A/N: Hey and we're back! YAY! Well, as far as college goes, UCI accepted, UCSB accepted, and UCLA said no. And I'm still upset about that. I wrote them two more essays along with my two personal statements, so essentially, FOUR essays, and they said no. After I did all that extra work. Damn them! Oh well. (Pouts) But whatever, I'm not gonna bitch and complain about it anymore, it's not worth it. I'm set to attend University of California Irvine this fall. I find it hilarious that I'll turn 18 and then two days later I get to go back to school. The California school system's birthday present to me! Happy 18th Birthday! (But it isn't really my birthday. Not yet anyway.) Now go to school! XP Alright enough of that, disclaimer will be read by um…Kiba!
Kiba: Aki doesn't own Inuyasha, Naruto, Memoirs of a Geisha, and anything else that she's referenced in her fic. She owns her characters, plot, and stories. Mizumi, Mitsuki, Ikarisu, Kyoriko, and Miseru are the property of Carrie and Zetsuei is the property of RenegadeAmish, aka JediMasterAJK, aka A.J. Now without any further delay, here's chapter 21!
Chapter Twenty-one: Seeing Double
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled as she tossed her massive boomerang.
The taijiya's weapon struck true and knocked back the blade of a very different Inuyasha. The hanyou was completely different. His amber-gold orbs were blank and his expression remained impassive. On top of that, he was attacking the village he used to live in so many years ago.
"Inuyasha! Snap out of it! What's wrong with you?!" The taijiya screamed at him as her boomerang returned to her hand.
Nearby, Miroku was dodging arrows from an equally impassive Kagome. "Sango! They must be possessed by something! They're being controlled somehow!" The monk shouted to the demon slayer as he quickly leapt backward to avoid another arrow.
"Who's manipulating them?"
However, Miroku couldn't respond. "Kagome-sama! If you can hear me, you have to overcome whatever is making you act this way! I know you don't want to hurt us or the villagers. We're you're friends, Kagome-sama!"
Kagome ignored him and responded with an arrow full of dark miko energy. At the same time, Inuyasha unleashed a Bakuryuuha right at Sango, who had suddenly frozen in complete shock and horror.
"SANGOOOOOOOOOO!!" Miroku yelled, reaching out to his beloved in desperation.
"HOUSHI-SAMAAAAAAAAA!!" she screamed, also reaching out for the monk.
"BAKURYUUHA!" A new voice yelled.
The second Bakuryuuha collided with the first and halted its path toward the taijiya, who looked skyward in amazement. Her eyes locked with a second Inuyasha who was accompanied by a second Kagome. The hanyou was standing on a branch of a tall tree with Kagome on his back. He quickly leapt down to the ground and stood before the figure that was his copy, sizing up his double. He scoffed and gently set Kagome down on the ground at his side before turning to address the demon slayer.
"Sango no baka! What're you just standing there for?!" he said, sounding irritated.
"But…if you're here, who is that?" The taijiya asked, looking immensely confused.
Inuyasha nearly rolled his eyes. "We don't have time for this! The point is, whoever sent them is gonna be surprised when I kick their ass!" The hanyou growled, charging at his copy.
The Copy-Inuyasha smirked and brought up his imitation Tetsusaiga to parry the real Inuyasha's attack. Enraged, Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga only to be blocked every time. Then the hanyou got a lucky shot and connected an attack that knocked his copy back several feet.
"Not bad," The copy said, speaking for the first time. "But Zenatsu-sama made me better than you!"
Inuyasha scoffed in response. "Keh! Whoever this Zenatsu is, they did a real shitty job on trying to imitate me!"
With those words said, Inuyasha charged again, no longer holding back. The Copy-Inuyasha was stunned, just barely able to dodge each strike. His surprise cost him dearly though. The puppet found himself brush very near to death as Inuyasha's blade sliced diagonally across his chest. The copy pulled back at once and called the puppet-Kagome to his side before the pair disappeared.
