What should I be doing right now? Well, I need to write a presentation poster thingy for my math class for tomorrow, and I need a full lab report with all these stupid graphs and analyses in biology. What am I doing right now? Wait a second…oh my god! It's dinner time! Yes!
…time passes…
…it seems Teresa left her music playing…
…there goes "Heart of Sword"…
…and "Be a Man"…
…Teresa listens to weird music…
… "Just Communication" just ended…
…and "Moon Revenge"…
…okay! I know! But I was listening to cartoon music when I left!
Alright, I'm back. Now what was I talking about…oh yeah! Okay, what I'm doing right now is the opposite of what I should be doing! What does this mean? Well, for me it means staying up really late to finish that damn poster thingy and making all the graphs and stuff. For you it means…that's right! A new chapter! Wow, I should learn to stop procrastinating, ne? But I don't WANNA!!!
*****
Fate's Reversal
Chapter 3
*****
Where the fuck could they be? Kouga bent to smell the trail better, and growled at the odor mingled with that of his children. It was very much like the smell of his mate, and very much like the smell of a long dead foe. Dammit, I thought he was dead! Fucking Naraku…what's he want with my kids anyway? Kouga was tensed and ready for some trap as he slowly followed the winding trail. Naraku must have wanted to confuse him by going in a long, criss-crossing, roundabout path with his children in tow, but Kouga was confused as to why he didn't simply fly. Naraku could fly, couldn't he?
Maybe that's part of the plan to confuse me. Kouga realized, still following the trail closely. What a tricky bastard Naraku is. After all these years…hard to believe no one knew he was still alive. Kouga shrugged, not particularly upset that his old rival Inuyasha had proved incompetent at the task.
Or maybe…maybe it's just like before… Kouga's mind flashed over a scene that had played through over fifteen years ago. He hadn't been a father at the time, he didn't even have a mate, but on that day, he'd smelled the scent of Naraku thickly leading to a clearing, and he'd been unable to resist investigating. Instead of Naraku, he'd found a striking young youkai woman who looked vaguely familiar. Kagura…Kouga sighed at the memory. He didn't particularly enjoy remembering how he'd treated her that day. As his former enemy, he'd been ready to kill her, but something had stopped him. And now she was his mate, the mother of his children. Were there any other people like that? Naraku…extentions? This could be one of those. Kouga wondered about it. It would explain a lot. Like why the bastard didn't just fly away. Maybe even why he went after my kids. Maybe…to get back at Kagura? Because she switched sides? But all of that ended so long ago. And I wouldn't have given a shit about any of it if they didn't involve Kagome…or my men. He pictured half his men, slaughtered by a very different Kagura from the one he knew now. In his mind, they weren't even the same person, really. It was more like a life she'd lived before being reborn as the woman he loved so deeply now.
I was weak then. I didn't know how to fend for myself, and Naraku held my heart Kagura had told him once, after she'd gotten over her hysterical sadness and guilt about the things she'd done when Naraku was alive.
I should have asked if there were more like her…she may have known… Kouga thought absently of his mate waiting back at the caves for him. When he'd left, she'd only just decided to stop punishing him for impregnating her yet again, and she'd been glowing already in the early stages of her condition. Kouga loved his mate no matter how she looked, but he had to admit that she was always more radiant than ever when she was carrying his child. And she wasn't too far along. Perhaps when he got home…
Concentrate, idiot! Kouga scolded himself as strictly inappropriate images flashed through his mind. He shook his head sharply and then continued along the path. It had to lead somewhere, no matter who had his children. He'd find them.
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"Sleep here, children." Kanna's fingertips trailed over the twin faces of the children lying unconscious in one of the palace's many rooms. There was no need to imprison them in the state they were in. "If it pleases me, I may yet return these to you." She caressed the edge of her mirror lovingly, indicating the souls contained therein. "But not until I have no more use for you, little ones." Perhaps she had no use for the two pretty little things, but the Master might. He'd always had cruel and twisted tastes, reveling in torturing and breaking such innocent souls as these.
"You too, dog girl." Kanna spoke as she moved to the third body deposited in the bed. "Pity for you that hair is so bright in the moonlight. I might not have seen you if it hadn't glinted so nicely." Kanna pinched the young woman's cheek more sharply than was strictly necessary. "But don't you worry, this will all be over soon enough. Then you can meet my master."
Yes. Kanna thought, feeling happy for the first time in as long as she could remember. It's all falling into place now.
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"What the hell is all this?" Inuyasha woke up that morning to a pair of over-anxious, panicky families squabbling with each other.
"Inuyasha! Finally, you're up." Kagome ran into his arms, hugging him tightly and staying there. He didn't really complain about the situation, but there was obviously something wrong.
"Kagome? What is it?" Inuyasha asked his wife tenderly.
"She's gone, Inuyasha! She never came back!" Kagome began sobbing against his chest as he tried to understand what she was talking about.
