"We don't want you little freaks going to school with our children," one
yelled, and the others agreed. I stared, aghast.
"I am sorry if you don't like us, but if we hadn't been there, that Youkai would have killed the teacher, and most likely the rest of the class as well. Maybe even the whole school- who knows how far she would have gone?" Yaruu crossed his arms, standing up to the parents boldly, placing himself between them and our mom. I followed his example readily, outraged that they would act this way.
"If you need someone to take your anger out on, or--more likely--to team up against to relieve your fear, you're free to deface the Youkai's grave once we're done with her tonight."
"Drop your act; we know you're really her allies." What? "You only saved that teacher to keep your friend out of trouble with the law. There won't be any fight tonight, and you'll come right back, spying on our children for the other Youkai."
"Why the hell would we do that?" I demanded. "For one thing, we're not Youkai, why would we help them? For another, why would Youkai or the allies of Youkai worry about the law when they could just kill any policeman that tried to arrest them? For yet another, why would we betray the name of our father to turn against the humans he worked so hard to protect? You may not know it, but if it wasn't for him, most of you probably wouldn't be here today."
"Why would he help us; why would any of you? He was a Youkai, just like the one you're putting the blame on."
Yaruu answered that one. "You people have no idea what you're talking about. Father was a Hanyou, the son of a Youkai but not like them. He was tormented by Youkai and humans growing up, but decided to protect humans because it was the right thing to do. If you people would stop and think for a moment, you would see that we aren't a danger to you!"
"So long as you do not endanger our family; we would never even think of harming any of you, or your kids."
"As I told you," Mom added, having recomposed herself, "They are responsible, respectable young adults. Now please; our dinner is getting cold."
"We'll let them go for now, but one more thing happens, and we will petition to have them removed from the school district." The crowd dispersed, and Mom sighed deeply.
"I'm sorry," I murmured, truly upset by the confrontation. "We should have told you, but. we didn't want you to worry."
"I understand," she replied, wiping her eyes, "and I am proud of you for standing against the Youkai even though it didn't win you any admiration from your peers."
I smiled, and she ushered us inside. "I heard something about a fight tonight- you should eat well, so you'll be ready."
"Thanks, Mom," Yaruu told her, and she hugged him.
"You two remind me so much of your Father." Something seemed strange about the way she said that, and then I realized- she had mentioned Dad with a smile!
"Biggest compliment I've ever gotten," I told her, and she laughed with me.
"Oh, Yaruu, I have something for you. Something for each of you, actually." As we turned into the kitchen, we saw a long bundle on the table. "That's yours," she told Yaruu, and he went up to it curiously. "I'll go get Kagomaru's." I watched as Yaruu unwound the cloth on his surprise, then turned grinning to me when it revealed Miroku's staff. Mom walked back into the room, a brown cardboard box in hand. "The old monk insisted that he didn't need it anymore."
"When?" Yaruu asked, curious.
"I went to visit them while you were out today; your sudden change of mood disturbed me." I laughed. "Here; I think you should have this."
I set the box on the table, and pulled off the lid. The red cloth brought an image of my father to mind instantly, and pulling it out, its identity was confirmed. "Dad's coat," I murmured softly, holding it reverently.
"It's made from the fire rat's fur; you'll find it better than any armor. I thought it might prove useful in your battle tonight." I thanked her, and hugged her, tears threatening to form, and Yaruu did the same. Putting on the coat, I found myself surrounded by Dad's scent, and warmth. He never hugged me often, but the times he did were so precious, I remembered everything, and this is what they felt like. I looked over at a mirror, and smiled. "As I thought- it looks good on you. Now hurry and eat, the sun will be setting before too long."
We reached Higeme Park right on time, the sky ablaze with red and orange clouds. The air was warm, and the air was cool, and the park was deserted. We found a nice open area, and sat down to wait. It seemed like forever before our opponent showed, though it was most likely only a short while, for the sun hadn't sank much lower. I actually heard her well before I saw her, apparently she had a tag-along.
"I told you, I don't need your help!"
"I don't care, and I won't be helping you- I'm just coming to watch!"
"Why the Hell do you need to watch? I'm just killing a couple of almost- human brats."
"You mean being killed by, and I have every reason to want to watch that."
I smiled- it sounded like we had a supporter. The two came into sight, and the family resemblance was obvious. They were about the same age, had similar features- though the other one's were kinder- and the same icy-blue eyes, and the same white hair that looked like Dad's. Tsorra must have been disguised at school- she now had clear, icy-looking fox ears and tail, and long, ice claws on her fingers. The other, whom was most likely a sister, or perhaps cousin, had the same, though her tail and ears were a tiny bit more opaque. She had slightly darker blue face markings, also- dots and triangles under her eyes, as opposed to her sister's row of stars along her cheekbones. Strangely enough, in addition to their ice-ears, they also had elf-ears.
