InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight Blood ❯ Similarities ( Chapter 18 )

Author’s Notes

REVIEWER

@REVIEWERGODDESS: Hmm, I must say, I wasn’t expecting to get a review, but low and behold, you never disappoint. Heh, I didn’t even read your review until right before uploading this, because I thought reviews were gone for sure. But thank you so much for taking the time to keep trying until they did. It was really touching to know that someone went through all that trouble to give me an opinion. Thanks so much. Well, this chapter does answer SOME questions, but for most of the others, you’re going to have to wait and see. Muhuahaha–I’m such a tease.

Part Eighteen: Similarities

‘Don’t you dare!’’ The inner voice seethed. So surprised that it spoke, Inuyasha swayed where he stood. ‘She is mine! Once claimed, the bond can never be broken. I won’t let her have another! I won’t have another!’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘We can really do that?’’ Kagome said. ‘‘How? I thought the only way to break a mating bond was for one of the mates to die.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Sayo tilted her head, her brows coming together in a confused frown. ‘‘I’m surprised you don’t know. I thought that’s why you two were half-mates.’’
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‘‘‘Half-mat es?’ What the hell?’’ The voice in his head roared. ‘‘Shut up!’’
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‘‘Will you calm down Inuyasha, geez!’’
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‘‘That’s not, aaahhh!’’ He fell to his knees, hands on his head as though trying to keep his skull from splitting down the middle.
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‘NEVER! You know it as well as I. She’s ours! If you let her break away from us, I will fix it, against her will or half of ours! Your tattered sense of control can’t hold me back forever! ’
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‘‘I-Inuyasha? What’s the matter?’’
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He somehow raised his head enough to see the concern on Lilliana’s face. Behind her, Sayo shook her head, her eyes closed tight, almost as though she pitied him. The pain in his head cleared as hot anger filled it instead. He stood and stomped past Lilliana till he towered over Sayo. ‘‘What this about half-mates? What the hell are you talking about?’’
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‘‘I’m surprised you don’t know. Every nightwalker knows what a half-mate is, it’s--’’ Suddenly another soul floated into the room and circled around Sayo’s head.
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‘‘Lady Sayo. Your father is growing impatient.’’
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Sayo sighed. She shooed the soul away and then faced Inuyasha calmly and said, ‘‘I promise I will explain later. It’s not a good idea to keep my father waiting. He can be very, um, hard to deal with when he’s, well, been scorned.’’
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‘‘I’m not going anywhere until you--’’
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‘‘Lead the way Sayo.’’
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Inuyasha turned around to give Lilliana a very pointed glare. He could feel his eyes reddening as she looked back at him with a disappointed frown. ‘‘I’m getting really tired of being ignored and talked over.’’ He grumbled as he followed the women down a flight of stairs and into a large, circular room with windows on all sides. It felt a bit like being in a chapel, especially as blue, pink, green and yellow light filtered into the room from the windows. Between the windows, vines, decorated with thorns, leaves, and tiny rosebuds, cascaded down the walls from the ceiling. Large, brown divans were set up in a circle around a table which sat in the center of the room. One of the divans was fancier then the others, with golden embroidery stitched into the backrest, and sitting on the divan was–
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Inuyasha’s shock was interrupted when Sayo bowed. ‘‘I’m sorry for being late Father.’’
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He tried his hardest not to stare, not to appear surprised. To his right, he heard Kagome gasp as she laid her eyes on the man in the chair. She saw her look at the stranger, and then turn her head toward her mate as though she couldn’t believe her eyes. Lilliana on the other hand, didn’t seem so surprised. She merely blinked at the stranger’s long, silver hair, golden eyes and the fluffy ears on his crown. The man sitting in the divan had an indifferent stare, and Inuyasha was momentarily reminded of Sesshoumaru. Except this man had a long, white foxtail. He wore a white robe like Sayo.
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He stood, crossed his arms, and gave Sayo an expressionless glance. It was as though a silent conversation had passed between the two because Sayo’s tilted her head down toward the floor and said, ‘‘Yes sir. I’m sorry.’’
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‘‘Sayo, you are excused.’’ His voice was smooth and low. As Sayo left the room, Inuyasha found himself wondering if his father had had another son. He then felt foolish for thinking such a thing. Surely Sesshoumaru would have known if they had another brother, or half brother. Yet, the resemblance was uncanny. The man in question, had yet to introduce himself and didn’t seem particularly perturbed by the similarity between himself and Inuyasha.
`~`~`~`~`~`
The next instant, Sayo’s father tilted his head toward Kagome, and lifted an eyebrow, before looking directly at Inuyasha. To say the least, Inuyasha thought as he tried to keep his face emotionless, it was a bit unnerving to look directly into that handsome face.
