Complete the Circle
Chapter Sixteen: A Walk in the Mall
It was Saturday and Sango had decided to go and study for the upcoming math test with Kagome. They had both pondered over the vague teachings in the mathematics textbook, and when it became apparent to them that no amount of studying was going to bring them sudden enlightenment, they decided to go to the mall and forget about their troubles for a little while. Besides, Kagome wanted to buy Shippou some new clothes.
They arrived at the mall and had shopped around for what seemed only to be a few minutes to Kagome and Sango, but an eternity to Shippou, when Shippou finally complained enough to cause the two ladies to relent their shopping. So, the trio decided to go buy some drinks.
"Shippou-chan, don't look so down. These new clothes look really cute on you," Kagome said, trying to get the child to stop dragging his feet and looking sulky.
"I already have enough clothes," Shippou whined, "Why did you have to drag me all the way out here and waste my time? Souta could be teaching me how to play that new game he got."
"Shippou-chan!" Kagome scolded lightly, a bit angry that he didn't appreciate her hard work in picking his clothes, but she ruffled the child's hair fondly. Shippou is much more like himself since Sango remembered. I wonder how Sango feels about all of this? She saw the youkai exterminator look at everything around her with mixed expressions of familiarity and wonder.
"You know, Kagome-chan," Sango said, looking at her surroundings with new eyes, "Just walking across the mall is making me feel funny. It's like a part of me knows what all of this is already, and is not impressed, but the other part is surprised at everything. I feel like two different people are in me."
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Sango-chan," Kagome apologized, looking away.
"Don't be ridiculous," Sango said, patting Kagome lightly on the shoulder, "I would've remembered sooner or later. I'm just glad that I had a friend that understood me when I suddenly remembered everything. It must've been lonely, being the only ones who remembered, right Kagome-chan? Shippou?"
"I wasn't that lonely because I still had Kagome with me!" Shippou said, grinning happily. "And now you remember, too, so I'm not that lonely anymore."
"I have to admit, I felt sort of lonely when I saw you and you didn't remember anything," Kagome admitted, "But now, I feel… I don't know… Sort of guilty for making you remember."
"Why would you feel guilty?" Sango asked, surprised.
"Doesn't it feel like someone else has taken possession of your body and memories?" Kagome asked. "I mean, I wouldn't want Kikyo's memories and emotions in me."
"That's only because Kikyo tried to kill Inuyasha, and you lo—er, cared about Inuyasha," Sango said, trying to cheer her friend up. "Maybe you and Kikyo are really different, but I feel almost the same. I have both my parents and my brother. Having the memories of my past life only made me appreciate my family even more. The only difference now that I've regained my memories is that now I remember how much I love Miroku," she said wistfully, then blushed deep red as she realized she had said the last part out loud.
"I knew it!" Kagome said, smiling widely with Shippou, "You love Miroku-sama."
"Sango's in love. Sango's in love," Shippou said in a singsong voice, causing Sango to blush even deeper. Kagome giggled at her friend's embarrassment.
"It's okay, Sango-chan," Kagome said, "Shippou-chan and I kinda figured that you were in love with him. The only one dense enough not to figure it out was Inuyasha." Kagome was surprised that she had actually said Inuyasha's name without choking or getting all depressed.
"Kagome, Sango, look over there!" Shippou shouted excitedly, "It's Miroku!" Sango and Kagome turned towards the direction that Shippou was pointing, and indeed Miroku was sitting in a seat by a round table, talking to someone who's back was turned towards them.
"Should we go say 'hi'?" Kagome asked, "It looks like he's busy talking to someone."
"Well, he barged into our conversation back at the café, so I don't see why we can't barge in on his," Sango said.
"Sango just wants to talk to her Miroku-poo," Shippou snickered, causing Sango to turn red again.
"There seems to be enough seats at the table to accommodate all of us, so I think it's okay if we talk to him awhile," Kagome said, trying to hide her smile and not cause her friend more embarrassment.
"Come on," Shippou said, dragging the two girls towards the table. "If we keep talking to Miroku, maybe he'll remember, too." Kagome saw Sango's eyes light up with that small hope, and the trio walked boldly to Miroku's table.
"Hi, Miroku-sam—uh, san," Kagome said, hoping her mistake wasn't too obvious. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be with your tutoring friend?" Sango asked, hoping she didn't sound like she liked him or anything.
"Well, I am," Miroku answered, gesturing to the person sitting next to him. "Only I'm not getting tutored right now." The three turned to the person sitting next to him and stifled their gasps.
"Inuyasha!" Shippou cried out, forgetting about his caution about Inuyasha being a transformed Naraku and running to him, jumping onto Inuyasha's lap and hugging him tightly. Involuntary tears started to flow from the little kitsune's eyes, making the Inuyasha look-alike's shirt wet. "I missed you!" the little fox sobbed, making the guy he was clinging to very nervous.
"Uh, um… There, there now," the person who looked like Inuyasha said, trying to soothe the little child. He started to pat the small child's head, using one arm to hold Shippou and rocking him gently. His action surprised Kagome and Sango immensely.
