Chapter 10: Every Heart
BoA: Every Heart such a pretty song, you should check it out, if you haven't heard it already
Squinting her eyes at the bright sun permeating through the forest canopy, Kagome turned towards her mentor. "I was just wondering, if a miko can heal others…shouldn't I be able to…" She trailed off, biting her lip nervously.
Kaede smiled, resting a knowing hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Yes child, ye should be able to heal yourself given the circumstances. But I must warn ye child," She said, catching Kagome's gaze, "it is a very tedious process, and it will exhaust ye for quite some time. I have never had to perform the ritual myself, though I wouldn't recommend having InuYasha in the area with ye."
Kagome nodded absently; contemplating over the information she had just been given. So there shouldn't be anyone she knew in there with her… and her stomach churned at the thought of just what the ritual was. Healing others wasn't so hard, just a little tiring, would healing herself be so much different? "What is the ritual exactly?"
"Oh it's not much different from healing others, child, so there is no need for ye to worry. Just having others in the presence might be a little distracting, that's all. I don't know the ritual verbatim, but there is a scroll in my office with the correct actions. Come by tonight or tomorrow morning and it will be prepared for ye."
Kagome nodded, coming to the clearing in the forest where they normally parted. Muttering goodbye to the elderly miko, she skipped off, wondering just when she would perform this ritual… it couldn't be tomorrow since she had the date with Houjo-
She smirked mischievously. She knew it was bad, but she really didn't want to go with Houjo anywhere, and she would be exhausted anyway… so she wouldn't technically be lying, just leaving out parts…
She finally arrived at the shrine, her plan forming in her head. She had just climbed the steps when her oh-so-beloved Grandfather came running out the door. "Kagome! Come help this old man clean the store room!"
She sighed; shoulders slumped, and dragged herself to him. "Sure Gramps." She muttered; taking the broom that was held in his outstretched hand. She followed him, knowing she might be too exhausted tonight to have enough energy to get exhausted all over again tomorrow.
Kagome finally flopped down on the plush bed two hours later, ignoring her growling stomach. If she was going to do this right, she needed to be well rested.
'And well fed.' Her mind chastised. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and closed her eyes, dreaming of stubborn hanyous and cocky youkai.
Kagome yawned and stretched, trying not to drown out the voice of her mentor. But really, she was just so tired.
"Kagome. Ye did not get enough sleep last night." Kagome bounced out of her stupor and shrugged. "I'm sorry, Kaede, my grandpa made me help him clean the shed." Kaede sighed, walking towards Kagome and resting her hand on her head. As she muttered a small incantation, Kagome felt her energy restoring, and her eyes popped open with new vigor.
"What was that? I feel… like I just drank 50 energy drinks…"
Kaede smiled, the crinkles around her aged eyes becoming more defined. "Now, come child, we shall start the procedure."
Kagome crinkled her brow, a new thought surfacing in her head. "Wait- couldn't you heal me?"
Kaede shrugged. "I could. But ye must understand, child, a miko will not always be there when ye are in need of healing. It is only fitting that ye learn how to heal yourself now."
Kagome sighed and nodded, following Kaede to a small clearing. "Alright, stretch your hands in front of ye."
Kagome did as told, feeling the small tingling at the back of her shoulders telling her to put her arms down. She ignored it, taking a deep breath and waiting for the next command.
"Now, the rest ye must do on your own. Concentrate on healing yourself; ye must focus all your attention on it! Call forth the powers and feel them flowing throughout your body…"
Kagome tried to keep her hands from fisting as she felt the magic seeping through her; she felt tingles all over her skin, almost like when a body part falls asleep, but in a good way. She kept her mind cleared, and she felt white-hot pain seeping through all her wounds. She bit her lip trying to block out the pain and tensed her muscles. The pain receded slowly, down to a low burn.
The pure air whistled through her veins and up her throat, coming out of her mouth in icy breaths. In a flash of a few seconds, the pain was gone. She opened her eyes to see something flaring around her, a white fog that was misting away quickly. She lowered her arms and raised a hesitant hand to her cheek, feeling only soft skin. Her eyes widened and she lifted her shirt, seeing only the faintest scar of the word that had been etched there, protect. It would forever serve as a reminder of fatal mistakes, for both her and InuYasha.
"Kaede?" She called, looking around for the elder that had seemingly disappeared. "Kaede? Oh gosh, Kaede are you alright?" She ran over to where the old miko was laying against a tree, beads of sweat falling from her wrinkled forehead.
"Ye… the aura… fog…"
Utterly confused, Kagome reached out and touched a warm palm to Kaede's clammy forehead. "What did you say? What about a fog?"
"Child, there was a white fog, surrounding ye… so strong… I don't understand…" She trailed off, her voice fading to a low murmur.
