InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Invitations to Trouble ❯ There Lies Your Choices ( Chapter 25 )

A/N: Oh gods above I beg forgiveness for being away so long. I won’t even try to make an excuse about life getting in the way even though I did recently move across the country to settle back in my home state of Georgia. The truth is that I got involved with an MMORPG and quite frankly, I was lost to everyone including major house work. V.V

So with no further ado, the continuing tale of the Inu Brothers and Co.

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Perched on the shoulder of one of the many statues in the garden, Aoiro waved her hand to get the attention of the milling throng of people below. On a palette in the corner, Aiiro was being tended to by Murasaki and Kiroi. Much like everyone else, they wore similar expressions of trepidation and concern. For a moment, her heart went out to her youngest sister.

Even if Murasaki could not see the apprehensive bodies around her, Aoiro was not such a fool to believe that the other girl was immune to the general air of unease that was practically palatable.

‘Well this is what big sisters are for it seems.’ Her eyes traveled unbidden to the second figure beside Aiiro. ‘Especially since Grasshopper isn’t up to the job right now.’

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Aoiro carefully ran what she was about to say through her head one more time to find any falsehood within the words. ‘It would be more than a little embarrassing to get trussed up ten feet in the air.’ Putting on a neutral kind of bravery, she opened her mouth.

“OI!! Damare!!” At the clear bark of command, the crowd fell into an indignant silence. Rushing into the gap afforded by the sudden quiet. Aoiro went on, “Look, I know that a lot of you are scared shitless and frankly, so am I. But you honestly should try to calm down. There is nothing a wolf likes to see more than a scared flock of sheep. So prove yourselves to be the youkai say you are and not sheep!”

Unlike Kuroi convivial looks, the blue gaze that swept over the gathering held only kindness of the most brutal kind.

Unaffected be the growing murmurs of dissent and indignation, the sky blue maiden scooted around on her impromptu dais and kept speaking.

“Now don’t start this crap! I am not your enemy here and heaven knows we have enough real ones waiting outside fro us without you going to look for more. I know that you felt real secure and cozy in the barrier left by Lord Yamatsu but here is bit of news for you. IT WASN’T GOING TO LAST FOREVER!” The sound of the shuttle striking stone cut through the noise quite effectively. “We are at WAR people!! If any of you thought we could wait it out indefinitely or pretend that it didn’t concern us because we aren’t nobles, then you were fools!”

An accusing finger shot up from the crowd and further quieted the discontented grumbles but for far different reasons. Aoiro groaned inwardly because she recognized that piping voice of havoc waiting to happen. ‘Gods, save us all a from self-important blow-hard with balls that match their pea-sized brains.’

Not so much moving through the sea of bodies as merely filling the space made by those same forms vacating an area, cam e the head servant Shigoiya-sama. While it was common knowledge that Jaken held sway over any matter pertaining to Lord Sesshomaru, it was actually Shigoiya who dealt with the rest of Lord Yamatsu’s domain.

Including the hiring and letting go of the lower servants. Aoiro felt a growl that needed to be killed before it could get too loud. ‘Pompous jackass.’

Deep blue eyes tracked his progress with the acceptable level of contempt until he stood just at the base of the statue. Aoiro knew that part of the reason for the sneer on the pinched face being turned her way was because Shigoiya was being forced to look up at someone he admittedly saw as ‘lower’ help.

Now it was a chuckle that was held back. ‘He’d snap his neck trying to look down his nose at me at this angle.’

Since she’d be lying to herself if she tried to deny the perverse twist of enjoyment from looking down at him for a change, Aoiro didn’t even bother. Instead, she arched a brow as she spoke.

“You seem to have an objection to my words Shigoiya-san. Since I know you will subject us to your opinion one way or another whether we wish to hear it or not, feel free to get it all out now.”

A few not so quiet twitters met her words and Shigoiya flushed angrily. Everyone at the mansion knew that the paler of the blue sisters had the sharper tongue and most went out of their way to avoid being on the receiving end of it.

“Yes I have an objection Aoiro. Your sister might be somewhat skilled. Surely only enough for a pretty picture or two but how we know that these…” the thin man flung out a richly garbed arm to indicated the nearest wall of dark metal, “painted walls will protect anyone from anything?!”

Narrow eyes of murky brown shone darkly when the previous twitters turned into noises of assent. Another internal groan was accompanied by swift curses as Aoiro mentally geared up for a different kind of war.

Spotting the change in her face, the crowd fell silent once more as the girl leaned forward dangerously to spear the head servant with a look far sharper than daggers. “Damare!” Clear and hard as gems, her eyes never wavered.

