Chapter 97: Coraline's Sick Day
About a day or two after leaving the Village of the Monkey God, our group returns to the Goshinboku Village to prep themselves up again before heading to the northeast on a new lead in their hunt for Naraku...
However, just before they could go again, one of our members falls ill:
"Ah, ah, ah-choo!"
It's now about mid-morning, and we zoom inside Kaede's Hut (she absent from the village for reasons yet to be revealed), where everyone in our group was sitting, while Coraline was lying down on a futon covered by a blanket, her face lightly flushed, nose dusted red, and her eyes fighting to open in more than just a squint. Miroku was sipping some freshly-made tea with Besa, while Shippo ate a lollipop, Freeman knelt by his sister's head with a damp cloth to wipe some sweat from her forehead, Sango sat on her right with Kilala in her lap, and Inuyasha was sitting cross-legged with his back to the doorway, mouth set in a sulking frown:
"This isn't how things were suppose to turn out. (Stands up) What are we sittin' around here for?!"
Coraline winces from the shout, her ears a bit sore from her illness, and she weakly sits up while replying with a hoarse voice,
"Sorry. He's right; we should get mov-"
Freeman stops her with a hand on her shoulder and forces her to lay down again:
"No way, Jose. (Looks at Inuyasha) Dude, take it down a notch: It's not like sis asked the universe to curse her with a cold."
The dog demon scoffs and defensively insists at a more normal volume,
"I can figure out that much!"
He stops when Coraline lets out a dry cough, and she rubs her sore throat with a grimace before saying to the rest with a weak smile,
"Sorry I'm causing a slow-down, guys. I can usually function okay even when I get a bit sick, but, (cough) somebody up there must hate me..."
Sango chides with a mildly worried expression,
"Stop worrying. This trip is going be a long one. We can use this time to get things prepared."
Shippo chimes with a smile,
"She's right! I'll use the time to prepare all my gadgets."
Miroku adds with his own reassuring tone,
"What she's saying is that your cold is actually a blessing in disguise."
Coraline smirk-glares and replies with a rasp,
"That's a matter of opinion: Currently, I wanna kill the one responsible for inventing colds."
Besa laughs and Freeman jokes,
"Murderous, are we?"
"I have every right to be murderous, bro!"
The rise in volume in her voice provokes another coughing fit, and Sango lightly scolds while handing the redhead a cup of water,
"Not so loud, or you'll make your throat more sore than it already is..."
As Coraline sips the offered drink, Inuyasha whirls around to face the doorway while crossing his arms with a scowl:
"Damn it! Hurry up and get well!"
The sick girl smiles sadly at the dog demon, knowing that his current mood was just his way of being worried about her in public:
Oh Inuyasha...
"Don't be so harsh. I realize we're in a hurry, but don't blame Coraline for getting sick."
Sango and Shippo agree with Miroku:
"Yes."
"I agree."
The fox demon was thumped on the head by Inuyasha in response, while the twins sigh and shake their heads:
"You guys shouldn't be too harsh with him in return..."
"Yeah, this is just his version of concern."
Coraline darts her half-lidded eyes to the dog demon and says to him with another weak smile,
"Let's cross our fingers for this bein' a twenty-four hour virus, 'kay?"
Inuyasha was taken aback by the attempt of sentiment, but then suddenly storms out of the hut with a frustrated shout:
"(Growl) This, better be just that long, alright?!"
He then leaps off, heading for who knows...Miroku watches his form go from the doorway with Shippo on his shoulder, commenting,
"Sheesh, what a hothead..."
"Coraline will probably recover quicker if Inuyasha isn't around."
Sango says with a frown,
"It's too bad Kaede isn't here to give Coraline her remedies."
Besa shrugs and casually remarks,
"Even so, it likely wouldn't the job any faster than the medicine we sometimes bring from our era. And Cora's immune system...it sometimes reacts funny to remedies when she's ill."
"How so?"
"Um, I think last couple times she's gotten sick, she tried a few different treatments, commercial and domestic, and for some weird reason, it either did squat or made her feel even worse."
Said girl coughs and adds,
"A-According to a specialist healer, in our time, he said that my immune system, becomes abnormally hypersensitive to foreign substances during times of crisis, which for reasons even he can't seem to understand, includes certain ingredients used in medicine. I can handle the more, traditional stuff just fine, but half the time, it just sits in my stomach doing nothing, or it barely helps me feel better. That's why, (cough) I usually just let my body go solo on getting better."
She then sneezes, and pulls out a tissue from a travel pack she pulled out of her bag, while Freeman puts a hand on her forehead to check her temperature:
"(Wince) Yikes: You're starting to burn up, sis."
While Coraline lightly blows her nose, Miroku says to her,
"I'm worried, Coraline. Wouldn't it be better to go back to your own home?"
"Hm? Home?"
"The physicians there do seem to be more knowledgeable..."
Sango adds in thought,
"And they seem to have better medications, even if you've had issues in the past..."
The sick redhead slowly pushes herself up while replying if a half-doubtful tone,
"Can't say if it'll make much of a difference, but, you do make good points. Besides, if I stick around, you'll all likely, (chuckle, cough) catch my cold. Better to sleep it off at home..."
Her brothers move to crouch on either side of her with hopeful smiles:
"In that case, we'll help ya make sure you don't faint on the way to the Well."
"Think you got enough energy to walk over?"
"Mhm..."
With that decided, Besa shucks Coraline's satchel over his shoulder with his things (tucking her combat knife inside) while Freeman grabs her sword to sling behind his own pack, before both wrap their arms around her shoulders and start leading her out of the hut. Just as they move out the doorway, Coraline calls back with a light rasp,
"Would one of you, be kind enough to tell Inuyasha where I went?"
Miroku replies,
"Of course. Rest well, Coraline."
"Thanks."
Small Time Skip, Coraline's POV
Once I got through the Well and back to my own era, I was lead into the house and into my room, where I would change into a comfortable pair of soft gray pajama pants and matching tank-top, and settle into bed under the covers. It was around then that I got a phone call from Professor Hashimoto for an update on my findings regarding the research on the Sword of Tengu, and despite my fatigue, I managed to blurt out that I'm still working on it. He could definitely hear how sick I was over the phone, and urged me to hang up and get the rest I needed, which made me laugh a little, but I nonetheless took his advice.
Now, Akari-sama was finishing up taking my temperature with the thermometer, which read a high 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yep, definitely sick. Crap.
"You think you can stomach something to eat?" I think on it for a minute, before replying,
"Maybe soda crackers and ginger ale just to be cautious?"
Akari-sama nods with a small smile:
"Alright then. I'd say to take some medicine too, but, given your history with different medications..."
I chuckle dryly and cough a bit before chiming weakly,
"Yeah, probably not a good idea to bully my stomach...Thank you."
"No problem, dear. I'll be back momentarily."
She then exits the room to get what I requested, leaving just little ole me under the covers with a toasty, muscle-aching body, itchy eyes, sore throat and a headache:
Damn it, this sucks...
I then hear the wispy moans of my companion, Lumos drawing near, and I look up to see him hovering over me with concern. I smile weakly and tell him softly,
"I'll be okay, bud. Just need to take it easy, or easier than I have been this last while..."
Though come to think of it...now that I'm home, maybe I can do some more research when my headache clears up some.
