A Father's Embrace
Chapter Twenty
Demonstration
Kagome watched horrified as Nibori carefully poured gunpowder down the barrel of his single-shot rifle. Heedful of the explosive nature of the powder, he gently packed it down at the bottom of the barrel with a thin wooden rod. Satisfied with that task, he set the rod aside and took one of the pellets from the gun case. With the gun parallel to the ground, he placed the pellet at the opening of the barrel, and ever so gently tipped the gun back so that the ammunition slowly rolled down the length of the barrel to rest against the packed gunpowder.
"I can't believe you are going to go through with this," Kagome replied in a quiet, pained voice. "Maiki is not the one who killed your parents. And killing her will not bring them back."
Nibori closed his eyes as a smirk grew on his face. He chuckled. "You're absolutely right. It won't bring them back. But it will bring me a sense of justice. Killing her and all of her kind will prevent yokai from ever bringing harm to a human ever again."
"And what about humans? What about the crimes humans commit against each other?"
"What of it?"
"Do you intend to kill every human so as to prevent humans from harming other humans?"
"Of course not. Human's have a better chance of defending themselves against their own kind than they do against yokai. So, no, I don't intend to do so. Don't be so ridiculous."
"Then don't be so hypocritical," the barb passed through her lips before she even realized it. Her eyes widened at her own outburst.
"Insolent bitch!" Nibori yelled as he backhanded Kagome across the left side of her face.
The woman was thrown back from the force of the blow, falling to the floor. She clutched her tender cheek, trying desperately to fight back the tears. A trickle of blood escaped from a cut in her lip. Nibori closed the distance between himself and the fallen woman. Fearful, Kagome scrambled backwards on her hands and feet until her back met the solid surface of the wall behind her. Nibori sneered at the cowering woman.
"Pathetic! Perhaps if you minded your tongue, you wouldn't have to be punished like so." As an afterthought, he added, "If you refuse to behave, then I'll have to show you how a whore is truly treated."
With that said, Nibori turned on his heels and headed out the door. His men followed suit, the last two hauling the quietly sobbing Kagome up to her feet and dragging her with them.
Playing in the dirt outside a hut in the center of the village, were two small boys. They were busying themselves with a set of colorful tops, attempting to get all nine of them spinning before the first one slowed down and fell over. They had come close a couple of times, reaching a total of seven spinning tops, but the dry, loose soil was proving to work against them. Their game was interrupted when they noticed the village headman with his men and a strangely dressed woman heading towards the stables. A group of curious onlookers were following at a distance.
One of the boys, wearing a simple blue kimono, rose to his feet, immediately forgetting about the game. "Hey, Ryota, let's see what's going on!"
The second boy, Ryota, looked doubtful. "I don't know. Nibori-sama scares me. I think we should stay here and keep out of his sight."
"Aw, come on! Don't be such a coward! Everyone else is following him! Why would he punish us for following and not them?"
"But didn't you see that woman with him? She looked very upset. I think she may have made Nibori-sama angry. And if he's already angry, I don't want to be around him."
"Alright, fine, you big chicken. I'll go by myself."
Ryota sighed. Gathering up the fallen tops, he relented. "Okay, I'll go. But as soon as Nibori-sama even seems to become displeased, I'm leaving."
As per the agreement, Takeshi escorted Miroku, Sango, and Kazuki back to Nibori's village. The daimyo, as well as four armed guards, Kuro included, rode on horseback while the monk and exterminators followed on foot. As they approached the village, the guards waiting by the gate stood to attention. They glared at Miroku, Sango and Kazuki.
"Nibori-sama has given us strict orders not to let anyone into the village!" cried the first.
"Leave now, else we shall have to use force!" insisted the second.
On his horse, Takeshi strolled to the front of his small group. He stared down at the guards sternly. "And since when did Nibori's orders supercede mine?"
The two village guards looked puzzled momentarily. They did not fail to notice that the noble-ranking man had neglected to use an honorific when speaking of their headman. Suddenly, a realization struck them and they bowed as low as humanly possible.
"Please forgive us, Takeshi-daimyo-sama!"
"We did not realize that the monk and exterminators were under your personal escort! Please do not punish us for our transgression!"
"Get up," ordered the daimyo. The men immediately obeyed. "You will take us directly to Nibori at once."
