The Principle of Existence
Summary: Due to a declining birth rate, the government of Japan imposes a drastic new law that forces healthy males and females to get together to make children. For Inuyasha, a hanyou, this may be a chance he thought he never had to have a family. But will he ever find love too?
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and Co. They belong to the wonderfully talented Takahashi Rumiko.
Warning: Adults doing adult things.
Chapter 11
Kagome, Mama Higurashi, Souta and Jii-chan were busy getting things ready for Golden Week. It was harder this year to find volunteers until Kagome decided to swindle them by convincing them that volunteering to help the Shrine would put them in good graces with the Gods and would more likely bestow blessings on them. For her female friends that were paired, she put it in their heads that they could see how well their men handled children. And the free food was always a bonus.
The Shrine grounds were cleaned. Supplies were purchased for crafts and activities for the young boys that would be visiting to be blessed. Thousands of seeds were planted in tiny pots to be given away as gifts for midori no hi. Keychains of the infamous Shikon no Tama, parchment paper and brushes were stocked extra for guests to purchase from the gift shop.
Areas were set up for guest to bring in food and drinks as part of the harae purification rituals. Jii-chan especially appreciated the offerings of mochi and sake. Another area was set up for the ema that the more well-off visitors left. Kagome and Souta were carefully working on the various types of ofuda that the shrine offered. The omamori amulets were purchased and blessed by jii-chan and Mama Higurashi had them all properly displayed. Lastly, near the Goshinboku, several frames were set up for omikuji. It was expected to be very popular this year, with many writing fortunes for a good pairing, a blessed marriage, and children of their choice.
Mama Higurashi pulled out their formal clothing and shrine garb. Jii-chan would, of course, be wearing his traditional robes, kariginu, in the beautiful forest green colors. She also dusted off his eboshi and wondered if she was going to have to find some way to keep the hat attached to his head. Souta had matching green hakama and happi coat to wear to assist Jii-chan as he was not permitted to wear shrine clothing until he decided to take on the duties.
Not sure how the weather was going to be, Mama Higurashi decided that she would wear one of her kimonos. She had a lovely forest green one with shimmering sakura blossoms scattered about. She decided upon the pale yellow obi to match. Now for Kagome...she wasn't sure what that daughter of hers should wear. She had Kagome's miko attire or she could wear a kimono. It was perhaps best to ask.
Mama Higurashi called her daughter.
"Hi mama."
"Hello Kagome dear. I'm getting our clothing aired out and washed and I need to know which outfit you intend to wear for Golden Week."
"Uh...I haven't really thought about it."
"Do you intend to perform any of the rituals? I wasn't sure if you and jii-chan talked about that at all."
Kagome excused herself from Kikyou. Her and Kikyou were going over Golden Week as part of her cultural studies. Kagome had invited Kikyou to join Inuyasha at the Shrine to volunteer for some of the activities. Kikyou had been excited to finally be a part of something uniquely Japanese.
"He mentioned something about running the gift shop as usual."
"Okay. I will air out your miko garb. Are you with Kikyou today? Is she going to be able to come to the Shrine?"
"Yep. We are going over the activities and stuff."
"Great. Does she need something nice to wear for the festivities? I'm sure we have something here that she could borrow?"
Kagome paused. After going over everything uniquely Japanese, the one thing she had forgotten was formal Japanese clothing. They were so used to western-style clothing that it had completing escaped Kagome.
"Let me ask." Kagome held her cell phone away from her mouth and decided to have this conversation in Japanese. "You don't have a kimono, do you?"
Kikyou looked up at Kagome from her laptop and shook her head. "I had one when I was younger, " she responded back in Japanese as well. Basic conversation skills were progressing nicely.
"Kikyou will need something to wear as well. Make that at least two somethings. One for kodomo no hi and midori no hi."
