Me: Hello everybody. It's me, Sapphire11224 and it's just great to hear from all of you as usual.
Usagi: (nods her head) It really is great to know that everyone likes this story and it's a pleasure for me to be in it.
InuYasha: Just why the hell did it take you forever to update this story?
Me: Well, as I had informed my readers from my previous stories, I was very busy with school.
InuYasha: Just what is this school thing anyway? From what I've seen, it looked more like a prison for people.
Usagi: (giggling) Well, that's one way to put it.
Chibi-Usa: I still don't see why you had me as a detachment of Naraku. (crosses arms over her chest in a pouting movement) Just what is he planning to do with me anyway?
InuYasha: Yeah. He isn't planning on killing aneue, right?
Me: You only call her that in the story; you don't have to call her that now.
InuYasha: (turns head away) Hmph…what's wrong with saying it now? I actually like the idea of her being my aneue.
Sesshoumaru: Only a hanyou would hold such weak emotions towards a human woman.
Usagi: Lunarian! I'm lunarian, Sesshoumaru.
InuYasha: And what's wrong with aneue, you bastard brother of mine?
Me: (shaking pointer finger at InuYasha) Now, now, there's no need for you to call him such harsh names, Yasha-kun. (turns to Sesshoumaru to see his smirking face) And you, Mr. Humans-Are-Pathetic-And-Weaker-Than-Me-And-Are-So-Inferior-That-They-Aren't-Worth-The-Air-I-Breathe, so you think that human women, such as Usagi, aren't worthy enough. (turns my back towards him while smirking) Well, then I'll just make sure that I'll never EVER pair her up with you. (ignoring the shocked look on his face)
InuYasha: Really? (eyes grew wide as he stares at me and sees me nod my head) All right! (jumping in joy then he froze) Wait a minute, then just who is aneue gonna be paired up with then? You said that it's not Naraku, so that means the only good choice left would be…(grabs head) Please tell me you're not having that damn WOLF!
A fast coming whirlwind came onto the screen with Kouga coming with an angered look on his face
Kouga: Just what is that supposed to mean?
InuYasha: (smirking at him) Just what do you think I meant by that?
Me: (staring at them as they argued back and forth and sighed in annoyance) Why me?
Usagi: (stares at me and just smiles) Why don't you continue on the story? I have a feeling that this fight might take a while, especially since it looks like Sesshoumaru is going to take part in this fight as well.
Me: (looks towards them to see Sesshoumaru getting ready to take out his Toukijin and use it to kill InuYasha and Kouga for insulting him) Good point. Do you mind doing the disclaimer?
Usagi: Sure. Sapphire11224 doesn't own InuYasha or Sailor Moon, but the plot of the story and everything else in it does. Hope you enjoy the story and I hope to read more of those reviews you'll send when you're finished.
Ch7
flashback
lyrics
(Kagome's POV)
It's been several weeks since Usagi-san and Chibi-Usa-chan joined us in our journey and I've got to admit that it really is great that they did follow us. Of course there were times that whenever we got into a fight with one of Naraku's youkais or just a rogue one, InuYasha always made perfect sure that they weren't involved or in sight. But as they watched how InuYasha would hover protectively over them, they started to see it more as a family type relationship between the two, and not like a wife and husband type, but more of a father and daughter. No, I take that back…as I think back to certain events, it seemed more like a mother and son relationship between Usagi-san and InuYasha.
(Regular POV) Everyone was sitting around as Usagi was preparing supper with some ingredients she had bought at the town they were staying in after leaving the town beside the well. Sango and Kagome helped Usagi with the stewas InuYasha was trying to get rid of the small group of youkai who were terrorizing the villagers' crop field with Miroku aiding him. InuYasha had asked Kagome and Sango to stay with Usagi to make sure nothing will happen to her. Chibi-Usa and Shippo were drawing on pieces of paper with the crayons Kagome had bought from the future, laughing at each other's story behind the pictures.
The monk and hanyou came back to the clearing. "Everything appears to be all clear," InuYasha said, "Hopefully it'll stay that way tonight."
