InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ That Which Shines Brightest ❯ 10: His Name is Erisu ( Chapter 10 )

That Which Shines Brightest

 

 

 

 

Chapter Ten

 

 

 

 

“So is that everything?” Mama asked, hands on her hips, eyeing her daughter.

Kagome stood in the center of her room, her hair still slightly damp from her bath, dressed in a pair of khaki slacks and a dark blue sweater with small blue buttons that enhanced her peaches and cream complexion. She was surrounded by a plethora of various items she had yet to put in her backpack, all of which she was planning to take with her back through the well - a great deal of it was food for her friends whom she knew had developed an affinity for twenty first century cuisine from her prior visit ten years earlier. Her eyes moved methodically over her supplies as she tried to think of anything she might have forgotten.

“I think that's it, except the bike of course,” she mused, her finger poised thoughtfully against her bottom lip.

“And you're sure?” Mama hesitated, wrapping her sweater more snugly around herself, “- you're absolutely certain giving up your job and returning to the Sengoku Jidai is what you want?”

She tried not to sound too anxious, but she gave her daughter a long, searching look while she waited for an answer.

Kagome's head pivoted slowly towards her mother and Mrs. Higurashi saw the shadows in her daughter's eyes even as Kagome offered her a tremulous smile.

“Certain?” Kagome could hear the tenuous note that clung to the word as she echoed it back to her mother and she clenched her fingers tightly together for a moment before lifting them to restlessly finger the button at her neckline. “To be truthful, there are a great many uncertainties in my life right now,” she admitted honestly. “But there is one thing I do know without a doubt, Mama,” she paused, and looked at her mother, her dark brown eyes never wavering as she met Mrs. Higurashi's eyes, “and that is how I feel about Inuyasha. There are still a lot of problems to be faced - many that haven't changed, and some… some are so new and complicated that I don't even know how to deal with them, or even, where to start looking for the answers to the questions…” Her voice trailed off, her eyes seeming to lose focus for a moment before she recalled what she was saying, ” --but because of how I feel, I know that if there is any way for me to be a part of his life, if there is any way for me to claim his affection, then I have to do this. I have to try. Otherwise I will just spend the rest of my life looking back, regretting what might have been … and I don't want my life to be filled with `if only's'…”

Mrs. Higurashi smiled in understanding at her daughter.

To be in love and feel so lost. Mrs. Higurashi moved to stand in front of her daughter, one hand resting comfortingly on Kagome's arm as she lifted the other to check the bandage she had reapplied to Kagome's head wound, the smile still tipping the corners of her mouth as she glanced affectionately at her eldest child. She knew that given time, her sweet daughter would find her way to happiness. She just wished she could shield Kagome's heart from the bumps and bruises that lay along that path. But this was all she could do; put a bandage on her boo boo and hold her hand until the sting went away. As a mother, it never seemed enough…

“Well you know, Jii-chan and I are here if you need us,” Mama offered these words of encouragement in soft accents, and they settled around Kagome's heart, soft and warm, helping to lighten her flagging spirits.

Kagome wrapped her arms around her mother.

“Thank you, Mama.” Her voice came out a little unevenly, and she convulsively swallowed the lump of emotions that rose in her throat. “You know, even though I've already prepared my resignation letter for the firm,” she added, striving to lighten her tone, “When I last saw Jii-chan downstairs, he was gleefully thinking up illnesses to ward off any overly curious workmates. He's even come up with a list of clinics outside the country that specialize in my new ailments! I just hope he doesn't accidentally give me something incurable!”

Mama's eyes widened and then her countenance crumpled into comical dismay as they both shared a moment of laughter which was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Shirogane and as he entered, his eyes were immediately drawn to the huge pile of supplies littering the floor.

“You're taking all of this?” He asked, his mouth slightly agape.

“Yes,” Kagome replied, a note of irony in her voice, realizing that from his point of view there was a great deal of nonessential items that she'd included. “The food is for everyone - Sango, Rin, Shippou and Inuyasha -- and you and Yukino are welcome to it, of course, if you want it. You won't need to bring any medical supplies -“ Kagome made a broad sweeping gesture, “—I think I have enough for everyone. All you'll need is clothes for you and your sister and anything else you feel is necessary that you don't see here.”

Shirogane's gaze continued to roam about as Kagome spoke until she saw his eyes light on a small pile of objects just to the right of her. He strolled over and picked one up, directing a look of inquiry at her as he did so.

“Instant ramen noodles?” His silken brow shot up as he glanced at the small mountain of containers from where he'd plucked it. “I didn't realize you were such a junk food addict, Kagome,” he observed in a slightly teasing manner.

Kagome had the grace to blush as she removed the container from his fingers.

“It's not for me,” she mumbled a trifle sheepishly as she placed it back on the pile, “it's for Inuyasha - it's his favorite, and I thought because it's been such a long time since he's had any, I would make sure I took plenty with me to last him for a while…”

“Ah, I see.” Shirogane's smile took on a wry twist. “So Inuyasha is a closet junk food addict. That would explain why he's so cranky - all those simple sugars running rampant in his system.”

Shirogane made a vague gesture towards the ramen cups. The wry smile was still firmly entrenched upon his countenance and Kagome eyed it uncertainly, unable to tell if he was teasing her or just mocking Inuyasha. She got the feeling that Inuyasha didn't care too much for Shirogane, but she couldn't tell how Shirogane truly felt about Inuyasha. He kept his feelings well shielded from prying eyes.

“I'm glad to see that Jii-chan's hakama fit you tolerably well, Suketsune-sama,” Mrs. Higurashi remarked, steering the conversation into a more neutral channel and putting an end to the small exchange between her daughter and this priest who so favored the man who held her daughter's affections.

Seeming to suddenly remember that they were not alone, Shirogane recalled his manners and he turned and swept into his most polite bow.

“Thank you so much for the use of your ofuro***, Higurashi-san.”

For the first time since he entered the room, Kagome really looked closely at him and experienced a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. So this is what Inuyasha might look like as a priest, came the errant thought. Dressed in a white kimono and blue hakama with his silver braid trailing down his back and those golden eyes that were identical to Inuyasha's, Kagome couldn't help but wonder what he would like with his hair unbound; if the resemblance would be even more striking. Then when he caught her staring at him, the corners of his mouth flipped up, as if he knew what she'd been thinking, and she hurriedly looked away, and firmly told herself that she didn't care what he looked like with his hair unbound.

