Whispers of Elysium:

The Child The World Forgot

Chapter Nine

Confusion is a funny emotion. It can be caused by the simplest thing, like a broken hair band or reappearance of a
missing sock. But confusion can also be caused by other emotions. Like when a person is betrayed by their lover
and yet they still wish to be with them. Confusion can stem from this and grow so thick within a person's heart that
it effects their every day workings. Confusion is like jealousy in the sense that it effects the workings of every day
life, and can drive a person to such ends of their sanity.

Therefore, it wasn't strange for Alyssa to currently be questioning her sanity.

'I have to be dreaming.' After all, one had to be dreaming or insane to believe what she was seeing at the current
time.

She was currently leaning against the wall of a small hut, wrapped in a traveling cloak lent to her by the old miko
sitting a few feet off. Her temperature had once again spiked, but had spiked the opposite way for she was now cold
beyond her imagination. Earlier, Kagome had given her tea but all the occupants of the hut had been shocked when
the tea had frozen over so fast it was as if Alyssa had done it by simply looking at it. The monk of the group became
curious of the matter, and therefore, Kagome was left to explain what she could with Alyssa occasionally filling in
dark spots with her quiet responses.

The monk was quite a character Alyssa realized as she studied all of them now. He wore robes of purple and black,
bringing out his deep violet eyes against a handsome face. He was wise beyond his years, that much she knew from
the moment she saw him. Also, he had quite the lecherous hand and she sighed when she noticed it growing far too
close to the rear of a certain taijiya.

The taijiya, who was currently bringing her wrath upon the monk with her fist, was a character as well. She was
most certainly a teenage female in many ways, but that alone was not her. She had many levels to her personality,
and one that stood out most prominently was that she was a warrior. Most likely brought up as a warrior's child, it
was visible in the very way she held herself and studied others. Her form was visibly lean and healthy, perfectly
toned for battle.

And perfectly toned in the eyes of the monk, was her immediate thought.

Looking over, Alyssa saw Inuyasha sitting in the usual position she saw him in, Indian style, with his sword resting
across his lap as he crossed his arms. She noticed how stiff he was now, most likely because of his weaker state, and
she felt she should try to keep her mouth shut as much as possible. If his rigid form was any sign of his pent up
emotions, the scowl on his face as he stared into the fire was.

Although she may be rash most of the time, Alyssa currently saw no point in getting a rise out of the hanyou turned
human.

Sitting next to Inuyasha had to be the cutest child she'd ever seen. With his pointed ears and fluffy tail that twitched
as he continued to draw on his sketchpad Kagome had brought him, it was obvious he was a youkai. He was much
smaller then ningen children his age, and Alyssa could only assume it had something to do with the aging process of
youkai. His vibrant red hair caught her eye immediately, as well as his large green eyes.

He was certainly going to be a ladies man when he got older.

Somehow feeling her eyes on him, the small child looked up at her with those impossibly large eyes and blinked
innocently. Without a second thought, Alyssa smiled at him softly despite the constant pain in her body. In return,
he blinked again before looking up at Kagome with a question in his eyes. Kagome smiled down at him and nodded,
somehow speaking with her actions to the child, and Alyssa tensed slightly when he got up and grabbed his drawing
utensils before coming to sit next to her. He fidgeted for a second before he looked up at her with those wide,
questioning eyes.

"Kagome told me while you were sleeping that you like to draw. I thought maybe you'd want to use some of my
crayons since you look so bored." She blinked and her eyes widened. This youkai child was so utterly adorable she
couldn't help but feel warmed inside despite her cold temperature. So, she smiled and nodded before gently taking
the black crayon and the sketchpad.

"Yes, she's right. I've always been talented at drawing ever since we were kids." She grinned slightly as she bent
down and spoke softly to him. "Kagome was always so jealous because I was better than her."

Kagome, naturally, looked up and stuck out her tongue childishly upon hearing Alyssa's words.

"You've known Kagome that long?" Alyssa laughed quietly at Kagome's antics before looking back at the child.

