When Daitan had woken up the morning after getting back home in modern times, it was to a stuffed up nose, a splitting headache, and extremely sore muscles. Aiming to sneak out and visit Kagome, she only managed to stumble past her father's study before something slithered in her direction and coiled around her. Daitan spat fluff from Sesshomaru's mokomoko out of her mouth, arms and legs rendered immobilized, and the man himself leaned out of his study, eyes narrowed.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To… see Kagome…" Daitan replied, trying to wriggle free of the mokomoko, but it only tightened around her.
"You're not going anywhere today," he said, walking past her. "You haven't been exposed to that amount of spiritual power before, and your immune system wasn't prepared to handle it. You're staying home, regardless of what reckless danger your friends get themselves into today."
"But-" it only took a stern look to make Daitan go quiet as Sesshomaru descended the stairs, his mokomoko taking her with him and setting her on the sofa in the living room. Daitan sniffed, attempting to clear her nose, but only succeeded in making a loud snrrrrk. She groaned, headache catching up to her, and a teacup with steam rising from it appeared in front of her. Sessomaru loosened his mokomoko just enough to let her take it, but without allowing her to move anything else.
"...This sucks…" she grumbled into her tea, and just as she was about to take a sip, the phone rang. And rang. Sesshomaru didn't move an inch from his place in his armchair, eyes scanning the book he had propped open in one hand. The phone rang again, and went silent. Then, the answering machine played a message:
"Hey Daitan, it's Kagome. Are you feeling better? I went to school today – I'm totally behind, I've been so busy hunting down jewel shards that I've been forgetting to study… Anyway, I'm just calling to let you know that I'm planning on going back down the well today after school, but just for a little bit – please call me back soon. Bye!
Daitan's eyes were stuck to the phone, and as if it sensed her intentions (which it probably did), the mokomoko tightened up around her again. She looked over at her father with pleading eyes.
"Can I at least call her back? Please?" she begged, and his eyes narrowed. To her horror, he got to his feet and approached the phone, dialing in the number that had just called. Daitan's hands gripped her teacup, face red in embarrassment as she heard Kagome pick up and start babbling on the other end. It wasn't until she heard her say "Daitan? Are you there?" that her own father looked her right in the eye, face unreadable as he said,
"Daitan's sick and can't come to the phone right now. Call back tomorrow." and with that, he hung up. Daitan remained speechless, face flushed as she watched him make his way back to his armchair and sit down with his book, as if nothing had happened. Well, except for the tiny smirk that his mouth had curled into. Daitan pouted.
"You're unbearable sometimes." she said.
"If you had answered, you would have run off immediately. You'll need this time to recover so your body gets used to spiritual power of that kind of strength. Besides," said Sesshomaru, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head in Daitan's direction. "you'll probably be well enough to get back to your friends by tomorrow afternoon."
"But you're going to keep me captive until then, is that it?"
"Right."
—-
True to his word, Sesshomaru kept Daitan from going out until the next afternoon, when her muscle pain and headache went away. Some congestion still remained, but it had been improving throughout the day, and now Daitan was racing from the train station over to the Higurashi temple. To her luck, she spotted Kagome walking home from the direction of her school.
"Hey, Kagome!" greeted Daitan, grinning broadly. Kagome looked around wildly, and saw Daitan just in time to get caught in an enthusiastic and almost bone crushing hug.
"Gah-! Daitan, you're back!" she wheezed, and Daitan let her go.
"Yep, Dad just gave me the green light to get back in action, so I came over as soon as I could."
The two girls reached the steps to the shrine, and began to climb them. Daitan sniffed hard again, attempting to unblock her right nostril, and Kagome glanced over at her.
"Speaking of your dad, he answered the phone when I called and said you were sick… honestly it was kind of terrifying to hear him instead of you... anyway, did you catch a cold or something?" she asked, examining Daitan's still-pink nose. The youkai shook her head and waved a hand.
"Nah, it was all that spiritual power I got exposed to back when we saved Miroku, remember? Apparently, since there are fewer people with strong spiritual presences honing and utilizing their skills nowadays, the younger generations of youkai like me have fewer opportunities to build up an immunity." explained Daitan. The two girls reached the top of the stairs. Kagome's eyebrows twitched up in interest.
