Miroku came to a stop by a river at the base of the mountain. He was concerned about the canon fire he'd heard the night before. Was it another attack by samurai? Turning their weapons on their enemies? Or innocent bystanders? The thought of more bloodshed disgusted him. He had had enough of senseless violence for a lifetime. He had no desire to be caught in the middle of any more battles,but the curse he was under seemed to have other plans. Whenever he raised his weapon, it seemed to compel him to kill. He had only killed out of defence on his journey thus far, but would he be able to control himself as the curse spread? Miroku shoved the thought from his mind. That would not happen.
As he surveyed the area, he saw the body of a dead ox and a man drifting downstream. He found a man lying on the riverbank, presumably dead. He wore an orange yukata. Miroku held his hand over the man's mouth. A thin rush of warm air hit his palm.
"He's still breathing," he said to himself, gently lifting the unconscious man to carry him to higher ground.
Miroku went back to the river, walking along some rocks uncovered by the water to search for more survivors. He found another man unconscious beneath a large boulder, wearing a purple yukata with a badly broken arm and leg.
Coming to place the man beside the other onshore, Miroku noticed Kirara had seen something across the water. He moved to stand behind a fallen tree to conceal himself and observe what the nekomata saw.
A mass of white fur lay by the water's edge on the other side of the river, the fur rising and falling with each breath it took. Before long, two sizeable white wolves walked up the bank to meet the creature. The white creature raised its head as they approached, apparently another wolf of the same species as the newcomers.A large bleeding wound was on the wolf's chest A young woman dressed in furs rode on one of the that the bigger wolf was wounded, she dismounted and made her way over to it. The injured wolf rose on all fours to meet saw that it had two tails and red eyes. To Miroku's surprise, she began to suck the blood from the wound and spit it out.
The wolf growled and bared it's teeth, turning it's head to stare in the direction where Miroku was hiding. Seeing the wolf's agitation, the woman turned her head sharply and met eyes with Miroku. Her eyes went wide.
So,too, did Miroku's. He did not look at her the way a predator would look at it's prey, nor as a warrior would stare down an adversary they intended to kill, nor as a man gazing at the object of his lust. His eyes, the only features uncovered by his mask, were alight with curiosity and wonder.
The woman spat out more blood and wiped her mouth with her forearm, smearing red across her face.
Removing his mask, he ran from his hiding place to the top of the large boulder and addressed the party across the river.
"My name is Miroku," he announced to them. "I have traveled far from lands to the East. Are you ancient gods and have I come at last to the realm of the Spirit of the Forest?"
They had heard what he'd said, but gave no answer. The fur-clad woman narrowed her eyes at him. The two-tailed wolf smiled smugly, as if it knew something Miroku did not, and turned to walk back up the riverbank. The other wolves followed it, the woman in furs hopping on one of their backs.
"Go away!" she snapped at Miroku as she rode away. The last wolf gave him one last look before dragging the carcass of the ox away to join its pack.
Miroku was about to call after them when he heard a scream coming from his side of the river.
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"HEEEEEEEELP!" screamed the purple-clad man as he struggled to move with his unbroken limbs.
Miroku ran over to see what had frightened him, but immediately relaxed when he saw a small ghostly creature sitting on a moss-covered stone a few feet away. He knew exactly what it was.
"A kodama," he said, intrigued. "I never thought I would see one of those here."
Miroku knelt beside the terrified man.
"Easy now." The man whipped his head back when he heard Miroku's voice. "You don't want to make your injuries worse, do you?"
The kodama tilted its head to the right, the motion causing a rattling sound.
"It's a tree spirit. It's a sign this forest is healthy."
"But he'll lead his lord and master right to us!" said the man, panicked.
"Who do you mean? You mean those wolves I just saw?"
"No, it's a real monster! Some huge, enormous deer. They say sometimes it has a human face and sometimes at night they say it-AAAAAAAH! WHERE'D IT GO?"
They both looked around until they spotted another kodama sitting on Kirara's back. Two more materialized from the trees behind her.
"AAAAAAH!" screamed the injured man. "Look! Reinforcements! We're doomed"
"If Kirara's not afraid, then we shouldn't worry." Miroku reassured him.
He approached the seated kodama.
"Would you be kind enough to grant us passage through your forest, little one?" asked Miroku.
The kodama shyly ducked its head and and turned away, vanishing into thin air. Miroku smiled.
"Oh no," his companion groaned.
