InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Feudal Fairy Tales ❯ Whispers ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and other associated companies.

 

 

Chapter Ten: Whispers

 

 

“Did you just hear something, Ginta?” a soldier clad in black armor said with a frown, pausing in his idle march near another guard leaning against a wall.

 

“Hmm… I don't think so,” Ginta replied boredly, picking at his teeth with a dirty fingernail. “What did it sound like?”

 

“Like a voice.”

 

“A voice? What? Like my voice?”

 

“Well, did you say something?”

 

“I did just now.”

 

“Then no. I heard another voice.”

 

“Hn,” Ginta grunted, raising his brows. “What did it say?”

 

“Hey you.”

 

“Tch,” Ginta snorted and resettled himself against the wall. “I don't hear anything. If you're trying to trick me, Hakkaku, then you're not as sly as you think you are.”

 

“I'm not trying to trick you,” Hakkaku replied and followed with a sneer, “There's no fun in picking on idiots. Now listen.”

 

“Oh, insult me and then expect me to believe you,” Ginta said with a huff and closed his eyes. “When the emperor pays me to guard against imaginary voices, then I'll help you.”

 

“Look, I know what I heard and— what the hell is that?” Hakkaku said, his voice nearly breaking into a shriek. Scurrying across the floor, a strange creature was steadily moving towards him. He stumbled back several feet, his back thudding against the wall. As if tethered, it quickly shifted directions, honing in on the befuddled soldier. “Is that a mouse?”

 

“You're scared of a mouse,” Ginta laughed, finally finding a good reason to stand up. “Just step on it then.”

 

“It just told me not to.”

 

“Mice can't talk, idiot.”

 

“Well, it just did,” Hakkaku replied, his voice cracking faintly and he pressed as close to the wall as he could as the tiny form fearlessly stopped in front of his sandaled feet. “And it just said that if I want to keep my toes, then I better keep my feet where they are.”

 

“I'll do it,” Ginta sighed and stepped forward. “You don't have to make up stupid stories—“ Before he could finish his thought, let alone sentence, a yelp escaped his lips as a sharp sting tore through his foot. Grasping it, he looked down in anger and confusion at a small bubble of blood beading on his right, big toe.

 

“I told you,” Hakkaku said coolly as his fear a moment earlier transformed into a sadistic satisfaction at his comrade's pain. “That's what you get for doubting me.”

 

Completing his ruse with a condescending sigh in Ginta's fleeing and cursing direction; he knelt down to the odd, little thing that just made his day. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was not a mouse that stood proudly before him, but a small boy, his weapon, a slim needle casually resting on his shoulder.

 

“If you're not the smallest boy I've ever seen,” Hakkaku whispered in amazement, his finger reaching to nudge the little person, as if to prove it really was what it seemed to be. With a quick movement, the needle came down on his forefinger with a vicious smack.

 

“I am Issunboshi and I will not tolerate being prodded. Now take me to the emperor,” the boy demanded with a thin, but hard voice, raising the needle once more in case the point needed further explanation.

 

“I can't just take you to the emperor,” Hakkaku mumbled, sucking on his sore finger. “Even if he allows you to meet him, you have to arrange to be heard during his royal court time. Not to mention, I don't even know who you are.”

 

“Perhaps I'm not being clear,” Issunboshi said firmly, pointing the needle squarely at the man's nose. “I am a gift of the sun goddess Amaterasu and I will not be made to wait. I wish to serve the lord for the glory of this empire, so take me to him. Now.” The soldier stared at the boy quizzically, silently mulling over the words. After a moment, Hakkaku nodded slowly and lowered his hand in front of the tiny person, beckoning him to climb on. A goddess' likely wrath beat the emperor's likely irritation any day.

 

“Hey, Sesshoumaru-sama,” Issunboshi yelled triumphantly towards the top of the thick plate of Hakkaku's shoulder armor, “It worked.” The soldier looked over to find nothing more than the black, hardened leather and further confusion.

 

“Who are you talking—“

 

“Do you ever say anything except for hn?” the boy muttered to himself with a grump and stepped onto the soldier's open palm, ignoring the giant man's bewilderment. “Good job, miko. I couldn't have done it without killing a few guards first, so I'm glad you're here.” Puffing his cheeks in annoyance, the tiny figure then settled down on the fleshy dip in the center of the upturned hand. “Let's go.”

 

`A gift from a goddess,' Hakkaku thought, rubbing his temples with his free hand as he stood up. `This was going to be a long day.'

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

The soldier and his tiny cargo made their way down the long ornate corridors of the castle in relative silence. A victim of the man's deep, lumbering strides, Kagome had since scooted up to the bend of his middle finger, to get a good grip on the leather band that secured his forearm guard to the back of his hand. The perpetual beauty and elegance of the castle was gradually losing its luster and the school girl's curious eyes were now gravitating towards the aloof tai youkai still perched upon the guard's shoulder plate.

