Author-chan's notes: Hey everyone! Things are finally moving along. The various pieces of the story are going to clash and come together, things are going to be discovered, and we'll finally get somewhere! Yay! Everyone, please enjoy chapter 21!
A Clean Slate
(Chapter Twenty-one: Some Things Best Left Unknown…)
Back with Miho and Kumo (AN: been awhile since we saw them last, ne?)
Miho sighed. She and Kumo had been walking through the woods ever since they had left the village, pausing only briefly, and after all that time, Miho was starting to feel tired and dirty. Kumo glanced at her, hearing her sigh.
"Do you want to stop for a little bit, Miho-san?" Kumo asked, worry in his red eyes. Miho nodded. Kumo gave her a small smile, and sat down on a fallen tree trunk.
"When I passed by this place last, I noticed that there was a hot spring just over there, a little bit beyond those trees," Kumo told her, "If you like, you can wash up, and I'll start preparing a meal. We'll camp here."
"Don't you want to walk a bit further?" Miho asked, surprised, "We can walk during the night for a little bit."
"Nah," Kumo answered, "It'll be dark in a couple of hours, and I don't want to be wandering about in the dark."
"But I thought youkai had incredible night vision," Miho said, her brow furrowed together.
"Not this youkai!" Kumo said with a laugh. Miho smiled and began walking towards the direction of the hot spring.
"I'll be back soon, Kumo-san!" Miho called over her shoulder as she disappeared from view.
***
Back with Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo
"Let's stop here for now," Miroku announced as the group reached a small clearing the woods. Sango sighed, and put down the Hiraikotsu. Kagome stretched a bit.
"Hey, Kagome-chan," Sango said, drawing the other girl's attention, "If I remember correctly, there's a hot spring nearby. Do you want to clean up before going to bed?"
"Sure, why not?" Kagome said with a smile. Shippo jumped up on her shoulder.
"Can I come too?" Shippo asked cheerfully.
"Of course, Shippo-chan," Kagome said kindly.
"And might I be able to accompany you as well?" Miroku asked hopefully. Sango glared at the lecherous houshi.
"NO!" Sango yelled, emphasizing her answer with a hard smack. Miroku sighed wistfully and stroked his red cheek.
"Maybe next time then, Sango?" Miroku suggested, as he skillfully rubbed her backside.
The monk was answered with the Hiraikotsu crashing down on his skull.
***
Back with Yumeko, Aki, Masato, Kimiko, and the unconscious Shiro/Inuyasha
"Are you sure about this, Yumeko-san?" Aki asked the dream demon for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Yumeko sighed and nodded.
"Damn, freak," Masato muttered, running his hands through his hair, "If you love her so much, why don't you just marry her?"
"Didn't we tell you to keep quiet, Masato-san?" Aki asked, his face flaming with embarrassment at Masato's words, "And stop calling me a freak."
"Make me, FREAK!" Masato said childishly. Kimiko glared at the older boy.
"Stop making fun of my Onii-san," Kimiko said, sticking up for her brother.
"Shut up, girly," Masato growled, knowing full well that Kimiko had no magical powers or demonic abilities to harass him with.
"Masato," Aki hissed, "Lay off Kimi-chan."
"Whatever," Masato muttered, turning away.
"Alright, I'm ready to go," Yumeko announced.
"Be careful," Aki advised.
"You should be telling that to Masato-san, after all he's coming with me!" Yumeko said with a small laugh.
"NANI?!" both men yelped, their eyes wide.
"Why should I come? Why not the freak?" Masato asked.
"He'll only get in your way, Yumeko-san!" Aki pointed out.
"Listen," Yumeko said seriously, "Going into another person's mind can be dangerous. There is the possibility that Shiro has built up mental barriers. Mental barriers can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be simple barriers that just block out intruders or they can come with nasty surprises that can maim, if not kill, and invader."
"K-kill?" Masato sputtered.
"You still haven't explained why you want Masato-san with you, Yumeko-san," Kimiko pointed out. Yumeko smiled at the young girl.
"I want him to watch my back," Yumeko replied simply, "I can't take Aki because we have no idea what kind of affect his magic might have on Shiro's mind, and I can't take you, because you're too young. So Masato will have to do."
"Hold up, don't I have a say in the matter?" Masato asked.
