[Inuyasha fanfiction] Witches and Yōkai

Sara Li

Chapter 1

The setting sun was slanting to the west, and it was the best haunting time for Yōkai.

Horii was on her way to the shrine. She wore the common white robes and red pants, the traditional witches' clothing style. A well-crafted ritual fan was held in her hand. There was a small talisman bag tied at her waist. She was a young witch with a straight back and slender profile. With her leisurely steps, the wide sleeves danced slowly.

Along the way, the villagers, who were working on both sides of the road, suspended their works and greeted Horii.

"Lord Horii."

"Have you gone to see Eiko again?"

"Thank you, Lord Horii, for asking me to thank you!"

"Lord Horii …"

The villagers expressed their enthusiasm one after another. Horii looked at them, smiled and nodded before continuing to walk towards the shrine.

…

The shrine was built on a mountain. The mountain was so small that can be viewed as a little hill. A long grey-white stone staircase paved from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain and the staircase ended at the entrance of the shrine. Halfway up the stairs, Horii suddenly raised her head and saw Mao standing a few steps away from her against the light.

"You spent too much time!" Mao, who also dressed in a red and white witch cloth, raised her chin slightly. A trace of impatience appeared on her beautiful face. "A simple exorcism, how could you spent half a day?"

Horii looked at her with curved eyebrows and smiled. Being honest was hard for Mao, she always insisted on pretending an arrogant attitude even though she was worried about Horii.

If Horii hadn't seen through her fake self-esteem nature, it wasn't certain that they would have become friends.

"Don't laugh!" Mao always felt that every time when Horii smiled at her, she would appear gentle and helpless, as if she was accommodating a child with a bad temper, which made Mao very frustrated.

Horii walked to Mao and reached out to touch her head. Horii was half a head shorter than Mao, but doing this was extremely smooth for her. She did this just like how she usually caressed the black cat in the shrine.

"Damn it! Don't treat me like a child to comfort me!" Mao complained discontentedly and patted the restless hand, "You haven't answered why you have been gone for so long!"

Horii still smiled and remained silent.

"What are you laughing at? Say something! You can already speak, why are you pretending to be mute?"

Horii lowered her eyes slightly. She didn't pretend to be mute on purpose. Because she had been hoarse for so long, and her voice hadn't fully recovered, so it was difficult to utter a complete sentence now.

However, knowing that if she continued to remain silent, Mao would explode. Horii tactfully spread out Mao's palm and slowly wrote, " Eiko fell asleep and pulled me tightly. So I stayed at Aunt Fujiwara's house for a while longer."

If Eiko hadn't grabbed her hand and she also wouldn't want to wake up Eiko, who had been torn by the Yōkai for days. She would come back early.

Mao looked at her explanation and snorted, "Little girl is trouble."

Horii thought that you are only thirteen or fourteen years old, and no different from Eiko, who is six years old. However, she would not tell Mao if that was the case, lest she becomes arrogant again, she would have to think of a way to comfort her.

So she continued, "Where's Lord Reiko?"

Reiko was the witch who rescued her from the hands of the Yōkai and took her back to the village. She was also the teacher of Mao and herself, responsible for teaching them how to become a qualified witch. Most likely, she had also instructed Mao to appear here.

"Lord Reiko is setting up a barrier … I don't know why, but the spiritual power of the barrier has been drained very quickly recently. This is already the second time this month that it has been repaired."

Mao frowned as she spoke, clearly feeling that something was amiss. One must know that Reiko was a witch with extremely powerful spiritual power. The barrier she had set up could last at least half a year, but recently, the spirit formation had become unstable. If Reiko hadn't been repairing it, there would have been a Yōkai invading the village long ago.

"Still can't figure out the reason?" Horii wrote again.

"In the beginning, we suspect that it was a Yōkai, but Lord Reiko said that she can't sense the Yōkai energy. Furthermore, the barrier is unstable because of the loss of spiritual energy. There is no sign of any damage."

Mao bitted her lips as she spoke. This was her usual thought-provoking gesture, '"You should know that under normal circumstances, Spiritual Energy will automatically lose. But it seems like someone has accelerated the speed of the loss of Spiritual Energy …Reiko said that this speed might be even faster in the future. She needs to set up another barrier within the original one, otherwise, there will probably be more Yōkai which invade village just like the one attacked Eiko."

