InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Beginning of Darkness ❯ Chapter 9
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: SnowySilence 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.28.2005 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 273 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.28.2005 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 273 | Status: Completed
Part 9
~*~*~
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru dashed back into the cave, looking for any sign of an attack.
“Kagome! What happened?!” Inuyasha called out as he slid to a stop scanning for any enemies. Confusion took hold of Inuyasha as he took in the sight before him.
Aiko was on her knees beside the fire, sobbing into her hands. Kiyoshi, knife in hand, stared at his surroundings. Horror filled his eyes.
“Kagome, what happened?”
Kagome shook her head as she stared at her two oldest children. “I don’t know. It’s like they can’t hear me, Inuyasha. They won’t respond.”
“What are they seeing?” Sesshoumaru murmured to himself. He watched the two children intently.
“Dammit!” Screamed Kiyoshi. He walked over to the cave wall and slammed his small fist into it. “I knew we shouldn’t have stayed! This is all my fault! I should told Mom and Dad to leave!” He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the wall.
Aiko looked up from her hands, tears still shining on her cheeks and in her eyes. “What are we going to do? Kiyoshi... Mom and Daddy... They...” She started to sob again. “Who killed them?! Why didn’t they kill us?! Why?! Why?!! The babies... What did we do?!” Her sobs shook her entire body.
Every one in the room stared at the two little children. Kagome shook herself and reached for her daughter, desperate to make her see that they were still alive. Aiko looked in her direction just as Kagome was about to touch her shoulder. Aiko screamed and threw herself away from Kagome. Kiyoshi flew across the distance of the cave and grabbed Aiko, shoving her behind him and slashed at Kagome with his knife. Kagome cried out and threw herself backwards, just avoiding the blade.
“Kagome!” Inuyasha went to move to her, but Sesshoumaru grabbed his arm.
“Don’t move. They obviously don’t see us. Moving might frighten them more.” He looked at the other occupants in the cave. “I think the other children should be moved out of the cave.”
Kohaku and Shippou nodded. They gathered the remaining children and headed out of the cave.
Kiyoshi’s arms were wrapped around his sister protectively, surveying the area. “It’s alright Aiko. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
Inuyasha stared at his son. There was no way Kiyoshi would have attacked Kagome. What were they seeing that scared them so much? Why did they think that everyone was dead? “Kagome, are you alright?”
Kagome nodded, her eyes locked on her children. “Inuyasha, help them.”
Inuyasha looked helplessly at his children. How could he help them?
~*~*~
Kiyoshi fought back tears. His parents were dead, his brother and sisters were dead. Every one he considered family was dead. Their throats ripped out, their heads hanging at odd angles, gashes and tears all over them. Mutilated by whatever had killed them.
Only he and Aiko were still alive. Why? And what was that thing that had reached out for Aiko? It had looked like a rotting corpse. He closed his eyes. This couldn’t be happening.
Aiko stared at the place the thing had reached for her. Kiyoshi had sliced at it and it had dissolved into the air. “Kiyoshi... Do you think that was the thing that killed everyone?”
“I don’t know.” Kiyoshi sighed and stood up. “We have to leave. Come on.”
Aiko whipped around. “What?! We can’t leave our family like this! The deserve proper burials.”
“Yes, they do... But I don’t think they’d want us to stay here when whatever killed them could come back for us.” Kiyoshi looked at Aiko. “Please, Aiko, let’s go. I promise, we’ll come back and give them proper burials later.”
Aiko looked at her brother for a moment, then bowed her head. “Alright.” She stood up.
“Don’t forget the Shikon. We need to protect that.”
Aiko nodded. She raised her hand and called for the small jewel silently. It flew through the air and landed in her hand. Aiko turned to her brother. “I have it.”
Kiyoshi nodded. They were both numb from the shock. He took Aiko’s hand and just stood there for a moment.
“What do we do now? Where do we go?” Aiko asked.
Kiyoshi thought a moment. “Uncle Sesshoumaru. I think he’ll help us.”
Aiko nodded. They moved towards the entrance of the cave, but when they got there, shock hit them hard. The ground in front of the cave was gone. They were hanging off the side of a steep cliff. The twins looked at each other.
“How did that happen? We came in this way!” Aiko stared out into the hollow space in front of them. She looked up at her brother. “How do we get out of here now?”
Kiyoshi clenched his fists. Obviously, someone wanted them to stay in this cave. “Their has to be another way out.” He stepped up to the edge of the cliff face and looked out.
Aiko sighed and turned to look back into the cave. Her eyes widened with shock as she stared at the opposite wall from her. Sesshoumaru was hanging against the wall, pinned to it by his own sword. Next to him was Inuyasha, also pinned to the wall with his sword.
Horrified, she backed away from them, and bumped into the wall behind her. She slid down it, until she was sitting.
Kiyoshi sighed and turned back to his sister. He frowned when he saw her sitting on the ground. “What is it?” He turned to look at the opposite wall and gasped. “Oh, no... no, no...”
~*~*~
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha watched the twins. Kiyoshi and Aiko were looking right at them, but seemed to be seeing something else. Inuyasha looked at his brother. “What’s wrong with them?”
“They seem to be trapped in some kind of illusion. But no illusion I know of is this powerful.”
“Is there a way to snap them out of this?”
Sesshoumaru shook his head. “No, not until the illusionist is ready to relinquish the illusion.”
Inuyasha stared helplessly at his children.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi grabbed Aiko’s hand and dragged her back into the cave. “We have to find another way out. Their has to be another way out.” He looked at Aiko. “We never went too deep into the caves. Let’s try that way.”