"Inu—Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, not quite believing that the person who was comforting Shippou before could really be Inuyasha. I've never, ever seen Inuyasha treat anyone like this. He's always so gruff… But, then again, this isn't really Inuyasha, is it? It's just someone who looks incredibly similar, right?
The two girls and one guy watched quietly as "Inuyasha" calmed the small child that was hugging him. Miroku invited the two ladies to take a seat at the table as Shippou's sobs gradually subsided.
"Inuyasha, how come you never came looking for us?" Shippou asked, looking into the older boy's eyes. For some reason, he had expected golden eyes and silver hair. Instead, they were lavender, and this person's hair was black. Suddenly Shippou jumped away from the man, looking at him with hostility, his suspicions returning now that his brain caught up with him.
"Huh?" was all the other could say before Miroku suddenly spoke.
"How do you know his name is Inuyasha?" he asked, eyes narrowed dangerously, looking at the child with suspicion.
"Is his name Inuyasha?" asked Sango, wondering why the former monk was looking at them so suspiciously.
"Why did you call him Inuyasha?" he asked, addressing Shippou.
"Hey Miroku, chill out," Miroku's friend said, trying to calm him down. "I'm sure he must've just heard my mom calling me that. It's no big deal."
"So your name is 'Inuyasha'?" Kagome asked, hope rising within her. But a name is just a name. It doesn't really mean anything… But hope rose within her regardless of her thoughts.
"Actually, no," the person who's name wasn't "Inuyasha" said. Sango could feel Kagome droop slightly with that tiny bit of information. "My name's Musashino. Hayashi Musashino. I'm pleased to meet you." He smiled gently at them, catching the three off guard. Although Musashino seemed ready to be friends with the three, Miroku was still regarding them warily.
"But didn't you say a moment ago that your mother calls you 'Inuyasha'?" Sango asked, frowning.
"Ah, well, um…" They saw Musashino's face turn slightly red. "It's kind of like her pet name for me. It's not my real name, if you know what I mean."
"Oh," Shippou said, answering for the three of them. Kagome saw Shippou twitch his nose and figured that he was trying to sniff to see if this person was Inuyasha. The scent seemed to be close enough for Shippou relaxed visibly and actually smiled at Musashino.
"Thanks for, um, not knocking me out when I was…being weird," Shippou said, flushing out of embarrassment for his display of weakness among others.
"It's okay," Musashino replied, chewing thoughtfully on a French fry. "You kind of allowed me to feel what it would be like to have a little brother for a while, so really, I should be thanking you." He saw the three give him a surprised look and thought he had said something wrong.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," the three of them replied in unison. Musashino gave them a weird look while Miroku frowned.
"Did you really feel that I was your little brother for a while?" Shippou asked, standing on the chair in order to be seen above the table.
"Well, yeah," Musashino replied, scratching his head in confusion. "Is that wrong?"
"No!" Shippou said loudly, startling Musashino and Miroku. "I'll be happy to be your brother."
"But, you don't even know me," Musashino said, getting more and more confused with this boy.
"That's okay," Shippou said, grinning, "I know you're a good person."
"And just how do you know that, kitsune?" Miroku asked in a low voice, shocking the entire group.
"Kitsune? You sure?" Musashino asked, trying to find any fault in the small boy's physical appearance. Kagome and Sango started to get very nervous, not to mention Shippou who was frozen in fear. This Miroku seemed to regard them with hostility, and they didn't really know him well enough to guess what his intentions were.
"Wha-What are you talking about?" Kagome asked nervously, trying to smile.
"You of all people should know, Miko," Miroku said. Kagome felt herself freeze. How does Miroku know I'm a priestess if he doesn't remember anything from his past? Does he have powers in this life, too?
"Miko?" asked Musashino, utterly clueless as to what the others were talking about.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kagome said, finally getting the nerve to talk back to Miroku. "Why are you calling me a 'miko'?"
"Aren't you honored to be called a person with special powers?" Musashino asked, now thoroughly confused.
"Why should I be honored to be called something that I'm not?" asked Kagome rather hotly.
"Sorry," Musashino mumbled, but her denial of being a miko only seemed to make Miroku more confident that she was one.
"You are not the only one with powers," he hissed, trying to keep his voice low so that people passing by wouldn't hear what he was saying. "I sensed your spiritual power ever since we were in kindergarten, and I can sure sense it now." He turned towards Shippou, his glance as suspicious as ever. "I can feel the youki coming from this boy, so don't bother trying to deny that he is a youkai."
"Does it matter if he is a youkai or not?" Sango asked, losing her temper with the reincarnation of the priest.
"What I would like to know is why a priestess has a youkai so close to her," Miroku said coldly, his gaze freezing Sango's insides. "Is the miko using the boy as a bait to lure other youkai out?"
"Why would you care?" Sango said, struggling to keep her voice low. She wanted to give Miroku a good slap right about now, but knew it wouldn't really be right.
