Amidst a sea of emerald grass swaying gracefully in the wind below a sky of bright blue, a young girl stood warily surveying her surroundings. A strong gust of wind blew past her, causing her blue-black tresses to trail in its wake. Her unique bluish gray eyes flash in confusion as she takes in the sights before her.
I've never seen grass this green or a sky this blue…
But where am I?
This isn't home…
This time a frigid wind blew past her, seeping through her skin and chilling her to her very bones. In a feeble attempt to protect herself against the strong, pervasive element, the young girl wrapped her arms about her body. The bone chilling wind seemed to twirl about her, ripping through her hair and pressing her thin pajamas close to her skin. In mounting fear, the young girl clutched her arms about herself tightly and clamped her eyes shut as a scream tore its way from her throat.
What's happening?
Without warning the wind ceased as quickly as it came and then there was naught but silence. Its victim dared not open her tightly clamped eyes as she shivered uncontrollably in fear and the lingering cold sensation the horrid wind left in its wake. Suddenly, shouts and clang of metal against metal assaulted her ears. The smell of fire and decay permeated her senses. The young girl frantically opened her wide eyes to a scene of carnage and destruction. Towering structures that could have once been considered things of beauty toppled and crumbled in a sea flames. Humans and beast fought and tore at each all around her.
The overwhelmed young woman whirled in fright, trying to find a place to run to, a place to hide from this bloodshed. She stumbled backwards, pushing her heavy hair away from her face and choking back a sob.
Why is this happening? Where am I? I just want to go…
She felt her throat grow dry as the desert when she looked up to see her home but not as she knew it to be… the silver orb of Lunar loomed far above her, calmly hanging in the heavens and seemingly unfazed by the destruction below it. Before she could comprehend what was happening, maniacal laughter boomed over the battle zone. The horrid laughter echoed and increased in volume, becoming so loud she could hear nothing but the awful sound.
No!
Kagome…
Make it stop… Stop calling me…
Kagome…
Kagome!!!!
Kagome lurched forward in her bed, breathing heavily. Perspiration dotted her forehead and her hair lay lank and sweaty on her forehead and neck.
"Oh god… not those dream again…" Kagome groaned as she propped herself up on her bent knees and stared at the content of her dimly lit bedroom and then out of her little window. Outside, the Blue Star hung in the air, glowing brightly in the night sky.
She heaved a long-suffering sigh and forced herself out of bed, knowing she could no longer sleep. Kagome walked over to her window and leaned her forehead on the cold pane of glass. She spent many nights like this since she'd turned twelve. Every month or sometimes every other week, she had vivid visions so real that she could barely believe that it all was just a dream.
Kagome wrapped her arms tightly about her midsection and her soft breath fogged her windowpane. What's wrong with me? Why do I keep having these nightmares? I don't understand any of them… I've been having these dreams since… since father died…
She felt tears burn the backs of her eyes and her hands clenched convulsively in the folds of her nightclothes. So many things happened back then… So many things I wish I never knew…
"Kagome?" a young voice whispered in the darkness.
The young girl's train of thought abruptly ended at the sound of a voice that could only belong to her beloved younger brother, Souta. Slowly, she turned away from her window and looked toward the source of the voice.
"Souta, what are you doing out of bed? It's far too late for you to be up…" Kagome lectured in a voice barely above a whisper.
The nine-year-old boy rubbed his eye tiredly, "I tried but I couldn't fall asleep. Then I heard you shuffling around so…"
"You came to be nosey…" Kagome replied playfully, ruffling her brother's brown locks when he came close enough.
"You could say that… if you want to be a brat about it…" Souta grumbled, "That's what I get for worrying about you. What are you doing up anyway?"
Kagome turned back to the window and sighed. "I'm just worried about tomorrow. It's the Goddess Festival… I don't want to mess up or anything…"
Souta was silent for a moment, "Nightmares, huh?"
Kagome tensed and then let out a little chuckle. I'll never know how this nine-year-old pipsqueak can catch me in a lie faster than the village magistrate.
Souta took her silence as a positive reply and shifted a little closer her too her. "Are they ever going to go away?"
