InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Incorrigible ❯ Fitting ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this oneshot… especially for the compassionate one. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.

 

A Debt of Gratitude: My thanks to AlterFano for helping me shake a few platitudes out of the dialogue. There's nothing worse than a trite monk. SRSLY

 

This oneshot was originally posted to Live Journal on September 30, 2007.

 

oOo

Fitting

 

Though it often felt like she'd traveled the length and breadth of Japan several times over, every once in a while, they'd stumble onto something new and beautiful—a vista that would leave Kagome breathless. Today, Inuyasha had led his small pack to an isolated beach, and the young woman stood with the wind in her face, enthralled by the secluded cove. The calm sea lazily shushed against the shore, an ebbing tide revealing a long stretch of wet sand speckled with pebbles. Eager to explore, Kagome toed out of her shoes and slipped off her socks. She cast a quick, concerned look in the hanyou's direction, but when Inuyasha caught it, he waved her off. “Go on. I told you, I'm fine,” he insisted gruffly. With an understanding smile, she nodded and hurried towards the water's edge.

 

The hanyou watched her with faint amusement for a minute before snorting softly and turning a speculative eye on the closest rocky promontory. Grimacing in spite of himself, Inuyasha scaled the rough surface, easing into a comfortable niche on the outcropping before propping Tetsusaiga against one shoulder. His chest and thigh were swathed in bandages, courtesy of this morning's skirmish. The shard-bearing youkai had proven difficult to kill, and Inuyasha had positioned himself to take the brunt of its attack. In the aftermath, the group quickly agreed that they needed a safe haven—somewhere to rest and give him a chance to heal. This would be a good place.

 

Inuyasha relaxed against the sun-warmed stone, eyes alert as the others spread out in both directions from his vantage point. Sango moved towards a large snag of driftwood; Kirara and Shippo followed her up the coastline, chasing crabs and prodding at piles of seaweed along the way. Miroku inspected a nearby tide pool, probably with hopes of supplementing their evening meal. Kagome wandered slowly down-shore, pausing every so often to watch the antics of sea birds or to pick up something that caught her eye. As the miko meandered farther and farther from his post, Inuyasha's restlessness increased. He squinted after her and growled, drawing Miroku's attention. Puzzled, the monk drifted towards the hanyou in time to catch the words Inuyasha was muttering under his breath. “She should stay closer to the group,” he complained.

 

Miroku followed the hanyou's gaze. “Is Kagome-sama all right, Inuyasha?” he inquired easily.

 

“Keh. She's not paying attention to where she's going,” the hanyou grumbled.

 

Miroku nodded, understanding. “I can go get her,” he offered casually.

 

“Yeah… thanks, Miroku. Bring her back.” As the monk headed off across the sand, Inuyasha called after him. “And Miroku?”

 

The monk paused, looking over his shoulder. “Yes?”

 

“I'm watching,” Inuyasha added pointedly.

 

Quirking one brow in amusement, Miroku smiled winsomely. “Of course, Inuyasha,” he replied and waved a hand over his head before continuing along the water's edge. Kagome really had strayed too far, and it took several minutes for the monk to catch up with her. She was strolling along, completely lost in thought, oblivious to the soft jangling of his shakujou. Just as Miroku reached her, she bent over to pick something up, inadvertently offering him an enticing view. Remembering the hanyou's parting words, he cleared his throat lightly.

 

Kagome stood up quickly, whirling around and smoothing her short skirt down self-consciously. “Oh! Miroku-sama,” she gasped. “I didn't see you coming.”

 

“My apologies, Kagome-sama. I did not mean to startle you,” he replied smoothly. When her brows drew together in puzzlement over his sudden appearance, the monk gestured back up the shoreline with a sweep of one arm. “Inuyasha would rest easier if you stayed a little closer to the group.”

