I wanted to write something about life in the Taijiya village before Naraku came along and killed everyone except Sango, so I randomly thought up this story. As a warning, I use the word boomerang, although it's supposed to be from Australia… Also: This is not about an OC. According to the anime, Sango's grandfather's name was Shako. Thought I'd clear that up.
I don't own InuYasha. If I did, we'd see more of daily life in the Taijiya village.
In the village of the demon slayers, there is a legend of a weapon forged from the bones of a giant bird demon. It is said to be in the shape of a boomerang, and when thrown, will always return to its master. But, like most weapons, it has, in a way, its own personality, and will only show itself to its rightful master. This weapon – Hiraikotsu – was said to have been wielded by the first Youkai Taijiya, and the founder of their village, nearly five hundred years previous. Many a slayer child has gone looking for this legendary weapon, the boys mostly, but a few girls as well, but none have succeeded. Most think it is just a myth nothing to waste time looking for, but people still insist on searching.
This tale begins more than fifty years before the resurrection of the Shikon no Tama's guardian priestess Kikyou, but only around a couple of decades until the Jewel was given to Kikyou.
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Shako was an ordinary teenager. For being the son of the village headman, he had no special talent. His parents weren't happy about that, seeing as their son would one day lead the village, but they learned to live with it. For his lack of fighting talent, he made for with his leadership skills and the power to make people listen to him.
"Hey, Shako!" called a village boy to Shako, who was picking up the useless demon parts and loading them onto a cart.
"Yeah?" the young man answered the other.
"Wanna come with us? We're going to look for the Hiraikotsu!"
Shako rolled his eyes. The other boys had been saying that for years, but none of them had ever managed to find it.
He sighed. "No, I've got to dump this into the limestone cave." He gestured to the cart of demon body parts.
"Ah, okay then!" replied the other boy as he ran to join some of the others who were looking for the fabled weapon.
Shako rolled his eyes and shook his head. Some people just had to look for what, in his opinion, did not exist.
As he lifted the last bit of useless demon onto the wooden cart, a small mew made itself heard. Shako looked up to see a small cat, not much bigger than a kitten, with two, big, fluffy tails, sitting on the deck of the house next to were Shako was working.
"Hey there, Kirara!" Shako smiled as he rubbed the kitten's head. She blinked red eyes and mewed.
Kirara was a demon cat – a nekomata – that had stayed in the Slayer village since it's creation. She had a bigger form, one with huge fangs that had grown passed her bottom jaw, but she usually only transformed into it when fighting.
"Are you coming with me?" asked the teenager.
The kitten nodded her head in the affirmative and jumped onto Shako's shoulder.
Shako pulled the cart behind him as he went through the gate that was the sole way to enter and exit the village. Unless, of course, one could climb logs, jump higher than the walls, or fly.
The wooden wheels creaked as both the demon slayer and the demon made their way down the mountain path to the limestone cave.
Once at the cave, Shako unloaded the cart, putting the bits and pieces in a way that would conserve as much space as possible.
In a matter of minutes the cart was empty. Shako wiped his forehead with a hand.
"We should be heading back Kirara… Kirara?"
The nekomata was staring unblinkingly at the black shadows that hid the back of the cave from view. She cocked her head to one side and leapt up from her sitting position. In a flash of fire, she turned into her larger, fiercer form.
At that very moment, a small 'thuk' resounded around the cave.
"What's wrong Kirara?"
The twin-tail gave no sign she had heard as she lifted black paws and raced into the darkness.
Surprised by the cat's strange behaviour, Shako dropped the cart's handle and raced after the cat demon.
He followed her through the cave, passing the corpses of thousands of demons, left there by generations of slayers.
Near the end of the cave (or at least, Shako thought it was near the end), he lost sight of Kirara in the blackness.
"Ki-Kirara?" he called out uncertainly.
A growl-like roar was his answer.
"Just keep making some noise so I can find you!"
The demon slayer stumbled about in the dark for a minute, following the cat's purrs, until he reached the entrance to a larger cave that glowed somewhat eerily with a blue light.
When he entered the cave, he had no choice but to gasp in awe.
The corpses of hundreds of thousands of demons were scattered about the cave floor, and, on top of them was the corpse of a demon the likes of which Shako had never seen before. Almost completely hidden in the shadows were the head and hands of a mortal man.
In the demon's jaw was the body of a woman. Her hair was long and black, and her face might once have been beautiful before her death and centuries in this cave. Her left arm was missing, and her right was in the demon's mouth, as were her legs. Her armour had mostly disintegrated, and her shirt had completely rotted away. In her chest, right where her heart should be, was a perfectly circular hole.
"That must be the priestess Midoriko," thought Shako. He, like the rest of the people of the Taijiya village, knew her legend by heart.
Kirara was sitting in front of the corpse, her crimson eyes gazing longingly at the woman, her creamy fur lit up by holes in the roof.
Between her and the corpse was what had made the 'thuk' sound. It was a weapon, a boomerang to be exact, pale in colour, although it looked odd in the blue-ish light of the cave.
"It had once been a beautiful weapon," thought Shako, "Before time robbed it of beauty."
The leather straps at both ends needed repairing. The ones at the bottom needed total replacement, as they were almost nothing but a few bits of leather. The ones at the top were in better shape, although they were fraying. The grim, muck and blood on the spherical jewel attached to the leather straps at the top was so thick, Shako could not distinguish the colour. There was an equal amount of dirt on something attached to the bead, although he couldn't tell what it was. The once frightfully sharp edges were dull.
"Hi… Hiraikotsu?!" Shako thought. He turned to his demon companion.
"Kirara, is this… Hiraikotsu?"
The sabre-toothed demon nodded and growled in the affirmative.
"This can't be!" a voice in Shako's mind cried. "The Hiraikotsu doesn't exist!"
But it did. It was here, in this cave, right in front of him. He reached a hand out to touch it.
The bone felt smooth and cold beneath his hand. His fingers trailed over it, feeling each miniscule dent and crack in its cool, hard surface.
Kirara moved forward to Shako and butted the weapon towards him.
"You want me to take this?" he asked.
Kirara nodded.
"Then I will." He lifted Hiraikotsu, about to put it on Kirara's offered back, then dropped it in amazement. It was heavy!
"Are we sure this thing really flies?" Shako demanded to no one.
He picked it up again, this time aware of the weight, and put it on Kirara's back, holding with one had as they walked back towards the exit so it wouldn't fall off.
This is going to be fun. The thought reverberated in Hiraikotsu, but only Kirara could understand.
Kirara had to agree.How did Hiraikotsu get the power of thought? And why should be the bigger question…
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed it. Review and constructive criticism are very much welcomed!