"I don't know… I wish I could say yes…" Kagome replied quietly as she looked down at the young boy she'd grown so close to over the years. His wide brown eyes were filled with apprehension.
Kagome gave Souta lopsided smile and pulled him closer to her side. Being of an age when girls were gross and tossed aside for anything that had more than two legs, it surprised Kagome how precocious and utterly sensitive Souta could be, at least in private. There were times when it was Souta's devotion to his elder sister that kept her from shattering totally. Despite her efforts not to think on such morose topics, the young girl's memories raced back to such an occasion five years ago…
***
From the moment her father's companions and fellow archaeologists crowded into their little living area carrying Higurashi Hiro's tattered cloak and somber expressions, Kagome-chan felt her heart tremble in fear.
Matsuo, a close friend of her father who traveled often at Hiro's side and on this fateful expedition, pulled his cap from his head and clenched it tightly until tanned knuckles whitened, "Mina, I, we… there's something we need to tell you…" His voice began to crack a bit as tried his best to relay the events that led to tragedy.
The smile of unaffected friendliness that Mina Higurashi, Kagome's mother, greeted the travel worn men with slipped a notch and her hand twisted in her pristine apron. Apprehension was building her warm brown eyes but, she waited to react, unwilling to assume the worst and always hoping for the best.
"Well you see…" Matsuo continued with difficulty, "On expedition to the Mystic Ruins of Malta, we encountered a great deal of resistance from the resident monsters. We should have turned back… we should have… but Hiro… he had this fire in his eyes, he believed we were so close and he said 'There's no way I'll let a couple of beasties hinder me from the pursuit of knowledge.' We did make it there finally but… when we settled down for the night… we were ambushed. We fought valiantly and did the best we could but some of us didn't make it. Dean was under heavy attack and Hiro went to save him. I tried to get to him but then it was too late. Mina, I'm sorry…."
When the words no one in the Higurashi household ever wanted to hear slipped from their lips, she screamed inwardly in denial. But instead, she ran to her mother who had crumpled to the floor sobbing and clutching tightly at her husband's much abuse traveling gear. Kagome wanted to yell at the men to go away and stop their awful lies as rage bloomed futilely in her bosom. Looking at the teary eyes and pain racked expression of the explorers; her anger instantly died and was replaced by deep sorrow. Trying to be the pillar of strength for young Souta and her mother, Kagome took it upon herself to comfort them both. Together her family and friends of her father grieved for the loss of Hiro Higurashi, a brave and honorable husband and father.
A month came and went since her father's death and the loss left a dull, throbbing pain in Kagome's chest. She only cried in private, not wanting to upset her mother and little brother who were still grieving. At times like this, she would go into her father's small study, stack full of research and maps of places he promised to take her. Tears seeped from her eyes as she remembered his laughing voice.
"We'll go on a journey when you're old enough… I'll show the world, I promise."
"What happened daddy? Why did you leave me?" Kagome sobbed raggedly as she buried her tear streaked face in her arms and leaned on her father's crowded desk.
When her tears were spent, she would linger in her father's private space. Fingering the Lunarian globe and letting her father's memory wash over her, Kagome would whisper to her father hoping he could hear her.
"Daddy, I'm still practicing with the bow and arrows you gave me. Now, I can shoot a bull's eye seven times in a row. I learned a new spell too… I can conjure fire now… It's not enough to defend with but at least I can make campfires now. I learned to heal stuff too. Yesterday, I burned my hand while chanting that fire spell and the chanted the healing spell like you taught me… It worked Daddy… it really worked… I hope you're proud of me… I'll keep learning, I promise… and then I'll go and see the world… We'll see it together, daddy because you'll be in my heart the whole time."
Kagome-chan could almost feel her father's presence wrapping about her lovingly and sometimes if she looked close enough; his aura sparkled in the air around her. Through a sheen of tears, the preadolescent child smiled and hugged her midsection, willing to pretend that it was her father's arms instead.