"Yeah, ever since I can remember, Kagome's been around. She's like my sister." She looked down at the blank
paper before beginning to sketch out the form of the child next to her. They remained silent for some time, he
looking over her shoulder as she drew him as best as she could with the dull crayon.

"What's your name?" She was shocked to hear his question, and she realized none of the people in the hut other
than Kagome and Inuyasha actually knew her name. Looking up from the drawing, she smiled and gave him her
reply.

"My name is Alyssa, and you little one, haven't given me your name either." At this, the boy puffed out his chest in
such a childish display of pride that she had to hold in her laughter.

"I'm the kitsune youkai Shippo, and the ningens over there are Miroku and Sango. Kaede is the old miko." She
nodded to each of them, feeling oddly out of place with all of them.

But the child, Shippo, treated her like a friend, not someone who had suddenly appeared from the magic well.

'Yeah, I really feel like Alice in Wonderland right now.'

"Kaede, I can sense something coming this way." Everyone but the monk, Miroku, turned and gave Kagome a
shocked look. It was then, for the first time, Alyssa felt a slight pulsing sensation coming from her core. Slowly, a
strange feeling made her hair stand on end as it seemed to swirl around them all.

"Kags, what the hell is going on?" Kagome turned to see Alyssa's eyes slightly unfocused and realized even though
most of her powers were still hidden away somewhere, the other girl could still sense youki.

"There's a youkai nearby and its youki is strong enough that you can feel it. Don't worry, it doesn't feel like it has
any malcontent towards the village." Alyssa quirked an eyebrow at the other girl, not used to hearing her use such
formal, mature language.

"Are ye sure it is not a shikon shard Kagome?" The old miko's voice was quiet, but strangely enough, Alyssa was
warmed by it.

It reminded her of her grandmother.

"Iie, it's not a shikon shard. But we may as well see what kind of youkai it is, shouldn't we?" Kagome moved to
stand but she gasped when a hand was suddenly gripping her wrist when she stood.

"Keh, you're staying right here wench." Alyssa saw the distinctive glower appear on Kagome's face. That glower
was only reserved for those who rubbed her exactly the wrong way.

"I'm going Inuyasha. My hunch might be wrong and the youkai could attack the village."

"Ain't our problem."
"So you'd just remain here while people were hurt?!"

"Like I said, not our problem." Alyssa winced, as well as Shippo, when Kagome simply kicked the sitting hanyou in
the knee.

"You're such a jerk baka! Come on you guys, we'll go see what's going on." Inuyasha growled loudly, although it
had lost most of its feral sound, and leaned back against the wall again, causing her and Shippo to exchange glances
before they laughed quietly.

"Keh, I may not have ningen hearing tonight but I'm not deaf wench." At this, she laughed again. He really was
quite the grumpy person.

"Well, it seems like someone shoved a stick your..." But she gasped as the world suddenly melted away, for the
second time in one day, and instead she saw a field once more. But this time it was dark, and shouts could be heard
in the distance. Suddenly, an earth rumbling roar erupted from her left and she looked to see what she could only
assume was a youkai.

It looked like an oversized bear, and she could quickly assume it was no "Winnie the Pooh" as a large bone
boomerang slammed into its shoulder, making it howl in pain. But it smacked the offending weapon back to its
master, and Alyssa gasped when she saw a changed Sango fly backwards under the weight of her own weapon.
Miroku was with her within seconds, standing over her limp form with his staff held firmly in front of him.

She heard a shout and looked to see Kagome notching back an arrow in a long bow, a sudden flash of blue light
surrounded the arrow and Alyssa gasped as it streaked towards the giant bear youkai as though it were on fire. It
was then she noticed something was wrong.

A twinkle caught her eye behind the bear, and from the light of Kagome's arrow, she saw a figure covered in
shadows, a small pendant outstretched in his hand. All she saw was a smirk and and flick of his wrist before the
seemingly solid bear disappeared in a wisp of smoke, causing Kagome's arrow to come in contact with a nearby
tree, creating a small explosion. Confusion shined bright in Kagome's eyes as she searched for the bear youkai, but
Alyssa saw it before she did and she wanted to cry out as the bear's claws lashed out at Kagome from behind.

