Hikaru left the hut the next morning feeling refreshed and more confident
than she had in days. She hoped that the feeling would last. Outside, she
could see Inuyasha and Juanyu standing by the tree with her birds. Juanyu
was feeding their breakfast and Inuyasha watched. She prayed that they
weren't arguing. That was the last thing she needed this morning.
******
Inuyasha had gotten up this morning feeling much better than usual. It might have been the song that Hikaru had sung last night. In any case, he didn't feel like giving either of them a hard time. He had to admit that they had been doing a lot for him. Especially Hikaru. When he got outside, he saw Juanyu feeding those birds at the tree. He was still wary of his experience yesterday so he stayed behind Juanyu as the birds ate.
Neither of them spoke. They still didn't like each other, but the outward hostility between had seemed childish and useless in the morning light. Silently the two men agreed to stop giving such a hard time. Neither spoke a word, but they did shake hands to seal the bargain.
******
Hikaru walked up to them and sensed that at least the open hostility towards each other was gone. She sighed with relief. The priestess feared that she would have to do something drastic to keep them from each other's throats.
"Come in, both of you. I've got some breakfast ready," she said.
Juanyu finished with the birds and went in with Inuyasha. She stayed behind for a moment, letting the chatter of the birds fill her ears and let the rising sun warm her. Then
******
The mother bird hurried as fast as her tired wings could carry her. She needed to reach the half-demon quickly. The young girl depended on the mother bird and the others that lived in the forest to warn her of any dangers that might threaten the village. In exchange, she guaranteed the evening and morning meals for many of the birds that dwelled here.
And there was a threat to the village coming all right! The mother bird had seen and smelled a large, noxious, poisonous beast below her nest earlier this morning. Its path was directly to the village. She didn't know if the wards would be able to keep it back, the bird didn't know how strong it was. What she did know was that Hikaru needed to be told immediately!
******
"Grandpa? Grandpa? Please wake up. Grandma says that it is time for breakfast," Sora pleaded. Grandma had sent her in here to make sure that Grandpa was awake and ready for the day. He had been having trouble getting up in the mornings lately, although the other adults in the house said not to worry, Sora was worried and afraid for her grandfather.
But Grandpa wouldn't wake up. He just laid there with his mouth slightly open, drooling. His skin was damp and hot when she touched it. And his breathing was noisy, like he had been running for a long time without stopping instead of sleeping in his bed all night long.
Sora rushed out of the room, calling for Grandma. This was really serious.
"Grandma! Grandma! Come quick! Something is really wrong with Grandpa!" she shouted.
******
Hikaru was definitely feeling better. Juanyu and Inuyasha were actually civil to each other at breakfast this morning. It looked like they might actually become friends if given enough time. She sighed; time wasn't something Inuyasha could afford. He needed to get back to his village soon.
Outside, Juanyu was checking how many arrows were in the quivers and Inuyasha was just standing around. There was nothing for the half-demon to do today. Hopefully, Hikaru had heard something from her birds about how he can get home again. He wouldn't admit out loud, but Inuyasha was missing the others, especially Kagome.
"Lady Hikaru! Lady Hikaru!" a voice called out form the trail. Inuyasha could hear someone, very young, running up the trail to the hut. He also noticed that Juanyu sat up with alarm at the sound. Than whoever was coming was known to him.
Hikaru came outside, worry etched in her face. Something was definitely wrong here. She recognized the voice as Sora's. What was that child doing here?
Sora came running up the trail as if there were girl-eating demons behind her. Tears were running down her cheeks in streams, her hair hadn't been put up yet, and there was a panicked look in her eyes. She ran into her ani's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
++ 'Ani' means older brother.
"It's all right now, Sora. It's all right. Just tell me what happened that frightened you so," Juanyu asked. His voice was gentle and kind. Inuyasha felt a pain of envy that his ani never spoke to him like that.
Sora lifted her head and gave a pleading look to Hikaru. "Oh, Lady Hikaru, you have to come. Grandpa is worse this morning than ever before. Sora couldn't get him to wake up and Grandma said that Sora should go and get Lady Hikaru to help. And so Sora ran as fast as she could to get here," she explained.
Hikaru's brows met in frustration, worry, and surprise. What was going on here? The headman didn't seem that worse than he had been getting yesterday. Maybe it was poison. She wouldn't know for sure until she got there.
"Juanyu, come with me and bring my supplies. Inuyasha, it will be best if you stay here today. Sora, it will also probably be best if you stayed here. You'll be safe," she said.
