Disclaimer: I don't ownInuyasha...
A/N: I think that this chapter you all will really come to like even to love Shimofuri. He isn't Sesshomaru by far, neither is his mother for that matter, but Shimofuri is...(sighs) I had an image I was working off for his character, like something crossed between Sesshomaru and another character that I cna't recall...he's different from Taikokajin in numerous ways...(shrugs) I guess you'll just read it and get to know him better eh? Less of a cliffie here...Note: I use a Japanese word again, chakunan I think it was, that means "Firstborn son/heir" and considering that that was how she was thinking of him at the time it made sense for Taikokajin to use it. Next chapter you'll find out what happens to Hojo...hehe...THAT I think will be rewarding. This story is taking off very fast now--I think you guys didn't believe me when I said that it would! (snickers) Now I've proven you wrong! hehe...Okay, pronounciation notes if you want them, I think (not that I'm an expert) Shimofuri and Garou are easy, but a number of you hate the "pink-bitch"'s name. It's better to think of it like this "Taiko Kajin" two words. Pink Beauty in Japanese, I think. I'd pronounce the first one "Tie-ko" and the second one speaks for itself I think, thus: Tie-ko-ka-jin. If that helps anyone...probably doesn't...oh well, call her Pinky for all I care (snickers). On with the story!
One important note: This chapter is actually taking place on the same evening that Inuyasha and Taikokajin spoke to each other, the chapter called: Demons Cousins Hanyous and the Moon or something like that...anyway, this was happening just before and just after THAT chapter...I hope that it's clear enough later...if it's not review and tell me and I'll try to answer questions and fix it...thank you for listening to me whine...14 pages for you now! On with it!
Shimofuri's Rescue
The man stood over the well's dark entrance, peering down with deep brown eyes that squinted with concentration and hatred. A breeze blew through the trees, shaking and rattling their bone dry and generally leafless branches. The snow was melting with the approach of spring, but the renewal of warmth and the goodness of life did nothing to restore cheer to this stocky man's expression. Indeed, his face was one that had seen nothing but scowls, frowns, snarls, growls, and cruel, humorless smiles.
And as he bared his fangs over the darkness of the Bone-Eater's well there was no merriment—only sadistic pleasure.
Inside one fist he held a ball of crusted snow that he'd scraped up from the remains of footprints that were scattered around the well. It'd taken him several long minutes to linger, tasting the left over scents inside the prints—the stink of various fabrics and other materials he wasn't familiar with as well—before he'd determined that the couple had been through this area…
The hanyou's prints came to the well and left it. Beside his marks were a smaller set—but hers didn't leave this spot…just disappeared. It was with her that he would find the one he was searching for…
He'd already run by the hanyou's estate, seeking that sweet, tasty odor, drooling at the thought of his freedom—the end of an era of imprisonment for his people…but although the adult inuhanyou's scent was there the inuhanyou pup's scent was not. Determined to end the curse before the pink-eyed bitch and the gray-furred dog demon pup discovered the truth, Garou had traced their footprints back to this spot: the well.
What lied through the other side? He could sense the magic brewing within its depths. It sang to his bones, as most magic tended to do. Garou was no stranger to dark magic in particular. The well's energy was not evil but it was mysterious, guided and directed by Fate…his hackles rose at it. This damned well chooses who it lets through and who it doesn't…
Would it let him through to wherever it led? He knew that there were places of magic—portals that served to travel through time, space, and even to other worlds—was this one of those places? Did it harm those that ir rejected? Could it kill those that didn't know its secrets?
Ever the cautious creature, Garou stepped back from the structure, snarling in frustration. That bitch and the pup can't hide there forever…
And suddenly there was a jolt of electricity that reached through his mind. The well's magic surged, ebbing and flowing like a tidal wave. It was as if he were standing on the shores of a magic sea. Hesitantly Garou stepped forward, trying to see through the strange depths…and there she was!
Heart racing, fangs bared in anticipation, Garou thrust himself over the ledge of the well and into the blackness. The unwitting magic of the Bone-Eater's well swirled around him, and although he wasn't of the right time and had no shards, the dark magic about the beast that fell through its darkness was unquestionable. Begrudgingly it surrounded him and accepted him into its arm, allowing him to do what few would ever achieve: time travel.