"Kagome!!!" Suddenly the world bled back to her and she gasped before standing on weak legs.

"Child! Ye must not stand! Ye will..."

"I have to go! Kagome needs me!" At this Inuyasha suddenly stood and followed her as she bolted from the hut and
into the darkness of the moonless night.

She thanked the Kami that she'd changed her clothes as she ran, but cursed them as well as she felt her weka legs
already losing their strength to continue on. But she pushed herself onward, hearing Inuyasha's heavy footsteps not
far behind her. Her traveling cloak, which she was surprised to fin secured around her neck, flew out behind her like
a cape and she could hear the fabric rustle as she leapt over a fallen log, landing none too gracefully before taking
off again.

Only a few steps later, she could hear the roar of the bear youkai.

'Damn it! I'll be too late!' The shout of pain from Sango came next and Alyssa felt relief rush through her body as
she broke through the brush and into the clearing, seeing Kagome just starting to pull back her arrow.

"Kagome aim more to the left!" Kagome looked over at her with shocked eyes for a moment before turning back to
the bear as it took a thunderous steps towards her.

"But I'll miss!" Alyssa stomped her foot in annoyance as she shouted back.

"No you won't! Just do it!" Kagome obviously didn't approve, but she switched her aim and fired anyways.

The streak of light flew past the bear, who had now suddenly turned towards Alyssa in its confusion, and Alyssa felt
satisfied when a scream resounded from the small creature hiding amongst the trees, just as she had expected.

What she hadn't suspected was that the bear was still moving, and moving towards her.

"Alyssa!!!"

"Shit..." She rolled out of the way as the bear swiped at her, feeling every little stone and stick against her body ever
as she stood once more with a wince. Her body wasn't taking the abuse well and she wanted to scream with anger
when her knees suddenly gave out and sent her to the ground.

But anger was gone from her mind as she looked up to see the giant beast lunging towards her, its claws
outstretched and its mouth opened wide to reveal numerous sharp teeth. Raw terror ran through her being, and she
thought faintly that she'd rather deal with her "mother" than this. Then, as she thought she would never see the sun
rise again, a lone thought rang out in her mind so loudly that she thought the whole world might here.

'Help!'

Suddenly she felt a burning sensation near her neck and she brought her hand up to it, continuing to look at the bear
with wide, terrified eyes.

'My locket...I don't even remember putting it back on...' It burned in her hand and she was forced to let it go even
as a slight hum echoed from the small pendant. A blue glow erupted from it and the whole world seemed to slow.
Then it came, a feeling that she wasn't alone. It felt as though another person was with her, and would never leave
her.

The feeling intensified and she gasped as the blue glow from her pendant was suddenly mirrored in front of her. It
grew, taking on a form. It was tall, and shaped like a ningen. Suddenly parts of the glow became more solid and
fluttered in the wind of the field. White sleeves with blue splashes of color caught her eye as pristine white hakamas
solidified at the bottom of the glow. Slowly, the solidification of the object spread up the legs and formed a gold and
blue sash at the person's waist. It was then she noticed the silver hair flowing about the person in liquid silver
strands.

'I...I know him...'

She was now sure it was a him, for the broad shoulders and height could not belong to a female. Suddenly, his
whole form was solid, including the fur pelt wrapped over his shoulder, and she distinctly heard a low growl echo
from him.

Sesshou-kun!!!

"Sesshoumaru!!!"

'Leeri, what's going on?' The man, no youkai, before her held up a hand, a strange green glow overtaking the claws
there and she heard Aleeria's practically joyous voice in her mind once more.

The locket Alyssa-chan! It was given to me many years ago to protect me! If I ever needed him, Sesshou-kun said
that my locket would bring him to me if I ever needed him!

'But Leeri...this isn't your Sesshou-kun...' It wasn't. Now she knew where she had originally recognized him from.

