Disclaimer:

Maury: So you feel like you have owned the characters of Inuyasha for years now?

ShadowS: That's right! I've spent more than ten years giving them everything! No one loves them like I do, but do they care? No! Movies, anime, manga, DOLLS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! And do they have anything for me? No! It's time they take responsibility!

Maury: Sesshoumaru, how you do you feel about ShadowS' claims to ownership?

Sesshoumaru: ::DEATH GLARE:::

Maury: Ah...yes... Well I have the envelope. ShadowS... in the case of the characters from Inuyasha...you are NOT the author...

Crowd: AAHHHHHHH!

ShadowS: NOOOOOO!

~ Chapter 11 ~

Miyako lay quietly on her back at the top of a hill, head pillowed on her hands as she gazed up at the stars. She was grateful for a moment alone as the cool night breeze brushed lightly over her cheeks and made the nearby trees rustle gently. She and her brother had run for miles that day, as they had every day for the three days since their escape. Though they were incredibly strong, they were not wolves and did not have endless endurance. Their beasts were exhausted, they needed a break.

Deep inside, Miyako's beast raised her head and shook herself, weary to the bone but clearly willing to push on. Miyako reached for her other half, soothing both of them with the connection. The beast settled down with a sigh of her own, knowing with a predators instinct that it was wiser to conserve energy while they could.

Not that the others were doing a very good job of that, Miyako thought ruefully, smiling despite herself as the breeze brought her the sounds of the little cats cackling at whatever antics Katsurou was pulling back at the campfire. She was glad for it, any happiness they could find during this journey should be treasured, and the girls had been very brave.

Haru had ventured into the forest to see what food could be found. Miyako and Katsurou would have managed on their own, but she secretly knew that it was a blessing that they had the cats to rely on. Not only could they devote their energy entirely to traveling, but all three cats were exceptional hunters, and the little group never went without something to eat.

Even so far from the cave where they had been held captive they saw periodic signs of the tengus; seeing them flying overhead concealed, or hearing them call back and forth as they searched the area desperately. Katsurou and Miyako had decided to remain just inside the spirit world throughout the journey, just enough to sense the spirits of the tengus as they searched. It had helped the group escape detection, but had had a cost of its own as well as their spiritual energy slowly depleted.

Once, that cold, insidious presence had appeared in the distance and the twins had immediately fled the spirit world entirely, reverting back to their human shapes and cowering with the rest of the group, hoping the presence would pass.

Slowly they had made their way west, but not far enough, nothing looked or smelled familiar.

Miyako reached her hand up towards the unfamiliar sky. The night sky was clear, and it seemed almost as if she could touch the stars if she could just reach a little higher. If only they could fly, like their father- they would be able to travel so much faster. No tengu alive would have been able to keep up with Sesshoumaru!

With a sigh she dropped her hand back down. There was no sense in wishing for what had not yet happened. Someday it would, but until that day came they would make do with the skills that they had. Miyako prayed fervently that they would find a landmark that they recognized soon and be able to make their way home.

Suddenly the brightness of the stars was blocked by blue eyes lit with a fire of their own. Miyako refused to show that she had been startled as Haru peered wickedly down at her, searching for just that reaction. Disappointed, he sank down in the grass to sit next to her. He had a fist full of berries that he had foraged, and popped one carelessly into his mouth as he too looked up at the sky.

"Lost in thought?" he teased quietly. She felt the corners of her mouth curve in a smile.

"No, just lost in general," she replied, and he chuckled despite the seriousness of their predicament. She leaned up on her elbows, and without looking Haru reached over and held a berry to her lips. Miyako was grateful for the darkness that hid her blush as she shyly accepted the offering. Haru appeared to think nothing of the gesture, selecting another berry for himself as he continued to gaze at the sky.

"My father tried to teach me to navigate by the stars when I was very little," shared Haru. "It's been so long I don't remember much. I wish I'd paid closer attention."

Miyako glanced over at him and despite the darkness saw the sadness on his face and felt an answering tug of sympathy in her heart.

"I was thinking about my father just before you came," she murmured, turning back to the stars. "I keep thinking about the last time I saw him. He saw us off at as we were headed into the woods, and he was worried about us even though he was pretending not to be. He'd sent a guard to keep watch over us, and I was so angry with him for that because I thought it meant he didn't think we could take care of ourselves." She swallowed the wave of emotion that threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

"If I could go back I would thank him for trying so hard to protect us, even though we didn't want it," she continued.

