InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ New World Order ❯ Return to the Castle of the East ( Chapter 1 )

World War

Starlight Demon 22

Disclaimer: I, Starlight Demon 22, do NOT own Inuyasha, the manga, anime, original plot, other characters, etc...they belong to Rumiko Takahashi, the intelligent mind who came up with them and the lucky one who makes bundles off of them...cause I sure ain’t...I DO own my own characters (who will be blatantly obvious) and just happily give them the option of playing with Rumiko’s characters...now, on to our story

Chapter 1 - Return to the Castle of the East

Years passed, as they always do, and the children grew. Those who remained with their mothers, preparing to take Naraku on their own and rule, grew stronger. Though they kept watch over their siblings, maintaining their safety from Naraku, the younger ones never knew they were being watched. The youngest ones eventually forgot about their lives prior to their current families.

On her eighteenth birthday Akemi woke up as she usually did. She happily skipped through the house only to find her parents barely paying attention to anything but the mail. With a soft sigh she walked into the dining room to get breakfast. They joined her after a few minuets.

“You’ve received a package,” her mother said and handed it to her. Curiously Akemi ripped the brown paper off of it and a jewelry box fell out with a card. Akemi picked both up and looked at them before opening the card. “What does it say?” her mother asked as she remained quiet with a surprised look on her face.

“It says happy birthday, Kemi, here’s a present from the past.” Akemi said confused. Both her parents paled and waited for her to open the jewelry box. Akemi slowly did it before looking up at them confused. Inside the box was a necklace with a crystal butterfly on it. It was obviously old and valuable. “I think it was sent to the wrong person.” She whispered.

“Not quite,” her father said softly. “Mei-Ling there are some things we have to tell you, but we weren’t quite sure when the best time was.” She looked up surprised.

“Like?” she asked as she set the necklace on the table with the card and waited to hear what they have to say.

“Like,” her mother said with a heavy, defeated sigh, “we’re not your real parents. Your parents were hunted by Lord Naraku. After your father was killed resisting him your mother decided this was best to guarantee your safety.”

“Do you know where she is? My…my real mother?” Akemi asked weakly. Both adults shook their heads silently. “Why…who’s Kemi?”

“Your real name is Akemi; Kemi must have been your nickname.” Her father responded softly. “I understand that this is hard…”

“No, I don’t think you do,” Akemi said angrily and stormed off back to her room as both adults sighed heavily and looked at each other miserably. They knew, taking her in, that this was going to happen, but it was hard nonetheless.

After a few hours of the silent treatment, Akemi found them in the sitting room. They both looked up as she entered and sat down before them. She looked at them almost business like but with a pout. “I want,” she said softly and sternly, “to know everything; where I come from, who my real parents are; everything.”

“This should explain it all,” her father said weakly as he held a letter out. “This was left for you.” She accepted it with a quivering hand.

The envelope was thick as she turned it over in her hands, feeling the rough paper, and smelling a woodsy, mossy, wet smell. It was a refreshing scent. The handwriting on it was neat and had a sense of elegance to it, it wrote out Akemi. *That’s the name fa…he said was truly mine…*

She opened the letter carefully and looked at the page. The paper itself was thick and the letter was several pages long. The handwriting was the same from the envelope.

Dear Akemi;

I’m sorry if this letter does not answer all of the questions I’m sure you have as you read this. Terrible things have happened and I fear many more will occur before we meet again.

I’ve written this because a dark evil is spreading and your father, while trying to prevent this evil, has been killed. Your oldest brother and I are in hiding and we felt it was in the best interest of you and your other brothers to place you in temporary homes until its safe enough for your return.

I hope and pray you have not forgotten us, as I know I could never forget about you. But it could be many years or just a few short months before we see each other again. For that reason I’ll remind you of a few things.

You, my little one, are a princess. Yes, I know! It seems hard to fathom, especially if you’re much older than four. You were your father, Lord Higashi’s, favorite kitten, and we had six of you. You have five older brothers who adore you to no ends. They are: Seiji, he’s the oldest and is with me as he is heir to your father’s throne; Jiro, you used to watch him read all the time; Shinta, he and you would train your spiritual powers together; Rinji, he taught you grace, learning how to land on your feet; and Ryo, he taught you some self defense despite your father’s and my wishes.

Unfortunately, I’m running out of time to write this. To figure everything out that I haven’t yet explained remember at least this: the Castle of the East holds the answers you seek. Never forget that we love you!

Love always,

Mother

Lady Mai

Tears were streaming down her face as she finished reading. Her parents watched her worriedly; they never read the letter so they honestly didn’t know. With a sigh she stood up, holding the letter tightly, and stumbled back to her room.

Dinner came and went and Akemi remained hidden. It was near bedtime when she appeared in the entry way. She wore all black and her vibrant red hair was cut very short.