 

The demon lord was quiet as usual, even during the extensive conversation or interrogation on Kagome's part, as she grilled the poor guard on what was being done about the bandits which were plaguing the countryside. Pleading ignorance, the soldier offered few answers for the persistent school girl and usually trailed off in a low, questioning grumble, often regarding what he had done to so thoroughly upset the gods in recent memory. She had expected the youkai to reprimand her for involving herself once again with the afflicted farmers of the story, but he remained poised and motionless, his golden eyes closed to her meddling.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama?” Kagome said softly, hoping to be out of earshot of the guard, “What are you doing?” The tai youkai's eyes opened slowly, the slits of his pupils trained on the sepia eyes of the smiling woman below him. Her insistent need for conversation wherever they traveled was wearing on him and he silently wondered how his half-brother coped with it. Perhaps the filth of his human blood was more useful than it appeared to be.

 

“Listening,” he replied blandly, before closing his eyes again, hoping a simple answer would suffice this time, though he didn't lend much hope that way.

 

“Listening?” she repeated, crooking her brow. “Did you hear anything?”

 

“I've heard many things,” he said following a soft sigh of defeat.

 

“Obviously,” she said with a frown, “But is there anything in particular that you're listening for or maybe that you heard and are trying to hone in on? Or maybe—“

 

“No. I am simply listening.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I am training.”

 

“Training?” the school girl said quizzically, “Huh, I thought dogs had excellent hearing as well as a good sense of smell.” She reached up to her mouth vainly, realizing her words too late. Was it insulting to call an inu demon lord a dog to his face? Sesshoumaru's eyes blinked open and he stared down at her impassively. Her rapid heart rate after her last comment caught his interest, prying him from his focus.

 

“This Sesshoumaru has superb hearing,” he replied firmly. “There is no need to doubt it.”

 

“I-I believe it,” she stuttered as she fumbled with her hands, “I just thought I might have insulted you by calling you… a dog.”

 

“This Sesshoumaru is a dog.”

 

“I know. I just didn't want to offend—“ Kagome began to say as she looked up at his mildly perplexed expression before quickly changing the subject. She might as well not tempt fate for once. “So, you're practicing listening?”

 

“Training and yes.”

 

“If it's already superb, then why train?”

 

“My hearing is without flaw,” Sesshoumaru replied with a subtle smile, finally snaring the intent of the question, “It is my ability to listen that is insufficient.”

 

“What? There's a difference?”

 

“I am able to hear and concentrate on many sounds, miko. It is knowing what they mean that is deficient.”

 

“Why wouldn't you? I mean, you've been alive for such a long time,” Kagome said, her voice wavering slightly. Why fight fate? Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed on the woman, their citrine depths attempting to discern her aim. He grunted inaudibly. No matter her meaning, the question was legitimate and he had already admitted to the flaw.

 

“Scent is much more exact than hearing,” he replied vacantly, concealing his discomfort easily beneath the guise of indifference. “For instance, with a simple sniff of the air, I would know everything about you and more than such things as your species and your location. The odors are instinctual, their meanings embedded in my youkai blood.”

 

“So, you never needed to listen. Scent was enough.”

 

“Precisely,” the tai youkai said with a nod toward the school girl, “This place, however seeks to challenge my abilities.” Kagome stared in quiet wonder at the youkai lord's pleased countenance, a smile hinting at his face. Was he actually enjoying being handicapped? If this was how he looked at life, no wonder he didn't seem to be bitter towards Inuyasha for cutting off his arm.

 

The soldier, oblivious to the low conversation between the two travelers, stopped before a large wooden door, engraved with the image of the goddess, Amaterasu, her light radiating on the country below, blessing it with her glowing affection. He reached his left hand forward and grasped the handle, sliding the heavy door with a bit of effort.

 

Through the doorway and into the warm sunlight, he stepped into a great garden. The rays glinted on the polished wood panels and delicate railings of the raised, winding path he traveled down, broken only by the dappled shade of the overhanging trees. The fresh air filled Kagome's lungs as she watched in soothing delight the passing spread of color and green, momentarily forgetting her anxiety from the day's events.

 

She looked up briefly at the tai youkai, who was still seated quietly upon the soldier's shoulder, his eyes closed while he concentrated. She smiled at his serene expression, noting that while his moods were difficult to discern, he definitely appeared more relaxed once they left the dark castle for the openness of the garden. Youkai were of nature, after all.

 

“My lord,” the soldier said loudly, startling the school girl from her musings. Forgetting the fragile guest sitting on his palm, the guard quickly knelt down to the ground and bowed low, his hands cupped down in front of him. “Forgive me for interrupting.”

 

Standing in long robes of richly embroidered silk, a statuesque man snipped with his shears, releasing a resounding click one last time before looking up at the prostrate soldier on the ground before him.

 

“What is it that merits your intrusion on my valuable time…?”

 

“Hakkaku, sire.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“I have brought a gift from the goddess Amaterasu who seeks your counsel.”

