A/N: Hello everyone, and let me just say: FINALLY! I know I haven't updated in so long, please, please forgive me! I have reasons, but you'd probably yell at me for them and say I'm an undedicated Inuyasha fan and that they aren't any real excuse. And you know what? You'd be right! See, other than Inuyasha, I have one TRUE obsession. And that true obsession is Harry Potter, which I loved long before I'd even heard of Inuyasha. Normally, my HP fan-girl attitude is toned down due to lack of new material to google over. But, every time something new comes out, like a new book or movie, I go into over-time with Harry Potter. Last time I updated I do believe was either right before or right after the new movie came out, which I was totally in love with. The first week it was out, all I could think of was the coming weekend when I could see the movie with one of the most dedicated and boy-crazy friends I have. After we saw it, we were completely obsessed with Viktor Krum and Cedric because they are total hotties. Then a week later I saw it again, and just again today. I have spent the last month in a Harry Potter frenzy finding all kinds of fun things and visiting old sites and reading my old favorites when it comes to fanfiction. Not to mention it was almost a whole month before I got to watching Inuyasha on TV again because I own the eppies they were playing and have seen them more times than I can count and know every word of them by heart.
Reason 2: this isn't a true excuse but I'll tell you anyway, is that it's the end of the year! I assume you all are familiar with the hectic ways of the holidays, yes? I was broke, so I've been doing about 50 chores attempting to make money. Not to mention shopping and finals. As the year goes on, Vocab. Tests get harder and exams approach. Then, not to mention, we had to do a research paper for English for a pretty good part of our grade that I needed to get just right, so there went two weeks of research and typing down the tube.
Oh, and did I mention a semi-new obsession? See, after getting me to read his fanfic, Jordan had me convinced that quite possibly the Zelda games were worth playing even though I am not a good gamer in the slightest and the only games I've ever beaten are Spyro 3, Pokemon, and Harry Potter 1 & 2. That's pretty pathetic, so I don't usually play videogames. Even though Zelda was quite popular, it didn't seem like something that I could play and get passed anywhere. But, thanks to Jordan, I got one for Christmas and have been playing it non-stop for a week. I finally beat it on Thursday morning after pulling an all-nighter just in time to go to Chattanooga and to Game Exchange with Christmas money to buy two new games and am currently in the middle of the first one.
Oh, but did I mention what else I got for Christmas? How about the boxed second season of Inuyasha! Along with vo.28 Promise of the Past which is a great volume I might add. Why? Because Ayame totally rocks! I have been attempting to watch all of these eppies and trying to play Zelda at the same time, which means one of them gets pretty much ignored. I eventually just played Zelda because I found it is much more fun with the music, and is probably the only game I've played where you should keep the music on all the time.
In short, I have been VERY busy. Not that that's any excuse, but I felt like saying it anyway. So, even though my last chappie stunk, I'd like to thank the eight of you who were dedicated enough to review anyway:
He Who Lurks in Shadow- of course I mentioned you! And I'm glad I got you addicted. Now we're even since you got me into Zelda. -
Magicgirl45852
Remenecent
Pon Pon Pocky
Inu2kagfan
Clouds of the Sky
PInK cuTie KaGomE-micael m
THE-REAL-MYSTIC
Thanks so much! I love you all, you know that, right? Anyway, I have had a very good friend help me out with the riddle and he gave me some insight. Unfortunately, I have already written the legend and posted it. Please don't get mad if I twist it around a little and had Miroku's tale a little…off. No, I'm not going back to change it, but I might (still undecided, but might) have some of his info not entirely correct. My friend's insight on my riddle was a lot better than mine was, so I'm just warning you. And thank you Jordan for helping me out with my writer's block::waves to Jordan:
Anyways, I suppose I should get on with the story, so here you go!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or the song "The Waltz of the Moon" from the Anime series Wolf's Rain.
Blanc ou noir comme toi je parts au loin,
avec l'espoir de changer le destin.
Bien que dans le corps l'âme embrase,
dans l'obscurité la distance devient infinie.
Avec des jeunes vêtus en peau de bête,
on danse ensemble au milieu des tempêtes.