Usagi was stirring the pot of stew the females had been cooking over a fire. "I'm sure everything will be all right," she said. She took one of the bowls they had stacked up beside the black cooking pot and poured some broth into it before handing it to everyone. "Now, come and sit, Yasha-kun," Usagi said, motioning to a seat beside her, "And eat some supper." Everyone watched as InuYasha complied again without any argument.
When supper was over, everyone was lodging around, watching as Usagi was entertaining a bunch of the village children, who came wandering in because of their curiosity of a ningen woman with the features and looks of a youkai and the personality of a guardian angel. Usagi was telling a story that is well known, but also known in a different way. While people of the feudal era of Japan know this story as the one with the Princess Kaguya, Usagi tells it as a history of her life when the time was filled with peace and beauty way back in Silver Millennium. The parents then came and took their children back home as the night became darker and late.
Usagi had just put Chibi-Usa to sleep when she pulled out a thin bright blue comb from her bag. Her bag proved to be quite a surprise to her young companions who had begun wondering just what kind of magic envelopes the bag since the beginning of the trip when they saw that she was able to pull things out that were twice the size of the bag and was still able to take other thing out as well. She turned to face the others as they all got ready to go to sleep. Kagome and Shippo were sharing a sleeping bag and so were Sango and Kirara. Miroku was forced to move his bed to the far other side of the room as InuYasha was leaning against the wall in between the males and females.
Usagi walked over to InuYasha and turned his around as she gently brushed his hair. "Yasha-kun, you really don't take good care of your hair, don't you?" she asked in a playful tone. She brushed his silver strands from the top down and made sure that no knots were left as InuYasha complained silently with a groan. Usagi smiled gently. She continued to untangle his locks as she softly hummed a tune, capturing the room's other occupants' attentions.
(Usagi)
Saigo ni kimi ga hohoende
Massugu ni sashidashita mono wa
Tada amarini kirei sugite
Koraekirezu namida afureta
Ano hi kitto futari wa
Ai ni fureta
Usagi closed her eyes as the face of the very man she had hoped to spend the rest of her life with imprinted in her mind. A sad smile came up on her face.
Watashitachi wa sagashiatte
Tokini jibun o miushinatte
Yagate mitsukeatta no nara
Donna ketsumatsu ga matte ite mo
Unmei to iu igai
Hoka ni wa nai
She thought back to the time when they first met and how their engagement brought destruction to their homes. She was also reminded how they had the gods on their sides to allow them to start their love anew in the future.
la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la
Kimi ga tabidatta ano sora ni
Yasashiku watashi o terasu hoshi ga hikatte
Soba ni ite aisuru hito
Toki o koete katachi o kaete
Futari mada minu mirai ga koko ni
Nee konnanimo nokotteru kara
Soba ni ite aisuru hito
Toki o koete katachi o kaete
Futari mada minu mirai ga koko ni
Nokotteru kara
The future she had seen with her friends when they went against the Dark Moon family. It was a sign of hope of eternal peace where she would rule happily with her husband, daughter, and dear friends.
Shinjite aisuru hito
Watashi no naka de kimi wa ikiru
Dakara kore kara saki mo zutto
Sayonara nante iwanai
There was something her friends had told her before they left and that was that if she keeps in all the memory of all their adventures and time together, then they were never truly gone. And it's true, they may not be able to be seen by anyone or even her, but she knows that they are there…right by her, protecting her and making sure that nothing will go wrong, just like how Setsuna's spirit had enabled her to travel to Kagome's home safely.
Ano hi kitto futari wa
Ai ni fureta (1) Heaven by Ayumi Hamasaki
Kagome looked around her to see that everyone had already fallen asleep as they were listening to the song. She then turned to InuYasha and raised an eyebrow to see that he had already fallen asleep. He was lying down with his head on Usagi's lap with the very same rare picture of his sleeping face where he was relaxed and not waiting for an attack to happen. Her brown eyes were watching as Usagi was keeping watch over InuYasha with the very same loving face she had seen on her mother's face many times when she was young. As she slowly drifted to sleep, her mind couldn't help but wonder whether or not if Usagi was like InuYasha's mother.
