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Chapter Twenty Five: Roads To The Past
"Come on! We have to get to the village!" Mei Lhi shouted, already running off.
"Mei Lhi, don't! We still have to get this village back to normal. We have to heal the wounded, bury the dead, rebuild homes, stock up on food, arrange shelters for those who lost their homes..." Hana said, ticking off all the things that needed to be done on her slender fingers.
Mei Lhi sighed.
"Oh alright! But right after we had better be going to that village!" She replied.
"Besides, we can't go now...not when your soul is still fresh with wounds...it isn't good for you..."
"Hana-chan! I haven't told them yet!"
"Told us what?" Inuyasha interrupted.
"Nothing..." Hana replied.
"I wasn't talking to you, Hana-baba!!!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome, Sango, Shippo, Miroku, Kaede, and Mei Lhi exclaimed in shocked unison.
"Kagome, do your stuff..." Hana said, grinning.
"Inuyasha, Osuwari!!!!"
CRASH!
"Damn...wench..."
"Gomen nasai, Hana-chan, for my Inunii-chan is a baka and is very rude." Mei Lhi said, bowing.
"Mei Lhi, there's no need to apologize..." Hana replied, laughing.
Inuyasha pulled himself out of the imprint of his body in the ground, looking very angry.
"What was that for?!" He demanded.
"Hana-chan is NOT old!!! It's very rude of you to call her an old hag!" Mei Lhi answered fiercely, hitting her brother over the head with a closed fist.
"If she hadn't been sealed, she'd probably be older than Kaede-baba!"
"Well if Kikyo hadn't died, she'd be nothing more than a walking, talking bag of bones! Oh wait, she already is one!"
Inuyasha growled, then sheathing Tetsusaiga, stomped off, going back to sulk in his favorite tree.
Mei Lhi growled, stomping her foot angrily on the ground, creating a three inch deep inprint of her shoe on the earth.
"Kagome-chan, we have to go back to your time. We'll need lots of bandages..." She said finally.
Kagome nodded, then walked towards the direction of the well.
Mei Lhi followed.
They reached the clearing in Inuyasha Forest, Kagome jumped into the well, Mei Lhi glaring at a branch in the Goshinboku Tree where a hanyou sat, staring at her. With another death glare, Mei Lhi jumped in the well, meeting Kagome on the other side.
* * *
Kagome climbed up the ladder, waiting for Mei Lhi. She appeared seconds later, both exiting the well house and walking towards the main house, sliding the front door open. Both took off their shoes, Mrs. Higurashi, Higurashi Ji-chan, and Souta gasping at the sight of the two girls.
"Inunee-chan! What happened?" Souta asked.
"A battle..." Mei Lhi replied.
"Kagome, are you alright? Mei Lhi! What about you? You're covered in blood!" Mrs. Higurashi asked concerned.
"There is no time to explain what happened, Higurashi-san. There are many wounded in the Feudal Era, and we have only come to bring the village people the healing and restorative herbs from your time to cure them of their illnesses." Mei Lhi said blandly.
Mrs. Higurashi nodded, rushing off, returning with the first aid kit and lots of bandages and antiseptic cream.
"Come on, Kagome-chan...let's go..." Mei Lhi called, heading out the door.
"I'm coming Mei-chan..." Kagome replied.
The two approached the well house, meeting Inuyasha inside.
"Finally decided to come along, eh?" Mei Lhi asked.
"Feh. No. I'm here to carry all that crap you've got..." Inuyasha scoffed in response.
"Well, we're fine, thank you. But since you're coming with us, just make sure nothing attacks us on our way to the village."
"Whatever..."
The three jumped into the well, arriving back in the Sengoku Jidai.
* * *
Inuyasha climbed out with Kagome, then Mei Lhi. All of them ran swiftly back to the village, reaching it in moments...
* * *
Two Days Later...
