InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Twins Travel Together ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 8

‘NOW!’ Kinuki thinks.

“To get that jewel shard you’re keeping between your breasts, obviously.”Kinuki says after sending her thought toward Kagome.

She’s barely finished her sentence when a clawed hand, covered in blood, shoots out from between Yura’s ribs and flicks a small red pouch right into her hands.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome chastens from her position on his back.

“What? It’s not like I skewered her too.” Inuyasha defends himself.

A second later, one of his ears twitch, his eyes widen, the one hand still holding Kagome tightens and he jumps back and away from Yura, just as a mass of hair crashes down where the two of them had been standing mere seconds before!

“She’s still alive!?”

Kinuki and Kagome both shout with a mix of shock and disbelief.

“I’m a demon, darlings, I don’t die that easily.” Yura chuckles, her flesh healing right in front of Kinuki’s eyes.

“We’ll see about that.” Inuyasha growls while flexing his claws.

Yura totally ignores him though, turning back to look at Kinuki.

“I’d like that back now.” She said, her voice dead serious.

“Not happening, sorry.” Kinuki answers flatly.

“Then I’ll just have to take it back.” Yura sneers, moving her arms and hands to try and trap Kinuki in a dangerously tight and sharp net.

The strands don’t even touch her skin before they’re already dissolving though.

“No means no.” Kinuki states, her voice suddenly a few degrees colder as her power brightens and expands to encompass her in a yellow bubble.

‘Think you and Inuyasha can take care of her for a few?’ Kinuki asks

‘Sure, but why?’ Kagome replies quickly.

‘I’m getting a weird vibe from the shards, and there’s a few things that don’t really add up right now.’ Kinuki explains briefly.

‘We’ll do our best.’ Kagome clarifies.

‘Thanks, Kags.’ Kinuki thinks, before tuning out the fighting sounds outside of her bubble and turning her thoughts toward other matters.

Why hadn’t a hand through her chest and heart killed Yura?

Any living being would die if its heart stopped beating. So, why didn’t Yura?

Demons did die.

Though she’d only ever purified them, she’d certainly seen the centipede demoness after Inuyasha had so kindly cleaved her in two.

That demoness had been killed.

What was different about this one?

Well, obviously, she was partly humanoid, but she didn’t really get an overly dangerous vibe from her.

She had the power of puppetry, controlling things by controlling hair.

She was undoubtedly the puppeteer though, so, where was her weak point?

‘Kinu?’ Kagome’s hesitant thought cuts into Kinuki’s thoughts, breaking her concentration.

‘What’s up?’ Kinuki shoots back, biting her bottom lip at the worried tone Kagome’s thoughts have.

‘Inuyasha is, and we could REALLY use some help.’ Kagome admits a little distractedly.

Kinuki’s eyes widen at that, her head snapping up to see Inuyasha caught in a net of hair, as though he were in a spider’s web, with Yura poised in front of him, her own clawed hands poised to strike.

‘…again.’ Kinuki adds as a bitter afterthought, when she sees the blood staining his tattered nagagi.

‘Where’s his usual haori?’ Kinuki asks, looking around to find her sister on the forest floor, trying to creep closer to her form.

Kagome holds up the aforementioned haori, that’s draped over her, by the sleeve.

‘Does that answer your question?’ She asks with a hint of sarcasm.

‘Yeah, yeah, now get in here.’ Kinuki says, making an opening in her barrier for Kagome to pass through so that the two of them could sort out their next plan of action without worry of being sliced up by strands of hair.

“He’s not looking too good.” Kinuki comments, turning her gaze back up to Inuyasha, and wincing when Yura gives him yet another injury with a short sword she only now notices.

“Yeah, but how can we help?” Kagome asks.

‘I think she has a weak point.’ Kinuki answers through their telepathic link, not wanting to give Yura any more hints as to what they could be planning.

‘I’m pretty sure everyone does.’ Kagome comments, unimpressed.

‘Yeah, but hers isn’t her heart.’ Kinuki specifies.

