Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me… it would be too strange if it did anyway

AN:

Eh-heh.. Yea, this is way, way, waaaaay past due. I'm so sorry.. Lo siento.. Gomen… What language do you want me to say it in? =/ This piece of junk computer up and decides to kill Microsoft Word on me, then not opening anything I saved on disk. So, I had this chapter almost done.. And guess what? I lose everything I had written. Now, seriously, that's frustrating. So it sort of killed my will to write for some period of time, I was quite mad….. And Microsoft word still wasn't being nice for me. Then there's vacation time included in all of that… sigh bleh... but, now I get to make up for it =) I've been writing so much these past days.. It's like the computer is my home now, lol. Anywho… on with a very much late chapter 7 ;;

Fate Gave Three

By Areine

Chapter 7: Family Reunion II: Brutalities

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Inuronin's blood pounded through his head, his heartbeat turning irregular. From beneath closed lids his eyes began to leak through with crimson coloring, pupils morphing to be just a sliver of a normal size. His youkai nature, the blood from his father that made him more than human, with its instinct of self-preservation, was kicking in and beginning to push out his human blood. This was not the first time this had happened, but far from it. At first, when he was younger, he may have tried to fight it, but now his body welcomed the surge of wild power his youkai blood brought him when it took over… But this time, before the transfusion was completed, power radiated off of the girl Kaiya in a wave of unplanned action. With what magic she couldn't control, it rolled though the area, connecting with Inuronin and immediately forcing his youkai blood back into dormancy. Even as the power from Kaiya faded, and the girl slumped into unconsciousness, the blood did not rise again. Inuronin's heartbeat turned more shallow, beating with its regular pattern. His mind began to wake… His youkai blood back into balance with his human side.

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Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, staring back into the clearing where that girl had lost control over herself. She was a miko, just as the first two from before were. The purifying wave of energy that had pushed itself out of her had immediately triggered the movement to jump out of range in him. This was not something he had seen before in anyone. He walked forward, face passive as he studied the girl on the ground. She did not seem to be carrying anything of importance, except for a shard of the jewel around her neck, but he knew somehow the power came from her alone. To his left he caught the sound of his son awakening from whatever trance he had been in. His molten eyes flickered over to him, holding no care nor feeling of responsibility for Inuronin.

The hanyou who so much resembled his father stood shakily to his feet, fangs bared as he flexed his claws. Silence hung in the air between them, Inuronin's temper boiling over the fact the youkai in front of him did nothing.

"Hell with this! Fight me!" He barked out, lupine ears trained on Sesshoumaru.

The youkai made no movement, "You seek to use this girl to destroy the Sacred Jewel." He spoke calmly, somehow managing to make even that sound patronizing.

"And what would that have to do with you? Attack me already!"

Sesshoumaru made no acknowledgement to his words, "Then you know what she must do, and you do not care for her?"

Inuronin let out a growl, straightening himself as he realized their fight would not finish itself now. "Why the hell would I care?"

A tinge of amusement passed through the youkai's golden eyes, before hardening once more. "Naraku has possessed the leaders of human villages, you have been fool enough to trust one, and so Naraku sent you here in the hopes I would kill you. But I will not follow through with his bidding. I, Sesshoumaru, am not a servant to his whims as many in this world have fallen."

Inuronin moved to say something, but Sesshoumaru continued, "Take this girl and leave. Do what you will - but, Naraku's death is mine, I have matters to settle with him. Touch him and I will not show mercy to you."

"Keh! Like Hell you could stop me…"

Sesshoumaru's cold gaze left his face as he turned, leaving Inuronin and the fainted girl alone.

Once his father was out of view Inuronin bit his lip with his fang, placing a clawed hand to his stomach as blood seeped through his clothing. His nose sensed more blood however, some which was not his own, and which was definitely not human nor youkai. Irritated, he looked around the area for the source of the scent until he found what he sought. Some distance away from Kaiya was the stallion she had been riding, it lay on its side, blood caked around it's muzzle where there was a long cut from the middle of his ears down to between his nostrils. 'The bone must of shattered…' Not bothering to wonder when that had happened, he moved over to Kaiya, her ribs rising and falling with her shallow breathing.

