Sakura no Shouki
Sho yon – Deai ga aru ookami (Chapter four – Meeting with wolves)
Reviewer's:
Someone: Well thanks! Glad you like it.
Rocky Shoreline: Heh. Well I'll change it for you if you like no big deal. Actually thinking back on it, it does sound a lot a like doesn't it. Musta slipped into my subconscious when I was writing it. I'll fix it. It needed more detail anyway.
Kathy Coleman: Heh. Thanks. Well I like Japanese. (whispers) Secretly I'm teaching everyone who reads this. Mahahahaha! (cough) Ahem.
Story:
Sakura sat atop Tamasuya's head staring at the littlepink shikon shard that she held in her right hand between forefinger and thumb. She hadn't gone back to Naraku's shiro after she had left the strange priestess, who was unaware of her one missing shard. Sakura knew the girl could sense the shard, being a priestess and all. Tamasuya's powerful youki was wonderful for concealing things like that.
Sakura waited until the group had left the village before returning to the well. Tamasuya's massive coils re-wrapping themselves around the clearing, Sakura slid down off of him and approached the 'bone-eater's well'. She stared down into its dark depths.
"I wonder where it takes her…"
Sakura shook slightly with fear of the unknown. "To what strange world does this lead?"
Sakura clutched the shard tightly and moved to sit on the well's lip. Her heart was pounding furiously. She swung her legs over the edge to dangle over the ominous darkness. Sakura gulped down her fear and drew in several deep breaths.
"Where ever that girl goes to she appeared fine when she came back."
Sakura scooted forward. "I'll be just as fine."
Behind her Tamasuya's low worried hum filled her ears causing her to bulk once again. Sakura shook her head.
"I can call on him anytime, my magic's always with me."
Sakura pushed off the well before she could think about it anymore. She winced and let out a low cry when she hit the bottom. Sakura sat in the dirt of the well, jaw clenched, waiting for the sharp pain in her legs to subside.
"Not what I was expecting." Sakura thought rubbing her sore ankles.
She looked up out of the well to see the same clear sky as before. "I didn't work. I felt no magic. Nothing of what I felt before. I guess only the priestess can make it truly work." Sakura leaned back against the well's cool stone half giddy with relief.
Tamasuya's large brown, worried, eyes peered at her from atop the well.
'I'm fine.' Sakura said before rising to her feet. She leapt nimbly from the well to land atop Tamasuya and then they were off racing through the forest back to Naraku's shiro.
When Sakura got back to the shiro the first place she went was the kitchen. She had had little for supper the previous night and was quite hungry. She was enjoying a late breakfast when Naraku stormed in.
'What do you think your doing!'
'Eating breakfast. I'm starving. What's your problem?' Sakura returned to her rice bowl having looked up at his violent entrance.
Naraku's red eyes flared. 'You were supposed to come straight to me when you got back.'
'You didn't mention that. Besides nothing of interest happened.'
Naraku sat across from her, still fuming. 'Well, what did happen?'
Sakura finished the last of her rice before answering. 'I went and waited. When the girl came out, I questioned. It seems the shikon shard combined with the priestess's powers giver her the ability to go through the well to places unknown.' Sakura started in on another bowl of food.
'Did you find out where it went.'
Sakura shook her head. 'I believe it only works for the priestess.'
Naraku stared moodily at the far wall to the left.
Sakura finished her breakfast and returned to her room to finish her book.
Later that evening Naraku knocked on the outside shoji. Sakura looked up from her sketching. The half-done portrait of a crane between willow trees near a pond graced the page. 'Dozo ohairi kudasai.' (Come in)
Naraku slid the door open but did not enter. 'Join me?'
Sakura set down her drawingand, linking her arm with his, walked down the pochi steps and along the length of the shiro.
Naraku led her a distance into the trees behind the shiro. Here the shouki thinned and eventually disappeared, leaving the trees healthy and the air clean. Up ahead Sakura could make out the shimmer of starlight reflecting off of a small pond.
