InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Blue Anshan ❯ Seeking 7 - The Frozen Expanse ( Chapter 11 )

The Blue Anshan

By Alesyira

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho are not mine. I made a few OCs to fill in my gaps.

Summary: Shippo and Hu reach their destination and have to make a decision whether or not to stay.

Chapter Rating: G.

Arc 2 - Seeking 7 - The Frozen Expanse

1506

ice

A few weeks after the weird eclipse encounter —and the world didn't end, by the way, so that was good— we found ourselves approaching another mountain range. There's something amazing about traveling across great distances and noticing the subtle changes in scenery as the flats become hilly, and then suddenly you're in the midst of trees perched precariously on craggy cliffs with barren mountaintops visible in the distance.

We had hopefully passed the 'danger on the way' that we'd been informed about because I wasn't feeling too much like dealing with more trouble after my accident in the forest. The memory of the pain before I'd lost coherence was still pretty fresh. Tail #2 had taken a bit of getting used to, but I guess it had been worth it? At least, I considered it as some kind of badge of honor. I still had no idea what practical advantage there could be to having the extra fluff. If it served to ward off potential enemies —look at all the stuff I can probably do!— then maybe I should just illusion up a bunch of extra tails to appear super scary.

We were decently high in the mountains when we finally spotted the shoreline of what must surely be the aforementioned 'large water.' I was at a loss. I wasn't expecting such a huge body of water to be this high up. More mountains were barely visible at the other end of its frozen surface, which appeared so smooth that it reflected the clear sky above like a massive mirror.

"This lord with the archives should be somewhere on that other side, right?" I muttered, looking over at Hu as she basked in the sunlight.

She hummed a sound of half-hearted agreement. "Maybe. Either way, we will see new things." She grinned at me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "This land is so beautiful!" She skipped down the rocky slope toward the snowdrifts lining the frozen lake and, without slowing, leapt directly onto a huge patch of ice. She laughed in delight as she slid across the slick surface. An eerie crackling sound echoed throughout the area as the ice sheet reacted to her slight weight and I shuddered in discomfort at the thought of how cold the water below might be.

Once I reached the edge of the lake, I was amazed at the transparency of the ice and relieved to see tiny frozen bubbles far beneath the surface. This place was beyond my comprehension, but did my best to I shake free of my worries.

What's the worst that could happen to a couple of youkai travelers on a lake? I paused, remembering the monstrous thing that nearly ate me one of those times I'd tried a water crossing. I peered out into the frozen depths one last time, hoping that wouldn't be the case again. Surely not.

I leapt off the shoreline with a nervous chuckle and slid forward along the ice to meet my frolicking companion.

Chiran

We laughed and played like children across the surface of the frozen lake, chasing each other and rolling in the snowdrifts, sliding across slippery patches and making careless leaps over each other to avoid being tackled.

Eventually we reached the northern shore, where a group of youkai guards slid from the concealment of the treeline and surrounded us. They didn't look very happy that we were trespassing, but I think the only reason we weren't attacked outright was due to our absolutely ridiculous approach to the shoreline.

Hu tried speaking several languages at them, but they only responded with glances between one another and somewhat blank looks of suspicion. One motioned with a very sharp halberd that we move, and the two of us followed one of the armored youkai through the deathly silent woods. We were eventually escorted to a small village at the edge of the forest, where one of the guards barked instructions to a scrawny youth that scampered off into the fading afternoon light. About an hour later, we were greeted by a tall, heavily armored captain of sorts that Hu was able to communicate with.

New life goal: learn all the languages.

Hu turned to me. "This is Chiran. He has welcomed us to this land and asked our purpose here. I have told him of our wish to study the archives we believe are here or nearby. He understands our request and has said No."

I was smiling and nodding along with her translation until the No. "What? What does he mean, no?" My fingers found their way into the hair that had just fallen into my eyes and I yanked them sideways in frustration. "Are we supposed to prove ourselves by… by killing a den of pests or run some fetch quests before we can read their books, or do they just not have any?"

Hu looked at me funny, thinking about my words with a frown. She turned to translate my request to Chiran, who laughed loudly and slapped me on the back.