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Inuronin stopped at the edge of the village, Kaiya in his arms where she remained asleep. Apparently she had wasted away her energy all in one moment by exhausting her uncontrolled powers. He paused, cursing the girl as he wondered what to do with her. He was going to confront Ami and whatever possessed her, but where could he put her that was some place safe?

"Dammit all…" he grumbled to himself.

The wind shifted and suddenly a new scent reached his nose. 'Youkai…' Clutching Kaiya tighter he leapt from the ground just in time for a hideous mole-like man to cut across where he had just stood with a glistening scythe. When the youkai saw he had struck empty air a sputtering hiss rumbled through his throat.

"Are you the bastard controlling the old woman in this village?"

The youkai looked up to find Inuronin standing on a thick tree branch, disgust written all over the hanyou's face. It spread its mouth wide in a slobbering grin, holding the scythe erect at his side.

"Meiji I am, come to kill you I have!" He crouched before springing up into the air and seeming to hover for a moment as he swung his scythe once more. Inuronin had already jumped out of the way however as he moved to another tree branch. Meiji hissed in disapproval before falling back to the ground. A long, snake-like tongue ran over his fangs as his pure white eyes caught sight of Inuronin once more.

"You are fast, yes you are, but that will not save you and the female."

The white-haired hanyou clenched his fangs, "Try me you filth!"

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Kaiya stirred in Inuronin's arms, a sharp pain in her head and on each hand making her wince. 'What is this… the hundredth time I've fainted since I came here…?' She felt the air sucked from her lungs as her stomach dropped at the same time she heard a light thud. She could feel arms holding her tightly, the unmistakable voice of Inuronin's cursing told her whose they were. 'What's going on?'

"Inuronin?" She questioned, suddenly finding her voice, eyes wide as she looked up into the face of the hanyou.

His golden eyes flickered down to her, relief and irritation flooding in them at the same time. "Dammit bitch! Took you long enough!"

Kaiya winced as she felt her stomach suddenly lurch again. Now that she was awake she squirmed in his grasp, "What's going on? …My head is killing me!"

The hanyou tightened his grip on her, "Stop moving! The youkai who's possessing Ami is out of his right mind…"

"Ami was possessed?!" Kaiya whispered, horrified. Inuronin didn't respond as he set her down behind a tree.

"Don't move, at all," he ordered before leaping away and drawing Meiji's attention away from where Kaiya was. She frowned, rubbing her temple to ease the pain.

"What is going on… And… what happened to your father…"

Suddenly awareness blazed in her, her senses telling her of a power not too far off. Her eyes snapped wide open, but she hesitated to stand. 'There's something out there… but he told me to stay here.' Sudden rebellion seemed to sweep through her, a cloud of resolve settling heavy around her. 'But… it has to be something…'

Peeking her head around the tree trunk quickly, she saw he was still engaged heavily in battle. Finding an open moment she shot forward, following her mind's eye as to where the power was coming from. As she felt something bumping against her leg, she looked down to push it off in agitation, only to find that somehow the sword Tetsusaiga was hanging from her waist. Momentarily confused she didn't spend the time to question it as she hurried forward, the power not too far off now.

As she entered a small clearing she sensed the power was there, but as she looked around she saw nothing. Surveying the small area she felt her nerves getting the best of her, fear seeming to swell around her like humid air. Bringing one clenched hand in front her of chest she circled around, wondering what had drawn her here, until her foot suddenly came into contact with something that felt like a solid wall.

Surprised, she looked down, only to see a small clay, corked shut jar near her. Crouching down she examined it with her eyes, dimly aware that the power was radiating from this. She reached her hand out to touch it, only to find there was some invisible wall around it that protected it. Furrowing her brows she applied as much pressure as she could to the invisible force, but found she could not push through it. Having an idea, she pulled the Tetsusaiga from her side and raised it, point down, before stabbing the invisible wall with one fluid motion. Nothing happened. She raised it up again, unaware of the glow beginning to radiate off the inside of her palms as her frustration grew. The next time she dropped it down it went straight through as if nothing was there, shattering the pot instantly. Silvery smoke rose from its broken pieces and flew over her shoulder before disappearing. She felt the ground around where the pot had been. 'That was it?' She wondered, almost feeling disappointed as the power she had sensed was erased from feeling just as the pot had broken.

