Kindred Spirits
An Inu Yasha and Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: Point number one – the artistic styles to both Inu Yasha and Saiyuki are vastly different. They are done by different people. I am not either one of those people.
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I can't believe how many reviews I've gotten for this story! I'm glad everyone is having as much fun reading this story as I am having fun writing it. Thank you for all of your input, I greatly appreciate it. Review responses can be found in the link in my bio.
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Please make sure you read the note at the end of the chapter.
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Chapter 11: Decoy
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His sleep had been dreamless, much like the five hundred years of nothingness he had experienced only too recently. The former fighting god winced slightly at the memory, causing the pressure around his eyes to tighten. He did not like to think about that. However, the action startled himself out of the lighter sleep his body had moved into, forcing his eyes wide open. It was different than last time. Nataku had been catatonic for five hundred years with his eyes lifelessly open, but he had finally slept with his eyes closed.
Looking up through the break in the canopy of trees, the crown prince realized that it was very late at night, and possibly early morning. The stars of heaven twinkled down at him, as if wondering why one of their own had taken up residence on earth. Nataku smiled. He had hated heaven with all of the hypocrites that lived there. And yet, while there were hypocrites living on earth, Nataku found the humans and demons generally more truthful.
The thought of demons brought his thoughts back to reality. He was alone in a place he did not recognize, and was just lying down. Gods could be killed, he remembered with an ache of his heart. He could not remember why it hurt to think that, but he was sure it was hidden in the memories he could not access.
I don't have time to think about this, Nataku thought seriously. I need to get up and figure out where I am. Trying to move his body, the young god found it difficult to move his limbs. He mused that it must have been from the five hundred years of sitting in the same position. His muscles and nerves, while mystically protected from erosion by the power of Heaven, had still not been used in awhile. Nataku felt like a rusted pistol that needed to be oiled and cleaned.
It took the god five minutes of strain and heavy breathing to hoist himself into a sitting position. He felt significantly better, but still incredibly vulnerable. The action had exhausted him, and threatened to have him lapse back into sleep. He gritted his teeth and willed himself to stay awake. The forest was the worst place to fall asleep.
The five hundred years of feigned sleep had not dampened his senses, however, and the former fighting god felt the hair prickle in the back of his neck. There were two presences heading straight for him. The first was that of a demon, and was slightly farther away than the second presence. It was also coming from the opposite direction.
The second presence was that of a human whose speed had picked up at sensing the demon. Nataku noted that his stealth was impressive for a human, but still desperately wished that the human would turn away. He did not want them to get hurt the demon that was surely coming for the fighting god.
The crown prince shook his head in slight surprise as he felt the human presence come closer. The human was a fighter, he noted that in his chi, but something else was unusual about him. It was a sense of belonging and not belonging at the same time. Nataku had never thought that a human could feel otherworldly, but this one did. He did not have time to analyze the chi further, because now the human was right in front of him.
Nataku was shocked to see that the human was about his age. His body had slowed the aging process significantly during his catatonic sleep, and he knew that he appeared to be around sixteen years old to human eyes. He was also surprised that such a skillful human fighter was so young.
The young man was in great physical shape, in which Nataku was not surprised due to his fighting spirit. His hair, while Nataku could not be sure of in the partial light of the moon, appeared to be black, and was cut short. Somehow though, his eyes shown through the darkness and locked with his own. They were a particular shade of brown that he had never seen before. The eye color was so common yet so uncommon it was hard to describe.
The young man was only wearing a pair of brown pants, and the former fighting god could tell by his heightened breath that he had come in a hurry. He also held a wooden sword, which made Nataku smile faintly. He could tell by the soft lingering presence surrounding the weapon that it was a gift from Kanzeon Bosatsu. It was not what made the young man unusual, but it was surely something that made him even more interested in the human.
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Souta had not known exactly known what to think when he saw the figure sitting against the tree. He looked like he was exhausted at the idea of simply existing, which puzzled the young swordsman. Now that he could see the one he sought with his own eyes, he realized that his guess had been true. While he could not figure out why he was so helpless, Souta knew in his heart that this young man who appeared to be his own age was not a man, but a god.