Besides, no matter how much he might look like Inuyasha, he wasn't -

But a descendant - well now, that's a different story altogether…a little voice whispered.

Shirogane paused and looked at his watch, “Hmm,” he mused, “it's dark already. It's going to be extremely late when we get back unless I can cut some time off my packing.”

He slid Kagome a speculative glance, and a look similar to one she'd seen on Inuyasha's face from time to time flitted across his countenance. The suspicion that she was about to be manipulated into something began to slither along her spine. It was confirmed when, within the span of fifteen minutes, Kagome found herself sitting next to Shirogane in his car on the way to the Suketsune Shrine, feeling slightly ill at ease and anxious at the same time -

She cast a nervous glance over at him as she buckled her seat belt, wondering why she was here. He'd said that she could help him pack his sister's thing and he would get done quicker that way, but that felt like an excuse. Kagome waited while the car's engine purred to life and he tilted his head, momentarily pausing, twisting the earring in his ear as if lost in thought. Then his eyes slid to her and he offered her a smile

But there was something in the way his gaze lingered that only solidified her belief that he wanted something from her. Kagome hurriedly looked away, trying not to think too deeply about it, telling herself that now would be an opportune time to ask him about the Kotodama beads.

“It was very kind of your mother to offer to finish packing your things so you could come and help me,” Shirogane murmured as they left her family's shrine complex. “-- Just as she offered me the use of your ofuro. I feel much more energized - more so than had I waited to get cleaned up at home.”

Kagome agreed with a smile that felt slightly forced at the corners, “Mama has always been that way. She is constantly thinking of others.”

And thanks to Mama's charity Kagome had been unable to refuse Shirogane's offer to return to his Shrine.

“Don't worry about your supplies.” Mama had waved away all of Kagome's protests with a smile, “I'll have it all packed up and ready for you by the time you get back.”

So despite Kagome's misgivings about Shirogane's true motivations, here she was all buckled up and ready to go. But really, she silently reiterated, this was to her advantage too. After all, she wanted to find out more about the connection between Shirogane and Inuyasha, for she was sure it existed - why else would he have Inuyasha's kotodama beads? And what better place to start looking for answers than here?

But for some reason, the more she tried to find a way to phrase a question without sounding too forward, the more her anxiety seemed to increase. It was almost as if she knew he had the answers and she didn't want to hear them… but that couldn't be right, could it? She did want to know!

Didn't she?...

Trying to brush the feeling off, she turned and concentrated on what Shirogane was saying as he broke the silence stretching between them.

“I really do appreciate this, Kagome,” he murmured keeping his eyes straightforward as he zipped down the expressway. “I'm sure there are quite a few things as a brother and a man I would forget that my sister needs. Having you there will ensure that they get packed.”

Kagome flicked a quick look up at his dim profile. It remained inscrutable despite the short bursts of illumination from the street lamps as they made their way past Akasaka Palace in the direction of the Meiji Jinja***.

“It's the least I could do, really,” She replied, rubbing her palms slowly along her slacks, feeling some of her tension ease in the face of Shirogane's relaxed demeanor. “I somehow feel if it weren't for me, Yukino would have come with you, and then she could have packed her own things,” she confessed lightly, adding a trifle apologetically, “I don't think she likes me very much, although I'm not sure what it is that I did that made her distrust me so.”

Shirogane frowned heavily, but his expression cleared almost immediately, as if he were trying to hide the negative reaction from Kagome.

The only trace left was a faint tightening of his jaw as he attempted to reassure her, “Her refusal was not your fault. That was my fault entirely. My sister is…” Shirogane paused a hair's breath before finishing, “we had a quarrel before I left for last night's dinner meeting, so she is upset with me at the moment.”

Kagome gaped slightly at that, finding such a thing hard to believe. “Working alongside your sister with the blueprints, I've always gotten the impression that she has a deep and abiding regard for you, Shirogane,” Kagome murmured.

“Is that so?” he murmured noncommittally.

Kagome nodded adding, “Yes, she respects you a great deal. In fact, knowing just how much she thinks of you, I find it hard to believe that she could stay mad at you for any length of time -- even if you two did have a terrible quarrel. She just doesn't seem like the kind of person to hold a grudge -“ or rather, Kagome silently amended, when it came to other people besides Kagome, herself. “Are you sure it's not me? She didn't seem to be upset with you yesterday at the well.” Kagome pointed out uncertainly.

“I'm positive it's not you, trust me. She can be quite pigheaded when she wants to be” came his wry reply as he turned his head and directed a polite smile down at her. “As to why she's upset - well - that's a … family…matter… I would rather not discuss it. I'm sure you understand…”

“Of course,” Kagome nodded, her eyes drawn to the way he was suddenly gripping the steering wheel. Whatever had happened between he and his sister must have really bothered him, she mused as she lapsed into silence, feeling uncomfortable for having brought it up.

Shirogane could feel Kagome's gaze on him and he made himself relax, secretly thankful that she was unaware of how close he'd come to choking on the word “family'. No one in their right minds would refer to what had occurred between him and Yukino the previous night as a “family matter”. Which just proved hat he hadn't been in his right mind.

And Shirogane's attempts to get his sister alone so that he might talk to her about it, to apologize or even explain that he'd been highly intoxicated and hadn't truly known what he'd been doing had been frustrated completely. She'd managed to sneak out at sunrise, long before he'd awoken that morning, and by the time she'd returned to the village with Inuyasha, Kikyou had arrived.

The issue of the Kotodama beads had taken precedence after that, and trying to explain away their presence to everyone had wasted a great deal of time. By then, the afternoon had slipped into early evening, and Shirogane knew that if he was going to return home for supplies before the sun slipped over the horizon completely, the conversation with Yukino was going to have to wait even longer - at that point the only option left was to try and talk to her once they'd reached the Suketsune Shrine.

But even that opportunity was to be thwarted when Yukino had stiltedly informed him that she wouldn't be going home with him and Kagome. She'd turned away from him, her shoulders sagging as if strained under a heavy weight, refusing to meet his gaze. Shirogane's insides had twisted in guilt at the sight, thinking that she was avoiding him, distressed from what he'd done to her, hazily remembering how she'd begged him to stop the night before.

What if she was afraid to be near him now? Afraid for him to touch her? To even offer her a comforting embrace whenever she seemed uncertain or unhappy? It was a painful thought. He couldn't imagine being closed off from her completely. Ever.

