Chapter 6 What is She?
Sesshomaru was jolted out of his deep thoughts when he heard Kagome gasp and exclaim, "Oh, God! I wished that I didn't have the jewel just moments before it was shattered!" The anxiety coming from the girl sky-rocketed and he felt her powers brush against him again. He growled, "Calm yourself!" and watched as the girl seemed to swallow her tongue. But, at least the tempest of her powers ceased buffeting his person.
Kagome's mind swirled around this realization as she started rambling out loud. "If I accidentally made a wish on the jewel, does that mean it will never come back to me? If I wished I didn't have that thing, does that mean it will only go back to someone else? Or, was that just a momentary thing? Stupid jewel, to take something so innocent and twist it to something so evil. Just think of all the people who have been hurt because of those stupid shards. Gah! I should have wished that it vanished, or ceased to exist. Now, Naraku has most of it."
Sesshomaru commented in his normal cool voice, "Girl, if you had not shattered the jewel, a demon would have complete control over the entire jewel and this world would have suffered an even greater evil than Naraku." In his mind, he was trying to figure out why he was trying to console her. As in all things dealing with humans, he blamed his new found sentimentalities on Rin. One could not be in Rin's presence without being changed. The question remained to be answered if it was a good change or not.
Kagome was surprised that Sesshomaru was trying, in his own way, to make her feel better. She explained, "It's just that I feel responsible for the jewel. Did you know it's only here in this time again because of me?" Her voice was tiny in the enclosed space as she waited for a response. There was a sound that could have been a sigh, but nothing more. She stopped for a minute, and in a shocked voice she asked, "Wait a minute, how did you know I shattered the jewel? I'm sure Inuyasha couldn't have told you during one of your fights."
Sesshomaru stifled an urge to snort at the thought of Inuyasha divulging information in the middle of their battles. The boy could barely string together a few insults and comments. As if talking to a child he explained, "Your group is not silent when walking and camping."
Kagome just stared in his direction with her mouth hanging open. If he knew about that, what else did this demon lord know? Did he have spies listening to them all the time? Or did the whole demon world know about the things that Sesshomaru did?
After a period of silence as the light dimmed further, Sesshomaru found himself half listening to the girl's chatter. She spoke endlessly about her friends and their antics. But, these friends must be from her home, because they were not the ones she currently traveled with, and none of their adventures included demons or attacks. Their activities were all quite tame, and involved a place called "school."
Probably every firth word actually registered in the girl's monologue. He only made the appropriate sounds to make her think he was listening, but his eyes had glazed over and his thoughts were distant. When she said strange words, his interest perked up and he stored the word away to ask about some other time. A few words he could glean the definition by the context of the sentence she used them in, and others were just too foreign. No point in breaking her train of thought while she was so willing to talk. Later, when she wore down, he would ask his questions to help keep her awake. Also, when she was exhausted, he was more likely to get her to reveal any secret information that she might not divulge under normal circumstances. Like, where she was from that had such strange materials and containers.
So far he had a long list of new words to discover; school, exam, T.V., phone, car, books, English, shower, shampoo, WacDonalds, hamburger, fries, coke, volleyball, doctor, computer, social studies, and the list went on.
He sensed the coming darkness and wondered what she would do without her sight. Most humans that he had encountered were pitiful in the dark with their inferior sense of sight. Rin was not disturbed by the dark because of her complete faith in him to protect her. But on the occasional night, where he was not present, Jakken had told him of her need for a large fire to keep away the scary demons out in the dark.
Once all the light had fled from the cave, he was shocked to have a bright light flood the room as if the sun had arisen again. His eyes protested at the painful light, since they had already adjusted for the lower light levels and he searched around for the source. It came from the girl's hand. Was this some new power of priestesses that he was unaware of? That wasn't possible. He prided himself on knowing his enemies' capabilities intimately. Perhaps this was another unique power of this girl alone? He had witnessed her do things that mortals were not capable of doing. It uncomfortably crossed his mind, as it did on their first encounter in his father's tomb, "what are you?"
He could remember the disappointment he felt when he thought he had dissolved the girl and confirmed she was a mere mortal. But then, she had risen from the neutralized pool of poison, still brandishing the sword. So, did that make her NOT a mere mortal? If he had not been in the middle of battle, he would have taken more time to study this girl. She was more than she seemed and it intrigued him. Living so long, life became routine and boring. Any demon with half the intelligence that he possessed would love such a puzzle as this supposed mortal beside him. What good fortune that he was now being allowed an opportunity to study this Kagome up close and personal.
