Chapter 11: And the Truth Will Out
The next day began warmly; it was immediately evident that it would be a fine, hot day – not, perhaps the most fun kind of day for marching.
Which made it a good thing that they wouldn't be doing so.
Since the next stage of operations in their plans was for Izayoi to hunt down the youkai that was somewhere in the area stealing the life from human and youkai alike, only her father, Touga, and Ichirou would be accompanying her. Trying to take an army on such an endeavor would get them exactly nowhere, as the youkai would simply disappear until they were all gone again.
No, for this endeavor, they needed stealth and speed.
It was still very early when Hiraku had his orders delivered to Hideyoshi; the injured soldiers would go back to the palace escorted by a small guard of those uninjured to act as escort for the builders on their way back, while the bulk of the remaining army unit would guard the dispossessed villagers until the builders arrived, and then would render their aid in rebuilding. With that many men to do the work, the village should be put to rights rather quickly.
In the meantime, an escort had been sent to the village with orders to bring back any and all survivors. Once they arrived, Izayoi would help any that were injured, and then begin apportioning the goods they had taken from the bandits out to the villagers.
This would take most of the day and once all of that was finished, on the following morning, they would leave to hunt the youkai.
When Izayoi had questioned the women about any strange occurrences that might be attributable to the youkai, she had gotten an earful; apparently, the entire region was being affected by the stones this youkai was placing.
One of the women, an older, sweet-faced woman named Iriai* told her of finding the body of a peddler on the road into their village from the northeast over a week ago. His wares were untouched, yet he and his small horse were both dead – and looked as though they had been for months, their bodies dry and desiccated. She had been too afraid to touch anything and had immediately returned home and told their headman.
She herself, however, had not felt anything out of place when she found the body of the peddler – which told Izayoi that the youkai was actually hovering around and replacing the stones in different areas as he felt they were needed. By now, the youkai could be quite strong, as this kind of haunt was extremely weak at first, gaining strength by draining other lifeforms of their own strength.
Another odd thing that had been seen was that even the animals in the area were being affected. Some of the men were finding animals dead in the same manner as the peddler, simply laying where they'd fallen. Because of this, game had become scarce in the area, as the animals either died off or left the area for less dangerous places.
This was actually highly unusual for this type of youkai; they generally left the animal population alone, as they were overall rather weak to begin with. The more complicated the life-form, the more power, and this youkai appeared to even be taking small rodents and even insects.
Brow furrowed as she took that in, Izayoi thanked the women for their information, and then setting that topic aside momentarily, took the young, pregnant woman aside and told her of her new circumstances. The girl was overwhelmed and fell to her knees with gratitude that her worries for her life and her child's were no longer valid, knowing that she would now be taken care of.
After managing to calm the emotional girl, Izayoi escaped, and immediately went searching for Touga. She wanted to talk to him about the very odd behavior of this youkai and what it could mean. Priestess she might be, but Touga was youkai himself and had been around for centuries. He had a lot more experience than she did and might have come across something like this before.
She found him close by, which was beginning to be rather a noticeable habit of his; setting aside her confusion as to why he would be hovering so near to her all the time, she begged his attention and he took her aside immediately, curious as to her need.
Telling him everything of what the women had been telling her, she fell silent once done and waited for his answer, outwardly patient, yet inwardly fidgeting.
Pursing his lips, Touga frowned. "Even insects, you say?"
Nodding, she expanded on that. "Yes. According to all of them, fields of dead insects have been found all around their village and one a day further away to the north, as well."
"It is a female, then, I believe. She has given birth and is taking every bit of power she can from any source of it, no matter how small. And with what you have said of the pattern of attacks, I would bet that she is somewhere in between the two villages." His frown deepened. "Would you attend me while I ask the women a few questions? They may not be willing to speak to me without someone else at hand."
That got a frown out of Izayoi, but she nodded and led him towards the women who were eating a small meal as they awaited the rest of the survivors of the attack on their village to return. As soon as they caught sight of Touga, they all stopped eating and stared, uncertain of how to behave.
In an attempt to ease their worry, he smiled lightly and bowed to them all as Izayoi introduced him, and his legendary charm worked once again, the women smiling and blushing as they all stood and bowed in return. Izayoi sighed – at least they hadn't reacted in instant fear. It was better than most youkai would be received by humans.
"Ladies," he murmured, a twinkle in his gold eyes, "Izayoi-hime-" he took note of the stunned looks the women gave him as he named her hime, "-has been telling me of the youkai that has been plaguing your village and another village to the north. Could you tell me what the terrain between your village and the other is like? We are trying to decide where it might be hiding."
Iriai, eyes wide as she bowed to Izayoi, spoke up. "First we must apologize for our less than proper manner with the hime-sama-" they all bowed deeply again, to Izayoi's embarrassment, "-we did not know who you were, my Lady."
Izayoi waved her words off and begged the women to stop bowing. "I am not here as a hime – I'm here in my capacity as a priestess, that's all. Please, speak freely and do not worry about insulting me."
Smiling, Iriai bowed her head and then turned her attention to Touga, who was watching Izayoi's manner with approval in his eyes. The woman speaking his name pulled his attention back to the topic at hand.
