...
-First Month-
Kanae felt something beating in her chest, a soft pounding that she had missed for a long time. It was a beating heart, her heart.
The feeling of being pressured, hands and feet immobilized under a soft blanket, didn't bother Kanae. Nor did being held by arms much bigger than hers scare her; somehow, all these sensations made her feel safe.
"What a beautiful baby", she heard a gentle voice speak.
Kanae opened her eyes with some difficulty, excited to see this person. When she achieved her task, she saw a very blurry woman smiling at her.
"She's a beautiful girl, honey", was the voice of a man speaking this time.
"What name are we going to give her? I was thinking of Mitsuyi or perhaps a mystical name like..." It was the voice of an older man, sounding excited. But before he could finish giving his opinion, the woman holding her interrupted him.
"Kanae," was what her mother said, still looking at her. "Higurashi Kanae, it will be her name."
"Kanae", the man spoke, her father. "It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl".
"Hmm. Yes, that's a good name, daughter," agreed the man she would later learn was her grandfather.
Kanae could only feel happy.
-One Year Old-
It had been a while already. Kanae got used to this new life that she was given faster than she expected.
'It's more... modern than I remember,' was the first thing she thought when she saw the big buildings greeting her for the first time. When her mother took her for a walk with her grandfather to the city.
'Tokyo' was the name of the city they lived in, she learned herself. She still lives in Japan, but not at the same time or in the same world where she once existed, she quickly realized.
It was a bit bittersweet, but Kanae could bear it. She was still a baby, after all; she had many years ahead of her to learn to live with it.
For now, she would be happy just to see the big buildings greeting her.
-Two Years Old-
"Come on, say grandpa"
Kanae wanted to laugh, but she was afraid that if she did, like the last time she did, her grandfather would cry dramatically.
So she preferred to do what her grandfather asked her to do. "graw-grawn" Speech was a bit difficult for her; her mouth still hadn't gotten used to forming coherent words. She had a lot to learn.
"Dad, are you pestering Kanae again so that she learns to say grandpa?" Her mother spoke as she left the kitchen.
"Of course, she's a very smart girl. I'm sure she'll learn how to say grandpa very quickly, right, Kanae?" She could only make a small stammer in the form of affirmation.
"I'm sure Kanae will learn to say Dad first," the Father spoke, leaving the room after changing from his office clothes to more comfortable clothes.
"Not if she says grandpa first!" While her grandfather and her father were talking about which of the two she would choose first, her mother took her from her grandfather's arms.
"Mama, say mama", spoke the her Mother with a soft voice.
"I don't think that would work, dear-"
"ma-ma"
Absolute silence.
Then her mom started laughing while her dad was still in shock, and her grandpa started acting dramatic again.
Kanae could only laugh along with her mom.
-Three Years Old-
Recently, Kanae had wanted to walk all over the house.
When she was learning to walk, it was difficult; her legs did not do what she ordered. But with a lot of determination and willpower, she had managed to take four steps in a row, and then she took more. Her parents could not be prouder. Regarding her grandfather, he had done some kind of ritual later that day to show his gratitude to the deities for such a beautiful and intelligent girl.
Currently, her mother was in the kitchen preparing lunch, her father at work, her grandfather was out on some errands, and she should be playing with her toys, but she already had other plans.
Today Kanae wanted to walk through the whole house; she only knew some rooms of her home. However, she was determined to explore her renowned home.
With some difficulty, she got up from her sitting position and then began to walk. She went from room to room until she entered her parent's room. She had already been there a few times, mostly when Kanae was a little baby and her mother wanted to keep an eye on her due to the fragile state of her newborn baby.
She had not entered this room for some time. She was about to leave it when something caught her attention. It was a full-length mirror. When she was a baby, she had seen her reflection, but due to the poor eyesight she had at that time, she had not been able to appreciate herself properly. With new determination, she approached the mirror to appreciate herself more this time.
'So... this is my new face,' Kanae thought as she looked at her reflection.
She still had some baby fat on her face, but she could still see her features clearly. Her eyes continued to have that unique appearance, but the color of her eyes was not the same; they were no longer pink, they were a deep blue.