Inuyasha wiped his brow and sheathed Tetsusaiga, turning to look over Miroku, Sango, and Kagome.
"Daijoubu desu ka, minna-san?" he asked them as he caught his breath.
"Hai, daijoubu desu," The three replied.
Silence filled the area for many moments, only to be broken by Sango.
"What's going on here?" she asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds at long last.
"I don't know Sango. But whatever it is, this Zenatsu has something bad in store for us." Inuyasha answered slowly.
"Then let things come as they may, we shall be ready for them." Miroku said, looking skyward.
Kagome looked up at the sky as well, shielding her eyes from the light of the sun.
'Yes, we will be ready. No matter what happens, no matter what you throw at us, we'll make it through.'
-
Zenatsu turned to see her Inuyasha and Kagome dolls return, her eyes widening at the state of her Inuyasha doll.
"My dear," she cried, rushing over to the hanyou doll. "Who did this to you, my sweet? Who would dare hurt you?"
"Zenatsu-sama, it was the original. He found me attacking his old village and his former companions. He saw fit to fight me in order to defend them." The Inuyasha doll answered.
The doll maker gritted her teeth and fury flashed within the depths of her eyes before it quickly settled. "There, there, Okaa-san will get you all fixed up, ne? I'll make you better than the original. Then you can repay him for what he's done to you. Ne?"
The Inuyasha doll nodded and allowed himself to be steered away by his creator.
'Inuyasha, mark my words, you will pay for what you've done.'
-
A knock sounded at the door. Zetsuei looked up, sensing Tsukimisou's youki on the other side.
"Zetsuei-kun, I'm coming in," she called softly before sliding the shoji open and entering the room, her arms laden with fresh bandages.
She set the bandages down briefly to close the door and took them into her arms once again and approached the severely injured Torayoukai. The Taisho heiress took a seat at Zetsuei's side and with a brief glance his way as if to ask permission, she pulled down the blanket that covered the Torayoukai's body and started removing the blood-stained cloth strips and setting them aside.
The Torayoukai hissed slightly from his still-healing wounds being exposed to the open air. Tsukimisou sympathetically reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, as if to say, "I'm sorry, I know it hurts, but I have to do it or else you won't get better." Zetsuei glanced her way and drew the hand she gripped his own close to his lips and lightly pressed a kiss upon it, in his own way saying, "I know what you must do, and I shall endure it."
Tsukimisou nodded and pulled her hand away, reaching for the fresh bandages, tying them snugly around the Torayoukai boy's exposed abdomen. After she finished wrapping up his torso and arms, the Inuyoukai girl couldn't help but blush crimson as she had to pull the blanket further down to reach the deep gouges in the sides of the boy's upper legs. As she did this, Zetsuei pointedly looked away, trying to concentrate on anything but what Tsukimisou was doing at present, finding the pattern on the walls quite interesting.
"There, I'm finished. You can relax now," The girl announced, pulling the blanket back up.
Zetsuei nodded and with Tsukimisou's help sat up. The Inuyoukai girl smiled at him and stood slowly, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Hungry?" she asked him.
He nodded. Tsukimisou nodded in return, leaving the room and coming back a few minutes later with two bowls of steaming rice and miso soup with hot tea. She had all these things laden on a tray and set them down at Zetsuei's side, taking up a pair of chopsticks and picked up some rice and let it hover before the Torayoukai's mouth.
"Tsukimisou-san, I think I'm capable enough to feed myself," he said.
The girl smiled and raised one of his arms with her free hand. The Torayoukai scout winced and grunted from pain.
"The cuts on your arm need to heal first. And seeing as you can't raise your own arm without it hurting, eating with it won't fare you any better," she replied in firm voice.
The boy nodded and resigned himself to his predicament and reluctantly opened his mouth to be fed. He chewed slowly, noticing that Tsukimisou was staring at him intently. She seemed to have something to say but she appeared too nervous to voice her thoughts.