‘I figured as much when Inuyasha’s stab didn’t kill her. But what else could her weak spot be?’ Kagome admits.

‘Well, it’s probably not on her person, she’s too smart to be that stupid.’ Kinuki muses.

‘Really?’ Kagome comments bluntly.

‘What?’ Kinuki asks, genuinely confused.

‘Never mind.’ Kagome replies with a shake of her head and a small smile.

‘Here’s her jewel shard by the way.’ Kinuki says as she hands Kagome the small red pouch.

Kagome opens the bag and carefully tips the small shard into the palm of her hand.

Almost instantly the jewel takes on a happy, pink glow.

‘Thanks, but that doesn’t really help us out.’ Kagome points out.

‘Actually, it just did.’ Kinuki pips up, her eyes alight as they follow a faint thread of silvery pink light from the purified jewel shard, across the clearing and into a huge pile of skulls.

‘She’s hidden her weak spot somewhere in that skull pile.’ Kinuki states surely.

Kagome on the other hand, shudders.

‘How can you sound so happy when talking about something like a SKULL pile?’ She emphasises.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter what it is, so long as it’s the place where we can find Yura’s weak spot, right?’ Kinuki points out.

‘I guess…’ Kagome sighs.

‘She’s a hair demon, so we should look for something hair related.’ Kinuki says, eyes already scanning the pile for any sort of anomaly.

‘…is that a RED skull?’ Kagome asks, causing Kinuki to whip around to look at her sister so suddenly, that Kagome actually jumps a little in fright.

‘Where?’

‘Right near the top of the pile, there.’ Kagome says, pointing to a skull that was indeed as red as fresh blood.

‘Looks like you found it.’ Kinuki grins.

‘Found what?’ Kagome falters.

‘Yura’s weak spot, duh.’ Kinuki says happily.

‘Yay…’ Kagome cheers half-heartedly.

‘…I have to go and get that now, don’t I?’ She asks after a brief, hopeful pause.

‘I mean, you’re the one wearing some sort of material that doesn’t let the hair cut you.’ Kinuki ventures.

‘And I COULD expand my barrier some, but I want to keep a few power reserves in case we have to face any more surprises tonight.’ She continues, and Kagome immediately notes how serious of a toll the use of her power is taking on her younger twin.

Though she’s trying to keep her conversation light and her tone pleasant, her smile is strained, tiny tremors travel down her body and a thin sheen of sweat beads her brow.

“You only make it LOOK easy, huh?” Kagome murmurs to herself, causing Kinuki’s smile to deepen, but she doesn’t reply.

‘I’ll try to cut Inuyasha free with a power flash. You can use that opportunity to sneak over to the skull pile, while Inuyasha and I keep her busy.’ Kinuki suggests, smirking when Kagome gives her a small nod in response.

Focusing her powers, Kinuki’s barrier suddenly flares up in a shining yellow, momentarily blinding Yura as Kagome sneaks over to the skull pile, and Kinuki moves closer to Inuyasha, morphs her bubble into a whip, and easily cuts through the strands of hair suspending Inuyasha in the air.

“You ok?” Kinuki asks, when Inuyasha lands next to her. He manages to land on his feet, but his injuries look much worse up close.

“Never better.” Inuyasha growls, not taking his eyes off of Yura.

Kinuki huffs, before turning to repeatedly poke his arm until he looks down at her.

“What?” He finally asks, turning his head to lock a blazing gaze with Kinuki, his voice loud and aggravated.

“Do you want me to help you see, or not?” Kinuki asks sarcastically, her eyes sliding up to Yura after finishing her sentence.

As per usual, Inuyasha didn’t bothering giving her a verbal answer, instead crouching down a bit and giving her top a gentle tug to draw her gaze back to him.

Kinuki grins when she sees him waiting for her to jump on, and she does so with quite a bit of enthusiasm.

His grunt of pain reminding her, too late, that he’s fairly seriously injured at the moment.

“Sorry.” She whispers against his hair.

