Hanyo of Snow

Ch12 Reopening Old Wounds

(Sengoku Jidai - Kagome POV)

After that touching moment, some teasing from my mother, a few small gifts, Y/N changing into his gi and hamaka pants, and us saying our goodbyes to my family we jumped down the well.

Well everything else was fantastic, but Y/N'a gift practically blew everything else that happened this mourning out of the water.

Honestly I was just glad to know Y/N actually had feelings for me, even if he doesn't have enough confidence to admit it.

Which I can agree with.

I would like nothing more then to tell Y/N, but no matter what I can't workup the courage to flat out tell him myself.

So I will give him sometime to work out it himself before I will...if I could work up the courage that is...

So for now we will have to remain friends for now, because from what I have seen is that he seems unaware of my feelings for him. Considering that I also never noticed his til today, so It wasn't that surprising.

Honestly while I would want more, I wouldn't mind just keeping our relationship as friends for a bit longer. Some of my best memories come from it after all, so why not just keep it that way a little longer.

Besides the only downside I see so far is probably having to travel with Inuko and Yura. I'm pretty confident that we can handle them...but I might need Y/N to hide her comb from me.

I might break it if Yura pisses me off again.

"You need a hand with your bike Kagome?" Y/N asked from the top of the well, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Sure." I said simply as I handed it to him.

Without carrying my clumbersome bike up the well, I was out in a few moments. Though I kind of needed a breath.

Carrying a bike up a well was very exhausting.

Speaking of which.

"Hey Y/N, How where you not exhausted from carrying your bike up the well?" I asked.

"I just froze it to my back. It didn't bother me much while carrying up it up." He replied simply.

"If you could do that, then why didn't you do it for me?" I asked.

It would have saved me a lot of time lugging this thing up the well.

"This is my first time doing this and I wasn't even sure if it would work, that's why I was on the opposite side of well carrying it up." He answered.

I really must've been deep in thought if I had missed that.

"Fair enough." I said while getting up, fully rested.

With that we got on our bikes and headed towards the village.

While on our way there I couldn't help but marvel at the scenery, you do not see this kind of scenery at all around Tokyo at all with the closest paddy fields being in the Chiba Prefecture.

The closest I've ever seen anything like this was on the train ride to and from Kururugi a few months ago.

So even being around these same fields for the past few days is still a surreal experience, knowing that all around me would be replaced by housing and roadways centuries later.

Though while I can appreciate the majesty of our surroundings, I also remembered about the dangers.

Warring armies, murderous bandits, rampaging yokai, and if Gramps was right a small chance of dealing with tempermental gods.

Honestly while the thought of encountering any of them terrified my to the core, but it honestly intrigued me a bit as well.

I suppose it had to do with the fact that you would usually never encounter any of those back in modernity, but the dangers mixed in with the beauty just seemed to have its own unique thrill to it.

Along with the fact that I get to be here with Y/N as helps with the wow factor, minus now having to deal with Inuko and Yura.

Still though, I know that with Y/N by my side that everything will be alright in the end.

I was once again broken out of my thoughts by...I don't know how else to describe it except for some kind of faded scream.

After a quick look around and not seeing anything I continued on my way.

(??? POV)

Well that certainly hurt like all Yomi, but after jumping onto the male human I can get to Lady Inuko faster now.

After a few moments on his back, the smell of his blood started to drive me crazy as I haven't eaten in a few days.

After a few quick sips I promptly jumped off him, because my insides were starting to freeze!

He was a yuki-onna hanyo, because only a yuki-onna's blood causes pain like this!

Thankfully he was a hanyo otherwise I would be dead by now.

A yuki-onna's blood is amongst the sweetest of all yokai, just below Lord Tōga's and Lady Inuko's. But it is also the most dangerous as many a greedy flea yokai has frozen to death from drinking minute amounts of their blood.

So I picked the right course of action and immediately jumped of and began to look for something else to feed on in order to stop this pain.

Still why was a yuki-onna hanyo doing around in this climate?

And most importantly, where did he get that sword?

I haven't seen it in over 300 years after Lord Tōga had gifted it to a human and last I heard it went missing a little over a century ago.

So how did that hanyo posses it.

Well those are questions for later, because from the look of things they were heading in the direction of Lady Inuko. So I might as well ask them then.

But first I need to get something else to eat in order to get rid of this pain.

