Unable to fully fathom the revelation concerning the unexpected death of his friend Link, Miroku steadied himself upon the tree. Well he certainly didn't expect something of this magnitude to hit him square in the face. Realizing his friend Link was indeed not of the living surfaced depressive thoughts, and he felt he wasn't sure how he could act normally around the boy.
It was impossible for Miroku to remain quiet after learning of such, and he felt the rest of his companions deserved to learn the truth. For the time being, however, he allowed his good natured smile to reappear. For now, he wanted to watch what Link and Inuyasha would do before confronting them about the situation.
Seeing Miroku appear from the tree line, Inuyasha flashed him and the others a relieved grin. "Are we ready to head out now?" He asked, but he hadn't expected Kagome to step towards him with a little jump in her step and a beaming smile across her face. "Uh … what?"
The priestess, who was unable to contain herself, waved her hand in front of her friend's face. "Look Inuyasha!"
Her abrupt enthusiasm had thrown Inuyasha for a loop, and he stepped away warily from her swinging hand before sweat dropping. What the hell was she doing? "What are you smiling at? What am I supposed to be looking at?"
She wanted to roll her eyes. It was obviously not there, and he was so clueless. "What aren't you looking at?" She asked, pushing her hand closer to his face, to which nearly unnerved the half demon who pushed her hand away.
"Stop that," He complained. "I don't get what's so damned special about your hand!"
Was he serious right now? How could he not notice? "Oh come on! Do you need glasses? Look!" But when he failed to understand, she turned away from him and showed the back of her hand to the others who were gathered around curiously. Kagome leaned into Sango, smiling because she knew the slayer already knew the cause of her elation. "Sango, do you see anything there?"
Sango grinned. "No."
Kagome offered her hand to the monk, who looked on just as curious. "Do you see anything Miroku?"
For the moment, Miroku forgot about Inuyasha and Link temporarily and focused intently on Kagome's hand. Leaning in closer, he held her soft hand before turning it this way and that slightly. The more he looked at it, the more it truly seemed normal. Just like Inuyasha, he also wondered what was so special about it, but he couldn't help but notice her hands had a very velvety softness about them and her fingers were quite small and slim.
Link caught Kagome's stare, and he didn't have to think twice to realize what the cause of her sudden excitement was. The mark on her hand was gone and it was a cause for celebration though it left him befuddled as to why it just vanished. The young boy smiled knowingly to Kagome, who in return, grinned back.
Annoyed Kagome was not giving them an answer, the half demon grabbed the priestess's hand suddenly, and she gasped in surprise. He lowered his nose and sniffed briefly, but he only smelled her scent.
With a roll of her eyes, Kagome pulled her hand away from Inuyasha and held it up once more. "The mark is gone! It's gone you goofs!" Sheesh, even Sango had noticed and Link wasn't a fool either, that much she noticed.
"Wait what? Where did it go?" Inuyasha barked, looking at her hand sternly.
The monk was just as confused. "How strange. Did it miraculously vanish?"
"You won't believe it, but I actually used my hand sanitizer and it just disappeared!" Kagome revealed. She was practically dancing on her tip toes joyously.
"Hand sanitizer?" Link asked from his position on the log, a small distance away from the others.
Sango nodded. "It comes from Kagome's world. It's a clear fluid with a strong citrus smell and Kagome says it removes all germs from your hands and can help prevent illnesses."
"Well if that's what all this was about, then that's great," Inuyasha replied, but even so, he placed his hands inside the sleeves of his hakama and nudged his nose in the direction they were headed. "Let's hurry up. We have about a day to reach Ikana. Shippo will probably get there before we do if we delay any longer."
As her friends followed after the half demon, Kagome waited for Link to catch up. For the remainder of their travels, she walked alongside him, and her conversations were long, coupled with mixtures of her excitement upon returning back to the Feudal Era and seeing her family once again. Link remained ever so silent throughout their peaceful walk, nodding his head each time Kagome spoke of something new and interesting about her home world beyond the well.
"I wonder what kind of excuses grandpa has come up with since I've been away from school."
