Chapter Two

That's A Thriller


The figure smiled at her.

"Well? Aren't you going to say hi to me?" he asked. She stood up and looked at him, her mouth still open.

"Akuira... Say something, please." he said, waving a hand in front of her face. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Tondrin!" she said, hugging him tightly. He was about two or so inches taller than she was, but Akuira didn't mind it.

"You're back. I knew you'd come back." she said, hugged him tighter. Tondrin smiled down at her.

"And I did." he replied. She looked at him.

"I've missed you so much! Come on, stay here awhile! The others are already here... By some way of default, but they're here." Akuira smiled. He laughed.

"By some way of default. Akuira, how you manage to keep others laughing is beyond me! Sure I'll stay!" he smiled.

"Great!" she exclaimed, leading him into the village.

Akuira purred as they walked into the village.

"Jasonu! Jasonu! Oh brother of mine!" she called, the purr was still loud in her throat. Tondrin simply watched her actions. The sudden wind ruffled his pitch black hair, and the hem of his clothes blew with the wind.

"What!" Jasonu snapped, looking up at his younger sibling.

"HE'S BACK! And you said he wasn't coming back! HA!" she said loudly. Jasonu rolled his eyes.

"Alright, whatever!" he muttered. Akuira stared at her brother, as Tondrin stared at her.

"I'm...not even going to ask..." Tondrin muttered. Jasonu looked up at his younger sister.

"What are you staring at?" he asked.

"That's a good question! Allow me to answer that!" Akuira said sarcastically.

"I'm the only sane one left of this family..." Jasonu muttered.

"I heard that!" Akuira hissed. Of course, there isn't a pair of perfect siblings that get along and don't fight. Tondrin knew Akuira and her brother fairly well, and he's witnessed some of their fights.

"Not... Again…" he muttered.

"Anyways… I was staring and still am staring at my older brother." Akuira answered matter-of-factly.

Jasonu rolled his eyes again.

"Why don't you leave me alone sometime?" he asked.

"Oh, I can't do that! I've got to annoy you each and every time I get!" Akuira smiled. Jasonu picked up a small rock and chucked it at her.

"Hey!" she whined.

"Don't be such a baby." Jasonu snapped again.

"I'm the younger one! I'm delicate!" Akuira whined again.

"Delicate? MY ASS!" her brother laughed.

Thinking Akuira wouldn't mind, Tondrin edged away from the squabbling siblings.

"I wonder how she stands Jasonu! I can't stand him, he's freaking annoying..." he muttered. He walked around for awhile, looking in various directions.

"Tondrin! Wait up!" Akuira called. Tondrin turned around to see Akuira now coming toward him.

"Pardon Jasonu, he's always being an ass around this time of year." she said.

-X-

"Inuyasha! Get back here!" Akuira shrieked. Inuyasha continued to run around the open field. Akuira was now fuming. Tondrin and the others were not about to help, knowing what was good for them.

"They'll never co-operate..." Sango muttered. Tondrin nodded.

"Why don't you try and make me!" Inuyasha hollered.

"JUST GET BACK HERE!" Akuira yelled.

"Look out.." Shippo squealed while hiding behind Kagome.

"I swear, when I get a hold of you Inuyasha!" Akuira yelled, now making an attempt of catching up to the half dog demon.

"You swear? Oh! I'm so scared! I wish my mom was here to hold me. Not! I'm not afraid of you, Akuira. You're only a girl!" the half dog demon declared.

"Inuyasha... Don't get her angry!" Kagome called.

"Only a girl, huh? I'll show you!" Akuira bellowed. Inuyasha continued to be a tease.

The half tiger demon stopped in her tracks, then a devious smile creased her face.

"Only a girl. We'll just see about that..." she muttered, then crouched down amongst the tall grass. Inuyasha stopped, then looked around.

"Where'd she go?" he asked. The others shrugged and acted like they weren't paying much attention as something in the grass crept up to Inuyasha.

He turned around, just in time to see a tiger pounce on him. The tiger growled, baring its teeth.

"Get off of me!" Inuyasha cried, trying to force the tiger away from him. Tondrin shook his head slightly.

"Figured she'd do that.." he muttered.

"What're you talking about? You don't mean to say that's Akuira, do you?" Miroku asked. Tondrin nodded.

"That's her. All the demons in this village have the power to transform into a tiger." he explained.

Miroku was amazed, while Inuyasha was still unaware that Akuira was the tiger.

"Akuira, if this is your idea of fun... IT'S NOT FUN!" Inuyasha hollered., "Akuira! AKUIRA!"

The tiger still bared its teeth, and looked ready for its next meal. Warm air blew into Inuyasha's face.

"Akuira, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS MESS!" Inuyasha yelled.

The others simply watched.

"When do you suppose he's going to realize that's Akuira?" Tondrin asked.

"Not sure." Kagome answered. They looked amused by this.

"Inuyasha." came Akuira's voice.

"Akuira! AKUIRA WHERE ARE YOU!" Inuyasha yelled.

"You're yelling in my face." came her voice again. Inuyasha looked up at the tiger.

"You can't be Akuira." he said in a dumb-founded way. Akuira transformed back to her normal state of being.

"Oh, can't I?" she hissed.

The half dog demon stared in utter confusion. Akuira grabbed something out of Inuyasha's hand, walked across his chest, then walked toward the others.

"Thanks." she called over her shoulder. Having reached the rest of the gang, she took a seat beside Tondrin.

"Akuira, since when could you transform?" Miroku asked.

"Since I was just a young girl." she answered.

"I see. Can anyone else in your village do that?" he asked.

"Yes." Akuira answered.

"Who?" Miroku asked again.

"All the other villagers and children." she answered.

They all stayed there as the sun set. Sango looked across at Akuira, then noticed something on her right wrist.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to Akuira's arm. Everyone looked at what Sango was pointing to, even Akuira. On her wrist were three symbols.

"Oh, this? It's nothing." Akuira answered.

"Everything is something." Tondrin said. Akuira took a deep breath.

"Well, every tiger demon in this village has symbols similar to these. The first, is their name. The next one is the name of their father, and the last is either a tiger's face or half of a tiger's face and half of a human's face." she explained.

"What does that all mean, though?" Sango asked.

"Well, it's basically one's status. This way, you can't lie and say that you're someone else." Akuira answered.

"But the last symbol." Sango said.

"Well, a whole tiger's face means that you're a full-fledged tiger demon, a half tiger face and half human face means that you're half tiger demon half human." Akuira answered.

"Interesting.." Miroku muttered. Akuira shrugged.

"I find it annoying. Everyone knows who you are." she said.

"But why their father's name?" Kagome asked.

"We go by our fathers' name. For example, if someone were to address my brother, they'd say: Jasonu, son of Jeremy." Akuira answered.