InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Misleadings of a Broken Vision ❯ Second Vision ( Chapter 2 )

Misleadings of a Broken Vision

Second Vision

The Seer glared at the collapsed demon while putting her bowl carefully away back to its place beneath the cabin. The blood had dissipated once Ayame had broken her concentration. In fact, it always managed to clean itself up once its purpose was served. Just another one of those things she had to be thankful for.

The redhead was still apparently knocked out, sprawled on the thinly bamboo planked floor. The elder demon clucked her tongue, and waved the smoke from the incense out of the window she had just opened. The shutters clanged noisily, alerting the same guard that Ayame had pushed aside that he was wanted.

"Yes ma'am?" he asked courteously, staying a good distance away from the swinging shutters. The Seer leaned out and said,

"Get the Peerless Demon in here."

The guard shifted into his gray form and loped towards the other end of their village. It was located on the side of a mountain, and wound inside the heart of the landform. Each hut where the ritual's and ceremonies took place was at the entrance, rending one view that of the cozy, dark mountain, and the other of the fresh outside. The gray wolf had to go all the way to the other side.

Consequently, the bleary teenager had regained a kind of awareness by the time the Peerless Demon arrived. He was a black wolf, the opposite of the Seer. After adjusting his armor slightly, he stepped in and sat on the mat provided without asking first.

"Thought you would be nicer to the girl this time, Hikari." He commented, sipping dryly from the tea he was holding. The Seer poured out two more cups for herself and Ayame.

"Well, Hikaru, I wouldn't talk." She said sarcastically, emphasizing his name.

"And why is that? I'll have you know that your girls are more skittish than my boys; never paying attention, jumping, etc." he retorted good-naturedly.

"What the hell happened." Demanded Ayame loudly, sitting up with a painful crack in her back. The sound vibrated, signaling her full return to the world of the living.

"You were a fool and broke the damn thing off, I wager." Calmly stated Hikaru, nodding at her.

The Seer sighed.

"I did tell you not to break it off. That was a warning, good enough to help most of my other girls."

"I-couldn't help it." She said, ashamed and embarrassed, looking down at her for once, clean hands. They were usually dirty, tanned, and basically like most men's. The women took pride in their white hands, and kept the nails at a reasonably long length. Ayame's were bitten at, but not as severely as one might think a tomboy might have them.

"Since I don't know what you saw, tell us so we can help interpret what did occur." Sighed the Seer. The Peerless Demon grinned, and leaned forward. Both shamans, if you will, while getting on in years, had been preserved by their art. The Seer's hair, while streaked elegantly with white, was dark black in other areas. Their faces were youthful, with the wisdom that comes with age. Their demonic markings on their temples moved slightly with every minute that passed, labeling as one of those with power.

Ayame shuddered, and thought back.

"It wasn't really here, I don't think. It didn't look too familiar. Some trees and mountains still, but it didn't have the feel of home. I saw this inu youkai and wolf one too. They were ready to do battle. Then, I saw I think to be one of their companions, a monk, a miko, an exterminator, and a kitsune that seemed to be a nuisance to the miko." She smiled a little; remembering the exasperated look on the woman's face as the kitsune jumped up and down.

"The two began fighting, the dog with a sword and the wolf with his bare hands. They appeared almost to be dancing, but the power and pressure from their blows wrecked the land. It cracked and everything," she paused again, in awe of the strength of the men. "But then, I was going closer and the miko seemed to sense that I was there. I felt like she could see me, and it grew worse when the two turned and also could tell I was there." Ayame shivered again.

"I had to break it off, they must have been getting ready to attack me!" she said, her mind placing preemptive actions into her memory.

The Seer and Peerless Demon looked at each other. Her vague description wouldn't help them help her much.

"Ayame, we'll have to confer before we can interpret it better for you. I also could not see what you did. Will you share it with us? We may be able to complete it if we have sufficient power." asked the Seer politely, picking up a bone-thin dagger. Ayame nodded slowly, not sure what else the transfusion would contain.

She took the dagger and sliced two thin streaks on her arms. The Seer took it from her and did the same, passing it to the Peerless Demon after she had finished. The knife they placed in the middle of the triangle the formed, dripping with the blood of all three. They placed their cuts, on top and bottom of the others, and closed their eyes.

