InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reincarnation ❯ Can't Fight Destiny ( Chapter 1 )

Reincarnationby FireFalcon1414

 

Disclaimer: I do not own, in whole or in part, the Inuyasha series. All rights belong to Takahashi Rumiko. I do, however, own the plot to this fanfiction and I'm very proud of it!

 

 

Chapter 1: Can't Fight Destiny

 

The girl sprinted up the steps - all 127 of them - and slammed the sliding door to the shrine open, only to lean against the doorframe panting for breath and staring at her digital watch.

 

“Just… three minutes… until I turn fifteen!” she gasped out to her grandmother, who sat serenely at the table, listening to the radio and mending an old sweater, a small smile on her lips at the girl's eagerness.

 

“Then there's three more minutes that I can have a fourteen year old granddaughter, and I intend to thoroughly enjoy it,” the elderly woman said as she stood to hug her only son's only child. “Come and sit with me; your parents both took the afternoon off and are hiding upstairs, but you're not supposed to know that. Just act surprised when they come stomping down, alright, Kagome?” Her smile widened and she winked conspiratorially.

 

Kagome grinned back at her grandmother and, dropping her big yellow backpack on the floor, sat down across from her. “So, `Baachan, what'd you get me for my birthday?” she asked, half teasing, half hopeful.

 

Her grandmother's smile grew even further as she answered, “I got you two things, actually, but you'll just have to wait, my dear Kagome.”

 

Kagome looked back up at the clock, fidgeting. It's 3:38… just one more minute… one more… The second hand seemed to slow down even as she watched, but finally…

 

Every timer and alarm in the house went off at once, and the two heard the sounds of footsteps running down the stairs. “Happy birthday, Kagome!” her father sang out off-key as both her parents stomped into the room, laden with several packages of varying sizes. They dumped them out onto the table, and sat down on either side of their daughter.

 

Her father was a tall man, with black hair and brown eyes. He was pretty nondescript, she thought, but he had managed somehow to catch the eye of her mother, Higurashi Wabi. The woman was an oddity when it came to looks; natural white-blonde hair and blue eyes made her stand out even in the most crowded streets. She was tall, about the same height as her husband, and had managed to raise a child and work a full-time job at the same time. Kagome didn't know how she did it. She was like Wonder Woman, but smarter.

 

Kagome herself had gotten her mother's blue eyes, of which she was very proud, and her father's black hair, which she had promptly bleached upon her thirteenth birthday, only to decide that she hated that and ended up dying it black again. She got neither of her parents' height, a fact which she cursed daily, and was something of a wimp, which she cursed hourly. She could, however, run fast, and took advantage of this every year to get home in time for the exact minute of her birth.

 

Bringing her back to the present; or presents, as the case may be.

 

“Oohing” and “Aahing” appropriately, Kagome shuffled through her pile of gifts, finally settling on the largest box. Pulling it into her lap, she read the tag. “To my dearest granddaughter, Happy Birthday! Love, `Baachan.” Hooking her lethal nails into the wrapping paper, she got a good chunk of it off with the first rip, revealing… a long, narrow box. “Oh, a box, just what I always wanted!” she joked, even as she unclasped it and pulled back the top. When she looked inside, she gasped. There, cushioned in velvet, was a shiny old-fashioned oak bow. Reaching in, she carefully drew it out, caressing the wood with her fingertips as though afraid she might crack it.

 

“Don't be so delicate with it, girl, it's a weapon. It's not going to break if you hold it with a firm grip,” her grandmother said gruffly, pleased that the receiver was so obviously happy with her gift.

 

Flushing, Kagome did as she was told and gripped the wood more firmly. “Thank you, `Baachan!” she cried gleefully, putting the bow back into the case and running around the table to hug the woman.

 

When she returned to her seat, one of the brightly-wrapped packages had “accidentally” moved from its place by her father's elbow to directly in front of her. Picking it up, she said dramatically, “I think I'll open this one next.” This tag read from her father, of course, and the wrapping paper was destroyed as quickly and efficiently as the first wrapping paper had been. From here came another box, and she quipped, “Wow, I'm really on a roll,” as she opened it. And out came the necklace, silver, with a glass charm for health and protection dangling from it. “Thanks, Dad!” she cried, leaning over to hug him sideways. “Can you put it on me now?” She turned her back to him, holding either end of the chain to each side of her neck. He reached under her ponytail to hook the clasp, and she turned back to the package pile.

