InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Minds, Shattered Hearts ❯ Siblings ( Chapter 10 )

As it turns out, Benedict already knew Japanese. I did not see fit to question why. Fiona was picking it up at a good pace, though. Gerard didn't have it so lucky—he was slow, as compared to the rest of us, and had no intention of learning a new language, so he had to talk through Benedict or me to communicate with the rest of them.

 

I was still bothered by Fiona's reaction to Kagome. I was scared of what she might do if I pushed her for it, though. I wondered if I was the only one who noticed Fiona couldn't keep her eyes off the girl.

 

We had been traveling no more than thirty minutes when I felt the cold tingling sensation of someone trying to trump me. I opened my mind, waiting for it—it had to be Flora or Miroku; he would have just finished transversing the Pattern and ready to come back.

 

No image presented itself, though. For a good thirty seconds, I waited. Then, I heard the sinister chuckling.

 

“What the hell do you want, Brand?”

 

He chuckled again, then letting me see only his body, and not his surroundings. “Corwin, shouldn't you be more cordial to your brother?”

 

“Fuck no! You aren't my `brother' any more.”

 

“Just because I chose to side with the… stronger power doesn't make me any less your sibling.”

 

Why was he just small talking me, and not saying anything of significance? Was he just trying to rile me up? Let him play that game, then. I'll have none of it. I put on my best stoic mask, and quieted the voice that told me I could try to throw something at him.

 

“Who says that Chaos is stronger?” I asked, icily.

 

“No one has to say it is stronger for it to be, `Brother'.”

 

I got flashes of my life, on this shadow, when I didn't know who I was. Why would they plague me now? I had no reason to bother with those memories at this point.

 

“I see you pain, Corwin. All those years, unaware of your heritage. It must have been unpleasant at least; maybe even—“

 

I had figured out what he was doing; using the trump contact to rifle though my head like some strange book. I would have none of it.

 

“Go and burn in Hell!” I screamed at him, and then tried to shut off the connection. It was difficult, if not impossible if Miroku had not chosen that time to try to trump me. I focused all my attention on him, and tried to shut out Brand. It worked, and his mind disappeared from mine.

 

“Corwin, are you alright?” he asked, in Thari.

 

“Just that infernal brother of mine.” I spat out.

 

Bring me through, his thoughts came into my head, though not spoken, we have things you and I need to discuss. Alone.

 

 

I wondered all afternoon what Miroku needed to speak with me about. He said nothing about it, though, and he rode with Sango on Kirara, as he normally did. I was left to my thoughts.

 

How was it that Brand knew more about the rest of us than we did? The thought was unnerving, at least. Did he truly intend to destroy Amber by destroying the Unicorn's Heart? As long as we had shards of it, he couldn't destroy it. But as long as we had shards, Dworkin would still be ill. Decisions, decisions.

 

And, if what Brand had implied was true, about Miroku and I being brothers, then not only was his mother born out of incest, but he himself was the result of a union between my daughter and Miroku's grandfather. How could that be, though? Dad had been hanging out in Lorraine until he came with me. Sure, we went to Shadow Earth to get some guns and special ammunition… I did leave him alone for a couple of weeks, as a German tourist. Come to think of it, the timing would be about right… except this seemed like the feudal era, and I had passed through Shadow to get here. How had he known to come to that shrine, and to pass through that well, or at least to Shadowshift here?

 

Nothing but questions. I decided to leave it to stew around in my brain for a while, and thought about the well instead. I now knew that both of them were beings of Substance. I knew that Inuyasha was Swayvill's son, and thus aligned to the Logrus. Kagome, though, I was still unsure of. Fiona knew something about her, but she would hand me my balls on a silver platter if I dug too deep where she obviously didn't want probed. Everything confusing there, also.

 

I wondered what else Miroku had learned from the Pattern. It had either taught him or implanted the knowledge of Thari in his gray matter. The difference was academic. He knew Thari, and that was that. I wondered if the Pattern showed him what his ancestry was, or who his brothers and sisters were. Did it show him what Amber, set atop Kolvir looks like? Did it impart to him the knowledge of the Primal Pattern?

 

I was starting to get a headache from so many unanswered questions jumbled in my head, so I relaxed, and watched the group. I turned to Kirara, Sango, and Miroku just in time to watch one of their rub-slap-“Hentai!” displays. This was the first time any of my siblings-minus Miroku-had seen such. Benedict looked on in stoic interest, though the gleam in his eyes betrayed his amusement. Gerard failed to see Miroku's trademark behavior, and didn't understand what “Hentai” meant, so the confusion that marred his cow-eyes was understandable. Fiona was too caught up in staring absently at Kagome that she failed to notice the comedy.

 

It was dusk by this time, so Inuyasha called a halt at a clearing, and told us to set up camp. I could hear the burbling of a stream nearby.

 

“I want to go take a bath!” Kagome declared, once Inuyasha had set her down.

 

“I want to go take a bath—you say that every day!”

 

“And what's wrong with me wanting to stay clean?”

 

“There ain't nothing wrong with you wanting to stay clean; you just don't need a bath now!”

 

“Aarggg!”

 

I watched the argument unfold before me. Gerard looked confused again, as he knew no Japanese, but Fiona held a hand over her mouth, probably to keep from laughing, and Benedict actually had a slight upturning of his mouth.

 

Kagome stomped off towards her bag, and pulled out a couple of bottles—I recognized them as shampoo and conditioner.

 

“I am going to take a bath, Dog Boy, whether you like it or not. Sango, why don't you come too?”

 

“Oh, I wanna come!” Shippou called.

 

“That's just fine, Shippou,” Kagome said in a sweet tone. It quickly dried up when she turned towards Inuyasha. “At least one demon around here wants to stay presentable!” Her glower rivaled Fiona's. `Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' I was glad Inuyasha was on the receiving end instead of me.

 

“Oi, wench! Who said you could disregard me?”

 

“SIT!”

 

He sputtered for a few seconds, probably trying to get dirt out of his mouth, then shouted, “You're not going until you make me some Ramen!”

 

Fiona chose then to step in. “I'd like a bath too.”

 

I was surprised that Fiona seemed unphased by the hanyou going down at one word from the girl. The other two newcomers, though… Gerard stood mouth-agape, and Benedict's eyebrows rose a hair.

 

“Shall I join you ladies?” Miroku asked.

 

“NO!” came a threesome reply.

 

Sango muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Hentai” under her breath, then turned and ushered Fiona and Kagome, with Shippou on her shoulder, towards the stream.

 

“Gerard, why don't you go collect some firewood?” I asked.

 

He looked at me a little strangely, but obeyed. I could tell he did not necessarily enjoy taking orders from me, but I was his elder, as was Benedict. If he refused, and Benedict called him on it, he would probably do it out of respect for our brother, if nothing else.

 

“Miroku, why don't we scout out this way?” I nodded my head towards the way we were headed.

 

He nodded, and grabbed his staff, then followed me. When we were out of hearing range, I stopped. “So, what do you need to speak to me about?”