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yellowhordeDisclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha or its characters (that honor goes
to Rumiko Takahashi) and I make no money from this or any other
fanfic I write.
Pairings: Inu Yasha + Kagome, Miroku + Sango
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Violence, and Language
Title: Blue Skies and Little Fishes
Author: yellowhorde
Status: In Progress
After a long, long time, the young Inu Yasha managed to drag himself
to his discarded clothes and gingerly pulled them over his bruised
flesh. Once dressed, he slowly made his way home, doing his best to
stifle the gasps and whimpers of pain that accompanied each movement.
His body ached terribly and waves of dizziness washed over him in hot
sickly waves.
The shadows of the forest leered menacingly at the small boy as he
made his painful way home, and even the wind rustling through the
bushes set his heart racing. His animal sharp senses were on high
alert lest anyone else should appear and wish to cause more trouble,
though, in the state he was in now he knew that there was no hope
that he would be able to properly defend himself or even run away.
Long purple shadows stretched across the land and the sun was sinking
beneath the horizon by the time Inu Yasha stepped onto the worn path
that led to his home with legs that were weak and unsteady. He made
out a figure of a woman in a kimono approaching in the fading light
and his heart squeezed in his throat as he recognized his mother.
With a small cry he flung himself into her outstretched arms.
"Oh, Inu Yasha!" His mother cried as she wrapped his arms around the
small child. "I was so worried about you! When I woke up you were
gone and I thought that you might have went into the forest to play
like you usually do. Later I called you for dinner and you didn't
answer. I searched everywhere but I couldn't find you! I even went
looking for you in the village. Where were you?"
Sniffling, Inu Yasha shook his head silently against the smooth silk
of the kimono and held tight to his mother, the only person in the
entire world he felt loved him, cared for him, despite the fact that
he was different. He inhaled a shuddering breath and the comforting
scent of her enveloped him and washed away all of his fears.
Well, almost all of them...
Sensing something was terribly wrong with her child, Inu Yasha's
mother hugged her son, stroking one soft hand down his cheek. He
whimpered and winced at this gentle caress and she pulled back in
surprise. Only then did her human senses detect the faint scent of
blood that clung to him.
"Inu Yasha, what's wrong?" His mother's soft voice was filled with
concern as she peered into his face.
She gasped as the last rays of light fell upon her son's face to
reveal massive swellings and deeply discolored bruises. His hair was
in disarray and covered with mud and one eye was nearly swollen shut.
A thin line of drying blood trickled from the corner of his mouth but
it was the look of utter defeat she saw in his usually fiery eyes
that wrung her heart the most.
Inu Yasha wanted to cry, wanted to be comforted, but instead he
awkwardly pulled away from his mother, adverting his eyes from her
horrified gaze. His throat squeezed closed and his eyes burned and he
knew that tears were close, but he stubbornly refused to allow them
to fall. He blinked them savagely away as he felt his mother pull him
closer to her.
"Inu Yasha..." Her voice faltered. One hand reached out towards her
child but he flinched away and her hand fell away.
"What happened?" She asked quietly. "How did you get these bruises,
dear?"
"I-I tripped..." Inu Yasha mumbled, his voice low and whisper
soft, "over a tree root."
As he uttered these words, he cast an uncertain glance towards his
mother and knew from her expression that she didn't believe him. Her
black eyes, so unlike his own, filled with infinite sadness. An air
of melancholic resignation hung about her as she straightened and
brushed dust from her kimono.
"It's getting late, my son, and I think it best we return home."
She extended her hand towards Inu Yasha who was relieved that she
hadn't asked any more questions. He hadn't meant to lie to her,
really he hadn't, but what he had endured that afternoon at the hands
of the villagers was just too fresh, too raw in his mind, body, and
heart to share with her.
Or with anyone...
The small child stepped forward to take his mother's hand and a wave
of dark dizziness engulfed him. His wounds, the trauma of the
afternoon, and his emotional upset had finally proved too much for
the young half-demon to endure. He yielded to the darkness that
gobbled up his vision allowed it to surge over him like a black tide.
"Inu Yasha!"
He heard the alarm in his mother's voice, but it was distant and
without meaning to him. His body fell through the darkness, which
closed in upon him, and fear erupted deep inside him. The he felt his
mother's arms catch him, pull him close and the fear vanished for he
knew that in his mother's embrace he was safe from fear, from harm,
from the ugly world at large that hated, mistrusted and despised him
for things beyond his control.
