InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Birth Marks ❯ Lost ( Chapter 47 )

Chapter 47: Lost

 

Disclaimer: I don't own, nor will I ever own, Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. (Though here's to wishing!)

 

Last time: “Hey, who's in there? This is a restricted building!” A voice seemed to shout, flashlight panning from one dark corner to another, illuminating nothing. The flashlight bobbed, the male whom the voice belonged going down the steps. The flashlight shown down the well, highlighting Kagome's dulled hair and the bloody furrows in front of her. “Hey, girl, are you okay?” Kagome's ear moved…

 

“We're here.” Kashisu said, stopping the engine of his truck. Not waiting for it to settle into the shrine parking spot, Souta opened the door and hopped out, backpack over his shoulder and long-sleeve shirt on. Gauze bandages peeking out from beneath the cuffs. Souta started up the steps, his father taking only a few strides to catch up. “I'm going to speak with your mother for getting you for the holidays.” There was no affection in his voice, no love or real care beyond one might have for a well-rained dog. “What would you think of that?” By words alone, he sounded like any other part-time father, wanting to see more of their children, but that was a lie and Souta knew it.

 

Souta absently rubbed a bandage covered by his shirt, “yes, sir, that would be… nice.” He had to play his own roll as well, playing the enthusiastic son. Kashisu nodded, not expecting anything else but that answer.

 

Reaching the top of the stone steps, Souta took off, eager for the sanctuary of his room after the hell of Taijiya training for the past few weeks. Slamming the front door open in his usual way, Souta kicked off his dirty sneakers and called his greeting, “Taidaima, Mom, I'm home!” Startled, Gin dropped the kettle back onto the stove with a clatter, spilling the boiling water for tea.

 

“Souta!” she rushed into the hallway, wiping her hands on her apron. Hugging her prodigal son, she didn't immediately notice his bandages, not the man that quickly strode across the front yard.

 

“Gin.” Kashisu nodded in greeting, hands in his dirt-encrusted jeans.

 

“Kashisu,” Gin replied as coldly, stepping around Souta and brushing a stray hair from her face, as if she could wipe away his presence just as easily, “what are you still doing here? You dropped off Souta, what do you want now?”

 

“What, can't I make sure my son gets home properly?” Kashisu grinned wolfishly, “are you protecting that abomination now or something?”

 

Souta looked between his parents nervously, clutching his backpack with white knuckles, “Uh, Momma, I'm going to go put my bag away, ok?”

 

Turning to her son, Gin gave him another hug and a smile, “Take your time, Sweetie. Dinner will be at the normal time.” Both parents watched Souta trudge up the stairs, waiting until his door shut to continue on. Turning back to Kashisu, Gin gave the man a glare that could frighten youkai. “So what if I am or not?” she hissed, nearly shaking with restrained rage. “Kagome is my daughter, and you will not touch her!”

 

“Is that so?” Kashisu gave Gin an indulgent smile and patted her head like a five-year-old that did something cute. “Either way, I will be taking Souta for his winter break as well. He is getting to the age where a few weeks over the summer will not be enough time to… bond. You know how much the boy takes after me. It would be a shame to waste such talents.”

 

Gin looked about ready to bust a blood vessel. “Over my dead body, you, you demon!”

 

Kashisu laughed, shaking his head, “So says the whore that married one and created its half-breed child!” Kashisu turned, grinning back at Gin, “and I will take Souta for winter break. If you resist, you will be speaking with my lawyers and then he'll be mine, permanently.” Giving a jaunty wave backwards, he left back across the shrine. Biting back a scream and resisting slamming the door, Gin's eyes would have flashed demonically. Instead, she headed up the stairs and into the washroom, intending to draw Souta a bath.

 

Outside, Kshisu sensed a powerful magic flare on the shrine property, feeling like a mix of you-ki and holy energy. Following the energy residue, he was led to the empty well house. “Hey,” he shouted, fumbling for his pocket flashlight to cut the gloom, “who's in there?” The weak beam panned from dark corner to dark corner, illuminating nothing beyond dust and long-forgotten scraps of once cared-for items. “This is a restricted building!” the powerful surge of energy subsided, ceasing to disable him from pinpointing the source.

 

Carefully walking down the steps, Kashisu focused on the well, where the energy seemed to be coming from. Listening carefully, he could hear soft keening, like from a wounded animal, echoing from the bottom. Looking over the edge, he lit upon a head of long, dark hair. The girl had probably snuck in and fell into the well, causing it to react with its hell-sent power. The girl was curled up, rocking slightly. “Hey, girl, are you okay?”

