NL: Wow, folks, I am so sorry about the enormous wait. I know you all probably hate me and won't read this, but I tried... I guess? For those of you who read this, enjoy! Oh, I'd like to make a correction.
Correction: Saisai is incorrect. It's really supposed to be Saiai. X(
Chapter Nine
Powerless, Pt. I
Tenshi sat staring at the shards in her hand, memories flooding back to her in such a wave that she almost fell backward. Shaking her head, she stood on unstable legs and looked at each member of her party before turning and taking flight, pounding the ground with her heels with each leap she took. She could see the faces of her mother and sister flashing before her eyes, smiling as if they were still there with her.
"Tenshi-chan, let's go to the market! I know you've been eyeing one of those kimonos Kirai's been selling..."
'Koi'shii,' she thought sorrowfully. 'Onee-san, why have you come to haunt me?' Tears sprung to her eyes as she pushed herself harder and faster, narrowly missing branches and trunks in her blinded course.
"Tenshi, shame on you. You know those riceballs were for after dinner!"
"Mama, no," Tenshi whispered. "I must be dreaming... You aren't real!"
"Tenshi, what do you think of this dress?"
"Tenshi, didn't I tell you to clean your room?"
Gripping her head, she fell to her knees, the momentum throwing her forward on fallen leaves. She skidded to a halt, hunched over and sobbing. Saiai's face swam within her memories along side Tenshi's sister, their eyes identical, their smiles beaming. "It was all my fault," she sobbed. "If only I had stayed with Koi'shii, mother, I wouldn't have led the both of you to your demise..."
"Tenshi!" Koi'shii called, glancing around her as panicked villagers raced past her in attempt to flee from the burning buildings. "Tenshi, where are you?"
Koi'shii was knocked to the ground as a robust woman battled past her, not even so much as an apology. 'Do they not realize that I could cause them more harm than that pitiful blaze?' she thought bitterly. Tired of running, she joined her mother up in the skies. "Kazaa-san, do you know where onee-chan is? Have you heard anything?"
Saiai shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Koi'shii. Are you alright?" she inquired, concerned about the dirt and bruises on her daughter. "Maybe you should go back to the house..."
"No, Mother, I can't. Tenshi might be in one of those burning houses, and I don't want to lose her." Determined, now, Koi'shii landed near one of the flaming huts and took a deep breath. "Here we go," she whispered as she stepped past the incinerated doorflap. "Tenshi? Tenshi!" Smoke hung like a curtain within, so thick that it clogged Koi'shii's lungs. Dropping to the floor, she proceeded to take in several breaths of clean air before glancing around for little demoness feet. Seeing none as of yet, she ventured further into the deteriorating home. "Tenshi!" Closing her eyes to the falling smoke, she groped around until she bumped her nose into something tall and slender. "What in the—" She was cut off by a clawed hand gripping her neck and lifting her into the fog-like fumes. "Susumu, you bastard! What have you done with Tenshi?" she gasped out, trying to wrench her brother's hand away in vain.
"Why, onee-chan, what makes you say such a thing?" Susumu laughed darkly before tossing her into the nearest wall. "Little Sister, I have done no thing to our youngest sibling. However, since you dared to insult me, I'm afraid I will have to punish you appropriately." With grand, flowing steps, Susumu began to close the gap he had created between him and his younger sister, the smirk on his face growing wider with each stride.
"Why, you!" Holding up her right hand, Koi'shii produced a bow and arrow of energy, aiming for her elder brother. "Don't come any closer, Susumu! I'll shoot!" When the man didn't heed her words, she held true to her threat and released the arrow, piercing her brother's shoulder. 'Susumu,' she inwardly sobbed as he stabbed his hand through her heart, 'how could you...what happened to you?'
"I'll see you in hell, Koi'shii."
"No," she whispered, "you won't..." With that, she disintegrated into ashes, mixing with those that already littered the torched ground.
"Well, time to get out of this house," Susumu mumbled as a charred rafter crumbled and fell beside him. With a burst of energy, he blasted through the fiery roof and landed on a cool tree branch. "Now, to find the littlest of the three wenches... Oops, I mean two." He gave another dark chuckle as he dashed from his perch to the only hut still in tact on the west side of the village.
Tenshi sat huddled in the closet of her human friend Mira's home. For some odd reason, Mira's parents had shoved her, none too kindly, into the cramped space before picking up her best friend and dashing out the door. She was given strict orders not to leave the house, and having been taught to respect and obey her elders, Tenshi moved not a muscle. All the while, she heard screaming and crackling outside her small dwelling. 'Smoke,' she thought. 'Is someone having a bonfire?'
