A Father's Embrace

Chapter Thirty-Two

The Storm

Maiki stomped her way back towards the tiny camp she and Kazuki had set up near the river bank where they had washed up on. The junior slayer watched as his companion slumped down to the ground next to the fire. From the scowl on her face and her empty hands, it was obvious that she had had no luck searching for food in the empty valley. He managed to hide his amusement for her sake.

"Here," he replied, as he held out his roasting stick towards the girl. On it, were three plump mushrooms leftover from his lunch. "I saved these for you."

The shibunyo shot a mildly disgusted glance at the funguses. Kazuki was almost convinced that the girl would prefer to starve than to eat the mushrooms when her stomach released a small growl. Reluctantly, she accepted the stick and cautiously sniffed the food.

"Would you just eat them already? They aren't going to kill you. I swear, you people of the future are way too pampered."

Maiki gave him a wry look as if to say she didn't want to hear it. He sighed and looked away. Satisfied that he had gotten the message, she turned her attention back to her meal. She chanced a small nibble from the juicy fungus. To her surprise, it wasn't that bad. Good, in fact! Without a second thought, she began to devour the mushrooms, completely forgetting her manners. Apparently, it had been much longer since breakfast than she had thought. She didn't pause for a breath until her food was done. With a content sigh, she leaned back against a rock and gazed up into the sky. Based on the position of the sun, it was about late afternoon.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Her eyes dropped to her right to look at Kazuki. "No, I suppose not. Thank you."

Silence befell the two teenagers once again. Only the crackling of the small fire and the gurgling of the river filled the air. Maiki glanced to her left, eyeing the waters that had carried them to this place.

"While I was gone, I took a look around," she began, gaining the boy's interest. "Seems as though the river really is the only way out of here. But from what it looks like, it seems as though the water is going down. Does it look that way to you?"

Kazuki's gaze shifted from the girl towards the river. He nodded. "Yes. I thought so too, but I wasn't sure. I couldn't tell since I've been sitting here all this time..."

"Yeah, it looks like it's about six inches lower than it was when I left. Maybe in the morning, if we're lucky, the river will have gotten low enough for us to head back upstream and find our parents."

The apprentice slayer was silent for a moment. A worried look tugged at his face. "How far do you think we were carried downstream?"

At his voiced concern, Maiki's expression matched Kazuki's troubled gaze. "I wish I knew..."

Kagome sat on the ground, leaning up against the outside of Yuki's hut. She stared off into the distance, looking towards the northwest in the direction in which she believed Maiki to have been taken. Her concern for her daughter was interrupted by the sound of Sango emerging from the hut. She sat down next to the miko, handing her one of two bowls of stew and a set of chopsticks. Kagome silently accepted the food, but didn't seem too enthused about eating.

The exterminator sighed. "I'm sure they're okay," she stated out loud. The sentence was meant to comfort herself as much as her companion. "Kazuki... he's been trained very well. I've taught him almost everything I know. And Maiki-chan... well, she's shibunyo. I'm sure she's a lot tougher than she believes herself to be." Despite her words, Sango was unable to prevent a tear from escaping her eye. Kagome didn't fail to notice this.

"Sango-chan, it's okay. If you need to cry..."

The slayer wiped the offensive drop from her cheek. But her eyes were filled with more of the salty liquid. "I just- I just hate not knowing what's happened to them. I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if I don't find Kazuki in time, that I might lose him... j-just like..." She trailed off, unable to continue speaking the dire thoughts about her deceased son Masuyo.

Kagome set her stew down and turned towards her friend, taking her into an embrace. "I can't say that I can understand how you feel, 'cause I'd be lying if I did. I can only wish that I never will understand that pain, and that you won't have to experience it again either."

After a few minutes, Sango pulled back from the younger woman, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Kagome-chan. I didn't mean to get all upset like that."

"No, don't be sorry."

"Is everything okay?" Miroku's voice sounded from the bamboo doorway. He could tell from the sullen look on both women's faces that both were sick with worry. Though he was better able to hide his emotions, his wife could tell that he was just as afraid as the women. He took a seat next to his wife, taking her right hand in both of his. And silently, he looked out into the distance into the same direction Kagome had been gazing moments earlier. He remained silent, and instead tried his hardest to be strong for his wife and his friend.

Inside the valley, secluded by the high mountain cliffs, the sun set sooner in the day than it would in more open territory. The sky hadn't grown very dark yet, but the valley below was obscured in the waning light. Maiki was busying herself by packing up her supplies, now that they had had time to dry. Kazuki was preoccupied with stoking the fire and gathering up some more fire wood to last the night. Just as both were finishing their tasks, a gentle rumble of thunder echoed through the sky.

Maiki looked up, her eyes immediately taking in the sight of storm clouds rolling in from the west. "Great. Just what we need. A thunderstorm."

"We better find better shelter then," informed her companion.

She nodded. "Let me take these tents down first."

"I don't know if we have time for that. Those clouds are moving in rather quickly."

