Standard disclaimers apply.
A/N: Finally…chapter 20 of Wisteria! A big thank you to all of you who reviewed…I've collated your opinions, it so seems like everyone agrees that this story can do without a lemon, but would still like to see one. Hence, since you requested, there will be a lemon. But I will do my very best to keep it in line with the atmosphere and feelings portrayed in this story. I sincerely hope it will be a classy one.
Enjoy chapter 20…Hasu returns!
Title: Wisteria
Chapter 20: The Weeping Lotus
"He used the pine and the wisteria, Fuji-chan. I can tell you right now, Lord Sesshoumaru is not only interested in you or fascinated by you. He has feelings of love for you."
Hinagiku's words resonated in Kagome's mind. She drew slow, deliberate circles in the refreshingly cool pond water with her submerged feet, watching the Japanese koi swim languidly, appearing and disappearing occasionally when they swam among the shadows cast by the graceful willow.
Yanagi had left for her entertainment session and Kikyou accompanied her geisha 'sister' out to choose brocades for the latter's impending marriage to her danna. Hinagiku had gone up into the Goddess of Mercy temple in the mountains, not uttering a single sound or word during the long journey just to pray piously for young master Ishii's good health.
That left her with nothing to do and no close friend to talk to. She had entertainment sessions lined up back-to-back for her initially, but they were all hastily cancelled in the morning as word got around that Sesshoumaru was her patron. Somehow, no one dared to call upon Fuji the maiko for entertainment sessions now that they knew about Sesshoumaru's interest in her.
"Oh well." Kagome sighed with a small, contented smile. She was bored, very much so, but she was happy. Now she knew why ancient poets and artists could come up with the most timeless and beautiful pieces of writings and art; the slow and graceful pace of the society was a stark contrast to the rapid pace of modern, cosmopolitan Tokyo. Perhaps this was why a warrior as strong as Sesshoumaru could be so well-versed in the arts as well.
She reached into the water with her hand and gently stroked the back of a koi which was swimming near her feet, before the creature quickly swam away. The Japanese garden was even more gorgeous in the late afternoon sun, with its white marble and stone highlighted with a faint orange glow. The lone plum tree in the corner of the garden looked strong and robust.
It calmed her heart. Somewhere out there in the garden, a bird chirped merrily. A gentle breeze blew, carrying with it the scent of the graceful yet frail willow, purifying Kagome's mind and soul.
Everything was going well, and she could not wait till the night of the full moon arrived.
Was it out of boredom that she yearned to see him, or was it out of yearning that her boredom came about?
Kagome smiled in amusement. She was displaying all the potential signs of being a decent ancient poet. For all she knew, some gibberish that she decided to scribble down now might end up being a piece of priceless historical artifact for the friends she had back in Tokyo to study in history class.
That was when she heard the excited voices of the junior maiko from somewhere down the lengthy hallway, before one of them ran in Kagome's direction, calling out happily, "They are back!"
A feeling of foreboding rose in Kagome like a tidal wave.
They.
That means Hasu was back.
Kagome willed whatever feelings of dread or negativity away, before hurriedly withdrawing her feet from the comfortable caress of the pond water.
"Aa, Fuji-chan, your feet are all wet." One of the senior geishas, Momiji, called out as she exited her own room. "Just hold on for awhile. I will get you a cloth."
"A thousand thanks, Momiji-san." Kagome bowed politely.
"Not at all." The geisha replied kindly, before hurriedly walking over to Kagome with a clean cloth in her hands.
As Kagome hastily dried her feet and calves, Momiji cleared her throat and said, "Fuji-chan, you do know Hasu has returned, don't you?"
Kagome's slight incline of her head indicated so.
Momiji, being almost thirty-five years of age, was a senior whom Kagome had not interacted much with but knew was kind and wise. She was also Hasu's 'older sister', until the latter became a full-fledged geisha.
"You know how Hasu is like with her temper…and she must have heard of the incident that night by now."
"I knw that too well, Momiji-san. I'd not be surprised even if she attempted to kill me at the genkan later."
"Fuji-chan…that is well I am telling you this now. You don't have to lower yourself to match the likes of her when she flies into one of her royal rages. She is not a bad girl; she is just willful and lonely deep down." Momiji said sagely, as she placed her right fist over her chest. "Hold it in, and stay strong."
