It was easy enough to find the Higurashi, as she figured, and it was almost the same when fabricating a way for them to meet. She tried to keep the lives separate since her vow in the mirror and used her reincarnation to weave a small half-truth / half-lie. An old friend of the family who used to live here a while ago and just heard of the shrine being taken down. She wanted to discuss it and get directions, nothing more.
It was simple and Kyojaku seemed to buy it without much trouble. She credited it to the fact of her use of Japanese on the phone and complete fluency. The girl wouldn't figure her a gaijin until seeing her. What she and En thought of her afterward she hoped they wouldn't use that to hold what she needed.
She stopped at the steps to a pretty small, yet quaint house. They must've gotten a pretty good penny to buy their own house, since housing always had and probably would be expensive here. Teeth bit her lip as adrenaline fluttered her stomach and her heart raced. She was here; there was no going back...but she couldn't really go through with this. She was too tempted to do some serious lecturing on proper shrine behavior and respect to keep her cool.
A soft touch on her back with a mild push in the door's direction helped. She quickly exhaled and took a breath for courage before striding forward with Inaki in tow. She knocked on the door and prayed to whatever god would listen that this went okay. She didn't know how much her temper would hold if it didn't.
After a minute, the knob twisted and the door inched open. A pair of black eyes peeked out, short hair sliding over cheek. "Hai?"
Her first impression wasn't a good one. The unspoken reluctance opening the door all the way said more than words. What she could see of the face, since none of the body was visible, was someone around her age. In the articles, she remembered Kyojaku was younger than En by a few years, and both were in some year of high school. The decade was good to her great niece and the thought irked her.
Her head inclined a hello, trying to keep her shoulders from stiffening. "Konnichi wa. Himmen Kalie desu. I spoke to you on the phone yesterday."
Black blinked rather dumbly as if her words - spoken in polite Japanese - went right past. Kyojaku gave her a quick raking, but the door opened enough to connect head with body. "You are Himmen-san? But you are Amerika-jin."
It was easy to mentally picture the question marks floating over Kyojaku's head and she suppressed a smile. "I used to live here a while ago. You granted me time with you and En-san, and I would very much like to talk to you both."
Kyojaku practically bristled before them. "We have said our peace! Why won't people leave us alone about that dumb shrine??"
A fist clenched behind her back and she fought to keep from glaring. "I am not here to judge you about that. I saw for myself what became of the shrine and I read the newspapers. I only wish to hear more of your reasons for it and a few directions." There was that lost look again and she resisted sighing. "Is En-san home now?"
The woman practically jumped to attention and finally let them inside. "If you remember me saying, he was at work until mid afternoon. He will be here soon, if you will wait for him."
"I will wait as long as it takes."
They were led to the living room while her himei headed for the kitchen. She looked around, marveling at how western and modern it was. It almost seemed like she wasn't in Japan except for a few scrolls - mostly decorative and what jiichan would've sold no doubt - hanging on the walls. She read the incantations and smirked at how ineffective they were. Perhaps they were jiichan's leftovers no one would ever buy because they were too hokey.
Muted tinkling jostled her attention from looking around and she focused on the way to the kitchen. She shifted a few more inches closer to Inaki on the couch and almost conspiratorially leaned to his ear. "She seems a little ditzy." She whispered in English.
He smirked before maintaining mild stoicism. "You got all that from the meeting at the front door?" He returned, making sure to use English and same tone. Not a good idea to aggravate the people who could throw them out without a thought. Kyojaku's use of English he didn't know about and the Higurashi held this trip in the palm of their hands.
She snorted. "I knew from the way the door was opened. You're going to have to watch me for if I blow and keep me from doing anything drastic."
"Oh come on...you learned your lesson from that first time, you should be okay now."
She gave a dry look. "Don't count on it."
"Sorry for the wait." They pulled away as Kyojaku set a tea set on the coffee table in front of them and poured them both a cup. "Niisan should be home shortly. Are there any questions I can answer for you in the meantime?"