A shadow suddenly loomed over her, and she felt her heart tumble into her throat. Her breath hitched as she swung herself around on the ground, the youkai Meiji glaring down at her, scythe outstretched to his right side, showing he was ready to slice her in half.

"You stupid girl!" He hissed, "You have broken it! The last of the miko blood is mine to kill!"

His glaring white eyes, without pupils and haunting, froze her where she sat, pure horror etched clearly across her face. Just as his hand began to swing, a red blur shot in front of her from her right, and the scythe was suddenly dropped as a scream of pain raked through the forest. Inuronin had latched onto his arm, one clawed hand tight around his wrist, the other on the youkai's elbow, as his fangs were sunk deep into the middle of the arm. His eyes flashed wildly, a feral energy radiating off the hanyou.

Meiji tried uselessly to pull his arm away, but to no avail. He swatted at Inuronin's head with his free arm, banging his fist on the hanyou's tender ears repeatedly, curses flowing from his mouth. Kaiya felt tears rise in her eyes as she wondered how much pain Inuronin was already in. He was fighting this youkai as if he was actually a dog… Standing to her feet hastily she grabbed Meiji's abusive arm, circling his wrist with her hands and pulling on it while he tried to beat Inuronin off him. The youkai's face turned to her and he flung his arm out, throwing the girl back onto the ground. Whatever he was going to try and do next, Meiji only let out another cry of rage as Inuronin deepened his fangs' hold in the youkai's arm, a sharp crack sounding through the area, unmistakably the shattering of bone. As soon as it was done Inuronin released his jaw's hold and flung the man into a tree, stepping in front of Kaiya as a deadly look remained on his face.

Meiji clenched his teeth together, blood pouring from his right arm. "You bastard! You'll pay for being the dog that you are, worthless half-breed!"

Inuronin cracked his knuckles before lunging forward, hand outstretched as his claws pierced straight through the youkai's chest, right where his heart was. Meiji let out a gurgling hiss, slumping down against the tree, his white eyes flooding into bloodshot pools of scarlet. His chest stopped rising, body lifeless as Inuronin drew his hand back out. From the hole in the heart of the youkai, a silvery gas lifted into the air before disappearing into the forest…

Kaiya's heart was pounding in her chest, this was just not something she was used to dealing with on such a regular basis. Inuronin turned and looked at her, the wild gleam diminished from his eyes and replaced with fury.

'Oh… I forgot… now he's going to be mad at me…' Kaiya felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she looked away, idly fiddling with her fingers. "Um… Thank you?" She spoke timidly, hoping Inuronin would see she knew she had messed up (badly), and that he would spare her of a lecture. Unfortunately, that's not how the hanyou's mind worked.

"Do you just never listen to me? You do the dumbest things of any girl I've ever met! What the Hell is wrong with you? Do you just enjoy endangering your life all the time?!" He barked out at her, stepping to stop just a foot or so in front of her.

Guilt swept through her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I - uh…"

"And this wasn't the first time! And what the hell was with you earlier? Jumping in front of Sesshoumaru like that! What the HELL was that about?!"

Suddenly attacked with so many accusations, rebellious and defensive feelings once more lived within her. "You guys wouldn't stop fighting! You were getting hurt - what was I supposed to do, just sit and watch?"

"Well you sure weren't supposed to do whatever you did! Let me handle the fighting!"

Kaiya crossed her arms, "Fine, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to not do anything if I think you need help."

"There will never be a day I need a human to help me in a fight!" He said arrogantly, "Just don't worry about it, hell, I'm not going to just up and die without your help."

"Well I could say the same thing! I'm not going to just die without you around!" She retorted, feeling flustered and angry at the same time.

"Keh, sure looks like it to me…" He ducked his head when she swatted at him. He studied her a moment before asking, "You're not hurt are you?"

