Chapter 4: Jinenji

"An herbal antidote. So there is a cure for Kirara's sickness." I say.

Inuyasha, Myoga, Shippo and I sit on the soft evergreen grass of an open field. Behind us, not too far away, is a small hut where Sango lies resting with Kirara, sickly at her side. It's peaceful regardless of the injuries that had occurred. A soft wind blows over the grassy field, moving along the thin cotton candy clouds across the bright blue sky.

"I have heard rumors of an herb garden not far from here. Unfortunately for us, there's also a rumor about a demon." Myoga breaks the silence with his nasal voice. He sits with his legs crossed on Inuyasha's left shoulder and his eyes remain closed while he relaxes.

"That's the perfect job for Inuyasha." Shippo says, throwing up a fist with excitement. "After he beats the demon, we can take what we need."

Inuyasha smiles and crosses his arms across his chest proudly. "If it helps, Kirara, I'm happy to do it. She actually helps in battle, unlike some people!"

"Yeah! Unlike Myoga we can actually count on Kirara! Without her, we'd be in trouble." Shippo chimes.

The little flea huffs and crosses all four of his arms, lifting his head up high a posh-like manner.

He can't be too angry. They are not wrong. He does little to help in a fight when it comes down to physical combat, but his range of knowledge about certain situations always ques us in on what's going on and who we are battling. So, he's not completely useless.

"You're right, he doesn't help much in that department, but at least he's knowledgeable."

"Thank you Keara. See, brains count too, y'know!"

Inuyasha and I both walk at a fast pace down a dirt path. The mountains rest beautifully to our right and the forest, with wildflowers blooming, is to our left. It's still peaceful. A delicate wind brushes through my hair, tangling the black strands behind me. It's too bad we can't enjoy the scenery—but we have a limited amount of time before Kirara gets worse.

"I could get there faster if I went by myself," Inuyasha grumbles. His words are meant to be harsh, but his tone and expression is relaxed. He's comfortable, even at the quick pace we're going.

"That's nice, but I am the one who knows which herbs to pick." I am no expert in herbs, not yet, at the least, but Kaeda teaches me a thing or two whenever we visit her. Because our supplies are so limited, we try to keep to natural remedies when we get hurt, so not to use up on first aid that Kagome has provided.

"Yeah, okay…. fine."

It is nice being just the two of us again, heading on a small adventure to find a magical herb to heal of all our problems away—well, not all. Miroku stayed back with Sango, Kirara and Shippo, all who help tend to their injuries. I glance up and Inuyasha to find his eyes closed while he's walking and his head bobbing up and down. He must be exhausted from the constant battling we've been undergoing. I am surprised he's able to rest like this while walking, and in a straight line! However, his eyes do spring open, catching himself from falling.

We soon approach a forest line, where an opening into the forest is. Coming out from the darkness of the forest is a group of men carrying a human sized wooden slab. Inuyasha notices it too, before he can close his eyes again. He sharply watches the men when we reach each other.

The closer they come, the more I realize that there is a body on top of the wooden slab that is covered with a thin white blanket. I've seen war grounds covered in bodies and bones, but this has me shivering.

"Third one this week. I tell you, it's Jinenji." One man says.

"Of course it is!" Another replies.

"Who else would it be?" Yet another says.

"What do we do?" Another asks.

There are five men carrying the dead soul. All wearing blue outfits in various shades. Two are elderly, two others in their mid-thirties—I would assume—and one a little younger than all the rest.

Grumbling, Inuyasha steps forward to block the men from going any further. "Who's Jinenji? Some kind of demon?"

"Why should we tell you?" An elderly man spits.

"Another demon!" The other elderly man exclaims.

I come to Inuyasha's side and look up at him. "He's not totally dangerous."

The men look at one another before glaring back at us, not saying a word any further.

"Listen, we are just trying to find a farm where we can get a medicinal herb for our friend."

"What herb? You mean Jinenji, then?" One of the elderly men asks.

"Jinenji's the one who killed this poor woman!" The other exclaims. "You want Jinenji… Big monster who lives at the edge of the village with his mother. Them plants work, sure enough, but lately I… Th-that is to say, he–lately he's got himself a taste for human flesh."

"That's him, there! Big 'un, ain't he?" points one man.

