A Father's Embrace
Chapter Twenty-Three
Culprit
Sango, Miroku, and Kazuki rose bright and early with the morning sun. They had a busy day of yokai hunting ahead of them. After dressing, going over their weapons, and gathering up their possessions, they headed down to the main foyer of Takeshi's castle. The daimyo had already been waiting for them. But they were surprised to see that neither Maiki nor Kagome had emerged from their room.
"I'll go see if they're awake yet," Sango offered, since it was only proper that another woman enter their sleeping quarters.
She headed back down the long corridor, passing the suite that she and her family had used the night before. After a few more doors, she came upon the room she was looking for. Quietly, she slid the door to the side and peered into the room. On top of each futon, a humanoid figure was buried under blankets. Granting herself admission into the room, she slowly slid the door shut again and walked over to stand between the two futons. 'Sleepyheads...' she mused with a grin.
She knelt down beside Kagome's futon, and gently shook the younger woman. "Kagome," she called softly. "It's time to wake up."
"Mrphmnm..."
"Kagome, rise and shine."
The miko's balled fists emerged from the blanket as she stretched with an audible yawn. "Meh... What time is it?" she drawled from beneath the blanket.
"Shortly after dawn. Come on now. Hurry up and get dressed so that we can start searching for that yokai."
"Can't I sleep a little longer?"
Sango giggled. "Sorry, Kagome. Everyone is waiting already."
"Including Maiki?" came her skeptical voice.
"Well, no. Not Maiki... yet. I'm about to wake her."
The shibunyo stirred. "Don't bother. I'm up. I can't sleep through all the noise you're making..."
"Sorry," Sango replied abashedly.
Maiki sat up, allowing the blankets to fall into her lap. While rubbing the crust from her eyes with her knuckle, she stated, "Don't be. You were going to wake me anyway, right?"
"Oh, right," answered the exterminator before turning back to Kagome. "Come on, sleepy. Wake up!"
She whipped the blanket off the dozing woman. When the cooler air hit the miko, she instinctively curled into a ball, clattering her teeth together with exaggeration. "C-c-c-c-cold!"
"It is not, you wimp!" Sango scolded. "Now get up!"
Kagome sighed. "Fine... But tomorrow I get to sleep in."
Maiki smirked at her mother. Little by little, she noticed the subtle changes occurring in Kagome. She was becoming a bit more cheerful and light-hearted, much like she had once been in her younger days. The frightened, sheltered, neglected housewife was slowly drifting away. Perhaps spending time in this era was good for her mother after all. But despite the little bit of progress in Kagome's personality, there was still a lot more ground to cover before she completely reverted back to her former happy-go-lucky self. Maiki could only hope that her mother became at least half as spirited as she used to be.
Twenty minutes later, the three women rejoined the men in the main foyer where Takeshi began to give them all the information he had about the troublesome yokai.
"Fortunately, the silver-haired yokai has rarely attacked any humans, and hasn't brought serious injury to anyone as of yet. It has only slain livestock thus far, usually cattle and horses, though it has occasionally fed upon smaller animals. Usually it attacks during the early morning hours or late in the evening, when visibility is low for human eyes, but not too dark for yokai eyes. It moves with incredible speed, which is why we don't have much of a description for it yet. Everyone who has been able to catch a glimpse of it has agreed that it has silver hair. A few have claimed to have seen it's eyes; as red as blood.
"Also, because of its speed, no one has managed to land a blow to it yet. I received word first thing this morning that a village to the northeast spotted what they believe to be the silver-haired yokai lurking around the edges of the forests. I believe you'll find the most luck starting there. The headman of that village is Hideaki-dono. He will assist you however he can. I shall have Kuro-san lead you to the village."
Miroku nodded. "We shall do whatever we can to alleviate you of this yokai."
"Again, I thank you . Please, be safe."
"We shall."
As the group exited the castle, Kuro was already waiting for them. With a nod, he led them out through the eastern gate, and they headed into the forest.
"About how far is Hideaki-sama's village?" Sango inquired.
"It is a bit further away from Takeshi-daimyo-sama's estate than Nibori's village is. I'll lead you along a shortcut, which should cut our travel time down to about an hour."
The group was mostly silent during the hike. Kuro lead them down the eastern side of the hill away from Takeshi's castle. As they traveled downhill, the path they followed was ragged and obviously rarely used. Many spots along the route were steep and rocky. More than once, Maiki found herself nearly tripping over the rocks and roots, which were well hidden beneath thick blades of grass. Her mood quickly turned sour.