Kagome let loose with another scream that rent the air seemingly in two, and Koinu's crying had become nonstop, all while Hojo could only stare, dumbfounded, at the bulky, brown-eyed, heavily fanged beast that was perched on the Higurashi shrine's ancient well. A terrible gleam shone in the beastly man's eyes, a hungry promise for mutilation and torture and violence. He held Kagome in place with one outstretched hand—that wasn't touching her at all. Hojo couldn't have known, but he sensed that some unexplainable, but unquestionably powerful force was emanating from him nonetheless. And as he watched, as if to confirm his strange suspicions, Hojo saw the vicious looking man curl his arm slightly, and, moving in unison with him, Kagome stepped forward, closer toward the well. Her face was a mask of terror, the bulge in her jacket was screaming with simple fear.
"Kagome!" he called, willing himself to run and grab her away from the strange man, even if as he yelled her name his knees went weak…
The man, perched atop the well still, glanced in Hojo's direction and an ugly, evil leer took hold of his face. It was so disgusting and animalistic that Hojo thought it had to be a snarl…the insane question popped into his head: Is that monster human!
Growling, the beast looked back at Kagome, and the hungry, sickening gleam reentered his expression, but only for a moment before he closed the hand that was hovering only six inches from Kagome's panicked face. When it was closed into a tight fist Kagome's body tightened and she tried to scream again, but the oxygen seemed to be ripped right out of her, and to Hojo's terror she was lifted a good six inches away from the ground, the toes of her tennis shoes were stretching, reaching for something solid—and finding only air.
The man on the well wasn't touching her at all, but a blackness seemed to surround him, a darkness that couldn't be touched by the light of the afternoon light outside. Hojo's body suddenly felt wracked with tremors of terror when he saw Kagome's head loll to one side, passed out or dead, he couldn't tell…
"Kagome!" without even realizing that he was thrusting himself into danger; Hojo raced forward and grabbed the young woman around the middle, hauling her headlong out of the beastly man's strange grip. He landed with her heavy, unconscious form in a heap, just to one side of the well. The earth was dusty and very hard…and Kagome's jacket was screaming in something akin to terror. The sound grated on Hojo's nerves, throwing him into a mental confusion. Instincts he didn't know he had attacked him, demanding that he help the crying baby, despite the fact that the best was still—
He didn't have time to finish the thought before an absolutely inhuman snarling reached his consciousness…he looked up. The thing that had been perched on the well was now standing beside Kagome's fallen body. With a stunned horror he saw that the beast's eyes glowed, they flickered like Jack-o-lantern's, as if lite from the inside by a flame. The darkness that he thought he'd seen before had followed the man's movement, and now Hojo could see—with a dreadful realism—that the stuff was there. It followed the man like a cape; it flowed around him like water, always moving, like tentacles or snakes, weaving this way and that to an invisible ocean current.
"Damn human…" the beast sneered at him, and Hojo felt a sudden coldness, a certainty, that he was about to die somehow, and that he would be unable to help Kagome or Koinu. The pup's screaming had receded only into the shadow of memory as the monster from the well leaned closer to him, one hand outstretched, palm facing him.
Hojo's muscles snapped taut and he felt his head fall backwards as he lost control over his body. Without him willing it to do so, he stood up, all the while his focus and consciousness was growing steadily weaker…he felt the pull of gravity on his body and then heard someone—himself, he realized with a sharp jolt—screaming faintly. And then all faded into blackness.
The last thing he recalled through it all was the neverending screaming of Koinu as the pup tried to reclaim his mother's attention in vain…
A large grayish-blue dog lifted his ears attentively, his nose twitching slightly, taking in the wind. Sharp, shining bluish eyes glittered with intelligence as he watched the Bone-Eater's well from the brush. The birds stirred in the trees above him, the afternoon was warm and they were wasting not a single moment of it in their quest for food. His own stomach growled and twisted, longing for a little sustenance too, but Shimofuri refused to abandon his spot. Garou came through here only minutes ago…
He had been trailing the furui-demon for the better part of the day, intending to assure him of the tradeoff that Taikokajin had set up with the hanyou named Inuyasha. Garou probably didn't know that Shimofuri was trailing him—the young inuyoukai knew that the furui-demons didn't rely on their noses as his kind did—but even so Garou rarely stopped and kept up an extremely swift pace. The furui never spent any large amount of time in any one place…and this well had been the last spot that Shimofuri could scent him in.
He'd already investigated the well and knew, with any basic youkai's sixth sense for such things, that it was a place of power. It was possessed by magic, and powerful magic at that. He knew nothing of it—and didn't try to learn more by leaping in—just sat and waited for the furui's return…
And it wasn't too long in coming.
