InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Displacement ❯ "Beautiful" ( Chapter 2 )

Displacement

 

Chapter 2

 

“Beautiful”

 

Ying Zheng, Lord of the State of Qin, parted the great curtains of his personal rooms and was met with an obviously hostile foe. Ying Zheng put his own hand on the hilt of the blade strapped to his waist and readied for combat. The ignorant peasant guard Lu Wai had told him of a yaoguai that had infiltrated his great palace with a strange woman companion. Ying Zheng did not care for such things, he had the conquest of Chu to plan and had not time to waste with renegade demons. On the other hand, Lu Wai had said the female spoke something in the primitive tongue of the Japanese invaders, so they well have been the spies he had heard rumors of.

 

Ying Zheng took in the yaoguai's appearance. He was young, and did not appear to be a warrior, although the yaoguai were never to be underestimated. He wore simple rags of red and white, hardly attire fit for a being of his kind. His feet were filthy and bare, his hair white as the skies, and his eyes more golden than the wheat crops. Hardly a warrior's appearance, despite his obvious fighting stance. Ying Zheng wore the great yellow robes of the Emperor on his back, and the finest iron armor of the lands underneath. His long black hair had been neatly combed that morning by his concubines, and wound into a bun held in place with a model of the blade at his side that had served him well the past years. This yaoguai could learn a thing or two about appearances.

 

Even as he mentally considered the threat of the yaoguai, Ying Zheng grew angry as he realized that this ignorant beast was not only standing before him, but also staring at him in fury. Who was this monster to stand before him!? Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip on his sword. This foolish yaoguai may not have known his place before the Lord of Qin, but he would soon learn.

 

“Osuwari!”

 

Ying Zheng watched as a small rosary around the yaoguai's neck glowed, before he was slammed into the ground. This was followed by a further series of words from the female, and Ying Zheng smiled slightly as the yaoguai continued to kneel, such at is was. He turned to the female and frowned. Odd though the yaoguai's garb was, hers was stranger still. She wore a rather plain tunic with long, baggy sleeves and a large green collar offset by a red cloth wrapped under it. She wore a bright yellow sack on her back with a strap over both arms, and an odd green garment that covered her upper legs but left the area below the knee bare. Ying Zheng considered this for a moment. Her clean clothing and her yellow pack were surely signs of nobility. Perhaps a lower noble, if she was to be travelling, and surely a little-known family with her odd clothing. But then, if she was Japanese, then such things may well be coincidence. As the northern nomad tribes had proven, there was to be no accounting for the customs of the barbarians.

 

“Her pack, his sword,” Ying Zheng commanded. Two of his bodyguards moved. One moved his dagger-axe behind the female's back and neatly drew it up to slice it apart, earning a gasp from the female. The guard brought the pack before Ying Zheng with a bow. The yaoguai was not so cooperative, and was growling even as he defended his blade. The female said something more, and the yaoguai's growls grew lower. The nervous guard looked at Ying Zheng with wide eyes. “His sword,” the Lord repeated. The guard again reached for the blade, and jumped. The yaoguai unclipped the sword's sash and threw it towards Ying Zheng, who deftly caught it before it struck his arm. The yaoguai glared at him as he drew the sword. The blade was clearly rusted and old, with many nicks and scratches. It had obviously seen more than its share of battle. Ying Zheng rapped it on the hilt of the dagger-axe of his closest guard, noting the blade held true. In its better days it would have been a great weapon. Now it was obviously an heirloom, a ceremonial thing, than it was a true weapon. He sheathed the sword and tossed it back to the yaoguai's feet. No sense in keeping it, he had no use for it.

 

That done, Ying Zheng inspected the girl's yellow pack. It contained many thick things that were hard yet soft, and Ying Zheng quickly discovered they opened. He looked through the first of the contraptions he had found and saw many pictures and foreign lettering. Some sort of Japanese text, no doubt, though he had not the knowledge of the language to read it. The others varied in size, but were of similar design, and Ying Zheng decided to let them be. There were a series of smaller items that looked stranger still, but none appeared as weapons. Still, it could not hurt to be sure - he placed the pack aside to have another look later. Ying Zheng turned back to the female and noted with satisfaction she had been keeping her head low. Obviously the females of the Japanese were more intelligent than the males, if these two were any indication.