'Heh! Stupid shortcut. Couldn't we have just taken the normal route? This can't be that much quicker. I don't see why I even have to come along! I'm not experienced in the least when it comes to yokai extermination! And mama too! I mean, she hasn't hunted yokai in how many years? We could've been allowed to sleep in. But noooooo! We get dragged along for the ride! OW! Damn rock! We get dragged along because they think mama can sense the yokai and that perhaps I can sniff it out! As if! What am I? Some sort of bloodhound? Just because I have a quarter inu-yokai blood in me, doesn't mean I know how to track stuff!'
After about a half an hour of mentally cursing her luck, Maiki was relieved when they finally reached flat ground. The forests of the hills opened up into a small meadow. Kuro led the group along the edge of the forest. A third of the way around the meadow, they re-entered the woods, following a more distinct path. Approximately twenty-five minutes after that, they could make out the opposite edge of the forest, where in the center of a small clearing lay a small settlement.
Maiki's ears swiveled at a distant noise. "Something's going on in the village up ahead," she stated warily. "There's a lot of shouting and commotion."
Hearing this news, the group broke out into a hurried run. They entered the tiny village of about a dozen small huts, one medium sized hut, a small stable and another building for smaller livestock. About fifteen men, all armed with pitchforks, sickles and other farm tools stood gathered around the closed doorway to the last building. Women and children watched from a distance with worried looks in their eyes. Sango, Miroku, Kazuki, and Kuro rushed towards the men. Kagome and Maiki held back, waiting a few feet from where the women and children were standing.
"What's going on here? Is everyone alright?" Miroku called out.
An older man amongst the villagers turned to greet the monk, exterminators and guardsman. "Ah! Kuro-san! It's a relief to see you here! The yokai that we reported lurking around the outskirts of the village during the early hours is indeed the same one who has been causing so much trouble as of late. It attempted to devour the chickens in the coop! We were able to trap it inside, but it is far too dangerous for my men to go in and slay it!"
"Fear not, Hideaki-sama," Kuro bowed to the elderly man. "As you can see, I've brought help with me to take care of this yokai problem. Since it is trapped, they should have no difficulty exterminating it."
Sango nodded. "Make sure everyone stays back. We'll take care of it."
At the slayer's instructions, the village men withdrew from the coop, allowing Miroku, Sango and Kazuki to approach the structure. Miroku placed his right hand on the door, bowing his head and closing his eyes at the same time, and concentrated. After a moment he looked over to his wife.
"Its yoki feels a bit powerful, and it seems very angry. We should not underestimate this one's strength, for it will certainly lash out with everything it can muster."
Sango nodded silently, and Miroku pulled the door open. With her katana gripped tightly in her right hand, the exterminator entered the dimly lit building. Miroku followed closely behind his wife while Kazuki stood guard at the exit. The quiet squawks of chickens could be heard from their pens. The smell of bird feces filled their noses, causing the exterminators to don their face masks and the monk to use his sleeve to guard against the foul odor. As husband and wife neared the last pen, they could see stray feathers and unidentifiable chicken parts littering the ground, surrounded by spatters of blood.
Using the tip of her sword, Sango slowly pushed open the door to the pen. Hers and Miroku's eyes were immediately drawn to the pair of gleaming red eyes in the shadows of the far corner of the pen. A low-pitched growl, almost inaudible to human ears, sounded from the yokai. Only a second after the slayer opened the pen, the beast lunged at the pair so quickly that neither were able to launch a counter-offensive. Both winced, seeing only a blur of silver as it knocked both of them over in its desperate escape. Fortunately, the monk and slayer only suffered a few minor scratches from the beasts claws.
They scrambled to their feet, eyes hurrying to catch which direction the yokai headed before losing sight of it. Their eyes widened when they saw that it was headed towards the exit, and Kazuki. The boy had only a moment to bring Akkiwareru in front of him in defense as the beast lashed out with its claws. With the speed and strength behind its attack, it easily sent the lanky teenage boy flying backwards to land sprawled out on his back.
Upon seeing the yokai emerge from the coop, the women screamed in fright, grabbing their children and running off in chaos. The men stood on guard once again, hefting their sickles and pitchforks in defense. The beast darted up into the air, landing on top of the coop, out of the reach of the villagers. A moment after landing on the structure, its attention suddenly turned towards Kagome and Maiki.
