InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Pavee's ❯ A Great White Horse ( Chapter 1 )

Ok here is the second chapter. I’ve thought a little something of the plot and hope it unfolds. I just hope it will fit. At the moment, I’m wondering where to put the horse... I have an idea but...
Just in case you lot are wondering, Naraku will NOT be in this fic. Why? Because I can’t think of a place for him and it wouldn’t suit him anyway. I mean Naraku in a modern world? To me it never suits him but it depends on the situation he is I guess.

Disclaimer: I don’t InuYasha. Also the song Scarborough fair is sung by Hayley Westenra (other artists too but I’m using her version). Even though this story is based in the 1980’s and Hayley was still a kid then, the song goes back to the 1200’s! Did you also know the theme for Kagome in the anime InuYasha contains portions of the melody ‘Scarborough fair’? Cool I didn’t know and I have Kagome’s theme. (Yet when I listened to Hayley Westenra Celtic woman version I could hear the similarities). I recommend the song. Link is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_45W-Lq7ftw

Download for Kagome’s theme (if you’re interested) is here http://gh.ffshrine.org/song/2350/24

Chapter 2

Kagome sat at the back of the wagon and gazed across the disappearing horizon of the Irish Sea. She barely woke up to set her sight on the rough waters, which she last visited when she was a kid.

But Kagome was no longer bothered that she didn’t see the ocean up close. What she did find interesting was the white horse that was trotting behind the wagon. Her grandfather seemed to make nothing of it and Petsha didn’t look bothered either.

From what Kagome’s tracking skills were telling her, her grandfather was heading east, to the direction of Dublin. Why was he going back there already? They’ve only been there like a few weeks ago.

Sighing, Kagome tucked some stray hair behind her ear and continued to stare at the white horse. He was only inches away from the wagon, nodding his head from side to side, his mane shining through the rays of the morning sun.

Kagome smiled. Her father and her grandfather told her stories about the white horses that came from the sea. Most of the story she has forgotten by now since she was a toddler when her father told her.

Another memory returned to her. Her father used to sing to her Celtic songs after he told her stories.

Kagome actually had a beautiful singing voice. Usually at traveller camps, she would be the one to sing. Her mother used to before her father passed way.

With a smile on her face, Kagome began to silently hum a song, before turning it into words.

Scarborough fair

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Remember me to one who lives there.He once was a true love of mine.The white horse’s trot began to look like he was dancing towards the song.

Tell him to make me a cambric shirt.Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.Without no seam, nor needlework.Then he'll be a true love of mine.

Tell him to buy me an acre of land.Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.Between salt water and the sea strand.Then he'll be a true love of mine.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.He once was a true love of mine.

The white horse shook his head side to side and neighed a little, showing his way to ‘applaud’.

Kagome smiled. It was such a long time since she last sang. She began it sing it again.

Her grandfather was listening to her voice. He smiled warmly, for years he hadn’t heard that song, and for years he hadn’t heard Kagome sing. Even Petsha was prancing about in his trot.

The trio return to Dublin, listening to Kagome’s voice and the wagon’s wheels rumbling on the road.

********
A few days later

Souta stood on top of one of the abandoned cars in the ‘junkyard camp’ behind his flats in Dublin. He got word his grandfather and sister would be returning early. Souta wondered why since they usually take a month or so before coming to pay a visit.

Even Michie, Souta’s mother, was surprised. However Souta almost had a heart attack. When he went to tell his mother the good news, he found her in the living with 5 bottles of beer scattered on the floor.

He wasn’t sure if he should tell Kagome or not. He decided he must though: Michie is her mother as well.

Souta was brought out of his thoughts when a small hand tugged at his sleeve. He looked down to find a pair of emerald green eyes.

A small, cute little kitsune named Shippo looked at him. He wore a rugged brown furry coat with a blue sheet underneath. He was quite small: about the size of a huge basketball. He stood on 2 fox like legs and he had a small, brushy tail.

Shippo began to live with the Higurashi’s 2 years after the death of Souta’s and Kagome’s father and the death of his parents. Souta considered him more as a brother. Shippo always looked up to Souta and he absolutely adored Kagome as a sister. He was always bawling to tears when Kagome leaves. Shippo even looked up to Michie as if she was his real mother. He even called her Mama.

“When will they be here?” Shippo asked.

Souta smiled at him.

“Soon....in fact they are here”

The red wagon appeared around the corner; Kenji was standing in front of the door now, while Kagome... wait where was Kagome?

Souta breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her sitting at the back of the wagon. However his eyes left her when he noticed the white shape that was following them.

A few minutes after the wagon stopped, Kagome barely caught the little Kitsune that literally bashed into her.

“Kagome! I missed you!”

