Hikaru hung her head in submission, gathered her equipment, and walked out.
Juanyu and Inuyasha followed her out of the village and back to the hut.
Once she was inside, the hanyou girl started gathering her possessions
together. The men stayed out of her way and sat in the back.
"You're not too mad at me, are you?" Inuyasha asked.
"No, not too much. Should have known that Sora would do something like that. She's just a child. But I'm glad that you brought her back so quickly," Juanyu replied. "Why didn't you just refuse to get berry picking? Sora isn't that pushy."
The hanyou boy groaned and grimaced. "I didn't know that. I just thought that she would cry her eyes out and drown the place. Berry picking seemed like a good idea compared to that," Inuyasha said.
Hikaru finished packing and simply knelt on the floor in silence. The men said nothing to her; they had no idea what to say. She had lost almost everything.
Finally, Inuyasha got up and went to her. It really wasn't his style to give comfort to people. But Hikaru was a good girl. She had spirit, power, and talent. The hanyou girl would be able to find a new place to live.
"Hey, don't worry. You'll find a new home. No problem, villages are always on the lookout for new healers," he said.
Hikaru started crying. "That's not why I'm so sad. I could care less where I go now."
"Then why?"
"Because the headman died and I was helpless to prevent it. I have always been able to help my patients before, but none of my knowledge or skill helped today. He still died!" she wailed and sobbed.
Inuyasha felt like hitting her over the head. Which he did. Hikaru gasped and looked up at him in surprise. His expression was angry and fierce.
"So what! You have helped other people and saved their lives. Look at Sora! Is there anyone else in the village that could have helped her the way that you did? The point is that you can't help everyone all the time! Sometimes you win and others you lose. You have to deal with it. Just because that oyaji died on you doesn't mean that you're a bad healer. It just means that whatever was wrong with him; it was too advanced for you to do anything! So quit thinking that it's your fault!" he shouted and stomped out of the hut.
Juanyu moved to follow, but the healer stayed his hand. She sensed that something was bothering Inuyasha. It would be better for him to figure it out for himself. Instead, she started to make dinner for the three of them and something that could be quickly heated in the morning. All of them would have to leave then.
******
Inuyasha walked up to the tree and sat at its roots. Dammit, Hikaru shouldn't get hung up on the headman's death. So he died, big deal. Everyone dies at some point, right?
But he knew that wasn't what made him storm out of the hut. What Hikaru was going through was reminding him of his feelings towards Kikyou. He didn't really love her anymore; but he still felt some responsibility towards her. And he still felt guilty about thinking that she had betrayed him and her death.
And he knew that the headman's death meant a lot more to Hikaru than simply a lost patient. The oyaji was the only reason that she had been able to stay in the village after she had gotten rid of Sanusha. Now though, she would have to leave and find somewhere else to live.
After a few minutes, Juanyu came out to let Inuyasha know that dinner was ready for all of them. He came back in and saw that Hikaru had stopped crying but she was still sad. Juanyu was also sad, but it was a deeper and more personal grief.
None of them said anything during dinner and it turned out to be an early night for them. They would have to leave early the next morning. Hikaru lay awake for almost an hour that night, going over the day's events in her mind's eye. She was trying to figure out what did happen to the headman. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing came up. Finally she sighed and gave up. It didn't matter now, in the morning she would leave.
******
Yawnin walked carefully and as quietly as he could through the darkened forest. All that he carried with him was a lantern and an axe. He knew what he was looking for, but he wasn't sure where they all were.
He knew that there wouldn't be any trouble getting rid of Hikaru tomorrow. She wouldn't want any fuss made over her, so she would leave quietly. The other two might cause some trouble, but Yawnin thought that they would follow her lead.
After a few more minutes of searching, he found one of them. It was a three-foot wooden pole with carved runes going all around it. At the top was a ring that had a foot across. On the ring were ribbons with charms and small metal balls that made noise when they moved dangled at the ends.
Yawnin snorted in disgust. He found it hard to believe that something so plain and stupid was one of the border markers Hikaru had made after she had driven out Sanusha. He estimated that there were about ten to twenty of them staked out around the village. But there was a way to find them.
He smiled, put down the axe and removed from within his shirt a small disk with more of those damn carvings on it with a small jewel in the middle. The runes were drawn in circles that seemed to spin and settle in a certain pattern. And it was the current pattern that was leading him to the markers. The disk went back into his jacket and the lantern was set onto the ground. He hefted the axe to check his stance and its weight. Then he went at it and chopped the marker to splinters.
He wanted to be sure that nothing remained of the bitch after she finally left.
