Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha or it's characters, though I wish I owned Sesshy, even if for one night...Yeah...I do own Erin and Rice. Pretty names, and a sexy one for a guy, just as sexy as Reese.(A name of a cool chara in one of my fave books) ;p
AN: Okay, on my mb where I asked for help on the fic, someone suggested to explain a few things, like Erin and Rice's relationship, the reason they went to Japan and such. I was thinking of going back and changing the chaps to do this, but I think I'll explain it in a different way. Also, is Kana the name of Naraku's incarnation that has white hair?
Night Treasures
Four
"So, the Treasures of the Night have been found, have they?" echoed a voice from the shadows.
A pale man nodded from where he was kneeling. "Yes, m'lord." The man knew to say nothing more if he was not asked to.
"And have you taken the measures to capture them, Ryu?" the voice asked.
"Yes m'lord." Daringly the pale Ryu spoke further, "I have sent some of our best to retrieve the two. We are close to capturing one now."
"Good," the voice said, only mildly irritated by the man's daring. "Keep me updated. Now go."
The man quickly left, leaving the shadowed figure to murmer to it's self, "Soon, soon now..."
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"Lady Erin, why is your hair like a dark rainbow?" Rin asked.
Erin looked down at the girl sitting in front of her. It was night now and the girl's 'lord' had told Rin to ride on Ah Un with Erin. "Well, my hair is naturally a boring color. I wanted to do something drastic with it so I dyed it. I came up with the multi-colored scheme from playing a video game called The Bouncer."
Rin and Jaken, who had also been listening, gasped. Both said in unison, "You killed your hair!"
Erin laughed, tugging on a dark green bang, "No, I mean I put another color on it that stays until it grows out. See, it's still alive."
Rin was still confused but believed her. "So, what's your natural hair color?"
"White blonde."
"Hm, that's hardly boring," Rin said.
"Yes, and it's very unusual. I only know of three beings with white hair," Jaken added. "Our Lord Sesshomaru, the half breed Inuyasha, and Naraku's incarnation Kana."
Erin bristled, "Not as unusual as a talking ugly toad!"
Jakan yelped, "I'll have you know that I was known as the most handsom toad demon in my time!"
Erin sneered, "'Was'? As in you aren't now!"
"Why you ungrateful little-!"
"Quiet," Sesshomaru hissed, irritated at the ongoing spats between the human teenager and the toad demon. These spats had been going on for the past two days. What irritated him more about them was the fact that they always attracted nearby demons. -Demons that have no right to be so brave to wander in my lands or even have the nerve to attack me or my wards,- he thought as his keen ears and eyes scanned the forest around them, searching out the demons he knew were there.
He turned to his left, unsheathed one of his swords and pointed it into the shadows of the forest on the side of the path. "Come out now and I might spare you," he commanded.
Out slithered a medium sized slink demon. "What business do you have here slink?" Sesshomaru demanded in his cool voice.
The slink brushed it's whiskers nervously and whimpered, "Well...I...I'm here to give you information..."
It whimpered some more as Sesshomaru shifted his sword to rest on the slink's throat. "Then out with it," he said just as cooly as before.
The slink quivered, "A great dark lord has risen in the north and is searching for the Treasures of the Night."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Sesshomaru asked, again shifting his sword. He was starting to get irritated by the slink's round about way of giving information.
"I've heard that he thinks one of the Treasures may be in your lands," the slink wheezed out, not wanting to move with the blade so close to it's throat. "I've seen his minions roaming through your lands, tearing up the forest looking for the Treasure. I thought to warn you!"
"Hmph," Sesshomaru said as he sheathed his sword. The slink sighed in relief. "What is this 'dark lord's' name?"
The slink shook it's head, "I don't know great lord."
Sesshomaru looked coldly at him, saying in a steely voice, "Then your information is useless, I could have learned of this on my own. You are useless. Leave now."
The slink squeaked, seeing the displeasure on the Lord of the Western Lands and knowing it was the cause of it. The slink quickly turned and ran into the welcomed darkness of the forest.
Sesshomaru turned back around and continued their seemingly endless journey. Erin still hadn't managed to find out where they were going. The group was silent for a long while until Jaken broke the silence.
"M'lord, is it possible that the Treasures of the Night still exist?" the little toad asked, awed. "I mean, I thought they were destroyed along with the clans that guarded them."
"What are the Treasures of the Night?" Rin asked before Erin.
Jaken turned to the girls. "I actually don't know. I've only heard of the Treasures from ancient tales and myths."
"Well..." both girls said, expectant for the tale.
