Boom barap-bap~~~ Btw, just a bit of Author's note before we begin...
To those who are reviewing, Im PM-ing some of you back in order to clear stuff about this story, so yeah... I might've messaged you without you guys knowing so you guys can check your inboxes whenever you reviewed in a question-like way or you wanted to clear something... So yeah.
Chapter 11: The Unraveling
"I am Higurashi Kagome, The Shikon no Miko."
'What secrets do you have Taisho-chan?' Madara's light tone bounced around the cracked walls of Kagome's head, the situation of being unable to hide anymore leaving something higly unpleasant churning deep inside her stomach.
She's cornered.
And the the two Uchiha knows it.
"I trust you two enough to never let this event and what will soon follow to ever leave your mouths. If this information even remotely leaks I swear as Hokage I will personally hunt both of you down." An influx of heavy chakra emitted from the usually friendly Hokage, emphasizing his threat to the two men.
If the two Uchiha were'nt that curious about Taisho a while back, they are certainly are now.
What exactly is Taisho's past to garner this much protectiveness from the Hokage?
"We swear this information is for us, and only us Sarutobi-sama." The younger Uchiha promised, his tone not changing from it's soft timbre.
"You have my word too Old man." Madara second emotioned, not really caring about the disapproving expression Izuna gestured to him.
"You're the one to talk Madara." The statement earned a light chuckle from the shinobi for he is indeed much more older than Sarutobi himself.
Power does that to people.
"So... Promises and joking aside..." Madara's dark eyes once more bounced back to the still miko, clearly seeing her internal war despite her smooth features.
The jewel, as usual, began waking up in reaction to Kagome's distress, it's slow pulse failing to garner the miko's attention leaving it unnoticed.
"There are no files." The Hokage suddenly stated, answered with bewildered looks from the two gods.
"What do you mean Sarutobi-sama?" The mentioned man took a whiff from his pipe, frowning when no more filling was left to fuel the addicting embers.
"Like I said. Taisho has no files except for the standard civil papers... Kagome here, has no hidden records in relation to her past. No anything... Why do you think I go to such lengths to keep her past hidden?"
"Because there's nothing even remotely evident to hide." Kagome's sudden answer successfully garnered both Uchiha's attention.
If her history is going to be laid out in the open whether she likes it or not, then she'd better explain it herself.
The kunoichi straightened herself, not willing to show any signs of weakness to the shinobis she shares the room with, bringing out years of practice to conceal the turmoil simmering deep in her gut. With steel eyes flashing and colliding quite intensely with Madara, she began talking.
"Im not from this world Madara-sama. I came not from a world ran by Nin but from a parallel universe where demons triumph all over the land of Japan."
"Maaaa-I wonder what's holding Kaggy up so long." Naruto slumped against the counter of Ichiraku's, face pouting and brows scrunched up.
"Cheer up Naruto, Kagome-san's probably just talking with the Hokage about clan...Stuff." Sakura said from her bowl of ramen.
The twins remained silent from across the booth, giving half an ear to the two brightly colored members of Team 7.
The kitsune host crinkled his nose.
"Eh, I dont really get why Kaggy spend so much time with the Hokage. I mean, Kaggy shouldn't even be that busy especially with just Kanna-chan and Shiro-yarou to look after to."
Sasuke scoffed.
"You forgot to mention that you're acting like some freeloader. Kagome's probably trying to do some extra errands to cover for that big mouth of yours."
"Sasuke-chan, play nice..." Itachi half-mindedly admonished.
"Say what? I'll have you know Kaggy can shoulder 10 of me! She's practically loaded! With a capital L!" Naruto proudly exclaimed, his nose stuck up in the air.
The Uchiha along with Sakura raised a brow at Naruto's words.
While it was not a hidden fact that Kagome is a head of a very small clan(if one can even call a three-member family a clan), it was also well known that nins who are orphaned or has no benefactors receives a monthly worth of allowance until they reached genin where they can get their own money due to doing jobs. So it is indeed quite puzzling to know that Kagome's a bit... Above most people in the currency department.
"Oh? I thought the Hokage provides enough allowance for those who are still under the legal rank of doing official jobs right Naruto-kun?" Itachi skills in talking and the art of silver tongue might come in handy this time.
The blonde nodded in affirmative.