"The land north of here between the two villages is mostly open, pleasant forest. There is a fairly large river that runs generally parallel to the road. However, just the other side of the river a little less than halfway between the two villages, there is a rocky hill that juts up out of the land around. Most people do not go there as it is said to be haunted, but I have heard stories of underground caves there, my Lord, my Lady," she finished.
Touga nodded. "That is exactly the type of environment this type of youkai would be looking for. That is where we will find our youkai, make no mistake," he sighed as he thought over the whole thing. After a few moments with a far-away gaze, he once more bowed politely towards the women, though only Iriai had spoken. "I am grateful for this information, ladies. Peace and good fortune be upon you."
The women all murmured the same in return, and then Touga took Izayoi's arm and began walking towards the area her father was resting.
He sighed. "This is going to be more difficult than we anticipated," he said, glancing at her out of the corner of one golden eye as her hair swirled around in the light breeze. "I do not know if your sire will allow you to go into the lion's den, so to speak, Izayoi. Those underground caves will be a dangerous place to fight them – and it is no odds that your arrows will be useless in such close quarters."
Thoughtful eyes met his. "Tell me... how many young are we looking at?"
"Could be anywhere from ten to twenty. Taking into account how widespread her predations, I would say closer to twenty."
A frown touched her brow. "And father is already injured," she said. "Nothing ever goes the way you think it will, does it." It wasn't a question.
She came to a stop a distance away from her father, obviously deep in thought, and Touga stopped with her, wondering what she was thinking.
"So I need to figure out how to keep father out of this," she said after a few moments, and Touga blinked, then blinked again, stunned at the direction of her thoughts.
"My dear," he said incredulously, "surely you realize that your father isn't going to allow you to go into such a battle? It is not a question of whether he will go, but whether you will."
Ebony tresses danced in the sunlight as Izayoi shook her head. "No, father will not demure. He said I could go, and he will keep to his word, though it seems more dangerous than we first thought," she replied.
Brow furrowed, he asked, "How can you be so sure?"
Laughing up at him as sunlight flashed in her eyes, she said, "Because you will be there. He has great faith in you, my Lord."
"Izayoi," he began, his voice at once concerned and yet pleased, "again, your arrows will not work in the caves. What will you do?"
"Did you think arrows are the only thing I can infuse my reiki into? I am not like a monk who's houriki is applied through sutra and other objects. I have more freedom with my own power. I can purify with just my hands," she finished, letting a little of her power out to cast a pink glow around her hands as she held them out before her so he could see. "If they are far, I can kill them. If they are near, I can kill them just as well."
Surprised, Touga just stared at her for a few moments. "You truly are a puzzle, Izayoi," he murmured finally. "Not even Midoriko had that skill. She had to have something inanimate to infuse her powers into. She chose a katana, and was a truly skilled warrior with it. But you..." he trailed off, lifting a clawed finger to run it gently down her cheek, then smiled. "You are full of surprises, aren't you? What other things are you hiding away from us, I wonder?"
She blushed under his admiring gaze and gentle touch, not sure how to take it. "They aren't secrets... it's not like I'm trying to hide anything. If I were, I wouldn't have told you I could do this."
"I know, my dear," he said softly, "I merely tease. But come... it seems the survivors of the attack on the village are arriving. One thing, before we go meet them, however," he said, frowning as though this had just occurred to him, "with what we have found out, I think we should speak to your Lord father and advise that the villagers and his men stay here until we have destroyed this nest of youkai. To have them head back before it is destroyed would be disastrous – so many life force signatures in one area would be immediately harvested."
Calming her racing heart, she nodded and turned to follow him to her father, surreptitiously touching her cheek where he'd touched her with numbed fingers – his touch had ignited something deep within her that was burning very brightly. Oh, he is truly dangerous to any one of a female persuasion. What am I to do? He will only end up breaking my heart, though through no fault of his own. It is hardly his fault that I cannot seem to resist him...
Perhaps it were best if I try to avoid him as much as possible save for in formal surroundings. If I keep to myself unless specifically needed, then maybe I can keep myself from becoming any more fascinated.
Somewhere deep inside knew, though.
Knew that it was already too late.
~oOo~
The day was busy, and indeed, Izayoi spent a great deal of it redistributing the wealth based on family size and need. Any who could claim the goods that the bandits had stolen specifically from them had their belongings returned to them, and then the things from the cave were brought out and distributed in a fair and impartial manner.
After all was said and done, the villagers could almost look back on the bandits' attack with favor; they were much, much wealthier than when they started out. Still, for some, like that young mother, the cost of their new wealth was far too high.
As the day had worn on, Izayoi had taken note of the headman of the other village hovering near and watching almost covetously all the goods that the villagers were getting. It was easy to see he wanted some of it for himself, and when he caught sight of the pretty young widow getting her share and heard how she'd lost her husband and family in the attack, interest flared in his narrowing eyes.
For some reason, that made Izayoi very uneasy.
Ever since they had left the palace on this journey, she'd had an odd feeling as though something was wrong – as though something evil walked near. But she hadn't been able to trace it – until now.
It was coming from that man, and she began to wonder if he'd been possessed somehow. But after studying him, she shook her head in frustration – that wasn't it. He wasn't possessed at all.
He was what was evil.
Sincerely concerned, she went back to the women she'd helped the other night and asked if any of them knew anything of the headman from the other village. Most said no... but one person apparently did know something.
