YAY~! Some Tama stuff~! Ive been wanting to write this part for so long~!!! Ever since the very beginning, when I first started writing 2bwu2morrow, this idea had been in my head. Whee~! I hope you all enjoy~! And thank you for loving my little OC so much!!!!! Usually OCs don't take very well; I'm glad Tama-chan and Tanpopo-chan are so popular!!
Tama and Tanpopo:: ::bows:: Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. ^-^
Disclaimer: Tessen, wearing a little kimono and dancing around :: Ive got a lo-ve-ly bunch of co-co-nuts (deedly-deedly) there they are a-standing in a row (bump bumpa bump) Big ones~ Small ones~ Some as big as your head~
Inuyasha :: o_0;;; What happened to this disclaimer...??
Miroku :: ::sigh:: Tessen-sama got tired of repeating herself.
____________________________
To Be With You Tomorrow
Part Eight :: The Western Inuyoukai
Chapter Twenty-Nine :: Clues Point to the West
The blackened sky began to lighten to blue as once again the sun rose from its earthen bed on the Sengoku-jidai. The night creatures fell to their sleep, sunlight splashing on the creatures of the light rising from their slumber to begin their days.
In a large, heavily foliaged oak tree, Tama was also just waking up. Amber eyes squinted upon the brightening light and she stirred, stretching and moving down through the limbs, again turning her back to the rising run and heading west.
As she ran she wondered what Inuyasha was doing. She didn't want him to worry, and he probably wouldn't, considering how little of a worrywart he was, so that set her at ease a little bit. It helped her continue on not having to wonder if he was getting his ass into trouble coming after her.
But when he discovered where exactly it was she was going, she imagined he would worry. He would probably be angry; no, furious. And she would get a serious chewing out when she saw him next.
*But,* she argued mentally, *Inuyasha has no damn right to say shit to me, for anything. In the real world, brothers and sisters separate all the time as adults. Twins are no exception. If this is what I want to do, if these are the people I choose to trust once more... and Inuyasha can't deal with it... then after this is over, I will return once more to them..... to say goodbye.*
~*~
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!~!"
Inuyasha leaned back, covering his ears, and Kagome's eyes widened on their own, nearly falling from her face. Miroku and Sango seemed to grow humongous, fire blazing behind them. Sango even seemed to grow fangs, and the houshi looked downright murderous.
"We were so worried about you two you didn't come back and it was getting dark and we kept looking for you and if you ever scare us like that again WE WILL KILL YOU DO YOU UNDERSTAND US?!~!"
Crackle crackle went the fire.
"Sorry, DAD, MOM," Inuyasha exaggerated, brushing them off and turning, where Shippou promptly smacked him in the head. "We were all worried, you jerk." Kagome bowed to them, smiling apologetically. "Gomen ne, we didn't mean to. After he found me, Inuyasha didn't leave me for a moment. I was completely safe."
"What happened??" Sango asked, "What did Kikyou want?"
"She didn't hurt you did she?!" Shippou and Tanpopo demanded at the same time and Kagome bit her lip. "No, no, I wasn't hurt. Well... it's hard to explain what exactly happened. But... Kikyou is herself again."
"Herself? You mean..." Miroku began and Kagome nodded before it could come out of his mouth. *The woman Inuyasha fell in love with. She used me...to take back the heart she lost when she was revived.*
She looked at Inuyasha and was surprised to see him NOT brooding. He was looking at her, his expression slightly worried. He took her hand in his for reassurance and squeezed gently. His hands were warm, and she blushed slightly. *Th-that's right... now that Inuyasha and Kikyou aren't... that means he and I can finally be together... It seems like forever since we made that promise...*
She blushed even more as the little hentai in her started hurling long-since repressed thoughts to the front of her mind, laughing maniacally and screaming for things that for Kagome had been mere dreams for a long time. And they now had the chance to become reality.
Mentally she bound and gagged the chibi-hentai Kagome and shook herself from her deep thoughts. "An-Anyway, where's Tama-chan? Not back yet?"
