InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Only Time... ❯ A Moment to Recall ( Chapter 4 )

I do not own any of the InuYasha characters mentioned in this fanfic. However, the OCs and story line are off limits.

 

Chapter 4: A Moment to Recall

 

`Funny, I don't remember falling asleep,' the man adjusted his body as he slept. `Or, for that matter, sleeping on a hard floor.' He slowly opened his eyes, groaning as a pounding headache greeted his senses. When he could see, he recognized the place as the home of his childhood. `H-how the hell did I get here?'

 

“Ori! Ori!!” A young girl's voice called out somewhere in the castle. “Ori, time to wake up!”

 

“Souten, my sister?” He spoke softly when he distinguished the voice to be that of the little girl he'd left behind with her pet. She had said that she could take care of herself, but Ori had hesitated when he'd left because she'd been so little. He rubbed his eyes. “Am I really home?”

 

Souten came bursting into the room in her armor, small red eyes glittering in excitement and a long black braid like her brother's swaying with her steps as she ran to him. She pounced on him, sending him reeling back on the floor. Lying on his back with his sister on his stomach, he tried to catch his breath.

 

“Come on Ori, you said you'd teach me how to make clouds today!” She giggled and bounced up and down on his stomach, giving the Thunder Brother more pain. “Don't back out on your promise!”

 

Her pet dragon, Koryu, floated in on his own little cloud. “Yeah, you promised!”

 

“Hold on here!” He exclaimed, craning his neck up to look at his sister. “I couldn't have promised you anything, Souten. I was just with my friends in Tokyo. I don't even remember coming back here…”

 

The little girl's face scrunched up in grief. “But, big brother, you…”

 

“I can't keep a promise I never made. Besides, I need to find Michi to see if she's okay.” Ori lifted his sister off of his stomach as he sat up.

 

“Why do you want to see her?”

 

“Yeah!” Koryu added. “You two are on opposite sides of the battlefields!”

 

He blinked. “I think you have it wrong Koryu. I left here because of Michi; I love her.”

 

Souten snorted. “Yeah right. If you loved her so much that you left, why are you still here?”

 

`That's what I'd like to know.' He sighed. “I'm not sure, little sister.”

 

“Besides,” the little dragon started. “This Michi you talk of is already married and expecting her first child with another monk's child.”

 

“She's…pregnant? And married?” He felt his blood boil, anger and jealousy surging through his veins and into his head. “Whoever did this to her is going to pay. Souten, Koryu, stay here and behave…never mind, I'm not in charge of you two anymore. I need to find Michi and the others.”

 

“But…”

 

Ori shushed her. “No `buts', this is important.” He looked down at her and stopped in his tyrant. His little sister, his last remaining relative, was two seconds away from tears and had the cutest little face she could muster. The puppy dog eyes tactic. Shaking his head, he placed one hand on the girl's head and smoothed out her hair. “Maybe some other day, squirt. After I get things straightened out, I'll teach you cloud tricks. Now this I know I promised.”

 

Souten sighed. “Where do you plan on going?”

 

To Kaeda's village, where InuYasha and his sister are.”

 

“You mean Lady Kane?” The girl asked. “Why would she be in that village with her brother?”

 

That caught Ori's attention. “What do you mean by that? She's InuYasha's sister and she's probably with him since she visits with him periodically.”

 

Koryu laughed at that like it was a funny joke of some sort. “The only visits she makes with her brother are bloody ones. She hates his guts and has repeatedly tried to kill him.” He laughed harder.

 

But Ori didn't laugh. This really didn't sound good, and whatever had made him instantly reappear at home had to have been the reason behind Kane also hating her brother and Michi being married to someone other than him and pregnant with someone else's child and not his own. “Souten, Koryu; I need to go right now.”

 

He ascended on a cloud and started his journey, hoping he would run into someone he knew along the way.

 

***

 

Nakura feverishly tossed and turned on his straw mat, kicking away covers as the dream held him in a death grip. He couldn't reach her, and she was screaming his name, begging him to save her. Reaching out with a sweaty palm, he tried to pull her back, but she slipped right out of his grasp. He sat up, face covered in a cold sweat, and screamed, “Mika!”

