Thanks for sticking around to read this entire story!
Towa wondered if everything was going to work out. Once she had left the tree with her father he had turned to her and said nothing. His chin dipped and he turned away from her, taking off into the air. His Mokomoko trailing out in the night sky.
She had stood there for several long moments wondering why he hadn't said anything to her. Perhaps he had expressed too much of himself inside the Goshinboku.
"I guess Setsuna has inherited that trait," she sighed to herself.
Setsuna, when Towa was first reunited with her, had been cold, bordering on hostile. Then there had been a change and Towa was opening up more and more. Setsuna was also becoming more like her old self, a smile or blush on her cheeks. She had even called her 'Towa-nee-chan' from time to time, if there was no one around.
Towa heard a shrill call in the woods and she sighed heavily.
"Sesshomaru-sama!"
Towa walked in the direction of the voice and found Jaken staring up at the sky, through the tree foliage. "He left Jaken," Towa called out.
She watched as the staff with two heads dropped from his hands. His mouth opened and closed before he sighed heavily.
"He intends to do something to end everything," Jaken sighed out and turned to Towa, picking up the staff.
"What is Father planning?" Towa asked him with a frown setting on her brow.
"He is setting Zero up, your Father intends to forcibly remove the link between Rin and Zero. He will most likely be going to Kirinmaru now," Jaken made a noise after finishing speaking.
Towa chewed her lip, "Kirinmaru? Why Kirinmaru?"
"He can remove the link. Riku will bring Zero with a note from Sesshomaru-sama to entice her to the meeting spot in seven days time," Jaken explained.
"What is he offering?" Towa asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.
Jaken made a small noise of worry as Towa walked toward him. "As much as you look like Rin, you have a streak of Sesshomaru-sama!" He finished on a high note and took off in the woods, heading straight to the village.
She huffed and walked after him, his shorts legs were only able to move so fast. "Jaken!" She whined out.
"I'll tell Setsuna-sama! She is more reasonable and is such a sweet girl!" Jaken shouted.
Towa paused in the woods and snorted as she imagined her twin glaring at the small youkai.
Clearly he remembers child-Setsuna. He must've been in the woods with us! Why don't I remember that?!
Towa took off after him as quickly as she could in her kimono.
Towa gripped the hiltl of the blade that Toutousai had given her, she kept her hand there and chewed her bottom lip.
"Towa don't bite your lip," Setsuna hissed quietly.
Moroha sat on the ground, knees bouncing in her irritation of having to wait quietly. She made small noises and Setsuna stepped on her shoulder. "Quiet," Setsuna whispered.
Towa glanced down at Jaken who kept his staff in the ground with a deep look of concentration on his brow. A barrier was keeping up with them inside. Their presence was masked from all life.
It was the day of her Father's plan. They were to wait patiently for Sesshomaru, Kirinmaru, Zero, and Riku to arrive.
"What do you mean Father is going to unleash my parents?! He's had them the entire time!" Moroha shouted at Jaken, hands gripping the front of clothing and shaking him violently. "I'm going to kill Sesshomaru!"
"It was to protect Inuyasha!" Towa spoke over her cousin, pulling her away from the small youkai.
Moroha was visibly anxious as Setsuna and Towa felt the same nervousness that the end of terror was nearing the end. Even Jaken seemed anxious in the moment.
Towa softly gasped with Setsuna's hand reaching and covering her mouth while keeping her foot on Moroha's shoulder. Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru landed in the clearing of the valley.
"If I do this for you, then you will find Akuru's pinwheel. It is crucial that it is found, spirits need to be added to the wheel of reincarnation. Your late Father was responsible for maintaining the wheel, it is now your responsibility," Kirinmaru lectured.
Sesshomaru had remained quiet and looked to the space where Towa and the others were. Towa felt that Sesshomaru was looking straight at them. His amber eyes flicked away, glowing in the sunset.
Towa held her breath and waited patiently for the next two to arrive.
It didn't take too long for Riku to arrive with Zero as the sun disappeared completely.
Towa watched as Setsuna tensed beside her. Setsuna had been different since the day that she had killed Zero and their Father revived her, Jaken had explained the reason to them, their mother's life is tied to Zero's. Setsuna's jaw clenched as they watched the scene unfurl before them only a dozen feet away.
