Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Author's Note: No excuses this time, just cutting straight to the chase. Here, at last, is chapter 10 of my increasingly very long AU. I officially hit 70 pages on my document, woo-hoo! That's more pages than any fics I've written previously combined! This chapter focuses once again on InuKag fluff, brings Shippo fully into the picture, and also goes into some exposition that I tried to keep to the bare minimum. That said, enjoy!
Warning: There is a Band of Seven sequence where they discuss the, er, "pleasures" of murder and such. Just a little FYI, in case some of my readers are uncomfortable with the concept. Nothing graphic, but dark nonetheless.
Chapter 10: Family Matters
It was around the early hours of dawn when Miroku returned to his "training basement." He always meditated for an hour when the world was still calm and sleepy, but today his routine was being shelved. Not only was his sleep schedule completely messed up anyway, there were more important matters to attend to.
Downstairs, Jinenji was curled up in a corner, sound asleep. Kagome was also asleep, her hand held tightly by the wide awake Inuyasha, who looked up at the sound of Miroku's steps.
"How's the invalid?" Miroku asked cheerfully.
The truth of the matter was that he had been rather shaken by the events of the night before, but he also knew Inuyasha was worried senseless. After such a tense time, breaking the ice seemed the most appropriate action.
Inuyasha snorted, but his eyes revealed his grudging amusement. "Sleeping like a baby. Jinenji stayed up with me for a while, but I eventually made him get some sleep. If it wasn't for him... and your help..." Inuyasha struggled to find the right words to convey his deep appreciation, eventually trailing off and blushing in embarrassment.
Miroku smiled knowingly. He walked over to Kagome's side and placed a hand on her forehead, closing his eyes in concentration. After a beat of silence, he straightened up.
"Good, her spirit energy is back to a normal level. If I were to rate how insanely high her levels were last night, it'd go through the roof." He knelt down beside her, across from Inuyasha. "Her powers are extraordinary. Even with my years of training, I've never come across such incredible spiritual powers. I've only ever studied about famous priestesses and monks of ancient times. If I were to guess, I'd say Kagome may have unknowingly tapped into an ancestor's powers. Or perhaps she is part of a 'generation jump,' and had inherited these powers."
"Can she control them?"
"With practice, I imagine. How long that would take depends entirely on her. Inuyasha," Miroku said in an urgent voice, "we must help her harness her powers before something terrible happens."
"What terrible things?" Inuyasha said, his voice betraying the slightest growl.
"If what everything you described to me is true," Miroku said calmly but deliberately, "Kagome was able to purify the enemies' demonic powers, no doubt borrowed from the 'Jewel', and if she had kept it up, you and your followers would have been hurt, if not killed. Not to mention, if she doesn't learn how to use a proper outlet, her body will eventually give out. After all, powers or no powers, she's still a human being. While Jinenji healed her body, I focused to bringing her soul back, because it was almost wrenched from her body from sheer stress. In other words, she has to learn. Or she may die."
Inuyasha balled his hands into fists, gripping onto his pants, staring at his sleeping girlfriend. Without the consequences, he didn't give a damn what happened to him, whether he was purified or killed. But if his death meant costing her life as well, then he would stay alive and remain strong. For her sake.
Because he...
Kagome stirred and moaned quietly. Inuyasha's ears perked up instantly and he leaned over her worriedly. Meanwhile, Jinenji also jerked awake, grabbed a few supplies, and hurried to his patient's side. When Kagome's eyes fluttered open, the gentle giant smiled and held up a bottle full of an unidentified liquid.
"Drink. It'll help with any leftover disorientation." He offered Inuyasha to hold the bottle. "Help her. Make sure she drinks every last drop. The taste will burn at first." And then he shuffled away.
Inuyasha helped Kagome sit up and placed the edge of the bottle to her lips. As Jinenji warned, the first sip caused her to gasp and attempt to pull away. But Inuyasha's half-demon strength held her fast, gripping her shoulders firmly but gently.
