Twisted Well

A Inu-Yasha / Sorcerer Hunter fan fiction by Iapetus

Disclaimer:  I have all the volumes of Inu-Yasha and the Sorcerer Hunters released in English!  Note the "released in English" part.  Both of these series were originally in Japanese.  I don't know any Japanese, so there's no way I could own either of them.

I have another text formatting thing you need to know about:  ^Anything said with "^" around them are in code.  They type of code will be stated beforehand.  (Trust me, you'll need this later.)^

A.N.  I left you with a cliffhanger… OK, I know I'm cruel ;-p, but that was part of how I planned to tell the story.  A LOT of things in this story is not what I originally planned, but I like the story better this way.  All I know for sure is story arcs.  There will be more than one, I know that for sure.  Well, you must want to find out what happened, so I'll shut up.

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Chapter 7:  Introductions

She had almost cried in front of the altar.  The only thing holding her back was the fact that the wetness of her tears would tell of her time spent there.  Usually, you had to ask permission to pray at such a holy place.

Not knowing exactly where Father Ossowo was, Maye found herself walking into the Cathedral garden.  The front of the garden, where worshipers could enter, was well maintained.  Her expert eye didn't find a flaw in any of the plants here.

Winding her way back to a gate, she saw with dismay a poorly kept section of ground.  None of the old flower buds had been taken off, and there were tons of weeds.  Unlatching the door, the lady walked into the neglected garden.

How could someone create such a beautiful design in the front, and leave this to die?  It was almost like the flowers had been planted, then left to nature.  The gardener in her couldn't stand it.  She stole back into her room, and found that a simple shirt and pants had been laid out.  She took off her dress and bracelets, and put on the work clothes.

Maye practically ran back into the garden.  With the plague, and then the kidnappings, she couldn't keep up all the flowers in the family garden.  Her attention had to be given to the healing herbal plants in the town.  A trowel and hoe were in a corner, rusty at the edges.

Someone also doesn't take good care of the equipment, she condemned.  After she talked to the Father about her situation, where is he, anyway?  I looked everywhere… she'd mention this garden.  The flowers planted here were prized among the nobles of Citrus Valley.  They were incredibly rare, and took an expert to raise them properly.  Letting plants such as these die was considered almost a sacrilege among manor gardeners.

The gardening had done Maye a world of good.  It was a connection to her old home, when she was a little girl, and spending time with Sorrel, the Juune family gardener.  He was an old man in his eighties.  No one thought he'd survive the plague, but he did, and was leading the cultivation of herbs in Lemon.  To help save his life, she severed all of his connections to the Juune family by formally dismissing him.  If he was "out of favor" to the Juunes, Pepper would have no use of him; he would therefore not touch him.

Seeing the weeds pile up high on the rock slab behind her gave her heart.  Black soil had been hidden beneath their roots.  That's why they grew so well…  She had worked only an hour, but decided to stop.  Her fighting skills gave her an advantage in the chore which other gardeners did not have.  She had more energy, and could complete tasks quicker than others.  The whole garden (even though it wasn't large) would have taken a normal expert about four hours to clean up.  She had done it in one, and still had her breath.  The girl didn't even break a sweat.

"You have been busy, my daughter," Father Ossowo's voice called from behind her.  Maye swiveled around, seeing him enter the gate.  Not knowing how to react, she smiled nervously, and wiped her dirty hands on her pants.  She then realized that she had left her necklace on, and her hair up in the fancy braid.

"I'm sorry, Father," she spoke quickly, apologizing.  "I didn't know if this was all right or not… but the state of the garden disturbed me."

The priest chuckled.  "A problem?  No, this isn't a problem.  Actually, it brings the antics of a certain apprentice into better light.  It seems that he has been slacking off on his gardening."

What gardening? Thought Maye.  The boy left the plants to die.

Ossowo laughed at the look on her face.  "My daughter, your face betrays you: and yes, you're right.  This wasn't gardening.

"But matters such as these can be dealt with at a later date.  You came to talk to me about something, but Saint Mama has just informed me of it."

Maye was shocked.  Saint Mama found out the prayers to her people through priests.  "How did she know?"

