Chapter 6: Misplaced
Moroha had gone with the two people who claimed to be her family members. Her grandmother and Uncle led her to a house that wasn't too far from where she had emerged from and her grandmother instructed her to take a seat in their living room while she went to get proof to show her that they were in fact related.
The atmosphere was quiet and cozy and for some reason she actually did feel a strange sense of being at home here in this strange place that was unfamiliar yet something about it felt like home. She walked about the room and examined the wall hangings as she waited. The painting here looked more realistic than anything she had ever seen before.
The door suddenly slid open again and someone new had appeared this time. A short and older man had appeared in the doorway and he just stared at her for a long time and she stared back at him awkwardly as neither of them said anything and then all of a sudden tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and Moroha didn't know what to do but she knew that she didn't want him to be crying so she tried to comfort him.
The first thought that came to mind was that maybe her presence was upsetting him so she told him that she could leave if the sight of her was bothering him so much to which he adamantly shook his head.
"No, stay for as long as you like. You really do look so much like Kagome. I can't believe that this is actually happening. We haven't heard from her in over 20 years." The old man said. "How has she been?"
"Mom is doing great, she's the high priestess of our village so she's super important and she's the best mom that anyone could ask for." Moroha said as she thought back to all of the times her mother had been a safe place for her to voice her worries and receive advice.
"Is she!?" The old man exclaimed cheerfully. "Wow how responsible she's become. In her youth Kagome could be a little flighty at times but I am so proud to hear that she's become such a wonderful young woman and even a mother. She always had such a nurturing side to her." He smiled.
"Are you related to my mom as well?" Moroha asked and the man smiled.
"I'm your great grandfather but you can just call me gramps. Tell me more about how your parents have been. How is Inuyasha? Are you their only child?" Her grandfather asked cheerily just as her grandmother returned into the room.
"I've got it!" Her grandmother exclaimed happily as if she had just uncovered something grand. She held up a large booklet and brought it Moroha's way.
"This is one of my photo albums with pictures of your parents." She smiled before placing the album down in front of Moroha and showing her the various pictures that she had of her parents when they had been around her age. These paintings were just like the ones she had been observing on the walls and they were also among the most realistic paintings that she had ever seen.
Once Moroha finally saw the images there was no denying that the pictures that she was looking at were real pictures of her parents. In some of the photos they were smiling, Her mother smiled in most of the photos that she saw in the book.
Looks like mom has always been cheerful, she had thought as she looked through more of the pictures and was able to find a few where her parents looked annoyed with each other. Which made Moroha giggle a little.
It would seem like some things never changed between them.
Her grandmother also had pictures of her mother when she was younger as well as pictures of her Uncle from when he was young to and when he started a family of his own. She turned the page again and was greeted by the sight of pictures of her Uncle Sota when he was younger next to her mother and father.
One photo imparticlar caught her eye. As she continued to look through the photos that felt like precious treasures and she noticed something familiar. The picture that caught her eye was a photo of her mother when she was a child and right behind her mom was Moroha's tree. The tree of ages there it was. It was still standing in her special place that had once been in the woods but it didn't look like her woods existed here. Moroha stood up abruptly and both her grandmother and great grandfather jolted from the sudden movement.
"This tree!" She exclaimed. "Where is this tree?" She asked.
"It's the tree in front of our shrine." Her grandmother said.
"Can you take me there?" She asked and her grandmother did as she asked, guiding her to the tree of ages and once she was face to face with the tree everything finally clicked in her head it all made sense. Her mother was from the future and now she had been spirited away by the same forces that had allowed her mother to stay with her father when they each belonged to different worlds. She was stuck in the future and she had no idea on how to return or where she belonged.
Her mind raced as she rethought everything that had happened to her, everything with Yuki, the well, this tree. She looked up at the tree again as the wind gently blew around her as if it were trying to guide her in the direction of the tree and she felt something strange but before she could act on the feeling her grandmother placed her hands on her shoulders. Before sweetly speaking words of reassurance.
"Everything will be okay, back when Kagome could visit us she used to use the well to travel back and forth. I'm sure that you can do the same thing." Her grandmother smiled.
The way that she spoke from her tone to her expressions were all so similar to how Moroha's mom acted and how her mom would have calmed her down and it put Moroha's mind at ease at least a little. Her grandmother looked at her with kind eyes as she spoke again.
"How about we both go back inside and you can go take a bath while I wash your clothes before you return. Your cape is looking a little dusty after falling through that well and I'm sure that taking a bath will help you relax a little." Her grandmother smiled and Moroha nodded before following her back inside.
The bathtubs in this time were a lot different from the ones that she was used to. They didn't have to heat up the water and it appeared right from the wall already warm and ready and the flow was seemingly endless. Moroha was so intrigued but soon got lost in the relaxing feeling and nice smells that all she could do was sink deeper into the water and let her body rest.
This was probably her new favorite thing in this world and she seriously questioned whether or not she really needed to return home where there were no bathes like this but then thoughts of her fight with Yuki crossed her mind and she sank down deeper into the water holding her legs close to her chest.
