When Cloud walked into the shop, he never expected to be attacked by random booby traps that seemed to be in every location he sidestepped into. He definitely didn't expect the falling buckets of water and flour. And if those were a surprise, he definitely did not expect a bucket of some suspicious looking substance to land on him, coating his body with all its fetid glory. He heard a noise by the door and peered at it through goop laden hair. Marlene stood there looking horrified.
"Cloud! I'm so sorry! You weren't supposed to reach yet. Kagome said she was coming in just a little while ago and me and Denzel just wanted to play a little prank on her. We're so sorry!!" The girl looked like she was about to burst into tears. Behind her, Denzel was scuffing the floor and avoiding looking at his hero. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! Tifa's going to be so mad!" Marlene was babbling now, visibly paling at the thought of Tifa.
"Marlene." Cloud cut her off before she could open her mouth. "It's okay." Instead of calming the girl down, she burst into tears.
"No it isn't!!" Denzel was now looking at his partner in crime, scared of her tears.
"C'mon Marlene. He said its okay. Right?" Denzel looked up at the ex-Soldier hopefully. Marlene let out another wail. Tifa appeared.
"Marlene! What's wro-. Marlene! What did you do!?" Marlene shrank away from the woman.
"We were trying to prank Kagome again Tifa. But we thought she'd know if we did it like last time, using our window." Denzel was torn between running and standing to fight. "We forgot that Cloud could come in first." Cloud sighed when Tifa looked ready to yell at the boy.
"Tifa?"
"Yes Cloud?"
"May I use your shower?"
"Uh, yea!" Tifa chuckled nervously and moved aside as Cloud strode by her. The quiet man went up the stairs, entering the room where he knew a shower was. Little did he know that disrobing would be bad for his health. Sighing, Cloud tuned the water on and undressed as it heated up. He stepped into the shower and slid the curtain shut, intent on getting the nasty goop off his person.
Outside the door, Kagome and her cohorts grinned evilly. Denzel handed her the clothes that she had requested earlier as Marlene proudly displayed the bottles of shampoo and liquid soap that she held. Quietly, Kagome opened the door and snuck in. She grabbed Cloud's fetid clothes and snuck back out, nabbing the towel as she went. She almost jumped when she heard Cloud mutter something under his breath. Mission accomplished, she closed the door behind her and relocked it. Then she grinned and ushered her partners down the stairs. They crept down silently, leaving the man to take his shower of doom.
In the bathroom, Cloud deftly shampooed his hair. He watched silently as stringy pieces of the goop slowly were washed down the drain. An hour later, after many rewashes and many shampoos, the blonde man stepped out the shower, and saw his clothes were missing. In their place sat a simple long sleeved white shirt and a pair of black pants. Sighing to himself, he looked around for a towel only to find none. He frowned. He swore he had seen one when he had entered the bathroom. He dressed himself, grimacing slightly as the clothes clung to his wet skin. He left the bathroom quickly.
"Tifa?" He strode down the hallway. "Tifa.?"
"Yes Cloud?" The woman in question appeared. She had changed her outfit and wore a pale blue version of her usual.
"May I have a towel?" Her expression turned horrified.
"You didn't have one?" She sighed. "Go downstairs. Kagome reached and she's being badly beaten by Marlene." Cloud nodded and followed her directions. When Tifa reappeared, he was sitting on the stairs silently, staring at Kagome.
"Here you go Cloud."
"Thank you." He scratched his chin and then shrugged his shoulders. Tifa watched as he suddenly let out a hiss and scratched his arm, followed by his shin, followed by his back.
"Cloud?" Her voiced question led the three downstairs to look up.
"Tifa? Is he alright?"
"I don't know Kagome." Cloud continued to scratch himself, unable to control himself. Kagome giggled at his distress. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up slowly and growled in aggravation when he saw a fine layer of powder on his arm. And then he scratched it.
"You put itching powder in my clothes."
"No! I would never!" Tifa eyes went big as she looked insulted. "Why would I do something like that?" Cloud grimaced and tried to reach an itch on his back.
"Then who?" Suddenly, he knew. "You." He turned to glare at the woman he found beautiful. Kagome frowned.
"Me?"
"You did this." Cloud stood and finished his descent down the stairs. He used his height to his advantage, looming over the small woman. "Why?"
"Eh?" She smiled up at him nervously, looking for a way to escape. "How could I have done this when I just reached?" Cloud frowned, his accusations thwarted.
"Yo Cloud. Why are you backing her into a corner? Something interesting going on between you two?" Cloud whirled, desperately scratching at his side.
"Reno. Why are you here?"
"Can't a man come to visit an old friend?" Cloud's eyes narrowed when Reno's eyes were drawn to the woman who was trying to run away from him.
"No." Cloud grabbed Kagome's arm, noting that she wore a long sleeved yellow shirt, keeping him from getting powder on her.
