The Tale of the Princess of the Crescent Moon
Epilogue
"Hurry up, Mom! Everyone's waiting for you!"
Hinoki leaned against the door of the well-house, her arms crossed. She casually flipped her long auburn hair out of her eyes and smiled mischievously. "What's the matter, Mom—your age finally catching up with you?"
"Watch your mouth, young lady," came Izayoi's voice from the bottom of the well. There was a rush and a flutter, the sound of a kimono in the wind, as Izayoi leaped upwards from the bottom of the well. She soared gracefully over the lip of the well and landed softly next to her daughter. "I'm going to remind you of that crack, the day that I see the first wrinkle or gray hair on you," Izayoi said as she straightened her kimono and adusted the swords at her belt. "Wait a minute," she said, reaching for Hinoki's tail, "Why...I think I do see a gray hair...right here..."
"Mo-THER!" laughed Hinoki, slapping playfully at Izayoi's hand. "C'mon! The party's probably already started."
They left the well-house and headed across the vast temple courtyard. They were barely halfway across when they were met by a stately, kind-faced matron in a gray hakama, and a young girl with long black hair, in a school uniform. The little girl ran headlong towards Izayoi and smothered her with a huge bear hug.
"Mommy!" the little girl squealed happily. "I missed you so much! We've all been waiting for you!" She waved merrily to Hinoki. "Hiya, sis!" Then she tugged at Izayoi's kimono, her golden eyes shining with pride. "I got another A yesterday—wanna see my test?"
"Of course I do, Kagome-chan," Izayoi said. "I don't think all of my high-school tests combined would equal even one of your A's—I'm very proud of you." She took her daughter's hand and continued across the courtyard. "So," Izayoi said, turning to the older woman, "I hope she hasn't been any trouble, Aunt Haruko?"
"None at all," said Aunt Haruko, playfully mussing little Kagome's hair. "She's a perfect angel. Not like some I could mention," she said, looking meaningfully towards Hinoki. "Honestly, though, things just haven't been the same since Hinoki graduated and went back to the past...thank goodness," she laughed heartily. "I was chasing boys off the temple grounds all hours of the day and night."
"Oh really," said Izayoi, raising an eyebrow. "I never heard about any of this."
"There's a lot you never heard about, Mom," laughed Hinoki, twitching her tail haughtily. "Or that you'll ever hear about...right?" She looked significantly at little Kagome, who giggled and made a "my lips are zippered shut" motion.
"Well, at least I won't have to worry about that sort of thing with my dear little Kagome," Aunt Haruko said, with obvious pride.
"Of course not, Auntie Haruko," little Kagome piped cheerily. Then she whispered conspiratorially to Hinoki, "I learned a lot from your mistakes."
"It won't be long now before we'll be sending more of your little ones to school, will it?" said Aunt Haruko.
"Not long at all...Hyoko next fall, then the twins, and Midori a year after that," said Izayoi. "Although we may want to wait another year with Hyoko. He's still not very good at shape changing, and I'd like to see him improve before we turn him loose on the world. I had enough problems in school with my ears—I don't know what kind of trouble he'll get into with a tail. If he's anything like his father...and he is," she laughed, "he'll get into plenty of trouble on his own."
"Oh, I don't know," said Hinoki, swishing her tail suggestively. "It was never that big a problem for me."
"Hel-LO-oh, Hyoko's a BO-oy," sang out little Kagome. "He won't be using his tail to convince other boys to carry his books for him."
"And you use that tail of yours too much, young lady," said Aunt Haruko. "You're going to get yourself in trouble if you're not careful."
"Don't worry, Aunt Haruko," laughed Hinoki. "The only boy who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer got a lap full of fox fire—and it was the best thing that could have happened to him. The girls tell me that he's become quite the perfect gentleman."
"Mom—how come Hana doesn't have to go to school like Hinoki and I did?" asked little Kagome.
Izayoi ruffled the child's hair fondly, and said "I promised your Grandma Kagome that the children who could go through the well by themselves would go to school; but Hana can't, so she stays in our time. But she works as hard as you do, and maybe harder, because I'm her teacher." Izayoi knelt down, looked her daughter squarely in the eye, and asked coolly, "You know what sort of lessons I give Hana—would you rather have those, or go to school like you do now?"
Without a second's hesisation, little Kagome sang out cheerily, "I love school, I love school, school is fun, I love school!" and she danced merrily around her mother.
"I thought so," said Izayoi, smiling wisely. She rose and turned to Haruko, and said, "You've been so kind to take such care of my children like this, to help them through their schooling—are you sure that it isn't an imposition?"
