[Kumiko finds herself trapped by a bunch of men who want her dead because of the youkai in her blood... Who is this stranger in the trees?]
She ran as fast as her body was able to, running from the threat that was several feet behind her, holding the persistent chase. Even as she ran her body trembled with fear, tears brimming in her eyes as thought after thought raced through her mind. All she could think about was what would happen if she were caught.
She emerged from the brush & found herself nearly falling off the edge of a cliff, her mind just now registering how far she had been running. She looked back at the forest to see the men standing there, all of the wearing wicked grins on their faces.
"Did you think you could run forever Kumiko?" The leader of the chase asked, sneering at the woman before him. "Your body is too weak with child to run like you were pushing it to. That might cause you to lose your abomination."
The man's words cut her deep, making her visibly flinch as she stepped back, closer to the cliff. It was the only place she could go seeing as there were men blocking off every chance she would have to escape. He was right, her body was too weak with her child; this made it harder for her to be able to defend herself properly.
She glanced around, looking at every single person, looking for some way to ensure her safety, a way to escape them without hurting herself, or the child growing inside of her. She whimpered softly, close to just giving in to the inevitable outcome as she took another step back.
"You can not go any further Kumiko," the leader chuckled, his hooded eyes never leaving her. "Should you decide to fall to your death, that would be less work for us, but we like taking pride in our work."
"Kuroyama, you should not be taking pleasure in murdering my kind. It is not our faults we are born this way," she cried out to him, tears now falling freely down her cheeks. "We can not control what we are born as."
"This is true Kumiko. And that is why there are people like myself & my men; those who eliminate your kind from these Lands to rid us of you."
�But what is the point of getting rid of us? What harm do the good ones cause? Why not only kill the ones with evil intent?!�
�Kumiko, you yourself should know it is not always easy to pick out the right ones to kill. It is best to get rid of all hanyous.�
�Put the suspected ones on trial! Watch them & find out which ones are true of heart & which ones just want to feel the blood of others on their claws. Kuroyama, what good would it do to kill me, when you know for fact that I have no evil in me.�
�The abomination in your womb is the evil in you Kumiko.�
�Seems to me the only abomination here, is you,� growled a voice from the trees as two men fell to the ground, deep claw marks in their backs. �You were so intent on murdering the innocent that you have let your guard down long enough for a true evil to sneak up on you & your filthy friends.�
Kuroyama & the other two men he was with, turned around, frantically searching for the voice in the trees. �Who are you? Are you so cowardly that you won�t show your face for fear of being killed alongside this wench?�
The voice laughed now, a deep laugh that sent shivers of fear up & down Kumiko�s back. She whimpered & began to slowly move to the side where there were no longer any men standing. She kept her eyes drifting back & forth between Kuroyama & his men as she gathered up some of her energy to make a dash into the brush near the edge of the forest.
�Get back here!� Kuroyama screamed when he saw her run into the brush. He looked at his men. �Why weren�t you watching her?� He demanded as he ran after her, determined to catch up with her.
Kumiko whimpered as she panted while running. Please let me make to a cave or some place I can hide out in, she pleaded as she put more of her energy into gaining distance between her & Kuroyama. Her sensitive ears could hear his footsteps along with his comrades, not too far behind her now, a sign she needed to pick up her speed as much as possible if she wanted to live.
Three separate cries of pain, that to her ears ended in gurgling sounds, erupted throughout the forest, making birds fly from their perches in the trees. When she finally saw a cave ahead, she made a dash for it, hoping to make it there before her energy was completely drained.
The scent of blood brushed past her nose as a wind blew against her from behind, also bringing her the scent of a male youkai of some kind, but there was something almost ningen hidden under his scent that brought out her curiosity.
As she finally reached the cave that she spotted, she ran inside & made her way to the far back of the cave where the floor was covered in old bedding that bore no scent of anyone using it or leaving it here recently. She sighed & lay down on the bedding, curling into a fetal position with her arms wrapped protectively around her belly as her consciousness left her.
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He sniffed the air, following her scent that led away from the now dead stalkers. He had been lead to her by the strong scent of he fear & the salt of her tears. Not normally the one to follow the scent of someone else to try & help the one, or ones, hurt, he was unsure of what to do when he were to find her.
If they wounded her before I went to save her, then I have no idea what to do, he thought as he walked slowly through the trees & brush, pushing limbs aside as he walked. I suppose I could try to help her if she would let me. His eyes fell on the cave that smelled strongly of her. She had the scent of one that is with child� What do I do with her if she is indeed carrying one's child?
Walking inside the cave, he found her on the bedding & his eyes swept over her, looking at her slightly tattered yellow kimono with pink flower decorations. In between the flowers in certain parts, a white bordering separated the flowers, but held them into small groups, making slightly bigger flowers with three to four of the pink ones.
