InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Centre ❯ What Discovery Brings... ( Chapter 7 )

*yawn* Yeesh, I'm so tired. I thought I'd start writing chapter seven for you guys, though, since when you review you write such nice things *cheesy grin* I had to write about Japanese clothing in this chappy, so I hope I got the names right—if I didn't, you'll forgive me, right? *bats eyelashes* As always, hope you enjoy! But first, a little credit for the reviews you guys have written for me (the less there are, the more they mean to me, ya know?)…

 

Azelle: I'm glad you picked up on how complex the Bonding process actually is—it's true, not many pairs are actually successfully Bonded, which is why the Centre is desperate for students in the first place… But that would be telling, and I don't want to spoil the surprise ^_^ Glad you didn't find my explanation boring, and thanks for such wonderful comments on my writing! (I love hearing compliments on my writing as well as my plot, because I'm working my way towards being an author if I can, so your reviews have been much loved!)

 

Inu-ears: Thank you so much for all of your awesome reviews! It's such a relief knowing that there's at least one person waiting eagerly for my next chapter to come out, and when that person says the great things about my fics that you do… well, your words have prompted me to update many times when I would've just given up. Again, thanks! I'm curious to check out your fics as well, so expect reviews from me soon! (Hopefully you won't mind…)

 

Flairy: You're the only person who's mentioned my omitting many of the main characters so far—kudos to you for noticing! Yup, Shippou is a demon and Miroku a monk, which could be enough to gain them a spot in the Centre, but… such is not their fate, lol. I am planning on putting those characters into the story, but their roles haven't been revealed yet. And you don't have to apologize or anything for asking me about that, I accept criticism and questions as gratefully as I do compliments (for the most part…). I'm just happy you reviewed—it's always nice to hear that your story is liked ^_~

 

Also thanks and gooey chocolate chip cookies to warmfuzzies, chibi moon baby, kawaiibabe14, Palmtree, InuGoddess, reader1, Okaasan-7, skne, Davi Man, mans, and Blondie (that's hot!), who have all reviewed earlier chappies of this little fic here. *doles out cookies* You guys are great encouragers, and I hope you stick with me to make me get off my lazy butt and update ^_^

 

Disclaimer: *yawn* (Translation: I do not own anything belonging to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi.)

 

Chapter Seven: What Discovery Brings…

 

 

Inuyasha glared at Kagome.

 

Kagome glared at Inuyasha.

 

Silence reigned.

 

They were sitting at opposite ends of the small waiting room that connected to the Room of Divine Unity, having been quickly ushered here by Kaede after Inuyasha had levered himself off the floor and Kagome had stopped laughing. It had taken much longer to restore order to the audience, who were shocked by the strange twist Kagome's spell had taken.

 

The waiting room—a title that was far shorter than its actual name—was really very beautifully decorated, with fine mahogany furnishings, rich crimson tapestries, and beautiful crystal-cut windows letting in the bright sunshine. An expensive-looking clock sitting on the mantle above the huge stone fireplace ticked off the seconds, the noise unnaturally loud in the otherwise quiet room. Muted voices made their way through the crack at the bottom of one of the two closed doors, the only indication that the Bonding ceremony was still going on in the adjacent room. The other heavy oak door, at the opposite end of the room, was silent.

 

Growing tired of maintaining her glare, Kagome broke the connected gazes between herself and Inuyasha, suppressing an evil grin when he was forced to look away as well or be left staring at her. She slouched deeper into her comfy armchair—one of many that lined the walls of the waiting room—and propped her head up with her hand, resting her elbow on the carved wooden arm. A yawn threatened to crack her jaws if she didn't give in to it, but she didn't want the white-haired hanyou across the room to know just how exhausted she was. The ignorant jerk; I bet he has no clue how much energy performing the Bonding actually takes. Even if I did mess it up a little…

 

Kagome glanced covertly at Inuyasha's face, feeling her annoyance diminish as guilt tried to creep back in. Faint bruises showed along his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose, and he had a smudge of dirt from the stone floor on his chin. She hadn't realized that the strange spell that pulled him to the floor did it so… viciously.

 

Maybe I should heal him…? As soon as that thought entered her mind, the girl rejected it. Even before this whole mess, Inuyasha would have rather walked around with broken bones and bloody cuts than let a miko use her healing powers on him.

 

“Stop looking at me like that,” the hanyou suddenly gritted out.

 

Kagome started. She had thought she was being sneaky, observing him out of the corner of her eye. “Like what?” she asked, trying to keep the defensive tone out of her voice and only succeeding in making herself sound guilty.