Souta could not discern the color of his hair in the waning light of the moon, but it appeared to be either a black or very dark purple. His bangs fell in separate strands all around his face, while the rest of his hair was pulled back into a bun. Following the strands of hair, Souta was surprised to see what he saw in the god's face.
On his forehead was a mark that was the shape of a diamond; it stood out prominently on his face, until one looked into his eyes. Souta bit his tongue from gasping out loud – his eyes were same color as those from the man in his dream. They were molten gold like the other young man's, but did not hold any of the childlike innocence that the young man's did. They were not like Inu Yasha's either, but the innocence was gone from the shimmer in his eyes. There were hints of sadness in them, but at the moment they held a curiosity that rivaled his own.
Had the young swordsman not been able to tell of the god's identity initially, the clothes would have given him away. They looked more regal and amazing than anything Souta had ever seen in any history book or museum. He smiled to himself. Only the gods could wear clothes like that, get dirty, and still look more majestic than anything humans could create, he thought. It was true. The god had been sitting in a patch of dirt, and his clothes were covered in dust and dirt stains.
The demonic presence that he had rushed to beat was coming closer, snapping Souta's thoughts back to reality, along with the god's. Souta willed himself to make it appear that he did not notice it coming. He saw the god smile at his reaction – his eyes had given himself away. He had looked off to the right, where he had sensed the presence coming from.
Please, come after me, Souta begged his adversary. I have no idea why, but the god is in no condition to fight. Please think I am the weak one because I'm human… come after me instead…
The demon's presence disappeared. Souta could tell that he was simply getting ready to attack. He wanted desperately to ask the god whether he was ok, but it would hijack his plan if the answer were anything other than "fine." It was obvious that the answer was going to be "fine."
He lazily fingered his grip on his wooden sword, feigning the skill of an amateur. Come on out, so I can deal with you, Souta thought. I need to get this god somewhere he can rest.
The demon chose that second in which to answer his request.
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Nataku had seen the worry in the young man's eyes, but also saw the foresight that he had to not say anything. He was patiently waiting for the demon to come out, while playing the part of a confused human.
To his left – the human's right – the demon jumped out of his hiding place, running towards the human in a rush attack.
So the demon did decide to take the bait, Nataku thought to himself. It was now his chance to see if the young man was any good or not, or if he would only be a delay before the fight the crown prince knew he might have to partake in. How he would fight in this state he did not know, but he knew that he would still try.
The young human barely made it out of the way of the first charge, and he could tell that it was not an act. Sometimes one would pretend to not be able to move until the last second, and then suddenly change direction, but he had not taken this route. It was not enough that the human knew that the demon was out there; he had to know his exact location in order to pull off the stunt.
The human stepped back and fell into a defensive stance, this time with both hands grasping the wooden sword. There was no more time for faking inexperience; if he were to stay alive he would have to use all the skills available to him.
The demon rushed at the human again, with a growl of annoyance in his voice. Humans were supposed to be easy prey – the boy should already be lying on the ground dead, and he should be going after the other. The "boy" grit his teeth and flared his ki, challenging his attacker further.
The demon laughed. "You, a puny human, think you are a worthy opponent of me?" he mocked. "I am a demon, and the strongest one in this area. None of you from the village can oppose me, those stupid buffoons you call village champions were beaten down by lesser demons."
"If they were beaten down by lesser demons, why did the village not fear you but fear the Forest Brothers?" the young man asked, running to meet the demon head on.
"The Forest Brothers are dead! I was the second most powerful demon in the area besides them! Now I am the first!" the male demon said triumphantly. He slashed at the young man with his six-inch long claws. The young man blocked it with his wooden sword then tried a vertical slash to the demon's head. The demon side stepped the blow, and appeared suddenly behind the young man.