"It seems we have a spectator, I assume you don't mind," Tsorra muttered, disinterestedly, though she shot a dark glare at the other girl. "My cousin is obviously convinced that I'm a weakling, like her father."
"Well, shall we find out if she's correct?" I stood, and drew Tetssaiga. Tsorra raised an eyebrow at it in bored disbelief.
"I let you pick whatever weapon you want, and you bring that rusted thing?"
I snorted. "This is the Tetssaiga, the blade that will put you in your grave." I transformed it with a flourish, and smirked at her.
"Well, at least it gains a little substance. Fang. a strange name for a sword."
"Or perhaps not- it was, after all, made from the very fang of my grandfather. Shall I demonstrate it's bite?"
"First, I'm curious as to that. contraption. your brother has come up with."
Yoruu smiled. "Miroku's staff." Tsorra waited for an explanation, then, not receiving one, gave up.
"Whatever; let's go." She rushed at me with surprising speed, coming out of a stand-still, but I had fought enough Youkai on the other side of the well to have expected it. I leapt aside just in time, swinging my blade around. She avoided it, and turned to slash at me, but I had already jumped skyward, and came down behind her. Before she had time to process the fact that I was back there, I had cut a deep gash in her back.
She cursed loudly, and turned on me. I was put on the defensive, but that was fine. I was managing to keep her from inflicting anything more than scratches, and I had pissed her off enough that she forgot that she had invited Yaruu. He came up behind her, quickly and quietly, and ripped the staff's sharp ring-blade across the back of her neck, between two vertebrae. Quickly, I buried Tetssaiga in her chest, and her eyes flickered, loosing strength. As she sank to the ground, she grasped my hand, and I pulled away quickly at the sudden cold. Forgetting the creature now dead at my feet, I stared as my hand started shaking, and turning a sickly pale. The chill crept through my arm, and I panicked.
Finally, I managed to force words out of my mouth. "Cut it off, Yaruu! Quick just. cut it off!!" He stared at me, then prepared to do as I commanded.
"Wait, I'll get it," the spectator called, running over. She grasped my arm, and I was about to protest- I didn't trust her to only take off my arm. Then, I realized that she wasn't planning on amputating. As quickly as it had spread, the chill now dissipated. "There- it might be a little stiff, but you'll be okay."
"Thanks. but, why?" She shrugged, and looked down at her fallen relative.
"Her side of the family exiled my family, because my father was defeated by your father. They thought that he was weak for being defeated by a hanyou. I wanted to be the one to tell them their precious little prodigy was defeated by a half-hanyou; I figure I owe you a favor."
"You aren't angry about our fathers?" Yaruu was confused, as was I. I knew I would never react to a cat Youkai objectionably.
"He started the fight, he lost the fight, he paid the price. If your father had acted dishonorably, that would have been different, but every fight is a risk. He knew that, when he went into it." I mulled that over, as I retrieved the Tetssaiga from Tsorra's body, and sheathed it.
"I like that outlook, and you're right. I don't think that it would have bothered me as much, if those cats brought him down with skill, but. one had a spell that was activated upon their death, to take their opponent with them. It wasn't their strength, it was treachery." Yaruu nodded his agreement, and he wiped the blood from his staff.
"Inu-Yasha is fallen?" Yaruu nodded. "My condolences."
"Thank you. I am Kagomaru," I introduced myself, extending a hand. She took it with a smile.
"And I am V. Well, Glacia Vulpes, but that's a mouthful, so V is just fine."
"I am Inu-Yaruu, though you may leave of the 'Inu,' if you like." They shook, and I turned to look at the sun. It was just sinking beneath the horizon.
"We should do something about her, before we go. We don't need a police investigation on our hands."
"That's okay, I'll get it. Her family will want proof of defeat," She looked down at it with a sigh, "though I'm not looking forward to carrying it all that way."
"Don't you think it will look just a little suspicious? Walking down the street with a body?" In answer, she touched it with a foot, and white, opaque ice quickly began to form around it, so that in a matter of moments, it looked like a very strange statue.
"Isn't modern sculpture odd?" Yaruu quipped, and we all laughed a little. "Though it feels strange, joking about a dead classmate." That sobered me a little.
"Or a dead cousin." That sobered me even more. "Oh well; she's not actually my cousin anymore anyways- the family outcast us. My mom, my little sibs, and I. So yeah, not my cousin." It sounded kind-of like she was trying to convince herself as much as to convince us. "Well, I'd probably start off with this." With that, she lifted it easily.
"Isn't it heavy?" Yaruu was stunned, but I had a feeling I was onto her.
"It's also ice," I told him. "Her cousin could levitate shards, why can't she at least partially levitate that?"
"You discovered my secret," V lamented with mock sincerity, letting go completely- it stayed in place. "She couldn't lift anything this heavy, but no matter what her family thought of her, she was never as strong as me. Couldn't even freeze the water in the air without great concentration; even devoting all her energy to that, it was really slow, and she could never manipulate more than seventy-five separate shards at once." I remembered how little time it took her to cover the classroom floor with ice, and wondered how quickly V could have done it. Besides that, seventy-five shards was definitely impressive to me- how many could V do?