We all keep behind a boulder at the forest and farm edge. Amidst the crops shuffles a massive creature with human-like features, except for his elongated face, that is like a dog's snout, and large blue eyes with no eyelids. He walks with a hunch on his back, leaning forward with every step. His blue patterned tunic sways lightly in the wind. He carries a stick with two buckets of liquid on each end. Black hair is pulled back into a small tight ponytail, making his face look taut and young. He doesn't look so dangerous to me, other than his size.

"Hah! He ain't so big." Inuyasha scoffs.

"Don't make us no promises you can't keep!" Another man hisses.

"I'm doing it for the herb, not you!" Inuyasha stands up and I follow suit, pulling the straps of the yellow backpack tight against my spine. "No, Keara, you stay here." He looks down at me before turning on his heels and walking into the field.

"Reckon he's strong enough?" A man asks.

"Don't really matter now, do it? Ain't our problem no more." Another man argues.

"Maybe they'll kill each other." An elderly man suggests.

"Didn't your mama tell you not to eat people smaller than you!" Inuyasha spits. He unsheathes Tetsusaiga, and it transforms into its larger form. He approaches the demon, who merely looks back at him slowly. But Inuyasha remains unmoving.

The sound of footsteps surrounds me and before I know it, the group of men have run out from behind me and throw large stones at the beast.

"Go on!" One says.

"Get out!" says another.

The beast's eyes glow red, and a grumbling roar comes from its tiny lips. Inuyasha gets into a fighting position, both hands holding the handle of the Tetsusaiga. He's ready for an attack, but it's not what comes. Instead, the beast roars loudly, his large blue eyes filling up with tears.

"Ma!" He screams, covering his head with both hands and stomping his way to a tiny hut off in the distance next to the farmland. "Ma, Help!" He cries.

"Wha? W-wait!" Inuyasha calls out in surprise.

An elderly woman wearing a green bandana on her greying hair, an orange half sleeved shirt and grey skirt comes running out from the small hut holding what looks like a long log. She directs her attack for Inuyasha, who backs up in surprise.

"Why, you!" She shouts.

"Mountain witch!" yells the men in front of me.

"Tryin' t' take our land fer yerself again, are ya?" She lifts the log with both hands and slams it down onto Inuyasha's head, but the half demon isn't fazed by the hit. He continues to stare down at her with both bewilderment and confusion.

"So much for that plan!" shouts one of the elder men.

"Run away!" Says another.

They drop the rocks they are holding and runoff back into the forest.

"Now I know I'm missing something." Inuyasha grumbles. He turns to watch the group of men disappear into the foliage and glance back at the elderly women.

"I don't know who putcha up to it or whatcha been told… But this boy would never eat someone! Who he is don' matter whether half-demon or not!"

"Half demon?" I mumble.

I look back over to Jinenji who cowers next to the hut that he's almost the same size as. The more I observe him, the more I see the bruises and cuts left on his body from years of bullying. This is no monster. This is prey.

The four of us, Jinenji, his mother, Inuyasha and I, all sit inside the tiny wooden hut at the edge of the farmland. Jinenji's massive frame has to curl over just to fit in the back of the room, where he uses a tiny rock to crumble a green herb into powder on the floor. The rest of us sit in front of a fire next to him; his back towards us and he's solely focused on what he's doing. His mother pokes the fire with a stick but eyes us skeptically.

"Inuyasha, wasn't it? Yer a half demon too, though y' don look it."

Inuyasha sits on my right, his arms and legs cross while he holds Tetsusaiga against his left shoulder.

"You can tell, can you?"

"Half-breeds are funny that way. Fer each one born pretty like you, there's another born what ain't."

I look at Inuyasha with a raised brow, and a small smile expands the corner of my lips. He is handsome, but I never dwelled on it. I elbow his left arm and nod.

"Just imagine what it's like for him. Being half demon shouldn't matter, but those villagers treat him like he's some kinda monster."

The group of men that accompanied us to the farm ran off the second Jinenji's mother ran out. Inuyasha and I are glad they ran off. It gave the old lady a second of relief and time to listen to us explain what the villagers told us. She cleared it up that Jinenji was no threat, but it was obvious when he ran off to hide next to the house when the rocks were being thrown.