She took a sip, finding it good, and nodded. "There is your side to tell, along with En-san's. Before he gets here, tell me your thoughts and feelings about the shrine and some details."
As if no one ever asked her that, Kyojaku quickly poured herself a glass and sat in a chair across them, almost eagerly leaning forward. "It was such a controversy back then..." She sighed. "Jiisan loved that place. Kaasan was taught a lot of the lore, but wasn't as enamored as jiisan. Tousan visited the shrine since he was a boy and loved it. He wanted to run it and married kaasan for it. Jiisan seemed to like the idea, but made tousan take kaasan's myouji to keep the shrine in the Higurashi name. It wasn't as big a deal as the fact that tousan spent more time with the jinja than he did with kaasan." Small lips pursed as Kyojaku dully looked to her glass.
Her brow furrowed. Souta was a better judge of character than that, she knew he was. "How would Souta-san accept your otousan if that was the case? Didn't he want his musume to be happy?"
Kyojaku nodded. "Tousan was pretty good at saying the things people wanted to hear. I never heard him say he loved kaasan though." Teeth bit her lip as black looked away. "I'm sorry to be saying such painful things to you. I must be boring you. I'm such a disgrace to my family."
"Iie, iie. I come from a divorced family as well so I know your pain." She answered.
The woman's head tilted. "That's right, Amerika-jin have a horrible marriage rate don't they?"
If it could, her brow would've twitched in annoyance. 'Nothing like being utterly tactless...' That little reminder didn't do much good against stirring the bad memories of her parents' fighting.
"I guess. Please continue with your story."
"Ah well...kaasan and tousan started getting in fights. It was SO embarrassing to think the neighbors might hear and I always wondered in school who knew of it. Jiisan's age got the better of him during the file for divorce and he made a will giving the shrine to me and niisan." Brown swished. "Like we wanted to run something with us in school. We would've had to make all the decisions, make sure our parents got things sold when we weren't there to oversee, know more knowledge than we wanted about the shrine and its history, not have much in the way of any other lifestyle, and no way to live happily." Kyojaku shrugged and moved to fill their glasses. "Niisan and I talked one week and went over our options. Niisan is much better in numbers than I am and he took stock of what our lives would be like if stuck to the shrine."
"Wait...so why didn't you just give it to your parents?"
Black rolled as if the answer was obvious. "Jiisan didn't want THEM to have it, so we at least gave him that. Selling it was the answer to our problem. Our parents would separate and we would have to do so as well, or go with only one parent. Neither of us wanted to grow up without both - since one of us would miss out on a gender influence. We agreed to stick together and we needed money if we were striking our own path."
"Then why didn't you accept donations the surrounding people offered?"
Kyojaku resumed her spot and smiled over the rim of the cup. "The city paid more."
Her stomach clenched as her shoulder, legs, arms, and jaw tensed. She was quite successful in keeping an even face, but that statement rubbed her the wrong way in extreme. "Sou..." She evenly grit out. "So you sold the shrine while you were still in school?"
"We were nearly finished by the time everything went about. We got enough to buy this house and give niisan some money to start in a university. I took a job to help with that and he graduated a few years ago. He now supports us and we keep the remainder in a bank for just in case."
She slowly nodded, looking to the grip on her teacup. The little loop for fingers was too dainty to withstand and she was afraid of breaking it and arousing attention.
There was a quiet shuffle near the front door in a small lull and Kyojaku stood without excusing herself to get it. She blinked at the sudden exit, feeling rather insulted and irritated at how impolite the girl was. Did her himei think it was okay to act like this just because they were from America? Did Kyojaku think they were ignorant of the customs? It would hopefully explain everything, but it was still no excuse. Japanese were polite to everyone because it would shame them to behave so brashly in front of a gaijin.
Not to mention it was simple, good manners!
