Episode 1: Where the Story Starts
"Inuyasha. Stay." Kagome's voice was threatening and dangerously soft.
"Wait, Kagome, just listen to me! You can't go!" Inuyasha's tone, however, was whiny and wimpy. Very unconvincing, if he wanted Kagome to stay and continue on their quest.
"I have to go," she huffed. She turned around, swinging her flattened yellow backpack onto her back.
"Why? We just finished recovering! The trail's still fresh!" Inuyasha leaped to her ankles and stood up in front of her, hands on his waist. "You're just being lazy!"
The fifteen-year-old girl glared at him. She did not move a muscle. "Inuyasha. My hair is stinky, I haven't bathed in three weeks, all my clothes have holes in them, my socks are full of dirt and leaves, and my textbooks are ALL BURNED UP!" She took down her backpack and pulled out several weathered textbooks. They were so unrecognizable; it was hard to believe they were even books.
"Look, Inuyasha. THEY'RE BURNED! AND I HAVE A PRACTICE EXAM TOMORROW!"
"Kagome—" His protest was futile. Kagome's mouth was already forming that cursed word.
".. OSUWARI!"
The hanyou was dragged down onto the floor, migraines and back aches creeping up his spine. As Kagome stepped over him intentionally, he tried to grab her leg and prevent her from leaving. Little did he suspect, Kagome was planning to punish him some more.
"Osuwari," she spat.
"Kagome, l—"
"Osuwari!"
"Stop it! I—"
"OSUWARI!"
"KAGOME!"
"OSUWARI! OSUWARI!"
By now, the hole in which Inuyasha had created due to his constant falling was huge. His face was red with new bruises and blood that gushed through his nose. He looked so… pitiful.
With a "hmph", Kagome leaped into the well, her thick, black hair flying behind her as she traveled back to her time. When her loafers reached the gritty ground of her shrine's well, she began to climb up on the ladder her grandfather had so thoughtfully put there for her. Slowly, but surely, she arrived at the welcoming light of the present.
Souta, Kagome's younger brother was waiting for her today. He had Buyo, the family fat cat, in his arms.
"Welcome back, Onee," he greeted.
Kagome looked skeptical. "What's this? You're actually welcoming me back."
"Aw, Onee, don't be so mean."
"No, seriously, what do you want?"
Souta blushed. "Well…"
"Oh, not again. I played that video game for hours last month!"
"But you're so good at using the bow," he protested, following Kagome out of the shack and into the house. She dropped her yellow bag onto the shoe rack tiredly and began to pull off her shoes.
"That's because I do use a bow in the Feudal Era."
"I hear you suck at it," he said, rubbing his nose. His cheerfulness agitated Kagome. It also alerted her.
"Who told you that?"
"Inu-nii," Souta replied immediately.
The Japanese teenage made a mental note to confront this matter to that insolent hanyou later. "Is Mama home?"
"Yeah, she's in the living room with Jii-chan. We're also going to have dinner soon," he added, gesturing to the simmering smell in the kitchen.
Kagome took in a deep breath. She hadn't been at home for such a long time. She missed the lemony smell Mama gave when she walked by and the eccentric babblings of her grandpa. Smiling at her younger brother affectionately, she rustled his hair and strolled into the living room. Sure enough, Jii-chan and Mama were sitting together, Mama knitting, and Jii-chan examining one of the family's "great" treasures.
"I'm home, Mama," Kagome said. Mama looked up right away and grinned at her daughter.
"As I noticed. Are you going to take a bath?"
Kagome nodded, picking up a piece of lint from her sleeve. "That would be great. But dinner's almost ready, isn't it?"
Her mother simply continued to smile. "We can wait a little bit longer, can't we, Jii-chan, Souta?"
Souta pouted. He was actually quite impatient to start eating. As for Kagome's grandpa, he was too preoccupied with an ancient tooth. Kagome waved her hand in front of Jii-chan until he looked up. Instantly, he shoved the tooth into her face.
"Kagome," he began, "I made a shocking discovery! This tooth might have come from that… that boy with white hair that comes here sometimes! Look, isn't this canine stunningly similar to…"
Kagome was already upstairs. "I won't take too long Mama!"
"All right Kagome," Mama yelled after her. She turned to Jii-chan, her smiling face unchanged. "She's going through that stage, after all."
Jii-chan shook his head. "Oh boy."
