InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Betrayal's Gift ❯ Chapter 20

20

 

Hotaru came through the well. Her heart was heavy with sadness. She was happy that her grandmother was back home, but she was still badly injured and suffered a heart attack when she fell down the stairs.

 

So, not only did she suffer from a concussion, but now her speech was slurred and she couldn't make full use of her left hand. Hotaru felt that somehow it was her fault. It was strange how she remembered her grandmother falling and wasn't able to do anything about it. She remembered seeing it as if it were a dream.

 

She sat at the lip of the well tears falling unchecked. She had gone back home just to check on her grandmother and of coarse her hope wasn't fulfilled.

 

She hopped off the well and pulled her cloak about her body. In her time it was late summer, but here in feudal Japan, it was the middle of winter. She was glad to have brought with her those extra warm blankets to give to those families.

 

She began to head toward the village rubbing the cold from her arms. When she heard a crunch on the left side of her.

 

“Lady Hotaru.”

 

Hotaru recognized the voice and instantly looked at him startled.

 

“Yuy, is everything alright in the village?”

 

She began to rush in that direction when he stopped her.

 

“Everything in the village is fine. Hotaru…I know…”

 

She looked at him quizzically.

 

“Know what?”

 

He smiled tenderly and she furrowed her brows and began to step away from him.

 

“I know about your condition Hotaru.”

 

The raven haired girl gasped in shock with wide eyes she tried to say how. Her mouth kept opening slightly and shutting only to ask silently how he knew.

 

“Hotaru, my love, that is not important, what is important is the fact that your going to need a husband now for sure, why the scandal you would promote in the village. You'll have every man believing that you are a wench.”

 

At this Hotaru made her angry face, how dare he try to black mail her into marriage.

 

“I'm not interested Yuy. My condition is none of your concern or anyone else's for that fact.”

“Really? So, are you denying me once again wench?” He spat out.

 

“I believe so Yuy, I've told you, I'm not interested in anyone. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, please; they're other girls in the village who would be more suitable than I would.”

Yuy looked at her with a raging face. But his next words were quiet and vindictive.

 

“I'm sorry to hear that, but maybe your right. I wouldn't want a slut who gets herself pregnant as my wife anyway.”

 

He lunged at her but she blocked his blows. As she defended herself she was glad that her parents had made her take karate classes.

 

“You stupid wench, you bitch, you think you can beat me?!”

 

“Please stop this nonsense Yuy. I can really hurt you and I don't want to do that.”

 

He attacked again and she ducked than landed a blow herself to his gut. He stumbled back some holding on to his abdomen.

 

He smirked.

 

“Yuy, this really needs to stop.”

 

“Your right whore, this will stop. I will never have to be haunted by you again. You are harlot, a temptress and I will not be made a fool! I am the village headmaster's son and I will maintain my dignity!”

 

She looked at him confused again, not knowing what to make of his statement. A temptress? How can she be when she was far from it. She didn't do anything to evoke his attention. In fact, she did everything possible not to gain the attention from the opposite sex after what had happened to her.

 

“Yuy I have no idea what you're talking about?”

 

But when she said that, she was struck from behind and hit the ground hard. She raised her head and noticed that Yuy was standing in front of her and his cousins were standing next to him.

 

“It's a shame really that someone as beautiful as you should have their life ended like this.”

He kicked her in the face causing her head to snap back. All she saw was hot white light in the back of her eyes. Than she felt another kick than a stomp on her back. She swore she heard her bones crack inside her ears. The pain made her lose her breath. Every time she tried to get away she was pushed or kicked back down by one of the three that surrounded her. After several failed attempts to get the defensive she laid on her knees and elbows as she kept shielding her head and face with her hands while they kicked at her body.

 

It seemed that they had beat her so much that she was numb all over and she believed that she would feel no more pain when one of them kicked her on her side causing her to turn over.

 

She was now flat on her back as blood flowed from her face from the small cuts that sketched in her face and dark bruises had already formed.

