InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Cruelty of Fate ❯ Barriers ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3 - Barriers

The sliding doors of the Criminal Investigations Bureau whipped open, revealing a young officer. He removed his police hat and brushed his hand through his thick red hair. Placing the hat back on, he walked down the steps of the police station, and into a small alleyway between a few shops.

He paused, reaching in his pocket for his cell phone. Bringing it to his ear, he answered in a professional tone. “This is Daisuke Mitsui of Criminal Investigations…yes…don't worry I'm on my way…” He rested his back against a nearby wall and let his sharp green eyes scan the entrances for any trace of movement. “Yes I know I'm late!... Well I couldn't have just left the office without giving them some notification. They would start to suspe-…Yeah okay I'll be there soon.”

He placed the cell phone back in his pocket and, confident that no one was around, broke into a run. He ran straight for the other side of the alleyway and jumped into the air. Once his feet left the ground he was engulfed in a blue flame, which seemed to shrink in size until it revealed a small falcon. The falcon soared out of the alleyway and into the sky, heading towards the Higurashi Shrine.

He weaved his way through buildings and soared up the Higurashi steps and over the Shrine grounds. The falcon flew above the forest beyond the shrine, and then took a sudden dive into what appeared to be trees. He dived straight into a tree, but once through the leaves, a large town was revealed that couldn't be seen from above.

A large elegant building lay before him. The building was similar to a Palace from feudal Japan, and around it were various other buildings in a similar design.

The falcon soared towards the open doors of the palace. `I'm gonna make it-' but just as the thought crossed his mind he was pulled to the ground, where he was engulfed in the blue flame once again and revealed as the police officer. His appearance had now gone through some drastic changes. For one thing his clothing was now in a feudal Japanese style, themed with blue, light brown and fur accessories. He also had obtained a fox like tail and claws to match.

He stood up and barred his fangs at his opponent. She had silver hair and a light blue crescent moon imprint on her forehead. Her clothing was an elegant Kimono highlighted by the colors of purple, white and orange. She recoiled the golden whip that had previously pulled the fox demon to the ground. “You're late Shippo.”

 

Shippo smirked and strutted confidently towards her, cracking his knuckles. “Wanna fight about it Seiyuki?”

Without a moments notice Shippo transformed into a twin-tale tiger similar to Kirara, pouncing on the woman and pushing her to the ground.

She lifted her claws which were now dripping with venom. She swiped towards his face but just as she made contact, Shippo reverted back to the Falcon. He flew off into the open palace gates, leaving Seiyuki in the dirt.

She stood up and brushed herself off. After shaking her head in disappointment, she began walking towards the palace. She walked through the gates and into the elegant halls built by her kind. The palace was massive and full of busy people with similar attributes. It was quite evident that none of the people within the halls were human. In fact some were very far from it.

She entered a large room where she was greeted by many others. Everyone in the room seemed to have an air of importance surrounding them.

Unfortunately there was only one seat left, and it was beside Shippo who was wearing the same annoying smirk she knew all too well.

She took her seat and attempted to ignore the nuisance beside her.

Shippo leaned on the table, getting as far into her viewpoint as possible. “Oh look at that! Your late! You know your Daddy might kick you ou-”

Shippo was interrupted by a slap to the face. The echo made the entire room turn to see what the commotion was about. Both Seiyuki and Shippo pretended as if nothing happened, even though the evidence was clear by the big red hand print on Shippo's face.

Suddenly the attention was pulled from the two and towards the front of the room. Everyone stood in respect for the man walking in. He seemed in his early thirties and his elegant and strong appearance demanded fear and respect from all in the room.

The Taiyoukai, Sesshomaru, had made his entrance.

 

He walked towards the thrown at the back of the room and sat down, leading everyone else in the room to sit as well. After Sesshomaru was seated, he turned his gaze upon Seiyuki. She stood immediately as if she was summoned without any of her own control. Her lord was able to do that; he could command an army without uttering a single word.

 

She slowly collected the notes before her, attempting to organize her thoughts. She had been preparing for this moment ever since the newest information a week earlier and yet she was still not prepared.