"It what she didn't know that concerned her.  When you prayed at the altar, you were unaware of what you were really doing," she gave him a blank look as he continued on.  "The purple orb in the center of the shrine?  That was a communication orb.  It glows when Saint Mama is about to contact, or is contacting someone.  When you came in, she had just turned it on…

"… And heard the whole thing.  It was a powerful bit of dark magic that separated the Citrus Valley from the rest of the world.  If you hadn't come, we would have not known it was going on at all.

"Since the situation is more than it seems, Saint Mama is assigning nine Sorcerer Hunters to you.  They know how to do their job, but none are familiar with the area.  She wants to know if you will take them through the magic shield Pepper has set up around the Valley."

"Nine… Sorcerer… Hunters?" Maye gasped.  "I wasn't even sure they existed!  I only asked Saint Mama for one… and she gives me …nine…?" she pondered in disbelief.

"She would actually like to speak with you, because I don't know all the details.  It is also not my position to know anyways.  So, I suggest you put your dress back on, and wash your hands."  The girl stared back at the priest in amazement.  She wasn't moving.

"It isn't polite to keep a goddess waiting, my daughter, so I suggest you hurry."

Maye snapped out of her stupor, nodded, and ran back towards her room at top speed.

I'm actually going to be able to talk to Saint Mama! She thought happily.  The legends are true! It was impossible to stop her from smiling.  Hang in there, guys; Chili.  I'm coming back!

Basil grinned at Maye's reaction.  How often had the Sorcerer Hunters taken their position for granted?  It wasn't every person who could address the goddess, and some of them did it every day.  She had done what her original goal was, but now she was to be given a new one.  He was let in on it, and thought it was a good idea.

When Carrot sees her… he grinned.  She was stunning, even when wearing work clothes.  Her beauty doubled with the presence of her chi.  A chi signature was unique to every person – Maye's filled with humility, respect, and pride.  She would make an excellent Hunter, or even a Spy, he noted.  Her heart is sure in the right place.

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            Chili leaned against the bars, looking out the window.  It had been two days since the Count's men had captured her, and he still hadn't come to see her.

            About fifteen others were captured, she thought, and they were thrown in the dungeon.  Her room was formally a guest suite, except for the bars on the windows, and the padlocked door.  Why is he honoring me with a guest room? she thought.  At first, she thought he was mocking her position.  Like her cousin Maye, she was a daughter of a Lord.  While the Juune family ruled over Lemon, her family controlled the city of Orange.  The Bean family was where Lady Guacamole was from; she was the twin to her own father, Lord Taco IV.  When the plague hit her city… well, she could count the number of survivors on her two hands.  Deciding to stick together, Maye had invited them to temporarily stay with the survivors in Lemon.  Chili couldn't get it out of her mind that half of her party was captured trying to protect her.

            A tear rolled down her cheek.  If I had just been able to get my bo… she had been raised a fighter as well.  What a cruel irony it was that Maye and I broke tradition, and we were the only survived…

            Thoughts of her cousin's sudden disappearance made her smile.  The Count's castle had gone into an uproar at the news.  Chili smirked in approval.  Black, the heir to the Pepper title, always fancied Maye – but she didn't return the affection.  He always seemed a little power-hungry, not at all like his sire.

            Well, no one could have known the vow we made that day…

* Flashback *

            Chili stood by the Maze entrance, waiting for her cousin.  She would be returning any moment with Sorrel, arms full of medicine herbs.  The plague had left the survivors weaker to other diseases, and needed the special plants from the Juune garden.

            I wish we could just stay in the Garden Underground, the black-haired girl thought.  She took some of her natural red highlights out of her hair, and twisted it around her finger.  But, Sorrel had a point.  The protection could only last if no one left.  They had been building up reserves, and sneaking it off to the secret base every day.  Any medicines they could store were packed safely away in there.

Maye's been sacrificing so much.  I haven't even seen her cry.  The Lady of the Juune family was seven months her senior, but they still knew each other like they were sisters.  She HASN'T cried, the shocked realization came over her.  How in the world could she have done that?  Chili had lost her parents, five brothers and two sisters all to the plague, but _ she _ didn't have to bury them all.  Taco, her older brother (Chili was the second eldest child in her family) had left to help the Count as well.  A note returned one week after he left, telling her about the death of her brother and four older cousins.  After the plague, she had felt there was no way she'd ever be able to cry again.   Now, her heart was breaking for Maye.  That girl's tough as nails.  All the grace and patience of a proper lady, all the power, strength, and perseverance of a fighter.  But still, she is only human.

