Lone Wolf
I stand alone…
By Crystal Arrow
Disclaimer- You will notice that there are a lot of original characters in this story, along with the characters from Inuyasha. Please get it through your thick skull that I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters, but all of the original characters, which I am hoping you're able to discern on your own.
Chapter Nine: Begin again, Friends?
Aiko sat in annoyance within the smoky hut. It smelled strongly of herbs, not unpleasant, just a bit too strong for her sensitive nose. And the little girls that ran about the inside of the small hut really grated on her nerves, screeching and giggling as they reenacted Aiko's fight with the ogre, again, and again, and again.
The smallest of the three girls within the hut, named Mariko, was cute, very young, and probably completely unaware what the two elder girls were doing. The elder two, being no more then five or six, named Yukina and Tomoi, did most of the acting, Tomoi with her two little pigtails playing the part of the ogre, trying desperately to sound gruff and scary, and Yukina with her loose black locks playing the part if Aiko defeating the ogre. Mariko cheered from Aiko's bedside. It had been amusing the first time the three little girls acted out for Aiko, but now, it being nearly midnight, she grew tired of their games. The demon girl pondered how if she was a more treacherous demon, uncaring for human health, she would likely kill the girls now and get them out of her face. She imagined it several times, almost smiled at some of her plans, fully knowing she would never carry them out, especially when the little Mariko, no more than a toddler, turned to face her, all smiles, clapping and giggling happily.
Once again, Mariko smiled at Aiko, and the two other village girls began the reenactment for the twentieth time, she sighed hopelessly. Stupid old lady, leaving me with a bunch of kids way into the night, aren't I injured, don't I need my rest? Just then, the said old lady entered the hut carrying a basket full of herbs, some already half crumpled or shorn from use in aiding the villagers.
The miko slowly set down her basket and the bandages she carried with her, then putting everything in its proper place, unpacking so unbearably slow that Aiko thought, I might as well just die here, she'd never reach me in time, even if I never died for another three hundred years! But the miko finished after an agonizingly long time, taking a seat across the fire from Aiko just as the girls finished another round of Aiko's battle with the Ogre. Mariko began to smile and clap, Yukina and Tomoi taking their bows in fake modesty.
They would have started again, had the miko now stopped them. "Thank you, my children." She said in her wise aged voice. "You've done a wonderful job of watching our new friend for me, now go to your families and rest the night, tomorrow will be a busy day children."
Aiko stared incredulously at the miko as the girls bowed to her and the miko and left giggling.
"Them…. take care of me?" She asked
"Yes."
"I can take care of myself thank you. I'm not that injured, you know!" the demon exclaimed indignantly.
Miko slowly took herbs from a bowl beside her and began to crush them, filling the hut with fresh herb smells. "I needed to make sure you did not take leave of us too early. Besides, you enjoyed their company."
"Sure I did." She replied sarcastically.
"Just sleep."
"I don't need to."
" Sleep." And the miko blew the freshly crushed herbs over the fire to her, they smelled sweet, like flowers in bloom, and soon the firelight faded and Aiko fell into a peaceful slumber.
Aiko awoke refreshed in the morning, very unlike her last awakening to pain. The sun had risen and now cast warm light through the roughly made door, shining gently on her relaxed form. The hut was empty, save for her, the fire out, and the herb smell faded slightly with the fresh air.
She rose and stretched, taking her sweet time, what's the rush? Nothing to worry about, the demon threat was gone and she was taken care of for the first time in months.
However, outside the tiny shelter she heard the men of the village working, rebuilding the village destroyed by the ogre before her coming. "Maybe I should get up and help." She thought. Finishing her stretch, she straightened her clothes and concentrated on her appearance. She felt warmth spread over her as the stripes faded from her cheeks. Her ears rounded and her fangs, claws and tail disappeared, and last of all, her eyes darkened from pale green to a dark forest green, flecked with brown, her former bright emerald darkened by betrayal. Removing a ribbon from within her kimono, she tied up her hair in a messy knot at the base of her neck and stepped out into the light of a fresh morning.