Yuki whose father was apparently Naraku, whose true name wasn't even Yuki.
He had seemed haunted that night that they fought. His face crossed her mind as she thought back to how he looked at her as he reached for her when she was falling. He looked worried. What was he not telling her? She knew no matter how hard he tried to make her believe it that everything between them hadn't been a lie. She thought as she closed her eyes and cleared her lungs with a deep breath.
She needed to go back and confront him again, on her terms this time. There was just something about the way that he spoke to her that last night. How his eyes barely met hers and when they did meet his now red eyes looked hollow compared to before. He had moved less confidently in their fight too when compared to how he had fought the centipede demons as a human earlier that day.
Yuki acted as if he was just as curious about her as she was about him and that didn't come from a place of malice even when she saw his spider burn he hadn't revealed himself right away. Not until he was sure that he had been caught. She recalled the last real words that he had spoken to her before his act started.
"It was a surprisingly nice dream that we shared together over these last two days. It was a beautiful illusion that was more lucid than reality. I knew that we only had so much time left before we would wake up." He had stated those words so matter of factly but she could at least tell that out of everything that he had said that night that he really believed those words. She sighed underneath the water.
Why did he even need to lie and act when they had become friends. All he had to do was talk to her and she'd have trusted him. Moroha didn't care about who his father was or his true name. All she cared about was the boy who had become her friend and how he felt like he couldn't be true to himself as he was lost on a hopeless path to revenge.
Naraku's enemies did not have to be his enemies too and Moroha would show him that. All of these thoughts swirled heavily in her mind. Before she finished her bath and put on the clothes that her grandmother had left her.
She put on some pants that fit around her waist well but were loose fitting and comfortable and a shirt that was a light red color that was soft and comfortable. She couldn't find her red bow anywhere in the restroom so she assumed that her grandmother had taken it for cleaning as well so she left her hair down. She'd have to remember to get that bow back before she left, it was her favorite after all.
She remembered as a kid telling her mother that she wished that she had ears like her papa and her then making the red bow for her and how her eyes became stars once she put it on. Her mother could always make her another bow but the one that she had worn for all of these years was priceless.
Moroha went down stairs feeling refreshed and less achy from her wounds that had already started to heal and her grandmother was finishing up with dinner. Moroha asked if she could help and her grandmother happily accepted her offer.
"Mom makes this a lot." Moroha said with a smile as she recognized the ingredients for curry and her grandmother smiled.
"Kagome loved cooking for her friends when she was your age. I'm sure she's an even better cook now that she has a family of her own."
"Mom cooks the best. My sister Yuna's cooking is really good too and I cook just as well as both of them. My cousin Towa likes mom's cooking so much that she wakes up extra early to try and eat breakfast with us almost every morning." Moroha laughed.
"Yuna, who is three years younger than you, correct? And then there's Haru who is 9 and Sora who is 8 right?" Her grandmother asked. Moroha had only told her about her siblings once and she already had all of her grandchild's names and ages committed to memory.
"Yes, that's all of us." Moroha said as they finished with the prep and the food was finally done.
"Moroha, I heard you mention that you have a cousin, are you close?" Her grandfather asked as he took a seat with her and her grandmother for their meal.
"Yes, Towa and Setsuna are my best friends though Setsuna thinks that she's too cool for us sometimes." Moroha said as she ate her food.
"I'm so happy that Kagome has such a nice family. When she left we didn't get a lot of time to say goodbye, so I'm really glad that we were able to meet you." Her grandmother said and the three of them had a nice meal together before she told Moroha that her clothes probably wouldn't be dry until later on that night so she should probably just stay the night and leave the next morning.
Moroha knew that she probably should return home as soon as possible, as not to worry anyone but her grandmother looked so happy when asking her to stay. Moroha couldn't upset her by saying no so she agreed to stay rationalizing her choice by telling herself that no one would probably notice her absence anyway plus she would have more time to think about what exactly to say to Yuki the next time she saw him.
Her grandmother had let her sleep in her mothers old room. It had been so long since her mother had been in the room that she couldn't even smell her mother's scent here. It had been so long but just being in a space that was once hers helped Moroha to think more clearly about what she wanted to do.
She had fallen down the bone eaters well and was now spirited away to her mothers home. Yuki said that he believed himself to be her enemy, but he was now conflicted. He had made it no secret that revenge was his end goal but it didn't seem like he wanted to take revenge on her or any of her friends. She wanted to meet Yuki again and when she did this time if they absolutely had to fight she wouldn't lose. She thought as she fell asleep.
The next morning her Uncle Sota returned to her grandmother's house. He hadn't stayed long the other day after she had appeared and they had only gotten to speak briefly but now he was with his wife and his daughter who couldn't have been any older than Haru or Sora and she was absolutely adorable. She asked Moroha all kinds of questions and was impressed by her cousin's strength and superhuman abilities that she had only heard about in books and tv shows.
