A warm weather in June was often unheard of to one who has lived in Tokyo all her life. Yet, here I was, basking in the sunlight that streamed past my window. The warmth of it loosened the strain in my chest. But as soon as I looked back down at my desk, dread consumed me whole. I slammed my head on the messy acacia surface, groaning from the pain and the mountainous deadlines I had left.
"That's going to leave a mark." A blend aroma of pastry and coffee wafted into my room. Kagome held a tray of sweet raspberry tart and coffee.
"Breakfast," she smiled. "Don't worry, I convinced Mom to let you indulge yourself just this once." Her eyes peered at the papers scattered around the carpet, desk, and bed. "You really could use some." I didn't complain. The papers were everywhere - some crumpled, some blank used for later, and some...well, I didn't even know half of what I was using them for.
"I can't remember the last time I felt this drowned in work," I groaned. So much happened while I was away. Projects, homework, and upcoming tests that would be the end of me before the summer break. Kagome puckered her lips in sympathy. "You really should get some rest before we go back," she reminded. And she was right. We had agreed to enter the well tonight.
"Let me just finish this art project and we can head over to the bone-eaters well." I glared back at the near completion of my teacher's portrait. I would've had it finished hours ago if I could just get her damn nose right.
"Or," Kagome spoke, trailing the word on her tongue, "we could go tomorrow morning instead." I immediately rejected the idea. "Oh no, I am not handling another yap from that aggravating puppy. If he so much does that again, I'll be buying a human-size cage the next time he trespasses our lawn."
Kagome stuffed a laugh. "Somehow, I can see that happening."
"Yeah, and then, I'll take him to the pound; that'll teach him how to play nice."
She laughed at that last remark. "I forgot how much I've missed your sense of humour."
I joined her laughter with a giggle of my own. As I took the last bite of the pastry, Kagome took the mug and plate away and left my room. With my battery recharged, I gripped my pencil and continued my work.
~
"She is all I have left..."
"My sins are my own dereliction..."
"Stay with me...Forevermore."
~~~
The morning had stretched far into the sunset. Orange burned through my window, hitting me with its strong light. I pushed myself up, hands massaging my temple. The dreams were getting stranger by the day. I needed to find answers, now. I then heard the click of my door open; it was Mom.
"Ah, good, you're awake," she said and sat beside me. "Kagome is waiting for you downstairs. I'll just tell her to give you another ten minutes or so to get ready." The smile on her face was calm and collected, her posture relaxed, yet straight. Not once had her face ever trembled when Kagome or I mentioned the feudal era. It never occurred to me how composed Mom always looked. Seeing her daughters step into a time of monsters and bloodshed. But I knew she hated every bit of it; The signs were always subtle, easily overlooked with passing glances. Slight twitches of her lips, or the way her fingers would fiddle under her sleeves. Yet, somehow, Mom's smile was always real.
"Mom."
"Yes, dear?"
I met her eyes - a most gorgeous shade of brown. While the jarring sunlight aggravated me, it gleamed on her. With its touch, Mom's eyes became specks of soft caramel, sweet and beautiful just like her. When we were kids, Kagome would always wish her eyes were the shade of sea and sapphires. My colour; a colour that was rich in depth and wonder. But I always said that her eyes - our mother's eyes - were the true treasures holding the warmth of home. A reflection of a love deeper than any ocean or precious gems.
"If you ask us to stay, you know we will, right?"
Mom didn't seem to be taken aback by the question. "If I asked you to stay, Inuyasha would simply drag the two of you into the well; I don't exactly have a say in it." She laughed right after, but it only made my stomach churn.
"Kagome would kill him before he can even try." I wasn't sure if I meant that as a joke, but Mom's smile remained. "I have nothing against you going back into the feudal era, Yuna. After all, don't you want to figure out what the dreams mean?"
More than anything.
"As long as you and your sister stay together, I have nothing to worry about," she said.
"Mama such a bad liar," I spoke bluntly, and we both laughed.