******
Dawn came slowly the next day. A light fog had settled during the night and was to burn away with the coming light. It was a bit odd there wasn't any chill to accompany the weather, but hardly anyone noticed. Word had indeed spread that Hikaru was leaving today since the headman was dead. They gathered loosely in the center of the village, wanting to see her off.
It was a little after morning light had crept over the peaks when a tired looking Yawnin came walking into the crowd, stifling a yawn. Minutes later, Hikaru came down the path from the hut followed by Juanyu and Inuyasha. Hikaru carried a small bag hanging from her side with a quiver and bow slung along her back; and Juanyu had a large wicker basket strapped to his back. Inuyasha wasn't carrying anything that he hadn't brought with him.
"Ready to go, are you?" Yawnin said lazily.
Juanyu and Inuyasha looked ready to jump Yawnin and beat him senseless but didn't do anything. Hikaru had warned them back at the hut that if they did any such thing, she would beat them soundly.
She simply nodded. The healer set her bag on the ground, fished around for a moment, and brought out a small vial. "Please give this to Sora. It will help with her burns and anything else that the acid might do to her. It can be mixed into either a broth or paste," she said.
The vial was out for him to take and Yawnin was tempted to simply refuse and slap the thing out of her hand. But before he could act, his grandmother stepped forward and took the vial from her.
"Thank you, lady. Thank you for everything that you have done for my family and all the people in the village. I hope that you find whatever you are looking for," she said.
Hikaru looked pleased and almost at tears. She reached down to pick up her bag again, but it was gone. Juanyu had taken the bag and was stuffing it into the basket that he was carrying.
"Juanyu, what are you doing?"
"I'm going with you, of course. You don't really think that Yawnin will let me stay in the village, do you?" he replied. "Besides," he added, "I still owe a great debt to you. I won't leave your side until it is repaid."
Hikaru smiled and adjusted the strap from her quiver. It would be good to be traveling with him.
"Come on. Let's get out of here. I want to go home," Inuyasha said and started walking out of the village. Hikaru and Juanyu went with him.
There were some tears as she left, but nothing to obvious. The villagers knew that Yawnin had no love for either his cursed cousin or Hikaru. He wouldn't want anyone to show how much they were going to miss them both.
******
Yugi walked the path with a light in his step. He should reach the village this morning. Behind him, Houshi-sama and the others were trying to keep up with Yugi's pace. The young priest was anxious to get to the village.
He stopped as he sensed something on the road ahead of him. It took him a minute to recognize the presence of youki. Which meant that youkai were nearby. Yugi took a fighter's stance; he wanted to be ready for anything.
Then he saw them come over the crest of the hill. It looked like a young man traveling with a pair of hanyou. One hanyou was a young man in red, and the other was a young girl. It came to him; the girl must be the hanyou healer that he had been told about. She didn't seem threatening. In fact, she looked kind of cute.
Her pace quickened when she saw Yugi. The men with her rushed to keep up.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she said.
Yugi was taken aback by her questions. She seemed worried for some reason. He thought it best to be honest with her. "My name is Yugi and I'm a priest. I'm traveling to a village that is supposed to close by. You haven't gone through any villages lately, have you?"
"How close by?" the man asked.
"I was told that I would reach it this morning," he replied.
The girl gasped and hurried away from them. The man ran to catch up with her.
"Yeah, there's a village near here. Just continue on over the hill. You can't miss it," the hanyou boy said before leaving himself. Yugi turned around and ran to catch them again. He was curious why she was acting like she was.
The girl stopped just in front of the others. Houshi-sama was glaring at her with obvious disapproval. His eyes lit up when he saw his former student coming to them.
"Ah, Yugi. There you are. Did you know that this is the hanyou healer we were sent to replace? I think that it would be best if you made an example of her" he said.
Yugi didn't like Houshi's tone of voice. "It looks like to me that she was leaving on her own accord. I see no reason to do anything to her," he said. Yugi then turned to Hikaru. "In fact, there is something I would like to ask of you."
She looked up at him and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Yes, what is it?"
"Well, I was wondering if you had any advice for me. You have been in the village longer and have known the people there," he said. It wasn't what he was going to ask, but he couldn't ask her why she was leaving. Most likely he would find out when he reached the village.
She gulped and took a deep breath. "There is one thing. Pay attention to the birds."
"Birds?"