Absently he eyed the broken white lines along the expressway. They reminded him of the invisible line he'd severed between what was acceptable and what was taboo. It could never be repaired, that line.

If he apologized, would it be enough to regain her trust?

God, he hoped so, for that was all he could do was apologize and swear to her that he would never overstep that line again, as broken as it now was. He just prayed that she could forgive him for scarring their relationship. And even if she did forgive him, it didn't change the fact that she would still have to live with the memory of what he'd done; an ugly scar forever marring the harmony of their relationship.

And for that, he could never forgive himself.

But the consequences of last night's travesty were more far reaching, affecting more than just his relationship with his sister. He hadn't realized just how far until he was halfway to the Bone Eater's Well with Kagome. That was when he first sensed something was amiss, when he began to try and pull away from the dark, brooding thoughts surrounding the situation with his sister. It was then that he'd looked at Kagome and realized with a jolt that the burning fascination he'd held for her for so long, the one that had made him yearn to get closer to her, had somehow fizzled out. Not only that, but he'd also discovered he was sadly lacking any real motivation to try and pursue an intimate relationship with her.

It had absolutely stunned him at first, for his view of her as a person hadn't changed. He still thought of her as an extremely interesting and very beautiful woman. So he wasn't sure why he could still view her that way and not want the same thing as before. He'd wanted to attribute the sudden change to the fact that he sensed her heart was in conflict, or perhaps seemingly already engaged; and thus he subconsciously didn't want to push her.

But he couldn't deny the real truth when a sly voice had spoken up in the back of his head saying, It's because you've tasted a sweeter fruit; one that has long lain behind a forbidden line.

He knew the real reason then, the most dangerous reason of all; the reason why he must try to reignite his interest in the raven haired woman now sitting at his side at all costs.

It all came back to Yukino, he thought bitterly, and his unnatural lust for her. Suddenly without warning, Shirogane remembered the taste of Yukino's lips and he felt his body tighten involuntarily in response. He mentally swore at his lack of resolve. Hadn't he just been telling himself that he would make sure that he would never touch her that way again?

But already he was craving the feel of her, wanting another taste of the forbidden…

Last night was a lie, he told himself harshly, brought on by the intoxication of a drug. I won't feel this way when I see her again tonight.

Taking a deep breath he resolutely banished the image, but his body was more stubborn to heed his words and the fire in his veins was slow to ebb. It made him wonder if he'd been near the Kinmotsu no Tama too long, its youki having somehow warped his mind. If only the answer could be that simple, he mused grimly, then, maybe he would find comfort in it.

But he should not be thinking about his sister at all, he silently castigated. He should be concentrating on Kagome - isn't that why he'd invited her to his home? So he could try gain back his lost footing, find out more about her, and even answer some of the questions he knew that she'd been wanting to ask - he'd seen her skittishly eyeing the pocket he carried the kotodama beads in all the way through the forest, and he knew that she couldn't get them out of her head.

She wanted to know more about the blood link that lay between him and Inuyasha. But Shirogane wondered if she was ready to hear the truth, for there was only so much he could tell her. Exposing her to only the parts of the past that were necessary - would it destroy her relationship with the hanyou or would it give her the strength she needed to go on?

He didn't want to be the one to influence their relationship one way or another. But she had a right to know, considering all that she'd done to help him and his sister. And too, there was the idea to consider that if she ever did give up on Inuyasha, and things were to go his way, then ultimately she would need to know the truth about Shirogane and his Shrine's past.

As he left the expressway he threw a surreptitious glance at Kagome who seemed lost in her own thoughts, her face a reflection of troubled musings.

This entire trip he'd let his guilty conscience consume him and he'd wasted a perfect opportunity to engage her in conversation and he felt a wave of frustration hit him as he gazed at her.

Why? Why couldn't he feel any attraction for this vivacious woman?

He refused to believe that after one night with Yukino, his infatuation for Kagome could be broken so easily! Perhaps if it had been an attachment that he'd only just recently formed, then he could see it dying a quick and harsh death, but he'd been enchanted with this woman ever since he'd first read about her in the Shrine scrolls when he was but a boy.

What had started as an avid curiosity as a child had grown to something more by the time he reached University - mostly because he'd attended the same school as she, and was able to watch her from the shadows, seeing in her all the things he'd read about, admiring her from afar. So it made no sense to him that feelings he'd spent his entire lifetime cultivating, waiting for a chance to watch bloom into something more promising would just suddenly whither away completely.

Even when he'd thought he'd never get a chance to meet her because of his family's persistent negative view of her, despite how heroically the Shrine scrolls painted her - he'd horded away his feelings for her like precious jewels. Ultimately it had been their disapproval that had kept him from approaching her at University. He couldn't see bringing her home to introduce her to his parents, when he knew they would only feel that he was “showing dishonor to the woman who had brought life to the Suketsune line” as Yukino had so articulately put it. So eventually he just let the dreams of meeting her fade, holding them like cherished memories.

But after his parents had passed away, and he was faced with the prospect of raising a younger sister, all that changed. He couldn't say that it was with a joyful heart that he first thought of pursuing Kagome; for it had been Yukino's struggles with the Kinmotsu no Tama that had first prompted him to consider it.

Watching his little sister who had once been so buoyant become weighted down with dread and forced to perform a ceremony that wracked her slender body with spasms of terror had been torture in itself for him. As the weeks passed it became obvious that little by little, with each Purification Ceremony, the Kinmotsu no Tama was chipping away at her soul. It was draining the very life from her, the Tama was. He could see it in her eyes; where there should be laughter and hope, Shirogane was beginning to see shadows of only despair, and he vowed he would die before he let the darkness engulf her completely like it had his own mother.

At that point, he'd known he needed someone strong to help them, and that was when he began once again to focus on the one woman who had fascinated him for so long.

Kagome Higurashi.

There were no other miko stronger than her and thus the plans for the renovation of the Shrine had been born.

In retrospect, it had been unfair to Kagome, really. Shirogane knew that his face was almost identical to Inuyasha's. He'd thought it would play to his advantage, to a certain degree, to remind her of someone she'd been fond of. He hadn't expected her to still have feelings for the dog-eared gasbag, since according to the accounts in their Shrine archives, Kagome had been the one to make the break in the relationship.

