InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Fire ❯ An Uninvited Stranger ( Chapter 8 )

Title: Into the Fire

Author: Chiaztolite

Rating: NC-17/M for future lemon, rape, and violence

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Inuyasha

 

Miko: priestess

Nii-sama: a respectful way to address an older brother

Houshi: monk/priest

 

A/N:

Byakko (from Chinese mythology): along with Seiryuu (the green/blue dragon), Shuzaku (red phoenix), and Genbu (black tortoise-like chimera with head and tail of a serpent), is one of the four deities of the four corners of heaven. Byakko is depicted as a unicorn-like creature who guards Buddha's teachings and mankind; observes world with clairvoyance; corresponds to the season fall, the color white, wind, the element metal, and the virtue righteousness.

 

 

A ball rolled…

A young male youkai trailed behind it. His childish appearance showed that he was very young indeed, only 10 years of age. His golden curls shined under the morning sun as he ran to chase his toy down the lonely open hallway of a palace. Finally the ball stopped in front of a stone gate, elaborately carved with ancient writing and symbols. The boy bent his knees to pick up what belonged to him, his deep cerulean blue eyes stared at the gate curiously.

He knew he should not be there, he knew that the particular wing of the palace was forbidden except for his father and the elders of highest importance.

As he was about to leave, a soft, echoing whisper reached his ears. He turned around, only to see that there was no one around him. The hallway before him seemed dark and endless, and he could not locate the owner of the haunting voice. Fear started to creep into him, he felt chill ran down his spine.

Again, he heard the whisper… Something was calling him in an ancient language that was unfamiliar to his ears.

“…Who is there…?” came his quivered voice, his eyes glued to the stone gate before him.

Something was calling him from inside the room, beyond the closed gate. Slowly, he raised his slender arm to touch the coldness of the stone. To his surprise, the gate opened at the slightest touch.

He poked his head into the room, yet saw nothing due to the darkness. He opened the gate wider to allow his body to slip in. Once his eyes got used to the pitch blackness around him, he saw a small box at the far side of the spacious, but empty room. Like the stone gate, the wooden box was heavily ornate with symbols that he had never seen before. A red aura, similar to that of a burning flame, encased the mysterious object.

Slowly, as if guided by the voice that beckoned him over and over again, he moved closer to the box. His hand extended, almost touching the object that seemed to mesmerize him. Before he had a chance to lay his fingers on the glowing entity, a strong hand caught his wrist. He jerked up, as if he was awaken from a bewitching dream, and saw his father next to him.

“You know you are not allowed in here, Son…” he said. He frowned as he saw the boy's puzzled expression. “How did you even get in here?”

The youngling lowered his gaze in a guilty manner. “…The door was unlocked…” he quietly answered.

The elder youkai kneeled down before his son, each of his hand was on the child's shoulder. A pair of deep cerulean blue orbs bore into the identical ones.

“I thought you know better than to defy our rules, Ryoushin…” he said sternly.

The child lowered his gaze as he could feel his father's disappointment in him.

“…But it spoke to me…” he tried to argue. A deeper frown appeared on the youkai's forehead when he asked the little one,

“Who did?”

“The box…” Ryoushin shifted his eyes to gaze upon the case. His father followed his gaze, but right away turned back to his son. A livid expression was in his eyes as he shook the child's body.

“What did the voice say?” he asked in a suppressed anger, causing his son to stare at him in fear.

He shook his head. “…I…I do not know…” he answered with his trembling voice. “I do not understand the language…”

The youkai stared at the shuddered child. Ryoushin kept his eyes glued to the floor, silently praying that his father would not sensed his lie.

“Come.” He finally said, taking his son's wrist and almost dragged him to leave the room. Ryoushin turned around and took one last look at the box before his father slam the door closed.

As the youkai child followed his father with his head bowed down, he thought of the strange voice that had spoken to him. The voice spoke in an ancient, alien language, yet somehow he understood what it meant. It spoke to him about great powers, a secret way to become a supreme, strongest creature ever roamed the earth, if only he would…

“Father…?” he called. The youkai walking at the front glanced over his shoulder. “What is inside that box?”

His father uttered no words for a while. Finally, his grim voice answered,

“…A curse.”

 

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Into the Fire

 

Chapter 08: An Uninvited Stranger

 

The smell of dew in the air roused her from her deep, peaceful slumber. It was right at sunrise, as she could see the orange rays entered the cave and bounced off the walls to light the entire space. The fire had died out and her brother was nowhere in sight. She rose up to check on his wards and found that they were still asleep right where they were the night before.

Quietly, she approached the cave mouth where Inuyasha's pack was. They too, were still sleeping soundly. Inuyasha had his back rested against the wall, Tessaiga was wrapped tight in his arms. His eyes were closed, though his pointy triangular ears twitched as he caught the sound of her motions. She knew he was awake, yet she chose to ignore him even when she felt him peering at her from his half-opened eyes.