 

Startled, the girl looked up, giving Kashisu a clear view of her face. “Demon!” he hissed, recognizing the hanyou as his son's damned half-sister. Taking a chance glance out of the open doorway, he pulled a crumpled fuda from his back pocket and tossed it down at Kagome. Nearly instantly, she fell unconscious, victim to the power of the fuda and her own weakened will. Spotting a relatively new, but used, rope ladder, Kashisu hooked it on the lip of the well and tossed it down, barely reaching within three feet of the packed dirt below. Taking up a coil of rope, he quickly made his way down, careful not to accidently dislodge the fuda. Normally a fuda of this strength would only slow down a demon of her caliber, not knock it unconscious.

 

Reaching the dirt, Kashisu quickly bound Kagome's hands and ankles in a slave binding, the rope only allowing two feet of slack between hand and foot. Making sure the fuda stuck, he proceeded to climb back up with the loose end of the rope in hand. At the top, he hauled Kagome up by her wrists, not caring about how the method nearly dislocated her arms and left deep rope burns around her wrists. Up and over the rim, she fell into the dirt in a graceless heap. Chancing a glance out once again to make sure the coast was clear, Kashisu cut the extra rope and tossed it back into the corner he found it in. Roughly, he flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes that she would have been better at, at the moment, and left the shrine grounds. Tossing her carelessly into the back of his truck, he covered her with a tarp papered in fuda and tied her down. Revving his truck, he sped away, back to the Slayer village, hidden in the forests surrounding Tokyo.

 

Kurama walked down the sidewalk to the shrine entrance. Stopping for a moment, he gave a white truck a curious glance as it sped off, corners of a brown tarp flapping in the wind. Dismissing the curious feeling he got from the truck, he ascended the stairs. If Inuyasha's estimations were correct, it would be some time this week that Kagome was pulled through the well for the last time. Kurama remembered everything clearly, from Mushin's ruddy cheeks from the fine Saké, to how pale Kagome seemed, though proud of his little transformation display.

 

She looked almost ghostly, and how quickly her health had deteriorated after the trip to the beach. Worrying his bottom lip, for the millionth time Kurama put what he knew of modern medicine to what happened back then. Kagome was obviously pregnant, but hadn't been for long at all. It would have been normal morning sickness (he had seen that enough from the village women and Sango over the years to know what it looked like), but for the strenuous exorcise that was her first day being pregnant. Kurama couldn't resist the brief swelling of self-loathing, knowing that Kagome should have stayed at Kaede's instead of trying to match Inuyasha's break-neck pace. Though, he thought with a sort of detached reasoning, there was no way to know beforehand if she way carrying.

 

Reaching the top of the stairs, Kurama looked around, glad that it was his week to be assigned to the shrine, with Yusuke watching the Slayer's village and Hiei and Kuwabara wherever for potential back-up. Taking a seemingly casual stroll around the grounds, he kept an eye out for anything not quite normal. Meandering to the house, Kurama knocked on the door, surprised when Souta opened it. “Hello?” the boy clutched the door, wary of the redheaded stranger exuding a demonic aura, “May I help you?”

 

Kurama gave the boy an honest smile, sensing his hesitation. “is your sister home?”

 

Shaking his head no, Souta looked back into the house. “Kagome's not here right now…” He didn't mention that the energy of the well had flashed a while ago, signaling Kagome (or Inuyasha's) return, but she hadn't come in yet.

 

“Souta, who's at the door?” Gin asked, wiping her hands on her apron and coming to stand behind her son. “Oh, Kurama-kun! Why don't you come in?” Reaching around Souta, Gin opened the door for her grandson with a welcome smile. “Souta, weren't you just about to have your bath?”

 

“Yes Momma,” Souta nodded reluctantly, turning to go back upstairs.

 

“And, if you don't mind, could you come down after so I can look at your wounds? I have some herbs that would help.” Kurama spoke up with a helpful smile. Frowning self-consciously, Souta tugged the cuff of his shirt down to conceal the gauze bandages.

 

“Wounds?” Gin frowned, giving her son a once-over, the small bandage on his cheek the most obvious. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Would you bring down the first aid kit when you're done as well?” Nodding, Souta finally made it up to the solitude of the bath.

