Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.
/.../
Chapter 14 - "They'll always be afraid of us."
There had been discussions about what to do with the three. The boys especially had argued against them training with the rest. In their opinion, it would be better for them to keep the Setrans company. The girls disagreed, but they were more familiar with the peculiarities of these three children. Not that they really were. The two youngest were Souta and Rin, and they were thirteen. The boys seemed to have forgotten they had been sent out to the smaller battles when they were that age as part of their training.
Rin had headed straight toward the last egg when the three had been shown the Setrans. She had collapsed afterwards, but the panicking older teens were told to calm down as their bonded explained that the other egg was simply taking as much energy as it could to catch up to Shippo's egg.
Kagome had stalked about in a huff for days as the boys refused to budge. Souta had grinned at her and come up with the solution. "We'll just choose a shift anyway. Someone will be willing to train with us. Miroku can probably help me with my powers even more than you or Kikyou could, so I'll go there, Kaede will trail Sango, and Rin can join you your shift. She can't channel her reiki well into weapons, just barriers, kinda like Sango can't channel it into a weapon shape, but Rin's good at healing with it when she can, and good enough without it to keep people alive. She's not as good of a fighter as the rest of us, but she's great with her daggers, and you can help her a bit, can't you?"
She couldn't very well say no to the last part, and the rest of it was very sensible. Within days they had settled into a routine, where the three children very innocently followed their shift around and helped out, and the boys grudgingly admitted - in their own minds, at least - that the kids weren't bad fighters after all. Yusuke took the advantage of Souta trailing his shift to extract all the information he could about Kagome.
In return, Souta had subtly tested the older boy's personality. He was impulsive, but not quite as impulsive as Inuyasha, and he did improvise in battle instead of always trying the same strategy, but more than that, beneath it all, Souta was pleased to discover that when he did actually bring someone into the very small group of those he cared about, he would be loyal to them.
Kaede had been observing Keiko and Hiei in the same way, if to a lesser degree, and Rin had shrewdly wiggled her way into Inuyasha, and surprisingly, Kurama's, heart. Her strategy for assessing them was much better than the two Higurashi's. She was simply herself, and they were much more relaxed around the carefree girl than they were of the children raised to be fighters.
Kagome wasn't totally unaware of what the younger children were doing, but it saddened her a bit. Not that she hadn't ever done similar things, but she had never been that good at it. Perhaps it had to do with that their training had begun even earlier than hers. Beneath all of their exteriors were fighters, and Souta and Kaede had been fighters practically since they were old enough to follow directions.
When Mars came into view, it was a welcome sight to her, despite the threats of violence it held, and Kagome was one of the first to get off in the city of Karjini, one of the few cities that was still safe from Naraku's demons on the planet.
/./
"It looks dusty," Rin observed. She and Kagome were on top of a building that was next to the shields and they were staring out at the red planet. They had been there two days and it was late afternoon and the sun was setting on the third day.
"It does," Kagome agreed. "Even with terraforming there are dust storms sometimes. Or maybe because of the terraforming. Meddling with it probably changed it a lot. They say it once really did look totally red, not a bit of green or blue anywhere."
The two girls stared off into the distance. To all sides were long fields of tall grass. in the distance they could make out the far off farms, automated by robots. They couldn't spare enough people for farms, but the original programming for farming and ranching robots were still about, and so even with so much lost, the humans and their demon allies managed to construct enough of them.
"When do we leave?" Rin asked finally.
"Tomorrow at dawn. The officials in the city want us out of here as quickly as possible." Kagome didn't try to coat it for the girl, but she was watching Rin from the corner of her eye.
"They're afraid of us."
"Yes," Kagome answered, despite the fact it hadn't been a question.
"Oh," Rin said. Then she began to cry, and Kagome took the younger teen in the circle of her arms.
"It'll be all right. We're a target, that's all. It'll stop when Naraku and Resurga are gone." Despite her words, Kagome had felt like crying a time or two herself. This had been the first time they had been in a populated area together. Everyone knew. They knew that they were targets, and they knew that they were part of a prophecy. They weren't just scared to have them in the city, they were scared of them. It hurt to know that the civilization they were trying to save was scared silly of the power they held.
