Chapter 15: Remembering the Past
"So Kenshin just left you all without a word and went after Shishio?" Shippo asked Sano. The two of them were lounging up by the shrine. Sanosuke shoved a piece of straw in his mouth and chewed on it in agitation.
"That selfish bastard..." Sano growled, then admitted a moment later. "He did say goodbye to Kaoru."
"Still rankles, huh?"
"That dirty, son of a..."
"Easy Sano."
Sanosuke brooded for a moment. He was still angry with Kenshin for having gone to Kyoto without him. He spat out the straw and rummaged around for a new piece. Shippo rolled his eyes at him.
"What?" Sano asked.
"How can you chew on that?"
"Easy, watch." Sano stuck the new straw in his mouth and grinned at the kitsune. Shippo sighed and lamented the fact that gum wouldn't be invented for another century. He remembered all the bubble gum Kagome used to give him.
"Hey Shippo," Sano asked.
"Eh?"
"What exactly was the Great Youkai War? I've heard both you and Inuyasha mention it." Shippo sat up and stretched before answering.
"The Great Youkai War," Shippo began, "Happened about one hundred and fourteen years ago. A great army from the Chinese mainland invaded the Western provinces. They were led by a man by the name of Chen Ju. The threat of invasion was so great that youkai who had formerly been opposed to Inuyasha began coming to him for protection."
"Was Chen Ju a really powerful youkai?" Sano asked. Shippo gave a wry chuckle.
"Yes, he was powerful, but I don't know if you could have considered him a youkai. He wasn't a full blood." Sano gave a start at that.
"He was a hanyou? How could a hanyou have that great of a following?" Sano asked in surprise. Shippo shook his head at him.
"He wasn't a hanyou."
"Huh? But you said..."
"I said he wasn't a full blood, but he wasn't a hanyou. His father was a youkai and his mother, well, she was half youkai, half dragon. Chen had dragon blood in him."
Sanosuke gaped at the kitsune.
"Dragon blood? You mean they actually..."
"Exist?" Shippo finished for him. Sano closed his mouth and grumbled. Of course they did, if youkai actually existed, why not dragons? And Kaoru thought he believed in superstitious nonsense.
"How come I've never heard anything about this?" Sano suddenly asked as a thought occurred to him. "I mean, if hoards of youkai were killing each other, you'd think that it would be a big thing. How come no one ever mentions it? Even humans would have noticed THAT."
Shippo pursed his lips in memory of it.
"You right, it was huge. However, most of it took place way up north, almost at the tip of the islands." Shippo grimaced at the memory.
"Bad huh?"
"It was the only time that I ever wore armor into battle," Shippo admitted. Sano gave him a considering look at that, and gave a start when the kitsune continued.
"And also," Shippo added softly, "It's where Inutari was killed."
Sanosuke stared at him. Inutari...Inuyasha's son and Yahiko's ancestor. He opened his mouth to ask how and then closed it at the pained look on the fox's face. Shippo closed his eyes for a long moment as he remembered.
"Ship, tell my father I'm sorry..."
Shippo felt his stomach knot up as he stared down at the dying man. Inutari, his friend, his brother in arms...
The kitsune bent down and ignored the fighting around him. Inutari forced open his amber eyes to look blurrily up at his older friend.
"My wife," he said weakly, "My daughter..." he reached up a weak hand to Shippo. The kitsune grasped it firmly, and stared bleakly at Inutari. His black hair was matted heavily with blood where a heavy gash lay open on his forehead.
His hand went limp in the kitsune's hand as his heart beat stopped. Shippo gently set it down as he slowly stood up. He lifted his green eyes as he searched for Inutari's killer. His sharp gaze settled on the man in the distance.
Chen Ju.
The kitsune unsheathed the Kadouki and headed straight for his enemy, eyes glowing red with rage.
Kenshin stopped as he stared at Shippo and Sanosuke. He'd come to fetch them for Kaoru, but now he wondered if he was interrupting something he shouldn't. He turned to start back down the stone steps.
"Kenshin!" Shippo yelled. He was glad for the distraction; it helped him block out painful memories. Kenshin halted as he turned to the kitsune.
"This one did not mean to interrupt, that he didn't."
"You're not interrupting Kenshin, what is it?" Shippo asked. Sano looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. It would seem that the youkai war was as painful for Shippo as the Meiji Revolution had been for he and Kenshin. He gave Kenshin an 'I'll tell you later' look and the swordsman nodded his head in understanding.
