A/N: Roku here! Well, here is Chapter 3. I hope you all enjoy this. I have been working very hard, so please read and review. Next chapter is when I start getting into the real plot of my fiction: Roku's tale. That is what this story is about. So please, read my hard work and enjoy. Thank you, readers, for without you there would be no reason for me to write. Thankyou. Note the descriptions about Roku and the dialogue she has. They are clues to future events, so make sure to take note of them.
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Chapter 3...
The early morning light came down in waves through the trees. The early morning cool of spring set a gentle dew upon all there was. The sun was rising steadily in the east, and a new day was dawning as birds chirped their cheerful springtime songs. Songs of new life and new beginnings.
Inside the house, everyone was still sound asleep. It was still quite early, and even Inuyasha was still sleeping soundly. However, Kirara, who had just opened her eyes, stood up, stretched in a very cat-like way, extending her claws and reaching her arms. She hopped over the sleeping gang, quiet as a mouse. However, it could not evade the eyes of Shippo, who too, was awakened by the light of the new day.
"Huh?" he whispered, as he saw Kirara hopping away "I wonder where she's going. Kirara, Kiara! Where are you going?" Shippo bounced up, and hopped over the sleeping people underneath, with a slurred "Oof...oh Sango, you know I like that...yeahhmmbsmb..." from Miroku (¬.¬ )
As Shippo approached the door, he creaked in open quietly and peered out. "Kirara? Kirara, where are you?" He whispered into the morning light.
There she was! Right in front of him! She was trotting with her two tails in the air, to a grove of trees a small distance ahead of her. Shippo looked out into the trees and saw something very out of place. White? How could there be white in spring?
Then he remembered about Roku, and clearly that was the target of Kirara. The sun was visible over the hills in the distance now, a very beautiful view indeed.
Kirara walked right up to Roku, and mewed quietly. Roku smiled warmly at her, and Kirara did not even growl.
Shippo watched as Kirara climbed on Roku's back, and onto her head, resting on her small tuft of hair, and together they watched the sunrise. Roku's large ears flopped in the wind, and all was peaceful.
"Since Kirara went to her..." Shippo thought "She must have a kind heart."
Shippo ventured back inside, where now Kagome was awakened. She yawned, and then stretched. "Hey Shippo..." she said kindly, a bit groggy, yawning again "Good morning!"
"Good morning, Kagome!" he replied happily
"Good morning!" Sango spoke up, as Miroku and Inuyasha began to awaken next. They all stretched, yawned, and began to prepare for the new day. Kaede prepared them some bread and tea for breakfast, and soon after their light meal it was time to decide of the fate of Roku.
"I think she should come with us." Kagome said "She seems kind hearted. I know she'll be a good companion."
"Me too!" Shippo agreed "I know she's good, cause Kirara went to her. Kirara knows best!"
Sango pondered for a time too, rubbing her chin "Shippo's right. Kirara knows a kind heart when she sees one, and I believe Kagome regardless. So I think my vote is yes."
"I say yes too," said Miroku "If Roku really planned to do wrong to us, she would have before. I mean, when she 'attacked' Kagome, she was merely intimidating her. I think she should join us."
And as usual, ever, someone in the group opposed to every single idea thrown out.
"We can't keep an eye on some mangy wolf!" Inuyasha barked "She's injured, she's weak, and she'll slow us down. I don't trust her."
But then again, Inuyasha didn't trust anyone, exception of his friends.
"But Inuyasha..." Miroku tried
'We don't know anything about her! What if she turns on us when we least expect it? You never know. Naraku could have sent her. Or even she could do enough harm on her own. One thing is certain, and we can't afford to lose what we have now if we're ever gonna get that jewel back together."
'But Inuyasha, we can't just leave her all alone." she pleaded "I know there is good in her! Please, Inuyasha! Trust me!"
Inuyasha bit his lip at that. Although he didn't show it, deep down he trusted Kagome more than anyone else. If Kagome believed it, Inuyasha could think of no reason to think otherwise. Kagome never knew how much Inuyasha placed his trust in her, how much he believed in her. But he never showed any waver. He simply sighed, in an annoyed way.
"Fine. We'll try it. But we can't lag. And one wrong move and she's gone. That's it. I don't trust her, and I have a good reason. Now we have to get going, we still have a chance at finding another shard in the area we found Roku."
Kagome smiled and inside thought "Thank you, Inuyasha."
Sure, he could be difficult, but nonetheless, Kagome knew he couldn't leave an injured creature behind, even if there was no trust. He always acted like a tough guy, but deep down he was a soft slush puppy. As the rest of the group ventured out the door, Kagome gathered the supplies and placed them into her oversized yellow backpack and then joined her friends under the new day's sun. Not a cloud was in the sky, and it was a perfect day to travel.
