Hikaru walked towards the hut with the youkai seer and was beginning to
question her rash choice. Why should she see Yogensha-Tamashii? Hikaru
already knew that she was a priestess healer, what new information could
the seer tell her?
Still she walked on to the door. The entrance was guarded by two of local village men armed with spears. The young woman knew that they wouldn't do any good should anyone actually decide to attack the youkai; they were more of a show of force.
"Hey you, girl! What do you want here?" one of the men asked when she got close. Here Hikaru hesitated. She opened her mouth to say that she hadn't wanted anything when an old woman's voice came out from the hut.
"Let the young woman in, boys. She will not harm me," Yogensha-Tamashii commanded from within. The men gave a bow to Hikaru and parted the door for her to enter. Now she had no choice but to go in if she didn't want to be rude. Hikaru swallowed her fear and stepped in.
The inside of the hut was well lit with candles placed at intervals along the length of the hut. It was all one room, there weren't any other doorways leading to anywhere. At the far end of the room, sat Yogensha- Tamashii.
The old youkai looked a lot like an old, hunched-back woman. The robes she wore had once been fine but were now ragged, stained and torn. In her left hand there was a long wooden staff. On the floor before her was a tray with a bowl of rice and some cooked fish. Apparently dinner had been served.
"Um, I'm sorry that I've interrupted your dinner, Obaasan. I can return later if you wish," Hikaru said.
"Nonsense, dear. You're here already, might as well come closer," she replied.
Hikaru gulped and walked closer. She had never experienced such fear and nervousness before in her life. And for the life of her, she couldn't explain why. Yogensha-Tamashii moved the tray to one side and set down a pillow in its place. Without a word, the young human knelt on it.
The youkai cupped Hikaru's face in her hands for a moment, seeming to study her with those blind eyes. The eyes were pale pools of blue. The healer couldn't distinguish the pupil or the iris from the rest of the eye. It was unnerving.
To keep herself from fretting, Hikaru studied the burn marks. They reminded her of acid or any other kind of liquid burns. Those were the hardest to treat. A lot of the time the burns had been caused by oils or sometimes acids; water didn't work well on either material. The youkai had no chance to save her eyesight.
Yogensha-Tamashii chuckled. "Don't worry about me, child. I learned long ago to live with my blindness. Because I can determine the strength of any future priest or priestess, I have proven that I still have some worth. Like you, young one," she said. Her face went serious and concerned. "Amazing. I have not seen any single human with as much strength as you since I met a young girl named Kikyou years ago. She had great potential and power. Her death was a great tragedy to many."
Hikaru was surprised. "I'm afraid that you must have made a mistake, Obaasan. I'm not that strong," she replied.
But the old youkai nodded. "Indeed you are. But I believe you when you say that you doubt your strength. It is rare that a hanyou is born with houriki."
The young woman gasped. "How did you know what I really am?"
"I'm not a fool, nor can I be easily deceived. When I became blind I slowly realized that I could see some things better than when I had my sight. You are a hanyou, dear."
"Then why is my houriki so low?"
"This is the night when you become human, right? Well, the rest of the time, your youki and houriki are fighting each other for supremacy. Perhaps tonight is the only time when your houriki can reach its full strength," Yogensha-Tamashii said.
Hikaru knelt on the pillow in silence for a few minutes. What she had heard made sense, and would explain a lot of things. Any potions that she made on the nights when she was human worked better than those made on other nights. Finally she mumbled, "Then I'm strongest as a priestess on nights when I turn human."
The youkai nodded. "Yes. Now listen close, there is something I must tell you. A few days ago, a young woman came to me. She had houriki. She wanted me to tell her how strong she could be. I told her the truth; she would make a good miko. But she could not be great, her power wasn't that strong. The girl was angry with me. She believed that I was lying to her, that she was much stronger than I said."
Hikaru nodded. "Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because she is still in the area. You have heard about the disappearance of youkai, right? Well that's her. She is determined to prove that she is stronger than she truly is. Her plan is to destroy the one responsible for the death of the great miko Kikyou. She means to truly kill the hanyou Inuyasha."
The young woman gasped. This was not good. She didn't know what to do, but she knew that Inuyasha couldn't have been directly responsible for the miko's death. There had to be some way to save him. "What can I do?"
"Go into the forest and stop the girl before she can kill Inuyasha. I know that he came here with you and your friend. You'll have to use his unique powers to find them in time," Yogensha-Tamashii replied.
Hikaru nodded her thanks and ran out of the hut. "Juanyu! I need my arrows and your help!" she cried out. He ran out with her bow and quiver in hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Hikaru donned her quiver and explained what was going on. Grimly, he nodded in agreement that his powers were needed.
He closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly his body arched in a spasm in pain. Grey, shimmering fog surrounded his form and grew in size to about the same as a horse. When it lifted, a large, gray wolf stood in front of Hikaru. Juanyu lowered his mighty neck and the young woman wasted no time in grabbing onto some of the fur there and jumping onto his back. They left the villagers in speechless awe as they raced out of the village. The duo needed to hurry; they didn't know how much time they had.
******
Inuyasha leapt from tree to tree, hoping that this would get the bitch off his trail. Yakani hadn't been kidding about killing him. There was already a scratch on his cheek from narrowly dodging one of her arrows. He grimaced and paused for a moment.
There wasn't any chance that he could explain to her the truth about his relationship with Kikyou. She wouldn't listen and was obsessed on killing him more than Kikyou had. His ears picked some noise form below and jumped in time to avoid another arrow.
******
Down on the ground, Yakani cursed to herself and took out another arrow. This was taking longer than she had planned. Inuyasha was better at dodging than she had thought. No matter, she would get him eventually.
******
The hunt went on for some time. Inuyasha was indeed good at dodging the arrows, but Yakani would not give up.
Hikaru and Juanyu were having some difficulty tracking their friend through the forest. But Hikaru could sense his youki and was able to give Juanyu a general direction. She tugged on his fur to give direction and the wolf obeyed wordlessly.
They could sense that they were running out of time.
******
Inuyasha leaned against the tree, panting. This was getting way out of hand. This Yakani bitch was more stubborn than he would have thought possible for a human, except for Kagome.
Why did she think that killing him would prove that she was stronger than Kikyou? It didn't make sense. Then he remembered what he had to go through in order to wield Tetsusaiga after it had been broken. Maybe there was some sense to it.
He put his back against the tree trunk to rest. Looking up, he figured that the night was half over. He wished that he could lose her before morning. Or at least stay alive until then.
A whizzing sound alerted him before it was too late and he moved. Instead of hitting him in the head, the arrow pinned his shoulder to the tree.
There was a slightly evil laugh coming not far off. "Did you give Kikyou this much of a fight when she killed you?" Yakani teased. She stood there with her bow aimed and another arrow in her hand. "Honestly, I have thought that you would have done more. Maybe all that time you were bound took the edge off of your rage."
"Bitch! You can never be like Kikyou," he growled.
She scowled and notched her arrow. "Shut up monster." She loosed the arrow and it flew smooth and fast. It struck Inuyasha in his other shoulder; he couldn't move at all now. There was too much power for him to overcome and free himself.
Yakani smiled and loosed another arrow. This one was for Inuyasha's head. And there wasn't anything he could do to save himself.
Still she walked on to the door. The entrance was guarded by two of local village men armed with spears. The young woman knew that they wouldn't do any good should anyone actually decide to attack the youkai; they were more of a show of force.
"Hey you, girl! What do you want here?" one of the men asked when she got close. Here Hikaru hesitated. She opened her mouth to say that she hadn't wanted anything when an old woman's voice came out from the hut.
"Let the young woman in, boys. She will not harm me," Yogensha-Tamashii commanded from within. The men gave a bow to Hikaru and parted the door for her to enter. Now she had no choice but to go in if she didn't want to be rude. Hikaru swallowed her fear and stepped in.
The inside of the hut was well lit with candles placed at intervals along the length of the hut. It was all one room, there weren't any other doorways leading to anywhere. At the far end of the room, sat Yogensha- Tamashii.
The old youkai looked a lot like an old, hunched-back woman. The robes she wore had once been fine but were now ragged, stained and torn. In her left hand there was a long wooden staff. On the floor before her was a tray with a bowl of rice and some cooked fish. Apparently dinner had been served.
"Um, I'm sorry that I've interrupted your dinner, Obaasan. I can return later if you wish," Hikaru said.
"Nonsense, dear. You're here already, might as well come closer," she replied.
Hikaru gulped and walked closer. She had never experienced such fear and nervousness before in her life. And for the life of her, she couldn't explain why. Yogensha-Tamashii moved the tray to one side and set down a pillow in its place. Without a word, the young human knelt on it.
The youkai cupped Hikaru's face in her hands for a moment, seeming to study her with those blind eyes. The eyes were pale pools of blue. The healer couldn't distinguish the pupil or the iris from the rest of the eye. It was unnerving.
To keep herself from fretting, Hikaru studied the burn marks. They reminded her of acid or any other kind of liquid burns. Those were the hardest to treat. A lot of the time the burns had been caused by oils or sometimes acids; water didn't work well on either material. The youkai had no chance to save her eyesight.
Yogensha-Tamashii chuckled. "Don't worry about me, child. I learned long ago to live with my blindness. Because I can determine the strength of any future priest or priestess, I have proven that I still have some worth. Like you, young one," she said. Her face went serious and concerned. "Amazing. I have not seen any single human with as much strength as you since I met a young girl named Kikyou years ago. She had great potential and power. Her death was a great tragedy to many."