Kaiya tensed some of her muscles, besides a few cramps everything seemed to be okay, she watched him warily. "Yeah… I'm fine…"

"Good," and before she could do anything she felt her legs swept out from beneath her, landing flat on her back. She blinked up at the forest's canopy, catching her breath for a moment.

'That… that jerk!' Kaiya pushed herself up with her hands, "Hey! What was that for?!"

Inuronin was smirking down at her, arms crossed against his chest. "Just proving a point, let's go."

Kaiya huffed, standing back up. What 'point' was he talking about? This was the guy that had just killed someone? Frowning she quickened her pace to catch up with him as he turned and walked away, headed back towards the village.

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The girl pushed the creamy rice mixture around in her bowl with the chopsticks Ami had given to her. They had come back to the village to find that Ami was her real self now. Apparently, the jar Kaiya had broken was what contained her real soul, thus giving Kaiya a good reason to cast Inuronin a smug glare. It had been awkward that they needed to reintroduce themselves to her at first, when she felt like she already knew her to at least some point. At the moment Ami was questioning Inuronin on what had happened (as Kaiya had been unconscious for quite some time and wasn't able to answer much). She had tried to get him to let her tend to his wounds but he had out right refused her help.

Through bouts of letting her mind wander and trying to focus on what they were saying, Kaiya was caught off guard when Ami suddenly addressed her, shyly answering her question and telling her all she knew about whatever powers she seemed to not have control over, the ones that always seemed to come out through her hands. Ami, afterwards, simply nodded her head, stoking the fire in front of her thoughtfully.

"I have not seen Ken…" Ami noted quietly.

Kaiya's eyes widened slightly, "Oh… I don't remember seeing him when Sesshoumaru came… and I haven't seen him since then…"

"The horse was killed," Inuronin stated, voice void of obvious emotion.

Kaiya looked up at him, a sheen of tears quickly covering her eyes, "Ken… but I didn't tie him up! I really did listen to you…"

"For once," the hanyou pointed out, eyes accusing as he watched her.

Kaiya dropped her gaze, heat rushing to her face as her fingers shook. Why was she getting so emotional over Ken? He was just a horse after all… But he had been her responsibility… For the next few minutes silence ensued, allowing Kaiya's thoughts to digress.

Memories of her own home began to drift through her mind, and the more she thought of that place the more she missed it. It just wasn't fair to keep her here… And with Ami here, maybe Inuronin would listen to her? She waited for them to finish talking, not really paying attention to whatever Ami was instructing the hanyou about. She lifted her brown eyes when silence settled down for a moment, catching Inuronin's gaze.

"I was thinking… I've been here for a while," she looked from Inuronin to Ami to gauge their reactions with where she was obviously taking this. Ami looked passive about the whole idea, while Inuronin's eyes were narrowing suspiciously at her. "And… I would really like to go home…"

The hanyou immediately opened his mouth, "Why the hell would you need to go back?"

"Because I have a family and a life over there, Inuronin!" She cried out desperately. Who knew what was going on in her own time? "What, do you expect me to stay until that Jewel you were talking about is destroyed?"

For some reason unknown to Kaiya, the hanyou went quiet at that question. She raised an eyebrow, "Well?"

"Inuronin, she does have a right," Ami chided gently.

Inuronin whipped his head to glare at the elderly woman, giving her a 'why-aren't-you-siding-with-me?' look, Kaiya smiling lightly in triumph.

"So… Inuronin?" Kaiya said, her voice dripping with sweetness as elation filled from within her.

"Keh! Fine, go back to your home… But be sure as hell if you don't come back soon I'll drag you back straight here! We don't have time for this…" He grouched, canine ears twitching in agitation as he closed his eyes, arms stiff against his chest in their crossed position.

"And, really, I shouldn't need permission to go back to my home… as coming here was an accident anyway," before the hanyou could make the comment that was on the tip of his tongue, Kaiya continued, "Anyway… I'll be back in a few days or so…"

"What? You're leaving, now?" Inuronin questioned roughly.

"Yes, I am," Kaiya stated firmly.