She went out into the open air and inhaled the cool, fresh air of morning. All her senses instinctively scanned the surrounding of their cave, trying to detect the slightest hint of movement that might cause danger to them. Anything could hide behind the heavy mists that still clung in the early morning air. She sighed in relief as she found none. It would be the best to reserve as much energy as they could to face Naraku, rather than wasting it on some lowly beasts that inhabited the forest.

But a few seconds later, her body tensed as she felt some motions on top of a nearby tree, right behind her. She could feel the creature's gaze on her back, watching her like a hunter eyeing its prey. Slowly, she lifted her hand and laid her palm on top of the hilt of her sword, quietly waiting for the beast to make its move. She waited and waited… Minutes passed by but nothing came. Slowly, a smile curved on her lips as she realized who she originally thought a beast was…

“…What are you doing here?” she asked, her back was still facing him. “You are supposed to be back in the eastern country.” She turned around to face Yuusou, who was now not her brother anymore, but her cousin.

Yuusou just shrugged and returned her smile. “Grandfather told me to come and check on you. He was worried.” He told her.

A frown appeared on her forehead. Worried?

“…My own brother will not hurt me…” she said in a rather tight voice. `Well, at least not intentionally, I suppose…' she thought to herself.

Yuusou moved closer towards her and lowered his voice. “You know that it is not him whom we are worried about…” his face suddenly turned grim.

Shouri bit her lower lip, yet utter no comment to his remark. She turned away, arms folded in front of her bosom. Yes, she knew exactly what he meant…

“So you managed to catch up with your brother?” he asked, quite amused by the new development between his former-little sister and her newly-found brother.

Shouri smiled at his question. “Well… to cut a long story short, yes…” She would not tell him all the gory details, as she saw no point in making him worried or upset over some petty accident and misunderstanding.

“You still have a long way to go to reach the Mountain of Gods…” Yuusou commented with a frown. “You have gone for three days but you are still at this place? Why are you wasting your time?”

“The humans are slower than us, youkais.” She answered. “And flying would expose ourselves to too much of a danger…”

Her cousin was about to say something when they both sensed another presence. They both turned around and saw Sesshoumaru stood still behind the mists. He had noticed Yuusou there, yet retained his calm and composed demeanor. Yuusou inclined his head slightly, showing adequate respect towards the Lord of the Western Lands. He was responded with a slight nod from the youkai lord.

Shouri was somewhat relief when she was sure the two male inuyoukais would not engage in a duel, at least not yet... Unlike their grandfather, Yuusou had a rather compassionate nature, something that was quite rare for a taiyoukai, not to mention the heir to the eastern lands. He would be unlikely to start a fight for fun, or without any strong reason.

As Sesshoumaru gazed upon the eastern inuyoukai prince, he knew his hatred towards their country had not ceased. However, the heir to the eastern lands did not have a slightest desire to start a fight, and he, being an honorable taiyoukai he was, did not wish to attack anyone who does not wish to battle.

“What business do you have here?” he asked as soon as he got closer to those two.

“I am merely checking on Shouri.” Yuusou responded. “I appreciate that you have taken care of her so well.”

A thin, ironic smile almost appeared on Sesshoumaru's lips. It was only last night that he had injured her badly. The scent of her blood had disappeared completely, a signed that her wound had completely healed. No wonder her cousin could not tell that she was injured.

“It is my duty as a brother to do so…” he said before turning his gaze to his sister. “Shouri, we shall leave soon.”

A slight frown was in her face. She wondered if Inuyasha and his pack were included as a part of `we'.

“Nii-sama, are you planning on taking that hanyou and his group with us?”

A cold, almost unnoticeable smile graced Sesshoumaru's face when he heard her question.

“Don't be ridiculous.” he simply answered before he walked back to the cave, leaving Yuushou and Shouri alone.

“I shall join you for a few days.” Yuusou said, causing the female inuyoukai to stare at him with one eyebrow arched.

“…I do not think it is a good idea…” she made her clear remark.

“It will be very interesting to observe the Lord of the Western Lands from upclose, don't you think?” He looked at her with a meaningful smile on his face. “Besides… I know this forest much better than you do, remember?”

Shouri gave him a sour smile. She had to admit that he was familiar with the entire forest more than she was, or ever will be, since he spent a lot of time playing in this forest during his childhood.

“Whatever…” she finally said, and added with a more humorous tone. “But just remember to make yourself useful.”

 

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Jyaken was not happy when his lord and master told him that there was going to be an addition to their small pack. The green imp was not even putting a little effort to hide his dissatisfaction.

“My Lord Sesshoumaru,” he shrieked, his round eyes glared as he shook his two-headed staff at her. “You can't be serious to take this…this witch along with us!”

Shouri grimaced as she learned that the dim-witted toad youkai was still addressing her so impolitely. She could not help but peering at her brother from the corner of her eyes to see what his reaction might be.

His eyebrows were knitted to form a deep frown and his eyes narrowed as he heard the servant referred to Shouri so impudently.

“The witch?” he repeated with his frostiest tone. “Is that the best title you could give to the sister of the Lord of the Western Lands, Jyaken?”