Her eyelashes were still long and thick. Furthermore, her hair continued to have the same shape, straight, but at the same time a bit robust. Currently, her hair reached her shoulders, and on both sides of her, she wore two pale pink ribbons in the shape of bows. She had asked her mother to buy them after seeing them in a clothing store. The first reason she had asked her mother to buy them for her was that they reminded her of the butterfly clips that she had in her past life.
Maybe if she one day found some clips with that distinctive design, she would buy them, but for now, she would be happy with her ribbons.
Her mother told her that when she was older she would be very beautiful, and to be honest? Kanae was able to confirm that she would indeed be incredibly beautiful in the future. She only hoped that this was not an inconvenience. Her father was always "worried" when a little boy approached her to play with her when they went to the park.
"Kanae! There you are, you had scared me, little girl", her mother spoke entering the room.
"I'm sorry, Mom!" Kanae said as she ran towards her mother.
"Don't do it again, okay?" Her mother had bent down to stroke her soft hair with some difficulty due to her pregnant belly. "Mom! You shouldn't bend over; you could hurt yourself".
"Don't worry, little one; your mother is very careful".
"Even so, please be careful".
"Okay, okay. Come, let's eat; lunch is ready", said her mother as she took her little hand and led her towards the dining room.
Kanae would be a big sister again, and she couldn't be more excited.
-three months later-
Kanae was sitting next to her mother in the hospital bed, holding her little sister in her chubby arms. The name they had given her little sister was Kagome. She had been called that because her mother had seen a small light coming from her sister's chest the first time she held her.
'How cute,' Kanae thought.
Her little sister had stopped crying a long time ago; she looked so cute sleeping.
"Kagome stopped crying when Kanae picked her up. Without a doubt, Kanae will be a good big sister," her mother spoke ecstatically from her seat.
"Yes! I promise to be a good big sister, Mom", Kanae spoke as softly as she could.
"She is a beautiful girl, just like Kanae," said her father sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed.
"The gods heard me; we were blessed with two beautiful girls!" her grandfather spoke this time as he spun around in celebratory mode.
Kanae gave a little laugh; she was happy. She had her family, she had a little sister, and soon she would start school. Life seemed to be kind to Kanae.
Kanae had everything and more than she could want. Vaguely, she wondered if Shinobu was reincarnated as the little girl she was holding. Well, it doesn't matter if it's Shinobu or not; Kanae would love her little sister no matter who or what she was.
-Seven Years Old-
Kagome had started to follow her. Wherever Kanae went, her little sister followed her. Somehow it reminded Kanae of a pretty baby duckling following its mommy.
"Kagome, you can't follow me to school; it's dangerous."
"Sistew—" her little sister stammered, walking awkwardly towards her. Before Kagome could continue, her mother picked her up.
"Kagome, you can't follow your sister to her school," her mother said.
"It's because Kagome loves me so much, Mom!" Kanae said as she raised her hands up in a way to further affirm her explanation.
"Of course, she loves you if you always take care of her," her grandfather spoke with a small smile as he opened the front door of the apartment*. "Fine, I'll take her to school; see you later."
"Bye, Mom, bye, Kagome!" Kanae said as she walked out of the door.
"Be careful!" said her mother as she said goodbye to her.
"Sistew!" Kagome stammered, waving her arms around.
As soon as Kanae returned from school, she would play with Kagome after doing her homework. That way, Kagome would be happy. Lately, her little sister used to get sad when she left. So Kanae tried to make up for lost time with Kagome as much as she could to cheer up her little sister.
'Today will be a long day', Kanae thought with a smile. Vaguely, she wondered if her father was doing well at his work and if he liked the bento she had made together with her mother.
'I wonder what Dad is doing.'
-Ten Years Old-
Unfortunately, some things are short in this life.
'Happiness doesn't last forever,' Kanae thought as she looked at the photo of the man she had come to love as her father, still reeling from the news of his untimely passing.
A car accident was what ended his life.
'Rest in peace, Dad...' Kanae thought as she hugged Kagome tighter, who was crying on her chest.
'Everything will be fine...'
Kanae turned to see her mom, who was kneeling in prayer in front of the photo of who was her husband in life. Her grandfather was together with her, doing some prayers too.