Aiko just nodded. Kiyoshi pulled her towards the back of the cave, but before they went too far, Kiyoshi stopped. “Aiko... What is that?”
Aiko looked over Kiyoshi’s shoulder. “Uhh... I don’t know... Kiyoshi... I don’t like the looks of it.”
“Neither do I.” Kiyoshi stared at the purple fog slowly coming in from the back of the cave. It was getting denser with every passing moment and was slowly filling the cave. “Let’s get higher up. I don’t want to touch that stuff.”
Kiyoshi looked around the cave and spotted a high ledge about twenty feet up. “Do you think you can jump up there, Aiko?”
Aiko looked up. “Yeah. I can do that.”
Kiyoshi waited for his sister to jump up first, then he followed. When they were both safely up, they looked down at the fog. The ground was now fully covered by it and too dense to see through.
“Kiyoshi... Didn’t Mom and Dad tell us about something like this before? What was it called?”
Kiyoshi frowned. “You’re right. I can’t remember, though.”
“I remember them saying it was bad, though.” Aiko looked down at the purple cloud. “They said it was poisonous.”
“Yeah. I remember that part.” Kiyoshi looked at Aiko. “Now what?”
“Well-” Aiko started, but was interrupted but a soft rumble. She looked at Kiyoshi. “What was that?”
Another soft rumble fell. Then another. Kiyoshi paled. “They’re foot steps.”
He grabbed Aiko’s hand and backed away from the edge and pressed themselves against the wall. Within moments, the room was filled with a loud roar. Kiyoshi an Aiko cried out and covered their ears, trying to block out the deafening roar. When the cry died down, Kiyoshi uncovered his ears. He looked at the back of the cave, and waited. The cry was familiar to him. He knew what had made the noise. He looked at Aiko and saw that she knew too.
The large demon that had destroyed their home lumbered in. It was eye level to the ledge they were on, so it saw them immediately. I came toward them and roared again, causing the twins to cover their ears again. They cried out in pain at the loud noise and fell to their knees.
~*~*~
“What’s happening to them?” Kagome cried out as she watched her children falling to their knees and crying out as they covered their ears. “Inuyasha what’s happening to them?”
Inuyasha watched them intently. Whatever was happening to them was hurting them. He swore silently that he’d kill whoever was behind this.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi forced himself up, blocking Aiko behind him. The big demon looked at him, his red glazed eyes glittering maliciously. “GIVE ME THE SHIKON NO TAMA.”
Kiyoshi cringed at the booming voice. “We don’t have it!” He shouted back at the demon.
“DO NOT LIE TO ME!!! I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS AND FIND IT MYSELF IF YOU DO NOT HAND IT OVER NOW!!!”
Kiyoshi slammed his hands over his ears, trying to protect them from the force of the demon’s voice. “Why do you want it?” He yelled back.
“MY MASTER NEEDS IT, AND I WILL GET IT FOR HIM. GIVE IT TO ME, NOW!!! MY MASTER WANTS IT!!!”
Kiyoshi cried out as the demon roared. He fell to his knees clutching his head. He looked over at at Aiko, who was also laying on the ground, covering her ears.
Suddenly, the demon stopped screaming. Kiyoshi looked up and was stunned to see the demon frozen in place. Standing in front of him, was a beautiful woman.
Kiyoshi quickly scrambled up to his feet, pulling Aiko with him. He didn’t know what to make of this beautiful woman. “Who are you?”
The woman smiled. “I am Kagura. You do not have a lot of time little ones. You must get out of the cave immediately. The demon will kill you.”
“Kagura?” Aiko looked at her suspiciously. She knew that name from somewhere.
~*~*~
Inuyasha gasped. “Kagura?! She’s dead!” He looked over at Kouga. Kouga’s hands were tightened into fists. He had been the one to kill Kagura.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi stared at the woman. “We can’t get out of the cave.”
“Yes you can. It’s just an illusion. The ground it still there. You must believe that if you are to escape. Believe me, this demon doesn’t care about your lives.” Kagura took on a pained expression. “I don’t have much time left. The demon will overpower me again soon. You must leave now.”
Before Kiyoshi or Aiko could say another word, Kagura disappeared. The roaring resounded through the cave, causing the twins to cry out in pain again.
“GIVE ME THE JEWEL!!!”
Kiyoshi looked up into the demon’s eyes. Then towards the exit. They would never both make it out. “Aiko...” He looked over his shoulder at his sister.
Aiko knew what Kiyoshi was planning. “No, don’t you dare even think it!”
“It’s the only way.” Kiyoshi turned back towards the beast. “Aiko, promise you will be careful.”
“Kiyoshi, no! No, you can’t!”
“Protect the jewel. It’s what is important.” Kiyoshi took up a battle stance, mimicking his father. He held up this knife. “Aiko, go!”
Immediately, Kiyoshi launched himself at the demon. Aiko, with a sob, jumped off the ledge and flew through the entrance, her eyes closed so she couldn’t see the illusion on the ground outside the cave.
~*~*~
Sesshoumaru took off out of the cave after the little girl, leaving Inuyasha and the others to watch Kiyoshi battle the unseen enemy. Shock had fallen over the others as they watched Kiyoshi. If it were truly an illusion, he should have flown through the spot where the demon was supposed to be, but Kiyoshi had hit something solid in midair and bounced off of it with is feet and landed back on the ledge in a crouching position.
Inuyasha watched helplessly as his seven year old battled for his life.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi breathed heavily and he looked at the demon watching for signs of his next attack. It came in the way of a fist flying heavily at him. Kiyoshi jumped up to avoid it, landing nimbly on top of it. He launched himself back at the demon’s face with his knife outstretched, burying it to the hilt into the demon’s cheek.