Hearing Mao's words, Horii also frowned. So the barrier was already weak enough to allow Yōkai to take advantage of this opportunity to enter? She thought that the Yōkai on Eiko was provoked by her when she sneaked out of the village, but she didn't expect that it was the Yōkai that entered the village. The Yōkai had fought with her before, and its power was very weak. However, it was very difficult to discover that it was attached to people, and it would not be easy to peel them off.

"Don't worry, Lord Reiko will definitely fix it!" Mao was the first to regain her senses. She patted Horii's shoulder and comforted her. Her tone was filled with trust in Reiko. "Let's go." Horii nodded and quickly followed Mao back to the shrine.

Chapter 2

Witch Reiko was a kind and beautiful woman. Anyone who saw her would feel this way.

She was dressed in white cloth and red pants, her knee-length black hair gently draped over her back. A pair of gentle and bright eyes smiled as if they were filled with starlight. People are willing to share everything with her when they were watched by her beautiful eyes.

At this moment, she was staring at Horii with such a pair of eyes. The gaze was gentle and calm.

Reiko wasn't in a hurry to speak, so Horii wasn't in a hurry either. The things that made Reiko feel awkward were definitely not trivial matters. She never liked to be troubled.

"Horii." Reiko said apologetically, "I need your help. I wonder if you're willing."

"It's Horii 's honour to be able to help Lord Reiko." Horii wrote on the paper. She respected the witch who had saved her life and worked hard to heal her. If she could, she would not refuse.

"Speaking of this thing, it was my fault." Reiko smiled. "The witch of the neighbouring village passed away not long ago, but the spiritual power of the successor was too weak to protect the villagers. Recently, there were Yōkai attacking their village, so they had no choice but to ask me for help. I agreed, but …"

"It's impossible for you to leave the village. If you leave, no one will be able to maintain the barrier. At that time, the village will be attacked by a large number of Yōkai" Horii immediately guessed the reason for Reiko's hesitation.

"Yes, I have already planned to let Mao go. Her ability is sufficient for this matter. However, Mao is not as stable as you. I really can't be at ease with letting her go alone, so …" Reiko hesitated. She also felt that such an arrangement was not reasonable. After all, Horii had only been a witch for less than a year, and it was difficult for her to protect herself in the face of danger. It was really difficult for her to take care of others at the same time.

"I will accompany Mao. Please rest assured." Horii agreed without any hesitation.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Reiko looked at the answer written on the paper and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I've flipped through the ancient books and made up a new medicine. You can try again when you get back."

Reiko had always felt guilty about not being able to recover Horii 's voice.

Horii touched the faint scar on her neck and nodded with a smile.

Although it was difficult for her to utter a single word in its entirety, it was much better than utterly being dumb. At least she could see the hope of recovery.

…

Before leaving, Reiko gave Horii a stack of talismans made by her. Horii carefully kept the talismans in a small bag at her waist.

She had only just become a witch for a short time. So far, she had only learned how to use talismans, let alone her terrible archery skills. Her accuracy was so bad that her friend also might be assaulted by her arrow. Therefore, she did not envy Mao at all for having obtained the Demon Breaking Arrows that had exerted special power.

Although it was a neighbouring village, the Maple Village wasn't close at all. It took more than half a day to arrive there.

"So far." Mao 's face showed exhaustion. , "How long will it take to get there?"

"We should be arriving soon." Horii held her hand and slowly wrote in the palm. In fact, she was exhausted as well. But thanks for her special physique, the burning sun did not affect her so much. So she did not feel as irritated as Mao.

"I don't know why I always have a bad premonition. I hope it's just my illusion … Ah, is it that village?" Mao suddenly pointed. Horii looked in the direction she was pointing at and saw a village that seemed to be enveloped in white mist. It only vaguely revealed a rough outline.

Looks like there's something wrong. Horii thought.

…

It wasn't until the two of them reached the village that the things in the village became clear.

Mao stood at the entrance of the village and straightened her messy witch costume. Then, she tied up her long hair with a white rope and put on a noble posture that was different from usual. After this preparation, then she walked in.

