First off I would like to thank Fukai-Ao. You were my only reviewer and it is because of the wonderful review you left that I have decided to finish posting this story. I will love you forever!
To everyone else: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! I would really appreciate some feedback on it. As I mentioned before this was my final for my Creative Writing class. My teacher is really slow with grading so I probably won't get it back for a couple of weeks. ::Sigh:: But anyways…He also doesn't know Inuyasha and I want to know what fans of the show think. So I'm begging… whether you think it is good, bad, or whatever PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!
I also just wanted to tell everyone how much work went into this project. Not only did I write this 25 page story, I also made 12 illustrations, wrote 4 character sketches, did a 2 page write up on the Sengoku Jidai and demon folklore, which was all put together in a binder. Then I made a ceramic statue of Kanjiro which I painted with acrylics. After all that work I then had to present it to the class. I think my brain leaked out of my head at some point. But, honestly it was worth it. This is my baby and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Maybe someday I'll post the pictures (that took me over 20 hors to do) on my website. Don't forget to check it out. It's posted on my FanFiction.Net profile page! I worked really hard on it!
Okay, that was a long note. So no more delay! Onto the story!
Must I say it? I don't own Inuyasha or Jinenji. I only claim the names Sayuri and Kanjiro, the character Narumi, and my idea for the plot is based off of episode 31. The rest all belongs to the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"The Light of the Demon"
Part Two: Kanjiro's Story
We continued on into the chilly night, just Sayuri and I. She held my hand so tightly I feared my fingers would snap if I didn't have demon strength. I had never met such a strong girl, no woman before. And her strength wasn't just physical. Though she was no more than fourteen she faced her uncertain future with great courage. She was leaving the only place she had ever known to be with me a demon she barely knew. I could sense her uncertainty. That was evident in her grip, yet she showed no fear or regret. I admired her bravery.
She looked up at me with her deep brown eyes and gave me a warm smile, lighting up her face, which broke me away from my reverie. I was concerned for her she knew nothing of what my life had been, or what it would be like for her. Her beautiful smile fell to a frown.
"Kanjiro, what's the matter? Is something wrong? Do you not want me to come with you?" Her entire body began to shake and I could smell the salty tears come to her eyes. Without thinking I pulled her into the tightest embrace I had ever given or received. She stiffened up then relaxed in my arms.
"I promise…" I tried hard to keep my voice from shaking. "I promise, I will never let anything happen to you."
This was not the answer she was searching for, but she accepted it by placing her delicate arms around me. I don't know how long we stood there in that loving embrace, but it wasn't long enough. When we broke apart she stood there smiling up at me and all I could do was smile back. We were together. That was all that truly mattered.
We began walking again, hand in hand, under the blanket of stars high in the sky. It grew later and later until I noticed Sayuri lagging behind a little. I could have gone at that pace for days but she was human and they do need sleep. I chuckled and in one motion she was on my back. When she was over the initial shock she rested her head between my shoulder blades and softly began playing with my hair, not that it bothered me. It was just no one had ever done something like that to me before. Her breathing evened out, but before she completely fell asleep she mumbled one last thing.
"Kanjiro?"
"Hm…" I replied.
"Where are we going?"
Once again I smiled. She had been following me the entire night without a clue as to where I was taking her. Yet she trusted me enough to continue. Is it possible for a human to trust a demon so completely?
"We are headed to my home which is quite a distance away. Go to sleep we'll be there by morning."
She said something incoherent which I took as an "okay" and finally fell into a deep sleep.
I stopped to make sure that she was securely on my back and took a deep breath. Sayuri's soft snoring reaching my ears. She truly was a remarkable woman. I counted myself truly lucky to find her. I looked towards the horizon, it was nearing dawn. Unless I hurried we would not make it to my hut by morning. I looked up to the tree-tops. I had not traveled that way in a while it would be fun, not to mention faster. I clutched Sayuri tighter to make sure she would not fall off and in one bound I was up on top of the trees jumping from one to the next making sure not to put too much weight on any branch or linger either so they would not snap or we would plummet quite far to the ground. I would have been fine but my precious cargo would not have been.
I continued on for a couple hours until the sun graced the land with its presence. And slowly my home came into view. It grew with each bound on the tree-tops. At the last tree I took one last jump softly touching the ground.
Sayuri was sleeping just as soundly as she had been when I started my little run. I gently called her name in order to wake her without startling her. She came to and lifted her head. I heard her sharp intake of breath as she took in her surroundings. At first I thought she was displeased or maybe she had thought about her decision of coming with me and come to the conclusion that it was a mistake. But then I realized, the scent of fear was completely absent from her.
