InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kanzen Chinmoku 'Perfect Silence' ❯ An Old Face ( Chapter 3 )

Kanzen Chinmoku

Tinkerbell

Chapter 3 An Old Face

Shock was not something Shegore handled well. Mostly because there was nothing left in this vast confusing world to shock her, but time-travel was something Shegore had never done.

She sat completely still, but inside her emotions convulsed, and reality seemed to be slipping away. 'Get it together.' She reprimanded herself. 'You must have fallen and hit your head, and now your all goofy……or maybe your dead?' Shegore shook her head in a hopeful no, and bit her bottom lip out of contemplation. After a while of thinking over EVERY possible thing that could have happened to her, Shegore just gave up.

'Well, can't just sit here forever.' Practically letting herself fall to the ground, Shegore hastily caught herself at the last moment in a graceful landing.

So looking like a lost child, Shegore aimlessly wandered around Inuyasha's forest. But time heals all wounds, and soon the adrenaline rushing through her body calmed, and her breathing regained its normal pace.

Once her mind stopped pulsing at a mile a minute, Shegore actually took the time to take everything in. I mean sure, she had memorized almost all detail in the forest beyond normal human comprehension, but that doesn't mean she took the time to appreciate it. She had lived all her life in the city, visiting the small parks, or occasionally going to the country when she was very small, but this forest was a nice change of scenery.

It was so…so…so green, and as she watched and listened, Shegore began to relax, her senses given rest.

She sighed contently as she wandered through the patches of sunlight, and took a short pause in her pace to admire a rather large tree. Towering over the rest of the canopy, the Gods tree hadn't lost its beauty, and though being 500 years younger, it still looked wise and ancient.

As Shegore gazed in admiration of the tree, something moved in the background. Soundless, and almost completely motionless, small feet scurried in the brush behind Shegore. She did not turn at first, she knew it was only a small child, but took her time and waited till she was done gazing at the Gods tree. Then resting her hands on her hips, Shegore turned and addressed the swaying bush.

"Come out." No figure immerged from the brush, so she spoke again. "Come out and let me see you, I won't hurt you."

"Are you a demon?" A trembling voice squeaked.

'What an imagination……I hate kids.' Shegore was annoyed by this child's naïve fears, but than again children are naïve. "No, I am not a demon."

"You promise." Shegore couldn't help but smile at that.

"Why, don't you come and find out for yourself."

"Because you might eat me."

"I promise I won't eat you, I don't like to eat children, they taste bad." There was a small gasp from the bush, but soon a little boy immerged from the foliage, shy and smiling. He seemed to be only seven or eight years old, and was strangely dressed: a simple, old fashion, kimono made of coarse, cheap, fabrics, much like the style dress of the 12 century. The boy reminded Shegore of those period pieces on the history of Japan she would watch as a child. He was a picture ripped from the history books, and brought to life from the mannequins in the museum. The boy too, had no idea what to make of Shegore. Her clothing was tight, yet baggy in some spots, and whatever kind of kimono she was wearing, the dress didn't look like anything the women from the village wore.

'She must be from another village… one very far away.' Shegore could tell that this boy was confused with her appearance, but now seemed even more curious about her gun holster at her hip. What the fuck was happening, this just kept getting weirder and weirder. Shaking off her hopeless train of thought, Shegore turned to the little boy.

"What is your name?" She was trying to be as nice and friendly as she knew how.

"Tsuo."

"Well Tsuo, do you know where we are."

"What's your name?" Shegore was impatient and starting to get annoyed.

"My name doesn't matter, where are we?"

"But I want to know."

"Fine, it's Shegore…but please…do you know where we are, or even what year it is?" Tsuo's face lit up to know her name, he thought she was very pretty, and he might get a present for finding her and bringing her to the village,

"Tsuo." Shegore's voice was all but motherly. The eight year old snapped out of his fantasy of candy rewards, and enthusiastically answered her question.

"We are just outside my village, in Inuyasha's forest. I'm not suppose to play out here, but I just had to see what the forest was like…you won't tell them you found me out here will you?" The boy truly looked concerned, and even more shock was added to Shegore's comprehension. She seemed shaky again.

"What do you mean village?…What about the cities?…How far are we from Tokyo?…What year is it?" Tsuo couldn't answer all her questions, and he was now even more confused then she was. But his simple mind thought up a solution, and he reached out for her hand, pulling lightly on her wrist.

"We shall go to the village, they can answer your questions there." With a sigh Shegore gave no resistance, and let herself be lead to god knows where.

They passed more trees and fuzzy woodland creatures, and soon the forest became less dense and the sunlight more frequent. Children could be heard playing, a stream babbling, and the sounds of life rode the wind. Tsuo intently pulled on Shegore's wrist, till finally, much to her surprise, they stopped.