 

The young woman's face registered genuine surprise at how far she'd wandered. “I'm sorry, Miroku-sama,” she apologized unnecessarily. “I was collecting shells, and they just sort of led me along. See?” She held out a square of cloth in the palm of her hand, its center weighed down with a variety of sea shells. Kagome's eyes were bright with excitement. “This one is my favorite,” she confided, pulling out an unremarkable specimen—dark gray, and rough with ridges and irregular knobs.

 

“Mm,” murmured the monk with noncommittal tact, making Kagome roll her eyes.

 

“It's very handsome if you look at it the right way,” she chided, turning the shell over so that its rough exterior was nestled in the curve of her palm. Now, the monk understood. Leaning forward, he ran a reverent finger over the satiny smooth interior, admiring the harmonious way its vibrant shadings of indigo and violet blended together.

 

“I can see its appeal,” Miroku conceded, glancing up through his bangs at Kagome with an amused twinkle. His compliment was rewarded with a bright smile which surprised him by shifting into a look of speculation. Straightening slowly, he took a half-step backwards, mystified when the young woman leaned closer and held the shell right in front of his nose, making him go a little cross-eyed at its proximity. “Kagome-sama?” he ventured.

 

She tipped her head first one way, then the other as she stared. “You know what, Miroku-sama? It matches your eyes.”

 

“So that's it,” the monk chuckled, shaking his head in wonder. She really said and did the oddest things sometimes. “May I escort you back?” he invited, pointing with his shakujou towards the rest of the group.

 

“Oh, yes!” Kagome replied quickly, recollecting herself. “Just, umm… Hold this for me?” She pressed her favorite shell into the monk's hand, then knelt down in the sand to get the rest of her collection situated. Working quickly, she turned up the edges of her handkerchief, knotted the corners together, and secured the little bundle at her waist. When she stood and dusted the sand from her knees, Miroku returned her shell, and they began to make their way slowly back.

 

It didn't take long for the monk to see that Kagome's wandering hadn't been limited to her feet. Her mind was elsewhere, and her uncharacteristically pensive mood concerned him. Distracted fingers worried at the shell she carried, and the corners of her lips pulled down into a thoughtful pout. Miroku's unease grew as the silence stretched, until finally he reached over and caught her elbow in a gentle grasp, halting their progress and pulling her out of her melancholy ruminations. “What is troubling you, Kagome-sama?”

 

Embarrassment quickly replaced her momentary confusion, and the young woman dropped her eyes, hedging. “It's nothing in particular, Miroku-sama.”

 

“Mm-hmm,” responded the monk. “Perhaps you and I should have a little chat about… nothing in particular, then,” he invited lightly. He knew she trusted him to a point, but Miroku wasn't sure if she would be comfortable confiding in him. He was a little surprised, and quite gratified by the compliment, when Kagome took a deep breath, sighed, and dove in.

 

“Miroku-sama, do you think we have any choice about the path we're destined to follow?”

 

The monk blinked in surprise. It was not a topic he'd expected from the young woman, though after a moment's consideration, he realized that it would be a natural direction for her thoughts to turn. “Are you concerned about fate, Kagome-sama?”

 

A sad smile flitted over her lips as she glanced up at him. “I guess I am,” she admitted.

 

Miroku released Kagome's arm but made no move to continue walking. Instead, he turned and gazed thoughtfully out over the water for a minute, only to chuckle. He turned to her with a sheepish smile. “Are you asking this question in the general sense, or were you thinking of something… or someone… in particular? Kagome-sama's situation is… complex.” Kagome giggled softly, and Miroku was pleased to have teased a smile back onto her face.

 

“Complex,” she echoed ruefully. “That's an understatement, isn't it?”

 

“Perhapsunique is a kinder term?” suggested the monk.

 

Kagome gave him a grateful glance and tried to gather her thoughts. “I guess I've been wondering about how our lives might be tied together.” She gestured vaguely towards Inuyasha and Sango, including them in her statement. “How does my fate affect those I'm closest to?”

 

The question was straightforward, but something told Miroku that there was more on her mind. Perhaps I can draw her out a bit. “Are you thinking about the next step you must take, or are you concerned about something in the future?”

