InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Past, Hidden Self ❯ Setsuna ( Chapter 5 )

I don't own any of the InuYasha characters mentioned in this fanfic. However the OCs and story line are off limits.

Chapter 5: Setsuna

Koga confronted InuYasha, his black hair swaying with his steps as he approached. “Only I'm allowed to call my sister a wench. What's your reason for risking your life and coming out here against our pact?”

“Your sister came and attacked my sister, Kane-Sakura. And I want her to pay for it.” InuYasha stated, barely containing his anger.

“So she killed her?”

He shook his head. “No, but she almost died from blood loss. And thanks to your sister, she's going to be two weeks behind in her training.”

“Okay, I'll get her out here. She was the one who broke the pact first, so I won't hold you accountable...unless, of course, you're lying.”

“Just get her down here. I have some choice words to say to her.”

“I'm already here, dimwit.” Mika was sitting on a cliff ledge, legs dangling over it, studying her nails as she looked up at the sky. “Your nose must be broken or something.”

“Oh that is it!” InuYasha hollered, cracking his knuckles. “You hurt my sister and insulted me! You're dead!”

She waited until the last second, and then leapt away from the hanyou's claws. All he hit was the side of the rocky cliff. “Aww, she's still alive? That's too bad.” She dodged another attack and landed on the very top of the cliffs by the waterfall. “You're really slow today. Oh wait, you're always slow.”

“Mika!” Koga yelled at his sister. “Knock it off! You're in deep shit if you know what I mean.”

She sighed and came down to her brother. “Okay, what did I do wrong?”

“Do you, by any chance, remember the agreement me and InuYasha made when Naraku was defeated and the Jewel was back together?”

“Keh! Of course I do.” She huffed and crossed her arms. “I was there.”

“I know that, and so that's why I'm wondering why you went against our agreement.”

She flinched. “I...I was bored and I wandered a little and found myself there. Then I saw his sister, trying to jump from branch to branch and falling on her ass like a complete idiot.”

“So you attacked her?”

“Hey, you were the one who said weak demons have no purpose and should be killed.” She retorted. “Don't put all the blame on me, bro.”

Koga turned to InuYasha. “Listen, I have an idea. As punishment, Mika will go back with you and train your sister.” He ignored the angered and surprised sound that came from Mika. “Once she has been trained, she will have the freedom to return home. She doesn't have to come back; in fact, if she makes friends with her, she can stay as long as she wants. Just as long as she visits.”

“Keh! Fine with me.” InuYasha turned to leave. “But if she tries anything funny, I'll send her right back and forbid her from ever coming back.”

He stalked away, letting the siblings say their good-byes. Mika was the first to start. “You are a sonuvabitch, you know that?”

“Just go, you need to redeem yourself anyway.”

“As if! Training that flea-bag will be near to impossible!” She stood eye to eye with her brother and said under her breath, “You know how much patience is a virtue to me.”

“Yeah, that's true. But I want you to go along and keep an eye on Kagome for me.” Koga turned away from her and added, “Make sure mutt-face doesn't touch her.”

She just rolled her eyes.

“Now get going. If I catch one whiff of you coming home before Kane is trained, you'll have to deal with me.”

She snorted. “Like that's a challenge.” That said, she walked away towards the waiting hanyou. `Just you wait, Koga. I'll show you that it was a mistake to send me to train that mutt-face.'

***

Kaeda helped Kane out of her hut and into the late fall sunshine. “Are ye sure ye can stand by yourself?” The girl was leaning heavily on her shoulder, which for an old woman wasn't easy to handle.

She winced with every step she took, but she smiled nonetheless. “Walking hurts a little, but I think I'll manage.” Her brother had left early that morning, and now the sun was setting in the west and the first stars were appearing, the eastern skies flattering them and making them sparkle like diamonds. A light breeze wafted through the village and put many different creatures' scents into her nostrils. But what disturbed her was the fact that she reeked. Her body was covered in dried blood and filth and her kimono looked like it hadn't been washed in months, not a week. `Ugh, I need a bath.'

“Uh, Kaeda, could I by any chance go down to the river and wash up?”

“Sorry Kane, but it is too late to be doing such things. Maybe in the morning.”

