|| \ The Third Scroll / ||
=========
Old Friends
=========
Inu-Yasha stared at the puddle of red for a minute. He glanced back at the hunt for a moment. It wasn't like they would notice that he was gone, and it would only be for a minute. Not even that blasted kitsune would know. The inu hanyou made up his mind, turned, and ran into the forest.
He stopped running and walked for a while. Everything seemed so peaceful now, but why? How could everything be peaceful in Inu-Yasha's Forest? The evil aura of the forest wasn't reflecting as it had been before.
He had not gone far into the forest when he stopped and looked around. He thought that he was hearing the sounds of someone crying, or had for a minute. His ears perked as he listened for it. He heard it...and slowly began to head towards a great tree that bore autumn colored leaves.
The leaves were always the colors of the autumn leaves, even in spring and early summer. He remembered the tree well. How could he forget it? He looked over it, stroking its bark for a moment, and then heaved a sigh as his left ear perked. He had heard another sob. For a minute, he said nothing. He looked around again before proceeding, passing the tree to see a rather strange sight.
Beneath the "Prayer Tree" as Kagome's grandpa called it was the dark-eared hanyou called Kuro-Aki, curled up against it and crying, or so she seemed to be.
The inu hanyou frowned. He wasn't good at dealing with that kind of thing. Usually, whenever he tried to comfort Kagome, he ended up with his face plowed in the dirt. But this wasn't Kagome...so he might as well try. "Hey...what are you doing here?" His voice was cold. Far from warming or happy-to-see-you.
Kuro-Aki glared harshly at him. "It's none of your business." she spat, trying to keep the strength in her voice.
"I think it is my business since it's my forest! Now, what are you doing here?" he asked again, looking at her coldly as he crossed his arms.
"Can't a girl think in peace? Or does everyone have to push her around like she's a toy!" she stood a little shakily and glared, turning to go.
Then Inu-Yasha noticed it. Several bloodstains could be seen clearly upon her outfit.One at her side, one at her back *though he couldn't see it*, one at her left knee, one at her neck, and one at her left shoulder; and yet, she pretended that they weren't there and tried not to make it obvious that she was limping.
'Why should I worry about her? Feh. . .she's a youkai, isn't she? She can defend herself!' thought Inu-Yasha to himself...but his mind wouldn't allow him to use that as an excuse for once. "...Wait."
Kuro-Aki turned to him again, not letting her guard drop, "Yah?"
Inu-Yasha couldn't believe what he was doing. He seriously had a horrible feeling that he had been hanging around Kagome far too much. This HAD to be proof of it...but something in him was forcing him to do this, a memory.
"Sit down...let's talk." he said slowly, still holding that ever-present high-and-mighty tone.
Kuro-Aki stared at him for a moment , then managed to limp back and sit down where she had before, a few feet from him. She didn't like it. He was too close. Even if he was a hanyou like herself, she didn't trust him...or anyone, really.
"Where did you get those wounds?" asked Inu-Yasha as he eyed her, crossing his legs. He was sitting beneath a tree across from her, carefully thinking over his words. He really did feel like an idiot.
"If you must know, being attacked by vulture demons and an ogre is very difficult to handle first thing in the morning. I wasn't careful enough." said Kuro-Aki, looking down and off to the side.
"Oh...so, what's this blade you're looking for?" asked Inu-Yasha suddenly.
Kuro-Aki looked down rather quickly at this question, just as Mizu crawled onto Inu-Yasha's lap and fell asleep quietly. Inu-Yasha blinked at the creature and might have pushed it off had he not looked to Kuro-Aki.
"The blade that I seek is called the Tetsunami, or the Zetsumei. I know only few things of it. . .the Tetsunami was created through magic and is called the sister blade of a blade very similar to the legendary sword called Tetsusaiga. My father knew of the one who had the Tetsusaiga made, though my father was not a touyoukai. Anyhow, Zetsumei was passed along to my mother after my father's untimely death. The true keeper of the Zetsumei shall gain a massive power once the blade is in their hand, like that of having three Shikon no Tama jewels....but to a normal demon, it gives the power of a single Shikon no Tama jewel.
"However,it was my mother's blade and, when I was little, before she was passed away, she told me that I was the keeper of the blade and that I had to protect it. So I spent my life trying to collect the three jewels that would form the blade so that I could guard it...and when I finally had all three jewels, I was sealed and the jewels scattered again." The hanyou growled, clutching her wounded shoulder tightly.