Consciousness came and went in fitful waves over the next few hours.
Inu Yasha was only dimly aware of the slippery sliding of silk over
his flesh as his garments were removed, of his mother's horrified
gasp as the full extent of his injuries were revealed to her. A short
time later the medicinal smells of arnica and horse chestnut [1]
wafted to his sharp nose as his mother's hands administered the cool
salves to his numerous wounds in strained silence.
His mother's arms gently helped him to sit up but even in his current
state Inu Yasha still turned his face away from the bitter aroma of
the herbal tea his mother offered.
"Please drink this, Inu Yasha." His mother's voice urged, "It will
help dull the pain."
Although she had added honey to the brew, it did little to disguise
the taste of the black cohosh root and St. John's wort [2] the tea
contained. He pulled a face at the underlying bitterness that erupted
on his tongue but drank the mixture obediently and settled back
against the pillow with a weary sigh. A deep sleep eventually
overcame the young boy and as he slept the medicinal herbs provided
by his mother and his body's own unique regenerative abilities joined
forces to heal his physical wounds, but did little to alleviate the
emotional scars his encounter with Toshiyuki and the others had left
behind.
The air in the small hut was cool and crisp with the approaching dawn
when Inu Yasha next opened his golden eyes. They felt so heavy, as if
they were weighed down, so he allowed them to close again. He shifted
his position slightly and the pain in his body, although still
undeniably there, was somehow duller and fading. In another day or
two he knew that he would be as good as new, at least physically.
His small canine ears twitched unconsciously as they detected faint
soft sounds coming from somewhere in the small room. A human wouldn't
have been able to detect anything at all but to Inu Yasha's
supersensitive ears it sounded like someone was... crying?
"Mother?" Inu Yasha called softly into the dark interior, although he
knew from scenting the air that she was the only other person in the
room with him. He struggled to sit up but fell back with a groan as
his movements awakened more serious pain deep within his body.
She approached quickly at the sound of her child's pain and brushed a
cool hand along Inu Yasha's forehead. Her eyes were tired and red
from her tears but she smiled warmly down at her son and she busied
herself with changing the dressings of his various wounds. Again she
offered the yucky bitter tea but this time Inu Yasha drank it down
without protest.
His throat tightened at the sight of the faint tear tracks that
streaked down her face and a great guilt consumed him for he knew
that the tears she cried were for him. She cried because she knew
that her son would not. Her tears were for the grievous injustices
heaped upon her child's small head because he was different, because
she finally understood that he could never truly belong to her human
world nor to the world of his youkai father. He was a mixture of both
worlds but neither would accept him.
As she tended his injuries and sought to comfort her only child, her
eyes held a terrible understanding and Inu Yasha suddenly realized
that even though he had lied to her, she had tended him and
recognized the signs of human brutality. She cried because she knew
the real truth of the matter without him having said a word.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Some notes on the herbs used in this story...
[1] According to 'Herbal Remedies for Dummies' by Christopher Hobbs,
L.Ac., on page 241 under Muscle Aches (which are often the result of
exercise, injury, muscular tension, and blood stagnation caused by
sedentary habits) you can 'apply arnica cream or oil or horse
chestnut cream to your aching muscles, and take arnica internally as
well in homeopathic form only.'
AND
[2] Also on the same page, under the same section - 'Drink teas or
take tinctures made from black cohosh root, a known muscle relaxant,
and St. John's wort flowers and leaves, an excellent anti-flammatory
and pain- relieving herb.'
Additional note about black cohosh root:
While it is true that black cohosh root is often used to treat women
during menopause, to assume that this is the herb's only use would be
incorrect. Black cohosh root is also considered an astringent,
emmenagogue, expectorant, diuretic, sedative, and an antispasmodic.
When the roots are boiled and ingested they can be used to treat
fatigue, sore throat, arthritis, and rattlesnake bite. It has a very
wide variety of uses, including consumption, chorea, and whooping
cough.
Black cohosh root is said to calm the nervous system and stimulate
the heart and it reduces blood pressure because it is an excellent
herb to open restricted blood vessels. It can also be used for blood
pressure, cholesterol, menstrual cramps, morning sickness and pain.