"Yes. The birds. They come from the forest to the tree by the hut on the out skirts of the village. Heed them well. They gather in the tree twice a day to be fed. Feed them well and they will act as early warnings against youkai. If a few of them fly out of the forest suddenly, that means that there is a strong youkai nearby. If it seems that all the birds in the forest are leaving, then get everyone out of the village. That is the best advice that I can give you. Now, good-bye," she said. The hanyou girl turned quickly and walked away. The two men with her followed after her; leaving a confused priest behind them.
Houshi-sama was quiet for a moment and snorted when they were out of sight. "Pay the wench no heed, Yugi. Birds are dumb animals, don't waste your time on them," he said and directed everyone to continue on.
Yugi followed after a space, thoughtful. He would have heeded his mentor's words, but if it weren't for the hanyou girl. She seemed so earnest and her eyes were so sincere. He knew that outwardly, he would listen to Houshi-sama. But when he was on his own, he would listen to the hanyou.
******
"Can you believe that! It can't be just a coincidence that he was coming in as we were leaving. Someone sent for that guy," Inuyasha said.
Juanyu nodded in agreement. "True, but who? Who could have sent for this priest?"
Hikaru alone didn't voice her opinion, or what she thought in her heart to be the truth. The headman had sent for Yugi because he had lost faith in her and her abilities. He must have been hoping that the priest would arrive before he died. But the priest came too late to save the headman. Hopefully he came in time to help the other villagers.
******
Children from the village gathered at the hut. The new priest was still in the village with the grown-ups. None of them could still believe that Lady Hikaru was gone. She was a great healer; they couldn't understand why Yawnin would want her to go.
They were sitting underneath the tree when something fell form the branches. A little girl picked it up. It was a piece of wood with some funny looking marks on it.
"What is it?" one of the boys asked.
The girl shrugged and one of the older boys took it from her to at it closer. He studied it for a minute before going pale. "I know what it is," he whispered.
The other children leaned in to hear him. "So, tell us," one said.
The boy gulped. "Two years ago, I helped carry the border markers for Lady Hikaru when she was setting up the border. This is a piece of one of the markers."
As if on cue, more pieces of the markers rained down from the tree and onto the children. They yelped and screamed as the pieces hit them, but they were mostly frightened.
The border was what was keeping a lot of the bad youkai away from the village. If these were real pieces of the markers, that meant that the border was down. Sanusha could come back!
The children gathered as much of the remnants as they could. They wanted to keep them for two reasons. One was to remember Lady Hikaru. Second was that they hoped that there was enough magic left in the shards to protect their homes from the youkai.
"You're not too mad at me, are you?" Inuyasha asked.
"No, not too much. Should have known that Sora would do something like that. She's just a child. But I'm glad that you brought her back so quickly," Juanyu replied. "Why didn't you just refuse to get berry picking? Sora isn't that pushy."
The hanyou boy groaned and grimaced. "I didn't know that. I just thought that she would cry her eyes out and drown the place. Berry picking seemed like a good idea compared to that," Inuyasha said.
Hikaru finished packing and simply knelt on the floor in silence. The men said nothing to her; they had no idea what to say. She had lost almost everything.
Finally, Inuyasha got up and went to her. It really wasn't his style to give comfort to people. But Hikaru was a good girl. She had spirit, power, and talent. The hanyou girl would be able to find a new place to live.
"Hey, don't worry. You'll find a new home. No problem, villages are always on the lookout for new healers," he said.
Hikaru started crying. "That's not why I'm so sad. I could care less where I go now."
"Then why?"
"Because the headman died and I was helpless to prevent it. I have always been able to help my patients before, but none of my knowledge or skill helped today. He still died!" she wailed and sobbed.
Inuyasha felt like hitting her over the head. Which he did. Hikaru gasped and looked up at him in surprise. His expression was angry and fierce.
"So what! You have helped other people and saved their lives. Look at Sora! Is there anyone else in the village that could have helped her the way that you did? The point is that you can't help everyone all the time! Sometimes you win and others you lose. You have to deal with it. Just because that oyaji died on you doesn't mean that you're a bad healer. It just means that whatever was wrong with him; it was too advanced for you to do anything! So quit thinking that it's your fault!" he shouted and stomped out of the hut.
Juanyu moved to follow, but the healer stayed his hand. She sensed that something was bothering Inuyasha. It would be better for him to figure it out for himself. Instead, she started to make dinner for the three of them and something that could be quickly heated in the morning. All of them would have to leave then.
******
Inuyasha walked up to the tree and sat at its roots. Dammit, Hikaru shouldn't get hung up on the headman's death. So he died, big deal. Everyone dies at some point, right?