“Mei-Ling,” her father said surprised.

“My name is Akemi, remember? Or did you forget while lying to me?” Akemi said, obviously still very upset by the letter.

“Where are you doing, Akemi, dear?” her mother asked softly. It was obvious Akemi was close to losing control of her youkai blood and she didn’t want to set her off.

“Lord Higashi and Lady Mai’s castle in the Eastern Lands,” Akemi said as she looked in a bag on her hip, “as it was once my home it holds more answers.” They nodded as they watched her, there was little stopping her now.

“But Angel,” her foster father said as she opened the door, “there’s a curfew. Why don’t you wait until morning? Then you can say you’re going to visit a relative.” His mate nodded enthusiastically at the idea. Akemi sighed as she thought.

“No,” she said briskly, “I’m leaving tonight.” With that she was gone as they stared at the closed door. Akemi wandered, making sure to avoid any of the ground Saimyosho. She sighed as she narrowly avoided detection.

For most of the night Akemi traveled and avoided detection. She made it to a train station just on the edge of the city when the curfew was lifted and most of the Saimyosho were gone. She walked up to the teller and smiled.

“Can I help you?” she asked surprised.

“Yes, I need a ticket to the Eastern Border, please,” Akemi said sweetly. The woman nodded and entered the information.

“Your reason for going?” the woman asked.

“My mother found out that her sister was sick, she couldn’t get off work to go take care of her, so mother sent me,” Akemi said, she smiled at the woman’s convinced look and handed her money over before receiving her ticket.

“Have a good trip and I hope your aunt feels better.” The teller said kindly. Akemi smiled and waved before heading to the platform. She handed the conductor her ticket, climbed on, and relaxed in her seat.

Akemi was kind of excited, honestly, she’s never been to the Eastern Border. She’s been to the Western Border with her foster father, but that was a long time ago. Plus, she’s never been far away from home by herself before. As the train started to move Akemi fell asleep, the sheer excitement, worry, and being up all night finally getting to her.

“Attention passengers,” the conductor said over the PA system, “we are now coming to the last stop. Eastern Border! Last stop!” Akemi woke up and looked at her watch, it was half past midnight. She pulled out her ticket and got in the line that filed off the train closely.

“If stopped by a Saimyosho just show him your ticket, they’ll let you continue or at least walk you to an inn,” the conductor told her. Akemi smiled sweetly and nodded before heading off in a various direction.

After she had walked out of view, Akemi slid into the shadows. She found the true border and cursed softly, it was fortified and there were no obvious holes to use. She watched the guard as they made their rounds and smirked at the obvious movement on the other side.

The explosion was as great as the Fourth of July fireworks she read about in the history books. She slid out of the shadows and over the rubble of the fence. She hid herself away, watching the obvious group of rebels as they fought with the guards.

“Clear!” one of them shouted and they all vanished into the shadows. She vanished and headed away from the village into the forest.

“And who are you?” a voice demanded as she got surrounded by rebels. She pulled out her letter, necklace, and birthday card.

“According to these,” she calmly replied, “princess of these lands.” The leader snatched away the letter and read it, the gruff look on his face never changing. “I’m here for answers.”

“What kind of answers?” he snapped with an intrigued look on his face. She snagged the letter back from him.

“I want to see my mother,” she said, her head held high; “I demand to see Lady Mai.” A few of the men grew stiff at her demand, though the leader remained calm.

“Lady Mai is dead, she killed herself at the knowledge of her mate’s death,” the leader said darkly. Akemi looked at him stunned and miserable. “Go home, little princess, there’s nothing for you here.”

“Nothing?” she demanded, her determination blatantly obvious. “My family is here, if my mother is dead I demand to see my brother, all of them.” She came off as fierce as the leader looked at her calculating.

“Fine,” he said softly, “we’ll take you and allow the others to decide.” He turned and prepared to leave. “Keep up; I’m not coming back for you.” He took off and Akemi kept to his heels.

As they ran the moon finished her trek through the sky and in the morning’s light the silhouette of a run down castle came into view. As she inhaled she smelled the wet, woodsy, mossy scent from the original letter. The leader stopped and almost collided into Akemi as she looked around.

“Welcome to the Castle of the East,” the leader said before entering. She followed and looked around; the entrance hall was filled with dust, rubble, broken stones, and bones. “The lords of the four kingdoms fought against and lost to Naraku together.”

“What happened here?” she asked softly.

“Naraku, what else?” he asked her. “After your departure he attacked here. Your eldest brother defended it with the vigor of your father. Naturally he knew he wasn’t powerful enough and retreated. We returned after Naraku left.” She nodded as they walked around. She stopped by a painting and sighed depressively. He watched as she looked at it sadly.

“I don’t remember them,” she said softly. “But I do know this much, you lied about her death.” She pointed to the queen. “She sent the birthday card and necklace.” He turned and resumed his way down the hall.