The vision overwhelmed them, but it only lasted until Ayame had broken it a while ago. Frowning, the two concentrated harder the second time around, and even more so on the third, fourth, and fifth times. Usually they were able to discern the true meaning of the dreams by the third time, but it wasn't working. They finally stopped when the young wolf couldn't take the icy glares any longer. She, still unsettled, went outside to the springs to wash herself of all the ceremonial makeup. The two elders stayed behind, deep in thought.

"The gods must be against us clearly knowing what will happen. Hikari, isn't that what you're feeling as well?" Hikaru mused. Now that he had established that they were going on first name basis again, Hikari stood.

"She is foolish." She said calmly, already ready to meditate, and communicate with those above her.

Hikaru sighed, seeing that his sister did not want to talk with him. He also relaxed into his accustomed position.

~*8*~

She stripped quickly; glad to be out of the restraining garment. Dropping it carelessly on the side of the springs, she was glad that they were still empty. She had come early enough to retain some privacy. Being part of a wolf tribe meant that there was little modesty, and that wasn't what she minded anyway. She needed time to think, rethink, and cry.

Cry?

`I don't need to cry, where did that come from?' she asked herself. She remembered the warm amber eyes, the freezing blue ones. Dazed, she thought randomly that if she had to choose, she would choose the golden eyes. About to rebuke herself, her sensitive ears caught the little switch of falling cloth. Then, the little splash and flow of ripples her way told her someone had intruded without a greeting, a rude thing to do in her mind.

Still cautiously tuned to the sounds that would tell her who it was, she was shocked when a hand draped itself over her shoulder and a voice murmured into her ear without forewarning.

"How was it, Ayame?" She shifted, covering herself strategically. The water was steamy and cloudy, lending to help her preserve her mind. Many had seen her nude before, but that was before she had broken her vision, and she was afraid that her failure would show itself somehow on her body. It would bring shame upon her and her family.

"You're not supposed to sneak up on me." She said flatly, turning around. The wolf demon laughed, and shook out his dark, slightly purple red hair. It was cut raggedly, and gave him a roguish appearance. It contrasted fully with her bright red hair, which still hadn't been undone. He sat down fully, having been on his knees on the rock that she had been using as a seat.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?!" she demanded, pushing him away after he sat a little closer. He shook his head, and chuckled.

"Nibori, you are such a baka." She said, exasperated, not pleased that he had come, but not really minding either. He laughed again, and leaned an arm around her shoulders.

"You haven't answered my question." He protested as she prepared to get up, pulling her back down.

"You haven't answered mine." She answered shortly, but Nibori relaxed, knowing she would stay for a while more.

"Fine, I'm sorry for not announcing my presence." He said lightly, not taking it at all to heart. Ayame, tired of the boy who couldn't seem to take anything seriously, decided to try and make her day better.

Quickly, she twisted and plunged his head in the water. Nibori tensed at the unexpected move, and struggled to get up. Ayame kept the pressure up, moving to straddle his back as time went on. Finally, she jumped back quickly into deeper water, submerging herself so she wouldn't have to hear the yell that would inevitably come, as well as hide from the soon to be angry white wolf.

"KEEEEYYYYAAASSSSUUUU!!!!" yelped the almost drowned youkai, a feeble echo of a real battle cry. She giggled underwater, bubbles giving away her position. Nibori lunged and splashed into where she had just been, catching a hand that quickly twisted out of his grasp.

Her movements were slowed by the water, but were still agile. She may not have been as seductive as the other women, but her agility made up for nearly all of her shortcomings. She burst out of the water, needing air after hiding under for so long.

She regretted it as soon as the blessed oxygen flooded in. The wolf grinned and stretched.

Nibori pounced, and it was her turn to hold her breath. Bubbles began leaking up as the minutes built up. Her lungs felt like exploding, but she refused to give up. Trying one final plow, she went limp and stopped flailing. Nibori held her there for a few more seconds, and she began to think that she had failed.

But then, he pulled her face out of the water hurriedly and looked at her face. Since she still wasn't moving, he began to perform CPR, after swimming to the side.

Ayame felt like laughing, but restrained herself, knowing that it would give her away. When she could hold it in anymore, she let her arms encircle his body, and kissed him, hard on the lips.

Surprised that his once drowning girlfriend was now kissing him after playing dead for so long, he sat back, and the demons collapsed half in the water, half out.

"Ayame, you are so worrisome." He said, running his fingers through his hair. He sat up, and pulled her back to a sitting position, her legs dangling over one of his.