Jinenji glanced back at us from over his shoulder, pausing from powdering the herb. He makes a soft noise. There is a gentleness in his big blue eye that contradicts all the rest of him.

"They try to kill him." His mother continues.

"I'm sorry ma…" Jinenji whispers. "If I weren't like this, I…"

"Stop that! Stop that right now! Doncha apologize fer bein' different." She snaps at him, but in a motherly tone. She looks back towards us but her eyes are seeing pass us, drifting away into another world as she speaks. "I'll never forget how I hurt my ankle and couldn't walk. It was your father who saved me. The man I saw, he was glowing, but I knew he weren't real, no man is that perfect. I loved him anyway, and his demonlight." She places her right hand against her cheek and a blush crosses her face.

"The father was the demon?" Inuyasha questions, "Wait, then the human parent is you!" He points accusingly at her.

"What'd you think I was?" she hisses.

Jinenji twists back to us slowly, and he offers a small pouch to us. It sits in the middle of his massive hand.

"For your friend, it's medicine for the friend you said got poison in him."

"Oh? Thank you." I say, taking the small pouch from his palm, "How much do we owe you?"

"Nothin'! It's t' make up fer the clubbin' I gave you earlier. Now leave, afore I grind your bones an' make our bread."

We stand on a small grassy hill overlooking the enormous field that Jinenji and his mother tend to. It's peaceful for the moment, but that's it. It is for a moment. Those villagers could return at any moment. Can those two really defend for themselves?

"Inuyasha," I mutter, grabbing his attention. When he glances down at me, I let out a sigh. I partly don't want to do this—pausing our adventuring just to watch over two innocent souls, but it's' the right thing to do, right? "I am going to stay here."

"Huh?" He looks at me, bewildered.

"Those villagers they think he's been eating people. I can't just let them come back here and threaten their lives because they don't know the truth, even if it is true, and he is different."

"But that is what it means when you're different. Nobody trusts you, you're the first to be blamed, and it's always, always your fault."

I frown at him, but he doesn't see it.

There is a clatter a distance away, perking up Inuyasha's ears and grabbing my attention. We both walk down the hill to the tree line, where the village begins at the edge. A group of men surround a square tatami mat that is covered in weapons of swords, pikes and sharpened bamboo.

"Gather every sword, every spear in th' village!" An elder man says. He's bent next to the mat, looking up at a few men beside him.

"This is plenty! Even he can't take on all these!" Another man says, one that's middle-aged and carrying a lump sum of bamboo.

"Tonight's the night. It's kill or be killed!" The elder man says.

I wave my hand at the scene. "This is what I mean." I raise my voice so that the group of men can hear me. "Inuyasha, I am going back to Jinenji's farm!"

"Oh, ok." Inuyasha mutters with a bit of shock on his face. "I guess I'll go catch the real flesh eater."

The group of men scurry together and whisper to one another. They're not as quiet as they expect they are. We both can hear them clearly as they debate whether they can trust us.

I shrug, turn on my heels and head back up the hill towards the farm. Something snags my wrist, and when I go to see what it is, I notice it's Inuyasha.

"Be careful." He says. There is something in his eyes that I can pick out. Warmth? Protectiveness? I am not sure about these emotions yet, but it has my heart fluttering in my chest. I pat this hand that's on my wrist.

"Don't waste any time then."

By the time I make it back to the little old lady of the farm, the sun is setting. She's plucking away at the plants that need harvesting and placing the vegetables, herbs and fruit into an enormous basket at her side.

"The villagers are gathering together with weapons—I think they plan on storming you guy sometime tonight."

"Really?" she says with no surprise.

"I'll be staying here until Inuyasha finds the real culprit."

"Have it your way."

I glance around the farm until I spot Jinenji off in the distance. He kneels down in the field, careful not to sit or step on any of the plants, while he also plucks away. Walking over to him, I, too, kneel. But since I don't know what needs to be harvested, I pick at the weeds I see that surround some plants.