“I know I missed you too Shippo” she hugged the little Kitsune tightly.

Souta came and hugged his sister and grandpa before asking

“Grandpa, can I go on Petsha please?”

Kenji looked into his pleading eyes before replaying

“You can if Petsha isn’t too tired”

Kagome didn’t notice her mother, Michie arrive. She gave Souta a leg up on the horse before approaching Kenji.

All of them bolted out of their skins when a loud whine from a certain horse came from behind the wagon. Shippo jumped out of Kagome’s arms to meet the white horse that walked his way towards the little Kitsune.

Shippo climbed on a barrel to pat the horse before Michie come over. She pulled Shippo away from the horse.

“Away Shippo”

She lifted both of her arms towards the horse’s head, but the horse rolled back his eyes and snorted, turning his head away from her hands.

Michie got frustrated as the horse resisted her.

“Hold still, for God’s sake. Hold still!”

The horse kept turning away until Kenji stepped in.

“Lost your gift eh, Michie?” he sighed as he watched her walk away.

Kagome noticed the sudden change in her mother; she never used to get frustrated so easily.

Shippo approached the white horse again and patted him. The horse didn’t turn away from him at all. Both Kagome and her grandpa looked in awe/ shock as the horse trotted towards a barrel. Shippo climbed on the barrel as the horse lowered his slender neck to allow Shippo to climb.

“Watch out Shippo he might be a bad one”

But Shippo climbed onto the horse’s back as if it were nothing.

Kenji gave a small gasp.

“By God Shippo, you must have the gift. He likes ya”

Shippo smiled with pride. “Nah he likes me cause I like him” and he gave the horse a nudge for him to start walking.

Kagome stood in awe before realising he had no reins.

“Shippo, wait! You need a bridle at least!”

*******

For as long as he could remember, it was a while for the council to summon InuYasha.

They must have new mission for me... no doubt to clean up their dirty work

InuYasha walked through the tall underground halls towards the Council’s ‘Big long Table’ room. The youkai council only called for him if there was any news or sightings of this ‘purity one’ or ‘orb of affliction’.

According to one of InuYasha’s books, legend has it the ancient orb was created by a powerful priestess hundreds of years ago, and passed its way into the hands of the traveller druids. The arch druid bounded the orb in a God tree, sealing it for all eternity. But then a demon took the orb and used it for his reign only to have been stopped by a priestess with spiritual power that extended that of the Arch druid. Nothing else was known after that only that the priestess was also a traveller.

InuYasha turned left down the corridor towards two castle like doors. Embedded on the doors were twin youkai that took the form of dogs: one devouring, the over leaping over the clouds with a snake youkai following its tail.

InuYasha never knocked on the doors so he barged in to stand in front of a round table. Humanoid and youkai eyes turned his way: some frowning, glaring because of being jumped out of their skin by the doors suddenly opening, while a few stared with contentment.

Though InuYasha was still looked down upon because of his half-dog youkai heritage, he was however respected because of his strength and because he was the second son of the Great Dog Lord. The council were one of the few who did respect him.

An elderly daiyoukai glared at him. He had a bushy white beard that fell towards his abdomen, his silver eyebrows longer then his face. His wrinkles practically fell over his eyes. It was a wonder that the poor guy could still see.

“Give us all a heart attack why don’t ye, InuYasha?”

InuYasha would have snapped back but he knew better being in the presence of the high council. His eyes focused on the leader: the old woman sitting in the middle.

Her long wavy hair was ghostly white and when she stood it literally dragged on the ground behind her feet. Her face, though signs of old age were defiantly showing, still had her youth’s beauty despite the fact she was the oldest living daiyoukai among the council. Her eyes glowed a wondrous gold: some people thought she was a Goddess bound in human form when she first came into the world. Know all it reflects is her knowledge. She wore a long red and purple robe layered with cloaks and she wore a crown with pieces of see-through cloth flowing with her hair.

Chikako was properly the one that respected InuYasha the most out of the council. She treated with equality and showed no sign of hate towards him. Therefore InuYasha looked up to Chikako for advice and the closest to being a grandmother.

She stood and slowly waved her hand to the elderly Youkai who bellowed at InuYasha. She spoke in a very queen-like voice.

“Peace, Borious. You know what InuYasha is like”.

The ancient daiyoukai, Borious, grunted and snorted, but said nothing and took his seat.

Chikako turned her attention to InuYasha.

“I’m glad you arrived InuYasha. Our arcane wyverns have sensed something...odd in one of the traveller sites in East Dublin”.

With a wave of her hand, an image appeared between the council and InuYasha. All it showed was a rundown camp with a bonfire and abandoned cars around.

InuYasha frowned in annoyance, but said nothing as Chikako continued.