"Keep drinking it down, Kagome," he murmured, as she reluctantly but obediently gulped down the unpleasant medicine.
It seemed to do the trick. Kagome blinked a few times and suddenly felt more alert than ever.
"Inuyasha? Miroku?" She glanced at each of them, bewildered. "What happened? What time is it? I thought I was already awake...?"
"You passed out shortly after... after asking me," Inuyasha said, averting his eyes in embarrassment, his cheeks flushing a dull pink.
Kagome blushed as well, realizing how awkward it must have been for her boyfriend in that situation. Imagine! Asking her boyfriend to go to the dance and then losing consciousness directly afterwards! She bit her lip, trying to come up with a sufficient apology or excuse, unaware of the shy grin on Inuyasha's face looking the other way.
Meanwhile, Miroku, completely at a loss, looked from one to the other. Then, he grinned wickedly.
"Well, well, well, Lady Kagome, I must confess, I never knew you had it in you. Inuyasha, you are a very lucky man, indeed!"
"Shut your trap, monk," Inuyasha growled, whipping his head around to glare at his friend, his ears flat on his head, "before I shut it for you."
"All right, all right," Miroku threw up his hands in mock surrender, still grinning gleefully. "I understand that you'll need to discuss, ah, details in private. I know when I'm unwanted." With a wink, he stood up and walked across the room to talk with Jinenji.
Inuyasha growled low in his throat, his narrowed eyes watching Miroku suspiciously. "Stupid, perverted monk! He's totally got the wrong idea! It's not as though you asked me anything... anything... erm..." He faltered, blushing bright red again, then shook his head sharply. "Never mind! As for you! What's with you asking me something like that, Kagome?!"
He glared down at his bewildered girlfriend. Though he didn't raise his voice, the sharp annoyance in his tone was very clear. He almost winced at himself, but his pride swallowed any discomfort.
Kagome blinked. She hadn't expected him to be this upset. She scrambled for a response. "W-well, I-I just thought it'd be nice to go, you know? I'd been meaning to bring it up for a while-"
"Idiot! I'm not upset that you asked me to go to some stupid dance! I'm upset that you felt the need to bring it up right after you almost died!" Inuyasha's amber eyes glinted with barely suppressed rage, and something else that resembled unshed tears. Kagome's heart clenched.
Somehow, when he looks like that, so angry, like his eyes are on fire, I'm not afraid of him. I only want to comfort him.
She raised a hand and placed it on his cheek. The blazing look in his eyes simmered down a bit, making him look more like a sad puppy than a ferocious dog. She took that as a good sign.
Gently, she rubbed his skin with her thumb, looking deeply into his eyes, that looked so worried, so frightened, underneath the rough exterior he always wore. Kagome wanted to convey, somehow, that she understood. She wanted to show him...
Unconsciously, she licked her lips, and leaned closer to Inuyasha's face. And as her eyelids fluttered closed, Kagome was almost certain that Inuyasha brushed his lips over her nose first before he almost closed the gap between them...
"KAGOME'S AWAKE!"
A young boy's voice shattered the moment and Inuyasha leaped away from Kagome's arms as if she were on fire, while Kagome herself nearly fell over in shock.
Before either of them could react again, something small and fluffy launched itself against Kagome's chest. Kagome shrieked, Inuyasha bellowed something incoherent, and Miroku and Jinenji rushed over to see what was going on. By the time a very disheveled Sango entered the basement, wondering what kind of noise forced her out of bed at such an ungodly hour, the chaos had calmed down. Relatively.
"Shippooooo..." Inuyasha growled menacingly, his eyes glinting again, though not quite in the same intoxicating manner that Kagome was drawn to moments before.
The half-demon was being held back by Miroku with his holy staff, whose tranquil demeanor was betrayed by the twitching corners of his mouth. Jinenji fussed over Kagome, muttering about how overstimulation can hurt his patient, and the little fluffball that caused so much confusion still clung to the girl's shirt. Kagome herself was too stunned to make another move or sound.
