Thanks for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, I only own the characters that aren't included in the anime or manga.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Mommy, why is daddy acting so funny?" Akane asked as she walked hand-in-hand with Sango, Miroku stumbling behind sluggishly and tripping over rocks occasionally.
"He's just having a funny day. Don't worry, he'll be back to normal before you know it." Sango reassured, desperately trying to hold in her sigh. She was sighing a lot recently, and Miroku always seemed to be responsible for her sudden habit. How irritating.
"Okay then." Akane nodded, turning her head slightly to look back at her loony father who was now grinning and skipping along the path just like a pixie would.
Sango resisted the urge to slap herself in the face at her husband's ridiculous actions, but thought against it as she didn't want to distort Akane's innocence any more than it already was from being around her father so much. He was a grown man, yet he still acted like an immature child! She had thought that he would have learned to act his age once he managed to persuade someone to bear his children, but it appeared that that was not the case. Sometimes she wondered if Miroku was in fact Shippo only in her husband's body pretending to be him, it would not be surprising with the level of immaturity he had.
'Monk.. you really are hopeless.' she thought inwardly.
Finally, they arrived back at their hut and Miroku wobbled slightly as he headed towards the entrance. "Ah, my very own home. Just what I've always wanted, thank you very much, dear Sango." he smiled, looking genuinely grateful!
Sango shook her head and bumped him hard on the head to try and make him come back to his senses. "Snap out of it already!" she yelled.
Sango pounded him continuously as Akane stood blinking at every strike. Deciding to leave her parents there to sort themselves out, she walked around to the back of the house where she had left her two younger siblings. But much to her horror, they were no where to be seen! Where had they gone? Anything could have happened to them in the time that she was away! She really regretted leaving them on their own now, but she would have found their mother faster if she was on her own as oppose to dragging the two of them along with her.
"Mommy! Daddy!" she shouted as loudly as her lungs would allow her to, "I can't find-" her sentence was cut short by a broad hand covering her mouth. The mysterious figure who had gagged her picked her up from behind, making her unable to turn and see the face of her captor.
"Now be a good girl and keep quiet," came a deep, masculine voice, that was chilling and sent shivers down her spine, "and I won't have to be violent with you."
She struggled and screamed as much as she could against the palm of her captor's hand without success. He squeezed her tighter until she eventually lost consciousness do to the lack of circulation. So now with the last of the three children now acquired, he sped off into the forest before their parents could come searching for the missing children.
"S-Setsuko?"
"What?"
"Are these people going to kill us?"
"...I'm sorry Hiroshi but... I really don't know how to answer that."
The little boy with the small black braid at the back of his head looked down sadly and twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I wish that Akane was here, with mommy and daddy too." he whispered quietly.
"Me too." the little girl with the shoulder-length chestnut hair admitted sadly as she began chewing on one of her fingernails.
The sinister woman with long deep plum coloured hair and eerie platinum eyes approached the two young siblings, with her arms folded across her purple imperial satin kimono. "What are you squirts gossiping about?" she asked harshly, tapping her foot impatiently.
They remained silent and trembled in her presence. Hiroshi clutched his sister's silky green kimono tightly and tried to hold in his fearful sobs. His lower lips trembled and his knees were quaking violently under the gaze of the menacing woman glaring down at him and his sister.
The woman frowned at them, "You talk to each other, so why won't you talk to me?" she asked.
"We've been told not to talk to strangers." Setsuko as boldly as her voice would allow her to, "And specially bad looking people like you."
She snorted loudly and ran a hand through her hair. "Oh I see. Well that is just too bad because now I am rather upset. Surely your mommy and daddy told you not to bully others, didn't they? But I wouldn't put it past them if they didn't, especially your father since he's too busy drinking anyway."
Hiroshi frowned at her insult towards his father and snapped without thinking, "Take that back! Our daddy is the greatest daddy there is! And when he comes to rescue us, he'll make you eat those words!"
"Oh will he?" she mocked, "To be honest it's your mother who's the bigger threat, he eliminating him will be a piece of cake."
"Just like eliminating Hanyuu was?" Setsuko jeered without thinking, only realizing just what she had said when it was too late.
Before Arina could reach out and give the girl a good slap across the face, the conversation was interrupted by a red haired individual walking over to her side. He had an unconscious Akane draped over his shoulder, much to Setsuko and Hiroshi's horror as they watched him set her down roughly on the hard ground without any trace of delicacy.
Arina smiled at her mate warmly, "Ah Ren, you have returned. It took you long enough to get the last one, what have you been doing?"
"My apologies," he started, "it took her quite a while to return but she came back with the monk and the slayer, so I had to wait until she was alone to capture her without being noticed."
Arina peered down at the sleeping Akane and examined her closely, raising an eyebrow at Ren as she questioned him. "You didn't accidentally kill this one did you?" she asked suspiciously.
"No! This one is definitely only sleeping! You can hear her pulse as proof!"
She thought for a moment before nodding, "Yes you are right, her heart is still beating."