 

“Mika, huh?” The feminine voice he heard behind him made no sense. Wasn't the person who owned that tone dead? “You've been having a lot of nightmares about this `Mika' character lately.”

 

He blinked the sleep from his eyes. “Kagura?” Now he rubbed his eyes with his closed fists. “I thought you were dead.”

 

WHAM! Kagura's fan smacked his head. “I'm not dead; it's just Naraku that's gone.”

 

“I thought you died with him.”

 

WAH-POOM! Her fan connected with his head once again. Amazed and delighted that she'd been able to hit not once, but twice, on the head, she snickered. “You're losing your touch Nakura.” Trying her luck, she attempted to hit him again. Instead, she tapped him lightly on the forehead. The last thing she wanted was to unleash his rage on her.

 

“What am I doing back here?” He asked, looking around the run down castle room. “Is this Naraku's fortress?”

 

“Of course it is.” Kagura brought her fan back again for another strike, but his reflexes kicked in and he knocked the fan out of her hand when it hit his arm in defense. She'd found how far her boundaries could go, and there was no way she was going to go past them for her own amusement. “InuYasha banished us to this place after Naraku was defeated. He'd given us freedom, so we agreed.”

 

Kanna appeared like a ghost in the darkness. Nakura shivered inwardly as she approached. That little midget, with her long blue hair and pale face with the blackest of eyes still gave him the creeps. “Nakura, it is unwise to see Mika. Lady Kane-Sakura would not like you seeing an enemy.” She rasped out in a breathy voice.

 

“Mika may not agree with Kane all the time,” He stated. “But I highly doubt their complete enemies. In fact…”

 

The black haired woman with her red eyes raised an arched eye brow. “You're opposing Lady Kane? She'll be very angered by that.” She bent in her pink and white striped kimono and picked up her fan. “Lady Kane can't stand the wolf tribe or her brother for that matter.”

 

`Something's not right here. I'm in Naraku's old fortress, with my sisters who should be dead; Kane and Mika are on completely different sides; Lady Kane? Since when do I call her Lady Kane?' He stood. `I need to find Mika and straighten this out. Whatever's happened has had bad effects.'

 

“Kagura, I was never banished here with you and Kanna. I was…”

 

“Yeah, we know already. You were employed by Kane-Sakura almost as soon as Naraku was dead.” Kagura waved her fan at him. “You came back last night for Kami knows why, but you were drunk.” She turned to leave with Kanna. “You'd better get back; Lady Kane is expecting you.”

 

`It's probably better she not know anyway.' He thought as Kagura left. `I wouldn't want her following me.' He rubbed his temples with his fingers and stated under his breath, “And it feels like I really did come home drunk. I think I have a hangover.”

 

***

 

Speaking of hangovers, Mika felt like she herself was experiencing a hangover. She stumbled along, holding her queasy stomach and feeling slightly dizzy.

 

“Ugh, this has to be the worst hangover I've ever had,” she complained, slowing her pace. “And I've never even had one before.”

 

The pain intensified and she crouched on the ground in agony. It wasn't nausea anymore; it was a soreness that coursed through her entire body even though it was centered on her stomach. “What…is this?” She almost let tears fall from her cheeks it hurt so much. But it soon went away, after she had breathed through her nose and told herself over and over again that she wasn't dying. At least, she didn't think she was.

 

Nakura approached from the distance and saw her sitting on the ground and holding her stomach. He ran over to her and asked, “Mika, what's wrong?” He knelt by her and took her chin in his hand. He saw many emotions flash across her face all at once; relief, pain, fear, hatred…just to name a few. “Are you…?” A strange scent washed over him and he stopped mid-sentence. `Who…how…?'

 

“Nakura, thank Kami I found you.” She let relief remain on her face and she sighed. “I'm fine, just a little gas I think. I'm not sure what I ate last night, but it's really upsetting my stomach…” He lifted her into his arms and carried her near his chest.

