Hello again everyone. It has LITERALLY been forever since I posted anything on here! There is so much that I have to catch up on and mu life has finally gotten to a point where that can happen. I am exactly two chapters needing to be typed away from having this story wrapped up. Without further ado, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 15: Reuniting
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"Wow!" Yukina, Keiko, and Boton said as they looked around the clearing they found themselves in.
"The air hasn't smelt this fresh in ages." Boton said, taking a deep breath. Just then the well lit up again and Meranii jumped out easily, landing next to them.
"So now where too, fearless leader?" Meranii asked Kagome. As an answer she got Kagome's black wings appearing behind her. Sango followed her example.
"Come on now." Kagome said. "I want to get there quick so we are flying."
"Is it really ok to be flying?" Keiko asked. "Wont someone see?"
"It's ok. This is the past." Meranii said. "There are demons running around all over the place here so they are use to seeing things flying around above them." Sango murmured something to Kirara and she meowed and jumped out of her arms, transforming. She walked over to Yukina and nuzzled her.
"You can ride Kirara." Sango said to her. Yukina nodded her thanks and climbed on while Keiko and Meranii brought out their wings and Boton made her oar appear. Once everyone was ready Kagome laughed and took off into the sky, Shippo in her arms, followed by the rest.
"Oh this is exhilarating!" Keiko exclaimed. "Being able to fly to our hearts content and not have to worry about being seen!" This was the first time they had been able to fly so much. She got murmurs of agreement from the others.
"Just wait until you get to fly over the ocean." Meranii called above the howling wind. "Nothing can compare!" She laughed and twirled upside down, doing a dive and coming back up. "Ha! Top that!" She shouted, and the competition was on.
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"You are pathetic!" Jigoku shouted, kicking the bleeding and limp figure on the floor. They went flying and landed hard against the wall between the emotionless Mizu and Shinrin. He stormed forward and grabbed the person by the hair, lifting them up, showing it to be Sekushi. He sneered into Sekushi's swollen and bleeding face. His face shifted from a sneer to a calm face. "My poor, sweet child." He said, rubbing his hand down her face, causing her to flinch. "Why do you still help that traitor?" He picked her up, getting a cry of pain from her, and set her down on the couch that was in the room. He grabbed a rag and started wiping the blood from her face. Sekushi just stared straight ahead.
"She left you. Abandoned you." He said. "Threw your love away when she no longer needed you to teach her." He wiped her face, making sure to leave the tears that were steadily flowing from her eyes. "Look at what she did out there. She manipulated you love for her yet again. You are nothing but a means to an end to her. Her heart is cold, she has no emotions. Why do you punish yourself when she is the one deserving of it? Am I right?" Sekushi nodded her head.
"Yes, Master." She said in a pained voice. He ran his hand down her face again.
"That's my beautiful girl." He said, getting up. "Now let's make sure she gets here so that she can get the punishment she deserves." He said, heading out the door, followed by the others.
"Yes, Master." She said softly to the empty room, disappearing into the shadows the next second.
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"The hell you mean you can't follow them, mutt?!" Yusuke shouted, getting in Inuyasha's face. Inuyasha snarled and grabbed his sword. Right now the whole group was standing outside the well house at the Higurashi Shrine. After the barrier had said the girls were no longer in the house they managed to find out that this was the last place they went. Assuming that they had went to the past, Inuyasha wasted no time in attempting to follow them, only to find that the well was once again not working for him.
"Are you deaf, porcupine?" Inuyasha shouted back, making reference to Yusuke's un-jelled and messy hair. "I said I. Can't. Follow. Them. That fucking Meranii bitch rigged the well again." A brick came flying out from behind him and hit him in the head. "What the hell?" He snapped, turning to glare at the smiling Ryuun.
"Oops." He said, smiling while glaring at Inuyasha. "So what, they are in the past." Ryuun said. "The Jigoku that is after them is in the present. As long as they stay there they are safe and out of the way and we can get him taken care of without worrying about them." He explained. "You are all just mad cause they outsmarted us." He said laughing. He ducked when a sword swung for his head, dancing away from where the furious Hiei was standing, still laughing.