Yaruu asked for me, and I could have laughed at how similarly our minds worked. V considered a moment. "Well, I can put an inch on a basketball court in five to twenty seconds, depending on humidity, and I've gotten up to. one hundred and sixty. four shards. No, one hundred and sixty seven, I got three more the last time I was working out. I can't do as much crazy stuff with that many as I can with fifty, of course, or as much with fifty as I can with ten, but I can get that many flying around in circles, or shoot 'em at numerous targets."
"Yaruu, remind me to never get her mad at us." Both Yaruu and V laughed. "Still, its going to look pretty odd for a young-looking girl to be carrying this big 'statue' around at night. Help her carry it."
"Why me?" I glanced at him, surprised. Suddenly, he realized how rude he had sounded. "I mean- I don't mind, but."
"I get your drift. Thing is, people expect boys to be stronger, so it would look more natural for you to be helping." He nodded his understanding, and V set it up so that it looked as if he was bearing most of the weight. "Okay; lets head out."
"Right. We're off to the North Towers Apartment complex."
*********************************
Kagome looked out the window, for the fifth time that minute alone. She knew that battles could last a while, and that they may have other things to deal with afterwards. Inu-Yasha would disappear for days at a time to fight someone, but. he had a lot more experience than these two did. Sure, they were strong, she didn't doubt that. And there were two of them, working together. And they really hadn't been gone very long. Still, there was no denying it; she was worried.
The phone rang, and she must have jumped a mile high. Reaching out to answer it, she saw her hand shaking. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hello; is this Kagomaru and Inu-Yaruu's mother?"
Kagome tried to keep her voice steady. "It is; may I help you?"
"Yes, I am their geometry teacher. I assume that you've heard about today's events?"
*Not this again, not this again.* she repeated to herself, as she answered, "I have."
"Thank you." Kagome froze, confused. "Thank you for teaching your children to protect others, thank you for teaching them right and wrong, thank you for not listening to those parents- I've heard they were giving you trouble. Tell me, have the twins returned yet?"
"Not yet." She tried to sound optimistic.
"Well, I'm sure you're anxious then, so I'll let you go. If they have to stay home from school tomorrow, though, will you please let me know that they're alright?"
"Of course."
"Thank you; good-night."
"Goodnight." Just as Kagome hung up the phone, she heard the gate swing shut, and looked out the window to see three shapes in the dark. Let's see. that short white hair had to be her son, and the red coat was definitely Inu-Yasha's, making its bearer Kagomaru. But who was the third? It was a Youkai, she could tell that easily, but didn't seem evil- she didn't carry any Jaki with her aura.
*********************************
"Mom; we're back!" Yaruu called, nearing the house.
"And we're bigger than a breadbox!" I don't know where I had picked up the line, but it had been our tradition for years. It would let her know we were okay.
She appeared in the doorway, holding it open for us, but V hesitated at the thresh-hold. "Its okay; the spell only keeps out uninvited Youkai," Mom assured her, and she stepped through. She seemed a little surprised when nothing happened.
"I'm confused, but that's all right--I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that there's spells just lying around here. Mom, this is Glacia Vulpes; V, this is our mom, Kagome."
"Good to meet you, ma'am; I hope I'm not disrupting your evening."
"Of course not. Before anything else, though--are either of you hurt?"
"Nope. I got a little freezer-burnt, but V took care of it. That Tsorra was way too overconfident to do any damage." Mom looked at me a moment, then grabbed my arm and pushed the sleeve up. "Hey! I said I'm fine," I reminded her.
"Your father also claimed to be fine after every fight, and that wasn't always the case." She sighed. "You have scratches all up and down your arm, and they don't look like they'll heal well with all that residue."
"Residue?" I was confused, but V seemed to get it.
"Strange, I hadn't thought she had gotten anything to crystallize. Sorry about that." Then, she simply waved her hand over my arm, and the scratches became darker in color, a small amount of liquid oozing from each one. "There; they should heal clean now. Other arm?"
Once I was cleared, Mom had to check over Yaruu before consenting that we had come out okay. "Next time, I'm sending a cell phone with you, so you can call the moment the fight's over." I rolled my eyes. "Yasha Kagomaru, don't you dare roll your eyes at me; Inu-Yaru, stop snickering. Now go sit down and tell me exactly what happened." She listened with interest, then looked at the clock. "So- will you be going to school tomorrow?"
I stared a few moments, blinking. "You're. asking?" She nodded. "No way!"
"And you, Yaruu?"
"Um. no thanks."
"Right, then. Off to bed, and I don't expect to see you until lunch tomorrow. Vulpes, you are more than welcome to stay the night."
