A Father's Embrace
Chapter Five
Hostility
"Akkiwareru!" screamed Kazuki as he unleashed his giant boomerang weapon at the defenseless Maiki.
The teenage girl winced at the impending death-blow. The boy's father gasped as he realized what his son had just done. Thinking quickly, he rushed forward, thrusting his Shakujo through the air like a spear. Thankfully, the bottom-end of the staff met its target, striking the boomerang only a few feet before it collided with Maiki. The boomerang's course was slightly altered, causing it to crash into the ground and skid to a halt in the dirt.
Maiki felt the giant weapon whiz by her. When she dared to open her eyes, she could see the dust in the air that had been kicked up by Akkiwareru. When she looked to her right, she was almost sickened to find a deep incision in the ground only inches from her feet. She followed the trail to the boomerang, where it sat imbedded in an upright position in the ground several yards behind her. She turned back towards the children and their father with a horrorstruck look on her face. How could someone wield so much power?
"Kazuki! What is the matter with you? Why would you attack someone without reason?"
"But father! I did have a reason! She is yokai! Just look at her!"
"Yes. I did look at her. And she is not yokai."
"Then why did you appear frightened when you saw her, father?" the girl, Sachiko inquired as she pulled off her face-mask.
Their father did not answer immediately. Instead he turned towards the out-of-place young woman. As he crossed the field towards her, he stopped momentarily to reclaim his Shakujo. He could sense the young woman's extreme fright, so he did his best to plant the friendliest smile he could manage onto his face. He stopped just short of the well, allowing her some distance so as not to seem threatening.
"Please forgive my overzealous children," he apologized with a slight bow. "They are very protective of the nearby village and the surrounding areas." Maiki nodded, but said nothing otherwise. The middle-aged man looked at her studiously. Maiki shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Please do not be afraid," he finally spoke again. "My name is Miroku. And you are…?"
"Maiki."
"Maiki-san. A lovely name for a lovely young woman." The man, Miroku, paused for a moment, then continued. "You obviously aren't from around here, are you..." It was more a statement than a question.
Maiki shook her head in the negative. "No. At least, I don't think so…" she trailed off as her attention was suddenly diverted to the boy, Kazuki. He had walked around her in a wide circle to retrieve Akkiwareru. Maiki watched him warily.
"Be not afraid," Miroku assured again. "He knows he has made an error by attacking you. I promise he shall not do so again." Maiki's eyes snapped back to the monk. "Tell me, Maiki-san, did you perchance climb out of this well?"
The teenage girl looked surprised. "Yes," she answered. "How did you know?" By now, both Kazuki and Sachiko had filed behind their father. Miroki didn't answer the question. Instead, he posed another of his own.
"What exactly do you know about this well?"
"I… Not much. I just happened to see it for the first time a few moments ago when I went looking for Kunkun here," she explained, lifting the ferret in her arms slightly when she mentioned her pet. "But it was inside a shrine-house on my grandmother's temple when I first saw it. I climbed inside to get Kunkun, but when I tried to get out…"
"I see," came the monk's reply. "In that case, why don't you come with us to our village? I'm sure my dear wife Sango would love to meet you."
Maiki nodded, though suspicion lurked in the back of her mind. 'Why would his wife be so eager to meet me?' Miroku did not fail to notice the confused look on the girl's face. He was disappointed when she showed no sign of recognition of either Sango's or his own name.
Miroku and his children led the time-displaced young woman through the forest. Though the forest was thick with overgrowth, they seemed to be following a faint trail. Maiki was still weary of the teenage boy who had nearly killed her, but she felt that she could trust the monk. As they walked, the younger girl, Sachiko slowed her pace until she was walking beside Maiki. The teenage girl was a little nervous of her presence at first, but when she saw the girl's curious gaze fall onto the ferret, she couldn't help the small grin that graced her lips.
"Would you like to hold him?"
Sachiko's dark-brown eyes darted to Maiki's. "C- can I?" she shyly asked.
"Sure," Maiki replied, carefully handing the tiny creature to the younger girl, but she kept the end of the leash in her hand just in case the ferret tried to run off again. Both girls missed Miroku's amused expression as he glanced back at them momentarily.
"He's so soft," mumbled Sachiko.
"I think he likes you."
"I like him too."
"Kunkun is a North American ferret, also known a black-footed ferret."
"Because his feet are black, right?"
"That's right," Maiki smiled. Sachiko suddenly became quiet, her grin faded as her face took on an inquisitive look. She turned her face back up to the elder girl.