The demon roared in pain and grabbed Kiyoshi in his oversized hand and slammed him against the wall right above the ledge. The air in Kiyoshi’s lungs rushed out of him and he saw stars floating before him.
“GIVE ME THE JEWEL, BOY.” The demon began to slowly squeeze Kiyoshi.
~*~*~
“Inuyasha! Do something!” screamed Kagome as she watched her son struggle to draw air into his lungs as he floated in mid air.
Inuyasha and Kouga jumped up onto the ledge, but their was nothing they could do. They grabbed onto Kiyoshi, trying to find what was holding him up, but their was nothing.
“Kiyoshi, breathe! Kiyoshi!” Inuyasha cried out in desperation. His son was suffocating and their was nothing he could do about it.
Miroku searched the area for any signs of spells but didn’t find anything, Sango was holding onto Kagome. They all stood by, helplessly looking at the young boy.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi tried to draw air into his lungs but the pressure on his chest was too much to fight. Suddenly, the pressure lessened. He fell to the ground gasping for breathe, coughing and choking.
“GIVE ME THE JEWEL!!!”
Kiyoshi cringed away from the booming voice, his head throbbing from the lack of oxygen. “Go to the devil, you filthy demon. Even if I had it, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
The demon roared again and picked Kiyoshi up in his hand again. Kiyoshi met his stare. “I love you, Aiko... Be strong...” He whispered as the demon squeezed the breath out of him again. Kiyoshi’s head rolled back as he lost consciousness.
~*~*~
“Kiyoshi!!!!” Inuyasha screamed as his son’s eyes closed. He grabbed his son, trying desperately to breathe air into his lungs, but he was still suspended in air.
Suddenly, Kiyoshi lifted higher and away from the ledge. Inuyasha stared at his son. If it had been an illusion, even as powerful as this one seemed to be, it should have ended when Kiyoshi lost consciousness. At least he hoped he had only lost consciousness.
What the hell was going on?
~*~*~
Aiko ran as fast as she could away from the cave. Her heart hurt because of the sacrifice her brother had made for her. ‘Don’t die on me Kiyoshi, please. You can’t leave me alone.’
She ran as far and as fast as she could. She had to get as far away as she could before the demon came after her. But it wasn’t long before she felt the thundering footfalls behind her.
Aiko ran as hard as she could, desperate to get away, but unfortunately, she came to a cliff edge. Aiko gasped, stopping short of the cliff. ‘It’s probably another illusion.’ She thought, as she stared down. But she couldn’t be sure so she turned to run in another direction.
She didn’t make another step. The demon lumbered into view, holding Kiyoshi in his hand. Aiko stared in horror as her brother’s head swayed lifelessly in the demons hand.
The demon roared at her and went to stomp on her. Aiko closed her eyes, waiting for the foot to crush her, but someone grabbed her and they both tumbled away from the demon. Aiko gasped for breath as she tried to recover from the impact. She opened her eyes to see who had saved her and saw a boy no older than her standing in front of her.
She watched as the boy drew his sword, which was much too big for him and move in front of the chasm. The demon roared in rage and dropped Kiyoshi to the ground. Aiko stood up and went to go to her brother, but the other boy stopped her.
“Don’t move! Just wait there!” The boy didn’t look at her, but only at the demon. Aiko did as she was told.
The demon growled and charged the boy. “I WILL KILL YOU FOR INTERFERING!” The demon moved to kick the boy, but the boy was faster. He darted under the demon’s leg and stabbed his calf. The demon screamed in agony. It lost it’s balance and fell over the edge of the cliff.
Aiko stared at the boy. Who was he and why had he saved her? She watched him as he walked over to the cliff and looked down. When he was satisfied that the demon was gone, he turned toward her.
“Umm... Thank you for saving me.” Aiko offered him a shy smile.
The boy walked over to her. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine, thanks to you.” She smiled at the boy. He had short, black, curly hair and red eyes.
He smiled at her. “I’m glad.” He touched her cheek. The boy surprised her then by pushing her onto the ground, covering her body with his and pinning her arms over her head.
“What are you doing? Let go!” Aiko’s eyes were round with shock. She struggled to get up from under him, but he shushed her.
“Shhhh... Just relax, this is almost over...” Aiko stilled under him, fear taking hold of her.
“Please... Let me go...” She whimpered. She felt him smile against her throat just before he bit deeply into her neck. She cried out, straining her arms against his grip. Soon, her struggles ceased and she lost consciousness.
~*~*~
Kagome cried out as she watched her daughter fade. She tried to run to her, but Sesshoumaru stopped her. “There’s nothing you can do. Wait.”
Inuyasha looked helplessly at his daughter’s tiny form. The blood soaked her clothing as it ran down her neck.
They all watched as her limp form lifted into the air and floated over to her brother. There, she was let down. As they watched, a figure became solid in front of them. It stood up from next to Aiko and Kiyoshi and turned toward them.
Shock took hold of the group as they stared at Naraku. He smiled. “For you.” He said as he faded away into nothing.
Kagome looked at Inuyasha, then ran to her children. She was followed by the rest of the group.
Kagome examined Aiko’s throat where she’d been bitten. She covered it with her hand and used her miko powers to heal the wound. She turned and looked at Inuyasha, who was standing next to Sesshoumaru a short distance away, talking in a hushed voice.
“He must have had this planned for a long time. He orchestrated it perfectly. I’m sure he waited until you arrived to put on his performance.” Sesshoumaru looked over his brother.
“Damn him. How did he do this? He’s dead. We all saw to it.” Inuyasha started to pace.