And not just on that goblin blade...but that character, Saki.
No POV
As Coraline rested upstairs, the twins were sitting at the dining table with Grandfather Higurashi as he read the newspaper. Just as Akari walks back in, the elder comments,
"You two and my granddaughter haven't been home for quite some time. Too bad she's come down with a cold."
"Yeah..."
"It's been a while since she was this sick too..."
Akari pulls out a plate, a box of crackers, a glass cup and a bottle of soda while adding to the conversation:
"Yes...Was it cold back in the other era for you all?"
Freeman replies with a half-shrug,
"Not overly, but I guess the chill of the rain from a few days ago must've gotten to sis and she didn't know it."
Besa hums,
"This could also be the result of physical and mental pressure: Cora has been pushing herself a little more in this last while..."
The twins sigh with worried expressions, and Grandfather states while raising his teacup to his lips,
"Well, she should rest until she's fully recovered. And you two shouldn't make yourselves sick worrying over her, alright?"
"Yes, sir." "Yes, sir."
The elder man sips his beverage, before an idea springs to him:
"(Mumble) I just thought of something..."
Freeman then rises to his feet and says,
"Well, since we're here, anyway, Besa: Why don't we go down to the dojo and see Master Yoshi?"
"Huh?...Oh, right! Okay."
They start heading out the kitchen while waving at the adults:
"We'll return later after seeing Master Yoshi and makin' a pit stop at our apartment."
"Please let Cora know where we went."
"Of course, dears." "See you boys later."
Time Skip, Besa's POV
After leaving the shrine, my brother and I walk all the way back to our apartment to do some laundry, then head out to do some grocery shopping leaving our things at home for the time being (minus our weapons, which we left in the Bone Eater Well house where we knew they'd be safer at), and after lunch pop over to Master Yoshi's dojo to visit him and ask about that stranger that came before.
I know I shouldn't be so paranoid, but...I just have this, feeling...
(Ka-chank)
"Master Yoshi? It's us, Freeman and Besa! You in?"
We see him standing over by the table that held the small gong and a banzai tree, and he turns over to us upon my brother's call:
"Ah, good afternoon, Brownlee-sans. What brings you here today?" Freeman answers,
"Just came to check in, mainly...and, there was somethin' we wanted to ask about, regarding our last training day."
"I see...Is Croft-san not with you?"
I shake my head with a small frown:
"She caught a cold and is currently under the covers of her bed."
"Oh, is that right? How unfortunate; I do hope she gets better sooner than later."
"So do we..."
Master Yoshi seemed to notice the inquiry and concern in my eyes:
"...What is troubling you, Brownlee-san? I can sense a worry in you that isn't just for your sister's health."
"Well...it has to do with, that man who came to talk with you a while back, Saki."
His soft brown eyes flashed with a hardness I haven't seen before:
"Hm...I see..." Taking a deep breath, I ask,
"Look, Master Yoshi, I understand if this is something you'd rather not discuss, but I-or rather, we, can sense that the man has an off character that's obviously making you uncomfortable in some fashion. That's why, I have to ask: Is this Saki threatening you in some way?"
"Uh..."
He was taken aback by the question, and I feel Freeman's hand go on my shoulder as he quickly added,
"We're just worried because after all we've experienced so far in these adventures we've been having, it's become that much easier to sense danger and know what a shady character looks like."
The room falls silent for a moment, the three of us not taking our eyes off eachother...before Master Yoshi sighs deeply and finally replies,
"I suppose I should've seen this coming, given how observant the three of you have become in these last couple months...Very well: Come into my office, and I shall explain to you who Saki is, mainly because I fear that he might be interested in you all."
That caused an eyebrow raise for both Freeman and I:
"Interested?" "What for?"
He waves at us to follow him into his office, and says as he opens the door,
"It somewhat relates to a time when Saki and I were once colleagues...until we were driven apart by different goals, his being more malevolent in comparison..."
As soon as we all sat down around the small table and he brews some tea for us to drink, Master Yoshi would reveal a part of his life he clearly did not want anyone else to know, until now...
By the time he was finished his tale, Freeman and I were left in shock and awe...while I also felt my danger alarm increase in volume against Saki:
Aw man...We gotta tell Cora about this!
Sengoku Edo, No POV
At the same time the twins were learning some troubling news regarding their martial arts master and the suited stranger, we turn our eyes to a clearing in the Forest of Inuyasha northwest of the Goshinboku Village, where Kaede and a group of the men stood armed at the ready against a demon that was heading their way...
"Lady Kaede."
"We must keep our heads, Yukichi. We must stay calm and focused."
"Yes, but it's been some time since I slayed a demon."
"Try to be strong: Inuyasha and the others are not here, so we must deal with it ourselves."
(Scuttle...)
"Here it comes!"
(Crash)
The demon smashes through the heavy tree cover, revealing itself to the group that came to destroy it: Their appearance had the body of a mantis, but the head was quite unique, like a mix of a grey-skinned zombie with brown tendrils protruding from the back, an octopi-like mouth, and glowing red eyes!
"Attack the beast!"
(Twok, tok, tok, tok...)
Several arrows are shot at the demon, but the attack only succeeds at riling its temper, it lunging at the villagers with Yukichi protecting the elder priestess:
"Lady Kaede!"
They slide on the ground away from the demon, to which it would move into attack them, and Kaede rushes to ready an arrow...
But then:
(Leap)
"Who invited you here?! Hrrrrah!"
(PUNCH)
Inuyasha suddenly arrives on scene, and socks the demon in its face, sending it flying through the air and crash onto some trees...!
"Inuyasha!"
"Hm? (Turns to Kaede) What're you people doin' all the way out here?"
The elder priestess answers as the dog demon walks over to her,
"All sorts of demons have been acting up lately. Some are even terrorizing areas where humans live."
"I think it's because of Naraku's disappearance: Most of the demons were keepin' a low profile while he was still around."
Speaking of, the mutant mantis demon sits up, before rushing to lunge at the one who knocked them down, prompting Inuyasha to finish his thoughts while engaging the other:
"Now they're doin' as they please!"
(Slash, SLASH)
Using his claws, he cuts away the mantis demon's own before ultimately splitting it in two! The villagers were left in awe as the pieces of the dead demon started raining onto the ground...
"See ya later!"
"Wait, Inuyasha!"
But he had gone on his way into the forest...Yukichi wonders,
"Did he come all this way to save us?" Kaede answers skeptically,
"Somehow, I doubt that was his intention..."
...We catch up with Inuyasha now as his trek takes him to a more swampy area with a thin mist blanketing around, only to halt when he comes across a three-eyed, brown-scaled serpent demon:
"You're in the way! Move!"
"Insolence! Who do you think you're talking to?!" Inuyasha scoffs and retorts,
"I could care less who you are! I've got things to do in this swamp and you're in my way!"
"This swamp is my territory! Flee while you can or I'll swallow you head-first!"
The dog demon leaps up high to dodge the lunging snake demon, before shooting back down first raised:
"Maybe this'll help clear your mind!"
(Punch)
After socking it on its cranium, Inuyasha then uses his raw strength to swing the snake demon around by its tail, before flinging it far away out of the area...
"So much for him. Now..."
