InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delving Into The Mysteries Of The Past ❯ The Past Moment ( Chapter 9 )

 

I walked around the grounds that surrounded my home. They were extensive, and it was easy for strangers to get lost in them. In the years before the Demonic Revolutions began, people used to come here to pray and ask for blessings. Nowadays, people came with their dead husbands or wives or children or friends to have their souls prayed over for a safe passage into the afterlife.

 

The scenery around the shrine was beautiful, and normally I would have stopped and admired it, but today I was fuming. My whole conversation with Mother was replaying in my head, and each time it played, the angrier I got. She said she doesn't trust those around me, but I also knew she didn't trust me too. I sighed. My mother had changed. Before Father died, she used to be so carefree and nice, smiling all the time. Now her smile was worn, and fatigue, constant worry, and anger had etched its way into her face forever. I stopped when I reached the Go-Shinboku. It was sacred, and I had often come here to pray. After Father died, I had practically lived here for months, praying for a miracle to happen, praying for my father to come back and tell me everything was going to be okay. I put my hand on the bark, and felt the familiar surge of small power rush from the trunk, into my hand, and into my veins. It had a calming effect and I titled my head back and stared up into the branches. Kage was up there somewhere; I could see the blackness of his hair against the green and brown of the leaves and branches.

 

“Kage,” I called, hoping that he would come down and talk to me.

 

“Feh,” he answered, and made no move to come down.

 

“Why don't you come down and talk to me?” I asked him.

 

“Why would you want to talk to me wench?” he snapped. I blinked.

 

“What?” I asked, confused.

 

“Go talk to my bastard of a half-brother if you want to talk that much!” Now I understood.

 

“You heard me talking to my mother, didn't you?” I said, hanging my head. The window had been open. Anybody could have easily heard us, especially since I yelled so loudly. “How much did you hear?”

 

“All of it.”

 

“She didn't mean it.”

 

“Mean what?”

 

“When she said she didn't trust those around me. She doesn't trust anybody in general,” I explained.

 

“Who said anything about that?” he snapped again. “I was wondering why you kept sneaking into the forest all the time!” Was he still hung up on that? Okay, I admit it. It was stupid of me to keep it a secret, but it wasn't like it was some kind of moonlit tryst!

 

“Why are you acting like such a baby?!” I screamed up at him. “I'm sorry, okay! Forget about it!” I stormed off. I didn't realize that I had headed to my father's grave until I was nearly standing on it. I sat down beside the tombstone and cried. For some reason, I felt sick at heart, like I had betrayed Kage or something. He must have been furious, even more so that I hadn't even told him, that he had to hear from someone else. I sobbed harder. I didn't want Kage mad at me. I wanted so desperately for him to like me. I didn't know why, but I did.

 

“Kagome-sama?” Miroku's voice tentatively called me. I looked up, knowing my face was a mess.

 

“Yeah?” I asked. He sat down beside me.

 

“”Are you upset about what your mother told you?” he asked.

 

“You heard too?”

 

“You yell very loudly Kagome-sama. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone heard you.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” I replied.

 

“That's not the reason you're upset though, is it?” he said, becoming serious. I nodded.

 

“Kage and I had a fight,” I explained, suddenly feeling very stupid at the moment.

 

“That's understandable, given Kage's feelings towards his brother. You did nothing wrong, Kagome-sama. It'll be best if you let him regain control over his feelings again. I'm sure he'll cool off soon enough,” Miroku said, obviously trying to make me feel better. I gave him a watery smile.

 

“Sometimes you surprise me,” I told him, standing up. “I'm beginning to think you might actually have a good side.”

 

“I'm always here to serve you, Kagome-sama,” he said, with a glint in his eyes. I had already learned to fear that glint, and I slapped him before he could touch me.

 

“Perv,” I called over my shoulder, watching him laugh and rub his cheek as I walked away.

 

In about a week, we were ready to leave again. My brother, Sota, wanted to come with us, but I told him it was too dangerous and he might have to see blood and guts, which made him back out from wanting to go.

 

“I have heard rumors that there were jewel shards in the eastern territories,” Great-Aunt Kaede told us. “Ye should search there.”

