Freedom
Chapter10: What Was Known
Men are apt to offend ('tis true) where they find most goodness to forgive.
-William Congreve (The old Bachelor)
"Kagura! Kagura, Kagura!"
"What?"
Shunran paused to catch her breath. She had arrived late for the report and had rushed to Tsuyoi, thinking that Kagura would be angry at her. But now it seemed that Kagura was angry for her being here. When wasn't Kagura angry in the first place? That vase sure was shiny. Shunran's thoughts wandered as she tried to figure out what the vase was made out of. 'Glass…maybe polished stone?'
Kagura sank back down at her desk and resumed what she had been doing, writing a letter to some lord that held power over a province to the west of Gokana. It seemed that her employer was blackmailing him.
"Oh, now I remember!"
Kagura finished writing the letter before she looked up at Shunran. The young noble-youkai was digging into her sleeves, her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth in concentration.
"I had it, and Karan wanted me to give it to you." The young youkai suddenly plopped down on the stone floor and pulled off her shoes. It seemed that whatever she had been looking for wasn't in there either because she soon started pulling off her sock as well. "Give me a moment…"
Kagura narrowed her eyes in annoyance but sighed as she placed the letter into a temporary envelope. The lord would look over it and make sure it was to his satisfaction before he sealed it and sent it. But Kagura would probably have to rewrite it anyway. She hated her job. Kagura closed her eyes and heaved another sigh before getting to her feet and walking around Shunran who was struggling with her other shoe. She slid open the door to her study and peered out into the hallway.
"You, whatever your name is, give this to our lord." The young messenger boy blinked at Kagura before looking from side to side and pointing to himself in question. Kagura rolled her eyes and clenched her teeth. "Yes you, who else would I be talking to in an empty hallway?"
The boy paled and bowed low to the ground. "I-I'm…I apologize my Lady. I did not know."
Kagura gave an annoyed sigh and waved the boy's stuttered apology away. "Just go give this to the lord okay?"
The boy blushed and nodded, carefully took the letter from her before rushing off before he made a bigger fool of himself.
"Kagura I found it!"
The noble youkai turned around and slid her door closed and walked back to her desk. She practically collapsed onto her cushion and closed in eyes, trying to will a headache away.
"Kagura? I found it you know."
"What did you find…and why should I care? You've got five seconds."
Shunran's eyes widened and she thrust the letter under Kagura's nose. "I have no idea what it is! Karan and Shuuran told me to tell you to tell Sesshoumaru that they've found something really important!"
Kagura opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow in question. "That was six seconds. Give it to me."
Shunran pouted and pulled the letter back to her chest. "They didn't tell me to let you read it. They told me to give it to you so you could give it to Sesshoumaru."
Kagura clenched her fist and closed her eyes. "If you value your life…you will give me that letter…and be quiet until I finish reading it…"
Shunran yelped and threw the letter at Kagura, hitting the noble youkai in the face. Kagura made an odd sound, like a cross between a groan, a whine and a sigh. Before Shunran could blink Kagura had whipped out her fan and the windowless room was suddenly very windy.
Shunran squeaked and dropped down the floor, her hands over her head. "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"
The winds died down and Shunran breathed a sigh a relief as she parted her fingers and peered up over the edge of Kagura's desk. The wind youkai had dropped her fan altogether and was reading the letter. Her fingers were trembling and her face had grown pale.
"They can't be serious…" she muttered, her crimson eyes widening in disbelief.
"What does it say?"
Kagura dropped back down into her chair and handed the letter to Shunran. The young Hyou youkai's eyes narrowed and a frightening look of complete seriousness crossed her face. She dropped the letter onto Kagura's desk and their eyes locked. Shunran's face darkened even more.
"Why didn't they tell me?"
Kagura gave another loud sigh and snatched up the letter and her fan. "I…cannot be sure if this makes things easier or…not…"
Shunran ignored the wind-youkai, a loud cat like growl vibrating in her throat. "What am I? I'm not some idiot kid who doesn't understand anything! I feel…" she sniffed and her shoulders slumped "…I feel so left out..."
Kagura blinked in surprise and confusion as tears gathered in the corners of Shunran's eyes. The young panther youkai sniffed again and buried her face in her hands.
"Oh for the love of…if you don't stop right now I'll kill you…"
"Is it that they don't trust me? All I want to do is help!" Shunran continued to sob into her hands as Kagura grew more and more agitated.
"They knew you were going to find out eventually…they didn't mean anything by it. Stop goddamn it!"
