Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Keane's lyrics...
A/N: I'm posting this as fast as I can, I'm sorry about the delay (it's been like a week, no?) And so I'm not proofreadin gthis like I should or could and I'm leaving only one note up here for you to think about as you read, and one later to a reviewer...here goes: Look for it in this chapter, you MIGHT just miss it...Sakana/Kagome says something idly that we all love and hold dear, all of us that is, but the ever adored red hanyou. So write in and tell me whether you catch it or not...(grins)...on with the story!
The Red Demon
"I don't know your face no more
Or feel the touch that I adore
I don't know your face no more
It's just a place I'm looking for…"
Mijai had made sure that Sakana was out of sight of the samurai warriors most of the time by letting her stay with Shisuki's family. Sakana was a littlr embarrassed at this—although she liked Shisuki and her mother the two males of the family weren't so pleased to have her with them. Shisuki's younger brother, Toka, never missed a chance to glare at her threateningly, and Sakana, in return, never met him in the eye to give him the satisfaction. Their father, whose name was Jasou, never so much as looked at Sakana unless he had to, which made the nameless girl feel nervous and belittled. She found herself lingering outside the household as much as possible, near the gates, near the pumps where the women drew their water, and near the stable where the horses—both the peasants' and the samurais'—were kept.
It was at the gates that she'd met Koshi. Although he didn't impress her much she was pleased to have found someone to talk to—and it seemed the young man felt the same way about her, for he seemed to have a knack at finding her.
As night descended Sakana watched the horses, sitting atop a stall fence, her fingers fiddling with the strange gem shards at her neck. She was watching Koshi, listening to him chatter. Well…she was half listening. The other half was tingling and alive, just as it had been at the river, sensing the strange gems. She risked looking toward the gates of the village, her eyes hazy in the dark, worried.
There's something out there…Koshi was calling her name, well, her new name anyway. She blinked and looked back to him, "What is it Koshi-sama?"
His face twisted with her respectful term, "I wish you wouldn't do that," he mumbled, shyly. She felt a small smile spread across her face. How sweet! She thought: He's embarrassed!
"Why?" she asked, still tickled by the young man's expression, but the strange feelings within her writhed and twisted abruptly, and as soon as she asked it she looked away, back toward the gates of the village, her eyes narrowed.
"Because we're about the same age, aren't we? I'm not old enough for you to call me that…" he became more embarrassed still as he asked, "How old are you anyway? 15 maybe? I'm sixteen you know…" as she looked back to him she noted that his posture and the tone of his voice indicated his pride in the number. What was special about it?
She blinked, "Congratulations Koshi-sama," she dipped her head to him and smiled warmly. What else was she supposed to say? She searched her mind but there was nothing else in it…just a saying…sweet sixteen…
He was embarrassed again. She watched him shake his head as he grabbed a fistful of horsehair and began to comb it carefully. The boy took great care in his work; she admired the way his hands traveled through the animal's rough hair, and the way he made sure not to pull on it too roughly, thinking of the animal's comfort rather than speed and efficiency. After a moment of this she noticed that Koshi had asked something of her again, and she had missed it, again…
"What?"
"Sakana-sama," she smirked at the respectful title, he was being smart with her, "I asked how old you are now…fifteen? Sixteen maybe?" he hadn't turned away from combing the horse's hair to ask, and she was glad for that—she didn't want him to see how her face fell at the question. She looked to the ground; her eyes fell on a lumpy pile of horse manure.
"I don't remember Koshi-sama." She muttered, biting her lips.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Once more he was embarrassed, she could tell by the way he suddenly threw himself into the work again, roving the comb over the beast's pelt roughly. The horse snorted, apparently taking offence. One of the hind hooves stomped threateningly. Sakana stifled a laugh when she heard Koshi curse at the animal under his breath, "Damn stallion."
Silence continued between them, but Sakana didn't mind it—though Koshi did. Finally, with a sigh, Koshi turned from the horse and walked back toward the stall door, passed Sakana as he did so. She noticed the timid glances he threw her as he passed, unlatching and latching the stall's gate, but she said nothing, just smiled quietly. The young man disappeared into the barn briefly, putting away the comb and reemerging this time with a pick to clean out the horse's hooves. By the time he was back in the stall Sakana had turned all her attention to the necklace and its purple gems once more. Koshi tried to hide the disappointed look he felt growing on his face by going straight to work on the horse's hooves.
Several minutes later, when he'd finished with one horse; he turned back to Sakana and sighed loudly. "I think I'm done for tonight. Namaru might kill me for it but I'm not doing his horse tonight."
She looked back to him curiously, "Namaru?"
Koshi scowled, "Yes, one of the samurais."
