InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Written in the Stars ❯ Chapter 9
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: the amber dragonfly 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Angst / Romance | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.29.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.4K | Visits: 247 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Angst / Romance | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.29.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.4K | Visits: 247 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 9
Izayoi sighed, rubbing the still-tender lump on the side of her head. Her head hurt, her heart hurt, and she really didn't know why. Probably skipped a beat one too many during the last few hours.
Glancing back at the stoic-looking guards several yards behind her, Izayoi mentally smiled at Ishimaru's thoughtfulness. He knew that she was frightened of her surroundings and had tried to eliminate her discomfort by providing her with protection. These two neko she had never seen before, but then again, there were no faces she really remembered before arriving here.
“My lady?” She turned around to see one of the neko guards bowing slightly, having stopped some distance behind her. She mentally chuckled at being called “my lady.” She was no noblewoman, or even a youkai of any rank, but because Ishimaru was the new leader and he favored her, she was now referred to with respect.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked quietly, politely. “Or did I wander too far?”
“I think Lord Ishimaru would prefer you to remain close by,” he replied, not meeting her eyes. She blinked a few times.
She moved closer to him but stayed a safe distance away. “Is something wrong? Am I not safe here?”
The guard exchanged a glance with his partner, who nodded. They both gazed at her with sincere concern. “We are among the very, very few who are happy with the change in command,” he explained in a hushed tone. “The others will be all too delighted to kill you to gain revenge for the old boss's death.”
“He was already dead,” Izayoi pointed out wryly.
The other guard hid a grin. “Indeed, and while we are actually impressed that a hanyou was still able to defeat Maomorin and gain control of the neko, those against him will be hunting him down, eager to kill him at first chance- because of his half-breed status.”
Izayoi gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “We… we must leave here. He can't stay, can he?” The two guards shook their heads.
“If he stays, not only is his life in danger, but yours as well if you chose to become his mate. Not to mention any kittens you two might bear.”
She pressed a hand to her heart, as if that alone would calm the pounding inside her chest. Her thoughts were muddled and confused, but one thing was utterly clear. Ishimaru could not stay here with the neko clan. To do so would be to resigning himself to both a life of violence and death- eventually his own.
“Take me back, onegai,” she said, a mixture of concern and determination in her golden eyes.
“Hai, my lady,” they replied immediately, turning and led her back to the cave, one in front and one behind.
-------------------
Ishimaru strode out of the cave, leading two human hanyous. He stopped at the edge of the outcropping to see Izayoi and her two escorts returning- and appearing to be trying not to rush.
The front guard saluted the hanyou- a hand across his chest and lowering of the head- as he moved out of Ishimaru's way. Izayoi climbed up to where the trio was waiting and blinked, confused.
The man looked like Inusouta, but the black dog ears and fangs were gone. He had human ears and appeared to be completely ningen. The female was lovely, with gold tresses and large sapphire eyes- just like-
“Are… are you two the same hanyous from before?” she asked, confused.
Amber smiled faintly. “Hai. I was unable to hold my hanyou state any longer. I had to revert.”
Inusouta shrugged as he slipped his newly-recovered sword and sheath through the side of his dark blue hakama. “I can control it better than you, my sister, but there was no longer any reason to. Nightfall will be coming soon enough and you and I will be back to hanyou form again.”
Izayoi looked startled. “Back?” She lifted a strand of hair and was quite dismayed to see that it had gone from silver to black. “What's going on?”
Ishimaru raised an eyebrow. “You are ningen during the day and hanyou at night? How is that possible?”
Amber gave him an indulgent smile. “They're only half hanyou- quarter youkai. Their father is Inuyasha, the famous hanyou who defeated Naraku? Their mother is the miko who helped him. I believe we mentioned it, earlier.”
That earned her a couple gasps from the two guards. They well knew the name Inuyasha. He and his Tetsusaiga were a force to be reckoned with and no youkai wanted to cross paths with him in a bad mood- or even a good mood.
The neko hanyou merely smiled. “That explains this dog's lack of manners and atrocious language skills.”
Inusouta advanced on him. “Listen, you fucking pussy…”
Abruptly two spears were pressing into his neck, holding him in place. The inu-hanyou-turned-human glared at the two guards threatening him. “Watch your mouth, mongrel,” one of them hissed. “Remember who you are talking to.”