The family that her mother left behind was just as caring and loving as theirs back home and Moroha realized how hard it must have been for her mom to decide to leave forever but that had just been how much she loved her dad. She loved him enough to leave everything here behind. It was almost scary when Moroha thought about the possibility of herself ever falling victim to such feelings.
Moroha spent most of the day with her mother's family even after her clothes dried as they kept finding more and more things to show her and more things to talk about. It was getting to be late and time had simply slipped by Moroha who agreed to eat dinner with her family here in the present one last time before she would attempt to leave the way that she came.
She understood that she might never see any of them again so she stayed longer than she really should have. The family was all eating their meal before the door to the dining room slid open behind them and there her brothers stood in the doorway with determined looks on their faces but once their eyes met hers and they saw that she was okay Sora ran to her and tackled her in a hug with tear filled eyes.
"I thought that a demon ate you!" Sora cried.
"Sora get off me I'm completely fine." Moroha said annoyed and Haru stomped over to her.
"What is your excuse for going missing for almost two days and making everyone worry. Towa and Setsuna are out looking for you. I knew you were fine but everyone else was overreacting." Haru said, trying to play it off that he hadn't been just as worried as everyone else.
"Ohhh really?" Moroha said she could see right through him and she pulled both of them into a hug. "I'm sorry you guys, I didn't mean to make you worry."
"Are these your brothers?" Her grandmother asked and Moroha nodded.
"Haru, Sora, this is our grandmother." Moroha said with a smile and both boys looked at her with skepticism.
"I'm serious, mom always said she was from a different time this is where." Moroha added. They boys were still skeptical until their grandmother brought down that same photo album that she had shown Moroha the day before. After looking at the photos and talking to their mothers family more the boys believed her and even Haru allowed his grandmother to give him a hug.
The boys were then able to be persuaded to join the meal with their family. It didn't take much convincing as the delicious smell was overwhelming and the two explained to Moroha everything that had happened since she'd been gone and once she heard about how worried everyone was she wanted to leave right away.
Before they left to go back home their grandmother insisted that her and her brothers let her pack them all a backpack with food and supplies that they might need since they can't get everything that she has back home to which the siblings agreed. Once their grandmother was finished packing the three large yellow backpacks she handed Moroha some envelopes.
"Give these to your mom when you see her. Gramps, Sota and I wrote her some letters so that she'd know that we're doing all right. We haven't seen her in so many years so I hope that these make her smile." She smiled.
"I'll give these to her as soon as she gets home." Moroha said and her grandmother hugged her tight.
"I'm sorry for keeping you for so long and making your friends worry, but I am so happy that I got to meet you all." She said as she hugged Haru and Sora as well. "You've all grown up so beautifully and I wish that I could have gotten to know each of you better. You kids will always be welcome here so if you're ever able to return please come and see us. " Their grandmother said as she wiped the corners of her eyes.
"I'll come again,"Sora said. "I've never met anyone who's cooking tastes exactly like moms."
"It might not be that easy." Haru said.
Their grandmother nodded. "I know, if it were then your mother would return from time to time. This has been more than enough. Please tell your sister that I wish that I could have met her as well."
"We will." Moroha smiled sadly.
"You three take care. Thank you for sharing more stories about your father with me. He's still just as cool as I remember. " Their uncle Sota said with a smile and everyone then proceeded to say goodbye.
Gramps had offered Moroha the foot of a Kappa for good luck and she didn't see what he meant about it having special qualities but she hugged him nonetheless after her initial shock had worn off and he cried saying that Kagome had such a good daughter.
The three siblings left the house but that feeling that Moroha had gotten the other day was back and the wind felt as if it were pulling her in a certain direction. She just couldn't shake this feeling that something was calling her so she allowed the wind to carry her with each step that she took and her brothers followed her all the way to the sacred tree where she placed her hand on its trunk now and in an instant she was no longer where she had been. She along with her brothers were somewhere else entirely now and were now face to face with what looked like their mother.
"Mama!" All three of the siblings had mistaken.
"I'm not your mother, this form merely resembles the priestess who's spiritual power was one used in an arrow head that was bound to my tree. Your mother is her reincarnation."
"Why did you call me here? Ever since I first arrived I could feel the wind pulling me here." Moroha asked.
"Your heart was seeking answers so I simply decided to let you know why it is that you and your siblings can travel through the bone eaters well while both of your parents no longer possess this ability. Your mother was born here in the present while your father was born in the past under normal circumstances the two would have never met but they did and they had you children whose blood comes from two different times and as a result time doesn't know where to place any of you so you can move between worlds freely for now but as your generations go on this ability will fade out and your bloodline will become more in place as you reproduce. So act well, misplaced children and consider carefully where you think you should belong. The tree of ages stated before they appeared right back where they had been in front of the tree with Moroha's hand on its trunk and their extended family members were now behind them asking if everything was okay. The three nodded and Moroha smiled.
"Grandma, we will come back some day." Moroha said and their mother's family saw them off taking them all the way to the bone eaters well where each of the three siblings jumped in and returned home.