A hand lightly pressed against the small of her back and slowly rubbed against tight muscles and ramrod spine. He felt bad for her, but it was kind of hard to not say something to the woman at how she was treating them. His obaasan would've boxed her ears or definitely given a stern lecture on how to behave around others the second she stood without bowing.
"Oi...shitsuke." He murmured. Brown looked up at the voices nearby, before disregarding them and focusing his attention on her. "Kalie is the one in control, remember?"
A finger briefly tapped her head and her shoulders slumped. She nodded slowly, pasting on a small smile as footsteps came their way. As her hioi stepped past the wall, she stood with a small bow in greeting and resisted meeting his eyes. So far Kyojaku sadly stood up to expectations that started building on the phone and she would be more dismayed at finding the only other relative of Souta's to be so horrible.
"Ah, you are the Amerika-jin who imoto talked to, ne?"
She looked up with a fake smile and her response froze. The boy had traces of Souta all over it was astounding. The eyes and hairstyle were quite the same.
It seemed her brain stopped thinking as she stood there until a distinct, subtle nudge at her ankle - quite painful at that - jogged her. "Ah, hai. Himmen Kalie desu." She gave a quick bow and her brow furrowed under the safety of thick bangs at a sound of amusement. She looked up and sat as En made his way to the chair Kyojaku frequented.
The woman saw and didn't look pleased. "Oi niisan, I was sitting there..."
En unbuttoned a western-style business coat and started pulling off his shoulders, not looking guilty in the slightest. "You don't need to sit down. Go get me a glass and some of this tea, will you?" Kyojaku's mouth opened and closed with a small pout before she nodded and headed to the kitchen without a word their way.
He had yet to introduce himself, she noted. Inside, she fumed a little at his treatment of his baby sister - his ONLY sister too! - and the second lack of manners within half an hour. It was no wonder these two didn't want to keep the shrine. From what she could tell they hadn't the spirit, patience, attitude, kindness, courteousness, or religious beliefs involved with such a task.
But the shrine had been done and gone for over ten years and that was over now. She just had to keep reminding herself that and it would take some of the sting away at how much she wanted to yell at Kagome's relatives.
"Ano..." She paused upon having his attention. She couldn't ask him questions without getting introductions out of the way, but her tongue was itching to move. She gave a quick smile and reached for her glass, giving it her concentration.
Kyojaku returned and still En didn't seem in any hurry to give his name, even if they both knew it. She wordlessly poured an extra glass and handed him a cup before taking the pot back to the kitchen for a refill.
He watched the man and it used quite the patience of Buddha to not hurl his cup across the room. His aim was as good as Inuyasha's thanks to the hanyou and he rather badly wanted to beam the man right in the forehead. Or the nose. Perhaps that expensive-looking suit...
En finally rested the glass near his lap and stared at them. They both met his eyes, simultaneously wondering what he was thinking and feeling. At length, a smile appeared as his head tilted almost in curiosity. "You don't speak much for an Amerika-jin."
She jumped. "I...well...you haven't introduced yourself yet. I didn't want to hurry anything until then."
"Heh? Omoishiroii. Imoto told me you spoke fluent Japanese. I find it interesting that you know some customs. So why use English on me?"
"You used it first oniisan." She quietly answered, uneasy with En's gaze. He seemed to be sizing her up, maybe thinking something about her that wasn't true or that she didn't need. She escaped those eyes by taking a drink.
En grinned and mimicked her. He watched Kyojaku return from the kitchen with the pot and pour them a second round before setting it down and heading to a smaller chair off to one side. She silently maneuvered it closer and grabbed her glass.
The atmosphere was overly uncomfortable, but she was NOT going to let it get to her! Mentally steeling herself, telling herself not to back away from this challenge, she sat a little taller and looked En in the eyes.
He brazenly stared back, almost entertained by her actions. They remained that way for a short time before swinging black eyes to Inaki. "You are..."
He blinked. "I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. Ore wa Yamoi Inaki."
"Are you this Amerika-jin's guide? Perhaps a friend she used to know? How did you two meet?"