"I nearly, inadvertently, killed our Mother, Towa. Our Mother," Setsuna said quietly as Jaken sat patiently for any questions they had. Towa had a million, but she needed to assure Setsuna nothing was her fault, including the near death of their mother.
"Riku, I thought you said it was just going to be Sesshomaru?" Zero venomously spoke as Towa could see her eye Kirinmaru. "What is he doing here?"
Kirinmaru stepped toward Zero. "Zero, you have offended Touga's family long enough. You have manipulated Riku...and myself long enough. You will release the Lady of the West and let go of your ego," Kirinmaru told Zero.
Zero took a step back from Kirinmaru, her body language stiff. "My ego? I have kept you alive all this time! I raised you. I should have been Touga's mistress! I should have been his love! Instead he chose that human hime over me, I am a daiyoukai!" Zero shouted. "He sired a filthy hanyou!"
Moroha tensed on her spot on the ground. Towa felt that the remark of filthy hanyou affronted all of them. They were neither full youkai nor full human, they were both. They were hanyou.
"My lady, this has to be the end. We have lost. Whatever love or hatred you bore the late Inu no Taishou cannot be burdened onto the current Inu no Taishou and his family. They shouldn't have to pay for the pain the late Inu no Taishou caused you," Riku spoke up.
Zero turned to Riku and raised her hand. Towa held back her growl and watched as Zero's hand came down to connect with Riku's cheek. The slap never happened as Kirinmaru grabbed her wrist.
"I think perhaps allowing myself and Riku to be used for amusement for so long was a mistake. Riku," Kirinmaru called to him, "I do not expect forgiveness, but you are free from Zero's clutches."
"Yes, master," Riku said and took off from the space Zero and Kirinmaru occupied.
"Now, I believe you have created a tie to your very soul to the Lady. I am going to remove it and then Setsuna will cut it," Kirinmaru spoke loudly.
"That filthy hanyou is dead! By your hand, Riku said so!" Zero shouted as she struggled in Kirinmaru's grasp.
Towa watched as Kirinmaru shoved his free hand into Zero's back.
"I see it…" Setsuna whispered.
"Huh?" Moroha looked over her shoulder up at Setsuna. Towa looked at Setsuna and saw that Setsuna's violet eyes were wide. Her gaze was fixed on Zero's back, her foot lowering as her hand moved to the hilt of her blade.
"Don't do this! I need Sesshomaru to suffer for all that his father put me through! I loved him!" Zero shouted in pain.
"He never loved you, you have to move on," Kirinmaru hissed out and Towa watched as the barrier fell, Setsuna rushing forward, drawing her blade out.
Moroha hopped up and everyone on the scene watched as Setsuna leapt in the air and slashed at nothing before she landed, sheathing her blade. Kirinmaru pulled his hand free from Zero's body and looked to Setsuna.
"It seems you finally manifested and found the purpose of your blade of blood," Kirinmaru said before turning to Sesshomaru. "I suppose it is your daughter who fulfilled your part of our bargain. Akuru's pinwheel will still need to be found."
"Bastard!" Zero shouted and turned to face Kirinmaru before falling onto the ground. "Bastard!" She shouted again.
"I am leaving you to Sesshomaru's devices. He has surely thought of a thousand ways for you to die," Kirinmaru said as she turned from Zero, walking away. "
Zero let out a sob and crawled on the ground to Kirinmaru. "No! I am a daiyoukai! Why should he care about a human wife?! A filthy human, his bitch wasn't even a hime, just a poor, penniless peasant!" Zero cried out. "Save me, I am your sister!"
Kirinmaru stopped for a moment and glanced back at Zero, lying pitifully on the ground. "You disowned me and said I was dead to you. This is the fruit of all your treacherous labour, Zero. Farewell," Kirinmaru said and walked away.
Towa watched as her father then walked toward Zero, passing Kirinmaru. She knew he was going to kill Zero, but the idea of witnessing it was almost too much for her.
His name is literally Killing Perfection.
Towa watched as he cracked the knuckles of his right hand before a light green glow came from his fingers.
"He's going to poison her!" Moroha whispered in awe.
"It will be incurable and will burn through all her organs. Sesshomaru-sama decided that this would be his punishment for Zero. The worst of all them. She will live for days in agony before her organs fail and then she will perish," Jaken explained grimly.
"Do we allow this to happen?" Towa asked quietly as she watched Zero scramble away on the grass, begging for Kirinmaru to save her, for Riku to obey her.