Naraku sat down under a hemlock tree near the water's edge, pulling Sakura down to sit beside him. He held tight to her hand as he stared out across the water and smiled mentally when she scooted closer to him, getting comfortable. She was a very interesting onna indeed. She didn't fear him, she didn't back down. Naraku smiled to himself. "Thiswoman is nothing like Kikyou. That cold, dead bitch."
Naraku leaned over and inhaled Sakura's lovely scent. "Hnnn. I wonder what dear Kikyou would think of my new desire."
Naraku lapped at her neck taking the scent of cherry blossoms into his mouth. He chuckled quietly when he felt Sakura smack him lightly across the head. He pulled back and looked at her.
'My dear Sakura, what does it take to interest you?'
Sakura rolled her eyes. 'Is that all you ever think about?'
Naraku grinned. 'It's rather hard to think about anything else with your lovely scent clouding my head.'
'Well then, perhaps I ought to sit someplace else.' Sakura made to get up, but was held in place by Naraku's strong grip on her arm. He leaned in close. 'I would be very upset if you did.'
'Hmmpfh.' Sakura settled back down.
'Well?'
'Well what?'
'You didn't answer my question.'
'I'll think about it.'
Naraku growled. 'That wasn't the answer I was looking for.'
'Well it's the answer you're going to settle for unless you want to see what's at the bottom of that pond.'
Naraku threw back was head and roared with laughter.
Sakura stared for a few seconds then rolled her eyes, turning back to the starlit pond. A small smile made it's way to her lips, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Naraku grinned. "Definitely my kind of woman." He thought before pinning her to the ground.
'How is it I let you get away with so much?' He asked, his lips brushing hers.
'Because you find me highly amusing?'
Naraku chuckled, silencing himself with her lips.
Sakura wrapped an arm around his back and laced her the fingers of her right hand into his thick black hair. Naraku growled pleased and kissed his way down to her neck.
Sakura tilted her head slightly. 'Don't get to involved.' She warned and dug her nails slightly into his back.
Naraku looked up, a comical pout on his face. 'Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?'
Sakura struggled not to grin at the look. 'Not tonight.'
Naraku grumbled but contented himself with kisses. He wanted to force her into submission, but given what this woman near about his weakness; decided to play along with her for now.
Later that evening, Naraku escorted a rather flushed Sakura back to her room and bid her goodnight.
Sakura, after changing to her nightclothes, lay in bed staring at the ceiling. "Well, what now? Do I really want to stay with him? He only wants my body….can I ever make him love me?"
Sakura turned onto her side and stared at the shoji that led outside. "That said…do I love him?"
Sakura pondered. "No…no, not really. But I am attracted to him. (sigh) What to do."
Sakura closed her eyes. "I'll just have to wait and see how things play out."
Three days later Sakura was again out on another errand for Naraku.
'Go southeast of here and find the ookami called Kouga. Bring me his shikon shards.'
Tamasuya now glided effortlessly through the forest, heading in the direction Naraku had requested.
After an hour had passed, Sakura caught the scent of the ookami. Tamasuya slid quietly though the trees until they were almost upon them. He then lay motionless on the ground, hidden by the tree's shadows. Sakura watched the three wolves as they stopped for a rest. Sakura had seen what they looked like through Kanna's mirror. The tall one with the red sword at his side was Kouga, leader of the wolf demon tribe. The other two were Ginta and Hakkaku. The only survivors of the ookami tribe. (Kagura having killed the rest.)
Sakura leapt gracefully to the ground and pulled out her fan, then signaled to Tamasuya.
Tamasuya shot out from the trees, startling the three ookami, and quickly encircled them.
'What the fuck….!' Kouga shouted as the giant ryu's great coils effectively trapped them.
Ginta and Hakkaku shot up from where they had been lying on the ground with shouts of there own.
'Ahhh! Kouga! What is it!' Ginta yelled, whirling around trying to take in the whole dragon.