"Well...The most credible story dates back over three thousand years, long before I was born, and long before Lord Sesshomaru was born. His father never spoke much about the story, no matter how much I and Myoga the Flee, his other vassal, asked him of it."
"Well, tell us the story already!" Erin said impatiently.
Jaken puffed out his chest in indignation, "You impertinant little mortal! Have some patience!"
He cleared his throat. "Once, there was an ancient race known as the Night Apparitions. These demons were thought to have been the first demons on this plane of existence, their race was extremely ancient. The Night apparitions were divided into two clans, the clan of the Stars and the clan of the Moon. It is said you could always tell which clan a Night apparition belonged to by their appearance. Those of the Moon were pale white, pale skin, pale hair and haunting eyes, shifting in shades of the Moon. Those of the Star clan were a dark breed, dark skin, as dark as the night sky, though their hair was also white, like the Moon clan. Their eyes were known to be the darkest of black, as black as the night sky. It is also in the eyes that you can tell one is a Night apparition. The eyes of a Night apparition reflect either the moon or twinkle like stars when light is reflected in them, just like that of some animals, like the dogs. No demon's eyes can do that, not even Lord Sesshomaru's."
"Okay, enough with the descriptions!" Erin said impatiently. She wanted to know about the Treasures of the Night, not what the Night apparitions looked like.
Jaken puffed up again, but a glare from his lord stopped the retort. Jaken decided continuing the story would be safer than arguing with the girl. "The Night apparitions weren't only known for their beauty, but also for their talents and their Sacred Duty. You see, the Night apparitions were skillful healers and magic users. They used any talent, from the arts, such as painting, to dancing, to sword play, even something as trivial as carving, to heal or practice magic. Their Dancers were the best magic users. Some were called Rain-Dancers, able to call the rains by dancing, others were called Blade-Dancers, skillful in sword play and in battle, but the most talented were the elite Moon-Dancers. The Moon-Dancers were the priestesses of the Moon, their counterparts were the Star-Shadows, the priests of the Stars, also dancers, but where the Dancers of the Moon clans were female and labled for what they Danced for, such as Rain-Dancer, the Dancers of the Star clans were male and didn't use the term 'Dancer' but 'Shadow'."
"Sounds like my kind of people," Erin interrupted. She loved to dance.
"What about their Sacred Duty Jaken?" Rin asked, forestalling the toad demon from yelling at Erin for interrupting.
"Well," Jaken coughed, acting as if what he had to say was majorly important. "Their Sacred Duty, the duty of the priests and priestesses, was to protect the Treasures of the Night. No one is sure what these treasures were. Some say that they were objects used to call the Stars and the Moon from their hiding places that they escaped to when the over-bearing Sun came out. Others say they were objects much like the Shikon Jewel, that in fact the Shikon Jewel was molded after them. Their powers, however, would far surpass the powers of the Shikon Jewel. It is suggested in some stories that these Treasures created the World, and probably could destroy it too. As I said, the exact nature of the Treasures is never told in the stories. The Moon-Dancers and the Star-Shadows kept a tight guard on the Treasures."
"What happened to the Night apparitions?" Erin asked. "You said earlier that they were destroyed."
"Hm, yes. Though 'destroyed' is hardly a fitting word. 'Slaughtered' is more like it. At the time this story takes place, a great shadow of evil enveloped the land. No one old enough to remember that time every speaks of it, so youngsters like me-" he ignored the scoff from Erin, "don't know anything about it other than that. It is said that the Night apparitions were fighting it. However, one night their land was invaded. Everyone was slaughtered. Nothing was left the next morning. The only good that came from that night was the disappearence of the great evil. Some say that the Night apparitions destroyed it, others say that somehow the evil was tied to the Night apparitions and with the destruction of the Night apparitions the evil destroyed itself. Almost all the stories end like this, however their is one story that ends with hope and dread."
"How does it end?" Rin asked. The little girl was enraptured by the story.
"That story says that a Star-Shadow and Moon-Dancer escaped with their children to another world in hopes of coming back to defeat the evil later on. According to that story, the evil became dormant from a spell, a last ditch effort of the Night apparitions. In all the stories, however, the Treasures of the Night were presumed destroyed. Now, though, there is someone so sure of their existence that they have invaded Lord Sesshomaru's lands. It makes one wonder." He became silent for a long while, only stirring after hearing both girls yawn. He turned to them, "You should sleep now, we still have a long way before the patrol of Lord Sesshomaru's lands is over."
"That's why we're walking?" Erin asked behind another yawn.
"What else would have us so far from home?" Jaken asked, tired of the girl's constant questions and preoccupied with what the slink demon had said. When the girl didn't reply with a sarcastic comment he turned around again and found the two human girls asleep on the two headed dragon.