 

Fortunately she had inherited her father's ability to hide her emotions. The room was full of the highest ranking demons and half demons in the country. But she still stood before them with an aura of complete confidence.

 

Seiyuki looked towards Sesshomaru, pausing to remember what he had asked her to speak about. “I am glad all of you were able to make it. The information about to be disclosed is strictly private. Anyone who lets this information out of this room will be severely punished.”

 

Seiyuki looked around the room, getting a little bit more comfortable in her surroundings before she began. “The rebels have gotten restless. The spies we have placed within the human society and the police force have tried to keep the evidence secret, but there is only so much they can hide. The human police force has given our rebels a nickname that shames us beyond belief. They call them Vampires.” A soft murmur of voices echoed around the room until one man on the other side of the table decided to speak.

 

“Then the rebels must be pure bloods. That's what you are saying right?”

 

“Yes. Half demons can take the pill we call D.A.S to hide within humanity quite easily. We all know they just revert to their human forms. For pure bloods, it is not so easy. They must inject themselves with human blood before taking D.A.S in order to revert to a human form. The rebels are not using the blood from our storages, probably to avoid being tracked. The police have discovered various victims with the blood completely drained from their bodies.”

 

Shippo then stood beside Seiyuki. “These murders are increasing daily. They seem to murder at least one person before their next `terrorist act'. I don't have enough members on my team to concentrate on both incidents at once. I am forced to make my team back out of the vampire murders and leave them to the human police. This poses quite a problem because if the humans find out too much, they may discover something about us.”

 

Shippo waited for the room to quiet down before he continued. “We need to consider these rebels a serious threat, and get more demons into the human world tracking them down. If we don't start taking them seriously then they may end up getting what they want.”

 

“Speaking of what they want.”

 

Everyone turned to face the Taiyoukai. Sesshomaru stood slowly, walking towards the table. It was rare to here their lord speak, especially at a meeting like this one.

 

“They may be after the last of the Shinto priestesses.”

 

The room sat frozen, but one demon had enough ego to ruin the tableau. Koga crossed his arms and spoke. Unlike the others, Koga completely ignored the Taiyoukai's evident power. “That's insane! The humans moved past those thoughts long ago! There can't be any of the priestesses left!”

 

“Not everyone has.” Saiyuki said, glaring at Koga. He glared back as if to challenge her. Seiyuki broke her gaze and looked to Sesshomaru.

 

“Only a select few demons know of her whereabouts. Somehow the knowledge seeped into the rebel ranks. She has been hidden from us for some time due to a barrier which has surrounded her and her family. But for some reason recently her aura has become more distinct and is easily detected.”

 

Sesshomaru began to walk slowly around the table. Everyone he past seemed to stiffen and lower their head slightly in respect.

 

Seiyuki sat down once again and looked over at Shippo. He did not return her gaze, he only stared at the table deep in thought. She couldn't even tell if he was listening to the conversation.

 

Sesshomaru began to speak once more. “Now that we know she truly does exist, we must act quickly. If the rebels get their hands on her they will have a distinct advantage over us. Therefore our main priority is protecting her and any others with her bloodline. A select few of you have been chosen to watch over her home and follow her during the day. If you have been selected you know who you are. For her protection, anyone who isn't guarding her will not know of her location. We must protect her at all costs. Even if you have not been selected, keep an eye out for any rebel activity and report it to me as usual.” The doors to the room were opened from the outside. “That is all.”

 

Suddenly the room was bustling with activity as people left their seats and headed off to their various duties. Seiyuki began to gather up her papers but she was shoved aside by Shippo.

 

“Hey what are you-!” Seiyuki said standing and looking to him, but he had already left the room. Usually he would wait for her to pack up and taunt her over how awful a public speaker she was.

 

Seiyuki stood and left the room. Something was strange about Shippo and she had to find out what. She found him standing at the edge of the towns barrier, looking out into the forest. “Shippo what are you-”

 

“Where is she?” He said, still facing away from her.

 

“Who do you mean?”

 

“The priestess.” He turned to face her.

 

Seiyuki tried to figure out what Shippo was getting at. “I can't tell you.”

