Chapter Text
The village was not much different that Kaede’s, maybe a little bigger and with less vegetation around, but it was mostly the same. There was also a well nearby, but this was a functional one instead of a graveyard for yokais.
And much like in Kaede’s village, there was nothing in the village that felt wrong. The air was clean, the animals were calmly grazing the land and its people did not seem to suffer from anything save the tolls of war. Harry imagined that they would go on the move after they realized this, or so he hoped, Kagome could decide to stay the night.
If she decided on that, Harry would just make camp outside the village. The less interaction he had with the residents the better.
It was as he was turning back to head to the village chief’s house, where the group currently was resting, he heard a cry of pain coming from somewhere ahead.
Growing alert, Harry froze where he was and waited for any indication that the sound had not been a product from his imagination. He heard it again, this time, accompanied with the sight of a human looking figure approaching the well.
Cautiously, he approached the figure, ready to cast a stunning spell if it looked like it was a youkai masquerading as a human, carrying harmful intent. The first thing that he noticed was that it was a man, probably around the same age as Kaede judging by the little white hair that could be appreciated upon his balding scalp. The second thing he noticed was that his clothes were torn, and he was bleeding.
He was kneeling beside the older man before his bind caught up to his body’s actions.
“What happened?” he asked, already summoning a blood replenishing potion and a pain reliever from his bag.
“I- they – they’re all dead, blood everywhere, I-“ the man swallowed his tongue when his eyes gazed upon green, spring green eyes, horror filled his entire being and made to get away. “Youkai! Somebody help! There’s a youkai here!”
Harry stared then sighed. “Sir, I am not a youkai and you should not be moving too much, you’ll only make your wounds worse” he summoned a calming draught, the least potent he had, and spelled it into the man’s stomach. He watched the man all but fall to his bottom a second after.
He winced. Maybe he should have thought to conjure a soft seat before spelling the potion into the man, then again, he had not expected the man to have such a strong reaction to the potion, most villagers in Kaede’s village did not react like this.
“Here, drink this” he passed the other two vials, “one is to treat your blood loss, and the other one is for the pain” he explained and summoned more things to treat the man.
The older man stared at the vials in mistrust, fearing that they were poison. Harry shrugged when the man just took them and put them on the ground beside him, he opted to just to work sealing the open wounds with help of the elder wand. How vibrated in joy at finally being used in something other than cooking meals.
The man’s eyes went wide. Oh, the green-eyed man was a priest! The kamis must have been on his side, answering his prayers by sending him one of their blessed ones to him. Perhaps those unique eyes had been a gift from the gods, or the poor boy had been sired by a youkai. His mother must have been a powerful priestess for him to have retained a human appearance, save for the eyes.
Knowing that the young man before him was a priest, he took the offered vials and downed them in one go. He made a face at the taste, but he was not surprised by it, most elixirs tasted horrible. If anything, this confirmed him that he was in the presence of a priest.
“Now that that has been taken care off, can you explain me what happen to make you come here?” he inquired.
The man bobbed his head quickly and opened his mouth to tell his story.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“-and that’s what he said, my suggestion would be to go and take a look, if only to see if there were other survivors” Harry finished, taking a sip of the tea Kagome had made for them all. He almost spit it out when he found it tasted much more bitter than it should be.
Harry was beginning to wonder if the girl was trying to poison him.
Inuyasha frowned, “it’s no guarantee that it was Naraku’s doing, but checking it out would not do us harm” especially if it turned out to be caused by a youkai possessing a fragment of the pearl, and if nothing came out of it, then they would just set course to another direction.
“We should depart in the morning” he announced, knowing full well that Kagome would kick a fuss if they left that same moment and he just wanted to spare himself the stress that would cause.
They all agreed and made for the rooms that had been assigned to them. All save for the wizard that was beginning to walk towards the exit of the house.
“Hari-sama, were are you going?” Sango asked, confused at the man’s actions.
“I will sleep outside the village, I don’t wish to make the villagers uncomfortable with my presence” even if they had warmed up to him a little after seeing him escort the recently healed old man to the village and said man spreading what he had done to heal him, he still did not feel comfortable sleeping in the village. At least not this one.
“Oh” the woman said, remembering the looks the wizard had received from the villagers when they first arrived, she could not bring herself to blame the wizard for wanting to be away. The scars history had left on his kind were quite deep after all. “You will be alright on your own?” she asked.
Harry was about to respond when another voice interrupted them.
“Of course he will be fine, because he will not be alone” Shippou announced, jumping to land on the man’s shoulder, “I will be with him, so you don’t have to worry about anything Sango” he refused to be separated from the wizard, even if it was just for a few hours, especially if he was going to sleep out in the open.
