The afternoon shown down on the weary travelers as they trudged along the
dusty road. The children of the refugees were the only ones that were
enjoying themselves as they ran around the edges of the group, yelling and
playing chasing games.
From his place in the walking order next to a wagon on his left, Miroku smiled and chuckled to himself. He could hardly believe that the children could be acting like this when their entire village had been destroyed and had nowhere else to go. And amongst the children Shippou was playing with them as if he was a normal human child instead of a kitsune.
"At least it's taking his mind off of Inuyasha and Kagome," Sango said from his right. On her shoulder, Kiarara mewed her agreement. The houshi looked at her in surprise.
"What are you talking about, Sango-chan?" he asked.
"Shippou, playing with the other children will keep him from thinking about how long Inuyasha has been missing and if Kagome will ever return to this world," she explained. He nodded.
It has been almost too long since Inuyasha was first swallowed by that strange fish youkai and taken to the river. For some strange reason, the group had decided to try looking for him; the hanyou was known for his habit of getting out of deadly situations with little harm to him.
But enough was enough. They had been searching for months now and have had no success. Maybe it was time to consider giving up...
"Is everything all right, houshi-sama?" a voice weakly moaned form within the wagon. Miroku looked into the back of the wagon. Laying on a makeshift pallet was a young man who seemed to have aged years in only a few months. His clothes resembled the robes of a priest but they were heavily soiled with sweat, dirt, and blood. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his eyes with dried blood streaking down the cheeks like tears.
"You shouldn't be talking right now; rest and conserve your strength until we reach the dono's manor," Miroku replied.
"With all due respect, houshi-sama, if I do any more resting, I think that I might lose my temper. I have had enough rest," the priest mumbled. His tone changed and what expression Miroku saw softened into something pleading. "If I am to remain in this wagon for the rest of the journey, please permit me to at least talk?"
"I see no harm in doing that. Actually, if you feel up to it I have a few questions that you can answer for me."
"Certainly. Ask what you may; but understand that I may not be able to answer all of them."
Miroku nodded although his companion couldn't see it. "I understand. My first question is this: how is that the entire village that you were trusted to safeguard is now walking to this dono? What could have happened to cause this exodus?"
"I can easily answer both of those questions, houshi-sama. It all began about half a month after I became the priest of the village. I was tending to the birds that lived in a tree near my home on evening when from deep within the forest, when I saw massive flocks of birds flying out of the trees, over the village and beyond. There were so many of them that they temporarily covered and blackened the sky. I remembered something that someone had told me about the birds, a warning. I was told that if the birds were ever to leave in such a flight, the wisest thing would be to evacuate the village and find safety."
"That is certainly wise advice. Whoever told you this must have been a wise old sage," Miroku commented.
Inside the wagon, the priest chuckled. "You're right about the advice, houshi-sama, but wrong on who gave it to me. And as I was saying, when I saw the birds, I knew that trouble was heading towards the village. I ran to the center, shouting at people to get out of their houses and out of the village. None of them believed me, instead they followed me to the center of the village, asking what the fuss was about. The headman was there as well. He was furious that I would cause such a ruckus for no reason. But that was when we all heard it. It was the sound of multiple wolves howling. Or at least, some things that were trying to pass itself off as wolves. Everyone, especially the elder people of the village, turned pale and began to run in the opposite direction of the howls.
"I managed to get them all organized and we headed out for safety. But apparently we were too late or our attackers were early. They were wolves the size of men or, for some, larger than. And yet they could stand like men and their front paws were as dexterous as human hands. I know that they were nothing natural. Not even the youkai can be like that!
"Anyway, they came upon us as we were heading out. Most of the village ran for their lives, but I stayed behind with a few other men to try to keep the monsters from them as long as we could. We fought them as best we could and were able to knock a few of them out of the battle. The last thing that I remember seeing before I was blinded was an old soldier managing to pierce the chest of one of the monsters with a homemade spear as his head was bitten off. I don't know what happened to my opponent after it blinded me. But I was pulled away from the fight by the other surviving defenders.
"We made our way to the rest of the villagers and the decision was made to make the trek to the dono's manor to seek refuge for us all. That's our tale. The rest you are familiar with, houshi-sama."
Miroku nodded. He, Shippou, and Sango had come across this starving band a few days ago. They had agreed to guide and protect the group on the rest of the trek. The talk turned to lighter things as the afternoon worn on towards evening.