He quietly takes a step into the swamp's water, before his eyes catch some bubbling a few feet in front of him...Grinning, he swipes through the water hard, forcing two large carp fish to surface! Inuyasha easily scooped them up, and walks out of the swamp triumphant with the fish over his shoulder:
"Yes! I'm outta here."
His next stop is a rocky valley, where he would go head-to-head with a pot-bellied, green-skinned, one-eyed ogre demon:
"Who dares to intrude on my valley?!"
It then tries to crush the dog demon with its foot, and after a great deal of struggling, Inuyasha was the victor, throwing the other demon high up and out of the area...Next, would be a pool nearby a waterfall, where he would come across a three-headed demon as the territory boss:
"Our waterfall!"
"Yeah yeah, I heard it all before!"
Once again, not much effort is required on his part to defeat the demon...And the next battle after that would be against a rather ugly-looking bat demon:
"Intruder!"
"Intrude this, birdbrain!"
(Kick)
...By this time, Kaede and the villager men have readied themselves to return to the Goshinboku Village, after finding the threats that were plaguing them to have mysteriously vanished:
"Lady Kaede, the demons are no longer coming after us..."
"Hmm, I wonder if they escaped somewhere..."
Even so, they make their way out of the clearing, not aware of the dog demon's recent actions...
Present-day Tokyo, Coraline's POV
"Whoa whoa, what?! You guys are serious?! Is that really what Master Yoshi told you?"
"Yep." "Clear as day."
I was just sitting up in my bed and reading one of my books while glancing at Lumos every few minutes, focusing on relaxing a little before trying to take a crack at some work, when my brothers suddenly came back here and let me in on something I did not expect to hear:
Apparently, our earlier suspicious speculations on the stranger in the business suit that came to the dojo a while back were spot-on, for according to Master Yoshi, this 'company' he runs (which we still don't know the name of yet) is just a cover for his real occupation as a master of Ninjitsu, specifically, leader of this band of ninja known as the Kage no tsume, or Shadow Claw Clan, rumoured to have branched off the infamous Iga Clan! At one time in the past, back when Master Yoshi was no older than my brothers and I, he and Saki were friends who studied the Art of Ninjitsu, before a disagreement regarding the purpose of learning these techniques (the latter's being related to offensive measures while the former leaned to defensive) tore their friendship apart, and they parted ways for several years before meeting again on multiple occasions, each time a bit more violent than the last...
I was gaping by the end of the tale, before asking hesitantly,
"So, what has this Saki been demanding of Master Yoshi this time? Did he say?"
Freeman replies,
"He said that this round, Saki's been trying to persuade him to join in forming a martial arts co-master partnership or something on those lines, claiming he wants to put their old confrontations to rest. But Master Yoshi saw through the lie easily, knowing that there was some kind of ulterior motive to this 'change of heart', and has been refusing since the first time the offer was brought up, which was about four, five months ago."
Besa adds,
"At this point, Master Yoshi's convinced that soon Saki might send his agents to do the persuading, and not the kind that involves alot of words. He's been real careful in locking the dojo and his home, along with some important items and documents he's sure Saki will want to get his hands on for blackmail."
I shook my head in disbelief:
"...Holy crap...I didn't think our senses were this sharp. Poor Master Yoshi...Well, at least he's been making measures to protect himself, and if this isn't that first time Saki's threatened him, he must know what he's doing...Wait, you mentioned that he also said Saki might be interested in us. What did he mean by that?"
"That's where the conversation kind-of died off, 'cause he's no more sure than we are. It was more so a hunch based off of what we told him about that look the guy gave us, and the brief blurt Saki made about us during their discussion, saying we looked like 'interesting young guns'. His words, not mine."
I hm with a finger under my chin in thought, my eyes narrowing in suspicion and foreboding:
If this is the case...then it definitely wouldn't hurt to do some profile work and find out more about Saki.
I have this feeling there's more to find besides his history with Master Yoshi and his leadership in this secret ninja clan...
I look up at my brothers to ask,
"You guys gonna be stickin' around from here on?" Freeman replies,
"Pretty much. Why?"
"Because I'll need at least one of you to help around the shrine in my place, and some extra brain power in finding out all we can about this man so we're prepared for, whatever might come."
"Uh...But shouldn't you be takin' it easy, since you're sick?"
"I'm in a stable place right now, bro. I'll be fine for a while, plus I've powered through worse. Even if I'm not going anywhere, I should at least do something productive besides looking up information for that artifact for the Professor."
My brothers stare at me for a minute, before letting out matching exasperated sighs at my stubbornness in staying still while not at full par:
"Alright, fine, but the second your cold turns on you again, you head right under the blankets with no complaints."
"Seriously, you try to fight and we'll consider duct-taping you in place."
I let out a dry laugh at the halfhearted threat:
"Yes, sirs."
Sengoku Edo, Kaede's Hut, No POV
While the three teens in modern Tokyo began their new objective in finding out what they can about this potential new enemy, we check back with everyone else in Edo, as the wicker flap door to Kaede's place opens up on Sango, Shippo and Miroku who were drinking tea, revealing Inuyasha with a huge basket of items on his back, including:
Green apples, the two carp fish, a crab, a wild boar and several bushels of fresh herbs. Lightly shoving his way inside the hut, Inuyasha asks the gaping faces of his friends,
"What're you all gawkin' at? And where's Coraline?" Shippo answers,
"We had Freeman and Besa take her back home."
"Back home?!"
"We thought she'd get better care in her own home, so we sent her back to her own time."
Miroku adds after Sango,
"She was a bit skeptical in leaving at first, due to some, complications she's had in the past regarding her time's medicine, but realized she didn't want the rest of us to catch her cold. She also wanted us to tell you she left to her own home."
That seemed to calm Inuyasha a little, but he was nonetheless upset his girlfriend wasn't here:
"She went home, after all the trouble I went to?! That's the last time I-"
He was interrupted from his rant when 'Coraline' suddenly appears and takes an apple while innocently asking,
"What? Why did you take off without me?"
But upon seeing the bushy fox tail, the dog demon easily saw through the disguise:
"Shippo, you-!"
He then punches the top of the fox demon's head, forcing the latter to poof back to normal, exclaiming,
"Come on, can't you take a little joke?!"
Shippo is then knocked to the ground by the basket of items, as Inuyasha retorts irritably,
"Shut up," before turning to exit the hut...But he stops when his mind circles back a bit on Miroku's earlier statement:
"Wait...what do you mean complications?" The monk replies,
"Well, according to this physician she's seen in the past, her body is hypersensitive to certain medicinal ingredients whenever she falls ill, which means the medicine can either do nothing, barely anything, or could even make her feel even worse. At that, she has taken to not having any medicine at all. Even so, it would be safer for her to recover in a time that is less prone to people in danger of dying from simple illnesses."
Inuyasha hms...but does not say another word, and continues his way out. A minute later, Shippo pops out of the pile of food and herbs, looking at it all with awe:
"Whoa, this looks delicious! Get-well presents?" Miroku wasn't so sure:
"No, it's probably for us to take along in our upcoming journey," but Sango disagreed:
"Something tells me you're wrong..."
Present-day Tokyo, Souta's POV
I was playing soccer with Freeman in the courtyard of the shrine, while Besa was inside keeping an eye on Cora and helping Mom around the house, when we come across Grandpa rummaging around for something in one of the old storehouses, the one next to the other where that creepy Noh Mask used to be stored before Inuyasha destroyed it:
"I'm sure I put it away in here somewhere. Where is it?..."
