InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tale of the Twins ❯ Chapter Two: Solution to a Problem ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter Two

Solution to a Problem

The door suddenly flew open. An eternally teenage Rin (her aging had just stopped at sixteen after she wished to stay “forever with Lord Sesshomaru” on the Sacred Jewel), stood panting in the doorway.

Sesshomaru frowned. “What's wrong?”

She took a gasp of air. “It's the twins.” He set the teacup down. “I can't find them outside—and the back gate is open.”

Sesshomaru was up and running before the words had fallen from her lips. Her kimono and hair ruffled with his passing. Naraku was the calmer of the two and exited through the other screen and flew up in the air. He turned back to Rin. “Rin, search the palace.”

She nodded. “Right.” She turned, lifting her kimono to allow freedom of her legs, and raced through the halls, calling out for the twins.

Once outside, Kuraimaru's natural curiosity and need to explore got the better of him, and soon he was leading Shuarra Meitsuki out of the garden, into the forest. They chased each other through the forest until they were hopelessly lost, but it didn't trouble them. Kuraimaru could smell their way back, and if they were out too long, either Sesshomaru or Naraku, or both, would come looking for them.

Of course, they never wanted them out here unsupervised. The twins didn't see the danger, though.

Shuarra jumped, aiming for a low branch in a tree. She missed, and landed roughly on the ground. Kuraimaru smirked. “You can't jump at all.”

“Let's see you do better!” she challenged. He gauged the distance between the ground and the limb. He took a running start and landed on it. He almost lost his balance and fell, but he landed on it. She stuck her tongue out. “Kurai-chan is a show-off!”

“Well, you're baka.”

“Am not!” She threw a rock at him. It missed, but that wasn't the point. He smirked again. “I'm gonna kick your butt, Kurai-chan! You meanie!”

“You can't even reach me,” he mocked.

Her fingers curled into fists. “Well, if you weren't such a sissy, you'd come down here! Or else you lose!”

“You're a sore loser.”

“Shuddup!” She threw another rock. He dodged, but in the process, lost his balance and fell, landing on all fours on the ground. “Yeah!” She shifted in to a fighting stance. “Come on!”

Kuraimaru frowned, ignoring her completely. “Do you hear that?”

She lowered her fists, looking around. “Hear what?” He rose to his feet and walked off, as if in a daze. “Kurai-kun! Where are you going?” He transformed and started running away. “Wait! Don't leave me... Kurai-kun?” She stopped running after him after she lost sight of him. “Kurai-kun… This isn't fair!” She pouted, dropping to the ground, irritated at having been left behind. “Kurai-kun is mean.”

Shuarra looked around. She didn't know which way was home. She looked down. “I guess I gotta wait.” She froze upon hearing something moving behind her. She turned around, just in time to see the youkai lunge at her.

Sesshomaru could see it coming. It was headed right for Shuarra Meitsuki. But he was still too far away, and he couldn't achieve his full speed amidst the trees. Flying was faster, but considering their weak auras, and size, it was more efficient to track their scent. Kuraimaru wasn't around her. Where was he?

Shuarra Meitsuki wasn't even aware of the youkai stalking her. Almost there. Soon, and that youkai would become his victim. The youkai lunged at her, ready to swallow her. Sesshomaru leaped, closing the distance between himself and the lowly youkai. He swung Tensaiga, powered by the former power of Tessaiga, so that it could kill as well as bring to life. He looked at Shuarra. He was surprised.

Shuarra was sitting in the middle of a youkai barrier. It was weak, but strong enough to repel the weaker youkai, and she couldn't maintain it long. It fell immediately after the threat was over, and she looked a bit drained from both the barrier and the attack. She grabbed a hold of Sesshomaru. “I was so scared!”

He sheathed Tensaiga and picked up Shuarra Meitsuki, who immediately clung to his neck like a leech. “Where is your brother?”

She shook her head. “Don't know. Kurai-kun left me here.”

That wasn't like him. He might not always get along with his sister, but he wouldn't have left her like this. What had happened?

Kuraimaru felt like he was watching everything happen, as if he were watching someone else. Or, perhaps, as if he were dreaming. It didn't seem real, and he was very unattached.

He was standing at the edge of an incline, looking over a river. The voice had stopped. Had it ever been there? It felt as though… Some part of him were trying to… What was it? There it was again. The voice. It was his voice, but it wasn't. It was…

He raised one foot over the ledge and let his weight shift to the suspended foot. The voice suddenly broke off. His eyes widened. Too late to reverse his movement now. He had no choice but to succumb to the fall into the river.

Naraku saw Kuraimaru, standing, dazed, looking over a river. He didn't look quite right. In fact, something was very, very wrong. That was when he heard the voice. He was growing accustomed to associating it with trouble.

