*A/N* And here our story really starts to go somewhere. Many thatnks to my lovely Beta Creature of Shadow!
The forest was quiet, mile upon mile of bamboo stretched across the utterly silent landscape, blanketing the mountains in vibrant cooling green. She rose above the treeline and soared over the valley, homing in on a group moving through the trees, she watched as they made their way along the road, suddenly her attention was drawn to the horizon.
There, spreading like a cancer over the sunset, a black cloud advanced, it took her a moment to realize that it was not a cloud, but in fact a flock. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the danger to the travelers below her and she opened her mouth to raise a warning but the flock descended in attack and a fierce battle ensued.
The chaos below was a tempest, feathers swirled and bodies clashed in battle, not a sound in the silent bamboo save the whine of swords and grunts of warriors, the travelers fought valiantly but in the end were overpowered and scattered to the four winds by the remaining attackers.
This felt so very vital and wrong.
She saw a fortress under siege by wraiths and specters, fire licked at it's walls and threatened to consume it. She saw women and children fleeing for their lives and faithful vassals enslaved. Maeko sucked in a sharp breath as she saw again a cloud upon the horizon, before she could identify it she was whisked away again.
Suddenly night was upon her and she found herself observing a village of the self same birds, her mind whirled with disorientation from the sudden time slip. Normalcy reigned in this village, children scampered, mothers scolded, cook-fires crackled merrily, a sickle moon hung in the sky accompanied by a sense of foreboding so thick she could taste it.
Without warning, a violent and oppressive aura swept over the scene and a ghost dog burst into the center of the huts, bone white, colossal and terrible to behold it began the indiscriminate slaughter of every bird it could reach. The beast's rage was palpable and rushed over everything like some horrific tidal wave, she despaired and felt her heart wrench, a rare occurrence for her, as she saw the feral creature tear a child limb from limb.
The screams of the slaughtered spiraled high into the night sky and she knew all was lost, then to her surprise, another specter emerged from the copse of trees at the edge of the clearing. Dark as was the first light, the ebony beast engaged the alabaster drawing it away from the frightened children and wailing mothers.
The two titans clashed and tangled in the torn night, fur darkening on both forms with life's blood, before the battle was over, her vision wavered, the outcome obscured. Flashes of gold ripped through her consciousness leaving her spinning through time and space, knowing not where she would land.
The last thing she heard was the roaring of a great and mighty beast echoing across the world.
Maeko opened her eyes with a start and a sharp intake of breath staring without comprehension at the furnishings of her room. Slowly her mind acclimated itself to the living world again, it's tangibility weighting her soul, anchoring her again in her corporeal body. She let out a slow calming sigh and listened as her heart slowed it's racing and the blood singing in her ears quieted, Maeko did not find it difficult to internalize things but this vision struck her keenly.
Usually, her visions took the form of silent plays, seeing the actions and omens only, without the benefit of sound or smell, this had been different. Unable to separate herself from the vision, the fair inu found herself affected emotionally by what she saw, she foreboding feeling of the approaching flock almost overwhelmed her, she shared the distress of the spirit dogs and so sharp was the tang of blood in the air she could almost taste it.
Maeko shook herself free of the remembrance her brow furrowing as she recalled the markers of a premonition as her Kami grandparents had taught her.
Deep immersion, check.
Strong sensory impact, check.
Difficulty separating herself from the vision after it was finished, check.
Calmly, she analyzed what she had just been shown, there was no doubt the traveling group was her own father and brother's party, the danger to them was very real. Obviously something was going to happen while they traveled the continent, something that would cause father to battle son.
Maeko couldn't be sure exactly what it was that would do this, she could not imagine her father being so enraged as to attack a village of women and children, she could only imagine that this was not a literal vision, instead a metaphorical message she was to puzzle out and then not tell anyone.
There were times when she cursed her gift, days she would much rather be adept with a sword and her claws than the murky realm of the spiritual. This was the only thing she envied her brother in, Haruko was the heir, and yes, with that came many concerns and expectations, but they were all clear. He never had to puzzle out the vague indicators of the spirit realm, only to be unable to share his findings once he figured it out.
This was something she disagreed with her Kami teachers on, they said unequivocally to never reveal a vision to the ones involved, they said that would influence the outcome, instead they wrote a cryptic clue or two on a scroll and passed them out to the demon lords.
Maeko felt more than anything that this set-up the Kami had for their prophecy scrolls was nothing but a gasping attempt to hold power by withholding knowledge. As stoic as she was, this was something that angered her; there was no cause to withhold potentially lifesaving information simply for fear of being perceived as meddling.
