Chapter 4: Lost In Thought!/Enter Sango, The Demon Slayer
Even with his good humor about Daitan's foray into the past, Sesshomaru still grounded Daitan for a whole two weeks after she had gotten home. He had her spend a majority of that time in the dojo, especially now that he knew she had met the past version of himself.
"You're strong, Daitan, but I know that you can become so much more than you are now. You have much potential, and if you desire to protect your pack, you must reach for it! Now get up, show me those techniques you've been practicing!"
Daitan groaned at the memory, aching muscles protesting as she towelled her hair dry after just having gotten out of the shower. Pulling on some pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, she blinked at herself in the mirror, reaching up to poke at the crescent moon on her forehead and the little stripes on her cheekbones, two on each side. Just like her father. I really need to tell them soon… I can't reach that potential Dad's been going on about if I'm always using up my energy keeping up that damn glamour… But not now.
The girl finally exited the washroom, practically dead on her feet, and moved through her room on the way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Thankfully, her father was busy with meetings all afternoon, so Daitan was free for the rest of the day.
The moment she walked out the door of her room, she almost tripped over a gaggle of tiny youkai children, mostly kitsune, giggling and racing up and down the corridor. Now that's more like it. Thought Daitan fondly.
Youkai weren't as prevalent in the modern world, and most had gone into hiding near the beginning of the seventeenth century. Most of the daiyoukai lords, such as Daitan's own father, Lord Sesshomaru, offered protection, and in some cases lodging (mostly to the youkai that actually worked at the estate), to many youkai. So while Daitan had never known her mother, nor any blood siblings, she grew up with a very large family. Unfortunately, some youkai of the more traditional mindset still called her 'Lady Daitan,' but a majority of the children tended towards calling her their 'Big Sis.'
On her journey down to the kitchen, another group of small children decided to ambush her, and she ended up in an impromptu dog pile on the stairs. Resigning herself to her fate, she allowed them to crawl all over her, twin kitsune showing off their little magic tricks, a neko nuzzling her face and clinging to her leg, even a shy little boar youkai who had made her a flower crown out of dandelion flowers, whom she thanked graciously, putting it atop her snowy locks immediately. It wasn't long before their parents appeared to whisk them away for a scolding, apologizing profusely to the young inu daiyoukai
At last, Daitan had made it to the kitchen, and had fixed herself some leftovers she had found in the fridge. Chewing on her food, she kept glancing at the landline on the wall nearby. Kagome said she would call at some point…
As if hearing her thoughts, the phone rang not two seconds after, and Daitan made a dash for it.
"Hello? Who is this?" she answered, already twisting the cord around a clawed finger.
"Daitan? Is that you? This is Kagome."
"Yep, that's my name, don't wear it out. What's up?"
"Well, I thought I ought to tell you that I managed to get back through the well the other day… can you come over?"
Daitan bit her lip. "Sorry Kagome, but I've been grounded until the end of next week - Dad wasn't too happy when I told him about what happened… and before you ask, yes, of course I told him about the Feudal Era, he kept prying, and I'm an awful liar, according to him."
"Oh… well, is he alright with you coming back? After your 'sentence' is done?"
"Yeah, totally! Just give me a call next Friday, I'll be there in a jiffy!"
"That's great! I'll talk to you then - bye!"
"Bye, Kagome!" Daitan hung up the phone and placed it back on the wall, smiling widely.
As promised, Kagome called that next Friday, and after clearing it with her father, she headed off in the direction of Higurashi shrine, katana strapped to another pair of black capris (her old ones still had a tear in the buttcheek area where the arrow hit). But once she got to Higurashi shrine and met up with Kagome, Daitan could immediately tell that something was wrong, even if Kagome didn't explicitly show it.
However, Daitan decided not to pry and leapt into the well with her hand clasped around Kagome's.
"Hey, Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippo! I missed you guys!" called Daitan, and Shippo bounced over to her, leaping into her arms.
