, it is that," Hiro replied with a smile. "Forgive me, Lord Sesshoumaru, I did not hear you come in." He got to his feet and offered the youkai a sweeping bow.
Sesshoumaru nodded in return and presented the emperor a bow as well. "How is Yuki? Well, I hope." An undignified snort behind him announced the presence of Inuyasha at his side. Sesshoumaru shot the hanyou a glare before returning his attention to the elf who had returned to his seat. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of Hiro's desk. An imperious hand waved for Inuyasha to do the same. The hanyou did so with some reluctance.
Setting his reports aside, Hiro nodded. "Oh yes, Yuki is doing fine, although I do have a suspicion that he may be getting a tad homesick." He shook his head. "I can understand that. On the day he had to leave, he was supposed to visit his ward but I had to send him on his mission."
That had not been a pretty scene, as Hiro recalled. He had been extremely irate. Yuki was set to leave to take Kagome to dinner when the call for help arrived from the far section of the realm where the dark energy resided. Hiro had already sent a few elves who were supposed to scout out the area and report back, but that had not been the case. The elves had not been able to send reports of any kind; they had to send one of their numbers back to call for assistance. When the elf had returned, he promptly collapsed and was still in the care of the best elven doctors. The energy of that place he had returned from had drained nearly all his strength and sent him nearly out of his mind. The evil that resided there was of a kind he had never encountered before. This news sent a ripple of fear through Hiro. If such darkness existed in the Realm, that would not bode well for all who inhabit it.
But Yuki, who finally managed to stop cursing at Hiro, agreed to go. "If this thing escaped the Realm, it might harm my Kagome," he said gravely. "If that happened, you will have one psychotic elf on your hands, brother. No one could stop me. Not even you. Believe that." Not surprisingly, Hiro could not help but believe him. The look in his brother's glittering green eyes was enough to check any retort he might have made. All he could do was watch silently as Yuki stormed out of his office.
"Has he found anything? Is Naraku back?" Inuyasha asked Hiro abruptly. The hanyou cracked his knuckles. "I'm tired of just sitting here, doing nothing. If it is Naraku, we need to be out there taking care of his ass."
Sesshoumaru actually turned to stare with some awe at his brother. He had not seen this part of Inuyasha in, what? Decades? Not since Kagome's death, at any rate. This was the Inuyasha he knew best; the Inuyasha whom he liked best. He did not care for the gloomy, depressed Inuyasha he'd seen since the death of Kagome. Sesshoumaru wanted to see a spark of life in his younger brother again.
When he recovered from his shock, Sesshoumaru asked: "What makes you think that Yuki will be of any use over there? If what this elf says is true, what difference would his presence make? He's an elf too. Would he not be affected the same way as the others?"
Hiro smiled. "As unlikable as my big brother can be, he is a very powerful elf. Since I am unable to travel to such a dangerous place without an Empress or an heir, he is the only one I trust to carry out this mission."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Inuyasha clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You shoulda sent one of us instead," he muttered. "You guys seem to be really susceptible to bad energy. A youkai would have been a better choice."
Hiro stared hard at the hanyou. "Whether you approve or not, Inuyasha, this world is my responsibility and I did what I saw fit. I sent my people to see what was going on over there before I sent anyone else. As I have said before, we don't know what kind of effect this will have on the youkai here. As you are well aware, we elves are physically weaker than youkai. On the whole, I would rather risk only a few elven lives with no youkai involved than involve one youkai who would end up wreaking havoc on an entire elven population." He tilted his head and regarded Inuyasha coolly. "I'm sure you would agree with my decision. I did what I thought was best."
"Put like that, yeah, I can see where you're coming from," Inuyasha replied, his earlier enthusiasm considerably dampened. "Sorry."
"It is fine," Hiro replied. "I can also see where you are coming from and I appreciate your willingness to help, but for now, we will take care of things."
"We being the elves," Sesshoumaru said quietly.
The emperor nodded. "Precisely."
