A/n: Hey, my peeps, I now have gotten over my writer's block. Yay! So... I've got something for yah... I have a code that no one has been able to crack yet... and I want to see who out there is smart enough to crack it. Here's the deal, if you crack it, I'll e-mail you the finished chapters from this point on before I even post them. Sound fun? K. Crack this:
LBH QVEGL YVGGYR UNYS-OERRQ... LBH NAQ V... NER FVZCYL ABG VA GUR FNZR PYNFF.
I will give a clue each chapter from this point. Today I will give two. Clue: The code is alphabet based and it is a direct quote from the manga series of Inuyasha. Now... to the fic!
FROM THE LAST CHAPTER
"Yah, yah... but I'm serious. What if eventually he takes it as an actual challenge? Do you really think you can beat him? Think about that."
And with that, he turned to catch up to the group.
Finally feeling that it was safe, Shippou poked his head out and said,
"Laquisha, was that who I think it was?"
"Yes, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. The dog brothers... oops, I hope he didn't hear me say that... Anyway, what about it?"
"He's scarier than what I've heard... do you think it's a problem if I come with you?"
"Nah, besides, if it is, I'll deal with it. For now, just stay close."
"Ok, and, by the way, Laquisha?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Just when I thought the Gods were being cruel, out of nowhere, I was saved by none other a wolf demon half-breed... and a powerful one at that. I was taught not to socialize with half-breeds, but the fact it was such a distressing time and she was so protective of me already, changed my mind quickly. I had just lost my parents and sister no more that an hour ago and I had already found someone who was obviously very willing to take care of me. She didn't replace what I had lost, but I had found her company... the next best thing. Besides, being under the protection of a territorial female wolf was much better than fending for myself. At least I wouldn't have to worry as much about demons... at least the wild ones...
"Hey, Shippou, you've been awful quiet, is there something on your mind?" Laquisha asked of me.
"No, no... I'm just... thinking. Hey, Laquisha?"
"Yes, Shippou?"
"Why'd you protect me in the first place?" I asked, peeking at her from her shoulder.
"Mothering instinct, I guess. Besides, you're way too cute to just let die."
I blushed in spite of myself. She thought I was cute...
"Aw, did I embarrass the little kit? Sorry... just telling it like it is... oh! We're here already?"
I looked around at my surroundings and found myself at a very large castle. It was gigantic! The stones were bleached and made the whole thing a white color. I had never seen such a thing as this. This Sesshoumaru must have been loaded... or he killed someone who was. I couldn't even believe my eyes; it was like I was in a dream. And the inside was even dreamier.
As you walked in, the first thing you saw was a gigantic chandelier. Everything was white and trimmed with gold. Everything, that is, but the carpet, which was a deep color of scarlet. The whole place reminded me of Lord Sesshoumaru. It was very typical that he'd have a home such as this.
Without a word, Laquisha immediately dismissed herself from the group. Her walk was quick, as if she was looking to avoid any kind of conflict. We passed a pair of gigantic doors with intricate engraving. The symbols were in a language unknown to me and the whole thing was made of mahogany. Instead of passing through them, we went though a much smaller door off to the left. This is where the elegance ended. The walls were still white and the carpet was still the same, but there was no gold, no engravings... it was much plainer. It was still nice though, not nice enough for royalty, but better than anything I could hope to live in.
"Where are we, Laquisha?" I asked.
"Oh, this is the servant's quarters. More commonly known as the 'hush stretch'. It's the hallway that connects all the servant's rooms. It's called the hush stretch for many reasons. The main reason is, by the time any of the servants get to their rooms they're either too tired to talk, or they're being hushed by those trying to sleep."
She walked up a flight of stairs and opened a door at the end of the hall.
"These are my quarters." She said, shutting the door behind her.
"These are a servant's quarters?" I asked in awe, "Wait a minuet, you're a servant?"
"Yup. Now you see why Inuyasha asked if I had a death wish."
I nodded in agreement and looked around the room again. There was a futon mattress serving as a bed. It looked nice even from where I was standing. At my house, that one mattress would have suited my whole family for a bed, yet she, being a servant, had it all to herself. The carpet was the same plush scarlet. That alone would have been good enough to sleep on. A black desk of drawers with many candles atop of it stood next to futon. Across the room hung a pair of black curtains. Jumping from Laquisha's shoulder, I opened them, revealing sliding doors and a small balcony.
"Wow! Sesshoumaru really knows how to take care of his hired help." I exclaimed, "If this is servant's quarters, I'm almost afraid to see the guest rooms."