The young inu warred with herself for a few moments, she wanted desperately to tell her
father of her vision, to warn him of what was to come but she knew she could not.
She knew a scroll would not arrive in time for them to see it before their departure to the
continent, Maeko weighed her options,
'Telling Mother or Father would be a deliberate breach.' She thought to herself. 'Perhaps I could tell Kenta or Uncle Inuyasha, they were not in the vision exactly' She swiftly scrapped that idea knowing that if they had not been in the vision, their chances of affecting the outcome were small. With a small sigh, she stood and began making her way to the courtyard where she knew her mother was; hopefully she could keep it from Kagome's sharp maternal senses that something was bothering her. Everyone
would be gathering soon to say their farewells; perhaps the problem would resolve itself.
Kagome waited in the sunny courtyard struggling to swallow down a keen feeling of uneasiness, she was always anxious when her mate was about to leave her side, but for some reason this day was different. The feeling pervaded her every thought and each attempt she made to quash it only served to increase the intensity of it. She stopped herself just short of wringing her hands, cursing herself a ninny.
'REALLY, you'd think I've never seen him off.' She sat down, exasperated with herself and tried valiantly to calm, gazing at the garden rows in the early morning light.
Kagome was doing pretty well until she caught sight of her daughter's face. Maeko emerged silently from the shadows of the open halls looking more and more like her father each day, the sun glinted off her bone white hair as it floated about her face. Kagome caught one look at the expression held in her normally stoic daughters eyes and was on her feet immediately.
"Are you alright Maeko?" she asked, hurrying toward her.
"Hai Mother, I am fine." The clipped syllables of her daughters reply accompanied by her sudden avoidance of her eyes set alarm bells ringing in Kagome's mind.
"Why do you lie to me, daughter?" Never one to pussy foot around the topic, the hanshin cut straight to the meat of it.
"I do not lie to you mother," came Maeko's soft reply, "I am, as I said, fine."
The quiet challenge in her voice as well as her deliberate omission of what was troubling her ignited Kagome's uneasiness from a smolder to a blaze. Kagome opened her mouth to demand Maeko tell her what was going on when her momentum was derailed by the arrival of the traveling party.
Sesshomaru took in the sight of his mate simmering, obviously agitated and his daughter staring blankly at him and immediately began wondering.
"Kagome." He spoke quietly but there was no mistaking the expectation of obedience in his tone. She turned to him and made a visual effort to contain herself, tossing a hard look at Maeko before coming to him and sinking into his embrace.
"What ails you mate?" he asked quietly, looking down at the top of her head. She looked up at him a rueful smile tugging at her lips,
"I finally know what my mother felt like when I kept things from her." She said flatly.
Sesshomaru glanced at his daughter who was now talking with Haruko, both twins met his gaze with unreadable expressions; Sesshomaru lifted a single brow at them and turned his attention back to Kagome.
"Whatever it is, it will pass, koi." He rumbled gently, she hugged him fiercely for a brief moment before withdrawing,
"Promise me you'll be careful, and come back safe to me."
Sesshomaru cupped her cheek in his elegant hand and brushed a soft kiss on her brow. "Worrying about things you oughtn't." he murmured, earning himself an exasperated look from her.
"Just come back to me," she sighed, "and keep our son safe."
"Of course my lady." he replied with a small smirk and an elegant bow. "Wouldn't want you to worry that pretty head of yours."
He easily dodged her playful slap and returned her smile. Inuyasha and Kikyo made their appearance in the courtyard along with all four rangers and the youngest of the children.
Akira shadowed his uncle, and once he caught sight of his father, moved to stand in front of him and bowed respectfully. Kagome glanced down at her youngest and smiled inside, knowing full well he was making a great effort to be respectful to his father. Sesshomaru gazed down at Akira, taking in his obvious attempt at self control and respectfulness.
"Akira." he began, watching the keen light in his son's eyes. "You are the heir while Haruko and I are away, you must act accordingly."
"Hai Otou-sama." His voice, while quiet, was steady and he did not look away from his father's intense gaze, Sesshomaru was inwardly pleased and continued.
"I place your mother and sister in your care young one, honor the Inu ways and protect what is yours."
Akira stood a little straighter and nodded determindly. "Hai Otou-sama, I understand."
Kagome restrained herself from putting a reassuring hand on his small head, she knew this was a moment for father and son and any movement from her would make Akira feel coddled.
Sesshomaru nodded at his small son and allowed a rare warmth to creep into his eyes as he did so, from the widening of the young one's own golden eyes, he saw the change and knew what it meant. Inuyasha watched the exchange silently, again finding himself greatly impressed by his brother's change over the years.
