I Remember You
Kagome was so young when she went away for the first time. Off to fight in a war that doesn't exist anymore. No one knows how close they were to losing that war, nor the saviors who overcome that great Evil. No one but me and that secret will die with me, turning to legend only as written text, fated to be mythology. Oh, it's been far, far too long and I don't go a single day without wondering how she is. Wondering if she is… Was okay.
There were many times in my life I felt resentful of her choice to return to the Feudal Era, to leave us behind. There were days I felt so hurt and sad I couldn't stand to be near her room, her things. It was just too hard. But it was for the best. She wasn't happy here, always checking the Well House for signs it worked again.
I like to believe she still lives on in a tangent to our own timeline, not dead and buried under the soil; that she could pop back up through that Well at any moment and be here, standing in my kitchen. That Inuyasha will come back and leave news of my long gone Daughter. It's better than the alternative. I can't stand the thought that she has been dead and buried for a few hundred years, forgotten by everyone.
Not my baby.
Oh where has the time gone? I'm old. Older now that Gramps has passed, and the daily chores have been left to me. Sota, as much as he wanted to stay, couldn't. I wouldn't let him. He had too much potential to not go off to University, and by gosh I was right. He has become so successful. Of course he still comes to visit quite often, and there is always a room for my one and only child; my only son.
X
It's been a rough week. It happens every year, though has gotten progressively easier. Easier being a lack term for the acceptance I have come to hold in my heart. Kagome's decision to leave has never stopped hurting, and it never will. I can just deal with it now that my own end is slowly nearing. With the shrine closed for this momentous day in our history, the chores have fallen behind, but I always catch back up again. It makes me sad that it has finally come to this, but it is about time.
I called Sota a half hour ago a little riled up. He was on his way but I couldn't wait until he got here. I wandered up to Kagome's old room, left the same as always in case the Well should work and she decided to come home. She never did. I haven't been in here in years, but it is time. Everything was coated in a fine layer of grit, but other than that it was as though there was still a teenager occupying the room. The desk had its lamp. There were school books on the shelves and stuffed toys on the made bed. So many memories in one room. Too many.
About 15 minutes later Sota hurried up the shrine steps. I heard his formal shoes clacking across the pavement and disappearing into the house. A second later his muffled call for me drifted out the open windows. I waited, then hollered back. Wiping the back of my hand across my brow I continued on with my work. He called once more, closer, but I said nothing.
"Mom! Mom what are you doing?" His voice was confused and a little hysterical.
"Sota, I'm so glad you came." I stood up and wiped my hands on my apron, marking the fabric with a muddy stain. "I could use a hand with this."
He looked angry for a moment before sighing and dropping his shoulders. "Are you sure this is what you want? To do this?"
"I'm sure honey. Its time." I wiped my nose with the same hand, marking my face as I did my apron.
"I… I don't think I can." Sota looked torn. I haven't seen him so disheveled in a long, long time.
"It's okay honey. Just hold this then." I handed him my spade and grabbed the blanket filled with things that represented Kagome. There was an extra uniform, pressed and white as the clouds. There was a handful of books, a little stuffed bear and a single dried rose. There was also her yellow backpack and a single piece of note paper with the words fresh from my pen.
I love you.
I tied the comforter I took off her bed and placed the bundle in the fresh hole I dug, mindful of the roots I excavated around. This would be her grave. This would be the resting place of a child I had never in a hundred years thought I would have to let go. But it is time. This is Kagome's resting place now. Her grave.
I placed my hand on the Sacred Tree, nodding my head in a silent prayer. I can't cry. I won't. I did. I turned quickly and hugged Sota, letting my tears run free. There was no chance she would ever come up out of that Well to say hello. We waited long enough.
"I'll burry it mom. I'll do it, you just. Just say something."
Before either of us could move, the ground started to shake. The leaves on the God Tree swayed and the dirt started to turn and twist, bubbling and roiling like a massive pot of boiling water. It wasn't an earthquake which was the first thought in my mind. It was different. Like a giant walking on the ground.
The hole I excavated, along with Kagome's personal items I put up for burial started to sink into the ground. It was magnificent. The hole filled over and the grass I ripped out filled back in. Hundreds of tiny wildflowers grew over the spot just as another item sprouted from the ground. It was a medium sized trunk made entirely of wood. It floated to the top of the dirt like a wispy cloud and halted. The ground simultaneously stopped shaking and everything went silent.
