A New Path
By: Ryu Katanna
Beta:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Five
A couple days later and Kagome was starting to grow suspicious. She watched as Prince Zen greeted Shirayuki, and then turned to speak to the girl, Kihal. Shirayuki had hidden her face, and blushed hotly while he was distracted. Kagome turned to find Zen's attendants muttering to each other, and took that as a confirmation. Something had happened between those two while she hadn't been watching.
Grasping Amaya's reigns she led her out of the main gate and toward Shirayuki. The girl was so focused on Zen that she jumped with the sound of the horses hooves, The girl spun around to look, and stopped when she encountered Kagome. She was way too jumpy today.
"Are you alright, Shirayuki?" Kagome asked, and received a smile she knew was meant to be reassuring.
"I'm alright. Ryuu's been treating it." Shirayuki answered thinking that she was being asked about the wound she had received before.
"That's not what I meant, Shirayuki. I can see right through you; you're so transparent." Kagome said, and Shirayuki flushed again.
Shirayuki went quiet, and Kagome sighed. Pulling the younger girl into a hug Kagome rested their foreheads together when she let go. This way Shirayuki couldn't avoid eye contact as easily. She spoke softly so only the other would hear.
"I don't know what happened Shirayuki. That's between the two of you. Whatever you decide to do; just do what will make you happiest. I'll probably be gone for a while, but I will come back. I will support your choice. Whatever you decide." Kagome told her, and Shirayuki smiled as she jumped and hugged her like she had the very first time Kagome had left to explore this world.
"Thank you, Kagome. Be safe." Kagome released her with a smile before turning to look at Obi who had walked up to stand with Shirayuki as they prepared to leave.
"I'm counting on you, Obi. Look after her." She said before receiving a nod of acknowledgment.
With a small smile Kagome turned and mounted Amaya. Looking up, she could see Prince Izana watching them all from a distance. Placing her fist over her heart she gave a bow as farewell before turning the horse to stand near Kiki and Mitsuhide as they waited on the go ahead from Prince Zen.
It didn't take long after that for them to set off, and she felt at once both relieved to be on the road again, and like she had left something behind. She was quiet for a while as she listened to others in their small group talk. She didn't know what to say to them. It had been such a long time since she had traveled anywhere with other people. She was so used to being alone now, and Kagome knew she was not the same person as she was back then.
"Are you alright, Kagome? You've been rather quiet." Kiki asked as her horse came up alongside Amaya, and suddenly she was aware of the attention of several others on her.
"I'm fine. Just not used to traveling with anyone. I've become a bit of a loner in these last years, I suppose." She said as she looked over at the other woman.
"You're one that will be staying in my village to train with the birds, aren't you?" Kihal asked from the other side of Kiki.
"Yes, for my job. We haven't really been introduced. My name is Kagome Higurashi." Kagome replied, and the girl looked back at her with a smile.
"My name is Kihal Toghrul, and this is Popo." She introduced the bird who was sitting on her shoulder.
"It is nice to meet you. Hello again, Popo." Kagome greeted the bird, and Kihal and Kagome were both surprised when the bird trilled back at her before flying over to land on her shoulder.
Mitsuhide's laughter could be heard at the surprised look Kagome was giving the little being. Slowly her face morphed into a smile as she reached up to pet the bird. The little guy seemed to think her shoulder guard was meant to be a perch, and it was amusing to the others. He stayed there for a moment as he basked in her attention.
"He likes you!" Kihal enthused with a wide smile before Popo came back to land on her.
"Kagome has a way with animals, it seems." Prince Zen said he could remember seeing birds around her before from his office window.
"I have spent more time around animals in the wild than people. I suppose it would make sense that I would get along better with them than most." She said as she turned to watch the area they were traveling through.
"I thought you worked at the castle?" Kihal asked in confusion.
"I do now, but it was not always so."
"Oh? I saw you the other day. I had thought you were a member of nobility with the dress you were wearing." Kihal said innocently, and Kagome's face took on a dark look as Mitsuhide and Zen laughed.
"No, and that is not how I would normally dress. I am far more comfortable in something like what I'm wearing now." She motioned down to her more unofficial uniform that had been made for when she was traveling.
