Rivers Keep Flowing

Chapter 37: Rescues and Travels

By LadyRainStarDragon

I do not make any money off of my fanfiction inspired originally by Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Takahashi Rumiko's Inuyasha or whoever owns Yu-yu Hakusho. I write purely for the sake of writing this fiction. Original characters within this story do belong to LadyRainStarDragon and may eventually have their own stories to follow.

Here is the long awaited chapter 37.

Tsukaimono and the Oginos had slunk through shadow and darkness to the outer gates of the castle. The guards were all distracted by the curious phenomena of the sun reacting strangely to the growing rifts plaguing reality. No doubt they themselves were as sick as the very earth herself must have been who was reacting to the loss of proper contact with her spouse the sun. Tsukaimono certainly would say that she was, but now was no time to give in to the terrible nausea or the weakness coming from the knowledge that surely they were all going to meet their ends prematurely. Darkness, the slumber of pure consciousness seemed to have descended upon the guards, as dark and light depend on each other for continued existence. All of these lesser spirits serving Mikaboshi therefore were weaker themselves as each step closer to the mad Kami's goal was passing.

Desperately she led the humans from patch to patch of the precious camouflage, not daring to hope that perhaps they had indeed passed undetected through the outer gates. Indeed they had not, as one guard had just happened to catch a fleeting flash of their movement from the corner of his eye. Most were still gawping up at the film over the sun, but a few managed to rip their attention away long enough to assist him. And so it was that the fox youkai and the humans had lead the hunt, doing their best not to fall prey to pursuers or to the forest itself.

An eerie howl pierced the air, followed by a yipping laughter, drawing the attention of the remaining cognizant guards in the opposite direction and away from the refugees. Thus, the fox was able to slip further away from the clutches of the one that had dared to profane her body and the memory of not only her last husband but all those who had come before him in her long life. She could still feel the fetid warmth of his breath fanning her skin as he claimed her by force. The memories surged from where they had been suppressed to, causing her fine hairs to stand on end and prickle as painfully as if it had been the whole coat of fur her other form was blessed with to hide shamefully within. At last, the moment passed and she surveyed her companions.

Yuuko Ogino's clothing hung about her in tatters, wilted leaves ready to drop off and fertilize the ground like what would shortly be happening within her beloved garden in just a minute amount of time. Her short hair plastered closely to her skull and yet had managed to become worked into a veritable rat's nest with all that her body had experienced. Her eyes possessed the gleam that only those who have seen the mystery of death and come to grips with it can have, and her infected wounds burned redly as her body fought against the microorganisms seeking to use her as their haven. The poor thing looked about ready to die herself, and certainly the smell of death and decay issued from the human much more strongly than was usual for those of her race.

Akio Ogino was a far sight better in condition than his wife, although he also had not escaped unscathed. He too smelled of death, and the dirt that clung to the pair of them did nothing to hide it from her sensitive nose. Both humans had seen terrible things and were in a terrible state, but even taking her largest possible form she would only be able to carry one.

"The two of you are going to have to trust me. I can only carry one of you; the other will have to walk."

Akio spoke in an undertone as they crouched within yet another bush. Despite all he had seen, sensibility was returning to him. He wanted to throw this knowledge away and pretend it was all a dream. It was far easier a thing to do than to admit that nearly his entire life he had gone against the wishes of his guardian spirit.

"I don't understand."

"Perhaps I can help."

A deep and masculine voice interrupted the fugitive's conversation. Somber, it yet carried a lilting undertone as if the owner was suppressing laughter at some well executed prank or rarely ever took life seriously. Tsukaimono reacted to this new voice and the canine smell that suddenly assaulted her delicate nose by assuming an enlarged version of her true form. She did the best that she could to shield her "children" from this invader. The red of her fur and glorious starred markings were lost in the prevailing gloom, and the fox that was only the size of a very large dog did little to mask the forms of two humans cowering behind her.

"Who are you?"

"Peace woman, I am a friend sent to escort you to safety."

The voice moved in closer, and as it did so some of the shadows surrounding them melted away to reveal a scrawny golden form that would meld easily with desert sand dunes. Laughing yellow eyes still filled with the thrill of tricking guards and deepening darkened illusion did nothing to betray the gravity of the moment, instead sparkling with a Trickster's Fire. A pointed snout had smiling lips that revealed ivory teeth, and a curling tail pointed above and ahead of the owner of the voice. Though she had never seen any of his forms, she now could place the energy, and indeed had felt it slink around her friend at times when the Shaman had been especially prone to joke around.