"Why didn't you introduce me to her before, stupid Inuyasha?" Shippo sniffed, shooting a trembling glare at his boss. "She could have died and I never would have known her, and it's all your fault!"
"What was that?!"
"Now, now, you two," Miroku said calmly (his twitching mouth barely suppressing his urge to laugh), "Kagome is perfectly fine, as you can see, so there's no use crying over spilt-"
"Oh, wow, Kagome smells nice!" Shippo burrowed his head against Kagome's chest.
(Inuyasha struggled all the more against the increasingly amused Miroku).
Despite the close proximity, Kagome didn't feel any discomfort or concern. Shippo's touch was not that of a man's, but of a child's.
Shippo's enthusiasm wavered for a moment, then he whispered, "She reminds me of... of Mama."
His last words were only heard by Kagome (Inuyasha was too distracted trying to break away from Miroku's grasp). Something about this small little fox child touched her heart in a way that she hadn't felt since... since Souta was born. Kagome was suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to protect this small, innocent creature in her arms. She embraced him closely.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, too, Shippo-chan," she said in his ear.
Like Inuyasha, the little fox demon's ears were expressive, and twitched in delight at Kagome's words.
(And was he purring? What was the fox equivalent of a purr? Either way, the sound pleased Kagome, and it took every ounce of self-control to not squeal. He's so cute!)
"Well!" Sango's voice rang over the basement, silencing Inuyasha's growls, and causing everyone to look up in surprise. "I'm glad to see you're doing better, Kagome. I see there's no point in introducing you to our young friend, Shippo," she smiled fondly at the pair embracing, "but I should think that you would know better than to be jealous of a child, Inuyasha," she added sharply, her narrowed eyes piercing the half-demon until he squirmed uncomfortably.
"I ain't jealous of that little runt!"
"Oh, really? And I suppose you're wrestling my husband for the exercise?"
Miroku couldn't take it anymore. He released his struggling friend, doubled over, and burst out laughing. Inuyasha froze in place, torn between relief to be released from his captor, and knowing full well that marching over to his girlfriend's side would only confirm Sango's accusations.
Kagome laughed too, watching her poor boyfriend's conflicted pride. Shippo looked from one to the other, his little brow furrowed in confusion.
Jinenji continued to tranquilly ground his medicinal herbs, completely unperturbed by the scene going on around him. Sango's mouth twitched a moment before she walked over to the bedridden girl.
"Are you hungry, Kagome?" she asked, her voice calm but loud enough to carry over her husband's hysterical laughter.
Kagome nodded, her own laughter dying down at last. Shippo, recognizing the importance of food, let go of her instantly and scurried upstairs. He had prepped her breakfast hours ago, awaiting when she'd be awake to enjoy it, Sango explained as they headed upstairs (Jinenji scooped Kagome up and carried her to the kitchen; Inuyasha was too shell-shocked to move at the moment).
At last, Miroku's laughter died out, and he stood up on shaking legs. When he noticed Inuyasha's deadly glare, he grinned innocently. "Oh, come now, Inuyasha," Miroku said, "even you must have seen the humor in that!"
"Keh!"
"Onii-chan," Jakotsu whined piteously, "we missed out on a fun night, and I couldn't even finish my fight with that hottie, Inuyasha. Why did we leave so early?"
"Idiot! You felt it yourself, didn't you? Our powers were being drained away by that bitch." Bankotsu was in a foul mood. No one dared confront him when his aura was so dangerously volatile. No one except the clueless Jakotsu. Perhaps that's the only reason why the leader of the Band of Seven didn't kill him on the spot.