"Wonderful. I will pick something out for her. I think coral would look lovely on her with her porcelain skin, with that red obi someone gifted the Shrine a few years ago. And maybe your blue one with the plum blossoms with the mint obi. So many choices. Oh well. I will talk to you later Kagome. I love you."
"Love you too mama."
Kagome hung up the phone and sighed. Mama was playing dress-up again. That was good though. Kagome wasn't a girly girl in the sense of wearing dresses and having her hair done up. Her mother had missed out on that. She walked back over to the table her and Kikyou were sitting at. Kagome sat back down and resumed the process of contacting volunteers for the Shrine activities. Kikyou's teacher felt that it was a good way for Kikyou to interact and converse with people as well as learn about some of the cultural festivities that were important to Japan.
"We will be able to provide you with some kimonos and yukatas for Golden Week. Then, if you want, we can go about getting you some."
"Like a shopping trip?"
Kagome nodded. "Yeah. Though you can easily order them online. That would be good practice. Navigating Japanese websites. And paying for them."
"How much do they normally run?"
"Depends. A cotton yukata can run you around a few hundred yen, eh...equivalent to about forty dollars, but the more formal ones are hundreds of thousand yen, which is about...um… I think about one thousand dollars."
"And how many does one need?"
Right, Kikyou had money. She could afford what she wanted. "A couple of nice cotton yukatas for the summer. Lots of fun festivals for that. You could get some kimonos that aren't as expensive for more formal occasions."
"And for a wedding?"
Kagome's eyes bugged out and she started to cough. Wedding planning already? She supposed so. Kikyou was just a few years older than her. She already had her education completed and a career going for her. The new government mandates weren't going to give couples much time. It was having children soon and have several of them.
It felt more like an arranged marriage. Some introductions and bam! Right into marriage and babies in the baby carriage. Japan was desperate. It needed children to support its growing and aging population. It needed doctors like Kikyou. It needed lawyers like Miroku. It needed Sango.
"May I?" Kagome asked as she pointed to Kikyou's laptop. Kikyou pushed it over to her. Kagome typed in a few words into the search bar and found some images of wedding kimono.
"You could do a Western-style bridal gown. Those are very popular here. Or you can choose the traditional route. There are two kimono worn for a Japanese wedding. The shiromuko is a pure white kimono worn for the ceremony and the uchikake is worn afterward for the reception. I know some western brides do something similar. The uchikake is usually red, but some women are choosing alternative colors to be different."
"I really like that. To wear something with such tradition. I wonder if Inuyasha follows tradition?"
"I don't know. I guess we-uh you...you will find out during Golden Week. If he shows up in jeans, then the answer is probably no."
"I'm really looking forward to spending time at the Shrine. Hearing the stories and trying to replicate it at home just seems fake in compared to being here."
"True. But the communities over there have made them their own. Honoring the traditional ways and adapting and adopting to their new home. There are a lot of things that we could be doing in terms of tradition that we don't. We change." Kagome turned the laptop back towards her to close out of the window. Something about this conversation was making her on edge.
Kikyou got up from the table and headed to the kitchen to pour herself some tea. "But when you lived in America, didn't you get frustrated that things weren't done the way they should be?"
"In regards to what?"
"Just so many little things. I think my family thought they were doing right by trying to fit in, but, with that, they lost much of what made us uniquely Japanese."
"We all have to do what we have to to survive."
Kikyou shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose. I can't wait to really be truly Japanese. To really embrace everything as a 100% Japanese citizen. To just live and breathe this place."
"Of course," Kagome soberly replied.
"It's nice to be around people that look like me and maybe finally fit in. I know that Inuyasha…" Kikyou held the cup of tea in her hands, staring at the translucent green liquid that slowly released steam toward her. "I know that Inuyasha looks different but it will be nice to find someone that's similar to me."
"Similar to you?"
"Yes. I tried a couple of those online dating sites when I was in California. I really wanted to preserve my ancestry, like my mother was able to do. This was a great opportunity for me. And Inuyasha...he's, while different he is fully Japanese."
