InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Freak Out ❯ Blood of the Hanyou Maiden ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Blood of the Hanyou Maiden

Setsuna stood as Kane handed the baby over to Rya. He carefully approached the man, eying him with vehemence. But he didn't say a word.

"Setsuna, why are you and…" The man sniffed, then made a face of utter repulse. "…a half-breed mutt in my cabin with my wife?"

Kane huffed. "For your information…"

"Kane, stay out of this." Setsuna warned quietly, turning his emerald eyes on her. "He's mine to take care of." His threat spoken, he turned back to his brother. "Nazuki came seeking help for your wife. We answered because he sounded distressed." Then he came to stand very close to his brother's face. "And if you call Kane a `half-breed mutt' ever again, I'll slit your throat." He whispered.

The Neko grabbed Setsuna by the neck and picked him off of the ground like he weighed nothing. "And if you ever dare to threaten me again, you'll be the one seeing your life bleed into the soil." The Neko's eyes transformed, fire literally burning in them.

Setsuna didn't flinch as his brother squeezed his throat tighter with one hand; instead he glared down at his brother with anger and hatred. As Setsuna dangled mid-air, Kane took Teretsu out of its cozy sheath. "Put him down now! I'm not afraid to cut you down like I have my other enemies!"

"Otto, spare your brother and his friend!" Rya shouted at the two men from the ground. At the sound of her voice and the infant's tiny fussing noises, he calmed down and dropped Setsuna. His eyes returned to their emerald color as he glanced down at her. "If they hadn't shown up, your son and I may have perished."

"A son?" He said quietly.

"Hai; come and see."

Kane dropped Teretsu back into the scabbard as she rushed over to Setsuna. "Are you okay?"

Setsuna coughed. "I'm fine." He looked over at his brother as he squatted down next to his mate to check on his newborn child. "Let's go before he tries to kill me again."

"But Setsuna…"

"We're leaving and that's final. My brother has no business with me anyway."

Nazuki rushed into the hut with excitement. "Do I have a brother?!"

Rya laughed weakly. "Yes my son, you do."

Kane grabbed her kimono and slipped it on over her shoulders. As she tied the sash, she said. "We'll be off now. Sayonara." Setsuna followed her, looking over his shoulder one last time at his brother and wife.

"Koya, perhaps you should thank your brother and that woman. Without them, I might've…"

Koya laughed mockingly. "Thank my brother? Tsuma, he is of no importance to me. Or my family for that matter. Why…?"

Rya glared at him. "Go now, Koya!"

Not wanting to upset his wife, he reluctantly got up and headed out of the hut. He saw Kane and Setsuna heading into the forest. "Ototo, hold on for a minute."

He stopped, then slowly turned. "Doshite, oniisan?"

Koya crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. "Arigato." He said quietly.

"Arigato, huh? Never thought I'd hear those words come from your mouth, especially directed at me." Setsuna snorted. "I suppose your wife made you say it?"

Koya shrugged as he turned away. "So what if she did? She never said I had to mean it." He looked at Kane-Sakura. "I presume you've taken a mate? She suits you, since you're both part human."

They both blushed. "Well, not that…I…you know, Koya, you're a real pain in the ass!" Setsuna's face reddened further.

Koya laughed. "Just as I suspected! She smells like she's been claimed, but not by the likes of you, brother." Koya sniffed again, and then laughed harder. "Beaten to the quick by a full demon as usual? You're pathetic!"

Feeling the stab at the still fresh wound, Kane turned away from Koya. Setsuna noticed this and growled. "Koya, you bastard! I don't care if you're only saying thank you because your wife made you, but you will not remind Kane of the things she went through a while ago!" He turned to Kane and said softly, "Let's go; he's had his say."

Koya sneered at Setsuna as he walked away. "Consider yourself lucky, for the next time we meet, death will reign upon you." He called after their retreating forms.

Curious, Kane asked, "What does your brother have against you?"

Setsuna sighed. "That arrogant pig-head is only my half-brother from my mother's previous mate. He's a full demon and has boasted about it since the time I was born." He huffed. "He's one of the many Neko-demons that disowned me; we never got along, even as children."

They came to rest at a strangely disfigured tree. "What did you fight about?"

"As children, it would be about frivolous things such as who could do something better than the other. But once we came of age, and it was our time to claim a mate, then it became serious." Setsuna closed his eyes against the memories that flooded his vision.

Flashback…

"My sons, the time has come for you to choose a mate." Setsuna looked up at his beautiful mother as she instructed him and his brother. He tried to ignore the instructions as he looked out the window at all the girls who roamed the village.

`I'm gonna bet that none of those girls have changed their feelings for me. They never liked me as a child when we played together and they always made fun of my `funny looking ears'.' Setsuna sighed.