All the visions of Aleeria's happy days, the days when she laughed and played, they all had held one person's face
within them. Surely, they had to be the same person in appearance. But it was clear to her, as she remained on her
knees behind him, that this Sesshoumaru had changed from the time Aleeria had known him. His aura, or at least
that's what she thought it was, contained nothing but an icy feeling and she involuntarily shuddered as she saw his
body tense.

No! Don't be frightened of him Alyssa-chan!

She realized she was indeed frightened of him, and she wanted with all her being to pull away from his form and
hide as best as she could. But something made her stay, and she simply shook in her fear where she kneeled. She
watched as he leapt towards the bear, not glancing back at her once, and then brought down his hand in a large
swipe as a glowing green whip lashed out from his claws. His grace was lethal, and it frightened her all the more as
he cut down the gigantic bear youkai without any sort of trouble.

'Onegai, don't turn around...' As if by instinct, she slowly pulled up the dark hood of her cloak and turned her face
downward. She shook in fright, not knowing the reason why she was so terrified of him, and she could have sworn
she felt his eyes burn down into her soul as he turned and looked upon her.

"Girl." She didn't respond, and he felt his irritation slowly become anger when she, if possible, shrank away from
her further. Her aura, for it was certainly not youki, was frightened and so utterly confused it nearly made his head
spin. "Girl, look at this Sesshoumaru."

"Onegai Sesshoumaru! Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with..." Kagome gasped when he snarled loudly,
shocked to see such a display of anger from the usually level-headed taiyoukai.

"Alyssa, do as he says." Alyssa gasped quietly when she heard Inuyasha's quiet voice from somewhere nearby, but
the tone made her do as she was told. So, with a sinking feeling in her gut, she slowly stood and looked up at the
youkai before her, her eyes wide with terror that made her body shake. Golden eyes, eyes of a predator, bore down
into her newly ice blue ones and she felt as though he was looking into her soul.

Never before had she felt so many emotions overwhelm her body, and when she felt a strange tingling make its way
across her skin, she grew worried. The tingle seemed to be completely unrelated to any of the emotions currently
running rampant through her mind, and what was more, her once freezing body began to rapidly heat up once more.

He could hear the girl's rapid heart beat and smell the fear that seemed to leak from her body. But his hair stood on
end as a strange power began to flow from her in small pulses. The barest of frowns came across his face when he
realized he could not fully see her face because of the large hood. He was irritated enough already, having felt the
sudden pull in his chest while he'd been going over documents within his study.

So when she did not reveal her face, he lashed out with two claws and cut the string that held up her cloak.

Alyssa felt her world slow as the cloak fell from her body. She knew all too well the distinctive resemblance she
now bore to Aleeria, and she could only hope that alone would save her. But from what she'd gathered, Aleeria had
disappeared nearly two hundred years before this current time.

Therefore, she could only pray that his anger about the girl's disappearance would be short, and the anger upon
discovering that she was a completely different person was even shorter.

As the cloak fell, Inuyasha felt his gut fall as well. He had heard the story of Aleeria and Suki-sama long ago when
he was a child, only remembering it when he'd entered the well house earlier. The memory of the day he'd heard the
story came back to him once more and a pang of longing hit him as he heard his mother's voice in his head.

"Inuyasha, you should know better than to run indoors." A much younger Inuyasha turned to see his mother, Izayoi
Hime, walking towards him with a peaceful, somber look upon her face as always. Even in his youth, Inuyasha
knew his mother was a beauty among the ningen race.

But even still, she was pushed away from them.

"Suman mother, but there's something I must ask you about!" Izayoi smiled softly as she came upon along side of
him.

"Oh? And what must you ask me my child?" Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in confusion and looked up at a tapestry
hung on the wall before them.

"Who is this tapestry of? She looks different from the others." He looked at his mother's face again and saw a
sadness come over her, making his curiosity peak. His mother had known this person?

"That, my Inuyasha, is Suki-sama of the Norther Territories. Believe it or not, but she was my dear friend when I
was younger." Inuyasha blinked with wide eyes, believing every word his mother said.