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‘‘I apologize for my daughter’s inquisitiveness.’’
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‘ ‘I know you.’’ Kagome said suddenly. She took a deep sniff of the air. ‘‘You were the one that pulled me out of the lake.’’
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The man didn’t deny it. Inuyasha looked at Kagome. She pointed, as though trying to solve a math problem in the air. ‘‘So that’s why you saved me. Because you thought I was Sayo. Who are you?’’
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‘‘I am called the Demon Fox, Yoko Kurama.’’
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Kagome growled. ‘‘If there was a city in the middle of Ghost Forrest, why didn’t you help me get here? You just left me there in that forest alone and told me to keep walking.’’
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‘‘You smell of human. There hasn’t been a human in this world for several millennia. It’s only logical to assume that you are a human born. Outsiders are treated with deep mistrust here.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Kagome clicked her teeth. ‘‘Ah! You remind me of Lucy.’’
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‘‘Does the name, Inutaisho mean anything to you?’’ Inuyasha said.
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Yoko raised an eyebrow, which seemed to be the only change in his facial expressions. Never had it occurred to Inuyasha that he would miss his brother so much. Yoko made Sesshoumaru seem almost kind in comparison. ‘‘The demon general of legend? Why would the name mean anything to me? Inutaisho was rumored to have existed over one thousand millennia ago.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Rumored?’’ So his father’s name did have some presence in that world, Inuyasha cursed. Before he could follow that train of thought, Yoko walked till he was standing in front of Kagome. ‘‘How surprising that you would land back here.’’
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‘‘Well it seems that your daughter has much better manners then you do, Mr. Fox Lord.’’ Kagome said.
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Yoko smiled. ‘‘Only one as unaware as yourself would have the foolish bravery to say such things.’’ He gestured toward the divans. ‘‘Sit and speak.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Inuyasha looked at Kagome and Lilliana. Both girls passed a look toward him asking him the same question. How much could they tell this man? Inuyasha wondered the same. Yoko sat and waited. Nothing about his movement betrayed a single emotion. For a moment, Inuyasha felt some kind of pressure in the room. The vines and roses that surrounded the walls seemed to stir as though there were a draft, yet he felt no air pressing against his skin. Yoko’s eyes rested on the empty seats he’d offered them and when Inuyasha sat, he felt the pressure release, as though he had avoided some kind of unfortunate event. When he was silent for too long, the pressure returned. The plants around the room vibrated with impatience. Was he the only one who noticed? Lilliana and Kagome passed nervous looks toward each other, whispered about what they should say, but didn’t seem to feel what he felt. He looked at Yoko. The ‘‘Demon Fox’’ stared back with empty, yet strangely demanding eyes. Clearing his throat, Inuyasha said to Kagome and Lilliana, ‘‘let me do the talking.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
And so he spoke of the human world. Yoko listened without asking a single question. He did not offer a single reaction to the technological achievements of man, nor did he seem interested in the fact that humans had forgotten their kind existed. He listened as Inuyasha told him of the nightwalker war, and of the current uneasy peace. Only when Inuyasha mentioned that they were being attacked by human-turned-monsters did he seem to show the slightest movement. Lilliana moved to ask him something, but Yoko silenced her with a hand, leaving her to sit back in her seat with an astounded, and offended, look on her face.
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘I care not about the humans, nor of the affairs of the nightwalkers in that world. Why have you come to my world?’’
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‘‘I thought it would make a nice vacation spot.’’ Inuyasha said.
`~`~`~`~`~`
Yoko actually laughed. ‘‘Vacation you say.’’ He began to pace. ‘‘Shall you tell you of the Doom Lilly? It is a flower as beautiful as it is deadly. If you so much as twitch near one of its vines, it will swallow you up into its petals and suck you so dry, that only the empty bag of you skin will remain. No fool would vacation here. Within Ghost Forest is a gateway, at the very bottom of the Raging Salt Lake. Up until recently, nothing went into that gate, and nothing comes out through that lake except lost human souls. Yet here you are, alive and well. No one, not even nightwalkers have come here from the human world until now. So tell me, why have you come to my forest?’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Hey, your daughter is the one that brought us here.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
The pressure of the room returned. Inuyasha didn’t just feel as though the thorns and flowers on the walls shook; he saw them move. Danger. The familiar and horrible feeling of warning bubbled to life inside him. He glared at Kagome, cocking his head toward the walls, but all he got was a confused and irritated look.
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‘‘True.’’ Yoko sat back down and began to idly stroke his tail. ‘‘Tell me this then. Am I correct in assuming you came here against your will?’’
