Chapter 3 Amba

It was just getting light, the sun peeking up over the eastern horizon. The dock was quite when Amba arrived. There was no busy bustle going on, no loading or off loading. Amba looked around, surprised at how quiet it was. With his hair tied back and dressed in a dark blue t-shirt, black jeans and hiking boots, he was ready for work. He hadn't needed to go to the dock, but he had left a few crates that needed to be loaded on the ship.

Amba had arrived in Japan two years before, from the northeast coastal area of Siberia. His people had lived on the eastern coast for several thousand years. But the encroachment of humans had made them migrate north. Several times they moved, finally making their way to secluded valleys in the northeastern coastal area. There they lived without much contact with nosy humans. They were the last of their kind. They were "Tiger Folk", as they called themselves. Mostly subsistence hunters and gatherers, they tended to keep to the forest and away from human populations. On the rare occasions that humans encountered them, they gave the impression of indigenous people of the region. They were in fact actually demons, or supernatural beings; spirits of the forest. In their human form, they easily passed as human. They tended toward medium length reddish brown hair with darker streaks, light brown, almost amber colored eyes, fairly tall in height and athletic builds. In their true form, they were the very spirit of the forest, Amba, the tiger. Like the tiger, they preferred the quiet life of the forest.

Amba was different. A few Tiger Folk were very pale blond or white haired with blue or blue green eyes. Amba had the pale blond hair with light brown streaks and blue eyes. He also had the wonderer's soul. He enjoyed learning, traveling and exploring. He was one of a very few who actually left the valleys to explore. He had often wandered off for days at time exploring. By the time he was the equivalent of a human in their mid twenties, he decided to leave the secluded valley he was born in and go in search of his calling. He had ended up in Japan, taking classes at the one of the universities in Tokyo. His strength and willingness to work hard quickly got him a job at the dock. He learned about ships while working around them and at the university. He felt it might come in handy for traveling around the world by sea, a goal he had set for himself.

As he approached the spot where the crates had been, he found that they were gone. His first thought was that someone had loaded them onto the ship but something didn't smell right. He frowned, looking around. He was surprised to see a car parked next to the freighter. He sensed something wasn't quite right but couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong. His blue eyes scanned over the freighter but couldn't see anything. He sniffed, sifting out the normal dock smells and picked up the scent of several male humans and a female human. No, not quite human. Quiet and quick, using what his people call the "Silent Stalker" mode, he made his way aboard the freighter. Once on the main holding deck, he found the scents had split; the female and two males going down toward the hold, the rest going up to the top decks.

Amba followed the female's scent. Having worked on the ship, he knew his way around and quickly reached the hatch that led to the hold. Resuming his normal self, he opened the hatch and made his way slowly down the metal ladder. He paused long enough to assess the situation. The human males were gone but the female was down in the cavernous hold somewhere.

The ship was loaded with a variety of cargo, mostly in containers, but there were also crates and large sacks of grain in this hold. Amba made his way quietly through the maze of crates and sacks. The hold was dark, the only light source were a few bare bulbs that hung from the ceiling.

Amba sensed movement to his left, behind a crate and ducked into a crouch. The air made a whooshing sound as something flew past his head and landed with a clang on the floor. He ignored what was thrown and started to inch his way to the crate. A shape materialized from behind the crate and barreled into him, knocking him to the floor.

Moriko had heard the hatch open and saw a figure slowly descend the stairs. She thought one of the men was returning for whatever reason, so she had hid behind one of the crates.

She had been awake in the trunk of the car when the men checked on her. She feigned being unconscious, mainly to see if she could learn anything and partly to keep from being rendered unconscious again. She also didn't want them to find out she wasn't human.

She had considered fighting them if they took her to a secluded spot. She quickly decided that wasn't a good idea though. When they arrived at the ship, it was dark and there were four more men waiting. They all had guns, what kind she didn't know and didn't want to find out. As they took her out of the trunk, she had struggled as best she could without using all her strength. Still bound and taped, they had carried her onto the ship and dumped her into the hold. She had managed to make her way to a crate and put her back against it. The men did not return. After several minutes of listening, she knew that they had left.