But he knew that wasn't what made him storm out of the hut. What Hikaru was going through was reminding him of his feelings towards Kikyou. He didn't really love her anymore; but he still felt some responsibility towards her. And he still felt guilty about thinking that she had betrayed him and her death.
And he knew that the headman's death meant a lot more to Hikaru than simply a lost patient. The oyaji was the only reason that she had been able to stay in the village after she had gotten rid of Sanusha. Now though, she would have to leave and find somewhere else to live.
After a few minutes, Juanyu came out to let Inuyasha know that dinner was ready for all of them. He came back in and saw that Hikaru had stopped crying but she was still sad. Juanyu was also sad, but it was a deeper and more personal grief.
None of them said anything during dinner and it turned out to be an early night for them. They would have to leave early the next morning. Hikaru lay awake for almost an hour that night, going over the day's events in her mind's eye. She was trying to figure out what did happen to the headman. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing came up. Finally she sighed and gave up. It didn't matter now, in the morning she would leave.
******
Yawnin walked carefully and as quietly as he could through the darkened forest. All that he carried with him was a lantern and an axe. He knew what he was looking for, but he wasn't sure where they all were.
He knew that there wouldn't be any trouble getting rid of Hikaru tomorrow. She wouldn't want any fuss made over her, so she would leave quietly. The other two might cause some trouble, but Yawnin thought that they would follow her lead.
After a few more minutes of searching, he found one of them. It was a three-foot wooden pole with carved runes going all around it. At the top was a ring that had a foot across. On the ring were ribbons with charms and small metal balls that made noise when they moved dangled at the ends.
Yawnin snorted in disgust. He found it hard to believe that something so plain and stupid was one of the border markers Hikaru had made after she had driven out Sanusha. He estimated that there were about ten to twenty of them staked out around the village. But there was a way to find them.
He smiled, put down the axe and removed from within his shirt a small disk with more of those damn carvings on it with a small jewel in the middle. The runes were drawn in circles that seemed to spin and settle in a certain pattern. And it was the current pattern that was leading him to the markers. The disk went back into his jacket and the lantern was set onto the ground. He hefted the axe to check his stance and its weight. Then he went at it and chopped the marker to splinters.
He wanted to be sure that nothing remained of the bitch after she finally left.
******
Dawn came slowly the next day. A light fog had settled during the night and was to burn away with the coming light. It was a bit odd there wasn't any chill to accompany the weather, but hardly anyone noticed. Word had indeed spread that Hikaru was leaving today since the headman was dead. They gathered loosely in the center of the village, wanting to see her off.
It was a little after morning light had crept over the peaks when a tired looking Yawnin came walking into the crowd, stifling a yawn. Minutes later, Hikaru came down the path from the hut followed by Juanyu and Inuyasha. Hikaru carried a small bag hanging from her side with a quiver and bow slung along her back; and Juanyu had a large wicker basket strapped to his back. Inuyasha wasn't carrying anything that he hadn't brought with him.
"Ready to go, are you?" Yawnin said lazily.
Juanyu and Inuyasha looked ready to jump Yawnin and beat him senseless but didn't do anything. Hikaru had warned them back at the hut that if they did any such thing, she would beat them soundly.
She simply nodded. The healer set her bag on the ground, fished around for a moment, and brought out a small vial. "Please give this to Sora. It will help with her burns and anything else that the acid might do to her. It can be mixed into either a broth or paste," she said.
The vial was out for him to take and Yawnin was tempted to simply refuse and slap the thing out of her hand. But before he could act, his grandmother stepped forward and took the vial from her.
"Thank you, lady. Thank you for everything that you have done for my family and all the people in the village. I hope that you find whatever you are looking for," she said.
Hikaru looked pleased and almost at tears. She reached down to pick up her bag again, but it was gone. Juanyu had taken the bag and was stuffing it into the basket that he was carrying.
"Juanyu, what are you doing?"
"I'm going with you, of course. You don't really think that Yawnin will let me stay in the village, do you?" he replied. "Besides," he added, "I still owe a great debt to you. I won't leave your side until it is repaid."
Hikaru smiled and adjusted the strap from her quiver. It would be good to be traveling with him.
"Come on. Let's get out of here. I want to go home," Inuyasha said and started walking out of the village. Hikaru and Juanyu went with him.
There were some tears as she left, but nothing to obvious. The villagers knew that Yawnin had no love for either his cursed cousin or Hikaru. He wouldn't want anyone to show how much they were going to miss them both.
******
Yugi walked the path with a light in his step. He should reach the village this morning. Behind him, Houshi-sama and the others were trying to keep up with Yugi's pace. The young priest was anxious to get to the village.
