InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ In Pursuit of the Green Dragon ❯ Of Alchemy and Astrophysics ( Chapter 26 )

On the road to Kasama, 16th-century Japan

Souta Higurashi was filthy, bruised, and exhausted by the several hours of brisk walking that had preceded the dragon's attack.

He sat quietly next to the rekindled fire, eating a tasteless mess of rice and barley mixed with canned fish, listening to his companions--who, he knew, barely tolerated his useless presence amongst them--bicker about what to do next.

Gloomily, he contemplated his situation. All his life, people had admired him for his intelligence, his status as not only one of the youngest professors at the Imperial University, but also as head priest at the Sunset Shrine. But here, it was easy for Kagome's friends to ignore him, not out of malice, but because without any special skills to offer their quest, he simply did not attract notice.

Am I a burden? Am I useless? Souta stabbed his chopsticks angrily into a clump of fish, and watched bits of food fly out of the bowl. Perhaps he should have stayed behind in the village!

Inuyasha had already finished his bowl of reheated army rations, having eschewed chopsticks to use his fingers to scoop up mounds of the food and shove them into his mouth.

Wiping his hands on his baggy scarlet hakama, the hanyou youth glared around the circle of his remaining companions. Only Ed was anywhere near finishing his meal, having also surrendered his struggle with the chopsticks to follow Inuyasha's example of using fingers.

After a moment of impatiently drumming his fingers and fidgeting, Inuyasha burst out: "Hurry up and eat, willya! Or we'll never catch up to that bastard dragon!"

Souta blinked in dismay. The dragon had easily fought them all off, and now they were going to hare after it, in the dark, across an unfamiliar landscape?

It had flown away. It could be on the other side of the mountains by now!

But he kept silent, unwilling to express his reluctance. Of course he should be eager to help rescue Kagome-chan, who had fought so bravely to protect Alphonse-kun!

But how could they possibly prevail against a beast so well-armored that arrows and swords could not even scratch its scales? Even the wicked-looking harpoon that Edward had brought wouldn't be of much use...

"Inuyasha, we should wait until tomorrow before beginning our pursuit," Miroku said, and Souta felt a surge of shameful relief at the monk's words.

"...the hell?" Inuyasha gaped at his friend, clearly taken aback. "But that bastard's got Kagome! Who knows what he'll do to her!"

Miroku turned to Sango. "Was Kagome-sama injured when you pursued her?"

Sango shook her head. "The dragon seemed to be holding her very carefully, houshi-sama." She paused, and then continued: "Dragons aren't known for their patience. If it had wanted to devour her, it wouldn't have waited. I think it has something else in mind, something that requires Kagome-chan to remain alive and uninjured."

"We can't leave Al behind, and he needs food and rest before we go anywhere," Edward added.

"I'm fine, Brother!" Al protested. "Inuyasha-san is right--we can't let Envy get too far ahead of us. I don't know what he wants with Kagome, but it can't be good, whatever it is."

"Yeah," Inuyasha added, locking gazes with his rival.

"No," said Miroku and Sango, in unison.

"Kirara is injured, too, and how are we going to pursue a flying dragon without her help?" Sango continued. She put aside her half-finished bowl of food, and stroked her injured fire-cat gently, scratching a gentle finger behind the black-tipped ears. "She will be fully recovered by morning...and so will you, Inuyasha."

The hanyou scowled, and tucked his hands into his sleeves. "I'm fine--I can track that bastard by the stink he's leaving behind."

"And what of Tetsusaiga?" inquired Miroku. "I noticed that it did not transform earlier. Inuyasha, Alphonse-sama, this dragon is a formidable enemy. It will do Kagome no good if we attack it at less than our full strength, and are defeated, or even killed."

Inuyasha hunched his shoulders, his scowl deepening, but he didn't argue further. Alphonse looked like he was ready to speak, but a sharp poke by Edward made him yelp, then follow his brother into the shadows beyond the firelight.

A moment later, Souta heard the sound of their voices begin, speaking what he recognized as German, though at first, they spoke too quietly for him to make out their actual words.

