Kindred Spirits
An Inu Yasha and Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: *wishes she owned Saiyuki and Inu Yasha* Fortunately for you guys I don't…
Woohoo! We are now at 10 chapters! *dances around excited* This is only the second fic that I have ever written that got into the double digits. For those of you currently reading, thank you for sticking around for so long! (and believe me, there's going to be a lot more to come…)
Review responses can be found in the link in my bio. Thank you for all of your feedback, I really appreciate it!
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Chapter 10: Shooting Star
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Souta woke to the feeling of cold metal on the bare skin of his chest. His eyes flew open, looking around him quickly.
He was in the forest of chains again. The chains seem to radiate from within themselves their own light, contrasting against the black nothingness they fell against. Souta looked up, and could not see what the chains were attached to from the sky. They seemed to extend up into infinity, and then some. Some chains were hanging off other chains, and some were draped across the landscape, creating a makeshift canopy. These canopies, however, were on several levels, and Souta occasionally felt claustrophobic. Some chained "ceilings" he had to duck under, while others were hundreds of feet over his heads. However, he couldn't worry about that now.
As Souta began to run in a (somewhat) familiar direction through the forest "brush", he noticed something very important about his attire. The first thing was that he was carrying a katana on his left side.
The second thing was that he was only wearing pants. Leather pants.
Souta sweatdropped. Now that he thought about it, he had been wearing only leather pants last time too. Why he had not noticed before was beyond him, but he decided to try not to think about it at that moment. What interested him more was the katana at his side.
Grasping the handle firmly, he unsheathed the blade to inspect it in all of it's glory. He had, in his growing interest of kendo and martial arts in general, visited many different museums and had seen many different swords. But this one… this one had never been used. There were no nicks in the blade, no stains to be seen anywhere, and seem to shine with a light brighter than the chains around him. While it was obviously heavier than any wooden sword he had ever carried, it felt evenly balanced and somehow right. It was as if this magnificent weapon was made for him. It was like it was meant to be carried by him and him alone. Souta could not remember how he had come across such a remarkable blade. It is as if the God of Fire, God of War, and God of the Smithy had all teamed up to create the *perfect* katana, he thought. No, wait, he amended, Add the Goddess of Beauty to that…
Shifting his grip, he began to inspect the handle of the incredible weapon. The hilt was silver and black, and reminded him of a starry night. As he looked closer at it, he was somehow reminded of his wooden sword – the wooden sword Kanzeon Bosatsu had given him herself. This feeling intensified when he looked down at the ebony colored scabbard, although he could not pinpoint why.
A growing feeling of… something… was welling up inside his stomach again. He needed to get there (wherever there was), and fast. He had no idea why. It was just that he knew that someone needed his help.
This time it is someone I know… Souta realized. I can't tell who, but I KNOW this person… Sheathing his blade, Souta again began to run in the direction that was calling to him.
The chains were growing thicker, and Souta had a fleeting thought of taking out the katana and cutting through them, like he would brush in a real forest. He laughed at the thought, knowing that it had to be ridiculous. Even if a weapon like this beautiful katana could cut through steel and iron in the hands of a master, Souta knew that he was not one. It would also be a shame to chip or scratch such a blade over something so stupid. He had never handled a katana before that moment, and was not used to the weight. Chi manipulation could aid him in the task, but he had not been able to reach that level. Throwing one's chi as a weapon came fairly naturally to demons, but it took LOTS of practice for a human to master. Since his primary teacher of chi control did not live in his time on a regular basis, his grasp on the technique was sketchy at best. He was not a master, even if he WAS able to defeat those punks from the town he stayed at.
Soon the chains became a wall, and Souta knew he had to try to cut through – for the way he needed to go was straight through the blocked path. There was no way around – the wall stretched on either side of him into infinity. This is so stupid, he thought to himself, but somehow I feel that it might work…
Higurashi Souta drew the katana and took a traditional fighting stance. He closed his eyes to calm himself and concentrate on what he was about to do. Manifesting some of his chi into the blade of the katana, Souta's eyes snapped open and he ran towards the wall, gaining momentum. Slashing diagonally, the young swordsman was shocked to see the chains cleanly fall to the ground with a loud rattle.