There it was again. School; it was a place in which Kagome and countless thousands or millions of people were educated, and from the stories she had shared previously back at Romani's Ranch, he became slightly curious. "Kagome, what is school like?" He asked, and the priestess took a moment to ponder. What was it like in her world? Link had never received an education. The only knowledge he acquired over the years was sword fighting and determining enemy weaknesses as well as coming to terms with survival.
"Well there's a lot of sitting for starters. We sit in these uncomfortable chairs with small desks in front of us and each class lasts about an hour or so. Sometimes we have pop quizzes where the professor unexpectedly gives us tests and sometimes we have study periods for the remainder of class. We all take turns to clean up the classroom afterwards and sometimes we don't get home until late," She briefly explained. "You've never gone to school before, right?"
Link nodded. "Only nobility is deserved an education, at least that's how it was in Hyrule. I was far too busy with my travels. I did receive a small amount of education during my childhood; I was taught by the Kokiri the basic fundamentals of mathematics and a slight education from Tingle about maps."
A smile brightened her face. "You know how to do fractions?" She asked suddenly filled with excitement. "Can you teach me? I'm terrible at it!"
Link blinked. "What … are fractions?" He asked dubiously.
Kagome sweat dropped, her sudden excitement dissipated into thin air instantly. "Uh never mind. So you were taught just the basics of math?"
"Yes. There is no reason for us to further our education unless our profession towards our future should require it. For instance, if I choose to one day become an astronomer, I would first require a great deal of wealth that would pay for my studies in the various subjects surrounding the stars and mysterious worlds out there."
Kagome nodded. That made sense. "Too bad my world's not like that. It doesn't matter if we plan to get the ideal job in the future; we're all forced to go to school. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind attending and meeting new friends, but seriously, when am I going to use fractions and the Pythagorean Theorem to buy my groceries?"
"Pythagorean Theorem?" He asked.
"Yeah. A squared plus B squared equals C squared." Realizing it had gone over his head; Kagome took his hand and drew a fake triangle across his palm. "Basically, think of this. You want to build the roof of your house, but you aren't sure about the measurements of one of the sides. Let's say you know two measurements and …"
For a moment Kagome's eyes narrowed and she thoughtfully imagined picturing a right triangle in her mind, but looking at Link's palm didn't help. "Wait. Hold on."
Before Link knew what to expect, Kagome had suddenly stopped and lowered herself to the ground, much to his confusion. When he saw her using a rock to carve a small triangle in the dirt, he suddenly became a little bit curious. The triangle was upright with a small square rested inside to which kagome labeled 90 degrees, though Link didn't understand what it meant.
"Okay, so imagine this Link. Imagine this is the starting point of creating your house. Let's say you are given two measurements. You know this side is going to be … um … let's make it easy, how about 5? Okay so this is five! And the other side here is going to be … 7. Yeah. We'll make that seven. But the problem is we don't know what this longer side is. This longer side is called the Hypothesis. Don't ask me what the definition is; all I know is you gotta solve it in order to complete your house."
Link nodded. It seemed a little trivial that the house would only be 5 foot and seven feet in width, but he went along with it. "So … what is the method to solving this, Kagome?"
"Oh right! Okay. So like I said before, the method is the Hypothesis squared equals A squared plus B squared." Kagome wrote out the formula and began inputting the numbers with the letters. The end result came to an answer of the Hypothesis squared equals 74, but Kagome knew it couldn't be right. "No way … this is way too large of a number. I'm sure there was something that came after this.
Perturbed that Link and Kagome had not been following after them, Inuyasha turned around and stomped towards the hunched over priestess drawing in the dirt. "What the heck is the hold up? Kagome what are you doing? We don't have time to sit around and draw, you know this don't you?"
"Shh!" Kagome shushed him loudly as she waved her hand to shoo him away from her. "I'm trying to concentrate, Inuyasha."
Link sweat dropped at the half demon. "She is showing me how to build a house with her formula."
"Formula?" Inuyasha asked.
"There is an easier method to building houses in Kagome's world?" Miroku asked, looking curiously at Kagome's strange writing centered around a triangle.
Hearing this, Sango sweat dropped as she came to stand beside the half demon with Miroku beside her. "Did you ask her about math, Link?"
