The Sins of the Father

~Meiji Era~

“Wait! Sir! You forgot to pay your tab!”

Sano picked up his pace, as the old proprietor from the inn he just left yelled after him. Before long, he was lost within the throng of pedestrian traffic moving through the crowded street. He had never before set foot in this part of Tokyo, but a crowded street was a crowded street, and Sano knew well how to make himself scarce in a hurry.

After a full day on foot, he had managed to make significant progress toward the part of the city that bordered the Oni Forest. Now, all he had to do was find the shrine that apparently did, in fact, exist.

Apart from providing room and board along with an excellent breakfast, the inn’s proprietor had regaled him with a fantastical tale about a powerful miko who once saved all of Japan from the scourge of an evil hanyou. The miko, who according to legend had ‘been so beautiful that even the stars would not dare to shine in her presence’, came from another world through an old magic well which had been built with wood from the Tree of Ages.

Sano really wasn’t all too interested in hearing the legend, and had rolled his dark brown eyes and scoffed in exasperation when he heard the fanciful description of the miko. However, when the man had mentioned that the well in question existed on the grounds of a shrine about half a day’s walk into the forest, Sano’s interest had picked up considerably.

“Are there any people living there currently?” He had asked the stocky and slightly balding proprietor.

The shorter man had beamed at him. It wasn’t all that often that he had an interactive audience for his stories after all.

”Oh yes. There is an old miko, and a young boy living in a small house on the shrine grounds. I don’t often see the miko much anymore, since she is old and her sight is failing her, but the boy comes into town on occasion for supplies.”

Sano had been a little perplexed at the guy’s answer. He was still fairly convinced that the shrine was where Kenshin was hiding, but he could not see how an old lady and a kid could be of any help to him.

“What’s their story?” he had asked.

“Well, the old miko was the one who told me the story that I just shared with you, many years ago. Like I said, I haven’t seen much of her recently, but I can tell you that in my youth she often came into town to help protect the city from some of the youkai that still populate the oni forest,” he answered, lost in thought as he rubbed his small black goatee with his fingers.

Sano had snickered at that.

“Youkai? C’mon old man, you can’t possibly be serious.”

“Hai, very serious,” the man had answered with a nod of his head. The lines on his forehead increased as his almond shaped dark brown eyes widened momentarily in fear. “That forest is dangerous, it is.”

“If it’s so dangerous, than how come a mere kid is able to travel through it?”

“Ah, the boy. Well, that is another story,” the aged proprietor said. He shook his head and sighed, before continuing in a more hushed tone.

“You see, Higurashi Yasuo was only a baby when he was brought to this very inn by an onna so badly burned it was a wonder she was still alive. She placed the boy in my care as well as a strange looking cat, and begged me to keep them safe. She expired soon after, bless her soul.”

The proprietor bowed his head in a moment of respect.

“I was at a loss for what to do with the boy. My wife had died a few years prior, and my own children were already grown, and I just did not have the time to raise the boy myself as well as maintain my business.”

Sano had looked at the man somewhat skeptically. Aside from one other man passed out against the side of one wall who he assumed was just a local drunk, he was the only customer. All this man had was time, who did he think he was kidding?

“But, alas, the good and kind miko, who was slightly younger and much spryer then, had come into town that day and had agreed to take the boy and cat on sight. The miko has trained him in the ways of a Shinto priest, and the boy now possesses enough holy energy to keep the youkai and oni of the forest at bay.”

Sano, for his part was looking at the proprietor like he had lost his mind. The old man actually believed what he was telling him. He shook his head in slight amusement, as the innkeeper continued to spin his yarn.

“Ah, I probably should have kept the cat, though. I do have an occasional mouse problem here, after all. But I was a little put off by its mutation.”

“Mutation?”

”Yeah. The little thing had three tails. Imagine that!”

~~~

Sano stood before the edge of the dark and foreboding forest, and frowned, his dark brown eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Perhaps there was something up with this forest after all. Even he was getting some really weird vibes from the place, and he hadn’t even entered it yet. He ran his hand through his spiky brown hair, as he tried to shrug off the feeling of apprehension.

What if the old man wasn’t crazy? What if there really were oni and youkai in the forest?

Sano shook his head to clear it and pushed his red bandanna further up on his brow, as the sweat began to trail down his forehead.

He stood there at the edge of the forest for quite a while, trying to gain the courage to go forth. All the while, he was cursing himself for his stupidity.

‘There are no such things as oni and youkai,’ he told himself, repeating that simple truth over and over in his head like a mantra. Kami, he had faced many scary things in his life; he’d even battled Kenshin a couple of times. He couldn’t understand why he was getting so freaked out by a simple forest. Damn that old man and his stupid stories...

“Excuse me… sir?”

Sano’s heart raced, and he nearly jumped three feet in the air in his surprise at the sound of the soft voice from behind. He turned around, only to see a small young girl pulling on his gi insistently. He rapidly gained control of himself, and cleared his throat.

“Whaddya want, kid? Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

“Sir… I’m sorry, but I was told to give you this,” the little girl said, as she handed him a small leather pouch.

He looked at her in confusion, as he accepted the pouch. Curious, he opened the pouch to reveal a half dozen ninja throwing stars. Sano raised one thick eyebrow at the girl.

“Who gave these to you?”

The little girl shrugged.

”The old man from the Inn. He said to find the ‘baka with a white gi and bad hair’ and give them to him before he goes into the forest unarmed and gets himself killed. He also said that he didn’t want your death on his conscious, and he expects you to pay your tab when you return.”

‘Bad hair?!?’

Sanosuke couldn’t help to feel somewhat bemused, as the girl flashed him a quick grin before heading back into town.

He then examined the sharp edges and high quality of the throwing stars the innkeeper had given him, and for the first time ever he felt somewhat ashamed at not paying his tab. With a shake of his head, he pocketed the leather pouch and began his sojourn into the Oni Forest.