Moriko looked around the hold. It was cavernous, dark, smelled of fish and other unidentifiable scents. There was a rusted metal stairway that led up to the hatch, one light bulb swinging on its cord. The light was off. After her quick survey of her prison, she tested the ropes that bound her hands and feet. They were tight; she was unable to slip out of them. She knew her Father had cameras on his ships and assumed correctly that this ship also had cameras also. She couldn't simply break the ropes; that would cause suspicion. She sat with her back to the corner of the crate and made it look like she was trying to break the ropes by rubbing them on the wood.

After what seemed like hours, she tested the ropes again. Were she a mere human, it would take much longer to weaken the ropes enough to break them. Since she wasn't the ropes parted easily for her. She untied the rest of the rope and ripped off the tape, pulling a bit of skin from her lips. She sat quietly; sure the men would come and tie her back up. No one came. She went to the stairs and went up. The hatch at the top was not locked and she opened it. Two guns were pointing at her face. The men behind the guns motioned her back down. They said something in a language she didn't understand and she slowly backed down the stairs. She noted the camera on the wall half way down. She had missed it going up. It explained how the men had known to be there and why they hadn't come to tie her up again.

Left alone, she sat by the crate and considered her predicament. She was being held for some reason she didn't understand. Her captors didn't know what she was, they thought she was human. She couldn't do anything to change that perception, which meant she couldn't use her strength and abilities to escape.

That left her with only one option. She needed to let Hikaru know where she was. If he was close enough, she could send him a psychic message. She wasn't sure of the range of their abilities but she needed to try. She was interrupted by the arrival of the unknown man. She picked up a metal pipe and threw it at the intruder. His reflexes were quick and the pipe missed. She tackled the man, intending to knock him silly. He wasn't human.

Amba caught the hand that was poised to strike him. The girl was straddling him, one hand on his chest the other still in the air, ready to strike. Holding the girl's arm he said softly, "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Moriko relaxed her arm a bit, studying the young man. He was about her age, ruggedly handsome, with a straight nose, strong square chin, and startling blue eyes. Even though he was lying on his back, she could tell he was tall. He was also a youkai.

"I work here, at the dock. My name is Amba." He studied the girl. She wasn't really a girl, more like a young woman, his age. She would have passed for any of the Japanese girls he knew from the University. She had a beautiful delicate round face, her hair was long and silky black, and she wasn't very tall. Her eyes were the only thing that made her look a little different; they were more of a lighter brown than the usual dark brown of Asian people.

Moriko pulled her arm out of his grip and sat up, allowing Amba to sit up as well. "You're a youkai."

Amba frowned. "Youkai? If by that term you mean demon or spirit, then yes. You're half demon, how come you haven't escaped?"

"Don't you know you're not supposed to let humans know what you are?" She frowned at him.

"I know the guidelines but why would that stop you from escaping?"

Moriko pointed to the camera she had earlier confirmed was there. "Not very bright are you?"

He looked where she pointed then grinned at her. "I've been told I can be thick headed."

Moriko raised her eyebrows at him. "Now you're stuck in here with me."

"Could be worse."

"How?" Moriko couldn't understand this young man's sense of humor in such a situation.

"I could be here by myself." Amba grinned again. He understood the seriousness of the situation. He could be killed. But something about this girl grabbed his attention. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Moriko frowned again. 'I'm stuck with an idiot,' she thought. "You don't realize the danger you just walked into."

"Oh, I understand the danger. So whatever happens we have act human. I agree with the guidelines set by the powerful dog demon…"

"Father."

"What?" Amba looked at the girl, not sure he heard right.

"The dog demon is my Father." Moriko spoke slowly as if to a child.

"Oh boy." Amba sat looking at the girl, thinking. "What's your name?"

"Moriko."

"Moriko. Nice to meet you. Now we need to figure out what to do." Finding out she was the daughter of the most powerful demon made him more determined to help her. Amba had heard that this "youkai", as Moriko had called him, was very strict in enforcing those guidelines.

