Sir Jacob's First Quest

Sir Jacob's First Questan original fairytale by Niceguy.
Part 1 of ?



Once upon a time there lived in a peaceful village a brave and courteous young lad named Jacob. When Jacob had come of age, he was granted a knighthood. But even three full months after receiving his knighthood, the brave young knight had still not been granted a single quest. It was a time of peace in the kingdom and thus there was nary a battle to be fought. There were some truly grand quests, but those were all granted to knights of renown - men who were knighted back when the honor still meant something. Nowadays, the younger knights cold only hone their skills in tournaments, but that was not for him. He found them to be a waste of time; a place for posers to show off, and nothing more. About halfway through another night of drowning his boredom in tankards of mead at the knight’s tavern, he saw something that made him question his senses. Or… at least wonder how much he’d drank.

A large reptile, too large for a chameleon and too small for an iguana slowly sauntered in though the tavern door. It was such a strange sight that he was surprised that no one else seemed to notice it - which made him question his senses even more. (Not to mention re-count his tankards.) The lizard slowly crawled across the room, seating himself right next to the young knight. Sir Jacob notice a small scroll of parchment tied to a makeshift collar around the strange creature’s neck. Despite the incredibly odd manner of the message’s delivery, the young knight could feel the touch of destiny as he reached for the scroll. He slowly unrolled it and read:

Brave Sir Knight,

I beseech thee. For I am cursed
by an evil wizard and have been locked away
in a tower, guarded by great monsters.
The tower lies only a few days trek into the dark forest.
I bid thee, please rescue me.

Yours, patiently waiting,
Princess Romana

PS.: Please excuse my choice of messengers.
I’m rather not fond of songbirds or pigeons. (Feathers.)

He brought the note close to his face and inhaled, expecting to find the scent of a maiden’s perfume. To his surprise there was none. Even so, he realized what this meant.

“Well, in spite of that last line… a bit odd that… This is definitely a quest, and I shall undertake it!” But at that moment, the mead seemed to go to his head all at once, and after making his bold and public declaration, he collapsed onto the table, much to the entertainment of the other bored and drunken knights in the tavern.

“…first thing tomorrow.” He said before passing out.

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When he awoke, he had only a hazy memory of what had transpired the night previous. He no longer possessed the note, and the strange lizard seemed to have gone s well. All he could remember was that a princess needed rescuing and that she was in a tower deep in the dark forest. That wasn’t much to go on, but he vowed to undertake the quest all the same. Pulling himself off of the table, and out of a puddle of – he didn’t want to know – he left the tavern and went into town to freshen up and get supplies.

After a much needed bath, he donned his armor (which having never been used, did not need for polishing), sheathed his sword (which also having never been used, did not need for sharpening), tethered his shield to his back and alit his helm. As it also had never been used, it did not need for polishing, but it did lack for flourish.

“This will not do! She will see that my helm is without flourish and know that I am not a knight of renown!” And, having forgotten the odd line at the end of the princess’s note, he went into town, purchased several long and colourful feathers and placed them atop his helm.

“I shall also need to bring favours,” he declared to himself, “For such a fine lady will want for more than mere rescue.” Figuring he should bear three gifts, not including the rescuing, he went from shop to shop but could only find two: A silk handkerchief and a slender bottle of perfume. He thought that flowers made also make a fine gift, but not knowing how long he would be riding feared that they would wilt. “I shall gather some wild blooms, once I approach the tower. The lady will surely know that I am a fine and chivalrous knight upon receiving my fine gifts and her rescue.”

And with that, Sir Jacob was off; driving his horse over hill and dale and to the edge of the dark forest. Although he would have many smaller adventures there within, none are important to this narrative save that he eventually reached an old, rickety bridge spanning a large chasm, across which lay what appeared to be a wizard’s dark tower. Although he could not know for sure, he again felt the touch of destiny, and knew that his princess lay trapped inside. Nearby he found a large stable, half filled with black horses. Knowing he could not bring his any further, he placed him in one of the stalls, marking the place in his mind so that he could later find his steed. Now on foot, he started across the dilapidated bridge.

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He slowly crept along the old, creaky rope bridge. Its boards were just a few feet wide, and several sagged under his weight. When he was but halfway across he heard a deep, gravelly voice call from behind him.



“I am here to free the fair maiden within yonder tower. And you are on the wrong side of the bridge to delay my journey!”

“Didn’t notice me, did you, little boy?” Another deep, gravelly voice called out again from behind him. Now he was trapped in the middle of this crumbling bridge between two enormous trolls. He drew his sword, even as he cursed his predicament. The trolls slowly closed in on him. The wood planks and ropes that made up the bridge creaked and strained under their combined weight. The chasm had to be a hundred feet deep, and he had no idea if he could hold on, should he cut the ropes. (Or if the old wood would hold him, even should he find the strength himself.) As the Trolls drew within striking distance, all three were suddenly distracted by an incredibly loud and high pitched sound that echoed through the forest.

“SHOOOOOOOO!” The scream-like note even seemed to startle a nearby flock of birds into flights.

The sound also caused the trolls to look up and, seizing the moment, Sir Jacob ducked under one and ran to the tower’s side of the bridge, slashing the ropes as he crossed the last plank. Whether it was the age of the ropes, or the untouched condition of his blade, it took only a single swipe to send the bridge and the Trolls falling into the chasm.

“Not bad.” He said to himself. “With the first swing of my blade as a knight I managed to slay two trolls. Of course, now I’m not sure how we are to get back across the chasm, but that shall wait. Let us see what other perils lay betwixt myself and the fair maiden.”

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Sir Jacob quickly closed the distance between the bridge and the tower and approached what appeared to be the main gate and quietly as his armor would let him. Seated in front of the gate, reclined and asleep against the wall was another enormous hulk of a man… like… creature. Sir Jacob estimated that it would be about eight feet tall standing up, and did not appear to be another Troll. From its crude wrappings and foul stench he assumed that it was an Ogre. He could see the keys to the gate hitched on its belt. Although not as fearsome as the Trolls, its weapon looked more like a tree than a club, and the young knight felt that, this time, discretion would be the better part of valor. He had just about slipped the key ring of the Ogre Belt when that same loud, high pitched sound echoed through the wood.

“SHOOOOOOOO!”

Sir Jacob’s blood froze, but the Ogre did not wake. He merely shifted his weight a little, snored a bit and went back into his deep slumber. Keys in hand, Sir Jacob opened the gate.

Going in, he found himself on a landing. A spiral staircase led both up and down. Figuring his quarry to be at the highest point in the tower he started up. He guessed that the Wizard and any other of his foul minions he had would likely have lairs below. After a grueling climb, he found himself on another landing, near what he figured was the top of the tower. He saw before an oaken door, reinforced with iron, closed with a lock, gilded in silver. Looking at the key ring, he found a small, silver key.

Slowly and quietly he turned the silver key in the silver lock. The hinge went slack and he opened the door. As he gazed inside he was struck by the beauty of the maiden he saw, back lit by the afternoon sun as she sat by the window. Her features were among the most delicate and beautiful that he had ever seen. Her eyes were those of an elf; a deep green, as if they could shame the most lush and fertile forest. She had the countenance of the purest faerie, with high, soft looking cheeks and a small slender nose that curved upward like a drawn bow, ending in the tiniest point. Although she seemed surprised to see him, her slender lips drew into a broad smile, revealing teeth so perfect that only a fairy-tale princess could possess them. She rose and started towards him. He fell to one knee and bowed his head taking her hand in his.

“Oh fair lady; I have traveled over hill and dale, though darkness and peril to bring thee to thy freedom. Come, alight with me and we shall be gone from this place. Wilt thou come with me?”

He remained kneeling as he awaited her reply but she said nothing. Then it seemed as though she would have withdrawn her hand, had he not held it so tightly. Surprised and even a little ashamed by this turn of events, he ventured a glance upward without raising his head. As he did, all became apparent.

When he knelt, he did not remove his helm. The very ends of the large plumes which sat atop his helm had just reached the tip of her delicate nose. She would have taken only a single step back, but could not as he held her hand fast. She had not replied because her breath had hitched almost immediately and she waved her free gently in front of her face as if in a effort to ward of n impending sneeze. By the time Sir Jacob had taken this all in, here eyes were already closing.

“ha… haah… haAAAH-SHOOOOOOOOO!”

In his shock, he released her hand. He could not believe that so thunderous a sound had emanated from so delicate a girl.

“P-please, b-brave sir knight. I b-bid th-thee… R-Remove you h-helm… p-please…”

He stepped back before bowing in apology. “I am sorry madam, for you no doubt wish to see the face of your rescuer.” He was, however, somewhat careless as he removed his helm and the feathers brushed across her nose once again.

“N-no… th-the f-feather… m-make… m-me… snee… hah… snee… haaaah… haAAAH-SHOOOOOOOOO! *sniff* sneeze.”

Immediately Sir Jacob stepped back several feet, and placed his helm as the far side of the room. “A thousand pardons I beg thee, my lady. Please, as a token of my sincerest apologies, please accept the wild blooms. I gathered them from the garden outside the tower before I came in.” Dropping again to one knee he raised the bouquet to a level where she would be certain to catch it enchanting scent. Again bowing his head he could not see the fear that now filled her eyes.

“W-wait… n-no… all those… in the garden… m-make m-me… snee… hah… snee… haaaah… haAAAH-SHOOOOOOOOO! *sniff* sneeze as well! *sniff* Please I bid thee… *sniff* away with them!” She held one hand to her nose as she tried to push them away with the other.

He quickly tossed the flowers out onto the landing. So far this rescue was not going as he had foreseen it. Additionally he was getting concerned that this delicate maiden’s window rattling sneezes would soon attract unwanted attention. All the same he was starting to find the whole situation strangely arousing. Although he felt it slightly cruel, he could not believe how unbelievably beautiful this fair maiden was, particularly when she sneezed. He sensed that she did not care for it herself, as she seemed to have fought mightily to prevent it, but in those brief moments she only seemed even more precious to him. Inside his armor, his codpiece began to grow ever more uncomfortable. Against his better judgment, he presented her with the second gift.

“*sniff* Oh my, what is this?” she asked sweetly.

“It is a lovely scent for you my lady.” And with that he removed the stopper and held it high so that she could smell it.

“Wh-what?… N-no… P-Please… I’m… going… to… snee… hah… sneeze… haaah… again… haaaaah… haAAAH-SHOOOOOOOOO! What *sniff* what are you doing brave sir Knight?! haaaaah… haAAAH-SHOOOOOOOOO! Why *sniff*… why did you come here?! *sniff* and wh-what is w-with th-these gi… gi… hah… haAAAH-SHOOOOOOOOO! GIFTS? Were you sent to rescue or to torment me?!”

Now holding the small bottle as far from the princess as he could, Sir Jacob fell back to one knee and apologizing again, held aloft the silk handkerchief. Since his head was down he could not see the tears welling up in the princess’s eyes. (But were they of joy? Or just allergies?)

“Oh brave Sir Knight!” She cried with glee, as she snatched the silken handkerchief from his hand, brought it to her nose, and gave it a mighty blow.

“PLLLLLLLPPPPBT!”

“Fair Lady…”

“PLLLBLPLBLPLPPPPBT!”

“I must again apolo…”

“PLLLLBLLPLLBLLPLLPPPPBBTT!”

“um… it can wait.”

Sir Jacob could now barely suppress his smile as the princess continued to blow heartily, nigh ruining the fine material, but apparently grateful for at least the one gift that did not cause her discomfort. When he looked up, the maiden was blushing. “I’m… I’m sorry brave Sir Knight. I’m sure that hardly behavior befitting a young lady. I do thank you for the lovely handkerchief though. Come sit by my bedside. You must be thirsty. Have some water, and rest a bit before we go.”