He gives his head a slight shake, telling her not to worry about it.

“Go right.” Kinuki says suddenly, and Inuyasha responds immediately, the hair that Yura had been sending their way crashing into the ground a few feet from where they were.

“Nice reflexes.” Kinuki compliments.

“Early warning.” Inuyasha shoots back.

They dance around for a while, jumping out of the way and cutting a couple of strands as they go, when a quiet, insistent tapping, suddenly gives all three combatants pause.

“Bingo.” Kinuki whispers with a grin, her tone letting Inuyasha know that she and Kagome had hatched some sort of plan which was currently in motion.

“Don’t touch that!” Yura screeches, suddenly making a dive for Kagome, who sits atop the skull pile, red skull in her lap and an arrow acting like a makeshift hammer as she hits it repeatedly.

“Barrier?” Inuyasha questions, when he notices that, despite Yura’s dangerous approach, Kinuki isn’t throwing up a protective barrier around her sister, like he would usually expect her to.

“Not enough power.” Kinuki admits, fighting to stay conscious, because using her powers in a real-life battle was MUCH more taxing than using them on instinct or while training.

She manages to stay awake long enough to hear the distinct sound of shattered bone and cracked wood, followed by Yura’s scream and the rumble of something falling apart.

Only managing a quiet “sorry” before blacking out on Inuyasha’s back.

Catching her suddenly shifted weight, Inuyasha quickly collects Kagome and gets the three of them out of the collapsing demon’s nest and back to the well.

Finally succumbing to his own wounds and his body’s need for sleep, he drapes his haori over the twins before picking a tree that gave him a good view of them, before getting some much-needed rest himself.

The following morning dawns before sunrise.

Kinuki once again waking up before Kagome, only to take a moment to figure out where they are.

With her sister on her shoulder, and her back against the well, it doesn’t take Kinuki long to figure it out.

‘So much for a youkai fight not lasting a whole night.’ Kinuki thinks to herself, carefully easing Kagome off of her shoulder and onto the soft grass of the clearing.

‘I can’t let her sleep too much longer…’ Kinuki thinks with a guilty grimace, before letting her power expand around her and locating Inuyasha in a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Stretching and wincing as she makes her way over, Kinuki clears her throat in an attempt to wake the still slumbering hanyou.

He rouses immediately, appearing before her in an instant and only just managing to wake up enough to stop his instinctual attack mere millimetres from Kinuki’s face.

“Well, good morning to you too.” Kinuki says quietly, clearing her throat to cover her surprise.

“…Morning.” He mutters in reply.

Kinuki grins up at him.

“You know, sullen REALLY doesn’t suit you.” She points out, her smile sticking when he answers her with a cocky grin of his own.

“…How are you feeling?” She asks after a pause, eyes flicking to his bloodstained nagagi.

“Fine.” He answers gruffly.

“Ok, tough guy, I was just asking.” Kinuki says with a chuckle.

“I heal faster because of my demon blood… what about you?” He asks quietly.

Kinuki glows at his words of worry, pleased to see that she really does mean something to her friend.

“Just tired and sore. Not that I was expecting anything else, with that being my first real fight and all.” Kinuki admits easily.

“Different topic though. I’m going to wake Kagome soon, so that we can head back home to finish up all that prep work I told you about. Did you want to come or wait for us here?” She tacks on.

Inuyasha scratches his head as he thinks.

“Try to be back before nightfall, otherwise I’ll have to test that well of yours myself.” He finally answers.

Kinuki nods.

“Got it… and, if it doesn’t work?” She questions hesitantly.

Inuyasha shoots her a confident grin.

“I’m sure you’ll find your way back before tomorrow, since you place such importance on keeping your word.” He answers her, causing her to grin right back at him.

“You got that right!” She affirms.

“We’ll meet you back here or at Kaede’s village, depending on the time.” She adds, skipping backward a bit, before turning around and headed back to her sister.

“Kags? Come on. We have lots to do today and I don’t have your alarm here.” Kinuki says as she gently shakes her sister.