~O~O~O~O~O~
The sound of the rushing water was calming. Combined with the rising steam, Kagome would've fallen asleep if she didn't go in slowly. Carefully, she stepped in and let out a relieved sigh that she had been holding in. So many things had happened, yet she could barely remember a time she got a break.
First, the Shichinintai had raged war upon them after Naraku had cunningly revived them. The seven brothers were a tough group. Only human, but so strong, so strong that even Inuyasha had a struggle. No, it wasn't only Inuyasha—it was everyone that was chasing after Naraku.
Kagome sunk deeper into the water. No matter how comfortable she was at home, the troubles of the Sengoku Jidai kept coming back to her. Like Inuyasha's face when he learned that Kikyo had almost died…
She shook her head and tried to think of something else. Her hand slid down to her ankles, where the scars of the Stone Oni's acid had affected her. Even though Kaede-baa-chan had given her some medical herbs to rub on the wound, it sometimes still stung her in a way a bee would sting. Good thing it was only a slight pain.
She laid her head against the coolness of the faucet and held a hand before her. How long had it been since she was traveling with Inuyasha and her friends? Fifty days? Fifty weeks? Maybe… a year?
One thing for sure, she would not know what to do once the journey ended. She would have to choose between the life in the present, the life she was supposed to lead, and a life in the past that had already come and gone.
She wondered if Kikyo ever had these thoughts when she was alive. Back then, when she was going to make the decision about the Shikon no Tama and Inuyasha. Did she ever have any hesitation? Then, Kagome realized that her love would've brought her to make the decision to become "human" with Inuyasha no matter what.
Love was a strong thing.
A very, very, very strong thing.
~O~O~O~O~O~
"This mountain is sure ugly," a miko said, brushing her hand absentmindedly against the cool stone of the mountain wall. She lifted her head toward the blue sky and licked her dry lips. When had she had a drink?
Shaking her head at her bad memory, she tried to keep a reminder that she needed to find lodging and water soon. She crossed the rocks of the mountain and followed a thin trail toward an open space of trees. As she did so, the leaves were tussled and danced with the wind. The chilling, yet homely breeze swam through the tresses of her black hair and then left without another sound.
Strangely, the miko always thought of the wind, the trees, and the ground as her companion. After all, throughout her life, no one ever traveled with her. She was a single, lone traveling miko that never asked for assistance. But that was the one thing she was dying for.
She sighed. It was strange indeed. This desire for someone had never been so strong except today. Maybe it was the wind that made her think this way.
Partially, she knew that this desire was always there. It was always there, ever since she woke up one day, forgetting the surroundings around her and seeing only the light that the sun kissed her with. This miko was struck with complete amnesia. Luckily, the amnesia was kind; it left her name and her profession with her.
When had the amnesia taken place, she, of course did not know. How could anyone know?
Either way, she thought, it's about sunset now. I REALLY need to find a place to stay. And tonight, she was not going to spend it in a tree away from the pestering youkai that liked to braid her hair into unmanageable knots. Looking up, the miko beamed when she saw the shadowy outline of a village peep in.
"Yes," she said to herself with enthusiasm. "I am saved!"
~O~O~O~O~O~
"Ah, miko-sama!" The villagers' voices were desperate but soothing at the same time. People… there were people instead of rocks in front of her now!
The miko quickly ran over to their side and asked for their situation. They stuttered and stammered, but it was clear that kitsune youkai had overrun their village. Nodding as they spoke, she glanced at the village and saw that it was brimming with furry orange tails and sly foxes that seduced the younger, naïve men.
"Leave it to me," she said, pushing up a falling sleeve. "You got a weapon?"
One of the villagers handed her a well-worn out bow. "All we have is this. The kitsune stole everything else."
The miko's confident almost faded. But she reminded herself just in time that she was their only hope. She falsely strutted with pride to the bow and grabbed it. "Ah, the bow. My best friend in the times of war." She turned her back to the others and started pulling at the string. "Now how do I use this baby?"
"Ara," one of the foxes exclaimed. "It's a girl!"
The miko almost yelped and held the bow before her comically. "B-Back away, now! I have a bow and I'm not afraid to use it! In fact, with one strike, I can ship you all to kingdom come!"
The foxes laughed and sneered at the trembling miko. "Ha, ha. She says she can blow us all up!" They jeered at her with their dull, but annoying claws. "Try, try!"
With a growl, she stuck her hand out to the villagers. "ARROW!"
"Yes, miko-sama!" An arrow was slammed down into her slender fingers. She winced as she held it childishly to the bow. She tried to connect it and only ended up dropping it to the ground. She could only grin weakly now, her hands shaking as she tried to aim it at the youkai.