"Pervert." She said, calmly smacking his face away and covering her chest when she saw that his eyes had wandered down.

"But to answer your question, it went fine." Something in her voice told him that something wasn't right. Looking closely at her, he asked again, this time with his perfectly dark orange eyes.

"Shut up. I broke it, alright?" she said defiantly, standing up and walking to the more secluded side of the baths. He followed, offering reassurances.

"Shut up. They already tried, and I can tell that I'm never going to be able to get a normal life." He put his hand on her shoulder, and she broke down, sobbing wildly into his chest. He awkwardly patted her back and leaned against the rough cave wall.

"You're not even part of my future, Nibori. What kind of life will I be having? You're not in it, and I thought-I always thought that since we were together, it was so obvious!" Nibori froze a little, but wasn't completely shocked by her revelation. When he had gone to the Peerless demon, he had seen himself alone, without a definite mate, although many children had been surrounding him.

When the girl he had once considered to be his future mate's cries subsided, he began untangling her hair. Each individual braid had to be undone carefully, lest the entire thing got entwined again. Dropping the plant life into the hot water, it let out a slight aroma.

Ayame tightened her arms around him, wanting the moment to last forever; a perfect blend of sadness and love.

After a while, he said,

"We should be going back. Doubtless they've left us alone for so long for a reason." She shook her head, but had to comply when she soon heard voices approaching, the one of her enemy the loudest.

"Yeah, I heard she totally bombed it this time." came the voice of the sidekick, Taki. Taki was beautiful, with long blue hair that cascaded down her back elegantly. She had one of the sharpest tongues Ayame had ever encountered.

"How am I supposed to get out without them noticing?" she whispered to Nibori in shame.

"Leave it to me. Go around the side and pick up your things; I'll join you later, after I get rid of your harpies." He chuckled, thinking of strategies that would prevent temptation from overcoming him. None of them would work.

He slipped into their view, and the four girls giggled. Aya said in a low voice,

"Didn't expect to see you here, Nibori. Shouldn't you be comforting Ayame?" Ayame, who was quietly going out after donning a robe, bristled, but continued going. She knew that Nibori would defend her, for as long as he could.

"She doesn't need to be comforted. Ayame's a strong person, and nothing happened anyway." He said calmly, heading out to the entrance as well. He was drawn back by their enticing arms and bodies.

"Stay a while, won't you?" whispered Taki, flinging her head so that her hair covered his chest. The loyal side of him protested, but the male side won. As the females moved in for the kill, Ayame stifled her tears and ran faster, back to the sanctuary of the cave she had kept secret.

~*8*~

"Inuyasha, get AWAY from him!" yelled Kagome, exasperated. Inuyasha looked up from pounding Shippo, and shook his head. He then positioned himself carefully over the kitsune, ensuring that Kagome wouldn't use the osuwari spell.

She scowled, and said, "You don't need to take your anger out on Shippo just because Kouga came by again."

"I'm not." He replied calmly, finally stringing Shippo up in a tree, upside down. She sighed, and restrained herself from giving him a much needed meal of dirt.

"Then why? He didn't say anything."

"Because I felt like it. Everyone needs a little reminder every now and then." He explained logically.

"No, that's not the reason," Kagome pressed, determined to find out why her hanyou was behaving so rationally and irrationally at the same time. "Is it because of that thing we all sensed?"

"No." The curt reply was enough to confirm her suspicions. "What about it makes you so uneasy?" she demanded to know.

"Nothing. It was all probably just our imaginations."

Sango stopped shining her sword and interrupted, "You think it was Kanna or someone spying on us?"

"Unlikely. Kanna may be able to look where she wills whenever, but you can never sense that she is watching. Besides, Naraku hasn't mentioned anything or shown up, so it is also not likely that he was watching, and will be turning the information to his advantage." Miroku thought out logically. Sango shook her head at his pointing out the obvious, and went back to maintaining her weapons.

"Probably just some passing elemental or something." Dismissed Kagome, with a wave of her hand. She stacked up the cups of ramen and carefully jammed them into her backpack. Remembering that they had just finished lunch, she warned,

"Inuyasha, if you leave Shippo up there he might throw up."

"Too late." Moaned the kitsune, eyes twirling.

"Gross. You're gonna cover that up Inuyasha, or there'll be some bad things happening." She said, walking away.

