Twisted Well
An Inu-Yasha / Sorcerer Hunter fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: I don't own either of these series, so you can't sue me. I did come up with Maye and Cranberry, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't use them without my permission. There will be others that will fit in this category, but telling you would be spoiling the plot. ; p
As I said before, being familiar with the manga of both series is helpful. In The Sorcerer Hunters, the story line involving Zacher Torte is volumes #4-7. The Magic Carpenter story takes place in volume #8.
Thanks for the reviews. This story will NOT sink into oblivion! (Not until I'm finished with it, anyway.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3: What's normal?
The morning sun hit her face. The sky was just turning gray, and stars could still be seen in the west. Awaking from the hollow of a tree, Maye felt disoriented. It was the feeling she got after the first night of any journey. Startled, she rose quickly, only to sit back right down again. Ow… she had hit her head on the ceiling of the wooden cave.
Rubbing the spot of contact with her left hand, Maye began to get ready for her journey. She'd need all the time she could get, if she wanted to get through the wettest part of the swamp before dark. It was said that a small shrine existed in the center of the swamp, blessed by Saint Momma herself. This holy ground was intended to give travelers save harbor against the hordes of swamp demons.
Most of the demons come out at night, so if I can get there before then… she thought, I'll be ok. Unfortunately, the swamp blocked out most of the sun, so some demons came out in broad daylight, thinking it was a different time.
I have three miles before I hit the swamps. I can probably run that in 25 minutes. If I then take a 5-minute break, and have my breakfast, I'll be able to start in the swamps. Picking up her bag, she secured it on her back. Hunting bow in hand (and longbow fastened to her bag, she continued on the second day of her journey.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
"Let's try again, Cranberry-sensei," Éclair said, worn to the point of exhaustion.
"Éclair, you've made great progress today, but enough is enough. I know you are trying to improve as fast as you can, but you are only human," Cranberry looked down at his student. "Even Sorcerers are human. Everyone has limits, and you hit yours for tonight.
"I know by tommorow you'll have perfected that block, and make me move on." She smiled weakly back at him. "But really, do you want me gone THAT bad?"
"NO, sensei! I don't mean that! Honest I don't!" Éclair looked like she was going to panic. "I just want to be with my brother. I can't stay with him on a regular basis unless I finish my training." She looked away, fighting back tears forming in her eyes.
"Éclair," Cranberry held her face in his hands. "I was joking. I'm proud of what you've been able to accomplish in a week." She smiled back. Yes, he thought, she needs to work on sarcasm and irony. Otherwise, how will she survive with her brother and his friends? Cranberry laughed silently.
"In fact, Big Momma contacted me. She said you would probably be able to join your brother after we finish our mission. They are in the area, and it won't be hard for us to find them.
"If you insist on continuing training tonight, then I'll teach you how to detect chi. It is a mental exercise, not physical. First, though, you are going to eat supper and have some water." When she began to protest, he put his hand firmly on hr shoulder. "I'm not showing you ANYTHING else until you do."
Nodding, Éclair pushed herself up to her feet. She took a sip of water, and then passed out. Oops, Cranberry thought, I guess I didn't know how much she was faking it. He picked up her slim body and walked towards the shelter. After tucking her into her cot, he walked out again.
A man was sitting by the fire. Cranberry tensed. After extending his chi senses, he relaxed at the identity of the person.
"Mille Feuille. It's been awhile," he greeted the leader of the Haz Knights with an air of surprise and kindness. Like most generations of the Haz Knights, he had grown up knowing Mille and Onion, as well as the other two knights.
The half-sorcerer sat across from his comrade. Mille seems unusually silent. A dark look dominated the leader's eyes, but it was not directed at him.
"How's Éclair's progress?"
"Amazing. She really is her brother's sister. She mastered in one week what any other Hunter would take about three years to learn. I'm not talking about any of the fighting techniques, although we have been working on that," the good news rewarded Cranberry a smile from his strangely quiet friend. "Stealth, knowledge of the world, and spying."
"That's good. Of us five, you're the only one who could give he such intensive training. You are also the only one who has any patience when it comes to teaching," Mille chuckled. "Imagine if…" he suddenly burst out laughing. Cranberry knowing whom he was talking about joined in.
Calming down, Mille finally decided to get down to business. "Has Momma contacted you recently?"
"Yes. She inquired about Éclair's progress, and I warned her about the new power source. Éclair and I are going to reach it tommorow."
"What do you know about the power source?" Mille's eyes narrowed. A sorcerer's intuition was priceless in mysteries such as these. With the split mind of Cranberry, Momma had the most extensive view into the soul of a sorcerer next to Zacher.
