Author's Note: Happy Halloween!
Republishing due to the site issues.
Chapter 5: Kokoroboku - The Heart Tree
As the crescent moon settled in to watch the evening, the oak tree ensured Rin slept undisturbed. The large branches were rich in leaves that covered Rin's sleeping figure. It provided not only shelter from prying eyes, but created a warmth that blocked harsh winds.
No harm would come to Rin this evening.
While Rin slept against its base, the oak tree silently spoke.
"Elder sister Goshinboku. The young healer has run away from her village! She is sleeping by my side as we speak. There are wandering youkai eyes searching for her; I have sheltered her from harm tonight."
The Goshinboku leaves rustled.
"The young priestess has run off again? I thought her and the hanyou had grown up and moved past these silly games."
"No elder sister; this is not the young priestess. It is the younger one; the former human ward of the Lord of the West."
"Younger sister Kokoroboku. Are you strong enough to use your powers on her? You've only recently regained your strength as the air and soil around you were impure."
The Kokoroboku chuckled internally.
She had only regained back her consciousness the last 10 years. After the death of Kikyo and emergence of Naraku, the Kokoroboku could not handle the imbalance of the Earth. The emergence of the evil youkai with Shikon no Tama shards coupled with the human suffering had greatly weakened her. Unlike her elder sister Goshinboku, whose energy is drawn across time, Kokoroboku drew strength from the yin and yang of the world. Too much yin, or darkness, had forced Kokoroboku into a slumber to preserve itself. Only when the Shikon no Tama was destroyed was Kokoroboku able to awake from her nearly 60 year long sleep. Goshinboku was still around to catch her up on the tales of the hanyou, the woman from the other time and their companions.
"I may be your younger sister Goshinboku, but we were both planted over 500 years ago. Let me peek into her heart."
The Kokoroboku stretched its boughs alongside its trunk toward Rin, while the twigs criss crossed itself on top. It layered itself on top of the leaves that covered Rin.
If any wanderer had stumbled upon the Kokoroboku at this instance, they would have seen an unnatural cocoon in front of the Kokoroboku.
Unveiling the nature of one's being was Kokoroboku's power. Normally her roots were planted in the Earth helped her understand the world's balance. If the sum of the Earth was not in equilibrium, Kokoroboku would then investigate to resolve the imbalance. Occasionally, she would reach out to Goshinboku for help. That is what happened right before Kokoroboku went into deep sleep over 60 years ago. As she saw Kikyo's body burned with the Shikon no Tama and InuYasha pinned against the Goshinboku, the Kokoroboku anticipated the upcoming storms. Together with Goshinboku, they were able to find the reincarnation that would restore the balance.
These sacred trees did not dilly dally anymore with the daily lives of beings. But this young healer piqued their interest.
Amongst the recent saviors of the world, she was the youngest but also the weakest. She did not possess any particular demon slaying talent nor did she have any spiritual powers. She had served her purpose as a positive influence to the Lord of the West. As far as the sacred trees were concerned, her life was no longer relevant. She was just another footprint on the Earth.
So how did she end up choosing to sleep against Kokoroboku? What was her heart silently seeking so badly that it guided the body here?
The oak tree pulsed itself around Rin, navigating her memories, thoughts and heart. The memories of a life before her death, her resurrection, travels with the Lord of the West and growing up into a young healer today. The frequent visits by the Lord of the West that were faded into the silent lacquered box exchange. The mind with struggling thoughts about a love for the Lord of the West and her new journey east for self-love. She was planning an adventure out east. To travel the lands, meet new people and creatures and examine the new plants. Through her journeys, she would grow in talent. But she would always be haunted and chased by the Lord of the West.
But the heart was already in pain because this journey meant giving up her love. Staying in the village was no longer an option for the mind and leaving was an attempt for a new beginning. But the journey east was not the direction to go. There was no herb, no medicine out east or any other direction that could be created that would give her the place she yearned for, an equal standing beside the Lord of the West. The mind and heart were in conflict.
Creatures always want and need everything. Suffering is natural to one's life, the yin to the yang. Life cannot be complete without loss. Without loss, one cannot learn to appreciate life and grow.
Heart, if you are asking me to grant the ability for Rin to be equal and stand beside the Lord of the West, I no longer grant such desires. So why do you seek me?
The Kokoroboku delve deeper and saw. A heart of yang. Lightness. It was dim but it definitely is a heart of lightness.
Interesting. Very interesting.
One of the reasons Kokoroboku had stopped interfering with unnecessary human and non-human lives was their inability to balance yin, the darkness of greed - more money, more power, more anything. Their hearts always desired for more. It was never enough. This greediness served no higher purpose for the Kokoroboku. It had only led to a greater weight of yin in the world. This would force the oak tree to restore balance. And then they would come again asking the sacred oak tree for more. It was a never-ending cycle.
Fortunately for Goshinboku, a line of sacred priestesses had protected Goshinboku from overexposure to this aspect of people. The priestesses over generations were able to keep the purity of the Goshinboku. This purification allowed Goshinboku to strengthen its abilities and stretch across time. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the Kokoroboku. Over time, Kokoroboku withdrew itself from the world and focused only on the balance of the Earth. As such, the myth of the Kokoroboku faded into long tales and legends.
