InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Ookami's Grudge ❯ The Price Paid for Childhood Curiosity ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Eastern Japan – Sometime between the mid to late 13th century

Strange, how some people thought they could outwit a wolf. Even more amusing were those that thought they could outwit a Yorouzoko – A Wolf Demon. Not for the first time, Kouga, Prince of the wolf demon clans, found himself watching the young priestess out of the corner of his eyes, curious as to what she was about.

This wasn’t unusual anymore. She’d been spying on them for several years, and yet did nothing to harm them, or even let her presence known. Granted, she tended to fall out of trees rather frequently, causing a rather large amount of noise.

It truly was a wonder that she thought they didn’t know she was there. At least, they assumed she thought she hadn’t alerted them to her presence, considering she came back regularly to watch them train. Several of the clan around his age, and a touch or two younger, were not only amused but once they all were certain she was harmless, her constant ‘spying’ preened their egos.  

She was young, probably just hitting maturity. One, honestly, had to wonder why her legal guardian allowed her so far from their home. The nearest village was more then two hours walk away. And that was where the nearest shrine was located, of course, and the girl seemed to be a Miko, or one in training, anyways.

“Focus, Kouga!” snapped their instructor, pulling the wolf prince from his curiosity over who the young girl was. “You’ll never get the upper hand in battle if you don’t pay attention to the enemy in front of you.”

Kouga shifted his stance then lunged. “Sumimasen, Sensei.” He responded, focusing on his training for the moment.

His best friends and pack mates were nearby, being ‘nursed’ by one of the older ‘teen’ females, grinned and laughed when Kouga was reprimanded, then near simultaneously forced into the dirt.

“Kouga-san!” the one named Ginta shouted, leaning to look around the attractive femme wolf. “It’s too early in the day for the pup to be in the tree!” he teased, causing his litter-mate, Hakkaku and the femme, Ami, to laugh merrily. Most of the ‘teenage’ wolves knew about their young prince’s curiosity when it came to something new, and no one really knew anything about the Falling Tree Girl, as they’d deemed to call her.

Hakkaku leaned in and tried to hug Ami only to be pushed back and off the log he was sitting on. “Paws to yourself, Hakkaku.” She chastised playfully. “And you two shouldn’t torment him so much – one day he’s going to be the Alpha, and will kick your asses.”

“Aww, don’t boost his ego any..” Hakkaku said with a mock-pout from the ground. “He gets enough of that from the rest of you females.”

The surrounding wolves just laughed in amusement while Kouga gritted his teeth and continued his training. He WAS going to be Alpha… And nothing was going to stop him. Not his friend’s teasing. Not the Birds of Paradise. And certainly not any curiosity over some unknown female….


**** ***

Elsewhere, at a shrine a couple miles away, a young miko with hair down past her waist sweep the walk up to the shrine, singing softly. She was lithe in form, slender but not hideously so, and not yet developing in the places women tend to do. Her hair was like arctic ice in color, almost appearing a pale, pale blue in color if the light hit it just right.

What was peculiar about this young priestess in training were the gloves over her hands that she wore, and the white scarf holding back her hair that would have blended in with her hair had it not been for the pale bluish hue of the long locks. Beyond that, she wore the normal red and white outfit of a priestess or priestess in training.

And there was a good reason for her scarf. Very few people saw her, and those who got a good look at her (if you could really call it a ‘good’ look..) only saw her from a distance. She was not human after all, and the scarf had a single purpose. To hide those puppyish, snow white ears atop her head.

No one from the village knew her name; they only knew her by ‘The priest’s young ward’. Although, while they did not know her directly most did know of her; stories that had started circulating the past decade or two about a priestess’ ghost, a Mononoke Miko, that would be seen in the early morning near the creek. No one was certain if the ‘spirit’ was friendly or meant trouble, but they were happy there was never an attack. Many said that the Mononoke Miko didn’t even exist; others said it was the spirit of an ancient priestess who was protecting the village from the local demons, since attacks were few.

The young female had no idea why demons kept away, but she was content so long as they did, and put it off as her guardian was doing his job. She hated to admit he was aging. She was in her 30s now, and he was old for a human. While a demon, especially hanyou, in their 30s may only look like a prepubescent human, a 50 year old human didn’t have much time left in this era. He was lucky to have lived as long as he had.

She giggled softly, lifting a gloved hand to cover her mouth. He’s too stubborn to die, she thought. He will likely outlive any demon.
“Inubiki!” came the voice of the priest from the middle of the stairs leading up to the shrine.

Hearing her name, she set the broom aside and ran to his side, taking the large sack of rice from him. “Houshi-sama, you shouldn’t be carrying such heavy things.” She admonished, receiving a merry laugh in return causing her to blush.

“You worry too much about this old man, Biki-chan.” He said, patting the top of her head with his now free hand. “Come, you can start supper after telling me about your day – and what you did to get those scratches you came home with yesterday.”
She nearly tripped over her hakama at his words. “You really wouldn’t be interested, sensei.” She said, blushing brightly.

