30 Shards by Hana Ginkawa

Shard #29 - Anniversary: Unexpected Reunion

Gazing out over the rows of stone tablets, guardians of the souls sleeping within the embrace of the earth, she stood wondering if perhaps those she knew might be resting here. A small grin stretched the lips thin. No, who knows where they might have ended up sleeping. Five hundred years was a long time. But still, she was compelled to keep searching.

She had gone through many places just like this, looking for a familiar name, or reference. There hadn't been any she had found yet. Those names were not known to history, or if they were, she knew not where to find them. So she wandered. Spent the day they had won, as she knew it, seeking the final resting places of those friends time had stolen from her.

Brushing the hair out of her eyes, the breeze having its merry way with the dark strands, she looked about her. The trees here were ancient, almost as old as Goshinboku, their canopies shading the final peace of many who lay here. An older headstone caught her eye, its rough hewing belying the ravages that time and the elements had reaped upon it. She picked her way carefully around the other stones, making her way slowly, anticipating disappointment but hoping for whatever reunion it might give her. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest, a tear of joy threatening as she looked at the tablet.

In simple hiragana, "Rin" was inscribed upon it.

Again that small smile crossed her lips. A small toy top lay to one corner with a small bouquet of brilliantly white carnations resting lengthwise in front of the stone. The smile grew, encompassing the whole of her face and reaching her eyes.

So. He's still around, huh. Her eyes lifted to search the area, knowing she wasn't going to find what her heart had hoped to see. Besides, a reunion with the little kitsune probably would not turn out the way she always envisioned in her head. The boisterous red haired child crying out her name and clinging to her as if she had never left was something that was of the past.

She raised a hand to her cheek, not surprised to find it come away wet. It may have only been three years ago for her, but for the rest of the world it had been half of a millennia. The sound of the leaves rustling brought her attention back to the present, reminding her why she was here. A sigh escaped her and she kneeled down, laying her own small gift next to the flowers already in place.

"I don't know where the rest of my friends are, but it's good to see that you are here." A small chuckle rose from her chest. "I'm sure you were just as endearing in your old age as you were when you were little."

She clapped her hands together thrice and spoke aloud the names of those she could remember with affection. She then reached out a hand and brushed off the top of the tablet, the sides and the front, tracing the name inscribed there. She silently laid a protective barrier over the small gravestone, allowing things to be placed there, but not removed. It was assurance that the gift she left would not be disturbed. Not that any now would know what it was.

"I'm sure Sesshoumaru is relieved to at least have a place to stop by when the impulse is upon him. I don't know how you did it, and I don't care really, but you were good for him."

She pushed herself up off the ground, clearing the small amount of dirt from her knees, gaze catching sight of the toy again, "Well, it seems like you befriended Shippo as well. Thank you for that." A sob caught halfway in her throat. "I would have liked to have stayed, but as I'm sure you all knew, I was there only on a whim of fate."

More tears fell, dropping to the quiet earth, the trees silent as if allowing her another moment with those that her destiny had torn away. She pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped off her face, then raised her visage to the sky above breathing deeply of the autumn air. She exhaled again, sniffed and lowered her gaze back down to the place where a once vibrant young girl now rested.

She turned to go, pulling the sides of her coat closer to her body, only to have her attention caught by a white figure standing still a row away from her. Drawn from her bitter joy, she recognized the very slight hum of his power. He, like many others, had concealed it well. The breeze had picked up once again, playing with the length of his white trench coat, and lifting the hair he still kept long, tossing the neat tresses about. Her breath caught, choked around a lump of nostalgia so strong that it threatened to bring tears again.

His solemn expression hadn't changed much, she decided. But, there was a gentleness there that she wasn't sure of. Either time had further tamed the taiyoukai, or that look was for her reverence of the human child he had once had. He would reject the term "tamed", she thought, inwardly amused; it was most assuredly the latter.

He inclined his silvery-white head to her and she answered likewise.

"It's been a while." The voice hadn't changed much, the undertones of arrogance still colored his words.

"Yes, it has." She found that her normally chatty self just could not jump start itself to speak with the onetime enemy and ally. "Um, when did...?"

His footsteps barely made a sound on the stone path, the surety of his stride carried him to stand next to her. The calm stretched so long that just as she pulled in her breath to say good-bye and leave him to his memories, he finally answered, his voice filled with softness.

"She died an old woman. Mother to three half-kitsune, grandmother to many more."

She gasped in revelation. "Shippo...?"

Those eyes that had at one time glared at her in disgust now slid over to meet her questioning look, indulgent. He nodded once, returning his gaze to the grave in front of them.

"Oh, I see." Happiness burbled within her, and a sorrow laced that brightness with gray. How she wished she could have seen it. "I'm glad." A giggle escaped her, memories of the red child in argument with Inuyasha flashed through her mind. "I'm sure he was the only one to keep up with her liveliness."

A brief nod and grunt showed he concurred with her assessment.

They stood in companionable silence and Kagome spent that time trying to build up the courage to ask him if he knew anything at all about the others. She finally resigned herself to not asking, as why would he know? He didn't involve himself much with the rest of her group, infrequently leaving Rin with them even after he was lured away from Edo and the little girl was injured. It spoke of a trust that had risen between himself and those who had once been enemies by proxy. He had been kind enough to speak of Rin and of Shippo, she didn't want to bother him much more than that.

"What is it that you wish to ask?"

Shocked she swiveled her head to stare at the demon standing beside her who had spoken. It was not so much that he knew there was more she wanted to ask, but the tonal quality of his voice ripped at the soft belly of her emotions. It was reminiscent of Inuyasha's voice when they had been alone for the last time. Tender and rough, it awakened within her something she had thought died when she was shoved back into her own future. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered anew and she closed her eyes as she spoke, "Wh-what happened to Inuyasha? And do you know where Sango and Miroku are?"

The taiyoukai shifted his weight, the stone shuffling underneath, his gaze directed out above the headstone they stood in front of. His face was devoid of any malice or ill-intent and she found that it was a bit like coming home to watch him as he considered her words. He reminded her of the time she spent in the countryside of her past and how grateful she was to have had those memories at all.

"He was, last I heard, in Hokkaido. He became much more of a wanderer after everything was finished. It has been over a hundred years since I last spoke with him." Sesshoumaru's amber yellow demon eyes met hers, "Of your other friends, I know they lived near the remains of the demon hunter's village and slowly built up a community there. They did have many children. I regret that I do not know when it was that they passed on."

Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Why was she so full of sadness that they had continued on when she left? It was only what they should have done, what she would have wanted them to do. But still, it hurt just a little to know that their lives had gone on while she had been left with only their memory. Her heart felt broken anew.

Using the heels of both her hands, she wiped her cheeks clear again and inhaled a shuddering breath. It was only right that it turned out this way. Perhaps...perhaps she would have been happier not knowing that they had moved on. She shook her head and closed her eyes. No. It made her happy to know, despite the sorrow, that they had not wasted the second chance given to them all.

She opened her eyes once more and smiled at the taiyoukai, "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome."

They stood together for a while longer, their breathing in time with the other. After the memory was made, she turned to him again.

"Do you come here every year?"

A small smile crept up the stoic lines of Sesshoumaru's mouth, "Yes."

"Then," she paused, swept her gaze back down to the place where the toy top, the white carnations and the dulled sphere of their combined victory rested, "I shall see you next year."

He nodded, that gentleness once again softening the arrogance of his voice, "I believe that I would like that."