I've been working on this chapter the past few days now; it's been
ridiculously hard for me to get it out, for some reason. But I just
received a very nice review someone, so hopefully it will give me the
motivation to finally finish writing and editing this chapter. Here goes
something.
Disclaimer: Inu-yasha and co. © Rumiko Takahashi, but (insert clever remark here)
*---*
A short silence, strangely warm, followed after the priest's comment. He rose from a platform and approached them, and as the curate stepped into the light, he revealed himself to be nothing more than a frail old man. Inu- yasha unclenched his fist slightly as he flooded with relief, but remained wary and ready to defend himself if it became necessary. It was doubtful that Naraku would ever take on the form of such a weak individual, but there was always the possibility. Naraku was an incredibly devious enemy.
"I know it is futile to state it, but lower your guard, lad. There is no danger for you here." Inu-yasha blinked, startled at the priest's tone of addressing him. He had no appreciation for being reminded of his lack of maturity, but the priest seemed utterly unaffected by his ire. Besides, Kagome was already aware of his tenseness and had laid a hand on his shoulder, both for comfort and as a warning. After a moment of unspoken deliberation, Inu-yasha lowered his limbs and contented himself with glaring at the priest suspiciously.
"We have come to ask you questions regarding a nearby temple," Miroku said, coming forward and bowing to the priest respectively. "Do you know much about it?"
The elder smiled slightly, the edges of his mouth crinkling with a wryness that did not seem to match the rest of his demeanor. "Of course I do. I am its designated caretaker."
Miroku's eyes widened and he was careful to keep his tone guarded. "Then you know the properties of the barrier? Are you the one who set it up?"
"Your questions will be answered in good time. Please, sit and join me for some tea. I know you have not eaten since you arrived at this village, and you were surely hungry before then." Miroku made a gesture as if to deny it, but the man was already folding in his legs as he prepared to sit beside a little table draped with a golden embroidered cloth, and his velveteen cushion gave off a small cloud of dust as he reclined into it. It was obvious these items were not used often; the priest did not seem to have a taste for ornate and ostentatious material objects. It was just as well, for such a person would probably demand monetary compensation for his advice.
Kagome hesitantly moved forward and sat across the table from him, patting the cushion first to dispel some of the dust. Smiling, he took up a tiny bell from the table and gave it a shake. Almost immediately a servant entered the room, bearing a tray of teacups and a plate of various pastries. "You'll have to forgive me," the priest said as the others reluctantly sat at the table. "I was uncertain of your precise time of arrival, and the water cooled while I waited. It's being reheated as we speak." He turned and smiled with the same slight, almost forbearing expression as Inu-yasha looked down from his stand by the table. The priest must have conceded Inu-yasha that round, because he merely folded his hands upon the wood and faced Miroku, his expression fairly serious.
"I did indeed order the casting of that barrier spell, but before you demand for an answer on how to disperse it, listen to me. The spell was not induced by myself; as a dedicated clergyman, I am unable to affect anything directly magical. Instead, I hired a professional ward-caster from the capital, and had him cast the spell. However, the warder misinterpreted my instruction, and created a barrier that protected the shrine from outside, rather than keeping everything safely entrapped within. By the time I found out of this error, though, the warder was long gone, and the counterspell for the barrier gone with him. I really am sorry, friends, but whatever you have lost within the barrier is most likely gone forever."
Abruptly, Inu-yasha jumped forward and leaned over the table in front of the priest, hitting the panel so hard with his fists that the wood began to splinter. "There is *no way* I'm believing you! There has *got* to be a way to get our weapons back! What aren't you telling us, old man?" Kagome looked on in concern, but Inu-yasha appeared oblivious to her. Miroku cleared his throat and sat perfectly straight, once more acting as the mediator.
"Well, perhaps that is so, but we will not give up just yet. Perhaps we may think of a solution if we better know what we are dealing with. As the caretaker of the shrine, you surely know its history and how it came about to be what it is now. Would you be so kind as to impart us with your knowledge?" Miroku asked, ignoring Inu-yasha as the demon panted in outrage and Kagome tugged on his robes impatiently.
The priest nodded, smiling bitterly. "It is a sad tale, but one that frequently reappears in various forms throughout history. The shrine first belonged to a very young and gifted priest, having been built by his master in honor of the forest god and willed to him in his master's last testament. However, the elder priest passed away while the youth was still in training, and as a result, the young priest still had much arrogance and pride left within him. He ordered a statue to be built of himself for the shrine, and he altered the temple to worship not the forest god, but himself, and even went so far as to promise the local villagers miracles if they paid his shrine homage. His arrogance was so great that one day, a traveling miko visited the shrine and injured the priest with one of her holy arrows. The arrows were meant only to purify, but because of his corrupt but human nature, the priest began to die. In an effort to save his soul, the priest cast a spell that preserved his spirit within his self- image statue, but the miko committed him one last humbling insult, by changing the properties of the statue until it represented his true nature. The miko left soon after, leaving the shrine abandoned."
