Chapter Four ~ Family Reunion
Kara and her companions reached the western lords' castle at sundown the next day. They had been traveling nonstop for a day and a half, hoping that they didn't meet any hostile youkai along the way. Kita had transformed so that Neka could ride on her back. The young girl was now fast asleep, snuggling comfortably in the mahogany ruff of fur around the cats' neck.
A frightened yelp startled Kara into attention, drawing Tetseinga as she turned to the direction of the sound. She relaxed again as she saw that it was only Jaken, Sesshoumaru's faithful servant. Kara wondered how Sesshoumaru could stand him, as the ugly green toad-demon ran over to her. Bounding after him was a fox demon. It didn't seem to notice Kara, as it kept growling playfully at the terrified toad, who was cowering behind one of Kitas' large paws. To add to the already noisy ruckus, Kiro suddenly barked and tackled the little fox, who started glowing with a blue light. Kara recognized the light as foxfire and realized that the kitsune was changing into its human form. When the light finally subsided, a little demon-boy sat where the fox had been, Kiro was barking like a mad dog, all the while having the living daylights squeezed out of him. It was obvious that they two had known each other before Kiro had met Kara. She decided they probably met when InuYasha had rescued Kiro from being killed by Sango, who had mistaken him for an enemy.
Kara looked over at Neka, hoping that the noisy reunion hadn't woke the girl up. Luckily, it hadn't. She was still fast asleep. Kita was trying to get away from Jaken, carefully making sure not to drop Neka. The cat, despite her earlier fears, had already formed a strong bond with the young human. Jaken had yet to notice the little girl and would probably freak out when he did. Kara was sure he hadn't gotten over Rins' hyperactive antics.
"Shippo!?"
The kitsunes' ears perked up at the call. Kara heard him mumble something as he got up and hid behind her, all thoughts of toad hunting and dog strangling forgotten. A figure stepped into the clearing just then. Seeing Kara and her companions, he drew his sword and stepped towards them. Drawing himself to his full height, which was only a little taller than Kara, he glared at them.
"State your name and what business you have in these lands."
Kara almost laughed. "You must be InuYasha. I've heard a great deal about you. My name is Kara. I've come to speak with your brother."
She decided not to mention that they were related. She had heard that the hanyou was quite stubborn and figured that he probably wouldn't believe her anyway. InuYasha probably didn't even know that she even existed.
"How do you know about me?"
He eyed her suspiciously, his doggish ears twitching.
"Everyone's heard of you; the famous hanyou who aided a human girl from another era in defeating Naraku a hundred years ago. You're a legend among demons."
Kara was making this all up of course. What little she knew of InuYasha was told to her either by Sesshoumaru or from stories that were obviously far from the truth.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. And I didn't aid her in defeating Naraku. What happened to her was from her own stupidity and never should have happened in the first place."
"Sorry. My knowledge of the subject is limited."
A sudden squeal was heard as Neka, who was now wide awake, saw Shippo. He had transformed back into his fox-form and was sitting next to Kiro. Neka ran over to him and started petting his reddish-gold fur. The little fox absorbed all the attention like sponge.
Kara tried to suppress a grin. 'Thank goodness Neka gets along with everyone. She's so much like Rin. She is going to bring back a lot of memories for Sesshoumaru."
InuYasha cleared his throat. "Are you coming? My brother isn't exactly here right now, but the sun is going down and this isn't the place to be after dark."
"Whoops. Sorry. I'm spacing out again. That seems to be happening a lot lately."
"Whatever," InuYasha said rudely, cutting her off.
"It would be behoove you to address our sister with a little more respect, InuYasha," a cold voice said threateningly.
Sesshoumaru materialized out of the impending darkness, looking as regal as ever.
"Sister?" InuYasha finally managed to stutter, turning a shade redder than his haori.
"Yep. I didn't think you would believe me if I told you. I figured you would find out eventually," Kara piped in, sending InuYasha into an embarrassed rage.
"WHO SAID I WOULDN'T HAVE BELIEVED YOU?!?!?"
Everyone within a ten-foot radius flinched, with the exception of Neka, who just looked up from where she was stroking Shippo and Kita.
"Because she's probably heard how stubborn you are," Sesshoumaru said calmly, earning a fiery glare from InuYasha.
The comment was enough to shut him up though. 'Man, the last time I heard that, Kagome was threatening to go home for good. Maybe that would have saved her. If only she'd just gone home,' he thought.
He was snapped out of his reverie by a slight tug on his sleeve. He looked down and saw Kiro staring up at him. The young demon tugged again, as if motioning for InuYasha to follow him. Sometime during his flashbacks, Kara and Sesshoumaru had started towards the castle. Kita had gone back to her normal size and was now being carried by Neka. Shippo was once again tormenting Jaken, and Kiro was bringing up the rear, trying to round up InuYasha.
"I'm coming. I'm coming." Kiro trotted off, looking back every now and then at InuYasha, who was trudging along behind everyone, wondering how in seven hells he could have never known or heard about Kara.