Haruko shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing. It's my pleasure. This temple belongs to you as much as it does to me, and it's home for your little ones the same way it's home for mine. Besides, it's what Papa would have wanted. Papa loved you as much as he loved us, and he dearly loved little Hinoki. She was so cute when she was little!" She laughed merrily, and gave Hinoki a hug (much to Hinoki's visible embarassment). "I remember how happy she made Papa...sitting on his lap, climbing onto his shoulder, trying out her little fox magic. He loved her as much as any of his own grandchildren, and she brought him such joy in his last years. And you were always such a good big sister to my brothers and me...and I knew that you didn't really want to be bothered with little kids like us, but you took care of us anyway. And it was you who helped me find the courage to follow my dream, and become the temple priest." Haruko sighed heavily. "Papa was so proud the day he handed the temple over to me. He was so very proud..." She sighed again; but then she shook off her gloom, and smiled, and said, "And besides...this old courtyard can be so cold and empty; it really isn't complete without the voices of children."
Their passage across the courtyard brought them to the foot of the Goshinboku. As always, Izayoi stopped before the family shrine. The names of Izayoi's grandmother and grandfather Higurashi, and of her own mother and father, had already begun fading slightly with the passing of years; the names of Souta and his wife Hitomi were still crisp and dark, carved in sharp relief on the gray granite shrine.
Izayoi smiled warmly as she touched the trunk of the great tree, and she looked lovingly into its spreading branches. She turned to Aunt Haruko, who was standing next to the shrine, staring sadly at the names. "Haruko-chan...you really miss Uncle Souta and Aunt Hitomi, don't you?"
"Yes...I miss them very much," she said, sighing. "I had just come to peace with Mama's passing, and then Papa left us...I know that it was his wish to have his ashes scattered here, with your mother's, and with his mother's and father's, and with my mother's," she said sadly, "But somehow, that just makes it worse, having them right here, so close...but so far away." She paused a moment, then said softly, "You know, you may think I'm crazy...but sometimes I think I can hear his voice coming from the leaves, when the wind is blowing."
Izayoi placed her arm gently around Haruko's shoulders, and looked deeply into her eyes. "You're not crazy," she said quietly. "It's the Higurashi gift—to see beyond the veil of the physical world. Uncle Souta's and Aunt Hitomi's spirits are here right now, watching over you and your children, the same way my mother and dad are together, watching over me and my children...and Grandma and Grandpa Higurashi watch over us all." Izayoi gently led Haruko up to the trunk of the tree and, taking Haruko's hand in her own, she laid Haruko's palm against the trunk. "Listen to the song in the wind, and the song in your heart...and you'll know that it's true."
The women stood in silence together for a few moments; and the leaves of the Goshinboku rustled in an unfelt breeze, the soft shimmering sounds of the leaves speaking gentle words to the stillness of their hearts. With a deep sigh, Haruko stepped back; a beautiful smile lit her face, and tears of joy leaked quietly from her eyes. "Yes, Iza-chan...yes. I can hear them clearly now...and everything is going to be just fine." Haruko threw her arms around Izayoi, and said, "Thank you...thank you so very much." The two girls, Hinoki and Kagome, joined their mother, embracing and comforting their aunt Haruko; and after a few moments, Haruko straightened up, dried her eyes, and said merrily, "Well! This is hardly what Iza-chan came all this way to do...let's get to the party!"
"Hooray!" shouted little Kagome, and she took her Aunt Haruko by the hand and skipped merrily off towards the house. Izayoi smiled and followed them...after turning to the Goshinboku and saying quietly, "Thanks, Mom...and I love you too."
"Happy birthday, Grandma Izayoi!" all the children shouted when Izayoi arrived at the family home.
"How many times have I told you little brats not to call me that?" growled Izayoi, shaking her fist and glowering in mock rage. "Do you know how many people I've killed for calling me that?"
"Happy birthday, AUNTIE Izayoi!" said Haruko, smiling broadly, and the children chimed in again, "Happy birthday!"
"That's better," groused Izayoi. "I'll let you all live another year...but that was my last warning!"
"Happy birthday, Mom!" said Hinoki and Kagome, as they brought out trays piled high with sweets.
It was a lovely party. Everyone had more than they could possibly eat, and Haruko's children (some of whom had been studying calligraphy with Izayoi) presented her with a lovely scroll that read "We love you, Auntie Izayoi," which everyone, even the smallest children, had signed. Finally, Haruko brought out a very large package that had been elaborately sealed with a wide ribbon, across which was written in large letters, "For Izayoi on her 100th birthday." Below the large inscription was written a small note: a smiling face and the words "No peeking!" in Nakamura-sensei's neat script.
"This arrived for you, not too long after you moved out and returned to the past," said Haruko. "There were strict instructions with it that we should keep it secret until today. Your mom and dad left it to my father, and he left it to me...and now, here it is, for you at last. Happy birthday!"
Izayoi unsealed the package, and from it she withdrew a very large and heavy book; she opened it and began leafing through it. On each left page was affixed a fragment of an ancient scroll, and on each right page, Nakamura-sensei—always the consummate teacher—had written a translation and commentary, explaining the ancient script and the paintings on the preceding page. The scroll fragments were very old and in quite poor shape, and the book had clearly been made to preserve them as well as to explain them; and everything had been done with the same exquisite care with which Nakamura-sensei did everything.