“Dear lady, I thank thee. And I do hope you accept my apologies. It was only my intention to bring for thee rescue, not torment.” He drank deeply from the flagon that she handed him.

“Your apology is accepted, brave Sir Knight. It is as much my own fault. I should have been more specific in my letter, but I feared that too much information might scare off a potential rescuer, or give the impression that I am some how sickly. I could not bear the thought of that.”

“Um… My lady… is it wise that we dawdle here? Surely the guards will have heard your snee… I mean our conversation by now?”

“You needn’t worry, brave Sir Knight. I am mostly left alone up here. I am given food and drink, and water for a bath. But aside from that, I never receive company.”

“But… your…” Sir Jacob was almost red in the face to say it. “…sneezing.” He managed in a whisper.

With that the princess let out a pleasant, almost musical laugh. “Oh that? You needn’t worry yourself about that either, brave Sir Knight. The guards are quite used to that by now.”

“How do you mean, my lady?”

“Well, this tends to happened a lot in the spring, when the trees and flowers are all in bloom…”

“I see…”

“And in the summer, when the weeds sprout…”

“Oh dear…”

“And in the autumn, when the leave fall and the hay is made…”

“My dear lady! Are you relieved then only in Winter?”

“Well I would do, except that I have rather a tendency to catch cold as well.”

“Oh my…”

“Plus I cannot abide a dusty old castle. Oh yes… Nor cats, nor dogs, nor horses, nor…”

“I say. That wizard seems to have placed quite a curse on you hasn’t he?”

At first, the princess merely stared at the knight, as if struck by a non sequitor, but then erupted in the same lilting, musical laughter as before. “You think my condition is the result of a curse?” Her smile was even wider than before, but the knight still felt that he had been overly presumptuous and out of turn.

“Forgive me my lady… I…”

“Oh no…” she interrupted, still laughing. “Not at all, brave Sir Knight. No. No. No. The curse I spoke of is an entirely… different nature.”

“And that would be…”

“A private nature.” The smile suddenly left her.

“I am sorry. Again I have spoken out of turn. I bid thee forgive me, my lady.”

“Oh it is no worry, brave Sir Knight. We have only just met, so it is natural that you should have questions. But as I say, my health is not the condition of any curse. I have been this way since I was a little girl.” The smile returned, appearing somewhat mischievous. “You should have seen how quickly I could clear a room, back when the fear of plague still gripped the land…” At that thought, they both laughed and Sir Jacob felt more at ease.

“Well, milady… Perhaps it is time that we leave this place?”

“I am yours for the rescuing, brave Sir Knight. I hope you will not take it a miss if, of your fine gifts, I take only the handkerchief, forsaking the others?”

A broad smile on his face, Sir Jacob answered, “My lady, I will not.”

And with that they started down the stairs...
to be continued?

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 10 (InuYasha)

PART TEN - An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Shippo… No!

‘A few handkerchiefs’ ended up being several scraps of cloth discarded by the village seamstresses; but Kagome was grateful to be able to wipe her nose with something other than her shirt, and blow it more discreetly that by putting a finger on one nostril and exhaling hard out of the other. While InuYasha and Shippo insisted the handkerchiefs weren’t necessary, once they tried them, they had to admit they helped. Most of the trip was otherwise uneventful. The old man told them stories of his adventures as a young monk by firelight, saving the more lecherous episodes for Miroku, after the others had fallen asleep.

After a three day hike, the party stood atop a tree lined precipice overlooking a low clearing. Tree spirits circled the clearing and stood almost still – looking like tall trees blowing in the wind. In the center was what looked like an ancient Banyan tree. If the other tree-sprits resembled giant people, the one in the center resembled a humongous spider or octopus – his many limbs and sprawling trunks took root in dozens of places around the clearing.

“That’s the ancient one!” The Elder whispered in Kagome’s ear, but as she looked at the sprawling banyan, she didn’t need to be told. She could sense the sacred jewel, even at her current distance. She was also confident she could make the shot from here.

She drew an arrow and blew her nose one last time, just to be safe. Notching the arrow she slowly stood up. She was no longer camouflaged by the wood, but none of the tree-sprits seemed to notice. Her nose still itched, but a quick sniff was enough to ward off any sneezes for a few more seconds. She drew her bow and took aim.

“hah…”

“Shippo! Shh!” Miroku cautioned.

“HAAAH….” Shippo’s eyes narrowed as he brought a finger under his nose.

“Shippo! No!” Sango whispered.

“HAAAH-AAAAAHTCHOOOO! *sniff* Sorry!” The little fox demon rubbed his nose with his finger as he apologized.

Shippo’s sneeze drew the attention of the sprits, but Kagome was ready and loosed her arrow just as they turned around. Halfway to the target it erupted in purple light. The arrow plunged into the tangle of limbs that made up the ancient tree and found its mark deep with the writhing mass. With a flash of light, the Jewel Shard was ejected. The change in the Ancient one was immediate. What once roiled with anger now stood calmly, looking like it was at peace. They scampered down the embankment to retrieve the Jewel Shard. The trees surrounding the clearing merely looked on.

Kagome picked up the shard, but noticed something was different. She could detect no trace of the anger that had tainted the shard. It felt purified, as if it had been cleansed in a way that she thought only herself or Kikiyo could have done. She felt a rush of sadness as she realized that it was the life force of the Ancient One that had purified the Shard. As she held this piece of life force in her hands, she felt an immediate connection and a thorough understanding of the immense love and wisdom possessed by the ancient spirit. But when she turned to face him, her fears were realized - the Ancient One was dying.

“No! *sniff* No! No! No!” She ran into a jumble of limbs and branches that seemed to embrace her as she lost herself in them.

She heard a voice that was almost as quiet as the wind. “thhhaaaank yoooouuuu chiiiiild…”

Tears started to fall from her eyes “I’m so sorry! Please… *sniff* don’t die.” To her hands it felt as if the tree was actually growing cold.”

She felt something like a hand on her shoulder. She looked back, and up, and saw the tree-spirit that had helped them before. He seemed to smile at her. His voice was still deep and rumbling, but gentle now and lower in volume out of respect for the Ancient One. “This… was the only way… Do not weep child… You have done… a great thing today.”

Again the voice like the wind spoke. "shhhwshshhhhesssshhh," they assumed that was the name of the sprit who'd helped them, "yooooouuuuu… kneeeew… yooooouuuu alooooone saaawww the eeeevil in the traveler clooooaaaked in whiiiiite… yooouuuu aaare wiiiiiise… guiiiide myyyy childrennnn and… accept the stewardship of the sssssacred foressssst... that I passsss tooooo…. yoooouuuu…"

With that final decree the last bit of life left the ancient tree. Kagome broke down, sobbing openly as she felt the limbs grow stiff and brittle around her. She felt a breeze in her hair as the last bit of life escaped. While just a moment ago she felt surrounded by love and warmth, now, sitting within the dead tree, she had never felt so profoundly alone and empty. The other tree spirits bowed in final respect and began to withdraw into the forest.

InuYasha, unfamiliar with the ways of the sprits, perceived their actions as callous. “*sniff* Aren’t you even going to bury him… or something?”

The sprit that had carried Kagome turned to him to explain. “No… He must remain here…”

“*sniff* So you’re just going to let him rot?”

“Yes.” InuYasha was surprised that it was Kagome who answered. “He will go into the ground here… and… another scared tree will grow in this spot… won’t it?” She looked up at the tree-spirit.

“Yes child… Every sacred tree marks a place where an ancient spirit passed on... A tree will grow here that will house the Kodama… And they in turn will bring more life to the trees in the forest…. We will… shepherd that life until the trees’ voices grow quiet… or our own do... We must leave this place… It is sacred now… you should not return here…”

Kagome shed a final tear for the fallen spirit, but as she joined the Shard to the others she carried she felt comforted knowing that a small part of that spirit would always be with her. The journey back to the village was made faster by the tree-spirit’s offer to transport them. While this shortened a three day journey to only one, for InuYasha, Kagome and Shippo, who could not stop sneezing for even a few minutes, it may as well have been a year. By the time they were back the village elder had re-affirmed both of their commitments to the former treaty, and the spirit even forgave the village of their obligation to plant 100 saplings in payment for felling a sacred tree. (Though the Elder still planned to do that anyway.) At the outskirts of the village, the travelers said their good-byes to tree spirit and waved as it went back into the forest.


[EPILOGUE]

After getting a full night’s rest for the first time in days, the six travelers departed the next morning, fully stocked for the journey ahead. Without another jewel shard to follow northward, they trekked back the way they came. This came as a relief to InuYasha, Shippo and even Kirara, who probably could not have endured an extended trip through the forest. And while Kagome was sad that she would probably never see the tree-spirit again she had to admit, with a chuckle as she wiped here nose with a long since saturated scrap of cloth, that there was at least one part of her that couldn’t get away fast enough.

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 9 (InuYasha)

PART NINE - An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Like what happened to you when I got captured in the first place?

Following the battle that almost was, InuYasha and Kagome argued for some time. It took a great effort to convince InuYasha that the tree-sprits were peaceful by nature, and while he never fully ceded the point, he was intrigued when Kagome mentioned the Sacred Jewel shard. The five travelers met with the Captain and the Elder back at the temple to discuss their next move.

“*sniff* We need to get close enough to the spirit known as the Ancient One. Then I… can… gotta sneeze… ha… HAAATCHoo! *sniff* Then I can use my sacred arrow to remove the shard. *sniff* after that, he should return to normal!”

“*sniff* Assuming you don’t sneeze and miss the mark.” InuYasha teased under his breath.

“Like what happened to you when I got captured in the first place?” Kagome said, feigning sweetness in her tone.

“Yeah… well…” InuYasha took the hint and went back to sheepishly studying some spot on the floor.
At this point Miroku had a question for the Elder. “Do you have anyone who can lead us into their territory? How will we find them?” The look on the Captain's face said that he didn’t know the way, and wouldn’t go within ten miles of the place if he did, having seen how many there actually were.

“Hmmmm… I’ll take you,” the Elder sighed. “I went there quite frequently in my youth. I was there with my Grandfather when he made the Treaty of the Trees with the Ancient One. It has been many years, but I know the paths well. It will be about three days march. Captain?” The Captain snapped to attention. “You’ll need to make preparations for more attacks. Keep trying to drive them back with the fire, and don’t harm any that you don’t absolutely have to. I’m leaving you in charge here.”

“Elder….?” The Captain was both moved by the trust being placed in him, and concerned for the old man’s safety. But he regained his composure and stood at attention once again. “Yes, sir!”

“You there…” The Elder signaled to one of the guards. “Prepare rations and equipment for six people on a six-day march. And get this lot anything else they require.” Although he had been little more than a spiritual counselor for many years, the old man was clearly excited about the prospect of leading a quest.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo and InuYasha all indicated that they didn’t need anything special, beyond a replenishment of food and water. They were used to traveling long distances on foot, and came into the village fairly well equipped. Only Kagome had any requests.

“I’ll need a bow and… some arrows… and… hah… AHH… HATCHoo! Man! *sniiiiiiffffff* …and a hanky or two!” She punctuated her request by wiping her nose on her sleeve for what seemed like the hundredth time.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 8 (InuYasha)

PART EIGHT - An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

SIT, BOY!

Kagome and Shippo awoke just as they cleared the edge of the forest. They were a few hundred meters from where the attackers emerged and as Shippo wiped the sleep from his eyes, Kagome sized up the situation. She could see the archers on the walls, and could smell the tar in the field. No big mystery as to what was being planned there. Seeing Miroku on the corner guard tower and InuYasha starting to charge the field, she figured out what they had in mind and knew they had no time lose.

“Quickly… get me to that guard tower!”

