Chapter Ten of "To Be Human: Prelude" by Melinda-chan
Rin woke up and was surprised to see a long-haired woman kneeling in front of the altar. By her face, Rin realized she was young. The woman was praying, holding the brown and white prayer beads in her hands. Rin kept silent, knowing it would be rude to interrupt her.
"Come here child," the woman finally spoke. Rin looked startled. "Can you not move?" Rin finally found her voice.
"I can move," Rin said. "But I'm not sure if I'm better."
"Don't move then," the woman said. She walked to Rin's futon. "I shall go to you." She then put her yutaka sleeve around Rin's body. "Your name is Rin, right?"
"Yes. My name is Rin," the girl said. The woman smiled.
"I am Hanae," the woman said. She then looked at the idol. "Do you know who this is?"
"Nobu-sama said it was Amida Buddha," Rin replied.
"Yes" Hanae said. "He is the ruler of the Pure Land, where my husband now reside."
"Where is this Pure Land?" Rin asked.
"It's where blessed souls go when they die" Hanae replied.
"Your husband is dead? I'm so sorry. My parents and my siblings are dead too," Rin said.
"Oh that must be horrible for you!" Hanae said. "I do not wish to bring back a horrible memory, but was your family killed by a demon or demons?"
"No," Rin replied in a cold voice. "They were killed by evil men."
"My husband Koichi and I planned on spending the rest of our lives together," the young woman told her. "I was fourteen and he was sixteen. I wanted to have at least seven children with him. But it was not to be. A few days later, Himitsu, the snake demon, attacked our village. Most of our men was killed, including my husband."
"I'm so sorry," Rin said, not knowing what else to say.
"Not all the men and boys were killed" the woman said. "Nobu-sama required that all of those that lost loved ones to pray to Amida Buddha. I continue praying to him not only for Koichi to be in the Pure Land but for me to find a new husband to live the rest of my life with."
"There's no men here for you?" Rin asked her.
"What I want is a holy man, one that desires me and would want me to bear his children," Hanae said. "He needs to be young, but very wise in the world and be able to protect me and our children. But I suppose that is too idealistic." Rin didn't know what to say to that.
"There hasn't been many marriages in this area since Himitsu came here" Hanae continued. "People do not want to be separated from their loved ones. There has been only one marriage so far but the man was barely a man when he got married. He was thirteen."
"That is young," Rin agreed. "You should pray so that Himitsu could be destroyed."
"I know" Hanae said. "Nobu-sama told us that he will destroy the demon. We are afraid for him, however. He is our only priest and he's just a boy." She then looked at the girl. "Are you feeling better now?"
"I'm a little better now," Rin replied. "But I'm a little scared."
"Because of what happened yesterday?" the woman said. Rin looked up in shock. "Something like that could not be kept secret, Rin. That is one of the disadvantages of living in a small village. You should probably go outside and get some fresh air if you can. Nobu-sama has a lot to do anyway."
"He probably will have to apologize to Fumie" Rin said.
"I think he did that already," Hanae said. "Come, I shall take you outside. Kaoru and a few other girls may play with you. Mind you, you should not exert yourself too much. But I feel for a human, you're really special." Rin looked surprised, but she then smiled. She is special, but not for the reason Hanae suspected.
"This one is for Sesshoumaru-sama, this one is for Jaken-sama, this one is for Nobu-sama…" Rin said as she picked flowers in a field. A bunch of flowers were already in her arms. "I wonder if Hanae-san would like some- Hanae-san?"
Rin discovered that she was all alone! Could she have been abandoned? It didn't seem possible.
'Maybe she had to go someplace,' Rin thought. Still the thought of being abandoned frightened her inside. She wondered about Sesshoumaru and Jaken. She knew that Himitsu was also out there. She wanted to go out and find Sesshoumaru, just to see if he's safe. But she felt the beads in her hands. How could she escape from this place when she could not even escape from the poison inside her?
"That demon is still going to be in this village?" Rin suddenly heard Fumie's voice. Rin went down onto the ground, hoping that Fumie and her girl friends wouldn't notice her among the flowers.
"I heard Nobu-sama is talking with the headmen of the other villages," a girl said. Rin realized it was Chihiro, her oldest sister. "Her lord hasn't come for her yet and she's recovering fast."