 

“I've been thinking about happy endings, actually,” Kagome admitted, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. “This whole thing, my being here in this era, is like an adventure in a book.” She dug her toes into the sand and shrugged. “If this is my fairy tale, I want to see it through to `happily ever after.'”

 

“Happily ever after?”

 

“That's how fairy tales always seem to end—and they all lived happily ever after.” At the monk's nod of understanding, she continued. “That's easy to say, but the problem is, I don't know whose happy ending it will be.”

 

“Aren't we all working towards the same goal, Kagome-sama?” inquired Miroku softly.

 

“Yes and no. Some of our goals are at cross purposes. I mean… I'm supposed to be collecting all the shards and putting the Shikon no Tama back together, but in order to do that, I need Kohaku's shard. Taking that would kill Sango's brother, and she wants to save him—we all do.”

 

Miroku sighed heavily and took a few steps away before crouching down and idly flicking at a pebble. “I'll grant you that.” Poking at the jutting edge of a shell, he turned it over so it came free from the miring sand. “I've wondered about it myself,” he admitted as he sloshed his find absentmindedly in the lapping water. “Still, we are all together now because we want to stop Naraku. That's the most important thing.”

 

Kagome bit her lip, and spoke her next thought hesitantly. “If that's the only reason why we're together, what happens when Naraku is dead?”

 

Oh, I see. Miroku palmed the shell and propped his chin on his fist, considering the young woman fondly. It was a tribute to Kagome's optimistic nature that for her, Naraku's defeat was a foregone conclusion. “You're worried about the choices we'll be faced with afterwards,” he surmised.

 

“It might seem like defeating Naraku will solve everything, but that's just the end of our quest. That's not the `ever after' part at all. See?” Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

 

“Yes, I believe I do,” the monk replied kindly. “Is this where your question about choosing paths comes in? Are you worried about a choice you need to make?”

 

“Yes and no,” she responded vaguely. “Miroku-sama, what do I do if… What if my happy ending comes at the cost of someone else's happiness?”

 

Miroku weighed her words carefully, trying to see how they applied to her situation. Ah. Of course. When the time came for choices, Kagome would either have a most difficult one—or have none at all. Her life stretched precariously between two different eras, with people who were dear to her on either side. Inuyasha and Shippo were here; her family was there. If the Jewel was completed and a wish made, chances were good that the Well would close, and she would be forced to give up one or the other. No wonder she is so distressed. Maybe I can… “You know, Kagome-sama, fate has a way of twisting on itself, presenting us with unexpected things—things we never could have imagined.”

 

She tipped her head, her expression verging on patronizing. “Miroku-sama, ifanyone knows that, I do,” she said dryly.

 

A slow smile spread over his face. “Good, then this should be quite convincing, so listen carefully,” he replied, tone teasing in spite of the serious subject matter. He held up a finger. “Looking back, could you have predicted that your path would lead you here, to us?”

 

Kagome shook her head solemnly. “Not at all. My being here should be impossible.”

 

“All of us are together, yet each of us arrived by a completely different path. You could say it was our fate. Do you regret knowing us, in spite of the complexities we have introduced into your life?”

 

“Of course not,” Kagome said, eyes taking on a shine as they slid towards the red-clad figure waiting on the rocks.

 

Miroku used his upraised finger to point at her triumphantly. “Exactly! So it follows that unexpected turns are not always bad.” He gestured with his staff back up the shoreline to the others, an invitation to resume walking. “I prefer to believe that just because the future is unforeseeable does not mean it is something to dread.”

 

“Do you really think everything can work out?” she begged, seeking affirmation.

 

“Of course, Kagome-sama. Things have a way of fitting together. I have every reason to believe that there is happiness in store.”

 

“How can you be so sure?”

 

“Let me ask you this, Kagome-sama. Are you sure you know what will make you happy?”

 

“I… I think so?”