"Thank you, Ma'am." The three of us went upstairs, and gathered in the bedroom I shared with Yaruu. We actually had two separate rooms at one time, but when we were younger we had. well, consolidated. Mom had been furious when she came up and found the dividing wall demolished; Dad couldn't have been prouder. I think his exact words were, "Not many five- year-olds can take out a wall like that."
"You can use my bed," I told V, "I prefer sleeping in my nest anyhow."
"Your nest?" I grinned, and gestured behind the small section of wall still standing in the corner. Peeking around, V gaped at the large pile of old rags, stuffed animals, and furs of various origin. "Well- I'm impressed."
"Thank you," I replied, bowing. Placing my hands on the wall, I pushed myself up and over, flopping into the pile. Tetssaiga was next to me, and the crescent moon shone in through the window. It was a beautiful night.
"Mind if I put a little ice on it? I'll defrost it tomorrow morning."
"Go ahead. Yaruu, want to get the lights?"
"Sure." Yaruu picked up a marble off the windowsill between the beds, and threw it at the light-switch, triggering it. "Good night."
"Good night," I murmured, settling into my soft nest.
"Good night," V laughed.
As night surrounded us, I felt like we three were a team; like fate had led us together and was never going to tear us apart. For the first time since Father died, I felt like my life was whole, and had meaning. "We should visit Shippo and the others tomorrow," I muttered.
"Yeah."
*********************************
Before too long, the sun's rays began finding their way through the window into my eyes, and I opened them, squinting. I had sunk through the pile of cloth (and et cetera) during the course of the night, and awoke confused. Why was I in my nest and not my bed, why was Tetssaiga lying next to me, and what was that other presence in the room? Slowly, I remembered the previous day, and that we were excused from school, and that we were going to go through the well today.
Yawning, I stretched out, and crawled out of the next. Glancing over at the beds, I saw that I was the first awake--Yaruu was tangled in a strange arrangement of blankets, and V was literally frozen to the bed. I walked over to the window quietly, and looked out. Then, I gasped. Next to the god tree, just far enough away that the new tree would have room to grow, a sapling had emerged from the dirt. "Brother! Brother!" I hissed quietly, shaking him. He awoke groggily, and I pointed him out the window. "Look!"
He grinned. "Let's go tell Mom." I nodded, and we headed downstairs. We found her in the kitchen, cooking. "Hey, Mom!"
"Good morning. Or should I say afternoon- It's nearly twelve."
"Well, you did tell us to sleep in. Hey, did you see the sproutling?" From her look, she hadn't, so we ushered her outside. "See? It's not very big yet, but it's a little god tree, I can tell!" Mom smiled down at it.
"It sure is. We planted that back when you two were born; I guess it's finally decided to sprout." I grinned, and looked down at it. "Now come in, before anyone sees you skipping school."
V was just coming downstairs as we came in, and I flashed her a smile. "Good morning."
"Good morning. What's up?"
"Not much. If Mom doesn't mind, Yaruu and I will probably go visit some friends in another time, later today."
"You can time travel?" V jumped the last few steps, doing a summersault and landing on her feet. She had dropped her human disguise, and her rather translucent tail trailed behind her. "Cool!"
"Well, it's not really anything we do. The old dry-well can send people from our family to the feudal age and back, so long as the Shikon no Tama is with them, or on the side they're coming from."
V's eyes lit up. "The Shikon no Tama? I knew your family always used to protect it, but it's still around?" Yaruu proudly pulled the neck of his shirt down to reveal the shining bead, then settled it back into place. V whistled. "Certainly glad neither of you are evil; the world would be in serious trouble."
"Same to you. Over a hundred separate pieces of ice. I can't even imagine being able to have so much command over an element like that."
"Yeah, but it's not that big of a deal. My second cousin on my Mom's side, now there's talent. He can send things, or even people, back and forth in time." She laughed. "Maybe I can meet you over there sometime."
"That would be awesome!" I chuckled. "We could be a regular time-traveling, crime-fighting force."
"TTCFF?" Yaruu laughed.
"Protecting the weak, whenever they are," V explained, and we all collapsed into a fit of giggles.
"Well, whenever you three are ready for lunch, you're free to eat before heading out to fight crime," Mom chided us from the kitchen, and we laughed all the way to the table. "Seriously, though, I want you to be careful over there. Stick together, stay close to the village, don't get into too many unnecessary battles, you get the picture, right?"
"Yes, Mom," Yaruu and I answered in unison.
"Good. When will you be back?" I looked to Yaruu, who thought a moment.
"Well, its Friday, so we can go hang there for a few days, be back Sunday evening, not miss any more school." Mom agreed, and after eating, we headed out. I grabbed Tetssaiga, and Yaruu grabbed Miroku's staff. V ran off to convince her second cousin, Tempus Vulpes, to send her through time, and my brother and I leapt through the well alone for the first time. We met up under the god tree, in the woods by the village, and set out. That's pretty much what's set the pattern for this past year. Sometimes we make it back for school, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we stay with Shippo, sometimes we go off alone. Sometimes we find an evil-doer to set right, sometimes not.