His eyes focus on what he's doing, but I can tell he knows I am near just by how his body is shivering in just the slightest. He's not used to company, or anyone being kind to him. I can tell by the scars that cover his arms and legs. They have to be caused by the villagers attacking. How can people be so cruel? Then it has me wondering on what Inuyasha said earlier, about being different. The way he said it meant he understood what Jinenji has gone through. He must have experienced a backlash from humans and demons, just as Jinenji has—even if Inuyasha is attractive, he still has experienced bullying and abuse.

I frown. Even I have experienced it. Having had no emotions for so long while in schools full of expressive people. I was an outcast. A sort of monster. People avoided me or they poked and probed me with sticks. No one wanted to be friends with the emotionless girl. The girl who had to see a therapist. A girl who had no actual family and was passed on from one to another.

Sighing, I try to refrain from my memories and watch my fingers glide over the plants as I pick weeds out from around them. "Have you ever wanted to escape?"

"No. This place is best. My pa left me this farm."

So it's sentimental. Something left behind by a father who may have never been there. He must feel close to his father by simply working here. So many people during this time have missing parents. Whether it's from disease or the wars. Sango is missing her entire family, a massacre caused by Naraku. Miroku has never mentioned his mother, but his father passed away because of the cursed hole in his hand. Shippo lost his father to the thunder brothers. Inuyasha's father passed away when he was young—though I am not sure how—and his mother passed away as well. I, personally, have never met my real parents. I don't know what they look like, what they did, how old they were when they had me, why they didn't want me. If they are alive, or if they are dead.

A worm wiggles out of the ground beside the plant I tend to. I watch it as it dances for a short bit before picking it out of the ground and moving it along to another plant.

The sky turns a bright reddish orange, filming the world with its red tones. I look up at Jinenji who is no longer harvesting plants, and is instead looking up at the sky where a group of birds fly about around his head. He lifts his hand up to the group of birds and they land in his palm, picking at something I can't see, while a few of them land on his hunched back.

At least nature doesn't find him a threat.

Getting up, I step to his side and look up at the birds that sit on his palm, and smile. "You have a gift."

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing to me." I lift my hand up to the sky just as he does, but no birds come flying down to my hand. "See, I don't have the gift."

Jinenji glances down at me, and I spot the tiniest smile curling his lips.

I wake to the sound of yelling. At first I can't pick up what the people are saying, only that they are loud enough to hear clear through the thick stone walls. I open my eyes to the darkness of the room, with only the fire lit in the center to bring on any light. Jinenji's eyes are sealed shut in fear. He cowers away to the side of the fire, shaking and shivering. His mother, who sits on the opposite side of the fire across from me, stares at the door.

"We know you're in there!" shouts a man.

"You think we don' know you killed all those people?" Another yells. "No good half-breed!"

"Oh no," I mutter under my breath.

"Oh, ma…" Jinenji whines.

"It's okay! Stay here."

She grabs a hoe that sits against the wall behind her and rushes out pass the reed door. A flicker of fire light can be seen as the reed door swings open. The moment she exits, I hear her grunt in pain. My heart drops to my stomach. What if she got hurt? I would have failed at protecting them. I quickly get to my feet and exit the small hut to find the elder woman standing inches in front of me. The men from before wield torches and weapons. Those who have free hands have been throwing rocks, as there are piles of them around the front of the house. The elderly woman is hunched over. I lean down to see how she is, to find her forehead bleeding, and her eyes closed in pain.

Heat rolls through me. Narrowing my eyes, I glare up at the men who confronted her. They back up a foot when they see me, and I wonder what they are truly seeing. Is it me just being angry? Or is it her? The woman who takes over me in aura. Doesn't matter.

I step between the group and the elderly woman and throw out my arms to my side to protect her.

"Move, girl! Why're you protecting them?" The elderly man from earlier hisses, but doesn't make a move.

"They have done nothing wrong, but you're too dimwitted to figure that out!" I bark back.

"Hear that? She's as bad as them! Get her! Anyone who loves half demons as much as her must be one!" A middle-aged man yells.

"She's guilty too!" Another shouts.

They all say 'yeah' in unison. One throws their torch onto the roof of the hut, and then another. And another.

The roof quickly goes up in flames, having been made of straw and rocks.

"The hut!" the elderly mother cries. She pushes me to the side and raises up her hoe. Behind the group of men, something comes out of the dark. It's just a gigantic silhouette of some sort, but as it approaches, the sound of slithering can be heard, earning the attention of the group of men who turn to see what is coming.