It didn't take long before the normally soft-spoken Alphonse was easily matching his older brother's volume.

"...don't care about her, do you...? You'd be glad if she--"

"Al, I care, you know I care, but you nearly died!...blood loss! ...need to sleep..."

More shouting followed, but the brothers had shifted languages again, and Souta no longer understood what they were saying. Finally, both of them came stomping back, faces flushed with emotion even in the uncertain firelight.

"Al's agreed to wait until morning. And to get some sleep," Edward announced.

Alphonse, his characteristic good-natured expression gone for once, pressed his lips together and threw a resentful glance in Edward's direction, but uttered no further protests.

Everyone, Souta included, looked at Inuyasha expectantly.

Inuyasha glared back for a long moment, his chin set mutinously, then yielded.

"Okay, I'll wait. But only until dawn," he warned. "And only because the damned jewel seems to have toughened up that dragon, and I'll need the transformed Tetsusaiga to defeat it. I could have easily crushed one of its scales with my bare hands, before."

Alphonse looked surprised. "Have you encountered Envy--uh, this dragon before, Inuyasha-san?"

"Kinda," Inuyasha answered. "The shrine in Kagome's time still had a couple of its scales in its storerooms, and they had seemed awfully fragile when Kagome's grandpa showed them off. He said that you-" and he directed his golden gaze at Souta with insulting disbelief, "bound the dragon with your spiritual powers."

"Er, not exactly," Souta murmured, stirring his food nervously. "The Tokkou used an opium compound of some kind to weaken the dragon, and anchor chains from a battleship to restrain it. As you saw earlier," he added, bitterly, "spiritual powers seem to be singularly ineffective against this particular dragon." A thought occurred to him. "Kagome's grandfather--would you happen to know his given name?"

Kagome had refused to tell him, on the grounds that she did not want to change her past and his future, but Souta had been consumed with curiosity as to which of his eight brothers had taken over the shrine.

Probably one of the younger ones, he thought. Takeshi, perhaps? Or perhaps Yoshi? Certainly not Ryuichi--the boy was highly intelligent, and loved hearing about the Sunset Shrine's history, but his spiritual powers were nearly nonexistent.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Nope. He's just Grandpa Higurashi. Doesn't like me much, but he always puts me to work, anyway, whenever I visit Kagome's time."

Miroku rose, and began gathering up the bowls. "Now, let us sleep and we will begin our hunt for Kagome and Envy in the morning."

"Just wait," Inuyasha muttered, "and see how well that bastard holds out against a Kaze no Kizu."

Souta took the empty cooking pot from where it stood next to the fire, and followed Miroku to the nearby stream to rinse them off.

Sango was rebandaging Kirara's wounds, leaving Souta to perform what he thought of as women's work. But since Miroku seemed willing to do it, Souta didn't say anything.

At first, they worked side-by-side in silence, the icy water numbing Souta's fingers and making his knuckles ache.

Then Miroku spoke. "Souta-sama, are you well? The dragon didn't injure you? I noticed that you didn't speak, earlier."

"What would I have said?" Souta sighed, and met Miroku's compassionate gaze. "To wait? I'll be just as useless in the morning as I am now," he said bitterly, and turned his attention back to scrubbing bits of rice from the pot.

"Are you useless, Souta-sama?" Miroku asked, softly.

"Of course I am!" Souta replied. "I'm no warrior. How can I possibly aid in this quest? I couldn't do anything to thwart Kagome-chan's kidnapping, I left my brothers behind, in the power of the Tokkou, because I was afraid to defy Ikeda-san, and now...I won't be able to do anything either if it comes to another fight against the dragon!"

He heard the despair in his own voice, nearly rising to a wail, and closed his teeth around further complaints.

"In my travels, I have found that nearly everyone has unexpected strengths," Miroku said. "Kagome-chan told us that you are a highly-respected man, a renowned scholar and priest, in her world. What subjects do you teach and study, Souta-sama?"

