InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Visiting Sibling ❯ The Quarter Reveals Herself ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

Once Kagome manages to reign in her tears a bit, the group of five set off for Kaede’s Village, wanting to get caught up a little more AFTER they’ve all had a chance to have breakfast.

“So, how did you get the well to work again? I was sure it had sealed for good after the jewel was wished away.” Kagome asks, her head continuously turning to look at Sōta and then back at the path ahead.

Sōta shrugs.

“I’m not really sure. Miyuki just told me to think about wanting to see you, she started to glow and I saw a night sky when I opened my eyes to look down the well.”

Kagome gave her brother a disbelieving look.

“…and that didn’t freak you out?”

Sōta’s brow furrows in confusion.

“Not really. I mean, it was the first time Miyuki’s ever GLOWED, but we’ve had our fair share of bizarre adventures over the years. Not to mention that I’ve sort of been desensitized to the whole “weird” thing with all of those demon encounters back when you were still time jumping.” He explains nonchalantly.

Kagome can only shake her head.

In all honesty, she was still trying to get over the fact that her little brother was HERE. Not to mention that he was now the same age that she had been when she’d first fallen into the well.

He was taller than her now too, and his hair was parted to the side rather than down the middle how she remembered it.

- - - - - 

Miyuki watched the two siblings interact with interest from a few paces behind them.

Inuyasha was heading the group up front, having taken up that position when he’d picked up both Sōta’s and her backpacks, so she was walking next to the fox demon who seemed intent to ignore her presence completely.

Had she known better, she would have realised that Shippō’s fur was doing an excellent job of camouflaging her raging blush as he walked next to the pretty girl from the future.

He was used to Kagome’s school uniform, but Miyuki was wearing a material that clung tightly to the curves of her legs and Sōta’s jumper acted as a fairly short dress, just covering the presence of the shorts Miyuki was wearing underneath.

Not to mention that Shippō was now fourteen. No longer the kit that Kagome had adopted all those years ago, he was quickly becoming more and more aware of the physical differences between men and women.

It was damn annoying.

Shippō is unceremoniously brought out of his thoughts when he bumps into something soft and unmoving, causing the teen to stumble back a few steps, but still keep his feet under him.

Rubbing his nose, Shippō glares at the figure who now blocks his path, though the expression falls away the instant he sees that he’d just walked right into the future girl’s front.

She stood in front of him with a smile, though her arms were crossed.

“You finally looked at me!” She exclaims happily, and Shippō cocks his head in a questioning answer.

“I thought you didn’t like me, because you didn’t talk to me.” She explains, and Shippo feels one of his ears flick at a poorly concealed snicker on Inuyasha’s behalf, which the girl thankfully doesn’t notice.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t really know what to talk about.” Shippō answers honestly, surprised at the smile now beaming down at him.

“Oh, that’s easy. My name’s Tenrai Miyuki, what’s yours?” She asks, only too happy to strike up a conversation with the fox demon.

The first demon she’s ever met.

“Um, Shippō.” The fox says slowly, trying to get used to the sudden shift in the girl’s aura.

“That’s a really cool name, you can call me Miyuki if you like. Is your hair naturally red?”

Shippō soon finds himself smiling and nodding his response.

It was surprisingly easy to talk to Miyuki.

- - - - - 

A few paces ahead, Kagome was watching her younger brother with ever growing interest. He’d been quite amicable in talking to her when they’d started their trek to Kaede’s Village, but she soon found that he was growing distracted.

Not by his surroundings, but by the conversation that was slowly growing louder and steadier behind them.

She hid a smile behind her hand.

“So, how are things with Hitomi?” She asks, biting her lip when she sees her brother’s attention snap back to her, proving that he hadn’t been paying attention before.

“Huh? Oh, we’re still on good terms.” Sōta replies.

It was true too, after their break-up they’d been able to stay friends and they were both happier for it.

Kagome’s expression falls.

“Oh, then, what’s your relationship with Miyuki?” She asks, hoping her brother wasn’t turning into a player type of guy.

She finds her fears alleviated fairly quickly though.

- - - - - 

Miyuki and Shippō had been steadily gaining on the two siblings, and Miyuki had heard Kagome’s question and decided to answer her.

Kagome gives a startled yelp when Sōta suddenly takes a few quick steps forward, now supporting Miyuki’s weight on his back.

“I… am his best friend.” Miyuki says proudly, giggling from her new perch on Sōta’s back.

Sōta’s laughter soon joins hers.