The grayish-blue dog's eyes suddenly narrowed and he rose to his feet, coming to the edge of the brush and ducking low, holding his breath. He didn't know the furui's senses very well—if the demon could hear exceptionally well then he'd so everything he could to remain hidden until the proper time. His muscles quivered they were held so tautly, ready to spring. He felt the surge of the well's magic, lasing like a tidal wave through the meadow, and tensed even further when a rough breathing reached his sensitive ears.
He's coming…Grunts and growling followed as the thick, heavy man pulled himself from the well's depths. Immediately when he reached the surface Shimofuri tensed, about to spring…until he scented multiple creatures with Garou. Pausing, he took several deep breaths…a mortal woman…and…an inuhanyou pup!
Fear raced through him, making his muscles shiver all over again, but this time with more than the promise of playing the negotiation and diplomat game that his mother had asked him to do for her—for his half-sister. This time he was shaking in realization and raw, unaltered fear.
His mind raced. The keen, grayish-blue eyes narrowed suspiciously as Garou hauled out a limp form from his shoulders, dropping it roughly down to sit, propped up against the well.
The shape was the woman, Shimofuri thought; judging from the long, smooth black hair that flowed about her white jacket. She was unfamiliar to him—and apparently a stranger to Japan as well! Her clothing was bizarre. He could make out loose pants with two white parallel lines running down the sides. Her feet were shrouded in a strange hodge-podge of color, strings and material that Shimofuri had never seen before. Poking from the edges of her puffy white jacket he saw folds of reddish material—a tunic maybe? He couldn't be sure…
Although he tried, Shimofuri was unable to see the woman's face, her black hair obscured it as her head lolled forward, letting the thick black curtain obscure his view. But despite this Shimofuri could easily smell that she was young and mated, or married perhaps, as the humans always called it. She was also a new mother—he could scent the sweet, lingering thickness of lactation…and then of course there was the pup's scent, hanging all over her…but where was the pup?
His question was immediately answered when Garou knelt beside the unconscious woman's body and reached out toward the white jacket, claws extended to their fullest. Shimofuri cringed when he heard the angry hissing and growling of the material ripping apart…but Garou stopped just as he had begun, stiffening, when a mournful, terrified wailing tore through the air.
Shimofuri's senses reeled—the pup! It was an inuhanyou…an inuhanyou male…
Roaring, he leapt forward before Garou could move any further, his fur bristling, his fangs bared in a menacing snarl. His white canines gleamed, eager to do his bidding. The gray-blue of his eyes seemed to shrink, giving way to the whites of his eyes. He was a wild beast suddenly, armed and ready to tear the other demon apart.
Garou looked momentarily startled, and then a rippling growl issued from the depths of his throat, and he clearly bared his own fangs, sneering at the inuyoukai pup. "You damned stupid dog!"
Shimofuri's fur shivered and bristled anew as he recognized the outburst for what it was: desperation and frustration. Garou had been caught in the midst of something important. Shimofuri wasn't about to let him get away with it unchallenged.
He leapt forward, snarling, mouth open for the attack.
The man sidestepped the beast, swishing the air with his hand as if it were a blade as he did so. A murky blackness swept outward with his movement and connected with Shimofuri's hindquarters.
Searing pain tore through the young inuyoukai and he howled, half in pain, half in rage. Whipping round he stumbled in the snow, his back legs buckled underneath him and he slid—into a pile of crunchy snow. The hot pain that had engulfed his body immediately ceased, although the young youkai felt abruptly drained…what power is he wielding?
Shimofuri rose to his paws again, stiffening his stance and facing Garou with a vicious display snarling. The blue-gray orbs glittered with hatred and rage.
Garou regarded him with something akin to disgusted amusement. "So, we finally come down to the real fighting, do we, Shimo-chan?" he snickered, sarcastically. "This is where I am most comfortable…"
Shimofuri lunged forward without giving the other demon a chance to prepare. He relied on the swiftness of his youthful paws, and the ease and agility that had been passed onto him from each of his ancestors. He would not make the mistake of charging Garou so lightly again. He had thought to scare the furui away, but now he played for a real score, a real bite. He planned to sink his teeth into the demon's flesh.