Miroku looked at him. “You know he has a fondness for games. He must have been working on them for years in order to have such a strong connection with them that he could actually touch them without having a body.”
“What are you saying? That this isn’t over?” Kagome looked Miroku straight in the eyes.
Miroku nodded solemnly. Kagome closed her eyes.
Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha. “She’s your mate. You need to tell her.”
“Tell me what?”
Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru for a moment, then turned towards his mate. “Naraku... He marked Aiko.”
“You mean the bite? I healed that.”
“Yes, but their’s a scar.”
“So?”
“So...” Inuyasha sighed. “Kagome, he marked her his mate. That bite won’t go away. It’s his way of telling us he’s coming back to take her away from us.”
Kagome gasped. “No, Inuyasha no! She’s only seven! He can’t have marked her!”
“Well, I didn’t see her looking up, did you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, when she was talking to him, she was talking eye level with him. That means to her, he’s her age. Which means he’s planning on growing up along side her and Kiyoshi. So she won’t feel that their’s anything wrong with it when he comes for her.”
“Oh, God, Inuyasha...” Kagome covered her face with her hands. “We have to-” Kagome stopped when she heard a soft moan. She turned toward her children and saw that Aiko was awake.
“Don’t go to her. They might still be in his illusion.”
Kagome watched as Aiko rubbed her neck where she was bit. She blinked a few times, then looked down at her brother. Aiko gasped and tried to shake him awake. “Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi! Wake up! Please, wake up!”
Kiyoshi groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “Aiko?”
Aiko sighed in relief and threw herself onto her brother. He yelped. “What are you doing! Get off of me!”
Aiko giggled, feeling as if it were almost like old times. It was sad to think that “old times” were less than a week ago. She sighed and sat up. “The demon’s gone. We were saved by a strange boy.”
Kiyoshi sat up and rubbed his temples. “Really? Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I thought he bit me on the neck, but their’s no wound. I passed out, I think.”
“Bit you? Why’d he do that?”
“I don’t know.” Aiko sighed. She looked around her and stopped when she saw her parents. “Kiyoshi...”
“What?”
When she didn’t move, he followed her line of sight and gasped. “What...?”
“Are they real, Kiyoshi?”
“I’m seeing them.” The twins looked at each other, then back at their family. “Mom? Dad?”
Kagome cried out and ran to her children. “It’s me, babies. I swear, it’s me.”
She wrapped her arms around them, hugging them fiercely. It took a moment for them to respond. Inuyasha came over and hugged them too, as their children sobbed into their arms.
“Mom, I saw you! You were dead! Dad! You, too! How are you alive?” Kiyoshi lifted his tear stained face to look at his father.
“It’s a long story that we’ll figure out later.”
“The babies? What about them?”
“They’re okay. Don’t worry, everyone’s okay.” With this bit of comfort the two children sobbed in relief into their parents arms, letting the horrors of the evening wash away with their tears.
They cried themselves to sleep. Sango and Miroku went to get the other children to bring them to their new camp, and in the morning they all headed back to their home.
When they reached the village, everyone there was rejoiced to see them all back safe and sound. The munchkins all ran off to greet their friends and play. Sesshoumaru had a few private words with Inuyasha before he left for the West Lands.
“What was all that about?” Kagome asked as they walked into their newly built home.
“Sesshoumaru thinks it’s best if we send Aiko and Kiyoshi to live in the West Lands with him for a while.”
Kagome stopped short. “What?”
“I agree.”
“What?!”
“Kagome. They need to learn how to defend themselves against Naraku. We can’t teach them all the things they need to know. And what about the other munchkins? We can’t neglect them to teach the twins. Sesshoumaru is better equipped to help them.”
“Inuyasha, they’re only seven. Can’t they be children a little longer?”
“Naraku is going to come for them and we don’t know when. They need to be prepared for when that happens.” Inuyasha sighed. “Sesshoumaru is going to come here to take them. Not for a few months at least. He said he needs to prepare.”
Kagome stood there for a moment. “I really hate this Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome. “I do too.”
“Let’s tell them, then.”
~*~*~
Six months went by before Sesshoumaru stood before his brother’s home. He watched silently as the children played tag. Teito was toddling around now, giggling as he tried to catch the older children. And the older children ran around laughing as the “it” tried to tag someone. Aiko was the first to notice Sesshoumaru. Her smile faded a bit, and she looked at Kiyoshi. He followed her gaze and his smile faded too.
Both children walked over to their hose and went inside. A few minutes later, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku came out.
“Sesshoumaru, They’ll be out in a moment. They went to get their bags.” Kagome said. She looked saddened. She rubbed her swollen stomach as she and Sango walked back into the house.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. “Do not tell me she’s carrying pups again.”
Inuyasha gave him a sour look. “Yes, she’s pregnant. You’re just jealous because you don’t have any of your own.”
“Inuyasha, you have enough for the both of us.”
Miroku choked and turned away. Inuyasha hit the back of his head. “Don’t laugh. Sango’s pregnant too. And Kagome told me she said she won’t let you touch her ever again.”
Miroku gave him a sour look. But before he could reply, Aiko and Kiyoshi came out. They were followed by Kagome and Sango. All the little munchkins came running over to say goodbye.
When all the hugs and kisses were done, Kiyoshi and Aiko climbed into the dragon drawn carriage. They waved out the window until their family was out of sight.
Sesshoumaru looked at them for a moment. “Are you not upset?”
“Only a little. We’ll miss them, but we need to learn this stuff.” Kiyoshi said. “I don’t want him to hurt us again.”
Sesshoumaru nodded. He’d never say so out loud, but he was proud of Inuyasha for the way he raised his children. And he was proud to call these two his Niece and Nephew.