He had already decided she didn't smell human. Humans carried the smell of sweat and excrement along with the continually dying cells of their body. This girl smelled clean, even when she was sweaty, and there was no taint of death. But she didn't smell demon either. Demons carried the scent of their power and their associated animal form. This girl smelled of no animal other than those she associated with, and her power seemed to carry no scent except that of the atmosphere after a lighting strike. What did that leave? Obviously, she wasn't a half-breed, because, like Inuyasha and the others of his kind, he smelled of a mix of both breeds. She wasn't a spirit, or an undead. He had encountered enough of those to recognize the scent in his sleep. Was she something totally new?
As his eyes adjusted to the increase in light, he realized that is was a projected beam of light coming from some weapon in her hand. "Girl, what is that light source?" He had truly meant to wait about asking questions, but his curiosity was too great to postpone.
Kagome jumped a bit and looked at the golden eyes squinted in her direction. She had thought him to be asleep or deep in thought, and had forgotten that he would not know what a flashlight was. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I shine it in your eyes?" she moved the beam away from his person. "This… this is a flashlight. It's like a torch, but doesn't use fire, or wood for that matter. It…. Um…. It's got these things called batteries. They…. Um…. I'm not really sure how they work, something about acid moving back and forth making electricity which is like lightning, but not as strong. And that powers this little bulb, which is like the tail of a firefly, but brighter." She smiled at herself for putting a feudal era description on a modern era gadget.
She transferred the flashlight into her left hand and moved it closer to the demon's head so he could see it. She was careful to keep the light pointed away from his sensitive eyes. "I'll let you see it in the morning when there's more light to look at it. For now, I'll just hope that it lasts long enough to keep us awake so you can get better."
With a final offer for him to sniff the plastic shatter-proof, water-proof flashlight, she pulled it back over to her body and set it down beside her pillow, so it wasn't shining in her eyes either. She moved her right hand into the beam of light cast by the flashlight and made a shadow puppet of a dog's barking head. She caused her shadow dog to open its mouth, and made barking noises like she used to do as a child. Then, she made a few more creatures like a bunny, before continuing her long-winded discussion of her friends.
She rambled about boys and how her friends kept pushing her at this one boy that was nice, but boring. Then he caught a slip of her tongue. She said, "Boys in her era were so boring compared to Inuyasha and Miroku." Then she continued on about how easy life was for those in "her era." So, she was from a different era? He did not know if the word held the same definition from where she was from, but here, it referred to a period of history. So, she was from a different period of history? His mind staggered a bit at this thought. Obviously she was not from the past, so that only left the future.
His eyes studied her shadowed face as pieces of the puzzle slipped into place. The future…where different materials could have been found or made…where people had softer lives of leisure… where boys were not raised to be warriors but instead learned useless subjects in a place called school…where girls were treated equally and educated equally…where clothes were different…and where attitudes about different breeds were different. It was the closest Sesshomaru had come to utter shock since Inuyasha had miraculously transformed Tetsusaiga and hacked his arm off. She was a time traveling girl with priestess powers. She truly was something new.
Sesshomaru had learned long ago that asking questions revealed ones lack of knowledge on a subject. Not being one to reveal such a weakness, he had learned that if you listened long enough, your questions were usually answered. So, he paid a bit more attention to the puzzle sitting next to him as she continued rambling to stay awake. He learned of her mother and how the woman supported her trips to the past by buying their provisions and first aid supplies. The same woman accepted Inuyasha at face value and trusted him to protect her daughter. 'Strangeness must run in the family.' he thought. Then she discussed her crazy grandfather who tried to exorcise Inuyasha with useless ofudas from time to time. "Granpa" thought he had powers even though he was proven false every time. Then she described the last member of her family, her pesky little brother. Even though she called him names, it was clear that she truly did love her annoying brother.
During her monologue, Sesshomaru felt her control over her powers slip from time to time, signaling the fatigue that was consuming her. The random jolt of pain from each slip prevented him from mentally drifting away. Also, her speech become disjointed and halting. He knew it would not be long before he had to join in the conversation to keep the little priestess awake. His healing depended on it.
Kagome kept talking until her eyes started to wobble and roll back into her head. It was so hard to stay awake. She didn't want to look at her watch to see how late it was. With her luck, it was only about 10 PM and she still had seven hours until dawn. She couldn't go on just talking to the silent demon beside her. She was out of topics and out of strength. Finally she whispered in a harsh, overused voice, "Lord Sesshomaru, would it be okay for me to sleep now? I don't think I can stay awake much longer. Has this helped you heal any?"