I did that? He thought with surprise. But I am no master… how is this possible? Looking down at the blade, Souta feared the worst – that his recent action had somehow marred its perfect beauty. He was relieved, and surprised, when he saw that it was still clean. It was still as if it had never been used before. It was truly a magnificent blade.
Souta decided not to question his luck further, and ducked through the opening he had made. What he saw came as a surprise and not a surprise at the same time.
The first of the two figures was a man who appeared to be his elder sister's age. Long white hair feel freely down his bare back. Unable to be hidden at the top of his head were two particular ears – ones that looked like a dog's own ears. They were also white, minus the exception of the fleshy pink of his inner ear. In the position he was in, his snowy colored hair pooled slightly on the chain linked ground.
He had known who the person was by the color of his hair, but had he had any doubt – the man's eyes would have put aside all other possibilities. They were golden, but not in the same way that the man from last time's had been. The pupils were rounded slits, and yet seemed to be still so human at the same time. The gold of his eyes seemed to be slightly mixed with an orange-like tint, and Souta was reminded of a burnished gold more than anything else. There was no childlike innocence in the eyes of Inu Yasha. There was not any innocence at all.
The second of the two figures was a younger man who appeared to be a year younger than Souta himself. That would make him around fifteen, Souta thought. He would be as old as Kagome was the first time she fell through the well. This man also had long hair, but not nearly as long as his elder companion. Tied back with a braided piece of rough leather, the ponytail fell to the young man's upper back. Some strands fell freely around his pointed ears, revealing his demonic heritage. His hair was an orange-like shade of red, like the color of the foreign exchange student from Ireland's hair who had visited Souta's school two years before.
His eyes were a dark green, darker than the third man he had seen from last time. The young man's eyes told of pranks yet to be played, of arguments still to fight, and of the playfulness that nothing would ever be able to quell from within his soul. They were the eyes of a fox, and Souta knew that this young man had to be the fox demon who accompanied his elder sister Kagome on her adventures, the fox demon Shippo. In all of Kagome's years of traveling through the well, the young swordsman had only met Inu Yasha. Apparently, the others could not travel through the well, for unknown reasons. His eyes also told something else, something deeper for those who would take the time to look. A young man of this age should have not seen the things that he has seen, or do the things that he has done. It reminded Souta of his own eyes so much that it slightly frightened him.
The two of them were also only wearing leather pants, and wore shackles on their wrists. Souta now began to grow suspicious. The three men from before were shackled like this, but he didn't notice any pointed ears or demonic chi. In fact, he could not sense the demonic chi, or youki, in either of them. Even if they were not evil, ALL demons had youki that mingled with their chi. They felt like the three men did – he could not pinpoint exactly what they were.
That doesn't make any sense, though, Souta thought. *I* am not a demon, and my own chi feels like that. Those other three did not *look* like demons… But there had been those ominous pieces of metal on the two of them. One had a coronet, and the other had three clasps on his ear. Souta had no idea what they were, but tried to push it out of his mind.
It was at that moment that the two demons decided to take notice of him. Souta felt a little self-conscious, even a bit embarrassed. He tried to tell himself that they were dressed the same as he was, but it didn't make it any easier. They were leather pants, dammit! He didn't even own any leather pants.
The young man Souta believed to be Shippo stood up and walked over to him. The chains dragged behind him nosily, making Inu Yasha wince.
"Don't make so much noise, Shippo you little brat!" the half demon shouted out, verifying Souta's guess.
"I'm not little anymore!" Shippo turned around and shouted back. "And I can't help it!" He pointed down at the chains. "It isn't like I can just lift all of them up."
Souta noticed that the particular chains attached to Shippo's shackles on his wrists extended beyond the "cave" and out behind the walls. Souta again wondered how they were able to move around without getting tangled or caught.
The young fox demon turned back to the young swordsman and smiled. "Hi, I'm Shippo!" he enthusiastically introduced himself. "Do you know where Kagome is?"
Souta was surprised at the question. The fox demon had never seen him before, and yet he could tell that he was connected to Kagome. He saw Inu Yasha smirk at his silent response.
