The Trap of Innocence
Part VI
Hannya ran to the House of Shinomori. He arrived wet and his appearance startled the servant girl who answered the door. His eyes glowed like fiery embers and the girl bowed herself down out of the way and he swept by her without notice. He stalked down the halls toward the Shinomori library. It was dark and empty inside. He was forced to wait a long few moments before the library caretaker, Kai, appeared. He had learned once before not to touch the books out of the presence of the library caretaker and didn't desire to repeat the episode.
The old man Kai was stooped over and he bowed lowly. "Good day, Hannya-san. How may I assist?"
"I'm looking for information on the House of Ashataru."
The old man's bushy white eyebrows shot up. "Ah, yes, yes… The Noble House of Ashataru, such a wise and cautious group. This way…" He turned and hobbled down the aisle. "Do you need specific information?"
"I heard rumors. Is it recorded that there are any survivors of the Ashataru House and that the family crest disappeared?"
"Yes, yes, very true, Hannya-san. The Ashataru House, wise and cautious they were, they did not foresee the attack by Shishio's group. The House of Saitou, however, has always been paranoid and proactive and Shishio's forces in that domain were decimated. The Ashataru's chose to wait and see and the entire family was wiped out except for a child, the lone heir of Ashataru." He stopped at a shelf and pulled out a thick red bound book. Turning, he hobbled back toward a table and flipped it open. Hannya peered over the shorter man's shoulder.
"Ah, yes, yes… Here. The last child of the Ashataru family was a girl named Chiraki. She is known to have survived the massacre of her family but she disappeared and the family crest, it was a necklace, it disappeared also."
"Would she still be alive?"
"Oh yes. She couldn't be that old, barely a century and a half by now."
"Are there any pictures of the women in the family?" Hannya pressed and Kai flipped a few more pages, landing on a family portrait. Hannya stared at the faces frozen in time and searched his memory. Thinking... thinking...
Turning on his heel he curtly thanked the librarian. He needed to see Aoshi-sama immediately.
Alone again, Misao wandered toward the front door and pulled it open. There was no point in staying, he obviously wasn't going to help her. The pedant had something to do with a person or group called "Ashataru" and she was apparently one of them or related to them. Her mysterious mother had to be the connection. She wondered, suddenly, if that woman was alive. She had always thought of the woman, her mother, as dead. It struck her as odd that she had never thought of whether or not she lived, not even when a human could still be alive.
Standing in the open doorway about to step back out into the rain, she was stopped by the servant's voice behind her.
"Makimachi-san! Please take a coat with you!"
Misao let the woman slip a coat over her shoulders. She didn't question the size or availability of the coat, she knew Hannya had clothes of hers all over his house despite her infrequent visits. She thanked the woman and stepped out into the rain before pulling the hood up over her head. The necklace was tucked in its pouch close to her skin beneath her clothes.
For a long moment of indecision she stood there and let the rain strike her before she turned and began to run.
"Kai says the heir of Ashataru is most definitely still alive."
Aoshi stared. "Shishio destroyed the House of Ashataru, his followers would not be interested in returning that group to power."
Hannya paced irritably. "That priestess from the shrine called Misao and Misao went there to see them. She gave her something and Misao came to see me. When I met with her, Misao had in her possession the family crest of the House of Ashataru. The priestess told Misao her mother had left it with her."
Aoshi's head snapped up. "She's not a half-breed? You mated with the last heir of Ashataru?"
"I can't remember," Hannya replied shortly. "I don't remember anything that far back. If she isn't half-human, why does her virgin blood act as a ward? How is that possible? How does she survive? Why don't her seals kill her?"
"The woman could've cursed her," Aoshi replied calmly leaning back in his chair. "It would be easy enough to find out but the seals must come off. Where is she?"
"I left her behind at the house."
"Did you tell her anything?"
"No," Hannya replied still pacing. "She's probably gone by now looking for her own answers. She still has the family crest with her. It catches fire whenever someone not family related touches it."
Aoshi nodded. "First, find Misao."