At that, Inuyasha perked up, also suddenly noticing his sister had indeed not returned, and Miroku shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Tama has been gone for two days now."
Inuyasha cursed. "Damned woman, she's so fucking selfish."
"Actually, with Tanpopo-chan's help, we started tracking her while we were waiting for you two... and we've been heading west for who knows how long. And we came across this." Sango handed the article, a cracked piece of some hard substance, to Inuyasha, who looked over it skeptically, sniffing here and there and examining every detail.
On it he noticed a small crest, a diamond shape that was long horizontally, and colored bright ruby red. It was embroidered fancily with gold. He paled. *I know this crest... I've seen it before...* After a moment he looked up at them. Primarily at the taijiya. "Do you know what this is?"
"I did, but the rest didn't," Sango replied, "I had to explain it."
"Why?" Kagome wondered, peering at the object, "What is it?"
"It's a piece of a armor, for a soldier in the western lands." Inuyasha told her and Kagome took it from him, looking over it in wonder and eventually confusion. After a minute she shrugged. "Okay, so what's the big deal?"
Inuyasha pointed to the diamond-cut ruby. "This crest which marks the clan the soldier was from... is the mark of my family."
Kagome gasped slightly, examining the piece more closely this time. A piece of stark-white armor, resembling bone, with a diamond-shaped ruby in the middle. She had seen it somewhere. Where...
"I saw this before also," Kagome said, "I saw it... when Inuyasha got Tessaiga." Inuyasha nodded. "It was on my father's armor. I remember it from when..." He paused, obviously reluctant to say how he had known it and afterward he shrugged, shaking his head. "In any case, that's my family's crest."
"Then this is the armor from one of your father's soldiers?" Sango suggested, and Inuyasha shook his head. "I doubt it. Aniki-- Sesshoumaru told me that after Oyaji died, most of our army deserted..."
Kagome looked inquisitively at Inuyasha, who was looking a bit angry. At what exactly she wasn't sure, but she had noticed that Inuyasha had called Sesshoumaru "Aniki." He *never* did that. Never had, ever since they met.
Kagome chewed on her thumbnail pensively, the rest of the conversation drowned out but her sudden pensiveness. *Why would Inuyasha do that... After all this time I've known him, Inuyasha has never once called Sesshoumaru by that name. Tama-chan calls him Ani-ue... but Inuyasha...*
Suddenly something struck her. *Were Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru close at one time?*
The thought of those two, the two brothers who hated each other so very much, being close in any form or fashion just threw her. There was simply no way they could have EVER been close. But then... why had Inuyasha said that name?
Kohaku brought her back to reality quickly. "Then this is from years ago, when your father died?" Inuyasha shook his head, again cutting them off. "No, not my father's, but it is from my family. I know whose it is. And if you were tracking Tama when you found it, I think I know where's she's going also."
"Really?!" Tanpopo squealed, and Kagome blinked. "Where, Inuyasha?"
The hanyou looked down. "She's gone to meet the current lord to the rest of my remaining family, Kagetoki."
~*~
Tama opened her eyes sleepily and blinked. The sky was a heavy orange, the sun sinking in the western sky. Just a little after sunset. She had walked all day yesterday and most of the night, finally finding a tree to sleep in when exhaustion overcame her just shortly after morning. She had slept till sunset.
Her destination was close at hand, maybe a few more hours, and she would arrive in the darkness of night. Not exactly a good thing, inuyoukai were more wary than ever at night, and since she and Inuyasha had been cast out of the clan she would most likely be considered a stranger, a foreigner to the group.
In other words, NOT taken in with welcome arms.
Vaguely she wondered why she had decided to come here. Possibly because they were the only ones who would know, but... why would they help her? She realized only now that she hadn't really thought it all out before she set out. It was unlikely Kagetoki would help her, even if he did know. And he had been the nicest of them all to begin with. The rest of them had all tried to kill her and Inuyasha.
Inuyasha... She felt her thoughts drift back to her brother and his new family, his cherished comrades whom he had adopted as his own. The friends she had adopted also. Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Tanpopo and Kohaku.
