Here is yet another chapter. I know, 'just shut up and get on with it' right? Well, alright. Here it is.
Chapter 14: Past cont.
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-/- Five years later-/-
"Told you! You couldn't keep up!" Meranii shouted back to Ginta and Hakkaku as she raced ahead of them along the mountain ridge. She rolled her eyes when they shouted at her to not get so far ahead and raced on faster, smirking when she saw the large gorge that was coming quickly ahead. "Come on now! Your wolf demons! What would Brother Kouga say?" She shouted back to them.
"He would say what have I told you about being this high up in the ridges?" A voice snapped right by her, causing Meranii to skid to a stop and flip away from whoever it was, just barely managing to land in the edge of the cliff. When she stopped teetering she turned a glare to Kouga who was glaring at her.
"A little warning would have been nice." Meranii snapped, crossing her arms similar at to the way that Kouga had his.
"You listening for once would also be nice." He snapped. "How many times have I told you not to come up this high?"
"It's high noon. The birds of paradise are all resting right now." Meranii said, giving a huff of annoyance. Ginta and Hakkaku came panting up then, nearly keeling over. Kouga growled in annoyance, causing the two to flinch.
"They don't all sleep!" He snapped. As if to prove his words a large shadow swept over them, causing them all to look up. "Shit!" Kouga cursed as more shadows joined the first. "Get her out of here!" He snapped to the two panting wolves.
"We're not going to leave you here by yourself!" Meranii snapped. Ginta grabbed her arm and started dragging her back down the path. They stopped when a giant bird creature with a blue female body coming out the top landed on the path on front of them, more landed all around them, trapping them against the cliff.
"Shit." Kouga cursed again, pushing Meranii behind him and the others, getting into a defensive stance. With a loud screech the birds came rushing toward them, causing the wolves to rush forward as well to keep from being pushed off the cliff. Meranii grabbed the Phoenix carved sword at her waist, a gift from Kouga, and watched for any birds trying to sneak up behind her family. Busy watching them she didn't notice the bird plummeting down from above her until it had landed right in front of her. She shrieked in surprised and stumbled backwards, her feet slipping in the edged of the cliff. With another surprised shriek she fell over the cliff. She came to a rough stop when someone grabbed her wrist. She looked up to see Kouga on his stomach, hanging partially over the cliff holding her wrist. Meranii sighed in relief and grabbed on to his arm. Her sarcastic comment was replaced with a shout of warning when she saw a bird coming down just above Kouga. The bird landed on him hard, digging its claws into his shoulders causing him to shout in pain and his arms to go numb, releasing her wrist.
"Don't let go." Kouga shouted, cringing when the bird dug its claws in deeper. Meranii nodded her head and tightened her grip on his slack arm, trying to keep the blood that was slipping down his arm from loosening her grip. The bird suddenly yanked up shaking Kouga so bad that Meranii's hand slipped down his arm farther.
"Kouga!" She shouted, worried. Both of his arms had been badly hurt.
'He needs both his arms or he is going to die.' Meranii thought as the bird shook him yet again and he bit his lip to keep from shouting and looked at her. Her eyes were blurry as she watched the bird shaking him again, more blood flying around. She forced herself to smile at him. "I love you big brother Kouga." Meranii said, causing his eyes to go wide as she released her grip on his arm.
"Meranii!" She heard him yell as she plummeted down, closing her eyes and forcing herself into unconsciousness so as not to feel the landing.
-/-
"Oh! She's waking up!" A high, excited voice said as Meranii came to consciousness. She forced her eyes opened and was surprised to see a girl with bright blonde hair and pretty pink eyes hovering over her, smiling brightly. "She's awake!" The girl shouted, jumped back to give Meranii enough room to sit up. She was in a wood room lying on a futon. As she looked around Meranii saw a teenage boy. He had green hair and cold green eyes. "Look, Shinrin! She's awake!" The girls shouted, running over to the boy. He scoffed in Meranii's direction and shot to his feet, leaving the room.
"Oh don't mind him." The girl said, getting Meranii's attention again. "He's always cranky in the morning."
