Damned If You Do

Chapter 3 Trouble with Dragons

It was early when Sango went out to wash clothes. Unlike InuYasha’s kimono, human clothes couldn’t regenerate or clean themselves. So Sango was stuck with job of cleaning them. ‘It might be easier to buy new ones,’ she thought as she scrubbed the clothes clean in a bucket. As she hung the clothes to dry over a rack, she noticed a woman walking toward her.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but may I ask for a drink of water?” The woman gave Sango a tired smile.
“Yes, of course,” Sango said. ‘She looks exhausted.’ Sango thought as she got the woman some water. “Have you been traveling a while?”
“Yes.” She drank thirstily. “I’m hunting dragons.”
“Oh.” Sango looked at the woman thoughtfully. She had the look of a youkai slayer. “I don’t mean to pry, but why dragons?”
“My family was attacked by dragons.”
“I’m sorry. What happened to your family?” Sango’s sympathies went out to the woman.
“My mother and father were killed. I come from a village of youkai slayers. We were able to fight off the dragons, there weren’t that many. Many of us were injured or killed in the fight.”
Amazed at the similarities, Sango introduced herself. “I’m Sango. I’m also from a slayers’ village.”
“Oh. I’m Hana. I didn’t realize this was such a village.”
“It’s not. My village was destroyed by an evil youkai; everyone was killed except my brother and me. I’m surprised dragons attacked. They’re usually solitary and avoid humans.”
“These dragons weren’t from here. They were different.”
“Different how?”
Hana shook her head. “All I can remember is that they were big, with big wings.”
“How long ago did this happen?”
“About 10 years ago, I think.”
“10 years!? You’ve been hunting them for that long?”
“No, no. I wasn’t old enough. I had to go through training first. I didn’t start out hunting them either. It happened about a year ago. I found a dead oriental dragon. The way it had been killed made me think of the dragons that killed my parents. So that’s when I went hunting.”
“But you haven’t found anything?”
“No. I will keep looking though.”
“Before you go, join us for breakfast,” Sango invited.
“Oh I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Who’s imposing?” The voice came from the doorway of the house. “What are you doing up so early, Sango?” Miroku asked.
“What do you think?” she said as she emptied the dirty water from the bucket in his direction.
“Hey! Oh, hello. And who would this lovely lady be?” Some habits are hard to break.
“This is Hana. She’s a slayer, out looking for a good breakfast, not a pervert!”
“I didn’t mean anything by that, Sango.” He sighed. He will never be allowed to forget his past “womanizing”.
“You never do.” Sango led the way in the house. “Let’s eat. Our guest is hungry.”
They had just finished eating when Kagome came in.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company,” Kagome smiled at Hana. “Miroku, InuYasha wants you.”
“Come on Miroku, let’s go,” InuYasha appeared in the doorway. He saw Hana. “Who are you?”
Hana jumped back and pulled out her knife.
“What never met a hanyou before?”
Hana had been taught that all youkai and hanyou were dangerous and to be exterminated. She had never encountered any that were human friendly, and was somewhat confused by the way InuYasha acted. “I’m sorry,” she said, putting her knife away. “I’m not used to meeting youkai or hanyou that don’t attack.”
“Its okay, Hana,” Miroku said, joining InuYasha at the door. “He’s harmless.”
“I am not harmless,” InuYasha growled. “Come on Miroku, we have work to do.” InuYasha turned and left.
“I’m really sorry,” Hana said to Kagome and Sango. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen humans and youkai, or a hanyou, work together.”
“That’s okay. InuYasha takes a little getting used to.”
“How did you end up with him?”
“That’s a long story. The short version is we had to team up to stop an evil youkai. This was years ago. InuYasha and Miroku now help out other villages with youkai that are causing problems.”
Hana shook her head. “That’s amazing. I would never have thought humans and youkai could get along.”
Sango smiled. “I know it seems kind of strange for a youkai slayer to be friends with youkai, but we have learned that not all youkai are evil.”
“I’ll try to remember that. Thank you for breakfast. I’d best be on my way now.”
“Where are you headed?” Kagome asked. She didn’t know about Hana’s search.
“I’m not sure. I’m searching for dragon youkai.”
“Oh. InuYasha said he’d heard something about dragons. You can ask when he gets back if you like.”
“Thank you but no. I really need to get going. Thank you again for everything.” Waving, Hana headed back the way she had come.
“She reminds me of me,” Sango said, watching Hana disappear. “I hope everything turns out all right for her.”
“You like her.”
“Mm. I can sympathize with her. The dragons she is searching for attacked her village and killed her parents.”
“Poor girl.” Kagome turned at the sound of yelling children. “Now what are they getting into?” Kagome and Sango went to see what the kids were doing.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


“Kodo, Podo, let’s go.” The little dragons perched on Hi’Iki’s shoulders.
“Are you sure about this?” Sesshoumaru asked.
