Chapter Eleven

"I didn't realize that it was this far," Haruna sighed. They had been flying for quite a while and the sky above them was ominously gray. Maybe it would rain later. In the distance a lake doomed up from behind the tree filled hills. Something starting to gnaw at her insides, it was a familiar feeling.

'There's a pretty strong yokai around here,' Haruna thought to herself. She scanned the area to see where it could come from. Then she spotted the town build at the right side of the lake. A small enclosed castle overlooked the town. A higher tower stood close to the water side. It seemed to be primarily a fishermen's village, because only a few patches of land were unploughed and cultivated to grow vegetables. It was still quite far away, but if Haruna looked at this town she could feel the evil aura of a demon.

"Do you feel it too, Sesshomaru-sama? The aura?"

"What of it?" was his reply.

"Well, perhaps we should check it out."

"I have no business with these humans, we're heading to Fuji," he retorted.

"But it would be okay to arrive a bit later," Haruna protested, "there's no harm in seeing if they need help."

"We've understood you're a priestess, but you don't have to act like one now! First things first," Jaken stated, "you promised Lord Sesshomaru you would help clear up the issue around the demon-woman's warning."

Haruna looked back at the village, they were now nearly passing over it. The knot in her stomach and dread in her heart was growing. The town seemed normal enough from a distance. All the villagers in the open were eagerly working. Spreading their nets in the water in front of the village from their boats, tending to the radish and rice fields. None of them were loitering around, hard workers indeed.

"Perhaps they don't know the danger they're in, I want to check it out. It might even lead to a clue that can help us on our own quest," she said.

"Do as you wish," Sesshomaru had his head tilted far enough to look at Haruna's face. He then turned away from her and continued flying forward.

"You're not coming? Okay, I'll see for myself."

Haruna pulled twice on Ah-Un's reigns. It took Ah-Un a moment, he was not used to be commanded to swerve away from Sesshomaru's lead, but ultimately the two-headed dragon responded to her demands.

"H-hey! Who said I'm coming with you?! Ah-Un, stop decending," Jaken called out.

"How else do I get to the ground? You can stay with Ah-Un if you want," Haruna told him. Ah-Un was closing in on the ground quickly, she could hear the wind howl in her ears from the speed and Jaken was holding onto Ah-Un's saddle not to fall off. A sigh of relief went through the imps body when the dragon landed. Haruna let herself slide off Ah-Un's back and landed with her sandaled feet in the grass. She didn't land too close to the village on purpose, she didn't want to scare the villagers.

"Jaken-san, I'll be back before nightfall, okay?"

"Ah...? Fine, I'll stay here," he replied. Haruna waved at him and walked off into the direction of the village. She disappeared soon in the thicket. Ah-Un lowered his heads to graze and Jaken leaned back in his saddle with a dreary look on his face.

'I should be at Lord Sesshomaru's side, aiding him, instead of waiting like a mere lackey for this human wench... Lord Sesshomaru, how could you abandon me this way? Should I go after him? But then Haruna wouldn't be able to find us while Sesshomaru-sama apparently has interest in that scroll she carries...' he grumbled dramatically in thought, his yellow eyes glimmered while he looked up at the sky. The thought of being separated from his Lord for such a lowly job as waiting for a human to return from helping other humans aggravated him. Then he hopped off Ah-Un's back and kicked the grass in front of him.

'All because of the insolent girl! She's worse than Rin!' for a moment he missed the younger girl and wished she could be there pestering him with her songs or flowers instead of this dull waiting alone with Ah-Un.

'What shall I do? What shall I do?' he looked around him. He spotted several flowers and an idea formed in his head. 'I'll let chance decide!'

He picked a flower from the ground and started to pull out the petals one by one.

"I go to Sesshomaru-sama... I wait for Haruna... I go to Sesshomaru-sama... I wait for Haruna..."

Meanwhile Haruna was nearing the edge of the village. She walked passed the fields and saw a farmer collecting radishes in a weaved basket on his back.

"Excuse me? Hello!" she said. No reaction. He didn't even look up to her.

'Maybe he didn't hear?' She put her hands around her mouth.

"Hello there!" she called out. He must've heard her this time for sure, but she got no reaction. In the distance she could see a woman with a baby on her back carrying a small cart with bails of hay. She decided to leave the farmer to his work and ask that lady if she could help with a demon-issue. This time Haruna made sure she could see her eyes.

"Hi, I just arrived to your town and-" Something about this woman's face made her stop talking. Her underlip was trembling and she tried to avoid looking back at Haruna. This only made Haruna pay more attention to her, wondering what was wrong.