She imagined everyone was worried, but it was simply something she had to do. She had to reseal her youkai blood. She had sworn, secretly, to protect all of them, at any cost, no matter the danger. And if she was a danger then she was better off elsewhere. That was her thinking and she would stick by it.
She stood on the branch, stretching before dropping down to the ground and bounding into the forested mountains that was her destination. After an hour of constant running the palace came into sight and she felt the apprehension swell in her chest. *Here goes...*
The palace was just as she remembered, a huge cavernous den carved into the mountain, big enough for the monstrous true forms of inuyoukai. The bedchambers were underground, protected by rock and earth, and the family rooms, where all of them gathered to be together, were near the front. The room she was heading for, the conference room, was deepest in the cave. That was where Kagetoki would be.
At the front of the cave there was the large gate with the family name, encrusted with gold and jewels, imprinted on it, and the large family crest, a diamond-cut ruby outlined with gold. There were two men standing guard. One of them saw her approach and cracked his knuckles, slipping into a defensive stance immediately.
"State your name and business..." He stopped, looking her over in the blackness, and she heard the unmistakable sound of him sniffing out her scent. Then his voice took on a rougher edge. "Tama?"
She swallowed, nodding, her head lowered almost shamefully. The man's voice lowered in disgust. "What the hell are you doing here, hanyou?! That you disgrace this house with your filth~!! Are you daft!?!"
Tama dropped to her knees, lowering her voice. "Forgive me, I request an audience with Kagetoki-sama."
The other man snorted. "Kagetoki-sama?!! You expect us to let you go through and defile our home and disgrace our lord with your presence?! These past 65 years have done you no service, hanyou, you're as stupid as your human blood can warrant!!"
Instantly another voice spoke. "Kiyoshi, Takemura, that's enough."
The two men turned, dropping to their knees in respect, and Tama closed her eyes, lowering herself even further to the ground, practically brushing her head against the dirt. "Kagetoki-sama.... I... I don't mean to offend, but.... I really require your advice.. your guidance... Please hear me out."
There was silence for a moment and then the lord knelt down, his clawed hand taking Tama's chin. "This is no way for a child of the royal house, much less the great Inutaisho-sama, to act. Stand up, Tama."
Tama pulled herself up, still not looking into his eyes, but he gently pushed her face up, and she saw him for the first time in 65 years. He looked the same as she remembered, so much like Sesshoumaru. Or her father perhaps.
She wished she could remember her father.
Silver hair, braided down to his ankles, and a blood-red crescent moon shape on his forehead. One violet stripe painted either cheek. He was dressed as a lord of the house, and his tail, fluffy and white as was Sesshoumaru's, draped over both shoulders. He looked very much like Sesshoumaru, his yellow eyes thin and narrowed. Tama closed her eyes and pulled away from him, as if she didn't believe herself worthy enough to look at him.
Kagetoki seemed unfazed, but disappointed. "Our treatment of you as a child still haunts you I see... This is entirely my fault. Tama, I know the reason you come to me. Come; let us talk."
Tama lowered her face, biting her bottom lip. "Yes........ Uncle."
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: OKIE before I get any flames or comments about this-- The fluffy thing Sesshie wears over his shoulder has not officially been named a tail, but I consider it one, and my reasoning is this ::ahem::
Kouga and Shippou, both full youkai, have tails. So Sesshie, as a full youkai, *must* have one *somewhere* and I'm claiming that thing. Plus that and if you look at Sesshie in his dog form, he has a huge abundance over fur over his shoulder, and he wouldn't have that if it wasn't attached to him, would he? So. ^___________________________________________^
And don't review and go "yeah but Ginta and Hakkaku dont, so what of that? In the anime you get to see Fluffy-sama's rear end tons of times, nothing's attached! Huh?! Huh?! You aint talking now are ya gurl?!" Yeah I ain't~ Aint' got a explanation for that. Bear with me! ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Just ...IMAGINE... it's attached. ^-^V
Anyway~ I feel so sorry for Tama-chan now, I picked on her alot in this chapter. And btw the "family crest" is simply something I made up. There IS a jewel on the front of Inutaisho's armor if you look, but I'm just using it for reference because I needed something to link everything together~ (I don't even know if it IS red, you get my drift? lol)
And remember: please review!! Okie, ja!!
