Chapter 5
Months passed and soon it was nearing fall and summer's weather began to wane. As they traveled, Sesshomaru took Mio to many places; waterfalls, lakes, hot springs, meadows, and fields full of wild flowers. Whenever Sesshomaru left somewhere alone, Mio asked Jakken what everything was from types of dirt and rocks to the types of animals that lived around the area and flew in the sky. Jakken always answered with an impatient tone and a 'stupid girl' or 'you don't even know that much?' or 'I need to get some sense into that head of yours'. His reasons became warmer and warmer as Jakken grew to like and respect Mio and Mio began to see him as a grumpy, gruff little grandfather type demon.
Isamu also grew to respect Sesshomaru though he kept his distance, Isamu began to occasionally accompany him on Sesshomaru's occasional outings leaving Jakken and Mio to their sporadic lessons. Throughout the past months, Sesshomaru had also taken her to the festivals of small villages, brought her rare flowers she had not yet seen, as well as different kanzashi hair ornaments to hold up her long hair. All of them matched her kimono perfectly and they all looked extremely well made and expensive, but Mio never asked where he got them, for how much, or even why he gave them to her. All she did was appreciate the gift and say heartfelt thanks.
Another thing that Mio had become accustomed to was the constant battles that Sesshomaru had to fight from both humans and demons that knew him by name and wished to challenge him. Many times it was frightening groups of lesser demons that looked more like menacing storm clouds than anything. It was on one of the last hot days of summer that everything fell apart again.
Sesshomaru and Mio had bolted awake from the small grassy meadow they had chosen to sleep on when the air filled with the smell of demons, but by that time it was too late. The demons were already upon them and the more they killed the more appeared until they were back to back. As Mio was slaying a particularly large demon, Sesshomaru noticed a small demon ready to deal a fatal blow to her and moved without thinking, her name tearing from his throat and out his mouth.
"Mio!" Sesshomaru pushed her out of the way of the attack only to become the victim himself. His arm now adorned a large gash as he slew the small worthless demon.
Mio was temporarily disoriented at hearing Sesshomaru shout for the first time as well as being thrown off balance from being pushed to safety. Unfortunately one of the larger demons noticed and wrapped their vine like limbs around her, making her unable to move. By the time Sesshomaru looked to her, she was wrapped from mouth to ankles, unable to even shout for help.
The demon flapped its leathery wings, thrusting them violently into the sky. Mio's eyes began to water as she heard Sesshomaru shout her name once more, Isamu's infuriated growl accompanying him. The demons only grew thicker, making him unable to pursue and so both Jakken and Isamu were in the same predicament.
The tears flowed freely from my golden eyes as the cloud of demons covered any view I had of the three of them all I saw were flashes of red fire from Jakken's staff and Isamu's limbs. Sobs tore from my chest and stopped short at my covered mouth, making it more difficult to breath.
Then my sorrow turned to vivid outrage as I grew farther and farther away from them, the demon's speed so much that the landscape was blurred. My fury tingled throughout my body and welled up at my fingertips. I let the familiar sensation envelop my furious thoughts and let the acidic gas emit from my hands.
The demon shrieked and let go, but I grabbed a wing before it could escape and tore it off. It shrieked even louder before I cruelly tore its head off and then I was falling again. The feeling of déjà vu was so powerful that I laughed breathlessly for a moment. This time there won't be a miracle to save me, the voice would not come to me rescue and I couldn't even smell Sesshomaru or the others on the wind anymore. How far had they gone? I turned midair until I was facing the ground not the sky. I smiled grimly.
The landscape was entirely different, much more cliff than the foresty paths we had gone through. As I neared the highest cliff, I noticed a smattering of protruding branches on the side of it and decided to take a chance. I tried to shift my descent closer to the cliff face and succeeded. I reached out for the first branch I saw and barely brushed my fingertips against it.
I let out an infuriated sob and tried again, with more success. I gripped the next tightly, too tightly. My demon strength crushed the weak branch and it shattered in my hand, but the action slowed my descent if only a little. Again I tried and I grabbed a thicker branch this time, my nails digging into the thick bark. The wood creaked and whined in protest as I rebounded slightly and then it cracked more than halfway when I came to a dangling halt. I dared not move, I didn't even breath for fear the branch would break entirely.