'It's a dragon of course.' Said a voice from behind them.
All three wolves whirled around at the sound.
'Who the hell are you?' Kouga demanded.
'Doesn't matter.' Sakura replied, unfolding her fan.
'Well, what do you want?' Hakkaku asked.
'Your leader's jewel shards.'
Kouga growled and lowered himself into a fighting stance. 'Never bitch!'
Kouga sprung from the ground and charged the woman. "Is she one of Naraku's reincarnations? She doesn't smell like him."
Sakura dodged to the side as Kouga came crashing down. Her fan shot out as his foot came up and Kouga leapt back, stumbling as he did, at the numbing pain that swept through his foot. He growled again and lunged this time swiping with his claws towards the woman's face.
Again her fan came up, smacking his fist and numbing it.
Kouga pulled away holding his fist and snarling at the woman. His other hand went to his sword. "If I can't attack her with my fist, I'll just have to slice her up with my sword!"
Kouga lunged, sword drawn, and made to slice through the fan.
Sakura leapt backward onto Tamasuya. 'Tch, tch, tch.'
Sakura swept her fan sideways in front of her sending a black mist towards Kouga, who tried to leap sideways away from it. The black mist followed quickly encircling him. Kouga coughed as the poisonous fumes made their way into his senses.
'Kouga!' Ginta and Hakkaku cried simultaneously.
Kouga growled and tried to back out of the black mist, swinging his sword about trying to dispel it. "Stupid bitch."
Kouga lunged forward where he last knew her to be. He slashed downward with his sword but met nothing but air. He fell to his knees coughing.
'Kouga!' His friend's cries were closer now. Suddenly they were there, pulling at his arms and dragging him from the black mist. It dissipated as soon as he was free of it.
'Ready to give up?' Sakura asked, still atop Tamasuya.
Kouga snarled and leapt at her again.
'Tut, tut. Back you go.' Sakura said sending a gale force of wind rushing at Kouga. He toppled backwards into the stream behind his two comrades.
As soon as Kouga hit the ground he was up again, charging at the woman. This bitch was not going to get the better of him!
Sakura huffed in annoyance and slashed again at the ookami, then snapped her fan shut with a resounding click. Kouga jerked and was hoisted mid-air when he hung frozen.
Kouga snarled and tried in vain to move his muscles. Below him he saw his two pack mates leap in front of him, trying to protect him.
Sakura swished them away with herfan and Tamasuya's coils wrapped around them.
'Well now, let's see what we have hear.' Sakura said, stepping up to the ookami and inspecting his legs. She could feel the hum of the jewel shards.
Sakura placed her forefinger and middle together over where she felt the hum of the shard and used her magic to pull the shard free.
Kouga snarled even more when he saw the shard now in her hand.
Sakura went to the other leg and repeated the process. She leaned back staring satisfied at the results. Two pink shards now glowed brightly in her hand.
She walked over to Tamasuya and returned to her place atop his head. Tamasuya shifted his coils and sent the two ookami flying.
'Thank you. That will be all.' Sakura said, waving her closedfan at Kouga; who dropped to the ground. When he got up, thewoman had gone.
He stumbled slightly, his legs feeling the lose of the jewel shards and the sudden strain of all that hard running.
'You damn bitch! Give those back!' Kouga started after her, but after a few paces his legs gave out.
'Kouga!' Ginta and Hakkaku ran up to their fallen leader. 'Kouga, are you okay?'
Kouga groaned.
'I think we'd better go find Kagome.' Ginta whispered to Hakkaku.
'Yeah, I'll stay here with Kouga. You go find them.' Hakkaku whispered back.
'Me! Why do I have to go?'
'It was your idea.'
(sigh) 'Oh, yeah.'
Ginta took off into the forest. 'Just stay there till I get back, okay Kouga?'
Glossary:
Dozo ohairi kudasai: Come in
Ookami: Wolf
Shikon: Jewel of four souls