"Daitan, I'm so glad you're here! Inuyasha's been a real jerk! Just a few days ago he ran of with-!" a quick bonk over the head from Inuyasha cut Shippo off, and the small boy started shouting angrily at the hanyou.
"I'm just trying to catch Daitan up on what we've been up to!"
"Come on," Inuyasha grumbled. "Let's hit the road. We're wasting time just sitting here."
And with that, he walked off, leaving Daitan, Shippo, Miroku, and Kagome to follow after him. As the group followed, Daitan leaned toward Miroku.
"What's going on? Did something happen when I was gone?" she whispered, and Miroku nodded.
"A youkai sorceress brought Kikyo, Inuyasha's love from fifty years ago, back to life using some of Kagome's soul, since Kagome is her reincarnation, and he's been all messed up about it ever since." the monk summarized. Daitan let out a 'hmph.'
"So in short, Inuyasha's pining after a dead woman walking? Explains why Kagome is so upset as well…"
"That's right."
"Hmm…" Daitan was visibly unimpressed. "Inuyasha can be such an idiot sometimes. Well, most of the time… and I know that he was stuck to a tree for the majority of the time that Kikyo was dead, but honestly, he needs to learn how to move on. It'll only cause more pain in the future if he's still all lovesick over a dead woman."
Miroku nodded in agreement.
Hours later, the sun had set, and while Kagome had already decided to go to sleep for the night, the rest of the group still sat around the fire. Shippo leaned back, staring up at the starry sky.
"Sometimes I wonder which there are more of; stars in the sky, or shards of the Shikon Jewel," the kitsune hung his head, sighing. "Our search has far from ended yet…"
Daitan patted the small boy comfortingly on the head. While there are definitively more stars than jewel shards, it's still taking forever to keep collecting them…
"Not necessarily…" said Inuyasha, sounding thoughtful. Shippo perked back up.
"What do you mean?"
"The youkai Naraku is gathering shards of the jewel, just as we are." stated the hanyou, and Daitan raised an eyebrow.
"We're pretty aware of that, but why bring it up? We can't exactly afford to let him collect all of the shards." she said, pulling Shippo into her lap and getting to work at untangling bits of leaves and twigs from his hair and tail. Inuyasha shrugged.
"Why not? In the long run, he'll save us a great deal of work. He'll get the jewel shards, and then we will get him!" Inuyasha pumped his fist into the air enthusiastically. "How does that sound for a good strategy?"
Shippo and Daitan shared a deadpan look, and the former began to explain to Inuyasha in a careful voice, as if addressing a young child.
"Inuyasha, with every shard Naraku gathers, he becomes stronger, does he not? In that case, we'll never be able to capture him! It's obvious - our only hope is to find more jewels than he does," Shippo heaved a sigh. "Even a little kid like me could figure out something that simple! It make me wonder if maybe you haven't taken a few too many blows to the head!"
"Oh yeah, lemme try that theory out on you!" Inuyasha lunged at Shippo, but was deterred by Daitan, who gave him a quick bonk on the head with her sheathed katana. As the hanyou rubbed his head, mouth open to start shouting, he was distracted by Miroku.
"Inuyasha, what will you do if you gather all the shards of the Shikon Jewel?" the monk asked. Still rubbing the top of his head, Inuyasha sat back down.
"What else? I'll become a full-fledged, bona-fide youkai."
"...Oh, that's what you have planned." Miroku sounded a little disappointed, and Daitan sighed and shook her head slightly, but didn't say anything.
"Well, nobody wants to be a weakling, right?" argued Inuyasha, crossing his arms. "You've gotta be able to stand up to someone you don't like, if you need to."
"Tell me something though, when you use the power of the Shikon Jewel to become a true youkai, do you honestly think you will remain as you are now?" asked Miroku. At that, Inuyasha floundered a little.
"Uh - why wouldn't I?"
"Well then," continued Miroku, his expression deadly serious. "Can you recall ever having seen a youkai that was using the Shikon Jewel shards for a benevolent end?" the monk looked into the fire, contemplative. "This is merely a theory, but I believe that those who seek out and gain the powers of the Shikon Jewel eventually lose their own hearts in the process. Inuyasha scoffed.