(Y/N POV)

After a few minutes of biking through the village we finally found Inuko lying on the branch of a dead tree among the outskirts of the village.

"So you too really did come." She said as she jumped down from her perch. "That means that you two are ready for to look for the shards."

"Well we are, but we are only doing this for about a week at first." Kagome explained, causing Inuko to scowl.

"Do you mind repeating that girl, because from what I heard you said that you're only doing this for a week." Inuko said.

"For this first trip. We both have lives back in the modern era and Kagome has her family worrying about her back there as well.

So we will have to return home eventually.

So once that week is over and we take care of a few things in our era we will be able to come back for longer periods afterwards that depends on what is going on. " I explained to Inuko.

Inuko glared at me for a few seconds before calming down.

"Fine, but that means we should probably stay in the providence to look for shards then." She sighed out.

"If we are going to look for them then, but where should we start?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe we should ask someone from out of the village or Yura first if they have seen anything." I suggested, getting the both of them to nod.

"Good idea, but there hasn't been any travelers through the village since you two woke me up according to Kaede. So we would have to leave the village first to get some information. But why did you suggest Yura then?" Inuko said, though she seemed a little confused at the end.

"Two reasons actually. First is that we still need her to help guide us on our journey. Second is that while she has been chasing us for ours, then she probably could've taken sometime to get some info on the shards. So I want to see if she does know anything." I said.

"When you put it like that it might be possible for Yura to know something, but what if she doesn't anything?" Kagome said.

"Well if Yura doesn't know anything, then we have to figure it out on our own." I said simply.

It was a simple guess after all. If she did know anything then it will be a big help. If not then we will have to look on our own. We would have to start off at square one.

While that wouldn't be too bad...oh who I am kidding it will be bad, but it will be nice to have an idea on where to start.

"So you're basically taking a gamble on whether Yura knows the location of a shard or not." Inuko said.

"Yes it is, but we have nothing to lose if she doesn't know anything." I said honestly, getting her to nod.

"Fair enough, but first we need to get Kaede in order to bind her first." Inuko said.

"Then there is no need for that." Kaede said from behind us, causing Kagome to jump a bit.

"It's to see that you are doing better after last night Lady Kaede." I said upon noticing that while she had one arm bound in a sling, she looked a lot better then when we found her.

Though that might've been helped by the fact she was buried in makeshift grave of dirt and leaves after all.

"I've been through worst, but thank you anyway." Kaede said while procuring a tiny earthen jar.

"What's that for?" Kagome asked.

"To fix Yura's comb and to make it easier to bind her to Y/N.

The damage to it was greater then I thought.

If I were to start the binding process right now, by the time Yura wakes up she will eventually die a slow agonizing death over the course of a few weeks.

So I need some of Y/N's blood and hair in order to fix the comb and make it easier to bind Yura to him during the process.

" She said, causing myself and Kagome to turn a little pale at the thought of using blood.

While Kagome probably doesn't really understand the real significance of blood magic, it has been touched upon in enough media for her to paint an accurate picture.

Using blood magic can have horrific results to the donor if used incorrectly. In fact according to what my dad has mention it is explicitly forbidden unless under special circumstances, using their own blood, or for medical reasons within Japan by omnyoji.

But, I trust Kaede so I know that she will not misuse my blood.

Besides according to her if I didn't do this then I will condemn Yura to an agonizingly death and I wouldn't want that.

"How much blood?" I asked while rolling up my sleeve.

"Just a little bit." She replied while pointing where to cut.

With that I created a small blade of ice on my fingertip and cut right into where she pointed at.

Surpassing the need to wince, blood began to trickle down my arm and into the jar.

After a minute or two my arm began to grow a little numb from holding it out too long when Kaede signaled me to stop.

Breathing a sigh of relief that it was over, I froze the remaining blood on my arm and dispelled it a moment afterwards.

Leaving no trace that I even cut myself there a moment before hand.

Before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, Kaede yanked some hairs off my head and placed them in the jar.

"You could have given me some warning with the hair." I said to her.

"You can stand cutting yourself for some blood, but not me pulling out some hairs?" She asked incredulously.

"Honestly it was just the suprise of it." I admitted.

"Fair enough." Kaede said as she sealed the jar shut. "Now as for the comb, your hairs need to soak in the blood for a bit before they could be used to fix it. I will get you once it is time to bind her."With that Kaede took her leave.

