What's up?! I'm back! I know chapter ten took a bit of a while, so sorry about that by the way, I just wasn't feeling much of what I was pushing out. And I keep getting drawn to other projects that haven't even been posted yet. Whoops. But those will be amazing once they go up too!
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, all rights are reserved for Rumiko Takahashi and affiliates.
Chapter eleven: The Birth of a Lady
"..And that leads us to now." Bankotsu finishes a time later. The sun has made its way across the sky and now hangs low, a testament to how long they've been there.
Kagura leans back a bit, her head spinning from such a tumultuous tale. "That's a hell of a life, if I say so myself. Being found on the side of the road by a four-year-old and being taken in as family? I can't say many in this day and age would do that. I'm sure they're more likely to kill a child than save them." The red-eyed demoness states, gazing up at the ceiling speculatively.
"Personally, I'm far more concerned about what Naraku said about Magatsuhi. You said he attacked Aikotsu?" Kanna directed the question at her older brother. Nodding, Naraku shifts on his pillow.
"Yes. It was hauntingly obvious that he was behind it."
"He said hurtful things about you." Aikotsu comments, smoothing Buyo's fur. "When he was chasing me, he kept making all these remarks, loud enough that I could hear him. He 'wondered' what you, my father, would think if..." She looks down, feeling badly for how her words are going to affect those around her, even if she's just repeating what her attacker said to her. "If he sent you my heart, bloody and carved out of my chest." She tries to ignore how everyone sucks in a breath. "He said 'I can tell you're scared of me. That bitch Midoriko was too, but she didn't show it. You can't hide that you're afraid'."
Now ordinarily, her brothers would chastise her for swearing, but they were too shocked to even comprehend the expletive. How could someone just say that, to a child?!
Although unlike Aikotsu's seven brothers, Naraku and his siblings are only minorly stunned, far used to the harsh, threatening words of their oldest brother by now. "Is there anything else he said?" Kanna asks, clasping her hands in her lap. Truthfully, she really doesn't want to hear what her insane eldest brother has said to her niece, but knowing everything is paramount.
Thinking back, Aikotsu does her best to separate the immediate feelings of panic from the memories in order to remember the words spoken. Finally, she looks up, nodding. "There is. It was 'I finally found you, you little bitch'." She repeats, and her brothers again pause. Even in all of their years of mercenary business, they've never spoken like that. Well, none of them except for Jakotsu on occasion.
"Wait," Kagura says, prompting all parties to pause and look her way. "He said 'I finally found you', right? That implies he's been looking for Aikotsu, for who knows how long." This tidbit brings them all back to speculation, picking through everything they've learned.
Hearing very quiet words, Aikotsu looks over at Bankotsu and Jakotsu, who are whispering back and forth. Jakotsu's next question truly makes her wonder.
"You think so?" She asks out of the blue, startling everyone, even her aforementioned brothers.
"What?" Naraku asks, turning his attention to the three siblings. Jakotsu and Bankotsu remain silent, although a dark look from their sister has them wisely opening their mouths to respond.
"Well, Jakotsu thinks that this 'finally found you' business could be related to a..a problem we had for a number of years while raising Aikotsu." Bankotsu vaguely informs. When he doesn't clarify further, Suikotsu sighs and steps up.
"We would frequently wake during the night to her screaming and being carried away by figures in all black. We'd stop them, or honestly Aikotsu herself would, and we'd interrogate them and if they had no useful knowledge, we killed them." He states dryly, ignoring the looks he received.
"We could never figure out why it kept happening to her or what they wanted with her, but we always figured it was because of her spiritual powers."
"Thankfully it stopped a while after I turned eight." The subject of the conversation helpfully adds. "Basically Ja-nii and Ban-nii think my almost-kidnappings and this Magatsuhi character are connected." She crosses her arms over her chest, frowning. "To be completely honest, I myself have always been a bit curious about my near-kidnappings since I was old enough to understand what was happening. He could have hired grunts to capture me, but I always woke up and either my brothers rescued me, or I did it myself."
"What do you mean 'did it myself'?" Kanna asks. In response, Aikotsu holds up her hand and the air around her charges with electricity, a few bolts of lightning appearing to form from her fingertips. Beside her, Jakotsu's hair spikes up so fast that even Renkotsu has to chuckle. The black-haired boy flushes bright red and does his best to tame his hair back down, giving his sister a dull glare.
"None of us could explain it, but I always had just as strong of a platform for magic as I did spirituality. I can cast complicated magic spells at the same time as maintaining more than one large barriers." The girl explained.
"The magic most likely comes from me." Naraku jumps in to explain. "Growing up, I was also something of a prodigy, or at least my teachers said so, which is another reason why Magatsuhi hates me. He couldn't do magic, and he felt upstaged by his brother."