"Does anyone want a drink?" Musashino asked loudly, his eyes flashing, looking for a moment like the old Inuyasha. "If no one says anything, then everyone is getting lemonade." He took the silence as a yes for lemonade and got up to get some. In Musashino's absence, Miroku said nothing, giving Kagome, Sango and Shippou dark looks. Musashino returned a moment later with a large jug of lemonade and five cups.
"All right, people, I hope this'll cool you off," Musashino said, pouring everyone a generous amount of lemonade.
"I am cool," Miroku said, not reaching for his cup like the others were.
"Miroku," Musashino growled in a low voice, "Shut the hell up." Miroku was surprised by his words, but said nothing more.
"So," Musashino started in a friendly voice, "Kid, are you really a real kitsune?" Shippou looked at Kagome and Sango for help, but none of them were able to make a gesture without Miroku seeing.
"Uh… What will you do if I say yes?" Shippou asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He saw Miroku nudge Musashino as if to say "I told you so." Musashino ignored him.
"Nothing really," he answered drinking his lemonade. "You kitsune really are too powerful for me to do anything against you, so the safest action for me is to do nothing." Sango was starting to look at Musashino suspiciously, but he ignored her too.
"Really? Kitsune are more powerful than you?" Shippou asked, wrinkling his nose in what he hoped was discreetly. He caught the scent of…nothing. Which was very strange for the nothingness smelled like Inuyasha's old scent. Shippou was getting very confused. It smells like Inuyasha, but it also seems…empty. Like…a void. But it's not really a void. It just…doesn't have the scent of a human or a youkai. Just Inuyasha. What is this person?
"Yup," Musashino replied nonchalantly.
"Does that mean you hate them?" Shippou asked hesitantly. He hoped that this person, whoever, or whatever he was, wouldn't hate him.
"I don't have any reason to hate kitsune," Musashino said, offering Kagome more lemonade. "Tell you what. I don't really care what you are. If you're kitsune, fine. If you're human, that's fine, too. If you want to be my brother, that's no skin off my nose either."
"I can be your brother?" Shippou asked eagerly.
"Sure, you can even call me Inuyasha if you want. My mom calls me that, and Miroku calls me that, too," he said, nudging Miroku in the ribs very hard in order to get a confirming grunt from him.
"So, what are we supposed to call you?" asked Kagome, gesturing to herself and Sango.
"If you want to call me Inuyasha, then you can," he said, "but among people who don't know my, um, 'nickname' I guess, you have to call me 'Musashino.' I don't want a whole bunch of people running around calling me 'dog demon.' It gets on my nerves after a while. Especially since most people would probably make fun of the name."
"I would never dream of making fun of it," Kagome said, nearly getting out of her seat, furious, for some reason, at the thought of people making fun of Inuyasha's name.
"Okay, okay," Musashino, or Inuyasha, said. "So, to satisfy my curiosity, are you a miko or not?"
"I am, but I don't see what that has to do with anything," Kagome said, hoping that both this Inuyasha and Miroku were trustworthy.
"Is the kid a kitsune?" Inuyasha asked, sounding thoroughly interested.
"You just said you didn't care!" Kagome said, getting nervous with the questions. Why's Miroku all mean? And is Musashino, or Inuyasha, asking these questions for a specific reason? Can I even trust these two?
"I don't," he said, "I'm just curious."
"Well, he is," Kagome admitted reluctantly, hoping that she wasn't getting Shippou and herself deeper into trouble.
"And you know that she's a miko with a youkai companion?" Inuyasha asked Sango, slightly surprised.
"Well, yeah…" Sango mumbled. This day wasn't turning out as she had expected.
"Amazing," Inuyasha said, whacking himself on the forehead. "All of you knew, and I was the only clueless idiot who didn't know." Nobody knew what to say to that.
"Hey!" Inuyasha said, turning to Kagome, "Why do you have a youkai with you, anyway? Aren't priestesses supposed to slay youkai?"
"I don't slay good youkai," Kagome said, slightly miffed that Inuyasha had thought her to be the type that killed youkai without reason.
"And what's your definition of a good youkai?" asked Inuyasha.
"The type that doesn't kill for no good reason," Kagome replied.
"So if I was a youkai and somebody stole my hamburger, and I killed him, you wouldn't kill me?" he asked.
"Wha-what kind of analogy is that?" spluttered Kagome.
"Hey," Inuyasha said, ignoring Kagome's question, realizing something, "I don't even know your name yet. Well? Are you going to tell me?"
"My name is Higurashi Kagome," she said, blinking at the sudden change in subject.
"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" he asked, addressing Sango.
"I'm Yamata Sango," she replied, surprised. The old Inuyasha would never ask for people's names.
"How 'bout you, O mighty kitsune?" he asked, grinning at Shippou.
"I'm Shippou," he said, grinning back. "Higurashi Shippou." He kind of liked this new Inuyasha better; he was more affectionate and friendly. Then again, he was also kind of weird.
"Oh, so Kagome's family adopted you, eh?" he asked, gathering the empty cups and throwing it away. "What happened to your real parents?"
Shippou let out a sigh of exasperation. The old Inuyasha and the new Inuyasha were equally blunt. He wondered when Inuyasha would ever learn some tact.