"Setsuna, are you listening to me?" His mother scolded.

"Y-yes mother." He stuttered.

Koya looked over at him and snickered. Once their mother had left the room, he said, "So, younger brother, do you really believe that you'll find your mate out there? You do realize that if no one accepts you, you'll be thrown out into the wild and left to manage for yourself?"

"I understand Koya. But I think...”

"Hah! You might as well throw yourself out there right now! You're doomed anyway!" Koya snickered. "I have already found my mate, and claimed her nonetheless; you on the other hand, haven't gained the attention of any girl out there!"

Setsuna bowed his head. `He's right; but I have to try. There's somebody out there who will accept me for who I am, I just know it!'

End Flashback…

"All the women sought after my brother, even though he'd already claimed Rya. And even though I was of age too, I wasn't really chosen by anybody. So after it was made known that Rya and Koya were blissfully together, and my family had found out that no one had chosen me, they disowned me. As I wandered the city, I came to realize that my clan had also disowned me, but for different reasons." He paused and looked into the starry heavens. "Because of my blood, they threw me out of the village. Then, when they were attacked by your brother and his friends, I went back in and tried to rescue an old man from the burning wreckage. He told me to get lost in his own words and died when a beam collapsed on him."

"Oh…" Kane was speechless at his heart-breaking story. "I had no idea…that my brother…"

"It's not entirely his fault. My village held one of the final pieces of the Shikon no Tama and they wouldn't give it up. So they had fought to the very last person." Setsuna closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet night air. “In a very sad, very disappointing way, they deserved it.”

"It must hurt," Kane took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "To know that the only member of your family left hates you."

Setsuna looked down at her and smiled slightly. "Not so much anymore. I have you after all." He slowly leaned into her as she closed her eyes, ready to accept her first kiss from him.

It was as if the earth was impatient for the kiss to happen, and at first Kane didn't notice it. But when they knocked heads after getting a little closer, she knew something wasn't right. The tree shook violently, and the roots began to move on their own. Setsuna fell off and Kane became entangled in them. "What the hell is going on?!" Kane yelled out as the roots tightened their grip.

***

Mika bolted up right in her tree like she had had a nightmare. `Tremors?' She said to herself. And when they worsened, she lost her balance and began to careen down from the branch. Luckily, Nakura caught her by her wrist from her bough and gently lowered her to the ground. "You didn't need to do that; I could've landed fine on my own two feet."

Michi opened her eyes and quickly stood. "What's going on?" The quavering intensified and she fell onto Ori's splayed body.

"Michi, what are…!?" Ori held her shoulders as he helped her sit up using his own body. Mika and Nakura were already both on the ground as Yuki and Myrako awoke.

A branch fell next to Michi and she screamed, "Nakura! Please try to control yourself!"

He eyed her angrily. "It's not me monk. But I do sense a disturbance in the deeper part of the forest." Nakura glanced in the direction Kane and Setsuna had taken. "Something is awakening within an ancient tree."

Yuki glanced around. "Do we have any idea where Kane and Setsuna went?"

"Who knows?! Right now, I'm a little more concerned about my own welfare than theirs!" Mika yelled, barely dodging a falling branch.

"Quick, everybody get around me!" Yuki commanded as she put up a barrier. As they ran over, a tree fell and hit the forming barrier, surprising Yuki and making her momentarily lose focus. The tree missed her, and she re-erected the barrier once they had all gotten beside her.

"Do you think Kane and Setsuna are all right?" Michi asked.

Mika snorted. "Knowing that klutz, she's probably the reason behind this." She stated just as the group was buried in branches and trees.

***

The tree seemed to laugh mockingly at the distressed tangled dog. "At last, my freedom is upon me!" The voice surrounded the area, coming from every direction possible, but originating from nowhere.

"Your freedom my ass!" Kane reached down for Teretsu, but found that her arms were bound just out of reach. "Damn, I can't reach my sword!"

"Hold on Kane, I'll get you out of there!" Setsuna gathered energy in his hands and produced a flame. "Fury of Hell!" The flaming stream hit an invisible barrier and dispersed. "It didn't work?!"

"Of course not! The great Nigiyaka can not be defeated!" He tightened his hold on Kane and she yelped.

"Let go of me you bastard!" She yelled, squirming. The evil glint of a dagger appeared in the moonlight. It swooped toward her with great agility, but she managed to move sideways as she grit her teeth. "Watch where you're aiming that thing; I don't want to get stabbed!"

The tree snickered. "How long can you manage to dodge the blade?"

"Keh! As long as I want to!" The blade sailed past her again, grazing her hair. "And I don't need a hair cut! You'll give me split ends!"

