Chapter Nine: Awakening

As soon as I was upstairs I set my sword down by my dresser and sighed. I hadn't meant to throw mom under the bus, I hadn't meant to put her in this sort of situation so soon, but it happened and now all I could do was let the cards fall where they may. The question was what was I going to do? Mom had lied to me, for good reason, but she'd lied to be for the most part of my life. What was more was I was just barely a teenager and now fate was handing me all this power, this responsibility and strength? What the hell!

"You don't look too good, maybe you should rest." I could suddenly hear Ji-chan behind me as I walked into my closet and looked for a change of cloths. Grandfather wasn't always with Ji-chan when he was watching over me or making sure that I was all right after I'd been injured.

"Hai, that's what I'll do." I assured Ji-chan with a smile as I shook my head.

It'd been hard going the whole day acting as if it were just any other day, as if there wasn't anything I needed to worry about or anything to fight against. Especially after I'd gone up against sensei. The tension in the air around me whenever I was close to sensei was thick; almost thick enough to cut with my sword.

"Sensei, what should I call him now?" I wondered out loud and instantly I could tell how tense Ji-chan was, how he'd understood my words and was shocked by the impact of my words.

"Amaya, you..."

"Hai, I know. Sensei is my biological father." I whispered as I changed into a pair of loss fitting pants and a long t-shirt. It wasn't as if what I slept in really mattered. What mattered was that I got to bed and got some rest.

"Amaya, perhaps we should..."

"I'm fine Ji-chan. Trust me." I mumbled as I climbed into bed and closed my eyes.

It was easy to keep my breathing steady, to make it seem as if though I had fallen asleep and I wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. What was more was that I was already so used to Ji-chan that it required no power at all to be able to tell whether he had already left me alone, or if he was just hiding somewhere in my room and keeping and eye on me from a distance? All in all, it took about ten minutes before Ji-chan left me to my "rest." Ten long, impatient minutes that I spend trying to keep myself from sighing and the discomfort off my face.

It wasn't like I was in any pain or anything, because I wasn't. It was just that suddenly I could feel all of my power, felt as if though it were gathering in some part of me and compressing itself in hopes of revealing who knew what. What was more was that the more I tried to stop it and the more I tried to fight it the more uncomfortable it got and the more sleepy I seemed to grow? It too was fighting back, fighting to be left alone and do what it wanted to do.

Finally when I couldn't take anymore I let go and allowed for whatever it was that was meant to happen, happen. After all it was hard to fight fate, deadly sometimes but even if this happened, even if I was a prodigy and a prophet, I knew there'd always be a way for me to run, to hide, and if worse came to worse, I knew that there'd always be something worth fighting for; something that would give me strength in a fight to the death.

When I did let go the sensation was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was painful but numbing and warming but chilling. The power was growing, growing more than what I thought had been possible and as it did it continued to grow numb. In fact before I could stop it, to fight it again, my mind was growing empty and it was getting harder and harder to think anything through.

Still though, I felt the instant mom had walked into the room, could feel how her power began to call out to mine, to urge me to calm myself down and to relax. In truth if I could I would but the power, it needed to force itself out, it needed to form and compress and though I'd tried to stop it, there really was no stopping it.

"Amaya." mom had called out to me but I couldn't turn to see her much less move of my own free will. It wasn't until I felt sensei close by that my power flared and when it started to move with a new sort of fierceness that I was truly at a loss for words; even if I couldn't speak at the time.

"Otou-san." I called out to him without thinking.

I can't say for sure what it was that had compelled me to do so but I did and as soon as he walked in and listened to my words I knew he believed me. How couldn't he when he was staring at mom's crying figure, when they had been downstairs talking about me, and more than anything when ka-san was showing all of her worry for me on her face. Guilt and sorrow over took me and before I could do, or say anything else, I felt as my body fell back onto my bed and unconsciousness took me over.

It hadn't been anything painful or too straining on my body so I couldn't figure out why it was I was stuck in some part of my mind and why it was the high priestess hadn't come to me yet. Surely she had to have known what had just happened, she had to have felt the power I had channeled through me; hadn't she? Sighing I looked around and thought of the grove where I had been lead to, to be able to train and suddenly it was surrounding me.