~~~

Kohaku was not at all happy with the turn of events.

The bastard wolf had once again eluded him. He had been so hopeful when he saw the surface of Kanna’s mirror start to clear, but they had only managed to catch a glimpse of the wolf before the mirror fogged over.

He should have never let the damned wolf live long enough to become powerful enough to deflect the void youkai’s scrying. He should have killed him long ago, the day he found the pitiful wolf in an emotional wreck by the side of the old well. That had been what he had sent out to do that day, after all. But the sight of the wolf in so much pain had amused him greatly, and so he let him live.

It was not a mistake he would repeat.

He would deal with the wolf later, however. It was time for him to check on the kitsune.

“Kanna?”

“Hai, Kohaku-sama,” she responded, her gray eyes showing only the smallest hint of trepidation. She had gotten quite a nasty feedback shock from her mirror the other day, and she did not care to repeat the experience. But the petite white haired youkai knew all too well that when Kohaku addressed her, it was normally to spy on one of his enemies. She just hoped it would not be the wolf this time.

“I would like for you to show me the kitsune,” Kohaku asked.

Kanna nodded her head minutely, and let out a very small breath in relief. Had Kohaku not known what to look for, he would have missed her response entirely. Of course, he immediately knew why the normally stoic void youkai had responded that way, and his red eyes glinted in amusement.

“Do not worry, Kanna. I will not ask to see the wolf. At least not today.”

Kanna’s pale cheeks colored just slightly in embarrassment as she held the ancient mirror in front of her.

At first, all Kohaku could see in the mirror was his own reflection. But gradually, the surface of the mirror changed. The image that was eventually portrayed was not one that the dark-haired boy would have expected, and he wrinkled his lightly freckled nose in frustration.

“Why is your mirror showing me this, Kanna? I asked to see the kitsune -- not the bone eater’s well.”

“I do not know, Kohaku-sama. Gomen nasai.”

Kohaku narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips in thought. Perhaps the kitsune has found a way to avoid their scrying as well. How very frustrating.

Seeing the fate of the kitsune’s son would probably cheer him up.

When he had left the kitsune-hanyou, the red haired swordsman was badly broken. Kohaku had left him alive, reveling in his misery, but did not leave the area before finding someone to alert the officials of his location. They of course would have assumed that the former assassin had been responsible for the fate of the young onna. By now the kitsune-hanyou would either be in their custody, or dead by his own hand. The thought put a small smile on his face, and he once again addressed Kanna.

“Show me the Hitokiri Battousai, Kanna,” he ordered. His eyes widened in alert when the mirror once again showed only the bone-eater’s well. While the kitsune may have developed the ability to thwart the mirror’s power somewhat, the hanyou would not have had enough youki to accomplish it.

Kohaku knew that mirror showing the old well for both of them was also no coincidence. What were the foxes up to? What were they planning?

Whatever they were doing, it involved the old well.

He had a sudden and exciting thought, but quickly brushed it away as impossible. Still, one can never be too sure. But if they did find a way to retrieve the miko, what fun he would have with her. For she alone was most at fault for the death of his father.

Barely repressing his excitement, he stood and walked over to the other side of the room. He threw open the shoji screen almost violently, and entered the room where he kept many of his useful possessions.

Along one wall rested an old katana, and he briefly scowled as he looked at it. It was the one weapon the Taiyoukai had possessed that had rejected Kohaku with a violent shock. Still, Kohaku was determined that at some point he would master the sword regardless, and learn its secrets. But for the time being, he kept the sword in here; two rooms away from the living husk of the katana's former owner.

On the other side of the wall was an ornately carved sendai tansu constructed entirely of gingko wood. He walked over to it, and threw open the top drawer. Nested inside were several currently inactive saimyoushou nests. He grabbed one with a smile, and made his way outside.

He held the nest tightly in his hand, as he transferred some of his youki to it, awakening the large poisonous hornets within. ‘To the bone eater’s well’, he commanded mentally to each one of them, and watched as they took flight.

Since each was roughly the size of a cat, he had no doubt that they would cause some alarm, but he really didn’t care. The bees would serve to be his soldiers, as well as his spies.

They would cause the fox and his kit quite a bit of trouble, should they come through or approach the old well at the edge of the Oni Forest.

And if the miko was with them?

Kohaku’s smile was filled with malice as he thought about what fate would befall the miko from the future, were she to return.

~~~

A/N: I decided not to do Kouga’s POV yet because, well, basically he’s still en route. I promise though that he’ll appear within the next few chapters. It’s just that the next scene with him that I have in mind takes place with Yahiko at the Kamiya dojo, and even as fast as he is, I just don’t see him making it from Kyoto to Tokyo just yet. I have so many things happening in such a short span of time!

Another note: I gave Kirara three tails instead of two because I assumed that the tails are a mark of age. In the episode, ‘The Black Kirara’, the little neko youkai kittens only had one tail while the older cats had two.

As always, review, review, and review! The more reviews I get, the more enthused I am about writing. :)


Japanese Words:

Sendai tansu – Japanese drawer chest
Saimyoushou – naraku’s poison bees
Onna - young girl
Oni – ogre
Youkai – demon
Hanyou – half demon
Gomen nasai – sorry
Youki – demonic energy
Miko – shrine maiden
Kitsune – fox
Hitokiri – assassin
Gi – General name for clothes worn by a martial artist
Hai – yes
Aie – no
Kami – god; gods
Baka – idiot