Episode 44: A Forbidden Mistake

Somewhere in the middle of the mountains there is a place that is said to have an item that can bring back the life of the dead. It brings back the bones, flesh, organs, and all, and is deemed a secret. No one knows how to make it. No one knows if it exists. It also heals the deadliest wounds. One little sprinkle of whatever it is, liquid or powder, and the scar will mend. It can even fix a broken stone.

It is something that not even the Shikon no Tama can do. Save a life. But is it true? Is there really something like that out there?

With these questions in mind, Yukuro set out to find this magical item. It was fishy and unbelievable, but with the herbs at hand, she couldn't fix Mika's terrible wound. She shook her head at Sesshoumaru's rashness. If he injured what was inside, Mika was dead.

All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks. She cared about Mika? A simple human being? That was a new one. Oh well. They were friends now anyway. She continued along.

She passed several human travelers. Some of them were monks, priestesses, or sometimes a little human family, with the mom and dad and the kid. They were tattered clothes, however. It wasn't to be unexpected, but the way she was heading, the people that came out were dressed in rags. Was it the new style these days?

After two days, she reached a large village. It was empty as a pantry in a farmer's house, with beggars in the streets. Some had no hands, and some were missing eyes. Maybe they were soldiers who had barely escaped with their lives from some horrible war?

She was assuming as she passed by. It was bothering her. So she knelt down and asked a young boy who was healthy, but dirtier than a fish left out for days.

"What happened to this place?" she asked, stabbing her finger at the barren streets.

"It's the shogun's fault." His voice was rather gruff for a nine year old.

"What did he do?"

"Well, it's actually the shogun's wife. Their son is dying, so they're sending everybody to the mountain where the Elixir of Life is. Or the Powder of Judgment. Whatever they call nowadays."

"The mountain?"

"Yeah. It used to be a mountain of the holy, called Hakurei, but something happened and it fell down. Then these strange beasts that old time priests and priestesses destroyed and sealed away began to come out."

"And the shogun and his wife are assuming that it has some sort of magical power that would bring back his son's life? But if there are strange beasts, I don't see why anyone would want to go there."

"You have to, or they'll behead you. If you volunteer, they said that you bring back the Elixir and they'll pay you gold."

"Couldn't you run away?"

"Then they kill whoever is close to you, like your family and friends." He scratched the bridge of his nose and waved goodbye. "Got to go. Nice talking to you lady."

The youth left, leaving Yukuro a bitter taste in her mouth when she thought of these people. She ought to teach them a lesson. If they wanted to save their son's life, why not go themselves? Thousands of people were dying when only one was at risk. Selfish people. I bet they haven't even asked for a doctor.

Well she was going to show them. She was going to fix that boy's problems and fetch that magical whatnot for Mika. And no one was going to stop her.

She stormed her way to the door of the manor and kicked it hard with her left foot three times. Two guards opened the door a squeak and demanded her name. She kicked it again and told them it was unnecessary. She said she was a doctor and she could fix the son's wounds.

They looked at her cynically before opening it wide enough for her to squeeze by. They told her to follow, and began heading toward the manor. They passed five doors before they reached a long hallway, which took five minutes to walk all the way to the end. There, a white screen door sat. She paced there immediately and pushed the door aside.

A sickly boy, struck with a disease that was hard to treat lay there. It was serious, but nothing that Yukuro couldn't fix. She yelled to the guards if they had any herbs. Jumping up, they nodded and hurried to get what she wanted.

Yukuro sat down and took the boy's temperature by placing her hand on his forehead. Warm. She opened his mouth and found it dry. He needed water. She proceeded to his eyes, which were red. His nose was clogged with snot. And his throat was filled with germs.

Without notice, the door the boy's head was facing was slammed open. A bushy mustached man taller than she was stood there. A woman with a geisha hairstyle and a scowling face was behind him. They were mad and shocked at Yukuro's presence.

"Who are you? What are you doing to our son? Poisoning him? Why you--" the man began but Yukuro calmly explained her existence.

"I'm a doctor. I'm treating his disease. He could've been saved a while ago if you just asked for one. But it's okay. This one doesn't matter if its serious or not. It just takes a while..."

"What are you talking about? The gods sent this curse to us!" the shogun's wife cried. Yukuro assumed she was very religious.

"Look lady. What age are we in? By now you should realize that this is something that can be fixed, not by chasing after a myth. The first thing you should do is call a doctor--"

"Bah," the shogun said, waving his hand in the air. He was satisfied with her first answer, but he was still in the mood for arguing. "Doctors? Who needs them? They're a bunch of trash, talking about this and that. I don't need them."

"I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about your son. If you really care, you should've done that instead of killing thousands of lives for such a simple task."

By this time, the guards came back. They were madly tired and had no energy to set the herbs down gently. Yukuro took out a piece of paper and threw one of the herbs on there. She asked for some hot and cold water, which they immediately obeyed to.

When the guards arrived with two pots of water, Yukuro dabbed a cloth of cold water and put it on the boy's forehead to calm down his temperature and numb any headaches he was having. Next, she asked for some ingredients to make some soup and began preparing a bitter sort of medicine.

When the hot water turned green from the herbs she mixed in, she threw some more herbs until it turned purple. Mixed with several other things, she raised the nasty thing to the boy's mouth.

"Here, drink it. It's going to chase away the headaches and make the snot go away."

Slowly, the boy his mouth and reluctantly chugged down the stuff. He gagged, but Yukuro held a cloth to his mouth so that he wouldn't barf and when the muscles were no longer in motion, she removed it and continued to relieve other symptoms.

"All right. I have a batch ready for a week. Give it to him warm every day and he should recover on his own. Make sure he drinks as much water as he can and he gets a lot of rest. And about those sheets," she said, pointing at the three covers on top of him, "he doesn't need that many. It makes his fever worse. You should limit it to one. His body will warm itself on its own. And if he has any more headaches, grind these herbs and make a drink of it. If you give it to him, it should relieve the banging and knocking." She took a breath. "Well, I'll be leaving now--"

"Wait!" the shogun said, halting Yukuro in her tracks.

"What? I'm not single," she said, lying through her teeth. She had been asked before, and she was quite busy. She wasted enough time already,.

"Those two boys, you can take them."

"What?"

"The guards. They're young and I'm sure they'll be fine apprentices. Take them as your reward, and some of the clothes I have to offer. I'll be sure to hand you some gold too."

"Save that when I come back. But the boys, I'd gladly take."

The guards suddenly became eager. "We'll do anything you'll say Sensei! May we ask you for you name?"

"Yukuro. You two?"

The boy with the brown spiky hair wearing the blue armor and the black balloon hakama raised a hand to his forehead. "Hai! My name is Haku, des, Yukuro-sensei!"

The other boy, who was a bit younger than the other, had his black hair tied in the back. He wore red armor, and his sleeves were shorter and his armor lighter. "My name is Otari, des, Yukuro-sensei! I'm glad to be in your presence!"

"All right Haku, Otari. Are you ready to go to the mountain?"

They seem to not care for anything for they were so bright and happy. "Yes! WE are happy to go ANYWHERE with you, Yukuro-sensei!"

Yukuro felt a migraine coming in. She rubbed her temples. That was too much happiness for her age.