Chapter 4:
Destiny (Part 2)
Ever since the announcement of engagement between the princes and the girls, the boys have been coming to Mura more and more often. For an entire year, they came almost everyday. It was King Taisho’s idea that they needed to get to know each other more if they were to spend the rest of their lives together. But Queen Eri had more than once laughed at her husband for “thinking too far”.
Perhaps it was too soon to think about such things, at least for Kagome, Kikyo, and Inuyasha. But Sesshomaru had just turned 13. Kagome was only 6. It would be another 10 years before they marry each other. By then, Sesshomaru would be 23. The older prince wasn’t sure if he could wait that long.
The four children, along with Hojo, played regularly in Mura. And a few times Kagome and Kikyo were invited to stay in the royal place. But mostly the boys circled around Kagome, for Kikyo was too absorbed in her miko training to play. Since Kagome always wanted to play real childish games, sometimes Sesshomaru would get tired of it and train his own youkai abilities.
Kagome wasn’t able to use her miko powers again. No matter how many times Kaede made her shoot arrows, nothing happened. It seemed like a fluke. Inuyasha would always tease her about her bad archery abilities, and she’d get upset and throw the bow on the ground.
The year passed by rather peacefully for Kagome. But every night when she went to sleep, the same dream would come back and haunt her. She couldn’t shake it off. It just became more and more vivid each night.
*~*~*~*~*
“When will this rain stop?” Hojo asked absentmindedly while looking outside. “It’s been going on for seven days already. Inuyasha-sama and Sesshomaru-sama haven’t been able to come because of this stupid rain. And we haven’t played outside in such a long time.”
Kagome warmed her little hands next to the fire Kaede had lit in the center of the hut. “I know, Hojo-kun, and the ceremony is only ten days away. I sure hope this weather don’t get in the way. Ne, cousin?”
Kikyo nodded while gulping down her soup. Even she was annoyed by the weather. It had prevented her from training her archery skills.
“If this keeps up, it could do serious damage to the crops, there might even be a flood if we’re not careful.” Kaede said wearily. She coughed a little. Yesterday a village woman was giving birth. The old miko had to trek all the way across the village, and in the process, caught a cold from walking in the rain.
“But the ceremony will still go on, right, Kaede-baachan?” Kagome asked nervously.
Kaede nodded with another cough. “Your mother should be coming anytime soon to make preparations. A little rain won’t stop the ceremony.”
“Kaede-sama, Kaede-sama!” A man with a panicky voice ran into the hut, shivering and wet from running in the rain. “The river, it’s overflowing into the fields, and the water isn’t permeating through the soil. The water is heading toward the village!”
Kaede froze for a second before grabbing her straw raincoat. “You children stay here.” The three children watched wearily as Kaede’s figure disappeared into the rain.
The scene near the river was chaotic. Dozens of village men were standing around wearing straw raincoats, waiting for Kaede’s instructions. The old miko arrived just in time to see water flowing into the fields.
Without wasting another moment, Kaede yelled out to all of them, her voice was barely audible over the heavy rain. “Go back to your homes!” The old miko cried. “Find sacks, and fill them up with sand and soil, tied them up and piled them near the riverbank. Make a dam, now!”
As if though she just blew a whistle, all the men ran back to their individual huts, grabbed whatever sacks they can find, and followed the rest of Kaede’s instructions. By nighttime, the fields were secure. The dam they made stood as tall as ten feet. Some water was still seeping through, the rain didn’t stop, but the fields were safe for now.
“Kaede-baachan!” Kikyo and Kagome yelled simultaneously as Kaede finally came back. She insisted on watching over the men work, and it was very late when she finally came back. The old miko was coughing worse than ever, and she was soaked through.
“Where’s Hojo-kun?” The old miko asked over another cough.
“He went home.” Kikyo answered as she set up Kaede’s futon. Within minutes the old miko fell asleep in exhaustion, and her two grandchildren cuddled up next to her.
*****A few days later*****
“Okaasan, how do you feel?” Ran allowed Kagome and Kikyo to watch over Souta as she tended to her sick mother. “I came to make preparations for tomorrow’s ceremony. Do you think you’re healthy enough to perform the ceremony?”