Shunran's sobs turned into hiccups and she peered in-between her fingers at Kagura, her face slightly suspicious. "You think so?"
"Yes, can we go see Sesshoumaru now? He'll be interested in this."
Shunran gave a bright smile and jumped to her feet, her tears forgotten. "Let's go!"
"Time to visit Sesshoumaru," Kagura stated haughtily, smirk still firmly in place.
Touran ran a hand over her face and groaned. For the love of anything, how could two people be so childish, so quarrelsome, so…opinionated. The sounds of bickering and something breaking reached the noble youkai's ears and she groaned again, letting her head hit the low table she was sitting at.
Karan looked up from the scrolls she was shifting through and gave her sister a critical stare.
"Why is that upsetting you so much? Shihitou and Enjo don't always get along."
Touran raised her head and glared at her younger sister for a moment before she let her head hit the table again. "You know why I want him to be happy. Kagome could make him happy." She paused as something else broke in the room down the hall. She smiled. "He's a lot like his father."
Karan put down a scroll and gave Touran her full attention. "About that…"
Touran sighed and propped her head up with her hand. She had known it was coming and she was ready for the lecture she was about to receive. Touran might be the oldest sibling but Karan was definitely the most mature. She liked to hoard it over everyone's head too.
"About what?"
Karan raised an eyebrow at Touran's wary tone but didn't comment. She moved closer to the table and folded her hands upon it, giving her sister one of her most serious stares.
"When are you going to tell him?"
Touran made a face and turned away from Karan's gaze. "I…don't want to."
"That's not what I asked you," Karan said sharply. "I asked you when you were going to tell him."
Touran sighed and glanced back down the hallway where Kagome was attempting to take care of Inuyasha's wounds. After he had fallen asleep after the first day of fighting he and the rest of the Shihitou had moved to the large multi-room inn that had been built especially for Shihitou camps staying over night in Fukuju for the tournaments.
Inuyasha had managed to sleep through the second day of fighting and had woken up just as everyone was returning from the arena for the second time. Now it seemed like he wasn't going to let anyone help him with his injury, which was actually healing quite well. Touran winced when the voices raised a notch in volume and turned back to Karan.
"Would you want to tell him something like that?" she asked her voice growing just as sharp as her sister's.
Karan gave a slow blink and narrowed her eyes. "It isn't a matter of wanting to or not. You made a promise and I made a promise to make sure you fulfilled that promise." The youkai's gaze fell to the table in front of her and she began to trace a knot in the wood with her claw. "But…no…I wouldn't want to tell him either."
"So can we wait?"
Karan's eyes shot up to Touran's and she glared. "No. We have to tell him something. We don't…" She sighed and tried to compose herself. "…We don't have to tell him everything…Not at first."
Touran nodded and ruffled her bangs as she moved to stand up. "Fine. He can't do much right now. I'll tell him that I knew his father."
Karan made a face and shook her head as she picked up her scroll again. "Do whatever you want. Just make sure you tell him everything before it's too late."
Touran sniffed at her sister's flippant tone and began to walk down the hallway. The room Inuyasha occupied was at the end, and from what she could hear, things were getting violent. Just as she was about to open the door it was wretched aside and Touran had to dodge a roll of bandages that came flying at her head.
"You ungrateful asshole! All I'm trying to do is help you!"
"I don't need your pathetic help! I'm fine! Why can't you people leave me alone?"
Kagome suddenly turned to face the hanyou and she slammed the door shut. It looked like she had been about to stomp out of the room and had suddenly changed her mind. Touran crossed her eyes slightly to see if her nose was bleeding. That had hurt.
"It's not my fault that you got injured! All I want to do is help you!"
"For the last time, I don't need your help! Go bother someone else!"
Touran winced as she heard something else shatter against the door. The noble youkai hadn't known that there were so many breakable things in these rooms. She took a deep breath and opened the door again, ducking as a water bison was thrown in her direction and broke against the wall.
"Hey!"
Both Inuyasha and Kagome looked up from where they were standing mere inches away from each other. The top part of Inuyasha's robes was gone, revealing the multiple fading scars along his chest, shoulders and back. Bandages had been wrapped snugly around his waist and by the way he had been moving, they were causing him endless irritation. Touran's eyebrows rose up into her hairline as she stared both of them down.
"What are you two doing in here?"
Inuyasha huffed and took a step back, flopping down on the bed pushed into a corner of the room. Touran noticed with a frustrated sigh that the second bed had been pushed into the opposite corner, as far from the first bed as possible. Kagome and Inuyasha were definitely not happy with the fact that they had to share a room. Funny, Kagome had been fine with it when Inuyasha had been sleeping.