"Of course you do," Yumeko said pleasantly, "But that does not necessarily mean that your comments will be listened to." Masato swore.
"Look, Masato-san," Aki said, looking strait into the other man's eyes, "There is something going on with Shiro. Over the past week there have been a couple of incidences where a bunch of mysterious people came out of nowhere, and tried to kill Shiro. I want to know why. But Shiro can't tell us because he doesn't remember anything. A child Shiro's age should not have bloodthirsty killers after him."
"No he shouldn't," Yumeko agreed softly, "However, I might know why some of them are after Shiro."
"What? How?!" Aki and Masato yelped together. Yumeko looked down.
"Because when I first came here, I was after Shiro's head as well," Yumeko answered. The other's looked in her in shock.
"W-why?" Aki asked, horror making his voice break. Yumeko did not dare look in his eyes.
"It was the order of my mother, the matriarch of the dream youkai, Miyuki," Yumeko answered, "That is also why my brother, Yugata, is here."
"Why would she want to kill Shiro?" Kimiko asked.
"Do you see the sword that Shiro always carries?" Yumeko asked, gesturing to the child's limp form.
"Yeah, what about it?" Masato replied, while the other's nodded.
"It doesn't look like much," Yumeko began, "But it is a demonic blade of infinite power. That sword can kill a hundred youkai in one stroke."
"Impressive," Masato whistled, "Is that why your mother wanted to kill the pipsqueak? To get the sword?" Yumeko nodded.
"The sword is called Tetsusaiga," she continued, "It was forged from the fang of the former youkai lord of the Western Lands."
"'Lord of the Western Lands'?" Aki repeated slowly, "That phrase sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?" As the magician thought, an image of a cold, white-haired youkai appeared in his mind's eye.
"You are a very foolish human to attack Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands," the handsome youkai said calmly, "Your idiocy has cost you your life."
"HIM!!!" Aki exclaimed suddenly, his eyes wide.
"What?!" the others asked, surprised by his outburst.
"That youkai, the white-haired that attacked us all in the woods," Aki said, "He called himself Sesshoumaru, the Lord of the Western Lands."
"Sesshoumaru?" Yumeko questioned, "I've heard of him. He's the son of the previous Western Lord. They say he and his father didn't get along. That's probably because not only did his father not give him Tetsusaiga as his inheritance, but the father also mated with a human woman. Last I heard the old lord had a hanyou son with the human woman, named Inuyasha. Needless to say, Sesshoumaru was not happy about that. He hates humans."
"Inuyasha?" Aki questioned, "That's the name of that hanyou Kumo is after!"
"You know something else," Masato muttered, looking thoughtful, "That bushy-tailed youkai kept on talking to Shiro. I couldn't hear what they were saying properly, but it looked like they knew each other. But isn't he supposed to hate humans?"
"Sesshoumaru absolutely abhors humans," Yumeko clarified, "But still, it's not a surprise that Shiro and Sesshoumaru would know each other. They had to have met before. Shiro is carrying a sword made out of Sesshoumaru's father's fang, after all."
"Why would Shiro have a demon sword?" Kimiko asked, "Isn't it that demon swords can only be used by someone with youkai blood? A sword like that would be useless to Shiro."
"Who knows?" Yumeko shrugged, "That's why I want to go into his mind. Besides, there are has to be more reasons that just having Tetsusaiga that would make people come after Shiro."
"HELLO?!" Masato said sarcastically, "Demonic sword that can kill hundreds with a single swing? If I were a youkai, I would go after the brat just for that."
"What about Kikyo?" Kimiko pointed out, "She was a miko, not a youkai. A demon sword would be worthless to her. Yumeko-san is right, there's something else about Shiro that is causing him to be in danger."
"So we still need to look into Shiro's mind then," Aki said with a sigh, "I suppose there's no getting around it then."
"Yes, so we better start now," Yumeko said.
"Hold on," Masato said, his face strangely serious and thoughtful, "Why should we trust you, youkai girl? You just admitted that you were after the brat's sword and life. How do we know you don't still want those things? Why should we trust you?"
"I may still want Tetsusaiga, but I don't want to see Shiro's head on a silver platter," Yumeko said hotly.
