InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Blue Anshan ❯ Seeking 12 – The Things We Want ( Chapter 16 )

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: Where the balance went so wrong

Chapter Rating: T

Author's Note:  Reviews are cherished!

Arc 2 - Seeking 12 – The Things We Want

1511

The timing of the village being attacked hours before the household had been gassed and set ablaze showed that the community wasn't just dealing with thieving raiders. The one we'd caught some years back had only given us the bare minimum of information, and all Kiapo could get out of him was an overwhelming desire to please. Obviously not us, as he made every effort to maim anyone that came within reach. (He ended up in one of the khan's neglected prison cells.) We were dealing with someone that wanted to do some serious damage.

Something had to be fixed or stopped, and thanks to the really random knowledge I'd picked up while studying with Sango, I now had what might be a pretty vital clue.

One plant was the key ingredient when making those paralyzing smoke bombs, and they were pretty rare. Sango had a drawing of it in one of her books and I'd gone with her once to see the cluster of purple leaves in person while she'd restocked.

I didn't know enough words to accurately describe what we needed to find, but illusions go a really long way when you can remember what things look like. Berke examined the bright purple leaves of the illusionary plant held between my hands, nodding to himself. He lamented the lack of scent to help him be certain, but he had a pretty good idea of who we could ask.

It wouldn't be a quick trip.

Baikal Khan somehow held on to his calm, but he was very set on finding those behind all these attacks, and so we packed supplies for a journey. He refused to let Angara out of his sight, so Angara happily clung piggyback to me. I would have thought that under normal circumstances, one wouldn't bring their young along while seeking retribution, but I hadn't been raised under the most normal of circumstances, so who was I to judge?

Chiran, Kiapo, and Berke accompanied us, and Hu was worried about the trouble I might end up finding if she let us go without her, so that rounded out our group of seven.

I was a little concerned that we were only taking six adults to deal with whatever force might be behind the attacks, but the khan probably knew what he was doing, so I didn't question our lack of forces.

We traveled southeast for two days toward the great lake. There wasn't a lot of conversation. I described what I knew about the smoke bombs that the taijiya had used, and Berke filled in the blanks about the plant. "It is very rare, and requires specific conditions to bloom. It is used in very small amounts with a tonic for pain to help someone remain still while being tended by a healer. To see it used as a weapon is strange and wasteful."

Berke's suppliers lived in a tiny homestead along the shore. They had a small dock and boat for use during the thaw and a sled pulled by a handful of exuberant dogs during the cold. Angara fell over herself in joy at the excited balls of friendly fluff while we plied Berke's contact for information. I had to show the family the purple plant as Berke explained what we were looking for. They nodded in understanding and gave us directions to another village where they assumed the plant was grown.

We borrowed their boat and made exceptionally quick time crossing to the southern shore as Baikal Khan directed the flow of water using his youki.

On the southern side of the great lake, Berke led us to a narrow valley at the mouth of a river. "There's a small village here that provides some of the herbs our community uses. Normally the herbs we need are brought with the trading caravans that pass through these locations, so I've only been here once before."

We left the boat tied at the small dock and followed a winding trail along the river where there were perhaps a dozen houses. A few human children peeked out of a doorway, but otherwise there was no sign of life. "Strange," Chiran muttered. "Where are all of the adults?"

Berke pointed to a hill in the distance. "What we're looking for should be growing up on the north face of the hill there, in the shadow of the cliff." It was strange to think a rare plant like this grew so far away from where I'd first heard of it, but it likely thrived under similar conditions in this place, and it wasn't the first time I'd heard of people growing non-native things due to value or usefulness.

But for such a rare plant used in medicine to be wasted in weapons? Maybe the villagers here had been bribed by the bad guys. Their village wasn't considered part of the community and didn't fall within our patrol boundaries. Who knew what kinds of trouble they'd experienced out here by themselves?

Berke found the plot within the next hour, but nothing remained aside from dried purple stalks. "Ah, here. But these look like they were stripped clean a while ago." We turned at the sound of a limping approach.

An old man grouched as he lumbered up the hill with a bundle of tools tucked beneath his arm. "Are you here for more already? There won't be more until the end of the next growing season..." The old man trailed off once he realized the visitors weren't who he had expected. "Can I…" he gulped, clearly nervous at the sight of strangers in the village fields. "Can I help you?"