Of course, now everything had to go and change again.
"I am sorry if you don't like us, but if we hadn't been there, that Youkai would have killed the teacher, and most likely the rest of the class as well. Maybe even the whole school- who knows how far she would have gone?" Yaruu crossed his arms, standing up to the parents boldly, placing himself between them and our mom. I followed his example readily, outraged that they would act this way.
"If you need someone to take your anger out on, or--more likely--to team up against to relieve your fear, you're free to deface the Youkai's grave once we're done with her tonight."
"Drop your act; we know you're really her allies." What? "You only saved that teacher to keep your friend out of trouble with the law. There won't be any fight tonight, and you'll come right back, spying on our children for the other Youkai."
"Why the hell would we do that?" I demanded. "For one thing, we're not Youkai, why would we help them? For another, why would Youkai or the allies of Youkai worry about the law when they could just kill any policeman that tried to arrest them? For yet another, why would we betray the name of our father to turn against the humans he worked so hard to protect? You may not know it, but if it wasn't for him, most of you probably wouldn't be here today."
"Why would he help us; why would any of you? He was a Youkai, just like the one you're putting the blame on."
Yaruu answered that one. "You people have no idea what you're talking about. Father was a Hanyou, the son of a Youkai but not like them. He was tormented by Youkai and humans growing up, but decided to protect humans because it was the right thing to do. If you people would stop and think for a moment, you would see that we aren't a danger to you!"
"So long as you do not endanger our family; we would never even think of harming any of you, or your kids."
"As I told you," Mom added, having recomposed herself, "They are responsible, respectable young adults. Now please; our dinner is getting cold."
"We'll let them go for now, but one more thing happens, and we will petition to have them removed from the school district." The crowd dispersed, and Mom sighed deeply.
"I'm sorry," I murmured, truly upset by the confrontation. "We should have told you, but. we didn't want you to worry."
"I understand," she replied, wiping her eyes, "and I am proud of you for standing against the Youkai even though it didn't win you any admiration from your peers."
I smiled, and she ushered us inside. "I heard something about a fight tonight- you should eat well, so you'll be ready."
"Thanks, Mom," Yaruu told her, and she hugged him.
"You two remind me so much of your Father." Something seemed strange about the way she said that, and then I realized- she had mentioned Dad with a smile!
"Biggest compliment I've ever gotten," I told her, and she laughed with me.
"Oh, Yaruu, I have something for you. Something for each of you, actually." As we turned into the kitchen, we saw a long bundle on the table. "That's yours," she told Yaruu, and he went up to it curiously. "I'll go get Kagomaru's." I watched as Yaruu unwound the cloth on his surprise, then turned grinning to me when it revealed Miroku's staff. Mom walked back into the room, a brown cardboard box in hand. "The old monk insisted that he didn't need it anymore."
"When?" Yaruu asked, curious.
"I went to visit them while you were out today; your sudden change of mood disturbed me." I laughed. "Here; I think you should have this."
I set the box on the table, and pulled off the lid. The red cloth brought an image of my father to mind instantly, and pulling it out, its identity was confirmed. "Dad's coat," I murmured softly, holding it reverently.
"It's made from the fire rat's fur; you'll find it better than any armor. I thought it might prove useful in your battle tonight." I thanked her, and hugged her, tears threatening to form, and Yaruu did the same. Putting on the coat, I found myself surrounded by Dad's scent, and warmth. He never hugged me often, but the times he did were so precious, I remembered everything, and this is what they felt like. I looked over at a mirror, and smiled. "As I thought- it looks good on you. Now hurry and eat, the sun will be setting before too long."
We reached Higeme Park right on time, the sky ablaze with red and orange clouds. The air was warm, and the air was cool, and the park was deserted. We found a nice open area, and sat down to wait. It seemed like forever before our opponent showed, though it was most likely only a short while, for the sun hadn't sank much lower. I actually heard her well before I saw her, apparently she had a tag-along.
"I told you, I don't need your help!"
"I don't care, and I won't be helping you- I'm just coming to watch!"
"Why the Hell do you need to watch? I'm just killing a couple of almost- human brats."
"You mean being killed by, and I have every reason to want to watch that."
I smiled- it sounded like we had a supporter. The two came into sight, and the family resemblance was obvious. They were about the same age, had similar features- though the other one's were kinder- and the same icy-blue eyes, and the same white hair that looked like Dad's. Tsorra must have been disguised at school- she now had clear, icy-looking fox ears and tail, and long, ice claws on her fingers. The other, whom was most likely a sister, or perhaps cousin, had the same, though her tail and ears were a tiny bit more opaque. She had slightly darker blue face markings, also- dots and triangles under her eyes, as opposed to her sister's row of stars along her cheekbones. Strangely enough, in addition to their ice-ears, they also had elf-ears.
"It seems we have a spectator, I assume you don't mind," Tsorra muttered, disinterestedly, though she shot a dark glare at the other girl. "My cousin is obviously convinced that I'm a weakling, like her father."