Kagome walked up to Roku, who was laying as she had all night, in the same place, not moving. She seemed exhausted.
"Hey," she said as Roku looked up to her, her tuft of hair and large ears looking cuter than ever. "We all decided we would be happy to have you join us."
Roku smiled "Really? Thank you, thank you so much!" She hopped up, wincing a little with pain. Inuyasha yelled back at her.
"But you don't slow us down! If you lag behind, we're leaving you, got it?"
Roku sighed a little, and if Kagome hadn't known better, she could have sworn there was a flash of sadness in Roku's eyes. But it was gone, and Roku looked up, a little less cheerful than before.
"I promise. I won't slow you down. You can count on me."
Inuyasha looked a little more convinced, and softened his expression to Roku. He really wasn't being mean...just his usual stubborn self. He was always like this, Kagome had said. She couldn't be closer to the truth. Roku looked down, with the same look in her face as if she was remembering something, but it was quickly gone as well when Miroku raised his voice.
"I'm sorry to push you, Kagome, but we'd better move out now. The day's going to be quite hot (mmm, yes...) and we'd be best off getting as far ahead as possible before the heat of the day."
Agreeing on this arrangement, the group began to travel down the trail, Roku in the back, walking as fast as she could while limping. The day was a jewel, and the trail was perfect, sturdy and free of "traffic" as Kagome liked to call it sometimes, although the others never knew the full meaning of "cars" or "pavement." Whenever she tried to describe a car, the best she could get her friends to picture was a large metal box without a horse that moved by magic. However, the group talked casually, as they made progress pass the forest Roku had been found, but still no signs of any other shards, only traces that have been there. Sango suggested a more northward move, since this was the season most demons went in that direction due to the summer heat. Even Inuyasha was in good spirits, despite his nerved glances at Roku.
She was silent mostly, not making a sound, only observing the group in front of her, Inuyasha in particular, and trying her best to deliberately stay out of everyone's way. Inuyasha tried to ignore her. For one thing, she had almost "killed" Kagome, and that was enough reason to ignore her. HIS Kagome, the Kagome he protected with his life. Even though Roku had no plan to hurt Kagome or Shippo, Inuyasha could not shake off that feeling he felt when he saw the monster about to attack Kagome. He remembered the feeling of his heart jumping into his throat, of how with no second thought, leaped into the action. Inuyasha despised any feelings that Kagome was threatened. As usual, he never showed it, as it was his duty to protect his friends, but deep down, whenever Kagome was in danger, he was terrified beyond any conception of fear or anxiety. Kagome was his world. Someday, somehow, he would reveal his feelings. But this was not the time or place to discuss this issue, at the very least, for there were more important things on the agenda.
When it was time to stop for a mid day lunch, Shippo located a nice patch of field by an old farmer's house. It was pleasant with a breathtaking view of the mountainous vallies of the northern lands, and along with the unusually nice weather and lack of flesh eating demons, life was actually enjoyable for once. Kagome had packed a delicious meal, and prepared it. Ramen noodles, with some vegetables and thin bread from the village made an excellent meal. The group sat in their usual circle, Inuyasha gobbling with his chopsticks as he always did, and finishing in 5 minutes as he always did, and eating the leftovers, as he always did. Which was exactly why Kagome always packed 10 servings when she was only feeding 5.
Out of the corner of her eye, as she ate her steamy noodles, she noticed Roku was alone on a hill crest beneath a tree. Why was she all alone? Kagome was sure Inuyasha had something to do with it. And she wasn't to far off either.
Throughout the day a glaring look of "You-come-near-her-and-you-die" had obviously taught Roku to stay away. And it really never mattered; she would have not ventured close regardless.
Kagome wished to make Roku feel welcome, but she knew it was useless. She felt unwelcome, despite she was traveling with them, and until she really proved herself otherwise, no one would ever believe her. But Roku did not seem in any pain, so Kagome kept her distance, as everyone else. But Kagome could not deny what she saw in Roku.
"She seems so...sad." she thought "Something must have happened to her really bad a long time ago. But then again, almost everyone you meet during these times have tears staining their hearts." Kagome wanted to talk to Roku, but decided to better wait for that.
"Wow, Kagome! These noodles are really tasty! I love it when you bring us food from home. It's the best!" Shippo smiled. He turned around as a breeze started to flutter, noticing a butterfly of many colors. He followed it's shimmering wings until his eyes came to another sight. Roku, all alone. Shippo had actually forgotten about her there. She was so quiet, one never really noticed her whatsoever. She hadn't gotten to eat, and it was really better this distance was between them, but Shippo couldn't get the sadness out of his heart Roku wouldn't get to enjoy the food as they had. It just didn't seem fair, since she was part of the group just as much as Miroku or Kirara. He tried to rub it off, and then, noticing a bowl of food Inuyasha had ignored, he picked it up and trotted over to the lonely Roku on the hill crest. He eagerly perked up his voice.
