Twisted Well
An Inu-Yasha / Sorcerer Hunters fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: As soon as I own Inu-Yasha and the Sorcerer Hunters, I'll let you know. Until then, it still isn't mine. However, the story is, and I've heard that it's actually unique (yeah!). Not only that, but Maye, Chili, Cranberry, Basil, Sorrel, and Black all belong to me. (Simply due to respect between authors: I came up with them, so please don't use them without my permission.)
Well, I am sorry for the terrible wait for the ninth chapter. Writer's Block is an evil thing, and can strike at any moment. Lucky for me, I've come up with a well of inspiration out of the gloom, and will be typing my hands off to make up for lost time. It won't be that hard; I'm out of school now. (Of course, now I'm supposed to find a job…)
To compound problems, I had had this chapter half written, and then I lost the file. Apparently, one of my friends put a magnet by the disc I was using (I was writing it at school some of the time), and all my homework PLUS the story got erased. I swear, there must be something out there trying to get me to stop writing…
Ah anyways, don't forget to review! Support for one's work is always welcome!
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Chapter nine: Fitting In
"We forgot to introduce ourselves," Kagome noted. Smiling, she started the introductions. "My name is Kagome. The other girl is a demon exterminator named Sango. Her pet's name is Kirana. The monk is Mirkou, and the fox-demon is Shippo. All of them nodded a welcome. "Lastly, the half-dog demon is Inu-Yasha." He just responded with a 'feh.'
"I am Cranberry," the half-sorcerer spoke up. He pointed to the other Haz Knight, "This is my good friend Mille Feuille." Next he indicated his apprentice, "This is Éclair Mocha, and her older brother Gateau. Next to them are Marron Glase, and his older brother Carrot."
"The younger brother looks like the older brother," Sango whispered to Kagome.
"I know…"
Finishing up, Cranberry introduced the Misu sisters as well. "We are all Sorcerer Hunters."
"Sorcerer Hunters?" they all asked.
Mille launched into a speech about the feudal system of Spooner, something every Hunter hears all the time. Carrot rolled his eyes. Mille's speech would make Momma proud – after all, she gave one of her own all the time.
"We obviously are going to need a clearer view on the situation," Cranberry put in. "Something went wrong when you were trying to return to your time." Well, that much was obvious. Still, it was good to know what needed to be known. "You can't go back to your friend's time yet, because there are still Shikon shards here in our world. So, I think we should contact Big Momma about this." The other Hunters and knight nodded in agreement. Their new visitors just looked shocked.
"Big … Momma …" Sango thought, confused.
"It is a name for the goddess of this world," Mille commented.
"It's not that," Kagome added, "but the name Big Momma is a," well, weird wouldn't be polite, but maybe the word "an unusual name for a person of such authority back home." Relieved that she had made a save, she went on. "Forgive us for the ignorance and insult."
"None taken," Mille smiled. "Daughter's coming."
"Where are you going to want me to go to, Big Momma?" Daughter asked.
Closing her eyes, the deity focused on the power waves calling out for her response. It was Mille's
"Carrot and his friends. And please, hurry. This is important." The girl picked up the orb. Right before she was to disappear, Momma stopped her.
"Daughter, please don't mention Maye's name. Let me do the taking. No chit-chat this time."
The winged girl looked a little sad at the statement of not being able to talk. "Ok," she said reluctantly.
With a puff of pink smoke, she was gone.
Daughter had found it odd that Momma would make such a request. Carrot and the gang were all her friends, and she loved to talk to them. Sure, business was business, but if you didn't have fun now and then – life would weight a person down.
She was surprised that when she appeared, there were more than eight people present. She had been expecting two of the knights to be there, but still… Since the girl was almost always by Momma's side, she knew each of the Haz Knights very well. Mille had already been sent to help them, but she had remembered when couple weeks ago – Cranberry, Basil, and Cinnamon had gone out on assignment. A wink from Mille told her not to worry about the visitors.
Daughter was a girl that was hard to scare. She was the type of person that wanted to be everyone's friend.
A chill went down her spine as she looked in the direction of the newcomers. Every nerve in her body seemed to react as she felt their chi. In an instant, without being told who they were, she figured out that there were two demons among her.
Demons? She questioned in her mind? How could Momma allow contact when demons were present? Doesn't she remember that I don't like them?
The dreams were less frequent now, but she often had nightmares about the destruction of her village. The creature was a demon, and looked remarkably like the larger of the two.
He looks sort-of like a dog… she thought. Still, she had a mission to do. It was her job to run the communication orb, and she was going to do it even if she didn't like it.
"Daughter?" Mirkou asked.
"Yes, she is the go-between for the Hunters and Big Momma," Marron pointed out.
The Buddhist monk nodded in understanding – the polite kind that one acted when they really didn't know what was going on.
