Author notes: Sorry if they are OOC. This is my first Inuyasha fic. Sorry if there are any English grammar and spelling mistakes. Gomen ne, minna.
Chapter 24: Musashi
"Why?" Sesshoumaru's voice was cold, devoid of emotions. Yet somehow, Inuyasha could tell that his brother was not happy. He sighed and decided to explain his recent meditations to him.
"Well, remember the talk we had a week ago about the time traveling thing?" Inuyasha asked nervously. Sesshoumaru nodded and Inuyasha continued. "I thought about what you said that two things by all means should not be able to exist at the same time. Then suddenly I remembered that there was once I came into close contact with the current Shikon no Tama under Kikyou's care. I felt a sharp pain then in my heart but I didn't understand what it was. Now that I think about it, I feel that perhaps the Shikon no Tama within my body is reacting to the presence of its current counterpart. Then I remembered you saying that most probably we have replaced our past selves in order to continue existing now. And I came up with a conclusion."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Inuyasha looked unsure yet excited. "I thought of a way to purify the Shikon no Tama in this time."
"How?"
"Well, if we combine our two deductions, then the only logical conclusion is that if I have a close enough contact with the current Shikon no Tama, the Shikon no Tama would merge with it and override it. Since the future Shikon no Tama within me is purified, it would cause the Shikon no Tama to be purified too after merging."
Sesshoumaru looked mildly impressed. "You really gave much thought about it huh? It's almost scary to see you like this when you start using your brain."
Inuyasha looked offended. "Hey. I do think at times you know."
"About your next meal you mean?" Sesshoumaru retorted. Inuyasha growled in annoyance. "I see no flaw in your reasoning. But there is just one thing."
"What?" Inuyasha snapped.
"Up till now, all we have is just deductions and speculations. What makes you so sure that it will work?" Sesshoumaru asked.
Inuyasha bit his lower lip. "I have no choice. You want me to move on? No problem. But I must close the last chapter of my old life before I can go on with my new life here."
Although Sesshomaru grudgingly allowed Inuyasha to return to Musashi, he made Inuyasha stayed in Saigoku for the remaining winter. On New Year's Day, Sesshoumaru officially made Inuyasha his successor. Though the news was greeted with much suspicion, Inuyasha tried to smooth things over by drawing as little attention as he can to himself. Finally, after two months of stalling, Inuyasha had been granted permission to go to Musashi.
"I don't understand, Inuyasha." Kaze complained, shivering despite the warm sunlight filtering down. "Why must you leave so suddenly?"
Inuyasha smiled. Within a few months, he had managed to make new friends. Granted, they are not as close to him as Sango, Miroku and Shippou. But given time, who knows? Ame bonked Kaze on his head. "Don't mind him, Inuyasha. When would you return?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "As soon as possible I guess."
Hikari stepped forth shyly. "I've got something for you, Inuyasha." Pulling out a small box from his cloak, Hikari shoved the package into Inuyasha's hands. "Open it."
Inuyasha torn open the package carefully. It was a cage and a small white pigeon sat within it, cooing softly. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in question.
"Isn't she pretty?" Hikari continued. "My father got it from a trader from China. It's a carrier pigeon. But it's not just a normal carrier pigeon. With it, you can send letters from wherever you are back to Saigoku. I figure it's a way for you to keep in touch with us even though you are far away."
Inuyasha smiled. "Thank you very much, Hikari."
Hikari smiled. "I'm sorry Inuyasha. I used to think hanyou were useless and stupid creatures. But after I saw what you did for Kaze, I think I was wrong. I hope you'll forgive me for looking down on you when you first came."
"It's okay." Inuyasha replied. "Most people did that too. I'm used to it."
Sesshoumaru stood forward, looking at Inuyasha in the eye. "Remember what I've said. Come back, whether you fail or not."
Inuyasha nodded. "I won't fail. I made a promise a long time ago to end the curse of the tama. I told Housenki many years ago, in front of our father's grave, that as long as it exists, the strife surrounding it would never end. I told him that I will protect the jewel from those seeking it as long as I draw breath. I intend to uphold that promise."
The rest looked confused. Sesshoumaru merely nodded. "You are foolish, little brother. The affairs of the humans concerned us not, but you choose to meddle with them. I will not stop you, but I sincerely hope you will not live to regret your decisions."
Inuyasha nodded. Yuki came forth and looked intently at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, remember. You still owe me a duel. I know you were holding back previously. When you come back, I want to have a real fight with you."
Inuyasha merely smiled and nodded. Then slowly, he made his journey towards Musashi, feeling hopeful for the first time since ages.
The forest seemed quieter than usual. Inuyasha mused as he entered into the familiar woods. I wonder how Kikyou would react upon seeing me again. I hope she's okay.
Suddenly, the scent of blood permeates his nose. Sniffing around quickly, he realized that someone was hurt. Terribly. He quickly made his way towards the east direction, where the scent of the blood was the strongest.
When he arrived, it was too late. He saw a bear youkai advancing towards a villager, who was lying in a pool of his own blood on the forest floor. He immediately dispatched of the youkai effortlessly with a swipe of his claws and turned to look at the man's wounds.
As he held the villager in his arms, Inuyasha knew that the man would not survive. His wounds were too deep and he lost too much blood. The man looked at him with a pleading expression but as his mouth moved to speak, he drew his last breathe and closed his eyes forever.