“Then could I take a bath here? We could get the water and warm it up in the hut right?” She desperately wanted a bath, even if it meant doing it in the priestess's hut.

Kaeda thought it over, and said, “Fine, I will go get someone to keep an eye on ye and then I will get water from the river.”

“Arigato!” She almost squealed in delight. She was finally going to get her bath.

The old miko left the hut and went in search of a `babysitter' for Kane. She'd put the girl in the hut for now to keep her from harm should a demon come wandering into the village. She looked around for him, and found him just outside the village. “Setsuna, could you please come with me?”

The young man stopped chopping wood and turned to face the old lady. He wiped sweat from his forehead under creamy, white bangs. “What do you need, Kaeda?”

“I have a young girl in my hut who's injured. Could ye keep an eye on her while I get some water for her bath?”

He tightened his high ponytail on his head and smiled at her, a genuine grin that went up to his emerald eyes. “Sure, anything for you Kaeda.”

Leaning against the wall of the hut, Kane sighed and stared at the dead fire pit. “Maybe I should try and light a fire before night fall. InuYasha won't be back for a while, so I might as well try.” She scooted over to the pit and looked around for the matches. “Hmm...they probably don't have any matches since this is the Feudal Era. How do they start fires then?”

“Kane-Sakura, stay here with Setsuna. I'm going to get water for your bath.” Kaeda said from the doorway.

The girl didn't look up, appearing not to have heard her. She reached for her blanket and wrapped herself in it by the pit. The chill in the air had suddenly become apparent to her, and a fire was what she really needed. Still looking for something to light the pit with, she ended up looking up at the window only to see a pair of green eyes. `Whoa, who...'

“Hey, need some help starting that fire?” He snapped his fingers and a little red flame appeared in palm when he opened it. He blew on it; the flames took flight like a sparrow, and started the wood within the pit on fire. “There, that should make things a lot easier for you.”

“Uh, thank you.” Now able to see more clearly in the light, she saw that he had white hair, pure like fresh fallen snow in winter or like an angel's wings. His face wasn't harsh, but it was very kind and gentle, and it looked soft to the touch.

“Oh, forgive me. I'm Setsuna of the cat demon tribe.” He smiled at her as he crossed his legs to sit across from her. “You must be the girl Kaeda was talking about. Kane-Sakura, right?”

She nodded dumbly. How in the world had he slipped her vision? Had he been in the village the entire time?

The silence in the hut expanded, and finally Setsuna said something once again. “You look familiar; have we met before?”

She snapped out of her daze and shook her head. “I don't think so. I've only been here for about two weeks, maybe more since I was unconscious for a while.”

“Hm? What happened?”

“I, uh, got into a fight with a wolf demon and lost; big time.”

He shook his head. “Was it Koga or his sister?”

“His sister, Mika.” She looked away from his eyes. “I haven't been training that long and my fighting skills aren't that great, that's the only reason she beat me.”

He laughed, a deep bass chuckle that made Kane's skin tingle in pleasure. “I've gotten into a few scraps with Mika myself. She's tough to beat since nobody but her brother can match her speed.”

“Well it's nice to know I'm not the only one who got beaten by her.”

“I never said she beat me.”

Kane sighed. “Of course, my bad.”

“Every time it got to the critical point, where we'd fight to the death, InuYasha would interrupt it and we'd have to stop. Half the time we'd destroy a part of the village and have to rebuild it.” He scratched his head. “It's nothing to be proud of…”

She saw the faint smile creep onto his face and into his eyes. He was genuinely enjoying his time with her. `He's not bad looking. In fact, he's…very handsome.' She sighed. `And he's sweet.'

“How long do you plan on staying around here?”

“Oh, I don't know. I'm hoping I can go back to the future after my training, but my bone-headed brother probably won't hear it.”

“The future?” He cocked his head to one side in question. “What does that mean?”

“Um, well…” She hadn't thought to keep that from him. Didn't everybody know about how she got to Feudal Japan? In fact, didn't everybody know how to get there themselves? “Never mind; it doesn't matter where I'm from. I have to stay with my brother InuYasha until I'm trained anyway.”