A starling cried in the distance to the normal person's ear.  Chili knew better.  As children, they had come up with a secret code of bird whistles that they could use to find each other.  Unless you knew what to listen for, it was just bird's singing.  I never thought we'd have to use it for this… cupping her hands together, she whistled a robin's reply.  ^ All is clear, come to The Hole… ^  'The Hole' was their nickname for the secret City Underground.  I still don't like being under the city.  The Garden Underground is still much more secure than The Hole, even if we can't use it right now.  To throw off the Count, they had been using the forest entrance.  Pepper, while being fond of morning raids, also liked taking people away at night.  Sure, they'd pretend to be living normally, but no one slept in their homes anymore.  People went to town, worked, and then returned to The Hole.

Maye gently pushed old Sorrel towards the entrance, and Chili was again surprised at the old man's speed and agility.  He had a huge load of herbs on his back, but it didn't faze him.  He says he's 70, but Maye tells me he's really 84.  He claims his good health is from being a gardener his whole life.  Chuckling, she helped him take off his load as her cousin sneaked inside.

"Wow, you two got a lot!" Chili exclaimed.  "Were you finally able to break into your garden?"  Maye had appeared to desert the Juune estate soon after the raids.  In truth, she had been going back each night, making the weapons they needed to hunt.  Pepper, in a panic, had broken every bow – melted every sword – and snapped every bo in Lemon.  Her cousin got wind of it, and was able to hide her own family's weapons moments before he came.

Maye was a good weapon craftsman, but at this point, Chili wished little Aprile was still alive.  Somehow, that girl had had a sixth sense on constructing weapons – especially arrows.  Some people thought that there was nothing to making an arrow, but that was a gross mistake to believe so.  The more aerodynamic they were, the better they flew.  Her arrows were prized among hunters everywhere, although she sold them under a different name.  If those hunters found out that they had been using the crafts of a ten year old… she laughed.  They wouldn't understand.

That girl had a great future in front of her.  Aprile was a bit rebellious, and her mother had suspicions about her husband training her.  How in the heck she never found out about Maye, I'll never know.  She looked at her cousin again, sorting the sage into a separate pile.  A thought suddenly struck her mind.

"Maye, what would happen here if one of us were caught?" she asked.

"We'd be taken to the Count, of course."  Maye stopped sorting, and looked her cousin straight in the eye.  "After all, we're the ringleaders," she said with all seriousness.  "What makes it worse is that we're still teenagers!"  Sorrel guffawed.  His humor broke the seriousness of Maye's face, and both girls couldn't control their laughter.

"You girls aren't ones to mess with.  Remember Maye, your father came to me when you were little to grow shrubs around your training ground.  He wouldn't do that to just anyone; not even to just any of his daughters."

"What I meant, Maye, was what would happen to the people?"

"One of the people would probably have to go for help.  Right now, we need everyone we can get.  If someone had to leave, the rest of them would go into the GU," she responded.

"I'd only trust five other people, besides you two, to make a journey like that," remarked the old man.  "Let's see… Smith, Harvey, Evergreen, York… and Pocky.  All are good huntsman, and know the path to Dorado well.  All the other hunters don't have the guts to brave the Demon Swamp."

"Why would we go to Dorado?" Chili wondered.

"That is where the nearest Stella Church is."  Both the girls still looked puzzled.  He sighed.  "I grew up during the reign of the Rubicon family.  Every day was filled with fear, and one didn't know if they'd live to see the next day.  There had been many attempts on his life, but all they were able to attain was a grave on his land.  The last Rubicon, and the worst of all, Count Red, had killed a hundred assassins himself.  For about six years, no one came after him.  Then, one morning, they found him dead on his bed."  The girls gasped.  "He had been stabbed in the back.  When I heard the story, I was willing to bet my garden that it was a Sorcerer Hunter."

"But the Sorcerer Hunters are just legends!" cried Chili.  "How can we trust what we don't know for sure?"

            "Faith," Maye declared resolute.  "You and I have been through that forest dozens of times.  If you are kidnapped, I will go to Dorado."

"I would do the same for you," Chili avowed. 