Un autre horizon se dissout
dans la lumière des yeux qui veulent se reveiller.
Et, j'attend là,
où rien bouge maintenant.
Même si je ne te vois pas
Je peux retrouver ce que l'on cherche dans la nuit,
même si c'est très difficile
je danserai mon chemin avec les loups.
Je sentirai la lumière sur ma peau,
sin avoir peur de tes mauvaises côtés.
C'est la lune qui conduit la danse
quand le soleil sera couché dans ton âme froide.
Je t'attend là,
où rien bouge maintenant.
Où l'ombre dèploit tous ses voiles
Je peux retrouver ce que l'on cherche dans la nuit.
Même si c'est très difficile
je danserai mon chemin avec les loups.
(translation at bottom)
Forget Me Not
Chapter 23: The Waltz of the Moon
Weeks went by without any further problems or rumors. I could not believe there had been no sightings of Kurnai. Most of us were beginning to question weather the legend was really true or if it was merely a rhyme Kurnai came up with to confuse us. We were all bored with waiting and worrying.
There was a light dusting of snow over the ground and we were all enjoying it. The children were playing while Sango taught them how to build snowmen and make snow angels, though the boys were currently trying to get them all into a snowball fight.
Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi were also trying to make the best of the snow, though in a rather strange way. They were stalking Sesshomaru at the moment while hiding behind bushes and throwing snow at him whenever he turned his back. Sesshomaru himself was using all of his self-control to not kill the poor girls. Well, so Rin was helping him a bit…okay, a lot. The point being, he was not a happy dog demon. I wondered how long it would be before he lost his temper and hurt them.
Miroku and Sango had earlier in the week taken Kilala to scout for rumors and we had yet to hear back from them. So with them away, the kids playing, the girls flirting with the dog demon lord of the western lands, and the latter attempting to escape them, Inuyasha and I were left alone for the first time since before we found Sango and Miroku. And did I mention that Inuyasha wasn't planning on wasting a minute of it?
Early that morning, he picked me up and rushed out the door, giving me no explination as to where we were going. All of my guesses were proved wrong when we went in the opposite direction, or went past it.
Eventually we had come to a huge tree, taller than all of the others…even the Sacred Tree. On top of the tree, we could see all the valley along with the mountains in the distance and even the faintest outline of the ocean in the far distance. It was breathtaking and we did nothing more than sit in the branches together for the morning. We returned to the village, however, shortly before midday knowing the kids would want lunch and our other two dog demons would like a rest from a certain three boy-crazy girls…
The rest of the day passed uneventfully as usual, and before long the full moon was gazing down upon us as I walked through the forest with my daughter whom I had not spent much time with in the past couple weeks. It had taken quite a bit of arguing and a couple sit threats before Inuyasha finally agreed to let us go without him.
'That demon is still after you.'
'And he has not showed himself in the past month! What makes you so sure he will tonight?'
Our argument echoed through my head, as my paranoia began to get the better of me. I had brought my bow with me, though there was no guarantee that I wouldn't pass out like the last time, or that my arrows would even have effect on him. He was an angel after all—though a fallen one. I was also keeping close to the village, and to Inuyasha. He would not be able to hear our voices at normal level, but any manner of scream would reach his sensitive ears and he would undoubtedly be able to find us within seconds.
But this did not interfere with our time together. Our current situation would surely cause us to spend less time together, as half of our group went to fight while the children and my school friends stayed behind. Her relationship with me would come close to breaking apart from a regular mother-daughter likeness, just as mine did with my mother's. Strange how the Feudal Era had a way of doing that to a family, isn't it. But I had little doubts about this, as my relationship with my family was strengthened as I spent less time with them.
"Tell me, Sango. Do you miss our era when we're here?"
"Yes, but it's fun here too. I get to see my new friends every day, and they're so nice and sincere. Back there, the kids are so different. The older kids think they're so much better than we are, but here everyone gets along together. The siblings don't argue much, except for Inuyasha and Sesshy and we can be outside all the time. Plus, there's no school!
"Of course, it's not the same as our house. I miss TV and the computer and battery things like my Game Boy and electricity, but there's so many more fun things to do here…I do wish I could have my books here though, but you said that Daddy was mean and got rid of it all."