The lone tree sprit moved much faster than the attackers, who now numbered almost a hundred and advanced at a much slower more deliberate pace. When they were within shouting distance of the tower, she called out for Miroku.

“MIROKU! STAND DOWN! DON’T USE YOUR WIND TUNNEL! STAND DOWN!”

“Kagome?” Miroku was confused to see her and Shippo, especially as they were being carried by one of the beings they were about to attack, but he signaled his compliance. He hoped she knew what she was doing.

“ARCHERS! FIRE NOW! BEFORE THEY REACH THE TAR! QUICKLY! FIRE! FIRE!”

Seeing Miroku’s compliance with the girl that was shouting to them, the Captain conceded as well and gave the order to fire.

‘What are those idiots doing?!’ InuYasha thought to himself, not aware of what was happening back at the village. A wall of flame now stood between him and his enemy, cutting him off as the trees began to retreat into the wood.

“Oh no you don’t! TESSAIGA!” But just as InuYasha raised the sword that could kill a hundred demons in a single stroke, Kagome came into range behind him.

“SIT BOY!” And with that command, Kaede’s necklace came to life and brought InuYasha down face-first into the ground. He was now helpless to do anything but watch the tree-sprits flee into the safety of the wood.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 7 (InuYasha)

PART SEVEN - An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

I had them shaking in fear last time…

It took several hours for InuYasha, Miroku, Sango and Kirara to recover from the earlier battle but, after their respite, they joined the village guard in making preparations for the next attack. The field over which the two previous attacks had taken place was now lined with tar. Archers with flaming arrows were positioned along the northern wall. If the tree spirits tried to cross the field, they would be surrounded by the one thing they were weak against: fire.

While Sango and Kirara scouted the perimeter of the wood, InuYasha and Miroku met with the Guard Captain and the Village Elder with a strategy that would make the defensive plan even deadlier.

“Each attack was merely a hit-and-run. But the second wave was much larger than the first. I think they fled because they didn’t expect to encounter all of you,” the Village Elder counseled the warriors.

“And that’s the one flaw in these preparations,” Miroku observed, “Given the change they will flee before the fire does any damage. But we noticed something before - when I activated my Wind Tunnel: they took root and remained in place. If we waited until they were in the middle of the field to light the fires, I could activate the Wind Tunnel. They would either take root and be consumed in the flame, or try to flee and be sucked in.”

“I saw you on the field before,” started the Guard Captain. “Won’t that send flaming tar hurtling towards the village?”

“If I’m up on rampart, the tar on the ground shouldn’t be affected. And even if it is, whatever doesn’t end up getting stuck to the trees will get sucked into the void as well. I wouldn’t advocate any plan that would risk harming the village.”

“Yeah *sniff* and then I can jump in with Tessaiga and finish them off! I had them shaking in fear last time…”

But InuYasha was interrupted by the elder’s laughter. “Heh-heh… you thought they were shaking in fear? Foolish boy.” InuYasha bristled at that remark. “They weren’t raising their hands in surrender…heh-heh… they were attacking!”

“*sniff* Wha...? How…?”

“What happened when you tried to activate your demonic powers?” The Elder asked, seemingly amused.

InuYasha couldn’t even look the old man in the eye as he muttered his response. “I sneezed and the attack got all fouled up.”

“And do you think that happened by coincidence? By raising their limbs, they caught the wind in their leaves. This increased the amount of pollen released in the area, and that was what disabled your attack. You’ll need to take that into account if you plan to attack them again. *sigh* I just don’t know… I’m concerned that it has come to this… What will happen I wonder…?”

“Elder!” The Captain snapped. “We are prepared this time! With this trap and our new found allies we are sure to be victorious!” It was clear from their posture that InuYasha and Miroku concurred.

“*sniff* And then you gotta help us rescue Kagome!” InuYasha looked at the Captain, who nodded in reply.

“Hmmmm… The impetuousness of youth. I am sure that we can win the battle. It is not even impossible that we could destroy every tree spirit in the forest! But what would that accomplish?”

“We would be safe!” The Captain declared.

“Would we? And who would defend us against the demons from over the mountains without the sacred wood acting as a buffer zone? The Shinrinyahsa have been our shield against them for generations. Before the Treaty of the Trees we fought with the demons constantly. Plus… they manage and keep healthy the very timber that we make our living off of. They even maintain the river to prevent it from flooding. You take for granted all they have done for us… and are ignorant of how tenuous our livelihood will be without them. Victory on the field may be irrelevant in the long run.”

Miroku considered this in silence, but he saw no better options. InuYasha and the Captain were unmoved however and were about to launch a counter-argument when Sango burst in.

“They’re here! Ready the militia!”

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 6 (InuYasha)

PART SIX - An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
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.

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 5 (InuYasha)

PART FIVE- An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

I’m really sorry about this, Kagome.

Kagome would have been amazed how fast the tree-sprits moved through the forest. Despite their huge size and ponderous wooden bodies, they moved with impressive speed and grace without disturbing or damaging any of the surrounding flora. All of this, however, was lost on Kagome as she could barely open her eyes, or even breathe for all the sneezing. She was in the middle of a tramp of walking trees and the clouds of pollen that shook loose with every thunderous step filled her every breath. It bothered Shippo as well, but he was now so stuffed up that he’d stopped sneezing. He was getting very concerned about Kagome.

“*sniff* Kagome?”

“Haht-shoo!”
“*sniff* You OK?”
“HAAASH-shooo!”
“What’re *sniff* What’re we gonna do?”

“Haaah-SHOO! Ohhhhh!”

Shippo just patted her on the shoulders and tried to comfort her as best he was able. Since Kagome was out of commission, the clever little fox demon looked around and tried to formulate a plan. They were sitting in the high braches of one of the tree-spirits. Not much held them in place, but it would be a rather nasty fall. He figured they couldn’t climb down without being noticed, but if he could inflate his body just enough to slow their fall they might have a few seconds before they were noticed if they jumped. Once he sensed a break in Kagome’s sneezing he told her the plan.

“*sniff* What?!”
“We gotta jump Kagome! I’ll float us down!”

“*sniff* No way Shippo! *sniff* We’ll never make it!” The tree-spirits seemed oblivious to their conversation.

“It’s our only chance! *sniff* Come on!” Shippo grabbed both of Kagome’s hand and tried to jump down, but she resisted and they ended up balanced precariously on their high bough.
Come on Kagome! *sniff* Trust me!”

“No! *sniff* It’s too high!”

But as Shippo hung from Kagome’s hands he knew there was no other way, and he didn’t want to be taken all the way back to their lair. “I’m really sorry about this, Kagome.” Hanging upside down, he hooked his legs over her outstretched arms and wiggled his fluffy tail in front of her nose, shaking loose the pollen that had collected on it.

“N-no… Ship… Shippo… Nah… Nah… NaaAAAH-SHOO!” She lost her balance with the sneeze and they fell towards the ground. Half way down, Shippo finally managed the shape-change, inflating himself and slowing their fall just enough to avoid injury despite still having hard landing. 
At first they assumed they’d have to run for it, but the tree-sprits seemed unaware of the fact that they were free. The troop continued to move in the same direction without so much as a pause. Judging from their momentum, the strongest castle walls couldn’t have slowed their pace. All the two fugitives really had to do was get out of the way and avoid being trampled. They quickly scampered to the side of the path, and hid under a giant tree root. The sprits seemed to avoid trodding on such things. Unfortunately, at the ground level, the pollen cloud was at its thickest. It stung their eyes and set them sneezing almost continuously until the thunderous march finally passed. It took several more minutes before either of their noses calmed down, and when they finally emerged from their hiding place all was quiet and the air had cleared considerably.
“*sniff* Where are we Kagome?”

“I don’t know Shippo. *sniff* I can see the mountain through the trees over there, but we were moving so fast… *sniff* I’m not sure how far we are from the village.” After taking a few minutes to blow their noses and get their bearings, they started back up the wide path they had being taken down. At some point, they thought, it had to lead back to the village.

After walking for over an hour, it still looked like they were in the same place, relative to the mountain. Only the sun had moved, and it now hung very low in the sky. They didn’t like the idea of spending the night in this dense, living wood. They sat and took a break. At first both were too tired to speak, but Shippo was the first to notice the now familiar tickle creeping back into his nose.

“Ka…Kagome? I… hah… HAAAAH… HAAHTCHOOO!”
Before her own breath hitched Kagome leapt to her feet and instinctively reached for an arrow, but the quiver was empty; her arrows a casualty of the rough ride and the sneezing which doubled her over even while hanging from the high branches. They heard something that sound like wood being twisted before they were swept up effortlessly, and carried off of the path, deeper into the forest.
TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 4 (InuYasha)

PART FOUR - An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

IRON REAVER S-SOUL S-T-STEAAACHOOOO!

While Sango and Kirara went on patrol, InuYasha and Miroku helped the villagers bury what remained of their dead. There were almost three dozen loggers killed the day before, and they got a sense of not only what the village had lost but of what they might be up against themselves. Once they finished, Miroku had blessed the gravesites and the two of them went to join Sango on guard duty.

“Sango, have you heard anything?” Miroku asked.

“I’m not sure. There seems to be a lot of movement from within the forest, but every time I get close enough for a look it stops. Do you sense anything?”
“No. But the tree sprits are not really demons, so I wouldn’t be able to. If they were corrupted by the sacred jewel, Kagome should be able to sense it, but she’s still meeting with the village elder. InuYasha, can you smell anything?”
“HaraAAHTCHOO! *sniff* No. *sniff* I’m completely blocked up. I can’t even smell you.”

Miroku started to chuckle at InuYasha’s remark when all three of them were startled by what looked like several giant, anthropomorphic trees crashing through the perimeter of the wood. Each stood over twenty feet tall, and while they caused no damage to the tree line, their footsteps shook the ground and sounded as if the entire forest was being brought down on top of them. As the first wave began their charge, another dozen emerged behind them.
Sango was the first to act. “KIRARA!” she yelled and the nekomata moved to attack the lead tree-spirit. Sango threw her weapon, Hiraikotsu, just as Kirara was thrown off by her target. The giant boomerang severed two of the trees-sprit’s limbs before returning, but the tree spirit had several remaining and was not slowed. As she waited for the weapon to return to her, Sango was struck from behind by what felt like a giant club and fell unconscious. The Hiraikotsu sailed over her body and landed in the woods.

“SANGO!” Miroku yelled in horror as he loosened the binding on his right hand. “WIND TUNNEL!”

As the monk activated the black hole he carried as his curse, what looked like tons of debris flew towards him from the forest only to be swallowed up by the void. He was surprised however that only a single tree-spirit was sucked in. The rest stood perfectly still, appearing to resist its pull by taking root. Miroku cut off the power just as InuYasha jumped in its path to prevent Sango from being sucked in.

“Would you knock that off?! There’s only one way to handle these guys… TESSAIGA!” But as InuYasha drew his sword, he was stunned to see that blade did not transform, instead retaining the dull, rusty appearance it had when inert.

Three of the spirits now focused their attacks on InuYahsa. Rather than lung forward however, the seemed reach toward the sky and quiver. Taking this for vulnerability, InuYasha attempted another attack. He almost failed to notice the nearly maddening burn that flared up in his eyes and nose.

“IRON REAVER S-SOUL S-T-STEAAACHOOOO!” Rather than leaping forward and swiping with his claws, InuYasha stood doubled over by the force of the sneeze. Seeing that he was prone, one of the tree-sprits struck him with a stout limb. InuYasha flew through the air in a wide arc and landed at the foot of another spirit on the other side of the field. Before he could move, InuYasha was crushed under the sprit’s foot. Although not physically harmed, he was pinned as the behemoth took root in the ground, its tendrils tangling themselves around his limbs before tunneling deep into the earth.
Miroku raised his staff in defense. He looked around. Sango and InuYasha were down and Kirara was no longer in sight. He could not outrun the giants and his wind-tunnel proved ineffective. As the spirits closed in on him, he braced for the worst, knowing he was out of options. As he waited for what he assumed would be the final blow, he could hear Kagome and Shippo yelling to him. He looked over his shoulder to see the two changing towards the melee on the back of Kirara.