She slowly climbed off my back causing me to become chilled from her sudden absence. She walked in the opposite direction of the hut, her head twisting in ten different directions trying to take in everything around her. In an instant she had flung herself into my arms. She was giggling! This woman would never cease to amaze me. She was in an unfamiliar place and here she was giggling hysterically.
"I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "It's so beautiful! There are so many trees and…and there is a river." She explained and pointed to the rear of the hut as if I had never been here before either.
"Yes, Sayuri, I know," I said in an amused tone. "There are many things here that I will show you another time. For now let's get you settled."
I removed the reed pack from her back, grabbed her hand and led her into our home. It was quite dark even for my eyes so I set her pack in the corner for her and went to the fire pit in the center of the room to make a fire of the leftover wood. She quietly unpacked the few things she had managed to bring. From what I could tell it looked like an extra kimono and a bit of food. Apparently she hadn't been sure she would find me.
This just made me all the more happy that I had decided to spend some more time watching over her. If I had left she probably would have gotten herself lost, ran out of food or become food for another less friendly demon. Though I had never met one of those types of demons personally, I knew they existed. My parents had told me the stories when I was younger.
When she was done unpacking her belongings she came to sit on the opposite side of the fire I had managed to start. She warmed her hands, yet remained unusually quiet. She looked up at me and grinned showing her appreciation, but rather than smiling back at her I looked down at my hands which were folded in my lap.
"I'm sorry Sayuri."
"Huh? What for?" She sounded confused.
"I'm sorry that I don't have much to offer you. This place is only one room and there isn't much here, but-" I was cut off when she abruptly stood up walked around behind me and wrapped her slender arms around my shoulders.
"Kanjiro, I didn't come with you to be treated as a princess. To be honest my father and I didn't have much more that this." It surprised me that she could speak of him so indifferently. "I came here…" she continued, "to be with you and only you. It doesn't bother me that you are a demon. You are a much better person than any human that I have ever met." She came to sit beside me so I tuned to face her. "So please, get rid of all that doubt that you have, and don't tell me you don't because I have been seeing it on your face since you hugged me last night." She punctuated the last part by raising her voice. "Here is something I can promise you, I will be fine, and I will always love you no matter what."
With that I drew her into another embrace and just took in her wonderful scent, trying to engrain it into my memory. I loved everything about her. I just wondered why I had been so lucky to find her. What had I done to please the greater power that they had bestowed upon me such a wonderful treasure? Of that I couldn't be sure.
I released her and gently took her hand helping her to stand.
"How about I show Milady around her new home now?" I jokingly questioned offering her my elbow.
"That would be wonderful. I would be delighted, kind Sir," she giggled accepting my invitation.
I showed her the forest that surrounded our hut along the sides and the back as well as the river running through it that she had discovered earlier. The entire time her eyes were wide with excitement.
"And through there," I pointed through the clearing in front of the hut. "That is the way to the nearest village. It is quite a distance off though."
Her smile brightened at that. I couldn't have been happier. I didn't go there much for obvious reasons, but there was no reason why she couldn't.
She explored for a while asking questions all the while smiling. She liked it here which in turn overjoyed me. As the sun sank below the horizon I took her hand and led her back into the hut.
"I don't want you wandering outside alone at night, Sayuri. Even though I am here there are other demons that could attack you."
She nodded in understanding and followed me inside.
Two years passed quickly. We had set into a routine. We would take a walk in the early morning, and when we returned Sayuri would tend to her small garden that I had set up for her while I went off to hunt for our evening meal. Every few days, she would go off to the village to pick up some grains and other supplies we needed. Each time she returned home she would tell me of the wonderful time she had and how the friends she had made were doing. She never pressured me into accompanying her, she understood what would happen.
Yet I still wondered if anyone in the village knew she was wed to a demon. They certainly knew that I had live here for a long time and were less than happy about it, but they never seemed to bother her so I refrained from questioning her about it.
Towards the end of our second year together Sayuri became pregnant. We were overjoyed at the prospect of having a child, but we discussed many times over what it would be like for the child. It would be a Hanyou, a half demon child born of the human and demon races. Sayuri would often cry.
"Where will our child go? What will become of it?" she questioned one night.
"We will worry about that when the time comes. For now, let's just worry about keeping it healthy and happy. So long as we love it, it will have a place," I tried to console her. She leaned against my chest and sniffled.
"I'm scared," she said. I remained quiet and let her talk. "Not for me, but for our child. I truly am frightened. I almost wish we weren't having this baby!"
I wrapped my arms around her letting them rest on her swollen belly.
