Sooooo it's been a while, I know. Well I'm hoping you liked the change of story line for now. Since I hardly got any reviews I can only make assumptions. But anyway, enjoy.

P.S. Every Inuyasha character belongs to Rumiko-san.

14. Memories - part II

"What is it? Aren't you going to say anything? Or are you here to just kill me and be done with it?"

Her voice, while calm, held no warmth or emotion, as it had on that night when she'd stated that her arrow had missed its target. Her teeth clenched after that question... it seemed the more she looked at him, the more her will to stay away from him faded, along with the focus needed for meditation. It irked her to admit, but she did desire him, as the men from her village desired her. Sanae's words now seemed like a foolish warning, an ancient superstition meant to keep Miko from following their hearts.

"I merely came to see if you changed your mind about your hostile stand against youkai..."

If not, then he most likely would have to kill her, so as to protect his people. Yet, he would make it swift... otherwise, her powers as a Miko would likely be sufficient to make him pay for his hesitation, or that was what he made himself believe.

"We merely slay those who harm humans. Miko never kill out of pleasure. That is not our way."

Finally giving up on her attempts to regain focus for meditation, she now stepped out from under the waterfall, her wet raven strands shining like black silk in the setting sun. For once she was truly grateful that they didn't have the habit of meditating naked in the water, even if the moist silk of her kimono was hindering her movements to some extent, being so tightly stuck to her body. For a few moments she merely watched her reflection in the water... the face staring back at her was just as stern as always, but the violet color of her eyes had gained a strange spark.

Just as she was trying to figure out what it was, a dark-brown tentacle pierced the water, seemingly coming from the depths of the small lake. The first thing she felt were the tiny spikes piercing her skin as the tentacle wrapped around her, dragging her underwater, though she made no sound, despite having been taken by surprise. Tokuzeimaru had been about to retort, until that event. His eyelids opening widely, his body took over, forgetting their previous debate as he took to the air, preparing to dive into the water. He wouldn't go for the tentacle if he didn't have to... the head was the weakest point, and the tentacles were mere distractions.

It was then that a pink light, similar to a lightning bolt, lit the water from beneath for a brief moment. Soon afterwards, Reika surfaced for breath while the water around her was painted red from the blood flowing from the small, but rather deep wounds around her waist, the youkai following her. It seemed to be a combination between an octopus, with its right arm made of several tentacles, and several other marine animals. Raising her gaze to it, she spotted Tokuzeimaru in the air.

"Don't come near!" she shouted, just when one of the tentacles forced her back underwater, seemingly aiming to both drown her and smash her body to pieces.

Nothing stirred for a few minutes, until the entire lake was lit from beneath in a white-pinkish hue, which slowly began to purify the youkai's body. The hawk-youkai saw the flashes just in time to stretch out his cloak, his youki manipulating it so that he could glide safely over the water, maneuvering his form so that his feet landed on the rocks from which the water fell. At the second of contact, he kicked off, landing lightly on the soil and keeping his distance. She was indeed a rather strong woman, but with wounds such as those, the Miko likely wouldn't survive, which actually somehow pained him.

Once the youkai had been fully purified, the light in the water died out, but it took some time for Reika to be able to crawl out onto the grass. The white silk around her body was now stained in red, the blood having seeped into the material despite being in water. Keeping her eyes closed, she now focused on catching her breath, lying onto her back, though her thoughts were still racing. She'd never believed she would actually tell a youkai to stay away from her powers, when she could have so easily purified him along with that mindless monster.

The pain in her wounds made her decide to leave that for another time. She'd been careless... apparently he had caught enough of her attention, for her to not sense that the youkai living in the lake was about to attack her. When she came out, so clearly exhausted, Tokuzeimaru did draw near, though without the lethal intentions of her previous encounters.

"I will help you back to your village."

Bending forth, he extended his hand for hers, when he had seen that her chest wasn't rising and falling so fast from breathlessness. The first thing Reika saw when she opened her eyes, were those twin pools of gold, then his pale, clawed hand hovering a few inches above her, profiled upon the nearly dark sky. Closing her eyes again, she forced herself to her feet.