"Where am I?" Meranii asked, causing the girl to blush.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She said. "You're probably freaking out! I should have told you when you first got up!" She said, seemingly mad at herself, causing Meranii to smile. "You're in the Masters castle." She said, smiling brightly. Meranii just stared at her. "Master was flying and he saw the fight and he saw you fall over the cliff so he swooped down to save you." She said smiling brightly. Meranii felt her chest tighten as the memories came flooding back to her.
"What happened with the wolves?" She asked suddenly, causing the girl to flinch.
"Um…well…" The girl was stuttering.
"What happened?!" Meranii shouted, getting another flinch.
"Master said… by the time he got back up there… there was nothing he could do." The girl said causing Meranii's heart to stop. "The birds were gone and all that was left was gore. That's what Master said." The girl said in a soft voice, but Meranii heard every word.
"They're gone?" She barely managed to say, her throat clenching. Her eyes were blurring and she knew that there were tears streaming down her face, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore, her brothers were gone and it was her fault. She started in surprise when the girl suddenly hugged her.
"It's going to be ok." She said softly. "I know what it feels like to lose everything, you feel like dying." And she did. She couldn't even think about going back. The other wolfs, besides Ginta and Hakkaku, had never accepted her. If it hadn't of been for the fact that Kouga was Alpha, she would have been chased off long ago. Now with the three of them dead, and it being her fault, she was homeless and alone. Again. They just sat there for a while, Meranii crying silently while the girl held her. The door opening caused them to finally pull apart. Standing in the doorway was a tall man. He had dirty blonde hair and deep auburn eyes. He smiled sadly at Meranii and walked into the room, kneeling on the floor next to her futon.
"I am glad to see you awake." He said in a smooth voice that caused shivers to go down Meranii's back for unknown reasons. She felt something from him that felt familiar but she couldn't seem to pin what it was. "Though I am saddened not to have better news for you." He said, giving her a sympathetic look. Meranii nodded and cleared her throat, her eyes still flowing.
"Thank you for saving me." She said, though she wasn't sure if she meant it. He smiled at her.
"You are welcome to stay here for as long as you want." He said, getting a questioning look from Meranii. "Sekushi will be caring for you until you are better." He said motioning to the blonde girl. With a smile sent to them he got up and left the room.
"What was that about?" Meranii asked Sekushi, getting a smile from her.
"Master understands what it is like to be alone." Sekushi said. "All of his people were killed, so he is the last of his kind." She said as she brought a tray of food that Meranii had overlooked over to her. Meranii nodded her thanks and started pushing her food around on her plate.
"Who were his people?" She asked, taking a bite of some type of fruit. She looked up when Sekushi didn't answer to find her looking at anything but Meranii.
"I'm not really supposed to say." She said, looking like she really wanted to though.
"Oh come on. I won't tell anyone." Meranii said, her interest peaked. She pretended to be trying to decide what to eat next while Sekushi thought.
"Oh ok, I'll tell you." She suddenly said. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone else." Meranii nodded. "Ok the Master is," She paused while Meranii reached for her cup. "a Phoenix!" She whispered low, jumping back when Meranii started chocking on her drink, spitting it everywhere.
"What?!" She asked, shocked.
"A Phoenix." Sekushi said again. Meranii stared at her in shocked and them suddenly shot up and stared stumbling to the door. "Where are you going?" She yelled, following her. Meranii ignored her and rushed down the hallway, getting excited when she came upon the back of the man that just left the room.
"Wait!" She hollered, causing him to stop. When she got closer she had to stop and lean on the wall, catching her breathe.
"What's the matter?" He asked, looking worried.
"You're a Phoenix!" She almost shouted. He sent Sekushi a slightly reprimanding look.
"Yes I am." He replied. Before he could go on she cut him off.
"Show me." She said staring at him intently. "Show me your wings." He stared at her for so long that she thought her head was going to explode. But then he smiled.
"Of course." He said and the next second a white light appeared from his back and when it died down there were a pair of bright white wings coming out of his back. Meranii felt tears start to fall from her eyes.
'I'm not the last one.' She thought happily as she stared at his wings. He smiled at her again.
"Of course you know this means you can not breathe a word of this to anyone." He said, putting his wings away, much to Meranii's disappointment.
