Friendly Persuasion
Tying the Knot
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The afternoon had come and gone. Unfortunately, for Inu-Yasha mostly, Kouga hadn’t.
everywhere they went and had to be chased away by Leota, fireballs in her hands
and pure annoyance in her eyes.
He sat with them now, right in between the normally
inseparable friends. Currently, he was
talking to Leota about how he loved springtime... even though it was summer.
“In fact,” he was saying, “speaking of spring reminds me of
you.”
All heads turned at this statement, Leota’s whipping around
as though she’d been hit.
“Excuse me?” She
asked.
“Your scent. It
reminds me of springtime. To be
specific, spring rain.”
No one could be sure if Leota blushed at this comment, for the
firelight cast nothing but shadows on her face at the moment.
“Thanks.” Leota said,
sounding suddenly shy.
Kouga beamed, “I only tell it like it is, Ookami-chan.”
Leota blinked. He
hadn’t addressed her directly all day.
“Uh, Kouga-dono?” Leota began, sounding very
uncharacteristically unsure of herself, “I wanted to know...”
Leota stopped when she heard snickering.
laughing behind their hands.
Leota and Kagome looked over at them, “What?”
Inu-Yasha pointed towards Leota, “She called him
‘Kouga-dono’!”
“You gotta problem with that?” Leota began, a growl beginning in her th as as her eyes narrowed
and turned a nice shade of turquoise.
Inu-Yasha blinked, “Well it’s just that he’s a coward!
“And just who are you to say what I call people?
Or would you rather I call you Idiot?”
Leota prompted, the fire seemingly hotter than before.
Tora blinked and shook his head to clear it, “I’ve never seen
Ookami-chan this defensive. And I’ve
known her for years!”
“I think I’m going to be going now.”
“Nonsense!” Leota said, “Stay here to your heart’s content.”
Tora was now thoroughly confused. Ookami-chan had never behaved this way.
Shippo decided to speak up, “Hey Kagome!”
Kagome turned to look at him, “What’s up, Shippo-chan?”
“Kirara and I made this for you! Here!” Shippo said as he
handed Kagome a garland of flowers.
“Thank, Sh, Shippo!
It’s beautiful!” She said as she
tied it around her neck, only to have it fall down in her lap.
“Here K-chan, I’ll tie it for you,” Leota offered as she tied
the garland tightly, “there you go!”
“Here Ota-chan! We
made one for you, too!”
Leota had a look of surprise on her face, but it turned to a
face of gratitude, “Thank you, Chan-chan.
It’s wonderful.”
Soon, Leota and Kagome had matching garlands around their
necks. Shippo stepped back and admired his
handiwork.
“Something wrong, Inu-Yasha?” Miroku asked as he looked at the hanyou.
Inu-Yasha’s mouth was slightly open, and he was staring at
the garlands that the girls wore.
Sango, too, was staring at them.
“What?” Leota asked, “Is there something on our faces?”
“I know that knot.”
Inu-Yasha said.
“So do I.” Sango
nodded.
Tora was merely shaking his head, deciding he’d better not
get into this conversation.
“What’s wrong with the knot?” Kagome asked, “Is it coming
loose?”
“No, that’s not it, it’s the...” Inu-Yasha stopped as he saw Leota shaking her head violently
behind Kagome.
“It’s the what?”
“It’s the Assassin’s Knot.”
Sango finished.
Kagome had a puzzled expression on her face, “So?”
“Only assassins themselves know how to tie that knot.”
Turning to Leota, Kagome asked, “Is that true?”
Leota looked about to panic, but she spoke calmly, “In this
time it is, but where we come from, it’s not true anymore.
one is trusted by an assassin. Trusted
enough to be handed down the wisdom of past assassins.
become an assassin, I would be able to become one.”
“Do you want to become one?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Tora decided that if the conversation had gone this far, it
might as well go all the way, “And what does it mean to be able to tie the knot
on oneself?”
Leota shrugged, “To be able to tie the knot on oneself means
that the person is an assassin themselves.”
“Is that not the same knot, then?” Kaede asked, pointing to the knot Leota had tied for her own
garland.
Leota turned her garland to look at the knot she’d tied.
slightly. She had tied the Assassin’s
Knot upon her own garland. Accepting
her fate for what it was, Leota swallowed and raised her eyes to meet Kaede’s.
“Yes, Kaede, it is the same knot,” Leota turned to Kagome, “I
am an assassin, but not only that, I am the best assassin Asia
has to offer.”