******
One of the first smells that came to Hikaru's nose as she entered the courtyard of the dono's manor was blood. It took all of her control not to flinch and grab her nose to keep the stench out. Beside her, she could sense Inuyasha and Juanyu stiffened at the smell.
"What the hell is going on here?" ani-chan asked.
Indeed, to Hikaru, it seemed like some kind of hell. The fighting with the oni must have been going on for some time as there were several soldiers gathered in the courtyard, not one of them uninjured. Their guide's explanation confirmed what she thought and more.
"A few of the men have died because of the oni. And I believe that many more will before the night is out," he added sadly. By then, the miko had made up her mind.
"Not if I can do anything about it," she said in a known voice.
All the men looked at her, but only the men that knew and what she was capable of doing wore expressions of knowing that they would somehow get dragged into it.
"What do you want us to do, Hikaru?" Inuyasha asked crossing his arms across his chest.
"Inuyasha, I'd like you to tend to all of the least wounded soldiers. Juanyu, take Myouga and tend to those with more serious injuries. I'll take care of the ones with the most grave of wounds," she ordered without pausing. Without another word, Juanyu took off his pack and handed the needed materials out to the others.
All the while, their guide looked flabbergasted at what was going on. These strangers first helped them by destroying the oni, now they were going to tend to the wounded? Who were these people?
++ I always wanted to use the word 'flabbergasted' but back to the story.
It was well into the night by the time that all of the soldiers were looked after, even when the manor's healers joined the trio in their work. It was amazing the kind of speed that everything was done by. Juanyu was able to finish with his patients rather quickly. When he was done, he helped Inuyasha with the ore seriously wounded soldiers. This took a little more time, as the oni was prone to wound soldiers in this category than others.
But Hikaru had tending to her patients the longest. She was able to secure a private room in order to perform her treatments. A rag wrapped around her nose and mouth helped to cut down on the stench of torn flesh and spilled, sometimes still flowing, blood. Her patients' comrades would do their best to try to be helpful, but mostly they stayed out of her way, the best way that they could help under the circumstances.
She didn't keep track of how much time had past or how many men she helped. But it did seem that most of the soldiers were seriously wounded by the oni. She was able to use her medicines effectively, but too many times, she had to ask one of the less wounded soldiers to fetch her more from the basket. Others seemed committed to making bandages by tearing up old clothes and boiling them in hot water like she had asked them to. At the least it helped them to release from pent up emotions and kept their hands busy.
There was little liquor that she could use to numb the pain for the soldiers as she worked; she resorted to an old trick she learned at her teacher's feet. When the liquor ran out, she began to tell stories from the land that raised her to distract the men from what she was doing. They were fascinated by the stories about other warriors, especially those that suffered wounds worse than their own.
After long last, the last of her patients had been seen to and tended. None of them had died under her hands; their fates were now in the hands of whatever powers they prayed to.
"So, you're finally finished, Hikaru?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway.
She whipped around to look at him, surprised to find him there. Behind him a little ways was what looked like a guardsman. Hikaru took the rag off her face and smiled.
"Hai, it finally looks like I am, ani-chan. How did you and Juanyu fare with your patients?" She stood wearily and her knees buckled, nearly making her fall. The soldiers gasped and rushed to her side, but none of them were quicker than Inuyasha. He caught her as she fell and gave her his support in standing.
"Juanyu and I finished long ago, imooto-chan. We've eaten and were getting ready to get some sleep. The dono wants to see us, but I told the guards that it can wait until tomorrow after we're all rested," he whispered in a low voice, meant for her hears alone. "And that sure as hell includes you, Hikaru. The soldiers have said that you haven't taken a break for anything, not even food. Out of all of us, you need rest the most. And don't even think about arguing with me!"
Hikaru was so tired to argue but simply nodded her head. The hanyou man sighed with relief. Gathering her up in his arms he left the room with her mumbling last minute instructions for her patients to last them until morning. The guard that had been standing behind Inuyasha stepped forward and guided them both to the room set aside for them by the dono. Neither of the siblings said anything other than a goodnight for the rest of the night. Everyone just seemed that tired.
******
In the early dawn hours of the next day, the guards on the wall were surprised to see a large group of weary travelers approaching the doors of the manor. If it weren't for the children and wounded people in the group, the soldiers might have sounded the battle alarm. Instead that rang the gong to alert the manor that visitors were coming.