 

“Open my other one now, Deary. It goes with the first gift, and if that's not enough for you to figure out what it is, then you're not the genius I always thought you were,” her grandmother said bluntly, shoving the present toward her.

 

“Hmm… galoshes, maybe?” Kagome asked with all the seriousness she could muster. Disemboweling the colorful paper, she pulled out the expected quiver of arrows, complete with a pocket with extra bow strings. “Thanks, `Baachan. The bow would've been pretty useless without these,” she said cheerfully, stashing them beside the bow.

 

Reaching for the last package, Kagome looked to her mother. “This one's from you, right, `Kaasan?” she asked.

 

The woman smiled and nodded silently, and her daughter pulled the package the rest of the way forward. She pulled the sparkly blue and gold bow off, careful not to rip the paper, and stuck it on top of her head proudly. She then proceeded to carefully untape the tape and unfold the folds, until all that was left was the white storage box. Kagome silently wedged the top off and pulled out a white silken haori. Underneath this, she found a pair of red hakama, completing the miko look. “Oh… Arigatou, Okaasan,” Kagome said breathlessly, wrapping her arms around the fabric and burying her face in it before refolding it and replacing it in the box. She hugged her mother tightly before standing and gathering the clothing box into her arms. “I'm going to go change, and then I'll practice in the yard, `kay?” She went and jogged upstairs, the box held firmly.

 

Higurashi Souta stood and looked down at his wife and mother, both studying their hands on the tabletop. After a moment, though, his mother looked up, as he knew she would, and so he began. “You are encouraging her.”

 

“We are encouraging her fate, my son,” she said quietly.

 

“You are encouraging her death!” he hissed violently, keeping his voice down so as not to alert the topic of their argument.

 

“How do we encourage her death by giving her weapons with which to protect herself? By giving her clothing that befits her station in the world?” she hissed back viciously.

 

“They are weapons of that time. Clothing of that time. Of the past.”

 

“The world's past, perhaps, but my granddaughter's future.”

 

He did raise his voice at that, if only marginally. “I swear, Mother, if you so much as mention that damn well to my daughter, I will-” He didn't get a chance to finish his threat, for at that moment they heard her footsteps coming back down.

 

She came in, fully clothed in proper miko attire, and twirled for them to see. “So? What do you think?”

 

Her grandmother smiled cheerfully and announced, “You look wonderful, Dear. You were made to wear those clothes.”

 

She laughed. “'Baachan, don't you mean that these clothes were made for me to wear?” she teased.

 

“I say what I mean and I mean what I say, Deary, and you were made for miko clothing.”

 

“Whatever, `Baachan,” Kagome said, rolling her eyes. “'Kaasan? What do you think?”

 

Her mother stood from her seat and walked over for a closer look. She smiled brilliantly and hugged her daughter, making her thoughts clear without words.

 

She turned to her father. “Dad?”

 

He didn't look at her, instead packing his brief case. “Oh, honey, you know I think you're beautiful no matter what you wear. Sorry I can't stay longer, but I only took a two hour break, and I've got to be getting back to work now…”

 

Her disappointment showed on her face, but he wasn't looking. “Yeah, I understand…”

 

He swept by, kissing the top of her head before running out. “I knew you would. And happy birthday!”

 

As he left, Kagome thought she heard her grandmother mutter, “You cannot fight destiny, no matter how hard you try… or who you're trying to save…” but she accounted it to her imagination and went out with her new bow and arrows to practice.

 

 

She came back inside over an hour later, and refused to take the bow or quiver off of her back, insisting that she wanted to get used to the feeling, since she was planning on being in the archery tournament at her school next month. So she plopped down on her stomach in front of the television to watch some cartoons.