 

She thought it was over now when she opened her swollen eye slowly and noticed that Yuy now stood over her.

 

“You know lady Hotaru, your not as tough as you think you are and I've just come to the realization that you are not worthy of me. You're a worthless whore who got herself with child.”

 

He snorted and moved some of her wet matted hair from her cut up bloody swollen lips.

 

“You know, had you married me, I could have made an honest woman of you. You would have been envied and people would have respected you. But, I have no time for a stupid wench who can not recognize a gift when offered.”

 

Hotaru looked at him anger in her eyes. This made him angrier since she showed defiance toward him.

 

“You know lady Hotaru, I was going to marry you and allow you to keep your child for a while before I sent it off for the youkai to eat. You would have mourned the loss of your bastard child and come to me…and I would have happily given you my children, but alas you have proven yourself stubborn and stupid.”

 

 

“Yuy, that's enough, she could just go back to her time now.” Said Waka.

 

However, Yuy's plan was to kill her and he knew that he could get away with it. Besides once the youkai smell fresh blood they'll dispose of the evidence, his hands wouldn't get soiled at all.

 

“No, this is not enough, she disgraced me…the entire village knew that I wanted her and she took every opportunity to mock and shame me. No, she is going to pay with her life and that of her bastard child!”

 

With that he stomped on her stomach hard and pushed down with his foot. Hotaru's body double over with the pressure and the pain. Blood spurted out of her mouth and fell back down onto her already swollen face.

 

Hotaru felt a sharp pain cross her abdomen. It felt like knives were digging into her gut and it paralyzed her. He crushed his foot down upon her again with all of his weight and pushed smiling sadistically. She faintly heard the other two that were with him saying that he's mad, that he was crazy and that surely Buddha will punish him for killing her child. When he finished stomping on her she slowly turned over to her stomach when she felt hot thick liquid running down her leg. Her eyes opened wide.

 

“My baby…” she whispered. Pain raked her body again and she was spitting up blood.

 

“It's all your fault, had you accepted me you wouldn't feel this pain now.”

 

“My baby… killed…” Hotaru was in tears now, her body convulsing in pain. She couldn't move any more on her own.

 

Yuy crouched on top of her in a squatting position and pulled her head back to look at him.

 

“It's ok, you won't suffer this pain long. You'll soon join your unborn child in the after life.”

 

He pulled out a sharp blade and put it to her throat, however, he saw her eyes void of any pupils all he saw was a light lavender light and he gasped. His two cousins who were with him tried to run but they had become immobile.

 

“Yuy, what is happening?” Screamed Nobi.

 

“I can't move!” Screamed Waka.

 

Yuy found that he couldn't move his hand either when he tried to slit her throat.

 

“Damn you witch, what are you doing?”

 

He felt a burning sensation crawling up his left side of his body, then he saw the hand that carried the blade and it was melting, his skin and muscle were melting and unbelievable pain welled up in his throat but he couldn't spit it out, for he couldn't even open his mouth on his own.

 

`How can this be…we're human?'

 

Hotaru just shed tears from her lilac voids and opened her mouth, but the sound that came out was a very haunted and painful scream.

------------------------------------------------

“Mistress Naoko?”

 

“Yes Saori child what ales ye?”

 

The girl stood before the village healer and shifted from foot to foot twirling her brown limp hair.

 

“Mistress…I believe that Lady Hotaru is in grave danger.”

 

“What do ye mean child?”

 

The older woman now looked at the girl carefully.

 

“It's all her fault, she kept turning down Yuy, I over heard him plotting with his cousins to meet her on her path here to the village…mistress, I believe that he intends to do her harm.”

 

Naoko paled and brought her wrinkled hand to her dry lips.

 

“We must hurry, he does not know she is with child!”

 

But when she saw the young girl look down in shame Naoko tilted her head to the side some and asked in an authoritive motherly voice.

 

“Saori, he doesn't know she's with child does he?”

 

“I told him mistress, I was very jealous of his attentions for her when I wanted him for myself, I believed that if he knew she was carrying another's babe that he would leave her alone and look at me.” She said the last part quietly.

