4. Encounter
What a shame. Yori thought sadly as she let her feet dangle in the water of a river. She touched the surface lightly, watched uninterestedly as the ripples dispersed, and sighed heavily. She had to admit, life with Lord Sesshomaru was not as exciting as she'd hoped it would be. He didn't seem interested in his followers at all. He was barely even around! And every time she asked where he was headed, he'd stop walking for a moment, toss her a warning glare, and then continue leaving. Or just ignore her completely. And the little imp wasn't much help either.
"Why must you know where Lord Sesshomaru is going? It is not your place to ask such things you foolish girl!" he'd say and then stick up his nose and turn his back to her.
She should've stayed with Inuyasha. At least fighting with him had been fun, or dreadfully close to it. There was really nothing to do, she was just here.
Well, Rin was alright. She was a sweet girl who always had a smile on her face, no matter how badly Master Jaken spoke to her. And why should she have to refer to him as 'Master Jaken'? She wasn't a child; she was a teenager, practically an adult. She should be able to just call him Jaken. But besides the age factor, she had no respect for the little annoyance. His very existence was enough to make her wanna knock him out to a point where he'd never wake up. That would be nice. She wouldn't have to hear his little whining voice or any of his insults or 'Lord Sesshomaru' this, and 'Lord Sesshomaru' that. Well now that she thought of it, there was some pleasure in staying here. She'd only been traveling with the trio (to god-knows-where) for four days. But in those four days, she'd seen Jaken hit upside the head and stepped on enough times for her to burst out laughing whenever she thought about it.
And then there was Lord Sesshomaru. She'd only call him 'Lord' one, because she did in fact respect him and two, because he'd probably kill her if she didn't. But he was such a mystery. She'd watch him in her faked sleep as he stood tall and gazed at the night sky. He never turned around, he didn't even move, and he was so intent with whatever he was thinking that it was inspiring. She'd helplessly said his name at random times, still fascinated with its sound. And definitely above all the rest; he was sexy. Really, really, really sexy.
She sighed again.
"What's the matter Yori?" came a sweet voice. Yori looked down and to notice Rin sitting by her side.
"Huh? Rin, when did you get there?" The child just smiled, awaiting an answer and Yori pursed her lips. "Nothing's wrong. I guess I'm just at little upset."
"Oh really? About what?" she asked.
"It's just, when I agreed to come with you I was hoping for something a little bit more exciting. I was hoping that I would be able to do a lot more stuff. I was hoping I would get to see Lord Sesshomaru more often." Oops. That part was not supposed to come out. She looked to Rin for a reaction. She looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Yori began to blush.
"Well it's just… four days ago when I met you two, when I saw Lord Sesshomaru, there was just something about him. I mean I know he was about to kill me and all, but he grabbed a hold of my interest. I watched him carefully, trying to figure him out. He's so perplexing, acting one way in the day and another in the night." she finished looking down.
"Well, I can't help you there. But you have to know that if you're loyal to Lord Sesshomaru, he'll never abandon you. He'll always give you the choice to leave or stay, you just have to make the final decision." She smiled again.
"Rin," Yori turned and to her surprise, Sesshomaru was standing directly behind them. She stared at him wide-eyed. How long had he been standing there? Did he hear what she said? Sesshomaru's eyes rested on Yori as he spoke. "Rin, there is a village nearby. I want you to go and collect supplies."
Rind stood up and spoke in a sing-song voice. "Yes my Lord." Yori stood up too and met Sesshomaru's gaze. She could find no emotion in them, no sign of what he was thinking.
"And Rin, take the girl with you." The child nodded her head and grabbed Yori's hand. As she was pulled past Sesshomaru, she noted his eyes following her until she was out of his vision. What was that? Distrust perhaps?
Yori shrugged and walked with Rin down a path in the forest to the village.
It wasn't long before little straw huts made their way into Yori's vision. Aw, how cute. Wait a minute, what's that? When she looked a little closer, there were spots of black rising over the houses. It looks like… smoke! Om my god, something's on fire! She stopped walking and looked down at Rin who apparently hadn't noticed the smoke.
"Rin, I need you to return to camp. And if Lord Sesshomaru asks, tell him I told you to go back. Okay?" Confusion and fear wrote itself across Rin's face.
"Why? What's the matter?"
"I don't know but something's wrong. I'm not sure if you can see it but there are black clouds rising over the houses. And do you smell that?" The heavy scent of burning wood and straw ad penetrated her nose. "That's smoke. It means something's on fire. It's not safe for you down there." Rin nodded and Yori hugged her and began to run.
"Wait Yori! What are you doing?" Rin shouted after her.
"I'm gonna go see if I can help them!" Yori called over her shoulder and continued to run. When she watched Rin leave and was sure she was gone, Yori focused all of her attention on the burning village.
When she finally made it there, everything was in chaos. People were running and screaming their heads off. She saw mother's shielding their babies and fathers trying to keep the family together. Houses were aflame and smoke was pouring into the sky, turning it black and making it difficult to breathe. Bodies were strewn all of the ground and the stench of blood filled their air, mixing nauseatingly with the smell of the smoke. Yori was breathing hard when she looked up and saw the source of the fires and dead bodies.
Hovering just above the village was a flying demon. Its head was green and it looked almost like a giant fly. Except it breathed fire and its eyes were like glass bulbs. She looked around.
The villagers were trying to fend off the demon. She saw a small group of men with an assortment of weapons; harpoons, spears, arrows, and sword all pointed at the flying thing. At the front of their group was an old woman. She herself had a bow and arrow poised to fire at the beast. And she seemed to be the one calling the shots.