 

Staring into the mirror, Souta removed his shirt, revealing his torso crisscrossed with various wounds, old and new. They were by no means formed by abuse or neglect, but training that no child should be put through willingly, and would kill most `normal' children anyway. Yeah, normal, Souta thought, unwrapping his wrists and forearms, revealing a sort of line going from his outer elbow to the back of his middle finger. This elongated red welt was an energy burn from his spirit weapon. With his arm, he could form a sort of shield, and an energy dagger from his fingertip, almost like a ten-inch nail or claw. General scrapes and bruises transected the main welt, nearly hiding it. Looking at them, Souta thought most wouldn't ask, after the simple explanation of being a boy his age that was very active outdoors and played soccer on the school team.

 

Turning to his torso, Souta bit down a whimper as he unwrapped a large bandage that went from his armpit to halfway down his ribcage. A fractured rib, that's what the Taijiya doctor had said, from a hard kick during a sparring session with an opponent twice his age. Needless to say, he had lost, badly. Kashisu made sure that Souta would try harder next time by sending him on a ten mile run through the forest, only using the occasional deer trail and no rest.

 

Hissing, Souta lowered himself into the steaming water, feeling each abrasion as it hit the bath. And to think, it wasn't enough to do training during the summer, but now he would start spending the winters there as well. There were practically no youkai left in this world anyway, so why did his father insist on making sure that Souta knew everything bout demons? Sure, there were things like the Noh Face that were scary, but most of the demons he had met were good. Inuyasha was the best! And Kagome… Souta grew solemn at the thought, his rib making him wince as he sunk further into the water. There were times that it became unbearably awkward after coming back from his summer of training, and now likely more so with Kagome actually showing her hanyou traits and time travelling.

 

And speaking of, there was now one down in the living room. A hanyou or… something. He didn't quite know how to describe it. The redhead felt human, but demonic as well. Like two separate entities in the same area. Taking his time washing, Souta concentrated on Kurama's energy, trying to find out just who or what the strange being was. Mother obviously knew him, showing no hesitation allowing him in. It was something in his spirit, something that felt almost familiar, like family almost. Shaking his head, Souta got out of the tub, dried off gingerly, and tried to bind his ribs once again. Knowing that it would fail after the third attempt, he gave up and finished getting dressed. If the demon was going to attempt to heal his wounds, it would be a hassle to put new bandages on. A simple Tee shirt would have to do for now.

 

He found the demon and his mother sitting in the parlor, a teapot and three cups between them; two filled and the third empty for when Souta came down. “Please take your shirt off and sit down next to me, please.” Kurama smiled, patting the seat next to him on the couch. Souta complied with minimal reluctance, but Gin gasped, seeing the full extent of minor wounds, no doubt having a matching set on his legs as well.

 

Starting a physical examination, Kurama smiled softly, trying to soothe the youth's wary expression. “Hello Souta, my name is Shuichi Minamino, but most people call me by my demon co-inhabitant's name of Kurama. He, I… We manipulate plants as our specialty. Here, let me show you.” Plucking a seen out of his hair roots, he let it sit on his palm before slowly feeding it his energy. Controlling the plant's growth, he fed it until it reached maturity before plucking a few of it's plump leaves. Retracting his energy, it quickly shrank back to its seed form.

 

“If you pluck this plant too early, the leaves are poisonous, but in its mature phase, they are a wonderful numbing and disinfectant remedy. With minor wounds, the juice also helps speed wound healing.” Using his nail, the fox avatar split the top and bottom of one leaf at a time, using the gel-like juices to spread over his minor scratches that covered his arms. Blowing on the juices to dry them, goose bumps spread like wildfire, followed by a blush.

 

“Um…” Souta looked anywhere but Kurama, trying to ignore the tenderness that he used to re-wrap his arms.

 

“Hmm?” Kurama raised his eyebrow in question as he finished tying the knot on his left arm.

 

“No-nothing, Kurama-san.” Souta stuttered, flexing his fists to make sure that the bandages weren't too tight. After the initial cold feeling as the liquid evaporated, he now felt the mild medicinal tingle as his arms grew numb to the mild pain.

 

“Ok, I'm going to check your torso now. Please tell me if anything hurts.” Souta nodded and Kurama started prodding gently along the ribs, He had seen the way the boy carried himself, and there was something definitely not right. Prodding the fifth right rib, Souta sucked in a breath and stiffened. “Like I thought. Does it hurt?”

 

“N-no, I'm fine.” Souta murmured, trying to het his normal breathing back.

