InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moon and Destiny: Tsuki to Shukuen ❯ Act 3 ( Chapter 3 )

G'day, readers! I'm sorry that Act 2 was so short, but it was supposed to be a little poetic. Things might be coming a little late, considering how exams at my school are next week. But don't worry! As usual, I don't own Inu-Yasha, but I can dream…can't I? Also, about a name translation:

Akumashugi devil worship

Since this is an Inu-Yasha fic about the children of the character, guess whose son he is. D

I sometimes feel sad when I do dramas because I have to cause so much emotional pain for my characters. Especially Shukuen and Tsuki, and they're my favorites.

Shukuen: '( sniff

ZeroSoul: ( Awww….poor little Shukuen! hugs Shukuen

Shukuen: )

ZeroSoul: D Now! On with the fic!

Act 3:

Dinner was eaten in silence. Shukuen sat at the table, eating quietly. After eating, he went upstairs to his room, perhaps for a little light reading. Tsuki was inside, Fukakai in her arms as she laid on her bed.

“Hey,” Shukuen said, “Do you want me to sneak you something from downstairs?”

“Nah,” Tsuki said, “Shut the door, will you?”

Shukuen shut the door behind him and leaned against it, “I heard you and Dad fighting. Are you…okay?”

Tsuki said, “No big deal. If I was still 10, I could bite him, but since I'm older, Mom won't let me,” She looked up at Shukuen with a smile. “I make Dad regret that he never believed in spanking,”

Shukuen nodded; a little joke to lightened the mood.

Tsuki got off her bed, letting Fukakai go onto the floor. The big cat waltzed around the room and perched herself on Tsuki's desk. Tsuki glanced at the clock and then turned to the window. She pushed it open and perched on the windowsill.

“What are you doing?” Shukuen asked, walking over.

“What does it look like, moron?” Tsuki said, her voice close to a whisper, “I'm sneaking out,”

Shukuen lowered his voice as well, “But why?”

Tsuki had one leg out the window, “I have something I need to do,”

“Like what?”

Tsuki had another leg out the window, “It's a secret. You can only know if you're coming along. And for real; you can't chicken out,”

Shukuen folded his arms, “How long will we be gone?”

“'Til midnight probably,” Tsuki answered.

“Have you been there before?”

“Like a million times,”

Shukuen sighed, “…I guess it couldn't hurt,”

Tsuki was out the window and on the vines that crept up the side of the house. Shukuen was out the room and down the vines as well. Unlike Tsuki, he didn't have claws, so he had a little difficulty holding on to the plant.

“Do as I do,” Tsuki whispered, “Take it one shingle at a time,”

Shukuen nodded. He carefully went down the vines, watching Tsuki to mimic her movement perfectly. Tsuki was the first on the ground, Shukuen after her. The moon was hanging in the sky above them. As if to observe their rebellious behavior.

“Now comes the fun part,” Tsuki muttered.

“The fun part? What's the fun part?” Shukuen asked.

“Getting out of here!” Tsuki said, grabbing her brother, “We have to meet Shippou by the park by 8 or he's leaving without us!”

“Okay! Hey, slow down!”

The park had once been where Kagome, Shukuen and Tsuki's, mother used to live. But after Kagome had graduated from high school, her grandfather passed away. Kagome's mother sold the old shrine to company and they knocked down the area and turned it into a park, stating that the city needed more parks. The only thing that remained of Kagome's old home was the Bone Eater's Well; considered to be a historic sites, symbolized ancient Japan.

Shukuen and Tsuki arrived only two minuets before 8. Shippou and Reichou were standing nearby the Bone Eater's Well.

“Hey,” Shippou said. He glared at Shukuen, “Why'd you bring him along?”

Tsuki shrugged, “Why get punished alone when my Dad finds out?”

“Yeah, I know, the bastard ratted us out to Miroku and Sango and we're grounded,” Shippou muttered. He then smirked, “If they were my real parents I might have listened,”

“Dude, you have like no conscience,” Reichou said, stretching a little. The night air was making him cold and stiff, “Are we going or not, Shippou? You promised me you would take me to see it,”

“Do I ever break a promise to you, Reichou?” Shippou said as he approached the Bone Eater's Well. He pulled off the cover to the well.

Shukuen looked down the well and shivered, “It's so…dark,”

“Suck it up,” Tsuki said. She climbed on the well and stood on the edge, “Just jump in. Remember, Shukuen, you can't chicken out of this one,”

Shukuen was backing up, “…no…I can't…it…”

“You heard the lady! Get going!” Shippou said. He snatched Shukuen by the collar and tossed him into the well with great ease.