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
~Tessen
Tama and Tanpopo:: ::bows:: Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. ^-^
Disclaimer: Tessen, wearing a little kimono and dancing around :: Ive got a lo-ve-ly bunch of co-co-nuts (deedly-deedly) there they are a-standing in a row (bump bumpa bump) Big ones~ Small ones~ Some as big as your head~
Inuyasha :: o_0;;; What happened to this disclaimer...??
Miroku :: ::sigh:: Tessen-sama got tired of repeating herself.
____________________________
To Be With You Tomorrow
Part Eight :: The Western Inuyoukai
Chapter Twenty-Nine :: Clues Point to the West
The blackened sky began to lighten to blue as once again the sun rose from its earthen bed on the Sengoku-jidai. The night creatures fell to their sleep, sunlight splashing on the creatures of the light rising from their slumber to begin their days.
In a large, heavily foliaged oak tree, Tama was also just waking up. Amber eyes squinted upon the brightening light and she stirred, stretching and moving down through the limbs, again turning her back to the rising run and heading west.
As she ran she wondered what Inuyasha was doing. She didn't want him to worry, and he probably wouldn't, considering how little of a worrywart he was, so that set her at ease a little bit. It helped her continue on not having to wonder if he was getting his ass into trouble coming after her.
But when he discovered where exactly it was she was going, she imagined he would worry. He would probably be angry; no, furious. And she would get a serious chewing out when she saw him next.
*But,* she argued mentally, *Inuyasha has no damn right to say shit to me, for anything. In the real world, brothers and sisters separate all the time as adults. Twins are no exception. If this is what I want to do, if these are the people I choose to trust once more... and Inuyasha can't deal with it... then after this is over, I will return once more to them..... to say goodbye.*
~*~
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!~!"
Inuyasha leaned back, covering his ears, and Kagome's eyes widened on their own, nearly falling from her face. Miroku and Sango seemed to grow humongous, fire blazing behind them. Sango even seemed to grow fangs, and the houshi looked downright murderous.
"We were so worried about you two you didn't come back and it was getting dark and we kept looking for you and if you ever scare us like that again WE WILL KILL YOU DO YOU UNDERSTAND US?!~!"
Crackle crackle went the fire.
"Sorry, DAD, MOM," Inuyasha exaggerated, brushing them off and turning, where Shippou promptly smacked him in the head. "We were all worried, you jerk." Kagome bowed to them, smiling apologetically. "Gomen ne, we didn't mean to. After he found me, Inuyasha didn't leave me for a moment. I was completely safe."
"What happened??" Sango asked, "What did Kikyou want?"
"She didn't hurt you did she?!" Shippou and Tanpopo demanded at the same time and Kagome bit her lip. "No, no, I wasn't hurt. Well... it's hard to explain what exactly happened. But... Kikyou is herself again."
"Herself? You mean..." Miroku began and Kagome nodded before it could come out of his mouth. *The woman Inuyasha fell in love with. She used me...to take back the heart she lost when she was revived.*
She looked at Inuyasha and was surprised to see him NOT brooding. He was looking at her, his expression slightly worried. He took her hand in his for reassurance and squeezed gently. His hands were warm, and she blushed slightly. *Th-that's right... now that Inuyasha and Kikyou aren't... that means he and I can finally be together... It seems like forever since we made that promise...*
She blushed even more as the little hentai in her started hurling long-since repressed thoughts to the front of her mind, laughing maniacally and screaming for things that for Kagome had been mere dreams for a long time. And they now had the chance to become reality.
Mentally she bound and gagged the chibi-hentai Kagome and shook herself from her deep thoughts. "An-Anyway, where's Tama-chan? Not back yet?"
At that, Inuyasha perked up, also suddenly noticing his sister had indeed not returned, and Miroku shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Tama has been gone for two days now."
Inuyasha cursed. "Damned woman, she's so fucking selfish."
