InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Nature ❯ Demon Nature Chapter 21 That Darn River in Egypt ( Chapter 21 )

Demon Nature Chapter 21 That Darn River in Egypt

I don't own the Inu Yasha characters ^_^

Renjiro was finished his studies for the day, and packed his things to head home, a small apartment in a part of town that was not the best, but not the worst either. University housing was never the best, and he considered himself grateful to have a place of his own and not be living with his parents. He was rubbing his eyes and leaning back in his chair when he heard a voice call his name. A female voice.

"Renjiro. Thank goodness I found you."

"Kaede. I thought you were gone for the day."

"No, I wanted to make sure I got a chance to talk to you. Are you busy tonight?"

Kaede was the youngest teacher of Ancient Religion in the school, and in his mind one of the most beautiful. Her family was very devout, and dedicated to the old ways. He had been putting aside money to take her on a date, and now she was asking him if he were busy.

"No, but…"

"We need to talk."

"Kaede…"

"Please Renjiro. We must talk. There's a noodle shop nearby that should be kind of deserted by now. Please."

They walked in silence to the shop, Renjiro wondering what could've made Kaede seek him out like this. She was not loose, in fact no one had ever seen her with any man, or woman, for that matter, so this behavior was way out of line for her. Looking over at her, her features composed, her hair pulled back in a severe bun, much too old for her he thought, he decided that whatever had brought this on, he was grateful for it.

They ordered and found a table in the back, away from the other patrons.

"Renjiro, do you feel it?"

The question caught him so completely off guard he couldn't even stutter.

"I…"

"The wind. The charms are indicating an ill wind, and I, I've been dreaming things…things that happened a long time ago, to me in another lifetime."

"Have you spoken to your mother…"

"She would tell me to come home, to get out of the city. But I need to be here, there is someone I need to find, and I don't know how to go about it."

"Who is she?"

"She…her family…this is going to sound weird, but she is from my past, and my present."

"What is it about her? Do you have a name, a reference point."

"A well is all I can remember. And that you are involved."

"Me?????!!!!!!!!!!"

People turned around and looked at him, and he blushed, leaning forward to hear Kaede better.

"I saw you in my dream, an older you, from another time. You lived in the lair of the Great Demon of the West…and you were terrified of him. But you taught him and his children how to read and write. Does any of this sound familiar? Did you ever dream…"

Renjiro had turned white as parchment, and Kaede knew she'd hit on something.

"Remember. Maybe when you were a child…"

"I used to dream of this huge dog, wolf, I don't know how to describe it…and he would tell me he would kill me if I didn't do his will. I had seen what he did…and I was afraid."

"Have you dreamed it lately?"

Renjiro reacted as if he'd been touched by hot iron, clasping and unclasping his hands, and pressing his lips into a thin line.

"A few days ago, I, I saw the dog, and he was walking down the street here, at the university. What does it mean Kaede?"

"Saw it?"

"I was here, and I was leaving for the evening, and I saw the dog as if it were real. It stopped and looked at me, its eyes red like I remembered from my dream, and its claws…" He was visibly upset by the memory, and Kaede didn't press it.

"We need to see someone…"she said, her voice trailing off.

"Your uncle maybe? He can 'see' can't he?"

"Yes. It's late, and we can't go now. What about Sunday?"

"I don't believe in reincarnation, I mean how can we…"

"These are not memories from now and you know it, you feel it. You know our old beliefs as well as I do. We are remembering, and maybe that's why we're both here at university. We have to know each other, be ready for something…"

"Kaede, this is too much for me. Please…"

"You know that was a vision you had. Why have you never gone for training…"

"I can control it" he said stubbornly.

"Oh yeah, and demon dogs walk down the paths of the university every day. What were you going to do? Go see a shrink?"

He was going to do just that if he had one more vision. His family was not as devout as hers was, and they were all scholars, both male and female. They had not been happy with his choice of Japanese culture and religion as his specialty, but he had been drawn to it.

"So, Sunday?"

"Yes. I will pick you up, and we'll drive out to the country to see my grandfather."

In the country an old man awoke from his morning nap still half in the spirit world. He had seen his grand daughter, the one who had been born older than any of them, with the man who knew the most about the Demon Lord of the West than any human except the Demon's mate.

"It has begun," he said, content to remain in the haze of the dream for a few more minutes.

"The war will continue."

Renjiro did not see Kaede again until Sunday morning, and the transformation in her appearance gave him pause. Her hair was down, he'd never realized it was that long, and braided loosely down her back. She was wearing a long skirt with a demure top that made her look sexy precisely because nothing was showing that would make a man react. A normal man anyway he thought to himself as he started the car. Anyone who wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Kaede would've made a move already. But what could her offer her now?

"Any more visions?" she asked, turning to face him.

"No. Just memories from when I was a kid. I've always been afraid of dogs you know."

"If I was dreaming about demons I would be too."

"My grandmother said I'd served a demon once."

"Huh?"

"I just remembered this morning Kaede! She said that the demon I'd served would come for me in this lifetime, and that I would remember everything."

"I don't get your family. I mean, all of you walking around…"

"We prided ourselves on how educated we were, and how we weren't enslaved like others were to the rituals of religion. We observe the major festivals of course, but nothing more than that. We want to be modern in this modern world."

"We are tied to the past Renjiro. We can't help that, and to deny that it lives in us is foolish. I think you would've had a nervous breakdown at some point."

"How can you say that…"

"Because you are in such denial!!! You didn't just remember. You live with it every day of your life. If you would just admit it and let your path be yours, not someone else's…"

"What if I don't want to know? What if I want to just forget all that happened to me…"

"You know the answer to that as well as I do Renjiro."

