InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Allies: Chosen, The Tosusaiga's True Master ❯ The Snow Owl ( Chapter 3 )

{Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, blah blah blah yakidy smackidy.}

SF: {::watching as the rest of the Inu-cast comes on stage::} When did you guys get back?

Inuyasha: Just a few minutes ago, why?

Kagome: Because she's about to say something. Go ahead, SF.

SF: Thank you. Before I go on, I really must explain the fable Miroku is talking about. It's important to the story.

Inuyasha: I can't believe you actually took the time to make up a fable! Do you not have a life?

{SF starts to cry. Kagome, Sango, and Sesshou hug SF.}

Sango: I think it's great that she wrote one!

Kagome: Yeah, she doesn't want people to be in the dark, you jerk!

Sesshou: {::patting SF's head::} Do not cry, SF. The hanyou is naturally stupid, therefore he cannot help himself.

SF: {::sniff::} Thanks you guys. N-E-Ways, here's the fable.

Narasa, The Snow Owl

Once upon a time in ancient Japan, there lived a flock of unusual birds. Their eyes were the palest shade of blue, almost icy and transparent in nature, and their feathers were snow white. So beautiful and angelic were they, the people of the land called them snow owls. The snow owls lived in the dense forests of Japan surrounding the villages.

In one generation of owls, there was a small fledging named Narasa. Narasa was the smallest of his flock, the last to open his eyes, and the last to fly. The other fledglings ignored him for the first few months of his life but as Narasa grew, so did their jealousy. Narasa quickly grew to become the most beautiful of the flock, with feathers of the purest white that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. His eyes were a paler blue than the other owls too.

The other fledglings went from ignoring him to teasing him, and they were merciless in their torture. They robbed him of his food, they pushed him out of the nest, and did everything possible to make Narasa's life miserable.

Narasa finally left the flock, searching for some sort of happiness on his own. He flew all over Japan, observing everything around him. His attentions fell from the animals and youkai around him to the humans. He marveled at them, wondering how such a strange species managed to survive. Some were a complex of emotions, some were good to a fault, and others were so evil their very auras choked Narasa on sight.

But the ones that held Narasa's attention were the weak and helpless ones. He paid particular attention to the children and the crippled. They way they strived valiantly along, even though they were dependant upon others around them, made Narasa admire and respect them. They became a part of Narasa's heart, for he felt as if he were a kindred spirit with these creatures.

As Narasa flew over a volcano on the very northern tip of Japan, a bright flash caught his gaze. His sharp, pale eyes glanced down and froze on the sight below him. A group of villagers were 'disposing' of the crippled and sick of their village by pushing them into the mouth of a black volcano. There was one left out of the many they brought with them; a woman, beautiful but crippled in her right leg. One of the young men of the village picked her up and tossed her into the volcano.

Narasa reacted without thinking, diving into the volcano behind her. The villagers watched in awe as a small owl lifted the woman with impossible strength over the opposite side to safety. In his rush to save her, he was fatally injured. His strength slowly leaked away from him as he set the woman down gently in a field of lilies. Narasa crumpled to the ground beside her, struggling to breathe.

"Why did you save me, little one?" the woman asked, her voice like bells in Narasa's fleeting hearing.

Narasa sighed. "You do not deserve to die because you are weak."

"Why do you care?"

"Because no one else does."

The woman tipped her head to the side, her dark hair cascading over her shoulder. "Now that you know your selflessness will cost you your life, would you do it again?"

With his last breath, Narasa whispered, "I would."

Narasa shuddered and died.

Just as his soul was retreating from his body to Nirvana, the woman started to glow. She changed before Narasa, from a crippled peasant to one of the three Fates. She touched Narasa's chest, and it instantly rose and fell with his breathing. She stood over him, smiling.

"Little Narasa, you will not die today. Your love for the helpless has changed your heart, and now I will change your body. From now own you will look like a human, with the life of a youkai. I will give you the power to protect those that need it be they youkai or human."

