InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Leiko ❯ Daughter of the Samurai ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Daughter

of

the Samurai

 

The mountain range hovered in front of them. It had taken four days to reach it, but Leiko had come to her senses after that first day of working Keiyo too hard. She wanted to save her sister, but she couldn't kill her companions in the process. As they neared the foot of the craggy face of the natural, stone wall, Sasuke began to smile.

"I know this place." he said.

"Oh?" Satzuka asked.

"This is where I trained." the young samurai said.

Kari turned to him. "You spent nearly ten years here in these mountains?" she asked. "Didn't it get lonely?"

Sasuke shook his head. "My master was with me." he said.

"That's it?" Shadow asked. "How dull."

Garou rolled his eyes. "Not everyone needs others around to be happy." the large black wolf growled.

Shadow glared at Garou and snapped at him threateningly. Kari ran her hand down his head to calm him. Shadow had taken a liking to staying in his full-grown form. Leiko looked down at Garou and smiled. He hated Shadow, but she couldn't really understand why. It was true that the two of them were of different packs and that Shadow had tried to kill them the first night Kari had spent with the group.

"Do you think you master would let us stay with him?" Leiko asked, looking up at the young samurai.

"He should." Sasuke replied.

Keiyo's stomach growled loudly. "Good, because I'm starving." she said.

Yamainu rolled his eyes at the little youkai. "You're always hungry. If you're not hungry then you're tired." he said.

Keiyo stuck her tongue out at him and Leiko laughed.

They walked on until a small hut came into view. As they got closer, they saw an old man chopping wood and not too far away from him, a young woman was hanging newly washed tunics and pants. Sasuke gave a loud cry and the old man looked up. Leiko watched as the old man turned to the young woman. She looked at the group and dropped the laundry she was hanging.

The group haulted as the young woman ran towards them. When she was close enough, she launched herself onto Sasuke. He embraced her with a light laugh. Leiko looked from the young samurai and over at Satzuka. The priestess wore an angry scowl on her lovely face. Leiko's eyes moved towards Kari's red ones and they shared a knowing smile. Now it was her turn to torture Satzuka.

"Oh, Sasuke!" the girl giggled. "I thought you would never return to me."

Sasuke laughed. "I have returned for a short time, Gekkani."

"What kind of name is Gekkani?" Satzuka hissed in Leiko's ear.

Leiko shrugged. "The one her father gave her." she replied with a small smile.

Satzuka frowned. "Not funny."

Leiko gave a weak laugh.

Sasuke put Gekkani down and turned to his friends. "Everyone this is Gekkani. She's the daughter of my master." he said. "Gekkani, this is Keiyo the cougar youkai. Next to her is the angel-wolf hanyou, Kari. The wolf beside her is her pet, Shadow. Lady Leiko is the the keeper of the Shikon no Tama and the wolf youkai hoving over her so protectivly is Yamainu of the Eastern pack. The other wolf beside Lady Leiko is Garou."

They all nodded when they were mentioned and Gekkani smiled to each of them in turn.Satzuka cleared her throat loudly. Sasuke started and turned a little red.

"Oh! And this is my childhood friend, Satzuka." he added hastily.

Leiko saw the look of pain in Satzuka's eyes when Sasuke had forgotten to mention her. Gekkani was chattering away to Sasuke. Leiko didn't really catch that much of it because she was watching the old man watch her. Although he was some distance away, she could tell that he was staring at the Jewel around her neck. Leiko knew that it had been nearly twenty years since anyone had seen the Shikon no Tama.

"Oh, you all must stay the night." Gekkani said.

Leiko snapped back to reality and nodded. "Yes, we'd love to stay." she said.

"Good." Gekkani said and laced her arm through Sasuke's.

As the group followed the young woman and their companion, Satzuka glared at the back of their heads. Leiko looked over at Kari and the two of them shrugged. If she was going to sulk then they weren't going to stop her. When they reached the small house, the old man smiled a greeting. His light blue eyes lingered on Leiko. The dog hanyou smiled uneasily. Something wasn't right with these people.

"Hello." the old man said, his eyes still on Leiko. "It's been so long since we last saw you, Sasuke. Who is your charming friend?"

Sasuke followed his master's hungry eyes to Leiko. "Her name's Leiko, Master Li."

"Leiko." Li said, and let the name caress his lips.

Leiko shivered at the way he said her name. Yamainu tensed up beside her and glared at the old man. His fists clenched at his side as he watched those light blue eyes roam over Leiko's scantly clad body. The wolf youkai's first impulse had been to lash out at the old samurai, but he soon decided against that.

Garou growled near his mistress's knees. "Stay away from her." he growled. "She's taken."

The old man looked down at the mighty black wolf and smiled slightly. "We shall see." he said lowly.

"Um...Master, would it be too much trouble if we spent the night here?" Sasuke asked.

Li turned his attention away from Leiko and back to his former pupil. "Of course, my boy." he said. "Of course."

Kari placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe we should keep going." she said.

Leiko knew that she had sense that something was wrong her too. She glanced over at Yamainu and saw the murderous look in his lovely brown eyes. The old man was getting under his skin. Leiko laid a hand on his forearm and gave him a warning look. He nodded slightly.

"No, we'll stay." Leiko said. "Keiyo needs to rest."

Keiyo glare up at the hanyou. "No, I don't!" she said. "There's nothing wrong with sleeping on the ground under the stars."

Leiko shook her head. "Sasuke wants to stay." she said.

The others gave in. They knew that they couldn't argue with her. Gekkani ushered Sasuke inside the tiny house and the others followed reluctantly. Garou and Yamainu stayed very close to Leiko throughout the night. Satzuka sat away from the others with Kari and Shadow. Keiyo sat by Sasuke and Gekkani, listening carefully to each word that came out of their mouths.

Night came and Leiko's uneasiness became more acute. She could quite place it, but something was very wrong with these people. It felt like they were hiding something from them. She lifted the cup of cool water to her lips and took a sip. As the liquid touched her lips, her heartbeat changed. Another joined in with it and began to pound with in her. The cup fell from her hands and hit the floor. Water went all over the floor. Leiko leapt to her feet and ran out of the door.

"Leiko!" Yamainu called.

"We have to go." Shadow said, rising to his feet.

Yamainu didn't look back to see if the others were following. He knew that they would. Darkness had fallen and the half moon hung high in the sky. Leiko's form was moving away from him and towards the mountains. The wolf youkai could hear the others behind him.

"Yamainu, we can't go on in full darkness!" Kari cried.

"I know that look on her face, Kari!" Yamainu called back. "It was a Soul."

Satzuka was not too far behind. "We're leaving Sasuke." she said.

"We don't have a choice." Yamainu said.

Garou and Keiyo were at his side now and slowly passing him up. Satzuka tossed a quick glance over her shoulder but saw no sign of Sasuke. He must have chosen to stay with his master's daughter.

"Yamainu!" Sasuke called. "It's Gekkani! She's the fourth Soul!"

Yamainu looked back at the young samurai as he caught up with them. "How do you know?" he asked.

Sasuke was now at his side. "When Leiko ran out of the house and you all followed, Gekkani started laughing wildly. Once you were all gone, she began to change shape. Whoever she is now killed my master and let a crow demon take his body. The Soul killed Master Li and took off after Leiko. She wants the Jewel!" he explained.

Yamainu looked forward once more and watched as Leiko's form disappeared into the mountains. The samurai's daughter was the one they sought to complete the Jewel. Now it was just a matter of stopping Leiko from doing something crazy. Yamainu knew how badly she wanted the last Soul and how she would stop at nothing to get it.