“If anyone can find any scent, it’s these two.” Hi’Iki patted his trusted helpers. Sesshoumaru looked at them doubtfully. “I will check with the local dragon clan and see what they have to say.”
“Good luck there, Sesshoumaru. All right, let’s see what we can find.” Hi’Iki headed for the mountains. He would have to find a fresh kill sight to give Kodo and Podo something to work with. Sesshoumaru had given him some ideas on where to look. The mountains were the first place to start. Finding out where the horn Kodo and Podo found came from would be helpful. The trouble was, Kodo and Podo didn’t always co-operate.
About two hours later, Kodo and Podo got excited, eyes flashing and chittering. They were pushing at bushes at the base of a tree. Hi’Iki squatted down to help them. Whatever got them excited was worth investigating. A few minutes of pulling branches apart soon showed the remains of a slain oriental dragon. Stuck in its hide was another horn. Hi’Iki examined the remains. He was certain this was done by a European dragon. To find these remains this close to Sesshoumaru’s place bothered Hi’Iki. He needed to let Sesshoumaru know what he’d found.
“Come on you two, we need to go back. This isn’t good.” He stood up, with the horn in his hand. He sniffed at the horn, then the air. He could find no trace of scent, fresh or old. ‘Sesshoumaru’s right, the scent is masked. And if he can’t smell anything, we could be in big trouble.’ Hi’Iki was worried that if the European dragons could mask their scent, they could show up anywhere, anytime and no one would realize they were there until it was too late. “Kodo, we need to hurry!” Kodo turned into the black stallion and Hi’Iki jumped on the back of the horse. Kodo took off at a full gallop. Podo took to the air and followed. Kodo’s speed was faster than the average horse, so in an hour, they reached the little valley.
When Hi’Iki first glimpsed the dragon, he thought he was too late. Then he realized it was an Oriental dragon.
The dragon was quite large, a long thin body, short legs, and a “mane” around the head. Two long whiskers hung from the lower jaw and two horns swept back from the top of the head. It was a beautiful iridescent blue, lighter on the belly. The mane was a golden color and the tip of the tail was feathered, silver blue in color. The dragon appeared to be conversing with Sesshoumaru.
Hi’Iki rode up and slid off the horse. The dragon turned to look at him and the horse, turned little dragon.
“Who are you?” the dragon asked in a whispery, hissing voice.
“Sorry. I’m Hi’Iki.” He bowed to the dragon. This was the ruling king of the Oriental dragon clan. “I have news for you, Sesshoumaru.”
“We were just discussing the slayings.”
“We found evidence of another attack, about two hours from here.”
This news alarmed Sesshoumaru.
“So you see now, why we need your help,” the dragon king said.
Sesshoumaru gave a short nod.” Whoever is behind this is very clever, and has been able to mask their presence from everyone. It makes them very dangerous”
“I believe they are European dragons,” Hi’Iki said. He showed them the horn and described what he found. “I wanted to warn you, Sesshoumaru. I need to go back and find out where these dragons are.”
The dragon king gave Hi’Iki a closer look, sniffing him. “Ah, you are the white dragon from a different land. I have heard of your clan.”
Hi’Iki nodded.
“It has been said that a powerful spirit dragon will arise to help us defeat a great danger.” The king looked thoughtfully at Hi’Iki. “I think this great danger is upon us now. And the spirit dragon will be needed soon.” The great king left with that thought.
Hi’Iki watched him leave. “Now what did he mean by that?”
Sesshoumaru shook his head.
Rin, who had been standing just inside the castle door, came out. “What happened? Did you find something Hi’Iki-sama?”
“Stay inside Rin” Sesshoumaru told her.
Rin frowned and was about to say something.
“He’s right. You should stay inside. It’s not safe,” Hi’Iki said.
“But what’s going on?” Rin was reluctant to go inside until she found out what was going on.
Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly. Rin could be stubborn sometimes. “There are a group of dragons killing other dragons. We don’t know why. Stay inside.”
Rin nodded and went back in.
“I’m going out,” Hi’Iki said. “I need to find out what their plan is.”
“Watch yourself.”
Hi’Iki nodded. Since he himself was a dragon youkai, he was in danger of being attacked. Hi’Iki got back on Kodo and took off again. By the time he entered the woods, a white wolf was loping along side. As a wolf, Podo’s sense of smell was much better than the dragon’s. She might be able to track the dragons.
They went back to the place where they had found the dead dragon. Hi’Iki slid off Kodo and let the two dragons, now both wolves, search for a scent. The wolves were able to pick up a trace of scent and trotted off. Hi’Iki followed at a trot. The trail led higher up into the mountains. Several hours later, whining excitedly, Kodo and Podo circled around a clearing. The clearing was empty. They crisscrossed the clearing, sniffing. Dragon scent was everywhere here. Hi’Iki walked behind the wolves, checking for any trace of anything. There were a few tracks in the trampled down grass. They belonged to European dragons. From the signs, Hi’Iki realized the clearing was being used as a bedding ground for the dragons. Hi’Iki knew the dragons would be back, and would discover his scent. He was in even more danger now. The dragons could just as easily track him as Kodo and Podo could track them. Calling to the wolves, Hi’Iki left the clearing, heading down the mountain. He’d have to find a way to cover his own scent.