"But what about the statue? What does it look like now?" Kagome asked softly, thinking about his description of the miko's arrows and wondering if she had a similar power.
They looked up as the beads lining the doorway rustled and clicked, and a servant woman stepped through silently, bowing to the priest and his company before setting a teakettle and bags of various flavors of tea upon the table. Miroku looked at the woman a moment appraisingly, but a quick jab in the side from Kagome on his right and an unpleasant grunt from Sango on his left encouraged him to frown and turn his attentions back to the priest.
"As I said, the miko charmed the statue to take on the guise of the youth's true nature. Because of his arrogance and money-laundering character, the youth was represented by a hideous boar, with three faces and cloven hooves. It is a truly repulsive creature now, but it's nothing he was not deserving of." With a finalizing clack, the elder set the kettle back on its plate and stirred his tea quietly. Kagome watched him, waiting for any additional comments, but it became apparent his story was over.
Miroku turned from the doorway as the servant disappeared through it and said, "But you claimed you were the one who ordered the casting of the barrier. What do you know of its current constitution? It withheld any inanimate objects that made contact with it, yet repelled our living flesh. Was that the same effect you had desired, only inverted?" He was stroking his wrist absently, perhaps remembering the pain inflicted when he cleared the barrier of its illusion spell. "And what of its reflective properties? It showed Inu-yasha and I members of our past lineage. What could possibly be the purpose of that?"
"Ah, the bloodline-repla." Chuckling, the priest raised his hand and began stroking his beard slowly. "It was truly an ingenious plan, if I do say so. Of course it was meant to have that effect only when seen from inside, and the purpose was to frighten the young priest so that he would return to his statue whenever his spirit tried to wander. Surely so arrogant an individual must come from a long line of such hubris; at least, that's what we hoped. Or perhaps seeing himself as one of his great grandfathers would frighten the youth by showing what he would become, had his current course in life continued. I really don't know anymore. I suppose I was just having a senior moment," he finished with a crooked smile. Kagome returned the expression uneasily, unsure if the man was amused by his idea or his fickle nature. Inu-yasha made a small noise of disgust in his throat, but she ignored him.
The priest glanced at Inu-yasha squarely. "You were expecting an answer. I told you, I have none. If indeed there is a way to retrieve your weapons, I'm afraid you'll have to determine how yourself. Now," he reached forward and took a fruit-filled cookie from the tray on the table and bit into it adroitly. "There is no point in starving yourselves further. Relax, eat, and I will lead you to your rooms later. I have no love of that temple or its barrier, and would just as well do away with it as protect it. If you should find a way to destroy both, I would be most obliged." Smiling, he nodded, waiting until each of them reluctantly took a pastry or cup of tea to sip. They were undeniably famished, but the strangeness of the situation kept them hesitant. Eventually, though, hunger won out, and they ate the meal the priest provided after he called in his servants and gave them more orders. Shippou and Kirara seemed content, which allowed the rest of them to relax slightly as well. 'Maybe,' Kagome thought as the priest bid them rise and began to lead them down a hallway outside. 'Maybe, he's just a nice person...' Her last thought trailed off into doubt, and she watched Inu-yasha stalk along beside the priest with a saddened and worried expression. 'Whatever the case, I hope we find a way to get Tetsusaiga back. I don't even want to *think* about what Inu-yasha would do if we can't find a way.' Her imagination flashed, showing episodes of Inu-yasha hurting himself by ramming into the wall and even trying to jump over it from far above in the trees, and she shuddered in response to all of them. 'He'd kill himself for sure!' Hopefully, though, they would find a way. They had to. There was no way Inu-yasha would ever stop trying if they didn't.
*---*
Well, that completely deviated from the plan...they were just supposed to get the cure from the priest then go back to the temple and deal with the next flood of events, but as you can see, things didn't turn out that way...
Hopefully, though, this is more interesting. This chapter had no action at all, just like the last one. I'm sorry. Don't worry, though; next chapter there's a grand ol' battle royal! Yay! Or something...er.
I sort of made up a new meaning for the word "warder". I'm sorry. Just blame it on literary license.
"Until next time" is Saro's () saying, so I'm just going to say "Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back for more!" instead. Ugh, corny, but I can't think of anything better. Hey! I'll give a cookie to whoever can give me a good thing to say at the end of each chapter.