I barely avoided falling face-first into the dirty packed snow at our feet. "Um—"

He laughed again, shaking his head while he spoke his unintelligible reply, and Hu smiled. "He says they do have reading material, and agrees you need to prove yourself first. He says that we will go to meet Baikal Khan, and if you are not eaten, then we will learn what must be done."

"Baikal Khan? Who is that?" I didn't like the idea that we might be eaten by something.

She shrugged. "We can leave in peace right now, but once it is agreed to meet, it is also agreed to be eaten if Baikal Khan so chooses."

Possible knowledge, or the risk of being eaten by some mysterious person/thing? I chewed on my lip. Curiosity is gonna end up being the death of me for sure, one day. I just hoped it would be in like 500 years. "What do you think?"

"Chiran said nothing of me being eaten. I don't want to read their books, anyways." She paused, tilting her head back to peer at the setting sun through her eyelashes as she murmured, "and I am too beautiful to be eaten by anything short of a god."

I rolled my eyes at her ridiculous (but probably true) statement and she laughed before punching me in the arm. "You should not worry, Shippo. Anything that wants to eat you would get indigestion thanks to your favorite person!" I blinked in surprise. That could be entirely possible, but probably another thing I'd never ever want to test out.

Indigestion is not much of a deterrent.

harmony

We were led deeper into their territory by Chiran and a selection of guards while the other group left to go back to their patrolling duties. He informed us that we'd been lucky to pass through the southern mountains unharmed. There had been trouble for the last few years with seemingly random attacks by raiders terrorizing the people of their lands. Villagers' homes had been indiscriminately destroyed, scouts left mutilated on paths the farmers frequented, crops and orchards burned in efforts to starve out the population. I glanced at Hu in concern, wondering how such wanton cruelty and destruction had managed to go on for so long. Were the patrols nothing more than for appearances?

We passed by a few small villages connected by well-trodden dirt roads, and occasionally the forested area thinned around small plots of farmland, most of which were covered by a thick layer of snow. I was amazed at the number of humans cohabiting the area with such a wide variety of youkai. Children of both magical and non-magical parents played and laughed around cooking fires. A few looked our way in curiosity, but most of the villagers paid us no attention.

In my youth, I'd seen communities of single types of youkai, like the kitsune community of my childhood—now long-dead—or the mogura clans living in their tunnels. It made sense for those who are similar to stay together.

But this place held such variety! So few faces were alike, and humans interacted freely with magical beings like it was perfectly normal. I'd never seen such co-mingling. It had taken our group years to convince the humans in Kaede's village that we weren't a threat. This kind of cohabitation, tucked away and protected in the mountains, must have taken decades to nurture. "This is … kind of amazing."

Hu nodded in agreement. "In all my travels, I've never seen such harmony."

khan

I didn't realize we had reached the main part of the region's stronghold until we'd passed a short wall that surrounded a bricked courtyard swept clean of the clinging snow. I guess towering walls won't do much to provide protection if part of your population can jump higher than the treetops.

As Chiran led us toward a large building ahead, we passed a variety of differently sized structures that were connected by covered wooden platforms. A few guards walked across the empty space as a female lit small lanterns.

The buildings we'd seen in the community so far seemed to be an eclectic mix of construction and decorative styles, combining thick logs and wooden planks, clay bricks, stucco, bamboo, woven grass, and even a scattering of paper walls. This place was so weird. It might make sense to have all of these styles coming together at a crossroads between large cities, in a valley or well-traveled mountain pass, but this place seemed so out of the way, high in the mountains, and no sign of any major roads or paths on our journey here.

Chiran pulled open a set of rather large double doors and ushered us through an antechamber past a few posted guards. We were guided through another door and entered what seemed to be a great hall lined by a dozen thick wooden beams. A few sticks of a subtle incense burned near the doorway made me sneeze, and I was alarmed at the realization that I couldn't smell anything other than the incense, not even Hu standing directly beside me. Nervous at too many unknowns and the threat of being eaten, I immediately sought out any potential exits. A few tiny windows lined the walls just below the ceiling some thirty feet overhead. (I could probably fit through, especially if I transformed into something smaller.)

