Chapter 5: White Hands, Black Soul
Oh, Kami!
Uggghhhh…
Can you hear me?
Ohhhh…Ahhhh…
Don't try to move, you'll make it worse.
Aaagggghhh…
Let me have a look at you.
Oh, dear, this is terrible…Kaede!
Hai, Onee-sama?*
Go get help. Hurry!
Hai!
Ooohhhhh…
Can you speak? No? Lie still, help is coming.
Onee-sama! We're back!
Here, be gentle. Watch his head. Take him to the cave, and lay him next to the other man.
Hai, Kikyo-sama.
..............
Ohhhh…what's going on? My head, my back, my legs…everything feels wrecked. Where am I…Aaaahh! The pain! I guess I can't move just yet. I must open my eyes, though. I have to see where I am.
My eyes open to almost total darkness. I can't see a thing. Is it nighttime, or am I just inside? There are no stars, so it must be inside. The floor beneath me is soft, a pad. Beneath it is damp, and smells of earth; it must be the ground. I am on the ground, yet inside? What is this?
After the pain subsides, I try to move a little. The first thing I notice is that there is some sort of crude brace on my neck, to keep it from moving, I suppose. My left arm is alright, and…OWWWW! My right arm is not. I touch it gently with my left hand, finding that the bone isn't badly broken or shattered. Good, it is only a small fracture. Now for my legs. Let's see….neither will move, and it hurts when I try anyway.
So that's it then. I am immobilized, unable to walk and therefore unable to pursue my objective. Damn it all! Damn! It! To! Hell!
I must be calm; pounding the dirt will get me nowhere. Which brings me to my next question, where am I? There was no cave at the bottom of the hillside, so I must have been moved, but by whom? A hand alights on my shoulder.
"How are you?" I start with a gasp. It is a female voice, but I can't see her face. Who is she? Is she the one who brought me here?
"Can you hear me?"
"Yes, who are you?"
"First, who are you? You are dressed strangely, and when I found you, there was a strange aura around you. Yet you are not youkai."
"That aura was a shield, created by a machine. I am not youkai, but human. Now would you please step in front of me? I can't turn my head."
In a rustling of ancient fabric, she moves into view. Immediately, I realize I must be dreaming. What I see is impossible. I see a woman, young, wearing an older style kimono of white and red. Her hair is long and black, held back by an elaborate ribbon. Her beauty is breathtaking. Of course I would think so, she looks exactly like Kagome! Yet this is not her. The difference is in the eyes. This woman's eyes are full of sadness, while Kagome's always danced with life. This brings my senses back to me, and I can speak again.
"Who are you?"
"You seem shocked."
"You resemble someone I know."
"Very well. I am Kikyo, Priestess of Edo. You are in a cave near the village, where I have been tending your wounds."
What? This is Kikyo? The priestess that fell in love with Inuyasha? The first to fall victim to Naraku? Amazing…I never thought I would have the good luck to find someone straight from the annals of history, but I guess that's the advantage of a time machine.
"Whatever that aura was, it saved your life. You would have been smashed to death on the rocks. That fall was impossibly high." Hmm…The shield protected me? Oh, that's right, the shield repels anything moving at high velocity, A.K.A The Ground, bullets, energy blasts, or fire. This thing has really come in handy.
"Miko-sama…"
"Please, call me Kikyo."
"Kikyo-sama, where is the armor that I was wearing?"
"One of the villagers took it off you and left it in my home. However, I do not suggest that you try to get it. You will need to rest. You won't be able to so much as move for a week. You have several broken bones. If you lie here, the bones will mend, but if you try to move, they may not heal correctly. Until you are well again, you will be in my care. Relax. Try to rest." Her words are soothing, but I don't wish to rest. I can't rest until the evil of Naraku is destroyed, a task which only I can perform at this time. However, Kikyo is right. I will be worthless if I try to go now. Until I am well, I will not be able to find Onigumo.
"Kikyo-sama, has night fallen yet?"
"No, but the sky is darkening."
"Arigato."
"Good night…what was your name?"
"Hojo."
"Good night, Hojo-san."
With Kikyo gone and night falling, now is probably the best time to go to sleep. I will need my energy. As soon as these wounds heal, I will kill Onigumo. Damn! I forgot to ask about my guns! They must be with the armor. Oh well, now for sleep.
………..
Kagome, everything I do, it will be for you. Every sacrifice, every drop of blood spilled will be to avenge and glorify you. My dear love, I will fight to my last breath for you. I will kill anyone who stands in the way of my plan for your revival. And when every enemy is dead, every foe broken and dying on the ground, you will rise back to the land of the living. When that day comes, I will be there to greet you, a smile on my face and arms open to embrace you. My love, my dearest Kagome.
……You will fail……
What? Who speaks? Come forth from the darkness!
……You will die……
Who are you? You know not of what you are speaking, stranger. I will succeed, and Kagome will be mine!
……Your future is already written, and you shall fall at my hand……
At whose hand? Who, with such audacity, dares taunt me in my own mind? Show yourself!
……Your desire shall be your downfall……Hojo-kun……
Hojo-kun? How dare you, bastard! Come out or I will hunt you down!
……Very well……
The stranger steps from the darkness.
Who…How can this be? Kagome? Your voice is not your own. Why do you taunt me so?