 

“Idiot child! What have ye done?.”

 

The younger girl blanched as she watched Naoko leave the hut to go to the head masters house.

 

`I pray that we not be to late Hotaru child.'

 

However, when they got there all they saw was a big circle of wet brown grass and people laying in the center of the circle. The smell that blessed their nostrils made them gag.

 

When they brought the torches closer they noticed a small girl bruised badly and two dead bodies around her and the third sat on her back. But the dead bodies was what caught everyone's attention.

 

“You…you monster…you are a demon…how…how could you kill Yuy!” Screamed Soari as she fell to her knees keening for the loss of the man she loved.

 

Naoko looked at the girl who was crying disgustedly. Then she looked at the village head man and noticed his frown.

 

“How can she had killed them like that? I see no fire here.”

 

Naoko went over to the girl when she was stopped.

 

“Leave her be, let her die here.”

 

“But…my lord surely…this girl…the priestess…”

 

“She is no priestess lady Naoko, she is a demon, for what human can kill…like this?”

 

“But…my lord…she's with child and what about everything she has done for our village.”

 

She tried to argue, but he shook his head in the negative.

 

“At least my lord let me give her some herbs that would help with her pain.”

 

“No, she has killed my son and my two nephews.”

 

“If I may be so bold but was it not yer son and nephews who attacked her my lord?”

 

“She deserves no pity my lord, she continued to turn down your son's proposal and when he found out that she was with child he gave her mercy and still wanted to marry her.” Saori said passionately.

 

The village head man looked at the sight before him then looked away.

 

“I know my son and he shows no mercy. This was revenge and he shamed me this day, but, I cannot allow her back into the village seeing what I have seen. This girl may have the evil growing in her womb and therefore possessed her, for the safety of my village I cannot let her stay. Lady Naoko give her the herbs and if she is conscience tell her that she is never to return to the village again.”

 

The old lady nodded and turned toward the girl. The bodies were removed and put on stretchers that Hotaru had helped them to build.

 

The old lady looked at the girl and noticed that she was still breathing albeit labored. She noticed that Hotaru had broken ribs and as she continued her examination she noticed that the girl indeed lost her baby and the old woman shed some tears.

 

“Ye poor child, may you find happiness.”

 

“Na..o..ko.”

 

“Hotaru.”

 

“What…what happened.”

 

Naoko looked surprised was her head master right, was this girl possessed?

 

“Do ye not remember?”

 

“My baby…he killed…he…”

 

“Shhh child, it is over he is dead.”

 

“Who…who killed him?”

 

“Why child… ye killed him, ye killed all three of them and that is why I must say to ye…”

 

The woman broke in tears and sobbed out.

 

“Ye mustn't return to the village, they believe you are possessed with a demon child, but here…take this herb…it'll help ye child to not feel pain.”

 

The old woman put the dried herb into her mouth and added some snow so that Hotaru could drink it down when the snow liquefied in her mouth.

 

Hotaru had already fell into a deep sleep when Naoko had to leave her in the cold.

 

`God, please hear this old woman…this poor girl has suffered greatly please let there be a light of joy after this great darkness she's faced.'

 

And the old woman left with everyone else looking back occasionally with very sad eyes.

 

Shippo waited for everyone to leave as he had heard and seen everything. He looked over the sleeping Hotaru and cringed at the damage that those men had done to her.

 

He was livid with the thought of those guys hurting Kagome's daughter and than thought again on those bodies. All three of them were grotesque in their appearance.

 

Half of their bodies was completely devoid of any tissue. All you saw was bone while the other half had muscle and flesh just hanging there, even their blood flow had stopped and was jelly like. And from the side of their faces where skin was still attached you could see the horrified pain that they had last experienced. You could have virtually seen the last thought that filtered through their head before they died so horribly. Shippo believed that he would be haunted with that memory forever as he shivered not from the cold but just from the memory as he bounded off into the youkai realm with Hotaru in his arms.