~*~*~
~*~*~
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru dashed back into the cave, looking for any sign of an attack.
“Kagome! What happened?!” Inuyasha called out as he slid to a stop scanning for any enemies. Confusion took hold of Inuyasha as he took in the sight before him.
Aiko was on her knees beside the fire, sobbing into her hands. Kiyoshi, knife in hand, stared at his surroundings. Horror filled his eyes.
“Kagome, what happened?”
Kagome shook her head as she stared at her two oldest children. “I don’t know. It’s like they can’t hear me, Inuyasha. They won’t respond.”
“What are they seeing?” Sesshoumaru murmured to himself. He watched the two children intently.
“Dammit!” Screamed Kiyoshi. He walked over to the cave wall and slammed his small fist into it. “I knew we shouldn’t have stayed! This is all my fault! I should told Mom and Dad to leave!” He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the wall.
Aiko looked up from her hands, tears still shining on her cheeks and in her eyes. “What are we going to do? Kiyoshi... Mom and Daddy... They...” She started to sob again. “Who killed them?! Why didn’t they kill us?! Why?! Why?!! The babies... What did we do?!” Her sobs shook her entire body.
Every one in the room stared at the two little children. Kagome shook herself and reached for her daughter, desperate to make her see that they were still alive. Aiko looked in her direction just as Kagome was about to touch her shoulder. Aiko screamed and threw herself away from Kagome. Kiyoshi flew across the distance of the cave and grabbed Aiko, shoving her behind him and slashed at Kagome with his knife. Kagome cried out and threw herself backwards, just avoiding the blade.
“Kagome!” Inuyasha went to move to her, but Sesshoumaru grabbed his arm.
“Don’t move. They obviously don’t see us. Moving might frighten them more.” He looked at the other occupants in the cave. “I think the other children should be moved out of the cave.”
Kohaku and Shippou nodded. They gathered the remaining children and headed out of the cave.
Kiyoshi’s arms were wrapped around his sister protectively, surveying the area. “It’s alright Aiko. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
Inuyasha stared at his son. There was no way Kiyoshi would have attacked Kagome. What were they seeing that scared them so much? Why did they think that everyone was dead? “Kagome, are you alright?”
Kagome nodded, her eyes locked on her children. “Inuyasha, help them.”
Inuyasha looked helplessly at his children. How could he help them?
~*~*~
Kiyoshi fought back tears. His parents were dead, his brother and sisters were dead. Every one he considered family was dead. Their throats ripped out, their heads hanging at odd angles, gashes and tears all over them. Mutilated by whatever had killed them.
Only he and Aiko were still alive. Why? And what was that thing that had reached out for Aiko? It had looked like a rotting corpse. He closed his eyes. This couldn’t be happening.
Aiko stared at the place the thing had reached for her. Kiyoshi had sliced at it and it had dissolved into the air. “Kiyoshi... Do you think that was the thing that killed everyone?”
“I don’t know.” Kiyoshi sighed and stood up. “We have to leave. Come on.”
Aiko whipped around. “What?! We can’t leave our family like this! The deserve proper burials.”
“Yes, they do... But I don’t think they’d want us to stay here when whatever killed them could come back for us.” Kiyoshi looked at Aiko. “Please, Aiko, let’s go. I promise, we’ll come back and give them proper burials later.”
Aiko looked at her brother for a moment, then bowed her head. “Alright.” She stood up.
“Don’t forget the Shikon. We need to protect that.”
Aiko nodded. She raised her hand and called for the small jewel silently. It flew through the air and landed in her hand. Aiko turned to her brother. “I have it.”
Kiyoshi nodded. They were both numb from the shock. He took Aiko’s hand and just stood there for a moment.
“What do we do now? Where do we go?” Aiko asked.
Kiyoshi thought a moment. “Uncle Sesshoumaru. I think he’ll help us.”
Aiko nodded. They moved towards the entrance of the cave, but when they got there, shock hit them hard. The ground in front of the cave was gone. They were hanging off the side of a steep cliff. The twins looked at each other.
“How did that happen? We came in this way!” Aiko stared out into the hollow space in front of them. She looked up at her brother. “How do we get out of here now?”
Kiyoshi clenched his fists. Obviously, someone wanted them to stay in this cave. “Their has to be another way out.” He stepped up to the edge of the cliff face and looked out.
Aiko sighed and turned to look back into the cave. Her eyes widened with shock as she stared at the opposite wall from her. Sesshoumaru was hanging against the wall, pinned to it by his own sword. Next to him was Inuyasha, also pinned to the wall with his sword.
Horrified, she backed away from them, and bumped into the wall behind her. She slid down it, until she was sitting.
Kiyoshi sighed and turned back to his sister. He frowned when he saw her sitting on the ground. “What is it?” He turned to look at the opposite wall and gasped. “Oh, no... no, no...”
~*~*~
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha watched the twins. Kiyoshi and Aiko were looking right at them, but seemed to be seeing something else. Inuyasha looked at his brother. “What’s wrong with them?”
“They seem to be trapped in some kind of illusion. But no illusion I know of is this powerful.”
“Is there a way to snap them out of this?”
Sesshoumaru shook his head. “No, not until the illusionist is ready to relinquish the illusion.”
Inuyasha stared helplessly at his children.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi grabbed Aiko’s hand and dragged her back into the cave. “We have to find another way out. Their has to be another way out.” He looked at Aiko. “We never went too deep into the caves. Let’s try that way.”
Aiko just nodded. Kiyoshi pulled her towards the back of the cave, but before they went too far, Kiyoshi stopped. “Aiko... What is that?”
