InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Angel of Mercy ❯ Memories of Ghosts ( Chapter 4 )

Meanwhile, Subaru was preparing to leave her mansion, something she had not done in at least a century, but the matter was pressing. She had to find out the truth about the strange girl. She remembered the time, sixteen years previously, when Inutaisho came to her asking that she locate his wife's sister-in-law. Amaya had been missing for a week, he told her, and had only taken the clothing she was wearing. After several days of searching for her spirit in a scrying bowl, Subaru had to concede defeat. Amaya was not anywhere Subaru could find her. How is it that this child had Amaya's obi? I must find out, she thought as she gathered her tools for what magics she thought she would need to perform. Foremost in her mind, however, was anxiety for Sesshoumaru. He was still young. How would this child affect him? She questioned now the wisdom of sending him for her, but it was too late now. With a heart felt sigh, she closed her door behind her and set off toward the village.

It was almost noon when Subaru reached the inn. A large building for the village, it was still small compared to Subaru's mansion. Only a single level, trees were visible from above the roof, indicating a possible courtyard, unusual for the area. From within, she could hear two voices, one shrill and strident, and the other trying to placate the first.

"That ungrateful little slut, left last night without finishing her chores. She left us; after all we've done for her. You care for a person her entire life and this is the thanks she gives us!"

"Takako-koi, please…"

"Don't you dare take her side!"

"Koi, please, the guests…"

Subaru sighed. This was the right place. She could understand some of the desperation of the girl to run away. Though she did not relish the idea, Subaru walked up to the door and entered the inn. A woman dressed in a simple red kimono stood glaring at a man seated at a low table. Seeing the visitor, the man stood and bowed, sending a pleading look at the woman, "Welcome, traveler. How may we serve you?"

Subaru flinched inwardly, knowing that her questions would be unwelcome, but she needed to know, not just for herself, but for Inutaisho. She returned the bow. "My name is Subaru," she said, noticing that the woman, Takako, blanched and the man seemed to flinch. "I see that I am known. I have come seeking information about one called Nanashi." The couple's reaction to the girl's name was even more pronounced. Bright red spots of color touched the Takako's cheeks and the man began to tremble. "She is safe, but I require her history."

"What has that girl told you?" Takako hissed, barely keeping the tremor of fear out of her voice. She knew who Subaru was, a powerful demon witch. If Subaru is interested in Nanashi, then she must have found her, Takako thought. What would Subaru do if…

"She was in no condition to speak when she arrived at my home," Subaru answered evenly, turning a chilly glance toward Takako, pleased to see the woman blanch again. "How did she come to be here?"

"Her mother birthed her here just gone fifteen years ago," the inn-keeper answered before his wife could say anything. "A lady who had been treated ill. She was very weak when she arrived and only survived long enough to know she'd had a girl child. But, she did not leave behind a body, only the obi that she made me swear the girl would have."

"What did she look like? What else did she tell you?" Subaru pressed for information.

"She was far gone into labor when she arrived," the man tried to sharpen his memory of that night so long ago. "She didn't say much. She was a sight to behold, though. Her hair was white as I'd ever seen, even under the dirt. Her face looked like she'd been beaten before she came here. Her eyes were the color of the rising sun, filled with pain. She didn't wear her obi here, carried it with her. Her clothes were torn and so dirty as to make it impossible to tell what color they might have been. After she birthed Nanashi, she just vanished, leaving nothing behind but the girl and the obi."

Subaru closed her eyes, not seeing the man tremble before her, waiting her judgment. Subaru's thoughts, however, were not on the man, but on the simple history he told and how Inutaisho would react when he heard the news. She had to confirm the story, however. "Take me to where she was born," she ordered, opening her eyes. To her surprise, she was lead into what looked like the private quarters of the inn-keeper.

Subaru could feel Amaya's presence as she entered the room, almost as if her spirit had been waiting for Subaru to arrive. She was flooded by memories that were not her own, but so vivid they seemed to be. She could see a band of men, one of them with great power, capturing her, binding her. They had removed her obi to use as a ransom demand. Their leader cast a spell over here that took away her demon powers and left her weak as any mortal woman. Days and nights ran together as the men used her at their whim, paying no heed to her cries nor to the fact that she was with child. She knew who's child it was, their leader had impregnated her. He flaunted that fact. He would not allow any other man's seed reach her womb, he had told her. She gave up hope of rescue after a time, knowing that her only way out was to save herself. She managed to get one of the men to leave her unbound after he'd used her. She was close to time to birth and would not allow that man to have her child. Quietly, she snuck into his tent and stole her obi. Before she left, she took a sharp flint blade and plunged it into the man's neck. She ran from their camp, at times barely able to stand. She finally stumbled to the inn, so far gone into labor she could barely gasp out her request about her obi. She knew her life would be over when the child was born, all her demon powers gone to the new life. Subaru fell to her knees as the memories ended.

How long she remained there, she could not have said. Never before had someone else's mind overwhelmed hers. She could no longer feel Amaya's mind in the room, as if her soul had waited all this time to make the truth known and at last had peace. Slowly, Subaru rose to her feet and ignoring the couple, walked out of the room. As she reached the outer door, she paused, "Nanashi will not return here ever again."