Moonlit Encounter:
A Tale of Dogs & Wolves
By: ChocolateEclar
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any other character from the anime/manga "Inuyasha." So don't try to sue me. ^___^
Claimer: I own Koinu (Nobara), Shirakaba, Yu (Yousukou), Hime (Yuck!), Mashiro, Itoshii, Haipaa, Koishii and her children, all of Yu's younger siblings and cousins, and the Shinrin Twins (Yaki and Karasubairo).To TetsuoTsubushi: Thanks for the compliment! #^__^# I hope you like this.
To kyu-bi: I like putting cliffhangers in sometimes. It keeps you guys in suspense, they can be painful though. ^_^;; Anyway, as for Koinu being telepathic, well, she's not really. She does have a secret though. ^_-
Part 11: Sea of Reminiscence, Ocean of Memories
"Memories… So many memories. No one can take them away!" Koinu cried out in her freezing prison in her own mind. She trembled, her whole body felt like ice. She slowly opened her eyes, the sudden gold in the sea of darkness caused everything to brighten. It had felt like someone was pulling memories from her brain, destroying them. Many of the precious memories now played before her.
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"Uncle Sesshoumaru, why did Rin die?" a young Koinu inquired as she stood in front of Sesshoumaru's desk in his office. It was an innocent enough question; she was a small child at the time after all. She cocked her head towards the picture hanging on the wall behind her uncle. It was of an adult Rin in a floral kimono, her hair cascading over her shoulders. Written in white ink on the bottom edge of the painting it said: Painted by Kaku Nigaogaki: in memory of the late Rin.
Sesshoumaru looked up from his work at his mei, who was leaning against his desk staring wonderingly at the painting. "Why should I tell you, youjo?" he inquired ignoring the sudden ache in his chest.
"I was just wonderin'," replied Koinu, smiling sunnily at him. " She was very pretty," the quarter inu-youkai added.
"She died having a bebii," said the full inu youkai after awhile.
"What happened to the bebii?" inquired Koinu after brief pause.
"Died at the same time," said Sesshoumaru. He looked up to see his mei's eyes glittering with tears.
"Th-That's so sad. I-I'm s-sorry," cried Koinu.
And for the first time Sesshoumaru decided to be truly kind to his mei.
He stood up and walked around his desk. Then, he bent down by Koinu and hugged the child. Koinu buried her face in her uncle's shirt before looking up and smiling at Sesshoumaru.
Both had been comforted that day for different reasons.
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Koinu smiled at the memory. It was a rare occasion indeed when her uncle showed compassion to others. Another memory sprang up in her mind then.
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"Watch me, Koinu!" shouted a little Shirakaba as he dived under water at a beach. He came back up a moment later, sputtering and with a smile on his face. Both were wearing swimsuits; Shi's a pair of azure trucks and Koinu's a violet bathing suit.
Shi went under the water again and Koinu looked in all directions for her ototo when he didn't come up very quickly. Finally he appeared behind her, jumping onto her so that they both went under.
They came up laughing and Koinu picked Shi up and threw him in. He came up coughing, but laughed all the same.
"Be careful, you two!" called Kagome coming towards them in a blue bathing suit.
The quarter youkai kyoudai responded by splashing their okaasan.
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Koinu grinned again. She stretched and yawned. It seemed that the more she remembered, the warmer she was and the easier it was to move.
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"GRRRRRRR! Roar!" growled Koinu as she and Shi wrestled with their otousan. Koinu looked to be about eight, her dark hair hanging in her eyes. Shi, who had wrapped his tiny arms around Inuyasha's leg and was yanking on Inuyasha hair, was nearly two.
"Roar! You're gonna lose, 'tousan!" exclaimed Koinu pushing Inuyasha down.
Inuyasha let them win, not using any of his own strength against them. "You both beat me," he consented causing his kodomotachi to grin and laugh.
"Yay! We beat Dada!" said Shi, showing his baby teeth.
Koinu hugged her ototo. Inuyasha watched with mingled pride and joy.
His kodomotachi. Koinu and Shirakaba.
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Koinu sighed at the adorable recollection. "Just one more. Then I'll be ready. The rest is up to Yu," she whispered, searching for one more unforgettable memory. It was a strange feeling, like she was flying through her mind. She found one, grasping onto it and holding it tight as her youkai blood tried to take it from her.
She refused to cry out even though pain coursed through her as the demoness tugged on the memory, which was in the form of a golden orb. To anyone else all the orbs looked the same, but all Koinu had to do was look at them and know what they held within.
Eventually the subconscious version of Koinu's youkai self yelped and released her grip on the orb. It was too pure, too precious a memory. Koinu smiled, displaying the memory before herself in the darkness that was lit only by other honeyed orbs of reminiscence and her own eyes.
Naturally, it was a memory of Yu.
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It was the day after Koinu's battle with Hime. Yu and Koinu were on their way back to Kouga's tribe's land to show Mashiro Koinu's math assignment. Yu was carrying Koinu and they were a blur of wind. Koinu felt warm and safe; her head was resting against Yu's chest and she was watching their surroundings pass by rapidly, making her feel drowsy.
She fell asleep and, when they reached the foot of the mountain, the wolf dens above them, Yu looked down. Koinu looked peacefully, a smile on her face as she snoozed. He didn't want to wake her but he did anyway, shaking her shoulder.
"Ko," he whispered. "Koinu, wake up. We're here."
Koinu yawned, displaying sharp fangs. She slowly opened her eyes and muttered drowsily, "Huh? Oh, its you, Yu." She yawned again and hopped out of his arms, smiling genially at him.
'My sunny Koinu,' he thought. 'Wait?! My Koinu?' Yu couldn't help but blush at the strangeness of his thoughts.