Jumping into the well this time was a lot less scary for the kids and Moroha was actually able to appreciate the flying feelings of traveling between worlds this time. The three soon found themselves trying to lugg the heavy bags out of the well. Moroha coming out last and when she did her friends were there. Towa ran right up to her and pinched Moroha's cheek causing her to slap her hand away.
"Hey what gives." She snapped
"You're lucky a pinch is all you got. Do you know how worried we've been!" Hisui said.
"Have you really been that worried? How come Sora and I found Moroha easily but you three hunters had no clue where to start." Haru scolded.
"Where exactly were you Moroha? What happened on the night that you came here with Yuki?" Setsuna asked and Moroha's expression got serious as she looked to her little brothers who looked at her confused as to how Yuki fit into all of this, she sighed before telling everyone the truth about what happened that night.
"Yuki made you go missing!?" Sora gasped, surprised after Moroha had told everyone what happened the night that she disappeared. "And Mama and papa left to kill Yuki because his father was bad!" Sora added, still surprised at what he was hearing while Haru's expression stayed stern as he began to speak.
"Yuki tried to hurt you so I'm never going to forgive him, but you should have fought him more seriously. Do you think that dad would have held back?" Haru said. The older kids stayed quiet as they thought after hearing what had really happened and who Yuki really was.
"I don't think that Yuki wanted to hurt me." Moroha said quickly. "He looked haunted as we fought. Someone who actually wants you dead doesn't move the way that he did. Yes he had spoken about getting revenge on the people who ruined his family but I don't think that he wanted his revenge to include us. He said that he wanted me to go with him so that all of you would follow but I don't believe that everything was fake, it wasn't all a lie and I want to ask him why he's still going through with this when he's not sure."
"You don't think that he wants his revenge to include us?" Setsuna asked in disbelief. "He said it himself that he sees you as his natural enemy. The fact that he has declared both of our fathers to be his enemy naturally includes us. I understand that you really liked the person that he pretended to be, we all did but you're not listening to him when he's showing us exactly who he is. He even attacked Towa today. Does that sound like someone who's confused about what he wants to do?" Setsuna asked and Moroha looked to Towa.
"Is this true?" Moroha asked, surprised she didn't want to believe that Yuki was bad just because of who his father was. Towa looked uncomfortable as she briefly thought about what to say. As Moroha looked at her with wide eyes, and Setsuna held her gaze with a stern look. Both her sister and her cousin wanted her to clearly take a side and she hated being in the middle of things that were serious but this wasn't about sides, this was about being honest with what really happened.
"Well Yuki wasn't exactly the one who attacked me. A demon with long dark hair had been chucking poison knives at me in the forest and this poison was no joke had I been hit with a larger amount of it. It could have been dangerous but Yuki didn't attack me, he made himself known inorder to save the person who was attacking me. He can change his appearance so I didn't know that it was him until I smelt his blood, but once I figured out who he was I made sure that he'd be sorry for whatever he did to you." Towa said the last part, serious but then her voice went back to normal when she said. "But he ended up getting away because that other demon that was throwing the knives must have helped him out by distracting me. While Yuki can shape shift. I think that the other demon can make illusions. After hearing what you said Moroha, Yuki did tell me the truth about what happened before you disappeared but we still can't write him off when it comes to whether or not he'll target us again."
"He's working with someone too so we have no idea what this other person might do when it comes to getting revenge on your families." Hisui added with his hand on his chin finally speaking after taking everything into consideration.
"I understand that Yuki is dangerous and that we might never understand why he's doing what he's doing but I don't want dad or Uncle Sesshomaru to kill him." Moroha said seriously. "I don't think that he knows everything about his father and even if he does he doesn't deserve to die just because of who he's related to." Moroha said and everyone was quiet for a long moment.
Just a few days ago they had been made aware of Naraku's crimes and the truth of his existence and how he had brought all of their parents together and now they had all met his son and none of them could believe that he was a monster like his father once was. Towa was the one to break the uncomfortable silence that had laced the air.
"You want to find out the truth about Yuki and I don't think that we should just sit around the village aimlessly hoping that he won't come back. Yuki brought this fight to us so why don't we follow through." Towa smirked.
"What are you talking about? You don't make any sense.'" Setsuna stated.
"I'm saying that since we're involved now we should just take care of Yuki ourselves. His father was our parents' enemy and now he's decided that he might want to be ours. We should track him down and figure it out for ourselves." Towa said.
"You're crazy, all of our parents have gone to get rid of this last ghost from their past and they've tried our whole lives to make sure that we never even knew the name Naruka and you want us to put ourselves into this fight." Hisui said.
"We're not putting ourselves into this fight. Yuki did that when he snaked his way into our village and into Moroha's home. We're all involved now whether you like it or not. This was made to be our fight too the moment Yuki attacked Moroha and you can either stay here and pretend that nothing happened or you can come with me to show Yuki why he shouldn't cross our lines." Towa said seriously and there was no light in her voice as she meant every word that she spoke.