Inu-Yasha didn't notice that he was stroking Mizu's fuzzy little head just yet. "What about your parents?"
"My parents...my father was a well known inu youkai among the pure breed. He was a friend of the touyoukai whose fang was forged into the Tetsusaiga. My mother was a mortal priestess who was killed when I was little, by what I don't know. . .all I know is that after that I was left alone. . .Kuro-Mori, my idiotic sister, however, was a full demon so she was always running about, terrorizing places, scaring off the kids that I played with. They were human, but I didn't care. I'm not a touyoukai's descendant...just a lowly, regular inu's descendant.
"It didn't matter really that much about those kids...of course, before Mama died, I met Kaede and that boy..." said Kuro-Aki, looking up at the sky. Her sapphire blue eyes glimmered slightly.
"Boy? What boy?" said Inu-Yasha curiously, almost suspiciously.
"He was a half breed, too...I guess you kinda remind me of him a bit. We were very close friends...of course, the first time I met him was kind of funny. It was a long time before I met Kaede, though it was the same forest." said Kuro-Aki chuckling slightly.
"Hmm?" Inu-Yasha's curiosity was rising. His mind was swarming with all kinds of thoughts.
"He was walking through a field and passed under a tree. Poor guy. I fell twenty feet out of the tree and landed on top of him, kinda lip-locked...or rather, fang locked. Then I had to explain to him that I wasn't trying to kill him and that I didn't wanna to marry him." she said, and giggled a bit a bit. "I really think he kinda liked me, at least a little. He was sort of weird, hard to read."
Inu-Yasha looked away. "I was right..."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Kuro-Aki, looking at him curiously.
"It was you. . ."replied Inu-Yasha.
Kuro-Aki looked stunned a minute, "You mean. . .you're that boy?"
"Yep, and your the girl who gave me my first unwanted kiss." he muttered giving her the look.
"Hey! It wasn't my fault!" protested Kuro-Aki, waving her hands childishly. "If you hadn't been under the tree, you wouldn't have gotten toppled!"
"Yah, sure! Whatever!" said Inu-Yasha shaking his head with a smirk.
"I bet you enjoyed it too." muttered Kuro-Aki.
"What!?" yelled Inu-Yasha in a rage,his cheeks slightly going pink. "You practically bit my face off!"
"You know you enjoyed it! You're turning into a cherry!" smirked Kuro-Aki as she pulled herself up and walked over, sitting by him.
"I am not and I did NOT enjoy it!" said Inu-Yasha, crossing his arms indignantly.
"Well, I must say you did grow a lot. . .but you haven't grown up yet." she said smirking. "You're still as much a child as the day I met you."
"Hey! Watch your mouth!" said Inu-Yasha glaring.
"It's only the truth." said Kuro-Aki.
"Feh. . ." was Inu-Yasha's only reply.
Suddenly, a figure dropped out of the tree ,"HIIIIIIIII!"
The two suddenly jumped sky-high, screaming and clinging to one another. Mizu's abrupt pushing motion caused the two to hit each other...coincidentally, causing their faces to meet, lips as well. Both separated immediately. Their faces were so red that they could have been mistaken for apples. Needless to say, Inu-Yasha was far from pleased with the one who had jumped down from the tree.
"SHIPPOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Inu-Yasha. Any birds in the trees took flight.
"Awww! How cute!" said Shippo, trying not to laugh.
Kuro-Aki was growling under her breath. Mizu was trying to keep her balance, quite dizzy from all of the yelling and jumping.
Inu-Yasha growled, "Shippo! How dare you spy on us, you little. . ."
Shippo ran off laughing, slightly afraid of the look both were giving him as he ran back to the village.
By that time, the stars were rising into the sky. The two took their time and watched the sun fade beneath the trees. The stars soon rose, but they were so far done from talking. Two hanyou, old childhood friends...and so much to tell each other about.
Inu-Yasha forgot to be so cold, forgot about the jewel shards for a minute. If they had looked into an enchanted stream, his reflection would have been that of a child, the child that he had been on the day they had met.
"Hey, you should get back to that village." said Kuro-Aki after a time, looking at the star-filled sky.
Inu-Yasha paused, "You're probably right ."
'Why am I being so nice?' thought Inu-Yasha to himself.
"It was good seeing you again." said Kuro-Aki. Her wounds had closed for the most part.