"I won't cry anymore, I promise… I know you want us all to be happy and besides, you died doing the very thing you loved…. I just miss you so much…" Kagome-chan heaved as sigh and wiped her eyes. Her eyes swept over the small room hoping to somehow conjure her father's presence and then a book covered by worn leather lying on the windowsill caught her attention. On its cover was the ancient insignia of Midoriko stamped in gold filigree. Kagome's stormy blue eyes widened as she realized that this book was one of items that his companions managed to salvage after the attack in Malta. She picked up the book and hugged it tightly, inhaling its earthy smell. She cracked it open seeing her father's named written in his scratchy script on the inside of the cover. Flipping through the pages a little more, she noticed that it seemed to be a diary of sorts. Each entry was dated and titled according to the event. Kagome hesitated to read any of the entries in fear that she would be prying into her father's innermost thoughts. She struggled with herself, trying to discern if she should leave the book where it lie or take it. In the end, her childish curiosity and her desperate need to hold her father as close to her heart as possible won out and she took the diary and fled to her room.
Day after day she read, relishing the way her father vividly described each adventure. In her mind's eye she could see every detail, hear the echo of ancient tombs he explored and see the breathtaking views from atop a mountain's peak at sunset. Each entry filled her heart with wonder and made her long to see every place Hiro Higurashi described. One evening an unusual entry caught Kagome's eye while she settled down by the fire in her family's small living area to read her father's journal.
Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed the entry was marked on her birthday.
Year 2558 AE (After the exile to Lunar) Month Avrillunius (Equivalent to April) Day Quadrimus the 18th (the fourth day of a seven day week)
To say that this expedition's events have been surprising would be an understatement of astronomical proportions. I could have never in all my short years have predicted this… it's amazing… and utterly unbelievable and… I am not doing myself much justice by babbling on in shock either… I am digressing from my purpose so I must get back on track and stop making an utter cake of myself in my own journal… It has been many weeks since I actually have been able to write in this journal of mine due to nature of our journey.
The journey to the Silver Spire was an arduous that took the sheer will and courage of my fellow travelers to achieve. To be honest, when I proposed that we seek out this tower, I hadn't adequate enough information to make a full blown expedition of it. Scanty clues from badly damaged texts we procured on our advent to the abandoned palace of Atta and a few other translated texts I collected in my travels served as our guide through over grown forests, several of which seemed untouched by humans hands since the goddess Midoriko created them, teeming with monsters and so confusing one could get lost in them for all eternity. Following my adventurer's instinct, I convinced Dean and Matsuo to follow suit and soon we had a whole team of archaeologist's and historians.
It took us more than a week to venture through the Forests of Illusion and another two weeks to venture over the craggy gray mountains into land we'd neither had reference to on maps or any of the travel guides. Our numbers had dwindled by then. Some of our team had been injured and needed medical attention. They turned back with the help of others who developed serious doubts that the Spire actually existed. I was not deterred in the least. As our group reduced in numbers, my desire to see this ancient relic doubled and redoubled. I can't say that at the time I actually knew why…
We journeyed beyond the mountains in two days time and settled for the night in a rocky valley. Dean and Matsuo both agreed that the area was unsettlingly quiet because we had yet to encounter one fiend since we stepped foot into the valley. I could not help but agree and decided that I along with Gensao and Tetamo would take shifts guarding our travel weary group.
At daybreak, we packed our gear and traveled through valley along side the sheer gray walls of the mountain that bordered it. After walking for what seemed like a million miles, we came to odd indentation at least a mile in length and width in the mountain's wall. We ventured forth and found an oasis of pure beauty cradled within the mountain's bosom. Crystal formations jutted forth from the ground and glittered in the afternoon sun. Within a spring inlaid with marble lie a beautiful yet eroded statue of the Goddess holding the image of what seemed to be Lunar in her arms. Crumbling columns lined a shining silver gray pathway of granite stone, leading to a towering spire of glittering silver white. Neither the mountains ominous shadow nor the cloudy afternoon sky dimmed the light that seemed to emanate off this majestic tower. Sculpted winged beasts and angels in all their ethereal splendor soared across the façade of the tall edifice and appeared to beckon us to venture within its ancient depths.