"Oh, I'm one of the very few who have a balcony. I need one so I can get quickly out of the castle if there's ever a problem. See that rope ladder? It's for those, humans in general, that can't just leap from the balcony. I'll probably never use it, however. And, in case you were wondering, I need access to the outside because I'm head of security. My main job is to secure the lands, kill or take prisoner of trespassers, and catch runaway slaves. All in all, I have one of the most dangerous jobs."
"And you have this job, why?" I asked with a quizzical look.
"Because I'm hanyou. Simple as that." She replied with a shrug.
"That's just great... how wonderful for you. I wish hanyou weren't looked down upon so much..." I started.
"Thanks, Shippou. At least that makes one of you. When you have kids, pass that down to them. It's rare to find full youkai that have come to the conclusion that hanyou aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be." She said, nodding her thanks to me.
"Laquisha?" I inquired, not quite sure on how to word my question.
"Yah?" She replied, looking at me so I knew she was listening.
"Um... what's it like? To be a hanyou, I mean."
She gave a wry smile and sat on her bed, motioning for me to sit in her lap.
"It's probably the worst fate God could give." She answered after awhile. "Some say humans are less fortunate because they're so weak, but it is not so. Humans have their own kind to help them to be strong. They can walk around without a stereotype hanging over their heads. Imagine, if you would, being born of a human and a demon. Of course your parents would still love you, but their families would disown them because of you. Humans would want nothing to do with you because they're afraid. They would not understand your fate just because you had demon blood coursing through your veins. The demons would be no more understanding, in fact, they would be worse. Disgusted by the human side of you, they would cast you out, thinking themselves too powerful to be seen with the likes of a hanyou. You yourself would be considered weak and, at times, no better then even the humans. That is why you do not see very many hanyou around. More than half either kill themselves or are killed by both humans and demons alike. The few that do survive often become secluded, never trusting of anyone... at times... not even themselves. There is the life... of a hanyou."
I remained quiet for a long while. How terrible! Is that the fate of a hanyou? To be disowned and without love for the whole of their life? Sighing, I gave her a hug saying,
"I accept you, Laquisha! And if my family were still alive, I'm sure they'd accept you too. You're more powerful than most of the FULL demons that I've met. I wish that I could do something to help with your problems, but, alas, I'm but one person."
"Thanks, Shippou. And I know you're just one person, but you can do one thing."
"What?"
"Pass down through your generations of family what you have learned. Maybe someday, everyone will be able to live at peace."
"I will, Laquisha! I promise."
She gave me a wide smile, one that held real warmth and joy, for the first time in what must have been forever. Yes, I would pass this down through my family. Someday... maybe not soon... but someday, the hanyou of this world would be accepted.
I stood listening outside the slave Laquisha's door. I, Jaken, had never thought of hanyou like that. I had never stopped to think that, maybe, hanyou could need acceptance. I had never put together that the humans would not accept them either. Maybe... hanyou weren't as bad as... No, I could not start to think these things. If Lord Sesshoumaru ever found out about a soft spot for half-breeds, Kami only knows what he'd do. Sighing, I did what I came to do.
Knocking first, I poked my head past the door, receiving an ice-cold glare from the slave that could have only been duplicated by Lord Sesshoumaru himself.
"Lord Sesshoumaru..." I started.
"Wishes to see me, yah, yah, I've got the routine down." She said sarcastically, cutting me off.
"Yes, please follow me."
I had to admit, she had been called to see Lord Sesshoumaru quite often. She had seen more of him than half of what the others had put together. It's a wonder that she wasn't dead yet... But, even so, I had gained a new respect for the young slave. Though I still did not like her, I did understand well what it was like to be looked down upon. At times, I even felt like Lord Sesshoumaru had no regard of my life. Shaking my head in aggravation, I remembered when he had used me as a test for his tensaiga. Me! His humble servant and adviser these long years. Then that terror of a girl, Rin, had come along, and I had been turned into a part-time baby-sitter.
Just as that last thought past, the girl in question tackled me to the ground from no where.
"Ha! Rin has found Jaken! You're it!" She squealed.
"Get off me you little brat! I have work to be doing!" I retorted, swinging my staff around in agitation.
"OOO!!! Who's the pretty lady?" She inquired, jumping off me to stand up.
"Why hello," The woman said, stooping to eye level with Rin, "My name's Laquisha, what's yours?"
"I am Rin! You are very pretty, are you here to play with Rin? Who's that on your shoulder? Is he here to play too? You have cute doggie-ears like Uncle Inuyasha... can I touch them? How do you get Doggie-ears? Are you here to take care of Rin? That's Jaken's job, but he's no fun. Do you want to see Rin's garden? Rin has pretty flowers. Do you like flowers? Rin does..."