 

“Like I'm some little furry creature that needs your help,” he replied, slanting his golden gaze over her way. He was lounging in his chair like an exotic prince, one leg thrown carelessly over the wooden arm and the other dangling towards the floor. His head rested on his fist, propped up by his arm much like Kagome's was.

 

The dark-haired girl was about to point out that his ears definitely qualified as little and furry when the thick oaken door opposite the one leading into the Room of Divine Unity opened and a human servant came in, her arms full of clothes.

 

Bowing to Kagome and Inuyasha, she said, “If it pleases you, Master Naraku has ordered that all the Bonded pairs discard their student's garb and put these on.”

 

She laid the bundle of clothes across the back of the closest chair and bowed her way out of the room, shutting the door behind her. For a moment, neither Kagome nor Inuyasha moved, but then the girl's curiosity got the better of her and she went to look at the clothes.

 

They were fairly simple in design, but well made and decorated beautifully. The miko's garb was a comfortable kimono, sky blue like her prayer beads and decorated with silver moons and golden suns in a pattern across the shoulders and chest. The obi that would tie around her midsection was dark navy, and folded to create numerous pockets in which herbs and other items could be stored.

 

Kagome wondered for a minute why they wouldn't be wearing traditional miko clothing—which was much easier to move in although not nearly as beautiful as this—and then realized that these outfits were merely for formal occasions. If they were going to be leaving the Centre and working in the outside world, they would need to wear much more casual clothes to blend in.

 

Delicately folding the kimono and its white underclothes up, she moved on to the demon's clothing. In contrast to the soft blue of the miko attire, the clothes she unfolded were a deep, vibrant red, and made of a strange material that was hard and flexible at the same time. She stroked her fingers along one wide sleeve, noting that it felt soft in one direction and wiry in the other, like fur. There were more pieces to this outfit than to the kimono; a white undershirt, a loose haori, long, flaring hakama with dark string to gather the material around the wearer's ankles… The overall size of the clothes was huge; Kagome imagined herself wearing them and giggled at the mental image.

 

“What the hell are you laughing at, wench?”

 

Kagome's amusement died as she shot an irritated glance at the hanyou. “The thought of you wearing something like this, jerk.”

 

“Keh.” Inuyasha stretched and stood up, walking over to her. He rudely pushed her hands away and held up the garments, turning them this way and that, inspecting the material. “This is fire rat hair,” he said, surprise taking the surly edge out of his voice.

 

“Fire rat?” Kagome asked skeptically. Somehow, the picture those words called to mind was less than impressive.

 

“It makes the best armor,” Inuyasha continued, apparently not listening to her and speaking more to himself. He grabbed one sleeve with both hands, claws digging into the material, and yanked hard.

 

“Inuyasha!” Kagome gasped, grabbing his arm. “You're going to wreck it!”

 

But, to her shock, the cloth withstood Inuyasha's test; when he stopped pulling, there weren't even any claw marks visible. “This is good quality,” he said, and a rare smile crossed his face.

 

The smile made Kagome feel warm, even though it wasn't really directed at her. Currents of emotion, or something like it, were running from his arm to her fingers where they touched, and she found that if she concentrated she could almost make sense of the jumbled sensations. This is part of the Bond…?

 

Inuyasha, however, suddenly realized that she still had hold of his arm and wrenched it away. “Don't hang off me, miko; I hate that.” The smile disappeared.

 

Trying to conceal her sudden hurt, Kagome grabbed the kimono and moved towards the door through which the servant had come. “I'm going to go change.”

 

“Whatever,” Inuyasha replied, still studying the fire rat clothes.

 

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him as she left the room.

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Inuyasha listened for a few seconds to make sure she was gone before pulling off his gi and donning the new red outfit. The clothes settled on his lanky frame with a satisfying weight, and he almost wished he had a mirror to look at himself in as he finished tying the many knots required to hold the outfit in place. He quickly shoved that thought away. Keh, a mirror… Sounds like something that stupid girl would wish for.

 

In fact, he knew that Kagome was wishing for nothing of the sort at the moment. Right now, she was tired and angry with him for brushing her off like that. He could tell this as easily as he could tell where his hands and feet were. She was there with him, in his head, in his body, like a second skin under his own. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it was disconcerting, especially since Inuyasha knew that it was miko magic that had created this Bond.

 

Although the hanyou had no way of knowing, he was actually more in tune with Kagome than she was with him. Being a half demon gave him more than the usual five senses that ordinary humans possessed as well as sharpening those basic five senses to a supernatural point. He was used to the delicate brush of emotions and feelings that weren't his own, and his brain was already developed to process and understand them, giving him an advantage over his miko partner.