"Go get ready now."
The view down the well was a masquerade of stars. Like glinting sirens, they pull me towards the edge of the wooden bowl. It was the same feeling I had before falling into the well the first time. A strong, overbearing desire to jump in. Kagome tugged my arm lightly, breaking the trance. Her eyes narrowed in worry.
"Are you scared?"
I wouldn't completely agree with that term, but I did not deny it, either. I was not afraid of travelling back to the feudal era, but, "What if we get separated again?" I wasn't exactly ready to throw myself back into a forest of man-eating giants. Kagome gripped my hand tight, assuring me with a confident look that waned the trepidation coiling my chest.
"Then, we'll scourge the entire island till we find you again."
I squeezed her hand back. We jumped into the well together, refusing to let go till the end of the ride.
Horses and goats grazed the flat plain as tōrōs lighted the quiet village. Many huts had confined themselves to the night except the largest of them all, nestled at the farthest end, where a figure stood by the entrance. Inuyasha's robe could never be overlooked, even with the lack of light.
"Took you long enough," he snarled.
"Hello to you too." I raised my brow at him when he assessed my clothes - a cardigan, shorts, and sneakers.
"What's with you girls showing so much skin?"
"WHAT?!!"
"EXCUSE ME?!"
Before either of us could get our nails at him, the straw door opened, revealing an old woman with an eyepatch covering her right eye. Her clothes signalled to me that she was a Miko - a priestess.
"Welcome," she greeted us. "I am Kaede. And you must be Yuna – Kagome's older sister."
I bowed to her in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Lady Kaede." When we entered her home, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were sitting, each with an empty bowl.
"I hope you two are hungry," Kaede said. "I made a pot of stew enough to feed fifty men!"
Like a call of admittance, a roar emerged through the room. Any of us would've believed it had been an animal if the source of it didn't trail to my stomach.
"Excuse me," I mumbled, scratching the back of my head as my cheeks grew red as the hearth in front of me. The taste of Kaede's stew did the aroma justice. A thick, warm soup filled with colourful vegetables and tender meat that melted right on my tongue. But once all tummies were fed, the joyous atmosphere that filled the wooden shelter dissipated, replaced by an aura of silence and suspense.
Kaede went to her small wooden shelf and pulled out what seemed to be a stash of crinkled papers and scrolls. "When I was a little girl, there was a story that my parents used to tell Kikyo and me," She said, laying the ruffled sheets and barely legible writings for us to see. "A story of a beautiful maiden who once roamed the Earth, protecting humans and demons alike from the dangers of the night."
We listened intently as she continued.
"Some say she was a princess, others claimed she was a warrior; Some thought she was a spirit, others believed she was a Goddess." She unfolded the largest scroll.
"Her name was Lady Irene."
Gasps shot through the room. The portrait's eyes were an illumination of sapphires. The same shade and gleam that belonged to mine. But what really shocked me, was our indistinguishable appearance; I didn't need to look around me to know that everyone was staring between me and the portrait.
"You look just like here," I heard Kagome whisper. She turned to Kaede."So, you're saying that my sister is a reincarnation of a Goddess?" The priestess nodded at Kagome, but her eyes were glued on my sword - a distinctive sheath that made her eyes wide.
"Child, pray tell, where did you find that sword?"
I still couldn't recall the name of the mountain.
"By any chance, was the name of the mountain Mount Hebi?" She further inquired. I recognized the name immediately and nodded my head. It was Sango's turn to look wide-eyed. "Mount Hebi?! Y-You mean, you found this sword in the Tomb of Takeshi?!" More recollection of the underground lair returned then: the carved walls, grand statues, and the coffin that stored the sword the nure-onna so desperately wanted to keep.
"The rumours are true then," Miroku mumbled, though more so to himself. Inuyasha huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Am I the only one who's lost here? What's this big deal about the sword Yuna has? And who the hell is this Takeshi?"
"They say he was the first-ever demon slayer," Sango replied, "a samurai who wielded the first weapon that could purify a demon."
