Change and Cherry Blossoms: Chapter 3
The pair walked back to camp, the silence only broken by a growling stomach here and there. They were both famished, as neither had eaten for at least 24 hours.
When they finally reached the campground, they smelled something cooking on the fire. Sprinting to the source of the smell, they both inhaled its aroma. Sango and Miroku smiled at the two, deciding not to question Kagome about the previous day.
Slurping down their breakfast, as well as Sango's and Miroku's breakfasts, Kagome and Inuyasha were finally satisfied. Kagome laid back on Inuyasha with content, forgetting that her friends were still new with their relationship. Sango poked Miroku as she motioned to the pair. A smile crept across his face.
"Eh. Shippo." He whispered as he leaned over the young kitsune.
"Yah?" he whispered back.
"Was Kagome's scent all over Inuyasha when they came back?" He asked deviously.
"Yah, why?" Shippo's innocence overpowering almost.
Miroku only giggled with satisfaction, leaning over to Sango.
"Eh. Sango." He whispered to the taijya.
"Hai?" she said.
"Last night, Kagome and Inuyasha... well you know." He finished, not wanting another bump on his head from the boomerang.
Sango gasped in surprise.
"Already!" Sango breathed. "They are fast..."
Meanwhile, as Kagome leaned into Inuyasha, she finally realized whom they were with. Quickly sitting up, and starting Inuyasha, her face turned a light pink. Realizing why Kagome had peeled herself away from him, Inuyasha also sat up.
"Feh." He said halfheartedly. "Now they know, so much for the surprise..."
"How long?" Sango demanded.
"Only since Inuyasha went after me in the forest." Kagome blushed, looking at a very interesting insect that was crawling on a blade of grass.
"Eh, Miroku." Inuyasha called, remembering something.
The two went off whispering, but not without Inuyasha giving Miroku a smack for his snide comments.
"Miroku, she has new powers... I saw what she can do. Excellent swordsmanship. And she never learned it either." He supplied.
Miroku stood and stared at the hanyou, puzzled.
"Do you think it's a curse?" Miroku asked.
"No, it's more like... a blessing." Inuyasha thought hard, screwing up his face in concentration.
"She doesn't even realize that she knows all that stuff." Inuyasha continued.
"I see... she will help greatly in our quest for the shards. How does she feel about the changes?"
"I don't know, she never wanted to talk about it when I brought it up. I think it hurts her, and even scares her."
"Indeed."
Meanwhile Sango was trying to spark some talking into Kagome.
"It's beautiful." Sango said, admiring Kagome's new sword.
Kagome just stared blankly, maroon eyes trained on the small rose-colored jewels.
"Oh yeah! While you were gone, we bought some food from the village for a nice feast tonight!" Sango said with worry written all over her face.
Climbing to her feet, Kagome turned silently and went inside the hut, taking out her bag. While she was reaching a little across it, something on her wrist caught her eye. It was another cherry blossom tattoo, to accompany a matching one on her other wrist. Why hadn't she seen these before?
'Maybe they didn't appear until just now. I do remember a horrible pain in my wrists, similar to the one on my neck.' She pondered.
Inuyasha came into the hut and looked at her, his eyes filled with concern. Kagome brought her knees up to her head and rested her forehead on them. Her breathing was uneven as she held back tears of stress.
Glancing around desperately, Inuyasha was unsure of what he should do for her. He walked over to her and sat down next to her, caressing her back slightly. The tears stopped, but she still held her head on her knees.
"Kagome, what's wrong?"
She twitched, getting up and grabbing her sword to show him.
"THIS is what's wrong!" she cried. "Why couldn't this all just blow over? NOW I CAN'T LIVE WITH MYSELF!" she screamed, close to the pitch Shinji Ikari manages.
"But Kagome, the changes don't matter, you are still you." He said calmly.
"You think these are all the changes that happened!!! DO YOU THINK THESE ARE All SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD DO!!!" Her voice increased in volume. "MY HEARING HAS INCREASED TENFOLD! I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING AND MY EARS ARE ABOUT TO EXPLODE! IT MAKES IT HARD FOR ME TO SLEEP AT NIGHT."
She fell onto the ground, crying some more. Moving to come near her, Inuyasha was surprised when Kagome said.
"Go away, I want to be alone."
He stopped and stared at her for a while before she repeated her command, and he left. He was hurt that she would just tell him to go away, when his mind wandered to all the times he had told her to go away. He wondered if that hurt her at all, and secretly regretted his attitude towards her.