Juanyu ran into the hut, grabbed a wide basket, and began to fill it with various medicines that Hikaru had prepared. Please let Grandfather live, he thought. The headman was the only reason that Hikaru was allowed to stay in the village. And he was the closest Juanyu had to a father since the death of the real one.. After the basket was filled with as much as he could grab, he ran outside. Together, he and Hikaru raced down the path to the village. It was lucky that Juanyu could move as fast as she in a run.
******
Inuyasha watched silently as the pair raced off. He had no idea that Juanyu could move that fast. It was probably from being a shadow-half. On the ground next to him, Sora was still crying. Oh damn, Inuyasha hated seeing a woman cry, even a little girl. He turned to her and saw her hung head and tears falling to the ground. It was so pathetic that he felt some pity for her. But it was starting to get on his nerves.
"Oh please. Will you stop that? It's getting on my nerves," he said.
Sora looked up at him and stared for a minute. Then she started bawling and tears flowed anew. He stepped back in shock. Dammit, it was getting worse. If he didn't do or say something soon, Inuyasha might not make it through the day.
He knelt in front of the girl and grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, come on. Stop it. Don't you have any faith in Hikaru at all? Don't you think that she would do anything to help your grandfather?" he said. His tone had changed to a more gentle, kinder one.
It had an immediate effect on Sora. She stopped sobbing and regained control over herself. She looked up into Inuyasha's eyes and was surprised to see the same kindness in there as in Lady Hikaru's. Her breathing returned to normal and her nose stopped running with much sniffling.
"That's much better. Now, let's see if there is still something inside for you to eat." Inuyasha knew that he wasn't acting like he normally would, but for the sake of his sanity, he was willing to act the good guy for once. He was just glad that none of the others were here to see it.
******
Sora ate everything that remained of breakfast. She had run out of the house this morning without having eaten anything. So she was glad that the stranger, Inuyasha, offered to give her some food. Maybe he wasn't as a bad guy as he liked to pretend to be. Sora thought that he was sort of cute, especially those ears. As she finished her bowl, an idea popped into her head.
"Inuyasha-san?"
"Hmm?" He had been enjoying the relative peace and quiet while she ate. He only hoped that she wouldn't start crying again after being fed.
"What is it?"
"I was thinking. If.I mean, when Lady Hikaru heals Grandpa, I want something nice to give him. I know that he loves fresh picked nuts and berries. I know where the best are. But they are beyond the borders," she said.
"Borders?"
"Yes, the borders that Lady Hikaru put up after she got rid of Sanusha. They keep a lot of demons away from the village. Will you please come with me and go berry picking?" she begged. Her eyes went wide and her voice took a pleading note.
Inuyasha's eyes went large and he leaned back from the table. "Oh no. I'm not going any where."
Sora's lips trembled and she looked like she might cry again. Inuyasha wanted to stop her before she started.
"Why don't you go by yourself?"
Sora hung her head. "But Sora can't. Sora isn't allowed in the forest without Juanyu or Lady Hikaru. None of the children are. And the grown- ups are too scared to go."
Inuyasha saw that there was no choice. If he wanted any kind of peace today, he would have to take Sora berry picking. He sighed.
"All right, all right. I'll take you. But only until mid afternoon. After that, we head back, no matter what. I don't want to be away when Juanyu or Hikaru get back," he said.
Sora yelped with glee and threw her arms around his neck to hug him. Then she looked around the hut and found a large enough basket for her purpose. While she looked, Inuyasha resigned himself to the day's adventure. He wished that it would be over quickly. He wasn't in the mood to mess with anything at the moment; and he wasn't kidding about Juanyu and Hikaru. Judging by the way that Juanyu had acted briefly with Sora, he seemed the more dangerous one to cross.
Inuyasha ran off into the forest with Sora clinging to his back. They would move faster this way and make good time. Sora leaned close to his ear to give him directions.when she wasn't laughing from excitement.
******
Mother bird finally reached the tree where Hikaru fed them. She sang a brief song of greeting to the others and asked where the half-demon could be found. To her dismay, she learned that she was too late. Hikaru had been called to the village moments ago and no one knew when she would return.
Mother bird wanted to fly off to find her but her wings were tired to make another journey. Quickly she told the other birds what news she had. They were terrified and shocked into silence. One brave bird volunteered to go find the healer while the rest of the flock went out in search of food for the mother bird. But she held out little hope that Hikaru would be reached before the demon got close to the village. Time was against them.
******
The sun was shining brightly as Inuyasha and Sora finally reached the spot where she wanted to pick berries and find some nuts. The trees weren't so densely packed the wind blew fairly strong. Inuyasha was glad for it. It would make any fighting he had to do easier, if trouble should show up.