"That is easily fixable though. We could buy new books, if you want them here, and we still have the ones from Grandma's house. But that's good. I'm glad you like it here, but you realize that this is going to be more dangerous than you could ever imagine. We have a strong enemy this time, probably even stronger than Naraku. It will take a lot of time and a lot of patience to win against him. And you know that you won't be coming with us. It's up to you, but you and your new friends may be safer in our time with Grandma and Uncle Sota. The rest of us would stay here for the most part, but we'd visit often and as soon as we're done with Kurnai Inuyasha has suggested more than a few times to go back. He'd come with us, of course, but I don't think that anyone else could, Though Aunt Rin and Uncle Sesshy would probably still be alive."
"I'd rather not. I don't care about the danger. It's way more fun here. It's like I'm living a TV show or a video game."
"But realize that this isn't TV or a video game. We're not guaranteed to make it back alive. I don't mind you staying, but I want you to understand full-well that this isn't a game. It's reality, and you've only seen a taste of the pain that you will should you stay here. You'd also see the ones you care for, including myself and Inuyasha, hurt more times than you can count. And it won't be scratches either. Inuyasha used to get near fatal injuries on a weekly basis back when we were after Naraku. He would have died about thirty times over if not more were he human. He usually gets most of the damage, but the rest of us will be down often enough. I want you to understand that."
"It doesn't matter…I'll stay." I smiled and hugged her.
"You're just like me, you know. I realize that's rather cliché for a parent to tell his or her child, but you are. I did the exact same thing, and it must have been the right choice. It changed my life entirely, but I never once regretted it."
I realized that we had walked entirely around the village in the time of my thoughts and our conversation. We had just passed the hot spring and were headed towards Goshinboku where we had started. "Shall we head back? I'm sure Inuyasha is fairly close to ignoring the fact that I told him I'd sit him into the next dimension if he came after us and is currently about to leave the village."
We laughed and turned down the well-worn path to the village. However, we didn't get more than two steps in that direction. There, standing straight in front of us on the trail, was a beautiful silver wolf. Her coat was brilliant, shining in the pale moonlight, though she was rather large for a regular wolf. Out of instinct, I let out a scream, my paranoia finally getting the better of me while Sango his behind me, her glimpse of Koga having scared her of the wolves that were once her favorite animal.
"Hush, child, you of all people should know of a wolf's sensitive ears. There is no reason for fright. Are you not the priestess Kagome?" Her voice was smooth and delicate. It was a soft, almost motherly tone, though it held power and authority. The she-wolf had a friendly aura about her now, I realized a bit too late, though she was strong and anyone who dared to cross her would not live much longer.
"Put that thing down and answer me," she barked, almost quite literally. I had still not recovered from the shock of finding out that a wolf was speaking to me, though I lowered the bow I didn't recall drawing.
"Y-yes, my name is Kagome." I stammered out as best I could, trying to appear as though I talked to wolves on a daily basis, though not succeeding in the slightest.
"Then you are familiar with…" She stopped mid-sentence not finishing what I should have been familiar with. "Someone approaches. It seems your call had its intended purpose. Come out, Inuyasha. You have come to protect the girl I assume?"
It seemed that Inuyasha had just arrived, having jumped from the bushes we knew to be a short cut from the village. Before anyone had time to protest, he was in front of me, Tetsusaiga drawn and ready for battle with the unidentified wolf.
"Relax, pup. As I told the girl, I have no intention of harming you. Since you are both here, I should introduce myself. My name is Tsuki and I am an angel of the moon. I learned two weeks ago that Kurnai had told you of legend and informed you that he was after Kagome, am I correct?"
I gave Inuyasha a warning glare and stepped in front of him. "Yes, he did. Though he only gave us a rhyme, a friend of ours told us of the legend."
"Yes, the monk would know some of it, though I am sure he could not have known all of it. Only parts of it are known by any other being besides the angels. I have come to tell you the full part, though we should go somewhere else…we can settle in my cave not far from here if you like."
Inuyasha looked ready to explode. "You think we're idiots? You want us to just follow you? If we come willingly, it's not a kidnapping, right?"