She wasn't permitted much time to ponder why Mira's parents wouldn't let her attend the bonfire, seeing as human and youkai got along within their village. A strong blast of wind moved the reed flap in front of her, giving her a glimpse of the "intruder". 'Susumu? What's he doing here?' Smiling with the thought that her big brother had come for her, she leapt out of her hiding place and greeted Susumu with an affectionate bow. "Aniki-san! What are you doing here, Big Brother? Have you come to take me home?"
Susumu's eyes held a cryptic amusement as he knelt in front of Tenshi. "Oh, yes, onee-chan. I've come to send you...home..." With a grin, he hoisted her over his shoulder. He cringed at her delighted giggle.
Something about his littlest sister made his heart wonder if he was doing the right thing. After all, who was this man he was following? He had no past record that he would speak of, and his aura was tainted. His offer was simple, however: if Susumu rid the kingdom of any opposing forces, he could claim the throne as soon as his father passed away. In exchange for room and board, this baboon man would be his royal advisor and heir. Not to mention, there was something about the Shikon no Tama involved in the deal. 'Something about the "jewel" part didn't seem right,' Susumu said to himself.
Susumu stopped and blinked suddenly. It was odd...that he couldn't remember the man's name. "Nar...Naruto...Najiko...Narley...No, that's not it..."
"Um, Susumu-san? Susumu, there's some—"
"Tenshi, be still. I'm trying to think. Naruko...Narashi..."
"It's Naraku, you fool."
His skin crawling on the back of his neck, Susumu spun around to be greeted by a baboon mask and pelt. "That's right. Why is it that I could not recall what I was to address you by?"
Naraku shrugged. "Just happens to some people...weak people..."
"Why, you—!"
"Ah-ah-ah, Susumu. Remember our deal? If you kill me, you won't get the Shikon jewel."
Tenshi's eyes widened. 'Shikon...? The Shikon no Tama is here?'
Fuming inwardly, Susumu grunted in understanding. "Why have you made an appearance, Naraku?"
"I see you have the...'angel' of the family. Where's the mother?"
My mother needn't be included in this. She will pass when Father passes, so why should she be destroyed as well?"
"Because she will make sure that your father never passes the throne to you," Naraku spat at him. "She will interfere with my—our plans, and you shall never assume anything higher than prince, if you'll be allowed to keep that title." He could see the wheels turning, ever so slowly, in Susumu's little brain. How he loved these mind games. First, it will be the Taiyoukai of the North. Next? 'Heh,' he chuckled to himself, 'next, it will be all of Nippon...'
Tenshi could no longer sit on her older brother's shoulder and listen to this monkey spew words against her family. "Susumu, who is this man? Why are you listening to him! Why does he want to hurt Mother! SUSUMU! ANSWER ME, PLEASE!" She was to the point of sobbing before Naraku's baboon mask appeared in front of her vision.
"Little girl, you would do better to hold your tongue," he hissed angrily. He raised a hand to strike Tenshi's face when Susumu turned towards the hanyou.
"No one lays a hand on Tenshi except me. That was part of our agreement, yes?" He shifted the young demoness on his shoulders as he grinned evilly. "Besides, it'd break tradition, wouldn't it, wench...?"
Tears started to build in Tenshi's eyes. He was turning into his abusive self. He'd been doing so more and more lately. 'It must be this "Naraku's" influence. How dare he manipulate my brother...' Steeling herself for a rather harsh punishment, Tenshi began to purify Susumu's shoulder, causing him to cry out in agony and drop his hold on her. The moment she hit the ground, she dug in and took off into the nearest group of trees, quickly attempting to mask her scent as her sister had taught her during training.
"God dammit—TENSHI! Don't think you can get away with this, you little BITCH!" Susumu grasped his shoulder and cringed. 'Her powers have increased. For a demoness who's almost a teenager, she sure has progressed under Koi'shii's study.' Concentrating his youki, he promptly healed his shoulder, returning it to it's original form. His rage at a peak, he prepared to bound away when Naraku cleared his throat. "WHAT!"
"Your mother is approaching. You may want to explain why she can't find Koi'shii or Tenshi."
The latter of the princesses watched from her secluded tree as her mother appeared. Her long black hair was toussled with worry and anxiety, her crystal-blue eyes apprehensive at the appearance of the evil man, Naraku. 'Mother... Mommy, run away! GO! Don't worry about me!'
'Tenshi, where are you! Where in the world have you been!' Saiai's face showed no sign of her mental conversation with her youngest. 'Where is Koi'shii?'
"That I can answer for you, Mother Dearest..." Susumu had interrupted their transaction with his abrupt utterance. "She's gone on to the next world...and let me say, she was a fighter 'til the end. That's why we never got along, you see..."
Saiai's eyes widened. "Susumu...my son, what have you done!" Sorrow clenched her heart as she sank to her knees, mussing her beautiful kimono. 'That's why I didn't sense her presense a few minutes ago...'
'Mommy?' Tenshi didn't understand. 'Is...Is onee-san... Is she dead?'