"You have something you wish to say?" Zetsuei asked the Inuyoukai girl pointedly.
Tsukimisou jumped slightly, unaware of how easily her thoughts were read. "Hai," she whispered. "But I-I really don't think it's any of my business,"
"Then tell me anyway. I will answer you if I can, but if not I will simply speak nothing of the matter,"
Slowly Tsukimisou nodded and shoved down all her anxiety and all her nervousness and mustered her courage together and parted her lips to speak. "You said that Noboru did this to you," she said slowly, her voice still soft. "Why though? By the looks of it, it looks like he was trying to kill you, but he failed. What happened to you over there in the East? You came to me running, bleeding, and nearly dead. Why did Noboru have to do this to you? You've done nothing to him!"
Zetsuei sat silently, mulling over the Inuyoukai girl's words, before replying. "Hai, Noboru did do this. I was in the Tora clan Hall of Records searching for the identity of the true Tora heir," he began. "I myself do not understand why Noboru took the remaining piece of the scroll on the Zenjiro Affair. All I was able to learn from the section still in the Hall of Records was that Noboru killed his brother Zenjiro and forcibly overtook the throne under the pretense he was merely holding it for the true heir until he came of age. That of course, was a lie. And when I was searching for the truth of the great travesty of our clan, Noboru tried to kill me over it. But then again, I took your father's side at Nagashino. He has decided I am a traitor and a deserter then. For me to show my face again on the sacred clan's soil was probably a great insult to him,"
"What exactly happened to you that day? Tell me everything, please."
The Torayoukai sighed and nodded. He took a breath and began.
-
"Why do you care so much to learn the truth, Zetsuei? Why is supplanting me so important to you?"
"You don't deserve to rule! You stole away the birthright of Zenjiro's son for your own benefit! You took away the post that boy had rightful claim to possess! And for what? So you could better further your own twisted ideals?! You disgust me! To think that I once respected and admired you! Thank Kami-sama that my eyes have been opened to the truth of your nature!"
Noboru scoffed in response. "Sou ka," he began. "So that's how it is then. Very well. I have been most patient with you, Zetsuei, but I guess some children just never learn."
At that moment, Noboru lunged at the boy, claws flashing and fangs bared. Zetsuei rapidly back stepped, dodging the pseudo-Taisho's attacks.
A sensation of skin tearing ran through Zetsuei's senses, seeing Noboru's claws just barely glancing off his forearm. The wound wasn't too bad, but it was still bad enough to cause the Torayoukai scout some difficulty in moving it.
"Ha! Weak! You are so weak, Zetsuei! To think you were once my finest, closest guard! Your time with Sesshoumaru's people has made your sword dull! You regained your emotions, boy! You've weakened yourself far more than you know!" Noboru roared, reaching for the katana at his waist.
Zetsuei growled and reached over his shoulder for his own blade, his kodachi, just in the nick of time to parry a sweep that would've taken the boy's head clean off. The boy was so focused on the katana, the katana which was being wielding with only one arm.
Then when it finally registered, it was too late. In Noboru's free hand, he had taken a wakizashi and ran its length through Zetsuei's chest. The Torayoukai boy coughed, severely out of breath. His lungs were refusing to fill themselves to their full capacity and at once, Zetsuei knew that the blade had definitely torn through one of them. He had to finish this fight quickly.
Noboru laughed menacingly. "What's the matter boy? Don't go passing out on me! This battle is far from over!" he snarled.
Zetsuei steadied himself, panting heavily and raised his kodachi. His face was set. Noboru planned to kill him. Zetsuei was getting nowhere; he wasn't planning on trying to kill his former master. If he hoped to survive, the Torayoukai boy knew that he'd have to come at the Taisho with the intent to kill.
He charged with a plan in mind. He would make an obvious frontal attack but using his speed to his advantage, would quickly switch out and go from behind and go for the heart. It was a common assassination technique. It was the one technique that Zetsuei, in his earlier days of training would've killed Noboru with, had he been training with real weapons back then.