!-!
(Sango's POV)
Usagi-san is quite an enigma to us all. I admit that there were times when I would question her actions, but as InuYasha had stated before, her intuition is really dependable. It's not only her instinct that intrigues me, but also the knowledge she has on different youkais. Just by glancing at them, she could figure out their weakness, strengths, and how their personalities are usually like. Another thing that gets to me is the fact that InuYasha treats Usagi-san almost like she can't defend herself very well in a fight, because as I think back to a time where it contradicted his actions, I discovered that Usagi-san could very well defend herself.
(Regular POV) The group was walking down a path through the forests, all was peaceful and calm…well, almost peaceful. Shippo was sitting on Kagome's shoulder, complaining about being tired and hungry and InuYasha was telling him to shut up and that he couldn't be tired since he's been riding on Kagome since that morning. Sango had just slapped Miroku on the face with a loud smack that echoed the forest when she caught him groping her again. Kagome was yelling at InuYasha to stop teasing Shippo and was threatening to punish him again. Usagi and Chibi-Usa were walking behind everyone, enjoying the entertainment provided for them in the journey.
As they continued walking, Chibi-Usa and Shippo began to race each other, chasing each other and Miroku had decided to be safe and began a conversation with Usagi. They were walking behind everyone else as Usagi kept a close watch on Chibi-Usa. "So, Usagi-san, how exactly did you meet InuYasha?" Miroku asked.
Usagi just smiled and replied, "I'm afraid that story is for Yasha-kun to tell."
The young monk sighed dejectedly and paused in his step. When he glanced back up, he noticed that Usagi was only a few steps ahead of him. His brown eyes were drifting down her figure as he studied the soft features when his eyes began to linger on her ass. He felt a tight knot in his throat as his hand slowly reached out, but he hesitantly pulled it back. "I can't. If I do, then InuYasha would have my head for real this time," he said quietly. But when he glanced back up, the desire to go and see if her body is really as soft as they appear became greater. "Just…this…once," he said, getting closer to the oblivious rabbit.
Usagi was just walking along when she felt an unfamiliar brush against her ass. A deep red color exploded on her face. She quickly turned around as she shouted, "EECHI(2)!" and slapped the person behind her, who, unfortunately, happens to be Miroku. And unluckily for him, Usagi had forgotten to hold back her strength and it caused the poor monk to fly smack into a nearby tree.
The others had stopped when they heard Usagi scream and Miroku slammed into the tree. They all turned around to see a red faced Usagi staring embarrassedly at Miroku, who was lying upside down, almost like he was sitting on the tree with the ground as the support for his back. The two teenage girls and Shippo sighed with a sense of hopelessness for the monk. Chibi-Usa didn't know Miroku very well, so she didn't really understand what had just occurred between her mother and the monk. InuYasha, however, his expressions were as clear as day that if someone didn't constrict him, they would be a monk short in the team.
"MI-RO-KU!" InuYasha snarled, pausing between each syllable, as he cracked his knuckles. His golden-brown eyes were glaring at the unconscious monk. He was about to go and kill the bastard who dared to go and touch his sister in any inappropriate way.
However Kagome grabbed his arm. "InuYasha, it's okay and besides," she said, glancing over at the raven-haired monk, "I think he already has his just desserts."
Sango shook her head at him and said, "Well, by the looks of it, he won't be getting up anytime soon. Why don't we set up camp now?" Her brown eyes then turned to Usagi, who was looking guilty for knocking him out. "It's okay, Usagi-san, houshi-sama had it coming at him."
"That's right," Shippo agreed, nodding his head, "Don't worry too much about it, Usagi, Miroku has this happen to him all the time whenever he touches Sango."
Chibi-Usa stared at Shippo and asked, "So this happens often?"
"Yeah, except Sango never knocked him out before," Shippo replied.