He stopped as he sensed something on the road ahead of him. It took him a minute to recognize the presence of youki. Which meant that youkai were nearby. Yugi took a fighter's stance; he wanted to be ready for anything.
Then he saw them come over the crest of the hill. It looked like a young man traveling with a pair of hanyou. One hanyou was a young man in red, and the other was a young girl. It came to him; the girl must be the hanyou healer that he had been told about. She didn't seem threatening. In fact, she looked kind of cute.
Her pace quickened when she saw Yugi. The men with her rushed to keep up.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she said.
Yugi was taken aback by her questions. She seemed worried for some reason. He thought it best to be honest with her. "My name is Yugi and I'm a priest. I'm traveling to a village that is supposed to close by. You haven't gone through any villages lately, have you?"
"How close by?" the man asked.
"I was told that I would reach it this morning," he replied.
The girl gasped and hurried away from them. The man ran to catch up with her.
"Yeah, there's a village near here. Just continue on over the hill. You can't miss it," the hanyou boy said before leaving himself. Yugi turned around and ran to catch them again. He was curious why she was acting like she was.
The girl stopped just in front of the others. Houshi-sama was glaring at her with obvious disapproval. His eyes lit up when he saw his former student coming to them.
"Ah, Yugi. There you are. Did you know that this is the hanyou healer we were sent to replace? I think that it would be best if you made an example of her" he said.
Yugi didn't like Houshi's tone of voice. "It looks like to me that she was leaving on her own accord. I see no reason to do anything to her," he said. Yugi then turned to Hikaru. "In fact, there is something I would like to ask of you."
She looked up at him and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Yes, what is it?"
"Well, I was wondering if you had any advice for me. You have been in the village longer and have known the people there," he said. It wasn't what he was going to ask, but he couldn't ask her why she was leaving. Most likely he would find out when he reached the village.
She gulped and took a deep breath. "There is one thing. Pay attention to the birds."
"Birds?"
"Yes. The birds. They come from the forest to the tree by the hut on the out skirts of the village. Heed them well. They gather in the tree twice a day to be fed. Feed them well and they will act as early warnings against youkai. If a few of them fly out of the forest suddenly, that means that there is a strong youkai nearby. If it seems that all the birds in the forest are leaving, then get everyone out of the village. That is the best advice that I can give you. Now, good-bye," she said. The hanyou girl turned quickly and walked away. The two men with her followed after her; leaving a confused priest behind them.
Houshi-sama was quiet for a moment and snorted when they were out of sight. "Pay the wench no heed, Yugi. Birds are dumb animals, don't waste your time on them," he said and directed everyone to continue on.
Yugi followed after a space, thoughtful. He would have heeded his mentor's words, but if it weren't for the hanyou girl. She seemed so earnest and her eyes were so sincere. He knew that outwardly, he would listen to Houshi-sama. But when he was on his own, he would listen to the hanyou.
******
"Can you believe that! It can't be just a coincidence that he was coming in as we were leaving. Someone sent for that guy," Inuyasha said.
Juanyu nodded in agreement. "True, but who? Who could have sent for this priest?"
Hikaru alone didn't voice her opinion, or what she thought in her heart to be the truth. The headman had sent for Yugi because he had lost faith in her and her abilities. He must have been hoping that the priest would arrive before he died. But the priest came too late to save the headman. Hopefully he came in time to help the other villagers.
******
Children from the village gathered at the hut. The new priest was still in the village with the grown-ups. None of them could still believe that Lady Hikaru was gone. She was a great healer; they couldn't understand why Yawnin would want her to go.
They were sitting underneath the tree when something fell form the branches. A little girl picked it up. It was a piece of wood with some funny looking marks on it.
"What is it?" one of the boys asked.
The girl shrugged and one of the older boys took it from her to at it closer. He studied it for a minute before going pale. "I know what it is," he whispered.
The other children leaned in to hear him. "So, tell us," one said.
The boy gulped. "Two years ago, I helped carry the border markers for Lady Hikaru when she was setting up the border. This is a piece of one of the markers."
As if on cue, more pieces of the markers rained down from the tree and onto the children. They yelped and screamed as the pieces hit them, but they were mostly frightened.
The border was what was keeping a lot of the bad youkai away from the village. If these were real pieces of the markers, that meant that the border was down. Sanusha could come back!
The children gathered as much of the remnants as they could. They wanted to keep them for two reasons. One was to remember Lady Hikaru. Second was that they hoped that there was enough magic left in the shards to protect their homes from the youkai.