The foggy Ichinohashi Bridge that led to Okunoin was bright with protections that would vaporize any demonic spirit that was foolish enough to cross. The revered burial grounds of Japan's finest sent a vibration through her feet with every step. It took her breath away to see the writings on the headstones brilliant with golden prayers. Kagome's Sight gave her a vision of each human grave they passed. Warriors, healers, monks, scholars, Imperials, saints…
There is a lot of mystical mojo here.
Beautiful paved stones led them through the center of the cemetery lined with mossy shrines and old trees. It was utterly quiet except for their passing. The eclipse cast a reddish light on the land so Rin and Souta led the way with flashlights. They only stopped once they were deeply entrenched in an ocean of the dead.
"Let's stop for a moment. Moroha need a new diaper. Rin? Souta, keep watch." Rin laid down a blanket on a stone wall. Moroha was happy to get free from her pinchy bodysuit. A small menagerie of animals stood guardian while she flipped open the tacky plastic tabs on a full diaper. Each divine servant was their own unique flavor of holy energy. Kagome did not miss the white pheasant in the canopy overhead. The baby clenched her hands when she passed a cold wipe over her bottom. It was a bizarrely mundane task to complete surrounded by the zodiac twelve. Moroha was distracted when Tsukinōsagi hopped onto the stone by her head to wiggle his rabbit ears. Her fingers snapped the white plastic buttons on the bodysuit secure.
"What is happening, Tsukinōsagi?"
"It is the thirtieth day since your daughter's birth. My master and his sister are working together to cause the eclipse. The Star God is looking for you."
"Moroha is just a baby!"
"And the Daughter of Heaven."
"Moroha is MY daughter, eejit! 'Daughter of Heaven'. What does that even mean?" Kagome moved the sweet girl into her lap. She was just a tiny little thing. Innocent. It was an amazing feeling to love someone as much as she loved Moroha. Different than her love for Inuyasha who was unfairly banned from entering this sacred space. She would happily die to save her husband's life but not at the cost of their daughter's. He would have to survive on his own until the eclipse was over. Of course he had sent her away. It was too dangerous in the city.
We swore an oath. The baby comes first. Even above each other.
"There is no shame in your decision. Children makes one hard and soft in unimaginable ways." A voice like still water broke the silence. Rin and her brother stepped aside for the ethereal female who glided over the stones. Immense light and power condensed into the form of a beautiful woman. She bowed her head respectfully to the spirit who joined her on the stone wall. Moroha pressed her heels against her stomach. "Do you know why the first-born is so special?"
"W-why, my Lady?"
"Motherhood is nothing less than the complete transformation of one's soul. It is the externalization of a beating heart." The words struck her spirit hard. She held firmly but gently to the beautiful new life in her hands staring up at her with love. Moroha filled her with more love than she knew was possible. The female kept her company while she struggled between fear and loyalty. Her feet were dying to run to Inuyasha but she couldn't move. What if Inuyasha died? Moroha was helpless.
Why didn't he run with us? Moroha needs him too!
"Rin. Can you watch over the baby while - "
"Kagome-sama. This is the Lady of the West. Mother of Sesshomaru-sama." The teenager couldn't take her eyes off the female. The spirit's expression did not change. The purity of her aura remained. How can a demon enter this cemetery? Maybe she knows a spell to hide her aura! Maybe this is a trap and she led us into it. Sesshomaru's mother! Before she could voice her concerns and suspicions, the ancient produced a beautiful blanket of thick silk from seemingly nowhere. Kagome did not refuse her from draping it over her daughter's body which had goosebumps. She properly wrapped the gift provided in good faith until Moroha was warm again.
"My Lady…" Do I fight? Do we run?
"A perfect child is a great blessing. What is her name?"
"Moroha." The announcement of her name did something. She turned her gaze up to study the Mother but found she was already under scrutiny.
The vision came unbidden. Fantastical images played a constant stream through her mind's eye. A bejeweled spear piercing infinite darkness. An ancient tree taking root deep in newly born soil. A luminescent pair walking in circles around the grand pillar of its trunk. Generations and generations of spirits born unto the earth. She saw every member of the first family. Ugly, beautiful, kind, evil. In darkness and light. Thousands of branches weaving and intersecting through the ages. The lowest branches were mortal. Well...mostly mortal.
Izayoi's house survives through Inuyasha. The kami on Mount Fuji thought I was the Heir because who would expect a half-demon? Inuyasha didn't show up on their radar until he took a wife and started his own branch. No wonder it is called the 'God Tree'. My family home is built on the birthplace of all creation!
Kagome inhaled too much oxygen when the entity's names were revealed to her by the Sight...when she saw the female's preoccupation.
"The Dread Star of Heaven will not stop until it has your daughter. To kill a tree you poison its roots…"
"Moroha?"