"That stupid, little, no-nothing of a girl won't leave me alone."
Kagome bristled and turned to Touran, a pleading look crossing her features. "Please let me switch with Sango. I like Miroku. Please, in the name of everything holy, please!"
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed and he turned over onto his side, baring his back to them. "I agree. I don't want her anywhere near me."
Touran shook her head and stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her. "Listen you two. I think you guys will get along fine once you get to know each other. It's only been 3 weeks…"
"18 days," Inuyasha's muffled voice interrupted.
"No, it's been 19 days," Kagome said, her eyes narrowed in thought.
Inuyasha sucked in a breath to correct her but stopped himself. "Yeah, she's right, 19."
Touran let the back of her head hit the wall behind her and groaned. "Does it matter?"
"Yes," they droned as one.
Touran closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again giving Kagome a hard look. "I need to talk to Inuyasha. Do you mind waiting outside for a few minutes?"
Kagome shook her head and moved to open the door. "It's not like he'll miss me or anything…ungrateful brat," she mumbled as she stalked past the noble youkai.
Suddenly Inuyasha twisted around and flung a clay bowl at Kagome. The girl ducked and it shattered against a door on the opposite side of the hallway. Kagome's nostrils flared and she flung one her shoes at him, hitting him in the forehead.
"Jerk!"
"Wench!" he shouted as he flung the shoe back, hitting Kagome in the head in retaliation.
"Asshole!" she screeched as she tugged her shoe back on.
"Bitch!"
"Bastard!"
"Slut!"
"Egotistical, jackass! You ugly, scrawny, mean, anti-social, ungrateful...know-it-all!"
Inuyasha blinked at her through the doorway as he fought to think up something he could yell back at her. "Well…you smell bad!"
Kagome screamed in anger and stomped down the hall as Touran (and a number of the Shihitou and Enjo who had poked their heads out of their room at hearing their argument) watched her. The noble youkai watched her turn a corner and sighed before she closed the door with a click.
Inuyasha had turned onto his back, one of his legs bent at the knee and the other resting on top of it, his foot swinging back and forth as he stared at the ceiling. The signal torch in the room cast deep shadows on his face (oddly blank of any expression) and his hair. Touran's breath caught in her throat as her gaze bore holes into him.
"You look…you look just like him."
Inuyasha glanced over at her and frowned. "Who?"
"Your father."
Inuyasha huffed and returned his eyes to the ceiling. "You knew him." It wasn't a question. He said it with no emotion at all. Touran gave a hard swallow.
"I knew him. I grew up with him."
Inuyasha didn't react at all and silence fell in the room. Touran slid down the wall until she was sitting, her gaze still locked on the unmoving hanyou across from her. His foot still swinging, his face still impassive.
"Is that why you bought me?"
Touran blinked and bowed her head. "Before your father died he told me to make sure that you and your mother were taken care of. But…" her voice trailed off and she heaved a heavy sigh. "…I didn't find out until a few months later and by then, you were gone."
Inuyasha said nothing for a moment. "How'd you know him? He was a farmer and you…well you're not."
Touran's breath caught and she raised her head to pin him with a hard stare. He was still staring up at the ceiling, his foot was still swinging. "How much do you know about him?" she asked softly.
"Not much…I hardly remember him," the hanyou answered, his eyes narrowing.
"He was a good man."
"……I've been told…"
Silence once again filled the room and Touran ran nimble fingers through her hair. "Do you want to know more?"
Inuyasha sucked in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. Touran watched him, her gaze sad, as he sucked in a few more deep breaths.
"No," he finally answered without opening his eyes.
"I have to tell you eventually."
Inuyasha nodded and started swinging his foot again. "Not now…Eventually but…not now okay?"
Touran nodded as well and graceful got to her feet. Before she left she graced him with a small smile. "You know, Kagome's not that bad of a person. You should get to know her."
Inuyasha snapped his eyes open and glared at her she slipped out of the room, chuckling softly.
Blood everywhere…
Covering everything…
Fire everywhere…
No air…no escape…
Blood…
"Run Inuyasha…"
His mother's corpse reached up to him, blood running in little streams down her thin fingers…
Drip…Drip….Blood…
Laughter as they pulled him away from her…Fire and blood…
"Don't let them catch you…"
Her face…her hands… "Mother!"
Hands wrapped around his throat, choking him, pulling him away from her. The fire was building around them. He had to save her!
"Mother!"
