Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha
CHAPTER TWO - Demonic Youth
Karanosuke held his mother's hand as she took her last breaths. The young boy watched, a pained expression on his face, as she struggled for breath and then simply gave up. Hina took one last, gasping breath and then her body was still and the hand that had clutched Karanosuke's so tightly went limp. Tears formed in the boy's amber eyes when his mother's soul slipped away but he willed himself not to cry. His mother would want him to be strong and that he would do. He knew that the villagers weren't fond of his mother and they liked him even less so he decided to do what had to be done by himself. He would tell only one person in the village that his mother had passed away, the one person whom he knew would share his sadness over the loss of Hina. He left the hut soon after his mother died to inform her one and only friend Miatsu that she had joined her parents in the netherworld.
Karanosuke walked quickly across the village, to the hut of his mother's childhood friend. When he reached the hut, he called out her name.
"Lady Miatsu."
A few minutes passed and then the mat covering the door was pulled back and a woman's head appeared in the doorway. "What is it Karanosuke?"
"Mother is gone."
Miatsu immediately embraced the young boy, rubbing the back of his head in a comforting manner. "Oh Karanosuke, I'm so sorry."
Karanosuke allowed her to hold him for the barest of moments and then he pulled away. The young boy nodded his thanks, although he was unable to speak. He was completely devastated by the loss of his mother and could tell by her facial expression that this woman was also deeply saddened by the loss of Hina. The two women had been friends all of their lives.
"Come Karanosuke," Miatsu said, placing her hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Let us attend to your mother."
"Alright."
Miatsu accompanied the young boy back to his hut and the two of them attended to Hina. Miatsu dressed Hina in a white kimono and then she and Karanosuke wrapped her body in a blanket and then placed her on another blanket. Then, since neither of them could pick her up on their own, they used the second blanket to lift Hina between them and carry her from the hut. They transported her into the forest, where they built a funeral pyre.
With the help of Miatsu, Karanosuke placed his mother's body upon the pyre, said a small prayer, and then set the pyre ablaze. Miatsu and the young boy watched sadly as Hina's body was engulfed in flames. The person Karanosuke cared for most in the world was now gone. The young boy could feel the tears stinging his eyes as he watched the flames dance however as before he refused to allow them to fall. He would be stronge, even though his heart was breaking.
After giving the ashes of his mother a proper burial, Karanosuke traveled back to the village with Miatsu. The two of them had just entered the village when they were surrounded by a group of village men. The men saw the sad expression on Karanosuke's face and they knew that Hina was dead.
"So the wench has finally died, Filthy half-breed who spawned a demon child even worse than she herself," the village elder said, a satisfied smile on his face. "She got what she deserved."
"Shut up." Karanosuke warned, his voice a low and menacing growl.
"Demon spawn," the village elder snarled, great dislike for the boy plainly evident in his eyes. "You were sentenced to death before you were born and I believe it's time that sentence was carried out." The elder pulled his sword from the sheath that he wore secured to his side and stepped menacingly toward the young boy, his eyes narrowed in hatred.
Karanosuke stared at the village elder in disbelief, his anger building. First this man had insulted his dear mother and now the man had the guts to threaten him. This new anger, compiled with all the indignities he'd suffered as a child because of these people was just too much for the young boy to contain. A demonic wind suddenly began to swirl around the boy, making his long silver hair flair out around him.
The villagers stared in horror at the boy, none of them knowing what was happening.
"What's going on?" one of the village men exclaimed, giving voice to the groups' collective thoughts.
Karanosuke's eyes changed from their normal amber color to a bright, blood red and he suddenly transformed into a huge white dog. The dog was as tall as the village huts and he had a blue crescent moon in the middle of his forehead.
"Demon dog!" the village leader yelled, pointing toward the now transformed Karanosuke, his eyes wide and horrified. "Just like the stories of the phantom beast that once ruled the western lands."
The villagers all stared at the gigantic dog, their eyes filled with an indescribable terror. They had tormented this boy for nine years and were now afraid of his vengeance.
"There's no way we can kill that beast," one of the men said. "What do we do?"
"Karanosuke!" the village elder yelled. "We will spare your life but you are hereby banished from this village."
The demon dog growled at the elder, his red eyes glaring at the man. He showed no sign that he was going to comply with the elder's demand. In fact there was a glint in his eyes that told them plain as day that he intended to kill every single one of them. He took a step toward the group of villagers, who were too scared to move, his gleaming white fangs bared.
"Karanosuke no!" Miatsu yelled, running up to stand between the huge dog and the group of villagers. "Your mother wouldn't have wanted this. They may not have been nice to her but Hina made many sacrifices for these people. If you kill them now then all of her sacrifices meant nothing. Do you want that?"
Aside from his mother, Miatsu had been the only human in the village that had ever been kind to him and her words had a deep affect on Karanosuke. He knew that she spoke the truth. His mother had went through a lot for the villagers and she had, indeed, made many sacrifices for them and if he killed them now then her sacrifices would have been in vain. And even though his mother was dead, he could not do that to her so even though he wanted nothing more than to tear these people limb from limb he would refrain from taking his revenge, for his mother's sake.
Suddenly the demon dog disappeared, replaced once again with the silver haired boy with amber eyes. Karanosuke glared at the villagers one last time and then abruptly turned and began walking toward the edge of the village, without uttering a single word to anyone.
