As I said, it was about a year after we started the ttcff. The name--time-
traveling crime fighting force--was mostly an inside joke. We put an end to
any miss-doings we happened to come across, but generally we just explored,
or hung out with Shippo, or with Sango and Miroku. V was pretty much a part
of the family, and she had a deal with her second-cousin that he would give
her time transport in return for home-cooked food. Sometimes we got home in
time for school, sometimes we didn't. Occasionally, one of us came home
injured. Things were pretty well routine.
I think we are fated to never hold a routine for longer than one year.
We met V out by the god tree, like usual, and took a moment to discuss our plans. It was V's turn to carry the back-pack, and since she was stronger than us (being a Youkai), she could carry a lot more than usual without trouble. We were dressed to blend in with the times, and my brother and I were well armed, so we decided to go exploring, after checking in with our friends in the village. Turning that direction, though, we quickly realized that something was wrong. "I smell smoke; a lot of it," V murmured, worried. "We should hurry."
"Right." At my agreement, the three of us started sprinting towards the village. I guess I had become the group leader, though it was very unofficial. "V, you're faster than the two of us. Go ahead and see what's wrong." She nodded, and increased her speed, disappearing through the trees.
Soon, though, we could hear her calling us. "Kagomaru, Inu-Yaruu, hurry, and be ready for battle!" We rushed through the woods as fast as we could, and I drew Tetssaiga, transforming it. Bursting out into the open, we faltered a moment at the destruction that lay before us.
The village was burning, and its occupants struggled to save themselves and each other. The smoke was blotting out the sky; soon, it would be dark. Sango, Miroku, and most of the village men were battling a large band of samurai; Kaede and the others who were too old or too young to fight were clustered in the center of the village, protected by Shippo and his fox- fire. I caught sight of V running to help him, and I gestured to the thickest area of battle. "Up for it, Bro?" He nodded, and we began running again.
Our force in the fray gave heart to the villagers, and we were able to quickly turn the tables. Then, I saw a dark figure, watching the battle from a hill. From the red glow of their eyes, and the strange feeling I was getting, they were a Youkai, and a strong one. "Yaruu!" He glanced my way, while continuing the fight. "Can you hold?" He nodded, and I detached myself from the battle, and ran for the figure. "Who are you? Identify yourself!"
The figure chuckled, and lifted one hand. In it's palm, a small fire grew, illuminating it. It was a male, with green-hued skin, bluish purple hair, horns, and two sets of wings. "I am Yatarra-Oh," he stated, confident in his superiority. "My twin and I are the last remnants of the one called Naraku." I stepped back at the mention of Naraku, shocked. He had been the worst enemy of our father for a long time. While I was distracted, Yatarra- Oh leapt skywards, and threw the fire down at me. I put my sleeve over my eyes, confident that it could repel such a small fire.
I hadn't counted on an explosion.
**********************************
Glacia Vulpes had finally put out the last of the fires, and looked around for the people she knew. Sango and Miroku were helping the wounded, and Shippo was moving from child to child, calming them. "Where are Inu-Yaruu and Kagomaru?" she asked a man passing by, carrying a body to where graves were being prepared. He gestured to the North side of the village, then continued walking. Running that way, V finally caught sight of Yaruu, kneeling over his sister. "There you are! What happened?"
"I don't know. She's out cold, and her face and hands are a little crispy. Help me carry her." They got her down to the center of the village just as she began to come to, and set down as she opened her eyes. "Sister, are you all right?"
**********************************
I groaned, grimacing as I sat up. "Yeah, but I think I got a little sunburnt. I don't suppose you got the bastard?"
"Who?" Yaruu and V answered in unison.
"Called himself Yatarra-Oh." I looked to Yaruu. "We've got a pair of Naraku detachments on our hands."
"There's two pieces of Naraku left?" Miroku had come up behind me, making me jump. It hurt.
"Shit," Yaruu muttered, and I knew he was thinking about all the stories about Naraku that Dad had used to scare us with at night. "I hope Dad was exaggerating."
"Hard to think of something to exaggerate about," Miroku told us, looking at his right hand, remembering. That validated that story. "You look burnt. One manipulates fire?"
"At least one, who knows what the other is like." I put a hand to my forehead, wincing at the contact of touchy skin to touchy skin. "Hey, V- I don't suppose you could cool me down a little, could ya?"
She laughed. "I suppose I could. it just depends on whether you want to stay healthy or not." She picked a stick up off the ground, and quickly coated it with ice to demonstrate her point. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the thing, pressing it to my forehead to demonstrate mine. "Sure, here." She took an extra shirt out of her backpack, and froze it. "Don't overdo it, or you'll catch a cold, or pneumonia, or something."