Sora didn't seem to care that they might be attacked. Once they had gotten here, she jumped off Inuyasha's back and started picking. The berries were ripe and looked very juicy. She couldn't help trying a few for taste. The berries' juices exploded in her mouth and the taste was delicious. They were perfect for Grandpa.
On impulse, she took a few in her hand and gave them to Inuyasha. He took the berries and ate them slowly. The half-demon had been surprised when she had offered them to him. But she was just a brat. Sora didn't know that anyone with demon blood was generally not trusted. Then again, maybe she was comparing him against Hikaru and didn't find him lacking.
He shrugged and let the debate fade from his mind. He had experienced a tingling sensation as he and Sora went through the border. It must have meant that they were outside of it. The warrior wanted to stay on the alert for anything that might be out here.
******
Juanyu was worried. He and Hikaru had been here all morning, and Grandpa's condition hadn't improved. But at least it hadn't gotten worse. He turned away from the thought and shivered. There had to be something that could be done. Juanyu saw that one of the jars was empty and took it away into the basket. It was replaced with another at Hikaru's side.
He could see that she was struggling to keep from breaking down in fear, sadness and frustration. None of her patients had died on her before except a woman who died from old age. The pressure was truly on her to help the headman, for many reasons.
The hairs on the back of Juanyu's neck rose. Yawnin was standing outside the room with the rest of the family. He had been here when the duo arrived with a strange expression on his face. Juanyu didn't know what to describe it as. The young man knew that Hikaru's days in the village were over if Grandpa died. And the village needed her here; there wasn't anyone else here with her healing abilities.
He just had to keep hoping that Grandpa would pull through.
******
It went through the stinking, dark woods with disdain. It needed to find some place with plenty of sun so it could stretch out and warm its cooling body. And find some food, it hadn't eaten in days and the prey in the forest had fled before it. That was proper, but it wished that some had been foolish enough to stay for it to snack on. The wind shifted and it raised its head. The wind had brought the smell of fresh, live meat to the nose. With great care, it changed direction towards the smell. It hadn't dined on human flesh in years; hopefully, it hadn't forgotten the sweet taste. The other smell was a half-demon. That one's flesh should prove to have an interesting flavor.
The grass underneath its clawed feet and the plants in the immediate area withered and in cases, browned from the poison coming from its pores. Normally, sunlight would have dried the poison into a hard, protective armor that was difficult to penetrate. But being in the dark thawed the venom and let the vapors into the air. A trail of death marked the path the demon took to its prey: little Sora and Inuyasha.
******
Inuyasha had gotten up this morning feeling much better than usual. It might have been the song that Hikaru had sung last night. In any case, he didn't feel like giving either of them a hard time. He had to admit that they had been doing a lot for him. Especially Hikaru. When he got outside, he saw Juanyu feeding those birds at the tree. He was still wary of his experience yesterday so he stayed behind Juanyu as the birds ate.
Neither of them spoke. They still didn't like each other, but the outward hostility between had seemed childish and useless in the morning light. Silently the two men agreed to stop giving such a hard time. Neither spoke a word, but they did shake hands to seal the bargain.
******
Hikaru walked up to them and sensed that at least the open hostility towards each other was gone. She sighed with relief. The priestess feared that she would have to do something drastic to keep them from each other's throats.
"Come in, both of you. I've got some breakfast ready," she said.
Juanyu finished with the birds and went in with Inuyasha. She stayed behind for a moment, letting the chatter of the birds fill her ears and let the rising sun warm her. Then
******
The mother bird hurried as fast as her tired wings could carry her. She needed to reach the half-demon quickly. The young girl depended on the mother bird and the others that lived in the forest to warn her of any dangers that might threaten the village. In exchange, she guaranteed the evening and morning meals for many of the birds that dwelled here.
And there was a threat to the village coming all right! The mother bird had seen and smelled a large, noxious, poisonous beast below her nest earlier this morning. Its path was directly to the village. She didn't know if the wards would be able to keep it back, the bird didn't know how strong it was. What she did know was that Hikaru needed to be told immediately!
******
"Grandpa? Grandpa? Please wake up. Grandma says that it is time for breakfast," Sora pleaded. Grandma had sent her in here to make sure that Grandpa was awake and ready for the day. He had been having trouble getting up in the mornings lately, although the other adults in the house said not to worry, Sora was worried and afraid for her grandfather.
But Grandpa wouldn't wake up. He just laid there with his mouth slightly open, drooling. His skin was damp and hot when she touched it. And his breathing was noisy, like he had been running for a long time without stopping instead of sleeping in his bed all night long.
Sora rushed out of the room, calling for Grandma. This was really serious.