He nodded.
Sango sighed heavily. Kagome was good at many things, but sadly, when it came to school math, as she called it, it was painfully difficult for her. From what Sango remembered from reading through her heavy books, it seemed like an entirely different language filled with numbers and strange shapes. "We may be here for a while," She explained with a shake of her head.
"We don't have all day to figure out how to build a house!" Inuyasha pointedly exclaimed.
Miroku patted the half demon on the back. "Link has never seen this side of Kagome before. Her determination to solve such a large problem…"
"I apologize. I didn't mean to slow us down, but after watching her for the past few minutes…" Link saw Kagome crawling on all fours at this moment, muttering incoherent jibber jabber to herself while marking all sides of the triangle and crossing out different equations off to the side. "I am a little curious. I did not realize she held such knowledge."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "If this isn't bad enough, you should see her doing long devursion."
Miroku corrected him. "You mean, Long Division, Inuyasha. The title fits well. It is indeed a very long problem. It starts off very small and then becomes much bigger and complicated. One would assume she was solving many different problems, but the truth is it stems from just one problem. Her world is most complicated in the learning of mathematics."
Sango nodded.
"I GOT IT!
The sudden triumphant voice of the priestess below them on all fours sounded in their ears. They saw what had once been just a triangle with numbers on the side evolve into a clutter of messy equations and the end result was circled with little happy faces next to it.
C squared = A squared + B squared
C squared = 5 squared + 7 squared
C squared = 25 + 49
C squared = the square root of 74
C squared = 8.6023
Picking herself up off the ground, Kagome wiped her forehead and smiled at her friends. She held up her trusty calculator. "I would have never solved the square root without my Calculator."
Link looked at the problem. "8.6023?" So that was the answer to the missing side of how to build a house?
Kagome sweat dropped. "Well if I had even numbers, the result would have been smaller without a decimal. I guess I could have used numbers like 2 or 4."
"What's that in your hand, Kagome?" Link asked.
"It's called a calculator. It's very useful in solving equation and large numbers or fractions," She explained and Link nodded.
Her friends couldn't help but look at the priestess's knees and hands. She had gotten dirt on her but didn't seem the least bit fazed. She had solved a problem she hadn't learned since a year ago, and she was proud to have remembered.
Link offered her a handkerchief.
"Thank you, Link," Kagome blushed. As she and her friends continued down the path they traveled, the priestess couldn't help but smile to herself. The fact that Link had said yes to hopefully returning back to the Feudal Era with them, after their journey, warmed her cheeks. Of course it all depended on the Goddesses' decision. Not long ago Link mentioned he had planned to possibly live in Termina and settle down once his journey came to an end, but this time maybe that would all change; maybe he could settle down with her and her friends. Yet as much as she wished for such to happen, somehow she had a feeling things wouldn't go as planned.
Sensing the priestess's discouragement, Inuyasha slowed himself to walk beside her. His amber eyes watched her smile turn into a slight frown and her attention distracted to the ground in which she walked. "Hey, what's with that face?"
Surprised, she only smiled at the half demon, which caused him to scowl. "Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking that's all. After our battle with Naraku is over, I was thinking I'd like to become a true priestess."
Hearing this Inuyasha grinned. Now that was something he definitely looked forward to. "Well you're half way there already. I'm sure Kaede wouldn't mind teaching you."
Sango agreed with Inuyasha. "That's right. You've improved greatly during our travels. Since the village has been growing lately, I'm sure Kaede could use the extra help."
Because of their reassurance, Kagome smiled at nodded. She just hoped her suspicions of the future would not come to pass. She wanted to stay with her friends, but then again, she might not get her wish. Only time would tell, for now, she would hold on to what she had right now very tightly. Her friends and even Link.
Even as they had conversed, Link couldn't help but notice the monk hadn't said much. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Miroku glaring at him, and when he turned to look in the monk's direction, the monk only looked ahead, his expression stern though friendly to his companions. Perhaps Link was overthinking things.
OOO
As the sun slowly crept near the horizon and the darkness of night quickly approaching, the gang made camp near the outskirts of Termina. They were already so close and they were sure tomorrow afternoon they would arrive in the lush terrain of Termina.