"Oh hey, Gramps, what'cha doin' in there?" "What's up, Mister Higurashi?"
He doesn't answer us directly, pulling out a clear jar holding what I'm guessing is some kind of preserved root:
"Oh! Found it at last! The secret medicine past down through generations of the Higurashi family! I finally found it!"
I look at Freeman, who bends down to ask me in a whisper,
"Thinking about his track record with sutra spells, that medicine's probably not gonna do squat, is it?"
I shake my head as Grandpa dances on the spot while exclaiming excitedly,
"Coraline's cold will be cured in an instant! Just you wait, you'll be as good as new!"
"(Sigh, mumble) Why should we even bother?"
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to give Besa and your mom a heads up..."
I nod in agreement, but just as we turn to head to the house quick, I screech to a halt when I see Buyo on top of my soccer-ball!
"Gah! Buyo!"
"Uh, wait, Souta-"
Freeman's warning came a bit too late, as the dang cat hops off the ball as my foot comes to kick it, accidentally sending it to hit Grandpa's back, and forcing him to drop the jar of that root medicine:
(Shatter)
"Aaaah! My medicine!"
"Uh oh...Sorry, Gramps!" "Bad luck, sir!"
I grab Freeman's hand and we speed away from the storehouse with the soccer-ball, catching the last weep of,
"My medicine...!"
"Ah no, Gramps is never gonna forgive me..."
Freeman smiles at me reassuringly and chides,
"Aw, don't sweat it, dude; it was a simple mistake. Besides, it's probably better that medicine got trashed anyway. Only god knows how long it's been sittin' in that storehouse..."
"Hm, good point."
I don't want sis getting sicker from a bad medicine...
As we kept jogging along, I pass the ball to Freeman, but it flies over his shoulder, and was caught by Inuyasha!
"Yo."
"(Smile) Hey! What're you doin' back here?"
"Oh! Inuyasha!"
I rush over to the two as Inuyasha asks,
"How's Coraline's cold doin'?"
"She's been gettin' alot of rest, but currently, she and Besa are doin' some kind-a research thing in her room. Not sure if it's school-related, but it looked real important."
"Huh. That so?"
Freeman adds after me,
"Feel free to head in and see them. I would follow, (smirks) but Souta and I got a score to settle."
I laugh and retort,
"Yeah, and I'm winning so far by like ten to five!"
"Not for long!"
Coraline's POV
"Ugh, why did the headache have to come back now...?"
It's now getting into the evening, and I was laying on my bed with a cold rag on my forehead, while Besa was sitting in my desk chair writing some notes down on a clean page of lined paper using my notebook as a hard surface before looking up at me with a knowing smile:
"I told you to watch it with all the screen time on your laptop."
I turn my head a bit to mildly glare at my smart-alack brother:
"Shut up...So what have we got so far?"
"(Frown) Not as much as I hoped we'd find, but still, his full name is Saki Hikiji, age forty-one, and runs this tech company called Fujiterra."
Hm, so he's around the same age as Master Yoshi. I wonder if they knew eachother before they were student friends?
...Then Fujiterra. Where have I heard that name before?
...Wait!
"Uh! I remember coming across that name in some forms Professor Hashimoto showed me. They were listed as one of the main funding parties for the excavation of the Sword of Tengu."
"No way...!"
"Way..."
My brother and I hm in suspicion:
"...That just sounds way too coincidental."
"I was just thinkin' that...(Grimace) Or I would be more easily if my head would quit pounding. What about his connections with that ninja clan Master Yoshi mentioned?"
"That's where it gets weird: I tried looking up the name Kage no tsume on a few search engines, but no results have come up. It's like they're a ghost organization."
Ghost, huh? Gee, that sounds familiar...
"I had a hunch that might happen. They must be keeping their whereabouts and identity underground from the public...like another organization I know..."
"You mean, Trinity, right?"
I sit up and reply a bit tiredly due to my cold wearing me down little by little,
"Yeah, but I doubt there's any sort of connections there. Then again, anything's possible...I'm gonna go get a glass of water."
Besa sets the notebook down on my desk and quickly moves to follow me:
"I'll go with you, you know, to make sure you don't sway on the walk down."
"Heh, right."
We slowly made our way downstairs, only to get a surprise in the living room in the form of my boyfriend:
"Huh? Inuyasha."
"Yo."
I smile a bit before moving to sit on the other side of the table across from him, Besa sitting adjacent to both of us, and I ask,
"What brings you here?"
"Nothin'. Just came to check in, really." My smile grows a bit:
"Were you that worried about me?"
He grew defensive (probably due to it being more than just me and him in the room) and replied,
"Gh, no, I came for Shippo and Sango, they were worried! But I'm the only one able to come through the Well, right?"
Besa jokes,
"Oi, what are my brother and I, invisible?"
"Tch, you guys don't count since you already left."
I shake my head with an amused grin and cut back into the conversation:
"You guys...Anyway, I am feeling a little better, but my headache keeps dropping and rising without warning...not to mention this damn fever's driving me up the wall-"
I break off when another coughing fit rose, and Besa adds,
"Then there's that dry cough..."
"Oh shut it. At least my throat's not bugging me as bad anymore..."
Inuyasha hmphs before stating,
"Let's get one thing straight, missy: I didn't come to take you back, ya know. Your health is important. If you get better faster back here, then I'd rather you stay here than in my time."
I could hear his reluctance and sincerity between his gruff tone, so I knew he meant it:
"Inuyasha...(Grateful smile) Thank you."
"Keh, whatever...So what's this I'm hearing about you doin' research while you should be resting?"
I wince a little from his stern expression:
Shoot, Freeman or Souta must've said something outside...
Should I tell him?
I look over at Besa, who says with a shrug,
"Might as well let him in on what we've learned today. It's not like he won't find out eventually."
Hming with a nod, I turn back to meet Inuyasha's amber irises with my double-tone blue, and clear my throat before explaining what was currently going on:
"Well, some of it is to find out more about that old blade I showed you a while back, you know, the Sword of Tengu?"
He nods, remembering that day, and I continue with some hesitance,
"The rest...it, has to do with some rather, troubling news my brothers found out from Master Yoshi earlier this afternoon..."
And for the next several minutes, I regale to Inuyasha the same story that my brothers told me not too long ago, with Besa jumping in to add on when he can, along with what we've recently uncovered in our own investigation...
"So lemme get this straight: This Saki Hikiji person is supposingly a leader of a secret ninja clan under the guise of a business man, and he's been threatening Yoshi on a number of occasions including now?"
I nod in confirmation:
"Not only that, but I remembered that his company's name was at the top of the list of groups helping to provide funding for Professor Hashimoto's team to do their archeological excavation that uncovered the Sword of Tengu. And, for him to be a martial arts master, and have some sort of knowledge about weapons like Freeman's hammer and Besa's sickles...It can't just be a coincidence."
Inuyasha hms while folding his arms with a thinking scowl, as Besa asks,
"You wouldn't by chance heard the name Kage no tsume, or Shadow Claw, tossed around in Edo, have you? We haven't been able to uncover much about it so far with our search sources here."
