"Magic II"
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters in this story. They are the copyright of Rumiko Takahashi. There is no profit made from this story and it is used only for fanfiction purposes.
Notes: I will be writing a third and final story which brings all the characters together and throws in a couple of plot twists as well. This was supposed to be a one-shot but it was too long so I divided it into three chapters. Again, you might want to read the first Magic before you read this one to understand it. Anyway, thank you for your reviews. Enjoy!;)
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Some time and several bowls of soup later, a hooded young woman sat full and listless in a dark corner of the Sakura Tea House quietly sipping on a delicious brew of warm tea and milk. As it stormed heavily outside, dark and dreary eyes rested wearily on their quaint and cozy surroundings. She could hear the light conversation at the table in front of her while a couple across the room continually stole kisses at each other over a cup of coffee.
A slight smile graced her small and chapped lips as she recalled the love she must've once felt for someone but who? She wondered.
Down the aisle sat a gentleman thoroughly engrossed in the paper held before him. She almost wondered what could be so interesting that nothing appeared to disturb him. If only she could be that free to sit at a tea house without any worries, just content to read the newspaper.
Gazing pensively out the window, she surveyed the winter wonderland before her as snow gracefully fell upon the crowded streets. Lights were everywhere creating a dazzling display which caused her heart to feel delightful and a smile to form at the corners of her small, dusty rose colored lips.
'It was beautiful,' she admitted for only now, from the safety of the diner, could she appreciate it.
Winter time always brought joy to her heart in spite of its icy temperament, much like someone else she couldn't quite recall. Indeed, he was like a dream, a shade which captured her imagination and assailed her thoughts; moreover, she found she missed him terribly but who was he? How could she miss someone she didn't even know? But, somehow, she did know him as if he was always there at the edge of her subconscious, like a puzzle piece that could fit all things together. She had gotten up that morning feeling as if the day had yet to reveal its secrets. Something was on the horizon, she thought, but what?
Just then, her thoughts turned to the mysterious woman and the unusual necklace she saw in her dream. 'Who was that woman…and what did she mean…and who was her son?' She rubbed her eyes, overwhelmed by all the unanswered questions.
'The necklace,' she thought, 'was the one she saw earlier amongst a series of cluttered images as she sought desperately to escape her caretakers.'
'Was it a charm of some sort, a gift maybe? Perhaps, it held some special powers?' she had no explanation as her thoughts were interrupted by the conversation taking place at the table in front of her.
"I tell you Hiroshi, if we can find this girl and have a chance to truly study her, it would be the greatest evidence for taimu toraberu." spoke one.
'It was the newcomers,' she noted. They had finished their meal and were now discussing a subject that was of great interest to her – time travel.
Since her days in the orphanage, she had always felt she was from another time. For nothing in this world made sense to her. In addition, her dreams were always plagued with visions of a faraway place. One she truly believed she had lived in once upon a time.
The other kids called her crazy and lady Ryoko thought she was a liar and a storyteller but she believed that one day she would find out the truth. Perhaps, this was that day.
Normally, she felt it wrong to listen in on other's conversation but she wanted answers and maybe there was something to this taimu toraberu, something that could help her find out who she was.
She leaned in closer, trying to be as discreet as possible.
"How did you find this girl?" questioned the one she assumed was Hiroshi.
"It was not I but my colleagues, Toro and Yoshin, who found her sealed to the shinboku tree."
"Uhhhhh!" she heard Hiroshi gasp. "It exists?"
"Yes!" he confirmed. "We spent many years studying the Shinto legend borne from the fabled Hakai No Kami No Hi. Scouring through ancient texts and scrolls, we searched every region."
There was a brief pause.
"For years, we were ridiculed and scorned by the establishment. They refused to grant us funding to go chasing after what they called feudal fairytales. Little did they know, we had already found the great sword Tessaiga hidden away under the floorboards of an ancient shrine in the region of Kyoto."
"Uhhh!" again, Hiroshi gasped. "You're not serious! The great sword of the legendary Inu No Taisho has been found?"
"Yes, though we have yet to unlock its secrets."
The girl shuffled excitedly in her seat as she sipped on some hot, soothing tea.
"We believe the girl holds the key." He stated.
"How so?" inquired Hiroshi.
