2. Lost and found.
Where was she? She woke up in this strange place; she believes people call it a forest, whatever that may be. But more importantly, WHO is she? She couldn't remember. The girl sits up. She feels something cold and gentle stroking her cheek. 'Wind' she recalls. But the wind recalls something more. Images of someone, a man, with long white hair. A friend of hers? Her father, companion, foe…lover? She doesn't know. But she knows that he should be there to protect her, but… where was he, who was he? "What is going on, who am I?" asks the girl to no one in particular. The trees and bushes rustle in the wind. The girl feels the chill of the early spring. The girl stands up. "I'd better get moving and find myself a place to hide," she says and she walks away from the open spot in the forest.
"A lake?" the girl says surprised when she finds a small lake. She looks in the clear water and sees a reflection of herself. Her hair is long and blond, with a single braid of white hair. Her skin is a little tanned and her eyes are blue. "I must be traveling a lot, judging the collar of my skin." The girl looks at the rest of her clothes. A light purple osode, tied together with a black obi, a green mobakama and flat black shoes. Nothing too outrages about that, right? The girl doesn't know, everything in her head is so blurry. She likes the place she is now. The lake is clear and in the back is a waterfall. Waterfalls are good, you can use them to clean yourself or to hide behind it, someone once told her. She couldn't remember who. She decided to build her hideout here.
Inu no Taisho sniffs the air and the ground in search for clues of Ikuymi.
"Damn, damn, damn! Where is she?" he has been cursing for a while now but he hasn't found any clue yet. However… two new smells are suddenly mixed with the other smell that floats through the air. One is sweet, like a peace, but carries a sparkle of fire. The other one has the sickening smell of lilies, blood red lilies. Inu no Taisho suddenly recognizes both smells. The first is Ikuymi's, but still, not her real smell.
'Her blood has changed!' Inu no Taisho is shocked. He doesn't know Ikuymi's other smell all that well because she doesn't carry that scent too often, so finding her will be impossible if her smell has changed completely. But the other smell is what makes him even more worried. It's the smell of the Shojo wo taberu Akuma, the maiden eating demons. He imagines Ikuymi in the state she's in: frightened, weak and alone, against the Shojo wo taberu Akuma. She would make the perfect prey for them. And one that meets all the requirements: young, beautiful and a virgin. He shivers when he thinks of that last requirement. Yes, Ikuymi was still a virgin (the body she possesses now at least is); however… it was a close call. On that strange night… stupid aikō ka sake (lovers' sake, an aphrodisiac type of sake)…
Damn it! He has to find her, before the Shojo wo taberu Akuma do, or he'll never see her again.
"Do you smell that, Hanzo?" the man asks. The demon child, Hanzo, sniffs the air. "Yes, lord Kamenosuke. What about this particular smell?" he asks. The demon man on the horse grins. "Don't you know this smell, Hanzo? It's the smell of a maiden, a young maiden, who is neither human nor demon," he answers.
"A half-demon, milord?" Hanzo asks.
"I don't care, I want to see her, what about you, men?" says the demon lord prurient. His escort cheers approvingly and their horses neigh loudly. The demon lord wants to set off but a younger demon rides his horse before that of the demon lord, to stop him. The man's horse rears. "What do you think you're doing?!" scolds the demon lord.
"Please, father. Let me take this one on," the young demon says.
"Step aside!" his father commands him roughly.
"Come on father. This one smells interesting, I want to take her on," the boy says with a false grin on his face. The demon lord grins with the same falsehood as his son. "Very well then. Go and get her… and don't disappoint me."
"I won't, father," the boy says and he turns his horse and rides away.
"Milord, can we trust him? You do remember what happened last time, didn't you?" says one of the escorts men.
"He'll do what he has to. He knows what'll happen if he doesn't obey me." The men laugh.
"Whoa, wow, whaaaa!"
*splash!* the girl falls into the clear water of the small lake when she trips over one of the wet stones on the shore of the lake. She pops up from under water, while she is laughing and sneezing. "Ah damn, no. My hair is all wet! It'll take hours to dry!" the girl says. She has been living by the lake for a few days now and has made it a habit to talk to herself, just to drive away the silence. She climbs out of the lake when she suddenly feels something struggle in her kimono. She screams while she quickly removes it from her kimono. It's a fish. "I… guess I found dinner." She looks at the fish and starts laughing again as suddenly… a smooth breeze announces the stranger, who is hiding in the shadows of the forest. "Who's there?! Come on out!" the girl commands. A young man steps out of the shadows of the forest, leading a horse by the reins. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," the boy says.
"Who are you?" the girl says scared, while backing away from the young man.
"I could ask you the same. What's your name?" the young man asks.
"I…my name am…I… I don't know…" the girl stammers, her back is now against a tree and she can't go anywhere anymore.
"You don't know?" the boy asks surprised while he walks to the girl, "Pour thing…" he lays his hand on her cheek. The girl flinches, for as far as that's still possible. "You're not human! What are you?" the girl asks. She seems to be terrified of the strange young man.
"Yes, I am a demon. But I promise you, I won't hurt you," the young man says, defending himself.
"How would I know that? How do I know if you are a friend or foe," the girl asks.
The young man sighs. "Not all demons are evil, you know."
Flashes of the man with the long silver hair flash through the girl's brain.
'Is he demon too?' she thinks.
"Do you live here on your own?" the young man asks. The girl is surprised by his question but nods then confirmative.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I can help you," the young man says.
"Really?"
"Yes. My father and I noticed you from miles away. He told me to check you out and to pick you up. We both thought that it would be too dangerous for a lonely girl to live like this."
A voice in the girls head tells her to run, tells her that the boy is lying, but in her heart, she trusts him.
"I… I trust you…" she says. The young man lays his hand on her cheek again. This time she doesn't flinch, nor does she clap the hand away.
"Good. So, will you come with me?" he asks.
The girl nods. "Okay then. Now, only a name… … Miyuki…" He speaks the last word with a self-satisfied tone.
"Miyuki?"
"Yes, Miyuki; silence of deep snow. I think it suits you." The young man lays his other arm around her waist and lifts her up in his arms. The girl doesn't resist, she just clamps herself to the young man's clothes, afraid to fall out of his arms. "What's your name, milord?" she asks.
"Samuru," the young man says.
"Samuru. I like it, lord Samuru."
"That's good," Samuru says while he jumps on his horse with the girl in his arms. The horse neighs under the heavy weight of two persons, but Samuru gets it steady and relaxed again and he drives away with the silent girl clamped onto him.