"We should go. I know that you all think that I'm still in a daze from everything that happened but I'm not. None of you were there that night that I fell. It was just me and him, none of you really know what happened. I want to ask Yuki why one last time and if he really has betrayed me and he really was lying all this time then I'll kill him myself if it comes to that." Moroha said and Towa nodded.
"Then it's settled, the two of us should be more than enough to take Yuki down if we have to." Towa said.
"We'll come too!" Sora and Haru said.
"You're too young and with Towa and I gone you need to stay to protect the village." Moroha told her brothers who huffed in response and she now had to calm her bickering brothers.
"What about you sis are you going to stay here?" Towa asked Setsuna who let out a long sigh.
"Do you even have to ask? I can't let the two of you leave the village unsupervised so I don't have much of a choice."
"You know you could have said yes like a normal person but you're just too cool huh." Towa teased her sister and Setsuna rolled her eyes as Towa looked at Hisui.
"So I guess you'll be coming too now that Setsu's coming right?" She smiled teasingly and Hisui blushed.
"I am coming because we are a team. I would never let three of the most important ladies in my life travel alone." Hisui said and Towa laughed at his last statement.
"Thanks, we're really going to need your protection out there." Towa Said sarcastically.
"Yeah I just don't know what we'd do without a big strong man who used to scream whenever we fought bug demons." Moroha added after she had swiftly punched both of her siblings in the head to quiet any further protest about going with her to find Yuki.
"That was only one time and the demon came out of nowhere and the report had said nothing about any bug demons either!" Hisui stated, annoyed and Setsuna laughed at how flushed he was becoming.
"It's okay, that never bothered me." Setsuna teased as well.
"Even if Setsuna wasn't going, we're a team and I wouldn't want the both of you out there at half strength." Hisui said seriously clarifying his reason with them, before the teens made their plans to meet at the bone eaters well the next morning when they would set off to find Yuki.
The teens all set off towards their homes after some time. Hisui hopped onto Kilala's back and flew to his home as he lived the farthest away out of all of them. He didn't mind going to find Yuki but the thoughts of how much Naraku had taken from both his mother's family and his father's family filled his mind. He had to go with them because if anything were to happen to any of them he didn't think that he could survive it.
Setsuna was the most level out of the girls. She was the one that usually planned ahead and thought things through but even she could be rash at times. Hisui promised himself that night that as long as he was there none of his friends would get hurt and he would make the hard choices if it came to that so that they wouldn't have to feel burdened.
Hisui arrived home to not only his sisters being present but his Uncle as well.
"I came to check on you since you never came back to the slayers guild today. Did you find Moroha?" His uncle asked.
"Yes, she fell into the bone eaters well and her brothers found her before we did." Hisui stated nonchalantly.
"The bone eaters well?" Both his Uncle and his sisters echoed as Hisui shut the door behind him and took his shoes off with a serious expression.
"Is she okay? If her family needs any help while their parents are away then Gyokuto and I can stop by and help sometime." Kin'u said.
"Gyokuto and I? Kin'u why are you always volunteering the both of us?" Gyokuto complained.
"Moroha is fine." Hisui said as he released a deep breath. "Her, Setsuna, Towa and I have decided that we are going to leave the village for a little while."
"Leave the village? But you said that you'd help me deliver some weapons tomorrow night." Gyokuto said.
"And you were supposed to fill in for me for one of my jobs in two days." Kin'u added.
"I'm sorry but it will have to wait until I get back." Hisui said and his sisters both glared at him.
"Uncle I'm glad that you're here because I need to ask you something and I need you to be honest since my team has already decided to leave the village tomorrow regardless of anything else." Hisui said and Kohakuk's interest peaked at what his nephew might ask him.
"Hisui you can ask me anything but maybe you should consider leaving the village after your parents return. Your mom is going to kill me if I let you leave the village while she's away like this. Moroha's dad will too if his daughter is gone when he gets back. What's gotten into you to want to do this all of a sudden?" Kohaku asked and Hisui's expression stayed serious.
"Naraku, we know about Naraku and his son Onigumo who was going by Yuki was here in this village for two days before he pushed Moroha into the bone eaters well. I need you to tell me everything you know about him before I leave tomorrow." Hisui said determined and Kohaku stared at him for a long moment as he processed what his nephew had just told him. His sisters were silent now as well. They knew of Naraku from what their father had told them about his curse but their uncle's past with him would be new information to them.
Kohaku looked at him seriously now and he spoke sternly."The demon's that you kids run around slaying are nothing compared to what Naraku used to be. You've never faced any real danger and you're in over your head if you think you can handle anything near as sinister as Naraku."
Hisui stared back at his uncle with a look of pure determination as he responded. "You're right we haven't fought any foe like him before and that's why I don't want to blindly run towards his son knowing nothing of the past. From what Kaedae told us you know a lot about him from back then."
