3

Thirty years have passed since our victory over our enemy. The demon purges have been very successful and few full-blood demons remain. My half-demon friend and his brother have little need for weapons now. Their swords ride useless at their sides. However, there are those among the townspeople who still whisper against them. We fear that the perpetrators of the purges may be drawn by these whispers.

Robin paused for a moment and gazed at the paper. What did all of this mean?

"Aren't you going to keep reading?" Nagira asked. He was sitting beside her on the couch. Karasuma was on the other side leaning in to see the words. Dojima was perched on the armrest next to Karasuma, as far away from Nagira as she could get. Michael and Sakaki were on the floor trying to stay out from underfoot. Amon stood behind the couch watching the whole proceeding and of course listening intently. Robin didn't bother responding to Nagira's question. She continued reading out loud.

We are hopeful that with more time, these fears will die away. But even so, the dogs have left instructions in case the worst should happen. They have decided that after their deaths, the Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga must be hidden away for safe-keeping until a future generation has need of their powers. They have entrusted this task and the record keeping to me and my family.

"But who is he?" Sakaki asked, interrupting.

"Who cares?" Nagira returned. "Here's where it gets really interesting."

Robin began to read again, more focused than ever.

Recently they managed to agree on a hiding place for the fang swords. They could not have chosen better. It is a sheltered cove, quiet and undisturbed. The only known path that reaches it begins at Kaede's village. From there it runs north through the forests of Musashi past the Shrine of the Trickster. There the path turns east onto the plains where the frog imps once ruled. The path runs down onto the coast where the Howling River meets the sea. From there, the path turns north again and follows the rocky beaches past the Cave of Wings. 100 li from there, the path ends at a young Time Tree that dominates the cove. With any luck the powerful fang swords will remain hidden until the Dog Clan returns to claim them once more.

Nagira sat back on the couch, one eyebrow raised. "Can you guys fill me in? What does all that mean?"

"Well, I think there's only one half-demon it could be referring to," Karasuma said.

"You mean your friend Inuyasha," Nagira said. "He carried a magic sword, right?"

"But this scroll must have been written long after we were there," Robin said.

"The person who gave it to you wasn't kidding," Amon said. "This scroll is very valuable. A lot of people would like to acquire a demon weapon."

"People like you?" Nagira teased.

Amon looked away and said nothing.

"So what do we do with it?" Sakaki asked.

"Nothing for now," Amon replied. "But be on your guard. We don't know where the scroll came from and there might already be people looking for it. It would be wise to keep this a secret for the time being. We might have to take possession of the swords ourselves soon."

4

Date: July 8
From: Integra
Re: You remind me of…
Why are we still arguing about this? My whole family was human. Don't you think I would know if I wasn't? And besides, how can I be a demon if I hunt vampires for a living? It makes no sense. Why would a demon want to destroy other demons?
That vision I had when I was 13 proves nothing. Alucard has psychic powers. He must have given me that vision when he sensed my presence outside the door.
While I admit that my hair is an unusual shade, it hardly marks me as a demon or a part-demon. I understand your need for company in this particular misery, but I'm afraid it won't pay off this time.
P.S. Bishop to E2. Say goodbye to your queen.

Date: July 8
From: Amon
Re: You remind me of…
How would you be able to hunt vampires if you weren't part demon yourself? The dogs were no ordinary demons. That suicide attempt would have killed an ordinary human. You survived because you have some dog demon blood in you. You underestimated yourself.
It's possible that Alucard gave you that vision. But what if he didn't? What if your own weak holy powers somehow activated themselves when you realized you were in danger? And then afterwards you convinced yourself that it wasn't you at all.
It's not just your hair color that convinces me I'm right. It's everything about you. Your attitude, your job, your status as a pain in my ass. All signs point to you being a distant relative of the dog demons.
P.S. Castle to B6. Checkmate. You fell for it. You must be slipping.

Date: July 9
From: Integra
Re: You remind me of…
I'm able to hunt vampires because I was taught to. And the thing I underestimated that time was medical technology and possibly my own will to live. It has nothing to do with having demon blood or not.
I don't doubt my powers of self-deception. I use them every day. It's these other alleged powers that I'm having trouble with. You see, that was the one and only time I've ever had a vision like that. If I had weak holy powers as you say, then I would have had other incidents when the powers manifested. If the powers are triggered only by fear, then why didn't they activate when the bobanshee trapped me? Why didn't they surface when Incognito threatened to rape me? Alucard had to rescue me both times. How do you explain all of that?
And as for my being a pain in your ass, let me remind you that you emailed me first.
P.S. Damn you! I'm not slipping. That was a cheap trick.

Date: July 9
From: Amon
Re: You remind me of…
I don't have answers to those questions. But I can take care of your skepticism. I've just come across an item that can provide irrefutable evidence that you and I share a common demon ancestor. I'll be starting the process of tracking it down very soon. I should be able to send you the proof you need within a couple of weeks.
P.S. : P

Date: July 10
From: Integra
Re: You remind me of…
So I'm to wait breathlessly by my phone? Is that it? I'll do better than that. I'll come over there and watch you fail in person. The repairs to the house are finished as of two days ago and I believe I deserve a holiday. It is summer, after all. Give me a time frame and I'll have my jet ready.
P.S. -.-'

Story Notes:

"Bishop to E2... Castle to B6" - Integra and Amon are playing chess. They are using a very common system that allows them to play across long distances by mail or email. Each number and letter combo indicates a specific square on the chess board. In the last few moves of the game, Amon sacrificed his queen in order to draw Integra into a trap. She seems to fall for that trick quite a lot, doesn't she?

Also, please excuse my use of emoticrons in the last two post scripts. I just happened to like them. For those who don't know these: ": P" indicates teasing and "-.-'" indicates exasperation. That last emoticron has been modified from its original version. The formatting restrictions on won't allow for the proper form of it. Sorry...

"holiday" - In British English, this word has two meanings. The first is exactly what it sounds like, a holiday, as in Christmas or Labor Day. The second meaning is what Americans would call a "vacation".