Inuyasha looked regretfully at the dead villager. He was about to lay the villager down when suddenly a voice rang out.
"Don't move, youkai!"
Inuyasha raised his head in surprise and blurt out. "Nani? Miroku?"
Miroku had been hunting the youkai that was plaguing the nearby villages for a long time. When he heard the sound of a man's screams, he knew immediately that the man-eating youkai had struck again. Gripping his staff in his hands, and fingering a few ofudas, he prayed that this time round he would be able to get the youkai so that innocent lives need not be lost anymore.
As he got nearer to the source of the scream, the sight greeting him was unexpected. The villager's bloody form was cradled by a silver-haired figure. One look and he could tell the creature was not a human. Puppy-ears adorned the top of his head; his claws were drenched in blood. He immediately fought down a surge of anger at the sight of the dead villager and spoke out.
"Don't move, youkai."
The youkai lifted up his head to look at him. A look of pure surprise was on his face. The youkai paled, as if seeing a ghost before blurting out. "Miroku?"
Miroku smirked. "Well, it seems like my reputation has preceeded me. Stay there and prepare to die, youkai, for all the vile sins you have committed against the innocent villagers!"
The youkai looked even more shocked before his eyes widen in understanding. He stood up and gently lowered the corpse onto the ground before lifting up his hands in mock surrender. "You are mistaken. I'm not the one who did this."
"Stop trying to defend yourself, scum." Miroku snapped. How dare this youkai try to deny his crimes while lifting his bloody claws right in his face?
The youkai looked hurt for a moment. "You….you don't remember me? So da, why would you remember me…Miroku." The last part of his name was whispered out softly, as if in a prayer.
Miroku narrowed his eyes at the silver youkai who golden eyes were strangely bright in the dull sunlight. The youkai's behavior were puzzling, to say the least. "I don't care what tricks you are trying to play, youkai, but this ends here now!" With that, Miroku raised his staff, thrusting it forward to strike the youkai.
The youkai nimbly avoided the hit. "I don't wish to fight you." He said softly.
"Stop trying to pretend to be kind, youkai." Miroku replied, raising the staff forward. The youkai dodged each blow, never attacking once. Miroku was puzzled. Why doesn't the youkai do something to defend himself besides dodging? With renewed effort, he pursued the youkai, driving him deeper into the forest.
The youkai was fast, Miroku admitted inwardly with a slight grunt. Luckily for Miroku, he was not slow either. As he ran after the youkai, he dug into his sleeves for his ofudas and imbued them with his spiritual powers before throwing them at the youkai. The youkai managed to dodge all but one of the ofuda and gave a small cry as it stuck to his arm, the purifying energies imbued within it burning him. Miroku took the opportunity to cross the distance between them and raised his staff to strike the killing blow.
The look on the youkai's face however, made Miroku paused. It was a look so utterly human that Miroku was nearly awed by the emotions shown. The youkai's expression was filled with hurt and betrayal and Miroku thought for second that he might be committing a mistake killing the youkai. But it lasted for a moment and Miroku brought the staff down in a wide sweeping arc.
To his surprise, the staff did not hit the youkai. Instead, the youkai unsheathed his sword, which transformed into a huge fang, and blocked the blow with his injured arm. Miroku applied more force, determined to bring down the youkai but the youkai pushed him off, sending Miroku sprawling on the floor. The youkai stood up, and Miroku thought he might attack now with his katana. But the silver haired youkai only sheathed his sword.
"I told you." The silver haired youkai shouted. "I don't want to kill you."
Miroku felt a twinge of hesitation for the first time. Could he have made a mistake? The youkai could have killed him easily now but he choose to sheathe his sword. That doesn't seem like the actions of a killer. Miroku bite his lower lips and was about to reply when he spied a shadow approaching rapidly behind, followed by a feminine cry.
"Hiraikotsu!"
The youkai crumpled down, his body hit with the full force of the deadly weapon. Miroku sighed and raised his head to see his fiancée smirking at him from her pet fire cat.
"Hi, Sango."
Author notes: Sorry for the long update.....and just to inform you guys....I'm going overseas soon and might take even longer to update..... please wait for me patiently....:)
Reviewers' Responses:
To: Jalison: Happy Thanksgiving to you too....
To: Chika of the high Mts: I'll update as soon as possible
To: Black RoseL Me: Musashi is just the old name of Edo...which is the old name of Tokyo....I think. So basically it is a geographical region's name...that is around Kikyou's village....haha...what a long way of saying that.
To: kitt: I'm glad the site's up too. Just realise that I'm dependent on for my daily ff fix
To: Kayzer: I don't think Shippou would come back again, sorry
To: efi: I actually didn't think of that........
To: Kayhera: Thanks for reviewing even though you don't like Sesshoumaru....
To: humble-bumble: Updating soon.....:)
To: Tenshi Yoma: Thanks for your lovely reviews...
To: NefCanuck: Sess can be a bit overwhelming at times I guess
To: Misao, Demon Master: Musashi is the name of a place...please refer to above's answer... And mou ichido dake means "just once more" I think....:)
To: Binky: Thank you for your long review....as for Shippou's age, I guess since youkai and humans age differently....Shippou might be born 50 years ago and yet still aging slowly, hence looking like a child even after 50 years. But that's just my intepretation so it might not be accurate too.