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Japanese Volcabulary:

inuyoukai: dog demon

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Episode 24: Preordained Meeting

The night was dark, the forest quiet, the waning moon above, soon to become the half moon. A single figure walked through the forest, wide awake, not one to sleep much anyways, so having no need to stop at night. The figure's dark brown eyes lay half closed in an aloof kind of way as always. Straight black hair trailed behind, as dark as the sky above. Against the dark hair, pale skin shone white with the glow of the moon above.

The figure was followed silently by another shorter figure, who could always be found not far behind. Beady black eyes seeming to be always agitated under a bony, ridged brow, surrounded by yellowish-brown scales. A staff, many times the short figure's height, was held in its usual place in its right hand.

The powerful, female inuyoukai continued her walk, having no true destination in mind, just traveling as she always did. But suddenly, she stopped, standing as her follower stopped behind her.

"What is it, Lady Kikyou?" Tolkein asked, squinting his eyes to try and peer into the dark trees to find what had caused his lady to stop.

Kikyou narrowed her eyes slightly before turning her head towards the right of them.

"What do you want?" she said, calmly.

Tolkein continued to try and find who his lady was talking to when two pairs of glowing poison green orbs appeared in the shadows of the trees. The lizard demon jumped, startled by their sudden appearance.

"Who are you?" Tolkein called out, regaining his composure as he stomped his snake staff against the ground. "What buisness do you have with Lady Kikyou?"

The green eyes ignored the lizard demon, still trained on Kikyou. "Ah. Kikyou... Lady of the Northern Lands. We've finally found you..."

Tolkein furrowed his bony brows puzzled. "We?..."

Then, pairs of the similar poison green eyes appeared around the clearing. Tolkein took a step back, looking around a bit nervously, while Kikyou merely stared with a bored air about her.

"I will ask you only once," the female inuyoukai said calmly. "What do you want, cat?"

Tolkein looked up, surprised. 'Cat?...' He narrowed his eyes, turning his gaze back to the green eyes glowing around them. 'Ah! Now I see, those are the same eyes as those of the Cat Demon tribe.' He furrowed his brows. 'But what do they want with my Lady?'

The green eyes narrowed at Kikyou's question but the cat demon's voice was amused. "You really have to ask?"

Kikyou merely lifted her hand in front of her face, claws glowing red. "Alright then. If you really wish to fight. . . ." Her eyes narrowed slightly. ". . . .then prepare to die." And with that, she sent out a red wave of energy. . . .

...and the cat demons pounced.

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The village bustled with people in the streets, doing what they did every day. It seemed like any normal village, peaceful, or as peaceful as it could get, given the times. But in one part of the village, some people were gathered together, speaking together in nervous tones.

"Did you hear about what happened in that village a week back?" one man said.

"Yeah," a second replied. "My wife's brother lived in that village."

"How'd your wife take the news?" a third one asked.

The second shook his head. "I haven't told her, yet."

The first shook his head as well. "It's terrible. Not a soul survived."

The third nodded. "Everyone slaughtered, including women and children, too."

"You think it was a demon attack?" The second man asked.

"Didn't you hear?" the third said. "It wasn't made by any demon's claws. It was made by some kind of weapon."

"I think I heard that it was a scythe, maybe?" The first shook his head. "I'm not sure but I do know that it wasn't a demon."

The third nodded. "It wasn't any bandits either. I wonder who or what it could have been."

The second sighed. "We may never know what killed them but in the meantime. I have to get back to my wife. She'll have my head if I don't get there soon."

The other two men nodded. "See ya, tomorrow then, Keichi."

Keichi nodded, before walking off. The two men turned to leave when the third man stopped, spying something. "Oi, Tomo. Take a look at that."

"Hm?" Tomo turned around. "What is it, Soiku?"

Soiku pointed and Tomo turned his head in that direction. His brows raised when his eyes reached their destination. "Who's that?"

Walking along the edge of the crowds was a young boy, maybe no more than ten. His dark brown, almost black hair was pulled high on his head in a short ponytail. He also had dark brown eyes and freckles were sprinkled aross the slightly tanned skin of his nose. He wore a rough sleeve-less brown kimono, reaching mid-thigh. It looked worn and dirty, matching well with his calloused bare feet, as if he had been traveling a lot. Something glinted at his waist on the far side from them. All in all, he looked like any normal peasant child except for one little thing. Dried blood was splattered on his skin and clothing alike, yet there didn't seem to be a wound on him, at least, none that could be seen.

Their eyes followed the boy until he finally disappeared around the corner of a hut and down another street. The two men stood there for a few moments, still staring.

