Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Home is Where the Heart is Hidden ❯ Hidden Away ( Chapter 1 )

Niara: (walks in singing) Black socks, black socks, they never get dirty, the longer you where them, the blacker they get. Some day I'll probably wash them, but something inside me keeps saying “Not yet!”

 

Several random anime characters: (look at Niara strangely)

 

Kurama: Niara? Are you all right?

 

Niara: Huh? (Sees readers staring at her in annoyance) OH! Whoops, sorry. Welcome to the latest dish of insanity that my mind has dished out! Sorry about the song, I'm a little hyper at the current second.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or YuYuHakusho. They belong to their respective creators. I only claim my plot and any OCs that appear. Including myself.

 

 

 

Home is Where the Heart is Hidden

 

Prologue: Hidden Away

 

 

 

The fire burned as bright as the sun as the cloaked figure ran, the cloth-wrapped bundle in its arms clutched to the wide chest. Long legs ate the distance to the isolated villages in the mountains with blinding speed, gray eyes flashing red every time the man glanced over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. A quiet oath passed from between his lips every time he spotted the black figure that flew in and out of the flames in an odd dance, searching, ever searching.

 

The man kept running, his grip on the precious bundle in his arms never weakening. The gates of one of the tiny mountain towns, little villages tucked between the bases of the tall, ancient mountains that ran along the northern border of the lands, was a tiny speck in his line of sight, only a few minutes ahead. He didn't dare turn his gaze away once, not wanting the spark of hope inside of him to be dashed by the image of the blazing city he had fled.

 

He could make out the outlines of the night guards, the blades of their halberds glittering in the red and orange light that had reached even out here, almost three miles from the once great city. The shouts when one of the men spotted him were enough to imbue him with the strength to keep running, to ignore the slight burning in his lungs. One of the men, a rider, came out to meet him, a lit torch in hand.

 

A gasp left the guard's lips as he saw the man's face, recognition in his dark eyes. “Master Sasaki!” He was off his horse in an instant to help stabilize the cloaked man as he stumbled to a stop, his knees nearly giving out. “Master Sasaki, what has happened? Why are you here? What has become of the Lord and his family?”

 

Another horseman was riding out to them, the first guard's shout clearly alerting the others to the man's identity. Sasaki leaned against the young warrior, wheezing as he tried to draw air into his deprived lungs, as the second, a much older man, dismounted, guiding a third horse even as he hurried to the master's side. “Sasaki, why have you come here? Where is Han?”

 

“He's dead.” Sasaki's normally deep, gravely voice was strained and broken, almost a feeble shadow of what it had been. “Kun-Loon and Souta as well.”

 

“And Kun-Loon's baby? The daughter, Kagome?” The older warrior, a captain, met Sasaki's weary gaze, surprised when he saw the crimson flames dancing in the demon's eyes. A slight movement drew all of their attention to the bundle in Sasaki's arms, as the new born baby wiggled in the mighty demon's grasp. The captain drew a sharp breath, his eyes locked onto that tiny baby. “We must get the both of you into the safety of the village immediately. Khan, ride back and inform the healer that we will need Lady Yuki's services very shortly.”

 

“Yes, sir!” Khan said before vaulting back onto his horse and bolting towards the village to deliver his message. The captain made sure the young man was out of sight before turning back to Sasaki, his eyes growing cold.

 

“How long?” Sasaki glanced back at the burning city, his expression locked into a look that the old captain knew all too well. He sighed and gestured for the master to get on the horse even as he mounted his. “Rain is one of my fastest horses, Sasaki. Take him when you have recovered your strength and what you need to escape this place. The villages in the Eastern Lands are riddled with thieves and bandits and the like who have fled from the other territories to seek protection. I suggest that you head in that direction. The Inarius Clan is a fair one. They will not allow the child to be take without knowing exactly who she is.”

 

Sasaki nodded as he mounted his horse and turned his gaze back towards the small town. “I won't impose long. She needs to be fed and in that time, I should have everything I will need to make it to the East in time to avoid the sealing of the borders. Thank you for your help, Yukimora. I will never forget this.”

 

The human merely waved his hand in dismissal as they spurred the horses into action and raced into the temporary safety of the town. “Don't worry about it. So long as my daughter doesn't suffer too much from what is sure to come and she is kept safe, I don't care about any debt to me.” He glanced at the fidgeting child and then at Sasaki. “But I'm afraid the only woman in village who can still nurture a child that still relies on the food of the mother is a demoness.”

 

“So long as she is happy, I care not.” They rode into the town with a thunder of hooves, jerking the mounts to a halt in front of the healer's hut where a demoness with dark blue hair and eyes the color of bloody snow stood waiting. Sasaki gave her the child and Lady Yuki slipped into the hut, her hands already lowering the shoulder of her loose kimono enough so that she could feed the hungry baby. The healer handed Sasaki a packet of herbs and a few jars of salves, whispering a small blessing upon him as she did so.

 

An hour later, Yuki emerged with the now sleeping babe and returned her to Sasaki. He bowed to the demoness, conveying as much of a thanks as he could, before he remounted Rain and kicked the stallion's ribs hard, surging out of the village as suddenly as he had appeared, taking with him the only hope for their know unsteady future.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Sasaki rode hard for three days until he came to a large village nestled in the airy hills of the Eastern Lands. His arrival was quiet, made in the dead of night. He presented himself before the chief of the village, asking to be allowed to stay. With the blessing of the chief and the aid of the local healer, Sasaki quickly integrated himself into the village, becoming another member, another hut in a sea of huts.

 

And he waited and watched the little babe grow up. And he waited for the day when she was ready to face her destiny and claim what was, by all right, hers.

 

 

 

Niara: Like it? Hate it? Please let me know so that I might continue, and finish, this one. The bug for just kind of bit, so I don't really know when it will stop. Please, please, please review. Ja ne!