As Shimofuri drew closer Garou realized with a jolt of alarm that he wouldn't be able to attack and sidestep the mongrel this time…he could only run away or risk injury while trying to wound Shimofuri again. Although he would've loved to kill and maim the pup for disturbing him in such a precarious moment, he couldn't risk his own health in a battle…
What about the pup…?Without another rthought he rushed toward where the woman was still slouched against the well's base, her jacket torn slightly at the front, the child's screams still coming from within unceasingly. His mind worked quickly, summoning the darkness of his ancient powers, willing them and shaping them…he reached the tear in the jacket, trying to touch the infant that was squalling inside…
Shimofuri was too fast for him.
Garou screamed, feeling how own pain and his own blood spurt into the open air for the first time in a millennia as the inuyoukai pup took hold of one of his legs, biting into the calf muscle. The pup's canines sliced mercilessly through muscle and nearly into the bone. Tearing and shearing and shaking the other demon's body, jerking him about almost uncontrollably…and Garou's hand, bearing the dark powers and their preordained spell, landed not on the little pup's body, but on the unconscious woman's thigh.
A shock of electricity moved through Garou's hand, through his body, and into Shimofuri through his teeth. The inuyoukai, snarling in confusion, withdrew, shaking his head furiously. Blood droplets flew through the air, splattered the white, crusty snow, stained the pup's bluish-gray fur a dark, ugly brown.
Garou fell backwards, stumbling from the jolt, snarling in continued pain. Blood dripped and streamed in steady rivulets from his torn leg muscles. His fear and shock at the wound was almost as thick and cloying in the air as the smell of blood was to the inuyoukai that had attacked him. Snarling anew, Shimofuri's canines were covered in livid, bright red blood.
Breathing shakily Garou stared at Shimofuri and then, slowly, began to snarl back, almost as viciously. "Come on and get me, little Shimo-chan, just like your bitch told you not to do…"
Shimofuri abruptly stood still, his face suddenly expressionless. Images of his mother and half sister swirled through his mind, haunting him. Taikokajin had instructed him to remain the civil diplomat and he had just done exactly the opposite…Garou could kill Tsukiyume now as punishment for my foolishness…
"Yes, you damn inuyoukai mutt!" Garou leered at him from a good, safe distance of fifteen feet, still bleeding heavily into the snow, "Now you can tell that bitch of yours that her little hanyou will be the life I drain to heal the wounds that you gave me." he grinned sadistically, licking his almost purple-colored lips.
Shimofuri snarled once, quietly, at the thought, and then he took one very heavy and calculated step forward. He was telling Garou that rather than let his half-sister perish at Garou's disgusting claws he would finish the job that he'd started…but Garou had a way of combat this too.
"Stay Shimo-chan—stay!" despite the words the demon's tone was cynical, even sickly amused, "If you kill me now you'll never know where I've stored your bitch's hanyou whelp…" Garou smirked once more when the inuyoukai's careful, plotted approach ceased, and the blue-gray eyes widened slightly.
There is no way out of this…Shimofuri thought, his mind still racing…it grabbed hold of the one thing that had made him lose control in the first place—the tiny pup's wailing…Garou needed that pup for some reason. He had risked injury to try and grab the pup, and only the pup. The woman he treated just as if she were a wrapper…a pretty outside covering to the sweet candy underneath.
The young inuyoukai summoned his human form up from out of his inner depths, closing his eyes for one second before opening them again, this time standing before the other demon in his traditional garb—a light blue kimono with a matching obi and armor that was tied with a bright yellow sash. He regarded the bleeding, sneering Garou silently for several seconds, a chilly spring breeze snatching up his long, bluish-black hair, tendrils of it swished in the wind.
"Garou," he finally murmured, coldly, "Why are you so interested in that woman's pup?"
The demon before him seemed stoic and unaffected, but Shimofuri could scent the abrupt change in him—he was uncertain. But even so he ran his bleckish tongue over his lips slowly, and bore his fangs savagely, "Why do you think, Shimo-chan?"
Shimofuri, although he refused to reveal it on his face, didn't believe the other demon for a second. Slowly he backstepped until he was standing beside the screaming pup and the collapsed mortal woman. "You could stand to lose a few pounds." He muttered, unable to hide the disgust such a thought held for him. Eyes on Garou's suddenly nervous face, Shimofuri knelt and reached for the wailing infant, gently.
