InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tale of the Twins ❯ Chapter Eighteen: Vanished? ( Chapter 18 )

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

I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! A lot has been going on lately, so this had to take a back seat for a while.

Chapter Eighteen

Vanished?

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the two warships moved on, but Nanako did keep a watch on them until they were far out of sight, and she didn't dare to make it even look like they were going ashore, so they didn't. Naraku or Sesshoumaru were bound to figure out that something had happened if they didn't arrive in the next day or so, and it would not be difficult for either of them to find them.

All the same, it was frustrating and worrisome. Rin didn't stop being worried until the pair showed up two days later. Nanako explained what had happened and why they couldn't stop. They seemed willing enough to relent, and she made port at a different location after sending word to the youkai who were going to help them move of their changed place.

After being on the ship for so long, the non-fish aboard the ship were happy to go ashore again. Most of all, they were happy to bathe again, have fresh water, and fresh food. The sea voyage had been interesting, but it was better on land if you weren't a fish.

Rin thoroughly enjoyed the land crossing to India. She didn't mind walking at all, and often chattered endlessly about how much she was enjoying it, and how it brought her right back to her childhood. She had smiled at Sesshoumaru as she said it. He didn't exactly smile back, but his features shifted a little—became somehow lighter in a way that made him seem, at least, content.

The twins were often difficult to manage, and they got in to their fair share of trouble, but it was nothing more than the usual trouble, and there were fewer youkai here as well, so there were no major incidents for the most part. Naraku tried out his spell on Jaken before they left China's borders. Sesshoumaru was unimpressed, as usual. Rin thought it was hilarious. The twins just didn't care—possibly because Kuraimaru, somehow, saw right through the illusion, and it made no difference to Shuarra Meitsuki.

Regardless, Jaken was as ugly in a human form as he was normally, albeit somewhat more bearable. His stature had not changed, though, but that was to be expected. His voice hadn't changed at all, much to Sesshoumaru's dismay. It was his voice, more than anything, that got on his nerves. Sesshoumaru thought that it might be difficult to think of him as being Jaken, but it wasn't—probably mostly because of that horrible, scratchy voice.

When they came in to India, they had to keep the children closer, lest they run in to trouble with tigers, human hunters, or some such thing. They were really too young to take care of themselves, after all. At night, Naraku put up barriers and reverse barriers to ward of things like that, so no one really worried too much.

One night, Kuraimaru, unable to sleep, rose from the ground and transformed back into his semi-human self and wandered away. He pushed a hand against the barrier. Like pushing open a heavy door, he stepped through it. It practically slammed shut behind him.

“Kurai-kun!” Shuarra whined. He looked behind him.

“Sis?”

“You can't leave me,” she said.

He hesitated, then reached out his hand, passing it through both barriers as easily as slipping his hand through water. Because being separated was too painful for both of them, he decided that he didn't want to go on any further unless he could bring his sister with him. It was one thing when he thought she had been asleep—and a completely different situation when she was watching him leave. Trying to pull her through was a lot like trying to fit a square screw through a round hole. It wasn't working.

Frustrated, he passed back through it. “You're giving up?” she wondered, cocking her head to the side. It wasn't like her twin to give up—ever.

“No. I'm just trying something different.” He held on to both of her hands and took a deep breath. He pulled her a bit closer, hoping it would be enough. “Step with me through Father's barrier.”

She nodded. They glanced back at the adults, then forced their way through. It rippled once. Kuraimaru's heart pounded. Naraku would be furious. Would it break? The barrier stabilized and the two breathed a sigh of relief. They grinned at each other.

“Where are we going?” Shuarra wondered as they walked away, holding on to each other's hands like a lifeline.

“There was a spring a little ways back. Let's go swimming.”

She grinned at the idea of such mischief. “But we can't stay very long. Somebody might figure out we left.”

“Yeah. So, we gotta be really fast.” He sniffed the air. “It's this way.” He pushed forward a bit, then stopped, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He looked around. “Shuarra-kun…”

“Hm?”

“There's something—“

Too late. The tiger lunged. Shuarra's eyes widened. Kuraimaru pushed her to the side, away from it, sending her sprawling on the ground. Shuarra gave a cry of worry, reaching out for her brother. Kuraimaru suddenly disappeared. He didn't fall, or run, or transform. He simply vanished. Into thin air. The tiger hit the ground, confused. It looked at Shuarra and changed its path. Fear powered her. She threw up a barrier, not daring to move, barely breathing. Yes, it was just an animal. Yes, she was a youkai. But she was a child, and this was a fully grown tiger, and her youkai powers were weak—very weak. Naraku had confided in her once that he feared that, considering how much trouble she had just maintaining a barrier, that she might never become very strong, demonically speaking. She had never cared until now.

The tiger sniffed at the barrier. Kuraimaru suddenly appeared, a little farther away than he had been. His image faded in. He looked at the tiger. The tiger looked back at him. Sizing each other up. He transformed and growled. They were about the same size now. Kuraimaru took a step forward, growling, ready for the attack. The attack never came and the animal fled. Shuarra dropped the barrier and Kuraimaru reverted to his normal form. Kuraimaru looked a bit shaken.

She flew at him, clinging to him. “What happened, Kurai-kun? You disappeared!”

He blinked. “I don't know. I just got scared, and I…” He frowned, trying to decide how to explain it. It was like his body had slipped in and out of the world, through a pocket of time, and he had chosen a short distance to put himself at. It took no longer or shorter than it would have been for him to walk there, but he hadn't walked. It was more like he had floated. No, not even floated. Glided? It was more than that. He had chosen that spot, and he had simply moved there. He shook his head. “I dunno.”

Shuarra Meitsuki hugged him tightly. “Let's go back, Kurai-kun.”

He scowled. “No. We came this far. Let's go swimming.”

“But—the tiger!”

“The tiger went away.” He smiled reassuringly. “C'mon. Nobody will ever know.” It bothered him that he had never heard of an ability like this before—an ability to disappear and reappear. He knew that some youkai moved so fast it was as if they did this, but he wasn't really moving at all. It was puzzling.

It was no different than if he had walked there. In fact, he was still in the same position when he reappeared as when he had vanished to begin with. Based on that, he couldn't change his position. He wondered if it would be the same if, say, he could do that if he were falling, or if he would be placed at the same height, and he would continue his fall.

He would have to experiment with that. But, first, he needed to figure out how to do it at will to begin with. But he could do that later, as, right now, he saw the spring and raced his twin to it. They stripped off their clothes and jumped in carelessly.

After a short swim, they went ashore and found their clothes, talking while they dripped dry. They slipped their clothing back on and wandered back to the camp. Kuraimaru and Shuarra slipped into the barrier and tiptoed back to their beds. No one knew. Giggling, they fell asleep.

No one knew of their exploits—or so they thought, for there was a pair of golden eyes watching them the entire time. Sesshoumaru waited until they were both asleep, then slipped back in to bed.

“What happened?” Naraku whispered.

Sesshoumaru sighed softly. “Kuraimaru is realizing his demonic power. It could be troublesome later on, especially with how mischievous they are.”

“Are you certain that it's a good idea to let them think they weren't being watched?”

“It's fine. Kuraimaru will probably never use his demonic power if he is never exposed to danger. Shuarra Meitsuki does it naturally, but Kuraimaru's power is different,” Sesshoumaru commented. He stretched. “He uses his based on desire rather than will. If we try to suppress it, his strength will never grow, and we might cripple him.”

“Hm. I hope you're right.”

“I am.”

Naraku rolled his eyes, then closed them. “Whatever you say, love.”

Sesshoumaru slid his eyes closed too. “Indeed.”