"Huh… I guess that makes sense… so do you think your immunity has gone up, since you've gotten over it?"
Daitan shrugged.
"Dad says that's how it works."
She chose to wait outside as Kagome entered her house to retrieve her travel backpack, and once she returned, the two jumped down the well together. The now-familiar blue sky of stars greeted them for a few moments before they landed at the bottom of the well in the Feudal Era. Even though it had only been a couple of days, Daitan had missed the fresh air of the past.
—-
After meeting up with the rest of the group, Kagome insisted on soaking in the hot springs before they all got too far on the road again. Kagome hadn't said anything, but Daitan suspected it was to help her get over her still slightly stuffy nose. Inuyasha and Miroku sat by the campfire while Sango, Kagome, and Daitan headed toward the hot springs nearby.
"Well, Shippo?" prompted Kagome, and Shippo hummed.
"They're still in deep conversation." he affirmed, and Kagome's eyes lit up.
"I guess now's our chance to have a dip!" she said, beginning to undress. Sango glanced back to where the light of the campfire could be seen through the trees.
"I know the monk would try to peek at us, but what about Inuyasha?"
Daitan snorted.
"No, I don't think so, he's not really the type." she said. Kagome nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, he's such a cold fish."
"...Do you want him to look at you?" asked Sango, tilting her head slightly. Kagome immediately turned bright red. Daitan snorted with laughter.
A few minutes later, Daitan stepped into the hot spring, sighing contentedly when she sank in deep enough for the water to flow over her shoulders. She had taken out her ponytail, and her snowy white hair billowed out around her in the warm water. Steam rose slowly from the surface, and Daitan could already feel her nasal passages starting to clear. There was a soft splash of water as Sango stepped into the spring last, and Kagome gasped. Daitan's eyes opened - she hadn't realized that she'd closed them in the first place.
"That's a pretty bad scar…" said Kagome. Daitan's eyes slid over Sango's back to see a large, gnarled scar right in the middle, twisted into the rough shape of a star.
"Yes, it didn't heal very well." Sango sank down into the water with Kagome and Daitan.
"Who hurt you? The youkai?" Kagome asked, concerned. Sango didn't meet her eyes and clutched her towel more tightly to her chest.
"No, I got this scar… from my younger brother," neither Kagome nor Daitan said anything to reply. Sango's face didn't betray much emotion, except for the slight watery shine of her eyes. "If only I had realized some things earlier, I could have prevented his death."
Daitan sank lower in the water, submerging herself up to her chin. The thoughts that Sango was expressing were something that she resonated with, the thoughts of 'If only I had been quicker, or cleverer, or realized earlier…'
Sango smiled sadly, gazing down at her rippling reflection in the water.
"Kohaku was tender-hearted. He was always a very gentle boy. Perhaps he wasn't suited for the life of a taijiya." she said.
"...I'm sorry to bring up such painful memories," Kagome's voice was gentle. "It must be really hard for you to talk about it."
"No, it's alright," Sango assured, looking up at Kagome. "Before he died, Kohaku reverted back to his old self. I still mourn for him, but that thought helps ease the pain of his loss. We were both strong taijiya, and I'm proud of that."
Daitan would have said something in response, but the words just got stuck in her throat. She slowly turned her back on the other two, sinking down even deeper, leaving her nose above the water so she could still breath. Her eyes unfocused, and suddenly she felt as if she were somewhere else, throat closing up…
Sango's voice suddenly snapped her back to attention.
"...Did you follow the deeper points of our conversation, you peeping toms?!" she shouted, flinging a rock into the trees. Daitan turned back around, but it only turned out to be a monkey that Sango had struck.
"Oh, it's just a monkey." sighed Sango. However, as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Inuyasha and Miroku popped out from behind the trees.
"Hey, what's with all the ruckus-?" asked Inuyasha.
Needless to say, both of them sustained several bruises. Daitan just chuckled at everyone's antics, mentally shaking herself out of the funk she had fallen into. It was all in the past, after all.
