A/N:
Thank you to all these reviewers:
Celeste Criss, Elfgurl96, Sapphire Moon Maiden, dokutoku, lovelyanimeangel, K.S.T.M, XxHisLilLoverGirlxX, StarsInTheDarkSky, WraithReaper, SesshomaruLover4eva, missymoo11, merlyn1382, babybisser, Kobato-hime, grimmich, cookiemaster11111111111, gender-bender-lover-101, and Puberty Sucks
I hope you review again ;)
Heart of the Broken One
Chapter Three: Leader
"Oof!"
A cruel, invisible force slammed Kagome into the ground, knocking the air out of her lungs. The hard, sandy, gritty ground. The miko lay there face down, groaning and mentally making sure all of her vital organs were still intact. She imagined it would be considerably more difficult to become a ninja with her lungs missing.
A now familiar weight began moving steadily up her spinal cord, carefully touching upon the little bumps, until a large black paw violently knocked Youko off. Yami retracted his paw and licked it delicately, baring his teeth in the leopard version of a smirk.
"Thank you Yami."
"Anytime, my lady."
With another groan, Kagome forced herself to sit up and then stand.
And promptly shrieked, imitating a banshee rather closely. Yami covered his delicate ears and Youko, head still buried in the sand, squirmed uncomfortably. As the shriek died down, he yanked his head out from under the red sand, poofs of dust escaping his ears.
Yami opened an eye cautiously and stared at Kagome, who was glaring down at her almost half-sized body with resentment.
"Are you quite done?" he purred, eyes glittering with slight amusement. Kagome ignored him, muttering to herself.
"Ugh, my nose is all pointy and my fingers are too little and ugh, I'm so short!" she wailed dramatically, letting out a sharp breath afterwards.
Yami stared at her coolly; Youko's face a comical expression between laughter and fear.
She gave her new- or rather, old- body another hateful glare and then snapped into serious mode.
"Alrighty, then. Let's see what oh-wonderful Midoriko gave me."
For the first time, Kagome noticed her clothes. Black Capri pants, a sleeveless cobalt blue shirt that cut off at her navel and had the Western Lands insignia on the back. A fishnet shirt covered the bare part of her stomach and sleeves. A pair of sturdy black boots were on her feet. Her hair was up in a bun and were there…needles in there? She pulled out the sharp objects and stared at them. Kami, they were pointy.
Shivering, she shoved them into her pocket and tied up her hair in a high ponytail. A little blue bag at her hip contained 10 shruiken and a pocket at her knee contained two sharp daggers. Sango's bracelet, holding all the shrunken weapons, hung around her wrist, thankfully still there.
Finishing the in-depth analysis of her new look, she looked around, taking in her surroundings, brow furrowing slightly.
Huge, dry rocks, loose red-gold sand, dirt, the wind stirring up little tufts of sand, forming them into mini sand dunes…where was that damned village?
"The villages are supposed to be hidden, Kagome-sama."
Kagome flushed, red rushing into her cheeks. She had forgotten how closely she and Yami were bonded.
"Right, I knew that. I was…observing."
"Of course you were." His light purr was cordial and completely understanding, but Kagome could feel him smirking, or rather, doing the leopard version of a smirk.
She scowled at him, blue eyes narrowing slightly, a look that would have made him cringe and look away before, but which looked simply silly on her eight-year-old face. Seeming to realize this, she scowled deeper at him and turned to her right, stomping off to where she felt various auras shifting and pulsing.
However, as she stomped, eyes narrowed, she failed to notice the small ditch in front of her.
"Oof." Kagome's voice was a light grumble as she promptly face-planted into the red sand. She swore suddenly, InuYasha's colorful vocabulary showing its influence. Growling carelessly, she stood up, ignoring Youko's chortling and Yami's light chuckles.
The three continued walking through the sand, drawing steadily closer to the village. Kagome shoved Youko into Shippo's black bag, the kit clawing and howling all the way and Yami melted down, seeming to take on the form of an odd shadow that had no physical form.
Eventually, slowly, but surely, large, wind-worn earthen gates flickered into view.
By this point, Kagome had forced herself into tears and upon sighting the two half-asleep guards at the gate, burst into hiccupping sobs and rushed forward, throwing herself at the larger one's legs, startling both into alertness.
"Uh…"
"She's crying."
"I noticed!"
"What should we do?"
"How should I know? I don't have no kids!"
"Well, neither do I!"
"This is bad."
"You're telling me?"
Kagome fought to hide a smile as the two guards panicked. Obviously, they did not know how to handle crying children. Wailing louder, she buried her face into the ninja's black pants.
Hesitating slightly, he bent down, wrenched her away from his pants, and stared at her tear-streaked face.
"Um…hi little girl."
Kagome sniffled.