"Hear that squirt?" the former hanyou said as he approached, "We're counting on you to hold down the fort." Akira looked up at his uncle and grinned before glancing shyly back at his father and bowing.
"I will not let you down Otou-sama." he said gravely.
Maeko used the small exchange to pull her twin's attention and focus it solely on her.
"Onii-san, you must be cautious." she said so quietly he knew no one else could hear, this alone caught his attention and forced him to pay attention. His sister was rarely emotional and almost never worried for him outwardly, but he caught fear in her tone and could see the tension in her shoulders. For her to be this concerned could only mean she had seen something in her visions.
"What have you seen sister?" He murmured, locking golden eyes with her green ones.
"There will be great hardship Haruko." she began. "The entire future of our house rests on this journey and its outcome, there are snakes in the grass and great danger for all of us." she shook her head slightly at his exasperated expression. "I cannot tell you too much brother, the laws of the Kami bind me. I should not even tell you this, but I cannot leave you to go unsuspecting into death's jaws."
Haruko's brows shot up and he quickly schooled his features into a semblance of neutrality at his sisters warning glare.
"You will be attacked and father will lose control, you are to battle with him for the lives of the innocent. Be careful Brother." He could hear so many unspoken things in his twin's silence, he followed a quick glance she sent toward Kagome and Akira.
"What of those left behind sister? How will they fare?" She ceased to meet his eyes for the briefest of moments and told him all he needed to know. "I will stay then." He said.
Maeko's eyes locked again with his own in a fierce stare he almost found himself flinching from. "You will NOT!" she hissed, "Your place is with Father, you must remain at his side."
"But Mother and..."
"I will see to their safety." she cut him off, leaning in as if to embrace him, she took hold of her twin's shoulders and whispered in his ear. "You are the only one who can rival father's power, you must help him control his beast. I will ensure the well being of the manor, you have my word."
She withdrew and gazed at him with her customary blank mask, he could sense her aura whirling within but he doubted it was obvious to anyone else. Their bond as twins made them unusually sensitive and connected. They shared a connection not unlike that of mates, they could sense each others emotions and distress from across vast distances, as well as tell when the other were in poor health or in trouble of some kind.
He smiled at her, immediately understanding her ruse as he saw their parents studying them from the other side of the courtyard. Haruko dropped in a small bow, the perfect depth for his honored sister, and without another word, moved to join Sesshomaru and the rest of their party. Makeo remained where she was, her face still as stone, inwardly she was a tempest, afraid and uncertain if she would ever see both of them again.
Sesshomaru was, like Kagome, not the least bit fooled by the twins deception, he looked at Haruko as the boy approached him and was met by a wall. He smirked inwardly cursing the double edged blade that was his ingrained stoicism. His son had learned from him all too well and now, when he would have preferred to know, he was blocked by his own teaching.
He looked back to his mate and allowed the corner of his mouth to curve upward ever so slightly, she returned his smile with a full one of her own. He leaned down and whispered in her delicate ear. "Sayonara koiishi."
Kagome shivered deliciously and replied. "Until we next meet koibito." Sesshomaru nuzzled her temple for a brief moment before straightening and facing the other three travelers.
"Come." he said to them. "We depart for the continent." With regal bearing he turned and began to walk from the courtyard, shadowed by his silent son.
"S'about damn time." grumbled Inuyasha, grinning at the death glare he got from his older brother, with a quick kiss for Kikyo, he followed, a snickering Kenta in tow.
The women and Akira watched as they left, not a sound passed between them until they were out of sight.
Kagome placed a gentle hand on Akira's head and said, "Sweetheart, why don't you go find Shippo, it's time for your sparring lesson today." The child beamed up at her and scampered off to find his favorite kitsune. Kagome rounded on Maeko, fire burning in her eyes.
"What did you tell Haruko?" she demanded. Kikyo, who had missed the earlier exchange looked up in surprise and drew closer.
"I don't know what you mean Mother." replied Maeko, as taciturn as ever.
"Don't lie to me! I can't excuse lies in this house!" Kagome was angry, not enraged by any means but she knew her daughter was worried about something, enough that she warned her brother about it and the thought of not knowing something that important bothered Kagome.
"What's this?" asked Kikyo gently, attempting to diffuse the situation.
"Maeko has seen something and warned Haruko of it, but refuses to tell me." the hurt showed through in Kagome's tone as she looked again at her daughter. She saw a change in Maeko's eyes, a softening and quieted in an effort to encourage her to speak.