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Miroku's party made their way through the forest, the conscious man riding on Kirara's back and Miroku carrying their unconscious companion on his back and following a little kodama along the forest trail. Kodoma of every shape chattered around them as they watched from the trees or followed the men on foot. Trees of all shapes and sizes surrounded them on every side. Exotic plants and flowers bloomed along the moss-covered ground that Miroku had never seen before, intoxicating scents filling the air.
Kirara's charge was not enjoying the scenery.
"Sir," he said timidly, "I really think we ought to turn around now. Did I mention that no human has ever made it out of these woods alive? There's a lovely trail across the river."
"The current is much too fast for us to get across," Miroku replied. "Your friend's injuries are very bad. If we don't get him home soon, he has no chance."
The kodama Miroku was following ran ahead of them, turning its head from time to time to see if they were still behind it.
"Hey, little fellow, are you showing us the way? Or just getting us more lost?"
The kodama continued its pace in response, stepping over thick tree roots with ease while Miroku was working hard to keep up.
He stopped by a huge tree root and put his arm out for support, his forehead beaded with sweat.
"Please, sir. I really don't think they're trying to help us get home. Oh,God, there's thousands of them."
When Miroku lifted his head, he saw that the kodama were imitating him by carrying their fellow kodama on their backs. They smiled gleefully at him, and he couldn't help but return the gesture. He hoisted the injured man higher on his back and continued walking.
Soon the party was led to an enormous tree, it's leaves a wide canopy over all the kodama who inhabited it.
"Ah, that must be their mother," said Miroku. "A fine old tree."
Miroku stepped between some smaller trees into a clearing, bringing he and his charges to the shore of a great stretched for miles dotted with green islands and stones, thick white trees towering so high their branches could scarcely be seen. It was like an oasis had appeared in the middle of the forest.
"Ah, this place is magical." breathed Miroku, awestruck.
He walked to the water's edge and stopped when he noticed tracks on the mossy ground. Human footprints and large pawprints indented the earth.
"The tracks of those wolves and the girl with them. This must be where the four of them live."
"Sir, I think we may have made a wrong turn somewhere?" said the man riding Kirara. "This is a place for gods and demons."
"I think we're safe," Miroku reassured, gently placing his injured passenger on the ground and removing his mask. "We'll rest a while."
Taking his red bowl from his coat, he knelt on one knee and dipped it into the water.
When he was satisfied with the state of the water, he stood up about to return to the unconscious man when an unusual footprint caught his eye. The print showed three pointed toes, was if the animal that made them had webbed feet. A gathering of blue butterflies hovered around it on a mossy rock.
"More tracks?" inquired Miroku aloud, looking around to find a matching footprint visible on the lake floor.
"Whatever made these made them recently."
He scanned the surface of the water, seeing nothing out of the ordinary until he saw a group of deer through an opening in the tree line to his right. A bright golden glow lit up the area. His eyes glimpsed a huge deer-like creature with several long horns, locking eyes with it as it became aware of his presence.
For a moment, all was still, until Miroku's cursed arm began to ripple and throb uncontrollably.
He gripped his arm tightly to slow the convulsions, clenching his teeth to prevent himself from screaming in pain.
"Sir, what's going on? Are you alright?" called his companion worriedly.
In an effort to ease the painful spasms, Miroku thrust his arm into the water. After what seemed like an eternity to him, the convulsions ceased and the pain was gone.
Miroku exhaled heavily, unclenching his vice grip on the mossy ground and slowly rising with the bowl of water for his injured friend.
"Sir, what just happened? You went white as a sheet all of a sudden. I warned you about this place."
Miroku bent to lift the injured man's head, bringing the bowl to his lips.
"Here," he said soothingly. "Did you see anything just now?" he asked the rider.
"Like what?"
"Forget it." Miroku took the bowl.
"Just a little longer," he whispered to the wounded man. "You're almost home."
"I failed her," he said, losing consciousness again.
Miroku looked out over the water once more, trying to see the strange creature.
"It's gone, whatever it was."
The men continued their journey through the forest, Miroku noticing something odd.
That's strange, he thought to himself as he carried the unconscious man. Suddenly he doesn't feel heavy at all.
"My arm, it doesn't hurt!" said the rider, enthusiastically stretching his bandaged arm. "IT'S HEALED!"
He groaned in pain after his arm bent awkwardly and gave an unwelcome crack. "Nope, it's still broken."
A/N: The man known as Kuroku will be Koga in this AU. His name was not included in this chapter because no one was properly introduced in the story at this point.
I'm sorry this chapter was kinda short and anticlimactic. The action will come next chapter.