"Hey there, you should really try some of this. Kagome made it. It's delicious, despite what you might hear from Inuyasha. He just doesn't like vegetables that much."
Roku turned around, the same look of remembrance in her eyes. She grinned at the young kitsune.
"Thanks...I appreciate it." Roku sniffed the bowl, began to lap, but immediately jumped back with a highly pronounced "YIIIPPPP!"
Shippo and Roku laughed out loud, as Roku fanned her tongue with her paws.
"Oops! Sorry about that! Forgot to tell you it was hot...just blow on it, like this..." Shippo explained, demonstrating a technique to waft the steam from the noodles "Then you just eat the noodles, and drink the water stuff."
Roku tried again, this time successful, and ate moderately. But she enjoyed it, and when she was done, licked her lips now soaked with ramen broth.
"That was...delicious! I never had anything like that before." Roku smiled
"Really? You've got no idea what you're missing! Ramen is the best thing Kagome's ever given us from her time, even more than chocolate!"
"Ra...men?" Roku said as she titled her head "Choc...o...late?"
"Yeah," Shippo explained "You see, Kagome has different foods in her time than here. So it's great to have something different. It's tasty too, and doesn't take that long. Ramen is what you ate. And there are all kinds of tasty noodles Kagome brings us! Of course, my favorite..."
Wolffox and Kitsune chatted on the hill, breaking the first ice between the stranger and her new group of friends. Roku still seemed a little shy though, but Kagome, Miroku, and Sango watched from afar as Shippo opened the "first barriers" of a new friendship.
"Seems like Shippo got her to talk. I'm impressed." said Miroku
"He's not shy. Guess he doesn't understand the boundaries between us. But you know, I kind of wish we could have talked more, but I just didn't know what to say." replied Sango
"I know...he's gotten her to talk more than all of us put together." Kagome chuckled "I guess he can use that Kitsune charm to help us out!"
"At least he does something useful..." Inuyasha said sarcastically "But that don't mean we welcome her with open arms."
The group sighed. Stubborn, oy. As the group watched the communication session in the distance, they couldn't help but smile as Roku's head titled with each new statement Shippo made.
"And I think...what was it again? Oh yeah, Macaroni and Cheese...now that's a great food Kagome's got!"
"Mac...a...ra...roni?"
"Yeah, kinda like ramen only this shape..." Shippo said, flexing his finger into an elbow shape.
"Cheeeeeeesssse?"
"You never had cheese? Boy, you've got a lot to learn. It's like...well...kind of like milk, only hundreds of times better, and you can melt it too. It's really good on anything, especially bread and meat."
"Choco...lateie?"
"Oh yeah, that's like a um...sweet brick that you eat. It's really tasty, but it sometimes makes your teeth all funny and you have to wash them with a brush. But that's okay."
Roku saw something sticking out of Shippo's pocket, and pointing to it said "Choco...late? Is that Choco...late?"
Shippo laughed out loud "No no no! That's not chocolate! That's taffy candy. It's really chewy and stretchy. Kagome gave me this, too. I keep it in my secret stash so Inuyasha can't get it. But I'll let you try some. Here!" He smiled, holding up a piece of purple taffy, which Roku took in her jaws gently and began to chew.
What a sight that was! Roku looked confused as she chewed and chewed, the taffy stretching on her paws as she touched her mouth, between her teeth and toungue. It took her a while to figure out how to get it all in her mouth, and still chew it up enough to swallow. Shippo laughed the whole time, explaining how one time he wanted to put some in Inuyasha's hair but thought better of it.
"Tastes good huh?" Shippo asked
"Like apples, only...like a berry."
"Yeah, that's the flavor."
"But how can they fit an apple into that?"
"It's flavored!"
"But I don't see any apples."
"They make it taste that way. There's no apples, they put it in and mix it up."
"I never ate an apple like that before..." Roku smiled
Soon, it was time to leave again. "Hey you guys, it's time to get going!" Kagome called out, and before long, they were on the move again. This time, Shippo and Roku walked together, not speaking but simply keeping each other company.
Sango was in the back of the group as well, interested in Roku as she watched her closely. Roku was silent again, but she seemed to have less of a limp, meaning she was recovering slowly. As they trotted along, Roku tripped and fell down, and immediately out of instinct, Sango helped her up. It was then for the first time she noticed a long scar stretching across Roku's muzzle diagonally beneath her eyes. Her white tuft had been covering as well as her face fur. It was a very deep, nasty looking battle wound. But her attention was altered back to her side. The large wound was bleeding through the bandages, and Sango almost swore that it was not as nearly bad when they had first found Roku.
