Amaterasu stood beside the bound Daiyokai as he watched the scene play out, observing the emotions that danced across his eyes. She saw a father's devotion when Rin voiced her concern; pride, when she called him father; love, when the girl realized her words; rage, when Tsukuyomi touched her shoulder; understanding, when the moon god's words finally took hold.
The sun goddess touched the image briefly, freezing it. The surface rippled from her touch, turning reflective as she stepped in front of Sesshomaru. Gently she caressed his face with her fingertips, from the center of his brow down his cheek to the center of his chin.
Softly she asked, "do you see? Do you see what the world will lose, if you continue to fight the fates? The uncompromising love of a child… That will be the first bright light lost, and there are some things not even the gods can stop."
She looked at him with sorrow filled eyes. "What my brother said about your soul's mate… That is also something the gods are powerless to prevent. If you continue to fight your destiny, continue to deny the fates, she will be completely destroyed, as will you."
Amaterasu stepped to the side, allowing Sesshomaru to see his reflection.
"Tsukuyomi showed you a possibility, not what he chose to do. He has faith in you, son of the moon… As do I." She softly tapped his nose before continuing. "Your eyes are filled with questions, son of Inu no Taisho. Give them voice."
Sesshomaru took a deep breath. "You both spoke of the mate of my soul. Will you tell me who she is?"
Amaterasu smiled. "She asked the same thing… I will not tell you who she is. I will tell you, however, that she is quite powerful. In time, you will be drawn to her strength, as she will be drawn to yours."
With that statement, Tsukuyomi and Bishamon reappeared in the dream plane.
Tsukuyomi spoke first. "The Soul Riders are worried he will kill her. From past interactions, I'd say their concerns are sound."
Amaterasu frowned.
Sesshomaru thought aloud, "past interactions?"
"Past lives," Bishamon quickly said. "In past lives, you were the cause of her death."
Sesshomaru's brows furrowed in consternation. "How is that possible? If she were my soul's true mate, would I not have been affected by her death?"
Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu shared a look.
She spoke. "Each time, you met your untimely demise shortly after."
After a few moments of thought, Sesshomaru looked to the trio of gods again. "When will I be allowed to move again? And when will I be able to leave this place?" he asked.
"I so did not expect that to be his next question," Bishamon blurted out.
Amaterasu glared at him as Tsukuyomi smacked the back of his head.
Amaterasu's gaze shifted back to Sesshomaru. "There is still much we must discuss, son of Inu no Taisho," she stated. "You will remain bound until we have your cooperation. As for when you may leave here, that will only happen when you have accepted your part in Fate's design."
"Your Soul Rider would usually come to you here, to inform you of whats going on, then follow you to the mortal realm as an advisor," Tsukuyomi explained. "He requested that we assist here, due to your volatile nature."
"Your intended…" Bishamon started.
Sesshomaru growled lowly at the term.
"Your intended accepted her place and is now with her Rider, training." Tsukuyomi finished.
"This Sesshomaru does not have an intended!" he rumbled. "This Sesshomaru does not need a mate! No unknown female—"
Amaterasu silenced him with a tap to the nose.
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~~~~~Modern Tokyo~~~~~
"Mom, it's ok! I could never hate you for what happened in the past!" Kagome insisted. "It was traumatic. If I were in your place, I probably would have kept it hidden, too."
Her mother was unconvinced.
"You did what you thought was best," Aya chimed in. "You weren't ready, then… I do understand. And I want you, all of you, to be part of my life now. I know I can never be a daughter to you, but I would hope I could at least be a friend."
Mrs. Higurashi perked up a bit at that. Just then, Aya's cell phone chimed. Kagome looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
'Later,' she mouthed to Kagome, as she checked her phone.
"Mama Higurashi, that was my dad. I have to head home, now. He asked if Kagome could come over for dinner?"
Mrs. Higurashi thought about it for a moment, then agreed.
Both girls gave her a quick hug, then left the house. As they walked down the stairs outside the shrine, Kagome started to question Aya.
"So how much of that really happened to my mom? You mentioned some sort of divine assistance…"
Aya watched the stairs as she spoke. "All of that really happened. The child was a boy, though. The family that adopted the child she birthed did go to the US about 3 months after he was born. They didn't just lose contact, though…" she paused. "They were killed in a car accident."
Kagome stopped. "How did she not know? Did the gods set that up? Is that the divine assistance you meant?" She was starting to get angry.
"Kags, they wouldn't do that. Free will does tie their hands on some things, you know," Aya said, attempting to calm the miko. "The car accident was just that, an accident. The divine assistance came in the form of knowing about all that and manipulating small details of your mother's memories. Amaterasu found the perfect family group to stand in as my family and assist in your training."
To say Kagome was distressed at the lengths that were taken would be an understatement.
She was furious.
"You had them manipulate my mother's memories? To what end? Why is it so damned important that I have all this training?" Kagome raged, her reiki flaring around her. Aya winced in pain as Kagome's holy power whipped against her skin.
"Kagome. Calm down. You're going to hurt someone!" Aya growled. "Nothing was done by the gods to intentionally hurt anyone, it was all a matter of chance. The memory manipulation wasn't anything I knew about until after the fact. It was done on such a small scale that it would have been overlooked if I had paid more attention to what I was saying…"
Kagome took a deep breath. "Then explain to me just what the hell is going on," she said in a cold monotone.
Aya stared at her, as if she had just sprouted another head.
"Explain," Kagome growled. "Now."
"Holy shit, you two really are a perfect match…" she muttered, shaking her head.
Aya's phone buzzed again. "We need to keep walking, Kags. I'll explain as we go."
Kagome started walking beside Aya, arms crossed and a scowl upon her face.
"Kagome… This took many years to set up. This family is deeply invested in your story and genuinely want to help you."
"So they know you're a Soul Rider?" Kagome asked.
"No," Aya responded. "They know I'm here to help you, but they don't know my part. They were told you would come to train with them… The one I referred to as "dad" really is a US Marine. Technically retired, but he's also not human. He's yokai."
The girls reached the bottom of the stone stairs and headed to Aya's "family" home.
Kagome stopped mid-step when she heard the word 'yokai,' only to be pulled along by Aya's hand.
"Is it anyone I know?" she asked.
Aya knew Amaterasu had forbidden those from Kagome's time in the Feudal Era from revealing themselves, at this point.
"No, but he is kitsune, so you know he's going to be interesting," Aya answered.
"What about his wife?"
"She's human. Mated to a yokai, she gained some protections. Since her yokai is kitsune, she's also full of tricks… She will be helping with your training," Aya explained.
"But why a kitsune? I thought we were going to do combat training?"
Aya stopped. "Kagome. He's a Marine. Fully trained in multiple styles. We ARE going for combat training. He has human friends, also retired American military, that live in the area and want to help. They don't know what we're training for, but they offered assistance as well. Multiple disciplines, multiple views… You are gonna be one kick ass miko when we go back!"
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a/n: most likely the last one for tonight... I'm still typing the rest of what I have written. Don't y'all go getting antsy on me, when updates arent this quick! I'm just as impatient with myself, lol. Thanks for reading, though... Even if you think its crap and you're too nice to say so, lol.