AUTHORS NOTES:
Okay, part two of chapter five. Yeah. Whatever. I have nothing to say because I'm posting this at the same time…. Just please reply! Thank you.
DISCLAIMER
Okay, we own Keitaro, Yoshiko, Sueko, Tamika, Akihiro and Akemi, and the very excellently written legend by Ravyn89, and also the plot. Everything else we don't. Got it? Good. Now read. Then reply. Cause you love me, I guess.
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Chapter Five: Yoshiko Disappears and Sueko Goes Back Home, Part Two
Three days passed with nothing astounding happening. Sueko got used to her new school rather quickly and had fun hanging out with Tamika and her twin brother, Keitaro. They had nothing in common but both shared the same good looks—they also seemed oblivious to their good looks but Sueko supposed that all good looking people weren't aware of how good looking they are.
Despite the fact that Sueko had been gone for about three weeks of school, she hadn't even started on all of her make-up work. Not only did Sueko not care about grades (she had moved so many times, she found no point to trying to catch up with everyone else and just gave up) but she didn't exactly have the greatest attention span ever when it came to school. It was so boring and there were other things to think about…
Like InuYasha. She thought being away from him would stop any further thought about him, but it just made it worse. Everything reminded her of him… either that or he'd just pop into her head when life got a little boring. But she frequently found herself being poked by Tamika, who got annoyed whenever Sueko went over to "dream world." After the twentieth time this happened, Tamika demanded to know what Sueko had been thinking of these past few days.
They were sitting at lunch. Keitaro had kept bugging Tamika about last night's math homework ("What did you get for number six?" "Why do you want to know?" "Well… I'm not sure I got it right…" "You are a math genius! How could you possibly get a question wrong?!" "Can I just check—" "NO!") when Sueko, growing bored of the bickering, let her eyes wander until they landed on a tree. There weren't that many trees in Tokyo, so it was odd to see one outside, but there was one, and it was rather large… just like that tree she had sat with InuYasha that one night…
"You're doing it again!" cried Tamika.
"What?" said Sueko distractedly.
"T—that staring-off-into-space thing you're always doing!" said Tamika impatiently. "Why must you do that all the time?!"
"Um…" said Sueko, not sure of how to answer.
"What are you thinking about that's so important?" asked Keitaro curiously through a mouthful of food.
"Excellent point, bro!" said Tamika excitedly, making Keitaro groan. "What are you thinking about?"
"Um…"
"TELL ME ALREADY!!!" cried Tamika, making Sueko jump up in her seat.
Keitaro coughed. "Excuse my sister over here. She gets a bit overly excited about things…"
"I see," muttered Sueko. Tamika glared at her, so Sueko tried to think of something to say in response to the question. But she couldn't think of anything.
"Well?!"
"Um… a guy," said Sueko in defeat. She was never the best liar…
Tamika's eyes widened, making Sueko gulp. "A guy, eh? Who is he? Do I know him? Is he good looking? Where does he live? Does he go to this school?"
"Er…"
"Tamika, breathe!" cried Keitaro, pushing her back down to her seat (she had stood up during her excitement).
"Well?!" cried Tamika brightly, glaring at her brother.
"Um…" said Sueko finally. "I don't think you know him. He's… not from around here…"
"So he's from your old school or something?" asked Tamika.
"Not really…" 'Why couldn't I have just said YES?!'
"He's not? Where's he from, then?"
"Um…" How do you explain to someone that the guy you have a total crush on is from Japan in the 1500's?! "It's hard to explain," said Sueko lamely.
"How is it hard to explain where someone lives?!" asked Tamika.
"'Cause it's complicated?" said Sueko sheepishly.
"And…"
"There's more to in then just where he lives. It's more like… when." Sueko never got why she could never tell a lie, but it was really annoying at times. Especially now.
"Wait a second," said Keitaro quite suddenly, setting down his chop sticks. "Are you telling me this guy doesn't live in the same time frame?!"
"Yeah… pretty much…" said Sueko, turning pink.
"But… but… that's just impossible… there's no way…"
"Yeah, yeah, we got it," said Tamika, waving a hand at Keitaro. "Are you saying you're in love with some old dude in a history book?"
"NO!!!" cried Sueko. "See, I feel into the well in my backyard and it took me back in time to 15th century Japan and… oh, you two think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Yep," said Keitaro before being elbowed in the ribs by Tamika. "Stop that! You have pointy elbows, you know that?!"
"I don't think you're crazy," said Tamika seriously. "You fell down a well?"