"I thought she was with you," Souta said carefully. "She left my world only a couple days ago to go be with you and your friends for a year. I wish I knew, though…"
"How do you know her?" Shippo asked, curious. "You have Kagome's scent on you, and your own scent is similar to Kagome's somehow…"
I smell? Souta thought, slightly disgusted. I know everything has a smell, but it still doesn't sound right…
"Idiot," Inu Yasha said smugly. "This is her little brother."
Shippo was torn from looking from Souta in awe and surprise to answering Inu Yasha's insult. He resolved to do both in quick succession.
"Idiot Inu Yasha, how was I supposed to know?" he retorted. "You are the only one who has met him – you are the only one who can go through the well besides Kagome!" He turned back to the young swordsman. "So you're Souta? Kagome's younger brother?" he asked, excited.
Souta was surprised at how energetic the young fox demon's response was to the revelation of his identity.
"Yes…" Souta began somewhat hesitantly. "But what are you two doing here?" he wondered.
"Isn't it obvious?" Inu Yasha said condescendingly, "we're waiting for some people to come here."
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Souta woke up suddenly, his body in a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night, and he could not hear a sound anywhere. It was generally the time of night where one was tired to simply be awake then. However, for the young swordsman, there could be no sleep now. It was the second dream he had had of chains, and it was beginning to disturb him.
Two different groups of people, all wearing shackles on their wrists, he thought. Two groups of people, all waiting for someone, or several people. He did not understand it.
Pushing aside the twisted bed sheets, Souta stood up and went to the window of his bedroom. He liked Xing Xing and De Wei's house, it was on the edge of the forest. He especially liked the room they had let him borrow, for it did not face the streets of the town but directly out to the dark forest. He could see the stars better from his room than any other window in the house, and it helped him think.
The stars were so much more brilliant than at home, he realized. With the lack of light pollution, as well as normal air pollution, Higurashi Souta was able to see millions upon millions of more stars than he had ever seen before. He didn't know if it was because of the fact that he was in the past, or that he was in a different geographical location, or that there was just so much power surging in the countryside, but the sky looked more mystical than he had ever seen it. It was as if it were trying to tell him secrets that no mortal had heard before.
Souta opened the window and leaned against his arms on the windowsill. He could see the Milky Way galaxy from here, and it was the part of the sky that intrigued him the most. The dusting of stars were calling out to him, telling him to pay close attention to what was happening. Souta did not know how he knew this, but he did know that there was no way for him to sleep right now, so why waste time in bed when he could look up at this magnificent sky?
As he considered that thought, he saw a shooting star fly across his field of vision. When he was a child, and maybe even before the Merciful Goddess had called him to his own adventure, he would have immediately wished upon it. However, after landing in ancient China and fighting four demons simultaneously upon arrival, the young swordsman realized that one should be careful what they wish for. So, for the first time in his life, Souta did not wish upon a falling star.
He was surprised, however, when the star seemed to come closer to his location. Souta knew that meteorites could land anywhere, and wondered if this one would strike close to the village. The light grew brighter, and yet seemed to fade at the same time. It's going to hit nearby! He thought, excited. That was, if it did not burn up first. He braced himself for impact, but the impact came in a far different way.
A presence seemed to call out to him, in desperate need of help. It was far different than the time he had saved Shuang, for there was no fear in this presence. There was more of confusion than anything else. There was something else, too. Souta extended his senses to try to discern it. This presence is not human, he realized. It is not a demon either. It feels like the kind of presence the Merciful Goddess had… His eyes widened at the thought.
Grabbing a piece of paper and pen from inside the drawer of the end table by his bed, Souta wrote out a quick note to De Wei and Xing Xing in case they came to check on him before he came back. Then, grabbing his wooden sword, he quietly exited his room and out of the house. As soon as he hit the road, he headed for the forest where he had felt the presence.
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In the middle of a forest lay the figure of clad mostly in white. His golden eyes, while not closed, held a slightly dazed expression within them. It was a sight that few ever saw and lived to tell the tale. The great dog demon Sesshomaru did not show his weakness to anymore.