Her mom was four months pregnant; Kanae was going to be an older sister again. But her dad wouldn't know this new life, nor would he see this baby grow, nor say their first word.
Kanae was invaded by a bitter feeling.
'I... I will protect them, I promise, Dad.'
Soon, they were going to move out of the city to a sanctuary* to start anew. Kanae agreed with that.
Maybe she will learn to handle the sword and breathe flowers again; after all, she needs to focus on something else... she needed to get away from these bitter feelings.
"Everything will be alright, Kagome," she whispered to her little sister as she hugged her tighter. She wouldn't let anything happen to her little sister.
Tragedy had struck the Higurashi family, casting a temporary storm upon them. A few months later, the storm had subsided with the arrival of her younger brother, Sota.
Her little brother had been born in the same hospital as her and her younger sister Kagome. His crying had brought a smile to her family, something her family didn't do because of the loss. Kanae could only feel happy that everything was getting better in her little family.
A few months later the change was evident; everything was a little lighter. Little by little they were overcoming the loss of her father. But still, not forgetting it.
-Thirteen Years Old-
"Grandpa, can you tell me more myths and legends. Please?" Kanae spoke as she held the now sleeping Kagome's head in her lap.
Her grandfather had recently started telling them stories about demons and legends of Japanese culture, and Kanae had become very interested in the subject, perhaps because the word demon was a very familiar term to her.
"Sure, which one do you want to hear now?"
"Mmm... about that Jewel you were telling some tourists the other day".
"Are you talking about the Shikon Jewel?"
"Yes!"
"Well, it's an interesting story, full of love and hate, so pay attention, Kanae."
Stories like this always caught Kanae's attention, perhaps because her grandfather simply made them funnier when he told them.
The story of the Shikon Jewel was intriguing to Kanae, a rarity that no one knew where or how it was born and that gave supernatural powers to spirits full of evil.
Many killed for the Shikon Jewel, and others sacrificed themselves so that its purity would not be damaged, and yet the battle for the Jewel was never over. Until they gave it to a very powerful priestess to take care of the Shikon Jewel, the priestess did her job until one day she fell in love with a demon who also wanted the Jewel.
Unfortunately, the demon deceived her in the end and seriously hurt the powerful priestess who with her last strength sealed the demon in a sacred tree, and then died.
"Do you know where the tree is, Kanae?"
"No, tell me, Grandpa."
"It is the big tree that is in this sanctuary, little one."
"Is that tree the same as in the story?"
"Yes, and it is the treasure of this shrine. It is said to be over a thousand years old, which is why it is also known as the tree of time. And our family has the privilege of taking care of it."
"Oww— what are you talking about?" Kagome spoke starting to wake up from her little nap.
"About Myths and Legends, little sister."
"How boring..."
Needless to say, Kagome isn't interested in these kinds of stories.
-fourteen years old-
Kanae was exhausted but satisfied at the same time. When she told her Mom that she wanted to learn fencing, she was surprised; however, she did not oppose her daughter's wishes.
Quickly, they enrolled her and began her classes. Between ordering her life to take care of her little brothers, helping her Mom prepare food, taking classes, and listening to her grandfather's stories, it could be said that she had found a balance for all that mess.
'Well, I better not overthink things like last time,' Kanae thought, taking off her ribbons together with her sweaty clothes from running for four hours while she used total concentration breathing. Compared to how Kanae had started her training, she had already improved considerably.
After taking off her dirty clothes, she went into the bathroom to take a quick shower; the warm water against her back felt like a little massage. Little by little, she was removing the dirt from her skin with soaps and lotions.
While she cleaned her now long hair with shampoo, she gave herself a little scalp massage. When Kanae felt satisfied with her bath, she turned off the shower and then dried herself a little with the towel, and went to her room.
When Kanae had finished putting on her pajamas, blow-drying, and untangling her hair, she sat on her bed looking out the still-open window.
Her room had been decorated to her liking, by herself.
The walls had been painted beige. Several books were placed on the small wooden shelf-type cabinet, some of fantasy and legends, others of history, biology and plants, and others of basic medicine. Some cacti adorned her window along with various begonias. In the right corner of her room was her closet and near her window was her desk where she read and studied some of her books.