"Oh. Are you one of Prince Zen's attendants, then? What is your job?" Kihal asked, and someone else answered before she could.
"Kagome works for Prince Izana. She is pretty much his top law enforcement officer." Mitsuhide answered for her, and Kagome nodded before turning back to the girl.
"Due to the circumstances of my work, and the extent of my travels, it will be hard to keep in communication. I will most likely be staying with you longer than any of the others as what I will need is a partner. Like you and Popo." Kagome confirmed as Kihal smiled back at her.
"Then we will have plenty of time to get to know each other!" The girl beamed, and Kagome chuckled.
"Yes, I suppose we will."
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Their arrival at the village was met with the calls of children. There was a Prince who had come, and they were all curious. This was a grand event for this village. In a way it reminded her of the village in which she had spent so much time in the past. It was both familiar, and a little sad. Kaede had been getting on in years, and she'd had a harder time getting around the last time she had seen her.
'I wonder how she doing right now?' Kagome allowed herself to entertain that idle thought before she smiled down at the gathering of kids.
The small group followed Kihal through the village until they reached her home where she lived with her father who was the village leader. Dismounting her horse, she gave Amaya a pat before handing the reins off to a young man who had offered to take their horses to the pasture nearby. She followed Kihal and Prince Zen inside where they were introduced to her father before Zen was offered a chair on one side of the room. Kagome followed to stand on the other side of Kiki as the terms of the arrangement were discussed.
Kagome watched on as Zen handled everything well. She knew she would have to include this meeting in her next report. Prince Izana would be happy with how well Zen had managed the situation, she was sure. She had been told to give him a full report on how well Prince Zen had been received here. The meeting came to an end soon enough, and Kihal pulled her over to her father.
"Father, this is Kagome. She works for Prince Izana, and has a special request for us."
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"So I have to see if one will choose me?" Kagome asked two days later as she and Kihal were walking to the place she would find a partner.
"Yes. We'll see which one chooses you, and then we can start teaching you how to handle and train your partner. That way you can work together. We are only teaching the others how to handle them. Having an actual partner in one of the birds is actually a lot more work. I hope you're prepared for it."
"I'm no stranger to hard work. Okay, what do I do?" Kagome asked when they came to a stop.
She could hear the birds in the trees. The birdsong was beautiful, and she felt herself relax a bit more. She could see a few high up in the branches. One flew by overhead, and Kagome smiled as the sun filtered through its wings.
"Just relax, and let the bird find you. It might take a few minutes, or it could be longer. Sometimes it can take days. I'll be waiting for you back at the village." Kihal told her before she turned back the way they had came and left her alone in the forest.
Kagome looked around at the various birds she could see in the area. Some were looking back at her curiously, and others looked as if they didn't even know she existed. Kihal had said to wait for one to choose her. What did that even mean? Shrugging, she leapt up onto a high branch.
If she was going to be here for a while then she would at least be comfortable. Standing on the ground where anyone could see her wasn't how she liked to spend her time. After these last years traveling alone she had taken to resting in higher places. On the ground you never knew who might notice you. Higher ment safer to her these days. You could see so much more from up high than the ground.
When nothing happened after several minutes she allowed her mind to wander. Kagome hummed a light tune as she listened to the sounds of the forest around her. The song the birds sang was beautiful. The longer she stayed, and she started to notice that every bird had a different tune. Each sang a pretty melody on their own, but put them together and it was a beautiful symphony of sound.
The rustling of feathers brought her out of her thoughts several hours later, and the pricking feel of pointed talons on little feet drew her attention to her raised knee. There, one of the birds sat watching her. It's feathers were a pretty dark blue, and the ends looked to have been dipped in black at the edges. Black eyes studied her intently, and it's little beak opened as it trilled the tune she had been humming back to her.
"Oh? Did you like the song then?" Kagome asked softly with a small smile only to get another lilting trill.
"Hmmm hmm hmmm." She hummed along, and several minutes passed this way.
The bird didn't leave even after she had stopped humming an hour later. Instead it seemed quite content to stay with her as she basked in the last of the sun's rays. Blue eyes opened in the fading light to look back at the bird on her knee. It had not moved, and she was beginning to wonder if this was what Kihal had been talking about.
