InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mayumi's Story ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

 

 

Mayumi's Story, Chapter 7:

 

 

“Uncle Sesshomaru?” Koji asked. “Why can't you go back to the Sengoku Jidai like we do? You're part of our family, aren't you?”

 

Annoyance marched briefly across Uncle Sesshomaru's face before he schooled his expression back to its customary mask of impassivity. The rest of us, including my father, held our breaths.

 

“I choose not to,” he answered regally.

 

My father keh'd. “Yeah, right.”

 

Truthfully, neither my father nor Uncle Sesshomaru could figure out how we three kids could travel back in time. Papa had to use his Tetsusaiga, which Uncle Sesshomaru still couldn't touch. Maybe that's why. As far as I knew, Uncle Sesshomaru didn't have an Object of Power capable of time travel like Tetusaiga. I opened my mouth to voice my opinion, but my mother cut me off.

 

“Mayumi, would you help me in the kitchen, please?”

 

Grumbling underneath my breath, I went. “Why does Koji get to stay?” I asked. “He's the one who brought it up.”

 

Mama smiled as she prepared the tea. “And he believes your Uncle's answer,” she explained. “You, on the other hand, were about to embarrass him by pointing out that he really can't time travel.”

 

I was not! Well, maybe it would have sounded like that. Mama was probably right, as usual. “I didn't mean it like that,” I mumbled, still reluctant to let go of my indignation.

 

“I know you didn't, dear, but that's how he would have taken it. If you really want to know, why don't you talk to him about it later, just the two of you?”

 

That's my mom. She'll shoot you down but at the same time help you climb back up. It must be part of what makes her a miko. She sees things clearly. It wasn't always so, I hear. My Auntie Sango told me stories about the old days, when my mother first met my father. In those days, neither one of them saw very clearly. In fact, there were times my aunt thought they would never get together because they had so many misunderstandings.

 

It was different with Daichi and me. We never fought. We were in love. Love makes you blind. Daichi and I never had a misunderstanding the way my parents used to, but there were misunderstandings nevertheless. And deceptions. I hated keeping the truth of who I was from Daichi. I hated sneaking off from my time to be with him. But I did it. In the first instance, it wasn't myself I was protecting—it was my father, and our life in the present. My parents told me over and over that nobody who was alive in that time remembers them, therefore, they could not reveal that they were still alive back then. It wasn't so much that they were afraid of screwing up the past—I'm told that's awfully hard to do—it was more that, because it hadn't happened, it wouldn't happen, and vice versa. I had a hard time understanding the concept, but I accepted it because they told me I must. So we kids, who technically hadn't met any of their friends and relative (Uncle Sesshomaru) back when my parents lived in the Sengoku Jidai, still had to avoid those same friends and relatives (plural now) when we went back, in order to protect the identities of my parents. We could go back—as if we wouldn't now that we could go on our own—but we had to disguise who we really were.

 

In the second instance, there was no power on earth, including my father, that could keep me away from Daichi. It was that simple.

 

 

“Uncle Sesshomaru?” I asked later, when Koji had gone to bed and Uncle Sesshomaru sat by himself on the deck overlooking the moonlit forest. He raised his brow, waiting for the inevitable question. “Have you ever been in love?”

 

I think I surprised him. He had been expecting me to continue the earlier conversation about time travel. In my own way, I was.

 

“Love?” he asked.

 

“Do you believe there's one perfect person out there waiting for you?”

 

“Yes,” he whispered, with no hesitation at all in his voice. Now I was surprised. I wasn't sure if he was answering my first question, or my second one.

 

“Yes?” I repeated, hoping he would elaborate. He didn't disappoint me.

 

“I loved, once. Possibly twice. The first time I was too blind to see until it was too late. The second time, it was too late before it ever began. She wasn't meant for me.”

 

Too late. I didn't want to wait until it was too late. Something in his voice tore at my heart. It was just so sad, so wistful. I reached over and gave him a hug, and he let me. I wished I could teach him to go back in time like I did, but even if we did, he couldn't find his past loves. It hadn't happened, so it wouldn't. Even if I didn't understand all the repercussions of our time traveling, I understood that.

 

I couldn't wait to get back to see Daichi. I wanted to sneak off right after my little talk with Uncle Sesshomaru, but fate had other ideas. Papa was waiting for me at the top of the stairs, and for a minute I thought he had overheard our conversation, but that wasn't the case.

 

“It's past your bedtime,” he said mildly.

