Tool

Unaware to everything going on around her, Kagome was fighting a whole other kind of battle within. She stood where she was because this new presence would not allow her to move. She was silent, because it would not allow her to speak.

'You will give this one use of your body, and your power, little miko.'

On the inside, she shuddered. This voice, it wasn't hers, and though it wasn't malevolent, it certainly wasn't benign. And this was not a request, but more a demand, an order. Kagome was hard pressed to deny it, but she did. 'This is my body. If you want to use it, you're going to have to tell me why, and what for.'

There was silence for a moment before the voice spoke again, and its presence inside of her became all the more pressing, all the less comfortable. 'You think to demand answers from a being that could smite you with a thought?' To prove it, sheer power exploded ever further inside her body, stronger than her own, and much more dangerous.

It only took a moment for Kagome to understand, for the history of the item she held in her hands to mix with the knowledge that was slowly forming in her mind. Treading a fine line, she gave a confident nod. 'I do. This body is mine, and I've earned it, protected it, care for it. If I'm going to share it, I deserve to know the why fors.'

Again it was quiet, its presence a near silent hum in the back of her mind. 'You are daring, for a human.'

She grinned, and though her face and body were still eerily immobile outwardly, her aura lightened as her heart and soul relaxed, even if only slightly. 'Would you have chosen me if I were anything else?'

Not deigning to answer, the voice, the entity, grew quiet for the third time. Kagome wasn't sure how much time passed before it spoke again. 'You would be a tool used to right a great wrong,' it said finally. 'You would be given the power of the Kami, were you to agree.'

'Permanently?' she asked carefully, uncertainty at the thought filling her. 'I don't want to be like the kami for forever.'

'You would reject ultimate power?'

'Yes. I want my own life, my own power, as boring as it might seem to you. Besides, that kind of power comes with too many responsibilities.'

'Hn. This is true, but your new strengths will be only temporary, until our ends are met.' The entity paused, and something in that silence gave her pause.

'I'm assuming the danger to me is great. Can you protect me, and my pups?'

It hesitated, and though there was nothing of unconfidence in that stretch of quiet, there was something. Eventually, it answered. 'Where there is power, there is danger. The dangers to your body are…adequate, those to your soul are…exponential. We can offer you protection….but even the Kami cannot grant immortality to a mortal.'

To say she wasn't scared of the prospect would have been a lie, and Kagome had had enough lies in her life to bother lying to herself, or the entity demanding use of her body. But the fear would make her smart, and that had to count for something. 'What of my pups?'

'….they are this important to you; unborn, impure hanyou of a youkai and miko? They will be shunned in both worlds.'

'I would die for them,'she answered, and though there was no excitement to the words, the simplicity of them led all the more to the truth of them.

'They will be protected by the Kami,' it said finally, though it was obvious it was confused by her answer. 'Should you give your life to this cause, they will be watched by the Kami until they are grown. They will know of you.'

o.O.o

Word Count - 653