"Inuyasha…"
But to my surprise, Tsuki laughed. Smart boy, though you think too much. I have power you cannot imagine. If I wanted to, I could crash the moon into this earth as we speak. If I had wanted to take you against your will for whatever reason, I would have forced the girls with me and when you came to rescue them, I would have killed you. I am not you enemy. If I were, you most surely would have known by now."
"We've seen this trick before. Naraku tried to act civilized as well, at least to those who didn't know of his evil. He posed as a kind lord for three years, did he not? But anyone who ever trusted him ended up dead."
"But you forget, pup, that I am ten times stronger than you will ever hope to be. I could have taken down your father in one sweep of my paw and crunched Sounga, the sword from hell, into tiny pieces with my jaw. You are a flea compared to my power, crushed between your blunt nails like that servant of yours. If you don't believe me, go ahead. Fight me now. I'll have you down before you can blink. I care not weather you choose to accompany me or not, or if you wish to talk at all. My priority is stopping Kuragari and if you do not want our alliance, then far be it from me to force it on you."
'Kuragari?'I warned Inuyasha once again with my glare and stepped once again in front of him. We will accompany you to your cave, angel, though I think Sango should return to the village and tell the others not to worry."
!A Cave Just Outside of the Village!
"I'm sure your friend told you about the beginning, which is completely true. That part slipped out to the humans, who now know about us, but thankfully they do not yet know where. It did, however, take one year for the first four angels to fall from the earth. They did not die together. It was discovered after the legend was archived that the first line also seemed to reflect that meaning, giving a hint to each of the four seasons. Though it was discovered after the poem was written, that year was the most destructive the world has ever known, and it serves a small but important part to the legend, though you need not know much of it. Fighting broke out between who once may have been the best of friends. And through all of this madness, the world was ruined from the paradise that we once knew.
"It was thought to be that there was a betrayer among the angels, though since it was merely a rumor at the time of this happening, we did not record it. Along with this 'prophecy' it was said that when the betrayer recited the poem to 'his enemy who knew naught', the destruction would repeat itself once again. That is why it is important to stop Kuragari from creating the disaster yet again. It-" She stopped and looked directly at me.
"Forgive me. You wonder who Kuragari is, yes? He is the angel of darkness, or Kurnai as he is known to you. His real name was 'Kuragari' meaning 'darkness'. We angels were named after the elements we control. After he fell, Kuragari was no longer considered an angel, but a demon of hatred. He renamed himself 'dark night' so as not to be confused with the angel he once was.
"Over the years, we angels were separated, each returning to his or her respective lands, only caring of when the unbalanced elements entered our own domain. Soon, we must gather together once again, for we know that Kuragari will be gathering the demons together to rebel as they did all those thousands of years ago. He will corrupt their minds, and while we no longer control them as we once did, he will lead them to believe that they still hate us.
"We all must gather together, while we summon as many demons and humans alike to help us as will follow us.
"I'm sure the monk also told you of San and Torento, the angels of the Sun and Stars, attempting one last time to create an angel together. I must tell you that they attempted more than once—three times to be exact. I'm sure you know, Kagome, you are one of them, and you will know of the other two once I tell you.
"The first one did her duty well, and fought hard against the many demons who she encountered. She was on earth only about a thousand years after the revolution, and many demons who were alive at that time were in the battle. She knew her mission and she did it well, even through all of the demons that came seeking the power of the angels whose powers resembled that of gods. She also created one of the most coveted items on earth today, and while her intentions were pure, her creation has caused many to succumb to greed and evil. I'll let you place who she is. Any guesses?"
Though her description was vague, I knew of one person. Her creation had indeed caused much hatred through the world. But then that would mean… "Midoriko is my sister?"
"Very good. Close to your sister, anyway. It is complicated magic, but we shall get to that later.
"The second one both of you know personally. You are probably more aware of your connection with her, Kagome. After all, you have been told that you share a soul. Yes, Kikyo was the second try. While she did her duty well enough, Kikyo grew jealous of the lives around her, wishing that somehow she could have a 'normal' life."
I was beginning to get confused. "But that would mean that Kaede was also a daughter of Sun and Stars. There would be four of us, if I am truly their daughter as well."
