Deep River

Purin-chan: Just a little songfic to Utada Hikaru’s Deep River. It’s a very deep and moving song with wonderful lyrics, and it’s my favorite song of hers. I just had to write a songfic to it, and Inu Yasha was the best anime for it. Please bear with my translations, I tried to make it understandable to English readers without completely butchering the original meaning. In other words, it is in no way translated literally. If something sounds weird, it’s probably because I had trouble conveying the same image in English words.

Disclaimer: Don’t own Inu Yasha. Don’t own Deep River. Thanks to AnimeLyrics.com for the Japanese lyrics.

     Kagome stretched contently as she walked along the forest path. They had been walking all day, and only after about half an hour of complaining did Inu Yasha finally give in and agree to rest. It was a good spot, too – she could smell the ocean breeze blowing by. Maybe she could take a walk along the beach...if time permit her doing so.
     A bittersweet memory hit her then, and the feeling of nostalgia flooded her. She remembered a time when she visited the beach with her parents...that is, both her mother and father. It was so long ago...she had never felt the ocean breeze against her face ever since...
     That is, until now.

     Miroku rested against a tree, tired gaze focused on the Kaze ana, hand framed by the ocean scenery before him. His hand felt sore, and it hurt to open it out flat. Perhaps he was suffering from overuse, but the youkai lately had come in massive amounts and the Kaze ana was the simplest way to take care of them.
     The Kaze ana had grown in size again; he could tell that through just knowing. How long he had left before it swallowed him...he did not know. But until then, he would continue to call upon it to save those dear to him.

     Sango gently plucked the flower from its stem, being careful not to damage the plant. Thanking it silently, she tucked the gathered flowers in her arm and made her way to the ocean.
     How long had it been since her family died...? She could not recall. After whispering a soft prayer, she placed the flowers upon the ocean surface and set them adrift. One day...one day she would meet them again. But until then, she vowed to live her life to its fullest...and to give it meaning.

     Shippo lied on his back, gazing up at the pinkish-purple sky – signs of the day coming nearer to an end. Days came and went for him, there were almost never any significant dates that were etched in his mind for all eternity.
     But even if he served no purpose in life, he still had his friends. He would never truly be alone...ever again.

     Kikyo softly waded into the small river, clothed in her usual miko garb. The children at the shore watched her intently as she carried the little paper boats, each carrying a single wish, out to the middle of the stream.
     She prayed as she set each small boat afloat on the water, eyes showing the same melancholy and sincerity they always held. As she set the last paper boat down, her own, on the surface, she cast it off without sending a prayer.
     "I don’t need a silly wish... I already have all I want."

     Sesshoumaru watched the rising moon, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Now that he knew why his father had given Inu Yasha the Tetsusaiga...it changed his total outlook on retrieving it from the hanyou. How would he bring himself to kill his brother and steal the katana now...?
     As the little child down at the base of the tree stirred and talked aloud in her sleep, he couldn’t prevent the corners of his mouth from relaxing, losing the usual tense expression he wore.
     Well...for now, he knew where his priorities lay. None of which had anything to do with Inu Yasha.

     As the pinks and purples of the sky began to fade, Inu Yasha walked along the rocky edges lining the edge of the beach. He was unconsciously following the scent Kagome left behind.
     He closed his eyes and reminisced in the memory of the day he had finally embraced Kikyo... The air smelled of salty water – the same smell he inhaled now.
     He would find her someday... and he would save her from the cage her soul is imprisoned in.

     Kouga walked around his clan’s home, monitoring the surroundings. There were always people and youkai trying to attack them...either out of envy or to kill a threat to their lives. But they were wrong, the wolf-youkai were simply killing for food and survival – is that such a bad thing?
     The wind blew by softly as he finished his rounds and returned to his den. His people were safe, for now.

     The hanyou spotted Kagome at the water’s edge, humming a soft melody as the ocean lapped at her bare feet. He made no motion to join her, but simply watched her from where he stood.
     He was grateful for her company...more than he could say in words, if he would ever admit it. If their bonds of friendship were ever broken...he didn’t know what he would do in such a scenario.
     Pausing for but a moment more, he started making his way to her side.

     "Yo’."
     Kagome’s humming came to an abrupt stop as she spun around to the familiar voice. "Ah, Inu Yasha. What are you doing here?"
     He walked up to her and took his place by her side, keeping a respectful distance between them. "Nothing," was his quick reply.
     Instead of inquiring the hanyou further, she looked back into the distance, allowing the ocean breeze to toy gently with her hair. Softly, she murmured, "Mm’hmm..."

Purin-chan: Just a few notes about the lyrics/translation.

First off, I believe that Utada-san is comparing the river to the course of life and the sea to our birthplace/hometown.
...Does that clear up a lot of things?

But name and friendship are given – That’s what it says o_O, unless I made an error. I think it’s trying to say that the river (life) might not give materialistic objects, but instead gives more important things to us.

Jibun rashisa to iu tsurugi wo minna sazukatta – I had a horrible time trying to do this line. Translating it literally (but not in order), it says, "It seems everyone applies myself and you (but it compares "you" to a "tsurugi" or "sword")." I don’t quite understand this line.

There’s actually a lot of minor words I had to take out to make it make sense to our ears, but the main idea still got across ^^;. There is much human error in my translations, but it was a hard song to translate and I tried my best.