InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tale of the Twins ❯ Chapter Twenty-Four: New World ( Chapter 24 )

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

I'm sorry if this chapter sucks—my mind was elsewhere… trying to find a store that still had the Dethalbum Deluxe in stock. My search was fruitless, which made me cry. Which is why this chapter is sort of bad.

Also, thanks for everyone on the various websites I've posted this on for reviewing so frequently! Thinking of you has actually kept me from deciding not to finish the story a few times!

Chapter Twenty-Four

New World

Regardless of the fact that it was entirely possible to get clothing on such short notice, Sesshoumaru was not going to “lower” himself and wear Western clothing—like Rin, Iria, Shuarra, and Kuraimaru had no problems doing.

He was perfectly content to be half-naked (or less). Rin and Iria attempted to admonish him about this, as it was generally rude in that time period, as well as improper. However, he ignored them. When that was impossible, he had a backup plan.

“Would it be better if I were in my other form?” he wondered.

Considering that that would only make matters infinitely worse, they didn't argue the point further. Though they did want to. Sometimes, it just wasn't worth it and the best route of decision was to ignore the problem.

Naraku was busy for several days creating his next reincarnation and Sesshoumaru was busy pouting and occasionally wandering off into the woods to continue pouting, so it was up to Iria, Rin, and Jaken to watch the twins during this time.

True, they were older now, but they were no less rambunctious. If anything, their continuing wildness just proved that they were never going to calm down.

Like right now.

Rin was trying to ignore it. She really was. There was absolutely no use in getting involved. None whatsoever. She knew from experience that it would change nothing. She also knew that if she did get involved, the sleeping volcano that was their moods would erupt. So, she ignored them as best one can ignore two screaming eleven-year olds that were literally tearing apart the house.

Iria was off somewhere--presumably cooking, from the smells emanating from the general direction of the kitchen. So that left Jaken to handle it. Rin decided that she was busy anyway. They needed to find a place to live soon—somewhere they could live quietly and out of the way, so she didn't move and kept her eyes fixed to the map in front of her.

Jaken was running around after the two, screaming and trying to get them to stop. Rin had no idea what they were doing exactly, but she did know that it was extremely loud and involved sounds that were a lot like wood shattering.

She assumed that the twins were either fighting, or decided to go on a rampage. It really could be either with those two.

No matter what was really going on, it was insanely loud. She heard something go flying—and it sounded like a paper door got crunched to pieces. Did she dare to look? Best not to.

“You must stop!” Jaken wailed.

“Shut up!” the twins yelled in unison. Rin, picking up the tone of their voice, realized that they were fighting and it wasn't the usual rampage. This happened from time to time. At least Kuraimaru hadn't transformed yet.

Shuarra Meitsuki wasn't half as strong as her brother, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve that kept their fights going. She was also a bit faster and more agile. Plus, if things started looking bad for her, she ran to Rin, Sesshoumaru, or Naraku to keep Kuraimaru at bay.

She heard a hiss through the air, followed by a sharp cracking sound. Kuraimaru's whip, inherited from Sesshoumaru. This was getting bad… She debated on intervening, then, once more, decided against it. Sesshoumaru would let them duke it out anyway.

She heard another noise. That was Shuarra Meitsuki's shield rising—the characteristic, harmonic hum in the air made it evident. At least she wasn't going down without some form of retaliation. It was a good thing they were in the age they were; Shuarra never would have survived if the world wasn't changing.

There was a brief power struggle. Rin looked back at them just in time to see Kuraimaru shatter her shield, grab her by the hair and literally throw her through another thin wall. His sister was down for the count finally. Kuraimaru sort of huffed and walked away. As he walked by Rin, she reached over and grabbed him by his shirt collar. “What was that about?” she demanded.

He glanced at her. “Shuarra-chan was annoying me.”
“How?”

“She didn't leave when I told her to, so I pushed her out of my room. She broke the door down and started screaming, then we got in a fight,” he said flatly. Rin rubbed her temples slowly with the tips of her fingers, contemplating the divine.

Was there a god? Was he merciful? Was this some kind of celestial punishment?

She felt a wave of annoyance flood from Kuraimaru. That he had done on purpose. He had learned to perfectly control that ability when he was the equivalent of ten, so there was no reason for this now. However, rather than argue with him about it, she let it drop.

“Rin-chan?” he asked.

She looked at him. “Yes?”

“What are we going to do about the broken walls?”

“Is Shuarra Meitsuki all right?”

He glanced back in the room he had last seen her. He listened for a moment and sniffed the air. “Yeah.”

“Is she bleeding?”

“No.”

“Good… Nothing broken, she never was bleeding…?” She had to ask with him. He was prone to twisting stories around when it worked to his benefit.

He shook his head slightly. “No. Maybe some splinters… And some bruises, but that's all. I promise.”

She sighed deeply. “Fine, fine. Whatever. Go away.”

He rushed off immediately. It was some time before Shuarra Meitsuki judged it safe to come out of the room that her brother had thrown her in to. Rin could hear her moving around in there.

What had Sesshoumaru called it again? Establishing dominance, that was it. Something that all dogs do. Once he reached adolescence, he would probably have to leave the house, lest he and Sesshoumaru go at each other's throats. At the very least, it would be tense in the house with two dominant male dogs.

She sighed. It wouldn't be long, then, and Kuraimaru would have to leave the house. Sesshoumaru had assured her that he would leave on his own long before Sesshoumaru had to establish his own dominance and force him out.

Unless Sesshoumaru were female. She sighed softly to herself. If he had stayed female, then they wouldn't have that problem either. He really was selfish sometimes.

Most of the time.

She considered the ways of the world right now, how it was changing so much. Would Kuraimaru really be able to survive on his own? If Sesshoumaru stayed male, they would have to kick Kuraimaru out by the time he was equivalently 14—15 at most. That seemed harsh. Rin didn't completely understand it.

Sesshoumaru had explained it to her though. It was like putting two alpha wolves in the same territory. One would run the other out if the other did not back down. It wasn't within either of their personalities to back down. Kuraimaru was just too much like Sesshoumaru for that.

She had hoped that they would just all be together, but apparently, that wasn't the way of the world and two alpha males, despite a close bond, could not stay in each other's presence long. However, once Kuraimaru's testosterone levels settled down (either when he reached full adulthood, or when he had children—whichever comes first) they could be together again.

However, that would be a long time on both accounts. She just couldn't picture him having children. Of course, there had once been a time when she couldn't picture them as eleven-year olds, but here they were.

Shuarra wandered in to the room. She had several bruises on her arms, legs, and one on her face. It didn't seem to bother her though. She would heal soon enough. She peered at the map. “Where haven't we gone?” she wondered.

Rin looked at her. “That's the problem.”

The child looked at the map intently. She pointed to one space that was unmarked with a spot of ink, as Rin had been marking the places previously visited. “We haven't gone here at all.”

Slowly, a grin formed on Rin's face. No, they hadn't been there. It was ideal. No one would ever know them there. It was a land that was still wild, untamed, there were still places that were known only to the natives. It would be perfect for raising two rambunctious youkai twins.

The New World.