KOTODAMA
"The soul that resides within words."
.
Chapter IV
.
Kabukicho was the closest thing to a hive of people wandering around the streets at any given time, day or night, winter or summer; To InuYasha, it was pretty much his home. He'd been wandering the place since he was a child, hiding through the alleyways or feigning that he was in the company of an adult so that the police wouldn't catch him in the middle of the little jobs that helped him survive. Because of that, these streets with their crowds and hustles were a sound he could recognize immediately, and despite the many times his spirit would ask him for the calm one could find in a forest, he felt comfortable knowing the zone and the species living in it, like a wild forest made of concrete one had to survive in, and if one could survive here, one could do so just anywhere.
As soon as he entered the main street where one could find the Kyomu, a club he visited every time an errand took him there, he was able to notice beneath the skin that sensation of belonging. This was his place, yet that sensation was opposed by another, one wanting to never set foot on these streets for as long as he lived. InuYasha had what could be labeled a toxic relationship with some slices of his life. He felt love, hatred, and recognized those emotions, knowing those moments were part of his life and composed him, yet he also hated himself in them, and couldn't find reconciliation. It was because of that he sought to get away, for maybe something resembling a new life could help him bury everything which he didn't want to be.
As he made his way through the street, he threw a couple of gestures to some known faces who recognized him, and who kept themselves to their own territories. Everything in this place was segmented for work, and if they were to step past a certain line, the way the place had to impose order wasn't attractive for any of the groups. It was enough to say it was through violence, punches, knifes, and sometimes, the end was in a hospital; no, it wasn't pleasant.
In the distance he managed to see Renkotsu, doing the task assigned to those who did something wrong. He had probably taken a decision concerning the business without asking anyone first. His ambition was his greatest weakness, and he wasn't able to measure the length of his strides. InuYasha knew the man had seen him as well, and as it was usual between them, there was no exchange of greetings, not a hint.
He went through the wide doors in front of the club, a place where women danced and others acted as hosts and waitresses while serving alcohol. With just a gesture, the men in charge of security allowed him to pass, like always. He stepped by the tables which in that moment, like at any hour really, were full, the smell of smoking, drinking and sweat permeating the place. It seemed as they were becoming more evident every time he came, hence his thoughts were around finishing the errand and getting out as soon as possible, for the scent could cling to one's clothes, and he'd had to wash it before ever putting it on again.
With an extended arm, he pulled a curtain of beads covering a narrow door aside, a threshold separating the legal, public side of the Kyomu, from the zone dancing among grays.
"Coming in without knocking, handsome?" He heard, a few meters away in the middle of semi-darkness.
"Today you are hiding quite well." He answered once the small jump scare had passed.
"You know, in this, one has days, and then days." In the reply there as a lack of joy, and a surplus of sarcasm.
InuYasha recognized in the voice of the man the unmistakable weariness that disappointment leaves.
"What about a drink?" He asked.
"It seemed you were in a hurry." Was the answer from the shadows.
"There is always time for a drink." He let the hint of a small smile be seen.
"I won't be the one to deny that."
Jakotsu emerged from the corner where he most surely had been confined to the last few hours, and the light uncovered a large bruise covering his right cheekbone and the lower part of his eye.
Both walked towards the bar, while a girl up in the stage with red curtains and neon signs on both sides, played with two fans that helped her hide her naked chest from the view of the audience. InuYasha was used to witnessing shows in places like these, where long hours of work were hidden under the lights; that, and little sleep, with a certain amount of desolation.
"Sake?" He asked his companion.
"It's that a question?" Jakotsu wanted to smile, and the gesture reminded him of the punch he'd received.
With a hand, he called to the woman behind the bar, who wore a bit more clothes than the ones serving at the tables or dancing, and that by InuYasha's knowledge of the business, was only possible through very hard work. He asked for two cups of sake, aware he didn't need to pay for them, for the way he usually paid was through the errands and jobs he was asked to run here.
"Are you going to tell me where that came from?" He asked, as Jakotsu attempted another one of his apparent smiles to dodge the question.
"Nothing worth the time it would take me to tell the tale. You know, the same as always." He shrugged.
"Why do you insist on seeking the same kind of guys?" He raised the small cup of sake, inviting him to do the same.
"Because you came out faulty, and have that mania of looking in the other way." He laughed, complained and finally drank the cup in one gulp.
InuYasha laughed too and drank his own.
He knew Jakotsu since the man arrived, just a twelve-year-old boy back then, and put him to work at the club cleaning that which nobody wanted to clean, like he himself at first. At the time, InuYasha had the same age and that turned them into partial adventure partners. However, while he discovered the excitement of watching women strip on stage, Jakotsu did the same but while looking at the men massaging their parts when watching the show. Many times, he threatened him with a kiss, yet never went beyond that, and InuYasha knew it was because he really appreciated him.