"The sorcerers near one are going ballistic trying to find one. Due to our training, we've stayed away from cities, but it isn't that hard to tell. It gives the user incredible amounts of power, and if ANY sorcerer gets it, there is going to be trouble. Some pieces radiate good power, but others are in a form of evil that I care not to think about." He shuddered.
"If a good sorcerer came in contact with a bad piece, he will not recover. Sorcerers are humans too, after all. Some black urges are brought to light in such situations."
"So you're saying," Mille thought aloud, "that all targets infected will have to be eliminated?"
"Unless you can find another way, I see no other solution," he lowered his hands dejectedly. "Even if a Chip touched one of those, we'd have to kill them.
"Lucky for us, if a normal human touches it, and does not wish to use it, nothing seems to happen, except in extreme circumstances."
There was a pause in the conversation. Mille must have something to tell me about this power. I know what I'm going up against, but not where it comes from.
"Earlier today, Carrot and the others were attacked by a Genneu-" the leader began.
"A Genneu? That isn't anything they can't handle. Carrot could kill it with one hit of a branch, in his _ normal _ form," Cranberry put in.
Mille continued as if he'd never been interrupted, "- the size of a woman."
"Huh?" There is NO way in all heaven and hell a Genneu could be the size of a woman. The biggest I've ever seen was the size of a cat, Cranberry thought.
"Apparently, there was. It had a bit of the power source, and was screaming for Tira to give it the one they possessed." Mille's friend looked at him in shock.
"They didn't know they had it. It was in the compass retrieved to give to Big Momma. Now, though, we can't get to her and give her the shards."
"Shards?" Cranberry wondered.
"The demon said that it was called a Shikon Jewel Shard."
"Jewel of Four Souls? Why would a demon want to balance their soul?" He asked.
"I have no idea. But, I think we should have you and Éclair join up with us. With demons running a rampage, it is better to be in larger groups. You may be one of the best fighters on Spooner, Cranberry, but if a person's too tired, and they are bound to make mistakes."
"Why the rush? I thought we would too, but there is something else." Mille was silent for a moment. "C'mon Mille, I've known you since we were both five. You're either hiding something, or don't know how to say it. Spit it out."
"I don't hide important things from my fellow knights, Rubicon." Cranberry winced at hearing his last name. Along with his father's looks and powers, he had received his last tame too. Changing one's name was considered a sin against God, except in marriage. Even then, a man never changed his name. Sons and daughters took the last name of their sire. Not even Big Momma could change that. Cranberry just conveniently left it out. When one of his fellow knights, or Big Momma addressed him by his last name, it was a form of rebuking.
"You're right. Oh for heaven's sake, I can't joke around with you either! I know there are important matters, but one does miss his best friends from time to time." Mille's face softened. To meet him as a Knight, one could barely see a similarity in the leader's two personalities.
"It's Carrot." The leader's statement brought Cranberry back to topic. "He could _ see _ the shard in the demon's head. Not even Marron could, although he and Tira saw it's forehead glow."
"His brother's the one with the magic skills. How is that possible?" Cranberry asked.
"I think the God of Destruction is trying to resurface."
"Zacher _ did _ say that he thought it would awake. Someone's bound to try again. Carrot could be subconsciously trying to supply the God within the power to break loose," he thought aloud. "So Carrot shouldn't be allowed to touch the shards at all."
"He has. When he killed the demon, the shard went right into his hand. Afterwards, he fainted," Mille looked worried. "Carrot noticed the change in his mind, and forced the God back. Luckily, his experience when Zacher tried to awake taught him some things about mental blocking."
"And advantage is that he doesn't want to touch the shards. They are all back to normal, but don't try to get him to touch one. His eyes go wide and almost panics," Mille stared into the fire. "His eyes show a tormented soul. No one knows the pain he has to go through every day because of the God of Destruction."
A noise of surprise came from the cabin. Éclair was awake. Her body wouldn't respond quickly, otherwise she would have been back outside in a second.
"I need to get going. You can tell her she'll see Gateau and the others tomorrow morning. If I don't get back soon, one of them will wonder where I went."
"Do they still not know that you are a Haz Knight, my friend?" Cranberry asked with a smile.
"No, and it is to remain that way. Make sure you tell Éclair not to spill the beans. We couldn't talk to them like we do if they knew who we really are."
"I understand. See you then." Cranberry waved goodbye to his friend as he disappeared into the forest.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
"Woooahhhh…" Shippo remarked. "Kagome's forest looks weird…"
"It isn't a forest, Shippo," observed Sango. "Most of the trees were cut down. Those are buildings you see."
"Very odd buildings at that," Mirkou observed. "At least Kagome's house looks somewhat normal."
The old shrine stood before them. Sota was looking at them all in astonishment. "Kagome!" he shouted again, "Inu-Yasha brought some friends."
