A Father's Embrace

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Yasa

Maiki ran as quickly as she could down the dirt road, frequently glancing up at the mountainside to her left, searching for Yasa's home. She had been running for what seemed like forever, but was probably closer to only twenty minutes. With each passing second, each passing footfall, the teenager grew increasingly doubtful. 'Why haven't I found it yet? I should've come across it by now!'

Soten's directions echoed in the girl's head. "...Yasa, lives not far from here, a little under a mile away... At the bottom of this mountain... lies a road. Take it heading south until you see a tree on the mountainside that is split down the middle. Her home is just below that tree, in the side of the mountain..."

Maiki slowed to a walk, panting heavily. She folded her hands behind the back of her head, sucking in deep breaths of oxygen. Dread filled her. 'I hope I didn't go too far... I don't think I have, but what if I missed the tree? What if I didn't see it? What if it's not there anymore and I passed by Yasa-san's home and didn't even know it?' Her eyes scanned the mountain, silently begging for the landmark tree to appear before her.

The voice of an elderly woman startled her. "My, my... What is a child like you doing out wandering around out in the wilds? You are aware that there are many dangerous yokai living in these parts, do you not?"

Maiki spun around 180 degrees, towards the voice, putting her back to the mountains. She didn't see the source of the voice right away. Until she looked down, that is. Before her, stood a short, stout, elderly tortoise yokai. She couldn't have been more than three feet tall. The bottom of her rust colored kimono was barely off the ground. Though she stood upright on two feet, Maiki noted that the old turtle needed to use a cane for support.

"Tell me, child," she spoke in a soothing voice, "what brings you out so far from your village?"

"Well, it's a long story... But to get to the point, I'm looking for a yokai named Yasa-san. A.. um... well, an acquaintance of mine needs her help. Do you know where she lives?"

The elderly yokai grinned warmly. "Of course I do, child. Follow me and I shall take you there."

The teenager beamed a grateful smile. "Thank you! I really appreciate your help!"

"'tis no trouble at all. Come. Follow me."

The old tortoise turned around and slowly led Maiki further south along the road. The teenager quickly noticed that the old woman couldn't move very fast at all. She wasn't sure if it was because of her age or if it was because she was a turtle, a naturally slow moving creature, or if it were because of both. She masked her slight annoyance at their slow pace. She needed to find this Yasa quickly for Soten's sake, and because this old woman was doing her a favor, it would be horribly rude if Maiki were to show any signs of ungratefulness.

"Fear not, child," the yokai spoke as if she could read the girl's thoughts. "We aren't very far from her home. We'll be there soon enough."

Maiki released a small, inaudible sigh as she took a single step to match four of the woman's steps. 'Oh, I hope she's not just patronizing me. Today is going to be a looooooooong day... I can tell already...'

As they flew over the mountains surrounding Reimai Valley, Kazuki sat on Koryu's back, a few feet behind Shippo, scowling at the kitsune. In the four years since the fox had disappeared, the junior exterminator had not forgiven him. Angrily, Kazuki remembered Maiki's words which rang so true.

"Use your anger all you want to try to distance yourself from your true feelings, Kazuki, but you can't hide the fact that you miss him terribly."

Oh, how he hated that she was right! But admitting that he had greatly missed Shippo only caused the teenage boy to feel ever more angry. For it was the kitsune's fault that he had to suffer so much in the first place! If he had at least visited, then perhaps the ache of betrayal that had wedged itself deep into Kazuki's heart would never have had a chance to grow.

Shippo glanced back at the boy, having felt a set of eyes boring into his back. The scowl he saw on the apprentice exterminator did little to ease the fox's mind. He had a pretty good idea why Kazuki was so obviously upset with him. He also knew why the junior slayer had been in Koryu's company. He was still finding the idea hard to believe that Kazuki, who was like a little brother to him once upon a time, had agreed to take on Soten's request and slay him. Had Kazuki's anger gone so far that he would willingly kill him? And, for that matter, had Soten's anger also gone that far that she would hire an exterminator to hunt him down?

