I'm so sorry about the wait... again. Clearly I can't promise an exact day that I will post. I'll make it up to you guys by posting two chapters on Christmas. Happy Holidays! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters.
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Chapter 8 - Confusion
Previously
"Miko."
"Hai?"
"You have done well."
She felt numb. That was the only way to describe this feeling. She wanted to address what had happened. But she couldn't bring herself to think anything. She was so confused. After Sesshomaru left, she had told Shippo and Rin to return to the village and have Sango and Miroku look after them. Shippo had worried about her, she seemed off after her encounter with Sesshomaru. But he recognized this look as being the 'I need alone time' look. He grabbed Rin and left for the village. Once again, Kagome thanked the Kami's for sending Shippo to her.
She had wandered for a while, but as always, she simply ended up at the Goshinboku. Geez, was she predictable or what? Nevertheless, she took a seat amongst the roots of the tree. Leaning her head back to rest on the smooth bark, she took a deep, long breath. She needed to meditate. She wasn't any good at it, but at least she would be able to clear her mind.
Rolling her shoulders, she settled into a comfortable position. The best way for her to clear her mind was to focus on taking deep and even breaths. Once even enough, she focused on tensing all of her muscles, and then relaxing them one by one. By the time she was finished, she was calm enough to begin.
She figured she should start with working with her miko powers, as that was the reason Kaede even taught her how to meditate, and after this she probably wouldn't want to meditate for a while. She allowed her reiki to come to the surface of her skin. Then she pushed it from her, first forming a barrier. She then forced more and more of her reiki into the barrier until she felt it was strong enough. Lastly, she merely held it in place. Barriers were nearly useless if you couldn't hold them up long enough. First minutes passed. Then surprisingly a few hours as well. Although she wasn't sure of the exact time frame, she knew this was the longest she had ever been able to hold a barrier. And on top of that, she wasn't even tired. That was odd. She shook off this feeling of indecision. Deciding she had spent enough time on her powers, she let her reiki dissipate back into her body. Now she needed to think.
She mentally shifted through the events of the day. First, her 'fight' with Inuyasha. Looking back, she felt she handled it well enough. She also gave herself a metaphorical pat in the back for managing to remember to be respectful towards Sesshomaru. Next, she looked over how she handled Rin. With that, although she was still amazed at why Rin had been upset, she thought she had done flawlessly. Her mother would be proud. Taking a deep breath, she finally brought herself to revisit her last encounter with Sesshomaru.
When he had walked into the clearing a mere minute after Shippo had returned, Kagome knew he had heard and seen all that had passed with Rin. And Kami, was she afraid, and embarrassed to boot. Not only had he heard her sing, he had watched her be entirely too familiar with his ward. But thinking back on his expression, or lack thereof, she knew he wasn't angry. The problem was, she didn't know why. He had every right to be. She was touching what was his. Yet, he did not address it. Furthermore, he almost thanked her! The Lord Sesshomaru had in essence thanked her.
'Deep breath, Kagome. So this is a bit surprising, so what? At least you're not dead, right?' Yeah, that's right. Think positive. She was still alive. And she had pleased Sesshomaru. Was it really that shocking to think he was glad that she had quelled Rin's fears and stopped her crying? If he cared enough to keep her around, then he probably wouldn't want her to cry.
'Also, he left Rin with your group. He trusted Rin to be protected by your group.' A voice in her head told her to stop being so fearful and get over all of this. 'Go back to the village and protect Rin, as is your job for the time being.' With a self-assured nod, Kagome opened her eyes. She was surprised to find it was nearly dusk. That was the longest she had ever meditated. 'Well, there are firsts for everything.' Standing, stretching, and dusting herself off, she turned in the direction of the village and set off. Everything was once again right in her mind.