"Run…Inuyasha…Don't let them catch you…"
Fire…Blood…
Kagome was awakened by a strangled gasp. She jerked and threw her blankets off of her, turning around to see what could have made such a desperate sound. She was greeted with Inuyasha's silhouette, his shoulders hunched, his head bowed in his folded arms and his chest heaving.
When she had returned after he and Touran had talked, he hadn't said anything to her. When she had settled down for bed and changed into her night clothes behind the screen he hadn't flinched. When she had put out the oil lamp hanging in the center of the room he hadn't uttered a word.
Kagome hadn't thought much of it. She didn't want to talk to him either. But now Kagome couldn't help but be a little worried. Inuyasha didn't move when she stood up from her bed to light the lamp. He continued to breathe deeply through his nose, his shoulders heaving.
"Inuyasha?"
"I'm fine, go back to sleep," he said sharply without looking up at her.
"Did you…have a nightmare?" Kagome asked softly. She sat down on her bed and drew her legs up to her chest, her long sleeping gown brushing against her ankles as she watched him worriedly.
"Don't worry about it," he snapped, looking up long enough to glare at her. "I'm fine! I don't need you coddling me!"
Kagome bristled but fought down her anger. He was obviously still terrified about whatever he had been dreaming of. He was just taking it out on her because she was the only person here.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No! Just…" his face disappeared into his arms again. "…just go back to sleep…"
"Well that's not going to happen anytime soon," Kagome said her tone slightly disdainful. Inuyasha fell silent and Kagome felt a stab of pity for him. Time to change the subject. "What did Touran want to talk to you about?"
Inuyasha sighed and gave a soft chuckle, dragging his head up to pin her with a weary, but amused, stare. Kagome suppressed a shiver. His voice was so deep and when he laughed…
"You're so annoying."
Kagome couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face. "I've been told."
Inuyasha chuckled again and shook his head, running a tired hand over his face. Kagome's smile froze as she took in his features and readied herself to ask a question that had been bouncing around her head for quite some time.
"Inuyasha?"
"Hmm?"
Kagome took a deep breath and sought out his eyes before she spoke, cringing internally as she pictured the results. But she had to ask; she wanted to know. "How old are you?"
Inuyasha blinked and cocked his head to the side in surprise. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious…"
Inuyasha reached up and scratched behind one of his cute little ears. Kagome had to resist squealing; those things were adorable. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Just tell me," Kagome whined. Her gaze turned pleading and she let her lip begin to quiver. Inuyasha began to look uncomfortable and Kagome gave a silent whoop of victory. Who knew he was a sucker for puppy eyes?
"I really don't know what the big deal is but…around sixty…I think."
Kagome's jaw dropped. No wonder he had been calling her a little girl!
"You don't look like…"
"Yeah…I've been told," he murmured when she trailed off.
"Wow…sixty…" Kagome's eyes traveled to the ceiling in thought. "That means you were around during the rebellion." Inuyasha blinked and nodded. "Do you remember any of it?" Inuyasha shook his head and Kagome shrugged. "Oh well, it was just a thought. My grandfather says that he remembers the rebellion but that's ridiculous because he was born after it was over. He's only fifty-something." Kagome gave Inuyasha an odd look. "Are you sure you don't remember? You should be the right age."
"I was born right after it ended," he said flippantly as he lay down again.
Kagome gave a tiny internal smile as he began to doze off. "So, how long should the rest of the tournament last?"
"Since all the fights today were pretty short…" he trailed off with a yawn and blinked the moisture out of his eyes "…and they managed to fit a lot of fights in, it should end a few days early. Tomorrow the beast fights will start, three days of that, a day of rest, and we can head back to the compound."
Kagome stood up and stuffed out the lamp before she stretched out on her own bed and turned over so she was facing Inuyasha. "What are beast fights, exactly?"
Inuyasha gave a soft sleepy groan before he answered his voice muffled and heavy. "The remaining Shihitou fight wild oni or wild animals."
"Oni?"
"Ogres…the untamed ones…"
"Oh…Inuyasha?"
"Hmm?"
"Your welcome for helping you get back to sleep."
Her only answer was a soft snore.
AN: Well look. I said I'd get this chapter out soon and I did. Ow…my toe hurts. The pain…Ow…I stubed it during a waterfight yesterday. It was bleeding and everything and...Ow...Oh ow...
Oh yeah…chapter…:points up: It's right there. I hope you enjoyed it.
Watch this space. Review and no I don't own Inuyasha. (Go away, you're making me sad…)