“I have often questioned your intelligence Shigoiya but today you answered each and every doubt I ever had.” Gripping the stony head for balance as she leaned forward even more, Aoiro seethed.

“You know my ability as well as those of my sisters. You saw the life being drained away from my sister as the walls were being created so how you can stand there and question the protection that cost Aiiro years she can never get back is just a testament to your incompetence!”

Having risen in mounting anger Aoiro’s voice now went out to address the milling throng as well.

“I SAID QUIET! Even if you don’t have faith in your own sorry hides at least have faith in Lord Yamatsu and his sons. We know that Inuyasha-sama’s mate and friends are out there fighting to protect us even as I speak. But if that is not enough then look and listen well, I promise you that no ookami will get past Aiiro’s walls!”

At hearing the vow spoken aloud, every eye in the garden watched Aoiro carefully and searched her relaxed pose for the manifestation of a falsehood.

When the young woman remained serene and unbound, the people visibly relaxed and began to disperse. More than a few whispered none to softly about Shigoiya’s apparent lack of faith. Some of the youkai and hanyou servants went to tend the hastily gathered supplies while others went to help look after Aiiro and Midori.

Nodding to herself in satisfaction, Aoiro flashed a small smirk to Shigoiya who only turned on his heel with a huff before striding away muttering darkly. When a few helping hands were lifted to assist her down, Aoiro dismissed them with her customary snort and leaned against the perch to survey the gardens.

Seated on the shoulder of the granite statue, she swallowed thickly and gazed out at the nearest wall as well as the people who would reverently touch it as they drifted by. The azure maiden leaned a bit further to the side and silently prayed for the safety of all the people she saw while her powdery-white fingers brushed over the column of her throat.

Very thin but definitely there was an invisible cord. If she had accepted those offers of aid and come down, Aoiro knew without a doubt that a mass panic would have ensued as she was visibly hung. Unbidden tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, momentarily dulling the vibrant and unearthly blue of them before she blinked them away. She mourned that her fears could not be so easily banished.

No.

The walls would not keep out the ookami.

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Watching as he tied the borrowed clothes back in place, Kuroi kept one ear attuned to the doorway and the hall beyond in case anyone else showed up unrepentantly. Inuyasha fluently muttered curses about the dishwater coloring of the fabric as he knotted the ties.

Ignoring him as she had in the past when he grumbled to cover a more telling emotion, a tail of silvery hue flicked back and forth as she moved towards him. ‘Inuyasha shush. Youkai can hear you clear as day and you need to get through. We don’t have much time left to get you out of here.’

‘I thought this had been settled? It is either both of us or neither one of us sis?’ Terse and dark, the chiding thought was flavored with exasperation. ‘I am not leaving you here alone so you can ditch the heroics and help me think of a way out of here.’

‘I already thought of a way baka boy!’ Huffing once and then pushing aside the feathery white bangs that fell in her eyes for the effort, Kuroi narrowed scarlet eyes at her erstwhile friend. ‘One that is damned good and if you weren’t so pig-headed you would go through with it instead of trying your level best to piss off a key component to it succeeding!’

The stinging barb recalled the young man’s rather brash declaration of the two of them being wed. Flushing guiltily, Inuyasha scowled to cover his telling expression. ‘…I don’t like him touching you…and you know that Cuckoo…’

Some days, Kuroi honestly did wonder which brother she mated. At the sound of the gruff over-protectiveness in that thought, she threw her hands upwards in defeat. ‘Damn it Inuyasha!! I am in love with Sessy one hundred and ninety percent! Nothing and I mean nothing that Kouga could say or do would ever change that fact in the slightest. Do you get it!?’

During her mental diatribe, Kuroi had managed to lock both of her fists in the boy’s thick hair in order to force his gaze to meet her own. Inuyasha could only blink mutely before he nodded his assent.

Once again the ring of gold hidden in the rich brown of his eyes gave Kuroi hope that the imposed humanity was only a temporary state of being for him.

‘Bro, you have to get out of here and to your father. You know in your heart why I have to be the one to stay behind.’

‘Cuckoo…’ far more tender than the previous thoughts, his dark head bowed under the weighty burden of knowledge as broad shoulders slumped. ‘I don’t like this sis. I know, I know.’ he sighed and waved down her arguments before they could begin. ‘It is the right course of action and a damned good idea but…’ A warm hand cupped her cheek, causing Kuroi to give voice to a sigh of her own while he continued more softly. ‘I still hate it. It makes me feel like you’re being used by us Cuckoo. I don’t want that…’

‘But Inuyasha, you know our link means that Lord Yamatsu will receive up to date information which he can trust.’ Looking up at the apprehensive face hovering slightly above her made Kuroi’s smile far more watery than she had intended it to be.

