Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Inuyasha.
Plot: Did you ever wonder why Hiten believed Kagome's story about Inuyasha loving her? Perhaps it was because he was once in love himself a long time ago. Here's the story of his first love.
Author's Notes: See the end of the chapter. Enjoy!
Hiten's First Love
Taka gazed out the window. Ami stood behind her. "Do you know him, Taka?"
"I only met him once," she replied truthfully. "I didn't think I would ever see him again."
"He spoke your name," Ami said. "Did you meet him on your dare?"
She turned away from the window. "Yes, I did. He and his brother came to the lake and as I slipped away to hide, I stepped on a twig. They heard it and came investigating. He was the one who found me, but he told his brother it was nothing but an animal. When his brother had gone, he told me to come out. As I did so, I attacked like Kihoku told me. I surprised him. I don't think I hurt him, but I must have if he's here. He surely wants satisfaction."
"You have gotten yourself in quite a mess. What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," she whispered. Taka remembered seeing him stare at her with wide eyes, seeing his hands tied. Her heart had clenched in anger at this.
I wish Father were here, Taka thought. He'd know exactly what to do with Hiten. He wouldn't put him in the caves like Kihoku did. He'd set him up in a comfortable, secure place and send a note to his father. Oh, I doubt Kihoku will do that.
Ami watched her carefully. Taka took care not to let any emotion show on her face. She was confused as to why exactly Hiten was here. He must want revenge for his injuries. That's the only reason why he would be here. At least, the only one that made sense to her.
Kihoku walked in. Both girls looked at him expectantly. Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, my ladies. The fiend is safely bound and put in the caves. He won't be able to harm either of you."
"What about Father?" Ami asked. "When will he be back?"
"He'll return in a few days. There was an uprising in the western ranks. He'll need to be there to show them who's boss," Kihoku said amiably.
"What are you going to do with the son of Shikotsu?" Taka asked. "Have you sent a letter to his clan yet?"
Kihoku scoffed. "Are you serious, Taka? No, I'll wait a day or two before sending anything, just to make Shikotsu sweat a little."
"That's cruel," Ami said. "How can you do that?"
"Do you think they'd do the honorable thing if the situation was reversed?" Kihoku asked angrily. "No, they'd be doing the same thing as me, maybe even worse!"
"But, Kihoku, Father isn't going to like—"
"He left me in charge, Taka. What I say goes, got it?" Kihoku went for the door. "Don't let me catch either of you near the caves! Hiten's a dangerous foe of your father and I. He wouldn't hesitate to use either of you or both to his advantage."
He slammed the door shut. Taka could hear him muttering as he walked away.
"That isn't right," Taka said, sitting down. "When a royal adversary is captured, a letter is always sent to his party. How can Kihoku not do that?"
Ami sat down beside her. Taking her hand in hers, Ami said, "Hiten's the one who beat Kihoku a few months ago, Taka."
She gasped. No, it couldn't be! Kihoku vowed he'd kill Hiten for beating him so thoroughly. He said he didn't care how he did it as long as Hiten of the Thunder Clan was dead.
"I have to save him," Taka murmured. She looked at her younger sister. "Ami, we have to get him out of here! Kihoku will kill him!"
"Would he really kill Hiten? Even though we know about him?"
"Yes!" Taka rose to her feet and began to pace. Her stomach twisted and tightened with fear. "He'll say Hiten tried to escape or something. The men will agree to it because he's the enemy."
Ami worried her bottom lip. "How is he going to keep us quiet? We know about Hiten."
She gazed at Ami steadily. Taka didn't want to say it, but it was true. "He'll threaten us."
"Father would believe us!"
"No, he wouldn't, Ami," Taka sighed. Anger replaced her fear, making her feel more in control and able to think. "Kihoku is his heir. We are merely his daughters." Resentment burned through her. "Father will not give him up like he would us."
Ami shook her head fiercely. "No. Father wouldn't do that, Taka. He cares about us! We'll tell him the truth and he'll believe us."