While Kagome rummaged through her backpack with Link keeping her company, Sango was about to sit down to relax, but a curious look at Miroku urged her interest. Since this morning, the monk had been strangely quiet and the slayer noticed how his eyes would stare at Link and Kagome. As of right now, he was standing there, a small distance across from the duo and there was a strange look in his eyes; it was as if he was glaring at them, or to be more precise, he was glaring at Link.
Moving to stand beside him, she nudged his shoulder with her elbow. There was definitely a sense of tension hovering around him, and it was too strange to overlook. "Are you alright? Is something troubling you?" Sango questioned with a tilted stare.
While he did not answer her immediately, Miroku's eyes shifted to look into her own. It was as if he was trying to silently tell her something, but she was too clueless to understand.
Oblivious to Miroku's silent stares, Inuyasha sauntered away from the group but not before stopping to look back. "I'm going to get some food. Sango and Miroku we're going to need some wood for the fire."
Noticing Inuyasha's retreat, Link pulled away from Kagome's conversation and stood up. "Wait Inuyasha. I can gather our supper," He volunteered. To his surprise, Inuyasha only shook his head while his amber eyes communicated with him that he needed to stay with Kagome.
"You stay here and watch over Kagome. I won't be gone for long."
Understanding, Link sat back down next to the priestess. It seemed Inuyasha was willing to do anything to allow him more time with Kagome.
As she watched her half demon friend disappear into the trees, Sango turned back to Miroku beside her. "Miroku?" Sango called once more, perturbed by his unusual quietness. "What's gotten into you? Are you not feeling well?"
Turning his gaze away from Link, Miroku frowned. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
Sango blinked confusedly. "Huh? Uh sure…" This was strange. As the monk led her away from the camp in the opposite direction in which Inuyasha had left in, they arrived upon a secluded spot littered with twigs and stumps. "Okay, are you going to explain why you're acting so strange?" Furthermore, why was he giving Link and Kagome death glares? "Did something happen between you and Link?"
"No. Nothing of the sort, Sango," Miroku replied crestfallen. "It's quite serious…"
"What happened?"
Gathering his thoughts together, Miroku breathed a low sigh and confronted Sango entirely. "Earlier this morning as we were about to leave, I encountered the peddler," He explained, and from her surprised stare, he went on. "He said last night he had spoken to Link and Inuyasha and revealed that Link … no, this entire world has become the land of the deceased, Sango."
"Land … of the deceased?" She asked confused. "Are you saying the salesman said this world is the afterlife?" She asked and from Miroku's nod, she found herself unable to believe it. That didn't make sense. "How could that be?"
Flash Back
"This wasn't the only reason I came to speak with you, monk. You seem to be the brains of the group, a resourceful companion and I felt I should ask if Link has said anything more of what happened last night?"
Miroku was befuddled at this. What was Emmett speaking of? "I'm sorry? Since this morning, Link hasn't said much of anything." He wondered if the young boy was feeling alright, and he guessed that whatever must have happened during their encounter that night must have had an impact upon his persona.
How disappointing. It seemed Link had remained silent about that particular subject. "I see. He did not tell you. Well it is not a terrible dilemma, but it does pose some concerns related to you and your friends, especially the priestess."
Huh? Miroku didn't understand. What did Link know that would bring about concerns to their group? Was there something Link was hiding? If so, then why? "I'm sure Link would trust us by now to say something." He explained as if waving off the peddler's concern. "There is no reason to speak to us about his personal issues, Emmett."
Emmett only shook his head in disappointment. "It is more than just a slight issue, monk. If not confronted, then it could hurt you and the others. Aren't you just al little curious?"
Miroku arched a brow. Why did it seem strange the merchant was speaking of Link's secretive issues? As far as he knew, it wasn't really any of his business. "Is it so troubling that it would even hurt Kagome?"
"Yes. So much that it could bring the priestess to cause self-harm to herself…"
The monk took a step back, his eyes wide in surprise. Cause self-harm? Surely it wasn't something so huge that would bring harm to his friends. "What is Link hiding?"