Sango and Miroku had heard every word that Kagome had screamed and gave Inuyasha pitiful looks when he stepped out of the hut. Later, when they all sat around the fire pondering lunch, Kagome came out of the hut. Her face was stained with tears and her voice was shaky.
"Sumimasen..." She whispered. "I will cry no more."
Inuyasha was the only one that heard her. No one could see the painful look in his eyes as her looked away.
"Oh, hi Kagome!" Sango and Miroku called in unison upon seeing the raven-haired girl.
Trying to put on a cheerful face for them, she smiled and greeted them in return.
'I feel so much more graceful now.' She commented to herself as she took a seat beside Inuyasha. 'I never thought you felt beauty, but I guess this is what it would feel like.'
Rather subtly, the voice reappeared inside her head. It began to sing soothingly.
'Sempai?' Kagome asked the voice.
'Hai. I am here to talk to you once more.' It calmly replied, the singing stopped.
'I see.' Kagome breathed, sounding very mature for someone her age.
'I do not believe that you should display your full potential to your friends yet. You still have room to grow, and they should not take your new powers to their advantage.'
'Hai.' Kagome replied. 'I will not tell them, yet.'
'I worry though... this Inuyasha.' The motherly voice continued. 'He is observant. He will realize something is different.'
'Yes, he will realize the differences. There is nothing I can do to stop him from seeing. Perhaps it is best that he finds out, I know he will handle it well.'
'Perhaps you are right... I sense you are afraid of something though, my daughter. What is it that you could fear?'
Kagome held her breath.
'I am afraid, Sempai, that this will negatively effect something.' Kagome choked.
'Indeed. With every asset comes a burden. Fortunately, the asset often outweighs the burden. In your case, the asset will outweigh the burden greatly; so do not worry my child. You will not be hurt. Though hear me, this will not be easy.' The woman said.
'Hai, I am ready.' A sad look of determination was creeping across Kagome's features.
'Then I shall leave you now, may your love always be with you. Remember these words, "Hate and Love both consume, but while hate draws a shadow over the heart, love draws light." Goodbye...' The voice faded.
Kagome's eyes focused once again on the scene before her, Shippo was not gobbling down his ramen, Miroku and Sango both ate graciously. Something was missing though... Inuyasha! She could not hear his slurping. Turning to look at him, she was startled to find his staring at her, leaving his bowl of ramen untouched. His eyes were cold and distant, regarding her with a look of horror. The look unnerved her, and she found herself turning away.
"The voice." Inuyasha whispered. "It came back."
"Hai." Kagome gasped, how did he know?
"The look in your eyes... I could tell something was wrong in your mind. What did it tell you?"
'Ah, Inuyasha is perceptive. This is going to be harder then I thought.' Kagome pondered.
"What I was told, is for my thoughts alone." Kagome said, staring into the fire. "But I will tell you one thing. I must have some time alone, now."
At that, Kagome arose and exited the clearing. Trees, trees and more trees. Birds, beasts everywhere, she could hear them all. The leaves rustled, birds chirped, trunks creaked and beasts roared.
"I will never again have silence." She whispered morosely, disgusted at the very volume of the whisper.
The change, it was beyond senses and appearance. It had also affected her demeanor. The very way she thought was changed. Everything about her was more calm and mature. Wandering about the forests, Kagome reflected upon her situation carefully. Every step she felt her feet tread lighter, every step was more efficient and more graceful. It seemed that the more she walked and thought, the more her body adapted, sharpened and learned form her surroundings and her movements.
When she reached a clearing, she loosened her sword from it's sheath and let the sun reflect off of it's many surfaces.
"Katana." (sword) Kagome whispered.
She swung the sword carefully into the air, feeling the air with the tip. All the rest of the day she pushed and pulled herself to what she thought was her limit. She was amazed... all of her senses were at a hundred percent. She could hear, feel, smell, taste and see everything in the forest. A rabbit drank from a pool 300 yards away and she could hear it. A deer staggered after a hunt and she could smell the fresh blood from a mile away.
'I cannot show this power to my friends...' Kagome thought. 'It would scare them... and I do not want them to see me like this. I really have changed...'
That was when the biggest question of all came to her mind, and it nearly shattered her.
"Will he still love me?" She said out loud, shaking. 'He said... he said that he would love me no matter what... but I am like a different person now!'
She sank to her knees, but thought sensibly, 'There is only one way to find out.' And she set off for camp immediately.