Aiko looked over Kiyoshi’s shoulder. “Uhh... I don’t know... Kiyoshi... I don’t like the looks of it.”
“Neither do I.” Kiyoshi stared at the purple fog slowly coming in from the back of the cave. It was getting denser with every passing moment and was slowly filling the cave. “Let’s get higher up. I don’t want to touch that stuff.”
Kiyoshi looked around the cave and spotted a high ledge about twenty feet up. “Do you think you can jump up there, Aiko?”
Aiko looked up. “Yeah. I can do that.”
Kiyoshi waited for his sister to jump up first, then he followed. When they were both safely up, they looked down at the fog. The ground was now fully covered by it and too dense to see through.
“Kiyoshi... Didn’t Mom and Dad tell us about something like this before? What was it called?”
Kiyoshi frowned. “You’re right. I can’t remember, though.”
“I remember them saying it was bad, though.” Aiko looked down at the purple cloud. “They said it was poisonous.”
“Yeah. I remember that part.” Kiyoshi looked at Aiko. “Now what?”
“Well-” Aiko started, but was interrupted but a soft rumble. She looked at Kiyoshi. “What was that?”
Another soft rumble fell. Then another. Kiyoshi paled. “They’re foot steps.”
He grabbed Aiko’s hand and backed away from the edge and pressed themselves against the wall. Within moments, the room was filled with a loud roar. Kiyoshi an Aiko cried out and covered their ears, trying to block out the deafening roar. When the cry died down, Kiyoshi uncovered his ears. He looked at the back of the cave, and waited. The cry was familiar to him. He knew what had made the noise. He looked at Aiko and saw that she knew too.
The large demon that had destroyed their home lumbered in. It was eye level to the ledge they were on, so it saw them immediately. I came toward them and roared again, causing the twins to cover their ears again. They cried out in pain at the loud noise and fell to their knees.
~*~*~
“What’s happening to them?” Kagome cried out as she watched her children falling to their knees and crying out as they covered their ears. “Inuyasha what’s happening to them?”
Inuyasha watched them intently. Whatever was happening to them was hurting them. He swore silently that he’d kill whoever was behind this.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi forced himself up, blocking Aiko behind him. The big demon looked at him, his red glazed eyes glittering maliciously. “GIVE ME THE SHIKON NO TAMA.”
Kiyoshi cringed at the booming voice. “We don’t have it!” He shouted back at the demon.
“DO NOT LIE TO ME!!! I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS AND FIND IT MYSELF IF YOU DO NOT HAND IT OVER NOW!!!”
Kiyoshi slammed his hands over his ears, trying to protect them from the force of the demon’s voice. “Why do you want it?” He yelled back.
“MY MASTER NEEDS IT, AND I WILL GET IT FOR HIM. GIVE IT TO ME, NOW!!! MY MASTER WANTS IT!!!”
Kiyoshi cried out as the demon roared. He fell to his knees clutching his head. He looked over at at Aiko, who was also laying on the ground, covering her ears.
Suddenly, the demon stopped screaming. Kiyoshi looked up and was stunned to see the demon frozen in place. Standing in front of him, was a beautiful woman.
Kiyoshi quickly scrambled up to his feet, pulling Aiko with him. He didn’t know what to make of this beautiful woman. “Who are you?”
The woman smiled. “I am Kagura. You do not have a lot of time little ones. You must get out of the cave immediately. The demon will kill you.”
“Kagura?” Aiko looked at her suspiciously. She knew that name from somewhere.
~*~*~
Inuyasha gasped. “Kagura?! She’s dead!” He looked over at Kouga. Kouga’s hands were tightened into fists. He had been the one to kill Kagura.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi stared at the woman. “We can’t get out of the cave.”
“Yes you can. It’s just an illusion. The ground it still there. You must believe that if you are to escape. Believe me, this demon doesn’t care about your lives.” Kagura took on a pained expression. “I don’t have much time left. The demon will overpower me again soon. You must leave now.”
Before Kiyoshi or Aiko could say another word, Kagura disappeared. The roaring resounded through the cave, causing the twins to cry out in pain again.
“GIVE ME THE JEWEL!!!”
Kiyoshi looked up into the demon’s eyes. Then towards the exit. They would never both make it out. “Aiko...” He looked over his shoulder at his sister.
Aiko knew what Kiyoshi was planning. “No, don’t you dare even think it!”
“It’s the only way.” Kiyoshi turned back towards the beast. “Aiko, promise you will be careful.”
“Kiyoshi, no! No, you can’t!”
“Protect the jewel. It’s what is important.” Kiyoshi took up a battle stance, mimicking his father. He held up this knife. “Aiko, go!”
Immediately, Kiyoshi launched himself at the demon. Aiko, with a sob, jumped off the ledge and flew through the entrance, her eyes closed so she couldn’t see the illusion on the ground outside the cave.
~*~*~
Sesshoumaru took off out of the cave after the little girl, leaving Inuyasha and the others to watch Kiyoshi battle the unseen enemy. Shock had fallen over the others as they watched Kiyoshi. If it were truly an illusion, he should have flown through the spot where the demon was supposed to be, but Kiyoshi had hit something solid in midair and bounced off of it with is feet and landed back on the ledge in a crouching position.
Inuyasha watched helplessly as his seven year old battled for his life.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi breathed heavily and he looked at the demon watching for signs of his next attack. It came in the way of a fist flying heavily at him. Kiyoshi jumped up to avoid it, landing nimbly on top of it. He launched himself back at the demon’s face with his knife outstretched, burying it to the hilt into the demon’s cheek.