"Dammit..." Roku cursed to herself "It just won't heal..."
"Hey, how'd you get that anyway?" Sango questioned
Roku's eyes looked down, an then away "It's an old complaint...that acts out now and again."
Sango looked concerned "Old? But it's bleeding right now. I don't understand."
Roku looked at Sango, some pain on her face. "It's poisoned. It will never heal up. It's a curse."
Sango didn't really know what to say. For her whole life she had slayed demons, but never had she actually seen anything like this.
"I'm sorry...is there any way at all?"
"No...it'll heal eventually, but from time to time it opens up again. Almost as if it's got a mind of it's own."
Sango would be sure to ask Kagome to help bandage it again, but she couldn't shake off the idea of a demon with a power to create wounds that would never heal. Even a simple wound could kill...even if it healed up, the wound would re-open again. Sango felt sorry for Roku deeply, and felt a little more trustworthy of her.
"You know, Miroku has a similar wound. His hand is cursed with a wind hole from his grandfather. He has no control over it, except for his beads, which keep it sealed. It's not a wound that can heal on it's own."
Roku pondered for a minute "Wind hole? You say he had it from his grandfather?"
Sango nodded "I feel sorry for him, because he's so afraid it will kill him as it did his father. Even though he can't keep his hands to himself...I wish we could help him. But then again, we all have our issues with Naraku."
"Who is Naraku?" Roku asked questioningly
At that moment, Kagome had hung back a little to talk with Roku as well. Together, she and Sango explained the whole situation of Naraku: the scheme between Inuyasha, Miroku's hand, Sango and Kohaku, and as much information regarding Naraku as possible. He was a malicious, ferocious foe that had to be stopped at any cost.
"I see." said Roku
"What a shame is," Sango said "Is he used to be a mere human, a man named Onigumo."
Roku's eyes looked strangely at Sango at these words "Onigumo, you say?"
"Yeah. He gave his body up to demons, so that is why he is no longer human, if he was even considered human before..."
"He's a traitor. A murderer..." Sango said "He uses the sorrow and fear of people against them. He's as low as anything."
After the long conversation, the group had reached the edge of a mountain ranged, towered by gigantic, majestic pines and conifers. It was an very inspiring sight. Together, the group ventured up a moderate trail, laid with pine needles and fallen leaves. The sunset in the distance was a glowing red hue, and the group decided to set camp in a tree grove halfway up a mountain. And for certain, a good find would lay beyond the mountains, Kagome was sure of it. It was going to be a long trip. But the group was well prepared; they were ready for anything.
When the sun was a mere slim light in the distance, Inuyasha began to help Miroku and Kagome make a fire, and together they made a delicious pasta/rice meal (Rice-A-Roni author sings The San Fransisco Treat!), as Kagome liked to call it, and it was deliciously cheesy. Along with some vegetables and bread, everyone was satisfied. For once Inuyasha actually mentioned how delicious it was, for even he could not deny that in the mountains, it was nice to have good food. Roku ate alone, as usual, and seemed to be off in thought mostly. As the sun was almost gone, and the stars began to appear, everyone settled down around the fire, chatting or just relaxing. Kagome and Inuyasha stayed close, then Shippo, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara, who was pleasantly purring. Until the moment was altered by a guest.
Roku appeared out of nowhere, her footsteps quiet and soft. It was then all of a sudden, and for the first time, she spoke to them as a group.
"I think it's time now I make talk with you." she said
The gang simply looked at her, unbelieving. Her wound was bandaged again, and she stood in the fire light, surrounded by crackling embers. She looked very much like an enigma.
"You want to talk with us?" Inuyasha asked "About what?"
She looked at him, her eyes confident and determined of her decision she was about to make.
"I want to share with you my story. I believe now that you all wish no harm upon me. I do not know you, but I feel that if Inuyasha is with you, I can trust you." Roku looked at them all, her eyes staring off, thinking deeply.
"Your story?" asked Kagome "About yourself?"
Roku looked up as she spoke "I ask you all to listen with open minds to what I have to say, for as this may be my story, it is also of another. And you shall see, and you shall know. For there are many things I have to tell you, so please open your minds to the possibilities."
"We'd be honored if you told us your story." Miroku said, although Inuyasha mumbled annoyed, "Can't even get some sleep...mumble..."
But Roku stared him down. "You'd do yourself a favor by giving up an hours sleep to hear what I have to say. For even though this is my story, it is your story too. I ask you to listen, before it is to late. This is my last chance."
Everyone looked at Roku in a new light. She sat down, took a deep breath. The wind became gentle, the stars came out one by one, and the group of friends lay in a circle around a wolf/fox, the fire crackling it's glowing embers.
And Roku began...70 years ago, on a summer's night...