The shubunyo knelt down beside the first tent, pulling the stakes out of the ground and taking apart the poles at each end of the tent. "Then help me do this!"

The first two tents came down and were rolled up quickly. When they got to the third tent, the winds had started to pick up. The clouds were almost overhead by now, and almost all of the remaining daylight had been consumed by the impending storm. A single, cold drop of rain landed on Maiki's arm, followed by a second, and a third. Kazuki had felt the same on his arms. They worked ever quicker on the last tent and when it was finally rolled up, Maiki tied all three tents together and strapped them to her backpack.

"Hurry! Let's go!" the junior slayer called to her over the increasingly loud winds. The storm front was upon them now, and the rain was pounding mercilessly into the ground. Lightning streaked across the sky, followed by the air-splitting sound of thunder.

"Wait! We can't leave the fire going like that!"

"No time! The rain will douse it anyway! Let's go!"

Maiki ran after the boy. She could only assume that he knew where he was going. She hoped that he did. The rain was brutal, but the pebbles of hail starting to fall down were even worse. Another ear-piercing boom crashed through the air. She mashed her tender ears against the top of her head and pushed onward.

"Why are we running into the storm?" called the shibunyo after noticing which direction they were headed.

"Well, for starters, we obviously can't outrun it. We may as well face it head on, right?"

"You're crazy!"

"Crazy as I may be, when I was looking for food earlier, I stumbled upon a small cave in this direction. The trouble is, in this poor lighting and heavy rain, I don't know if I'll be able to find it again."

A flash of lighting momentarily lit up the valley, blinding the teenagers at the same time. Maiki blinked to readjust her eyes. "You better find this cave, and quick!"

"It's in the cliff wall up ahead! We're almost there!"

Maiki didn't answer, accepting his words of encouragement. She could just barely make out the shapes of the jagged rock lining the cliff wall. But a strange sensation on the back of her neck distracted her. It felt as if all the hairs on her neck, back, and arms were standing on end. Like static electricity. She instantly knew the implications of such a phenomenon. It meant that the air was heavily charged with electricity and that a bolt of lightning was sure to strike in the immediate vicinity.

She opened her mouth to call out a warning to Kazuki, but she was too late. The unforgiving clouds unleashed a wicked dagger of energy upon the defenseless teenagers. The bolt had been a near hit and had sent both sprawling onto the muddied grounds. The putrid stench of singed hair filled Maiki's nostrils and an insufferable ringing sounded in her ears after the deafening crash of thunder from the lightning strike. Both teenagers struggled to their hands and knees, soaked by the torrential rain, caked in dirt and mud.

From behind them, an angry, authoritative, feminine voice broke through the noises of the storm. "Who are you to trespass in my lands, the Valley of Reimai? Answer me now, and your deaths may come quick and painless."

Kazuki and Maiki slowly turned to face the owner of the voice. Standing where the bolt had struck was a tall, slender, humanoid yokai woman. By human standards, she looked to be in her mid to late twenties. Who knew how old she truly was by yokai standards? Her raven hair was pulled back tight into a tight bun. Her maroon eyes were locked on the teenagers.

Despite the heavy sheets of rain falling from the sky, not a single drop seemed to have landed on the woman, as if she controlled the liquid cascading from above. Her yellow kimono, electric-blue hakama, and ash-gray armor were bone dry. In her right hand, she held a long, pole-arm type weapon. The wooden pole-handle was nearly six feet in length. At the top, were three narrow blades. The center blade added another foot to the length of the staff. The other two blades were about half of the length of the center one, and they curved slightly out and up.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again, this time, a little more threatening. "I see. So you do not wish to comply to my demands. Very well then." She lifted her weapon towards the sky, summoning a powerful current of electricity. "If you do not answer my question, I shall have to incinerate you from the inside out!"

Maiki panicked, throwing her arms up in front of her in a placating manner. "No, wait! I'm Maiki and that's Kazuki-kun and we got washed down that flooded river and we were just waiting for it to recede so we could go back and find our parents, that's all!"

There was a moment where no one spoke. Only the sounds of the rain pelting the ground could be heard. Kazuki chanced a glance to his left towards the overzealous girl. 'Good job making us look like a couple of lost, helpless children,' he thought scornfully. When his eyes returned to the yokai, he found that she had lowered her weapon, and the energy she had started to summon had been disbanded. She seemed to be contemplating something.

"So, you have not been sent here by my worthless mate?"

Maiki blinked owlishly. "Mate?"

"Husband," the boy supplied. "In the yokai world, spouses are referred to as mates."

The girl turned back towards the yokai. "No. He didn't send us. We don't even know who your mate is."

The yokai woman seemed to believe her. "I suppose you're right. My mate is too smitten with humans," she stated with disgust. "He would never send any of you pathetic creatures to face me on his behalf, knowing that you would be lucky to escape with your lives."

Maiki slowly rose to her feet. A concerned look overtook her, but a flicker of suspicion traced her features as well. She dared to ask, "Your mate... You're angry with him. What did he do? Is it because he's so fond of humans, like you say? Was he... Did he... leave you... to be with one?"