Sueko wished, more then anything, to just become invisible and run away from the lunch area, but even though things like demons may exist invisibility cloaks did not so Sueko was stuck there. So she just nodded.
"Okay… so it was a time portal or something that made you go back in time?" said Tamika curiously.
"That's impossible," said Keitaro.
"How do you know?" snapped Tamika.
"It's scientifically, not to mention physically and mentally, impossible for a being of any kind or sort to go back through the ages to a time before their own. It simply is not done," said Keitaro simply, crossing his arms superiorly.
"Let me repeat myself: how do you know?!" said Tamika.
"If we could go through time, we would have built a time machine ages ago! Even if you could travel through time, you couldn't do it by simply falling through a well!" argued Keitaro.
"Well, actually, apparently the well has like special powers or something—okay, they didn't say it did, but I think it does—and also, I'm like the only one who can go into the well and go through time because I'm apparently the protector of the Spirit Shrine, so… it's not just a well," explained Sueko.
"You're the protector of what?" asked Keitaro.
"The Spirit Shrine," repeated Sueko, shrugging.
"And that would be…" continued Keitaro.
"Uh… I don't know. I don't even think Myoga really knew… or I'm just not remembering…" said Sueko thoughtfully.
"Is Myoga the guy you like?" asked Tamika.
"Hell no! I'm not in love with a flea!" cried Sueko.
"A flea?!" said Keitaro, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, I think it's a demon flea," said Sueko. "It likes to show up to suck InuYasha's blood… he's a half dog demon…"
"Is InuYasha the guy you like?" Tamika tried again.
Sueko didn't need to say a word; after turning bright red Tamika cried, "Aha! What's he like? Is he nice?"
"Shut up, Tamika. Half dog demon?!" cried Keitaro.
Sueko sighed. This would be a long lunch period.
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The death of many people just goes by unnoticed… unwatched. Corpses of forgotten soldiers still strewn the fields of long ago wars. Ashes still clog the air of many
villages from the bones of dead people. Wastelands stretch out where demons had been
slain and where grass still refused to grow centuries later. Bodies of travelers
went missing in the forest, remnants of their clothes found weeks later. Thus was
the fate of her father.
Godric was far luckier. His remains were not only found, but also burned by people who mourned his loss then buried at the foot of an elder tree. A little remembrance shrine was erected. Women came to ask for a smooth childbirth. Children asked that no harm fall upon their village and that their friend or family member would get well soon. Men wished for a good battle and that everybody would come out of it
alive.
Yoshiko came for other reasons. The young healer had been her little brother and had also become quite wise beside his years. This was because of his travels and the
many people he had met. He had this gift to sort of pick up on wisdom others carried
and take a small piece for him. But for all his wisdom he had been a silly little boy that had gotten himself killed.
Midnight was and always had been the hour for the half tiger demon to visit. She tried not to come too often less she become distracted…. Or attached. Besides just that the Earth Shrine stood not to far away from this placid village. Yoshiko sat the foot of the shrine playing with a flower and staring at the ground. It was the night after that of the half moon so she had regained her orange hair, green eyes, tiger ears, and black stripes. Night crept in from all sides, its silence deafening. To break it the half-demon decided to speak, as if her brother sat there in front of her.
"So… I guess there's nothing new with you. I met this InuYasha character that seems quite willing to kill me. But he's traveling with this strange, but kind, girl named Sueko. She's the 'Last One' Father always spoke to us about. The shrines started glowing upon her arrival to our world."
Thoughts of what might happen to Sueko once more demons started to attack crossed Yoshiko's mind and she shuddered involuntarily. If she were to lose the girl just like she had lost her family…
"I don't think I'm going to be able to keep my calm much longer, little brother. For once I want your advice but… you're not here. What am I to do!?" moaned Yoshiko, resting her head on her knees.
A small boing caught her ears and she looked up and saw, sitting in the grass in front of her, old man Myoga the flea. Yoshiko raised her eyebrows in wonder and surprise. How could he possibly help? But the flea just stood there patiently, arms crossed and looking up at her.
"What is it, Myoga?" asked Yoshiko, rolling her eyes.
"Since you're this close to one of the shrines, why not check it out?" asked Myoga, gesturing toward the glow of the Earth Shrine in the distance.
Without wasting a second the half-demon got to her feet and strode purposefully toward the hill. She heard the flea mutter profanity as she left him behind and she sent a silent thank you to her brother. Why else would the flea have followed her if not because her brother had wanted to help her? It wasn't very often when something could convince her of fate. Soon the small shrine came into sight, built right into the hollow of a large tree. A faint barrier could be seen around the area and Yoshiko smirked.