This woman, one who had arrived earlier with the survivors of the attack, looked around almost fearfully and then practically whispered her story.
"I used to live in that village, my Lady, until I was married to a man from this village. Back then, he had a wife – a very comely wife. She was younger than him, but all that was proper in her manner and soft-spoken and gentle." She looked around again to make sure no one else was listening, and then continued. "One day it was announced that he would be a father, and the village celebrated his good fortune with him. However, about two months later it was noticed that no one had seen his wife in some time. Whenever someone would go to visit her, he would claim the pregnancy was making her ill and that she was bedridden, and send them away."
Izayoi glanced around at the rapt faces of the women, and frowned, suddenly uneasily certain where this was going. She listened closely as the woman finished her tale.
"... about six moons after she had last been seen, the headman came forward and said that his wife had vanished and that he had been afraid to say anything, because he could find no trace of her and didn't want to frighten the other villagers with talk of a vengeful ghost stealing people's lives. It wasn't more than a couple of years later that this new haunt started being noticed."
Frowning deeper, Izayoi said, "The headman told us this had only started in the last moon or so."
Solemn eyes holding hers, the woman shook her head. "No... it started a long time ago. It's just that recently, it has gotten much worse. Now, that hill between the villages is cursed and haunted where it never was 'afore, and the taint has slowly moved from that village to this." She leaned forward confidentially, and Izayoi listened, breath bated, "That village has also lost a lot of children since that time, as well. One or two here and there would go missing... and then a few months later, another couple. Many people have left that village because they believe it is cursed. Most believe the headman killed his wife and it's her come back for vengeance."
Thoughts chaotic and extremely concerned, Izayoi thanked the woman for the information, and once more hurried after Touga. This could change everything...
If that story was true, they could be dealing with two things – a youkai infestation, and a ghost, as well. And her father would have to be told, because if it turned out that the headman had indeed murdered his wife and unborn child, then her father would have to pass sentence. Such a tale would sicken him.
After a hurried consultation with Touga, it was agreed that the matter should be brought to her father's attention, and Izayoi did just that, pulling him aside as well as her brother and filling them in on all that she and Touga had garnered from the villagers.
Eyes narrowing in thought, Hiraku was silent as the three with him waited to hear what he would say. After serious consideration for several minutes, he spoke.
"Come the morrow, when we go after the youkai we will take this man with us and see what we may see. For if he did commit such a crime, then he will not want to return to the scene of it and may give himself away."
Izayoi nodded but flashed a look at Touga, then said, "Father... I don't think you should go with us. Your injury-"
He cut her off. "I am fine, my dear. You know I can still wield a sword, so that is no excuse for me to stay behind. If I don't go, neither do you."
Upset, but unable to do anything about it Izayoi nodded reluctantly, and the group broke up as she went to sit near the fire and eat her rations, taking practically her first real break of the day.
Watching her sit near the fire lost in her thoughts, Hiraku shook his head. "She is sometimes too over-protective," he chuckled, and Ichirou nodded, knowing what his father was speaking of. "But I am truly fine, the wound doesn't pain much and I daresay will heal quickly."
Touga didn't say much, but also returned to the fire to sit near Izayoi, becoming lost in his own thoughts.
This youkai... could very well be the ghost of the murdered woman come back to claim vengeance. And the stolen children from the village could be her 'young'. It was known that sometimes humans could become youkai in certain circumstances, and something like this could indeed have started the whole curse. But there was a lot of information missing – like, where did the woman's body go, and why had the man killed her and his unborn child to begin with? Something had to have happened after he had declared that he was to be a father to the village – he had seemed pleased and happy about such an event... at first, according to the story. So what had changed?
Still... with a quick look in Izayoi's direction, he decided not to mention his thoughts – he wanted to see just how much she'd been taught of such things while being trained on the shrine. It would begin to give him an idea of the extent of her knowledge so that he knew what kind of training she would need once he had taken her as his bride.
He was not concerned about her ability to learn – she was highly intelligent and learned quite quickly, not needing to be told something more than once to have it cataloged and filed away in her mind. She would need that sharp mind to deal with the politics and intrigues in his palace, that was a certainty.
She was actually very much like Sesshoumaru, he came to the odd conclusion, just without the cold, better-than-thou attitude. He could hardly wait to see that confrontation, oh, he couldn't. He was quite certain it would be a meeting that no one in the citadel would ever forget. His ice cold son meeting her unbreakable steel spine...
He couldn't help the chuckle that came from him at that thought.
Yes... that meeting would indeed be remembered for centuries, he was sure.
~oOo~
Morning dawned bright and clear, and Izayoi and the others were ready early to begin the hunt. When informed that he would be attending them the headman paled and begged to be left behind, pleading weak nerves as an excuse.
Hiraku was unsympathetic, and in short order the group left the encampment behind, heading for the hill that the villagers had spoken of. It would be a march of several hours, and Izayoi strode confidently at the front, leading the way with her senses wide open. Touga chose to walk with her, as was becoming more and more usual, and Ichirou, Hiraku, and the cringing headman followed closely behind, not obstructing the bond that was beginning to form between the two, though Izayoi was yet unaware of it.
She was, however, beginning to notice his seemingly constant presence wherever she happened to be, and was very confused as to the reason he was spending so much time near her, when it was her father he was supposed to be visiting.