"They'll purify you if you get near the village."

Was that concern in her voice? The fleeting thought did cross her mind, but pain soon drove it away when she willed her legs to move so she could retrieve her clothes and weapons. But even her willpower wasn't enough to keep her standing for more than a few steps, her slender body soon collapsing onto the grass. While the wounds weren't severe in themselves, they were numerous thus the loss of blood wasn't so insignificant.

"Hawk demons pride themselves on two things... sight and speed. I can have you at the edge of the village and be gone before they can even rally to attack me."

It did seem that she actually cared, to some extent. Stepping to her equipment, he brought up the bow and arrows onto himself, her clothes on his arm. Moving to the woman, he raised her into his arms and strolled off toward the collection of human scents while comfortably cradling her with ease. She was exhausted; she wouldn't be able to fight him, if she sought to do so.

By then Sanae was on her way toward one of the houses in the village, to tend to a sick child. Miko were famous everywhere for their healing knowledge, aside from youkai purification. Even so, she was worried about Reika. Ever since the girl had told her of the encounter with that youkai, she seemed to change day by day. Sanae feared to even think that Reika would fall in love with a youkai, but it wasn't unheard of. There had been many Miko to fall prey to that. Youkai did have a certain aura about them that appealed to humans, especially Miko since they could sense it better than average people.

The hawk youkai broke into a run as the settlement rose over the horizon, bare feet pounding the trail. However, he was focused, even his nostrils gathering information from the village. There was a Miko within... good. It would make things even easier. When he saw the familiar white kosode and red hakama, he ignored the noises of protest and fear from the villagers, closing in on Sanae then slowing to a halt.

"Miko... I believe this is one of yours."

Somewhere along the way, the young Miko had lost consciousness, however stubborn she was. That was the reason that Sanae was taken by surprise when she saw the girl. She'd sensed Tokuzeimaru's youki as he drew near, but nothing from the girl.

"Reika..." she exclaimed, stopping in the middle of the road.

Normally she would have attempted to purify the male, since she'd recognized him to be from the tribe of hawk-youkai. But her wisdom told her otherwise. If Reika had been hurt by him, he wouldn't have brought her back, he would have probably just killed her and left her body to be devoured by youkai, unless he would have devoured her himself.

"I'll return shortly. Leave her there."

Motioning him to a bench nearby, she then stepped away toward her initial destination. She did have to wonder if he was the one Reika had mentioned. And to be honest, she was curious whether or not he would leave Reika alone until she returned. His footsteps did lead him to the bench, but he did not put her down. Despite her condition, she seemed somehow... peaceful, at rest. Far more serene than she ever appeared when conscious, anyway. All the man did was watch her face now, for any change of expression.

'Reika...'

So that was her name. When Sanae finally returned, she did find herself taken aback by the fact that he was still there. A youkai that actually cared about a human? And a Miko to top it. She took a moment to simply gaze from the youkai to her young apprentice. She'd seen that look in many male eyes... he seemed to not have yet realized – or he was hiding it very well – that he desired Reika. Yet unlike the human males in the village, his eyes did seem to hold something else aside from carnal lust. But was it possible for a youkai to sincerely love a Miko, when they were two complete opposites in the world?

When Sanae had returned, she'd caught him off his guard for just a second. Turning to the bench, he let Reika's clothes fall into a pile from his arm, her bow and quiver leaning against the bench. The instant his hands had left her, he disappeared from sight. Preservation of his own life and health was undeniably of great importance to him, after all. Not long after he'd left, Reika's father closed in on Sanae. He'd been watching from just a few steps away, but had not dared to disturb Tokuzeimaru, for fear that the youkai would have hurt his daughter.

"Sanae-sama... why...?"

"We'll talk at the temple, Satoshi. Follow me."

With that she left, while the man picked up his daughter along with her belongings, soon walking after the old Miko. Once there, Sanae left Reika in the care of the three young girls there, while she offered Satoshi an explanation meant to simply settle him down, though she did not reveal her opinion or thoughts on the man's daughter and the hawk-youkai.

Well, we all know youkai can fall in love with humans, now don't we? ;) As always, look forward to the next chapter and maybe review.