"I know you. I have felt your presence around BlowingWind from time to time and have heard her accuse Ryu of being too much like you. You are Coyote."

"Yes. Raven and I have been waiting for this chance to free you, and it looks like our plan may actually work. After all, you managed to hide in the shadows we sang and have made it this far. He has gone to lead your rescue party to a safe meeting point. Follow me closely with the one that you will carry, I will take the other. These woods possess thoughts of their own. I'll fill you in on the way. I'm just glad that our enemy did not plan for someone outside the castle to use illusions on the inside."

Placing her trust in the foreign spirit, Tsukaimono nosed Yuuko to mount her. The woman was the lighter of the humans, and the weight was barely noticeable. Not for the first time, the fox wondered exactly how long they had been captives and what the time ratio for this terrible realm was to the human plane. After Akio had grudgingly clambered upon the back of Coyote, the spirits were streaking through the woods with their precious cargo. Tsukaimono was hard pressed to keep up, and now the story of how Coyote had helped to bring fire to the humans of North America finally began to make a little sense to the kitsune-onna.

Red, still disguised as BlowingWind, noticed from her perch upon her junior's dragon form that she could no longer hear the Olmec dragon's subsonic rumbling to himself. At first, she was grateful for some silence since both Huetziatl and Sakananushi were supposed to be their backup and unknown. However, the fact that she could only sense two water dragons and one youkai instead of the three water dragons and youkai that had been the other members of this party worried her after a few moments. Bringing her lips near to Kohaku's ear to further facilitate hushed conversation, she unthinkingly imitated the human persona that she had donned.

"Where is Huetziatl?"

"Red-sama, he should be behind us with my cousin."

"Listen though, he is not."

It was at this time that Sakananushi quietly drew abreast of his cousin's much larger dragon form, Sakananushi's own human form easily eclipsed by the small dragon's length. The young man resembled his cousin's human shape greatly, yet they eyes were blue instead of green. Blue silk and black armor clasped the fish lord as it had once done for the original keeper of river fish eons back into hazy pasts.

"We have a problem. Huetziatl's gone; no doubt off to get his revenge by himself. One minute he was there, the next he was gone."

Despite the deliberately care-free smirk on Sakananushi's face, Kohakunushi could tell the other water dragon was worried about their companion. After all, despite his perpetual grumpiness, is sincerity had begun to grow on the both of them. There was also the fact that they still had to rescue the Ogino's and Ms. Ni.

"I would like to look for him Cousin, but we have a mission to accomplish. Three of my charges are in the clutches of Mikaboshi, and who knows what torture he has dreamed up for them."

Tsuni Ni nodded in agreement from his perch behind Red. His beloved daughter was in the clutches of a truly evil being. Though she had married many times and had many litters in her life, she still was a child to him. They didn't have the best of relationships, but it had been worse.

Kohaku began to lead the way to where he could feel the lair, but they had not gone far when a black form dropped out of a tree to land squarely in front of them. A harsh voice hissed from its sharpened beak.

"Beware!"

Out of reflex, Haku snapped at the large Raven that had startled them. As his jaws were about to close on the giant bird, a snow of black feathers flew up and into his face causing his fangs to clasp only thin air.

"You don't listen very well, do you? How many times do I have to screech Beware like a common raven for you to get the message?"

Just out of reach stood a man arrayed in blackened buckskin. The fringes of his Pacific Coastal Native American garb were trimmed with Raven's breast feathers and his iridescent black hair was twisted into two braids that framed his face like draping wings. Echoes of his American range whispered as a soft tail wind came up behind him, carrying the scent of pine forest, rain, and distant deserts further inland. His dark eyes shone in the night, a testament to when he had long ago kept the Sun hidden safely inside a cedar chest in his far away lodge.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Red had taken the initiative as females of her specie are wont to do. The very picture of BlowingWind, borrowed blue eyes narrowed into glacial slits as if to slice the obstruction to their goal in half.

"A very good illusion my lady, but your borrowed persona would fall away as soon as you set foot in the castle. Unless you had someone outside maintaining the disguise for you, your obvious ruse would be useless. I am here to help, and it is not so much that I am as what I am. I am Raven."