The demon lord shook his head slowly, and moved himself into a sitting position. One moment, he had appeared before his brother, and the next he felt that he was being taken away somewhere. At first, he suspected that his younger brother's woman had something to do with it, but she had the same pained expression on her face that he did. The Shikon shard in his arm had felt like it was burning him, and that it wanted to come out. He had fought long and hard against other demons to keep this particular shard in his possession, and he wasn't about to let it leave on it's own accord. While it had been interesting searching for other demon limbs to act as replacements, he had been relieved to get his own arm back again. He didn't care what happened to the Shikon shard particularly after his arm finished healing, but he knew that he did not want either the bastard Naraku or his own younger brother to get their hands on it.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and a frown formed on his face. Where was his brother, exactly? He had been ready to attack him before this whole mess started. In fact, he could feel none of those previously in his company around him. He was alone in this foreign forest.
He could care less about Inu Yasha, but he knew that his companions would be looking for him. Jaken could defend himself against weaker demons, and he was not particularly worried about his subordinate's welfare.
Is Rin with him? He wondered fleetingly. The girl had always somehow managed to cause him to be concerned. She was only a human, and had no real way to defend herself. Over the years of living with her, she had learned basic defense skills. Rin would never attack demons – Sesshomaru could do that alone – but it always made him wary when she was not with him. Is she safe?
"Rin?" he called out into the forest. He knew that he could not feel her presence anywhere, but he still fleetingly hoped that he was wrong.
"Jaken?" as he called out his subordinate's name, he also wished that there would be no response. Jaken and Rin had a habit of ending up in generally the same places, and if he couldn't find her, he would probably not find his servant as well.
The dog demon stood up slowly and inspected himself. There was nothing wrong with his body from whatever had happened, except a bit of dirt on his robes and his mantle. His swords had somehow unattached themselves to his left side in the fall, and he made his way to pick them up.
After checking to make sure that they had not been damaged in some way, he fastened them securely to his left side. Sensing the presence of some demons nearby, Sesshomaru causally dusted himself off and started to walk towards the demons in question.
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The demon cried out in surprise and pain as he faded away. The priest's three other companions looked at him in surprise. The great Genjo Sanzo did as little fighting against the "demon scum" as possible, and here he was, shooting a demon that had not even attacked them. He climbed out of the jeep, seemingly oblivious to their shocked expressions.
"Sanzo?" The priest didn't miss the confused tone that his driver had failed to hide. "Sanzo, what's the matt-"
The high priest was hit with a tremor of negative energy. No, Sanzo amended the statement, it isn't negative. It just amplifies and multiplies whatever touched it last. Spinning around, he saw Hakkai stooped on the ground with his eyes wide. The demon was gripping his left ear like his life depended on it.
"Stay back!" he yelled at Gojyo and Goku as they moved to his aid. Even from here, Sanzo could see cracks in his charge's diadem.
"My power limiters are trying to fall off…"
Defiantly going against the negative energy, Gojyo walked over to his best friend's side after he was sure that Goku was far back enough. When the hanyou moved to help the demon, Hakkai viciously pushed him away.
"Snap out of it, Hakkai," Gojyo said seriously. As he water sprite continued to try to move his friend, Sanzo walked until he was standing directly in front of the shard.
How could something so small be so powerful? The priest wondered. Kneeling, he cautiously moved to pick it up.
The moment his fingers touched the object, it was as if he could feel the air change around him. The negative aura vanished and was replaced by a pure one. He heard Hakkai gasp, and then sigh in relief from behind him.
What IS this thing?
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"WHAT THE HELL?"
The fox demon's four other companions winced at the volume of his voice. Shippo generally had more sense to shout in the middle of the night, especially in the middle of a strange forest.
This time, however, the kitsune had a legitimate reason to be surprised. Jumping up in disbelief, he promptly lost his balance and fell over.
He no longer had a tail.
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Just a warning to everyone, my finals for college start this week, so if the next chapter somehow gets delayed, you'll know why. The two groups will meet up soon, but you'll get a chance to see some of the *other* characters meet up first. Sorry, but the plot kind of wrote itself like that. *sweatdrop*
Comments and criticisms appreciated!
-Iapetus