Hikaru was surprised. "I'm afraid that you must have made a mistake, Obaasan. I'm not that strong," she replied.
But the old youkai nodded. "Indeed you are. But I believe you when you say that you doubt your strength. It is rare that a hanyou is born with houriki."
The young woman gasped. "How did you know what I really am?"
"I'm not a fool, nor can I be easily deceived. When I became blind I slowly realized that I could see some things better than when I had my sight. You are a hanyou, dear."
"Then why is my houriki so low?"
"This is the night when you become human, right? Well, the rest of the time, your youki and houriki are fighting each other for supremacy. Perhaps tonight is the only time when your houriki can reach its full strength," Yogensha-Tamashii said.
Hikaru knelt on the pillow in silence for a few minutes. What she had heard made sense, and would explain a lot of things. Any potions that she made on the nights when she was human worked better than those made on other nights. Finally she mumbled, "Then I'm strongest as a priestess on nights when I turn human."
The youkai nodded. "Yes. Now listen close, there is something I must tell you. A few days ago, a young woman came to me. She had houriki. She wanted me to tell her how strong she could be. I told her the truth; she would make a good miko. But she could not be great, her power wasn't that strong. The girl was angry with me. She believed that I was lying to her, that she was much stronger than I said."
Hikaru nodded. "Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because she is still in the area. You have heard about the disappearance of youkai, right? Well that's her. She is determined to prove that she is stronger than she truly is. Her plan is to destroy the one responsible for the death of the great miko Kikyou. She means to truly kill the hanyou Inuyasha."
The young woman gasped. This was not good. She didn't know what to do, but she knew that Inuyasha couldn't have been directly responsible for the miko's death. There had to be some way to save him. "What can I do?"
"Go into the forest and stop the girl before she can kill Inuyasha. I know that he came here with you and your friend. You'll have to use his unique powers to find them in time," Yogensha-Tamashii replied.
Hikaru nodded her thanks and ran out of the hut. "Juanyu! I need my arrows and your help!" she cried out. He ran out with her bow and quiver in hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Hikaru donned her quiver and explained what was going on. Grimly, he nodded in agreement that his powers were needed.
He closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly his body arched in a spasm in pain. Grey, shimmering fog surrounded his form and grew in size to about the same as a horse. When it lifted, a large, gray wolf stood in front of Hikaru. Juanyu lowered his mighty neck and the young woman wasted no time in grabbing onto some of the fur there and jumping onto his back. They left the villagers in speechless awe as they raced out of the village. The duo needed to hurry; they didn't know how much time they had.
******
Inuyasha leapt from tree to tree, hoping that this would get the bitch off his trail. Yakani hadn't been kidding about killing him. There was already a scratch on his cheek from narrowly dodging one of her arrows. He grimaced and paused for a moment.
There wasn't any chance that he could explain to her the truth about his relationship with Kikyou. She wouldn't listen and was obsessed on killing him more than Kikyou had. His ears picked some noise form below and jumped in time to avoid another arrow.
******
Down on the ground, Yakani cursed to herself and took out another arrow. This was taking longer than she had planned. Inuyasha was better at dodging than she had thought. No matter, she would get him eventually.
******
The hunt went on for some time. Inuyasha was indeed good at dodging the arrows, but Yakani would not give up.
Hikaru and Juanyu were having some difficulty tracking their friend through the forest. But Hikaru could sense his youki and was able to give Juanyu a general direction. She tugged on his fur to give direction and the wolf obeyed wordlessly.
They could sense that they were running out of time.
******
Inuyasha leaned against the tree, panting. This was getting way out of hand. This Yakani bitch was more stubborn than he would have thought possible for a human, except for Kagome.
Why did she think that killing him would prove that she was stronger than Kikyou? It didn't make sense. Then he remembered what he had to go through in order to wield Tetsusaiga after it had been broken. Maybe there was some sense to it.
He put his back against the tree trunk to rest. Looking up, he figured that the night was half over. He wished that he could lose her before morning. Or at least stay alive until then.
A whizzing sound alerted him before it was too late and he moved. Instead of hitting him in the head, the arrow pinned his shoulder to the tree.
There was a slightly evil laugh coming not far off. "Did you give Kikyou this much of a fight when she killed you?" Yakani teased. She stood there with her bow aimed and another arrow in her hand. "Honestly, I have thought that you would have done more. Maybe all that time you were bound took the edge off of your rage."
"Bitch! You can never be like Kikyou," he growled.
She scowled and notched her arrow. "Shut up monster." She loosed the arrow and it flew smooth and fast. It struck Inuyasha in his other shoulder; he couldn't move at all now. There was too much power for him to overcome and free himself.
Yakani smiled and loosed another arrow. This one was for Inuyasha's head. And there wasn't anything he could do to save himself.