Just as he had expected, Noboru readied himself to block from the front. As Zetsuei got closer, he sped up and practically disappeared from Noboru's sight and appeared again behind the Torayoukai leader and struck.
"You think after all these years, I wouldn't know that attack? I was the one who taught you that technique! To think that you would actually try to kill me with my own work! You need to try a hell of a lot more if you want to succeed!" The pseudo-Taisho growled, his voice in a mocking tone.
Noboru turned, now bearing a gash in his chest, but it was not very severe. Zetsuei held tightly to his kodachi, moving it with the older man's turn and sliced through the silk haori and inner robe, the remaining piece of scroll falling out. Zetsuei scooped it up at once, placing it securely inside his inner robe, and withdrew his kodachi and leapt upwards and tore through the shoji and ran out as fast as he could.
"GUARDS! A traitor is loose! Catch him!" Noboru's voice roared after him.
Zetsuei did not turn back.
A few minutes later, the sound of hooves got his attention. The Torayoukai boy risked the chance to turn around and regretted it instantly. Noboru was riding after him with his generals, all of them either archers or experts in capture. The moment Zetsuei turned around, the archers fired and Zetsuei was struck in the legs. He stumbled momentarily, drawing his kodachi again and swiftly cutting off the arrow shafts and sheathed the blade again, still running, but much slower now.
Another general hoped to take advantage of Zetsuei's decreased speed and threw a net. To his fury, Zetsuei dodged and urged his body to go faster.
"They won't stop until I get to the East-West Border," he thought aloud. "I can't go to Mizumi, she'll be drawn into conflict and my presence will only endanger her people. I must get to the West and hope that Hanajima-sama is there,"
He kept running dodging arrows and various other forms of projectile or long-distance weaponry. His efforts paid off. At last he'd evaded them, if only temporarily. He retreated to the safety of a tall tree and sat upon one of the thickest branches to rest.
As much as he didn't want to, he knew he had to take out the arrowheads from his legs. Gripping what remained of one of the arrow shafts firmly, he relaxed his muscles as much as he could and then swiftly yanked it out. The Torayoukai managed to hold back his urge to cry out. He gasped and then his hand moved to the next one. This time he didn't wait, he pulled out the whole thing immediately and tossed it aside. This process continued three more times. Then it got even more painful as the ones that had hit in his upper leg had no remaining shaft to hold onto.
Zetsuei had no choice. Using a smaller dagger, he expanded the wounds just enough for him to be able to reach within and pull the shining blood-red iron arrowheads. By now, Zetsuei was in an incredible amount of pain. But he didn't have time to linger. He could hear the sound of horses' footfalls once more. He quickly sprinkled some herbs on his legs to help the blood clot and swallowed another, this one allowing him to feel no pain whatsoever, a kind of numbness to his entire body that still allowed him to control it and move freely.
He kept running, passing the Nekoyoukai clan territory and a few other smaller clan countries. Noboru and his men were right behind him. The border was still a long way off and Noboru was catching up.
It was only the knowledge that safety laid ahead for him within the Western Lands that kept Zetsuei going. He knew that Noboru wouldn't be so foolish as to pursue him into an enemy territory and risk yet another war between East and West. The past had had enough Inuyoukai versus Nekoyoukai wars. There was no need to add an Inuyoukai versus Torayoukai war to the books as well.
This tiny shred of hope gave Zetsuei enough strength to push himself faster, and soon Noboru and his men began to fall behind.
"FASTER!" Noboru shouted. "Don't let him escape!"
The border was nearer now. Zetsuei could see it. It was a river that ran between both sides, dividing it evenly. Beyond the river, towering high above was the castle where Sesshoumaru made his home. That was his goal. He ran towards the ribbon of blue he could just see, pushing his body to its limits.
"My Lord!" One of the generals called out. "He means to cross into the Western Lands!"
