October 22, 2002

(Author's Note: I hold no rights to any of the Inuyasha characters, however all rights to original characters are mine. Yashira™. And Yajuumaru™ belongs to Leloi.)

Sister, Sister

By Yashira

Chapter 11

The tree they stood beneath had spread out a multious array of branches that networked against the backdrop of the dawning sky like a caged skeleton of a huge umbrella. It reminded Kagome of the tall redwoods she saw in her geography texts which grew in California. The only difference though, aside from the brown mottle colouring of the tree, was the size of the trunk. Probably no bigger than three people touching hands around the trunk, Kagome wondered how it still maintained its overly aggressive height. Had she been sitting at the apex of the most highest branch she would not have been able to see herself or the group that stood below… so how could this tree exist without once toppling over?

"It's too high to jump," Inuyasha muttered with a sour-eyed glance to the distant over-hanging branches. "Even if I tried jumping off the tops of these other trees, it still wouldn't be enough leeway to catch the lowest branches." Golden eyes glared accusingly overhead before shifting reproachedly at Yashira. "Besides I thought the Averos was suppose to grow at the base…"

"Well," Yashira began with a dismissive wave of her hands. "This isn't Musashi and I've never seen a tree like this before. If you look up, way up at the branches, you'll notice there are flowers growing and other sort of herbs…"

Kagome, who stood near Yashira, blinked up at the distant branches with amazement in her eyes. "I… I think you're right, but your eyes are sharper than mine, but it's incredible if it's true. "

Letting out a sigh as if the sight had bored her, Yashira added intentionally, "The Averios is up there... I see white petals."

"Alright, we can save Miroku!" Kagome's tone was encased with relief and ease as she tried to pinpoint the spot Yashira saw the Averios. "Let's hurry and get some."

There was a sort of sadness attached to Yajuumaru's emerald coloured eyes as he gazed up at the tall tree. "This is my mother." In the shadows cast by the tree his tanned skin seemed even darker and his hair shone almost ebony. "After my father disappeared and I grew up, she rooted into this." He fondly placed a hand against the black-brown bark as a soft look came into his eyes. "She has been here a very long time… before my father… before many things…"

Inuyasha was unconsciously fingering the hilt of Tessaiga as he cast golden eyes on Yajuumaru and the tree. "I guess cutting it down would be out of the question then?"

"You ain't cutting down my momma!" Yajuumaru spun immediately around and for the first time since presenting that calm and serene face, his lips formed an over protective snarl revealing small, but sharp incisors. His wolf tail twitched uneasily and the look in his green eyes was completely fierce and aggressive.

"Inuyasha," Kagome was beside him in a mere moment as her hand held down his sword arm. "There's no need to cut down this beautiful tree. There has to be another way."

"Feh, fine… I could climb up it." Yet, as he flexed his sharp claws, there was another low warning growl which issued from Yajuumaru's throat. Irritated, Inuyasha glanced over at Yajuumaru with much the same narrowing of eyes he usually used on another wolf demon who annoyed the hell out of him. "Look pal, can you name another way up there."

"I'll do it," Yashira interrupted as if her words were a given order, "You two are taking too long."

Swiftly so that neither Inuyasha nor Yashira could touch the tree Yajuumaru let out a guttural, "NO," as sidestepped in front of them

With the same look of annoyance that fell into Inuyasha's face, Yashira let out a frustrated sigh, "Well wolfy, you are going to have to decide two things. You either be the tree demon you think you are and stand guard over your mother, at which point I'll have to seal the hell out of you with my miko attacks... or take the side of your wolf demon and go running with your tail between your legs."

"Yashira, don't say it like that." Kagome was used to dealing with Inuyasha's dislike of wolves and was surprised to find Yashira seemed to have the same regard as well.

"I can say it as much as I like. Wolves are just cowards." Aside from her normal monotonous tone that always boarded on sneering her nose at youkai, there was actual dislike etched in as well.

"And wimpy."

Kagome spun and gave him an astonished look. "Inuyasha, not you too."

"I don't know what you have against wolves," Yajuumaru replied with more energy than before, "but I'm part tree demon and both parts of me are not going to let you cut down my mother." Glancing back at his own tail, Yajuumaru revealed more of his long slender pointy ears. Idly he scratched the back of his head, "My father was a ronin wolf, my mother tells me that much. They met and mated on this spot where she conceived and bore me."

Yashira and Inuyasha both had that instant horrified look of, "Too much unasked information."

"Yajuumaru," Kagome lifted her fingers in a gesture of peace, "No one will cut down your mother or climb it against your will, but we really need the Averios up there. One of our friends is very sick. He will die if we don't get those leaves. Can you think of a way that we can get that plant?"