'But. . .I want to see you again. You're probably the only friend I the world I've got left.' thought Kuro-Aki to herself.
"Hey. . .uhhhh where can I find you if I. .. y'know. . .wanna talk to you again?" Inu-Yasha looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Kuro-Aki looked at him for a minute. "Probably right here."
"Alright. . .g'night." Inu-Yasha turned and began to head back to the village.
Kuro-Aki watched him until he was out of sight. "G'night...Inu-Yasha. . ."
Inu-Yasha walked into the hut around two in the morning to see Kagome sitting up, still wide awake. She must have been watching the door. Looking at her there in the dark with only the moon shining on her, he could see Kikyou...and it hurt. He turned his head away as he entered the hut and moved to his 'corner'.
"Where have you been?" Kagome asked quietly.
"None of your business." replied Inu-Yasha, shaking his head as he leaned against the hut and lay down.
"Tomorrow, we should go look for that shard." said Kagome, thinking aloud to herself yet again.
"Yah. . .tomorrow. . ."said Inu-Yasha nodding his head slightly. Then, he drifted into silent dreams.
------------
~* Inu-Yasha's Dream *~
Inu-Yasha looked around for a moment. Without Kagome there, things were back to normal. The Shikon no Tama was his, but Kagome would never come back again. He stood on top of a hill over looking the village as so many painful memories came flooding back to him.
"Maybe...I shouldn't have let myself get so attached to her." he thought, and looked down at the Shikon jewel that was in his hand. He clutched it tightly as a voice returned to him, a voice on the wind:
You live in two different worlds. . .two different times. If one of you leaves your time, if one of you was to stay in the other's time...the flow of time would be disturbed. . .who knows what mind happen. You have to remember. . . . . .the possibilities of your being together. . . . . .are. . .impossible. . .
The word "impossible" rang through his head and turned the dream into a nightmare. He saw himself in Kagome's world, but tragic things were happening. He saw Kagome in his time and tragic things were still happening...even though he tried to protect her.
~* End Inu-Yasha's Dream *~
------------
Inu-Yasha awoke with a start. Morning hadn't come yet. He stood up and walked outside, jumping up and sitting on the branch of a tree. He began to thank to himself, about his dream. . .about Kagome. . .about...
.....Everything...
(To be continued. . .)
=========
Old Friends
=========
Inu-Yasha stared at the puddle of red for a minute. He glanced back at the hunt for a moment. It wasn't like they would notice that he was gone, and it would only be for a minute. Not even that blasted kitsune would know. The inu hanyou made up his mind, turned, and ran into the forest.
He stopped running and walked for a while. Everything seemed so peaceful now, but why? How could everything be peaceful in Inu-Yasha's Forest? The evil aura of the forest wasn't reflecting as it had been before.
He had not gone far into the forest when he stopped and looked around. He thought that he was hearing the sounds of someone crying, or had for a minute. His ears perked as he listened for it. He heard it...and slowly began to head towards a great tree that bore autumn colored leaves.
The leaves were always the colors of the autumn leaves, even in spring and early summer. He remembered the tree well. How could he forget it? He looked over it, stroking its bark for a moment, and then heaved a sigh as his left ear perked. He had heard another sob. For a minute, he said nothing. He looked around again before proceeding, passing the tree to see a rather strange sight.
Beneath the "Prayer Tree" as Kagome's grandpa called it was the dark-eared hanyou called Kuro-Aki, curled up against it and crying, or so she seemed to be.
The inu hanyou frowned. He wasn't good at dealing with that kind of thing. Usually, whenever he tried to comfort Kagome, he ended up with his face plowed in the dirt. But this wasn't Kagome...so he might as well try. "Hey...what are you doing here?" His voice was cold. Far from warming or happy-to-see-you.
Kuro-Aki glared harshly at him. "It's none of your business." she spat, trying to keep the strength in her voice.
"I think it is my business since it's my forest! Now, what are you doing here?" he asked again, looking at her coldly as he crossed his arms.
"Can't a girl think in peace? Or does everyone have to push her around like she's a toy!" she stood a little shakily and glared, turning to go.
Then Inu-Yasha noticed it. Several bloodstains could be seen clearly upon her outfit.One at her side, one at her back *though he couldn't see it*, one at her left knee, one at her neck, and one at her left shoulder; and yet, she pretended that they weren't there and tried not to make it obvious that she was limping.