"SUSUMU! How could you kill your own blood! What did Koi'shii ever do to deserve the end she received?"
"Mother, Chichiue will die soon, and I couldn't afford to have any competition for the throne. Tenshi's a bit young, but she, too, will have to go—"
"No..." Saiai couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own son plotted against his entire family. Her gaze shifted to the white-furred demon beside her creation. "You!" Standing, she pointed at Naraku. "You're behind all this, aren't you! YOU'RE the one who's wielding my son as a weapon against my husband's kingdom!" Drawing a katana from her side, Saiai fell into her fighting stance. "I cannot allow you to roam among my lands..."
"Mother, it was an even deal. He gave me the Shikon jewel and became my advisor for room and board, while I sat all powerful on Father's throne." Susumu drew his own weapons, two daggers that curved and burst at the end in a forest of shooting poison-tipped metal. "And you're in my way of achieving that which I most desire!"
"SUSUMU, DON'T!" Tenshi cried from her branch before leaping to the ground and preparing her archery equipment. 'He already took Koi'shii away from me. I can't let him hurt her! I can't!' Adjusting her quiver on her shoulder, she dashed into the clearing to see Saiai struggling to dodge her son's second dagger as she blocked his first. 'But... but what if I hit Mother?' Tenshi started to doubt herself. She was only twelve years old! She was no master archer by any means. She was still a novice.
She was still in need of a mother.
Drawing her first arrow, she took careful aim at Susumu's right shoulder. 'Mother, hold him still... I can hit the mark!' The moment the two contenders were at a standstill, Tenshi released. The sound of the arrow plunging into flesh with a disgusting squelch almost pleased her if it hadn't been her brother she were harming. 'Susumu, I'm sorry...'
Susumu's eyes turned red as he spun around on his younger sibling. It was then she realized exactly how frightening he was when he was angered. Everything about him, from the black cross and stripes on his forehead and cheeks to his pointed nose to his cold, golden eyes (which their parents claimed came from one of the grandparents, though neither had golden eyes) to his furrowed brow, painted such a ghastly picture that Tenshi couldn't bear to look him in the eye.
She fled, running in the opposite direction of her elder brother. She could feel his presence behind her, gaining every second. Directing her youki to her legs, she pumped harder to gain some distance between her and the infuriated inuyoukai behind her.
Mistake number one. When she used her youki, Susumu sensed it and also gained speed, making him a blur behind her.
Mistake number two. She looked over her shoulder, slowing her down just enough for Susumu to close the gap.
Mistake number three. She slowed down.
She was out of mistakes to make. With one swoop, Susumu was on her, twisting her around so he pinned her to the ground on her back. Planting his hand on her throat to keep her from escaping, his other lifted above his shoulder, knuckles cracking in preparation to strike. Suddenly, his face changed. It became slightly more chiseled, more bird-like. The symbol on his forehead changed from a cross to two intermingling circles with a triangle beneath their meeting points, and his eyes were no longer the gold that she knew so well but a cold, steel blue. Wings sprouted from his back, and his claws grew in length and turned an acid green. "And now, wench," he muttered, his voice also altered to a medium tenor, "it's time to die..."
Wide-eyed, Tenshi watched as this new foe tensed his arm, his claws glowing an eerie neon yellow-green. "No," she whispered. "You're not Susumu... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER?" As she screamed, she began purifying the fingers wrapped around her neck. The demon howled with rage and pulled his smoking hand back.
"You bitch!" he growled, his blue eyes growing warm with fury. "Ye brother is no help to ye now. He hasn't been so for a good month. However, Naraku-sama was so kind as to give me his soul so I may live with ye and family and act as Susumu would." His anger turned to wicked humor. "And let me tell ye, his blood was especially delicious, that of which I sampled from my fingers after killing him."
That was this demon's final mistake. Tenshi's vision turned red with anger and dispair as she rose her gaze to her assailant's. "You dared to touch Susumu, to take over his soul, and fool my family. And now you've killed my sister, as well..."
The demon watched as the young princess levitated into the air, her wild black hair flaring around her as her eyes glowed a ghostly white. A bright light began to shine from her, pulsing with her heartbeat. And for the first time in his life, he was afraid.
'How absurd,' he thought. 'Me, afraid of this young demoness? It can't be.' Gathering his courage, he stepped forward, drawing a dagger from his boot. "Your theatrics mean nothing to me, Princess."
"Stand back," she warned, her voice not her own. In her mind, she was panicking. 'What's going on! Why can't I control myself!' Her body suddenly jolted as the burst of energy shot from her towards the bird demon, grazing the left side of his body and badly burning his arm.
Wailing with pain, the demon kneeled, cradling his arm. "How...? How did she—" Glancing up, he saw that she still had that eerie glow to her. Fearing his life would end with one more hit from that strange light, he turned on his heel. He ran, ran from the kingdom, ran from Naraku, ran from the strangely powerful Princess of the North.