"What's an 'A-mare-ree-kahn'?"
Maiki quirked her eyebrow, not answering right away. If she could take a guess, she would say that Sachiko had to have been in her third or fourth year of school. Surely her teachers would have taught something about America by now. And even if they hadn't, the girl should've at least heard of it from her parents. Maiki was beginning to believe that perhaps the child was joking with her, but the innocent, curious look on her face convinced the teenager otherwise. Either way, she decided to humor the girl and answer the question anyway.
"Well, America is this really big place. So big, that it's divided into two parts. North America and South America, but even each of those is really big."
"Bigger than Japan?" Sachiko wondered.
"A lot bigger than Japan."
"That must be really big then…"
"It is."
"Where is 'A-mare-ree-ka'?"
"Well, it's pretty far from away here. But if you take a plane and fly east from here and go all the way over the ocean, you'll come to it."
When Maiki looked back to Sachiko's forward-turned face, she was a bit surprised to see that the girl seemed even more confused. Maiki noticed Sachiko and Kazuki exchange a look. Then the young girl turned back to Maiki, and with a troubled look, she handed the ferret back to his owner.
"Thank you for letting me hold him," the girl politely replied, bowing her head slightly. And without another word, she rushed forward, the pigtails in her brown hair bobbing as she ran. She fell in step with her brother, who threw Maiki a look of disgust before he leaned towards his sister.
"Don't listen to her, Sachiko. She's making up stories to trick you. People can't fly."
"But mother…"
"That's different. Just listen to me, Sachiko. Don't believe in her lies. She'll make a fool of you if you do."
"O-okay."
Maiki watched as Kazuki straightened his posture after speaking to his sister. Maiki was livid. She struggled to keep her anger in check after hearing the boy's words. 'How could he say such things? He should very well know that I'm not lying! I can almost understand if Sachiko doesn't know a lot of things. She looks like she's about ten, but she could be much younger. But Kazuki? He can't be more than a year younger than I am! He should know better! Why would he lie to his sister like that?' Maiki opened her mouth to give voice to her mental protests when Miroku spoke instead.
"Kazuki?"
"Yes, father?"
"You shouldn't say such ill words about our guest," the monk gently admonished. The boy rolled his eyes, but said nothing. "She is unaccustomed to this place, and it does no good to make her feel ill at ease. Besides…" he turned towards his son and with a wink, inquired, "How do you know she speaks not the truth?"
Miroku turned forward once again. Kazuki did not answer the question, but he scoffed at his father's words nonetheless. He did not have any proof to dispute Maiki's allegations, but he knew better than to believe the foreign girl. However, he also knew better than to further voice his suspicions about her. He was an obedient child, and even though his father did not directly order him to hold his tongue, he understood his father's unspoken warning behind the subtle words.
After hearing Miroku's comment, the anger within Maiki had disappeared as quickly as it had flared to life. Her eyes rested on Kazuki's back. Though she couldn't see his face, she had a feeling that he still did not trust her despite what his father had said. Her eyes traveled to Miroku's back as the monk's words echoed in her mind. 'Heh. At least somebody has their head screwed on right around here…' Before Maiki could elaborate on that thought, the quartet emerged from the forest. The sight of the valley below her made Maiki's hazel eyes widen in shock.
They stood at the tree-line at the top of a hill. Down below, a large, grid-like pattern was etched into a wide-open field, each square filled with water. Elevated footpaths separated each water-filled section. Beyond the field was a small, almost primitive village. Small huts lined dirt roads, light plumes of smoke coming from some of them. Children and small livestock scurried about the streets. Adults gathered at the small market. A few horses were tied up next to a stable. At the far end of the village, there was another hill. Unlike the one Maiki currently stood on, the far away hill had stone steps etched into its face. At the top, Maiki could see a very small Shinto shrine.
"Maiki-san, are you coming?" Miroku called up to her from several feet below, drawing the teenager's attention away from the sight of the village. She hadn't realized that they had begun to descend the hill without her. Kazuki and Sachiko were already almost at the bottom. With a hesitant nod, the teenage girl followed after the monk.
A/N: I have posted a sketch of Chapter Four on my deviantART account. (Please bear in mind that I didn't put a lot of effort into it and that it's only for visual purposes, not a "masterpiece".) Anyway, here it is if you wanna look: www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)view(slash)18619439 . Also, I have a portrait of Kazuki available: www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)view(slash)18632885 .