'Why should I worry about her? Feh. . .she's a youkai, isn't she? She can defend herself!' thought Inu-Yasha to himself...but his mind wouldn't allow him to use that as an excuse for once. "...Wait."
Kuro-Aki turned to him again, not letting her guard drop, "Yah?"
Inu-Yasha couldn't believe what he was doing. He seriously had a horrible feeling that he had been hanging around Kagome far too much. This HAD to be proof of it...but something in him was forcing him to do this, a memory.
"Sit down...let's talk." he said slowly, still holding that ever-present high-and-mighty tone.
Kuro-Aki stared at him for a moment , then managed to limp back and sit down where she had before, a few feet from him. She didn't like it. He was too close. Even if he was a hanyou like herself, she didn't trust him...or anyone, really.
"Where did you get those wounds?" asked Inu-Yasha as he eyed her, crossing his legs. He was sitting beneath a tree across from her, carefully thinking over his words. He really did feel like an idiot.
"If you must know, being attacked by vulture demons and an ogre is very difficult to handle first thing in the morning. I wasn't careful enough." said Kuro-Aki, looking down and off to the side.
"Oh...so, what's this blade you're looking for?" asked Inu-Yasha suddenly.
Kuro-Aki looked down rather quickly at this question, just as Mizu crawled onto Inu-Yasha's lap and fell asleep quietly. Inu-Yasha blinked at the creature and might have pushed it off had he not looked to Kuro-Aki.
"The blade that I seek is called the Tetsunami, or the Zetsumei. I know only few things of it. . .the Tetsunami was created through magic and is called the sister blade of a blade very similar to the legendary sword called Tetsusaiga. My father knew of the one who had the Tetsusaiga made, though my father was not a touyoukai. Anyhow, Zetsumei was passed along to my mother after my father's untimely death. The true keeper of the Zetsumei shall gain a massive power once the blade is in their hand, like that of having three Shikon no Tama jewels....but to a normal demon, it gives the power of a single Shikon no Tama jewel.
"However,it was my mother's blade and, when I was little, before she was passed away, she told me that I was the keeper of the blade and that I had to protect it. So I spent my life trying to collect the three jewels that would form the blade so that I could guard it...and when I finally had all three jewels, I was sealed and the jewels scattered again." The hanyou growled, clutching her wounded shoulder tightly.
Inu-Yasha didn't notice that he was stroking Mizu's fuzzy little head just yet. "What about your parents?"
"My parents...my father was a well known inu youkai among the pure breed. He was a friend of the touyoukai whose fang was forged into the Tetsusaiga. My mother was a mortal priestess who was killed when I was little, by what I don't know. . .all I know is that after that I was left alone. . .Kuro-Mori, my idiotic sister, however, was a full demon so she was always running about, terrorizing places, scaring off the kids that I played with. They were human, but I didn't care. I'm not a touyoukai's descendant...just a lowly, regular inu's descendant.
"It didn't matter really that much about those kids...of course, before Mama died, I met Kaede and that boy..." said Kuro-Aki, looking up at the sky. Her sapphire blue eyes glimmered slightly.
"Boy? What boy?" said Inu-Yasha curiously, almost suspiciously.
"He was a half breed, too...I guess you kinda remind me of him a bit. We were very close friends...of course, the first time I met him was kind of funny. It was a long time before I met Kaede, though it was the same forest." said Kuro-Aki chuckling slightly.
"Hmm?" Inu-Yasha's curiosity was rising. His mind was swarming with all kinds of thoughts.
"He was walking through a field and passed under a tree. Poor guy. I fell twenty feet out of the tree and landed on top of him, kinda lip-locked...or rather, fang locked. Then I had to explain to him that I wasn't trying to kill him and that I didn't wanna to marry him." she said, and giggled a bit a bit. "I really think he kinda liked me, at least a little. He was sort of weird, hard to read."
Inu-Yasha looked away. "I was right..."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Kuro-Aki, looking at him curiously.
"It was you. . ."replied Inu-Yasha.
Kuro-Aki looked stunned a minute, "You mean. . .you're that boy?"
"Yep, and your the girl who gave me my first unwanted kiss." he muttered giving her the look.
"Hey! It wasn't my fault!" protested Kuro-Aki, waving her hands childishly. "If you hadn't been under the tree, you wouldn't have gotten toppled!"
"Yah, sure! Whatever!" said Inu-Yasha shaking his head with a smirk.
"I bet you enjoyed it too." muttered Kuro-Aki.