All the evidence pointed to yes.

However, Shippo was not angry over this. Instead, his level of guilt had risen to his throat, nearly choking him. He had screwed up. Big time. Two acts of perceived abandonment on his part. Ah, who was he kidding? He had abandoned them in both instances. Both because he thought he was doing the right thing at the time. He realized what his problem was. He always acted too hastily, never told anyone what he was doing or where he was going, always trying to fix the problem on his own. Such was the case four years ago when he left his family behind.

The fox glanced back again to the teenager, the scowl still on the boy's face. "Say, Kazuki-ototo."

"Just 'Kazuki' is fine."

Shippo winced. So Kazuki no longer considered him as a brother. The fox let out a slow sigh and continued. "Kazuki..." The boy's name felt so foreign, so empty on his tongue without the honorific. "I'm sorry I left all those years ago--"

"No, you're not," the exterminator interrupted again. "Otherwise, you would've come back."

"I know. I should have returned and explained. And I'm truly sorry for that, whether you believe me or not. I had to leave, Kazuki. I had to do it to protect you and everyone else."

Shippo waited a moment for Kazuki to speak. The boy's silence indicated that his interest was piqued, though based on his expression, he still seemed skeptical. The kitsune continued.

"A few days before I left, I received a letter, a challenge. It was much like one I had received in my youth, only this one stated that if I did not accept the challenge, the lives of my family and village would be at stake. I was given only three days to comply to the letter, and for those three days I had thought heavily about it. At the dawn of the third day, I realized that there was no other way out of it. I had no choice but to comply. Because I didn't want your parents at risk, I left out as much as I could when I told your father I had to leave. I knew that if he knew anymore than what I told him, he and your mother would have eagerly followed after me, and I simply could not have them putting themselves in danger. They had, and still have, a family to take care of.

"I left during mid-morning on that third day, traveling as fast as I could, and by nightfall, I had found myself overlooking Reimai Valley. It was to my complete dismay that I was returning to this place after so many years. I had long thought that my differences with the thunder yokai tribe had been settled. Apparently, I was wrong. After sixteen years, Soten, leader and sole survivor of the thunder tribe, still had a bone to pick with me. She met me outside the gates of her estate. But when I laid my eyes upon her, I was speechless. The beautiful young woman I saw before me was nothing like the tomboyish little girl who had challenged me in my youth. I was instantly drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. She, on the other hand, was livid."

"You!" Soten called out to the kitsune, her right index finger extended to point at him. In her left, she held her staff weapon. "How could you break our agreement?"

Shippo blinked incredulously. "What are you talking about? I didn't break any agreement with you!"

"Liar!" she yelled, her free hand now clenched at her side, her eyes cackling with pent up anger and electricity. "Don't you dare attempt to play stupid! We had an arrangement and you backed out on it!"

"Arrangement? Listen, Soten, I thought we had settled our dispute years ago. You have left me alone, and in return, I have left you alone. I have done nothing to cause you any further grievances, and I do not wish to fight with you."

The thunder yokai tightened her grip on her weapon. "Then why have you come here, if not to fight?"

"That's simple. To protect my family and fellow villagers."

Soten seemed to relax a bit, but she still had venom in her voice. "I see. How could I have let that slip my mind? You have settled down with a tribe of humans, have you not? Having been raised by mortals, you've almost come to be identical to them. You've probably never been taught much about yokai laws and customs. No wonder you've backed out on our agreement."

The fox stared at her in bewilderment. "What kind of agreement did I make with you?" he asked timidly, afraid of the answer.

The woman's lips curled up into an amused, mischievous smirk. "Marriage."