The khan stepped forward and smiled at the old human, who seemed to shrink even further. It took some gentle nudging to get any information out of the terrified man. Yep, they'd been bribed and robbed. I sighed. Bad guys.

The old man eventually pointed us in the direction of those that had come by for the last 'collection'. He seemed mollified by the knowledge that we were there to stop whatever trouble had been brewing in the area, and the khan told him that our community could help them with whatever they needed for recovery.

The trail we followed seemed run down and neglected, like everything else within sight. A few abandoned huts were scattered throughout the foothills. Small crops had been neglected and were overgrown with weeds, and some domesticated animals fled from us in fright.

Baikal Khan's youki became more restless and wild as we made our way down the trail. The balance here had been severely corrupted and it was probably driving the boss crazy. The land itself seemed dry and short on some vital energy, and it became increasingly unsettling as we approached a community of some sort.

The walls surrounding the small community had seen better days. The family's crest hung from a tattered banner on either side of the rusting gate. The khan sighed heavily, recognizing the symbols. "Erdene! I would speak with you!"

Both Berke and Kiapo exchanged looks and stepped back to stand behind the khan.

Angara's grip tightened in recognition. Hu and I looked at each other in confusion. "Who is Erdene?"

Chiran turned back to us and nodded at the girl peeking over my shoulder. "Remember how I warned you not to touch the little lady, because she's still learning?" I nodded, recalling Chiran's somewhat telling reaction when I'd asked for details about accidents. "Well, when that one was about half as big as she is now, our community hosted a regional gathering. Erdene was there." I felt Angara tuck her head against my back to hide under my hair. "That night, she said she saw something pretty and wanted to see more."

Angara whispered, "Erdene's red shiny was not a good red shiny." Of course. Her favorite color was red. Like a moth to flame. I sighed.

Kiapo threw his arms behind his head and chuckled in a very suggestive manner. "All the adults like to come to these gatherings in their best outfits. Ended up being a bacchanal! Clothes torn, bodies writhing all over the floor, an absolute delight." He wagged his eyebrows at me.

My mouth fell open in surprise. Surely he didn't mean... "Wait, I don't get it, what happened?"

Chiran shrugged. "It makes sense now that we understand more about Angara's power. We had initially thought that she just revealed some aspect of a person's magic. Now that we know she needs a starting point, it is more likely that Erdene was using magic in secret to draw others to her during the gathering. Angara spotted it and accidentally pulled it out in full force. It turned every adult within range into a… well." He trailed off, clearing his throat as he turned red. "It wasn't appropriate for Angara to see, that's for certain. Erdene left that evening, angry and embarrassed. At the time, we didn't understand what had happened, so she wasn't called out for what she'd been doing."

Kiapo laughed. "I think she's half-succubus or something and didn't want us to know."

The gate swung open on creaking rusted hinges. Over a dozen grizzled soldiers escorted a beautiful lady as she stepped into the fading afternoon sunlight.

"Erdene, you have been disrupting the balance by meddling with your soldiers' will and the needless destruction of our shared resources."

"Your balance? Where was your balance when your monster of a daughter attacked me that night? Ruined my control! Exposed my darkest secrets for all to see?" Erdene had a beautiful voice, even in her rage. The rolling cadence of every dip and rise in sound was like the most beautiful song.

More warriors, some looking frightfully thin and haggard, edged out to stand behind their incensed leader. Sharp teeth were bared. Growls rumbled. Weapons were clenched in clawed fingers. A few humans stood amongst them as well, dark circles beneath their eyes and their mishmash collection of armors in various states of disrepair. No one matched, as though they'd been collected from everywhere. What the hell was wrong with these people?

Our brave seven faced off against several dozen assorted warriors that had accompanied the lady from her dilapidated fortress. They all seemed broken to me; a deadened glaze to their eyes that implied they were working against their will. I frowned, hoping we wouldn't have to hurt any of these people to protect ourselves.

Erdene seethed in her rage, glaring in my direction. Angara's little fingers clenched hard in the skin at my neck, and she whispered, "Erdene wants to hurt us." I noticed a thin, creeping red haze drifting along the grass at our feet, and realized too late that she'd been aiming for me as the power shot through me.

