One for Sorrow
She lay with her back against the trunk of the Goshinboku, her eyes closed in thought. The tree provided her with a comfort she could find nowhere else. It was a sign, a symbol, a connection to a time she never should have been able to see, but was now, or she should say had been, a part of. Was Inuyasha doing the very same thing she was now? Leaning against the tree and thinking of her as she was of him? She could only hope so.
Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, it was quiet. She didn't hear the sounds of the cars, the honking horns, or people shouting just down the road, as she typically did. She ignored the tourists roaming the shrine grounds, or the sounds of the bells as many people prayed. None of that mattered now. What she did hear was the birds singing, and the crickets chirping. It reminded her of the feudal era, her second home until a few months ago.
She was alone now, not quite fitting in with anybody here anymore. Occasionally Ayumi, Yuka and Eri would drop by, and they would either stay in and chat, or go shopping, but it wasn't the same. The three of them became closer over the years while she had drifted away because of her so-called illnesses. They had moved onto university, and each of them was doing well at school. She had just begun some evening classes in a cram school to get her back on track. She wanted to go to school, needed to become somebody, do something useful again but, like all things, it would take time.
She wasn't even sure what she was interested in studying. She was taking a few history courses, thinking they were a good first step into figuring something out as she had a solid background in it. But studying it wasn't nearly satisfying as living it.
It was boring.
The visits to the museums just made her sad. It was bittersweet to see all of her memories fade away to time. The people who used to be so alive were now just a legend, only known to those who made it their business to know. The displays of the monks, and the Buddhist religion during the feudal era, reminded her constantly of Miroku, who never once gave up despite the constant threat to his life. Instead of believing his wind tunnel to be a weakness, he considered it a strength, although she never did tell him how much she admired that trait of his.
Then there were the numerous trips to the library for the different papers she had where she stumbled upon an article about demon hunters, and with pride she thought of Sango. A young woman who made something of herself during a time where women were thought of as little more than potential housewives.
What she did look forward to do were the stories about the different demons that existed, now nothing more than legend. She never did find anything about Inuyasha, or Shippo, neither having done anything notable to get noticed, maybe other than the defeat of Naraku. But then he fell to legend too. With no mention of Naraku, why should there be a mention of Inuyasha or Shippo?
Sesshoumaru was another story as he was considered a demon of importance. The first day she stumbled upon an entry about him in a book, she locked herself into her room for three hours and just cried. Every emotion she had bottled up, every thought she had tried to bury of everybody came rocketing to the surface and she lost it.
The proud demon lord falling to the fate of the others, known only to those who take the time to find out about him.
And her thoughts of studying history were over.
She didn't want to spend the time dwelling on the past, knowing there was nothing she could do to bring any of them back. The memories were too painful, and she had spent too much time, put too much effort into not thinking about them. So, now she studied literature, hoping that one day she could maybe teach others.
She could see herself working with kids. After all, Rin had adored her. The young, exuberant ward of Lord Sesshoumaru, so full of life and love for all things. She ignored the hate between the two brothers and latched onto her immediately, and it was quite often the two groups would catch up with each other.
How many flowers did the young girl braid into her hair? And how many crowns did they make only to make Jaken pretty? The toad thing had spent many hours grouching, but he didn't once try to stop her. Whether it was because he cared about Rin, or feared Sesshoumaru, she didn't know, but it was good fun all the same.
But now there was nobody. Rin was long gone, probably the last of her human family to pass on. Inuyasha…well, she wasn't sure, but she didn't hold out much hope, as she couldn't sense any youkai nearby.
"Kagome."
She opened her eyes to see her mother standing before her, as she had so many times in the past when she'd wander out here to think. "Hey mom."
Her mother had become her saviour of sorts, the only woman who understood what she was going through. After all, time and time again she had to watch her only daughter walk away and leap into a different era, not knowing if she was ever going to see her again. Her mother had been nice enough to take the first week after her return off work, and she figured she spent the better part of the week clinging to her, just holding onto something familiar. "I've made some tea if you'd like to sit and talk."
She smiled as her mother handed her a cup, made just the way she liked it, and watched her mother sit next to her. For a while, they just enjoyed the silence as they slowly drank their tea. For a small period of time, she didn't have to worry about anything, about what her future held, what the past held, or even what she was going to do in the next two hours. Things were simply okay in her world just the way they were right now. But it was time to break the silence. "I'm dropping history," she told her mother, expecting the disappointment that would come when a parent hears of their child's education being thrown away.
"I knew it was going to happen sooner or later," her mother replied in a calm manner. She placed her free hand on Kagome's shoulder. "You've lived through it. Nothing will compare to that and the memories of your life in the past will only bring you pain if you try to relive them."
