InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Therapist ❯ Trouble In Furuzawa ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own “Inuyasha”.

 

 

After writing quite a bit of this chapter, I decided to change the story categorization from Humour to Drama. I had originally intended for this to be a sort of comedy, but a better dramatic story emerged from all that brainstorming.

 

Word Translations:

 

Youkai - demon

Taiyoukai - great demon

Hanyou - half-demon
Ningen - human

Yukata - unlined summer kimono, a kind of informal garment worn at home and at hot springs.

Hai! - Yes!

Gasa - a woven rice straw hat that resembles an over-large bowl or mushroom that covers 2/3s of the face

 

 

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Sachiko Taji woke with a start, when a familiar gruff voice yelled her name as the owner pounded his fists on her front door.

 

“You slut!” the banging continued. “Where's the money you owe me!”

 

Jumping out of her bed in fear, the petite woman secured the yukata that she slept in and climbed out of her bedroom window and onto the flimsy steel landing. Hiking up her skirts, she swung one leg out over the railing and made a small leap to reach a fire escape ladder that hugged the wall beside her balcony. Climbing down three stories, she ran as fast as she could down the nearly deserted city street. Unfortunately, she was spotted by two men, associates of her would-be assailant, waiting in a car parked alongside her building. They shouted at her, and then started the engine of the car.

 

Sachiko gave a little shriek as the headlights of the car lit up her fleeing form. She ran as fast as her bare feet could carry her, but the car and its occupants got closer and closer until she could almost feel the heat of the headlights on her legs. Then, she tripped and went down.

 

The car screeched to a halt when the driver saw Sachiko's falling form disappear below the hood of the vehicle. The men got out and searched the road for the woman who was in all likelihood, badly hurt. To their utter amazement, they found nothing at all! Immediately the driver put the car into reverse to see if Sachiko had fallen into some uncovered manhole, but the road that she was running on was smooth and unmarked. It was as though she vanished into thin air.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 500 years in the past ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

The first thing that she noticed was the horrible splitting headache that seemed to start from the back of her skull. The pain traveled in uneven waves to the front where her temples were. To make it worse, bright sunlight hit her eyes forcing the poor woman to close them again. She tried to move her hands to her face so she could rub her smarting eyes, but found that they were trapped behind her back in circular metal hoops that were thicker than handcuffs.

 

She sniffed the air and noticed the distinct absence of exhaust fumes and the smell of the city. It was almost like the air back home in the countryside where she lived as a child. Opening her eyes again, she saw herself in a large wooden cage with several other women who were similarly chained and manacled. The girls she was with didn't look like city folk, for they were clad in shabby yukatas with aprons and some had scarves bundling up their hair.

 

The next thing that Sachiko noticed was that the cage wasn't on a truck, but on a quaint looking cart drawn by two horses, much like what her great grandfather used to ride from her family farm to the nearby town.

 

“Where am I?”

 

No one answered her. One or two of the girls looked in her direction.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

Silence again.

 

“Will someone speak to me… please?” She raised her voice a little.

 

The cart suddenly jerked to a stop. Through the bars of the cage, Sachiko saw a large figure get off the driver's seat and walk to the back. A banging of chains was followed by a small click which indicated that someone was opening up the door of the cage. Sachiko shrunk back a little when the wooden door swung open. There was something very wrong about this entire scene, and from experience, she knew that bad things usually followed.

 

The petite woman screamed loudly when she saw the demon's red face. It had a huge nose, horns and protruding tusks coming out of either side of its mouth.

 

“What did I say about talking, wench!” he roared as he reached into the cage full of terrified women and pulled a very frightened Sachiko out. He flipped her onto the ground beside the cart and pinned her down with the weight of his foot. Then using a thin, sharp reed, he whipped her soundly on her butt and along her slender legs. Although her muffled cries could be heard by all the ladies in the cart they didn't make a single sound or an attempt to escape, even though the demon left the door wide open.

 

“Look at what you made me do!” the red-faced demon exclaimed as he stared at the raised welts that ran across the length of her calves and legs. Damn these silly human females! Their inability to understand his simple rules always ended up with them - his goods - getting damaged. And buyers at the slave auction seldom bought slaves with visible welts or sores on their skin. Those he did not manage to sell off, he turned into meat, which he then sold to demons with a taste for human flesh.

 

Lifting her head up by the chain it was secured to, he hissed into her face, “There will be NO MORE WORDS out of you, wench! Otherwise I'll eat you myself when we get to Furuzawa.”

 

The red-faced demon then dragged the poor woman along the ground by the chain and threw her back into the cage. With the door securely locked, the wagon started up again. Lying on the grimy floor of the wooden prison, Sachiko stared upwards at the other women who huddled in terror, not daring to look at her. A tear slid down her cheek when she realised that no one in the cage had the courage to even put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

 

 

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“We DO know that they use the slave market as a point of contact for their agents,” Matsumoto said, pulling out a report he had received from one of his informants. He then presented it to the long, dark haired young man who sat opposite from him on the tatami mat floor of a private meeting room in his spacious mansion.

