Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha or associated characters of Inuyasha. This story is strictly for fan fiction purposes.
This story will be rated "M" for depictions of violence, sex, and strong language.
Notes: Character thoughts are in bold italics. Everything else (i.e. dreams, some back-story moments) are in italics.
Howl
Chapter One: The Woman In The Forest
A man was walking through a forest close to his small village, the small dog accompanying him bounding for every tree and flower as she discovered the new scents of life in the forest. The trade today proved to be successful in the larger village by the shores; the numerous goods his village provided bought him enough supplies and medicine to help those who were fighting for their lives. He regarded every single person in the village as family, and it pained him to see so many fallen ill.
Behind him, a bulky wagon was trudging along with the help of two horses, who were in high spirits as they were munching on the popular sugar cubes of the southern lands.
As he was nearing the open plains that led him straight to the village, the dog stopped in her tracks, growling viciously at something along the left side of the path. The man halted as did the horses, but the dog's growling made the horses anxious, and they began to stomp the ground, ready to run if danger reared its ugly head. The man went to the dog.
"What is the matter, Saya?"
The man down to pet the dog's back as reassurance. When the growling did not die down, the man stood up, looking at the denser part of the forest where Saya was growling. Sensing uneasiness, he took the first cautious steps into the lesser known.
"Stay with Yuno and Tano," the man patted Saya on the head. She obediently scurried back to the horses, jumping on the cart, but she continued growling.
For a couple of minutes, the man saw nothing out of the ordinary, just trees, grass, flowers, and all sorts of vegetation. He spotted an opening in the treetops where the sunlight was shining through, like a blaze of fire among the dimness. He proceeded to the spot of sunlight, but as soon as he put one foot into the light, he encountered a thick chill in the air, as if one of the ghostly departed walked through his body. He took another step into the clearing, scouring the area, until he spotted something… peculiar. As he treaded closer, he couldn't help but notice that what he was looking at resembled something out of a nightmare, an utterly terrifying image. He nearly fell back in shock to discover that the "terrifying image"… was a human, a young woman to be exact.
The woman had her back against a tree. Her body was covered head to toe in deep gashes, bruises, and patches of burnt skin and dried blood. Her thin arms were crossed on her chest, and her head was slumped to the right. The man quickly planted his feet back on the ground, and strode towards the woman. He observed her a little more closely, noting her chest was not rising and falling; she remained as still as a statue. The woman was shrouded in an eerie black-violet glow, which exuded from her countless gashes and burns, and a soft pink light emitted from her half opened lips.
"It can't possibly be…" the man thought, scratching his chin in thought. He only heard stories of yōkai, how they disguised their evil essence in the shell of a familiar living creature. This one, like many, disguised its form into that of a human, and it was either dying, or healing itself from a previous attack. Not wanting to know which situation this creature was in, the man had to make a quick decision to keep it away from the village; the creature was close enough already. He took out his sealing scrolls, placing one on each foot, on each hand, one on the tree, and the most crucial spot: the head.
Taking in what he seemed his last breath of air, the man gently placed the final scroll on the creature's forehead, bowed to her, and as quietly as he could, backed away from her. He watched the "woman" until he was in the safety of the shade, and turned his back on her. He walked for a couple of feet, when he heard the sound of someone crying.
That must be her, crying because she cannot escape, the man thought, turning around to face her. Oddly enough, she was not moving at all, but she was muttering something as she cried, thick tears running down her cheeks like waterfalls. The man panicked for a second. Maybe she is uttering a counter curse. Why did I even try to conceal her?
He frantically rushed back to the tree, taking out his beads, carefully reciting the spells to calm evil spirits. When his spells seemed to have no effect, he stopped his reciting and tuned in on what she was muttering. She seemed to say only two words, but since they did not seem to be words of written language, he assumed they were names. He listened intently to get the two names, reading her lips as she spoke.
"Kō…ga, Ka...zuo, Kōga, Kazuo, Kōga, Kazuo," the man repeated. He almost jumped out of his skin when the woman began to move her hands. Her hands traveled directly to her throat where there was a thick line of dried blood, holding it in a vice grip. Her quiet muttering soon turned into frantic screaming, causing some birds to fly away from the noise. The dark glow on her skin soon lightened to a soft pink as she took in short, painful breaths. She began to grind her back against the tree's thick bark, and her legs began to flail in a wild manner.