Sesshoumaru nodded but Inuyasha looked skeptical. "But you will let us know if you need help, right? I mean, as you said yourself, elves are not as physically strong as us." Again, he cracked his knuckles. "I don't mind admitting this, but if I'm right and Naraku turns out to be the cause of all this, I am itching for a fight."
A commotion erupted outside of Hiro's office and a hoarse cry of: "Get out of my way!" could be heard. All three men jumped to their feet as the door swung open. Yuki staggered into the room. He had two elven guards at his elbows that were doing their best to keep him upright.
Hiro was at his brother's side in an instant and caught him as he fell. "Yuki," he breathed, horrified at the condition his brother was in. "Dear gods, what's happened?" He waved the guards away and they retreated in haste.
Yuki, whose angelic countenance was covered in filth and sweat, looked up at his younger brother's face with feverish green eyes that rolled wildly in their sockets. "It… it's worse than we thought… Hiro…"
"Where are the others? Yuki? What has happened to the others?"
Yuki shook his head back and forth restlessly in the crook of Hiro's arm. "Dead… all dead. We can't…" He swallowed hard. "We can't stop this."
Before Hiro could speak, Inuyasha blurted out irritably, "Stop? Stop what? Speak, you goddamn elf prick!" Sesshoumaru grabbed his brother's arm and yanked him back, much to Inuyasha's chagrin.
The crown prince sobbed. "Army," he choked out. "Youkai… army." With those words, Yuki's eyelids slid shut and his body relaxed in his brother's arms as he finally lost consciousness.
"A youkai army?" Hiro could not believe what he just heard. With a glance down at his brother, Hiro wished that Yuki would come to and tell them more. Instead, he glanced up at the two youkai with him. "Is this Naraku's doing, do you think?"
"Possibly," replied Sesshoumaru evenly. Inwardly, however, he knew that it was Naraku behind this. Before, he did not fear the evil hanyou but now—
Beside him, Inuyasha exploded. "Bullshit!" he cried. "This is Naraku and you fucking know it!"
Annoyed, Sesshoumaru turned to his brother and glared down at him. "No, Inuyasha, I don't know! We have no proof that it is him and until then, I would ask that you chill the fuck out!"
Wide-eyed, Inuyasha stared up into his brother's reddened face. Sesshoumaru did not swear often but when he did, it was time to take a step or two back. That was just what Inuyasha did now. When he did so, he noticed that Sesshoumaru's fists were clenched. Nervously, Inuyasha swallowed. He did not want to feel those hands on him with their poisoned claws digging into his flesh.
"Forgive me, Sesshoumaru," he murmured abashedly. He hated the feeling of being chastised; he'd felt it often enough when he traveled with Kagome and the others in the Sengoku Jidai, but more often than not he had thoroughly deserved a dressing down. "But… an army? I only know of one creature that was able to gather youkai in great numbers and bend them to his will and that is Naraku."
The tension eased out of Sesshoumaru's body and his shoulders sagged a little. "I know this, Inuyasha," he said much more calmly than he had before.
Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. Now that Sesshoumaru's body language no longer read I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass, Inuyasha said: "Don't tell me you are unsure of yourself, Sess. That's just not like you."
"I'm not unsure of myself, baka," retorted the Taiyoukai. He glanced down at Hiro who still held his brother's unconscious body.
"You're nervous," Hiro added softly.
"Yes," admitted Sesshoumaru, much to his brother's surprise. "I am nervous and a little… afraid."
Now Inuyasha really was floored. To hear his big brother, the pure-blooded and extremely powerful inu youkai, admit to being afraid was an earth-shaking revelation. "What? You? Afraid? I don't believe you," Inuyasha said sharply. He did not like hearing his brother say such things. "You are the strongest youkai I know, Sess. I have never seen a weakness in you before when we fought against him."
Sesshoumaru's yellow gaze, one that was so like Inuyasha's own, rested on his half-brother's recalcitrant face. "I did not have a family before," he replied, his voice just above a whisper.
"Then take them away from here," Inuyasha said. "Go to the mortal world and leave this to me."
Hiro opened his mouth to object, but Sesshoumaru put his hand up to stop him. "Do not be foolish, Inuyasha. You cannot do this on your own."
