Shippo blinked at the young youkai slayer. "You work for Atma?" He asked, aghast.
Kohaku nodded. "Yes." He said. "She is my master."
Shippo blinked. "Oh, shit!" He said simply.
"You seem displeased." Kohaku said. "I don't see why."
Shippo shook his head. "Atma tried to kill Kagome!" He yelled.
Kohaku nodded. "Yes." He said. "She had to get Kagome to be able to see-"
"That's enough Kohaku." Said a new, feminine voice. "You shouldn't tell the kitsune everything."
Kohaku turned, and looked up into one of the large surrounding trees. "I apologize. I did not know." He said simply, in a soft, calm, respectful voice.
What was going on? Shippo shook his head. Why didn't Kohaku remember them? Even when Naraku had wiped the demon hunter of his memories, he had still retained a little of his past life. Was Atma really so powerful as to wipe a mind clean totally?
Something was wrong here.
All of Shippo's suspicions of the wrongness were very quickly confirmed as the owner of the feminine voice dropped easily from the tree. It was a large cat youkai, with two tails, large fangs, and fire on all its limbs. Shippo knew that youkai.
"Kirara?" He stuttered.
The firecat's shoulders shook in a silent laugh. "Shippo!" A disembodied, feminine voice said, seeming to echo from Kirara. "You look surprised."
Shippo, for once, was at a complete loss for words.
Kirara turned to Kohaku. "Leave him here." She instructed, then turned back to Shippo. "You neeedn't understand, but just listen." She said. "If you want to find a trail around Shinjuku, then follow Kohaku. He can't enter the city either, so following him will be safe. Also, don't worry about Kagome. She will get to Vadise on time. I guarantee it."
With that, the fire cat turned, let Kohaku hop onto her back, and dashed off into the wilderness, leaving Shippo gaping and alone, still trying to figure out what had happened.
~~
"You're lucky I caught you." Kirara admonished the young youkai slayer as they ran. "Atma would have been very miffed with you if you had spilled everything to them."
"Sorry." Kohaku said softly. "I was confused when he knew who I was."
"Yes, well," Kirara said. They've had bad experiences with you.
"Like what, is it something to do with someone named Naraku?"
Kirara looked up at him. "Yes." She said after a pause. "He was a very nasty youkai that found you when you were wounded." She said. "He erased your memories, and made you his slave."
Kohaku looked down. "But why don't I remember it?"
"Atma locked away all those memories." Kirara explained. "When she found you, you were continually trying to kill yourself. She locked them away until you could deal with what you did under Naraku's command."
"So she was protecting me…" He murmured. "But why would I know Sango?"
"Atma hopes that you'll figure that out by yourself." Kirara said. "I could tell you, but I think it'd be wiser to go along with her plan."
Kohaku nodded. "Do you really think it was wise to tell Shippo that?"
"Tell him what?"
"That Kagome was going to be okay. We really don't know that." He said.
"I feel confident that they will make it. I talked with Vadise, and she knows, and both Kitty and Aaron are in Shinjuku to help them along. They'll be fine."
"You hope." Kohaku finished. It was a fact, not a question.
Kirara sighed. "I hope." She agreed. "I truly hope."
~~
Kagome gaped at the huge, brilliant walls that stood before her. They were a good thirty feet high, and made out of shining white granite. There was a magnificent gate carved strait into the granite. On each side, there was a statue of some very aristocratic looking youkai, standing with a blade planted lade-first in the ground, much the way InuYasha had when he had called Syldra.
Was it just her imagination, or did the statues eyes actually follow her as she walked past. She stood suitably low to the ground, as par instruction, and sulked along behind her "master."
InuYasha looked every bit the noble youkai. The feathers in his hair were neatly patterned, and his clothes were that of royalty.
Slowly, they emerged into the bustling streets. Somehow, Kagome had been expecting just another village of huts, albeit nice huts, but still huts. This magnificent city, though, easily dwarfed her present day Tokyo. For a brief moment, she forgot herself, and simply looked around in wonder.
The buildings were made out of shining marble, extravagant, and beautiful. Even the streets of the city were clean and bright. Weren't youkai supposed to be the monsters of the world? Then why did their city outshine all the human ones.