Kohaku clenched his first as he recalled his darkest days. "I was merely one of his puppets until he grew tired of using me. He destroyed our family and then he used me over and over again to try and hurt your mother. The issue of his son isn't your problem. Hisui let your parents and Inuyasha handle it. Some truths should stay buried."
"So you're really not going to tell me anything!? I'm going tomorrow whether you like it or not. I'm not a little kid anymore Uncle I don't need you to try and shelter me."
"Hisui I don't think that you should try and press uncle like this. That stuff is obviously hard for him to recall. You should be more considerate." Gyokuto said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"How about we all ask mom and dad about Naraku together when they get back if you really want to know and then you and the girls can all decide if you want to leave then." Kin'u added.
"We're not waiting. This fight was brought to us so we have personal ties in this now. Nothing that either of you say is going to make me change my mind. I won't let them leave without me tomorrow." Hisui stated and realization hit Kohaku in that moment as he recalled what he had just been talking about with his nieces before Hisui arrived. Hisui wasn't acting out of reason, he was acting on feelings.
"You think that just because you're in love with a half demon that you're invincible." Kohaku spoke, trying to push some reason into his nephew's head. "We're only human Hisui, that world of demons will scar you in ways that you'll never heal from if you're not careful. I didn't belong there and neither do you. No matter how much you love Setsuna, things will never be easy for the two of you because of her demon blood. You've seen how her father is and how even though Inuyasha is good hearted some people still look at him and his children with disdain." Kohaku said and Hisui's blood went cold he hadn't even announced his relationship with Setsuna yet and his Uncle was already acting like it was his business to say rather or not they could belong together.
"Maybe you should let them go alone, Hisui." Kin'u said and his head snapped over in his sister's direction.
"Kin'u!" Gyokuto gasped. "He's not going to turn his back on his friends."
"I love the girls too but I understand what uncle is saying. Back when you were engaged to princess Aya I wasn't worried about you but when I found you alone with Setsuna the other day, I couldn't help but wonder if you could ever really be happy with her like you would have been with someone human. We'll never look at you differently you know that and we don't think badly of Setsuna but others will see you differently. It won't always be easy being together with a half demon girl." Kin'u said with genuine concern but Hisui just looked at her with anger. Her and his uncle while Gyokuto placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't listen to them you two are happy aren't you. What others think shouldn't change that no matter what as long as this is what both of you want, who cares what small minded people think." Gyokuto said and Hisui was able to calm down enough to find the right words to say to his sister and Uncle.
"I don't care about how easy being with someone human would be in comparison and I never will. I love Setsuna. I choose Setsuna so whatever comes our way we'll face it together, even when it's hard. The petty glances and words of others could never sway my feelings for her but this isn't about who I choose to love. This is about our family history and what you're keeping from me." Hisui said and Kohaku's mouth set into a thin line in response to what Hisui still pushed to know while Kin'u's eyes sat heavy in response before Kohaku spoke again.
"You want to know what it was like for me being by Naraku's side for all that time then fine. Let's go outside and if you beat me in a fight you'll have my blessing to leave and I'll tell you everything that I know."
Moroha walked into her home with her brothers, all three of them lugging in big book bags full of stuff that their grandmother had packed for them. Yuna was already there, and when her eyes met Moroha's a sigh of relief left her chest.
"I knew you'd come back." Yuna said. With a soft smile, she had been calm for her brother's sake but she had been genuinely worried about her sister this whole time. She told herself over and over again that her sister was strong and that was the only reason why she had been able to put on a brave face for everyone else. Moroha smiled back at her kindly.
"Of course I was coming back Mom and Dad did leave me incharge. I hope that the power didn't go to your head while I was away." Moroha teased.
"Of course not because I am so telling mom and dad about this one so there's no chance that you'll ever be left in charge again." Yuna said.
"I think I'm on Yuna's side this time. She never hits us like you do." Sora said and Moroha sent him a glare.
"She makes you have bed time." Moroha countered.
"She also lets us go with her when she leaves the village." Haru added still sulking that his sister would be leaving him behind and Moroha rolled her eyes.
"Where did you three get those bags from?" Yuna asked and Moroha smiled before saying.
"Haru you two should bring Yuna to meet grandma and gramps while I'm away. They would like that."
"While you're away?" Yuna asked and Moroha took a deep breath.
"Yuna, Yuki is Naraku's son and two nights ago we fought and I fell into the bone eaters well. Mom's family lives on the other side and they took care of me over the last two days until Sora and Haru found me and told me how worried everyone was."
"The bone eaters well?" Yuna asked in barely a whisper. "How could you have fallen in there? Towa, Setsuna and I checked, they jumped in to see if you were at the bottom but you weren't there."
"You should have jumped in like Haru and Sora then you could have found me really quickly." Moroha said nonchalantly.
"Wait Haru and Sora you jumped into the bone eaters well?! I thought that we talked about this. To let our cousins and Hisui find Moroha." Yuna scolded.
"No one was taking her missing seriously. If we had done what you wanted Moroha would still be missing! I was sick of everyone telling me that nothing was wrong!" Haru exclaimed.
