Servant By: OtakuSailorV
Chapter 11:: Back To Nowhere AgainYuhi walked on through the forest. She had no idea where she was going, or why she was even bothering. She had lost her purpose again. 'What am I doing?' She often questioned herself as she tripped over upturned roots. Branches and bushes scratched at her bare ankles and the bottom of her feet were caked with dirt now.
Her mind reeled and several times she felt as if she might just topple over. Briefly, one time, she wondered if the miasma was still set in on her, but she knew that was wrong. Something else was the matter with her, something she could not explain or calm. The only thing she could think of was to keep moving.
'If I keep moving, then I have a purpose, because there's somewhere to go to. There's always another horizon to reach. . .' But no matter how much she walked, stumbling around, she knew that she was nowhere again. Every time she touched that horizon, it shrank back and became further away again. She was nowhere again. Lost and on her own.
Not letting herself cry though, she continued on until darkness fell. Then, sniffing out a safe enough place, she curled in on herself and tried to sleep. She was used to hard surfaces to sleep on, so it was not as if she were uncomfortable and wished for the futon she had left behind in Naraku's fortress. No – what kept her awake was something in the back of her mind that humans called loneliness.
It was not as if she had never felt loneliness before, no, it had been with her every time she had slept since the death of her father. Still, this empty feeling inside of her felt new to her. A new kind of loneliness that she had never experienced before. It was hollow and no matter how much she suppressed it, a dull feeling of sadness always clung to her heart. This she did not understand, but supposed that it was the loss of her friends still weighing hard on her heart.
Now, steeped in unknown and misunderstood emotions, she marched on forward, hoping to find something to move on to besides the glimmering horizon.
Hakudoushi smirked at the feeble hanyou in the mirror. Naraku had stopped watching her hours ago, but Hakudoushi found it too amusing to watch her struggle to get up and leave, or dismiss Kanna quite yet. 'Pathetic.' He thought ruefully, chuckling darkly.
He watched as she stumbled, and caught herself on a tree nearby. Holding herself up, she coughed into her hand. Hakudoushi smirked wider when he realized that she was having some kind of bad reaction to the miasma of Naraku and that was what was causing her strange demeanor. "From living in the castle so long, she can't cope with such a rush of pure, outside air."
Hakudoushi chuckled at her pain again though he knew the effects would only last for another day or so. Still – it was enough to humor him, that she was unaware of such a thing. "Where will you go to now, little coyote?" He mused, finally getting to his feet and waving for Kanna to leave. "Surely you don't plan on coming back here?"
Naraku was busy brooding again, oblivious to what anyone else in his fortress was doing and too lost in his plans to actually care. Staring out the window, he deviously plotted, going over the idea again and again inside his mind. The intricate design of things flowing into place. Everytime, he looked for weaknesses, possible escape routes, and places to improve. He would make this plan perfect, nothing would get in his way; and with Yuhi gone, he was sure that absolutely nothing could go wrong.
His head turned ever so slightly as Hakudoushi walked in. Red eyes met hollow pale-purple and they stood there for sometime, simply watching each other. The boy was too much like him, Naraku decided in that time. He was conniving and sneaky, like Kagura in a way, but more dangerous. This one was sure of himself, and was not afraid nor thought that he would fail. His hollow eyes accentuated the bloodlust hidden deep inside; the smug smirk that did not appear on his lips shone brightly in his eyes.
Naraku wondered if he had guessed at why Yuhi had been dismissed, but turned the thought aside. It didn't matter if he knew or not, he had gotten rid of what might have been a weakness before it could act against him. "What do you want?" Naraku finally asked, raising one slender eyebrow at his minion.
Hakudoushi's smirk finally broke on his lips. Raising his chin, he gave Naraku a kind of superior look before answering. "I disposed of the girl, as you ordered." He said with the utmost respect in his tone, though he still looked smug.
Naraku narrowed his red eyes. "I am aware of that." He replied bluntly, not appreciating nonsensical interruptions on his musings.
Hakudoushi's eyes flashed with something Naraku did not like, a scheming look crossed his features for a brief moment. "I supposed you did." He said in a matter-of-fact tone that was meant to strike home with the hanyou.