"Why don't we start setting camp?" Kagome suggested after managing to calm the frustrated inu youkai(3).
Usagi watched as everyone gathered near the tree where Miroku was still unconscious. She glanced over at InuYasha, who was perched up in a tree to observe the surroundings. "Yasha-kun," she called out. InuYasha glanced down from the tree. "Come," she commanded gently, "Let's work a bit on your sword fighting." That's when everybody just stopped what they were doing and stared at her in complete shock. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
"Are you sure that it's okay, Usagi-san?" Kagome asked.
Sango nodded her head. "You don't even have a katana to use," she said.
"And it is very dangerous to fight with InuYasha, even if you were just practicing," Shippo said.
Usagi waved her hand to their warnings. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna fight him," she said, smiling, "Just teach him how to do more than just randomly swinging his sword, so if you don't mind, can I borrow your katana, Sango-chan?" Sango hesitantly nodded her head as she reluctantly handed her the sword tied to her waist. She then turned to InuYasha, who had jumped down from the tree, and asked, "Ready?"
InuYasha nodded and faced his sister. He pulled out his sword with the rusted blade transforming into its fanged form. Everyone would watch in amazement, as Usagi would start attacking the hanyou and then pointing out his mistakes in both defensive and offensive movements with the sword. But what really caught their attention, was when Usagi had InuYasha fight her for real and he ended up dislodging the sword, but he was immediately brought down when Usagi quickly knocked him down and brought the sword back into her hand and aimed it at him neck.
"Did you just see that?" Shippo asked, rubbing his eyes. He then fell on his back as he burst into laughter, shouting, "InuYasha got beat by Usagi! Hahahahahahaha…" but he was quieted when InuYasha punched him on the head. "Waahhhhhhh…Kagome, InuYasha's being a sore loser and hit me on the head," he said, crying to his surrogate mother.
"Inu..yasha," Kagome said heavily, glaring at the hanyou with a warning glare. "You don't have to go and be a sore loser and hit Shippo-chan."
Usagi laughed as she watched the taller hanyou inch away from the teenager with fear while she handed the katana back to Sango. "You shouldn't just blame Yasha-kun since Shippo-chan was also at fault," Usagi said with a smile, "If Shippo-chan hadn't went and teased him then Ysaha-kun wouldn't have hit him."
"You fought like an expert swordsman, Usagi-san," Sango said, "I wonder why InuYasha refused to let you fight with us."
"Ba-ka," InuYasha stretched out, "If Usagi ends up fighting by out side, youkais and other humans might end up knowing about her fighting skills. It's bad enough that her looks draws people's attentions, but if they find out that she knows how to fight, then they might end up wanting to capture her."
!-!
(Shippo's POV)
It's strange how Usagi had become so close to us after we had been suspicious of her being an accomplice with Naraku. When InuYasha and Kagome had that fight the night we met Usagi and Chibi-Usa, I had thought that perhaps they placed a spell on InuYasha, but…whenever I look at them, I start to realize that that can't be true. It truly is strange how our minds work. Ever since the incident with the Thunder Brothers, I had thought about Kagome as my mom, but now as I spend more time with Usagi, it seemed like the mother role is slowly moving towards her. Whenever I watch how Usagi would look after InuYasha…I just can't help but envy him. It almost reminds me of my old mom every time I look at her.
(Regular POV) Everybody was settled down in one of the lords' homes that Miroku had picked as the next lodging for the night. The girls and Shippo just returned from the baths and had entered the room where InuYasha and Miroku sat waiting for them. Shippo sat down beside Chibi-Usa and watched as Usagi went to tell InuYasha to go wash up.
"Make sure you wash your hair nicely, Yasha-kun," Usagi said.
InuYasha rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. He grabbed Miroku by the back of his collar and pulled him out the door. "Hurry up, houshi!" he shouted, dragging him behind him.
"Ne, Usagi, how come you always treat InuYasha like a baby?" Shippo asked.
