Hello, and welcome to chapter six of Mysterious Hanyou! Thanks to all those who gave me reviews (as of this moment, 27 reviews! Thank you all!), and I'm really glad that you've enjoyed this little ficcie, here! *sigh* only...hmmm, two chapters to go? I don't know if it'll be two more chapters, or just one more...it all depends on how it goes down in this one...I have one question to readers though, do you think I should write a sequel? Because I've been drawing up plans, depending on how it ends...and it can end in one of three ways...but I'm not telling until I get close to the ending, b/c I'm just wondering how you'd like it to end...ANYWAY, I'm babbling just a tad bit too much, so I'll continue on with the story...but not first, without a disclaimer!
Disclaimer: As usual, Kouga and crew don't belong to me, no matter how many times I wish, but they do belong to the brilliantly imaginative Rumiko Takashi, the creator of the Inuyasha universe! BUT! Take this story (and Inuko along with it), and I will hunt you down! =P
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Mysterious Hanyou
Chapter 6: Memories Interrupted
By: Akiko
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"W-w-who are you?!" stammered Shippou.
"Me? I'm Inuyasha's..." Inuko started, all eyes on the hanyou. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for her answer. Her golden eyes scanned the different faces in the room, seeing varying expressions on each face: eagerness, calmness...arrogant disinterest?
'Why that...not even paying attention...are we? Heh...then let's play a little game...' Inuko thought, grinning to herself.
Miroku glanced at Sango, who also seemed to be quite suspicious of the devilish look on Inuko's face.
"We should watch her," Miroku whispered as quietly as he could. "She could be--"
"Don't worry, houshi-boy, I don't bite!" hanyou-girl said, abruptly interrupting Miroku. "I don't have these fuzzy white ears for nothing, hon!"
The monk fell silent, narrowing his eyes at the new arrival. She may be beautiful, with those intense golden eyes, and luscious curves...
*THWAP!*
Sango glared at the so-called-houshi, her gaze sending daggers at Miroku. He scooted away from her, winking at her as he did so, knowing full well that she was just a tad bit jealous...The demon exterminator flushed a crimson red, which, for the most part, went by unnoticed, except when she caught the knowing look in Inuko's eyes.
Inuko shook her head; that houshi and that exterminator, they make a cute couple...
'So do that girl and my...'
"*ahem*" Shippou coughed, rather loudly. "Would you *please* tell us who you are?!"
"Feh! I was getting to that!" Inuko stared at Miroku and Sango. "If *someone* didn't interrupt me!"
"Well, as you should be able to tell, unless you're blind," she turned to Kaede, "Or old..."
Kaede rolled her eyes. Must these two half-demons always pick on her age?!
"Sorry, I couldn't resist...As I was saying, you should be able to tell that I bear a startling resemblance to that idiot over there," she continued, pointing at Inuyasha, "And it is for good reason. You see, I'm Inuyasha's..."
Everyone focused their attention on her, except for a certain hanyou idiot, and a certain arrogant wolf...but at least Inuyasha had the respect to give her the undivided attention of one, furry white ear.
"AND that girl's...I believe her name is Kagome..." Now that caused everyone to turn to Kagome and Inuyasha, both of which were feeling a blush rising on their cheeks...
"Daughter." Inuko finished simply, grinning like a Cheshire cat, waiting for the shocked reactions.
"WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!?!?" three humans, a kitsune and a wolf exclaimed.
"OW! NOT SO LOUD!" she yelled, putting her hands over her ears. When the noise died down, she saw a tomato red Inuyasha, and she saw that Kagome was the same unnatural shade of red. All eyes were on the schoolgirl and the hanyou-boy, expecting to hear some kind of answer.
"D-d-d-don't TELL ME KAGOME CHOOSES THIS DOG-TURD OVER ME!!!!" Kouga stuttered, while Inuko tried to choke back laughter.
"Well, of COURSE she would!"
*THUD!*
One poor little kitsune lie on the floor, sporting a wonderfully large bump on his head. He ran to Kagome crying; getting hit by Inuyasha was one thing, but Kouga was something else all together!!
Kaede sighed, 'These children are such idiots...'
"This girl does not speak the truth," the old miko calmly stated, earning the rapt attention of six pairs of ears. "Why don't you explain it yourself, Inuko?"
The hanyou-girl couldn't take it any longer. She burst out in laughter, and collapsed down to the floor. Inuko slapped her palm against the floor; their reactions were just too damn funny!
