Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. The story and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. All I own is my character, Asami.
Chapter 8 -
The wood they traveled to was thick and old. It was one of the elderwoods Asami had mentioned and the trees seemed to hold ancient secrets within their branches. Asami ran blissfully from tree to tree, touching her hand to the rough bark in greeting. From the moment Sesshomaru announced they were going to see Bokuseno, her eyes lit up and she had been unable to contain her excitement. Rin giggled at the woman's cheerfulness and joined in, hugging random trees without fully understanding what they were doing. Sesshomaru was mentally preparing for his meeting with the ancient magnolia tree, knowing he had to ask just the right questions to get a straight answer, but even he was charmed by Asami's unrestrained joy. His Kodama certainly had a way of brightening his mood. He paused at that thought, wondering when he began considering her his, but quickly determined it didn't matter because that is what she was. He shook his head to clear his mind and focus it on the matter at hand.
Asami suddenly stopped as they entered a glade. Gazing up at the tall, venerable tree before them, she dropped into a deep bow. Rin followed suite, sensing the gravity of the situation, but still unclear as to whom they were bowing to. A face, creased and knotted with age, formed out of the bark on the great magnolia tree before them. Asami sprang forward yelling, "Bokuseno!" enveloping only a small portion of the circumference of the tree in a hug.
"Asami-chan! Child, is that you?" the ancient tree yokai creaked and croaked out in a deep voice. "What brings you to my forest? And why have you abandoned yours?"
"I'm just traveling" she waved off his questions.
"Eldermother will be very angry when she finds out, though she likely already knows."
"Perhaps" Asami considered, but waved that thought off as well. She leaned against the great tree lovingly. "It is good to finally meet you in person"
"Indeed. And imagine my surprise to find you traveling with my old friend's eldest son."
Looking up at her forgotten companions, she exclaimed "Oh! That's right! Bokuseno, we are here for a specific matter."
"I have been waiting for you Sesshomaru" said the tree, turning his knowing eyes upon the daiyokai.
As the two conversed about Inuyasha's blood transformation, Asami settled down comfortably among Bokuseno's roots. She had been sending and receiving messages from the old tree her entire life; sometimes he was just checking up on her, other times offering advice and wisdom. She cherished everything the tree yokai was willing to share with her and had been her original inspiration to share her own knowledge with others when she could. Asami had never questioned why the ancient tree had taken such an interest in her life.
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"So cool!" proclaimed Asami, hugging the Bo staff Bokuseno had gifted her as they walked back out of the forest. He had been concerned when she told him how hers had shattered. Without another word, the ancient tree had created a new Bo staff for her from his own branches. Lacking the words for such an auspicious gift, Asami had simply bowed low with tears of gratitude in her eyes. Now she walked on, touching the gift lovingly and giving it a few practice swings.
"Asami-chan, if this is the first time you've left your forest, how do you know Bokuseno-sama?" Rin asked, trotting along beside her.
"Bokuseno is the oldest tree yokai in all of Japan. I'm a kodama, all kodamas know of Bokuseno and he knows...well...everything." she shrugged. "I've spoken with him through the trees on many occasions, but it's a bit limiting."
"You speak through trees?!" Rin peered into a nearby tree hollow expectantly.
Asami giggled, "Our messages are carried on the wind through the branches. Listen...you can hear the whooshing of the trees talking now."
"She's pulling your leg Rin" Jaken scoffed in disbelief. "As if trees that aren't yokai could talk." A sudden roar in the branches above made him jump and Rin laugh.
"Don't make them mad Jaken-sama" she giggled, running through the nearby trees. She came back around and saw Asami frozen in her tracks, staring up at the trees apprehensively. "What is it Asami-chan?"
"Eldermother is summoning me" she replied solemnly.
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Asami walked through the ever darkening forest by herself. Eldermother's tree was deep in the center of this ancient wood and she still had a ways to go. As she picked her way along the path, her thoughts drifted back to Rin. The child had been beside herself when Asami told her she had to visit Eldermother alone.
"B...but why can't I come with you?" she sobbed, hugging Asami close. Asami's heart broke at making the girl cry.
"Because I don't know what Eldermother's reaction will be to my leaving the forest. It is safer for you to stay here," she whispered into the girl's ear, "You are protected by Sesshomaru-sama and Jaken-sama, they will not let anything happen to you. And I will hopefully be back in a few days." She heard the little imp mutter to himself, but she merely smiled.
With a final hug to Rin, Asami looked to Sesshomaru. He narrowed his eyes at her, his mouth tightening in a line of concern. "If you do this without us, I will not be there to protect you." His eyes flashed another emotion so quickly she couldn't read it. She nodded.