The doors were opened and servants of the dono greeted the refugees along with their protectors as they came in. They were given food, fresh water, and healers came to see to their wounds. The weary travelers were shocked and frightened by the number of wounded soldiers in the courtyard of the dono. But others were quick to assure them that the danger that had threatened them was gone.
Miroku didn't say anything, but he wasn't so sure about the danger being gone. He was definitely sensing the presence of youki close by. Amazingly enough, he was also sensing houriki as well, not that strong, but there nonetheless. He was curious why these two powers were in such close proximity to each other and yet no one seemed alarmed by this. But he wasn't given much time to ask, servants were pressing food and medicines on him and it took him a while to get away from them all.
"Well, this seems like an unusual manor, Sango," he mumbled.
Sango, who had managed to reach his side, nodded. "I wonder what happened to make their mood so happy? With all that's happened recently, you would think that they would be more somber."
******
Inuyasha woke up to see Hikaru sitting by the basket, which held her possessions. Juanyu and Myouga were still asleep in their beds. He got up slowly, after yesterday he had no desire to wake the others up.
"Hikaru, what are you doing?" he whispered. He could see her taking out jars and small packets of some kind of cloth and separating them into two different piles. What those piles were, he had no idea.
"I'm checking my medical supplies, ani-chan," she replied in a whisper as well. "After all those patients we treated last night, I realized that it has been a while since I've checked my stores. Now I know that there are a few that need to be replenished."
Inuyasha frowned. He hadn't thought about her supplies either. "Is there any that you need to restock on right now?"
She nodded, "There are a few here that do. I should be able to make some more with little problem. I thought that I saw the herbs that I need in the fields outside of the manor. I go out today and collect what I need."
"All right. But be careful, imooto-san. We made have gotten rid of one nuisance yesterday, but that doesn't mean that there aren't others out there," he said.
She nodded. Then she removed from the basket a small cloth bag that she slung over one shoulder and a small knife. "I should be back by this afternoon, Inuyasha. Don't worry about me," she said. The hanyou was relieved to see that his sister took her sword with her.
******
Yawnin hunched down and tried his hardest not to gobble the food that was being offered to him. It had been several days since he had had a decent meal. Everyone left the village in such a hurry that none of them had thought to bring any food, the louts!
He had never thought that things would turn out like this! The young man thought that with his grandfather out of the way and he as the headman, things would be easy for him. Especially with that bitch banished from the village.
But instead, a week after he had taken leadership over the village, the damn wolves and Sanusha had returned. And now the village had been destroyed and everyone that had managed to escape was forced to flee to this dono for refuge and help.
He glanced up and nearly choked on the rice in his mouth. Walking along the outer wall, heading outside was that damn bitch Hikaru. He thought that he had seen the last of her when he watched her walk of the village with that other hanyou and Yawnin's cursed cousin.
With a great effort, he managed to swallow the mouthful that was attempting to kill him and abandoned the rest of the food. It would have no taste to him now. What he needed to do now was to find a way to get rid of that hanyou once and for all. A sinister smile came upon his face; identical to the one that he wore when he took an axe to Hikaru's markers. He knew what to do. He only had to convince them that killing Hikaru was the right thing to do.
******
Shippou practically gorged on the food given to him. Miroku and Sango had left him a few minutes ago to talk to that creepy headman that they had been traveling with. Just as well that they had left the kitsune behind. He never did like Yawnin. There was something scary about the guy.
"How do you think we should handle this problem?" Miroku asked. Apparently he and Sango were returning. Shippou quickly finished his food and turned toward his friends.
"So what did he want?" he asked, his mouth still partially filled with food.
"He says that he saw a youkai that he knew heading out to the fields just a moment ago. According to him, this one was a source of some trouble for his village before the priest came. He has asked that we get rid of her for good. And this Hikaru can be very dangerous," replied Sango.
"He doesn't want to bother the guards since it's obvious that most of them are too wounded to fight her. So we're going instead. Shippou, please stay here," Miroku said. The little kitsune nodded an agreement and his friends took Kiarara and left the courtyard.
For the moment at least, Shippou was on his own. There were other children from the village that he could play with and it looked that several of them were getting a game started. With a sight smile on his face, he jumped up and went over to join.
******
Inuyasha walked along the outer hallway feeling both relief and boredom settling in. He thought that it would be a good idea to check on how Hikaru's patients form last night were doing and to see if there was anything that he could do to help if needed. Fortunately they all seemed to be fine and were intent on singing her praises to him, as if he didn't already know how a great miko she was. His pride for her swelled a little bit and he left them resting in their beds. But now there was nothing for him to do.
