InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kiyou Nitsuite Amedare: Ten, Tentou, ken Touhou ❯ Ichiban Bundan ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"'Kagome-chan, when water is trapped, and it has no where to go� it carves a new path for itself from stone and earth. It rises above, and overcomes its obstacles.'

And this was the ideal she was trying to instill in me-strength."

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Samurai / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.06.2006 | Updated On: 04.06.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 967 | Status: Work In Progress

A/n: Thanks to those who reviewed! Inuyashaloverr, Silent Beauty (as always ^_^), and PrincessMelissa83. The translation of the title is in the summary of the story. And thanks for the compliments ^_^. Glossary is at the end of the chapter.

Ichiban Bundan

One day my okaa-san had explained what she had meant a little more clearly while we would drag the fishing nets in after the afternoon sun reached its peak. “You see these little fish, Kagome-chan?” I turned my head to her, and looked down at the fish that were to be our dinner that evening. “They need water to breathe… and we need water to drink. Even they do. Water is in everything, little Kagome-chan… even in the air we breathe. Water is life. Don't forget that.” I just smiled at her and nodded, though I was unsure why she told me this at that time.

We often spent our time this way-cleaning in the morning, and retrieving the fish in the middle of the day. Afterward we tended to what little livestock we had, and then weeded our tiny garden. I would help my mother cook dinner at night, we would throw the nets out again soon after dinner was finished. We'd clean the dishes, take a bath and then go to bed together. We continued this routine every day, and I never thought life was much different than this, so I never wished for anything more than to continue to live with my mother the same way.

That was, until one day. Since I lived on the far outskirts of the village, mother often sent me to the heart of the village that contained a small market… though, no matter how hard I averted my eyes many people still ridiculed me for my heritage. Though I didn't understand… my father was samurai and my mother was renowned bushi, so I did not quite comprehend their hatred for me.

Don't misunderstand now… you must be thinking that while my mother knew of the cruelty, she sent me straight in to the lion's den by having me go to the market. In a sense, this was in fact true. But as I pondered on it one day, I realized that my mother was only enforcing something she had long ago taught me.

“Kagome-chan, when water is trapped, and it has no where to go… it carves a new path for itself from stone and earth. It rises above, and overcomes its obstacles.”

And this was the ideal she was trying to instill in me-strength. And I looked up to her for her own strength, her grace and beauty as she weathered the true face of the world. Her unfaltering kindness and patience when it came to me was such a guiding light for me in my darkest days. And this particular day was perhaps the darkest day of all.

I remember clutching the basket I held tightly to my chest as with one hand I hiked up my yukata for it had begun to mist… which, near the seashore, meant that a heavy rain was soon to come. Out of breath, I ran under the entrance of the shrine just as it had begun to pour down. I lifted my head slightly, watching the drops pour down from the clouds and I was vaguely reminded of the day that I had claimed my mother's eyes were raining.

The entrance was composed of two stone walls that were hallowed out on the inside and stood about ten feet apart, each about five feet wide. You could huddle on the inside of the wall, and not be seen from the road. Which often I did, to escape men as well as the rain and wind. What better place to hide than the most obvious? Most do not think of these places for they would be too easy, but that is what makes them perfect. They are overlooked.

While I absently poked the ground with a stick, waiting out the rain, I heard a strange noise. Curiously, I moved to the very corner of the inside of the wall, and peered out up the steps toward the shrine. There, upon the top of the steps stood the shrine priest. He seemed to stare out, not focusing quite on anything… I didn't quite get what it was he was doing, so I decided to timidly call out to him.

“Houshi-sama… daijoubu?”

He did not answer me… and in fact, he did not even look at me… He just swaggered down the steps, one at a time, until he reached about half way down… then for no apparent reason to me, he just fell. He fell down the remainder of the steps and landed right next to me. My eyes widened when I realized the cause of his dilemma… An arrow stuck in his back, standing up at attention as if to call new order. A proclamation that nothing again would be the same.

Timidly, I remember reaching out and shaking the houshi-sama… he rolled his glazed eyes up to me, and spoke softly to me. “Kouro…”

I recoiled into the corner as far as I possibly could when his body began to jerk away from me, as if he were being pulled backward.

I was too afraid to move.