 

What he wasn't used to was the pull of the Bond, tugging him towards Kagome without fail. It wasn't quite strong enough to be a physical pull, but he could feel those spirit ties wrapped around his body, urging him to follow her. Their spirits were irreversibly joined, and they wanted to be together at all times. When that girl put her hand on my arm, those currents… Inuyasha sighed, irritated. Was he going to have to deal with this for the rest of his life?

 

The clock above the fireplace was ticking away obliviously, its mechanical noises grating against Inuyasha's sensitive ears. It was like the stupid machine was mocking him, counting down the seconds of his life, and every one had to spent in the company of that damn girl. In a fit of moodiness, he walked over to it and grabbed the glass that protected it, intending to drop the annoying machine to the floor. When he went to pull it off the mantle, however, it only budged about an inch before locking in place with a tiny click.

 

Before the hanyou could figure out what was happening, the section of wall above the fireplace, hidden by a large tapestry, swung outwards with the harsh sound of stone on stone. A large opening gaped blackly in front of him, cold, musty air fanning his face. What the hell?

 

Inuyasha moved cautiously closer, sniffing the new air. He couldn't detect any scent but that of cold stone and dust; no one had been through this opening in a long time.

 

The door at the end of the room suddenly opened, making the hanyou start and whirl around, letting go of the clock like a guilty child dropping a stolen cookie.

 

Kagome was looking down at herself, trying to adjust the blue kimono while absently shutting the door behind her with one foot. “Took me ages to find a bathroom to change in,” she muttered, fussing with the material. She then seemed to remember that she wasn't the only one in the room. Turning red, the girl gasped and quickly spun around to face the wall without looking up. “I'm sorry! I should've knocked, but I forgot! Are you… um, decent, Inuyasha?”

 

Inuyasha didn't say anything, his senses reeling from a combination of the sensations running along the Bond, the shock of discovering the strange opening, and the sight of Kagome in something other than the white gi of a student.

 

The kimono fit her well, draping across her form flatteringly, and the blue cloth brought out a cobalt sheen in her black hair until it looked almost the same as Nari's raven locks. She looked more mature, and definitely pretty, but that wasn't what had silenced Inuyasha; he had seen women in kimonos before—prettier women than Kagome, and in prettier outfits—but through the Bond he could feel what she was feeling in a somehow embarrassingly intimate way.

 

She moved her arm to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, and he felt the silky material of her sleeve as if it were gliding across his own skin. When she smoothed the cloth across her stomach, he felt the ghostly touch of unseen hands on his own body and shivered. This was something foreign, created by miko powers, and it frightened him.

 

“S-stop,” he stammered, immediately hating himself for sounding so pathetic.

 

Kagome's movements stilled, and her scent carried to him, confusion mingled with the herbal smell of whatever she used to bathe. She could feel the same thing he was but on a much less acute level, and was puzzled by it. “Stop what?” she asked. “Can I turn around?”

 

“Keh,” he said, trying to regain his rough tone. He rubbed vigorously at his stomach in an effort to rid himself of the tingling feel of hands not his own, forgetting that Kagome would be able to feel the movement too.

 

The girl took this as a yes, and turned away from the wall, one hand on her abdomen subconsciously. Her eyes immediately went to the gaping opening in the wall, widened, and then darted back to Inuyasha's red-clad form. “What did you do?!”

 

“Nothing!” Inuyasha replied defensively. “I just… accidentally knocked against the clock, and then the whole wall swung out.”

 

Kagome walked over to the fireplace, stopping next to him and peering into the dark space curiously. Excitement zipped along the Bond, trying to draw Inuyasha in. He mentally dug his heels in and refused to let himself be influenced.

 

“It's a secret passage!” Kagome said eagerly. “Just like in a castle!”

 

“Secret passage.” Inuyasha snorted. “It's probably a storage cupboard or something.”

 

Kagome frowned, unwilling to let go of her idea. “The Centre's enough like a castle to have secret passages.” The frown suddenly disappeared, and a familiar gleam entered her eye. “Let's go inside.”

 

“What? I'm not going in there with you!” Inuyasha protested lamely, the Bond slowly infecting him with her curiosity. “We… we have to wait for the others and… stuff.”

 

“Come on, idiot, when have you ever cared about what you were supposed to do?” Kagome pushed him out of the way, images of knights and princesses and dragons from her childhood filling her mind. How often had she wished to find a secret passage of her own? Like a determined toddler, Kagome tried to pull herself up to the mantle, but it was too high.