"Well that was fun to watch." Inuko said sarcastically.

"But are you certain that it is a good idea to have done that in order for Yura to be back at her full strength.

It took us quite a bit to bring her down in the first place.

Honestly it will be better to just kill her and save us a whole lot of trouble. "

"True, but I'm the one who wished for her to be spared. So that means I'll be responsible for her wellbeing and for making sure that she doesn't cause us anymore trouble. Besides I wouldn't want for anyone to die like the way Kaede described." I said honestly, seeming to once again placate Inuko.

Once Yura woke up it will my job to rein her in after all...and possibly to prevent Inuko and maybe Kagome killing her.

Both obviously hate her from what she did to us and Inuko just made her opinions on the matter known. As for Kagome, I can tell she is pretty much pissed off and if last night was of any indication was ready to kill Yura if needed.

So it would probably be a good idea to hide Yura's comb from her.

"Fair enough, but that doesn't mean that I can't be annoyed by your decision. But since you are so willing to follow through with it, I'm willing to keep my grievances until Yura proves them or not." Inuko said dryly, before her expression shifted into one of confusion.

A moment later she undid her kimono and cut away some of the bandages underneath, exposing a generous portion of her voluptuous chest.

Also causing both mine and Kagome's faces to turn red for various reasons, though it was clear what Kagome was due to her spiteful glare at Inuko's breasts.

"What the Yomi are you doing!" Kagome shouted at Inuko, who seemed to be fishing something from here cleavage.

I decided to look away as best I could incase Kagome turns her wrath towards me. She was even harder to manage her anger when she got jealous.

"Just removing an annoyance so calm down." Inuko said as she held something between her fingertips before squashing it. "How many times must I say it, stop feeding off me Myōga!"

She flicked the speck onto the ground. Me and Kagome crouched down onto the ground to get a better look at it. The speck in question turned out to be an elderly flea yokai who looked rather disoriented after being squished with enough force to obviously kill a normal flea many times over.

I knew dad had mentioned that they were durable for something their size, but I never really thought that I would actually see prove of it myself.

Considering that flea yokai only stick around in the areas largest conrigations of yokai in the oldest parts of Japan back in the modern era, I never thought I would see one myself.

"Im sorry Lady Inuko, but I needed to get rid of the lingering pain from feasting on that yuki-onna hanyo's blood and only your blood could nullify it." The flea yokai, Myōga said as he pointed at me with one of his arms.

Wait, when did I meet him?

"When have you ever met Y/N?" Inuko asked, mirroring my own question.

"I encountered him this morning on my way to meet you and made the mistake of feeding on him as he and the human were on their strange horseless carts. Still it has been too long..." Myōga drawled out as he was hit by bug spray. "Lady Inuko..." He finished, before he collapsed onto the ground.

After a few moments of seeing if the old yokai was still alive, he twitched and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

He was still alive.

"Why did you do that?" Inuko asked Kagome, who could only blush in embarrassment.

"I was freaked out. I never seen a bug that could talk before." Kagome admitted sheepishly. "Do you think that he'll be alright."

"He'll be fine. If he can survive hitching a ride on my father during battle he can survive this.

Still it should be a good idea to get him to Kaede so that she can purge whatever toxin you sprayed on him.

" Inuko said while picking him up. She soon turned towards the direction of Kaede's home with us trailing behind her.

We needed to there anyway to complete the bonding with Yura, but something caught my interest was the mention of Inuko's father.

I was going to ask her about it, but she sent me a quick look that basically meant that we'll talk about later and if you pry anymore I will hurt you.

Wisely I decided to keep my mouth shut.

But I believe that I have already figured it out who he is though, the coincidences are between her and who I think it is are too great to be ignored.

Still there is a chance that I could be wrong.

So I will wait for Inuko or Myōga to confirm it my suspicions.

Still if I am right, then Inuko is much stronger then I originally thought and I'm quit lucky that she is on our side...well mostly anyway.

She still wants the Shikon Jewel to become a yokai after all.

(Few hours later - Inuko POV)

I expected many things today, Myōga arriving was not one of them.

Unintentionally showing Y/N and the girl my chest again also wasn't one of them.

Still Y/N's reaction to it was a little entertaining.

However what really topped them was that I was currently pinning down a comatose yokai while Kaede was enchanting the comb while she shushed everybody out.