Towa closed her eyes and covered her ears as she saw her father take the last few steps and shoved his hand into Zero's belly. She blocked out the sight and the sounds of Zero's screams. She felt arms wrap around her and inhaled the familiar scent of Setsuna before another set of arms wrapped around her, Moroha, hugging her from behind.
Several minutes later after receiving a gentle stroke on the top of her head, she opened her eyes to see Setsuna nodding. Towa lowered her hands and could still hear Zero crying in agony, but they were quieter than before.
Towa looked to see Kirinmaru standing and watching, his face grim looking and Jaken standing and talking to him quietly. She saw Riku sitting on the grass and staring at Zero's body writhing in pain.
"Where's Father?" Towa asked Setsuna.
"He's gone to collect Mother and then he'll meet Moroha at the temple's ground to release her parents," Setsuna explained. "I'm going to give my regards to Kirinmaru, to settle our difference, you should speak to Riku, but know that I am watching him."
Towa nodded and they separated in different directions. Towa walked across the grass and knelt down by Riku's side. "I'm sorry that everything had to happen like this," Towa said softly, keeping her eyes on the grass. Ignoring Zero's mumbled pleas.
"I'm glad your father didn't give me the same treatment. He was cold and callous but I suppose your mother affected him more than I thought. I should have never warned Kagome, I should have gone to him. Truth be told I was scared of him," Riku said quietly with a heavy sigh.
"Father seems to be reserved in a lot of ways. If he thought you deserved punishment or death you would be on the grass too...dying. Take the fact that you are leaving here alive as a good sign. Maybe you should even talk to Kirinmaru," Towa hummed out and glanced at Riku with a small smile.
He looked at her and then to Kirinmaru as Zero begged for someone to kill her as she shakily stood up, her green eyes wild. Riku flinched as she called out to him.
"I am going to speak to my Master...but when you are ready, would it be possible to talk?" He asked her.
Towa's smile broadened, "Yes, we can talk another time."
It had been a month since she had watched Kirinmaru and Riku walk off together into the woods, leaving Zero behind after she collapsed again. Both looked pained about it, but there was nothing they could do and they tried to honour Sesshomaru's punishment. Jaken urged Setsuna and Towa away in the opposite direction.
When she returned to the village, Setsuna stopped and sniffed the air before running off with one word slipping her mouth.
"Mother."
Towa wasn't far behind her twin as they pushed their way through the bamboo curtain minutes later, almost tearing it off the wall above the door. There sitting by the fire, a new gold and red kimono draped around her shoulders was their mother as she held Kaede.
"Thank you for looking out for my daughters and niece, Kaede-sama," their mother said gently.
"Rin, welcome home!" Kaede sobbed out, the hardness of the old woman disappearing. "For so long I thought I would never see you again, my dear little one."
That same night three more persons entered the house. Moroha with her parents, Towa and Setsuna's aunt and uncle, Inuyasha and Kagome.
They were confused and Moroha looked from her father to Towa and Setsuna and pointed at their heads. "Where are your puppy ears?! I want you two to have puppy ears right now!"
Kaede had been quite emotional as Kagome threw herself again at Moroha, petting her face and hair down, smothering her in kisses. Moroha beat red in the face and tried to push her mother away with complaints of wanting to speak to her aunt. Towa saw Setsuna sniffle before turning her face away and their mother smiling as she gently embraced her. The sweetest Setsuna had ever been, yet still quiet and reserved.
Towa felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her uncle staring at her with amber eyes like her father but they were warmer and more expressive. "Come on, Sesshomaru, your father, wants to speak to you."
"Huh? He isn't even here?"
A dramatic eye roll. "I just know. I know where he'll be too."
She quietly left the house with Inuyasha and came to the edge of the village, a tall hill with the forest behind them and the village before them.
"Why are we up here?" She asked her father and uncle.
Inuyasha nodded to Sesshomaru as he tucked his arms into his sleeves.
Her father glanced from her to the village below. "This is the spot I heard you and Setsuna first cry. I stood guard from here knowing danger threatened both your mother and uncle that night."
"So, now you are listening to everyone happily crying as they are reunited?" She asked him with a smile.
His face remained impassive but a small smirk flitted to Inuyasha's lips.