"Hi everyone!" she said in her cheerful voice. "Big Momma wants to talk to you!" Instantly, the whole group entered the space vortex-like thing that could only mean that the deity was going to speak. It startled Kagome and Sango, but they calmed down when they saw the Sorcerer Hunters relaxed.
The goddess laughed. "How is everyone?" Her calm mood dropped at the view of the unexpected visitors.
"What have we here?" she pondered. "Perhaps it is foreigners?" she asked.
Realization hit Marron like a mallet. They may be from another world, but he never thought to think of them as foreigners. Demons are enemies, and humans are generally seen as friends. So this rude and pushy teenage demon was the other part of my puzzle. But who shares a hatred for both? The mage wondered. Half a friend and half an enemy… well, Big Momma's clue sure did make clear what was under his nose.
"Yes, we are," Kagome spoke up. "I've heard that you've been having troubled by the Shikon Jewel, which came from my world." She waited for the goddess to agree to her statement. "If you will let us, we'll gather the remaining shards, and leave your world."
"We're not going to be in that big of a hurry, Kagome," Shippo yelled from inside the well. Confused, the rest of his friends looked inside.
"You can't travel through this well! At least not now," he climbed up to where they waited.
"WHAT!?" they all exclaimed. Sango jumped down, but appeared a few seconds later, climbing up. Inu-Yasha followed suit, but ended up with the same result.
Turning to her hunters, the goddess now addressed them.
"I have a new mission for all of you." Carrot groaned.
"Momma, we just got off the carpenter job, and now these people show up! How can we go on a job now?"
"I was just getting to that, Carrot," she said in a voice that suggested that he would get a hundred lashings.
"In the Citrus Valley, there is an evil casting a 'Lock in" over the whole region. It has come to my attention that the Parsoners in that area are suffering." Here, she gave Cranberry a short look. No one noticed except for Mille, who looked at his friend in concern.
"The heir to the Juune family has sent a messenger to Dorado. You are to meet up with the messenger, and they will lead you into the Valley past the shield."
"The Juune family?!" the Misu sisters gasped.
"They're the most famous Noble family in all of Spooner!" Tira exclaimed.
"They're men are said to be the best of fighters, and can even give a Sorcerer a hard time!" Chocolat put in.
"Yes," Momma smiled, "the Juune family. You are to meet the informant and another Sorcerer Hunter at the Stella church. Father Ossowo will guide you from there."
Before receiving a verifying 'ok,' from the Hunters, she turned to the newcomers. "It has been verified that a Shikon shard is in the region to which my hunters are going. If you go with them, I will make sure you get home."
"We don't need your help to track down the shards," Inu-Yasha said in contempt.
"Shut up, Inu-Yasha!" the rest of his friends yelled.
"I'm sorry for our companion's rude behavior," apologized Sango.
"Not only that, but we're in a whole new world. When I got to ancient Japan, at least you guys were familiar with the area," Kagome commented.
"We don't need more humans on a mission only demons can handle," he shot back.
"You didn't seem to do too good when you faced off the ink ogres," Mirkou commented. "And the man that created it was simply a mere human!
"Not only that, but you beat the Peach Man when you were a-"
"Shut your mouth, monk!" the demon yelled.
"Hmm…" the goddess' observation caught everyone's attention.
"It seems that this group fights more than you do!" she smiled down at her hunters. All of them sweatdropped in slight embarrassment.
"Well, I wish you luck. This will probably be your hardest mission in awhile." With that, Big Momma and Daughter disappeared. The vortex vanished as well, and they were right by the well again.
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Sorrel looked out the window. When he had heard news of Chili's capture, he wasn't surprised when Maye didn't return home. The people were at first scared that she had been caught as well, but he had reassured them she was ok. As planned, they immediately moved to the Garden Underground. Pocky, one of the lookouts had told the old man it was a good thing that they did; Pepper's men invaded the CU soon afterwards.
What happened next puzzled Sorrel even more. He had noticed an evil power slowly descending over the Juune estate. It couldn't touch certain parts of the property, but in others it took root. The feeling was so strong; he wanted to get away from the estate as soon as possible. However, he was the one in charge now, and they had no place to go.
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"Excuse me, beautiful ladies," Mirkou asked in a cool voice, "will one of you bear my child?"
"What?" Tira gasped, taken aback. There is someone as perverted as Carrot in this world? Well, actually in another world…
"No, I'm sorry," Chocolat said with a smile on her face. I belong only to Darling. Let's make a baby right now, Darling!" She turned to Carrot, who was not looking at her.
"Kagome is a beautiful name," he said, kissing her hand. "Would you like to go somewhere where we could be alone?"
"Not really…" she said, embarrassed.
