InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Melting a heart of ice ❯ Chapter Nine: Memories ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Nine: Memories

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

There was a lot of activity going on down on the courtyard. Sesshoumaru stood on the balcony, alone, as Kagome left before. He watched how her sister and the soldiers steadily moved further away from the castle, and how the crowd down on the courtyard thinned as everyone settled back to do their duties.

So now they were going to negotiate about him. Really, he couldn't believe it had come this far. He sighed mentally, silently hoping that his brother wouldn't humiliate himself too much. Not that he would care if he did, but he couldn't use any stupidity from him now. Sesshoumaru could care less if the prisoners they had were released, after all, they were more trouble than they were worth. He would be glad if he was disposed of them, whether he killed them himself or if the elves got them back, it didn't matter. In fact, if those prisoners returned, he would maybe get a bit of a challenge in the next battle with them.

He never doubted his ability to win from them.

So that's why he would wait until these negotiations were over and the prisoners returned. And then, he would escape, somehow. He thought of the time spend here as some free time off, no duty of ruling his lands, lots of time to do whatever he wanted. Some free time, the one thing he longed for when he was young. The only thing that ruined it now was his worry if his brother would manage to handle his lands. Maybe it was better to escape now.

But he felt like there was something else why he stayed here. Or someone.

He groaned as an image of a person flashed before his eyes. Dark hair, brown eyes, and a blinding smile.

Kagome.

He didn't know what he should think off her. He never thought she could smile honest for once, but he was proven wrong yesterday. That smile she gave him. He could only pray she didn't notice how that smile affected him. He was confused about it himself, but it was as if he suddenly felt warm inside, and comfortable, maybe even… happy? It was astounding how one creature could make him feel that way.

And how she talked with him. How had she known he was jealous of Inuyasha? Was it that obvious? Or had she seen something again, with that weird ability of her. That power of her… he still hadn't seen everything of it. He still wanted to find out more. He was curious, although he didn't knew why.

She was confusing. There was no other word for it. Always kind, always caring. Often sad, melodramatic, but sometimes truly happy, like yesterday, just for a second. She always managed to piss him off, but, she also managed to survive, she still lived, and not only because he gave his word he would do nothing while he was a prisoner. As he thought about it, if he would've met her somewhere else, or in a different situation, he highly doubted if he could kill her then. It was something scary, he thought. He never hesitated to kill anyone, but as he thought of someone killing a person like Kagome, he would get angry. He didn't know why, after all, he didn't particularly care about the girl, didn't he? It was just, she was such a good person, even he had to admit it. So pure. It would be a waste to kill someone like that.

But then again, life wasn't fair. It were often the good persons that had to go, and the evil ones that were allowed to stay. Sometimes, fate would play sick games with everyone, and you could do nothing about it. In a way, him being a prisoner was a sick joke too. Or maybe it was just destined to be, that he would meet Kagome, that maybe something was about to happen, that it meant something.

He shivered as he turned and walked into his room. Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe being around Kagome with her visions all the time had made him a bit too suspicious about the future. Maybe he should just forget about her for a minute.

If he could manage to do so…

*

Kagome sighed as she walked trough the halls of the castle. She had had breakfast with her mother, who had hurried off saying she had something to discuss with others regarding their lands. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be seen, so she set out in the castle, trying to find someone to talk to and get trough the day.

She had been talking to Kaede, hanging around with her, but the old woman had been busy working in the garden and was only half listening. And eventually, Kagome began to get bored and excused herself.

Now she was looking around for anyone who was not busy, but everyone she addressed shot her apologetic looks as if too say `sorry, busy' or they hurried away after telling her so. She sighed, and just thought of going to her room, as she saw a flash of black and purple running of the stairs.

"Miroku!" she exclaimed happily, but her face fell as one of her best friends send her the oh so famous `I'm busy' look.