The toad shuddered when he felt the taiyoukai's uprising anger. Hastily, he was on his knees and bowed over and over again, pleading for his mercy.

“My utmost apology, Sesshoumaru-sama, Shouri-sama…” he quickly uttered. “This Jyaken had forgotten his place earlier and…”

“Jyaken…” Sesshoumaru's cold voice cut his apology short.

“…Ha…Hai, my Lord?” the frightened imp did not even dare to lift his head up.

“From now on, you will address my sister with the respect and title that she deserves. Do I make myself clear?”

“Very much, my Lord…”

“Good…” the youkai lord nodded. “Now go and wake Rin up. We will continue our journey soon.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Jyaken said, offering his master one last bow before retreating back into the cave to carry the order.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As expected, as soon as Inuyasha heard that Shouri was leaving his group to join his half-brother's, he was furious. His barks were even louder in the dead silence of the woods, piercing Sesshoumaru's very sensitive hearing.

“Stop this useless barking, Inuyasha.” He said in a bored tone. The hanyou's noisy yapping irked him so. “Shouri belongs with her brother. There is no reason for her to travel with humans and a hanyou such as yourself.”

“Hah!” Inuyasha spat. “It did not bother you before last night!”

Sesshoumaru stared at him with emotionless golden eyes, keeping his cool. “My sister is coming with me, whether you like it or not, half-breed.”

“Shut up, you bastard!!” Inuyasha growled, pulling Tessaiga out of its sheath.

He was ready to pounce on the youkai lord who stood a few feet away from him. Before he could attack, three small daggers flew at him and landed right in front of his feet, just a hair breadth away.

“What the…” he stared at the daggers stabbed on the ground. Before he had a chance to recover from the sudden attack, he felt the cold, sharp tip of a sword on his throat. A pair of emerald eyes met his golden ones.

Shouri took one step back when she sensed the strange clothed girl approaching them with a wary look on her face. Not willing to budge, she kept her sword aimed at Inuyasha's throat, in case he was still intended to attack.

“Miko,” her cold voice reached Kagome's ears. “I appreciate the kindness you have showed me last night, but…” the princess' sharp gaze shifted back to the male half-breed before her. “…keep your hanyou away from my brother.”

Kagome stepped forward to slip in between Inuyasha and the female youkai, her arms spread wide either to protect him, or to stop their brawl.

“Shouri-sama,” she said to her. “You did promise to help us, didn't you? That day in the shrine you said you would help us fight Naraku!”

Shouri lowered her sword and sighed when the girl reminded her of the promise she made. The miko was right, she did promise them.

“Besides…” the girl continued. “You will need Tessaiga, Inuyasha's sword, to defeat him. So, let's just try to get along with each other, shall we?”

The inu princess stared at Kagome for a while, without uttering any words. She sighed again and turned to face her brother.

“Nii-sama,” her voice was gentler when she spoke to him. “The girl spoke the truth, I did promise them. Would you let their pack join ours?”

She could hear the hanyou started to bark again, though abruptly stopped by the girl's sharp, threatening glare. Sesshoumaru stared at his sister for the longest time before he turned his head away.

“Do as you please.” He said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He glanced back over his shoulder. “Just do not let them get in my way.”

Inuyasha spat at his words, though he refrained to say anything else. Kagome quickly ushered him away from his half-brother, trying to avoid another fight that might start every time they came too close to each other.

After the two had left, Shouri approached her brooding brother. She knew the fact that they would have to travel with the hanyou's pack vexed him greatly, and she was grateful that he was willing to compromise. Otherwise, she would have to travel with them alone just to keep her honor intact.

She laid her hand on his shoulder, causing him to shift his head to gaze at her.

“Forgive me, Nii-sama.” She said gently. “I promised them before knowing that I would travel with you instead.”

His eyes softened at her words, the corner of his lips curved to form a thin smile as a sign that he had accepted her sincere apology.

“…Tell me,” he said as he faced her. “Do you have to throw those daggers and arrows every time you fight?”

She laughed at his comment on her earlier action. “That is the way we fight.” She told him.

“Do you know how to use your whip?”

She frowned when she heard his question. What whip? Suddenly she recalled the green energy whip that he had used many times against her, the same weapon their father also possessed.

“We, eastern fighters, use no such thing…” she responded.

Sesshoumaru frowned in distaste. “How could an inuyoukai princess from the western lands not know how to use energy whip? This is a catastrophe.”

“It is not a catastrophe!” She started to become defensive, though she could not hold back a smile. “I was trained according to the eastern way…What was wrong with the arrows and the daggers anyway? They have proven to be effective…”

“They are merely petty techniques to trick your opponent.” He cut her short. “How very ungraceful…”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Ungraceful?!” she repeated the exact word that he had used to describe her country's martial arts. “May I remind you, my Lord…” she teased him. “You were almost killed by this… as you put it, `petty techniques'….”