"Oh I know! That's because, oh just watch!" Meranii said and then she closed her eyes and focused hard on making her wings appear. As she felt the warmth of her wings coming from her back she heard gasps from the man and Sekushi. She opened her eyes and smiled at their shocked looks. "I'm Phoenix too!" She said excitedly.
"Black wings." The man said in aw. Meranii smiled shyly.
"Yea, mine aren't pretty like yours. I don't even know how to fly with them." She said, getting him to shake his head. He walked over and ran his finger over her wings.
"You know what this means?" He asked, looking down at her. She smiled brightly.
"It means you're not alone anymore." She said brightly and, acting on impulse, hugged him tight. She almost cried in relief when he hugged her back and she smiled when she felt Sekushi hug her from behind.
'I'm not alone anymore.' She thought happily as she pulled away.
"I would like you to stay here." He said, getting her to smile. "I have several children that were alone and I have taken in. You will have a family again." He said, getting her to smile brighter.
"I'd like that." She said, spinning around when Sekushi squealed and attacked her in a hug.
"This is so great! Finally another girl! Boys just don't get it!" Sekushi was saying, causing Meranii to smile.
"My name is Meranii." She said, turning to the man. He was staring intently at her and it made her slightly uncomfortable, but when he noticed her looking he stopped and smiled at her.
"Welcome Meranii." He said smoothly. "My name is Jigoku." He said. Sekushi squealed again and pulled Meranii down the hall, talking a mile a minute.
-/- 5 Years Later -/-
Meranii groaned as the light from the window hit her eyes, causing her head to ache more. She grumbled and rolled over, reaching for her sleeping partner, only to find the mat next to her empty. She finally opened her eyes and, wincing as it hurt her head, sat up and looked around. The door to her room open and in walked a beautiful blonde woman with breathtaking pink eyes, a bundle in her arms.
"There you are, Sekushi." Meranii said, rubbing her head.
"I just went to go get your birthday present." Sekushi said brightly, setting a tray filled with breakfast items and the bundle down. "Your head hurt again?" She asked.
"It always does after sessions with Jigoku." Meranii grumbled. Sekushi handed her a cup of tea. "Thank you."
"I know you feel horrid afterward, but Master says it's to help you." Sekushi said. Meranii watched her out the corner of her eye, noting how she was almost brimming with excitement. She smiled and set her cup down.
"You said you had something for me?" Meranii said, smiling when Sekushi shouted in excitement and handed her the long wrapped bundle she had come in with. Meranii laughed at her excitement and started unwrapping the bundle, her breathe catching when she saw the twin blades resting there. "Oh Sey." Meranii said using the nickname that she had for her, picking them up and admiring them. "They're beautiful." Meranii hugged her, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"I'm glad you like them, Ranii!" Sekushi said using her nickname. "I had them custom made when I saw how well you were with the double blades." She said her face tinted red. "We can test them during practice tonight." She said.
"I would love too." Meranii said. "But Jigoku said that he had a thing planned today that I have to attend."
"Oh." Sekushi said, her whole body radiating disappointment. Meranii smiled at her.
"How about I go and see if we can do whatever he wanted now so we can train later, ok?" Meranii asked, almost laughing when Sekushi's whole body brightened up with her excitement.
"Ok!" She said, hugging Meranii tightly and getting up. "I'll let you get up and ready. See you later!" She said as she closed the door. Meranii smiled when she heard her running down the hall. She got herself up and went into the bathing room that was attached to her room. She cleaned up and changed. As she came out of the bathing room, she stopped and picked up the swords that Sekushii had made for her. Smiling she attached them to her waist, next to the Phoenix sword she always wore. She smiled sadly as she remembered were she had gotten it from, heading out toward the other side of the large castle that she called home.
'He told me not to come till after dark, but I don't want Sekushii to be sad about not being able to train tonight.' She thought, deliberately slowing her steps as she got closer to Jigoku's chambers. The memories of last night flooded back to her, causing a knot of some unknown emotions to form on her stomach.