"Ready! Fire!" she shouted. The men let out screams and threw their weapons at the beast. It cried out but in more of annoyance than anything. The weapons bounced off of the thing as if they were just pieces of Styrofoam. Yori ran towards them just as the demon swept down and unleashed a breath a fire. The heat stroked her cheek but the flames never touched her. She grabbed a bow and arrow from a fallen villager and aimed it at the demon. She released the arrow and it too bounced harmlessly off of the demon but it did make its attention turn on her.
What? Why didn't it work? It zoomed towards her and she dropped to the ground. What am I doing different now from the other times? And then it hit her. Every time the blue light had shown up, she had not been afraid. She had been angry, but never afraid. So she stood up once again and aimed another arrow. This time she cleared and forced her fear to dissipate. All of the screams, shouts, and the sound of the flames cackling died. She heard nothing but her own thoughts and her heartbeat. And to her immense surprise, she could actually feel the demon's heartbeat. And then, a small pink light appeared on the demon's body. It shone softly but strongly in the demon's stomach. Why hasn't anyone tried aiming there? Can they even see it? It's worth a shot. The demon raced towards her again and she held her stance.
"What are ye doing child? Run!" The old woman's warning fell on death ears. Yori freed the now blue arrow and it hit the small spark of pink. The demon let out a wail and then it dissolved into thin air. All of the fires disappeared and the people seemed to calm considerably. But Yori didn't notice any of that. The first thing that caught her attention was a pink sparkle falling to the ground. What is that?
Yori walked over to where it fell and picked it up. It was small, diamond shaped, and it gave off a huge positive and powerful energy. It looks like a shard. Wait, that first demon. It said "give me the sacred jewel shard". Is this a sacred jewel shard? I'd better save it; maybe Kagome will want it if I see her.
Yori didn't have any pockets so she slipped it into her bra for now. When she turned around, the old woman was staring at her.
"I have never seen a person fire a scared arrow save for my sister and young Kagome, but even theirs had not been blue. Who are ye child? Perhaps a friend of Kagome's for you wear the same clothing?" Yori blinked. She was quick.
"Yes I'm a friend of Kagome's. Do you know her?" she asked politely.
"Ay, she and Inuyasha are acquaintances of mine."
"Inuyasha? You know him too?" Yori asked surprised.
"Yes. But first come child, your clothes are burned and ripped. Let us clean you up and we shall talk." Yori nodded and the woman led her into one of the huts. There, she sat her down in the middle of the room and told her to undress. As she did, they begun to talk.
"Do they need help?" Yori asked referring to the villagers who were cleaning up.
"Worry not, they shall be fine." the woman said filling a cup with water. Yori eyed her as she did and concluded there was more to this lady than she was letting on.
"My name is Yori. And yours?" she asked.
"I am Kaede. I am the protector of this village." she said handing Yori the water. Yori drank the water and nodded her thanks to Kaede. The old woman smiled and walked over to a small crate and begun to dig in it.
"Ye asked how it was I knew Inuyasha. He was once in love with my older sister Kikyo." Yori almost choked on her water. Was everyone interconnected in this world?
"Oh. That's right, Kikyo passed away around fifty years ago didn't she? I'm sorry." Yori said.
"Ay, death is owed no apology. Perhaps it is indeed life that we should apologize for." Yori crinkled her eyebrows together. She saw that Kaede was the type of person who loved to speak in riddles. She kept quiet and waited for an explanation. "My sister did indeed die fifty years ago. But she was brought back to life and now roams this earth without a soil. She walks as naught but grave yard soil, bones, and dirt. And at one time, she was thirsty for revenge on Inuyasha for killing her. That was until—" Yori stopped her there.
"Let me guess, she found out it was Naraku and now she's after him because of it." Kaede smiled.
"Ye are sharp, but only half correct. Kikyo seeks Naraku for she wishes to keep the Shikon Jewel pure and safe from evil, as was her job as a sacred priestess." Yori blinked, now confused.
"Shikon Jewel?"
"The Shikon Jewel, otherwise known as the Jewel of Four Souls is a sacred object that can increase power beyond tenfold. Naraku wishes to use the jewel to become the most powerful demon in the world. When my sister was born, she was not the only one who held the ability to protect the Shikon Jewel. Not many know this, but my sister was a twin. Born on the same day was the identical Kiesu who also held the ability to protect the jewel." Kaede finished her shuffling and came over to Yori with folded clothes in hand.
"One day when they were of the age of ten, a demon raid took place. One of the beasts was able to take Kiesu captive and she was never seen again. These were clothes specially made for her to wear once she reached a certain age and completed her training." Kaede unfolded a two piece outfit. The top was white with long sleeves and the pants were a solid blue and almost reached the floor. Yori put the clothes on and slipped on some sandals also. She turned to Kaede.
"Hold on, earlier you said my arrow was sacred just like Kikyo's and Kagome's. Kagome has the ability to fire a sacred arrow?" she asked. Kaede nodded her head.
"Kagome is the reincarnation of my sister. They both share the same abilities, firing sacred arrows and sensing sacred jewel shards." Yori's eyes widened.
"You said I could do the same except my arrow was blue. And I can also sense sacred jewels shards. There was one in that demon's stomach, that's how I knew where to hit it. Kaede, what does this mean?" Kaede shook her head.
"I have no idea child. But if you truly wish to know, visit the Sacred Lands in the south and speak with the High Priestess.
She will know. And for your journely, take this bow and these arrows. They once belonged to Kiesu, they should be of some use." Yori nodded and gave Kaede her thanks. But before she could set a foot outside of the small hut, a thought crossed her mind.
"Lady Kaede, sorry if I'm asking too much but I need some supplies." She smiled shyly. In a couple minutes though, she walked out of the hut smiling and calling goodbye to Kaede with arms full of necessary supplies. But her smile was wiped away when she noticed the setting sun. She was very late, and with fear rekindling in her heart, she headed back to camp.