 

“Da-ad,” I protested. “I'm not a little kid anymore, you know. Besides, I was just out on the deck with Uncle Sesshomaru.”

 

His lips twitched, and he replied, “That's not helping your case, Mayumi. You've got school tomorrow. Get some sleep.” He turned to go to his own room. “And don't think about going to see that wolf kid tonight.”

 

Damn! Now I couldn't go, because Papa had told me specifically not to go—tonight, anyway—and I couldn't, just couldn't, go against his express orders. And he knew it, too! He grinned widely, and waved with one arm as he walked off to his own bedroom.

 

As soon as school was over the next day, I waited impatiently for Dai to come get me. I still wasn't allowed to go home on my own, due to that youkai problem everyone was so cryptic about. Kazuki had after school activities, otherwise he would have escorted me home. Koji went to the elementary school across town. Someone, either Uncle Shippo or Papa if he was done work, would come to fetch Koji, too.

 

I was itching to find some time to myself so I could go visit Daichi. Papa hadn't said anything about not going there today. I really didn't want to hang around and give him the chance to say it. Mama still didn't know I snuck over there sometimes, and I suppose I should have been grateful that Papa kept that little secret to himself. Kazuki popped back and forth all the time, but of course, he was a boy, so it was ok. The double standard was alive and well in our household. I wonder if my parents would have been quite so tolerant if they knew who Kazuki went to see over there all the time. I wasn't the only one with a feudal age love interest.

 

Dai knew I loved to run. As soon as we were out of sight of the humans, I pulled off my shoes and stuffed them inside my backpack. He took that from me, ever the gentleman, and slung it over his own shoulder, and then we were off. We usually took the long way home, ranging to the north of our mountain before doubling back. Any other day, and I would have loved it. But today I was in a hurry.

 

“Dai, I have something to do today,” I told him. “Do you mind if we run straight home?”

 

He gave me a funny look, almost suspicious, I'd say, but he agreed. We headed straight for my mountain, as usual racing with each other to see who could keep ahead. Halfway home, I pulled off my stupid bandana and let the wind caress my ears. I grinned over at Dai, and he grinned back, eyes sparkling. Of all my relatives, I enjoyed spending time with him the best. I liked his clean, warm smell. He was so steady, yet he retained that wildness that I loved about all the wolves. It was almost a shame to say good-bye to him at the edge of my mother's barrier. If I hadn't been planning on going back to the past, I'd have liked to spend the afternoon running with Dai in our woods.

 

I hurried to drop my schoolbag off in my room, keeping an eye out for my father, but he was still at work. I had about three hours. In my mind, I reached for the place I needed to be, and then I was there, just like that.

 

I changed in the little cave, and then tried to find Daichi. He didn't know I was coming, so I had to venture into wolf territory in hopes that he would pick up my scent. I wanted to see him so badly, even if it could only be for a little while. I was fast, and I covered a lot of ground but not nearly enough to get me close to Daichi's home, not if I wanted to make it home in time for supper.

 

It turned out I didn't need to go too far. I smelled the wolf youkai before I saw them, so I hid in the top of a tree, unmoving as Uncle Shippo had taught me. Wolves tended to stick to the ground most of the time. There were a lot of them, and they were running, so I tried to sift through the scents, hoping to isolate the one scent I was looking for. He was there, among them!

 

I hesitated. They flashed past beneath me and I caught wisps of their conversation.

 

“Dai! Dai! Wait up!” A smaller wolf youkai ran behind the main group.

 

One of the youkai slowed down, letting the rest of the group eddy around him and flow onward as he waited for his comrade. It was Daichi.

 

Daichi. Dai. My heart thumped, and I stood frozen on my tree branch. Was it a coincidence? It had to be a coincidence. There was no way. . . .then again, shouldn't my Daichi still be alive in the present time? If so, where was he? I had never thought about it before. Uncle Sesshomaru, Uncle Shippo, all of the youkai my father had known in this time were still alive in our time. Uncle Kouga was a wolf youkai and he was still alive in our time. So was his son, Dai.

 

It couldn't be. Dai? Below me, Daichi and his friend loped off to join the main group of wolves, and still I didn't move. Suddenly it wasn't so important that I see Daichi today. I wanted to go home. I wanted Mama. I was in shock.

 

I made my way back to my little cave and changed my clothes mechanically. I concentrated, and found myself back in my own bedroom in my own time. I threw myself on my bed, but I didn't cry. I was too numb.