Fan Fiction Title: A shift of destiny
Author: Soliloquys
Disclaimer: Hiten nor any of the characters in my fanfiction aren't mine, all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Axyridis, however, is my own.
Chapter 8: Axyridis's Fragment
( At the request of some readers, I'm going to try to tell this from Hiten-sama's POV. It might be difficult, since he isn't around for too long to judge what he might think. Actually, I can tell you right now it won't be from his POV for the whole chapter. Enjoy reading, and tell me what you guys think could be improved. I'm trying to make the chapters longer too. )
Manten . . . I never would have thought to go to such measures to get you back. The cold wind blew against his face once again, and he peered into the distance. He was sitting there in the front of the progressing storm cloud, his legs hanging off the edge. From his kimono top he pulled out the glass bottle of jewel shards, recalling that bitter negotiation with the damned old witch. She actually thought that she would be paid ahead of time. In fact, he planned to screw up the compromise-- to swallow the jewel shards right infront of her and watch his brother tear her crooked body apart. The thought brought a wry smile to his face, and then he tucked the shards away. Had he not been able to smell the mixed scents coming off the girl behind him, he would have forgotten her presence.
Upon turning to look back at her, Hiten saw that she had curled herself up with her knees propped up and her cheek resting on one. The girl... did he even know her name? The only name he knew to call her by was, well, that bastard Inuyasha's woman. A sour look overcame him at the recollection of that name. Suddenly, he didn't want to relate her to that halfling anymore. His voice was strong but dull and lifeless. "What's your name?"
She looked worn down, he noted, when he saw her jump as his voice tore through the silence. Her face confirmed this, for her hair had been in the way before she tilted her head to face him: the original skin tone had blanched and her expression was exhausted. She smelled of bruised flesh, bile, and uncleanliness. He saw her lips tremble as she just above whispered a response. "...Kagome."
The haze was cleared. He remembered the hanyou screaming out this name, although he hadn't thought such a thing would be important enough to remember--so he hadn't. But one thing was clear: she was out of it and would be useless until she was sustained by food and rest. The girl was swaying between consciousness and the other. He had turned away from her to see the cloud descending towards a village.
Said village was ordinary enough. The fertile land was scattered with hutts, streaked with dirt roads, and ants of people idled their way about. But towards the lefthanded outskirts, upon a high plateau lay one large temple.Hiten watched as the bright fields grew an ominous shadow; everywhere he went thunder clouds trailed along behind him like the exhaust of a plane in the sky. After they were above the ground so many hundred feet, the ribbons about him shifted as he stood up and turned to look at the girl, whose head hung low once again. He dawdled on the thought that he had driven her to despair...the liveliness inside of her had been snuffed out--perhaps because she needed sustenance so much.
Ignoring the surprise filling her expressions, he pulled her onto her feet and held her limp body against his for support, then jumped off the side of the cloud. "Come on."
It almost felt as if she was home now, she realized, laying in the bedding on the floor and gazing up at the wooden planks of the hutt's ceiling. Perhaps if she had been unconscious through the whole experience she would have been fooled into not knowing any better; Hiten had, by some means, convinced the villagers to bring some life back into her or else. Then she had been escorted to the hotsprings where she was bathed.
The bamboo flap was brushed to the side and the miko turned to look as a woman sat a tray of food and water down beside her, then bowed and left just as discreetly as she had entered. Supporting herself with one elbow, she leaned over the food and gazed down at it. It had been a while since she had eaten. And even after countless hours, she assumed, of sleeping her body would not keep up if she didn't eat the rice and vegetables before her. Later on that day the same woman returned to take away the empty bowls. She pursed her lips at the sight of the sleeping girl; she would be taken care of alright.
The peasant woman sat the tray on the ground just outside and began strolling up to the plateau and into the temple. There was no use hiding what happened just today any longer. She slid the door open and bowed immediately. "Axyridis-sama, I--"
"Shh... I have witnessed from up here what went on. You need not tell me." A feminine voice spoke from the shadows, and the sunlight poured across the room. Strawberry, glossy lips were seen for a moment before a fan was snapped and unfolded to cover up her face.
"You approve of us following the youkai's orders and bringing the girl back to health, then?"
The chiming feminine laughter rolled out a bit and the obscured figured nodded. "Yes. She looked very ill when she was dragged into our village, but my does she look promising . . . I do not know who that arrogant youkai was, but he will find that giving us a week to revive her was a little too long."
"So you're going to..."
"Of course." Behind that fan, those glossy lips melted into a grin and a fang peeked out.