 

“Look up,” he commanded, addressing the female. She did not, and Ying Zheng snorted, giving the guard closest to her a wave of the hand. His dagger axe slid into the female's vision, and jerked up. The female slowly raised her head and stared up at him. Ying Zheng felt his breath hitch as he locked eyes with her, his surprise easily showing. The woman kneeling before him…

 

“Beautiful…” he whispered, unable to help himself. Her eyes were wide and a light brown as fresh soil, soft and fertile. Her lips had parted slightly as her breath quickened, and were pink as the cherry blossoms in his private gardens. Her hair fell like dark waves and framed the perfection of her creamy face. Ying Zheng stared for a moment before remembering the moment. The woman was lovely, but was likely a spy. He waved his hand again and averted his gaze from the vixen's face. The guard rattled his spear and had her lower her head. Ying Zheng looked back at the yaoguai and sighed.

 

“Ryuichi!” he called, turning to his great curtains. He allowed the man a moment to come before he parted the curtains. Ryuichi was a short, round man dressed in dark blue with a red sash. His black hair was cut closed to the scalp, and he had removed all his hair on the face, including his eyebrows. He quickly bowed before Ying Zheng. Ryuichi had come to Ying Zheng years ago, and quickly earned his favor. Not only was Ryuichi loyal, but he was also a Japanese native. His insight on the customs and ways of his former people had proven helpful over the years. He was no fighter, but then, that was not expected of him and was one of the few reasons Ying Zheng trusted he was not an assassin or a spy sent to kill him.

 

“My Lord,” Ryuichi whispered, standing. Ying Zheng nodded and gestured towards the yaoguai and his lovely companion.

 

“They are Japanese, your former people,” Ying Zheng explained. “Speak to them. Find out why they are in my realm.” Ryuichi bowed and stepped towards the woman first, laying a hand on her head.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

“Stand, my dear, we shall not harm you.”

 

Kagome gasped at the clear Japanese spoken by the man above her. It was hard to understand, probably due to the time difference that was more noticeable here, but it was yet Japanese. She listened and stood up. The man was large and dressed in blue robes. He was kindly enough, though, and was smiling. The man behind him was slender and tall, with yellow robes and a sword at his waist. Kagome wasn't entirely sure of what time this was and who he was, but anyone who had six guards obviously was someone you didn't want to make mad.

 

“You…speak Japanese,” Kagome said. The man nodded.

 

“I was of the Japan people before I came here years ago. I am Ryuichi, advisor to Lord Ying Zheng of Qin. His majesty has requested I speak to you as he is unable to do so himself,” Ryuichi replied.

 

“Great, then ask his royal ass-ship where the fuck we are and when the hell we can leave!” Inuyasha roared. Ryuichi turned him as Kagome stared at him in horror.

 

“I am…sorry?” Ryuichi replied, cocking his head. “Young lady, your companion speaks strangely.” Kagome let out a sigh of relief. Maybe the time language-barrier would pay off with Inuyasha around.

 

“He wants to know where we are and if we can leave,” Kagome translated. Inuyasha shot her a look, and Kagome made a mental note to sit him later. Ryuichi nodded and turned to translate to the man he called Ying Zheng. Kagome gasped. That name sounded familiar…why hadn't she paid more attention in history?

 

“You are in Xianyang, the Lord's great capitol. As for leaving, I am afraid not. There is a Japanese army on our borders, and in this time of the Warring States, we cannot allow anyone to go free without making sure they do not intent our state harm. You understand, of course,” Ryuichi relayed. Kagome gasped.

 

“Warring States?” she asked. “Do you know what year this is?” Ryuichi frowned.

 

“I…don't understand,” he admitted. Inuyasha crossed his arms and growled.

 

“Could I see one of my books?” Kagome asked, pointing to her backpack. Ryuichi turned and translated the request to Ying Zheng. The Lord replied after a moment.

 

“Tell me what it is you require, and I shall retrieve it for you,” Ryuichi said.