Although he spoke in Japanese, En answered again in English. He found it kind of odd that the man hadn't bothered with his native tongue yet. Sure a lot of Japanese liked goosing some gaijin with their knowledge - he was sure the feeling was mutual when K talked to those at the stands - but no one bothered in their own home. "I'm Amerika-jin, as you put it, as well. The two of us live in the Florida state there."
"Furorida? Hmm, naruhodo."
The small talk was getting past the point of being funny. Staring at En and watching him talk and act, she suddenly spotted a trait to him that she never fathomed a Higurashi owning.
Power.
The man, for whatever reason, liked having the edge in a situation. It was in the way En sat, the way he stared, the tone of voice, his lack of speaking, and choice of words. His suit looked fairly expensive, and it reminded her of the man she harassed recently. It fit that En was a businessman, probably high up to some degree, but it was pitiful to see it get to his home life.
She was thankful most of the people she came in contact with didn't act this way. Even if Charlie owned Coffee Works, he never threw his weight around. Sure Barb was kind of annoying for her lack of responsibility at the hotel, but she was nicer than En without a doubt.
To think the Higurashi blood declined to this level was another coffin nail to the closing of Kagome's past. Her hioi and himei were so out of touch with Japanese behavior she didn't know if it was possible to connect with them if she even WANTED to. They'd think her a lunatic instead of reincarnation and throw her out over believing her.
With that in mind, she was going to stop this game. If En wanted to have all the power, he was going to be taken aback right now. If he wanted to be rude, then so could she. She did not come to Tokyo to act polite and try to be respectful to have it thrown back in her face!
"Higurashi-san. I would like to ask you about the shrine."
All enjoyment left the man's face to a rather open scowl. "I have nothing to say about that fiasco. You're wasting your time if that's what you came for."
Kyojaku shifted and flapped a hand to get En's attention. "Daijoubu niisan. They're only curious about our side of it." Black looked their way with an almost naïve look. "Ne?"
Let the woman think whatever she wanted. She didn't really care about their side because she knew why from just looking at them. They were born into the wrong family and got out the only way they thought best. Even if it was wrong, they got out...to the expense of a supreme amount of sentimental history.
"Un. I would like your thoughts and feelings about that time." She repeated.
A hand ruffled En's hair as he sighed. Black eyes stared at the floor until he slouched and humphed. "Jiisan wa baka datta."
Almost every muscle clenched. It took every coherent thought telling her not to jump over the coffee table and hit En square in the jaw. Kagome's baby brother didn't deserve this belittling!
Why En was using Japanese now was a surprise, but it seemed he was getting down to business. She was glad, if only to get this over faster and get out of here. It was becoming hard to stomach the pair.
"He really WAS stupid. What possessed him to think we wanted that beat up, old place? Kaasan would've done a better job and she was less in love with it. He stuck around for their disgraceful behavior - where would he go? We all lived crammed in that house and I wanted out. The house needed some serious remodeling, but jiisan forbid it. He kept it the same way it looked since he was a boy and it was so embarrassing. We never knew why he refused to do any changing to the extra room upstairs or even get rid of such old furniture. He seemed to get emotional whenever we asked him and we were forced to stop after a while."
Kagome's old room. A thread of glee stabbed her at the thought of Souta keeping the room exactly as it was for so long. It was such a loving gesture of remembrance, but it was also sad. Souta held onto that room because it was that way before Kagome's death...hanging onto the past like that wasn't good.
"When jiisan ended up in the hospital and we were made aware of his condition, he made a will right then without our consent. We heard he made it with a doctor and nurse as witness while we were asleep one night in the waiting room. Our parents were shocked and tousan was angry. So were we."
Teeth bit the inside of her lip as she pondered asking the one question looming. Curiosity won out and she leaned forward a bit. "How did...Souta-san..."
En lifted the glass to his lips to finish off, but almost refused to meet her eyes. "He was old. His heart gave out. The first attack was a warning. The second was more severe. And the third took him when it passed."