"What!?" yelled Inu-Yasha in a rage,his cheeks slightly going pink. "You practically bit my face off!"
"You know you enjoyed it! You're turning into a cherry!" smirked Kuro-Aki as she pulled herself up and walked over, sitting by him.
"I am not and I did NOT enjoy it!" said Inu-Yasha, crossing his arms indignantly.
"Well, I must say you did grow a lot. . .but you haven't grown up yet." she said smirking. "You're still as much a child as the day I met you."
"Hey! Watch your mouth!" said Inu-Yasha glaring.
"It's only the truth." said Kuro-Aki.
"Feh. . ." was Inu-Yasha's only reply.
Suddenly, a figure dropped out of the tree ,"HIIIIIIIII!"
The two suddenly jumped sky-high, screaming and clinging to one another. Mizu's abrupt pushing motion caused the two to hit each other...coincidentally, causing their faces to meet, lips as well. Both separated immediately. Their faces were so red that they could have been mistaken for apples. Needless to say, Inu-Yasha was far from pleased with the one who had jumped down from the tree.
"SHIPPOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Inu-Yasha. Any birds in the trees took flight.
"Awww! How cute!" said Shippo, trying not to laugh.
Kuro-Aki was growling under her breath. Mizu was trying to keep her balance, quite dizzy from all of the yelling and jumping.
Inu-Yasha growled, "Shippo! How dare you spy on us, you little. . ."
Shippo ran off laughing, slightly afraid of the look both were giving him as he ran back to the village.
By that time, the stars were rising into the sky. The two took their time and watched the sun fade beneath the trees. The stars soon rose, but they were so far done from talking. Two hanyou, old childhood friends...and so much to tell each other about.
Inu-Yasha forgot to be so cold, forgot about the jewel shards for a minute. If they had looked into an enchanted stream, his reflection would have been that of a child, the child that he had been on the day they had met.
"Hey, you should get back to that village." said Kuro-Aki after a time, looking at the star-filled sky.
Inu-Yasha paused, "You're probably right ."
'Why am I being so nice?' thought Inu-Yasha to himself.
"It was good seeing you again." said Kuro-Aki. Her wounds had closed for the most part.
'But. . .I want to see you again. You're probably the only friend I the world I've got left.' thought Kuro-Aki to herself.
"Hey. . .uhhhh where can I find you if I. .. y'know. . .wanna talk to you again?" Inu-Yasha looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Kuro-Aki looked at him for a minute. "Probably right here."
"Alright. . .g'night." Inu-Yasha turned and began to head back to the village.
Kuro-Aki watched him until he was out of sight. "G'night...Inu-Yasha. . ."
Inu-Yasha walked into the hut around two in the morning to see Kagome sitting up, still wide awake. She must have been watching the door. Looking at her there in the dark with only the moon shining on her, he could see Kikyou...and it hurt. He turned his head away as he entered the hut and moved to his 'corner'.
"Where have you been?" Kagome asked quietly.
"None of your business." replied Inu-Yasha, shaking his head as he leaned against the hut and lay down.
"Tomorrow, we should go look for that shard." said Kagome, thinking aloud to herself yet again.
"Yah. . .tomorrow. . ."said Inu-Yasha nodding his head slightly. Then, he drifted into silent dreams.
------------
~* Inu-Yasha's Dream *~
Inu-Yasha looked around for a moment. Without Kagome there, things were back to normal. The Shikon no Tama was his, but Kagome would never come back again. He stood on top of a hill over looking the village as so many painful memories came flooding back to him.
"Maybe...I shouldn't have let myself get so attached to her." he thought, and looked down at the Shikon jewel that was in his hand. He clutched it tightly as a voice returned to him, a voice on the wind:
You live in two different worlds. . .two different times. If one of you leaves your time, if one of you was to stay in the other's time...the flow of time would be disturbed. . .who knows what mind happen. You have to remember. . . . . .the possibilities of your being together. . . . . .are. . .impossible. . .
The word "impossible" rang through his head and turned the dream into a nightmare. He saw himself in Kagome's world, but tragic things were happening. He saw Kagome in his time and tragic things were still happening...even though he tried to protect her.
~* End Inu-Yasha's Dream *~
------------
Inu-Yasha awoke with a start. Morning hadn't come yet. He stood up and walked outside, jumping up and sitting on the branch of a tree. He began to thank to himself, about his dream. . .about Kagome. . .about...
.....Everything...
(To be continued. . .)