InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Other Lives ❯ Chapter III: Wind Tunnel ( Chapter 3 )

III: Wind Tunnel

 

When Kaede returned to her hut, she found Miatsu sitting with his back to the wall, fast asleep, his staff propped beside him. With his left arm, he hugged his wounded right arm to his chest. The sound of her footsteps woke him.

“Excuse me, my lady,” he said, giving her a smile. “You don't mind if I stay the night, do you? I am very weary.”

“It's fine,” Kaede assured him. “You are welcome to stay here.” She imagined that if she was not the priestess of the village, it might be slightly scandalous for a young man to spend the night in her home. As it was, she was beyond rebuke.

“You are most kind. I am afraid I have not yet been graced with the knowledge of your name.”

“I'm Kaede, the priestess of this village,” she said.

“A charming name!” he exclaimed. Once again, Kaede had to force herself not to giggle. He must be flirting with her, she decided. No man had ever so much as feigned interest in her before.

“Will Inuyasha return?” he asked

“I don't know,” Kaede admitted. She hoped he would at least say farewell to her before departing. She was ashamed to tell Miatsu that the half-demon had so little regard for her.

“If you don't mind my asking,” Miatsu began, “have you known Inuyasha long? He seems to have some past here.”

How could she answer that. He loved my sister. Naraku killed her. He left. Six years later, the wound was still too raw to share with a stranger, even a kind one.

“I suppose I've known him a while,” Kaede said as she served herself some stew and added a log to the fire. “I knew him when I was a child, but he has been away for many years. I was too young to know him well. How about you?”

“I have been following him for six days now. I have been tracking Naraku for several years, and Inuyasha and I stumbled upon the same trail. I arrived first, did battle with the demon…and lost. I do not think Inuyasha will forgive me for that.”

He cradled his wounded arm again, all signs of the charming smile vanished from his face. He looked exhausted, and in pain.

“Are you sure I can't…?” Kaede asked, feeling sorry for him.

He shook his head. “I fought Naraku four times over the last few years, opposing him as he sought to increase his influence by stealing sacred objects and killing holy men. All four times I drove him back, but could not defeat him. The fifth time was about a week ago. He was cunningly disguised.” At this, to Kaede's surprise, the monk blushed. “I recognized him too late. He escaped yet again, piercing the sacred scrolls I threw at him…piercing my hand.” Miatsu shuddered as he recalled it, but began unwrapping the bandages around his arm.

Kaede felt a gentle breeze ripple through the hut as Miatsu held out his right hand, palm up. In the center of the palm was a black gap the size of a pebble, which seemed to swallow all the light from the room.

“I am cursed,” said Miatsu, his voice trembling in the darkness. “Already, it widens. Soon it will swallow me up, and everything near me, unless Naraku is defeated first. So I have been following Inuyasha. Having been defeated five times, I realize that I need allies, or….”

Instinctively, Kaede placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He turned towards her, and placed his good hand on top of her own. She felt her face grow warm, and a strange trembling run through her body. She stiffened, and pulled away from him.

He removed his hand.

“Forgive me, Lady Kaede,” he stammered. “I only…” He moved away from her. The bells on his braid tinkled as it swung over his neck. He began wrapping the bandages back around his hand. When he was done, he replaced the sacred scrolls to seal the wound.

“Good night,” she said. She lay down on her straw mattress and pulled the blanket over herself, but was unable to sleep.

Soon, she heard Miatsu's soft breathing from the other side of the room. She stared into the glowing embers of the fire, and thought back over everything that had happened that day. The demon. Inuyasha. Miatsu. Word of Naraku, her sister's murderer, alive and working evil.

As she drifted into a dreamlike state, the fire before her became the one on which she had placed her sister's body. She saw Kikyo's pale, dead face among the flames, her black hair beginning to burn and a piece of the Jewel clasped between hands stained with blood that no amount of water had been able to wash out.

The sound of footsteps and the jingling of Miatsu's staff woke her some time during the night. She sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest.

“Is something wrong?” she whispered.

“I sense something nearby,” he said from where he stood near the door. “Some powerful demonic presence.”

“Not Naraku?” she asked in alarm.

“Oh, no,” he assured her. “Not Naraku. It may be nothing at all, but I want to see for myself. Go back to sleep.”

“I'm the priestess of this village,” she replied, throwing off the blanket and grabbing her bow and quiver. “It's my responsibility to protect it.”

The cold night air on her face made her feel awake at last. Miatsu seemed alert—practically jumpy. She followed him away from the village towards the forest. It was the night of the new moon, and very dark. There was no sign of a disturbance. Nighttime was always quiet here, until dawn, when the villagers would rise to begin the day's work. The only sounds were their footsteps, Miatsu's staff, and the bells in his hair.

“It's too quiet,” he whispered. “There should be at least an owl. I think something is in the forest, maybe frightening the animals.” He closed his eyes. After a moment, they snapped open wide. He grabbed Kaede's arm and pulled her behind a tree.

She heard a rustling, and then something emerged from the forest. She clasped a hand to her mouth. It was something horrible—a tall figure with two heads! To her amazement, Miatsu chuckled.

“An imp!” he whispered.

Kaede looked again, and sighed with relief. It was indeed some sort of imp, with green skin, a beak, and enormous eyes, standing only a few feet high. What she had mistaken for a monster was a strange staff the imp was holding, on the top of which the heads of an old man and young woman were hanging. Even with the staff, the imp did not look very menacing.

It turned back to the forest.

“Are you sure your brother is here, my lord?” it asked in a shrill and piercing voice. Kaede shivered as a chill ran up her spine. This could not be good.

From between the trees stepped a tall, white figure. The air seemed to freeze in her lungs as she stared at it with both fascination and horror.

He wore the clothing of a nobleman—a white and red kimono, a sword tucked into a long sash, a chest plate, and spiked armor over his shoulders, one of which was also covered by a long fur. His silver knee-length hair and pointed ears showed all too clearly that he was not human, as did the twin purple stripes on his cheeks.

He glanced towards Kaede and Miatsu. She had no doubt that he could see them. There was something terrifying and alien about the beauty of his face. His golden eyes seemed familiar, although she could not have told why.

After a moment of staring at them, he turned away, as if he had decided they were not worth his further attention. He moved off towards the village.

Kaede wondered if she should reach for her bow, but realized there was absolutely nothing she could do.

“A demon lord,” Miatsu whispered. “What on earth could he be doing here?”

The imp staggered after its master, waving the staff frantically in the air.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” it called. “Are you sure Inuyasha is in this village?”

The demon lord paused for a moment, and spoke in a deep, even voice that, while soft, cut through the night like a blade.

“Are you questioning my judgement, Jaken?”

“No, no, never, my lord!” the imp protested, flinging himself to the ground. “I would never dare…” His voice trailed off into the darkness as he realized that Sesshomaru was already vanishing into the distance, leaving behind only a chill in the air.