Naraku pondered him for a moment, aware of what Hakudoushi had been trying to do with his subtle sentences. He was trying to figure out if indeed the girl was some form of weakness of his. He smirked inwardly at the boy's nerve.
They stared at each other again for quite some time before finally Hakudoushi turned and softly padded along the tatami mats to the shouji door. Sliding it open, he turned his head slightly to peer at Naraku one final time with those hollow eyes, all the time smirking at the dark hanyou who sat so lazily by the window.
Yuhi took a break to rest herself. Her head was dizzy and pounding with every beat of her heart. She felt sick, like she could just wretch at any moment, and hunger was starting to bite at her stomach as well, though with the sick feeling, she wasn't sure she could swallow anything. It was a horrible feeling, and the hunger only added to her dizziness.
Panting for breath, she sniffed the air for the scent of water or a sign of another being, but nothing came to her nose. It was as if it was plugged. Thinking back, she realized that she had not smelled the forest around her for some time. What was wrong?
She let her muscles slacken for a moment, her heart still beating hard in her chest. She felt so sick. . .
Groaning slightly, she shut her eyes and welcomed the dark sleep that overcame her.
"Is she alive?"
"Yeah she's alive idiot!"
"Will you two be quiet? She looks sick. . ."
Yuhi's ears perked up at the sudden sound of voices breaking in through her groggy sleep. The muscles around her eyes and forehead pulled together for a moment before relaxing. Groaning slightly, Yuhi opened her eyes to find that it was quite bright and sunny out. She must have slept a whole day!
Her eyelids fluttered open, and she took in a large breath as the world focused sharply and suddenly. "She wakes." A stern voice pointed out near her.
Yuhi's head lolled to one side and she looked at the speaker through half-lidded eyes. "Uh. . . ?"
Her gaze fell on a young black-haired man that was watching her intensely and with concern. She immediately started, backing away from him and whacking her head on the tree in her rush. A hand fell on her arm and Yuhi immediately tried to rip it away again. Frightened by the blurry figures surrounding her, she cried out in shock.
"Please, calm yourself, miss." The black haired youth pleaded with her, backing away in hopes of somehow quelling the instant terror that had arisen in the woman.
But it was not his hand on her arm, but another frail, smaller hand that clasped her arm to calm her and hold her still. Yuhi looked and saw another human, only this one was female. She also had black hair, but hers was such a midnight black that it appeared blue in the sun.
Forcing herself to calm and think rationally, she became instantly stiff and rigid, breathing heavily from the shock and wild thrashing. "I-I'm sorry, I thought. . ." Yuhi shook her head and laid back against the tree again for a moment, cold sweat running down her back. After a moment, she turned back to the human female, feeling more at ease talking to her since she appeared quite gentle and serene at the moment. "Who are you?"
The girl smiled at her. "I'm Kagome, and that's Miroku." Kagome indicated the monk.
Yuhi looked back at him for a moment before nodding. Realizing there were more people than these two humans by sniffing the air, she looked up, narrowing her eyes against the rays of the sun shining through. Kagome, following Yuhi's gaze indicated who the others were swiftly before the woman had time to ask.
"That's Sango-chan, and Kirara." Kagome started, pointing to an auburn haired young woman and a black and cream colored cat with two tales and large red eyes. Yuhi nodded slowly, recognizing the woman as a human taijiya and the cat as a full-demon that was not strong enough for a human form.
"That's Shippo-chan." She moved her hand downward to a small boy about two feet tall standing next to the Taijiya's legs and smiling at her widely. His ears were pointed, and he smelled of demon. 'A kitsune.' Yuhi's eyes widened a touch, but she didn't let her shock shown through.
"And, uhm, this is Inuyasha," She pointed out a young man that had silver hair and cute little dog-ears on top of his head. His golden eyes pierced down at her, studying her closely. Yuhi sniffed and this time her shock was apparent. A fellow hanyou was standing before her! And not only that, but his name rang a familiar bell in her head, though she couldn't place where she had heard it before. Delving backward into her memories, she found that they were hazy and distorted and that it hurt to try puzzle over the past.