"They have to come back through here, correct?" Miroku said, getting the attention. He swallowed nervously when Hiei leveled his glare on him. 'He had been doing that ever since I distracted Sango.' Miroku thought thinking of how he groped Sango so she was distracted with him while Inuyasha snuck up behind her. He filed that away for future use. "Then wouldn't it be best to just wait here until they come back?"
"That is true." Kurama added, though Miroku noted how his eyes seemed to be flickering gold and he kept looking toward the well.
"Keh, fine." Yusuke growled. "When I get my hands on that bitch Meranii, hey!" Yusuke shouted when he suddenly got hit in the head with a brick as well. They turned to see Ryuun smirking. "You want to get pummeled?" Ryuun laughed.
"Bring it on." Ryuun said, taking his jacket off. "I need something to keep me from getting bored anyway." Yusuke chuckled and cracked his knuckles.
'Oh please hurry and get back.' Miroku thought in exasperation when they started fighting, Inuyasha getting involved as well.
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"So how much farther, Kagome?" Keiko called over the wind. They had been flying for a couple hours now.
"Not much." Kagome called back, looking at Meranii out the corner of her eye. She was currently flying upside down, staring at the clouds that weren't that far above them. She turned back forward and smiled when she saw the ridges coming ahead. 'Not I just hope he's home for once.' She thought. "Head down." She called, swooping down at breakneck speed. She felt the familiar tingle of excitement in her chest as she plummeted toward the ground. 'Adrenalin junky Meranii calls me.' At the last second she spun around and billowed her wings, instantly stopping and landing softly on the ground, willing her wings away. Shippo instantly jumped out of her arms and started hugging the ground, getting Kagome to laugh at his dramatics. The others landed just as softly around her, repeating her and putting their wings and flying instruments away. Kirara transformed and jumped up to Yukina's shoulder, nuzzling her. She turned to Meranii to see her looking around, a sad look on her face.
"Why are we here?" Meranii asked. Kagome detected a bit of apprehension in her voice.
"We thought it might be nice to have a reunion." Kagome said, leading the way through the trees they landed behind. She broke through the trees, stopping short when a large number of wolves and wolf demons seemed to appear in front of her. They were all standing ready, as if ready for a fight. When they saw it was her, they got confused look on their faces. Before anyone could talk there was a whirlwind and then Kouga was standing there, looking around.
"Hey Kouga." Kagome said, only getting him to glance at her. He was looking up into the sky.
"Where are they?" Kouga asked one of the wolf demons.
"Who?" Kagome asked.
"I got a message saying that there were flying creatures near by." Kouga said. "We thought it might be some birds of paradise stragglers." He said. Kagome looked back at the group, frowning slightly when she didn't see Meranii.
"That was just us flying in Kouga." Kagome said, getting his attention. "Sorry to cause a panic."
"You flew in?" He asked, giving her a disbelieving look. Kagome rolled her eyes. 'Well at least he's stopped proposing all the time.'
"It's a long story." Kagome said. "But that's not why we are here. I have someone to reintroduce you too." She said.
"Who?" Kouga asked, looking amongst the group.
"Well this is Keiko, Boton and Yukina." Kagome said. "They are from my home, but who I want you to meet is back there. Hold on a second." She said, rushing back the way they had come. She came upon Meranii as soon as she entered the shadows.
"What are you doing?" Kagome asked. Meranii was looking toward the wolves, a sad look on her face.
"I can't let him see me, Kagome." Meranii said, finally looking at her.
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"It's been thirteen years, Kagome." She said. "All these years, he's thought I was dead…." She muttered. "What is he going to think when I tell him I was too much of a chicken to come and make sure?"