Regaining her attention to her immediate surroundings, Shegore saw that they had halted in front of a small hut of grass and mud, with plums of black, odorous smoke rising from a gap in the roof. She know too noticed the small crowd which had gathered, at a distance, from their arriving. Trying to be conspicuous, but failing horribly, they stood close together, farmers, children, but mostly bored house wives, whispering to each other about this strange new woman. They mostly pointed at her clothes, the women from disgust at their tightly revealing nature, and the men more in appreciation of the same thing. None came closer than 20 feet, so for now they were content with staring and snickering from a distance.

Not liking just standing here, and being a little uncomfortable for being looked down at, Shegore spoke hastily to Tsuo. "Where are we?" He answered with a smile.

"This is my village." That seemed an acceptable response to Shegore, but she needed more.

"What are we doing? I mean why are we just standing here?"

"We are waiting for her to open up her hut."

"Who?"

"The miko."

"You mean a priestess?"

"Yes."

"Oh…" Shegore was becoming agitated with the clumps of people starting to gather and stare. "Why are they staring at us?" Tsuo smiled.

"They are not staring at us, they're staring at you."

"I know that…but why?"

"Because your dressed so strangely, you look like a man." Shegore shot Tsuo and dirty look. "I mean in the way you are dressed, you look like a warrior…but your are a woman…" Shegore cut Tsuo off.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well why should a woman be traveling by herself, and trying to look like a warrior?"

"Well don't you have women warriors?" Tsuo seemed to giggle at this.

"You really are from far away, aren't you." Shegore was annoyed by his naïve childish behavior, as if he could help it. She just grimaced and nodded in reply, and crossed her arms at her chest, waiting with whatever patience she had for the hut door to open.

Tsuo was too becoming impatient, and was about to knock on the door once more, when it opened abruptly, and a heavy voice beckoned them inside. Shegore arched forward a little to peer into the darkened hut. There were glowing embers of a dying fire, playing shadows like a puppet show across the grass walls, while bleak sunlight poured in through the cracks. It made an interesting mixture of obscurity around the silhouetted figure of a sitting woman.

Shegore drew back her neck, and looked down at Tsuo with questioning eyes.

"I can't go with you, but don't worry, she's nice." With that and a smile, Tsuo ran off in the direction of the curious villagers. They swarmed around him, and he smiled with pride as he got a chance to explain about this strange girl, and how he had found her. Shegore watched him disappear into the generic crowd, gave a short sigh, and proceeded tentatively to enter the gloomy hut.

With slow silent steps, Shegore drew closer to the hunched woman, and took her seat on the floor before the dimming embers. After a moment or two of uncomfortable silence, the hunched shadow of a woman spoke.

"Who are ye child, and where have ye come from?" The woman's voice gave away so much to Shegore, as it flowed through the shadows. She was an old woman, one who had experience many years of pain, and fought many battles. Wisdom resided in her, and she was someone to respect. Shegore looked at her curiously, trying to gather more detail, more information, about this…priestess.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I think I should know who you are first, before I reveal myself. I am in your village, your mercy, a stranger in a strange land…I need to know that I can trust you first."

"Hai." The woman paused for a heavy sigh, "You are a wise, either that or defensive, but you will get as you whish." The priestess leaned forward and placed a small piece of rotting wood on the fire. She then leaned back and threw a fist full of white powder into the embers. They blazed into a roaring fire in moments.

Shegore could now see the woman face clearly. She was right in her assumptions, this woman was quite old, with tan, rough skin, and many wrinkles, each with it's own story. She wore a patch over her right eye, but with her left , she eyed Shegore. The miko broke the silence.

"I am Kaede, the priestess of this village. I am it's protector, and you are here to see if I need to protect it against you. I am not worrying because you don't seem to be a demon, and you are alone. And now that ye knows who I am..who are you." She emphasized her comment with a curious stare.

'Again with the demons, these people must be really sheltered…and superstitious.' Thought Shegore, but she still answered the question.

"My name is Shegore, and I think that is all one needs to know.." She was cut off.

"Only if one has something to hide." Shegore eyed her with annoyance, did this old woman really think she knew about herself. No, she had no idea, and Shegore was definitely not going to tell her. But..she needed information, and this woman…priestess… miko…seemed like someone she could trust, even if she didn't know why.

"Fine. I will tell you my story if you answer me two questions."

Kaede nodded slowly, "Agreed."

"Where are we."

"I have already told you, we are in my village on the northern edges of Musashi's domain." Shegore wore a blank stare. "What is your next question?" Shegore shook her head out of its daze. "Ohh, yeah, right."

"What year is it?" Kaede was quiet for a while, she seemed to be thinking hard, searching her cluttered memory.

"I think that it is 1497."