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‘‘Yes.’’ Lilliana answered.
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘I believe I have nothing more to ask then. Sayo will see you are well taken care of.’’ He walked over to a window, and folded his hands behind his back.
`~`~`~`~`~`
Walking out into the hallway, Inuyasha used all the strength he had to keep himself standing. Next to him, Kagome and Lilliana snapped at each other. ‘‘Oooh, that-that man! I just want to punch him in the nose!’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘You hold him down Kagome, and I’ll be happy to do it for you.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Inuyasha stepped away from the girls to try and find a private place. He needed to breathe. He needed to think. ‘There’s nothing to think about. The man had power like we’ve never felt before.’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Shut up.’’ Inuyasha whispered.
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He must have slumped against a wall and closed his eyes at some point, because when he opened them a second later, Kagome, Lilliana and Sayo were looking down at him with worried expressions. Standing, he looked from each face till his eyes rested on Sayo. Before he could stop himself, he asked, ‘‘do you hear voices in your head too?’’
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‘‘From the souls you mean? Sometimes. But they’re not very keen on talking. I take it my father was a little, um, demanding, right? He asked that I make sure you’re comfortable.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Lilliana snorted. ‘‘Oh, how nice of him. He didn’t seem so keen on our comfort earlier.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Well, um,’’ Sayo shifted her weight from one leg to another, ‘‘He also said that he would prefer if you leave the forest come morning.’’
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‘‘Figures. Well, since he said to make us comfortable, can I have a separate room?’’ Lilliana looked at Inuyasha. ‘‘Or do you want to stick together?’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘I’d rather we all get our own rooms, actually.’’ Especially until he figured out how to stop hearing voices, he thought.
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Before all that,’’ Kagome began, ‘‘can you explain a few things?’’
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‘‘This is about your mating status right?’’
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Kagome nodded.
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Sayo looked down the hall and gestured for them to follow. She took them to a private, suite-like space. ‘‘Well, ask away.’’
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‘‘First of all, what is a half mate?’’ Kagome asked.
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Sayo ran her finger along her bottom lip. ‘‘Well, mating involves tying the bodies and souls together. Half mates have only bonded their bodies together. That way, they can exchange blood and venom without killing each other. It ties them together physically, but really nothing more. Everything else depends on the feelings of the mates themselves. So if the two ever lose feelings for each other, or if their mating bond, namely the pull of attraction toward each other, whether emotional or physical, weakens, the mating pact can be broken.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘For half-mates, a mating pact is done by placing a claim on your mate. True mates require a few more steps. Imagine a thin string. That string ties half mates together. You have the marks on your back and chest. The marks are your link, through which your two souls are attached. Without a full mating bond though, that link can be broken. A revenant does it. They simply remove the thread that connects the two souls, thereby separating the bodies.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘But breaking the bond would mean that you would no longer be able to have children doesn’t it?’’ Lilliana asked.
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘That only happens if one of the mates dies while their bodies are still linked. You could mate again, but since the link with your first mate wasn’t broken, you can’t have children with anyone else. If the link is gone, you are now separate from any body, and you could have children with anyone.’’ Sayo blushed. ‘‘That is, if you wanted to.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Inuyasha muttered, half wishing his question wouldn’t be heard. ‘‘So what’s a full mate then?’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Sayo blushed. ‘‘I’m only forty-five years old you know. I wouldn’t know these things if I weren’t being trained as a revenant.’’ She took a deep breath. ‘‘Ahem. True mates tie their bodies, hearts, and souls together so completely, that if you were to try and break their connection, you would kill both mates. One cannot live without the other. The mating ritual lasts ten nights in a row, and it involves exchanging blood, venom, and a piece of the soul.’’
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‘‘Piece of the–how the hell would you even do that?’’ Inuyasha said.
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Sayo drew in the air. Lilliana gasped as a thin thread of light followed Sayo’s finger, till she drew what looked like a yin-yang symbol. ‘‘I’m sure you’ve seen this before. It’s the same concept. One half of the symbol carries a part of the other. On the fifth night of mating, both parties pull out a part of their souls, a part that they hold to be one of their most precious pieces, and they give it to the other.’’ Sayo bit her lip, her blush deepening. ‘‘After this, they consummate this new union for the next five nights. During each night, they feel each other’s souls. Remember the string I mentioned earlier? For half mates, that string ties the bodies and souls together. For true mates, there is no string. The mates become part of each other, their souls interlink. True mates can feel each other’s emotions, they can hear each other across vast distances, they can heal each other instantly, and they will die together.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Sounds like half-mates are a sweeter deal.’’ Lilliana said. ‘‘After all, who wouldn’t want to keep their privacy, or have the chance to live and love again?’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘I guess that’s true. I’ve only ever really run into one or two pairs of true mates. Most couples these days remain half mates. And those that are really in love also never risk going through the mating cycle again to become true mates. From what I understand, they fear the danger of losing a part of their soul forever if they don’t succeed. Half-mates run the risk of killing each other with their feral needs during the mating cycle, while true mates risk both that and may lose a part of themselves if the feelings between them are not strong enough to tether the souls in place.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘Do you know of any true mates personally?’’ Kagome asked.