"Uh…give me a hand here!" the larger one hissed at his companion. The shorter ninja rolled his eyes and moved forward quickly, pulling a cloth out of his pocket and handing it to Kagome, before seizing her hand and striding purposefully through the gate. The larger one gaped after him.
"Kino! What are you doing?" Kino rolled his eyes. "Taking her to Kazekage, Soonin."
"But...but….THE KAZEKAGE? This isn't important enough!" Kino swiveled around, hand still gently wrapped around Kagome's tiny one.
"You got any other suggestions, dumbass? Neither of us knows how to handle a crying girl. The Kazekage has three kids. He's best fit for this job."
Soonin shrunk under Kino's death glare but nodded meekly and followed him quietly. Kagome smirked slightly as the guard led her into a round building. Step one, complete.
Upon entering the dome-like structure, a stifling blast of heat greeted her. Kami, it was worse than outside!
The two guards led her to a large door, which they knocked upon with a series of quick raps that she concluded was code for "emergency" due to the fact that the door immediately swung open and a man whose face was panicked shouted, "EMERGENCY!".
A gravelly voice called from inside the room, "Kobato. Shut up." Immediately, the man quieted and scurried out of their way, giving them entry into the room before hurrying out.
The room was dark and musty, with a low ceiling, a slowly turning fan overhead, and a single window that allowed a ray of light to stream in and illuminate the man sitting imperiously at the large desk in the center of the room.
"Kazekage-sama!" The two guards grunted in unison, bowing their heads and parting to reveal Kagome, who looked like the poster girl for a poor orphaned child, tear-streaked face, dirt-caked clothes and all.
"Um, the girl, she uh… well, she'll explain! Goodbye!"
Just as the Kazekage opened his mouth to object, the ANBU departed with another quick bow. The older man looked back at Kagome with a slightly confused expression, waiting for answers. Kagome seated herself across from him, face suddenly clear of tears and smiled.
"So, I hear you have three kids?"
The Kazekage relaxed into his seat and nodded. Kagome grinned and leaned her elbows on the table. "Have you ever heard of the Shikon-no-Tama?"
His eyebrows shot up and he leaned forward, intrigued. Kagome smiled again. "My name is Tashio Kagome. And I am the Guardian."
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"Home sweet home,"
Yami drawled, giving the tiny apartment a once-over and wrinkling up his face. Kagome's slap to the back of his head was expected and he ducked his head slightly, allowing the hand which was supposed to make contact with his head settle on top of it gently instead.
"Now Yami, I know it's not much but it's all I could afford on such short notice." The leopard nodded his head in acknowledgement and cringed as Youko's loud voice pierced the air.
"This thing is a dump! This is ridiculous! I need my own b-ow!"
Once again, Yami's paw came out of nowhere. Youko glared at the shadow leopard playfully and growled. Yami ignored the challenge and followed Kagome inside. The priestess surveyed the insides of the bright apartment and grudgingly allowed herself to be impressed. It wasn't much, but it was neat, clean and bright. That was really all she needed, considering this was to be a temporary stay.
After arranging her possessions around the apartment, Kagome flopped down onto her bed, a hand absentmindedly stroking Yami soft fur while Youko curled up and quickly fell asleep.
The interrogating that had gone down at the Kazekage's office had been entirely too personal.
She had answered the least revealing of the questions and departed after setting conditions with him about her stay.
They agreed that nobody could force her to stay in the Village of the Sand, only she was to deal with the demons that may attack the village –discreetly, of course- and that she would depart the instance any hint of Naraku's whereabouts surfaced. He had vowed an oath of secrecy and she left, satisfied.
It was far too soon to say she trusted him, but she knew he would not betray her. If she were to stay at this village, she would have to blend in. The Kazekage bragged about his children and how they were by far the most advanced ninjas in the village and although she wanted to test that theory, it would probably be safer to stay under the radar.
However, Midoriko had not said anything against…alliances. Moreover, she could use the company, considering the hole in her chest was threatening to swallow her completely.
But for now, she needed supplies. At the very least, she needed food. Leaping up, she hurriedly used the bathroom and exited the apartment, leaving Youko asleep and Yami's shadow form lithely following her footsteps.
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Nobody noticed Kagome as she wandered among the village, entering shop after shop, arms laden with heavy bags. Finally convinced that her current inventory would tide her over for a while, she turned to leave the hustle and bustle of the crowd.
Just as she was exiting the crowds and was approaching the forest, a voice shattered the silence.
"Hey! You there, short chick!"
Kagome turned around, surprised.
A/N:
…I'm sorry…
My laptop was at the warehouse being repaired for a while and I just found out my friend has cancer…
She's getting surgery Monday though, so pray for her please
Anyways, I wanted to thank everyone for the support and reviews. I love reviews everybody, they make my day and seriously motivate me to write more.
Thanks again,
-Ilira
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