Tenshi settled on the ground, unaware of what happened to the demon who had attacked her not a minute before. Confused and dazed, she started for the village, her feet dragging. 'Why do I feel so drained?' she thought, her eyes heavy with fatigue. She reached the dirt path of the town and looked up to see her mother lying on the ground and no baboon-skinned demon in sight. She couldn't believe she didn't smell it before she saw it: blood. Too much.
Running to her mother's side, Tenshi kneeled in her blood, brushing the matted strands of black locks off the woman's face. "Mother... What has he done?"
"Tenshi-chan... please, do not cry," Saiai asked, lifting a weak, pale hand to wipe a tear from her child's cheek. "Be strong, my little one. I know the truth about Susumu...and Koi'shii. I am just glad that you are still alive and safe." She smiled, stroking her daughter's identical hair. "You are beautiful, Tenshi, and you will make a great ruler of the Northern Lands. Tell your father I love him..."
"Mother..." Tenshi choked on her tears, the grief that gripped her was almost unbearable. "Mother, no, please don't give up on me. Let me help you to the castle, please. You're still able to be healed."
"Tenshi, don't lie to yourself. I am beyond the physician's help..." Saiai coughed, blood splattering on her hand, before closing her eyes. "Tenshi, ai shiteru..."
Her body went limp, and Tenshi heard her heart come to rest.
"NO!" Tenshi reared up, tears streaming from her eyes, thrashing against strong, alien arms encircling her. "Let me go! Why are you doing this!"
"Tenshi, please, it's me!"
Opening her eyes, she turned to see concerned golden orbs staring back at her. "Inuyasha-kun..." Looking around, she saw that she was no longer in the forest but under a thatched roof. "Where are we?"
"Myoga-san found a hut not too far from where we found you. It was quite handy, since we needed to get you inside as soon as possible. We thought you'd almost died."
'I did,' she thought, masking it before Inuyasha could catch a whiff of her sadness.
"Tenshi, what's wrong? I know something's bugging you, and it's not just that fight with Nanashimaru." He could see the pain, see the memories floating past her eyes. "Tell me, Tenshi," he said after a pause.
"Inuyasha, do you know how my family died?" she asked, her voice a monotone of hidden pain. She recalled the whole flashback, the emotions that went with it. She noted, half aware, that it was raining outside. 'How fitting,' she thought.
When she had finished, she took a deep breathe and looked at the door. "I didn't know I had an audience of five," she said loudly, fire flaming in her eyes.
Bodies suddenly fell into the room. Miroku tumbled in first, followed by Sango, Shippou, and Myoga (who fell of Shippou's shoulder when the kitsune toppled over). "Gomen, Tenshi-san..." Miroku chuckled nervously. "We were just concerned about your—"
"Spare me, monk." The princess stood and glared at the party. "Did you enjoy hearing about my past and the pain I've suffered through? Did it provide you with a good story?" Her voice grew with each accusation.
"Tenshi-san, we didn't mean to, honest!" Shippou piped up. "And we're really sorry about what happened."
"I don't need your sympathy," she retorted gently. After all, she knew that Shippou was young and easily hurt by words.
"Tenshi, sit down," Inuyasha muttered calmly. "This is just the way they are. Constantly interested in others' affairs. They can't change that."
The group nodded, identically silly grins plastered on each face.
The young demoness sighed and sat down beside her best friend. "I guess you're right... No one can change who they are...or what they are."
Inuyasha knew her last comment was directed towards himself, but he didn't acknowledge it. "Are you still tired, Tenshi? You did go through a really tough dream..."
"No, I'm just hungry, really." She wouldn't admit that she was tired. She was going to be the leader of a region, and she had to learn to fight off fatigue. Now, if ever, was a good time to start.
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NL: Yes, I know, by now you just want to strangle me. First, I don't post for a good two years, and then I come out with this shit? Yeah, I know, I know! But trust me, you'll be happy that I split the chapter up. If I added the stuff between Sesshou and Kagome, it would've been UBER long. And I figured you guys would've gotten bored with it by then, so I was like, "Okay, it's gettin' two parts. ;" Anywho, you already know what's gonna happen in the next chapter, so I'm not gonna post a preview.
REVIEW RESPONSES:
yuya2: Yes, Naraku is dead, but that doesn't mean his spirit doesn't lurk upon the earth... Crap, spoiler... Oh, well, it's so you guys don't get confuzzled anymore... XD
NightPredator: Thanks for the praise. And I figured betrothing Tenshi 'n' Inu would be different and...unique, so I did so. And yeah, I realize it's been almost a year since I posted... Curse school, work, activities, and family... X(
WhyWhatShutup: FINALLY! I UPDATED! -dances around- Hope you enjoyed Part One... XD
