Sakura Blossoms At 16 Hours by WritingMage
Hanami
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, just the plot and some characters I made up all on my own.
“Hello, sir,” she nodded to the old man, a favored visitor of the shrine. “Will you be coming to the hanami tomorrow?”
He shook his head ‘no’, and Kagome glanced up from her broom.
“Oh. That’s too bad. The cherry blossoms will be beautiful,” Kagome smiled coaxingly.
A wistful smile smoothed his wrinkled face. “My wife loved hanami. She even planted her own cherry tree to never be in want of a sakura.”
Kagome smiled, waiting for the rest of the story. This nameless old man had been a constant visitor even when she had been only a little girl. He would reminisce, tell a story, and leave when her mother would invite him in for tea. What a silly old man!
“My wife loved sakura.” The old man shook his head fondly. “She believed in the old fairytales. She was a child at heart,” he explained, and when Kagome asked if he wanted some tea, he shook his head ‘no’ and went on his way.
Kagome smiled fondly. Silly old man!
She bit her lip. Maybe someday she would be like that old man, reminiscing on her love and what they thought on sakura. Maybe one day. Kagome chided herself. She didn’t have the luxury of dreams.
****SAKURA-BLOSSOM****
The rest of the morning went by quickly. There were steps to sweep, lanterns to hang, and booths to prepare. Their hanami festival was the shrine’s second most popular event. With practiced diligence, Kagome prepared herself green tea and studied the sakura in the pale sunlight.
Souta would be coming back from the university, and Miroku would be coming to help out too. Kagome sighed. So many things to do, and she still had her Committee appointment. Hopefully this meeting would go better. She pinned her reiki-user badge on her dress. Hopefully.
With her best dress, she started towards the Committee building, tall and sparkling in the Tokyo sky. The jostling crowds practically parted when they first noticed her reiki-user badge, but with her neutral expression, Kagome kept going. The whispers and stares were nothing new.
“Look at the little cheap-”
Kagome clenched her fists; her nails burrowed into her skin. The slight bite of pain was enough of a distraction until she entered the Committee door and checked-in.
“Sato-dono will see you in ten minutes,” the secretary said coolly.
Kagome sat in the hard plastic of the chair for an hour before her name was called and she was led into Sato’s office, Room 164B.
“Sato-dono,” Kagome bowed her head briefly in greeting.
“Higirashi-san,” the young man plucked a file open from his desk. “You have not been paired yet, and as you know, all fertile miko and houshi are by their majority.”
Kagome fought the urge to fidget. “Sato-dono, my situation is different. Besides not finding the right match to my reiki, I am needed to care for my brother and the Sunset Shrine, one of the most crucial parts of Tokyo. Leaving me as its miko helps counter-balance Tokyo’s overwhelming yokai population. My being here and left alone allow regular humans like you and many others to remain in Tokyo.”
“Concessions have been made. Three years’ worth of concessions.” Sato leaned back on his chair. “As true as what you have brought up is, we have found a remedy to continue to balance Tokyo. Much more exciting, we have been recently informed of a powerful daiyokai who will undoubtedly be your perfect power match to your reiki.” A manila folder was slid across the table.
It was cool under her shaking fingers. Kagome studied its contents. “But, Sato-dono, this is just a child. Declaring him my match is speculation at best. By the time this pup reaches his majority, I will have long become dust.”
“Yes, but pureblood reiki-users like yourself are immortal, just like your yokai counter-parts.”
“Only if we choose to be.”
Sato smiled, and Kagome felt her skin crawl. “Then choose to be immortal.”
“Sato-dono, please-”
Abruptly, he slammed closed some folders and snatched her match’s folder from her hand. “Higirashi-san, you know why we have the match program. Pure yokai and reiki users are a danger to the rest of society. You need only think of the Shikon Rebellion. How many humans did the miko sworn to protect humanity kill? How many innocents have the claws of yokai bled?”
Anger boiled her blood, and Kagome could feel her reiki burning behind her eyelids, making her eyes pink with rage. She kept her eyes closed and nodded.
“Good. You are dismissed.”
Just as Kagome clicked open the door, Sato stopped her. “You have a month before you a relocated to your intended. He lives in the countryside, somewhere Hokkaidō Prefecture.”
Kagome stiffened before quietly closing the door and making her way back to the shrine.
Original Posting Date: May 8, 2016
Prompt: N/A
Words: 800
Note: Just a bit of whimsy that came to me. It was supposed to be a Mother's Day one-shot, but it morphed into something else... Updates will be sporadic at best. Happy Mother's Day!