Kagome grumbles, but otherwise makes no move to wake up.

“Ka-Go-Me.” Kinuki punctuates, lifting and dropping her sister’s shoulders to the ground with every syllable.

“Ugh… What is it Ki?” Kagome groans, burrowing further under Inuyasha’s haori to try and escape her sister.

Kinuki pauses at the image that makes, allows herself a sly smile, quickly snaps a picture with her phone, which she had miraculously managed to take with her this time, and promptly pulls her sister’s “blanket” off of her.

“Time to wake up!” Kinuki exclaims.

“Come on, we have WAY too much to do today for you to even think about sleeping in.” She continues.

“…Even though it’s Saturday?” Kagome pouts as she opens bleary eyes to blink up at her younger sister.

“…and earlier than freaking sunrise?” She groans when she notes the state of the sky.

“Yes, to both of those.” Kinuki nods.

“Come on, we can help mama with breakfast if we leave now, which gives us some time to discuss today’s to-do list.” She urges her older sister with a grunt, pulling her into a sitting position by her wrists.

“Alright, alright already. I’m up. Ha… Let’s go.” Kagome sighs.

Standing up and rubbing the rest of the sleep out of her eyes before scanning the clearing with a curious expression.

‘Looking for something?’ Kinuki asks.

‘Not particularly.’ Kagome comments in a poor excuse of denial.

‘Inuyasha already said he’d wait for us here, this time.’ Kinuki points out with a chuckle.

‘Oh… well, let’s go then.’ Kagome falters, before brushing past her sister with a blush on her checks and chuckles in her ears.

‘Gladly.’ Kinuki answers, capturing her sister’s hand as they jump back into the well and wait for the light to let them out in the present.

‘So…’ Kinuki starts once they’re back at the bottom of their shine’s well.

‘Did you think about how we’re going to get out of here without Inuyasha here?’ Kagome asks.

‘Who do you think you’re talking to?’ Kinuki challenges as she squats down and braces her back against the side of the well, offering her sister her interlocked fingers as a step to give her a leg up.

‘My brilliant, younger half.’ Kagome answers with a proud glint in her eyes, as she pushes off the ground and into Kinuki’s hands with her feet, Kinuki’s added boost, as she straightens her legs and pulls her arms up, allowing Kagome to easily reach the rim of the well and pull herself out.

‘Damn right.’ Kinuki grins.

‘…But we really should start keeping a ladder somewhere in here.’ She adds as Kagome lowers a ladder into the well and Kinuki climbs out.

‘I’ll make sure to ask Jii-chan about it before we head back tonight.’ Kagome affirms with a smile.

‘Perfect. Cooking or cleaning?’ Kinuki asks in a sudden change of topic.

‘…Cleaning.’ Kagome answers after a brief pause.

‘You sure?’ The younger twin pushes as the two girls make their way to the main house.

‘Positive. You cooking and me cleaning means you can hash out all the details with mama and Jii-chan and just fill me in the usual way.’ Kagome explains with a fond smile.

‘Alright… Just don’t use up all the hot water.’ Kinuki teases with a wink, laughing out loud when Kagome blushes at having her ulterior motive so openly addressed.

‘You’d want a shower too, after climbing over all of those skulls like I did last night.’ Kagome defends herself with a none-too-subtle shudder.

‘’I just want a shower to wash Yura’s blood off of my body and out of my clothes, Kags. I’m not judging.’ Kinuki replies with a certain emphasis that immediately has Kagome losing a few shades of colour, as she clearly remembers how close Inuyasha’s claws had come to her sister the previous night, even if there HAD been an enemy between the two of them.

Indeed, despite using her hands to scrub her face and arms in the nearby creek only a few minutes ago, there were still some blood splatters on Kinuki’s cheek, arms and top.

Following her sister’s gaze, Kinuki’s eyes widen when she takes in the rather obvious blood stain on her jumper.