Rin seemed to be talking a mile a minuet and she was driving me insane, but, to my surprise, Laquisha took in all the questions with a smile and did not even seem to mind. Finally, Rin looked up, for the moment, out of questions.
"You're nice, most of the ladies here don't like Rin very much. Rin doesn't know why, but that's ok. Rin likes you, can you stay with Rin?" Was her final question before Laquisha spoke.
"I'd love to answer all your questions, Rin, but I've got to be somewhere. I'd love to come see you again... Whose kid are you?"
"She's my ward." Came a cold voice that could have only belonged to Lord Sesshoumaru. How long had he been standing there?
"L-Lord Sesshoumaru... I was just bringing the slave when the brat..."
He gave me an icy glare that said, 'We will discuss this later.' I gulped. Had my life really come to this?
I had stood there throughout the whole brigade of questions Rin was firing at Laquisha, monitoring her reactions carefully. Never once did she tear her attention away from Rin, never once did I catch a whiff of irritation or annoyance. Even I did not have the endurance for that. What was this woman?
"Rin, what have I told you about your questions?" I asked of her in a stern voice.
"Um... not to bother people with so many at a time?"
"Yes, now, please keep that in mind next time. Jaken..." I saw him wince at my tone.
"Yes, mi lord?"
"Take Rin outside to play. If I hear one complaint from her, it will be your hide."
"Y-Yes, mi lord."
"Hey, why doesn't Shippou go with? I'm sure Rin could use a play-mate." Laquisha suggested, looking at me for approval.
"Very well. Come on then." I said, acting as though I didn't care one way or the next. I turned and started to stride down the hall.
"Great, Shippou, go with Rin. Don't cause too much trouble for Jaken. And Jaken..." Out of the corner of my eye I saw her stoop down and pull him up into her face. "If anything happens to Shippou, there is not a place you can run, not a place you can hide that I won't hunt you down and kill you." She said, a growl of warning lacing her every word.
"Understand?" She inquired of him. He was trembling so badly, it was hard to see him nod.
"Good. Now, you two have fun, and, Shippou, play fair." She said, patting Rin on the head as she passed to catch up to me.
It was hard to cover the surprise I felt, not only of the sheer protectiveness for one that was not even her own flesh and blood, but the fact that she still accepted Rin after knowing that she was my ward. All the other servants were wary of her or just plain didn't like her because she was under my protection. I had a hard time taking in the fact that this didn't faze her a bit.
"Rin's cute." She said out of the blue.
I looked at her to see if there was a hint of teasing. It was very uncommon for a youkai to have a human as a ward, especially for one that claimed to hate humans. It may have been considered weak. But, to my surprise, there was no teasing, no smirk, just quiet acceptance. My eyes widened as I came to the conclusion that... SHE DIDN'T CARE. Where most youkai or hanyou would have seen it as a weak point to attack, she walked next to me, accepting that there was a reason for my having a human ward. I turned away, slightly humbled. Here was a woman who had been shut out from the youkai world because of what she was, and she was accepting what others would not. If it had been me, I would have used it as a place of attack. It was unnerving to find one who had not been corrupted by the evils of this world, and she had been sold to me as a slave. Did her father not know what he had had?
But even through my conclusions of her, it still did not change the fact that she had deliberately pissed me off to a point that I would have killed her, had Inuyasha not interfered. I was in no way over that. The girl needed not only to learn her place, but a serious lesson in respect.
'You like it and you know it.' Came that annoying little voice that I was becoming acquainted with.
'Why do you persist in bothering me? I don't want you.'
'Aw, that's not a very nice thing to say about your heart. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you've kept me suppressed for too long and I will not be suppressed again. It's time that you start to accept your feelings and emotions.'
'And become weak? That is something this Sesshoumaru will NOT accept.'
'Accepting your emotions will not make you weak. What do you think makes you so strong when you set your mind to killing someone? Anger! That's one of the emotions that you haven't managed to suppress and you don't seem to want to.'
'This will get you nowhere. Leave me in peace.'
'Fine, but you'll be hearing from me...'
Had I really become so insane to argue with myself? Maybe the voice was right. Maybe I should accept emotions, but it had been so long since I had felt anything but anger for anyone, I wasn't sure I could. Nearly sighing in frustration, I opened a pair of doors and motioned for Laquisha to follow. I sat at the head of the long table, ignoring the inquiring look of my younger brother, and started with the explanations of why they had all been called here.