Until then, though...
Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back for more!
Disclaimer: Inu-yasha and co. © Rumiko Takahashi, but (insert clever remark here)
*---*
A short silence, strangely warm, followed after the priest's comment. He rose from a platform and approached them, and as the curate stepped into the light, he revealed himself to be nothing more than a frail old man. Inu- yasha unclenched his fist slightly as he flooded with relief, but remained wary and ready to defend himself if it became necessary. It was doubtful that Naraku would ever take on the form of such a weak individual, but there was always the possibility. Naraku was an incredibly devious enemy.
"I know it is futile to state it, but lower your guard, lad. There is no danger for you here." Inu-yasha blinked, startled at the priest's tone of addressing him. He had no appreciation for being reminded of his lack of maturity, but the priest seemed utterly unaffected by his ire. Besides, Kagome was already aware of his tenseness and had laid a hand on his shoulder, both for comfort and as a warning. After a moment of unspoken deliberation, Inu-yasha lowered his limbs and contented himself with glaring at the priest suspiciously.
"We have come to ask you questions regarding a nearby temple," Miroku said, coming forward and bowing to the priest respectively. "Do you know much about it?"
The elder smiled slightly, the edges of his mouth crinkling with a wryness that did not seem to match the rest of his demeanor. "Of course I do. I am its designated caretaker."
Miroku's eyes widened and he was careful to keep his tone guarded. "Then you know the properties of the barrier? Are you the one who set it up?"
"Your questions will be answered in good time. Please, sit and join me for some tea. I know you have not eaten since you arrived at this village, and you were surely hungry before then." Miroku made a gesture as if to deny it, but the man was already folding in his legs as he prepared to sit beside a little table draped with a golden embroidered cloth, and his velveteen cushion gave off a small cloud of dust as he reclined into it. It was obvious these items were not used often; the priest did not seem to have a taste for ornate and ostentatious material objects. It was just as well, for such a person would probably demand monetary compensation for his advice.
Kagome hesitantly moved forward and sat across the table from him, patting the cushion first to dispel some of the dust. Smiling, he took up a tiny bell from the table and gave it a shake. Almost immediately a servant entered the room, bearing a tray of teacups and a plate of various pastries. "You'll have to forgive me," the priest said as the others reluctantly sat at the table. "I was uncertain of your precise time of arrival, and the water cooled while I waited. It's being reheated as we speak." He turned and smiled with the same slight, almost forbearing expression as Inu-yasha looked down from his stand by the table. The priest must have conceded Inu-yasha that round, because he merely folded his hands upon the wood and faced Miroku, his expression fairly serious.
"I did indeed order the casting of that barrier spell, but before you demand for an answer on how to disperse it, listen to me. The spell was not induced by myself; as a dedicated clergyman, I am unable to affect anything directly magical. Instead, I hired a professional ward-caster from the capital, and had him cast the spell. However, the warder misinterpreted my instruction, and created a barrier that protected the shrine from outside, rather than keeping everything safely entrapped within. By the time I found out of this error, though, the warder was long gone, and the counterspell for the barrier gone with him. I really am sorry, friends, but whatever you have lost within the barrier is most likely gone forever."
Abruptly, Inu-yasha jumped forward and leaned over the table in front of the priest, hitting the panel so hard with his fists that the wood began to splinter. "There is *no way* I'm believing you! There has *got* to be a way to get our weapons back! What aren't you telling us, old man?" Kagome looked on in concern, but Inu-yasha appeared oblivious to her. Miroku cleared his throat and sat perfectly straight, once more acting as the mediator.
"Well, perhaps that is so, but we will not give up just yet. Perhaps we may think of a solution if we better know what we are dealing with. As the caretaker of the shrine, you surely know its history and how it came about to be what it is now. Would you be so kind as to impart us with your knowledge?" Miroku asked, ignoring Inu-yasha as the demon panted in outrage and Kagome tugged on his robes impatiently.
The priest nodded, smiling bitterly. "It is a sad tale, but one that frequently reappears in various forms throughout history. The shrine first belonged to a very young and gifted priest, having been built by his master in honor of the forest god and willed to him in his master's last testament. However, the elder priest passed away while the youth was still in training, and as a result, the young priest still had much arrogance and pride left within him. He ordered a statue to be built of himself for the shrine, and he altered the temple to worship not the forest god, but himself, and even went so far as to promise the local villagers miracles if they paid his shrine homage. His arrogance was so great that one day, a traveling miko visited the shrine and injured the priest with one of her holy arrows. The arrows were meant only to purify, but because of his corrupt but human nature, the priest began to die. In an effort to save his soul, the priest cast a spell that preserved his spirit within his self- image statue, but the miko committed him one last humbling insult, by changing the properties of the statue until it represented his true nature. The miko left soon after, leaving the shrine abandoned."