"You're so mean." Reno sighed. "Yo, what's she to you?" He motioned to Kagome, who l0oked like she was contemplating chewing off someone's arm to escape.
"None of your business Reno. Where's Rude?" Rude walked into the room slowly.
"He just had to be coooll." Reno snorted. "Answer your question Cloud?" Cloud jumped when he felt Kagome bite the back of his hand. He almost let out a moan of pleasure as she chewed into it, intent on getting him to let go.
"Are you leaving?"
"Nah, Marlene invited us to stay." Kagome growled in frustration and changed her tactics. She licked the back of his hand, prompting shivers form the supposedly impassive man. Cloud turned to glare at her, a look that she replied with a wink. And then he saw s faint dust on her hand.
"It was you." He yanked her to him and grabbed her hand. There was a small amount of dust on her hand, the same texture as what was on him. Cloud glared at her.
"Errr…heh heh?" She yanked her arm backwards and was rewarded by Cloud releasing her. She rolled to her feet and stuck her tongue out at him. "It was a joke Cloudie m'boy. Nothing personal." Cloud lunged at the woman. She jumped to the side. He spun, intent on grabbing her foot. The people who stood watching the fight were surprised when Kagome used his hand as a brace, using it to get farther away from the man. She landed on the other side of the room. "What? Are you going to beat me up for playing a prank on you? It's not like the stuff is deadly. Another shower and you'll be fine." Cloud made no motion as to hearing her, choosing to rush towards her. She sighed and stood there patiently. Right before he could grab her, her hands flickered with silver light. He was blown backwards by a blast of wind and a hail of tiny senbon.
"Yo, that is so cool." Kagome glared at Cloud. When he didn't move, she crept towards him. Finding him unconscious, she hoisted him onto her shoulder and then stared up the stairs. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, placing the ex-Soldier under the tepid spray. Sighing softly, she pulled off his shirt and opted to leave him alone. Kagome smiled grimly to herself as she placed the white shirt on the sink and walked out of the room.
"What are you doing little miko?" Naraku stood in the center of a gathering darkness. Kagome faced him, her form giving off the only light.
"I always wondered, why is it so easy to corrupt a jewel made by someone who gave their life to form it. Then I realized, even the person who formed it was filled with rage. The jewel took away all her base instincts and swallowed them, turning them into her demons to fight. Imagine, fighting yourself for all eternity." Kagome looked away from Naraku.
"What is this you speak of?"
"The legend o f the jewel. It is true in it's own way I guess. After all, the demons were absorbed into the jewel. But they aren't the same here. Here, they're commanded by her evils, her lies. She was only human, and that proved to be her own downfall. She's stuck in a bauble for eternity, forced to fight herself."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because. I want to help her." Kagome turned back to Naraku. "Like her I would give my life for so many, but I am too selfish. I would never leave this world. I'd make my own trinket and like her, be forced to live in my own hell." Naraku frowned.
"Is that the jewel's way? Truly?"
"Of course it is. What reasons have I to lie to you?" Kagome spun in a circle, the light around her growing a little bigger. "It will be your downfall of course."
"What do you mean?" Kagome smiled softly as she turned to face the demon again.
"I didn't bring you here to fight you." She bowed slowly as the darkness gave away to something even darker. "I brought you here so that you would be destroyed." As she spoke, a familiar miko appeared. She was dressed in all black and her eyes were a scarlet color.
"What trickery is this!?" Naraku glared at Kagome who was behind the form of a long dead miko.
"There isn't any." Kagome smiled softly, almost giving her his pity. "Two beings of great darkness cannot exist together in this sphere. One will always destroy the other to restore balance. Right now, I am the governing force of light."
"And I am the governing form of dark." Midoriko's double voice hovered in the air, honey laced with venom. "You dare intrude on my abode?" The woman pulled a sword from it's sheathe and stalked towards Naraku. "You dare presume to be better than I?" Kagome watched as the two fought. She settled on her knees, watching the battle with dispassionate eyes. Naraku was soon consumed by the evil of the miko. Midoriko turned to her. "You dare to bring that filth here to challenge me?" Kagome looked up, managing to look regal in her submissive pose.
"I am not your Midoriko. I am Kagome. I was destined to destroy the balance of this jewel." Midoriko's eyebrows flew up.
"Oh?" She laughed; a bitter sound. "Will you do that by allying yourself with my better half?"
"No." Kagome smiled softly. "You destroyed your only chance of overpowering me." She pulled a silver ribbon from her sleeve. It was soaked in something that shone a luminescent color. "You dared to take over my body. You dared to siphon away my strength to defeat someone who created you." She wrapped it around her palm slowly before pressing her palms together. "You dared to wreak havoc on my life." Her palms began to glow a soft blue that slowly turned silver. "But I wondered, did you ever dare to see me as something other than the girl who would hold it?" She stood slowly. "Did you?"