"Then go faster and stop him!" Noboru roared, irritated that his general had voiced a thought that the pseudo-Taisho had long figured out.
Zetsuei kept running until the sound of hooves faded away and the yell of Noboru's voice was lost to the wind. He quickly glanced back and saw no one. He gave a sigh of relief, deciding now was a good time to rest. The river was not far. If need be, he'd manage to sprint the distance and Noboru would be unable to follow.
He went to sit with his back against a tree and reveled in the feel of being able to have a break from all the running he'd been doing. He looked and saw his legs were still bleeding and so was his chest, but he couldn't feel much of it. He'd been numb for a long while. But Zetsuei knew the pain would soon return and he didn't want to be anywhere in the Eastern Lands when it did.
A whizzing went past his ear and a flying dagger pierced through the arm that Noboru hadn't managed to injure. Zetsuei grunted and knew at once Noboru and his generals had caught up yet again.
The dagger had passed through his entire arm; the point was now embedded in the trunk of the tree he rested against. With some difficulty, he pulled it out and was on his feet at once, dodging and evading attacks and heavy nets.
He ran, the river now so close he could smell the water, hear it rushing powerfully as it wove its way through the earth, and almost see the thick, white foamy bubbles it frothed when it crashed against rocks. Behind him, Noboru whipped his horse, his generals following suit. Zetsuei could hear them coming closer and increased his speed as well.
Then the taste of fresh water flooded his senses, the fine misty spray from the rushing river hit his face. Zetsuei looked back and jumped the rocks and crossed the river, grinning satisfactorily at Noboru and his generals pulling hard on the reins to stop.
The Torayoukai fell onto the opposite bank, weary and nearly spent. Ahead he saw Sesshoumaru's palace and shakily placed one foot before the other and kept running.
A little over halfway there, Zetsuei began to feel the pain of his injuries returning once more. The full effect of the pain from his wounds would most likely leave him passed out in the middle of the woods and easy picking for any hungry youkai. His pain spurred him on and the Eastern gate loomed closer and with as much speed as he could muster, he leapt over the wall and was unnoticed by the guards.
He strained his senses, searching for someone to help him. He found her at once. He picked out Tsukimisou's scent nearby and followed it, stopping at last before her. He landed in her arms and could go no further. But at long last, Zetsuei knew he was safe and he could rest. His eyes were getting heavy and he barely heard Tsukimisou's voice ask him what had happened to him. He struggled to reply but his strength failed him and his eyes closed and he lost himself to blackness.
-
"And that part is where I suppose you took me inside and tended to my wounds," Zetsuei finished at last.
Tsukimisou nodded. "Hai," she murmured. "You were lucky to have lived, Zetsuei-kun."
"I was lucky to have come across the right person when I arrived."
The Inuyoukai girl smiled sadly. "I guess," she said with a sigh. "But I'm sure you'd be up and about instead of confined to bed rest if my mother had been here. I don't really know much about using my miko powers. I never had to use them until now. I discovered them by accident, really. At Nagashino, actually. I accidentally purified one of the youkai with my whip. After that, I was more aware of them. But you were the first one I ever tried using my powers to heal with. I suppose I did alright, but I could've done better, I'm sure. Hahaue could've healed you completely on the spot, I bet."
"You did perfectly fine if I'm still alive, Tsukimisou-san. You shouldn't be so critical of yourself. Your mother has had many years of practice and training to use your powers. You shouldn't try and compare yourself to her. And allow me to be the first in saying this, but for your first attempt at healing, you did quite well."
"Really?"
Zetsuei nodded. Tsukimisou smiled and then continued to feed him, in a much less anxious manner. The fact that Zetsuei had told her everything that had happened was enough. From what she knew of him, Zetsuei appeared to be the type of person who was always guarded and never confided in anyone or spoke much to anyone. It made Tsukimisou happy to know that Zetsuei could confide in her like a close friend and talk to her easily. Slowly, but surely, Zetsuei was breaking from that isolated life he once lived, being used as Noboru's hand to do the pseudo-Taisho's dirty work.