"Even if we did, Hiten would already be dead and his death would covered up. We'd be the only two who would say otherwise." Taka bowed her head, trying to come up with another option than the one she was thinking about. It was no use, though. She was blocked on all sides but one.
There was only one choice left, but she couldn't tell Ami. It meant severing ties with everything she knew. Nabutaka did not deal well with traitors, but it was the only way.
"Taka, what are we going to do?" Ami asked in a small voice.
She looked at her younger sister. Ami's green eyes were bright with tears. Her shoulders were hunched as she hugged her knees to her chest. Taka's heart lodged in her throat. She couldn't tell Ami. It was the only way to protect her from Nabutaka's wrath.
How could she tell her good-bye?
"You should sleep, Ami," Taka said, swallowing. "I'll keep thinking."
"I'm not tired, Taka. I just…" Ami scrubbed away the tears that fell. "We have to do something to make Father believe us."
"I'll find a way, little sister," she said tenderly. Taka brushed Ami's black hair to the side. "I promise."
"But—"
"Hush. It won't do you any good to keep thinking about it. Come on, I'll take you to your room." Taka pulled Ami up gently and they walked to Ami's bedroom, holding one another. Taka savored the feel of her sister in her arms. If everything went right, this would be the last time she'd hug Ami. "Now sleep, sister."
Ami nodded distractedly. As Taka began closing the door, Ami said, "Taka…I love you."
Frowning, she looked back. "I love you, too, Ami."
Taka closed the door and leaned against the doorframe. Guilt pierced her. Did Ami know?
She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She had to be calm. She couldn't lose her self control.
Going into her room, Taka quickly took off her kimono and dressed in some of Kihoku's old clothes that she kept for sneaking out. Steeling her resolve, she also grabbed the dagger Kihoku had given her years ago. She hoped she did not have to kill any of her clansmen tonight as she slid it into her black kimono. She half heartedly wished that it was of plain material and not silk subtly designed with a deep black pattern.
Taka went into the kitchen and packed some food. Standing in the middle of the front room, she briefly flipped through her memories. Sadness and regret threatened to take over, but she forced those emotions back and allowed anger to build up. It was Kihoku's fault for making her do this. He hadn't given her a choice.
It's now or never, Taka, she thought to herself. Get out before you begin to doubt yourself.
Taking long strides, she walked out the door and into the night.
Hiten struggled against his bonds. He was almost loose…just a little bit…more…
THERE!
He heard a small snap as the rope tying his hands back fell apart. Hiten brushed a lock of hair off his face. He looked at his fingers in disgust when he felt sweat on his brow.
He wished he could have used his lightning attack, but that would have been too noisy and obvious.
Rubbing his wrists, Hiten tried to remember where they had put his armor and fire wheels. One of the soldiers had carried it with him as they brought him to the caves, but he'd lost track when that bastard Kihoku punched him in the stomach.
Damn, that guy sure packed a punch!
Hiten untied his ankles and he got up slowly from the ground. His body ached from the movement. The hard, cold ground had done nothing for his ass. The muscles tensed and twitched as he crept around the bend, heading for the entrance.
Those bastards! Hiten cursed silently. They ruined my assets!
He peered around the corner, looking and listening for the soldiers. He only had one chance. He had to do this right.
Hiten frowned when he saw two bodies lying face down in the dirt.
"What the…" he muttered under his breath.
Just as he moved out in the open, he heard someone curse. "Damn it, where did they put it?"
He crouched down as he searched the shadows. A breeze drifted in through the cave opening bringing the scent of…jasmine?
"Stupid idiots! Trust them to lose his stuff!" she muttered angrily.
My stuff?
Fury built in his chest as he realized what she had said. Hiten stood up and walked up to her boldly. He sneered, "What's the matter, Taka? Can't find what you're looking for?"
Savage satisfaction went through him as she went rock still. When she didn't move, Hiten reached down and pulled her up harshly. He spun her around and pinned her to the wall. "Your lover send you to get information out of me?"
