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Along Came a Serpent pt. II
‘Ohhh, my head. Where is everybody? … More importantly, where am I?’
My clenched eyelids blinded me for the outside world, yet strangely enough it felt as if there was no world in the first place – just an empty abyss.
“Sango …”
‘Who’s calling to me? Is that houshi-sama?’
“Sango, wake up. Sango …”
‘Don’t worry, houshi-sama. I’m right behind you …’
“Sango!”
Alarmed at the sharp tone my eyes fluttered open, squinting at the sudden adjustment to light. As I vision came to I found myself staring out at a gash in the ceiling, pieces of wood still threatening to crash down. Empty-headed I blinked in a means of waking up; my head tilting slightly to look upon whatever small weight was on my arm.
It was a hand, with hairy knuckles and a firm grip. Still nothing in my mind began to register as my gaze traveled up the sleeved arm to wide shoulders. Dark hair pulled up in a short tail on the man’s head, while a small beard complimented his warm brown eyes.
I felt numb, “ … Chichi-ue …?"
-*-
Miroku fidgeted uncomfortably at his post beside the taijiya, not having the proper back support to find a resting position. He sat cross-legged next to the futon Sango currently slept on, gazing at her in concern.
It was unfortunate that Kirara had killed the snake so suddenly before he could get any answers as to what exactly happened and is happening to Sango. She was completely comatose, not even stirring when he undressed her to check for wounds. The top of her taijiya suit lay neatly folded by her side, while her bindings and newly applied bandages served to cover her. The houshi grimaced at seeing the blooded imprints of the fang marks appear through the bandages, they were the only injuries she received.
A soft mew from Kirara woke Miroku from his thoughts. Soundlessly he moved his hand to stroke the neko behind the ear. She purred her appreciation, thankful for finding some comfort while her mistress lay out of commission. The houshi’s indigo eyes glanced past the small youkai to where Sango’s weapons lie. Spotting the prayer beads on the hilt of her katana, Miroku reached over and slid them off, giving a little chuckle, “Honestly, this is the exact reason why I told her to keep these on her person.”
The emerald beads clanked together in his grasp, his fist closing around them as he murmured another prayer. Gently he took Sango’s hand in his, but as he went to slip the juzu around her wrist a dark energy crashed out at it, sending the beads flying out of his grasp and across the room.
“Kuso,” Miroku cursed to himself, glaring as Kirara growled uneasily. Still the taijiya showed no signs of motion, appearing almost lifeless.
“Sango, be strong. Don’t let this thing overcome you.”
-*-
“What wrong, Sango? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“T … That’s because I am seeing one. You’re … You’re dead.” I stared at my father in disbelief, “I watched you die before my very eyes. This can’t be …”
Chichi-ue arched his thick eyebrow at me, before a small smile graced his face as he shook his head, “That sounds like quite the dream. But it was you who had us all worried, little lady.”
He reached over to remove a nearly moist cloth from my forehead, “Don’t you remember? Last night the village was attacked by a horde of youkai seeking revenge for their comrades. If we’d have left any earlier to exterminate that spider plaguing the nearby castle I’m afraid our village would have been in serious trouble.”
“Castle? That’s right, we were there with Kohaku, and he -”
My father’s laughter cut me off, “Kohaku? Now I know your mind is playing tricks on you. Kohaku has never gone on a mission in his life.”
Chichi-ue shifted somewhat to ruffle my bangs, “Like I said before, we had to cancel that mission to defend our village. You were in the shrine protecting the shikon shards, but when we found you, you had already been unconscious. Fortunately the other taijiya recovered the shards before the youkai fled with them.”
The whole thing was just too hard to swallow, “Demo … What about Kagome-chan? And InuYasha, and Shippo and houshi-sam-Ahh!” The last syllable was hissed when a sudden stab of pain shot through my mind. I brought my hand up to put pressure on my temples, teeth gritted to cope with the hurt.
“Sango, daijoubu ka?” My father sat up on his knees, appearing worried with his hands poised to help in any way.
Gradually the pain began to dull. “I think I’m fine,” I finally stammered out, hand sweeping down to the bridge of my nose.
Chichi-ue relaxed slightly, but still seemed uneasy as he sat back in his cross-legged position, “These names that you bring up do not register in my memory at all. But as for a monk, you were calling out for one in your sleep. We thought perhaps you might be possessed, and after that little display just now it might be true.”