"Kuh, nope, never heard of 'em, but then again, I don't really pay much attention to the developments of human clans...If they did exist in my time, they were probably as secretive with their identities as the regular shinobi clans."
My brother and I nod:
"Right." "Fair enough..."
"...What's buggin' me is why this Saki's even tryin' to reach out to Yoshi now when it's obvious that he doesn't trust the guy. That sounds way too cocky."
"You think?"
"Mhm..."
I put a finger under my chin in thought:
Inuyasha does make a good point: Considering the bad history that's already between Master Yoshi and Saki, it doesn't really make sense that he would try a less aggressive approach...
What could have him so confident? What kind of knowledge could he possibly hold over Master Yoshi?
...And the way he eyed me and my blade...It's like, he knew...
"(Gasp) Could it, really be possible...?"
"What?"
I dart up to a stand while saying a bit urgently,
"I need to look back in my file on Trinity! I think Saki's-Rgh!"
But I must've stood up too quick, for I felt my headache start pounding even worse than earlier, and my temperature was climbing:
Oh, crap...!
I swayed on the spot, prompting my brother and my boyfriend to jump up and catch me before I could fall down:
"Cora!" "Coraline!"
"(Groan) My head...It feels like someone's using a jackhammer on my skull..."
My body began breaking into a new coat of sweat, and my vision blurred a bit, as a familiar callused and clawed hand brushes out my hair to feel my forehead:
"Gh! Your fever's goin' back up...We need to get you back into bed."
"But-"
Besa cuts me off with a stern,
"No buts except yours under the covers."
...I sigh and nod weakly in compliance, before my brother says to Inuyasha,
"I'll go get some fresh cold water for her rag. Can you take her upstairs?"
"Can do."
A few seconds later, I'm shifted into the strong arms of my boyfriend, and he started carrying me to the staircase...As we went along, I let out a small cough before asking quietly,
"Inu-yasha?"
"Yeah?"
"If I fall asleep in the next bit, which is more than likely, will you be here when I wake up?"
He doesn't say anything for a moment until we reach my bedroom, when he softly replies,
"Of course..."
I smile a little through the fatigue, and whisper,
"Thank you...You're the best."
I'm then lowered onto my bed, and Inuyasha pulls the covers back over my body, leaving just my head to peek out, before he says with a halfhearted scoff,
"And don't you forget it. Now go to sleep, and no more studying until your fever breaks at the very least, got it?"
"(Slight chuckle) Okay..."
My eyes shut, and I fall into slumber's waiting arms while a few clawed fingers stroke my hair to the tune of a mumbled,
"Have a good sleep, Coraline."
Inuyasha's POV
Damn it...Why does she gotta push herself so much until karma bites her hard in the ass with somethin' like this cold?
I'm sitting on the edge of Coraline's bed, watching her sleep while waiting for Besa to come up with the cold rag for her forehead to help her cool down. Her face was flushing over again, and I could see some beads of sweat forming, along with hearing a bit of a hitch in her breathing, probably from all the stress her coughing has done to her lungs...
"Got her asleep, huh?"
I turn to see Besa entering the room with the rag in a small white bowl, and nod, watching him approach Coraline with a worried frown:
"Hm, poor sis...I wish I could get her some medicine for her to take, but I don't think there's any in this house that can really do much for her. We'll just have to make sure she sleeps okay and sweats it off."
He rings out the rag before putting it on her forehead, making her let out a light sigh of relief in her sleep...The room then goes quiet for a couple minutes, before I hear the boy mutter,
"...This isn't the first time she's done this."
"Huh?"
"Cora's pushed herself ridiculously before without really knowing it in the past, back during her 'tunnel-vision days' when she was slowing adjusting to living here in Tokyo. She, hadn't really overcome this instinct she developed in her journey from her old home to keep going no matter what. It was like her mind was trapped in this survival world where it was 'do or die', and no matter what handicap the universe threw at her, she would more likely drop dead before she stopped."
My eyes go wide from such a description:
"Seriously?" His lips form a bitter smile as he replied,
"Yeah. Half the time, she was numb to it, not even aware of what might've been wrong with her, injury or sickness-wise until she was shown it. There was this one time a year go Freeman and I tracked her to this old rural town far outside the city during one of her 'calls to adventure', and we found her propped against a beech tree looking like a listless zombie. Even so, she tried to get up and keep walking, only to faint into our arms. She was on bed rest for a week, and wasn't allowed to leave the shrine without at least one person by her side at all times for a month. She understood why and didn't protest to the action...which honestly, kind-a scared me a little: A part of her knew that what she was doing wasn't healthy, but it wasn't strong enough to make their voice heard."
...Coraline...
"But she's gotten a whole lot better."
"Hm?"
I turn around again, and see the other dark-skinned boy leaning causally against the doorway.
"Freeman..." "Hey, bro. When'd you get here?"
"About the time you broke out that story of one of our more gnarly 'sister hunts'...(Walks in) But anyway, that would've been Cor's wake-up call to reality, that she wasn't livin' life on the run anymore. From that point, she always remembered to prepare herself for any excursions out of the shrine, or Tokyo for that matter, and kept an eye on how long she stayed out, checkin' in using the street phones when she was able to, that sort-of thing. It's become a rarity in this recent year, mostly 'cause of what's been goin' on in Edo, which I actually think has been healthier for her."
That sparked some major confusion, more so for me:
"What? Healthier for her how?"
"Because dangerous though this quest for the jewel and Naraku's annihilation has been, each battle has also made Coraline stronger, and has given her a reason to keep her head above water. Not that she hasn't done so here in this era, but, somethin' about this escapade seems...more right for her."
He seats himself on the chair and smiles at me in a knowing way while adding,
"Meeting you has been good for Cora."
I felt my cheeks heat up a little, and I look away from his stare, my eyes falling on my sleeping girlfriend/intended while muttering,
"Tch, right...Can you guys keep an eye on her for me? There's somethin' I gotta get in my era."
They look at me in mild surprise:
"Huh?"
"Uuh, sure. What are ya gonna do?"
I walk over to the window and open it while replying,
"You'll see when I get back. Just make sure she keeps sleeping and don't let her fever go up."
"Got it." "Got it."
(Leap)
I hop down to the ground and start running towards the Well...when my ears suddenly pick up on a distant echo of, a little girl giggling?
"Huh?"
Pausing my steps, I turn to where I heard the echo came from, which wound up being the Goshinboku Tree, and watch as that little glowing ball Lumos floated from the top of the branches over to this bench, that for some reason, I found myself staring at with narrowed eyes:
Hm...I could've sworn I heard something, from over there...
"(Shakes head) What am I doin'? I gotta get back to Kaede's; no time to lose my head."
I restarted my fast-paced trek to and through the Well, before using my demon speed to rush back to the old woman's place, where by no surprise to me, still held the others. Peeking into the crack between the entrance frame and the wicker flap, I watch the squirt checking out the food and herbs I scoped out while Sango was preparing dinner:
"Whoooa! It's all so good, I dunno what to eat first!"
Miroku picks up one of the crabs and ponders,
"You know, we could probably sell it and make good money..."
I fought to suppress a growl at the nosy pair, while Sango reprimands them by saying,
"I don't think we should touch it. It's not even ours."
Kuh, damn right it's not...!