Renkotsu cleared his throat tentatively. "Technically, we wouldn't have died if we stayed, Onii-san, since we're human, and her powers seemed more directed at demon-"
"IDIOT! Sure, she couldn't kill us, but she would've lead to our deaths! Think about it!" Bankotsu pointed his giant sword at the rather visibly frightened Renkotsu. "She would've stripped away our powers, and therefore leave us vulnerable! Not all of Inuyasha's followers were demons: I was fighting this ninja kid who could've easily taken my head once my powers weakened me!" He sighed and lowered his sword, reaching for a syringe. "I should've known better than to get hooked on this shit."
(No one dared say a word as he injected the purple liquid into his vein).
For a few moments, the seven mercenaries remained silent, lost in their thoughts. Though all them were users of "the Jewel," they couldn't deny the dangerous crutch it provided each of them. On one hand, unspeakable powers that put them on level with some of the most powerful demons in the land. On the other hand, not only was the substance incredibly addicting, it apparently could be easily stripped away. And all from one human girl...
"Ugh, this is why I hate women!" Jakotsu suddenly burst out. "They look as fragile as an autumn leaf, but then turn around and pull that kind of shit! Not to mention, completely quenching my hard-on," he sniffed.
"None of us need to be reminded of your sick desires, Jakotsu," Renkotsu said coldly.
"Jakotsu isn't alone, except that he hates dealing with women," Suikotsu spoke up, with a wicked grin. "I personally get turned on by all my victims, especially the women and children. Their fragile little bodies squirming in terror, the screams, the helplessness... Men are often too much of a challenge. I like the ones who can never put up much of a fight, so I can enjoy myself most thoroughly."
"You both need to get your heads checked," Renkotsu said with a scoff.
"Ah, what's this, Ren? Growing soft on us?" Suikotsu said with a sickly, sweet tone.
"Don't be ridiculous! I feel nothing when I kill. It's just a job. It's why my fire is so useful. I don't need to watch them 'squirm,' I just let the burning do the work."
"Ren may be the most human of us all," Bankotsu said, coming down from his high. He grinned foolishly at Renkotsu. "That's why you're the brains of the lot. Otherwise, we'd all be too busy jizzing all over our victims' bodies instead of escaping from the cops. Thank the gods for Brother Renkotsu!" He laughed maniacally.
Ginkotsu and Kyokotsu grunted in agreement. Mukotsu laughed gleefully. Suikotsu grinned and admired his massive, artificial claws. Jakotsu, however, frowned.
"Of course, you'd laugh, Onii-chan, because you just enjoy any fight, whether or not they die. But I didn't even get the privilege to bring Inuyasha down to his knees and beg for mercy! I didn't even draw his blood from his beautiful throat! It's so not fair!"
"Calm down, little brother, you'll get your chance," Bankotsu said calmly, his eyes glazed over with pleasure over his drug injection. "But before we launch another attack, we've gotta think of a way to get rid of the girl. I have a feeling we may have go about this indirectly, unless we want to repeat last night's disaster."
"Perhaps my poisons will be of assistance, Brother Bankotsu?" Mukotsu said, his oily voice revealing his excitement. "But I don't want to kill her. Not yet. Like Brother Jakotsu, I like to take my time with my victims." He licked his ugly lips in anticipation.
"Hmmm, that is certainly an intriguing thought. I have no particular interest or claim on the girl," Bankotsu said lazily, "so letting you take care of her is convenient. Let me think more on it. For now, let's find out what other jobs we have in store. Renkotsu?"
"I'll send out the word at once, Onii-san."
Relieved to be given this task, Renkotsu stood up, and left the room. He alone was in charge of contacting their "clients," by means of a sort of carrier pigeon, or rather, carrier demon crow. He placed a roll of blank paper into the crow's outstretched foot, and watched it take off from the window sill. The demon crow would fly to various houses of powerful demon lords or human politicians until one responded by writing a code on the blank paper, whereupon the crow would fly straight back the Band of Seven's hideout.
For a few moments, Renkotsu continued staring out the window, trying to swallow his disgust over his fellow "brothers'" talk of murder being an aphrodisiac. He, like the others, had taken more lives than he could count (well, technically, Bankotsu was the only one who kept a tally; he was sickeningly proud of the increasing number), but as he confessed, he felt nothing. Each death he caused was like squishing a bug: no joy or pride in the act, just something that needed to be done.