 

Her mother came in with a mug of hot chocolate, and they sat together for a while, watching. Wabi pulled a comb out of her pocket and went to work on her daughter's hair, smoothing and straightening. When she finished, Kagome rested her head in her mother's lap, and felt for a moment as though she were saying some sort of goodbye. But that's ridiculous, she thought, I'm not going anywhere, and neither is `Kaasan. Why would we ever say goodbye?

 

When her mother left to prepare dinner, Kagome grabbed a pillow for her head, but it was cold and didn't feel the same. She lay there for a while anyway, watching the animated characters dance across the screen, lost in thought and memory, until her father came home. He came over and sat down next to her, where her mother had been.

 

After a while of silence, she turned the television off and turned to him. “Hey, Dad, remember when I was ten, and I asked about why you'd never let me near that old well house?” She waited for him to nod. “And you said I wasn't old enough to understand.” Another nod. “Well, am I old enough now? It's been five years.”

 

He sighed. “I suppose I can't put it off much longer, Kagome.” He turned to look her in the face. “Back when I was a child, my sister, Kagome, who you are named after, fell into that well. It took her to another time, the Sengoku Jidai, where she met amazing people and had amazing adventures. But once, she went on an adventure, and… died. She never came home.” He closed his eyes sadly, but they snapped open when he heard her laugh.

 

“Oh, come on, Dad. I'm fifteen now. You can't honestly expect me to believe a fairy tale like that, can you? Jeez, how stupid to you think I am?” she asked jokingly.

 

He frowned. “I'm not kidding. I'm telling you the truth,” he said sternly, offended, and stood.

 

She stood up as well, determined not to be outdone. “That sounds like a good fantasy novel or manga, but it's no truth. Don't give me these stories anymore, Dad. You always have. `This mummified hand once belonged to the great demon blah, blah, blah.' `This stone once had the power to grant wishes to any who blah, blah, blah.' I'm sick of your stories, Dad! I want the truth! Why won't you ever let me near that well house?”

 

His face was slowly growing red with anger, a sure sign of trouble. “I am not lying to you, Kagome! It's the truth! I'm trying to protect you from your aunt's fate!”

 

Her grandmother's words suddenly returned to her. “`You cannot fight destiny, no matter how hard you try, or who you're trying to protect.' I'll prove to you that that thing is nothing but an ordinary well!” She turned to go, shaking off his restraining hands, and ran out the door, eyes adjusting to the dim twilight.

 

When she reached the well house, she could already hear the door slamming open and her father yelling, “Kagome! Come back here! Don't do it! Kagome!”

 

Ignoring his calls, she entered the small building, looking around curiously. She had never been allowed in here before in her life. Going to the well itself, she looked down, adjusting her bow and quiver so that they wouldn't fall off or wrench her arms when she jumped. Bracing herself against the lip of the well, she swung her legs over, preparing herself for as easy a landing as could be expected considering the circumstances, when the door to the well house slammed open. “Kagome!” her father yelled.

 

“Dad, be quiet! I'm going to prove to you once and for all that there is no such thing as magic, at least not in this old well!” she yelled back, before pushing off of the lip of the well…

 

… and falling into a welcoming blue mist.

 

 

A demon lord sat in a clearing, leaning against a wooden wall of the well, and stared unseeing at the tree across from him. On his left sat an old woman, dozing slightly, her head resting unconsciously on his shoulder. Fifty years ago, he would have shaken the human off and probably killed her, but this human… she was different.

 

On the other side of him sat a younger demon, also staring into space, though his hands fiddled restlessly with a pair of leaves. He reeked of nerves, and jumped every time a bird cried. The three had been seated thus since early that morning, and had been sitting thus every year on this day for the past fifty years. They hadn't moved save to unpack the woman's lunch. The demons didn't require food.

 

When the sun began to set, the young demon pocketed the leaf and stood, and his scent changed to one of anger. “She's not coming,” he growled, beginning to walk away and only stopping at the edge of the clearing to glare over his shoulder at his companions, who had made no move to follow him.

 

The woman looked up from the unmoving taiyoukai's shoulder to grin at him. “You're so impatient! Haven't you ever considered that she might just not be here yet? Or maybe we just miscounted the years. Fifty leaves room for mistakes. Come, sit back down, I might have some food left in my bag…” She pulled the sack into her lap and began digging through it, in search of leftovers from lunch.

