Chapter 14.5: The Birth of Kasanoda Clan
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"Oyaji! I want you to meet my mate!"
"HUH?! What are you talking about?! And what the hell are you wearing?!" Kouga faced his grinning son, Kogane, then meticulously stared at him from head to toe. His only son has the same jet black hair as him and also wear his hair in a high ponytail. Kogane got most of his facial features from him except for his eyes because he got them from his mother, Ayame. The biggest difference between the two of them though are the dress they're wearing. Kouga dresses like what he always wear, animal skin and barefooted, while Kogane is wearing a plain dark green kimono and wooden slippers. "You were away for 50 years and now you came back looking like this?!"
Kogane ignored his father's remarks and is still grinning when he glanced at his side. "Yuuka! C'mhere!"
Kouga was dumbfounded when his supposed to be daughter-in-law appeared behind a large tree. In his mind, "This is my son's wife?!"
A red-haired girl with a simple bun and rose-coloured yukata modestly walk her way to her husband's side. She then presented Kouga with her sweetest smile. "I am very pleased to meet you, Father."
He automatically greeted back. "Ou. Nice to meet you. You sure are pretty…Yuuka, right?" Then faced Kogane again. "Are you sure she's your mate?! Where did she come from?! And—" He punched his son's head who writhed in pain. "—you're not answering me why you dressed like that?! You stupid son of mine!"
"Tsk." He's frowning when he recovered from the blow.
"You're clicking your tongue on me, hnnn?!"
"Okay, okay I'm sorry!" He glanced at his wife first before answering to his father. "She's from the southern wolf tribe and I know you've heard of them..."
He folded his arms, then raised an eyebrow. "Hn. Then that makes sense. I heard they're the most civilized among all of the wolf clans, like they are fond of wearing human clothes and living in human houses. But wait…" He then peeked at his son's wife through the corners of his eyes. "hn…I also heard the red-headed ones are the leaders of their tribe…" Now both his eyebrows were elevated. "What?! Don't tell me?! She's—"
"…She's the only daughter of southern wolf tribe's chief…" He started rubbing his nape awkwardly.
"And?! Their chief approved of your marriage?!
"Uh…t-that's not actually the case…"
"You kidnapped her?! What—! What will your mother say about this?! You—! You stupid son—!"
"My deepest apologies Father." She bowed her head low. "I was the one who pleaded Kogane-san to take me away from our tribe…"
"N-No! I'm sure it's not your fault! This stupid son of mine is the one at fault!" He raised his fist and was about to punch his son straight to the face.
"It is my fault… My Otou-sama arranged for me to marry the alpha male of our tribe and…"
"I'll tell you what exactly happened Oyaji."
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After Kogane has come of aged, Kouga and Ayame advised their son to set on a journey to get stronger and along the way, find his mate. Four decades have passed and as fate tells him, his feet brought him to the southern wolf tribe. At first, he only stayed there because he was fascinated by their way of living. Their livelihood are the same as the humans: planting crops, breeding of cows and chickens, and cultivating different types of herbs. But what fascinated him the most are the way they dresses and their homes —because it was so nothing like their animal skin clothing and stoned houses. The first few years, he lived on the outskirt of their village, trying to cope up and mixing in. But the people there were not very hospitable to strangers, especially for someone who came from a different wolf tribe —they call them barbaric and uncivilized. With that, there were two things they carefully kept from him. The first one is the gentle and beautiful only daughter of the chief, Yuuka. She's the flower of their tribe and many demons have pursued her to be their wife. But they have a tradition that was passed through the generations in order to wed the daughter of the chief, and that tradition was the second thing the people of that clan kept from him.
…
"I'd like to exchange these hays for that wooden slipper." Kogane was carrying a 3 large pile of carefully arranged hays on his back.
"We do not need what you have. Go away beast!"
"What? I've been living in your village for 10 years, and you still won't accept me?! It's not like you are not a yokai like me!"
"It does not matter what you are and we did not invite you to stay here so go away before I call the chief!"
"Tsk. I can make my own slipper, you hag!" He walked away fast. It's not that he's afraid of the chief. Actually, he respects him —it's just that he doesn't want to be face to face with him. The chief did not welcome him when he first came but he did not also told him to leave. Moreover, he pretended Kogane doesn't exist so as to give a message to the villagers that they shouldn't be bothered by the outsider's presence. What the chief did and doing is not harsh at all. In fact, it worked fine with him because he was able to observe the village and the villagers whenever he wanted without anyone bothering him. They just treated him like air except for those times he was buying or exchanging something. There was even one time when he begged an old demon woman to let him buy a kimono from his late husband because he like the fabric and color. And so, after many visits and kneeling to the ground, the old woman gave the kimono to him for free in exchange for cultivating and harvesting her crops for a year. What happened may be strenuous and demeaning but he don't care, as long as he got the kimono for himself. Also, he became closer to the old woman since her husband died from hunting and doesn't have any children. He got the kimono but he's still visiting and helping her from time to time, in fact, he's on his way to her hut.
On the way, he notices a group of male wolf demons on the rice field, seemingly having a serious conversation. He slowed down his pace, acting like he's walking normally but actually redouble his sharp hearing to listen to what they're saying…
"The night of the full moon is drawing closer! Finally! I will have my chance!"
"Are you talking about the princess or… the process we need to do to get her?"
Kogane heard a little bit of malice in his voice.
"W-What?! O-Of course not! I'm not some blood-thirsty folk like that outsider!"