"One of these days they are gonna beat you down badly." He warned him.
Jakotsu gave him a content smile, seeking to show the irony he felt before his words.
"It's easy for you to say, the market you shop in it's much wider." He tapped the empty cup on the bar, so that the girl serving them would fill it again. When the offer of another shot came to InuYasha, he just placed his palm on the cup, refusing.
"It's not about that, Jakotsu." He watched how the man hurried the second shot down, furrowing his brow before the alcohol's taste.
"Oh, right, I forgot you were behind that utopic girl." Sarcasm peeked out along the middle of the phrase. "How is that going? Have you found her yet?"
InuYasha thought immediately about the girl of the purse, and became surprised by the bad play of his mind.
"I haven't, obviously. Would I be here otherwise?" He wanted to bring the conversation to the humorous side.
"Would you have an option? You are here for a job, aren't you?"
Before being able to answer the question, InuYasha felt someone tapping his shoulder. One of the girls serving the tables talked to him.
"You are expected." She pointed at a side door leading to one of the entrances of the club.
.
.
The house Shippo and he inhabited was in a relatively quiet district, InuYasha rarely heard of anything happening there, which was a relief; one of the reasons he treasured that place and hoped he could spend the winter, which was closer every time.
On his way back, he went into a grocery store and paid for a few instant soups. The last few days of work had been good, his pay coming from hours worked and from two relatively permanent places, something that allowed him to lead a more or less decent life. He felt content with that, and sometimes he could even save some of it, although right now he was living again one day at a time.
After opening the door, he skimmed through the space filled by old junk. The night had fallen a while ago, even if for him it was still early. He pushed the wooden door and found Shippo, who jumped so high he almost hit the roof.
"Shit...! InuYasha, we need to come up with knocking password or something." He complained.
InuYasha let out a hearty laugh and drew closer to the young-man to stroke his head in a rough greeting that had become custom between them since they met, four years ago, when the youth was eleven. InuYasha had never mentioned it, but he was sure Shippo would have ended up dead in some sewers if he hadn't taken him out of that district. Many things happened in the narrow alleyways of Kabukicho, and many vices took place in them.
"What are you reading?" He inquired, curious, as he left at one side the bag with what would be their dinner.
Nor the boy nor he had gone to school in the usual way, and in the same way InuYaha had managed to ask for books in the libraries, using fake ids, to learn whatever he found interesting at the time, he gave Shippo a reading list so that the youth could learn something else besides what the decadent streets were teaching him.
"What do you think I'm reading?" The tone he used wasn't precisely joyful as the boy showed him the cover.
"It seems you like it!" He kidded, knowing the youth would retort, which was good, for Shippo was enhancing his intelligence through the use of sarcasm.
"Of course I do! I find it quite useful! This, for example." His voice turned high and prideful as he read out loud. "When we do not reflect about ourselves, we barely perceive the superfluous in others."
"Glad to see you understand it."
"Or this one." Shippo continued, submerged in his cloud of foul mood. "From the weak branches of the young pines, we ought to shake the stacking snow without fail." InuYasha thought about asking if he could understand that, yet the boy continued. "Or this one: Even if high praised, there is barely a jewelry without flaw."
"Do you understand it?" He wanted to know, while turning on a little gas stove they could heat up water on, and sometimes the very house.
"And what use does it have for me to read, or understand, this pamphlet written by the Meiji emperor more than a hundred years ago?" Shippo complained, setting the book aside.
"To read makes you think, decide, and for example, know what a pamphlet is." He started opening the instant soups.
"But, how can I not know what a pamphlet is?" The question was surprising, even to him.
"You may know the word, you may hear it, but not know how to apply it. Right now, you've used it in the right context."
In the room then, a particular silence emerged, full of questions and comprehensions; the kind of silence that comes with one's own widening thoughts.
"I still think it's a hassle to read this pamphlet." He expressed, seeking to rest value to InuYasha's words, yet the man only laughed.
"It is a hassle, but with time you get to like it."
He had to force himself to read it the first time, after all, and didn't manage to finish it before the book was due to be returned. When he borrowed it for the second time, because a book wasn't going to defeat him, the haikus he had read previously, became easier on his eyes and he even related them to something he had lived recently; reality could be reflected in the philosophy of a poem. In that moment he understood that poetry also held knowledge, just conjugated beautifully, even if beauty wasn't always the main topic.
"Still carrying that purse?" Shippo's curiosity was piqued for a reason; The man seemed stuck to the purse since the boy had brought it.
