InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inu-Yuna: Two Souls ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Inu-Yuna: Two Souls
Rating: PG-13
Pairings/Characters: planned cannon (possible to evolve otherwise)
Summary: Inu-Yasha alternate universe with gender-reversed Inu-Yasha and Kagome. Potential Bleach crossover side-story, and assorted cameos.
Disclaimer: Many characters and concepts in this story are owned and copyrighted by their respective creators. Those aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for this story. The original works, of course, are mine.

Chapter 1

Scene 1

"Souta! Oui, Souta! Chikusho, where'd that runt go, anyway?"

"Tsukiya?" His mother called from the patio. "Is Souta with you?"

"No, Ka-chan, he's not. And I can't find him either! Where could he be..." Tsukiya ran a hand through his short, dark red (almost black) hair, and turned to survey the shrine grounds one more time. "That Souta... Could he...?" Spinning on his heels, the young man made for the very back of the grounds, farthest from the entrance.

"...Ah-ha!" The shogi of the small shed back there was partially opened, and standing before it was, "Souta! Wha'cha doing back here, Ototo?" Tsukiya asked as he trotted up behind his little brother.

"Nii-chan, Buyo..."

"Is in the Hidden Well?" Quirking an eyebrow at the younger Souta, fourteen-year-old Tsukiya teasingly asked, "What, scared?"

"Nii-chan!" came the whining protest.

Tsukiya laughed. "Forget what Jiji says, it’s just an old well." Despite his seeming nonchalance, Tsukiya did not throw open the shogi. Living as part of an ancestral shrine had left its mark on his manners, after all. Stepping into the darkness, Tsukiya used his feet as much as his eyes to find the stairs down to the well itself. Taking only a moment to eye the boarded opening of the well and the paper seal over the seam, Tsukiya cast his eyes around the shed, until he found what he was looking for... "There you are!" The orange and white furred tabby meowed piteously.

Tsukiya moved to pick Buyo up, but the tabby hissed suddenly and backed away, hackles raised. If Tsukiya had hackles himself they would have been raised too; the chill that had run up his spine only a moment ago left him uneasy. ‘What was that...?’

"Nii-chan?"

"Souta... Did you feel it too?" Tsukiya quickly scooped up Buyo and made for the stairs, suddenly eager to leave.

"Nii-chan, you're scaring me..."

Tsukiya took one last look around the floor of the shed, and as he did, he became aware of a scrabbling noise. It was faint, so faint he almost dismissed it. "Gomen, gomen... you know me, I get weird feelings sometimes."

If anything Souta grew even more nervous, slumping down to the wood patio on his knees. "Yea... and after you do, something weird happens!"

Tsukiya sweatdropped. ‘So much for reassuring him…’ "Just get a move on, Ka-chan's looking for you," he replied as he started to ascend the stairs from the well basin.

Aside from a strange sound, like the hiss of static, Tsukiya's only warning was Souta lurching back to his feet, his eyes widening with non-comprehension. "Nii-chan..."

The hiss became the rattle of wood on wood, before shattering in sound as the boards covering the well shattered in form. To Tsukiya's eyes, the world became slightly misty, almost dreamlike, as another, sharper chill ran up his spine. He barely had time to turn his head before something cold and soft caught on his arms and shoulders, pulling him backward. Buyo leapt free, the cat's instincts serving him well while Tsukiya's momentarily abandoned him.

"Nii-chan!"

He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came forth. Amidst the eerie silence, Tsukiya found himself yanked backward over the lip of the well, and into shining darkness.

Scene 2

Fingers, then a hand, cold as death, touched his face, turning him about. Tsukiya did a double take; he was in the multi-arm grasp of the strangest creature he had ever seen. Its feminine face and upper torso seemed human enough, but its skin was clammy and cold. As they fell farther into the darkness, the creature rolled its head back, arcing its body... And then it spoke.

"Ureshii... I can feel my power growing!"

Peering downward... or was that upward?... Tsukiya could make out the source of a stomach-turning noise... The creature's snake-like skeleton was rapidly re-growing its encasing flesh, soon resembling a giant centipede more than a snake.

"My body returns to life!" Then its attention returned to its captive. Tsukiya felt its hands dig into his shoulders and scalp...

"You have it, don't you? Don't you!?"