"Kaggy still receives the monthly allowances but I think she's saving up and working extras for things like renovating or expansion of their land... Or other things like that. She's been doing some special errands and missions for the hokage ever since I can remember." the host softly replied, his brows scrunching up as he thought about his past with the Ice Princess.
"But aren't we forbidden to take up jobs until we reached genin?" Sakura knew taking advantage of Naruto's gullibility will probably end up with their hides full of senbons but she too is very curious about Kagome.
"That's why I used the word 'special'... Kaggy refused to tell me even if I kept on asking but Im pretty sure she's like an undercover superhero working under the Hokage." The blonde said with a grin.
"How long has she been doing that?" Sasuke was the one who asked this time.
"Hm... I met Kaggy when I was six? Seven? Anyways..." The blonde paused and took a big chow from his half steaming bowl of ramen, making the other genins look at him in a deadpan manner. "She kinda took me in and I began staying over after that. I always did notice how Kaggy seemed to be a little bit... More well off than other kids and began snooping around." By this time, all attentions were focused to Naruto.
"I asked her back then how she managed to provide good stuff since, you know... We're both orphans and she even has two kids to take care of but the difference between our lifestyle is pretty big." Naruto began thinking about his past then, thought about how lonely he feels until his sister-in-arms came to his unintentional rescue.
"Kaggy always answers me with a flick back then." the blonde rubbed his hitai-te, pouting at the phantom feeling of the girl's fingers striking softly at his forehead. "But the Shiro-yarou was the one who told me about Kaggy's extra work."
"Shir-You mean Taisho Hakudoshi?" Sakura didn't even try to hide her incredulous stare.
Naruto shrugged.
"Whatever, the brat told me that since Kaggy's tryna do something about... Clan stuff, she goes to the Hokage for help. And it's obvious that the pay is good on whatever she does since Kaggy's pretty comfortable and has a neat house." With that, Naruto resumed his eating.
The genins gaped.
That's it?
"You..." Sasuke's brow jerked in irritation.
They practically didn't learn anything remotely useful! They wanted answers not more questions!
Itachi sighed.
What a waste of time.
Team 7 resumed eating then, albeit a bit of a doom cloud of sorts hovering above them except for the blonde host.
Itachi chewed softly at his boiled egg and tried to fit the chaotic puzzles together with the pieces he managed to pluck from snippets of information he managed to gather.
"Yo." The teens gagged at the sudden onslaught of smoke and glared at their sensei.
"A-ah... Sorry, didn't know you guys are eating."
"We're on a RAMEN STAND what do you think we're doing, training?!" Sakura yelled at her sheepish sensei as she plucked debris from her bowl.
"Where's Kagome?" The jonin faltered, mildly pausing as he settled on one of the vacant seat, his minor slip-up not failing to fall under the Uchiha's notice.
"The Hokage is still talking to her." Kakashi ordered to Teuchi-the ramen vendor- his signature miso ramen, purposely not entertaining his students' inquiries about their missing member.
"Well, what happened to Haku and Eyebrow-less man then? Dont tell me they're on jail?!" Naruto asked.
Glad that the discussion seemed to have stirred towards the lesser of the two evils, Kakashi humored the blonde host.
"Well... They are to be transferred to the Senta since the council is still preparing their papers." Team 7 stared.
"You mean..." Sakura began.
Kakashi gave his petal haired student a smile.
"Yep, they're Konohans now." saying a thank you to Teuchi, Kakashi took his own bowl and clapped his hands in thanks, choosing not to drop the bomb that was Kagome's clan adoption to his already shocked students. Team 7 was too busy gathering their wits that they failed to see their enigmatic sensei pull down his mask and practically swallowed the whole order in one go.
Itachi, unsurprisingly, was the first one to break the silence.
"Tou-chan will not be happy about this." Sasuke nodded beside him, wincing.
Kagome expected many kinds of reactions as a reply to her mind whirling statement be it incredulity, shock, anger, and even fear.
But she was proven highly wrong by one Uchiha Madara.
The man's booming laughter echoed along the silent room, drowning out Izuna's deep sigh almost immediately. The Taisho can't help but wonder whether the action proves to be good or bad.
Really bad.
"I didn't know you possess that kind of humor Taisho-chan." The elder Uchiha hoarsely stated. "What's next? You guarding a cursed bauble full of souls?"
What.
Kagome's control slipped and she looked at Madara with shock and horror blatant in her gaze, the Hokage giving the Uchiha the same look as his smoking pipe fell down his lax fingers.