I suppose some parts snagged when she was running. Though some of them look as though they are cuts in the fabric itself. He turned his back to her & began walking away, before stopping a few paces away from her. He turned only his head to look back at her before he walked to the front of the cave & erected a barrier to keep others out. This will serve to help me protect her until it is safe for her.
Making his way back to her, the figure began building a small fire to keep her warm since it was getting cooler out. If he was assuming correctly, it would be getting much colder than what it was now & this fire would be much needed.
Removing his kimono & setting it next to her, he knelt down & began to carefully remove her own kimono since it was drenched in her sweat & clung slightly to her skin. He could have taken a chance with this to look at her body or take advantage of her, but in the condition of the women, he wouldn�t dare do so. She�s been through enough already, he thought to himself as he pulled her against his body & began to carefully wrap her in his kimono.
When he was done, he covered her with some of the bedding to make sure she wouldn�t get too cold, & moved over to sit beside the fire. As he watched the flames dance, the heat from the fire began warming his bare skin from the cool air that had slowly crept into the cave.
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When Kumiko finally opened her eyes, she sighed at the nice warmth that surrounded her body. She first noticed that she no longer had her arms wrapped protectively around her swollen belly. Then with her eyes closed, noticed that the kimono wrapped around her now was much softer than the one she was wearing before she passed out.
Opening her eyes, she saw that she now wore a white kimono with what appeared to be gray markings on it. She looked up & saw the man by the fire, staring at her. The cold in his eyes made her shake slightly as she slowly slid her arms around her belly, her ears going back as she stared back at him. �Who are you?�
�I am the one that protected you in the forest,� he answered, rising to his feet & moving closer to her. He held his hands out for her to see that he bore no weapons to hurt her with. �My name is Naraku.�
She backed up in the bedding, moving away from the man who wore no clothing from the waist up. �Please stay back,� she requested, her fear rising since she could smell the blood of the men chasing her on his claws.
�You have nothing to fear from me since I have no intent on harming you,� he spoke softly. �Did those men wound you before I took care of them?�
�Yes. But they were small enough to have healed by now.�
�Okay. Your name is Kumiko, correct?� When she nodded, he gave her a small smile, his blood red eyes glimmering in the dull light of the cave. �How far along are you in your pregnancy?�
�I have been with child for five months now.�
�Not much longer & the child will be born.�
Kumiko nodded. �A few days before I was chased from the village I was living in, I was told that it would be within a week that I give birth since youkai normally bare children around this time. But since I�m a hanyou, I suppose I�m going to have the same pregnancy length as a youkai.�
�I have seen cases such as this. But will you be able to handle a birth like this?�
�I don�t know. The miko I spoke with said it is possible that the child could be ningen. But the chance of it being a quarter youkai, runs with it as well, so I won�t know what it is until the child is born.� She lowered her head as she remembered the screams she heard earlier. �Naraku-sama-�
�Please, no formalities� Just call me Naraku.�
Kumiko nodded. �Naraku, did you kill those men?�
�Yes, I did.�
�But why? There were other ways around it. You could have just knocked them unconscious.�
�I treated them the way they had in mind for you, Kumiko. They did not plan to just knock you unconscious. They were intent on murdering you & your unborn child, simply because of the youkai blood that courses through your veins.�
�I know, but that does mean you had the right to do that.�
�They did not have the right either,� he spoke, his eyes narrowing.
A short silence passed between them before Kumiko spoke up. �How long are you going to stay here with me?�
�Until you have you child & it is safe for you both to travel in search of a new village to call your home.�
�Why would you stay here with me for that long?�
�Someone has to protect you both until you are able to fight to save your child once he, or she, is born. If I don�t, no one else knows you are here, so who will protect you?�
Kumiko stared at the man that was now sitting across from her bedding, looking at the ears on the top of her head. As she sat there with him, neither saying anything, she felt safe with him. She knew that very soon her child would be born, & if it were indeed ningen, it would be a very long time before it would be able to semi-protect itself. If it were born quarter youkai, then it would only be a year or two before it could actually start to defend itself. She yawned softly & looked at the man�s blood red eyes, which now bore into her eyes.
�Why don�t you try to rest some more? I will wake you if anything starts happening or if I see your body is in distress,� he suggested as he rose to his feet & made his way to the mouth of the cave, where he could watch for anyone stumbling across the cave.
Kumiko watched after his form until she could no longer see him before she lay down & closed her eyes. Wherever he came from, I�m glad he did, she thought to herself as she curled up with her arms wrapped around her belly out of instinct. Even after I am able to defend my child, & myself will he still stay with me, or will he leave me?