After much thought on the matter, she decided it was simply because of their journey; he was being protective of his ally's - and becoming friend's – daughter. She could really see no other reason for one such as him to waste so much time on one so far below him.
Izayoi had no false modesty. She knew her importance in the scheme of things, but she also didn't presume to place herself higher than that. She was the hime of the Setsuna family, and with that came some minor importance – namely, what alliance she could be used to seal. And then there was the added bit of authority that came with her powerful and commanding aura. But that was all – she was nowhere near in importance to a Lord, and especially not a youkai Lord of Touga's stature. Normally, their paths would never have crossed, the only reason they had being her father's far-sighted vision for peaceful alliance between human and youkai.
Truly honored to have had the chance to meet him and even spend time in his presence, she was under no illusion – she was simply the daughter of an ally he was forming a friendship with, and that was all. There would never be anything more than that – there couldn't be. And though something in that realization made some part of her ache, she was determined to force herself to acknowledge that fact. Her fascination with him could come to nothing except her own broken heart. She really needed to begin keeping her distance from him and with that thought in mind could only wish that this journey would quickly end. Then he would stop feeling the need to protect her, and she could begin to keep herself separate from him. It was the only way to keep herself intact.
Touga could literally smell the emotions roiling off Izayoi's body, and was almost amused – he was positive that she was berating herself for her attraction to him and trying to convince herself to avoid him so as to not let anything deeper form for him in her heart. He'd already decided it was time to start his courtship, and with this in mind he broke into her thoughts, shocking the poor woman at his perception of her state of mind.
"You are not beneath me, Izayoi. You are my equal."
Startled, Izayoi blinked at him, taking a moment to catch on to what he'd said. Then she blushed deeply, yanking her gaze back to the trail. "It is kind of you to say so, Touga," she said softly, "but we both know that is not true. You are a Lord, and a youkai Lord at that. I am a simple human, bound to time and death in a way you are not. Where, in that, is there any equality? I do not think to thrust myself into places that are so far above me."
"Tell me, little hime – why do you question me? Am I not able to decide who is equal to me and who is not? You are far more my equal than any other female I have ever met. You would be an asset to any one who won your hand in marriage – human, or youkai," he said quietly, though with a certain emphasis that Izayoi did not miss.
Blush deepening, she refused to look at him. "Why do you speak of marriage, my Lord?" she frowned. "What has that to do with the issue of my equality to you, or lack thereof?"
With an inward smile at what he was about to do to the poor girl, Touga said, "This one would only acknowledge a female as equal were she to be considered a suitable match as a wife. I am very picky, Izayoi-" he grinned as she actually stumbled in her shock as she turned to stare at him, eyes wide, "-and only the very best of the very best of females would hear me call them equal. As high in breeding, power, and stature as my son's mother is, still, I did not call even her equal. In fact, you are the only female I have ever given that honor to."
Heart pounding as she took in his words, Izayoi came to a stop, actually needing to catch her breath. She just stared at him, unable to think of what to say. He couldn't mean what it sounds like, she thought wildly as she stared at him, something close to horror in her expression. Because if he did...
No. He was merely being kind... he had to be.
Noticing everyone's eyes on her, she abruptly shook herself to clear her mind and apologized shortly for her stop, then began walking again, trying desperately to get her thoughts back in order. After a few minutes of silence she began to calm down, having pretty much convinced herself that what he had said was something other than what she'd thought she'd heard.
Touga chuckled to himself. Now was not really the time to expound on his previous statement to her, as she really needed to keep all her mind on what they were doing. But soon... oh, yes, soon, he would be informing her of why, exactly, he was spending so much time in her presence, even seeking her out when she tried to avoid him.
Forcibly calming her mind, Izayoi took note of the smoke coming from just ahead – they were nearing the village that had been attacked by the bandits and she needed to keep her head about her, especially now – she needed to search out any of those stones that had been placed and destroy them. Just destroying the youkai wouldn't stop the stones from continuing to collect the life force of anyone that came in close enough contact. Once they'd reached their limit b and weren't harvested, they would simply explode harmlessly – still, the loss of life in such a wasteful manner was absolutely not acceptable.
There was no telling how long this would take, either, as she had no idea of how many of these stones had been placed. She figured they would be at this for at least two days, if not more. She sighed... two days or more in Touga's presence in so close a manner.
I'm doomed.
Her attention was drawn to those behind her as the headman once again began pleading not to be taken into the forest in search of the youkai, and she had to shake her head as her father ordered him to silence or risk being gagged. What a coward. On the other hand it's interesting just how afraid he is of being faced with these youkai... I wonder what he has to fear from them that his fear is so personal. Even I can almost smell the fear wafting off him. There is much more here than there seemed to be from his original story.
As they entered the confines of the damaged village, Izayoi had to hold down her anger – there was not much left. The bandits had been thorough – whatever they couldn't steal, they'd destroyed. The group, now grim, walked the length of the village to the other side and quickly found the road out of it towards the forest ahead, and they weren't even in the treeline when Izayoi began feeling the tug on her life force. Coming to an abrupt halt, she raised her hand signaling those behind to stop, as well, and turned to face them.
"You all must stay here. Touga can accompany me, as he can shield himself, but there is a stone near, and you cannot get any closer."
Ichirou spoke up almost before she'd finished, his brow furrowed in concern. "What about you? How can you get this thing and still be safe?"