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‘‘Only my parents and the few nightwalkers in my city that have come to ask how to cut away a part of their soul.’’
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‘‘Fascinating. 217;’ Lilliana said, moving her seat closer to Sayo.
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‘‘What the hell are you doing?’’ Inuyasha hissed.
`~`~`~`~`~`
Lilliana waved an arm at him as though she were swatting a fly. ‘‘I want to know how you can cut away a part of your own soul. How do you even take control of it?’’ Inuyasha rose to his feet. ‘‘What’s the matter, Inuyasha? Are you afraid?’’ Lilliana said. Sayo sat there uncomfortably, shifting her gaze between the two of them.
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‘‘Afraid of what? Some soul nonsense.’’ He sat back down and crossed his arms.
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Lilliana grunted. ‘‘Question: can you sever the link between these two?’’
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‘‘Lilliana!’’ ; Kagome barked.
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘W-wait a minute!’’ Sayo said. ‘‘Don’t get ahead of yourself. I only agreed to explain things! Besides, I can’t sever a link. Only an experienced revenant can do that, and I barely started my training four years ago. My mother could do it, but not me.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘So you can’t do it.’’ Lilliana said. ‘‘There you have it. You two are stuck together. So stop acting like petulant children and make up already.’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘You stay out of it!’’ Inuyasha and Kagome said together. They then glowered at each other.
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‘‘There’s no need to make hasty decisions!’’ Sayo said quickly, as though she could tell that a war was brewing between the two mates and their friend. ‘‘Why not just rest for the night?’’
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‘‘Sounds like a plan.’’ Lilliana said. ‘‘Where do we sleep?’’
`~`~`~`~`~`
Inuyasha and Kagome glared hard at Lilliana. As Sayo let out a sigh of relief and led them to their sleeping quarters, Inuyasha leaned toward Kagome and said, ‘‘I’m getting really annoyed with her butting in.’’
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‘‘You said it.’’
`~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~` ~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~` ~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~` ~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~` ~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~`` ~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~``~`~`~`~`~ ``
Kagome couldn’t sleep. She stared at the canopy of her bed replaying the day’s events over and over. First she met her double, and then came Inuyasha’s look-a-like, souls and mating pacts; it was all a jumbled mess that played her mind over and over. She turned in bed, staring at the doorway that led to the next room. Sayo had led them all to a four-roomed suite. Lilliana, Inuyasha and Kagome all had separate bedrooms. Each room connected to a large den in the middle of the suite. She could hear Lilliana’s steady breathing in the next room. Kagome remembered Lilliana’s eagerness about learning how to take control over her own soul. She then wondered if there was ever a person that Lilliana would love and trust so much that she’d give that person a part of her own soul.
`~`~`~`~`~`
Kagome shuddered. And she had thought that normal mating rituals were a bit much. Thinking about what she and Inuyasha did those five nights still made her blush. Simply imagining how they would continue for five more nights, after giving each other something so precious–Kagome felt her entire body light up with heat. In theory, it sounded rather romantic to able to give a part of yourself, literally, to the person you love. Yet, she couldn’t imagine being able to do that. Still, would being able to feel each other’s emotions and hear each other’s thoughts solve her problems with Inuyasha? Or would they make them worse.
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘You’re getting ahead of yourself.’’ Kagome said. They weren’t even in love. How could they bind souls? How could they even have been in love? For ten years they saw each other only for several months at a time, at reunions, or booty calls. When had their relationship been about anything more then casual sex?
`~`~`~`~`~`
For a moment, Kagome felt ashamed. She had never imagined herself to base a relationship all around the physical. Before she met Inuyasha, she had dreams of meeting the man of her dreams at her university, dating, and falling in love. Her chances of living a normal, dreamy life were long since gone, but, Kagome still wished for it, or at least wish for as much normalcy as she could get. Could she do that if she broke her link with Inuyasha? Did she want to break it? More importantly, did he?
`~`~`~`~`~`
‘‘All this talk of half mates and true mates,’’ Kagome sighed, ‘‘I just want to go back to being friends.’’ But she didn’t want to apologize. ‘‘What are we going to do?’’