Kagome looked up at Momiji and smiled in gratitude and respect. "I will."
"Good. Now, let's get going to the genkan to welcome them."
With that, Momiji and Kagome walked quickly to the genkan along with the other maiko and geisha. Every step felt rather agonizing to Kagome; she knew something, something bad, was waiting for her at the end of it. The air became heavy with mounting tension, and it was getting difficult to breathe.
They quickly got into two lines by the genkan, ready to greet and welcome Oka and the geishas who have been selected to perform at the festive celebrations earlier.
Kagome quickly glanced around her, realizing for the first time, the number of eyes that were fixed on her. Everyone hastily cut off eye contact upon making it with Kagome, and she knew very well that they were equally nervous and excited to see what would ensue between Kagome and her older sister, Hasu.
Honestly, she did not know what to expect either.
The sounds of hooves thudding strongly against the ground could be heard from a distance, and it was not too long before they heard the horse carriages come to a standstill outside the genkan.
The shoji doors were opened, and simultaneously, everyone bowed as a humble sign of respect and welcome for Oka and the other geisha.
"We are home." Oka announced in her elegant and refined ways, bowing in return, albeit at a higher angle.
"Welcome back." Everyone greeted together.
"Oka, you've had a long trip. Please head to the dining hall where tea and snacks have been prepared for all of you." One of the seniors said politely.
"That will be much appreciated. Thank you for all your kind efforts."
Everyone bowed once again in respect, but as Kagome straightened her back, she found herself looking straight at Hasu.
Puffy, almost bloodshot eyes stared back into Kagome's blissfully sparkling ones with as much hatred as they could possibly express. Swirled into a disturbing mix with the hatred was immeasurable pain, and somehow, Kagome knew Hasu could no longer go back to being the pristine, untainted lotus she symbolized.
Kagome bravely stared back, trying to erect a strong and impenetrable barrier with her gaze to deter Hasu from going further. Seconds went by with them caught in this deadlock, and the awkward scenario already made a few fellow geisha and maiko fidget with uneasiness. The surroundings were silent, and all that existed was the suffocating tension which Kagome knew would shatter and result in mayhem in no time.
Hasu's gaze did not waver in the least even after a while, and she just stood there, still as a statue while she channeled as much hatred as she could over to Kagome with her red-rimmed eyes. She had been crying very hard; it was too easy to tell. Her slender frame looked like it was about to collapse into a desperate, crushed heap if it wasn't for the burning hatred and pain fuelling it.
The mounting tension could be clearly felt by everyone at the genkan by now.
It was getting uncomfortable, dreadfully so, as Kagome felt her will waver and her gaze weaken. Her façade was still strong, but her inner self felt like screaming with agony as Hasu poured fury and grief into her like lethal poison. She wanted to tear her gaze away from Hasu and retreat to somewhere safe; she had to shield her soul before it got even more tainted.
She struggled internally through yet another few seconds, trying to think of other happier things like the funny conversations she had with Hinagiku and Yanagi, the night when she and Sesshoumaru embraced in the pouring rain…
It was then when Hasu abruptly raised her arm, and Kagome felt sharp, stinging pain streak across her face like an acrid burning sensation, after hearing a resounding slap. Her face veered to side with the impact of the sudden force upon her cheek, and Kagome's hand rose instinctively to cradle the stinging flesh, her eyes wide with disbelief.
The loud ringing in her ears could not drown out the gasps that resounded in her surroundings, and somewhere through the monotonous, ceaseless ringing, she heard Oka, Azusa and Momiji's voice.
She drew deep yet shaky breaths, and a small film of perspiration coated her nape as she tried to clear the hazy fog of shock that clouded her mind. Her face was burning up, not just with physical pain, but also immense humiliation. It took a few split seconds for initial shock to give way to her flooding fury, and Kagome found her instincts acting way faster than her conscience and rationality could catch up.
Blind rage took over, but Kagome was too incensed to do anything about it. Her hand came up as she turned to face Hasu directly, ready to strike the older girl and cause as much pain as she possibly could-
"Hold it in…"
That bitch slapped me! Kagome's instincts fought for dominance in her mind.
"Hold it in, and stay strong."
Her body stiffened. Momiji's wise words resonated in Kagome's mind like a message from the deities above, and Kagome froze in her movements; her hand a mere three inches from Hasu's cheek. Her hand shivered ever so slightly as her mind battled her instincts.