"Come on, I can't believe your asking this half breed about another man's life," Yashira muttered angrily. "Your friend is going to die."

Kagome lifted her face, her brown eyes crystal clear and sharp as she shouted back, "That's the problem… we can't take one life for another!" Realizing she'd just shouted at the miko, she swallowed uneasily and glanced to the side. "We can't… even Miroku would understand that."

Inuyasha kicked at a clump of dirt as he added in frustration. "I can't believe we have to condemn Miroku to such a short life… this guy's mother isn't even running about."

"Inuyasha!"

Yajuumaru flicked his long black braid behind his shoulders and touched the bark of the tree gingerly, "Mom, can you bring me some leaves from the Averios?" There seemed to be no moment or echoing reply from the wood as Yajuumaru glanced over at the three of them. "I'll give you the leaves you need, as long as you don't hurt my mother."

Already annoyed with the situation Inuyasha glowered. "We get the fucking picture already. So where are the leaves?!"

Kagome touched Yajuumaru's arm softly. "Can you really get us leaves?"

As Yajuumaru drew his fingers back from the bark, several leaves emerged and clung to his fingers, "How many do you need?"

***

There were at least 12 petals she counted not including 2 odd looking pods which were probably seeds, some roots and even stems. Kagome wasn't exactly sure if what Kaede needed was the actual root of the plant or the stem, but with the whole kit and caboodle she felt they were generally covered. "Thank you very much Yajuumaru."

Back to being his civil and pleasant self, Yajuumaru returned a congenial looking smile to Kagome. "You're very much welcome." Yashira and Inuyasha had taken to arguing again over very trivial matters and Yajuumaru glanced over at the black hair girl with interest. "Is she always like that…. So angry and confrontational?"

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha with much the same look Yajuu had for Yashira, "If she's anything like Inuyasha, yeah." They watched as Inuyasha threaten to pull out Tessaiga and as Yashira threatened to call on her heaven blast. "Say, Yajuumaru, you said your mother is this tree, but that your father was a ronin wolf, right?"

He nodded in the affirmative.

"I just find that amazing. A friend of mine once said that a wolf hanyou disappeared into this place about 200 years ago. Masaka, you're not completely demon either, you must have some human blood in you."

"Is that wrong?" He had noticed earlier the contempt Yashira seemed to have for him and he wondered if it had to do with this little fact about his heritage.

Kagome shook her head quickly. "For most people they'd like you to think it's wrong, but I don't. It just makes you more interesting."

"Interesting, eh?" He let his eyes wash over where Yashira and Inuyasha were, seemingly at a truce at the moment, if you could count him swearing and her looking pointedly annoyed a truce. "I wonder how much more interesting I have to be to catch her attention."

**

Yajuumaru's green eyes, so bright and deep like the flickering forest life around him, stared at the group with barely concealed apprehension. "You aren't leaving… are you? You just got here." The events with nearly cutting down his mother, and nearly getting blown by the Heaven blast AND, not to mention, nearly gutted with Tessaiga were moments gone in the wind. What was important, what mattered, was the here and now which suddenly consisted of being separated from them… and more importantly... being separated from Yashira.

Kagome fixed him with a soft almost pitiful look. "We have to. I'm sorry, but when we came it was to find this plant to save our friend's life." Kagome's hands tighten on the makeshift bag that housed the recently plucked leaves, roots and seeds. "If we linger too long, he will die."

"But you just got here…"

Yashira was standing by a tree that had a sort of vague bluriness about it. In her "fight" with Inuyasha the two of them had accidentally discovered the portal back when several of their attacks went through and disappeared. Her eyes seemed to shimmer to a twisted shaded of blue as she fingered the simple "acorn" at the root of her necklace. "There's no buts and ifs about this, we're going back." Her tone was cold as she glared over at tree-demon's face… her gaze turned exceedingly chilly when he stared her down with equal intensity.

"But if you go you won't be able to come back." He almost sounded like some lost frighten child fearing abandon.

"And the point being?" There was no kindness in her voice as Yashira regarded him with eyes 100 times sharper than ragged ice. "We don't plan to ever come back here."

"Yashira…" Inuyasha's tone had a sort of reproach to it as he glanced between cold hearted Miko and broken heart demon. While he held no love for wolves and the like, he also didn't have much respect towards her current attitude either. Even a complete idiot could see that Yajuumaru had eyes for her.

Squaring her shoulders and tossing her head as if she really didn't care, Yashira ducked towards the portal, disappearing through it without another word. And there it was, the cold disgust, the loathing hatred of youkai and that closing of hearts. What closeness she had begun to show towards Inuyasha and Kagome disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Inuyasha scowled and stormed off to the "exit" as he stuck his hand out to Kagome, "We better go then, no point letting Miroku suffer anymore."