"Some even say he was the one who discovered human's potential to utilize spiritual energy," Miroku added.
"Not much is known about Lady Irene's story," Kaede continued, "which is why we believed it was nothing but a legend – a mere folktale fit for a child's bedtime story. But when I heard what you did and the eyes you possess, I knew there had to be a connection to the celestial maiden."
"If what the old hag says is true, then it's no longer a legend," Inuyasha said, "Lady Irene was real. Question is, what happened to her?"
"Do any of these have the answer?" I asked Kaede, gesturing to the piles of papers and scrolls.
"Perhaps," she answered. "These poems were written by people who had claimed to see and even befriend the Goddess. Whether or not they're true, is the question." But I didn't care about the latter. Legend or not, reliable or false, I had finally found the first lead to the mysteries of my dreams and powers.
"I do not doubt the possibility that you are a reincarnation of Lady Irene. How you have become to be, however, is the greater mystery." Kaede paused for a moment, and I noticed her swift glance at Inuyasha. "Before my sister, the late Lady Kikyo died, she requested that her body be burned with the Shikon jewel. But the jewel's power remains strong even as it burns. It sensed her wish to be reunited with Inuyasha one last time. And thus, Kagome was born - five hundred years later."
Only to be dragged back here. Inuyasha's face dimmed at the mention of Kikyo. He avoided looking at anyone. Kagome, too, stiffened at the mention of the late priestess. That I knew why. I focused back on the sword and couldn't help but wonder one other thing. "Sesshomaru was the one who brought me to this sword. Do you think he might know this Takeshi and Irene too?"
"It's possible," Inuyasha spoke. "That mutt has been roaming this earth for almost a century."
"I guess there's no way I can convince you to stay home or avoid Sesshomaru, now, huh?" Kagome looked at me with a half-grin. I gave her one of my own. "Nope," I chuckled, "this just gives me every reason to stay." And did she honestly think I would let her roam the world without me?
"We could always use an extra pair of hands to find the sacred jewel shards too," Miroku said. The slayer beside him, however, crossed her arms. "I sense a hidden motive beneath your tone there, monk." Miroku turned to Sango, innocent as a baby. "Oh come now, what good use would it be to bear a child when the fate of the world is at stake?"
The room fell dead silent.
"...That...sounded better in my head."
Inuyasha scoffed. "She'll be nothing but a burden."
"Seriously?!" I had just about had it with this half-mutt. "What the hell is your problem?" I shot up and marched towards him. Inuyasha didn't back down. "My problem," he began, "is that you don't know how to control your powers. You've got some skills, I'll admit, but unless you can wield whatever it is inside of you, you'll just be a danger to us all."
"Inuyasha, that's enou-"
"So you think I'm dangerous," I cut my sister. "Is that it?"
"I'm not the one who incinerated a giant panther."
How Kagome harboured feelings for this man, I'll never know. Even Sesshomaru's lack of courtesy was more tolerable than his brother's.
"While I hate to agree with this clown, he seems to have a point," Kaede's agreement came as a surprise. "I do not doubt that your time with the great demon served you well for combat, but the powers you possess are something you must be able to wield and control, eventually." A look of victory glazed Inuyasha's face; I had half a mind to claw his eyes out.
"I can teach you how to harness your spiritual powers. Mikos also utilise their spiritual energy. It shouldn't be too different from a maiden's way of using it. I'd be happy to teach you what I know, but that would, of course, mean that you will have to stay here while your sister and her friends continue searching for the Shikon jewel shards."
I pursed my lips and so did Kagome. We had just found each other yet already, fate was tearing us apart again. I heaved a heavy breath out. "Alright, I'll stay." I looked at Kagome; she wanted to protest, but I had made up my mind.
"Lady Kaede is right. As much as I want to join you and keep an eye on you, it would be better if I stayed here and learned how to harness my powers first. That way, I can help you guys out more." I shot a glare at Inuyasha, "And it isn't because I see myself as a burden."