In any case, it made both Tsukimisou and Zetsuei happy to have someone to call 'friend.'
-
"Mizumi-sama!" Kyoriko exclaimed, bursting into the Neko no Taisho's conference room unexpectedly.
"Hai, nan desuka?" Mizumi replied impassively.
"These copies are headed for enemy borders! They want to start a war! You must stop them, otherwise the other Eastern clans will think you're attacking them and then they'll also assume that you've allied with the West to aid you in hostilities against other clans!"
The Nekoyoukai girl sighed and placed a hand to her temples. "Do we know which copies are headed for these other clan borders?" she asked finally.
"All of them except for Inuyasha and Kagome, Mizumi-sama," The maid replied sadly. "In the land of Musashi, they say that the real Inuyasha and Kagome handled their copies and the dolls were heavily damaged and returned to their creators."
Mizumi remained silent for several moments, glancing at each face in the room, first at her maid, then Sesshoumaru, then Hana, and finally Tsurugi. She sighed again and lowered her hand from her brow.
"Well, it seems we've got our work cut out for us. We can assume then that there will be replicas of both myself and Tsurugi-san, along with Megumi-sama, Tsukimisou-san, Zetsuei-san, Mei Lhi-sama, and Kyoshima-sama too. So we must be on our guard. At any given point or time, one of them may attack us," The young Neko no Taisho began. "With that said, let's get started on some damage control,"
Everyone was out the door at once and headed into the surrounding greenery, their keen noses scenting the air for any sign or indicator as to which way those havoc-wreaking dolls might be.
-
Sesshoumaru immediately tracked a scent reminiscent of Tsukimisou's but also heavily mixed with clay. The taiyoukai set off for it and found the copy of his daughter almost immediately.
The Tsukimisou doll looked up and held up her hands. "Peace, Sesshoumaru-sama," she began slowly. "I have no intention of fighting you; I leave that right to your daughter," The doll continued.
"What have you to say that would convince me enough to spare your life?" The demon lord asked in his usually emotionless tone of voice.
"I can give you information,"
"You would willingly betray your comrades to give me information?"
The Tsukimisou doll nodded in response. "My creator is a woman named Zenatsu. She was an understudy of someone named Urasue, who specialized in making clay dolls and animating them with souls of the dead. Apparently Urasue is infamous for bringing the original guardian of the Shikon no Tama, the miko, Kikyou, back from the dead. But I hear she was destroyed by her very creation,"
Sesshoumaru paused, staring at the sham body of clay that resembled his own daughter so much. The doll took his stare as a signal to continue.
"Anyway," she began again. "My creator doesn't work with the souls of the dead. She takes living souls, but takes pieces of them or pieces related to them that are very close or significant to that person. Your soul leaves an imprint upon these pieces and it is with those very same pieces that Zenatsu-sama uses to bring her dolls to life,"
The doll paused and looked around quickly before continuing.
"Zenatsu-sama made more dolls than the ones running about now, you know? She made one for you and for your mate, for tenth-ranking Ryuuyoukai of the Spirits, a woman and a man, and lastly for a seventh-rank Ryuuyoukai, I believe Zenatsu-sama called him Ryouji. But all of them self-destructed. Zenatsu-sama's ability is not advanced enough to be able to have control over such powerful beings." The Tsukimisou doll finished at last.
She glanced skyward and saw a figure pass overhead. She smirked and jumped skyward.
"This is my cue to leave!" she exclaimed, vanishing with the darkened figure.
Several other figures shot out of the trees and followed after the Tsukimisou doll. A minute had barely passed and Hana rushed out of the trees, her bow drawn.
"Where did they go?" she asked her mate.
"They fled," was the reply.
"Heh, they'll be back," The miko-youkai said grimly.