I laughed. "And then Yaruu would mix up some of Dad's vile medicine to replace my cold with nausea."
"Its not that bad," he insisted, then added, "considering that it completely cures you in just six to eight hours." He stretched. "Well, I'd better go around, make sure everyone else is alright. Can't waste the whole day waiting on you."
"Aw, hush." I stood up, and resheathed Tetssaiga- somehow, I had kept a hold of it through everything, though its transformation had been reversed. "You don't need to wait on me for anything, and you know that quite well."
"You are just like Dad," Yaruu chided me, shaking his head. "Well, if we are heading out right away, we should at least bandage those, so they don't get infected."
"And go around looking like a leper? Yeah right! Seriously, I'll be fine by tomorrow morning; you know how I heal."
Yaruu sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll go let Shippo know where we're off to." He paused a moment. "And where are we off to?"
I looked back at where the Naraku clone had been. "Ask him if they've heard about any other nearby villages have been burned recently; I want to track that nasty down."
"Right, I'll go ask."
After he had gone, V approached me. "Um, this may sound rather odd, but while Yaruu was fighting, I saw a shape on his hand, like a crescent moon, with all these weird designs in it. Then, when we were bringing you down here, I saw the same thing on you, though it was fading fast, and I'm pretty sure I've seen them on you before, when you're fighting. Do you know what they were?"
I shook my head. "No idea. Where did you say they were?"
"Right there." She pointed to the back of my right hand. Inspecting it, I could see nothing out of the ordinary, but I didn't doubt what V had said. After all--what was one more oddity now? "It's probably no big deal, but."
"Yeah; strange. Maybe we should go ask Kaede about it." She nodded, and I went to find the old woman. Yaruu found me first.
"Hey, Kaede-baba called me over, said she needed to talk to us before taking off after Naraku remnants." I nodded, and he led V and me over to her.
"Give me your right hands." We obeyed, and she took hold of them, and began chanting. Slowly, the marks V had told me about appeared, and when she finally released us, they were plain as day. "They were put there to seal in your transformations, to keep you from becoming too dangerous, before you could learn self-control. I think that you are as ready now as you will ever be."
"Our. transformations?" Yaruu and I looked at each other, then back to Kaede.
"Just as your father became human one night a month, so you will become Hanyou once a month. His was one the new moon, I don't know when yours will be. Those will wash off now, releasing the transformations." We nodded, and stood to go. "Be careful, and check in often. Don't make an old woman worry about you!"
"All right, Kaede. We'll talk to you soon." Waving goodbye to her and the others, we started down the path. I couldn't help but notice how Yaruu kept staring at the mark. I looked down at mine, also, wondering. "Think there are any streams nearby? I'm curious as Hell to see what will happen."
Yaruu chuckled. "I'm still trying to fathom you as a Hanyou."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He shrugged, so I tackled him. Of course, he beat me easy, seeing as how my exposed skin was touchy, but by the time we were done, the sky had cleared a little, and V had located a small stream. The marks washed off easily, like Kaede had said, but I felt a little sad seeing it go. "They were pretty. We should get them tattooed on sometime, just minus the magical power stuff."
"Yeah, they were pretty cool." Yaruu lifted his hand, now clean of the mark. "What moon rises tonight?"
I thought a moment. "The new moon, I think."
"I'm just trying to figure out what you two will be like as Hanyou. I mean. you're hardly weaklings as it is. Your father was certainly strong enough as a Hanyou. You could probably conquer Japan when you transform!"
I laughed. "Or just spend the whole time trying to beat each other up, to see who's stronger."
"That's more likely. I just wish we could have transformed while Dad was around."
"Yeah, then maybe the two of us could beat him without Mom's help for once. So--did Shippo know of any leads on that Yatarra-Oh character?"
"There's a village up this way that was mysteriously burnt down a day or two ago, he said to check here."
We reached the village. well, the charred batch of ground that supposedly used to be a village. about a half-hour before sunset. A scattering of crows and various other birds were pecking at the ground, and every now and then a bone or piece of metal stuck out of the ash. I didn't quite realize how thick and somber the air was until V spoke. "Well this is desolate."
Yaruu looked up at the sky . "Yeah. Crap."
"Yeah." Gathering my courage, I stepped onto the charred area.
Well, I tried. There was some kind of barrier in the way. "I was wondering why it stopped so suddenly," Yaruu muttered, and I growled, rubbing my nose.
"Gee thanks for commenting sooner." I put out a hand, feeling the barrier, then tried punching it. Nothing.