He rolled his eyes. "I still think you are."
"OSUWARI!" And into the ground, he went - literally.
That same night, Kaede insisted that Kagome and her friends rest in her village before setting out the morning after. I, on the other hand, was facing the consequence of my unforeseen nap. The tea Kaede brewed was calming, but not enough to put me to sleep.
"I see you are fond of the moon," she spoke, following my eyes to the halo sphere lighting our subtle meeting. "I never get tired looking at it," I confessed. "Just the sight of it is relaxing." I took another sip of my tea. Kaede took a sip from her own. "In the story my mother told me, Lady Irene was also known as the Maiden of the Moon. Perhaps, that explains your attachment to it." I remained glued to the moon, but my eyes narrowed upon hearing her words.
"Did she like to draw too?"
"Pardon?"
"Irene," I clarified. "Did she like to draw too?" Kaede looked puzzled at first before showing a gentle smile. "You dislike the idea of being a reincarnation." She said it as a statement, not a question - and she was right.
"Worry not, child; though you possess a striking resemblance to Lady Irene, a reincarnate does not mean your mind and body are not your own. Why, take your sister for example. She looks like my sister, yet so different from her. Bubblier and louder than Kikyo ever was."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Those are her greatest traits, alright." I traced the rim of my cup. "Lady Kaede, why did you agree to train me?" She hardly knew me.
"Because you are just like me, Yuna." Oh? Her eyes left mine and moved to watch Kagome's sleeping figure. "I too wanted to be useful to my sister in defending our home as a young girl. I would ask sister Kikyo to train me much earlier than she planned and in longer durations than suggested." I could imagine a younger version of Kaede, training from morning till sundown with the quiver and arrows that have now come to be extensions of her arms. The years and tears a young girl would put herself through to be by her sister's side. Kagome and I were no different. We may not be sisters by blood, but we had a bond greater than kinship. A connection of threads that wove a tapestry of companionship richer than family ties.
"We're only a few months apart, but I've always seen her as my baby sister. I guess our roles are reversed here." Kaede placed her hand on my shoulder. "Your sister took time as well before she was used to our world. In time, you will too."
"Thank you, Lady Kaede."
"You are most welcome, now off to bed with you."
I nodded and bid Kaede goodnight. Before I sauntered to my futon, I spotted Inuyasha's silhouette outside, sitting high up in one of the pine trees.
"Not sleeping?"
"Not sleepy," he retorted.
I sighed. "Even demons need rest."
"Get your facts right, loser!" He snapped, infuriated by my mistake. "I'm a half-demon!" Yet, he didn't sound proud to be one.
"Inuyasha," I called one last time.
"What?!"
"I don't know what your problem is with me, but I'm not your enemy." I turned back to the hut. "Goodnight."
~
As soon as the sun rose, the group had finished packing and polishing their weapons. It felt wrong to stay behind, but it was for the best - at least, for now.
"Be careful out there," I told them.
"We'll be back in a few weeks," Kagome spoke in a cheerful voice. "Until then, train hard, Yuna-chan!"
"Tsk, that's what you always say," Inuyasha said. "We won't be back here for at least another month or two." Sango elbowed his torso as he yelped. "What Inuyasha meant to say was that you don't have to worry about us, Yuna. Just focus on your training and we'll be back before you know it."
"And when we return, my fair maiden..." Hands immediately clasped over mine. "Will you do me the honour of bearing my-"
"Thanks, but no thanks," I cut Miroku off, eyeing the girls behind him who looked ready to maul the poor, lecherous monk.
As they walked off and their figures turned into little black specks that eventually disappeared from view, I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. When I returned to the village, Kaede brought me to a flat terrain, just behind her hut. "Your attire," she said, placing a clean set of white kosode and black hakama on my hand. Once I finished changing, the plain field had suddenly turned into a small training ground with stacks of hays behind her - for archery practice - and a wooden dummy. She looked at me with excitement but also sternness in her eyes.
"Shall we begin?"