Final Fuedal Fairy Tale
Chapter four: Baptism of Flame
"C'mon Kirara! You can do it! Get that thing!", Hiko giggled as the fire-cat chased a particularly wily dragonfly near the bank of the river they were resting at. InuYasha had decided that once the supplies were packed, they were going to head out. There was no arguing with him after that. Hiko rolled her eyes in the general direction of the surly hanyou. She had to bribe him with food in order just to rest and get out of the summer heat. Now he was muttering to himself out in the middle of the river with his sleeves rolled up, trying to catch a few fish for lunch. Hiko squinted and looked at the position of the sun from her shady spot under a young tree, it was just a little after noon, and they were just under three hours from the village. She could still see it off on the horizon. It's beautiful from this far away. The little huts and rice paddies make it look so serene. She smiled softly at the little village, enjoying the peace before it became the loud, noisy Tokyo city she knew so well.
A triumphant call and a loud splash had her giggling as InuYasha managed to toss a large fish onto the bank. She got up from her spot, brushed the dirt off her kimono, and walked over to collect it. She grabbed it firm by the tail when InuYasha looked over at her and mumbled, "I haven't cleaned it yet. Just stick it over there by the fire."
Hiko grinned and shook her head, "I know how to clean a fish. You work on another and i'll clean this one." She nodded and felt very accomplished then, before she realized one important flaw in her "clean the fish" plan. She had no knife. Come to think of it. Neither does InuYasha. Maybe he's got one stashed in his poofy pants. She giggled to herself before yelling over her shoulder, "InuYasha! Do you have a knife on you somewhere?"
She jumped when his gruff voice came up behind her, "Keh! I don't NEED a knife.", he said as he shoved his long, lethal looking claws under her nose. She looked up at him, and there he was, still a little damp and carrying two more fish. A small one, and another large one. "Here Kirara." Hiko watched as he tossed the smaller fish to the kitten and she mewed her appreciation before digging in. She smiled up at InuYasha and he blinked down at her in confusion and backed up a little, "What's that look for?!"
"Oh nothing.", Hiko grinned, " You're just a sweetheart under that tough-guy act, aren't you?" She giggled when he gave another "KEH!" and sat down next to her to clean the fish and set them on sticks to roast over the coals of the little fire they had made. She sighed softly again as the fish started to brown, before turning to InuYasha again. Who had his eyes closed, arms folded, and legs crossed on the opposite side of the fire.
"InuYasha?", she asked softly, fanning herself to keep the heat away.
"What?", was her gruff reply.
"When was the last time you saw Kagome?"
He peeked open his eye and sighed, trying to gather his thoughts. Hiko had to bite back the urge to giggle as his ears twitched on the top of his head. That must mean he's thinking!
"The day before you showed up actually. She said she had to go back to visit her family. I told her that she sees them all the time and that she needs to stay here and help us find more jewel shards. Then she got all mad and sat me." He grumbled out the last part and almost...pouted. Hiko thought he looked just like a puppy who'd been caught digging through the trash.
"She sat you? What does that mean?"
He tugged on the dark beads around his neck, "Its a subduing rosary. All Kagome has to do is say "Osuwari" and I eat dirt."
She stared at him for a moment, letting it build up behind her eyes, before she couldn't hold it in any more and burst into giggles. He growled at her and she had to take a few deep breaths to calm down again. "G..gomen InuYasha..Hee." she snickered again, "I just can't see my little itoko yelling "Osuwari!" all across the countryside." Kirara had finished her fish and bounded into her lap again, purring happily as Hiko started to pet the little cat.
"I swear that cat is in love with you or something." InuYasha added as he turned over the fish on the sticks. "Almost done".
"Yeah. She is pretty sweet. I have one just like her at home actually. Only without two tails and the fire." She smiled softly and thought back to her home, the images were now laced with a bit of pain. Do I ever get to see that place again? She sighed and put her finger on the little diamond on Kirara's forehead, "She even has the little diamond mark on her forehead." Kirara mewed and rubbed her head against Hiko's hand affectionately in response.
"Don't worry." Came a suprisingly tender voice from InuYasha, "Kagome will know what to do when we find her. You'll be able to go home with her."
Hiko smiled brightly at him and nodded, "Thank you, InuYasha."
He gave a short grunt in reply, then added, "Fish are done."
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Several hours had gone by now and the sun was just about ready to set. InuYasha asked if she wanted to make camp, but much to his suprise, she refused. "Kirara says...ugh. Excuse me... she can carry us through the night. She's been sleeping on my shoulder most of the day." she said sleepily, barely managing to stifle a yawn with her hand.
