Note - this chapter has been revised. See the footnote at the end of
chapter 8 for more details
Chapter 5 - Memory Plight
"The youkai is this way!" one man said, leading a group of taijiya through the forest. He had claimed that Tsumeku was a vicious youkai, coming to claim them all for food.
Tsumeku heard rustling in the bushes, and stopped. She saw two people step out, both dressed in traditional taijiya attire. She walked towards them, wanting to ask where the village was, and stopped short.
One of them held up a bow made of a large, flexible bone, and had notched an arrow covered in youkai poison, aimed straight at Tsumeku. The other had drawn a wakizashi, and stepped into a fighting stance. The sword blade glimmered in her eyes, blinding her partially. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
By this time, dawn was fast approaching, and Kunouku was about to leave on patrol. He found his father, Sesshoumaru, waiting in his study.
"Father? Do you not think that we should wake Tsumeku? It is almost time to depart..." he said, noticing his sister was not present.
"Tsumeku? I do not know of any... oh, yes. You must not have heard, she was let off a few hours ago, we had no more use for her." he replied, eyeing his son.
"Huh? Let off? But, why would you do that?" Kunouku said, stunned at what his father had just said.
"Well, her ability to work as a servant was no longer enough to fit our needs. She was just getting too weak to handle the jobs assigned." Sesshoumaru said, by now thoroughly confused at his son's inquiry.
'Why... Tsumeku isn't... a servant..." Kunouku thought, staring open-mouthed as he followed his father out of the room. He dropped by his bedroom, and grabbed his wakizashi. Looking down at it, he grimaced, remembering that he had not cleaned the blood off it from last night's spar. He had managed to hit his sister once, dirtying the blade.
He unsheathed the sword, and stopped dead in his tracks. There was not one trace of his twin's blood staining the blade, no matter how many times he turned it to look.
"Oh, Kami-sama...." he gasped, remembering the dream from the night
before.
"It wasn't... a dream... Tsumeku is really.... gone..." he said, staring at the wakizashi in his hands.
"Kunouku! What is taking so long?" his father said from outside the
door, making Kunouku scramble to sheathe the sword.
"Coming, Father." he said, hurrying out the door. He saw Rin, his mother, on the way down the hall, and gave her a brief hug.
"Bye Kunouku..." she said, embracing him warmly. "I know that no youkai will beat my little strong one.." she said, tousling his hair.
'So... Okaasan doesn't know about her anymore, either...?' he wondered, watching his mother walk down the hall. He solemnly followed his father out of the front gates, and mounted Ah-Un, the family's pet horse-dragon.
(I think that is what it is...)
Sesshoumaru sped below, just in front of his son, thinking quietly to himself. 'Why does my son care so much about a measly servant girl? Could he have gotten attached while she was in our service?" he wondered, as he headed for the Eastern border. Something picked at his mind, a memory of some sort, but he could not recall it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Kyaaa!" Tsumeku gasped, as an arrow barely missed her face. A thin line of blood formed across her cheek, where it had skimmed past.
"Why do you attack our village, murderous youkai!?" the taijiya holding the bow said, notching another one to fire.
"I-I don't know what you are talking about, I haven't even been here before!" Tsumeku replied, shaking heavily.
"You lie! Some of our villagers said that you attacked them, and tried to kill them!" the other taijiya said, sticking the sword out at her.
"I don't even know how to fight... I don't even know who I am... could you tell me?" she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.
"You don't know how to fight? Then why did our kin say you attacked?" he asked, suspiciously. At this, the three men who had run from her started to look nervous, their little exaggeration being exposed.
One taijiya turned to them, and interrogated them, while the other kept watch on Tsumeku. She had begun to shiver violently, mainly because she was wet from the river.
"You say you did not attack these men?" the first one said, turning back around.
"Yes... I wouldn't do so, even if I could fight..." Tsumeku said, putting her arms around herself to keep warm.
"Well, then, sorry for the inconvenience...we are going to leave you alone now.." he said, glaring at the three men.
"H-hey, wait.. could I come with you?" she said, teeth chattering. "It is cold out, and I am drenched..."
"Don't push it, youkai, we have already been lenient with you..." he said, turning to leave.
She sighed, watching the group leave. She looked up, and saw a bright silver flash streak across the sky, just above the treetops. A ryuu-youkai followed, carrying a young man.