"Upon its initial discovery, it burned Toro severely when he tried to touch it. He now has limited use in his right hand; however, once he recovered, he and Yoshin searched the grounds trying to figure out how they could retrieve the sword. It was at this time that Yoshin took a walk into the surrounding forest for a brief smoke, having become frustrated with the situation. As he looked around, his eyes came to rest upon an unusual oak tree. Its bark appeared twisted and deformed and its branches were splayed like the arms of a tentacled monster."
"It certainly did not look like any oak tree he had ever seen."
"Intrigued, he drew closer; amazed at how the tree seemed to glow or glisten. Then, as he finally stood there at its base, he realized how it towered over the forest as if it were meant to be seen – but by whom? As he reached out to touch it, he was momentarily frightened as a flock of rather large and hideous birds ascended from its boughs. Somehow, he couldn't help but think that someone had gone to great lengths to scare away any curiosity seekers which may uncover what, he was certain, lay concealed behind its veneer."
The girl's eyes widened greatly. 'Could that be the tree from the vision in the alley?' she wondered.
"As the birds squawked and flew away, an invisible barrier began to appear. Like clear glass, it surrounded the tree, revealing a young woman or rather a young girl dressed in period clothing which indicated a person of royalty."
"Wow!" exclaimed Hiroshi.
The young woman froze with a realization she just couldn't shake. For, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it was her of whom they spoke. Yet, she didn't want to believe it. It all seemed so fantastic.
She gulped, knowing that there was more and that it would change her life forever.
"She was bound to the tree by a spell of which he was sure must have come from the necklace she wore around her neck, which contained a most brilliant amethyst stone."
"The necklace…" she whispered knowingly to herself while absentmindedly touching her throat.
"He called to Toro, awestruck and thrilled beyond belief."
"Yet, at that same time, Toro was witnessing an event of his own. The sword, for no apparent reason, began to glow but he would have to ponder it later. Supposing his friend had fallen into trouble, he raced into the forest after him. As he saw Yoshin standing there at the base of a strange and massive tree, he knew without a doubt that he had finally found what we had been searching for all these years."
"Would you like more tea?" interrupted the waitress.
"Yes, please," she softly mumbled somewhat ignoring the chatty woman.
"Good! This time, I bring you different – blackberry and orange. It will keep you from catching cold. You'll see." She said with a warm smile.
"Thank you!" the girl murmured, grateful but also frustrated that she could not here the conversation.
The waitress continued to smile as she turned on her heels and walked away.
"So how did they break the spell?" inquired Hiroshi.
"There was an ancient scroll we had come by in our travels called The Record of Reiki. It was a type of last will and testament from the foremost healer of the house of the great Inu No Taisho. In it, he described a most terrible power called the meido zangetsuo. This power, he claims, was harnessed by the great dog lord himself who used it as a portal to the nether realm but there was also something else it could do. It had the ability to purify souls thus causing them to escape death. Therefore, knowing the destruction it could cause should it fall into the wrong hands, he fashioned a pair of items from his own fangs by which it could be contained – a sword to wield, and a necklace for his beloved wife."
Again, the girl found herself flabbergasted by the amount of revelation she was receiving.
'Of course,' she thought. His wife was none other than the beautiful woman she saw in the dream, who gave her the strange necklace, which kept her under a spell for hundreds of years.
"The necklace was especially powerful because it contained beads fashioned from the tears of his beloved wife rumored to have once been a goddess. These beads, according to Reiki, could summon the gods that they may grant the desire of the one who bears them."
"I have implored the gods for you…" spoke the woman's voice in the girl's head as she quickly put two and two together.
This time, she sat up completely, certain that she had been shown a glimpse of her past. Finally, she was getting somewhere.
The waitress was right. It was, indeed, leading her to the right place, the place of self-discovery and of where she belonged.
Her heart was overcome with joy within her. Something she had not felt in a long time; she considered.
Still, she knew there was more and with renewed interest, she drank the delicious tea before inclining, once again, to hear the conversation.
"Interesting, but how do we know if this information can be trusted?" questioned Hiroshi.
"From the record, it appears he spent much time with the wife of the Inu No Taisho which leads us to believe they were having an affair."
Hiroshi blinked, unsure of what to make of it all.
"On top of that," spoke the other gentleman. "It also gave us the means by which we were able to acquire the Tessaiga. Apparently, this Reiki was considered a most trustworthy individual.
Through him, we were given insight into the personal and political workings of the inu clan; and therefore, of Japan itself as it existed then."
The girl sat transfixed, eyes glued to the back of his head and continuing to sip on the hot steamy liquid.