...Before it leaned in and licked at the side of his face with a too-long tongue. "Damn you…" Tsukiya felt his own body surge to life again. His arms snapped into motion, his right breaking the tightest grip of many and reversing it, giving him enough leverage to fully free his left arm-- "...I’m not into that!" --and slam the heel of that hand into the creature's human looking jaw.

Only, it didn't seem faze her -- at first. Something pulsed deep inside Tsukiya's body, and his eyes widened as he felt it surge up his spine, across his shoulders, and down his left arm to explode from his open palm in a burst of blue-white luminescence.

And the creature reeled! Away from him it fell, suddenly still once more, plunging into even deeper darkness. "Curse you..."

Trying to ignore the vanishing apparition, Tsukiya grit his teeth as he tried to feel out the fall... Only to find his attention drawn to it once more as its eerie voice floated back up to him...

"You won't escape from me! Not with the Shikon no Tama...!"

Tsukiya's left eyebrow twitched. "Shikon no Tama?!" He never noticed the glow, the same shade as that which had emerged from his hand, shining from his torso just below his ribs. Then that too faded away--

--And in a flash of blinding white light, it was over. Tsukiya's toes hit ground, his eyes saw the same, and automatically he tucked his nearer shoulder in and rolled--

*THUD* --Only to run out of rolling room. Thus, Tsukiya found himself in the undignified position of AIASHAFOF: Ass In Air, Shoulders, Head And Feet On Floor. "Ite," He deadpanned.

Scene 3

Using his feet to kick off the stone wall, Tsukiya rolled again, this time successfully to his feet. He remained there, eyes closed, forcing his breathing and heart to slow their frantic pace.

Finally, he opened his eyes and took stock. ‘What was that... Waking dream?’ His eyes found a pale arm, torn off at the elbow, and he knew. ‘Che. That was no dream...’ Looking down at his hands, Tsukiya remembered how... easy... it was to lash out at his attacker. ‘...Is my love of the Art that shallow?’

Craning his neck, Tsukiya saw light, bright and unfettered. ‘The heck? Sunlight? But the well is inside the shed...’

Jaw set, Tsukiya began to scale the stone-hewn walls of the well. Hanging vines served his ascent well...

Nothing could have prepared him for the shock he received upon clearing the lip of the well. Pristine forest rolled out in all directions. Of the shrine, there was no trace.

The chill that ran up Tsukiya's back as he carefully surveyed the forest around the well was by far the most unsettling. Then, a moment later he left it behind, a familiar sight drawing his gaze. ‘Goushinboku! The Sacred Tree... Then, I'm still on the shrine grounds?’ He began to walk, though his feet quickly turned it into a swift jog which ate up the distance.

As he cleared the underbrush, Tsukiya felt the unsettling chill return with a vengeance. There was a splash of red and white against the soothing umber of the tree. Bound in roots, long white hair rustling in the gentle breeze, red yukata bright and crisp, face in calm repose as if asleep... ‘A girl? Kinda cute, but...’ Tsukiya found his eyes drawn to the arrow protruding from the girl's left shoulder. He winced sympathetically. ‘That look like it hurt. And yet...’

Tsukiya slowly approached, until he was almost close enough to touch her... He did not, however, not yet. "Hey... Hey. Anyone home?" There wasn't the slightest response.

Being careful not to disturb anything, Tsukiya's mind spun into action, absorbing the details and spitting out possible conclusions. ‘She doesn't seem to be breathing... Dead?’ He very gently touched the side of her face. ‘But she's warm, not like that centipede... thing...’ Tsukiya shook his head. ‘Besides, if dead, her body would have rotted away long before these roots could have grown around her in this fashion.’ Stepping back, the young man considered that further. ‘And yet, that can't be. Her clothes are relatively unsoiled and in good repair. She looks young, almost my age...’

"Aah, mou! What the heck is up with you, missy! You're impossibility!" Again, no response. Tsukiya sighed, feeling slightly better after letting that bit of tension fly. Turning back to the puzzle before, Tsukiya noticed something else. ‘Hey, that's no cowlick...’ Again, he touched gently. ‘These are her ears? But they're... I'd swear their structure is almost... canine...’

"You there! What are you doing in this forest?!"

Tsukiya felt his instincts scream, and he listened. Instead of whirling, he threw himself from his perch beside the girl, and not a moment too soon. Arrows flew, thudding into the tree trunk in a pinning pattern through the space his body had occupied an instant before. ‘I seem to be doing a lot of tumbling today,’ Tsukiya thought as he turned his dodging dive into a roll to his feet.