She looked to the cup cradled in her hands. She wanted to feel sorrow, but with such blunt, near uncaring words, it seemed embarrassing to. She would grieve again for them all later.
En leaned forward and poured himself another glass in the silence. He leaned back and watched her, even if her eyes never looked up. "Imoto said you were an old friend of the family. That's impossible." She looked up, mentally cursing his perceptiveness. The mind of a businessman was shrewd indeed.
"I used to live here a long time ago. I knew of the shrine and it was very important to me. I just wanted to come back to see what changed, but I never expected all this."
Black eyes gazed over his glass. "I don't remember seeing such a gaijin around. If your love for the shrine is so much, you would've frequented it. I never heard of a family friend who was gaijin. Who are your parents?"
She almost started sweating. This wasn't supposed to be looked past! The half-lie wasn't that big a deal and anyone wouldn't bother to ask more questions beyond general interest. Even if En was doing that, his manner spoke entirely different. He wasn't as interested as he was suspicious.
"My parents are both Amerika-jin." As she suspected, En showed visible signs of disbelief for her reasons. "I am not worried about them or who they are though. I only wanted to know what happened to the jinja and more than words on paper. I have come for that...and I was hoping you would give me the location of the Higurashi graves as well."
En's brow warily furrowed. "Why?"
"To pay my respects."
The silence was torture as he tried to stare her down, challenge clearly in his eyes. He looked at them both for the longest time, almost taking them in again. They were silent and let En do as he pleased, hoping to appease him by giving him back control of the conversation he appeared to like.
Forever seemed to pass before anyone moved. En leaned forward and quietly put the glass back. He propped chin up with knees and elbows, still eyeing them. "Do as you like. It doesn't matter to me." He stood and turned to Kyojaku. "We're done with the tea. Take it to the kitchen."
The woman stood without a word and waited until their glasses were on the tray before retrieving it. There was no word as she left their sight and it was unsure if it was in anger, sullenness, or not caring.
"If you will follow me."
They stood and ended up at the front door. She was about to protest that she didn't get the address when En turned and walked down the hall. She dumbly blinked at his actions, having never been so thoroughly snubbed in her life. She directed exasperation and confusion at Inaki, but his head only shook in response.
En returned shortly after leaving them at the door, paper in his hands. "You can read kanji I assume?" She nodded and took the outstretched offering. "Then this is all you need to know."
The elder Higurashi moved around them to open the door. She was too taken aback and trying to read the address in his horrible writing to get much useful thought in. She moved to the door with Inaki's hand on her elbow, trying to form words of goodbye or lecture or good luck.
"Jiisan..." They paused at the short sidewalk and she turned to find black staring at the small lawn. "Jiisan was an idiot...but a good man. Be sure you give an appropriate offering when you go."
She smiled and nodded. "Un." She watched as the door shut on them without another word and noticed the double meaning it held. This behavior made her feel more like Kalie with yet another aspect of Kagome's life so horribly put in place. It was getting easier to want to be Kalie if these were the things of Kagome's life.
She fisted the paper and turned around, grabbing Inaki's hand and striding to the public sidewalk and nearest train station.
------------------------------
There was no point in drawing it out since this would be the last thing needed to do. The day was almost over and she wanted to at least see everything before the sun was gone.
Who knew if the place was still open, but who would deny her a chance to visit if it was necessary? Course, this wasn't like a graveyard in America where they actually had open and close hours - if a family member wanted to visit, they had that right.
She knew of the temple written down; it was old, almost as old as Kagome's used to be. She knew this would still be standing because not only was it a religious place, but the bodies of the dead rested there. As disrespectful as it was to tear down a shrine or temple, no one would dare move the deceased and have their ghosts come back to haunt everyone.