But then again, he made a point never to make the deaths up close. The idea of watching the life leaving a victim's eyes made something deep within him squirm. So, he used his fire instead. Always from a distance. Always letting the flames devour the bodies and screams. And once it was done, all was left was ashes, that can be easily brushed aside.
Nice and clean. Simple.
Impersonal.
"You haven't answered my question yet, you know."
"What question?" Inuyasha touched off another rooftop, making another leap.
Kagome clung to his shoulders, her stomach flipping at the sensation of flying (or was it something else?). Though she felt a lot stronger after eating a hearty breakfast at Miroku and Sango's place, Inuyasha still insisted on carrying her home. Nothing could sway his resolve. She actually found it kind of sweet. She grinned and shook her head in exasperation.
"Dummy, about the dance, of course!"
"Keh! Like you needed to ask at all!" At the top of her family's shrine's steps, Inuyasha ended his journey, but continued holding Kagome on his back as he walked up to the front door. "Of course, I'm going with you. Who the hell else would want to go with me?" He winced at the sharpness of his words, but they were not lost on his girlfriend.
Kagome smiled broadly. Just as Inuyasha rang the doorbell, she wrapped her arms tightly around him, causing him to gasp in surprise. "Thank you, Inuyasha. I can't wait."
"Y-yeah, sure." He grasped Kagome's hand. "I better find something nice to wear then, huh?"
Kagome laughed and propped her chin on his shoulder. He turned his head. Their eyes met. For a moment, the atmosphere that Shippo had unknowingly ruined earlier began to return...
If Mrs. Higurashi had taken her time answering her door, perhaps her daughter would have taken this opportunity to finally kiss her half-demon, delinquent boyfriend. But Mrs. Higurashi had spent an entire night worrying over her daughter's sudden departure from the house, without a word of where she was going, without a word for several, agonizing hours of her whereabouts or her condition. So, naturally, like any mother, she set aside any privacy she'd normally grant her daughter, and thus flung open the door with a cry.
Several hugs and kisses and tears later, Mrs. Higurashi ushered her exhausted daughter inside to sit on the sofa in the living room, also insisting on inviting Inuyasha inside as well (much to his embarrassment). A cup of tea in each hand, Mrs. Higurashi listened patiently to the story, told in turns by both Inuyasha and Kagome. The details of Kagome's powers, Inuyasha's status, and the gang violence didn't deter the good woman, who seemed uncannily calm over it all, after the initial relief of seeing her daughter alive and well.
After the truth was laid out, a smothering quiet hung over the three occupants in the room. Mrs. Higurashi sipped her tea, deliberately slowly, as if sorting out her thoughts, before finally breaking the silence.
"First of all, thank you for saving my daughter's life," she said to Inuyasha, who nearly upset his tea in surprise at being addressed so sincerely and formally, "and secondly, I'm also proud of you, Kagome, for doing something so brave, even if it did make me grow a few premature grey hairs."
She smiled fondly as Inuyasha squeezed Kagome's hand. Mrs. Higurashi continued. "And thirdly, I knew all along you had demon blood in you, Inuyasha. Oh, don't act so surprised. Regardless of the eccentricities in our world today, even I know the difference between an otaku and a pair of real doggie ears." She winked. "Though you get most of her powers from your father's side of the family, dear," she added to Kagome, "even I was exposed to the hidden world of demons before marrying him. Perhaps that's what convinced him to know it was safe to let me in on the family's secrets."
"Secrets?" Kagome asked. Her tea was growing colder, but she didn't care. She clung to her mother's every word.
"I meant to wait until your eighteenth birthday to tell you, when you'd be done with high school," Mrs. Higurashi said with a sigh, "but I suppose circumstances must sometimes override tradition. Kagome, you were born on the same day of our family's progenitor, who lived five hundred years ago: the famed priestess of the Feudal Era, Kikyo."