Sakana nodded and then looked up at the stars, trying to judge how late it was—but she hadn't the foggiest idea. It was probably time for her to return to Shisuki's family, but she hated the idea…sensing Toka's disapproving stare and Jasou's cold indifference didn't exactly make her feel welcome…
Koshi dropped the pick he'd used to clean the horse's hooves onto the ground and let out another sigh, but this time it was one more of contented weariness. "Sakana?" he asked, his voice calm and even.
She looked down at him and smiled, "Yes?"
"Can I talk to you?" he sounded, and looked nervous abruptly.
Sakana blinked at him, "I thought we were talking, Koshi-sama…"
He grinned, but the nervousness still shone on in his handsome brown eyes, "You've gotta stop calling me that…I'm not your superior in any way!"
She smiled again, easily, and moved slightly on the railing she was sitting on, then she patted the spot next to her, "C'mon, sit then…" her voice slipped from her mouth easily enough, but the moment the second word burst off her tongue she felt the tingling inside her mind increase tenfold. Fearfully she looked around, startled, almond eyes alight with alarm. What happened? What's different?
Koshi was beside her in a second, concerned, "What's the matter, Sakana?"
She looked back at him and frowned uncertainly. "I don't know. I…" she laughed nervously and waved one hand absently, "It's nothing. What did you want to say?" she hated being so weird, so different from the villagers. She hated not remembering her name or her age, or where she came from, or who her parents were. She hated it. And she hated the strange gems hanging at her throat; she somehow knew that they were trouble, that they ruined lives. Perhaps they'd ruined her life...
Koshi cleared his throat and let his eyes drift from her. She noticed with some amusement that just as hers had earlier when she was uncomfortable, the young man focused his gaze on the pile of horse poop before he spoke. "What are you going to do?"
She scowled, confused by the vagueness of the question, "What am I going to do when, Koshi-sama?" Even in the darkness she could see the blush over his face. She was starting to realize, even only a day into knowing him, that it was a common expression.
"When the samurais leave? What will you do here in this village? Do you plan to stay here until you regain your memories?" he stared openly at her now, making steady eye contact, which unnerved her. Why did she meet his eyes and think that the warm brown color in his irises should've been lighter, almost golden? Was it a memory, or a fantasy? She didn't know, couldn't tell. And as far as his question went she was clueless.
She looked away, "I don't know, Koshi…" she hesitated a moment before adding, "…sama…" which made the young man roll his eyes and shake his head.
"You should think about it Sakana…"
"About what?"
"About your future."
She looked away, frowning deeply. "Why? And how? When I can't even remember where I've been, how am I supposed to go ahead?"
She felt something warm and surprisingly soft touch her hand and slide itself over it. When she looked down she blinked realizing it was Koshi's hands… "Sakana…" she looked up into his handsome brown eyes, feeling a strange mixture of emotions running through her: confusion, pain, fear, and most of all uncertainty. "Did you ever think that maybe the you before this was…unhappy? Maybe there's a reason that she almost drowned in the river, maybe there's a reason you can't remember your past. Maybe it's bad, maybe you don't want to remember…"
She closed her eyes, suddenly fighting tears. What if he's right? But she couldn't accept that…how could she go on through the rest of her life being called fish? She had to have a past, a life, a place she needed to be…she felt it…outside…
Sakana looked up, the pain abruptly forgotten. Her breath caught in her throat. "Something's coming."
Koshi's hands tightened on hers, "What? What's coming? What do you mean?"
One of the horses whinnied frantically then, catching wind of something it really didn't like. Koshi stared at the frightened animal, blinking in his own version of fear, too stunned to move. Sakana, on the other hand, was already swinging her legs off the railing, jumping free of the stall, and running toward the village's gates. Behind her a moment later she heard Koshi crying out her name, but she was beyond listening…
Whatever it is that's coming…it's got something to do with me.
When she was almost to the gates three samurais suddenly appeared, their eyes wide in fright, their faces flushed as white as the bright moon shining above, all of them were rushing in from the outside where they'd been acting as guards. She saw their swords shining in the moonlight, rendered useless by their owners' fears.
And the last samurai that ran in was one she recognized…the samurai that she'd refused to bow to, the one Mijai was protecting her from, she knew. She stared dumbly at him for a moment until one of the other samurais saw her and sneered at her, jeering, "Move it girl! The Red Demon's out there, and coming fast! You want to die this night, little wench?"
Sakana blinked at him, but she didn't step down. The samurai had already run passed her, apparently uncaring whether she really did live or die, more concerned with saving his own skin than anything else. But his yelling at her had caught someone else's attention…
"Look who it is! The little ungrateful bitch from the hot springs!"
She looked back toward the gate and saw the samurai leering at her, only about three feet away. His eyes were small and squinty, dark and hateful. She could easily make out the wrinkles about his eyes and the downcast corners of his mouth…yes, it's the same samurai…
"Come here bitch! I think the Red Demon would like a word with you!" the samurai lunged at her, his bulky, strong; armored arms enclosed her in cold iron. She kicked and screamed at him, cursing a few times, but he refused to let go. In a few moments she saw he was walking her towards the gate…she could see the river shimmering in the distance, the rice fields alive with the moonlight. It seemed innocent enough, but she knew from Koshi that what the samurais called the Red Demon had killed five of them easily and had injured the three men Mijai was now caring for. It'd eat her as a dinnertime snack without blinking…or would it?