"Will it, Kagome? The Setrans make them afraid too. All they know are distant legends, and most of those aren't good." Rin paused, then sniffed and said, "They'll always be afraid of us."
Kagome had nothing to say to that, so she pulled the girl closer and let Rin cry herself out on her shoulder. She felt angry that they had made her cry, but she twisted it away and aimed it toward Naraku instead. He was the immediate threat, and she had no hostility to waste of civilians who were too scared and too used to the way things were to welcome something that would make their civilization whole again.
Their stomachs were crying out for food and the sun had long set by the time they climbed to their feet and walked over to a tall post standing up from the roof. Kagome reached out and pressed a blue button and the roof nearby shifted, revealing a hole and an elevator rising up out of it, apparently standing on nothing but air. That too, was something from when the planet had been originally settled, before everything had gone wrong and Resurga had risen.
The elevator brought them down to what a melodic female voice said was level three. Where their rooms were. In fact, the whole floor was theirs. No one else would have wanted to be on it once they found out they were there, anyway.
Knowing that they would be scolded for being out so late, they headed immediately for what they had chosen for their meeting room, a large room that actually had a table and chairs. Rin entered first and immediately winced as Souta, Kaede, Inuyasha, and Kikyou began to show their disapproval. Kurama simply gave her a disappointed look. Shippo was the only one looking sympathetic. He was holding a peculiar piece of wood that seemed to slowly be molding in his hands.
Kagome took a deep breath before plunging in. "We weren't far. Just on the roof."
Immediately that turned the attention towards her. She only caught a few snatches of everything after that.
"Stubborn, prideful - "
"Endangering poor Rin-"
"So irresponsible-"
"What were you thinking?"
"Can't believe you would be such a brainless-"
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Everyone shut up as Yusuke finally spoke up. He said it loudly, but not loud enough to be heard in the other floors which they knew could happen.
"We were perfectly fine. It wouldn't have been hard to find us if you had needed us," Kagome pointed out.
"Oh no, we only would have had to check every fucking floor! Inuyasha could only track you two as far as the elevator, and none of the floors we checked had you!" Yusuke snapped back.
"You should have checked the roof," Kagome returned steadily. She wasn't backing off on this. She knew they had been worried, but this had been necessary for her and Rin. The girl had been near to breaking down more than once and it was better that Kagome was the one to catch her when she fell, than for one of the others to attempt it if it had happened at another time. She was used to piecing the emotional state of others back together with a little comfort and a soothing presence.
"If you'd told us-" Yusuke began heatedly.
"Then you would have followed us. This was something we had to do without the rest of you around. We're not hurt, none of us in here are hurt, and everyone's fine. It was something that we needed to do. Drop it," Kagome said flatly. That was an obvious mistake.
"Drop it?" Yusuke asked in a low, angry voice. "We looked for you for hours. I'll be damned if I'll 'Drop it'. Maybe you don't give a shit about the rest of us, but we-"
"Yusuke, if you somehow god it in your pigheaded, egotistical head that I somehow did this to spite you all, you might as well give up now. I did this because I do 'give a shit' and if you had bothered asking, I could have told you where I was. If you had bothered thinking, you could have asked Tairi if I was safe. Instead you sat here and... what? Waited for us to come back so you could make a scene. Get a brain!" Kagome had grabbed both Shippo and Rin as they all went into momentary shock at the harshness in Kagome's voice, but Yusuke didn't let himself be shocked enough to let her get away. The doors slammed closed and Yusuke was leaning against them with less than a foot between him and Kagome.
"Me, get a brain? I already have one, unlike an empty headed female who can't be bothered to stop us from worrying. I did ask Tairi where you were. She wouldn't answer me, probably by your command." Yusuke glared at her from that short distance.
Kagome's eyes flashed and she let go of Shippo and Rin and reached forward to push him out of the way. "I didn't tell her to do anything."
Yusuke snorted and gripped her wrist before it could reach him. "Then why didn't she tell me?"
Frustrated, Kagome practically hurled her thought out to Tairi. 'Tairi? Why didn't you tell Yusuke?'