"Yes, Takeshi-daimyo-sama!" they answered simultaneously with another bow before heading into the village.
Maiki was startled awake by the sounds of footsteps and voices approaching her. She hadn't realized that she had dozed off, and was quite surprised that she had done so, considering the lack of sleep she had been experiencing as of late. Regardless, she was grateful for the small cat nap. She pushed herself away from the wall that she had been laying against, and attempted to stretch her stiff muscles. But when she did so, she found that her arms were bound behind her back.
'What the--?' Puzzled, Maiki's eyes popped open, staring at her surroundings, confused by what she saw. After a quick look around, memories of the early afternoon quickly bubbled to the surface of her mind. 'That's right... That bastard Nibori and his men abducted mama and me.' She growled in annoyance and frustration. But the sound of footsteps growing louder attracted her attention.
She pressed her face against the gate to the pen, attempting to get a better view of the outside world. She noticed that the shadow of the stable stretched further away now than it had the last time she remembered looking outside. An hour or two must've passed by. The guards who had been on duty earlier had been switched out for three different men. At least she thought so. It was hard to tell these men of the Feudal Era apart. They all seemed to look the same!
The voices and footsteps grew louder as they drew closer. From the right side of the doorway, she could see Nibori emerge, as well as the appearance of a few of his men. About thirty feet behind them, she could see the edge of a group of spectators. 'Fantastic. Looks like I'm going to be the victim of a public hazing,' she thought sarcastically.
She watched as Nibori said something quietly to the guards. What it was, she couldn't quite hear. He had been speaking too softly for her to eavesdrop. The men nodded, then turned towards the shibunyo. She scooted back away from the gate to her pen, and glared at them as they approached. The first guard untied the gate, then all three of them slowly entered. While two held her by her upper arms, the third untied the rope at her ankles.
The teenager was roughly dragged to her feet and out of the pen. As they escorted her to the entrance of the stable, she happened to glance at Nibori. With a better view, her eyes were immediately drawn to the unmistakable object in the headman's hand; a rifle. Panic filled her entire body. 'He's going to fucking shoot me?'
The guards led her past Nibori, out into the open air. It was then that she saw the full scale of the large gathering. Standing in a large semicircle about thirty feet behind their leader, it seemed the entire village had come to watch the spectacle. It was obvious from their expressions that they weren't entirely sure what was about to transpire. Most of them wore faces of confusion and curiosity. A few looked at Maiki with contempt and hatred, simply for seeing her as a despised yokai.
As the shibunyo was spun around to face Nibori once more, her eyes scanned the village leader's henchmen. Held against her will, was a weeping Kagome. 'Mama!' She was relieved to see that her mother was okay, although the drying line of blood below her lip only angered the shibunyo, anger further exemplified by the sight of her mother's emotional distress. A glint of silver near Kagome's neck alerted the teenager to the fact that her mother was being held at knife-point.
Noticing what Maiki's eyes were focused on, one of the guards muttered into her ear, "If you even think about trying to get away, the miko-whore will be slain." The shibunyo growled angrily.
Nibori suddenly turned to the gathered crowd catching Maiki's attention. "To all of you standing here today, I wish for you to witness the mighty strength that I, your leader, Nibori, possesses! Before you stands the vile yokai who attacked our village last night! Admittedly so by one of its own comrades..."
Two boys, one in blue, the other in green, pushed through the large throng of villagers gathered outside the stables. They paid little attention to the whispers and murmurs of the adults around them. All they were interested in was getting a good view of the events about to unfold. They could hear the village headman, Nibori-sama, begin to make his speech. Hurriedly, they broke through to the front of the crowd.
"...stands the vile yokai who attacked our village last night! Admittedly so by one of its own comrades! Conveniently," his false words laced with sarcasm, "but not surprisingly, they all turned tail and ran as soon as my men captured the horrid beast!"
The boy in the blue kimono looked over to the captive teenager, blinking in disbelief. He leaned towards his companion, whispering into his ear. "Ryota, this isn't right. I have to do something."
Ryota turned towards his friend with a worried expression. "Are you crazy? If you try to interrupt Nibori, he'll surely whip you!" Without saying another word, both boys returned their focus back towards the village leader, though one of them wore a look of determination on his face.