"Why haven't I ever met her?" Izayoi's expression grew even more saddened and she sighed slowly.

"She disappeared, her child as well, only a few short months before your father died. Before anyone but Suki
herself knew of the love your father and I shared."

"Did Sesshoumaru know them?" Inuyasha was quiet surprised to see his mother's face pale, but she never
answered because a rather clipped shout made them both turn to see a rather grim-faced Sesshoumaru standing
just inside the doorway to the castle's study.

"Izayoi, you and I must talk. Now." Izayoi nodded and mussed her son's hair a little before walking towards the icy
prince. Inuyasha watched her go before turning and looking at the expression on Sesshoumaru's face.

He didn't know much about his older brother, only that he was a very angry soul from his mother said. But he knew
enough to be surprised when he saw a strange emotion in his older sibling's eyes. For the first time Inuyasha had
glimpsed a picture of the Sesshoumaru locked away inside.

It was a terribly sad and lonely picture.

Now, as he watched Sesshoumaru remove Alyssa's cloak, Inuyasha knew that Sesshoumaru had known the child of
Suki.

'That face...' A pale ivory face looked up at him with barely veiled terror that was shining bright in her ice blue
eyes. Two lone markings, blue stripes, made their way from the bottom of her eyes and down her cheek, thinning as
they went. A slight tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks slowly, and when he sniffed the air he could smell
something disturbing under her scent of apples and sakura blossoms. Her face was elegantly shaped, and was
perfectly framed by her long bangs, which held a large chunk of electric blue color. This girl, even with her strange
clothing and strange aura, was so hauntingly familiar that a sudden pang in his chest made the smallest of frowns
cross his icy expression.

But suddenly, he was shocked so much that his eyes actually widened a fraction and he gasped so quietly that no
one but he could hear it.

"Gomen...I...I'm not Aleeria..." Her voice was quiet and weak, giving him the idea that she too was rather weak. It
was then, as she spoke, he noticed the subtle differences in the girl's aura and scent from that of the young child.

But Kami, he hadn't heard that name in over two hundred years.

"She...she wanted me to tell you..." He glared down at her, causing her breath to hitch in her chest. His golden eyes,
so harsh and icy, were such a contradiction from their warm color that it amazed her.

Onegai, you must tell him I cannot return.

'Leeri, I can't! He'll...'

Do nothing! He may even help you against mother!

"Aleeria wants you to know...she's never coming back." Is possible, his glare intensified. But he didn't strike at her
or speak, and it made her let out a somewhat relieved sigh.

But she wanted to scream when she was suddenly lifted from the ground, his strong hand wrapped around her neck,
certainly causing damage as he closed off her windpipe.

"What happened to her?" His voice was so low, so utterly deadly that Alyssa felt her entire body go numb in fear
until he tightened his grip and she was forced to speak in a raspy voice as Kagome screamed her name.

"Suki...sealed her powers and memories...sealed her spirit...I was the replacement...Suki seeks...to destroy me...and
place Aleeria back in this body..." His eyes darkened in anger and the raw terror made her body shake as he held her
above the ground.

"Sesshoumaru! You know this girl can't die! If that bitch really does bring the child back, it'll throw off the
balance!" All eyes turned to Inuyasha, who was shocking many of his companions by being so rash when he was
ningen.

But they all realized he spoke the truth. If Aleeria was brought back from the place she was in now, a delicate
balance would be broken and the world may very well go into turmoil.

"I know of the balance very well hanyou. Do not presume that I'm of such intelligence that I do not know of it."

"Keh, if you're so damn intelligent then why haven't you been able to track down Naraku yet?" Had she'd
possessed the air to do so, Alyssa would have gasped. For the flash of anger within Sesshoumaru's eyes was so
intense that she truly feared for the lives of everyone near them.

But suddenly her fear was gone, and she realized just how far she'd pushed her body. Her limbs went slack and her
breathing hitched as she closed her eyes.

The last thing she saw before she slipped away was Sesshoumaru's golden eyes widening as he turned back to her
once more.