 

“How far is Kaeda's village from here?” He asked.

 

Surprised, but weakened with fatigue and strain of overtaxing her body, she responded with, “What are you doing?! Put me down!”

 

“You are in no condition to be running around. I'll take you to Kaeda, and then she can look you over and hopefully prove my suspicions wrong.”

 

She blinked. “Suspicions? Is there something you're not telling me?”

 

Choosing not to answer, he started running for Kaeda's village. He didn't think anything about how glad he was to have found her, he only considered who may have done this to her.

 

***

 

“When did this happen?” Ori asked impatiently, pacing the area outside of the village.

 

Michi sighed. “Something has changed Ori. Don't you think it's weird that we suddenly appeared here in Feudal Japan? We were at Yasukuni Shrine last I remember.”

 

“And I was at school.” He stated. “Still, you didn't have to go and…and get pregnant, did you?”

 

“I woke up like this! It's not like I agreed to it!”

 

“Michi, this kind of blessing only happens when…” He stopped when a villager discontinued his walk into the village. “What?”

 

Terrified, the villager ran away from Ori, screaming, “It's one of her minions! Kane-Sakura's minion is outside the village!”

 

“Minion?” He pointed at himself. “Is there something going on around here that I'm not aware of?”

 

Michi nodded. “Kane's evil, even more evil than Ren-Tao, as it turns out.”

 

He sighed and scratched his head. “Yeah, I kinda figured that out by the way that guy rushed off.” He turned to look at her again. “But that is no excuse for not explaining to me how you ended up pregnant and married to this…Akutou character.”

 

“Stuff it already. You don't need to remind me of it. And I think we should be focusing on why everything is like this.”

 

“Maybe because of this change in time, we never met, thus I'm on Kane's side.”

 

“I have to agree with that.” A deep voice insisted from behind.

 

“Nakura,” Michi turned and found not only him, but Mika as well. But she wasn't walking beside him; he was carrying her in his arms. “Since when do you let him carry you around, Mika?”

 

“I'm not letting him,” she pouted. “He won't put me down!”

 

He stilled her when she started wriggling. “Mika, calm down. You're in a delicate condition.”

 

“I'm anything but delicate!” She spat.

 

“That's odd.” Ori stated. “Michi here is also in a delicate condi…” Michi jabbed him in the ribs.

 

“That's enough Ori.”

 

His jealousy ruled his head again as he took both of her shoulders in his hands and said angrily. “It's only the truth! You're pregnant with another man's child!” He pushed her away from him, but continued to face her. “It should be mine you're carrying, not Akutou's!”

 

With a strangled sound passing her lips, she brought her hand back and slapped Ori's cheek. “Thanks a lot you jerk! They didn't need to know that!”

 

“It's already obvious that you are!” He pointed at her belly that wasn't large, but beginning to show. “What's the point in hiding it when you'll probably have the kid in a month or so?!”

 

As the couple argued, Yuki and Akira arrived and watched the sparring match. “Is the fight getting any good?” Yuki asked.

 

“Where did you two come from?” Mika inquired from her perch on Nakura.

 

They both blushed. “Well, we were in an inn a few miles back and…” Yuki stopped, not wanting to go into further detail.

 

The wolf demon snickered. “You woke up together in bed, didn't you?”

 

“It's not like we did anything!” Akira countered. “Hell, we don't even know if we did it or not!”

 

“Akira, shut up!” She hit him on the shoulder and started her own argument as Ori and Michi continued theirs in the background.

 

“Hey!” A female's voice broke through the group's arguments. “What's going on here?!”

 

The shouting instantly subsided and everybody focused on the young, raven haired woman in a green skirt and a white blouse, a basic school uniform. Since she was angered at the noise the group was making outside the village, her hands were resting agitatedly on her hips. But it was the man behind her that truly gave the group an everlasting silence they held tenderly within their hands. His silver tresses swayed with his step, wisping over a jagged scar on his cheek, shaped like a cat or some other feral animal had scratched him.