"Grandma! Grandma! Come quick! Something is really wrong with Grandpa!" she shouted.
******
Hikaru was definitely feeling better. Juanyu and Inuyasha were actually civil to each other at breakfast this morning. It looked like they might actually become friends if given enough time. She sighed; time wasn't something Inuyasha could afford. He needed to get back to his village soon.
Outside, Juanyu was checking how many arrows were in the quivers and Inuyasha was just standing around. There was nothing for the half-demon to do today. Hopefully, Hikaru had heard something from her birds about how he can get home again. He wouldn't admit out loud, but Inuyasha was missing the others, especially Kagome.
"Lady Hikaru! Lady Hikaru!" a voice called out form the trail. Inuyasha could hear someone, very young, running up the trail to the hut. He also noticed that Juanyu sat up with alarm at the sound. Than whoever was coming was known to him.
Hikaru came outside, worry etched in her face. Something was definitely wrong here. She recognized the voice as Sora's. What was that child doing here?
Sora came running up the trail as if there were girl-eating demons behind her. Tears were running down her cheeks in streams, her hair hadn't been put up yet, and there was a panicked look in her eyes. She ran into her ani's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
++ 'Ani' means older brother.
"It's all right now, Sora. It's all right. Just tell me what happened that frightened you so," Juanyu asked. His voice was gentle and kind. Inuyasha felt a pain of envy that his ani never spoke to him like that.
Sora lifted her head and gave a pleading look to Hikaru. "Oh, Lady Hikaru, you have to come. Grandpa is worse this morning than ever before. Sora couldn't get him to wake up and Grandma said that Sora should go and get Lady Hikaru to help. And so Sora ran as fast as she could to get here," she explained.
Hikaru's brows met in frustration, worry, and surprise. What was going on here? The headman didn't seem that worse than he had been getting yesterday. Maybe it was poison. She wouldn't know for sure until she got there.
"Juanyu, come with me and bring my supplies. Inuyasha, it will be best if you stay here today. Sora, it will also probably be best if you stayed here. You'll be safe," she said.
Juanyu ran into the hut, grabbed a wide basket, and began to fill it with various medicines that Hikaru had prepared. Please let Grandfather live, he thought. The headman was the only reason that Hikaru was allowed to stay in the village. And he was the closest Juanyu had to a father since the death of the real one.. After the basket was filled with as much as he could grab, he ran outside. Together, he and Hikaru raced down the path to the village. It was lucky that Juanyu could move as fast as she in a run.
******
Inuyasha watched silently as the pair raced off. He had no idea that Juanyu could move that fast. It was probably from being a shadow-half. On the ground next to him, Sora was still crying. Oh damn, Inuyasha hated seeing a woman cry, even a little girl. He turned to her and saw her hung head and tears falling to the ground. It was so pathetic that he felt some pity for her. But it was starting to get on his nerves.
"Oh please. Will you stop that? It's getting on my nerves," he said.
Sora looked up at him and stared for a minute. Then she started bawling and tears flowed anew. He stepped back in shock. Dammit, it was getting worse. If he didn't do or say something soon, Inuyasha might not make it through the day.
He knelt in front of the girl and grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, come on. Stop it. Don't you have any faith in Hikaru at all? Don't you think that she would do anything to help your grandfather?" he said. His tone had changed to a more gentle, kinder one.
It had an immediate effect on Sora. She stopped sobbing and regained control over herself. She looked up into Inuyasha's eyes and was surprised to see the same kindness in there as in Lady Hikaru's. Her breathing returned to normal and her nose stopped running with much sniffling.
"That's much better. Now, let's see if there is still something inside for you to eat." Inuyasha knew that he wasn't acting like he normally would, but for the sake of his sanity, he was willing to act the good guy for once. He was just glad that none of the others were here to see it.
******
Sora ate everything that remained of breakfast. She had run out of the house this morning without having eaten anything. So she was glad that the stranger, Inuyasha, offered to give her some food. Maybe he wasn't as a bad guy as he liked to pretend to be. Sora thought that he was sort of cute, especially those ears. As she finished her bowl, an idea popped into her head.
"Inuyasha-san?"
"Hmm?" He had been enjoying the relative peace and quiet while she ate. He only hoped that she wouldn't start crying again after being fed.
"What is it?"
"I was thinking. If.I mean, when Lady Hikaru heals Grandpa, I want something nice to give him. I know that he loves fresh picked nuts and berries. I know where the best are. But they are beyond the borders," she said.
"Borders?"
"Yes, the borders that Lady Hikaru put up after she got rid of Sanusha. They keep a lot of demons away from the village. Will you please come with me and go berry picking?" she begged. Her eyes went wide and her voice took a pleading note.