 

“What if you set all your hopes for happiness on something that was never your destiny?”

 

“Eh?”

 

“The fact that certain events happen in our lives means that they were meant to come to pass from the beginning, right?”

 

“I guess so.”

 

“What happens when we ignore what is meant to be in favor of what we want to be?

 

Kagome looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. “Do I have to answer that?”

 

The monk chuckled. “Only if you wish to, Kagome-sama.”

 

Heaving a gusty sigh, the young woman shook her head. “I know from experience that pining after the things we don't have only leads to unhappiness.”

 

“That's true enough. So where can we find happiness?”

 

Slowing to a stop as her eyes narrowed in concentration, Kagome tried to fit the pieces together. “If wishing for what we cannot have leads to sadness, then you could turn it around and say that…” She looked up into Miroku's face uncertainly. “I guess you could say that happiness is appreciating what we have?”

 

Miroku leaned down to look her in the eye and tapped her nose. “Very good! You're a bright pupil.”

 

Kagome leaned back slightly, looking unconvinced. “What about ambitions or hopes and dreams? I don't want to just take what comes with a smile.”

 

“I never meant to imply that you can't have aspirations or that you shouldn't pursue them,” he assured her. “We're active participants in life.” The monk rubbed his chin, then brightened. “Your first question was about having a choice. We do have choices.”

 

“How can we have a choice and a destiny?”

 

The monk grinned. “Clever girl,” he murmured in an admiring tone. “That, my dear Kagome-sama, is one of life's greater mysteries.”

 

The young woman propped a hand on one hip. “That, my dear monk, is not much of an answer,” she announced archly.

 

Miroku's laugh drew every eye on the shoreline, and Kagome heard Shippo cheer as he and Kirara started racing in their direction. “Let me give you my own answer then, Kagome-sama,” offered the monk. “Our hopes, our choices, and our destiny are all intertwined. Our hopes drive our decisions, and those choices lead us towards our destiny.” He smiled down into her eyes. “And even if some hopes end up disappointing us, we can choose to find happiness in whatever else fate has in store.”

 

“You make it sound easy,” Kagome sighed.

 

“I assure you, it is not.”

 

Kagome wilted slightly. “It's not?”

 

“Happiness is elusive, probably in part because people fail to recognize its sources.” He extended his free hand, displaying a familiarly knobby half-shell. “They ignore the treasure in their hands because they're busy reaching for one they cannot claim.” With a deft toss he flipped the shell over, revealing its vibrant lining. “Here you go, Kagome-sama—another shell for your collection.” He placed it in her hand with a wink, then darted a glance toward the oncoming kitsune. Dropping his voice, he added, “I hope our little chat about nothing in particular has been of some… help?”

 

“Yes, Miroku-sama. Thank you.”

 

“Good.” The monk nodded once and turned, tossing a careless wave over his shoulder as he made his way back towards his tide pool.

 

Kagome returned his wave with a smile, then looked at the two shells in her hand. They were almost exactly the same size. In fact… With cautious fingertips, she lined the two halves up, gasping when they fit together seamlessly. What are the chances! Kagome's face bloomed into a smile of delight. It must be… fate.

 

oOo

 

End Notes: Shell-matching (kai-awase) was a popular amusement of the Edo period, and its equipment was often included in the suite of lacquer furniture that was part of the bridal trousseau of a daimyo lady. Each half of a shell was decorated with an identical miniature painting based on a scene derived from Japanese classical literature. A complete set comprised 360 shells. The game was basically a test of memory: one set of shell halves was placed face down on the floor, and as shells from the second set were removed face up from an octagonal shaped lacquer container, competitors took turns inverting shells to see if images matched. Since each side of the bivalve shells will match properly with only its original mate, the game came to be associated with marital fidelity. —Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868, Robert T. Singer

 

This oneshot was written for the Live Journal community inuyasha(underscore)fanfic and their Fourth Anniversary FanFiction Challenge—`Endings' Theme. 2,776 words.