Kilala then pokes at one of the carps with her paw (which didn't annoy me as much), until Sango chides her name to make her stop. That was my cue to enter the hut, making the monk dart upright to his feet while Shippo and Kilala jumped on his shoulders. I started rummaging through the food for the specific ingredients I needed, barely catching the kid and Miroku say defensively,
"I haven't touched a thing! Honest I haven't; don't look at me!"
"Neither have I..."
I kept up my search, pulling out the items I needed, and Shippo asks for my attention warily:
"Inuyasha...?"
Once again, I ignore him, my focus being on my sick girl:
I dunno if it will work, based on what everyone's told me regarding her sensitivity to medicine when she's sick...but it's work a try!
I want her to get better and not make herself worse...
Once I got everything prepared, I took back some of the herbs and a pot full of the base for the medicine to Coraline's era, and pass the tree again, only to hear that echo from before:
"(Stop) Hm?"
There it is again. What is that?
"...And why does it seem, familiar in a distant way?"
I decide to circle back on the thought later, and make my way inside through that glass door and into the hallway, finding the kid Souta and old man Higurashi sitting at the table in the living room reading:
"Yo." The kid asks me,
"What're you doin' here? I thought you went back already."
"Nah, just went to get a few things. Do you guys have a cooking pot I could use?"
"A pot...?"
Missus Higurashi walks in from the kitchen and asks,
"Will a metal one do?"
So now while the big pot was boiling some water, I laid out each of the ingredients I brought from my era onto the table, starting with the herbs, then the meat, which made the kid grimace a little:
"Ugh, what is that?" Smirking, I explain,
"There's nothin' like liver when it comes to nourishment. Boar liver, carp liver, chicken liver, and some medicinal herbs and roots."
It was around the tail end of my listing that the twins walked in, gawking a little at the spread on the table:
"Whoa, where'd all that come from?!"
"Wow...Must've done your tour of duty to gather all this stuff, huh?"
"Somethin' like that."
Souta backs a step and asks me in disbelief,
"Are you really gonna eat all that?!"
"Nope. Not me."
"Not you? Then..."
Besa caught onto the answer faster than the kid did:
"Oooh...This is for Cora, isn't it?"
"Yep."
Freeman breaks into a worried smile and says,
"In that case, ya might not wanna mention the ingredient list to sis incase her cold gave her a nervous stomach..."
I furrow my brows...before widening my eyes in realization and nodding, then turned back to the table with a new smirk and got my claws ready:
"Let's cook!"
Coraline's POV
"Uh! What on earth is this?!"
Shortly after falling asleep in my bed, my consciousness awoke in my mindscape, only to pay witness to one of the more stranger dreams I've ever had. I'd say it was frightening, but let's fact it: After the ordeals of that damned dream demon whose name shall never grace my lips again, I don't think any future nightmares will ever match that level of terror...
But anyway, I'm now standing in a big black space with mist flowing around the grounds, watching with wide eyes as these two figures went blade to blade against one another. The fighting style was unlike what I've seen in recent battles, more like the swordplay you would see between the medieval knights in Europe, and one of the figures was even carrying a shield.
Squinting my eyes, I saw past the fog and got a closer look at the two fighters, gasping when I saw the following:
The first was a man, wearing an outfit consisting of full-body chain mail, metal gloves, a white tunic with yellow-gold lining, a shredded red cape, wielding an old falchion sword with the well-known curved tip on the blade, and their shield held the symbol for Trinity on it! But what seemed to disturb me more, was that his facial appearance was almost exactly the same as Bishop, only this man had a stubble on his chin, and his skin pigment was a touch more weather-beaten.
"...That isn't him...But, he looks alot like him. What does this mean?"
The second figure was a woman, who looked an awful lot like the redhead from that picture that Sonya showed me when my friends and I had briefly stayed in Majora, wearing the Celtic checker-patterned dress of red, green and blue, leather belt with a sword sheath, and the brown leather shoes, while also wielding the ShatterSoul Sword. But now that the image was plastered to a face, I could make out details that I previously couldn't: Her hair was the same shade of red as mine, in the style of waterfall curls (so not too curly but definitely not straight) reaching to the end of her back, her skin fair but with a very light tan, and her face...was like a mature mirror to my own, including our eyes!
"...Is she...my, ancestor?"
The clash of swords continue for a few more minutes, until the Bishop impersonator shoves the woman whom I'm becoming convinced is a past family member backwards, before slashing his sword across her side! She lets out a cry, and falls to the ground hard...but she wasn't dead, yet: Though obviously in alot of pain from her new wound, the woman rises into a crouched stand, glaring at her opponent, whose expression remained emotionless as he approached her, weapon raised...
Next thing I knew, the sky rains with a dark void of purple mist with many gleaming eyes protruding out, just like in the legend's image:
"The Darkness of the Mask!"
It swallows both of their bodies...and then there's a loud, feminine warcry, before the cloud of power explodes in a wave of ice blue!
I shield my eyes with a wince, and everything settles down after a few seconds, but...
"...They're gone!"
Willing my muscles to move, I rush over to the scene, looking left and right for any signs of the two warriors, mostly the woman who mirrored my image...That's when my ears pick up on a different sound that sent a shiver down my spine: A dark laugh that sounded really close to Naraku's voice, but at the same time, was different.
"Now what?!"
(...Fwoom)
"Uh!"
I whirl around to the echo of flames igniting, and watch as the symbol of Trinity fades over a wall of orange and purple flames...only to quickly be replaced by a different symbol that looked like a black claw mark.
"What the..."
(...Step, step, step...)
Next came the sound of someone approaching me from afar and behind me, so I turned that direction, and saw two new figures walking to stand several feet from me:
The first one on the left, was that half-demon freak, Naraku, his body cloaked in the baboon fur, who was holding a small, peculiar black-red orb in his palm, smirking at me knowingly, while standing right, was a blurred figure wearing a black haori and hakama (I'm assuming they're also male) with the odd claw symbol on their chest, but I could not make out their face.
"(Glare) Why are you here with that smug grin, you bastard? And who's the guy beside you? What's going on?"
Neither party offers an answer, pissing me off, but before I could make anymore sense out of this craziness, the orb in Naraku's hand began shining a mix of piercing red and blond-yellow light, making me flinch while covering my eyes with my arm:
"Agh!"
(Flash)
(Jolt)
"Gh!"
My eyes snap awake to reality, and I dart them around a bit still agitated by what I saw, before calming down when I remembered I was safe inside my room...Taking a few deep breaths, they being a little shaky thanks to my damn cold, I then sat up in my bed while running a hand through my hair, thinking aloud to myself in a hushed tone,
"...What the hell was that?"
I dunno what made less sense: The sword fight between that Bishop lookalike and that older me-like woman, or the appearance of that new symbol followed by a blurred man and Naraku...
But you know, thinking a bit more clearly...their build looked close to Saki's...
Then that laugh: Though it had ties to that bastard Naraku, its undertone sounded more like the deepness of Saki's voice.
...Is it possible then that he was the blurred figure? But why?
And what was that symbol? What does it all mean?
I felt another headache coming on:
"Ugh, this is not the time for another head-spinning mystery...Hm?"
My ears then pick up on some footsteps from outside my room, and the door opens, revealing my boyfriend and my three brothers trailing behind him:
"Inuyasha. Guys, hey..."