“NO! KAGOME! GO BACK!” *whack* Miroku was taken out with a single sweep of the tree-sprit’s limb. His unconscious body landed several meters from where he was struck. Two more moved quickly to attack the village’s remaining defenders. In a deftly coordinated move, one snatched Kagome, and Shippo (who was clinging to her shoulders), off of Kirara’s back while another swept its limbs across Kirara’s path, sending the giant demon-cat tumbling through the air, finally hitting the ground, unconscious.

“KAGOME! KAGOME! NO! LET GO OF ME! KAGOME!” InuYasha screamed as he struggled against his captor. As the three-sprits retreated into the woods, the one holding InuYasha began to tighten its grip, cutting off its prisoner’s breath. Once InuYasha fell still, it released him and followed its brethren into the dense forest.


TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 3 (InuYasha)

PART THREE - An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Traveler? *sniff* What d-did... hat-SHOO! Excuse me. *sniff* What did he look like?

After a satisfying meal, Miroku, Sango and InuYasha helped the villagers bury their dead, before going on guard duty with Kirara. While they strengthened diplomatic ties in the village, Shippo and Kagome were left to converse with the village elder.

“*sniff* So… you were attacked by tree-demons?” Kagome started.
“Heh-heh… Not demons my dear: Spirits. Guardian spirits of the forest. We have lived alongside the Shinrinyahsa for generations. They protect us from the demon tribes to the north by using their pollen to make the woods almost unbearable for them… and if any demon does make it too far into the woods, the tree-spirits are ferocious fighters. In return, we only log the portions of the forest that they deem are ready for harvest. We leave any areas and trees alone that they want preserved.”
“But … hah … HAT-shoo! Excuse me… But why did they attack you?”
“We still don’t know for sure. We have a treaty with them, spelling out our agreement that they will protect us in exchange for us respecting their boundaries. But there was a sacred tree that was accidentally felled recently. Some of the men misread the tree’s marking and thought it was designated for timber.”
Shippo was very interested in the story and jumped into the conversation. “*sniff* Oh boy! No wonder they were angry! Those sacred trees are the homes of other spirits, aren’t they?”
“Oh yes. There live the kodama - spirits who spread health and green growth throughout the forest. The Shinrinyasha rely on them to support their own efforts. When a sacred tree is destroyed, those spirits living within it are lost as well. Their loss saddens the greater spirits, and also has a diminishing effect on the surrounding woods.”
“Wow *sniff* its no wonder they attacked you!”
“But that’s just it, little fox-demon! Our treaty acknowledges that mistakes will be made. The penalty for destroying a sacred tree is to raise one hundred new saplings to maturity. There is no provision for them to attack us.”
“Then why… oh god… HAH-shoo! Excuse me… *sniff* Why do you think they attacked? What made them change?”
“The spirits have been restless for several days now. Ever since that traveler came through. He’s the reason the other villagers were so suspicious of you.”
“Traveler? *sniff* What d-did... hat-SHOO! Excuse me. *sniff* What did he look like?”
“I never really saw him, young lady. He wore a great white cloak. Its cowl was fashioned from a baboon’s head and obscured most of his face.”
Kagome and Shippo looked at each other in shock. “NARAKU!”

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 2 (InuYasha)

PART TWO - An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Got any other bright ideas?

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
“What?”
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
The friends were met at the gate of the village by a contingent of guardsman brandishing spears. None of them actually wanted to fight the villagers, but after so much walking, and so much listening to Kagome sneezing every few seconds, InuYasha was short on patience.
“Whadaya mean?! We’ve been walking for days! Why… I… oughta… haaahAAAHTCHOO!” His hand had been moving closer to Tessaiga’s hilt, but the sneeze pulled it away while he covered up. Kagome stepped forward, put a hand on InuYahsa’s shoulder to calm him and tried to allay the villager’s fears.
“We don’t want to fight. *sniff* We’re just looking for a place to *sniff* sleep and to replenish our supplies in… the… m-morn… ing… HASHOO! HASHOO! haAHTSHoo! Oh man!”
“SHE’S A DEMON TOO! NONE SHALL PASS!”
“I’m not a… a… aAHTChoo! Demon! Do I *sniff* look like a… de… mon… HAT-shoo!” She had been resisting the urge to rub her nose, but was now overcome.

The one appearing to be the captain of this rag-tag troop stepped forward. The others fell silent as he spoke. “You smell that fragrant dust in the air? The tree-spirits release that to keep the demons out of the sacred wood. It drives them crazy! Just like your friends there! It don’t bother humans. So what’s your story?”

“I don’t… Ha-ha…AAAAshoo! know… AHTCH-oo! I… ah… I… ah-hah-*long inhale*-HATCHOO!”

The guards all started yelling again. “SICKNESS! ILLNESS! THE PLAGUE! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN! NONE SHALL PASS!” Now convinced Kagome was bearing some dreaded illness, even the Captain could not restore order to his men. They were starting to thrust their spears more aggressively.
“*sniff* Got any other bright ideas, Kagome?” Inuyasha muttered derisively, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

Miroku stepped forward, trying to ply his trade in exchange for entry to the village. “I sense a dark presence surrounding this place!” he began boldly. “If you let…”

But he was cut of by the cackle of hysterical laughter coming from behind the guards. “HahahahHAAAAH! Oh sonny! Hahaha! Don’t even try that one here! I used to run that scam all the time when I was a young traveling monk! AAAHhahahaHAAA!” An ancient looking man, scarcely four feet tall made his way through the guards, who made way for him deferentially.

“Village elder?” Several of the guards gasped. “But… But they’re demons! And she has the plague!”

“Out of my way, you superstitious fools! We’ve just lost one battle, you shouldn’t be so eager to start another!” The feisty old man scolded. He gave each of the travelers an appraising look. “Hmmmm… three demons traveling with a priestess, and monk and demon slayer? I don’t think we’ll have to worry about them. Come in friends. You may stay at the temple. You’ll have to work a bit, but you’ll find plenty of food and rest as well.”

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 1 (InuYasha)

PART ONE
An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Whatever that wind is blowing, it’s bothering my… nose… t-too… hat-SHOO!

The six weary travelers had been tracking the Sacred Jewel Shard for days. Kagome, the young girl with the ability to detect the Sacred Shards, had only the faintest impression of where it was. She could detect its general direction, but despite three days of pursuit her sense of the shard’s precise location grew no stronger. The shard was still on the move.

Luckily, InuYasha was able to supplement Kagome sixth sense for the jewel with his own demonically enhanced sense of smell. He could track their quarry, but its smell was either unfamiliar to him, or had been magically altered in an attempt to throw them off. Between the two of them, however, they would not lose the trail.
Finally, after so many days pursuit, the signal Kagome was picking up started to grow in strength. It was still a few days march away – but it was no longer on the move and they were gaining on it. The six weary travelers tried to pick up their pace, but the wind was against them.

As the reached the top of the grassy hill they spied a village is the distance, beyond which lay an immense forest at the foot of a great chain of mountains. Ironically, as Kagome’s ability to sense jewel increased, it seemed InuYasha’s ability to pick up their quarry’s scent was weakening. The young monk, Miroku, was the first to notice this.
“InuYasha, what’s wrong? Has the trail gone cold?”
“Nah. It’s this damn wind! It’s blowing something down from the mountains that bugging… my… n-n-nose… HAAATCHOO! *sniff* Ugh… I’m also picking up the scent of human blood. *sniff* I think that village was attacked recently. *sniff*”
As the two men leading the party conversed, the demon hunter, Sango, noticed that Kagome seemed bothered by something as well. Without wanting to attract attention, she quietly approached her friend. “Kagome? Are you ok?”
Kagome was rubbing her nose with her index finger. “Yeah,” she whispered, “but *sniff* whatever that wind is blowing, it’s *sniff* bothering my… nose… t-too… hat-SHOO! Hah… HaAAHSHOO! HATChoo *sniff* Ohhhh…”

Although their voices were low, Kagome’s sneezes attracted InuYasha’s attention. “Don’t tell me you’re getting sick now!” He yelled at her.
“I’m not s-sick, I… HAT-SHOO! *sniff* something’s j-just m-making me snee… ah… sneeze! aaaAAHHTCHOO! Besides, *sniff* you sound as bad as I do!”

“That’s 'cause I have a heightened sense of smell!” InuYasha reacted defensively, rubbing his nose, as if warding off another sneeze himself.
Miroku put his hand to his chin, pensively. “I wonder… Shippo, how are you feeling?”
The diminutive fox-demon was riding on the back of Kirara. “Well… *sniff* now that you mention it… *sniff*… my nose is all itchy too! Aaah… HAAAAH… HAHHTCHOOO!” The force of the little demon’s sneeze sent him somersaulting backwards, off of Kirara.
“What about you Kirara?”
While Kirara couldn’t talk, she made several pawing gestures which indicated that her nose was bothered as well. She made a sound like a sneeze, but Miroku couldn’t tell if it was that, of if she was just trying to clear her nose.
“What are you thinking?” Sango asked him.
“I’m wondering if that forest up ahead is inhabited by the Shinrinyasha.”

“*sniff* Shin… rin… wha?” Kagome asked in a stuffy sounding voice.
“The Shinrinyahsa are forest spirits. They take the form of giant moving trees. They look almost like a giant person that was carved from a tree, or turned into one - braches and all. I’ve never seen one, but the legends say that their pollen is a natural irritant to demons and anything… unnatural. It could explain why InuYasha, Shippo and Kirara seemed bother by the wind blowing form that direction.”

“*sniff* Then why… hang on… hat-SHOO! *sniff* Why am I sneezing then?” In the back of her mind, Kagome thought she might be allergic to something. Although she never got allergies at home, she had some friends that did. Was this what they felt like? She now felt horrible about every time she ever told one of them that “all they needed was a little fresh air.” ‘This was awful!’ she thought. ‘A week of this would drive me crazy!’ She almost hoped that she was just getting a little sick, not being sure what she could do about allergies back in this time period.
“I don’t know,” Miroku answered. “I’ve never heard of a human being affected.”

The group trekked on. The three demons were only sniffling, but Kagome seemed to sneeze every few seconds. Not patient by nature and already irritated by his own condition, InuYasha’s temper eventually got the better of him.
“Ashoo! … Hahshoo! … HAT-shoo! … HAAAHshoo!”
“ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP DOING THAT?!” InuYasha bellowed at Kagome.

“Thanks for the sympathy you big… jah…jah… JASHOO! JERK! *sniff* I can’t help it! *sniff*… hat-SHOO! *sniff* I wish I could!”

“Yeah, InuYasha! Stop being so me… aaahh… me… AAAAHHH… meAAHHHTCHOO!... mean.” Shippo finished his statement from the ground, his sneeze having knocked him off of Kirara again.

“Besides *sniff*,” Kagome continued her verbal counterattack, “It’s not like *sniff* you’re doing… much… bet… ter… AAAHHshoo!”

“I’m doing just fine.” InuYasha boasted. Kagome eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah. N-no p-problems here… ah…. *sniff*.” Kagome narrowed her eyes, not believing a word of it. “Y-you w-won’t hear… me… snee… ah… snee… AAAAHHHTCHOO!”

“HAH!” Kagome yelled, pointing at him, before she was racked by another sneeze of her own.