A tall, imposing male lounged upon an unadorned wooden throne set upon a dais at the far end of the hall, flanked by a single guard and a mysterious hooded figure.

Hu stared for a moment and then promptly knelt, dragging me down with her. I clearly heard her mutter, "this one could eat me."

I gaped at her. Either she meant something very dirty or she had sensed something that I hadn't.

Baikal Khan had an almost ordinary appearance at a glance: dark eyes, dark hair pulled back from his face, a mustache adorned with a few metal loops that led into a very tidy beard arranged neatly with a more metal loops below his chin, and skin just a shade darker than Hu's.

Yet for all his basic simplicity, something magnificent and overwhelming lurked just out of sight. A tint of teal touched his features, and as he stared at us, I realized his eyes were like the impossibly dark blue waters that I couldn't quite see beneath the thick ice. His youki flooded the meeting hall freely, and I felt it pressing against us, oppressive and cold like the depths of the massive lake.

Chiran briefly spoke with the khan, gesturing in our direction. The hooded figure standing next to his seat leaned over to speak quietly and I blinked in confusion at the strange way they bent beneath the concealing robes that fell to the floor.

"Can you understand any of that?" I asked Hu, my gaze trying to make sense of the strangeness of the scene before us. She shook her head.

The khan gestured at the soldier by his side, who picked up a tray with a collection of tiny steaming cups from a narrow table behind them.

The soldier was a dark, willowy male with thick braids tied to the top of his head. He approached us with a placid smile and handed the first cup to Hu, and then turned to hand me mine. Out of politeness I accepted the tiny cup from the soldier's hand and our fingers brushed.

He had a strange magic that I could only detect once we'd touched, and my interest was piqued. It felt fuzzy, like the poof of white seed fluff that came after the flowers were done looking pretty. I blinked at him as he stepped toward the dais with his tray for the others to take their tiny cups.

(I wasn't sure I wanted to risk taking a sip from my cup, so I didn't.)

A few minutes later they reached their decision. Hu translated Chiran's words. "The khan has decided to not eat you, and has also agreed to allow access to the archives, under a condition."

I was thankful to not be on the upcoming menu, but conditional gifts have never been anything but trouble.

"To be allowed access to the people's history and archives, you must be part of the people."

Ok, this still sounded like I was going to be on the menu.

"They say you can find your place amongst them should you offer ten summers of service to the lands."

Ten years? Of service?

I turned to stare at her in disbelief. "What do they mean?"

Sweeping floors? Emptying some lazy person's chamber pot? Pouring tea for nobles at fancy parties?

Hu spoke more with Chiran to get additional details. I stared up at the lord and the strange hooded figure. Most of their face was hidden from sight, but I caught a flash of dark blue glowing eyes as they peered out of the folds of the concealing hood at me.

"He says you will train to become a guardian of the lands. They need help against the troublemakers that have been causing them grief, and warriors with new skills can be very valuable."

My eyebrows rose in interest. Training from foreign youkai warriors? This had just as much promise than poking through some dusty old tomes that may or may not contain useful information.

I turned to stare at her, chewing my lip in consideration. "This sounds like a pretty good idea, at least the training part. But I dunno if these are the types of people I'd want to promise to help for ten years. What if they turn out to be the badguys?" Then I realized how she'd worded her translations. "Are you leaving once I make my decision?"

She shrugged. "I might stay to make sure you don't get into trouble." She tweaked my nose with a fingertip. "But you are right, we know nothing of these people."

She turned to Chiran and spoke a bit longer, motioning between the two of us. He nodded and translated the request to the khan, who nodded once to signal his approval. "They agree to let us stay as guests to learn more about their lands and people before making a decision." Chiran smirked and added on an aside before he turned to escort us from the hall. Hu laughed and said, "The khan might still decide to eat you if you cause mischief."

I glanced back at the khan still sitting at the other end of the room. He smiled slowly, his mouth spreading unnaturally wide to expose rows of scary sharp teeth. I gulped and mentally pushed my growing pile of tricks off the 'cannot wait to try this one out' table.