Kara and her companions reached the western lords' castle at sundown the next day. They had been traveling nonstop for a day and a half, hoping that they didn't meet any hostile youkai along the way. Kita had transformed so that Neka could ride on her back. The young girl was now fast asleep, snuggling comfortably in the mahogany ruff of fur around the cats' neck.
A frightened yelp startled Kara into attention, drawing Tetseinga as she turned to the direction of the sound. She relaxed again as she saw that it was only Jaken, Sesshoumaru's faithful servant. Kara wondered how Sesshoumaru could stand him, as the ugly green toad-demon ran over to her. Bounding after him was a fox demon. It didn't seem to notice Kara, as it kept growling playfully at the terrified toad, who was cowering behind one of Kitas' large paws. To add to the already noisy ruckus, Kiro suddenly barked and tackled the little fox, who started glowing with a blue light. Kara recognized the light as foxfire and realized that the kitsune was changing into its human form. When the light finally subsided, a little demon-boy sat where the fox had been, Kiro was barking like a mad dog, all the while having the living daylights squeezed out of him. It was obvious that they two had known each other before Kiro had met Kara. She decided they probably met when InuYasha had rescued Kiro from being killed by Sango, who had mistaken him for an enemy.
Kara looked over at Neka, hoping that the noisy reunion hadn't woke the girl up. Luckily, it hadn't. She was still fast asleep. Kita was trying to get away from Jaken, carefully making sure not to drop Neka. The cat, despite her earlier fears, had already formed a strong bond with the young human. Jaken had yet to notice the little girl and would probably freak out when he did. Kara was sure he hadn't gotten over Rins' hyperactive antics.
"Shippo!?"
The kitsunes' ears perked up at the call. Kara heard him mumble something as he got up and hid behind her, all thoughts of toad hunting and dog strangling forgotten. A figure stepped into the clearing just then. Seeing Kara and her companions, he drew his sword and stepped towards them. Drawing himself to his full height, which was only a little taller than Kara, he glared at them.
"State your name and what business you have in these lands."
Kara almost laughed. "You must be InuYasha. I've heard a great deal about you. My name is Kara. I've come to speak with your brother."
She decided not to mention that they were related. She had heard that the hanyou was quite stubborn and figured that he probably wouldn't believe her anyway. InuYasha probably didn't even know that she even existed.
"How do you know about me?"
He eyed her suspiciously, his doggish ears twitching.
"Everyone's heard of you; the famous hanyou who aided a human girl from another era in defeating Naraku a hundred years ago. You're a legend among demons."
Kara was making this all up of course. What little she knew of InuYasha was told to her either by Sesshoumaru or from stories that were obviously far from the truth.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. And I didn't aid her in defeating Naraku. What happened to her was from her own stupidity and never should have happened in the first place."
"Sorry. My knowledge of the subject is limited."
A sudden squeal was heard as Neka, who was now wide awake, saw Shippo. He had transformed back into his fox-form and was sitting next to Kiro. Neka ran over to him and started petting his reddish-gold fur. The little fox absorbed all the attention like sponge.
Kara tried to suppress a grin. 'Thank goodness Neka gets along with everyone. She's so much like Rin. She is going to bring back a lot of memories for Sesshoumaru."
InuYasha cleared his throat. "Are you coming? My brother isn't exactly here right now, but the sun is going down and this isn't the place to be after dark."
"Whoops. Sorry. I'm spacing out again. That seems to be happening a lot lately."
"Whatever," InuYasha said rudely, cutting her off.
"It would be behoove you to address our sister with a little more respect, InuYasha," a cold voice said threateningly.
Sesshoumaru materialized out of the impending darkness, looking as regal as ever.
"Sister?" InuYasha finally managed to stutter, turning a shade redder than his haori.
"Yep. I didn't think you would believe me if I told you. I figured you would find out eventually," Kara piped in, sending InuYasha into an embarrassed rage.
"WHO SAID I WOULDN'T HAVE BELIEVED YOU?!?!?"
Everyone within a ten-foot radius flinched, with the exception of Neka, who just looked up from where she was stroking Shippo and Kita.
"Because she's probably heard how stubborn you are," Sesshoumaru said calmly, earning a fiery glare from InuYasha.
The comment was enough to shut him up though. 'Man, the last time I heard that, Kagome was threatening to go home for good. Maybe that would have saved her. If only she'd just gone home,' he thought.
He was snapped out of his reverie by a slight tug on his sleeve. He looked down and saw Kiro staring up at him. The young demon tugged again, as if motioning for InuYasha to follow him. Sometime during his flashbacks, Kara and Sesshoumaru had started towards the castle. Kita had gone back to her normal size and was now being carried by Neka. Shippo was once again tormenting Jaken, and Kiro was bringing up the rear, trying to round up InuYasha.
"I'm coming. I'm coming." Kiro trotted off, looking back every now and then at InuYasha, who was trudging along behind everyone, wondering how in seven hells he could have never known or heard about Kara.