On her nightstand was her lilac clock showing the time '10:30 PM'. Her flower-shaped lamp was still on after all Kanae wanted to read a bit before going to sleep. A few weeks ago Kanae had bought a book on myths of feudal Japan, without further ado she opened the book to start reading.
Pages and pages went by, written words being recorded in her memory. Until she came to a part that caught her attention. InuYoukai*, she had never heard of them, but the more she read the more intrigued she became. They were powerful beings; Kanae knew that some Yokai could change shape, their real form being that of beings of colossal dimensions, in this case the true appearance of the InuYoukai was that of a giant demon dog.
Vaguely, she wondered how colossal the people of that time imagined those beasts to be.
With her curiosity satisfied, Kanae closed her book as she placed it on the small shelf, then lay down on her bed while she turned off the flower-shaped lamp. Kanae yawned as she settled into the soft blankets.
Tomorrow would be a long day; after all, she had a tournament to win.
-Seventeen years old-
"Sis, Buyo loves you", her 6-year-old brother said as he settled to sit closer on the porch next to her.
"Buyo loves us all, Sota," she spoke with a smile as she petted the cat that her family had adopted a few months ago.
"No, I'm serious, he's always with you."
"Well, that's because I always give Buyo snacks."
"Sister! Don't you think what that old lady said is true?"
"Hmm? What old lady?" She spoke while she turned to see him.
"You know the old lady that was at that fair."
Kanae remembered; it was an old woman who was at the fair that was held last year. From what she said, she was a fortune teller and witch.
Her little brother wanted to see what the woman told him when she proposed to read his future. Kagome didn't want to enter the tent arguing that it was a waste of time, so Kanae went into the tent with her little brother, while Kagome went to the food tents with her grandpa and mom.
The old woman read the future to her little brother; Sota was ecstatic because of his good future. According to the woman, he would have a nice marriage, an adorable wife and daughter, along with a well-paying job.
As soon as the woman finished, she turned to Kanae and told her that she had a great spiritual aura. In her words, her aura was calming and intriguing, a very one of a kind.
"She was just being nice, Sota."
"But it may be true; all animals calm down when you appear and also adore you!"
Kanae let out a little amused snort as she elegantly put a hand over her mouth a little, "Aa, that's true, but it's the same with Mom too, Sota."
"Yes, but maybe it's the same with her. Although, I don't think it's the same with Kagome...she's terrifying."
"What did you say, Sota?" Kagome spoke as she walked onto the porch with an annoyed expression and her hands on her hips.
"Waaaa—! Kanaeee help meeee!" her little brother yelled as he ran from a very upset Kagome chasing him. Even Buyo the cat ran off in the opposite direction of the commotion.
Kanae let out an amused little sigh as she got up from her sitting position; those two never stopped fighting.
-Eighteen years old-
"Okay, I'm leaving now!"
"Careful, Kagome!"
Today, her little sister had officially turned fifteen. Kanae had taken advantage of Kagome having to go to high school early to leave her gift wrapped on her sister's bed.
She should also hurry so she won't be late for the university. Quickly, she left the gift in the center of the bed and then headed towards the stairs; her mother and her grandfather had left to do some shopping for the house.
On the other hand, if Kanae had known what was going to happen to Kagome that morning, she would have accompanied and protected her little sister so that she wouldn't suffer as much as she did in the beginning.
"Sister, something dragged Kagome down the well!"
.
.
.
Oh no...
- - - - - - - - - -
*curiosities*
apartment*
I once read somewhere that Kagome's family had moved into a sanctuary after the death of Kagome's father, since then it became canon for me.
InuYoukai*
It is the race of demons that Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, belong to.
The age difference between Kanae, Kagome, and Sota isn't as big as one might think.
Kanae is 18
Kagome is 15
Sota is 7
The age difference between Kanae and Kagome is three years.
As for a potential love partner for Kanae, it comes to my mind Demons... but who knows haha. Anything could happen! Let me know who you think is the one for our pretty hashira, I'm open minded to reading your opinions (as I was writing this I realized I already have someone in my mind that would be perfect for Kanae but it's supposed to be a secret lmao).
The story will have some changes, however, I will try to keep the ending the same as the original, I can assure you!
Anyway, thanks for reading.
05/03/2024
Still editing (I think)