Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. The story and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. All I own is my original character, Asami.
The Power of the Forest
Chapter 1 -
Asami walked out of her hut and shielded her eyes against the morning sun. She smiled as a gentle breeze caressed her face and lifted her long auburn hair. She inhaled the sweet scents of the forest, her forest, and set off to walk her usual daily rounds.
Down the well trod dirt path she walked, keeping an eye out for animals in need as she made her way through the forest. As Kodama of the forest, it was her job to take care of the animals, trees, and any who wandered into her forest. She was young, by Kodama standards that is, but she had been walking her forest for over 500 years now and knew every inch like a dear friend.
This bright morning, Asami made her way to fox's den to check on mother fox who had just delivered her pups. Just as she came to the meadow at the center of her forest, she heard a little girl singing.
Who could that be? I wonder if she's lost? Asami considered. "I better go check", she concluded with a sigh.
Rin heard a woman's voice call out in greeting and turned in surprise. When she first saw the woman in the pale jade kimono, Rin thought she was human. But upon closer look, she realized something was off. The woman had slightly pointed ears and brown cat-like eyes. With a squeak, Rin scrambled behind A-Un.
"Don't be afraid!" Asami said "I mean you no harm. Are you lost?"
Rin peered around A-Un and looked at Asami's warm smile. "No, I'm waiting for Sesshomaru-sama to come back."
"Oh, has he gone far?" Asami looked around the meadow and reached out her senses through the forest, but found no other unknown being.
Rin looked Asami up and down, trying to decide how much to tell this stranger.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to" Asami grinned. "My name is Asami and this is my forest. What is your name?"
"Rin"
"Hello Rin. You should be safe enough to wait here. Nothing resides in my forest except peaceful creatures. If you need anything just -"
Asami stopped short as she sensed a demon presence coming. In a matter of moments, a giant centipede came crashing out of the trees. Damn. It must have smelled the human child and came down out of the mountains!
"Rin, get down!" yelled Asami, as she drew her Bo staff from where it hung on her back and engaged the centipede demon. Being such a low level demon, it didn't take long for Asami to subdue it. She turned to Rin as the demon's body disintegrated into the wind. "You better come with me" she sighed. "With your scent in the meadow, there are bound to be more demons coming down from the mountains. If we get back to my hut I can set up a barrier to protect you, but here we are too open to attack."
Asami reached for A-Un's bridle. With her gentleness and natural way with animals, A-Un readily assented to being led by her. Rin decided that this Asami didn't seem too bad, and she certainly didn't want to run into another centipede, so she followed along behind.
When they reached the hut, Asami turned and, making symbols in the air, cast a barrier around her home. "There." she said with a smile. "That will keep the minor demons out, at least. Now, are you hungry Rin? May I get you something to eat or some tea?"
Rin nodded and followed Asami into the hut. After placing a small meal before her, Rin exclaimed "So yummy! I never get this much when traveling and I certainly don't get tea!"
"Doesn't this Sesshomaru-sama feed you?!" Asami asked, shocked that some noble protector would allow a child to go hungry.
"Well, he's an inu daiyokai, so he doesn't have the same needs as I do. But he does let me go off to forage for my own food when I need to" Rin commented, focusing on the feast before her.
Asami's eyes widened at the girl's revelation. She knew of the inu lord of the West, but did not know his name nor that he traveled with a human child. Interesting. "Hmm. And does he leave you often like he did today? With no protection?"
"Oh A-Un can help protect me. He's a very useful dragon. And sometimes he leaves Master Jaken with me." Rin informed her with the great authority of a young child.
"I see." Asami pondered the situation. How could he leave such a young child to fend for herself? Asami sat in deep thought while Rin finished her food and tea.
"Umm, I don't mean to be...what I mean is...only..."Rin stammered.
Asami snapped out of her reverie, "Yes?"
"Are you some sort of demon?" Rin eyed the woman with wide, curious eyes.
"I'm a Kodama. A tree spirit. We are guardians of the forest, and this is my forest. I take care of it and all who come through here"
"I've never seen a real Kodama" Rin said, astonished.
"We are as old as the stars and the moon. If there is a forest, there is a Kodama protecting it. Only, most have retreated into the oldest tree and no longer walk their forests as I do."
"Why do you still walk around?"
Turning to look out the window and into the clear blue sky, Asami replied, "I'm not ready to be penned up in a tree."
A/N: This is my first fanfiction. I welcome all reviews to improve my writing. Also, I know the most common idea of a Kodama are the small creatures in Princess Mononoke, but in my research I found they are similar to yokai and are able to take human form.