The man, fearing what he did with the concealing scrolls, placed his hands on her shoulders. A sharp pain ran down his spine as soon as his hands made contact with her skin, and he was pushed on his back. His vision turned black for a second, but in that second a thousand images flashed before him, most of them images of wolves walking around this woman. She was holding an infant with piercing blue eyes, but the woman looked up at him and his vision turned crimson. He opened his eyes, sat up and shook his head, looking back to the woman.
The woman stopped screaming, slumping back into the dead-like posture he found her in. With blurry eyes, he watched as the cuts that covered her from head to toe began to disappear and the burn marks simply vanish. The glow then faded away from her body and her lips. Stillness was all she was, but she was beautiful stillness.
He didn't know what just happened. He felt a small ache in the back of his head, but this was different from a headache. It was as though he was overwhelmed with an indescribable power. What transpired between him and this woman?
He crawled back to her, taking the sealing scrolls off her. There was something about this woman that wanted him to protect her. Could it be that infant he saw? Did he get a glimpse of her memories?
He had to get her to Lady Kaede.
He scooped the woman gently in his arms, taking great care not to disturb her. Since she was unclothed save for a thin strip of cloth across her chest, he did his best to cover the rest of her body with the sleeves of his robes. He found his way back to the road and sat her beside a small crate of supplies and draped a small blanket over her. Saya and the horses were still uneasy, but Saya looked more curious than defensive. She sat atop the small crate and watched over the woman while Miroku guided the horses further out of the forest.
As the supply carriage broke through the forest at last, the mountains obscured the dying light of the setting sun. He was making haste to Lady Kaede.
Relief came to his heart when Miroku spotted Lady Kaede's residence. He stopped just outside her home and took the woman off the carriage. He knocked on the door as quietly as he could, and waited for a response.
"Be welcome inside, Miroku," a woman's voice sounded. The door slid to the side as a short, elderly woman stood in front of him. She saw the worry on Miroku's face, studied the woman in Miroku's arms, nodding slightly. Miroku gave a curt bow, ushering the unconscious woman into the priestess's home.
"Place her on the far mat, Miroku," Kaede said. Miroku followed her instructions, placing the woman carefully on the mat. Soon enough, Kaede was next to Miroku, looking over the woman with much interest in her eyes.
"How the fates act, Miroku." Kaede began to laugh softly. "She looks so much like Kikyo, I am almost urged to call her that name. Tell me, where did ye find her?"
Miroku explained everything from the time Saya began barking to when he placed her on the mat at Lady Kaede's home. Kaede never once looked at Miroku the whole time he explained the story; she kept her attention on the woman, nodding occasionally when Miroku described a rather interesting event.
"…. I'm not sure what exactly happened to her, but she had prominent bite marks on her neck, and she was covered in cuts and burns when I found her. Those seemed to heal at a tremendous rate. After seeing those visions and these wounds heal so quickly, I decided it was best for you to take a look at her, to see if you can help her," Miroku finished, panting from the long-winded story.
A long silence ensued after Miroku's last comment. Kaede shook her head rather slowly.
"I am afraid all I can do is let her rest. She seems to have been put in a sleep stasis. This is a very archaic technique and takes up a lot of energy, but placing blood around the neck renders one in an almost lifeless state."
"But what explains when she spoke?"
"When ye placed the sealing scrolls on her, it must have dulled the power of this stasis. However, we cannot remove it from her. The only way this stasis can be removed is by having the one who put her under this remove it or she must wake up of her own accord. From what I can see of the blood it was most likely out of desperation. As for the reason behind it I do not know entirely, but there is a strong aura around her that is protecting her."
"An aura, Lady Kaede? How can you tell that?"
"I can tell because there is a scent surrounding her that is not her own."
"Scent?" Miroku asked. Kaede nodded stiffly.
"Aye, a scent. She has the scent of a yōkai, but not the kind that I fear. Dare I say, I welcome it."
Kaede rose to tend to the small fire. Miroku kept to his place, thinking on what Kaede just said. He desperately wished this woman could wake up. What did he just get himself into?
"Why do you welcome it then, Lady Kaede?"
Lady Kaede looked up from the fire. "I sense love and affection, loyalty, trust… an abundance of good feelings from this scent. Ye must trust me on this, Miroku. We will do everything we can to help this young woman, but it will take time."
Although the hairs on the back of Miroku's neck were still standing up, he nodded in agreement. Lady Kaede had many more years experience with this sort of thing. He trusted Lady Kaede with his own life, and he had to trust her on this.
An unknown woman, wolves, yōkai, an infant… what have you done, Miroku?