"Just close your eyes." Jigoku said, running his fingers over her eyes. Meranii stiffened in her chair, but kept her eyes closed. "That's a good girl." He whispered as he covered her lips with his. Meranii felt a familiar shock go through her body, causing her to scrunch her eyes closed tighter. As wave after wave of emotions and heat flooded through her, her mind started to get fuzzy. He pulled away at last and smiled the same smile that he always did after one of their "sessions". It always gave her the creeps. "That's all for today. You can go." He said in a soft voice. Meranii nodded her head and stood, forcing herself to stay on her feet as her head swam and her whole body felt drained. She managed to get out of the room and almost to her room before her legs gave out. She sat there for about an hour before Mizu came along and helped her to her room.
'He's done it before. It's not that big of a deal.' Meranii told herself and she crept closer to his room. 'If's he's busy I'll just come back later.'
"Why do you insist on playing with that disgusting girl?" An unfamiliar female voice said. Meranii stopped himself from knocking and pressed her eye to the crack in the door. She saw a partially naked woman sitting on the Jigoku's desk. She had fiery red hair and chilling green eyes that were looking at Jigoku as she moved the log around in the fire, only his pants on. He turned to the woman and walked to stand in front of her.
"Are you jealous my love?" He asked, nosing her neck. She gave a cold laugh.
"Like I could be jealous of a child barely past puberty." She said. "I just don't like how you are always fawning over her." She added with a pout.
"Don't you worry." He said. "The little princess has so many powers locked in that body of hers that I have not been able to take more that one at a time for risk of her dying and then them all disappearing. With her being eighteen today, she is finally old enough to be able to go through the ritual tonight to finish the rest." He said, causing dread to explode in her chest. "And with Sekushii training her physically, her body is also strong enough to withstand until I can get what I need as well." Meranii felt her heart break.
"You know how I love power." She purred, running her hands all over his chest.
"Yes I know." He said. "Did I tell you I found out that the princess has been keeping a very big secret from me?" He asked as she rained kisses all over his neck and chest.
"What would that be?" She said in between kisses. He pulled her up and kissed her hungrily.
"The others princesses are alive." He said softly causing Meranii to strain to hear. Her heart stopped in her chest. "And soon enough I will know where they are and when I do,' He paused and pushed the woman back onto the table. "I will hunt them down and make them a part of my collection." He said, covering the woman when she laughed in glee. Meranii covered her mouth and back away from the room slowly. Once she was far enough away she took off in a dead run.
'He knows about them!' She shouted mentally, pausing just inside the door that leads outside. 'He's knows about me! He's been using me for my power!' She looked around carefully and when the coast was clear, she used her enhanced speed to zoom past and out of the courtyard in the blink of an eye. She scrubbed her eyes roughly.
"Sekushii knew." She said, physically clutching her chest when I felt like her heart was going to fall out. "She used me." She said, a sob catching in her throat. Sekushii's betrayal hurt more than Jigoku's did. Meranii had never really liked Jigoku, the way he acted around her always made her feel like a steak being observed by a hungry tiger, and now she knew why. But she had loved Sekushii. She had felt like one of Meranii's missing pieces, and now she finds that it was all fake to Sekushii. Unwilling, an image came to Meranii's mind, causing her to stumbled to a stop, her heart clenching again.
"I am glad you are here, Ranii!" Sekushi said sending her a bright smile as Meranii washed her hair in a hot spring. Meranii squished her eyes shut and banished the memory. She sat on the ground and leaned against the tree, her body racked with sobs. After a long time sitting like that she rubbed her eyes roughly.
'Now that I think about it, this is the first time I have been outside the castle by myself since I got here.' She thought, remembering all the times she had gone out and been forcibly accompanied by one of the boys. 'He said it was for my own protection.' She thought bitterly. She looked up at the moon and flinched when it made her remember Sekushi. 'She loved the moon.' She thought, her eyes flooding again. She shook her head violently and stood up.
"I will not let him get them!" She said forcing all emotions she had for them back at the castle down. She turned her now emotionless face toward the south, were she could feel the closest pulse. 'I will protect them. Don't worry Mother.' She thought and sped off away from the castle.