It was good that the boy's back was turned. A vein was popping in Inu-Yasha's forehead. FRIENDS? THESE PEOPLE?! he thought. It was a good think that he liked Sota. Sota knew how to properly admire his skill, unlike Kagome at times.
"When I see her next…" he whispered to himself.
"What?" Kagome asked. Startled out of his thoughts, he jumped back into a tree. Everyone else laughed. Growling at her, he sat up there, sulking.
"I was surprised when Sota told me you came," she smiled, and looked down at her little brother. "Sota, this is Mirkou, Sango, and Shippo. I told you about them last time I came home." Laughing silently at his look of amazement, she continued. "You guys, this is my little brother, Sota. He's holding Buyo, our family cat.
"Before we leave again, why don't all of you come inside to eat lunch? My mother was making okonomiyaki, and I haven't had mine yet." Sango noticed she wiped a tear from her eye. Now that I see, her face is red. She's been crying, thought the demon huntress.
"Kagome, we could not impose on your family-" Mirkou began.
"It didn't stop you before, Monk," Inu-Yasha challenged from behind. Even his pride would not stand in the way of a meal, and would certainly not leave him in a tree. Anyways, he liked this foreign food.
"-we have already imposed upon them by having you stay with us on a regular basis." he ended.
Deciding to bait him, Sango whispered, "So, its free food. If she offers it of her own good will, it isn't a problem."
"You do have a point," Mirkou whispered back. I'm right, thought Sango, the politeness he has is just an act.
They walked into the kitchen, and she indicated them to sit down at the table. Shippo was too small for Sota's seat, so he had to sit ON the table. Her mother walked in.
"Mom, I want to introduce you to some of my other friends." She completed her introductions, and her mom seemed to have a smile on her face. With all that crying she had shared with her daughter, one could only wonder how she pulled off such an expression.
"I'm making okonomiyaki. What do you want on it?" she asked.
"Grill as you like it?" Mirkou thought, "I would like some of that steak, and a little squid."
Sota walked in with Buyo. "Do you guys have okonomiyaki in ancient Japan?" he wondered. Everyone started to slice their vegetables.
"No, not where I come from," Mirkou answered. "Although, it smelled good."
"I haven't heard of it either," Sango looked frustrated. "My mother had me help her tend the gardens since I was three, and I still don't recognize these vegetables."
Kagome and her mother laughed when they saw Sango holding a green pepper.
"That's from the United States. It is a native vegetable of the country, and very good for you."
"Mom, telling them it came from the US won't do them any good. The country didn't even exist at that time," Kagome informed quickly. She didn't want her afternoon full of questions about everything they lived in.
Shippo and Sota seemed to be having fun as well. Both found the other very interesting, and talked about all sorts of things. In the end, it was gathered that little boys are little boys despite being demon or not.
As the food finished cooking, Mirkou reached instinctively into his pocket to give money to the cook. Stopping, he looked at the Shikon Jewel shard bottle he had pulled out on accident.
They were finishing eating when Kagome noticed something weird about the look on Mirkou. When he pulled out the small bottle, she saw it was his Shards jar. Of the four shards she had caught, two were missing.
All five sets of eyes widened at the sight. Inu-Yasha seemed beside himself.
"WHERE DID YOU HIDE THEM, MONK?" he shouted. His voice was magnified to the point of spilling blood. He knows I want his shards. Where could he have put them? We _ need _ to find them, he thought. Otherwise, how am I ever going to turn into a demon?
Mirkou's usually calm attitude dissolved at the discovery. By the way he reacted, they could tell that he didn't know where they were either.
I'd never admit it to his face, Inu-Yasha thought, but Mirkou's not a pushover. And if it were done by a demon, I would've sensed it. With a group like the one he was traveling with, no demon could have come within a mile of them without someone spotting it. Kagome and Mirkou can sense the jewel, so they should have noticed. This doesn't feel right…
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
It was a beautiful day. Had her mission not led her into the swamp, and such terrible times were not about, Maye could have enjoyed today. Ha, she thought, I was right about the weather.
It's just like when my brothers would take me out to spar, she remembered fondly. Each one of her four brothers was older than her. They were also amazed at the thought that their sister could take down some of the best fighters in the Count's guard. After getting over the initial shock, all of them agreed whole-heartily to help her train. Their father could not always be with her, due to manors of the house, so they would take her when their father could not. Mother was very happy with their devotion to me, she thought, it was good that the brothers' wanted to protect the sister.