"Kikyo of the Feudal Era?" Inuyasha said with a frown. "That name sounds familiar."
"It would for you, Inuyasha, for Kikyo's legacy is infamous in the demon world. She purified more demons than any other priestess of her time or afterwards. She founded the Higurashi shrine, then called by another name that has been lost to time. She eventually married and raised her children and grandchildren to put their spiritual powers to good use. Though demons remember her frightening ability to purify their kind, our family best remembers her as a kind yet strict medicine woman. She healed even the most hopeless cases, and passed on her knowledge of herbs to others, including the ancestors of today's doctors. But perhaps her greatest legacy was that of the Shikon no Tama, or the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls."
"Isn't that the name of the drug that's been causing your gang, um, friends, so much trouble, lately?" Kagome asked Inuyasha.
"Yes," he said slowly, frowning in thought. "Miroku did hint that the name was no mere coincidence. Is it connected to the real thing?"
"Only in name and similarities in power, I imagine," Mrs. Higurashi said. "For the actual Jewel was purified from this world long ago. Kikyo completed the task, with or without help, no one can say. It is said that once the Jewel vanished, she was freed from her more intense priestess duties, allowing her to marry whom she pleased and to raise children. This other 'Jewel' which you speak of is merely a fabrication, an attempt to bring back a powerful demonic relic."
"How much do you know so much about the 'Jewel,' the drug, that is, Mama?" Kagome asked, her head spinning with all this information.
"Mostly from your father, I confess. Oh, don't look like that, dear! Your father never touched the stuff! But he was involved on a case with the police to track down the perpetrators. In spite of being raised in a shrine, my husband preferred to earn his living as a criminal detective rather than a monk," she added to Inuyasha. "Or is it because of that? I never really knew the reason."
"How did- he, um..."
"Die? Oh, nothing related to his job, I assure you. It was a car accident. My husband wasn't the only victim, tragically enough. Over seven cars were totaled, and five people were killed, my husband included. The entire mess was caused by an intoxicated driver, who was arrested shortly afterwards when found guilty."
Though Mrs. Higurashi spoke with the matter-of-fact tone that someone uses when explaining something for the hundredth time, Inuyasha didn't miss the way her hands gripped her cup of tea, or the smell of salt coming from her eyes. His ears lowered shamefully, and he muttered an apology. It was Kagome who spoke up.
"Don't worry, Inuyasha. I should have told you before, but I never knew when to bring it up. Anyway, Mama," she said gently, as if sensing her mother's barely suppressed grief, "you mentioned I was born on the same day as Kikyo. Why is that important?"
"Well, my dear, I mentioned that your father's side of the family had inherited most of Kikyo's spiritual powers, and trained others as well. But you are something special. You were born at the perfect generation gap, with five hundred years' worth of spiritual powers behind you, and the ability to 'tap' into Kikyo's powers that had laid dormant inside you all this time."
Mrs. Higurashi stood up and gestured the two lovebirds to follow her. Bewildered, they obliged without questions, though Kagome clung to Inuyasha's hand.
They stepped outside the house and headed to the well shrine, where Mrs. Higurashi stepped inside, reached up, and took down something from under the threshold. She handed it to Kagome: it was a bow and a quiver of arrows.
Something warm washed over Kagome, like she held something familiar, despite never taking a glance at archery in her life. Her mother's words came through like she was underwater, but somehow hit her as sharply as an arrow piercing the skin:
"You are Kikyo's heir."
AN: No, I am not inserting Kikyo as a recurring character. She is merely background, a plot device to discuss Kagome's powers and such. I might include her as a "cameo" in a later chapter, where Kagome meditates or something and meets her. But no, she will not meet Inuyasha or come back to life or whatever. She is Kagome's ancestor and a significant part of Kagome's inheritance. Even in the original series, Kikyo's connection to Kagome was vital to the story, so I wanted to keep that much. ^.^
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