"My reiki shields me, Ichirou. I'll be fine. It won't take but a few moments to be rid of the stone. Wait here, please." With that, she turned and disappeared into the trees ahead, moving swiftly towards the feel of the stone, Touga two steps behind and hand on Tessaiga as he kept all his senses on the beautiful and powerful woman before him. Every time she stepped up and spoke with authority, it only drew him to her more, and as fast as he was following his fascination with her, it was only a matter of time before his heart was engaged – in fact, it already was around the edges and he had no intention of slowing his descent. He was letting himself fall in love with the little hime and was quite happy to do so.
With that came an unparalleled need to protect her in every way possible. Into combat she may go, when as his wife they went to war with the dragon, but he would protect her with everything within him – even in combat. Tessaiga thrummed happily at his determination to protect the seemingly fragile young woman ahead of him – after all, she was what the sword had been forged to protect, even more than just the general purpose of the sword as a protector of ningens.
Izayoi, oblivious to the thoughts of the powerful male behind her, locked onto the stone with a single-minded determination that Touga quite admired and within minutes the first of the stones had been destroyed, nothing left but a smoldering pile of bubbling rock when she was finished.
Frowning as the stone before her died, Izayoi growled inwardly – she could feel another one, though a bit of a distance away; it seemed that the youkai had placed many of these things and the duty now before her would be quite onerous and time consuming.
She sighed. "I think we are going to be out here for a while, Touga," she said, turning to look at him with a rather tight expression, "as I can already feel the pull of another stone. It seems these youkai have been busy."
He swept his arm out and bowed slightly. "Lead on, then. While tedious, it must be done and I will follow where you go."
Choosing to keep her questions on his exact meaning to herself, Izayoi smiled politely and thanked him for his company and protection, then swiftly returned to the others to lead them on towards the next stone.
~oOo~
Airi watched as the massive doors in the hei swung open to admit a group of soldiers back into the compound, taking note of their injuries. They must be some of those that went with my Lord Husband and his father – and Izayoi. Her mouth turned down as her jealousy of the beautiful and powerful young woman spiked. What is it about her that everyone is so fascinated with her? Sure, she's pretty, but so are others. What's so special about her above others that she is treated so highly by her family and even everyone else that she comes into contact with?
Turning with a discontented pout from the sight of those returning, she moved back into the palace, attended by her ladies. The giggling was getting on her nerves as they winked flirtatiously at some of the men and she snapped at them, ordering them to leave her be. In moments she was alone, and she wandered the halls of the palace feeling peckish and bored.
Her husband was gone, her ladies doing nothing to ease her loneliness, and all she could hear everywhere she went was the talk of how the hime-sama had been allowed out of the palace – and to go into danger!
And maybe now I can understand why she said that the life of a hime doesn't suit her – I am bored out of my mind and with nothing to do. Even Takemaru is avoiding the palace proper and staying in his domain in the yards.
Her mind went back to his words – about how the youkai Lord was dangerous and should be kept under watch. While she still had fear of the word 'youkai', it was hard to put that word into practice around that one. He was just so beautiful – and quite the gentleman. He also seemed to be very fascinated by Izayoi... And again, it all comes back to her! What can he possibly see in her? Sure, she is comely, but I've heard that youkai females are all beautiful. So why would such a shallow thing draw his interest?
It occurred to her to wonder, then, just who it was that was supposedly already chosen for Izayoi as a husband. She was well aware that her brother, the Hojo Lord, had asked for Izayoi in marriage and been rebuffed, the excuse being that her husband had already been chosen. And yet, there was no sign of her being readied for marriage and no noble courting her. On top of that, she had learned from her handmaid that Izayoi's rooms had just been refurbished and the decorating redone to suit a woman rather than a child – but done to the hime's personal preferences.
Why would such a thing be done for a woman that was supposedly soon to be leaving to join her own husband in his home?
Her eyes narrowed as she thought about it all, not paying any attention to where she was wandering, ending up in the castle's formal gardens. She continued to stroll through the beautiful setting, occasionally coming across extended members of the family that served as ladies-in-waiting or as councilors in the Lord's service. There was much talk of events since the youkai Lord's visit began, and she had no shame in listening in to some of the conversations.
One couple, trysting in an out of the way corner of the huge formal gardens, had some interesting ideas.
Both related to the family, though the female not by blood, but by marriage, had quite a lot to say as they murmured to each other, laid out in the grass beneath two towering pines.
"... heard that her youkai adviser has a thing for the hime-sama," the woman said. "It is also said that he's very protective of her and nearly killed a man for looking at her lustfully."
"It's only fools that see him as a danger to the hime-sama," the male scoffed. "He wouldn't go against the will of his Lord, and he's the one that seems overly fascinated with her. It makes one wonder – if the Lord is willing to keep an alliance with him, what else would he be willing to do for him?" he said suggestively, and the female with him tittered in shocked glee, even as Airi's eyes opened wide.
"Naughty!" she said, slapping the man's hand with her fan. "To think that the Lord would give his daughter to youkai. He would never lower her status to the level of a concubine for some youkai Lord, alliance or not," she sighed, "though the youkai is most beautiful. Are all higher youkai like that?"
