Sesshomaru and His Love CIII

Chapter CIII: Hana's Revelation

When they, finally, reached Zoku's hut. Something seemed amiss. Inuhime narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area with her youki and reiki. Inuyasha did the same, except he sniffed the scents around the area. Suddenly, they heard someone whimpering in the hut. It was Zoku's ward.

Inuhime went to the whimpering girl and crouched down to her level. "Hana? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Hana was sitting with her knees to her chest while she sat at the corner of the wall. "Hana*, sweetie. It's me, auntie Inuki and my little half-brother. Hana?"

All Inuhime got was Hana's silence and her tears. Ever being the impatient one, Inuyasha said, "Hey, kid! She asked if you are alright! Are you deaf?"

"Inuyasha," Inuhime growled, "Stop that! She's obviously just been in something tragic. She'll talk whenever she gets ready to."

"Feh!" He walked away as he put his hands in his fire rat sleeves.

Inuhime, then, pulled the girl into her lap and comfort her. Hana continued crying until she cried herself to sleep. Afterwards, Inuhime laid Hana down on her futon. She walked outside to see where Inuyasha ran off to. She found him sitting in a tree. She said, "She's asleep, now."

"Keh!"
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A few hours later....

Hana woke up to find herself in her futon. She was tired. She wanted to sleep more, but something told her that she needed to tell Inuhime about what happened not even hours before she and Inuyasha arrived. She stood up and began to look for Inuhime and Inuyasha; only to find them sword-playing.

Hana cleared her throat, which made the half siblings stopped their mock duel and looked at the young girl. "Um, I am sorry for interrupting your duel, but I am ready to tell you what happened. If you please come inside, I could take some tea."

They went inside the hut and Hana quickly made the much needed cups of tea. "Here you go."

"Thanks, sweetie," Inuhime said as Inuyasha nodded before he took a sip of his tea. Inuhime took a sip and then said, "Okay, Hana, now that we are comfortable and drinking tea. Tell us what happened here."

Hana nodded as she took a sip of her tea. "Well, it happened not long before you arrived here. It begun like an any ordinary day, when, suddenly, these youkai came and made a mess on these grounds. Zoku was extremely upset. They said, 'An old friend needed to have a word with you.' Then, they had a nerve to steal her horses and Kimomo*. They took my best friend.' She hiccuped, 'Then, Zoku went after them."

Hana was starting to cry again, but Inuyasha, surprisingly, comforted the girl by crouching down at the girl's eye level. The action made Inuhime smiled softly. "Don't worry, kid. I imagine she'll bring your Kimomo back." He looked up at his sister. "What? What are you smiling about?"

"Hn. Nothing."

"Keh." He stood up and then put the arms in his sleeves.

Hana couldn't help, but to giggle at the siblings antics. Inuhime crouched down at the girl's level. "Okay, Hana. Do they happened to mention who this 'old friend' is?" Hana shook her head with a frown. "Oh, now, turn that frown upside down. I want to see you smile."

"But there's nothing to smile about. My guardian left without a word. Those stupid youkai took my Kimomo and your and Zoku's horses. So, what's there to smile about."

"Hn." She nodded in agreement, but then suddenly Inuhime surprised Hana with a surprised tickle attack. In turn, Hana laughed and laughed until she begged to go to the bathroom. Whenever Hana returned from relieving herself, Inuhime made a serious face. "Okay, Hana, I am going to find Zoku, Kimomo, and those horses." Hana was about to protest, but Inuhime put her hand up to silent her. "I don't want to hear it. Inuyasha, I need you to stay here and watch Hana." Then, Inuhime turned around and walked out of the hut. She was almost passed the exit when she heard.....

"What?! Wait one damn minute! Who died and made you the boss of me?!"

Inuhime, inwardly, rolled her eyes. She knew that would happened. Inuyasha always had to make things difficult, does he? "Um, father. The eldest sibling is always in charge of those younger than him or herself; no matter the age. In this case, it's me."

"Feh, I don't care if who you are! No body tells me what to do! NO BODY!!"

Inuhime growled and with inhuman speed, she grabbed Inuyasha's sensitive puppy ears. "Listen here, pup!"

"I ain't no pup!" Inuhime, in union with her beast, pressed harder onto his ears and repeated, calmly, "Listen here, pup! You will do best to obey this Inuhime because if you don't you will wish you hadn't been born. You could ask Sesshomaru. He would know what happens when someone disobeys this one. Do I make myself clear, pup?" She asked the question in her normal voice. When Inuyasha didn't answer, she pulled on his ears more harshly.

He whimpered, softly, "Yes." She twisted his ears. "Ow!! Alright! Fine! I understand okay!' Then, he whimpered, 'Please, let my ears go!"

She, instantly, let go. "Now, as I said before, you stay and watch Hana; while I go and look for Zoku, Kimomo, and the horses. I am leaving, if I am not back by sundown. Go back to the palace. Tell mom and dad, 'not to worry."

"What about Hikaru?"

"The same." With that she'd left.

Inuyasha sighed and thought, "Now what?"

"Uncle Yasha." He was surprised to hear her call him that.

"Huh?" What a intelligent response.

"I said, 'Uncle Yasha. Or do you wish for me to call you, 'Inuyasha."

"Uh.... um... I guess, Uncle Yasha is fine."

"Really?!" Hana, instantly, ran to him and hugged his legs.

Inuyasha was touched, although, he didn't show it. "Okay, kid. What do you want to do?"
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Somewhere in the south of the Western Lands, with Zokushi and a few youkai.....

