Chapter 6-Shadowed Memories

Tetsuigia left the house shortly after cleaning up the mess. He wanted to clear his head and it just so happened that he need to fill up on water for storage. He walked through the trees to a nearby stream to retrieve some. As he walked, he found many of his fragmented memories of the past come together more.

They told him that he as well as those "guests" in the house were friends and people he could trust. But there were other images of his past that questioned the others on whether they were truly his friends…or enemies. He saw battles in which he fought against them as well as beside them making him question those feeling and memories.

When he arrived at the river stream, he filled the bucket with water until it was full and heavy. He then put the bucket down and took his bandaged hands and then filled them with water as he then proceeded to cover his face with his hands. The cool water helped refresh what felt like an aging face. He stared at the water a bit more as he tried to come to terms with his situation. "What am I? Who am I?" he said out loud.

The water rippled from the drops of water on his face that fell into it. It changed from his complexion from what he usually saw to a man with silver hair, dog like ears, and yellow amber eyes. "Don't you know who you are? You're pathetic," said the face in the water in an arrogant voice that seemed familiar to him.

"Who are you?" said Tetsuigia to the reflection in the water.

"Don't you know? Come here. I'll tell you," said the reflection as it motioned with a hand for Inuyasha to come closer.

Inuyasha leaned more closely to the reflection till it seemed they were both a breath away. "Who…are…you?" said Tetsuigia again in a more frightened and curiously at the same time.

The reflection changed to a more sinister form. One with red blood eyes, more erect ears, stripes on his face, and mean looking demon teeth. "I'M YOU!" yelled the reflection as it attack Inuyasha from the water and grabbing his head with its demon hand.

"AHHHH!" said Tetsuigia as he moved away before it could get him. Tetsuigia then looked around and saw…nothing.

He had hallucinated what had just happened in the river. He could feel his head becoming in pain and he found himself on his knees as his hands shook more violently then they hand at the house. "You can feel it can't you? The blood in your body burning every now and then. Dark urges of a demonic kind infesting your head," said a voice.

"Shut up. Leave me alone," said Tetsuigia as he tried to block out the voice in his head.

"No Inuyasha. I won't stop. Not now…not ever. I am a part of you whether you admit it or not. The thing that haunts every dark corner of your mind," said the voice that seemed so close to him that it was almost as if Tetsuigia could feel him talking right behind him.

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" yelled Tetsuigia at the top of his lungs.

His voice echoed in the trees as birds leaped from their perches at the sound of his voice. "As you wish…for now," said the voice as he sensed the pain stop in his head and the hands almost stop shaking entirely.

He waited their in silence for a few minutes to make sure it was actually gone before he got up and picked up the bucket of water and started returning to the house. "Well see demon…well see," said Tetsuigia as he made his way to the clearing.

He stopped abruptly as he looked at the house as more people arrived to it. They weren't like the others though…they were priests. Seven in total and each he could feel were quite powerful. "Master of the house please come out we would like a word with you," said what looked like the leader.

After a few moments Inuyasha noticed Sonya's Grandfather coming out of he house. "Yes what can I do for you seven priests?" said the old man.

"Greetings I am Bashimi leader of the Holy Seven Priests. We requests that you bring forth the one known to everyone known as Tetsuigia," said Bashimi.

"Tell me why you want to see this man," said the old man.

"Because we have reason to believe he is not a man, but in fact an abomination of two different species," said Bashimi who tried to walk forward, but was denied by the old man.

"What do you mean by 'abomination of two different species'?" said the old man.

"I mean to say he's a half-demon. A full fledged demon is bad enough, but it is our beliefs as well as the beliefs of other priests and priestess that half-demons should be exterminated," said Bashimi who tried again to advance, but was once again denied.

"What proof do you have that this Tetsuigia person is with me and that he is in fact a half-demon if in fact a demon at all," said Sonya's Grandfather as he now advanced pushing the leader back to his group.

"People in the market told us he lives with you and he started an incident earlier today that he won against despite his physic of a…'man'. His physical nature from what we have heard is described to be…unnatural," said Bashimi.

"So I have heard from those same people who were the market. If you had seen Tetsuigia in his condition as I did when I first saw him bleeding, hurting, and suffering the way he was. It would be you whom people would consider to be…unnatural when it came to judging someone like him. Since I am no longer able leave the house as I used to as a young man every morning Tetsuigia does in my stead…to get me things. He sometimes goes to the market with my Granddaughter Sonya and not once has he harmed a single hair on her head. Yet you are accusing him of being a half-demon, which I think there is nothing wrong in being. As long as Tetsuigia does not harm me or my Granddaughter, which he has not done the entire time he has been here he is more then welcome in this house. Now will you please leave the presence of my home so I may go back to eating my delicious that dinner Tetsuigia prepared for me," said the old man as he gave a minor bow and turned back to the house.

"What do we do now sir," said one of the priests behind him.

"Well find another place nearby to stay for the night. Before we do however, I want you here watching the house and hen reporting back what is happening. There is something more here then that old fool is telling us. I can sense it," said Bashimi as he and the other five left for the night to find shelter.