Kagome's mother and grandfather were in the kitchen of the Sunset Shrines
and conversing.
Kagome's mom was sitting in a chair, holding a bible in her lap. Her grandfather was sweeping the floor.
"I don't know what's going on around here, but I don't want my daughter involved."
"I don't know why you think that this is my fault."
"It's probably because she messes with demons all of the time. It can't be healthy! We shouldn't let her! She'll die out there! Don't you get it?!"
"It's you who don't get it. What Kagome does in the past is important. She good reasons for what she does. She's so much stronger than you know, honey. She's managed so far. She's doing just fine."
"She's NOT doing just fine! How can you say that? She almost dies so often, I can't even count the incidents! She misses school all the time! And she's almost always upset! She can't be happy like this!"
"What do you want me to do?" Kagome's granddad asked her crossly, still sweeping.
"I-I I don't know! But do something."
"If you want me to do something, you have to believe my stories for once."
"Fine." Kagome's mom got up, set her bible on the table and reached into the pantry. "I'm going to make some coffee. I bet this will take a while."
He leaned his broom against a wall. He sat down in a chair at the table.
Kagome's mom set two mugs of coffee on the table and listened.
"When I was just a lad, my best friend in the whole world was a girl my age named Mitsuki. She was really beautiful. In fact she kind of looked like Kagome when she was little. She always wore lacy dresses, with lots of bows, she had this long beautiful perfect black hair. She had the prettiest brown eyes. I had the worst crush on her. We played together every day. She didn't get to play outside much. You see, she was a vocalist. A child prodigy her parents said. She almost always had to stay inside and practice. It made her sad a lot, but... she always started smiling again when she got to play with me."
He took a sip of coffee.
"That's sad." Kagome's mom said.
He sighed and continued his story.
"I remember one winter, when we were out on vacation. We were both eight years old. She came to me with a song that she wrote. She was blushing, and when she sang it to me, she looked right at me. I knew it was about us. She made it so obvious. It was really special. She wanted to sing it in concert, but her parents hated it. She told me later that they said it was unprofessional and childish, and that she shouldn't write her own music."
"Unprofessional? She was eight years old, right?" Kagome's mom looked outraged.
"Yeah, her parents were really strict with her. They really wanted her to have a good life."
"Oh..." Kagome's mom calmed down a little.
"Well anyway, Mitsuki told me that was going to sing it anyway. She would sing it in public. She said that once she got on stage, no-one would stop her. I told her it was a bad idea, but she insisted. We both knew it was a good song. I know I like it."
"Then what happened? Did she ever sing it in public?"
"I'm getting to it... I'm getting to it... Well, there was a Christmas concert. It was her biggest concert ever. She was going to debut her new song there. She was riding in her car there, and my family was tailing her there. We had front row seats. Of course you know, cars weren't nearly as fast as they are now. However, it was really icy that night. It was snowing too, the visibility was low. Anyway, a deer was in the road, and my father swerved to avoid it. When he did, however, his car crashed into their car. Their car smashed into a light pole. Mitsuki died instantly. The wrecked car then fell into a ditch. Her parents weren't going to live either, they were fading fast. However, her dad told my dad that he wanted us to build a tomb for her under our shrine. He said it would honor her, he said that he knew that she would be happier that way...because, she would be closer to me. Then, they died. Her parents were buried side-by-side in a graveyard, but Mitsuki is in a tomb under this shrine."
"That's really sad, dad, but... what does this have to do with Kagome?"
"The other night, I heard Kagome singing that song."
Kagome's mom gasped.
"You're saying it's you're friend who's trying to kill Kagome?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Why would she do that?"
"I guess, if she can't sing it to the world... she doesn't want anyone else to."
"I suppose all we can do now is tell Kagome not to sing that song."
"Well... there is something else we can do..."
"What?"
"Mitsuki? Mitsuki! Come out here and speak to me!"
Kagome's mom's eyes bulged.
"Alright! Be coy! I'm going to start the song, and you finish it!"
Her graddad cleared his throat. "I've loved you. I've been true. From when I first laid eyes on you."
"Dad, There's no way that's going to work."
A melodious voice was heard.
"I knew... that you should be my one and only... or I'd be lonely."
The little girl, luminous, like a tiny faerie, stepped into the room."
"Hello." She said, smiling softly at him.
"Hello, Mitsuki." He said as he picked her up and set her on his knee.
She hugged his waist and smiled.
"You've grown a lot, my dear friend."
"And you're just the way I remember, beautiful." He told her.
She smiled.
"If only I could have grown old with you." She looked sad.
He lifted up her chin with his index finger. "It would have been nice, but we went our separate ways. I have a family now, which is what I want to discuss with you?"
"You want to talk about that girl don't you?" She sounded kind of guilty.
"Yes, I do."
"Will you please not harm my granddaughter?" He asked politely.
"I would... but she's such a big meanie!"
"How so?"
"She's singing my song! Off-key!"
"Okay... haha... I'll give you that. But don't you want your favorite song to live on in this world?"
"Well, that would be ideal. However, it's not the same when she does it. It's just another piece of garbage, just like a random fact. The song is not living on with her, it's just being butchered. If it isn't sung by me, it shouldn't be sung."
"But you let me sing it. I'm almost always off-key."
"You that that it's your song too."
"I know... but tell me. Why do you stay here? Isn't a better place than this that you'd rather go?"
"Not while your still here. There's no place that I'd rather be than with you. I'm planning on not moving on until you do."
"But... Mitsuki, I have a wife in that place, and a son. You should move on."
"But... Don't you love me?"
"Of course I do. But it didn't work out. You died. The living and the dead cannot go on as couples. Living people need other people, as do the dead."
"I understand..." Mitsuki, got off of his lap and began walking away.
"So you're moving on?"
