Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha and company. Sad, but true. Though I think if they were all put up for sale there'd be a hell of a lot of people vying for them. Maybe it's better this way. P
This chapter basically tells you about Riku and Kiyoshi. They're slightly different from their Hanyou's Mirror personalities. (Please don't read Hanyou's Mirror just to find out HOW different they are.)
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Three Way Mirror
Chapter Nine
Heights
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Riku stirred restlessly, and woke to find himself safely on the ground, and not flying over the treetops on Kilalla. For this he was eternally grateful.
"You're awake," Sango said in a dry tone as she stoked the fire.
"What?" Riku said wearily. "How long was I out for?"
"All day," Sesshoumaru interrupted before Miroku could contribute. The two were coming back to camp from apparently securing the perimeter, and taking care of any annoying youkai that would have disturbed them.
Belatedly, Riku noticed that Kagome was asleep, curled up in a strange sack with Shippo snuggled against her stomach. InuYasha sat on a low branch of the tree that the two were under, quite awake. The glare the young shapeshifter was receiving was highly intimidating, letting the boy know that his delay was hardly tolerated. It was publicly known from that moment on that any delay in their quest to merge the Shikon no Tama-- and merge Kagome with the psychotic witch that was Kikyou-- would be punished. Whether it was verbal, physical, or mental retribution, the deed would not go unnoticed.
This time, though, a new voice broke the tension that was forming between InuYasha and Riku. It was not one that InuYasha would have tolerated not that long ago, but now he seemed more... passable was the only word Miroku could come up with.
"Lookit, the ickle shapeshifter's afraid of heights," Kouga teased, coming to a flying stop just before the embarrassed Riku.
"I am not!" Riku argued, rising to his feet. "I was just-- just-- weary! From all the wounds I had!"
Kouga snorted. "Riiight." The way he drawled out the words clearly displayed that he didn't believe him.
"Shut up," InuYasha snapped at them both. "Before you wake Kagome." Kouga flinched at the threat hiding in InuYasha's words.
Heaving a sigh, Sango said, "Is it so much to ask that we get some sleep? It's nearly nightfall."
Curiously, Riku looked up. He'd never been out for so long before. He wondered if it was because he really was weary from his previous wounds, or whether he was regressing. The last time he'd been unconscious for over two hours because of his fear of heights, he was hardly more than a scrawny kid with an undecided shape.
How long he looked at the darkening sky, he had no idea, but when he looked back down, Sango and Miroku were asleep-- though out of arms-reach of each other-- and Sesshoumaru had disappeared, probably to sleep somewhere away from the "stench of humans". Kouga seemed quite content to sleep propped against a tree. With a sigh, Riku assumed a similar position, but stared up at the sky once again.
Letting his mind wander, he completely forgot about the people he was leading to Taiyo, and about coming to them with that proposal in the first place. For a long while, all he could think about was Kiyoshi.
Idly, he wondered why no one had asked as to the reason that Kiyoshi was rampaging. Not that he could have answered them to their liking, but he knew it had something to do with that odd hanyou that strayed back into Taiyo's village one day. He was willing to bet that it was only because he was part human.
-:-
Riku stared at Kiyoshi as she napped on the sandy shore, fingers laced behind her head. She took the form of a human girl with onyx waist-length hair and blue bangs that presently blew about her face in the soft beach breeze.
He admired her, that was for sure, and he was amazed when their parents had announced that he was betrothed to her. She was practically a legend in the hidden Shapeshifter Village, and was respected by everyone. She was a veritable guardian of the village.
After all, it wasn't every shapeshifter that could keep the form of a human for as long as she, or shift as smoothly as she could. He wished he could compare himself to her, but desperately fell short.
After the announced betrothal, Kiyoshi spent more and more time with Taiyo, her best friend. Unfortunately, Taiyo lived a good distance away, and other villagers were forced to take up the position of guardians in her-- often impromptu-- absences. It only took a few days for Riku to start following her, afraid that she would stop coming back.
While at Taiyo's village, Kiyoshi helped repair the houses, and plant several gardens. Her time was equally split between Sait and Taiyo, the two sole inhabitants of that village. He often wondered what the draw of that village was, and was determined to find out.
After five days of following her to and from their home village, Kiyoshi finally confronted Riku.
"Alright," she said with an annoyed tone as she headed back home one day. She suddenly whirled around, glaring in the general direction of Riku's hiding spot. "You can come out, you jerk. I know you've been tailing me."
Quite embarrassed, Riku emerged from his place of concealment, holding the twig that ultimately spelt his downfall.
"So you figured it out, ne?" he said bashfully. She only glared more.
"If you weren't so chicken-shit, it probably would have taken me longer," she declared. "There's nothing wrong with jumping from tree to tree."
He puffed out his chest indignantly. "There's nothing wrong with walking, either!"
She sighed and rolled her eyes, turning to continue her trek home. "Don't try to hide from me any more, Riku," she growled. "I'd know your scent anywhere."
"Even among humans?" he teased, catching up to her. He'd hardly reached her side before she whirled around and punched him squarely on the jaw with enough force to knock him to the ground. She glared something fierce at him.
"If you ever comment about humans like that ever again, I swear to you..." she trailed off threateningly, her anger clouding her mind. "I will never forgive you."
Confused, Riku could only watch as his intended walk away, a supremely irritated air about her.
"I'm not gonna be pushed into a mating that casts me as the passive one," she called over her tensed shoulders. "If the time comes, I will fight you for dominance, Riku. Don't you forget it."
-:-
He sighed again, rubbing his jaw at the memory. Yeah, she was definitely angry that day. She was always so defensive of the human race. No one ever asked about it, just marking it up to her righteous beliefs. Somehow, though, he knew that wasn't the case. He didn't have the guts to pursue it, though. But she hadn't lied about fighting him.
He had to admit she put up a better fight than he had anticipated. The only time that he was able to get away was when she suddenly up and left after a passing scent.
So maybe challenging her for dominance while she was royally angry was a bad idea. But it was the only way he knew that could have delayed her reaching their village and demolishing it. At least she had swerved East after that scent...
It was strange. Kiyoshi hadn't been the only one to detect a new smell. Oddly, he felt like he recognized the scent, but couldn't place it. He should have known that scent, dammit!
Riku sniffed indignantly, positively identifying the smells of the people he was traveling with and the forest they were in. He'd be damned if he forgot any of their scents...
Stubbornly, he lay down and went to sleep, determined to get some rest and stop worrying about his not-so-potential-any-more mate.
After all, it wasn't her fault he was afraid... of heights...
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I was stuck in a rut, tried to restart the chapter, and ended up making it a filler chapter. Noooo!!! T.T
If you want to know the nit-picking details, you can try IMing me on yahoo as ficauthor or on AIM as IshizuTheHiero. Better luck on yahoo, and better luck when my computer's running... I'll let you know when that is...
Ja ne, minna-san!!