Garou hissed, trying to dart forward, but his wounds made him painfully slow, and Shimofuri already had the child cradled with one hand to his chest while the other hand was raised defensively. The ancient demon was already heavily injured—he couldn't risk even the slightest scrape by the inuyoukai's poisoned claws. As old as he was his soul had long since lost any ties to the living earth, it was only his will and the dark magic that he commanded so completely that kept him there at all—that and the souls of the hanyous that had sustained him for millennia upon millennia.
Without that damn pup…he snarled bitterly, his breathing suddenly ragged with desperation. What the hell else is there to tempt this damned dog with anyway! But he could already see that Shimofuri was close to having figured out the truth. Shimofuri would never be willing to trade the male inuhanyou's pup for even his bitch's hanyou whelp…and then his eyes drifted to the unconscious human woman's form…the smell of milk had been apparent on her, she was the pup's mother…and that meant she was the mate to the adult male inuhanyou…the one called Inuyasha…
A tiny smirk grew over his face and Garou willed the dark strands of magic within him, flexing his fingers, and stirred his memory of the contact with the young mother's thigh…much to his delight he felt a warmth flush him, sensed a slow heartbeat, a strong soul encased within her rather frail human body, teeming with spiritual power and the pure, cleansing magic of the miko…his eyes drifted back to Shimofuri, who was still clutching the infant and glaring at Garou, daring him to expose himself. Garou smiled cynically, and he tightened his hand into a powerful fist.
The woman against the well sat straight up, her mouth wide and gasping for air. Shimofuri jerked his gaze in that direction and a silent snarl broke over his face.
"Though you might've wounded me, Shimo-chan," Garou sneered, twisting his closed fist sharply in one direction, making the woman open her eyes wide in terror and then fall exhaustedly toward the snow again, "I have that human bitch's soul under my power."
Shimofuri stared at him with something that was between horror and rage, but said nothing as Garou continued, "If you and your mother don't send the hanyou Inuyasha to me with that pup in hand," he paused to stare at Shimofuri in silent promise, "Then I will kill the human bitch and slaughter that pink-eyed bitch's whelp—got that Shimo-chan? You damn stinking dog!" he spat disgustedly onto the snow in front of him and gave a short, ugly cackle. "Either way you shitty dogs lose seomthing—either you give up the pup and the hanyou or you let the whelp and the bitch die and risk that Inuyasha's famous wrath…"
Growling, Shimofuri started forward, only to see as well as feel a surge of black magic rise from the other demon, swirling and weaving straight toward him and the pup he still had cradled against him. Shimofuri stumbled backward, avoiding the strange blackness, the pup screaming shrilly still into his chest, though it also clung to him for dear life.
Then—as fast as it had rushed forward—the darkness dissipated and faded. Still growling, Shimofuri tried to hurry forward again, to attack the despicable Garou, only to find that the demon was already running away, leaving a red trail behind him. In the distant trees birds scattered as the strange beast that was not wolf or dog or bear or cat limped swiftly through the forest. Besides the trail of red stained snow, he also left behind clear, large five-toed footprints.
Alone in the meadow now Shimofuri stood, still as a stone, the screaming child still fussing in his arms. Slowly he looked down at it, as if noticing it for the first time, and his face cleared of the stiffness of moments before. The pup was adorable—much like his half-sister. The baby had white dog-ears that were currently turned backward and held that way through his tears and wailing cries. The pup's hair was silver-white, and the eyes an icy blue. The child's scent clearly rang true as part inuyoukai, and, more importantly than that, the scent was also clearly from his own clan. Although Shimofuri had never before seen Inuyasha he suspected that the pup's appearance was very much like the legendary hanyou's, as this pup didn't resemble its mother at all.
Uncertainly Shimofuri stroked the baby's tiny white ears, only to see the infant turn his head away and howl even louder. He sighed, as strange, half-formed, primitive emotions rolled off the child in waves. The young inuyoukai summoned up a low purring sort of growl that he hoped Inuyasha knew how to do and tried stroking the baby's ears again. As a tiny pup himself Shimofuri's father had held him and sung in just such a deep, comforting voice, the song of the carnivore. He hoped that that would get through the Inuyasha's pup now too…
And to his relief the mixture of purring and stroking worked, the baby's cries quieted and eventually ceased completely. Then, exhaustedly, the pup snuggled into Shimofuri's kimono and closed his eyes, instantly asleep.