"P-please, I have work to do. T-talk to the chief," the woman stuttered with a hushed voice. At that moment someone appeared from one of the huts.

"If your mouth's moving, you ain't working! There can be no talking, I said!" it seemed to be a castle guard. He was holding a pike.

"A stranger?" he said, looking at Haruna. His eyes scanned her up and down, noticing she was a priestess.

"Miko-sama, if you enter this town I must lead you before Lord Yoshida," he curtly told her. Haruna looked another time at the woman who stood close to her. Did she see her tremble? It was as though she wanted to make herself as small and unnoticeable to the guard as possible. Haruna looked back at the guard.

"Very well, lead the way."

He gestured her to follow and they walked up a dirt path towards the castle. It was a joyless place: made of gray stone material, discolored by age and weather. Grim faced guards stood at each side of a gate that led to a cobble stone courtyard. The courtyard was adorned by cherry trees that had been planted alongside the enclosure, but right now they didn't blossom or even bear a leaf. It was strange, but other than that Haruna payed no notice. In the middle of the courtyard stood a huge pot, a few lines of smoke from incense trailed up from it. Near the entrance to the main building was a company of guards and officials. The castle lord was comfortably seated on a pillow, his entourage of advisors and caretakers either sitting close to him or standing behind him ready to do his bidding. Haruna and the guard halted a few yards in front of the lord. The smell of incense was stronger here. There was a smaller pot of the stuff next to the castle lord on a plate with an iron teapot and cup.

"Oh-ho? Welcome priestess, what do you visit our town for?" the lord said amused. He smiled lightly at Haruna. He looked older than her, but perhaps only by five years. He wore dark green robes with maroon and yellow details. Haruna gave him a short bow.

"I sensed an evil aura. It could be your town is in need of purging. There is strong demon activity around here."

"Demon activity, you say? Hah! Perhaps you've felt the spirit from the lake, but our town is clean. How dare you insinuate that there's evil in Lord Yoshida's town? Preposterous!" it wasn't the lord who spoke this time, but a chubby man with a long thin mustache that sat a step lower than the lord on a pillow. Lord Yoshida laughed this time.

"Come now, we can't just ignore the priestess warnings," then he turned to Haruna, "I'm sorry for my advisors reaction, but apart from our seasonal offerings to the lake spirit everything is well."

"When I was in town the villagers didn't dare to talk to me. What happened?"

"Ahh, they must've been pushed too hard by the guards. I must look like a bad lord. It is true that the spirit of the lake started acting strange this time, demanding more offerings than usual. We even have to offer him maidens. I had to put everyone at work in order to meet his demands... I don't want the town to risk the spirit's wrath. Sometimes one has to make difficult and painful decisions to avoid a greater disaster."

Haruna was silent.

"And are you okay to meet these demands?" she finally asked.

"This spirit is a protective deity that has lived near our village for a long time. Is there anything we can do? Unless you have a solution, priestess..." he took a sip from his tea.

Everyone looked at Haruna intently.

"I will see the spirit of the lake," she replied.

"But you can't harm him!" the chubby man barked, "Mizuhebiza-sama's demands might be harsh now, but he has protected this town from other demons for over a century! Only a week ago he fought a demon enemy to protect our town. Perhaps he's wounded and needs more offerings to heal himself!"

"You are right, Fukumatsu, but calm down," Yoshida said.

"Forgive me my lord, but I have one more protest. Letting anyone other than your honorable self or your family approach Mizuhebiza-sama is blasphemy. No one other than the maidens we offer have ever laid eyes on him, but since Mizuhebiza-sama is acting unpredictably as of late it's too dangerous for yourself to see him."

"Those are indeed our traditions..." Yoshida said and cupped his chin in a hand. He contemplated for a moment, staring into nothing, but then averted his gaze to the priestess in front of him. Haruna took this as a sign she was allowed to speak.

"You can send me with the offerings and I will be able to communicate with the spririt," Haruna said.

"I was thinking this was a solution as well, but didn't dare to ask it of you. I'm glad you offer yourself, priestess," he smiled back at her. Something about that smile was a little unsettling, sly you could say.

"Lord Yoshida has decided," Fukumatsu spoke haughtily, "the offering takes place at sunset and you will go as maiden."

"I wait for Haruna!" an indignant Jaken called out frustrated. He had plucked the petals of several flowers but always got the same answer.

"Chance is thwarting me," he grumbled, "this can't be right!"

He looked at the sky and noticed it started to color purple and pinkish, it would be getting night soon.