"Hey!" Moroha yelled and her siblings quieted down. "What's past is past, let's not argue about what anyone should or should not have been doing now. You were all incredibly strong while I was gone and now I'm home so there's no need to worry. Yuna, while we were in that other world, the tree of ages told Haru, Sora and I that we're misplaced, because mom is from the other side and dad is from here. We're misplaced and time doesn't know where to place us so we can freely go between worlds just like mom used to. Of course you don't have to ever go down the well if you don't want to but it's worth it to meet our family over there at least once."
"I can't believe that Sora went through that creepy old well. I don't know if I can do it, imagine the rumors that will fly about us now if we're seen doing that on a regular basis." Yuna said.
"Hey Sora was very brave, he only cried twice after he jumped in." Haru said in defense of his brother.
"The well isn't that scary Yuna, wait until you see all the cool buildings!" Sora exclaimed. "I'll hold your hand if you get scared." Sora smiled sincerely.
"I'll think about it." Yuna said and Moroha decided to rip the bandaid right off when it came to telling Yuna that she was leaving.
"You can be incharge from now on." Moroha said.
"Excuse me?" Yuna said, confused by her sister's sudden statement.
"Towa, Hisui, Setsuna and I are going after Yuki tomorrow so that leaves you in charge until I get back. Please take care of everyone for me." Moroha said and Yuna was silent for a moment as she questioned if she was hearing correctly before she exploded.
"You are insane! Mom and dad are gone and you want to run away and fight their enemies that they wanted to keep secret from us?!"
"Yuki is different from his father. I don't want them to kill him so I'm going to find him first and make him tell me the truth. After he tells me what's really going on. I'll help get him out of whatever trouble he's in and he'll be free. I plan on being back before mom and dad return in a few weeks so just take over until I return."
"If Yuki is Naraku's son you know that changes everything right? From the moment that he met you he had an ulterior motive. Mom and dad are going to be so mad when they get back and find you gone."
"Relax I just said that I'll be back before them so it won't matter as long as you don't rat me out."
"What are you going to do if he doesn't tell you what you want to hear? If he's really bad and wants to kill you after all?" Yuna asked.
"Then I'll do what I have to, if that's what it comes to." Moroha said.
Yuna was quiet for a long while before sighing. "This is your dream to be an adventurer. I don't want you to go but if our cousins and Hisui are there then I know that you'll be safe so I need you to promise me that you won't get yourself killed before mom and dad have the chance to yell at you about this later and that you will come back." Yuna said seriously.
"Of course I'll come back. I'm the famous demon huntress Moroha after all." She smiled. "Grandma and our other family members wrote mom letters so I'll leave them with you before I go. And grandma also gave us some food that's really going to make you want to go visit." Moroha said to Yuna before her and her brothers made Yuna some of the ninja food that they had brought back with them from their mothers time.
Hisui had been fighting his uncle for over two hours now, he was keeping up pretty well with him but he was nowhere near besting him all out. His uncle fought with determination but so did Hisui as he dodged his blows and struck him back even knocking him off his feet a few times. While his sisters had watched.
His sisters had tried to get them to not fight it out but neither Kohaku nor Hisui would budge on their own resolve. Hisui fought with determination and confidence yet his heart wasn't completely into fighting Kohaku because he didn't want to be fighting his uncle.
"If the girls want to go chasing Naraku's son, let them. Naraku's done enough harm to our family already. I won't let you become one of his victims."
"I'm not going to become one of his victims. This involves the people that I care about, therefore it involves me regardless of if you beat me up or not old man I'm still going!" Hisui said and was able to overpower his uncle knocking him to the ground yet again as he got even more serious.
"This whole time that we've been fighting you've let about 6 openings go. I've knocked you down 12 times but I could've killed you 6 times over had I wanted to." Kohaku said. "You can't afford to be hesitant when you're fighting against real threats even if they look familiar. You need to always fight with everything that you have as if your life depends on it because it just might. I don't think that any of you are ready to be leaving the village like this but I'm not so delusional to think that I'd be able to stop you all even if I tried. So I'll tell you the truth, the whole truth and in return you had better never hesitate in battle ever again." Kohaku told Hisui before telling him everything that had happened while he was working with Naraku and everything that he remembered about him.
When Towa and Setsuna had gotten home Rin had already made dinner and the three of them sat down for what was going to be their last meal together for a long time. Rin asked them if they had been able to find their cousin and Setsuna had stated that they did find her before telling her mother that they planned on going after Yuki who is Naraku's son.
"I see, where did you girls hear that name from?" Their mother asked softly.
"Moroha heard her parents talking about him before they left so we asked granny Kaedae about him a few days ago." Towa said and Rin sighed.
"Of course that old woman would tell you. You could have asked me, You know. If you really wanted to know I would have told you."
"You don't like to recall bad things. We thought that we were being considerate." Setsuna said.