As she spoke, Narasa's body changed from the small owl to a human man. The feathers on his head turned to silver-white hair, while the others molted away to pale, porcelain-like skin. His eyes remained the same icy blue. The Fate smiled again, her hands stretched out to him. In them was a white gi and leather boots. When Narasa finished dressing, he bowed low before her.

"You are kinder than what I deserve," he said reverently. "In repayment for such a gift, myself and any children I sire will protect those that are weaker than ourselves."

The Fate nodded. "Then any child who chooses your path will be reborn in a burst of light, just as you are now."

The Fate smiled and disappeared.

Years later, in a nearby village, a scream split the morning air. A woman ran out of her home, her fear and anxiety marring her pretty features. The others in the village wake and scurried toward the woman.

"What is it?" one man asked. The woman dropped to her knees and sobbed.

"My child. She's missing."

The rest of the morning was spent searching the nearby forest for the child. Narasa watched them intently, his cerulean eyes glittering in the darkness of his tree. The child was only five human years old, yet they allowed her to wander the woods unattended. Narasa himself nearly killed the child unawares, but the girl's innocent eyes and sweet smile won her a place in his heart. Since then, Narasa stayed close to her. He left the villagers to their futile search, his nose leading him toward the little girl.

A shriek pierced the forest, followed by a growl. Another shriek and all was quiet once again. The mother of the missing girl froze in place, the blood draining from her face.

She called for the child once…

Silence.

Twice…

Nothing.

The mother collapsed against another villager, weeping for her lost child. Suddenly, the body of a lion youkai landed in front of her. She shrieked, frightened, but stopped in wide-eyed wonder. Behind the body of the dead youkai stood the little girl they were looking for. She smiled and waved to her mother. Her mother swept her into her arms in a fit of tears as the other villagers surrounded them. The village miko removed the child from her mother's hands and inspected her for injuries.

There were none.

The only thing out of place about the child was the large amount of feathers in her clothes and hair.

"What happened to you child?" the miko asked, removing one feather for closer inspection. It was a pure white, nearly the same height as the child. They were like the feathers of the snow owl. The child giggled.

"A mean old kitty grabbed me and tried to eat me. Narasa saved me and brought me back. He's so nice."

"Narasa?"

The girl nodded. "Narasa is a very nice man. So pretty. His hair is whiter than snow. He protected me and brought the kitty with us. He's sorry he had to kill it in front of me, and left it as a gift."

The villagers stared at the nearby trees in wonder, then in awe as a streak of white settled in a nearby tree. The little girl waved at it and it disappeared. The men of the village nodded their heads in respect and dragged the body of the youkai away to be cleaned. The bones would make effective weapons for the youkai exterminators in the village. The little girl's mother grasped her hand and lead her away from the miko toward their home.

"Come Midoriko. Your breakfast is ready."

Since that day, anyone too defenseless to help themselves were said to be under the watchful eyes of Narasa, the Immortal. Anyone who entered the forests alone asked the Immortal to protect them from the various wild youkai that roamed it, and anyone found with feathers attached to their clothes were said to have been protected from harm by the Immortal.

Every spring in the field of lilies beside the volcano, feathers would appear out of nowhere, floating on the breeze as a symbol of the Immortal's birth. Soon, Narasa's name was forgotten and as his descendants multiplied in number, they became the race of Immortals, beings that looked like humans, had the powers of gods, and lived like youkai.

The morale of the story is: Sometimes, a selfless sacrifice is all it takes to make you more than you ever thought possible.

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SF: There, is everyone with me on how important that was? {Inu cast nods.} Good. The preview to chapter three is below.

Chapter Three: Where is Rin?!

'If it were not for Inuyasha's incompetence, I would have been here for Rin.'

Sesshoumaru turned around as calmly as possible, his youki swirling around him in clouds of red and gold. He glared at Inuyasha, who stopped in his tracks a few inches from Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru walked to him calmly, resting his hand on Inuyasha's shoulders.

"Sesshoumaru…are you o. k.?" Inuyasha asked nervously.