Except Myōga, he hopped away once he learned about Yura and how strong she was.

He is a coward, but a smart one too of his age was of any indication.

Still besides that, I know the true reason that Kaede sent Y/N and Kagome away.

She said it was incase Yura woke up during the enchanting and attacked us and asked for me to pin her down.

However I knew that was a lie and I guess so did Y/N and the girl.

Y/N could have easily kept Yura down with ice incase she woke up, if she ever did anyway.

No, the real reason is much more simpler.

She wanted answers for that day over 50 years ago.

Well 50 years for her anyway, it was just earlier this week for me.

Second worst week of my life.

"So what do you want to know?" I asked Kaede as I noticed that she was done enchanting the comb. With a long sigh she put the comb away and turned to face me.

"For 50 years I have remembered that day very clearly.

Because in the course of 2 days I lost my eye, my sister, and someone I once considered a friend who betrayed everyone.

I thought that it simple, you were lying in wait for the right time and had strung all of us alone to get the Shikon Jewel and that you had tryied and failed to kill Kikyō to get it.

The only thing I didn't understand was why both you and Kikyō had both died in peace when both of your eyes were filled with hate and pain moments before.

However the mourning after you still thought Kikyō was still alive and these past 3 days have caused me to realize that things were more complex then what I thought.

So please, tell me the truth of what happened that day.

" Kaede said, almost pleading at the end.

Normally if someone else asked that question I would have left at that moment.

I'm still sorting out what happened that day.

However...Kaede was an exception.

Not only was she among the two people that I know that I can actually trust, but she had to live for 50 years thinking that I had killed Kikyō for no reason then to obtain the jewel.

Although she would probably deny it, but she needed to know the truth about what that bitch actually planned to do.

I had given everything to her and she betrayed me!

But for this, I will try bury my anger at her for a few moments. For Kaede's sake at least.

"If you want to know the truth, let's start with the easiest to answer. I didn't kill Kikyō. Though I wish I had the chance too." I said truthfully, though with the last part under me breath.

If Kaede showed any sign of hearing it, she didn't reveal it. In fact I couldn't tell what she was feeling or thinking of as she studied me, looking for any signs of lying.

After a few more moments she just sighed out, finding my statement true.

"Explain." She said evenly, not conveying any emotion at all.

"Last I saw her before I had the Shikon Jewel was at the spot where we agreed to meet that day and she was trying to kill me, but was uninjured at the time.

The only time I saw her injured that day was a blood soaked shoulder right before I was sealed away.

I thought that maybe she had an encounter with another yokai after the jewel before confronting me.

Truthfully that is possibly what caused her injuries, because after she tried to kill me I ran straight for the jewel. " I said truthfully.

Honestly that answer made the most sense, because not only I not attack her before grabbing the jewel, but her spiritual powers were rapidly diminishing during that time.

So it would make sense for her to have tried to kill me then, right before she became powerless and before she was probably been killed by other yokai looking for Shikon Jewel.

And as much as I hated to admit it, I might want to ask Yura for some clarification on on that, once Y/N has tamed her somewhat and the two of us are alone.

She was one of the yokai after the Shikon Jewel after all, so she probably knew something after all. If not I could care less.

Kikyō was dead after all, but still I just had to wonder what sort of yokai could kill her.

Her powers might have diminished, but she was still by no means a light threat.

So whatever kind of yokai that could have injuried her to the point that she bled to death must've been strong or some kind of daiyokai.

It would be best to know incase we encounter it on our journey.

So I could kill it myself, not for revenge but for stealing my kill.

Kikyō was mine to kill.

She betrayed and used me all for somekind of scheme to get rid of me. If she had just done it from the beginning I wouldn't have minded. But she lead me on for months and then decided to kill me when I had given up on my dream of becoming a full yokai.

She in the end, Kikyō deserved to have died by my claws and not some other yokai's.

"So you are telling the truth..." Kaede trailed off, apparently coming to the realization that what I As saying was true.

Also not realizing that Yura was starting to wake up early.

A quick fist to the head and she was once again knocked unconscious, for now anyway.

"Well I said my part and I think it is the best that I get Y/N now before Yura wakes up again." I said while walking to the door.

I just wanted to end this conversation before either something inside me snaps or I take my frustrations out on Yura. As much as that would be incredibly therapeutic, she was Y/N's responsibility now and I would think he'd be rather cross if I roughed her up right now.