I looked down carefully, cautiously and was more than relieved to see that the branches protruding from the cliff grew in quantity the closer it got to the ground. I quickly mapped out which branches I would grab as the branch began to give way and released it before the branch had a chance to break entirely. I was more than glad to see that my chosen path brought me safely to the hard dirt floor, but it left my hands bloody, raw, and full of splinters. I worked at picking out the splinters with careful teeth and nails before licking and healing the wound.
When I was finished I looked at my surroundings. The cliff face that had broken my fall was large and there was no visible end. The greenery facing the cliff was scanty and consisted of a few trees and shrubs more in the color range of gold and brown. The dirt was light brown and rock hard, the surface coated with whatever loose dirt could escape creating a chocking dust if the wind were to pick up dramatically.
No matter which direction I looked, the scenery remained the similar if not the same, no end in sight. There was no sign of any landscape even remotely similar to where I had been. How was I to get back to Sesshomaru and Isamu and Jakken? I didn't even know where I was. What was I supposed to do? I shook my head of the negative thoughts as I scanned my surroundings again.
First, I should find water since it seems that it might take a while. I sniffed the air carefully, taking in the dusty dry scent and miraculously found a small strand of moist clear air. I followed the scanty scent until it grew stronger and I found a river. The greenery grew as well some patches of grass growing on the rivers edge. I kneeled to scoop some up with my hands gulping it down to get rid of the dusty taste that had accumulated in the back of my mouth.
After I had done that I decided to follow the cliff face and if I found nothing I would return to the river. I ran along the cliff edge until midday and by that time I had reached another river. From how long I had run and the fact that I noticed the cliff face rounded, this was probably the other end of the river I found before. There was probably a stream somewhere on the mountain since that's what I identified the cliff face as. It was hard to tell when it was so steep and bare. I took some gulps of the cold water and decided to just keep going forward until I met the other river again, making a circle.
By evening I calculated that I was probably halfway to the river when I spotted a castle built into the cliff face. I slowed and then stopped completely when I reached the charred and ruined gates that was the entrances. I stepped into it, the ashes and charred wood crunching at my feet as I continued. I saw broken arrows and spears, rusted swords, burned flags and armor, but no bodies though the hard packed dirt was still dark with dried blood. I continued further in, skipping over burned down or raided servants homes and temples until I reached the main manor which was in no better shape than the rest of it. Any trace of shoji was gone and the sand garden that surrounded it was ruined with blood and broken weapons.
As I traversed the edges of the manor, the sand garden morphed into a more green garden until I happened upon a pond with koi fish of various color still swimming in it, a boulder came up and out from the center, making the small pond look like a moat. Only when the silver light broke through dark clouds did I notice that it was no longer day. I bit back a sob as I leapt onto the boulder just like that second day. I looked up at the full moon, just like then and began to sing.
Rising, rising is the moon,
Large & round, large & round, round round one,
Plate-like full moon will rise soon.
My eyes blurred as they began to produce more water, thinking back to how I sang this to cheer myself up from worrying about Sesshomaru.
Hiding, hiding is the moon,
Behind the clouds, dark clouds, black black clouds,
Plate-like full moon will hide soon.
Tears brimmed at the edges of my golden eyes as I thought of how Sesshomaru was hurt and how my last view of him and the others was them surrounded by a storm of demons. Were they alright?
Appearing, reappearing is the moon,
Large & round, large & round, round round one,
Plate-like full moon will rise soon.
Now the tears flowed freely as I thought a single morbid thought. Would I ever see them again? His name came unbidden to my lips, sounding more a broken sob than anything.
"Sesshomaru…" I felt the tears flow unbroken down my cheeks but did not care to wipe them away. I just continued to stare at the bloated moon letting its glow shine down on me. I should have come to terms with it sooner. I kept putting it off and putting it off and now it was too late.
I was furious at myself for denying it for so long, regret making my body burn and shake. Since we met, no from the beginning, from when I first saw him on TV, I fell in love. I laughed through her tears, a hollow empty sound. I fell in love with a cartoon character and when he became real, I denied my feelings, using my confusion and misery as an excuse to hide my feelings. Now I didn't even know if he was even still alive, if I would ever see him again. I buried my face in my hands, the light becoming too strong for my dark thoughts. No matter how long I waited in that position, my tears would not stop. The darkness began to swallow me. An awed voice made my head snap up in shock.
"Why do you cry, beautiful maiden?"