Lye Tea

Atop Mount Penglai

Well before they reached the peak, they could hear music resonate. A stirring (familiar) crescendo soaring high. At first faint then clear and deep and powerful.

"It's Asagi-chan!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly.

"Yup, that's her alright," Inuyasha concurred. "I'd recognize her voice anywhere."

"How many years has it been?" Sango asked.

"Nine or ten," Miroku replied. "It's uncanny to think that that much time has passed since Horai Island."

With a cheeky smirk, Shippou retorted, "Ten years might seem a lot to you humans, but for those with yokai heritage, it's inconsequential—unless you're Inuyasha."

"Wanna say that again, you little brat?"

"Now, now, let's not fight amongst ourselves," Miroku calmly interjected (supported by a growl from Kirara). "This is supposed to be a…what's that word again, Kagome-sama?"

"Holiday. We're here to relax and have a good time. Which means you better be nice, Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he scoffed.

"Let's keep moving," said Sango. "We still have a while to go."

And so they climbed up the mountainside, scaling past gorges and ravines. Beyond the clouds, above the terrain of men, and toward the vast firmament. To Mount Penglai's summit where a hidden haven beckoned.

--

Ai was the first to greet them upon their arrival. Perched atop a boulder, grinning wide, she ushered for them to follow.

"Asagi-nee-san and the others are just inside," Ai cheerily relayed. "There's so much you have to see!"

As the mists dispelled, a small village emerged. A dozen or so modest huts assembled around a shrine dedicated in honor of Lady Kanade. And in the center were the other children they remembered. Unchanged (unaltered) yet somehow different.

They're happy, Kagome realized. Unfettered by fate or gods.

They were truly free.

--

With a thunderous bang, the twins crashed through the slatted door. Snickering, identical to the marrow (save for the hair), Roku and Dai awoke their guests. The boys set down platters of steaming rice, sweet, crunchy pickles, and savory, freshly caught fish. Trailing a pace behind, Shion shyly announced that their tour would commence following breakfast.

There was much to be shown (a hard and long decade's worth of accomplishments).

For this was their dream and sanctuary. Their pride. And none of it would be possible had it not been for that chance encounter all those years ago.

--

"That's where we store provisions for winter," Moegi explained. "And that's where newcomers stay until their houses are built. Over thirty hanyos are here now, but only half have homes of their own."

"Do you expect more to come?" Miroku inquired.

"Oh yes. We already have news that another group of refugees are on their way here. Asagi-nee-san wants to make this place what Horai originally was. Somewhere for yokai and humans to live together in harmony."

Nodding, Sango murmured, "It's a beautiful goal."

(And sincerely hoped they would achieve it.)

--

When he was a child, Inuyasha always dreaded the new moon. Swathed in darkness, bereft of light and sight, he transformed (was reduced) to a mortal. A cycle of misery and reminder that he was an outcast.

Yokai scorned him. Humans feared him. And both rejected him.

An abomination can never be one of us.

But as he stood on the mountain's precipice, atop the earth (above ages-entrenched prejudices), the remnant echoes of their curses ceased to exist. Although he might never be accepted by the universe at large, he was happy to know there was a speck, a tiny corner of the cosmos, for those like him.

Head tipped heavenward, Inuyasha squeezed back Asagi's hand.

"Thank you, Inuyasha-onii-chan," she said softly.

"For what?"

"For helping me believe again."

--

The final evening of their visit culminated in a grand performance and delicious banquet. Songs and somersaults, leaps and feats. Laughter abounded the twilit sky. Gathered around a blazing bonfire, surrounded by friends newfound and old, they felt cozy and warm.

Perfectly at peace—everything just right.

As the world should be.