"Try the Tetssaiga- remember Dad telling us about the hundred bat demons, and the whole barrier deal?" I drew Tetssaiga, and whispered to it in my head. *Come on, Aibou, work with me.* I leapt, swinging Tetssaiga as hard as I could against the barrier. As I swung, I saw the blade of the Tetssaiga turning red, and when it hit, the barrier shattered.
I turned, grinning, to Yaruu, who gave me a thumbs-up. Then, I walked slowly across the ash, looking for any clue. "Hello? Hello! If you can hear me, you bastard, get out here!" Suddenly, I saw a flash of movement. A green-hued, four-winged figure rose up out of the ash, and stretched.
"Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive. What is your name, child?" The voice was definitely feminine, and seemed to purr. She looked basically the same as her brother, only with more red-tinted purple hair.
"I am Yasha Kagomaru; you are Yatarra-Oh's sister?" I spat the Youkai's name with disdain.
"I am," she chuckled. "I am called Yatarra-Ah. I am to be your death, Kagomaru. You will pay for what your father did to my father, as it were."
"Feh. In your dreams, maybe." I lifted Tetssaiga to the ready. "In reality, I think you will find things quite different."
"Do you even know how to use Tetssaiga? Can you use Bakkuryu, or even the Kaze no Kizu?" She paused for an answer, but I didn't have one, so I just growled. "I thought not. Those felines took care of things quite nicely for us, don't you think?"
"You were responsible for that?" I spat onto the ashes. "That figures." Suddenly, I sprang forward, swinging the Tetssaiga. I wasn't fast enough, though--Yatarra-Ah sprang out of the way, the sweep of her wings stirring up ash, blinding me. Before I could recover, several small balls of fire ran into me, one after another, knocking me down, leaving me prone to attack. V, however, saw the danger, and quickly built a layer of ice above me as a shield. My eyes were clear by then, and I lay in wait for Yatarra- Ah to reappear. Yaruu ran to join me, and we stood back-to-back.
"We should've known Naraku would have something to do with Father's murder," I snarled, memories of his death surfacing in my mind.
"Yeah. That name just refuses to die."
Something landed on top of the ice, and shortly after, I felt a drop of water on my shoulder. It was melting. I squeezed Yaruu's wrist, an old code telling him 'On the count of three.' Then, I tapped Once. Twice. Thrice. Simultaneously, we ran out from under the ice, then spun around to face our enemy. V dropped the ice, but Yatarra-Ah went skyward again. "Get the fuck down here and fight, Bitch!" I yelled, but she just laughed.
"Such a mouth! Where did you learn to talk like that?"
"Shut the Hell up; you know very well where I heard that language! I watched Dad fight a time or two before you had him killed." The Youkai laughed.
"Brother- you made it; how wonderful!" Yatarra-Ah purred happily, and I glanced around to see Yatarra-Oh landing at the edge of the ashes. Yaruu dashed across the ash, and joined me, back-to-back again. Since we were in grade school, Dad had taught us to work together in battle, just in case.
"Where is V?" I whispered.
"She's lurking in the woods, over there," he replied quietly, and I followed his gaze to the forest nearby. "She'll intervene if we need it, let them forget about her until then." I nodded- it was a good plan.
No such luck, though. "Brother Oh, won't you go find the little ice creature? I'll keep these two here until she's taken care of." Damn.
"Figures; Naraku was known for being tricky," Yaruu muttered, and I gasped, snapping my fingers.
"That's what seemed wrong about how she was fighting; it was too straightforward!"
"That was straightforward?"
"Well, she hopped around, but still. There is something behind this, I know there is. Naraku never fought fair." I thought, trying to figure out their trick. Looking upwards, I saw Yatarra looking back down at me. *What are you up to?* Taking a glance around for anything I might be missing, I noticed that the sun was quite close to sinking. "The sun's almost down; think anything'll happen?"
"I don't know. You think they're plotting something to do with that?"
"How should I know? I'm no evil genius."
"That's what ttcff needs- a genius."
"Little late now." I watched the sky apprehensively, until Yatarra-Oh finally reappeared.
"That took longer than expected; I've been sitting up here bored! The little ducklings didn't even make things interesting," Ah complained.
"It's not my fault the bitch was so damn stubborn- I swear, she simply refused to die." Something about Oh seemed. odd. Then I realized- people in this time had slightly different accents, slightly different dialects. Yatarra-Oh was talking like someone from our time.
"Yaruu."
"I know," he whispered back. "I just hope Ah doesn't figure things out."
"Or that the real one shows back up." He nodded. "In any case, once the sun sets, hopefully we'll be in the clear." From my estimate, we had five minutes to go.