"You read Inuyasha's biography?"
Each person was required to submit a biography on their family's lineage along with blood type and additional general information such as education background, employment, and hobbies. Kagome was pretty sure that Inuyasha had to include some very personal, almost private information about who and what he was.
"Yes."
"And the part about being hanyou?"
One of the largest yet most secretive controversies in Japan, racism. Kagome knew it existed, it was a quiet, in the background action. When she lived in America, it was so open and in-your-face that it had frightened her. She had felt it a few times but was protected from the harsher realities of it.
"Of course. I know that he is a hanyou. Half-youkai and half-Japanese."
Kagome's eyes went wide. Oh no. This wasn't good. Kikyou didn't...Kagome inwardly groaned. What was she supposed to do now? Would she tell Kikyou that in the eyes of Japanese society that Inuyasha was considered impure and not a true Japanese? Granted he was of Japanese youkai and Japanese human ancestry, he was still half and half. An outsider.
Now wouldn't be a good time to talk to Kikyou about their current Miss Japan.
Was she obligated to explain this to Kikyou? Granted if she did, she may no longer be interested in Inuyasha. At the same time, if he ever needed a reason to truly despise her, this would be it. Kagome let out a sigh. Maybe if Kikyou spent time with Inuyasha the whole hanyou thing wouldn't matter.
Right?
"Uh, haha...yeah...of course. Han - half...um...wow, look at the time. We ran over a bit. Um, anyways, my mom will have some clothing for you to wear. So, why don't you come over about an hour beforehand and that should give us time to go over how to properly put on the kimono."
"I can't wait."
"Me either."
Sango sighed as she walked into her dojo. There was still so much to do in preparation for Golden Week and she had no idea where to begin. While she could get away with skimping on some of the holidays, kodomo no hi was one she couldn't. A healthy body and a healthy mind went hand-in-hand for a blessed life, or so someone was saying. And even though she saw an increase in numbers she figured she would be busy with curious parents hoping to enroll their children in some lessons.
"Sango-dear...you in here," a voice rang out through the darkened halls of the building.
"Miroku?"
He ran up to her, smiling. "Hi. You get my message?"
"No," she replied shaking her head. "I've been busy this morning."
"I'm here to help."
Sango stumbled a bit on her way to her office. "H-help? What about Kagome? I feel bad for not being able to volunteer this year."
Miroku blushed a bit. "Kagome assured me that she had found enough volunteers this year." Kagome practically ordered him to help Sango this year clearly stating that it was for their own good. In return, he practically ordered his interns to randomly volunteer at the Shrine to make up for it. But Kagome didn't need to know that.
"Ok. As long as they are covered."
Miroku skipped behind her waiting for instructions. But first, he had something else to say. "Sango, about the other day…"
"I thought we agreed to put that behind us."
"We did. But it may happen again."
Sango rolled her eyes. "I figured as much."
Miroku reached out and took her hands in his. "I need to say this, even if for myself. I love you."
Sango sharply inhaled at the love word. She was nowhere near ready for that.
"I always have. First as friends and then as so much more. Don't worry about moving fast or too slow, I will always be here by your side. Yes, there are other women, but none have my love. Always remember that."
"Practicing wedding vows already?"
Sango and Miroku quickly spun their heads around the third voice. Sango quickly pulled her hands out of Miroku's and clasped them together behind her back. Seeing her brother standing there didn't calm her all that much. He was just as much of a teaser as anyone else.
"What brings you here?" she asked, hoping that he wouldn't bring up what Miroku had said.
"To help."
"You're not helping Kagome out either? Who is?"
"Souta still is. He said it would be cool to hang around here to help out."
Miroku chuckled. "I'm surprised Rin gave you some time off."
Kohaku shook his head. "Don't get me started. That girl is a slave driver."