 

“Uh-huh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that.” Kurama rolled his eyes. There was no questioning this boy and Yusuke's relation. “It doesn't help you to heal, Oji-chan, saying that.” Grabbing a wide Ace bandage from the sizable first-aid kit that Souta brought down, Kurama started to wrap it snugly around his torso. Luckily, Kurama only felt a small fracture and not a life-threatening break, so just putting some resistance on it would help it set. “You may know me better as Shippou, but I haven't used that name in nearly five hundred years. When I was on my own, I earned the name Yoko Kurama, so that's what I go by now.” Sitting back, Kurama grew some plants, taking different parts at varying ages of maturity and setting the pieces on the low table in front of the couch.

 

“Obaa-chan, do you have a mortar and pestle or grinder?”

 

“Oh, you're so cute!” Gin hugged her first (and for now) only grandson. Sitting back, Gin shook her head, “I don't think so, but you can look into the kitchen to see if anything will work for you.”

 

“Thank you.” Kurama nodded and stood up, giving Gin a slow smile, “Grandma Gin.” His smile became true as he watched Gin struggle to not hug him, yet again. In the kitchen, Kurama found a cutting board and a chef's knife. Cutting and crushing the plants, he kept a little, but set out the rest of the small pieces on a paper towel in a sunny spot for them to try. With a second teapot, he steeped the fresh plants before pouring a cup.

 

“Drink up; it'll help your ribs.” Taking the cup, Souta winced at the bitter flavor, but didn't complain as he downed it in three gulps. “One teaspoon of the herbs per cup.” Kurama explained to gin, “And one cup at breakfast and dinner. I think I gave you enough for the next few days and if there's still some pain, use a low-dose painkiller.” Gin nodded, committing the instructions to memory.

 

“Ano… Kurama-san…?”

 

“Just Kurama, please, or Shippou, since you're family.” Kurama responded to Souta's nervous question, “Yes, what do you want?” he asked gently.

 

“Why are you here? Kagome-nee's not here. She's supposed to be in Inuyasha's time, isn't she?” Gin and Kurama shared an uncertain glance, Gin wanting to hear his answer as well.

 

“Ah, well… That's actually why I'm here. What happened is that the Shikon activated and took Kagome.” Kurama winced at his own wording, knowing there was no real way to put it softly. “Inuyasha thinks that she'll show up back here, but we don't know exactly when. Between the Shikon, the well's magic, and the five hundred years that has passed, the best we can say is between today and the next week or two… or more…” He looked out the picture window at the well house, mentally pleading to bring Kagome back. “Also, by boss wants my team to make sure nothing happens to the Shikon, so we're all taking turns checking in on the shrine. Yusuke, Kuwabara and I will most likely come to the house to say hi when we check in, but I doubt Hiei will come any closer than the Goshinboku.”

 

“What about Inuyasha, why isn't he waiting as well?” Souta asked, leaning back on the couch as much as he could to get comfortable.

 

“Ah… Well… Inuyasha's embarrassed. And nervous. For us, it's been five hundred years, while it would most likely be only a few minutes for her. Inuyasha got a little more mature, finally, and I grew up.” Staring at his hands, Kurama remembered how small they were to her hands, but how they now dwarfed hers. “Even for demons, or hanyou, five hundred years is a long time to per separated from you mate.” Gin nodded knowingly, having been mated to a demon for her first husband.

 

“Wait, they finally mated?” She asked excitedly, scooting to the front of her chair, at Kurama's hesitant nod, Gin clapped her hands, “Oh, happy day, I thought those two would never do it! When?”

 

Kurama blushed, not at the fact that they were talking about mating (Kitsune in general have loose morals about that, and generally see no problem speaking of it), but the fact that he was speaking of his parents to his grandmother of all people. “Well, I guess for Kagome, it would only have been a few days…”

 

“Newly-mates! How exciting~!” Gin's eyes sparkled, remembering her fist few days, and then her face dropped, thinking on what did/would happen. “Oh, no, my poor baby!” Hands flew to her face as the horror of what was happening struck her. “Only a few days, and now…” The first week or so, the new-mates were supposed to be inseparable. Depending on the strength and the species of the youkai or hanyou, the mating bond could go as deep as sharing each other's very senses, to just knowing where the other was at all times. With all matings though, one's life was the other's. If one was killed, then more often than not, the other one would join them in the next life.

 

Not wanting to know, but having to ask anyway, Gin wiped tears off her cheeks, “And Inuyasha, how did he survive?”