"I'm sorry Kagome, but your mother called me!" He grinned as his face got a slightly dreamy expression. "Of course, if it is something really important, I am always willing to help a beautiful lady such as yourself."

"No thank you pervert. Go on, I'm sure my mother is waiting for you," Kagome laughed at him as he looked hurt at the pervert remark, but she looked serious again as he walked away and she turned, intending on going to her room.

She was walking slowly, looking at her feet, and as she rounded the corner, she never saw the person walking towards her. She gasped as she bumped into someone and, as she lost her balance and began falling backwards, she shrieked, flinging wildly with her arms around her. She caught something white and red moving out of the corner of her eye, and as something braced her and steadied her, she realised it had to be an arm.

As soon as she saw silver hair, she realised whose arm it was.

She shrieked again as she jumped away from that very person's hold, blushing madly. The person who was responsible for her blushing looked annoyed at her as he slightly flinched at the sound of her voice.

"Tell me, girl, do you elves always yell that loud?"

She silently groaned. Why did she always have to embarrass herself in front of him? Why was she always so clumsy?

"Gomen ne, Sesshoumaru. I didn't mean to…" He raised a brow as she suddenly went from apologizing and being embarrassed to being happy and smiling at him. "Uhmm, Sesshoumaru, if I may ask, what were you doing?"

"This Sesshoumaru doesn't know why that should be your business."

She huffed at him. "Didn't I just ask you yesterday to stop saying `this Sesshoumaru'? And I was just looking for some company, I mean, everyone is gone, or busy, so I'm bored."

A silence fell, and she already believed she could stand there for ages and still he wouldn't answer, as suddenly, he began speaking. "I was on my way to the library."

Her eyes lit up, one of her favourite places. Why hadn't she thought of that before? No matter how often she had read the books there, she still wasn't bored. "Can I come with you?" she asked, smiling at him.

Another silence fell as he looked at her intently, before turning and walking away. Okay, she was positively furious now. Did this guy have any manners at all, not answering her and just walking away like that? She was still glaring daggers at his back, as he suddenly stopped and turned, looking at her as if he was waiting for her to follow him.

She frowned, did this mean yes? Oh well, why was she even bothering, this was after all HER home, and HER library. Her head tilted back, nose up in the air, she walked past him and entered the library.

She didn't see the amused smirk he had on his face.

*Two days later*

~Castle to the north of the Southern Lands~

Kikyou stood on the walls of the castle, her face void of any expression, the wind blowing her clothes and hair to the right as the sun slowly set. She had stood there for two hours now, watching without emotion how firstly, Lord Naraku and Lord Kouga arrived.

Kouga had been too busy fighting and bickering with one of Naraku's daughters, but Naraku had smiled up at her, an evil glint in his eyes.

She just ignored him.

Later, Lord Sesshoumaru's younger brother arrived. All in all, his arrival had been a mess. The soldiers that were with him, obviously didn't obey him as well as they obeyed his brother. That toad thing Lord Sesshoumaru always had with him, managed to piss him off even more, and so she witnessed how he went chasing after the thing like a child, with murder in his eyes.

This time, she only sighed.

She had summoned them here, on a neutral place, where they would exchange the list of their prisoners, and negotiate about an eventual truce. And really, they could use such a thing. She needed a break, as did her soldiers.

She still didn't move as she sensed a powerful and dark aura behind her. "What do you want Naraku?" she asked coldly.

A soft chuckle. "Oh dear Kikyou, as alert as always, aren't you?" She didn't answer. "So, tell me, what is the purpose of all this. Why did you have to call me away from my home and duties?"

"Don't nag Naraku. You know fully well why you are here."

"Maybe I do. By the way, an excellent idea of yours… Oh well, why don't you tell me how your mother is doing?"

"That is none of your business."

"Then perhaps your father. Oh I forgot, you have none… how stupid of me…"

This time, she reacted. The bow she carried was suddenly in her hands, an arrow pointed at his heart. "Don't push it too far Naraku," she said, eyes aflame.