"What I didn't realize, until that day, is that if a male yokai is interested in taking a female for a mate, he offers her a gift. To win her heart, he must discover what it is she greatly desires and bestow it upon her. If she accepts, then the two are to be wed. If they are too young to be married, then they are betrothed and the wedding day takes place the day after the female's sixteenth birthday. And there I was, over six years overdue of our supposed wedding date."

"I don't understand," Kazuki muttered, his curiosity having replaced his anger for the moment. "What was it that you gave her? How could you have known what to give her, but not known what exactly you were doing at the same time?"

Shippo let out a sigh. "I've told you about the battles against the thunder yokai... how Hiten and Manten killed my father... how Inuyasha avenged his death... and how Soten blamed me for it and challenged me to a duel, taking me prisoner instead... It was during that incident, when she saw the crayons, colorful writing utensils, that Kagome had given me. Soten wanted them, desperately. So we battled over them. We were equals in strength and wit. But it was during that battle that I discovered that she was not a 'he' like I had assumed when I first saw her. I just couldn't fight a girl. So I called off the duel, and as I left, I gave her the crayons she so desperately desired. And that was how I unintentionally betrothed myself to her."

"So, you married her," Kazuki replied, almost dejectedly.

"I had to. I promised her my hand in marriage and I had to honor that."

"But you still could've visited us, you know," stated the boy, his foul mood returning.

"And again, I've terribly sorry that I didn't. Once I married Soten, and became Lord over these lands, I had a huge number of responsibilities to uphold." At this point he released an embarrassed chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "I think Soten may have intentionally burdened me with as many tasks as I could possibly handle out of fear that I would leave if I wasn't kept busy enough!"

Kazuki shook his head in disappointment. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger, hasn't she?"

The fox sighed contently. "Perhaps it's true. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Forgive me for interrupting, Shippo," replied Koryu, "but what sort of danger is Soten-sama in?"

At this point, the kitsune adopted a more serious expression. "I'm not entirely sure. I sensed she was in great pain. It's subsided for now, but I'm still very concerned. I could feel much distress from her when she was experiencing this pain. I'm very worried that something's happened to her."

With a nod, Koryu flapped his giant wings ever faster, gaining speed, heading towards his mistress's home. If what Shippo spoke was true, then it was imperative to return to Soten's side.

Thump. Shuffle-shuffle-shuffle. Thump. Shuffle-shuffle-shuffle.

Maiki clenched her teeth, trying her best not to snap at the sounds of the incredibly slow, tiny steps of the old turtle. They had been walking at this pace for at least a half an hour already, and they still had not yet arrived at Yasa's home. The teenage girl disdainfully glanced down at the yokai who walked at an abundantly leisurely pace, seeming to enjoy the scenery. 'That baba better not have spaced out and forgotten that she's supposed to be leading me to Yasa-san!' Maiki fretted in her thoughts.

The pair rounded a bend that curved around a tall boulder. Maiki was still staring at the tortoise when the old woman suddenly looked up at the teenager with her grey, beady eyes.

"We've arrived," she replied cheerfully with a warm, wrinkled smile.

Maiki's scowl immediately disappeared when the old woman turned to face her. Embarrassed that she had been caught giving the woman dirty looks, a bright red hue flashed across her cheeks. Whether the old turtle noticed her glare or not, she said nothing of it. Maiki quickly looked away from the yokai to look up at the side of the mountain. She was relieved to see the landmark Soten had explained; a tree split down the middle. Below the tree, there was what seemed to be a hole in the side of the mountain where it was almost vertical. But about five feet inside the aperture, a wooden door was visible.

"Come, come, child. We did not travel all this way just to gawk at Yasa-san's front door with our jaws slack, now did we?"