 

“Thank you,” I said, bowing. “Here are the jewel shards we've collected so far.” I handed her the small bundle. “Can you keep them safe for us?” She nodded, and walked off with them, heading towards the shrine where the jewel was originally kept. She was probably going to purify them of any taint they might have acquired, even though I thought I did a good job of doing that already. As soon as we left the shrine gates, Kage turned to me, complaining.

 

“Why did you let the old hag have the jewel shards?” he asked.

 

“Because it rightfully belongs to us,” I explained. “When the jewel was created, it was entrusted to our family to keep it safe. It's been handed down to each generation.”

 

“So your family has had it for centuries?” Sango asked. I nodded.

 

“Most of my family is priests and priestess. Not counting the few exceptions, like my grandfather. He has no powers at all, though he likes to brag about that time that he chased off a badger in one of the storage houses.” I grinned at the look on Sango's face. This was one of my favorite stories to tell about my grandfather. “He seemed to think it was some kind of demon, and he took a whole bunch of ofuda charms and put them all on the building. When the badger didn't come out, he asked Sota for help. Sota went and got a firecracker. Grandpa thought it was some kind of demon repelling thing. He lit it, and he threw it in the storage building.” At this point, everyone except for Kage was laughing too hard to walk, and I was grinning like a madwoman. “You should have seen that thing go off. It was actually raining flaming ofuda charms. And figure this, the badger had enough sense to get out before it blew up. Grandpa is still in denial, no matter what we tell him. He won't admit that he was wrong.”

 

“Idiots,” Kage said, and walked off.

 

“I guess he's still mad,” I said sadly. Shippo-chan jumped into my arms.

 

“He's the idiot,” he said. “He's so immature.”

 

Even with everyone else's support, I still felt as if it was my fault. Kage didn't speak to me, except to demand his ramen, which I served to him either too hot or too cold to eat, and he pointedly ignored my attempts to talk to him. I settled into a gloomy silence walked a little apart from the group. Soon enough, I became lost in the broad expanse of the forest.

 

“Sango, Miroku, Shippo-chan? Anybody hear me?” I called. “Hello? Do you even realize I'm gone?”

 

“Whom are you talking to?” a voice asked me, from my right. I jumped and spun around. A girl, as least I thought it was a girl; the voice was pretty feminine, was sitting on a boulder a little away from me, and was watching in fascination.

 

“Who are you?” I asked.

 

“Lost,” she replied. “Where are you headed?” I couldn't detect any kind of demonic aura around the girl, and she seemed nice enough, so I told her.

 

“East with my friends,” I said. She smiled brightly.

 

“So am I. Can I follow you for a little bit?” The pleading look she gave me was too powerful to resist, so I let her join me in my search, and amazingly enough, she helped me find them in a few minutes.

 

“Kagome!” Shippo-chan yelled. “I thought we'd lost you!” He was almost crying.

 

“I was only gone ten minutes,” I said.

 

“Who's that?” Shippo-chan asked me, looking over at the girl. She smiled at him.

 

“I'm Hotaru,” she said. “I got lost in the forest, and Miko-sama found and helped me.” I blushed at the title.

 

“You can call me Kagome,” I mumbled.

 

“Such a pretty girl,” Miroku said. Hotaru backed away.

 

“Don't you dare touch her, Houshi-sama!” Sango yelled, preparing her Hiraikotsu. Miroku shrunk back, and Hotaru backed up even further.

 

“It's okay,” I told her. “This is normal.”

 

“I'd hate to see weird,” she replied dryly. “Kind of reminds me of home.” I was surprised to see sadness in her eyes.

 

“Hey, are your eyes black?” I asked her. She looked up, surprised.

 

“Yeah, they're strange like that. People think I'm possessed or something,” she said, with a laugh.

 

“Creepy,” Shippo-chan said. I was about to admonish him for saying that, but Hotaru turned around calmly and fixed him with an unwavering gaze until he looked to me for support. She blinked and smiled.

 

“Are we going to get going or what?” she asked. “Let's go!”

 

“We're lost,” I said, two hours later. “We are completely and utterly lost.”

 

“More like hopelessly wandering around in circles,” Hotaru corrected. “That tree looks familiar. Kage, are you sure you know where you're going?”

 

“Shut up wench!” he snapped. “I know what I'm doing!”

 

“Typical male,” she answered back. “Won't ask for directions.”

 

“I said shut up!”

 

“Come over here and make me!”

