Author's Corner

Sorry for the wait with this one! I've recently switched from working part-time to full time so I've had less time to write than I'd like. Luckily I really enjoy my job so it's not a massive problem though! I hope you enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to leave a review once you're done reading! X

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 51: The Song of Parting

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It was typhoon season when Taro was born.

He was one of the few Namidans that was completely human. The island was home to both monsters and men; therefore, the children were often a mixture of both.

Despite their differing species, they all paid homage to the same four gods. Their names were Aramitama, the goddess of war, Nigimitama, the god of peace, Kushimitama, the god of knowledge, and Sakimitama, the goddess of love.

Taro's mother was an exceptionally talented healer. She could cure the sick with a mere touch of her hand, and she could chase away a fever with the sweep of a broom, but contrary to popular belief, she wasn't a witch. Her powers came from the earth. They were natural. Pure. The other islanders believed that she was blessed by Sakimitama, whose compassion had been able to cure any ailment, but to Taro, she was simply his mother.

His skills were nothing compared to hers, but he still wanted to follow in her footsteps. After the passing of his sixteenth birthday, he was a competent healer and a great help to his mother, who'd grown increasingly frailer over the past few years.

The following winter was a brutal one. They lost a good portion of their cows to exposure and the rest died of a strange disease. Many roofs were destroyed by ruthless winds and the snow was settling thicker than anyone had ever seen it. Taro had never felt so cold before.

His mother's condition worsened.

What she had was no ordinary sickness. The High Priest had come to see her and declared that she'd been infected with a parasite that would drain the life from her. Taro asked if it was treatable, but the High Priest had solemnly shaken his head. He left after blessing her, leaving Taro to care for her alone. His mother often cried out in her sleep, and her brow was constantly furrowed in pain. Over time, the night terrors became more and more frequent. It got to the point where she was too afraid to fall asleep. Whenever Taro asked her about the nightmares, her face lost all colour, and she turned away from him, too frightened to even talk about them.

Eventually, the long winter passed, and his mother's condition seemed to improve. She slept soundly for the first time in months. But her pulse grew weaker every day. One morning, she reached out and grabbed his hand, feverishly whispering his name. She smiled when he dragged a damp cloth across her brow and told him a secret she'd learned when she was a little girl.

"Love isn't arbitrary," she said. "It's a choice. You decide who you love. Don't let anyone take that away from you. Love is a form of magic, after all." She stroked his cheek. "My sweet boy. Are you paying attention? I won't be around to remind you, so make sure you remember."

"Don't go," he begged, crushing her hand with his. "Mother? Please don't go . . ."

But it was too late.

She'd already left.

Weeping, he leaned down and kissed her pale cheek. He managed to hold it together for long enough to make it through the Song of Parting. It was a tradition to sing the song after someone passed to help guide their soul through the process of samsara. Failure to do so could result in the soul becoming lost and transforming into a vengeful spirit. Taro didn't want that for her.

As he sang, he wondered if the parasite was dying, too.

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Princess Nagisa stood before the other courts in silence. Taro's eyes were closed, and his clothes were drenched in blood.

Octavia's eyes widened when she realised that the blood was his. Forgetting herself, she dropped Rin's hand and sprinted to the demoness's side. Tears flooded her eyes when she peered down at Taro's lifeless face. She covered her mouth to muffle her sob and shifted her focus to Nagisa, who hadn't said a word since she'd landed. Her grey eyes were completely blank.

"What happened?" she asked shakily. "Is he . . ."

The sound of a sword being drawn prompted her to turn around.

Lord Arashi was walking towards them with a furious gleam in his eyes. Noticing his sword, Octavia stepped in front of Nagisa protectively. Arashi's eyes narrowed, but he kept his sword low whilst he spoke to her. "Step aside," he said firmly.

She dug her heels into the ground.

He released a portion of his youki and directed it at her. She grunted as the force of it made her muscles cry out in protest, but she refused to give up that easily.

She clenched her jaw as he released more of his powerful youki. When she still didn't budge, his eyes turned red, and he issued a warning growl. Her calves burned as the pressure increased, making it hard to be in his presence. It hurt so much. She couldn't breathe.

It was a miracle that she hadn't collapsed yet. She could simply pull the brunt of his youki into her and put a stop to all of this, but she didn't want to aggravate him even further. Whatever he planned on doing to Nagisa, it couldn't be good, seeing as it involved his sword, so she wasn't about to let him pass any time soon. She was strong. She could handle it.

"Are you deaf, human? I said step aside."