I clutched my hand to my chest and gasped at the sudden shock of it, but then the discomfort faded and I glanced around a bit sheepishly at everyone's concerned looks. "Um, sorry. False alarm."

Angara made a little sound of understanding in the back of her throat. "The pink magic!" Her whisper was the tiniest sound in my ear. I'd have been surprised if anyone nearby could have heard her. I could feel her poking around in my energies again.

I watched the pretty villainess to see what she planned to do, but as she glared at me expectantly, her expression shifted into disbelief. Self-consciously, I hefted Angara's slight form into a more secure spot on my back. "Why are you staring at me?"

She scowled, but no expression she made could mar her enthralling beauty. She tossed her head, and long silky black locks fluttered around her shoulders. "Do you feel nothing?"

"Well, I feel a little hungry," I answered honestly. There was a sweet bar tucked away in a pocket that had been calling my name.

Erdene's eyes widened in rage as she hissed and flung an impressive red bolt in my direction. Angara found what she'd been searching for, and when my flaming barrier went up out of reflex, she spun a thread of Kagome's magic within it. I blinked in confusion at the fizzle of black smoke as the red collided.

"So," I said, turning my attention to Chiran, "are you guys gonna put her in one of your jail cells to be forgotten about?"

Erdene's red magic spread out from her extended fingertips to envelop the hesitant men at her side. I saw then what she'd intended her magic to do to me: the soldiers turned adoring gazes upon her and she waved her hand in our direction with a single word, "kill."

The khan absently flicked his hand out, and a wave of wind knocked down the warriors charging our position. "Erdene, this is not the way."

She screamed in denial and flung her magic in our direction.

Angara pushed out my barrier to protect our group from the compulsive energy, and then stole one of my illusions to use on herself. Her weight vanished from my back the next moment as she let go of me to drop to the ground, and I twisted to see where she'd gone. "No, what are you-"

"Shh!" she hissed, and I spotted the telltale impressions of her feet in the dying grasses to my right.

"No, wait!" I whispered frantically, trying to follow. 'Damnit!' She scampered around the scuffling warriors that had broken through the barrier to engage with Chiran and Kiapo. I lost sight of her footfalls. 'Kami save me, the khan is going to murder me if whatever foolishness she thinks to try fails.'

A moment later, Erdene screamed again, twisting strangely as though to shake loose of some unseen force. Her screams became moans of dismay, and soon her entire contingent of fighters collapsed to the ground, some weeping, others confused, and a few clutching their heads in pain. Erdene curled in on herself and cried, her beauty falling away into wrinkled skin and rotting clothes. Yikes.

Angara's voice came from somewhere near the front of our small group. "Father, she can't hurt them anymore for a little bit. You don't have long." Baikal Khan reached out and placed his hand upon his still-invisible daughter's head in approval.

The khan unleashed his magic and scales erupted from his skin as his hair whipped up into a swirling fury. His form was briefly enveloped in deep blue eddies of power and he grew to a towering height. When the magic fell away to reveal his true form, I was astonished to see a gigantic water dragon.

"Erdene, for the crimes you have committed against your people by upsetting the balance, I sentence you to death." His massive fanged mouth did not move with the words, they merely rumbled out around us all. Erdene hung her head and did not respond to the declaration.

The great water dragon leaned over the people gathered before the gate and snaked a bright blue forked tongue around their former leader to drag her up into his gaping mouth. Teeth snapped shut over her scream, which ceased abruptly after a sickening crunch.

I realized the threats I'd heard years ago about being eaten if I caused too much mischief weren't a joke, after all. Hu smirked at me and mouthed, 'I told you so.' I shuddered.

We didn't understand the actual extent of her mess until we'd stepped foot within their community. Their homes and livelihoods had fallen into serious disrepair over the last decade as she'd stewed in her anger. Supplies dwindled and the people starved, but only her desires to hurt those that lived to the north were acted upon.

Her husband had tried to leave her, but she'd drowned him in her magics and he was left a drooling mass of confusion. His two attendants kept him comfortable, but he had been unable to do much for himself for years. Not many had been spared her cruel disregard. All that had mattered to them had been fulfilling her desires. With her magic gone, some awoke from their stupor and gazed around at the poor state of their homes and people. Others were not so lucky, but we would do our best to help restore the balance.

This disaster would take a long time to undo.