When she got back it was completely dark, but she could still see. The darkened silhouette of the hanyou was obvious, pouting up in a nearby tree. She darted over stealthily, not wanting herself to be detected by his keen ears.
Intent on making one last test, she jumped at the trunk of the tree and climbed it with ease. Reaching the branch where Inuyasha sat, she flung herself out, catching the branch with her smooth feet. Inuyasha jumped at the appearance, immediately questioning how she could have gotten up here.
"Ka... Kagome?"
"Hai. Sumimasen... I wanted to see if I could climb the tree, and it seems that I can." She smiled, and he smiled back at her. "I also wanted to talk to you."
"Feh." Inuyasha said, obviously recovering from his surprise. "Go ahead, I am all ears."
"I have one question. Do you still love me?"
The question hit Inuyasha like an arrow.
'Do I still love her? She has changed, this is not the Kagome I loved before. But I still see Kagome in her. Somewhere, deep inside there is still the Kagome I know. Though can I like this new person she has become as well?' Inuyasha thought. 'Yes. I can love this new person, because she loves me still.'
"Hai." He responded after a pause. "I love you."
Kagome sensed something in this however. Something wasn't right. He had to think about his answer before he gave it. And even his answer was filled with thought and doubt. A tear rolled down her face.
"Am I really that different?" she whispered. "Do I really seem that different? So different that my own FRIENDS would reconsider me!"
Kagome's voice rose in volume. Her heart was filled with despair; this was what she had feared. And yet, the old lady said, the asset should compensate. 'BUT IT'S NOT.' She thought hopelessly.
"WHY DID I HAVE TO WISH SUCH A THING? THIS IS NOT EVEN GRANTING MY WISH!" Kagome stopped.
'Wait... my wish was to improve things with Inuyasha... then perhaps better is coming, perhaps he is telling the truth?' She looked up with clear eyes at the helpless hanyou crouched in front of her.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha said, puppy dog look in his eyes. "I didn't mean to make you cry, please don't cry."
Inuyasha was silenced by a well placed kiss. He reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Yo, that's all for today! I thought this might be a sufficient chapter! I doubt my storyline though... I like it, but do you guys like it? Am I changing Kagome too much? Perhaps I should make her go back to normal at some point... Please review on the subject, except please don't just say "O, rewrite the whole thing" cuz I am not going to! (too lazy.. heh) Ja ne!
The pair walked back to camp, the silence only broken by a growling stomach here and there. They were both famished, as neither had eaten for at least 24 hours.
When they finally reached the campground, they smelled something cooking on the fire. Sprinting to the source of the smell, they both inhaled its aroma. Sango and Miroku smiled at the two, deciding not to question Kagome about the previous day.
Slurping down their breakfast, as well as Sango's and Miroku's breakfasts, Kagome and Inuyasha were finally satisfied. Kagome laid back on Inuyasha with content, forgetting that her friends were still new with their relationship. Sango poked Miroku as she motioned to the pair. A smile crept across his face.
"Eh. Shippo." He whispered as he leaned over the young kitsune.
"Yah?" he whispered back.
"Was Kagome's scent all over Inuyasha when they came back?" He asked deviously.
"Yah, why?" Shippo's innocence overpowering almost.
Miroku only giggled with satisfaction, leaning over to Sango.
"Eh. Sango." He whispered to the taijya.
"Hai?" she said.
"Last night, Kagome and Inuyasha... well you know." He finished, not wanting another bump on his head from the boomerang.
Sango gasped in surprise.
"Already!" Sango breathed. "They are fast..."
Meanwhile, as Kagome leaned into Inuyasha, she finally realized whom they were with. Quickly sitting up, and starting Inuyasha, her face turned a light pink. Realizing why Kagome had peeled herself away from him, Inuyasha also sat up.
"Feh." He said halfheartedly. "Now they know, so much for the surprise..."
"How long?" Sango demanded.
"Only since Inuyasha went after me in the forest." Kagome blushed, looking at a very interesting insect that was crawling on a blade of grass.
"Eh, Miroku." Inuyasha called, remembering something.
The two went off whispering, but not without Inuyasha giving Miroku a smack for his snide comments.
"Miroku, she has new powers... I saw what she can do. Excellent swordsmanship. And she never learned it either." He supplied.
Miroku stood and stared at the hanyou, puzzled.
"Do you think it's a curse?" Miroku asked.
"No, it's more like... a blessing." Inuyasha thought hard, screwing up his face in concentration.
"She doesn't even realize that she knows all that stuff." Inuyasha continued.
"I see... she will help greatly in our quest for the shards. How does she feel about the changes?"