She was like that for quite awhile, and when she sat back up, six pairs of eyes sent evil death glares her way, but she was unfazed by it, and just wiped tears away from her eyes. Damn, she hadn't had a laugh like that for awhile, not since...
"What did you say that for...?" Inuyasha and Kouga growled ominously, sending Inuko scooting backwards until she hit a wall.
She held her hands up in a placating gesture; she meant it as a joke! Geez, guys are such mean idiots...
"I'm sorry! But if you were paying more attention, Inuyasha, I would have told the truth right away!" Inuko snapped. "But back to business...The truth is...that I'm..."
"Inuyasha's sister."
*blink-blink-blink*
"ha....HAHA! (to kathy: it's a pun! heheh...)" Inuyasha laughed uncontrollably, "A...SISTER!? HAHAHA!!!"
Everyone craned their necks to gawk at Inuyasha hysterically laughing his head off like a lunatic. He was rolling on the floor because he was laughing so hard! All because Inuko said that she was his sister...What was so funny about that?
"Excuse me?!" Inuko yelled. "YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?!"
Her only response was more laughter. Everyone grimaced; this had to be stopped soon before Inuko killed him.
"Look, everyone," Kagome began, "How do we know that she's really Inuyasha's sister...? Isn't there some way we can prove it?"
Miroku, Sango, and even Shipou had a thoughtful look on their faces; meanwhile, Kaede had turned to more important manners, like organizing all her herbs into categories.
Inuko stood, although with some slight difficulty. Gold clashed with gold as Inuko pinned Inuyasha down with her golden stare, daring him to laugh again.
"I'll prove it. Now, if everyone would please step outside," Inuko suggested to everyone.
The group filed out of the little hut, Inuyasha walking out, completely annoyed (as usual), Kagome following close behind him, and Kouga quickly tailing the schoolgirl. Sango walked out in front of Miroku, whose eyes were rather, how do you say, roving over a certain demon exterminator. Poor little Shippou was at the end, trying to catch up with the rest of the group.
The hanyou-girl was in the lead, taking the entire group to the Goshinboku tree. She walked up to the tree, placing a hand on it, as if feeling what had happened over fifty years ago...
"And how are you going to prove that you're my," Inuyasha paused, "'sister', wench?"
She just stared down Inuyasha, determination shimmering in the golden depths of her eyes. Inuko would prove to him that there was someone who understood, that there was even more reason to believe that he wasn't alone...
"Give me Tessaiga."
"WHAT!?" Inuyasha exclaimed. "HELL NO!"
Kouga watched this little exchange of 'Give me the sword', 'NO!' with a little amusement. That Inuyasha was such a stubborn idiot; those two already fought like siblings...
'She's Inuyasha's sister...' he mused to himself, the thought giving him a slight sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. 'Wait, why the hell should I care if she's Inuyasha's sister? It's not like I'm going to ask Inuyasha for permission to mate with her or something!'
The wolf-youkai may have thought that, but he still had to viciously fight down a blush that dared to try and creep up on his face. Thankfully, no one noticed his little struggle, their captivated attention on the two arguing, white-haired demons.
"JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN SWORD!"
"NO ****ING WAY!"
"ARRRRRGH! THAT'S IT!" Though she was wounded, she lunged forwards at Inuyasha, her hand reaching for the sword on his hip.
The hanyou was just a bit slow today, and Inuko managed to grasp it, and pull it out of it's sheathe. Inuyasha fell backwards from shock at what he saw, and everyone seemed to have let out a collective gasp, okay, maybe not everyone. Everybody EXCEPT Kouga and Inuyasha.
"Tessaiga..." Miroku murmured, "it..."
"TRANSFORMED?!?!" Inuyasha completed in an ear shattering shout.
Inuko held the sword up victoriously in the air, sunlight glinting off the demonic sword. Her face held a smug expression; she had been able to prove her point to Inuyasha. She hauled the fang over her shoulder, much like Inuyasha had in the past.
"See. Point proven."
Everyone, including Kouga, seemed to just accept that Inuko had told the truth, and that she was really his sister, but a certain stubborn idiot just couldn't believe it. He popped up and was about to spring at the other hanyou, ready to tear her apart for his sword.
Inuyasha stopped in his tracks however, when he stared at the tip of the Tessaiga. Inuko had an expressionless face; she was pointing the sword at him, her eyes just telling him to take another step.
"Don't make me use Kaze no Kizu," Inuko flatly stated, while the rest of the group seemed to back up a few steps.
