500 Year Old Love

Chapter 2: Rise and Shine

I awoke the next day, my headache from crying myself to sleep echoing through my brain. My vision was blurry, my eyes slightly swollen, my heart heavy. I tried to open my eyes again, but the blur was only made worse. I sighed and tried again. A blurry blob appeared and the fog in my freshly awoken brain couldn’t resister what it was. I blinked a few more times, my eyes still covered in early morning phlegm. I rubbed my eyes one more good time and opened my eyes to---
“AAAAAAHHH!!!” I yelled, shooting up in my bed, causing the sleeping head to jerk up and scream as well, falling off of the bed.
“AAAAHHHH!!” He yelled back, louder than expected from a head.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” I yelled, clutching my ears as the cry attacked my eardrums.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!” he yelled again, the smell of fear rising from his body as I jumped across the bed and reached for him. “NOOOOOOO!” he cried as I grabbed him around the shoulders and covered his mouth, glaring in the mirror across from us at the little boy, Souta.
“What is wrong with you boy?! What were you doing in my room!?” I said angrily, careful not to grip him too hard, mindful of the fact that he was fragile compared to me. I sighed as the smell of his fear grew strong. “Don’t scream.” I said turning him around to face me. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” I looked into his eyes, a mixture of shock, curiosity and fear looked back at me. I sat down before him and we were at eye level when he finally spoke.
“You started it. Why’d you scream like that?” he said trying to fight off his initial fear.
“Why were you in my room?” I asked for the second time, more sternly. He paused, looking embarrassed, unwilling to answer. “Well?” I prompted. He looked at his shoes.
“I was curious to see what you looked like. Kagome was talking about you this morning before she went to school and I’m home sick today so…” I shook my head and stood as he got the bravery to speak again. “Where did you get those tattoos?” he said quickly. ‘Tattoos?’ I thought frowning at him. “Please don’t eat me!” he said kneeling into a ball at my feet. I laughed out loud and grabbed him by the back of his pajama shirt, lifting him to eye level. His eyes were watering and his nose was running a little all while he hung in the air, sniffling.
“I’m not going to eat you Souta.” I said setting him stomach first on my bed. “And these aren’t tattoos. They’re demon markings.”
“Demon markings? Why do you have them then?” He asked, his curiosity winning the battle against his fear for who got to talk. ‘Not that I invite curiosity… but how could I not answer him? I almost traumatized him not to mention the fact that now we live together. Its best to get this out of the way now.’
“I have these markings to indicate my ranking in the Demon society.” I said matter-of-factly.
“Wow! There’s a Demon Society?” he said, his fear quelled by his newfound curiosity in my world and me. I frowned slightly. Then got really serious.
“If you tell anyone what I’m about to tell you I will have to kill you.” I said smiling and ruffling his hair as he laughed his understanding.
“I swear I won’t.” He said placing his hand on his heart our moment of mock seriousness over.
“Well then, now that you know the rules, I will answer your question. Yes, there is a demon society.”
“Cool… so what do those markings mean?” he asked pointing to the ones he could see.
“The number and color of the markings represent a demons ranking and can also signify the types of powers they have. For example, I have gold demon markings.” I said showing him my wrists, enjoying his rapt attention. “The lighter the color, the higher the rank. The only exception is purple, which is the color of royalty.”
“Like kings and queens in other countries,” he said seriously, making it make sense for himself.
“Exactly.” I said looking around my room full of boxes. I opened the closet, and there were more. “The gold coloring also can help you figure out what power a demon specializes in. I can manipulate metals and fire. Those with silver or grey markings can use the wind to their advantage. Red, purple and yellow represent poison, orange controls fire, green use plants, blue controls water and black is the color of darkness and shadows.” Soutas eyes were wide with excitement.
“What about demons with no markings?” he asked his chin resting in his hands as he watched me unpack my things.
“They use powers that match their eye color for the most part.”
“And half demons?” he said expectantly.
