Kizuna Chapter 2: Forbidden Love
Banana Rum: Kiyomi
Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to its respective owner. Not me.
At first, the village detested me. It was a demon exterminating community. Everyone there was trained to kill us, youkai. Despite this, the village was like any other. Small huts with straw thatched roofs adorned the dirt packed streets and farmers lived on the outskirts of town. The verdant fields seemed to stretch on forever and hard-working villagers could be seen in them from dawn until dusk.
I knew the villagers were out to get me. One time, a group of boys threw rocks at me. One boy, who seemed to be their leader, had a large slingshot which catapulted palm sized stones. Midoriko-sama told me they were jealous of her, and wanted to keep me for themselves. I knew she was lying though, because every time she said it, her face was strained into an overly happy smile and she hastily went to wash laundry or tend the garden. So, to gain the villagers trust, I tried as hard as I could to impress them. In the beginning, I performed small tasks, such as ridding the gardens of hungry scavengers. Then, I moved to larger prey, and rid the storehouses of mice and such vermin. When I got older, Midoriko-sama even took with with her when she scouted the area for dangerous youkai.
Gradually, the villagers trusted me, and some even grew fond of me. I started going with the taijiya on exterminations. Technically, I was killing my own kind, but my place was with the humans.
Life went on like this for some time. Midoriko-sama and I were content. Unfortunately, the gods could not have us content.
One day, a group of bandits rampaged the village. They came unexpectedly on horseback carrying torches, spears, and finely made katana. They were wearing the heavy armor of samurai, but were obviously not. Their faces were dirty and prickled with stubble that had not been shaven in a long time. The ruthless thieves had robbed a wealthy village and partied for many nights it seemed.
They burned, destroyed, and killed an excessive amount of men, women and children. The battles started early in the morning and lasted early into the next. Despite all the warriors in our village, there were just too many bandits. The entire time I stayed by my master's side while she shot and perfected her spell of cleansing and balancing the spirit.
Finally, we prevailed. All the intruders were either dead and lying on the streets or had retreated. Lying beside the bandits were also lost limbs, taijiya, and villagers, children among them.
While assessing the damage and cleaning the village, a man found a bandit still alive. The villager had been dragging all of the bodies of the thieves into a pile to burn. He exclaimed his finding very loudly and called Midoriko-sama over to him.
"Let me just kill him! Please! Let me drive a stake through the bastard's heart! I know him! He killed my wife! He's already half-dead anyway, what's one more body?" the villager pleaded.
"No. Despite all his wrong-doings, this man does not deserve a stake through his heart. Let me deal with him. Please continue your work." With that dismissal she proceeded to examine the wounded bandit.
He was covered in wounds and blood, some which belonged to him, some to others. His face, which was halfway hidden by a black mass of knotted hair, was ashen pale. He appeared fairly young, and he was lying in an odd angle. His back seemed to have been broken.
"Please, miko-sama." his rough voice rasped out from parched lips. "Let me live. My leader forced me to do this! He said he would kill me if I didn't. I deeply regret all the people who have died at my hand. Let me live. I will try and redeem myself."
I highly doubted the claim made by this man. I remembered him. He had been riding through the streets slashing at people and burning huts. All the while his eyes held a sinister glint, and his laugh was one of pure joy and evil.
Midorko-sama didn't remember any of this, or if she did, she chose to ignore it. She took him to a hidden, nearby mountain cave. It went fairly deep into the mountain and was slightly damp. Stalagmites and stalactites dotted the cave, gleaming from the dew like teeth. But, it protected from the harsher elements, such as the wind and rain.
Over a period of time, she nursed him the thief back to health with her knowledge of herbs and poultices. She visited him twice a day to help him with all of his needs. During these visits, they held long conversations. She would put everything aside, even her miko duties, for the man. It was at these times I thought she cared for the man a little too much. She still managed to hide the bandit from the villagers. They all assumed she had just talked to him and then killed him the day that day he was found. If the townspeople had known the truth, we would have probably been kicked out.
The few times I went with my master to visit the vile man, for Midoriko-sama did not like me going with her to the mountain cave, I noticed he would stare hungrily at her. His eyes would glaze over and I could tell he wanted her badly. Didn't Midoriko-sama notice the horrific look in his eyes? Why did she trust him?
Even after a month, the bandit, who said his name was Haru, could not move. His broken back had resulted in paralysis. Despite this condition, Haru was still a very dangerous man. He loved and longed after what he could not have. And what he wanted was my master, Midoriko. Obviously, that could not happen.
Author's Notes:
The spell "of cleansing and balancing the spirit" I am talking about is the Buddhist philosophy of the four spirits. As Miroku said, "The 'shikon' or 'four souls' are known as Arami-tama, Nigimi-tama, Kushimi-tama, and Sakimi-tama. Together those spirits are housed in a physical body as its soul or 'heart'. The Arami-tama presides over valor, Nigimi-tama harmony, Kushimi-tama miracles, and Sakimi-tama love. A soul in which these four aspects are combined and balanced is called a 'naohi' a true spirit. For that person it is easy to remain on a true path. If an evil deed is committed, then the four aspects are unbalanced... The soul becomes a 'magatsuhi'...a twisted spirit. And the person will turn onto the wrong path."
That was just some background information from Book 10. Anyway, Midoriko mastered a spell to pull the four aspects into a proper balance and thus nullify demon souls. Hope you understand it better now!