Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One for the Ages ❯ Chapter Twenty-Eight: Falling Into Place ( Chapter 28 )

One for the Ages

By Gan Xingba

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Falling Into Place

 

Miroku's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright instinctively. However, he quickly regretted this decision as pain coursed through his body. He lay on his back once again only to find that half of his body was laying down on the edge of some body of water. Curious enough to endure the pain, he then sat up once more, albeit much more slowly. The body of water that he had been laying at the edge of was some kind of small pool lake, although whether or not one could call it a lake was questionable, not only due to its size, but due to the fact that it was in a cavern. The source of this water, Miroku noticed, was a small waterfall on the far side of the lake, coming from an opening big enough for a man his size to get through, albeit with not that much room to spare.

 

“Amazing, the Gods must truly be on my side if I fit through that thing,” he thought out loud. “Given the speed of that river when I fell into it, there were likely some rapids up ahead.”

 

“Oho? Just woke up and you're able to think this clearly? Well done, sir monk,” replied a sing song voice behind Miroku.

 

Startled, Miroku whirled around to face the person who had spoke to him, and he was greeted with a wide smile and a wave from a young male…ghost? Suddenly becoming even more startled, Miroku hopped backwards slightly, almost falling into the lake. He brought his staff up in front of him, which he had miraculously held onto, but he found himself still too weary to stand quickly.

 

“Oho? Have I startled you, sir monk?” asked the ghost, peering in close with his hazel eyes. “Ah, you weren't expecting a ghost, right? Well, I can't do anything about that part of my appearance, being ethereal sort of has that drawback. I can change other things about my appearance, however, though before you start suggesting, I'm afraid I like the samurai topknot style far too much to change it. Why, I haven't been able to wear this way in life that often due to my travels…ah, but you don't want to hear about that, right?”

 

`Quite a verbose one…' observed Miroku, looking at the ghost with the look of someone trying to smile at an awkward joke.

 

“Of course, I could change my clothes to anything that I wore while I was alive,” continued the ghost, oblivious to Miroku's reaction as he began to flash rapidly through several sets of clothes before finally setting on an all blue samurai garb, complete with wooden sandals. “There we go, it's been a while since I've done that. Now, I suppose your wondering how you're alive then, right?”

 

“Yes, I was poisoned and suffering from several nasty wounds…” replied Miroku, suddenly stupefied as to how he hadn't died and noticing that the cuts he had received, while still not completely sealed, had stopped bleeding.

 

“Oho? Nasty wounds you say? You should be glad you had them,” responded the ghost. “Those wounds weren't heavy enough to kill you, but they let out enough blood to weaken the poison in you.”

 

`Kagura…did she do that intentionally?' Miroku wondered. `I have had suspicions that she holds no love for Naraku ever since that incident with the new moon, but was she really trying to save me so that I could destroy Naraku later? It's hard to read her intentions…'

 

“There was still a chance that you could have died, but you were smart enough to put yourself in a healing trance, like a good monk, right? I couldn't heal you, but I could lend you some spiritual power to give it a bit of a boost,” continued the ghost, his smile widening as Miroku raised an eyebrow. “Don't mistake me, I could have never done that while I was alive, but being dead lets you use spirit power a lot easier since, well, you're a spirit.”

 

Miroku nodded in agreement, because really, there weren't many other reactions for him to choose from. Most ghosts tended to pass on to the next realm peacefully, from what he understood, and usually only the spirits that couldn't let go of the living world lingered. This one, however, was clearly lingering, but he was nothing like the often corrupt spirits that fell into the latter category.

 

“Ah, we should probably introduce ourselves, right?” said the ghost with another warm smile before bowing politely. “My name is Nobu, of the Oshima clan. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

 

“Miroku, no clan, and likewise,” replied Miroku, standing up slowly and then bowing respectfully.

 

It was during his bow when Miroku noticed the small glimmer of light from the far corner of the cavern. Curious, he squinted through the darkness and determined the source, that being the golden end of a katana hilt that was glittering from the sunlight that shone down through a small hole in the cavern ceiling. From the looks of the rocks around the sword, the hole appeared to come from simple rock erosion. Miroku, however, didn't ponder this for long, for he became captivated by the sword. The blade itself was sheathed, but the scabbard was enchanting, with intricate silver glyphs arranged artfully over the black surface. However, this beauty was contrasted by what it lay next to: a crumbling human skeleton.

