Chapter 7: Inuyasha at the hidden castle

It takes about a week for the group to reach the border of the Eastern Lands, and Inuyasha agrees to take the two girls as far as the temple after that. Nadeshiko has had to feed every other day to keep herself at the right balance between berserk and sated to stay out of Naraku's control for the journey. She won't let herself become fully sated on blood until after she's safely at the castle, where she can be restrained if Naraku exerts control over her again.

They arrive at the temple within two days of leaving the Western Lands, and Rose makes sure to stir the wind chimes as they walk inside. The shikikami who comes to meet them this time is a young boy about the same age as Tachikara, being her twin brother, Tachikaro. He greets them with a smile, saying, "Miss Rose. Miss Nadeshiko. It's good to see the both of you arrived here safely. Lady Cousana has extended an invitation for your companions to stay the night in the castle as well, if they wish."

Inuyasha of course is wary of the golden haired boy, as he can't detect a scent from him. Nadeshiko lays a hand on her uncle's arm, saying quietly, "It's okay, Uncle Inuyasha. Tachikaro is a shikikami under the Goddess. She retains four of them at any given time, as she needs a lot of help around the castle."

Kagome seems interested by this, "She does?"

Rose smiles a little, "Yeah. Cousana has a penchant for taking in orphaned children, no matter their parentage. In fact, she's used a special gem from the continent to resurrect her nephews so they could help with all of the kids. Souten of the thunder demon tribe is her niece, so she went to live at Lightning Castle after the little incident with the crayons."

Shippo blushes at that reminder, wondering how Rose knew about it. At Kagome's urging, the group agrees to stay the night at the castle. Rose picks Shippo up almost without thinking about it, saying quietly, "Just to warn you, the resurrected nephews are Souten's older brothers. They're not permitted to carry weapons within the castle compound, but I wanted to make sure you weren't too frightened by them. Monten doesn't look the same as he did before, though. Part of the power contained within the jewel that Cousana used allows him to change his appearance. He looks almost like he could be Hiten's twin now."

The thought of two demons that look like Hiten creeps Shippo out quite a bit. Especially since one of them is the real thing. At least Rose warned him, though. Shippo is so lost in thought that he doesn't notice when they pass through the illusion barrier around the castle. He barely even registers the western style gate until Rose, Nadeshiko, and Tachikaro call out, "Haku! Dosa! Nine to enter! Two carried!"

Inuyasha almost freaks out when the gate is opened for them by twin ookami-hanyou gatekeepers. Kagome nearly cracks up laughing when Rose is nearly bowled over by the younger children, but is touched when she sees the wolf demon and bird of paradise demon each wrap their arms around one of her legs while sharing a smile. What Shippo notices is that the three thunder demons hang back from the crowd, looking slightly uncomfortable, with Souten blushing when she sees him being carried by her aunt's cousin. As the gate closes behind them, Rose sets the young kitsune down on his feet, whispering, "Go over to them and let the boys apologize. It might not be enough to make up for what they did, but it's a start, right?"

Shippo nods and runs over to the thunder demons, calling out, "Souten! It's been a while, hasn't it?!"

After she manages to pry the two boys off of her legs again, promising to come play with them before bedtime, Rose turns to look at the slightly stunned hanyou and miko, having surmised that they spotted Hiten and the others, "I told you she brought her two nephews back to life, didn't I? I just didn't say who they were. I figured the hint about Souten being her niece would help you figure it out."

The three of them stand there watching the Thunder Brothers apologize profusely to the kit they orphaned, Sango and Miroku having been dragged inside the main castle by some of the younger kids who had flocked to Rose when they arrived. When the budding couple shows no signs of moving, however, she goes behind them and starts pushing them forward, saying, "They owe the two of you apologies as well, right? They've come to regret their actions before, and wish to make amends to those they wronged who are still alive."

Kagome snaps out of her stupor at this, and starts helping Rose push the stubborn Inuyasha forward, finally telling him that if he doesn't walk over there on his own that she'll use a sit command on him. He finally agrees to walk over to where the Thunder Brothers are now watching the two of them after Souten drags Shippo inside to see her artwork. Rose stands back and watches the four of them speak, trying not to laugh at Inuyasha's uncomfortable expression as the brothers apologize to them just as profusely as they did to Shippo before.

Cousana comes out while this is going on, standing next to Rose as she says, "I thought for a while there that I would have to send the boys out with you before they'd be able to make amends to these guys."

Rose smiles at her older cousin, "That's part of the reason why I talked them into coming to the temple with us. I figured Inuyasha would want to be here when we remove Nadeshiko's jewel shard, too. If we can talk them into staying long enough, Rashun should be here soon with Sesshoumaru and his Tensaiga."

"So, you managed to get a warning to him?"

"Yes. I had to use the code, though, because I was being restrained by members of the Shinshitai at the time."

Rose snickers a bit, adding, "You should've seen Suikotsu's face when I backhanded him with my hand bleeding from the scratch he gave me. He was pissed! Of course, that didn't exactly help my case when I tried to hide behind him a minute or two after Rashun left because Mukotsu was getting too close for comfort."

"You actually used the electricity in your blood to hurt someone? Isn't that the very reason why you refuse to learn how to swim in a stream?"

"I was scared, okay? Besides, paralyzing an apparition is something all together different from accidentally electrocuting a river full of fish."

Hiten picks that moment to snicker at their conversation, and Rose immediately turns beet red and stomps inside, "I'm gonna go change clothes. I've been sleeping outside too long in this ripped kimono."

Cousana calls after her, "You're welcome to use my closet if you want to, Rose."

Rose waves her hand to show she heard her cousin before disappearing inside. After another moment or two, Cousana turns to her other guests and says, "Well, would you two like for me to show you to the guest rooms? We have about an hour before dinner, so if you want to freshen up a bit, I'm sure someone can show you to the bath house."

Kagome's face lights up at the thought of having a bath, while Inuyasha yawns a little, still looking a bit suspicious, since most of their experiences with a demon castle haven't been good ones. Cousana's smile widens a little at the smile Kagome is wearing, saying, "Come on in. I'll show you your rooms, then I'll have someone come up to get you when your bath is ready."

With that said, she turns to go inside the main building. Inuyasha and Kagome follow her inside, while Hiten and Monten head out back to start the bath, knowing their aunt will ask them to anyway. They walk past Cousana's room, then on past Souten's, hearing the young demon excitedly talking about her drawings with Shippo, which causes both women to smile happily. Even Inuyasha lets a small smile slip through his facade when they pass by an open door to see Miroku being pestered by about a dozen little boys of various origins, all in their early teens, for advice about girls.