Chapter 2: Changes in life
The morning dawned dark and gray for me, already I could see the storm rolling in toward the small village. I wasn't really a fan of days like these anymore since I used to spend these days in doors with my family playing board games and talking about everything we had been doing on the days that were sunny. But that was no longer an option.Two years ago had marked the end of all of that. The end of seeing my family, of ramen for Inuyasha and pocky for Shippo, of bathing supplies for Sango and cat treats for Kirara, and the end of all modern conveniences for myself. Everything that I had known all of my life and my friends had gotten used to over three years, in one day it was all gone.
We had destroyed the evil hanyou that day, but at a cost to everyone. Inuyasha had lost Kikyou, Sango lost her brother, Miroku lost his hand to the wind tunnel, Kouga lost a couple of his pack mates, even Sesshoumaru had lost his two headed dragon Ah-Un. And me? I lost my entire family when Naraku destroyed the well.
He didn't even know what it was, he was simply trying to kill me when Sesshoumaru knocked me out of the way and right into the path of the well. The attack missed me, but in a way it killed me all the same. What was funny was Sesshoumaru wasn't even trying to save me, I was merely in his way. Him and Inuyasha were going through the who was going to be the one to kill him fight again.
I can't believe it has already been two years since we defeated him. Sango and Miroku were married about six months after and even though he had lost his cursed hand, his other had taken up the slack, but at least he only groped Sango now. They had moved back to the slayers' village to start rebuilding, but too many painful memories brought them back to the village.
After Kikyou's death Inuyasha told me he wanted to just remain friends and that he still couldn't see me without seeing her. He didn't think it would be fair to me and I in turn didn't think it would be fair to him. He stayed in the village, although most of the time he sleeps within the branches of the God Tree. He even helps the farmers and hunters of the village at times.
In the last few months he had began courting a wolf hanyou that had showed up at the village seeking refuge. She is a very sweet girl, reminds me of Ayame some times. Speaking of, she had finally gotten Kouga to fulfill his promise last year and became his mate. They visit every couple of months just to check in and see how everyone is doing.
Kirara of course remains with Sango and Miroku and Shippo had stayed with me. Where am I? The well of course. Since I was now permanently stuck here in the feudal era, Inuyasha and Miroku built me a small two room hut right around the well. Inuyasha designed it to look like the well house and I often wonder if this was why there was a well house in the future.
The only difference is the well house on the shrine is only one room, but I guess the building didn't stand for 500 years and they had to rebuild. But for now the future doesn't matter as I find myself living in the now rather than worrying about what is still to come. There is nothing I could do about it now anyways so what would be the point?
We completed the jewel and how I wished I could use it to reclaim the well, but the selfish wish would merely put us back where we started from. So instead, I wished the only selfless wish any of us could think of. I merely wished the jewel out of existence. It had shattered with a bright pink light, but instead of the pieces scattering like it had before, they merely reentered my body.
I can still feel the pulse of the jewel at times and a few demons have come around after being drawn to the power, but it is a lot calmer than it had been in the past. Each week passes with fewer and fewer people even remembering the jewel let alone seeking it. Perhaps it is part of the power of the wish, finally giving some peace to those who sought to protect it.
"Momma Kag?" Shippo called out from behind me drawing my attention and I turned to him with a smile. He nodded toward the small fire and I realized the meal was beginning to burn due to my inattention. Sighing, I moved over to the fire and pulled the pan off of it before it could completely ruin and began dishing it up on two plates.
"They're coming." Shippo told me as he began digging into his food and he need not say for me to know who he was talking about. The others were probably coming to check to make sure I was going to be okay during the storm. You'd think they would realize that I have been through storms before and that I didn't need a babysitter. I'm 20 years-old for Kami sake.
"Greetings." I called over my shoulder not bothering to glance behind me as I heard the front door open. Reaching over I set a kettle of water on the fire to brew some tea and went back to my breakfast. Okay so it wasn't really polite not to turn to them, but they were the ones interrupting my breakfast, more than likely just to check up on me.
Once I was finished though, I set my plate down and turned to find everyone but Kaede there. Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I smiled at them. "We just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything." Sango explained with a smile and I glanced over at her with a disbelieving look. Surely it didn't take four people and one cat demon to see if I needed anything.
"We are fine." I replied deciding to forgo mentioning that I didn't believe them for now. "We got everything ready for the storm yesterday and have a week's worth of food and water in case it gets bad. Windows are all boarded up and I will board the door once the storms hits." I assured them as I gestured around the room to the windows.
"You sure you don't want to come into the village?" Inuyasha inquired after a few moments drawing my attention to him. Did they really have such little faith in me that they thought I could not take care of myself during a storm especially when I was only a few minutes from the village where they would all be. I so want to 'sit' all of them right now.
"We'll be fine Inuyasha. It's just a storm and both of us have been through our share of them before. Don't worry about me, you should be making sure the village is ready in case it turns ugly." I insisted and fought the urge to smirk when he looked away. Seems they hadn't quite finished that yet. Here they are bugging me when they aren't even ready for the storm.
Turning back to the fire I began puring cups of tea for everyone into the small traditional tea cups Shippo had hand-made for me for my 18th birthday. They were made from clay, each one a different size and shape, and easy to tell that they were made by a child, but I love them. They are part of a complete dish set that he made me.
My birthday had been not long after the end of Naraku and with the guys building my hut I would need stuff for around the house and so everyone chipped in via my gifts. Miroku and Inuyasha made me wooden furniture including a low table, some cabinets and of course the hut itself. Kaede had gotten me two futons, one large one for myself and a smaller one for Shippo.
He rarely uses it though as he sleeps most nights in mine still. Sango got me a few rolls of cloth to use around the hut for things like sheets and curtains. The villagers even chipped in by clearing a small space next to the hut and setting it up for the first harvest. Mostly veggies but also some herbs for both food and healing.
Passing out the cups, I turned back to the others and brought my thoughts back to the present. "How has everything been going in the village?" I wondered deciding I would give them a break and change the subject. We spent the next few minutes talking about everything that had been happening to them and the other villagers lately.