The rain washed down the mud toward me, carrying a small river of his blood. I hardly remember the feeling of tears, for it was as if a demon was unleashed within me and took possession of me for the fire in my blood could not be calmed as I stood and ran. I ran until the blood pounded in my ears and the burning seared my lungs closed, I was sure. But I did not stop until I had reached the house on the edge of the cliff… our house.

“OKAA-SAN!” I screamed for her. I was terrified, and kept shaking like a poor rabbit that is being hunted by a dog.

“Kagome-chan?” I'm sure she was surprised by my outburst, for hardly ever did I shout. She looked apprehensive, and I felt compelled to tell her.

“Okaa-san, a ghost has killed our Houshi-sama!” Now, any other mother might think this to be a fantasy of a child's mind, but my mother knew me. She knew when I was playing, and she knew now that she had a frightened child who saw something that she should have never seen. “Are you sure?” She gripped my shoulders lightly kneeling down to my eye level so she could watch my sincerity. “Yes, mother, I am sure for I saw an arrow in the back of houshi-sama!” I choked on my words. He had been such a kind man to me, and I had even called him `Oji-san' when he and I were alone.

“Come. Where is my Naginata?” I looked up at her, and her once kindly face held a look of stone. My mother was truly a bushi woman, and would defend us. But even as my mind rejoiced in my mother's strength, my heart sighed. It was not right.

Something was not right.

“In the shed, demo Okaa-san… we should leave!” I grabbed a hold of my okaa-san's sleeve and tugged lightly. She stopped in her tracks, looking down at me with quiet eyes. “Doushite, Kagome-chan? Nanda fuka?” I gripped her lightly, tears in my eyes as the rain fell around us. “Okaa-san… everything. Everything is wrong. Onegai, can we just go...? Please?”

My okaa-san looked as if she conflicted with herself. I knew she had trust in me… I knew she loved me more than anyone or anything that graced this plane. But I knew she also did not want to leave others behind. “Yes or no, Kagome-chan?”

I shook my head fervently, “Iie, iie Okaa-san!” She seemed to frown at this, “My Naginata may be the only thing that will keep us alive.”

I held steadfast, “Please, there is Otou-san's old katana under the bed. Please. Grab that instead…”

She still seemed to debate, for her Naginata was preferred. But my heart would not allow it.

“Hahaue, onegai!”

That was all the encouragement she needed. Grabbing my hand, she rushed to her room and grabbed he katana. She tried to arrange a basket and fill it with food, but I protested. She shook her head, grabbing me once again and ran out the door.

What she saw before her was something she never would have expected.

Despite the rain, the entire village was on fire… billows of smoke arose from it as if from a chimney. The air stung to breathe and my eyes watered as I covered my mouth and coughed. My mother did the same, unsheathing the sword for she noticed something I had not.

About three hundred yards from us, men on horses were charging… straight at the two of us. Okaa-san wasted no time, as she lifted me up with one arm and ran down the side of the cliff.

I remember thinking she carried me as if I were a sack of rice, and not a human child. But I was also aware how I was carried did not matter at the moment… All that mattered was that if we made it to the beach, we could take a boat out to sea. I knew that was okaa-san's plan.

Okaa-san ran down the side of the narrow path, which was about as wide as her shoulders were, as quickly as she could. Once were about thirteen feet above the dunes, my okaa-san jumped. She rolled, and began to climb to her feet. She had ducked me under one of her arms, and now I faced behind her.

Above us, on the cliff, a man aimed an arrow right at my okaa-san's heart.

“Iiya! YAMETE!” It released, searing through the sky and aimed true. I turned and watched my mother's pained face… as her pale lips parted slightly, and the color flushed from her cheeks in shock… her eyes went wide, and her eyebrows drew themselves together in a show of disbelief. I felt the tears well up in my eyes, and fall down my cheeks to mix in with the rainwater that trickled down my face. My mother fell forward, landing on top of me. In the process, somehow the sword in her hand had struck me in the side and stayed within me as she laid upon me. I cried out in pain at every ragged breath she took, and as she turned to look at me my body felt as if my mind should be numbed in agony.

Despite this, I wouldn't have traded my pain to take those last words she told me.

“Gomen nasai, Kagome-chan… Aishiteru… I'll see you in paradise.”

And that is what I took with me in to the darkness that consumed me.

Glossary: Houshi-sama-Priest

Daijoubu-You all right?

Kouro-Run

Demo-But

Doushite-Why?

Nanda-What is…

Fuka-Wrong

Onegai-Please

Hahaue-honorable mother