The two Youkai- Yatarra-Ah and V (posing as Yatarra-Oh)- landed in the ash before me. Yaruu made to stand beside me, but I clasped his hand for a moment, signaling him to be steady. After all, Ah could make use of those wings at any time, appearing behind us quicker than we could turn, especially with us having to be conscious of each other. "If you two would wait a short while longer," Ah purred, then suddenly rounded on her "brother." She knew.
V jumped back, reverting to her normal appearance. Her eyes were glazed over red, and she crouched in a feral position, brandishing her icicle claws, and snarling. She bore several large wounds, and looked like some kind of mutated dog-fight veteran, of the literal canine variety. Ah chuckled, and V forced herself to stand tall, and her pure red eyes gradually changed to light, icy blue. "What's happening?" Yaruu whispered.
"V's about to kick butt." I glanced at the sun. "I'd say we have three minutes until the sun's down."
"Whether or not that means anything; we'll find out." He sounded doubtful, but I was confident. I felt. I dunno. Strong.
"I think it will." I turned my attention back to V and Yatarra-Ah. The latter Youkai was being assailed by ice-laden winds, trying vainly to form a fire-missile, or to reach her opponent with her dangerous-looking claws. V was standing calmly, with strict posture and a blank expression- a complete contrast to her earlier disposition. The icy wind stirred her hair, which seemed almost more blue than white, and her blue-glazed eyes flashed in the dying light. Then, Yaruu spoke again, making me jump.
"Oh's on his way, and I wouldn't say he looks pleased." I quickly looked over our shoulders and back, catching sight of little more than a ball of fire with green inside of it.
"Well crap."
"You know, you have developed quite the dirty mouth lately." I furrowed my brow in surprise. Since when was this an appropriate time to discuss my language choice?
Yatarra-Oh landed behind V, who was apparently too absorbed to notice him. My turn. "Hey, lizard-face! I'm your opponent now!" I drew Tetssaiga, and rushed him, definitely moving faster than usual. It also occurred to me that my skin didn't hurt any more. Oh dodged, and counter-attacked, but I intercepted that, and soon we were moving to quickly for me to keep track of what I was doing anymore. Finally, we broke apart, staring at each other across the desolate ash. "Sun's almost down," I muttered to myself, consoling my weary muscles. It occurred to me that nothing would happen, but I refuted that thought. My mind had its doubts, perhaps, but my body knew.
"So it is. Lucky us." Oh seemed sincere in that statement; they had something planned for nightfall.
"Lucky you?" I laughed. "I think you'll find yourselves surprised."
Oh shook his head. "Speak for yourself, child- these are simply our weak daytime forms."
"And this is just my human one." He snapped to attention at that, but it was too late for any more talk. The sun disappeared, and I felt the night's cool seeping through my skin. I felt light, as if I was floating. I dunno- I might have been. A breeze stirred my hair, which had lightened from its usual black to a pure white that reflected the colors around it. I swung the Tetssaiga experimentally, and I moved so loosely, so much easier than I ever had before. It was like I had been wearing chains all my life, and had now been set free. A light magenta aura followed in the wake of my blade, and looking up, I could see Yatarra-Oh's Jaki swirling around him, and my own power swirling around me.
Where the two forces met, a jagged scar opened in the air. "Kaze no Kizu," I whispered, understanding, and slashed at the mark. Tetssaiga released its energy, which swept over the stunned Naraku detachment. Suddenly, something knocked into me, hard. Tetssaiga was knocked from my grasp, and I landed a good twenty feet from it. No matter. Tensing my fingers, I felt claws slide from them, and as I grinned, I felt my teeth grow into fangs.
Looking over my enemies, I saw that they had indeed changed, though perhaps not so much as I. Their skin nearly glowed, and they were all-over ablaze with a dark blue flame. Yatarra-Oh had been injured rather badly by my Kaze no Kizu, and though both looked formidable, I felt invincible. Besides, I still had my allies. Didn't I?
I directed my gaze past the twin Naraku clones, and my brother wrestling with something within himself, V watching helplessly. Watching, dread swept over me, dampening my spirits. I could control this form- it felt natural to me. Brother, though. he was peaceful and calm most of the time, fighting only with just cause. The instincts--kill or be killed, strike first and question later, don't let anyone beat you no matter what it takes--these were new to him. He would be lost in self-confrontation until the Youkai instincts won, and at such time, it would be extremely difficult to stop him.