She watched as they disappeared from sight, wondering why they seemed so familiar to her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There is a weak youkai below us... but, not strong enough to bother with..." Sesshoumaru called back to his son, having just flown over Tsumeku.
Kunouku hadn't even detected the youki from it, nor seen it as he had scanned the forest.
They came over a ridge, and landed in a clearing. Tethering Ah-Un to a tree, Kunouku removed a saddle-pack from the beast's side, and began to take out some food.
They ate in silence, neither had come across any formidable threats in their patrol.
Kunouku looked at his surroundings, wondering what his sister would have thought of the clearing. There were orchids strewn across a meadow, his sister's favorite flower...
"Or, used to be...." he said, chewing on a piece of meat.
"What was that, Kunouku? I didn't quite hear what you said..." Sesshoumaru said, coming over to join his son.
"It was nothing... I was just thinking aloud..." he mumbled, ripping off another hunk of meat. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsumeku made her way through the brush, intent on finding the ones who had flown over her. Maybe they could help her figure who she was, or tell her where she could go to rest. She saw a leather bag on the ground, and picked it up. Emptying its contents into her hand, she discovered some coins, and a few herbs.
"Enough to buy me some food and lodging... and I could sell this..." she said, fingering the herb. She walked towards the hill, in silence.
"I wonder where they went.... I think it was over that hill over there.." she said to herself, looking around.
She stopped for a while, tired from her journey. Taking out the leather pouch, she went over to some nearby berry bushes, picking some to drop into the bag. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Come on, we still have a great portion of the lands to patrol." Sesshoumaru said, swallowing a last minute bite of meat.
"Yeah, I'm coming..." Kunouku said, picking up his wakizashi. He remounted Ah-Un, and they took off.
Tsumeku looked up, gasping, as the ones she was following took off. She frantically popped a few berries into her mouth, and ran after them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I again apologize for the lack of updates for this and my other stories. The long version of things is at the header and footer of chapter 5. Otherwise... I just didn't have much time until summer break started to do the things I wanted to.
Ja ne... Riinuka, signing off. Anata wa hyouron shimashou ne? ((you will review, huh?))
Chapter 5 - Memory Plight
"The youkai is this way!" one man said, leading a group of taijiya through the forest. He had claimed that Tsumeku was a vicious youkai, coming to claim them all for food.
Tsumeku heard rustling in the bushes, and stopped. She saw two people step out, both dressed in traditional taijiya attire. She walked towards them, wanting to ask where the village was, and stopped short.
One of them held up a bow made of a large, flexible bone, and had notched an arrow covered in youkai poison, aimed straight at Tsumeku. The other had drawn a wakizashi, and stepped into a fighting stance. The sword blade glimmered in her eyes, blinding her partially. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
By this time, dawn was fast approaching, and Kunouku was about to leave on patrol. He found his father, Sesshoumaru, waiting in his study.
"Father? Do you not think that we should wake Tsumeku? It is almost time to depart..." he said, noticing his sister was not present.
"Tsumeku? I do not know of any... oh, yes. You must not have heard, she was let off a few hours ago, we had no more use for her." he replied, eyeing his son.
"Huh? Let off? But, why would you do that?" Kunouku said, stunned at what his father had just said.
"Well, her ability to work as a servant was no longer enough to fit our needs. She was just getting too weak to handle the jobs assigned." Sesshoumaru said, by now thoroughly confused at his son's inquiry.
'Why... Tsumeku isn't... a servant..." Kunouku thought, staring open-mouthed as he followed his father out of the room. He dropped by his bedroom, and grabbed his wakizashi. Looking down at it, he grimaced, remembering that he had not cleaned the blood off it from last night's spar. He had managed to hit his sister once, dirtying the blade.
He unsheathed the sword, and stopped dead in his tracks. There was not one trace of his twin's blood staining the blade, no matter how many times he turned it to look.
"Oh, Kami-sama...." he gasped, remembering the dream from the night
before.
"It wasn't... a dream... Tsumeku is really.... gone..." he said, staring at the wakizashi in his hands.
"Kunouku! What is taking so long?" his father said from outside the
door, making Kunouku scramble to sheathe the sword.