"Well, shall we find out if she's correct?" I stood, and drew Tetssaiga. Tsorra raised an eyebrow at it in bored disbelief.
"I let you pick whatever weapon you want, and you bring that rusted thing?"
I snorted. "This is the Tetssaiga, the blade that will put you in your grave." I transformed it with a flourish, and smirked at her.
"Well, at least it gains a little substance. Fang. a strange name for a sword."
"Or perhaps not- it was, after all, made from the very fang of my grandfather. Shall I demonstrate it's bite?"
"First, I'm curious as to that. contraption. your brother has come up with."
Yoruu smiled. "Miroku's staff." Tsorra waited for an explanation, then, not receiving one, gave up.
"Whatever; let's go." She rushed at me with surprising speed, coming out of a stand-still, but I had fought enough Youkai on the other side of the well to have expected it. I leapt aside just in time, swinging my blade around. She avoided it, and turned to slash at me, but I had already jumped skyward, and came down behind her. Before she had time to process the fact that I was back there, I had cut a deep gash in her back.
She cursed loudly, and turned on me. I was put on the defensive, but that was fine. I was managing to keep her from inflicting anything more than scratches, and I had pissed her off enough that she forgot that she had invited Yaruu. He came up behind her, quickly and quietly, and ripped the staff's sharp ring-blade across the back of her neck, between two vertebrae. Quickly, I buried Tetssaiga in her chest, and her eyes flickered, loosing strength. As she sank to the ground, she grasped my hand, and I pulled away quickly at the sudden cold. Forgetting the creature now dead at my feet, I stared as my hand started shaking, and turning a sickly pale. The chill crept through my arm, and I panicked.
Finally, I managed to force words out of my mouth. "Cut it off, Yaruu! Quick just. cut it off!!" He stared at me, then prepared to do as I commanded.
"Wait, I'll get it," the spectator called, running over. She grasped my arm, and I was about to protest- I didn't trust her to only take off my arm. Then, I realized that she wasn't planning on amputating. As quickly as it had spread, the chill now dissipated. "There- it might be a little stiff, but you'll be okay."
"Thanks. but, why?" She shrugged, and looked down at her fallen relative.
"Her side of the family exiled my family, because my father was defeated by your father. They thought that he was weak for being defeated by a hanyou. I wanted to be the one to tell them their precious little prodigy was defeated by a half-hanyou; I figure I owe you a favor."
"You aren't angry about our fathers?" Yaruu was confused, as was I. I knew I would never react to a cat Youkai objectionably.
"He started the fight, he lost the fight, he paid the price. If your father had acted dishonorably, that would have been different, but every fight is a risk. He knew that, when he went into it." I mulled that over, as I retrieved the Tetssaiga from Tsorra's body, and sheathed it.
"I like that outlook, and you're right. I don't think that it would have bothered me as much, if those cats brought him down with skill, but. one had a spell that was activated upon their death, to take their opponent with them. It wasn't their strength, it was treachery." Yaruu nodded his agreement, and he wiped the blood from his staff.
"Inu-Yasha is fallen?" Yaruu nodded. "My condolences."
"Thank you. I am Kagomaru," I introduced myself, extending a hand. She took it with a smile.
"And I am V. Well, Glacia Vulpes, but that's a mouthful, so V is just fine."
"I am Inu-Yaruu, though you may leave of the 'Inu,' if you like." They shook, and I turned to look at the sun. It was just sinking beneath the horizon.
"We should do something about her, before we go. We don't need a police investigation on our hands."
"That's okay, I'll get it. Her family will want proof of defeat," She looked down at it with a sigh, "though I'm not looking forward to carrying it all that way."
"Don't you think it will look just a little suspicious? Walking down the street with a body?" In answer, she touched it with a foot, and white, opaque ice quickly began to form around it, so that in a matter of moments, it looked like a very strange statue.
"Isn't modern sculpture odd?" Yaruu quipped, and we all laughed a little. "Though it feels strange, joking about a dead classmate." That sobered me a little.
"Or a dead cousin." That sobered me even more. "Oh well; she's not actually my cousin anymore anyways- the family outcast us. My mom, my little sibs, and I. So yeah, not my cousin." It sounded kind-of like she was trying to convince herself as much as to convince us. "Well, I'd probably start off with this." With that, she lifted it easily.
"Isn't it heavy?" Yaruu was stunned, but I had a feeling I was onto her.
"It's also ice," I told him. "Her cousin could levitate shards, why can't she at least partially levitate that?"
"You discovered my secret," V lamented with mock sincerity, letting go completely- it stayed in place. "She couldn't lift anything this heavy, but no matter what her family thought of her, she was never as strong as me. Couldn't even freeze the water in the air without great concentration; even devoting all her energy to that, it was really slow, and she could never manipulate more than seventy-five separate shards at once." I remembered how little time it took her to cover the classroom floor with ice, and wondered how quickly V could have done it. Besides that, seventy-five shards was definitely impressive to me- how many could V do?