"She's your daughter," Octavia wheezed, fighting against his youki. "I won't let you hurt her . . . Parents shouldn't hurt their children. Ever. No matter what."

His face grew longer, and he bared his fangs, but his wife stopped him from sinking them into Octavia's arm. Lady Maiha inched closer and reached out with her hand.

"Is it really you?" she asked, trembling slightly. "My Nagisa . . . Have you finally returned?"

Nagisa didn't respond. She didn't seem to have heard.

Tears spilled down her mother's cheeks, mixing with the rain.

Arashi growled louder and caught his wife's arm, tugging her backwards. "Our daughter died," he reminded her, then turned to Nagisa and said, "This wicked spectre is no child of mine."

Octavia's knees buckled as the Lord of the Northern Lands unleashed his youki in full and stalked towards her with murder in his eyes. His hand shot out to shove her out of the way, only to be stopped by a clawed hand with magenta stripes.

She shivered as Sesshoumaru's youki made contact with Arashi's and drove it back.

"Unhand me, you wretch!" Arashi snarled. "I command you!"

"You cannot give me orders anymore," Sesshoumaru replied, still gripping his wrist. "The Western Lands belong to me now, which means we are of equal status. Stand down before I cut you down."

"How dare you threaten me—"

"Enough, Arashi. You've already broken my trust once. The human's life is mine, yet you thought you had the right to take it from me. Would you honestly have killed her over something so trivial? She didn't even fight back. What happened to your honour?"

"You would choose her over your own kind?"

"You are the one that has a choice to make, not I. Your daughter has come back from the dead. Don't you want to hear what she has to say? Or would you rather drive a blade through her chest? The decision is yours to make. But think carefully before you act. When people leave, they usually stay gone. Many would kill to be in your position."

Octavia's eyes softened.

When people leave, they usually stay gone.

If it was revealed one day that his father was miraculously alive, she wondered how he'd react. Would he welcome him with open arms? Or would he reject him as Arashi was doing now?

To her surprise, the Lord of the Northern Lands backed off. Sesshoumaru's eyes slid to her very briefly, assessing her for injuries, before settling on the man in Nagisa's arms. His skin was covered in welts and bruises, and his throat had been sliced open. The rain gathered in the deep crevice, creating a dark red pond that eventually broke its banks and poured down his neck.

"Who is that?" Arashi asked when Octavia moved out of the way.

"My husband," Nagisa answered. "His name was Taro."

The others were speechless. Taiki and Susumu shared a glance, whilst their courts murmured amongst themselves. Hiroto's eyes darkened and his youki expanded slightly, catching Nagisa's attention. Her shoulders slumped when she met his gaze – seemingly in defeat – before she glanced down at Taro's blood-speckled face.

"He was human," Arashi stated, not quite believing his eyes.

"He was," Sesshoumaru confirmed.

Arashi turned to face him. "Did you know about this? Answer me, boy!"

"Does it matter? He's dead. Show some respect."

"It matters to me!"

Octavia's throat felt tight. The voices around her sounded far away. She stared at the incision in Taro's throat and wondered who was responsible for it. Were Haru and his friends all right? Where were they? Why wasn't Nagisa saying anything? Octavia reached out to her with her magic and felt nothing. She was completely numb . . . But that wasn't what frightened her.

Someone else's memory elbowed its way into her brain, placing her in the perspective of Taro's killer. She saw the look of terror on Taro's face before his throat was slashed open. Blood exploded from the wound, leaking down his front whilst he made a series of wet choking sounds. Her breath hitched and she looked down at her hands, which weren't her own. These ones were scarred and calloused, and considerably larger than hers.

Remember.

The memory ended as suddenly as it had begun.

"Please," Nagisa murmured, gazing into Sesshoumaru's eyes desperately. "Help him."

Octavia's mind cleared. She watched as Sesshoumaru's hand hovered over the Tenseiga's hilt, much to the surprise of all the other Daiyoukai watching, before he closed his eyes in resignation and said, "I can't."

Nagisa's anger flared. "You can't or you won't?" she spat.

"The minions of the Underworld aren't here."

"You lie."

"What could I possibly hope to gain by lying—"

"Bring him back!"

Her eyes were bright red, and the markings on her neck had increased in size. She placed Taro on the ground and unsheathed her twin blades, aiming them at Sesshoumaru. Jaken shrieked and instinctively tried to protect his master, but Rin held him back.

Sesshoumaru's face betrayed nothing as Nagisa moved closer, unknowingly awakening Octavia's instincts. Octavia reached out to seize control of Nagisa's youki, but Sesshoumaru sensed her intentions and raised his hand, telling her to withdraw. She begrudgingly obeyed.