*

Inuyasha had been pacing in his room. It was not going well. The soldiers didn't really listen to him, Myouga was of no use, constantly trying to run away. And Jaken… argggg, that stupid toad! All the way he had been mumbling about `how his master would do this better' or `how disappointed his master would be if he saw his failure of a brother'.

That was why that same toad was currently lying unconscious in a corner of his room.

Finally deciding he would go insane if he didn't do something to bring his thoughts somewhere else, he left his room and began walking around, exploring the castle. It was not that big, it merely served as a fortress to defend the Southern Lands, it was not really meant to live in it.

After awhile, he came across a door, and opening it, he walked out onto the courtyard. He glanced around for awhile, until he saw two figures standing on the walls.

The first one, he recognized immediately. There was no mistaking possible, that dark hair, foul stench, that could only be Naraku.

Standing next to him, her back towards him was a woman with black hair. First, he didn't recognize her, but then he smelled it was Kikyou. As he had nothing important to do, he concentrated on the sound of their voices, trying to hear their conversation.

He listened silently, pitying Kikyou, even if she was an elf. After all, who would want to talk to Naraku anyway? It was horrible, he hated the bastard and he would do anything to avoid him. The more he heard of their conversation, the angrier he became. Until one sentence made him see blood red.

"Then perhaps your father. Oh I forgot, you have none… how stupid of me…"

Before he knew it, he was up in the air, lunging at Naraku and placing himself between Naraku and Kikyou. He didn't even notice that the elf already drew her bow, as he had his back towards her, and he didn't see her surprised expression, but what he did see was Naraku's evil smile.

"Kukuku, how interesting… young Inuyasha-sama, defending an elf… tell me boy, did you forget it was them who killed your father? Maybe even this elf personally?"

He blinked once, before realizing Naraku was right. Why did he defend her anyway? They killed his father! But then he thought back of Naraku's words, and he growled. No matter what, it was a disrespectful thing to do, asking the elf about her father, reminding her of how you killed him. She had never done that to him. In fact, she always denied that the elves killed his father. But no, she never reminded him of his father's death in such a horrible way.

"I don't care, Naraku!" he spat. "It is not fair, talking to her in such a manner. You know fully well her father is dead, you killed him yourself!"

"Oh yes, yes, now I remember… However, young Inuyasha, don't forget, this is a neutral zone for now. So…" Naraku turned his back on Inuyasha as he walked away. He paused shortly, looking over his shoulder. "… no attacking, and especially not your allies." That said, he was gone.

Inuyasha just glared daggers at him, growling softly. `The bastard…' He jumped as he heard a soft cough behind him.

Turning, he squirmed under Kikyou's inquiring gaze. She looked him all over, before she began speaking. "That was not necessary, puppy."

He totally forgot how he pitied her before as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Puppy…? Bitch, stop insulting me!"

An amused smirk. "I am not insulting you. I speak the truth, you are nothing but a puppy."

"I am not, damn it!"

"You are," she stated. "You bicker like a little child."

He shut his mouth, glaring at her. Why was everyone against him? She slung her bow over her shoulder and started walking away. "Negotiations will be tomorrow," she reminded him. "For helping me, I wish you good luck…" he blinked at her. "… puppy…" only to growl once more.

*

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

A lone, silver haired figure came up the staircase to his room. He paused shortly as he reached the top of the stairs, looking at the right door and sniffing at the air. Then he walked towards the left door, opened it and entered the room closing the door behind him.

Sesshoumaru moved towards his bed, putting his swords on the table and removing his armour and haori in the process. He then plumped down on the bed and lay back, closing his eyes.

Today had been like all other days, except maybe that he had spent the last two days with Kagome. It started as she bumped into him. Normally, he would have let someone fall, but as if on reflex, his arm shot out and he caught her. Then she asked him if she could come with him, and eventually, he agreed.