“Oh, I remember, all right…”
Amber put a hand on Ishimaru's arm. “Stop… onegai,” she pleaded quietly. “No more fighting.”
He glanced at her and immediately signaled for his two guards to release the inu. They lowered their spears and stepped back. Inusouta moved toward Izayoi, his gold eyes full of hope. “Izayoi… do you remember me yet? Anything at all?”
She looked up at him warily, with more than a trace of fear still in her eyes. “No,” she replied stiffly. “Nor do I want to.” She turned to Ishimaru and missed seeing the pain reflected in her brother's topaz depths.
“We need to leave,” she murmured to Ishimaru. “It is not safe for you here. Your guards told me that the other neko will try to kill you at first chance.”
He nodded, his long tail swishing behind him. “I know, tenchi. None of the neko here will be pleased to have a half-breed leading them.”
The two guards cleared their throats. “We have no problems with your hanyou status,” one admitted quietly. “You are obviously a better choice than that fool Maomorin, as well as any of the other power-crazed neko around here. But there are only two of us, against at least a hundred others. For your safety and that of your future mate, you must go and now.”
Ishimaru regarded the two neko before him. He remembered the tiny kindnesses they had given him- an extra piece of leftover meat, a “forgotten” pelt that he had used as a blanket on a particularly cold night. He had never once mentioned these things for fear that they would be punished or even killed- or even out of the fear that their actions were only accidents. But to hear that they truly held no ill-will towards his half-ningen blood…
“What will you two do?” Amber asked, concerned for the two neko. “You should not be forced to stay here if you don't want to.”
They exchanged a glance. “Once we know Lady Izayoi and Lord Ishimaru are safely away from here, kitsune, we will vanish as well. The tribe will not miss us.”
Inusouta opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He suspected he knew why the tribe would not miss these two males- and it was not his place to say anything about it. If they stayed, if they were discovered not only to have helped the hanyou escape but if their secret revealed… it would mean instant death. “We should go then,” he said instead. “The sooner we leave, the better for all of us.”
Everyone nodded. Ishimaru turned around and knelt down, offering his back to Izayoi. “Get on- we'll move faster this way.”
Izayoi blinked at him. He wanted her to ride on his back? She tried to prevent the blush that stained her cheeks as she carefully got on his back, feeling his strong hands reach back and firmly grasp her thighs. Thank Kami I'm wearing these pants…
As Ishimaru ran off with Izayoi on his back, Inusouta was still standing on the outcropping, clenching his fist and cursing in as many languages as he knew. He was gritting his teeth in the effort not to rip the little bastard to shreds. Amber sighed. “Let's just follow them to make sure they don't get into trouble- neko or otherwise,” she said.
He nodded and shifted to hanyou form. Pausing long enough for his beloved Amber to jump on his back, together they raced off after the neko and their sister, heading into the forest.
-----------------
Masao sighed again as Kirara purred in her sleep near his ankles. He had sat underneath this tree for weeks, it seemed, instead of the mere hours it had truly been.
The wolf twins had long run off, insisting that their father would have their hides if they didn't return immediately- although the taijiya rather suspected that they were, in short, cowards.
Possible and highly probable. They couldn't even defend themselves against one irate wolf hanyou female! They were more than likely playboys that focused more on sex than fighting. No wonder Kouga seemed so disappointed in them.
Suddenly Kirara lifted her head, staring at the foliage nearby. She stood up on her dainty paws and blinked several times before turning around and… running the other way.
Masao sat right up, staring after her in concern. Kirara never ran away. “Kirara! Where are you going?”
Mere nanoseconds later a strange man- no, a hanyou- broke through the nearby foliage, carrying a black-haired female on his back. Masao blinked as he recognized Izayoi- but not the hanyou.
“Izayoi! Thank Kami you're all right!” Masao called, obviously relieved. The two looked at him strangely.
“How do you know me?” Izayoi asked, obviously confused. Her eyes were fixed on him, but there was absolutely no recognition in them at all when she looked at him. “Are you friends with that irate inu and his kitsune mate?”
Masao's jaw nearly dropped. Doesn't she remember me? Or her brother and sister-in-law? What in Kami's name is going on here? “Well, I'm your f-friend too, Izayoi. I'm Masao. Don't you remember? Sango and Miroku's eldest son?”
The hanyou gently lowered himself so Izayoi could dismount easier and the tenderness with which they acted with each other nearly made the taijiya scratch his head in bewilderment. “Do you know this ningen, tenchi?” he asked the inu.