"How do you expect to get through?" muttered Myoga, having caught up.
"Use you as a battering ram," hissed Yoshiko, sounding ironically like a cat. "Now, shut up!"
For a minute longer the women stood there, staring at the faint barrier between her and information. In fact her thoughts were really of how to get in there but what she was going to do once she did. But finally she got bored of standing out there having Myoga jabbering in her ear. So she took a step forward. And another one. Soon she was walking straight toward the shield with nothing but thoughts of finding out what these shrines were all about. Then she was at the edge, but she didn't pause. Not even when Myoga starting crying out in fear.
Without stopping Yoshiko stepped through the barrier and toward the shrine. No alarms went off and nobody rushed out to stop her. Myoga dropped off her shoulder in a dead faint as she continued into the shrine and looked around.
It was quite uninteresting. The shrine was cramped with no furniture except for a small table in the center. Light energy emanated from it but nothing quite strong enough to explain what was so special about it. As she wandered around the tight space she found her foot knocking against something solid. She bent down to pick up a book.
"This looks like father's…" muttered Yoshiko, opening it gingerly.
Sure enough on the first page was that of the story of the 'Last One.' It explained about an entity named Akemi with extraordinary powers that had fallen in love with a man, Akihiro, who was constantly going off to war. Akemi spoke to nobody of this love and refused to love anyone else. Eventually Akihiro realized he had love for Akemi as well but didn't want to lose her as he had lost everything else in his life. So he pushed her away only to have her come closer.
One day Akihiro left for another war, but not before Akemi begged him not to leave. She had had enough of him constantly leaving her but the only thing he would do was leave her a strangely colored stone. It was completely polished and oval. But colors such as pink, yellow, blue and green shone through the regular gray of the stone. This was not what she had in mind.
So the next day Akemi set out with the stone and her sword to find Akihiro. Sooner or later she found out that the stone had great powers that she could tap into, so there was no need for her to bring food or water. The pebble could create it for her. Akemi did not linger in villages or, for that matter, go through any. She staid off the path completely, following her senses to find the one she loved.
But the exertion left her tired and drained after about two weeks of searching. About this time she stumbled across a small hut in a valley that nobody had ever heard of. She spent the night there and in the morning she awoke to find a man standing over her. It was not the man she loved but another, stranger and darker one. He emanated a dark aura that caused it difficult for Akemi to breathe. In an attempt to escape she called on the power of the four elements and buried the hut underneath dirt carried on the wind, hardened by water and hit the man with fire that also allowed her to come out of the hut.
In her escape, she left the stone behind and was drained of energy. There was still a chance that the dark man could escape though, so she ran home as fast as she could. When Akemi arrived five days later she found it utterly destroyed, the only sign that it had ever been there being a small wisp of smoke. Then she spotted the dark man again and he surrounded her with the stones of the elements. To the north was a green stone of earth, to the east a yellow one for wind, to the sound a red one for fire and to the west a blue one for water. It created a sort of barrier around her.
The dark man spoke words in some strange, cruel language and the energy started to leave Akemi. She screamed as her powers were ripped from her body and flooded upwards. It was then that Akihiro arrived and tried to defeat the dark man. But he was worn and tired. Not to mention the dark man held powers that couldn't be imagined. He was, in fact, a demon.
Once she figured this out Akemi used the last amount of her strength to scatter the stones of the elements to different parts of the island, each suddenly in four pieces. In the process she regained enough strength to send the demon to hell but its cost was her life. Akihiro tried to bring Akemi back by every means possible, by even confessing his love but she was too far gone. Her spirit headed off in search of the stone of many colors leaving her body completely and never knowing the love Akihiro had given her. In fact the spirit was supposed to still wander, searching for Akihiro to confess its love.
The name 'Last One' came from many sources. It could have been the last one to see the village that Akemi had lived in which had been most prosperous and full of great magic. Also it came from being the person who had last seen the many colored stone. Quite possibly the name could be for being the last spirit, and only spirit, to remain on earth, not moving on.
Yoshiko sighed. It went on to explain how the spirit would later coincide in another body, searching physically for the man she loved. If this were true then what form had Akihiro taken in this lifetime? Or Sueko's? Whoever it was that Sueko found herself in love with Yoshiko would have to do everything she could to make it so the two would get together instead of going to such extremes to have the girl lose all her powers. Because Sueko's name meant 'Last One,' so there had to be a connection between her and Akemi…
Whoever was after Sueko wanted her for her powers. All the stones of the elements would be needed. Then the demon would have to find the hut, the sight where the girl had lost the multi colored stone. Finally the demon would have to find the remains of the village, the only ground strong enough to feel such power at once. It was the sight where the Spirit Shrine is held, where Kikyo had gained her powers. And before her, Midorkio.
