A Father's Embrace

Chapter Twenty-One

Gratitude

Maiki stared in absolute terror as Nibori's finger tightened over the trigger, the gun aimed for the seven-year-old boy standing protectively in front of her.

The sound of a single gun blast exploded through the air, echoing off the trees in the distance.

The ears on the shibunyo's head had instinctively pressed down against her scalp in reaction to the brutal shockwave of the gun shot. Her ears rang painfully, but she ignored it. The stench of burnt gunpowder filled the air, laced with the growing scent of blood. To her relief, it was not the scent of Hiroshi's blood that assailed her nose. Carefully, the teenager rolled onto her left side, and off of the prone body of the young boy.

Gritting her teeth through the pain that tore at her right shoulder, she muttered, "Hiroshi-kun? Are you okay?"

The boy lifted his head, a perplexed expression dancing across his face. He looked to his left, at Maiki, and nodded. The shibunyo sighed in relief. When Nibori had pulled the trigger, the only thing she could think of doing to save Hiroshi was to tackle him to the ground. Reacting quickly, she never even considered the thought that by doing so, she would be risking her own life. Fortunately, the pellet had struck her right shoulder, rather than anything vital.

Hiroshi knelt beside the pained teenager, eyes wide with worry. "Maiki-sama? Are you okay?" He gasped, noticing the growing wetness in the shirt around her shoulder. "You're bleeding! We have to get you fixed up quickly!" The boy stepped over the girl, gaining access to her wrists so that he could untie the hated rope that bound them.

Needless to say, the crowd was absolutely speechless. It was unbelievable that the horrid monster that had viciously slaughtered their cattle the night before had just now risked its own life for that of a human child. A growing doubt began to spread amongst the villagers. Perhaps, Nibori-sama was wrong. Perhaps, this girl was not the cursed yokai who had attacked them during the night. Even more important, was the growing realization that not all yokai were the evil monsters they were rumored to be.

The village headman was furious. Not only did that yokai save the child, but it was also struck by the pellet, and it lived! He threw his once-treasured rifle to the ground, disgusted by it's inadequacy. He stomped over to one of his men, snatching the sword from his hand, then turned back towards Maiki and Hiroshi. Determined, he knew he had to end this quickly. He could sense the villagers' lack of faith in him already. If he didn't prove himself to be strong in their eyes, then they would not follow him as their leader.

"This ends now! I'm going to finish the both of you off, once and for all!"

"What's going on here?" a loud, authoritative voice called out from the crowd.

Murmurs grew from the villagers as the crowd separated down the middle, allowing a path for the men on horseback and the monk and exterminators who followed. Nibori stopped in his tracks, turning to see who had the audacity to interrupt him. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Takeshi. And the daimyo looked none too happy.

"Takeshi-daimyo-sama, I can explain," the headman pleaded, lowering the sword he held. "This creature is the one who's been attacking the area villages as of late. I was about to do you the favor of killing it when that brat got in the way..."

Takeshi's eyes traveled to Maiki, who was being helped to her feet by Hiroshi. The daimyo's eyes widened in surprise. "Hiroshi?"

At the call of his name, the boy looked up to the nobleman, his own eyes growing with worry and guilt. "Yes?" he answered as he lowered his head towards the ground.

"What are you doing here?"

The boy's tear-filled eyes snapped back up to look at the daimyo. "I'm sorry, father. I didn't mean to be gone for so long. I just wanted to make some friends."

Maiki, as well as everyone else gathered, was shocked by the boy's words. Hiroshi, the alleged orphan, dressed in a pauper's kimono, was in actuality the son of this area's daimyo?

Takeshi dismounted from his horse and took a few unsteady steps towards his son. Upon reaching Hiroshi, the daimyo fell to his knees. He grabbed his son by the shoulders, looking over the child for any signs of harm or injury. Aside from the bandages at his knees, and from being a little dirty, Hiroshi seemed fine. Suddenly, Takeshi pulled his son into a tight embrace, which the boy matched.

"Hiroshi, I was so worried. I was afraid that I would never see you again. You know that there are yokai roaming about. Please promise me that you'll never run away from home again!"

The boy sniffled, his head buried in the daimyo's shoulder. "I- I promise, father."

Clutching her shoulder, but ignoring the throb from the wound, Maiki allowed a contented grin to rest upon her face. 'At least, out of all of this, I finally got to see Hiroshi safely reunited with his family.'

Nibori shook as the uncontrolled combination of emotions flowed through his body. He realized the implications of the boy's identity. He had just attempted to murder the daimyo's son. Twice! If he managed to get away with his life, he'd be one very lucky person. However, that prospect didn't look too likely. His gaze fell upon the injured Maiki. This was her fault! Gritting his teeth and tightening his grip on the sword in his hand, he launched himself towards the teenage girl.