"Well, I suppose the answer would be because I love him like he's my own child," Usagi replied. She smiled and brought Chibi-Usa into her arms. "Yasha-kun is very dear to me and I had done everything possible to make sure that he was kept safe and healthy, but that was before I had to go away, leaving him behind."
"I heard from InuYasha that you're not married," Sango said, "It's pretty rare to see a woman your age not wedded."
A tiny sly smile appeared on Usagi's face as she stared at Sango. "Girls are usually around your age when they are already married, so what's your excuse?" she asked. She glanced at Kagome and said, "And I'm guessing that at your time, girls your age are in school in hopes for getting a better future." She smiled with amusement in her blue eyes as she spotted deep red blushes on both their faces. "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure that some day in the nearby future, Miroku-san and Yasha-kun will come around and realize how you two feel about them."
Kagome wasn't as shocked because she figured out that Usagi knew when she came to her world to speak to her. But Sango's expression was completely different. "EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH!" Sango screamed, staring at her in complete shock. After all, just how was she able to figure it out when the two were too hardheaded or were too busy thinking about past flames, or any other female, in Miroku's case, to realize that they like them.
The looks on their faces seems like they wanted to ask how she knew that, but Usagi looked away and stared down at Chibi-Usa, who looked ready to fall asleep soon. "But what Yasha-kun said was true, I declined every man that asked my hand in marriage. It didn't matter to me, whether he was a lord or a commoner, but what made me not marry any of them was because, one, I didn't love any of them, and two, everyone told me to leave Yasha-kun behind or kill him."
Kagome's eyes widened. "She mentioned about her charge was a hanyou," she said silently, "And that charge was InuYasha? How is that possible?" She studied Usagi carefully. "Is she a youkai? But it can't be, Miroku-sama, Shippo-chan, and Kaede-baachan all said that she has the scent and aura of a ningen."
Usagi looked at Kagome and smiled. "I'll explain everything later on," she said, "Depending on whether or not Yasha-kun wants the story told."
Shippo stared down at the floor and thought about Usagi's actions and the way she would treat InuYasha and Chibi-Usa with such love and care, it reminded him of how his mother would care for him, wanting him to be a strong kitsune youkai(4) and be able to protect himself and the people dear to him. If there was ever a chance for him to be reincarnated, he would like it if Usagi would be born as his mother or sister.
!-!
(Miroku's POV)
Usagi-san proved to be quite an enigma to us. I don't know if it was because of her mysterious connection to InuYasha or the fact that she knew how to fight pretty well. But what really intrigues me is the amount of knowledge she has about the world around us. Her eyes were very beautiful, wide and pure, but they also held a form of wisdom I had never seen before. She also knew so much about life and death, almost as if she had lived through more than even the eldest, priest, or monk of every village here in Japan.
(Normal POV) Everyone was still continuing on the journey, probably wandering aimlessly, in hopes of coming across someone who has any of the Shikon shards in their possession. Deciding to take a small break after InuYasha got tired of hearing Shippo and Kagome complaining about getting exhausted, everybody settled down near the riverside.
Everybody was doing his or her thing to pass by the time. Sango was washing the giant boomerang in the river. Shippo and Chibi-Usa were playing in the river, skipping and splashing along the ankle-deep water. InuYasha was lying on the grass with his eyes closed. Miroku was staring at the textbooks Kagome had brought with her, wondering how to decipher the English words. Kagome was staring at her workbooks, trying to understand what her teachers had taught during those many days that she was absent.
Usagi glanced over Kagome's shoulder and stared at the book as if she could understand what was written. She watched as Kagome was trying to complete the math problems and shook her head. She recognized it as one of the many math problems Ami had always helped her complete. She grabbed Kagome's hand that was holding the pencil. "Kagome-chan, you did this problem all wrong," she said.
Everybody stared at her in response to her statement. Any lesson Kagome had learned in her own time was unknown and more advance to everyone else in this time. If Kagome would to ever get a problem wrong on her work in those books, none of them would ever be able to tell. And now, Usagi, who is from this time, or so they believe, was able to understand and know if Kagome had gotten it wrong or not.