'Because it wasn't any of his business. You had something to do that would make things better in the long run, and it is important for the growing ones that their bonded stay stable. He would have interrupted and the baby could have been emotionally malformed if she had broken down at the wrong time or kept letting it fester.' By Yusuke face, it was apparent Tairi's sharp voice was aimed for him as well.
"You could have said that you were helping her when you came in," he grumbled just loud enough for her ears.
"And you would have used it as one of the things you threw at me and announced it to the whole room. They would have worried and undone everything. She would have told you if I was in danger. I wasn't, and I can take care of myself. Please, I think we should all get some rest now." She did sound tired, but Yusuke hesitated, trying to get her to meet his eye as he furiously ran over the fight the argument they'd just had and wincing at some of the comments he had made.
"Kagome," he said, attempting to get her to lift her head.
"Please, Yusuke." She stared past him and he reluctantly moved out of the way. She left, this time simply taking Shippo with her. They all had a feeling she was going to be locking her door from the rest of them tonight.
"I wonder if there will be one of us who hasn't said something stupid to Kagome by the time this is all over. Hell, I'm permanently on her bad side." Inuyasha grinned, flashing fangs at his team leader. Yusuke ignored him, slapping his palm against the wall and leaning into it, telling himself that now was not the time to punch through the wall.
"Shippo won't get on her bad side. He didn't try to jump down her throat." Rin's look, rather than disapproving, was disappointed. Her eyes were downcast and Yusuke found himself wanting to look for a kicked puppy that had to be somewhere around. "She was only trying to help."
"She still should have told someone," Kikyou said softly to the girl.
"Why? She's an adult." Under Rin's steady, uncomprehending gaze, Kikyou backed off, unable to explain it. They just had to stay together. It was too dangerous for them to be out alone.
"What if Naraku had attacked?" Kurama pointed out.
"Then we could have held them off while Tairi got the rest of you. At worst we would have had to be put under a barrier." Rin shifted her weight as she saw the shaking heads. She didn't understand this. They couldn't be together all the time. Even after Naraku and Resurga were destroyed there would still be demons wanting to kill any one of them. Surely they didn't think they all be together in a big group for the rest of their lives.
"Kagome's not very good at barriers," Inuyasha mentioned with a snort.
"I am," Rin stated. Everyone started slightly and took a good look at the girl. "I'm not very good at offense, but my energy feels most natural when I put it to use defensively."
"She has a point there. We never could get her energy to form into a weapon, but her barrier's are excellent." Souta finally piped up, feeling torn between both arguments but ultimately wanting them to get off the subject altogether.
"I weave them," Rin explained. There were more strange looks and Kaede stepped up to her side after an unseen nudge from Souta.
"It's how she thinks of how it's formed. Like a tight weaving... except the shield can 'root' into the ground. She really is very good. And she can do a bit of healing, if it's another human." The children seemed suddenly to be pushing forward Rin's credentials, as if the strange stares they had been giving Rin had been a challenge of some sort.
"Relax, brats. We believe you." Inuyasha grinned at them and they all smiled back at them. When they turned to talk in a corner, Inuyasha turned away and Inuyasha didn't see Souta and Kaede exchange relieved smiles.
/./
'Don't worry about it so much. Yusuke was just worried about you.' Tairi had her legs folded beneath her and was looking wise as her head tilted to look at Kagome with one blue eyes. The room was plenty large enough for it's three occupants and the guest who refused to move, but Kagome still felt cramped. Only her willpower kept her from jumping up and pacing.
'He really was you know. I would know, after all,' Elako said smugly. He wasn't supposed to be in there, but when Kagome had suggested he leave, he had looked at her out of shining blue eyes and said nothing.
"I don't care how worried he was. I can take care of myself, and Rin. I was taking care of myself long before most of them came around. I had to fight Kikyou's big sister attitude my whole life, I don't need another protector. Even Miroku understands that." Kagome knew that wasn't fair. Miroku only understood because he couldn't be there to protect her and had seen her handle herself adequately when none of the others had. Outside of training, none of them had realized that she did have to fight sometimes, and without them.
'Probably another reason Yusuke's jealous. You really should watch how close you get to him when you speak. It's fascinating how you two can be so close and not feel a thing but friendship. Unfortunately, Keiko and Yusuke don't find it fascinating.' Tairi shifted as Shippo yawned and moved from Kagome's side onto the floor and snuggled up to Tairi, still clutching that strange piece of wood from before.