"Long ago in the First Age, Amaterasu sent the Yatagarasu to guide humanity with heavenly visions. In every generation it would be drawn to the youngest heir. The Dread Star has consumed the Yatagarasu to find the heir and take control of a most ancient covenant. It wants your child as its bride to sire a new line of immortals not descended from Takamagahara. Empty monstrous children who would consume all life until there was nothing. This age calls them Black Stars."
Kagome hugged Moroha's defenseless body. What was almost worse than the Crow's plan for her innocent baby was the disinterested voice revealing his plan. Sesshomaru's mother waited. The baby rested her head against her neck to seek comfort. Fists grabbed weakly at her shirt. How could she know what was going on, why they were in a graveyard and not home, why Inuyasha was missing?
"Why are you telling me these things?"
"Our interests align."
Definitely mother and son!
It was only when she saw the half-dressed figure coming up the path that she understood. The eclipse revealed the true nature of things! Kagome kept Moroha close when Sesshomaru stepped past the guardian circle of divine animals. There was a murderous glare being directed towards his own mother. Maybe he does not trust her either? She quietly bemoaned his pitiful state and magically produced a new set of clothing. The Mother quirked her head when his attention refocused completely. Ecstatic tears spilled over Rin's face. Without discouragement, she buried her cheek into his shoulder. The reserved lord did not lift his arms; he allowed her to cry quietly. Salt water dampened his sleeve.
"...Sesshomaru-sama remembers me."
"Indeed."
The smell of Moroha's baby skin became more potent. Each hot breath against her neck invigorated her. Could she imagine being separate from the ones she loved for five hundred years? Separate with no promise of reunion. Sacrificing everything to preserve the past since the future could not be guaranteed...
"That's Inuyasha's brother?"
"Y-yeah...and his mother." Kagome whispered back to her younger sibling. "Can you hold Moroha?"
The Mother had soft-lidded eyes while she considered her son. Kagome earned no consideration when she chased after Tsukinōsagi. The half-rabbit man was perched atop a heavy granite stone in the center of the cemetery. His whiskers vibrated but she caught him before he could spring. The squirmy, child-sized servant was surprisingly hard to keep pinned with her forearm.
"Hey, hey. No biting! How did Sesshomaru AND his mother get past the warding? Did he break the protection spells?" Kagome dropped the cute little guy when her arms grew too tired. His feet thumped nervously against the plain stone. The sound echoed between the graves.
"Him? I thought he was the one who killed the Guardian of the Underworld and purified the well of damned souls. That is not a task for a demon!" The rabbit's fluffy white ears quirked to catch some snippet of conversation between the moon-pale dog demon and his only friend. "She called that one Sesshomaru, didn't she?"
"Yeah, mister 'Killing Perfection' himself!" Kagome planted her legs firmly on the stone while checking the wards. If Sesshomaru had crossed the bridge then the barrier surrounding the sacred grounds were almost certainly broken. How long would it be before more demons followed to prey on the poor spirits of the dead? How could she battle them all without her bow?
"Is that your purpose, Sesshomaru, to be the supreme warrior?"
The question was not directed toward Kagome. The Mother almost seemed sad. Of course she heard me. Stupid dog super-hearing!
"You used Rin to tempt me onto the Path to the Underworld. You needed the Guardian slain. For what purpose, Mother?" Sesshomaru's tone was harsh. Kagome was glad to see him newly robed in fresh kimono; it suited his aristocratic posture and height. At least his mother has an eye for fashion.
"It was the only way to expand the power of your meidō. That was the answer you sought."
"Slaying the Guardian did not revive Rin."
"I warned you that the Tenseiga could only resurrect a life once. I did not say that a second was impossible." The Mother sighed lightly. It was the sound of a mother who had lectured her child one too many times on a singular subject. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "I may not understand your preoccupation with this mortal girl but your mother would not do her permanent harm. You desperately needed a lesson in compassion and sorrow and she brought that to pass. I am pleased with her sacrifice."
...seriously? She let Rin die to teach Sesshomaru? Harsh!
A long, dark pathway floating above empty space led to a black hole surrounded by glowing red energy. In a single stroke a faceless black monster was cut down. A mountain of corpses begged to be saved. In a moment of impulsiveness derived from sorrow, sorrow that matched their own, the light of the Tenseiga washed over them like a tidal wave. Thousands of them.
Kagome's body moved forward through the graveyard. The mark on Sesshomaru's forehead flared when she touched it. Her finger followed the beginning to the bottom before she completed the symbol. If he was insulted by her impropriety, he did not say. In her Sight she could see the ensō taking the birthmark's place while it twisted and rotated on its axis, the many intersecting rings. Tsukinōsagi's instincts were right. Inuyasha's older brother...he could be more...he was more? She actually trembled when she realized his ancient bragging was on point.
"What is your prognosis, little healer?"
Kagome was going to respond when the Mother moved faster than she could blink. One moment she was inhaling to speak, the next she had no air. Blood was pouring down her chest, soaking her shirt, making her weak. Sesshomaru caught her before she could fall. Rin was screaming. In her haze, she saw Souta step between them and the Mother. Some instinct drove him to protect his big sister.