InuYasha raised an eyebrow and said, "Kirara told you that?"
Hiko nodded sleepily and held out Kirara under his nose. The firecat stared at him with wide, red eyes and gave a small mew. InuYasha just said "Keh! I don't need to sleep. I'll just run through the night." and turned away. Hiko nodded again and set Kirara down then stepped back. She didn't even flinch when Kirara transformed into her full fire-cat form, and instead just patted her gently, then climbed onto her back. Kirara took off into the sky with InuYasha following in the treetops below. Hiko stretched and yawned, seemingly completely unaware of her surroundings. She took one good look around her and gave a small shiver.
"Kirara go down a little, I need to ask InuYasha something." the firecat growled and descended closer to the trees, where InuYasha spotted them and hopped onto Kirara.
"What is it now?!" InuYasha was panting slightly, obviously she had ruined his groove.
"Shouldn't we be going that way?", Hiko said simply. "We need to go that way". She pointed off to the West, towards a range of mountains. InuYasha turned his head to the west and squinted against the darkness. His nose twitched as he tried to smell anything in that direction, but the wind was against him. "Go that way", Hiko said again, and Kirara whined and turned towards the mountains.
"What makes you so sure it's that way?" InuYasha grumbled.
"Because!", she said happily, "because the Fire Kami told me so." She giggled insanely and slumped foreward onto Kirara, instantly asleep. InuYasha stared at her for a moment and growled.
"Stay on this course then, Kirara. If she starts acting weird again, tell me." InuYasha jumped off the fire-cat's back and into the trees again, breaking out into a run at full speed, pulling ahead of Kirara and headed towards the mountains.
She was in a garden, surrounded by a growth of firey red lillies, and beyond that, complete darkness. In her hands was a laurel made of them, halfway finished. She was dressed in a heavy, elegant, and ornate kimono. Laced with scarlets and golds, she even had ornate tassels in her hair made of gold. The kind made for only the highest of royalty. "What's going on? Where am I?" Her voice echoed around her several times, showing how very alone she was. She tried to get up and move, but her body refused to respond. "InuYasha? Kirara?! Where are you?!" she was starting to panic now. She felt eyes on the back of her neck, but cursed when her body refused to turn so she could check behind her. "Who's there?!" she called into the darkness.
"We thought we had lost you." came a soft male voice from the darkness that surrounded her. It was overpowering, comming from all directions. "You can't trick us again though. I know its you this time. No more replacements. Its time to come home Hiko-sama."
Lights shone through the darkness, like spotlights on a theatrical stage, showing pieces of a set in the darkness. Gleaming walls made of shiny onyx, figures and statues made to her likeness, a view from what looked like a gorgeous mountain top, an altar covered with the very same flowers she was weaving into a laurel, and a pillar of fire set into a room decorated with onyx and gold. They all looked so foreign, and so familiar.
"That's not my home.." Hiko started softly. The darkness lurched at her, as if trying to touch her, or trying to capture her. She still couldn't move, and started to panic, she didn't want to go there! Something deep in her soul stirred, she couldn't go back there, there was no way she could go there. Her life was over if she ever went back there. "I WILL NOT GO BACK!!"
She heard InuYasha calling her name from far away, or as if he were yelling at her through a tunnel. Her body felt light, too light. Infact, she couldn't feel Kirara at all, she couldn't feel anything. "Inu...InuYasha?" She opened her eyes slowly, there was something bright on the other side of her eyelids, she couldn't make it out at first, and it slowly but surely came into focus.
She was surrounded by fire, a circle of it, burning away around her. It was like a wall, protecting her from whatever was on the other side. Even more shocking was the fact that she wasn't even touching the ground any more, she was suspended in the air, hovering. "InuYasha!! Help!...GAH! How the hell do I get down from here!!" She heard him give a viscious growl and heard the sound of metal meeting metal, the sounds of battle. "Oh no! InuYasha! Are you okay?!" When she didn't get a response her heartbeat quickened and she thought he had been hurt. Seemingly almost in response, the circle of fire around her blazed higher, which only served to frighten her more. The more frightened she became, the higher, brighter, and hotter the flames became. "NO! InuYasha!!", she cried out in panic, closing her eyes and covering her head.