But yesterday, from the first moment when she'd turned around and seen him, she'd looked as if she'd seen a ghost. And inwardly, Shirogane had known things were not going to go smoothly with her. Of course, now with Inuyasha directly involved, things could only get worse, and considering his own feelings for Kagome were foundering, he didn't see how it was going to possibly work out at all according to his plan- and then, he grimaced, there was that ridiculous promise he'd made to his sister for not pursuing Kagome if he couldn't fall in love with her.

It was something he should never have done, but he'd done it nonetheless, helped along, do doubt by the influence of Rin's mind altering tea. In retrospect, he realized that whether he was in love with Kagome or not, he and his sister desperately needed her abilities. Kagome was the only miko that might be capable of handling the Kinmotsu no Tama without eventually succumbing to its youki. Which is why he should at least make an attempt to rekindle his interest in her, he told himself, glancing over at her as he turned down the street and headed towards his Shrine.

Maybe while in doing so, he could lay to rest the illusion his brain had cultivated and his body had since perpetuated that he desired his sister.

But no matter what the outcome, whether he managed to rekindle his waning interest or not, tonight at least, Shirogane would try to put to rest some of Kagome's doubts about the past. It was the least he could do to thank her for saving Yukino, for had it not been for her, Lokki would have escaped with Yuki through the well and he might never have seen his sister again.

That thought made his stomach tighten in knots as he parked his car at the bottom of the shrine steps.

“Welcome to my home, Kagome.” Shirogane's voice fell softly into the sudden stillness as they sat unmoving for several short seconds.

Kagome didn't seem to know what to say for a moment, her head turned away from him, as she peered out her window. She'd been here before, of course; many times when she'd been working on the Shrine renovation project. But this time felt different. Perhaps it was because she was with Shirogane and it was a completely personal visit. Somehow thinking that made her feel strange, and heightened her nervousness. Aware that she'd yet to acknowledge his graciousness, Kagome made herself tilt her head to look at him.

“Th-thank you,” she murmured with a slightly anxious smile.

“We'll try to make it as quick as possible,” he promised, as he climbed out of the car and opened her door for her.

Together they slowly climbed the stairs to the shrine, stopping every now and then for Shirogane to stretch his stiff, sore leg. Another uncomfortable silence settled between them similar to the one in the car, but Kagome was afraid to say anything, Shirogane's mood extremely introspective and pensive.

He was the one to break it however, seeming to come out of his reverie as they reached the top of the landing when he murmured, “Do you mind if we stop by the Shrine Sanctuary first? I know it will put us a little later than we planned, but it is in a shambles and it seems sacrilege to leave it that way.”

“Of course we can't leave it that way,” Kagome stoutly agreed as they began walking in the direction of the house, her support drawing an unexpected smile from him.

The smile was short lived however as they heard the sound of several voices, all male coming towards them. It was followed by a burst of low laughter. Shirogane narrowed his eyes and looked towards the Shrine. He could just make out a group of four slender figures that had exited from the main building.

“What the!?... my Sanctuary is not the local noodle shop,” he grumbled through gritted teeth. And then when he realized that the silhouetted figures were headed directly towards them, he grabbed Kagome by the arm and shoved her towards the side of the house, stepping in front of her and pressing her into the shadows with his body, praying that the boys would be unable to see them as they passed.

As the group shuffled passed, snippets of their conversation drifted to Shirogane, and he realized that they were part of Lokki's gang. Again he swore softly and Kagome looked up at him.

“What is it?” she whispered anxiously, only to have his hand clamp down over her mouth as one of the youths turned his head in their direction.

“Hey guys, did you hear something?” He paused, peering into the darkness while the others kept walking, and Kagome held her breath.

“Nah, this place is deserted - ain't no one here,” another drawled, looking over his shoulder. “C'mon, we need to find Lokki and find out what the hell's going on. `Still can't believe what Hiroya said, but from the looks of this place, it seems like Lokki really did attack him.”

After a second longer spent staring in their direction, the lagging boy caught up with the others, and the moment of danger passed. Kagome slumped weakly against Shirogane and he rested his forearms against the wall on either side of her head. Each of them took a moment to recover their composure.

“That was close,” Kagome breathed.

“Much closer than I would care to admit,” Shirogane agreed.

“What were they doing here?” Kagome wondered aloud.

“Most likely trying to find the trail of their missing friend,” Shirogane idly ventured.

Re-ignite the missing spark. Kiss her.

He didn't know where the thought came from, and he didn't particularly feel inclined to follow through, but he found himself automatically pushing away from the wall, his hands reaching for her face. She was completely caught off guard by his actions and he heard her indrawn breath as he tipped her chip up, and saw the surprise in her eyes.

“S-stop!” she whispered in a shocked voice, her breath actually moving across his lips, so close was he to actually kissing her.

“Just once,” he cajoled, his eyes still half-open, trying to read the expression in her wide brown ones despite the darkness.

Still feeling no stir of desire inside his heart, he was suddenly desperate for this to happen, knowing he needed it for more than one reason, the image of his sister standing out strongly in his mind. If he could just find that spark that he'd lost … perhaps all it would take was one kiss…

“P-please, Shirogane,” Kagome whispered, her breathing becoming uneven.

“Why not?” he asked, silently adding, I need this, Kagome, desperately.

He was affecting her; he could see that if he pushed her, she would give in. Just press her a little more, and his lips would be touching hers. Do it, a voice urged in the back of his head, but still he hesitated, waiting for a sign from her. It came in the form of her voice and it was almost lost in the silence so quiet was the sound. But with it, he released her, finally understanding her reaction to him

“Please, I can't… -- Inuyasha...”

“I see,” he replied calmly with a resolved smile. He raised a hand and patted her shoulder when he saw her troubled expression. “I may not be Inuyasha,” he murmured with a look of understanding, “but I come a close second, don't I?”

“I - I'm sorry,” she mumbled as he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, carefully leading her around the side of the house and back along the path to the Shrine.

“No need to be sorry, Kagome” he told her ruefully, “Just because I look so much like Inuyasha that you get a little breathless -- It's not your fault that I misinterpreted your reaction to me…nor is it your fault that you didn't want to kiss me,” he said matter of factly. He paused before the open door of the Shrine, staring unseeingly at it as he murmured, “I should have realized that I am no match for Inuyasha, even after all this time.”

Kagome gazed in consternation at Shirogane as he cautiously peered inside, making sure that none of the young gang members were still lingering about. She didn't know what to say to him, not quite understanding his words. She'd found herself drawn to him when his body had been so close to hers, but she was wise enough to know that it was because he looked so much like the man that truly held her heart.