"Fast!"

"And light on his feet, too!"

"Youkai!"

Tsukiya blinked at that, then finished processing it and spun out his momentum to face the group of archers. "Demon!? Me?!" As it happened, this was not the smartest move, as the archers had fanned out and now had Tsukiya in a crossfire that would catch him even if he tried to flee.

Scene 4

Growling at the injustice of it all, Tsukiya looked over his crude but effective bonds one last time, before giving up grumbling and focusing on his captors. ‘Not even the courtesy to lay out a simple straw mat before throwing me to the dust. My school uniform is no protection against rocks and the like...’

"A young man in strange clothing..."
"From a foreign land?"
"Will there be war again?"
"Just before rice-planting season? We're short-handed as is!"
"Perhaps a kitsune in human guise? His skin and hair are so clean, aside from a bit of dirt and leaves from the forest..."
"Better a shape-changer than another war..."

With one ear on the varied conversations, Tsukiya studied the villagers, their clothing and top-knotted hair, the buildings... Things began to point toward a conclusion that Tsukiya was hesitant to reach. ‘No way... It couldn't be.’

Then a new voice cut through the chatter. "Make way for Miko no Kaede-sama!" And through the crowd came a much older woman, grey-haired, heavyset, and slightly hunched. Yet she moved with confidence and authority, even with her right eye covered by a leather patch.

Tsukiya raised an eyebrow at her garments, a sharp contrast to the villagers' drab attire. ‘A red hakama, near-white yukata and white hair tie... And a bow? Yea, definitely fits the 'miko' part.’ The miko passed her bow to the man beside her, and dug the freed hand into a gray sack, slightly larger than fist-size, that Tsukiya had only just noticed. The displaced young man went very still. ANIMATION NOTE: a series of vertical blue lines appear in parallel underneath Tsukiya's right eye, visually expressing his anxiety.

"You're not gonna--"

Only to get a face full of salt grains. And another. And another. Tsukiya coughed, sneezed, and swore. "Hey, that stuff stings!"

"Hmm? I was told that a demon was found in the Inu-Yuna Forest. I would have thought that a ritual purification was in order."

"Then could he be..."

Tsukiya decided he'd had enough. "Excu-use me, Miko-sama! But I can speak for myse-elf!" came his interruption in singsong.

"Oh, can you now."

"Hai. Forgive me, but I'm quite lost. I was traveling--on my way home, you see. I had though I'd recognized a particular tree as a landmark, yet it was not."

"So there's another Great Pine like ours growing elsewhere?"

"Yes, the guardian of my ancestral home. Yet my home is not here, and the forest is not the same."

One of the villages from the patrol that had found Tsukiya couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. "Kaede-sama, such a story--"

"Kuchiki, I will be the judge of it. Not you," came the miko's stern reply.

"H-hai..."

Tsukiya might have continued, but instead, he saw in the piercing gaze of the old miko, another intent entirely. Setting his jaw, he did his best to match her stare, refusing be bested.

That's where the real strangeness began.

The miko's eyes widened in... surprise? Confusion? Tsukiya wasn't sure. What he was sure of was the painfully sharp grip on his jaw. "Oro?"

"How peculiar... You've face would be familiar to me, yet I cannot place it."

The villagers began whispering among themselves, as the rumor mill began to churn.

His sharp ears picking up more than he wanted to know ("Did Kaede have a lover in her younger eyes? Could the stranger resemble..."), Tsukiya pulled his jaw from the miko's grip and brought online his best glare. "Ladies, please! I can hear your disturbing little speculations."

For a moment it looked as though the rumor-mongers would take the reprimand seriously... Before the old miko *DONK* rapped Tsukiya upside his head. "Disturbing, am I?"

Tsukiya gave her a shrewd look. "Na-ni, you want them clouding their minds with useless thoughts like that?"

At this, the miko took a sharp, short breath. "Such intensity... Like Kikyo-onee-sama."

The whole crowd went deathly still.

Scene 5

"So who's this 'Kikyo', anyway? You said earlier that I look like her."

Kaede shook her head. "Merely an idle thought, nothing more. You do bare a resemblance, yet..."

Not wanting to draw suspicion to certain inconsistencies, Tsukiya jumped at the oppertunity to divert the miko's attention. His approach to using it, however, left much to be desired. "What, don't like relatives?"