"That doesn't mean you don't want to see him dead," Masato replied icily, "You could be helping that guy, Yugata. For all we know, you'll go in the brat's head, and destroy him from the inside out, maybe eat his soul. That's what youkai do, right?"
***
Back with the two shadowy figures
"Chikuso!" Figure #1 swore, as it watched the scene unfolding before it and its companion.
"When did Masato-san get so smart?" Figure #2 wondered out loud.
"And how did he get so suspicious all of a sudden?" Figure #1 added. Figure #2 growled as realization hit it like a ton of bricks.
"Someone is meddling with our affairs!" Figure #2 exclaimed.
"NANI?!" Figure #1 yelped, "Who or what can do that? Who would want to?"
"I think I know," Figure #2 growled, its eyes narrowing, "It has to be another one of our kind, another personification of Fate."
"Kuso!" Figure #1 swore, "Do you know which one?"
"Iie," Figure #2 answered, "But whoever they are, they are being complete idiots messing with something this dangerous."
***
Back inside Shiro/Inuyasha's dreamscape
"My what?!" Shiro growled at the youkai before him. The youkai that sat before Shiro had finally revealed his face to the child. Like Shiro and Inuyasha, the youkai wore a red outfit. He had long white hair like Inuyasha with triangular dog ears perched on the top of his head. Tetsusaiga was impaled in his chest, and the youkai was wrapped up in dark ropes. But when that youkai looked up at Shiro, the child could feel his blood run cold. His eyes were a vivid red with no whites, but they had blue pupils that were shaped like a cat's. It was those eyes underlined by jagged purple stripes on his cheeks that freaked Shiro out. They were hungry for blood, insanely hungry for it. Speaking of blood, this youkai was drenched in it. Blood was splashed in his white hair and his clothing. It was also smeared across his face, and his clawed hands were drenched in the sticky red liquid.
"Your youkai self," Youkai Inuyasha said, answering Shiro's question, "That is what I am."
"Liar!" Shiro growled as he looked up at his hanyou self, "Inuyasha, tell this bastard he's a liar!" Hanyou Inuyasha simply looked away without answering his human side. Shiro's eyes grew wide, and Youkai Inuyasha chuckled darkly.
"T-that can't be true," Shiro hissed, "Can't you feel the evil radiating off this guy? He's a monster, I can feel it. All he wants is to kill and kill, until there is nothing else to kill, and then look for something else to kill. He can't be part of us!"
"How do you think you're able to read his mind, Shiro?" Hanyou Inuyasha asked, "He's part of us, the darkest part, the pure black heart ruling over a damned soul."
"Then why haven't we seen him until now?" Shiro asked.
"I don't know," Hanyou Inuyasha answered, "Normally this side of us is locked deep within our mind. He shouldn't be this close to the surface."
"It's that bracelet," Youkai Inuyasha answered, a smirk gracing his face.
"Huh?" Hanyou Inuyasha blinked. At his side, Shiro's eyes grew wide with understanding.
"The bracelet," Shiro breathed, "Sesshoumaru said that it was tearing our soul apart. That's why our youkai self his so close to the surface of our mind. If the bracelet tears up our soul, he'll be free."
"And you'll be dead, Ningen," Youkai Inuyasha finished, smirking, "You and the hanyou both." Shiro and Hanyou Inuyasha looked at each other, horror coming across them like a crashing wave.
***
Back with Kagome, Sango, and Shippo at the hot spring
"This feels great!" Kagome sighed, as she sank into the warm water. Shippo smiled contently as he floated around on the small plastic inflatable raft that Kagome had brought with her from her time. Sango was busy washing her hair. Suddenly, the group heard a voice.
"Oh! I didn't realize there would be other people here!" the voice exclaimed. The girls turned to look at the speaker. A young woman, about their age, was standing next to the hot spring, looking slightly surprised.
"We didn't think so either," Sango replied laughing, "Care to join us? There's enough room for one more." The girl smiled in gratitude, quickly striped off her kimono, and stepped into the hot spring.
"My name is Miho," the girl said, introducing herself, "Pleased to meet you."
"I'm Kagome," the girl from the future replied, "And this is Sango, and Shippo-chan."
"Nice to meet you," Shippo chirped from his raft. Miho giggled at the cute little kitsune.