"Hmm…" Fumie said. "How is a little girl like her able to heal from Himitsu's poisons while our own men and brothers died from him?"
"Maybe she has a natural immunity to poison," Chihiro suggested.
"For a human?" Fumie said in disbelief. "You know that's impossible! Even a miko would die from Himitsu!"
"Then what are you suggesting, Fumie?" Chihiro said.
"Well, we know that she did get sick so she couldn't be a demon…" Fumie said.
"I have heard of villages abandoning children because their parents were too poor to keep them," Chihiro said. "These children are forced to wander throughout the countryside until they are either killed by wild animals or demons or other people or they get adopted by another family."
"A wild child?" another voice- Rin assumed it was Fumie's other sister Hanako- said.
"I don't know what people call them," Chihiro said. "But if she's one of them, wouldn't she still be a human?"
"If she's a wild child, she could have some immunity to poison" Fumie said. "One who was abandoned into the wild, and raised in the wild could become like a beast."
How insulting! Rin thought. If she were with Sesshoumaru-sama, Fumie would have been dead by now. How dare Fumie called her a beast! Without thinking, she got up from the flowers and ran toward the group.
"She's here!" Kaoru yelled out.
"Rin, what are you doing out here?" Fumie said a bit shocked. Rin didn't respond, but went straight at Fumie. "Hey!"
Rin swiped at her.
"Stop her!" Fumie commanded. Chihiro complied.
"Let me go!" Rin yelled, trying to let go of the arms of Chihiro.
"Get Obou-sama or Father!" Fumie ordered.
"Let me go!" Rin screamed again.
"LET HER GO!" a booming voice sounded. Fumie was stunned. Rin took this chance to get away from Chihiro's arms. She screamed and ran to the source of the voice.
"Rin-chan?" the voice said. Rin looked up. It was Nobu!
"Obou-sama, why on earth are you defending her?" Fumie yelled. She ran to him. Rin screamed and went behind Nobu.
"What happened here?" Nobu asked. "Hanae told me to come here because she had to go back to her home. And now I see Rin screaming and running to me!"
"That girl attacked me like a wild animal! I swear she's half- beast!" Fumie said. Nobu looked at Rin. Rin looked absolutely scared.
"Rin-chan, what happened?" Nobu asked her.
"She-she called me a beast!" Rin said.
"Attacking her like that wouldn't help your case," Nobu said to Rin.
"Is she really a wild child?" Kaoru asked him.
"She's just a sick girl" Nobu answered. He then looked at Rin. "I'm going to take you home."
"But-" Rin started to say.
"You're coming with me, Rin-chan!" Nobu yelled. Rin stopped her mouth. She didn't like the way he was looking at her so sternly.
"She's going to leave soon right?" Fumie asked as Rin and Nobu started to walk away from her.
"When she gets well. Her lord is supposed to be coming for her" Nobu told her. Fumie looked surprised.
"Well, I hope it's soon! I mean she's been here long enough!" Fumie said. Rin did her best not to attack her again.
"I shall see you later," Nobu said. He took Rin's hand and took off before Fumie could say another word.
"You have to apologize for what you did," he said. They were both inside his house now.
"Why should I? She was the one that spoke rudely about me," Rin said.
"It doesn't matter who caused it" Nobu told her. "The fact is, you're a guest of this village. If she wronged you, come to me and I'll try to resolve it. I do not want you to use violence again. Too many wars in this area have proven that violence solves nothing. I do not want any big conflict in this village, do you understand?"
"But why should I apologize? She said real mean things to me," Rin said. Nobu sighed.
"I already apologized to her about yesterday" Nobu told her. "Even if it wasn't your fault, it upsetted her that you ruined her tea ceremony."
"I know" Rin said. She felt frustrated. Why is Sesshoumaru-sama taking so long to find her?
"Well, I will be going out tonight" Nobu said. "No one has seen signs of Himitsu around, so I'm going to go out and search for him."
"Are you sure?" Rin said.
"Don't worry, Rin-chan. I have done this a dozen times since Himitsu attacked this village" Nobu replied. "There also have been reports of a fire-spewing demon at the local spring. It has not bothered us, but I want to make sure it wouldn't pose a threat."
"Is it still there?" Rin asked him.