The yokai narrowed her eyes. "You presume to ask too much, girl. I would be more than happy to take some of my anger out on you, but you are merely a weak human. I would obliterate you in an instant, but I would feel no satisfaction from ridding the world of your petty existence. My potential frustration is all that saves you now."

Maiki ground her teeth. "Why you! I'm not weak or petty! And can't you see--"

"Maiki!" Kazuki cut her off, having leapt to his feet to grab her arm before she even tried to stand off against the yokai. "Look," he whispered as he pointed to a wet lock of her hair that fell limply over her shoulder.

She followed his indicating finger. When her eyes fell upon her hair, she sucked in a sharp intake of breath. Holding up the lock of hair, as if her eyes were deceiving her, she looked at it more closely. Her hair... was black! Not muddy, not obscured by the night, but pure black. She quickly refocused her eyes to her fingertips, and sure enough, her claws were gone. Bewildered, she clamped both her hands to the top of her head, and found that her canine ears were missing. Sliding her hands to the sides of her head, she discovered that her human ears had returned. 'Am I... human again? When and how did this happen?'

"Don't let her know that you're a shibunyo," the apprentice exterminator whispered. "Most yokai, and humans alike, despise those of mixed blood. If she is one of those who think that way, then she may keep her promise about killing you. And it would be very easy for her to do so while you're in your human state."

"Human state?"

"Shh. I'll explain it to you later," he promised.

The yokai woman had been watching their hushed discussion and Maiki's bizarre ministrations with great interest. Becoming impatient, she jabbed the bottom end of her staff into the ground, creating a small crash of thunder. This instantly earned her the attention of the two teenagers, just as she had intended. They waited patiently for her to speak. When she finally did, her words were directed to Kazuki only.

"You are a yokai exterminator, are you not?"

He nodded. "Yes." 'Sort of... If you ignore the fact that I haven't officially completed my training yet...'

She was silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then she spoke again. "Very well. Come with me. I may have a use for you. The girl can come too." She turned away from them as she began to lead them away.

"Where are you taking us?" Maiki couldn't help but demand. She did not have enough trust to blindly follow a strange yokai woman who had yet to even give a name.

The woman stopped, shooting an irate glance over her shoulder. "You would do well to know your place, girl, lest you find yourself beneath the claws of one not as forgiving as myself."

"Maiki, you really need to shut your mouth," scolded Kazuki, though his voice was low enough that the yokai woman could not hear him. "She's not going to do anything to us. If she had wanted to hurt or kill us, she would have done so by now." After a pause, he said, "I think we should go with her."

The teenage girl cocked an eyebrow. "Since when did you become so trusting of yokai?"

He glanced at her. "I'm not. But I'm also smart enough to know when not to unnecessarily provoke a potentially hostile adversary."

Maiki rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The teenagers followed the yokai woman, but stayed about twenty paces back. They stopped when she suddenly halted. She looked into the sky, as if searching for something. But in the thick rain, it was difficult to see further than fifty feet away, she realized. She lifted her weapon up above her head, and a small pulse of energy expanded from the pole-arm. To Maiki and Kazuki's surprise, the rain instantly stopped. The storm clouds immediately dispersed, revealing a calm, starry night.

The moon was bright, lighting up the entire valley, even though it was barely half-lit. The yokai woman relaxed her arm, allowing the bottom of her weapon to rest on the ground. Again, she searched the skies.

"That baka... Where did he go?" she mumbled to herself.

She brought the forefinger and thumb of her left hand to her mouth, and released a deafening whistle. Maiki was grateful that she didn't have her sensitive hearing at that particular moment. By a human's sense of hearing, the whistle was harsh enough. A moment later, a large, slender, flame-red serpent came gliding down from the night sky. As he came closer, he slowed his approach and landed gracefully in front of the yokai woman.

Maiki was awed. Never had she imagined that she would ever look upon a real, live dragon. It was massive. The top of its back was nearly two times the height of a person. And it must've been at least forty feet long. Its wings looked fragile, yet powerful at the same time. And its scales were beautiful. They were the deepest color of red she had ever seen, and if she squinted her eyes just right, she could see the silvery hue of the moonlight reflect from the small plates of its skin.

"Koryu," replied the yokai woman as she approached the beast. "Where did you fly off to? I thought I told you not to wander far."

The dragon lowered its head. "My apologies, Soten-sama. I was merely searching the area to see if there were any other intruders," he spoke in a deep, soothing voice. He raised his head, and for the first time, noticed the two humans staring at him. "You have not killed the trespassers?"

The yokai woman, now known as Soten, glanced back at her captive guests. "No. I've decided to spare them. I believe the slayer shall come in handy. We'll be taking them with us back to the castle."

Koryu bowed his head again. "As you wish, Soten-sama."

A/N: As you (hopefully) noticed, this chapter was a wee bit longer. See? I'm trying! But this means I might be a bit slower to update. Just a heads up... :p