‘Shoot… probably shouldn’t go in like this.’ She thinks to herself, before quickly stripping her jumper and tying it around her waist in such a fashion so that it hides the blood stain from sight.

‘You know, I think you may need the shower first.’ Kagome admits with an audible swallow.

‘Let’s just hope somebody’s already showered, because I won’t have time to wait for the hot water to heat if I want to help mama with breakfast.’ Kinuki agrees with a sigh.

The twins, having now reached the front door, waste no time in removing their shoes and immediately entering the house.

Kagome makes a beeline for her mother, giving her a warm hug and an overly enthusiastic good morning as Kinuki shouts a quick greeting while dashing upstairs and to the bathroom, which she quickly finds has already been pre-heated.

‘Water’s already warm. I won’t be long.’ Kinuki quickly tells Kagome as she soaks her jumper in the sink and slips under a heavenly stream of hot water in the shower.

‘Perfect. I’ll see you at breakfast then.’ Kagome replies in her sister’s mind.

True to form, Kinuki finishes showering, and washing her hair and body, and getting dressed, and heads down to help with breakfast in under 10 minutes.

The twins briefly pass each other on the staircase, share a private smile, and then Kinuki enters the kitchen to help her mother with the final breakfast prep.

“Good morning, Mama.” Kinuki chirrups, this time taking the time to properly greet her mother with a hug of her own before standing at her side and setting about finely cutting some spring onions.

“Good morning Kinuki dear.” Hikari answers her daughter, a proud smile warming her features as she takes in the outfit her daughter had chosen for the day.

A smart black blazer covers a light pink blouse, and a pair of thermal leggings cover her legs, with a ruffled skirt rounding off the whole look.

“I promise I’ll change before we go back, but I figured it would be a good idea to dress appropriately for a visit to the doctor, the police AND the official school administrations office.” Kinuki explains, not taking her eyes off of the vegetables she now currently peeling.

“You look wonderful, dear. Your grandfather and I took the liberty of scheduling a few meetings over the course of the day, in case we encounter any delays, but we’ll be home in time for dinner and a final chat before you head out again.” Hikari informs her middle child.

“That’s perfect.” Kinuki agrees.

And indeed, the day turns out pretty close to perfect.

The three Higurashi women head off to the doctor and psychologist first, relaying their story and emphasising certain points to get across the necessity of a break for the twins.

They leave Dr. Osamu’s office 2 hours later with a prescribed leave of absence spanning 6 months, before he wants them to come in again and check their recuperation progress. After which he wants to decide if they should continue their break for the rest of the school year, or are ready to be integrated into their new school and classes half-way through the school year.

They pick up Jii-chan before headed to their next stop: the Tokyo Police Department. Relaying Kinuki’s idea so that it seemed like it was Mr. Higurashi’s idea, Senior Commissioner Daichiru was immediately on board and offered his full support, as well as an official, signed letter of recommendation referencing Dr. Osamu’s prescription.

After that meeting, the family decided to head home for some lunch and a bit of a break. The twins changing into their uniforms before walking the short distance to their high school with their mother and grandfather.

It was easy enough to find the administration’s office thanks to the clear signs at every corner, and they managed to get a lovely employee called Izumi Mizumi, a former classmate of Hikari’s and the mother of Eri Mizumi, a middle school classmate of the twins.

Needless to say, the meeting went without a hitch, and Mizumi-san easily convinced her boss to accept the twins futoku, even going so far as to ensure that they can choose whether they want to start attending high school half-way through the year or as second years next year, regardless of what Dr. Osamu deems appropriate after the first 6 months. Jii-chan’s university degrees and teaching experience in English, Math and History also cover all the required bases for the twins to be able to keep up with the normal school workload and start school as though they’d always been there, when they were ready to.

Heaving a collective relieved sigh once the four family members are back home, Kagome and Kinuki tiredly kick off their shoes and fall onto the couch, side-by-side, with Kinuki’s head resting on Kagome’s shoulder and Kagome’s head resting on top of Kinuki’s head.