 

Kurama looked away, grim, partially embarrassed at his own actions. “I… left after a few years, so I don't know all this firsthand, but for the first hundred years or so, he might as well been dead. Miroku and Sango took care of him as much as they could, but that was nearly pointless. He locked himself into Kaede's hut after she passed, and studied her textbooks, especially the history one. When the traders started coming, Miroku and Sango took their first trip broad. China or India, something like that.” Kurama gave a small shrug. “I guess it was while they were gone that Inuyasha started to actually do something. There's a hidden beach that he found a long time ago, surrounded by a bit of old-growth forest that he claimed. Humans, never went near it, and demons mostly didn't see the point of going in, so he started the Shinseina Basho no Hanyou, or Hanyou Sanctuary.” Pausing to order his thoughts, he took a sip of tea.

 

“You know that hanyou and mixed breed youkai tend to be prosecuted, but at the SBH, it's a way to get away from that and to be among equals. And it's a safe house for their time of weakness as well. Surprisingly, it was Sesshoumaru that helped Inuyasha start out, and when the opportunity arose, he became a sort of merchant to buy supplies that they couldn't get. It's almost ironic though, that I'm to start working for the company that Inuyasha made as soon as I graduate.”

 

“And what, may I ask, is the company that Inuyasha-kun works at?” Gin asked, honestly curious.

 

Kurama grinned, his eyes lighting up with ironic humor, “He doesn't just work there, but he's the CEO. Ever heard of Sho Bikes?” Gin's hands flew to her mouth, knowing that Sho Bikes was the biggest bike chain in Asia, and the oldest. In fact, the bike that she took back to the Feudal Era was one of their designs, where Inuyasha would somehow destroy it in one way or another.

 

“You mean, the bikes donated to the school and shrine…?” Souta couldn't quite believe it.

 

“Yep, Inuyasha's way of taking care of family before he could show his face. Of course he does other things too, but bikes and the SBH are his main projects.” Casually glancing around, he spotted a classic timepiece above the mantle and winced at the time. “Is your clock correct?” He asked Gin.

 

“Yes, last time I checked, it was. Do you have to go?”

 

Standing up, Kurama nodded absently, “Yeah, I promised mother I'd pick up some groceries on my way back home, and I've got homework to do as well.” Sheepishly Kurama scratched the back of his head (a habit from Yusuke, most likely) and bowed. “Thank you for the tea, Gin-Obaa, and don't forget to give Souta-Oji that tea with breakfast and dinner. If Kagome does show up, please either call Yusuke or myself, and he'll most likely be the one to some by tomorrow. Bye!”

 

Souta watched his `nephew' leave the shrine. Biting his lip, he debated whether to say anything about the strange aura spike from the well right before Kurama arrived, and was still debating on it when the redhead left his sight. Even if the aura spike was something, it probably wasn't something to bring up. Reaching a mental compromise, Souta snuck out and to the well while Gin was busy in the kitchen. If there was something interesting, he could just tell cousin Yusuke.

 

Reaching the rim, Souta peered into the darkness, seeing nothing, and feeling even less. The only thing that he could feel was an aura residue from Kagome, but his sister had been in here so much the past year or so, that it would be more surprising to feel nothing at all. Though it was a little curious of why a hint of his father's power lingered fresh, like the smoke from a used match. There wasn't any lingering traces, so the boy shook it off as still being hypersensitive from his training.

 

(O)

 

“Kurama here.” The Kitsune answered his compact, barely halfway across the shrine.

 

“It's Yusuke. Did my cousin get back home safely? His Chichi-oya's truck just got back.” Yusuke asked, keeping quiet as he continued to scan the slayer village from one of the tall trees making up the natural fence. The white truck arrived and drove into the motor pool.

 

“Souta? Yeah, he got home fine. I gave him some tea to help his minor abrasions and a cracked rib; otherwise he didn't sustain anything major.” Though the screen, Kurama saw Yusuke's grim face, though distracted.

 

“And Kagome?”

 

“As far as I can tell she hasn't come back yet. Are you doing the shrine tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, and Hiei's going to watch the village.” Agreeing to meet up at Kuwabara's that night, Yusuke absently shut the compact. “What the…?” Kashisu had summoned a few of the men into the motor pool and a moment later, they carried out… something in a large crate. Funny, he hadn't seen a crate in the truck, only a brown tarp pulled taut over the bed. Tree-hopping to get a better look, he only managed to get within range to see the box put into one of a row of small storage huts. A few moments later, the men came out with the now-empty crate and went back to doing whatever they were doing before. Shrugging it off, he assumed that Kashisu had bought some supplies and carrying it from his truck in a crate was the easiest way. Yusuke shrugged, it was not his place to question the uses of crates.

 

 

(O)

 

Well, a new chapter, that's all I can really say for now. Dunno when the next one will come out, but I promise that I'm already working on it!

 

Dark Inu Fan