Masao's eyebrows shot up in utter surprise. Angel? He's calling her terms of endearment and he's still living? Where is Inusouta during all of this?
Izayoi shook her head. “I've never seen him before either. But it would seem he knows me, so perhaps he is with the others.”
Inusouta and Amber dropped out of the trees to land on either side of Masao. The taijiya didn't even bat an eyelash. “Hey, you two. What is going on here? Why doesn't Izayoi remember me or either of you? And who is this new hanyou and why is he carrying her around like she belongs to him?”
Inusouta growled as he picked up the backpack by the tree Masao was previously leaning against. “Can we just get out of here? We are still too close to those fucking neko for my comfort.”
The taijiya whistled and leaned closer to Amber. “Is it just me or is he acting more and more like his father every minute?” The kitsune nodded, covering up her mouth to hide her giggle.
The new hanyou exchanged a glance with Izayoi, who visibly shuddered. He put his arm around Izayoi's shoulders, which shocked Masao to no end, and led her after the irate male inu-hanyou.
“What is going on?” he asked again, this time forcing Amber to stare him in the eye.
She sighed. “Izayoi's got amnesia and doesn't remember anything prior to waking up in the nekos' cave. Not Inusouta, not their parents, not anything. Not to mention her attitude's taken a complete 180. She's quiet and reserved, and quite fearful. Which I would be too, if I didn't know anyone around me.”
“Oh, damn,” the taijiya swore, totally out character due to the intensity of the situation. “And the hanyou?”
“That's Ishimaru- he's a neko hanyou with a jewel shard he refuses to hand over and he's head over tail in love with Izayoi. He wants to make her his mate, and I think she's starting to fall for him too.”
Masao's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “And the neko's still breathing? Why hasn't `Souta killed him yet?”
Amber's face got very sad. “She's terrified of her brother now. His behavior just keeps getting worse as time passes and of course, that's scaring her more. She's convinced she could never be related to such a violent and foul-mouthed man.”
The taijiya turned and stared after the trio, who were now out of sight. “And his temper's only going to get worse as long as she doesn't remember him and starts to fall in love with this Ishimaru guy.”
“You got it.”
“We… are totally screwed,” he breathed, using one of Suki's favorite terms.
“I completely agree.”
Izayoi sighed, rubbing the still-tender lump on the side of her head. Her head hurt, her heart hurt, and she really didn't know why. Probably skipped a beat one too many during the last few hours.
Glancing back at the stoic-looking guards several yards behind her, Izayoi mentally smiled at Ishimaru's thoughtfulness. He knew that she was frightened of her surroundings and had tried to eliminate her discomfort by providing her with protection. These two neko she had never seen before, but then again, there were no faces she really remembered before arriving here.
“My lady?” She turned around to see one of the neko guards bowing slightly, having stopped some distance behind her. She mentally chuckled at being called “my lady.” She was no noblewoman, or even a youkai of any rank, but because Ishimaru was the new leader and he favored her, she was now referred to with respect.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked quietly, politely. “Or did I wander too far?”
“I think Lord Ishimaru would prefer you to remain close by,” he replied, not meeting her eyes. She blinked a few times.
She moved closer to him but stayed a safe distance away. “Is something wrong? Am I not safe here?”
The guard exchanged a glance with his partner, who nodded. They both gazed at her with sincere concern. “We are among the very, very few who are happy with the change in command,” he explained in a hushed tone. “The others will be all too delighted to kill you to gain revenge for the old boss's death.”
“He was already dead,” Izayoi pointed out wryly.
The other guard hid a grin. “Indeed, and while we are actually impressed that a hanyou was still able to defeat Maomorin and gain control of the neko, those against him will be hunting him down, eager to kill him at first chance- because of his half-breed status.”
Izayoi gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “We… we must leave here. He can't stay, can he?” The two guards shook their heads.
“If he stays, not only is his life in danger, but yours as well if you chose to become his mate. Not to mention any kittens you two might bear.”
She pressed a hand to her heart, as if that alone would calm the pounding inside her chest. Her thoughts were muddled and confused, but one thing was utterly clear. Ishimaru could not stay here with the neko clan. To do so would be to resigning himself to both a life of violence and death- eventually his own.
“Take me back, onegai,” she said, a mixture of concern and determination in her golden eyes.