"Arrogant little wench aren't you?" The blade swerved, and then flew forward again. This time, Kane couldn't avoid it. The dagger pierced her abdomen. Blood seeped onto the blade and soaked her kimono, and a few drops plopped onto the soil.

Kane gasped and shut her eyes against the pain. "Uhn…" She felt consciousness slipping away from her and succumbed to the darkness of sleep. The roots loosened and dropped her in a heap. Setsuna rushed toward her, but the barrier was still up. He ran into it and was repelled off into a nearby tree. He was knocked out on contact.

The dagger, still held in the roots of the tree and saturated in Kane's blood, started towards the middle, where the weird shaped bulge was. The knife began to write the letters down the protuberance with Kane's blood. Starting at the top, in kanji, it read,

O captive here

Nigiyaka the fearful

Danger awaits thee

Hanyou maiden of Inu no Taisho.

Now comes the time

Of his release

That was never meant to be.

The bark that surrounded the protrusion began to disintegrate around the lettering and spread. Soon, a man with long, flowing black hair and deep blue eyes stepped down near Kane-Sakura. His pale skinned hands touched her delicate face and he smiled. He carefully lifted her form into his arms, all the while looking down at her with a plan. "Kane-Sakura, hanyou maiden, you shall come with me for I have great plans for you."

***

The tremors finally stopped and Yuki lifted her barrier out of the foliage they had been buried under. Once on safe ground, it burst. "What could have caused such an earthquake?"

Nakura shivered slightly, which Mika noticed instantly. "Something wrong with you?"

"The force has been released from its prison. And so, the tree is dying." He winced. “And since I have a connection with all the plants in the forest, I am being affected.”

"What do you mean `affected'?" Mika asked.

"It's like this tree's been ripped of its life force along with every other plant in this forest." He knelt and Mika went down with him. “With my connection to this ancient tree and all other plants, my own strength is being sapped.”

Michi gasped suddenly. "He's right! Look around us!"

The group turned their attention to the surroundings, only to see every tree dying; their leaves brown and shriveling. The grass was browning and the bushes and flowers had wilted already.

"Nakura, will you be all right?" Mika asked; concern tingeing her voice.

"I won't be if whatever is doing this keeps taking my strength. I'll die along with the plants." He smiled slightly. "Why, are you worried?"

Mika's face flushed full of color. "Me, worried about you? N-no of course not!" But as his face paled, she felt more disquieted. "Let's go find this guy! Nakura's in danger and Kane's just lost somewhere with cat-boy! Come on!"

***

The dull ache in his head caused him to finally resurface to consciousness. Setsuna groaned as he sat up, holding his head. "What happened to me?"

"The tremors came from this direction, I'm sure of it." Koya's voice resonated in the brush as he talked to himself. Once he saw his brother on the ground, he smirked. "Did you get caught in the quake as well?"

Setsuna stood on wobbly legs. "I'm not sure…" Then he saw all of the dying trees and the tree Kane had been caught in. "Kane-Sakura?" He looked around, but saw no sign of her.

"That hanyou mutt you were with? You lost her?" Koya snickered. "How'd that happen?"

Setsuna closed his eyes. "That demon must've taken her. I was knocked out when I ran into the barrier he'd put up."

"It figures that a three-quarter's such as yourself wouldn't see the barricade or even smell it." Koya touched the roots, then came across the dagger. "What's this?"

Ignoring him, Setsuna began to walk away. "I don't have time for your games, older brother. Kane needs me right now."

“Pity, I may have been able to help too.”

“You, help me?” Setsuna turned and stared at Koya, huffing in arrogance. “Like that would ever happen.”

“You're too conceited for your own good. And here I was thinking of being generous.” Koya fingered the blade.

Setsuna threw his hands into the air. "Like hell you're generous! Last time I checked, you were included with the rest of our clan in throwing me out of the village! If you had even had the tiniest speck of generosity in you, you would've stopped them from disowning me!" He began to stomp off, away from his arrogant brother. “I know Kane's scent well enough to find her without your help. You'd probably just slow me down anyway!”

Sensing his brother's distress and fear, Koya felt persuaded enough to say, "Scent alone will not get you to her in time. If you truly love her and wish to see her alive, take this." He held the knife out for Setsuna. "It's pulling towards its master."

He stopped, surprised by the turn of events. "What do you mean, `pulling towards its master'?"

"Master, creator, no difference." He simply let go of the blade and it flew into a tree trunk. "It was made of this demon you speak of." Koya took its blade out of the trunk and held it tightly, and then gave it to his brother. "Do you feel the tug towards the east? Hang onto it and you'll be led right to your woman."

Setsuna stared at his brother. "Why're you helping me all of a sudden?"

"I'm merely helping that woman, not you." He turned away from Setsuna. "Now if you'll excuse me, my wife and children require my immediate attention."

