Author's Corner
Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in updating. This chapter has actually been written for a while I just forgot to post it. Happy 2020! I wish you all the best and hope that you have an absolutely smashing year! As always thanks for all the love and support and don't forget to follow, favourite and review!
EIGHTH BLOOD
Chapter 53: Shikonstone
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"I need to see Nidawi," Octavia declared, barging into Sesshoumaru's study unannounced and meeting his disgruntled frown head-on.
The Daiyoukai was looming behind the desk, head buried in a pile of papers. His eyes remained downcast and his frown stayed intact as he asked in a neutral voice, "For what reason exactly?"
Cyril's dream was still fresh in her mind.
She approached the desk and took a deep breath before taking the plunge.
"Did you know that she met with your father a long time ago?"
"Yes," he answered, bored. "They met often, in fact."
"Well, did you know they talked about the future? Specifically your future. I saw them. He knew he was going to die long before it happened. He accepted it. He even prepared for it in advance."
That caught his attention finally.
"What do you mean you saw?"
"Do you remember what Nagisa said to us when we were on Namida? About her dreams?" She waited for him to acknowledge her with a nod before continuing. "Well, she's not the only one who's been having them. Cyril has, too. Heck, even I've had some, but I can never remember what they're about afterwards."
"What is your point, Octavia?"
"Hold on, I'm getting to it. So, as of right now, three of us have had these weird dreams, right? That's too many to shrug it off as nothing. I'm thinking that what if . . . they're not just dreams? What if they're snippets of time, from both the past and the future!"
He looked up from the desk and narrowed his eyes as he hissed, "Explain."
"Okay, so, Cyril dreamed of a conversation between your father and Nidawi that he wasn't there to witness, and Nagisa dreamed of me. She knew I was coming way before we set out on our quest to find whoever sealed our powers. Don't you see? These dreams come true! Or they were true, once."
She allowed a moment of silence for the dust to settle.
Talk of his father always seemed to upset him. Not that she could blame him. She could tell that he wanted the conversation to be over, but she couldn't drop it until she was sure that he believed her.
"I know what happened in the Fourteen Days of Fire," she confessed.
"Did you see that in your dreams?"
"No. But you do."
He had no clever response for that.
She came to stand next to him behind the desk and stared into his eyes. Her gaze wasn't gentle, but it wasn't cruel, either. She reached out slowly and took his hand, threading her fingers through his. It was an incredibly intimate gesture – one that didn't go unnoticed by either of them – but she wasn't focusing on what it meant. She waited for the anger in his features to diffuse before whispering, "He looks like him. Inuyasha, I mean . . . That's why you can only look him in the eye for so long."
"That has nothing to do with it."
"Yes, it does."
As she went to pull away, he tightened his grip and kept her there.
"Don't," he breathed.
She shook her head in questioning. "Don't what?"
His iron voice didn't match the vulnerable nature of his confession.
"Make me remember."
She could feel his grief as she had with Nagisa's, and although his loss was nowhere near as recent, it was just as potent and all-consuming. Her throat closed up and she wasn't sure what to say in answer. His hand was rough like sandpaper, but it was wonderfully warm in her own. She didn't want to let go. And for some unfathomable reason, he didn't seem to want to either.
She could feel heat rising to her face as he leaned in close and pressed his cheek against hers. She thought of the beach on Namida and immediately regretted it, remembering how his hands had felt on her waist. Her breath hitched in her throat as they came to rest there again.
"Sesshoumaru–" she murmured, "–what are you doing?"
His breath tickled the shell of her ear, disintegrating her thoughts.
"Be silent."
She felt his fingers creep beneath her chin and then he was tilting her face up to his. She was certain that she was going to be burned alive before he stopped and released her chin. He was so close she could taste his breath and feel his bottom lip faintly tickling her own. Her face was still unbearably hot as he stared down at her and seared her with his gaze.
"I am not my father," he hissed, tearing away abruptly. "Remember that before you come to me expecting human things such as empathy or love."
"You're right," she whispered, tilting her head up defiantly. "There's nothing human about you."
A warning snarl crawled out of his throat.
She flashed a tight-lipped smile and scrunched up her nose. She had learned his antics well, so when she opened her mouth to speak again, the sentence came out as a taunt. "But that's why I like you."
His eyes widened just a little in sheer and utter bewilderment.
He hadn't expected that.
Still smiling, she left him to digest her words and made her way to the stables, where Ah-Un was tied up eating hay. The place seemed highly unfit for such a magnificent creature, but Jaken and all the other royal officials insisted that the creature wasn't to be allowed indoors. No wonder it was so willing to help her. She waited for the stableboy to leave the vicinity before sneaking in via the back through an unlocked gate. Ah-Un's heads reared at the sight of her and it wagged its tail excitedly, eager to be let out. She pressed a finger to her lips and then lifted the latch on its stall.
"I need you to do me a favour," she cooed, pulling out a carrot. "Can you take me up the mountain?"
The dragon was more than happy to oblige.