 

“InuYasha, that scar…” Yuki moved to him and laid a palm on his cheek. “How did…?”

 

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, backing away from her touch.

 

She flinched. “Don't you remember me? I'm Yuki, your half-sister.”

 

“Keh! The only half-sister I have is that bitch Kane-Sakura.” He rubbed the scar on his cheek gingerly. “It would've been better if my father had died on the night of my birth as rumors have it.”

 

Yuki drew in a sharp breath. “She gave you that scar?”

 

He shrugged. “And it's not the only one. She's tried killing me multiple times, all to get the Shikon Jewel.”

 

Mika finally got out of Nakura's grasp and marched over to the hanyou. Laying a hand on Yuki's shoulder, she said, “Listen mutt-face, we don't have time to argue. Have you seen Setsuna, or don't you remember him too?”

 

“Setsuna?” Kagome piped in. “From that cat tribe we demolished years back to get a Jewel Shard?”

 

“That's him. We need to find him to reunite our group.”

 

InuYasha's eyes shifted to the three men, scanning them for potential danger signs. His eyes focused solely on Nakura and Ori. “I haven't seen the likes of him since he came back for vengeance a while back.” His eyes remained glued on Ori and Nakura as they discussed matters unknown to the hanyou.

 

Nakura felt the stare as if it were burning a whole right through him. He turned his grey eyes and returned it with equal intensity. “Problems, InuYasha?”

 

“Why are you girls collaborating with these two?” InuYasha pushed past Mika and Yuki, his hand resting on his sword hilt. “Why did my sister send you here?”

 

“What?” Ori blinked. “We came of our own free will. After all, Michi is my true love and Nakura is one of my closest friends, along with Akira over there…”

 

InuYasha shoved him against a tree, his hand fisted in the Thunder Brother's haori. “I recommend that you take your lying ass and your buddy away from here before I rip you to shreds.” His claws ripped the fabric on the man's collar. “And if you tell Kane-Sakura anything about our whereabouts, I'll hunt you down and kill you,” He paused. “Slowly.”

 

“He-Hey Nakura, I think we'd better go.” He said, his voice breaking with fear.

 

“But, Ori…” Michi started, rushing over to him only to be held back by Kagome's gentle hand.

 

“Love, we'll meet up later. Go and rest in the village. Within the duration you're resting, we'll find Hideik.” He whispered, going past her with Nakura close behind. “We'll find him.” They disappeared into the woods without so much more than a whisper.

 

Tears formed in Michi's eyes. “InuYasha, how could you?! I thought…”

 

Kagome brought her arm around Michi. “They're Kane's minions. They serve only her, and no one else. He couldn't possibly love you.”

 

Mika jabbed her a little. “Don't worry, just play along with it.”

 

Sighing in defeat, she nodded. “I guess being pregnant messes with my emotions.”

 

“See, you're cheering up already. Now come into the village.” Kagome offered. “I'm sure Kaeda won't mind taking care of you.”

 

InuYasha stared at Mika as Yuki and Michi walked away with Kagome. “So, who's the proud father-to-be?”

 

“What are you talking about? I'm not pregnant.”

 

“Have you looked at yourself lately? You've got a gut.”

 

Mika looked down, and she found that her stomach was larger than it had been in the past. So why hadn't she noticed it before?

 

“Funny, I know that scent from somewhere.” He sniffed around her a little. “But that kid's got none of your scent on it. In fact, if I didn't know better, the underlying scents are a strange combination of human and demon.” He pondered his comment for a moment. “Come to think of it, Michi smelled almost the exact same way.”

 

`Nakura must've known I was pregnant even though I didn't. Is it…his?' She shook her head vigorously as InuYasha walked away. `Same two underlying scents? Part human, part demon, could that mean…?'

 

***

 

“So where do we start looking?” Ori asked, floating lazily on a cloud only a few feet above Nakura's head.

 

The other demon craned his neck up at him and said, “I'd have to say near his home village is the best place to begin.”