The sounds of children's laughter came to his ears along with their scent. And amongst the various smells was one that he recognized but didn't think that he would smell again so soon.
"Shippou?"
He dashed off and found himself in the front courtyard where apparently a large group of people had come in to seek refuge with the dono. Near the main building, a group of children were playing with the little kitsune. Adding to his surprise, Inuyasha recognized some of the other children as ones that were in the village that Hikaru use to protect.
He jumped down near them and stared in shock. It certainly was them, but what the hell were they doing here? Looking around, he remembered several of the people as from the same village as well. What happened? Why are they all here?
At that moment, one of the children had taken noticed of the hanyou and stopped.
"Inuyasha-san!! You're here! Hurray!" little Sora cried out, ran up to him, and hugged his waist.
It was indeed Juanyu's imooto. It confirmed for the hanyou that these people were from the village where Hikaru had stayed for two years. But what were they doing here?
"Inuyasha? Is it really you?" Shippou asked. He and the rest of the children had stopped in their play and were now surrounding the hanyou and Sora. The kitsune jumped onto Inuyasha's head and tugged at the ears. "It looks like it's really you."
With a twitching eyebrow Inuyasha grabbed Shippou with one hand and brought him to face level. "Of course it's me, you baka! Who else do you think it could be?"
++ 'baka' is a general term meaning moron, idiot, stupid; things like that.
Tears formed in Shippou's eyes and he actually hugged Inuyasha's face. "It is you! It really is you! Where the hell have you been, Inuyasha? Everyone has been worried about you!" he cried.
The hanyou pulled the kitsune off, "I've been busy. I'll explain later. Are Miroku and Sango with you?"
Shippou nodded, "They were but they had to go with and fight some youkai. The headman said that he had seen a youkai that had been troubling the village and asked that they help him."
"Youkai? What youkai? I haven't sensed anything weird since I've been here."
"Someone named Hikaru."
"Wha...? Where did they go?"
Shippou pointed. "Over the wall. Out to the fields I think. Anyway, that's where Yawnin said that he saw the youkai going."
"Dammit. Come on, Shippou, we've got to go!"
"Go? Go where, Inuyasha?"
"To stop a fight."
From his place in the walking order next to a wagon on his left, Miroku smiled and chuckled to himself. He could hardly believe that the children could be acting like this when their entire village had been destroyed and had nowhere else to go. And amongst the children Shippou was playing with them as if he was a normal human child instead of a kitsune.
"At least it's taking his mind off of Inuyasha and Kagome," Sango said from his right. On her shoulder, Kiarara mewed her agreement. The houshi looked at her in surprise.
"What are you talking about, Sango-chan?" he asked.
"Shippou, playing with the other children will keep him from thinking about how long Inuyasha has been missing and if Kagome will ever return to this world," she explained. He nodded.
It has been almost too long since Inuyasha was first swallowed by that strange fish youkai and taken to the river. For some strange reason, the group had decided to try looking for him; the hanyou was known for his habit of getting out of deadly situations with little harm to him.
But enough was enough. They had been searching for months now and have had no success. Maybe it was time to consider giving up...
"Is everything all right, houshi-sama?" a voice weakly moaned form within the wagon. Miroku looked into the back of the wagon. Laying on a makeshift pallet was a young man who seemed to have aged years in only a few months. His clothes resembled the robes of a priest but they were heavily soiled with sweat, dirt, and blood. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his eyes with dried blood streaking down the cheeks like tears.
"You shouldn't be talking right now; rest and conserve your strength until we reach the dono's manor," Miroku replied.
"With all due respect, houshi-sama, if I do any more resting, I think that I might lose my temper. I have had enough rest," the priest mumbled. His tone changed and what expression Miroku saw softened into something pleading. "If I am to remain in this wagon for the rest of the journey, please permit me to at least talk?"
"I see no harm in doing that. Actually, if you feel up to it I have a few questions that you can answer for me."
"Certainly. Ask what you may; but understand that I may not be able to answer all of them."
Miroku nodded although his companion couldn't see it. "I understand. My first question is this: how is that the entire village that you were trusted to safeguard is now walking to this dono? What could have happened to cause this exodus?"