Yaruu asked for me, and I could have laughed at how similarly our minds worked. V considered a moment. "Well, I can put an inch on a basketball court in five to twenty seconds, depending on humidity, and I've gotten up to. one hundred and sixty. four shards. No, one hundred and sixty seven, I got three more the last time I was working out. I can't do as much crazy stuff with that many as I can with fifty, of course, or as much with fifty as I can with ten, but I can get that many flying around in circles, or shoot 'em at numerous targets."
"Yaruu, remind me to never get her mad at us." Both Yaruu and V laughed. "Still, its going to look pretty odd for a young-looking girl to be carrying this big 'statue' around at night. Help her carry it."
"Why me?" I glanced at him, surprised. Suddenly, he realized how rude he had sounded. "I mean- I don't mind, but."
"I get your drift. Thing is, people expect boys to be stronger, so it would look more natural for you to be helping." He nodded his understanding, and V set it up so that it looked as if he was bearing most of the weight. "Okay; lets head out."
"Right. We're off to the North Towers Apartment complex."
*********************************
Kagome looked out the window, for the fifth time that minute alone. She knew that battles could last a while, and that they may have other things to deal with afterwards. Inu-Yasha would disappear for days at a time to fight someone, but. he had a lot more experience than these two did. Sure, they were strong, she didn't doubt that. And there were two of them, working together. And they really hadn't been gone very long. Still, there was no denying it; she was worried.
The phone rang, and she must have jumped a mile high. Reaching out to answer it, she saw her hand shaking. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hello; is this Kagomaru and Inu-Yaruu's mother?"
Kagome tried to keep her voice steady. "It is; may I help you?"
"Yes, I am their geometry teacher. I assume that you've heard about today's events?"
*Not this again, not this again.* she repeated to herself, as she answered, "I have."
"Thank you." Kagome froze, confused. "Thank you for teaching your children to protect others, thank you for teaching them right and wrong, thank you for not listening to those parents- I've heard they were giving you trouble. Tell me, have the twins returned yet?"
"Not yet." She tried to sound optimistic.
"Well, I'm sure you're anxious then, so I'll let you go. If they have to stay home from school tomorrow, though, will you please let me know that they're alright?"
"Of course."
"Thank you; good-night."
"Goodnight." Just as Kagome hung up the phone, she heard the gate swing shut, and looked out the window to see three shapes in the dark. Let's see. that short white hair had to be her son, and the red coat was definitely Inu-Yasha's, making its bearer Kagomaru. But who was the third? It was a Youkai, she could tell that easily, but didn't seem evil- she didn't carry any Jaki with her aura.
*********************************
"Mom; we're back!" Yaruu called, nearing the house.
"And we're bigger than a breadbox!" I don't know where I had picked up the line, but it had been our tradition for years. It would let her know we were okay.
She appeared in the doorway, holding it open for us, but V hesitated at the thresh-hold. "Its okay; the spell only keeps out uninvited Youkai," Mom assured her, and she stepped through. She seemed a little surprised when nothing happened.
"I'm confused, but that's all right--I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that there's spells just lying around here. Mom, this is Glacia Vulpes; V, this is our mom, Kagome."
"Good to meet you, ma'am; I hope I'm not disrupting your evening."
"Of course not. Before anything else, though--are either of you hurt?"
"Nope. I got a little freezer-burnt, but V took care of it. That Tsorra was way too overconfident to do any damage." Mom looked at me a moment, then grabbed my arm and pushed the sleeve up. "Hey! I said I'm fine," I reminded her.
"Your father also claimed to be fine after every fight, and that wasn't always the case." She sighed. "You have scratches all up and down your arm, and they don't look like they'll heal well with all that residue."
"Residue?" I was confused, but V seemed to get it.
"Strange, I hadn't thought she had gotten anything to crystallize. Sorry about that." Then, she simply waved her hand over my arm, and the scratches became darker in color, a small amount of liquid oozing from each one. "There; they should heal clean now. Other arm?"
Once I was cleared, Mom had to check over Yaruu before consenting that we had come out okay. "Next time, I'm sending a cell phone with you, so you can call the moment the fight's over." I rolled my eyes. "Yasha Kagomaru, don't you dare roll your eyes at me; Inu-Yaru, stop snickering. Now go sit down and tell me exactly what happened." She listened with interest, then looked at the clock. "So- will you be going to school tomorrow?"
I stared a few moments, blinking. "You're. asking?" She nodded. "No way!"
"And you, Yaruu?"
"Um. no thanks."
"Right, then. Off to bed, and I don't expect to see you until lunch tomorrow. Vulpes, you are more than welcome to stay the night."
"Thank you, Ma'am." The three of us went upstairs, and gathered in the bedroom I shared with Yaruu. We actually had two separate rooms at one time, but when we were younger we had. well, consolidated. Mom had been furious when she came up and found the dividing wall demolished; Dad couldn't have been prouder. I think his exact words were, "Not many five- year-olds can take out a wall like that."