Her words caused a sour smile on his lips. “That was a misfortunate accident.” He said. “I can assure you that it will never happen again.”

He started to walk back into the cave to check on Rin and Jyaken. Before he reached the mouth of the cave, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

“Oh, and be prepared for your training to use the whip.” He said.

“I do not want to be trained to use the whip! I do not need it!”

“…Enough said.” He ignored her protest. “You will learn the proper way of fighting, according to the western lands.”

She quietly watched him disappeared into the cave. The slight pout that was on her beautiful face suddenly changed into a rather amused grin.

`Grandfather will not be so happy to hear this…' She thought to herself.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Shouri sighed as she forced herself to ignore the little girl who kept chirping next to her. They had been walking for a few hours and the human child had not stopped talking ever since they left the camp. Shouri had very little experience of being around humans, not to mention such a noisy one. Rin had told many stories about her adventure together with Jyaken and her lord Sesshoumaru, which Shouri found interesting as she was able to understand more about her brother's life. But, the girl had also asked too many questions, particularly about the childhood that she had enjoyed with her brother back in the western lands, as if the girl was trying to put the pieces of her lord's past together. Alas, Shouri had no intention to share such precious memories with a stranger.

“Girl,” she said when she had enough. “Have my brother ever told you how talkative you are?”

Rin shook her head and grinned cheerfully. “No. But Jyaken-sama said that to me all the time.”

`No wonder…' Shouri sighed inwardly. Her gaze was locked on her brother's back in front of her. She still had not fully understood why he kept the girl around, though she did find Rin's presence rather intriguing and captivating at the same time. It was hard to maintain her cold demeanor in front of such a warm person.

Sesshoumaru strived to hold back a smile as he listened to his ward's attempt to chat with Shouri the whole time. He could sense his sister's uneasiness around the chatty little girl, who had pretty much attached herself to the inu princess. It was clear to everyone that Rin had admired the princess, and the fact that she was her lord's only sister apparently meant a great deal to the girl.

He stopped all of a sudden as he smelled the change in the air and sensed a familiar youki. He covered his face with the sleeve of his kimono when a whirlwind appeared before them, along with a female figure in white and purple kimono.

“Yo…” the figure said.

Sesshoumaru could hear Inuyasha's growl from behind him as he recognized their uninvited visitor.

“…Kagura…”

The wind user gazed at the hanyou who was ready to slice her with his sword should she tried to attack.

“Rest assure, Inuyasha.” She said. “I have no intention to fight with you today. My business is only with your brother.” With that said, she shifted her gaze to meet Sesshoumaru's golden eyes.

“Kagura,” the youkai lord said coldly. “I am surprised your master has not killed you yet.”

She ignored his sarcastic remark as her eyes caught a female figure behind him. A tall, slender figure with the same long, silver hair and facial markings, the one she saw in Kanna's spying mirror. Shouri stepped forward and laid her hand on her brother's arm.

“Who is she?” she asked him in a low voice, her emerald eyes were glued on the stranger before them.

“One of Naraku's slaves.” Sesshoumaru answered, not even trying to lower his voice. His heart wondered why Naraku still kept her alive, even though the previously half-demon had managed to transform himself into a full-blooded youkai with the power of Shikon no Tama. Had it not been clear to him that she had betrayed him and tried to get him killed?

“I have come here to give you cues.” Kagura said.

Sesshoumaru let out a low, mocking chuckle. “You are still trying to free yourself from him, I see…”

Her pink eyes narrowed at his comment. “As I have once said, you are the one who strong enough to kill Naraku. But you must hurry, there was not much time left…”

“I will ask you again, wench… Do you think I need help from you to defeat Naraku?”

“He had grown much stronger than the last time you fought him.” Kagura said. “Right now, you do not even know how to break the barrier to enter the Mountain of Gods, do you?”

Sesshoumaru said nothing, as he knew she was right. They had not found a way to break through the barrier to get to the mountain.

“That is not your concern.” He heard his sister responded in her cold tone. “We will surely find a way to pierce through the barrier.”

Kagura shrugged. “Whatever, do as you please.” She said. “But let me tell you this… Naraku had a plan to gain even more power. And that's why you should hurry. Otherwise, it will be too late and no one will be able to stop him…”

“And why should we trust the words of a traitor?” Shouri's sharp voice cut her words short.

Kagura found herself unable to respond. She bit her lower lips, her eyes returned the female inuyoukai's emerald gaze.

“Speak, female.” Sesshoumaru's voice startled her. “I would like to hear what you have to say.”

She said nothing for a few moments. Finally, she let out a deep sigh and explained,

“As you may already know… the Mountain of Gods is a holy place where the guardian of the gates to the afterlife resides…That is why Naraku fled to the mountain… He wanted to open the gate to the afterlife and summon an army of the undead to conquer these entire lands…”

Yuusou snorted when she finished with her words. “That is impossible.” He said. “No one has the power to open the gate to the afterlife except the heir to the throne to the holy mountain.”

“Yeah, and that is why he joined forces with the great dragon or whoever he is…” Inuyasha responded.