"That's interesting." I muttered and as soon as I did my voice echoed. It was as if I was standing in the grandest of grandest hall with no one around and nothing to keep my voice from bouncing back and forth.

"You are in possession of the jewel, you are the guardian, and you are the warrior that will rid the world of the darkness that threatens it." I could hear the great priestess voice. Upon hearing her voice I sighed and stood still. Then, sure enough, she appeared before me.

"I didn't ask for this, take it back. I don't want it." I growled as I shook my head and tried to keep my tears from spilling over.

"You are the child born of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit." The priestess spoke calmly. All the while her tone of voice sounding like something one would use on a scared child.

"I didn't ask for this, I don't want it."

"It is your right to choose, however should you allow the darkness to spread this is what will happen to your home and soon the world." The priestess warned. I was about to ask her what she meant, what it was she wanted me to see but before I would there was a large transparent screen before me.

My eyes widened as I watched the darkness grow, as I watched it surface from its hiding place and then take over the lands it was hiding in. It hadn't taken long for it to conquer, to devour everything and anything in its path. Then the screaming came, I could feel the sorrow and the pain those in said land were now being forced to endure.

"All those people." I whispered as I shook my head and stepped away from the image. I didn't want to see, hadn't wanted to know; but now that I did I knew that there was no way that I would be able to run away from what I was. Not when there were so many lives counting on me.

"I will do what is needed." I finally whispered and despite my tone of voice having been so low and so soft the jewel appeared before me and Priestess Midoriko held a dagger in her hand.

"Your blood alone will heal this jewel, will call to all the power within it and more. However know that by doing so you put your own life at risk. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I answered as my tears continued to fall. What I was about to do made no sense, especially since I didn't want it. However if it meant saving innocent people, if it meant keeping my home and my family safe, if it meant giving me a chance to get to know my father, then I would do what needed to be done.

"Then I grant you the power that no witch before you has had, the power of legends, of the fallen, and of the pure." She said before suddenly stabbing me in the stomach. Instantly I screamed, I felt liquid fire take over my blood and I fell to the floor. All the while praying that the pain would go away and hoping that I'd just done the right thing.

When next I woke up I was surrounded by power, I was healed, and my features reassembled that of my fathers more than my mothers. More so than what they had already done. Slowly I sat up in bed, I watched as my grandfather and Ji-chan appeared, as they looked me over and made sure that I was under control.

"I'm fine." I said softly before taking my sword in hand and glancing at myself in the mirror. My cloths were tattered and torn, they looked as if though I'd been to hell and back and they certainly weren't the most flattering thing in the world. Sighing I thought of my short skirt, of wearing a crimson tank top and a long trench coat and then before I could walk to my closet I was wearing the exact outfit I had imagined only moments before.

"The power of creation and destruction now lies in you." Grandfather said as he looked me over, as his posture still seemed too tense and as his soul began to call out to mine. He was hesitant, uncertain and worried for me. Nothing more and nothing less. Smiling I shook my head and smiled.

"Really, I'm fine." I assured the two as I opened the door and took a deep breath. "Now come on, I can think of at least two people that have been wanting to see you." I taunted lightly as I walked out of my room and toward the hall where I knew my mother, my grandmother and my father would be, I somehow knew that everything was going to be all right.

~POV change~

It wasn't until Amaya was completely calm that Kagome and Inuyasha felt it was safe to leave her alone, to give her space and time to rest. When they walked out of her bedroom Inuyasha felt his brother and so taking Kagome's hand in his they walked in the direction of the meeting hall. Finally he learned the truth, and now it was time to meet with his brother and demand to know why he had kept him in the dark. Why he hadn't told him or at least given him some sort of clue as to who and what his daughter was to him.

"Kagome, is she..."

"Hai, she's fine Ka-san." Kagome answered as her mother reacted to their presence first. Sighing out of relief she turned and faced the lord and lady in her chamber.

"What are we going to do? It's clear she received the jewel from the high priestess." Rin said as she sighed and poured herself another cup of tea.

"That is between Inuyasha and..." but before Sesshomaru could finish the doors to the great hall opened and everyone turned to see a glowing Amaya. Her features all the while suddenly resembling those of her father more than her mother.

"Amaya, are you..."