The man she was with turned insulted eyes on her. "Beautiful, is he? If such is your feeling, then I am surprised that you haven't offered yourself to him," he said, a bit of spite in his voice. Airi moved away, not hearing the woman's answer as she shook her head. It appeared there was much going on around here – both the members of that little couple were married – to other people. As honor-bound as the Lord Hiraku was, she was sure that if he found out what was happening between the two, the punishment would be severe.
Still... their words lingered. Would Hiraku give the youkai Lord his daughter as a concubine if he asked for her? Such things were not unknown, though usually only with those who were much lower in status than Setsuna stood, and were looking for ways to climb in power and influence. Many times their daughters were sold for even less than most hime – instead of being at least a wife, to be spoken of with honor, they were given as little more than whores with no name left to them.
But from what she'd seen from Hiraku and even her own husband, Ichirou, she didn't think they would ever do such a thing to their beloved Izayoi. Something was missing... they were all missing something in this alliance the two had forged.
So what was it?
And another thing... why was the youkai Lord spending the entire summer here? For Lords such as he to take what really amounted to little more than a long vacation didn't happen often. There were too many duties to ones lands and house to simply take off on a whim. And especially for so long. It wasn't even as if it were to cement the alliance between them – they'd been allies for several years, from what she'd heard of the gossip amongst the court.
This whole thing was strange, and just got odder as you dug deeper. Whatever was going on, however, Airi was certain of one thing – everything that was happening right now had Izayoi at its heart.
Something else that bothered her – the things she'd heard in bits and pieces from her husband and his father and the hime, and even Touga and the other youkai here in the palace. Talk of dreams of portent, and of something called the Shikon no Tama. Oh, yes, she'd heard enough of their talk by remaining amongst the background wallflowers to gather that something much bigger was involved. And it was something that the youkai were disturbed by – something they were trying to hide.
She wondered if Takemaru had any knowledge of this 'Shikon no Tama'...
Perhaps she would mention it in passing the next time she saw him, just to see what his reaction was.
It might just be amusing to stir the ant hill that was the Summer Palace of Setsuna's Lord and see what came crawling out.
~oOo~
Evening came on swift feet and Izayoi had not made much progress towards the so-called cursed hill that was supposedly the center of the youkai activity. There were stones placed practically every quarter mile – in each direction, and it kept her busy trying to track them all down and destroy them. True to his word, Touga followed her to every one on silent but deadly feet.
The headman became more and more frightened the closer to the hill they came, and a peculiar suspicion was beginning to enter her mind; could that hill be the very place that he had dumped his wife's body? Was he truly afraid of the youkai – or was it the fear of returning to the scene of his crime?
Back at the palace he'd seemed so straightforward, but then something occurred to her; how had he withstood the power of the stone to begin with, before he'd found that monk to put an ofuda on it - thereby blocking its power?
Even though he'd not handled the stone himself until it had been sealed by the monk, even coming in close to the stone should have weakened him and then killed him as the stone played out its purpose by taking his life force.
As they all sat around a small campfire in tight-lipped silence later that evening, Izayoi looked up from her contemplation and asked just that.
"You say you found the first stone and then went in search of a monk or other holy person that could seal it."
The headman nodded obsequiously. "Yes, my Lady."
"How then," she asked silkily, her expression cool, "did you approach such a thing close enough to see it, yet live to tell the tale?"
The man's breathing hitched, and it was clear from his trapped expression that he knew he'd been caught out – but he wasn't aware of just how much of the story they knew. Trying desperately to come up with an excuse, he babbled out a story of going to a monk when the odd things first began happening and gaining a protective charm.
"... when I went near the stone, I could feel it pulling at something within me, but as long as I didn't get too close, I was safe. Then I went back to that same monk, and he sealed it enough to enable me to carry it to someone who could destroy it."
He fumbled with his clothing, pulling a strange stone that lay around his neck out for them to see. "This is what he gave me. He said it would keep me safe from youkai influences," he said, his expression ingratiating.
Izayoi said nothing as she probed the object with her reiki – it was indeed sealed with houriki, so at least that portion of his story was true. But it showed his foreknowledge of what he was dealing with, because for such a charm, the ofuda would have had to be most specific. He obviously didn't know such things.
"I think it is time you stop lying to us. For such a charm, a very specific description of the danger would have had to be given to the monk who made that," Izayoi said coldly as she gestured to the charm the man had let fall back into his shirt. "Which proves that you already knew what was out there when you went looking for the monk in the first place."
The headman looked around anxiously as she spoke, hoping to find some sympathy on one of the faces of the men, but when he didn't, he slumped, and sighed.
"From what I have been told, this infestation also is nothing new. One of the women that was formerly from your village but married a man in the other, told us quite the interesting tale. So tell us – what happened to your wife?"
It was clear that the man was now terrified, shivering in his sandals at the looks on everyone's faces as they awaited his words. "W-wife?" he squeaked out as Izayoi nodded.
"S-she disappeared one night. I was never able to find her, and I think she must have fallen to these youkai and their energy stealing stones!" came the lie, and Touga made a sound of denial.
"No, I do not think so," he growled. "I think what happened is that you killed your wife, for whatever reason, and then dumped her body at this hill that is now haunted. And now her spirit has returned for vengeance in the form of this youkai, stealing the children of the village in payment for the loss of her own child when you killed her. All that is left-" he leaned closer to the man, looming over him in threat, "-is for you to tell us why you killed her and your unborn child."