"I…I saw a fog too! It's normal, though… right?" Her eyebrows knitted together, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. What if she did something wrong? Could there be some new disease coursing through her veins and on its way to kill her right now because of this white fog? She groaned in curiosity barely restrained- what on earth was it?
"I don't know, child. Perhaps ye should research it…" Kaede trailed off again with a yawn, her eyes drifting closed. Kagome removed her hand from the elder's forehead, placing a barrier around the sleeping woman. She got up and turned for home, her body drained from the overall process of healing. With every step she took, she felt herself becoming more and more exhausted; stopping to catch her breath at the first tree she arrived at. She leaned against the old willow, unable to stop the fatigue that climbed over her body. She let her eyes slip closed and slid to the ground languidly, letting sleep take her over.
She woke up nestled against something warm and hard, two strong arms wrapped around her stomach. She opened her eyes and grinned, tilting her head back to look at InuYasha's sleeping face. They were up in the God Tree, his arms around her waist and her body between his legs. Her back was to his chest and he had one leg draped listlessly off the branch, the other bent beside her.
She half-turned, one hand braced against his chest. He looked so peaceful in sleep, all his angry lines diminished. Really, he looked so different when he wasn't yelling about the first thing he felt like- namely her. His charcoal eyelashes splayed against his cheeks in a soft arc, his lips partly closed in his slumber. She leaned in; her own lips only a millimeter or so away from his.
"Wen-" She cut him off as her lips touched his, his words coming to a cessation in his throat. The heat of his lips beckoned her in as she gave him soft pecks, his hands adjusting her hips so she straddled him, his arms wrapping tightly against her back. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as their lips glided against each others in a slow dance, her tongue probed at his lips in a soft plead for entrance. He invited her in, his tongue catching hers and wrapping around it, gliding back out to come dance again.
Her tongue traced over his fangs, the weapons in his mouth that she knew he would never hurt her with. He growled low in his throat, a smooth rumble that entranced her. Her fingertips splayed over his chest, the muscles barely confined within his haori. His hands gripped her to him, holding her close and driving her to the brink of insanity. She gazed at him through half-lidded eyes and he smirked at her. "Wench," He murmured, "I thought you were a prude."
She chuckled, leaning down to kiss him again. Sure he could be perverted and she had a feeling that ninety-nine point nine percent of the time his mind was thoroughly rooted in the gutter… but there was something about him…
"Kagome?"
Her head snapped up and she tumbled out of the tree, InuYasha barely catching her before she hit the ground. "What the hell do you want, Houjo?" He growled out, arms tightly wrapped around Kagome's lithe waist. She extricated herself from his grasp, turning to look shyly at the devastated boy.
"I'm sorry Houjo…"
"Why didn't you just tell me you didn't like me, that you liked him?" She bit her lip at his softly uttered words, taking a hesitant step towards him.
"I…I… I don't know. I didn't want to hurt you I guess, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" She ignored InuYasha's humph from behind her and crossed her arms in front of her sheepishly.
Houjo shook his head, his light brown hair falling over his eyes. "No… just be my friend and don't lie to me again, okay?"
She nodded slowly, waving goodbye to the boy. Once he was gone, she turned back to the irritated hanyou behind her. "I feel bad."
"Keh. Damned that Kouga can't be that easy to get rid of."
She sighed, tilting her head skywards. "I know. But, can we not worry about Kouga right now?"
He nodded. "Fine."
"InuYasha… the hanyou saved her last time, I presume?"
The woman nodded, her red eyes glinting in malignant rage. She didn't like the hanyou in question, but she hated the hanyou who had so much control over her more. "Can't you just leave them alone, Naraku? I would like a break too, you know." She spat out, one hand on her hip as the other idly toyed with her fan.
"Leave them alone? I suppose I could… that's actually a fairly good idea, Kagura. But I have better things in mind. Maybe I'll pay one last visit to the human wench."
Kagura shook her head, spitting at the ground by his feet and storming out of the room. She made her way down the dank hallway, stopping at the lone door. She sighed and checked to see she wasn't being followed before knocking and entering.
"Kohaku."
The boy looked up, his brown eyes devoid of any emotion. He had regained his memories, but had kept the skill to keep his features impassive to trick Naraku. The more Naraku didn't know; the better. "Naraku still trusts you, right?"
"Yeah."
"Alright… tell me everything he's told you so far on his current plans."
Kohaku gave her a soft smile, standing and leading her to a shadowed corner in his small room.
A/N
Sorry for the longish update/short chapter, but I've been busy. It's Saturday and I've got like seven 50 problem long geometry honors assignments due Monday! Ughhhhh, anyone wanna do my homework? Hahaha, wishful thinking.
Review.
Questions/comments?
Go here www.rworks. It's where all my other fanfictions are listed, and where I talk
about other stuff, I'm gonna update it in like two seconds so GO
and check it outtt. See you there, homies. ;