The teenager looked back down to see the tortoise waddle up towards the wooden door. A bit of Maiki's irritation had been restored with the yokai's comment. 'Heh! As if I would stand around with my mouth hanging open, looking like a complete imbecile! The nerve of some people-- er, yokai!' But, the girl swallowed her anger and tried to remain calm and polite as she followed the turtle to Yasa's door. The teenager found that upon entering the front doorway, she had to duck down to fit inside. When the old woman pushed the front door open without so much as a knock first, Maiki's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

She quickly grabbed the door and pulled it shut, looked down at the turtle with shock. "What are you doing? You can't just let yourself in to someone else's home! It's very important that I get her help, and it would do no good getting her all ticked off 'cause we decided to barge into her home!"

The tortoise's seemingly ever-present grin grew even wider. "Worry not, child. I'm certain Yasa-san will not mind. She tends to be a very kind and understanding yokai."

Maiki was skeptical at best. "But, we should still knock first, kame-bachan."

The old woman's face seemed to light up with laughter. "I suppose you are right, child. Go ahead and give the door a knock."

The teenager gave her a questioning glance, but then turned towards the door. She rapped her knuckles against the wooden planks three times and waited. And waited. And waited. There was no answer, so she gave the door a harder knock. The result was the same and Maiki began to feel a bit exasperated.

"That's just great!" she sighed as she turned away from the door and sat on the ground. "She's not even home! Now what am I going to do?"

The tortoise looked over towards Maiki, who, now in a sitting position, was at the old woman's eye-level. She gave the girl a knowing smile that Maiki couldn't see since her back was to the turtle.

"Perhaps we should wait inside," she suggested. "I'm sure Yasa-san shall be home very shortly."

Before Maiki could stop her, the yokai had welcomed herself into Yasa's home. She leapt to her feet and followed the old woman inside, wondering how it was that she had moved so quickly into the abode, when she had moved so slowly up until now. The teenager pushed the thought aside, having more important issues to worry about at the moment.

The first thing the girl noticed upon entering Yasa's home, was that the ceiling was just as short in here as it was in the front entryway. Knees bent and back hunched over, she guessed that the distance from floor to ceiling couldn't be any more than four and a half feet high. The room she found herself in was that of a greeting area. A low table was at the far end of the room, surrounded by cushions.

With her back already aching from having to lean over, Maiki made her way over to the table and sat down. Feeling a bit more comfortable, if still a little claustrophobic, the teenager's eyes studied her surroundings further. The walls, though made of rocks, were nicely stacked in place, making Yasa's home seem cozy. The ceiling, she realized now, was dome-shaped, obviously to hold the support of the tons of dirt and rock above her home.

There were two doorways leading off from this room, one on each side of the main entrance. She didn't know where these led to, but knew the old woman had disappeared through one of these doorways. Maiki was not surprised when she could hear the familiar thump, shuffle, shuffle coming from the doorway to her right. When the yokai emerged, she was carrying a large wooden bowl and a grinder.

"I intended to make some tea," the tortoise explained, "but it seems as though the tea leaves haven't been ground up yet. My hands are old and brittle. Do you think you could help me out with this?"

Maiki blinked perplexedly. "Sure, I guess." She accepted the tools from the turtle, finding the bowl already filled to the brim with leaves. "Uh, this is an awful lot of leaves for just two cups of tea, don't you think?"

The yokai beamed that famous smile of hers. "Yes, it's more than enough for us. But don't you think it would be awful rude of us to help ourselves to Yasa's home and hospitality without doing something nice for her in return?"

Maiki rose an eyebrow. "I suppose..." she patronized the old woman by vocally agreeing with her. But her thoughts were the opposite. 'I suppose you're some rude baba who thinks she can break into people's homes and then let someone else suffer the consequences!' With a feigned smile, she began crushing the tea leaves.

The turtle left the room, and a few moments later, she returned with a few pouches of other miscellaneous herbs and a few empty ceramic jars. "Since you're doing such a fine job with the tea leaves, do you think you would be able to crush these as well? Yasa-san seems to be very busy since she hasn't yet had a chance to tend to these."

