AN: Moving along...as always please read n' review, and send me any suggestions or questions as well. THANKS!
Disclaimer: idontowninuyasha
Inukage looked down at the sea passing below him. Their trip had gone without incident thus far, and the two days it had taken them to get to the coast had passed quickly. It would be a few hours before they could see Futanashima on the horizon, but his heart was already quickening it's pace. He hoped against hope that his sister was still alive. He had tried to put the possibility that she wasn't out of his mind, but 500 years was a long time by almost any standard, even for demons and half demons. It wasn't long before they could see the coastline and then the mountains rising up underneath them.
"Wow, it really is beautiful!" Kagome said as she watched the mist rising from the myriad of steep valleys.
"My sister lives on the west end of the valley." Inukage told them, pointing them in the correct direction. "Their castle is on the edge of a lake at the base of the mountain. It shouldn't be hard to find." he said.
Inukage kept a sharp eye out and scanned the landscape slowly. Hopefully, he would find that it looked the same as he remembered. His mind still reasoned that it wouldn't hurt to look for remnants of the castle that the forest had reclaimed, if it had been abandoned for some time. His fears were soon laid to rest, and called out to the others happily when he saw it. The group landed on the shore of the lake nearby the castle.
"Should we expect a warm welcome, or do we need to keep on our toes?" Inuyasha asked. "I'd like to be ready if the guards let their swords speak for them." he told him.
"Oh no, I don't see any reason to be worried." Inukage said, waving off Inuyasha's wariness. "Just let me do the talking."
"Who goes there?" a large and heavily armored guard asked as they drew close. His eyes were a bright green and his steel colored hair made them stand out all the more.
"It is I, Inukage, brother to Lady Yurisana." Inukage called out to him. "I am here to see my sister."
"There were rumors that you were dead, or exiled." the guard told him, his face easing as soon as Inukage drew close. "We could only assume they were true since you hadn't been around in, how long has it been? Five hundred years or a little more?" he asked.
"It is good to see you, Ryumatsu." Inukage said smiling. "I see you're still comfortable with your job as master of the guard. After so long, doesn't it get boring?" he jibed playfully.
"You know me. I've never been one to want for very much. I'm too lazy." he laughed. "Tojiro, go and fetch Lord Yoru and Lady Yurisana. Our lady has missed her brother greatly." he said to the younger guard standing nearby. "And who are your friends?" he asked as he opened the gate. Inukage introduced everyone quickly, and Ryumatsu gave him a sideways glance as he led them through the gate. "You sure keep some strange company." he told him jokingly as they made their way to the main hall.
As they approached, the door opened and a figure stepped through. It was a tall and rather stern looking man, with long braided hair and a goatee that was trimmed and cut close. His hair was the same plantium color as Ryumatsu's, but his eyes were a deeper green. He gave a short nod in their direction. Then, another figure appeared behind him, but continued onto the path to greet them. She looked almost completely human, her hair was black, but her features had a slight sharpness to them and her eyes were the same gold as Inuyasha's.
"Brother!" she exclaimed, her eyes full of amazement. "Where have you been? We all feared you dead!" she said, throwing her arms around him.
"That is a tale for another time, sister." he said, returning her embrace. "For just now, I would greatly appreciate it if my friends and I could ask a favor of you and your husband, Lord Yoru." he said, looking up at the man standing at the top of the steps. He turned and walked back inside.
"Let's talk about it over a good meal." Yurisana said. "I'm sure you all are in want of food and a comfortable place to sleep."
Everyone's face lit up as they followed Yurisana inside the castle and to the guest quarters. Inukage introduced everyone along the way. Yurisana looked at Inuyasha several times, but did not ask any questions. The rooms she led them to were quite large and looked very comfortable.
"You can make yourselves as comfortable as you wish. The servants will be in shortly to assist you with anything you may need or want. Dinner will be served shortly as well." she said, bowing as she left them to settle in. Inukage left with her.
"Wow look at how grand this place is!" Shippo mused. "I don't think we've ever stayed somewhere this fancy before!
"I agree, and the hospitality is certainly not lacking." Miroku agreed. "And with such a beautiful hostess, I'm not sure I can bring myself to part with this place." he sighed.
"What was that?" Sango said, readying Hiraikotsu to give him a good thrashing.
"Nothing at all." Miroku said, cowering in fear.
"Well, what do you think about your cousin's home Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "She certainly is very nice."
"It's just another castle." Inuyasha said, settling in against a wall. "I just want to get in and out of here as fast as possible. While we sit here and lounge, Naraku is still out looking for the jewel shards and ways to trick us." he told her.
Kagome made no reply, but she looked at him sadly. He didn't seem any more receptive of meeting his family than he had before their talk on the hill. She decided she would try and talk to him about it later when she could get him alone.
"Now, you must tell me what in the world is going on, Inukage. I don't see or hear a peep from you in five centuries, and then you show up on my doorstep with six other people in tow." Yurisana said as she opened the doors to her chambers and led her brother in. "And who is that man that favors cousin Inutaisho? It's obvious he must be some relation to us." she said.
"He is Inutaisho's son." he told her. "His mother was human as well." he told her. "As for the rest, they are his companions in the midst of an important quest. They freed me from the seal that has bound me all these hundreds of years. I offered to try and help them as repayment." he explained. "You needn't worry; they are as an honorable a group of people as you are wont to find." he said.
"Oh, I didn't mean to sound as if they were a burden." she said. "It's not that...it's just that I worry so for you, little brother." she said sadly. "You've always been so restless, and it hurts me that you've never been able to find happiness or peace."
Inukage smiled and rolled his eyes a little. "Little brother, still?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come now, Yurisana, you may be, at best, half an hour older than me." he chided.
"But still.." she said, trailing off. "What is it that brings you here?" she asked, changing the subject. "You said you were trying to help your companions. And what of this Inuyasha, Inutaisho's son? I didn't know he had any children besides Sesshoumaru. He seems awfully on guard." she said.
"He has had a difficult life, I'm afraid. He said he never knew his father, and that his mother died when he was a child. I think it's safe to assume Sesshoumaru wanted no part of trying to help his younger sibling. You know his feelings on humans in general." he said.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I still hold out hope that he will come around one day." she said. "You said you were under seal for all this time?" she asked in shock, suddenly remembering what he had said. "How did such a fate befall you?"
A dark look came into Inukage's eyes. "Let's just say for now that I encountered a human whose distaste for our kind matches Sesshoumaru's hatred of humans." he said.
"Our kind? Brother, please tell me that you aren't still struggling with our nature. There's nothing wrong with being a half demon." she told him.
"Perhaps not, but of course most demons and humans alike don't feel that way." he said in return, walking past her to stare out her open doors into the valley beyond. The air was thick with the scent of damp foliage and mountain air.
"That is true, but those are not the people to concern yourself with. Look at your friends for example. None of them care one bit that you are a half demon. The people who mistreat you for that simple fact are not worth worrying over." she told him for what seemed like the thousandth time in their lives, even after so long. There was no reply. A servant suddenly appeared in the doorway, telling them that dinner was being served.
"I need to ask a favor of you.We need a way to search a large area in a short period of time. I was hoping that you may have some suggestions." Inukage told her before they left the room. "Do you think you can speak to Yoru about it?" he asked.
"Let's wait until after dinner." she said, smiling. "It won't hurt to get in some good food and relaxation before you run off again."