"Miss Kaoru wanted you two to help put away the supplies that Yahiko and Miss Megumi bought."
Shippo stood up to head down at the same time Sano gave a 'feh." The kitsune kicked him in the thigh.
"You bum!" Shippo yelled. "Kaoru lets you sleep and eat here for free! You can at least help with something as small as this!" Sano gave another feh. Shippo and Kenshin exchanged looks before they each grabbed one of Sanosuke's arms and hauled him up.
"What the hell...!" Sano started to yell. Shippo shut him up by pressing a leaf against his mouth. Sano yelled incoherently at him, but the leaf smothered most of the noise. The kitsune and the swordsman exchanged grins before they proceeded to tie a struggling Sano's arms and legs up and drag him down the steps.
Even though Sano couldn't speak, the expression on his face was quite clear.
'I will kill both of you.'
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Kaoru, Kenshin, Megumi, Sanosuke, and Yahiko gaped. Then they blinked. Then they stared some more.
"Is that really gold?" Kaoru finally squealed in delight. A bead of sweat dripped down Inuyasha's face as Kaoru stared at his hand with large eyes.
"No, it's copper, what the hell does it look like? Of course it's gold!" he snapped. Everyone else gasped and the sound of a large 'Oro' reached his sensitive ears. The hanyou sighed to himself. He didn't haveany humancurrency, so he'd dug out a few gold nuggets instead to pay Kaoru back for all her expenses. Inuyasha hadn't been expecting this.
"Are you sure it's really gold?" Sano asked. "Maybe you'd better give it to me so I can check it" Megumi glared at him.
"Oh yes, and you'd know what gold looks like, wouldn't you?" she asked sarcastically.
"Rooster Head's just saying that 'cause he wants to keep it for himself," Yahiko muttered.
"What'd you say Runt?" Sano growled.
"You heard me Rooster Head!"
"Runt!"
"Rooster Head!"
Jaken sighed as he watched them argue. Such ingratitude for so generous an offer.
"I'm not little!" Yahiko yelled.
"Shut up Runt!"
Ignoring them all, Kenshin thanked Inuyasha for the money. Kaoru would have thanked him then too, but she and Megumi were too busy glaring at each other behind Kenshin's back. Deciding that Kenshin was probably the sanest of the group, Inuyasha handed the gold to him.
As Kenshin stared down at the gold, the other four ganged up on him.
"Oro!" He yelled as the others sidled up to him.
"Oh Kenshin..." Kaoru said.
"Sir Ken!"
"Kenshin!"
"Oh dear," Miroku murmured and Inuyasha smirked. Yahiko's bokken, was for the time being, still tucked in Inuyasha's sash. Namu and Sango watched the exchange in amusement. A rare smile tugged at the fox hanyou's lips. He knew that Kaoru's dojo was short of money, but the young fox hadn't realized just how much. Namu had come to enjoy their company. They were among the few humans that didn't care that he was a hanyou. He felt a great deal of gratitude for that.
Inuyasha watched for a few moments longer before clearing his throat. When that failed to get their attention, he resorted to his usual method.
"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT THE HELL UP? I NEED TO TALK TO YAHIKO!" Everyone stopped pestering Kenshin and gaped at the irate hanyou.
"How wonderfully tactful you are," Miroku murmured.
"Shut Miroku," Inuyasha muttered.
Yahiko stared at the hanyou.
"Why do you need to talk to me for?" he asked.
"I just do, now come on!" Inuyasha beckoned that Yahiko should follow him before he marched away from the group. Yahiko glared after him and pushed down the impulse to stick out his tongue. He gave a start when Kenshin gave him a gentle nudge in the hanyou's direction.
"You should go with Inuyasha, that you should," Kenshin said with an encouraging smile. Yahiko stared up at him and looked at the others, who were also looking at him. Yahiko looked over to where Inuyasha and Miroku had paused to wait for him. The hanyou had an unreadable expression on his face.
"Kenshin's right Yahiko," Kaoru said. "I think Inuyasha has something important he needs to tell you." Kenshin nodded his head in agreement. Sano reached out and pushed Yahiko toward the waiting hanyou. Yahiko glared at him, but turned around and walked to Inuyasha.
Yahiko trailed silently after the hanyou as they scaled the long stone steps up to the shrine. After they reached the top, the hanyou lord paused to consider the young boy at his side. The boy met his eyes boldly and Inuyasha smiled at that.
"What's going on?" Yahiko asked.