Of course only Koinu knew why her memory included Yu's thoughts.
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Koinu grinned like a child with a secret. Her eyes glittered and the golden memory orb went back with the others.
"My sea of reminiscence. My ocean of memories," said Koinu. She looked ethereal among the aureate spheres, her hair floating in the void within the tendril-covered creature.
'Now all I can do is wait. Wait for Yu,' she thought, looking up at the darkness. "Yu," she whispered in a strangely airy tone of voice. Then, she curled back up into a fetal position and dozed.
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"Yu," the wind called again. This time Yu didn't stop, he hurried after the demonic Koinu. He had to rush, something told him that. Maybe it was the breeze; he couldn't be sure.
He reached Koinu, who was standing on a branch above a river, her clothes and white hair fluttering in the wind. Her inu ears twitched as he approached and she turned, snarling. She looked like an animal. She was cornered but far from harmless.
Yu came towards her slowly, watching her every move. He assessed her current status. She was a full youkai, which would increase her speed and agility, and she was lighter than him so most likely quicker than him. He had more experience than her, but that didn't always mean he would win. He knew her moves though and without her ninjen awareness, she didn't know his moves. 'She doesn't know them yet, anyway,' he thought. He had no doubt that the youkai Koinu was any less intelligent than the 'real' one.
The she-demon smirked and lunged at him. Her claws grazed his arm, but otherwise Yu dodged her, loosing his footing on the tree and falling into the river. The water was only three-feet deep and Koinu dived in after him, her claws extended in front of her. Yu swam out of her way as she landed, coming up behind her and pinning her arms to her body.
"Let go of me! Damn it! Let go!" screeched the youkai Koinu. She struggled in his grasp, digging her claws into his arm.
Blood trickled out of Yu's wounds but he held on, his eyes tightly closed. "No. I won't ever let you go," he whispered in her ear.
The demoness took in a sharp breath. Her face was turning red and she felt strange. 'Not bad, just strange,' thought the she-demon
"Its not strange really. You feel loved. You could say you feel warm and fuzzy," said Koinu, smiling.
Yu started at the sound of Koinu's voice and looked up. Sitting on the side of the river, her bare feet in the water, was Koinu. Or atleast a transparent, ghostly version of the quarter youkai.
Koinu smiled again and said, "I'm not a ghost."
Yu couldn't speak so Koinu continued, "You know what to do to bring me back. Just say the words and I'll be able to return, love." She then added sheepishly, "If not, it may take me awhile. You see, I've kinda been eaten. It's a long story that'll I'll tell you soon enough." She was fading and Yu almost reached out to touch her but Koinu yelled, "Don't! If you let her go I won't be able to get back right now! I'm surprised I can even do this. These abilities of mine, which I thought for awhile were just my imagination by the way, don't work often or when I want them to for that matter."
She stood up in the stream, smiling at Yu. "I hope I'll see you soon. Goodbye…Yu," she said, her voice was faint by then.
"Wait!" Yu cried out.
Koinu's eyes widened before she sighed. "You know what to say. Just think," she said.
"I-I do?"
"You do," whispered Koinu. And with that the apparition of Koinu vanished, leaving Yu and the struggling youkai.
"Let go!" yelled the she-demon who had been silent the entire time the 'other' Koinu had made her appearance.
Yu smiled, his face softened with need. "Koinu," he whispered after awhile. "I love you."
The demonic Koinu cried out and went limp then and the true Koinu took her place, grinning up at Yu, who still held her tightly. She body instantly turned back to its quarter youkai form. "Those are the words, love," Koinu whispered, her eyes darkened with fatigue.
Yu smiled and asked, "Are you back to normal?"
"'Fraid not," muttered Koinu looking down at the water they were sitting in. "My youkai blood has only been locked up temporarily, not tamed or locked up permanently. And I-I'm so tired, Yu. It took me ages to stop it this time. It almost won too," she continued.
Yu watched as tears dripped from Koinu's golden eyes and into the river. He turned her around so that she faced him and wiped away the tears on her face with his index finger.
"I was afraid too. Afraid I wouldn't ever see you or my family ever again," mumbled Koinu, her face and eyes turned away from him.
Yu gently grabbed her chin in his hand and pushed it up at him slightly so that she faced him. "Look at me," he insisted. Koinu reluctantly complied, her eyes were an even darker gold now as she strained to stay awake. "I'm here and you're safe. That's all we need to think about right now."
He leaned his head down, his lips inches from Koinu's, waiting for permission. Koinu's smiled softly, tipping her head up and capturing his lips. Yu almost fell over and only just caught himself. They didn't separate though and Koinu wrapped her arms around his neck. Sensations traveled through them like fire.
Finally they unwillingly broke apart for air. Koinu smiled at Yu, her cheeks flushed. Her eyes were still getting dimmer though and she was blinking repeatedly. Yu held her tightly to him, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I love you, Koinu," he whispered.
"I heard you before," said Koinu laughingly. Her voice was faint as she continued, "I love-" Then she fell asleep, safe and warm in Yu's arms in the stream.
Yu smiled cheerfully. He knew what she was going to say so he didn't mind. He stood up, cradling her in his arms. 'My Koinu,' he thought as he looked down at her. 'Yea, my Koinu.'
And with that, he made his way back to the wolf dens where Kagome, Shi, Mashiro, the returned Inuyasha, and Shippou waited. He was careful not to awaken Koinu, who smiled in her sleep.
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A/N: That was a strange chapter, no? It was fun to write though. ^_^
A/N 2: Here are the translations:
Mei=niece
Youjo=little girl
Bebii=babyA/N 3: This isn't quite over with yet. They still have to find a way to keep Koinu's youkai blood in check permanently.
A/N 4: REVIEW! Bye! ^__^