Madara noticed the sudden silence and blinked at Kagome's wide eyed expression, the metal pipe clanking against the floor.
"What did you say?" something churned inside Sarutobi's insides at Kagome's tone. He felt Izuna tense beside him.
"How did you know?" With eyes flashing, the miko demanded. The three shinobis watched as the kunoichi's expression darkened, pupils shrinking into slits similar that of the Inuzukas.
The jewel pulsed with her as an unseen force began swirling around the miko, her mind blanking out at what she heard from Madara's lips. How can someone other than the Hokage who had been visited by Midoriko herself know something about that?
"Calm down Kagome. Let him explain first." Sarutobi immediately said, not allowing the events to escalate into unreachable heights.
Kagome seemed to have gathered some of her cool at the Sandaime's words, her aura shrinking and the wild air around her vanishing into nothingness.
"Care to explain where that came from Madara?" The Uchiha ignored him, merely staring at the still wary kunoichi with surprised eyes.
"There was a an ancient book in our family's archives. It's a very old tome. Ancient even." Izuna said, noticing that his brother is too busy to explain.
"It's a story... A legend... Of how countless of different universe were created because of a single event that happened 500 years ago." The Hokage flinched at the terms, knowing that they are far too specific to be anything but mere coincidence.
"It was stated that a cursed bauble filled with countless souls of forsaken demons and a single soul of a powerful priestess caused chaos to swallow the whole hand. The jewel has the ability to amplify a demon's strength by a hundred fold and give humans enhancement that can rival that of a demons by just a single shard alone. And it can grant a wish as a whole." Izuna continued, his mental sight honing itself on the oddly silent kunoichi in front.
"Many coveted it's powers, many has protected it, many died for it. Then, a powerful priestess came and protected the jewel."
"Though as powerful as she is, she still fell because of a demon so vile even the souls in the Jewel cowers before him... In order to take the jewel away from his grasps, the jewel was burned along with the priestess, taking it with her in the afterlife..."
It was Madara who continued next, his unwavering eyes still on Kagome's form.
"Then a new protector arrived, the real protector to be precise. With the soul of the former priestess and the jewel merging as one, it birthed a body capable of housing the jewel itself..." The title that fell out of the Uchiha's mouth bathed the miko in painful nostalgia.
"The Shikon no Miko." A piece of Kagome chipped at that moment.
"It's been a while since I've heard that title..." A wry chuckle escaped from the girl's lips, full of fake mirth. The shinobis stared.
"So you are indeed admitting that you are the miko of the legend?" Izuna asked, his milky eyes somehow meeting with Kagome's own pairs.
"It depends on the ending dear..." the sudden endearment surprised all present, and Sarutobi can't help but to think that the girl they are talking to earlier is gone, replaced by the battle-hardened soul with no facades whatsoever. "-if your miko's story ends with a happy ending then Im afraid we're talking about a different Shikon Miko... Do continue." Madara observed the miko, noting about her sudden lack of nervousness and surprising show of... Instability.
"...The Shikon no Miko lived a double life, a life full of protection and a life full of death. Years passed after shattering the Shikon into tiny little fragments, the miko traveled far and wide, making allies from all over Japan. Yokais, Taijiyas, Houshis, Hanyos, she befriended all and in return, their loyalties were hers. As the power of the evil Hanyo grew, one of the Great Cardinal Lords, the Lord of the West, took it upon himself to take the Shikon no Miko in and taught her the ways of the yokai. As her power soared and reached into unreachable heights, the kumo began his move." Something haunted flickered through the miko's eyes.
"First, he ripped her of her family."
"No no no no-" Kagome dropped down on her knees and began haphazardly digging at the destroyed earth, splinters and broken wood digging into her skin and bathing her in shallow wounds.
"Kagome stop! You're hurting yourself!" The taijiya gripped the hysterical girl by her arms, using force to rip the miko away from the destroyed remains of the ancient well.
"NOOO NOOO KAA-CHAN! SOUTA! JI-CHAN!" yelping when an elbow crashed against her cheekbones, Sango's grip loosened and Kagome wasted no time throwing herself at the carnage once more.
"Let her..." Miroku watched the sobbing girl, his own eyes watering at the grief she was displaying for all to see. She's too pure hearted to become subjected to such lose. The girl had already sacrificed her life, must fate be so cruel to rob her of her love once as well?