“MUST you do that EVERY single day?” He asks in mock exasperation, causing Miyuki to grin down at him.

“Of course, you’ve been carrying me down the shrine steps since day one of our friendship after all, and I recall you once mentioning that it was good strength training for you.” She replies primly, though glimmer in her eyes gives away her joking intent.

Sōta drops his head and sighs theatrically before rebutting.  

“True, but I don’t see any shrine steps here.”

He turns his head to gift the girl on his back with a confident smirk.

Miyuki merely shrugs.

“Sure there aren’t, but there’s plenty of roots snaking their way along the ground instead.” She answers, a pout rising to her lips when she notices Sōta suddenly tense and tighten his hold on her legs.

She rolls her eyes. He’d always been very protective of her, even when he as up against her own clumsiness.

“Mame… I have two fully functional legs, I’m not about to trip up with every step I take.” She says, her voice taking on a slightly serious edge.

Sōta wasn’t easily swayed however, he knew how clumsy Miyuki could be, and her tripping over a protruding root was a very real danger.

- - - - - 

For her part, Kagome was currently dealing with a serious sense of dejavu.

Seeing Miyuki perched on her brother’s back reminded her of how she’d first travelled with Inuyasha, often getting piggy back rides to speed up their travel time. Then there was the way the two of them spoke to one another. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have thought that the two of them were in some sort of intimate relationship. What really gave her a jolt though, was the way the two of them acted. Kagome remembered her little brother as a quiet but sincere little boy. The teenager in front of her was honest, outgoing and clearly a very good and loyal friend.

She was proud of her little brother, but it made her somehow sad to realise that she’d missed a pivotal part in his development into the person who was currently standing a few steps away from her.

- - - - - 

Eventually, Sōta let Miyuki off of his back, though, she soon realised that he’d done so only when they’d made it to the last part of a dirt trodden path that lead into Kaede’s Village.

“So, how can we help you guys get breakfast started?” Sōta asks, partly to ignore Miyuki’s accusing glare and partly to actually find out how they can help.

Kagome puts a finger to her chin, tilting her head as she considers her options.

“That sort of depends on what you guys can do. This place gives the words “old school” a whole new meaning.” She muses, smiling at her own little joke.

“Well, Sōta and I both know jujutsu, if I can borrow a bow and some arrows I could hunt us some fish or fowls, and I’m pretty sure Sōta packed his katana…”

She turns to her best friend, who nods his head to affirm her guess.

“… so we could take care of the meat, but we’re happy to help out however you want.” Miyuki finishes, grinning at the somewhat disbelieving expression on Kagome’s face.

“Ok… how about Miyuki goes with Inuyasha to catch some fish, and Sōta, you get me some firewood so that I can turn up the heat for the food.” Kagome offers, and the two teens immediately nod and head off for their respective destinations. Miyuki following Inuyasha, and Sōta headed for the woods closest to Kagome and Inuyasha’s hut.

- - - - - 

At the river, Miyuki quickly strips off her leggings and shorts, before putting just her shorts back on and headed into the water barefoot.

She and Inuyasha catch a couple of fish in total silence, though Inuyasha starts talking once they’ve gathered enough food for breakfast.

“You’re not going to ask me?” He says, and Miyuki immediately realises what he’s talking about.

“That depends, what does my scent tell you?”

She counters, knowing that Inuyasha’s eyes hadn’t JUST widened when he’d recognised Sōta, but also because he’d been able to place HER scent as well. He was part DOG-demon, for crying out loud, he was bound to be one of the first to figure her out.

Inuyasha’s eyes narrow at her evasive answer and he growls quietly, only growing more suspicious when the girl seems to hear him, a feat that shouldn’t be possible for a mere human.

“WHAT are you?” He counters.

It irked him to no end that he couldn’t figure out what she was. She smelled of the summer air that surrounded them. If he had closed his eyes, he wouldn’t have even known that she was there. 

It was incredibly unnerving.

Miyuki sighs, it wasn’t that she actively sought to hide the truth about herself, but, she had a rather, delicate, position in this tangled web of past and present acquaintances.

“I’m a quarter demon.” She says quietly.

Her truthful admission serving to lower Inuyasha’s guard some. Partly because her honesty surprised him, partly because he didn’t even know that quarter demons existed and partly because he needed a moment to process that fact.

As the two head back to the hut that they would be living in for the next few days, Miyuki stays silent for the duration of the preparation and consumption of the meal.

Once everyone has eaten, the girl sighs, shares a quick look with Sōta and focuses her attention on Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippō.