He smiled kindly as they entered the living part of the small shrine. “Come now, child. When have you ever known me to not be interested in your little adventures?” he inquired. The child’s wonder-lust amazed him, and the fact that she had managed to avoid being seen – by demon and human alike! – all these years was nothing short of a miracle.

Uncertainly, she said while setting down the rice “I fell out of a tree. Again.” I was almost seen this time too! She said, looking uncomfortable.

Now the priest was more than curious, he was also concerned. “…Fell out of a tree?” he inquired, moving to sit down while his young ward started working on supper. “What were you doing in a tree?”

She bit her lower lip. “I was watching some young fighters train, it was the best view.” She’d never admit she had been watching, not all the trainees.. but just ONE in particular.

Now the priest was confused. “Fighters?” He frowned. The village isn’t big enough for a dojo. And if she tried getting anywhere near where the young men practiced what little fighting they could to be prepared if the village was attacked…. “Inubiki.” He said her name firmly. “Where are you watching these men train?”

She winced, stiffening… her back to her guardian. “…..In the woods..”

“Bandits?!” He demanded, jumping to his feet as the possibility of an attack came to the fore in his mind.

Turning around quickly, the young woman shook her head and waved her hands back and forth. “No.no.no!” She said quickly. “There are no bandits. Just….” She stopped herself, looking away and biting her lip again.

Calming down, the priest watched his ward for a moment, trying to figure out who. If it wasn’t the villagers or bandits then…. He frowned deeply. “Demons?” When she winced again, he grabbed her wrist and pulled, causing her to stumble forward. “It is demons! Haven’t you come to understand how dangerous demons are?!” he demanded.

With a startled cry, she looked up at her guardian and whimpered. “They never see me, sensei! I swear! I always make sure of that!” She was scared, she’d never seen him like this before.

He shook her again. “Inubiki, demons will kill hanyou on sight quicker than humans. If you think humans would treat you badly, that will pale by comparison to what a demon will do.

“Youkai are not to be trusted! Look what happened to your mother! Look what she in turn did to you!”

Biki paled, stopping her struggling. Mother abandoned me…. After sleeping with a demon… She lowered her head and whimpered softly. “..Sumimasen, Sensei. It won’t happen again..”

Letting go of the girl, he considered for a moment. “You’re right. It won’t.”
As he turned to retrieve something, the young girl regarded him curiously, tilting her head to the side. “Nanda desu ka?” she inquired softly.

The old priest came back with 5 strips of paper – special ofuda designed to seal a demon, not banish. “Turn around, and expose your back, Inubiki.” He ordered her calmly.

Confused, and a little scared, she turned her back to the old man, and maneuvered her clothing so her back was exposed, but her budding chest wasn’t. “What are you –!?” Her question was cut off by a scream of pain that bordered on a canine’s howl as one ofuda was placed squarely in the center of her back where she could not reach. She dropped to her knees, doubled over in pain as the holy energy warred with the demonic energy residing within her blood, her arms wrapped around her shoulders as if she could pull inside herself to escape the pain.

Those in the village, and those even further away or traveling heard those near howled sounds of pain; 5 distinct screams of agonizing pain that echoed through the forest evening, even so far as the Yorozouko dens.

**** ***


Wolven heads snapped to attention and alertness at the sound of a young female in agony. A few of the feral wolves lifting their heads to howl in response to the distressed sound, their more human-like companions exchanging looks of question and surprise. Humans didn’t have the lungs for that, and with the screams came pulses of holy energy.

This meant that damned priest was still alive and tormenting another demon. That was the real reason the tribe left that one village alone – they had one sadistic asshole of a priest guarding the place. The wolves had been sure he had died years ago, but none wanted to test that theory.

If the screams they had just heard were as they assumed, the priest may be old, but he was still kicking.

“Poor thing.. whoever she is..” Ami murmured, several of the other younger demons nodded, exchanging worried glances.




A/Ns:
Okay, I know I originally wrote this back in 2009, but I felt that it needed rewritten. Something about my original story felt blockish, so here’s the re-written chapter one.

Disclaimer:
As usual, Inuyasha and the cannon characters (IE, Kouga, Hokakku, and Ginta as mentioned in this chapter) belong to Rumiko T. Inubiki, subsequent other original characters and story belong to me. I make no money, and request no money from the writing of this story.

Translation Notes:
Yorozouko- Wolf Demon
Ookami- Wolf (the extra O makes it ‘honorable’, so it would technically translate to ‘Honorable Wolf’, but I believe the usage is ‘magic wolf’)
Sumimasen- I’m sorry (Polite)
Sensei- Teacher
Ofuda- A Shinto Sutra. Sort of a paper charm infused with holy energy to be used for everything from binding or warding off evil to the destruction of it.
Hanyou- Half Demon, Half Human
Youkai- One of the many words the Japanese use for ‘Demon’

Any questions or comments are appreciated and welcome. NO FLAMES!