“I knew I'd seen that face before.” He looked directly into her eyes. “You look almost exactly like InuYasha. Well, your face does anyway. It's like you're the female version of him.”

“Uh, thanks.” She leaned forward into the firelight to warm her hands a little more. “I've never been told that before.”

Silence permeated the hut, and it was Setsuna who broke it again. “I don't suppose I could see you again?”

“See me again?”

“Yeah, you know just to hang out after your injuries are healed.” A slight blush crept over his cheeks. “I liked being in your company today.”

She nodded mutely. `He wants to see me again and he's shy about it. That's so sweet.' Her cheeks pinked too. `Does he like me?'

“That's great.” Setsuna said with enthusiasm. “I hope your brother won't mind.”

Her smile faded slowly from her face. `That's right, how's he going to react to this?' “I'm sure he won't. You should stop by when I'm training, maybe give me some tips and stuff like that.”

At that moment, Kaeda came back into the hut. “Thank you Setsuna. I hope she wasn't much trouble.”

“Kaeda, I'm not a child.” She pouted.

He smiled and bowed. `No, she's definitely not a child. Both her mind and body say that.' “No trouble at all. I have to meet someone in a little, so I'll just be going.”

After he'd left, Kane sighed deeply. “Kaeda, does he live in this area?”

“In a way he does. He hangs around more than lives here since he's kind of a rogue.” She poured the water into the basin and put it over the fire.

`A rogue? But he seemed so nice.' Kane thought. “He's a fire apparition, right?”

“So he's the one that started the fire. Yes, he is. He's also not a full demon.”

“Really? He's a hanyou like me?”

“Not quite. He's the offspring of a full-blooded demon mother and a half-demon father. That makes him three-quarters demon and one-quarter human.”

Kane blinked. “I've never heard of a three-quarters demon.”

“There aren't many of them. Most hanyous choose to not procreate.”

“That's odd. Why would most of them choose not to have children?” Kane stripped her kimono as the water steamed.

Kaeda sighed. “There aren't many hanyous around either. And hardly any hanyous fall in love and mate together to create another hanyou. So most choose not to procreate.”

“That won't be my case.” Kane stated as she slipped into the warm water. “I hope to some day find the man of my dreams, marry him, and have a couple kids with him. Probably one of each.” She sighed. “Setsuna's really nice. He should come around here more often.”

“He would, if he already didn't have someone to see every night.”

Kane's hopes sank. And she could've sworn her heart skipped a beat. “Oh, I see.”

“She is cat-demon from another tribe, and a full-blooded one at that.” Kaeda answered the girl's unasked question. “Atsuko may also be his mate since cat demons mate for life.”

`Great, so what was that invitation all about?' Kane sighed in defeat. `Maybe he just wants to be friends.' She sank further down into the steamy water. `And here I thought I'd found someone...I could talk to.'

***

"Can't you keep up, wolf? I'd hoped to get back to the village by sunrise!" The sun had long set and both demons were having a hard time seeing, even with their excellent night vision.

"I don't feel like going fast. Besides," she pointed at her left knee at a gigantic scar. "This is still healing. Running a lot would probably open it up again."

"You sure as hell ran fast enough to try and kill Kane-Sakura."

"Keh! If she would've died, at least the world would be one half-breed less than it was before."

"Will you shut up?! I'm trying to listen for the river and I can't hear anything because of your babbling!" She closed her mouth after he said that.

But it wasn't closed for long. "You do know where you're going, right?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!" InuYasha yelled at the top of his lungs. "It's hard enough to concentrate when it's dark out, but your yapping might get us lost for sure!" He ended his outburst with a growl, making Mika reel back in surprise.

"I'll shut up now." She said, her voice quivering slightly. The last thing she wanted was to see him transform into his full-demon self and go totally mental.

More minutes flew past; InuYasha was getting tired of traveling and Mika's presence was making him edgy. He stopped just below a tree branch and hopped up into it. Mika, suddenly noticing that the hanyou was gone, looked around in front of and behind her. "Huh? InuYasha did you disappear?" But when she took in a good whiff of air through her nose, she smelled his scent just above her. "What are you doing? I thought you had wanted to get back to the village by sunrise?"