The inuyoukai sighed heavily and turned back toward the pup's mother, still unconscious on the snow. His face fell. Garou's words were clear in his memory: "I have that human bitch's soul under my power." Shimofuri had already been nervous about his mother's plans to tamper with the legendary hanyou himself but now they had unwittingly become involved with his family. A young inu-demon, either full demon or only half, were as fiercely loyal as wolves—especially of their mates and closest kin. Dogs, unlike wolves, lived in smaller family units, and were more likely to be loyalist to those small groups. Young recently mated, new fathers were the most protective youkai one could come across…and now my mother has just brough Garou's attention to Inuyasha's mate and pup. With what the legends say of Inuyasha I think it's likely that the entire dog demon clan could receive punishment at Inuyasha's claws…
Instinctively he gripped the pup a little more firmly, a little more protectively. The baby's ears twitched in its sleep and the almost naked pup shivered against him. Carefully Shimofuri wrapped his other hand over the pup, shielding him from the cold. Although the pup was not his own—he was still barely more than a teenager in the inuyoukai world himself—he could still feel the instincts blooming within him at this pup's fagility. After all, somewhere inside this baby a little of his own blood stirred in the ancient lineage of the dog demon clan.
Cautiously he walked forward and knelt beside the unconscious mother. Pushing her back up against the well he was startled by how cold her flesh was. Garou wasn't lying…he sighed at the realization. The furui demon controlled the dark powers and Shimofuri didn't doubt for a moment that Garou could and would suck the young mother's soul slowly away from her. Already he could feel the woman's weakness, and the problem would only grow more and more…
Gently he tucked the tiny pup into his kimono, securing him tightly, before he reached for the limp mother and carefully shrugged her over his shoulders. In a moment he was walking away from the well and out of the meadow. He would walk until he was well away from human civilization—and well away from Inuyasha's estate—before he would call to his mother and between the two of them they'd bring the mother and Inuyasha's pup to safety before working from there…
Time was running out.
That night wasthe evening thatInuyasha sat down to watch after Kohimu and Tisoki until they were disturbed by Taikokajin and the deal was made for the tradeoff, although Inuyasha did not know of it. And as Taikokajin left Inuyasha's estate and crossed over the snowy hills, she felt victory and relief rushing through her veins…until she heard the mournful cry of her son rise from in the distance. She knew him so well that his tone alone told her that there was trouble.
The pink-eyed inuyoukai rushed to meet her son's call. The couple met on a tall, rounded snow-covered hill where immediately she was stunned to see her son had cleared a ring of snow and discarded his outer kimono to provide a place of shelter for an unconscious mortal woman. But as she drew nearer her nose caught one whiff of the scene in front of her and Taikokajin felt her knees quake. What is going on…?
"Shimofuri." She bowed slightly to her son through the blue moonlight. Her pink eyes glistened.
"Mother," Shimofuri answered her, bowing lower than she had to him, but rather than keep his hands at his sides they cupped a strange bulge in his kimono—Taikokajin briefly wondered if her son was pregnant or just a pig. But when the scent, and sound of a baby reached her ears even she couldn't withhold the gasp that escaped her lips.
Shimofuri's eyes were keen when he stared at his mother after the bow.
"That human is—" he didn't give her time to finish.
"Inuyasha's mate, yes Mother, she is."
"And does that mean I can presume that the pup inside your kimono is—" once more he spoke before her soft, stunned voice could finish.
His tone was curt and unemotional, "Inuyasha's son? Yes, this pup must be his."
She stared at her son, the pink eyes dark and calculating, solving their problems out, "What does this mean?" she asked, her tone suspicious.
"It means that Inuyasha will no longer walk into your simple trap, Mother. We were wrong about Garou—we almost lost everything." At that he frowned and almost whispered the rest, "We probably have lost everything."
"I don't understand…" Taikokajin tried to restrain her shaking, but thoughts of her little daughter formed inside her mind, unbidden. She saw her child's blood staining the snow and the ground. She saw her baby's innocent eyes cold and lifeless. She blinked back her tears and stiffened, "Garou did this?" she concluded.
"Yes, Mother. We thought he wanted Inuyasha—and maybe he still does, but this pup is also a target it seems. I wounded him Mother…" Shimofuri lowered his eyes, hiding his worry, fear, and even shame, "But not before he assured me that he has control over Inuyasha's mate's soul. If we don't give him Inuyasha and the pup he will kill the human mother and Tsukiyume."
Taikokajin looked momentarily as if she would collapse, and then her form hardened and she looked at her son sharply. "I will not lose my daughter!" she hissed, hands clenched into fists, "And this Garou will not get away with these crimes against our kind!"
