Chapter eleven

We were back to the village, waiting for Totosai to finish the heaven sword.

Toga was surprisingly easily accepted (I suspected it was because of his boyish charms) and got quickly the respect of villagers and a still growing fan club.

After a little debate it was decided that Toga would live with me and Haruki.

And this is why I was walking rapidly to the forest.

Toga a few hours ago had gone with Hiro and they hadn't returned yet. Supper was ready and Aisu and I were beginning to worry.

This was why I gave Aisu Mikomi and Haruki for a moment, saying that I would find them.

I entered the first trees and tracked their auras.

She finally found them but stopped when she saw the state Toga was in.

Covered from head to toe in dirt, mud and leaves, the demon was scrubbing himself angrily.

I couldn't help but let out the beginning of a giggle. He turned to me and growled in annoyance.

I turned to Hiro and he answered:

"He fell in the swamp while chasing a deer."

His voice was stern, but I could see the gleam of laughter in his eyes.

I smiled wildly, trying to contain my laughter.

"I'll go get some clothes for him." Told Hiro, walking away.

"Okay, I'll stay here." I said "Just make sure to pass by Aisu to tell her you're alright."

He nodded and disappeared. I sat on a rock not far away from Toga, my back turned to him to give him a little privacy.

After hearing his grumble for ten long minutes, I turned around to see him struggling with his hairs.

I watched him fight for a few second before hoping off the rock and kneeling near the water edge, careful to not wet the hem of my intense dark blue kimono with little white flowers embroidered on regular patterns.

"Here." I motioned for him to come closer "I'll help."

He seemed a bit sceptical, but neared the river's bank nonetheless.

I begin washing carefully the hairs I was secretly jealous of (seriously, the demon did nothing and had silk hairs while I had to literally toil to make mine half decent).

Some minutes passed in perfect silence and I was enjoying it when I heard a purr.

Curious, I looked around to find the sound's source and narrowed my search to the demon boy in front of me.

I blinked at him before lowering my eyes at him.

It was indeed him, the low rumble making his chest vibrate ever so slightly.

But the moment I saw it Toga stopped and opened his eyes, looking at me irritatedly.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing." I said quickly, a bit embarrassed "Do inus purrs?"

"Of course not." The demon snorted "We can rumble but that's all. And we don't rumble that much, only for the family."

'Family?' I though, the word echoing a deep want in my soul 'Does he consider me family? Or is it simply a coincidence?'

Thinking of it brought back the memories of my family, far away in the future and I couldn't help but feel sad.

"Haruko?" asked Toga, breaking my train of thoughts.

"Ah, gomen." I said, forcing a smile on my face and finishing his last strand of muddy hairs "Here, as good as new!"

Hiro entered with an excellent timing and I was able to go.

I walked rapidly to my hut, collected Haruki and Mikomi before reheating supper.

Toga was soon here and I distributed the rice and some meat (half cooked for Toga).

The meal with eaten in a familial atmosphere. Haruki was chatting her day away at Toga who was patiently listening to her.

I was feeding Mikomi her milk, my mind elsewhere.

The little episode with Toga's hairs brought a wave of nostalgia. I realised that the faces of my parents, as well as my little brother's, were blurred.

I began panicking slightly. I didn't want to forget them.

"I'm going for a little walk." I said Haruki after I prepared the baby for sleep "Can you look after Mikomi for a while?"

The golden haired girl nodded and I smiled at her before putting Mikomi in her little fur bed.

I kissed Haruki's forehead and nodded briefly to Toga before exiting the hut.

I walked slowly to the well's clearing, glancing at the stars twinkling in the dark sky, as well as the waxing moon.

They were so beautiful. I loved to sit for hours just gazing at them or any other beautiful nature picture.

I kneeled in front of the well's board and put my hand on it, feeling the old damp wood under my fingertips.

Before I knew it, tears rolled off my cheeks.

::::

"Sorry to bother you." I apologized to Aisu.

"It's no problem." Smiled the woman "I hope you'll defeat this evil sword."

I smiled before kissing a still pouting Haruki and a gurgling Mikomi.

After hours of one sided debate with Haruki, I finally made her agree to stay in the village with Aisu, Hiro, Kiseki and Mikomi. I refused to endanger their lives uselessly.

I ruffled Kiseki's hairs and hugged Hiro briefly before departing with Toga to Totosai's house.

We got here quite quickly and Totosai was there with the new sword in his hands.

"Its name is Tenseiga." He said, handing it to Toga "The sword of healing."

"Arigato." I said for Toga.

"I wish you good luck children." Said the old demon before stopping for a few seconds.

I was beginning to worry for his health when he suddenly came back to life and almost ran back inside his home.

We heard noises made by metal and Totosai re-emerged a few seconds later with a naginata in hand.

"I made it with the strands of your mane." He said, giving the weapon to me "It should be receptive to most of your powers."

"Thank you." I said, taking it and handing back the old one I was carrying.

I secured the gift on my back and bowed to the old demon before walking away, Toga leading as always.