"I don't know, she never wanted to talk about it when I brought it up. I think it hurts her, and even scares her."
"Indeed."
Meanwhile Sango was trying to spark some talking into Kagome.
"It's beautiful." Sango said, admiring Kagome's new sword.
Kagome just stared blankly, maroon eyes trained on the small rose-colored jewels.
"Oh yeah! While you were gone, we bought some food from the village for a nice feast tonight!" Sango said with worry written all over her face.
Climbing to her feet, Kagome turned silently and went inside the hut, taking out her bag. While she was reaching a little across it, something on her wrist caught her eye. It was another cherry blossom tattoo, to accompany a matching one on her other wrist. Why hadn't she seen these before?
'Maybe they didn't appear until just now. I do remember a horrible pain in my wrists, similar to the one on my neck.' She pondered.
Inuyasha came into the hut and looked at her, his eyes filled with concern. Kagome brought her knees up to her head and rested her forehead on them. Her breathing was uneven as she held back tears of stress.
Glancing around desperately, Inuyasha was unsure of what he should do for her. He walked over to her and sat down next to her, caressing her back slightly. The tears stopped, but she still held her head on her knees.
"Kagome, what's wrong?"
She twitched, getting up and grabbing her sword to show him.
"THIS is what's wrong!" she cried. "Why couldn't this all just blow over? NOW I CAN'T LIVE WITH MYSELF!" she screamed, close to the pitch Shinji Ikari manages.
"But Kagome, the changes don't matter, you are still you." He said calmly.
"You think these are all the changes that happened!!! DO YOU THINK THESE ARE All SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD DO!!!" Her voice increased in volume. "MY HEARING HAS INCREASED TENFOLD! I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING AND MY EARS ARE ABOUT TO EXPLODE! IT MAKES IT HARD FOR ME TO SLEEP AT NIGHT."
She fell onto the ground, crying some more. Moving to come near her, Inuyasha was surprised when Kagome said.
"Go away, I want to be alone."
He stopped and stared at her for a while before she repeated her command, and he left. He was hurt that she would just tell him to go away, when his mind wandered to all the times he had told her to go away. He wondered if that hurt her at all, and secretly regretted his attitude towards her.
Sango and Miroku had heard every word that Kagome had screamed and gave Inuyasha pitiful looks when he stepped out of the hut. Later, when they all sat around the fire pondering lunch, Kagome came out of the hut. Her face was stained with tears and her voice was shaky.
"Sumimasen..." She whispered. "I will cry no more."
Inuyasha was the only one that heard her. No one could see the painful look in his eyes as her looked away.
"Oh, hi Kagome!" Sango and Miroku called in unison upon seeing the raven-haired girl.
Trying to put on a cheerful face for them, she smiled and greeted them in return.
'I feel so much more graceful now.' She commented to herself as she took a seat beside Inuyasha. 'I never thought you felt beauty, but I guess this is what it would feel like.'
Rather subtly, the voice reappeared inside her head. It began to sing soothingly.
'Sempai?' Kagome asked the voice.
'Hai. I am here to talk to you once more.' It calmly replied, the singing stopped.
'I see.' Kagome breathed, sounding very mature for someone her age.
'I do not believe that you should display your full potential to your friends yet. You still have room to grow, and they should not take your new powers to their advantage.'
'Hai.' Kagome replied. 'I will not tell them, yet.'
'I worry though... this Inuyasha.' The motherly voice continued. 'He is observant. He will realize something is different.'
'Yes, he will realize the differences. There is nothing I can do to stop him from seeing. Perhaps it is best that he finds out, I know he will handle it well.'
'Perhaps you are right... I sense you are afraid of something though, my daughter. What is it that you could fear?'
Kagome held her breath.
'I am afraid, Sempai, that this will negatively effect something.' Kagome choked.
'Indeed. With every asset comes a burden. Fortunately, the asset often outweighs the burden. In your case, the asset will outweigh the burden greatly; so do not worry my child. You will not be hurt. Though hear me, this will not be easy.' The woman said.
'Hai, I am ready.' A sad look of determination was creeping across Kagome's features.
'Then I shall leave you now, may your love always be with you. Remember these words, "Hate and Love both consume, but while hate draws a shadow over the heart, love draws light." Goodbye...' The voice faded.
Kagome's eyes focused once again on the scene before her, Shippo was not gobbling down his ramen, Miroku and Sango both ate graciously. Something was missing though... Inuyasha! She could not hear his slurping. Turning to look at him, she was startled to find his staring at her, leaving his bowl of ramen untouched. His eyes were cold and distant, regarding her with a look of horror. The look unnerved her, and she found herself turning away.