"Yeah…" Kagome glanced over to where Yajuumaru watched them, rooted in some sort of mind-numbing paralysis. The poor guy seemed so forlorn that it touched at her heart strings. "Good bye Yajuumaru… I'm very sorry about her…"

"…"

***

"What was in that broth?" Miroku's pale struggling face with near fragile violet eyes looked up and over at Kaede as Sango with a look of surprise. Sango was squeezed his hand with joy in her brown eyes. "What's wrong Sango? Too close to the onion soup again?"

She was too happy to see him awake and alive to think of a witty reply as she drew her fingers against his forehead and smoothed back his black hair. "You're okay… Erk?"

As Kagome looked at the remaining leaves in the makeshift pouch, before she handed them over to Kaede for safe keeping, she chuckled and pointed wryly to where Miroku attempted his five finger touch. "Looks like he's better…"

"Seems so," Kaede replied with a relieved chuckle as the two of them watched Sango beat the hell out of the now recovering man.

* * *

Within the gloom of the night the two of them sat by the old bone gobbling well for what seemed like eons saying nothing in silence. Inuyasha was still trying to sort through the events of the last two days, or hours, or…. This changing of time, night and day, day and night, was confusing like hell and it had sent the rhythm of his body out of whack. He was exhausted and he wanted to rest, but until Yashira passed out from exhaustion first he would show no similar weakness.

Yashira sat on one side, glancing over at the darkness of the surrounding wood as if she could defy any physical exertion by will alone, as Inuyasha leaned back and watched the soft pattering of the stars above. Eventually he spoke in a low, gruff tone, "You know, he seemed … to like you… amazing though it seems…"

Yashira's blue eyes frown at him as she flexed her fingers as if to call on the Heaven Blast. "How would you like to be purified?"

Inuyasha almost flinched, but he managed to retain his cool. "You know you can't purify me…" She was almost as touchy about some matters as he was.

"Oh?" She sat up and turned, her fingers reaching across the well for his shoulder. "You seem to think you can underestimate me. From what I've heard about Kikyo she only was capable of sealing you, but I'm NOT Kikyo... I'm capable of much more. I can destroy your youkai side at any time…"

There was a yelp of pain as Inuyasha turned too late as Yashira's fingers burned into both haori and skin. Inuyasha's face contorted in a spasm of vicious pain as a wave of energy stabbed through his entire arm. Barely jerking back from her, he stumbled away from the well with a hard edged look in his voice and brown angry eyes. "You bitch what the hell were you…" He stopped abruptly, staring oddly at his left hand as if he could not believe what had happened to his changed fingers. The nails were short, small and clearly human. Scrambling to check his other hand he saw the same thing… he was human!

"Oh don't worry it's not permanent," she replied carelessly as if suggesting she could do otherwise, but not wishing to do so at the moment. As if to emphasis her words, the change she had worked on his body started to slip back into the very hanyou Inuyasha was. Brown eyes were blending back to gold as his black hair shifted from black to white.

However, with his demon eyes returning, Inuyasha could see the very sweat that lined her neck and he could see that she had grown pale… and there was a familiar smell coming from her. Not the human smell, but more like the demonic smell he could distinguish in other youkai… and yet hers seemed even more familiar. Her eyes were still blue and yet the shape of the pupils seemed to change to slits as her black raven hair blended to a gray of gray.

"It's not permanent you bitch," and there was a fury of emotion in his voice as he growled at her, "Because you can't maintain enough of it to keep yourself from changing back to your hanyou self." How much, did he suddenly realize, had she been holding back? How much before the weight of this illusion broke down and… The starlight glinted off something that rested against her bosom and Inuyasha made a quick choice that would have many repercussions later. He dashed for her breasts.

Mistaking Inuyasha's intention for some sort of retaliation, Yashira lifted up hands to call the Heaven Blast, but he was over her shoulders and landing carefully to the side with something shining in his hands before she could act. "A ward on your own body… Why didn't I see this before…" Within his very fingers, instead of what she usually wore around her neck, was the acorn shaped pendant.

"Give it back to me, you bastard…" She growled at him, blue eyes turning gold and honeylike his own as she tried to use the Heaven Ascension. Nothing happened. Without her human form, that form of power would not come. "GIVE IT BACK!"

Inuyasha stuck his tongue at her as he waved the pendant like a bully stealing homework. Silver white hair had replaced the black, gold eyes like his covered the blue and two perfect dog ears had winked out from the side of her head. It was enough to make him stop the ludicrous dance he was doing with her pendant. "Just that the hell are you? You look like m-"

"I can answer that my "dear" brother." And Sesshomaru's voice was haughty and cold as he appeared through a rent in the woods. "You're seeing the face of your late sister."