I receive no response. Her face contorts into an evil smile. I begin to run toward her, before she disappears. Just as my hands reach for her face, she is gone. An unknown power flares through my body, and I am pulled back into the mists of unconsciousness, screaming in pain.
……..
"Hojo-san! Hojo-san! Awaken! Please wake up!"
"Unggghhhh…who is it?"
"It is I, Kaede. Onee-sama sent me to look after you two for a little while. Are you hungry?"
"Actually, I am. Thank you. Do you know what time it is?"
"It's morning, the sun is up already. Here is your food."
"Thank you." The young girl hands me a bowl of some strange stew, and I drink it down with relish, if a bit un-gentleman-like. She doesn't seem to mind, only walks off behind me. She had two bowls of stew in her hand. One was for me and the other must be for her own breakfast. Wait…didn't she say 'you two'? What did she mean? Is there another injured person in the cave with me? That's impossible; I would have heard someone if they were nearby, even if I couldn't see them.
"Where is that bitch sister of yours? I can't walk, but I think a part of me is ready to resume its duties. Ha HA!" A rough voice says from somewhere behind me.
"Please, sir, don't say such things. Onee-sama will be out until later. Please eat your breakfast, and don't give me any trouble."
"I don't want trouble, little girl. All I want is to show you all the things your sister has missed. Ever had a boyfriend, little girl?" Whoever this is, he infuriates me! What nerve! Saying such things to an innocent young lady, who has never been exposed to such lewd propositions, and only wants to care for his injuries. If I could walk, I would stand up and teach that man to watch his tongue. Unfortunately, I can only speak. Well, I've got to do something.
"Excuse me, would you please leave Kaede-sama alone, and just eat your breakfast like she's asking you? You are very lucky to have such people taking care of you, since you are obviously unworthy of the honor."
"So, copper-top decides to open his mouth. What are you going to do, throw a blanket at me? You can't see me, but I can see you and believe me, you got no place to be making threats, boy."
"Mark my words, stranger, once I am free of this bed, I will make you eat those words."
"Ooooh, you've got some balls, kid, but mine are bigger. You should know better than to mess with a real man."
"Please stop! Both of you! Just be quiet and lay down. Onee-sama will not be happy."
"Oh my…will the great Kikyo-sama come to discipline me? I look forward to that. Ha Ha!"
"Onigumo-san! Stop this instant!"
What did she just say! Onigumo? That bastard has been within my grasp all this time!? Yes! That's right, Kikyo was caring for a man at the time of Naraku's appearance! This is him! Injury or not, now is the time to strike. I have no guns, no armor, yet I will kill him! You bastard…
"ONIGUMO! You scum! Your life ends NOW!!!" Against the will of my body, against searing pain, against debilitating injury, keeping only the specter of Kagome and the fires of love and hate within my mind, I begin to rise. First, I will my head up from the ground, growling in pain, teeth gritted. Next, I bring my aching legs under me, and lean over onto hands and knees. Now, I can stand. I bring my right leg forward, put my weight on it, and bring the other one under me. Bones strain, muscles stretch, and joints pop, as I finally reach a standing position. Bandages and blankets fall from me.
"Hojo-san! You mustn't!"
"Stand aside, Kaede-sama. This is something I must do. Go from this place." I speak to her in as controlled a voice as I can, but the pain is raging like a demon inside me, and it comes out a fearsome growl. Drawing on an unknown source of power, I turn and look upon Onigumo for the first time. Just as I thought: an invalid, bandaged from head to foot. He won't be able to stay my hand, and neither will Kaede. I was hoping this could be done in a clean manner, but without my weapons that will be impossible. Still, he must die for Kagome to live. For that alone, I will kill him in any way possible, paying no heed to the blood spilled or the price paid. I must do this for atonement, to pay back the debt I owe for Kagome's death.
I begin a shambling walk forward. Each step is agony, each inch grinding bones together, every foot gained at the price of my already fragile body. Sealed wounds bleed freely, fractures widen, and the demon screams louder. Nothing will hold me back.
I notice vaguely that Kaede has left. Good, she won't have to witness the carnage I will unfurl.
"Well, well coppertop, maybe your balls are bigger than mine. But you still don't have brains. Your body will give out before you even get close to me, and you'll be stuck on the ground even longer. What a fool! Ha Ha! Ha Ha Ha!"
"You…piece of…shit…You have no idea who I am…I will have your head!" This monster is within mere feet. I am so close!
"Hojo-san! Stop!" I hear a twang, and the sound of the air being split by a projectile. I look down and see an arrow only inches from my feet. To my left stands Kikyo, her eyes empty, another arrow already on the string. "The next shot will be at you heart. Go back to your bed."
"Kikyo-sama! This man is not innocent; in days he will rise up and kill you! He must be destroyed so that he can do no harm!"
"Don't speak foolishly. This man will never be able to walk again. He will never leave his place. He cannot kill even himself."
"He will, one day soon. His soul…" Oh god, I can't stand this pain…my body…don't give up!
"Hojo-san, please lie down. You have already hurt yourself enough."
I can't stand anymore. I slump to the ground, murderous desire gone, for now. Tomorrow is another day, and no matter what injuries I sustain, the force of my hate will keep me alive.
……………………….
Hai-yes
Onee-sama-older sister: Kaede's standard term when referring to Kikyo.