"Bring him back," Nagisa said. "Or else I'll carve open your belly and leave your insides for the crows. Or maybe I'll slice your other arm off. They grow back fast, right?"

Sesshoumaru ignored her threats. "It's too late. His soul is gone."

Octavia could see Nagisa's control slipping as she tried a different approach. "Please! I'll do anything! Do you still want the Tessaiga? I can help you get it. I'm at your mercy. Just don't let Taro die . . ."

"There's nothing I can do."

"Liar!" She slashed his obi in two, making it fall to the ground. "Why can you defy death whilst the rest of us are forced to accept it? It's not fair!"

"You're right," he agreed. "It isn't fair. But that's the way it's meant to be. Life isn't supposed to be limitless." He wrapped his fingers around her blades and squeezed. Nagisa's resolve wavered when she saw his blood dripping onto the ground. "This is why our kind and theirs aren't supposed to mix," he said. "Eventually, we outlive them. You knew that, yet you chose to be with him, anyway. What did you think was going to happen?"

Her eyes filled with tears. "I . . . I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be with him forever."

"Then you're an even bigger fool than I thought."

"I don't care what you think! You don't know how it feels! You've never loved anyone the way I loved him!"

"Nagisa," Octavia called softly. "Nagisa, look at me."

The demoness's eyes snapped to hers.

The second Nagisa let her guard down, Sesshoumaru disarmed her and threw her twin swords into the air. They landed several metres away, but Nagisa made no move to retrieve them. She stared at Octavia, who was looking at her so earnestly, before fixating on Taro's body. Her tears fell like rocks tumbling down a hill, and she covered her snout with her hands, trying to hold in her sobs.

Sesshoumaru flicked the blood from his fists and said, "Let him go."

She made a loud choking sound through her fingers. Blinking back her own tears, Octavia dashed forwards and embraced her. Nagisa buried her elongated face in Octavia's neck and wept.

Sesshoumaru turned his head towards Arashi and Maiha, who hadn't spoken a word during their daughter's outburst. No one had. Not even her fellow heirs, Yuudai or Hiroto, cared enough to console her during her lowest point.

"You're all pathetic," Sesshoumaru spat. "My father would have been ashamed of you. Especially you, Arashi."

The Lord of the Northern Lands glared at him. "Mind your tongue, boy. Didn't anyone ever teach you not to get involved in matters that don't concern you?"

"I won't just stand by and watch an innocent youkai be unfairly penalised."

"Innocent! Ha! That shows what you know! If it is truly her, then she willingly abandoned her duties as a princess. And for what? To waste her time gallivanting around with some human? The Nagisa I remember would never be so stupid."

"You didn't have a problem with it when my father did it."

"Your father had earned the right to make foolish decisions. She hasn't."

Sesshoumaru directed his next question at Lady Maiha. "Do you agree?"

Her eyes shone with tears, but she failed to provide him with an answer. He narrowed his eyes and stole a peek behind him, where Octavia and Nagisa were watching intently. Octavia swallowed. They were no longer embracing, but Nagisa's hands were tightly clasped in hers. She was afraid that if she let go, the weight of Arashi's stare would crush his daughter like a grape.

Sesshoumaru clicked his tongue. "So be it."

"What will become of her now?" Susumu asked cautiously. At least he had the decency to look somewhat uncomfortable with the situation unfolding in front of him.

"That is no concern of mine," Arashi answered bitterly, then addressed Nagisa directly. "From now on, you are no longer heir to the Northern Lands. I banish you from my court and forbid you from ever entering my domain again."

Taiki's eyes widened in shock. "You can't be serious—"

"I am deadly serious. This is the path that she has chosen to walk. She should have known that it wasn't going to be easy—"

"You can't just kick your children out for doing something you don't agree with!" shouted Octavia. "They're not pets! You can't do this to her! It's not right!"

Arashi snarled at her.

Instead of cowering, she tightened her grip on Nagisa's hands and returned his fearsome glare. It was like pouring gasoline onto a fire. The Lord of the Northern Lands hunched forwards like a bear trying to intimidate its prey and showed his teeth. She suddenly felt embarrassed for wanting to fit in so badly. They weren't at all like she'd thought they'd be. They really were monsters. Wolves parading around in sheepskins. She hated herself for not seeing it sooner.

"Leave her out of this," growled Sesshoumaru.

Arashi's red and yellow eyes travelled to Sesshoumaru. "And you called us pathetic," he said, chuckling darkly. "Your taste in friends is truly appalling. Unless you have more in common with your father than we thought . . ."

The implication didn't faze him.