"There is one thing I can do." Moriko closed her eyes and concentrated very hard. She pictured the hold of the ship then thought of Hikaru. She finished what Amba's arrival had interrupted.

Amba was about to say something when the hatch opened and several men with guns came down the stairs.

They both turned and watched as the men came down. One had stayed at the top, gun at ready, while the other three came down, all with guns drawn. Amba noted the guns were automatics. Some might consider him thick headed but not stupid. He wasn't about to go up against automatic weapons.

"Aktivieren." The one in the lead made a moving motion with his gun.

Slowly, Moriko and Amba got up and walked over to the ladder. They were motioned up the ladder. The man at the top still had his gun trained on them as did the three behind them. They all slowly went up the stairs and as they reached the top, Amba noted more men. He and Moriko were now surrounded by eight men. One was talking on a cell phone.

Amba studied the men. They worked as a team and seemed to be ready for war. They were all wearing dark combat type uniforms and carried an arsenal of weaponry. Amba had no desire to find out if he could survive an onslaught of automatic gun fire.

The one man, built like an athlete and tall, finished speaking on the phone and put it away. He said something to the other men. The men motioned Amba and Moriko to the gang plank leading off the ship. Amba quietly complied. They spoke a language he didn't understand but the motions were obvious. He and Moriko were to walk down the gang plank to the two men waiting on the dock. He took Moriko's hand, more for moral support than any other reason and slowly made their way down. The eight men followed them down. The tall athletic man spoke sharply, jabbing at the pair with his gun. Amba and Moriko moved faster.

At gun point, the pair was herded to the car Amba had seen earlier. It was an SUV, black in color. They all piled into the vehicle, Amba and Moriko tightly packed between two of the guards in the back seat. Two more sat in front, with the driver. Five armed men against two unarmed humans. Or so it appeared. Amba knew he could take these five guys on his own terms, but not in a car, not with Moriko.

The athlete guy, as Amba thought of him, gave instructions to the driver and moved away from the car. He and the last two men walked down the dock and disappeared around the side of a building.

As the SUV drove past the building, a black sedan pulled out behind them. The two cars then headed away from the dock. No one spoke as the two cars drove to a private airport. Once at the airport, Amba and Moriko were surrounded by the eight armed men and herded toward a waiting Gulfstream.

After being herded onto the plane, Amba listened carefully to what the men were saying. He guessed the language that the men were speaking to be German, though that didn't help him any, he didn't know enough of German to understand what was being said. He did recognize the word "Africa" and surmised that's where they were headed.

The plane took off right away, heading for its distant destination. Though there was plenty of space on the plane for maneuvering, surrounded by automatic weapons left them little choice but to sit. So once again, there was nothing Amba or Moriko could do. In keeping with their "human" identity, they would have to wait until the right opportunity presented itself.

Moriko sat stiffly in her seat, holding Amba's hand for moral support and closed her eyes. It took her a while to relax, but finally she thought of Hikaru and reached out to him. She briefly felt Hikaru's mind and sent an image of a plane. She leaned back in the seat for a few minutes with her eyes closed. It was tiring to send such a mental image and she just wanted to rest.

Amba watched her intently for a minute, having no real idea what she just did only that it took lots of concentration. He could sense she wasn't harmed in any way, just tired. He let her rest, knowing she would eventually tell him what she did. With nothing else to do, he too leaned back in the seat and waited.

Notes:

I went over this chapter and made some corrections and added a bit.

The Tiger Folk have two abilities they can use;

Silent stalker mode enables them to stalk an enemy without being seen or heard.

Nature mode enables them to understand the "talk" of nature, to communicate with the natural world around them.

The pale Tiger Folk have the added ability to freeze things with a touch.

I am guessing that youkai or demons would have a hard time surviving automatic weapon fire to the head and chest. Based on my own opinions and on comments about Naraku's heart.

Aktivieren means get moving in German, at least I hope it does, that was the translation I got.