::::

I all but collapsed on the ground, tired.

The more Toga and I moved eastward, the more we were attacked by zombies controlled by Sou'unga and I had an almost constant headache from using my fire power, though using it with my naginata or bow was a lot easier.

I began rummaging in my bag for the usual medicine while Toga disappeared, probably to patrol and hunt something (he had taken that role none too long ago and I was happy of his growing involvement in our little group).

Today was particularly tough and I couldn't wait to sleep a bit. I may be part demon but I was still human and I wanted a good night sleep to restore my energy.

I prepared camp and began searching around for wood when I heard a little whine.

It was barely audible, but I had sensible ears and was able to pinpoint the location of the source.

While gathering wood I made my way there, simply curious as I felt nothing threatening.

I finally stumbled upon a clearing to find two very huge white wolves on the ground, their eyes unfocused, blood marring their furs.

I put down my load of wood and went to check on them, but they were already dead.

The whimper was heard again and I looked harder to find pups.

From their height they couldn't be anywhere above ten years old. They were still young but looked tall enough to get out hunting with their parents.

They had all the pure white fur of their parents, the only difference being their eyes.

They were four in total. One had pure white eyes that reminded me of diamonds with light reflects. Another had fiery red-orange eyes that gleamed like fire.

The third one had also white eyes but that reminded me of pearls, the pupils grey and barely visible.

And finally the fourth one had warm brown eyes, their depth piercing right through you.

They were all shaking and their eyes showed fear.

I kneeled near them and I checked them one after the other.

Save for a few scratches, they were all okay except that they were visibly shaken deeply.

I noted that the one with red-orange eyes was the only female of the group and sighed. I couldn't leave them here, they were too young to survive on their own.

'All right.' I sighed internally.

I gathered them in my arms, succeeded into taking the bunch of wood I collected without letting any of the pups drop and walked back to camp.

And it wasn't an easy task with the female one, as well as the one with brown eyes trying to break out of my hold.

I finally walked in the clearing and put the pups and the wood down.

The female one immediately jumped away from me, growling fiercely. The one with brown eyes just curled himself into a ball, worrying me over his level of stress.

The other two simply laid down against each other, still trembling but looking around with fear mixed with curiosity.

I prepared camp, ignoring the female one who moved with me to be always out of reach and soon the fire I built was cackling happily.

Strangely enough this seemed to calm a bit the female. She stopped growling all the time and took place near the fire, only returning back to her previous occupation when I neared her too much.

Toga returned with a deer and gave it to me, looking at the pups.

"I found them not too far away from camp." I explained. I knew he was asking for an answer without him having to speak "Their parents are dead and I couldn't leave them behind."

He seemed to accept the explanation and sat against a trunk.

His peace however was broken by the female pup who began growling fiercely the moment she saw him.

He looked at her intensively before growling lowly, letting his aura leak out a bit.

This shut up completely the pup who stayed silent thorough the whole evening.

I prepared then distributed the meat. I gave Toga some raw slips and gave barely cooked one to the pups, putting the female pup's share not too far away from her.

I took out my cover from my bag and said goodnight to Toga before trying to burry myself under it.

I was about to fell asleep when I felt something nudging me.

I opened my eyes to see the brown eyed pup trying to enter into the cover with me.

I smiled before opening it a bit, letting the little one crawl up to me to snuggled against my stomach.

That done I promptly fell asleep.

::::

One week passed since I found the pups. And a lot of thing had changed.

After the night Daichi (the brown eyed pup) decided to sleep with me, the other ones increasingly neared me night after night and day after day until they began to always try to be near me, even Akiko (the female pup).

They even began to accompany Toga when he hunted. I was happy and in the same time surprised that the demon accepted their presences, but after reflexion I reasoned that they needed to learn and Toga's inu instinct were telling him he was the only one who could teach them, which was why I was happy because it meant he had accepted them.

I had taken upon my time to train them because we were still attacked by Sou'unga's zombies and the first time they cowered between my legs, making me lose my concentration and my balance.

I could have been severely injured if not for Toga.

So from then I trained them to recognise their names (I named the pearl eyed one Shinju and the diamond eyed one Shugyoku), to understand when we were in a dangerous situation and how to act appropriately then. They couldn't hide between my legs or Toga's, but a few steps behind me, ready to dodge just in case.

We were currently walking, the pups running around not too far away, when I felt someone near us. And it wasn't Sou'unga's zombies.

I looked at Toga and saw his hand on the hilt of Tetsaiga.

"Daichi, Akiko, Shinju, Shugyoku, danger." I called the pups who immediately gathered on the place I pointed to them.

I readied my naginata, Toga took out his sword and we waited.

We didn't wait long. A wolf demon crashed in the clearing and attacked without warning Toga.

After him a group of huge pure white wolves surrounded me and the pups.

I had to call them to near me a bit more before noticing the similarities between them. They had all pure white fur and singular eye colours.

"Can we talk?" I tried, unwilling to kill them "I don't want to fight."

The wolves only growled back and one of them attacked.