His green eyes aimed towards the hanyou.

“The great dragon is not the rightful heir to the throne.” He told him. “He does not hold such power.”

“I am telling you that Naraku had managed to locate the heir to the throne to the Mountain of Gods!” Kagura said impatiently. “He had planned to get him involved in his ploy. Don't you understand? Once Naraku got him to open the gate, he will get himself an undefeatable army and no one could stop him anymore.” And I would forever be damned as his slave… she added to herself. She turned around to stare at Sesshoumaru. “That is why you must…” She stopped all of a sudden as she noticed two bees floating nearby, and cursed herself for not sensing their presence sooner.

`Those damn spies…' she cursed them. She took a feather out of her raven hair and in an instant, she was floating in the air. The wind carried her as if she weighed nothing.

“I have to leave now.” She said. “But remember what I have told you. And keep watch, Naraku has his spies all over this forest.”

In a blink of an eye, she was gone. Sesshoumaru was still watching the clear blue sky when he heard Shouri muttered.

“…To open the gate to the afterlife and acquire an army of the undead…We should have been able to guess that…”

“If what Kagura said was true…” the monk said, looking lost in his deep thoughts. “…then Naraku might have the true heir of the mountain as his ally already…And he could open the gate anytime now…” He lifted his head up to stare at his friends. “Is it too late to stop him?”

Inuyasha snorted as he put Tessaiga back in its sheath. “I will still go and fight him anyway.” He said. “Fuck the undead army. We'll send them back to hell along with him!”

“Hn,” Sesshoumaru snorted before he turned around to proceed with their journey. “Such blatant confidence for a mere hanyou…”

“They are called the undead because they cannot be killed.” Shouri said to Inuyasha. “It may be troublesome if we have to face them in order to defeat this demon Naraku.”

Her gaze fell onto the sword on her brother's waist. “Nii-sama,” she called him. “Do you think Tenseiga will be able to kill the undead?”

He raised his hand and rested it against the sheath of the sword. Her question left him pondered. He had thought that Tenseiga could cut anything that was not of this world. However, his experience when he was fighting to defeat Takemaru and Sou'unga proved him wrong. Though he had been able to cut him in half, his flesh merged back in an instant. Will it be the same result with this undead army?

“I do not know.” He answered honestly. “But we may soon find out.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was late in the afternoon when the pack decided to rest at the side of a river. Shouri leaned her back against a tree while watching Rin and the little kitsune played together. They were running around, spurting water all over each other and laughing like they had no worries in the world. She let her body relaxed and against her will, a soft smile graced her fair face as she recalled there were times when she too, was that happy. Her head slightly shifted when she saw her brother approaching. He took his place next to her, the scent of warm summer filled her senses as she laid her head against his shoulder.

“That girl…” she whispered. “…She is quite enchanting, is she not…?”

He did not respond to her, his golden eyes were locked on his ward. Almost two years had past since the day he brought her back to life, since the day she followed him so faithfully. At first, she was no more than an experiment to test Tensaiga's power, but she stayed with him and he never commanded her to leave.

“She can be very annoying when she is so noisy…” he said dryly. His shoulder shook as Shouri tried to hold back a chuckle.

“Even so, you keep her around…” she said. She lifted her eyes to meet his, the palm of her hand grazed his cheek.

“…I find you much altered…” she whispered softly. “You have lost the warmth you used to have when we were little…”

“A lot have changed since then…” his voice was cold as he let his gaze wandered into space. “A warm heart is a weakness, and therefore not required in the path to become the strongest.”

Shouri straightened her back when she heard her brother's words.

“Nii-sama, do you desire power so much?”

He shifted his gaze back to her emerald orbs. She saw no emotion there, only golden pools of nothingness.

“After Naraku is defeated…” he spoke. “I will go to the eastern lands and slay their lord.”

Her eyes widened at his remark. She moved away from him, though her eyes had not left his.

“…Grandfather…?” came her weak voice. “You are planning to kill our grandfather?”

“He is not my grandfather, and you shall not think of him as yours.” His tone was just as emotionless as his exterior. “Have you forgotten about what he had done to us? To our family? He was the one who killed our mother! ”

Silence fell between them, his words echoed in both of their minds. She bit her lower lips and turned away. She felt her mouth dry yet she forced herself to say,

“He is still my grandfather no matter what he had done. He took care of me when I was little, you cannot ignore the fact that…”

“Shouri,” his voice was stern and unyielding when he called her name. “After he took both you and Mother, I made an oath that one day… I will kill him. No matter what you say, my resolution will not change.”

She glared at him over her shoulder. “Why??” she demanded, her voice rose in anger. “Why do you have to kill him?? For revenge?” She moved closer to him and lifted both of her hand to cup his face. “It does not matter anymore…” she whispered softly. “We are here now, together… And that is what matters…”

Slowly, he pushed her hands away. His eyes were back to stare into the space. “It is not just that…” he muttered. “I had wished to surpass Father when I was younger… but…” His teeth clenched as he recalled the cause of their Father's death. “… He gave his life away for the sake of a pathetic human…And now…” his gaze was back to her. “The Lord of the Eastern Lands was the strongest inu taiyoukai left… I will defeat him and become the most powerful taiyoukai in our race…”

“And then what?” she asked him, her voice laced with sadness. “Are you going to kill Yuusou after that?”