Anything could trigger it, but especially being attacked. I had to keep the Yatarras from reaching him; I had to protect him. "V! Keep him sheltered!" Becoming aware of opportunity, my enemies turned, but I leapt, flipping, and landed between them and my allies. I dropped down to three limbs, keeping the fourth lifted, ready to slash out. My eyes flashed, and I had to look completely demonic.
I had to fight these two alone, and I was ready and willing.
I think we are fated to never hold a routine for longer than one year.
We met V out by the god tree, like usual, and took a moment to discuss our plans. It was V's turn to carry the back-pack, and since she was stronger than us (being a Youkai), she could carry a lot more than usual without trouble. We were dressed to blend in with the times, and my brother and I were well armed, so we decided to go exploring, after checking in with our friends in the village. Turning that direction, though, we quickly realized that something was wrong. "I smell smoke; a lot of it," V murmured, worried. "We should hurry."
"Right." At my agreement, the three of us started sprinting towards the village. I guess I had become the group leader, though it was very unofficial. "V, you're faster than the two of us. Go ahead and see what's wrong." She nodded, and increased her speed, disappearing through the trees.
Soon, though, we could hear her calling us. "Kagomaru, Inu-Yaruu, hurry, and be ready for battle!" We rushed through the woods as fast as we could, and I drew Tetssaiga, transforming it. Bursting out into the open, we faltered a moment at the destruction that lay before us.
The village was burning, and its occupants struggled to save themselves and each other. The smoke was blotting out the sky; soon, it would be dark. Sango, Miroku, and most of the village men were battling a large band of samurai; Kaede and the others who were too old or too young to fight were clustered in the center of the village, protected by Shippo and his fox- fire. I caught sight of V running to help him, and I gestured to the thickest area of battle. "Up for it, Bro?" He nodded, and we began running again.
Our force in the fray gave heart to the villagers, and we were able to quickly turn the tables. Then, I saw a dark figure, watching the battle from a hill. From the red glow of their eyes, and the strange feeling I was getting, they were a Youkai, and a strong one. "Yaruu!" He glanced my way, while continuing the fight. "Can you hold?" He nodded, and I detached myself from the battle, and ran for the figure. "Who are you? Identify yourself!"
The figure chuckled, and lifted one hand. In it's palm, a small fire grew, illuminating it. It was a male, with green-hued skin, bluish purple hair, horns, and two sets of wings. "I am Yatarra-Oh," he stated, confident in his superiority. "My twin and I are the last remnants of the one called Naraku." I stepped back at the mention of Naraku, shocked. He had been the worst enemy of our father for a long time. While I was distracted, Yatarra- Oh leapt skywards, and threw the fire down at me. I put my sleeve over my eyes, confident that it could repel such a small fire.
I hadn't counted on an explosion.
**********************************
Glacia Vulpes had finally put out the last of the fires, and looked around for the people she knew. Sango and Miroku were helping the wounded, and Shippo was moving from child to child, calming them. "Where are Inu-Yaruu and Kagomaru?" she asked a man passing by, carrying a body to where graves were being prepared. He gestured to the North side of the village, then continued walking. Running that way, V finally caught sight of Yaruu, kneeling over his sister. "There you are! What happened?"
"I don't know. She's out cold, and her face and hands are a little crispy. Help me carry her." They got her down to the center of the village just as she began to come to, and set down as she opened her eyes. "Sister, are you all right?"
**********************************
I groaned, grimacing as I sat up. "Yeah, but I think I got a little sunburnt. I don't suppose you got the bastard?"
"Who?" Yaruu and V answered in unison.
"Called himself Yatarra-Oh." I looked to Yaruu. "We've got a pair of Naraku detachments on our hands."
"There's two pieces of Naraku left?" Miroku had come up behind me, making me jump. It hurt.
"Shit," Yaruu muttered, and I knew he was thinking about all the stories about Naraku that Dad had used to scare us with at night. "I hope Dad was exaggerating."
"Hard to think of something to exaggerate about," Miroku told us, looking at his right hand, remembering. That validated that story. "You look burnt. One manipulates fire?"
"At least one, who knows what the other is like." I put a hand to my forehead, wincing at the contact of touchy skin to touchy skin. "Hey, V- I don't suppose you could cool me down a little, could ya?"
She laughed. "I suppose I could. it just depends on whether you want to stay healthy or not." She picked a stick up off the ground, and quickly coated it with ice to demonstrate her point. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the thing, pressing it to my forehead to demonstrate mine. "Sure, here." She took an extra shirt out of her backpack, and froze it. "Don't overdo it, or you'll catch a cold, or pneumonia, or something."
I laughed. "And then Yaruu would mix up some of Dad's vile medicine to replace my cold with nausea."