"He spoke of many things. Namely, of the most interest to us, was his account of the advent of the Hakai No Kami No Hi and the subsequent fall of the House of the Inu No Taisho.
It was in this account that we found the information we needed in order to break the spell."
There was pause as a waitress appeared before the men to ask for their dishes. She politely collected them and hurried on her way.
"So what happened after the spell was broken?" asked Hiroshi eagerly.
"Toro felt it would be unwise to suddenly disturb the girl from slumber only to awake in a reality she might not be able to comprehend. So, he proposed to keep her sedated until they could bring her safely back to the lab where she could be properly examined and introduced into this new paradigm."
Hiroshi shook his head in agreement.
The girl simply stared ahead, mystified by all the memories that were suddenly coming back to her.
The men in the white overcoats, she now presumed were Toro and Yoshin and perhaps this man who sat before her. She gasped lightly. They were also the men who were chasing her but why? She wanted to know.
What sort of examinations did they perform on her? She wondered.
It was unlikely that they got the chance to complete them before her escape, she concluded. 'Exactly, how did she escape?' she mulled.
"Upon their return to the facility, I received a phone call requesting my immediate presence. So, I rushed down to the lab, wondering what could be so important that early in the morning. As I came into the room, I adjusted my glasses to peer at the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen, gracefully lying there on the gurney. Her eyes were still closed and she had on the most ornate and rather delicate attire that could rival even the most exquisite painting. I was completely astonished as realization set in. We had done it! We found proof of not only taimu toraberu but of the existence of youkai and the historical event of the Hakai No Kami No Hi. It was all so unbelievable and yet, there it was, contained within the very essence of a sleeping human girl."
A warm smile spread across the girl's features at the older man's compliment.
"After carefully reviving her, we began to run basic tests of her blood and vital organs to check for any anomalies and to ensure that our discovery would not be compromised. At first, it was difficult because she was experiencing, for lack of a better term, a type of mind withdrawal. Just as Toro predicted, she was having a hard time adjusting to what she was experiencing versus what she remembered. We had to monitor her closely to make sure she did not slip into a coma and become a vegetable. It was like watching a computer crash then reboot itself over and over again until it could find a suitable sequence of code within which to operate."
"What about her ability to speak? Were you able to communicate with her?" Hiroshi pressed.
"It was about two months after that she began to show signs of comprehension and acclimatization to her surroundings. We found that she was especially drawn to bright colors and things like flowers and decorative jewelry. It was on one such day, when we took her to the herbal gardens near the facility that she tried to speak for the first time. There was a gentleman there of an unusual countenance and very peculiar eyes. He was tall and broad shouldered with a sliver of gray standing out from dark, wavy locks. She was completely drawn to him, almost as if she had known him in another life. However, it was clear the young man hadn't the slightest recognition of who she was. Feeling frustrated, she tried to speak but centuries of disuse had its affect on her vocal chords. It came out sounding rather primitive yet still discernible.
Sesshoumaru, I believe it was. Though none of us, including the young man, knew who or what it meant. It was something or someone that was obviously very important to her."
"Sesshoumaru…," she contemplated. Why did that name sound so familiar?
"Toro seemed to take great interest in the name and decided to look it up. What he found was incredibly tantalizing.
There is a Shinto legend of a youkai nobleman said to be the perfect killer and the sole survivor of the Hakai No Kami No Hi. Due to his selfless and valiant efforts to protect the humans within his territory from others of his kind, the gods granted that he should remain immortal with all his powers intact.
What's interesting about this character is that the name Sesshoumaru means precisely the perfect killer.
The Record of Reiki also mentions another enigmatic figure of whom he referred to as the young lord, son of his master. This son of the Inu No Taisho was described as a cold and ruthless tactician who killed indiscriminately and with an elegant efficiency which surprised even the great dog general himself. Yet, some years before the rain of the divine fire, the young lord appears to have changed. Much to Reiki's chagrin, he had become like his father and taken a human consort."
The hooded young woman sipped her tea slowly as she suddenly got the strongest impression that she knew this young lord intimately.
Again, a pair of fiery gold eyes set in a pale, ethereal face flashed before her.
There was a stir of butterflies in her stomach and she couldn't help but be acutely aware that the two were one and the same.
"Could it be that this youkai nobleman and the son of the Inu No Taisho are one and the same and that his name is Sesshoumaru?" The gentleman proposed.