Through the whole walk to... wherever we were going, I couldn't get over what Shippou had said. Nor how cute Rin was. No matter how surprised I was that she was Sesshoumaru's ward, I figured he probably had a very good reason for it... whatever that was. But no matter how I tried, I couldn't get over wanting to hug Shippou to death. He was so sweet. I couldn't believe how understanding he was... just like that! I would have to go rescue Jaken after this... meeting. As much as I despised the little toad, I did feel kind of sorry for him. No one appreciated him and he was forced to become a baby- sitter by the stoic ice-lord.
'Ooo... stoic ice-lord... I like that... I'm gonna have to remember that one...'
The Stoic Ice-Lord snicker known as Sesshoumaru, led me to a large conference room. Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango and Kirara were already there. I seated myself next to Kagome and gave her a puzzled look. She just shrugged and turned her attention to Sesshoumaru, who began to speak.
"You have all been called here to discuss what is to happen now that the Shikon Jewel has been shattered." He said looking around the room at the small group, "My brother tells me that you need training before we go after these shards. Time is short, so we can only train for a short while. We will train for a week starting tomorrow. After that week, we will go out and collect the shards of the jewel. It's not much, but it is better than nothing. During that time we will be training as well. Each of you will get training assignments in the morning. Now, I suggest each of you get as much rest as you can. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
And with that, he stood and motioned for us to leave. Shrugging, I left, looking for a door that led out into the courtyard. Eventually, I got tired of looking, and found the nearest window. Opening it, I found Rin and Shippou chasing Jaken around. Smiling, I leapt from the window and walked over to where they were playing. Rin looked overjoyed to see me.
"Laquisha!" She exclaimed, latching herself onto my leg, "Rin is so happy to see you! Come play with Rin and Shippou! It's much fun chasing Jaken around."
"Shippou, what did I say about not causing any trouble for Jaken?" I asked him sternly, but smiling in spite of myself.
"It was Rin's idea! She said it was fun."
I rolled my eyes and thought of what to do.
"Why don't you guys play tag or something?"
"What's tag?" Rin asked, looking at Shippou. Shippou just shrugged.
"You guys don't know how to play tag?" I asked in amazement.
Both shook their heads.
"God, what are they teaching kids these days? Ok, it's really simple. Someone is 'it', right? That person chases the other around and tries to catch him or her. When the person that is 'it' catches the other, the other is 'it' and it's his or her turn to chase. Got it?"
They both nodded, grinning. Rin reached over, tapped Shippou on the shoulder, yelled, "You're it!" and took off. Grinning, I turned to Jaken and said,
"I'll take it from here, you can go."
"But, Sesshoumaru..."
"Has a big stick up his butt." I said, cutting him off. "If he asks, tell him I made you, ok?"
He nodded, heaving a sigh of relief. With a smile, I sat down and returned my attention to the children. They played for a long while. Rin was very quick for a human and I was impressed with her skills of avoiding Shippou, but after awhile, Shippou had caught her for the millionth time. Just when I thought they had gotten bored with the game, Shippou whispered something in her ear that had them both giggling and they went about their game. That is, until Shippou counted out to three and, at the same time, they both tackled me from my sitting position to my back.
"Ack! I have been attacked! Help! I have been betrayed by my own friends!" I exclaimed, playing along.
"You know what this calls for?" I asked them.
"What?" They both asked in unison.
"Tickles!" I exclaimed, rolling over, being careful not to crush them, and began tickling them mercilessly.
After I felt that I had tortured them enough, I leapt up and took off running... more like jogging, but still. After a while, once I was sure they were after me, I ducked behind a bush and waited for them to follow. As soon as they rounded the corner, I grabbed them and threw each of them over my shoulder.
"Whahaha, I am the big bad demon, Laquisha! Here me roar!" I said in as deep a voice I could muster, stomping around like I was gigantic.
"Put us down, or I will use my fox-fire on you and burn you to a crisp!" Shippou exclaimed, playing along.
"Oh no! Anything but that! Please! Oh no! You got me! Ah!!!" I dramatized, falling to my knees and dropping them before collapsing. I lay there with my tongue lolling out and my eyes rolled back into my head. A wolf's version of, "playing dead" I suppose.
"Did you really kill her?" Came Rin's worried whisper.
"I don't know..." Shippou whispered back, poking me in the side.
"Never!" I roared, springing back to life and tickling them again. Both screeched in fright before doubling over in laughter. I had just about got them crying in laughter when an all too familiar voice said,
"You'd make a wonderful mother."