"It's not his fault!" Sango indicated one of the twins, who was sitting in a corner, and looking extremely upset.
"He was the last one to see her!" Kagome shouted back, still crying.
"Who? You mean…Haruka?" Inuyasha remembered his daughter leaving the hut last night. She hadn't returned?
"I know it's Sekatsu! He must have scared her!" Kagome was hysterical, and Inuyasha was fighting for control of his own emotions as he considered the situation.
"What did you do to her, Sekatsu?" Inuyasha asked, his voice cold and firm at the same time.
"I didn't…mean to…but my hands just sometimes…" Sekatsu was obviously very close to tears himself. Kagome had probably been yelling at him all morning. That could bring any man to tears, even if he'd done nothing wrong.
"You grabbed her?" Inuyasha's brow furrowed in confusion as Sekatsu nodded in defeat. "So? You always do that? Why should she run off because of that?"
"I…maybe said some things…" Sekatsu looked like he was about to be sick all over the floor, so Inuyasha decided not to ask what he had said. He'd save that for later.
"And did you see which way she went?" Inuyasha asked.
"We were on the big hill on the edge of the village. I was…on the ground, but I think she just ran straight to the forest." Sekatsu seemed less upset by this question, and understandably so.
"We're gonna talk about this later, boy. But I don't have time now." Inuyasha swept out of the door, leaving behind Miroku's family as well as his own to go searching for his eldest, his only daughter. Haruka…you better be alright…
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Everything was happening so fast after so long, but Kanna was not worried. Tomorrow this will all be over, and the Master will return. Kanna almost smiled as she thought of the corpse, just over twenty-years old, lying comfortably in the bed it had slept in when it was alive. Others might have complained of the stink of having a rotting body in their home, but Kanna didn't mind. I was wise to keep him, now that I've found a way to bring him back. He will be so pleased with me.
Kanna blushed unconsciously as she continued her trek over the mountain path that would take her to the wolf clan. The master had been a very handsome man in life, almost beautiful. Even after he died and started to smell odd, Kanna had spent hours staring at his lovely features, feeling awe in the light of his perfection. Kanna hadn't thought of it before, but perhaps…perhaps she wouldn't care that no one remembered her if only the Master would love her, if he would see what a good girl she was to him. She was a woman, now after all, and he was a man. Perhaps together, they could be something more…
Stilling her thoughts as she reached the entrance to the men's caves, Kanna used a weak spell to hide her appearance in shadows. If anyone looked closely, they would see a dark figure moving through the caves, but it was less noticeable than a pale, bright white beacon that practically screamed "intruder" to anyone who happened to glance her way. Besides, magic had never been a skill that Kanna could use very well. I'll be quick, though. My mirror will show me the way.
Moving silently, and staying in the shadows, Kanna passed unnoticed by a few wolves who were up late to keep watch, but were obviously preoccupied in some talk of women, and might not have noticed her even without the spell. Kanna wouldn't check that theory, though. She moved deeper into the cave, following the way she felt her mirror wanted her to go until she reached the entrance of the private den she'd been looking for. Not wanting to get caught now that she'd come so far, Kanna silently edged through the thick hide that covered the entrance to the den and then stood inside for several moments, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the complete darkness.
She could hear someone breathing deeply, likely asleep, and so she pulled out her mirror, channeling a bit of energy into it so that it would light up the cave's interior. And there she was. Alone. Kagura, you caused me so much trouble, making me distract that idiot mate of yours so that I could steal you away from these wolves. But now I have you. It is time to go home again. Master's waiting. Kanna smiled as a bright, ethereal cloud emerged from her sister's body and floated into the mirror. Kanna was surprised that her sister didn't wake up through all of it, but once the soul was taken, it was over anyway. She never slept this deeply before. Almost as though she has something draining her energy… Kanna thought absently of the multitude children that Kagura had borne. As she stepped closer, though, she smelled something odd. It took some thinking before Kanna realized her sister was pregnant yet again.
Poor child…it will never be born now. Kanna almost laughed as she left the shell of a body where it was, leaving the cave with the booty she'd come for, and heading for a forest near where she'd found the dog girl. He's near there, isn't he? She asked her mirror with a silent look, and it answered her with detailed pictures of what she needed to find now. The final piece in this grand puzzle.
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"Shit!" Yuki didn't bother to stop the curse from leaving his mouth as he finally entered his parents' personal den after receiving no answer from inside. His mother was still in bed? What the hell was going on? "Mother? Is something wrong? Mother?" Yuki dropped to his mother's side, shaking the unresponsive woman to no avail. He felt her pulse, still there, but strangely weak. She was breathing as though she were simply sleeping, but there was no way she could still be asleep after how he'd shook her.
"Mom!" Yuki yelped, feeling very childish, but hoping against hope that her eyes would open. "Mom, please? What the hell's wrong?"
"Yuki?" a voice came from outside the den just as Yuki's brother, Taido, entered. "What…what the hell?"
"Go get Mikan!" he yelled at Taido.