—-
The group stayed the night at the campsite, and got ready to leave first thing in the morning. Shippo desperately tried to drag Kagome's heavy yellow backpack across the ground, but his small size wasn't doing him any favors.
"Alright, it's - huff - time to go!" he strained. Shippo eventually gave up and sat down on the ground. "What on earth do you have in your bag, Kagome? A bunch of rocks?" Daitan reached down and snagged him by the back of his shirt, setting him on her shoulder before lifting up the bag with ease. She hummed.
"This does seem a bit heavier than usual…" commented Daitan, slinging it over her other shoulder.
"Well I've got a test next week, so I brought as many books as I could carry." sighed Kagome, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It must be hard for you, splitting your time between your schoolwork and hunting for jewel shards." said Sango, eyeing the yellow backpack with concern. Shippo crossed his arms.
"Miroku says you should just skip school this year and flunk a grade."
"And what exactly does Miroku know about school, Shippo? Or even you?" said Daitan in reply, handing over the bag to Kagome when prompted. Kagome grunted when the weight shifted into her arms, but she set it down behind her bicycle seat.
"What would you know about school, Daitan?" asked Kagome, leaning her elbows on her bike. "You were homeschooled! Lucky duck…" Daitan pursed her lips.
"I guess you're right about that. But I've seen your school before, I even went there for a day!"
"Yeah, but that was just one day, and you crashed the boys' baseball practice and destroyed the pitching machine. At least you don't have to worry about homework and tests all the time!" Kagome sighed exasperatedly. "Even though he's still in elementary, my brother Souta says that if I flunk six times in a row, then we'll be in the same grade and he'll help me study and we can graduate together! He's such a little geek."
A soft smile spread across Sango's face, and she turned to start walking.
"And I bet he acts tough, and pretends to be cocky, but he hates to be lonely and he cries easily. He's a very good boy, isn't he?" she said. Kagome gave a nod, smiling. The wind shifted slighting, and Daitan's head shot up to attention. She smelled blood - a lot of it. Shippo then stood up on her shoulder, peering down the road.
"Hey, there's someone coming!"
Down the road, Daitan could see the figure of a man stumbling toward them. It wasn't long before he stumbled and collapsed face-first onto the dirt road. Together, the group jogged over to the man's body. Miroku checked his pulse and breathing, but withdrew soon after, shaking his head.
"He's dead. He seems like nothing more than a simple villager."
"He's not the only one who's been killed around here. The air is filled with the smell of blood." commented Inuyasha, golden eyes scanning the trees that lined the road.
"It's fresh, too," said Daitan. "We should go check it out."
They didn't have to walk far down the road until they came upon the smoking ruins of a small village. The scattered bodies of what looked like the entire population of villagers lay still and lifeless on the ground.
"Is there anyone left alive?" asked Shippo, clinging to Daitan's leg.
"Let's find out what happened," Miroku suggested, turning to Inuyasha. "We'll split up and search."
Daitan wasn't sure if her nose was still slightly congested or not, but another scent seemed to be hidden underneath the smell of blood and smoke, something more like sulfur. Before everyone could split up to look for who or what may have caused the massacre, Sango suddenly spoke up.
"Hold it!" she picked up a stone from the ground, eyes scanning the surroundings, before she hurled the stone at one of the only structures left standing. The moment it knocked the door down, an explosion tore through the house, making the ground tremble. Daitan covered her face in the wake of flying debris, and once the dust had settled, Sango nodded.
"Just what I thought. Don't move an inch! There are traps set everywhere - one step and your leg might be blown clean off."
Shippo immediately raced up to Daitan's shoulder, trembling.
"Traps are buried underground?!" he exclaimed.
"Beside all the dead bodies?" Miroku's face twisted in disgust. "If you even try to bury the dead then you'll get blown up too…" Inuyasha's hand curled around the Tessaiga. Daitan attempted to scent the air, but her nose had chosen that exact time to clog up again, and she couldn't hear anything over the racket that Inuyasha was making.