Miroku and Sango just shook there heads as Kagome and InuYahsa went on like this almost the entire way to the village while Shippo and Kirara suffered in relative silence.
TO BE CONTINUED

Perfumed Scent of a Woman (I My Me Strawberry Eggs)

An I My Me Strawberry Eggs fanficSetting and all non-original characters property of TNK & Ryoji Akiyma


This double life was killing Hibiki Amawa. He had originally agreed to taken the job, disguised as a woman, because he needed the rent money - his landlord was holding his dog, Kura-ge, as collateral and threatened to eat him if Hibiki didn’t pay up – and to prove to that battle-axe of a principal that a man could be every bit as caring and nurturing a teacher as a woman could be. It seemed like a good idea at the time and, in his anger and desperation, he plunged right into it without really thinking it through. Now he was in way too deep, and couldn’t get out if he’d wanted to; at least not without losing his job and probably getting arrested. He never truly understood what “living a lie” meant until now. The worst part was, he couldn’t talk to anyone about it – he couldn’t vent about it, or laugh about it, or share stories that some would undoubtedly find amusing, or impressive. The only one who knew was his landlord, Ruru Sanjo – the one who’d him gotten into all this. And anyway, “Oba-chan” would just tell him to “suck it up” or some such thing. He was completely alone, and that took its toll mentally.

Physically he was in no great shape either. To get ready for work as a woman required him to wake up almost two hours earlier than he was accustomed to and, since he’d started out a month behind on rent, he had almost none of his salary left for food. So, starving and exhausted, here he was making a late night ramen-noodle run, dragging his feet through the convenience store. There was only one other person in the store at this hour. As he turned the corner from one aisle to the other, he found himself face to face with Reiko Mukogawa, the Vice-Principal from his school and his direct supervisor. She was a hard-nosed employer that rode Hibiki mercilessly and yet he had no choice but to play along, being as nice and respectful as possible.

“Oh! Vice-Pri…” He cut himself off, realizing she wouldn't recognize him. He was not in disguise at the moment.

“Do I know you?” Mukogawa asked, in an annoyed tone.

“Oh… No! Sorry…you…uh… looked like someone I know! A-ahahahaha!”

“Are they a vice principal too?” she followed up, suspiciously.

“Uh… yeah… hahaha!” So she caught that. This was awkward.

“Must have had quite an evening, huh?”

“Huh?” Hibiki turned and caught his reflection in a nearby pair of sunglasses. Apparently he hadn’t managed to remove all of the lipstick from earlier. ‘Well, at least she didn’t recognize me,’ he thought to himself in relief. As Mukogawa brushed past him, he noticed that she was wearing rather a lot of perfume and it was different from what she typically wore to school. The unfamiliar fragrance tickled his sinuses. He unconsciously rubbed his nose and continued shopping.

To his dismay, he found himself in line behind the heavily perfumed Vice-Principal. His mind raced as he tried to make sure that he wouldn’t say or do anything that might seem strangely familiar to her. He tried to avoid eye contact without seeming too suspicious, and tried to ignore the flowery fume pouring off of the woman. Based on how much she put on, she apparently really liked this particular scent. He was not too fond of it himself and the more he smelled it, the more it tickled his nose. After a moment he was overwhelmed.

“Hah… Hah-AAHHHTCHooo! HAAAHTCHooo,” and a few shallow breaths later, “HAAAHTCHooo! *sniff*.” He felt better but took a step back anyway.

“Bless you. Allergy season?” Mukogawa asked disinterestedly.

“N-no. *sniff* P-Perfume… I… think… hah… aah-AAHHHTCHooo!”

“That’s strange. This stuff doesn’t bother anyone, even my sister, who’s usually bothered by everything. Well… I’m off anyway.” She took her change and left, without looking back. Hibiki paid for his food and returned home.

--------------------

Although it was late, the landlord was still up and joined him for dinner. He was grateful, since she had cooked up some rice and brewed tea. She didn’t want any ramen, but offered to share the rice. As they ate he told her about the run-in he’d had with the Vice-Principal.

“Hmmmm….” Oba-chan rubbed her wrinkled chin, deep in thought. “I wonder… I’d be careful if I were you.”

“Oh, don’t worry. She had no idea…”

“It’s not that, you fool!” Oba-chan barked grumpily. “You know that collar I gave you - the one that disguises your voice? Well… I don’t know how well it would do with a sneeze. You said she already suspects you. If she hears the same sneeze again, she might suspect even more…”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Of course you didn’t! Or you would have been more careful!”

“I think you worry too much Oba-chan.”

“Well… You young people don’t worry nearly enough. And stop calling me Oba-chan!”

--------------------

The next day in school, in his guise as the feminine ‘Amawa-sensei,’ Hibiki barely escaped having an early run in with Vice-Principal Mukogawa. They passed each other in the hall and the same scent as the night before washed over Hibiki like the tide. Immediately his sinuses were on fire, he could swear his eyes crossed just trying to keep the impending sneezes in. He really did not want to deal with the Vice Principal first thing in the morning, if he could help it. Once she was a little farther down the hall, he ducked into the ladies room, and let it go.

“hah-aaaatchoo! haaahtchoo! *shallow breaths* HAAATChooo!” He was surprised that the sneeze sounded both foreign and familiar at the same time. It was his same three-sneeze pattern, with the three syllable first, followed by a pair of two syllable sneezes, separated by a pause while he caught his breath. But it was higher pitched, and definitely sounded more like a woman’s sneeze. He wasn’t sure if it would sound familiar to the Vice Principal or not, but the more he thought about it, it probably didn’t matter. What did she say? Nobody gets bothered by this stuff? Not even people who are bothered by everything else? Great – he now had one more thing to worry about. As if that wasn’t enough, he heard the sound of a toilet flush in one of the stalls behind him. Which bathroom was he in anyway? Had he gone into the men’s by mistake? He looked around frantically for urinals and was relieved when he didn’t see any. He hardly thought this was much better though.

“Bless you sensei!” called Fuko Kuzuha as she exited the stall. Fuko was one of the students in his class. She had been a really shy girl when he first arrived, but had started come out of her shell a bit since Hibiki started teaching. Of course standing here in the bathroom with her didn’t strike Hibiki as something that would fall under the “nurturing teacher-student relationship” category. This was just so wrong.

“Uh… Thanks, Kuzuha!”

“Are you coming down with a cold?”

“I think it might be allergies. Hey – you better run along to class. Go on now.”

“Kay. Bye, Sensei!”

--------------------

Several class periods went by and it was time for lunch. As Hibiki made his way back the office, he was distressed at running into Vice Principal Mukogawa again.

“Amawa-sensei… Hello!” She seemed in a better mood than usual. But that perfume… Had she put on even more of it?

“Heh-Hello, V-Vice P-Principal!” He tried to sound cheery, but his voice came out wavy and uncertain sounding. At least the collar was still working. His nose was screaming in agony though, and it was all he could do to keep from having a fit.

“Are you OK Amawa-sensei?” The question dripped with fake sounding concern. Mukogawa almost looked like she was studying Hibiki, or testing him.

“Y-yeah *sniff* I’m fah… fine…” Take it easy now, he thought. Slow breaths… don’t give in…

“Greeeaaaat!”

Man, that woman had an evil grin, Hibiki thought.

“Hey, I’ve got something here for you! It’s a present of sorts. I’ve been giving one to all the teachers! Here you go!” Hibiki was horrified when Mukogawa produced a small vial of perfume. He though he would die as she raised it to his neck. “Here, try some! Let me know what you think…” Her voice was thick with fake sounding over-enthusiasm. Not once in the entire time he’d worked here had the Vice-Principal said two nice words to Hibiki. She was about to push the button on top of the vial.

“Aahhh… *sniff* V-Very… n-nice.. *sniff*” Hibiki braced himself. His eyes were watering. Would his mascara run? His nose was already on fire. Don’t sneeze… Don’t sneeze… don’t give in… you can do it….

Just as Mukogawa was about to administer the dreaded spray, one of Hibiki’s students came running from around the corner. It was Kyosuke Aoki, a male student with average grades and an enormous crush on the cross-dressing teacher whom he believed to be a woman.

“Hibiki-chan! I heard from Kuzuha that you weren’t feeling well! Please accept these! I hope you’ll feel better!” Hibiki couldn’t believe his luck – Kyosuke was presenting him with a bouquet of wildflowers! He let his control go.

“hah… ahh… hah-aaaatchoo! Oh… Aoki-san…haaahtchoo! I’m aller… aller… haaatchoo! I’m allergic to…” He didn’t have to fake the sneeze, just the protest. He was off the hook now.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING AOKI-SAN?! Get rid of those immediately!” the Vice Principal screamed at him.

Aoki apologized and then walked away, apparently really embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, Amawa-sensei.” Mukogawa mumble as she stomped off apparently really disappointed.

Curiously, she did not give Hibiki the bottle that was meant to be his ‘gift.’ It struck him as odd, but then he never figured the Vice-Principal was really giving him a gift anyway. In a way he was grateful not to have to deal with the stuff.

--------------------

Thankfully, Hibiki didn’t see the Vice Principal for the rest of the day. After the last belled sounded, he packed up his things and left the office. He had almost gotten out of the building when he saw Mukogawa’s silhouette in the doorway. She was blocking the exit.

“Amawa-sensei!” She had the same fake sounding sing-song tone as before.

“V-Vice *sniff* Principal!” Did this woman realize how much perfume she had on? It went well beyond the boundary of good taste and was now approaching ‘brothel-girl’ levels. If he’d lit a match, he was sure she’d combust.

“I never got a chance to give you this! Let me know what you think!” Wasting no time, Mukogawa sprayed him. She looked like she was aiming for his neck, but half of it hit his chin and upper lip. He would have felt better snorting wasabi.

“*snnxrt*!” That was attractive sounding, Hibiki thought of his half snort as his respiratory system nearly gagged on the noxious fume. “Oh… m-my *sniff* th-that’s *sniff* love… *sniff* …ly. I… r-really *sniff* gotta… *sniff* go now!” But Mukogawa was still blocking the door, studying Hibiki intently.

“Are you OK, Amawa-sensei?”

“J-just… *sniff* f-fine. N-no pro… *sniff* problem… here!” What was he doing? He couldn’t believe he was fooling anyone. His nose was running, his voice was sniffly, he could barely speak. He sounded like nothing other that a person trying desperately to hold back a sneeze. “Th-that’s *sniff* r-really n-nice! *sniff* Wh-Where d-did *sniff* you g-g-get it?”

Mukogawa looked at him a moment longer, then the faux smile disappeared from her face. Whatever she was hoping for, apparently she didn’t see it. “At the store. Here.” She said in a disappointed tone. She shoved the bottle into Hibiki’s hands and stomped off again.

Hardly able to believe his luck, Hibiki walked quickly out the door. He still struggled to hold back his impending sneezing fit until he was farther away. He walked as quick as he could, without breaking into a run. Once he’d reached the gates, he sidestepped, putting the outer wall between himself and the school and let it go.

“Hah-aaaahcthoo! Hatchoo! *shallow breaths* Haaahtchoo!”

“Are you ok, sensei?”

He looked up into Kuzuha’s concerned eyes and shook his head, not even able to talk though the sneezes.

“Hatchoo! Hatchoo! Haaaaaahtchooo!”

“I saw what the Vice Principal did. That was really mean. You should tell someone about…”

“N-No… Ahh…Hah…aaaahcthoo! No Kuzuha… Hatchoo! *sniff* I want you *sniff* I want you to promise me something.”

“Anything sensei!”

“P-Promise me *sniff* that you won’t… hang on… Haaaht-choo! Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this! *sniff* Hat-choo!”

“But, why Sensei? I mean…”

“Haaaaaahtchoo! *sniff* Promise me, Kuzuha!”