"Yes, I am. Why? You want it?" Came the completely defensive response.
The boy watched the way in which InuYasha placed a hand over the purse, still on the ground and by his side, pulling it even closer by a few centimeters, as if it contained something precious inside. Shippo decided it was best to leave it alone.
"No, just asking." He returned his gaze to the book, and comprehended another of the Meiji Emperor haikus.
"The tree, like one's home, endures the winds if in harmony its branches grow."
.
.
A little bit before finishing her day of work, Kagome asked Izumo sensei to approve certain details she had changed in some of the last drawings he requested her to do. It was a scene where the man extended his hand towards a tree, and waited for one of the birds resting on it, to finally decide to fly and land on his palm. The detail was beautiful and enriched quite a bit the chapter's pages. Kagome made a slight modification to what master Izumo had asked of her; She drew a bird flying towards the character's hand instead of one already resting on his palm, in that way creating a beautiful effect of wings batting the air. The scene had gained such relevance with that little detail, that Master Izumo decided to make the drawing a two-paged picture. She couldn't help noticing a warmth invading her chest, a mix of pride and deep love for her work. After profusely thanking the man for the courtesy he was giving her, she began to put some order on her workplace as to start the next day without an issue.
She went down ladder at one side of the building and began to walk towards the train station, carefree, still filled by the joy of work well done. The days were getting shorter and shorter, hence the natural light around her was the penumbra between the streetlights, that were only now starting to turn on.
"Kagome-sama." She heard her name, and turned around just about enough to see Koutatsu by her side, her co-worker. "I'll accompany you."
The man wasn't asking her, and she also had noted the man staring at her throughout the day with that sly gaze he used, and she didn't like.
"Where?" She questioned.
"To walk." Came the ambiguous response.
She found herself not knowing what to reply, letting the man continue beside her as they stepped forward. She felt restless, even restrained.
"I believe Izumo sensei praised your work from today." Koutatsu began a conversation.
"Yes, he did." She tried to keep a kind tone.
"I'm glad."
The continued at a steady pace, yet she had the sensation of going too slow. The man was looking at her in that hidden way, as if he didn't want to be discovered, and that arose an unpleasant feeling within her, even more with that fine mustache line right above his upper lip. They turned at a corner, there was still a few lengths to reach the train station, and she hoped that once there the man would leave her alone.
"Kagome-sama, you are beautiful."
There it was, she knew it would arrive sooner or later. It wasn't the first time such a thing happened to her, and the affirmation was even annoying by this point. Yes, she was pretty, she knew it, the same way she knew that those who would say so ou tloud were only looking at her figure in the mid-twenties. What will they think of her when she becomes half-a-century older?
She felt such affirmation to ring hollow. It lacked everything it needed to be real.
"Thank you."
Was the only thing she managed to answer, taking half-a-step to the side unconsciously. He noted how the man grabbed her arm.
"I'm serious, Kagome." The formality disappeared. "I like you, and I want to go out with you."
I don't. Was the thought repeating inside her mind, while seeking for the best way to deal with this matter. Tomorrow she'd have to see the man at work again, after all.
"Koutatsu-sama..."
Her speech got caught in her throat when she managed to see someone drawing near, quite quickly, from the road they had already walked, and went by behind her. She followed the movement with her gaze, turning her body to the right to seek it, while the man who still had her arm in his hand also looked for who was going behind her. Kagome couldn't help the surprise she felt when a hand found place on her waist, and the warmth of the body of who was embracing her.
"I'm sorry I'm late."
She turned, this time to her left, completely conscious of the frenzy of her heart, given the circumstances. Suddenly, inside her space there was the warmth of the hand on her waist, the voice that had almost whispered that phrase, and the golden eyes that were looking at her in that way that was almost if she belonged to them.
"I should have told you it could take me while."
One of the streetlights flared into life then, and Kagome kept being unable to reply in any way.
The man in the red hood looked at Koutatsu, who was still holding her arm, and smiled at him.
"You must be Kagome's coworker." She heard him mentioned, and held back her breath when she realized he knew her name, her eyes watching the way in which he took a hand to his head, and pulled back the hood covering him, making manifest his beautiful silvery hair. The sight forced her to let out the air in a sort of anxious sigh. He extended that same hand towards Koutatsu, and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm InuYasha."
.
To be continued.
.
A/N
I so wished to arrive here!
I can't tell you much about the story, because anything could be a spoiler xD however, I want you to know I'm happy with what I'm writing.
I also want to say, as a way of general information, that Kyomu means: "A dream come true."
Thank you for coming by, and do tell me your thoughts.
Kisses,
Anyara.
This text is possible thanks to the translation of: Dezart