Instead of retaliating, he kept his expression neutral and declared loudly, "The princess's life is now mine. She will serve as a member of my court for the rest of her days. This I promise you."

Arashi laughed. "Do what you want. But she's not a princess anymore."

"It matters not. A life is still a life."

Octavia's heart swelled with pride. Whilst Sesshoumaru might technically be one of them, there was enough of a difference for her to understand that he wasn't a monster. At least, not in the figurative sense. Unlike the others, he actually had morals that he stuck to no matter what.

Arashi's face returned to normal as his posture sagged in defeat. "Fine," he said. "Do with her as you please. But mark my words, her loyalty will always be to them, not us."

His eyes darted to Octavia's, establishing the ever-growing rift between their species.

She tried not to let her disappointment show when Arashi addressed her directly and said, "I wanted to be wrong about you, human. You had so much potential. It's wasted here."

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw as the Lord of the Northern Lands turned his back on them and marched away. His wife lingered for a moment before doing the same. Nagisa finally seemed to register what was happening, and opened her mouth to call them back, except no words came out. Her hands trembled in Octavia's as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Are you leaving?" Sesshoumaru asked the retreating pair of sea dragons coldly.

"Yes," Arashi replied. "I believe it's for the best. We'll depart at sunrise tomorrow." He paused before adding, "I have a feeling that we won't be the only ones leaving."

Taiki and Susumu neither confirmed nor denied the validity of Arashi's comment, but it was obvious that they weren't comfortable staying for Obon. The friendly atmosphere had been soured long before Nagisa's arrival, but this had been the tipping point.

Taiki and Susumu both thanked Sesshoumaru for hosting them and their families, then delicately explained that it was better for everyone if they cut the festivities short before more conflicts arose.

Yuudai was the only other Daiyoukai to acknowledge Nagisa before he left with his family. He stopped a couple of paces away from her and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said.

Nagisa nodded mutely.

Hiroto stared at her silently. He looked like he wanted to say something, but Hiroto knew better than to defy Arashi as Yuudai had. The prince had only said a few words to her, but the act alone was enough to warrant dislike. Hiroto refused to fall into the same trap by conversing with a disgraced demoness, so whatever he'd wanted to say remained unspoken.

Eventually, the only ones left standing underneath the gate were Rin and Jaken. Neither of them spoke as Nagisa knelt beside Taro's body and caressed his face tenderly.

"Jaken?" Sesshoumaru called distantly.

Jaken blinked. "Yes? What is it, milord?"

"Escort Rin back inside."

"No!" Rin protested, knocking away Jaken's hand. "I want to stay! Please! I used to help Kaede-sama perform funeral rites all the time. I can help, I . . . Please let me help."

Her big brown eyes wobbled with unshed tears.

Octavia reached out and caught Sesshoumaru's sleeve before he could refuse.

"Don't," she implored, deliberately lowering her voice so that Rin wouldn't hear. "Look at her. She needs this. She watched her entire family die when she was just a little girl. It traumatised her so much that she stopped talking. She knows how it feels to have your whole world taken away from you. It must have hurt, yet she still managed to smile for you. Haven't you ever wondered why she did it? You could have bitten her head off, but she insisted on bringing you food and water. I might be wrong, but I think she saw a bit of herself in you, as well."

Having made her point, Octavia released his sleeve and shot him a hopeful look. Sesshoumaru still looked slightly apprehensive, but he allowed Rin to stay.

She and Jaken rushed over and studied Taro's corpse, which Nagisa was guarding fiercely.

Rin immediately crouched beside her and placed a hand on the demoness's shoulder. "First, we need to find him something nice to wear," she said, prompting Nagisa to lift her head and meet her gentle gaze. "And flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. Did he have a favourite?"

"The only flowers that grow on Namida are the kori no otome," Nagisa answered. "So his options were kind of limited, but he liked yellow. I promised him that if we ever left the island, I'd take him to see a field full of sunflowers."

Rin smiled. "There's a meadow not too far from here. They're not all yellow, but would that do?"

Nagisa sniffed and nodded demurely.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru called again, this time without looking at him.

The imp peered up at him expectantly. "Yes, milord?"

"Bring me a shovel."

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They buried him on top of a slope in the middle of the meadow.

Rin scoured the meadow and eventually found some yellow primroses. She laid one on Taro's chest and another over the deep gash in his neck, which had been cleaned and dressed before they replaced his old clothes for new ones. Nagisa sat next to him, holding his hand, whilst Sesshoumaru dug a hole underneath the small tree at the centre of the slope.

"It's time," Octavia said once the digging was complete.