 

“Oho? Noticed the sword, have you? Glad you like it, I made it myself,” chimed in Nobu, noticing the monk's gaze. “It was my most treasured possession when I was still alive. After all, I put my heart and soul into forging it. Even the scabbard took weeks of effort to create.”

 

“I can tell,” replied Miroku with a nod. “Did you give it a name?”

 

“Well, it would be kind of silly not to name something you put that much effort into, right?” answered Nobu with a small laugh. “I named it Masaruten.”

 

“To surpass heaven…a bold name,” Miroku commented before rising to his feet. “At any rate, I must be going. Is there another exit to this cave?”

 

“Follow the water flowing down from the pool,” Nobu directed, pointing towards a small stream of water that was running down one side of a narrow passageway that was partially hidden by the darkness of the cave. “You still seem weak though, Mister Miroku. It might be safer to recover your strength for a bit, right?”

 

“I will have time for rest soon enough,” replied Miroku before once again bowing politely to Nobu. “Thank you very much for your kindness, Nobu. May your spirit soon find peace.”

 

Nobu bowed politely in turn, and Miroku turned to leave the cave, leaning heavily on his staff. He knew that Nobu's advice had been sound in terms of his own safety, but he simply could not follow it. Even if it had been a demon puppet that had confronted him, Miroku knew that Naraku still had to be nearby, and he was far more concerned about Naraku escaping then his own weakened state.

 

`Fortune has given me a second chance,' he thought as he finally exited the cave and squinted as sunlight light up his vision. `I will not waste it. Naraku will die from the very curse that he killed my father and grandfather with, I swear it.'

 

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Sango looked around the fire as she finished eating her dinner. The mood was gloomy around her, and no one was speaking. She sighed softly at the depressing scene that had become the norm over the past few days. It didn't surprise her, though. They had good reason to be glum.

 

What had started off as a journey filled with hope and anticipation had turned gradually into a depressing journey that reeked of futility. For well over a week, Yusuke, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Shippou and Kirara had been searching for the sword Masaruten, but to no avail. Myoga the flea, Inuyasha's “vassal”, had been useless when they consulted him on it, as was Totosai, who everyone had figured would have been their best source of information regarding the weapon. Since they had left Totosai's volcano, they had been wandering without direction, stopping at any towns they came across to ask questions about the sword. Not surprisingly, this method had proved fruitless as well.

 

`I suppose a sword with the power to control time itself wouldn't be easy to find,' reasoned Sango. `Still, we're just stumbling around it the dark. The sword could be anywhere, if it even exists.'

 

“I'm going for a walk,” muttered Yusuke from across the campfire, interrupting Sango's thoughts.

 

Slowly, the boy rose from his the log he was sitting on and made his way into the woods at the same pace. While his face remained neutral, his feet were dragging as he walked, and Sango noticed that he had barely nibbled on his food.

 

“Poor guy…” said Kagome sadly once Yusuke had disappeared into the trees. “You don't think he's losing hope, do you?”

 

“Naw, he's tougher than that,” assured Inuyasha, though his expression seemed less confident. “If only we could just find a lead, even a little one…”

 

`At least he's mostly gotten over his guilt. From what Kagome said, he was trying to put all the responsibility on himself,' Sango thought in the silence that followed. `He doesn't deserve a shred of blame, unlike me…'

 

Sango shook her head to rid it of the image that appeared in concert with her thoughts. It was the same image that had been constantly resurfacing ever since the last battle with Naraku. Hiei, with the glow of Naraku's energy blast about to overtake him, and one corner of his mouth upturned so slightly that it was just barely detectable. When she had learned that the fire demon had not died, it had brought temporary relief from the grief and guilt that she had been overwhelmed with. However, it soon resurfaced. She had managed to control it enough to keep it from showing too much outwardly, but it was still there. Though Hiei was not dead, he was stranded in another time, and, in her mind, she was responsible.

 

“Are you feeling okay, Sango?” asked Kagome, apparently noticing Sango's change of emotions.

 

“What? Oh, I'm fine,” Sango assured, although Kagome did not seem in the least bit convinced.