Understanding her attraction had been easy but understanding why he would be attracted to her was not. Even after all this time… What had he meant by that?

“Why did you want to kiss me?” She asked in a halting voice when Shirogane motioned for her to follow him into the Shrine.

He hesitated for a moment before he answered and as she crossed the threshold, he turned his back to her and began moving forward, limping awkwardly along towards the back of the building and the altar where there was another door that also stood ajar.

“You could say that it was a completely spontaneous event,” he replied lightly without looking at her. But as he reached the other door he paused and shot a brief glance at her over his shoulder. “But to say that was the only reason would be a lie. I must admit that it's been a certain... goal of mine for quite some time to get closer to you. But it was unfair of me to try and take advantage of the situation like that, so I must apologize.” Kagome was surprised by his admission still not understanding him as he swiveled back around and inclined his head forward. “Let me attend to this mess first and then I will take you to the house. There is something there I want to show you that may make things much clearer for you.”

Together they worked to clean the disarray inside the Shrine, and once they were finished they headed back the way they came. Once inside the two-story home, Shirogane switched on the lights and Kagome bent down to remove her shoes before straightening to look around her. They were standing in the foyer and to her left was the doorway for a moderate sized living room.

This seemed to be Shirogane's destination and it was a mixture of contemporary and classical Japanese living. Everything here was well cared for and kept tidy but yet had that air of being lived in. Scattered on the zataku*** centered in the middle of the room were a few books, and draped over the arm of the overstuffed sofa ready to be used at a moment's notice was a soft colorful throw blanket.

Across the room and against the wall, there was an antique cha-dansu*** atop which perched an ornately decorative screen called a ko-byobu***. It was placed adjacent to the sofa and behind the armchair which were both set around the zataku. Tucked away, all the way to the left, in one discreet corner of the room was the butsudan*** and to the right, in the opposite corner was a broad desk next to which a giant bookcase spanned the entire wall from floor to ceiling. It was filled with old books, fubako***, bunko*** and some scrolls without a bunko or fubako which where housed in protective glass cases instead. These scrolls were so old and yellowed that they looked as if they might fall apart if unrolled.

A few other scrolls and their fubako had been taken from the bookshelf and placed on the desk. Several had been removed from their fubako and unrolled as if they were being studied. These were less yellowed than the ones behind glass, bearing brownish water spots in a few places here and there; and while they appeared to be quite old as well, they were, for the most part, in excellent condition. They sat next to a thick pad of paper littered with notes; a silver pen lying discarded across their top.

The scholar's corner. That was the thought that immediately struck Kagome.

All in all it was a very comfortable room, a place where one would naturally feel at ease, Kagome reflected as Shirogane slowly limped towards “the scholar's corner” and the desk, motioning for Kagome to follow him. Kagome's eyes continued to move about the room until she reached Shirogane's side and then she glanced up at the wall and noticed that his `Master's Degree of Science and History of Religion' was hanging there next to the desk.

Scholar indeed, she reflected respectfully as a jolt of surprise shot through her.

“University of Tokyo,” she murmured, her eyes widening as she noted the years and she swiveled towards him. “You and I attended University together,” she breathed.

“Yes, I know,” he replied with a faint smile, “I saw you many times. I knew who you were even then. I wish I could have made my presence known to you, but I was not at liberty to do so at the time.”

Kagome's eyes darkened in confusion, “I don't understand.”

Shirogane looked away from her, down towards the desk at the top scroll and he idly picked it up. Absently he began to roll it between his long, elegant fingers as he remarked, “You wanted to know why I tried to kiss you. Perhaps the answer lies in knowing why you returned home from the Sengoku Jidai.”

Kagome looked startled. “What do you mean?” she asked faintly. What could he possibly know about that?

“When you came back ten years ago, Kagome, in your heart, weren't you looking for someone who would believe in you?”

His voice was soft, almost hypnotic, and she found she was unable to look away from him, her heart twisting in her chest. What he was saying was true, and yet, it was wrong. Back then he would've been right, but now, he was wrong.

“Inuyasha had hurt you by refusing to abandon his past,” he continued softly but in a ruthless way. “And in doing so, he acknowledged the fact that he was giving up any future he could have with you. In essence, Kagome, he refused to believe in a future with you. So you left him. I know it was a hard step to take. And it must have hurt terribly knowing that once you came through that well, there was no going back, knowing that he would never follow you, never come through to get you...”

His voice was gentle yet his words sliced Kagome's heart to ribbons. She looked away from Shirogane, feeling color steal into her cheeks, a resentment beginning to burn in the middle of her chest. “You're wrong! That's not the way it was at all!” she denied heatedly.

A moment of silence stretched between them, weighing the lie she'd uttered, letting it settle uncomfortably like a heavy mantle on her shoulders before he spoke again.

“No?” he murmured, his tone slightly challenging. “Did you truly believe he was going to come for you, then?” Again silence stretched between them, a grim confirmation of what he already knew to be true. “I didn't think so,” he muttered darkly as he placed the scroll in his hand back into its container and carefully placed it back on the desk. Then his eyes swung back to Kagome, somber and brooding. “If things had been different,” he continued in his soft ruthless way, “just a few short years ago, when we attended college together, if I could have, I would have showered my attention upon you, and little by little I would have stolen your heart from him … Perhaps then, I could have erased the damage he's done through his neglect, made you see the worth in yourself that he was a fool to turn away from. I would have shown you that I, unlike Inuyasha, I could believe in a future with you Kagome --

Kagome's brows drew together at that, and her gaze swung back to him, angry and slightly defiant now. “Stop it!!” she cried, waving her fist at him. “Stop talking like you know me!”

“But I do know you!” he retorted quietly, his amber eyes boring into hers and he took a limping step closer to her, “better than you think! I know that you're not over him, and that no matter how many times I tried to kiss you now, it won't make a hell of a difference!” Humiliated color flared into Kagome's face and she looked away from him, but he raised his hand, his fingers tilting her chin back towards him as his eyes raked over her. “I might have been able to steal you away then, but I don't think I stand a chance against him now, isn't that so, Kagome?”

Kagome felt her knees begin to tremble.

How could he know so much about her life when he'd only met her just last night?

“How can you know that?! Who are you?” she demanded in a voice throbbing with emotion and watched in surprise the look of satisfaction that glimmered in his eyes. It was as if he'd been goading her, waiting for her to ask that question.

