Muie5 does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha, but she does own Shine and Yume.
A TRIP TO JAPAN (2016)
Chapter 2: Back to the Fray
The sunlight relentlessly pushed its way pass the maroon drapery that did its best to block it out. One of the rays that managed to make it passed the drapes hit me in the face as I turned over to get comfortable once more. Reflexively, I closed my eyes even tighter as a last ditch effort to stay off the inevitable. This moment was when an arm swung itself around my chest and grabbed on. Even though I wanted to go back to sleep, I sprang up in the bed with my heart pounding at a rapid pace. There, despite the jarring movements, was Yume fast asleep with her arm still draped over my abdomen. I glanced around the rest of the room as my heartbeat slowed down.
"This is...Oh, yeah. I'm back," I thought as my eyes fell back onto the sleeping Yume.
After allowing myself a few more moments to wake up, I placed my hand on Yume's shoulder. A few shakes later and Yume stirred. With her eyes still closed, Yume rolled onto her other side in an attempt to stay asleep as I did.
"Yume, get up. Jeeze, you are not much of a morning person," I grumbled as I slid out of the bed.
"Just, like...thirty more minutes," she mumbled, pulling the cover over her head.
With one more glance her way - and an eye roll - I pulled on a pair of jeans. It did not take long before I heard a small snooze from the bed. As I slipped on a black short sleeve shirt, I made my way over to the balcony doors. The sun was higher in the sky then I originally thought it would be. Most of the group was out in the front field from the sound of it. Even though I thought I should go down there right away, I took a little time to look out at the magnificent garden below the balcony.
I thought back to when Hiei first appeared in this very spot during his pursuit of Kurama. Then the moment I found Kurama and helped heal him rushed into my mind. Closing my eyes, I placed a hand on my shoulder as I remembered the warmth of Sesshomaru's hand there. That moment when he comforted me in his own way, as I fell apart the first time. He placed his hand on my shoulder before leading me up to the castle roof.
"Shine?" came Yume's voice.
My eyes snapped open as I spun around. She looked a little concern as she stared at me.
"Oh! You're up," I stammered as my senses came back to me.
"You've been standing there for a while. Are you okay?"
"Yes," I turned back to the garden and grabbed onto the rim of the balcony, "I was just remembering."
After another moment, I let go of the balcony rim as I made my way back to Yume. She still looked a little puzzled, but walked back into the room with me. We got the rest of the way dressed without another word.
As I opened the door, I looked back to Yume, "I am really glad you came."
Yume grinned as she walked up behind me, "I have your back. So don't worry."
~~~~ Outside ~~~~
Kurama, Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were all sitting in the field off to the right side of the entrance to the castle. Hiei was positioned on a boulder a little ways from the group. They appeared to be in deep conversation.
Rin and Shippo were out by the forest with Yusuke and Kuwabara. No one really noticed Yume and me when we walked out of the castle. After a few seconds, Kurama looked up at us.
A smile crossed his once serious expression, "Good morning."
The rest of the group sitting with him, looked our way. So Yume and I made out way over there.
"You guys must have been exhausted. It is already pretty late in the day," Kagome stated with a smile of her own.
"Umm...yeah. So what are you guys discussing?" I inquired, taking a seat next to Kurama with Yume at my side.
"We are discussing the best way to go about tracking down this new," Miroku looked at Yume, "threat."
Yume shot him a dirty look since she knew he was being cautious with what words he used around her. Someone must have told him about how she reacted to demons.
"So how is it going?" I asked, looking to Miroku.
"Well, we do not have much to go on. So our movements are limited. This territory is quite vast so going about blindly could take a while. And honestly, would not be the best use of our time," Kurama replied.
"We thought about going to nearby villages and try to gather up some more information. The thing is, the nearest village is about a four day trip from here," Sango explained further.
"What is this new guy even after? If we knew that, there is a chance we could set a trap for him," I suggested, annoyed at the lack of information we had.
"Yes, that is the trouble we find ourselves in," Miroku agreed.
I gave a quick glance around to realize that someone was missing, "Where is Sesshomaru?"
"He was gone by the time any of us got up," Kurama responded.
So with that we spent another few minutes discussing our options.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cheered.
This brought my attention to the edge of the forest where the others were playing. Sesshomaru came walking out of the forest's cover as elegantly as he always was. A smile appeared as I got to my feet. Yume looked at him with a slight look of misgiving as I walked over to him. Kurama also gave Sesshomaru a good once over.
"Hey, Shine. Come here," Yume called to me as I continued to make my way over to Sesshomaru.
"Just a second," I called back to her without so much as second glance her way.
"Something is wrong," Kurama absentmindedly said as he got to his feet.
Kurama quickly made his way to my side. Before I knew what was happening, Kurama had my hand and slipped his other arm around my waist. This immediately caused me to stop mid-step and look up at him.
