Still Falls the Rain by Selestia

Life As Usual

"Life As Usual"

"Duck!"

Kagome winced when her knees hit the solid ground hard as she huddled down, her body shielding Shippou's smaller frame. A loud whoosh of air over her head was followed by the crashing sound of the tree that had been at her back, making her squeeze her eyes tightly against the dust and debris.

The low, menacing hiss that came from the silence made her look up quickly to see the orochiyoukai flick its tongue in her direction, large yellow eyes glaring at her angrily. She ignored them, and focused more on the shining gleam of the Shikon jewel embedded in its throat beneath the hinge of its jaw. That's what had lead them to this battle, anyhow.

The youkai bared long fangs, hissing vehemently, and Shippou screamed beneath her, clinging to her shirt tightly with tiny fists. Kagome's eyes widened as the enormous head of the youkai lunged at her, and she shut her eyes tightly, curling up around Shippou once again, waiting for the strike.

But the strike never came, and when it did not, she looked up quickly again to see the serpentine youkai curling in around itself violently like a morbid, writhing knot, twisting around a thick tree trunk as it recoiled in pain from the red figure standing in front of her.

"Inuyasha..."

He didn't bother to look in her direction, brandishing the Tetsusaiga as he faced off against the pained beast. The orochi shook its head, then snapped around at Inuyasha, hissing and baring its fangs once more.

"Keh. C'mon, you puny worm."

The youkai raised up slowly, jaws clamped shut as it flicked its tongue out at the hanyou, raising slowly to once again tower over him. A low growl came from Inuyasha's throat, the Tetsusaiga raised for oncoming battle. Kagome rose to her knees, clutching the kitsune cub against her chest as the orochiyoukai hissed angrily once again before uncoiling itself from the tree and bolting down the narrow forest pathway.

Inuyasha ran after the fast-moving serpent, his sword still in one hand. "It's...getting...away!"

A loud whoosh came from the woods, and a crash into the ground next to the youkai's head made the beast stop--momentarily. It paused briefly to hiss at the Hiraikotsu that had attempted to block its path of escape, then continued on its urgent way, lashing its tail as it passed the bone weapon to knock it clear of the ground and into the air.

Sango caught the Hiraikotsu, flinging it over her shoulder as she jumped off the tree stump she had been standing on to give chase to their quarry. "Get back here!"

"Inuyasha! Wait up!" Kagome came running through the woods in the wake of the youkai's path, Shippou clinging precariously her shoulder. Kirara dropped next to Sango as they came near in a flurry of fang and fire, facing in the direction the beast went.

"Sango-chan, where did Inuyasha go?"

Hefting the Hiraikotsu over her shoulder, the taijiya nodded her head in the direction of an explosion that resounded through the woods. "I'd guess that way."

"Let's go!"

They arrived on the scene as the orochiyoukai screamed in pain as another ofuda hit its mark, sending sparks as the scaly skin started to sear. Miroku sent several more of the charms flying through the air, many of them hitting the beast in different places. The more that hit, the more the beast screamed, a deafening, ear-shattering screech that could have woken the dead.

Inuyasha jumped through the air, sword raised above his head for a blow as the tail lashed out, whether on purpose or in the painful throes from the ofudas, to hit the hanyou in the midsection. He doubled over, flying backward to hit the ground and skid along the dirt several feet before coming to a stop.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome stayed back as Sango ran into the fray, swinging her Hiraikotsu around to target the cornered youkai's head. This one's really strong for the kind of youkai it is...

"Sango-chan! Be careful!"

"And what about the rest of us?!" Inuyasha looked in Kagome's direction incredulously, sword nearly dropping to the floor.

Shippou raised his fist, waving it in the air at the hanyou from Kagome's shoulder. "You're tougher than Sango-chan or Miroku! You can do it!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Miroku gave a droll look over his shoulder before ducking beneath the orochi's flailing tail.

"C'mon, Inuyasha!" Sango caught her returning weapon, sending her back on the ground a few feet before throwing it again at the meat of the creature's body. "Make it see red already!"

Kirara moved in front of Kagome as the Hiraikotsu hit the beast, severing its tail from the rest of its body, making the orochi writhe and scream in pain. "Inuyasha! The shard is just under the jaw!"

"Keh! You told me already! Twice!"

"Then do something about it, baka!"

"Temee..."

Sango and Miroku looked in the hanyou's direction in unison. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha growled low in his throat, jumping into the air toward the orochiyoukai with the Tetsusaiga raised over his head. "Kaze no kizu!"

"Maybe he was just old? We know that older usually means more powerful, ne?"