 

The young man glanced at the report, and then added, “Lord Azumamaro is getting too bold.”

 

“It is an affliction of the young who are new to the reins of power, my lord,” the mayor of Furuzawa observed. “It's only been two years since the current lord of the East succeeded his sire, after the ancient demon's tragic and ignoble death at the hands of his son.”

 

“Is it true he was killed while he slept?”

 

“Indeed,” Matsumoto nodded. “Despite his polite demeanour and cultured manners, these pleasantries hide Azumamaro's cruel and dishonourable nature… He is indeed a demon to watch.”

 

“Perhaps.”

 

The two “men” settled into a profound silence broken only by the hissing of tea being poured into cups by a servant girl. Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly. He was truly in his element. No more semi-naked girls screaming his half-brother's name, no sacred miko powers burning his lovely ivory skin, just good old fashioned politics with a dash of intrigue.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama!”

 

For the second time in a single week, he had to restrain himself from smacking his forehead.

 

“Rin,” he said, without turning. “Stand still.”

 

Immediately the girl stopped, holding a bunch of flowers in her hand. The demon lord got up and went to the garden where the child stood absolutely still, like a perfect little statue, as though she were playing some kind of game.

 

“Rin, find Jaken and stay with him. Do not leave this house.”

 

“Hai! Sesshoumaru-sama!” the girl cried cheerfully and skipped away.

 

Matsumoto had seen the little human girl when he visited the palace of his lord. He found it strange that his lord had allowed a human, of all creatures to remain by his side. Perhaps Lord Sesshoumaru found it amusing to keep a human child as a pet. After all, this strange practice was not unheard of. In lands far to the West, beyond the shores of this country, there were strange foreign youkai who specialized in deforming normal humans, crushing their limbs, distorting their features and selling them to either decadent Ningens as pets or to demons who, in the pursuit of esoteric knowledge, experimented on these pitiable creatures. He had heard tales of how his lord had traveled to these faraway lands, learning their knowledge and customs. Perhaps, he had picked up a few eccentricities from the foreign youkai.

 

“Have our spies uncovered the name of the one who is behind this current insurrection?” The demon lord returned to his seat.

 

“Unfortunately, my lord, all of the spies we have sent to the slave market to shadow the enemy's agents never made it back alive,” sighed the mayor. “I humbly apologise for their failure and will see to this matter myself.”

 

The demon lord tilted his head a little, almost as if to nod his approval of Matsumoto's actions. However, he stopped short.

 

“This Sesshoumaru will go with you to the slave market. I wish to uncover the identity of the villain myself.”

 

 

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The days passed like a haze for Sachiko. She gave up trying to figure out how many days it was since she woke up in this horrible nightmare. Although none of the girls spoke to her, she managed to eavesdrop on some of their whispered conversations. From what she could gather, this place, whatever it was, was a replica of the feudal times where warring lords fought each other. Even the syntax of the language these women spoke seemed to fit perfectly within the historical feudal era. At first, Sachiko wondered if this was some kind of big hoax, but eventually came to the conclusion that she had either traveled back in time or slipped into a parallel dimension.

 

The notion of parallel worlds was not really foreign to her, nor was the notion of time travel. She wasn't always a hooker plying the seedy Tokyo streets. Once, a long time ago, she had gone to school and had an education. That was before she fell in love with a man whom she married at a very young age, only to find out that he was a wife-beater and a bum. He disappeared after two years and left her with a mountain of gambling debts that mostly consisted of money borrowed from one of the yakuza gangs. Unable to get a good job because she lacked academic qualifications, she struck a deal with the gang and they let her pay off the debts working the streets.

 

The years had taken their toll on her, even though she avoided smoking and drinking too much, two very common vices that ladies in her profession tend to develop. She was already 28 and it seemed that life had nothing more to offer. Her only consolations were that she didn't have children and she still wanted to live, no matter how bad things were. However, things took a turn for the worse in the last few months. She was sick for quite awhile and didn't manage to make enough to pay off the gang. Some of them had come by her place to demand payment, but having no cash to pay them, she did the only thing she could do… run.

 

But all her running brought her into an even bigger nightmare - this horrid reality that she could find no way to escape. She wanted to cry, but she had done all her crying days ago. Escape was the only thing she could think of.

 

Sachiko felt the cart grind to a halt. Peeking through the bars, the petite woman found that they were now behind an old-fashioned two-story house in what appeared to be a feudal town. Although it was evening and the sun was low in the sky, she could see the red-faced demon calling out two human-looking servants who heaved the cage off the cart with inhuman strength. She watched as they were all hauled through a large door into an almost dark room that had a doorway which was covered by a curtain of sorts. Beyond the curtain were bright lights and noises which Sachiko didn't like.

 

Then the red-faced demon came in and opened the wooden cage door. He dragged out a helpless girl and marched her towards the curtained door. Although the curtain lifted for the fraction of a second, Sachiko saw that the doorway led to a low stage and beyond the stage were demons of every shape and form. A roar of approval signaled the beginning of what she guessed, was some kind of auction. She heard screams from the girl and felt a cold fear develop in the pit of her stomach.