"What d'you think happened to him?" Tomo asked, brows lifted. "You think that there might have actually been a survivor from the village?"

Soiku's brows furrowed. "I don't know but I've got a weird feeling about that kid."

Tomo rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. He's just a kid splattered in blood. Nothing too abnormal about that. Maybe he's just a survivor from a youkai attack. Who knows?"

"Yeah," Soiku replied. "Maybe."

'But I can't help but wonder....'

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The lady of the Northern lands panted, sweat coating her brow. Her clothing was ripped and torn, blood splattered everywhere, some from the cat demons and some from herself. Three deep claws marks dripped blood on her right shoulder, matching the claw marks on her lower left leg. A thin cut stretched across her forehead, blood dribbling from it to stain her pale skin red.

She gritted her teeth as she struggled to stay standing. How had it gone so badly? One minute she had been doing so well, attacking cat demons left and right, next thing she knew, she was surrounded by more than she could count. Where she destroyed one, two more appeared to attack. She still fought them off, ending up with them running away but she sustained some bad wounds. She would heal but it was going to be a while.

Kikyou darted her eyes somewhere to her left as she recalled Tolkein having been sent flying off somewhere that way. She was on her own here. She took a step foreward but her left leg buckled from pain and, as much as she stuggled to keep herself upright, fell to her side, jarring her right shoulder. She gritted her teeth, unable to grasp it, since she was still unable to move her left arm. She quickly rolled onto her back, relieving the pressure on her wounded shoulder.

She glared up at the darkened tree tops and the pieces of starry night sky that appeared between the gaps. How could she have been so foolish, so weak, to have let this happen?

Kikyou closed her eyes as she remembered words of her teachings so long ago. 'Never underestimate your opponent and don't get cocky. Just because you're powerful, doesn't mean that your opponent is not powerful, either.'

She sighed, quietly. She had done exactly what she had been told not to do. She had underestimated the cats, thinking that they were weak and foolish to take her on but in the end, she had been the one to be weak and foolish. They had been more powerful than she had expected and on top of that, they'd had a plan. A very good plan actually. She'd never expected them to have more cats waiting.

Kikyou opened her eyes again, narrowing them. 'Have I really grown so foolish? There is still so much more I have to learn.' She furrowed her brows. 'So much that Mother was supposed to teach me. . . ' She glared angrily up at the stars. 'Stupid half-breed, it's all her fault. . . and she doesn't even know it. . .'

With that, Kikyou closed her eyes in an attempt to regain her strength.

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The sun shone brightly, its rays stretching across the land. Dark brown eyes opened, then squinted against the bright light. The young boy shifted against the tree he was leaning against, scratching the back of his neck with one hand, the other stretching above his head, a yawn escaping from his lips.

He turned his head towards the river where he had washed his clothes and skin the day before. His brows furrowed. He still didn't know how that blood had gotten on him. Like always, he had woken up in the forest he had stayed in earlier that day and then, as usual, he found himself blood splattered. He was actually surprised he hadn't woken up like that again. He looked down as if to check himself for blood and, just as he thought, no blood splatters.

He shook his head. He didn't understand it so it wasn't all that important. His hand went to his right hip, checking that his only possession was there, other than the clothes on his back and was satisfied to feel cool metal beneath his finger tips. His fingers trailed along the smooth blade and interlocking chain, smiling slightly. It was all he had left since his family had been killed.

The boy sighed, before getting up and walking over to the river. He splashed the cool water on his face, before cupping his hands to take a drink. After he'd had his fill, he walked to a berry bush nearby and had breakfast. He wiped his hand with his mouth as he straightened from his crouch to pick the berries.

He turned away from the bush and walked off into the underbrush to continue traveling. He pushed through the undergrowth, the leaves of tree branches and bushes brushing his arms. As he reached a sudden clearing, he stopped, before quickly jumping behind a tree, eyes widened in surprise at what he had seen. When he heard no movement or noise, he slowly peered around the trunk of the tree to get a good look at the sight before him.

Laying on the ground, unmoving, was a woman who could have been no more than eighteen. She was covered in blood and she looked as if she had been in a battle but it was obvious she was very pretty, even in the state she was in. How could she not be, with her long black hair, pale skin, and her aura that demanded respect?

The boy cocked his head curiously, and forgetting his feelings of cautiousness, stepped out a bit from behind the tree. Since her eyes were closed, he couldn't tell what her eye color was. He shook his head in slight amusement at the random thought. He looked at the woman once more. She was obviously wounded and it looked like she would need medical care.