"Actually, with Tanpopo-chan's help, we started tracking her while we were waiting for you two... and we've been heading west for who knows how long. And we came across this." Sango handed the article, a cracked piece of some hard substance, to Inuyasha, who looked over it skeptically, sniffing here and there and examining every detail.
On it he noticed a small crest, a diamond shape that was long horizontally, and colored bright ruby red. It was embroidered fancily with gold. He paled. *I know this crest... I've seen it before...* After a moment he looked up at them. Primarily at the taijiya. "Do you know what this is?"
"I did, but the rest didn't," Sango replied, "I had to explain it."
"Why?" Kagome wondered, peering at the object, "What is it?"
"It's a piece of a armor, for a soldier in the western lands." Inuyasha told her and Kagome took it from him, looking over it in wonder and eventually confusion. After a minute she shrugged. "Okay, so what's the big deal?"
Inuyasha pointed to the diamond-cut ruby. "This crest which marks the clan the soldier was from... is the mark of my family."
Kagome gasped slightly, examining the piece more closely this time. A piece of stark-white armor, resembling bone, with a diamond-shaped ruby in the middle. She had seen it somewhere. Where...
"I saw this before also," Kagome said, "I saw it... when Inuyasha got Tessaiga." Inuyasha nodded. "It was on my father's armor. I remember it from when..." He paused, obviously reluctant to say how he had known it and afterward he shrugged, shaking his head. "In any case, that's my family's crest."
"Then this is the armor from one of your father's soldiers?" Sango suggested, and Inuyasha shook his head. "I doubt it. Aniki-- Sesshoumaru told me that after Oyaji died, most of our army deserted..."
Kagome looked inquisitively at Inuyasha, who was looking a bit angry. At what exactly she wasn't sure, but she had noticed that Inuyasha had called Sesshoumaru "Aniki." He *never* did that. Never had, ever since they met.
Kagome chewed on her thumbnail pensively, the rest of the conversation drowned out but her sudden pensiveness. *Why would Inuyasha do that... After all this time I've known him, Inuyasha has never once called Sesshoumaru by that name. Tama-chan calls him Ani-ue... but Inuyasha...*
Suddenly something struck her. *Were Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru close at one time?*
The thought of those two, the two brothers who hated each other so very much, being close in any form or fashion just threw her. There was simply no way they could have EVER been close. But then... why had Inuyasha said that name?
Kohaku brought her back to reality quickly. "Then this is from years ago, when your father died?" Inuyasha shook his head, again cutting them off. "No, not my father's, but it is from my family. I know whose it is. And if you were tracking Tama when you found it, I think I know where's she's going also."
"Really?!" Tanpopo squealed, and Kagome blinked. "Where, Inuyasha?"
The hanyou looked down. "She's gone to meet the current lord to the rest of my remaining family, Kagetoki."
~*~
Tama opened her eyes sleepily and blinked. The sky was a heavy orange, the sun sinking in the western sky. Just a little after sunset. She had walked all day yesterday and most of the night, finally finding a tree to sleep in when exhaustion overcame her just shortly after morning. She had slept till sunset.
Her destination was close at hand, maybe a few more hours, and she would arrive in the darkness of night. Not exactly a good thing, inuyoukai were more wary than ever at night, and since she and Inuyasha had been cast out of the clan she would most likely be considered a stranger, a foreigner to the group.
In other words, NOT taken in with welcome arms.
Vaguely she wondered why she had decided to come here. Possibly because they were the only ones who would know, but... why would they help her? She realized only now that she hadn't really thought it all out before she set out. It was unlikely Kagetoki would help her, even if he did know. And he had been the nicest of them all to begin with. The rest of them had all tried to kill her and Inuyasha.
Inuyasha... She felt her thoughts drift back to her brother and his new family, his cherished comrades whom he had adopted as his own. The friends she had adopted also. Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Tanpopo and Kohaku.
She imagined everyone was worried, but it was simply something she had to do. She had to reseal her youkai blood. She had sworn, secretly, to protect all of them, at any cost, no matter the danger. And if she was a danger then she was better off elsewhere. That was her thinking and she would stick by it.