The area was the same as every other prefecture she was in so far. She took in the buildings as they headed up the block. She walked slowly, not in the mood to hurry and not ready to see just yet. Foreboding of what she already knew from Kagome's memories pricked her mind and made her anxious. Of course this wasn't a good idea - what moron would WANT to do this?? It always brought horrible emotions and painful memories, but she reminded herself again this wasn't her life; she was merely doing this for Kagome's sake.
She spied a small look at Inaki and found him looking around almost in curious recognition. She wondered at that, if Inuyasha frequented this place - that was kind of odd, since all he ever went was to Kagome's shrine.
There were no doors to the old temple. Everything was as open as it could possibly be with only walls holding it up. They passed under a torii and she smiled at the peaceful atmosphere of the place. The cold of winter and the compilation of recent snowfall made it even more beautiful with white sprinkling everything. She took it in and serenity captured her. It helped offset the unease in her soul and just like Kagome purifying the shikon, washed away the bad to be replaced with good.
She turned to Inaki and found his back to her. She blinked and sidled up to him, leaning against an arm. She peeked at what he was looking at and blinked.
Just to the right, barely just beyond the open engawa, was a relatively short stone. It looked like a kasuga toro and it was lit. There were a few of them down a somewhat narrow pathway. She stared for a bit, almost confused and entranced at once, before edging to them.
A hand absently touched one as brown stared ahead. More lit the way, almost beckoningly so, and she had an inkling where they led to. Sure there were a few other such lamps around to help those after dark, but these were put for a specific purpose. Teeth bit her lip as she took a few steps on the concrete road.
She looked back and found Inaki still staring at the same location, standing in the same spot. She turned with a furrowed brow but he seemed not to see her. He was almost looking past her...or through her at something else or some other incident.
She stopped in front of him and a hand tentatively touched cheek. He jumped as if not knowing she was there, blinking rapidly a few times. "Are you okay?" She queried.
He looked to the temple to avoid her gaze. So much assaulted him at once it hit hard and unrelenting. How could he explain to her that this was the same place? Sure Inuyasha didn't know where he was at the time and it was at night, but the place was stamped in his memories nonetheless. This was the area he made the wish on and where SHE was.
This was going to be as hard for K as it would him. Sure he wasn't Inuyasha anymore than Kalie was Kagome or Kikyou, but Inuyasha's memories were more powerful, whereas Kalie's were more frequent. He didn't have K's problem of finding himself due to his luck in this life and the family he was graced with. It cemented his identity solidly and it was easy to separate himself from the hanyou. Just like K, he had the better life by far compared to his counterpart and that made it easy to ignore some things Inuyasha gave at the merging. But seeing this place brought back a wave of emotion buried somewhere within - from Inuyasha. The hanyou would be confronted with the idea of seeing her marker just as K would have to see the Higurashi's. Being strong for her was going to be a chore with this circulating in his blood.
Brown locked on brown and he pulled her close. He breathed in Kagome's smell and took comfort it gave. The feel of her in his arms, returning his embrace, settled him a little and he waited until it helped further before daring words. He didn't want to appear as out of it as he was because she was going to lean to him in some way in the next few minutes. He wanted to assure her she could find a rock in him for when that happened.
He stared at the walkway to the graveyard somewhere in this area, eyes dull. "Aa. I just became a little overwhelmed for a second. I'm okay now."
Her jaw clenched, but she gave a little nod. The urge to do something to help rose, even if she wanted to be on the receiving end. They would go round and round in the comforter and being comforted on this trip she suddenly realized, both having memories springing forward of their old lives in this city. The changes it went through didn't keep everything away and merely being in this city with its grand history was enough to bring déjà vu.
Time passed as they stood in the middle of exit and entrance. She slowly pulled away first, wanting to get this over with before the shadows didn't allow kanji to be seen. Her hand took his as she slowly led the way. They took a small path almost around the entire temple before the lamps stopped and any stone markers were seen.
The place was pretty packed. There was no grass like in American graveyards and the stones were close together. There were walkways everywhere with small patches of steps to account for the slope. The style of markers was kind of similar as far as height went. Everywhere there was a small area lined with short granite walls, places for offerings inside next to the markers. She assumed the place wouldn't be so crowded-looking if a lot of the lamps were taken out. There was an abundance of kasuga toro almost as much as there were graves. Some of them were lit, apparently by those already here today.