Miroku's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Usagi tutor Kagome in math and then switched to English. He was really suspicious as Usagi was actually talking to Kagome in English and trying to have her respond back. Then something caught his attention, there was something within the waters and it appeared to be coming towards them. A large wave and splash had awokened everyone from their curiosity of Usagi. They quickly turned to the river and saw a huge blue snake-like dragon coming out of water and stared at them. All the usual fighters jumped to their feet and got ready to fight.
"Don't attack it," Usagi said straight out, still seated on the grass with her feet tucked in underneath her. Everyone once again stared at her based on her statement. Chibi-Usa was sitting right next to her and was also staring at her mother curiously. "That youkai won't attack you unless you attack back," she said, sipping from the tin can of tea. She stared at the youkai and smiled at it with a form of familiarity. Everyone watched as the youkai seemingly nodded its head and dove back into the waters, without another glance at them.
"How did you know that?" Miroku asked, "Youkais would usually attack any ningen they see, especially if we're too close to their territory."
"The reason why they would attack is because they either felt threatened or because we attacked them first," Usagi answered. She handed the can over to Chibi-Usa to finish the rest of the drink. "It may seem a bit weird, but my family has devoted their entire life learning and discovering about youkais before I was even born," she added.
"I never heard about a family of ningens that held youkais into such high consideration," Kagome said, settling the sack of arrows and wooden bow down.
Sango nodded her head. "Almost every ningen I had met would usually attack or run away from any youkais that come near them," she said.
InuYasha stared at the water where the dragon youkai had vanished. "Usagi's family had spent their whole lives trying to teach ningens and youkais to live together in harmony. Her ojii(5) died in a flash flood that was devastating some youkais who couldn't escape from it. Her baba(6) was killed trying to stop a bunch of idiotic ningen from murdering a pregnant youkai, who couldn't defend herself while her mate had left to battle an enemy. Her hahaue and chichiue had died in a bandit raid on their travel to see a few friends," he said.
Shippo stared at InuYasha with his green eyes blinking every five seconds before speaking. "How come you know so much about Usagi's family?" he asked.
InuYasha refused to answer the question and continued to stare at the river. Usagi smiled softly and brushed her unbound hair away from her eyes. Miroku's eyes narrowed and said, "The only family I had ever heard about to be so devoted to the study of youkais would be the Tsukinos, but unfortunately the last member had died over a hundred years ago."
"In due time, houshi," Usagi said playfully, "Everything will be revealed." She just smiled at the monk with a look on her face that says that there are a hundred things that are being hidden from the group, that was getting Miroku to be very suspicious of the young blonde, but he kept it to himself, in fear of upsetting the hanyou even more.
(1) Heaven belongs to Hamasaki Ayumi. The translation to the song is below.
What you offered straight to me
With a smile for the last time
Was just so beautiful
That I gave way to tears
Surely, that day
The two of us touched love
We sought for each other
Lost ourselves at times
And found each other at last
So whatever result may be waiting for us
It's nothing but
Destiny
la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la
In the sky you set out for
Stars are shining tenderly upon me
Stay by my side, my love
Crossing over time and changing your shape
You see? The future we haven't yet seen
Remains here like this
Stay by my side, my love
Crossing over time and changing your shape
The future we haven't yet seen
Remains here
Trust me, my love
You live within me
So I'll never
Say good-bye to you
The two of us touched love
(2) 'Ecchi' means pervert
(3) 'Inu youkai' means dog demon
(4) 'Kitsune youkai' means fox demon
(5) 'Ojii' means grandpa
(6) 'Baba' means grandma
Me: I had finally finished this chapter! Yay me! There goes the small celebration, so here comes what I believe everyone has been waiting for. I'm sooooooo sorry for not being able to update this chapter. (covers head and sobs)
Usagi: (pats my back) It's okay, everyone has their days. Yours just happens to be everyday because of school.
Me: True. Well, I'll try to update quicker, from now on. Of course, there's no real promise that I can. Get ready for the next chapter. Naraku will finally make his move and one of the characters will die.