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They flew over the castle wall and towards the mountain where the Tree of Sutāsouru sat. Once it came into view, Ah-Un dipped in the air and landed by a row of mulberry bushes, carefully lowering its body for her to get off before beginning to feast on them. She patted both heads once and then began the climb towards the holy barrier that protected the mountain's peak.
The barrier parted for her and she stepped inside, striding over the terrain and out of the mystical forest. The sacred tree loomed in front of her and was somehow even larger than she'd remembered, surrounded by green fields and a ring of water. She looked for a way across and was disheartened when she couldn't find anything. There was no bridge or stepping stones, only a good twenty feet of water between banks. She could swim across, but the current looked strong and she wasn't dressed for swimming. Sighing, she sat down by the water's edge and stared up at the colossal tree.
"Hello, Octavia dear."
She lifted her head to see a familiar speck of light floated towards her from over the moat. "Breena!" she cried, clambering to her feet and opening her hands to the faerie, who landed in her outstretched palms and hugged her thumb. She hadn't seen her since the incident with Mamoru.
"I take it Sesshoumaru-sama has been treating you well?" she asked, her black eyes gleaming with mischief. Octavia's mind flashed back to his fingers underneath her chin and she shook the thoughts away. Breena howled with laughter. "You look so precious with a blush on your cheeks. Fear not, I'm only joking. That filthy mongrel could never be worthy someone of your divine status."
"Can you take me to Nidawi?" she asked, ignoring her teasing. "I need to see her."
"I know. She's been expecting you."
The faerie flitted towards her face and tapped her nose with a tiny graceful finger, and suddenly, she was standing once again inside the Tree of Sutāsouru. The beasts from before occupied the space of the hollow and eyed her as strangely as they had the first time they'd seen her. A small fox crept down from its perch on a set of mossy rocks and came to stand at her feet. It looked like a completely ordinary fox, but there was something about its face that was eerily human. She tilted her head to the side as she regarded it, and it did the same. The aura it emitted was neither reiki or youki.
"What are these creatures?" she asked as the fox ran around her legs.
"Kodama," answered Breena, "Spirits of the forest."
"I thought they were supposed to look like little people."
The faerie flew around them, coating them in sprinkles of light. "They change forms regularly. They're fascinated by the outside world. Last week they took on the appearance of pots and saucepans and banged about the place like a bunch of hooligans! It was positively frightful! Awful things."
The fox at Octavia's heels snickered and darted off into an alcove in the wall of the tree.
"So," she mused, smirking, "They have a sense of humour, do they?"
"If you find such behaviour amusing."
She rolled her eyes in jest and turned towards the gaping hole at the centre of the tree. It was just as deep and dark as she remembered, but this time, it called to her. The Reikon Blade crackled at her thigh and she jumped. She reached down and unclasped it from the strap, finding the stone in the handle glowing brightly. She ran her fingers over it slowly, her own power responding to it, and Breena fluttered onto her shoulder. "Have you figured it out yet?" she purred.
"I don't know . . . I think so."
She hoped that Nidawi could confirm her suspicions.
Breena surprised her with a quick peck on her cheek before hopping off her shoulder and hovering before her. "Be careful going forward, Octavia. The path ahead is more treacherous than ever. I've said goodbye to you too many times now. I won't do it again. Not this time."
"What are you talking about—"
Before she could finish that sentence, Breena shoved her down into the hole yet again.
Damn, that faerie was rude.
She hit the moss-coated bottom of the hole and was greeted once again by darkness. She waited for the path of tiny colourful lights to emerge in the black, then followed them to the column of sunlight where Nidawi had appeared last time. Moths and cicadas swarmed towards the light pillar, merging to create the tall, graceful form of the Forest Oracle. Her bark skin and blossom hair were just as she had remembered, and she smiled. The pits of Nidawi's eyes creased as she exhibited a smile of her own.
"Hello again, young one."
"I'm sorry for barging in on you like this, but I had to see you."
"Do not apologise. Seeing your face brings me great joy."
Nidawi raised an elegant hand and beckoned her closer. Octavia stopped just before the pole of light spilling down from above, staying quiet as Nidawi gently lifted her chin with two fingers.
"Breena told me about your curse," she said, pointing to the mark on her chest. "Such a terrible thing, to be touched by the hand of darkness. I am sorry that you had to endure it."
"I'm okay for now. I made a deal to keep it sated, so it won't kill me just yet."
"You made a mistake trusting him with something as precious as your life."
"I didn't have a choice. I would've died otherwise."
Nidawi's hollow eyes were mournful.
What wasn't she telling her?
"You know who he is," said Octavia, "Don't you?"
I have been with you since you were a babe. You thought you were alone, but I was always there.
"There is still so much you do not understand."
"Because no one is telling me anything!" she snapped, "All I hear is 'fate' and 'prophecy', but no one will just give it to me straight. How am I supposed to fulfil a destiny I know nothing about?"
"It is not yet time. There are things that must happen first."
"You told me before that I would understand when the time was right, but when will that time come? Why do I have to wait? What's stopping you and Totosai and Nagisa and everyone else from just telling me what's going on? I hate this uncertainty. Why won't you help me?"
