Episode 13: I Begin To
Understand (Special POV featuring Mika!)
My face was wet by the
rain by the time I took shelter under the branches of the tree. It
had suddenly begun to rain when I embarked on this mountain with
Sesshoumaru and his "companions". And there were no dark,
gloomy, big clouds hovering above us, so it was not normal for
it to be raining. Especially on a mountain that was quite warm, now
extremely soaked and muddy from the falling raindrops.
"When
is Sesshoumaru-sama coming back???" complained a certain toad.
Jaken was always complaining these days, and for the first time of my
life, I did wonder where did that selfish Sesshoumaru
go.
Sesshoumaru. I had only spent a week with him and I believe he
still does not even know my name. Well, I'm going to tell him when
he comes back, I thought bitterly. But now was not the time to be
regretting the late introduction. I was worried; the rain was pouring
harder every minute, and Rin couldn't last.
Rin was the little
girl in the colorful kimono that seemed to follow Sesshoumaru like a
pet. I was actually surprised he even let her follow him; but I knew
even he wouldn't just abandon a little girl who saved his life to the
wild.
"He's not coming back anytime soon is he," I
commented and sat there some more.
"No, he's not," Jaken
replied and grimaced as he struggled to strike a fire. I shook my
head. It was common sense that you couldn't start a fire when you
have a shower coming down from the sky.
"Forget about a fire,
we need to worry about how to find somewhere where the rain
can't possibly fall on us. Think Jaken," I said, standing up. I
stretched my stiff legs a bit and heard a groan from my stomach. I
was fairly hungry, and I would have bet my good ol' horse Hime (who
was huddled as small as she could behind us) that the others were
starving as well.
"We also need to worry about where to get
some food. I'm not going to last any longer than this."
Jaken
ignored my comment about food and suggested, "What about that
cart that your horse drags around? We can use that as shelter can't
we?"
"No way! It's already wet enough. I don't need your
dirtiness dirtying it everywhere!"
"You're just about as
dirty and muddy as me!" he groaned.
I looked to the sky. It
didn't look like clouds to me, but it was gray and depressing all the
same.
"You know what, I can't wait anymore. I'm going to find
where that Sesshoumaru is! Stay here with Rin and Ah-Un,
alright?"
"WAIT A MO! Don't JUST LEAVE ME HERE--"
protested Jaken, but I was already running from the rain.
In
my hand, I clutched my bow and supply of arrows tightly. Maybe he
got engaged in a fight or something. Maybe that's why he won't come
back. But my assurance didn't sound convincing. I was still
worried.
I started cough and sneeze. The water was so cold, I
think my fingers were getting frostbite! I took a quick glance at my
hands. They were red and the skin texture was of like a prune, but
still pale tan.
I kept on running until I heard thunder. My
shaking knees fell to the mountain floor. It crashed somewhere a bit
far from my location, but nevertheless, I was scared. When I was
small, I remember hiding under my blankets whenever the godly
lighting tore across the sky. The fear remained dormant until
now.
Then when I was sure the thunder was gone, I got up and took
a step forward when something slimy wrapped around my ankles.
"AH!"
I mumbled and slipped back onto the damp earth. I could taste and
feel the grit in my mouth. GROSS! I thought with dismay and
scrambled to get back up on my two feet. But the evil crackle of
laughter was all that I needed to cling to the land.
"It
makes me laugh to see you so powerless, Mika," Naraku said. I
shut my eyes and begged that it was not him. I opened my mouth to
reply him.
"You are laughing, you half-breed fool," I
snapped.
"It seems so."
Get up Mika! The bad guy
is right behind you and you're sleeping on your stomach. He could
kill you any moment!!! my mind urged, but my heart was pounding
so hard, all I could do was grip to the mud. Biting my lip, I wished
that he would ignore me.
"What do you want," I asked, my
mouth trembling with fright. I tried not to show it, but I guess he
heard anyway.
But by the time I murmured those words, someone
whisked me away already.
"What are you doing here,"
someone said, the words blurred from rain.
"Looking for you,"
I mumbled and fell into sleep, at the wrong time.
And immediately,
I had a horrible nightmare of my past.
I remember...
I
remember that day when I went into the hut. I was going to feed Sahi,
my little dog. Only what I found there was not what I expected.
I can still hear my frail voice calling his name. I remember
calling Sahi and running back outside to tell my teacher about the
blood in the hut.
I can still see the scene so clear, as
if it were yesterday.
I said to my sensei, 'Omae-sensei, I
think someone killed the chickens in the hut.'
And she
replied with sorrow in her eyes, 'I'm afraid those weren't the
chickens...'
I remember the shocked scream I yelled when I
saw my sensei holding Sahi with quavering hands, shaking so much that
the blood poured from her hands.
I remember the massacre
of the village earlier that day. Just because of my foolishness, my
naiveness, that simple mistake.
I could hear Sesshoumaru
place me down gently again, and leave me to fight Naraku. I wanted to
get up so badly, but my body still refused, the nightmare rerunning
many times in my mind.
Even without my sight and the unholy dreams
blocking my sight and senses, I knew he was struggling. Naraku had
him trapped. There were tentacles surrounding him, and each striking
at a different tempo. There was even tentacles in the sky.
Then
someone's hands touched my warm face. I could hear that girl named
Kagome's voice whisper my name.
"Mika-chan! Are you
alright?"
"Does she seem alright? You ask the worse
questions at the wrong times!" Inuyasha shouted and took out his
sword, the metal scraping the sheath.
"Inuyasha!" I
heard her voice strain. I felt her hands snatch something and felt
liquid poured into my dry lips.
The rain was still pouring, ice
cold but all I cared was Sesshoumaru.
He could die in that
condition! I have to get up...
And some blind fury took a
hold of me and I snatched my bow. I forced my eyes open, my head
aching painfully. I aimed the arrow at Naraku's head and let go. The
string shook as the arrow flew. I collapsed and knew I finally got
his attention from Sesshoumaru.
The following events happened so
fast I could not believe them. At first, I just felt the rain
continuously falling on my cheek. Then I felt the tentacles wind
around my legs and pull me toward him. A few feet away I saw
Sesshoumaru struggling to get away from the tentacles and Inuyasha
hacking at the tentacles.
"I won't give up even if you cut me
into pieces!" I reached out my red hands and grasped the
tentacles. I felt warm light on my hands and began to tear them
apart.
"You will suffer for all you've done Naraku!"
Naraku
started to chuckle at my frenzied attempt but was shocked when his
souls came flying out.
"What's going on???" Sango
shouted, her breath heavy as she cut off more of the tentacles.
Miroku who was standing beside her was too shocked to say
anything.
His souls were all tainted black but when they reached
me they turned white and pure.
Then as a final attempt to escape,
Naraku raised a free tentacle and struck my ankle and tossed me off
the mountain.