A puzzled look crossed Haru's face as he considered her words.

"The way you describe him is so different from the image that I had of him," the cat said hesitantly.

"I know," she said with a small smile. "Everyone else sees him as a daiyoukai, a ruler. I see that side of him too, and I can understand the respect and fear that other people feel, but I remember him holding me when I was sick, playing with me when I was young. I've seen how gentle he can be with my mother, and how much he loves us." Her smile turned a little mischievous.

"He never even spanked us when we were little," she shared with a little snicker. Haru laughed with her at the idea that the most feared youkai in the world couldn't bring himself to spank his children.

"No wonder you and your brother are so spoiled and needy," he teased, and Miyako laughed outright at the joke.

"Really, we were very good children," she replied. "Papa and Mama are the kind of parents that you want to be good for. Knowing we had disappointed them hurt more than any blow they could have given us, and so we did everything we could to avoid making them upset."

Haru watched Miyako as she talked, noting with interest how her faced softened with love as she talked about her parents. It had taken him a while to learn the tiny nuances in her expressions, she always seemed so serene, but he had found himself studying her over the last several days, wanting to learn more about her.

"Tell me about your family," he encouraged when she fell silent. Miyako complied, seeming to take comfort in talking about them.

The stars drifted slowly across the sky as they talked, and Haru learned more about Sesshoumaru the father, and their mother Rin, who had been human and was now something else.

He listened while she told him of the adventures she and her brother had had, and what is was like growing up as the heirs to the Lord of the West.

Eventually she asked him about his family, and he told her about his parents, and how the family ran with the cats. He told her about his mother and how gentle she was, but fierce in her own way, and his father, who was aloof but watchful and protective, always willing to let his son tag along as he went about the business of ruling his land.

The cats were extremely independent, and so their parents did not particularly care if he and his sisters disappeared for hours, only coming to look for them if they happened to miss a meal. That was a rare enough occurrence that they took note. The result was that he and his sisters had gotten into more than their fair share of scrapes and scraps, but they were feisty enough that they had always managed to get out of them more or less unscathed.

He made her laugh with several of the stories, and each time the crystal clear sound rolled over him and made him want to purr. His eyes roamed over her face, the delicate markings across her cheeks and the crescent moon that proclaimed her heritage, and wondered that such a powerful creature could stir such protective urges in him.

A leaf that had broken loose from the trees around them floated towards him, and nearly faster than Miyako could follow, his arm flashed out and caught it before it hit the ground.

"Now you get to make a wish," Miyako said, her beautiful gold eyes dancing as she looked up at him. Holding her gaze he held out the leaf to her, hiding a smile at her confused look when she took it.

"I think I'd rather that your wishes came true," he murmured, and delighted in the blush that stole across her cheeks again.

Miyako took the leaf tentatively, her mind whirled with half completed thoughts. Her eyes flickered down to Haru's lips for the briefest second before darting back up to meet his eyes, catching the briefest hint of surprise.

"What is it that you wish for, I wonder," he whispered, and Miyako felt her heart begin to slam in her chest when he reached out and gently traced her bottom lip with his thumb.

Slowly, so slowly, Haru began to lean forward, watching her intently for her reaction. Panic flooded through Miyako and the leaf slipped from her nerveless fingers as Haru leaned ever closer. She had dreamed of her first kiss, and of late had found herself dreaming of the eyes, blue as ice, that were coming ever closer. Her head tilted back and her eyes slid closed as he leaned over her.

"Haru!"

The two leapt apart as if struck by lightning and looked frantically back towards the camp. Vaguely outlined in the firelight, they could make out the form of the littlest sister as she peered into the darkness, searching for her brother.

"Duty calls," he murmured, running a hand through his spikey hair in agitation. After a moment, he rolled bonelessly to his feet, padding into the darkness of the nearby trees and vanishing without a sound.

Miyako tried to take a deep breath as she battled the rush of emotions that were trying to drown her. First amongst them was embarrassment, if she could have crawled into a hole never to come out she would have, but mixed in was a healthy dose of frustration.

They had been so close!

What would it have felt like?

On the heels of her embarrassment came insecurity, which she tried to push away. He'd wanted to, right? She shook her head, of course he had, if he hadn't wanted to kiss her he wouldn't have started it she reasoned, and her beast glanced at her levelly, completely unperturbed. Smoothing her long silky hair, she glanced down to her side and felt her worry slip away. There by her hand lay the leaf, with three ripe berries positioned carefully in the middle. She smiled, heart fluttering as she picked up the little gift. Popping the berries into her mouth one by one, she rose to her feet and ambled towards camp at a slightly different angle than Haru had taken.