"I fixed that already. And it has nothing to do with right now. We aren't changing the subject. He's seen me in a fight. Okay, I've done some stupid moves, like with Goshinki, but it was necessary at the time." Kagome turned from her back onto her side, facing away from the two Setrans.
The next second she turned back and looked at Tairi through narrow eyes. "Have you gotten larger again?"
'A bit perhaps. I had some energy stored up for a fight, but none has been forthcoming. I won't grow much larger, but my muscles will still have to fill out.' She was looking sleek, and she and Elako were now a similar color of dark blue. Unfortunately, each had darkened as they grew, and for some reason, Elako had not been growing with Tairi at the last growth spurt. He was at least a hand shorter than Tairi and his wings looked awkward and oversized.
Elako glanced away as Tairi proudly displayed her fangs and tried to show off as best she could without disturbing the kitsune. Before they had been ahead of the others, and Tairi still was, if only slightly ahead. But he was now slightly behind and he could figure it out.
Kagome didn't notice the male Setrans silence and continued obliviously. "And it hasn't even been that long since you hatched. Are you supposed to grow this fast?"
'We're mystical creatures. We grow as fast as we can consume energy. When we get out of the city, I and the others will be able to practice and see if any of the others have discovered their powers.'
"If they haven't?" Kagome questioned, looking at Tairi curiously.
'Then I and Zasar and the dragons will spar. Now that we near full growth, we do need to build up actual muscles, and we need to know how far our powers will extend without enemies to draw off of.' Tairi yawned and showed sharp fangs before tucking her head beneath one foreleg. 'Enough. We have a full day ahead of us. Get some sleep.'
Kagome was surprised by the quick dismissal but she did stop talking to her bonded and turned her attention to Elako. "You sure you don't want to go out and back to Yusuke's room?"
'Oh yes, I'm very sure.' It was a testament of how tired she was from the long day and the emotional turmoil that she was still engaged in that she didn't even notice the sudden amusement in Elako's mind voice.
Elako shifted his gaze away from Tairi to Kagome and waited until she looked too lost in thought to notice his blank gaze. He sent out a gentle, teasing thought and gently touched his bonded's mind. 'So, how much longer did you want to beat yourself up?'
'Where the hell are you?' There was a few heartbeats of silence before Yusuke grumbled, 'And I'm not beating myself up. She should have told us where she was going.'
'I don't suppose you considered the fact that you could both be equally right? She doesn't like it that you think her weak.' Elako tossed his head smugly and felt like neighing triumphantly at the sudden shock he felt from Yusuke. Stupid, silly boy.
'I don't! I couldn't ever think she was weak!' Yusuke's vehement reaction was exactly what Elako had been waiting for.
'She thinks you do.'
'How do you know?' The alicorn let himself fall silent for almost half a minute, trying to convey hesitance he didn't feel. It was so fun baiting them sometimes.
'Well... You weren't in your room, so I went to hers. I'm there now, and she's been pouring her heart out to me, Tairi, and little Shippo.' He waited another beat, feeling Yusuke organizing his thoughts to say something sharp. He cut him off quickly with a smug, 'And I remember the code she was given for this room.'
There was a longer silence that Elako was happy to wait out. Yusuke's emotions were wide open to Elako's peering gaze, just as his would be to Yusuke's if the boy had ever bothered to try and feel what he was feeling consciously. The Setran could feel Yusuke's struggle, pride warring against the curiosity and the need to see Kagome. Finally, with Elako waiting smugly in the back of his mind, Yusuke sent, 'Whoever said your kind was dangerous doesn't know the half of it. Is she awake?'
'Yes. Just thinking. You won't get a better chance to talk to her alone. Tomorrow none of you will be able to get anytime alone with each other.' Elako didn't feel that Yusuke was paying attention at this point and didn't bother hiding his annoyance. He was trying to help out, and Yusuke just went off and ignored him.
'What's the code?' Yusuke asked suddenly.
'Why?'
'I'm outside the door.'