Sesshomaru recognized that the time had come for him to participate and take control of the conversation. "No you may not sleep yet. Your powers in sleep would simply reverse the healing that has occurred while you were awake." A pitiful sound came from the girl that was partly groan and partly whine. He amended, "Just a bit longer and you may rest." He didn't know why he felt pity for this woman-child that was trapped in here with him. He sympathized with the fatigue that must be dragging on her mind and body. He had once gone weeks past his body's requirement for rest when he was in training under his fearsome father. It was required to assess ones abilities under extreme conditions. The feeling had not been pleasant.
Sesshomaru finally asked his first question of his secret interrogation. "Kagome, what are you?" He knew an open ended question was likely to gather more of a response than a more specific question. He not only wanted to know what she was, but he wanted to know how she thought. What would she make of such a vague question?
Kagome was a bit confused, and her answer reflected that thinking, "Um, I'm not really sure what you mean? I'm a middle school student. Is that what you mean?" She waited for a response, but only heard silence. She knew this was a demon of few and precise words, so she started trying to fill in the silence. "Um, I mean, I'm not really a priestess. I didn't even know I had powers until I got here and that was by accident. Of course, Grandpa swore we all did since we live on a shrine and are supposedly descendents of great monks and priestesses. But, no one ever showed any such powers. I couldn't even shoot a bow and arrow when I got here. Lady Kaede had to show me how to do that. Inuyasha kept thinking I could shoot since Kikyo was a great archer and I'm supposed to be her reincarnation. But I couldn't." Her thought turned to that whole incident trying to shoot the demon crow that had the jewel and she remembered Inuyasha yelling at her "You are not Kikyo."
Sesshomaru felt the girl get lost in her thoughts, and her powers slipped again as she seemed to drift almost asleep. So, he asked his next question. "So, your parents are human?" It made sense to ask since she was obviously not human.
Kagome snorted. "Of course they are human. What else would they be?" She paused for a moment, thinking the solitude must have damaged Sesshomaru's brain.
Sesshomaru pondered on this answer a moment. So, her parents were human, yet she was not. How was that possible? For that matter, how was it possible for her to have priestess powers if she were not human? Only human females carried priestess powers.
He moved onto his next thought. "How is it that you purify demons and yet travel and care for a half demon and a full demon kitsune kit? Does this not go against the teachings of a priestess?"
Kagome was offended. "Hey! I already told you I wasn't trained as a priestess. I don't care if Inuyasha and Shippo are demons. They are good people. Just because they are demons doesn't make them evil. I've met plenty of good demons and just as many evil humans. The race doesn't make the person. It's the character of the individual that counts. Just like I don't assume you are evil just because you are a full demon. You've done some good things, Lord Sesshomaru, even if you don't want to acknowledge them." A blush came over her face as she realized she might have said too much.
Sesshomaru was amazed at this declaration. To this girl, being a demon did not automatically equate with being evil like it did for the majority of humans alive in this time. This future world of hers must be truly amazing. Or possibly it was only this girl that was unique.
He wondered out loud, "Why do you stay with Inuyasha? Why does he defend you so fiercely? And why do you defend him, even against stronger opponents?" He was picturing the encounters where she struck the Tetsusaiga and reversed its transformation, and the time she struck his armor and destroyed it. He was also thinking of how Inuyasha moved quicker and fought more precisely when he was defending this girl. Was there some deeper bond between them?
Kagome was almost too quick to answer in her embarrassment at complimenting him in her previous response. "He's my friend." Her voice sounded like she wanted to add "well, duh" like it was obvious. But she realized, it's possible Sesshomaru did not have any friends, so didn't really know about the dynamics of friendship. "I won't let anyone hurt my friends. Even if it means I might get hurt. It's just what you do for true friends. As for why he protects me, well, it started out that he needed me to help him find the jewel shards. He wanted to make a wish on the whole jewel to be turned into a full demon. So, he needed me alive. But as we traveled together, we became friends. I thought at one point that we might be more than friends then that Kikyo was brought back." She said the word Kikyo with all the annoyance she felt from the interfering clay woman.
The demon lord prodded a bit more when nothing else was forthcoming. "That is the priestess that sealed Inuyasha fifty years ago. How was she resurrected if her soul was already reincarnated into you?" He had dealings with the dead woman. He had seen her force Kagome down the well during the crisis with Menomaru, the giant moth demon from the continent. She had also crossed his path when dealing with the also dead Band of Seven. There was no love loss between them, and he would rather take his vengeance against the dead woman for the sin of pinning his father's son to a tree.