She stood on the branch, stretching before dropping down to the ground and bounding into the forested mountains that was her destination. After an hour of constant running the palace came into sight and she felt the apprehension swell in her chest. *Here goes...*
The palace was just as she remembered, a huge cavernous den carved into the mountain, big enough for the monstrous true forms of inuyoukai. The bedchambers were underground, protected by rock and earth, and the family rooms, where all of them gathered to be together, were near the front. The room she was heading for, the conference room, was deepest in the cave. That was where Kagetoki would be.
At the front of the cave there was the large gate with the family name, encrusted with gold and jewels, imprinted on it, and the large family crest, a diamond-cut ruby outlined with gold. There were two men standing guard. One of them saw her approach and cracked his knuckles, slipping into a defensive stance immediately.
"State your name and business..." He stopped, looking her over in the blackness, and she heard the unmistakable sound of him sniffing out her scent. Then his voice took on a rougher edge. "Tama?"
She swallowed, nodding, her head lowered almost shamefully. The man's voice lowered in disgust. "What the hell are you doing here, hanyou?! That you disgrace this house with your filth~!! Are you daft!?!"
Tama dropped to her knees, lowering her voice. "Forgive me, I request an audience with Kagetoki-sama."
The other man snorted. "Kagetoki-sama?!! You expect us to let you go through and defile our home and disgrace our lord with your presence?! These past 65 years have done you no service, hanyou, you're as stupid as your human blood can warrant!!"
Instantly another voice spoke. "Kiyoshi, Takemura, that's enough."
The two men turned, dropping to their knees in respect, and Tama closed her eyes, lowering herself even further to the ground, practically brushing her head against the dirt. "Kagetoki-sama.... I... I don't mean to offend, but.... I really require your advice.. your guidance... Please hear me out."
There was silence for a moment and then the lord knelt down, his clawed hand taking Tama's chin. "This is no way for a child of the royal house, much less the great Inutaisho-sama, to act. Stand up, Tama."
Tama pulled herself up, still not looking into his eyes, but he gently pushed her face up, and she saw him for the first time in 65 years. He looked the same as she remembered, so much like Sesshoumaru. Or her father perhaps.
She wished she could remember her father.
Silver hair, braided down to his ankles, and a blood-red crescent moon shape on his forehead. One violet stripe painted either cheek. He was dressed as a lord of the house, and his tail, fluffy and white as was Sesshoumaru's, draped over both shoulders. He looked very much like Sesshoumaru, his yellow eyes thin and narrowed. Tama closed her eyes and pulled away from him, as if she didn't believe herself worthy enough to look at him.
Kagetoki seemed unfazed, but disappointed. "Our treatment of you as a child still haunts you I see... This is entirely my fault. Tama, I know the reason you come to me. Come; let us talk."
Tama lowered her face, biting her bottom lip. "Yes........ Uncle."
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: OKIE before I get any flames or comments about this-- The fluffy thing Sesshie wears over his shoulder has not officially been named a tail, but I consider it one, and my reasoning is this ::ahem::
Kouga and Shippou, both full youkai, have tails. So Sesshie, as a full youkai, *must* have one *somewhere* and I'm claiming that thing. Plus that and if you look at Sesshie in his dog form, he has a huge abundance over fur over his shoulder, and he wouldn't have that if it wasn't attached to him, would he? So. ^___________________________________________^
And don't review and go "yeah but Ginta and Hakkaku dont, so what of that? In the anime you get to see Fluffy-sama's rear end tons of times, nothing's attached! Huh?! Huh?! You aint talking now are ya gurl?!" Yeah I ain't~ Aint' got a explanation for that. Bear with me! ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Just ...IMAGINE... it's attached. ^-^V
Anyway~ I feel so sorry for Tama-chan now, I picked on her alot in this chapter. And btw the "family crest" is simply something I made up. There IS a jewel on the front of Inutaisho's armor if you look, but I'm just using it for reference because I needed something to link everything together~ (I don't even know if it IS red, you get my drift? lol)
And remember: please review!! Okie, ja!!
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
~Tessen