 

“Stop it!” I yelled. “You're a bunch of two-year-olds!”

 

“I have a mind set of a four-year-old,” Hotaru said. “Not a two-year-old.” I tried to glare at her, but with her black eyes, it was difficult to stare for too long.

 

“Fog's coming in,” Sango interrupted. Sure enough, as thick fog had already blanketed the landscape, and we could no longer see in front of us.

 

“This is unnatural,” I said. “Fog does not just pop out of nowhere. And it's cold too!”

 

“We should turn back,” Hotaru said, all hints of playfulness gone now. “It's too dangerous.”

 

“Scared of the fog?” Kage taunted her.

 

“Scared of what's in it,” she replied. She looked dead serious. “Always fear the fog of the east.” Kage looked a little taken aback.

 

“What's in the fog?” I asked her.

 

“You'll see,” she replied ominously. “It's already too late to turn back now. You're little demon friend, Shippo, isn't here.” I gasped. True, we had lost track of Shippo. I called out for him, but Hotaru placed a hand over my mouth to stop me. “Be quiet or they'll find us! He'll be okay. They don't go after demons, and no one's stupid enough to travel this far up anyway, demon of not!” I shrugged out of her grasp.

 

“He could freeze out there!” I yelled.

 

“It's only cold in the fog! Now shut up!” she snapped in a loud whisper.

 

“Someone's coming,” Kage announced. When I looked, I could see a light coming towards us from the distance. Besides me, Hotaru groaned.

 

“They've found us,” she moaned. “Not good! Not good!”

 

“Who are they?” I asked. She only shook her head.

 

“It doesn't matter,” Kage scoffed. “I can take `em.” With that, he drew Tetsusaiga, but he didn't transform. Hotaru looked at him.

 

“You're a half-demon, aren't you?” she asked. He glared at her for a minute and then nodded quickly. “I had the feeling you were one when you were able to pass through the barrier. It doesn't let demons in, only humans. Your demon blood's been purified, so to speak.” Kage opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

 

“Excuse me, are you lost?” We all turned, except for Hotaru, and stared. It was a woman who had spoken, and I could already see Miroku sizing her up. She was beautiful, with long black hair hanging loose to her waist, violet eyes, and a voluptuous figure, which her clothes showed off the most extreme degree. Kage had lost his voice, and Miroku was too busy looking, so I answered.

 

“Yes,” I said. She barely glanced at me; she was too busy with Kage and Miroku. She smiled at them.

 

“You must be cold. Please come with me. I know where a place to stay at.” Miroku nodded frantically, and Kage just stared at her, his gaze occasionally flicking to her chest and then back to her face. I tried not to be angry with him, it wasn't his fault; her dress took no pains to hide her chest. Sango, on the other hand, looked ready to kill Miroku.

 

“I don't think we need to stay in a brothel,” Sango snapped acridly, seizing Miroku by the arm and dragging him away from the woman. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she finally seemed to realize that Sango and I were there.

 

“I don't know what you're talking about,” the woman said, trying to retrieve the friendly tone she had used beforehand, but it came out sounding forced. Sango glared at her.

 

“What's the matter Mari-chan?” Hotaru asked from behind us. I jumped; I had forgotten she was even there. “Did they forget to warn you that there were girls with them? Or were you too eager to seduce them that you forgot?” The woman, Mari, glared at Hotaru, whose face was hidden behind her hair.

 

“Who dares address me on such familiar terms,” she hissed.

 

“I do,” Hotaru declared, tossing back her hair to reveal her face to Mari. Mari stared at her for a moment and then suddenly rushed off to hug Hotaru.

 

“Yami-chan!” she yelled. “Is that really you!?”

 

“What?” Sango asked me. I shrugged, just as confused.

 

“Get off of me! You reek of humans!” Hotaru (Yami?) pushed her off. “It's only been a few centuries at most. It's not like it's been forever!” Now I was really confused. I cleared my throat, loudly, and Hotaru (Yami?) grinned sheepishly at me. “Oh yeah. Sorry about this. Umm, my name isn't really Hotaru. It's Yami. I'm not human. I'm demon.”

 

“You said demons couldn't get through the barrier,” Miroku said. “Yet you can get through.

 

“It depends on what kind of demon you are,” Yami explained. “Mari-chan here, she's a demon. She's a succubus.” Sango looked affronted.