"Sorrel will take everyone to the GN," Maye continued.  She wasn't suggesting it to the old man, it was an order.  Turning to face him, the determined girl continued.  "You are the only one who they would listen to if we both disappeared.  You cannot," she paused defiantly, "tell anyone where the other really is."

            "I understand, my Ladies," his words froze Maye in her place.  He had always called them by their first names, for he was an old friend trusted by her family.  To compound both of the girls' astonishment, he bequeathed to each a low bow.

            "Sorrel, why the formalities?" the Lady of Juune inquired.  "I have known you my whole life, and have been a second father to me.  You were one of the _ only _ people who could address any of us by just our first names.  Why do you change now?"

            "It had been building, my Ladies," the old man said, kneeling.  "Through a terrible tragedy, you have taken leadership and restored pride to the city of Lemon and Orange.  You are truly heirs to your great houses.

            "I will go put these herbs away.  I suggest you get some rest.  The sage and daisy root need to be crushed tomorrow to make a tonic for little Alyssa.  She is coming down with bronchitis."  Before they could say another word, he was gone.

            "We're both only seventeen!" Maye exclaimed.  "How could he call us Lady Heirs?  We weren't intended to inherit the estates."

            "Who else would get it?" Chili asked.  "We are the survivors, so of course we're the Heirs."

            "I'm sorry," the girl answered.  "It was just… Janus deserved it more than me.  HE was a born leader-"

            Chili shook her gently.  "Do you know how I felt when Cream died? I was finally the last person left.  I know you know what it feels like." Maye nodded  her head.  "I felt hopeless.  I wasn't raised to manage an estate - that was Taco's future job.  All that was left of Orange was me – and nine other people.  They looked to me for leadership, and I had no idea how to do it.

            "Then, I got your letter, inviting me to come to Lemon.  I was ecstatic.  My cousin; my cousin who was as close to me as a twin sister, was alive. Not only that, but I had something to tell my people.  It game them hope.  Yes, I've been helping, but it was YOU that united us all.  Don't tell me you're not a born leader – because you are.  I cried for hours when Cream left me," she was beginning to tear up again.  "I cried after each one of them, and thought I couldn't cry again.  How is it that I still can?  Don't people eventually run out of tears?"  She bust out sobbing.  Maye drew her close, letting her cry into her chest.  She herself did not cry.

            "Maye, why don't you cry?"  Chili looked up into her face.  Her eyes were unfocused, looking out into space.

            "I don't have the time to.  If I started, I wouldn't be able to stop.  I will ready my bow, for something tells me the journey to Dorado will be soon."

            Chili nodded, and dried her eyes.  "I wish I was able to bring my bo with me, but we left in such a rush that I couldn't get to it.  The manor was ransacked, and my bo was in the other side of the house."

            "There is one you can use.  I'll grab it for you when I come back from the shop tomorrow.  I wasn't aware, with all the medicine work you had been doing, that you didn't have one to use," Maye smiled.  "I know you'll like it."  With that, she broke away from her cousin.  "You need to get an early morning start.  Harvey said his wife had some wild strawberries growing in her yard.  The fruit will lighten the people's spirits, and the flowers are in bloom right now."

            "Yes, I'll need to get them when they just open.  I will take Harvey, York, and some of my own people.  See you tomorrow evening."

            With that, the girls parted ways.  Maye sneaked back out the entrance.

* End Flashback *

            It had been the last time the girl had seen her cousin.  A knock at the door awoke Chili from her memory.  Whirling around, she saw the door just as it opened.  It was Black.

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Sango helped Kagome out of the well, her eyes looking at her own friends first, then to the new group of people.  They didn't dress as one would in Japan.  Then again, Kagome doesn't either… at least not normal.  Yet… somehow, she knew they would not hurt them.  It still didn't ease her confusion.

            Kagome didn't seem the least bit nervous.  Her full attention was on the red-haired woman with glasses and a cloak.  The new group of people weren't staring at all of them now, just her.

            "You have some Shikon Shards!  My friends and I are collecting them.  Could you please let us have yours?" she asked.  All of her friends looked at her stunned.  Man, Kagome can sure be blunt.  "Let's see, it's in your bag.  You have… one… two.  You have two of them."

            "How do you know?" a startled Tira questioned.

            "She can see shards through anything, ma'am," Mirkou spoke up.