During their conversation the previous night, Sesshoumaru mentioned something about a village nearby. Rin had told Hi’Iki about Sesshoumaru’s brother, a hanyou named InuYasha. He lived in the nearby village. Rin had also mentioned a youkai slayer named Sango. She might be able to help make something to mask his scent.
As they headed down, Hi’Iki picked up the faint scent of dragon. Picking up his pace, he followed the scent.
He came out of the trees onto a bright sunlit trail. He nearly ran into a woman walking on the trail.
Hana jumped back, surprised by the sudden appearance of a person. A closer look showed the person to be a youkai. Hana automatically pulled her knife and attacked.
Hi’Iki, surprised by the woman, was more so when she attacked him. He dodged the first strike. The woman came at him again, clearly intent on killing him. The sudden appearance of Kodo and Podo distracted her, and Hi’Iki was able to disarm her.
“Why do you attack me?”
“I’m a youkai slayer,” she said defiantly. She dared not attack, the youkai had her knife.
Hi’Iki sniffed the knife and examined it. It was the source of the scent he had followed. The knife had two blades, separated by a bone handle carved in the shape of a dragon. The two blades made the wings of the dragon. It was beautiful but deadly.
“Are you Sango?” His attention was on Kodo and Podo, now dragonettes. They were flying around, their eyes flashing brilliant shades of blue.
“Why should I answer you?” She had noticed his interest in the little dragons and wondered what had caused the interest. The little dragons were obviously with him.
“Where’d you get this knife?” He turned his attention on the woman. She wore a light blue kimono with a design of darker blue and pink flowers. Her obi was also a dark blue, and held a sword. She had another outfit under the kimono that Hi’Iki guessed was her fighting outfit. Long black hair tied up in a pony tail. She wasn’t afraid and stood her ground.
“Again, why should I answer you?”
Hi’Iki held up the knife. “Because this knife comes from dragons I am hunting.”
Hana frowned. Not what she expected. “That knife has been handed down in my family for generations.”
“It comes from the Northern Mountain Horned Dragon Clan. They are in this area and killing the native dragons.”
“Why are you hunting them?”
Hi’Iki gave a little smile. “Why should I tell you? You’re the one who attacked me.”
Hana decided she needed to be very careful with this youkai. He was very charming, not to mention handsome. She had never met a charming youkai before and didn’t want to take the chance that his charm was a trap.
Kodo and Podo had other ideas however. They continued to fly around, and then swooped in toward Hana. She backed up a step, thinking they were going to attack. They stopped and hovered in front of her, eyes still flashing blue. Then they flew up and settled in a tree.
“What was that all about?” Curiosity got the better of her.
“They were checking you out,” Hi’Iki smiled. “They like you.”
‘Great, just what I need, two little youkai dragons who like me’ Hana thought. She remembered what Sango and Kagome had said. Not all youkai were bad. “So why are you hunting those dragons?” She asked again.
“They seem to be killing the native dragons.”
“And you’re hunting them because of that?” She looked skeptical.
“Why not?” Hi’Iki asked as he handed the knife back. “That knife was made from the fangs and bone of a Northern Mountain Horned dragon.” He paused. “You never did answer my question.”
“What question?”
“Are you Sango?”
“No. I’m Hana. Why do you want to know about Sango?” She put the knife away. And why am I telling him this?
“I found the dragon’s sleeping place. They’ll pick up my scent and come after me. I need to find a way to mask it.”
“You found where they’re sleeping!? Where?”
Hi’Iki shook his head. “You don’t want to go. It’s a large group of dragons. One person can’t fight them, no matter how good they are.”
Hana frowned. He was right, even though she didn’t like it.
“We could work together on this,” Hi’Iki offered.
Hana looked at Hi’Iki thoughtfully. Apparently they had the same goal in mind. She wondered what kind of youkai he was. She took note of the dragon claw mark on his forehead. Folding her arms, she looked at Hi’Iki thoughtfully.
“Why should I trust you?”
“We have the same goal. And neither of us is equipped to do this alone. I have friends to help me. Do you?”
“No.” She thought about Sango and wondered if she’d help.
“I thought not. We need to find the dragons’ motives before we can take action. It’s useless to attack the dragons until we find out why they’re here.”
Hana thought about it. What he said made sense. She didn’t like it that he made sense. It made him look intelligent. Youkai shouldn’t be intelligent. It makes them seem more human and harder to slay. And he acted more human than youkai. His actions were very confusing to her. Going against everything she was ever taught, she nodded. She couldn’t believe she was agreeing to work with a youkai. No matter how human he appeared.