"Kokoroboku, what do you see?"
"Sister, she has a heart full of yang."
"How is that possible? I thought humans always had both yin and yang. That's why human hearts constantly struggle to find balance within themselves."
"There are exceptions; let me see if my hunch is correct."
The Kokoroboku's roots deep in Earth's soil emanated a soft white glow, pulsing to seek the heart's darkness. The pulse reverberated across the Earth. No one would have seen or felt the pulse. If the heart's darkness existed on this plane, it would pulse back.
A youkai's heart further out west weakly pulsed back.
"Ah yes. The heart's yin resides in another heart, a heart full of yin. The heart belongs to the Lord of the West."
"So the two hearts act as one, balancing each other?"
"No. The hearts are not acting as one. If they were acting as one, I would have seen two hearts immediately. I have seen these cases in the past between human and youkai. While frowned upon in their respective societies, the human and youkai always end up together to ensure the balance of Earth. The youkai tend to be extremely powerful creatures, often a heart of yin. In turn, to restore balance, the heart's yang is stored in a human. Eventually, destiny will force the two to meet act as one. Even if the mind resists, the hearts always overcome the minds. This is the way. While still rare, these cases are growing."
"So why haven't the hearts acted as one? Destiny has already allowed them to meet for so long. Shouldn't their hearts overcome their minds?"
"It seems like the Lord of the West's mind is stronger than the heart. I surmise that since the hearts haven't met in a while, his mind has overpowered the heart. However, living creatures cannot live without hearts; there was an exchange of sorts for several years to sustain his heart."
"So what has changed?"
"In the recent past, it looks like the young healer's heart was the strong one. Essentially, she was carrying the hope of both hearts. No wonder she appeared weak compared to the others.
Of course, no being, especially one of her kind, can sustain it for so long. Hope is finite. Eventually the hope will wither; you cannot see it but her heart of yang is dim. Her mind is overpowering her heart. That is why her mind has taken her on this journey east.
It is fascinating though; the last strengths of the human heart has sought me out. To help resolve the conflict between her heart and mind."
"Can you resolve it?"
"I can help her heart a little but it wouldn't matter; unless the Lord of the West's mind allows the heart to take charge, this young healer's heart will eventually succumb to her mind again. I would only be delaying the inevitable."
"Can you help the heart of the Lord of the West to overcome his mind?"
"The dog spirit of his youkai is strong; any interference will be assumed as a threat and will attack. I dare not take the risk."
"What will happen to both of them? Two lives with broken hearts?"
"I am not sure. No youkai-human couple have ever resisted their hearts. It is just unfathomable. I have never seen anything like this. We must figure something out; I cannot allow this imbalance to persist. I fear the consequences. Look at what happened with the last imbalance due to Naraku. We should have let Onigumo die."
"Yes Kokoroboku, but if we did not find the reincarnation nearly 500 years into the future, Inuyasha and the reincarnation would not have been together. We knew that Inuyasha and Kikyo's hearts were not meant to be. Inuyasha and the reincarnation's hearts were unfortunately separated by time."
Kokoroboku sighed. Being responsible for establishing equilibrium on Earth was tricky; the rules were not always so straightforward.
Goshinboku makes a fair point; Naraku's existence was actually a temporary imbalance. The ultimate intention was the unification of hearts between Inuyasha and the reincarnation as they had been unfortunately separated by time.
And then the idea snapped into the sacred being.
"Goshinboku. You are brilliant."
"Thank you younger sister. Why am I so brilliant?"
"Inuyasha and the reincarnation were unfortunately separated by time. Given their opposite personalities and beings, the Lord of the West has the opposite problem."
"And the opposite problem would be?"
"The young healer and the Lord of the West are unfortunately not separated by time."
"So the young healer was born too early? Too early for the Lord of the West to follow his heart?"
"No the young healer was born at exactly the right time; without her presence, the Lord of the West would not have the compassion to unlock the full power of the Tenseiga. But that was wholly for him. As for matters between the two of them, they need more time. The young healer is unfortunately human; this would not give the Lord of the West's heart time to overcome the mind. His mind currently dominates his heart."
"Right Kokorobuko. How do we give more time? A human turning into a demon never ends well. Should we just kill her? Have the Lord of the West find her reincarnation?"
"No reincarnations do not guarantee the same heart."
"What do you suggest?"
"Hear me out Goshinboku. Send her to a later time after the reincarnation's life so there is no chance of finding her. The Lord of the West cannot chase the young healer through a time he has not yet lived."
"Kokoroboku, could his heart survive? With her heart gone?"
"His heart is barely alive as it is. He has already lived 500 years without her heart; hopefully, he can live another 500 more. The odds are better in their favor to send her away. Her presence here will only allow his mind to continue to manipulate the heart. There is no hope for them here."
Goshinboku sat with Kokoroboku's proposal.
"Absence does make the heart grow fonder."