Inu-Yasha's eyebrow twitched. "Don't hit on Kagome!" he yelled.
"Oh, is she your woman?" the pervert asked.
The twitch grew bigger. "She is not my woman!" he tried to hit Carrot, but he wasn't fast enough. Running from sorcerers of all types and dominatrixes greatly improved one's speed.
"DARLING!" Chocolat protested, "YOU'VE BEEN CHEATING ON ME AGAIN!" she whipped off her clothes to reveal her leather pants and suspenders.
"Carrot, you can't just proposition anyone! These are our new partners!" she followed her sister, and was wearing a skin-tight leather S&M outfit of her own.
"I think I'm going to like traveling more now," Mirkou commented, staring at the two dominatrixes.
"Weeeee!!!!!!" Shippo yelled as he transformed into a balloon once again, and floated above all their heads.
"Marron," Gateau said quietly.
"What, Gateau?"
"LOOK AT ME!" He was wearing nothing but a thong, showing off his 'beautiful' muscles one again.
"LOOK AT ME!" his sister Éclair had followed suit.
"I can't believe you're actually a monk!" Sango yelled as she took his hand off her butt again.
Marron only sweatdropped as he looked on to the whole group.
Cranberry and Mille were behind them all, laughing their heads off.
"I'd say they all fit in nicely, wouldn't you my friend?" Mille giggled.
"Yes. I didn't think there was anyone who could keep up with these Sorcerer Hunters."
"Still," Mille calmed down. The insanity that was going on was a perfect guise for their conversation. "Did you notice Momma mention that another hunter would be there?"
"I don't think it is just a hunter. I think its Basil," Cranberry became serious again.
"Yes, he was originally assigned to the Citrus Valley." Both men fell quiet for a minute.
"Did you notice how Momma didn't reveal the client's gender?" the blue haired man pointed out.
"Mille nodded in agreement. "If she's going to do what I think she is, then we're definitely going to have to verify it with Basil.
"Tonight, after the others go to bed, let's run ahead and talk to him. I'm sure he'd be glad to know what's going on."
The conclusion reached, both of the Knights started to laugh at their companions' antics again.
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Maye was out working in the garden again. The Hunters weren't supposed to arrive until late the next day, and she needed time to think. Unfortunately in those types of situations, her mind would usually blank out. That's why she was so happy to garden.
Basil sat in a tree near to where she was sitting. If she glanced up from her spot, she'd be able to look him in the eye. He was there to protect her, since she was the 'client.' Not only that, but what else was he going to do while he waited for his fellow Hunters? Still, having him just sit there made her nervous. If there wasn't any conversation soon, she was going to loose it.
"Have you ever been to the Citrus Valley, Mr. Basil?" she asked politely.
"You can just call me Basil," he commented, "And, no, I haven't. Is it a nice place to live?"
She broke out into a huge smile, and leaned back from her work. "I've never seen anyplace more gorgeous than the Valley. It isn't just the Lords and the Count's houses either. All the cities are well-maintained by the people."
"How many Lord families were there in the Valley?" Basil asked.
Maye closed her eyes and named off the houses on her fingers. "There's mine, the Juune family who watches over Lemon. Then, there's my mother's family, the Bean, who protects Orange. Ramen guards Lime, Maple guards Grapefruit, and Agua guards Pineapple.
"Lemon and Orange were the two biggest cities in the Valley, because we had the two biggest families. Mother held parties all the time, and invited Lord and Sorcerers from out of the valley to come as well. I got to know them all very well…" a look of nostalgia appeared on her face. "I was supposed to host my own party, as part of my coming-of-age test. If I could run a satisfactory social gathering, it showed I had the house management enough to organize it. That meant I could run a house (have you ever been to one of those parties?), and I could then be married off."
"Why didn't you have your own party?" he wondered aloud.
"I had just started to plan it when the plague hit…"
Oops, Basil thought, I touched a sore spot. He needed to learn as much as he could about the valley and how it ran before he actually went in it. However, sometimes rough ground needed to be treaded on.
"How many people died?" he posed slowly.
"Too many." He saw her fight off tears. "We estimated that before the raids, about 200 were left in Lemon. Only ten were left in Orange."
"How many were there originally?" he questioned.
"Both cities had approximately 250,000 people in each. Orange probably had about 50,000 less than Lemon, but that is my best estimate."
So almost 500,000 people died from this disease. HOW didn't Big Momma hear of this?
"Now, with all the raids, we have fifty people left combined. Not only that, but I don't know how long they can last in the GU…"
"GU?" he wondered.
"Garden Underground. I'm going to take you all there when we get in first. You're not going to want to go up against Pepper tired after a journey. Not only that, but I need to get arrows for my long bow.
"Sorrel and my people need to know that I'm safe. It's bad enough that Chili was kidnapped, but I can only imagine the problems Sorrel is having to deal with now."