They spend the whole afternoon together, reading and enjoying the silence, occasionally talking as Kagome asked him something. Sesshoumaru enjoyed it being alone and having time to think in silence, and he never thought that would be possible with Kagome around. But she surprised him again by being all serious.

The next day, whether it was coincidence or not, they were both in the library, again. Sesshoumaru sitting on the windowsill, Kagome by a table. And today, it was the same again. But still, he didn't mind.

He just trained with his swords, even if you couldn't see it on him as he wasn't tired or sweating. One advantage of being a youkai.

Another advantage were his keen nose and ears, and as he noticed Kagome was in her room, sleeping, he closed his eyes and dozed off too.

*

Hours later, he woke up as he heard a strange sound. He lay down for awhile, half asleep but his senses alert, and he caught it again.

Crying. Someone was crying.

Kagome.

He remained laying still, hoping it would fade away and stop, but it never did. As he suddenly heard a loud crash, he sat right up, now fully alert.

Something wasn't right.

He was feeling two things now. Despite her being an elf, he began to worry about the girl, what was the matter? On the other hand, he was annoyed that she woke him up for something as pitiful as crying. Why oh why did those elves have to be so emotional?

As after a few minutes the crying still didn't stop, he growled, flung back the blankets and walked towards the door with long strides. That stupid girl would pay for this.

He opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside. A half moon was shining, and it was cold, but he was unaffected by it. His eyes travelled to the door before him, the door to her room. A tiny little voice in his mind asked him if he shouldn't knock first, as he knew she valued privacy. But a more stubborn voice demanded to just barge in and tell her how he thought about it.

The last voice triumphed.

He flung open the door, blinked a couple of times to let his eyes adjust to the darkness in the room where only little moonlight shone trough the window. Then, his eyes darted to her bed, but she was not in it. He frowned, as he suddenly saw a soft blue light to his right.

And there she was, curled up in the corner of her room like a frightened animal. That tiny little voice in the back of his head became immediately stronger, demanding him to go towards her, to see what was wrong. However, his common sense decided to show itself.

Kagome was a mess. Her hair was all messed up, as was her clothing. The blankets of her bed were thrown aside roughly, and a chair had fallen down. If you didn't know better, you would think there was a fight here.

She was shivering uncontrollably, and as he walked somewhat closer, the blue light around her body intensified, as if to warn him, and he stopped, not wanting to get purified by accident.

She tilted her head towards him, and his breath caught as he saw her face. It was scary, her eyes turned in a weird way, all fogged over, her face in an afraid expression, and her mouth opened a bit, as if she was screaming in horror, but no sound came forth.

Was she having a vision again? Was that it? But then, what was she seeing?

What the hell was she seeing to get this upset?

*

Darkness. Darkness everywhere.

That black darkness, in which you could see absolutely nothing. The darkness she always feared, pitch-dark, no light there.

Then, suddenly, there was light. But only a little. She was standing in a room, in the corner, and moonlight was falling trough a window, illuminating the figure of a silver haired person.

She had seen this before. This room, this man. Sesshoumaru's father. Only, there was something different this time.

He was alive.

Minutes passed as she could do nothing but stand there, watch and wait for the inevitable. She couldn't move, she could do nothing.

Then, a dark shadow appeared, out of nowhere. Someone was standing next to the bed, but she couldn't see who it was. She stiffened as it spoke, the cold voice sending shivers down her spine.

"And so it ends here…"

The next moment, it raised its arm and a knife glittered in the moonlight.

This time, she could move. She turned towards the door, opened it and ran, and ran and ran… The hall seemed to be endless, and she wondered when she would be on the end of it.

Then, suddenly, the image disappeared. She was standing on a meadow, with something like a castle in the distance. Everywhere around her were people, but she couldn't recognize anyone, as she didn't see them clearly. They had no faces and their bodies were blurred.