He flinched when he heard the word 'outsider' because there's only one person they are fond of calling that name, him. But instead of wanting to punch the demon who said that, he became more curious as to why the term "blood-thirsty" came up.
"Ha! Don't try to hide it!" Another voice. "We all know that this is our only chance to satiate our carnal desires!"
"Yeah! That's why even the old folks who were unmarried or lost their wives are participating!"
"B-But…isn't that wrong? We are supposed to act like humans do…"
"You're right. But this is a tradition!"
"Tradition!"
"And you know how our clan give importance to traditions, even if it's against our principles."
"But then…killing innocent people?"
He didn't have the chance to hear the rest, because they stopped talking, probably noticed his presence. So he increases his pace, so as to not let them suspect that he heard their conversation.
…
"Oi! Idiot! Why are you spacing out? If you are not here to help me, then go away!"
He blinked twice, then faced the old woman. "Oh. I'm sorry obaasan. I was just…thinking…"
She sat next to him, facing the meadow. "I did not know you are capable of such thing."
He smirked at that remark.
"Very well, why not tell this old woman your worries? After all, I lived long enough to know a lot of things."
He stared at her first, but then slowly retell what he heard. When he finished, the old woman was staring at the setting sun.
"Hrn. That is some story you are not supposed to hear, ya stupid boy."
A crease appeared on his forehead. "What do you mean…?"
"I did not expect to be the one to tell you this, but I am sure you will find out sooner or later."
"Please tell me." He pleaded.
"Well then. On the night of the full moon, which will occur a few days from now…an event to choose the alpha male of our tribe will take place. That alpha male will then be the groom of the chief's daughter and the next chief of our tribe."
He motioned her to go on.
"But it is a very strict and unpleasant process, a tradition that is not allowed to be changed —even my late husband participated during our time, when we were not yet married."
"What is that process?"
"That is…to go to a human village…and mercilessly slaughter its people. For those who survived, they will come back to our village. The chief will then choose the one who he thinks valiantly performed the task on hand and has the qualities of a leader, and then, that one will be the alpha male."
He can't believe what he just heard. "W-What…? W-What are you talking about?! Isn't killing humans against your law?!"
"This is different, my boy. Like what you heard from that man awhile ago, this is a tradition, and our tribe give importance to traditions, even if it is against our principles. This is a custom our ancestors started, as to choose the alpha male who will efficiently lead and protect the tribe."
"W-What about the chief?! Isn't he against this?!"
"He has also done it in the past, so he can marry the chief's daughter."
He shake his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this… All along…the people in this village were hiding this from me? Ostracized my origin, marking me as an outcast. When from the beginning, you people are worse than us! My parents and ancestors may have done things like what you are doing now, but unlike you, we changed! That is because we don't want our children to be the ones who will bear our sins!" He huffed, then stared blankly at the old woman.
"I do not have anything to argue with what you said. But please do remember this, my boy. This is what makes us the southern wolf tribe. Even though we dresses and live like humans do, in the end, we are still yokais. However, to protect the next generation, we need a proper leader. A chief who will defend our tribe not only from demons like us, but also from the humans. A chief who will stand by its people, laugh with them, and cry with them. But will still hardened his heart when necessary, all for the good of our tribe."
"But…you don't have to kill innocent people…"
"Maybe you are right. Nevertheless, a chief who have the courage to change our ways has still not appeared."
Kogane became silent, and then looked at the sky. "It's already night-time. I will return tomorrow. Goodbye."
The old woman did not say goodbye, the only thing that runs into her mind is, 'The chief who will change our ways may have already appeared…'
…
"You."
A silhouette stopped on its track.
"Why were you listening to my conversation with the old woman?" The truth is, Kogane knew that there's someone eavesdropping to their conversation, but pretended he did not notice until he said his goodbye and then instantly followed the retreating figure. He only called out when he made sure the person is alone.
He can see better in the dark so he knows that the person is a female. A few moments have passed, when she slowly turned around and straightened up—standing modestly with her hands clasped on her chest.
He was surprised, but then his facial expression immediately changed back to being impassive. "Why would a pretty girl like you spy on someone like me?" He didn't hide his sarcasm.
"My apologies if that was what you perceived of my behaviour. However, I would like to explain that I am not spying on you. It just so happened that when I visited the one who took care of me when I was little, a person whom I do not know and criticised my tribe was there." Her voice is gentle, as gentle as the flowing river beside her, but you can still hear a hint of authority behind it…like the collision between the water and rock on the river.
"Well I'm sorry for that little girl," He saw a little frown on her forehead. "I'm sorry if I offended 'your' tribe. Though I'm sure you have heard of me —I am Kougane, the outsider. Do I have the pleasure of hearing yours?"
She raised her chin. "I am Yuuka, the daughter of the chief."
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Oh my God! I updated sooooo laaaate! I'm soooo sooooryyyyy~~! OTL I hope you're not mad at me. . .
Anyway. . .it's summer vacation here in the Philippines~! I will have more time to write the next chapters~~! Yey~~!
And here's the next chapter so please forgive me! TT^TT
About this chapter? I can't say anything at the moment, only that there's 14.6? I know there are some who're yelling at their screen saying, "Write the main story!" but I must apologize, because this side story is very important. I hope you understand. And expect to see Inuyasha in the next chapter~
With that~ please stay tuned~
Matta ne~~!
Sincerely yours,
Natsuki
(P.S. Reviews, Favs and Follows are very much appreciated. Thanks a lot minna~~!)
Kogane = Metal Gold
Yuuka = Gentle/Superior Flower