 

The auction proceeded quickly. One by one the girls were dragged from the cage. Some had attempted to struggle, but the red-faced demon slapped them into submission. Finally, when there was no one else left, the red-faced demon unlocked the cage door for the last time and hauled the poor woman out by a chain which he had fixed to a collar on her neck. He pulled her up roughly and hitched up her skirts to inspect her legs. Sachiko gave a small shriek when he smiled and muttered something to the extent of “good… good… all healed…”

 

He then shoved her so that she fell kneeling on the low stage and almost topped over into the arms of a serpentine youkai who flicked his forked tongue in her face. Then she reeled backwards quickly as the red-faced demon yanked at the chain attached to her collar.

 

“Noble lords and good demons, I present to you the finest slave in my current collection,” he tore open her yukata, exposing a perfectly-shaped breast and creamy skin. “Note the delicate features and ivory skin of this farm wench. A rarity in this turbulent age. A jewel that will provide her lucky owner with endless pleasure… or pain… As you so desire… “ he smiled slyly, “The bidding starts at 50 copper pieces!”

 

“60!”

 

“Isn't she a little …old?” a youkai with exceedingly large eyes squinted at her.

 

“And she has been with men…. Many men,” a wolf-like demon sniffed the air in her direction.

 

“For that price, I'd expect the slave to be a virgin at the least,” commented another.

 

There was a bit of a commotion from the floor as the demons that gathered started discussing the price. Seizing the opportunity, Sachiko stomped down hard on the foot of the red-faced demon and bolted forward as soon as pain forced him to let go of her chain. She easily jumped off the low stage and made a dash for the door at the back. In her haste as she made her sprint towards freedom, she crashed into a tall person wearing dull, blue clothes and a gasa-like hat that effectively hid his face. The forward momentum caused her to knock the person backwards as her head landed on his chest.

 

Tilting her head upwards, her dark eyes met with pools of gold set into a handsome face in the shadow of the hat that had stripes and a crescent moon tattooed on the forehead above those wonderful eyes.

 

A human!

 

Sachiko screamed, “Help me! Help me please!”

 

The man quickly got up and pushed her off. He tilted his hat low, as if to hide his features from onlookers.

 

“Help! HEL—“

 

She felt something hit the back of her head and her whole world turned black.

 

 

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

 

Two quiet shadows slipped into a small, hidden doorway into the mayor's mansion. They slid quietly across the courtyard till they reached sliding door that led to Matsumoto's private chambers. Once inside, both “men” took off their straw hats to reveal a demon with strange blue hair and another with silvery white hair and golden eyes.

 

“My lord,” Matsumoto bowed low. “I apologise for my carelessness at the slave market. You could have been recognized.”

 

“There is no need for apology Matsumoto, the fault lies not with you.”

 

“I thank you Lord Sesshoumaru for showing graciousness and magnanimity towards this humble servant,” He bowed again, then got up and called a servant to fix some tea for both of them.

 

“Fortune smiled upon us tonight,” the golden-eyed demon remarked. “We now know who Lord Azumamaro's main agent is in Furuzawa.”

 

“Indeed, I would have never suspected ……”

 

Before Matsumoto could finish his comment, a quick pattering of feet and a familiar high-pitched voice interrupted their conversation.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama! R- Rin is missing!”

 

 

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Author's Note: I always found it strange that the anime had a fancily-dressed demon like Sesshoumaru wandering around in the wilderness like a vagabond without a home. I mean, his clothes were badly torn up once when he fought Inuyasha and ended up meeting Rin in the forest. How on earth does he get a fresh change of clothes and where does he get Ah-Uh and the saddle? For that matter, where does Rin get her change of clothes?

 

I really don't think some village tailor could make the kind of attire that he wears.

 

Well, upon reading the manga I noticed that Sesshoumaru does make mention of a home somewhere in book 14. His wandering tendencies were also explained by Jaken in the anime during his conversation with Rin by the fireside where the explains to the little girl that the demon lord travels around to far away places to increase his own knowledge so that he will one day be the most powerful demon of all.

 

We know that by this time, foreign imports had reached Japanese soil. In fact, the soldiers who faced the Shinchinnintai in the anime were armed with rifles.

 

Now, if Sesshoumaru had a home and servants, what did the servants feel about this human child that suddenly appeared among them? How would they treat her? As I was considering this angle, I remembered reading about a legendary group of wanderers who abducted children and purposely deformed them for the sake of selling them off as curios and freaks. As repugnant as it may be, this practice of deforming children and humans has actually been well-recorded. For instance, rich Roman ladies would assemble troupes of dwarfs or other odd-looking humans much like how we assemble trading cards today. Unfortunately, as demand outstripped supply, some traders had to turn normal human beings into something other than human to meet with the demand.

 

I assumed that being a well-travelled individual, Sesshoumaru may have come across some of these practices. Perhaps some of his servants and henchmen might be privy to some of the knowledge that he brought back from his journeys. They could then rationalise Rin's presence as a curious pet for their master, and Sesshoumaru's behaviour towards her as nothing more than some minor eccentricity he had picked up on his travels.