Though none of the humans or the kitsune noticed her shock, Inuyasha sensed it and his eyes narrowed a little. Kagome frowned at him. "He's ok, just a little moody right now." She said with a nervous smile. Then, waiting patiently, she waited for the woman before her's name.
Yuhi looked them all over again before straightening up. "I'm Yuhi, it's nice to meet you all." She started and then rubbed her head again, groggily.
"Are you ok?" Kagome asked worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. . .may I ask. . .what's going on here?" Yuhi asked, not trying to sound rude, but she had no idea what these people were doing around her.
The woman named Sango knelt down so that Yuhi would not have to crane her neck upward. "We found you lying here, you were pale and looked like you might be sick. There isn't a village for a miles, so we thought maybe you hurt. . ."
She tried to explain without offending the woman that she already knew was a hanyou. Inuyasha had been quite startled to find another hanyou in the forest, and if hanyou's were all like Inuyasha, then this one would be offended at the idea of being weak and helped by humans also.
Yuhi only nodded, smiling softly at them all. "Thank you, but I'm fine. I just started to feel dizzy so I decided to take a rest. . ." Yuhi drifted off, knowing what the next question would be.
"Where is the place you live, would you like us to take you there, Miss?" It was the monk's turn to speak.
Yuhi grimaced inwardly. To tell the truth, she wasn't sure what to tell them.
"I. . .don't exactly live anywhere." She replied truthfully, casting her eyes away as she smiled ruefully at herself.
"I'm so sorry. . ." Kagome said, placing a comforting hand on her arm again.
Yuhi smiled at her a little and shook her head. Trying to get to her feet now, she pressed her palms firmly on the trunk of the tree and forced them to climb upward as she lifted herself. "It's fine, thank you for worrying about me and for stopping to help. . ."
Kagome, Sango and Miroku stood as well, watching her with wary concern. She seemed shaky for some reason. Yuhi was indeed feeling better; the nausea had been destroyed and replaced now with an aching hunger and thirst.
"Where will you go from here, Miss Yuhi?" Miroku asked, genuinely concerned.
Yuhi thought that over, rubbing her hand over her chin and around her neck. "Well," She finally began, smiling in embarrassment. "I'm not sure."
"We would not mind dropping you off at the nearest village, Miss Yuhi." Miroku offered. Inuyasha started to protest immediately, but Kagome silenced him.
"Uhm, well, I-" Yuhi stuttered out, flustered by the proposition. "I-I couldn't ask you to do that for me. Really, I'm fine." She insisted. She accepted their kindness with gratitude, but was always one to never ask for anything from others if she could give nothing in return. Besides, the name of 'Inuyasha' kept making her stomach drop as if he were some dangerous foe and she didn't care to keep having that feeling.
Miroku smiled devilishly and ushered her toward a now-transformed Kirara. If not for the monk's persistence, Yuhi would have been completely and utterly startled by the flaming youkai before her, but under these unnerving circumstances, she could only gape from the one to the other as she feebly dragged her feet. "Oh, no, please Sir monk, I couldn't ask-"
"You didn't ask though, I'm insisting. It wouldn't be right for a humble monk such as myself to let a Lady such as you stay in this hollow wood all by yourself." Miroku said cheerfully, smiling at her still.
Kagome, Sango and Shippo all sweatdropped and sighed at the monk's antics. Sango hoisted up her hiraikotsu and walked after him. "We'd better go and make sure he doesn't frighten Yuhi-chan too much." Kagome sighed again and started to walk off too, Shippo right on her heels.
Inuyasha was last to follow, sniffing the air testily for the longest time. Furrowing his brow, he frowned after the retreating party. For a moment, and only a moment, he would have sworn he smelled Naraku's miasma. . .
Another chapter up! And finals and the Holidays are coming up.
On that note, I'd like to say that I'm not sure when I'll get to update again next. I'll work on what I can, but I can't promise anything. Sorry.
Thanks for your continued support and don't worry, everything is gonna work out in the end for poor Yuhi and Nara-chan. so death threats. . .though Nara-chan seems to find them eternally amusing. . .
Ah, well, have a Happy Holiday and see you all soon hopefully!! Ja'ne!
Review Please.