"Hai Ka-san, Oba-san. I'm fine." She answered confidently before taking in a deep breath. At first no one was sure what it was she was up to or why she was calling for power but as soon as the late ruler of the Northern Lands appeared along side his father they understood. She'd awoken to her true powers, had mastered them and now stood as a high priestess.

"I believe that everyone has missed you Ji-chan, Sofu-san." Amaya said with a smile before relaxing and walking in the direction of her parents. Everyone in the hall would be able to see her grandfather and great grandfather.

"How?" The Lady to the Northern lands whispered as she watched her dead husband walk toward her and lightly take her hand. His own were cold, she wasn't expecting them to be warm, but at least she could feel them.

"She is a master in her own right, one much stronger than your mother I'm afraid Lord Sesshomaru." He spoke before standing tall and at his brides side. Meanwhile Ji-chan walked toward Inuyasha.

"I'm sorry that I taught her the style we developed, but it was the only way she could train without harming herself or others. She takes after her father so much." Ji-chan said. All the while expecting Inuyasha to scream or growl. However when instead Inuyasha hugged him he was at a lost of words.

"No need to apologize old man, I'm thankful." He assured him before letting him go and turning to his brother.

"You knew." He growled out angrily, all the while narrowing his eyes and tapping into his power in the lightest way possible. At least as light as what he himself was capable of doing.

"The truth was something that Lady Kagome should decide to share with you, not I." was his only response before turning to Amaya. Upon looking he saw the jewel hung around her neck and took a knee.

"High Priestess." He greeted her and soon the rest of the room followed. Not liking how her family was acting around her Amaya sighed and shook her head.

"Stand up, family doesn't bow to each other." She insisted as everyone stood with a light smile on their faces.

"She talked to you didn't she?" Kagome asked softly as she walked toward her daughter with a smile. She was beautiful, so much like her father and yet still so much like herself. She held the best of both worlds, she only hoped that Amaya herself could see.

"Hai, and showed me what I must do. The council must be gathered, the countries must unite, and we must destroy Lord Naraku and his son Onigumo." Amaya declared. As soon as the words left her mouth Kagome paused.

What she heard her daughter saying was not only shocking but amazing as well. It was the first time she had acted as a leader, shown her true potential and taken charge of the situation rather than trying to give clues until someone voiced the exact course of action she wanted taken. It was also the first time in which she not only sounded confident in her decision but in the leadership position she had been born into.

"Oi, how do you that..."

"I saw it, the priestess showed me Naraku's intention. He knows where the shadows lie, where the weakness in her seals have grown." Amaya explained easily while looking around and smiling at the tea that had been brewed. Then, before she could serve herself a cup, Rin was handing her a glass.

"Thank you." Amaya said with a smile before drinking the warm and calming drink. Truth be told she was beyond nervous and frightened; but her family was around, it was she who had been chosen, and she who would need to hold the world on her shoulders until she found a way to rid the darkness once and for all.

"Amaya, if the seals are weak then..."

"The priestess asked that I repair them, however that will only leave the future at risk. I plan on getting rid of the threat and it's source once and for all." Amaya answered confidently while the Lord and Lady of the North moved to sand in the circle surrounding their granddaughter.

"Then the time has come, we must begin the gathering." Kagome said with an amazed tone of voice. However, though she was amazed Inuyasha could sense her fear, knew that like himself, she was more concerned for the battle that their daughter was facing before them. Therefore, without hesitation he took her hand in his and held it tightly.

He knew the truth now, there was no way he was going to leave them, that he was not going to fight, and that he would allow his daughter into battle without himself at her side. His power was strong, and though she held more power than he had, he knew that she'd need training, she'd need true guidance, and that above all else she'd need the support of her family. A family that she'd not only just discovered but that she had wanted her entire life.

"Let it begin." Amaya agreed before setting her cup of tea down and turning to the back gardens.

With a deep breath Amaya closed her eyes, she focused on the scenes that the priestess had showed her, what would happen if Naraku and Onigumo were to be allowed to live and knew that failure was not an option. Not if she wanted to keep all of her family members safe and most certainly not if she wanted to succeed in saving the world.

A/N: I didn't want to just leave this pending so yea, it is an abrupt ending but I will be working a part 2 out, and once I got the rest of the plot and figured out exactly where I want this to go and how to end, I will then publish it. In the mean time, sorry and I will be looking forward to reviews. Ideas are welcome! :3