Sakananushi nearly choked on how arrogant the newcomer was. He himself was rather arrogant he would freely admit, but here was someone so much more so that it even could put Ryu to shame. Haku was worried tough. He himself had no personal knowledge of this spirit. How was it that this "Raven" could so easily discern Lady Red was not the true BlowingWind.

"What makes you think this is not BlowingWind?"

"Nigihayami Kohakunushi, I have been learning about you ever since young BlowingWind first encountered you. You are a dedicated friend and would never give up so easily any that you have counted among your protected. Also, through her father's influence I have been involved in her life since before her conception. At any rate, we have coup to count, so you'd better hurry and follow me."

"How do I know that we can trust you?"

"There isn't really much choice in the matter, is there? As a show of good faith, would you like me to tell you BlowingWind's Shadow Name? Somehow, I don't think her suitor has figured it out yet."

Haku was aware of BlowingWind having a secret name, as they all had once discussed the oddity of the names they all bore. To know the name was to both have power over the entity and was a type of bond itself. Knowing the name would be a way to help Ryu in the future, and yet it would take away from the sweetness of his friend's victory. To know the name of her other self was to have knowledge of the secrets she hid within herself.

"I'm not going to get involved in their relationship in that manner."

"Suit yourself. At any rate, they've broken out and Coyote is guarding them. I wouldn't trust him nearly alone with any girl in my protection, married or not."

One perverted grin and a flurry of feathers later, Raven was sailing upon the currents, dancing in the air, and finally leading what was left of the small party westward towards a clearing in the darkness. As much as he hated working with the lazy and sexually preoccupied Coyote, the equally lazy Raven did have to admit they made a good team when the fur and feathers were about to singe. It wasn't long before the two parties met.

Pleasantries were omitted as the dragons all took on their dragon forms to carry all members of the party south to safety and the most sacred mountain in all of Japan.

"Oh God! Surely the baby isn't ready!"

Chihiro and BlowingWind heard their comrade's panicked scream in the darkness of the onslaught launched by Lust. All of the things that they had once lusted after played before their mind's eyes. However, instead of the anxiousness that such visions once would have conjured, there was a welling patience springing forth. Inside, somehow they knew this attack was another test, and prayed that they all would have what it took to pass it. Judging by the smell of blood though, it was nearly certain that Jewel was failing. After a moment, the darkness lifted and they were able to see a pool of blood in the thirsty sand and the fading form of the Irish woman.

"What? The pair of you actually passed the test and are unaffected by my attack?"

"Don't worry brothers; I still have my shot at the intruders. I won't let any of you be harmed by outsiders."

BlowingWind tore her eyes away from where her cousin had once stood. It wasn't fair that they should have their dreams and bright futures snatched away like they were, to be traded for an uncertain quest to defend all of Creation. Jewel had been happy with her friends exploring the mysteries of the Meso-American rainforests, while Chihiro had happily been working in the Shrine and had nearly had the environmental consultant position with her father's company in the bag. As for herself, she had not even been allowed her own terms when it came to becoming a mother. Meanwhile, there were other women in their home realm enjoying their loves and unaware that if they failed that all would perish in flame and terror. Jealousy was felt in her heart, not just on her behalf but also for all the others she held dear. Tears streamed down not only her own face, but those of the River Lady as well.

"I will have vengeance for my Cousin's death and that of her son!"

She had no idea what she was doing, and she could hear Chihiro screaming for the fighting to stop as if from some place leagues across the desert. Things were realigning inside herself, wounds that had seeped for years were suddenly cauterized by a fire burning deep within. BlowingWind felt a pair of hand settle over her own to merge with them while dark emotions that had been fought against were finally allowed to the surface one more time as RagingTornado was in full agreement with the exterior soul that was BlowingWind. Together, both the visible and invisible aspects of the Shaman pointed her razor-tipped spear at Lust and Jealousy. All the pain, rage, fear, hate and other emotions she had been holding flooded her tool and leaped like a cougar for the one she thought had just snuffed out the very soul of the innocent woman. At that same moment, Jealousy unleashed his attack.