"I'm tired and I can't see very well. I'm going to sleep, and I suggest that you follow my advice and do the same thing." He closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

"But…"

"Do you want me cranky tomorrow or not? Now go to sleep!"

"Fine! Yeesh, you're already cranky enough as it is." She settled down below the tree InuYasha was settled in and curled up to go to sleep. "I'm not really looking forward to meeting your sister again anyway."

"Shut up and go to sleep, cheeky wolf."

Only a few minutes passed before InuYasha's sensitive ears picked up talking from somewhere close by. His ears twitched as he sat up to see who the hell would be out this late at night.

“It's a nice night for a walk tonight, huh?” A female's voice said from a distance.

“Yeah, it is.” The man's voice belonged to Setsuna, and as they walked into the clearing, InuYasha could see that the woman was clinging to his arm, but he was almost trying to get away from her. Her blue eyes sparkled with love in the moonlight as she looked into his. But her smile faded when he turned away.

“What's wrong? Why won't you look at me? I love you, Setsuna.” She said, her voice quivering with unshed tears.

"Oh brother; what are these two dramatists doing out here?" Mika said just below InuYasha.

“Shh...Something's not right here.” He said under his breath.

Mika looked up at him. “What's not right about this? Aren't they just taking a walk together as lovers?”

“No, usually Setsuna doesn't take Atsuko so far away from the village this late at night.”

"Why are they out here?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I just think it's suspicious is all.”

Mika was quiet for a moment, then she said, “So is he an ally or an enemy?”

“There's a long story behind how we know each other. Don't get me started.” He leaned forward to listen in on the conversation.

“Atsuko, it's just...I love you too, but...” He took her shoulders in his arms and dragged her to his chest. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with intense passion, his fingers caressing her soft pink hair, trying to recall the old feelings he had for her.

"Eww!!! Get a room!" Mika stuck her finger in her mouth and pretended to gag.

"Don't look if it disgusts you!" InuYasha said, blushing only slightly.

As suddenly as it had begun, Setsuna ended the kiss. "Atsuko, I'm sorry, but I can't keep up this lie with you."

"What lie? Setsuna, what are you talking about?"

“Atsuko, I...” Setsuna turned away from her. “I'm sorry, but I don't love you.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “But...I thought...”

“I do like you; you're my best friend, the only one of our kind to stay by my side. But I can't love you. You deserve better than me anyway.” He turned to her again. “Please forgive me, but it's the truth.”

He expected her to start crying, for tears to start falling down her cheeks. But she didn't. In fact, she started to laugh. “You don't love me?” She laughed harder. “That's too bad Setsuna, because if you had, I might have spared your life.”

"InuYasha, what's going on?" Mika asked.

"I don't know, but the woman's scent just changed." InuYasha sat up further in the tree, his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt.

“My lovely Setsuna, did you know that I ate the real Atsuko months ago? She's dead, gone from the world. And she tasted very good.” The woman in the form of Atsuko licked her lips. “I have to eat women in order to survive, and InuYasha's sister is next.”

“Hell no!” He leapt from the tree and landed between Setsuna and Atsuko.

"InuYasha; what the hell are you...?" Setsuna started to say.

Before he could finish the sentence, `Atsuko' flung the hanyou away from her and into a nearby tree as she started to change form.

Instead of the beautiful cat demon that had once been there, an ugly creature with long horns sticking out of its head loomed over Setsuna. Its disfigured face contorted into a hideous smile as he stared in shock, his knees giving way beneath him.

InuYasha's breath had been knocked right out of his lungs, so his question came out in a hoarse gasp. “Why do you want my sister?”

“She will make a delicious meal and her incredible powers will make me the most powerful demon when I absorb them like I do all my victims.” The demon smiled even wider to show gruesome yellow teeth.

"I don't know where you heard a lie like that, but it isn't true! Her power is as normal for a hanyou as mine is." InuYasha said.

"Cheeky little puppy; you don't know your place!" The demon approached InuYasha, ignoring the shocked and numb cat demon. "Your sister will make a very divine treat once her powers have been drained. I know Atsuko was." His face twisted into a gruesome smirk as he approached the barely conscious half-breed. "Quite delicious indeed."

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