“As thrilled as I am that all of that went so well…” Kinuki starts.

“…I’m feeling absolutely exhausted now.” Kagome finishes.

“Why don’t you girls take an example from your Jii-chan and catch a bit of sleep with a power nap while I prepare dinner?” Hikari suggests, inclining her head to where her father-in-law was passed out and lightly snoring in an armchair.

Kagome and Kinuki chuckle at the sight.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to help?” Kagome asks.

“I’m sure. I’d more than likely have to patch up at least one cut with the two of you being so tired and unfocused right now.” Hikari laughs, love and fondness flooding her body when she sees that her twin treasures have already fallen asleep on the couch.

Quietly, the kind mother goes over to her children, picks up a blanket laying on one of the couches armrests, and spreads the soft material over her sleeping daughters.

“Tiring day?” A voice suddenly asks from the shadows of the kitchen, making Hikari jump in fright.

When Inuyasha walks into the light though, she immediately relaxes.

“Yes, it was, and please don’t give me such a freight Inuyasha.” Hikari replies with a relieved sigh.

Inuyasha merely smirks at her, staying silent, waiting.

“Look, if you must speak with them, at least let them sleep until dinner please.” Hikari sighs quietly, walking into the kitchen, and looking upon Inuyasha’s form leaning against an open shoji screen.

“I’m not mean or stupid enough to wake them up right now. They’ve had plenty of stress the past 36 hours.” Inuyasha replies with a rare fondness in his voice.

“You didn’t follow them?” Hikari asks, surprised at quite a couple of things.

“Through the well? Yes. Around… this place. No. Kinuki gave me her word, after all.” Inuyasha gestures with an uncertain smile and a one-shoulder shrug.

Hikari cocks her head to the side questioningly, and Inuyasha suddenly realises where Kinuki must have gotten her little tick from.

“So, what made you come here?” Hikari finally asks.

“I wanted to test a theory Kinuki had.” Inuyasha answers elusively.

“But you DO trust my daughters?” Hikari presses.

“I’m… working it out.” Inuyasha answers while scratching his head sheepishly.

“I will protect them though. Despite my pact only being with Kagome, Kinuki is… puzzling enough to intrigue me, which is enough for me to want to protect her as well.” He continues.

Hikari nods, contenting herself with his answer.

She was sure it would change over time, as relationships always did, especially with how much time those three were going to be spending together.

“You may still be a stranger, but I can tell you have a kind disposition and a delicate heart.” Hikari comments causing Inuyasha to stiffen.

“Yeah, so I’ve been told.” He growls, walls rising and defences slamming up.

“They aren’t traits to be loathed Inuyasha. They should be cherished.” Hikari implores him.

“Not by a demon’s standards.” He replies bitterly.

“Indeed, which is why you probably have no idea how THANKFUL I am that you’re half.” She admits quietly, hiding a pained smile at the shock and conflict now in his expression.

“Well, I suppose I’d better get started on dinner. Did you want to join us again?” Hikari asks, changing the topic, and picking up on the surprise her question caused the half demon in her kitchen this time.

“Thanks, but I’ve done everything I came here to do, so I’m going to head back now and wait for the two of them come back.” Inuyasha says with a fanged smile.

Inwardly grinning just as genuinely when Hikari smiles at his genuine show of emotion in a near mirror like way to the way Kinuki had smiled at him the first time he’d shown her his fangs with his smile.

Before meeting those twins and being bound to the sacred tree for 50 years, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d truly smiled.

Sure, they brought a bit of trouble with them, but he quite liked a bit of a challenge every now and then.

He’s out the window and through the well faster than the human eye can follow, and Hikari is content to continue her cooking.

- - - - -

Author's Note

Hello and Happy Holidays to all you wonderful TTT readers!

I'm sorry for not posting in so long, even though the reason was quite personal and valid.

But anyway, it's CHRISTMAS! So, no more negativity!

As always, feel free to comment your thoughts and impressions.

I look forward to your reactions.

Until the next chapter!

Tora