The demon roared in pain and grabbed Kiyoshi in his oversized hand and slammed him against the wall right above the ledge. The air in Kiyoshi’s lungs rushed out of him and he saw stars floating before him.
“GIVE ME THE JEWEL, BOY.” The demon began to slowly squeeze Kiyoshi.
~*~*~
“Inuyasha! Do something!” screamed Kagome as she watched her son struggle to draw air into his lungs as he floated in mid air.
Inuyasha and Kouga jumped up onto the ledge, but their was nothing they could do. They grabbed onto Kiyoshi, trying to find what was holding him up, but their was nothing.
“Kiyoshi, breathe! Kiyoshi!” Inuyasha cried out in desperation. His son was suffocating and their was nothing he could do about it.
Miroku searched the area for any signs of spells but didn’t find anything, Sango was holding onto Kagome. They all stood by, helplessly looking at the young boy.
~*~*~
Kiyoshi tried to draw air into his lungs but the pressure on his chest was too much to fight. Suddenly, the pressure lessened. He fell to the ground gasping for breathe, coughing and choking.
“GIVE ME THE JEWEL!!!”
Kiyoshi cringed away from the booming voice, his head throbbing from the lack of oxygen. “Go to the devil, you filthy demon. Even if I had it, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
The demon roared again and picked Kiyoshi up in his hand again. Kiyoshi met his stare. “I love you, Aiko... Be strong...” He whispered as the demon squeezed the breath out of him again. Kiyoshi’s head rolled back as he lost consciousness.
~*~*~
“Kiyoshi!!!!” Inuyasha screamed as his son’s eyes closed. He grabbed his son, trying desperately to breathe air into his lungs, but he was still suspended in air.
Suddenly, Kiyoshi lifted higher and away from the ledge. Inuyasha stared at his son. If it had been an illusion, even as powerful as this one seemed to be, it should have ended when Kiyoshi lost consciousness. At least he hoped he had only lost consciousness.
What the hell was going on?
~*~*~
Aiko ran as fast as she could away from the cave. Her heart hurt because of the sacrifice her brother had made for her. ‘Don’t die on me Kiyoshi, please. You can’t leave me alone.’
She ran as far and as fast as she could. She had to get as far away as she could before the demon came after her. But it wasn’t long before she felt the thundering footfalls behind her.
Aiko ran as hard as she could, desperate to get away, but unfortunately, she came to a cliff edge. Aiko gasped, stopping short of the cliff. ‘It’s probably another illusion.’ She thought, as she stared down. But she couldn’t be sure so she turned to run in another direction.
She didn’t make another step. The demon lumbered into view, holding Kiyoshi in his hand. Aiko stared in horror as her brother’s head swayed lifelessly in the demons hand.
The demon roared at her and went to stomp on her. Aiko closed her eyes, waiting for the foot to crush her, but someone grabbed her and they both tumbled away from the demon. Aiko gasped for breath as she tried to recover from the impact. She opened her eyes to see who had saved her and saw a boy no older than her standing in front of her.
She watched as the boy drew his sword, which was much too big for him and move in front of the chasm. The demon roared in rage and dropped Kiyoshi to the ground. Aiko stood up and went to go to her brother, but the other boy stopped her.
“Don’t move! Just wait there!” The boy didn’t look at her, but only at the demon. Aiko did as she was told.
The demon growled and charged the boy. “I WILL KILL YOU FOR INTERFERING!” The demon moved to kick the boy, but the boy was faster. He darted under the demon’s leg and stabbed his calf. The demon screamed in agony. It lost it’s balance and fell over the edge of the cliff.
Aiko stared at the boy. Who was he and why had he saved her? She watched him as he walked over to the cliff and looked down. When he was satisfied that the demon was gone, he turned toward her.
“Umm... Thank you for saving me.” Aiko offered him a shy smile.
The boy walked over to her. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine, thanks to you.” She smiled at the boy. He had short, black, curly hair and red eyes.
He smiled at her. “I’m glad.” He touched her cheek. The boy surprised her then by pushing her onto the ground, covering her body with his and pinning her arms over her head.
“What are you doing? Let go!” Aiko’s eyes were round with shock. She struggled to get up from under him, but he shushed her.
“Shhhh... Just relax, this is almost over...” Aiko stilled under him, fear taking hold of her.
“Please... Let me go...” She whimpered. She felt him smile against her throat just before he bit deeply into her neck. She cried out, straining her arms against his grip. Soon, her struggles ceased and she lost consciousness.
~*~*~
Kagome cried out as she watched her daughter fade. She tried to run to her, but Sesshoumaru stopped her. “There’s nothing you can do. Wait.”
Inuyasha looked helplessly at his daughter’s tiny form. The blood soaked her clothing as it ran down her neck.
They all watched as her limp form lifted into the air and floated over to her brother. There, she was let down. As they watched, a figure became solid in front of them. It stood up from next to Aiko and Kiyoshi and turned toward them.
Shock took hold of the group as they stared at Naraku. He smiled. “For you.” He said as he faded away into nothing.
Kagome looked at Inuyasha, then ran to her children. She was followed by the rest of the group.
Kagome examined Aiko’s throat where she’d been bitten. She covered it with her hand and used her miko powers to heal the wound. She turned and looked at Inuyasha, who was standing next to Sesshoumaru a short distance away, talking in a hushed voice.
“He must have had this planned for a long time. He orchestrated it perfectly. I’m sure he waited until you arrived to put on his performance.” Sesshoumaru looked over his brother.
“Damn him. How did he do this? He’s dead. We all saw to it.” Inuyasha started to pace.
Miroku looked at him. “You know he has a fondness for games. He must have been working on them for years in order to have such a strong connection with them that he could actually touch them without having a body.”
