Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, all rights are reserved for Rumiko Takahashi and affiliates.
Hi again! So after the clusterfuck of chapter six, I say we just jump right into seven and get the ball rolling. I think I plan to have the first major conflict by about chapter eight, and the massive reveal maybe at chapter ten? It's still sort of up in the air, but I think I have a partial outline. Oh! So I checked the reviews, and I was both delighted and amused to find that for a story named "The Lucky Seven", there are seven reviews (as of an hour ago, 2/10/2020 5:38 PM), and I happen to be on the seventh chapter. Hah.
I also just have a thing for sevens maybe. Fairy Tail ring a bell? 7/7/X777? Hehe. Dragons and Layla. It had always confused me until the final season. Honestly Mashima, you dragged us all along since 2008, you cad. (Ps. I had to look up the manga volumes/chapters, and the release dates so I could have it right. My first guess was off by a year, with 2009.)
With that said and done, onto the chapter!
Chapter seven: A Stab in The Dark
"Inuyasha! What happened to you?!" Aikotsu gasps in shock at the sight of so many bruises and cuts on his skin. He has a goose egg on his forehead, though it seems to be fading. His ears droop, amber gaze narrowed at the ground sadly.
"Mother was runnin' a fever, an' the village healer was out visiting family. So I went down to the nearest village to get her some medicine." He kicks at the ground, scuffing up some dirt. "They yelled at me, called me a dirty half-breed, and told me to get out. When I didn't leave quick, they threw rocks at me." Aikotsu, who was well used to abuse at the hands of infuriated adults after one too many thieveries gone wrong, frowned in empathy.
"Inuyasha..." She whispers, raising her hands. He flinches, just for a second, which utterly pierces her heart. Then he seems to reign in his instinct to react, and lets her do as she pleases. Gently, she calls upon her powers, letting them rise to the surface and ease the pain of her dear friend. Her eyes are downcast and morose as she watches the damage disappear, and doesn't release her breath until every single scratch and lump fades away. Once he's healed, she takes a step or two away, respecting his personal space, although she still feels horrible.
They're don't speak for several agonizing seconds, both unsure of how to approach the subject. "It was the village due East of here, wasn't it?" She asks quietly, turning her head to watch the sky and giving him the time to answer whenever he wants to.
"...Yeah.." He concurs, staring at the ground again.
Her hands curl into fists, dark eyes narrowed at the passing clouds above. "I should have known." She whispers, unsurprised but still incensed. "Ya know the last time Ban-nii and I went there, they said I was a worthless bastard child? Just because I didn't have parents?" She snorts. "Whatever. I saw one of the men smack their son in the face once. At least my family doesn't abuse me like they do with theirs. Who needs parents if they do that."
The two children are silent. Then, Aikotsu breaks the silence again. "Is Izayoi-sama okay? Or does she still have the fever?" Izayoi-sama is one of the only adults who has ever been nice to her. She's kind and loving, and Aikotsu hopes she's alright.
"She still has a bit of a fever, but it went down a lot." The young half-demon answers, feeling a lot better thanks to Aikotsu's healing. Aikotsu nods before asking Inuyasha to take her to their hut.
Checking in on Izayoi-sama didn't take long. Like Inuyasha had said, she wasn't that far off from being completely healthy, only needing a slight boost from her healing powers. Despite the minimal temperature, Aikotsu still heals her, wanting her discomfort to go away as soon as possible. Once finished, Aikotsu bid them both farewell and was dashing off to Sango's house at full tilt. She has a village to tattle on.
A little later that day, Aikotsu skips away from Katashi-sama's house, happy with her decision to tell him what that village had done to Inuyasha. It wasn't fair. From what Izayoi-sama had told her, she and Inuyasha's father had loved each other very much and hadn't cared about the difference between humans and demons. Flowers do not choose where they bloom, much like how children cannot choose who their parents are. Those rude villagers had no right to target Inuyasha because of his parentage.
...
Aikotsu gazes happily at the bright colors decorating the village. This time, Suikotsu is working as a doctor, and Renkotsu and Ginkotsu as blacksmiths. Mukotsu, not being a fan of crowds or villages in particular, decides to stay back at camp and make more smoke bombs. Kyokotsu knows he'd only scare everyone with his height and large fangs, so he stays behind as well. That leaves her, Bankotsu, and Jakotsu to wander the town. Bankotsu had immediately run off to the first food cart he'd smelled, leaving his brother and sister behind in a cloud of smoke at the entrance.
"A festival.." She breathes. "Doesn't it sound fun, Ja-nii?" She asks her brother excitedly, hardly able to not start jumping up and down. He gives her a smirk.
"Sure. Well, if you enjoy the scent of smelly assholes, that is." He remarks and grins wider when she playfully smacks his arm. "Yeah, it sounds fun. Maybe we'll check it out before we leave. Didn't you get a nice yukata for your birthday? That'd be perfect, since it's still a bit cold." Aikotsu lets out a squeal and jumps up and down before gathering him in a tight hug.
"Really? Thank you, Ja-nii!" She smiles widely, almost ready to spontaneously combust from sheer happiness.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem. Just no more stealing, alright?" He gives her a playful stink-eye, leaving her to roll her own dark orbs.
"Ja-nii, you know I stopped that after the last time when I was six." They both stop short, and a pause reigns between them, the same scene running through their minds. "A-anyway, I don't have any intention on doing that again." Spotting Bankotsu, she grabs her brother's arm and yanks him over to their brother and leader. "Come on! Ban-nii has food!" She says excitedly, in an attempt to distract both of them.
Jakotsu lets her drag him wherever she pleases without complaint. He can't explain it, but there's something about Aikotsu that doesn't make him want to murder her like every other woman he's met.
Later that night, Aikotsu is collecting some herbs for Suikotsu once again. They're running low on salve and poultice once again, due to how often they all get injured, and so they need quite a lot. She grunts, finally yanking the stubborn thing out of the ground, and drops it into her waist pouch. She's already got a decent amount, but she still wants to grab a few more, just in case.
Just as she grasps another root out of the ground, she feels something. It's quick, so much so that she doesn't even have time to scream.
Aikotsu looks down, staring uncomprehendingly at the blood-stained steel blade sticking out of her stomach. It's yanked out just as quickly as she was stabbed, and she gasps as she feels her blood gushing from the wound at an alarming rate. She's never been hurt like this. She's never gotten hurt more than a few bruises during training. Her barrier pulls up within seconds, and she falls to the ground, trying desperately to pull herself back up. Get back to the boys. Get to that village. Get to anyone.
She slowly turns herself around and finds a tall demon man with long flaxen hair staring down at her, her blood dripping off of the blade and onto the ground. His scarlet eyes bore into her brown ones, the unhinged look in his freezing her cold though her wound burns with pain.
"I finally found you, you little bitch." He purrs murderously, maddened scarlet eyes glaring down at her. Her heart leaps into her throat, dark eyes wide with terror. She can't breathe, staring up at him in horror. "I'll have a lot of fun with you, little girl. I can't wait to see your white skin stained red."
BOOM! Can you guess who the villain is?! It's gonna blow you away, I swear! So, this chapter sort of played me like a violin too, mostly because I had a beginning and an ending, but no frickin' middle up until last night. And even then, it was just an outline at best. So here's chapter seven, join Aikotsu as she runs from a lunatic in chapter eight!
-Silver Sin