His eyes were as cold as ice when he answered. “If he stood in my way, yes.”

“And then what?” she repeated her question. “Will you kill me too?”

“…Do not be so foolish, Shouri.”

She lowered her gaze and shook her head slowly. “Nii-sama… You were right about one thing. A lot have changed since two hundred years ago.” She lifted her eyes to meet his. “You are not the only one who changed… I may be the princess of the western lands once, but I belong to the east now… It is my country now… And the moment you attack the Lord of the Eastern Lands, you will become my enemy, again...”

Sesshoumaru said nothing, and just stared at his sister with such intensity in his eyes. Before he had a chance to respond, a scream that came from the brink of the river caused them to jerk in alarm. They both recognized the voice well: it was Rin's. Their eyes scanned the area and found the younglings had played a little farther from where they sat. His eyes narrowed as he saw what had caused the girl to cry out in fear.

It was a tiger. Its golden fur gleamed under the setting sun, its black stripes were darker than the night. A pair of deep blue orbs of the great predator eyed the two younglings ferociously. Its mouth opened, showing sharp fangs as if ready to tear the flesh of its preys.

The tiger let out a low, dangerous growl as it moved closer and closer to Rin and Shippou. It was wounded, fresh blood gushed out of the broken flesh on its front left paw. Sesshoumaru rose up to his feet right away as he sensed how dangerous the tiger was. He started to race towards where she was with his claws extended, ready to pierce through the large tiger's body.

Inuyasha was ahead of him. The hanyou leaped in the air and landed right between the ferocious beast and the frightened children, Tessaiga was clutched tightly in his hands.

“Kids,” he said to Rin and Shippou who were frozen behind him, his eyes never left the tiger before him. “Stay back… Let me handle this…”

Miroku stepped forward to get a closer look of the predator. His brows knitted to form a deep frown as he slowly recognized it.

`It can't be…' he thought to himself.

At the same time, Sesshoumaru was also eyeing the tiger with the same thought running through his mind. His eyes narrowed as he observed the angry beast.

`This cannot be true…' he mused. `Their race was long extinct…'

Inuyasha bared his fangs. He lifted his sword high over his head, ready to cut the tiger before him with his one blow. It let out another low growl as it sensed his coming attack.

“Eat this, you piece of…”

“Stop!” A sharp voice stopped him from swinging his sword. In a blink of an eye, Shouri was behind him, her hand was on his shoulder to prevent his attack. “Stop it, Inuyasha.” Her stern voice commanded him.

“What the heck are you doing, Shouri!” he growled, his eyes never left his enemy in front of him. “It's dangerous! We should kill it before it has a chance to attack us!”

“…I said stop…” her voice turned colder and more demanding than before. Her hand moved to his wrist and forced him to lower his sword. Inuyasha peered at her, his golden gaze met with her emerald ones. Something inside her eyes made him to comply with her wish.

“Do you know this tiger, Shouri?” he asked her.

She said nothing, but knelt down in front of tiger that stood still just a few feet away from her. Her eyes soften as it glared at her with its deep cerulean blue orbs. The rest of the group watched them with open curiosity, and gasped as the tiger took a pounce at her.

“Shouri-sama…!” Rin squealed in fear as the wild creature leaped towards the princess. But to everyone's surprise, instead of attacking her, it laid its head on her lap.

A gentle smile was on her lips, her fingers ran through the tiger's soft fur causing it to close its eyes and purred on her lap.

“…You found me…” she whispered gently. Carefully, she grazed the injured part before lifting its paw and pressed a soft kiss on the wound.

Yuusou moved closer to them and kneeled down next to the tiger. A deep frown was on his forehead as he observed its injured paw.

“He is wounded…” he said in a low voice. “Whatever happened…?”

She nodded, yet said nothing. Her green eyes were clouded with worry as she thought about what might have caused the injury.

She lifted her chin up as she heard rustles coming from behind the bushes across the river. Two young cubs came running, followed by a mid-height, elderly youkai with copper hair. The youkai stopped and kneeled down, offering his respect for her.

“…Shouri-sama,” he said with his head bowed down. “I see that my master has found you.”

“Kishi…” she regarded him and nodded. “What happened to him?”

“We were attacked by two dragons…” Kishi explained. “They were trying to abduct the cubs. My master was injured when he fought against them. He ran through the woods after they were defeated… We were just running after him, not knowing where he wanted to go. But it turned out it was because he sensed you, my Lady…”

The cubs came closer and nudged their tiny noses against the tiger's still body, trying to wake him up. After their effort had failed, they lifted their blue eyes to stare at Shouri. Their heads tilted to the side, looking very much worried.