Abandonment and Despair watched the proceedings in horror, their plan falling apart before their eyes. The women were not as strong as they had thought at first. Who could have guessed that the one claimed by the minor Olmec god and under the protection of Jehovah would have harbored Lust within her heart. BlowingWind thundering against their brothers like some ominous storm in her own right they had expected, but not the sweet and innocent woman lingering so long within Lust's clouding influence that lowered her vibration too far for her to stay in this pure plane. If the woman could throw off the cloak of darkness she would live, but if not then her flame would surely be extinguished.

The flaring energy from the human woman's emotions had struck true, hurtling Lust to the ground, ripping and tearing at him until it dissipated into nothing as the originator was engulfed in Jealousy's own cloud. Both of the women had been targeted, but would either of them have what it took to escape Jealousy's sharp hooks?

Jealousy's dark energy swirled around Chihiro and BlowingWind hungrily. A ravenous wolf, the attack sought any similar energy to its own, searching for the fateful wound of spirit that would cause a failure of the ancient test. Chihiro's soul held strong against the invading force, but here was the wound that had plagued BlowingWind nearly her whole life. Unknown to BlowingWind as she focused on her losses, the Shaman's energy dropped, and she too fell through the cracks. While Abandonment and Despair watched, unable to interfere in the test, Ometeotl watched as the threads of the tapestry soothed and bunched as it sought to mend itself. Even if BlowingWind had failed this test, she was needed elsewhere.

As always in his section of the madness existing within and behind the mechanism that was physical reality the weather was an arid copy of the Earth's deep inner heat. Other places within is realm reached sub-arctic temperatures, but the layout and conditions responded to the imaginations and fears of the Abrahamic Children that he haunted. Never sleeping, never letting up, from here he tempted or tortured their souls eagerly as he waited for the chance to gain what he viewed as ultimate control. Walking his accustomed route where he imprisoned the souls of his beloved prey the spirit's dark eyes fell on three highly unexpected forms.

The first form was one he recognized from the annual gather of the Masters of Darkness. Brutally singed, the black dragon lay unconscious in the place he had fallen after the Great Blast. Charred feathers hung brokenly, declaring loudly the Beast's defeat.

"What's Tezcatlipoca doing here in Sheol? He never drops in unannounced. Hel I would expect to sneak up on me for a visit, but not him. How did he get these wounds?"

The spirit spent a short time with his visitor attempting to treat at least a few of the cuts the beast had sustained, but was driven back when an unexpected attack on the being came through a black energy thread feeding from his life force. Some curse had been placed by this dragon, and now it was being used against him to deal more damage.

The other two forms he had no recognition of, although the other dragon did bear a small resemblance to one of the few beings that Lucifer considered anywhere near a friend. The difference lay in the size and coloring, this new dragon being of a rainbow white variety. In his apparent coma he had wrapped possessively around a small human female who had been badly injured. Within each of the two souls burned a great light that refused to darken even in the depths of his Pit.

"These two I have no power over. This kind of thing hasn't happened for somewhere around 2000 years! Who the Hell is screwing with Reality? I need it intact if I am to ever move up from Adversary and Prince of Darkness to sit on Jehovah's Throne."

Losing his normally smug and collected manner, the one known around the world as Satan began kicking his compatriot in the side hoping to awaken him, forgetting his former near tenderness to his fellow darkened soul. His dark business suit glowed against gleaming white accentuating a "healthy" tan complexion as his recently cropped golden locks spiked in his rage. He worked hard to make Jehovah's followers turn away from him and with this intrusion into his clearly defined territory who knew what else could happen. Lucifer had a spectator though, one who had come in pursuit of Tezcatlipoca's energy signature as she sought to turn said dragon from the dark into the light.

"That's not going to work Lucifer. Remember how little progress you made last time that you threw a tantrum."

Stopping at the new voice in his domain, Lucifer sneered in contempt at the double agent who was just another part of the mechanism that he himself was just a minor part of. Although she had moved from the blasted crone into spring growth once more, his darkness only allowed her to see the crone aspect of this being of life and death.

"Baba Yaga, how nice of you to visit. Why are you here? Speak, you blasted and withered Crone."

"So nice to see you again as well. Amatsu has been going through wit his plan."

"Really? Then help me wake up Tezcatlipoca here. I won't help, but he sure owes me a few favors."

"It's not as hard as you might think. All one has to do is play on many men's greatest fear."

Baba Yaga stepped out of the shadows she had been hidden in, all traces of her former hag-hood gone. Long blond hair cascaded in golden waves over a traditional Russian dress in red, black, and white. Kneeling by the comatose dragon's ear she whispered to him the few words that had dropped figurative bombs for eons.

