1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky

Kagome had been incredibly proud of Inuyasha when he defeated Ryūkotsusei, although it had been a difficult fight. Partly because she'd had to just stand aside and not participate, and partly because Inuyasha had gone full out raging yōkai on the dragon yōkai, which was unpleasant to say the least. Kagome hated it when Inuyasha lost the Tessaiga, it was frightening because she might have to attack him in order to save herself from his bloodthirstiness and he was her friend; she didn't want to injure him in any way.

Right now, however, she was fighting for her sanity. It was easier than she had thought it would be, to combat Tsubaki's mind control techniques, and Kagome was absolutely positive that this was only because of Miroku-kun's teaching her how to use her abilities properly. She could more easily defend not only her body, but her mind as well. So she fought, and struggled, and ignored the taunting that the dark miko was giving her. Kagome knew that she wasn't Kikyō, wasn't as knowledgeable as the other miko (yet), but she was more powerful than Kikyō and she knew it well. Kikyō herself had admitted to this, in front of Kagome, even. Tsubaki couldn't do nearly as much as Kagome could, since she hadn't even been able to match up against Kikyō when the now-undead miko was alive.

Tsubaki had to make deals with evil yōkai in order to survive and be powerful. Kagome did not.

Miroku-kun was close by, his aura strengthening hers as she fought against the mind control, giving her courage and power to resist. I can't let her make me hurt my friends and loved ones.

Kagome might not be in love with Inuyasha, but he was still her friend – even more so now than he had been to begin with, as he was actually nicer to her now, used her name instead of "wench," "woman," or "bitch," and respected her wishes more often. He'd stopped heaping abuse on her son as well. Kagome wasn't sure what was behind the changes, but she was grateful for them; Miroku-kun was as well, it had hurt him deeply to hear and see Inuyasha abusing Kagome like he did in the beginning.

Her arrow hit Tsubaki's barrier and shattered it for the second time, while Inuyasha was attacking the yōkai under Tsubaki's control, and Kagome rebounded Tsubaki's shikigami, purifying the large fragment of the Shikon that the older miko had in her possession, courtesy of Naraku. Tsubaki fled, taking the fragment of the Shikon with her, and they gave chase, only to see the saimyōshō steal the fragment away and watch Tsubaki die of her wounds from the fight and the saimyōshō.

The fight left Kagome with mixed feelings, and she was restless, needing to listen to something that would comfort her but still express her feelings at having almost been taken over by something vile. Maybe something… She wasn't sure. So it was with deep thought that Kagome settled into her sleeping bag that evening; not to go to sleep, but to think. Miroku-kun's presence comforted her, brushing against and twining with her aura reassuringly and confidently. "You can do this," it said. "You have already overcome so much worse today, koishi." And she had. She'd overcome the mind control attempt, she had overcome her fear of hurting her friends, she had overcome her inability – her arrows had aimed true and her practise was bearing fruit. She rarely missed her targets any more.

So… triumphant as well. She needed something soothing, beautiful, frantic, and triumphant. What piece did she know that had all of those elements?

Oh! The full version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture had all of those elements in it. It was exactly what she needed. She almost laughed, because she knew that anybody not strongly into classical music in her time would be confused as to what she meant by her choice; because the most well-known part of that overture was only the ending finale of triumph. But the entire song was so much more complex, although it was hardly soothing in its entirety; the beginning was soothing, before it dove into chaos and desperation and drive and triumph, and there were some soothing parts in the midst of all the rest, but overall the song was a mix of emotions, feelings, thoughts.

And that was exactly what Kagome needed today.

So she waited until it got late and Inuyasha was resting – not asleep, because Inuyasha didn't usually sleep through the night and besides, Kagome wanted to be open about her relationship with Miroku-kun, not keep hiding it like they had in the beginning – and then left the camp, her aura brushing against Miroku-kun's on the way out. Sure enough, he followed her, and as soon as he arrived she was displaced from her spot and pulled into his lap – as usual, which made her giggle until he kissed her. His kisses felt so good, she thought, before he pulled away.

"I'm so proud of you, koishi. You fought and won against someone with so much more experience than you have. You're progressing so nicely, you're so strong, and your will is so bright and beautiful; just as you are."

She blushed at the praise he gave her, at his pride in her, before stating, "Today's song is… well..."

She tried to think of a single word to express what this song was, floundering until Miroku-kun said, "Going to be perfect for the occasion, as all your song choices are."

Kagome smiled sweetly at him and allowed his words to reassure her. "If you insist, so it must be."

He smiled back at her and commented, "Of course I insist."

That made her giggle again, and he kissed her again, before she put the earbuds into their ears, and then the word she was looking for hit her. "Complex. That is the word I was looking for. Complex, just as today was. Soothing, because I need to be soothed. Frantic, because I was feeling frantic whilst fighting for my sanity. Triumphant because I won, I succeeded, in so many ways today."

He nodded solemnly at her and she pressed play.

Kagome-chan was clearly divided and torn about what she wanted to listen to tonight, so Miroku reassured her as she debated on what her choice of song would be. When she finally made the decision her aura was laced with calm contentment, and he wondered what could accurately express her feelings about today. Because surely they were mixed and disparate, as she had gone through so much.

When she left the camp, he followed her call.

As he flirted with her she relaxed more, and he was pleased that he could do that to her, that it was Miroku who could comfort and relax her when she was feeling anxious, worried, or confused.

So she played her music, which she told him was called 1812 Overture and composed by someone called Tchaikovsky, and the first notes to enter into his ear were a soothing balm of solemnity. He relaxed against the tree they were sitting against as the strings filled his ear, and he smiled softly. She needed to be soothed and reassured about what happened today.

He did too, honestly.

Then horns came in, adding depth to the soothing strings, and the chorus of music became softly, quietly triumphant, before the music darkened and became a vivid chase, a wild thrill, desperate and determined. Horns and strings and drums combined to make a whole that achingly expressed Kagome-chan's fight against Tsubaki.

And then triumph filled his ears – a rough, insistent triumph, rather than a solemn one as had come before. Then the song dipped once more into desperation and willpower. Drive to fight, drive to succeed, drive to overcome. Kagome-chan had overcome.

And the song showed that as the triumph returned amidst the chaos – when Kikyō had come and warned Tsubaki against going against Kagome-chan this must have been how she felt. Then it was back to the fight, and back to the triumph intermingled with the fight, expressing with clarity how she had felt before the strains of sound became more soothing and softer once again. Miroku understood clearly why Kagome-chan had picked this particular piece of music, and as he had told her it would be, it was perfect; just what they needed.

The soothing sounds dipped into a light, teasing battle; Kagome's determination and pleasure at Miroku's confidence shining through.

Then came the harsher battle once more, those sounds of overcoming will sparkling throughout it before the desperation came back, nipping at the heels of the strings and the horns before determined triumph came back.

The soothing tune entered back again once more, and Miroku was pleased – this would help Kagome-chan heal very well indeed from her experiences.

Despite all the repetition in this song, it did not sound or feel repetitious, it felt… natural, for the song to develop like so.

Triumph came back in, this time more fiercely than before, and the song was filled with and ended with the triumph.

"That was beautiful, precious," he said when it ended. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

Her smile was vivid and glorious.