The surviving villagers had been bandaged and mostly healed from their wounds. Inuyasha and Mei Lhi had done lots of hunting, supplying the village with food for a very long time. The village men strong enough to do heavy lifting, Inuyasha, Miroku, Mei Lhi, Shippo, Sango, and Kagome helped rebuild the burned huts, Hana looked after others in the makeshift shelter that had been built. The village was returning to normal. Kaede had assured everyone that she could manage things from there on. Now more than ever, Mei Lhi wanted to leave.
"Hana-chan, can we leave? The village is fine now. Kaede said so. Can we go?" She pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
Hana sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Oh alright..." She said at last.
"Ok, let's go!" Mei Lhi exclaimed, already running off.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Inuyasha yelled, catching her arm and pulling her back.
Mei Lhi pouted, sitting down Indian style, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sango, Miroku, and Hana climbed onto Kirara, Kagome got on Inuyasha's back, Shippo getting on Mei Lhi's shoulder.
"Wait, I would like to see this village also..." A voice called.
All turned towards the voice.
They saw Kaede walking towards them.
"I've got room to carry you." Mei Lhi said, standing, stretching her arms.
Kaede got onto Mei Lhi's back, and all took off, Hana giving directions.
"We must get there quickly! They may want to attack again! We can't let their samurai forces leave their village!" Hana yelled to them.
"That's fine with me!" Mei Lhi shouted back. "The sooner we get there the better!"
Mei Lhi ran faster, Inuyasha matching her speed, Kirara just barely keeping up.
* * *
They had reached their destination hours later. The sun was setting. The group had stopped on a small cliff that over looked the village. Mei Lhi's eyes took in the sight. She saw the village was the same as it had always been. Her eyes spotted a house. Faint shadows of burns on the earth. Next to a tree, she saw a small shrine.
Tears that threatened to spill began to pool in her golden eyes.
* * *
Inuyasha stared at the village, just as starry-eyed as Mei Lhi.
'So this is the place...where she grew up...' He thought.
His gaze focused on the hanyou girl, and he saw her eyes drift to a small shrine. He could smell her tears. As he watched her, he saw- well he thought he saw for a brief moment, her figure change into her human form. It had gone as soon as it had come.
'I must be imagining things...just a trick in the light...' He concluded.
Chapter Twenty Five: Roads To The Past
"Come on! We have to get to the village!" Mei Lhi shouted, already running off.
"Mei Lhi, don't! We still have to get this village back to normal. We have to heal the wounded, bury the dead, rebuild homes, stock up on food, arrange shelters for those who lost their homes..." Hana said, ticking off all the things that needed to be done on her slender fingers.
Mei Lhi sighed.
"Oh alright! But right after we had better be going to that village!" She replied.
"Besides, we can't go now...not when your soul is still fresh with wounds...it isn't good for you..."
"Hana-chan! I haven't told them yet!"
"Told us what?" Inuyasha interrupted.
"Nothing..." Hana replied.
"I wasn't talking to you, Hana-baba!!!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome, Sango, Shippo, Miroku, Kaede, and Mei Lhi exclaimed in shocked unison.
"Kagome, do your stuff..." Hana said, grinning.
"Inuyasha, Osuwari!!!!"
CRASH!
"Damn...wench..."
"Gomen nasai, Hana-chan, for my Inunii-chan is a baka and is very rude." Mei Lhi said, bowing.
"Mei Lhi, there's no need to apologize..." Hana replied, laughing.
Inuyasha pulled himself out of the imprint of his body in the ground, looking very angry.
"What was that for?!" He demanded.
"Hana-chan is NOT old!!! It's very rude of you to call her an old hag!" Mei Lhi answered fiercely, hitting her brother over the head with a closed fist.
"If she hadn't been sealed, she'd probably be older than Kaede-baba!"
"Well if Kikyo hadn't died, she'd be nothing more than a walking, talking bag of bones! Oh wait, she already is one!"
Inuyasha growled, then sheathing Tetsusaiga, stomped off, going back to sulk in his favorite tree.
Mei Lhi growled, stomping her foot angrily on the ground, creating a three inch deep inprint of her shoe on the earth.
"Kagome-chan, we have to go back to your time. We'll need lots of bandages..." She said finally.
Kagome nodded, then walked towards the direction of the well.
