The Demon Bride
By Crystal Arrow
Chapter 4: Painful Secrets
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters from that story; they belong to someone else who actually has talent.
After Michera fainted, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru argued on where to make camp, finally deciding to just stay where they were until their sister awoke. Presently, Michera was wrapped in a fine blanket provided by Sesshoumaru and curled up by the fire. On either side of her, her brothers sat with the fire between them. They glared at each other as Kagome and Sango, who had recently arrived with Miroku, talked quietly on the outskirts of camp, trying to guess where Michera could have been for the past many years. Miroku was behind Inuyasha with Shippo next to him silently observing Inuyasha's protectiveness of the strange demon girl whom neither Inuyasha or would allow him near for reasons quite obvious to those who know of the priests lecherous habits. Rin, who had been fetched from her hiding place during the battle after Michera passed out by Jaken, now was staring intently at the girl that her guardian was so protective of.
Jaken was off in the shadows somewhere mumbling about how he hated being around all these stupid humans. This left Rin unsupervised to do whatever she wished. Sadly, no one seemed to notice her, she had tried talking to every one: Kagome and Sango told her they were having an adult conversation and to go play, Miroku told her he was busy and to go play, and Shippo was just too confused to do anything but think, Jaken told her to get lost, and the only response she got from Inuyasha was a low protective growl that earned him a deadly glare from Sesshoumaru. This only left Sesshoumaru.
After being growled at again by Inuyasha, Rin pouted. She plopped down between Sesshoumaru and the girl she hadn't seen yet which the two demons wouldn't stop fussing over. For a moment, she remained still as she stared into the fire. She shivered when a cold breeze from behind her chilled her to the bone. She looked up to see if her guardian noticed, only to find him staring into space, oblivious to her condition. She looked across at Inuyasha to find him uncaring if she was there or not. When she looked at the others around her, she found that none of them noticed her either. Still shivering, she hugged herself as a tear slid down her face, unnoticed by those around her.
Michera awoke just then and saw the tear fall from the little girl's face to splatter on her kimono. She saw her shivering in the cold, unnoticed by the adults around her. While keeping her breathing steady and soft, Michera looked up to see her brothers staring off into space. As quietly as possible, Michera got up and picked up the blanket she had been covered with and walked behind the crying little girl. Soundlessly, Michera sat next to Rin and wrapped her in the blanket. Upon feeling the blanket on her shoulders, Rin shrieked.
Sesshoumaru snapped out of his trance of thought and turned to see Rin grasping his arm. He noticed tear streaks on Rin's face but decided to get to that later. Next to her he saw Michera giggling softly at the child's response to her. Inuyasha simply looked at her, his brain trying to grasp the concept that she was awake. The others had looked towards the fire at Rin's shriek only to find the demon girl awake. Rin was now crying on Sesshoumaru's sleeve as Michera picked her up and wrapped her in the blanket like a baby. Rin shrieked again in fear and confusion as to why her guardian didn't save her. That was when she notice that she wasn't being harmed. Rin opened up her teary eyes to see a face similar to Sesshoumaru's smiling down at her. She blinked the tears out of her eyes and looked at the face above her more clearly. Rin noticed that the face looking down at her was younger, kinder and female.
Michera spoke softly to Rin, cuddling her into slumber. She then placed Rin by the fire, wrapped in the blanket she had previously been wrapped in. She turned and glared at Sesshoumaru, "the poor thing was totally ignored,… A child requires attention, not neglect!"
Sesshoumaru quickly changed the subject and shot at her, "And you haven't told us what that obnoxious little wolf demon was talking about."
Michera turned ashen upon the mention of the earlier events. " I guess I can't escape what I am…"
By now, the entire camp had gathered around the fire. Michera looked at each of them in turn, pain visible in her eyes. Sesshoumaru asked patiently, " What was it all about?"
She gulped, after a few moments of silence, Michera began an explanation of what she now was. "I'm the Demon Bride. After father died, I was captured by a witch which was sure I had great powers within me. She placed an irremovable curse on me, for which I am made a slave or prisoner to whomever wins me. She restrained my powers and trained me to be the Demon Bride of legends, who possessed great powers, but was forced to give her powers to another. Upon the third full moon of my reaching maturity, a tournament will be held to determine the strongest demon who will possess my powers." She was silent for a minute, " Tonight is the first full moon."