The bird was the one to choose their partner. Had this one chosen her? She was just starting to think so before another bird joined her by berching on her shoulder. Kagome looked over to see the bird as it nudged her cheek with its beak. Her breath caught as she got a look at this one's feathers. The color was almost opalescent with how the light shone off the light blue feathers. A soft trill came to her ears as the young bird nestled up to her comfortably while the darker blue bird that had been on her knee fluttered up to join the second one. Kagome stared at the two in puzzlement as they rested together. Kihal had said her partner would be the one to choose her, but she had never thought there would be two.
"It's getting late you two. I'll have to get back to the village now. Will you be coming with me?" She asked softly as she slowly moved away from where her back had rested against the tree.
Neither of the birds moved to leave her as she swung her leg down to hop to the ground. Two sets of little talons tightened their grip in the cloth of her tunic as she left the branch, and held on while she fell to land on her feet. Kagome stood straight, and glanced at them to see both looking back at her before they trilled softly and adjusted to make themselves comfortable in this new position. It would seem that both were content to stay right where they were as she headed back to the village.
"Kagome!" Kihal's voice called to her as she approached the village leaders home.
Kagome turned to find the girl standing with Prince Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki. She turned to join them as she felt the Prince's gaze grow cool as she approached. Kagome was under no delusions. She knew the Prince did not trust her. For all that she watched over Shirayuki for years, she had pledged herself into the service of his older brother. It was Izana who had her loyalties, and so Zen likely knew that she would be reporting anything that could be of interest.
"Good evening everyone." Kagome greeted them as she came to a stop, and they all could see the two birds resting on her shoulder.
"Good evening, Kagome. What do you have there?" Kiki asked as she moved to get a better look.
"Oh! You found a partner already. It's only been a few hours!" Kihal said cheerfully before coming up to see that it was not just one bird but two that rested there.
"It would appear that both of them have taken a liking to me." Kagome said as the girl froze in her spot.
"Wow!" Mitsuhide smiled as the darked blue bird trilled a greeting while the other had fallen asleep.
"It's rare to be chosen by more than one, but it does happen." Kihal said as Popo trilled back to the other bird in greeting as well.
"What will you name them?" Kiki asked before looking away from the birds and back toward Kagome.
"I don't know yet. Kihal, how do you tell if they're male or female?" Kagome asked only to receive another smile from the girl.
"Males are always darker while the females are very light. You have both. Maybe they're a mated pair." Kihal told her, and Kagome gave the girl a small smile in thanks.
"Sora for the female, and Kaito for the male it is then." She said softly as she looked at the two and got a pleased tril before Kaito rested back against Sora to sleep.
"I've never heard any name like those. What do they mean?" Kihal asked, and Kagome answered as she noticed the others interest as well.
"They come from my native language. Sora means sky. It is the light color that her feathers remind me of. Kaito is two parts. Kai, meaning sea, and to meaning to soar or fly." Kagome explained before turning to Prince Zen as he spoke.
"What is your native language? It is unfamiliar."
"It is one no one speaks here. When I first met Shirayuki and her family I did not speak as you do. Shirayuki saved me that day. She tended to my injuries, and she and her grandparents took me in. They are who taught me your language." Kagome answered with a respectful tone before turning back to Kihal.
"Would we be able to start training tomorrow?"
"Oh, yes. We can start after Prince Zen, Kiki, and Mitsuhide leave in the morning." Kihal replied, and Kagome nodded in thanks before looking back to the Prince and his attendants.
"Would it be alright if I send my report to Prince Izana with you?"
"Of course. I'll see that he gets it." Mitsuhide answered when Zen had nodded in agreement.
"Thank you. Then I will retire for the evening and meet you in the morning before your depart. I you will excuse me." Kagome bowed to Prince Zen respectfully before leaving for the room that Kihal's father had given her for her extended stay.
She had two birds to settle into where they would be staying for a while, and a report to write for her Prince.
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AN: Well there's chapter five. The next chapter may be on hold for a while as I deal with some family things. Could be a few weeks to a few months, but I will try to update and work on stories when I can. Hope you liked this chapter, and let me know what you thought. Happy New Year!
~Ryu