185 5.74 5 New Production Lines And 2 New Acquaintances! (2/2)
”What business do you have here? Are you having trouble with some youkai and needed to report to our chief Village?” asked a guard.
”Not exactly but we need to have someone to talk to regards a youkai in human form that we encountered some months back here within Fukushima Prefecture. Could wewet with the village chief to learn and discuss these beings?”
”Alright, in that case, we will bring you to meet the Chief. Leave your mounts here at the parking lot and we normally charge per 15 minutes block. It is a source of income for us too. It is cheap, a block only costs 3 bronze pieces.”
I paid the guard a silver coin and told him to keep the change and we left our horses by a water trough and some hay. We were ushered in and waited at the open area before a stout elderly man came out and welcomed us.
We introduced ourselves and told him that we had been trying to look for this village for some time but was blocked from sight by a must some weeks back.
”How do you do, Chief? It is good to see everyone well here. May I ask, the one who wields the Hiraikotsu, is the person around with her brother?”
”Young Master, you do know these things beforehand, right? Yes, she is in the back yard,training with her brother. Do you want to meet them first?”
”It is OK chief, our main objective here was to ask you if you had met a youkai in a human form before.”
”Not really, why do you ask? Is there some trouble?”
”Chief, when we first met that youkai, we had a small confrontation. However, they managed to escape after that. My Sensei here told me that this youkai would kill squads of Samurai on patrol just for sports.”
Just then a nekomata bounded from inside the house and went outside. Hiko-sama was surprised to see a cat with two rails but to me it's normal. I called out and held my hand to sniff it and it mewed so cutely when it had not transformed yet. I scratched at his head and he went and curled up to me.
The Chief saw what happen and was surprised that normally their nekomata would be wary of strangers. ”Hello... I have been waiting to meet you and your owners, you know. In my village, someone would also be happy when she sees you too.”
The nekomata glanced at me and mewed not ”meow...meow” but ”mew...mew”. ”Kirara! There you are! I have been searching for you... Heehee... Come here, Kira... Father, you didn't tell us you had guests. Who are they? That boy beside the angry man looks like the same age as me, father.”
”Hahaha... Don't mind my Sensei, he had this permanent frown look on his face and even if he smiled, his frown never disappears. I myself find it hard to find out if he is sad, happy, worried or even in pain.”
”Kirara seems to like you very much. This is the first time seeing Kirara so close to a stranger. Hmm... What's your name? Would you like to play with us in the backyard of the house? You can meet my oneesama, we both are youkai Taijiya like my father here.”
Play... A word that had never existed ever since I had entered this body for some months already. All I ever think was business, making money, help others and it never occurred to me the word play before in my mind.
”Himura, go and join your new friend, I will continue with the chief.”
Seeing that Hiko-sama had given me an approvingly nod, I followed the young boy of the same age as me and Kirara followed behind.
”My name is Kohaku... What's yours? We never had visitors as young as you. Are you a Lord? You were wearing a medal on your neck, so I think you must be a young lord or something.”
”My name is Himura, come... Let's meet your sister. We can sit and discuss. I am not a Lord... In fact, I am just like you too! This is not a medal but its a pocket watch that my Sensei and I had bought from a naughty owner of the watch shop.”
”Naughty owner? Oneesama! This is Himura, he came to visit us and his Sensei. And Kirara seems to like him very much... You see Kirara, it had been following him from just now. Hahaha!”
Author's Note:
Alright, guys, you know what happens right? Kohaku was controlled by Naraku and he killed every member of youkai Taijiya village. In this part, Naraku was still being treated somewhere and has not evolved yet. Don't worry, so let's enjoy this twisted plot in the 5th series.
The moment I met Kohaku elder sister she shouted at our direction, ”Youkai! How do you manage to enter these premises?” and grabbed the Hiraikotsu and got ready to use at notice. I held on to the handle of my Odachi, spun around and shielded Kohaku with my arm, who was unarmed at that time and spun around, half expecting a youkai to be darting towards us from the roof of their house.
”Kohaku... Come here quick! Do you know that he is a youkai? What is he doing here? Is he terrorising our village and acted to be a human?”
The moment I heard that I slowly turned around and scratched my head. Me? A youkai? ”Ara ma...sister! Do you think I'm a youkai? Haiyoo... You got it wrong... I'm a Hitokiri with a reed pen as what my Sensei calls me. Or sometimes I'm a Hitokiri with a rather sharp tongue.”
”Don't you dare come near us! Father...!!! We have a youkai on our hands...!!! All men on standby...!!!”
Omagai...how could she regard me as a youkai? ”Wait... Sister, wait. I'm not a youkai, I'm a human being! Like you and your brother! If I am a youkai, Kirara won't be so close to me and it will transform into a Bakeneko already!”
Several men had arrived with all sort of weapons, a slingshot too was considered as a weapon! They were assembling behind the teenage girl holding her Hiraikotsu ready to throw at me. Her father, the chief and Hiko-sama came through the house and emerged at the backyard.