Katsurou glanced up at Miyako as she stepped into the circle of light cast by the fire and scooted over to offer her a place on the log where he was sitting, which she slipped into gratefully. Wordlessly he held up a stick with a fish on it and she bumped her shoulder against his gratefully as she took it, communicating as they often did without actually speaking. Katsurou accepted the gesture as his due and continued to wolf down his fish.

Across the flame, Haru briefly met Miyako's eyes as he reached for his own fish, and she smiled at him before biting into her fish. Haru seemed to relax as he too ripped off a chunk his dinner.

After the group had eaten their fill, they sat quietly looking at the fire, Katsurou gently stroking Mimic's head where he lay curled around the boys neck in the form of a snake. The little spirit had never been far from the group, and though not quite smart enough to give warnings, his agitation had been a fairly good indicator that trouble was near.

Miyako tried not to be frustrated with the creature. Mimic understood the concept of home, and at first the twins had thought perhaps the little spirit could lead them back to their father's land. Unfortunately, Mimic did not travel in a linear manor, simply vanishing and reappearing wherever he wished. Though he understood where he was supposed to go, he always just disappeared, reappearing a few seconds later seemingly confused as to why they had not followed him. Despite their efforts, they could not make him understand that they needed to walk there, and so eventually they had given up. Mimic had seemed sad, as if he knew he had failed them but didn't know why, and had clung to Katsurou ever since.

Miyako sat staring at the creature where it lay curled around her brother's neck. Since meeting the little cats the spirit had apparently decided it didn't mind being seen by them, and had remained manifested unless scared away. Miyako narrowed her eyes as an idea slowly began to form.

"Katsurou, could you convince Mimic to carry a message?" she asked quietly. Her brother glanced at her. "Just to tell them that we're free and headed west?"

"Who would he give it to? He's never let mama or papa see him," Katsurou replied, but she could see her brother mulling the idea over in his mind.

"Do you think you could convince him to, just this once?" said Miyako. Katsurou glanced at the little spirit, then slowly shook his head. Miyako felt her heart sink, but her brother continued.

"He might tell Arata though," he mused, and Miyako felt a bolt of excitement shoot through her. Katsurou reached up and carefully unwound the spirit, setting it in front of him. Mimic looked at him curiously.

"Mimic, do you remember Arata?" asked Katsurou, trying to project an image of his mother's pet to the spirit.

"Arata!" mimic chirped excitedly, and suddenly there was a miniature version of the bakeneko stalking around fiercely at his feet. Katsurou reached down to restrain the enthusiastic spirit gently.

"Very good!" he praised gently, and the spirit burbled happily. "Can you find Arata?" he continued, imagining Mimic and Arata side by side. The little spirit wilted and he could feel its fear. Katsurou glanced up at his sister.

"He's afraid to talk to Arata, and I can see why," Katsurou said ruefully. "It's like asking a minnow to talk to a shark."

Miyako sank down next to her brother and reached out to trail a finger along Mimic's ghostly head. Mimic tucked his nine little tails tight up next to him and gazed up at her imploringly.

"Please, Mimic," she asked quietly. "You just need to tell him we're free and moving west, then they can find us and we can go home."

The little spirit trilled at her nervously and looked back at Katsurou. The boy held him up close and projected the image of mimic talking to Arata. "Free. Going west."

"Free. Going west," repeated Mimic dutifully, his cat ears tucked back nervously.

"Good," praised Katsurou. "Find Arata- Free. Going west."

"Free. Going west," muttered Mimic. The spirit stared intently at Katsurou for a moment, then disappeared.

After a moment of silence, Haru spoke.

"That won't help much, since they don't know where we started when we went west," the cat pointed out, but Katsurou just shrugged.

"They'll know what we're not captives anymore," he replied, and next to him Miyako nodded. "They'll know that we're well enough to have sent a message, and that we're headed west."

"So now what?" Haru asked. The twins glanced at each other and shrugged.

"We're going west," said Katsurou.

A/N~ I know, I'm a bad person for making you all wait so long. I'm George R. R. Martining the heck out of you guys, huh? I so sorry! I promise to be quicker moving forward, I'm excited about where it's headed now, and I hope you all will be too!

As always, R&R, comments are brain fuel :D LOVELOVELOVELOVE!

~ShadowS