Miatsu ran after him, placing her hand on his shoulder when she caught up. "Karanosuke, you don't have to leave. I won't let any of the villagers harm you."
Karanosuke shook his head. "I have no desire to remain here among these mortal fools. I would have left long ago had it not been for Mother. Now that she's gone, there's no longer any reason for me to stay. Besides, I spared their lives today but the next time their stupidity angers me I may not be able to stop myself from killing them."
"So where shall you go?"
"Before she died Mother made me promise that I would find my father," Karanosuke told her. "So I shall."
Miatsu nodded. "I understand but don't you want to take any of your things?"
"No," Karanosuke said. "None of those things matter to me. Do with them as you please."
By this time the two had reached the edge of the village. Miatsu gave the boy a hug. "Take care of yourself Karanosuke. Good luck with your search."
Karanosuke nodded and left the village of his birth. He did not even look back as he left the only home he'd ever known. The village had meant nothing to him and he had no difficulty leaving it. He walked through the forest until he came to a clearing in which there was a fork in the road.
"Now where to?" Karanosuke asked himself, staring at the three different directions in which he could possibly travel. Karanosuke randomly chose the northern path. "Well, I suppose this path is as good as any."
Karanosuke followed the path at a brisk pace. He had no time frame for his journey however he was used to traveling quickly and thus did so out of habit. The boy spent the whole day traveling down the path and when night fell he made a small fire and sat down beside it. He hadn't had anything to eat since the previous day yet he had no appetite. Losing his mother had had a profound impact on him.
Karanosuke closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to slip into blissful unconsciousness, yet sleep eluded him. His thoughts were quickly filled with visions of his mother.
(Life in the village had never been pleasant for Karanosuke yet his mother had made it bearable for him. The villagers had never liked him. In fact they let no opportunity to taunt him slip by. He couldn't count the times he'd been called half breed, demon spawn and other derogatory names like that and yet they had not mattered. As long as he had his mother he could endure anything. Hina had also been ostracized and they endured their suffering together. Mother and son had often went on hikes through the forest, in search of the healing herbs that Hina used and during these trips the two had played little games together. Life in the village had been far from perfect for both mother and son and yet they were happy. Being with his mother and knowing that she loved him even if no one else did was all that he needed to be happy. The opinion of the villagers did not matter.)
Karanosuke smiled as he thought of his mother. She was the only thing that had made life in that hell hole bearable. Even when the villagers were taunting him unmercifully, he had only to think of his mother and his anger disappeared. He had tolerated their stupidity solely for her and had always done everything in his power to make his mother happy, thus the reason why he had agreed to search for his father. Now he knew that he could simply have promised his mother that he would find his father to make her happy and then gone back on his word once she was gone, however he had always kept any promise he made to his mother and this would be no exception. He would find his father as his mother had wished, even thought she would never know whether or not he kept his word.
"I will find my father," Karanosuke vowed. "Even though I have no desire to meet him."
Karanosuke got little sleep that night. Every time he dozed off, memories of his mother overwhelmed him. Finally, giving up on getting a good night's rest, Karanosuke extinguished the fire and continued his journey.
"I have no idea how to find Father," Karanosuke muttered to himself. "I don't even know where he and Mother met so I have absolutely nothing to go on. But I made a promise to Mother and I will find him."
After two days of traveling Karanosuke was far away from the region he was familiar with and was now simply choosing random paths to follow. He had few clues as to the whereabouts of his father and was now hoping that luck would be on his side.
As Karanosuke traveled through the strange forest, he came face to face with a gigantic ogre-like demon. The demon stopped short when he caught the boy's scent.
"If it isn't a half breed," the demon snarled.
Karanosuke stared at the demon defiantly. "I'm more than half demon. And I'm about to show you just how much more." The boy raised his right hand, cracking his knuckles. "Shall I introduce you to my claws?"
"Cocky half breed."
"You demons are really hung up on that aren't you? You know you really shouldn't judge someone solely by the purity of their blood." Karanosuke smirked. "Now don't blame me when it comes back to haunt you."
The demon bared his fangs and charged at the boy, his claws outstretched. Despite his large size the demon was surprisingly fast.
"You're fast, I'll give you that," Karanosuke said, watching the demon's approach. The demon was running in a straight line, headed directly toward him and making absolutely no effort to hide his chosen course of action. "However your battle tactics are sadly lacking."
Karanosuke watched as the demon ran toward him and when the beast neared he swung his right hand up and a light shot from the tip of his index finger. Karanosuke twirled the light whip and used it to slice into the flesh of the demon's shoulder. The light whip cut the creature to the bone and blood gushed from the ogre's wound.
"Damn!" the demon snarled, clutching his wound. The ogre demon then raised his blood stained hand and stared at it. "You will pay for that you filthy half breed."
Karanosuke shook his head. "I was going to let you off with the simple maiming, however since you insist I will grant your wish and kill you."
This comment angered the demon and he charged blindly at the boy, his claws raised and his fangs bared.
Karanosuke raised his hand and the light whip once again shot from his finger tip, this time slicing into the flesh of the demon's neck. The demon fell to the ground, his head nearly severed.
"Worthless fool," Karanosuke muttered, going around the demon's corpse and continuing his journey. "I would have allowed him to live had he simply given up."
A/N- And thus ends chapter two. Feel free to review and let me know what you thought.