Kagome huffed a bit before she answered. "Yea, Kikyo. She was Inuyasha's first love, and the one that tried to kill him. She was also the last protector of the Shikon jewel before it turned up in me. Apparently, an ogress used her ashes and graveyard soil to make a new body for her, but there was no soul to animate it. The nasty hag kidnapped me and sucked out my soul to put in that creepy doll. I didn't really believe I was Kikyo's reincarnation until then. I mean, if she wasn't in me, then how could her soul and memories end up in that clay body? But it didn't stick. Kaede told me that I wasn't dead, and that I called my soul back to me. But it seems a little bit stuck in Kikyo's new body. But it was just the anger and hatred from her death."
Kagome was quiet for a minute then continued. "You know, it's really a shame that Kikyo can only feel hateful towards Inuyasha. He is always running to her aid when she calls. He's so worried about her. He even said he never stops thinking about her. I know he won't say it, but I think he still loves her and wants to save her somehow. But how do you save someone who's dead? And why would you want to save someone who keeps trying to kill you and your friends?" her voice grew angry and desperate. "He's so stupid sometimes! He treats her like his wife. Even when she stole our fragment of the jewel from me and gave it to Naraku, Inuyasha couldn't believe she could be evil. I just don't get it. I mean, I want him to be happy, but how can he be happy if she drags him to the afterlife after Naraku is destroyed. What kind of love is that? I mean, I love Inuyasha just like he is, and all I want is for him to be happy, even if it's not with me. But Kikyo, she just wants revenge for something Inuyasha didn't even do! I just wish I could slap some sense into her sometimes."
Her voice slowly shifted from aggravation to sadness. "Isn't it ironic? The boy I love looks at me and sees his first love, that I'm a reincarnation of. Yet, he chases after a clay body that houses a piece of my soul that was hers. It's so twisted it makes my head hurt just to think about it. But, the sad thing is, I'm not her. Every now and then, Inuyasha even admits that he knows I'm not her. And yet, I feel it sometimes when he looks at me, that I look too much like her for him to distinguish between us."
Kagome's jaw clenched as she rejected the idea. "I don't care what anyone says, I'm not just Kikyo's reincarnation. Maybe her soul was in there somewhere, but that's not all I am. Urasue and Kanna both mentioned about how large my soul is. Maybe more than one soul is needed to protect and hide the jewel? What a horrible fate to have to live lifetime after lifetime protecting that bauble. Isn't it just possible that Kikyo was just along for the ride? Like a spiritual parasite?" She smiled as she pictured the older priestess as a giant tick, with the teeny weeny head and bloated body. It might not be the nicest thing to think, but it was hard not to hold a grudge against someone who had stolen things and people from her and who had tried to kill her.
Sesshomaru quietly digested this information. Reincarnation was known but not certain. He had always thought it merely a comforting dream of weak humans. All demons expected to pass on to the afterlife and that was the end of it. Except for those rare occasions when someone interfered with the natural order, like Naraku and Sounga. Yet here was someone who could prove reincarnation did occur.
And how ironic that the woman his brother loved was reincarnated into a girl that Inuyasha protected. No wonder the boy was confused. The demon lord almost felt sorry for all three of them, but only almost. He assumed that once the dead priestess was eliminated, that the estranged piece of the girl's soul would return and some of the confusion would evaporate. But there would still be the question of whether Inuyasha loved the new priestess or the old one.
Then there was the issue of the girl's overly large soul. Is it possible that is where her unique powers and characteristics come from? An ordinary mortal can not hold more than one soul. It would cause insanity. Is it possible that a totally new creature was created to house the jewel and keep it dormant? Or had the jewel itself gathered what it needed to survive? If that jewel had spent centuries in the afterlife, could it have gathered pure souls and bound them to itself? Of course, that was assuming that the jewel was intelligent and could formulate plans. But, then, wasn't it made from the living souls of a conglomeration of demons trapped inside the soul of a warrior priestess.
Sesshomaru asked a question he had wondered since the Menomaru incident. "Why does the dead priestess want you out of the way? Why is she threatened by you?"
Kagome gasped at the straightforwardness of this question. She stuttered a bit. "Um, I don't know. Well… she did say once that I was in the way of her getting Inuyasha. And she's always telling me I don't belong in this time." Sesshomaru smirked at the little telltale slip regarding the girl's time travel. "I think truthfully, part of her is jealous that I'm friends with Inuyasha like she couldn't be when she was alive. I mean, I don't care that he's a half demon. But when she was alive, it was taboo for a priestess to have any dealings with one. I think she resents what I've got."
Sesshomaru smelled tears and glanced over to confirm Kagome's sobbing softly into her arm. Her muffled voice drifted to him. "Isn't that funny. She wants what I've got, which is his friendship, and I want what she's got which is his love. But at the same time, I wonder if I only love him because her soul is a part of me. It's just so messed up."