"This heartless bastard doesn't deserve to live - let's find him before he makes another move!" Inuyasha's nose twitched, and his eyes found a lone building still standing. He must have scented someone inside. Thought Daitan. Brushing off any warnings about the landmines, Inuyasha leapt at the shack anyway, and Daitan handed off Shippo to Kagome to draw her katana and take a defensive pose in front of the group.
Brandishing Tessaiga, Inuyasha destroyed the shack with one swing, and a human figure sprang out before they could be crushed. To Daitan's surprise, it was a young boy, wearing taijiya armor and wielding a kusarigama. Inuyasha easily deflected the sickle that was thrown at him, and started to yell at the boy in an attempt to interrogate him. Daitan, meanwhile, took in the state of his clothing.
He was drenched in blood, and his black hair was tied up in a short ponytail. And his eyes… I haven't seen a child's eyes look that dead since... Daitan tightened her grip on her sword to keep her hands from trembling. Now isn't the time, pull yourself together!
A soft whimper snapped Daitan out of her thoughts, and she looked back to see Sango, her hand covering her mouth and looking as if she had seen a ghost.
"That isn't…" Sango whispered. "That can't be Kohaku…" Kirara, who stood beside Sango's feet, trilled, tails twitching. She seemed to recognize the boy.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and the boy (Kohaku?) were still facing off, not moving an inch… until the boy turned and ran straight into the woods. Inuyasha attempted to follow, but unfortunately landed a foot directly onto a landmine. The ensuing explosion blew Inuyasha back twenty feet.
Sango and Kirara didn't hesitate as the cat youkai transformed into her larger and more powerful form and Sango grabbed hold of her fur. They flew off into the trees, and Daitan darted off after them, leaving Inuyasha with the rest of the group.
Tree branches and bushes whipped past as Daitan's feet pounded into the ground. She was steadily catching up to Kirara, and opened her mouth to shout for Sango…
Daitan slammed right into a barely-visible force that Sango and Kirara had somehow managed to pass through, and fell onto her back, completely winded. Sparks popped and danced in front of her eyes, and small shocks made her limbs spasm. A spirit barrier… she thought vaguely as quick footsteps approached from the direction of the village.
"Daitan!" Kagome's voice. "Are you alright?" she asked, her face swimming into Daitan's vision.
"Fine…" groaned Daitan. She coughed and pulled herself into a sitting position, the muscle spasms already having abated. Inuyasha burst out laughing from somewhere behind her, but was quickly silenced with a 'SIT!' from Kagome. Miroku, meanwhile, walked up to the barrier to examine it.
"Sango and Kirara went right through it… I was right on their tail and, well, you saw what happened," Daitan said. Thankfully, the spots had mostly cleared from her vision, and nothing seemed to be damaged other than her pride. "I think that boy was Kohaku, Sango's younger brother." Kagome nodded in agreement.
"She told us about him while we were in the hot springs - he had been killed in the castle occupied by Naraku."
"Did you notice that he had a Shikon jewel shard embedded in his back? We've experienced that one before." Miroku said gravely.
"This whole thing stinks of Naraku, he forced Sango to fight against her will in the same manner." Inuyasha growled.
"What I'm wondering is why the shield allowed only Sango and Kirara to pass through…" wondered Miroku.
Knowing Naraku, it's probably a trick. He's using Kohaku to get under Sango's skin. Thought Daitan.
—-
There was nothing more to do for the group but wait for Sango to return, as none of them could get through the barrier. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, and soon enough, Sango's figure appeared through the trees, Kirara at her side.
"Sango!" Kagome rushed up to meet the taijiya. "Was that boy your little brother? Did you get a chance to talk with him?" In an instant, Sango's eyes turned to ice.
"That boy was not my brother!" she snarled, looking away. Kagome shrank back, a quiet apology slipping through her lips. Miroku approached next, ever the mediator.
"The important thing is that you've returned unharmed. Sango, this whole incident with the traps and barrier… was it Naraku who was behind it all?" he asked. The taijiya only nodded, staring at the ground. "...I see. You must be exhausted - let's get some rest back at the village, okay?" suggested Miroku, turning back.