‘Inuyasha, you can save so many lives if we do this right Puppy.’

‘Fuck them all!!’ the sound of his growls kept catching her off guard because they were reminders of his true nature which conflicted so much with his appearance. ‘We could lose you!’

As always, he was the most honest with himself when he was the most upset and knowing that touched her deeply even as it brought a smile to her face. Sparkling far brighter than the red gemstones they mimicked, Kuroi’s eyes reflected just how touched she was. ‘Ah my Koinu. You and Sessy will never lose me, I swear to that.’ Not wishing to upset him further by sounding unkind, she slipped lithe arms around his waist before laying her cheek on the rough fabric of the shirt.

‘I promise that I will be careful and come to you safe and sound but by the gods Koinu, if you don’t do this for us you could lose everything and everyone! We both know that if Lord Yamatsu or Gorotsuki were ningen lords this war would end after only a few months or even half a century at the worst.’ Pulling back a bit, she fixed her best friend with a level stare. ‘But we are talking about two youkai here. Taiyoukai at that!! If it had been Lord Yamatsu calling the shots, none of these events would have ever gotten this far.’ A rude snot punctuated less than amicable thoughts.

‘Gorotsuki would be more than happy to wage a war until every ookami, ningen and living thing in his lands died to uphold his twisted version of ‘honor’. Human or youkai, he doesn’t give a damn about anything but himself!’ Resting her forehead back against his chest, Kuroi sighed again. ‘Inuyasha…this war could go on for centuries.’

‘That’s not true Cuckoo. It is going to end, it would have had too.’ Inuyasha’s scowl deepened as he searched for any argument to thwart the truth, no matter how feeble it was. ‘Kagome is from 500 years in the future and you know that. Her Yamato is peaceful if stinky.’

Dead eyes rose to stare at him. ‘Do you want to gamble on the war lasting for only 200 or 300 years before Kagome was born?’

A ragged breath was sucked in before being slowly released in a sound of defeat. ‘No…but…kuso!’ the hot curse flooded Kuroi’s mind as he rubbed his face fitfully.

‘Inuyasha. Your father, my mom, Sessy, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kagome…’ Kuroi stretched up to kiss the stubbornly set chin above her head, ‘…and the pups.’

At the last two names his eyes went wide before closing slowly. ‘…gods…’ The tension radiating through his body transformed every limb into one carved from stone and not living flesh as Inuyasha stiffened in Kuroi’s embrace. It saddened her to no end to know that she had caused that with only a few words.

‘Forgive me Koinu. I know that was a low blow to mention your children but you would argue with me and waste what little time we have left to us.’ Kuroi mourned inside for another reason as well. While it would mean his guaranteed safety if he left, it would also leave her well and truly alone. That thought itself was daunting enough but Inuyasha’s regaining his awareness had actually been a large part of her decision.

A helpless and partially catatonic ningen boy she could have hidden and protected around the ookami to a large degree.

A brash, loud-mouthed hot head who would purposely push the wrong buttons whether he knew he was doing it or not would be a helluva a lot harder to keep under wraps and protected from ookami. Especially since Inuyasha was as well known for his mouth as his appearance.

Nibbling on her lip, Kuroi offered a large portion of the meaty breakfast stew to her friend since his stomach was volubly cussing him out for the refusal of the earlier food Kouga had brought. Watching him polish off the chunks with obvious relish, she gave a light laugh and idly wondered where Ginta and Hakkaku were.

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A/N: As I said, I moved from Kansas to Georgia proper, total shipment of 800+ miles by van. With three wee ones in the car, it was far from idyllic but so worth it to get back home.

In celebration of the merry event and the lack of internet, I sat down and re-read I.T.T. and found myself falling in love with Kuroi and the gang all over again. That is a large part of why I present this tiny nugget of apology to the few readers who actually tracked me down by email to ask me to update.

^_^;;

Sorry about that guys and I hope this chapter and the next is well worth it. Also, look for an update of “Trembling Roses” as well. Youko and Shippo have unfinished business to conclude.

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Ba: At last!! The Mistress has returned!!!

Ka: Took her long enough…

Ba: But Ka! It was not her fault! She was lured in by the evil MMORPGs!!

Ka: Ragnarok is not evil, just unbearably cute gameplay.

Ba: But she’s back now and so are we!

Ka: well…as long as she didn’t bring any chickens…

…*cluck*…

Ka: …I hate you all…