'Oh.' Elako was glad he wasn't humanoid. A blush on blue skin would look horrifying. He listed off the numbers, grinning as the first beeps sounded and Kagome sat up warily. The Setran could feel the power building beneath her skin. Tairi lifted her head suddenly and he knew she could feel the hum of power shimmering in the air just like he could.
The door slid open and Elako pretended not to notice Tairi's angry blue gaze snapping toward him. The self-congratulation in his mind only lasted until the suddenly vicious thought broke into his mind.
'I'll get you back for this in training later. This is not what Kagome needs.' Tairi held herself rigidly, only the kitsune sleeping against her side keeping her from threatening an explanation out of the male.
'This is exactly what they need. What they both need. Don't let Kagome's emotions color your perceptions.' Elako winced as Tairi's mind presence went still before it blazed angrily. He could feel the hurricane of power in the room, coming from both females with equal anger.
He wondered why he was able to remove himself from the grip of Yusuke's emotions when Tairi couldn't. Perhaps it was that sense of something hidden in his bonded. Something that waited patiently. Once Elako had sensed that, only after the younger humans had arrived, he had been able to remove himself from Yusuke's influence. Not always, and never enough to keep it from affecting him, but enough that he had a clear head. Clearer than Tairi's.
'Her perceptions are mine and mine are hers. It's not my fault you and yours are too stunted to have a proper bond.' Tairi bared wicked fangs at him. He leapt onto suddenly shining hooves.
'Look at all that stored energy that you can't possibly use.' Tairi's taunt hit home. Elako was shocked that she had noticed. Furiously, he pawed at the floor and would have charger his fellow Setran if not for Yusuke fisting his hand in the long blue mane trailing from his neck.
"I think, that that is enough of that. I came here to talk to Kagome, not to see you two fight about... whatever you two are fighting about." Yusuke looked at the two bonded suspiciously and slowly released his grip on Elako, narrowing his eyes as he noticed Tairi had not moved from her spot and her blue eyes looked vaguely mocking.
Elako couldn't stand it, and he couldn't explain to his bonded that he was... different. He was malformed, stunted, and not good enough. The Setran wheeled about and charged out of the room, his hooves clicking on the smooth surface beneath him.
"What the hell was that about?" Yusuke questioned the remaining occupants.
"I don't know." Kagome seemed to have forgotten she was mad at Yusuke as she glanced over at Tairi. "What about you?"
'I think tonight would be a glorious night for a walk, don't you?' Tairi nuzzled Shippo awake before getting up, trotting calmly past Yusuke and stopping just outside the door. She wheeled halfway around to stare up at Yusuke and said to the both of them, 'He's keeping secrets you know. He can't keep it all inside anymore than the rest of us. Look what damage it does.'
Both humans stared after her as she trotted off in the opposite direction of Elako. Shippo yawned and would have gone back to sleep if he had not noticed Yusuke standing there. Abruptly his plans changed and he gripped his oddly shaped piece of wood as he sidled out of the room. He cleared his throat and said, "I think I'll go and... get some food... or something. Bye!"
The kitsune disappeared, his golden tail the last thing the saw as he darted down one hallway. "Very subtle of them," Kagome muttered.
Her words jolted Yusuke back to the present - and the reason for him being there. He took another step into the room and felt the door automatically close behind him. Kagome stared up at him warily. He stared back, suddenly at a loss for words.
Finally, he managed an awkward, "We need to talk."
Kagome stared up at him for a second. Then another passed, and another. Just as he was getting annoyed with the silence, she began to laugh softly. It was his turn to eye her warily. It definitely wasn't something funny, and he saw no reason why this was a laughing matter.
"You are a master of stating the obvious. Should we talk about your total lack of tact, your trust issues, or should we just get to the screaming?" Kagome's lips were in an odd bitter twist as she spoke. Yusuke couldn't remember seeing any similar expression except that day when Kikyou had said those fateful words.
"I may have overreacted," he said. He refused to give into temptation and rise to the tasty bait she was tangling in front of him. One hurtful argument was enough for him.
"What was your first clue?" She was still glaring at him with that twisted smile and Yusuke had to force himself to meet her eyes.
"I do trust you. I was just..." Yusuke struggled under the taunting feelings that were saying nothing was going to make this better. The words just weren't there, and she would laugh at anything he said.
