InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Blue Anshan ❯ Seeking 10 - The Day Death Came to the Valley ( Chapter 14 )

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: Poking through the archives turns up interesting information, but not the kind Shippo had expected to find

Chapter Rating: T

Arc 2 - Seeking 10 - The Day Death Came to the Valley

1510

"Look at these lineage notes! There are dozens of family branches I had no idea existed!" My excitement was immense. "Spirit, forest, shadow—" I paused and stared at Hu in amazement. "Are you half shadow kitsune?"

Hu tilted her head in confusion. "No, why do you think such a thing?"

"Because you're so dark!"

Hu rolled her eyes. "No, I am not shadow. Your coloring should have no bearing on what you can and cannot do. Only what's in here," she paused to poke first at my chest, then tapped my forehead, "and here. I told you, my father was death. He was not like us; he was something very different. His magic was unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. We are more like my mother. She was of the sun."

I skimmed more family branch descriptions. "Golden kitsune? Yellow hair, pale skin, favors sources of illuminating energy like sunlight, fire, or lightning."

Hu smirked. "Maybe." She shrugged an elegant shoulder and brushed her dark curls over a shoulder. The sun had been hidden behind thick cloud cover for a while now, and I had taken it upon myself to gift her with magic as part of my daily practice so she wouldn't have an excuse to lounge on rooftops all day, soaking up the feeble rays of sunlight.

"So, what does that mean, your father being death?" My imagination helpfully conjured a silly image of a skeleton shrouded in a dark cloak from one of Kagome's weird stories. I tapped my chin in a moment of contemplation and then my mind went straight to the gutter wondering how a skeleton would make babies.

Hu made a quiet sound of consideration. "He was much like any of us, with darker skin than my own. He had such a beautiful face, but the humans were frightened of his appearance and so he wore a mask when he appeared before them. He could call back spirits to their bodies after they had died and bring them back to life if they hadn't been too damaged, or breathe a half-life back into something without its spirit so it would do his bidding. He could kill anything with merely a touch: people, animals, plants. He could take their energy for himself, leaving them with nothing."

"Your father sounds kinda like a kami."

Hu shrugged. "Maybe he was to the humans. They made carvings and paintings and statues of him with his ugly dog mask. Those humans worshiped anything with magic."

There was silence for a few moments before I asked, "Did they worship you?"

She smiled, but it was a bitter expression and her eyes got suspiciously damp. "Yes, they did." She took a deep breath and pursed her lips, collecting her thoughts. I knew what was coming. Story time.

"Long ago, I lived in a place with cloudless skies and sand as far as the eye could see. A beautiful river sliced through this sand, and where it touched, life sprouted up, green and wet and fresh. Every year, the water overflowed the banks and brought life to the land, watering crops and feeding the people. And there was so much sun. The people of this land worshiped anything they did not understand. The sun, the river, life, death."

She scoffed, "The sun, which dried the water, burnt their crops, and killed as surely as it could help life flourish! To think they…" she trailed off, sighing. "They thought that by appeasing the sun-spirits they would have a more favorable life."

She slid to the floor next to me and leaned back against the cold stone wall. "They weren't wrong, not much at least. I loved my people, and every day I would walk the streets and touch their homes, taking away the sting from so much sun. Their homes were cooled, I gained strength. It was a simple trade for their comfort.

"My brother," she clenched her eyes shut as the word broke into a very brief growl, "was annoyed that the people cared for me, that they left gifts of flowers and trinkets on an altar in the temple praising the sun."

She took a deep breath. "My favorite person was a priest in that temple. He was a special human. An illness in his youth nearly killed him, and although he recovered his health, he lost his sight. He considered this a fair trade from the gods for his life. Coming so close to death makes humans realize how short life can be. He worked hard to make the most of his years and repay that gift of life, and was very kind to others."

Her lips curled into a brief, sad smile. "He could not see, but he always knew when I was nearby. He was very sensitive to my magic." She trailed off and stared into the darkness of the room for a moment, lost in old memories. The pink that crept across her cheeks spoke volumes. It took her some time and a few hard blinks before she could continue, her voice wobbling with suppressed emotion. "I cared for him, very much."

She trailed off into the barest of whispers, "I wanted to keep him forever."

She swallowed back the sadness and traced a finger over the stitching along her pants. "My brother thought that humans were below us… that they didn't deserve our gifts and our magic. He wanted them to fear us, to bring us gifts to stay our wrath. He enjoyed it when the priests of temples dedicated to death sacrificed humans for his favor.

"One day, the farmers noticed an illness creeping through the crops." She paused, tilting her head back to stare at the smooth surface of stone above us. "My brother never admitted it, but I think he poisoned the crops with his magic and convinced the people that they needed to do something drastic to regain my favor."

I was motionless in anticipation, but dread crept through me at the thought of what she might reveal next.

"When they took my human and sacrificed him on my altar…" Hu shuddered in agony at the memory. Her features twisted briefly, as though she had lost control over her very structure for a brief moment. She laughed, but it was a broken, miserable sound. I set aside the parchment I'd been absently clutching and scooted closer to wrap my arm around her shoulder. She leaned against me and I buried my nose in her hair as she hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't remember what I did in my rage. Many died at my hands. My sparkle went away. The fields near the temple and everywhere I had gone in my anger had turned into black, sickly shriveled things." She chuckled in self-derision. "My mother and father had to intervene to save the humans from my anger."

"When I came back to my senses, I pleaded with my father to save my human. But he could not. His spirit had already been called to the realm of the dead." She let out a long breath. "I was… not a good person to be around at that time. My despair was so strong that the crop sickness caused a famine that year, and the next year barely half could grow back in the depressed lands.

"I think my father pitied the people more than he pitied me for my lost human. He knew I would not leave my family in such a dark time without a good reason, so he bargained for compromise. The spirit of my human would be given another chance at life, but not in our homeland. I would only find my favorite person again if I traveled far from home, but he swore that fate would be kind to me one day."

"Damn," I whispered. "Your dad had that kind of power?"

She shook her head and laughed a little. "No, he had to speak with others to make the bargain. I know nothing of who or how." She turned to peek at me through damp eyelashes. "You do not have the spirit of my favorite person, but something about you makes me feel like I'm on the right path. When we are together, I have hope once more, and maybe one of your silly ideas will lead me to where I must be."

"Sooo…" I drawled, smirking at her, "you're using me to find your reincarnated boy-toy."

She didn't understand the words I used but she caught my drift, and hesitantly smiled and nodded. "Boy…toy. Yes. I will find him again one day."

I chuckled and pulled her closer to embrace her tightly, happy that she still had hope to see her favorite person again someday.

My heart wrenched at the thought of how much it would have hurt to discover Kagome had been killed in such a manner. Her existence for me was like a photograph, an image of something precious frozen in time. The human woman with black hair and blue eyes overlapped with my broken idea of the 'better' youkai version with red hair and green eyes. I had been so wrong to think that changing her was a good idea, and I missed her so much.

It would be hundreds of years before I could see her again, but I was thankful she'd still be the same person… not some reincarnation I'd have to stumble upon and hope I had found the right soul. Kami, I hoped Hu's reincarnated friend didn't end up like the mess I had witnessed between Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Kagome.

I squeezed her shoulder again and pressed a kiss to her hair. She'd find him again, one day.