"No." With that, Mitsuki disappeared again.
Kagome's mom was sitting in a chair, holding a bible in her lap. Her grandfather was sweeping the floor.
"I don't know what's going on around here, but I don't want my daughter involved."
"I don't know why you think that this is my fault."
"It's probably because she messes with demons all of the time. It can't be healthy! We shouldn't let her! She'll die out there! Don't you get it?!"
"It's you who don't get it. What Kagome does in the past is important. She good reasons for what she does. She's so much stronger than you know, honey. She's managed so far. She's doing just fine."
"She's NOT doing just fine! How can you say that? She almost dies so often, I can't even count the incidents! She misses school all the time! And she's almost always upset! She can't be happy like this!"
"What do you want me to do?" Kagome's granddad asked her crossly, still sweeping.
"I-I I don't know! But do something."
"If you want me to do something, you have to believe my stories for once."
"Fine." Kagome's mom got up, set her bible on the table and reached into the pantry. "I'm going to make some coffee. I bet this will take a while."
He leaned his broom against a wall. He sat down in a chair at the table.
Kagome's mom set two mugs of coffee on the table and listened.
"When I was just a lad, my best friend in the whole world was a girl my age named Mitsuki. She was really beautiful. In fact she kind of looked like Kagome when she was little. She always wore lacy dresses, with lots of bows, she had this long beautiful perfect black hair. She had the prettiest brown eyes. I had the worst crush on her. We played together every day. She didn't get to play outside much. You see, she was a vocalist. A child prodigy her parents said. She almost always had to stay inside and practice. It made her sad a lot, but... she always started smiling again when she got to play with me."
He took a sip of coffee.
"That's sad." Kagome's mom said.
He sighed and continued his story.
"I remember one winter, when we were out on vacation. We were both eight years old. She came to me with a song that she wrote. She was blushing, and when she sang it to me, she looked right at me. I knew it was about us. She made it so obvious. It was really special. She wanted to sing it in concert, but her parents hated it. She told me later that they said it was unprofessional and childish, and that she shouldn't write her own music."
"Unprofessional? She was eight years old, right?" Kagome's mom looked outraged.
"Yeah, her parents were really strict with her. They really wanted her to have a good life."
"Oh..." Kagome's mom calmed down a little.
"Well anyway, Mitsuki told me that was going to sing it anyway. She would sing it in public. She said that once she got on stage, no-one would stop her. I told her it was a bad idea, but she insisted. We both knew it was a good song. I know I like it."
"Then what happened? Did she ever sing it in public?"
"I'm getting to it... I'm getting to it... Well, there was a Christmas concert. It was her biggest concert ever. She was going to debut her new song there. She was riding in her car there, and my family was tailing her there. We had front row seats. Of course you know, cars weren't nearly as fast as they are now. However, it was really icy that night. It was snowing too, the visibility was low. Anyway, a deer was in the road, and my father swerved to avoid it. When he did, however, his car crashed into their car. Their car smashed into a light pole. Mitsuki died instantly. The wrecked car then fell into a ditch. Her parents weren't going to live either, they were fading fast. However, her dad told my dad that he wanted us to build a tomb for her under our shrine. He said it would honor her, he said that he knew that she would be happier that way...because, she would be closer to me. Then, they died. Her parents were buried side-by-side in a graveyard, but Mitsuki is in a tomb under this shrine."
"That's really sad, dad, but... what does this have to do with Kagome?"
"The other night, I heard Kagome singing that song."
Kagome's mom gasped.
"You're saying it's you're friend who's trying to kill Kagome?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Why would she do that?"
"I guess, if she can't sing it to the world... she doesn't want anyone else to."
"I suppose all we can do now is tell Kagome not to sing that song."
"Well... there is something else we can do..."
"What?"
"Mitsuki? Mitsuki! Come out here and speak to me!"
Kagome's mom's eyes bulged.
"Alright! Be coy! I'm going to start the song, and you finish it!"
Her graddad cleared his throat. "I've loved you. I've been true. From when I first laid eyes on you."
"Dad, There's no way that's going to work."
A melodious voice was heard.
"I knew... that you should be my one and only... or I'd be lonely."
The little girl, luminous, like a tiny faerie, stepped into the room."
"Hello." She said, smiling softly at him.
"Hello, Mitsuki." He said as he picked her up and set her on his knee.
She hugged his waist and smiled.
"You've grown a lot, my dear friend."
"And you're just the way I remember, beautiful." He told her.
She smiled.
"If only I could have grown old with you." She looked sad.
He lifted up her chin with his index finger. "It would have been nice, but we went our separate ways. I have a family now, which is what I want to discuss with you?"
"You want to talk about that girl don't you?" She sounded kind of guilty.
"Yes, I do."
"Will you please not harm my granddaughter?" He asked politely.
"I would... but she's such a big meanie!"
"How so?"
"She's singing my song! Off-key!"
"Okay... haha... I'll give you that. But don't you want your favorite song to live on in this world?"
"Well, that would be ideal. However, it's not the same when she does it. It's just another piece of garbage, just like a random fact. The song is not living on with her, it's just being butchered. If it isn't sung by me, it shouldn't be sung."
"But you let me sing it. I'm almost always off-key."
"You that that it's your song too."
"I know... but tell me. Why do you stay here? Isn't a better place than this that you'd rather go?"
"Not while your still here. There's no place that I'd rather be than with you. I'm planning on not moving on until you do."
"But... Mitsuki, I have a wife in that place, and a son. You should move on."
"But... Don't you love me?"
"Of course I do. But it didn't work out. You died. The living and the dead cannot go on as couples. Living people need other people, as do the dead."
"I understand..." Mitsuki, got off of his lap and began walking away.
"So you're moving on?"
"No." With that, Mitsuki disappeared again.