 

“It's a book with a blue cover that says “History”,” Kagome replied. Ryuichi nodded and walked to the pack, looking it through it and finally pulling out Kagome's history textbook.

 

“Thanks,” Kagome breathed, taking the book and flipping through it. As she read, Ying Zheng frowned and said something else in Chinese.

 

“The Lord would know what it is you seek in this text,” Ryuichi said.

 

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you,” Kagome replied. “Do the words `time travel' mean anything to you?” she asked, looking up. Ryuichi slowly shook his head. “Didn't think so,” she muttered.

 

“Look, I don't know this Lord Jing-a-Ling or whatever the hell his name is, and I don't care much about him either. Just tell us when we can leave,” Inuyasha snapped.

 

“I am sorry, as I said his Lord cannot allow this. This is a time of war for the Qin state, we cannot allow strangers to just come and go,” Ryuichi repeated. Kagome gasped, and Inuyasha turned to her, his eyes wide.

 

“Inuyasha…” she whispered. She noticed Ryuichi staring at her, and covered her mouth to whisper so only the hanyou would hear. “Trust me, don't piss these guys off, I'll explain later,” she murmured. Inuyasha nodded.

 

“Well if we can't leave, what the hell does he want us to do?” he continued. Ryuichi relayed the question.

 

“We will take you to a holding cell while we discuss that. You will be taken to the shrine where we can set up a proper warding, the woman will…”

 

“I'm not leaving Kagome,” Inuyasha interrupted. Ryuichi frowned and thought for a moment.

 

“Well…hm…” Ryuichi turned and spoke to Ying Zheng. Inuyasha looked down at Kagome's history book as she kept reading.

 

“So what's the big deal about this guy?” he asked. Kagome looked up to make sure Ryuichi wasn't listening.

 

“I know where we are, when we are,” she whispered. “We did travel back to the Warring States Era,” she explained.

 

“So we just have to get back to Japan and go back down the well, right?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“Not exactly…we're in the wrong Warring States Era,” Kagome corrected. “The Sengoku Jidai for Japan was during the fifteenth century. The Warring States Era for China was a little earlier…” Kagome trailed off.

 

“Yeah, how much earlier?” Inuyasha snapped. Kagome gulped and opened her mouth to answer.

 

“The Lord will allow you to occupy the same cell,” Ryuichi said, cutting her off. “We will have our Taoist priests ward the cell to hold you, of course, and we shall have to keep the girl's belongings for inspection.” Even as he spoke, a guard slipped Kagome's book from her back and passed it to Ryuichi. The two guards behind them rapped on the doors to the room, swinging them out to the garden path again.

 

“Please, follow our escort. We will summon you to speak in time,” Ryuichi asked. Inuyasha looked over his shoulder. A few more guards than before were gathering.

 

“You promise you won't hurt us?” Kagome asked. Ryuichi put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring Inuyasha's growls, and nodded.

 

“Of course. But please, do not try and escape,” he replied. Kagome sighed.

 

“Alright…” she muttered, turning.

 

“Are you nuts? Kagome!” Inuyasha cried. Kagome shook her head and waked into the path. Inuyasha followed her as the guards led them down the path.

 

“Trust me, Inuyasha,” she said. “Now is not the time to fight.”

 

“I don't get it, what's going on?” Inuyasha demanded. Kagome took a breath.

 

“That man was Ying Zheng. In 221 B.C., he becomes the first man to unify all of China under one empire and declare himself ruler of the country,” she explained. At Inuyasha's stunned expression, she nodded.

 

“Like I said, try not to piss him off,” she repeated.

 

Historical Notes

 

To the best of my knowledge there was no Japanese-Chinese interaction during the Warring States Era of China. Thus, the idea of Japanese armies allying with Ying Zheng's enemies is fictional, as is the character of Ryuichi.

 

The Warring States Era of China lasted from the fifth century B.C. to 221 B.C., when the State of Qin (pronounced `chin') subjugated all enemy states. The Lord of Qin, Ying Zheng, took the name Shi Huang (`First Emperor'), gave the country its name for the first time, and founded the Qin Dynasty, the first time in Chinese history a single dynasty had united all states under one banner.