Miroku looked toward Sango for confirmation of this suggestion, only to receive a shrug from the taijiya in response. "It's possible that the age had something to do with it, but I've never seen an orochiyoukai that powerful before."

"Well, I think that this probably had something to do with it."

Kagome plucked a small shining jewel from the debris that had been their adversary, holding it between her thumb and forefinger to show the others. Even as she held it from her friends to see, the shard of the Shikon no Tama changed from the dark, corrupted color to the pure pinkish lavender color that signified an untainted shard.

"More than likely yes, Kagome-chan." Sango nodded in agreement as Kagome dropped the shard into the small glass bottle she wore around her neck.

"So," Miroku tossed his shakoju over his shoulder, gaining their attention. "Shall we head back to that village and tell them that they shouldn't have anymore trouble with this particular youkai?"

Kagome looked to Sango, and they nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to us." Kagome looked over her shoulder toward the hanyou that stood apart from the others. "Inuyasha?"

The hanyou turned to face them, hands stuffed inside the sleeves of his haori, a frown on his face. "Yeah, we should."

"Daijoubou, Inuyasha?"

"I'm fine."

Miroku raised an eyebrow and Sango and Kagome exchanged a look, making the hanyou glare at the three in turn. "Really, I'm fine! These woods just seem familiar and I can't remember why."

"Deja vous?"

Inuyasha stared at Kagome blankly. "Deja what?"

"Deja vous. It's French. It means that you feel like you've done something or seen something, but you haven't really."

"Oh." Inuyasha raised one hand to scratch the back of his head. "That could be it. Anyhow, let's go tell the village that we exterminated that youkai." He turned to lead them away then, in the direction of the mentioned village. "They'll probably be glad."

Miroku nodded, falling into step with Sango. "I agree."

Shippou nodded sagely, perched on Kagome's shoulder. "Let's go tell them we vanquished the youkai!"

"We?"

The kitsune glared at the back of the hanyou's head, but Sango interjected. "Kagome-chan, what is 'French'?"

The head of the village, a wiry and older man with grey-streaked hair, had been extremely grateful for the extermination, offering the traveling group of taijiya, as he had called them, room and board for the night for all their troubles, though because of the size of the village, rooms would have to be shared.

Kagome dropped her bag next to the door as she and Sango examined the room they were given, Kirara and Shippou on their shoulders.

"This is a really nice village, isn't it?"

Sango nodded, looking at a small, old painting that was hung on the far wall from the door. "The people here are friendly. I am glad we were able to help them like we were." She moved away from the painting, lifting a straw door to peer inside another room. "Kagome-chan! It's like a small furo. We should freshen up before the dinner, don't you think?"

Kagome nodded, already digging towels out from her bag. "That'd be great!"

The furo was indeed small, but comfortable enough for the two to clean up satisfactorily, even getting Shippou to join in with the bribing promise of candy from Kagome's bag. In the end, with three scrubbed bodies, they stepped out, towels wrapped around their bodies and hair.

Sango stretched her arms over her head after safely securing her towel around her. "Oh, that felt great."

"Sugoi..."

"Oye, Kagome--"

They froze for a brief moment as Inuyasha opened the tatami mat over the entrance to their room, Miroku at his back. The hanyou stopped, blinking several times as the houshi simply sighed happily.

"Inuyasha, osuwari!"

The hanyou crashed to the ground moments before one of Sango's shoes hit Miroku in the forehead, sending him stumbling back and out of the room, the tatami mat falling back down over the doorway. Kagome stalked over to the grounded Inuyasha, glaring at the back of his head.

"Baka! Don't you two know how to knock?!"

Miroku opened the tatami mat door once again, holding his hand up in apology. "Gomen nesai, Kagome-chan, but we were told to--" He ducked, the second of Sango's shoes barely missing his head. "We were told to tell you that we are the guests of honor at tonight's dinner!" At that, the houshi grabbed the scruff of Inuyasha's haori, dragging the hanyou out of the room poste haste.

Kagome continued to glare at the door, fists clenched at her sides. "Those two..."

"It's alright, Kagome-chan. At least you don't have to get your shoes from that lecherous houshi."

Shippou cleared his throat, gaining their attention from where he stood near the door with two black sandals. "Neither do you, Sango-chan!"

The gathering hall in the village was oblong and well-lit with torches that decorated the walls. Kagome had noted upon entrance that all the tables faced toward an epicenter that appeared to be a stage on one side of the room. She couldn't be totally sure if that was actually what was there, but the draped silk screens with their airy designs looked an awful lot like the little shows that were put on at festivals in her time.