Inuyasha's eyes went large and he leaned back from the table. "Oh no. I'm not going any where."
Sora's lips trembled and she looked like she might cry again. Inuyasha wanted to stop her before she started.
"Why don't you go by yourself?"
Sora hung her head. "But Sora can't. Sora isn't allowed in the forest without Juanyu or Lady Hikaru. None of the children are. And the grown- ups are too scared to go."
Inuyasha saw that there was no choice. If he wanted any kind of peace today, he would have to take Sora berry picking. He sighed.
"All right, all right. I'll take you. But only until mid afternoon. After that, we head back, no matter what. I don't want to be away when Juanyu or Hikaru get back," he said.
Sora yelped with glee and threw her arms around his neck to hug him. Then she looked around the hut and found a large enough basket for her purpose. While she looked, Inuyasha resigned himself to the day's adventure. He wished that it would be over quickly. He wasn't in the mood to mess with anything at the moment; and he wasn't kidding about Juanyu and Hikaru. Judging by the way that Juanyu had acted briefly with Sora, he seemed the more dangerous one to cross.
Inuyasha ran off into the forest with Sora clinging to his back. They would move faster this way and make good time. Sora leaned close to his ear to give him directions.when she wasn't laughing from excitement.
******
Mother bird finally reached the tree where Hikaru fed them. She sang a brief song of greeting to the others and asked where the half-demon could be found. To her dismay, she learned that she was too late. Hikaru had been called to the village moments ago and no one knew when she would return.
Mother bird wanted to fly off to find her but her wings were tired to make another journey. Quickly she told the other birds what news she had. They were terrified and shocked into silence. One brave bird volunteered to go find the healer while the rest of the flock went out in search of food for the mother bird. But she held out little hope that Hikaru would be reached before the demon got close to the village. Time was against them.
******
The sun was shining brightly as Inuyasha and Sora finally reached the spot where she wanted to pick berries and find some nuts. The trees weren't so densely packed the wind blew fairly strong. Inuyasha was glad for it. It would make any fighting he had to do easier, if trouble should show up.
Sora didn't seem to care that they might be attacked. Once they had gotten here, she jumped off Inuyasha's back and started picking. The berries were ripe and looked very juicy. She couldn't help trying a few for taste. The berries' juices exploded in her mouth and the taste was delicious. They were perfect for Grandpa.
On impulse, she took a few in her hand and gave them to Inuyasha. He took the berries and ate them slowly. The half-demon had been surprised when she had offered them to him. But she was just a brat. Sora didn't know that anyone with demon blood was generally not trusted. Then again, maybe she was comparing him against Hikaru and didn't find him lacking.
He shrugged and let the debate fade from his mind. He had experienced a tingling sensation as he and Sora went through the border. It must have meant that they were outside of it. The warrior wanted to stay on the alert for anything that might be out here.
******
Juanyu was worried. He and Hikaru had been here all morning, and Grandpa's condition hadn't improved. But at least it hadn't gotten worse. He turned away from the thought and shivered. There had to be something that could be done. Juanyu saw that one of the jars was empty and took it away into the basket. It was replaced with another at Hikaru's side.
He could see that she was struggling to keep from breaking down in fear, sadness and frustration. None of her patients had died on her before except a woman who died from old age. The pressure was truly on her to help the headman, for many reasons.
The hairs on the back of Juanyu's neck rose. Yawnin was standing outside the room with the rest of the family. He had been here when the duo arrived with a strange expression on his face. Juanyu didn't know what to describe it as. The young man knew that Hikaru's days in the village were over if Grandpa died. And the village needed her here; there wasn't anyone else here with her healing abilities.
He just had to keep hoping that Grandpa would pull through.
******
It went through the stinking, dark woods with disdain. It needed to find some place with plenty of sun so it could stretch out and warm its cooling body. And find some food, it hadn't eaten in days and the prey in the forest had fled before it. That was proper, but it wished that some had been foolish enough to stay for it to snack on. The wind shifted and it raised its head. The wind had brought the smell of fresh, live meat to the nose. With great care, it changed direction towards the smell. It hadn't dined on human flesh in years; hopefully, it hadn't forgotten the sweet taste. The other smell was a half-demon. That one's flesh should prove to have an interesting flavor.
The grass underneath its clawed feet and the plants in the immediate area withered and in cases, browned from the poison coming from its pores. Normally, sunlight would have dried the poison into a hard, protective armor that was difficult to penetrate. But being in the dark thawed the venom and let the vapors into the air. A trail of death marked the path the demon took to its prey: little Sora and Inuyasha.