 

“Don't look to me for help, wench,” Inuyasha told her when she glanced his way. He shoved his hands into the wide sleeves of his haori and eyed her balefully.

 

“You really are a jerk, Inuyasha.” Kagome marched huffily over to one of the chairs, nearly tripping as she forgot she wasn't in her loose training gi anymore. She dragged the chair back to the fireplace, positioned it, and then clambered up.

 

Inuyasha quickly looked away as she bent over to crawl through the opening, cheeks pink. “Crazy bitch,” he muttered.

 

“Oooh, it's cold.” Kagome's voice floated back to him from the darkness above his head. “Last chance to come with me and see where this goes, Inuyasha!”

 

The hanyou looked agitatedly at both doors, his dog-ears twitching as they registered the voices of Kaede and whoever was being Bonded at the moment. The other door, which he assumed led into a hallway, was still silent. His eyes narrowed as he considered what to do. Should he just follow the instructions that the Bond was giving him and go after Kagome?

 

A sudden, high-pitched shriek made up his mind for him.

 

“Kagome?” Ignoring the chair in front of him, Inuyasha leaped over it and landed on all fours on the broad wooden mantle. He peered into the blackness. “Where are you?”

 

There was no reply.

 

Muttering under his breath, the hanyou crawled into the darkness, his demon sight quickly adjusting to the lack of light. He was in what appeared to be a simple tunnel, about four feet by four feet and lined with huge stone blocks. A fine coat of dust had settled along the bottom of the passage, and Inuyasha's baggy clothing dragged through it as he crawled, stirring it up into the air.

 

“Oi, wench!” He sneezed as dust coated his nose, growing more irritable by the second. “Hey, answer me when I'm talking to you, bitch!”

 

The drop was too sudden for even his demon senses to register. One minute he was crawling through the dark, dusty tunnel and the next he was falling headfirst down an even darker stone shaft. Inuyasha managed to hold in a surprised yelp, mentally kicking himself for not testing the ground with his hands while he was crawling. At least now I know what happened to the miko girl, he thought sourly, cold air rushing past his face and tugging at his long, silvery mane.

 

The end of the drop was every bit as sudden as its beginning, and Inuyasha hit the solid surface at the bottom with a graceless thud. Reddish, fiery light flooded his vision, causing his pupils to contract to ebony slits in an effort to regulate the light assaulting his senses. Blinking rapidly to adjust his eyesight, he climbed quickly his feet, crouching low in a fighter's stance and holding his claws ready. Purple bars slanted across his vision, blotting out his view of his surroundings, and he blinked again irritably.

 

“Inu… yasha?”

 

The hanyou whirled around at the sound of Kagome's voice, making her squeak with surprise as his forehead collided painfully with hers. Staggering backwards, Inuyasha pressed a hand to his head and glowered at her.

 

“What the hell? Don't sneak up on me like that!” Actually, most of his anger was directed at himself for not sensing her presence behind him.

 

“I didn't do it on purpose!” she snapped, rubbing her own forehead tenderly. “You practically landed on me when you fell out of that chute thing.”

 

“Well, if you weren't so goddamn stupid, you would know better than to stand under `that chute thing', idiot!” Inuyasha gave her one more evil glare before turning his attention to their surroundings.

 

They were definitely still in the inhabited part of the Centre. The large, circular room they were standing in was much the same as the waiting room they had been in only a few minutes ago, with its gleaming mahogany furniture and luxuriant wall hangings. There was only one door—more like two, as it was a huge, arched double door—and to their left were a long, polished desk and a high-backed chair. Two smaller, less comfortable-looking chairs were positioned in front of the big desk, giving the room an office-like atmosphere that was enhanced by the stacks of paperwork strewn across the desk.

 

Unlike the waiting room, however, there were no windows; the only light came from an enormous fireplace that curved along nearly half of the circular room, which was filled with glowing logs. The light cast shadows on everything, making the small opening in the ceiling that they had fallen through look like a gap into oblivion. Inuyasha saw with no little unease that if he had moved his head an inch in any direction while he was falling, his chin would have caught on the stone sides of the chute and his neck would have been snapped in two. Not the most comforting thought in the world…

 

The fire was almost uncomfortably warm—in a room that looked small in comparison to the mammoth fireplace, so much heat made the air thick—but Inuyasha could barely feel it through the combined effects of his demon characteristics and the fire-resistant fur his clothing was made of. He felt a flash of childish satisfaction when he noticed Kagome tugging at the collar of her kimono, her face showing a faint sheen of sweat, although the satisfaction turned to near-panicked discomfort as he realized he could feel the beads of sweat slide slowly over the curve of her cheek, down the side of her neck, into the exposed hollow above her collarbone, and then trickle out of sight between her—

 

Inuyasha shook himself forcefully, as if he could rid himself of both the thoughts and the sensations currently twining themselves around his consciousness. No, no, no, no, NO, he told himself angrily.