Nagisa gripped his hand tighter.

Rin reached out and touched Nagisa's shoulder, silently urging her to let go. Her grip loosened and she reluctantly untangled her fingers from Taro's. Octavia helped Sesshoumaru pick him up and carefully lower him into the grave. She took one last look at his deathly pale face before Sesshoumaru shovelled all of the dirt back into the hole, trapping Taro underground.

She briefly wondered if Sesshoumaru had any objections about being buried after he died. His soul would presumably have left by then, but his body would remain in the place he'd hated most until it fully decomposed.

No one spoke as he filled in the grave. Not even Jaken. Octavia had never seen him last longer than a couple of minutes without making some form of noise, but right now, he could have passed for a mute.

"Is there anything you'd like to say, Nagisa-sama?" Rin asked whilst Sesshoumaru scooped up another load of dirt and tipped it into the grave.

"The Namidans have a song," she replied. "It shows the soul which way to go. It comes from our sister isle, Horaijima, which was where the very first yosei were born. They taught Taro's ancestors the song after they crossed the sea and made Namida their new home."

"How does it go?" queried Rin.

The ghost of a smile pulled at Nagisa's lips. "It goes like this."

She cleared her throat before singing softly.

Father once said to me
Many moons ago
A demon hand will defend

Mother said one day
There is more that you must know
A mortal hand will sustain

Two hands together
Incomplete alone
Balance and union
And the gate will open

Rin joined in when Nagisa sang it again from the beginning. Octavia closed her eyes and listened to the lyrics, trying to figure out their meaning. If she had to warrant a guess, she supposed that the song must be alluding to a union between humans and demons. That had certainly been the case on Namida. The song was a little unorthodox for a funeral, but it seemed to give Nagisa the closure she needed.

Once the grave was filled in completely, the demoness covered her face with her hands and wept.

Jaken stammered awkwardly before steeling his courage and meandering over to Nagisa. "Excuse me?" he started, prompting her to lift her head and look at him with runny eyes. "I know it's not really my place, but . . . As Sesshoumaru-sama has sworn to protect you, I am inclined to do the same. Therefore, should you require anything at all, please don't hesitate to let me know."

She nodded as another round of tears tumbled down her cheeks. Jaken placed the Nintoujou on the ground in front of her as a symbol of his devotion and bowed his head.

Rin wrapped her arms around Nagisa's waist and hugged her from behind. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you from now on," she promised.

Sesshoumaru turned his back on the grave and stared down at Nagisa, who was sobbing into her hands. "Stay here for as long as you want," he told her. "But you mustn't disappear. There are still things we need to discuss, such as how and why this happened."

Nagisa nodded. "Of c-course . . . I understand."

He looked like he was going to walk away, when he surprised them all by saying, "The Western Stronghold is your home now. Its gates will always be open to you."

She smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru. F-For everything."

Octavia's heart inflated when he averted his eyes and feigned disinterest. He left Rin in Jaken's care and headed towards the edge of the meadow silently. Octavia desperately wanted to follow him, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Nagisa in her current state.

Ultimately, it was Jaken who convinced her to go after him.

"What he did today is going to have massive repercussions," the imp said. "Since Rin and I are unable to be with him right now, the task falls to you, so don't you dare let us down."

She nodded and sprinted across the meadow. Thankfully, it didn't take her very long to catch up to him. He slowed his pace to enable her to reach him faster and tilted his head to regard her strangely. She took a moment to catch her breath before she spoke to him.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked. "About how your kind and mine aren't meant to mix?"

"My abhorrence for humans is no secret," he answered flatly. "However, I was referring to the shortness of mortal lifespans when I said that. To put it simply, humans live to die. It's unavoidable. Time is their worst enemy. When I look at them, all I see are soon-to-be ghosts."

"What about me and Rin? Are we just ghosts to you?"

He stopped walking. It took him a moment to reply, and when he did, his voice came out as a strained whisper. "No," he said. "Not you."

"Why not?"

Another pause. "I don't know."

For the first time since she'd met him, she decided not to press for an explanation.

Remembering Jaken's words, she swept their conversation under the rug and walked with him to the stronghold.

"Thank you," she said quietly, keeping her gaze on the path ahead.

"For what?" he probed.

"For defending me. Nagisa, too. It was brave of you to stand up to Arashi like that."

"Hn."

She smiled faintly. "Rin's right, you know. Deep down, you really are kind."

He frowned. "Ridiculous."

Chuckling, she brushed past him to avoid a patch of prickly plants and failed to notice the way his pupils dilated when she touched him.

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