“They generally don’t have particular strengths when it comes to elements, even though they are strong. They simply have heightened abilities and favor the element their eyes represent, although they rarely can use it.” I said carefully. I’d only met a few half-demons in my lifetime, mostly because my mother allowed it. Father still had a negative outlook on half demons. Although he was kind to everyone, and everyone respected him, he still had his misgivings, especially when it came to his only child—a daughter to boot.
“Oh…” he said trailing off in his own thoughts for a moment. “Well what about the number?”
“Well the number is a representation of authority which, for the most part, demons don’t pay attention to in terms of ‘who’s who’. Nowadays demons only look to marking in terms of mating.”
“Ew.” Souta said simply scrunching his nose to show his disgust.
“The more markings you have,” I continued, ignoring him. “the more ‘pure’ your bloodline is. The most you can have is 10. I have 8, and from the number of markings a demon can have goes down in even numbers til you get to zero. Because the demon world is a bit more liberal than it used to be, markings generally go unnoticed. Except in the smaller circles of eights and tens. They are the richest of our society and are also the most rare. They feel like it’s a scandal if a demon with eight markings marries a demon with four.” I said a bit scornfully recalling the trials my mother had to go through at the hands of the eights and tens. If I hadn’t been born with 8 I would have been treated the same as she, however, having 8 markings didn’t spare me the trials of being from such a ‘scandalous’ family. A picture I had picked out of the box slipped and fell to the floor, distracting me from my thoughts.
“Kii, are you okay?”
“Wha-? Oh right. What were you saying?” I said hiding my hands from his view, wiping the blood off the hand that didn’t have the picture in it onto an old shirt as the wounds healed. ‘I really need to file these claws.’ I thought as Souta spoke.
“What about demons with no markings? What happens?”
“Nothing, they just aren’t treated like demons. They’re treated like scum.”
“You would know all about that wouldn’t you?” sounded a voice from the doorway. I turned to look and there was Kagome, her icy stare on me.
“Yes, actually I would. My best friend was a demon with no markings.” I replied coolly all the animation leaving my voice while I shooed Souta from my room. As Souta left Akitsu called for him, telling him to take his medicine.
“Okay mom!” He called back as he went down the hallway, mindful of my sensitive ears. I sat on the floor and continued unpacking the boxes, four already opened and put away. ‘Time flies when you’re having fun.’ I thought sarcastically as the time dripped by while Kagome stood there.
“Well?” I asked her without looking up. “You gonna insult me some more?”
“No.” she said. “I came… to apologize.” She said, the words coming out painfully. “You are grieving and I shouldn’t have treated you with such disrespect.”
“You got that right.” I said turning to look at her. Even her face wasn’t genuine. “So if I weren’t grieving, would you have apologized?” I asked evenly. She snorted before she could catch herself, then looked appalled by her actions. Then appalled by her response.
“No.” she replied easily. I smiled, she frowned.
“Well then, don’t be. I could honestly careless if you want to be mean to me.” She looked at me confused by me. “I just don’t like being disrespected.” I glared. She got angry.
“I’m not normally like this! Ugh! You come here out of the blue, preaching about respect when you’ve been disrespectful since you’ve been here. You look down on us because we’re human and we’re not even worthy to be treated like the dirt beneath your feet. You disrespected my mother, who couldn’t even say the eulogy at her best friends funeral, you’ve disrespected us by looking down on who we are and now you admit to disrespecting your best friend calling her scum. You full demons don’t care about anyone but yourselves and keeping the ‘scum’ of the world beneath you. The truth is you’re the real scum.” She said her frustrations finally spent. As she stood there, her anger faded, her body relaxed.
“Other than me, what experience have you had with full demons?”
“Plenty.” She replied spitefully.
“Sounds to me like you are basing what you know about me based on assumptions about demons from 500 years ago.” I replied.
“Yeah, well it doesn’t seem like they’ve changed much.” She said crossing her arms.
“Well then you don’t know much. Why don’t you go ask your brother? He probably knows more about current demon practices than you do. Who are you to judge me, one who knows nothing of who I am and where I came from? You, who probably didn’t even know about the existence of demons in the present time until I showed up two days ago. How dare you try and insinuate that my practices and my way of life is wrong and bad? You, who hasn’t even had the decency to ask me a single question about anything you are accusing me of being.”