"Is she…is she…" Taido looked like he'd burst into tears. Yuki growled and snatched his brother's arm, practically flinging him at the body.
"She'll be fine! Stay with her!" Yuki ordered his brother as he left for the women's caves at a run. Before he could even reach the corridors, though, he almost ran right into the ancient midwife and herbalist.
"Young Yuki, there's no need to be running in the caves like a pup." Mikan chided him.
"Mikan, come on! My mom…something's wrong, but I don't…I don't know." Yuki tugged the old woman after him and she grunted slightly.
"I was just coming to see your mother. Pregnant again, you know. That Kouga will kill her if he isn't careful." Mikan joked.
"He might kill me if you don't fix her!" Yuki pulled the woman to the den finally and dragged her inside, where she could see Taido sobbing into Kagura's chest.
"She looks fine to me." Mikan commented. "Your brother looks a bit more upset than her, that's for sure." Despite her teasing, Mikan kneeled next to the unconscious woman and began to examine her as though she didn't have a fourteen year old wolf youkai attached to her, bawling his eyes out like a baby.
"Dammit, Taido, give her some room." Yuki pulled his brother away from Kagura. "You're such a baby sometimes." He commented sharply, but his voice quavered with worry at the same time, and when Taido began crying in Yuki's arms, the older boy didn't push his brother away.
"Todai, you go outside." Mikan looked up after a long while. "I need to talk to your brother."
"What's wrong with her?" Taido managed, his voice shaking with emotion.
"Never mind that." Mikan waved them away after eyeing both boys carefully. "I just need to talk to Yuki. She'll be fine."
"Oh…okay." Taido wiped his eyes before leaving the den. Mikan held back the flap of the door to make sure he was far enough away before she turned to Yuki with a grim look on her face.
"What? You just said she'd be…that was a lie." Yuki realized. "What's wrong with her that you couldn't tell Taido?"
"Smart boy." Mikan didn't smile as she spoke though. "Your mother is in a lot of trouble. It seems someone drained her soul."
"Her…what?" Yuki blinked in surprise.
"Her soul, boy. She needs it back. You need to go find your father. Better yet, find whatever took her soul and get it back." Mikan told him.
"Her soul…why would someone take her soul?" Yuki shook his head in disbelief. "Is…she going to die?"
"She has no soul. What do you think?" Mikan sighed at the boy. "She'll last a while if I watch over her, feed her and such, but if that baby comes…and she's like this…they may both die."
"Shit." Yuki gulped. "Father's gonna kill me."
"It's not your fault." Mikan patted his shoulder. "Just remember that."
"I…I'll do my best." Yuki shook his head seriously. "I'm going to save her, Mikan. I swear it."
"I believe you." Mikan smiled then, though it was a small grin, and humorless. "Your father's son, you are. And you won't fail your mother, whatever happens."
"Thank you Mikan." Yuki spoke those words before leaving the den in a hurry, already catching the traces of an odd scent he didn't like at all. Don't worry mother. I can do it, I know.
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"Kagome?" Sango asked the other woman as she paced the hut nervously. "I'm sure Haruka's all right. Just give Inuyasha time. He'll find her."
"Something's wrong, I know it." Kagome looked near tears, and Sango wasn't surprised. "Sango…last night…last night…something woke me up."
"A nightmare?" Sango asked. Kagome stopped pacing and moved to sit next to her, close enough that no one could hear her.
"No, something worse than a nightmare. It was this pain…" Kagome began. Sango looked baffled, so she continued. "I haven't felt it for years now. It's…a side effect of the wish that Inuyasha made on the Shikon no Tama. It used to be that our souls were so separated that every time we weren't in the same building together, or even the same room sometimes, I'd get this grinding pain in my whole body, but especially here." Kagome indicated her chest. "Like someone was ripping my heart out."
"Because he wished for the two of you to always be together?" Sango asked, lowering her voice even though no one else was in the room. Miroku had been at Kaede's since that morning, and the kids were all playing outside, though it was rather subdued with Haruka's disappearance weighing on their minds. Shippo, who had only returned from his latest job the night before had left immediately in search of Haruka. "That just means he's gone a far way looking for Haruka then. Does it hurt badly? Perhaps Kaede can do something…" but the look on Kagome's face made Sango's words fade away.
"That's the problem, Sango." Kagome told her friend, "It doesn't hurt at all. It stopped hurting an hour ago."
"Then…what's wrong? He's coming back then, right?" Sango asked.
"No, if it was like that, the pain would fade gradually as he came closer." Kagome explained, her voice catching emotionally. "This time…the way…it felt like the pain just…stopped. Like it was a string between us, and someone just cut it right in half."
"Kagome…what does that mean?" Sango was afraid to ask. Kagome burst into tears and collapsed on her friend's chest, confirming her suspicions.
Inuyasha must be dead.
*****
The End (Of Part 3, That Is)
Oh, maybe NOW you'll review, ya slackers! Oh hohohohoho!