"I know, this is how it has to be."
Rin suddenly realized something, "But Asami-chan, you can't follow scent like an inu yokai. How will you find us?!"
With a glint in her eyes, Asami bent down conspiratorially and whispered, "Tell the trees Rin and I will find you."
"I will find you Rin" Asami whispered to herself again, bringing her attention back to the dark path ahead of her. The ancient trees around her all seemed to buzz in anticipation of her meeting with the elder kodama. Finally Asami spied the great banyan tree which housed her maker. The branches were so thick above her head that the sun barely peeked through the leaves, yet the glade wasn't dark, it was bathed in a golden glow that emanated from deep within the tree itself. Hesitant now, Asami slowly approached the tree. Kneeling before it, Asami took a deep breath and called out, "Eldermother, I am here in answer to your summons."
The whole earth shook as a form began to emerge from the trunk of the tree. Her arms remained as branches and all that was clearly definable was a woman's head and torso leaning forward out of the tree. Eldermother looked so tree-like that Asami instantly thought of Bokuseno.
"Asami-chan, child. You have come. Tell me, why did you abandon your forest?" The ancient kodama before her held only a stoic, wooden expression but her tone indicated censure.
Asami had been expecting this question and had prepared an answer, "I left for the child called Rin. To protect her and teach her the ways of the forest. She needed me."
"Your forest needed you!" Eldermother snapped back. Her voice deep and creaking like the boughs of a tree. "And despite your noble protestations, we both know you had selfish reasons for leaving as well."
Her cheeks reddened, "I also wanted to see and experience the world beyond my forest. Walking the land for 500 years left me with a longing to see and learn more, to share what I know."
Eldermother's eyes saddened, "The humans of this land do not want our knowledge. All they do is seek to use and destroy."
"Not all of them. Isn't it worth sharing our knowledge with those few who cherish the land and respect the old ways?"
Eldermother sighed and stared down at her daughter. "Asami, my child, I have always known you were different. From the moment I made you, you spirit rebelled against our quiet ways. You have never been content like the rest of us to grow and protect from the confines of a chosen tree."
Asami hung her head in shame, "I've tried following the ways of the kodama. I just...I just know in my heart there is a greater purpose for me."
Eldermother's eyes filled with understanding as she looked at her unusual little kodama. "I had hoped this day would never come, or at least it would be another 500 years away. Asami, the reason why you are so different has to do with your creation." Asami looked on with questioning wonder, but did not interrupt. "As you know, kodama are formed from an Elder's seedlings. But when I made you, I added something more...you were infused with tree yokai aura, specifically Bokuseno's aura."
Asami wasn't sure she had heard correctly and a buzzing seemed to fill her mind. Swallowing the cotton feeling in her mouth, she stared wide eyed at her mother. "Does that make me a hanyou? Am I part demon?"
"No, you are full kodama, but by being infused with Bokuseno's aura you have a deep well of power within you that no kodama has ever had. This is why the tree yokai has kept such a close eye on you your whole life. You are the closest thing to a daughter he has ever had."
Realization smacked Asami in the face, her entire life suddenly clicking into place. She shuddered, feeling light headed from the shock of it all. "Why? Why did you infuse me with yokai power? And if I really have yokai power, why have I never experienced it or sensed it?"
"The elders agreed it was time to try something new within our creation. As I said, humans attack and destroy the land, our forests, so we decided to find a way to fight back of sorts...or at least protect ourselves a bit. So we created you, our warrior. As to your power, it is locked away within you until you learn to access it." After a brief pause, she added, "Why do you stay with the group you have found?"
Puzzled at the question and its sudden shift in the conversation, Asami blinked, "It is as you said, to travel and see the world."
Eldermother smiled now, "That is why you left your forest. You are now free to wander the earth as you please. Why do you stay with the group you travel with?"
"I...I don't know."
"Find the answer and your yokai power, the power of the forest, will be released. I do not know what the future holds for you daughter. There has never been a kodama with your abilities. May you use your gifted power with wisdom. Now go, my daughter." With that, Eldermother began slipping back into the tree until only the banyan tree remained, pulsing with a golden glow.
"Eldermother! Wait! I...Eldermother" Asami ended in a whispered plea, so unsure of how to proceed. She looked down at her hands, contemplating Eldermother's words. The power of the forest? I have yokai power within me? "Why do I stay?" she asked herself out loud. Silence among the trees was her only response.
A/N: Did anyone catch the small hint I kept giving about her origins? Please review!