"You can use my bed," I told V, "I prefer sleeping in my nest anyhow."
"Your nest?" I grinned, and gestured behind the small section of wall still standing in the corner. Peeking around, V gaped at the large pile of old rags, stuffed animals, and furs of various origin. "Well- I'm impressed."
"Thank you," I replied, bowing. Placing my hands on the wall, I pushed myself up and over, flopping into the pile. Tetssaiga was next to me, and the crescent moon shone in through the window. It was a beautiful night.
"Mind if I put a little ice on it? I'll defrost it tomorrow morning."
"Go ahead. Yaruu, want to get the lights?"
"Sure." Yaruu picked up a marble off the windowsill between the beds, and threw it at the light-switch, triggering it. "Good night."
"Good night," I murmured, settling into my soft nest.
"Good night," V laughed.
As night surrounded us, I felt like we three were a team; like fate had led us together and was never going to tear us apart. For the first time since Father died, I felt like my life was whole, and had meaning. "We should visit Shippo and the others tomorrow," I muttered.
"Yeah."
*********************************
Before too long, the sun's rays began finding their way through the window into my eyes, and I opened them, squinting. I had sunk through the pile of cloth (and et cetera) during the course of the night, and awoke confused. Why was I in my nest and not my bed, why was Tetssaiga lying next to me, and what was that other presence in the room? Slowly, I remembered the previous day, and that we were excused from school, and that we were going to go through the well today.
Yawning, I stretched out, and crawled out of the next. Glancing over at the beds, I saw that I was the first awake--Yaruu was tangled in a strange arrangement of blankets, and V was literally frozen to the bed. I walked over to the window quietly, and looked out. Then, I gasped. Next to the god tree, just far enough away that the new tree would have room to grow, a sapling had emerged from the dirt. "Brother! Brother!" I hissed quietly, shaking him. He awoke groggily, and I pointed him out the window. "Look!"
He grinned. "Let's go tell Mom." I nodded, and we headed downstairs. We found her in the kitchen, cooking. "Hey, Mom!"
"Good morning. Or should I say afternoon- It's nearly twelve."
"Well, you did tell us to sleep in. Hey, did you see the sproutling?" From her look, she hadn't, so we ushered her outside. "See? It's not very big yet, but it's a little god tree, I can tell!" Mom smiled down at it.
"It sure is. We planted that back when you two were born; I guess it's finally decided to sprout." I grinned, and looked down at it. "Now come in, before anyone sees you skipping school."
V was just coming downstairs as we came in, and I flashed her a smile. "Good morning."
"Good morning. What's up?"
"Not much. If Mom doesn't mind, Yaruu and I will probably go visit some friends in another time, later today."
"You can time travel?" V jumped the last few steps, doing a summersault and landing on her feet. She had dropped her human disguise, and her rather translucent tail trailed behind her. "Cool!"
"Well, it's not really anything we do. The old dry-well can send people from our family to the feudal age and back, so long as the Shikon no Tama is with them, or on the side they're coming from."
V's eyes lit up. "The Shikon no Tama? I knew your family always used to protect it, but it's still around?" Yaruu proudly pulled the neck of his shirt down to reveal the shining bead, then settled it back into place. V whistled. "Certainly glad neither of you are evil; the world would be in serious trouble."
"Same to you. Over a hundred separate pieces of ice. I can't even imagine being able to have so much command over an element like that."
"Yeah, but it's not that big of a deal. My second cousin on my Mom's side, now there's talent. He can send things, or even people, back and forth in time." She laughed. "Maybe I can meet you over there sometime."
"That would be awesome!" I chuckled. "We could be a regular time-traveling, crime-fighting force."
"TTCFF?" Yaruu laughed.
"Protecting the weak, whenever they are," V explained, and we all collapsed into a fit of giggles.
"Well, whenever you three are ready for lunch, you're free to eat before heading out to fight crime," Mom chided us from the kitchen, and we laughed all the way to the table. "Seriously, though, I want you to be careful over there. Stick together, stay close to the village, don't get into too many unnecessary battles, you get the picture, right?"
"Yes, Mom," Yaruu and I answered in unison.
"Good. When will you be back?" I looked to Yaruu, who thought a moment.
"Well, its Friday, so we can go hang there for a few days, be back Sunday evening, not miss any more school." Mom agreed, and after eating, we headed out. I grabbed Tetssaiga, and Yaruu grabbed Miroku's staff. V ran off to convince her second cousin, Tempus Vulpes, to send her through time, and my brother and I leapt through the well alone for the first time. We met up under the god tree, in the woods by the village, and set out. That's pretty much what's set the pattern for this past year. Sometimes we make it back for school, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we stay with Shippo, sometimes we go off alone. Sometimes we find an evil-doer to set right, sometimes not.
Of course, now everything had to go and change again.