Dinner had been delicious and filling and quite uneventful, save for the habitual squabbling between Shippou and Inuyasha. In the end, the two had been ignored by the other three and left to fend for themselves, making them behave all the more quickly.

When the tables had been cleared, the village headman had stood up, bowing his greying head to his "guests of honor."

"Kon'ban'wa, dear friends. We are honored that you have chosen to spend the night with us and dine at our tables. It would greatly please us if you enjoy one of our small plays. It is traditional only to this village, and not known save by the handful of travelers that come through outside of our small village."

Kagome tilted her head slightly. "A Noh performance?"

The headman bowed his head a touch. "Something like it, but not quite. It's a tale that we pass down from generation to generation in the form of a play."

"We would be honored to watch." Miroku bowed his head in return, clamping his hand over Inuyasha's mouth before he could remark.

An excited murmur ran through the others that had gathered for dinner, and Kagome quickly gathered the impression that this production that was to be put on was something special. Leaning across the table toward Miroku and Inuyasha, she kept her voice low as she questioned it.

"Is this...usual?"

It was Sango who answered. "My home village has several little plays that they put on for guests, but some are just for the taijiya villagers to see. It's one way of passing down stories from generation to generation, just like the headman said. My village sometimes used the plays as a way to teach special techniques for slaying youkai."

"What kind of stories do you pass down in your village?"

"Battles, mainly. Most were legends by now, exaggerated over the years to the point that you really couldn't believe what you were actually being told. One that was told when I was very little was a meeting with one of the first taijiya of our village and the Sun Goddess Amaterasu."

Inuyasha frowned. "So this could just be a fun story to tell?"

Miroku shrugged before Sango could answer. "The newer the story, the more likely that it's closer to the truth. Stories get more exaggerated with the telling and with the age."

Three younger women scuttled around the room then, dimming the torches that had lit the room as the screen in front of the stage lit up, casting silhouettes against the silk by the actors behind.

Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest, glowering at the stage. "This had better be good..."

The screen was pulled back with a soft rustle of the silk, revealing the stage at last. They must have been prepared to perform this tonight, Kagome thought, looking over the scene. The background was painted with the outlines of a village, mountains behind the houses and a lake in the distance from there. What surprised Kagome the most, and apparently her companions, was that one of the characters upon the stage was a woman.

A woman playing a woman character? How liberal for such a small village...

She was small, and obviously wearing a wig of black hair to her ankles in a cascade that fell around the back of her richly colored tomesode, indicating her married status. Her face was painted white, make-up artfully done as she had her head bowed slightly, facing the audience. On her right was one man, her left another.

The man on her right was dark-haired, with odd make-up upon his face, making him look fearsome in his dark-colored hakama and haori. The sword at his hip was almost hidden in the folds of his sleeves and the dark colors, which, Kagome figured, was probably the point. The word oily came to Kagome's mind. And evil. Even for a little play. In contrast, the man on the woman's left had a more powerful build, and was taller in his lighter clothing. He, too, wore a wig not unlike the woman's, yet his was stark white and pulled back to hang bound down his back.

Kagome blinked, sitting up straighter to whisper to the others. "A youkai?"

Sango simply nodded when Miroku replied. "It would appear so."

The dark man moved in the dramatic and overdone motions that were part of the play, beckoning the woman in the middle toward him. She covered her face with her hands lightly, shaking her head before turning completely away from him, and facing the light man. He held out his hand to her, and she lowered her hands from her face, taking his hand on hers before running into his arms. The dark man threw his hands up in anger, gesticulating his rage, and the light behind him turned red with his fury before he drew a blade from the sheath.

The light behind the pale man changed to a deep blue as another light-clothed figure appeared at his back. Kagome felt the same surprise that had been present when she first saw the light man. The second light man was wearing a white wig like the first which hung down his back, away from where his hand gripped the blade at his waist as he faced off against that dark man.

The sinister-looking man stepped forward, and the blaze of red against the background grew as he drew his blade. The second light man drew his, and even from the distance Kagome could tell they were wooden, false swords. Play swords, she thought. The two advanced slowly, in that exaggerated movement reserved for the plays, but before they could strike two dark-clad men came from behind the dark man, grabbing him and pulling him away. When he had left the stage, so did the second white man, leaving the dark-haired woman and the first light man on the stage by themselves.

The lights in the background changed once again, this time to something softer as the star-crossed two gazed at one another. Candlelight is what came to Kagome's mind as the two embraced before the stage went completely dark.