Hari did not have a sensitive nose like him, nor was heightened hearing like Inuyasha, and while his wards and barriers could protect him from any harm, Shippou would be able to smell or hear any possible threat before it made itself known.
(That was mostly an excuse to be able to keep cuddling the man in his sleep. It’s not his fault that the wizard was such a comfortable pillow or that he smelled so nice that he just wanted to keep basking on his scent. Not to mention that the man could cook, if he stayed with him, he would get meat!
He also wanted to wake without hearing shrieks from Kagome for once)
Sango gave the child an amused smile, when she saw the kitsune give a glance at the futuristic girl. Seems Shippou had finally reached his limit in how much Kagome he could tolerate.
“Alright, we shall see you in the morning” she bid the two goodbye and went to follow the other girl to their room.
Needless to say, that Harry slept quite well in his transfigured tent and bedroll, safe within his wards, and Shippou got more meat and cuddles from his human. He also got to witnessed more magic, which was always a plus in his book.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The village the old man was from was thankfully not that far away from them and the young Higurashi did not feel like returning to her home midway through their journey, so they were able to arrive two days after their departure. They would have arrived sooner, but the girl was insistent on her rest stops.
What they found was very much what they had expected from the old man’s descriptions. Torn buildings, red tainted roads, chips of wood and stone scattered about and a heavy stench of decay hanging in the air. Harry felt like the smell would attach itself permanently to the back of his throat with how strong it was, not a smell refreshing charm would rid him of the smell of that he was sure.
He felt his stomach heave upon seeing the state most of the cadavers were in. He had seen many horrible things during the war, seen pictures in primary school about the holocaust and the world wars, and had been horrified by them all. But he felt that that the sight before him was very unsettling.
Decapitated bodies with flies fluttering around, worms wriggling their way around ribcages torn open by something long and thick, possibly serrated. Arms or legs, all partially mauled, some torn away from the bodies they belonged too, others were attached and revealed the bone underneath the flesh. Some of those bones were broken others looked like the had holes in them.
Probably from the fangs of whatever had sunk their teeth on the humans.
Crows and other scavenger birds fought over discarded pieces of flesh that could be found anywhere in the village. Some of them were even poking at the eye sockets of some of the corpses, sharing their spoils with their partners in a disturbing courting ritual that would not look out of place had they been eating the body of another animal.
Harry froze and felt chills run down his back when he took a step forward, in an attempt to look for other survivors, only for his feet to land on something soft, squishy even, and slippery that was most definitely not wet dirt. Or not completely in any case.
He did not need to look down to know he had probably set foot on a piece of flesh, maybe some innards. Wet mud did not possess the same squishy feeling as… human tissue, or even animal tissue. He hoped that he had stepped on animal flesh and not human, now that would be too disrespectful to the departed.
But it was the sight of children’s bodies whose stomachs were gaping red wholes that truly made him sick.
The yokai that had come to this village had seen the children as a delicious treat. And from the frozen horrified and pain filled expressions on some of those bodies that still had a face, it was clear that it had not possessed the mercy to kill them before eating them. If Harry stared enough, he was sure that he would be able to hear the child’s last cries for help, help that would never arrive.
He tasted vile on his throat.
Harry could understand more clearly why the muggles of this land and era were so terrified about having a youkai near them, and why they are so ready to kill them the moment they see one in a vulnerable state.
Kagome was quick to faint at the sight.
Harry wished he could do that as well, but he had to stay awake if he wanted to give piece to this people.
“This was likely caused by a mantis youkai or a crab one, they both possess extremities with serrated edges. But as we are to far away from the coast, a crab youkai being responsible can be discarded” Sango informed them, her face grim as she examined some of the bodies, not moving to see if her fellow human was alright. It would be for the best if they let her sleep as this scene was much heavier than anything they had seen so far into their quest.
The dead bodies that the young girl was used to seeing was that of youkais not humans, and Kagome held little sympathy for youkais that did not have a human appearance. It was only natural that she would have a hard time coping with a sight such as this one.
“Probably more than one, based on the destruction, I would it say there were at least two of them here” Miroku said, he tilted his head as he remembered something, “possible a courting couple as I believe it is mating season for them.”
Inuyasha clicked his tongue, “probably coming here to get as much nutrient as possible for the female to lay her eggs” he took a few shovels and threw one to Miroku and the other to Harry, “let’s deal with the dead first and then we can go bug hunting.”
