Chapter 20: Irises and Hidden Dangers

Kenshin was feeling a strange sensation of deja vu as he stared around him. All of his friends were gaping around him with awe. It was a shared feeling.

They were currently standing inside Inuyasha's home. It was huge. All of the rooms seemed sized for larger creatures than mere humans. It was Jaken who finally explained that full blooded dog youkai could transform into a giant dog form. The ancestrial home of Inuyasha's family had been built with that in mind.

Kenshin had the strangest feeling he'd been here before.

"Wow!" he heard Yahiko yell. "So my ancestors lived here?" Yahiko's ancestors. Inuyasha, Inutari ...and also Sesshoumaru...

He had lived here, in another life.

Kenshin failed to realize that Jaken had been watching him closely since their arrival. Inuyasha had rushed straight to the shrine before anything else. He was currently speaking with his daughter, the wolves, and Myouga.

As Yahiko, Kaoru, Megumi, and Sanosuke continued to gape around them, Kenshin padded softly down the wide corridor. Some hidden pull caused him to take a right turn at the next hallway. The red haired human walked down the eerily familiar hall and took another right. His feet seemed to have taken on a life of their own.

Kenshin halted in front of a large, closed off chamber. What...

"This was your bed chamber, my Lord," Jaken said. The small youkai had followed quietly behind the distracted Kenshin. Kenshin whipped around and stared hard at the green youkai.

"This...was this one's bed chamber?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes my Lord," Jaken answered. Kenshin stared at him and then back at the closed off chamber. A bead of sweat ran unbidden down the back of his neck.

"Jaken, this one would like to go in there," he said.

"Off course, my Lord."

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Misao hung a dizzy head over the side of the ship. She gagged, but willed herself not to lose her breakfast. This was the first time she'd ever been on the sea. A wave rocked the ship and this time Misao did lose her breakfast.

She groaned as she sagged over the ship's railing. Damn Aoshi, why didn't this bother him? In fact, damn everyone because she was the only one getting sick. The ship rocked again and her stomach lurched. Gag.

Never EVER again would she get on a ship.

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"Are you well now Misao?" Aoshi asked. Misao glared at him from her place in the corner. If she hadn't been feeling so sick, she'd throw a shuriken at him. Stupid, smug Aoshi, calmly drinking his green tea a safe distance from her.

Apparently he was afraid she'd throw up on him.

If she'd had anything else to throw up, she would have.

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Kagome stared thoughtfully around her. Naraku had temporarily left the room and the old hag had been left to watch her. She sighed as she reviewed what she knew from listening to the bastard.

She had a clay body, that was clear. That meant she'd have to collect souls to rejuvinate her body. What else? Oh, yeah.

She had a spider mark on her chest.

Kagome hadn't noticed it at first. But now that she had, she could feel that something foreign was inside of her. It was this foreign substance that was allowing Naraku to control her. What was it that he'd said before? 'You have a demonseed inside of you.'

Demonseed? That must be the name of thing inside her.

Kagome looked around her again. It was still just Binh, the ancient hag. She hadn't been sure at first, but now she was.

The demonseed didn't have complete control over her. The priestess had seen other servants around the castle with it, and they no longer were able to speak with a will of their own, unlike her. Kagome had come to the conclusion that it was because that her body was no longer made of flesh, but of clay. If that was true, then she might be able to escape.

She might be able to force the demonseed from her body.

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"Hey, where'd Kenshin go?" Kaoru asked worriedly. Sanosuke shrugged before pointing in another direction.

"I saw him and Jaken walking that way," he answered. Kaoru made to go after him, but a hand from Shippo stopped her.

"I think you should leave him for a moment Kaoru," he said.

"Why?"

"Sesshoumaru's private rooms are in the direction he went," the kitsune answered. The four humans paused to gape at him.

"Wh...what?" Kaoru stammered. "You mean Kenshin went to see Sessh...his rooms?"

"Yes, that's why you should probably wait a moment before going after him," Shippo said. Kaoru stared at him before nodding reluctantly.

"Okay, but..." she started to say, but was interrupted by a certain wolf and her young apprentice.

"Hey you, Runt! Hah! I knew it! You ARE one of Inuyasha'a mutts!" Kouga yelled. Yahiko growled up at smug looking wolf youkai.

"I'm not a Runt!" he yelled.

"Look Little Mutt, you're smaller than me, so therefore you're a Runt!"

"I'M NOT LITTLE! STOP CALLING ME LITTLE, WOLF BUTT!"

"Wolf butt? Is that supposed to upset me Dog Breath?" Kouga asked in amusement. Yahiko swung his bokken, a very dismayed Miroku, at the wolf. The youkai simply stepped out of the way.

"DON'T CALL ME DOG BREATH!" Yahiko yelled. Of course, Sanosuke being Sanosuke, decided to yell 'Dog Breath' really loud. He was rewarded with a bonk on the head by a protesting Miroku.

"Yahiko!" Miroku yelled. "Put me down! Stop smacking me against people!"

"You should listen to the Monk little Runt," Kouga jibed.

"SHUT UP!" Yahiko yelled back. "AND WHAT'S WITH THE STUPID SKIRT?" Everyone looked over at the fur clothing wrapped around Kouga's waist. The wolf reddened as he shook a fist at Yahiko.

"IT'S A KILT! A KILT DAMMIT!"

"I don't know, it looks like a skirt to me," Sanosuke said.

"Yes, I agree," Megumi added.

"IT'S NOT A SKIRT!"

"Actually, I agree with Sanosuke for once," Kaoru said. Everyone else nodded, including Sango and Namu. Kouga growled at all of them before turning a deadly glare upon young Yahiko.