Her son's gaze was bright and warm as he stared at his mother, admiring her determination, but wondering if it wasn't hopeless. His mother's next words were softer, thoughtful, contemplative, "With such a choice before him, Shimofuri," Taikokajin murmured, "Which would Inuyasha choose? His child, or his mate?"
Shimofuri frowned, "Mother, I couldn't begin to guess…"
His mother smiled thinly, "Neither could I…" she thought hard for a moment on it. As a hanyou Inuyasha likely dealt with persecution and rejection from most humans and demons. Truly his only kin were other half-demons. But Inuyasha had found acceptance in the arms of a human woman…her eyes darted to where the thin, frail woman had been lied out carefully by her son. How many hanyous had survived to bear children as Inuyasha had? Very, very few…males in particular were rare. And for the offspring of a hanyou to be so strong as the pup—scent told her—was, Taikokajin suspected that both Inuyasha and the mortal woman must've been very strong, in every way to produce such a successful child in their union.
If Inuyasha had to choose she guessed the choice would be double-edged all the way around. If the hanyou chose his mate he might never be so blessed as to have a baby again, and if he chose his pup instead he would likely never find another mate ever again—let alone one that could bear him more pups. As a mother she knew that her pups meant worlds more to her…the choice, if she were Inuyasha, was clear…but she wasn't.
Don't make him choose…A small, but real smile of triumph awoke over her features. "Shimofuri," she spoke quietly but with authority.
Her son looked up swiftly, and, strangely, she saw that his hands had remained in protective positions over the prominent bulge in his kimono where the hanyou's pup was still hidden. "Yes, Mother?" his voice and face were both devoid of expression and emotion.
"Inuyasha, as you warned me before I went to visit him at his estate, is surprisingly powerful. He impressed me." she nodded her head once in acknowledgement of her own words, to give them silent emphasis, and was satisfied when she saw Shimofuri's attention on her was avid and unquestioning, so she continued on. "What have you observed of Garou?"
The blue-gray eyes remained steadfastly locked on hers. "He is powerful. He weilds dark magic as I have never seen before, but he is thick and slow. His natural form is much like a cat and wolf crossbred. He cannot smell as well as we can. I know little else, other than that he is savage and at times cunning." His eyes narrowed slightly, cutting off the gleam of the moonlight in his eyes, a detail that caught his mother's attention, made her listen carefully just as he had intended, "However, his first and foremost weakness is the fear of physical harm."
Taikokajin gave on short, swift, angry laugh, "He's a coward? That wouldn't be hard even for Tsukiyume to defeat!"
Shimofuri fixed his mother with a stern look, momentarily they seemed to have switched places, "No, Mother, you forget the dark magic. He does not need to touch his victims to harm them. Scent me, Mother, I was injured."
She stiffened and he heard her take one large, long breath inward. After a moment she hissed, "You were burned."
He nodded, solemnly. "I underestimated him."
Taikokajin was silent for a long moment, thinking over her decision. Once again she came to the same conclusion and looked up, her pink gaze shining and unflinching in the darkness, "Shimofuri," she ordered curtly, "We will keep Inuyasha's mate and his son as leverage against Inuyasha. If Inuyasha wants them back he will slay Garou for us and return Tsukiyume as well."
Her son was alarmed, she could see it in the way his head moved sharply, up and then back down, as if he were giving her a half-bow. What had so surprised him, she wondered?
"You are displeased, chakunan?" she asked, her tone was sharp, almost enough to intimidate him, but she trusted that her son wouldn't deny her the truth. She had come to value his aid in her diplomatic and militant efforts—infact she had come to believe that he would one day make a fine ruler over their family's traditional territory. A fine heir…but this time he surprised her.
"No, Mother," he bowed low to her, still clutching gently at the pup in his kimono, "I am not displeased."
She eyed him warily for several moments and then, assuming that he must've seen her logic, or already found a hole within his own thoughts, she nodded, "Good then," with one delicate but firmly clawed hand, she gestured toward the mortal woman, "Take his mate and the pup to our lands. Make them comfortable guests during their stay." She turned to leave him but Shimofuri cleared his throat, summoning a questioning glance from mother to son. "Yes?"
"Mother, may I ask what will happen to them if Inuyasha should fail, or Tsukiyume perhaps for whatever reason doesn't survive this…" he made sure that his voice and each word wthin his sentence was tight and without emotional attachment. He didn't want to stir his mother's suspicion or wrath.