Humans had learned a technique that actually lures youkai. Not all of them heard it, but enough of them did for it to be effective. It was some kind of spell that was more effective than hunting them, because they could convince the youkai to kill themselves. It was dangerous. Humans were beginning to refer to it as another form of exorcism. It wasn't good enough just to chase a youkai away. It needed to be killed now.

Where was the human? He ignored the voice. There. He crashed through the monk's barrier and killed the man while he was preoccupied. He looked up at Kuraimaru. Had he been in time?

No.

Naraku leaped forward, his tentacles stretching out to catch his son. Kuraimaru landed roughly, but at least he wasn't in the river. He pulled the boy to him, taking him in his arms and pulling the tentacles back into his back. Kuraimaru looked a little haunted. He closed his eyes, then opened them and it was gone.

Maybe it would be safer if they left for a while. Humans were getting more ingenuitive when it came to killing. No wonder there were so few youkai left. They were perfecting their killing techniques and now…

It was dangerous for the children. At least Kuraimaru would remember this next time, though.

“Is Shuarra-kun all right?” he wondered.

“I never saw her,” Naraku said. He looked around for any other possible threat. Maybe he should put up a barrier around the palace again. It wouldn't hurt. Except when he did that, it more or less drew attention to himself these days. It was difficult to hide his aura, though he had learned to tone it down quite a bit. “Sesshomaru?” He sensed Sesshomaru's distinct aura nearby. The dog appeared where Kuraimaru had been standing a few moments ago. He was carrying Shuarra Meitsuki. He looked down at Naraku and jumped down nimbly to him.

“What happened?”

Naraku glanced over to the direction the human's corpse lay. “A monk.”

Sesshomaru glanced towards it, sniffing the air a little. “I see.”

“Do you suppose it would be safer if we were to leave for Africa?”

Sesshomaru scowled.

“Russia?”

“It's too cold for Rin—and Jaken would just hibernate.”

Naraku was growing irritated. Sesshomaru really didn't want to leave Japan, but what could they do? The Edo Period was a wonderful time and place to be right now. The world was changing, and they could watch it happen. However, it was growing dangerous. “What if we left to Europe?”

Sesshomaru frowned. “The humans in Europe eradicated all of the youkai there. We would be no better off.”

Naraku raised an eyebrow. “What if we play at being human?”

The dog considered. Naraku loved to masquerade; he knew that. But this truly was a bit much. Ah, but none of them spoke any European dialects. How would that work out? “I think it is fairly obvious that we are youkai.”

“Humans are always mistaking you for an aristocratic human brat. And I have never had trouble pretending to be human when it is necessary. Rin is human, and I do not think the children would have trouble either. The only real problem is Jaken, and we can just hide him, though I'm sure I could find a way to transform him into something more humanoid.”

Why did this just sound like another of Naraku's ridiculous masquerades? Sesshomaru was in no mood to be drug in to it. “European culture is different as well. It isn't only the language. And then there's the racism.”

Naraku rolled his eyes, clearly irritated. “It isn't as if you look very Japanese—your skin is white. And I can change my appearance. Truthfully, only Meitsuki and Rin really look Japanese.”

“Learn the language, and I'll consider.” The dog turned away and began to walk back to the palace.

“Which one?”

Sesshomaru looked back at him. “I care not.”

Rin liked the idea of going to Europe immediately. She had never left Japan before, and the idea of such traveling intrigued her. Jaken didn't care one way or another, so long as Sesshomaru would be there. The twins wanted to go as well. It seemed as though everyone was against Sesshomaru.

Naraku and Rin were looking at a map, discussing which European country they should go to. So far, they had narrowed it down to Germany, Italy, France, and England, though they were having difficulties narrowing it any further.

Sesshomaru seemed to refuse to give them any further help in the matter.

“Sesshomaru-sama really doesn't want to leave Japan, does he, Naraku-san?” Rin wondered, tracing Italy with a fingernail idly.

“No.”

“But it's getting harder to live here. And we can't pretend to all be human here, where some humans still know about youkai. In Europe, they only exist in stories now. So I think everyone would be safe there.” She had a sudden thought. “What about Sesshomaru-sama and the twin's markings?”

He considered. “Meitsuki's marking disappears during the day, so that isn't too much of a problem.” Meitsuki's crescent moon marking only appeared at nightfall, and faded with the sun rise. It was interesting to watch, and definitely marked her as unique too, in so many different ways. The part around her eyes wasn't a very big deal, though. The other two, however… “Hm. There's probably a concealment spell for them somewhere.” Where could he find it, though. Ah, the vault, perhaps? “I'll go have a look in the vault. You try to pick a country, Rin.”

She nodded, carefully scrutinizing France. She picked up a scroll that had information about France on it. “I'll try,” she promised.