Finally, when she managed to put the arrow on the string, she shot the arrow at the kitsune that had its tongue sticking out. However, it was apparent that she put or had no strength whatsoever and the arrow was as easy as taking candy from children to dodge. With a swift spin of its tail, the kitsune jumped up, avoiding the sailing arrow and jumped against the air to propel itself at the miko.
Screaming like a maniac, the stupefied miko stood stock still as the kitsune landed on her head and began to twirl her around by her black ponytail. Soon, the miko and the fox was a blur until one of the villagers bravely threw a shovel at the kitsune. It hit the fox accurately in the sensitive part of its stomach and threw it all the way to its fellow foxes.
While the foxes were busy tending to the recently injured, the villagers hurried to the miko's side and helped her up. Her eyes were like circles as she held her hands out before herself, trying to see where she was. She felt so disoriented…
"Miko-sama, are you okay?" one of the worried villagers' asked.
The miko responded gradually as she rolled her neck around and around to get the dizziness away. "Y… yeah… sorry, I… I've never… been… good with foxes…"
"Maybe we should call for help. Oi! You over there! Get some more shovels! We're going to chase these youkai out of our home! And you, by the house! Get some herbs! The miko-sama has been stunned!"
"Everyone…" The miko smiled. "I swear… I'll get those youkai out for you!" Standing up due to pure will, she snatched the fallen bow from the ground and tried her hand again. "Arrow, please!"
When the arrow was in her hand, she put the end with the feather on the string and began to pull on the string. "Take this, you stinky foxes!"
She released her hold on the arrow and watched as it soared through the air, hitting beside the youkai and liberated a massive amount of spiritual energy. The light from it nearly blinded the villagers and the foxes, and even ended up blowing the roofs off the huts. But the light was warm and pure… innocent and totally joyful like the miko that had created it.
When the light disappeared, the foxes scampered out of the village in fear of being hit by that light. Smiles and hugs were exchanged with the anxious villagers, while the miko was being praised by the others who already knew their loved ones were safe.
The miko was so happy. For once, she didn't have to be alone.
Alone.
That word itself was scary. And soon, even though the miko really wished that she didn't have to go, the villagers bid her farewell.
As the miko left the village perimeters and started heading into another mountainous terrain, she glanced at the red bow that the villagers had given her as a gift. At least she wasn't completely alone.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Night had settled in by the time the miko walked seven miles. She laid her head against the trunk of a tree and let the fire warm her as she just sat there. She didn't move. The only thing she let take action was her lungs, which caught every particle of oxygen that passed by, turned it into carbon dioxide, and then released it back out through the miko's nostrils. All the while, little fuzzy bugs illuminating light flew by.
Tentatively, she reached out to touch one of the creatures. It tickled her finger and started to edge up her arm. Giggling, she shook her arm gently. The bug flew away and beckoned more of its kind to come after it. As they flew by, she heard the wind whistle through the hollow areas of the tree.
The tune was sad but sweet at the moment. It went high and then low, then soft, and dramatic at one point. The bugs surrounded the tree that was wind-blown and let the wind play with them. Like dancers, they twinkled brighter and brighter until the wind stopped. Then the bugs' light faded, their bodies growing darker as they hovered closer to the ground. Soon, the bugs were but corpses among the grass.
The miko blinked once, then twice. She moved toward one of the bugs that were half-way dead, its light so dim you could barely tell it was a living creature. She touched it and gasped when the light gave out, signaling its death.
"So you don't want to be with Mika either," she said, mouthing the last two words of her sentence. She lay against the trunk once more. But she did not sleep.
She was scared that she would fall into one of those endless nightmares. Ever since she lost her past, nightmares about cruelty and betrayal haunted her. They clawed at her sanity and ate away her safety. Often, she would wake up in the middle of the night, crying because she thought she had killed a child.
All of a sudden, before she could think of another sad thought, an aura swept her off her feet. Falling on the burning ashes, she started to yelp in pain as the fire ate away the fabric clothing her back. She kicked and slapped at the floor, scratching so hard at the dirt, the grit made way into her nails.
Then, the fire was blown away by another cold breeze. Along with the breeze was the very same evil aura that had knocked her onto the ground. It seized her and made her vision go all black.
But then, it stopped. The aura went away and soon, the only thing left of what had happened was the miko lying on the ashes, face pale and perspiration dripping down her face.