Hiroshi reached for Setsuko's hand and squeezed it tightly. He had never felt so afraid in his life. He feared for him and his sisters' lives and dreaded whatever it was that the mysterious duo whom had captured them planned to do to them.
Setsuko peered down at her brother's awful expression and she frowned sadly. She felt so helpless to help him and Akane, who didn't look like she was in good shape at all! Never mind someone else as well! Oh if only her twin would just wake up, then she could reassure them and make them feel safe. But although she herself was terrified, someone had to calm Hiroshi's heavy breathing and panic so she sat down beside Akane's unconscious form and motioned for Hiroshi to sit beside her.
"Would you feel better if I told you the story about the winged woman? The one that daddy tells us before we go to bed?" she asked gently, smoothing the creases in her dirty green yukata.
His eyes seemed to light up at this suggestion as he shot down beside her and nodded frantically. "Yes please!"
Setsuko smiled. "Well, we shouldn't be afraid right now because remember - in the story, the angel was captured and tortured countless times but she never gave up, did she? And someone would always come to rescue her eventually, so we should believe that our mommy and daddy will come to rescue us."
"I guess you're right." he nodded, "Um, sis? Can you.. re-tell the story like daddy does?"
"I can try, but it won't be as good without daddy's funny acting or the book to use as a guideline-" she started before Hiroshi cut her off.
"I don't care about any of that stuff right now! Just please re-tell it?"
"Okay." she sighed in defeat, before beginning the tale, keeping her voice at a minimum level to avoid being caught by Arina or Ren, "Many years ago...
Many years ago, there lived a very beautiful priestess named Midoriko. She was very powerful priestess who could slay countless demons with ease, no matter what their numbers may be. And it just so happened that many of the village men fell in love with her because of her beauty and strength. Many of them asked for her hand in marriage, but she turned every suitor down, ignoring both their status and physical appearance. She believed that her mission was to rid the world from as many demons as she could, spreading peace across the lands - not to fall in love with a human man and have children.
However, one day at the bridge of the twilight, she collapsed due to the vast amounts of demons she had purified and lay exhausted in a patch of dirt. But what she didn't know, was that she was being observed by one particular demon that had not attacked. He went by the name: Magatsuhi and was the essence of true evil. He took such great pleasure in seeing the usually so powerful priestess in pain that he stole her unconscious form away and held her captive in a small cave, where he visited her daily to gaze upon her injured yet beautiful face.
Days later, when Midoriko finally awoke, she found herself in a strange cavern surrounded by a huge demonic aura that was powerful enough to engulf her very being. But she resisted its temptation and kept herself pure, desperately trying to break free from the evil barrier that had been erected around her. She did not know whom had imprisoned her, nor did she know why, but the one thing that she did know was that she was going to kill whoever was responsible for the disgusting aura of her cell could only belong to a vile demon.
Finally, Magatsuhi revealed himself to the priestess after taunting her for so long, and mocked her over-rated power. Midoriko's hatred for the demon grew more every day and became the very thing that fuelled her soul - her desire to slaughter the beast that held her captive.
Then one night, when the stars were hidden by a large black curtain that seemed to stretch over the entire sky, Magatsuhi returned to the cave that he had been keeping Midoriko inside and fell weakly at her side, blood dripping from his form as he lay in pain at her feet. She laughed at his weak state at first and tested her purification powers to see if they had strengthened, and much to her joy - they had considerably. So much so that she could finally stand, she stood looming above him with her palms raised glowing bright pink with pure energy, gradually breaking apart his demonic barrier. But in that split second, Midoriko saw something in the demon's eyes below her that she had never seen before, something lonely and almost soft. It was because of what she saw in his eyes that usually possessed such blood-lust and hatred, that she lowered her glowing palms and took a step away from him. And then, never looking back, she fled from the demonic cave and ran far into the forest away from Magatsuhi's damaged form, not entirely sure why she had spared him.
She blamed it on her humanity. The only thing that set her aside from the demons themselves - her compassion for a weaker being.
...a weaker being." Setsuko spoke in a quiet story-telling voice.
"You're doing quite a good job telling the story Setsuko." Hiroshi smiled, his fear now quite forgotten as he stroked the sleeping Akane's soft hair to help further soothe him.
Setsuko smiled proudly as she continued the tale, "Many months later..
Many months later, a giant wave of demons attacked Midoriko's village and slew many of the humans there. She fought back vigorously, purifying them in groups of seven at a time, but after two days of endless fighting she was beginning to tire.. It was then that he showed up.
The demon who had held her captive for so long in the past flew onto the battlefield and struck down over twenty demons with one mighty swing of his arm, that was swirling with the demonic energy from when he had held her prisoner. It wasn't long that the wave of demons that had plagued the village for so long was fully eliminated, and Midoriko wiped her brow and withdrew her bloody sword, but not letting her guard down completely because of the familiar demon who stood before her, gazing at her with the same look in his eyes that had made her spare his life all those months ago.
When she warned him to leave if he wished to keep his life, he refused, claiming that he had fallen in love with her. This deceleration horrified her and she threatened that if he ever returned then she would kill him herself, so he left with the burden of love and rejection heavy on his shoulders.