Nataku was impressed. The young man was a good fighter, even if he had not connected yet. The demon was a terrible fighter, the only thing he had going for himself was speed. Unfortunately, the young man could not match the demon when it came to speed. But speed is not everything, the former fighting god thought. It is how you use it…
As the demon had side stepped the swordsman's vicious blow, he slashed again at the young man, this time to his right side. The young man tucked and rolled out from his fighting stance, ending up five feet away from his adversary. Nataku saw the thin trail of blood travel across the forest floor. Looking across the way towards the human, he saw a shallow cut on the young man's thigh. Most of the slash had simply gone through the pant leg, and had not hit skin. The demon had taken first blood.
The young man quickly stood up, only to find the demon staring at him with great interest, licking his claws. "Did you know that your blood tastes amazing, boy?" he grinned evilly, still licking his claws in slow movements. "There are very few humans that exist in this world that can satisfy my hunger." Taking his forefinger of his right hand, he sucked the last of the blood off it in a long and obvious gesture. "You are handsome too."
Nataku recoiled at the statement. So, this demon was not only one that thrived on pain, but also one that liked young men like the human he was currently fighting. He was amused when the human had a similar reaction on his face.
The human had taken the demon's pause in the fight for talking as a chance to catch his breath, and was now charging the demon with a superhuman speed. Nataku could feel that he was concentrating his chi in his legs, and especially in the soles of his feet. The comment had seemed to light a spark the chocolate brown eyes of the young man – as if the fight suddenly became one he could not afford to loose (in more ways than one).
Nataku watched helplessly as the demon spun behind the young man, thinking that he had caught the human off guard again. However, the human stopped abruptly, and spun around.
With the momentum of his spin, the human slashed to the demon's left, finally making contact. Nataku could hear the sound of several ribs shattering on impact. There was no way he could have avoided injury in that confrontation while taking the impact head on – the human had put some of his ki into his wooden sword. Anger was a useful tool when used correctly.
The demon screamed out in pain as he began to cough up blood. "How – how were you able to best me?" he cried out. "How could a human like you as young as you are defeat a demon like me?"
"I have experience," the young human replied simply. He looked over at Nataku, silently asking him what he wanted to do. The former fighting god was surprised. This young man was injured and insulted by this demon for his lewdness, and he's asking my permission to finish him off? The crown prince quickly nodded, not wanting to hear anymore from the pathetic demon.
The young man again took a fighting stance, glaring at the demon. "Who do you think was the one who killed the Forest Brothers? Of course, you are no better than they are, you sick and twisted pervert." With that, he slashed downwards towards the demon's exposed neck with all of his might.
"No – no, you do not understand!" the demon pleaded helplessly. "Lord Kougaiji-"
Whatever the demon was to have said about this person the two never found out. But, in the back of his mind, something jogged his memory. Nataku had heard that name before.
Silence reigned supreme for a moment, and the world seemed to stand still. Nataku had just witnessed a human youth take out a full-grown youkai. It sounds by what he says that he also killed others, Nataku noted. But he didn't brag about it. I don't think he's that kind of person…
The young man bent down towards the ground and wiped the blood off his wooden sword on the grass. He then made his way quickly over to the exhausted god and kneeled down. The crown prince noticed that he slightly flinched when he did this.
"Are you ok?" the young man asked seriously.
Nataku decided to neglect small talk. "I – I can't move my body." Actual talking was a strenuous activity, and he tried to say as much as possible with as few words as he could.
The young man seemed to be taken aback at this statement for a moment. Quickly recovering, he offered another solution. "If I were to carry you on my back, would you be able to hold onto me? The town is not too far from here, and the place I'm staying at is right on the edge of the woods."
"I don't know," Nataku said helplessly. "I don't have any energy…"
The silence seemed to grow as the young man seemed to sift his mind for ideas. "We need to get you out of this forest NOW," he whispered. "There is one thing we can do." He turned his back towards the god, shifting his crouch on the ground. "If I lean forward enough, you won't have to worry about falling off." Nataku found his arms being draped over the young man's shoulders so that they fell against his bare chest. The young man's back pressed into his chest lightly, and his head came to rest on the young man's left side. His own purplish black hair mingled with the young man's jet black hair, and he felt fleetingly bad about getting his hair in the young man's face.