Kagome leaned toward Sango, keeping her voice extremely low. "What's going on?"

The taijiya leaned back. "I don't know, but I don't think I like it."

"Me neither."

Suddenly, the stage blazed in reds and oranges as the sinister man came back onto the stage. Off the stage, someone was making noise--like a drum, the deep thrum of the beat making the scene far more chaotic than it would have been without the sounds, a pulsating sound that made the pit of Kagome's stomach pitch. With the colors on the backgrounds, it made the houses in the painting look like they were on fire. Brandishing his sword, the dark man began to slash at the air, and someone on the other side of the stage was throwing down small straw dolls at each stroke of his blade.

He's killing people?

There was a loud explosion and a flash of light, making everyone jump as the light man reappeared on the stage. His white clothing was stained red, and he slumped with mocked fatigue. Blood? It's a battle...

The dark man beckoned for him, but the woman came from behind, one hand grabbing his arm, begging him not to go. In her other arm she cradled a small bundle against her chest. The light man shook her away, making her drop to her knees and beg him with the silent gesticulations not to go off to battle. He turned to her then, one hand brushing beside her cheek in a caress before gesturing for her to leave.

Even in such a shambled little play, Kagome felt her heart reach out for the woman as she cried silently into her hand before leaving. So sad... The pale man turned away from where she left to, and drew his blade to do mortal combat with the dark man.

The battle that ensued was not very quick, with many slow and exaggerated motions that were, unfortunately, part of the play's finesse. Finally, the white man ran the dark man through with his blade. He held it there in his gut for a moment, then pulled away, watching the dark man stagger on the stage before turning away. It was then that the dark man pulled out the small hishu at his belt and lunged forward to drive the small blade into the light man's back.

Flames painted onto paper began to creep across the stage from both sides as the two men fell to the floor of the stage, the lights on the background glowing brightly in angry red shades before the entire scene went completely black.

As the women moved about the lighten the torches again, the screen was already in front of the stage again. Kagome cleared her throat, looking to her friends, trying to guess their moods before saying anything.

She didn't get the chance before the headman appeared once again. "Dear friends, did you enjoy our play? I fear to say that this was the first time that this group of performers have been allowed to perform it. They haven't gotten it completed yet."

Miroku bowed his head in response. "It was a most interesting play. I must say that we enjoyed it."

Inuyasha scowled at the houshi before looking back to the headman. "When did that occur?"

"Most perceptive. It's a legend now, really. What happens to foolish mortals for the love of a beautiful woman. I couldn't say when it actually occurred. The original storyteller has long since been dust in his grave."

"That old, eh?" Miroku glanced to Kagome and Sango, giving them a questioning look.

"Do you happen to know...where it took place?"

The headman rubbed his chin, frowning. "Not quite. I heard it was in the mountains near here, but I couldn't tell you where exactly in those mountains it took place. It is considered a legend now, after all." He continued to frown at Inuyasha. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not really." With that, Inuyasha stood and exited through the door without another word.

Kagome stood quickly. "We really must apologize for our friend--"

"No apologies needed. He is probably just tired from the battle today." The headman gave them all a cheery smile before bowing again and leaving them be.

Sango and Miroku stood then as well. "Kagome-chan, there was something about that little play that was unnerving to Inuyasha, wasn't there."

Kagome nodded to the taijiya. "I just don't know what."

Miroku sighed, gesturing for the door. "We never get a moment's peace, do we."

"Not really."

"As soon as we get that brief peace, something comes up to make it all go away."

Kagome blinked, then smiled and picked up the drowsy Shippou from his seat on the ground. "Just...life as usual, I guess."

Glossary

Gomen nasai -- "terribly sorry"

daijoubou -- "are you okay"

aa -- "yes"

tomesode -- a type of kimono worn by married women; considered to be worn by nobles, but in the present day is only worn by married women to the wedding ceremonies and receptions of close relatives

haori -- sleeved overcoat

hakama -- pleated skirt-pants

youkai -- demon

hanyou -- half-demon

furo -- bath

orochi/orochiyoukai -- Author's Creative License at work here! An orochi is technically a mythical serpentine creature with multiple heads. I, however, use it in the context of a huge snake demon. Why? Just because. It makes the puritists go nuts.

hishu -- dagger

Author's Note: There are several different types of plays out there, and I didn't want to pick and choose, mainly because then I have to make my story fit inside the boundaries of one of those play structures. Therefore, there is no play structure this time. It's like it was told to be; a tool the small village uses to pass along stories. Nothing formal like a Noh performance or anything, just a little after-dinner to entertain the gathered villagers.