            "Why do you want them?" Marron asked.

            "Why do YOU want them?" Inu-Yasha shot back.

            "He asked you first… sir," Éclair hesitated, showing her hesitation about the title.

            "Ever since the Shikon Jewel shattered, we have been collecting the pieces," Kagome stated.  "Since I was the one who accidentally did it, I feel responsible to collect them."

            "How did you shatter the jewel?" they asked in amazement.

            "We're not sure.  Even after all this time, that problem hasn't been solved," Sango said in dismay.  "My village didn't have an answer, and that was a shock to us all."

            "Why would your village have the answer?" Chocolat wondered.

            Sango began to say something, when Inu-Yasha interrupted her.  "Girl, why are you telling her that stuff?  We don't need more people knowing about the Shards than absolutely possible."

            "If you would calm down, Inu-Yasha, you would notice that there is not a spark of any evil intent in their chi.  I suggest you be quiet while we try to figure out what went wrong," the monk shifted his grip on his staff, as if ready to hit the half-demon over the top of the head.  Inu-Yasha was seething, but took the hint.  Despite the fact that they were humans, Mirkou, Sango, and Kagome could make his life a living hell whenever they pleased.  It was a power humans possessed, in the opinion of the dog-demon, to make others suffer.

            The Buddhist monk turned back to the onlookers.  "I apologize for my companion's rude manners."

            "Don't worry about it," Gateau laughed, "we have to put up with it all the time."  Here, he looked at Carrot (who was oblivious to the reference).

            "Well, now you know why we are gathering the shards.  Why are you?" Sango questioned.  "Those shards hold a fraction of the power of the whole jewel, but it is still enough to cause problems.  Your chi tells that you are all fighters.  I gather you acquired them through some battles?"

            She is perceptive.  All of them are good fighters as well, and this girl is no exception.  Both of the girls don't seem to be pushovers, but them again, if a girl fights, they usually aren't.  Here, Mille looked at the Misu sisters.  They were that statement personified.  He gave a quick glance at Cranberry, whose smile told him that he had sensed the same thing.

            "Yes, we did," he spoke up.  "Actually, these five did," he pointed to Carrot and his friends.

            "We were on a job, and at the conclusion of it, there was a fragment in something we needed to bring back," Tira commented cryptically.  "A demon attacked us on the way back, demanding we give the shard to her."

            "At that time," Chocolat put in, "we didn't know of the Shard's existence."

            "Almost like the time I was pulled back to ancient Japan in the first place," Kagome said quietly.  "When the Shikon Jewel was in my body.  It is very hard to fulfill someone's demands when you don't even know what they're talking about."

            "I gather that you figured out how to kill it?" Mirkou questioned, then laughed to himself.  "No, of course you figured it out.  Otherwise, you'd still be fighting it – or you'd be dead now."

            "Who can see the shard?" Shippo asked.  "All of us can sense it, but only Kagome can see it.

            "Miss, will you go out with me?" Carrot's insistence shattered the mood.  He was looking at Sango and Kagome with that expression on his face.  Chocolat hit him upside the head, giving him the if-you-don't-stop-right-now-your-going-to-get-the-wire look.  Tira gave him a similar look, though it was whip instead of wire.  The arnaju stopped immediately, scared for his life.  His younger brother and Cranberry sweat-dropped, and Gateau and Mille started to laugh.

            Well, the serious mood was shattered when everyone got a look at the foreigners.  The surprise on their face was priceless.

            "He's a hentai just like Mirkou!" Shippo explained.

            Kagome rolled her eyes.  This is going to be interesting…

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A.N.  Ok, before you say anything, I know two pages are pretty darn long for a flashback.  But, it was high time you met Chili and Black.  Character development is hard for fan fiction characters; give them too much screen time - they become MaryJanes; give them too little - they are shallow and throwawayable. 

A.N. #2:  I don't know anything about herbal medicines, but remember - Spooner is another world.  Plants that do nothing here could be useful there.  It is the same situation as Marron's cards.  They are NOT what you think it is.

Well, what did you think of this chapter?  I know it took awhile to get out, but it was due to stress.  I'm going to post on a regular basis for now on (hopefully).  The last show for my school's musical is this Saturday, so I should be free by then.

Until chapter 8, see ya!