I was astonished. Why was she speaking in such a manner? I had to make her understand that things would be alright. "Well I certainly don't. We've come this far, Sayuri, we can do this. I won't let you go through this alone, okay. No more regrets. We can't change what has already happened; we can only shape our future."
She finally stopped crying and relaxed I held her tighter until she drifted off to sleep. "It's going to be alright," I whispered gently in her ear.
Sayuri continued her visits to the village, but grew concerned. The other villagers had seemingly been avoiding her. I suspected it was because of the baby and kept my guard up whenever she went there.
It was the middle of the night during her tenth month when the baby finally came. I had been given a son, a healthy baby boy. There was something different about him though. He did not resemble either of us. His nose had been replaced by a snout and he was slightly larger than a newborn should have been. We both figured it was the combination of human and demon blood that had given him his slightly odd appearance. We loved him unconditionally, and I wanted to make sure he knew that.
A few days later Sayuri took the baby with her into the village. I tried to convince her not to go but she insisted that she wanted to show her friends the baby and we needed some supplies for him anyways. I begrudgingly let her go but while she was gone I kept all my senses turned towards the village.
I knew I shouldn't have let her go I should have followed my instincts. For while they were in that village the air turned bitter cold and the wind carried a bitter scent. The villagers were not pleased that there was a new demon living near them. There was hate just coursing through that place.
When Sayuri retuned she didn't say much. She only put away the things she had bought, tucked the baby in bed then went to sleep herself. I had watched the entire process. She had done it very slow, and it was almost as if she weren't even thinking about what she was doing. It was so unlike her.
I couldn't sleep. There was something bothering me. I pondered for a while alternating between watching her sleep and looking out the window. Then I realized something. Usually it was quiet, but on this night the village was bustling with activity. I was not something Sayuri could have heard, but with my demon senses it was clear. Torches were being lit and men were shouting. Not one person, man, woman, or child was sleeping which was strange considering it was the middle of the night.
The villagers then began making their way towards our home. The voices died down apparently so they could sneak upon us. I turned back towards Sayuri and the baby, sleeping so peacefully completely unaware of the impending doom that was approaching. I had to get them out of there. I frantically ran around the hut gathering only the things we needed and shoving them into a pack. I knew a safe place where I could take Sayuri and our baby. Finally I placed the pack on my back and gathered my family in my arms.
Sayuri awoke. "Kanjiro," she said groggily. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there," I said rushed but trying to keep the panic out of my voice. The villagers were coming fast. We had to get out of there. For the first time in two years I took to the trees trying to remain out of the sight of the villagers.
As I fled I contemplated. Sayuri had been placed in these situations because of me. I hated seeing her go through this. I had come to a decision. I would sick by it.
I came upon the herb farm I had been searching for. I jumped down in front of the hut just as I had done before. I set down Sayuri and placed the baby in her arms. She looked around the land then turned to face me.
"Okay," she said. The irritation was obvious in her voice. "Tell me what is going on right now."
I took a deep breath trying to maintain my composure. "The villagers were coming to attack us. I can only assume it's because of the baby and…me."
"Kanjiro that's the most ridiculous thing I've eve-"
"That is why," I interrupted, "I have decided to bring you and the baby here. This herb farm was left to me by my father. I am now passing it onto our son."
"Kanjiro, you don't mean that-" she began to cry.
I felt terrible that was the last thing I had wanted to do. I walked up to her and wrapped my arm around her.
"Sayuri, if I stay you'll only be in more danger." I lifted her head so her eyes met mine. "I love you, more than anything, which is why I must leave. I can make one last promise though. I will keep watch. You and our baby will never be alone. This way I can keep my first promise to you. She smiled weakly and I gently kissed her forehead. I whispered one last "I love you" before I turned to leave.
"Wait, Kanjiro!" Sayuri shouted after me. "I turned back to meet her gaze and she set the baby in my arms. I looked at her questioningly and she automatically replied "You never gave him a name."
Her actions once again took me by surprise, but I thought about it for a minute then said gently, "I shall name him for what he is so that he will never forget his heritage. I shall name my son Jinenji, my little "Earth Boy".
I hugged him tightly one last time then handed him back to Sayuri. I smiled at her then turned and began to walk away. She whispered just loud enough for me to hear, "I love you too." If a human had heard they would have sworn that the wind had just sighed. I smiled inwardly as a tear fell down my cheek. I never looked back, that would have hurt too much. Instead I continued on, with my head lowered. Maybe someday I could return to Sayuri and Jinenji, but for now I could only watch my family grow from afar.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The FINAL part will be up soon! Please review and tell me what you think!