Chapter 20: Evil Resurrected
Hojo gave a gentle sigh as he sat back against the side wall of Kaede's hut, or as he respectfully referred to her as, Grandma Kaede's hut. He looked over at a shelf containing several bottles filled with different colored herbs, looking at the small labels with curiosity, and marveling at the magical properties of the herbs that were contained there. He picked one up and studied it closely, studying the faded paper label, it read: "Frog's Eye. Treats: Herniated disks." "Hmm," Hojo thought, "a way to cure damaged bones without surgery… intriguing." He noted the fact that the bottle was half empty, "Either the villagers are having plenty of back problems, or Kaede definitely needs back surgery." He muttered to himself as placed the bottle carefully back in its place, giving a content nod as it settled into its little spot on the shelf.
A voice suddenly snapped him from his reverie, the calm voice of the old priestess gently calling him, "well, Hojo, I didn't know ye had any interest in herbal treatments…" she said, a smile breaking her wrinkled features gracefully as she walked up behind him, then sat next to him with a small noise of old bones falling into a pile, much of a "humph," kind of noise.
Hojo gave a small smile as he looked up at the other treatments, "Grandma Kaede, I was thinking of just going out for a few days, so I was wondering what would be the best herbs for me to take with me." He said in a calm, cheerful voice, pointing to a small pack he had gathered from back home with the aid of Inuyasha to get in and out of the well.
Kaede raised a grey eyebrow, "Alone, Hojo? Aren't ye afraid if ye should come under attack?" she asked with concern, "If you wish, I would like to go with ye." Her old face conveyed a look of joy, as if wishing for an adventure of her own to get her aged body working once more.
Hojo, however, shook his head, "No, Kaede, I believe I would like to go on this journey alone, just find out the lay of the land." He said in a matter-of-fact voice, as though he strutted into demon filled forests on a daily basis.
Kaede gave a small laugh, "alright… but don't expect to come back in one piece…" she said, shaking her head, "ye know, ye remind me a bit of Inuyasha when he was young, such an anxious young lad, but ye have the calmness and attitude of a man, that is where ye are different." She said sagely, just out of the blue as they stared at the herbs.
Hojo smiled softly at the compliment, holding her ancient frame in a benevolent gaze. "Thank you, Grandma Kaede, for the compliment," he said respectfully, giving a small bow of his head as he spoke.
Kaede gave a soft chuckle to this extreme show of respect, "don't call me Grandmother! Please, just call me Kaede, alright? I don't need to feel any older than I do already." She said in a soft, wise voice, her single eye catching his with a smile, which Hojo returned.
Hojo gave yet another gentle nod as he rose, "thank you for your council, Kaede. I appreciate it." He said, giving her his brilliant trademark smile.
Kaede chuckled, "it was nothing, now go on, go on! The world awaits ye…" she gave a smile as Hojo turned, and walked slowly out the door, and out into the forest. Kaede's mouth twitched in worry as she rose laboriously once more, and then shuffled to the wooden curtain that covered her door, and watched as Hojo disappeared into Inuyasha's forest. "That boy… something about him reminds me of someone I know…" she whispered under her breath, her single eye scrutinizing his fading outline until it disappeared to nothing in the dense trees.
Hours later, somewhere in Inuyasha's Forest
Hojo gave a loud sigh as he flumped down against a tree, looking up at the sky dreamily, just watching the clouds float past. It had been a long day's walk, and the sun was setting into the surrounding hills, making him smile gently as he observed the pinks and gold of the pristine sunset. "Wow… its incredible how… peaceful it is here…" he whispered under his breath in disbelief, just taking in the striking scenery.
He sighed once more, pressing his back a bit firmer against the trunk of the large tree he was leaning against. He let his thoughts wander, he thought about the others, Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Eri, Yuki, Ayame, and Shippo. He gave a soft chuckle as he recollected a joke Shippo had played on Inuyasha that Kagome had told him about. He also remembered how shocked he was when Shippo had transformed, and how amazed he had been by his arrival into this world. That was when something moved.