Freeman and Besa echo the 'Hey' with a wave and matching smiles, standing at the end of my bed with Souta, who kept his eyes on Inuyasha as he handed me this cup of steaming...something:
"Here. It's medicine. Drink up."
"Oh? Medicine?"
I take the cup from his hand into my own, but scrunch up my nose from the smell that was wafting out:
"Oooh...That's a really strong scent."
He just smiles at me confidently and replies,
"I promise you'll feel better once you drink. It'll cure any cold in an instant."
I stare at my boyfriend for a moment, noticing how serious he looked, and decide to give this odd concoction a whirl:
"(Deep breath) Alright, here goes..."
I do a taste test, only to grimace a bit from the really bitter, deep-bodied flavour:
"Auh! Geez, and I thought Grandfather's homemade sake was strong...!"
The guys (minus Souta, who held a rather horrified expression...though I'm not exactly sure why) laugh a little at my comparison, and Inuyasha sits himself by my legs on the bed and replies causally,
"So what? It might taste bad, but it'll definitely work."
"(Smile) Did you make this stuff yourself?"
"Sure did!"
"Well, if you're that confident...I guess it wouldn't kill me to chug it down. Plus, my stomach seems to be giving it the green light, which is a first in a long while when it comes to medicine..."
I look down at the cup of murky brown, before meeting Inuyasha's eyes a bit warily:
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Just trust me."
"Alright then...Here we go."
Ignoring the smell, I down the entire cup in one go, thinking to myself,
You know, getting past the initial flavour...this isn't so bad. Definitely better than some of the commercial medicines with the methanol...
Once it was all gone, I lower the cup and hm, feeling my sinuses starting to clear up already:
"Huh...(Smile) Finally, a medicine that works for me! I can even feel the rawness in my throat starting to die down."
That really seemed to please my boyfriend:
"Keh, told ya."
"Thank you for making this for me."
He looks up at the ceiling with a light blush on his face:
"You don't have to get all mushy..."
"(Light smirk) Excuse me for complimenting your skills. So where'd you learn to make this stuff?"
Inuyasha turns his body more so he was facing the wall leading to my closet, as he replies with a slight stutter,
"M-My, uh, mother used to make it."
"Your mother? (Soft smile) Wow...She must've been a skilled healer, then. So she passed her knowledge down to you?"
He turns back to me and says,
"Well, the ingredients are a little different: When she made it, she used dry ingredients...(Pleased smirk) Hmph, but I used fresh stuff."
"Fresh, stuff?"
I look down at the empty cup...but then decide for the sake of my stomach to not question what was used to make this medicine:
"Uh...(Shakes head) Nope, not even gonna ask."
I hear my brothers exhale in relief, which made more sure to not ask about the ingredients (at least not until I was completely over my cold), and Inuyasha stutters nervously,
"Uh, y-yeah, I mean, who cares? As long as it works!"
Moving past that, I smile gratefully at my caring boyfriend:
"Anyway, thank you again." He replies defensively,
"Would you stop thankin' me?"
"Kind-a hard not to with how...sweet you're being. By the way, sorry if I scared you with that dizzy spell earlier."
His face dusts over with a more noticeable red as he stood up and replied,
"Forget about it, okay? Just go to sleep."
"Sleep?"
I look over at my window and see how dark it's gotten:
"Oh...It's night already? Gee, the day went by fast."
After everyone else heads to bed, my brothers camping out in Souta's room (again), the lights are switched off in my room by Inuyasha as I laid down under the covers of my bed, he and I being the only ones left awake, minus Lumos who was hanging about outside somewhere...
As I stared at the ceiling trying to will myself to dreamland again, I felt a hand lightly pat my legs in a slow, rhythmic pattern, and tilted my head to see Inuyasha was the source, he squatting by the bed:
"Hm? Is, that a soothing ritual that...your mother used to do?"
"Uh, yeah...She used to do it a long time ago..."
"(Smile) How sweet of her..."
I turn my head to lay back flat on the pillow again, and let my mind wander on...well, alot of different things, both past and present. I'm not sure what brought about this period of reflection, and yet here I am, looking back on events that have brought me to where I am now...
That's when I decided voicing it aloud, well-aware of the second pair of ears in the room:
"...I've really become a reckless vigilante."
"Huh?"
"Maybe in the beginning of my journey to Japan, it was all about survival, but, putting it altogether, including what I've been doing since my first drop down that old well, I've also pulled off some rather dangerous and otherwise impossible missions for some kind of greater good, big or small. (Grim smile) I've become the rebel with a cause that very few people in this era can understand, sometimes a stone's throw away from being an antihero. It's a wonder I haven't gotten myself killed because of it, but someone's obviously vouching for me up there. I'm just, not one of those people who can walk away from someone who's in trouble or always leave it to the self-appointed heroes like the police. I have to do something; screw the Law for all I care..."
"...I see...What exactly is a vigilante?"
"Someone who takes the Law into their own hands, essentially. Unfortunately, it's been personified as a rather violent way to achieve justice by your own terms, but it doesn't have to be that way: The difference lies in how each side reacts, what actions they choose to take."
"That so?"
I nod with a hum, and felt a grin spread onto my face as I recalled the starry-eyed look that Souta had acquired after seeing Inuyasha in fighting action the first time during that Noh Mask insanity:
"I think that's how my kid brother sees you, the dog demon vigilante hero, like in some of his comic books."
"What? Psh, that's ridiculous. I'm no hero: I just do what I gotta do to get the job done."
"Heh, right, of course..."
The room goes quiet for a little bit...until I looked back to that night at the docks, frowning a little when I realized some of my motive to take part in the action was rather selfish:
I was so petty feeling back then, even if what I did was for the good.
Trying to show that I wasn't a weakling...What a joke.
"...I dunno if the guys have already regaled this to you, but, do you recall when you, to put it politely, sent me back to my era after that freak attack from Sesshomaru?"
"What about it?"
Sighing, I push myself up to a sitting position, face set in a serious expression:
"There's a part of those days that I haven't told you about, not out of fear of how you'd react, just lousy timing and priorities that kept coming up. Some of those bruises that you saw on my body when I came back to Edo...they weren't as recent as they may have looked."
That caught Inuyasha's attention, and he moved to sit both beside and across from me on the bed with some space between us but not too much, looking at me with his version of an inquisitive expression:
"...What happened?"
"Shuji's cousin, Rikona, was kidnapped by the brother of the gangster she witnessed during that robbery, while he was beaten to bloody pulp. It was a miracle he was able to limp as far as he did, and that my brothers and I were coming out of the park downtown at the time and found him. Once we got the full story from him of what was going on, Freeman and Besa would take him to the hospital to get him help while I left ahead to the place where some other teenagers from Shuji's and a few other nearby neighbourhoods were meeting to plan a guerilla raid to rescue Rikona and about a dozen other children who were also taken. Still dunno what the actual motive to the kidnapping was to this day, other than it having to do with some kind of financial gain..."
I went on with details about when I sneaked out of the shrine once everyone was asleep to meet with my brothers and the other teens led by Mokoto down at the docks, the plan of attack, my short battle with the gangster's brother while Freeman and Besa broke the bars to the cage open, before switching to acting as human shields to protect the kids as we made our way out of the warehouse, and then the last leg of the fighting we were forced to do to make sure the punks didn't follow any of us back to our homes, before I made the slow journey home.