Gensao commented that he could almost feel the magic rolling off the tower in waves. Perhaps some magic ward had been placed on this area. That might explain the lack of monsters. I found it curious that we encountered no fiends or ghouls as we traveled through the valley to this place. Anyways, we set camp for the night before the Silver Spire. The rest of the team wanted to explore the area and the tower itself at daybreak. I was far too anxious to sleep that night and lie outside, looking up at the spire wondering what secrets this mysterious tower held…
The next morning we had no difficulty getting into the tower. Dean, thank Midoriko, had knowledge of ancient Lunarian script and was able to translate the spell carved on the huge metal doors of the tower. The doors swung open, creaking on its hinges. Our team stepped within with torches in hand only to find that this place pulsed with silver light. Some of us were wary and almost afraid of the intensity of the magic flowing through the place. I, on the other hand, was enchanted…
We set some of team at the bottom floor and traveled upward, through huge rooms covered with mythological creatures and images of the goddess herself. We gathered many treasures that day… None so great as what I was about to find…
When we were sure we'd reached the top floor of the spire, Dean, Gensao, Matsuo, and I came to a silver room with walls of images depicting the plight of the Blue Star and the goddess' travel to Lunar carved into them. The room was definitely untouched by time and magic seemed to shimmer visibly in the air. In the middle of the room floating within a beam of shimmering light was a spinning small-scale representation of the Blue Star itself. We all stood in awe of this spinning miracle. I was so entranced by it that I walked forth and attempted to touch it.
All that I remember is seeing a huge flash of light before I woke up on the floor. After getting over my shock, I realized that I was no longer in the presence of my colleagues or even in the same room with them. This room was sapphire blue and pulsing with light emanating from a large spinning crystal nestled within some odd sort of holding cell. Despite the fear flowing in my veins, I walked over the crystal and tried my best to peer into its depths. What I saw shocked me to my very toes. Inside the crystal, a small black haired child of no more than a year old lie suspended and sleeping. The child wore a strange robe of blue, white, and gold unlike anything I'd ever seen made in Lunar. I had no time to think about how the child got here in the first place because her eyes suddenly opened. She had the most beautiful eyes of blue, I'd ever seen. She blinked at me and then smiled when I stood gaping at her. She reached out to me and the crystal melted away as she flew into my unsuspecting arms.
I tried to ask this odd girl where on Lunar did she come from and how she got here but she only smiled and hugged me tight. Without warning I was back in the silver room with a child in my arms. My colleagues had searched the entire room for me and frantic about my departure, it seems, because when I suddenly returned they all ran to my side, asking questions and nearly yelling. Then, they noticed the child and bombarded me with questions, none of which I could answer. The girl seemed unfazed by the questions and promptly fell asleep in my arms…
Where this mere child came from I'll never know… We tried to explain it away but her origin remains about as a much a mystery as it did when I found her. It's been two days since… the child remains quiet, not even uttering a cry. She just watches us with her huge blue gray eyes and smiles at me sometimes. I take full responsibility for her because I was the one who found her in the first place. Perhaps, there was some local village we missed along the way… Perhaps… I don't know… Should I feel wrong for hoping that there is no village and that this little girl just appeared from the heavens and was meant for me to find.
Mina and I have wanted children for some time… Could I dare dream she is Midoriko's blessing…
The child continued to read, trying to find something that would disprove the evidence that lie before her in the pages of her father's journal. Frantically, she read page after page and each entry made concrete what she'd feared. Kagome-chan's eyes widened in disbelief as she whispered, "He's not my father…? I'm a… an orphan…"
The young girl put the journal down as if she'd been burned and backed away from it. Tears formed in her stormy eyes and she cried… hard sobs of denial and shock. Mina Higurashi came in her room with the intent of comforting the obviously distraught child but was dismayed when Kagome jerked away.
"Kagome? What's wrong, sweeting? Why are you crying?" Mrs. Higurashi asked softly, not deterred by her daughter's reaction.
Kagome raised accusing eyes to her mother's as anger flowed through her, "Why didn't you tell me ?!"