Inuyasha simply gaped at her. Sesshoumaru stared, while others gaped as well. Inuyasha exploded, " YOU ARE WHAT??!?!?!"
"the demon bride…." Michera whispered. Her little gray ears were flat against her head in shame and her tail wrapped snuggly around her. Inuyasha was about to roar at his little sister, but Sesshoumaru silenced him with a threatening glance.
Sesshoumaru turned to fully face his sister. He looked straight into her eyes and peered into her mind and soul. He could see her shame at being made the demon bride, the fear of her future, the pain she felt and still feels over the loss of her parents and separation from her brothers and the sadness brought by the loss of hope of ever being excepted by her brothers after bringing such shame unto the family and escaping this destiny. He saw her golden eyes sparkling with tears he could tell had been pent up for an eternity. Sesshoumaru always refrained from showing any emotion, but this would be an exception for the only other being he cared for like he cared for like Rin.
Sesshoumaru drew Michera into a hug. Jaken was amazed that his lord was showing so much feeling. Inuyasha pouted while the others watched, shocked at this new side of their supposed enemy shown only for two people and usually in private, Michera and Rin. Sesshoumaru held Michera there as tears that had been held back for years spilled from her eyes faster than the a river flows.
After a few minutes of allowing her to spill her emotions, Sesshoumaru pulled Michera away from him to look her in the face. His usually emotionless face wore a slight smile as he looked down at his only sister. Softly, he said to her, " You have no reason to feel you have shamed our family. I am proud of you, you were strong when others would have been weak, and it was you strength that won you the high place you now hold. You hold no shame."
Obviously, Inuyasha thought differently. Just as Michera was about to hug Sesshoumaru in thanks, Inuyasha yelled out his point of view. "NO SHAME!? OF COURSE YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED, THIS IDIOT'S JUST TRYING TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER! YOU'RE BEING SOLD OFF AS A WHORE!! HOW IS THAT NOT SHAMEFUL?!!?!?!?!" he roared.
Before Sesshoumaru could get up a kill his brother, or Miroku or Sango beat him for his stupidity, Kagome yelled out, "Sit, Sit, Sit! That is so rude! That is your own sister! She's more powerful than you and she saved your life, Jerk!! SIT SIT SIT SIT!!!!" Inuyasha was slammed into the ground upon the first round of 'sits' and he ended up a few inches into the ground after Kagome yelled at him and continued shouting 'sit' many, many, MANY more times afterwards until Sango and Miroku were forced to pull her back and gag her to make her stop shouting it before Inuyasha's back snapped under the pressure. It was hard work subduing her especially when Inuyasha kept cursing at her.
Shippo sat wide-eyed on the other side of Sesshoumaru from Michera who had started crying again. Shippo had lost his fear of Sesshoumaru since Michera arrived and felt more comfortable with the calm lord over the mutt on the brink of unconsciousness before him. Shippo turned to Sesshoumaru and asked, "Is he dead?"
"We would only be so blessed." was his reply.
Rin had woken up upon the yells and shouts around her. When she saw Inuyasha several inches deep in the ground, she also turned to Sesshoumaru and asked, "Is the bad demon dead?"
"No."
"Oh…." she didn't quite believe him, because Inuyasha was twitching oddly, which was really scaring her. Rin noticed Michera crying. She hugged her to make her feel better, like she had done with her. Michera looked down at Rin and smiled. Rin smiled back as Michera dried her tears. The two girls then sat staring into the fire as the camp got reorganized after Inuyasha's outburst. Shippo sat on the other side of Michera when Sesshoumaru left to beat Inuyasha for his foul language, then leaving the three alone by the fire, all huddled close for warmth.
Several hours later, after Inuyasha had apologized and the camp had slept for a few hours, the different inhabitants of the battle ravaged clearing, Sesshoumaru, Jaken, Myouga, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Rin and Michera once again gathered about the rebuilt fire to listen as Michera told the tale of her past from faint memories of birth to her capture by the witch that cursed her to fill in missing details to her loved ones, and reveal her identity to new friends. "So," she said, "this is where is began….."
Author's Note:
Sorry it took so long to put up this chapter. I've been busy with the end of school. Now, school is over, so my stories will be picking up the pace!! The next few chapters will be in the past, just so you know, and I'm hoping to put the next chapter up this week. Please review to tell me what you think, even to tell me if you think it sucks, it motivates me to read your reviews. Thanks and please keep reading my story!
~Crystal Arrow