But when he ignored her warning and returned to the village some days later and assisted her in yet another huge wave of attacking demons. Irritated by his persistence, she decided to give him a chance and let him give her a hand in protecting the village. And after some time and several failed attempts of Midoriko trying to purify Magatsuhi, the two began to fall in love despite their differences and species.
Finally, the two had a child together. Something that was highly frowned upon by the other human inhabitants of the village, who secretly plotted to kill the pair for the priestess' betrayal to her own race.
Midoriko birthed the child successfully - a half demon girl with silky black hair just like her mother's and shimmering orchid eyes that shone like two polished amethyst crystals. Interestingly, she was born with small stubs growing from her shoulder-blades, that later sprouted into crisp white wings - the exact image of an angel from the heavens.
But no good could ever come from a child born of a demon and a priestess, angel or not, and there were ancient legends warning about the consequences and outcomes of such a situation. Pure demonic energy and pure spiritual energy were too things that should never mix, as the two elements were far too powerful to be compressed into one fragile body. It would be like trying to empty an ocean into a small cup, or trying to fit a huge oak tree into the smallest of plant pots. Over time, the lifeforce that sustained the child would eventually drain away, thus causing the child to wither away and die.
...wither away and die."
Unaware to the children, Arina and Ren were both listening to this story of an angel closely. Arina's cold eyes narrowed in recognition and slight surprise that such young children knew this story so well. They knew it almost as well as she did...
Setsuko continued, "They called her Haya..
They called her Haya, which meant light, for she was even more immaculate than the sun itself. No mortal could ever hope to compare to her impeccable radiance, and her beauty stretched inwards as well as out. She charmed every living thing around her with the ray of peace she seemed to emit whenever she relaxed, and wove her way into the hearts of many humans residing in the village, despite her half demon heritage.
Unfortunately, she was growing at an incredibly fast rate, literally physically aging years in mere months. It seemed that she would wither away much sooner than Midoriko and Magatsuhi had originally thought and her beauty would only for last a short time - just like a firefly.
It was when Haya looked around seventeen years old, though mentally at least five, she met a young merchant seller who came to the village to sell his goods. He was a devilishly handsome man with luscious ebony that reached the bottom of his back, and sunset red eyes. He too was hypnotized by her loveliness and the two developed a friendship, which slowly developed into love.
... into love."
"That is cute." Hiroshi smiled to himself, fantasizing about what his future lover would be like.
Setsuko chuckled quietly, "But of course...
But of course, because of the many stories of the winged people and their power, Haya was often captured by power-hungry demons who sought her power, and tortured on numerous occasions. Luckily, she had a powerful priestess for a mother and a vicious demon for a father, both who came rushing to save her every time.
But sadly, after the constant conflict over Haya's future, Midoriko and Magatsuhi became prone to madness and as they grew farther apart, their goals changed, as did their opinions as they grew bitter towards each other. Until one fateful day, when they lashed out and battled furiously and without mercy. Their fight was ruthless and there was much bloodshed, not all from the feuding pair.
Though it pained her greatly, Haya knew that only one option remained in order to put an end to this ridiculous fighting. She would have to give up her soul in order to bring peace to everyone else's. It was a winged person's destiny. And no matter what the merchant told her, she just would not listen.
She waited for the right moment - the moment that Midoriko and Magatsuhi would collide with their full power, and then she would end it.
In the midst of their ongoing battle, they flew directly towards each other, weapons at the ready, and struck hard. It was at that very moment that Haya released both her demonic and spiritual energy, cleansing their souls and shattering their physical forms. And from that day on, their souls cam together and merged, creating what was once known as the Shikon Jewel of Four Souls. A spherical prison in which Midoriko and Magatsuhi's souls would be free to battle safely for all eternity, and Haya was the very prison itself.
Though the winged woman's life may have ended that day, her soul was destined to return in the future for it was the curse of the winged people to never truly die. And the merchant swore that he would wait for her, even if he had to wait forever. He would wait for the girl he loved to return.
...for the girl he loved to return." she finished finally, taking a deep breath after re-telling such a long and intense story.
"Thank you for telling me the story, Setsuko." Hiroshi thanked sincerely, "I feel a little better now, and braver."
She smiled at him and ruffled his braided black hair fondly.
Arina and Ren turned to face each other and whispered quietly so that the children would not hear.
"Will this work?" Ren asked, "Will kidnapping these children and using them as hostages be enough to draw Hanyuu out of hiding?"
"Hopefully. She appears to share the same fondness for others that Haya did, which is only natural seeing as she is her reincarnation. She will come out into the open sooner or later." Arina smirked.
Wow, I enjoyed writing this chapter. I spent quite a while with that legend! I wonder if any of you have guessed what I'm trying to do with Hanyuu, if you have then shush don't spoil it even if it is obvious. And yes, now you know why she is so enigmatic and powerful. Because she's actually the reincarnation of an angel!
Thank you very much for reading and please leave a review if you enjoyed it! I really appreciate all of your support and helpful criticism ~Happy