"And that the young time traveler is indeed his consort?" added Hiroshi.
At that moment, a flood of memories came rushing back as if she had awoken from a deep sleep. She could recall being revived by tenseiga. 'Tenseiga…? Yes, the heavenly sword!' she confirmed. She remembered traveling with a little green toad and a two-headed dragon. 'Were they her friends? Yes, they must have been,' she surmised. 'Kohaku!' The name slipped from her memory bank. "Kohaku…" she repeated mentally. "The demon slayer!" she yelled out silently. She even recalled her children.
"Uhhh! I have children!?" she gasped utterly astonished.
"I always wanted children." She thought, eyes twinkling with glee.
'And him…oh Kami did she remember him!' she thought. His golden eyes, his white hair, his tall and intimidating profile, the fluff on his right shoulder all began floating back to the surface. 'She loved him,' she thought with a crystal clear awareness that surprised even her.
'He was the one…the one who plagued her dreams and occupied her thoughts at night.' She conceded.
She now had a name to go with the face with the fiery gold eyes and his name was Sesshoumaru.
Still, she could not remember her own name.
"You mentioned finding her. What happened?" delved Hiroshi.
"Not long after the incident at the herbal gardens, we hired two security guards to protect our interests. Things were going well. The girl's progress was evident and we couldn't have been more pleased at the results until a few weeks later.
I went to work that morning, optimistic about the day ahead when I entered the facility and saw Yoshin and Toro in a bit of a panic. My heart sunk. I knew something had happened and all of our hard work and endeavor was gone.
The security guards had vanished and the girl was nowhere to be found.
For months, we searched all over the city until we came to a shelter for runaways near the kabukichō district. There, we spotted the so-called security guards who were actively galavanting with the local talent. Upon spotting us, they quickly turned into the shelter and we knew something was up.
Therefore, we devised a plan of which Yoshin agreed to enter the orphanage under the guise of a loving husband looking to adopt. Fortunately, it worked. Just as he was being led to a foyer to review the prospects, he saw two gentlemen enter into a side room. Curious, he inquired of the lady of the house and she proudly informed him that she had a new girl that was specifically requested. With that, she asked to be excused while she went to tend to the two patrons. As he sat there thinking it over, he became repulsed at the realization that it was not an orphanage at all but a brothel. He knew then that this 'new girl' couldn't be anyone except our young princess and instantly ran down the hall towards them. When he got there, the lady had quickly closed the door but he demanded she let him in. She refused. That's when he heard the girl scream so he pushed the woman aside and kicked in the door. He had arrived just in time, too, for she was on the verge of being violated…The filthy lechers!
He grabbed the girl and made a run for the exit but just as he drew near, the woman sicced her ruffians on him. We heard the commotion inside and decided to investigate. Once we entered, we saw the girl being dragged away. Immediately, Toro ran after her and I informed the lady that I had called the police. Of course, it was a bluff but she believed it and released the girl immediately."
The young woman just sat there torn over what to do. Should she make herself known or should she remain anonymous? Would they examine her again if she went back to them?
She deliberated long and hard for she did not wish to be anyone's quarry. She had already spent centuries under a spell. She did not want to spend a lifetime under scrutiny.
"Not yet," she decided. "Not until I've at least learned a little more."
Again, she grew silent as her thoughts were interrupted.
"Once she returned to us, she became most uncooperative. I suspect it had a lot to do with her stint in the orphanage. Somehow, her experiences there must have shaped her view of this world and its people so that she no longer trusted anyone. She hardly ever spoke and when she did, it was to voice her disapproval of our treatment towards her. She did not want to be (as she would put it) locked up for being different. Though, we tried to explain that we are simply looking out for her best interest and felt that now was not the right time to introduce her to the world at large; she still desired to be on her own. Yet, we could not leave someone such as her to her own devices. It would be detrimental for both her and our cause; however, we did try to relieve a little of her frustrations by taking her out when possible. Funds were limited, you know, but we did what we were able to at the time. It was on one such outing in a very public and crowded place that we somehow lost sight of her. We searched everywhere but to no avail. It was as if she had disappeared entirely until today, when Toro and Yoshin spotted her in the park. They gave chase but she escaped us once again."
Both men grew silent as they considered the implications.
"What will you do now?" asked Hiroshi.
"Continue our search I suppose and study the Tessaiga in the meantime." He replied earnestly, somewhat disheartened.
