There Must Be More to Life Than This
By Rhinoa Lunar
I have to say I do not own Inuyasha or any of the pre-chapter song lyrics…I'd be FAR away from Florida if I did.
"telepathic speaking"
'thoughts'
'written in a book or elsewhere as it is read'
Dream
"Since you've been gone I'm losing sleep. I'm in too far I'm in way too deep over you. I can't believe you're gone. You'll always be the one. You were the first you'll be the last. Wherever you go I'll be with you. Whatever you want I'll give it to you. Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon remember after the fire, after all the rain, I will be the flame. I will be the flame." - Cheap Trick - The Flame
Laying Rin to Rest: Enter Shingi of the White Inu Pack
When Inuyasha arrived back to Edo with Sesshoumaru, Rin had already been laid out on a stretcher platform. Miroku and Kaede had carefully surrounded the child's body with flowers and cleaned her face. They were beginning to light the incense and pray over her before the wake began. While Kaede prayed in stillness, Miroku began to place sutras on the platform. Sango and some of the village women were preparing some of the meatless dishes for the feast. Not an eye was dry and other than the muffled sound of prayers, not a word was spoken.
The entire village had shut down to honor Rin. Not a single human looked fearful or upset by Sesshoumaru's presence. A few of the men took to cleaning the boars and slicing them for the yokai and the hanyo. The children had set to work gathering the flowers. The bouquet Shippo had made was placed under Rin's folded hands which were laying atop her chest making her look like a sleeping child bride in her finest kimono.
Sesshoumaru remained silent though his eyes were betraying his sadness. 'All of these humans honor my daughter so?'He made his way over to Jaken. "Jaken, once the service has ended I am sending you and AhUn to search for the White Inu Pack."
"The lesser inu yokai who live on your lands, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Yes. They are excellent scouts. They are to find a spot befitting Rin's tomb. I shall remain here until the site is chosen. Then you will find a team of men to build a memorial worthy of my daughter."
"Of course, my lord."
The feast was somber. Kaede and Miroku spoke beautiful prayers to honor Rin and the villagers shared stories of happy times with the girl. Sesshoumaru kept his eyes downcast as he picked at the raw meat. He remembered and relieved each of his cherished happy moments with Rin. After a while all eyes were focused on him and Sesshoumaru knew he was now expected to speak.
Slowly, Sesshoumaru rose to his feet and without looking up he scanned the crowd of people. "I did not understand Rin when I met her."
"He's going to tell us how they met," Sango whispered at Miroku excitedly. Until now no one had known why the girl followed Sesshoumaru or why he allowed it rather.
"I was resting in a forest within my lands. I had been there for a few days when a silent young girl happened to find me." Sesshoumaru paused hoping no one would question why a great daiyokai such as he would need so much rest. He did not want to say it had been while he recovered from Inuyasha's attack. "I told her to leave and made her well aware of what I am. She flinched but only for a moment. Every day thereafter she brought me offerings of food and flowers." Sesshoumaru smiled softly. "She was always bringing me flowers. She never spoke and was always covered with bruises and scrapes. Not one to care for humans I left once I felt rested enough, but I happened upon her lifeless body on the roadside. She had been attacked by ookami. My inheritance, the Tensseiga, craved to be used. I slaughtered the carriers to the underworld and took her into my arm. She awoke as though she had been sleeping. From that day forward she followed me faithfully." The smile left Sesshoumaru's face. "I cursed my inheritance for the longest time, yet is was precisely that which brought Rin into my life. Now I curse it again for it can only save a soul once. It pleases me that my only daughter had so many friends. I wanted her to know life among her own kind and you welcomed her here without hesitation. This village and much of the surrounding lands are a part of my yokai kingdom. I wuill be certain you are well looked after and retribution on any yokai or human to bring harm here will be swift and painful. I do hereby appoint my younger brother, Inuyasha, to be taisho of your village and the forest bearing his name."
"He's granting Inuyasha a title," Shippo asked Kaede who appeared equally confused yet touched at once.
"Inuyasha, stand up," Sesshoumaru said with a shimmer in his eyes.
Inuyasha stood up looking beyond puzzled.
"We have never been as brothers should be. I do not pretend to make up for, or change that fact. What I do know is that you were useful in the final battle against Naraku and you were vigilant in your watch over my daughter. I grant you these territories by merit and not by blood. You are taisho of these lands second only to me. Let no one question that for to do so would disgrace our father. Should you displease me, your punishment will be the same as any other taisho under my guard…Death. I do not think you will let me down in this. You may sit now."
Inuyasha sat even more dumbfounded than he had been when he stood up. 'I'm a taisho now? Sesshoumaru gave me territory?'
