A/N: Here is the next installment (obviously) and the following are a few word translations (spelling is questionable) – Enjoy!
Aneue is the word for 'sister' that Kohaku uses for Sango.
Neisan means 'sister' as well. Inu no Neechan roughly means 'dog brother', Souta's fond nickname for InuYasha
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Chapter 2: From Scroll to Art
Sango ducks behind Hiraikotsu to block yet another swing of Kohaku's blade. "Stop this, Kohaku!" She backs up, sparing a glance at her beloved pet, lying prone on the ground. 'Kirara is all right! It was only stun-powder he threw at her.' She brought up the giant boomerang again and used it to force the next attack to the side. Dropping the huge weapon, she leapt forward toward the young boy before he could bring his blade back into play.
She grabbed Kohaku, pinning his arms to his sides as they both fell, kicking and rolling until Sango pinned him to the ground. She wedged his arms under her knees and sat there, both of them panting and covered with dust and leaves. He stared up at her, coldly and emotionless.
It broke her heart a little more each time she saw that look on her young brother's face. She whispered "Kohaku..." her pain audible, "it's me, your Aneue..." He frowned at her as a small flicker of memory came and went in his eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed, wondering what to do now.
His face went sullen and his eyes wandered. Sango, with sudden determination, said "Naraku!" Kohaku's eyes snapped back to her.
She flinched, and tried again. "Naraku! What are his plans?" She searched his face for any hint. "What is he making you do!?!" His silence brought tears to her eyes, blurring her vision. 'Speak to me... please, Kohaku...remember me...oh God, please!!' She began to sob.
Kohaku swiftly brought his knees up and slammed her in the back, causing her to roll forward over him. Free at last, he jumped up and ran into the trees, grabbing his blade in passing.
She lurched up and screamed after his disappearing form, "KOHAKU!!"
She stopped herself, looked back at Kirara lying helpless and bowed her head in despair. Sango dropped to her knees and began to cry heartbrokenly, her shoulders shaking with each jagged breath. 'Kohaku...'
Sango is so wrought up in her feelings, she doesn't hear InuYasha come crashing through the trees. 'His scent is fading, no sense trying to follow...' He looks at the distraught young woman and the prone Kirara, 'and I can't leave them like this.'
InuYasha stood there, trying not to intrude, then walked over to Kirara as the cat-demon began to stir. 'Good, Sango doesn't need any more...' He bent down to put his hand on the head of the great twin-tailed youkai as her large eyes blinked open. InuYasha stepped back as she groaned to her feet and began to walk off the effects of the powder. He looked around, too embarrassed to approach Sango just yet and noticed a roll of paper tied with a ribbon laying in the dirt.
Kirara went up to Sango and sat down in front of her distraught mistress and butted her gently with her head. Sango gasped and flung her arms around the large neck and buried her face in the deep fur. Kirara grumbled in encouragement, as InuYasha bent down to pick up the scroll.
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The group journeys back to Kaede's village after burying the dead monk. They discuss what they should do with the scroll, which turned out to be completely blank except for a small mark in one corner meaning 'Truth.' There were no clues in the now empty shrine, and no one to answer their questions. They all agree to put the puzzle in Kaede's hands.
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"...And neither myself nor Kagome-sama can sense anything from it." Miroku was explaining to Kaede, as they sat around the firepit in her hut. "It appears to be just a blank scroll." He handed the ribbon-tied roll of paper back to her.
Kaede turned it over in her hands a few times...then tossed the scroll in the hearth-fire, causing everyone to gasp. "Look Houshi-dono, everyone..." They all stared at the scroll enveloped by flames. "It does not burn. This is more than just a blank scroll."
InuYasha, who was leaning against the wall, uncrossed his arms and walked over to the center pit to snatch the scroll from the dying fire. He examined it for scorch marks. "Then what should we do with it, Kaede-baba?" He said snidely.
Kaede squinted up at him and sighed. "I think that since Naraku desires it, it should be removed far out of his reach." She put her hand out toward the silver-haired hanyou, and he placed the roll in it and stepped over to the doorway to move the heavy flap and breathed deeply of the clear night air.
Kaede met each of their eyes in turn, and then held the scroll out to Kagome. Kagome looked puzzled but took it.
"Kagome, you should take this back with you to your country where Naraku and his minions can never find it." The elderly woman picked up her cup and sipped from it. "Until we know better of what we deal with, it will be safer with Kagome."
Kagome nodded thoughtfully. "Hai, Kaede-bachan," and turned to put the object in her pack. She stood up and shouldered her pack and smiled at everyone. "I should be back in two days."
"Are you ready yet, Kagome?" InuYasha said impatiently.
She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, InuYasha. I'm ready to go." She walked across the hut to the door where the hanyou just exited, gave a small wave to the room and went out into the dark.
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The loud ringing of her alarm clock startles Kagome out of sleep. An arm reaches out from under the covers and smacks the snooze button and disappears back from whence it came.
A while later – "Kagome!" Her mother calls from downstairs, "Are you coming to breakfast?" Kagome rolls over and yawns, stretching and trying to wake herself up. She sits up, blinking at the clock on her nightstand. "Hrumm..." blink She shakes her head and looks at it again..."Oh, no! I'm late!!"
