Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)
That sound you make! Are you a DEMON?!
As the sun set, Kagome and Shippo were being taken towards the base of the mountain, held firmly but gently by a new captor. As he was only a single tree-spirit, the pollen was not as thick as it had been in the large group, but each ground-shaking stride shook more loose from the enormous tree. For several minutes, all that could be heard were the giant’s thunderous footsteps, followed by Kagome’s high-pitched sneezes.
*BOOM*
“Hashoo!”
*BOOM*
“Hahyaht… shoo!"
*BOOM*
“HAAAAshoo-oo!”
A soon as they were sure they’d have no hope of finding their way back, the behemoth stopped. He raised his quarry to eye level to examine them. He seemed larger than the others, and Kagome and Shippo were now uncomfortably high off the ground. Although his nose itched like mad, Shippo was too scared to sneeze. Kagome, on the other hand, was too busy sneezing to be scared.
Shippo finally broke the uncomfortable silence. “Um… m-mister shinrinyahsa? Uh… what do plan to do with us?”
“DOOOO? HMMMM…” It spoke slowly, with a gravelly voice deeper than any human’s, and more booming than any demon’s. “WELLLL…. NOTHING… IF WHAT YOU MEAN IS... WHAT DO I PLAN TO DO… TO YOU…”
“Phew. *sniff* So… your not on their side then?”
“HMMMMM… I’M NOT SURE WHOSE SIDE I AM ON… BECAUSE… I AM NOT SURE… WHO IS ON MY SIDE. BUT WE ARE PLEDGED TO KEEP THE HUMANS SAFE… SO SAFE IS WHERE I SHALL KEEP YOU.”
“Great! In that case… I… haah… HAAAAH… HAHHTCHOOO!”
With the sneeze, Shippo found himself quickly drawn close to the tree-spirit's suspicious eyes. “THAT SOUND YOU MAKE! ARE… YOU… A… DEMON?!” It eyes almost seemed to catch fire when he spoke that word.
“Please! *sniff* I am a demon but *sniff* I’m a friend of the forest! *sniff* And the humans! I used to live in a wood like this one! *sniff* and my friend here is human! Please don’t hurt me! *sniff* I just want to help!” The tiny Shippo was rightly terrified of the giant tree, holding him with an iron grip and a fiery gaze.
“HMMMMM… HA… HAAAH… HAAAAAHHHHHH!” The tree now seemed to smile a little. “YOU… ARE… A… FOX DEMON… NO? I ALWAYS LIKED FOX DEMONS… WHAT… WONDERFUL MISCHIEF THEY WOULD MAKE… I HAVEN’T SEEN A FOX DEMON IN SO LONG… I’D FORGOTTEN WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE!”
“Oh thank you! I was so frightened! But you really seem very nice!” Shippo was still held fast, but he was so high up that he was grateful for the strong support.
“BUT… WHAT OF YOU FRIEND? SHE’S… NOT LIKE ANY DEMON I’VE EVER SEEN…”
“She’s not! *sniff* She a human!” Shippo managed to free an arm, and wipes his nose on his sleeve.
“BUT… SHE MAKES THE SAME SOUND AS YOU…” He now drew Kagome closer, to examine her. Moving deeper into the leaves did not help her condition any. “ARE YOU ILL… LITTLE HUMAN?”
“No… Hah… HAAAHShoo! I’m *sniff* aller… aller… AAAH-shoo! Allergic… to… you! HAAAT-shoo!” But she got the feeling that the tree-spirit did not understand. “I’m *sniff* human but *sniff* I’m seem to be affected the same… as… the… deeAAHSHoo! demons. *sniff* Worse actually.” She rolled her eyes as she said that. “Hey… *sniff* if you guys are pledged to protect the humans, *sniff* then why’d you… ah… AAAHTChooo! …attack the village?”
“BOOO-RA-RUUUM! I HAD NO PART OF THAT! WE ARE A… PEACEFUL RACE! BUT… THAT… DEMON… CAME. WITH THAT… JEWEL!”