“OK. I promise. Will you get in trouble or something?”

“Yeah *sniff* something like that. *sniff* Haaaaaahtchooo! Oh man! *sniff* I really need to go wash this off! *sniff* Just promise me - *sniff* NO ONE.”

“I promise, I promise! Not even the other students!”

“Thanks Ku… zu… ha-haaaahtchoo! I’ve gotta go!”

--------------------

Oba-chan watched over him as he washed up, still sneezing occasionally.

“So the collar worked, huh? That’s a relief.”

“But Oba-chan, I can’t keep this up! I was able to hold out today, and got a few lucky breaks, but…”

“Oh don’t be such a worry-wort!”

‘Who was the worry-wort this morning?’ he thought to himself.

“I gotcha through that physical exam, didn’t I? I’m watchin’ out for ya!” Oba-chan cackled, sounding almost strangely maternal. “Here, take this…” she held up a small bottle that looked like nasal spray. “It’ll give you a few minutes of protection from even the worst exposure. I’m sure in a few more days that little witch will probably forget all about it.”

“Gee Oba-chan, Thanks!” He reached for it, but she held it back.

“I told you not to call me Oba-chan! Besides… we still have to test it.” An evil looking grin spread across her weathered face as she brought her other hand out. It was holding a vial of the dreaded perfume.

“N-No... w-wait Oba-chan… N-no… Hah-aaaahcthoo! Hatchoo! *shallow breaths* Haaahtchoo!”

(Fade out – cue music)

Hellsing Drabble

Hellsing Drabble
Setting and all non-original characters are property Kouta Hirano






"Sir Integra? It's time to wake up." Shortly after the mellow voice of her butler, Walter, floated into her consciousness, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing was thrust into a state of full wakefulness as the curtains were drawn and intense sunlight flooded into her room. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sudden, blinding light.

"Walter, what time is it?" she asked in a weary tone.

"7:00 Ma'am. Later than usual, so I took the liberty of poking my head in the door. I hope you don't mind."

"No. Thank you. I would have overslept." She sat of the edge of the bed with a look that, from Walter's point of view, suggested she was concentrating on some tiny spot on the floor.

"I laid out your suit in the dressing room, so if you don't need anything else, I'll…"

"HAAAHHHShoo-oo!" Integra bent over, almost parallel the floor. Her golden white hair was thrown over her head and now hung in hear face. Both hands were pressed firmly against her nose. She remained in that position for a moment, reminiscent of someone who might be trying to staunch a wound. "Ooooh! *sniff*."

"Bless you, ma'am. Are you…"

"I'm fine, Walter. Give me a few minutes, I'll join you presently."

She felt a little better after a quick shower and, once prepared for the day ahead, nothing about her immaculate appearance betrayed the symptoms she was feeling aside from the slightest tinge of pink around the edges of her nose.

"Can't be helped." She sighed, putting on a pair of white gloves. Finally she put on her glasses. The pads applied pressure to her irritated nose in the worst possible place, and she had no time to remove them before another harsh sneeze overtook her.

"HAAAAAHHHTCH! *sniff* Ohhhhh…" She hated this. Her sneeze had a sound of near desperation, in complete contrast with her normally unflappable demeanor. It bothered her to no end that while she had the will to keep a 300 year old vampire and one of the most powerful beings on earth in check, there were times when she could not control her own respiration. 'Maybe the gloves are a bad idea today,' she thought, leaving them behind opting for the handkerchief instead.

She met Walter in the hallway and he briefed her on the day's agenda as they made their way to her office. Thankfully the schedule was light, and she would be able to address the backlog of paperwork that accumulated after their last case. As they descended the spiral staircase down to the administration level, she stopped him, putting a hand on his chest and turn slightly away. Even so, Walter could see the look of intense concentration as her eyes narrowed. He could see her nostrils flare as she took a long, sharp breath.

"HAAAHYEEEESHHoo!" Again she bent over, holding her thumb firmly against her nose, is if to prevent another from coming. Her hair which had been perfect to a strand again hung haphazardly over her face. After half a minute in that position, she rose and gently pushed her fair locks back behind her shoulder.

"If you're not feeling well today ma'am, perhaps you should…"

"Walter, we go through this every year." Integra interrupted him in a frustrated tone. "*sniff* You know perfectly well there's not a bloody thing wrong with me aside… from…" the last word raised a level in pitch as she tried to keep from taking that sharp inhale, but there was no preventing it. "HAAAAAAHYEEEEEShoo!" The wet, desperate sound echoed through the corridor. She was breathing from her mouth in slow, heavy breaths, her nose pressed in the crook of her hand between her thumb and forefinger. She remained bent over a moment longer, eyes closed, trying to will away any future occurrences. "…aside from all the pollen from that blasted weed." She finished, picking up where she'd left off. "In a week or so this will pass, as it always does, and no amount of rest will hasten that!"

"Still, I could make a trip to the phar…"

"Forget it, Walter. *sniff* You know the only thing that helps would put me out for the day and I have far too much work to do. The only effect of anything else would be to dull my wits down to the level of all the men I'm surrounded by." Walter did not take her barb personally - he knew full well that she had nothing but respect for all members of the Hellsing organization – but he did take the hint that she was in no mood to discuss it further. He went on with the briefing until they reached the door to her office. With her hand on the door knob she began to ask him a final question, but her voice was ovewhelmed by her hitching breath.

"Haaaah… HAAAYEEETshoo! Damn!" She swore under her breath, still bent over, one hand remaining on the door knob, while the other pinched her irritated nose. She had hoped to have taken her leave of Walter before using the handkerchief, but it couldn't be put off any longer. "Excuse me, Walter." She turned and blew, making as little noise as her wet, runny nose would allow.

"Sir Integra, really, if you do not feel…"

"WALTER! IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD ON THE MATTER I'M GOING TO CUT YOUR HEAD OFF, SCOOP OUT THE INSIDES AND SEND IT TO YOUR MOTHER AS A VASE! *sniff*." Her icy expression communicated utter finality.

"Of course ma'am."

She opened the door, but froze in the doorway as she turned. In the middle of her desk was a stout crystal vase filled with a bouquet of small purple blooms. He eyes started to tear up just looking at it. "What the hell are those?" she asked in a clearly annoyed tone.

"Well… Ah… I believe that they are…"

"*sniff* I know what they bloody well are! *sniff* What the devil are they doing on my desk?!"

"Ah… let's see…" The butler pushed past her and examined the offending package. "There's a note... apparently they're from Alucard… 'Hope you're feeling bet…'"

"Remove them immediately." She interrupted him firmly. She held her breath for a moment as Walter brought them through the doorway. As she sat down she swore she could still detect the slightest hint of their scent, lingering. She blew her nose again, the handkerchief now soaked through. "Damn." She swore again, quietly.

"*sniff* That wasn't very bloody funny you know!" She said aloud, certain she was not talking to herself.

"I thought women enjoyed getting flow…"

She turned to cut him off, but was cut off herself by a sharp intake of breath "HEEEEYAAAAATchoo!" Every muscle in her body felt fatigued as they tensed, bending her over. Her breathing got noticeably heavier and, breathing through her mouth, she sounded winded. Her clear blue eyes, now red with irritation, each shed a single tear. She rubbed her itchy nose vigorously with her finger before sitting up again.

Alucard emerged from the shadows and stood staring at his human master. As far as he knew, this woman sitting before him may as well have been made of iron. Her will was at least as strong as his, and she ruled both him and the Hellsing organization with discipline and unwavering control. He had more respect for her than he thought he could possess for any human, and yet some small, petty part of him still harbored the slightest bitterness at his position. Some small part of him was subtly amused by seeing this otherwise indomitable woman grapple with something so maddeningly just beyond her control.

"I'll never figure out why you put up with it."

Choosing not to stand on protocol on Alucard's behalf, she blew her nose again into the small, already saturated handkerchief. She looked up, through stray strands of misplaced hair, with piercing blue eyes now rimmed with redness. "*sniff* Why are you here?"

He just and continued to stare. The smallest grin graced his countenance.

"*sniff* Isn't there a werewolf somewhere that needs kill.. ing…?" She had not been able to finish before her voice lost its authority. Her breath hitched again, and she inhaled sharply. "HAAAHYEEETchoo." Her hair obscured her face again. Her nose had grown quite red, and her eyes almost hurt to open. As annoying as her condition was, she was infinitely more annoyed by Alucard's smug, satisfied grin.

"Can't afford to show any weakness, can you?" He taunted, as if reading her mind.

"If you're enjoying this so much, why not just drink some of my blood. Maybe then you'll have the same reaction. *sniff*"

"The offer is always open for you to drink some of mine. Then you would never feel like this again."

The gaze she fixed on him made him feel exposed, as if she were shining a light into the very depths of his dark soul. She was the only human who could do that. He had known thousands of them over hundreds of years of un-life and, for all his experiences, he could still not read that expression. He still could not read what she was thinking; what her eyes were telling him. Then he saw those same steely blue eyes start to slowly narrow. He knew what this look meant. He waited, grinning, for her to succumb to the incontrollable intake of breath.

"HEEEEYAAAATCHshoo."

"Bless you." He said smiling, as he sunk back into the shadows from whence he came.

"*sniff* Ugh. This is going to be a long week." Integra said to herself, still bent over and holding her nose firmly against the back of her hand.

Wind in the Trees (Witch Hunter Robin)

A Witch Hunter Robin fanfiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Sunrise

"Can you believe the boss?" Sakaki whined. "I mean come on! Waking us up at this hour, just because of a tree?" It had been a late night, and the three hunters awoke at five O'clock to the sound of the phone ringing. It was the chief, and they were being sent to one of the city's parks to check out a 'three meter tree that grew there over night.'

"A tree doesn't grow from nothing to a height of three meters in one day without help. You know there's a possibility of this being the result of a craft." Amon's tone was all-business, as usual. To Sakaki he sounded as if he had gotten a full night's sleep and was not chasing down yet another witch until two AM the night before. Sakaki wondered how he managed.

"I know but… *yaaaaaaawwn* if it did grow that fast, it's probably not going anywhere. Couldn't they have just called us in at eight? All this, for a three meter tree…"

"Apparently the chief felt it was important for us to get there as quickly as possible. Now wake up Robin: We're here."

Sakaki gently jostled Robin awake. "Oh my… *yawn* I'm sorry… I fell asleep!"

"Yeah, I'm jealous." Sakaki replied with his trademark smirk. "Come on. Amon is waiting."

The three left the parking lot and headed toward the center of the park. Once they cleared the outer border of trees that helped isolate the park from the noise and pollution of the city, they were stunned by what they saw. What should have been acres of green grass was now dried, brown and lifeless. The pond, which had been big enough to accommodate rowing boats, was bone-dry. The ground beneath it was cracked, the rowboats lay scattered here and there around the dusty basin. In the middle of what used to be the pond was a small island, occasionally used by the odd couple for a picnic. It was now almost completely crushed under the largest tree any of the hunters had ever seen. The tree was not three meters tall, as the hunters had assumed from their limited briefing, but three meters wide! The hunter stood at the edge of the basin for several minutes stunned as they tried to figure out how tall it was.

"50 meters at least, I'd say," a voice came from behind the trio, startling them. In their amazement they had not heard the man's approach. He was an older, weather beaten man, possibly in his sixties or seventies. He wore what looked like comfortable jeans, a loose fitting plaid flannel shirt and a wide-brimmed canvas hat. On his belt was a canteen and he used a long walking stick that looked like it had seen quite a bit of travel.

"What is it?" Sakaki asked, his amazement still showing. "A Redwood?"

"Heh..heh..heh…" The old naturist laughed. "No sonny – no Redwood's growing here! They get a lot bigger anyway! No… it's an Elm. Just a plain old… well, not a plain old… but just an Elm."