"What are..."
Kurama cut me off, "Shine, I do not think this is Lord Sesshomaru."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, splitting my attention between Kurama and Sesshomaru.
"Listen to him, Shine," Yume whispered as she walked up to my other side.
"Something smells off. That is not quite Sesshomaru's scent," Inuyasha spoke up as the rest of the group walked up behind us.
"I don't understand," I exasperated, looking at Sesshomaru.
Kurama tightened his arm around my waist, "Who are you?"
"So what gave me away?" Sesshomaru grinned, "I thought my transformation was perfect."
As his grinned turned to a malicious smile, I squeezed Kurama's hand. Yume put herself slightly between Sesshomaru and myself. Yusuke readied his spirit gun while Kuwabara guarded Rin.
"Very well. I shall be seeing you all again soon," Sesshomaru warned as he dissipated into the forest's darkness.
Yusuke, Miroku, Hiei and Inuyasha took off into the woods. Kurama went to follow them but was pulled back. I was still holding tightly onto his hand. He gave a reassuring smile to me before slipped out of my grasp and vanishing into the trees.
Shippo ran and jumped onto Sango's shoulder. Yume turned to me as my expression clearly showed that my mind was ready to fall apart.
"Shine," Yume cried out to me with no response, "Shine, it is fine. You are safe."
Rin came up to me and took my arm.
"I couldn't tell that it wasn't him...I don't understand," I looked Yume dead in the eyes.
"It's okay..." Yume was cut off.
"So how did you?" I asked in the same vacant tone.
"You were the first one to call back Shine," Kagome agreed.
The others came back at this time, allowing Yume to slowly make her way to the back of the group.
"He got away," Inuyasha was the first to speak, "His scent just disappeared."
"Looks like we will have to be on high alert," Miroku added.
Kurama was the last to appear back from the forest. I ran over to meet him as the others continued to talk among themselves. Yume made her way into the castle without much notice.
"So you guys lost him?" I fretted.
"Yes, it does appear that way. We are just lucky he appeared to us while we were in a group. I doubt that will happen again. So, Shine, please make sure to have one of us at your side at all times," Kurama warned, placing his hand on my shoulder.
The rest of the day went by without another incident. Every person agreed that it was best to patrol the surrounding area to be safe. So with that the group split into four watch parties. Those not on patrol stayed in the castle, forgoing outside as an extra precaution. Yet, no one found a single trace of the imposter.
It was well passed dark when Sesshomaru came walking through the castle entrance. Rin and I looked at him from where we sat on the main stairway.
By this time, Inuyasha and Kagome was the group out patrolling. Yusuke and Kuwabara left shortly before in order to go relieve them. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were out fetching water from the river. Yume was up in the room, where she spent most of the day.
"Sesshomaru?" I questioned, not moving a muscle.
Next thing I knew, Kurama and Hiei were at the bottom of the stairs in a defensive stance. Sesshomaru took a step closer as he scowled at the two opposing demons. Hiei started to unsheathe his katana when I got to my feet.
Sesshomaru ceased his advance as I took the last few steps to reach the ground floor. As if in a hypnotic trance, I walked passed the two demon friends with my focus completely on the demon lord in front of me. Kurama's eyes followed me with great intensity as I strolled right up to Sesshomaru. I stopped closer than polite society would consider comfortable, got onto my tiptoes, and stared straight into his eyes. Sesshomaru looked back into my eyes with a cold stare that held in all of his thoughts. I could feel the heat come off of him and felt his calm breath. I was so focused on Sesshomaru that I did not hear Kurama and Hiei take a few steps closer to us.
Sadly, this was the moment when Inuyasha and Kagome returned. Sesshomaru turned his head towards them slightly. Inuyasha took a few steps towards his brother and sniffed the air. Sesshomaru took no time in spinning around to land a punch squarely on Inuyasha's cheek.
I grabbed onto his arm before he could get another strike in, "Sesshomaru, please!"
"Learn your place," Sesshomaru growled towards Inuyasha.
Kagome assisted Inuyasha out of the ruble of the new hole in the entrance wall.
"Why you!" Inuyasha barked as Kagome held onto him.
"I do apologize, Lord Sesshomaru, for the hostile welcome. We had a rather unpleasant visitor this afternoon. He happened to be disguised as you. So pardon us for our mistrust," Kurama explained as his partner relaxed his stance.
Sesshomaru turned to face Kurama when he noticed Yume leaning against the railing at the top of the stairs, staring at them all. Her expression was one of boredom as she watched the ensuring chaos.
Sango, Miroku, and Shippo came in with a few buckets of water at this time. Miroku placed his water down while preparing his staff. Sango, on the other hand, dropped her buckets down as she readied Hiraikotsu for battle. Shippo let go of his solitary bucket so he could jump to the safety of Kagome's shoulder.