Since it can induce labor and aids in childbirth, it should NOT be
used during pregnancy until needed for delivery.
to Rumiko Takahashi) and I make no money from this or any other
fanfic I write.
Pairings: Inu Yasha + Kagome, Miroku + Sango
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Violence, and Language
Title: Blue Skies and Little Fishes
Author: yellowhorde
Status: In Progress
After a long, long time, the young Inu Yasha managed to drag himself
to his discarded clothes and gingerly pulled them over his bruised
flesh. Once dressed, he slowly made his way home, doing his best to
stifle the gasps and whimpers of pain that accompanied each movement.
His body ached terribly and waves of dizziness washed over him in hot
sickly waves.
The shadows of the forest leered menacingly at the small boy as he
made his painful way home, and even the wind rustling through the
bushes set his heart racing. His animal sharp senses were on high
alert lest anyone else should appear and wish to cause more trouble,
though, in the state he was in now he knew that there was no hope
that he would be able to properly defend himself or even run away.
Long purple shadows stretched across the land and the sun was sinking
beneath the horizon by the time Inu Yasha stepped onto the worn path
that led to his home with legs that were weak and unsteady. He made
out a figure of a woman in a kimono approaching in the fading light
and his heart squeezed in his throat as he recognized his mother.
With a small cry he flung himself into her outstretched arms.
"Oh, Inu Yasha!" His mother cried as she wrapped his arms around the
small child. "I was so worried about you! When I woke up you were
gone and I thought that you might have went into the forest to play
like you usually do. Later I called you for dinner and you didn't
answer. I searched everywhere but I couldn't find you! I even went
looking for you in the village. Where were you?"
Sniffling, Inu Yasha shook his head silently against the smooth silk
of the kimono and held tight to his mother, the only person in the
entire world he felt loved him, cared for him, despite the fact that
he was different. He inhaled a shuddering breath and the comforting
scent of her enveloped him and washed away all of his fears.
Well, almost all of them...
Sensing something was terribly wrong with her child, Inu Yasha's
mother hugged her son, stroking one soft hand down his cheek. He
whimpered and winced at this gentle caress and she pulled back in
surprise. Only then did her human senses detect the faint scent of
blood that clung to him.
"Inu Yasha, what's wrong?" His mother's soft voice was filled with
concern as she peered into his face.
She gasped as the last rays of light fell upon her son's face to
reveal massive swellings and deeply discolored bruises. His hair was
in disarray and covered with mud and one eye was nearly swollen shut.
A thin line of drying blood trickled from the corner of his mouth but
it was the look of utter defeat she saw in his usually fiery eyes
that wrung her heart the most.
Inu Yasha wanted to cry, wanted to be comforted, but instead he
awkwardly pulled away from his mother, adverting his eyes from her
horrified gaze. His throat squeezed closed and his eyes burned and he
knew that tears were close, but he stubbornly refused to allow them
to fall. He blinked them savagely away as he felt his mother pull him
closer to her.
"Inu Yasha..." Her voice faltered. One hand reached out towards her
child but he flinched away and her hand fell away.
"What happened?" She asked quietly. "How did you get these bruises,
dear?"
"I-I tripped..." Inu Yasha mumbled, his voice low and whisper
soft, "over a tree root."
As he uttered these words, he cast an uncertain glance towards his
mother and knew from her expression that she didn't believe him. Her
black eyes, so unlike his own, filled with infinite sadness. An air
of melancholic resignation hung about her as she straightened and
brushed dust from her kimono.
"It's getting late, my son, and I think it best we return home."
She extended her hand towards Inu Yasha who was relieved that she
hadn't asked any more questions. He hadn't meant to lie to her,
really he hadn't, but what he had endured that afternoon at the hands
of the villagers was just too fresh, too raw in his mind, body, and
heart to share with her.
Or with anyone...
The small child stepped forward to take his mother's hand and a wave
of dark dizziness engulfed him. His wounds, the trauma of the
afternoon, and his emotional upset had finally proved too much for
the young half-demon to endure. He yielded to the darkness that
gobbled up his vision allowed it to surge over him like a black tide.
"Inu Yasha!"
He heard the alarm in his mother's voice, but it was distant and
without meaning to him. His body fell through the darkness, which
closed in upon him, and fear erupted deep inside him. The he felt his
mother's arms catch him, pull him close and the fear vanished for he
knew that in his mother's embrace he was safe from fear, from harm,
from the ugly world at large that hated, mistrusted and despised him
for things beyond his control.