"Hai, but for now, I believe you scared them off with your impressive archery abilities. I daresay they plan on returning anytime soon. They will have to inform their leader that they underestimated us,"
Kyoriko came stumbling out of a massive shrubbery, Mamoru the physician and the other two maids, Miseru and Ikarisu, not far behind.
"They took off then?" Kyoriko inquired.
Sesshoumaru nodded.
"Is this everyone?" Mamoru asked in a calm voice.
"Hai, I think so," Miseru began to reply but then immediately clapped a hand to her mouth. "Kami-sama! Where is Mizumi-sama?!" she shouted worriedly.
"Tsurugi!" Hana gasped, the realization that her son was probably lost in the woods and in imminent danger crashing down upon her like a ton of bricks.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, you saw these enemies retreat, did you not?" Mamoru asked, his tone urgent.
"Hai," The taiyoukai replied.
"How many of them did you see?"
"Five. I saw five of them,"
"You're certain? Absolutely sure?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. Mamoru suddenly seemed even more worried than before.
"There are nine dolls in all; two of them were in the land of Musashi, so that leaves seven. This means there are still two dolls out there, out in those same woods where Mizumi-sama and Tsurugi-sama are. If my instincts are correct, I believe that they will encounter their doll counterparts. In any case, we need to find them."
As one they all separated, searching for the Nekoyoukai girl and Inuyoukai boy.
-
Tsurugi walked along a forest path, his sword drawn. Every forest sound caused the boy to go stiff with alertness, his eyes moving to the source of the sound. Yet every time he turned to look, he found it to be a normal wood sound. He relaxed momentarily, only to tense up once more as another twig snapping or bird chirping caught his attention.
"Calm yourself, Tsurugi-kun, you're going to wear yourself out," came a voice.
The Inuyoukai whirled around and found himself face-to-face with Mizumi. At least, she seemed to be Mizumi, but there was something different.
"Mizumi-san, when did you get here? I didn't even sense you," The boy said, startled.
She took several steps closer to him. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. You aren't upset are you?"
Tsurugi shook his head. "No, of course not, it's alright," he replied. "Ne, are you feeling alright? You're acting kind of…anno…different."
Mizumi was far too close now; then Tsurugi at last realized what felt so off with the Nekoyoukai girl. Her scent was wrong. She smelled of clay and ashes, a scent far from the usual lavender scent that the Taisho heir smelled so often.
"What are you talking about, Tsurugi-kun? I'm perfectly fine," she replied with a devilish grin.
The Inuyoukai boy steeled himself and raised his sword, plunging it through Mizumi's chest. She froze and then began to crack. Her face and arms and the rest of her body cracked and shattered, leaving behind a shell of hardened clay and a small golden bangle emblazoned with the crest of the Neko no Taisho. Tsurugi picked up the bangle, recognizing it as Mizumi's, and below it, he saw something that scared him, a hidden weapon. It was a poison dart with an extremely lethal dose of belladonna on it.
It was then that Tsurugi realized he had to find Mizumi, and fast. Sniffing at the air, he found her scent immediately and set out for it, praying he was not too late.
'Mizumi, don't you go dying on me!'
-
Being a Nekoyoukai, Mizumi's sense of smell was hardly as acute as her Inuyoukai companions. She sat alone in an empty clearing, resting her tired legs. She had been running around for a long time, searching with her senses pushed to the limit. She knew these woods like the back of her hand. The Nekoyoukai girl had played in them often when she was younger, when her mother was alive, and when her father was still kind.
"Tired?" came the sound of Tsurugi's voice.
Mizumi looked up and nodded. The Inuyoukai boy stepped closer and passed the girl his water skin. She took it and drank it gratefully.
"Arigatou, Tsurugi-san," she replied.
"Why so formal, Mizumi-chan?" he asked in a strangely erotic tone of voice. "We're by ourselves out here, there's no need to be so proper."
The Nekoyoukai girl could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and barely managed to stammer out her reply. "Tsu-Tsurugi-k-kun…" she whispered.