"I've never heard of an Elm getting that big before." Robin said, finally getting over her shock.

"Well, any tree can grow to amazing heights – what stops them are the ravages of time. They age just like we do. So for every bit of growing they do, they have to spend energy repairing the damage done to them… by the wind, man, insects, fungus… you name it."

"So how did this one manage?" While he was just as shocked as the others, Amon's tone was as level and calm as if he was chatting about the weather.

"Well, I don't know how it happened, but as for why… It was able to reach this height because it did so without being subject to the decay of time. You see… This happened overnight."

"It seems so hard to believe!" Robin sounded amazed.

"See for your self." The old man produced a digital camera from his shirt pocket. "I took a picture of the lake just yesterday, around noon." The trio could see the date-stamp on the picture as well as the fact that the pond was full, and the island had nothing on it but grass. "That's why the pond dried up. To grow this fast, it would need an incredible amount of water – so it sucked up as much as possible from the surrounding area. It probably leached all the nutrients from the soil as well."

"But how could that be possible *cough-cough* without any sunlight I mean? *ahem* If this happened during the night…" Sakaki's throat was dry and his voice was failing him.

"Sunlight is just energy son. And the sun is but one means of providing energy. Perhaps what ever happened, the energy came from… another source." The man offered Sakaki his water.

"No thanks. *cough*. I still don't get…"

But Amon interrupted him. "Thanks so much for your help, sir. How can we get a hold of you, in case have any more questions? You seem to know this place well."

"I know it and love it," replied the old man. As he wrote down his number Robin noticed that the vial of Orbo hanging from Amon's neck was bubbling, ever so slightly. She rubbed her nose with her index finger as Sakaki's coughing got worse. After the old man left, Amon turned to his team.

"There's definitely a craft at work here. I'll retrieve a sample of bark from the tree to send to the lab. You two should wait in the car… and run the air conditioning."

"*cough-cough* Why? *cough* We'll be fine…" But Sakaki was getting short of breath, and his coughing was getting worse.

"This tree grew to a height of 50 meters in one night, taking all of the water from this lake to do it. My guess is that it putting out an unnatural high amount of pollen at the moment. If it was generated by a craft, the Orbo should protect me. But you too are both showing signs of being affected."

"Hey… I'm fine! I *sniiiiiiif* just…" Robin trailed off, as Amon stared at her knowingly. Her nose was starting to run profusely, and the itch she had felt earlier was getting worse. She decided not to argue. It was bad enough that Amon already saw her as a kid, she didn't feel the need to add 'snot-nosed' to his image of her. "All right I'll go back… to… the… c-car… w-w-with… Saa… SaaAAH… HAAAHHHH-chmpht!" Robin stifled the violent sneeze that nearly doubled her over. Amon was about to say something when a scream was heard a dozen or so meters away.

"Fire! Fire! Trash-can on fire! Help! Help!" It was a woman; apparently an early riser planning to take a morning jog in the park. Before the hunters could respond, the old man joined her and used the water in his canteen to put out the fire. Amon stared at Robin.

"Did you do that?" He asked quietly, but in a stern tone.

"*sniiiiif* I don't… know." But she'd had the same thought, so just in case she decided it would be better if she didn't sneeze for the time being. "I'll *sniff* go back to the car *sniff* with Sakaki *sniff*." Sakaki was now hacking rather profoundly while Robin's nose now ran beyond her control. It made her nervous that her power also now seemed beyond her control. Considering the amount of dried grass surrounding them, and the lack of water nearby, she was slowly coming to the realization that they were in considerable danger.

_______________________________________________

Once they returned to STNJ headquarters, Sakaki headed over to sick bay, while Robin and Amon sat down in the conference room. Their resident information gatherer and computer hacker extraordinaire, Michael, was waiting to brief them on the information he was able to pull down from the 'Net.

"The weather service is reporting record pollen counts – and what's remarkable is that it's not just a record for this time of year, but almost double the previous record for any time of year. Also, apparently that huge tree in Kaede-park was just one of several arboreal anomalies that has occurred recently. We have a report from the Watanabe Golf Club that a dozen such trees popped up on several of their fairways – doing extensive damage to the entire course. Also… the water authority has issued an emergency alert to all citizens to conserve water. They didn't give any details, but I did some digging. According to the cities hydrological monitoring equipment, the city's water levels are about what they would be after a year-long drought – assuming continued, normal consumption by the city."

As the team considered this information, the chief came in with some bad news. "Sakaki will not be able to join you two today. His conditioned has worsened and he's been taken to the hospital for treatment."

"*sniiifff* Is he going to be all right?" Robin asked.

"Oh, he's basically being treated for smoke inhalation. He'll be given an expectorant as well as supplemental oxygen and bed rest. But he's nowhere near fit for duty today… Say Miss Sena, you don't sound so good either…"

"*sniff* Oh it's nothing… *sniff* probably just that *sniff* 'record pollen count' that Michal mentioned. *sniff*" Robin smiled, trying to appear tougher than she felt at the moment.

"Well… OK…" The chief sounded concerned. "Just let us know if your condition worsens.

She considered the fact that she had been inside the air conditioned building for almost an hour now, without her 'condition' getting any better, but decided not to mention it.

"In any case," the chief continued, "I've got Karasuma and Dojima over at the Water Authority checking things out there, so I need you two to investigate the Golf Course."

_______________________________________________

Fortunately Director Zaizen knew the Club's owner, so Amon and Robin were able to gain access easily as well as interview the manager.

Amon started with the manager strait away. "Do you have any security footage? If someone entered the course last night, would you have a picture of them?"

"Ummm… Yes, we have cameras posted – not out on the fairways mind you, but if someone broke in through the perimeter, we might have gotten a shot of them. Security's checking the tapes now, so I'll let you know if they find anything."

"Thank you. One more thing – is your irrigation system working?" Amon asked.

"Ummm… No… not yet. The water level is still too low, so the sprinklers are off line… Why?"

"No reason, but I highly recommend you get them operational as quickly as possible. Amon gave a sideways glance to Robin.

"Hey! I…. *sniiiiiffff*." Robin went silent, still being pierced by Amon's stare.

_______________________________________________

The course itself was almost completely dried up. Every drop of water had been squeezed out of the ground. Not a single blade of green grass was left anywhere. Spread throughout the course were a dozen mature trees, none nearly as big as the one they had seen that morning, but fully grown mature trees none the less. The itch in Robin's nose was reaching a nearly insane intensity.

"It's just like at the pond. All the resources in the ground have been siphoned up to feed the trees. What kind of craft would be capable of such a feat? I've never seen a craft like this before. Do you have any ideas?" Amon looked over and was struck by Robin's appearance. His young partner's nose was bright red, and streams ran from her eyes. Her voice sounded both stuffy, and a bit hoarse.

"Well, *sniff* they'd have to be strong in both water and earth crafts…" Robin couldn't stop rubbing her nose. "Back home, I've seen the craft used to *sniff* help small herbs or flower gardens grow *sniff* but nothing like this. They'd have to be a master… uh… hmmmm… I…. aahhh…." Robin vigorously rubbed her itchy nose with her fingers, but it didn't look like she would be able to holdback the sneeze.

"ROBIN! NO!" Amon rushed forward, not sure what he could do to prevent the inevitable.

"Haaa… AAAH-chmpft!" Again she stifled, but her craft activated just as it had done that morning, but this time to a greater degree. Two rows of flame crossed in an 'X' pattern between the two hunters, the heat was intense and the fire spread quickly through the dried grass.

"AMON!" Robin cried out. Both hunters were forced away from each other as the flames spread between them. Amon's vial of Orbo protected him, keeping Robin's flames far enough away to leave him uncomfortably hot, but in not real danger. Robin, on the other hand, never used Orbo and in her current state was unable to muster the necessary concentration to control the fire that threatened to encircle her.

"ROBIN! WATCH OUT!"

But just as it seemed she would be engulfed in flame, the sprinkler system kicked on. The pressure was still a little low, and it was not enough to douse all of the flames right away, but there was now enough moisture to prevent the fire from spreading. Amon ordered Robin to go back to the (air conditioned) club house to wait for him. While she would have welcomed that advice just a few minutes ago, the sprinklers had soaked her clothes and she was not looking forward to waiting for Amon inside the cold building, soaking wet. She was however, in no position to argue.

_______________________________________________

Back in the conference room at headquarters, Robin's sniffles had not subsided. While she nearly froze, waiting in the air conditioned club house in her wet clothes, Amon's investigation turned up two clues, which he shared with the team. The first was a hand-written note, on what appeared to be parchment, that he'd found nailed to one of the trees.

"For too long I have watched while men in power raped this planet. I kept hoping things would get better, but my hope is gone. Now I have the power to restore the balance, to fix what mankind will not, and to reduce this virus to a more manageable level for Gaia."

It was signed "Arbor"

The second was a grainy photograph taken by one of the security cameras the night before. Once Michael was done cleaning up the picture, the team had a fairly decent photograph of their suspect. After a few minutes searching on his computer, Michael continued the briefing.

"I ran a few searches for anyone using the alias "Arbor." Within the past few weeks, several web forums received posts from a user or users with that handle. All of the posts read just like Amon's note – a lot of radical, threatening stuff. Basically, he sounds like some kind of eco-terrorist. I'm pretty sure that the 'virus' he's referring to is Mankind. Assuming it's the same person, he uses that metaphor several times in his posts. He also uses the same sig line on every one of the forums I found him on: "Negative Carbon Footprint."

"*sniff* What does that mean?" Robin inquired.

"Well… Put simply… Power plants, cars, and various other things emit large amounts of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. The leading scientific theory is that increased Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere is causing our planet to grow unnaturally warm. So the more electricity you use, the more you drive, the more power that is used to produce the goods you purchase… the bigger your Carbon Footprint."

"*sniff* OK… but *sniff* I still don't get why…"

"Trees turn Carbon Dioxide into Oxygen." Amon pointed out. "He's planning to undo the change in the atmosphere by creating artificial forests."

"Yeah," Michael continued, "But whatever that will do for the atmosphere, it's wreaking havoc on the water level, and the quality of the air in the city! Based on Robin's and Sakaki's reactions, I'd say that, along with the impending drought conditions, he's going to make fast progress in 'reducing the virus to manageable levels.'"

"Thanks Michael. Do me a favor and see if you can dig up anything else – an accomplice maybe, or a small group of followers. Check the newspaper archives, I have a hunch he may have been underground for awhile. There may be some info there that the websites don't have." Michael nodded and went back to his desk to do some more digging. "Robin, I'd like to have a word with you in private, if that's OK."

"*sniff* Sure."

Amon closed the conference room door. "Has this happened before? You craft activating when you sneeze?"

"No. Today was the first time. I always used to have enough control over my craft, by my power has increased so much since my coming here, it may be increasing faster than my ability to control it."

"And you won't use the Orbo?"

"No – it's disgusting. And besides, if I did it would block my power completely. I wouldn't be much use then, would I?"

"Hmmm. Then I think you should use this." Amon handed her a black breathing-filter mask, Robin viewed it incredulously.

"What? Why?! I know you're concerned, but why can't I just take something…"

"Two reasons. First: As the allergen is of an unnatural origin, standard medicine may prove ineffective."

"Yeah, but…"

"Second: Your reaction, while inconvenient under certain circumstances, is your body's way of expelling this allergen. And I think that's why you are still walking around and on duty instead of in the hospital – your body didn't allow the stuff to accumulate the way it did in Sakaki's. Even though he didn't react immediately, eventually the amount of particulate in his lungs grew to dangerous levels. Just in case, I'd prefer you not suppress this defense mechanism."

"Oh boy… First the glasses and now this. You just love making me look ridiculous don't you?"