My eyes turned golden and I charge my naginata with electricity before hitting it with the flat of my blade.

Shocked, the animal crashed against a tree and lost consciousness.

"Why are you attacking us?" I asked vainly.

They still attacked and they met the same fate as the first one.

"I'll repeat one last time." I said to the cowering wolves left "Why are you attacking us?"

"You killed Beika and Soka and kidnapped their pups." Said one of them.

I wondered a moment before linking the two dead wolves with the names.

"I didn't kill those wolves." I reasoned "Did you see the damages done on the bodies? I don't have claws big enough to do that. And those little ones here can tell you I'm not the one you're searching for."

On cue the pups began yipping and the one who spoke grumbled a moment in thoughts before saying:

"Apparently we misjudged you. Please forgive us. Thank you to have looked after the pups."

He bowed his head slightly and I relaxed a bit before Toga and the wolf demon crashed in the clearing next to us.

"We must stop them!" I exclaimed, running to them, the wolves and pups on my heels.

We came to see the two facing each other, Toga with Tetsaiga and the wolf demon with a light katana.

"Please stop fighting!" I yelled, running in the middle of the clearing to prevent any further fight.

"Taichou-sama!" yelled the white wolf "They aren't the ones that killed Beika and Soka!"

"What!" growled their leader, surprised "Then what are you doing in my territory."

He growled lowly and I felt Toga come near me, his sword still in his hand.

"We are after an evil sword called Sou'unga." I explained calmly "We have to destroy it or the world will be destroyed."

"I don't believe you." Said the wolf leader "It's been months since someone began killing my wolves one by one and I never saw any evil sword."

I was desperate to try proving that I was telling the truth but didn't know how. I was beginning to panic when a few of Sou'unga's zombies crashed in the clearing, attacking the wolf demon and a few white wolves.

I called the pups before exchanging my naginata for my bow.

I notched one arrow, my eyes turning red, and fired it to the zombie holding one wolf to my left.

I set the arrow aflame and the zombie disintegrated in ashes quickly.

I repeated the operation for every zombie attacking the wolves, letting Toga and the wolf demon deal with the ones attacking them before tending to the injured ones.

The wounds were serious and I had to use a good deal of my nature power to make sure they would survive.

"Finished." I said to the wolf who spoke to me earlier, finishing the bandages of the last one "A few days of rest and they will be as good as new."

"I cannot thank you enough for your help…" replied the wolf, stopping when he had to say my name.

"Haruko." I simply told him, smiling friendly.

"Arigato Haruko-san." Replied formally the wolf, bowing his head slightly.

I nodded to him and went to Toga's sides.

"Are you injured?" I asked, scanning him for any wound."

"No." he simply said.

Satisfied, I nodded briefly before turning to the demon wolf.

"What's your name?" I asked, curious.

"I am Kiba." Answered the demon "Leader of the eastern tribe, the white wolves. Who are you and why are you intruding my territory?"

I resisted the urge to snort at his arrogance. It was Toga who answered.

"I am Toga of the western land. We are searching to tame the evil sword Sou'unga."

"The sword can possess the corpses it slays." I explained, hoping to avoid a useless fight "They were probably the ones who killed your wolves."

It took some time but I succeeded into convincing Kiba we weren't a threat

After that I visibly relaxed… until Kiba decided to come with us.

::::

I sighed deeply but as discreetly as I could. The tension in our group for the past few days had been ridiculously high.

I could somehow understand. Toga and Kiba were both alpha of their own pack. Their coexistence was then difficult because when our groups joined, no one said who would be the leader.

But this was ridiculous! The tension was so overwhelming that it affected the ones around them.

Kiba's wolves were loyal to him. But I saved their lives and took care of their youngs. As for the pups, they were loyal to Toga and me but were hesitant to go against their elders.

I was about to snap at them when I sensed Sou'unga's zombies approaching us ( I could recognise their undead auras quite well now).

"Toga." I warned him, retrieving my naginata from my back.

I told the pups to go behind me and had one last thought to perhaps name my naginata before the zombies busted in, chasing…a cat.

I blinked at the scene and had almost no time to recover as the cat barrelled to us, hiding behind me.

My eyes turned red and I slashed the zombie who tried to pass my defence, letting Toga and Kiba deal with the rest.

Keeping an eye on the fight, I kneeled the cat to check on it.

But it was a totally normal cat and I was wondering why Sou'unga was after it when I felt someone prick my skin.

I gazed down to the hollow of my throat to see a tiny flea drinking my blood.

I snapped my hand on it and let the flattened flea fall on my hand.

"Who are you?" I asked curiously, recognising a slight demonic aura in the flea.

"Permit me to present myself." Said courteously the little flea demon "My name is Myoga the flea."

"I'm Haruko, nice to meet you. Are you the ones the zombies were pursuing?"

"If by zombies you mean the undead demons then yes."

"Don't you mind telling us why?" I asked.

Haruki : I hope you liked it !

Haruko: We congratulate Blue-chan for her success too! Until next week!