“Well I can only assume- ” she started, my voice silencing her.
“When you assume,” I continued calmly. “You make an ass out of you and me. Otherwise we wouldn’t even be having this embarrassing, juvenile conversation.” Her mouth opened to respond, but no sound came out. She closed it, frowned, opened her mouth again then suddenly turned and closed the door. Then she went to her room. I sighed and sat, continuing my unpacking.

A door opened and the room flooded with light. Light steps could be heard as my blanket was tucked around my sleeping form. A weight sat on my bed and continued fussing with my blankets. A gentle motion moved my bangs from my face. I opened my eyes slowly, my hand grasping the fingers that brushed my fears away at night.
“Hey mom.” I said looking up into her face.
“Hey honey. I’m sorry I woke you.” She said smiling softly.
“No, its okay. I’ve tossing and turning. I feel… terrible.” I said tears welling in my eyes. I fought them back though, and sat up. “Did you hear the argument that she and I had after I apologized for yesterday?” Mom sighed.
“Yes. I did.” She replied. “Is that what’s got you upset?” I thought about it before I answered.
“Not really, it just made me realize what I was doing… I’ve been taking my anger against the discrimination that InuYasha experienced as a child at the hands of other demons. I guess I forgot that humans were there to hate him as well as the demons. Its just,” I continued my voice raising of its own accord. “I don’t see how much the demon world has changed. She wouldn’t even let me do the eulogy. She doesn’t eat with us and she barely speaks to anyone. She just holes up in her room.” My mother laughed lightly, the musical sound causing me to quiet, just to listen.
“You’re right about that.” She laughed, “But you’re wrong about a few things. She wasn’t allowed to let me do the eulogy.” My temper flared but mother raised her hand. “One human, little old me, giving an emotional speech in front of a large group of demons? I would be booed off the stage, or worse killed. Or worse, Kii would have lost control and tried to defend my honor. I’m not going to fight against that logic and cause an uproar. Not at my best friends funeral. The funeral of Kii’s mother and father mind you. She may be a demon, but with a mother whose best friend was a human, she can’t be as cold hearted as you think.” I sighed and lowered my head.
“I’m really in the wrong about this huh? About Kii?”
“Seems like it, for the most part. You can’t be a hypocrite honey, its not healthy for the soul.” My mom stood and brushed her fingers in my hair once more. “You’re still young honey, and we all make mistakes. Its okay. Just recognize them and try and make peace.” She smiled and turned to leave.
“Hey mom,” I called.
“Yes?” she said, her hand on the door knob.
“I love you.”
“I love you too sweetheart.” The door closed.
________________________________
I sat in my room, the mother-daughter moment bringing tears to my eyes. ‘Kagome is pretty alright.’ I thought, looking around my unpacked room in the dark. ‘One of them is missing though…’ I went out of my room and down the stairs, looking around the house this time as I went. ‘Its so… normal here.’
My hands found the doorknob and there stood Grand- Pa, exactly where I heard him. “Hello.” I said bowing slightly, “Could you tell me where that old looking trunk is that came with my things?”
“Uhh, yes. It should be in the shed behind the house, where we put all the aged artifacts.” He replied, “Would you like help finding it, its rather dark.”
“Thanks but I think I’ve got it.” I said smiling as I walked away toward the back of the house. My footsteps seemed to pick up once the shed was in sight and it took everything in me not to rip off the door when I got there. When I did however, there it was, my trunk, the family crest lying on top of the lock, a great dog with an ancient shield, the family tree large on the shield, seeming to grow off of it in its miniature form.
I sighed as I pulled the trunk open, the musk of age clinging to the contents of the trunk. I breathed in the scent, old comforts bringing me peace of mind. I lifted out the shield and sword, placing them gingerly on the floor next to me. Next, I lifted out the armor of my great great grandfather, a gift to him from the Great Leader. I sighed and laid it next to me as well. Then I reached down and grabbed the plaques with my mother and fathers names on them. I then pulled up the racks in the trunks and put together a makeshift place to honor my ancestors and my mother and father.