"I study the nature of matter, and how it works. In particular, I study the physical properties of the sun and the stars--their density, temperature, and chemical composition. And I lecture on these topics, and write papers presenting my theories for scholars all over the world to read and criticize."

"Ah." Miroku was silent for a long moment, seemingly absorbed in rinsing out the last of the bowls. Then he said, "It seems to me, from what Edward-sama says, that a fundamental understanding of physical properties is also essential to his kind of sorcery. And you have spiritual powers--have you considered learning this 'alchemy?' You may have a talent for it, and it would aid us greatly…"

"I--I had not considered it," Souta admitted, taken by surprise.

But Miroku's suggestion weighed on him as he finished cleaning the cooking pot in silence. He considered what Edward had told him of alchemy, and how the young man had insisted it was a science, not superstition or sorcery.

Would Edward or Alphonse be willing to teach him, if he approached them humbly and asked?

What if they refused him? It would be humiliating! He would lose face!

But, he argued with himself, I want to be useful, don't I?

And there was another thing.

"Miroku-sama, I know spiritual powers are useless against the dragon, Envy, but perhaps against lesser youkai...?" Souta began, as he drained the pot, and rose to his feet.

"They are very effective against youkai," Miroku said, gravely, balancing a stack of bowls in one hand, and reaching for his ever-present metal-tipped staff with the other hand.

As the two men began walking back to the camp together, Souta continued, "I would be greatly indebted to you, if you would condescend to show me how you infuse objects, such as ofuda, with your spiritual power."

"Of course," Miroku said, nodding graciously. "I sense that you have significant powers, Souta-sama, though it seems that you are untutored in their use."

They entered the camp to find that Edward and Alphonse had set out everyone's bedrolls, and heaped extra wood on the fire to keep it going throughout the night.

"...and I'll stand watch, so you get some sleep," Edward was saying to Alphonse.

"But--" Alphonse began to protest, then he caught sight of Miroku and Souta.

"We'll stand watch in turns--those of us who are uninjured, that is," Miroku said sternly. He pointed at Inuyasha. "And that means you, too."

"There are enough of us to stand watch that we can all get some sleep," Sango added, as she tucked a corner of her bedroll around a tightly-curled Kirara.

Well, it was now or never. Souta quashed his pride with a firm hand, and walked over to where Edward and Alphonse were digging through their knapsacks.

"Edward-san, Alphonse-kun," he said, with a deep bow. "I humbly beg you to teach me alchemy, so that I may help rescue Kagome-chan from the dragon."

Edward looked taken aback for a brief moment, then he grinned. "Sure! I'll be happy to teach you...but," he added, his face falling. "Alchemy takes years to learn. Al and I were considered naturals at it, when we were kids, and we still had to study under our master for a long time before we qualified to take the State Alchemists' Examination."

"Oh," Souta said, dully. Wasn't there any way he could make himself useful?

"I don't know about that, Brother," Alphonse said, unexpectedly. "After all, Professor Higurashi has a head start—he's already got a fundamental understanding of matter, which is one of the things that took us so long to learn. All he has to do is to learn is how to transmute it from one state to another."

"Oh yeah?" said a rough, hostile voice behind Souta. He jumped a little, and looked behind him to see Inuyasha glowering at them.

"…which he can, using Kagome-san's jewel shards," Alphonse added hastily, with an apologetic smile and hand gesture in Inuyasha's direction. "There's enough youki stored in them to power a thousand transmutations. I think."

"Keh. Just don't use them all up. We need them to make the jewel whole again," Inuyasha studied them, suspiciously, for a moment longer, then stomped away.

"Okay," Edward said eagerly, seating himself, cross-legged on his bedroll, and snatching up a twig. "Let's cover the basics of transmutation circles, first..."

Author's Notes

Thanks, as always, to my lovely beta, kokoronagomu!

The pace of posting chapters will slow down from this point on, I'm afraid. I have family visiting at the moment, which is restricting my computer time, plus we're nearing the end of the chapters I have completed, and I'll be writing the rest as I go along.