Mei Lhi followed.
They reached the clearing in Inuyasha Forest, Kagome jumped into the well, Mei Lhi glaring at a branch in the Goshinboku Tree where a hanyou sat, staring at her. With another death glare, Mei Lhi jumped in the well, meeting Kagome on the other side.
* * *
Kagome climbed up the ladder, waiting for Mei Lhi. She appeared seconds later, both exiting the well house and walking towards the main house, sliding the front door open. Both took off their shoes, Mrs. Higurashi, Higurashi Ji-chan, and Souta gasping at the sight of the two girls.
"Inunee-chan! What happened?" Souta asked.
"A battle..." Mei Lhi replied.
"Kagome, are you alright? Mei Lhi! What about you? You're covered in blood!" Mrs. Higurashi asked concerned.
"There is no time to explain what happened, Higurashi-san. There are many wounded in the Feudal Era, and we have only come to bring the village people the healing and restorative herbs from your time to cure them of their illnesses." Mei Lhi said blandly.
Mrs. Higurashi nodded, rushing off, returning with the first aid kit and lots of bandages and antiseptic cream.
"Come on, Kagome-chan...let's go..." Mei Lhi called, heading out the door.
"I'm coming Mei-chan..." Kagome replied.
The two approached the well house, meeting Inuyasha inside.
"Finally decided to come along, eh?" Mei Lhi asked.
"Feh. No. I'm here to carry all that crap you've got..." Inuyasha scoffed in response.
"Well, we're fine, thank you. But since you're coming with us, just make sure nothing attacks us on our way to the village."
"Whatever..."
The three jumped into the well, arriving back in the Sengoku Jidai.
* * *
Inuyasha climbed out with Kagome, then Mei Lhi. All of them ran swiftly back to the village, reaching it in moments...
* * *
Two Days Later...
The surviving villagers had been bandaged and mostly healed from their wounds. Inuyasha and Mei Lhi had done lots of hunting, supplying the village with food for a very long time. The village men strong enough to do heavy lifting, Inuyasha, Miroku, Mei Lhi, Shippo, Sango, and Kagome helped rebuild the burned huts, Hana looked after others in the makeshift shelter that had been built. The village was returning to normal. Kaede had assured everyone that she could manage things from there on. Now more than ever, Mei Lhi wanted to leave.
"Hana-chan, can we leave? The village is fine now. Kaede said so. Can we go?" She pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
Hana sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Oh alright..." She said at last.
"Ok, let's go!" Mei Lhi exclaimed, already running off.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Inuyasha yelled, catching her arm and pulling her back.
Mei Lhi pouted, sitting down Indian style, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sango, Miroku, and Hana climbed onto Kirara, Kagome got on Inuyasha's back, Shippo getting on Mei Lhi's shoulder.
"Wait, I would like to see this village also..." A voice called.
All turned towards the voice.
They saw Kaede walking towards them.
"I've got room to carry you." Mei Lhi said, standing, stretching her arms.
Kaede got onto Mei Lhi's back, and all took off, Hana giving directions.
"We must get there quickly! They may want to attack again! We can't let their samurai forces leave their village!" Hana yelled to them.
"That's fine with me!" Mei Lhi shouted back. "The sooner we get there the better!"
Mei Lhi ran faster, Inuyasha matching her speed, Kirara just barely keeping up.
* * *
They had reached their destination hours later. The sun was setting. The group had stopped on a small cliff that over looked the village. Mei Lhi's eyes took in the sight. She saw the village was the same as it had always been. Her eyes spotted a house. Faint shadows of burns on the earth. Next to a tree, she saw a small shrine.
Tears that threatened to spill began to pool in her golden eyes.
* * *
Inuyasha stared at the village, just as starry-eyed as Mei Lhi.
'So this is the place...where she grew up...' He thought.
His gaze focused on the hanyou girl, and he saw her eyes drift to a small shrine. He could smell her tears. As he watched her, he saw- well he thought he saw for a brief moment, her figure change into her human form. It had gone as soon as it had come.
'I must be imagining things...just a trick in the light...' He concluded.