"That may be so, but when did I ever say I wanted to be a good demon?"
Daitan couldn't help but to let out a little snort.
"Inuyasha… you might want to reconsider what you really want in this world. You might be brash and rough around the edges, but you're not a bad person, and something tells me you don't really want to be." she said, giving the hanyou a half smile. Inuyasha huffed and turned away, grumbling, and Miroku was quick to back Daitan up.
"You do wish to protect Kagome, do you not? That is why you desire more power," when Inuyasha didn't say anything, Miroku continued. "Inuyasha, once you become a full-fledged youkai, who's to say you won't devour Shippo, Kagome and Daitan?"
Shippo immediately panicked, and sprung from Daitan's lap to clutch at Miroku's robe.
"Why me? Wouldn't you be tastier?"
"I will have fled long before."
At least he's being honest. Thought Daitan, giving Miroku a deadpan stare. And me, get devoured by a bloodthirsty Inuyasha? As if.
The next morning, the group came upon a village in the direction of where Kagome had sensed another jewel shard. Some of the buildings had been torn to pieces, but the villagers themselves were relatively unharmed, saying that a taijiya, a youkai slayer, had already taken care of their problem and taken a jewel shard with her. Of course, Inuyasha didn't take the news all too well.
"What? A girl took the jewel shard? Who was she? Come on, answer me!" the hanyou had his hand fisted in the front of one of the villagers' hakama, and was shouting angrily in his face.
"Another youkai!" cried one of the onlookers. "Call for the taijiya!"
"A giant centipede!" the villager in Inuyasha's grasp was trembling hard.
"I am not a centipede!" shouted the hanyou, almost smacking his forehead against the fearful man's. Daitan took out her sheathed katana and whacked Inuyasha on the top of the head, forcing him to let the man go, and after a few minutes of arguing, Inuyasha finally calmed down enough to question the villagers in a more gentle manner with the help of Kagome and Miroku.
"So people make a living going around slaying youkai…" said Kagome thoughtfully. Daitan shrugged.
"Can't say I'm surprised. Youkai are pretty prevalent, and we aren't the only ones saving villages from the nasties. I imagine they're like specialized mercenaries." she said, and one of the village men next to her nodded.
"Yes, exactly. The taijiya that came to our village came to take care of a giant centipede that attacked our village, and took the jewel shards from its body in lieu of payment, and said that the Shikon something-or-other originated in her home village in the first place."
All of the shard hunting group perked up at that.
"Inuyasha, have you ever heard of the jewel's origins?" asked Miroku. Inuyasha just shrugged.
"Not at all. When I learned of the Shikon Jewel, Kikyo had it under her protection. I never gave it any thought to where the jewel came from or how it was created."
Daitan stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Hey, Kagome, you said that your grandfather would tell you all about the history and artifacts of Higurashi shrine, including the Shikon Jewel, right? Do you remember anything about where it might have come from?" she asked, and Kagome blushed, looking sheepish.
"Um… I don't know… I never really listened to Grandpa when he started rambling…" she admitted, and the hopeful sparkle in Daitan's eyes dimmed.
"Guess I can't blame you… I tune out when he starts rambling, too…"
The group had left the village hours before and had walked into the night, searching for the taijiya village. Daitan walked slightly behind Kagome and Miroku, while Inuyasha took up the lead, Shippo riding on his back.
"We must be getting close, though it's hard to believe that no one could tell us where the taijiya were from." said Miroku, breaking the silence.
"'Somewhere in the mountains' wasn't too helpful."
"Quit complaining, let's just find it!" Inuyasha huffed. Shippo leaned forward on Inuyasha's shoulder, curious.
"Are you planning to take the jewel shards from the taijiya village?"
"Yeah, what do you think?" Inuyasha scoffed, and Miroku sighed and bowed his head.
"Let's just hope they don't slay us in the process."
