IKIGAI
"The reason to be"
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Page XIX
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"She's asleep," you say as you sit by my side, on the porch right outside our cabin.
"All the running around from this afternoon has left her exhausted." This autumn was being gracious.
"We didn't even get to read her today." You hand me the book you've wrote for Moroha.
I look between its pages, for one of the stories we've decided we are not going to read to our daughter just yet, and I stop at one that we all found a bit unsettling.
"We found out about the existence of a youkai named Nikosen, who was feeding on the vitality of living beings. We followed its tracks; the death of a great number trees in the middle of the forest, until we felt the presence of a fragment of the pearl. Later on, we would come to understand the twisted way in which Naraku helped InuYasha master the Ryuurin, dragon's scales, of Tessaiga." I pause there, recalling the impotence I felt when we concluded that Naraku desired I were able to wield Ryuurin without hurting myself, so I could become a tool in his plans.
"Do you really want to read that?" You inquire, squeezing my arm gently as you seek my gaze.
"It's alright; it's all in the past." I smile, to bring you comfort. You nod once.
My gaze goes back to reading.
"We were before the sunset of a new moon, after a battle we found almost easy. Sango and Miroku went in pursue of the runaway head of Nikosen, leaving behind a body that back then, we thought dead. Shippo and I remained with InuYasha," before the next words, I pull you into an embrace, even before reading them outloud, "many times I wished for InuYasha to live in my time, and so be safe from the dangers lurking around in these dark nights."
I look at you, then lean in, kissing your forehead and your nose.
"I would have liked to spend one of those nights, with you, back in your time."
"I would have taken you to see the city-night lights, or we could have watched a movie while stuffing ourselves with pizza," you describe, and even if your plans sound like fun, what I'd have enjoyed the most would have been your company.
"Any of those things would have been nice," I accept.
You meet my eyes, and your giggles that until now found purchase on your lips, turns into a warm smile. Your free hand rises, and comes to rest, open, against my cheek; a soft caress you place on my skin, and my eyes close before the warmth you pour into me.
"The best of any plan though, would be your company." Your words mirror my thoughts, and that fills me with that emotion that, with time, I've discovered is called joy.
Then, the story I was reading comes back to my mind.
"I guess it doesn't matter that Tessaiga's Ryuurin ended up helping Naraku; what matters is that, even if hard pressed, we walked that path together," I conclude.
Your gaze takes on that sweet, twinkling glint I've known for so long a time now, and you lean in closer to press a kiss on my lips. The book soon lays forgotten by my side, as I pull you closer onto my lap, amidst this night at the beginnings of a gracious autumn.
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A/N
The Nikosen youkai appears in the episodes 412 to 415 of the manga, and it's an arc that's not in the anime. It is inevitable for me to lead IKIGAI towards love; I guess because I don't find it necessary to wallow in the dramatism of what they lived.
Thank you for reading, understanding and commenting.
Anyara
This text is possible thanks to the translation of: Dezart