“What are you saying? That this isn’t over?” Kagome looked Miroku straight in the eyes.
Miroku nodded solemnly. Kagome closed her eyes.
Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha. “She’s your mate. You need to tell her.”
“Tell me what?”
Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru for a moment, then turned towards his mate. “Naraku... He marked Aiko.”
“You mean the bite? I healed that.”
“Yes, but their’s a scar.”
“So?”
“So...” Inuyasha sighed. “Kagome, he marked her his mate. That bite won’t go away. It’s his way of telling us he’s coming back to take her away from us.”
Kagome gasped. “No, Inuyasha no! She’s only seven! He can’t have marked her!”
“Well, I didn’t see her looking up, did you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, when she was talking to him, she was talking eye level with him. That means to her, he’s her age. Which means he’s planning on growing up along side her and Kiyoshi. So she won’t feel that their’s anything wrong with it when he comes for her.”
“Oh, God, Inuyasha...” Kagome covered her face with her hands. “We have to-” Kagome stopped when she heard a soft moan. She turned toward her children and saw that Aiko was awake.
“Don’t go to her. They might still be in his illusion.”
Kagome watched as Aiko rubbed her neck where she was bit. She blinked a few times, then looked down at her brother. Aiko gasped and tried to shake him awake. “Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi! Wake up! Please, wake up!”
Kiyoshi groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “Aiko?”
Aiko sighed in relief and threw herself onto her brother. He yelped. “What are you doing! Get off of me!”
Aiko giggled, feeling as if it were almost like old times. It was sad to think that “old times” were less than a week ago. She sighed and sat up. “The demon’s gone. We were saved by a strange boy.”
Kiyoshi sat up and rubbed his temples. “Really? Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I thought he bit me on the neck, but their’s no wound. I passed out, I think.”
“Bit you? Why’d he do that?”
“I don’t know.” Aiko sighed. She looked around her and stopped when she saw her parents. “Kiyoshi...”
“What?”
When she didn’t move, he followed her line of sight and gasped. “What...?”
“Are they real, Kiyoshi?”
“I’m seeing them.” The twins looked at each other, then back at their family. “Mom? Dad?”
Kagome cried out and ran to her children. “It’s me, babies. I swear, it’s me.”
She wrapped her arms around them, hugging them fiercely. It took a moment for them to respond. Inuyasha came over and hugged them too, as their children sobbed into their arms.
“Mom, I saw you! You were dead! Dad! You, too! How are you alive?” Kiyoshi lifted his tear stained face to look at his father.
“It’s a long story that we’ll figure out later.”
“The babies? What about them?”
“They’re okay. Don’t worry, everyone’s okay.” With this bit of comfort the two children sobbed in relief into their parents arms, letting the horrors of the evening wash away with their tears.
They cried themselves to sleep. Sango and Miroku went to get the other children to bring them to their new camp, and in the morning they all headed back to their home.
When they reached the village, everyone there was rejoiced to see them all back safe and sound. The munchkins all ran off to greet their friends and play. Sesshoumaru had a few private words with Inuyasha before he left for the West Lands.
“What was all that about?” Kagome asked as they walked into their newly built home.
“Sesshoumaru thinks it’s best if we send Aiko and Kiyoshi to live in the West Lands with him for a while.”
Kagome stopped short. “What?”
“I agree.”
“What?!”
“Kagome. They need to learn how to defend themselves against Naraku. We can’t teach them all the things they need to know. And what about the other munchkins? We can’t neglect them to teach the twins. Sesshoumaru is better equipped to help them.”
“Inuyasha, they’re only seven. Can’t they be children a little longer?”
“Naraku is going to come for them and we don’t know when. They need to be prepared for when that happens.” Inuyasha sighed. “Sesshoumaru is going to come here to take them. Not for a few months at least. He said he needs to prepare.”
Kagome stood there for a moment. “I really hate this Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome. “I do too.”
“Let’s tell them, then.”
~*~*~
Six months went by before Sesshoumaru stood before his brother’s home. He watched silently as the children played tag. Teito was toddling around now, giggling as he tried to catch the older children. And the older children ran around laughing as the “it” tried to tag someone. Aiko was the first to notice Sesshoumaru. Her smile faded a bit, and she looked at Kiyoshi. He followed her gaze and his smile faded too.
Both children walked over to their hose and went inside. A few minutes later, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku came out.
“Sesshoumaru, They’ll be out in a moment. They went to get their bags.” Kagome said. She looked saddened. She rubbed her swollen stomach as she and Sango walked back into the house.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. “Do not tell me she’s carrying pups again.”
Inuyasha gave him a sour look. “Yes, she’s pregnant. You’re just jealous because you don’t have any of your own.”
“Inuyasha, you have enough for the both of us.”
Miroku choked and turned away. Inuyasha hit the back of his head. “Don’t laugh. Sango’s pregnant too. And Kagome told me she said she won’t let you touch her ever again.”
Miroku gave him a sour look. But before he could reply, Aiko and Kiyoshi came out. They were followed by Kagome and Sango. All the little munchkins came running over to say goodbye.
When all the hugs and kisses were done, Kiyoshi and Aiko climbed into the dragon drawn carriage. They waved out the window until their family was out of sight.
Sesshoumaru looked at them for a moment. “Are you not upset?”
“Only a little. We’ll miss them, but we need to learn this stuff.” Kiyoshi said. “I don’t want him to hurt us again.”
Sesshoumaru nodded. He’d never say so out loud, but he was proud of Inuyasha for the way he raised his children. And he was proud to call these two his Niece and Nephew.
~*~*~