Wondering what this could be about, Inuyasha finds his eyes widening when the girl proceeds to explain the basics of her blood.

“Inuyasha already noticed this earlier, but, I’m not entirely human. My mother is a half-demon born of a liaison between a human woman and a wind demon known as Hayate.”

Inuyasha flinches at the name, his eyes growing wide as an almost tangible scent of sadness starts to emit from Miyuki’s person.

“It was said that Hayate was born from the discarded heart of a wind demoness called Kagura.”

Both Miyuki and Inuyasha turn their heads when they hear a sharp intake of breath come from Kagome. Although everyone at the table realises the implications of what Miyuki had just said.

There was still an incarnation of Naraku’s wandering around the feudal era.

Miyuki draws their attention back to herself when she sighs and continues to talk.

“My mother often told me that Hayate was sparsely home, but he was a good father when he was there. I think that the fact that he was born purely from the heart of a demon may have influenced his nature to be a better person than the half-demon that created his sire.” She explains.

She knows that they know something about Hayate, simply because of Inuyasha’s earlier reaction, but she can’t shake the feeling that something feels bad.

“Miyuki… We met Hayate a few weeks ago. He was on his way to the western lands. I think he wanted to meet with Lord Sesshōmaru to talk about something.”

A huge weight is lifted off of Miyuki’s shoulders when Kagome says that, but she also realises that there’s something being left unsaid here.

“…are you SURE you’re a descendent of that, that wind… demoness?” Inuyasha asks, earning himself an approving look from Kagome, since she knows much he used to dislike the wind witch.

Miyuki nods once and blinks slowly. As she does so, Inuyasha notices an unmistakable shade of magenta lining her eyelids.

“I can manipulate the wind to varying degrees, depending on the current lunar phase, I have my great-grandmother’s demon markings, and my ears and fingernails are slightly pointy.” She explains, rubbing at her outer wrists to reveal the same magenta stripes she has over her eyes covered by a bit of make-up.  

“Her true form has slitted pupils with white and red feathers in her hair as well.” Sōta suddenly chimes in.

Kagome gives a start at his voice, having momentarily forgotten that he was sitting right next to Miyuki.

“Wait… You knew about this?” Kagome exclaims, her voice full of shock and worry.

Sōta narrows his eyes then.

Miyuki’s species, as it were, had always been a sore topic for him, because he just wished people would BACK OFF and quit judging people for things they had no control over. Her changing looks hadn’t really helped her case of bullying back in junior high, and even now, Sōta found himself tensing to protect Miyuki, though he wasn’t entirely sure from what.

He jolts a little when Miyuki gentle takes his hand in her own under the table, the contact serving to calm him down some.

“Of course I knew. She told me all about it on our way to school after the first day of meeting her.” He says, taking a breath and excusing himself to do some solo training by the river.

“I need to cool off, I’m going out to train for a bit.”

Kagome watches him go with her mouth hanging open at her brother’s sudden mood swing.

“I’m sorry about that.” Miyuki apologises, bowing her head to show her sincerity, before offering the little group an explanation.

“I used to get bullied in junior high because of the foreign traits, like my skin and hair, that I inherited from my father. It got to the point where I was routinely beaten up and blackmailed into staying away from Sōta. He was fine when he first found out about it, but, when he saw my injuries, he sort of snapped. The next day Mama had to go to the school because he’d beaten up some guys who he always saw picking on me… He won a six against one fight, handed out a few bruises and scrapes, and barely got a scratch on himself. I think, since then, when it so much as looks like someone might judge me by my appearance, he flashes back to the past and gets REALLY worked up about it.”

Kagome feels her eyes fill with tears of pity and regret when Miyuki concludes her tale. She was incredibly proud of her brother, but, at the same time, she was starting to see some VERY clear signs that these two teens were practically perfect for each other…

From what she’d just witnessed, Sōta didn’t just get worked up about any type of prejudice.  He got worked up over prejudice in general, yes, but he was totally protective of Miyuki and ONLY Miyuki.

- - - - - 

Inuyasha had also listened to the girl’s tale and was somewhat disappointed that the prejudice against impure demons was still present in the future.

But he was far more concerned with what Sōta had said before leaving.

He’d mentioned a “true form”.

Something that he knew for a fact was only possessed by full demons.

As he looked over the girl, he saw that her eyes were normal, and her nails and ears rounded at the tips, but he could feel her aura slowly and surely growing with youkai energy.