Only one person was clear enough for her too see. It was a woman, a youkai, and she was simply beautiful. Long, silver hair, a crescent moon on her forehead, one single magenta stripe on each of her cheeks, amber eyes. She was tall and slender, and very graceful.

She was just thinking about how this woman reminded her of someone, as she heard a sound in the distance, and she jerked her head to the right, looking for the cause of it.

It was as if time stand still. Nobody moved anymore, and all she could see was this beautiful woman, and the arrow that was heading towards her, aimed straight at her heart.

She opened her mouth in horror and screamed, screamed about the unfairness of it, why did such a beautiful creature have to die? Her body began glowing blue as her powers begged her to be released, to stop this, but she could do nothing. She shut her eyes and cried, and cried…

Then, suddenly, she sensed an aura. A very powerful aura, which she recognised from somewhere. She couldn't quite pin point from where she knew it, but as she opened her eyes, she saw a white figure between all those blurred people.

It reached towards her, and the blue light intensified, as to warn that person to stay away, but it approached anyway, and somehow, she felt like, this person meant no harm. She would be safe, if she could only reach it. She reached her hand towards that person, and stretched it and stretched it…

If only she could reach it…

*

Sesshoumaru kept watching how the girl shut her eyes and continued crying as if she would never stop, as if it was the only thing she could do.

That tiny voice in his head became stronger and stronger, and no matter how he was fighting it, he couldn't resist it, so he approached her.

The girl opened her eyes, frowned a bit, but after awhile, the blue light died down, and she stretched her arm, as if to reach for him. Encouraged by that, he walked up to her and kneeled before her, catching her by her shoulders and shaking her back and forth, trying to wake her up.

At first, nothing happened. She struggled a bit, as if she was afraid, her eyes still unseeing, but wide open. Then, she suddenly stiffened, and he shook her with a bit more force.

This time, it worked.

She gasped, as suddenly, her eyes turned normally again and she blinked up at him, tears in her eyes. Then, before he could do anything, she suddenly lunged at him, throwing her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest, sobbing.

All kinds of alarm bells were going off inside his head, this was disrespect, invading his personal space, hurting his pride, this was…

… just a hug. Simply a hug, an attempt to find comfort, like he once did when he was little. But he was never hugged since that time. Never, until now.

Despite his pride, and his distaste, he somehow hugged her back, before picking her up in his arms and setting her down on her bed. He tried to pry her off him, but she wouldn't remove her arms, so with a sigh, he sat back against the head side of the bed, taking the crying girl on his lap.

He hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. She blinked at him, before averting her gaze again. He sighed; this girl was going to be his end. "Kagome, tell me what happened," he demanded.

The sound of her crying died down, and she only sniffled a bit as she answered him. "A vision…"

He nodded at her. "Then what did you see…?"

A sob. "Your… your father…" She must have felt how he stiffened, as she suddenly catched his hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry…"

"What did you see?" he asked again, ignoring her actions. "Speak girl"

"A figure… there was a dark figure in the room… he spoke… and then a knife…"

He frowned. "It was a man?"

Silence. "I think so. That voice…"

"You saw no face?"

"No…" she was unconsciously playing with his fingers. "I fled, I ran away… and then I saw this woman…" she frowned and then smiled a bit. "… she was so pretty. And then, someone shot an arrow trough her heart. And I cried, I was angry, why did she have to die? She was so pretty… she reminded me of you…"

He stiffened again as he listen to her. "What did she look like?" he shook the girl in his lap, maybe a bit too rough. "Tell me!"

"S-silver hair, the same moon as you have on her forehead, and one magenta stripe on each of her cheeks… and her eyes…" Kagome looked up at him with wide eyes. "… YOUR eyes…"

He didn't listen anymore, as he looked before him with cold eyes. "… mother…"

~Flashback~

A small boy with silver hair and youkai markings was sitting in a dungeon, together with his mother, locked up behind doors.