“*sniff* Did he…hah… hatSHOO! Did he were a cloak, *sniff* with a baboon’s head?”
The sprit’s eyes opened wide upon hearing this, and his already uncomfortably tight grip grew tighter still. “YESSS! YESSS! DO YOU… KNOW… THIS… DEMON?”
“Yes. And now I know we’re on the same side too! *sniff* We’re fighting that same demon! His name… is… NarAAACHOOO!”
“NARA-CHOO YOU SAY?”
Shippo couldn’t help but laugh. “No silly! She sneezed again! His name is NARAKU!”
The tree-spirit's eyes narrow in anger as he repeated the name. “NA… RA… KU!”
Kagome still had some questions. “But *sniff* even with the jewel… hang on… hah… HAAAHHTChoo! *sniff* why did the spirits attack? Was it over the sacred tree that was cut down?” As soon as she said it, she’d hoped that he actually knew about it! She couldn’t imagine how angry he’d be if that was enough to justify the attack. Fortunately he reacted as if he not only knew, but was ashamed at how the sprits reacted. His “trunk” almost seemed to slump (or wilt.)
“HOOOOOMMMM… YES… IT WAS A SHAME… BUT... LOSING ONE LIFE… DOES NOT MEAN… YOU TAKE ANOTHER! THE HUMAN’S SHOULD HAVE PLANTED… 100 NEW SAPLINGS TO ATONE… BUT… THEY WERE NEVER GIVEN… THE CHANCE!”
“*sniff* What happened?” Shippo looked as if he was a child hearing a bedtime story.
“THE… JEWEL… IT MADE THE ANCIENT ONE… ANGRY… IT FILLED HIM WITH… RAGE. HIS POLLEN SPREAD… AND MADE THE OTHERS… CONFUSED… AND SOON… THEY FELT AS ANGRY… AND VENGEFUL… AS THE ANCIENT ONE… BUT… THIS IS NOT OUR WAY…” The tree’s voice started to sound sad.
“But how did… oh man… hang on… hah… HAAAHTCHOO!” Kagome rubbed her nose vigorously with her index finger in an attempt to stave off more sneezing. “How did Naraku get so far into the forest? *sniff* Didn’t your pollen bother him too?”
“IF IT DID… I DO NOT KNOW… HE DIDN’T SHOW ANY SIGNS… OF DISTRESS. THAT’S WHY THE ANCIENT ONE… AGREED TO MEET WITH HIM.”
“So… *sniff* he was tricked?”
“YES… HE IS NO LONGER HIMSELF. HE NEVER WOULD HAVE APPROVED… OF ATTACKING… THE VILLAGE.” Although still more booming than any human or demon they’d come across, the tree-spirit’s voice began to grow quieter. His sadness now seemed mingled with shame. A drop of sap below one eye had the look of a tear. Shippo bent and hugged the limb that held him.
“It’s OK. You, me and Kagome will find a way to fix this.”
“Wait… *sniff* Will… *sniff* Will the other’s attack again?”
The sprint seemed to grow taller as it stood up strait once again. Its eyes took on a distant look. “THEY ARE… ALREADY ON THE MOVE…”
“*sniff* Then we… hah… HAT-choo! We must go… hah… b-back! Hat-SHOO!”
“WHY…? WE CANNOT STOP THEM… THE VILLAGERS… MUST WEATHER THIS ATTACK… AT LEAST UNTIL… WE CAN GET MORE… HELP…”
“No! *sniff* You don’t… *sniff* oh man!... ah-AH-tchoo! Understand! HATCHOO! InuYasha and the others will be ready for them this time! *sniff* InuYasha’s really strong and… HAHT-choo! His sword could destroy everyone in one strike if… he… gets… thechanceAAH-CHOO! Quickly! We’ve got to head them off at… the… vil-lage.. HAAAHtchoo! Hurry! Please!”
Although he did not fully understand, the spirit started moving quickly back toward the village. He cradled Kagome and Shippo and advised them to rest while they could as it would be about a hour’s march. Although she still sneezed with nearly every bounding step, Kagome did manage to get a little rest as they made their way back to the village.