Sango slipped away to her office while the boys chatted. Kohaku had looked up to Miroku as an older brother for a very long time. It was nice that they already had that relationship and wouldn't need to seek his approval for any suitors.
"How is the project coming along?"
"Slow, but I found something the other day that might give us the lead we need for data."
"She still won't let you talk about it then."
"Absolutely not. I've been sworn to secrecy. Honestly, I think she had Kagome or jii-chan write her out some ofudas that could curse me if I do say anything. Thinking or talking about it gives me tingles, like that feeling you get when you convince yourself that some stranger may be there in the dark."
"Ah, the nature of women. Soft beautiful creatures who, when we are not careful, can scare the life out of us."
"I'm fairly certain my sister is the leader."
"Sango is an Amazon warrior princess."
Kohaku shook his head. "I really don't need to hear these things about my sister." They took a few steps down the hallway towards the offices to get instructions from Sango on what she needed them to do.
"How is it going with her?" Kohaku was mostly aware of what happened to him, his family and his sister that night. How she had been used by a very bad, evil man to prove a point to the Japanese government. Everyone knew about that. Thankfully the government was able to protect their identities. But no one knew how she was able to endure. To be the strong, beautiful and protective sister and friend that she was.
"Well, my friend. As long as I can avoid uncomfortable run-ins with former, eh...female companions."
Kohaku laughed. "How awkward. Man. Sorry. But not sorry."
"Kohaku! What are you doing? Are you going to help or not?" Sango yelled out from her office.
"Coming onee-san." Kohaku turned to Miroku, touching his arm to stop him. "I know you, but I have to say it: take care of her."
Miroku bowed deeply to the young man. He stood back up and looked at this man he called younger brother. "And when the time comes, I will properly ask you for her hand in marriage."
Kohaku nodded. "Just like you've done every year for as long as I've known you."
"Because I've always known I would marry her."
"I think this could be your year."
Rin stood up on her tippy toes reaching for the book. Of course little her had to have the big book at the very top of the shelf. And it had to be a book that wasn't available online. And of all days she decided to actually wear a skirt. So impractical. But she had a meeting with her research sponsors and had to look semi-professional. At least in the library, she was able to kick off her shoes and run around barefoot.
"Just a little more…" she said as she stretched as far as she could. There was no way she was crawling all the way down to move the ladder one inch over so she could climb all the way back up to get the book. She could reach it. She wiggled her fingers a bit and stretched those as well.
"Got it-whoa…" Rin exclaimed as she lost her balance. Holding the book close to her chest, she tightened her other hand around the ladder trying to pull herself back in. She tried to stabilize the one foot she had on the ladder. The other foot ended up rooting itself on one of the shelves, finding herself stretched out a bit uncomfortably.
A tight grip encircled her waist and Rin gasped as she looked behind her shoulder to see who had dared. Her eyes widened at the sight of the daiyoukai of Japan helping her.
"Sesshomaru...sama." His name came out in a breathy whisper. Trusting him completely, she loosened her death grip on the ladder and allowed him to carry her down. Once her feet touched the ground she was afraid to look up. He had to have at least a good foot and a half of height above her. It was easy to see how many were afraid of him. How he towered over everyone was just the tip of the power he exuded and commanded. You had to look up to him.
Rin took a step back and gave him a courtesy bow. "Thank you for your assistance. I'm surprised that you would visit the local university library when it would be more convenient to send someone else."
When she stepped back to bow, he wanted to hold her tighter, pull her closer. He didn't want to let go. But she was a human. Things were different with them. He hadn't truly bothered with it until recently. He found himself searching around online about how to properly court a human female. The problem he quickly discovered was that Rin was not the typical human female. After some thought, he finally thought that he had something figured out. It brought him to the public university library.
He glanced around and noticed that the library was mostly empty except a few that lingered around. It was a Friday afternoon. The Friday before Golden Week. Many had already left for travels for the long weekend. Yet Rin stayed.
"I have something for you," he quietly stated as he reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it out to her and waited for her to take it.