"Kagome?" Kouga said very close, interrupting them. "Where did you go?" Kagome saw panic spread across Meranii's face and grabbed her arm to keep her from bolting. Kouga came through the trees and Kagome almost smiled when Meranii turned her back to him, hiding her face. "There you are." He looked at Meranii's turned back. "Who's that?" Kagome smiled at Meranii, getting a half hearted glare in return. Meranii sighed causing her to smile again and stepped away.
"You guys can thank me later." Kagome said.
"What are you…?" Kouga started.
"Big Brother Kouga." She said in a small voice, causing Kouga to go silent and turn sharply to her.
"Who are you?" He asked. Meranii sighed again and turned around, crossing her arms.
"Well I know that one of us has changed over these years, but that's no reason to not recognize me." Meranii said, trying to sound playful, but Kagome could see the tension under it. She watched as Kouga's jaw dropped and the next second he had crossed the space and had Meranii up and swinging around in his arms, howling loudly. Kagome smiled brighter when she heard Meranii laugh. Her friends and the rest of the wolves came crashing through the trees, looking for danger. Hakkaku and Ginta had arrived sometime while they were in the trees and were leading the other wolves, making them come to a stop when they saw their Alpha swinging a woman around in his arms and laughing.
"Uh, Kouga?" Hakaku asked, not sure what was going on. Kouga saw them and stopped spinning, placing Meranii back on her feet. Kagome knew exactly when Hakaku and Ginta recognized Meranii because they gave a shout so loud it made her flinch and they raced forward as well, scooping Meranii up one after the other.
"I am guessing that is the Kouga from the story?" Boton asked as she came to stand by Kagome. She nodded and smiled as she watched Meranii get sandwiched between the two wolves and Kouga coming to her rescue by pulling her to him for another hug.
"We thought you were dead little sister." Ginta said, tearing up.
"I was told that you were all dead." Meranii said.
"Who the hell told you that?" Kouga asked, getting angry. Meranii sighed.
"It's a long story." She said.
"Well then is a good thing we were about to sit down to dinner huh?" He said, passing her off to Ginta a Hakaku who promptly started dragging her away, ignoring her protests. Kouga appeared in front of Kagome and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I don't know how you did it, but thank you." Kouga said softly. Kagome patted his back.
"You're welcome." She said.
"Come. You and the rest of your friends are going to joins us for food." Kouga said, hooking his arms with Kagome's and leading her away. She saw Sango talking softly with the other two, causing them to laugh.
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A couple hours later found them all sitting around the fire in Kouga's large private chamber/cave.
"The scouts said they saw things flying in. Does that mean you've learned how to fly with your wings little sister?" Ginta asked Meranii. She downed the rest of her drink and stood, her wings coming out as she went. The next second she was zooming around the room. On one of her trips she scooped Ginta under the arms and took him around for a few laps, getting them all to laugh when he yelped in surprise. She settled him back down and sat down as well, not bothering to put her wings away.
"So, big brother, what is this I hear about you making moves on my sweet Kagome?" Meranii asked him, bumping him with her elbow.
"You're Kagome?" He asked, amused. "Last I checked she was my Kagome." He said, sending Kagome a wink.
"Yes, my Kagome." Meranii said. "I knew her way before you did, so I win." Meranii said, sticking her tongue out at him. Everyone laughed as Kouga got a thoughtful look on his face.
"You mean to tell me that Kagome is one of your, mffmf!" Kouga tried to asked, but Meranii covered his mouth.
"Remember, big brother. Lose lips sink ships." Meranii said lightly. She moved her hand away and looked to Kagome. "You want to show him your new found attributes?" Kagome looked between Meranii and Kouga, trying to figure out what had just happened.
'There is something that she does not want us to know.' Kagome heard Sango say in her mind. That was Sango's special ability. She had mind bogglingly strong mental powers. In fact so far there had only been three people minds that she hasn't been able to penetrate. Meranii's, Kurama's and Hiei's. 'I noticed.' Kagome thought back, hoping that Sango was still listening. Kagome shook herself out of her thought and smiled as she stood up. With a seconds concentration she felt the warmth of her wings appearing. She heard the wolves gasp.