"And that is where it begins to get complicated. Even Midoriko, though she knew more of her destiny than Kikyo, was not born by them, only created. As I am a wolf, you should have figured out that not all of us take on human form. Only two did—light and darkness, though both have other forms. But that is unimportant.
"We are of different animals, Torento is a unicorn while San is a cheetah. It is impossible, even with our powers, for them to conceive a child inside themselves. To put it simply, they combine their magics together to create life from both, but they cannot house the soul inside themselves. They chose a human female who was with child, though not far enough along for the child to have acquired a soul, and placed the combined form inside the fetus as its soul. The child would be born by human parents and raised as a human.
"Depending on when they were ready, they were informed about their true origin respectively. Midoriko found out young, while Kikyo knew nothing until she was entrusted with the Jewel. Kikyo was created by angels, but born by humans. By blood, she is family to the elder priestess you speak of, but by spirit and soul, she is family to you and Midoriko.
"While Kikyo was protecting the jewel her sister created, she began to doubt her destiny and chose to ignore it by releasing her power into the open, creating the rumor that it was her love for you, Inuyasha, that made her weak.
"After she refused her destiny, Kikyo's plan turned against her. The bandit Onigumo, the only one to know of her plan, became the demon known as Naraku and took advantage of the fact that her power was gone as he tricked and killed her.
"You see, after Midoriko died, Kuragari fell and began to look for a way to control the earth himself by also creating a child. Because he had only himself and no counterpart, it took him hundreds and thousands of years to find a way to produce an evil soul for a body. He chose one you know, not having met him, but having met one born of him.
"Kurnai placed the corrupted soul inside the child who was to be called Onigumo. The fallen angel, after thousands of years' research, had hoped that he had gained enough magic, insight, and power to create a god since the child would be born only from him. Since there was no second person while creating this child Onigumo, he was not placed inside of a human body and, as strange as it may seem to you, gave birth to the child himself through magic.
"Kurnai believed that since the child was only of himself, as well as born through his magic and body, that Onigumo would be a demon—that he had created the way to make a child with the powers of himself and not as a 'weak' human like the others. But, Onigumo was born and Kurnai was disappointed with the fact that his child wasn't a demon, and held no powers at all. He was a human and that was it. Kurnai despised Onigumo, and while he raised him evil, Onigumo could not take over the angels because he was merely a human bandit. When Kurnai finally got fed up with his son's pathetic attempt for gaining power, he caused his only child to become covered by burn marks.
"Unfortunately, this worked in his favor. You see, as soon as Onigumo was born, San and Torento realized that they needed another daughter to pick up where Midoriko left off and destroy Kurnai's offspring. But once Kikyo crossed paths with Onigumo, he was already injured and immobile. Kikyo knew that Kurnai had done it to him and had also figured that he could do nothing to harm her in his current state. Having pitied his life, she took care of him and Onigumo began to lust for her.
"When Kurnai discovered that his son, though human and weak, was lusting for his deepest enemy, he took measures into his own hands. As Onigumo grew more jealous of you, Inuyasha, he began to wish more and more for a body that would allow him to get what he desired.
"When Kurnai suggested reformation, Onigumo, blinded by lust and greed, accepted without further thought. He became the demon called Naraku and not only killed Kikyo, but Inuyasha as well.
"In the year of your birth, Sun and Stars of the future created you along with the passage of the well for the reason that you, being from the future, could possibly have an advantage over your sisters. Though because it happened in the future, San and Torento have no recollection in this time of creating you. They have been informed, but they do not know details as they would with Kikyo and Midoriko. However, you should note that if either of them were to die in this upcoming battle, you would cease to exist and Kuragari would surely win.
"You are our last hope, Kagome. There will be no more Siblings of Purity in the future. I don't mean to pressure you, but, either you win, or the world dies."
A/N: I know this is again somewhat short, but you guys have got to give me credit on this one. I have been torturing myself over the past month on how to write this chappie, rewriting it at least three times, and not to mention, it is now 9:30AM. Guess what time I started my work on it. 4:30AM. I have been working on this chapter for FIVE FREAKING HOURS! I have been awake ALL NIGHT LONG trying to piece together this new and revised addition to the legend.