His fingers released her and he turned, reaching a long arm up to the top of the bookshelf to pull down one of the fubako and place it on the desk. Opening it, he carefully removed the scroll, and unrolled it before handing it to Kagome. There on the page amid ancient scrawled text staring at her was an image of a young child, a toddler with dog-ears and a playful smile that resembled Inuyasha. The name Erisu was written in small, careful kana beneath his image, and further down the scroll amidst more crowded text another image appeared; this one achingly familiar to her eyes.

He stared broodingly up at her from the weathered page with a somber frown. She didn't need to see the kana for this one, for it was unmistakably Inuyasha - an older, more mature Inuyasha different than the one of ten years ago, but very similar to how he appeared now.

The connection between these two images, the boy and Inuyasha; it sheared away the ambiguity and doubt that had lingered in her mind so that only the stark truth remained. All at once it felt as if the air had been pulled from the room and there was none left to draw into her lungs.

“This child is… Inuyasha's?” A mere thread of a sound, her voice barely disturbed the stillness of the room. Suddenly feeling lightheaded Kagome struggled to breathe.

Shirogane hesitated as if he was carefully considering her words, something she couldn't comprehend, for it had been a direct question that required only a `yes' or `no'. Finally he responded.

His answer was soft, but definite. “Yes.”

“And, this scroll,” she paused trying to piece it together in her shattered thoughts. “--You have it because this child is also related to you?”

“Yes,” Again another simple affirmation as her world continued to disintegrate around her.

“So, you are…related to Inuyasha then.” It wasn't a question, and she had difficulty pushing the words past her stiff lips.

“Yes, I am related to Inuyasha,” he confessed, his eyes unwavering as he gazed at her, and after only the smallest of pauses he continued, “Erisu, the young boy on this scroll, is my ancestor, and Inuyasha --” again he paused, as if he was weighing his words, trying to choose them carefully, “-- Erisu belongs to Inuyasha.”

The scroll was shaking between Kagome's fingers now, so she pushed it back towards him, her face a mask of frozen despair as she turned away from him. “When?” she broke off and took a deep breath, striving to add strength to the paltry sound rasping from her throat before continuing, “When did--? When was the child born?”

“I do not know the answer to that,” Shirogane conceded as he turned and placed the scroll back in its fubako.

“And his mother?” Kagome asked hollowly, finally turning back, her eyes full of torment, “Inuyasha's lover. You know her identity as well?”

Kagome waited and Shirogane stared deeply into her eyes, as if he were torn, silently considering what he should reveal to her.

Finally he shook his head and said gently, “That is another question I do not know the answer to -“

An unacceptable answer from where Kagome stood and she shook her head vehemently, her eyes flashing now.

“You're lying!” she accused brokenly, “you're trying to protect him!”

“Why would I want to protect him?” he gesticulated in exacerbation, “when he's thrown away every chance to be with you, chances that I used to dream about?”

“Then you're trying to protect me!” she exclaimed, suppressed tears beginning to shimmer in her dark eyes, “All of these scrolls!” she gestured with a sweep of her hand, “you must know who his lover is! Why won't you tell me?! How can I fight for him if you won't tell me!?”

“I swear I don't know!” he insisted, raking frustrated fingers through long tendrils of hair falling across his brow. “The scrolls never mention the names of any of Inuyasha's lovers. They only speak of you and Kikyou as the women in Inuyasha's life.”

Shirogane watched as Kagome covered her face with her hands, utterly distraught, and he moved towards her, his arms going around her, holding her much the same way he used to hold his sister on the days when she was having difficulty coping with the loss of her mother.

“Kagome -- the boy,” he paused, gritting his teeth and he momentarily clenched his eyes shut. He knew he should stop right now, but he seemed incapable of keeping the words to himself because of her terrible suffering. “The boy's birth was… different… it was… special. Erisu is not an ordinary child.”

Kagome seemed to become less agitated at his words, and she raised her eyes pleading to know more. But he shook his head, his jaw now firm. Telling her any more would be extremely dangerous.

“Do not look at me like that,” he chided in frustration, “for I have said far too much as it is. You know his name, which is more than you should, and you must not tell anyone about him - not even Inuyasha.”

Kagome gave Shirogane a surprised look at that.

“Surely he knows!?...” she began faintly but Shirogane was shaking his head grimly.

“He doesn't know about Erisu at all. No one does. -- As I said Erisu's birth was… special and it is a well guarded secret.” Shirogane paused and fixed her with a stern, eye before saying in his most heartening voice, “ - so now I say to you, knowing all that I do, Kagome; my advice to you is: if you truly love Inuyasha, don't stop fighting for him.”

He gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze while inwardly grimacing. He couldn't believe he was encouraging her when in all respects he should be doing everything in his power to seduce her away. It was the failed kiss, he thought dully. He hadn't felt disappointed at all when she'd turned him down. - it was like he'd been trying to steal a kiss from his sister - wait, strike that, he amended with a wry twist to his lips. It left him feeling like he was supposed to feel if he'd been trying to steal a kiss from his sister, not how he'd actually felt when it happened - not that those emotions had been real either, he sharply reminded himself.

But still, if he could have mustered the desire for Kagome to match the desire that he'd felt when he'd been intoxicated and kissed Yukino, then he probably wouldn't be standing here, encouraging her to keep fighting for Inuyasha. Instead, he would be trying to find a way to get past Kagome's defenses starting with a kiss and ending with peeling her clothes off somewhere upstairs for a more intimate encounter. Under the current circumstances though, he didn't see anything like that happening, barring a miracle.

Unexpectedly an image of Yukino assaulted him, supplanting Kagome's as the two women overlapped in his mind. Vivid and potent, she filled his head, her body twisting and writhing beneath him in his bed, and fire began to slither through his veins.

That wasn't exactly the kind of miracle he'd had in mind…he thought in aggravation. Never in his life had he substituted the image of one woman for another just to satisfy his physical desires and he wasn't about to start now. Besides, thinking of Yukino while with Kagome would get him nowhere, since Kagome had no interest in him unless he planned to force himself on her, which he would never do.

Abruptly Shirogane let go of Kagome, and swung away from her to limp towards the middle of the room, the scroll still in his hand while he tried to suppress his frustration and cool the insidious heat simmering inside him.

“With everything that's happened, it's hard to believe that just yesterday you were helping me with the plans to my Shrine.”