 

He nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

 

Nakura thought deeply for a while as he walked along. Finally, he spoke again. “Did you happen to notice the strange aura surrounding Mika and Michi? They had the same exact one.”

 

He blinked. “A strange aura?”

 

“Michi's pregnant, correct? And the supposed father is human, is that not right?”

 

“That's what she told me.” Ori lounged on his back languidly, not too eager to talk about Michi's pregnancy with a child that wasn't his. “But what's that got to do with anything?”

 

“Actually, it may be the very thing we need to know.” Nakura stopped walking, and he watched the little cloud soar over him and keep going. `Not even paying attention, figures.' Annoyed, he stated with a calm, yet commanding, voice. “Will you get off that cloud and talk face to face with me? This is very important.”

 

Sighing, he popped his cloud and landed sophisticatedly on his feet. Crossing his arms and closing his eyes in a sarcastic manner, he said, “Okay, then talk; I'm listening.”

 

“When I first found Mika today, she had this aura surrounding her, indicating that she was with child…”

 

“With child?!” Ori laughed and slapped his friend's back. “Congrats! At least it's yours!” He added, his voice seeping jealousy.

 

He coughed a few times to catch his wind and said under his breath, “I wish, but it's not mine.”

 

“Kami in heaven! You're kidding right?!” When Nakura shook his head, Ori turned and started ranting, “It's a conspiracy I tell you! Whatever changed history changed our girls' lovers! If we don't change this now…!”

 

“Ori,” he said calmly. “The one Michi carries may not be yours, but neither is it hers.”

 

“Huh?” His jaw slumped open and stayed lax. “Not hers? That-that's impossible! It's inside of her and the only way…!”

 

Nakura clamped his mouth shut with his palm. “Will you let me finish?” He said smoothly.

 

Ori nodded.

 

“The one in Mika isn't hers either. Yet the auras surrounding them are almost identical. Now, my question is this: do you think that when something happened to Kane, something also happened to the twins she was carrying?”

 

“What are you implying?”

 

“I'm saying that she may have never met Hideik in this new world, which means she never married him, and in turn…”

 

“She never conceived because there's no father!” Ori finished.

 

Nakura grunted as he nodded. “Exactly. Now, Mika told me that Kane fell into the Lost Memories Well. It's changed the past to the way things are now. But Kane wasn't the only one who fell into the well.” He paced, ideas tumbling out of his mouth with great momentum. His thesis was falling into place very nicely. “While they hadn't been born yet, the twin fetuses inside Kane were two separate beings, so they had to go somewhere. Since she and Hideik aren't mates here, they technically don't exist.”

 

“So are you saying that…?”

 

He stopped paced and turned to face Ori. “Yep. Mika and Michi are each pregnant with one of Kane's twins. Mika's baby's aura is weaker than a full demon's since it's likely she'd mate with another full demon, even if it wasn't me. And if Akutou was the father of Michi's child, the aura would be weaker, only a quarter demon's aura to be precise.”

 

“But why those two?”

 

“More than likely it's because they're her closest friends. She's known them longer than Yuki.”

 

Ori groaned. “Setsuna's not going to like this. He's nervous enough as it is.”

 

“We need to protect Mika and Michi until things are sorted out. Those babies are what could keep things in balance around here.”

 

“No need to tell me that.” Ori said, chest puffing like a proud cock. “I'll protect her either way.”

 

***

 

`Smoke? Or is that charred wood?' The man thought sleepily as he breathed in the fiery scent that assailed his nostrils. A warm, soft body moved beside him as sunlight filtered though his eyelids. `Why does Kane smell different?'

 

Waking with a jerk, he opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. His blurry eyes focused on a patch on the ceiling with black burn edges poking around the crude scrap. `Did I do that?! Wait, our apartment isn't made of wood…nor is it on the top floor!' He sat up suddenly. “Where am I?!”

 

“Setsuna-kun, is everything okay?” A strangely familiar woman's voice said from his mat beside him.

 

The Neko slowly turned to look down at the blue-eyed, light pink-haired woman who lay under the covers, naked as he was. “A-Atsuko?”

 

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