The Taisho heir moved closer to her; Mizumi could feel her pulse racing, but she didn't know why Tsurugi's actions affected her so. Tsurugi seemed to notice her nervousness and laid a hand on her shoulder and pulled the girl to her feet.
"Tsurugi-kun, what are you doing?" The Neko no Taisho asked, her voice sounding anxious and slightly higher-pitched than normal.
The Inuyoukai boy ignored her, letting his hand slip down to her waist and pull her closer. Mizumi's face flushed at once, now highly embarrassed but at the same time, much to her own surprise, she found it very arousing and was unable to control the heat pooling in the pit of her stomach. Tsurugi smirked, letting the hand that was at her waist trail up to her chin, tracing her lips with his thumb.
He leaned in towards her and Mizumi did the same. But what Mizumi did not see was Tsurugi reaching for his sword with his free hand from behind his back.
Suddenly Tsurugi suddenly froze, and the Nekoyoukai girl leapt back upon seeing a sword embedded in his belly. Angrily she looked to see Tsurugi's attacker, only to discover it was Tsurugi himself.
"Are you alright?" The second Tsurugi asked, withdrawing his sword.
Mizumi's eyes widened as she saw where the sword had been had left a wound with no blood. The area around it began to crack and the now-wounded Tsurugi gasped, straining to hold onto his false life, struggling to raise his sword. The second Tsurugi moved at once, kicking it out of his double's hand.
"Nice try. But you aren't going to lay a hand on Mizumi!" he growled angrily.
The suffering of the first Tsurugi came to an end at long last as he broke into jagged shards of hardened clay, leaving a small scroll with his remains.
"Are you alright?" The real Tsurugi asked again.
The Nekoyoukai girl took slow, calming breaths before nodding at last. "Hai, I'm fine," she murmured.
"That's twice I've had to save your life, you know?"
Tsurugi sighed, staring intently at Mizumi who seemed to be very silent and deep in thought. He sheathed his sword and approached her.
"Mizumi, look, you're alright, I don't know why you're so depressed," he began.
"I fell prey to such a simple trap so easily," she whispered more to herself than to him. "How can I possibly be a good leader for my people if I get tricked so easily?"
"We all make mistakes, Mizumi. Everyone, even the greatest people do. But we learn from those mistakes, so there's no sense in beating yourself up about it."
"How can I know I won't make the same mistake again?"
"Well, baka, that's why you've got people like me to make sure you're not doing something incredibly stupid."
Mizumi grinned at last and nodded. Tsurugi breathed a sigh of relief, then cocked an eyebrow as a curious scent registered. He leaned in towards the Nekoyoukai girl, sniffing at her.
"Tsurugi, what in the name of Kami-sama are you doing?" she asked.
The Inuyoukai boy smirked. "Were you going into heat just now before I got here?"
The girl immediately turned bright red. "No!" she exclaimed at once, knowing that lying was pointless. Tsurugi's nose didn't lie.
"Mou…it was only a copy of me, but I'm still that irresistible to you? If you wanted me, you could've just asked." The Taisho heir said jokingly.
Mizumi regained her composure, hitting Tsurugi in the arm.
"Itai! What the hell was that for?"
"You know damn well, so stop getting weird ideas."
"Yeah, like I'm the one with weird ideas. Look who's talking!"
"Oh do shut up!"
"Make me! Go ahead, do to me what you were about to do with my copy!" He smirked, now leaning towards her.
The girl growled and slapped him. Tsurugi sighed.
"Fair enough," he said resignedly.
"Damn straight."
A/N: Sorry it took so damn long, but I had AP tests, my UC placement exam, along with TONS and TONS of projects to do. Sheesh, so much work before the end of the year. It's insane. But luckily I'm almost through all of it. So I finally managed to finish the chapter! YAY! I know the stopping point is weird, and I'm sorry if stuff sounds weird or is misspelled. I've been low on sleep, so that'll be why. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it despite all that, so ja ne until next time!