As I was putting the last touches on the objects the door behind me opened. I stood and turned as Kagome entered the shed. She waved sheepishly.
“Hi…” I waited. “I heard you ask Grand-Pa where your things were…. Is that armor from the feudal era? I’ve seen it before, its really similar to the armor that Sess- ”
“Is there something you would like to say? I really don’t like small talk.”
“Ah, well, actually… I want to apologize. I’m really sorry for treating you the way I have been. I guess you can say I saw a threat and I over reacted. How am I to compare you so someone else when I don’t even know you?” I sighed and smiled. She smiled back sheepishly.
“Its okay. And you’re right, I have yet to even say thank you to Akitsu for having so much patience with me. I have been quite rude. And I apologize.” I bowed deeply. “We all have some growing up to do.” I stood upright and gestured toward the relics. “Want a closer look?”
“Sure.” She responded.
____________________________
“So you’re telling me, that about 500 years ago, the ‘Great Leader’ led the demons out of chaos after the death of the ‘Great Evil One’ and into new society where they life side by side with humans but undercover because demons are thought to have disappeared after the ‘Purification’ period of demon history?” I said as we sat side-by-side cleaning the armor of her great grandfather… or was it great great?
“Yup.”
“But there is no historical records of the names of the main players?”
“None. Crazy right? They say it was out of respect for their power that they weren’t named. And there is no record of the Great Leaders death, but outside of a few of the elder demons, which aren’t allowed to speak his name, no one knows what his name is. Not even the descendents of his second in command.” She said enthusiastically. Her excitement spilled over and I got excited about it in turn. “They say that the Great Leader is still alive, but that his face hasn’t been seen for over almost 500 years. A great heart break is supposedly the cause.” She continued
“No way.” I said shaking her head. “No way a demon, especially the Great Leader, would ever be heart broken.”
“I said the same thing. No demon would follow someone like that.” She sighed, “Never. You can be happy if you dare in the Demon Society, but heartbroken to the point of hermitship; Never.”
“So your parents? They were happy?” I asked softly. She smiled.
“Yeah, they were. As happy as two people could be.” She shook her head as tears began to fall in steady even streams down her face. My heart went out to her. After tonight, I wouldn’t know what to do without my mother. I placed my hand on her should, if only to show her that she wasn’t alone. Her clawed hand covered mine. “Thanks.”
“No problem. I am… truly sorry for your loss. You, your family, were such amazing people…”
“They were murdered.” She said, her hand leaving mine to rest on her shoulder. “In cold blood. IDSU is investigating, but I don’t think they’ll find him. They were so… peaceful. Like they didn’t care that they were going to die. And their bodies, there was no struggle. It was almost like their souls were just… taken.” She shook her head, my hand falling from her shoulder. “I just… I don’t believe they would go down without a fight. Without knowing what’s coming. The fact that some one could sneak up on the two of them only tells me that the killer… will never be found.”
“Kii, you have to have faith. In your parents and in the people looking for the killer. They’ll find him. I just know it.” I watched as she crawled over to the large chest and reached inside, grabbing a necklace from the bottom, and putting it on. The necklace was very simple chain, from which hung a yellow stone, inlaid in a silver sun. In that instant, her demon markings disappeared and her aura was muted.
“My father gave this to me as a early birthday present… It’s a masking pendant. This is what makes me think he must’ve known. At the same time,” she looked up at me. “I just don’t understand. Why them? Why?” Tears began to run unrestrained down her face. I knelt and held her close. “I’m so afraid. What if they come after me?” I quieted her tears and rubbed her back as she sobbed silently into my shoulder.
“Let’s go to bed.” I said after she calmed down some. “Think about this! Tomorrow, you’ll be having your first day of school, and its your last year in school! I’m sure your parents would want you to be happy and use this chance to the fullest. And hey, at least you’re not going to school with those mean demons, you get a chance at a new beginning. You get to start over.” Kii sniffled and wiped her face then stood determination shining in her eyes.
“You’re right. A new beginning.”
______________________
This felt like a filler chapter lol but its funny and cute and somber all the same. I hope you enjoyed it!
~audaciousness