He may not like humans, he may not trust them, and he may think that the grand majority of them were pieces of scum. But that did not mean that they deserved such a painful ending, especially the children. Those brats had done no wrong and it was not fair that their chances to grow was ripped away from them.
The least he could do was give them a proper burial.
He would also avenge them, he figured they would like that as well.
And that’s what he did. With Harry’s magic, they made quick work of burying the departed, and with Inuyasha’s fine nose they were able to track down the scent of the youkais in a matter of minutes. Sango and Shippou stayed behind in the destroyed village to wait for the other companion to wait, while the other three males rained hell on the youkais.
When they returned to the village, Kagome was awake and clearly shaken by what she had seen. And Inuyasha had developed a new impression of the short green-eyed man besides, as well as a healthy level of respect, the man knew some pretty nasty spells and could be very cruel when provoked.
Who knew that such an easygoing man could be so vicious? It almost made him feel bad for the youkais they had left behind.
Almost.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They made camp quite a bit further away from the village, none of them feeling comfortable with sleeping so close to a ghost village. They stayed away mostly out of respect, or fear in the case of Kagome, but Harry stayed away for another reason.
The moment they had returned to the village after dealing with the mantis’ nest (Harry took great delight in burning the place to the ground), the wizard froze upon seeing a crowd of spirits bowing to them. He felt a chill run down his spine when he was able to hear their breathy words of gratitude.
It’s not like he was not unused to seeing the dead, Hogwarts was filled with ghosts for merlin’s sake. What really bothered him was that the only spirits he saw where those of people that had some regret that prevented them from moving on, or a task left unfulfilled. The spirit of the villagers, while they had a horrible death to ensure they became resentful ghosts, had not looked like a ghost.
Their figures had been too translucent, their features not as defined as he was used to and, more importantly, they had vanished into nothing the moment they relayed their thanks.
The fact that when he asked Miroku if he noticed something strange, the monk had looked at him confused, told him that he was the only to see them. Ergo, spirits.
And as Harry had never been able to see the dead before, he wondered why seemed to be able to do so now. What had changed? Did this happen because he carried the hollows with him? He was not sure, he hopped he dreamed of his ancestor once again if only to get some answers.
And that this would not become a common occurrence. He did not wish to be accosted by the dying everywhere he went and have them demand things from him.
He had no wish to end up like his ancestor Cadmus Peverell, thank you very much.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had been back on the road for close to an hour when Inuyasha made them stop abruptly, sticking his nose to the air and sniffing, reminding Harry of a hound for a moment there. Which was unsurprising given that the hanyou’s heritage was that of a dog demon.
Near him, the dark-haired teenager grew alert and turned to look behind them. “I sense some shards of the jewel approaching, and fast” she announced.
Harry could also sense them, two of them to be precise, and he could also feel youki, meaning that a youkai had possession of them. It would explain why the hanyou had stopped so suddenly, his sharp nose must have caught wind of the youkai’s scent.
He cast a barrier around them and got in a defensive position, the other’s doing the same around him, not knowing if the youkai would mean them harm but, with the track record the possessed, that was a very high possibility. No sooner had they settled themselves, did they see a whirlpool of dust and leaves coming towards them. When it got near them, the wind settled and revealed to them a young dark-haired man dressed in animal hides.
Harry blinked. That was not what he had expected.
The man was quite appealing to the eyes with those prominent and graceful features, paired up with mesmerizing blue eyes and luscious dark hair. And he looked almost like a normal human being, the only things giving away his youkai heritage were the eye color, slightly pointy ears and the much more notorious fluffy tail that stuck out of the man’s backside.
It was a curious thing. The only other youkais he had encountered in his life were Shippou, a kitsune, and Lord Sesshomaru, who he still did not know what kind of youkai he was, and they both had a mostly human appearance. They both also belonged to supposedly powerful youkai races. He wondered if only really powerful youkais were capable of gaining a human like appearance.
He chanced a glance at Inuyasha and his dog-like ear. Would the same theory apply to hanyous? Or was the human blood from their mothers or fathers more dominant than that of the youkai? Questions, questions.
The newcomer’s initial smirk vanished, replaced with a surprised look upon noticing the barrier.
“Huh, you have gotten better at making barriers Kagome” the man said, his casual way of addressing the girl spoke of familiarity, which could mean that the man was a constant foe they stumbled upon, or he was a friend. He would not drop the barrier until he figured out which category the man belonged to.
“Koga-kun, what are you doing here?” the girl asked, neither confirming nor denying the barrier issue.
Well, that answered his question. Partially. He was definitely an acquaintance, probably something more than that to the futuristic girl based on her form of address.