It was impossible to keep the note of irony out of his voice as he made a sweeping gesture towards the door and it didn't go unnoticed.

“You… you planned this, didn't you?” Kagome said suddenly as the realization hit her.

His eyes pivoted towards her, a watchful expression on his face as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

“You were trying to find a way to meet me…”

That same small, mysterious smile she'd seen the first time she met him hovered about his lips. “Yes.”

“All of this planning…just to meet me?” she breathed in shock, her mouth slightly agape, “-- but why?”

She watched as he reached down into the small pouch at the waist of his hakama and pulled out Inuyasha's kotodama beads.

“Because I needed your help with this.” His voice took on a bitter edge. “You're a strong miko - I've read about you and followed your progress since I was just a kid. I was sure that if anyone could help Yukino and I keep this Tama pure, it would be you.”

Kagome felt a little strange, knowing that there had always been someone watching her, taking notes on what she did. But she supposed in a way, it was comforting too, knowing that it had been Inuyasha's descendant for she felt certain, that if she'd ever been in trouble, he would have been sure to come out of the shadows and lend a hand.

“Keep your Tama pure? But I'm not a miko!” Kagome protested as she slowly moved towards him, her eyes alternating between his face and the beads.

“You are,” he disagreed, looking down into her face as she reached his side, “In your heart you are. You're one of the greatest miko that our country has ever had, even if your name has been lost to history, obscured through time of war and change. Before we fell through the well, I had hoped to bring you here as my bride and the permanent miko of our shrine --” At his rueful admission her incredulous gaze shot to his face and he watched the blood rush to her head like he knew it would. He offered her a sheepish grin then and said lightly, “But now I know that's not likely to happen with the way things stand.”

His grin faded when he saw a troubled look slide over her countenance as her gaze slipped away from him, and she shifted restlessly. Moving thoughtfully away from her, he approached the desk and placed the scroll in its fubako before returning it to the bookcase, saying casually over his shoulder, “Your friendship is all I ask for now -- but still - I can't help wondering, if we had not fallen through the well, and your reunion with Inuyasha had never taken place…. would you have looked upon me with more favor, Kagome?”

Kagome's mouth opened and closed as she stared helplessly at him. “I - I - don't know,” she finally managed to stammer in halting accents.

He seemed dissatisfied with her answer, but she really had no idea what to say for she hadn't known him that long; he seemed like a virtual stranger.

No. Not a stranger -- the blood of Inuyasha ran through his veins, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Her body had sensed it when he'd tried to kiss her and as he continued to stare at her, she realized that she needed to try and give him a better answer. Moving nervously to stand in front of one of the long row of books on the bookshelf, she stared at them without really seeing them, clasping and unclasping her hands together in front of her for a moment before dropping them fitfully back to her sides, trying to think of a good place to start.

“I suppose many of your suppositions concerning me weren't far from the truth. Ten years ago, when I came home, I was hurting, because I knew that as long as Inuyasha had Kikyou in his life he would never put me first.” Kagome lifted a hand and lightly fingered the spine of one of the heavy tomes in front of her. ”So I thought if I could find someone here to believe in me, that it would be enough, that it would fill the space that had been left inside of my heart when I severed all communication with him.” She paused a moment letting her fingers flit restlessly to the next book, as if she were reading the title. “But as the time passed and I started to remake my life, I found that no matter how hard I tried to fill that space, it couldn't be done. And then I realized the simple reason for that is because it's a space made to be filled by Inuyasha alone.”

She turned her head to gaze up at him. Her eyes were earnest, hiding nothing as she gave him a searching look, relieved at how he seemed to accept her answer with a great deal of aplomb. There was no sign of regret anywhere, only the slightest shadow of resignation in his eyes. But other than that, Kagome could find no sorrow written upon his familiar countenance, which led her to believe that he was not too deeply attached to her.

“I feel I should warn you now, Kagome,” he murmured in a casual voice, surprising her, “Despite what you've said, despite what I've said, if things should fail between you and Inuyasha, I will still try to make you see me as someone who could take his place.”

That is, if I can somehow fulfill that infernal promise I made to Yukino he irritably mused, beginning to think it was going to be impossible to do, considering how abysmally he'd failed to dredge up any attraction for Kagome thus far. He'd be better off trying to convince his sister that his promise had been a silly one. Many successful marriages had been built on friendships. Had he been wise, he would have pointed this fact out to his pigheaded sister in the first place.

Shirogane felt he could build a relationship like this with Kagome for he genuinely liked her - unfortunately he was discovering his feelings for her weren't the kind that could heat the blood to a boiling point, nor were they the tenderness that filled the heart when embracing a special lover. And somehow he doubted they would ever grow to be.

A lasting friendship.

That was all he could hope to gain from this, he reflected discontentedly.

Kagome was slightly taken aback by Shirogane's calm determination regarding a possible future with her. She should make him understand for her there would be no turning back. She could not look towards a tomorrow that did not hold Inuyasha in it.

“I am honored that you regard me so highly, but -- I love Inuyasha, and I always have,” she blurted out, her expression tensing and as she continued, and even her voice became tighter. “I will always be eternally grateful to you, Shirogane, for you have given me the chance that never would have come - you were right - for in my heart, I knew that Inuyasha was never going to come back for me, and it terrified me… that's why I have to do everything in my power to make this work! Because of you, I have been given another opportunity to be with him! And this time, I will not let my fears or my insecurities drive me away!! I will not fail this time!”

Her fervor and her desperation; all of her love was driving her toward a single purpose, a single destination: towards Inuyasha. At that moment, Shirogane felt like kicking Inuyasha's face in, dog that he was. He truly didn't deserve a woman as deeply caring and profoundly beautiful as Kagome. Kagome wanted him more than anything or anyone. And Shirogane sincerely hoped that dream came true for her sake.

“You know,” Kagome mused, interrupting his thoughts and changing the topic completely, “If all you need help with is the purification of your Tama perhaps I could do that without becoming an -ahem-- permanent fixture of your Shrine.”

And before he could stop her, she reached for the beads. Her hand barely touched them before there was an instantaneous reaction. A black halo surrounded the Tama and a high pitched ringing filled the room.

“Kagome, let go!” he warned, but it was too late.

There was a snapping sound and the black halo encircling the Tama expanded outwards. Loud raucous voices exploded inside his head filling it with pain, and Shirogane felt them trying to exert their apocryphal control over him. A burning sensation covered his body and filled his lungs, as the voices screamed for a control he refused to wield to them. In his mind, he saw them, eyes burning with hunger and hatred, never leaving the shadows that danced all around, beckoning him, taunting him, promising him things, while he fought to maintain control.