"Mother, I did have a vision." Here Maeko hesitated, conflict warred within her, marshaling herself she opened her mouth to continue. "It was not a normal vision, but a premonition, and it dealt with you, and father and...Haruko."
Kagome almost bit through her lip in an effort to stay silent, an outburst now would surely clam her daughter back up and she would not learn what the vision showed.
"I really want to tell you mother, but I am not supposed to." Maeko actually worried her lower lip in her teeth, a direct mirror of Kagome's own nervous behavior. "I shouldn't tell you this mother but..."
"And so you shall not."
All three females jumped in surprise at the masculine voice that interrupted the Inu girl. They turned in unison to see Bishamonten striding toward them across the courtyard. Kagome was extremely surprised to see her father suddenly appear. Maeko on the other hand took on a furtive look, as though she was a child caught breaking a rule.
"Otou-sama," said Kagome, "what brings you here? The envoy to the continent already left." She trailed off as she saw her father was not looking at her, rather he pinned Maeko with a hard stare.
"The envoy is not what brings me here daughter." He said, never taking his eyes from her daughter's face. "I come to preserve the balance and prevent an irrevocable deed." Maeko's head ducked a bit at this and she grabbed hold of Kagome's arm.
"I'm sorry mother." she murmured.
"I'm afraid I must ask you not to say another word granddaughter, you must accompany me now." Bishamon's tone was severe and his face held none of it's usual brevity.
"Father I don't understand, why must she leave?" Kagome's tone was verging on shrill as she stepped toward him, placing herself instinctively between her child and her father. Bishamon's face softened only slightly as he met his daughter's eyes.
"She has broken the seer's creed as well as the laws of the Kami. I must deliver her to judgment as is right." Kagome almost stamped her foot at his obstinacy, it was always justice and balance with him.
'Not,' she thought bitterly, 'that he can help it.'
That was the one thing about being a hanshin she had never come to grips with. She kept expecting her father to act human, and he just wasn't. He was always just a touch too distant for her liking, instead of familial warmth, she always got the feeling he was simply doing his duty. It had always struck her as oddly ironic that the demon she mated was more loving than the Kami that sired her. It just seemed too backward; right now though, it was just irritating.
"What seer's creed?" she said aloud. "And how has she broken the laws?"
"She has shared the contents of a vision with one involved and she was about to do it a second time, I am here not only to retrieve her, but to keep her from making her sentence worse." He held out his hand to Maeko. "You must come with me child, you know this to be true."
Maeko bowed her head and lowered her eyes to the flagstones of the courtyard, she had known this would happen, she would have been an utter fool to think the Kami would not know what she was doing. She had for the first time in her memory lied to her brother, and he had believed her, she told him she would see to the safety of those left behind when she knew she could not.
Maeko knew her father to be the strongest of the Taiyoukai and he brother shared that strength. The two of them held such power that should they stand together, none could bring them down. As long as she knew they were both given the chance to use her foresight to live and find a solution to the hardship to come, she had every faith her her Mother and younger brother would survive as well. Kagome was not weak my any means and would be able to weather almost any storm that came upon their house. As different as they were, Maeko held her mother in high regard.
Silently she squeezed Kagome's arm and stepped forward in front of her mother to the waiting hand of her Jii-sama.
"Maeko!" cried Kagome, reaching out to take hold of her daughter.
Maeko turned her body just enough to be out of reach and looked back at her mother, Kagome gasped, she had never seen such emotion in her child's eyes as at that moment, her soulful gaze spoke volumes and gave Kagome a rare glimpse into that deep reservoir of emotion that stayed hidden in her child.
"Otou-sama!" the pleading note in her voice drew support form Kikyo and the former miko encircled Kagome's shoulders in a comforting and restraining embrace.
"It will be well daughter." Bishamon said to her evenly. "Have faith and do not despair."
With those words he faded from sight along with Maeko, leaving the two women in the courtyard stunned. A few silent moments of shock were broken by Kagome's hitched breath morphing into a quiet sob, Kikyo watched as the hanshin's face crumpled and she struggled to control herself.
"Kagome." When there was no response she tried again. "Kagome, why are you so afraid?" The inu demoness could smell the fear and sadness radiating off her friend.
Kagome turned her vivid green eyes, wide with surprise toward Kikyo. "Can't you feel it?" she hissed "something is coming and soon." she hugged herself and leaned into Kikyo's arms shuddering as she did so. "This does not bode well for the western house." she whispered. "I wish I could see more."
"They will be alright Kagome." she said comfortingly.
Kagome extracted herself and walked apart staring into the morning sky,
"I hope you're right."
Note from the beta: ! Bad cliffy! Bad! -shakes fist at authoress and cries-