"Neat huh?" Kagome asked, doing a spin.
'Meranii is blocking me from Kouga's mind.' Sango thought to her, getting Kagome to frown inside.
'What doesn't she want us to know?' Kagome asked herself, not sure if Sango was listening or not. She was distracted from further thought when a group of wolf pups came rushing in, tackling Kouga and fanning out amongst the rest of them, talking a mile a minute. Kagome smiled as he introduced Meranii as his sister and the children started talking to her a mile a minute as well. Meranii smiled brightly, causing Kagome to smile as well. 'This is the first time she has been so happy.' Kagome thought. The children squealed in delight when she started giving them short rides around the cave.
A few hours later found them back at the well, Kouga with them.
"I always guessed that you were from a faraway place but I would have never guessed the future." Kouga said looking at Kagome surprised. She smiled sheepishly.
"So you remember the date?" Meranii asked watching as Boton and Yukina disappeared into the well. Kouga nodded and gave her a hug.
"I'll be seeing you in the future, little sisters." He said, hugging Kagome as well. Keiko and Sango jumped into the well. They smiled at him and then sat on the well themselves, jumping in after a moment's pause. Arriving in the future they climbed out of the well. They met up with the others just outside the well house.
"Bout time you all got back." Someone said from above them. Looking up they saw Hageshii sitting lazily on the roof of the well house. He laughed when they all got into defensive stances. "As amusing as that is, I am only here to give you a message." He shot off the roof and landed ahead of them.
"And what would that be?" Meranii asked. As an answer he tossed something at their feet. Yukina gasped and scooped it up.
"What is it?" Kagome asked.
"It's a locket I gave to Kazuma." Yukina said softly. She glared up at Hageshii and started growling to the surprise of the group. "What have you done to Kazuma?" Yukina shouted, kept from lunging at him by Sango holding her back. He laughed which made Yukina struggle more.
"He's alive if that's what you want to know." He said, looking though the group. "They all are." The girls froze at those words. "Really, those idiots were so busy worrying about you that they didn't even see an attack on them coming." He laughed again. "I'm sure you know what to do right Meranii dear?" He said, smiling at her. She didn't answer.
"This guy bugging you little sisters?" A familiar voice said, getting a smile from Meranii. Behind Hageshii a very different Ginta appeared. His hair was now just silver-ish grey and went down to his shoulders. Before he could turn around Ginta grabbed Hageshii by the scruff of the neck, inhibiting his movement. From behind Ginta came Hakaku, his mowhawk gone and his white hair cut short and messy.
"Why yes he is." Meranii said.
"You know what to do boys." Kouga said as he walked up. His hair was still long and held up in a high ponytail but his usual wolf skins were gone. In their place was a very expensive looking dark grey business suit. He hugged Meranii, Kagome, and Sango tight hugs, nodding at the rest of the girls taking note of their worried looks. Hakkaku and Ginta dragged a screaming Hageshii away. "What's going on?" He asked.
"I wish I could say it was good news." Kagome said.
"You remember that man I told you about?" Meranii asked, getting a nod from Kouga, his look getting dark. "He's here in this time. And he's struck while we were gone."
"He's got Inuyasha and the others." Kagome said in a small voice. She turned to Meranii. "What do we do?" The others turned to her as well. She sighed in annoyance and ran a hand through her hair roughly.
"We do exactly what those idiots were trying to prevent by locking us up." Meranii said. "Go to his castle in Mankai and save them before he kills them."
"How do we get to Mankai?" Yukina asked in a determined voice.
"I can help you with that." Kouga said, getting them to look at him. "I do business in both this world and Mankai so I have a pass to go through the gateway in Reikai at will." He was attacked in grateful hugs.
"Everyone all set?" Meranii asked, getting nods. "Good, let's go save the damsels in distress." She said, getting a snort of laughter from Kouga.
"I'm so going to enjoy seeing mutt boys' face when he hears that." Kouga laughed.
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There you are my most loyal readers! Thank you for you continued support! I couldn't do it without you!