"I don't like to recall that kind of stuff but I also don't want you girls to feel like you can't come to me when you want to know something. Your father already left to take care of the son of Naraku. Are you sure that you don't want to just leave it to him and your uncle? When he gets back, him and I wanted to talk to you girls about something important." Rin said seriously.
"Father will kill Yuki on the spot. Moroha wants to talk to him first before we decide what to do about him." Towa said.
"If worst comes to worst I'll take him down without any hesitation so you don't have to worry about us mom. We'll be back before father returns so we can all talk then." Setsuna said.
"I'm not worried about letting you leave girls. You're your father's daughters after all. I know that you can more than handle anything that comes your way. Just please look out for your cousin and keep Hisui in one piece while you're gone so that he can officially meet your father once you return." Rin said which sparked a slew of teasing comments from Towa in return.
The next morning the teens all met at the bone eaters well just like they had promised. They all arrived wearing their casual clothes, each of them carrying a backpack of sorts of what they each deemed to be essential and Moroha brought the bright yellow backpack that her grandmother had packed for her which had been filled with all kinds of foods from the future that she was sure her friends would like.
They then discussed everything that they knew about both Naraku and Yuki and what they would have to look out for when it came to what abilities Yuki might have. They discussed all of this as well as a strategy for what they would do once they actually found him. The night that Moroha had fought with Yuki his plan had been to lure them all away and by leaving to find him they could be giving him what he wanted so they would have to be cautious. After discussing and debating some they had come to an agreement on how to proceed before they finally set off towards what would be the adventure of their lives. The group had barely made it past the tree of ages before a loud voice rang through the air behind them.
"Moroha!" The voice called and the teens all turned to see Shinji who was catching his breath after running for a long while. Three of them exchanged looks of annoyance while Towa chuckled at the unwarranted interruption to their travels.
"What are you doing Shinji?" Hisui asked flat out.
"I'm going with you. Please let me accompany you on your travels." Shinji stated as he caught his breath and now all four of them noticed the bag on Shinji's back as if he were going to be traveling for an extended time.
"Shinji, you have got to stop with this. All of those proposals past the first time were one thing but this is crazy. How did you even know that we were leaving? Do you even know why we're leaving?" Moroha asked, clearly annoyed beyond belief.
"The reason why doesn't matter, Sora let it slip that you all were going away when I visited your house this morning. After going missing like that you were really going to leave without saying a word to me weren't you?" He said, hurt as he stared at her waiting for her response to what he was saying but she really had nothing to say to him. She had always been clear about how she felt and she didn't owe him anything. Shinji just felt entitled to her feelings because he was trying so hard and for some reason he couldn't comprehend why on earth she had rejected him.
"Shinji, you have never fought a demon in your life, you're not coming with us. You'd be a liability. " Hisui said without hesitation not even entertaining the idea of letting Shinji join them.
"I can use a sword and besides the battlefield isn't the typical place for a woman and all three of them do it easy enough so it shouldn't be too hard to learn." Shinji said which caused him to receive sharp glares from each of the girls.
"How about we just put it to a vote." Towa said. "All in favor of Shinji to come with us? Raise a hand." She smiled and no one raised a hand. Towa then shrugged. "Sorry Shinji, I tried."
"That was not fair! I'm going with you and you can't stop me even if you tried!" He exploded and Setsuna had had enough of his screeching. She walked towards him and he tried to look tough like he wasn't scared at all of her approaching him silently until she raised her blade and he jumped back.
"We can't stop you?" She asked skeptically. "Then take out that toy sword of yours and prove that you won't slow us down." She pointed her blade at his chin and Shinji looked past her to Moroha as if she was supposed to help him.
"Why are you looking at me? You want to accompany us so badly just beat Setsuna in a fair fight and we'll let you come. Though if this were a real fight you'd have probably already lost your head ten times over by now." Moroha said matter of factly. Shinji hadn't even drawn his sword.
"This is anything but fair and you know it!" Shinji huffed. "I will not fight my fiancés cousin!" He said and all of the teens groaned at his annoying persistence.
"Maybe you fight women, Hisui as a demon slayer brute but my code of honor could never allow me to lay a hand on any lady much less my fiancés family members." Shinji said, which made Moroha and Towa chuckle while glancing at Hisui who looked at Shinji in disbelief while shaking his head at his comments.
"That's too bad." Was all that Setsuna said in response to Shinji who looked at her with question as she put her blade behind her before swiftly chopping the side of Shinji's neck with her hand and making him pass out. "For you that is." She stated as she caught Shinji before he completely fell.
"Hisui, are you planning to beat us up during our travels?" Towa immediately joked in response to Shinji's remark.
"Probably on the next moonless night." Hisui stated nonchalantly.
"In your dreams." Towa smiled, rolling her eyes making Hisui laugh as Setsuna placed Shinji down under a tree before the teens now finally left the village that they all called home and headed towards the adventure of their lives.
A.N:
Thank you for reading. The next chapter is titled The Redbone Palace and is inspired by episode 5 of the Yashahime anime. Chapter 7 was another one of my favorites to write and will be up sometime next weekend.