"Akuru's pinwheel still needs to be found. Perhaps, your sister and Moroha can accompany you. To repair the relationship with Kirinmaru, he will want Riku to accompany you as well, but he should know that any untoward action without my permission would mean-" her father started and turned to her.
"What Sesshomaru is saying, if Riku touches you then he is dead," Inuyasha said with a deadpan expression.
Her father looked back to the village and huffed. "Such actions would require a father's permission by such a suitor."
Towa felt a blush rise to her face as she understood what her father was saying. Inuyasha laughed and walked over to her, patting her shoulder. "I'll have Moroha keep an eye out on you two."
She was mortified by the conversation. She didn't even have a chance to speak to Riku about their relationship, whatever it was let alone define it. Now her father and uncle, the latter she had known for barely an hour, were defining the relationship as something, possibly romantic.
Men. Towa thought internally.
She would simply have to speak to her mother, maybe her aunt as well, about Riku and try to process her emotions about him before confronting him.
Perhaps she needed a better word than 'confronting', she would ask her mother and her aunt.
Now, a month later after enjoying time in the village with her mother they were about to set out on a new journey, to find the pinwheel Akuru had stolen. Her sister pushed her at every opportunity to care for their mother, giving Towa the time to spend it with their father. A win for both of them. A large house near the outskirts of the village was made for them.
Setsuna wore a pink and blue kimono over her taijiya uniform, Towa had to throw away her school uniform (her mother couldn't salvage it after the last tear happened in her bottom left cheek side from sparring with Kohaku) and was given a new set of purple hakama and white haori with purpled edge sleeves. They stood on the grass before the porch where their parents stood to see them off.
"You two will come home from time to time I am sure," Rin said gently with a smile.
"Yes, Mother," both responded with a smile.
"Moroha is waiting for you two with Hisui and Kirara," Sesshomaru told them drily.
"Can't we have A-Un?" Towa asked him with a pout as she saw the two headed dragon laying on the grass.
"A-Un is staying with us, they prefer it that way," Sesshomaru responded.
"Wait!" Jaken called from inside the house and the shoji door slid open with him around Rin and down the steps with two small satchels tied up. "Spare clothes and some dried meat for a few days. Do not let Moroha steal it!" He huffed out as held up one blue and one purple satchel.
"Go on now and be safe. And when you two come and visit, try and bring me a melon!" Rin said with a small laugh.
"Setsuna, race you?!" Towa asked as she turned and started running down the hill toward the village.
"Towa! You cheater!"
Hisui patted Kiara's side as she landed on the grass by a river a few villages over when the sun was dipping into the horizon, setting off red and pink hues into the sky.
"About time you all showed up! Kirinmaru-sama told me this was the place I had to be at," Riku called out.
Towa grinned at him, jumping off behind Moroha from Kirara's back. She ran into Riku's arms that had been waving around as he spoke. She felt him gasp as she held him tightly around his neck. She lifted up on her toes and kissed him.
"Oi!" Moroha shouted. "Dad said to watch over you! No kissing! Uncle is going to be mad!"
"Towa!" Setsuna and Hisui called out.
Towa pulled back to see Riku's stunned expression at the kiss, he blinked a few times before leaning down to kiss her again, gently pressing his lips against hers as his arms wrapped around her.
"Oi! Towa! I'll get you beads of subjugation like my Mama did to my dad! 'Riku' would be the word!" Moroha shouted near them, invading their space.
"Towa I will tell Father," Setsuna hissed out from nearby.
Towa pulled back and blushed as Hisui snorted. Kirara let out a meow of her own.
"Moroha...you're too close!" Towa complained.
"We're sharing a mat! Riku you sleep with Hisui!" Moroha ordered as she dragged Towa away straight to the reprimanding gaze of Setsuna. Setsuna huffed at her and shook her head.
"I'm disappointed in you," Setsuna told her quietly.
"Ten seconds. Mama did bet ten seconds...uhh...I have to pick herbs for a week when I get this job done!" Moroha whined out.
Sure, Towa didn't get to have a conversation with Riku like she planned to do, but it felt right just running into his arms and kissing him. She knew there would be plenty of hugs and kisses in the future.
She couldn't wait for it...and some privacy.
Things were still complicated, but less so than before. Maybe Riku was her true love, maybe he wasn't, but for now she will enjoy all her moments with him.
I hope you enjoyed the story! Feel free to follow me on Twitter and Tumblr myravenspirit.