 

“I saw a springs a short while away, why don't we go freshen up?” suggested Kagome. “A good bath always helps me relax.”

 

Sango nodded somewhat hesitantly as Kagome went to grab a pair of towels from her bag. She had to admit that a nice bath in a hot-spring sounded good, but Kagome had asked it so suddenly. Kagome had always been good at reading her friends' emotions, so Sango couldn't help but wonder just how much she had noticed.

 

“Don't worry, I'll watch Inuyasha for you,” chimed in Shippou as the two young women left the camp.

 

“What the hell are you talkin' about, runt?” demanded Inuyasha angrily. “Why would I need to be watched?”

 

“You might look.”

 

“What the…I'm not like Miroku! Besides, why would I even want to?”

 

“Because Kag-ow! Stop hitting me!”

 

Inuyasha and Shippou's bickering finally faded from hearing, leaving Kagome and Sango were walking alone towards the springs. The darkness would normally make such a trek difficult, but the sky was incredibly clear on this night, allowing the countless stars to work in tangent with the moon and light the woods with soft light. Sango looked upward, trying to appear aloof as she gazed at the stars. It wasn't working.

 

“You've got to stop beating yourself up over this,” spoke Kagome finally. “I know it's your business, but I just can't stand seeing you like this all the time.”

 

“I'm fine, really…” replied Sango, her voice far weaker than she had intended.

 

“No, you're not, and you've got to snap out of it,” Kagome chided. “What Hiei did, he did by his own choice, and there was nothing that you or anyone else could have done.”

 

“But…”

 

“No buts!”

 

Sango sighed and hung her head slightly. Kagome had good intentions, but it was obvious the demon slayer wasn't going to give in so easily. Then again, if it was a battle of stubbornness, Kagome was easily the favorite.

 

“Besides, we're going to rescue him soon anyway,” continued Kagome, giggling slightly. “And then you two are going to have a nice, long, private talk.”

 

“What?” blurted Sango, caught off guard enough to flush slightly. “What do you mean? I mean, why would we want to…?”

 

“Because you like each other,” Kagome stated simply, causing Sango's redness to immediately increase in intensity. “It's pretty obvious.”

 

Sango stuttered for a few moments, unable to get a complete word out of her mouth in response before finally sighing in exasperation. There was no way out of this, for she knew it to be true. However, admitting to it would bring along so many complications. She had not wanted to admit it until she felt she could handle it, and right now, she did not feel like she could at all.

 

“It's just it's so…complicated,” she said, having regained her composure. “Even if I do, and even if he does, he'd never admit it.”

 

“I can help you there,” responded Kagome, smiling deviously, though Sango gave her a doubting look.

 

“Even so…” said the demon slayer, pausing as she brought up another painful memory that had occurred shortly after the one she had recalled earlier. “There's still Miroku.”

 

“You still have feelings for him, huh?” Kagome asked, and though Sango gave no reply, she knew the answer. “Well, the springs are just up ahead, we can al all about this while we're there.”

 

Indeed, Sango could see the steam through the trees just up ahead. After that conversation a bath felt better than ever. However, this eagerness proved folly, for, as they hastily exited the undergrowth and neared the spring, they missed one important detail: someone was already occupying the spring, and, as one would expect, they were in the nude. Were it just a woman they did not know, it would have been awkward, but escapable. In fact, were it a man they did not know, it might even be possible to escape making too much of a scene, though it would be embarrassing. However, it turned out that not only was it a man, but it was a man they knew. In fact, it was a man they both knew very well. Thus, the reaction to this revelation was appropriately extreme. Sango turned even redder than before, seemingly unable to do anything but contort her face into a highly mortified expression, and Kagome let out a small yelp and covered her eyes at the sight.

 

“Well,” stated Miroku calmly. “This is certainly a reversal of roles, isn't it?”

 

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Eventually, Miroku did pull himself out of the spring and clothe himself, although the process seemed to take far too long, in Sango's opinion. Of course, even if he had been hasty, Sango doubted she would have been able to recover from the embarrassment in time to do more than stutter angrily at him. However, seeing as he had indeed taken a sufficiently long time to get fully dressed, her embarrassment was under control long enough to ask the question on both young women's minds.

 

“Where have you been, Miroku?” she asked concernedly.

 

“I had…things to take care of,” answered the monk somewhat hesitantly.