"Kawaii!" Miho exclaimed, smiling at Shippo.
"So what brings you here, Miho-san?" Kagome asked as they all bathed.
"I'm traveling with a friend of mine, Kumo," the girl replied.
"Oh?" Sango asked, "This Kumo, is it a he or a she?"
"He," Miho replied, a slight blush appearing on her face. Sango and Kagome grinned at each other.
"So it's that kind of friend," Kagome said. Miho blushed harder.
"Hai," Miho replied, looking up at Kagome shyly. Suddenly, Miho paused, as she looked harder at Kagome's face.
"You look familiar," Miho said, frowning slightly, "Have we met before?"
"I don't think so," Kagome replied.
"Maybe I met someone you are related to then," Miho suggested. Kagome shook her head.
"None of my family lives around here," Kagome said truthfully. Miho continued to look unconvinced. Suddenly Miho's eyes landed on a bow lying next to a quiver of arrows.
"Wait a second," Miho said, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the weapons, "Are those yours, Kagome-san?"
"Yes," Kagome said, confused, "Why do you ask, Miho-san?"
"You're a miko, aren't you?" Miho whispered, still looking at the bow and arrows in horror.
"Sort of," Kagome answered, "Is there a problem with that?"
"Do you know a miko named Kikyo?" Miho asked, turning serious eyes to Kagome. The girl from the future felt her eyes grow wide.
"How do you know about Kikyo?" Sango asked angrily, her eyes narrowed.
"Kikyo was that witch that tried harming Shiro-chan," Miho answered, "How do you know about her?"
"We are not on the best terms with Kikyo ourselves," Sango replied dryly.
"Wait," Kagome said, "Did you say 'Shiro-chan'?"
"Yes," Miho nodded, "What about it?"
"He wears a red outfit and has rosary beads around his neck, right?" Kagome asked, "And he carries around this old beat up sword too?"
"H-how did you know about that?" Miho sputtered, surprised. Kagome laughed in relief.
"We found him!" Kagome cried happily, "Is he alright? Has he remembered anything yet? Kikyo didn't hurt him too badly, did she? Please say he's alright!"
"Shiro was fine when I last saw him," Miho replied, "But how do you know about Shiro? How do you know that we call him that in the first place? We know Shiro isn't Shiro's real name."
"It's a long story," Kagome said, "But let's just say that Shiro himself told me in a dream. But I'm glad he's safe. If Kikyo had killed him, I don't know what I would have done."
"Shiro-chan is fine," Miho assured the girl from the future, "By the way, what is he too you? Is he your little brother or something?"
"'Little brother'?" Sango and Shippo questioned, confused. Kagome looked back at them.
"Don't you remember what I told you?" Kagome asked, "Inuyasha told me in that dream that some sort of magical bracelet had turned him into a human child and then wiped his memories. Then some people found him and renamed him Shiro."
"Did you say Inuyasha?" Miho asked, her eyes wide. Kagome nodded.
"That's Shiro's real name," Kagome said.
"You see, he isn't a human child," Sango continued.
"He's really an annoying teenaged hanyou who whaps me over the head when I talk to him," Shippo piped up. Miho felt sick. Shiro and Inuyasha, the hanyou that had killed Kumo's brother, were one and the same. She didn't want it to be true, but something in her heart told her it was.
"Is there something wrong, Miho-san?" Kagome asked, concern coloring her voice.
"I'm fine, it's just that--" Miho's reply was cut short as a blood-curling roar echoed nearby. The girls turned, just as a giant bear youkai appeared from out of the forest.
Author-chan's notes: And so ends chapter 21! KUSO!!!!!!! I wanted to get to Yumeko poking around in Shiro/Inuyasha's mind in this chapter, but it didn't turn out that way! KUSO, KUSO, KUSO!!!!!!!! Darn it, it's almost like my mind is conspiring against me. I've wanted to have Yumeko poke around Inuyasha's mind for the longest time, but for some weird reason, I keep putting it off. ERG! But at least everything else is moving along. Shiro is getting to know Youkai Inuyasha (and getting freaked out while doing so), Masato is growing a brain, Miho found out about Shiro's past, and the Shadowy Figures have discovered there's another Shadowy Figure that is messing with their plans. Yep, everything is finally moving.
Well, please R+R!!!!