 

“There aren't anymore succubi in Japan!” she said. “They were driven out years ago!” Yami grinned.

 

“The eastern lands are the only lands that still have succubi inhabiting them. That's why I wanted to come up here,” she explained. “I'm half succubus.”

 

“You're what?” Kage asked, momentarily regaining use of his voice. Yami rolled her eyes at him.

 

“I'm half succubus,” she said slowly and loudly. “And half dog demon, such as yourself. Sango, you should realize who I am. You too, Kagome.” I racked my memory, trying to remember Kikyo or Mother telling me anything about a half dog demon, half succubi named Yami. I drew a blank, but Sango started suddenly.

 

“You're the oldest daughter of the Demon Lord of the East!” she said. Yami grinned harder.

 

“My father died some centuries ago,” she said. “I'm the one holding the title now.” Kage's jaw dropped open.

 

“Wait,” I said. “You're the Demon Lord of the East?” Yami made a choking sound.

 

“Lordess! Lordess!” she yelled. “People always forget the `ess!'”

 

“There's no such word as `lordess',” Mari quietly explained. “You're the Demon `Lady'.” Yami sniffed.

 

“There's such a thing as a lordess if I say so,” she said. Mari rolled her eyes.

 

“It's late,” she said to us. “Would you like to stay with the succubus and incubus for a while?” she asked.

 

“I can tell them not to come near any of you,” Yami offered. “They'll listen to me.” Sango still looked iffy. “You can sleep on a bed instead of on the cold floor,” Yami tempted.

 

“Great,” I said. Yami grinned.

 

“I knew that would get you,” she said to me. She turned to Mari. “One of their friends, a kitsune named Shippo, is stuck somewhere outside of the barrier. Can you go get him and bring him with us?” she asked. Mari nodded.

 

“You still remember your way around here?” she asked.

 

“What do I look like? Of course I remember!” To me she whispered, “The first incubus or succubus we see, I'm asking directions from.” I giggled and she grinned.

 

As it turned out, we didn't get lost. It only took about five minutes to reach where the succubi lived. The grounds it covered were extensive, and what Yami referred to as `a nice little place' turned out to be more like a sprawling mansion than anything else.

 

“Do you live here?” I asked her, eyes wide.

 

“No,” she said, preoccupied with the door. “I only visit sometimes, when I have the time.” She finally got it open. “Welcome!” She showed us around.

 

“So what do you succubus do?” Kage asked her. She smirked at him.

 

“The succubus find human men, bring them somewhere around here, and steal their energy. The incubus does the same thing, except they find human women. These particular incubus and succubus do not kill their victims, so rest assured you won't die here.”

 

“How do they steal their energy?” he probed. Her smirk widened, and she took on a mischievous air.

 

“How do you think?” she asked. Kage shrugged.

 

“You're the half succubus. You tell me,” he replied.

 

“It's actually a very simple process,” Yami explained. “If you weren't so dense, maybe you'd have figured it out already.”

 

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me! Unless, you don't know that is.” Yami's smirk was getting wider by the minute, and I didn't like that look she had in her eye. It reminded me of Miroku whenever he was going to do something perverted or say something inappropriate.

 

“Sex,” she said simply. Miroku nearly crashed into one of the walls, and Kage stopped walking abruptly.

 

“What?!” he yelped. Yami broke out into laughter.

 

“You wanted to know!” she said. “Why do you think Mari-chan was barely wearing anything? She was trying to seduce you!” Kage's eyes began spinning. “Oh great, he's going into shock. Kagome, help me!” she said, snickering.

 

“That's how you live?” I asked.

 

“Well, I'm not really a succubus, so I get off of my…duties…but that is how a normal succubus or incubus lives,” she said. “Pull yourself together, Kage! Breathe!” She pretended to slap him.

 

“Maybe it was a bad idea staying here for the night,” Sango said, glaring at Miroku. “You can't trust him.”

 

“It's okay,” Yami said. “We'll keep him locked up in the room. That, or we can knock him out and leave him like that until morning.” I laughed. “You don't mind sharing rooms, right?”

 

“No,” I said. Kage stood up.

 

“We have to?” he asked.

 

“Unless you want to sleep in some random succubus's room, yes,” Yami said. Kage shuddered. “Oh. Would you rather an incubus's room?” Kage turned on her, with murder in his eyes. Yami laughed again. “You don't want to share a room with the others?”