She inhaled deeply, staring at Hasu unwaveringly while the latter had her eyes shut, obviously mentally preparing herself for the impending slap.
Think of Sesshoumaru, think of Sesshoumaru.
Bits of rationality and calm thoughts crept back into Kagome's enraged mental system, and she lowered her arm.
Just bear with it…let her be. If this makes her feel better…I would put up with it.
"Hasu! That's enough." Oka's voice could be heard.
Hasu's eyes opened by a small fraction when the blow she was expecting did not come, and upon seeing the nonchalant expression on Kagome, her eyes widened. She glared at Kagome with hatred and raw fury radiating off her in hostile waves, to the extent of her body trembling ever so slightly with the immense effort to hold it in.
Kagome wanted to turn away; she did not know how to react, or how long her patience would last her.
It was then she saw Hasu's lower lip tremble violently, before she wailed and covered her face with her hands, crying out unrestrainedly and pitifully.
Hasu's closest friend in Hanaka, Azusa, quickly moved through the other crowd of girls to reach her friend's side. Her usually expressive child-like features were somber and pained. "Hasu…please, that's enough. Let's get going, alright? Please don't be like that…"
Allowing her violent sobs to increase in frequency, Hasu leaned heavily on Azusa for support, her legs barely able to support her body.
Kagome felt guilt strike her in the softest part of her heard, and she realized that she had not only hurt Hasu; she had broken her.
The once graceful, elegant Hasu was gone, and in her place, was nothing but a weeping lotus with wilted petals.
Kagome could not find the appetite for dinner at all. She lay on her futon, staring blankly at the ceiling as Hasu's face haunted her waking moments. Deep down, Kagome knew very well she should not be feeling this. People always say all's fair in love and war, right?
Sesshoumaru chose her, and she should be happy for that…but why was it that she was feeling guilt eat at her insides?
Hinagiku and Kikyou had heard about what had happened from Momiji and one of the junior maiko Himawari, and had tried very hard earlier to cheer Kagome up with encouragement and jokes. But all their efforts were to no avail.
Yanagi was not back from her entertainment session, and for once, Kagome was glad. She loved her kind, sweet friend dearly, but at the present moment, she just wanted to be left alone to her own thoughts.
She needed someone, something to calm her down, to reach to her soul and soothe it.
It was then she remembered the little jewel shard resting in her personal drawer, the one for which she went back in time for.
She wondered if it was still glowing; her miko powers were too weak to do anything about it. But still, even if the shikon shard did not glow like it used to, Kagome still found solace in it.
Thinking about her shikon shard made her realize something. Why hadn't she thought of it before?
Of course! There was Sesshoumaru and the three-quarter completed Shikon jewel…
Her mind whirred with the exciting possibilities – if only she could reunite her single shard with the rest of the jewel, it would be able to purify itself with the help of the jewel's combined spiritual strength.
Kagome's blood was racing in her veins by now; it was excitement that she had forgotten throughout the entire period of her being at Hanaka. She had not been this adrenaline-pumped for goodness-knows-how-long.
She scrambled out of her futon clumsily; her head a little dizzy from lying down for too long, and crawled over to where her personals belongings were placed.
Pulling the chest of drawers out, Kagome reached into the left corner of the drawer where a box was placed. That box held the belongings of her other life in modern Tokyo.
Feeling for the lid, she removed it and reached into the corner of the box, her fingers searching around for the little glass vial which held the jewel. She felt around the entire space the box contained, but her hands came back empty. There was no little glass vial at all.
Frowning, Kagome pulled the drawer out to its maximum, and retrieved the box. There was the iPod nano, the novels, her purse, and everything else that should be there except for the vial containing the Shikon Jewel shard.
Mounting anxiety made her hands fumble, and she took out article by article until the box was empty. Still, there was no sign of the Shikon Jewel shard.
Where did it go? Kagome's mind raced. She felt around her clothes and undergarments, but still, she could not find what she was looking for. Horrible realization dawned upon her, and helplessness and desperation soon kicked in.
The Shikon shard was gone.
To be continued…
A/N: The plot thickens!!! How did you guys like this one? Not much of Sesshoumaru and Kagome interaction yet, but I promise, all in good time!