"As far as I know, yes," Nobu replied. "Why don't you go sleep in the altar room? I know that you need to rest if you want to get well."
"Okay," Rin said, not sounding happy. But she did not go to the altar room and laid down on the futon. Tears came down her face as she did so. She felt like a stranger among her own people. She wanted so much to be back with Sesshoumaru and Jaken.
Rin did not know it, but Nobu was staring at her from the door. He saw her close her eyes. He then sighed and left.
Rin woke up to voices.
"Are you sure her lord will not come for her?" a man asked. Rin put her right ear on the paper-screen door.
"It's been almost two weeks and her lord still has not come," Nobu said. "I'm not saying that she's lying, but her lord has not come for her. We need to believe that either something happened to him or he went on without her."
'No!' Rin thought. 'He'll never leave me!' Yet she knew it was taking Sesshoumaru a long time to find her. Normally, he would be able to pick up her scent and find her. Did something really happen to him?
"In any case, she cannot stay here" Toshiki said. Oh, how she hates him and the rest of his family! "She's not going to stay any longer. She doesn't appear to have a physical problem. She can be used as a servant of some sort."
This not only shocked Rin but horrified her as well. She has been privileged at being at the feet of Sesshoumaru-sama, the highest lord there is. She will not stoop down to serve a real human! That's it! She made up her mind!
Rin did not want to hear the rest of the conversation. She went back to her futon. Tears came down her face again. As far as she is concerned, she has been sold off. But she knew now what to do. The only thing she is worried is when she can put her plan into action.
"Rin-chan, are you okay?" Nobu asked. They were eating now.
"Hmm?" Rin said, looking up at him. One of her chopsticks was in her mouth.
"Rin-chan, I have noticed that you're very quiet" Nobu said. Rin felt like biting into her chopsticks. She had to remind herself that Nobu didn't know she overheard him and the men. She decided not to tell him- it would do her no good now.
"I got nothing to say" Rin simply said. Nobu looked at her concerned. He was going to say something when a man entered the house.
"Nobu-sama! Nobu-sama! We need your help!" the man said. Nobu immediately got up.
"What is it?" Nobu asked him. The man was covered in sweat.
"Forgive me, Nobu-sama, for interrupting your meal," the man said. He then bowed down. "But a short time ago, one of our men saw a snake trail near our village." Nobu grabbed his sword and put it into his sash.
"Is it Himitsu?" he asked him.
"We don't know yet" the man replied. "But it does look like a big snake."
"Where is it heading?" Nobu asked, his face showing eagerness.
"It's heading for the east toward the mountain spring" the man started to say. Nobu turned to his grandmother.
"Take care of Rin-chan. I'm going to investigate this" Nobu said. "I shall come back before sundown, if I can." He turned to the man. "Take me to where the tracks are." At that, the man nodded and complied, leaving Rin and Toyoka alone in the house. The old woman sighed.
"I'm afraid that he's becoming obsessed with killing Himitsu," Toyoka said. "I do not know whether he'll be able to balance his other duties for long."
"But isn't Himitsu is going away from this village?" Rin asked her.
"I doubt he'll stay away for long," the old woman said. "He's probably off to harass another village, or perhaps he's going to fight someone.
"Someone?" Rin said. 'Like Sesshoumaru?' she thought.
"If he's going to fight someone, then it would be better for Nobu to finish him right now than for him to cause more trouble" the old woman said. She stood up. "I'll go prepare the prayer beads and the o-fudas when he returns." At that she went to the altar room.
Rin begin to think.
Sesshoumaru-sama was obviously taking his time. Was something else occupying him? She then remembered Nobu's words: "There also have been reports of a fire-spewing demon at the local spring." She then remembered Fumie's words: "The ladies said that a demon had prevented them from going to the spring to get water. They said that it has a stick that- that shoots fire, I believe." At that, her eyes went wide open.
'It has to be Jaken-sama. And if Jaken-sama is nearby, then…' Rin did not have to think further. Rin knew that this was the time to do it.
'I got to find them!' Rin thought. And with that, Rin left.
A short time later, Nobu returned.
"Grandmother! It's Himitsu! Where are my o-fudas?" he yelled.
"I got them here!" Toyoka shouted from the altar room. She came out with a bunch in her arms.
"If he's going to the mountain spring, then I better get an overcoat and hat too," Nobu said. He then looked around. "Where's Rin-chan?"