We slowly moved to inspect the chest and stopped just before we reached the grave. On the trunk of the God Tree was an inscription reading Kagome's name and her date of birth. I turned away from the carving before it could finish with the date of her death. I wasn't ready for that.
Sota was the one to grab the chest, falling into the dirt and streaking his suit with mud. "Mom. Do you know what this is?"
I closed my eyes, a sense of peace falling over me. "It's hers."
X
We sat side by side, two glasses of cooled tea sitting on the edge of the table. The chest, which took up half of the table by itself, sat still and unopened before us. It was magnificent. The carvings around the sides depicted the most marvelous and horrifying things. It was a history we never heard before. There were demon heads, beautiful monsters carved forever with snarling faces. There were faces of people I could only assume were Kagome's friends, Sango, Miroku and Shippo. There were other faces I didn't recognize and a few that were all too familiar.
Kagome and Inuyasha stood carved together, hands interlocked and faces forever smiling. There were two children beside the both of them, one boy and one girl. The girl had ears and a great mane of hair, while the boy was smaller, more like his mother. Like Kagome. My grandbabies. I felt the tears already welling up.
Sota took my hand, the toughness worn out of him and his own face damp with silent sorrow. Oh what I would have given to meet them. Sota stood up and inspected the lid. There was no lock or seals so he lifted the lid and it opened silently on hidden hinges. Even in the face of sorrow, inspecting a trunk left by our long gone daughter and sister, it left him excited.
In the trunk there were many things. On top were some larger items, Kimono's, traditional of a priestess and two smaller. The fabric was homespun, obviously, and soft to the touch. Small imperfections were visible, but only barely. Just underneath these was a pristine bow and several fletched arrows, plus an open letter. It read;
Dear Mom, Gramps and Sota,
I have missed you every day since I left. I am old now. So old. My life has been long and eventful, but even I cannot live forever. I have met some amazing people and even more amazing demons. Not all are evil. It is not by magic that you have this chest, but by a special power. It is time to let me go and you finally have. Live your life even as I tell you about mine.
My children, Izayoi the oldest and Sota the youngest, have grown up hearing about you and the fantastic place that was once my home. They have grown up hearing about all of you, and have even wrote each of you letters of your own. They are not half demon like their Father, but neither are they full human. It is a twisted fate they have; to outlive their family and friends, but Inuyasha will be there. I am sorry I will not.
Inuyasha has but two things to contribute, but I leave you with much more. My weapons and my treasured memories of my life I leave to you now. I wish I could tell you this in person, tell you all about my life here. I wish for so much now that I see the end.
But I don't regret my choice. I only wish you could have met my children. I wish they could have met you, but it is not to be. The letters included… I hope they will give you enough insight about your grandchildren. They are truly wonderful. I also hope these treasures and letters find you all safe and healthy.
With lots of Everlasting Love,
Kagome Higurashi.
Sota took the letter from my shaking hand as I tried to stifle the massive sobs escaping my throat. He read it over swiftly and set it down gently. I hugged the larger of the robes to my chest, hoping to feel closer to her. It didn't help.
Sota removed a woven basket filled with shells, precious stones and little toys made of wood. The bottle Kagome once carried fragments of the jewel in now held an assortment of teeth, both human and demon fangs. He pulled out many, many other things Kagome wanted to share with us, a few including scraps of paper with drawings, locks of hair, treasured clay pottery, cloth and beads, as well as letters written in child script.
It was the bottom, covered in letters addressed to us all that held my attention. I picked up the letters to Gramps with a careful hand and set them aside. He would never get to read them, and we would never open them either.
I looked into the chest and beneath all the letters was one written in an unsteady hand. Inuyasha. It looked much newer than the others and led me to believe he added it later. Much later. Accompanying it, was a robe red as rubies and a rusted, nicked sword.
I added them to the pile of Kagome's memories, of Kagome's life and hugged Sota. It was a bittersweet memory box. Kagome is dead. They are all truly gone. They died many, many years ago and one could only guess as to what happened to Inuyasha and the grandchildren in the time they outlived their mother. It was a catastrophe of questions that will never be answered, but one thing was for sure. My baby girl had a great life.
Kagome and Inuyasha found their peace.
And now I have mine.
X
This was a one shot I kind of thought of for Remembrance Day. It was really late and it came into my mind suddenly and boom. This is the result. I don't know if Inuyasha would have survived to modern day, so I made him mortal. And the kids lived only slightly longer lives than their human mother being like, a ¼ demon so. It might be flawed, but the idea is sound.