Mina frowned in confusion, "Tell you what? I don't understand." She tried to reach for Kagome again but the infuriated child pushed her hands away.
"Don't touch me… I'm not your child!!!" Kagome yelled.
Mina Higurashi froze and tears glistened in her gentle brown eyes, "Kagome-chan…"
"Don't lie to me… You all lied enough… Why didn't you tell me? Were you ashamed…? My name's not even Kagome is it..? Tell me the truth… I'm a castaway, aren't I… I got abandoned!" Kagome cried.
"No… please don't think that way…" Mrs. Higurashi pleaded.
Kagome shook her head, blocking out her mother's words and ran out of her bedroom door and out of the house. She found solitude by the tree-lined pond just outside of her little house. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she sobbed raggedly. She cried for what seemed like hours until she had nothing left in her. With dry, unblinking eyes she stared out at the pond, watching numbly as the colors of an oncoming sunset tinted the pink and gold.
"Onee-sama..?"
Kagome stiffened when she heard the questioning voice and the rustle of grass being trampled but she did not turn. Souta, her four-year-old brother, came to a stop beside her and sat. After picking up a rock and tossing it into the pond, her little brother sighed.
"Onee-sama, mommy is really upset… Why did you run away?" Souta asked.
"Don't call me that…" Kagome replied numbly.
"Call you what..?" Souta replied, more than a little confused at her odd behavior.
"I'm not your sister…" the older girl remarked stonily.
"Why not?" Souta did not at all seemed shocked.
Kagome continued to stare out at the pond while she answered in a voice devoid of emotion, "I was found… Mommy did not… Mommy and Daddy did not have me… so I'm just an orphan they took in…"
Souta was silent for a second, "Do you still love Mommy and Daddy?"
"Yes… but…" Kagome looked at her brother, who was stirring up dirt with a twig.
Souta looked up at her, "Do you still love me?"
She nodded.
"Then does that really matter? I know Daddy loved you and Mommy loves or she wouldn't be so upset because you ran away…"
Kagome was at a loss for words. The shock and anger she'd felt at the discovery that she was not really a child of Mina and Hiro drained away.
"I only know you as my big sister and always will, I guess." Souta continued. "We all love each other… Isn't that all that matters?"
Kagome-chan looked up at the precocious child that was her brother and stood. He didn't care that she wasn't his real sister by blood. Maybe it was lack of experience that made him toss aside that detail as something minor and altogether unnecessary but it made Kagome feel ten times better. The older child decided to stop wallowing in her own self-disgust and raised herself to her feet. Souta reached out his hand and intertwined his small, dirty fingers with hers and together they walked back into the house.
Her mother was waiting there with tear eyes and a worried expression. Mina Higurashi immediately embraced Kagome, whispering softly that she'd never been as happy as the moment she laid eyes on her. Mina also went on to say that her daughter was a blessing and could never have been unwanted. Evidently, the older woman accounted Kagome's arrival as a blessing and the reason Souta was born. She said that Kagome made all her wishes come true.
***
A sad smile spread across her features as she looked down at her yawning brother. A week after her discovery, she began reading her father's journal once again, hoping to find some clue to her origins but alas… there was none. Shaking her head, she cleared her thoughts.
It doesn't matter anymore… I have a family already. I have Momma, Souta, and Jii-chan, who loves me just as much as everyone else.
"Stop thinking sad stuff…" Souta reprimanded his sister between yawns. "I can always tell…"
Kagome stuck her tongue out at her brother in reply and tickled him breathless. Afterwards, she settled into bed with Souta beside her.
"So are you really nervous about tomorrow?" Souta whispered.
"Sort of…" Kagome replied.
"I don't see why you should be… You're the best singer in the village and on this countryside… but that's my opinion." Souta opined.
"You just say that because you're my little brother…" Kagome chided lightly, "Now go to sleep or else you and I both will have bags the size of pillows in the morning. That might be okay for you but who wants to see a singer with those?"
Souta snickered and then cuddled into a pillow, falling into slumber quickly. Kagome stroked his dark brown hair and then fell back into the world of dreams. This time without the threat of nightmares…