The hanyou bristled with indignation. "Well, thanks a lot, your holiness!" he snapped, his voice oozing sarcasm. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your confidence in me."
"Did I say I do not have confidence in you?" Sesshoumaru countered, his pale brows drawing together in a frown.
"Oh, you implied as much!" Inuyasha closed the distance between them in a split second. "You've never thought much of me, have you?"
Sesshoumaru said nothing. Instead he turned, bowed to Hiro and exited the room, leaving the emperor still on the ground with his brother and Inuyasha fuming.
"Bastard," hissed the furious hanyou. He made as though to follow Sesshoumaru but Hiro stopped him.
"You misunderstand him, Inuyasha," Hiro said. He had taken off his outer robe, folded it and placed it beneath Yuki's golden head. After he had done so, he rose gracefully to his feet.
"Somehow, I sincerely doubt that," Inuyasha barked, his back ramrod straight with anger.
The elf chuckled softly. "Perhaps you shouldn't. Doubt him, that is. Lord Sesshoumaru is capable of feelings and emotions, you know. Haven't the two of you grown closer over the years?"
"Well… yes, I guess we have." Inuyasha's body relaxed a little and he turned to give his the emperor his full attention. "What's your point?"
"How was your relationship before Kagome came back into your life? You know, when you used that shard of the Shikon no Tama to draw her back to you? How did you and Sesshoumaru react to each other then?"
Inuyasha frowned. "We tolerated each other okay," he replied grudgingly. "We weren't the best of friends but we stuck together against Naraku. Back then we had to."
"When did he change?"
Inuyasha thought for a long moment before replying slowly: "He began to grow—softer, I guess you could say—when took Miranda for his mate, although he kept his distance. But it wasn't until after Dante and Juno were born that he—" He stopped, realization dawning in his eyes.
With a small smile, Hiro nodded. "He never had a family before, Inu, and that included one wild and willful younger brother."
"Half brother," muttered Inuyasha, his gaze dropping to the floor.
Placing his hands on the hanyou's drooping shoulders, Hiro gave Inuyasha a tiny shake. "But a brother nonetheless. Sesshoumaru loves you, Inuyasha. You of all people should know how hard it can be to admit something like that to another person."
Resisting the urge to shove Hiro away from him, Inuyasha glared up at the emperor. "But that does not change the fact that he doesn't think I can take on Naraku. That's a little hurtful, you know?
Smiling broadly, Hiro shook his head. "Again, you misunderstand him, Inuyasha!"
This time, Inuyasha gave into his urge and brushed Hiro's hands away from his shoulders none too gently. "What's to misunderstand? It was as clear as crystal to me! He said I couldn't do this on my own."
"You are so stubborn!" Hiro folded his arms over his chest and shook his head slowly. "Sometimes you need to read between the lines, Inu. He did not want you to face Naraku—if it is Naraku—alone. You are his brother and he will stand by your side in this matter."
"Keh."
Hiro sighed with resignation. "Fine, don't believe me. Go ask him. He'll tell you."
"Why would he?" Inuyasha turned to go.
"Because you are a part of his family, Inuyasha, and he loves his family."
The emperor would have said more but the hanyou was already gone. He looked down at brother, who was so pale and haggard. Gone was the golden glow; the youthful freshness of his beautiful, cursed face was diminished and Hiro realized that he could stare to his heart's content at Yuki. But that realization was accompanied by a terrible dread. To possess a cursed face was painful to everyone who looked upon it. Not many could stare endlessly at one who had been afflicted thusly.
However, Yuki had somehow come in contact with something that negated his curse. That meant that this something was so strong that it could suck the energy, beauty and sanity from an otherwise healthy, powerful elf.
His heart clenched. If Yuki was reduced to this terrible state, then it stood to reason that the elves in general were of no use against this… whatever it was. Now he would have to ask the youkai to assist in this matter. But if this 'youkai army', as Yuki put it, was enough to drain his life essence and diminish the power of his curse, how would the youkai under Sesshoumaru's command react? Would they too, behave as Yuki and the other young elf had done? Would they also go crazy?
That thought made Hiro very afraid.
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