Myoga jumped up onto the book as she turned the page and glared up at her.
"You knew very well that the barrier wasn't strong enough to keep us out didn't you!?" he cried.
"You would be correct flea," sighed Yoshiko, flicking Myoga off the book and closing it. She picked up a bag that she found on the ground and put the book in it. The flea jumped up on her shoulder.
"Well I'll have you know that I will not forgive you for not telling me!" said Myoga, crossing his arms.
"There's nothing of interest here. We should probably go catch up with the others," said Yoshiko heading out of the shrine.
"What about the stones?" cried Myoga, bouncing up and down.
"If there were some they aren't here now. I believe my father had the last one but he lost it to a demon," explained Yoshiko, heading back down the hill and past her brother's grave.
"What about the priest!?" shouted Myoga.
"The last priest was my brother and he was killed by a demon too, though he possessed no stone," muttered Yoshiko.
"Well then. What about you?" inquired Myoga.
"Sueko said her sword glows blue whenever I bring out my dagger but I posses no Earth powers. If I have any stones it would be a Fire one," stated Yoshiko.
"Ah yes. I recall hearing that the Tiger Demons protected the Fire Shrine. Maybe your mother was part of the family that protected it," said Myoga, calming down a little.
"I wouldn't know. Now, where exactly were the others planning on going to?" asked Yoshiko.
"I believe Lord Miroku talked about sending Lady Sueko back home for a week so they would be at Kaede's village for sure," said Myoga, settling down for the trip.
"I guess our destination is Kaede's village," muttered Yoshiko, heading in the direction she had before she had met InuYasha.
'I hope he isn't mad at me for what I had said about Kagome… I only wished to help him heal a bit quicker but I guess facing the facts isn't always the easiest way.'
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It took the rest of lunch and two hours of passing notes back and forth to each other for Sueko to finally explain all she knew about Feudal Japan to Tamika and Keitaro. Though Keitaro was still skeptical about the whole thing and demanded proof. But how Sueko could give him some she had no clue. What was she supposed to do, introduce them to InuYasha, the only one of her friends that could go through the well too?
Actually, that was a thought… but Sueko would have to wait until maybe the end of the week for that kind of thing to occur. For now, all Sueko needed to focus on was her homework… man, did she have plenty of that to go around!
That's what you get for running around in the past playing your role as the protector of the spirit shrine. Sueko expected that a protector for something that special would be hard at work doing really cool things, but so far she had no need to do anything. Though the whole thing was rather mysterious (not even Myoga knew much, and he seemed like the type to know a lot), Sueko was pretty sure she didn't have some sort of hidden power. Though she didn't even know about the shrine she supposedly protected… thinking about all of this made Sueko's head spin!
'Okay, back to the homework…' thought Sueko, turning to page 347 in her math book only to stare at the textbook in confusion. The one problem with moving and then being gone for three weeks was that you got very, very behind.
A sudden tap, tap on the window made Sueko's thoughts on intriguers fall completely out of her head. Pushing the homework off her lap and rushing to the window in one swift motion, Sueko looked eagerly out the window. The sight outside of it made her heart sink.
The tapping noise started again as a tree branch whacked the window. Sighing, Sueko slowly crawled back into her bed, opened her math book and attempted to concentrate on her homework assignment once more.
'I should have known,' Sueko thought darkly, erasing the first problem and starting over again. 'Why would InuYasha come here? Now? All right, so he's supposed to come fetch me if anything happened, but nothing could have happened. They wouldn't need me anyways. My sword skills are rather useless…'
Sueko sighed again, dropping her pen on her notebook and giving up with the homework. She couldn't wait until next week when she'd finally be going back to Feudal Japan. Maybe her heart wouldn't ache so much if she got to see InuYasha again. Maybe she wouldn't feel so depressed and miserable, or lonely, or… empty…
Sueko smiled. There was only one thing that helped get rid of the thoughts of the love of her life: sword practice.
There was always tomorrow for homework. And hopefully her mother wouldn't mind her being outside practicing the use of a deadly weapon… heck, it was all for a good cause! Who wants stupid, evil demons walking around, anyways?
And Sueko was pretty sure you didn't need to know a single thing about intriguers in Feudal Japan, or in order to be the protector of the Spirit Shrine.