Maiki swore she could feel a blood vessel break in her head. She forced a wide, cheerful grin and replied through gritted teeth. "Sure! No problem! Just set them down in front of me!"

"Ah, you are too kind, child," the tortoise beamed. "I'll see if I can heat some water for our tea." With that, she left the room again.

The teenager stared regretfully at the table full of unusual plants. 'How, oh how, did I ever get myself into this?' she mentally whined. 'I should've stopped that baba from coming into Yasa-san's home right at the beginning!' With the tea leaves crushed, she set them aside and began to work on one of the herbs. 'I should never have agreed to come inside here. How do I even know that Yasa-san will be pleased that we messed with her stuff anyway? What if she didn't want these herbs broken down? Heh... That baba better not be wrong about this!'

The tortoise returned with two ceramic cups and a pot of heated water. As Maiki continued to grind away at the herbs, the old woman mixed some tea leaves in the water, and then poured two cups. She placed one in front of the teenager, and began sipping from the second one. All the while, she watched the girl tediously mash the herbs into a fine powder.

"So tell me, child. Why is it that you seek out Yasa-san anyway? If I remember correctly, you said a friend was in need of assistance?"

Maiki briefly glanced up from her task. "Yeah. She's having a baby... started going into labor a little under two hours ago now. I hope she's doing okay..."

"I'm sure she's doing alright," the old woman assured. "Birthing a child takes several hours, especially with human births."

This time the teenager's eyes snapped up to lock onto the turtle's. "No, no! She's not human. Soten-san is full yokai..." At this point, Maiki's expression became a bit concerned. "Does that mean that she'll have the baby faster? ...being that she is yokai? Will she be okay for a little while longer?"

The turtle gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes. The birthing process takes less time for yokai since they are better suited to handle such a strenuous task than a human would be. But worry not. She shan't be even close to birthing her baby yet. There's still plenty of time."

The teenager was only slightly settled by this. "Are you sure she'll be fine? I had to leave her all alone to go find Yasa-san..."

The yokai's grin grew a bit wider with a twinkle in her eye as if she were hiding some sort of secret. Maiki scrutinized her for a moment, before her irritation forced her to speak.

"What?"

The old woman gave a content smile. "You certainly are an interesting one, child."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing at all. I'm just an old tortoise, wise beyond her years. You aren't too hard to figure out, child. I've seen the brazen front you've put up around yourself. Why you chose to protect yourself with such a front, I've not yet figured out. But I've also seen the caring girl behind the facade. If such were not the case, you'd not have risked coming out here into dangerous territory, alone and inadequately armed, simply to help a yokai."

Maiki was silent. She wasn't sure what to say or do, so she quietly continued to grind the herbs she was working on. She definitely felt uncomfortable, having been so easily read like an open book. After a moment, the turtle rose to her feet, taking the empty tea cups and the pot with her into the other room. When she returned, Maiki still didn't feel comfortable enough to look up at her. The girl seemed to ignore the old woman, taking the last of the herbs that needed to be ground, and began working on them.

"Are you going to sit there all day, child, or are you going to escort an old midwife to her patient?"

The teenager immediately snapped her head up to look at the turtle, who was now standing next to the front door with a satchel strapped to her back. Maiki blinked owlishly for a few moments before the old woman's words fully clicked into place.

"Midwife? You're Soten-sama's midwife, Yasa-san? Why didn't you tell me in the first place!"

Yasa beamed her classic smile. "You did not ask, child. You simply asked that I take you to her home."

"Yeah, but-- It should have been obvious that I was looking for her and not her home!"

"Indeed, it was obvious. But like I said before, my hands are old and brittle and I couldn't possibly have prepared all those herbs as you have done for me. For that I thank you."