The sound of footsteps, and the door opened. A man stood in the doorway, a human, looking at them with disgust. "Your mate…" he addressed the woman. "…has listened to our demands. You will be released."

Relief spread across the woman's face as she hugged her son close. The boy looked with wide eyes at her. "Mommy, are we going home?"

Before she could answer the human interrupt. "Yes, yes, you'll go home with your mother and live happily ever after. Now come, I don't have time for this."

The woman shot him a glare, before taking the boy by her hand and following the human, trough all kinds of corridors, out of the dungeons, out of the castle, out on the courtyard and onto a meadow outside the castle.

The boy's face lit up with joy as he saw his father standing there with some of his generals, waiting for his mate and son to cross the distance and walk over to them. He pulled on his mother's hand, she smiled down at him, and nodded as they began walking away.

They came steadily closer, and closer, only a few metres, just a few…

Then he heard a whistling sound, he frowned and wanted to turn his head, as he heard his mother gasp. As he looked up at her, his eyes widened in horror. An arrow was pierced trough her chest, and she fell to the ground.

He kneeled next to her, screaming "Mother, mother!" But he was pushed away as his father and his generals ran to her side, checking her over, but it was too late.

She smiled at him once more, before she died.

~End Flashback~

He looked down as he felt how Kagome squeezed his hand again. She still looked at him with wide eyes. "S-she was y-your mother?"

"Yes…"

A silence fell. "Sesshoumaru…?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

She suddenly jerked her hand away from his and turned, facing him and stabbing a finger in his chest, her eyes on fire. "You have to talk about it!" she bit out. "I bet you never did! I bet you just cropped it up inside, and you never talked about it. And besides, I already saw half of it!"

He growled at her. "You saw only a little, it was nothing."

"Than tell me what happened further. Please, Sesshoumaru… it would do you good…"

Silence.

Kagome almost jumped as he spoke again. Not with a rude and demanding voice, but with a soft one. "We were playing in the garden, Inuyasha and I. Our mother was watching us. Then we were attacked, and our father came too late to do anything. Or well, he did manage to free Inuyasha, but he failed to free us. We were taken to the castle of a person called Onigumo, a human who disobeyed my father several times before. Now he had captured my father's mate and his oldest son, me. I don't remember anymore what he demanded, I tried to forget it. We were prisoners for weeks, kept in a dungeon from the castle."

"So you were a prisoner before…" No answer. "But you were released…?"

"We were. That filth Onigumo even told me so. I never believe people that easily. Most of the time, they are lying to you. He lied too. He told us we would be free, but just before we reached my father, he killed my mother."

"Why?"

"My father stationed his troops around the castle. He was a man who wouldn't go out of his way to get his revenge. He intended to attack Onigumo once he got us back. Either, Onigumo found out, or he just realised his life was over. No one escapes the Lord of the Western Lands once he is angry. So he did one last thing to defy my father, he killed his mate."

"And what happened to Onigumo?" He gave her a cold look. "Never mind, I don't even want to know. Is that why you don't really like your father?"

The narrowing of his eyes. "Who says I don't like him?"

"When you speak of him, I sense respect, but also anger. Why?"

"He failed to free us, my mother and I were kidnapped, he risked our lives later when he wanted to attack Onigumo. If it wasn't for him, maybe my mother would've been alive."

"You don't know that." She reached towards his face, tracing the stripes on his cheeks with her finger and she looked him directly into his eyes. "Remember one thing Sesshoumaru; fate is inevitable. You cannot change it."

"I don't believe that"

A small smile. "But I believe it. And I know it's true. Your mother would've died, no matter how, it would've happened sooner or later. It's cruel that it had to be this way, but there is no way to change what happened in the past. And it's not fair to blame anyone for it. Not your father, no matter how mistaken he was, not your brother, because he wasn't captured, because he suffered just as much as you did. I lost a parent too, and I blamed everyone for it, and myself, but it didn't bring me any further. You can do nothing but except it Sesshoumaru." She looked a bit painful as she talked about her father's death, but then she smiled at him again. "Arigato, Sesshoumaru…"

"For what?"