'If she doesn't arrive soon I'll go to Sesshomaru-sama anyway. I have no obligation to wait any longer than that,' he thought and crossed his arms. After Ah-Un ate his belly round he fell asleep, he lay curled up in the grass, his two long-necked heads on top of his tail. Jaken sat down and leaned against Ah-Un's back.

"Owh Lord Sesshomaru, where are you now?" he mumbled to himself.

Haruna was in the village next to a pier. She looked out across the water and saw there was a thick mist hanging over the lake further away. A ceremonial boat had been laden with food and other stuff such as carved figures to please the spirit of the lake. The entire town was gathered there to see Haruna take off. They stared at her, partly relieved none of their daughters were going to be offered but also worried if this scheme would help calm the deity or raise his anger. Haruna was going to get transported with the offerings to a small island with a shrine in the lake. There she'd have to wait until the spirit showed himself. Lord Yoshida was at the site as well.

"Goodluck, priestess," he said when she and two fishermen boarded the boat. She nodded back at him.

For what seemed a long time the men rowed the boat in silence, cutting through the still water. The mist blocked almost all view around and above them, but the decreasing light told her nightfall was quickly nearing. She had to think about Jaken and Sesshomaru and hoped they wouldn't get too mad at her for staying away for so long. She was not surprised they weren't willing to help this town, demons rarely were. But Lord Sesshomaru and Jaken were no ordinary demons. Seeing how they cared about Rin and tolerated her company she thought they'd be a little more understanding of her sense of duty towards other humans.

'Ah well... I just hope I can get this over with quickly,' she thought.

"Are we there soon?" she asked the fishermen.

"Yes, only a few minutes," one replied.

She wondered how they were able to find their way through the mist, they must've navigated to this island quite frequently. Time passed and before she knew it the boat scraped across the sandy bottom: they had arrived. She helped them unladen the boat and install all the offerings in front of the shrine, close to the water. The island was bare apart from the wooden shrine which contained a rock statue of a snake-like creature. The fishermen lit two torches next to the shrine; probably it was to signal the spirit of the lake rather than offer Haruna some light.

"Well... goodluck," the fishermen told her and quickly got back in the boat. It didn't take long or the mist swallowed them and she was truly alone. Out there on the island the demon aura was strong and she felt fully immersed in it. Perhaps only half an hour passed when she could hear something bubbling. The water was moving more wildly and splashed against the shore. A slender figure rose up from the deep. It was a majestic creature, a dragon: its back and sides were covered with white scales that had a pearly shine to them, it's belly was light blue. It had two short scaled arms that each held three fingered claws with long yellowish nails. Mizuhebiza towered fifteen yards above her. He had four long light blue whiskers that dropped down three yards each from his long nose and his eyes were yellow.

"Hello, priestess... Thank you for coming," he growled, curling his lips and exposing his fangs.

"Mizuhebiza-sama, I've learnt from the townsmen that you are a protective deity. Then why do you demand human offerings?" she yelled back at him. In the mist her voice didn't carry far.

"Why should you, a mere mortal, understand me? Is it not enough I protect the town despite these humans' arrogance?" he boomed back.

"The town is currently suffering under your strict demands," she replied.

"Then let me eat you, and perhaps I'll be satisfied," he returned and grinned evilly.

"I won't let you," she coldly replied.

"This shall be amusing!" the dragon sneered and drew in his breath. Haruna grabbed the rosary Miroku provided her and held it between her fingers. A beam of high pressured water came out of Mizuhebiza's mouth, only a few inches wide. It tore through the beach and left a deep cut there, he dragged it to the right where Haruna was standing and when it came in touch with the baskets of radish they got torn apart and the vegetables flew everywhere. Haruna had formed a barrier to block the attack. When it hit her shield the water sprang all over the place, she could barely see the dragon in front of her. She grabbed sutra charms with her free hand and threw four of them in the direction she knew the dragon was standing. The attack stopped. She saw how the sutra charms that hit target sparked like lightning on the dragon's upper and lower chest. Mizuhebiza looked down at them and started to chuckle. Then he roared with laughter and peeled the sutra off with his claws.

"You think," he laughed, "that these silly pieces of paper can harm a deity? I'm no ordinary demon, fool! Pay for your ignorance."

He opened his mouth to attack. For the second time the ray of water hit Haruna's barrier, this time harder. The size of the barrier was diminishing. She gritted her teeth and took a step back. She had to hold! Her hand and arm were trembling. Haruna gathered more spiritual energy and pushed the hand that clutched the rosary up, with that the barrier gained size, but at the same moment the dragon's tail which had been hidden underwater swooped across the small island. It was almost too fast for her to react to, but being trained by the Order meant that she had refined control over her muscles. She strained her muscles to jump at the right time over the tail which destroyed the shrine in the process. She heard the wood crack behind her and the stone statue fell over and broke in two.