Watching Hannya leave, Aoshi was torn with indecision. Should he wait or should he too go and look for her? She wasn't a half-breed; she wasn't half human. He wanted to find her and sink his teeth into her and mark every inch of skin as his own. Damn Hannya for getting in his way! He growled lowly.
Misao was the daughter of the last heir of the House of Ashataru. Taking her to mate would add centuries of history and regality to his ruling claim. The House of Ashataru had ruled for centuries, longer even than the House of Saitou. After the House of Ashataru had fallen, chaos fell over the territory.
All of the junior houses fell into war over the open slot at the top. He, himself, had gone to war against friend and neighbor. Heads fell and blood stained the land, though it had been him who remained victorious in the end holding his bloody katana he did not look back on that part of his life proudly. Rather, it made him feel old. Misao was so young in comparison.
Moreover, where was the mysterious Ashataru Chiraki? Should he search for her also? Did he want to raise the ghosts of the past? Did he want to alert those now serving him that there were living members of the House of Ashataru? How would it damage his ruling claim?
He had thought the human woman that birthed Misao dead ages ago, but if she was birthed from one of his own kind… Why had the woman abandoned both Misao and the crest? Was it planned? Did she wish to be distanced from the dead House? Perhaps she wanted a new life and becoming pregnant had afforded her a way to be rid of the troublesome family emblem?
He stood. He would get nowhere speculating from his chair and it had been a long time since he'd had any active work… Or at the very least any challenging active work…
Standing, he grabbed his coat and stepped out into the hall. Okina was at the other end chatting with a maid who, once seeing him, slipped down another corridor and disappeared. Okina turned about as he approached with a dampened smile.
"Hello, Aoshi-sama. Can I assist with anything?"
"There is a woman named Ashataru Chiraki, she is likely using another name. I want her found and I want it kept secret. Bring her here."
Okina's jaw almost fell. "Ashataru?" he whispered.
"Find her, "Aoshi repeated and stepped out the door past the old man and promptly vanished. A drop of rain never touched him.
Misao's house was the lone building in a long stretch of green. The shock of the bright and sunny afternoon sky was a momentary disorientation for the mission driven Aoshi. He did not feel Misao's presence within the house, he knew it even as he approached it, that she would not be found there. Walking up the stairs and crossing the porch, he paused in knocking.
The person inside was not an owner, but a guest.
He reached for the door handle and let himself in wondering briefly if he would find the boy inside going through Misao's drawers. He had not forgotten the task he'd given the boy thinking Misao to be a human virgin. That had been lurking in his mind constantly. He had, the entire time, been on the edge of betraying Hannya's wishes. It made his insides boil that Hannya would not approve of him and he was tempted, this way and that, on what he should do about it.
Now, it was not an issue. It was a great indecisive mass off his shoulders. He was free to do as he wished, to do as he'd always wished because he was the House leader and Misao belonged to him. Better than that, she was an Ashataru heir and he needed her… First, he had to get rid of the boy…
Inside, he found him at the stove, smiling at a pot of soup. The boy spoke to him without ever glancing up. "Good afternoon, Shinomori-sama. Misao said she was going away for a few days."
Aoshi ignored it. "You are no longer needed to complete the task."
Soujiro turned and met Aoshi's gaze, his smile falling. Did the boy sense his death was near? Aoshi reached into the pocket of his coat and Soujiro slightly tensed. "There is an acquaintance of yours, Kamatari, making trouble."
Between Aoshi's fingers was a glass vial; he tossed it at Soujiro who strove to catch the precious item. Turning, Aoshi issued his last orders. "Kill him. Misao will not be returning to this House. You may take this job from Shikijou."
The vial in Soujiro's hands was dark, the blood inside rich. To drink it was to bind himself forever to Shinomori Aoshi as he had done with Shishio, but it would save his life. Did he want to live and serve the House of Shinomori? Did he want to kill Kamatari?
Either way, he was released from his seduction of Misao and found himself relieved. The possessiveness displayed by the House Leader toward her was dangerous and frightening. He had had the unpleasant suspicions that if he had seduced her, the House Leader wouldn't cure him, but simply kill him.