The silhouette is brightened by the fire of their torches. A monstrous creature that is taller than Jinenji with no limbs, and a massive head with tentacles coming out of its mouth, red eyes, and weird two fingered limbs coming from the back of its head. Beneath it scurries bug-like creatures, much smaller than it, but big enough to take over a body if they swarm. They are six legged, purple bodies, green heads with red bulging eyes and tentacles coming out of their mouths as well. There are dozens of them. They crawl up one man who's too frightened to move. He falls face first to the ground and is swarmed by them. He screams, but I feel no pity.

"Somebody help! It got one of our guys!" someone yells.

"They're eating 'im!" another shouts.

"See? There's your flesh-eatin' monster, right there!" The elderly mother screams.

I have to do something. Once these bugs are done with the group of men, they'll be coming for us. Instinctively, I reach for Midoriko's sword that is usually strapped to my back, but when I meet nothing but air, I am quickly reminded that the sword is inside with my yellow backpack. Cursing to myself, I rush inside, grab the sword that leans against the wall behind the bag, and the bag and start dragging them outside, but before I leave, I look up at Jinenji.

"Jinenji, your mother is outside. She needs your help." I say as calmly as I can, so not to tweak him out any more than he already is.

He looks over his shoulder at me, drenched in sweat and still shivering in fear. "Ma?"

I nod.

He gets up and wobbles out the door as best as he can without hitting his head on the ceiling. Once he's outside, I follow. I throw the bag off in the distance to avoid the fire and unsheathe the blade. But then, I stand still. My eyes watching the blade pathetically. I haven't practiced with this blade yet and don't quite know how to use my abilities with it. I know I should hone them together, but how do I do that?

I don't have time to figure it out.

The enormous monster comes slithering towards us. With no other choice, I lift my left hand, focus, and the purple aura surrounds my arm and hand. I aim as best as I can with the moving target and release the beam. It shoots, but hits the side of the middle of the body, causing a semi-circle hole in its side.

This pisses off the monster. It roars, thrusts its tail around before, ultimately, it comes flying towards me. I run, but I feel the weight of something heavy hit my mid-back, sending me flying forward and flat, stomach first into the dirt mounds on the ground. The air in my lungs leave me, forcing me to roll on my back while struggling to breathe.

My vision blurs slightly, but not enough that I can't see the monster heading my way.

"No!" Yells Jinenji from nearby the hut. He suddenly rushes into action, racing towards the monster with his eyes glowing red, and before I can calculate what's going on, he punches the monster directly into its tentacle mouth. But his fist gets stuck there, forcing him to stay put while the monster's tail sweeps towards him and wraps around his neck. Jinenji uses his other hand to free himself of the tail, but to no avail.

"Jinenji!" His mother shouts from the front of the hut.

Air hitches in my throat, and I can finally exhale. With no time to linger, I get up and stagger towards the monster, sword somehow still in hand.

"Run, Keara! If I let you die here, I wouldn't deserve to be half human!"

My feet slowly come to a halt. The battlefield is covered in those little purple insects, with the men fighting them off and some even succumbing to the swarms. I know I can help. But Jinenji doesn't want me to get involved. This feels wrong.

Coming from behind me, a ray of four slices of yellow light rips apart a group of insects. I look over my shoulder and spot Inuyasha glancing around. He doesn't see me in the mix of the battlefield, but it's easy to see him with his fiery red outfit.

"Keara, where are you!" He yells over the noise of shuffling and clattering.

"Inuyasha," I call out, using both hands to cup my mouth to focus my voice, "help Jinenji!" I twist towards the massive half demon and point up at him. Jinenji is still struggling with the monster, his hand still caught in its mouth while the other fights to get the tail from around his neck.

"Don't you do it!" Jinenji's mother orders, "You musn't help him! Jinenji has to learn to fight for himself!"

I look back and forth between Jinenji and his mother, wondering if this was the right time for her to be allowing such actions. A flash of red catches my eye, and I look back to find Inuyasha leaping front of the fleeing group of men. They all come to pause in front of him.

"Don't tell me you're leaving? And here the fun was just getting started! Who's the big coward now?" Inuyasha barks at them, lifting his right hand and cracking his fingers.