“It is alright…” She smiled to assure them, her hand moved to softly pat their heads. “He is just exhausted.”

Yuusou rose up to leave his cousin with the tiger. As he passed the Lord of the Western Lands, he heard his voice.

“That tiger…” Sesshoumaru began to speak. “…A holy tiger?”

Yuusou stopped, a smile was curved on his lips.

“You recognize him…” he said.

“How can that be possible?” the youkai lord mumbled. “The race of holy tiger was extinct almost 300 years ago.”

“…Apparently not…” Yuusou responded as he turned around to face his cousin.

“And what is he to her?”

The inu prince arched one of his eyebrows at the question. “…I am sure you can guess…”

Sesshoumaru stared at the other inuyoukai with a deep frown on his forehead. He shook his head, disbelief was in his golden eyes.

“That is not possible.” He stated. “She cannot be mated.”

She was still innocent. There was not even the slightest possibility that his sense of smelling had fooled him.

“She cannot be mated.” He repeated in his tight voice. “She has not been taken yet…”

Yuusou shifted his eyes back towards the couple. Shouri was still sitting on the grass, cradling the unconscious tiger. He recalled all the commotion that occurred when it was time to find a suitable match for the inu princess, and the ruckus that followed when she had chosen him. Their grandfather had been furious and he was strongly against it. And he had an understandable reason for his disapproval…

“He had been courting her for five years now…” he blankly said.

Silence fell between them as they both had their eyes glued to the female youkai. Sesshoumaru pursed his lips and thought grimly.

`I guess it cannot be helped then…'

Shouri had reached the age of 208, and it was not impossible that a female youkai of her age to mate. Or in her case, soon to be mated… Full-blooded female youkais normally reached maturity and ready to mate at the age of 150. He wondered what made her wait for over 50 years, though her title as a princess might be the reason for the delay in finding a mate worthy enough. He sighed at the thought of his almost mated sister. He had planned to take her to the western lands after Naraku was defeated. Now that he learnt that she had her intended, he was not sure she would follow him. His eyes narrowed as he observed the holy tiger. There was something about the tiger that bothered him greatly, though he could not pinpoint as to what that was. Furthermore, he wondered if the tiger was the reason why she had agreed to help Inuyasha to fight Naraku. She had never really told him her reasoning, and had been carefully avoiding the subject instead.

His eyes suddenly widened as he realized he had overlooked one important matter.

“…Holy tigers…”he hissed between his clenched teeth, causing Yuusou to shift his attention to the youkai lord. “According to the old legends, their clan had inhabited the Mountain of Gods for thousands of years…”

Slowly, Yuusou nodded.

“You are right.” He said. “He is the sole heir to the throne of the Mountain of Gods. The one Naraku was looking for.”

 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha's group was also watching Shouri and the tiger from a far with curiosity.

“Does Shouri-sama know that tiger?” Sango asked as she observed the princess running her fingers through its pelt ever so gently.

“She must be.” Inuyasha answered, putting Tessaiga back into its sheath. “She did stop me from killing the beast.”

Kagome turned her head to stare at Miroku who looked very much engrossed in his thought. His right hand was tucked underneath his chin, a sign that he was lost in a deep thought.

“Miroku,” she called him, yanking the monk back into reality. “Is there anything on your mind? Do you know the tiger?”

Miroku did not answer right away, and instead kept observing the sleeping tiger.

“He is not an ordinary tiger…” he finally said. “He is one of the legendary holy tigers, the guardian of the Mountain of Gods.”

“The holy tigers?” Inuyasha repeated, sitting himself on the ground with arms folded across his chest. “Who the heck are they?”

Miroku took his place next to him before proceeding with his story.

“The holy tigers…” he started. “Their ancestral lineage can be traced to Byakko, the white tiger, the guardian of the west cardinal point. Old legends had it that the Gods had given the holy tigers a task to guard the gate that separates the living and the dead, and thus preventing evils from entering the earth. They are also known to be the messenger between the human and spirit worlds, and therefore immortal creatures.”

“Hmm… How do you know that he is one of the holy tigers?” Kagome asked.

“They have eye colors that differ from the regular tigers, and their fur is far more golden.” Miroku answered. “…Not just him. But the elder youkai and the cubs all belong to the same race…How weird, because the holy tigers are known to always hide behind the mist of the mountain and never show themselves to other creatures.”

“Wait, housi-sama…” Sango said. “Did you say they are the guardians of the Mountain of Gods? Then, he is the one that Naraku is looking for?”

Miroku pondered. “I am not sure. According to the ancient legend, the holy tigers are indeed the creatures that can open the gate to the afterlife. But another story had been passed for generations that their race had been extinct for almost 300 years…”

“But how could their race was extinct when they are immortals?” Shippou asked.

“I heard that even though the holy tigers had been given the gift of immortality, they will die if they were beheaded.” Miroku answered.