 

“What kind of things?” countered Sango.

 

“Oh, you know me,” Miroku replied, smiling mischievously and rubbing the back of his head. “Unfortunately, they aren't quite taken care of, so I'm afraid I'll have to be going now.”

 

Miroku rose off the rock he was sitting on and began to walk towards the woods. Immediately, Sango noticed his weakness. He was leaning heavily on his staff, his feet were dragging against the ground, and he was moving for more slowly than a normal walking pace. In addition, she noticed that clothing was torn in several places, each gash in his robes surrounded by what looked like dry blood.

 

“Miroku, are you all right?” asked Kagome, apparently noticing the same things that Sango was.

 

“Huh? I'm fine,” Miroku responded, putting on another smile. “I'm just a little weary from travel is all.”

 

“You've been injured…badly,” said Sango, now more concerned than before. “We want to help you, Miroku, don't lie to us.”

 

“Don't tell me you've been trying to fight Naraku on your own?” gasped Kagome, suddenly putting the pieces together. “That's suicidal!”

 

“Is…is this true, Miroku?' asked Sango, meeting Miroku's gaze briefly before the monk turned his head towards the ground at his feet.

 

For several moments, no one spoke. Miroku was about to break the silence when movement could be heard from the undergrowth, and it suddenly occurred to Sango that Yusuke had gone for a walk in the same direction that led to the spring. Sure enough, it was Yusuke who stepped out from the woods, and the situation suddenly became far more complex.

 

“Well, damn. I can't go on a walk without finding out that people have been lying to me,” stated the boy flatly, his expression stony as he regarded the three in front of him. “In case you might be wondering, I only came here because I sensed monk boy over there, so don't think I was trying to peek on you or something.”

 

“Yusuke, we were just-” began Kagome before the spirit detective cut her off.

 

“Trying to protect me?” finished Yusuke for her. “Damn, I'm sick of people doing that. Has that bastard recovered yet, Miroku?”

 

“I'm not sure,” answered Miroku, still clearly surprised that Yusuke was in this era at all. “If he hasn't though, it won't be long before he has.”

 

Yusuke nodded and raised his head to the stars, thinking. He was now faced with a choice: to continue his quest to rescue his friends, which was becoming increasingly hopeless, or to abandon it and seek revenge instead. After a few moments, he lowered his head back to the others.

 

“If he's almost recovered, then he's going to go after the Sacred Jewel again, right?” he began flatly. “If he gets those, its bad news for everyone, so we can't let him get too much of a head start or we'll be in trouble. Plus, he's probably a lot weaker without them, so it's a good opportunity to kick his ass. So...”

 

“Yusuke what are you saying?” asked Kagome.

 

“I'm saying that you guys should go after that Naraku bastard,” he answered, his voice suddenly becoming far more heated. “You don't have to guide me around anymore, I'll keep looking for this sword on my own.”

 

His fists suddenly clenched and a blue aura of energy began to flicker around him like wildfire as his emotions became more passionate. His teeth clenched, and when he spoke again, his words rang with a new intensity.

 

“I know that there's not much of a chance that it's even out there, so I'm not going to make you guys look for it with me, especially if that freak is still out there. Still, if there's any kind of a chance that it is, if there's just a tiny little thread of hope that I can hold onto, then I'm going to keep holding onto it, and I'm never going let it go!”

 

Sango suddenly caught her breath as Yusuke finished speaking, suddenly recalling her last conversation with Hiei on the night before Naraku had sent him to another time. What Hiei had said had been exact opposite of what she had just heard, that one had to let go of everything to find strength.

 

`Yet, Yusuke is saying that he will never let go, and his will to hold on seems to be giving him even more strength,' Sango mused, noting the flickering aura of spirit energy that still lit up the air around the boy. `Then…should I keep holding on to my own hopes as well, even if they seem impossible?'

 

“Yusuke, don't be silly,” chided Kagome with a smile as she walked up to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. “We're with you until the end. We'll find Masaruten together.”

 

“Um, excuse me,” interjected Miroku suddenly. “Did you just say that the sword you were looking for is called `Masaruten'?”

 

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Note: Nobu is my first attempt at a legitimate OC in fanfiction, so please let me know about what you think of him so far, and thank you for reading.