So I would rather not ruin my current relationship with him.

Y/N has shown to be one of the two people that I know that I could trust somewhat, so I would rather not shatter it myself. I would have to see if Y/N does it himself, which I honestly hope that he doesn't.

Myōga has been nothing but loyal to me whenever he was around, but he was also a coward that would flee at the first sign of danger. So I wouldn't put too much trust in him anyway.

Kagome on the other hand, I'm not sure what to think. She might have earned some respect last night, but that doesn't guarantee anything. Also the fact she can have me tasting dirt with this accursed rosary doesn't help with my opinion with her.

Still I knew she would at worst be dead weight or an annoyance. Unlike her previous life as Kikyō...

"Inuko." Kaede said, breaking out of her stupor. "I can see how this is troubling you, but may I ask another question?"

I turned to see her with a clay pot in hand and her expression still unreadable.

After a few moments of pondering I came to a decision.

"Very well, but after my answer I will leave. I need to get Y/N and Kagome for the binding after all." I said. "Still why to you have a clay pot in you hand?"

"Incase Yura wakes up again." Kaede said with an almost unnoticeable amount of smugness, probably picturing smashing it over the bitch's head.

Something that the image of it brought a small smile to my face.

"Alright so ask away." I said, already guessing what she was going to ask.

"What were you meeting my sister about?" She asked, causing me to turn away.

Not willing to show her the tear leaking out of my eye.

"A promise that me and Kikyō broke that day." I said, my voice sounding dead before rushing out the door.

I needed to find something to kill to vent some of my frustration on.

It wouldn't do if I showed up in front of Y/N and Kagome looking like I was going to snap at them if they said or did something wrong.

Because right now I couldn't tell if I should be depressed at a broken dream or I should be burning down this village just to satisfy my wrath.

Considering the first was unacceptable and the thought of the second one sickened me, killing something would probably help.

A few moments later I found a small flock of Shibugarasu on the outskirts of the village and proceeded to immediately slaughter them.

This is all your fault for making me feel this way, Kikyō!

I gave you everything!

My trust!

My faith!

My love!

My heart!

My body!

My soul!

And my future!

I was willing to become a normal human with you and what did you do.

You were stringing my along the whole fucking time just to kill me at the last moment, had the Shikon Jewel burnt to ashes and took away my dreams of becoming a full yokai, and left me strung out on a tree for 50 fucking years!

So damn you Kikyō! Damn you!

I hope that you suffer for your actions, because only someone completely heartless would do what you did to me!

A dying caw snapped me out of my rage rage and I found all of the Shibugarasu dead.

Great my emotions are still out of whack and there is nothing left for me vent besides some nearby trees.

Apparently I spoke too soon as in the distance I spotted a large mantis like yokai in the distance.

I haven't seen one since that giant swarm of yokai that came after the Shikon Jewel the day Kaede lost her eye.

It was a lot more durable then those pesky Shibugarasu, so it should probably be enough to quil me wrath for now.

So with a savage grin and claws drawn out, I proceeded to maul it to death.

(??? POV)

This could have been more problematic if Inuko actually bothered to think it through. So I'm slightly thankful that she was currently blinded by her temper.

However the damage had been done.

Even if she denied it, I could tell that beneath that sea of loath and misery that were her feelings of Kikyō that she still had some feelings for her and a single shred of doubt had emerged.

Much earlier then what I expected or planned.

If allowed to fester then she will become a bigger annoyance then what I had anticipated.

Unfortunately I can't do anything about it.

I can't kill the tsukumogami or Kaede as that would only arouse suspicion and bring myself unwanted attention.

So the best results now ly with Sessh?maru, who by my calculations should arrive by nightfall.

The bad blood between her and Inuko should focus her attention away from the death of Kikyō for now.

So for now I will see this play out and hope Inuko gets killed in the battle. It matters not if she lives or not, I could always adjust what I have planned.

No what really matters now is how Y/N does against Sessh?maru.

That is what I truly wish to see.

Something that I'm so interested in, that I'll even manipulate variables and expose myself just to see what happens.

Fighting an opponent of such strength with show me his true value and maybe give me a glimpse of what secrets his jewel shard hold.

Either way whatever happens tonight shall lay the foundation which my plans with him will be built.

(Chapter 12 end)