 

“A gift from the goddess?” the emperor replied, his brow quirking. “Rise and show me this most unusual reward.”

 

“Yes, sire,” the soldier said with a breath of relief, not knowing he had been holding it. His ease was soon clouded with fear as he realized that in his haste to bow, where he had placed his hands. Gulping loudly, he overturned his hand, praying silently that he would not find a flattened smear that was once a tiny boy on his palm. To his delight, he found the seethingly, angry gift pressed against the underside of his hand, desperately holding onto the leather band around his middle finger. Despite the speed in which he had knelt, the little person had swiftly managed to wedge himself into the crook between his fingers and thumb. Softly, the guard whispered his apology, hoping that whatever anger the gods may have for him that it hadn't increased too terribly. “My lord, may I present to you, Issunboshi.”

 

Kagome stood up proudly on the now upturned hand of the guard, expecting to hear the wonderment that the emperor of the story had instantly held for the tiny boy seeking to serve him. Another snip of the scissors was all that greeted her ears and she opened her eyes to find the lord once again trimming the carefully cultivated bonsai tree in front of him.

 

“Great emperor,” she began, hoping that addressing him directly would spur him to recognize her as someone great. In fact, it was that adoration that she had been absently thinking about since her discussion with the guard. If the lord held her in the high regard that the story of her childhood told of, perhaps she could convince him to aid the unfortunate farmers of the region by dealing with the bandits. “My name is Issunboshi and I wish to serve this great empire for the glory of my family and the goddess Amaterasu who gave me life.”

 

“Indeed, Little Sun,” he replied placidly with another precise snip. He knelt down slowly, his eyes never wavering from the gently, twisting branches and smooth curves of the delicate foliage of the small tree before him. “I shall place my daughter under your protection. Hakkaku, take our guests to the hime, so they may serve the empire.”

 

“Yes, sire.”

 

“Wait,” Kagome yelled out as the soldier stood up from his kneeling position, “I wished to discuss the state of the farmers in the empire.”

 

“The state of the farmers is not your concern, Little Sun,” he spoke in the same absent tone, his focus still remaining on the bonsai.

 

“No, but it is of your concern,” she spoke adamantly, barely keeping her brimming anger in check. “Your people are suffering, because you will not protect them.”

 

“And you will? It is not your place and it's best that you remember that.”

 

“I cannot simply ignore their fate like you. While you wear your silk and trim your trees, they wear rags and starve. What of your responsibility to your people? Amaterasu will not bless a land which neglects its people so.”

 

“Ha,” the emperor laughed, his smiling eyes looking into the furious ones of the tiny, school girl, “The goddess must truly be angry with me for she sends a gift to show me of her pleasure. You have spoken one truthful piece of wisdom though, Little Sun. My people are my responsibility, not yours. However, as you debate with me, your charge goes without your protection. If my daughter is harmed while you prattle here, who shall be blamed for that?”

 

“I-I,” Kagome stuttered before quieting all together. Was he telling her that she was being irresponsible? How dare he? A princess safely secured in this fortress of a home surrounded by soldiers was not the same as defenseless farmers being assaulted by thieves and murderers. And another thing, why couldn't he say her name right?

 

“If there is nothing else Little Sun, it is time for you to leave. The princess waits,” the emperor said nonchalantly, picking up the tree gently and returning it to its place on the shelf behind him.

 

“My name isn't Little Sun. It's Issunboshi,” the school girl said with a measure of venom at her apparent defeat in convincing him to act against the bandits.

 

“I heard you correctly the first time,” he said as he poured over the other trees on the shelf, holding his finger up to his lip as he contemplated which, if any needed his attention.

 

“Then why do you mispronounce it? My name is not Little Sun.”

 

“Ah, but it is. You are Little Sun. Just as the other is Little Moon, who if I'm not mistaken, must be near as well,” he replied, selecting another tree with a smile. He so did love sculpting his bonsai.

 

“Little Moon?” Kagome said quietly, looking back towards the shoulder plate of the guard to find the youkai lord no longer meditating, but staring hard at the emperor, who had since begun to happily trim his next project. She then turned back to the human lord. He knew something about the scroll, something about how they were trapped. “My lord,” Kagome said, addressing the emperor once more, “Why are we trapped and who created this scroll? What does the sun and the moon have to do with it? What—“

 

“You ask many questions, Little Sun, but I hold few answers for you,” the emperor said, his happy eyes once again staring into hers. “I will tell you one thing that may aid in your quest to understand. The sun and the moon are not alone as their skies and their blood is shared with one other.”

 

“What does that mean?” the school girl blurted out, her brow crooking in confusion.

 

“Nothing and everything,” the emperor said with a smile, before nodding in dismissal to the soldier, who had long since stopped listening to the seemingly pointless and mildly frustrating conversation. As the guard pivoted to return the way he had came, the lord whispered to himself as he chuckled softly. “Another human is trapped. His bloodline fascinates me more every time.”