"Its not that bad," he insisted, then added, "considering that it completely cures you in just six to eight hours." He stretched. "Well, I'd better go around, make sure everyone else is alright. Can't waste the whole day waiting on you."
"Aw, hush." I stood up, and resheathed Tetssaiga- somehow, I had kept a hold of it through everything, though its transformation had been reversed. "You don't need to wait on me for anything, and you know that quite well."
"You are just like Dad," Yaruu chided me, shaking his head. "Well, if we are heading out right away, we should at least bandage those, so they don't get infected."
"And go around looking like a leper? Yeah right! Seriously, I'll be fine by tomorrow morning; you know how I heal."
Yaruu sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll go let Shippo know where we're off to." He paused a moment. "And where are we off to?"
I looked back at where the Naraku clone had been. "Ask him if they've heard about any other nearby villages have been burned recently; I want to track that nasty down."
"Right, I'll go ask."
After he had gone, V approached me. "Um, this may sound rather odd, but while Yaruu was fighting, I saw a shape on his hand, like a crescent moon, with all these weird designs in it. Then, when we were bringing you down here, I saw the same thing on you, though it was fading fast, and I'm pretty sure I've seen them on you before, when you're fighting. Do you know what they were?"
I shook my head. "No idea. Where did you say they were?"
"Right there." She pointed to the back of my right hand. Inspecting it, I could see nothing out of the ordinary, but I didn't doubt what V had said. After all--what was one more oddity now? "It's probably no big deal, but."
"Yeah; strange. Maybe we should go ask Kaede about it." She nodded, and I went to find the old woman. Yaruu found me first.
"Hey, Kaede-baba called me over, said she needed to talk to us before taking off after Naraku remnants." I nodded, and he led V and me over to her.
"Give me your right hands." We obeyed, and she took hold of them, and began chanting. Slowly, the marks V had told me about appeared, and when she finally released us, they were plain as day. "They were put there to seal in your transformations, to keep you from becoming too dangerous, before you could learn self-control. I think that you are as ready now as you will ever be."
"Our. transformations?" Yaruu and I looked at each other, then back to Kaede.
"Just as your father became human one night a month, so you will become Hanyou once a month. His was one the new moon, I don't know when yours will be. Those will wash off now, releasing the transformations." We nodded, and stood to go. "Be careful, and check in often. Don't make an old woman worry about you!"
"All right, Kaede. We'll talk to you soon." Waving goodbye to her and the others, we started down the path. I couldn't help but notice how Yaruu kept staring at the mark. I looked down at mine, also, wondering. "Think there are any streams nearby? I'm curious as Hell to see what will happen."
Yaruu chuckled. "I'm still trying to fathom you as a Hanyou."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He shrugged, so I tackled him. Of course, he beat me easy, seeing as how my exposed skin was touchy, but by the time we were done, the sky had cleared a little, and V had located a small stream. The marks washed off easily, like Kaede had said, but I felt a little sad seeing it go. "They were pretty. We should get them tattooed on sometime, just minus the magical power stuff."
"Yeah, they were pretty cool." Yaruu lifted his hand, now clean of the mark. "What moon rises tonight?"
I thought a moment. "The new moon, I think."
"I'm just trying to figure out what you two will be like as Hanyou. I mean. you're hardly weaklings as it is. Your father was certainly strong enough as a Hanyou. You could probably conquer Japan when you transform!"
I laughed. "Or just spend the whole time trying to beat each other up, to see who's stronger."
"That's more likely. I just wish we could have transformed while Dad was around."
"Yeah, then maybe the two of us could beat him without Mom's help for once. So--did Shippo know of any leads on that Yatarra-Oh character?"
"There's a village up this way that was mysteriously burnt down a day or two ago, he said to check here."
We reached the village. well, the charred batch of ground that supposedly used to be a village. about a half-hour before sunset. A scattering of crows and various other birds were pecking at the ground, and every now and then a bone or piece of metal stuck out of the ash. I didn't quite realize how thick and somber the air was until V spoke. "Well this is desolate."
Yaruu looked up at the sky . "Yeah. Crap."
"Yeah." Gathering my courage, I stepped onto the charred area.
Well, I tried. There was some kind of barrier in the way. "I was wondering why it stopped so suddenly," Yaruu muttered, and I growled, rubbing my nose.
"Gee thanks for commenting sooner." I put out a hand, feeling the barrier, then tried punching it. Nothing.
"Try the Tetssaiga- remember Dad telling us about the hundred bat demons, and the whole barrier deal?" I drew Tetssaiga, and whispered to it in my head. *Come on, Aibou, work with me.* I leapt, swinging Tetssaiga as hard as I could against the barrier. As I swung, I saw the blade of the Tetssaiga turning red, and when it hit, the barrier shattered.