Oh, and let it be known that I did place a couple of Jordan's ideas into the new version, but I had planned on bringing in the angels to speak of it long before with the insight as to just what had happened before that would happen again. And no body get mad at me and say things about the improbability or Midoriko really being somehow connected to the two priestesses besides the power to purify the jewel. This fic has turned slightly AU and not much of this do I believe to have actually happened. They have their references to my beliefs, such as why Kikyo mysteriously had her powers weakened when getting close to Inuyasha while Kagome does not.
SPOILERSOh, and don't be surprised if next chapter has some major fluff in it. I was watching my new Inuyasha episodes last night and I saw The Wind Scar Fails where at the end, Naraku tells Inuyasha that Kikyo wants him dead and than at the end Inuyasha proves that while he's still an idiot, he's not blind and he DOES know that Kikyo is acting evil, and even after she gave half the jewel to Naraku and tried to kill both him and Kagome that he still 'loves' her. Oh, it got me very angered. So angered in fact, that I felt like an InuKag fluffy moment, even if it's sad and makes me cry, so I skipped over the Kaijinbo/Tokijin/Sesshomaru eppies it watch Onigumo's Heart Still Beats Within Naraku and Return to the Place Where we First Met just so I could hear Kagome say, even if only in her thoughts, that she loves Inuyasha and so I have more reason to murder Inuyasha for being a dense git (sorry about the British, but that's what I get for reading HP so much) and so I can cry because that eppie makes me cry. Anyone who's seen it should know why. :sob: poor Kagome, she's in love with an idiot who won't admit to himself that HE DOESN'T LOVE KIKYO LIKE HE THOUGHT HE DID and that she's mean for wanting him to change while Kagome loves him for who he is and not for what he could be and she has to put up with him running off to Kikyo even though she freakin wants him dead! Seriously! She pulled a freakin knife on him! Not to mention she was comparing his 'lust' as she puts it to Onigumo's! Oh, and anyone else who cries when Kagome says "I know I can't compete with Kikyo…after all, I'm still alive" you rock.
END SPOILERSSorry for the rant, but really! Afterwords, I got a bit carried away like usual, so don't be surprised if you find LOADS of flashbacks next eppie too along with quotes.
Well, hopefully it won't be too long before I update again, now that I have my train of thought semi-back on Inuyasha.
Oh, did I mention I got a Sesshy plushie? Well I did. I huggle him daily. Actually, he's right here next to me, staring at me as I write. I like how they did his eyes though. They don't look evil or stoic or anything. They actually have emotion. YAY SESSHY PLUSHIE! Well, his crecent moon is lighter than it should be, and his hair is weird cuz it's felt, but his fluffy is…well…fluffy and they even kept his arm of which looks kinda funny but you don't really notice it. I guess I'm just used to looking at Sesshy with no left arm. Tee hee.
And by the way, for anyone who wants to know what the song at the beginning means:
White or black as I depart beyond you,
with the hope to change destiny.
Although in the body the soul blazes,
in the darkness the distance becomes infinite.
With the youths dressed in the skin of beasts,
we dance together in the middle of tempests.
Another horizon dissolves
in the light of eyes that want to awaken.
And, I wait here,
Where nothing moves right now.
Even if I don't see you
I can regain what we seek in the night;
Even if it's really difficult
I'll dance my path with the wolves.
I will feel the light on my skin,
if I'm not afraid of your bad side.
It's the moon that leads the dance
when the sun will set in your cold soul.
I wait for you here,
where nothing moves right now.
Where the shade laments all its veils
I can regain what we seek in the night.
Even if it's very difficult
I will dance my path with the wolves.
It is called The Waltz of the Moon and is from Wolf's Rain. I don't know what language it is in, but it's not Japanese. It looks like Russian though, but I don't know why Russian lyrics, while pretty, would be in Wolf's Rain.
And now that I've creeped you out with my thoughts on my Sesshy plushie and a long rant on eppies that made me wish to murder Inuyasha, I shall say goodbye until next time! Or should I say…good night. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Midnight-Wolf-314