"As a witch, you need have to look like a witch." Every time Horii was surprised by such an evident contrast, Mao always explained like this. Unfortunately, Horii had yet to learn the ability to change her role as she pleased.

"Lady Witch." The old village chief, who had been waiting for a long time, came forward and said, "Please help us …" His voice suddenly stopped when he saw Mao 's face. Obviously, he hadn't expected the witch was not Reiko but another young one.

Mao had always hated people who doubted her ability because she was young. She raised chin and snorted, "I was entrusted by Lord Reiko to eliminate Yōkai. Do you have any dissatisfaction?"

Even if he was really dissatisfied, he wouldn't speak it out, not to mention that it was still a time for him to ask for help. After all, no matter how young a witch was, she was still a witch, wasn't she?

The old village chief has been a slick man all his life. He knew much how to please someone. Knowing that Mao was unhappy, he immediately smiled and said, "Lady Witch is kind-hearted. We are grateful for receiving your help. How can we be dissatisfied?"

"There's no need for you to flatter me. Tell me about the current situation." Mao interrupted him.

When it came to the condition, the old village chief's expression immediately became serious. "Ever since the Yōkai attacked our village, many villagers have been unconscious for some reasons. When they woke up, they seemed to have lost their rationality and attacked their relatives. It looks like they were possessed by some evil things …" he said.

"Where are the villagers with problems now?" Mao asked after listening to his narrative.

"They are locked up in a shrine in the village."

"Let's go and take a look at their situation before we make any plans." After pondering for a while, Mao said, "Horii, what do you think?" She turned to look at Horii, who nodded at her.

"Village Chief, please lead the way."

The old village chief smiled and made a gesture. He took the lead in walking towards the shrine in the middle of the village.

"Horii?"

After walking for a while, Mao found that Horii hadn't caught up. She turned around and saw that Horii was still standing there in a daze. Immediately, she shouted angrily, " Horii!"

This time, even the Village Chief turned his head and looked over.

Strange, could it be that I was mistaken? Was that black shadow just an illusion? Horii muttered in her heart.

She stared at the village chief's face suspiciously. Seeing that there was nothing, she could only silently withdraw her gaze and quicken her pace to the side of Mao.

"What's wrong with you?" Mao nudged Horii with her elbow.

Shaking her head silently, Horii held her hand and slowly and solemnly wrote two words in her palm: Be careful.

Chapter 3

Mao didn't ask what to be careful about. Since she and Horii had known each other, the tacit understanding between the two of them was enough to convince her that Horii would never harm her. Moreover, as she got closer and closer to the shrine, she felt somewhat anxious.

Mao griped tightly her hands and caressed the lines on bow Only then did this, she felt a little more at ease.

"Here we are."

While she was still wandering around, the village chief stopped and pointed at the shrine a hundred steps away. "Those people are inside the shrine," he said. The shrine had a barrier that could trap them. "If you go any further, you will enter the barrier filed … Mistress Witch lady, you must be careful when you enter. None of the monks and witches who came to eliminate the Yōkai was able to come out alive. I think they should have been eaten by the Yōkai."

"Naturally, I know my limits."

Mao replied, then pulled Horii 's sleeve and slowly walked towards the shrine.

"Do you smell it?" Mao suddenly said when they were about to reach the entrance of the shrine.

"Yes." Horii nodded. She had a keener sense of smell than normal people and had long sensed the stench of a low-grade Yōkai that enveloped the shrine.

Mao covered nose and frowned in disgust, "It really smells terrible."

Horii smiled helplessly as she looked at her dissatisfied expression. Mao had always been a cleaner, and even she herself felt that this smell was really unpleasant, let alone a person with serious cleanliness?

"… No, there seems to be a miasma inside as well." Mao suddenly raised eyebrows and changed disgusted expression. She spread out her palm towards Horii and said, " Horii, give it to me."

Horii understood and took out two adult-shaped talismans from her bag and handed them to Mao. Mao took them and chanted an incantation with talismans between her fingers. Talismans instantly turned into two streaks of blue light and entered through the window of the shrine.

Everything returned to calm after two "chi-chi" sounds came from inside.

