Koyasan was a different city in the under the light of a darkened sun. Bodies of demons cremated from the exposure before the human authorities could recover them. Many temples had been demolished in the battle. Most of the humans had evacuated the city of broken seals. The voices on the radio were already committing the damage to a freak storm related to the unusual activity under investigation by the Japanese Meteorological Agency. There were reports of fallen stars in Tokyo Bay being safeguarded by the Maritime Self-Defense Force against citizen looting.
Inuyasha barely listened to the inane squabble coming from the device in Shippo's hands. The Red String tied to his thumb was as solid as any rope. Kagome's spirit was calling for him. She needed him! He put aside the humans and their insane capacity to ignore reality. There was a human girl standing on the long bridge to Okunoin Temple. Kagome started running when she sensed him. He met her at the end.
"Kagome...Kagome!"
"Inuyasha!"
The girl crashed into him but he withstood the force. His hand tangled into her dark curls; he exhaled against her round human ear. The girl's clothes were covered in so much blood he barely believed she was breathing but her sweet voice was blabbering about Moroha and Sesshomaru and Souta. About the souls buried in Okunoin. It was all noise.
She's alive.
"Are you listening to me? They're alive! It was Suseri-hime," The girl confessed in a whisper. "The storms, her connection to the Underworld? How else would she know the things she knows? That would make Sesshomaru's grandfather one of the three divine children. Get it? He's only half-demon!"
Inuyasha checked her temperature, she seemed delirious.
"In the legends her line rules the unseen world. I keep having visions... Sesshomaru can walk on holy ground and touch souls!" His wife clung to him desperately while trying to make sense of her confession. "Moroha is the Yamato heir. Inuyasha! She k-killed me but I didn't die..."
"Who did?"
"Sesshomaru's mother! She said Yamato blood was spilled on the Goshinboku. The tree - " Kagome's hands covered her face when he sensed another surge in her power. Despite the sting of reiki against his palms, he held on. The colors in his vision blurred together in maddening vibrant circles. He recognized the symbol swirling round, an infinite circle, gyrating, spinning, threatening to break on its axis. Before his wife could get lost in the image, he physically shook her. The beautiful robin's eggs he loved so dearly flooded wildly.
Did she come to claim her son? Why was she here?
In the graveyard sat a pair of humans in white robes. Fine lines marked the man's face. The woman gripped the blanket tucked around her shoulders. Kagome's rambling logic made perfect sense. Their friends seemed as shocked to see him as Kagome. A tiny two-tailed cat meowed at him. He tried to estimate how old they were without asking. How could they be alive? The scent coming from their cups sent him reeling.
"Inuyasha…"
"Eejits, what did you do?" Love and sorrow made his voice rougher than he intended. Miroku took a heavy swig from the elixir brewed from the Peaches of Immortality. There was a minor pulse while the lines on his face lessened. The monk still looked older than he remembered but they were getting younger. Their stubborn, idiotic friends had made a pact with Sesshomaru's mother to leap through time! Hadn't they fought a demon that fed on the life force of mortal men? Inuyasha lifted his nose but Sesshomaru's mother was long gone. There was no sign of the divine animals either.
"It worked, didn't it? We knew trouble would find you two. We had to protect our granddaughter. That's what family does." The depth of human loyalty had him spinning. He was disarmed. Sango scolded her husband until he poured her a fresh cup of the three-thousand year old fruits. The trembles lessened in her arthritic hands.
"Kagome-sama, your daughter is beautiful." Miroku's thumb smoothed the tired wrinkle between Moroha's eyes. The exhausted child gave a powerful yawn. Demon instinct battled human inside his soul. Emotion bound up his words until he felt the need to act. The ratty handle of the Tetsusaiga was a familiar comfort. The blade sang to his soul when it cut through the air...the blade forged to protect his human mother!
Do you hear me, Tetsusaiga? We have to protect Kagome and Moroha.
It was only a flicker but Sesshomaru noted the pair admiring his daughter, the human mother drinking peaches from his mother's garden. Each long sip brought renewed health and youth to his dear friends. The scent swirling upwards from the cup did not mix well with the scent of ashes and graveyard soil. The same fruits that had no apparent effect on Kagome were restoring a grandmother to strength. What had she called them? The Peaches of Longevity from the Garden of Heaven grown from trees that only bore fruit every three thousand years. If the drink brewed from the peaches had this effect on normal humans, they were even more valuable than adamant stones in human shops. Why would a demon waste something so precious on a couple of mortals? Why serve the lowly half-demon a cup in her own territory?
What did she gain from reviving two humans?
Sesshomaru did not appreciate being inspected in the same manner. There was no flare of compassion in the eyes that matched his own. Inuyasha held his ground. The swirls of demon vortexes that belonged to his father's eldest had grown more powerful over the centuries despite his sacrifice. A challenge was present in the tilt of Tenseiga's blunted edge.