 

Kagome, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the effects the Bond was having on both of them. At least, if she noticed anything, she didn't show it. Her eyes traveled along the stone-rimmed fireplace, suddenly halting and widening. “Look, Inuyasha!” she said wonderingly, walking closer to the red-orange flames curling upwards.

 

Relieved to have something to distract him from the unnerving sensation of knowing exactly what someone else was feeling, the hanyou followed her gaze to a long object hanging above the fireplace, black against the light from the flames. A sword…? Something plucked at his memory, his instincts ringing like little warning bells, and he took a step forward, his eyes narrowed against the ruddy glow.

 

Kagome had stopped about six feet away from the fireplace, the heat too much for her human body to handle. Inuyasha barely noticed her puzzled look as he walked past her, intent on the dark outline of the object. Those warning bells were ringing louder, more like the gongs the Centre used to announce the start and end of lessons, but his curiosity—or was it Kagome's? He was having trouble telling the difference—had also grown. He began to notice the heat that the burning logs emitted, the skin on his face and neck starting to feel stretched and dry, but he didn't stop until he was standing directly in front of the fireplace, head tilted back and eyes fixed on the shadowed stone above him.

 

Not a sword—two of them. Inuyasha couldn't tear his gaze away from the two katanas where they hung, crossed, like a coat of arms. Their shape and size was almost exactly the same, but where the one on the right was sleek and new-looking, with a gleaming golden hilt wrapped in navy blue material, the sword on the left was rusted and battered, the wrapping on its dulled hilt fraying and coming loose. Two identical scabbards were mounted horizontally beneath the curved katanas, made of some hard, undecorated black material that belied the apparent skill with which both swords and scabbards had been crafted.

 

“Can I touch them, Dad?”

 

“I suppose you might as well, pup. If you are to be a man of any worth, you must learn how to handle a sword.”

 

Inuyasha's golden eyes glazed over, gaze pinned to the swords hanging above him.

 

“Why does this one look so much newer than the other one?”

 

“Because of what each sword does. This is a sword of destruction, of death, and there is no glory or beauty in either. But look, see the blade?” The scabbard was pulled away with a metallic rasp.

 

“It's all chipped!”

 

“Ah, it's chipped now; but if the wielder of this sword has a desire to kill only to protect things dear to him, then it will transform into a great, wild blade with enough power to preserve those things dear to him.”

 

“Then the other one looks new because… it's not meant to kill?”

 

“Ha! You've inherited your father's brains as well as his good looks!” A loud, hearty laugh. “That is correct. This blade is unable to take a life. Instead, it restores them.”

 

Wide amber eyes fixed on the sword reverently. “You mean it can bring people back to life?”

 

“If the one wielding it has a strong will and pure intentions. What do you think, pup? Will you have the strength to take up your old man's blades when he can no longer lift them?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“That's my boy. You will be a warrior like no other, Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha was unaware that he had fallen to his knees before the huge fireplace. He didn't feel the heat from the roaring flames searing against his exposed skin. Dimly, he could hear a worried, feminine voice calling his name, but he ignored that too. Even the Bond had faded to a faint twinge in the back of his consciousness as he knelt, trapped in the past.

 

“But warriors name their swords, don't they? Do these swords have names?”

 

“Of course they do! Special swords such as these are practically people themselves, after all.” A warm smile appeared on a mock-serious face. “Inuyasha, meet the sword of death and destruction, Tetsusaiga, and the sword of life and healing, Tenseiga.”

 

“Those swords…” Brilliant, tawny eyes closed painfully. “Father…”

 

Inuyasha put his head in his hands and let the memories sweep him away.

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Hehe, I love dramatic endings, especially cliffhangers (not that this was a really major cliffy or anything…). I was kinda disappointed at the lack of response for my last chapter, but I understand that it wasn't the most action-packed chappy ever lol. Besides, there are like, a million Inuyasha fanfictions out there, so I'm not fooling myself into believing that everyone will read and/or like mine. Anyway, hopefully this chapter was review-worthy and entertaining! Compliments, questions, and pointing-out-of-errors are welcome, as always (if you don't have anything helpful to say, then don't say anything at all ^_~).

 

~SilverMyste~