"What have you done, Mother?" It was strange to feel pressure on her neck but she knew she was dying. Sesshomaru knew. There was no time to make a request from her stubborn big brother before she faded. Not that she could speak. There was a flash.
No, Souta. Run!
The Red String around her finger contracted painfully enough to cut into her circulation. Inuyasha was fighting through smoke but he was alive. The spiritual tug was enough to stop him mid-battle, she felt his pain when something sliced through the flesh of the Fire-Rat into his arm. The half-demon quickly cut it down but he was already distracted by her call. How could she warn him? Could he even reach her in time?
Inuyasha. Inuyasha. Inuyasha.
"Kagome? Kagome. Don't you dare die on me, stupid!"
"...Inuyasha..."
Kagome did not know who was more surprised when she reopened her eyes. Her clothing was wretchedly tacky and stained but there was no wound at her throat. Rin exclaimed wildly when Sesshomaru helped her sit up on her own. Each breath felt sore but she was alive. Reiki made her newly healed skin itch.
"This mortal girl has an enormous soul." The Mother addressed her son. "Has she died before?"
Sesshomaru tilted his chin downwards with a thoughtful expression while she coughed into her sleeve. It reminded her of their first battle. Poisonous green smoke had filled the interior of the Dog General's tomb while she climbed and climbed. A noxious, thick serum that could burn bones to ashes! The same enemy hesitant to touch her stained red with her human blood. Very quietly he told her where her brother had run with her child. There was not a scratch on his beautiful, elegant mother.
"Kagome-sama, are you really okay?" A gesture towards her throat reassured Rin that she was conscious but her throat was dry. The teenager ran for water while she inhaled fire past her lips. She glared daggers at the Sesshomaru's mother.
"I see. The half-demon who was pinned to the God Tree many years ago...she was the priestess who shot her lover with the Arrow of Sealing. Yamato blood spilled on the God Tree and bound their souls in eternity...the Suzaku and her soul's mate. Now she will defy death many times."
"A human who cannot die?"
"There is always an end to life. A Suzaku is born with creation magic that extends her years." The Mother's soft voice was curious but not alarmed. It was hard to swallow the cold water but Kagome forced herself. It tasted horrible. Remnants of her own blood made her spit up pink water into the soil. It was an unintentional rude act that made her offer a prayer of forgiveness to Okunoin. "This one bore the Yamato heir. Sesshomaru. If the Dread Star corrupts that child, it is the end of us all."
Sesshomaru's bones cracked audibly when he flicked most of her blood off his skin. From talks with Inuyasha, she knew the overwhelming smell was unpleasant. So she was expecting it when his fingers began to glow to burn off the remaining material with poison. The Mother actually offered a modest smile when his claws illuminated blue instead of eerie green.
"Your mother has a gift for you...a Saint sleeps within the Mausoleum..."
"Kobo Daishi?" The brochures from the local venues had mentioned the sleeping founder of Shingon Buddhism. The local monks tended to him daily. Sesshomaru simply turned gracefully on his heels. The Mother dipped her shoulders to pout about his rudeness.
The mercurial female totally gave her the creeps so she hurried to catch up. Rin was already calling for Souta outside the Mausoleum. She skipped up the stairs and pushed open the door with the broken lock. It was only the two of them, Sesshomaru and herself, in the unlit sanctuary. The holiest place on Koyasan! Kagome stepped cautiously where Inuyasha's brother was bold. She nearly ran into his back in the room where the ancient Buddhist priest's body was legendarily preserved to await Miroku Nyorai. Inuyasha's older brother was hardly the 'Buddha of the Future' but they needed every ally to preserve the cycle of life.
"Do you need the Tenseiga to heal him? Inuyasha has your swords…" Kagome stepped around him to see what had him transfixed. A monk in white robes laid on the slab in a comatose state. Long dark hair laid neatly over the man's shoulders. If she did not know better, he could simply be asleep. Sesshomaru stopped her from touching the ally curled at his feet like a house cat.
Kilala!
"Miroku? Your mother stole Miroku's body? She trapped him here?!" Sesshomaru circled around to the opposite edge to inspect the bright soul floating above his chest. He can stop souls from being taken to the other world. The stone Border Guards allowed him to cross the gate untroubled. His mother's amulet resurrected Rin a second time from the dead to teach him a lesson in compassion. She calls me 'Suzaku' not 'Red Bird'. Could she be Xiwangmu from the Continent, a demon turned goddess with power over life and death? Or is she the daughter of Susano who was banished from Takamagahara and made ruler of the kakuriyo...Suseri-hime.
Kagome couldn't bear to look. She turned her face to the wall when Sesshomaru's hand turned transparent with otherworldly light. There was a whoosh of renewed life energy when Miroku's soul returned to his body. Tears poured down her cheeks when she understood his mother's message, why she had smiled.
Human parents put training wheels on their kids' bicycles. Sesshomaru does not need Tenseiga to revive the dead from the Unseen. He can touch spirits like his mother!