Horii also frowned.

Those low-grade Yōkai seemed to be more powerful than they had imagined.

"The Shiki has been torn to pieces." Mao looked at her and said.

"But it's a bit abnormal. Those Yōkai didn't retaliate when they were attacked." Horii wrote in her hand.

"Perhaps it was due to the influence of the barrier?"

"The barrier outside the shrine can only trap them. There was no reason why they should not even dare to come out of the shrine. It seems that there was a mysterious power restricting them inside the shrine. I just don't know what it was."

"Since we don't know, then let's go in and take a look," Mao said.

"It's better to make some preparations before entering." After Horii finished, she grabbed Mao 's hand. She was really worried that this little ancestor would be willful for a moment and rushed into the shrine.

"Why are you pulling me for? I won't go in now!" Mao lowered her head and looked at the stones on the ground. She angrily kicked stones and angrily said. "It's really annoying to get rid of Yōkai and stuff like that!"

…

On the way to the village chief's home, Horii saw a pair of young siblings. The siblings looked about the same age as Eiko. They were dressed in rags and pitifully snuggled up in a corner.

Mao followed her line of sight and saw the two of them as well.

Without waiting for her to ask curiously, the village chief explained, "That's Torajirou and his sister Akiko. Their parents died in the last invasion of the Yōkai, so they became orphans."

"Why don't they go home? Nobody cares about them?" Mao asked.

"Most of the houses in the village have been destroyed by the Yōkai. They haven't been rebuilt yet. Everyone's living is not good now. How can they bother with the two children? Furthermore, I heard …" The village chief lowered his voice and mysteriously moved closer to the True Yang. "They are ominous."

"Ominous?" Mao 's tone rose slightly.

"It's the reincarnation of Calamity God … Everyone thinks that they brought calamity to the village."

"Is that so?" Mao smiled coldly and pulled Horii towards the two children.

Feeling that someone was approaching, the younger sister, Akiko, raised her head gently. Her clear amber eyes flashed with a trace of panic from being disturbed.

An ominous person?

Horii stared at the pair of eyes and observed them repeatedly. Although she did not know how to divine like Reiko, a person with such pure eyes did not look like an ominous person. On the contrary, she could feel weak Spiritual Energy fluctuations from the girl's body.

"Say something. "She hinted Mao with her eyes.

Mao rolled her eyes and tried to stiffly imitate Reiko's usual gentle smile. She asked, "You are … called Akiko, aren't you?"

The girl blinked timidly, her large watery eyes revealing some uneasiness.

"You don't have to be afraid …"

Mao did not know how to ease the little girl. After a long time of struggling, she could only squeeze out such a dry sentence.

Perhaps seeing that Mao did not have any hostile intentions, the girl nodded slightly. She glanced at the old village chief standing not far away and whispered, "Mistress Witch Lord, are you here to eliminate the demons?"

"Yes, we have been entrusted."

"Mistress Witch Lord, you should leave quickly. This place is very dangerous."

Mao was amused by her sincere suggestion, "If it's dangerous here, we can't leave. As a witch, my duty is to protect people like you."

"But … it's really dangerous. The village chief is not the original village chief anymore …" Akiko's words stopped abruptly. She instantly restrained all her expressions and lowered her head. She just squeezed herself to her brother's side.

"Mistress Witch." Mao was still curious about Akiko's behaviour, but the village chief's voice suddenly came from behind, causing her to be slightly surprised.

Was her perception lacking enough that she could not discover someone is approaching? She raised her head to look at Horii and found that Horii also shook her head with a calm expression.

"Lady Witch, it's going to be dark soon. Let's hurry up and leave."

"Let's go first." Horii silently wrote in Mao's hand.

Mao glanced at the siblings and signaled for the village chief to lead the way.

Her instincts told her that the siblings might know something, but with the village chief here, she probably wouldn't be able to ask anything.

Thinking of this, Mao couldn't help but put a big question mark on the village chief.

What did Akiko mean by "the village chief is not the original village chief"? Why did she appear so afraid of the village chief?

Mao only felt that she and Horii had entered a bureau filled with fog, and someone had already laid down a large net to wait for them in the dark.

To Be Continued