Consciousness came and went in fitful waves over the next few hours.
Inu Yasha was only dimly aware of the slippery sliding of silk over
his flesh as his garments were removed, of his mother's horrified
gasp as the full extent of his injuries were revealed to her. A short
time later the medicinal smells of arnica and horse chestnut [1]
wafted to his sharp nose as his mother's hands administered the cool
salves to his numerous wounds in strained silence.
His mother's arms gently helped him to sit up but even in his current
state Inu Yasha still turned his face away from the bitter aroma of
the herbal tea his mother offered.
"Please drink this, Inu Yasha." His mother's voice urged, "It will
help dull the pain."
Although she had added honey to the brew, it did little to disguise
the taste of the black cohosh root and St. John's wort [2] the tea
contained. He pulled a face at the underlying bitterness that erupted
on his tongue but drank the mixture obediently and settled back
against the pillow with a weary sigh. A deep sleep eventually
overcame the young boy and as he slept the medicinal herbs provided
by his mother and his body's own unique regenerative abilities joined
forces to heal his physical wounds, but did little to alleviate the
emotional scars his encounter with Toshiyuki and the others had left
behind.
The air in the small hut was cool and crisp with the approaching dawn
when Inu Yasha next opened his golden eyes. They felt so heavy, as if
they were weighed down, so he allowed them to close again. He shifted
his position slightly and the pain in his body, although still
undeniably there, was somehow duller and fading. In another day or
two he knew that he would be as good as new, at least physically.
His small canine ears twitched unconsciously as they detected faint
soft sounds coming from somewhere in the small room. A human wouldn't
have been able to detect anything at all but to Inu Yasha's
supersensitive ears it sounded like someone was... crying?
"Mother?" Inu Yasha called softly into the dark interior, although he
knew from scenting the air that she was the only other person in the
room with him. He struggled to sit up but fell back with a groan as
his movements awakened more serious pain deep within his body.
She approached quickly at the sound of her child's pain and brushed a
cool hand along Inu Yasha's forehead. Her eyes were tired and red
from her tears but she smiled warmly down at her son and she busied
herself with changing the dressings of his various wounds. Again she
offered the yucky bitter tea but this time Inu Yasha drank it down
without protest.
His throat tightened at the sight of the faint tear tracks that
streaked down her face and a great guilt consumed him for he knew
that the tears she cried were for him. She cried because she knew
that her son would not. Her tears were for the grievous injustices
heaped upon her child's small head because he was different, because
she finally understood that he could never truly belong to her human
world nor to the world of his youkai father. He was a mixture of both
worlds but neither would accept him.
As she tended his injuries and sought to comfort her only child, her
eyes held a terrible understanding and Inu Yasha suddenly realized
that even though he had lied to her, she had tended him and
recognized the signs of human brutality. She cried because she knew
the real truth of the matter without him having said a word.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Some notes on the herbs used in this story...
[1] According to 'Herbal Remedies for Dummies' by Christopher Hobbs,
L.Ac., on page 241 under Muscle Aches (which are often the result of
exercise, injury, muscular tension, and blood stagnation caused by
sedentary habits) you can 'apply arnica cream or oil or horse
chestnut cream to your aching muscles, and take arnica internally as
well in homeopathic form only.'
AND
[2] Also on the same page, under the same section - 'Drink teas or
take tinctures made from black cohosh root, a known muscle relaxant,
and St. John's wort flowers and leaves, an excellent anti-flammatory
and pain- relieving herb.'
Additional note about black cohosh root:
While it is true that black cohosh root is often used to treat women
during menopause, to assume that this is the herb's only use would be
incorrect. Black cohosh root is also considered an astringent,
emmenagogue, expectorant, diuretic, sedative, and an antispasmodic.
When the roots are boiled and ingested they can be used to treat
fatigue, sore throat, arthritis, and rattlesnake bite. It has a very
wide variety of uses, including consumption, chorea, and whooping
cough.
Black cohosh root is said to calm the nervous system and stimulate
the heart and it reduces blood pressure because it is an excellent
herb to open restricted blood vessels. It can also be used for blood
pressure, cholesterol, menstrual cramps, morning sickness and pain.
Since it can induce labor and aids in childbirth, it should NOT be
used during pregnancy until needed for delivery.