"Coming, Father." he said, hurrying out the door. He saw Rin, his mother, on the way down the hall, and gave her a brief hug.
"Bye Kunouku..." she said, embracing him warmly. "I know that no youkai will beat my little strong one.." she said, tousling his hair.
'So... Okaasan doesn't know about her anymore, either...?' he wondered, watching his mother walk down the hall. He solemnly followed his father out of the front gates, and mounted Ah-Un, the family's pet horse-dragon.
(I think that is what it is...)
Sesshoumaru sped below, just in front of his son, thinking quietly to himself. 'Why does my son care so much about a measly servant girl? Could he have gotten attached while she was in our service?" he wondered, as he headed for the Eastern border. Something picked at his mind, a memory of some sort, but he could not recall it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Kyaaa!" Tsumeku gasped, as an arrow barely missed her face. A thin line of blood formed across her cheek, where it had skimmed past.
"Why do you attack our village, murderous youkai!?" the taijiya holding the bow said, notching another one to fire.
"I-I don't know what you are talking about, I haven't even been here before!" Tsumeku replied, shaking heavily.
"You lie! Some of our villagers said that you attacked them, and tried to kill them!" the other taijiya said, sticking the sword out at her.
"I don't even know how to fight... I don't even know who I am... could you tell me?" she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.
"You don't know how to fight? Then why did our kin say you attacked?" he asked, suspiciously. At this, the three men who had run from her started to look nervous, their little exaggeration being exposed.
One taijiya turned to them, and interrogated them, while the other kept watch on Tsumeku. She had begun to shiver violently, mainly because she was wet from the river.
"You say you did not attack these men?" the first one said, turning back around.
"Yes... I wouldn't do so, even if I could fight..." Tsumeku said, putting her arms around herself to keep warm.
"Well, then, sorry for the inconvenience...we are going to leave you alone now.." he said, glaring at the three men.
"H-hey, wait.. could I come with you?" she said, teeth chattering. "It is cold out, and I am drenched..."
"Don't push it, youkai, we have already been lenient with you..." he said, turning to leave.
She sighed, watching the group leave. She looked up, and saw a bright silver flash streak across the sky, just above the treetops. A ryuu-youkai followed, carrying a young man.
She watched as they disappeared from sight, wondering why they seemed so familiar to her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There is a weak youkai below us... but, not strong enough to bother with..." Sesshoumaru called back to his son, having just flown over Tsumeku.
Kunouku hadn't even detected the youki from it, nor seen it as he had scanned the forest.
They came over a ridge, and landed in a clearing. Tethering Ah-Un to a tree, Kunouku removed a saddle-pack from the beast's side, and began to take out some food.
They ate in silence, neither had come across any formidable threats in their patrol.
Kunouku looked at his surroundings, wondering what his sister would have thought of the clearing. There were orchids strewn across a meadow, his sister's favorite flower...
"Or, used to be...." he said, chewing on a piece of meat.
"What was that, Kunouku? I didn't quite hear what you said..." Sesshoumaru said, coming over to join his son.
"It was nothing... I was just thinking aloud..." he mumbled, ripping off another hunk of meat. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsumeku made her way through the brush, intent on finding the ones who had flown over her. Maybe they could help her figure who she was, or tell her where she could go to rest. She saw a leather bag on the ground, and picked it up. Emptying its contents into her hand, she discovered some coins, and a few herbs.
"Enough to buy me some food and lodging... and I could sell this..." she said, fingering the herb. She walked towards the hill, in silence.
"I wonder where they went.... I think it was over that hill over there.." she said to herself, looking around.
She stopped for a while, tired from her journey. Taking out the leather pouch, she went over to some nearby berry bushes, picking some to drop into the bag. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Come on, we still have a great portion of the lands to patrol." Sesshoumaru said, swallowing a last minute bite of meat.
"Yeah, I'm coming..." Kunouku said, picking up his wakizashi. He remounted Ah-Un, and they took off.
Tsumeku looked up, gasping, as the ones she was following took off. She frantically popped a few berries into her mouth, and ran after them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I again apologize for the lack of updates for this and my other stories. The long version of things is at the header and footer of chapter 5. Otherwise... I just didn't have much time until summer break started to do the things I wanted to.
Ja ne... Riinuka, signing off. Anata wa hyouron shimashou ne? ((you will review, huh?))