Next to him stood Kagome, a bright halo of soothing light the only sanctuary from the darkness that bordered them in all directions. All at once the internal screaming ceased and Shirogane was able to think. But impatient arms began reaching for them from the shadows, the voices now muttering aloud, low and incoherent. Kagome heard them and she sharply turned seeking their source, making Shirogane lose his grasp on the Tama. It dangled from the Kotodama beads clutched tightly in her fingers, swinging to and fro like a pendulum, beckoning to the hungry evil that sought to hold the corrupted jewel in its grasp.

“The Tama!” Shirogane warned as the muttered whispers became more intense and the darkness rushed in on them, crashing over them like a black wave.

The light around them flickered, becoming as feeble as a candle's glow buffeted by a sudden gust of wind. Shirogane moved protectively closer to Kagome's back. He could feel the malevolence from behind, his skin crawling before claws raked down his shoulders, attempting to rend their way past him, trying to get to Kagome as she struggled for a firmer grip on the beads trying to actually grasp the Kinmotsu no Tama, her terror rising, making her movements clumsy and inefficient. The wraithlike arms did their best to prevent her, grappling with her, intent on wresting the beads and the Tama from her. Her terrified grunts became littered with cries of pain as talons dug into her flesh, wanting to make her let go.

Then suddenly it was over, and Shirogane found himself falling forward, Kagome's shoulders buckling beneath his weight as she stumbled to her knees. The Tama was firmly grasped against her palm; its color had again become the serene opalescent white that signified purity. But the transformation had not come without a cost, Shirogane realized as he staggered to his feet, focusing with concern on Kagome whom he'd nearly crushed.

Burning pain seared his back as he reached down to gently help her to her feet. His eyes widened in dismay at the gouges that scored the backs of her hands. Claw marks, deep and vicious, they welled with blood.

“My god,” he breathed softly. “This is the first time the spiritual world has managed to breach the barrier of the Tama to manifest itself upon the corporeal.”

But that wasn't entirely true, he belatedly realized. It had happened one other time, when the spirits inside the Tama had punished Yuki for not heeding their call, burning her with their youki… However, his error still didn't change the fact that he was responsible for allowing Kagome to be injured.

His eyes moved apologetically to Kagome's face as he murmured, “I would never have asked you to do something so dangerous had I known the outcome.”

Distractedly he ran his fingers through the strands of hair falling into his eyes and then hissed, his mouth twisting into a silent snarl at the pain it caused along his back.

“You didn't exactly ask me to do it,” Kagome pointed out, and swallowed convulsively as she tried to regain her composure from the grisly experience.

Trying to keep the blood running across her hands from corrupting the Tama or dripping onto the expensive tatami mat covering the floor, Kagome awkwardly cupped her hands together and lifted them up, letting the blood flow back down her arms instead as she presented the Tama to him.

“I can see why you needed help,” she remarked in a thin voice moving around him to look at his back, sucking in her breath at the long bloodied rents in the fabric of her grandfather's kimono. “I think you're going to need some first aid before we do anything else,” she observed shakily.

“There's a first aid kit in the kitchen, “ he remarked stonily and led Kagome in that direction, looking briefly at his family's jewel, an impotent rage rushing through him.

Why was this happening? Was it because they had both been indirectly touching the Tama? he wondered. Nothing like that had ever happened before. Was it because there was so much more corruption to deal with or because the forces inside the Tama had found a way to breach its walls and was seeking to rejoin their other half?

He slid a surreptitious glance towards Kagome. Her eyes burned bright in a face bleached of all color from the ordeal she'd just faced as she worked to clean the wounds on her hands before disinfecting those that stretched along his back.

It had been a terrible experience for her, he mused, wincing as she taped a gauze bandage in place above his right shoulder blade. Far worse on a physical level than anything Yukino had endured - but then he remembered the purple spiraling burn on Yukino's arm and neck. The pain she must have endured, and yet she'd stood strong against the voices, the voices he himself had heard.

That spiral burn would leave a lasting scar, but he knew it would never run as deep as those that his sister carried on an emotional level - then Shirogane gave his head a slight shake as his thoughts came to a standstill, one fact becoming startlingly clear. Those forces that he and Kagome had been subjected to tonight were always there, unseen, bearing down on the human psyche. And all those times that he'd witness his sister performing her rituals, listening to the whispers calling her, feeling the darkness hovering in the air around them until she finished; now he finally understood completely why Yukino was always so terrified, he reflected grimly.

With that realization other certainties began to founder and he was forced to ask himself a question whose answer he'd thought he'd known: had Kagome really fared any better than Yukino would have during their violent encounter?

“All done,” Kagome told him, breaking into his dark thoughts, trying to keep her tone light despite the heavy air that had settled between them. “I guess now would be a good time to pack?” she ventured uncertainly.

“As good a time as any,” he replied, trying to infuse his voice with a bit of charm. “Thank you so much for your help, Kagome,” he murmured, rising from his chair and grabbing the kimono from the table, as he turned and faced her.

Kagome waved away his thanks with a smile. “That's what friends are for.”

Shirogane didn't reply but he returned her smile, noting that she still lacked color.

As they headed upstairs to begin packing, for the first time since he'd begun to make his plans, Shirogane began to have serious doubts. Could the Kinmotsu no Tama be purified by any miko, Kagome included, without endangering not only her spiritual existence but her physical existence as well? If it couldn't, then he had no business asking Kagome to be his wife. Hell, he had no business asking any woman to be his wife, if that were the case, he mused wearily.

And with that thought, the burden his family had shouldered for five hundred years suddenly felt like it had just became one hundred times heavier.

 

 

 

 

Ofuro** a traditional Japanese bath where you sit on a small stool and soap your body, rinsing with water and then immersing yourself in a hot tub of water once your body is clean.

Jinja** Shinto shrine

zataku** a contemporary, low table found in one's home

Cha-dansu** tea chest; for storage of teatime articles

Ko-byobu** a three foot folding screen that can be very decorative or very plain, depending upon the screen and the use (different screens are different sizes: i.e. honken-byoubu is a six foot screen)

Butsudan** household Buddhist altar set aside for honoring those members of the family that have passed away

Fubako** a box for the storage of letters or documents

Bunko** a document box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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