This was going to take a while. She had an address, not a pinpointed location. She took a deep breath of cold air and let it jog her attention before starting at the top.
They walked down narrow rows in baby steps, eyes reading kanji and looking for Kagome's myouji. It was pretty organized symmetrically. One row had markers on one side, pushed to the back of its little granite fence to have room for offerings, with a lamp at the edge for light.
They must've passed half a dozen rows until she spotted the kanji before being right in front of it. It was so recognizable because of its previous use. She halted immediately, body frozen. This was it; they found it...and she didn't know what to do. She stood there, as still as all the granite and concrete surrounding them, barely paying Inaki any mind as he idly walked around to stand in front.
They were relatively small compared to some of the gravestones that stood as tall as they were. Even still, it seemed to fit and she was pleased that the stones rested amongst the others naturally.
It was a family plot apparently. She found it odd that none of Kagome's memories involved visiting this place, since she definitely would've remembered them in dreams. Perhaps her mother thought it wasn't wise to bring such a small child, or they were busy tending to their own shrine, or these others were remembered in a different way that didn't require Syunbun no hi or Bon.
Her legs took a few timid steps closer, reading the names of her jiisan's parents and their ages. They all lived quite long and she was glad they got to experience life. Her eyes took in Kagome's mother's marker and locked on her date of death. She calculated the age and found she walked a little closer to it. Right next to that was Souta's.
Her heart raced as she openly stared. Her feet stumbled a step or two in his direction, suddenly unsure of their position on ground, before she lost the will to stand and landed on her knees. She didn't bother catching herself on anything, even if the blow made her wince. She barely felt anything beyond the shell she seemed to've turned into.
Jiisan, okaasan, Souta...they all lived very long lives. Even the great grandparents were well past fifty before they passed. It seemed Kagome was the one who was different.
A humorless smirk appeared as she stared at the holders for incense and flowers. It was just one more way Kagome was different than the family. Being miko, the ability to time travel, possessing the jewel... Kagome was an extraordinary person, even if she just wanted to be like everyone else.
She absently shifted to a more comfortable position and stared at the family headstones. The ground was cold, even through jeans, but she ignored it for the thoughts springing to mind and turned inward.
'She never wished for anything to be different after returning. Sure Kagome wanted to go home after falling in from the centipede woman's attack, but since then there was no regret. She simply did as necessary...'
Lips pursed as she considered that. Kagome was admirable that way, being so pure in thought and action. The desire to hate, even with a full soul before Kikyou was brought back, wasn't really there. The only thing fully and genuinely hated was Naraku, but there was good reason for that. If Kagome was ever angry or acted like it, mostly it was from Inuyasha and his behavior - or Miroku-sama - or some cruelty from bandits. There was never an unprovoked cause.
A gentle smile appeared as she took in more of the plot, finding more headstones farther down. Sure she was Kagome in an instance, but even if she wasn't, it would be good to act on the girl's principles. She didn't feel guilty in this moment for being reborn a third time; Kagome did live a full life and perhaps she died when fate said so.
That last headstone seemed a little fancier than these and she stood in intrigue. She suddenly spotted Inaki and realized he hadn't moved an inch since she fell. He didn't say a word or do anything when she did and she was bemused at that. She turned; ready to say something, when the look on his face stopped her.
He seemed pained almost. Sadness was in his eyes and his jaw clenched. Brown was fixated on something and she tried to pinpoint it, seeing it was one of the graves, and the breath caught in her throat.
Higurashi Kagome
A harsh swallow bobbed as her throat started closing up. The motivation to stand was becoming another losing battle. Inaki's focus became clear; he was captured by Kagome's headstone. The girl's ashes would be buried in a little hollow area in an urn.
Essentially her ashes.