His eyes flashed over to the movement, something low, dark and shuffling in the undergrowth of the woods, he could see it against the semidarkness against the forest floor, a black moving on black. Then a violent red glow came from the "eyes" of the unknown beast, making him start.
He got up and began to run, he didn't care where, and he just knew that he had to keep running. He was running down a lightly worn path, his feet thudding as he ran and the light sound of paws behind him sounding like feathers hitting the ground, almost soundless, but he could hear the body of the beast ripping through the undergrowth, its body "shush, shushing" through the grass and bushes.
He saw a cave in front of him, and he dove inside, not caring whether there were more of the beasts around or inside. He landed badly, and began to roll down a dirt slope, tumbling end over end, and landing in a heap at the bottom of it into a patch of grass. His hand seemed to be burning, which he didn't care about at the moment. He looked up, shocked as the body of a huge wolf was silhouetted against the bright entrance of the cave, but it gave a yip of surprise and ran off, the air around him quickly becoming an eerie silence.
He stayed there for a few minutes, supporting his upper body on his hands, his legs stretched before him, panting and wheezing with exertion, wet with sweat, blinking wildly to keep his coolant out of his eyes. Eventually, after a few minutes, his breathing slowed and calmed. He felt… strange… not tired… but now he felt the burning on his right hand intensifying. He tried to pull it away from the bare spot on the ground, but he couldn't. His flesh seemed as though it had been glued to the bare ground, the burning becoming greater still, a voice, cold as the coldest winter, chuckling in his ear, "You can't win… your mine now…"
Hojo tried to cry out, tried to scream in agony and pain as he began to lose control of his body to this new adversary, but his vocal cords wouldn't move, they wouldn't work! He was looking desperately for a way to escape, but nothing presented itself. His vision was beginning to blur, he felt his body falling, falling down into a black abyss of nothingness, then Hojo knew no more.
Several Hours Later
He woke with a grunt, but for some reason, he was walking. "wh… what? I know I'm not a somnambulist…" he wondered, but was cut off by the cold voice, coming from his mouth now, "great… he's awake…" it seemed to growl, feeling his facial muscles wrinkle in annoyance. His "eyes" widened in shock, "What! Your still here?" his mind cried, astonished. A voice answered his question quickly, "hmmhmm… your part of me now, Hojo… I have your memories, your body, even your soul under my command…"
His mind suddenly broke, heeling as though someone were squeezing him around the middle. "So…" he thought, sealing himself off from the rest of his mind, "who are you, anyway?" he asked, still reeling in the magnitude of losing his own body to a parasite.
The voice seemed to grow colder still as it replied, "I? I go by the name of Naraku… I would like to thank you for letting me revive myself through you… I was beginning to forget what it felt like to have a body…"
He shivered violently in his mind, feeling his fear, and his hatred, beginning to rise. "Naraku, huh? So, will you give me my body back, I kind of need it, you know…"
Hojo jumped as he heard laughter, low and cruel, as thought it wouldn't be out of place in a horror film, beginning to ring in his head, making him desperately try to drown it out. "Stop!" he cried, and felt it come from his vocals now. He felt the presence of the one named "Naraku" beginning to fade, becoming something icy cold in the back of his brain, as though plotting what to do next, biding its time.
He shivered violently, he had to find Kagome now, warn her to get away, as fast as she could. This was dangerous, really dangerous, if he let this person get control of him again, he didn't exactly know the nature of the beast that now lived in his mind, he didn't know what would happen, or how to stop it. He was scared, very scared, but he had to be strong, had to fight. "To think," he thought, making him stop dead, "I have to fight for my own mind…"
The voice chuckled dully, "I know… isn't it wonderful?" it asked, swirling agitatedly in the back of his brain, as though angry at being confined so harshly.
Hojo sighed, "Kaede… I'll ask Kaede about this… she could have some medicine to help me…" so he began to retrace his steps.