Kaede smiled and decided to humor the boy's obvious desire for conversation....

After stirring the contents of a boiling pot, she nodded to herself, satisfied with the consistency of the stew contained within. The old miko ladled out two bowels from the pot, and passed the first to her guest, who politely thanked her for it. A hesitant taste later, Tsukiya added his complements as well.

They drifted through various topics, and from them Tsukiya gathered an estimate of just when he was in the history of his homeland.

‘Hm... Roughly the middle of the Warring States era, I'd wager...’

Ironically, when the conversation wandered to spirituality and the human soul, Tsukiya managed to back himself into an intellectual corner. Out of sheer inattentiveness, of all things.

"I was never one to believe that souls have genders."

"Oh? You have experience with such things?" replied Kaede with a raised eyebrow and an indulgent smile.

Tsukiya mock-sputtered. "Of-- I-- No-- Ah, mou!"

Kaede chuckled. "No, please continue. You've caught my interest."

"Interest in teasing me, or..." Tsukiya pretended to grumble to himself. When the elderly miko laughed outright, his fake scowl melted into a grin of his own. They followed that thread for a time, Tsukiya sharing his thoughts on the subject and on the many things he had read.

"So what you're truly saying is that male and female are entirely physical states? And that the form that 'love' takes between soul mates depends only on the... 'orientation'... of their bodies?" Kaede concluded.

Tsukiya straightened up, crossing his arms and taking on a cheerful measure of pride. He nodded, pleased in spite of himself.

The miko shook her head. "Really, I find myself most impressed with the breath of your knowledge... And you said that such is readily available to the common man... woman, even? Yet, that begs the question, 'Why is the land of 'Tokyo' not widely known as a center of learning?'"

Tsukiya went slightly pale.

"Or, more to the point, how did you get lost this far from home?"

Make that very pale. ‘Oops.’

Kaede, to his surprise, smiled kindly at Tsukiya. "I can understand your discomfort. However, the more you tell me, the more I might be able to help you."

"..." Tsukiya chose not to dispute that, focusing on the real issue. After several minutes, he decided. "Kaede-sama... What can you tell me about the well in the forest?"

The miko raised an eyebrow, but saw in the intensity of his gaze that Tsukiya truly wanted to know. "The Bone-Eater's Well? Why, if I may ask." The reply took Kaede's breath away.

"...Because that's where I awoke, to find myself in an unfamiliar forest."

"!?"

Tsukiya laughed. "Yeah, that's about what I said when I came to." He cocked his head to one side. "So what is it about the well..."

"It is where we disposed of the remains of slain youkai. The name comes from how, a few days later, said remains disappear from the bottom of it. However, the Bone-Eater's Well hasn't been used for that purpose in years."

"The remains... disappear? It couldn’t be that simple!"

Tsukiya's exclamation startled the old miko. "What is it?"

He told her.

"A gateway, then?" Kaede mused. "Can you describe to me the 'something' that pulled you into the well?"

Tsukiya was about to answer when the shouts of men and a rumbling sound reached both their ears. Dropping her empty bowl, Kaede hurried out of the hut, a curious Tsukiya close at her heels.

Author's notes:
Much thanks to my beta Tainted Witch.

Some Japanese definitions.
"oui" - hey (aggressive)
"chikusho" - damnit
"ka-chan" - mom (affectionate)
"ototo" - little bro (affectionate)
"nii-chan" - big bro (affectionate)
"jiji" - gramps, grandpa (affectionate)
"gomen" - sorry

"ureshii" - (i am so) happy/joyful
"ite" - ow (pronounced "ee-tay")
"shi" - four
"kon" - soul
"tama" - jewel

hence, "Shikon no Tama" Jewel of Four Souls

"che" - damn/blast/sonuva
"yukata" - multi-purpose robe, different fabrics and dye colors denote different professions
"youkai" - demon

"kitsune" - fox spirit (minor shape shifting ability, known for mischievousness)
"Miko no Kaede-sama" - Honored Priestess Kaede
"miko" - shrine maiden, priestess
"hakama" - pleated split-skirt (worn in modern day by aikido and kendo practitioners)
"hai" - yes (affirmative)
"na-ni" = "nani" (extended pronunciation) - "what"
"onee-sama" - honored elder sister

Draft: 10/16/06