"For telling me. Now I understand you so much better."

He looked quizzically at her, before gently pushing her aside. She was right, it did him good, talking about it, but it was time to end this rubbish. This Sesshoumaru was not someone to be so weak in the presence of a mere girl.

He attempted to stand, as suddenly, out of nowhere, she caught his hand and stopped him. Looking back at her, one single brow raised, she blushed but looked with pleading eyes at him.

"Please Sesshoumaru, could you stay?"

"Why should I?"

"Please? I'm afraid it will happen again, I don't want to be alone…"

He sighed, before deciding the damage was already done. Without thinking twice, he rested his back against the bed again. Kagome clutched his arm and crawled close to his sitting form, sighing contently. He leaned back and closed his eyes, oddly enough, he felt totally at ease.

Just before she fell asleep, he heard her whispering something. "If only you would smile once…"

*

~Castle to the north of the Southern Lands~

In his room, a certain dark haired man was watching how two persons kneeled before him.

To the right was Hiten, and to the left his brother Manten. The fact that they were brothers wasn't that easy to see, as they were the opposite of each other. The one to the right as pretty as his brother to the left was ugly. Both were generals of him, and he watched them with interest before thinking of that Kikyou woman again. Now that she decided they would only negotiate tomorrow, he couldn't help for being a bit bored. So, his evil mind had thought of something else to busy himself.

He looked to his right were his youngest daughter, Kanna, stood with her mirror. Hiten and Manten followed his gaze to the mirror that showed a kitsune family, father, mother and son, eating in peace.

"What do you want with them, my Lord?" Hiten asked.

He chuckled a bit. "This kitsune has been rather troublesome. He simply refuses to listen to my orders… kukuku, of course, I cannot allow such behaviour…" his generals shivered at the look on his face.

"… kill them."

*

In their castle, said family was still dining, unaware of the fact that two Thunder Brothers were on their way to disturb this peace.

The father and mother were talking softly, while the young child was playing with his food. Minutes passed, until suddenly, the door banged open and a dead guard was tossed inside the room, followed by two youkai who looked frightening.

The little kitsune kid wailed in fear, as his parents stood protectively before him, and the fight began. Hiten attacked the father, dodging his kitsune fire and delivering him a deadly blow. The mother screamed in fright and anger, but she was distracted and instantly killed by the other brother.

The kid towered in fear as suddenly, those horrible youkai turned to look at him, an evil glint in their eyes. Tears fell from his eyes, one minute, he was peacefully together with his mother and father, and now, they were dead.

One of the two youkai spoke. "The kid too?"

"You heard Lord Naraku. He said; everyone, now I would say that includes the child…"

While they were talking, the kid waited no longer, but lunged for the door, running trough it, down the halls and out of the castle, into the woods.

He wouldn't just stand there and wait for them to kill him.

*

Manten wore a surprised look on his face, which would've been comical, had the situation not been so horrible. His brother scolded at him.

"Idiot, now the brat escaped!"

"B-but Lord Naraku wanted us to kill him!"

"Yes, and we will be in trouble if we don't do so. And that is why we are going after him, now!"

They ran out of the castle, and were just in time to see the little kid fleeing into the forest.

"I don't know Hiten, he's heading south, towards the elves…"

A snort. "And so what? He won't escape us. And besides, if he did turn up by the elves, they would kill him. But, just to be sure, we will follow him. And then, he will be dead. Oh no, he won't escape us."

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I have sooooo much luck! I was a very, very good girl (eh…right) so now I can post another chapter for you all!!! Imagine that, two hours to do whatever I want with my computer! I still have some hope my mother will forget about our row… ^^