“We want you to go there and find anything odd or unusual there and report back. I’ll give you an arcane wyvern scale for you to take. It will vibrate and go hot when the odd presence is near”.

“That’s it?”

Chikako smirked at him.

“Well if it is the orb, you know what to do”.

When Chikako took the scale, he set off towards the site. He didn’t bother for a concealment item since he noticed in the image a few youkai and hanyou’s there as well.

***************

Kagome sat outside the wagon’s front door, sighing as she watched the children ride on horses and leap over the newly made logs as a jump.

Shippo was talking to a few children of his own age, showing off his new white horse. Kagome noticed attached to the horse’s mane on a string was a purple sphere. When Kenji reached out for it, the horse jerked his head away, and the movement almost made Shippo fall off. So they decided to leave it.

Bored of watching, she got out her book that was called ‘Irish Folklore’. Usually she would skip towards the fantasy chapters: about banshees, fairies, and the white horses of the sea. Strangely enough near the end of the book was something about a jewel created by a priestess and she gave it to a druid. Apparently it also said only the one with true spiritual power and filled with no malice can take the jewel from its ‘carrier’.

Unlike her grandfather, who has mixed opinions of ‘settle people’ and youkai and hanyou’s alike, Kagome saw everyone as the same person, and therefore she held no prejudice or hostility to anyone, unless they try to attack her of course.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt an aura approach the site. Kagome did have magical power, but rarely did she ever use it. From what she could tell, the aura is coming from a hanyou.

Several of the youkai and hanyou travellers turned to see the approaching hanyou. They all lost interest when he jumped on top of an abandoned car that was not on fire. Kagome on the other hand continued to look at him.

He isn’t hiding his youkai form....I thought most hanyou’s did?

She pondered this. She pretended to look at her book to the hanyou.

She blushed when the sun shone on him which made his silver white hair as well as his amber eye glow in the rays. His face was small but cute, especially those ears, Kagome thought.

The hanyou felt there were eyes on him. He turned his head towards Kagome and their eyes met briefly before Kagome flustered and poked her face back into her book.

-----

InuYasha jumped onto an abandoned car, seemly looks like the highest to sit and look over the site until nightfall. People stared at him as he entered the site but all lost interest... expect one: the black-raven haired girl sitting in front of her wagon.

He could tell she was pretending to read her book: at the corner of his eye he saw her poke her face up now and then to stare at him.

Keh...what’s her problem? Hasn’t she seen a hanyou before? They’re all over this site.

He thought before finding the answer: the hanyou’s here hid their youkai traits to appear more human.

Of course... not many of us show our true forms. I bet she despises me for showing it.

When she wasn’t looking, InuYasha took this chance to gaze at her.

She had a small, beautiful face with big, cute stormy grey eyes. A light breeze blew in her hair, making her appear graceful. InuYasha couldn’t help but let his eyes wander...

She has the right curves, quite a big bustline and delicate looking skin...

Kaa! What am I thinking?!

He gulped and hid away his small blush by turning his attention in the camp, allowing the sun’s rays to bring a glow among him.

When he felt her eyes on him again, he turned to meet her eyes. What he saw in them was no malice whatsoever, but it only lasted a second before the girl blushed furiously and buried her face back in the book.

InuYasha looked away also in thought.

There was no disgust in her eyes...

********

Souta came trotting to Marie, his next door neighbour in their flat. Both of them were competing against each other to see who can jump on their horses better.

He noted the small bonfire in the middle of the site.

“Hey Marie, I bet’ ya no one can jump the fire!”

“Nobody could do that” a boy next to Marie said in bewilderment.

Marie looked at Souta with a grin.

“Sure they could”. And with that she trotted her horse over towards the fire. The kids cheered for her, only the horse stopped right in front of the bonfire and turned away from the heat.

Shippo saw this as did the white horse. The white horse nodded his head and began to canter over towards the bonfire. Kagome and her grandfather as well as Souta saw Shippo approach the fire

“No! Don’t do it Shippo!” Kenji ran to try and block the horse from going, only he was slow due to his old age.

“Stop! Shippo don’t jump the fire!” Kagome called, as she jumped from the wagon, dropping her book, and ran over towards them.

InuYasha saw what was going on and leapt to help.

“No!” Souta looked in horror, knowing it was practically his fault that he somewhat encouraged Shippo to do this.

Kenji was almost there but...the white horse didn’t stop. He leapt above the flames, with Shippo on his back screaming with joy.

“Wahoo!”

After that, everything stood still. Kenji was literally having a silent heart attack, Souta and the other children trotted over with a face struck with awe, while Kagome had her jaw fall to the floor.

But Shippo was giggling with proudness written all over his face.