Kaede coughed again in her futon. “The rain isn’t letting up, is it?”
Ran shook her head. “It’s been going on for almost twenty days.”
“How’s the dam, is it holding up?” Kaede asked with concern.
Ran hesitated, but eventually nodded. “Just barely, more sacks are being filled to make it stronger. We can only hope that the rain will pass soon.”
“Tomorrow’s ceremony will be short.” Kaede need not ask. The situation was looking grim.She and the two girls won’t be able to wait for the royal carriage per usual, and there won’t be any outdoor feast.
After another minute of conversation, Ran left to take care of some minor details for the day ahead.
That night everyone went to sleep praying that the rain will die down soon. While Kagome prayed, just as she prayed every night for the past year, for that nightmare to go away. But it still came, though she didn’t know that it will never come again, for the destined day was close.
:: Kagome counted the number of things that she was supposed to see or hear. There’s the wetness, the white flashes, the crying and screaming, and of course, the heart-breaking cry of a woman. Yup, it was the same old nightmare. ::
:: But there was something new, a light, a bright light that was hovering over her and one of the white flashes that stood close to her. It was coming down, ready to engulf her. It wasn’t wet, it was actually really warm. The light was engulfing that other white figure as well. Only the figure shivered, and didn’t seem to feel the same warmth that she did. ::
Kagome woke up in the middle of night, only to hear the heavy raindrops berating the roof of Kaede’s hut. And she prayed once more, for that dream to disappear forever.
*****The next day*****
There was no drums, no cymbals this time. The sick Kaede, Kikyo, and Kagome waited inside the temple for the royals instead of on top of the shrine steps. The only noise was the rain, and the gushing sound of the river. Kaede already went down to check on their little dam first thing in the morning. And she came back with a grim look on her face.
Soon the familiar faces entered the shrine doors. King Taisho, Queen Eri, Prince Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, and they even allowed the servants to come inside because of the heavy rain outside. There was Jaken (it seemed that the king didn’t fire him after all), Ran and Souta, and no matter how hard Kagome tried to spot him, the flea Myouga was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone’s spirit was different from normal. Kagome wasn’t cheerful, Inuyasha wasn’t loud, ad even the king had lost some of his fire.
“Kaede-sama, we heard about your sickness, you should not be up.” King Taisho’s beard had apparently grown back, he gave a wink to Kagome as she entered and pointed to his beard. After some of the usual greetings, everyone bowed and started the ceremony. The Shikon no Tama glowed ominously, but no one seemed to have noticed it.
The formal part of the ceremony was done with. Because of the heavy rain, everyone decided to remain in the shrine for a while. And it was time for the annual gift-giving.
“Come, children, come here,” King Taisho beckoned the children to his side. He seemed tired today, the problems that the rain had induced upon his country had apparently drained his usual cheerful energy.
“Give me your hands.” All four children opened one of their palms. Smiling weakly, King Taisho took out four identical jade pendants from his inner kimono. Each of the pendants was shaped like a fan, different colored diamond were imbedded into the center of each of the pendant. King Taisho handed them out to each of the four children.
“Now put them together.” The children obeyed the king, and the four fans became a perfect circle when pieced together. “It’s a family treasure, and now it’s yours. They are proofs of your engagement.”
Kikyo tugged away the pendant quietly with a polite bow. Inuyasha “keh”ed in his usual grumpy ways and put it away as well. Sesshomaru smiled at Kagome without her noticing it, and tied it to his obi. Only Kagome wasn’t ready to let go of the pendant. She stared at the pink diamond in the center and couldn’t stop thanking the king for such a “pretty jewelry”.
Just when everyone were enjoying nice drinks and food, a man darted in. “Kaede-sama, Taisho-sama, the dam… the dam…”
King Taisho appeared in front of the man in a flash, “calm down, what happened to the dam?”
“Your Majesty, the water is seeping through the dam we made, the river over-flooded! The water level is just too high, it’s covered most of the village huts, your carriages, and now it’s coming for the shrine. It’s a flood!”