"And now, allow me to show you a display of the power I have attainted! For I shall slay that wretched creature with this weapon that I hold in my hand!" Nibori raised the rifle into the air. "And I assure you, that no yokai is able to survive an attack from a weapon such as this!"
The boys watched, mortified as Nibori lit the fuse to the gun and pointed it at Maiki. As he did so, the men who stood next to the teenager distanced themselves from her in order to get out of range of the firearm. Nibori pulled back the safety cache to the rifle with an audible click. The boy in the blue kimono gasped.
"NOO! LEAVE MAIKI-SAMA ALONE!" he cried out as he darted away from the crowd. Ryota gawked in disbelief of his friend's actions. The boy in blue cleared the distance between himself and the shibunyo in less than a few seconds.
Maiki watched with an odd sense of detachment as Nibori aimed his weapon at her. She was vaguely aware of it when one of the guards muttered a final warning to her about her mother's fate should she try to escape. Then the three of them stepped away from her. Suddenly, a blue object separated from the large crowd of people, heading towards her, yelling incredibly loud. She found herself turning her head to stare at the boy running at her.
"NOO! LEAVE MAIKI-SAMA ALONE!"
The shibunyo blinked, still half-dazed, but recognizing the child immediately. "Hiroshi?"
The boy nearly slammed into Maiki's legs before he halted, and turned to face Nibori, his arms outstretched in a defensive position. "Leave her alone!"
Nibori gritted his teeth in irritation. "Get away from her, boy."
"No! I will not! Maiki-sama is my friend! She helped me just this morning! She cleaned and bandaged my wounds when I fell by the river. See?" With one hand, he pointed at the bandages still clinging to his knees.
There was a mixed reaction from the crowd after hearing the boy's insisting words. Some were astonished that a yokai would help a human, and vice versa. Some were skeptical. Others were outright in denial, believing the child to be incredibly naive.
"Hiroshi, please. You must get away from me. That weapon of his is dangerous. If he tries to shoot me while you're here, it might miss me and hit you instead. And if it does, it will kill you."
The boy threw a determined glance over his shoulder. "No. I will not move. You helped me this morning and now I shall return the favor and help you."
"No, Hiroshi! You have to listen to me! I can't have you risking your life for me! Please go!" she begged, holding back a tear.
"No! I will not let that bastard hurt you!"
Nibori released an angry chuckle. "Foolish whelp. If you're so fond of that yokai, then you can die with it. No one will miss an unwanted orphan anyway. And I know this from experience. You'll just be one less mouth to feed."
Kagome was flabbergasted. That man had just told her no more than an hour ago that he had been orphaned as a child. And now he was threatening to kill a child who was currently in the same situation that he had once been in himself? How could anybody be so cruel-hearted? To have such an indifference for human life? How could he be so incorrigible?
As Nibori lowered his gun towards the boy, Maiki's eyes widened in horror. 'Hiroshi refuses to believe that Nibori will kill him! And nothing I say is getting through to him!' The teenage girl watched, mortified, as the village headman's finger slowly tightened over the trigger.
Led by the cowardly guards, Miroku, Sango, Kazuki, and Takeshi with his men all noticed how oddly vacant the village appeared to be. The guards took the group towards a large hut, obviously belonging to Nibori. One of the guards went inside. After a few moments, he returned.
"Nibori-sama isn't in there," he spoke to his fellow guardsman.
"He must be at the stables where the yokai is being held."
"Take us there," ordered Takeshi.
"Yes milord!" they obeyed. But before they could take more than a few steps, the sound of a child's voice echoed through the village.
"NOO! LEAVE MAIKI-SAMA ALONE!"
Hearing the name of their companion being called out, Miroku and Sango glanced at each other, matching expressions of worry on their faces. They silently agreed to hurry to the girl's aid. But before they could act on the decision, an ear-splitting sound ripped through the air, startling everyone in the group, causing them to jump out of their skin. Frozen in place, they all wore looks of surprise and fear.
Sango finally muttered the statement of shock that was on everyone's minds. "Was that... That sounded... like a gunshot!"
Ryota - splendidly stout
A/N: (Slinks behind a rock.) Please forgive the Kagome abuse. While proofing this chapter, and reading over that part, I felt so bad for writing it, and even worse for adding the part about her lip being split. Please don't think I'm that cruel. Besides, Nibori will get his comeuppance. heheh...