"Enough!" I interrupted the quickly deteriorating scene, "Rin and Sango, can you please take the water into the kitchen? Kagome, please take Inuyasha someplace to cool down. Shippo, help Kurama with the food."
Slowly everyone dispersed, except Sesshomaru, Yume, and myself. Sesshomaru walked passed me without as much as a peep in my direction. Yume watched him walk up the stairs with the same uninterested air she had towards this whole situation. He glanced at her as he walked passed her. Yume's lips curled up into a cruel smile as soon as he passed.
I looked up at her, after Sesshomaru already disappeared, with a worried expression, "Yume?"
"It's fine, Shine. I am going to head to bed early tonight," she answered, turning her back to me.
I watched as she walked down the hall, back to the room we shared.
Several hours later, I walked into my room. Inuyasha and Kagome rejoined the group after some time. Yume never came back out of the room, and Sesshomaru never appeared again that night. The scouting groups still continued, but the group as a whole relaxed a bit now that everyone was under the same roof.
As I closed the door, I noticed that Yume was not in the room. I lit a few candles when I noticed the balcony door was open. The evening wind was blowing the drapery around as I made my way over to the doors. This was when I spotted someone sitting on the balcony railing, facing out towards the forest.
"Umm…who are you?" I squeaked out as I stopped in the balcony doorway.
The person flipped their legs over the railing in order to turn to face me. This was when I noticed it was a young man. His beautiful, wavy red hair fell to his shoulders almost as if they were made to frame his face. The clothing he wore was modern: a pair of faded blue jeans and a black shirt that appeared to be one or two sizes too small the way it hugged tightly to his chest. He gave a sly smile as he focused on me. The flames of the candles in my room played with his fiery red eyes.
"Hello, Shine," the man greeted in almost a purr.
"Where is Yume?"
He slid onto his feet, "She went for a walk some time ago."
The man walked around the balcony's edge on his way towards me. I took a few steps out onto the balcony in order to keep some distance between us without thinking. He stood a good bit taller than me, having to be at least six foot.
"I am glad to meet you," he purred as he got closer to me.
"I'll scream," I warned, backing up to the rim of the balcony.
Before I could register his movements, he placed his left hand over my mouth and his right arm around my waist, "No you won't."
I tried to get out of his grasp, but for a guy only using his right arm he was strong.
"Please, stop. I am not here to harm you."
I stopped struggling and looked him right in his bright, blood red eyes. They had a genuine look to them, almost honest. He gave a reassuring smile before letting his hand fall from my mouth.
"Who are you?" I asked calmly.
"My name is Kage. I did not mean to frighten you. It was just best to get you alone," he explained as if nothing happened.
"So what do you want then?"
"I came to give you a warning. A great demon is after you. He is known to take those closest to his pray and replace them."
"Why me? What have I done?"
Kage let go of me and took a few steps to stand beside me, "It is not exactly you this demon is after."
"But you just said…"
He gave me another smile as he leaned up against the railing, "It is something you possess. Rumors have it that you possess something very valuable. That is what he is after."
"What is it?"
"That, my sweet Shine, is a secret," Kage jumped onto the railing, "But as one last warning: this demon has already replaced some of those close to you. So I would be weary of those you trust. Oh, and keep our little meeting a secret, would you? I am doing my own recon on this demon, and it would make it difficult if you happen to tell someone who was a spy I was after him. I shall be seeing you again soon."
With that last warning, Kage leapt from the balcony. I turned to look down, but never saw him.
The doorknob shook, which grabbed my attention. Yume came walking in quietly as if to sneak in. She looked around to notice the candles were lit and I was out on the balcony.
"What are you doing, Shine?" she asked as she made her way to the balcony doors.
"I was…" I thought about it for a few seconds. The words of Kage rang in my ears as some truth rang alongside it. Someone already tried to pose as Sesshomaru. Why not Yume? Why not anyone? He was right, I would have to be cautious of those I let near me, "just about to go take a bath."
"Better hurry up. I overheard Kagome planning to do the same," Yume encouraged with a smile.
I nodded as I walked by her. I rummaged through my bag for a towel before heading to the door. I turned to Yume, who was slipping out of her clothes for the night.
"So where were you?" I asked a little skeptical.
"I went for a walk. Today has been a bit crazy."
"Hmm…that's strange. I never saw you leave."
"Oh, you were a little preoccupied with the others. Enjoy your bath."
I walked into the hallway without another word. Yume looked out to the balcony with a glare as the door closed behind me.
muie5: Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed it. For those who previously read this section - different huh? Alot more fun. Please Read and Review. I do like feed back.
Kurama: So where are you going with this?
muie5: Oh, you know me. I just like to talk a little walk around crazy town and down to mess with you avenue.