"Calm down you idiot! You're making it worse!!" That was the inu hanyou for sure, If he has time to insult me, he has to be okay. She whimpered softly and peeked out from around her. The fire that surrounded her had died down to a swirling vortex of bright embers that danced around her. She still wasn't touching the ground, which made her panic slightly again. As soon as she did, the embers caught fire again and became the wall of fire it was before. It responds to my emotions...Calm down Hiko, it's okay...kinda.
She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the fact her feet weren't touching the ground. The fire again died down to tiny embers, before her feet finally settled back onto solid earth. Her knees gave way then, and she plopped back to the ground. "InuYasha...what...what happened?", she asked softly, looking up to see him standing there with his giant sword, beside another, taller man with a large fluffy...thing wrapped around his shoulder. "Who..who are you?"
InuYasha opened his mouth to respond, but the taller man spoke first. "I am the Taiyoukai of the West. Lord of the lands you are trespassing on.", Hiko had to fight to supress a small shiver. The man was expressionless, he didn't seem mad, but his tone indicated severe annoyance with the world in general.
"Keh! Tresspassing, bullshit. I made sure to stay out of your "lands", you bastard." InuYasha turned again to face him, lifting his sword to point at the stoic man beside him.
"This Sesshoumaru has made no mistake. These lands were recently acquired, and therefore you are still trespassing, fool."
"I don't care! I'm here for Kagome so you better stay out of my way. I won't hesitate to hack you into tiny pieces!"
"Um...", came Hiko's soft interjection.
"As if a dirty half-breed could match my power.", the Taiyoukai said again. He looked...bored. He was staring at his claws and occasionally glacing off in her direction.
"Bastard!", InuYasha growled, and lunged at the Taiyoukai with his sword. The taiyoukai just smirked and stepped to the side with speed Hiko's eyes couldn't see, then returned a blow to the back of InuYasha's neck. He's just playing with InuYasha. InuYasha growled and raised his sword over his head, "Kaze no Kizu!" he bellowed and swung his sword down at the arrogant youkai. The ground erupted with light, tearing fissures in the rock and soil as it raced towards the still stoic youkai. Hiko had to shield her eyes as the light passed by her and specks of dirt and rock bounced off her body. When she opened her eyes again, the Taiyoukai had InuYasha by the neck and was slowly squeezing the life out of him.
"Die...", he said softly and dangerously, right in InuYasha's face.
"B-ba..astard...", InuYasha choked out.
"Stop that!!", Hiko was up again now, tired of just sitting there. Who the hell did this guy think he was?! "Put him down damnit!" she ran over and pushed the taller youkai, but he didn't budge. All he did was just raise a slender eyebrow down at her, while InuYasha was starting to turn purple. "I said put him down this instant!!" She tried to push him again. Nothing. She was starting to get very frustrated, InuYasha had already passed out now.
"You dare to order this Sesshoumaru?", his voice was still the same, quiet, bored...arrogant tone. He had turned to her now, after unceremoniously dropping InuYasha to the ground. Hiko was still fuming, so she didn't think to check on him, and instead glared up at the much taller youkai.
"And you still don't listen very well do you? I had to tell you like..three times!" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him her patented 'look'. The thought never seemed to cross her mind that the person in front of her could kill her in a second. He just stood there, glaring down at her. Every so often his nose would twitch delicately. InuYasha does that when he's sniffing me...that's so freaking creepy!! She squirmed and snapped at him, "What?!", she rolled her eyes again and added, "Jeeze, you are the rudest person I think i've met so far!"
Hiko found herself dangling over the ground for the second time that night as a large, pale hand closed around her throat. Her hands immediately shot up to try and pry his fingers away from her throat, but it wasn't doing any good. His grip was like an iron vice, and it was slowly cutting off her air supply. She tried to speak, but couldn't force any air into her lungs. Sesshoumaru brought her face close to his and hissed, "You will not insult this Sesshoumaru and live, filthy human." His grip tightened painfully again, popping the soft tendons in the back of her neck. He's going to KILL me!! He's going to break my neck!! Hiko scrambled with renewed fervor, scratching at his hand with her nails, but nothing was working. Her eyes started to cloud over with black, and she could feel her heartbeat weakening. She was going to die, she would never see her home again, her cousin, her family. She was going to die in Fuedal Japan, and no one would remember her...
NO!