"Did you not want to confront him yourself? Are you sure you can trust me and not look the other way?" Emmett asked, and after slight hesitation from Miroku, the monk shook his head. At this, the merchant continued. "I spoke with Link last night but it seems your friend Inuyasha overheard our conversation. Therefore I assumed he would notify all of you immediately."
"If it concerns the safety of my friends, then tell me," Miroku replied, his expression stern.
"Your friend Link …" He began watching as the monk watched him nervously. "like all the residents of Termina, is no longer part of the living."
Taken aback from this, Miroku stepped back, his eyes wide in disbelief. "What do you mean no longer part of the living?" That was impossible. Link was dead? All the citizens in this world were dead?
"Termina is an afterlife for spirits who have not accepted their fate. Link has not passed on for some time now. His soul, just as the rest of this world can't wait much longer; after all, this world is destined to perish soon," The Happy Mask Salesman explained with a shake of his head, though his maniacal smile remained. "I helped him to regain his memories last night. So you see why this might pose a concern to you and your friends…"
Miroku clenched the staff in his hand tightly and he glared at Emmett. It couldn't be true. "Tell me you are lying. Is this certain? Why have you not told us this before?" He wasn't sure if hearing this changed their objective or not. They were planning on saving Termina after all, but hearing this… "Are you saying this land is a purgatory? That everyone we have come across is already dead?"
"Correct."
'Link is dead?' How could that be? This world felt real, the people were certainly real. Dying was possible here! Miroku had seen and felt it in battle, and he certainly saw most of his friends near death since this past month. "What of us? My friends and I?" He asked the peddler, who only laughed at the question.
"Well you're all very much alive. After all, you were all brought here for a purpose to save this land from its inevitable doom," Emmett replied, his laughter subsiding. "I do not have much time left right now. I am, after all, a very busy man. I'm sure this won't be the last you'll see of me." Turning around, he was about to leave but paused a moment. Looking back over his shoulder, he sent a wide grin to the monk. "Believe in …" He paused again; his eyebrows narrowing slightly in frustration and his smile faded but soon reappeared. "Yes… believe in your strengths. Just believe monk and you and your friends are sure to succeed."
End Flash Back
After hearing the entire conversation Miroku had gone through with the Happy Mask Salesman, Sango couldn't believe her ears. It couldn't be true. Link looked and felt very much alive, as did the rest of the world. Link had come so close to dying a while back, but survived many times on their travels. How could this be?
A strange glimmer in the monk's eyes went unnoticed by Sango. Grasping both the slayer's shoulders, Miroku stared her deeply in the eyes. "I wouldn't lie about something so serious, Sango. I heard it and saw it for myself."
"Saw?" Sango looked into his cloudy eyes confusedly. She didn't understand. Her thoughts were a mess suddenly. It didn't make sense. "How did you see this?"
"I was determined to confront Inuyasha and Link about this. When I returned back to camp, I overheard them talking and the topic of Link being dead surprisingly came up."
Sango gasped. Even Inuyasha knew and hadn't said anything. In fact, the half demon had acted like nothing was wrong and didn't seem hesitant in the least to say anything.
Pulling off of Sango's shoulder, the monk only sighed and turned away, his gaze searching the woods for an answer. "Link seemed bothered by keeping this secret, Sango but Inuyasha on the other hand … Inuyasha feels that after we summon the Goddesses there might be a chance to reverse the affliction upon Link."
"Reverse his death?" She asked incredulously. That's impossible. "We were told we only have one wish, Miroku…" The thought of Kagome eventually finding out upset the slayer and she covered her mouth anxiously and her eyes watered. "Oh gosh … Kagome…"
"There was even the mention of using the Sacred Jewel to bring Link's life back," Miroku explained, watching Sango's stunned reaction from hearing this. "It seems that no matter what, Inuyasha is determined not to say anything until we summon the Goddesses, Sango. It's very unlikely that Link will be rejoining us back in the Feudal Era. There is no possible way he and Kagome can be together … As much as it pains me to say."
Unable to contain her emotions, Sango fell to her knees and wept. She wept for Kagome.