I turned, grinning, to Yaruu, who gave me a thumbs-up. Then, I walked slowly across the ash, looking for any clue. "Hello? Hello! If you can hear me, you bastard, get out here!" Suddenly, I saw a flash of movement. A green-hued, four-winged figure rose up out of the ash, and stretched.
"Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive. What is your name, child?" The voice was definitely feminine, and seemed to purr. She looked basically the same as her brother, only with more red-tinted purple hair.
"I am Yasha Kagomaru; you are Yatarra-Oh's sister?" I spat the Youkai's name with disdain.
"I am," she chuckled. "I am called Yatarra-Ah. I am to be your death, Kagomaru. You will pay for what your father did to my father, as it were."
"Feh. In your dreams, maybe." I lifted Tetssaiga to the ready. "In reality, I think you will find things quite different."
"Do you even know how to use Tetssaiga? Can you use Bakkuryu, or even the Kaze no Kizu?" She paused for an answer, but I didn't have one, so I just growled. "I thought not. Those felines took care of things quite nicely for us, don't you think?"
"You were responsible for that?" I spat onto the ashes. "That figures." Suddenly, I sprang forward, swinging the Tetssaiga. I wasn't fast enough, though--Yatarra-Ah sprang out of the way, the sweep of her wings stirring up ash, blinding me. Before I could recover, several small balls of fire ran into me, one after another, knocking me down, leaving me prone to attack. V, however, saw the danger, and quickly built a layer of ice above me as a shield. My eyes were clear by then, and I lay in wait for Yatarra- Ah to reappear. Yaruu ran to join me, and we stood back-to-back.
"We should've known Naraku would have something to do with Father's murder," I snarled, memories of his death surfacing in my mind.
"Yeah. That name just refuses to die."
Something landed on top of the ice, and shortly after, I felt a drop of water on my shoulder. It was melting. I squeezed Yaruu's wrist, an old code telling him 'On the count of three.' Then, I tapped Once. Twice. Thrice. Simultaneously, we ran out from under the ice, then spun around to face our enemy. V dropped the ice, but Yatarra-Ah went skyward again. "Get the fuck down here and fight, Bitch!" I yelled, but she just laughed.
"Such a mouth! Where did you learn to talk like that?"
"Shut the Hell up; you know very well where I heard that language! I watched Dad fight a time or two before you had him killed." The Youkai laughed.
"Brother- you made it; how wonderful!" Yatarra-Ah purred happily, and I glanced around to see Yatarra-Oh landing at the edge of the ashes. Yaruu dashed across the ash, and joined me, back-to-back again. Since we were in grade school, Dad had taught us to work together in battle, just in case.
"Where is V?" I whispered.
"She's lurking in the woods, over there," he replied quietly, and I followed his gaze to the forest nearby. "She'll intervene if we need it, let them forget about her until then." I nodded- it was a good plan.
No such luck, though. "Brother Oh, won't you go find the little ice creature? I'll keep these two here until she's taken care of." Damn.
"Figures; Naraku was known for being tricky," Yaruu muttered, and I gasped, snapping my fingers.
"That's what seemed wrong about how she was fighting; it was too straightforward!"
"That was straightforward?"
"Well, she hopped around, but still. There is something behind this, I know there is. Naraku never fought fair." I thought, trying to figure out their trick. Looking upwards, I saw Yatarra looking back down at me. *What are you up to?* Taking a glance around for anything I might be missing, I noticed that the sun was quite close to sinking. "The sun's almost down; think anything'll happen?"
"I don't know. You think they're plotting something to do with that?"
"How should I know? I'm no evil genius."
"That's what ttcff needs- a genius."
"Little late now." I watched the sky apprehensively, until Yatarra-Oh finally reappeared.
"That took longer than expected; I've been sitting up here bored! The little ducklings didn't even make things interesting," Ah complained.
"It's not my fault the bitch was so damn stubborn- I swear, she simply refused to die." Something about Oh seemed. odd. Then I realized- people in this time had slightly different accents, slightly different dialects. Yatarra-Oh was talking like someone from our time.
"Yaruu."
"I know," he whispered back. "I just hope Ah doesn't figure things out."
"Or that the real one shows back up." He nodded. "In any case, once the sun sets, hopefully we'll be in the clear." From my estimate, we had five minutes to go.
The two Youkai- Yatarra-Ah and V (posing as Yatarra-Oh)- landed in the ash before me. Yaruu made to stand beside me, but I clasped his hand for a moment, signaling him to be steady. After all, Ah could make use of those wings at any time, appearing behind us quicker than we could turn, especially with us having to be conscious of each other. "If you two would wait a short while longer," Ah purred, then suddenly rounded on her "brother." She knew.