“Hai, my lady,” they replied immediately, turning and led her back to the cave, one in front and one behind.
-------------------
Ishimaru strode out of the cave, leading two human hanyous. He stopped at the edge of the outcropping to see Izayoi and her two escorts returning- and appearing to be trying not to rush.
The front guard saluted the hanyou- a hand across his chest and lowering of the head- as he moved out of Ishimaru's way. Izayoi climbed up to where the trio was waiting and blinked, confused.
The man looked like Inusouta, but the black dog ears and fangs were gone. He had human ears and appeared to be completely ningen. The female was lovely, with gold tresses and large sapphire eyes- just like-
“Are… are you two the same hanyous from before?” she asked, confused.
Amber smiled faintly. “Hai. I was unable to hold my hanyou state any longer. I had to revert.”
Inusouta shrugged as he slipped his newly-recovered sword and sheath through the side of his dark blue hakama. “I can control it better than you, my sister, but there was no longer any reason to. Nightfall will be coming soon enough and you and I will be back to hanyou form again.”
Izayoi looked startled. “Back?” She lifted a strand of hair and was quite dismayed to see that it had gone from silver to black. “What's going on?”
Ishimaru raised an eyebrow. “You are ningen during the day and hanyou at night? How is that possible?”
Amber gave him an indulgent smile. “They're only half hanyou- quarter youkai. Their father is Inuyasha, the famous hanyou who defeated Naraku? Their mother is the miko who helped him. I believe we mentioned it, earlier.”
That earned her a couple gasps from the two guards. They well knew the name Inuyasha. He and his Tetsusaiga were a force to be reckoned with and no youkai wanted to cross paths with him in a bad mood- or even a good mood.
The neko hanyou merely smiled. “That explains this dog's lack of manners and atrocious language skills.”
Inusouta advanced on him. “Listen, you fucking pussy…”
Abruptly two spears were pressing into his neck, holding him in place. The inu-hanyou-turned-human glared at the two guards threatening him. “Watch your mouth, mongrel,” one of them hissed. “Remember who you are talking to.”
“Oh, I remember, all right…”
Amber put a hand on Ishimaru's arm. “Stop… onegai,” she pleaded quietly. “No more fighting.”
He glanced at her and immediately signaled for his two guards to release the inu. They lowered their spears and stepped back. Inusouta moved toward Izayoi, his gold eyes full of hope. “Izayoi… do you remember me yet? Anything at all?”
She looked up at him warily, with more than a trace of fear still in her eyes. “No,” she replied stiffly. “Nor do I want to.” She turned to Ishimaru and missed seeing the pain reflected in her brother's topaz depths.
“We need to leave,” she murmured to Ishimaru. “It is not safe for you here. Your guards told me that the other neko will try to kill you at first chance.”
He nodded, his long tail swishing behind him. “I know, tenchi. None of the neko here will be pleased to have a half-breed leading them.”
The two guards cleared their throats. “We have no problems with your hanyou status,” one admitted quietly. “You are obviously a better choice than that fool Maomorin, as well as any of the other power-crazed neko around here. But there are only two of us, against at least a hundred others. For your safety and that of your future mate, you must go and now.”
Ishimaru regarded the two neko before him. He remembered the tiny kindnesses they had given him- an extra piece of leftover meat, a “forgotten” pelt that he had used as a blanket on a particularly cold night. He had never once mentioned these things for fear that they would be punished or even killed- or even out of the fear that their actions were only accidents. But to hear that they truly held no ill-will towards his half-ningen blood…
“What will you two do?” Amber asked, concerned for the two neko. “You should not be forced to stay here if you don't want to.”
They exchanged a glance. “Once we know Lady Izayoi and Lord Ishimaru are safely away from here, kitsune, we will vanish as well. The tribe will not miss us.”
Inusouta opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He suspected he knew why the tribe would not miss these two males- and it was not his place to say anything about it. If they stayed, if they were discovered not only to have helped the hanyou escape but if their secret revealed… it would mean instant death. “We should go then,” he said instead. “The sooner we leave, the better for all of us.”
Everyone nodded. Ishimaru turned around and knelt down, offering his back to Izayoi. “Get on- we'll move faster this way.”