"But what about the statue? What does it look like now?" Kagome asked softly, thinking about his description of the miko's arrows and wondering if she had a similar power.
They looked up as the beads lining the doorway rustled and clicked, and a servant woman stepped through silently, bowing to the priest and his company before setting a teakettle and bags of various flavors of tea upon the table. Miroku looked at the woman a moment appraisingly, but a quick jab in the side from Kagome on his right and an unpleasant grunt from Sango on his left encouraged him to frown and turn his attentions back to the priest.
"As I said, the miko charmed the statue to take on the guise of the youth's true nature. Because of his arrogance and money-laundering character, the youth was represented by a hideous boar, with three faces and cloven hooves. It is a truly repulsive creature now, but it's nothing he was not deserving of." With a finalizing clack, the elder set the kettle back on its plate and stirred his tea quietly. Kagome watched him, waiting for any additional comments, but it became apparent his story was over.
Miroku turned from the doorway as the servant disappeared through it and said, "But you claimed you were the one who ordered the casting of the barrier. What do you know of its current constitution? It withheld any inanimate objects that made contact with it, yet repelled our living flesh. Was that the same effect you had desired, only inverted?" He was stroking his wrist absently, perhaps remembering the pain inflicted when he cleared the barrier of its illusion spell. "And what of its reflective properties? It showed Inu-yasha and I members of our past lineage. What could possibly be the purpose of that?"
"Ah, the bloodline-repla." Chuckling, the priest raised his hand and began stroking his beard slowly. "It was truly an ingenious plan, if I do say so. Of course it was meant to have that effect only when seen from inside, and the purpose was to frighten the young priest so that he would return to his statue whenever his spirit tried to wander. Surely so arrogant an individual must come from a long line of such hubris; at least, that's what we hoped. Or perhaps seeing himself as one of his great grandfathers would frighten the youth by showing what he would become, had his current course in life continued. I really don't know anymore. I suppose I was just having a senior moment," he finished with a crooked smile. Kagome returned the expression uneasily, unsure if the man was amused by his idea or his fickle nature. Inu-yasha made a small noise of disgust in his throat, but she ignored him.
The priest glanced at Inu-yasha squarely. "You were expecting an answer. I told you, I have none. If indeed there is a way to retrieve your weapons, I'm afraid you'll have to determine how yourself. Now," he reached forward and took a fruit-filled cookie from the tray on the table and bit into it adroitly. "There is no point in starving yourselves further. Relax, eat, and I will lead you to your rooms later. I have no love of that temple or its barrier, and would just as well do away with it as protect it. If you should find a way to destroy both, I would be most obliged." Smiling, he nodded, waiting until each of them reluctantly took a pastry or cup of tea to sip. They were undeniably famished, but the strangeness of the situation kept them hesitant. Eventually, though, hunger won out, and they ate the meal the priest provided after he called in his servants and gave them more orders. Shippou and Kirara seemed content, which allowed the rest of them to relax slightly as well. 'Maybe,' Kagome thought as the priest bid them rise and began to lead them down a hallway outside. 'Maybe, he's just a nice person...' Her last thought trailed off into doubt, and she watched Inu-yasha stalk along beside the priest with a saddened and worried expression. 'Whatever the case, I hope we find a way to get Tetsusaiga back. I don't even want to *think* about what Inu-yasha would do if we can't find a way.' Her imagination flashed, showing episodes of Inu-yasha hurting himself by ramming into the wall and even trying to jump over it from far above in the trees, and she shuddered in response to all of them. 'He'd kill himself for sure!' Hopefully, though, they would find a way. They had to. There was no way Inu-yasha would ever stop trying if they didn't.
*---*
Well, that completely deviated from the plan...they were just supposed to get the cure from the priest then go back to the temple and deal with the next flood of events, but as you can see, things didn't turn out that way...
Hopefully, though, this is more interesting. This chapter had no action at all, just like the last one. I'm sorry. Don't worry, though; next chapter there's a grand ol' battle royal! Yay! Or something...er.
I sort of made up a new meaning for the word "warder". I'm sorry. Just blame it on literary license.
"Until next time" is Saro's () saying, so I'm just going to say "Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back for more!" instead. Ugh, corny, but I can't think of anything better. Hey! I'll give a cookie to whoever can give me a good thing to say at the end of each chapter.
Until then, though...
Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back for more!