"Brave little mortal. I do as I please." Kagome's hand swung out suddenly and the ribbon wrapped around the other woman's wrist. "What is this?"
"This is me telling you that you were wrong." Midoriko was slowly pulled towards the smaller girl. "This is me telling you that I was sent to destroy that balance." Midoriko gasped in shock as her form slowly vanished. "This is me telling you to go to hell." With a final pulse the ribbon unwound itself from the evil half and shot into Kagome. She fell in a boneless heap at the feet of the now ghostly apparition.
"You bitch!! You bitch you bitch!! I'll kill you!!" Kagome smiled up at the woman before she disappeared. She let her eyes slide shut, ignoring the cloying darkness around her. Already it was feeling softer, purer.
"Kagome?" She opened her eyes to see the true Midoriko standing in front of her.
"Hey." Kagome forced herself to sit.
"You freed me." Kagome smiled softly.
"I guess I did."
"Why?"
"You were suffering. Was that not reason enough?" Midorko shook her head, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Silly mortal." Midoriko moved forward in the field of white, kneeling in front of the younger miko. "You are always so selfless." Kagome shrugged "But in doing so, you will not return to the home you knew. The balance was twisted and you cannot remain there The world is safe, your soul is not needed there anymore." Kagome smiled bitterly.
"I know."
"I will send you to a place where the very earth will cry for you help."
"Why? Aren't I supposed to go elsewhere?"
"Did you think to die? You should, but I will not do it. I send you somewhere that you can live the life that you deserved."
"What do you mean?"
"Love my dear. It is the one thing you have never gained but have freely given."
"That's not true!"
"So where is your lover?" Kagome blanched and then sighed.
"If you so wish it, I would travel to hell for you...although the other, your clone would kill me before I could return." Midoriko chuckled.
"We will travel to this world together. I will not leave you, dearest as you cannot leave me. Your actions have bound us together."
"Eternity?"
"Eternity." Kagome smiled and closed her eyes, hiding a flare of mischief.
"You know, I always thought a man would promise me eternity, never a woman. So, where's my ring?" Midoriko smacked the young miko's head, a violent tic apparent.
"You idiot! You just had to go and ruin the mood!" Kagome chuckled and soon the pair dissolved into laughter together.
'Eternity..' Kagome thought wistfully as she caressed the jewel. She peered into the bathroom and saw that his pants had joined the shirt in the sink. "Cloud?"
"What?" She walked into the small bathroom, pulling a bar of soap from her sleeve.
"This soap will help." She blinked in surprise when the shower curtain was pulled back abruptly. Cloud stood there, holding out his hand. She shrugged and placed it in his palm and walked out of the room. Behind her, Cloud eyed the girl, confused.
"She didn't even look." He shook his head and drew the curtain closed. Kagome returned with a new outfit for him and a towel.
"I brought you clothes." She walked out of the bathroom quietly.
"Oohlala. Hello, did you not see the cute man?"
"A little cold Mido."
"What's your point? He's hot. Besides, isn't it time you enjoy your life?"
"Why?" Kagome looked around as she continued talking to herself. "Besides, I do enjoy my life."
"The little boy? Yes, he does bring you joy, but someone to hold you Kagome."
"Not yet Midoriko. I'm not ready."
"When will you ever be ready for love? It happens, it doesn't wait."
"Don't you think I know that? Go."
"For eternity, or have you forgotten?"
"How could I?" Midoriko giggled softly and left the small woman alone. She had felt the rising tide of melancholy and had tried to defend her friend against it. Kagome walked down the stairs and conjured up a brilliant smile the moment she entered the room.
"Kagome!!!" Denzel rushed her. He jumped into her waiting arms with a laugh. "Did you see his face!? And Marlene was a great actor! She even made herself cry while you were hiding!" Denzel giggled when Kagome tickled him.
"I noticed. Our little girl is all grown up!" Marlene stuck her tongue out at the pair. Kagome stuck her tongue right back and Denzel made faces at the girl. "So…who's ready for some cake?"
"I am!" Denzel cheered from her arms. Kagome settled him on her hip and began walking. Tifa chuckled at the picture she made. The little woman appeared so comfortable as a surrogate mother that it was frightening. Kagome disappeared around the corner, before sticking her head back out.
"Booger Bear Tifa?" Tifa twitched.
"I am not you BOOGER BEAR!!!" Kagome nodded.
"Uh-huh. Anyway, Booger Bear Tifa, would you please get the last gift I brought off my bike?" Tifa opened her mouth to retort and then changed her mind.
"Fine."
"Thank you Booger Bear."
"I am not a booger bear." Tifa retorted halfheartedly as she left the shop. When she returned, she was surprised to meet a chuckling Cloud. Peering around him, she saw Reno sitting on the floor with a handprint on his cheek. Kagome stood over him, cursing a blue streak. Tifa sighed.
'I would get the weird friends.'