Then, Kagome's eyes saw the truth, in the form of a young teenager. She was wearing nothing, trying to cover herself in a bed sheet, and running as fast as she could, a heavy, silver collar hanging around her neck. There was a commotion, and there came, bursting behind her, several other youkai. One, in particular, stood out. He was large, and had flaming red hair, and rough Tattoos on his face. His ears were wolf like, and he had furry, red stripes on his cheeks and arms.
Kagome looked on, in shock, as the girl made a desperate attempt for the gate. She got almost level with Kagome before the wolf youkai caught her, fastening a vice like grip on the end of the chain, and planting his feet. The girl kept running until she got to the end of the chain, then her neck stopped, and her feet whipped out from under her.
Kagome watched in horror as the wolf youkai stalked over to the girl, who was gasping for breath, and pulled out a long, thin rapier. The was a cry of pain, and the rapier suddenly seemed to be sticking out of the girl's shoulder, pinning her to the ivory streets. "You have embarrassed me publicly." The youkai stated in a deep baritone.
The girl's eyes widened in horror, and she suddenly started to struggle again. Acutely, her eyes focused on Kagome, and her hand shot out, reaching for any sign of help from the girl. Her hopeless eyes watered slightly, then there were two snaps, and her eyes went dull.
Kagome's eyes widened in shock as something warm and sticky splattered across her face. Her eyes traced up to the wolf youkai. Almost nonchalantly, he pulled the sword out of the girl's carcass, and shook the blood of his claws. Then, his eyes shifted to Kagome, and met with hers. The youkai held his gaze on the girl for a moment, then shifted his gaze to InuYasha. "Your slave does not know its place." He remarked, his voice deadly, and suspicious. "I do not know you."
InuYasha fixed his eyes evenly on the other youkai. "I have not had time to teach her proper discipline." InuYasha said, emotionlessly. "She is yet new."
The youkai nodded, accepting this. "However, I do not know you."
InuYasha didn't even blink. "My name is Kain." He said evenly.
The youkai nodded again. "Very well," He said, still eying InuYasha suspiciously. "What business do you have here in Shinjuku."
InuYasha nodded. "That is a tale that requires much telling, indeed." He said, not missing a beat. "It, however, has no time to be told. I run short on time." With that, he walked on, brushing past the youkai smoothly, dragging the still shocked Kagome through the street firmly.
Kagome "limped" through the streets with a new sense of horror now. Almost everywhere she looked she could swear she saw blood red stains on the walls. Her eyes were focusing and unfocusing rapidly, and her breath was coming in small gasps. All of InuYasha's preparations and worry suddenly rushed up to her. She had thought he was just being overprotective, but now the threat became frighteningly real. That youkai had killed a girl, with no more concern than having to buy a new slave.
There was a pressure on her neck, and she looked up with tearfilled eyes. InuYasha pulled gently on the collar, flashing her a brief sympathetic look, and then he was gone, replaced by the placid Kain.
The slave and her master walked quickly through the streets, ignoring everything but the far gate, which was very far off indeed.
As the walked into the center of the city, Kagome, despite the horror of the girl's death, had to gasp at the wonder. This place was beautiful, even though it was deadly. InuYasha, on the other hand, was staring directly into the center of the great Plaza, in a patch of emerald grass, with four aspens of equal size on each corner. Standing, dead center in those aspens, was a statue of the purest marble.
The figure in the statue stood just above an ornate grave. He stood tall, back arched, and chest out. He wore a heavy hauberk, and a long cape hung down his back. His feet were bare, and had little claws on each of the toes. His arms were out strait forward, coming together to rest the hands on the hilts of two swords. Those swords were the only two things of the statue that weren't made of marble. They were plain, simple katanas, each the same length, and each made of simple steel.
It was the face, however, that truly caught Kagome's attention. The face on the statue was InuYasha's.
The slight pulling on her collar prodded her along, and they headed strait for the little square of grass. InuYasha stopped just before the grass, and gently bowed his head reverently. Faintly, Kagome could make out a faded inscription on the tomb. The only words she could read, though, were the name: "InuTaisho"
So this is InuTaisho…
There was a sudden rabble, pulling InuYasha and Kagome out of their reverie. The both looked up, beyond the garden, to a small opening between buildings. Stumbling out of it, was a drunk.
But it wasn't just any drunk. This guy looked like a walking arsenal. Across his back, and at his sides were strapped swords, bows, crossbows, and all sorts of other random weapons. He was tall and lanky, and wore an open vest. Across his chest was a chain of throwing knifes. His hair was messy, and pointed every which way in blonde locks. His pants looked almost like jeans, but Kagome knew that was impossible. Jeans weren't around in the warring states era!