Her body felt light again, her vision cleared, and she was staring down at a somewhat suprised looking Taiyoukai. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, and clamped down, she felt bones snap under her fingers, but refused to release her grip. His hold on her neck weakened and she pulled free which allowed her to take in a breath of much needed air. As soon as her lungs had filled with air, her panic was replaced by anger. Seething, burning rage. She looked down at the youkai in front of her, her hand still clamped down on his broken wrist and whispered, "No..." Her body immediately went up in white-hot flames, they wrapped around her body and scorched her clothes, before traveling over the Taiyoukai like snakes, burning his flesh and skin. She felt him tugging his wrist to get away, but she absolutely refused to release him. Her anger was consuming her, engulfing her like the fire around her body. The tendrils of fire shot out from around her and set fire to the trees and bushes around them. She was reveling in the destruction and yelp of pain that came from her captured would-be killer, when something cut through the searing heat and brushed her consiousness.
A little girl was standing just at the edge of the clearing, with tears in her eyes. She was screaming something, and Hiko calmed long enough to hear, "Sesshoumaru-sama!! No! Please don't die!" from her. She looked utterly terrified and heart-broken. Hiko looked across from her towards the once proud taiyoukai. He was on his knees now, writhing in pain as the fire of Hiko's rage burned away at his flesh.
What am I doing? This...this isn't me! Hiko gasped, released her grip on his wrist and jumped back. The fire that had once raged out of control suddenly died out, leaving burnt foliage, embers and smoke in it's wake. Hiko stared at her hands disbelivingly. I..I almost killed someone. How did that happen, what have I become? She shuddered in the cold, and the little girl who was shouting to the youkai ran up to him now, still crying her eyes out.
"How could you hurt Sesshoumaru-sama!?", she glared up at Hiko then, sniffling clinging on to what was left of his sleeve.
"He...he tried to...and then I...gomen nasai..i'm so sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen!", Hiko felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was so confused and scared. The youkai in front of her looked so badly burned, he was breathing heavily and was slumped over the little girl. The girl was trying so hard to wake him up, she kept telling him not to die. She would stop putting flowers in his hair, and stop teasing something called "Jaken-sama" if the youkai would just not die. The scene tore at Hiko's heart. I did this...how could I?
She was really crying now. Something she hadn't done since she became a teenager. Fat tears that hit the charred earth beneath her and sizzled away. She heard the youkai grumble something, and the little girl nodded and whistled loudly. A large, two-headed dragon came bursting through the underbrush then, carrying a small, ugly-looking toad on its back. He was about to yell, but stopped short at the sight of the youkai on the ground, "Milord!! Sesshoumaru-sama! What happened?!" He jumped off and ran to his Lord's side, carrying an awkward staff in his hands.
"The lady burned him, Jaken-sama! He won't let Rin touch him!", the little girl sniffled, still clinging to the sleeve of the downed youkai.
"Burned him?!", the toad turned to Hiko now, brandishing his staff, "How dare you attack Milord Sesshoumaru! I'll give you a taste of the fires of hell!" He aimed his staff at Hiko and she flinched away, but Sesshoumaru's voice cut in.
"No..Jaken...Tensaiga, put it in my hand.", his voice was raspy and strained, but audible. The Jaken-toad squeaked a quick, "Aye!" and scrambled over, taking one of the swords at the Taiyoukai's belt and pressing it into his palm. Sesshoumaru gripped the sword, and pressed the hilt to his forehead, closing his eyes. His wounds, which were already healing rapidly, had started to close up even faster. Causing the taiyoukai to wince in pain as his skin mended. Once he was able to stand, he glared at her and rasped out, "What are you?"
Hiko flinched again. She didn't know any more either. She had never gotten so angry before, and now she was a walking fire hazard. She glanced up at him and murmured, "Gomen nasai, Sesshoumaru-sama...I didn't mean to...I've never. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." InuYasha stirred then, growling about his head. Sesshoumaru turned bored eyes to the hanyou and climbed up on the two-headed dragon. "Come Rin, Jaken."
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" The little girl smiled brightly and climbed up behind him, "C'mon Jaken-sama or you'll be left behind again!"
"Milord we are just going to leave her to live?!", Jaken squawked, eyeing her again. Sesshoumaru just turned away and the Dragon took to the skies. The toadie cried out and ran off, yelling, "Wait for me, please Sesshoumaru-sama!" as InuYasha sat up dazedly. Hiko slumped back to the ground, sniffling into her hands and trying not to sob. InuYasha just stared at her with squinted eyes as he looked around, trying to make sense of the destruction that wasn't there when he blacked out.
"What the hell happened?!", InuYasha asked gruffly as he dusted soot off his haori.
Hiko looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes, and didn't miss InuYasha's gasp of suprise when she said, "I'm a monster...nothing but a monster."
Right! Sesshoumaru got burned.