If she was a quarter demon, that meant that she had less youkai in her blood than he did, but it also meant that she most likely had less control too… and THAT was worrying.

- - - - - 

As it turned out, breakfast was more of a brunch affair, and the group decided to head out to the forests to get a head start on hunting for their dinner.

Of course, by group, that meant that Inuyasha and Miyuki once again went out to hunt, while Kagome went to fetch her brother from the river and promised to meet up with them on the hunt.

Miyuki had shrugged off that remark, first wondering how a human wanted to be able to find two, part demons, but then she’d remembered that Kagome was a priestess, and she could just locate their auras to find them.

Miyuki had asked to borrow one of Kagome’s bows and a few arrows, having left hers back in the present.

Inuyasha had watched her string her bow and draw it back to test the flexibility and backlash of a shot.

He had to admit that the girl had skill.

“So, what would you like for dinner?” Miyuki asks, slinging the bow over her shoulder together with a quiver of three arrows.

Inuyasha ponders the question a moment, before realising what she meant by it.

“You mean you can actually find a specific animal in this forest?” He asks, doing his best to sound uninterested and challenging.

She nods in reply.

“Yep. There’s a family of boar a few hundred meters to the north, multiple fowl a short trek to the south-west and, I believe, a bear maybe two kilometres east.” Miyuki says, using the wind to scent out her prey.

Inuyasha can only blink at her owlishly.

He knew all of this as well, of course, but the fact that she’d also been able to sense all of those animals impressed him.

“Let’s go for the boar family then, try to aim for males or gilts. We don’t want any piglets to lose their mothers.” Inuyasha says, moving to leap in the direction of their prey when he sees Miyuki’s affirmative nod.

Before he can move though, he sees Miyuki pull a reddish-brown feather out of her similarly coloured hair, and he barely has time to blink before he feels the feather’s softness under his feet and finds himself soaring through the air with Miyuki standing behind him.

“WHAT THE HELL WOMAN!” Inuyasha yells, falling to his knees to grip the feather’s edge in fright and shock.

“Sorry! I figured I’d show you some of my skills while we’re out of the village.” Miyuki explains, surprised at Inuyasha’s apparent fear.

Why was he afraid?

She’d always been told that the proud dog demons were one of the few wingless youkai to possess the power of flight, so surely this wasn’t new to him.

Inuyasha shot her a glare, but his gaze was also curious, so Miyuki decided to stick with her original plan of testing her powers in this ancient time.

Her blood had been practically humming since she woke up that morning, and since her powers were expanding, she was curious to test her current skills.

Bringing the feather to a stop at a diagonal, downwind position where both the feather’s shadow and her scent wouldn’t reach the wild boars.

Taking a steadying breath, Miyuki drew and hooked one of her arrows, before imbuing it with some of her youkai, until the arrow was covered in a silvery semi-transparent sheen.

Taking her aim, she locks onto a two-year-old gilt, breathes in, breathes out, and releases her arrow.

What happens next though, makes Inuyasha release his deaths grip on the feather’s edge to rub at his eyes and make sure he isn’t seeing things.

The arrow, which went straight through the gilt in one fatal strike, had turned around before hitting the ground and flew through the air to deal the same deadly blow to one older and one younger boar male, before flying at such a fast speed that all the blood was shaken off of it, and returning to Miyuki’s hand clean and unbroken.

The instant Miyuki took a hold of the arrow, her youkai retracted itself from the arrow back into her body and she returned the weapon to it’s quiver.

“So, shall we collect our quarry?” Miyuki asks, lowering her feather to the ground, and hence sending the rest of the boar family running away.

Inuyasha nods mutely, an unreadable expression on his face.

‘She can use her powers even when she isn’t in her demon form.’ He thinks, his worry from before slowly increasing.

If she was able to use her youkai powers in her weakened state, just how powerful was she when she was in her true form?

Shoving those thoughts aside for a later time, Inuyasha gets out of the feather, loads their three kills onto it and sets off jumping over the tree tops on his way back to the village, fully aware that Miyuki is following him by air.

Sighing, the half demon focuses on getting back home, deciding that he would let Miyuki and Sōta handle the preparation of the meat.

He needed to have a chat with his wife.

- - - - - 

Author's Note 

Hello Again lovely people! 

It's day three, and I have JUST finished writing the third chapter for VS (because the first chapter was the Prologue, the numbers may seem a little bit off)

I hope you enjoy the read and check in again tomorrow for the next chapter! 

PLEASE feel free to leave a comment or send me your thoughts via Email! 

Tora