Nataku felt the human hook his arms underneath his legs at his knees, and the young man shift his grip so that he also held his wooden sword in one of his hands. Slowly, the young swordsman stood up, and Nataku could sense that he was lightly surprised.
"You are a lot lighter than you look," the young man commented. The former fighting god could feel the chi swirl in the human's body as he readied himself for the task at hand. The swordsman's life source was concentrated in his legs and feet again, but also to his arms and wrists. With that, he took off at a fast walk away from the spot that they had met.
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The fight, along with the extra energy he used for his chi control in order to carry the god, no matter how light he was, had made him more fatigued than he could ever remember.
The two had reached Xing Xing and De Wei's house without incident, and Souta thanked the Merciful Goddess that the town of Sanyurrin was not active at night. The current problem was getting into the house.
Souta had had to set the god down as he opened the door, then pick him back up, set him down again as they got inside, then close the door again. The whole operation took about thirty seconds, but the young swordsman wanted to spend as little time as possible in the other parts of the house.
As he hoisted the god upon his back yet again, Souta prayed that both Xing Xing and De Wei were heavy sleepers. He would have enough trouble explaining how their guests had increased from one to two without their knowing, but he did not want to have to do it tonight. The young man felt terrible at the thought of inconveniencing the twin siblings yet again, but vowed that he'd do any and all chores and or favors to make up for it.
Taking one step at a time, Souta carefully ascended the stairway. There were a few times in which he had the unfortunate luck of causing the stair in question to creak, tensing both his and the god's muscles. However, no sound had been made from either Xing Xing or De Wei's rooms, so the young man continued.
When he reached the guest room, he repeated the procedure he had done at the front door, and let himself in the room. This time, before closing the door, he set the god down on his bed – arranging his arms and legs so that he lay flat and comfortable. He set his wooden sword against the nightstand, then went and closed the door.
Souta picked up the wooden chair at the far end of the room and moved it towards the table by the window. Setting it next to it, he sat blissfully down and enjoyed the act of not moving at all. He would have enjoyed it in his own bed even more, but he realized there were more important things to worry about at the moment.
Souta did not realize that he had his eyes closed until he felt someone staring at him, and opened them to find out who it was. He was not surprised to see the god staring at him, Souta was only tired. His mind was not thinking clearly. It did not help that Souta was just as curious about the god as the god was about him.
"Why did you save me?" the god asked in a strained whisper.
"Did I need a reason?" he replied tiredly with a smile. "Besides the fact that you needed help?" He continued, his smile growing despite his fatigue. "If so," he yawned, "I'll try to think of one while I sleep. You need some sleep too."
The young man watched with satisfaction as a smile appeared on the god's face. Slowly closing his eyes, the god began to finally relax.
"Thank you…" he said in a barely audible whisper.
Souta felt his own eyes close as lay his head on his arms on the table. "You're welcome."
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Morning had come too early for the former fighting god as he felt a breeze blow some of his purplish-black hair across his face. The window of the young man's room faced west, but Nataku could still see the sky brightening with every minute that passed. He noted, with great satisfaction, that he could move easier today. His muscles and joints were still stiff, but somehow this short night's rest had unhinged his body slightly. Pushing himself into a sitting position again (this time with much more ease), he shifted his gaze to the figure of the young man who had been sleeping with his head on the table next to the window. His eyes were open, and looking back at the bed with great interest. Seeing the invalid moving around, the young man stopped his act of sleeping, and sat up.
"I'm sorry for taking your bed," Nataku apologized.
"Don't worry about it," the young man grinned. "You had a greater need for it than I did." He stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Are you feeling ok now? You looked so tired last night…"
"I've been better," the former fighting god chuckled. "But yes, I am doing better. Talking isn't as tiring as it was last night."
"I hate it when I'm that tired, I just feel so useless when I do. Recently it has happened whenever I go up against some weaker demons."
"You said you "had experience," fighting demons," Nataku noted. "Are you a professional demon killer?" The former fighting god had a fleeting memory of someone mentioning the fact that there existed humans that slew demons when a demon went crazy. The crown prince was just surprised that a human youth could possibly be one, but there were prodigies in every race.