A low rumble echoed through the cave and caused a bit of dust to settle down from the ceiling. All talking ceased as both held their breaths, waiting to see what was happening. Sesshomaru whispered, "Snuff your lantern." With a click, the flashlight beam disappeared. The dark smothered them in the tense moment.
Kagome's nerves were about to snap. She was thinking, 'Oh great. Now what's going to happen? An earthquake? A monster to dance on the ground above us? It's not like we're in any shape to do anything about it. Why can't we just catch a break?'
Sesshomaru sniffed cautiously to determine if he could smell any demons beyond their enclosing walls. There was the scent of a few small fry demons, but nothing to worry about. But instead, he smelled the heavy fragrance of moisture and lightning. He sighed silently and informed his companion, "A storm is approaching."
Kagome's sleepy mind groaned as she tried to think about what that would mean. "So, we're expecting lots of water, all of a sudden. Well, we've got the one rain coat and I think I've still got a sheet of plastic I usually put under my sleeping bag. That should be enough to cover us a bit if the roof starts leaking."
Sesshomaru huffed at this concern and mentioned with a condescending voice, "Rain is not an issue for demons." Even in the pitch dark, he could make out the scowl on the girl's face which was quite comical. If he were any lesser demon, he might have grinned.
In the next hour, Kagome learned that weathering a thunderstorm in an underground cave has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The overall noise was muffled with so much dirt and stone above them. Unfortunately, the dirt part that was over them was not waterproof. The drips of water started off slowly. But as the ground became saturated the drips turned into trickles. And not just trickles of water, but of mud. Puddles began to form on the cave floor. It was not long before Sesshomaru's position was in danger of being swamped.
With irritation apparent, the demon lord gingerly shifted his legs closer to his body. He had not moved in days, so this would not be easy. Yet, somehow, he managed to shift himself up the rock using only his legs. Kagome could hear movement beside her and clicked the flashlight back on. She saw Sesshomaru gently lifting himself up onto the rock that she occupied. It was a good three feet higher off the floor and would keep him drier longer.
Even though he had denied the need for cover, Kagome still insisted that the demon lord use the sheet of plastic to keep the majority of the muddy water off his person. She, on the other hand, had donned the raincoat and raised the hood to cover her head. With the coat open and stretched out as far as it could go, she could keep herself, her nest of clothes, and the contents of her backpack dry. The only part of her that she could not keep dry, was the part still trapped in the dirt and rocks.
It was a nasty feeling to have water trickling down her legs and her have nothing she could do to prevent it. She was shivering again, just like the first night in captivity. This was going to be a long, sleepless night. But, she tried to look on the bright side. At least Sesshomaru could heal even more.
Sesshomaru normally did not dislike rain. It was inevitable when out scouting his lands. Still, he could prefer to be at home when it was inclement. This wasn't just a matter of some inconsequential water, this was mud. It was beneath his station to be covered in filth. That was the only reason he had accepted the girl's offer of the strange covering. It seemed to be the same alien material as the coat, but it was clear like the water container. 'Such strange and wonderful things in the future.' He wondered, just for a moment, if he would be able to follow the girl there. But then his rational mind concluded, if that were possible, then he would have heard rumors of it happening. As he had not, he could only assume it was not possible. Although, there were times when his brother's scent and presence disappeared completely from the area. Was it possible that Inuyasha could travel with her? That would make a strange sort of logic if he believed that the jewel itself sent the girl back to resurrect the boy. It seemed she and Inuyasha were somehow linked to the fate of that stupid jewel across time.
He wondered in the back of his mind, why the jewel had chosen Inuyasha. He could understand choosing Kagome. She was strong, pure and determined. But, surely there was a better protector than Inuyasha. Why not someone better, like himself? For the better part of an hour, Sesshomaru amused himself trying to imagine what would have been different if Kagome had returned from the future, and he was the protector instead of Inuyasha. It was a rather ludicrous and amusing mental exercise. The truth is that he would probably not have been half as patient as his half-witted brother when the girl shattered the jewel. At the time, he had not met Rin, and had not held a very high opinion of humans. It would be quite likely that he would have just taken the jewel away from Kagome to protect it himself, and would have let the demons have her. But then, he would never have discovered the enigma that is Kagome, the non-human, human, untrained priestess. Life would have been so much more boring.
In the quiet reverie of the dripping cave, Sesshomaru acknowledged, to himself only, that he was quite glad he had made the acquaintance of this Kagome and had not succeeded in killing her in their earlier encounters. She would bear closer scrutiny in the future.
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