There was a relief in the first swing. Tetsusaiga glanced off Tenseiga when he darted after Sesshomaru into the trees. Strike upon strike warmed the muscles in his biceps and his forearms. The dog demon was always faster. No other opponent could turn as well on their feet. Even if the Sword of Healing could not cut his flesh, the Fang had great power. The scent of Tenseiga had changed. When their swords next crossed, he saw his reflection.
"Sesshomaru..."
"Inuyasha." He used his greater weight and height to press down on Tetsusaiga. His feet slid backward in the soil but he stopped Sesshomaru's advance. He stepped aside to withstand another flurry of perfect slashes nearly too nimble for him to witness. The centuries had only made him more lethal. His wife's knowledge was much greater than his own, he often deferred to her learning. Half-demon, eh?
Inuyasha did not expect Tenseiga to illuminate blue. It cast a ghostly shadow on the landscape. Unease chilled him to his bones when grey-and-purple smoke obscured his view, even his sense of smell. Panic overwhelmed him until he reassured himself that Sesshomaru had no reason to hurt his little family. He charged forward to cut with the Wind Scar and scatter the opaque matter. Tetsusaiga showed him how the Tenseiga formed a protective dome around its master while the destructive force raged past. When the explosion cleared -
Tetsusaiga sang loudly, its blade shining gold. Between them was a wound in the world like a jagged scar. It was not destructive like the meidō which drew all nearby into its maw. Unnatural light spilled out. The scents of another realm stunned him. A long white bridge led upwards through an eternity of stars beyond the warbling golden portal.
Could that be…?
It shrank and vanished in a moment leaving nothing but bright sparks. The sound dissipated.
Tenseiga can open the Border to the Underworld. Can the Tetsusaiga can open a portal to Heaven?
Sesshomaru glared past his shoulder. The humans had forgotten the absurdity of their situation to enjoy being reunited. Souta introduced himself to the grandfather whose ring he had inherited. Kilala happily wound circles around Kagome's legs, entwining her tails around the girl's calves, until she was given plentiful cuddles. He was even glad to watch Sango shove Miroku from his stony perch when he rediscovered her firm backside.
"The monk's power disappeared when Naraku was killed."
"The Wind Tunnel? Yeah. The second time, anyway. The bastard pulled a con so he could absorb the power of a demon named Kaguya who was pretending to be a celestial maiden. The demon kidnapped Kagome so she could steal her body. Miroku used the Wind Tunnel to absorb Kaguya's essence before Naraku had the chance. Glad she's dead." Inuyasha huffed proudly when he remembered the look on her face when he resisted the power of the mirror. Kagome's kiss. It was only because of her ability to jump through time that any of them had been able to fight her attacks of stillness.
"The Wind was Naraku's curse."
"Yeah. Naraku took the form of a beautiful woman to get close to his grandfather, Monk Miyatsu. He couldn't defeat Miyatsu on his own so he used the Wind Tunnel to curse every son of their bloodline with eternal suffering." Inuyasha waited for the next question-statement but there was only silence. Kagome was digging through her bulging yellow pack for any ninja snacks that had survived the mountain trip. "Then his great-great-something descendant falls back through time and purifies the bastard!"
That news earned him a look.
"Guess you missed that bit, huh? Kagome is their granddaughter." Inuyasha couldn't help feeling a bit smug. He crossed his arms while Sesshomaru processed the information. It was frightening to consider the alternative paths his friends might have followed where Miroku had been consumed by the Wind and Sango married that snotty human lord from the Takeda clan and suffered through the siege at Matsumoto. Moroha would never have been born.
His statement went ignored in favor of the new sprouts of chrysanthemums at Kagome's feet. His wife was preoccupied with leading the others in a strategy session to escape the mountain while the Crow was breaking seals. The baby was dozing happily on her shoulder with her mother's heartbeat in her ear. She was very concerned about the safety of the roads after the quake, not to mention the problem of traveling without identification for half their group! The others patiently waited for Kagome to panic about calling the Higurashi household to call her mother and grandfather who were surely worried. What if the Crow beat them to the Shrine?
Sesshomaru was not interested in the humans' antics. His pale eyes were uplifted to the stars visible in the early morning light. His anger against the Mother stoked again when he got fresh wind of the blood soaking Kagome's clothes. He didn't care if it was just 'some test' to the demon, if Sesshomaru could have used the Tenseiga to revive her if she had failed. She hurt Kagome!