Taikokajin smiled at her gray-eyed son—but the motion had no mirth in it. "Then we shall keep them as family. We would raise the pup—perhaps you could adopt him."
"…And the woman?"
"She could be one of our servants." The pink-eyed inuyoukai woman shrugged and turned her back once more on her son. Slowly her dainty steps lead her away from the snow-topped hill and away from her son, who was suddenly frowning intensely. Inside his kimono the pup squirmed and whimpered, smelling of hunger, and the still very young inuyoukai male sighed.
Mother, I pray you aren't setting our clan up for annihilation…
Endnotes: THANK YOU TO ALL REVIEWERS! WE'RE ALMOST TO 200 REVIEWS BY NOW! YAYS! (throws a BIG party, serves cookies and punch!) YAYS!
FYI IY is mine you scream? Goodness! It's like I'm murdering you! (snickers) Yami Chikara I updated just for you! I cna't have you boycotting you know! And besides, you were so kind as to investigate my latest story, I Miss You so I THANK YOU in big letters! Tiamath thank you so much! You do sum up the "near-graduation" situation well, and I REALLY appreciate the compliment with the consideration of what I do go through...not having a math class has made my life easy enough for me to do this...and overall my life is pretty simple, so it's not that hard...but my Miroku IS obnoxious...I'm going to stay away from them...but thank you for the advice and the concern, you're definately right about him, and I DO worry about her, but it's out of my hands, if I try to warn her much it looks bad, like my intentions are untrue. (sighs) but thank you nonetheless! The Moonless Night WOW! What a review! (grins proudly) I got a lot of that with my last two updates for SWFM and this story...I guess I was just doing realy good that time! But don't get too excited...I can mess up too (grins sheepishly) But THANK YOU! Gosh, I grinned reading your review! (shakes head in wonderment) I LOVE you guys! Taigo hehehe...(grins) that's all i can say...now you know... inuyasha'sbabe07 now YOU are the secret to why I like (love?) cliffies...becuase then you guys respond and run around the halls like madmen and madwomen...hehhe...youre reviews are SO fun to read! (gosh I'm evil...(grins) Love the enthusiasm! heather thank you...the situation is a little better now...sorry this is a little longer in coming... TheDarkAngel101 all I can say again is...hehehehe (I LOVE your guy's reviews!) SerenaClearwater I take it you're in the "Hojo died" supporters eh? (considers) I liked your comments on Taro and Souta and Hojo's disbelief. Everyone else (and that was funny too!) got caught up on the fact that that was like my third cliffie in a row (grins) Yes, Taro's a pervert, but that's hoe guys can be... NefCanuckThank you...I like your description, the simile (or is it metaphor? Oh gosh I'm proving to you all how dumb I really am!) do you write your own stuff? Lena17 ah yes, me and my evil self...(makes her own evil laugh)(winks) sarah Thank you...hope you enjoy this update! kirarakitty goodness girl! You are my watchdog! In answer to your question I described what she was wearing in this chapter when Shimo-chan rescued her from Garou. As for the chapter before that I don't mention her changing (you GOT me! (falls over dead)) but let's pretend that she had time...(whimpers) please? Simonkal of Inyu Gosh, I hope you didn't starve in my absence, I'm sorry. (worried eyes) sorry, you wish it'd been something so benign but unfortunately I AM evil...as you said I'm horrible...hehehe...(thinks she likes the evil laugh now...) Mad-4-Manga hey! You're back! Or have you been back for a while and I'm only just smart enough to notice it now? (blinks) oh well...thank you...glad your research project is over, Lord knows I hate 'em too...and I'm working on SWFM's epilogue right now... angelpup hehehe...I know...(more evil laughter) Sesshomaru13 WELCOME! I saw your brief review to "hanyou" now you're onto the sequel! YAYS! Cindy Really? and THANK YOU! As a reader who gets to take in all of one and then see where I've gotten to I believe you...all of you actually! But, how, if I may ask? See I didn't think I was better, actually thought I was degrading...(sighs) ah well.. and Thank you for commenting on my new characters...my OCs...How do you like Shimo-chan? cool-chick-rae Thank you! I appreciate it! I know it gets tougher every year...this year when your seniors graduate it's gonna hit you: you're next...but not until this late in your senior year will it actually FEEL real...mind boggling...
Well I gotta go...sorry no preview again...I'll be on watch for the 200th reviewer! YAY!