"Who is Sorrel?"
"He was my family's Head Gardener, and like a grandfather to me. He was one of the only men alive who could address us without our titles. He even lived during the times of Count Red Rubicon."
The mention of Cranberry's sire made Basil's hair stand on end.
"It was actually Sorrel that suggested going for a Sorcerer Hunter. He said that he was willing to bet his garden that Count Rubicon was killed by a Hunter."
"He was. Your friend won his bet. However, I would appreciate if that didn't get out. We appreciate it if the clients don't tell of our existence."
"Well, that's understandable. If the Sorcerer community found out your idenitys, you'd be on their 'Most Wanted' list quicker than you can say 'Parsoner.'
She's smart, that's for sure, he thought. I know the others will be impressed with her. Suddenly, he felt two similar chi signatures enter the Church.
"It's getting dark, Maye. You should go in and get some rest. We have to be rested for tomorrow, and this work could be left for an apprentice."
"I know, but I love to garden. I wasn't able to keep the flowerbeds up at home, and this makes me feel a bit better. But, I do understand about needing sleep. It's especially nice when it's in a bed." With that, she put the gardening supplies in the shed, and went up to her room.
He followed her with his eyes, again thinking of how beautiful she was. It wasn't hard for him to see why so many men were taken with her…
"Basil!" a voice came from below. He looked down. There stood Mille and Cranberry.
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Black gazed out the window at the city below. It seemed like a ghost town, except for his men searching every nook and cranny. The old man had said the secret hideout was under the city, so that had to mean that the entrance would be there as well.
Why would she resist me so? He wondered. It was true that he was attractive, and the heartthrob of all young women in the valley. However, he could not take any of them for his bride. No matter how nice his family was, he simply could not marry a commoner. Only a full sorceress would do, and he knew exactly who that person would be.
* Flashback *
"I forbid it!" his father yelled. "No matter how many times you ask, my son, I will not allow you access to our family's forbidden spells."
"But Father, I love her!" Black protested.
"If you love her so much, go and ask Lord Janus for permission to court her. She has just reached her coming-of-age, and any man who wants her hand may ask for it."
"Father, no matter how strong she is, she is just the daughter of a Lord. We can't have the Sorcerer blood in our family weakened!"
"There is no dishonor in marrying the one you love. If you truly love her, that wouldn't matter to you," the Count gave his son a reprimanding look.
"Do you know the reason the Rubicon family had its lands stripped away from them?" Black shook his head no in response. "They accessed their own forbidden spells, and were punished by God. We were given this position if we swore never to use our own special magic. So, your grandfather wrote down the spells and sealed them away. Only the head of the family can lift the seal, and I WILL NOT DO IT FOR YOU!"
"Father, it isn't like I would be using the spell's full power," he protested. "It is whispered in the streets that both the Juune family and the Bean family have Sorcerer blood in their veins."
Anger clouded over the Count's face. "A forbidden spell is a forbidden spell! No matter if only a tiny bit is used, its use is still outlawed. I will not have our family disgraced!" He turned away from his son. "This conversation is over. You are dismissed."
Fuming, Black rose from his chair and slammed the door. I'll get it Father. I'll get those spells and I'll make Maye mine!
* End Flashback *
The old fool, he laughed. As soon as the disease struck, he knew it was me. He didn't even use one of the Pepper family's forbidden spells for the plague. It was actually a technique he learned from a book left by the Rubicon family in the restricted section of his family's library. When his father died, he was the head of the family. Removing the seal was a cinch after that.
I'm glad Maye and Chili's brothers came to me. I finally had someone to test on…
The door knocked, and Black acknowledged the person to come in. He was taller than his master, and had short black hair with red highlights. The coronary triangle appeared on his head – it was another sorcerer.
"Sir," he bowed, "the girl is still not speaking. We've tried everything, but nothing will change her attitude. However, she seems emotionally disturbed when she sees any of us."
"It would make since, Taco. You were, after all, once her brother; and she thought you were dead."
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Chapter nine is finally done?! Yeah!!!! I (think I) got over my writer's block! Looking back on today (to which I was frantically typing), it was fun to write. Well, I think I typed myself out for the night, but be happy: more is soon to come!
Please review! I appreciate them a LOT, and I'll keep reminding you to do so. I hope you are enjoying the story. There is a whole lot more to come, and that's just in this storyline!
I'm going to start tweaking the first seven chapters as I write from now on. When I had my writer's block, I reread my story while looking for inspiration. I saw some grammar errors I didn't notice before, and some editing and text formatting problems. So, from now on, revisions will be made with each new chapter. I'll post the major revisions (if any besides text and grammar) at the end of the new chapters.
So, until chapter 10, goodbye!
-Iapetus