 

“No,” he said. “It'd be better if we did share one room. That way I could keep an eye on this one.” He jerked his thumb at me. “Don't want her running off in the middle of the night.”

 

“I hate you!” I snarled, knowing he probably meant it as a joke and nothing more, but the wounds were still fresh, and before anybody could stop me, I had run off. I only stopped when the rational part of my brain kicked in and told me that it probably wasn't smart to be running around someplace that I didn't know. It didn't matter because it was too late; I was already lost. With a sigh, I sat down on a nearby piano bench, and waited for somebody to retrieve me. Yami was the one who found me.

 

“What was that all about?” she asked, referring to the earlier scene. I gave her the abbreviated version of my argument with Mother and my fight with Kage. She patted my back sympathetically. “It'll be alright. He's not mad, at least not at you. I think he's mad at himself for saying that. Why don't you come back and talk to him?”

 

“He won't talk to me!” I snapped. “I tried to tell him what happened, but he won't listen to a word I say! He doesn't care about me!” Yami sighed, and then nudged me off the piano bench. She stared at the keys for a minute and then began playing a piece I had never heard before. The melody intertwined between both hands, and sounded sad and sweet at the same time.

 

Darkness is my incubus,

Darkness is my friend.

Dark was where my life began,

And dark is where it ends.

 

I hadn't expected her to start singing, and the sad melody startled me.

 

When I die,

I know that you won't care.

You will mourn; the day will break,

And then you will forget.

The lyrics reminded me of how I felt when Kikyo was around. Sometimes I felt that my existence meant nothing if she wasn't there, and that if I disappeared, no one would notice.

 

Flowers fade and so do I,

Summer comes to end.

Autumn leaves fly to the sky,

The cycle never ends.

 

She was saying that life would go one, even if she died. I had never thought about it like that. If I died, I had thought that everything would stop. I now realized how selfish I was being.

 

Darkness is my incubus,

Darkness is my friend.

Dark was where my life began,

And dark is where it ends.

 

I know you,

And I know what you will do.

You'll say I died because I

Was not as strong as you.

 

I felt like crying. Yami's voice sounded so sad, and I could relate to all of her lyrics. Kage would say something like that.

 

Flowers fade and so do I,

Summer comes to end.

Autumn leaves fly to the sky,

The cycle never ends.

 

I could feel tears starting. Self-hatred was beginning to replace self-pity.

 

Darkness is my incubus,

Darkness is my friend.

Dark was where my life began,

And dark is where it ends.

 

Tears were flowing quietly down my face as she played the bridge in all of its bitter sweetness. There were no lyrics, only the tune changing keys, but it didn't need words. I understood all of it.

 

Flowers fade and so do I,

Summer comes to end.

Autumn leaves fly to the sky,

The cycle never ends.

 

I couldn't hold back my sobs anymore, and I collapsed into Yami's arms, sobs tearing through my chest.

 

“I'm sorry,” I whispered over and over again. “I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said I hated him!”

 

“It's okay,” Yami comforted me. “He'll forgive you. He already feels bad and regrets being a jerk. It's like the song. “The cycle never ends.”

 

………………………&# 8230;………………………… …………………………

 

And we are done!

 

BTW - You see those lyrics? You see them? They're mine! I made them up! So don't report me saying I used somebody else's lyrics! And feel free to use them in your story if you want to. Just e-mail me saying you're going to use them and put up a disclaimer stating that it belongs to Yami 396, so help you God if you forget and I find out!

 

Another BTW - I actually did research for this chapter, which is amazing since I never research anything. I had to hunt through several encyclopedias and the Internet to find out information on succubi. I just finished reading the first book in the new series Mark of the Succubus and it kind of gave me an idea of how they act. In a nutshell, a succubus is a female demon who, in medieval legends comes to men in their sleep and has intercourse with them to survive, to collect seed, or to steal their energy, sometimes leaving them dead. The legends change from source to source, so I don't know which one is the closest to the truth. The incubus do the same thing, but to women. Japan doesn't really have a succubus legend; they were more in Europe, which is why in this fanfiction most of them were driven out. And yes, the Yami in the story is yours truly. I couldn't help but sneak a little self-insertion in…R&R!!!