"Oh, fuck this. I was worried, okay? It doesn't matter how damn strong you are, I will worry. I still think you were damn irresponsible but I'm-" He smiled bitterly, hating the taste of the word that meant he was wrong. "-sorry. For screaming at you."
"You never go about things normally, do you? We're supposed to work around to apologies. Sometimes it takes days. Weeks, depending on how bad it was." Kagome was looking faintly exasperated, but the slight smile on her lips was honest and her eyes had lost that dull look.
"Why the hell would anyone go through days of this? Fuck, when Keiko was angry with me she'd probably just scream at me and maybe hit me, and then everything would be fine again. What the hell would weeks of silence and all that fake smiles and bullshit solve?" Yusuke honestly look flummoxed by the whole concept. Kagome realized suddenly why Miroku seemed the only one she could be comfortable around. He was the most emotionally stable of the lot. Considering all of the anger he hid, that was saying a lot.
Looking up at Yusuke, she wondered what that said about her, that of all of them she would have to choose him. Realizing that he waiting for something more, she shook herself. "I don't know if I can really forget everything you said. You meant all of it Yusuke, and don't say you didn't. But, I can try to forgive it."
There wasn't an immediate change, but Kagome was watching closely. She smiled at the small bit of tension he let slip away. He grinned hesitantly back at her, and the silence was suddenly thick and awkward. Both of them had sacrificed a bit of their pride to each other, and Kagome knew that was something Yusuke held onto a bit too dearly.
'You two are so boring. Say something. Do something. Just stop staring at the ceiling and walls. Humans. Your courtship's are so complex.' By Yusuke's expression, Kagome knew Tairi had been kind enough to send her thoughts on the subject to both of them.
Kagome sighed and motioned Yusuke over. Feeling amused that Tairi was silently trying to push them along, she didn't hesitate before slipping onto her knees and leaning up to kiss him gently on the lips.
They both knew this wouldn't immediately making things better, but the physical touch sealed the commitment. They would work at it. They liked each other too much for arguments to get in the way of it.
Feeling that the mood was getting to serious and oppressive, Yusuke looked around, pretending to notice the empty room for the first time. "Ya know, isn't it funny that no one's here? Perfect opportunity."
Kagome raised an eyebrow and played along, widening her eyes innocently. "Oh? For what?"
"Perfect," Yusuke began, leering at her, "for a meeting of leaders. We should discuss the others."
Kagome almost laughed as he plopped himself at the end of her bed, but his expression had changed and she sighed as she sat back and crossed her legs. "Anything in particular?"
"No. Just... we aren't all getting along." Yusuke shifted away to hide the sudden rush of embarrassment he felt when she looked pointedly at him. It had been a stupid thing to say.
"That's what the shifts were about, you know," She pointed out.
"They didn't help."
"We don't know that yet." Kagome tried to not be angry as he sighed in exasperation and cut him off before he could try to say something. "Look, why don't we do this tomorrow? This might be the perfect opportunity, but we're both tired and we'll be snapping at each other in no time again if we continue. We can do this when we stop tomorrow night."
Yusuke opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut, looking annoyed. There was a whisper of feeling across Kagome's mind and she knew Elako was speaking to him. Finally he nodded sharply. "Fine. We do need sleep."
He was halfway out the door before her mouth decided to move again. "Sweet dreams, Yusuke," she said softly.
He glanced back at her and his brown eyes softened and reluctantly he smiled. "They will be," he promised.
/.../
Reviewers:
Thanks to Serenitygirl13, Sukera, matt zero, GreatestAnimeFreak, and Kagome-reincarnation for reviewing. You guys are all great! Please review again!
Winged Knight: Ah, poor Rin. There will be many discussions about her between Kikyou and Inuyasha, especially when they do get around to discussing the letters. She will be probably the most important of the younger age group, for her force of personality instead of her powers.
animegurl5: I actually don't even remember how I came up with the idea. I think I just wanted to do something futuristic, and probably started writing. The rest just fell into place until the whole plot was set out in front of me.
YAHAHEHEHEHEHE: I'm not really going for new pairings, just the ones I like, so it's okay if they aren't new. I'm glad you're reading my stories despite disliking some of the pairings and characters. Soon I can actually get the plot moving faster.