 

Shippo walked towards her. Seiyuki had never seen him so serious in her life. “I need to know. She may be… someone very important to me…”

 

“It's impossible that you would know her anyway.”

 

“Just tell me!” He yelled. He was right in front of her now.

 

Seiyuki clenched her fist. She had been entrusted the knowledge by her father…But Shippo was her closest friend and she had never seen him this way before. For a moment she thought she would give in. But the thought of Sesshomaru finding out…

 

She took a step back. “This isn't a game.”

 

Shippo didn't answer. He turned away and ran for the woods.

 

“Where the hell are you going!” Seiyuki ran after him but stopped when she was greeted by her friend standing before her within the woods.

 

“Shippo what are you…”

 

He stepped towards her. “I-I'm sorry”

 

Suddenly his arms were around her. She could feel him tearing at her memories, pulling out thoughts and placing them back in. It was the most painful attack she had ever experienced. “SHIPPO!” She screamed in pain, her demon blood clashing with this terrible technique.

 

Shippo sorted through her memories, looking for the location of the priestess. He knew Seiyuki was in pain but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the truth. Finally he found it.

 

He pulled his mind from Seiyuki and slowly placed her on the ground. Her expression was punishment enough for what he had done. Her eyes were wide and her skin white as a ghost. She didn't even respond to his gaze.

 

Shippo rested her against a tree and turned away. He knew he had at least a five minute head start before she regained her sanity. He ran off in the direction her mind had instructed him.

 

When he knew the location was close he stopped. He knew the demons in charge of protecting her would be nearby so he needed to shield his aura from them. He transformed his clothing into a modern Japanese style and then lifted a blood packet out of his pocket. He broke one corner and drank it quickly, the taste sickening him beyond belief.

 

`Ghah! This stuff is disgusting, how do the other demons cope with it' He thought as he drained the last bit of human blood. He then dropped the D.A.S pill into his mouth and closed his eyes.

 

He could feel his demon energy draining from his body as his features began to change. His red hair turned jet black and his eyes turned a regular brown.

 

Having never done this before, he felt as if he was crippled, it was the worst feeling in his life but it had to be done.

 

He walked towards the edge of the forest and stepped onto the shrine grounds. He had never seen this place before. It must have been a strong barrier to hide the entire grounds from demon vision.

 

He walked around the shrine as if in a daze. Walking up to the Tree of Ages, he touched its bark and recognized the scaring in the bark where Inuyasha had been 500 years earlier. Everything connected, the shrine, the house, the tree. He found a small shrine at the back of the grounds. He opened the doors to the mini shrine slowly, finding the well right where he had left it.

 

“Kagome…” He whispered. Everything was there but the girl.

 

“Fox!”

 

Shippo jumped a bit at the shock. He stumbled slightly, almost falling down the steps to the well. He was terrible with human legs. He turned around and was greeted by a little girl.

 

He took a moment to take in her features. She looked almost identical to Kagome herself. “K-kagome?”

 

The little girl shook her head and then placed a hand on her chest. “No! Sango!” She then pointed at him. “You fox!”

 

Shippo was bewildered. She looked like Kagome and she knew he was a fox.

 

He knelt down and took a closer look at the girl. “No I'm Daisuke.”

 

“Daiuk Fox!” She pointed at him and giggled.

 

“Sango what are you doing out here, its almost dinner.” A woman said walking towards them. She finally realized he was there. “Oh hello. Are you here to take a look at the shrine?”

 

Shippo stood quickly. Her features were unmistakable. She was Kagome.

“Mumma!” The little girl said as she ran for Kagome, who lifted the little girl into her arms.

 

“You have a kid…” He muttered, he began to feel dizzy, the change in his quality of vision was making his mind spin slightly.

 

“What was that?”

 

“You have a wonderful daughter…” He said a little bit clearer. “and yes I was just coming to take a look at the shrine…” He tried to speak clearer but he felt too nauseous.

 

“Are you alright? Would you like to come inside for a bit? I can get you some dinner if you would like.” Kagome said kindly.

 

“That would be great…”