Her eyes were wide in the darkness. She blinked as she thought about his words. He felt her tense before she hissed, "I do NOT have a lover, you bastard."
"What are you doing here?" he growled. He should have known she was a spy.
Taka's jaw clenched and she shoved him away from her abruptly. Hiten only let go out of sheer surprise. She threw something at him and he caught it reflexively. Looking down at his hands, he recognized his fire wheels. Hiten glanced up. "What are you—"
"I'm helping you escape, idiot," she said angrily. "What does it look like?" Snorting, she turned her back on him and bent down to search through piles of stuff. "I can't find your armor." Taka looked over her shoulder at him, lifting one slim brow. "You were wearing armor, weren't you?"
"Don't be stupid," he snapped. "Of course, I wore armor. I'm not mad enough to come down here without some protection."
"Yeah, well, you obviously were stupid enough to come down here in the first place," she snarled. Growling, he pulled her up again, but she broke his grip on her arm. "Stop it! You're wasting time. We need to find your armor."
Hiten scoffed. "Leave it. I can always get new sets. Why are you doing this?"
"It's my fault you're here," she said simply. "I couldn't let you die without letting you have satisfaction for what I did to you."
He shook his head. "What?"
Taka looked at him like he was five years old. "I injured you. That's the only reason you're here. You want satisfaction."
It took him a second to get what she was saying. Hiten wanted to smile and say that wasn't why he was there in the first place, but something darker growled to let her keep thinking that. In a low voice, he said, "And I will, but not here."
He felt a jolt of surprise when she just shrugged at his words and went back to looking through the piles. Something was going on with her.
"Come on," he said. "We're leaving."
She protested. "But your—"
"And I said I can always get new sets. Now come on before we're discovered." He tugged her up by the arm and marched her towards the front of the cave. Hiten peered out and didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean that no one was watching.
Taka pushed past him and he grabbed her back. She growled and struggled against him. "Stop! There's no one out there!" she hissed. "I took care of it."
"And how did you do that?" he asked disbelieving.
"Kihoku had left six guards, including the two in here. The other four are out." The set of her jaw and tension radiating from her body told Hiten to drop it. "Let's go."
She formed her cloud and hopped on it. She motioned him to join her. Hiten shook his head. "I'll use my fire wheels."
"There might be other guards at the northern pass. If they see the light from your wheels, you're dead. It's better to come with me and sneak through unseen."
"Well, if you tell me exactly where there's guards or if there's another way to get out, then they won't see me," he argued.
"There is another way, but there's always one person watching it."
Hiten scratched his head. "I guess I'll have to kill him then."
"No!" she gasped. "No killing. Promise me that you won't kill anyone as we go."
He frowned, and then shrugged. It didn't matter to him if he had to kill anyone. "Fine." Hiten hopped on the cloud. "Let's get going then."
Nodding firmly, Taka looked ahead and they were moving. The wind was blowing in his face and he felt the same rush he got when he was flying solo. She stayed close to the ground even though she was going fast. He supposed it was because she knew the layout of the land.
They stayed quiet all the way to a small mountain pass. She stopped beneath the shadow of a great tree as she scanned the sheer cliff walls on both sides. Hiten looked around as well. He didn't see anyone or anything that could be a threat.
Glancing at her to tell her what he thought, Hiten noticed her frowning and how she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. He saw a flash of her fangs and he nearly lost control of his inner demon. Wanting to distance himself from her just a little, he took two steps away.
As he put his weight down on the last step, Hiten felt something that shouldn't be there. Something snapped to his left and there was a clanging of alarms.
Taka drew in a swift breath and Hiten cursed softly.
Damn.
Hey Guys!
I really appreciate the reviews. Sorry I haven't updated for a while. School caught up with me and I just started working this past month.
Now I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was rather hard for me to write for some reason. I could have stopped at the end of Taka's POV, but I'm not mean like that. Don't forget to tell me what you think.
IMPORTANT: I leave messages on my page and that's where most of the news about my stories are. So, it might help some of you if you check it out every once in a while. Thanks!
- TG