"Nothing wrong with a few cleansings of the stomach." Miroku grumbled, after Inuyasha had shoved him rather close to the nasty puddle. He untied Shippo, who still looked a little green, and kicked some leaves and dirt over the offending substance. Shippo staggered, and tried to jump onto his shoulder, missing and getting his head instead.

His face was now bright red, and he wobbled and fell. Miroku sighed, and picked him up, following the rest.

When he drew nearer Shippo tried to leap to Kagome's arms. The monk restrained him, and handed the young one to the miko instead. She mumbled to him, and glared at Inuyasha.

"There's a shard in that direction." She said tonelessly, gesturing to the side. Sango pulled her onto Kirara, and they began running in the direction of the shards.

Just another day in the feudal era.

~*8*~

She combed her hair with steady fingers now. It had returned to its normal metallic red, after all the dyes had been washed out. That was one of the better parts of the cave; it contained a running spring through the middle. She had been able to continue her cleansing there.

Ayame was still unclad; having not the strength to pick up her pieces of metal and hides. She wanted to just curl up, after Nibori had left her yet again. He was doing that so much these days, after he had his manhood ceremony. It would probably be better if they were mates, then he would be tied to her. She had always thought that that would happen; childhood friends becoming lifelong companions. Apparently, it wasn't to be so.

Sighing, she dragged herself to her traditional armor. It was colored with shades of white, from gray to black. Fitting closely around the arms and chest, it hung loosely around the legs, in a wide pant-like structure. Her wrist-guards strapped on easily, as did her boots. She added her choker for fun, needing the strength it had always given her for the task ahead.

She crawled out of the shallow opening, holding her breath until she was through the tunnel. Rising up like a goddess of the water, she shook her head, keeping her hair down was a bother. Pigtails were so much more convenient. Unfortunately, she had no time to part and tie her hair.

The gray guard from before ran up to her as she entered the edges of civilization. Out of breath, and not too happy, he droned,

"The people want to see you again. ASAP." She nodded, and he shifted again, out to find the person whose shift was after his. Ayame shook her head, pitying the messenger when she wouldn't show up for a few more hours. She had some terms to settle first. It was obvious that they wanted her so they could give her the instructions and push her off to toddle on her own legs.

Ayame snorted. She wouldn't be gone so easily.

She knew that Aya would let Taki take him first, those whores had ceased to be virgins since they were 10. And him…she refused to let her sorrow take over. He had ceased to be the kind boy she'd known since two years ago, but it never hurt to hope. Smiling bitterly, the white wolf thought, `The person who made that up must have been insane.'

Shifting into her wolf form, she ran to Taki's place of residence. Aya and her still giggling crowd hushed up as they saw her, angry as the fire was hot. She pushed them aside roughly, and flung open the door, not caring too much about what she could be interrupting.

Still, she was slightly astonished to find them sitting comfortably, facing the door. Nibori fingered the thin black collar around his neck and greeted her. Confused, she just nodded and wondered about his newest accessory. Taki's eyes gleamed and she left, swishing her hair behind her.

It would be hard to say what she had to, but seeing as how his behavior would never change and it was obvious that her fate lay elsewhere, it was necessary for her peace of mind.

"Tempting destiny isn't one of my favorite tasks," Nibori started to say, even as she tried to speak.

"I don't know who you are anymore. You're not the boy I fell in love with. I just wanted to make a clean goodbye before I leave." She interrupted, hardly believing the words that were falling out of her mouth. Wasn't it just moments before that she had vowed fiercely that nothing would keep her from living her life with Nibori? Where were these strange declarations coming from? His betrayal in the springs hadn't been so serious, had it?

"Hey, why don't we try to change the future?" he pleaded, eyes flashing to a darker orange.

"We can't." Ayame answered just as shortly as before. She turned to leave, not knowing where her treacherous tongue was taking her, but eager to stop it before it became irreparable.

"If we became mates now, what you saw couldn't take place." Nibori protested, moving closer to her. Ayame couldn't breathe; he couldn't be suggesting what she had just heard. She tried to evade the oncoming demon, but only succeeded in cornering herself.

"Why don't we just go through the ceremony now, before anyone can stop us?"

"No…" she whispered, as he moved to her armor and began removing it quickly. He had fewer articles to remove, and he didn't bother with those until most of hers were off. Weakly trying to push him away, it became harder as his lips pressed more strongly against her neck.

"Nibori…"

~*8*~