She smiled. Her mother always knew what to say. "I'm thinking of switching to literature, maybe teaching. I think I could do that."
"You would do that well. There's something about you that makes people work harder to impress you. I've seen it with your friends, I've seen it with Hojo and believe it or not, I've seen it with Inuyasha. You would make a wonderful teacher."
"Inuyasha would try to impress me?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course. It was small things, but over the course of the years he matured a great deal. He would swear less, unless, of course, he lost his temper," they both giggled.
"I never realized that. He just seemed like the same old Inuyasha to me," she marveled. "Well maybe he matured a bit, but I attributed that to growing up."
"No, a lot of it was because of you. The chats we would have when you were at school, it made me proud to know him, and it made me wish in many ways that he was my son, as he would have made me very proud if he were. His outlook on life had changed, and he was content to simply enjoy it once you were finished your task." She looked at her daughter, noting the small smile on her face, but knowing what she was about to say would break her heart. Still, it needed to be said. She needed to know how far along the hanyou had come. "He once told me he wished for family, much like ours. He wanted a son, and a daughter just like you. He wanted children who would take joy in life, who would to learn to defend themselves like him, but would have a thirst for knowledge like you. He wanted your intelligence and common sense passed on to them. He even joked around about putting up with your temper because it would all be worth it."
"Oh mom," Kagome buried her head into her mother's shoulder, not wanting to hear the rest of the story, but needing to as well. When was she going to move past all this?
"He told me that Shippo would be thrilled to act the older brother and would be more than content to sit and show the kids various magic tricks while the two of you took a much needed break every now and again. The two of you would have a house on the outskirts of the village you stayed at, somewhere in the forest, most likely near this very tree as it was where you two met. And he had plans for when Kaede passed on, as she most likely would, because, as he said to me, 'it wouldn't be long before the old hag croaked.’ Of course this was said with affection."
Kagome laughed a bit. That was typical Inuyasha, expressing his fondness for somebody with harsh words. "Let me guess, he assumed I would take over her role as village priestess, as untrained as I was."
"That sums it up. Being untrained didn't matter to him, and he said it wouldn't matter to you because you would still do what you can for the villagers, be it based on what you know as a priestess, or based on what you've learned from your time here."
She continued to sit there, sipping her tea, leaning into her mother enjoying the silence. "I miss him," she finally admitted for the first time since she had returned home. She had cried for him, let her mother comfort her, but had never said those words to anybody. Not once.
"I know. It'll get easier with time." Her mother stood up and took her teacup before turning back to the house. "There's a gentleman in the house I'll send out to you," she called back. "I wanted to make sure you were okay before receiving him. He understood."
Now she looked confused. Who could be visiting her? She had turned Hojo away long ago, telling him as nicely as possible that her heart belonged to somebody else, and he took it with grace. She stood from her spot at the base of the tree and brushed the leaves off her jeans in an effort to make herself look presentable.
"Miko."
Her breath caught in her throat as she heard the deep baritone voice. It had been over two months since she last heard it. "Sesshoumaru," she murmured, more to herself than to him, and looked up.
He stood before her, wearing a pinstripe suit and long overcoat, looking very much like he belonged in this time. Maybe he did; after all, he had five hundred years to become accustomed to the changes that were happening. Some things remained the same though. His hair remained long, his eyes amber, and the markings on his face and arms were visible.
"I go by Hisashi now," he said as he took several steps forward. "In public anyway. Sesshoumaru is too uncommon to use for five hundred years. People would begin to wonder."
"Long-lived. That would certainly describe you," she met him halfway and just continued to stare him. She wanted to run to him, to hug him, to never let go. But common sense won out. Here stood history's deadliest demon before her. One did not just go running and jumping into his arms.
But he was solid, and real, and her only connection to the past, the only one, other than her mother, who knew what she went through, what she lived, what she was missing. She wanted to hold onto him and never let go for that very reason.
"Inuyasha?" she asked, knowing that he would understand the question she couldn't begin to put into words.
He shook his head. "He waited as long as he could for you, but time won out. Hanyou don't live as long as demons. He passed on twenty-five years ago, peacefully, in his sleep."
"No," she could feel the tears build up in her eyes and suddenly she was pressed against a hard chest, his arm rubbing circles on her back. The last little bit of hope she held her heart died.
And, in the distance, she could hear a lone magpie cry.
END
Okay, so inspiration has struck again. Some of you may know of the Magpie Superstition. There are several versions of it. Basically all you need to know is there's a superstition about the magpie bird and some people believe your fortune is dependent on how many you see. So see one lone magpie and there's sorrow in the near future.
This is going to be a series of interconnected one-shots, and each one shot will be written as I'm so inspired to write them. There will be seven stories in this series