Shukuen let out a scream as he tumbled down into the depths of the Bone Eater's Well.

Darkness, there was darkness everywhere around him. Shukuen couldn't tell up from down, right from left, as he seemed to float in midair. But he knew he was falling headfirst into something…he knew that he was falling and falling fast…

Shukuen landed on soft ground. He looked up around him to see the walls of the well enclosed around him, towering over his body. Shukuen just wanted to lay there on the floor. He didn't want to move in this strange place. It was so dark…so frightening…so cold…the darkness was closing around him like a blanket. He couldn't even see his hands. His heart thumped, threatening to jump out of his chest.

“Shukuen!”

….who was that?

“SHUKUEN!”

…was that Tsuki?

“SHUKUEN! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE!”

That was defiantly Tsuki.

Shukuen sat up and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw the opening at the top of the well. He saw Tsuki and Shippou looking down at him with annoyed faces. A flash of light flickered in the back of Shukuen, and he turned around to see Reichou.

Reichou extended a hand, “Come on. We've got a lot of ground to cover,”

“…ground?” Shukuen said as he took the hand. Reichou lifted him off the ground and helped him climb the vines on the side of the well. Shippou was tapping his fox foot impatiently and Tsuki had her arms folded.

“Damn it all, Shukuen!” Tsuki snarled. She turned her back to the group, “You're slowing me down! I'm going on my own!”

“Tsuki!” Shippou called as the angry teen girl stormed off, “We have to stay together! It's dangerous in Sengoku no Jidai!”

Tsuki's reply was a fierce “Fuck you!” and she was gone into the woods. Shippou was left rubbing his temples as he groaned “This is not good…this is not good…” over and over again. Reichou said nothing, but Shukuen had one question.

“Sengoku no Jidai?” Shukuen gasped. The words rasping off his tongue, “We're in Sengoku no Jidai? But that's…that's where Dad is from and that's where…” Shukuen shivered. “…Uncle Sesshoumaru lives,”

“Suck it up!” Shippou snapped, “Tsuki can take care of herself just enough to get pass some of the minor demons in this accursed forest. As for you…” Shippou scanned Shukuen was one eye. A skinny boy, soft and frail like his mother. Good with a bow, probably, but not for anything else except to scream “Save me! Save me!” when a demon attacks. “..you should probably stay with us and try to have a little backbone,”

“Give a rest, Shippou,” Reichou said, “Why are so mean to Shukuen? Tsuki's the one that got us in this situation,”

“Because!” Shippou snapped, glaring at Shukuen.

Shukuen looked down at his feet - he knew the answer. People from Sengoku no Jidai weren't as open minded about…certain things. His mother had explained it to him when his father objected to Shukuen taking ballet lessons or when Shukuen wanted a dollhouse when he was 8 or when Tsuki refused to wearing a skirt. “You have to realize, Shukuen,” his mother said, “Your father and his friends come from a different...time. When things were far different than how they are today. He just has to get used to some of the...changes,”

Shukuen never got that dollhouse. Shukuen never took those ballet lessons. He never took those lessons or got the dollhouse because he knew his father would be looking down him. Tsuki wore slacks every day. She didn't care what anyone thought. She wanted them all to go hell.

Shukuen trudged through the forest behind Shippou, his head still hanging down.

Tsuki stood in the treetops overlooking the rest of the forest. She gazed in direction of the moon, which seemed to hang over the forest. She was looking for a sign from him.

There! Right below the moon, nearby a tree…a flashing light!

The light flashed three times. Tsuki understood the message, `I am here. Come now'. She leapt from treetop to treetop until she was there. She stood on the forest floor, looking around for him. She was in a clearing now, with a small pond in front of her. A frog surface from the waters and croaked, looking for its mate.

“So you came,”

Tsuki stiffened as she felt arms wrap around her. She turned her head slightly to see it was Akumashugi - still holding his mirror in one of his hands.

“Akumashugi, don't scare me like that,” Tsuki said.

“I waited all day for you,” Akumashugi whispered into her ear as he kissed her neck, “I almost thought you would never come, but you did,” He squeezed Tsuki around the waist. “How is it on the other side?”

“Enough about my world!” Tsuki said. She turned around and faced him. Akumashugi's ivory skin shone in the moonlight; he was an albino and had a little trouble seeing in the daytime, but he was handsome, “I just want to come here and talk with you…and get away from my father,”

“You father,” Akumashugi said. He pulled Tsuki into his arms, “he seems to trouble you a lot,” He rubbed his hand through Tsuki's hair. “Tell me about him,”

“He's a jerk!” Tsuki huffed, “He doesn't care about me! All he cares about is himself and Shukuen! He hates me because I'm girl, but twice the man Shukuen is! Shukuen's just a little wimp and…and…” Tears came pouring out of Tsuki's eyes.

