Stronger than the strongest man, take confidence
Like iron, have determination and resilience
Now all the players have their part
And like a bullet through the heart
We realize that this was meant to be
Determination.
If one word sums it up, it's determination. Miroku's determination to get an heir and lose his Kazanaa, Sango's determination to avenge her family and free Kohaku, Kagome's determination to find the shards and destroy evil.
And Inuyasha's determination to show the world he's more than just a hanyou.
That's what made them legendary.
How is it that a simple fairy tale can survive this long, and cause such national passion? Is it possible that one girl and the man… no, half-demon, who loved her changed the entire course of history?
Their statues are still in the quad of Tokyo University. There's Inuyasha, with his famous Tetsusaiga drawn, ready for battle. There's Miroku, arm extended, the carved hole in his right hand. Sango, giant boomerang thrown back behind her head, like a fierce Valkyrie. Shippo, perched on Kagome's shoulder, and Kagome herself, arrows drawn and hibakama fluttering in an imaginary breeze.
Their stone faces used to mystify me, as I would walk through the square to get to my elementary school. Even though I could have used a hoverboard like my classmates, I chose to walk. There was something about their eyes. Vacant, because they were statues, but somehow living, as if one note from a magic flute, or some of the legendary Shikon no Tama shards would instantly bring them roaring back to life.
Now, at the age of 19, I still pass that sculpture on my way to class every morning, but only a fraction of the magic lingers. Even though I hardly think about it during the day, it creeps me out to see them at night, like their empty stone eyes are following me. But that doesn't matter, really. The only reason I still care about that fairy tale is because of my literature class.
Research a well-known legend, and try to discover what in history lay behind it
That was the assignment. It would have been easier if we were allowed to pick, but the professor seemed to believe his small class had special attachments to every one.
"Houjou-san, I believe you will find the story of Kaguya-hime and Fujisan quite interesting," said Professor Tezuka with a smile, handing a sheet of paper to the quiet Kotoko Houjou, a shy girl with brown hair. She nodded silently and left the room.
Each assignment went just like that, the professor noting a significance to each story for each student. Finally, I was the last one in the class, and waiting patiently for my assignment. I was curious to see what legend Tezuka would tie in to me or my family.
He cleared his throat. "You, Higurashi-san, will receive what may turn out to be more than you expect. I am going to require that you do very in-depth work on your story, and I will fail you if you only use the resources given on the paper." I sighed inwardly. Tezuka seemed to believe I had high potential, and thus pushed me harder than the others. "This legend is the most recent of all that I assigned, only 600 years old," he continued, "but it's significance is as ingrained into our culture as are the stories of Susano-oh and Amaterasu." He turned to me, beaming. "Izayoi Higurashi, I am assigning you the legend of the Shikon No Tama."
Wonderful.
Naturally, the first stop was the library, to find the books on the list Tezuka had given me. There were several thick books stacked on my table by the time I completed the list. Frowning a bit, and scratching my chin, I decided to do some extra research, just so Tezuka wouldn't fail me. I found some less-scholarly books, and a book of ukiyo-e paintings from various folk tales.
The ukiyo-e book was the most interesting, truth be told. The drawing were all ancient, but surprisingly, they all seemed to be taken from the same image. The colors, faces, and enemies were consistent, across time period and artist.
Must be because the statue in the quad was made first, I mused.
While flipping through a tourist guide, another tidbit of information caught my eye: The Sunset Shrine in the Kiba district was built around the Bone-Eaters Well and Goshinbuko, the famous tree on which the miko Kagome found Inuyasha pinned. It is said that Kagome came to find Inuyasha because she traveled through the well. Visitors to the shrine can tie…
Sunset Shrine? Kiba was only a few minutes away by train, and it WAS true that there had been a large forest surrounding the area. Since tomorrow was a Sunday, and I had the day off from class and work, I decided to head out to Kiba that day. Doing outside research had to count towards my grade, right?
I arrived early the next morning, planning to say some prayers for a good grade before doing any real exploring. Once I was finished, I began to look around. Sure enough, there was Goshinbuko, tall and majestic. I squinted my eyes a bit, imagining the Inuyasha from the statue pinned on the tree like in the legend.
I couldn't help but stifle a giggle.
"It's interesting, isn't it?" a dry, creaky voice behind me asked. I turned around and was faced by an old man dressed in the traditional garb of a Shinto priest.
