Chapter 11 Koma
In the wake of Kagome's disappearance, her friends tried to settle into their new normal. It was difficult because the hunt for shards and being aware of Naraku's evil had been the main component of their lives for so long.
Rin began picking flowers with close to her usual enthusiasm. She would bring them to Kaede to identify, which segued into conversations about herbs and other plants, their properties and applications. Jaken hovered nearby, more concerned about the small girl than the missing miko. Shippou would stay in the vicinity of Rin, performing tricks to make her smile, pointing out new patches of blooms for her perusal, and juggling the odema that Kagome had made before the battle.
The sound of Rin and Shippou's laughter finally broke through the collective introspection of the others. Sango and Miroku started to discuss their future together, planning to build a larger hut for after their incipient nuptials. Sesshoumaru had begun writing and drawing a strategy with an eye toward the future. Inuyasha resumed patrols of the area around the village, including the Goshinboku and the clearing with the well. Protecting his territory became his purpose.
Slowly the week rolled back around and it was once again Thursday. Late in the afternoon, Inuyasha spotted a moving dust cloud approaching the village. Alert to the possibility of danger he shouted to Miroku and Sango. Sesshoumaru heard the shout, of course, and languidly strolled in the direction of the disturbance. As the dust cloud drew closer, three figures, one in the lead with the other two following at a distance, came into view.
"Yo, Dog-breath! Great job on taking out Naraku and his gang. We came to help you celebrate," It was Kouga, with Ginta and Hakkaku hard on his heels. "Heard you all were having a regular game night, so we're here with some fun," he proclaimed loudly, with his two pack members puffing and wheezing through the dust in his wake. "So, where's my woman?! I can't wait until she sees what I brought," Kouga peered around, his head swiveling as he looked for Kagome.
"She ain't here. She went home, permanently. So, you can just turn around and head back to your stinky caves, wolfboy," Inuyasha sneered.
"Kagome's gone? What do you mean permanently? You can't just hide her from me. I'll just beat the information out of your hide." With that, Kouga lunged for Inuyasha, who responded with a swipe with his claws. In seconds, the two were brawling all over the clearing. The rest of the group along with Ginta and Hakkaku, casually stepped to one side of the clearing, giving the combatants plenty of room. This was, after all, their usual form of greeting.
Shippou looked at the two wolf demons eagerly, "So, what game did you bring?"
Hakkaku, being the more talkative of the two, said, "You'll really like this one, kitsune. It's a game with tops. Have a look." He held out a bucket of what looked like spiral seashells coated in wax. Also in the bucket were several long cords made of leather. "Lemme show you how this works."
He poured out the contents of the bucket, then fit a canvas cover over the mouth. He picked up one of the shells and a cord. He carefully wrapped the cord around the shell, then placed on the canvas cover. Then he rapidly pulled the cord off the shell, resulting in the shell spinning very fast.
"Woah! That's so cool!" breathed Shippou. "What do you think, Rin? Rin?" The fox kit turned around looking for his friend, spotting her finally peering out from behind Sesshoumaru's leg. Shippou ignored the spinning top for the moment to go see what was causing Rin's evident timidity.
Slowly, Shippou approached both Rin and Sesshoumaru. He still wasn't completely comfortable with the dog demon, so he didn't want to make any sudden movements. Once he was close enough, he spoke softly, echoing phrases he had heard Kagome use when he was upset or overwhelmed, "Hey, Rin, are you okay?"
Rin shook her head, then nodded.
"Is it because of the wolves?" Shippou asked, still quietly. Rin had told him her history with wolves. Rin nodded, and then pulled further behind Sesshoumaru. Shippou nodded in understanding. "It's okay. You don't have to come over if you don't want to. But Lord Sesshoumaru won't let anything happen, plus I'm here, too, and I won't let them hurt you either, if I can stop it. I'll go look for both of us and then show you what they brought, okay?" Rin smiled at him, which made him feel warm and happy. He then went back to the wolf demons and the tops.
"So, show me again how this works?" Shippou requested.
Sesshoumaru placed his hand gently on Rin's head, for reassurance. He was impressed with Shippou's behavior and the manner in which he consoled Rin. Clearly the kit had picked up more than a few strange phrases from Kagome. He had absorbed her kindness and caring, as well as being protective. A worthy set of attributes.
The sudden absence of sound had the daiyouki looking across the clearing. Inuyasha and Kouga had apparently finished tussling with each other, and now more leaned on each other than stood. With a deep rumble that drew everyone's attention, he asked, "are you both finished with your …enthusiastic greeting?"
Hakkaku spoke up, "The two of you fight like courting couples kiss. Not sure if you are doing it because you want to or because you think it is expected."
"It's nothin' like that!" exploded Inuyasha. "He's just a jerk and gets on my nerves all the time. Besides, he annoys Kagome."
Ginta chimed in at this, "But you said Kagome wasn't even here." Ginta looked confused.
Kouga gave a little laugh, still panting from exertion. "No, she's not. I'm not sure I understand the details, but we still brought stuff to play with for a game night. The tops are called 'koma'. We use them instead of fighting during the winter. We let the komas fight for us. Each player launches his top on the canvas cover. Winner is the one that spins the longest without falling off," he turned towards Inuyasha. "Want to give it a try, mutt?"
"Mine will spin twice as long as yours," the hanyo retorted.
"Oh, really?" Kouga drawled. "Twice as long you say? Let's give it a twirl."
The two nudged Hakkaku and Shippou aside. Kouga gave Inuyasha a quick lesson in how to pull the leather cord to make the top spin on its point. Then they proceeded to monopolize the playing surface while arguing heatedly over who had won each round.
Gintu leaned over and asked Hakkaku, "Maybe we should get another bucket. I've got two more covers."
Hakkaku agreed, "Hey, kit. Do you know where we could get a couple more buckets? Then we all could play."
"Sure, I'll go get them from the village." Shippou turned to where the little girl was still hiding her face. "Rin, do you want to go with me to the village for buckets? Then you and I could play this together." Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru for permission.
"Go ahead, Rin. I shall keep an eye on the wolves and my brother," he said, reassuringly. "Jaken, go with them and bring them back safely."
"Yes, my lord. It shall be as you say," the imp was quick to respond.
Later, as Sesshoumaru watched his ward play koma fighting with the kitsune, he reflected on what he had observed. 'This would be a good game to go into Silver Dogs Design. Though made of different materials. Perhaps adding bright colors to them. Hmm, however the real question is, do we allow the wolf youkai into our secret. First, we must make sure that Rin is able to be comfortable. Her wellbeing is more important, though I do not wish to lose games that other youkai, and even humans, play. Somehow, we must keep the rules, the pieces, and the existence of such games alive until we can recreate them for our future endeavor. Indeed, we must find out if we have already begun to lose games to time.'
Sesshoumaru continued to ponder possibilities as the evening wore on. And over it all, he wondered, what would Kagome think? How would she approach each of his questions? Five hundred years was a long time to wait for answers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the related characters. Inuyasha is created by Rumiko Takahashi and owned by the author and the studios/publishers that she has designated. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights to Inuyasha belong to its owner. I do not own 'Beyblades" or any related characters nor am I making any money from these intellectual properties.