Clearing the last bit of forest, she stared ahead of herself. It was the swamp. All four of her brothers had told all of the girls about this swamp, and the terror it would bring. Most of Maye's seven younger sisters were weak-willed, and couldn't stand stories like that. Of course, Julye made it worse than it was, but it was only to scare them off. He told Aprile and me the truth. Aprile was her younger sister by seven years. She was the only other girl in the family that had any fighting potential. She was very mature for her age. She was only ten when she…
Six months ago, about a month before Count Pepper began his slave hunt, a devastating plague had hit the city of Lemon. It was painful for her to watch all of her family die away, while she never got sick. Her brother's went to the Count's mansion to try to help with the sick, but never returned. The same thing happened with Chili, her cousin, at her house.
Maye bit back her lip. It wouldn't be good to cry here. She needed clear vision, if she was to get through the swamp. All of her senses would have to be on high alert, and she couldn't think of such things at that moment. There had been no time for her to stop, something was always happening in the last six months. The people of Lemon needed her, and she would put her own life on hold to help them. Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the mushy ground of the swamp.
Around mid-day, she saw it. It glinted at the distance, like such a thing should not exist in an evil place. That thing doesn't seem right, she thought. The demons can't have it! She ran through the mud, exhausted when she reached it. The thing looked like a piece of a gem, and was bluish-silver.
A sense of anger coursed through her veins. She could feel its power, although she could not access it. Who would leave such a powerful thing here in the swamp? Any demon could have gotten a hold of it! Pocketing it, she returned to the path. It's a good thing it is morning, otherwise a demon would've gotten that. This… shard… well, that's what it looks like, seemed to have just fallen there.
Maye quickened her pace. With this in hand, she would need to get to the shrine as soon as possible.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Basil had seen her go into the swamp. In fact, he had seen her travel through most of the forest as well. Her stealth was well ingrained into her, and he realized that this wasn't any ordinary girl. She had had intensive training.
Going into the swamp bothered him. No one went in there, except if there was an emergency. Not to mention, he/she would have to be extremely confident of their talent to go in there in the first place. There were stories about that swamp for a reason.
A good sense of planning, though, he thought, she went into the forest in the morning. If she keeps up her pace, she can reach the shrine by early evening, before the sun sets. Waiting for her to get a head start, he followed her in. He couldn't just leave her to the demons. She looked competent to handle about four demons at once, but not more. Sometimes, they have swarmed over a victim in the hundreds. They may be minor, but they'll make short work of even the best fighters, he thought with dismay. She seems to be on a mission. I'll have to wait to find out what it is.
He couldn't go where he wanted to, anyway. A suspicious hunch in a mission told him to go to the Citrus Valley, but he found that he couldn't get in. That source of magic must be more powerful than I thought, if it can keep me out. But there might be a hole in it. That is probably how she got out.
The shield surrounding the Citrus Valley was called a "Lock-in." No one got in, and no one got out. But if this girl could, then there were flaws in the shields design. There are flaws in every plan, and who knew this girl would show me the way?
About fifteen minutes into the swamp, he noticed her run off the path, towards an extremely huge power source. It was the one everyone was feeling now days. The foreign feel to it suggested that it couldn't be anything else. He felt her chi swell in anger, and then relax again. Respect grew for this girl in the man. She isn't going to use this power for her mission. He knew she couldn't access it, but her felt no desire in her chi to use it. The anger was simply towards someone else's carelessness for leaving the …shard… behind. Climbing back onto the path, muddied by her side trip, the girl continued on. Basil followed her.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
A purple light broke through the gloom. Maye cried out in relief. Dusk was nearing, and she didn't know how she could go on. That shade of purple is only reserved for Saint Mama, she thought happily. The shrine! I finally made it!
She ran the last hundred yards, and onto the rock platform. Almost immediately, she felt a magic shield go up around her. Exhaustion eating at her body, she could not appreciate the security. Sighing happily, she passed out onto the cold rock. I made it…
Going through the swamp like this was not Basil's favorite way to travel. He felt obligated to watch the girl, although, so he followed. When she passed out on the landing, he laughed.
That girl is stronger than I thought. Her mission must me more grave as well. Thinking quickly, he jumped up onto the landing. I'll just take care of her until she wakes up. When I hear her story, I'll see if there is some way I can help. There is more than just mere exhaustion in her eyes.
Turning to look back at the shield, he shook his head in dismay. Demons were crawling against the barrier, trying to get in. All of them were staring at the girl. Not wanting to have her wake to such a welcome, he lifted her into her arms – pack and all. Why are they after this girl? He thought. Knowing there would be no answer now, Basil went into the living are of the shrine, and closed the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, what do you think? Sorry I didn't put any of Carrot and the gang in this chapter, but I PROMISE they will be in the next one. Please review. I accept all comments and criticisms (as long as they are stated politely).
Until chapter 4 – See ya!
