Celestia [Sesshomaru fanfiction]

21

"To meet Nevermore...
tears of sorrow overflow deep within my heart.
What good this potion of life,
all is but dust in the wind."

Kagome placed the book down, "Is this all really necessary?" She sighed, narrowing her eyes as if squinting at the poems would help her understand the meaning behind every stanza. Literature was never her strongest, and neither was History. 

"Thank Mr. Dan for putting me in your group," I teased. Unlike Kagome, I relished in the art of language and humanities. "Write this down," I told her. "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter: a thousand-year-old masterpiece, known to be the oldest folklore told, tells the story of a celestial maiden desired by many. Enchanted by her beauty, suitors across the nation would come to take a glimpse of her divine face." I heard Kagome mumble after me, penning every word into her notebook. "To win her hand, the maiden, Kaguya, tasked every man to retrieve one of five impossible items. Many perished, several went missing, and a handful tried to force themselves on her, but none could outsmart the moon goddess. Even the Emperor, who promised a life of fame and luxury, failed to steal her heart..." Kagome's face contorted slightly. I looked at her.

"Is something wrong?" 

"No," she answered slowly, "just...well, I never thought a maiden could be so sassy." We burst into laughter. Kagome continued, "rejecting every wealthy suitor and the Emperor. Do you think she even understood the meaning of love?" I shrugged back. "It's not like they did, either. All the men loved was her beauty." Perhaps, Kaguya did understand the meaning of love, which was why she rejected them all. 

"Do you really think this story could be related to Irene?" Kagome wondered. The possibility of it seemed small when I first thought of it, too, but if there was anything I had learned in the past months since falling into that well, it was that anything - even folklore - was real; Irene was a moon maiden just like Kaguya. How couldn't there be a connection? 

"Well, we'd better get this paper done quickly before Inuyasha decides to barge out of the well again," Kagome chuckled. A small smile crossed my face. The hanyou and I still didn't get along, but we were getting there, and now that Naraku was gone, the quest to find the remaining sacred jewel shards had been...easygoing, to say the least. The race to find them had long disappeared. Time had become a privilege for all of us. Though, having thought of that...

"Kagome." The said girl met my eyes. "Once we've gotten all the jewel shards, what'll happen to the group?" It was an unspoken subject among them. Kagome's eyes softened, her lips thinning. "Well," she uttered, "you still need to find answers, so, maybe once we're done with our quest, we can focus on yours!" 

Warmth spread across my chest. "I like the sound of that," I told her. I could only hope the others would be too. I grabbed my katana by the wall and fastened it around my waist. 

"You sure you don't want me to tag along?" 

I shook my head. "I've made the introduction to our essay; it's your turn to write out the next paragraph." Kagome glared at me. "That's not fair! You didn't even ask if you could come up with the intro!"