I stared down at the floorboards, desperate to sort reality from fiction. “Perhaps I have been possessed …” I trailed off, fragments of my dream slowly fading into the forgotten. Faces I thought I knew were blurring; the smiles of a small kitsune and an old miko with an eye patch – the laughter of a girl in strange clothing and a man with dog-ears and a stubborn personality. The remembrance of another man sent the same jolt of pain through my mind, while my heart suddenly skipped a beat. That face – it refused to leave me; the man with midnight hair and violet eyes of both fortune and misery. He stood proud in my mind, clad in the robes of a houshi.
“Then I will see to it,” chichi-ue’s declarative voice cleared my train of thought. “I shall send out a party to find the nearest monk to perform an exorcism. Until then Sango, please stay in the village.”
-*-
“My curse lives on within the taijiya. And with her I shall exact revenge.”
Miroku’s eyes opened once more, having only had a few seconds to rest them before the tormenting guilt spoke in his mind. It was well into the night, and his heavy eyelids threatened to block him from the outside world. Kirara was curled up on his lap, while the small flame in the candle dish beside him burned faintly.
Looking down at the still taijiya he felt utterly helpless. It was his entire fault, and he couldn’t redeem himself by helping her. For hours he had tried every charm he knew – every sutra, talisman, prayer – and every one of them was repelled by the crackling black aura. His efforts had left him exhausted from the relentless use of his spiritual powers, but despite that he still failed.
‘Sango … please forgive me,’ The houshi whispered frailly in thought. His head bowed, disgust in himself for being so heartless. He knew full well how much it hurt Sango when he flirted around, but a few years with her still couldn’t heal him from a lifetime of bad habits. He tried – dearest Buddha did he try. But when the headman’s female vassals came to learn of him, he couldn’t deny them.
Temptation had gotten the better of him. What Sango didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her. But she had heard, and she was indeed hurt. Miroku saw a complete lowlife cheater reflected in her eyes when he’d opened the shouji door to find her standing there, and knew just then that he had broken the last tether of trust she had in him.
For the first time in a long time his eyes began to water, but he clenched them shut as well as his fist. He cursed himself. He cursed his grandfather for giving him his habits. And he cursed his parents for birthing a child that would later hurt the woman laying before him – the angel that was slipping into darkness. Because of his own selfishness, Sango’s soul would be devoured. And all he could do is sit by and watch.
-*-
After slipping on my sandals I reached up to slide open the wooden door. The sunlight served to make me wince from the contrast of its brightness to the darkness of our home. Stepping out, I couldn’t help but smile at my surroundings. Birds chirped outside the fortress, while the villagers bustled about with their activities. A crowd of children ran about my legs.
“Ohaiyo, Sango-sama!” One of them called with laughter, before running away with the group from another child wearing a youkai mask.
Lighthearted, I made my way down the dirt street, curious to see whatever commotion had the villagers gathered around in a circle. A few of them stepped aside, smiles gracing their faces, to let me watch. Kirara and Kohaku had gathered the audience, for everyone found it amusing to watch the neko outsmart the taijiya in training. Whenever he went to catch her she would be one step ahead of him, dodging to the side or jumping to land on his head. I laughed at the sight, even though I’d seen it many times before. Eyes set on the show I barely noticed as a pair of arms came from behind to wrap around my waist.
I was alarmed at first, but then relaxed and giggled. “Houshi-sama,” I whined playfully, spinning around in his arms. Upon viewing his features I froze, speechless.
“Heh, houshi-sama? You still half asleep there, Sango-chan?” the youth teased, merriment in his expression. His brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail similar to Kohaku’s, while his gray eyes were closed humorously. Behind him was strapped a large weapon with three horse-shoe shaped blades attached to a staff, while his armor was made of turtle shells.
“ … Zushi,” I mumbled to myself, having forgotten all about him. He was the son of a lesser taijiya, and much weaker then me. It was because of this that my father always hesitantly declined his offer; his offer for my hand in marriage. Although I was of age I never really felt comfortable with matrimony. Being a headman’s daughter meant I could be married off to the most eligible suitor, not a word of love to be spoken. Zushi was the only man I knew of who sought me as his wife. I was grateful that chichi-ue considered my feelings, but perhaps he just wanted the Taijiya Village to rest in the hands of someone stronger.
“Miss me?”
“You were gone somewhere?” I asked quietly, trying to keep the reluctance out of my voice. Grabbing one of his fingers I peeled his arms off me and walked out of his embrace. As I walked away from the crowd he followed me like a duckling, babbling about something I was half paying attention to.