The young man shook his head. "No, I'm not. I took up the way of the sword in order to protect my family – my mother, grandfather, and my older sister. I made a promise to my father when he…" the young man paused, as if something had caught in his throat. "…I promised that I would protect them." He smiled sadly. "Sometimes I'm able to protect my friends, but they don't realize it is me. I don't mind, though, I'm the man of the house. It's my duty."
Nataku could tell by the emotion in his voice that the young man did mind. However, the god decided not to press the issue. He changed tactics.
"How did you find me?" He asked politely. "Most people, even fighters such as yourself, would not be able to sense me. You not only sensed me, but you found out where I was."
Souta sweatdropped. "Well, actually that is because I couldn't sleep last night." He chuckled. "I was watching the night sky, because I never get the chance to see it so clear where I live. As I was looking, I saw a shooting star. The "star" seemed to come closer and closer, until it landed in the forest." He smiled, fully realizing that Nataku knew what he was talking about when he said "star." "Your presence felt so similar to someone else I have met, and that the fact that you seemed like you needed help, I had to go out and find you. I was curious, and it isn't like me to leave someone in need without any help."
"You said you met someone else like me. You didn't happen to talk to Kanzeon Bosatsu, did you?" Nataku questioned carefully.
The young man seemed hesitant to answer the question. "I haven't told anyone here yet because they wouldn't have believed me if I did, but yes, I did talk to her." He smiled slightly. "She is the one who gave me my wooden sword."
"She gave you it?" Nataku asked, slightly surprised. "Why did she give it to you?"
"Well…" he sweatdropped yet again. "I was kind of "summoned" by Kanzeon Bosatsu-sama when I didn't have access to my own wooden sword. She gave it to me when I found myself here."
"You were summoned? Are you really that powerful for a human?" Nataku asked, greatly surprised at what he heard.
The young man paused at "for a human," before he continued.
"No, I'm not that good – not as good as my sister is or any of her friends. But the Merciful Goddess said that I would be able to help out my sister if I accepted her offer. When I did, she brought me here."
Nataku stopped to think. There was still something very unusual about this young man that he could not place. There was something in his aura that reminded him of someone. It was very faint – so faint that he even doubted the similarity, but he had a power in him like someone he had known. There was something else too…. Something that suggested that he was untouched by time.
Well, there's no way around it, might as well just ask him sometime later, the god thought. "My name is Nataku. I'm sorry if I sounded rude by asking you all of these questions." The former fighting god was surprised at the young man's reaction, but noticed that it was only there for a fraction of a second.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Your name just sounds almost exactly like another name of a person my sister knows – it startled me." He paused. "My name is Higurashi Souta." Odd name, Nataku thought. It must be foreign… Souta stood up and bowed low. "Wouldn't you be the Prince of War?" he asked in an awed voice.
"I was the prince of war," Nataku said in a bland voice. "I am not entirely sure why I am not now, all I know is that I am not." He shifted his sitting position in his bed before he continued. "All I know is that I want to find a friend of mine. My memory is full of holes, and I think that if I find him he can help me completely remember everything."
Souta did not say anything for about a several minutes, deep in thought. Finally, when he spoke up, he surprised the god yet again.
"If you would like to, I would like to help you find your friend. Maybe on the way we can find my sister. Kanzeon-sama said that she would need my help soon, but she isn't even here. I have no idea where to look anyways."
Nataku smiled. "That makes two of us. I'll help you find your sister too."
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Ok, if I was a veggie for 500 years, I wouldn't be able to move either…
Everything shall eventually be explained, do not worry.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Recently I have been having a problem with my leg which makes it almost impossible for me to sit (or stand, or lie down for that matter) without being in terrible pain. This has made typing incredibly difficult, and that plus finals have greatly reduced my writing output. So… I don't know when the next chapter will be out. If any of you are reading "Somewhere I Belong," THIS is the reason the next chapter has not come out yet also. I do promise you I will work on my stories, but I don't know how much I'll be able to do.
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Please leave any and all feedback. You'd be surprised how reviews can help someone write…
-Iapetus