Even while staggering back and forth, though, the man carried an air of grace, looking almost like he was going to fall several times, but never once actually losing his balance. He staggered over to an odd cat youkai, who took two steps away.
"HEY, Bay-bee!" The drunk yelled at the top of his lungs. "Yer looking cute!"
Kagome blinked. Was that supposed to be some sort of pickup line?
The cat youkai had a thin coat of black fur all over her, but her definite hourglass figure announced far and wide that she definitely had human assets. Her hair was largely the same color, but with a light blue tinge. Poking out of the crown of locks were two large black cat-like ears. She wore a silken Kimono, and looked at the drunk with an "Oh, brother" expression.
"Are you an angel?" The odd guy asked her.
The cat-girl rolled her eyes. "Even in the cultural capital, there has to be a village idiot!" She said tartly.
The drunk shrugged of the insult with the dexterity of an ox, and began to wander away… strait towards InuYasha.
"Shay!" He said in a drunken slur. "Yer that lord Kain guy, aintcha!" He said.
Kagome cocked an eyebrow at him. How did he know what InuYasha was calling himself.
"I gotta shay, itsh great ta meetcha!" The drunk announced. For the first time, Kagome realized that he was in fact, a human, not a youkai.
"Do I know you?" InuYasha asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Oh, shure!" The guy said. "I was a great friend O' Taisho, here." He said, stumbling up onto the grass and putting his arm around the statue. "Yer shome short of relative, right?"
InuYasha's eyes narrowed, and he nodded. The drunk stumbled back down, and but his arm around InuYasha's shoulder. "Lissen, buddy!" He said. "I had great reshpect for the old dog. Why don you come over to my plashe for a drink, and mebey a bit O' eatsh!"
InuYasha carefully removed the mans arm from his shoulders, and put it at his side. "I must decline. I am in a hurry."
"Oh, well!" The man said. "Y'know, you should take more time and enjoy life more." He said, wisely. "Theresh plenty O' things to enjoy in life!" He seemed to struggle to think for a little while. "Like women!" He final announced cheerfully. "You should try to get a girl to like ya!" InuYasha blinked at him. "Like this one here!" The man said, clapping Kagome heartily on the back. "She's a fine catch!" he said. "Try wooing her a bit!"
Kagome was suddenly aware that every eye in the square was on them.
The man deftly walked over to the garden. "Like flowers!" He said. "Girlsh luv flowers!" He grabbed a handful of grass from the garden, and walked over to InuYasha. "Go on!" He said cheerily. "Give it a try." With that he firmly deposited the grass in InuYasha's hand, and gave him a shove in Kagome's direction.
Kagome rolled her eyes, and gave a slightly amused expression to InuYasha. The hanyou let the grass fall from his hand, and turned back to the man, who looked at InuYasha with much interest."
"Ish yer hair changin' colors?" He asked bluntly.
InuYasha's eye twitched, and he whirled back to Kagome, trying to keep from killing the guy.
Kagome sighed. They needed to get going! It was almost dark. Suddenly, something on InuYasha caught her eye. She inspected his face carefully, and quickly identified it. His hair was changing color. It was turning black. A sudden feeling of horror came over Kagome, and she jerked her head up to the sky.
The moon was nowhere to be seen.
~~
Bwahahaha! I'm evil! Hehehe! He!
Okay, now that I have all the spasmodicity out of my system, I believe I will give a few author's comments.
Okay, for starters, for those of you who haven't gotten it yet, Kohaku and Kirara were the first Masculine and Feminine voices.
Next, InuYasha isn't actually a youkai right now, he's just disguised himself as one (Yes, his scent too.)
Nextly, it Anyone who is a really good artist could draw a knifto picture of either InuTaisho in the pose I described, or InuYasha in his youkai outfit in that pose, I would love you forever, and give you and infinite supply of cookies… well, not real cookies, cause we're online, but I'm talking about semi-etherial cookies, that are imperceptible.
I have, however, drawn pictures of Atma and Vadise, and should have them ready to be seen by the masses by the time I get to introduce Vadise, so if you want some of those, then just tell me, and I'll E-mail them to you once I get to Vadise… sorry, I'm hyper today.
And please R&R! The more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter comes out!