"Why? Why are you so angry?" she yelled at the dragon.

"It's that idiot lord Yoshida! After I had fought a demon a week ago to protect this town I got injured, he came to me only to laugh in my face. He told me I had grown fat and slow by his town's support. Those ungrateful humans deserve to grovel for this insult! And now he sent you to provoke me even more! Hah, he thinks I can be purified by a mere priestess? When I'm done with you I'll make sure his entire castle is flattened even with the ground."

Haruna was shocked by this revelation. So the lord had instigated the spirit's anger? But why would he do a thing like that?

"I'm not your enemy, Mizuhebiza-sama, perhaps we can turn this for the better!" she replied.

"No! It's too late! You shall die by my hand!" he roared. His body coiled and he swooped his tail another time across the island. Haruna barely managed to avoid. The katana on her side throbbed.

'Not now, shit, don't start getting hot now!' she cursed inside her thoughts, but she could feel the katana heat up through it's sheath. She grabbed hold of the hilt and it throbbed under her hand, with her other she held up the rosary. There came the tail of the dragon again, rubble from the shrine and woodsplinters where flying around together with a cloud of sand. The katana throbbed again, this time she could feel it resonate through her body. The palm of her hand was hurting from the heat, while her other hand was trembling trying to ward off the dragon's attack with the barrier. And it throbbed once more, like a heartbeat that could be felt throughout her entire body. Her eyes sperred open, something seeped through her fingers up her arm. Power. It felt rejuvenating. She lifted the sheathed sword from it's strap and held it before her and the barrier grew to the size of the island. She watched it broaden, amazed that such strength had been hidden in the sword. Haruna remembered the teachings of her master, the harsh classes she endured to hone her skills. She lowered the hand that held the rosary and tucked it back into her kimono. With her now freed hand she started to form a series of hand signs.

"I won't kill you, but I'll petrify you if I can!" she called out and immediately after that started to recite the charm Kodama taught her.

"Namu Namu Amida Ryorei Lanshikiri Sho Raikan!"

A yellow beam of light shot across the water surface and hit the dragon in his chest. He fell backwards into the water with a big splash. A large wave of water that came to Haruna's knees washed over the destroyed island. Mizuhebiza twisted and coiled his body trying to resist Haruna's spell, sending more waves of water her way. She braced herself against them. She saw her incantation had not been enough and grabbed more sutra charms. Haruna held them between her fingers and they glowed with spiritual power. She threw them at him and he roared in pain. It was over, she did it. The dragon floated immobilized on the water surface for now.

Then someone clapped listlessly behind her. Startled she quickly turned around to see lord Yoshida had set foot on the island. He had approached alone on a boat without her knowing.

"Bravo! Bravo!" he said sarcastically and looked at her with a scowl. In his hand he held a pot of incense. Suddenly she understood who was the true felon here.

"You!" she growled, "you've used me to weaken the spirit of the lake!"

"O-ho! You've figured it out. Guess there's no use in keeping this stinking pot around me any longer then," he casually threw it in the water where it disappeared. When the smoke of incense faded Haruna started to feel demonic aura coming from the lord. He had used the power of the incense to mask his true nature.

"You're a demon that has taken over lord Yoshida, you're planning to devour the dragon aren't you?" she bitterly spat at him. He chuckled darkly.

"You've succeeded at petrifying the dragon, which means I can first drain all the strength left in you and then eat Mizuhebiza to take on my true form once again! Possessing this human has been fun, but I'm getting bored of this weak shell."

Without warning his eyes lit up red. Haruna looked straight into those eyes and felt her body get limp. In that instant her mind panicked and the images of Kodama and Sesshomaru flashed before her. None of those men where there to save her now.

"S-sesshomaru..." she moaned before she fell to the ground.

"That's a good girl," the demon Yoshida sneered, "do despair, you'll taste so much better! No one will come... The villagers don't dare to enter this sacred island and the mist is too thick for anyone else to find us. I'll enjoy feasting on your body!" He stretched out his hand to her with a wicked smile on his face. Jaken was far away and she didn't have a clue where Sesshomaru was.

Lord Yoshida's face turned pale green and a row of horns grew out of his hair: the demon's true face. Drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth when he watched Haruna's lying form in the sand. She tried to move, but her body didn't react. The demon chuckled and the red glow in his eyes became stronger.

"Yes, try to resist, feel how powerless you've become!"

'Sesshomaru-sama, Jaken-san, anyone!' she pleaded in thought, feeling too well how helpless she was at the moment.