"Listen, bastard - "
Sesshomaru ignored him to continue tracking the progress of a shape growing larger and larger as it fell to the earth. Red-hot fire trailed it as it soared high over the graveyard. Kagome and Moroha were in his arms before the rock could make impact with the ground. Water from the river, dust and debris rained down on them, the ground shook. Several of the trees in the graveyard were disturbed from their homes, landing on ancient urns so that ancient ashes caught the wind. Shippo prevented a falling grave marker from toppling onto Rin.
The baby had been awakened by the sound of the crash. Kagome rubbed her back but the stubborn girl was not soothed. Soon Moroha was crying over his shoulder while Kagome went to check on her brother. The idiot had been knocked off his feet by the impact. The cut on his arm had ripped the fabric but the bleeding was superficial. Little fists were twisted in his collar. The noise was impressive. His ears flattened defensively against his skull but her newborn wails were sharp. Kilala jumped onto his shoulder and climbed over his head to mew at the scared youngster. An inquisitive furry paw distracted Moroha long enough to end the noise.
"If we can't kill it, we need to lure that damned Crow somewhere and trap it like we did at Matsumoto." Inuyasha voiced. His elder brother glared at the smoke rising in the distance. When Sesshomaru set out to investigate the crash site, he rallied the others to follow. If falling stars are related to the Crow's plan, we should know what we're facing.
The ancient Ichinohashi Bridge was destroyed. The river had been displaced by the force of the event. No doubt humans would have noticed which meant they had limited time to leave before the guards showed up in their annoying carriages. They could follow the human roads down the mountain which would be crowded with refugees but Sesshomaru would attract too much mortal attention. It was safer to retreat through the forests paths. If they were under attack, humans would only get hurt in the process. What they really needed was a way to track the damned thing!
"Oh, look!" Rin chimed. "Look, Sesshomaru-sama!"
An unconscious girl clung to the side of the river. Shippo slid down the embankment to drag her out of the silt. Layers of blue-and-white kimono shimmered despite the shadows. It took a few moments for her to come around. The kitsune opened his hands to show her he meant no harm but she commanded the demon to get away. Big, dark eyes panicked when she nearly backed into Sesshomaru's boots. Before she could scream again, Rin interceded. Something about the teenager with the innocent face soothed her. The female did not object to Kagome's proffer. Together, Sango and Kagome helped her to her feet. Silver bells chimed on her ankle while she turned to identify her surroundings.
"Earth? The day of the Black Sky! My sisters…" Diamond tears gathered at the edge of her unusual eyes. For a moment she could only cry while reciting missing stars from the visible constellations above. He didn't understand until he remembered playing with Kagome's magic telescoping device.
"Wow, a real celestial maiden!"
"If this is the day of the Black Sky, where is my son? She promised. Where is he?" Violet eyes looked past the baby in his arms to the monk on the mossy bank. Tears streamed down her face when she rightfully named him and his father and grandfather. Miroku stepped forward when she called him again. There was painful joy in the way she touched his face. He exposed the palm of his right hand for her inspection. Love warmed her voice when she asked how his father's curse had been removed. Miroku introduced her to his wife Sango who had helped defeat Naraku.
"Imagine a woman giving birth alone within the sanctuary of a country temple. She must have been brave. Brave and beautiful and kind."
"Oi! Who promised you what? Who the hell are you?"
The maiden jumped in fear at his tone. Kagome almost commanded him to sit until she remembered Moroha. He stepped back when she insisted he 'hand her over'. Kilala mewed in his ear. The Shikon Guardian chased him around a tree demanding he stop using their baby as a shield! Little Moroha thought it was a game. He hopped into the lowest branch beyond her reach until she calmed the fuck down!
"My name is Tsuru. Are they the sons of the Pale Lady and the Great Dog-Demon?"
"Pale Lady?" Miroku repeated.
"The Pale Lady has many names. She Who Weaves Many Fates, Revered Golden Mother of the Underworld, Custodian of the Wheel of Rebirth..." she whispered. "Lady of the West, Mistress of the Nine Voids, Holder of the Celestial Grindstone and the Five Shards..."
How many names can one bitch have?!
"Many years ago, my sisters and I decided to bathe in the onsen on the mountain. Soon we realized that we were not alone, that demons would soon discover our position, so we ran. I could not reach my hagoromo because a demon had stolen it. Before it could demand improprieties a young handsome monk came and saved us from the beasts. My sisters quickly returned home but I remained to become his wife and bear his child."
I bet the pervert was spying on them from the bushes!
"It was in the days after your birth when I became greatly ill. The Pale Lady confirmed that a celestial maiden is not meant to live among mortals in the mortal plane indefinitely. However she looked forward and promised we would meet again if I returned home without delay! How are you alive, my Miroku? Has it not been many centuries since your birth?"
'She Who Weaves Many Fates'?