Izayoi read through the book in silence; when she reached its end, she pushed herself back from the table. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry," she said, chuckling dryly. "That old...he knew everything. He knew everything, all along." Without saying another word she rose and walked to the window, and in silence she looked out onto the courtyard, from time to time rubbing her eyes on her sleeve.
"Iza-chan," said Haruko. "What's wrong?"
Izayoi said nothing. Hinoki walked to her mother's chair, picked up the book, and quickly skimmed several of the pages; then she turned the book around and began showing it, page by page, to the others.
On the scroll fragment affixed to the first page was a picture of the Inu no Taisho, Inuyasha's great youkai father. Underneath that were two smaller figures: a white-haired hanyou with a huge sword, and a long-haired miko drawing a bow. And underneath the two of them was another large and fearsome dog, its mouth open in a horrible roar; and next to it was a small brown figure, hurling balls of blue flame. Hinoki read from Nakamura-sensei's summary:
"The scroll shows the Inu no Taisho, greatest of all the dog youkai to ever walk the earth. Like his father, his hanyou son took a human to wife. But the child of this union was heir to power beyond that of her parents, or even of her mighty grandfather. So great was her strength and valor that the leaders of the dog clan came to her, and begged her to take her grandfather's place and return their clan to greatness, calling her Inu no Hime, the Princess of the Dogs. But she refused them, saying that the only mastery she wished was the mastery of her own destiny. She had no desire for power, or majesty, or dominion; but she willingly lent her strength to aid the weak, the lost, and the oppressed. So mighty were her deeds that she became known across the land as Izayoi the Great, the Protector of the Weak, and the Princess of the Crescent Moon, after the sign of the moon that was the sigil of her grandfather's house; but all who truly knew her simply called her by name. And she and her fox-youkai companion fought many great battles, and together they rid the land of evils beyond number."
Hinoki quickly leafed through several more pages, which depicted Izayoi in tremendous battles, wielding great swords of power, a bow with flaming arrows, or golden fire that flowed from her claws. Beside her was always painted a small figure: a valiant fox youkai, his magical weapons brightly ablaze with blue fox fire; his deeds less mighty than hers, perhaps, but no less brave, and there was no depiction of Izayoi that did not also show him fighting at her side. But Hinoki stopped at a very different picture: a regal Izayoi in a red kimono standing next to a proud and noble fox youkai in a cheery blue and yellow vest; but now, their swords were sheathed. In this picture, they were not on a battlefield, dealing death to legions of youkai, but were standing in a beautiful garden on a hill, overlooking a peaceful stream. They were surrounded by happy children, all of whom had long hair, some fox-tawny, some white; some had canine ears, some had fox tails, and some had both. One child, who was holding the smallest child in her arms like a doll, was human to all outward appearances, and was the only one with black hair; but the gold of her eyes had apparently so impressed the scroll's creator that he had depicted them with real gold foil, which shone warmly out of the image's fading colors.
"Hey...that's me!" said little Kagome, tugging at Aunt Haruko's sleeve and pointing excitedly.
Hinoki continued: "And when all the land had been purified of many great evils, they left the fields of battle and dwelt in the Valley of the Shrine of the Sword; and the sweet sounds of children's laughter rang throughout that blessed land."
Hinoki turned a few more pages, then stopped. "The last page is damaged," she said quietly, "the notes say that it is illegible, and that the end of the story is unknown." There was a small piece of folded paper resting between the pages; it was a note, addressed to Izayoi. "Mom...I think this is for you...Mom?"
Izayoi returned from the window by which she had been standing, her expression still dark and unreadable. She opened the note, and read it silently; then she laughed. "It's OK...everything's OK," she said happily, carefully refolding the note and stuffing it into her kimono. "Haruko-chan, this has been just a lovely party, and I thank you so very much for it...but I'm afraid we have to go. I need to get the girls back to my time. Hinoki's going to be in charge of the kids, so their father and I can get away and have a little celebration on our own." Izayoi held out her arms, and Kagome and Hinoki each took one of her hands. "Go ahead and keep the big book for a while. You've been so good to keep it this long—you deserve a chance to enjoy it. Let the kids look through it—carefully," she said sternly but with a smile. "I've got everything I need from it, for the moment."
Haruko and her children saw Izayoi and the girls off at the well-house, waving and cheering as Izayoi and her daughters jumped into the well. And as she sailed through the time stream on the way back to the past, Izayoi laughed to herself as she remembered Nakamura-sensei's note:
"Please forgive an old man's love of the theatrical, but it is quite true: the scroll was indeed damaged, and I do not know the end of the story. But then again, nor should you, as is only fitting: for who could enjoy a story as it unfolds, if they already know the ending? But I am sure that for you, and 'him,' and your beautiful children...the story is only beginning. Live well, my dear daughter. Your teacher and friend, Isao Nakamura."
And it was just as Nakamura-sensei had forseen, so many years ago: that the scrolls had told only the beginning of the story; and the adventures of Izayoi, Shippou, and their children went on, and on, and on; and if anyone could be said to do so, they did indeed live happily ever after.
But then again: that, as they say, is another story.