Her head harshly shook at such a thought. She was morbid enough right now, she didn't need to compound things by thinking that her old body was laying not even ten feet away...burnt to a crisp and stuck in such a claustrophobic spot...
Fists clenched and eyes squeezed shut. 'Shut up! Don't think that way! You're not her - you were never her!' She took a deep breath and stopped in front, kneeling close enough to touch granite. She wondered what kind of urn Kagome's ashes were in. Since this was a little fancier than the rest of the Higurashi stones, did they do the same with the urn? Fingers tiptoed across chiseled kanji, mentally berating herself. That was useless wonderings and didn't matter. What mattered was she was here.
"K - Kagome?" She whispered, reading the date of death. Her throat closed as tears rose. So young, younger than she was even... Such a shame. "Kaetta. I did as you asked and went to see your family, your shrine, and now I'm here. This is the last thing I will do for you. When I leave this city - when I leave Japan - I will be myself." She watched the digits delve into one of the characters, her index following grooves which made up her past name. "Please understand. I know you do because of your forgiving nature. You forgave Kikyou so I know you can forgive me. After this...please leave me in peace and take the rest you deserve."
Hand suddenly gripped shoulder and her head jerked up. She looked into as much of Inaki's face as she could, but she couldn't read his eyes. They were still trained on Kagome's headstone.
She turned and stood, finding irrevocable sorrow and cupped his jaw line, trying to bring him back to reality.
He accepted her kiss, feeling almost like he was betraying someone for kissing his girlfriend. It was Inuyasha's influence mostly, which was absurd because not only was Kalie Kagome's soul, she was also Kikyou. It was redundant to think Inuyasha was cheating when he was kissing both past girlfriends.
Arms wrapped around her and held her, nuzzling her neck and taking comfort in the warmth she gave. He blocked out the sunset for a while, listening to her breathing and feel of heartbeat at a pulse on her neck.
"We should come back." She whispered, looking down the rest of the stones nearby. "We didn't bring anything to offer and I would like to pay my respects properly."
He nodded minutely, finally lifting his head to look at Kagome's kanji. 'Inuyasha...just as K told Kagome, I am going to tell you. Wherever you are in my conscious, it is time for you to rest. I know you're not the type to sit back and watch, but find the remnants of Kagome's soul - whatever fragment of mind is in the next realm - and be with her. I will be with my love; you be with yours.'
He kissed her again as if sealing his words. He didn't want to stop, as the feel of her mouth and the softness of her lips was too nice to let go of, but the chill of night was coming with the receding of the sun. It was time for them to leave for now.
"We'll come back." He agreed, pulling away. He stepped back and extended a hand for her to take, eyeing Kagome's stone again. It hadn't weathered much - or at all - in a hundred years. The lines of chiseled kanji were still as sharp as if the stone was just placed here yesterday. He was glad everything was still visible; he didn't want Kagome's name to be smudged so soon. He hoped it was like this for another hundred years so her resting place would be as beautiful as it was now.
I am a BEGINNER Japanese learner...so if these are not 100 correct...please let me know if you care to do so. I only have a web page to learn from, a dictionary, and a few months experience to work with.
Translations: Himmen Kalie desu-I'm Kalie Himmen Amerika-jin-American (jin relates to 'ese or country affiliation, Nihon-jin-Japanese) Himei-Great neice Myouji-Last name/Family name
Sou-I see Shitsuke-Calm down/quiet down Hioi-Great nephew Imoto-Little sister Omoishiroii-Interesting/Funny/etc Oniisan-Can also mean mister/sir
Ore wa Yamoi Inaki-I'm Inaki Yamoi Naruhodo-(Now) I see Jiisan wa baka datta-Grandfather was an idiot Torii-Tall gateway to a shrine / temple which separates sacred from mundane world
Kasuga toro-Shinto shrine lamps Syunbun no hi-Vernal Equinox Day and respects for ancestors' spirits Bon-Festival in memory of the dead in mid-August