"I'll be there in a minute, Mama!" Kagome jumps out of bed and rushes around, getting dressed and dumping out her bag to put her schoolbooks and homework in it and hurries towards the stairs. Souta, still wearing his pajamas, is almost knocked down by her haste.
"What are you doing, Souta?" She said in surprise, grabbing his shoulders to keep him from falling. "You're not dressed yet and you're going to be late for school!"
The small dark-haired boy, rubbing his eyes and sniffling replied, "Mama is making me stay home today. I have a cold."
"Oh...well...I hope you feel better. Maybe when I get back, if your feeling up to it, I'll tell you what I and the others have been doing lately."
His eyes lit up, "Hai, Neisan! Inu no Neechan too?"
She mussed his hair and smirked, "Yes, InuYasha too." She moved past him and bounded down the stairs. "See ya later, squirt!"
With a smile on his face, Souta wiped his nose on his pajama sleeve and went back to bed.
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Souta lay in bed staring at the walls in his room, posters and photos but mostly at his drawings. Some were of cartoon characters, some were of friends and places, and his latest ones of his idol; InuYasha. He would never forget that day when the 'No-Men' mask attacked them, trying to get the Shikon no Tama shards from Kagome. He had been so scared, when she yelled at him to go to the well and get InuYasha while she lured the creature away.
Going down into the well had been almost as scary, but the thought of her counting on him gave him the courage to jump. It had been a real disappointment when he only hit the bottom and wasn't magically transported to the past.
When InuYasha had suddenly appeared looking strong and confident, his fear completely disappeared. He had been exhilarated by the fast trip on InuYasha's back to where the voracious demon had Kagome trapped. And when InuYasha, after a fast battle, completely destroyed that frightening thing... 'WOW! He was soooooo cool!' He shivered with the thought of more stories of how InuYasha and the others overcame all the monsters in that other place.
Restless, he got up to get his crayons and some paper. He could smell Mama cooking lunch and decided to draw until it was time to eat.
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After lunch and an hour of homework as he had promised Mama, Souta put his books away and open the drawer for more drawing paper only to find he had used the last piece. 'Darn! I don't want to use line paper, that only makes the pictures look silly.'
He sat at his desk in disappointment for a few minutes, swinging his bare feet. 'I know, Kagome always has extra paper' and he got up and crossed the hall to his big sister's room. In her hurry her door wasn't shut all the way and he walked right in, stepping over a pile consisting of a blanket, flashlight and various other odds and ends that she always took on her forays through the well.
He searched in all the desk drawers but could only find more line paper. He made a sound of disgust and sat down hard on the floor, pouting. He looked at the messy pile on the floor, small pebbles and crushed flowers were mixed into untidy tangle. 'Probably from that kitsune she always talks about.' He sighed. 'I sure wish I could go and see it all and have grand adventures of my own.'
Peeking out from under a fold of Kagome's jacket was a roll of what looked like... "Paper!" Souta reached over and pulled out the roll of paper that was tied with a ribbon. He slipped the ribbon off and unrolled it. It turned out to be one long piece about five feet long and totally blank except for a small mark in one corner. "I bet I could draw a whole story on this!" He rolled it up and carried it back to his room.
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Kagome waved good-bye to her friends as they parted ways to walk home after school. Her thoughts turned to the history test tomorrow and what she should make to eat for her friends in the past when she went to rejoin them after school.
The sun was shining and the birds were chasing each other in the trees. The gentle breeze played with her hair as she turned a corner and took her usual short cut through the park, her mind still turned inwards.
The peaceful quiet was shattered with screaming that startled her and she whipped her head around toward the sounds coming from the playground area; 'Those are children screaming!' and she took off running towards the frantic cries for help.
Some older children ran past her in the opposite direction as she raced forward. The sandbox and swings came into view and she stopped dead in her tracks. There were a few small children huddled together under the enclosed spiral slide, clutching each other and crying. Two others, screams tearing out of them, were being waved about in the air in the clutches of '...a Demon?!?!'
The thing stood about fifteen feet tall, had four green scaly arms with clawed hands at the end of each, a long spiked tail that whipped about madly and a bulbous body that was covered with matted brown fur. The real horror was the hideous laughter coming from its gaping fang-filled mouth, green saliva dripping to the ground. "HA HA HA! I'M GOING TO EAT YOU!"
The small group under the slide began screaming louder, a chorus echoing their two friends who were first on the menu. Kagome, in desperation swiftly picked up a fist-sized rock and hurled it at the monster where it bounced off of one gleaming tooth. It ignored her and kept laughing, eyeing its tasty meal.
'What do I do?' She started to panic. 'I don't have my bow, and InuYasha is not...'
"Unhand that child!! I, by the power of my sword will destroy you!!" A figure dressed all in red with two dog-like ears showing through his long silvery-white hair and a huge sword slung casually over his shoulder commanded.
'...Here?!?!'
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- A/N: Ha ha, I know that was an evil place to leave it but I just couldn't resist. Please Review.