He could take the blood, be cured, and take over Misao's job as a Realm Guardian all in one happy little package. Something, however, was nagging at him. Everything felt wrong. Where, he wondered, was Misao? Why wasn't she coming back? Should he go and look for her?
Misao frowned. The rain hadn't stopped, it was dark and she was, not for the first time, completely lost. She had learned the hard way just how dangerous it was to get lost in the Dark Realm. She glanced around but saw nothing but the lanky silhouettes of trees. In the open she was susceptible to the hunts of other vampires and in the forests she was vulnerable against the beasts. The beasts were worse, quieter, faster and with bigger teeth and nastier intentions. She was mostly soaked except for the scant protection of her waistcoat.
Her legs were bare, mud was splashed up to her knees from running, her ankles and feet wet through. Her toes squished inside her shoes and made her gait unsteady on the already unstable ground beneath her feet.
From the right, she heard something out of place but saw nothing. The hair on the back of her neck rose in alarm, her body tingled. Someone was watching… She took an uneasy step backwards, debating…
Run or fight?
Run or fight?
Run or fight?
Her heart pounded as she thought, her eyes frantically searching for her enemy. Was she being paranoid or was there someone there? She felt out of sorts, her head fuzzy. What should she do?
Run or fight?
The trees seemed to part and she blinked, rubbing her eyes as someone appeared before her. She could see the glint of light off a long, bladed weapon and the color teal very clearly in the darkness. Was her enemy glowing? Or… part of … her?
"Lurking, lurking in the dark… Want to play?" A raspy voice whispered.
Woman?
Run or fight?
Was it too late to run? Her feet felt planted.
The woman came closer and closer, tiny steps, and the blade became clearer and clearer, shining in the dark.
Scythe.
It was a scythe.
Misao patted her pockets. She didn't have her weapon; she had come on whim and not thought it out. She was wandering the Dark Realm without a weapon! Unexpectedly, her foe stopped and leaned against the scythe.
"What is your name?"
"Misao," she shakily answered, trying to steady herself and think. She needed a plan!
"Misao… Misao… That's a cute name; I like it. I'm Kamatari."
Misao was puzzled. Who was this person?
"Let's play, Misao."
Without warning, the woman dove at her, lifting the scythe and swinging it down in a perfect arc. Misao leapt and slipped, falling backwards landing in a clumsy heap in the mud.
"Clumsy girl aren't you, Misao?"
Kamatari laughed. She couldn't see the scythe wielder, the color of the kimono seemed to have faded, she could only see the blade. Misao rolled as the weapon suddenly swept down toward her again. She wasn't going to make it, too slow…
Too slow!
The tip of the scythe struck her knee, Misao froze as it sank into the tiny bone inside her knee and stopped. Everything seemed to stop. The rain was still falling, but she could no longer feel it. A deep, burning fire felt like it was erupting from inside her. She was hot all over and the scythe point in her knee burned.
There was a sudden flash of light and Misao closed her eyes. When she pulled her arm away from her face she saw the point of the scythe was broken off and jutting out of her flesh and the scythe was feet away from her alit with fire. It was a deep red fire. She watched it fascinated as burned.
"Oh! Nice trick, Misao. I like that one."
Her opponent seemed amused. Was the crazy woman trying to kill her or not? Her knee burned and she hissed as she tried to move. A shadow appeared over her and suddenly the kimono was visible again, but Kamatari seemed like a black shadow. There was a slight painful pressure on her knee and then the blade was gone.
"Why can't I see you?" Misao asked.
Kamatari straightened, standing over her. "I don't know, why can't you?"
Misao put her hands against the ground and pushed herself up. "Are you a psycho or something?"
Kamatari laughed again. "You're fun, let's travel a little while together. I'm lonely traveling alone."
Misao started to protest but Kamatari linked her arm through Misao's and started pulling her along, the burning scythe was left behind.
"So, Misao…" Kamatari snuggled up against her. "Tell me all about yourself…"
AN:End chapter 6.