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Back in the future the girls were all sitting around to room giving Meranii varying looks. While Meranii had told them an edited version of her tale she had gone to stand by the now dark windows, her back to them. What none of them were going to tell her was that they could see her reflections in the window. They knew that she had been crying, her hand alternating between touching the matching blades on her waist.
"You said that the wolf demons name was Kouga?" Kagome asked, getting Meranii to finally turn to them. She had a small, sad, smile on her face.
"Yes." She said. "He always dressed in fur and never took his hair down from the annoying ponytail." She laughed slightly. Kagome and Sango shared a look.
"And he died?" Sango asked this time. Meranii nodded. "That can't be right." Sango said.
"What?" Meranii asked.
"The Kouga you just described sounds a lot like the Kouga that we know, who is alive and in the past now." Kagome said, watching Meranii's face lose all its color. The next thing they knew she was standing right in front of Kagome, her hand stretched out toward her head.
"May I?" She asked, getting a nod from Kagome. She placed her hand on Kagome's head and Kagome felt warmth start to radiate throughout her body. A gasp from Meranii drew her attention up.
"He's alive." She said breathlessly, stumbling slightly. Tears started to form on her eyes but she rubbed them away. "My brother is alive."
"You never went back?" Sango asked. Meranii shook her head.
"I couldn't bear to go back to the area and relive the memories." Meranii said out loud, her usual emotionless mask back. "Gods, what I wouldn't give to see him again." She said.
"I have a question." Keiko said. "I get that you made a promise with your mother, but why were you so determined to keep watch over us?" There was a moment of silence where all eyes seemed to turn to Meranii. She looked back to them with her emotionless mask back in place.
"Because I could." Meranii answered slightly childishly. They all gave her looked like she was crazy when she smirked at Keiko's annoyance.
"Can you get us out of here?" Kagome suddenly asked in a very low voice. All eyes turned to her.
"Probably. Why?" Meranii asked. Kagome and Sango shared a smile.
"We think that the guys have had us in here long enough, is all." Kagome said, smiling. There were confused looks through the room. "Can you get us to my house?" Meranii nodded, confused like the rest.
"Sure." She said going to stand in the empty space in the room. "All who are going need to stand over here and hold hands. It would be a lot easier if you all thought of the place were are going but not necessary." The girls all came over and grabbed hands. "Now just so you guys know the guys have a barrier on here that can sense us. So as soon as we leave, they will know so we have to move fast. Alright?" They all nodded. "Ok, think lovely thoughts of Higurashi Shrine." They followed her lead and closed their eyes. They all felt the power that swept over their joined hand, across their bodies and to the next person and the next thing they knew they were being forced to their knees. Opening their eyes they found themselves outside Kagome's home, all but Meranii falling to their knees.
"Wow! That was cool!" Shippo shouted as they got to their feet.
"Sorry about the abrupt landing." Meranii said, turning her head away from the house and seemingly listening. "They are looking for us and very angry that we took Boton along so they can't open a portal." Meranii said a ghost of a smile on her face.
"Then come on." Kagome said, leading the way. "Let's get gone before they notice where we are." She said, leading them to the little shed that held the well.
"Where are we going?" Yukina asked once they were all in the well house. Kagome smiled.
"You'll see." She said. "Now everyone pair up and jump in." The group shared a look. Kagome smiled and looked to Sango. "Would you do the honors?"
"Sure." Sango said and, holding Kirara tightly in her arms, jumped into the well. A blue shimmery light filled the well and Sango was gone.
"Wow." Keiko said. "Me next!" She said, holding out her hand to Yukina. She hesitantly took it and they got up on the side of the well together. "One, two, three!" Keiko counted, basically dragging poor Yukina into the well with her. Once again the well lit up and they were gone. Kagome sat on the side and held out her hand for Boton who sat on the well with her. They grabbed hands and Kagome's turned to Meranii.
"Are you going to follow?" She asked.
"Sure." Meranii said. "I'm going to leave a little something here so we don't have any unwanted followers." She said, causing Kagome to smile. She and Boton gentle pushed off, falling into the well. Once the blue light faded, Meranii closed her eyes, causing the well to light up a pretty green. Smiling she jumped into the well, leaving the well house empty once again.
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So how was that everyone?! I hope you enjoyed and please review!