No one moved at this statement, let alone breathed.
hands. Kagome’s eyes were wide and her
mouth was opening and closing, as though there were something she wanted to say
but just couldn’t say it. To Leota, she
looked like a goldfish.
Kagome’s eyes soon became angry, “Go.”
“Pardon?” Leota
asked, her face resembling that of a wounded puppy.
“I said go. I don’t
ever want to see you again.”
Inu-Yasha blinked, his mind full of confused thoughts, “Come
on, Kagome, it’s not that bad. We could
use someone like...”
“No!” Kagome exclaimed as she stood up, her eyes ablaze, “Get
away from me, I never want to see you again!”
“Come now, Kagome, you can’t mean...”
“I’ve made up my mind!
Get whatever you need and go!”
“Don’t you think...?”
Miroku began.
“Enough.” Leota
herself spoke this command.
“Huh?” Was everyone’s
question.
“If Higurashi Kagome-sama wants me gone, that is her decision
and she shall not stray from it. I
accept my punishment and shall enact it at once, since that is what Kagome-sama
would wish of me. It has been a
pleasure to have met all of you. I
thank you for the honor you have bestowed upon me by allowing me these few days
with you,” Leota stood and turned to Kaede, “Kaede-sama, I thank you one last
time for your hospitality.”
With that, Leota turned and went towards Kaede’s hut.
her sword at her left hip. With a nod
given only to Tora, Leota turned her back on the fire and began walking away.
But she wasn’t headed towards the well.
Instead, she was headed towards the forest, which soon lead inhe
he
mountains.
What could she possibly want there?
Inu-Yasha turned to Kagome, an angry light in his eyes as he
stood, “Whatever happened to ‘Regardless of anything, Leota-san, I swear I’ll
love you just as much as I do now’?”
“Inu-Ya...” Kagome
began, reaching her hand out to him.
He turned around angrily and spoke before walking away,
“You’re wrong, Kagome. And I want you
to know that I’m not the only one that thinks so.”
Turning to her group of friends, Kagome saw Sango, Miroku,
Kaede, and even Shippo nod their heads at Inu-Yasha’s statement.
since inquiring about the knot.
Tora said nothing.
Instead, he stood and cracked his neck.
“Where are you going?” Kagome asked, “You knew, didn’t
you? You knew all along what she was, didn’t
you?”
“I don’t think you want to be talking to me right now,
Kagome-sama.”
“And why is that?”
Tora held up his right hand, a small ‘x’ burned onto it, “Remember
when you asked about what Leota said as Kyo?
About me being second only to her?
Well if she’s the best assassin Asia has to offer, then I am second
best. I am known as Jade Tiger, for my
eyes are actually green,” Tora said as he put his fingers to his eyes and
removed a pair of contacts, “and Ookami-sama is known not only as Ookami, but
the still-popular nick for for her is the Silver Death.”
That said, Tora turned and began walking towards the well.
“Tora...?” Shippo
began.
“What’s the matter, Shippo-chan?”
“Are you leaving us for good?”
Tora’s green eyes softened, “I don’t know, Chan-chan.
back.”
“Prom”
“Hai,” Tora nodded as he turned to Kagome, “Inu-Yasha’s
right, you know. We’re not as bad as
you think. We work for the police,
killing drug dealers and their subordinates.
Or would you rather them selling cocaine to children no older than
Sota?”
Kagome’s eyes remained angry, even as Tora walked away,
headed to the well.
Shippo then turned to face the woman he’d been calling
‘Mother’ in his mind, “You’re wrong, Kagome!
They didn’t do anything to you!
I’ll never forgive you!”
And with that Shippo scampered off, also headed towards the
well, probably to try and delay Tora’s departure.
One by one, the beings around the fire left.
with not even a goodbye, Sango and Miroku got up together and headed in the
same direction before a smack was heard, and soon Kagome stood by herself.
“What have I done?” She asked of the heavens, “You know
what you’ve done, Higurashi. You’ve
just turned all your friends against you, even Shippo-chan.”
And it all started because of one little knot.
A/N: Wow! Two chapters in one day! Anyhow, Chap. 14 will go into detail about
Leota’s life, the ‘x’ on her hand, how she met Kagome, and she tells it all
(okay, most of it) in a surprise location! Muahaha!
Oh, and Chapter Fourteen is: Unexpected Shelter