I bowed politely. "I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Izayoi Higurashi. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
His eyes momentarily widened, then returned to their merry, almost closed state. "Higurashi, did you say?" he creaked. Heaven above, this man had to be over 100. He took a few steps toward Goshinbuko, and faced me. "It's a pity you couldn't meet my older sister. She was the expert on the Shikon no Tama, although our grandfather liked to believe he was."
"How did you—" but he cut me off.
"It's no coincidence that you found out about this shrine. Now, would you like to see the well?" He began tottering towards a run-down building, gesturing for me to follow without waiting for a response. He opened the sliding door, and stepped aside to invite me in. I took two steps inside, then immediately went back out. "No exploring, huh?" he grinned, laughter in his eyes.
I shook my head. "It's creepy in there."
He laughed. "You know, when I was eight, my sister had her 15th birthday. We were headed to school, but I couldn't find our cat, so I made her look for Buyo. Turns out the overweight feline had gone into the well house. I gave the exact same reason for not going in that you did."
It was a strange story to tell a complete stranger, but something about this old priest had me intrigued. I leaned in for to prompt him to tell more. "Yes, so my sister went into the well house for me to retrieve the cat. But you wouldn't believe what happened next!"
"What happened?" I breathed, fascinated.
"Well," he began, rubbing his chin slowly, "when I saw her again three days later, her new boyfriend had followed her. All the way through the well. Good day to you Miss Higurashi, I'm sure we'll meet again." And without another word, he trotted off toward the house.
I was left standing in the courtyard, wondering what the heck he was getting at.
New boyfriend. Through the well.
What was that supposed to mean?
I turned to leave and almost ran into my mother.
"M… mom!" I spluttered, trying to regain my composure. "What are you doing here?"
She smiled. "I would like to ask you the same, Iza-chan."
"I'm doing research for a project."
"Oh good, I'm glad you're keeping up with your studies. I'm here to visit your grandfather's uncle. I do believe you've just met him."
She pulled me towards the house, and rang the bell. A woman close in age to my mom opened the door. Her face brightened immediately, as she welcomed us in and fussed over me. "You wouldn't let us bring her over, Mako!" scolded the woman who I guessed was an aunt of some sort.
I eyed the old man in the corner, who was sipping his tea and giving me that "I know something you don't know" look. I sulked a bit, and my aunt must have interpreted that as disappointment in not knowing my family.
"And you, Jii-chan! Leading on poor Izayoi like that!" she slapped his arm playfully.
We sat and had tea for a good hour, and I caught up on this side of my family that I had never met. Finally, as noon approached, I stood up.
"I'm sorry that I must leave, but I do have a lot of research to do. May I come back again?"
My aunt and mother bid me farewell, my mother asking for a telephone call later, but my great-great-uncle stood up and escorted me out.
"I wish your great-grandmother were still around. She'd be able to answer ANY question you have."
"My great—oh, I see, your sister." But then I became puzzled. If my family was from the sister, then why was our last name still Higurashi? It seemed strange that the family name would pass down through a woman.
That mischievous glint was back in his eyes. "You know, there may be a way to ask her yourself. I'm not much for information, and the libraries certainly know much less."
His words were puzzling me more and more. I felt a flash of a temper rise in me, and were it not disrespectful for girls to beat their older relatives, I probably would have done so. But I bit back my temper, and waited for him to continue.
"Are you SURE you don't want to explore the well house a bit?"
"I fail to see what the well has to do with—" and then it clicked. "Souta-jii-san, what was my great-grandmother's first name?"
He grinned from ear to ear. "Her name was Kagome."
My eyes must have become the size of dinner plates, because I heard him laughing behind me as I ran for the well house. Slamming open the doors, I ran to the edge of the well and peered in.
There was nothing at the bottom. Nothing except a broken ladder.
"That ladder has been there for 100 years!" he called from the top of the stairs, beaming. I turned to face him, glaring quizzically.
He was stifling a laugh. "That look,' he chortled, "that look comes from your great-grandfather." He was now coming down the stairs.
Something was odd about the air in the well house. Maybe it was heat or the enclosed space, but I was sure the bottom of the well was getting deeper, becoming less solid. I must have really been leaning over the edge, because when my great-great-uncle pushed me, I went tumbling down the well.
The last thing I heard was "say hello for me!"
勇敢なDREAM振りかざし語彙名TRY繰り返し間より果て巻き日々へと君も
Probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Ah well. This is a story I've been wanting to write for some time. How will it pan out whilst I'm juggling a comic book series, finals, and several other fanfics? No clue. But I'm writing it anyway.
Review, review, review!