They went down the stairs to the dungeons, which were amazingly clean, and a large room. There groups of people were gathered and Akemi looked around surprised. A regal looking female with a stern face, a male with no emotions, and a neko hanyou followed by an older female human came over.

“Are you a retard?” she snapped at the leader. Akemi knew at that moment, without knowing her, she didn’t like the regal looking female. “What if she’s a spy? Did you think?”

“She’s a missing princess, Kameo, shut up and get out of my way,” the leader snapped. The female looked at him stunned as he pushed past her. “Lady Mai, Seiji, she demanded to see you both. She had a letter naming her Lady Akemi.”

“Of course she’s Akemi, she has Higashi’s eyes,” the older woman said happily. “My kitten’s finally come home.” Akemi looked at her warily as she hugged her. “We’ve missed you dear.”

“Then why…why did you…send me away?” Akemi asked softly and confused. She took Akemi’s arm and led her to a seat.

“I can tell you everything,” Mai said softly, “but please don’t interrupt because it’ll take forever.” Akemi nodded as she listened.

“Your father was lord of the Eastern Lands, he was a peaceful lord. He was joined by the lords of the Northern, Western, and Southern lands against Naraku, who was destroying the peace they had created.” Mai said quickly. “I don’t know why, but you and the other children of the lords witnessed the deaths of your fathers. After returning home, they explained to each mother that she and the heir were in danger, but you could always have a chance to live a normal life.”

“It killed me,” Mai said sadly, “to send you and the four of your brothers away. But it was the only way to guarantee your safety. Even if it meant you forgot us.” Akemi nodded as she thought.

“So these are the children of the other lords?” Akemi asked weakly. Mai nodded.

“Yes, you’re all returning,” Mai said happily, “you are the last. The wolves are Lord Kita and Lady Setsuna’s cubs of the North. They are Kogua, their heir, Tomoe, Tanjiro, Eri, Hojo, and Kai. The inu youkai and hanyou are Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, sons of Lord Nishi and Ladies Song and Izayoi. The tigers are the cubs of the Southern Lands, Lord Minami, and Lady Kayura; Kameo, Keiki, Mitsu, Song, and Yuka.” Akemi nodded as the other neko hanyou came up. “And these are your brothers’ Seiji, Jiro, Shinta, Rinji, and Ryo.” Akemi stood and bowed. As soon as she straightened up she was pulled into a hug by them.

“So, who else is here?” Akemi asked as she noticed others looking on curiously.

“Others against Naraku,” Seiji said softly. Akemi nodded as she looked around. Akemi noticed the regal looking female, who she believed to be Kameo, quickly speaking to a sibling.

“So, your little family is complete,” the stoic inu youkai said as he approached. Seiji looked at him as he stood up and shrugged.

“Yeah, if you want to put it that way,” Seiji said as he pulled Akemi up. “Kems, this is Sesshomaru, he’s current Lord of the Western Lands.” Akemi bowed and blushed a bit. She looked up to see Kameo walk up with a sneer.

“From what I hear, Miss Kitty doesn’t remember us,” she said darkly. Akemi’s eyes darkened in irritation.

“She’ll remember in time, Kameo,” Seiji said in her defense.

“I think she’s useless,” Kameo said with an air of superiority. “Can’t remember anything, how does she know who and how to fight?” At that Akemi seemed to have snapped. She turned around and elbowed Kameo in the stomach before grabbing her by the throat.

“Tell me, if I’m useless, what are you? You smell just like the city I came from and I don’t meant he train station. If there are no holes in their barriers, how are you getting thru? And, remember, I can smell your lies.” Akemi snarled. Kameo looked at her stunned. “Now, you will not speak to or about me unless spoken to or you’ll find a dart in the back of your head.” She threw her down and watched as Kameo ran off.

“You must calm your youkai blood,” Sesshomaru said sternly. “The last thing you want is to start a fight and get killed.” Akemi forced herself to calm as a few of the others suspiciously surrounded Kameo.

“What’s going on?” Akemi asked confused. Sesshomaru looked at her and then the group.

“A mob mentality, obviously,” Sesshomaru said stoically. “There have been suspicions of a traitor. You just exposed her.” Akemi looked at him and the small mob surprised.

“What will they do with her?” Akemi asked concerned. Sesshomaru shrugged as if it didn’t concern him.

“They’ll probably watch her and if it’s determined she’s really a traitor she’ll be killed.” He responded when she pouted at him. Akemi sighed as she prepared to step forward and stop them. Sesshomaru grabbed her arm and shook his head silently. “It’s best to allow them; you’re not going to be able to stop it now.” Akemi looked at Sesshomaru curiously, mainly because he wouldn’t let go of her arm.

“So you’ve all been hiding here? All this time?” Akemi asked curiously. Sesshomaru shook his head as she sat down.