"Let go!" she screeched, and then, without thinking about it, she flung one curled fist back into the samurai's face and he yelped in pain.
"You bitch!" he snarled in her ear, his breath stank like rotting meat, Sakana thought she might gag. "Now I'll let you die for sure! I'll leave the Red Demon alive just long enough that he's slaughtered you before I kill him with my arrows!"
"Stop Namaru!" it was Koshi's voice, strong but desperate, "Put her down!"
The samurai turned his head to sneer at Koshi but didn't stop at all. "You little snot! You think the likes of you can tell me what to do? I'll be damned first!"
Sakana tried to twist in the samurai's arms, tried to see Koshi, but it was impossible. She felt Namaru's arms tighten around her—which was most uncomfortable considering where his arms fell, crushing two rather sensitive parts of her anatomy. Weakly she squeaked and fell mostly limp, both in pain and in embarrassment—her short kimono was riding up for sure and it was likely Koshi, the other samurais, and the villagers could all see her panties…that gave her an idea…
Squeezing her eyes shut against the pain from her flattened breasts, Sakana swung one leg up and then backward, trying to hit Namaru in the crotch…her ankle met with cold steel and iron and she cried out in pain. "Let me GO!"
Koshi suddenly spoke up, though she still couldn't see him, "Let her go Namaru, or I'll shoot you, so help me Buddha!"
Namaru's progress stopped. Apparently Koshi was a decent threat while he was armed… "You little sniveling puke!" she heard him spit and cringed, "You wouldn't dare!"
She thought she could almost hear Koshi's shivering intake of breath, "I will Namaru, for that girl I will…"
Namaru laughed, raucously, "Well then we're even, boy, because for this girl I'd take an arrow!" and with that Sakana felt the samurai begin moving again, faster this time. More cries were raised and she struggled to see, but his hold was much too strong.
"Sakana! Sakana!" it was Koshi's voice, drawing nearer, coming for her. She tried to draw a breath to answer but abruptly felt herself freed from Namaru's arms before she could…
She fell to the ground, the palms of her hands scraping along the earth, cutting her. One of her knees caught a rock as well and she cried out with the pain and abruptness of it all. Behind her, as she struggled to get back up to her feet, she heard Koshi screaming her name frantically and Namaru cursing vehemently…she also heard the village's gates scraping steadily closed over the hard, rocky dirt…
"No!" frightened, she jumped to her feet and rushed forward, but the gates were already closed. Futilely she beat her fists onto the gates, tears of fear and pain and frustration building up inside of her, spilling out onto her cheeks. "Let me IN!" she screamed, desperately, but there was no answer, just the cries of the villagers and the samurais…she could hear Namaru and Koshi cursing at each other.
Then one voice rose above the others: "The Red Demon is in the rice fields!"
Sakana whirled around and stared out into the moonlit fields, horrified eyes wide and unblinking. Sure enough, just as the voice had promised, she saw a dark shadow crouched in the wetness of the fields, unmoving. The figure was lean and human-like from what she could tell, although it was kneeling on all fours, balancing on its toes and hands…on its head she saw the things that so clearly marked it as not human—two ears twittered attentively. It was perhaps a hundred feet away and unmoving…would it kill her? Could she run and escape it?
Adrenaline exploded into her system, and, reaching deep inside her for instinct, she turned and began to run. Run for her very life…
Endnote: To one reader who really knew his/her stuff: Sorry I can't remember your name (my AOL is screwy and on the flit, and I've lost you amidst so many other reviews for my new story, the sequel to "So Much For the Hanyou's Happy Ending" which was my greatest hit...(grins)) but if you read this I'm sure you'll know who you are (winks) you told me that you could tell I'd made up the samurai lord's name becuase it was improper...(pouts) Yeah, you're right...but I appreciate the criticism! I'd LOVE (whimpers and pleads with hereyes) to have you send me suggestions for real Japanese last names...I could REALLY use them...I'm always eager to expand my knowledge in every direction, especially lingual stuff. Japanese is so different from the latin based stuff and from English that I've always been fascinated with it...so by all means send me some real names! Correct me! (grins, winks) Well then I shall be going now, I hope you've all enjoyed the latest installment...if you're grinding your teeth about my cliffy...hehehe...well then that means I've done a decent job (BIG grin)...see ya...drop me a line to tell me how I'm doing and whether you like it or not, and suggestions ARE accepted and listened to...I had a reviewer who once gave me a name and I used to just like she suggested...(grins)...Thank you all for reading and sticking with me!