"In that case, it would probably be best if Kagome did the talking. I'm afraid Inuyasha's more... direct approach would have us on the run." said Daitan, and just as she expected, Inuyasha immediately turned around to yell at her, but paused as an ominous wind blew through the trees above, making their branches creak and groan. The hairs on the back of Daitan's neck stood up.
"There's something strange about this wind," Miroku said, looking around the moonlit forest. "I don't like it."
Kagome gasped, looking up at the sky.
"Something's approaching up ahead - there's a bunch of them!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Daitan and the rest of the group looked up to spot a huge cloud of youkai flying overhead. The cloud was so large that it almost blocked out the small patch of sky between the trees.
"There must be hundreds of them!" breathed Kagome. "Where are they going? There are so many!"
A sharp, almost sour or spicy scent reached Daitan's nose, one she had gotten all too accustomed to over her years. Bloodlust. It seemed that Inuyasha had picked up on it as well, as he said,
"I smell death; those youkai are charging in to attack!" And with that, Inuyasha immediately took off running, Kagome, Miroku, and Daitan hot on his heels.
It wasn't until mid morning that the group found themselves at the end of the trail - a village that had plumes of smoke rising into the air, having been set ablaze by the cloud of youkai they had seen earlier, no doubt. Inuyasha didn't waste any time dawdling outside of it, and quickly made his way through the front gate, followed by the others.
Inside the walls, absolute carnage greeted them. Nearly all the buildings had been completely destroyed, and countless corpses of both humans and youkai littered the blood-soaked ground. Daitan could smell nothing but death in the air.
"This is horrible," gasped Kagome. Miroku nodded solemnly.
"The villagers must have done battle with the youkai."
"I'd say they put up a good fight - just look at how many they managed to kill out of that horde. They can't just be regular villagers." commented Daitan, and Inuyasha seemed to agree with her as he looked around at all the large weapons either buried in a dead youkai or merely cast to the ground.
"This must be the very same village of the taijiya we were looking for," he said, pausing when he saw Kagome looking around worriedly. "What is it, Kagome?"
"I'm not sensing any jewel shards, none at all." Kagome's expression was set in a frown.
"None anymore… they must have been stolen." concluded Miroku.
"Maybe if we hurry, we can catch up to them!" Shippo suggested hopefully from his perch on Miroku's shoulder. Daitan shook her head.
"I doubt it - these youkai got here way before we did, and it's likely that whatever or whoever took the jewel shards is long gone by now." she said, and Inuyasha nodded.
"I agree. Also, we can think about that after we've properly laid these people to rest. They deserve that, at least."
Everyone nodded in agreement, but before anyone could do anything, a low hiss reached their ears, and an enormous nekomata emerged from behind a building, the severed head of another youkai in its mouth. It approached, growling, and Inuyasha immediately drew the Tessaiga.
"One surviving youkai after all!"
Suddenly, a high pitched nasally voice cut through the nekomata's growls.
"Lord Inuyasha, would that be you?"
Inuyasha's scowl dropped in confusion, as well as everyone else's. Daitan narrowed her eyes. Something about that voice seemed a tad familiar...
"It can talk!" gasped Kagome, and the voice spoke again.
"Down, Kirara, these people are not our enemies!" at those words, the nekomata dropped the severed head in its mouth and engulfed itself in flames, shrinking down to the size of a kitten. It itched at its head, and a tiny speck hopped off of its back, revealing itself to be a tiny flea youkai, which immediately hopped right up onto Inuyasha's nose.
"Ah, how I've missed this nose~" the hanyou's hand immediately came up to squash the bug on his face, and the flea drifted to the ground, flattened.
"Still irritating." grumbled Inuyasha.
"What are you doing in a place like this?" Kagome asked, bending down to speak with the tiny youkai.
"You know this flea?" Miroku looked rather confused.
"He's Inuyasha's vassal. Well, sort of…" explained Shippo as the flea righted himself on the ground and looked over at Miroku and Daitan.