Inuyasha jumped down gently. Kagome was caught on the phrase 'Wheel of Rebirth'. She played with Moroha's little socked foot while Miroku gave her a redacted version of their long journey to the graveyard. He glared over his wife's head to discourage Sesshomaru from studying his little family but it never worked. The son of the 'Pale Lady' was lost in his own thoughts while watching Kagome's hair ride the breeze.
"She who walks in light / Daughter of Heaven be safe / Never shall we meet."
Kagome ran her thumb over Moroha's tiny finger where the String of Fate was tied. Miroku's voice skipped several years of the tale to add his granddaughter to the tale, the Girl Who Fell Through Time, who defeated the false celestial maiden Kaguya. His wife winced when he recalled their part of the story when Kaguya had turned Kagome's own arrow back on her, how the celestial robe had saved her life. Neither of them were surprised when Tsuru responded.
"Only a girl with celestial blood could have been saved by the hagoromo. That is quite fortunate! My grandchild, you say? How peculiar!"
Several hours had passed but the 'Black Sky' remained. The dark sun cast shadows on the green landscape while the Inutaichi traveled the mountain by hidden paths. The buzzing radio in Shippo's hands substantiated the decision with tales of mayhem in larger cities. Abnormal geothermal activity was being measured across the country. All flights had been grounded until further notice. When the dog demon asked, the kitsune explained about the rise of commercial aviation post-1945.
Kagome was relieved when the clunky satellite phone finally made contact with the Higurashi household.
"Mom?"
There was static so she wandered off the woodsy path into a clearing. She called again but there was no response. Inuyasha rolled his eyes but he allowed her to climb onto his back to jump clear of the canopy. The sound of tsk-tsk-tsk cleared but only an echo of her mother's voice came through the receiver. She had to wait for the next jump to try again.
"Mom, if you can hear me, stay at the Shrine! The Goshinboku should protect you. We're safe! Mom? M-ooo-m!" Her heart dropped when there was no response. Inuyasha landed gently on the topmost branch of an enormous tree waiting for a signal. It was unnerving to feel exposed under the dark sun while newly born demon hawks flew together in a V-formation. Thankfully Rin had Moroha and Sesshomaru was her guardian. She hugged Inuyasha's neck when the line went dead. The oppressive dark aura bearing down from the sky made her want to hide. Her husband understood and dropped to the trail.
"I bet they're staying put at home, Kagome. Your gramps is superstitious and carries sutra. No way he lets your mom out in this mess," he sighed.
"Mom won't understand the danger! What if she gets hurt? It would be all my fault!" Several stress-induced tears rolled down her cheeks into his collar. The scent of her husband helped but couldn't banish her terror. A daughter of monks with latent celestial blood intermarrying with the half-demon son of the Great Dog-Demon and an Imperial Princess? No wonder everyone is interested in Moroha.
"What are we going to do?"
"Keh," Inuyasha exhaled. "We're going to protect her, what else? I don't care about the rest of this shit. Moroha is OUR daughter." She let herself bask in his confident voice and aura to fight her visions of darkness. A universe of spinning black holes and stars. Her strong husband did not have to run very fast to catch up with their group. Miroku was having a wonderful time debating his mother's description of vertical and horizontal cosmology and the many things which could not be seen by ordinary mortals. The discussion about rebirth into one of the various heavens went over Inuyasha's head but she listened. Based on the way Sesshomaru's ear would occasionally turn, someone else was listening too.
If his mother is the Mistress of the Underworld, and controls the Wheel of Rebirth, maybe she granted Kikyo's dying wish to see Inuyasha again.
Kagome enjoyed the comfort of her position on Inuyasha's back. The gentle sway of his walk made it easy to close her eyes. There were too many facts and not enough answers to understand the tangled web of Moroha's destiny. She forced herself to seek a meditative state to quiet her mind. Exhaustion made a nap against Inuyasha's shoulder attractive. She drifted.
The dream began with an overwhelming feeling of doubt. First she remembered Inuyasha taking possession of Tetsusaiga and the Wind Scar, the technique given to their father by her own mother. Colossal rage prevailed against her husband. Why should a lowly half-demon be given the great Wind Scar and then the Meidō Zangetsuha? Why had their father insisted Inuyasha receive help perfecting the technique? It was unfair that Inuyasha should be given the greater of the Fangs. The Tenseiga was a sword of healing. Useless. Does he expect me to go around healing mortals?
The scent of blood had compelled Sesshomaru to resurrect Rin with the Tenseiga. As a test. She was a curiosity. In a single stroke the blade had cut through the minions of the Underworld and prevented Rin's soul being harvested from her body and revealed the sword's potential. Where would they have taken her soul?
Miroku had wielded the Wind Tunnel at the inn. She recalled the pull of the swirling void. I know this scent. What game are you playing that requires mortals and half-breeds? Certainly you traded Naraku the weapon and warned him about the bloodline. To what end?