They didn't speak again until they got to her family's home. There was food, and talk, politics of course, and then her mother told her that her grandfather was waiting, that he had pulled out some scrolls that he'd always kept locked in his room. Kaede stood and looked at Renjiro, who followed suit and walked behind her until they got to the old mans room, where she stepped aside and let him enter first, pulling the screen closed behind her. Her grandfather Takeshi met her eyes, and she knew that the question she had asked him as a child, the question about her memories of a demon dog and his human mate, were about to be answered. She had thought that when she got the answer she would feel joy, but instead a sense of dread overcame her as she sat down next to Renjiro, who looked like he was looking into the abyss of hell.

The festival was beautiful. Lanterns decorated the town square, and everyone was having a good time. Incense swirled through the air, and the local priests, Buddhist and Shinto, were chanting. He would never forget the sound, or lack of it. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the sky, and everyone froze. The chants changed tone, they became more urgent as the monks and priests looked skyward, and one by one their voices fell silent. He followed their gaze, and saw a sight he hoped never to see again. The Demon Lord, Sesshoumaru, in his true form, stretched across the sky, his claws flashing green, his saliva poison that ate through the decorations the people had made themselves. He was holding something in his mouth, something…that dripped blood. He heard strangled cries from his friends, the people he'd known all his life, and the monks, well, one monk, found his voice and began a chant for the death of a priestess. That chant seemed to focus him, and he began to back away from the crowd, because he knew what had happened. Michi had been his childhood friend, they'd studied together, but she had gifts and had gone on to become a priestess, and a very powerful one. People from surrounding villages came to her for help. He thought he was screaming, his mind seemed not to want to accept what he was seeing, but as Sesshoumaru now began his descent, he couldn't deny that his friends lifeless form was what the demon was carrying in his mouth, He dropped her body just as he approached the tree line, letting it fall to the ground with a sickening noise. All of her bones broke on impact, her blood oozing out of gaping wounds in her torso. Back above the tree line Sesshoumaru halted, energy flowing from his body in waves, and lifted his head to the skies, emitting a howl of victory, and warning, to the people below before taking off in a flash. When he came to himself he was in his hut, cowering in the corner, knowing that Sesshoumaru would come for him, and that he would never live among humans again in this lifetime. But that would be better than the death his neighbors would have for him, and he began to pack his things, his inkpot, his paper, and some clothing. No sooner had he finished than he heard a sound, and peeked outside. Ah-Un was there, and without another word he climbed on the beasts back, holding on as it circled before heading for the palace of stone which would now be his home. He shed whatever tears he had for Michi on the way. Sesshoumaru would not want his human tears and emotion in his home.

Takeshi and Kaede were sitting next to him when he opened his eyes.

"Are you all right?" Kaede asked, concern etched on her face. Her hair surrounded her face like the veil of an Arab woman. She had never been more beautiful.

"I, I remembered."

"Tell us. You're among friends," Takeshi said softly.

When he finished Kaede's eyes were soft, and she touched his face gently.

"No wonder you want no part of religion," she said, looking over at her grandfather.

"It's understandable. Do you remember anything about your time there, where the lair is located…"

"No Grandfather, I don't. I wish I could…"

"You are human. No one human go defy the Great Demon Lord."

"Why don't you say his title correctly? He was…"

Renjiro stopped, his eyes widening.

"The war. He became the Great Demon after that war. The children…They were so bright, so intelligent…"

"Enough. You've remembered enough for one day. When memories come, make sure to write them down. And you are welcome here at any time."

"Thank you grandfather," he said, suddenly exhausted.

"You need to sleep."

"Grandfather…if I am in this time, and Kaede is in this time, maybe others who were involved are too."

"Be sure of it. Michi as you called her was a powerful miko, and her soul may have been reborn several times seeking revenge on her killer. She could be anything from a nun, a miko, or like you, a teacher. Kaede we know was a miko…"

Kaede looked at her grandfather, trying to will him to be silent, but Renjiro saw the move and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you hiding Kaede?" he growled, angry that after they knew all about him they were still trying to hide things.

"I…"

"Tell him Kaede. He should know."

"I, I remember that Sesshoumaru and his brother Inu Yasha fought, and that I would often heal Inu Yasha's wounds after his fights with his brother."

She looked at her grandfather, pleading with her eyes not to have to say anymore, but the old man was fair, and wouldn't let her wriggle out of her predicament.

"And I know Inu Yasha's human mate was a girl from this time, a girl named Higurashi Kagome. And that I helped deliver Sesshoumaru's second child with the human girl Rin just before I died."

Hearing the name spoken sent chills through Renjiro, and he wrapped his arms around himself to stop from shivering.

"The demon dog I saw was him wasn't it?"

"Yes, and it means that he was here, in this time. Your soul was warning you."

"I have to leave here…"

"You can't run from him. If he is here, in this time, we have a bigger problem. During the war the Demoness of the North, Leiko, fled with her child into hiding when it became clear her forces could not prevail against Sesshoumaru's legions. No one has seen her for ages, but it doesn't mean she's not alive, and active in this time."

"He may want me to be in his service again…"

"When and if he comes to you, no matter what form he is in, you should try and resist him. Just because you were enslaved to him once doesn't mean you have to be again. I will put some things in your home and office to try and protect you, but the best work of humans can't hold back a Demon Lord. It would slow him down, but that's it."

Renjiro looked like the thought of being near Sesshoumaru was making him ill.

"Come, we have work to do."