"I can easily answer both of those questions, houshi-sama. It all began about half a month after I became the priest of the village. I was tending to the birds that lived in a tree near my home on evening when from deep within the forest, when I saw massive flocks of birds flying out of the trees, over the village and beyond. There were so many of them that they temporarily covered and blackened the sky. I remembered something that someone had told me about the birds, a warning. I was told that if the birds were ever to leave in such a flight, the wisest thing would be to evacuate the village and find safety."
"That is certainly wise advice. Whoever told you this must have been a wise old sage," Miroku commented.
Inside the wagon, the priest chuckled. "You're right about the advice, houshi-sama, but wrong on who gave it to me. And as I was saying, when I saw the birds, I knew that trouble was heading towards the village. I ran to the center, shouting at people to get out of their houses and out of the village. None of them believed me, instead they followed me to the center of the village, asking what the fuss was about. The headman was there as well. He was furious that I would cause such a ruckus for no reason. But that was when we all heard it. It was the sound of multiple wolves howling. Or at least, some things that were trying to pass itself off as wolves. Everyone, especially the elder people of the village, turned pale and began to run in the opposite direction of the howls.
"I managed to get them all organized and we headed out for safety. But apparently we were too late or our attackers were early. They were wolves the size of men or, for some, larger than. And yet they could stand like men and their front paws were as dexterous as human hands. I know that they were nothing natural. Not even the youkai can be like that!
"Anyway, they came upon us as we were heading out. Most of the village ran for their lives, but I stayed behind with a few other men to try to keep the monsters from them as long as we could. We fought them as best we could and were able to knock a few of them out of the battle. The last thing that I remember seeing before I was blinded was an old soldier managing to pierce the chest of one of the monsters with a homemade spear as his head was bitten off. I don't know what happened to my opponent after it blinded me. But I was pulled away from the fight by the other surviving defenders.
"We made our way to the rest of the villagers and the decision was made to make the trek to the dono's manor to seek refuge for us all. That's our tale. The rest you are familiar with, houshi-sama."
Miroku nodded. He, Shippou, and Sango had come across this starving band a few days ago. They had agreed to guide and protect the group on the rest of the trek. The talk turned to lighter things as the afternoon worn on towards evening.
******
One of the first smells that came to Hikaru's nose as she entered the courtyard of the dono's manor was blood. It took all of her control not to flinch and grab her nose to keep the stench out. Beside her, she could sense Inuyasha and Juanyu stiffened at the smell.
"What the hell is going on here?" ani-chan asked.
Indeed, to Hikaru, it seemed like some kind of hell. The fighting with the oni must have been going on for some time as there were several soldiers gathered in the courtyard, not one of them uninjured. Their guide's explanation confirmed what she thought and more.
"A few of the men have died because of the oni. And I believe that many more will before the night is out," he added sadly. By then, the miko had made up her mind.
"Not if I can do anything about it," she said in a known voice.
All the men looked at her, but only the men that knew and what she was capable of doing wore expressions of knowing that they would somehow get dragged into it.
"What do you want us to do, Hikaru?" Inuyasha asked crossing his arms across his chest.
"Inuyasha, I'd like you to tend to all of the least wounded soldiers. Juanyu, take Myouga and tend to those with more serious injuries. I'll take care of the ones with the most grave of wounds," she ordered without pausing. Without another word, Juanyu took off his pack and handed the needed materials out to the others.
All the while, their guide looked flabbergasted at what was going on. These strangers first helped them by destroying the oni, now they were going to tend to the wounded? Who were these people?
++ I always wanted to use the word 'flabbergasted' but back to the story.
It was well into the night by the time that all of the soldiers were looked after, even when the manor's healers joined the trio in their work. It was amazing the kind of speed that everything was done by. Juanyu was able to finish with his patients rather quickly. When he was done, he helped Inuyasha with the ore seriously wounded soldiers. This took a little more time, as the oni was prone to wound soldiers in this category than others.
But Hikaru had tending to her patients the longest. She was able to secure a private room in order to perform her treatments. A rag wrapped around her nose and mouth helped to cut down on the stench of torn flesh and spilled, sometimes still flowing, blood. Her patients' comrades would do their best to try to be helpful, but mostly they stayed out of her way, the best way that they could help under the circumstances.
She didn't keep track of how much time had past or how many men she helped. But it did seem that most of the soldiers were seriously wounded by the oni. She was able to use her medicines effectively, but too many times, she had to ask one of the less wounded soldiers to fetch her more from the basket. Others seemed committed to making bandages by tearing up old clothes and boiling them in hot water like she had asked them to. At the least it helped them to release from pent up emotions and kept their hands busy.