"You gotta help us!" One of the men yells.

"Oh, I get it. Whoever's strongest is the leader of your pack, huh? Jinenji, show the cowards! Teach 'em who's boss!" Inuyasha shouts.

I look back over my shoulder at Jinenji. He frees his left hand from the tail and grabs a hold of the body of the monster. His blue eyes flare red again, and like that, the tail around his neck explodes. He wraps his left arm around the body of the beast and squeezes, and squeezes, until suddenly the monster explodes from where he squeezed. The monster still makes a groan of pain, its tentacles in its mouth slithering about. Jinenji thrusts his left arm through the monster's head, annihilating it completely.

Jinenji turns and heads towards the group of men and Inuyasha. His right arm has a large mark where it got stuck in the monster's mouth, and there is a red ring around his neck where the tail was suffocating him. His eyes are no longer red and are back to being their sky blue.

"We're so sorry we blamed you!" The men get to their hands and knees, putting their hands together into a prayer fashion and lifting them up towards Jinenji as they beg. "Please don't kill us!"

I follow suit, but my pace is a little faster; I round the group of begging men and come to stand next to Inuyasha.

"I guess it's better they learn late than never."

"I suppose," I try to smile, but I am still conflicted about not helping when I could have.

"He had too. Otherwise they'll never respect him! Fat chance of teaching these mangy dogs new tricks." Inuyasha scoffs.

Jinenji plucks some plants as he approaches the group and leans down when he reaches them. He offers his hand, and amidst the middle of his palm are tiny green herbs.

"Lots of you are hurt, this will help you get better faster."

Inuyasha grumbles, "All that for nothing."

The men stand up; the leader of the group takes the herbs from Jinenji and looks them over. They immerse amongst themselves as they look over the herbs.

Jinenji walks away, heading back to the hut where his mother stands. "Hiya, ma. Y'didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Jinenji, you…" she starts.

"I know."

The morning sun rises over the rice fields just beyond Jinenji's farm. It enlightens the area beautifully, casting small shadows where the plants stand tall and healthy, even after the battle that occurred over them.

I pull the straps of the yellow bag forward, causing the bag to go taut against my back. "Will you be okay?" I ask.

Jinenji's mother stands in front of us, using the hoe to lean on. Jinenji works on the most damaged field just behind his mother. His head turned a little to the side to look at us with one of his big blue eyes.

"You hurry and take that medicine to your friend, all right? We'll be fine!" His mother says.

Jinenji gets up and shuffles over to us. His right arm has been bandaged and his neck has already healed. The amazing healing abilities of a half demon.

"Thank you for everything." I smile at the two of them.

"You're welcome."

Inuyasha and I turn and begin on the journey up the grassy hill, leaving the farm behind us. I am sure by now the villagers will leave them alone. They left last night with little of a fuss, and even thanked Jinenji before running off home. Now all that Jinenji and his mother need to do is rebuild their hut. But as for us, we need to get back to Kirara.

I watch Inuyasha as he walks ahead of me, and sigh softly. I know for sure that he must have gone through similar treatment for being a half-breed as well.

"I am sorry." I mutter, half expecting him not to hear me.

"For what?" He glances over his shoulder at me.

"For all that you have gone through. It must have been difficult. I know it was for me."

"For you?" He questions.

I pause and look up at the sky. It's nearly cloudless except for a very few white clouds flying by. There is a gentle wind that sweeps over the field we're walking in now. The grass tickles my feet. "I was bullied too."

He stops and turns towards me with a gentleness in his eyes. "You know, I'm not one or the other. Not really a demon, not really human. I'm not either." He says, "There was no place for me, so I had to make one for myself. And then I realized I had a place, but I was the only one in it. I don't know any other way to live."

"I know the feeling." I nod. "Back before—before I had a piece of a soul. I had no emotions. People didn't like that. I didn't respond like normal people do. It left me homeless and alone more times than I can count."

"Then you understand."

I try to smile as I look back at him. "I am glad we can have this serious talk with each other." I sigh with relief, "But we're not alone anymore."

I start off pass him and head along the path we were following to head back to the group. Inuyasha doesn't follow right away, but when he does, he rushes to catch up to my side.