“I caught your scent, so I decided to drop by and say hello” the man gave her a charming smile that made the girl turn pink and the wizard raise his eyebrows.
Oh merlin, please tell him this was not what he thought it was.
Shippou looked at his human, seeing the expression on his face he went on to explain. “Koga is a wolf youkai, he kidnapped Kagome and me once to help him get more shikon shards and is currently in love with her or so he claims.” The kid looked at the wolf and shrugged, “he is not a bad guy just weird.”
If Shippou said the wolf was not a bad guy, he would believe him as the child seemed to have a rather sound judgment. In fact, now that he glanced at the others, they were all quite relaxed with having the youkai around them. Or well, all of them save for Inuyasha, and as far as he has seen, he and Kagome were kind of an item (a toxic one at that) so the reason he looked like he had smelled something foul was probably due to jealousy?
“Correction, I am a bad guy but only to those that hurt me and mine” Koga added, “so you can drop the barrier now my dear Kagome, nothing to worry about with me here”
The girl flustered at that “I -“
“I’m afraid to inform you that this barrier is my creation not Miss Higurashi’s” Harry corrected the man, “as she only makes reiki barriers, mine are not like that” not to mention that they were sh*tty barriers, but he was not about to say that outload, who knew how the demon would react to offending his, ah, ‘dear’.
Blue eyes blinked at that, and focused on the barrier once more, widening when he noticed what he missed before. The barrier did not feel like reiki, not completely. There was a foreign feel to it, but he would say that it was as if reiki and youki were combined to make this. Logically, he knew that was impossible as those to energies were too different from each other and would only clash and attempt to suppress one another.
It was because of this that priests and priestess, and pretty much anyone that could use reiki, could burn youkais with their power. The same thing happening when youkais used their power on ‘holy’ people.
Even hanyous born from a miko and a youkai did not have a power like this. Either they wielded youki or they wielded reiki, there was no in between.
His eyes finally landed on the stranger that had joined his beloved’s pack and Koga felt himself be taken a back by the spring green eyes staring back at him.
No human had eyes like those, only hanyous or youkais. But the lack of youkai scent on the man, aside of that coming from the kid in his arms, told him that was not the case.
He smelled human, fully human.
But my was that a nice scent he carried, probably the best he had found coming from a human, aside of that of his beloved that is. He would say that his scent was on par with that of his Kagome.
“What are you?” he found himself asking, taking another step closer to the man who had gone ahead and vanished the barrier and was not staring at him intently. Not in fear as one would expect a human to react when meeting him, but in curiosity.
Interesting.
“A human” Koga could almost hear the unsaid ‘obviously’ in the man’s tone. Well, the man had guts, he’ll give him that.
“But not a normal one, are you? I have never encountered a human with colored eyes that did not have youkai blood in them.”
“Where I come from, colored eyes are quite normal.”
Oh? Koga felt his tail perk up, a foreigner? That does explain his peculiar form of dress and his more defined features. How odd.
Harry turned towards his companions, leaving the youkai to his thoughts, “So, he is not an enemy?” he asked.
“Yes, he is, go ahead and burn him to – ow! Shippou!” the silver haired man glared at the kitsune that had thrown him a small fire ball. One that would not cause much damage to the hanyou but still hurt. He made himself comfortable in Harry’s shoulder once more after stopping Inuyasha from saying something stupid.
“Koga-sama is kind of an acquaintance of us, not necessarily a friend but not our enemy either” Sango kindly informed the wizard, wincing a little as she found the best words to describe their relationship, “Inuyasha just has a… bad relationship with him.”
The youkai – Koga – snorted, “understatement, we hate each other” to the point that they would likely kill each other if given the chance. Sadly he could not kill the mut as that would make Kagome mad at him and he did not want that.
“So, Green eyes, do you have a name?”
Harry felt his eyelid twitch, “did you not come here for better reasons than asking for my name?”
“I did, yes, but knowing your name would be a plus” he replied, throwing the wizard the same charming smile he had sent Kagome moment prior.
Harry sighed, “Harry Potter” he said, if only so that the wolf would drop the terrible nickname he had just placed on him.
Koga blinked. The human had a last name, as far as he knew, only noble or high-ranking humans had last names. Curious.
“Well met Pottā-san” he said with a small bow, wondering if the man would respond in kind.
He did, with a graceful tilt of his head he said, “well met, young master Koga.”
The form of address alone told Koga everything he needed to know. This Hari was indeed of noble birth, although just how noble remained to be seen. It brought to question why someone of clearly higher standing was accompanying the mut.
Oh well, it was not his business to know.
“Then,” he said, “how about we sit for a talk?”