"You know as well as I do that you need…"

"...the glasses. Yes, I know. That still doesn't mean I have to like them." Robin was just getting over her self-consciousness about the glasses, and was not looking forward to walking around in public wearing a breathing mask.

"There is one other thing I want to know. Why do you… stifle?"

"Huh? I don't know… *sniff* just habit I guess. Why do ask?"

"If your body is trying to rid itself of something undesirable, I wonder if that's such a good habit."

"Hmmm…. You know, I hadn't thought about it before. But when it happened, I felt a strange sensation inside of me. In my lungs, my throat, my sinuses… it was like I could feel the particles being incinerated." She noticed how surprised Amon looked. "No, it didn't hurt or anything! *sniff* I'm sure I was safe! But somehow… I was just aware of it. I think my body was actually using my craft to combat another."

Just then Michael burst in, "Amon, I found something! You've got to see this!"

Back at Michael's desk, he showed the pair what he found. "It was over 30 years ago, but there was a small and secretive group of eco-radicals calling themselves 'Gaia's Army.' Their activities included tree-spiking and other acts of sabotage, so as a security measure they always used aliases in any written communication. Many of the group's members never knew the others by anything but their aliases. According to the article, 'Arbor' was one of the group's founders. The other used the alias 'Trail.'" They never found out who Arbor really was, but the authorities did apprehend Trail, whose real name was Hideki Saitoh." Amon's blood ran cold. He pulled from his pocket the card given to him by the old man that morning – the name written on was "Hideki Saitoh."

"We've got work to do." Amon was in a hurry to leave, but the Chief came in with Karasuma and Dojima in tow.

"Amon, Robin, I want you to go with Dojima and Karasuma here to the Walled City. Within the last hour, a portion of it has become structurally unstable, apparently due to several trees growing right up through the foundation! It sure looks like our mark!"

The Walled City was not far, and the four raced over in Amon's car. When they arrived they were shocked by the damage. An entire block on the southeast corner was ready to crumble. It was beyond 'structurally unstable': the walls and roofs were cracked and splintered and were only being held up by the veritable forest of trees growing through them. As they approached, Amon spotted someone sitting on a sidewalk bench half a block away. He recognized the man's hat and walking stick from their previous encounter.

"Hello, Trail." He called to the man.

"Heh… heh… heh… Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. So you found me out did you sonny? Don't get too excited now. I did my time. Now I just want to be able to take a few walks in peace."

"Do you recognize this man?" As Amon showed him the photograph from the security camera, the man appeared crestfallen.

"I was afraid of this," he sighed. "I didn't want to believe it, but I was afraid of this. Arbor."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"We were close friends once upon a time; radical idealists fighting back against the machine of industry." The man smiled, as he recalled the days gone by. "He was by far the more radical of the two of us. He always wanted to do more. To act. The tree-spiking was his idea. I still did the time for it though."

"Are you a craft user as well?"

"I was… and don't bother explaining yourself.  Yeah, I know all about Solomon. That's one of the reasons we used the aliases way back when. It was more than political idealism that brought us together."

"What was your craft?"

"I had a knack for purifying air and water. I couldn't ever do more than a small pond or stream, but I did what I could. Arbor… he had the power to increase life. Not in people, or even animals mind you… but in plants. He'd always repair any damage done by a tree-spike, or whatever else we did. It helped cover our tracks… as well as just seeming like the right thing to do. But I don't have anything to fear from the likes of Solomon now. As his power has apparently grown exponentially with age, mine has diminished. I can't even purify the water in my own canteen anymore. So when you ask me if I am a witch, I can honestly say… Not anymore."

"Can you tell me anything else about him?"

"Not much that you don't already know. He's dangerous. I only ever wanted to help preserve this planet we live on, but he always saw human overpopulation as the problem. I don't know where he's been all this time – we lost touch after I went to prison – but if he's this strong, you can bet he's ready to make his vision a reality!"

"Thanks, old man. You should probably get away from here. I don't plan to hunt you, but I can't guarantee that the rest of Solomon will see things the same way." The old man nodded and shuffled away.

"OK team. Let's move in."

_______________________________________________

Inside, the Walled City looked as though it was a rain forest. Vines covered every wall, and trees towered over them. The only sign of their modern urban surroundings was the sound of a radio, off in the distance, warning citizens that water service was being interrupted due to record low levels. That was the difference between their current environment and a rain forest – the air in here was incredibly dry. Although the mask helped, Robin's nose still itched and ran, but not as bad as before.

They slowly crept down a vine infested alleyway. Overhead parts of the buildings would occasionally groan and creek, ready to come down at any time. As they rounded one corner, they spotted a man at the other end of the wooded corridor. Amon called out to him: "ARBOR?" The man ran. Guns drawn, the team gave chase.

As the team pursued, they reached a four-way intersection. Amon gave the order to split up. Robin took the left passage. At this point she was thankful for Amon having given her the mask, although she would not give him the satisfaction of letting him know it helped. While she stalked down the corridor, she noticed the vegetation getting thicker and the light growing dimmer. She stopped for a minute to get her bearings. While she looked around in the near darkness, she took off her mask so that she could wipe her upper lip, which had grown sticky since her nose still ran and the fluid just collected under the mask.

Suddenly a hand flew out of the darkness.

*SLAP*

The mask was lost.

"*sniff* Who are you? Arbor?" She put her glasses on, but her eyes were starting to get irritated again, and it was already hard to see in the dim light. She spotted some movement in the shadows. "Don't move," she called out, "or I'll fry you."

A raspy voice answered from the shadows. "I don't think you are going to do that. The Walled City would go up like matchsticks and people still live here, you know."

"*sniff* I can control that..." She turned to face the voice but in focusing on her target, she missed the vines that had crept round her ankles. Trying to spin in place, instead she fell. More vines grew and wrapped around her wrists. She was trapped.

"No. In your current state, I don't think you can... just like you couldn't on the golf course." So he had been watching them, Robin realized. More vines grew, further tangling her. She could move her head, but her arms and legs were almost completely wrapped in the thick brush.

"I think you'll like this one." The raspy voice called again. To Robin it sounded as though Arbor had retreated, but as he did another vine grew down from the darkness above her. The end of it was covered with bright purple flowers that had a sweet smell to them. As pleasant as the odor was, the tickle in Robin's nose immediately rose to a nearly mind-altering level.

"Aaaah… Haaaahhh…" Control, she thought. I must control it. I. Must. Not. Sneeze. She struggled to free her hand. The drive to rub her itchy nose was almost primal now. She was breathing out of her mouth. It wasn't helping. She was trying to think of something… anything to get her mind off of the growing, maddening itch and the consequences of what would happen if she gave in…

"Aaaah…. Aaaah… Oh…. Aaaaaaahhhhh…. HAHAHAT-TCHOOO!" For some reason she hadn't stifled this time. So much of her attention was focused on her nose and what was bothering it that she had none left to keep her craft in check. A fireball emerged from her mouth and nose, scorching the bloom that was causing her so much distress. Although it did not catch fire, it did retreat. The urge to sneeze however did not, and four more came in quick succession.

"Hayat-TCHOO! Hat-tchoo! Hah… Hah… Hat-tchoo! HAAAH… Hat-TSHOOO!" Four more fireballs, and now the foliage was beginning to wilt. Robin could feel the vines around her ankles and wrists start to grow soft and slack. She freed herself, and while only a second ago the urge to rub her nose was nearly maddening, at the moment she felt completely clear, as if the inferno that emerged from her tortured respiratory track completely cleared both the air and her body of the irritant. Using her craft, she doused what little flame there was, so as not to endanger the ramshackle slum, found the breathing mask and made her way out. She soon met up with the rest of the team, but none of them had encountered the strange shadow with the raspy voice.

_______________________________________________

Back at headquarters the team waited impatiently. Nothing could be done to save the southeast block of the Walled City, and demolition teams had already started razing it. Michael could not find anything else to go on, and there were too many potential targets to stake out all of them. After several hours and a take-out meal that nobody touched, the chief burst in – there was a break in at the city's power plant. No trees or other strange occurrences had been reported, but the chief had a hunch it was their guy.

When they arrived, police squads were actually pulling out, concluding that it was a false alarm. The four hunters made their way to a back entrance, where Michael said he would be able to temporarily disarm the security system. They entered into a section of the plant that was offline for maintenance but luckily no maintenance was being done that night.

Once inside, the team began to look around. The strange smell was first noticed by Amon, but soon all four recognized it: a gas leak. Somewhere in the sprawling darkness, someone had sabotaged the gas main. In the distance they here a loud clanging noise. They drew their guns and ran towards it.

The team crossed the plant floor and spotted a shadow at the other end of a small corridor. They sped after it, still aware of the smell of gas in the air. In their haste they missed the hunched figure hiding in the shadows. They rushed right past their quarry and into what looked like a locker room. A security gate made of iron bars slammed shut behind them.

"You have interfered with my plans already, and you are a threat. Therefore you shall be eliminated. And the best part is that the cause of your own demise will also bring down this filth-spewing monstrosity! And no one will even make the connection." His gaze intensified and the cement floor beneath them began to crack.

Amon, Dojima and Karasuma leveled their pistols and fired. Since the Orbo pellets were air propelled, they had nothing to fear from the gas. All three shots cleared the iron grate and struck the old witch in the chest. He fell, temporarily incapacitated, but otherwise unharmed. As their attention turned back to Robin, they could see panic on her face. More of the strange vines had grown through the floor, several bearing the same purple blooms that had given her so much trouble before.

"Haaah… Haaaaaaaahh…"

"Robin, no!" Amon called, but he was out of ideas. They needed time to pick the lock on the gate, but Robin's nose was not going to give them any. Even in top form she would not be able to extinguish this much gas, once ignited.

"Haaaaaah…*sniiiiiiiiffff* Haaaaah…" She was rubbing her nose, desperately trying to keep the tickle at bay.

"HAH… HAAAH… HAAAAAH… *ptchltlx*!" Dojima had walked over and firmly pinched Robin's nose between her thumb and forefinger. Robin was as surprised as anyone that this worked.

"Ok…" Dojima began sweetly. "While dear Robin stands here and holds her breath, does anyone know how to get that lock open?"

"I'll take care of it, sweetie." The whole team jumped. The voice came from the other side of the grate.

"Trail!" Amon called out.

"That's right sonny." Trail produced a key ring and, after a few tries, opened the iron gate. "Now you, sweetie," He said looking at Dojima, "You get her out of here."

He looked at Karasuma. "I uh… don't own one o' them cellophones. You want to call the power company? Report the leak?" Karasuma got right to it.

"I suppose you'll have to call the factory?" Amon was shocked that the old man knew about that. The old man was able to read him clearly. "I told you before sonny… I know all about Solomon."

"What are you going to do?" Amon asked him.

"I think I'll stay here. With my friend. They can take us both. I'm tired of running." The man seemed resigned to his fate.

Seemingly indifferent, Amon nodded. "I notice you don't seem affected one way or the other by the spores." Amon pointed at the vines, which now nearly filled the room, continuing to grow despite their creator's unconsciousness.

"Well… I told you I was able to purify water and air. A man my age couldn't have made it through that plant, what with all the gas. Without my craft, I'd have collapsed before even figuring out where you were, or what Arbor was up to."

"But… you also said your power had diminished; that you couldn't even purify the water in your canteen anymore!"

"Heh heh..." There was a twinkle in the old man's eye. "I lied."

For the briefest moment, somewhere in the dark recesses of his heart, Amon did sympathize with the old witch sitting in front of him - the man who had saved his life. But he could already here the trucks from the factory approaching. It was the only time he'd ever kept a target company until the moment the trucks arrived and the only time he ever thought of letting a witch go free.