“He’s my horse Kenji. What’s his name?”

Kenji came next to him and took him off the horse. Kagome and Souta came over with InuYasha not far behind them.

“Umm...he’s called Tir-na-nóg” Kenji said with a hint of a story to follow.

“What does that mean? And why’s he called that?”

“It means the land of eternal youth and because he came from the land from the sea” Kenji smiled at Shippo as him and his grandchildren stroked the horses’ nose.

********
Later that evening

“Now then, Oisín was the most handsome traveller to ever live” Kenji began. The travellers put logs all around the fire and sat down around it to listen to the storyteller. Shippo and Souta were on Tir-na-nóg while Kagome sat on the log next to them. She was trying very hard not to concentrate on the dog hanyou that was standing behind her, listening to her grandfather.

“He was visited by a fairy woman named Níamh Chinn Óir, who was one of the daughters of the sea god, Manannán Mac Lir. She announces she loves him and that he was too handsome ever to grow old. And she took him away with her, over the sea to the land of eternal youth”.

“And there they stayed for 300 years, their union producing two children. But Oisín was a traveller. He missed his caravan, he missed his old pals”. Kenji made a gesture with his hand.

“But the princess told him that if he ever went back he would die, because he was 300 years old and the 300 years would catch with him and age him if he touches the ground of the mortal. But the princess couldn’t bear to see Oisin sad. So she gave him her great white horse, and told him he must ‘never, never, never get off its back’. But Oisin was a softie, his heart (Kenji thumps his chest a little) was bigger than his head”.

“He was sad when he came home to see how changed the land was and how poor the people were”.

Kenji waved his hand a little before continuing. Souta’s eyes widened what was to come next.

“He saw a group of men trying to hold a big rock... though he can lift it over his head with his strength but remember...” Kenji looked at everyone’s faces briefly before he said

“He couldn’t get off the horse. So he rode the great white horse over to the men and lifted up the rock with his right hand”. Kenji made a somewhat alarmed face, his eyes and mouth widened as he continued.

“But by God, a terrible thing happened!”

“The saddle broke and down Oisín fell in front of their eyes”. He made gestures with hands towards the floor. Then his eyes frowned to a face that drew the attention of the audience in.

“Here’s what they saw. They saw the most handsome man on Earth get older and older, and greyer and greyer. And his hair grew down to his waist! Hs fingernails grew 3 inches long and his bones began to crumble and snap!”

Souta’s mouth fell a little, his eyes widening in excitement while Kagome listened on with amusement of the faces her grandfather made. InuYasha seemed to find the story interesting too, as well as the other people listening.

“With everybody watching was terrified! And then, Oisín disintegrated before their eyes...turned into dust. A heap of pile of ashes on the ground was all that was left of him”.

Kenji took some ash near the fire and shook it slightly with his hand as he walked towards his grandchildren.

“These ashes” and with that he blow the ash away from his hand.

Souta stared in awe at his grandfather.

“What does disintegrate mean?” he asked.

His grandfather smiled. “It means to fall apart” he replied, patting him on the shoulder.

“He should have stayed put”

Shippo asked the next question.

“What did the princess look like?”

Kenji approached him and patted his shoulders before telling him

“Close your eyes”.

Shippo obeyed.

“Now do you see a beautiful woman?”

“Yeah”

“Well that’s her. That’s the beautiful princess”

Souta broke the silence. “Come on Shippo. Its time to go”

Shippo made a whine of protest.

“I’m not getting down!”

Kenji stepped in before a fight took place.

“Come on your mother will be worried about ya”

Shippo made a face. “Mama never worried when she drinks”

Kagome frowned upon hearing this.

Kenji gave him a sad smile.

“Your mother was a wonderful woman you know. She was known as the Queen of the Travellers”.

“Was she really?”

“She was”

“When?”

“When your father was alive, she wasn’t afraid of anything”.

Kenji sighed before he finally took Shippo off the horse.

“I don’t want to get old”

“Ahh you won’t get old Shippo. Not yet”

Shippo and Souta stroked Tir-na-nóg on the nose. The horse leaned into their touches.

“Goodbye Tir-na-nóg. We have to go”

The two boys said goodbye to Kenji and looked for Kagome only to find her talking with a man with silver hair.

“Can we keep him” Shippo asked as he turned around.

Kenji smiled. “And where would you put him?”

Souta smirked and took Shippo back to the flat. Tir-na-nóg watched the boys leave while Kenji began to frown when he realised his granddaughter was talking to a hanyou. He made his way towards them.







To be continued...

AN: The story of Oisín and Tir-na-nóg is an Irish legend. Quite a famous one too.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See ya and Merry Christmas!

-Midnightsilver