Inuyasha snarled at her; how could he have trusted this damned girl for even a second? Miroku tightened his grip on the rosary on his hand, ready to release the deadly Kazaana on this person if necessary. Sango reached for her Hiraikotsu, ready to hurl it at any moment. Shippou leapt to Kagome, taking refuge in her arms, while Kouga just smirked a bit.
"Why you..." Inuyasha growled, "BITCH!"
Inuko's lips turned up into a smile; and her eyes twinkled with mischief. She giggled softly and just winked at the group, earning her another round of death glares.
"What?" Inuko managed to get out in between giggles, "Do you really think I'd kill my own brother?"
"You know..." Inuyasha growled, "that's not very nice..."
"Really now?"
"NO IT'S NOT!"
Inuyasha lunged towards her again, but Inuko just threw the fang back at him. It untransformed in mid-air, and hanyou-boy hastily caught it, returning it to it's sheathe. Inuko took off like a shot, taking to the trees. Her brother quickly followed, just wanting to kick her hanyou ass...
Kagome, on the other hand, just smacked her forehead. Geez, as if one half-demon wasn't enough...
"Gee! They're really great siblings!" Shippou sarcastically exclaimed, earning him smiles from his traveling companions.
Kouga just shook his head and started to head back to the village; he didn't exactly want to hang around the twin hanyou, but he didn't exactly want to leave Inuk--, NO! He didn't want to leave KAGOME behind...Of course, he didn't want to leave Kagome...he wanted to stay with Kagome...
'I LOVE KAGOME...' he repeated to himself over and over within his mind. 'She is my only woman.'
Just as Kouga left, Inuko and Inuyasha burst back into the clearing around the Sacred God Tree, except now Inuko was chasing Inuyasha! Kagome and the others just smiled at the little scene that was playing out before them. Never in the past had they seen Inuyasha play and act his age; after all, he was pinned to that tree at a rather young stage of his life, he was probably just a bit older than Kagome at the time.
"URK!" Inuyasha cried out, as he was tackled by a streak of red and white.
"haHA!" Inuko laughed, joy on her face. "Gotcha!"
"Grrrr..."
"Don't growl at me!!"
"GRRR!"
*THWAP!*
"OUCH! DAMNED GIRL!"
*THWAPPPPPPP! BAM!*
"OW OW OW! STOP IT, ALREADY, DAMMIT!"
Miroku, Sango and Kagome just sweatdropped, whereas Shippou was laughing his little kitsune head off. He just thought the whole situation was hiLARRYous*! Inuyasha was getting beat up...by a girl! AND IT WAS HIS SISTER TO BOOT! The little fox fell out of Kagome's arms and landed with a thud on the soft dirt. He rolled around, gripping his sides as wave after wave of laughter racked his little body.
Guess what? More sweatdrops, all around.
"DAMMIT GIRL! GET THE HELL OFFA ME!"
"ALRIGHT ALREADY!" Sango yelled, quite irritated (though ultimately amused) with all the fighting. "Now, will you stop your little argument?!"
"..."
"..."
"Yes, ma'am," Inuko replied as she got up and dusted herself off. Inuyasha stood and glowered at the other hanyou, his golden eyes swearing that he would get his revenge for his humiliation.
"Now! We will go back to Kaede's hut, and YOU, Inuko, will explain everything!" commanded Sango. Boy, was she scary right now.
Inuko 'eep'ed and hid behind Kagome; she may have only been a human, but damn, that woman was frightening!
And so the group returned to Kaede's hut, only to see that Kouga was there already, sitting in front of the doorway, lost in his own thoughts. He looked up as the group returned, but made no move to get out of their way. He only gave them a bored, annoyed look with his bright blue eyes, and just returned to his own little thoughts.
"Move it, Kouga!" Inuko ordered him. When she saw that he didn't move a single inch, she readied to give him another kick to the face, when he suddenly poked her wound.
"OW!" she howled in pain; moving around with little pain was one thing, getting poked at a healing wound was something else!
"Kouga-kun! That wasn't very nice!" Kagome scolded, actually shocked that Kouga would do such a thing.
The wolf demon only mumbled something in reply and moved to the side, allowing entrance for the other six people. He just sat outside the entrance, seemingly not paying attention to the conversation occurring inside, when really he was hanging onto every single word that *she* said...