"Wait, Miroku," Sango spoke, clutching tightly to her hiraikotsu. "Please perform a service to honor and commemorate the dead." Miroku nodded in agreement.
Inuyasha had been uncharacteristically silent throughout, and remained that way as he led them all back to the village. Kagome took up her place at the back, with Daitan.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, and Daitan shrugged.
"I'll be alright, I was mostly just winded, is all. And I'm a youkai, I'll be fine in no time"
"I'm not talking about that," said Kagome, speaking more quietly. "I didn't want to bring it up, but ever since the hot spring, you've been a little… spacey."
Daitan's throat almost closed up, but she swallowed through it and kept her eyes forward.
"Honestly… today brought up some things I'd rather not remember," she said, and continued before Kagome could speak. "I'm not really comfortable talking about them. Maybe I'll get around to it someday, but for now I just want you to know that I'll be okay." Daitan turned to meet Kagome's eyes and smiled. The girl's eyebrows were furrowed, but she just sighed and nodded.
"...Alright."
—-
Back at the village, it took the entire afternoon to clear the village of any remaining bombs, not to mention digging a grave for all the slain villagers. The orange sun had sunk low to brush against the horizon when Daitan had finished digging one of the mass graves. She climbed out to hear the tail end of Miroku and Kagome's conversation.
"...Leave her alone with her thoughts until she's ready to talk to us about it." suggested Miroku, clearly referring to Sango. Inuyasha approached the grave that Miroku and Kagome had dug.
"Well you can't just let him off the hook," he said, a sour look on his face. "So what if he's Naraku's puppet with a jewel shard in his back? Kohaku's responsible for slaughtering an entire town! If Sango can't kill him, then I'm gonna have to take him down. Hey Sango, you got a problem with that?" he called out, and Daitan gave him a swift whack over the head. Sango said nothing from her place near the dead villagers, but turned to give Inuyasha a scorching look before getting up and leaving.
"Inuyasha, I can't believe how utterly insensitive you are!" scolded Kagome, before she took off after the taijiya.
"...I don't know what we're going to do about him," Miroku said, staring after Sango and Kagome's retreating backs. "Do we kill him?"
"Of course!" Inuyasha said immediately.
"...No matter what?" asked Miroku, taken aback at Inuyasha's conviction.
"Yeah, think about it - Naraku sent Sango's zombie-shard puppet brother because he thought we'd be too sentimental and too wimpy about it to kill him off! And there's no way I'm gonna fall for that!" Inuyasha stood his ground, and Daitan finally spoke up. Miroku, sensing potential hostilities, made a quiet exit.
"Is that it, Inuyasha?" she asked, slowly turning to meet his gaze, eyes gone completely cold, her face betraying no emotion. He wrinkled his nose and stared her down defiantly.
"That's right - we can't afford to be so predictable, and the kid's a liability!"
"So then what?" asked Daitan, standing entirely still. Her eyes never left Inuyasha's. "You would decide to kill a child… just like that?"
"Well if you're not gonna do it then someone has to-"
"No. You won't," there was a sharpness in Daitan's voice that almost made Inuyasha take a step back. "I won't let you." She turned and walked away, and left Inuyasha standing alone.
A/N: We just love some angst, don't we. As long as it doesn't last forever. I wasn't planning on having this much in this one chapter, but honestly it just wrote itself. But hey, I got a little homemade lore in there for you. I'm playing it fast and loose with how spiritual power affects youkai, and I'll have some more homemade lore stuff for youkai and stuff... can't say too much else without spoilers. We also got some Sesshomaru being a dad, which is always one of my favorite things to write. Oh, and one last thing, the bit where Kagome mentions that Daitan went to her school for a day and broke the baseball team's pitching machine? That's a little reference to her original concept, where she would be the star player on the girls' baseball team at Kagome's school. Until I started thinking a little more deeply about her character and the plot, and after a little while it just didn't make any sense. Youkai age really slowly, and it really wouldn't make sense for a hundred year old girl to go to some normal middle school. Anyway, I thought I'd add that little tidbit, just for fun :)