 

“She'd be here by now! And I know we didn't miscount, I marked the years. And I'm not hungry,” he insisted, though he did take a few steps back toward her before stopping himself.

 

She tsked, waving a hand in dismissal. “Nonsense; you haven't eaten since breakfast. Of course you're hungry.” She pulled out a bag of rice. “Go gather some wood for a fire, and I'll cook this up for you. Come, now, you know you want to…” she teased, waving another bag with herbs around, and he cursed himself for standing downwind. His stomach growled. “See? Now go get the wood.”

 

He grumbled a few curses under his breath, but turned to go, only to flash back around at the shaky blue light that was beginning the come from within the well. The light grew quickly, as did his grin, and was gone as unexpectedly as it had appeared. He ran to the edge of the well and looked down eagerly.

 

Curled in the bottom of the well sat a woman he hadn't seen since his childhood. She looked up at him, confused.

 

“Hello? What's going on? Who are you? Where did the well house go? Where am I?” she asked at once, and he laughed and jumped down lightly before her before sweeping her into a crushing hug.

 

“Kagome! Kagome, you came!” he kept repeating, over and over, as the old woman peered down at them, cackling.

 

She pulled out of his arms, scared. “Who are you?” she asked again, and he stopped laughing.

 

“You… You don't remember?” She shook her head silently. He sighed. “Come on, then. I'll explain it to you up there.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and leapt back up, out of the well, and she gasped and clung to his shirt. When they landed, she quickly jumped away from him.

 

“You're… not human… are you?” she asked, shaking slightly.

 

“No,” came a voice from behind her, and she spun around to see a man of purest silver and white standing up from beside the well, an old woman next to him.

 

She squinted at him. This one… This one looked almost familiar, like an old memory, just scratching at the edges of her mind… Like it was from another life… “Sesshou… maru?” she mumbled, and he blinked.

 

“So,” he murmured, “you remember more than you know you do…” He stepped forward, then, surprising her, and before she could move he had placed a pair of fingers on her temple. She felt a sudden, intense pain, and then… nothing.

 

“What did you do to her?” Shippou demanded, catching her as she fell in a faint.

 

“I did nothing but revive her memories,” he said coldly, turning westward to go home.

 

“Revive? Don't you mean `restore', my lord?” the woman asked, gathering her pack and following the demon lord.

 

“No, Rin. The memories were already there, just forgotten. All I did was reawaken them.”

 

“Oh,” Rin said quietly. She glanced over her shoulder at the young kitsune who followed them, his lost mother held in his arms as he walked mutely. She smiled at the sight; he seemed more at peace at that moment than he had since she had first met him, when her guardian and his had battled over the sword now at her lord's waist. She looked back at Sesshoumaru. He, too, seemed more peaceful since finding the girl, though not enough time had passed to truly be able to tell anything. Her smile grew slightly as they made their slow and steady way back to the home of the Lord of the Western Lands.

 

 

(Random) Japanese Vocabulary: (new vocab in italics)
Aa - “Yeah” or “Okay”
Chichiue - Father (polite)
Hai - Yes
Hakama - pants (as worn by Kikyoubitch)
Hanyou - Half demon
Haori - shirt/top (as worn by Kikyoubitch)
Houshi - Monk
Jikei - Older brother (affectionate)
Kitsune (Kit) - Fox
Koinu - Puppy
Miko - Priestess or Shrine maiden
Neko - Cat
Obaasan - Grandmother (respectful) (“'Baachan” is more familiar)
Ohayougozaimasu - “Good morning”

Okaasan - Mother
Oniisan - Older brother (honorary)
Oyasuminasai - “Good night”
-sama - Lord
Taijiya - Demon exterminator
Taiyoukai - Demon lord
Wabi - Quiet refinement (the name I gave to her mother)
Youkai - Demon

 

 

Author's Note: Hello all! This chapter's a lot shorter than the last one, sorry, but this seemed like a good place to end it… Hey, I could've stopped when she fell in the well, but nooo that was only 2,271 words… As it is, I managed to add about a thousand. So be happy to get what you did! Thanks for reading, please review…