"Let's think carefully now." Kanna instructs. "Why is Magatsuhi doing this? What is his motive? Because as insane as he is, he's never done something without a reason behind it."
"I think it's all about you." Aikotsu says to Naraku, her dark eyes steady on her father. "Think about it. I was found on the side of the road at two years old, covered in blood and without anyone to look after me. I kept getting almost kidnapped in the night, for years. I dreamt of a woman who I can only assume to be my mother about to be murdered by Magatsuhi, and finally he attacks me and nearly kills me, saying how he'll send you my heart. It's about you. He wants to break you. I'll bet he's upset because of how successful you are. You were made the Lord of the Southern Lands instead of him, you became mated to a strong, beautiful woman and had a child with her as well? He's angry because he thinks you've stolen all of this from him, and he wants to hit you where it hurts."
"The only question now," Kagura interrupts, her hand on her chin in thought. "is how to stop him. Normally if he weren't out of his damned mind, we could talk it out. Unfortunately that's out of the question what with how crazy he actually is, so the only options we have are to either kill him, or imprison him and strip him of his powers so he's no longer a danger to others."
"He would still be a formidable foe, even without his demonic powers." Naraku disputes. "As much as I don't like it, I believe the only way to truly end this is to kill him. He has never been sane, by the slightest stretch of the word, but this has gone too far. To be frank, he crossed the line years ago, and now we are left with his mess to clean up."
"I think if we combined our efforts we could probably surround him on all sides and manage to take him out." Bankotsu suggests. "With you four, plus the seven of us, plus Ai if she's comfortable with it, I really think we could knock him flat on his ass."
"To do that-" Byakuya begins, just before Naraku interrupts, resting his hands inside his sleeves.
"To do that we would have to be a great deal stronger than we are now, not just physically speaking. While he cannot use magic like myself, Aikotsu, and my younger siblings can, his demonic power could trump all of that on its own. An exorbitant amount of training would be needed to properly confront him. And I would personally like to train Aikotsu myself. I don't doubt that she's strong, but Magatsuhi was already able to attack her successfully once. Her reflexes will need to improve vastly in order to stand a chance against him."
"That bastard was able to attack her once before, because he struck too quickly for her barrier to come up. While Aikotsu's barrier is a combination of both my brother's and Midoriko's powers, it isn't always foolproof. However, if we work on improving her reaction time, that problem may never surface again. We need to reduce any change Magatsuhi could have at exploiting a weakness of ours. If he has nothing to exploit it's easier to beat him, once and for all."
"If that's what you think will work, we'll be happy to assist you. We are just as eager to get him to leave Aikotsu alone." Suikotsu states with a polite smile.
The demon siblings nod, glad to have sorted that out. However, one issue still remains, and they wish to address it as soon as possible. Kanna, eager to sort this out, jumps right into it.
"Now, all four of us have a question for Aikotsu." Kanna said, turning to the eleven-year-old. "Aikotsu, would you do us the honor of letting us raise you as the proper Lady of the Southern Lands?"
Shocked, Aikotsu's mouth drops open. "I-I um.." She stutters, unsure of herself.
"We're asking because not only will this give you a better opportunity to protect yourself, but you would have the know how to claim your rightful place as the Lady of the Clan. You were always meant to take over once you were ready, but then everything went to hell and you disappeared. Now that you've been found, we'd like to train you how to properly operate this Clan. But only if you accept, of course."
Aikotsu stays silent, needing a few seconds to piece through what she's being asked. Should she? It may help her get stronger, but is she really ready for the responsibility of taking on the job they expect her to? And what of her brothers? She can't just leave them behind. And assuming that her father would let them stay with her, would they have to otherwise fend for themselves like usual? She doesn't want to be put on a pedestal if her brothers don't receive the same treatment.
"Wait," Aikotsu says, uncertainty in her voice. In response, the others pause and give her their full attention. "If I do that, becoming the Lady of this Clan, will my brothers be okay? Will they not have to worry about not having food or money or a place to stay?" And although she was normally very timid, the look in her eyes right now is very fierce, the look in her eyes exactly reminding Naraku of her mother. Midoriko always gave him that look when she wanted something, and it never failed to make him crack.
Naraku smiles gently, telling her with his utmost certainty, "I can assure you, dear, that you nor your brothers need worry for any of that ever again. I promise I will take care of you, all of you."
With his promise, and the open, encouraging looks she receives from everyone around her, the young girl steels her nerves, giving him a determined look. "I'll do it."
Again, I am so sorry this chapter took so long to get written/go up. I don't know why, but there's just a million and one things messing with my brain, from thirty seven projects to global viruses shoving my anxiety through the roof, and it's just been fucking me up for a little while.
-Silver Sin