"You are a father."

Somehow each syllable from the Russian goddess of Life and Death managed to penetrate the prideful deity's thick skull, shocking him into wakefulness immediately with the horror.

"Oh no! That night you got me drunk on pulque!"

At the admission of the new father, Lucifer finally had found something to surprise him. Loosing his balance in his shock, the Prince of Evil quickly found a seat in the sand.

"How could you do that? I'm the Prince of Evil and not even I would sleep with her. Ew! With Baba?"

Lucifer's horrified cry roused the female that had been in her stupor from her wounds and sudden reality shift. Too weak from the recent birthing to rise and defend herself, instead she prayed to her God, not yet realizing her suitor was with her or exactly how far her vibrations had dropped. With each word though, her vibration rose higher and her soul sought out her body through the web of Creation.

"Heavenly Father, watch over my son and help my friends and loved ones complete this quest."

As she and her companion slipped into another realm and faded from the sight of the three spirits, Tezcatlipoca registered how close he was to his prey. Lunging forward to grab her and make her his, he did not notice when the Yaga did her duty to facilitate a soul's initiation by tripping up the black dragon. His fingers closed around the air where the human spirit had once been while his nephew and the woman were drawn into an obsidian womb to fulfill a prophecy.

BlowingWind slammed back into her body with the force of a freight train, still raging like the blizzards that harried the peaks of her home mountain from time to time. Springing from her futon to her feet in the position that she had been in upon the Sea of Glass that stood before the Throne of Ometeotl, the sudden sign of life was met with gasps from those who were in the medical chamber. Her eyes were not met with the desert illusion or the eyes of one that she had sworn vengeance against. She did not have time to register the change though before a small green dragon was flying around her face.

"Cousin! Help my mother!"

She was calmed to see that her newest cousin was in fact alive and well despite the early and unexpected birth. However, when her eyes fell on the pale and unbreathing form of her cousin Jewel, all thought was blown away. Dropping to her knees, she began CPR as she began her test of Jealousy. Breathing and pumping, she prayed that she was not too late to bring life back to her body.

"Come on Jewel! Don't die. You're too stubborn to die. If I can survive one of those attacks, you can too."

A weak heartbeat came from within the stilled chest, followed by shallow breaths as the body was jumpstarted. A soulless shell much like so many found in hospitals where the traveling elderly are hooked up to life support, the body continued although the soul was not there. Her Jealousy was draining away, for although she would have liked to live a life without perilous quests such people rarely ever met anyone truly inspiring. Without this terrible time, she probably would have never met her cousin, nor made amends with her mother. In a way, perhaps it was best that things happened the way that they did.

Exhausted from the strain on her body and soul, BlowingWind collapsed beside her cousin, taking time now to examine her surroundings. Chihiro lay next to them as if she were sleeping, though her soul also was not within her body. Quetzal had settled down beside his mother's head, shaking in his anxiety and hunger. Encasing them was a purple-black shield of energy, causing her to think of the tail end of an aurora borealis. Outside of the containment field was a man who looked much like her mate, as well as her mother, Lily, and two people that she didn't recognize but who obviously were spirits of some kind.

"I guess I wasn't pure enough and too volatile to continue. Where did Jewel go though?"

As she muttered her question to herself, her eyes fell on the obsidian mirror that Jewel still clutched. The energy signature of the relic was the same color as the shield entrapping her with the others, within though she could feel two external influences that seemed to be slowly weakening the spell. The shaman reached for the item to explore it more, as she felt it would be a small matter to bring her own will about as far as the matter was concerned thanks to her background with Obsidian's mirror. Before she could take it though, a small voice interrupted her.

"My tummy hurts."

"He needs to eat. I can't get through to bring him anything. With any luck, Jewel-san's body will be able to feed him."

Looking at the source of the voice, she locked eyes with the man that looked so much like her mate.

"She hasn't had any time to start making milk. Human pregnancies are not this short."

"Try. You have to help him, or he won't live long without food."

Nodding and heaving a sigh, BlowingWind bared one of Jewel's breasts and taught the pup how to nurse. While she did so and prayed that Chihiro could pull off the task that they had been set, Ob sent Lily to summon Ryu. As she scampered off to do as told, she was plagued by images of a Chihiro only four years old laying in much the same state.