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Inuko took a seat next to Kagome, rubbing at her sore wound. It was healing quicker now, because of the herbs that Kagome had put on, but it still hurt like hell when it was seriously aggravated. Kouga knew that, but noooooooooo...he had to be a jerk and hurt her!
When everyone was properly seated, the discussion and dissection of Inuko's past began...
"Wait, wait, wait!" Inuko said, interrupting the questions that were coming at her from all directions. "Could I at least know who all of you are? I know Inuyasha, and Kouga called her Kagome, but I don't know any of your names..." she said, pointing at Miroku, Sango, and Shippou.
"I'm Shippou!" the little fox chirped. He then pointed to Miroku and Sango, "The so-called 'monk' over there is Miroku, and the really cool demon exterminator is Sango!"
"Why, thank you Shippou for telling me!" She thanked him, smiling all the while. "So, what do you all want to know?"
"Where're you from?"
"How'd you get here?"
"WHAT THE ***K ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT WIMPY WOLF!?"
"How come Inuyasha doesn't remember you?"
"...Why do you have a shard of the Shikon no Tama...? How'd you get it...?"
"YOU HAVE A PIECE OF THE JEWEL!?" Inuyasha exclaimed, obviously pissed that it was one more shard that wasn't in their possession. "HAND IT OVER!"
Inuko nodded, obeying her brother's request. She removed the necklace from around her neck and simply handed it to a stunned Inuyasha, who had expected much more of a fight. Why would she just hand it over like that...?
She seemed to sense his unvoiced question and just shrugged, "I have no need for it. It's all right, just accept it and say thank you."
"Feh!"
Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha's reaction. Did he know how to react any other way?
"Well, to answer all your questions..." Inuko began, "I have to start at the beginning..."
*flashback*
"Inuko! Make sure not to wander off too far!" A rich, melodious voice called out.
"'Kay, Mama!" a childish voice replied.
A then three-year-old Inuko wandered into a forest, following the scent of a rabbit that had recently passed by. Maybe she could kill it and bring it home to her mother and brother for dinner...
The scent trail seemed to go on and on and on, and Inuko knew that it was beginning to near a human village, but she didn't care. She wanted to make her mother and brother proud!
"Hey...Who're you?" A soft voice asked from behind her.
"Huh?" The hanyou whirled around, to see a young girl, probably only a year or so older than her, standing there, holding a basket of flowers and herbs.
"Me?" Inuko said, cautiously approaching the other girl, "I'm Inuko! It's nice to meet you!"
The pretty young girl dressed in a mini-miko outfit smiled at her, "It's nice to meet you too! My name's Kikyou!"
Inuko giggled, "Kikyou, huh? That's a really pretty name!"
"Well, Inuko's a pretty name too! Are you a dog demon?"
"YUP!" the young hanyou proudly answered, twitching her ears about, "but I'm only half-demon! I'm half-human too!"
"Wow! I bet your mother must really be beautiful...and your father must be very powerful!" Kikyou exclaimed. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Yep!" she replied, grinning impishly, "I have a twin named Inuyasha, and he's great! I also have a half-brother named Sesshoumaru...but I haven't met him yet..."
"Oh..."
The girl before Inuko seemed so quiet...so...elegant, even if she was young.
"Are you a miko?"
Kikyou shook her head, raven tresses of hair swaying with the action, "Not yet, but I'm going to be one soon, Inuko-san!"
"Inuko-san? Don't call me Inuko-san!...Hey, I have an idea!"
The would-be priestess looked at the golden-eyed girl in confusion, "What would that be?"
The white-haired demon grabbed hold of one of Kikyou's hands, earning herself another puzzled stare. "Let's be friends!"
The raven haired child blinked for a second, not quite comprehending the question...Friends? This hanyou wanted to be friends with her...even if she was going to be a miko in the future? Even if that meant they would have to fight each other?
She smiled widely at Inuko; they WILL be friends!
All that day, the two children played, chasing after butterflies and picking lovely little flowers. They played tag and ran after each other, and then they played hide and seek. Inuko always won, of course, seeing as she was the one with the heightened senses...however, the same could be said about the young Kikyou as well...
Night soon fell, and the moon smiled down at children who became friends, despite their differences. They were too innocent and sweet to hate each other. All they knew was that they enjoyed each other's company...
"Kikyou! KIKYOU!" A feminine voice called out.
A woman dressed up in a miko outfit strode into the clearing where Kikyou and Inuko were playing. She stopped dead in her tracks at the demon who was playing with her soon-to-be successor.