A frown was on Kagome's forehead when she thought for a moment. “Then that means…”

The monk nodded. “Their clan was annihilated.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Shouri let her fingers grazed the tiger's head and a gentle smile curved on her lips. Kishi had helped her move her unconscious mate away from the riverbank and laid him underneath a tree a little bit further away from the rest of the group. She had carefully treated his wound and fortunately his bleeding had completely stopped. A few hours of good sleep will bring him back to his feet for sure. With this in her mind, she left him to rest and walked back to where the remainder of the pack awaited for her to return.

Her steps stopped when she saw her brother stood still waiting for her. Just one look, she knew he had many questions yet to be answered.

“How could you not tell me that you are betrothed?” His first question came even before she got closer to him.

She pretty much anticipated that question. She could guess that Yuusou had told him who the mysterious tiger was, though she doubted that her cousin told him the full truth of who Ryoushin was.

“A lot had happened.” She tried to explain to him. “We were just reunited last night, remember? I was so caught up in my past that I forgot my present.”

“That is not an excuse.” He said dryly.

She sighed and took a few steps closer to him. “Now you know.” She said, standing right in front of him. “Since you are here, I will be able to introduce him to you properly.”

Sesshoumaru did not have a chance to respond when Inuyasha came approaching and interrupted their conversation.

“Oy,” the hanyou said. “Is it not the time to leave?”

Sesshoumaru stared at his sister, waiting for her response. She looked at Inuyasha with her emotionless façade and simply answered,

“We are not leaving without the tiger.”

Her answer did not surprise him, though it caused Inuyasha to holler in infuriation.

“What??! We can't waste any more time in here! The tiger is fine! Just leave him here!” his loud voice had attracted the other's attention and soon enough they were gathering around.

“We are not leaving without the tiger.” She repeated, saying each word slowly and clearly to show that she was unwilling to budge.

“Do you not understand the situation?!” Inuyasha asked her, still yelling. “We have no time to loose! Anytime now, Naraku may open the gate to the afterlife and…”

“You do not understand.” She cut him. “The tiger is the only one who can open the gate to the afterlife. He was the one that wind youkai was talking about. He is the heir to the throne of the Mountain of Gods!”

`So it was true…' Miroku thought to himself. `He is one of the survivors of the destroyed clan…'

“If he is indeed whom Naraku had been looking for…” Sesshoumaru's cold voice reached her ears. “Then they may have formed an alliance. Do you realize that?”

She turned around to glare at him. Ryoushin forming an alliance with the demon Naraku?

“That is not possible, Nii-sama.” She replied in a tight voice.

“Shouri, this could be Naraku's trap.” As much as Sesshoumaru hated to admit, he had to agree with his half-brother this time. They should leave without the tiger. It was too dangerous to trust him at this point, for he might be one of Naraku's allies whom was sent to lure them into one of the demon's cowardly trap.

Shouri looked at him right in the eyes, there were fire in her emerald orbs.

“Nii-sama…” her voice filled with suppressed anger. “I am telling you that there is no way that he would agree to Naraku's dirty trick. You are not the only youkai who has pride.”

Sesshoumaru stood still, unwilling to yield. It was difficult for him to trust a stranger so easily, even if that stranger was someone very dear to her sister. For all he knew, the tiger could have planned to take advantage of Shouri in order to provide help for Naraku.

Shouri let out a deep sigh when she saw her brother's unyielding face.

“He can get us pass the barrier…” she finally said. “He is the only one who can. Do you not understand? We need him!”

“She is right.” Yuusou's voice reached his ears. “Without Ryoushin's help, you will never be able to get pass the barrier.”

“Keh!” Inuyasha snorted. “Don't be so sure of it. We should be able to find a way to break it without anyone's help.”

“It is a barrier created by the Gods, the immortals… You can die trying and still not be successful.” Yuusou said to the hanyou.

Sesshoumaru had his eyes locked on her sister's. He could see that she was quite resolute in taking the tiger with them. His eyes shifted towards the darkened sky, a sign the sun was on its way to set. It was useless to proceed with their journey anyway, as darkness would surround them in no time.

“You may stay with him tonight, Shouri.” He finally said. “We will discuss the rest tomorrow.” And that was his last offer.

“Hah!” Inuyasha grunted under his breath. “Why did he get to decide?”

Shouri released the breath she had been holding for quite a long time. What the wind youkai had said earlier disturbed her greatly, more than what she liked to admit. Had Naraku found Ryoushin and offered him an alliance? And what did the demon offer him as a bargain for his contribution?

Her eyes scanned the area, trying to find Kishi. Yes, Kishi would be able to tell her…

 

 

 

A/N: Another chapter done!! I'm sorry it took me longer than usual to update. I have been really busy with school… I just finished a big project today, so I have a bit of time to relax and finish this new update. This one chapter is longer than what I have anticipated, so I have to cut it shorter. I also have some details to think about for future development, and I'd better figure them out before we move too far with the story. Readers, please let me know what you think. Your opinions mean a great deal to me, and I would forever be grateful if you would take one minute of your time and drop me a couple of lines.

-Chiaztolite-