"Fucking mongrel! I'll kill you!" he screamed as he charged at the startled shibunyo with his sword wielded over his head.

However, he never even made halfway it to Maiki. In mid-stride, he froze, the anger on his face melting into a dazed, blank expression. The sword fell from his grasp, colliding with the ground with a dull rattle. A moment later, the headman collapsed to the ground as well. Confused by what had just happened, it came to Maiki's surprise to see Kazuki standing behind where Nibori had just been. In the junior exterminator's hands was Akkiwareru.

Kazuki glared at Nibori's unconscious form on the ground. "That's for threatening my mother's life."

Nibori's headmen all gaped in shock as they watched their fallen leader slump to the ground. Taking advantage of their distraction, Kagome pushed the knife away from her neck and pulled herself free from the man that held her captive. She raced over to her daughter's side, trying desperately to gauge the extent of the teenage girl's wound.

During the crazed man's attempted assault, Hiroshi and Takeshi had been interrupted by their reunion. But once Nibori was taken out of commission, the tension left their bodies. Hiroshi's attention immediately returned to Maiki. He turned towards the mother-daughter duo with a concerned look.

"Is Maiki-sama going to be okay?"

Kagome was trying to help remove the oversized hoodie from Maiki without causing her too much pain. Once done, the mother pushed the sleeve of Maiki's t-shirt up over her shoulder. Blood trickled down from the wound. located just below the shoulder joint. Fortunately, it appeared as though the bullet had grazed the skin, tearing a chunk of flesh from her arm, but nothing more. Finally, Kagome looked to the boy.

With a struggled smile, an effort to reassure the child, she replied, "Yes. She'll be fine. We just need to clean and dress the wound and she should start to heal in no time."

Hiroshi turned to Maiki and bowed. "Thank you for saving my life, Maiki-sama."

The shibunyo knelt down in front of the boy. He looked up to her to see her smiling at him. "No, Hiroshi-kun. I should be thanking you. Even though what you did was a bit foolish, you've shown that you're a very brave young man. If you hadn't have intervened when you did, Nibori probably would've shot me dead at that moment and I wouldn't be speaking to you now." She looked over to Takeshi's mildly surprised face, then looked back to Hiroshi. "I'm sure your father is very proud of you."

Hiroshi had winced momentarily when Maiki called his actions 'foolish', but his heart swelled with pride when she had called him a 'brave young man'. When she spoke of his father, he turned towards the daimyo, searching his face to confirm Maiki's assumption. At first, Takeshi appeared surprised, but when he dropped his eyes to make contact with his son's, the surprise faded into an approving smile. Hiroshi beamed at his father's unspoken praise.

Takeshi rose to his feet and bowed to the shibunyo. "Maiki-sama, I am eternally grateful to you for saving my son's life. I wish to offer you and your companions the hospitality of my home for so long as you wish. I also humbly apologize for Nibori's grievous actions against you and your friends. He will be severely punished for his crimes."

Maiki blinked, taken aback by the show of extreme respect towards her. She had never experienced such a thing before. She stared at Takeshi's still bowing posture as he waited for her answer to his invitation. How should she answer his request? She looked to her mother for an answer, but it was clear from Kagome's face that she was leaving the decision up to Maiki. The shibunyo's gaze turned to Kazuki. He was of now help, since he still had full attention on Nibori, should he wake.

As Sango and Miroku approached, Maiki could see the expectant looks on their faces as well. Maiki felt flustered. It appeared the decision was completely up to her. Why were they all looking to her for the answer, as if she were the leader of their group? Well, the question had been addressed to her. But still, she was far from being the oldest or most experienced of her traveling companions. She was used to leaving the decisions for others to make. Her eyes traveled amongst the exterminators, monk and her mother once more. This time, she noticed the visible fatigue on their faces, the result of the day's stresses.

She looked to the sky. The sun was approaching the horizon. Dusk would settle in two, maybe two and a half hours at best. It would only give them about an hour of traveling time before they'd have to stop and make camp. They wouldn't cover much ground. A tug at her t-shirt pulled her attention away from the sky. Her eyes fell upon Hiroshi, who stared at her with a look of hope and pleading, silently asking her to stay. She didn't have the heart to turn the boy down. Finally, she announced her decision.

"It would be an honor to accept your gracious offer," she replied with a short bow. "After today's events, my friends and I could use a good meal and a warm place to sleep."

Takeshi rose to his full height, seemingly glad that the shibunyo had accepted his offer. "No, the honor is mine. Now, what say we find a healer to tend to your wound?" Maiki nodded to the daimyo, who then turned towards his guards. Taking on a superior disposition once more, he began to give out orders. "Take Nibori into custody. We will deal with him in the morning. Take that Western weapon of his and melt it down into scrap metal. I don't approve of such things in my lands..."