Inuyasha opened his mouth and closed it, wondering how to begin. He decided just to spit it out bluntly.
"Miroku and I are your ancestors Yahiko."
Yahiko's mouth fell open in astonishment.
"What? How do you..." the boy rambled. Miroku cut in quietly. Yahiko no longer needed to hold his bokken to be able to hear him, unlike the others.
"Do you remember anything from when you were possessed by Naraku?" the monk asked. For once being speechless, Yahiko silently shook his head. He still couldn't remember anything.
"Yahiko," Inuyasha said. "When Shippo tested you with the Kadouki, it glowed blue for your spiritual powers, but it also glowed a faint violet when you were angry.
"So..."
"So in otherwords," Miroku continued for the hanyou, "That was the first time that Inuyasha and Shippo suspected that you might have youkai blood.
"But that doesn't mean I'd be Inuyasha descendant, right?" Yahiko asked. Inuyasha gave a grunt.
"True," the hanyou admitted, "But when Naraku possessed you, you transformed slightly. You grew fangs and claws." Yahiko knew this already, he'd heard about it from Kenshin.
"But wasn't that because of Naraku?" he asked.
"Some of it," Miroku said, "But most of it was because Naraku triggered the small part of you that is youkai. Naraku even said himself that there was dog youkai in your blood."
Yahiko stared at Inuyasha in astonishment. Inuyasha stared back before placing a hesitant hand on the boy's shoulder.
"The spiritual powers you have come from Kagome, and probably Miroku," he said quietly. "And Miroku knows from his own gifts that you ARE our descendant."
"But how is Miroku my descendant?" Yahiko asked in disbelief. He could accept Inuyasha as his ancestor, but it was a little harder to believe that the lecherous monk was another ancestor.
"As we found out later, Kagome was mine and Sango's descendent," Miroku explained. "So..."
"So fortunately the lecherous part of Miroku's blood has been thinned out over the last several centuries," Inuyasha smirked wryly. The dead monk gave a disdainful sniff inside the bokken.
"That's probably a good thing," Yahiko said just as wryly.
"That's what I like to think," the hanyou agreed.
"HEY!" Miroku yelled from inside the wooden sword. "I resent that comment!" Yahiko glared at the bokken.
"You made me grope Megumi!" he shouted.
"Yes, well..." Miroku started.
"And you tried to peep at Kaoru when she was taking a bath!"
"Ah..such a wonderful sight!"
"I can't believe you're my ancestor," Yahiko grumbled. He stopped and looked up at the hanyou. "Just howare you my ancestor?" Inuyasha gave an intake of breath as an image of his dead son and granddaughter flashed through his mind. The hanyou sat down on a stone step before beginning.
"Let me tell you about my son, Inutari..."
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The others stared after Inuyasha, Miroku, and Yahiko.
"How do you think the kid'll take it?" Sano asked. Kaoru gave a sniff.
"I can't believe that...that monk is his ancestor too!"
"Poor boy," Megumi agreed. Jaken spoke up hesitantly in Miroku's defense.
"I know the monk may act...crudely at times, however," Jaken said, "He's also very powerful and wise for a human," he assented. "He's one of the first humans I came to respect." Both Kaoru and Megumi gave a snort at that.
Kenshin smiled to himself as he stared after them. Yes, Miroku's behavior did leave some, okay a lot, to be desired. However...
The swordsman could tell that there was a greater depth to the dead monk than he let on. Inuyasha obviously respected Miroku, and as Kenshin had learned, Inuyasha didn't just respect anyone.
Kenshin reached a hand out to lightly touch the Tenseiga, which was now hanging along side his reverse sword. He still found it hard to accept that he was the reincarnation of Inuyasha's dead half brother. Even though it answered some questions, it raised still others. How much of himself was really himself? The hanyou had yet to talk with him about any of it.
He stared after Inuyasha and wondered if he would find the answers he needed.
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Naraku gazed out at noon sky as he ran his hands over the lionesses. Rashi and Shida, as he had discovered were their names, purred in delight at the attention. He scratched their ears as he stared thoughtfully into the distance. He'd already come to a decision concerning the dead priestess.
By nightfall, he would have her ashes in his possession.
Naraku smirked silently to himself as he anticipated the events to come.
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Author's Note: I am also bringing two favorite RK characters into the story within the next few chapters, so keep an eye out for them. And I also have a feeling that my story's ending up to be a bit of a saga, so I hope you don't mind that it'll end up having a lot of chapters before it's done.