He made no further response.

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Kaiya rubbed her finger sadly as she walked down the path to her home. When she had returned to the well she couldn't find the ring her father had given her anywhere. She closed her eyes, blocking out tears that wanted to fall. She had lost her only connection…

People gave her strange glances as she passed, but she didn't care what they thought of her strange kimono that was terribly out-of-date. Her happiness to be home outweighed anything… She just wanted to see her mother.

Inuronin had threatened to come and snatch her back if she didn't go back through the well soon… How long would it be before he tried to cross over? She lowered her face, bangs covering her eyes. She felt guilty… Not because she was home, but because she didn't want to go back. She didn't know if she would even try… Were not Ami's very words that she would need the power of this jewel shard she held to pass through the well? Inuronin didn't have one… So what made him so confident? Kaiya frowned, 'Well he does seem pretty arrogant about his abilities.' He had reminded her coldly to leave the Tetsusaiga behind, as if over night he would be able to figure out how to use it… Her brows crossed together, 'Stupid jerk.'

Her thoughts twisted back to her home, to her mother… And to Yukio. She flinched, she had failed in meeting him that one night… If something had happened to him, it was all her fault…

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"Next time, stay out of it." Inuronin said in irritation, standing to his feet from inside Ami's home.

"Stay out of what Inuronin?" The elderly woman questioned.

"You sided with that girl, and now she's going back home," he responded, "Now she's probably gotten the idea she doesn't have to come back…" He walked to the door, already beginning to sweep it aside when Ami commented further.

"Be careful, Inuronin." She called softly.

His golden eyes narrowed before looking back down at her, "With what, old woman?"

"You have tricked yourself into thinking you don't care about others… But I would not take your situation with Kaiya lightly, you will only hurt her and yourself in the end."

The hanyou rolled his eyes, "Damn you're a crazy old bat…"

"Do not let pride take over your heart."

A sarcastic grin flitted across his mouth, "Who said I had one of those?" before walking out the door. He sneered, one fang catching on his lip as the villagers that were out quickly hurried away. Shaking his head in frustration he made his way to the forest, refusing to stay in this human infested village for the night.

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"Mama?" Kaiya called, closing the door behind her as she entered her house. A weary smile was across her face, her fingers dragging across the wall as she felt its texture, the feeling of being safe finally hitting her as she looked over all the well recognized decorations. Sliding her feet out of the wooden sandals Ami had lent her, she walked further into the house.

Her arrival was only met with silence though, her smile dieing slowly as she let out a sigh. Walking into the living room she fell back onto one of their couches, pale yellow with streaming blue flowers patterned across it. Balancing her elbows on her knees, and her face in her hands, memories of the past days swarmed through her head, wondering what Inuronin was doing right now… Where Mama was, if Yukio was okay…

Footsteps were suddenly sounding on the wooden floor in the hallway, and Kaiya lifted her head. Looking behind her a man suddenly appeared, shoulders tense as he surveyed the area to find her.

"Kaiya! Where have you been?" He questioned, walking over to her, "And what are you wearing?"

A gasp escaped the girl's throat, her eyes beginning to shimmer with tears. Her brother… "Taro!" she cried, standing up hastily to embrace him in a hug. He blinked in surprise for a moment before returning it, wondering what had happened… If it was that Yukio boy again… His fists clenched where they were.

Taking back her arms she brushed at her eyes, looking up at her elder brother. His deep, chestnut eyes were looking down at her, set into a gentle face with a noticeable tan. His black hair was shaved, as, like his father, he had joined the army.

"You wouldn't believe…" Kaiya began, unsure of how to tell him about the well at all. "Oh, it's such a long story… Where's Mama?" She looked around the room, as if expecting the woman to suddenly appear, "And… why are you here?" She continued, eyebrows pulled down slightly as she spoke, confusion in her eyes.

Taro looked down at her sadly, "Mom isn't home right now… But we've been worried sick…" He sighed, taking her elbow gently as he led her back to being seated on the couch. "And… I was beginning to worry whether or not I'd get to see you before I was called out…"

Kaiya stiffened, leaning back from him as if burned by his words. "What - what do you mean?" Her brown eyes searched his face, ebony locks of hair brushing against her cheeks as the movement of her body caused them to shift from where they were behind her ears.