"I see that Inuyasha has gained more comrades! I am known as Myoga." introduced the flea, giving Daitan and Miroku a bow. ...Eh! Now I remember! Thought Daitan, blinking down at Myoga and trying not to let her recognition of him show on her face. He would hang around the property when I was a little kid! He was so old then that he died when I was about 90…
"...itan? Daitan?" Miroku's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she blushed. Apparently, she had been staring into space for the past minute. Daitan blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Eh, sorry about that, lost in thought…" she muttered, before straightening her posture a little. "How about we get to laying these people to rest, shall we?"
Miroku and Daitan got to work digging graves, and after about an hour of silence between the two of them, the monk glanced over at Daitan.
"So, what's going on?" he asked, and Daitan paused in her digging, raising an eyebrow at him.
"What do you mean?"
Miroku seemed to consider his words for a moment, before getting back to digging.
"You don't often get lost in thought. Since I've known you, I've observed that you're always very alert and have a certain presence of mind, so what's going on?" Daitan resumed her digging, attempting to shrug it off.
"Eh, everyone gets lost in thought sometimes. I'm just tired, I guess." she explained. Miroku obviously didn't buy it, raising an eyebrow at her.
"You're 'just tired?' Has anyone ever told you you're a terrible liar?"
"Yep." Daitan planned on leaving it at that, but Miroku, sensing weakness, kept pushing.
"If something is bothering you, perhaps telling someone about your troubles would help you? I am more than happy to listen." he pressed. Daitan laughed, although it now sounded somewhat strained.
"How do you know something's troubling me, huh? I've only zoned out that one time, as far as I can recall." she said. Miroku merely stopped his digging, having finished the grave he was working on, and wiped his sweaty forehead.
"From what I've seen Daitan, it hasn't been just the once. In fact, ever since you came back to us from your time, you've had a little line between your eyebrows, right there." with that, he poked the middle of Daitan's forehead. She was not amused.
"If you're trying to flirt with me, it's not going to work. Trust me," she said, and Miroku withdrew, backing away when she plunged her shovel into the ground and stepped forward in a mildly threatening manner. "And besides, my business is my business, and I'll tell all of you when I'm good and ready. For now, you should just accept that." Daitan retreated, heading over to where the group had put down their supplies, muttering something about getting a drink of water. Miroku looked down at Daitan's shovel, which had been thrust into the ground with such force that the blade had completely disappeared beneath the hard dry soil. She had only used one arm.
Hours later, all the bodies of the villagers had been put to rest, and Kagome laid wildflowers on each of their graves while Miroku said a prayer for their safe journey to the afterlife. When he finished, he sighed.
"It's a shame, I'd hoped to speak to someone at the village about the Shikon Jewel." the monk said. Inuyasha looked over at Myoga, who was perched on his shoulder.
"Talk to me, Myoga. You must know something."
"Huh? Do I know something? About the Shikon Jewel?"
"Myoga, was that why you came here? To find out more about the jewel's origins?" asked Kagome, and Myoga nodded.
"Yes, it's been troubling me greatly for a while now. I needed to know more about the history of the jewel. After all, everyone who has ever come across the jewel has suffered great misfortune." he said. "I followed the rumors of the jewel and found myself here at this village. However, there is still one thing that disturbs me… During my journey, a white baboon continually slipped in and out of my sight."
"A white baboon?" Inuyasha's eyebrows drew together, and Daitan frowned. She had heard from the others about the appearance Naraku often chose to take.
"Tch, I knew this stank of something… seems like Naraku was one step ahead of us." grumbled Daitan. "We should be careful. From what I've heard from you guys, this might be another one of his plots."
The others only nodded gravely in agreement.
Depending on how tough the upcoming battles are, I might have to shed my disguise sometime soon… Ah, what the hell. If it happens, it happens, especially if I want to protect my friends. I'll just see how long I'll have to keep it up, for now…
A/N: Daitan and Miroku are gonna be bros in the future, trust me. It'll be great. I love me a good platonic relationship. Also, I'm using the word 'taijiya' instead of demon slayer, mostly because I've been using 'youkai' instead of 'demon,' and I thought that it fit better that way. It's also shorter to type. See you next chapter!