He took a step foreward, a twig snapping under his foot, but he was startled when the woman's eyes snapped open and she rolled on her side quickly to growl warningly at him.

'So that's what her eye color is,' the random thought crossed his mind, as her brown eyes mixed with red, glared at him.

He stood still in the spot as he stared, wide eyed, as if he'd been frozen. As they stood there for a few moments, the red in her eyes faded and the growling died down. She continued to glare but she seemed a little wary as if trying to decide if he was a threat or not. Eventually, she seemed to decide he wasn't worth the bother and closed her eyes, laying back down.

The boy stood there a moment longer, before taking another step foreward and stopping. The woman didn't move. It looked like she'd fallen asleep. He took another step foreward to be sure, and when she still didn't move, he stepped foreward, feeling more confindent, until he was only a few feet away. He crouched down as he stared at her, now noticing that she didn't quite look human.

For one thing, her ears weren't rounded like human ears, they were pointed at the tips. And her hands... sharp claws rested at each fingertip instead of blunt fingernails like his own. Then, there were the strange markings on her face. An indigo stripe slashed each cheek and a red star tatooed her forehead. Her clothing also looked different from those of people he had seen. He furrowed his brow. They looked like a warrior's but she had the air of a royal princess.

The boy frowned and shook his head. This strange woman was definitely puzzling. He cocked his head at a sudden thought. She was obviously not a human... so maybe she was a demon.

"Hm..." he muttered. "She could be..."

He nodded. "Yeah, she probably is but any guess is as good as mine..."

"Hm..." He took another glance at the woman. "I wonder if I could help her..."

"I don't need your help human."

The boy's eyes widened in surprise as he returned his gaze to the woman who still had not moved except that she had turned her head to glare at him, eyes now opened.

"She's still awake," he murmured.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to continue muttering over there or are you finally going to leave me in peace? I can hear every word you're saying as clearly as if you were talking right to my face. Oh, and by the way, I never was asleep. I don't need to sleep."

The boy stared at her, surprised. The woman had gone for so long just laying there quietly, and now she was pretty much telling him that she could hear every thing he said which was definitely not something a human could do.

Kikyou closed her eyes as she growled lowly to herself. She needed to keep a grip on her temper. The fight had put a lot of stress on her mind and body, and having this boy disturbing her rest wasn't helping.

The boy finally got over his surprise and smiled slightly at the woman before speaking. "Hi. My name's Kohaku. Can you tell me your name so I know what to call you?"

Kikyou paused, turning to look at the boy, disbelieving. This little human was really telling her his name without fear of her and actually daring to ask for her's?

'The way he asks it,' she thought, narrowing her eyes,' you'd think that we were equals or something of that sort.'

"Miss?" the boy asked, or Kohaku, as he called himself.

Kikyou narrowed her eyes at the boy, once more. "That is Lady to you. You stand before royalty. You speak to Kikyou, the great Lady of the Northern Lands and daughter to the former Lady of the Northern Lands."

"Ah," he nodded with a smile. "Lady Kikyou it is, then. That would also mean Bellflower, wouldn't it? That's a nice name."

Kikyou frowned at the human. He was NOT acting the way a human was supposed to act. He was not supposed to be asking her name or smiling or any of these things. He was supposed to have run in terror from the moment she growled at him with her red eyes.

'Humans are such strange creatures,' she thought, still puzzled.

"So..." said Kohaku. "Are you hungry? I could pick you some berries or something like that if you want."

Kikyou narrowed her eyes as she stared at him for a few moments. Then, she closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. "Do whatever you like, human. It matters not to me."

Kohaku's smile faded as he stared at her, curiously, for a few moments. "You don't like me, do you?" It wasn't really a question, more like a statement.

Kikyou was silent. She wasn't sure how to answer the little human boy. The tip of her elven ears twitched slightly as she heard him stand up and sigh.

"It's okay," he said. "I'll leave you alone since I'm obviously bothering you." Kohaku turned around to leave but stopped when he reached the edge of the clearing. "But... I still plan on helping you. Even if you don't like me, I wanna help." He turned his head and smiled at her, even though she couldn't see it from where her head was turned. "I'm not sure if you're a demon or not, but even if you are, I still wanna help." He turned around and exited the clearing with only the promise that he'd be back.

Kikyou furrowed her brows, extremely confused. 'What is going on with this human? Why does he act so strangely? He is so different from the other humans... Why... Why is he trying to help me?' She narrowed her eyes as she banished her confusion. 'I don't need his help. Foolish human. Doesn't he realize that as soon as I am healed, I can kill him?' She closed her eyes, brows once again furrowed. 'I will never understand humans...'