Nearly enraged at having been played for a fool, Maiki leapt to her feet as she yelled, "Why you sneaky little bab--"

Forgetting the short space of the room, she smacked her head into the rocky ceiling, cutting off her speech. Her world was a sheet of white-hot pain for a moment. She fell back down almost immediately, hands holding the sore spot on her head where a lump was sure to form. She could feel the sting of threatening tears brewing behind her eyes. She gritted her teeth, forcing those tears back, already feeling foolish enough for having injured herself so carelessly.

"Let me see your head, child," Yasa calmly replied.

Maiki hadn't even noticed her approach. She reluctantly moved her hands away from her head, allowing the turtle to inspect the wound. When the old woman pushed down onto the tender spot, the teenager drew a sharp intake of breath, air hissing through her teeth. Maiki nearly slapped Yasa's hands away.

"What are you doing? That hurt!"

Yasa didn't immediately reply. Only after she was satisfied, did she back away from the girl. "Well, child, you aren't bleeding, and you don't seem to have broken your head. But I did notice something strange."

A bit of panic began to fill the teenager. "Strange? What's strange?"

"Don't look so worried, child. It seems you have two lumps on your head, is all. Did you happen to hit your head on something earlier today as well?"

Remembering back to the fuzzy incident with that lizard yokai earlier, she subconsciously drew her hand to her temple. Though the memory was cloudy, she remembered being struck by that yokai. Whatever had happened next, she did not know. The next thing she had remembered was the annoying voice of that little toad-looking thing that had been accompanying her uncle, Sesshomaru.

"Yeah, I guess I did," she vacantly replied.

"My, my..." Yasa tutted. "As clumsy as you are, it's a wonder you made it to me alive." She shuffled towards the front door once more. "Are you ready, child?"

Maiki gritted her teeth, ignoring the old woman's barb. "Yeah."

"Good. Take that last herb you were working on. We'll be needing that. Put it in the pouch next to you."

The teenager did as she was told, dumping the herbs into the pouch. Much carefully this time, she rose to her feet and followed Yasa out of her home. As they exited the doorway, Maiki rose to her full height and took a deep breath of fresh air, never more grateful to be able to stretch out so completely.

"Come, come, child. No time for dawdling," Yasa admonished as she shuffled towards the road.

Maiki scowled at the old turtle's remark. 'With as slow as she walks, she's telling me not to dawdle! It'll take forever to get back to Soten! At this rate, that kid will be enrolled in college-- or something-- before we return! If only there were a way to get there faster...' At that moment, an idea sprung to her head. In two quick steps, she stepped in front of Yasa, turned her back to her, and kneeled down.

"What is it, child?"

"Get on my back."

Yasa seemed a bit perplexed. "Whatever for? My legs work just fine. I may be old, but I am not crippled."

'So, still being stubborn, eh, baba?' It was time for Maiki to use a bit of psychology. "I know you can walk just fine, Yasa-bachan," she spoke in a kind, yet concerned voice. "But I'm sure you know how far it is to Soten-san's home. You'll be very busy helping her give birth to her baby. You shouldn't waste all your energy just trying to get to her when you'll need it for later."

The turtle was quiet for a moment, seeming to ponder the girl's words... or her motives. But finally, she agreed.

"Alright, child. You do have a point."

Yasa grabbed onto Maiki's shoulders while the girl hooked her arms behind the yokai's legs. The teenager pushed herself up with her legs and feet, only slightly strained under the extra weight. Once to her full height, it was easy enough to carry Yasa. Maiki realized the tortoise couldn't weigh much more than thirty-five pounds.

'Alright, now we'll get there in no time,' Maiki inwardly snickered. 'Gullible baba...'

Unseen by the teenager, a content smile tugged at Yasa's lips. 'Ah, this is much better. I hate having to walk so far. Good thing I feigned that slow walk, though I was beginning to think she'd never offer to carry me...'

After making sure Yasa was secure on her back, Maiki took off at a slow jog so that she wouldn't over-exert herself.

kame - turtle, tortoise

bachan - grandmother, grandma

baba - derogatory word for old woman, old hag