She didn't know why but she actually felt a little guilty over causing them so much trouble. After all, they had showed her nothing but kindness since she awoke and they even saved her from a fate that would surely have destroyed her.
Still, she had her reasons. Even as a small child, she did not like to be confined nor restricted and this situation was no different.
The loud clanging of a bell caught her attention as a crowd of customers poured into the quiet diner.
She lowered her head immediately as she heard Hiroshi's acquaintance comment, "Oh, there they are now!"
She didn't have to look up in order to know whom he was referring to.
Quickly, she stood up and walked quietly to the other side of the room to exit the diner as discreetly as possible. As she walked briskly up the aisle to make her escape, she momentarily glanced at the man who had been silently reading his newspaper. To her surprise, she found a pair of extremely hypnotic honey gold eyes staring right back at her. Caught up in his intense gaze, she could hardly look away.
Snapped back to reality by the voice of her caretakers in the background, she tore herself away and continued towards the entrance.
Outside, the snowdrift was fierce; although, the storm had calmed considerably.
Reluctant, she braced herself for the rush of cold air that was sure to meet her as she stepped out onto the crowded streets.
"Brrrr!" she shivered as she disappeared into the sea of pedestrians wondering what to do next.
She knew she had to find shelter or she would not survive the night.
Feeling a bit hopeless, her thoughts shifted to the gentleman quietly reading his newspaper.
He had the most unusual eyes, unlike any she had ever seen. Yet, somehow, they were very familiar to her in a way she could not explain. They seemed to pierce right to her very soul as if he knew her, but that was impossible.
She had never seen him before in her life. Yet, she felt when she looked at him that she had known him all her life, such as it was.
"Sesshoumaru…" the thought flashed across her mind.
'Don't be ridiculous,' she told herself. 'How could he just happen to be in the same place at the same time as she?' The odds were not likely.
'Besides,' she reasoned. 'The Sesshoumaru she knew had long, flowing hair. This man had short hair with a lengthy bang. Her Sesshoumaru had a soft (what was it called?) mokomoko on his right shoulder. This man had no such thing. Her Sesshoumaru had the most lovely markings on his face and arms. This guy looked quite normal, save for his eyes.' She argued.
"But what if he had changed over the years?" came a thought from deep within the bowels of her soul.
"Or maybe you're just eager to believe anything, Rin" she chided.
"Huh?!"
'Where did that come from?' she thought, eyes wide in amazement.
"Rin…" she ventured, feeling awkward at hearing herself speak her own name for the first time in 500 years.
"My name is Rin!" she repeated as others stared at her dubiously, supposing she was mad.
...
Meanwhile, sharp pointy ears adjusted themselves as they picked up a small voice only a few yards away.
He could not be mistaken. He would know that gentle sound anywhere and he would prove it.
Frantically, he began sifting through the crowd following the voice that would lead him to his beloved.
Though, seemingly calm on the outside, he couldn't stop the butterflies from fluttering on the inside.
For five hundred years he had nothing but time and now he had no time as he sniffed the air to pick up her scent.
He could not lose her again.
'It would be a tragedy worthy of death.' He told himself.
Then he saw her...
She was walking briskly up ahead mumbling to herself.
With nothing but a thin jacket to keep her warm, she seemed cold and severely malnourished but he would remedy that once she was back in his arms. He noted.
"Yes, I'm Rin the high lady of the Western Lands and wife of Lord Sesshoumaru, the Inu No Taisho." She said to herself, still astonished at the return of her memory.
"But what am I doing here?" she mused.
"I was put under a spell by Lady Ameratsu of the floating fortress – Sesshoumaru's mother." She continued as wave after wave washed over her in a flood of memories.
"But why?" she probed.
["I have implored the gods for you that the offspring of my beloved may not perish…You hold the fate of my blood and the memory of my house…You are the only thing left of my son…You must survive…"] came the lady's voice rapidly in her head.
"I know why!" she blurted out as she suddenly looked up at a pair of honey gold eyes staring intensely into hers; the same eyes that bore into her as she escaped from the diner. The same eyes that plagued her dreams were now staring back at her longingly from behind long, silver bangs which hung gracefully over pale, placid features.
Her breath hitched as she tried to register all the feelings that suddenly besieged her.
"Rin!" spoke a rich, deep baritone she had not heard in an age.
"Sesshoumaru…" she whispered as a warm tear slid silently down her frozen cheek.
He was there now.
…and she would never be alone again…