There was little liquor that she could use to numb the pain for the soldiers as she worked; she resorted to an old trick she learned at her teacher's feet. When the liquor ran out, she began to tell stories from the land that raised her to distract the men from what she was doing. They were fascinated by the stories about other warriors, especially those that suffered wounds worse than their own.
After long last, the last of her patients had been seen to and tended. None of them had died under her hands; their fates were now in the hands of whatever powers they prayed to.
"So, you're finally finished, Hikaru?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway.
She whipped around to look at him, surprised to find him there. Behind him a little ways was what looked like a guardsman. Hikaru took the rag off her face and smiled.
"Hai, it finally looks like I am, ani-chan. How did you and Juanyu fare with your patients?" She stood wearily and her knees buckled, nearly making her fall. The soldiers gasped and rushed to her side, but none of them were quicker than Inuyasha. He caught her as she fell and gave her his support in standing.
"Juanyu and I finished long ago, imooto-chan. We've eaten and were getting ready to get some sleep. The dono wants to see us, but I told the guards that it can wait until tomorrow after we're all rested," he whispered in a low voice, meant for her hears alone. "And that sure as hell includes you, Hikaru. The soldiers have said that you haven't taken a break for anything, not even food. Out of all of us, you need rest the most. And don't even think about arguing with me!"
Hikaru was so tired to argue but simply nodded her head. The hanyou man sighed with relief. Gathering her up in his arms he left the room with her mumbling last minute instructions for her patients to last them until morning. The guard that had been standing behind Inuyasha stepped forward and guided them both to the room set aside for them by the dono. Neither of the siblings said anything other than a goodnight for the rest of the night. Everyone just seemed that tired.
******
In the early dawn hours of the next day, the guards on the wall were surprised to see a large group of weary travelers approaching the doors of the manor. If it weren't for the children and wounded people in the group, the soldiers might have sounded the battle alarm. Instead that rang the gong to alert the manor that visitors were coming.
The doors were opened and servants of the dono greeted the refugees along with their protectors as they came in. They were given food, fresh water, and healers came to see to their wounds. The weary travelers were shocked and frightened by the number of wounded soldiers in the courtyard of the dono. But others were quick to assure them that the danger that had threatened them was gone.
Miroku didn't say anything, but he wasn't so sure about the danger being gone. He was definitely sensing the presence of youki close by. Amazingly enough, he was also sensing houriki as well, not that strong, but there nonetheless. He was curious why these two powers were in such close proximity to each other and yet no one seemed alarmed by this. But he wasn't given much time to ask, servants were pressing food and medicines on him and it took him a while to get away from them all.
"Well, this seems like an unusual manor, Sango," he mumbled.
Sango, who had managed to reach his side, nodded. "I wonder what happened to make their mood so happy? With all that's happened recently, you would think that they would be more somber."
******
Inuyasha woke up to see Hikaru sitting by the basket, which held her possessions. Juanyu and Myouga were still asleep in their beds. He got up slowly, after yesterday he had no desire to wake the others up.
"Hikaru, what are you doing?" he whispered. He could see her taking out jars and small packets of some kind of cloth and separating them into two different piles. What those piles were, he had no idea.
"I'm checking my medical supplies, ani-chan," she replied in a whisper as well. "After all those patients we treated last night, I realized that it has been a while since I've checked my stores. Now I know that there are a few that need to be replenished."
Inuyasha frowned. He hadn't thought about her supplies either. "Is there any that you need to restock on right now?"
She nodded, "There are a few here that do. I should be able to make some more with little problem. I thought that I saw the herbs that I need in the fields outside of the manor. I go out today and collect what I need."
"All right. But be careful, imooto-san. We made have gotten rid of one nuisance yesterday, but that doesn't mean that there aren't others out there," he said.
She nodded. Then she removed from the basket a small cloth bag that she slung over one shoulder and a small knife. "I should be back by this afternoon, Inuyasha. Don't worry about me," she said. The hanyou was relieved to see that his sister took her sword with her.
******
Yawnin hunched down and tried his hardest not to gobble the food that was being offered to him. It had been several days since he had had a decent meal. Everyone left the village in such a hurry that none of them had thought to bring any food, the louts!
He had never thought that things would turn out like this! The young man thought that with his grandfather out of the way and he as the headman, things would be easy for him. Especially with that bitch banished from the village.