Nidawi smiled and tucked a few stray strands of hair back behind her ear. "I am helping you. But I understand your frustration. I know it must be a bother to feel like a pawn of Fate, but you must trust the path you are on, no matter how rocky or uncertain it may be."
"I didn't come here to talk in riddles. I came here for answers."
"I know. And I will tell you what I can, but I cannot promise that I can answer everything."
"Fine," she huffed, "Can you answer me this? Those purple crystals on Namida – the ones I could control – that's the same stuff the Shikon no Tama was made of, right?"
"Correct."
"So . . . what is it? I thought the jewel was a manifestation of Midoriko's soul, but there was so much of it on Namida. That can't all be one person's soul, can it? What exactly is it?"
"It is called Shikonstone," Nidawi said, "It is the expulsion of one's spirit. So far only those who dabble in spirit magic have been able to pull it off. Are you well acquainted with the idea of mitama?" Octavia shook her head. "To put it simply, mitama refers to the spirit. A widespread belief amongst humans is that the spirit contains four individual souls that exist together in harmony. Those souls are ara-mitama, nigi-mitama, kushi-mitama, and saki-mitama. The names should sound familiar. The consensus is that the souls all exist at the same time, complementing each other. The four are designed to work together. It is the way of life, or so you humans claim. Do you understand so far?"
She nodded.
"For someone like yourself, mitama can be expelled in a crystallised state that is referred to as Shikonstone. Midoriko banished her spirit in full to create the jewel and trap the Demon inside it, but it destroyed her physical body in the process and left her mind trapped as well. She created a prison world for the two of them to fight in, but that is not always how it works all the time. The Shikonstone on Namida was the result of many of your kind releasing their powers at once."
"Does that mean I can do it?"
"Yes. As the new vessel, you should be able to produce masses."
"Vessel?"
Nidawi narrowed her eyes and her mouth tightened.
Octavia couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "Can't tell me, huh? What about this, then? A long time ago, you asked Touga to bring you one of Sesshoumaru's teeth. Why? What did you want it for?"
The Oracle was silent.
Octavia's eyes glinted in the dark as she held the out Reikon Blade out for Nidawi to see. The oval stone on the handle glowed faintly in the pit of the tree. A knife that had been passed down from generation to generation, and had even been wielded by Midoriko herself. A knife that couldn't cut flesh or bone, but alongside Tenseiga, had killed Mamoru. It had torn his spirit apart.
"There's Shikonstone in this, isn't there?"
Nidawi gave a solemn nod.
"And Shikonstone can kill a soul if made into a weapon, can't it?"
"Yes."
Use the blade.
Whoever the man in her head was, he had known what the dagger could do. Mamoru hadn't. He couldn't have, or else he would have prepared for it. But what about them – the Iwa Faction, so slippery she had yet to encounter them – had they known about it?
They had wanted her to go to the island.
Why?
"Do you know about them, too?" she whispered.
She didn't need to speak the name with the Reikon Blade connecting their thoughts.
Nidawi's eyes darkened.
"I know their sort," she said, "Bigoted. Hateful. It is good to have faith in something so strongly, but the trouble is that your morals can get lost along the way. You can mean well and still cause pain in others. It is not the goal that matters, it is all the actions that come before. The choices you make to reach the cause are more important than any endgame."
"They're after me."
"Why do you say that?"
"Mamoru said so. He didn't know why. Or if he did, he wouldn't say."
"Are you afraid?"
She swallowed.
"You are not wrong to be."
"Why haven't they taken me yet? Without my magic, I was weak and defenceless. Why didn't they take the opportunity and do it then?"
What were they waiting for?
"You have never been weak or defenceless."
"It would have made more sense, though. Why send me all the way out there, only to let me come back even stronger? It doesn't make sense."
"It does, child. It does." Octavia felt tears stinging in her eyes. Nidawi stepped closer and gently cupped her cheeks. Her coarse palms felt like tree bark, causing Octavia to shudder slightly at the touch. "You said before that you were not afraid," she whispered gently, "Don't be afraid."
"I wouldn't be if people actually answered my questions for once."
"Take care of the dagger," smiled Nidawi, "It is more important than you will ever know."
Before she could say anything more, she was teleported out of the great tree and into the foggy forest outside of the barrier. She looked around for Breena or more of the Yōsei, but there was no one for miles, save the birds and cicadas. Their restless clicking flooded the surrounding area.
Ah-Un was waiting for her by the row of mulberry bushes. She clambered onto its back and sat down in the saddle, contemplating over the day's events. It had only been that morning when Sesshoumaru had nearly kissed her, but it already felt like weeks had passed since it had happened. It seemed so unimportant now. She couldn't afford to care about selfish things like that anymore. She needed to find out exactly what had happened on Namida and make whoever was responsible pay for killing Taro. She had a duty to uphold – a duty of care – and she couldn't shirk that responsibility.
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Author's Corner
Sorry for all the constant teasing! Things are going to start being explained very soon. And to address the growing tension between Sesshoumaru and Octavia... It's probably better if I just keep quiet and let things run their course. With all that pressure building the lid is bound to fly off sooner rather than later ;) Thanks for reading!