“There, there,” Akumashugi said sweetly as he kissed Tsuki gently, “I didn't meant to make you cry, I was just trying to help,”

“I know you were,”

The forest seemed to quake all of a sudden and several creatures screeched unanimously. Some birds rushed out of their nests and up towards the moon, which seemed to be a safe haven. Tsuki held onto Akumashugi.

“What's that…?” Tsuki whispered.

“Villagers,” Akumashugi answered bitterly, “They have such prejudice against demons,” He then smiled at Tsuki. “What if I take us somewhere…more quiet and not so out in the open?”

Tsuki laid her head at Akumashugi's chest and closed her eyes, “Take me with you,”

“As always,” Akumashugi answered.

Akumashugi wrapped Tsuki up in his black and red kimono and they disappeared instantly in a wave of black mist.

“Damnit!” Shippou cursed. He sat down on the ground to pick out, yet another, thorn out of his foot.

Shippou, Shukuen, and Reichou were still walking through the woods.

“Shippou, my feet hurt,” Shukuen said, “and we've been walking in circles, I can tell. Maybe we should take a break or something?”

“Stop whining!” Shippou snapped as he roughly pulled the thorn out, “We're almost there, anyways,”

“Where are we going?” Reichou asked, “You never told us,”

“I need to see the priestess Kikyou, okay? Kaede died a while back and Kikyou is the only priestess left alive that I can see and she lives nearby,”

“Kikyou…?” Shukuen asked.

“Your dad's ex-girlfriend,” Shippou answered, “right before they had a falling out and she died and then she came back to life and became all morbid and creepy,”

The whole forest seemed to stir. Birds rose up from their nests and towards the clouds. Shippou stood on his feet, even though his foot throbbed a little. In the distance, they could hear people…people yelling angrily. They could see people carrying pitchforks and torches and they were running in a group in their direction.

Villagers. Angry villagers. An angry mob of villagers.

“Should we run?” Shukuen said.

“No,” Shippou said, “we should see what they want first,”

The villagers seemed to encircle them. All of them glaring at Shippou, Shukuen, and Reichou with accusing eyes. There seemed to be an entire village here as all the types of villagers looked at them: young, old, men, women, rich, poor (but mostly poor).

“I knew it!” a woman spoke from the crowd, “The demon may not be here, but his helpers have come to do this business!”

“Listen, lady,” Shippou said, “I don't know about you, but I am certainly not a demon help,”

The mob was not in a listening mood. “Capture them! Capture the demons! Bring them to the priestess! Let her take care of them!”

“Way to go, Shippou,” Reichou grumbled, “My talismans won't work against humans, so we're done for,”

“I've got one more trick up my sleeve!” Shippou said, “Fox fire!”

The villagers cried out as Shippou let loose some flames from his paw.

“Where did they go? “ a villager said.

“There they are!” another villager said. He pointed towards Shippou, Shukuen, and Reichou running away nearby. The villagers surrounded them again and cast a net over them. The three were helpless to escape and were dragged from the forest in direction of a village nearby a river.

“Great plan, Shippou,” Reichou grumbled.

“Shut up,” Shippou muttered.

Ring, ring.

Kagome stumbled out of bed and towards the phone. Inu-Yasha curled up, taking more of the cover with him. She grabbed the phone and spoke into it, “Hello?”

“Kagome?” a voice said over the phone. Sango; it sounded like she had been up crying.

“Sango?” Kagome gasped, “What's wrong?”

“Reichou isn't home!” Sango sobbed, “And neither is Shippou! They snuck out and it's almost midnight! I'm worried about them! Are they with you?”

“Oh no…” Kagome muttered. She ran out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and opened Tsuki and Shukuen's bedroom door - both of them, gone.

“…Kagome?” Sango said over the phone.

Kagome held back tears, “Tsuki and Shukuen are gone too. I'll meet you over at your house in a few minuets. Don't be too upset, Sango,”

“I'll try,” Sango said.

Kagome went back to the bedroom and flickered on the light, “Reichou and Shippou are gone!”

Inu-Yasha twitched slightly, “…so?”

Kagome pushed him out of bed, “And so are Tsuki and Shukuen! They have to be together!”

Inu-Yasha sat up, “Damn it all!”

“We're going over to Sango and Miroku, try and sort this out, try and figure out where they all go,”

“And what I'm going to do to them once I get my hands on them!”

“Let's just hope they're okay,”

`Having children is wanting to hug them and strangle them at the same time,' Inu-Yasha thought.