The man moaned in fear, his face giving away the lie – it was as they had thought. In disgust, Hiraku ordered his son to tie the man up so that he could not attempt to get away.
With the man tied up and out of excuses the true story quickly came out, and the disgust and sorrow that Izayoi felt once the story was told was enough to make her step into the bushes to retch. That such greed and murderousness masqueraded in the form of a respected headman made her and all those around the fire sick.
It was Touga that came up with the best punishment for him. "I believe I understand now. This youkai is stealing energy to overpower the protective charm this filth has. She wants him – she wants vengeance for herself and her child. If we give him to her, I bet that she will fade away once her vengeance has been had and trouble the area no more. We will see," he said as the man stiffened in fear at the thought of being left to the spirit of his dead wife for revenge for her murder.
"No wonder I caught him eyeing the young widow of that village earlier," Izayoi said as she finally got herself under control and came back the the fire, her eyes disgusted and angry. "Just as you wanted to marry that wealthy woman from your village enough to murder your own beautiful young wife, just the same were you lusting for this young girl's new wealth. I have no doubt that she would have shortly met her end as well had she married you. It is only fortunate that you never got your hands on that other woman. Whatever fate is in store for you is certainly one that you have earned. I can only hope that after she has taken you I can finally lay her spirit to peaceful rest. She should not be forced to wander in darkness forever for your evil act."
Izayoi slept uneasily that night with sorrow moving through her dreams and a sense of loss echoing in her mind for that poor, unborn child. For once in her life she had no sympathy or pity for the horrible fate the headman was facing – she was quite willing to give him to the spirit of his wife to ease her unending torment. Maybe then she could move on to her next life – and Izayoi prayed with her whole heart that her next life would be a good one instead of dark and tragic as this one had been.
Touga watched her toss and turn as the others all slept; he would not sleep until this whole sorry tale had been played out and he was sure that Izayoi was safe at home once more. It was clear that the story had hurt something deep within the young woman, and he could admit – the story had touched him, too. He could not imagine killing his own wife – pictured in his mind's eye as Izayoi – and especially for greed! For the mere idea of more coin, he had killed one who should have been able to count on him for protection... and even his own unborn child.
To Touga, indeed, to any inuyoukai, such a thing was the height of heinousness and the one who perpetrated such a thing would be hunted down by the greater inu pack as a weakness in the bloodline and destroyed. One such as this disgusting excuse for a thinking being would never be tolerated by his kind.
Despite her status as a warrior Izayoi had a gentle heart, and knowing that she needed her sleep, he moved closer to her and began to thrum a deep cadence in his chest. It would calm her, allowing her dreams to dissipate so she could sleep peacefully once more. He hated the look of sorrow and suffering on her face as her brow furrowed, and with a gentle hand, he stroked her hair away from her face as he thrummed to her, and watched with a faint smile as she calmed beneath his hand. With a sigh, she relaxed, and the frown on her face dissipated as she echoed his smile.
"Touga," she whispered, still asleep, and his heart melted... that proved her trust in him – she did not fear him and knew that she was safe while in his presence – even in her sleep.
His smile became almost poignant, then – she was so young, and there was an innocence to her that he didn't think would ever fade, no matter what she faced in life. And I will do whatever I can to make sure it does not, he sighed as he once more swept the area for any threats with his aura. For something so precious should never be lost. It would only darken this world that much more – and there is already too much darkness in it as it is. We cannot afford to lose any of the light we have.
He knew that she had no idea what the true reason for his presence for the summer was, just as she had no idea that she called for him in her sleep. But it made something in him soften even more towards her – she was falling for him just as much as he was for her. In some ways, it seemed that his emotions, which were usually impermeable and buried deep, were being taken over by her all too rapidly – but the truth was that he had already been fascinated by her for several years.
Ever since the day he'd first sent Kenji to meet the hime at her shrine when her reiki was found to be so strong and he had begun sending his lord letters about her, he'd been enthralled with everything that the kitsune had written and even more when he'd received the painting he'd done of her. So in truth, this was something that had been coming for almost three years.
In reality, it was that way for the little hime, too. Kenji had not missed her total and immediate fascination with his Lord the moment he'd spoken of him, and she had almost hungrily lapped up any information about him that he'd been willing to part with. Kenji had said once that it was almost as if she was fated to him and that the kami had buried him in her heart all unknown to her so that it wouldn't take much to send her running into his arms with happy abandon when they finally met.
Perhaps that is true, he mused as the silent hours of the night spent themselves slowly. Maybe we were meant to love each other. Even I cannot fight the will of the kami, and in this matter, he let his gaze linger on her, I would not wish to fight, anyway.
Of course, the truth was a little different – it wasn't the kami that had set the two up as the lovers they were soon going to be – it was the jewel. But in the end it made little difference to the beginning of things, only to the end of them. For if Izayoi was not able to figure out the correct way to rid the world of the jewel, then the beautiful fate that seemed to lay ahead of them now would wither and die, burning to death in the flames that would destroy both of their worlds.
There was darkness looming on every side, and only a very small path of light ahead. It would be incumbent on both of them to find the path through the darkness...
Together.