“Well yeah! The headman sent me, Ritsu, and Ging to scout the perimeter. Everything was in order for a time until a group of tyrants with an ill-tempered hanyou for a leader began interrogating us about a female taijiya who took a shikon shard.”
“Hanyou? How odd, they’re usually solitary …”
“Heh, guess not this one. They had so many questions for us that we simple had to bring them up here.”
My feet stilled as I abruptly halted, then spun around tensely, “What?! You led a hanyou and his gang to the village?!” The first and most important rule of taijiya was to never reveal the location of the village, everyone knew that!
Zushi paled and gulped, “T-they would have found the village anyway. The hanyou is part dog and has an acute sense of smell. Besides, there was a human woman in the party so they couldn’t be all that bad!”
Ignoring him I turned again and hurried to the gate. Three people not of this village waited there, the taller one of which stood from where he rested upon seeing me. He must have been the hanyou – with the ears of a dog nearly hidden in long silver hair, and he was clad in a red hakama. The female was just as strange however, wearing the shortest yukata I had ever seen before. She was holding an odd, pink contraption with two wheels, and the third companion, obviously a kitsune, sat in the basket at the front.
“Hey- you!” the hanyou called, “It was your scent I was picking up back at that damn village. Now fork over that jewel shard!”
Before I could even retort his female companion retaliated.
“InuYasha osuwari!!”
Thud
I blinked, alarmed and confused, as the half-breed was sent slamming into the ground. His curses were muffled in the dirt as the girl rolled her contraption over his back when she approached me.
Upon reaching me she shook my hand, smiling, “Hi, my name is Kagome, and this here is Shippo.” She gestured to the kit inside the basket. “We’ve come on the subject of the shikon no tama.”
I arched my eyebrow, still suspicious, “Go on.”
“Well you see we’re on a mission to collect all the pieces that are scattered across the land. We came across a village that told us a female taijiya took a shard as payment and claimed it was from this village.”
“That would be me,” I stated, crossing my arms. “But if you’re looking to take the shards we taijiya have gathered then you’re mistaken. The shikon no tama does not belong in the hands of demons. I’m sorry but you must leave this place.”
“What?!” Shouted the hanyou, who took his place at Kagome’s side. “Like hell we’re leaving without those shards. You give them to us or I’ll –”
“Osuwari!”
Thud
Kagome gave me one last look and sighed, turning to leave. “I see, sorry to have bothered you.”
“Wait.”
We all turned as chichi-ue walked up to us. I stared at him, confused, while he looked over to Kagome, and she in turn was concentrating on the clenched fist at his side. “Do you not sense her spiritual power, Sango?” he asked, finally holding out the fist to reveal a shikon shard. I was even more confused.
“This shard is near the point of being tainted,” he continued on, before walking over to Kagome. “Would you hold this for me?” With a nod the girl took the shard from his palm, and just at the mere contract it immediately shined with purity.
“A-amazing,” I gawked. “Without even a prayer she managed to purify the jewel.”
Chichi-ue walked back to my side, patting me on the head as he did so, “Forgive my daughter for her suspicions. She’s been taught to guard these shards since we possessed them. But it seems they will be in much better hands with you, miko.” He bowed slightly. “Please, it would be an honor if you would spend the night at our home. It’s the least we can do.”
Kagome gave a cheery smile, “Wow, thanks! We’d be glad to stay.”
Just as chichi-ue turned to leave he thought of something and looked back once more, “Miko, a question if you would? Do you by any chance know how to perform an exorcism?”
Kagome laughed slightly and waved her hand, “Unfortunately no. But we have another companion with us who’s a monk. We separated in order to cover more ground while looking for this place, so it’s only a matter of time before he catches up.”
“Wonderful. Then I won’t have to send out a group to find one. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like, so please, make yourselves at home.” With that father finally left us.
“Ano … right this way,” I stammered to them, then began leading them towards our home. I couldn’t shake the feeling of de ja vu being with these people. When they had mentioned this houshi the familiar pain shot through me again. It was all so confusing, what could it mean? Whatever the case, I could find out once this monk came to the village.
-*-
Translations:
Chichi-ue = Father
“Demo” = “But”
“Daijoubu ka?” = “Are you alright?”
“Ohaiyo” = “Good morning”
Hanyou = Half-demon
“Osuwari” = “Sit!”
miko = priestess
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