Rin set the library book down and reached out for the letter with both hands. She brushed her fingers across the red wax seal. The daiyoukai seal. Equivalent if not more so than the Imperial Seal. Rin looked up at him, their eyes locking and holding their gazes. She found herself excited and so scared at the same time. A few times she may have wondered what it would have been like to possibly date the daiyoukai but she never once that he felt the same.
Every alarm and bell and whistle went off in her head. It would be easy to give in to her wants, but this wasn't an easy situation. He was the daiyoukai of Japan. How many times did she have to tell herself that? He was basically the royalty of royalty. One of if not the most powerful being in existence on the planet. He could have anyone. He should have someone of equal stature.
He needed another youkai.
Not a little human girl.
She smiled up at him. "Thank you. Really. I'm honored." She handed it back to him. "But you've got the wrong girl."
What the...Did she just reject him? Did he read her wrong?
"I don't understand." Those words tasted dirty in his mouth.
Rin cocked her head to the side. "What's not to understand. I mean, it's fairly simple."
"Explain it to me."
"Right. Okay. Demon. Human. Simple enough?" Dragging it out like this was making it difficult.
He sucked in a quick breath. "You have a problem with that?"
"No, I don't. But about 99.999% of the population of Japan does. And you, Sesshomaru-sama, you are Japan." Rin was quite aware of the hidden racism that existed. She experienced it on occasion due to her background. She was the woman she was today because she endured. Also because she had people that didn't see her background but only saw her.
Rin was also aware of Sesshomaru's own opinions on certain matters related to race. While he normally didn't comment on it, his actions in regards to the remainder of his family spoke volumes. She could easily just date the guy for a good time, see if what they said about demons was true. But that wasn't who she was as a person. Rin's family was a hodge podge of those that lost their kin, having banded together out of need and love.
Sesshomaru looked down at the envelope. No one had ever said no to him before. He still didn't understand her refusal. Easy enough. He wouldn't let her refuse.
He took a step back. "I must go."
Rin tried handing the envelope to him, reaching it out more towards him. Instead, he slipped his hands into his pants pockets. He wasn't going to take it back. She took a step towards him, intending to just stuff the envelope back in the pocket he pulled it from. He turned around and started to head out.
"Your presence is requested by me and no other. I do not care what others think," he said to her before disappearing around a row of books.
She wanted to argue with him. Knock some sense into his thick skull. Looking back down at the envelope still in her hand, she hesitated on breaking the seal. But she did anyways. Curiosity always got the best of her. She couldn't resist. Did he figure that out about her?
She pulled out the envelope. Her eyes widened at the paper. An invitation. Another temptation she couldn't resist. As she pulled the invitation all the way out, another slip of paper fell out and gently fell to the ground. Setting the invitation aside, she bent down and picked up the slip of paper.
Oh wow…
The driver bowed to Sesshomaru as he climbed into the backseat of the town car. Jaken was seated already, having waited for his master to make his delivery. It confused Jaken as to why he didn't have someone else do it for him. He always had someone else take care of mundane business.
As the car pulled away from the curb, the sound of small bells ringing hit Sesshomaru's ears. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and glanced at the text message he received. A small smile graced his lips. He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
Hai Sesshomaru-sama
Translation Notes:
Golden Week - a period in Japan containing numerous holidays
Midori no hi - Greenery Day, a holiday in Japan occurring during Golden Week that stems from Emperor Showa's love of plants
harae - rituals of purification in the Shinto religion
Mochi - Japanese rice cakes
ema - wooden plaques with prayers or wishes at Shintō shrines
ofuda - a type of household amulet or talisman, issued by a Shinto shrine, hung in the house for protection
omamori - amulets commonly sold at religious sites and dedicated to particular Shinto deities
omikuji - Japanese fortune-telling paper strips that can be found at shrines and temple
kodomo no hi - Children's Day, another Japanese holiday