"KIKYOU! GET AWAY FROM THAT YOUKAI NOW!" The woman screamed, making Inuko cringe at the sound.
"But, Leiko-sama, she's my friend!" Kikyou protested. "She's half-human! She's not going to hurt me!"
"YES SHE WILL! SHE'S A DEMON, SO SHE MUST BE RID-OF!"
"BUT SHE'S YOUNGER THAN I AM!!!" screamed Kikyou.
Inuko watched the exchange, curled up into a trembling ball. Why are they yelling at each other? Why is that other woman wanting to get rid of her? Just because she was part demon?
"I'M GETTING RID OF THAT WHELP AND THAT'S THAT!"
Leiko grabbed Inuko by her kimono and began to march to the Bone Eater's Well. She held the little hanyou over it's opening, knowing that it was too deep for a little demon like her to climb out of.
"B-b-but I won't hurt...KYAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" Inuko screamed as she was dropped into the well, the last thing she saw were a pair of ice blue eyes glittering with hate....
"INUKO-CHAN!!!!!!!!!"
*end flashback*
Inuko shuddered at re-telling the tale. It was the single thing that still made her tremble when she thought of it. Thoughtful looks were on everyone's faces, and Kagome seemed to have come to a conclusion.
"And that's why you haven't seen Inuyasha in so long...You went to the future..." Kagome whispered, astonished at the new information.
She merely nodded in Kagome's direction, her eyes still concentrating on the floor. It's been so hard to tell that to anyone...
Inuyasha watched his sister carefully; she seemed to have grown close to Kikyou in a very short amount of time. Kind of like him...
'So...she was torn apart from Kikyou too...?' He stared sympathetically at his sister, and inwardly winced at the tears in her eyes. 'It must've...hurt her...a lot...'
"Hold on. How could Inuko have traveled to the future, if she didn't even know Kagome? How could she go through the well, but we can't?" Sango inquired.
"It must've been a cruel twist of fate..."
"..."
No one said anything, the sadness and tension of Inuko's past hanging in the air. She had a sad past with Kikyou as well...
"So..." Shippou said, breaking the silence, "How'd you get back here? And how'd you get the shard?"
"Well, the only I could get back here is through the well, Shippou-chan...Although I didn't know, er, remember it until Souta told me..."
"You met Souta!? My little brother?!"
She nodded. "Yeah, I was there, because I sensed a demon in the area. I quickly disposed of it, and the kid ran up to me yelling 'Inu-no-niichan! You're so cool!' And I figured he was talking about my brother, so I asked him where he was..."
"And he told you about the well..." Kagome finished. So, it seemed fated for Inuko to come back to her own time. What was it like for her to be living in the future...? "Ano, Inuko-san..."
"Not Inuko-san. It makes me feel...I dunno, just not Inuko-san..."
Kagome nodded, 'It must kind of remind her of Kikyou...' She shook it off. "Anyway, how did you survive for so long in my time...?"
"Luck. Your grandfather found me, and brought me to an orphanage. I lucked out and a really nice family adopted me, even while knowing that I was quite...'different'..."
"Oh..."
"..."
"Oi. Inuko. Why are you with that damned wo--" Inuyasha abruptly stopped, and his white ears twitched. He glanced at Inuko; she had heard it too...A scream from within the village.
"DAMMIT!" Inuko cursed, standing up and rushing out the door, nearly tripping all over herself. She sniffed the air...it was the same scent...
"It's them again, isn't it...." Kouga said, rising to stand beside her. Inuko nodded in reply.
"It's who again...?" Miroku questioned.
Inuko shook her head. There wasn't anytime to explain, they had to kill these assholes, and they had to be killed now! She just took off, Kouga close on her heels, to the center of the little village...
Everyone was in shock at the scene before them; at least twenty people lied butchered before them, and another few people who tried to flee were killed right before their eyes...
The two hanyou and a wolf growled at the two demons before them. Blood-red eyes stared at them, lusting for blood.
"So, I suppose you're mad, huh little hanyou?" Jiro taunted.
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Whew! It's the end of chapter six! Seems that Jiro and Taro returned for
revenge, ne? This one turned out kinda long...o.O Longer than any of the
previous chapters I've written. From here, only two more chapters...'cept I
still can't decide how it's all gonna end...maybe I'll do a multiple ending type
thing...but that would make it harder to write a sequel (if i wanted to write
one...), but eh, I'll figure that out all later. I hope you all enjoyed it!
