Ten Suns

Kagome sighed and wiped her brow, aware of the unbearable heat in the Sengoku Jidai. The bright sun hanging high in the sky seemed content with baking the pitiful earth beneath its spiky sunbeams.

"It's very hot," Kagome said idly, though it was unnecessary for her to say such words for their group was certainly feeling the effects of the sun's bright rays. Sweat rolled down Kagome's face.

Nestled beneath the shade of a tree Shippou and Kirara panted, trying to find some relief. Shippou didn't respond to Kagome's words, as he was often opt to do, and instead removed his haori and exposed his tiny kitsune chest to the baking sun.

Miroku nodded his head lightly at Kagome's words as he dipped his feet into the river, giving Sango an admiring look as the woman rolled up her own kimono, exposing her toned legs. She gave him a warning, sideways glance but said nothing to the monk's approving stare.

Inuyasha sat, lounging in the boughs of a tree. He snorted. "It's not so bad. You're all just complaining for the sake of complaining."

Kagome gave him a suspicious look. Through the thick branches of the tall oak Kagome could see Inuyasha panting and beads of sweat dancing across his face. He wasn't wearing his haori, either, and it was draped limply over his slightly bent knees.

Kagome didn't point out the hypocrisy of Inuyasha's statement and instead contented herself with rolling her bike into the shade and sitting down beneath where Inuyasha sat in the trees. The group was trying to recover from the unbearable heat and it was obvious that they wouldn't be doing much traveling that day, much to Inuyasha's great distaste.

But sitting near the quaint little stream was truly refreshing, Kagome mused silently as she watched Miroku splash water at the unsuspecting Sango, only to receive a half-hearted swing of a woman's fist. Everyone in the group could forget about all the troubling circumstances of reality and bask in a childlike innocence for one afternoon.

"It hasn't been this hot for a long while," Kagome remarked to Inuyasha, not truly expecting the hanyou to respond to her words. She heard a small snort in response, proving that he was at least listening to her words. "Usually I don't mind the heat, but it's been unbearably hot lately. It's unusual for this time of year, don't you think?"

"Keh," Inuyasha responded in a disgruntled tone. Kagome rolled her eyes heavenwards, catching a glimpse of Inuyasha's red hakama.

"Reminds me of a story Mama used to tell me," Kagome hummed, wondering if she could catch Inuyasha's interest. Occasionally he listened to her stories and she always liked it when he did so.

"Huh," Inuyasha grunted. That was good enough for Kagome. She continued.

"There's a legend that on Earth there were ten suns in the sky," Kagome said gently, wiping the sweat from her brow and frowning thoughtfully. Her blue eyes shimmered in the burning sunlight of the summer day. "The villagers were dying from the heat and their crops would not grow. They were dying left and right and they wanted salvation. They could not stand to live in such unbearable heat and they knew that everything on Earth would die if something was not done."

She paused and glanced upwards. She caught a hint of golden eyes and knew that Inuyasha was truly listening now. She licked her dry lips and felt a bead of sweat roll down her back. She settled comfortably in the grass and closed her eyes thoughtfully.

"They prayed for rescue. They asked the Gods to please spare their mortal lives and deliver to them some kind of escape from the painful heat. They prayed that, somehow, they could survive the painful sunlight." She opened her eyes and watched Sango and Miroku in the stream beyond her. "Then, one day a warrior came. He was strong and powerful. He was sent by the Gods to deliver what the villagers wanted most. At first, the villagers were confused as to what a young warrior could possibly do for their village. But then, he brandished his bow and arrows and proclaimed that he would save them from their terrible deaths. With that, he took his arrows and shot down nine of the suns until only one remained."

Kagome paused in her tale and stared upwards at Inuyasha. She knew the hanyou was listening.

"He saved them all and soon the crops began to grow and water flowed in the riverbeds. The villagers were so incredibly thankful for the warrior, but the man didn't stay for any payment or celebration. Instead, he simply moved on and was never seen again."

Kagome smiled and laughed quietly. She closed her eyes and felt the warm summer breeze caress her cheeks.

"He saved them all because he dared to shoot down something in the sky. Something so far away, yet he still managed to reach it. I think that's amazing." Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "But it's just a myth. Mama likes it, too. She used to tell it to me on hot summer nights when I couldn't sleep well. I still love that story. She tells it better."

She opened her eyes again and wasn't very surprised to see Inuyasha sitting right next to her. She hadn't heard him drop but she'd grown used to his sudden appearances and disappearances. She smiled in greeting to him but he didn't say anything. He watched the sky for the longest time, his golden eyes reflecting the powerful sunlight.

Inuyasha was silent for the longest time.

"It's very hot," Kagome repeated when she saw Inuyasha was looking towards the West, where the sun hung limply in the sky, beating down on the dry earth mercilessly. "It will cool down soon, I hope."

He didn't respond right away. Slowly, he swiveled his head around, his golden eyes watching her dimly. She smiled at him nervously, unsure what it was that was going through the hanyou's mind.

"I'd shoot the sun down for you, Kagome," he said gently and Kagome couldn't help but laugh quietly. He frowned thoughtfully at her laughter and she shook her head.

"I know you would, Inuyasha. Thank you."