As she stepped outside, she winced into the sunlight and brought up an arm to shade her face. The skies were clear. Her heart ached to feel the warmth of the sun. It meant that Hiten wasn't nearby. "I see you're feeling better." Off to the side the same woman who'd nursed her for the past few days was approaching her. She smiled and nodded.
As her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she let her arm drop to her side, feeling her fingertips against the silken fabric of her yukata; it was indeed very generous for them to give her such a beautiful one as well: soft pink with red roses printed on the sleeves and hems. Despite feeling comfort in being surrounded by humans, her stomach flopped at the thought of him. He had really left her to be taken care of by these humans. She dreaded his return and what he would do to these peaceful people. But she wasn't left to think too much. Like a pin pricking her neck, she felt its presence. A jewel shard. Her eyes widened and she turned in the direction she felt it reaching from. Up there...in that temple.
Narrowing those blood red eyes on Kagome, he spotted her walking up towards the temple set off to the side of the village. And back into the shadows of the foliage he disappeared.
She had waited until sunset to slip outside and go up into the temple to investigate. Perhaps none of the villagers knew of the jewel shard's presence? She certainly hadn't heard so much as an utterance about a demon or anything evil for that matter watching over them. She slid the door open to find the inner room dark and full of shadows except for the brilliance of the jewel shard glimmering from the far side. A firm hand gripped her shoulder and she gasped. Had it been a trap!
"You're healthy enough to walk so we can leave now." Her muscles relaxed only a little. Afterall, something worse could've grabbed her; something that saw nothing more in her than a good meal. She turned around to stare up at Hiten, the cold figure as always. To be technical and all, she still had three days to 'heal' and all before he was due back. ...Had he actually stuck close to watch over her?
She felt him pull at her to go back down the hill when she resisted. "Wait.." What about the jewel shard? If he ever found out she knew they were this close to a fragment and hadn't mentioned anything, he would probably kill her on the spot. Her eyes widened and she felt herself breathless, not because of the glare Hiten gave her, but because of the feminine and ominous laughter that seemed to creep from the shadows and up her spine.
"She's right. Stay a while, won't you?" Leaning from the shadows, the lady began to approach them. She definitely was someone the thunder brothers would've gone after. The elegant kimono left too much for imagination, but she had no shame in hiding that gorgeous face, pale but decorated with different shades of red and orange at the lips and around the eyes. But her hair and eye color did not change even as she stepped into the light--as they remained black as night.
"Hiten, she--" Kagome couldn't get anything else out when she was pulled out of the way and behind his back. He lifted his pike and shot a glance at her over his shoulder.
"Get out of my way. Go outside somewhere and I'll find you when I'm done." He watched her quietly nod and back away. When the thunder youkai looked back, he saw that the woman was frowning.
"But you just ordered the life of the party to go away. How foolish. Do you think you can make up for that?" The many layers of her kimono had been eased off her shoulders, and she leaned up against his chest with her hands.
Back outside, Kagome kept her head bowed low. She had an idea of what Hiten was going to do with that beautiful woman. Once again she wasn't left to overthink things when two hands quickly clasped around her mouth from behind. Two more hands and then another pair worked at tying her up. Despite her relentless squirming, she was hauled off somewhere.
By now the lady was working kisses along his neck, the youkai's head tilted back and whose reaction was hidden. She stopped suddenly and revealed that fang when she grinned. A groan came from Hiten next, and she stepped back to watch blood seep from the crack in his armor where the dagger had wedged its way. "Now, if I remember correctly, that pretty little human girl was about to come inside before you got in the way."
On the other side, three peasants bowed. "Here she is, Axyridis-sama." Squirming just as violently as before, Kagome rolled onto her back and lay quiet when she felt slender fingers wrap around her neck. She opened up her eyes to spy the lady before, only this time her eyes were an orangish-red. "Oh hohoho... how I was ever right about this one, girls! Leave us be and keep that youkai occupied."
She had to gasp for air, and she watched as the humans practically drug Hiten outside. She noted the trail of blood, not to mention the pissed off expression on his face. But she was already occupied when Axyridis spoke once again. "I'm very sure that devouring you will make me even more attractive when I wake up tomorrow."
( I'm leaving off here because I feel like it. ;P Don't worry--you guys won't have to wait for months for the next chapter because I have a lot of free time since its summer vacation and all. In fact, I promise to have the next chapter up in a week or two at the most. I just need some comments and all. I'd also like to point out that Axyridis is, I believe, part of the scientific name for a lady bug. So yes, "Axyridis-sama" is a lady bug youkai. )