Zoku had just finish vanquishing the youkai that took Kimomo and the horses that Inuhime and herself had shared, whenever Inuhime arrived. It didn't take long for Inuhime to locate Zokushi's aura after she left her hut.  When she arrived, Zoku was checking over Kimomo and the horses.

"Oh, thank Kami, that you were alright, Zoku!" Inuhime ran to her and give her a relief hug. Zokushi was surprised to see her best friend there.

"I am surprised to see you."

"Well, it was a bit short notice. Hana told me what happened."

"You left her alone!"

"What? No! I left Inuyasha with her or else I would had brought her with me."

"Oh, of course."

"Hana also said that they said that 'an old friend wanted to see you.' Do you know who this 'old friend' is?"

"No, but I followed them to get Kimomo and our horses back."

Inuhime nodded and then she got a feeling that someone was near them. It was oddly familiar, but she had no idea who it was until the said person had shown themselves.

"What we have here? Inuhime and Zokushi. It has been awhile, has it," said the coming person in the shadows.

"You know who I am, then identify yourself and come out of the shadows," Inuhime commanded.

The hidden figure smirked, "Of course, your highness. I am known as Ichiko."

Both Zokushi and Inuhime looked at each other as if they were ashing each other if they knew this Ichiko. Zokushi widened her eyes and said, "Ichiko, from Midoriko's village." Ichiko nodded in confirmation.

"You're still alive! You are supposed to be dead. How are you living this long," Inuhime asked.

Ichiko smirked, "Though dark magic, of course." Both Zokushi and Inuhime got to their fighting stances. "I am not here to fight. I have important information for you regarding a certain Akira."

Both of the miko-youkai relaxed, but still guarded. Inuhime asked, "For what price, Ichiko?"

"It's simple. Immunity."

"Immunity for what, exactly?"

"For what Akira has planned, of which I have no idea of, however, I know it regards to your twin brother and his miko mate." Inuhime narrowed her eyes. She'd never liked the bitch. "And there's more...." she paused to add some tension. "She bore Naraku a son named, Yamiko."

Inuhime thought, "Dark child, how fitting." "Do you know when she will act?"

"Not exactly, but I have my suspicions."

"Which are?"

"Well, if I were her, I would act on the night of the Annual Ball, which is around the corner."

Zokushi asked, "And what plans she has for the pup?"

"I would imagine that she's planning to put him on the Western Throne as her ruling co-regnant."

They didn't sense no deceit coming for her. Zokushi asked, "Immunity is all you require."

"Yes, there's no doubt that the bitch would say that it was I who plan everything and etc and etc...."

"I see."

"And what of the pup? Is there a reason to dispose of him?"

"I don't know. Akira, hardly, lets me near him."

Inuhime looked at Zokushi. Zokushi knew what she was asking. "You want me to see if the pup is a danger to your brother, his mate, and family, correct?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, Ichiko, is there a way for me to go there without suspicion from the bitch."

"Yes, but you must conceal yourselves to do so. That is, if you have the power to do so."

"I think that I have an idea." Zokushi smirked.
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A few hours later....

Inuhime was walking with Kimomo and the horses to the hut.

Inuyasha and Hana came running out of the hut. Hana excited to see her neko-youkai friend.

"Oh, Kimomo, I thought that I'd never see you again!" Kimomo meowed in agreement.

Inuhime was petting her horse, which was black with a diamond-like shape on his forehead. It wasn't overly large, but it was big enough to see of you were an arm's length of it. Inuyasha came to Inuhime grumpy as always.

"What took you so damn long?!"

Hana looked up to Inuhime and asked, "Where's Zoku, auntie?"

Inuhime smiled, "She'll return. She has unfinished business with an old friend. Inuyasha, you always has to be so grumpy."

"I am not grumpy! I just want to get home already."

"And which home is that, Inuyasha? Do you want Kikyo, if she hears that you can produce pups?"

Inuyasha looked away from her because he, then, felt so vulnerable. His eyes were downcast. He said softly, "Yeah, if she'll still have me."  Inuhime's eyes soften. She knew that he still loves Kikyo. She could see it in his heart.

She smiled as she nodded, "Inuyasha, despite what you and our brother believed,...." She was expecting Inuyasha to correct her saying that Sesshomaru was his half-brother, but he didn't, which surprised her. Who knows what really goes through that mind of his, but it didn't matter because either way they were still brothers. Blood is blood, after all. ".... love is worth fighting and dieing for, that what father did when he died the first time." There was a moment of silence. "Hana.... Inuyasha, lets take the horses back in the stables."

With that they put the horses in the stables. They made sure that they had plenty of food and water before they went back into the hut to await for Zokushi.

"Hn, perhaps, I'll make dinner. What do you wish to eat?"

Hana exclaimed, "Deer stew!"

Inuhime chuckled and patted her head, affectionately. "Deer stew, it is. Inuyasha go hunting."

"Keh, fine." Then he left.

"Hana, lets go to the garden to get some vegetables for the stew."

"Okay."

With that they went outside to gather some vegetables and, then went back in the hut to start peeling and cutting them. Before, they peeled and cut the vegetables, though, Inuhime told Hana to gather the rest of the vegetables, while she got the fire going and ready to cook. About an hour later, Inuyasha bought in a big, healthy buck; already skinned, gutted, cut into edible pieces. He handed the meat to Inuhime to put into the already boiling water. A few long minutes later, she added in the vegetables to cook.

Around the time, Inuhime was serving their dinner, someone walked inside.....