"The voice." Inuyasha whispered. "It came back."
"Hai." Kagome gasped, how did he know?
"The look in your eyes... I could tell something was wrong in your mind. What did it tell you?"
'Ah, Inuyasha is perceptive. This is going to be harder then I thought.' Kagome pondered.
"What I was told, is for my thoughts alone." Kagome said, staring into the fire. "But I will tell you one thing. I must have some time alone, now."
At that, Kagome arose and exited the clearing. Trees, trees and more trees. Birds, beasts everywhere, she could hear them all. The leaves rustled, birds chirped, trunks creaked and beasts roared.
"I will never again have silence." She whispered morosely, disgusted at the very volume of the whisper.
The change, it was beyond senses and appearance. It had also affected her demeanor. The very way she thought was changed. Everything about her was more calm and mature. Wandering about the forests, Kagome reflected upon her situation carefully. Every step she felt her feet tread lighter, every step was more efficient and more graceful. It seemed that the more she walked and thought, the more her body adapted, sharpened and learned form her surroundings and her movements.
When she reached a clearing, she loosened her sword from it's sheath and let the sun reflect off of it's many surfaces.
"Katana." (sword) Kagome whispered.
She swung the sword carefully into the air, feeling the air with the tip. All the rest of the day she pushed and pulled herself to what she thought was her limit. She was amazed... all of her senses were at a hundred percent. She could hear, feel, smell, taste and see everything in the forest. A rabbit drank from a pool 300 yards away and she could hear it. A deer staggered after a hunt and she could smell the fresh blood from a mile away.
'I cannot show this power to my friends...' Kagome thought. 'It would scare them... and I do not want them to see me like this. I really have changed...'
That was when the biggest question of all came to her mind, and it nearly shattered her.
"Will he still love me?" She said out loud, shaking. 'He said... he said that he would love me no matter what... but I am like a different person now!'
She sank to her knees, but thought sensibly, 'There is only one way to find out.' And she set off for camp immediately.
When she got back it was completely dark, but she could still see. The darkened silhouette of the hanyou was obvious, pouting up in a nearby tree. She darted over stealthily, not wanting herself to be detected by his keen ears.
Intent on making one last test, she jumped at the trunk of the tree and climbed it with ease. Reaching the branch where Inuyasha sat, she flung herself out, catching the branch with her smooth feet. Inuyasha jumped at the appearance, immediately questioning how she could have gotten up here.
"Ka... Kagome?"
"Hai. Sumimasen... I wanted to see if I could climb the tree, and it seems that I can." She smiled, and he smiled back at her. "I also wanted to talk to you."
"Feh." Inuyasha said, obviously recovering from his surprise. "Go ahead, I am all ears."
"I have one question. Do you still love me?"
The question hit Inuyasha like an arrow.
'Do I still love her? She has changed, this is not the Kagome I loved before. But I still see Kagome in her. Somewhere, deep inside there is still the Kagome I know. Though can I like this new person she has become as well?' Inuyasha thought. 'Yes. I can love this new person, because she loves me still.'
"Hai." He responded after a pause. "I love you."
Kagome sensed something in this however. Something wasn't right. He had to think about his answer before he gave it. And even his answer was filled with thought and doubt. A tear rolled down her face.
"Am I really that different?" she whispered. "Do I really seem that different? So different that my own FRIENDS would reconsider me!"
Kagome's voice rose in volume. Her heart was filled with despair; this was what she had feared. And yet, the old lady said, the asset should compensate. 'BUT IT'S NOT.' She thought hopelessly.
"WHY DID I HAVE TO WISH SUCH A THING? THIS IS NOT EVEN GRANTING MY WISH!" Kagome stopped.
'Wait... my wish was to improve things with Inuyasha... then perhaps better is coming, perhaps he is telling the truth?' She looked up with clear eyes at the helpless hanyou crouched in front of her.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha said, puppy dog look in his eyes. "I didn't mean to make you cry, please don't cry."
Inuyasha was silenced by a well placed kiss. He reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Yo, that's all for today! I thought this might be a sufficient chapter! I doubt my storyline though... I like it, but do you guys like it? Am I changing Kagome too much? Perhaps I should make her go back to normal at some point... Please review on the subject, except please don't just say "O, rewrite the whole thing" cuz I am not going to! (too lazy.. heh) Ja ne!