The women clutched onto each other at the news of this horror, all except for Kaede and Kikyo. Kaede rushed to the king’s side, “Your Majesty, I will…”
“You will do nothing, Kaede-sama.” King Taisho looked out to the fields. It was true that the water level was rising at an incredible speed, in a matter of minutes the entire village would be devoured. “I have merely three grown youkai with me. The four of us will rescue the villagers. You will take the women and children to high grounds. This is a matter of speed, not power.”
“But Your Majesty, you’re worn out from these days of worrying…” Queen Eri grabbed her husband’s arm.
“No, Eri,” King Taisho patted his queen’s hand. “Go with Kaede and the children, and hurry. Enemies I can fend off, but nature disasters are another matter.”
Seeing how Eri won’t budge, the king pushed her into Kagome’s mother’s arms. “Take her and the children and run for it, Ran.” Then he turned to Kaede, “there’s no time to lose, go now. But leave me the jewel.”
Everyone’s eyes darted to the Shikon no Tama. “Your Majesty, you’re not thinking of…” Kaede shivered involuntarily.
The king nodded, “if the worst comes, I will make a wish upon the jewel.”
“But Your Majesty, the jewel has yet to be purified, many evil still resides within. It will be your undoing if you make a wish upon it now.”
“No arguments, Kaede-sama,” he looked out to the village again, “the water will devour the shrine as well if you don’t run now! Go!”
After another minute of hesitation, Kaede finally realized that the king will not back off. She presented him with the Tama, and started to lead everyone else out of the shrine doors.
It was pure chaos outside. The water has risen as high as the doorsteps of the shrine. Villagers were holding on to pieces of driftwood, some stood on treetops. Kagome looked around desperately for Hojo, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Water was up to their ankles, though they were on high grounds. The rain still raged none stop. And the villagers’ cries were as loud as pure thunder.
“Our bow!” Kikyo suddenly screamed. They have left their bows inside Kaede’s hut before the ceremony. Now they’re floating on the water’s surface. It was one thing in the world that Kikyo treasured, and she dashed for it without a second thought.
“Kikyo!!” Everyone screamed after the girl. Kikyo swam for a while before her tiny legs gave in and ceased to kick. And just before King Taisho planned to dash in after her, Sesshomaru floated above water and grabbed Kikyo’s hand. But the young Sesshomaru was too weak to hang on, himself was being dragged into the water inch by inch.
The king, now seeing both his son and his future daughter-in-law were in danger, flew in to the rescue. He grabbed both children and placed them on a high tree branch nearby before heading back and picking up both Kikyo and Kagome’s bows.
Now stunned with the sudden disruption, Kaede was frozen on the spot. King Taisho seemed to not notice that the women and children were still standing on the shrine steps, and he started to rescue floating villagers along with his three youkai attendants. They jumped from rooftop to rooftop, driftwood to driftwood, tree to tree, their floating silvery hairs were all that could be seen.
“So fast… so white…” Kagome couldn’t help but gasp. My dream!!! She finally came to a realization. The constantly moving images from her dreams where King Taisho and his youkai attendants.
The heavy rain continued to berate upon their figures. Without even noticing it, the water has risen up to Kagome and Inuyasha’s waists. The grownups were too busy observing the king’s movements to see it, but before Kagome had a chance to tell Kaede, a sharp pain went through her leg, and Kagome’s feet buckled beneath her. A slithery shape flowed away, it was a snake.
“Okaa…” Kagome fell without finishing her sentence, her face plummeted into the water and began to float away to the deeper part of the water.
“Kagome!” Inuyasha made a grab for Kagome’s leg, but the force of the water pushed Kagome too far. He swam after her, but with the numerous pieces of driftwood knocking into his face, it seemed impossible. Shoot, I just learn how to swim, I hate water! Inuyasha gurgled, his legs felt heavy, and then they stopped moving no matter how he pushed himself. Damn it, water in my mouth, it taste so foul! Inuyasha swallowed more and more water, haha-ue…Inuyasha’s small hand sank into the surface of the water, and he was gone.
“Inuyasha, Kagome!” It was only then that Ran and the other women noticed Inuyasha and Kagome’s disappearance. Queen Eri shrieked in fear.
Meanwhile, Kagome was barely conscious. But for her own sake, she grew up in the river, playing with Hojo, and her swimming skills were far better than Inuyasha’s. Despite the numbness in her right leg, Kagome kicked herself upward. As soon as she felt that her hands were no longer in the water, she felt around. It was wet, just like her dreams. And if everything was to follow her dreams, she would be grabbing onto something soon.