The shibunyo watched nervously as the silver-furred weasel-like yokai freed itself from the confines of the coop. When she suspected that it would simply flee, it surprised her to see the creature dart to the top of the coop. And it caused her great trepidation when she saw its eyes land upon her and then her mother, who was standing to her left and slightly behind. The weasel yokai snarled, almost smiled at the two women. It suddenly pressed itself flat against the roof of the coop when Akkiwareru was hurled through the air at it, buzzing over its head by mere inches. But the beast was distracted only momentarily, and its attention quickly returned to Kagome.
With all its might, it pushed off from the roof of the coop heading straight for the shibunyo and her mother. Maiki stared, frozen in shock as the creature seemed to move with lightning fast speed. So absorbed by her fright, she barely heard her mother's whispered words that the creature had probably sensed the jewel shards in her mother's backpack. The weasel yokai's razor-sharp claws and glistening teeth were only a moment away from tearing into their flesh when Maiki's instincts seemed to take over and she grabbed for the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.
Sango and Miroku rushed out of the coop just in time to see Kazuki scramble to his feet and hurl Akkiwareru over the top of the building. Based on their son's actions, it was safe to assume that the creature had taken a position on top of the structure. They turned just in time to see the yokai leap from the roof and straight towards Kagome and Maiki. Kazuki had caught his weapon a moment after that, but neither he nor his mother could send an attack towards the beast, lest they risk harming Kagome or Maiki in the process.
The beast collided with Maiki, sending her falling back into Kagome. The two fell to the ground with the weasel yokai on top of them. The beast snarled and clawed at the mother-daughter duo, but after a moment, its movements slowed and came to a stop. The monk and exterminators rushed to the aid of their comrades. Amongst the pile of bodies, blood was everywhere. But of most noticeable importance, was the fact that it was coming from the wound inflicted upon the yokai where it had been impaled upon the rusty blade of Tetsusaiga.
Sango and Miroku pushed the beast off of their friends. The creature was nearly as tall as Kirara in her transformed state. However, it was much thinner. When the beast fell to Maiki's right, the monk and slayer were free to examine the wounds inflicted by the beast. Kagome was unconscious. Luckily, that was the extent of her injuries. Maiki had passed out as well, but she had so much blood covering her, that it was hard to tell if it she had been injured or if all the crimson liquid on her belonged to the deceased yokai.
Using some smelling salts (and a very small amount of it at that), Maiki was instantly snapped awake by the foul odor. She sat up with a gasp and took a look around her, instantly noticing the metallic smell of blood in the air and feeling the warm, sticky liquid pasted all over her body. She immediately felt ill.
"Maiki-chan, are you okay?" Sango inquired.
The shibunyo looked into the slayer's eyes, blinking momentarily. "Y-yes. I think I'm fine. A few scratches maybe. But that's all." She then looked to her left, her eyes landing on her prone mother. "Is mama okay?"
"Yes, she's fine," answered the elder exterminator. "Just unconscious."
"What happened? Is... is it... dead? D-did you kill it?" the slightly shook-up shibunyo asked of the yokai.
"No, Maiki-san," Miroku replied calmly with a smile. "You did that. You slew the yokai."
"Yes, and with your father's sword, no less," Sango grinned with enthusiasm, then her face turned inquisitive. "Though, I'm not sure why it didn't transform..."
Maiki barely paid any attention to Sango's words. Instead, her focus had turned towards her hands, still pasted with the yokai's blood. With wide, disbelieving eyes, she looked over to the weasel yokai at her right, the untransformed Tetsusaiga still imbedded in its corpse. She didn't even pay her mother any attention when she finally came to a moment later and tried to praise her daughter.
"Maiki! I can't believe it! You saved us! I thought we were goners for sure! How did you manage to grab the Tetsusaiga fast enough to stop the yokai?"
Maiki didn't respond. Instead, she shot to her feet, grabbing her bag as she did so, and stormed off away from the throng of people. In her wake, she left a crowd of confused onlookers.
"What's her problem?" Kazuki snapped, irritated that he had been 'upstaged' by the shibunyo.
Kagome was about to give an inconclusive answer, when a gasp escaped from her lips instead. "Oh no! She left Tetsusaiga behind!" As she reached for the hilt of the Fang, the yokai's corpse dissolved into dust and scattered in the slight breeze. Claiming the Fang, she rose to her feet and ran off in pursuit of her troubled daughter.
Hideaki - excellent and bright
A/N: Okay everyone. I was gonna post this chapter on Wednesday, but unfortunately, I was horribly sick. What a waste of a day off... I didn't get anything accomplished. But I'm feeling much better now.