Izayoi blinked at him. He wanted her to ride on his back? She tried to prevent the blush that stained her cheeks as she carefully got on his back, feeling his strong hands reach back and firmly grasp her thighs. Thank Kami I'm wearing these pants…
As Ishimaru ran off with Izayoi on his back, Inusouta was still standing on the outcropping, clenching his fist and cursing in as many languages as he knew. He was gritting his teeth in the effort not to rip the little bastard to shreds. Amber sighed. “Let's just follow them to make sure they don't get into trouble- neko or otherwise,” she said.
He nodded and shifted to hanyou form. Pausing long enough for his beloved Amber to jump on his back, together they raced off after the neko and their sister, heading into the forest.
-----------------
Masao sighed again as Kirara purred in her sleep near his ankles. He had sat underneath this tree for weeks, it seemed, instead of the mere hours it had truly been.
The wolf twins had long run off, insisting that their father would have their hides if they didn't return immediately- although the taijiya rather suspected that they were, in short, cowards.
Possible and highly probable. They couldn't even defend themselves against one irate wolf hanyou female! They were more than likely playboys that focused more on sex than fighting. No wonder Kouga seemed so disappointed in them.
Suddenly Kirara lifted her head, staring at the foliage nearby. She stood up on her dainty paws and blinked several times before turning around and… running the other way.
Masao sat right up, staring after her in concern. Kirara never ran away. “Kirara! Where are you going?”
Mere nanoseconds later a strange man- no, a hanyou- broke through the nearby foliage, carrying a black-haired female on his back. Masao blinked as he recognized Izayoi- but not the hanyou.
“Izayoi! Thank Kami you're all right!” Masao called, obviously relieved. The two looked at him strangely.
“How do you know me?” Izayoi asked, obviously confused. Her eyes were fixed on him, but there was absolutely no recognition in them at all when she looked at him. “Are you friends with that irate inu and his kitsune mate?”
Masao's jaw nearly dropped. Doesn't she remember me? Or her brother and sister-in-law? What in Kami's name is going on here? “Well, I'm your f-friend too, Izayoi. I'm Masao. Don't you remember? Sango and Miroku's eldest son?”
The hanyou gently lowered himself so Izayoi could dismount easier and the tenderness with which they acted with each other nearly made the taijiya scratch his head in bewilderment. “Do you know this ningen, tenchi?” he asked the inu.
Masao's eyebrows shot up in utter surprise. Angel? He's calling her terms of endearment and he's still living? Where is Inusouta during all of this?
Izayoi shook her head. “I've never seen him before either. But it would seem he knows me, so perhaps he is with the others.”
Inusouta and Amber dropped out of the trees to land on either side of Masao. The taijiya didn't even bat an eyelash. “Hey, you two. What is going on here? Why doesn't Izayoi remember me or either of you? And who is this new hanyou and why is he carrying her around like she belongs to him?”
Inusouta growled as he picked up the backpack by the tree Masao was previously leaning against. “Can we just get out of here? We are still too close to those fucking neko for my comfort.”
The taijiya whistled and leaned closer to Amber. “Is it just me or is he acting more and more like his father every minute?” The kitsune nodded, covering up her mouth to hide her giggle.
The new hanyou exchanged a glance with Izayoi, who visibly shuddered. He put his arm around Izayoi's shoulders, which shocked Masao to no end, and led her after the irate male inu-hanyou.
“What is going on?” he asked again, this time forcing Amber to stare him in the eye.
She sighed. “Izayoi's got amnesia and doesn't remember anything prior to waking up in the nekos' cave. Not Inusouta, not their parents, not anything. Not to mention her attitude's taken a complete 180. She's quiet and reserved, and quite fearful. Which I would be too, if I didn't know anyone around me.”
“Oh, damn,” the taijiya swore, totally out character due to the intensity of the situation. “And the hanyou?”
“That's Ishimaru- he's a neko hanyou with a jewel shard he refuses to hand over and he's head over tail in love with Izayoi. He wants to make her his mate, and I think she's starting to fall for him too.”
Masao's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “And the neko's still breathing? Why hasn't `Souta killed him yet?”
Amber's face got very sad. “She's terrified of her brother now. His behavior just keeps getting worse as time passes and of course, that's scaring her more. She's convinced she could never be related to such a violent and foul-mouthed man.”
The taijiya turned and stared after the trio, who were now out of sight. “And his temper's only going to get worse as long as she doesn't remember him and starts to fall in love with this Ishimaru guy.”
“You got it.”
“We… are totally screwed,” he breathed, using one of Suki's favorite terms.
“I completely agree.”