"It's funny: Even though I could feel the pain of my injuries, which thank god weren't as bad as they could've been if I was less careful, at the same time...I felt so accomplished. I felt like I really made a difference that night, even if no one would know it was me. I did something crazy for a good cause. I wound up sleeping in the well-house that night, too sore and exhausted to crawl back into my room, opting to sneak back in when it was dawn. And, the last thing I thought before I drifted off was...'If only you could see me now'."
"Huh? What's that suppose to mean?"
"Petty anger, mostly. While, talking with my brothers about my ejection from Edo did cool my temper a good deal, I was still mad at you. I got this impression that...you thought I was weak. After the fight at the docks, that euphoric drive I felt in coming back alive and triumphant gave me this rise of confidence to make myself stronger. It only grew when I discovered Master Yoshi's dojo, and I decided that if you weren't gonna come for me right away, I might as well use the free time to do something productive other than expanding my mind with schoolwork..."
...My bedroom was once again filled with silence, this time it carrying a more tense and awkward air, which made me feel compelled to look down at my bedspread and away from my boyfriend's eyes, his face set in an expression I couldn't read.
After a few more minutes...I felt a pair of familiar clawed fingers gently grab my chin to tilt my face back up and meet those amber irises again:
"...You're wrong, you know."
"Huh?"
"I have never once thought of you as weak, and it's dumb of you to even let the idea cross your mind."
"Inuyasha-"
"Let me finish. I admit, there were times when I said somethin' on the lines of calling you weak, but those were just mindless words. The thought, never, stuck...You were already strong to me, simply by havin' the guts to stand your ground against my attitude, even when I blew my temper. You were the first human to see me for who I was, and not for what I was, which honestly...I found really attractive."
I felt my cheeks blush red from the compliment, blunt-toned though it was, and he smirks a little before releasing my chin to cup my cheek while adding,
"And after hearing all of this, vigilante business you've been up to...I'm all the more amazed by you. Though I don't really approve of the danger you've been putting yourself in time and time again, it'd be a little hypocritical of me to sternly call you out on it, considering what we've been doin' with everyone else back in Edo...Still...I'd really wish you'd be more careful in how you push your limits."
I couldn't help but smirk back at him:
"Funny, I seem to recall conveying similar messages when you go into battle with next-to-severe injuries..."
"Oh~, gettin' smart with me, are you?"
A giggle bubbles in my throat, and Inuyasha leans in with his own chuckle, kissing me on the cheek twice:
"Seriously though, remember your health and I'll remember mine."
"Okay, okay, I gotcha. And...I'm sorry for my absentmindedness on the subject."
"Tch, it's fine. We all do it every once in a while...Thanks for finally tellin' me about this."
"You're welcome...(Yawn) Okay, I should probably go to sleep now before midnight rolls."
He lets out another quiet laugh before moving to sit on the floor near me, while I leaned back under the covers on my side, finally feeling tired enough to go to sleep...As I nodded off, I felt his hand combing through my hair in the same rhythm that he was using before on my legs, soothing me further:
Inuyasha...
And with that, I was out, a peaceful smile on my lips.
Time Skip, No POV
The morning sun comes streaming over the grounds of the Higurashi shrine and residence, with the youngest member of the family making his way out the door to head to school, the twins waving at him from the front door:
"I'm off!"
"Later, little dude!" "See ya, Souta!"
Meanwhile, Coraline wakes up from her sleep with a stretch of her arms, feeling much better than she did yesterday...
"Hey."
She turns to see Inuyasha standing by her window, and she greets him with a smile:
"Mornin'."
"Feelin' any better this morning?"
"Yeah! It's like the cold didn't even happen."
The redhead turns herself to the edge of her bed while adding,
"Your medicine really did the trick."
"See? I told ya it would."
"Yes yes, you did...Now that my head's clear of the cotton, I should be able to use it and get back to the research I was doing yesterda-"
Coraline cuts herself off, remembering something:
Hang on a second...That, symbol I saw in my dream...Could it represent, the Shadow Claw Clan?
That has to be it!
...But...why did it show up over the Trinity insignia?
"(Soft gasp) Unless...Maybe my hunch isn't too far off."
Inuyasha looked at the redhead funny:
"Huh? What're you mumblin' about now?"
She doesn't answer right away, and moves to a stand before walking over to her desk, pulling out a file folder that read TRINITY in black permanent marker on the front hidden under some papers in a drawer:
"I've created and added to this file since back when I first discovered their name in my Father's old works. It contains everything I've managed to dig up on the organization, including a profile on Bishop...I'm just wondering...if it's possible that Saki could have connections to them, even if just by partnership."
"...Well how did ya find out about those bastards first of all?"
"Through alot of cryptic searches, and simply talking to people. A few times during my days on the run, I was lucky to come across certain individuals who have been hurt by Trinity, few of which were kind enough to tell me what they knew. Then during by brief travels in India, which would've been a week before I stowed away on a boat to Japan, I caught snippets of a conversation between some mercenary thugs who did a few jobs for Trinity, so while the public ear may not know about them, the criminal underworld seems to."
Inuyasha's eyes widened a little, and Coraline adds,
"All it would take after that is keeping my ears and eyes open around the more crime-populated areas of Tokyo, waiting for anything that would point me to finding out more about my enemies. The biggest breakthrough would've been...well, you know, when Bishop took the fight to me in Edo, and you all got caught in the crossfire..."
"Yeah, kind-a hard to forget that...So, is that how you're gonna find out more about Saki?"
The redhead looks up at the dog demon in slight surprise for the interest as opposed to protest, but nonetheless nods:
"Don't think there's really any other way at present. I might also see if I can dig up the Hikiji family tree: Looking into his family history might tell us some things too."
"And what about Master Yoshi?"
"(Sigh) I think he's already told us all that he can, or is willing to. If anything, he likely wants to keep my brothers and I as far out of the loop as he can, so he can protect us...Though if Saki truly is intrigued by us...that might not matter for too long..."
Sensing a bit of anxiety rising in her, Inuyasha places a reassuring hand on Coraline's shoulder and says,
"Well, whatever the heck is goin' on, I promise I'll be there to protect you like always. If this Saki dares to even think of hurting you or your brothers, he'll have to answer to my claws."
"Inuyasha..."
"Aww, that's sweet, man!" "We didn't know you cared that much!"
The dog demon flinches from the two new voices, and he and the redhead turn to see Freeman and Besa standing in the doorway with teasing smiles:
"We feel honoured that you'd go out of your way to help us out like that."
"Told ya he was whipped, bro."
Inuyasha growls in annoyance as the twins snickered to themselves before he barks,
"Shut up! You're both crazy; I ain't whipped!"
"Suuure..."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, dude..."
"That's it!"
At that note, the newly ticked off dog demon starts chasing after Freeman and Besa out of the bedroom, leaving Coraline to shake her head in amusement before calling out the door,
"If you guys are gonna run, take it outside please!"
(Sigh) Such as it is with men...
And for the next little while, the redhead would be kneeling by her window, elbows propped up in the open rim with her chin resting in her hands, watching with a few giggles on her breath as her boyfriend 'hunted' down her brothers around the courtyard of the shrine, while her Will O' Wisp companion slowly circuited around the Goshinboku tree, the sunlight making the green leaves shine brighter in colour...