Outside, village men worked tirelessly to rebuild their homes. They used wood still intact from their destroyed homes and freshly cut wood and thatch to construct the homes. Several were already up, and in these few, women tended to children, and the younger adults, the teen villagers came in from the fields wielding what crops they could salvage from the trampled fields. The miko woman stood among the men constructing the buildings ordering them about. The village was unified, all happy, some sang as they worked. As Aiko stood in the doorway of the shack watching the united village, happy together as a community, her loneliness increased before she even realized she was lonely.
"Yokai-dono!" She heard little voices yell to her. She turned in the direction the voices came from, and running towards her were the three little girls, Mariko, Yukina, and Tomoi. The stopped a few feet from her and stared. Aiko stared back, reluctant to say anything.
The youngest, Mariko stepped forward, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "Yokai-dono," she asked. "Why are you human?"
Aiko blinked, blinked again, and then began to laugh. "Ahahahah! Oh, I'm sorry, I can disguise myself as a human, it's still me."
At that, the girls smiled widely, giggling and prancing about her, chanting her newly given name. "Yokai-dono! Yokai-dono!"
The demon smiled, her loneliness fading, "Come now, I have a name!"
"You do!?" Tomoi exclaimed.
It seems they didn't realize demons had names too. Aiko sighed, "Demons have names too, you know!" the girls stared up at her expectantly. She crossed her arms and huffed, "It's Aiko."
"AIKO!!!" the girls screeched in delight, dancing about her and once again, giggling. So carefree, Aiko thought, I used to be like that, back home…
She was interrupted from her reverie as Yukina yelled out, "Let's play!"
"Ah no, I was going to help the adults rebuild."
"But," pouted Tomoi "that's a men's job! Come play with us!"
Now Aiko laughed. These kids really brought out the best of her, "Later, okay?"
"Pinky promise?" Yukina asked.
"Isn't that for between friends?"
"But, you're our friend!" Mariko cried.
"I might have to leave."
"No!" they all cried.
"Please stay!" Yukina cried out. "You can't leave your new friends so soon, you have to stay and play with us sometime."
Aiko was touched, "You want me to stay?"
"Yeah!" they all answered.
"Okay, I promise I'll play with you later, and I won't leave for a while."
"Pinky promise?"
"Pinky promise!" And with that Aiko crossed pinkies with each girl in turn then left to aid the villagers.
Night set down upon the village after a day's long work. The cool breeze felt wonderful to Aiko after working all day long in her human form. In a single day, most of the houses had been roughly reconstructed, needing only slight individual corrections before being livable again. She collapsed in a heap of spare straw with a sigh. The village men laughed.
"So weary? There's more to be done tomorrow! Can you handle it?"
"What do you think?" was Aiko's response. But the men weren't offended, they laughed, accepting Aiko, and incredibly thankful for her help, she did twice as much work as any man there.
"Well then my child, will you stay another day?" a voice asked form behind her. Aiko jumped, turning midair to face the intruder. It was the old miko of the village.
"How do you keep sneaking up on me?"
The miko smiled kindly, "Shall you stay."
"Well of course!" Aiko snorted. "I'm not one to leave my work half-done, and I made a promise to play with the girls. I don't break my promises." She looked up at the miko, green eyes sparkling in the dimming air, "I'll be having to stay for a while, you know, my wounds need tending, rebuilding the village, it'll be a while before I get around to my promise, so I'll have to stay a few days with them to make up for it, you know." She finished with a grin.
The miko smile back, "We'll be glad to keep you for as long as you wish or you duties keep you here."
"Well, I'll have to stay a long while then, I mean, you are all so defenseless against demons, what would you do without me? I'll have to make sure no demons attack until you better defend your village."
" I see." Said the old miko. She smiled genuinely. "Welcome home."
Author's note: Oh my god, that's the first up-date, is one hell of a long time! Since November! So sorry to my reviewers, especially the faithful, you made me pick up the slack… (Now if only I'd do that with my cello playing, then I'd be on a roll.)
Reviews make me happy. When I happy I write! So please Review!
Crystal Arrow