"Kagome..." Inuyasha's ears were flatten against the crown of his head, amber eyes misty. Kneeling down to Kagome's level, the hanyou collected the girl from the ground and drew her to himself, keeping his own tears at bay while the miko sobbed into his fire rat.
"Second, he destroyed her home."
"Sesshomaru-sama!" The Inu-tachi watched in horror as flames licked up the Western Shiro, swallowing the massive building with it's merciless wrath. There were no guards or any signs of yokai around which seems almost impossible seeing how huge the population of the Western Lands are.
"No! Sesshomaru-sama! Rin!" Kagome nearly went inside the crumbling castle but was stopped by Shippo's tight grip on her hakamas.
"Mama no! It's dangerous you'll die!" the young kitsune bawled as he looked at his mother then to the destroyed shiro.
"Inuyasha do something!" Sango screeched, hating the feel of helplessness as muddy eyes illuminated by the fire widened in horror.
"SOMEONE SAVE THEM PLEASE!" The miko prayed to every god she knew of to let her mentor and ward survive the heavy assault, her body staying tense and rigid as tears poured constantly on her dulled eyes. Early morning arrived and the majority of the shiro was burned into nothingness.
Kagome searched high low among the charred remains of the building for any signs of Sesshomaru or Rin's remains, hoping to find none.
That hope was immediately crushed when the sizzling corpse of a child embraced by a larger one, resting beside a darkened Tenseiga greeted her the moment she reached the heart of the shiro.
"Then, he robbed her of everything else." The memories from the final battle flickered. The memory of Sango dying with Kohaku, the memory of Miroku swallowed by his tunnel, the memory of Shippo's green eyes numbing with death, the memory of Inuyasha dying.
The miko let loose.
"AND I ROBBED HIM OF HIS LIFE." Power exploded along with the miko's outburst, a strong gust of wind circled the room followed by Kagome's heady power. The three shinobis, being caught completely off guard grunted at the pressure, their knees buckling under the static force of the enrage female.
"So you are the miko of the Shikon." Madara grunted, some sort of fascination gleaming in his eyes.
Dive into her mind... Know of what fills her memories. Whispers filled the elder Uchiha's mind, beckoning him into jumping inside the miko's conscience, promising him answers to his million questions.
Before Madara can even stop himself, his mind had already succumbed to the whispers.
"Mangekyou..." Izuna and Sarutobi jerked at Madara's soft command.
"Nii-san no!"
"Sharingan!"
It was a normal day for the Taisho siblings, them attending the boring academy in barely hidden disdain with Hakudoshi swallowing the urge to throttle the males ogling his older sister while Kanna calmly sat beside him, eyes blankly looking straight ahead as usual. The two yokais tuned out Iruka's lesson about chakra and some other stuff... Making the two children wishing for reprieve from the boring fate that never fails to fall over them everyday.
Iruka`s drone voice never did gave the two yokai the sense of curiosity, nor did the equally drone lessons being given by the drone-iest ninja alive.
Oh, and did the say that Iruka is boring?
If not for the solid request the oldest sibling had given them, they wouldn't even bother throwing the bland academy a look of intrigue, so much as to even step a foot in it.
But alas, the Hokage wanted them to attend the said foundation to prevent the humans from questioning their obvious superiority over their inferior prowess(isn't that what the title prodigy is for?).
Currently, the two children sat on their appointed seat –which they occupy only with each other to prevent impaling on Hakudoshi`s part- inwardly pleading to every god they knew –which aren't that many...or any at all- to just make the time go faster.
Hakudoshi amused himself by glowering over the males looking their way –his sister`s way really- and enjoyed how they seem to cower under his piercing lavenders.
Kanna, on the otherhand... Actually, even Hakudoshi himself does not know how his sister manage to stay passive and not lose her mind.
Eh. She is the Void Princess so the fair child didn't allow the question to linger more than necessary.
Since their beloved sister came in mind, they merely reminisced –rather, reminisce and glare on Haku`s part- to pass the gruel time. Sure, they rather dislike attending the academy but they never said they wished they didn't experience it. When they were still under Naraku`s strings, every thoughts of freedom and freewill immediately flew out of the window.
Of course living like a normal child and living like a normal person disappeared just as fast.
But ever since they stumbled upon the enigmatic miko -who simply refused to make an enemy out of children based on her words-, a foreign feeling sprung inside their ice encrusted heart.