~oOo~
Morning dawned on the last day of the headman's life with sluggish heat and a heavy atmosphere; it was clear that there would be thunderstorms at some point that day, and the group heading for the haunted hill was not best pleased with that.
The rain would make things difficult and depending on the strength of the storms, they may have to take shelter until they blew over. However, it looked as though they had most of the day – there were no clouds in sight, meaning that the storms wouldn't be hitting until at least late afternoon, if not later.
The later, the better, Izayoi thought, a light scowl on her face as she melted another stone. At this rate, it'll take us three years to get done. Only to herself would she admit her weariness; true, she was capable of marching for days and living in the wilderness for just as long, but for some reason, this particular trip had worn her down.
Of course, it wasn't just this trip – it was everything that was going on in her life as well as the upset she still felt so strongly over the fate of the poor woman and her child. The tragic and short life of the young woman, let alone her unborn child was enough to make her want to cry, and it was with great difficulty that she held to her normal demeanor – and kept her knife from the man's throat.
Especially sickening to her was his begging and pleading as they moved closer to the hill that lay ahead - the hill that she could feel so strongly through her reiki. It swirled with hatred and pain and unending sorrow, its miasma so strong that she was beginning to have to shield herself from the torment that lay thickly over the tall hill.
Finally, at the end of her rope after listening to his begging and pleading for mercy for hours, she turned on him with a shout. "Enough! If you do not stop that sickening pleading, I will cut your throat just enough to permanently silence you! That you have the nerve to plead for your life with what you have done is sickening. Did you listen to the pleas of your poor wife? Did you enjoy her tears and her fear – and the pain of her loss of not only her life, but her child's, as well?! You disgust me," she finished, her eyes hard and grim. "You will not find mercy from any of us no matter how you plead, so man up and face your fate with silence – for you deserve every bit of what is to happen to you and I hold no pity for you."
The men, who had been silent during all this still said not a word; however, Ichirou, knowing what this was doing to his soft-hearted sister, took some of the binding they had brought to use as bandages and gagged the man who was now whimpering as they drew closer to the hill where he would meet the end of his life.
They would need to cross the river soon to reach it and began looking for a shallow ford so that they could without getting too soaked. Finally, when they were almost directly across from the hill, they came upon a portion of the river that had stones placed in a deliberate manner so that one could cross without getting wet at all if they were careful.
With no concern for the soon-to-be former headman, they all crossed on the rocks while he was dragged through the water by Touga, who held him to his side as they crossed, he first and Izayoi directly behind him and her family behind her. It didn't take but a few minutes, and then they were at the foot of the large hill that simply jutted up out of the surrounding terrain like a dark sentinel.
Once all had crossed, Izayoi turned and met Touga's eyes. "I am going to take his protective amulet now – we are close, and she will feel him as soon as I do."
Not bothering to argue, everyone with grim expressions as the headman continued to whimper and cringe, Touga pulled the disgusting coward forward and held him still for her. Reaching over, she yanked the cord from around his neck, and the moment that he was relieved of it a strange, haunting cry broke over the whole area and the group all put hands to weapons as they waited for whatever was going to happen.
"No," Izayoi said, shaking her head, "we need to find the entrance into the caves. She will not come out here with all of us surrounding him."
Her father stirred and spoke for the first time in hours. "Are you certain you will be safe? Can you handle what is to come?"
She nodded grimly, but Touga spoke up before she could say anything. "I will go first, Izayoi, and you will stay behind me." He put up a hand as she opened her mouth to argue. "Do not. I go first or we do not go in at all."
Eyes wide at the tone of command in his voice which he'd never turned on her before, she simply nodded, bowing before that authority as though it were natural to do so. Her father and brother were quite taken aback at that; they had expected her to argue when a male not related to her in any way gave her orders.
Touga was not surprised at all; she was already beginning to respond to him as a female youkai would to the male who would be her mate, her husband. Not surprised... but he was highly pleased and he smiled briefly at her with affection, causing her to lower her eyes in maidenly confusion.
It did not last; within moments a grim expression slipped over his face and he began to lead them into the darkness of the caverns, Tessaiga held ready before him and every sense on high alert.
Izayoi, as the darkness of the caves began to overtake them, allowed her reiki to infuse her body and a soft pink glow brought some light back to the world as they moved steadily forward - guided by the daiyoukai who could feel the youki growing strong ahead of them as anger began to permeate the very air of the cave.
Hatred too, came swiftly to the atmosphere and Touga and the others were very aware that the entity had caught the scent of her most hated enemy – who was shaking like a leaf and crying like a baby, only his gag preventing him from more begging and pleading like the sniveling coward he was.
It quickly became apparent that the youkai made their home in the very center of the cave system, but that they traveled freely through the whole of them whenever they chose; just out of sight around them they could all feel what were probably the remains of the children she had taken – their youki weaker than hers but still strong enough to cause damage to humans.
And then they rounded a bend into a chamber that had a high ceiling and a deep ledge along the rear of it – they had found the home of the female youkai that had once been an ordinary village maiden married off to a greedy and murderous man who had not one whit of honor about him.
Light flared in the cavern as the youkai appeared before them, and Izayoi gasped as the female appeared and the light chased the darkness of the cavern away; for just beneath where she hovered lay the forlorn remains of her once mortal body...
Still clutching to the tiny skeleton of her poor, lost baby.
~oOo~
Edited 08/27/13