"Then why help her?"

Koya sighed. "Because my second born is alive." On that note, he walked away.

The pull on the dagger did indeed head east, so Setsuna pocketed it and began his quest to find Kane. `I swear I'll find you; nothing will keep us apart.'

***

Blinding, sheering pain. Nothing could seem to stop it and it only intensified with every breath. When she tried to move, her hands and legs felt as though they were tangled in something, bound to her self by ropes or vines. The front of her kimono was wet and warm. `Like blood.' She thought.

A voice echoed through her introspects. "Hanyou maiden, awaken from your slumber."

`My slumber...I'm asleep?' She moaned.

"Kane-Sakura, daughter of the great dog demon of the east, open your eyes."

She mentally winced. `But the pain…'

`Fear what you can not see…' Kane saw her brother say that to her during her early days of training. `…and definitely what you can not smell. But once you know it's an enemy, don't hold back or run.'

She smiled. `That must've been the smartest thing he ever told me.' Slowly, she opened her golden orbs.

A pale face with red markings on his face greeted her fuzzy vision. "Welcome back to reality." He smirked.

"Wh…who are you?" She said groggily.

"I am your rescuer." He implied. "I found you lying on the ground, bleeding to death."

"My rescuer?" Kane sat up, noticing now how her hands and feet hadn't been bound by vines as she had once thought. "Where am I?"

"Why, this is my home." He said humbly. "And you are lying on my bed, hanyou maiden."

"Hanyou maiden?!" Kane growled as she recalled what the tree had said before she'd been stabbed. "You're the one who stabbed me with that dagger!"

"Now why…?"

"Yes, why is my question. What was your reason for trying to kill me?" Kane said precariously.

"My fair maiden, it is true that I took some of your blood, but it was all for good reason." In his hand, he held a red marble that seemed to swirl with blood. "And as gratitude, I would like to thank you by giving it back to you."

She squirmed, feeling uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. "Give it back? Yeah, well maybe I don't want it back!" A thorn scraped against her palm and back of her legs as she sat forward. "Itai…"

"Oh, so sorry about that. I'm used to thorns on my bed, but your delicate skin must not be." The marble glowed, then melted in his hand. The liquid flowed from his hand to Kane's open wound.

She felt the laceration close and heal quickly and the blood on her kimono disappeared. "How…what did…?"

"Trust me, please." Nigiyaka helped her stand by offering his hand to her. "I only needed your blood to set me free from that accursed spell."

Kane's hand rested on her hilt. "What was the spell for? It must have had some purpose."

"I'm afraid that I was mistaken to be another demon." He said sadly. "And I suppose you don't know my story." He crossed the expanse of the cave. "Many years ago, I was forced into that tree by a powerful priestess. I had been accused of taking the lives of others in that area when all I had really done was just live out my normal life. So one day, the priestess came along and sealed me into that tree. Over the great expanse of years, I waited for you, the hanyou maiden of Inu no Taisho, to show up for all I needed was your blood to set myself free."

`He isn't lying; his eyes are sincere.' Kane relaxed again.

"KANE!!!" Setsuna's voice rang out in the cavern.

"Oh Setsuna…"

Nigiyaka smiled. "Go; since I am free, you are free as well."

"Arigato." Kane bowed. "I'm sorry for accusing you of something so hideous."

"No, thank you for setting me free and understanding my intentions. No harm done my lady."

Kane ran out of the cave to Setsuna. She missed the evil glint Nigiyaka's eyes carried as she sprinted.

"Setsuna, I'm all right!" Kane smiled as she rushed to him.

The dagger rose out of his pocket and raced into the cave. Nigiyaka stood and intercepted it with his eyes closed and in gratitude. Grabbing the hilt when the blade was only inches from his face, he smirked as the force of the dagger's power made his hair fly back behind him. "Thanks indeed, Kane-Sakura. And thank you Setsuna for my weapon back."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sorry this took so long to get out here, but I've been really busy. First of all, I had a concert in two choirs and I was working non stop on my music for my more advanced group, Lions Select. Then there's the fact that I owe my mom $459 for accidentally running her van into my friend's trailer hitch, so I've been working like crazy to work that off and I'm getting a second job. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I have a madrigal dinner to sing in and we have been rehearsing a lot. Plus there's this: my internet service really sucks! I haven't been able to get on for the longest of times!

I would like to thank Queen of Cutyes for the review I got on my first chapter of `Freak Out'. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. If you read this before I e-mail you again, I'm sorry I haven't been able to e-mail you recently. Just look at all of the above. Again, please R&R!!!

Some Japanese terms some of you may not know:

Otto- what a woman calls her husband

Tsuma- What a man calls his wife

Ototo- younger brother

Doshite, oniisan?- What is it, older brother?