There it is! Kagome felt something hard, and grabbing it with her weak little arms, she pulled herself upward, and her head was out of the water. It was wet, and her body was still floating weightless beneath the water’s surface. What’s going on, this is just like my dream…
Queen Eri’s shriek apparently has caught the king’s attention, for he quickly returned to her side, wet and even more tired than before. “What’s going on, why are you still here? I thought I told you to get to high grounds!”
The queen grabbed her mates’ arm, “Kagome and Inuyasha, they’re gone! They’re gone!”
King Taisho froze for a second, but only a second. With impressive reflexes, he began scouting the water. There still were many people hanging on to their ear lives, but most, like Kikyo and Sesshomaru, were on safe grounds well above water level.
“There she is!” He quickly saw Kagome, hanging on to a floating log. Like a gust of wind, he rushed over and grabbed the young girl’s little hands and pulled her to his chest. “Are you alright, little Kagome?”
Kagome nodded shakily, too scared to say anything. The king placed her on the log, and stood up, searching for any signs of his younger son.
“Inuyasha, Inuyasha, can you hear me?!” King Taisho barked over the raging wind. To his dismay, the rain quickly became a thunderstorm. But the roar of thunder was nothing compared to the roar of a desperate father. The king leaped from place to place, his wet, white hair flowed in all directions, he screamed for his son’s name. But after a good five minutes, he still couldn’t find Inuyasha.
Queen Eri was having a breakdown, her cries were just as loud as King Taisho’s desperate attempts to find their son. Kagome watched from her place on the floating log, her hand clutching to her hurt ankle at the same time.
The rain, the wetness, the white figures, the woman’s desperate cries…Everything was becoming clear to the young girl, they weren’t just dreams, they’re coming true! And now all that’s left is the pink light, the warm light that was coming down on me and that other white figure…
It didn’t take very long for Kagome to realize what the light was supposed to be. Not far from her, King Taisho finally stopped moving. It was clear that his search for Inuyasha was in vain. The hanyou prince could be anywhere by now, if he’s still alive.
Slowly the king reached into his inner kimono and took out a glowing Shikon no Tama. Away from him, Queen Eri, Kagome’s mother, and Kaede screamed out to him, begging him to stop what he was about to do. The water was very high, and they were forced to stand on the shrine’s roof. King Taisho looked at his queen with sad eyes, and turned to look at Sesshomaru.
Finally he surveyed the land around him. His people were crying, his land was being destroyed, and it was his duty as a king to save them. His eyes returned to the Tama in his palm and whispered:
*Shikon no Tama, Jewel of Four Souls, hear this humble youkai’s plea. Reduce this flood; stop this rain; save my people. And finally, return my son to us.*
The Tama glowed more fiercely than ever. Soon its light began to spread, and everyone fell silent. Its bright, pinkish light surrounded the king’s body, King Taisho screamed in pain. Queen Eri screamed and was ready to swim toward her mate, but Kagome’s mother held her back.
Kagome watched his beloved “uncle” being swallowed up by the Tama’s light, tears came to her eyes. But she knew it wasn’t over yet, for in her dream, she was also devoured by the light. And it came.
Like an arrow, the light that was swallowing up King Taisho came to her also. Now both of them were being surrounded. In the distance, Kagome heard her mother and grandmother calling her name. But she wasn’t afraid. The light was warm, welcoming, it wasn’t trying to hurt her. It couldn’t hurt her. Kagome closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth that the light brought her.
Then everything stopped.
First the sound of thunder was gone, and then the rain stopped. Next the flood water was sinking away. The villagers watched in wonder as their feet slowly reached the ground. The sun came out, and wetness no longer remained.
Kagome opened her eyes, the warmth was gone, and so was the pink light. Everything was calm again. Even the snake bite on her ankle had ceased to exist. Looking down to investigate her leg, Kagome noticed the Shikon no Tama was right next to her foot. She picked it up and began to look around for King Taisho. But he wasn’t there.
Date Started: July 4, 2003
Date Finished: June 10, 2003
Word Count: 3350
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