Tuesday, July 5, 2005

No Surrender: Tragic swordsman, Yuukanmaru
*episode 4*

How tragic, these dead
Mighty warriors they stood
By my hand they fell

“What the hell?!?” Inuyasha says. Kagura says, “It’s haiku.” Answering the half-demons questioning stare, Kagome says, “It’s poetry.” They are standing in the middle of another battle field full of dead humans. Kagome is holding a piece of paper she found neatly folded next to the severed head of the apparent leader of the group. On the paper is written the strange words which she just read. Inuyasha asks, “Is this creep boasting? Does he think he’s so tough because he can do all this?” Kagome says, “I don’t think so. This almost sounds like a lament; as if he were sad.” Inuyasha says, “Coming from one of Naraku’s incarnations, I doubt…oww!” As Inuyasha rubs his head, Kagura says, “No Kagome, he’s right. I’ve never felt remorse over the times when I killed. Even though lately I’ve begun to wonder if I should. If this is Naraku’s doing, then it’s something new.” “Fiends!!!” the words are accompanied by the pounding of hooves. Half a dozen horsemen are charging at them. Inuyasha and Kagura push in front of Kagome. The half-demon unsheathes the Tetsusaiga and the demoness raises her fan in readiness. “Hold!” a voice bellows. “These are not the ones.” The horsemen draw to halt several meters from the tree and the speaker comes up from behind them. One of the horsemen says, “But m’lord, the survivors said that it was a sword wielding demon; and here we have him fresh from yet another slaughter.” Before Inuyasha or his friends can proclaim his innocence, the lord says, “They did indeed; however, they also both said that the demon wielded two swords and traveled alone. They aren’t the ones we’re looking for, move along.” As the horsemen proceed to begin searching through the bodies, the lord turns to the three, “Demons, I ask only that you be about your business. There is a rogue on the loose, slaughtering our soldiers; this group makes more than one hundred. I have no time to deal with your like.” Kagome pushes between Kagura and Inuyasha and says, “We saw another group over that way,” she points, “and we found this here.” She hands him the haiku. Looking at it, he says, “Scouts reported on that company a short time ago. It was my brother and his men.” Kagome says, “I’m sorry.” The lord looks up from the paper. “Although your dress tells otherwise, you seem to be human. Are you in need of assistance?” he says, looking at the others still standing defensively. Kagome says, “What these two, no they’re my friends. We’re looking for another friend of ours; a monk. He was making a pilgrimage to a shrine near here, but we think he may be in danger.” The lord nods, “To Yume Uta; fallow this road until you see a great forest to your left. If you are lucky, you may catch this monk before he enters the forest. If not you will have to wait for him to emerge; lay people are not permitted unaccompanied.” Kagura says, “She may not look it, but Kagome is a priestess. We should go now.” The lord says, “Then be on your way, lady Kagome. If you are stopped again, tell the soldiers you travel with lord Morimaru Todo’s permission.” “Thank you.” Kagome says.
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