V jumped back, reverting to her normal appearance. Her eyes were glazed over red, and she crouched in a feral position, brandishing her icicle claws, and snarling. She bore several large wounds, and looked like some kind of mutated dog-fight veteran, of the literal canine variety. Ah chuckled, and V forced herself to stand tall, and her pure red eyes gradually changed to light, icy blue. "What's happening?" Yaruu whispered.
"V's about to kick butt." I glanced at the sun. "I'd say we have three minutes until the sun's down."
"Whether or not that means anything; we'll find out." He sounded doubtful, but I was confident. I felt. I dunno. Strong.
"I think it will." I turned my attention back to V and Yatarra-Ah. The latter Youkai was being assailed by ice-laden winds, trying vainly to form a fire-missile, or to reach her opponent with her dangerous-looking claws. V was standing calmly, with strict posture and a blank expression- a complete contrast to her earlier disposition. The icy wind stirred her hair, which seemed almost more blue than white, and her blue-glazed eyes flashed in the dying light. Then, Yaruu spoke again, making me jump.
"Oh's on his way, and I wouldn't say he looks pleased." I quickly looked over our shoulders and back, catching sight of little more than a ball of fire with green inside of it.
"Well crap."
"You know, you have developed quite the dirty mouth lately." I furrowed my brow in surprise. Since when was this an appropriate time to discuss my language choice?
Yatarra-Oh landed behind V, who was apparently too absorbed to notice him. My turn. "Hey, lizard-face! I'm your opponent now!" I drew Tetssaiga, and rushed him, definitely moving faster than usual. It also occurred to me that my skin didn't hurt any more. Oh dodged, and counter-attacked, but I intercepted that, and soon we were moving to quickly for me to keep track of what I was doing anymore. Finally, we broke apart, staring at each other across the desolate ash. "Sun's almost down," I muttered to myself, consoling my weary muscles. It occurred to me that nothing would happen, but I refuted that thought. My mind had its doubts, perhaps, but my body knew.
"So it is. Lucky us." Oh seemed sincere in that statement; they had something planned for nightfall.
"Lucky you?" I laughed. "I think you'll find yourselves surprised."
Oh shook his head. "Speak for yourself, child- these are simply our weak daytime forms."
"And this is just my human one." He snapped to attention at that, but it was too late for any more talk. The sun disappeared, and I felt the night's cool seeping through my skin. I felt light, as if I was floating. I dunno- I might have been. A breeze stirred my hair, which had lightened from its usual black to a pure white that reflected the colors around it. I swung the Tetssaiga experimentally, and I moved so loosely, so much easier than I ever had before. It was like I had been wearing chains all my life, and had now been set free. A light magenta aura followed in the wake of my blade, and looking up, I could see Yatarra-Oh's Jaki swirling around him, and my own power swirling around me.
Where the two forces met, a jagged scar opened in the air. "Kaze no Kizu," I whispered, understanding, and slashed at the mark. Tetssaiga released its energy, which swept over the stunned Naraku detachment. Suddenly, something knocked into me, hard. Tetssaiga was knocked from my grasp, and I landed a good twenty feet from it. No matter. Tensing my fingers, I felt claws slide from them, and as I grinned, I felt my teeth grow into fangs.
Looking over my enemies, I saw that they had indeed changed, though perhaps not so much as I. Their skin nearly glowed, and they were all-over ablaze with a dark blue flame. Yatarra-Oh had been injured rather badly by my Kaze no Kizu, and though both looked formidable, I felt invincible. Besides, I still had my allies. Didn't I?
I directed my gaze past the twin Naraku clones, and my brother wrestling with something within himself, V watching helplessly. Watching, dread swept over me, dampening my spirits. I could control this form- it felt natural to me. Brother, though. he was peaceful and calm most of the time, fighting only with just cause. The instincts--kill or be killed, strike first and question later, don't let anyone beat you no matter what it takes--these were new to him. He would be lost in self-confrontation until the Youkai instincts won, and at such time, it would be extremely difficult to stop him.
Anything could trigger it, but especially being attacked. I had to keep the Yatarras from reaching him; I had to protect him. "V! Keep him sheltered!" Becoming aware of opportunity, my enemies turned, but I leapt, flipping, and landed between them and my allies. I dropped down to three limbs, keeping the fourth lifted, ready to slash out. My eyes flashed, and I had to look completely demonic.
I had to fight these two alone, and I was ready and willing.