But instead, a week after he had taken leadership over the village, the damn wolves and Sanusha had returned. And now the village had been destroyed and everyone that had managed to escape was forced to flee to this dono for refuge and help.
He glanced up and nearly choked on the rice in his mouth. Walking along the outer wall, heading outside was that damn bitch Hikaru. He thought that he had seen the last of her when he watched her walk of the village with that other hanyou and Yawnin's cursed cousin.
With a great effort, he managed to swallow the mouthful that was attempting to kill him and abandoned the rest of the food. It would have no taste to him now. What he needed to do now was to find a way to get rid of that hanyou once and for all. A sinister smile came upon his face; identical to the one that he wore when he took an axe to Hikaru's markers. He knew what to do. He only had to convince them that killing Hikaru was the right thing to do.
******
Shippou practically gorged on the food given to him. Miroku and Sango had left him a few minutes ago to talk to that creepy headman that they had been traveling with. Just as well that they had left the kitsune behind. He never did like Yawnin. There was something scary about the guy.
"How do you think we should handle this problem?" Miroku asked. Apparently he and Sango were returning. Shippou quickly finished his food and turned toward his friends.
"So what did he want?" he asked, his mouth still partially filled with food.
"He says that he saw a youkai that he knew heading out to the fields just a moment ago. According to him, this one was a source of some trouble for his village before the priest came. He has asked that we get rid of her for good. And this Hikaru can be very dangerous," replied Sango.
"He doesn't want to bother the guards since it's obvious that most of them are too wounded to fight her. So we're going instead. Shippou, please stay here," Miroku said. The little kitsune nodded an agreement and his friends took Kiarara and left the courtyard.
For the moment at least, Shippou was on his own. There were other children from the village that he could play with and it looked that several of them were getting a game started. With a sight smile on his face, he jumped up and went over to join.
******
Inuyasha walked along the outer hallway feeling both relief and boredom settling in. He thought that it would be a good idea to check on how Hikaru's patients form last night were doing and to see if there was anything that he could do to help if needed. Fortunately they all seemed to be fine and were intent on singing her praises to him, as if he didn't already know how a great miko she was. His pride for her swelled a little bit and he left them resting in their beds. But now there was nothing for him to do.
The sounds of children's laughter came to his ears along with their scent. And amongst the various smells was one that he recognized but didn't think that he would smell again so soon.
"Shippou?"
He dashed off and found himself in the front courtyard where apparently a large group of people had come in to seek refuge with the dono. Near the main building, a group of children were playing with the little kitsune. Adding to his surprise, Inuyasha recognized some of the other children as ones that were in the village that Hikaru use to protect.
He jumped down near them and stared in shock. It certainly was them, but what the hell were they doing here? Looking around, he remembered several of the people as from the same village as well. What happened? Why are they all here?
At that moment, one of the children had taken noticed of the hanyou and stopped.
"Inuyasha-san!! You're here! Hurray!" little Sora cried out, ran up to him, and hugged his waist.
It was indeed Juanyu's imooto. It confirmed for the hanyou that these people were from the village where Hikaru had stayed for two years. But what were they doing here?
"Inuyasha? Is it really you?" Shippou asked. He and the rest of the children had stopped in their play and were now surrounding the hanyou and Sora. The kitsune jumped onto Inuyasha's head and tugged at the ears. "It looks like it's really you."
With a twitching eyebrow Inuyasha grabbed Shippou with one hand and brought him to face level. "Of course it's me, you baka! Who else do you think it could be?"
++ 'baka' is a general term meaning moron, idiot, stupid; things like that.
Tears formed in Shippou's eyes and he actually hugged Inuyasha's face. "It is you! It really is you! Where the hell have you been, Inuyasha? Everyone has been worried about you!" he cried.
The hanyou pulled the kitsune off, "I've been busy. I'll explain later. Are Miroku and Sango with you?"
Shippou nodded, "They were but they had to go with and fight some youkai. The headman said that he had seen a youkai that had been troubling the village and asked that they help him."
"Youkai? What youkai? I haven't sensed anything weird since I've been here."
"Someone named Hikaru."
"Wha...? Where did they go?"
Shippou pointed. "Over the wall. Out to the fields I think. Anyway, that's where Yawnin said that he saw the youkai going."
"Dammit. Come on, Shippou, we've got to go!"
"Go? Go where, Inuyasha?"
"To stop a fight."