Seeing me in a kind of weird situation with so many men against me who was still scratching my head and standing there looking stupefied with the whole situation, the chief asked what happened and her teenage daughter explained, ”This boy is a youkai, I am sure of it! But Kirara doesn't think so...! And this boy said Kirara can turn into a Bakeneko... How did he know if he can sense another youkai beside him? Awww... Don't get offended Kirara, I'm not referring to you.”
The Chief then queried his daughter, ”How do you define this young man as a youkai? He doesn't even have the characteristic of a youkai. Haisshh... Sango, you are embarrassing me in front of my guests. Quick apologise...”
”But father, he has this star thingy on his forehead. I can see it, and he has a strong spiritual form of energy coursing throughout the body! No human has that star sign and also the kind of aura on him. Furthermore, the weird thing is that he knows Kirara can turn into a Bakeneko and maybe has the power to neutralise Kirara into not turning into one!”
”Hahaha... This kid is a youkai? If he is a one, then why does he attacked another youkai?” Hiko-sama explained and calmed down the situation and he told the story and the chief dismissed his men and said it was a false alarm.
We sat in the backyard in a circle on outcropped stones and rocks as Hiko-sama told the story when we first met Hiten and Manten, the Thunder Brothers who kills patrolling Samurai for sports. I was sitting with Kohaku and I was rubbing Kirara's stomach as it rolled on the ground and lawes me gently as Kohaku playfully pulled its tail.
I loved cats and I know their sensitive spot and loved it when they had been rubbed. I showed Kohaku what happened when I tickled the back of Kirara's near its tail...and Kirara began to purr loudly and stood erect on its legs. Kohaku laughed and began to hold both of Kirara's and wag it left and right.
I looked at Kohaku who seemed to enjoy this simple life with his sister and we all knew what the damn Naraku had done to him that made him turn against everyone, including his sister!
”I am sorry, my name is Himura Kenshin. I was supposed to be named as Shinta, but the name sounded too girlish, so I made it advanced and named myself as aforementioned. Hmm... Your Sango-Chan right? The only 2 young youkai Taijiya in this village.”
”See what I told you, father. He would be a youkai to know of these things. Furthermore, he came with a human, maybe he got manipulated as well.”
”Don't mind my daughter, she has the ability to recognise things not seen by a normal naked eye. What is the star that is on your forehead, young man?”
”I myself can't see it, chief. Its called a Third Eye and it enables me to see just what Sango-Chan is capable of too. The other night when my Sensei was setting up camp in the night of the expedition, I could see Soul Gathering Demons like a salamander but only two short hands near the head and a body as long like a snake. They were gathering lost, wandering souls near the place my Sensei had first found me.”
I related to them what had happened before right until today. ”Himura, why don't you tell me the naughty watch salesman. I want to hear... I want to hear...” Kohaku pleaded with me as he held Kirara in his arms and made it sit up and held two of its paws together in a begging fashion. I looked at him and laughed.
I soon narrated how I started to earn my first silver coins as a housekeeper and my Odachi's sheath was made in the Blacksmith and Hiko-sama said my appearance alone would cost the Blacksmith 200 gold coins.
Then how I went to the watch shop before lunchtime and was treated like a beggar and decided to have my revenge. When I told them about how the owner of the watch shop behaved, all of them laughed, including Sango.
”Chief, could we request something from you? Since Kirara could transform into a Bakeneko, it could carry Sango and Kohaku to our village and protect our travellers and merchants along the trade route in a much faster fashion. Cavalrymen could only reach the target area when everything is over and done for.”
”Furthermore, Hiten had spinning wheels on his ankle and can carry him up on the air. I was unable to do so. Brother... Brother... Can you show us how you defeated Hiten?”
”It is not a defeat... He carried his semi-unconscious younger brother, Manten that was knocked out by me at that time. You don't have to call me brother, but call me by my name too.”
”By the way, chief... Its good for both Sango-Chan and Kohaku to be at our village because they are children and girls their age. You wouldn't want them to waste their life like me, who had forgotten the word 'play' when Kohaku mentioned it. I have totally lost my childhood... ”
The Chief pondered on and was reluctant to let his children go to Kitakata Village but when we mentioned that they would be paid and could come back to the Youkai Taijiya Village if activated, he was glad to allow them to assist our Village.
I spin a tale and told them that it's a blessing to allow them to be in Kitakata because my Third Eye could somehow foresee the future, and it is not a very good one. In order to change destiny, we had decided to make certain things happen to have a butterfly effect.
I explained to them that they have to trust me on this. I don't have any methods to show how it is, but the only way is to take a fork in the road and see how it goes. I volunteered to come along for any extermination of youkai so Kohaku could witness how I managed to drive away Hiten.
I told them they can ride on Kirara and dismount as normal because the residents had never seen such happenings before and they all would be volunteering to relocate instead.
After having tea and some snacks, we managed to persuade Sango and his brother back to Kitakata.