"As for the village of Edo, I plan on bringing merchants and artists here. This village will become prosperous under my guidance. A proper shrine and temple would be in order I suppose. I expect no one will object." Sesshoumaru was pleased when he was met with smiles. He raised his glass high. He was drinking the boars' blood as were Inuyasha and Jaken. Everyone else, including Shippo, had sake. "To my beloved Rin. May you rest in peace."
Everyone drank and began to eat again. It would be just after dark when everyone was ready to pay their proper respects.
Sesshoumaru was the first to place a sutra wrapped flower at Rin's body. He laid it next to her face. A tear managed to escape his eye though none were foolish enough to mention it. Jaken followed next and stood beside his lord. Inuyasha, Shippo, Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, and Kaede followed standing as family to Rin alongside Sesshoumaru and Jaken. One-by-one the villagers walked by each giving Rin a flower and a bow to her family.
No words were spoken, not even by the children. No eyes were dry. Sesshoumaru was overwhelmed by the scent of tears. Even his brother was crying slightly. The worst was the young kitsune yokai. Shippo was inconsolable in his grief. The young kit was mourning Rin as a true mate would. While Sesshoumaru knew Rin's love had been for him, he approved of the love the kit felt for her.
Finally there were no more villagers to give flowers. Miroku and Kaede led the procession before the men lifted Rin's platform onto the funerary fire pit. The fire was to be lit in a clay dish designed to catch the ashes for burial. It was now up to Miroku and Kaede to pray one final time before they would be the ones to light the funerary fire beneath the child's body.
When the fire was lit even Sesshoumaru could not fight the tears despite the crowd. A hand gingerly touched his left bicep. The generally stoic yokai looked over and saw Sango's tear-stricken face looking to him with sympathy. Jaken stared with awe as Sesshoumaru lifted his right hand to the foreign one on his body and cupped it under his own gently.
Rin's body burned over the entire night. The villagers stayed by and only the children, elderly, and infirmed returned to their huts. Kaede was among that grouping as her age had finally begun to catch up with her.
In the morning all that remained were the smoldering embers and ashes. Once they had cooled, Kaede herself swept them into an intricately painted urn bearing images of Sesshoumaru in his human-like and true inu yokai forms with Rin by his side. The lid of the urn bore the crescent moon symbol on Sesshoumaru's forehead. Each image was surrounded with flowers and sakura trees in full bloom. Kaede said a prayer over it and Miroku blessed it with a sutra as they presented the masterpiece to Sesshoumaru.
"Hnn…" Sesshoumaru said with empty eyes and a slight nod of his head.
Knowing this in itself was a thank you, the miko and the monk both walked away with a bow.
"Jaken, you may take AhUn now."
The imp had not been far from Sesshoumaru's side since the wake began. "Yes, my lord," was his meek reply. Almost immediately Jaken was on AhUn's back and flying west. 'The White Inu Pack…They'd be at our most open borders to the northwest by the mountains. Those ookami packs like to stray into Sesshoumaru-sama's lands every now and then.'
It was the next day that Jaken found a grouping of the White Inu Pack headed towards Edo of all places. AhUn landed and Jaken met up with the alpha of the pack. "You there! I have a message from our great Sesshoumaru-sama."
"And I have one for him as well. How fortunate,"the alpha said into Jaken's mind. "The ookami yokai scouts are on the move in search of a miko called Kagome at the request of Kouga leader of one of the mountain tribes."
"I shall inform him at once."
"Of course I, Shingi of the White Inu Pack, would gladly hear what news you bring from our lord, Jaken-sama."
"Oh, of course. Sesshoumaru-sama wants a spot selected to build a monument and tomb to the young Rin who was his ward. He said you were to find a place worthy of his daughter. Report to him near Edo when you have found a decent place."
"Of course. We begin our search at once. Move out!"
The pack was gone leaving Jaken covered in dust and the sound of thundering paws hitting the ground in rapid succession.
AN: I said it would be short. Funny thing about my research…Most modern Japanese funerary traditions already are a combination of Shinto and Buddhist customs. This made my research phenomenally easy. Only the yokai ate meat at the wake because it is traditional to serve vegetarian food to honor the sanctity of life. The flowers are also traditional which I found very befitting of Rin. The urn is something that was obviously made by a master artist. It was never said that there were no artists in Edo, only that it was a poor village at the foundation of what would become Tokyo. The sutras Miroku used are also real traditions. There are several that are commonly used (I think I found five in total) but I could not get clear and consistent names for them so I did not mention their type or titles. I think after some debate that the truce will stand between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha…At least for now. The next chapter we'll learn more about the alpha of the White Inu Pack, Shingi, and school will be starting for Kagome and Rinji. ^_^