"IT'S A KILT YOU LITTLE MUTT! A KILT"

"SKIRT!"

"KILT!"

"SKIRT!"

"WOULD EVERYONE JUST SHUT THE HELL UP?" Inuyasha bellowed. Everyone paused to look at him, but Kouga couldn't resist getting the last word in.

"It's a kilt," Kouga whispered.

"OH SHUT UP KOUGA, IT'S A DAMN SKIRT AND YOU KNOW IT!" Inuyasha yelled.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY DOG BREATH!"

"I SAID IT'S A SKIRT YOU MANGY WOLF! NOW SHUT UP SO WE CAN TALK, AND...WHERE THE HELL IS KENSHIN?" the hanyou asked loudly. Everyone looked at each other and then down the hallway.

"He and Jaken went to Sesshoumaru's private chambers," Shippo finally volunteered. The hanyou lord stared at him for a moment before turning to go after the red haired human.

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Kenshin studied the old armor thoughtfully. It was Sesshoumaru's old armor, and it was obviously made for a taller man. He ran his finger along one of the deep cracks on the armor.

"Jaken," he asked. "Is this the armor that...Sesshoumaru wore when he died?"

"It is, my Lord," the youkai answered quietly. Kenshin stared at a gaping hole in the armor. For a very brief but unsettling moment, he felt a faint pain in his chest. He felt it in the exact location where the hole was in the armor.

Kenshin carefully set the armor back down and continued to wander about the very large room. He halted before a bookcase filled with scrolls. He hesitated a moment before pulling one out and unrolling it. He stared at it a moment before looking at Jaken.

"Is this...Sesshoumaru's handwriting?"

"Yes," the youkai answered. Kenshin stared warily back down at the scroll. It looked like his handwriting. It was his handwriting. Unsettled, Kenshin placed it back on the shelf. As he placed it back, something caught his eye. He reached a hand back into the shelf and pulled out a perfectly preserved flower.

He stared down at it. It was a white iris, and it still smelled fresh.

"I believe that is one of Rin's flowers," Jaken said quietly. "She often gave them to Lord Sesshoumaru. He must have preserved one of them."

Kenshin stared down at the flower. Ayame and Suzume often gave him flowers too. A soft click reached his ears and he looked behind him to see Inuyasha watching him.

He and Inuyasha stared at each other for a long time before the hanyou turned and walked out. Kenshin stared after him a moment before tucking Rin's flower inside his shirt. He placed it along side a pair of wilted flowers from Ayame and Suzume.

Kenshin walked quietly out of the chamber and followed after Inuyasha.

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It was late afternoon when they were attacked.

Aoshi was immediately on his feet when something crashed through the wall. Misao lurched to her feet, still clutching her stomach. Gojin was also on his feet.

The girl was missing.

Aoshi barely had time to consider this as he defended himself against the intruder. He swung his kodachi at it, but the small creature was too fast, too nimble. It screeched and jumped back out of the hole. The swordsman rushed up onto the deck. He paused only to yell back at Misao.

"Misao! Find the girl!" The child had been playing a game of hide and seek with the still sea sick Misao. Who knew where she was.

He barely managed to duck as the creature zipped past him. Aoshi again tried to slash it, but it jumped out of the way and ran up the mast and onto the mainsail. He braced himself for another attack, but it never came.

Aoshi resheathed his short sword and went in search for young Kaia. He found her a few minutes later crying in Misao's arms.

"Is it gone?" the girl asked tearfully. Misao gently patted her head reassuringly as she looked up at Aoshi. 'Is it gone?' she mouthed silently. Aoshi, being mindful of the terrified young girl, mouthed silently back that it was for the moment.

"It's all right, Little One," Aoshi said calmly. "You are safe with us." The little girl sniffled as she looked up at the emotionless man.

"Really?" she asked. Aoshi nodded. The girl brightened, and then to Aoshi's immense surprise, she hugged his leg.

"Thank you Mr. Aoshi!" she exclaimed. "You're almost as brave as Daddy!"

"Almost?" Aoshi asked with deeply hidden amusement.

"Yeah, almost!"

In a hidden corner of his heart, he felt a small piece lighten as he looked down at the small girl. However, at the same time, a piece of his heart was also nagging at him.

Be cautious.

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Kagome peered at the old hag from underneath her bangs. Naraku still hadn't returned. The priestess closed her eyes as she concentrated on the sickly presence inside her chest. Just a little more...ah.

With a blinding flash, the demonseed burst out of her chest. Kagome staggered from the force of it as she held a hand over the hole in her chest. The ancient crone was on her feet, squawking and screeching for help.

For a moment, Kagome couldn't react as she stared down at what had popped from her chest. A purplish spider was crawling across the floor. Sickened, Kagome squashed it with another burst of spiritual power. Then as Naraku came hurrying into the room, she turned in the other direction and held out her arms.

The wall exploded out in front of her and Kagome leaped through the gaping hole. Without pausing for a moment, she took off down a random corridor.

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Author's note: Gah! A cliffhanger! I'm evil. Anyway, sorry for the delayed update. It sucks very much when you don't have internet access at home. It sucks even more when the campus library is closed most of the weekend. (And of course when it's open, I have to work. :( )

Anyway, I'm going to attempt to update about twice a week, and at least once a week.

And also, I'm debating if I should add further RK characters in the future. Right now, I've got about all the characters I can handle, so perhaps later. But in the meantime, does anyone have any requests? If you do, I'll think about it and see if I can work them into my story at a later time.