Hope.
At first, they treated the miko with blatant hostility and seeks her and her companions death, for their father wanted it. But as the time passed and the frequent private encounters with the miko grew, so did their hope.
Their mercy towards the miko had landed them here. It freed them. So if given a chance, they would do the same thing over and over again with no hesitation whatsoever. They got what they wanted and even got a family to boot, it's certainly more than what they bargained for.
The two children continued their thoughts only to be broken by a chilling feeling they have not felt for a long long time.
The unmistakable full fledged power of the Shikon.
Hakudoshi bolted from his seat while Kanna` s spine arced at the sudden intrusion, both expressions that of a shocked person..
Immediately, they knew what that was.
Something`s wrong. And it includes their sister.
"Taisho- kun? Taisho-chan, what`s the matter." Iruka asked, worry laced deep in his voice. After all, it was not a normal sight when the two impassive Taisho showed this much emotion.
Not bothering to even give a proper excuse, Hakudoshi along with Kanna seems to flicker out of the classroom,leaving gaping genins and one highly startled chunin.
Izuna and Sarutobi straightened themselves up, the sudden silence eerily swallowing the whole room.
Izuna suddenly cursed.
"They're inside Tsukiyomi." Stiffening at Izuna's proclamation, the Hokage's eyes darted to the still figures of Kagome and Madara.
"That fool!" Izuna can't help but agree with the Sandaime. Though much more impulsive than he, Madara knows better than to mess with something they have no full knowledge of, especially from a supposedly extinct power that can purify the dark element of their family's famous kekkai genkai. The younger god is certain that something prompted his brother into committing that particular stunt, and Izuna can only do nothing but wait.
"So is it true Hokage-sama? She is the Shikon no Miko?" Izuna asked the shinobi behind him.
"Yes... Kagome came right after the night where the great Midoriko-sama visited my dreams in order to tell me about the piece I have to take part in this world's fate." Sarutobi answered with a withered voice. "I've been doing a pretty good job at it too... Until you two decided to butt in." The statement meant no offense whatsoever, just an opinion.
Turning to where the chakra signals of his brother and the kunoichi were coming from, Izuna sighed.
"It would've been much more smoother if my baka of a nii-san actually thought about using the mangekyou on a miko."
"What do you me-"
"STAY OUT!" A shockwave much more stronger than the first burst through the whole room and Sarutobi can't thank the special seals preventing the ANBU from hearing or feeling anything enough as much as now.
Both watched(more like felt on Izuna's part) as Madara soared with a pained yelp, his body landing on a floor with a thump that made his brother wince no matter how veteran they are in the battlefield.
"You dare enter my mind?!" Kagome shrieked, glowing with radiant power.
Madara groaned in answer as he picked himself from the floor, spiky hair still smoking due to the impromptu purification he had just went through.
"There's no doubt about it." wincing from the phantom burns that was causing mayhem inside his head, Madara leveled the girl with an almost reverent look.
"You are her."
Then two holes were suddenly on the council room's roof.
Sarutobi grunted.
Goodbye seals.
Landing directly in front of the miko, both Kanna and Hakudoshi served as a barrier between the kunoichi and the shinobis, their shoki manifesting after getting triggered by the tama.
"What happened?" Hakudoshi asked without taking his sights off the three men he was sure were involved with the Shikon's impromptu revival, naginata flashing ominously. Kanna remained emotionless, the only thing indicating her hostility being the mirror poised in her hands.
"So these two children are yokai." Madara hummed as if he hadn't just violated Kagome's mentality with his insensitive probing.
Both younger Taishos reacted almost immediately.
"Kagome-sama, they know?" the sudden honorific merely cemented the fact of Kagome being the Shikon no Miko even more.
Izuna almost groaned in mortification at the memory of Madara invading the girl's mind.
"Yes. They know." Kagome sounded wrathful, her eyes boring holes on Madara. She stepped forward, her aura demanding attention.
"I am Higurashi Kagome, The Shikon no Miko."
With Madara's little stunt, the Uchiha just declared war then and there.
Well... I guess we know where Sasuke's impulsive-ness came from... lol.
I certainly did not enjoy this chapter... Too dull.
Any ideas on how should I approach the next chapter? Im honestly drawing a blank here so any form of opinion and suggestion is greatly appreciated. :)
The next update could take a while so Help me dearies~! Lend me your strengths~~~~ QAQ