I don't belong here even if I want to. Part 3
The sun was setting when group of men ride to the center of Suwa, where the house of Suwas Lord was. Spinel and Yana were taken with them, because Yana didn't wake up yet. They though, that it would be dangerous to leave her in wood without treatment. Yana ride with the Lord and Spinel with his general. Spinel was in his cat form now, it would be odd to see panther running at side with horses. Spinel was tired, after fighting the monster, yet he didn't allow himself to fall asleep, not till they'll reach the miko. So he concentrate to watch Yana, if she would wake up or something else. The Lords general, the man with eyepatch, noticed Spinels uneasiness.
"Don't worry Spinel-san, our miko-hime can help your little friend, she'll be alright." he said.
"Why are you helping us?" Spinel asked. "We are strangers in this land. People would usually avoid this girl, because of me."
"An old woman in village was very worried of her. She told us, that your protege leaded the monster out of the village. You also did all you could to save her, even it blowed up you identity." general said.
"Oh great, that woman gave her sandals, now when she wakes up, she'll starts to worry about couple of sandals in the wood." Spinel said.
"Ain't she gonna worry about what happened to her?" general asked.
"She never worries about herself." Spinel said and went silent.
Soon they came to the Lords house. To Spinel it was a mansion, he bet that a castle would be bigger. Soon he remembered something.
"Do you have herbs in this mansion?" he asked the general.
"Yes, miko-hime uses them to cure people. Why do you ask?" he said.
"I'll need some for my protege, before she does something stupid."
General didn't ask anymore, right then they entered from the gate to the mansion. There were maids and stableboys ready to take their master in. The Lord came down of his horse and carried Yana to the mansion. Spinel jumped down of the horse and ran next to Lord.
"Where do you keep herbs?" he asked.
"In backroom, why?" he said.
"My protege needs more treatment than I remembered." Spinel said and ran to the back of the mansion. He founded the room by smelling the herbs.
The Lord brought Yana to room where maids were lighting lamps and preparing a futon. He put Yana laying to the futon, when a woman with long black hair came in.
"My Lord, who is this young one?" she asked.
"She was attacked by monster in border village." he said.
The woman came near Yana and looked at her. She touched her forehead and slipped her hand to the cheek.
"There is no fever, yet she has some sort of pain."
"That's because monster hold her too tight too much." said a voice behind her. The woman turned around and saw a cat holding a bowl in its mouth, which was full of herbs.
"Monsters body also started to produce poison, when it's body started to decompose." cat said while it walked next to girl.
"My Lord, this cat can talk?" woman said to Lord. Cat started to organize it brought. It put each species of herb in different place, like doctor organize his medicine.
"Would you ask servants not come in this room?" cat finally said after organizing herbs. When doors were closed and couple of ninjas standing front of door, Spinel started to grow again. The woman gasped, when she saw cat growing to a panther. When Spinel was in his original form, from his back started to grow two big blue wings of butterfly. When they came out, the herbs started to float in air each specie of plant in its time. Some of herbs dried in minutes in air and became dust, some herbs just lost couple of leafs and some were teared. Finally they all landed back to bowl looking like a some sort of soup.
"Move her clothes." Spinel said.
"What?" woman said.
"I need to see her chest." Spinel said and bowed to near the bowl. The woman remove bit of girls clothes to see her chest, where was black lines, like a hand reaching girls heart. Yana went pale, the lines where moving towards her heart. Spinel mourned something to the bowl, then everything in bowl started to float again this time all of it went to girls face. She breathed some of it in and some of it she drank. The lines in her chest started to disappear little by little till it was all gone.
"-sigh – Good, she is fine now." Spinel said and slowly lied down his wings till they vanished.
"You come from other world." woman said to Spinel.
"I assume then that you are the miko of this land" Spinel said.
"Yes I am." miko said.
"Good, we need talk to you."
Before Spinel could continue, girl mourned something. Spinel went near her and talked to her calmly saying she had nothing to worry anymore. The Lord and Miko didn't understand the words girl was speaking to panther. She didn't open her eyes, guess she didn't need to, since she heard Spinels voice. Soon she fall asleep again. Spinel looked at Miko.
"I just want to, if you can answer our question." he said.
"What kind of question?" Miko asked.
"What are Ten Times?"
"Excuse me?"
"Time, what Time means so one can pay ten of it?"
"I'm not sure, one pays time by losing it to something, but pay it ten times."
"First one need to how much one Time is" Lord said.
"I don't know how much is one Time and less I know how much ten Times are." Spinel said.
"Why do you need this answer?" Miko asked.
"She needs it" Spinel said and looked at Yana. "She has to pay ten Times before she can move forward." Yana kept sleeping whole time, her hand on Spinel paw.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't answer your question" Miko said.
"-sigh- It's okay." Spinel said looking at Yana. "It would have been too easy" he though.
"I don't know if it helps, but I know some other Mikos, who are stronger and wiser than me." Miko said.
"Where they live?"Spinel asked and raised his head quickly.
The Lord brough map to the room and placed in front of Spinel.
"Here is Suwa" Lord pointed a place in map.
"One Miko lives here, one here and one here." Miko said and pointed three spot in map. One in south of Suwa, one in southeast and one in west.
"They are all so far." Spinel said. "Maybe 125 miles to the closet one." Spinel went silent. He looked to his sides, like he was looking for a solution, written on wall. After some minutes, he sighed and said.
"Can she stay here?"
"What?" Miko said.
"Just inside the kekkai. I can't take her with me, it will be too dangerous with all the monsters and my powers haven't returned completely yet." Spinel said.
"You can't move around in that form and as cat you'll get killed" Lord said.
"I can change in to human, but it will decrees my powers almost to the edge." Spinel said. The Lord and Miko looked at each other, thinking what to answer. They looked at Yana who was still holding Spinels paw.
"I'll look after her." Miko said. "She can stay with me until you come back."
"She can't talk yet your language, even so she can understand what you are saying." Spinel said. "And yet, she has hard past, so sometimes she can be very traumatic."
"With one more reason, I'll look after her" Miko said. Spinel though it a bit before he answered.
"It will take for me six or seven month to get back." he said.
"I'll take good care of her" Miko said. Spinel got up and walked to the door.
"By the way, what is this girls name?" Lord asked.
"I'm not allowed to tell you that without her permission" Spinel said. "Call whatever you like, it doesn't matter to her."
Spinel opened the door and jumped to the top of wall and then he went away.
"Are sure about this, my Lady?" Lord asked from Miko.
"She is alone in this world, she'll need someone to look after" Miko said turned to call maids.
"Someone who understand her."