"She was here when I went to the altar room," his grandmother said. Nobu's eyes went blank in horror.
'She couldn't have gone after Himitsu herself!' Nobu thought.
"Grandmother, give me my overcoat and cape now!" Nobu ordered. "I'm going to find Rin-chan! I'll then find and slay Himitsu!"
He only hoped that he would not have to do both at the same time.
End of Chapter Ten
I like to thank Spiritual Wolf, SereneDolphin, Kurai, ladyremix and Rayama325 for reviewing. This chapter marks the turning point of the story, so hopefully I'll be able to finish this in four more chapters (that's the plan at least). I'm hoping to continue this series with "To Be (Almost) Human" which will have the Inu-Yasha gang. I already got the premise all set.
Since I got enough reviews to elicit my response, I'll do it now. So here it goes:
Kurai: I do not mind you "lurking" into my story- I imagine most fanfiction authors have more readers than reviewers anyway. Still I'm happy that you finally reviewed. And yes, I take great pride in researching for my stories. Research is in fact essential to writing, especially when you're writing about another country. Please review again! And check out my other works if you want to!
ladyremix: Thanks for reviewing! I can't contact you, so I'm happy that you reviewed again! Please continue to do so!
Spiritual Wolf: I'm always happy when a new person reviews! And thank you for reviewing "Millenniumon's Revenge" as well! Review my other stories if you want to!
Rayame 325: Thank you for reviewing as well! I'm in the meat of things, so to speak, so I hope you'll enjoy the rest of my story too!
SereneDolphin: Thank you for reviewing "To Be Human: Prelude" and "Millenniumon's Revenge"! I didn't expect you to review my stories in return! You really made some notable comments and questions. I already replied to most of your comments either by e-mail or when reviewing your story "The Power At Hand." But I'll provide what I didn't answer right here:
Writing about Sesshoumaru can be tough- you have to know his sense of honour and way of thinking but you have to read through the lines, so to speak, in order to do this. But once you figure out what he will do or not do in a situation, then it becomes easier. You have to get inside his head, so to speak, and see things through his eyes. We know that he's not ungrateful and that he doesn't waste time getting into useless fights or hold unnecessary grudges. In this way, he's better than Inu-Yasha.
I do rely on Chris Rijk's website for my research: it's probably the most complete website on the manga. I actually liked it because of the notes, which can be very informative. As well, the Viz version is inverted, which has its own problems. I've actually downloaded some of his chapters, compare it with the Viz version, and added my own notes. I think this has really helped me with my research, since it has helped me notice different interpretations and mistakes from both versions. So far, I have done Volume One of the manga this way.
While I can't be dogmatic about it, Tenseiga seems to be able to do other things besides resurrecting people. After all, it did protect Sesshoumaru from the full brunt of Inu-Yasha's Wind Scar attack. He did end up being hurt by the attack, however, so he's not totally invulnerable. It is the "sword of life" after all- its duty is to save and protect anyone that Sesshoumaru desire. I have read fanfiction stories where Sesshoumaru healed Rin by Tenseiga from an illness. While I have not seen this done in the anime or the manga, I can't see how it could not happen, especially from a fatal illness or poison. (Sesshoumaru acquired one other great use of Tensegia, but I do not want to reveal manga spoilers right now).
A blood duel is a duel to the death. Maybe I should have explained it a bit further.
Arranged marriages (called omiai) are quite common in Japan, even today when many people are too busy for a social life. As for Nobu and Fumie, Toshiki did not want his own daughters to be without husbands, so after Himitsu killed most of the men (and the older boys), he arranged for Fumie to be betrothed to Nobu, who was the most prominent male beside Toshiki himself, being the priest. (Most Buddhist groups allow their priests to marry). Though Nobu accepted out of politeness, his true feelings is pretty evident.
Let me know when I make grammar mistakes. I can usually correct them if I knew specifically what they are. (English grammar was not my best subject in school, mind you).
If you want to read more of my works, please do so! I got more Inu-Yasha and Digimon works, plus a few works from other animes and mangas as well!
All the others who reviewed, thank you for reviewing! Please review again!
Inu-Yasha (1996) was created by Rumiko Takahashi and distributed by Viz and Sunrise. Please do not forget to review!