Her brother sighed, "With the war, it still going on and all, my division is being called out."

'Deep breathes… breathe… just because he's going off doesn't mean… doesn't mean things will turn out the way they did with dad…' Sadness built up in her, as well as anger. The war had started years ago. It began when a man came forward with an idea for global unity, and slowly people began following after him in that idea. The alliance didn't discriminate against any country, but many people hated the idea. Japan had never fully joined, but had instead worked on its relations dealing with foreign affairs. Many areas throughout the country had gone through the change of not having year-round school, which was the only reason she was here now. But that wasn't all… Some people just saw this as spreading people-friendly communism, made to look good but in the end the only thing it would bring to everyone was political enslavement. That was when the war had started.

"I'm leaving in two days," Taro told her, softly. He knew how much it hurt Kaiya when her father died serving the country. He just hoped she would never have to go through the same things again with his circumstance.

"Please, don't go…" She whispered, voice weakened with emotion. Her hands clenched the fabric of her kimono in her lap as she pleaded him with her eyes. Her mind knew it wouldn't work to beg him like this, but her heart wanted to try. She had just come home… Why did she need to hear this, now?

"I can't… and this, this is an honor. To serve the country, and to know I'm following in Dad's footsteps."

"And look where he ended up! Taro! Do you really want to do this?" A tear slid from her eye, paused on the rise of her cheek, then slowly fell the rest of the way down.

He nodded, "This is something I feel I need to do…" The corner of his lip quirked up, "And… you know, I'd feel a lot better about this if I knew you were back here supporting me…" His eyes watched hers hopefully.

Her lips curled, a pained look coming across her face, "Of course."

He drew her forward, arms wrapping around her as she let tears fall onto his shoulder. A bitter smile was on her face as she choked out with dry humor, "You're all grown up now…" He chuckled in response.

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There was a knock on the door, Taro's voice coming in to Kaiya's ears, "Mom's going to be here in bout ten or so minutes… Might want to hurry up."

"Alright, I'm almost finished…" She called back, sighing in disappointment as she stood in the shower, wishing she could just stay there for a few more hours… As she rinsed through her hair one more time she wondered to herself whether or not Mama and Taro would actually believe her story about traveling through the well. Was the shard of that jewel she still had considered proof of anything? Or maybe the clothes? She sighed, turning off the water as she stepped out and wrapped a tower around herself. Walking to stand in front of the mirror she ran her fingers through her ebony hair, allowing the warm steam left over from the shower to help ease her muscles. Going through the well had not been kind to her body…

She padded lightly down the staircase, feeling very refreshed…

"KAIYA!!!"

She stopped in her tracks, ears ringing as her eyes went wide. Wow that woman had a voice… Turning around she saw her mother almost running towards her, arms spread to embrace her daughter.

"Kaiya where on Earth have you been?"

She returned the hug kindly, seeing Taro silently laughing from over her shoulder.

"Mama… Let's go in and eat… it's sort of a long story…"

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Excuse any typos/errors in the writing.. I have checked over it, but the story is only a rough draft for me so far. Once all the chapters are out, I'm going to filter back through all of them and fix what I think needs fixing..

The name Taro just means "eldest brother" or "first son" or something like that in Japanese.. I had it picked out a while ago for his name, so I don't remember the exact definition.

Hm.. The next chapter should be out soon, and, again, I'm sorry, again, it took me so long..

However. If you have a problem with the time it takes me to update, don't be vulgar with me, you have no idea what is going on in a person's life when you actually leave a review like that, and I was highly offended by the person who left that review.. I'm flattered you wanted the next chapter out badly enough that you would do that.. But, please, don't cuss, it's actually so much more effective to getting me to update if you just ask me kindly… =)

Toodles until the next chapter all

Note: And for those of you yet unaware, or who have just forgotten, you are able to go to my profile-thingy to watch the progress of my story's chapters, and any news I have about it.